Hmmm, I’m quite concerned, kupo.
	What’s wrong? Has something happened back in San d’Oria, kupo?
	We’ve been receiving report after report of an influx of nasty orcs around Ghelsba and Davoi areas, kupo.
	It’s the same with the Quadav near Palborough Mines and Beadeaux, kupo! We can’t ignore the situation anymore, kupooo!
	Now that you mention it, even Giddeus and Castle Oztroja are seeing a swelling of Yagudo scoundrels! I think it may be because so many of our adventurers have journeyed off to the eastern lands. It’s given the beastmen the perfect opportunity to run rampant, kupo!
	I shiver to think what might happen to our three nations if these troubling trends continue, kupo!
	But you can’t mean that... Are you saying... But what about the... And the... Not another Great War, kupo!?
	Oh no, kupo! But hopefully it won’t come to that, kupo. After all, twenty years ago the Allied Forces of Altana ended the Crystal War in triumph, kupo!
	You’re right! If the Allied Forces were to team up again, they’d take care of all those mean beastmen, just like the first time around, kupo.
	The Allied Forces of Altana... That was a collaborative effort between Jeuno and the three nations, right? Was it ever determined which nation was most instrumental in the alliance’s victory?
	Surely you jest, kupo! There’s no question that it was my home, the Kingdom of San d’Oria. No enemy can withstand the mighty charges of our Royal Knight Army’s armored cavalry, kupo!
	Hang on just a second there, kupo! How can you possibly say that it was such an outdated fighting technique that defeated the nefarious Beastmen Confederate? My Bastok’s Republican Legion boasts by far the largest numbers of the four nation’s armies. There’s the Iron Musketeers and their state-of-the-art equipment! The unmatched elite forces of the Gold Musketeers! Bastok practically carried the allied effort on its unbreakable back, kupo!
	<Sigh> Oh would you both calm down? Being moogles, you should both know good and well the power of magic, kupo! Everyone knows that if it weren’t for the War Warlocks of my Windurst, the Allied Forces would have been obliterated at the Battle of Xarcabard.
	Oh that’s rich, kupo! Remind me, which nation was it that came crying for help to the Royal Knights after suffering all those losses?
	That’s not how it happened, kupo! At the Siege of Jeuno it was the Federal Forces of Windurst that--
	--Ohohoho! It looks like you three may set off a great war of your own there, kupo.
	Kupo!?
	You must be...
	Is that a fake moustache? There’s something ever so slightly unnatural about it, kupo...
	Mind your manors! Don’t you know who this is, kupo!?! It can only be the one who is untouched by time and eternally watching over all our kind! The Guardian Moogle, kupo!
	So that means you must know all about the Great War too, right, kupo?
	Hey, that’s right! Maybe you can settle an argument for us! O Most Venerable Moogle! We beseech you, kupo! Please tell us, which nation played the greatest role in the success of the Allied Forces of Altana, kupo!
	Ohohoho! Here I was wondering what you three were bickering about so heatedly, and it turns out to be such a recent little footnote in history as that, kupo!
	R-Recent!?
	You really are untouched by time...
	Ok, that’s great. Now just please take off the moustache and tell us which nation was strongest, kupo!
	Very well...The answer is...that one...you know...kupo!
	That? Meaning...which?
	You know that nation...the city...with the people...and the buildings...and blah blah blah, kupo.
	Don’t tell me, kupo...
	Hmm... Seems I’ve gone and plumb forgotten...kupo!
	Huh!? How can you forget something like that! You’re the Guardian Moogle!
	So try remembering...really hard, kupo!
	Oh, I don’t think that would be much help I’m lucky if I can remember what I had for my last meal these days, kupo. Well, how about I propose a friendly little competition for you instead? It’s called “Crystal War Revisited”!
	“Crystal War Revisited”...kupo?
	That’s got a tantalizing ring to it, kupo!
	The rules are simple. There are several beastmen-held positions where they have spent long years stocking up large crystal clusters, kupo. As an adventurer, at the request of your nation of allegiance, go cut off and bring back a piece of that cluster...kupo!
	After you are done, compare the number of crystal fragments that you have each brought back, and the country whose representative has retrieved the most shall earn his nation recognition as the strongest among the Allied Forces of Altana. Get it, kupo?
	W-Well... It sounds fair enough, kupo. But...
	Can such a heavy matter really be settled by a...game?
	Game!? This is a simulation that will allow you to burrow into the very bowels of history, kupo!
	Simulation, kupo?
	Did I stutter, kupo? The Crystal War was nothing more than a struggle between the forces of Altana and those of the Shadow Lord for the possession of crystals, no? So if you simply reenact such a struggle, then you are sure to arrive at the answer to the question you seek, kupo.
	Ahhh, now I get it, kupo. If we fight in exactly the same manner as the Great War, then none of us can contest the outcome, kupo!
	Well then, I shall be overlooking the whole affair. Take up the pride and spirit of your nation, and have at it to your heart’s content, kupo!
	Alright! Looks like we can settle this fair and square, and once and for all, kupo! The adventurers, that is...kupo
	The reputation of the strongest nation is at stake! This is just what we needed! Well, what the adventurers need, kupo…
	Ready battle formations! I meant the adventurers, not us...kupo.
	Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita