"So..." Nathan sat on a crate, looking at a man who had been hypnotized by Mae.

"There are three major powers in this world. They are the Federation, the Republic, and the Kingdom.

"They’re equal in power. If one place is getting too strong, the other two will collaborate and weaken it. That’s why they are able to maintain the status quo.

"However, the situation changes after the clouds cover our sky. People have given up on opening the sky once the cloud keeps closing itself for a few months."

"How are you surviving?" Nathan asked.

"We survive on fish and anything else we can eat for the time being, but the food keeps going down, so all nations are starting to panic."

Nathan thought for a moment before asking another question, "Can’t you open the sky for a while and accelerate the growth of the farm by using your power?"

"Not many familiars can generate enough power to produce the food."

Nathan was confused. It was supposed to be simple. Even if the summoner couldn’t harness the power, the familiars alone should be more than enough to bring food.

That meant these people might not be focusing on the development of familiars towards food.

Nathan suspected it before, but it looked like the familiars here were mostly summoned for combat.

That was why he had to ask. "Tell me everything you know about summoners."

"Summoners are chosen beings who are able to summon otherworldly beings. These otherworldly beings follow their orders.

"However, once they reach a certain level, the summoners will be divided into two categories. They can either become a battle master or turn into a gigant master."

"What are the differences between the two?" Nathan asked, noticing a term that he had never heard before. ’Gigant? Many novels refer to big robots as gigants... Is it the same?’

"Once a summoner reaches a certain level, they’re able to turn their familiar into a Summoning Card.

"If you become a Battle Master, you are able to cover yourself with armor made of the familiar. You can utilize their power with the size of a human being. This will make you more versatile in combat.

"Meanwhile, if you follow the path of Gigant Master, you use this Summoning Card to form a massive gigant. The summoner is there to pilot the gigant. The gigant masters are more powerful and destructive, but they lack the versatility of the other path due to their size."

Nathan looked up, contemplating. ’That’s understandable. With that size, the power is definitely stronger. But I like the versatility that my normal size gives me. After all, everything in this world is built based on our original size.’

Nathan crossed his arms. "How do you condense this Summoning Card?"

"I don’t know."

Nathan looked away. He wondered if he should get a summoner and hypnotize them to get this information.

But he felt Evelyn would be angry if he played around too much.

In the end, Nathan changed his question. "In that case, if you can choose whether you get food or solve the cloud, which one will you choose?"

"I prefer food."

"Why?"

"If we solve the cloud, it will take time to produce the food. If we don’t produce the food right now, it would definitely shake the Federation."

Nathan couldn’t deny this possibility. All the countries had been severely weakened because of the lack of food. They might not have enough reserves to last long enough to produce new plants.

They also needed to clear the land to create a farm as well. If he also needed to take into account the negotiation to clean the sky and the process of cleaning the sky itself, it might take even longer than he thought.

However, Nathan wasn’t out of options yet. There were plenty of plants that had a much shorter time to harvest.

So, it might be possible to save this continent if he manages to gain the cooperation of these three countries.

Nathan asked his next question. "Describe the ruler of the Federation. Is he a wise man?"

"If I have to describe the ruler, he may not be the best, but he is certainly not an idiot. He is a normal ruler without any outstanding achievements, but at the same time, when he is ruling this land, the situation is stable."

Nathan nodded in understanding. Basically, he was a good ruler during the peace, but in this scenario, he definitely had a hard time.

Nathan understood how to approach the ruler this time. "Is there anyone you should be wary of among the high-ranking people?"

"Yes. There are two people. The first prince is a fat, ill-bred boy. He’s corrupt and doesn’t care about public opinion. He will do everything he wants, even though so many people are suffering.

"The second person is the Minister of Finance. He’s the one in charge of the treasury. He must be embezzling the money and continue to indulge the first prince, whom he supports. However, his force is quite strong, so the Federation can’t destroy him without suffering a consequence."

Nathan frowned. ’If I offer my help to take care of this corrupt faction as a bonus, the leader might support me. I may be able to request the map of the Federation as well. No, someone like the Minister of Finance, with an influence big enough to threaten the entire country, should have a map of this continent with all the details.

’I should offer my help and get the map from him. If I lack something, I will request it as a reward for my help.’ 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Nathan got the gist of the situation, so he ended it with one last question. "All right. In that case, what’s the relationship between the king and the first prince? Are they good?"

"The first prince’s mother is the current empress. She has been misusing her power to get all the benefits for herself. However, that’s the extent of my knowledge. I don’t know if the king dislikes them or not."

"I see. Thank you." Nathan had gotten all the information he wanted, so he nodded to Mae before disappearing.

The man snapped into reality and looked around, wondering what he had done. "Why am I here?"