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"If Intar decides to step in, it would completely change the war," said Queen Helen.

'Most certainly,' said the reaper. 'Conventional wisdom would say that, at the moment, Intar could probably end the war single-handedly, if it really wanted to. Wouldn't be pretty, but it could. The war is still relatively small.'

"Mm. Conventional wisdom, is it? Then do you perhaps have some unconventional wisdom for me?"

'Heh. Well, Intar may be the most powerful nation on the continent--or perhaps even on the planet--but it is also in the midst of an ideological war of its own, right now. Between interventionists and pacifists, of all things.'

"Yes, I have heard as much," said the Queen. "Do you think the pacifists are influential enough to prevent Intar from joining the fight?"

A long pause arrived. 'As a reaper, this is where I would usually say something non-committal. You know. About how the world is complicated and difficult to predict and blah blah blah. But honestly, I'm tired of doing that all the time. I could be wrong, obviously, but to be quite frank with you, Your Majesty... I don't think Intar will send a single soldier to anyone's aid.'

"I appreciate your candor, but what makes you sound so confident?"

'Years of immersing myself in modern Intarian culture. The majority of Intarians won't see this as their problem. Which, in fairness, it isn't. Plus, the Intarian Congress has been in a state of complete deadlock for nearly a decade now. They can barely pass even the simplest of legislation. Unless that somehow changes, I don't see them suddenly agreeing to go to war on some other country's behalf.'

"I see."

'And of course, there's the Vanguard as well. We generally try to stay out of politics, so even though we have a significant presence in Intar, our higher-ups don't hold much influence with the government there. In fact, I imagine the politicians there will believe that they don't need to intervene, because the Vanguard will take care of it. As usual.'