Excellent. Can't wait for whats comming next.
A Young Woman's New Life as an Imperial Princess (Youjo Senki/Gate Jietai Crossover)
- Thread starter Midas_Man
- Start date
- Location
- Germany
Conquest by accident, aided by the oppositions incompetence and general admiration of Tanya.
Given that its Tanya she would be the best option to lead the Empire or what will be left of it.
...how famous and how popular is princess Tanya with the various factions, groups, minorities in the Empire?
I recall that the servants in the palace love her above the other royals, but what about others?
Midas_Man
One of the Brightest Stars
Breaking down their 'opinions' by group:
Senators - (outside of her "faction" that is) For the most part, no one has any strong opinions about her one way or the other. No one would dare move against her, for fear of angering the Emperor, but most see her as too 'naïve' and/or 'childish' to be given any real power. The most aggressive thing that might be done against her is to marry her and try to use her as a stepping stone to sit the throne after Molt dies.
the common 'citizenry of the Empire' (the non-noble, non-slave, population) - She's essentially a celebrity (as befitting a royal). Her actions to try to combat the rise of vast slave estates with the Populists in the Senate is view favorably by most. Mind you, its less about caring about the slaves themselves and more happy someone is finally standing up to "big farmer" who have a habit of gobbling up smaller farm steads and driving them out of the market outright by selling cheap food harvested by slaves (though the sentiment applies to other fields where slaves are replacing citizens).
Minorities (and to a lesser extent the poorest of the empire)- she's seen as an almost messianic savior. Someone in a position of power that actually seems like she cares about them. Ironic that the 'great boons and mercies' she gives them in the from of regular food, basic health care, and championing for the barest hint of legal protections, is what Tanya views as the bare minimum a state should provide to the masses if only to prevent revolt.
Outside the Empire - No real opinion on her yet, though the Client City State of Zeinab (a mageocracy from where her acquaintance Zaynab Zabba is from) has a very positive opinion of her for simply being a mage of noble blood; the 'natural order' as the rulers there would say.
The JSDF have no interaction with her yet, but will quickly realize she is an 'in' they can use to get to the Emperor (after all her sister Pina is supportive of the JSDF, why not her?)
In short, she's essentially made herself into the "darling" of the Empire. A persona of being a selfless, innocent soul, who is moved by the troubles and tribulations of the lowest, and seeks to defend the rights of the citizenry.
A Hopeless War - IV
Midas_Man
One of the Brightest Stars
"The barbarians are asking for parlay?" Molt could barely believe the words his own daughter was speaking.
"Yes, your Majesty," Pina replied, kneeling before his throne with a small collection of papers in hand.
Pina left Sadera with her knights and a belly full of fire to avenge the Empire against the barbarians. Yet she came back like a whipped dog singing their praises and acting as their glorified courier.
Molt ordered his mages to check her over for any form of mental manipulation or tempering, that she was actively being controlled, even evidence she had been replaced with some homunculus body double, but they found nothing.
Whatever she saw on the other side of the Gate completely convinced her that victory was impossible on the field of battle.
To her credit, Molt had reached a similar conclusion some time ago. He's simply been waiting for a victory on the battlefield to allow the Empire to negotiate a peace from a position of strength, fragile as said strength might be.
A peace he had no doubt would incur a significant financial cost to it.
But why now? They were winning as far as he could see. Molt could hardly think of a single rational leader who would ask to end a war they were on the winning side of and held such a disgusting overwhelming amount of power over their foes.
But then again, perhaps that was the point. They were winning, decisively even. What better time was there to discuss terms then when they held a blade to the Empire's very throat? Molt certainly couldn't think of any.
He was hardly going to entertain the thought these barbarians were defenseless, but perhaps they were exhausted. They have expended most of their power in the initial battles and were now seeking terms at the peak of their performance?
Or perhaps they were anticipating the massive wave of Imperial troops destined to be arrayed against them and wished to leave with their record on the battlefield intact?
Molt motioned for Marcus to collect the documents and hand them to him, thankful they were written in the civilized language, to see what exactly these barbarians, Japanese as they seemed to call themselves, wanted.
She told him of her travels while he read the message, a tale of fantastical vistas and marvelous architecture. Of people who use something akin to magic, but adamantly claim it is not. A world of plenty and abundance, where all are treated equally and cared for. A world where martial mastery is tempered by an inflexible aura of duty and justice.
And if that is what she truly believed, then she is more a child then he thought she was. The very concept that the barbarians only showed her what they wanted her to see never seemed to slip into her mind as she regaled her story.
Though she seemingly was smart enough to try and smuggle some of their weapons beyond the Gate on their end, only to be thwarted by an arch that 'detects metal'. A shame, his alchemists and smiths need all the samples of these barbarians arms they can get.
After all, how could the Empire hope to fight these barbarians if they didn't understand their weapons?
"How many tons of gold are they asking for?" Molt questioned, having yet to see mention of tribute in the document, simply moral grandstanding, baseless accusations, and flowery language.
He could only begin to imagine how much these Japanese barbarians will demand in exchange for leaving Imperial lands. And that is before taking into account the ransoms to be paid in for the nobles still in their captivity from their initial foray beyond the Gate.
Assuming they still lived.
"None," Pina replied.
"None?" he parroted, making sure he heard her right. None? What sort of nonsense was this?
"None," she repeated. "They are unlike any other people we have ever encountered. With wonders and marvels that defy explanation. They have said they have no need for our gold, that they only desire peace and-"
"And our land," he bluntly interrupted her, finally finishing with the message. As his gaze left Pina's own signature, he felt a cold anger bubble in him. "You left Sadera with fire in your heart and the goal of seeking out the barbarians beyond the Gate to learn what you could for the benefit of the Empire. Yet you return with a document not only claiming to have given over Italica to them, but have begun talks for peace."
"Your Majesty I-" Pina fidgeted under his gaze, perhaps realizing then and there the true gravity of her actions. Or perhaps she simply feared his wrath. "The situation is more complicated than it looks-"
"Ignoring the fact you have no power to entreat with a barbarian people and that this document you signed has no legally binding power without my imperial seal," he held the paper in question up. "You signed away a swath of territory to them. All for a temporary end to hostilities. Why?"
"We couldn't have held it even if we fought to the last," she defended herself. "Your Majesty….Father, if you had seen what power they have at their disposal, if you had seen the destruction they can bring to bear for any battle you'd have given them the city just as I did."
"And you couldn't even muster a paltry attempt at resistance? No last stand? Not even the barest attempt at holding Italica? To at least give the barest bit of trouble to their forces? "
"Any resistance I could have mustered died when I saw a small force of Japanese, aided by the Apostle of Emory Himself, lay waste to the entire bandit army. Thousands died by their metal beasts and strange weapons. Any resistance on our part would have only resulted in the corpse piles being a few bodies higher." Pina seemed to have regained the smallest amount of her bravado, yet she still looked away when put under his gaze.
"So the scale of death scared you into submission then?" It wasn't an insult or an accusation, merely a question.
"No- Yes. I mean I-" she fumbled looking for the correct words. "The sight of such destructive power was terrifying, but it was also… humbling," she finally admitted. "
"Humbling?"
"For all their power, all their overwhelming force, they showed a capacity for mercy I have never seen before to the people of Italica. Despite being fully within their rights to sack the city and claim all within as spoils of war, they did not. In fact, the insinuation offended them. They, the Japanese, are unlike any people I have ever heard of."
"Oh? And what did their sovereign say on the matter of peace?" He tossed the papers to the side, pages scattering across the marble floor. "After all, you did go to their homeland, did you not?"
"I never met him, not even a member of his court. From what I was told, their sovereign, an Emperor even, wields only ceremonial powers," Pina explained. "Real power is held by their equivalent of the Senate. Members of whom are the ones who commanded the JSDF through the Gate, and whom I negotiated with."
"Oh some senators would be quick to pounce on that…" Molt grumbled.
"Your Majesty?"
"I was musing how there are some senators who would be quick to pounce on this chance for a cessation of hostility," Molt recovered.
"You say that as if you want to continue the war? Even after everything I have said and seen?"
Molt scoffed at the insulation, "unlike some in the Senate, I am not blind to our losses and our precarious situation. Of all the people in the Empire, I alone know how fragile our position truly is."
Even after being informed of a heavily censored version of events, which either downplayed or wholly omitted the true scale of the disaster at Alnus, the Senate became gridlocked by indecision by extreme views and positions.
At one end, Cassel and his colleagues hiked up their skirts and demanded an end to the war. There has been 'too much suffering' they decried, 'too much death'. That anything was better than an ocean of blood.
On the other extreme, there were those whose voices thundered for a war of annihilation against the Japanese. To pit the whole of Sadera's might against this foe. To break them, slaughter their peoples, bind the survivors in chains, and salt the very earth beyond the Gate so even the people's of that world would know the price of defying the Empire.
Of course, the vast majority were somewhere in between, ranging between a temporary cessation of hostility to rebuild the Legions and to learn how the barbarians fight, and those who favored a renewed offensive but of a more limited scale until a doctrine of warfare could be made against them. Yet no consensus on any end has been reached, grinding the bureaucratic apparatus of state to a halt.
Frustratingly, some were using the losses accrued to simply enrich themselves.
Sulla and his ilk chief amongst them, more concerned with counting coppers than actually aiding the Empire. First refusing to grant additional coin to the war effort, going as far as to instruct his men in the provinces of Atlus, Soporati, Laetans, and even some of the colonies to do the same. Then, if that was not insulting enough, having the gall to demand concessions from the throne in return for further funding.
It was a testament to how fragile the Empire was that Molt did not have the man and his cohort executed and have their property seized by force. But to do that would only invite discontent among the Senate, and even further instability at a time where unity was needed.
And Clovis? In public, the man was unusually quiet on the matter, merely offering his personal legions for provincial garrison duty to allow the Imperial legions to join in the war proper. Molt refused of course, since he wasn't stupid or desperate enough to let the man have free reign over even more provinces then he already had.
Disturbingly, Molt had already received reports from agents in the west that the man was rallying his forces regardless. Ostensibly to reinforce the frontier and provide immediate assistance to the Imperial Legions should the barbarians push further into the Empire.
Initial reports said the man has an army of sixty thousand legionaries, with an unknown number of auxiliaries accompanying them. Has he been emboldened by the Empire's losses to make a power play, or is he simply paranoid of losing his own foothold of power should the barbarians push west?
Though reports say they are more likely to march north then west…
Generals Corbulo, Mithras, and a host of other commanders have assured him that the Heartlands would be able to repel any barbarian incursion. That even now the first cohorts of men were finishing their accelerated training regimes to take to the field proper. Concerns that the reduced training regiment would negatively impact the men's fighting capabilities were smothered by the fear of the Heartlands being despoiled by a barbarian host.
But after hearing accounts on the field of Alnus, his smiths reactions to what little Japanese arms they have had to examine, the loss of Italica, increased banditry, murmurings of discontent in the Senate and from Vassal states, and further word of the gathering barbarian hordes to the east and north, he worried that the shear strain of all these foes would break the Empire long before any decisive battle was fought.
As illegal as this… document is, if giving some land bought him precisely needed months to rebuild his forces and bring the Empire's affairs to order, then so be it.
"You will be responsible for them while they are here," he saw the girl's face light up. "I am not agreeing to anything, merely that I shall entertain their terms in full. Send word through whatever system you and them set up, and make the necessary arrangements for their emissary to arrive. I shall send word that they be allowed to pass through the battlelines without incident. They may bring a handful of their warriors for their protection at most, and none of their metal beasts are allowed near the city proper."
"Of course. Yes. Thank you Fath- Your Majesty," the girl looked as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"But know this, Pina," Molt continued, hoping to impress the severity of the situation upon her. "While they are in Sadera, you shall be responsible for them. You will house them. You will feed them. You shall even clothe them if needs be. And should they disturb the peace, in any way, you shall bear reasonability should they violate the terms of this… agreement."
As the finer details were worked out, and his daughter left the chamber almost skipping, he had Marcus summon his Praetorian Prefect.
Afterall, if the barbarians were to enter his city, there were many preparations to be made to show these invaders just what sort of dragon they were provoking with their glib candor and ridiculous demands.
No doubt Regulus would have something interesting in mind to remind these barbarians of the Empire's might.
--
--
It was official, Sadera was entering peace talks with the forces beyond the Gate. Pina told me a few hours after she spoke with the Emperor, news of the meeting would soon spread across the city, but for now, there was a sort of calm before the storm.
Whatever Pina said, whatever she saw, and whatever those on the other end promised, seemed to be enough to move the Emperor to at least begin the peace process.
Finally, this insanity can start to come to an end and we can start to move on.
I invited her over to my villa, officially to 'catch up' but more because I wanted to lay to rest some concerns I was having about the forces beyond the Gate.
"They are an island nation made up of thousands of islands, but only a few hold most of their people," Pina cheerfully explained in the sitting room. She put down a map of Japan on the table, pointing at Tokyo, "here is where the Gate is on their end, in the middle of their megalopolis capital city called Toe-Keyo."
I did my best to smile and nod at all the wondrous sights Pina described about this 'fantastical' land. Of the 'glass towers', 'underground roads', 'horseless carriages' and more.
"The Japanese capital, is a truly unbelievable place Tanya," Pina explained, her enthusiasm almost made it seem like literal stars were in her eyes.
And on and on it went.
I'm certain over an hour went by before she even took a breath.
But I sat there, listening to everything she said, putting on a nice smile. Hopefully not too forced, and nodded along, adding only the occasional quip.
Everything she said seemed normal.
And yet it was all wrong.
Not technically wrong, or that she was intentionally misleading me, but what she described sounded off. She spoke in great length about Japan, and nothing else.
Or more specifically, she didn't talk about anyone else.
I might have been able to just write off Pina forgetting to mention meeting other foreign dignitaries, but when taken in context with everything else she was saying about Japanese this, JSDF that, Diet this, Ser Itami and his fellow warriors, and Japan that, and the sinking feeling I that had been building up for a time turned into a mire of confusion.
I can accept Pina having been brought along on a curated tour of Tokyo, that she was shown only the best aspects of Japan with a quite white wash of the past to paint themselves in the best light possible. Her descriptions of the place sounded almost fantastical, gas-less lights and what not. She even used the word 'inferior' to describe Imperial metalworking compared to Japanese craftsmanship.
I'd be tempted to call her out on some of the harsh words describing Sadera compared to Japan, yet I too knew just how stark a difference there was. We were primitive compared to a modern nation.
Still, I will not accept that at no point during her whole visit that some American did not put their foot in the metaphorical door and go into a lengthy introduction about how powerful they were in comparison to Japan.
Honestly it was almost ridiculous that this was the thing that I found too absurd. This was the metaphorical hill I was prepared to die on. Not the dimensional gateway to my old world, but the fact an American official did not introduce themselves to Pina to try and one up Japan.
And yet, there it was.
Pina at least acknowledged that other nations kept 'emissaries' in the Japanese capital, but not that she was directed to any of them, or that any one beyond Japan met with her. And that the only military force marching through the Gate now was the JSDF.
The JSDF has never gone beyond Japanese soil, never fought a protracted conflict of any kind. That was the Americans job thanks to the Mutual Defense Treaty. I admit that the SDF would probably have a significant presence in this world thanks to the Gate simply being on Japanese soil, but for them to control it so unilaterally is bizarre.
Yet by Pina's own words, the base erected at Alnus was a 'Japanese base'. Not even a Japanese American base. No other foreign nationals. Nothing.
There has to be something I'm missing. Something so subtle I've just ignored it, because no Japan that I know of would ever have the political willpower to do something like this on its own.
I had been toying with the idea that this Japan might not be 'my' Japan for a while now, but Pina's words were the final nail in that theory. Now the question has moved onto 'how different from my Japan' is this Japan?
"Oh! I almost forgot," Pina abruptly stopped her talk about the sights and sounds of Tokyo and gestured to her page. I had almost forgotten the girl was even here with how quiet she was.
The girl nodded and brought out a wrapped package, handing it to Pina, who in turn handed it to be me.
"I didn't want to come back empty handed, so I decided to get you this" she smiled. "The Japanese have these picture books with images so clear you'd think you were looking at them with your own eyes. And in one of their stores, I saw one that showed the world Japan is apart from the heavens. Seeing it, I asked Sir Itami to lend me some of their money to purchase the book for you."
"Oh, thank you Pina," again, I hope my words don't sound too forced. From what she described, it sounded like an astronomy book. Don't know where I was going to put it, since a modern book would absolutely juxtapose the classical architecture and medieval technology around us.
Interesting but hardly-
Rip
"Eh….?" I stared at the cover of Pina's gift. This….was…..ugh….
"Unbelievable right?" she happily nodded to herself, not noticing my expression. "Images from a realm not even the Gods themselves can enter. In the other world, the Japanese have these things that go beyond the clouds and into-"
"Pina," I repeated more firmly, almost thinking what she gave me had to be a joke.
It just had to be…
Nothing else could describe what she gave me.
"Yes?"
"I don't think this is what you think it is," I awkwardly turned the cover to her, showing Pina the drawing of two very fit young men holding each other in the throes of a very explicit embrace…
"Wrong one!" The smut was ripped out of my hands by the blushing princess who covered the image and turned her exasperated ire to her poor page. "Hamilton, this is the wrong one! It was supposed to be the one with the heavenly images, not the…'artwork' we brought back!"
"W- Well Bozes was carrying all the books you brought back," the girl defended herself. "I just grabbed the one that wasn't in the pile of the others!"
"It was separated because it was different from the other books of artwork," Pina fired back, her blush still present.
"W-Well how was I supposed to know that?!"
For the love of….she brought back smut from a diplomatic meeting!
Wait…Books. There was more of it!?
Before this situation could descend into a further comedic act, there was a commotion in the hallway that caught both of our attention.
Course words muffed by the walls, then a short pained cry, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Coredila threw the door open and marched in. Behind her, one of Pina's knights nursed her wrist while glaring at the rabbit girl.
"Do I even need to ask?" I questioned.
"This slave attacked me," the knight growled.
"I had an important message to deliver to you, and I told the girl what would happen if she tried to stop me. She should be glad I was lying," Cordelia replied to me, seeming to smirk at the knight's distress.
"You can't just interrupt a meeting between royalty," the girl countered.
"And knights aren't supposed to whine like children," turning her head, Cordelia gave the knight a toothy grin. "For the record, I did not attack you. If I did, we'd hardly be having this conversation."
"Why you damn-"
"Panache," Pina interrupted the woman, "is anything broken?"
"I- no, your highness," the knight twisted it about and flexed her fingers, wincing in discomfort, "but it's sore."
"Then we'll just leave it at that," Pina then turned to Cordeila, "and you best remember the only reason you're keeping your hand is because you are one of my sister's favorites."
"Of course…," dropping the smirk, she glared at Pina for a moment before leaning towards my ear, cupping it with her hand to prevent anyone from even reading her lips. "Yeah, so, there's an urgent situation involving those people you have the eunuch and the wolf boy looking for."
My blood went cold, "how urgent?"
"It's…pretty bad," she glanced back over to Pina, "like, you need to come now, bad."
--
--
"Fuck…" Eloquent, I know.
But what else could I say after quickly sending Pina and her entourage away to let Cordelia drag me to meet Gaius at one of the clinics I set up in the city. An establishment created to treat the bare minimum of illness, and to provide basic relief in the lower areas of the city, than to actually provide proper medical care.
But its existence still increased the health of the area tremendously. Going from nothing, to something, tends to do that.
I left Cordelia and the few guards I brought outside, following Gaius in and was led to a room filled with tarped corpses.
Like I said…fuck.
"Your highness," a lone figure entered the room and greeted me. One of the apothecaries here, essentially a doctor, but he looked like one of those renaissance apothecaries with the heavy coat and beaked mask. "It is an honor to be in your presence."
"What happened," I didn't have time for all the pomp and circumstance.
"Your highness I-"
"I found a number of Japanese in the mines," Gaius cut off the apothecary and got right to the point, shrugging as the man glared at him. "Most of them are right over there."
"Most?" There were more of them here?
"The others are resting in a back room," the apothecary motioned to the adjoining room. "They are unresponsive and their conditions are dire."
Fuck…..
"What happened?" I pinched the ridge of my nose, dreading what I was about to hear.
"They seemingly died in the mines," Gaius commented, watching as the apothecary pulled the ragged blanket off the body in the 'lineup'.
I had seen my fair share of gruesome sights in the Great War, lost limbs from shellfire and the like, but even I felt a brief twinge when I saw the body's condition. He looked like he'd been mauled by a wild animal.
But the man was unmistakably Asian.
A gloved hand turned the corpse over and gestured across the body's horrifically raked back and exposed bone.
"I can't even tell you what killed him exactly, your Highness," the apothecary explained. "While the scarring here would imply blood loss or exposure from lashings, black lung has been known to kill even the heartiest of men. It could have even been something as simple as exhaustion. I've even heard the mines have started to use a practice done in the colonies where they simply import more slaves to replace the dead to keep up production rather than tend to the ones they already have."
"Men constantly die in the mines," Gaius continued. "Anyone who could have known him, or the others, will probably be dead in a month, two at most themselves."
"Where did you find them exactly," I questioned Gaius.
"Your manservant found these," the apothecary gestured to all three on the tables, "in a pile together. No doubt bound for some market to be hacked away at and sold by the piece. Assuming some debased necromancer doesn't get his hands on them first."
"An associate of mine was looking to purchase cadavers for less than… accepted studies when he came across them, your highness", Giaus quickly explained himself, ignoring the subtle glare from the apothecary. "He remembered I had asked him about slaves of this sort of look, sent me a note to come by and, well, here we are."
"All, but that one," the apothecary pointed to the tarped body at the end of the room, "she was found with the others in a pleasure house."
"The others? You mean the few still alive then?" And it just keeps getting worse.
"Yes" he noted, walking to the last corpse and pulling over the tarp. "While I can hardly tell how those men died, this girl has a more readily apparent cause of death: strangulation."
He pulled the cloth off the body, bruises and marks littered her body. While less bloody than the other man, it was no less brutal. And as a woman myself, for the second time now, the sight of those dead eyes and handprint-like marks on her neck almost made me shift a bit.
Almost.
"Please note the restraint marks on the wrists," he held up the girl's arm. "Given where she was found, and her exotic nature, I can only assume that-"
"I understand," I shut him up, not needing to hear the gritty details of the sight. "You don't need to explain it any further."
"Oh, my deepest apologies."
That said, I was still faced with the issue of a morgue filled with dead Japanese nationals. Deceased as they are, their bodies show the 'care' they had in Imperial captivity. There was already the issue of many Japanese being held here as slaves, but If they are discovered by anyone from Earth, especially in this state…
"Burn them," I decided, looking into the colored lenses of the man's mask. "Make sure nothing remains."
"And the ones in the other room?" he questioned, opening the door.
Three beds line up one after another. The young women were in similar states, scars, swelling, bruising, and welts dotting their faces were the least concerns if their wet, labored, breathing as any indication.
"Remus told me these four girls tried to escape the brothel they were in recently," Gaius spoke up, providing context to the current sight. "They were caught, and the madam punished them by giving them to clients with the most…. Deviant interests. The boy said it was a miracle only one of them was outright dead by the time he managed to purchase them from the brothel."
I looked at the trio and their collective weak breathing, and sighed, "how long have they been sleeping for?"
"Hard to say," the apothecary clicked his tongue as he mumbled something unintelligible behind his mask. "They have been unconscious since your man servants brought them here, nothing I have done has seemingly been able to rouse them."
"...Would they wake up if they were healed," I crossed my arms, drumming my fingers in a nervous tick.
"Again, your highness, I cannot truly say one way or the other. "The body can be mended, to a degree, but healing magic can only do so much. Regardless, there will be scarring, mostly of the mind and soul. As much as some may boast about my skill, those are beyond my capabilities. Perhaps if an Apostle were here, one gifted in higher magic, they could be healed. But beyond that…"
"Then how long will they last?"
"Without any intervention? By the week's end at most. They'll all either drown when their lungs fill up or simply expire from trauma." The apothecary gave his prognosis.
Damn it all.
If the Japanese find these people, dying, abused, mentally broken, the results could be catastrophic for the Empire and, by extension, me. There is no doubt they would refuse any sort of surrender of ours at that point, and the general public would demand pounds upon pounds of flesh for this.
If it was a large mass of faceless bodies, with a number so high that the public as a whole could never form an intimate relation to any individual then maybe, just maybe, we could weather the PR shit storm thanks to all the people I managed to get out of harm's way. Some happy news to ignore the bad or at least deaden it.
But now I had to deal with these three brutalized citizens who spent their last days being assaulted in the most graphic of ways imaginable.
One good photo, even the slightest mention of them, and the media circus would be unending. Any calls for a less harsh peace, or even a ceasefire at all, would be drowned out by public anger baying for retribution.
Worse, given the technological gap between Earth and the Empire, there isn't even any war weariness to work off of. How can you get weary of war if you don't suffer any losses? What push is there to end it if nothing goes wrong for your side?
Even if the flames of revenge were petering off, the sight of these girls will be akin to pouring a vulnerable tidal wave of gasoline to reignite that fire to potentially even greater heights.
Rationally, there is only one option. One clean decision to end the needless loss of life for all parties. Saderan and Japanese alike.
Despite knowing what needed to be done, I find myself irrationally hesitant.
Was it some lingering thought in the back of my head reminding me that I was once one of them. Japanese. A vestigial sense of comradery for a people I was now almost three decades removed from.
And yet…
"Give them something for the pain," finally saying the words that seemed so difficult to get out moments ago.
"As you wish, your Highness. Once administered, I shall pour over what tomes I have at my disposal to see if anything can be done-"
"You misunderstand me," I cut the man off, speaking through the lump in my throat. "I said to give them something for the pain, I did not ask for them to be healed. Give them enough to make them feel nothing, and let them pass."
The apothecary looked at me, then nodded. "Apologies then, your Highness. I shall prepare the potions at once."
"Once they do pass, of natural causes, strip them of anything valuable and burn them along with the others," I didn't take my eyes off the women as the man moved to carry out my orders.
As the robed apothecary walked out, I heard Gaius sigh aloud.
"How grim," Gaius mused, watching the healer move down the hall and begin ordering the alchemists to prepare the potions. "But I suppose while kindness can earn silence for a time, death ensures it forever."
"It's not even about silence or denying this happened," I start to walk out, Gaius following close behind. "If the Japanese find them, especially like this, it will only escalate the war to a level you can't even begin to imagine."
"Just as the Empire has launched punitive acts for cruelties done to its citizens," he remarked.
"Exactly," I decided to walk the eunuch through my thought process. "If the Japanese see their countrymen like this, can you imagine what sort of rage and fury will propel them forward? What will they do to us? What have we done for less? For the sake of the people of the Empire, for the sake of any hope of a quick peace, an end to the war, they cannot be allowed to live and return to their people. If they ever learn of this, let's hope it's after whatever document ends with war is signed."
Oh who am I kidding. WHEN they learn about it, since nothing stays quite forever, I just hope it's after the document is signed.
"And so death pays for life," Gaius commented cryptically.
I don't reply, more focused on my own internal musings as I deal with the uncomfortable realization that I just ordered the murder of three people.
Murder.
I've killed many people before, but I've never murdered anyone. Despite what allied propaganda may have claimed, I never specially target non combatants or went out of my way to cause undue suffering to civilian populations. Every death caused by my hand has been perfectly within the bounds of the rules of war, lacking as they might have been.
Yes, I have played fast and loose with rules of engagement, even stretching the legality of some actions to their absolute breaking points. But the rules were still followed in the technical sense, if not the 'moral' sense. I worked within a system to achieve the best possible results by its own rules, nothing more, nothing less.
Every act was done with dotted 'I's and crossed 'T's.
Was I cruel? Probably.
Was I aggressive? Absolutely.
But was I some monster who destroyed everything before them for the sake of destruction itself? No.
But here there is no plausible deniability.
No legal loophole to absolve myself of any wrongdoing.
These were not enemy combatants, not spies, not traitors, not even rioting civilians, they were people stolen from their homes and enslaved, brutalized, then murdered. I couldn't even claim I didn't know about them. I have seen them, I heard the medical professional say they could be saved, and then I told him to murder them regardless.
But honestly, I don't know what was worse:
My rationalization of the act itself, a war crime to hopefully expedite the peace process and stop any further military actions by, at least, the Japanese forces.
Or the relief I felt when the order was carried out without a single complaint after I clarified my intent.
Heh….
I wonder, have I gone native to disregard life as such, or am I so desensitized to killing from the Great War that it doesn't even phase me anymore?
--
--
"So what's all that stuff you're pulling?" Private Kenzo looked up from his clipboard at the native man and his wagon, noting the oxen pulling it. His Falmart language skills were a tad rusty, he had quite the accent according to one helpful tutor, but it was enough to talk to someone properly. "Is it for your job?"
"Indeed, I'm a cobbler by trade, ser," he explained. "A damn fine one too if I may say so."
"And why are you here," he noted it down, he assumed a 'cobbler' had something to do with shoes given the crudely painted pair on his wagon. He just noted it down regardless.
"Men marching back and forth, leagues upon leagues at a time, it'll wither away their shoes. There's a good, honest coin to be made. Not that we pray for war, but in times like these our trade is in great demand. No man wants to walk barefooted. Why, I've seen some soldiers ready to sell their own mothers for a pair of decent shoes!"
After engaging in some more small talk, Kenzo finished writing up the entry forum and handed it to the man, "just follow the main road, then turn left by the red sign with the arrow. You can't miss it. When you get there, just hand this forum to the guard at the gate, he'll walk you through the entry process from there. Welcome to Alnus."
"Oh thank you ser, thank you kindly!"
Seeing the cart ride off, Kenzo sighed.
That would probably be the highlight of his day.
Since the Coda refugees set up the quaintly named 'Alnus Town', people from across this part of the Empire have been flocking to it for protection and economic opportunities. A lot of paperwork to be done, and a lot of people to see through.
You'd think being in some fantasy world would liven up a soldier's life. Fighting monsters, saving princesses, learning magic, hell even dealing with dragons like that one recon team. But no, it turned out it was more of the same. Paperwork, guard duty, patrol, sleep, routine stuff.
Sometimes he wishes he was in one of those Recon Teams. You know, out exploring a brand new world! Anything to deal with the boredom.
The most exciting thing today was seeing that Ministry of Foreign Affairs guy and his escort head off to the Imperial Capital to hash out a peace treaty with them. Supposedly the way was clear and they could pass through the Imperial lines without issue. Their Emperor even gave the order himself.
Regardless, a rapid response team was on call to cover their retreat, just in case.
Still, maybe it was for the best, for all that adventure there were a lot of risks. Sure they can gun down anything they see, but what about things they can't see? Like magic! Or vampires! Maybe there were more people like that Apostle lady with Third Recon who looked innocent to make you let your guard down until BAAM! They pull out a blade that can chop you in half!
Maybe staying back was the safer-
Then his radio chirped to life. "This is Entryway 3, we have a situation here."
"Copy that Entryway 3, what do you need?" Kenzo listened into the conversation like a fly on the wall. So much for a lazy day.
"A group of refugees just came to us and we need some help.Their starving and wearing rags."
"Come again Entryway 3?"
"Their skin and bones sir, never seen them this bad. They need medical help ASAP."
There was a short pause. "Understood, direct them to Quarantine 3. Medics there will be expecting them."
"Copy that, sir."
And then it was silent again.
Another group of refugees, Kenzo grimace. And it sounded really bad this time.
While Alnus is slowly turning into a hub of commerce and trade, it was also attracting long lines of people who came just looking for basic survival. People with nothing but the clothes on their backs and skin on their bones begging for crumbs.
The story was always the same with the worst off groups. Someone or another looted their granaries or burnt their village, all their wealth was stolen, their starving, and they came to Alnus looking for help.
Depressingly normal thing now. They got about one or two groups a day like that. Usually little more than a dozen or so ragged people just looking for help.
While the JSDF controlled Italica, it was still recovering from that bandit army. It barely has enough to keep itself afloat even with JSDF aid packages of food and medical supplies, let alone a big influx of refugees. So most ended up making the journey to Alnus.
And everyone who worked in 'Entry' had a story about the refugees. For his part, Kenzo won't forget the first time he saw a group of them. How a gaunt man broke down crying when he was allowed into Alnus, thanking every God they worshiped that they would live another day. This was even more so for the non-humans, who thought they were going to be put up in some dilapidated ghetto and not with the rest of the people in the 'normal' town.
He almost teared up himself with how these poor people treated every token of accommodation and kindness as some great mercy they were being shown. It was heartbreaking that these people had to endure this sort of suffering.
If only there was more they could do to help…
Kezno looked out in the direction of the Imperial capital, or at least the direction the convoy went off in.
Despite knowing better, Kenzo almost hoped that those negotiations would fail so the JSDF could finally have the go ahead to finally put the boot to this monstrosity of a nation.
--
--
"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius; and thou hurt not the oil and the wine."
Book of Revelations, Third Seal of the Apocalypse
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Ah yes, politics, scheming, Tanya having genuine introspective reflection on herself, and all that good stuff.
Also, another seal down, four more to go!
I have no doubt, that everything will go according to plan.....WINK~
"Yes, your Majesty," Pina replied, kneeling before his throne with a small collection of papers in hand.
Pina left Sadera with her knights and a belly full of fire to avenge the Empire against the barbarians. Yet she came back like a whipped dog singing their praises and acting as their glorified courier.
Molt ordered his mages to check her over for any form of mental manipulation or tempering, that she was actively being controlled, even evidence she had been replaced with some homunculus body double, but they found nothing.
Whatever she saw on the other side of the Gate completely convinced her that victory was impossible on the field of battle.
To her credit, Molt had reached a similar conclusion some time ago. He's simply been waiting for a victory on the battlefield to allow the Empire to negotiate a peace from a position of strength, fragile as said strength might be.
A peace he had no doubt would incur a significant financial cost to it.
But why now? They were winning as far as he could see. Molt could hardly think of a single rational leader who would ask to end a war they were on the winning side of and held such a disgusting overwhelming amount of power over their foes.
But then again, perhaps that was the point. They were winning, decisively even. What better time was there to discuss terms then when they held a blade to the Empire's very throat? Molt certainly couldn't think of any.
He was hardly going to entertain the thought these barbarians were defenseless, but perhaps they were exhausted. They have expended most of their power in the initial battles and were now seeking terms at the peak of their performance?
Or perhaps they were anticipating the massive wave of Imperial troops destined to be arrayed against them and wished to leave with their record on the battlefield intact?
Molt motioned for Marcus to collect the documents and hand them to him, thankful they were written in the civilized language, to see what exactly these barbarians, Japanese as they seemed to call themselves, wanted.
She told him of her travels while he read the message, a tale of fantastical vistas and marvelous architecture. Of people who use something akin to magic, but adamantly claim it is not. A world of plenty and abundance, where all are treated equally and cared for. A world where martial mastery is tempered by an inflexible aura of duty and justice.
And if that is what she truly believed, then she is more a child then he thought she was. The very concept that the barbarians only showed her what they wanted her to see never seemed to slip into her mind as she regaled her story.
Though she seemingly was smart enough to try and smuggle some of their weapons beyond the Gate on their end, only to be thwarted by an arch that 'detects metal'. A shame, his alchemists and smiths need all the samples of these barbarians arms they can get.
After all, how could the Empire hope to fight these barbarians if they didn't understand their weapons?
"How many tons of gold are they asking for?" Molt questioned, having yet to see mention of tribute in the document, simply moral grandstanding, baseless accusations, and flowery language.
He could only begin to imagine how much these Japanese barbarians will demand in exchange for leaving Imperial lands. And that is before taking into account the ransoms to be paid in for the nobles still in their captivity from their initial foray beyond the Gate.
Assuming they still lived.
"None," Pina replied.
"None?" he parroted, making sure he heard her right. None? What sort of nonsense was this?
"None," she repeated. "They are unlike any other people we have ever encountered. With wonders and marvels that defy explanation. They have said they have no need for our gold, that they only desire peace and-"
"And our land," he bluntly interrupted her, finally finishing with the message. As his gaze left Pina's own signature, he felt a cold anger bubble in him. "You left Sadera with fire in your heart and the goal of seeking out the barbarians beyond the Gate to learn what you could for the benefit of the Empire. Yet you return with a document not only claiming to have given over Italica to them, but have begun talks for peace."
"Your Majesty I-" Pina fidgeted under his gaze, perhaps realizing then and there the true gravity of her actions. Or perhaps she simply feared his wrath. "The situation is more complicated than it looks-"
"Ignoring the fact you have no power to entreat with a barbarian people and that this document you signed has no legally binding power without my imperial seal," he held the paper in question up. "You signed away a swath of territory to them. All for a temporary end to hostilities. Why?"
"We couldn't have held it even if we fought to the last," she defended herself. "Your Majesty….Father, if you had seen what power they have at their disposal, if you had seen the destruction they can bring to bear for any battle you'd have given them the city just as I did."
"And you couldn't even muster a paltry attempt at resistance? No last stand? Not even the barest attempt at holding Italica? To at least give the barest bit of trouble to their forces? "
"Any resistance I could have mustered died when I saw a small force of Japanese, aided by the Apostle of Emory Himself, lay waste to the entire bandit army. Thousands died by their metal beasts and strange weapons. Any resistance on our part would have only resulted in the corpse piles being a few bodies higher." Pina seemed to have regained the smallest amount of her bravado, yet she still looked away when put under his gaze.
"So the scale of death scared you into submission then?" It wasn't an insult or an accusation, merely a question.
"No- Yes. I mean I-" she fumbled looking for the correct words. "The sight of such destructive power was terrifying, but it was also… humbling," she finally admitted. "
"Humbling?"
"For all their power, all their overwhelming force, they showed a capacity for mercy I have never seen before to the people of Italica. Despite being fully within their rights to sack the city and claim all within as spoils of war, they did not. In fact, the insinuation offended them. They, the Japanese, are unlike any people I have ever heard of."
"Oh? And what did their sovereign say on the matter of peace?" He tossed the papers to the side, pages scattering across the marble floor. "After all, you did go to their homeland, did you not?"
"I never met him, not even a member of his court. From what I was told, their sovereign, an Emperor even, wields only ceremonial powers," Pina explained. "Real power is held by their equivalent of the Senate. Members of whom are the ones who commanded the JSDF through the Gate, and whom I negotiated with."
"Oh some senators would be quick to pounce on that…" Molt grumbled.
"Your Majesty?"
"I was musing how there are some senators who would be quick to pounce on this chance for a cessation of hostility," Molt recovered.
"You say that as if you want to continue the war? Even after everything I have said and seen?"
Molt scoffed at the insulation, "unlike some in the Senate, I am not blind to our losses and our precarious situation. Of all the people in the Empire, I alone know how fragile our position truly is."
Even after being informed of a heavily censored version of events, which either downplayed or wholly omitted the true scale of the disaster at Alnus, the Senate became gridlocked by indecision by extreme views and positions.
At one end, Cassel and his colleagues hiked up their skirts and demanded an end to the war. There has been 'too much suffering' they decried, 'too much death'. That anything was better than an ocean of blood.
On the other extreme, there were those whose voices thundered for a war of annihilation against the Japanese. To pit the whole of Sadera's might against this foe. To break them, slaughter their peoples, bind the survivors in chains, and salt the very earth beyond the Gate so even the people's of that world would know the price of defying the Empire.
Of course, the vast majority were somewhere in between, ranging between a temporary cessation of hostility to rebuild the Legions and to learn how the barbarians fight, and those who favored a renewed offensive but of a more limited scale until a doctrine of warfare could be made against them. Yet no consensus on any end has been reached, grinding the bureaucratic apparatus of state to a halt.
Frustratingly, some were using the losses accrued to simply enrich themselves.
Sulla and his ilk chief amongst them, more concerned with counting coppers than actually aiding the Empire. First refusing to grant additional coin to the war effort, going as far as to instruct his men in the provinces of Atlus, Soporati, Laetans, and even some of the colonies to do the same. Then, if that was not insulting enough, having the gall to demand concessions from the throne in return for further funding.
It was a testament to how fragile the Empire was that Molt did not have the man and his cohort executed and have their property seized by force. But to do that would only invite discontent among the Senate, and even further instability at a time where unity was needed.
And Clovis? In public, the man was unusually quiet on the matter, merely offering his personal legions for provincial garrison duty to allow the Imperial legions to join in the war proper. Molt refused of course, since he wasn't stupid or desperate enough to let the man have free reign over even more provinces then he already had.
Disturbingly, Molt had already received reports from agents in the west that the man was rallying his forces regardless. Ostensibly to reinforce the frontier and provide immediate assistance to the Imperial Legions should the barbarians push further into the Empire.
Initial reports said the man has an army of sixty thousand legionaries, with an unknown number of auxiliaries accompanying them. Has he been emboldened by the Empire's losses to make a power play, or is he simply paranoid of losing his own foothold of power should the barbarians push west?
Though reports say they are more likely to march north then west…
Generals Corbulo, Mithras, and a host of other commanders have assured him that the Heartlands would be able to repel any barbarian incursion. That even now the first cohorts of men were finishing their accelerated training regimes to take to the field proper. Concerns that the reduced training regiment would negatively impact the men's fighting capabilities were smothered by the fear of the Heartlands being despoiled by a barbarian host.
But after hearing accounts on the field of Alnus, his smiths reactions to what little Japanese arms they have had to examine, the loss of Italica, increased banditry, murmurings of discontent in the Senate and from Vassal states, and further word of the gathering barbarian hordes to the east and north, he worried that the shear strain of all these foes would break the Empire long before any decisive battle was fought.
As illegal as this… document is, if giving some land bought him precisely needed months to rebuild his forces and bring the Empire's affairs to order, then so be it.
"You will be responsible for them while they are here," he saw the girl's face light up. "I am not agreeing to anything, merely that I shall entertain their terms in full. Send word through whatever system you and them set up, and make the necessary arrangements for their emissary to arrive. I shall send word that they be allowed to pass through the battlelines without incident. They may bring a handful of their warriors for their protection at most, and none of their metal beasts are allowed near the city proper."
"Of course. Yes. Thank you Fath- Your Majesty," the girl looked as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"But know this, Pina," Molt continued, hoping to impress the severity of the situation upon her. "While they are in Sadera, you shall be responsible for them. You will house them. You will feed them. You shall even clothe them if needs be. And should they disturb the peace, in any way, you shall bear reasonability should they violate the terms of this… agreement."
As the finer details were worked out, and his daughter left the chamber almost skipping, he had Marcus summon his Praetorian Prefect.
Afterall, if the barbarians were to enter his city, there were many preparations to be made to show these invaders just what sort of dragon they were provoking with their glib candor and ridiculous demands.
No doubt Regulus would have something interesting in mind to remind these barbarians of the Empire's might.
--
--
It was official, Sadera was entering peace talks with the forces beyond the Gate. Pina told me a few hours after she spoke with the Emperor, news of the meeting would soon spread across the city, but for now, there was a sort of calm before the storm.
Whatever Pina said, whatever she saw, and whatever those on the other end promised, seemed to be enough to move the Emperor to at least begin the peace process.
Finally, this insanity can start to come to an end and we can start to move on.
I invited her over to my villa, officially to 'catch up' but more because I wanted to lay to rest some concerns I was having about the forces beyond the Gate.
"They are an island nation made up of thousands of islands, but only a few hold most of their people," Pina cheerfully explained in the sitting room. She put down a map of Japan on the table, pointing at Tokyo, "here is where the Gate is on their end, in the middle of their megalopolis capital city called Toe-Keyo."
I did my best to smile and nod at all the wondrous sights Pina described about this 'fantastical' land. Of the 'glass towers', 'underground roads', 'horseless carriages' and more.
"The Japanese capital, is a truly unbelievable place Tanya," Pina explained, her enthusiasm almost made it seem like literal stars were in her eyes.
And on and on it went.
I'm certain over an hour went by before she even took a breath.
But I sat there, listening to everything she said, putting on a nice smile. Hopefully not too forced, and nodded along, adding only the occasional quip.
Everything she said seemed normal.
And yet it was all wrong.
Not technically wrong, or that she was intentionally misleading me, but what she described sounded off. She spoke in great length about Japan, and nothing else.
Or more specifically, she didn't talk about anyone else.
I might have been able to just write off Pina forgetting to mention meeting other foreign dignitaries, but when taken in context with everything else she was saying about Japanese this, JSDF that, Diet this, Ser Itami and his fellow warriors, and Japan that, and the sinking feeling I that had been building up for a time turned into a mire of confusion.
I can accept Pina having been brought along on a curated tour of Tokyo, that she was shown only the best aspects of Japan with a quite white wash of the past to paint themselves in the best light possible. Her descriptions of the place sounded almost fantastical, gas-less lights and what not. She even used the word 'inferior' to describe Imperial metalworking compared to Japanese craftsmanship.
I'd be tempted to call her out on some of the harsh words describing Sadera compared to Japan, yet I too knew just how stark a difference there was. We were primitive compared to a modern nation.
Still, I will not accept that at no point during her whole visit that some American did not put their foot in the metaphorical door and go into a lengthy introduction about how powerful they were in comparison to Japan.
Honestly it was almost ridiculous that this was the thing that I found too absurd. This was the metaphorical hill I was prepared to die on. Not the dimensional gateway to my old world, but the fact an American official did not introduce themselves to Pina to try and one up Japan.
And yet, there it was.
Pina at least acknowledged that other nations kept 'emissaries' in the Japanese capital, but not that she was directed to any of them, or that any one beyond Japan met with her. And that the only military force marching through the Gate now was the JSDF.
The JSDF has never gone beyond Japanese soil, never fought a protracted conflict of any kind. That was the Americans job thanks to the Mutual Defense Treaty. I admit that the SDF would probably have a significant presence in this world thanks to the Gate simply being on Japanese soil, but for them to control it so unilaterally is bizarre.
Yet by Pina's own words, the base erected at Alnus was a 'Japanese base'. Not even a Japanese American base. No other foreign nationals. Nothing.
There has to be something I'm missing. Something so subtle I've just ignored it, because no Japan that I know of would ever have the political willpower to do something like this on its own.
I had been toying with the idea that this Japan might not be 'my' Japan for a while now, but Pina's words were the final nail in that theory. Now the question has moved onto 'how different from my Japan' is this Japan?
"Oh! I almost forgot," Pina abruptly stopped her talk about the sights and sounds of Tokyo and gestured to her page. I had almost forgotten the girl was even here with how quiet she was.
The girl nodded and brought out a wrapped package, handing it to Pina, who in turn handed it to be me.
"I didn't want to come back empty handed, so I decided to get you this" she smiled. "The Japanese have these picture books with images so clear you'd think you were looking at them with your own eyes. And in one of their stores, I saw one that showed the world Japan is apart from the heavens. Seeing it, I asked Sir Itami to lend me some of their money to purchase the book for you."
"Oh, thank you Pina," again, I hope my words don't sound too forced. From what she described, it sounded like an astronomy book. Don't know where I was going to put it, since a modern book would absolutely juxtapose the classical architecture and medieval technology around us.
Interesting but hardly-
Rip
"Eh….?" I stared at the cover of Pina's gift. This….was…..ugh….
"Unbelievable right?" she happily nodded to herself, not noticing my expression. "Images from a realm not even the Gods themselves can enter. In the other world, the Japanese have these things that go beyond the clouds and into-"
"Pina," I repeated more firmly, almost thinking what she gave me had to be a joke.
It just had to be…
Nothing else could describe what she gave me.
"Yes?"
"I don't think this is what you think it is," I awkwardly turned the cover to her, showing Pina the drawing of two very fit young men holding each other in the throes of a very explicit embrace…
"Wrong one!" The smut was ripped out of my hands by the blushing princess who covered the image and turned her exasperated ire to her poor page. "Hamilton, this is the wrong one! It was supposed to be the one with the heavenly images, not the…'artwork' we brought back!"
"W- Well Bozes was carrying all the books you brought back," the girl defended herself. "I just grabbed the one that wasn't in the pile of the others!"
"It was separated because it was different from the other books of artwork," Pina fired back, her blush still present.
"W-Well how was I supposed to know that?!"
For the love of….she brought back smut from a diplomatic meeting!
Wait…Books. There was more of it!?
Before this situation could descend into a further comedic act, there was a commotion in the hallway that caught both of our attention.
Course words muffed by the walls, then a short pained cry, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Coredila threw the door open and marched in. Behind her, one of Pina's knights nursed her wrist while glaring at the rabbit girl.
"Do I even need to ask?" I questioned.
"This slave attacked me," the knight growled.
"I had an important message to deliver to you, and I told the girl what would happen if she tried to stop me. She should be glad I was lying," Cordelia replied to me, seeming to smirk at the knight's distress.
"You can't just interrupt a meeting between royalty," the girl countered.
"And knights aren't supposed to whine like children," turning her head, Cordelia gave the knight a toothy grin. "For the record, I did not attack you. If I did, we'd hardly be having this conversation."
"Why you damn-"
"Panache," Pina interrupted the woman, "is anything broken?"
"I- no, your highness," the knight twisted it about and flexed her fingers, wincing in discomfort, "but it's sore."
"Then we'll just leave it at that," Pina then turned to Cordeila, "and you best remember the only reason you're keeping your hand is because you are one of my sister's favorites."
"Of course…," dropping the smirk, she glared at Pina for a moment before leaning towards my ear, cupping it with her hand to prevent anyone from even reading her lips. "Yeah, so, there's an urgent situation involving those people you have the eunuch and the wolf boy looking for."
My blood went cold, "how urgent?"
"It's…pretty bad," she glanced back over to Pina, "like, you need to come now, bad."
--
--
"Fuck…" Eloquent, I know.
But what else could I say after quickly sending Pina and her entourage away to let Cordelia drag me to meet Gaius at one of the clinics I set up in the city. An establishment created to treat the bare minimum of illness, and to provide basic relief in the lower areas of the city, than to actually provide proper medical care.
But its existence still increased the health of the area tremendously. Going from nothing, to something, tends to do that.
I left Cordelia and the few guards I brought outside, following Gaius in and was led to a room filled with tarped corpses.
Like I said…fuck.
"Your highness," a lone figure entered the room and greeted me. One of the apothecaries here, essentially a doctor, but he looked like one of those renaissance apothecaries with the heavy coat and beaked mask. "It is an honor to be in your presence."
"What happened," I didn't have time for all the pomp and circumstance.
"Your highness I-"
"I found a number of Japanese in the mines," Gaius cut off the apothecary and got right to the point, shrugging as the man glared at him. "Most of them are right over there."
"Most?" There were more of them here?
"The others are resting in a back room," the apothecary motioned to the adjoining room. "They are unresponsive and their conditions are dire."
Fuck…..
"What happened?" I pinched the ridge of my nose, dreading what I was about to hear.
"They seemingly died in the mines," Gaius commented, watching as the apothecary pulled the ragged blanket off the body in the 'lineup'.
I had seen my fair share of gruesome sights in the Great War, lost limbs from shellfire and the like, but even I felt a brief twinge when I saw the body's condition. He looked like he'd been mauled by a wild animal.
But the man was unmistakably Asian.
A gloved hand turned the corpse over and gestured across the body's horrifically raked back and exposed bone.
"I can't even tell you what killed him exactly, your Highness," the apothecary explained. "While the scarring here would imply blood loss or exposure from lashings, black lung has been known to kill even the heartiest of men. It could have even been something as simple as exhaustion. I've even heard the mines have started to use a practice done in the colonies where they simply import more slaves to replace the dead to keep up production rather than tend to the ones they already have."
"Men constantly die in the mines," Gaius continued. "Anyone who could have known him, or the others, will probably be dead in a month, two at most themselves."
"Where did you find them exactly," I questioned Gaius.
"Your manservant found these," the apothecary gestured to all three on the tables, "in a pile together. No doubt bound for some market to be hacked away at and sold by the piece. Assuming some debased necromancer doesn't get his hands on them first."
"An associate of mine was looking to purchase cadavers for less than… accepted studies when he came across them, your highness", Giaus quickly explained himself, ignoring the subtle glare from the apothecary. "He remembered I had asked him about slaves of this sort of look, sent me a note to come by and, well, here we are."
"All, but that one," the apothecary pointed to the tarped body at the end of the room, "she was found with the others in a pleasure house."
"The others? You mean the few still alive then?" And it just keeps getting worse.
"Yes" he noted, walking to the last corpse and pulling over the tarp. "While I can hardly tell how those men died, this girl has a more readily apparent cause of death: strangulation."
He pulled the cloth off the body, bruises and marks littered her body. While less bloody than the other man, it was no less brutal. And as a woman myself, for the second time now, the sight of those dead eyes and handprint-like marks on her neck almost made me shift a bit.
Almost.
"Please note the restraint marks on the wrists," he held up the girl's arm. "Given where she was found, and her exotic nature, I can only assume that-"
"I understand," I shut him up, not needing to hear the gritty details of the sight. "You don't need to explain it any further."
"Oh, my deepest apologies."
That said, I was still faced with the issue of a morgue filled with dead Japanese nationals. Deceased as they are, their bodies show the 'care' they had in Imperial captivity. There was already the issue of many Japanese being held here as slaves, but If they are discovered by anyone from Earth, especially in this state…
"Burn them," I decided, looking into the colored lenses of the man's mask. "Make sure nothing remains."
"And the ones in the other room?" he questioned, opening the door.
Three beds line up one after another. The young women were in similar states, scars, swelling, bruising, and welts dotting their faces were the least concerns if their wet, labored, breathing as any indication.
"Remus told me these four girls tried to escape the brothel they were in recently," Gaius spoke up, providing context to the current sight. "They were caught, and the madam punished them by giving them to clients with the most…. Deviant interests. The boy said it was a miracle only one of them was outright dead by the time he managed to purchase them from the brothel."
I looked at the trio and their collective weak breathing, and sighed, "how long have they been sleeping for?"
"Hard to say," the apothecary clicked his tongue as he mumbled something unintelligible behind his mask. "They have been unconscious since your man servants brought them here, nothing I have done has seemingly been able to rouse them."
"...Would they wake up if they were healed," I crossed my arms, drumming my fingers in a nervous tick.
"Again, your highness, I cannot truly say one way or the other. "The body can be mended, to a degree, but healing magic can only do so much. Regardless, there will be scarring, mostly of the mind and soul. As much as some may boast about my skill, those are beyond my capabilities. Perhaps if an Apostle were here, one gifted in higher magic, they could be healed. But beyond that…"
"Then how long will they last?"
"Without any intervention? By the week's end at most. They'll all either drown when their lungs fill up or simply expire from trauma." The apothecary gave his prognosis.
Damn it all.
If the Japanese find these people, dying, abused, mentally broken, the results could be catastrophic for the Empire and, by extension, me. There is no doubt they would refuse any sort of surrender of ours at that point, and the general public would demand pounds upon pounds of flesh for this.
If it was a large mass of faceless bodies, with a number so high that the public as a whole could never form an intimate relation to any individual then maybe, just maybe, we could weather the PR shit storm thanks to all the people I managed to get out of harm's way. Some happy news to ignore the bad or at least deaden it.
But now I had to deal with these three brutalized citizens who spent their last days being assaulted in the most graphic of ways imaginable.
One good photo, even the slightest mention of them, and the media circus would be unending. Any calls for a less harsh peace, or even a ceasefire at all, would be drowned out by public anger baying for retribution.
Worse, given the technological gap between Earth and the Empire, there isn't even any war weariness to work off of. How can you get weary of war if you don't suffer any losses? What push is there to end it if nothing goes wrong for your side?
Even if the flames of revenge were petering off, the sight of these girls will be akin to pouring a vulnerable tidal wave of gasoline to reignite that fire to potentially even greater heights.
Rationally, there is only one option. One clean decision to end the needless loss of life for all parties. Saderan and Japanese alike.
Despite knowing what needed to be done, I find myself irrationally hesitant.
Was it some lingering thought in the back of my head reminding me that I was once one of them. Japanese. A vestigial sense of comradery for a people I was now almost three decades removed from.
And yet…
"Give them something for the pain," finally saying the words that seemed so difficult to get out moments ago.
"As you wish, your Highness. Once administered, I shall pour over what tomes I have at my disposal to see if anything can be done-"
"You misunderstand me," I cut the man off, speaking through the lump in my throat. "I said to give them something for the pain, I did not ask for them to be healed. Give them enough to make them feel nothing, and let them pass."
The apothecary looked at me, then nodded. "Apologies then, your Highness. I shall prepare the potions at once."
"Once they do pass, of natural causes, strip them of anything valuable and burn them along with the others," I didn't take my eyes off the women as the man moved to carry out my orders.
As the robed apothecary walked out, I heard Gaius sigh aloud.
"How grim," Gaius mused, watching the healer move down the hall and begin ordering the alchemists to prepare the potions. "But I suppose while kindness can earn silence for a time, death ensures it forever."
"It's not even about silence or denying this happened," I start to walk out, Gaius following close behind. "If the Japanese find them, especially like this, it will only escalate the war to a level you can't even begin to imagine."
"Just as the Empire has launched punitive acts for cruelties done to its citizens," he remarked.
"Exactly," I decided to walk the eunuch through my thought process. "If the Japanese see their countrymen like this, can you imagine what sort of rage and fury will propel them forward? What will they do to us? What have we done for less? For the sake of the people of the Empire, for the sake of any hope of a quick peace, an end to the war, they cannot be allowed to live and return to their people. If they ever learn of this, let's hope it's after whatever document ends with war is signed."
Oh who am I kidding. WHEN they learn about it, since nothing stays quite forever, I just hope it's after the document is signed.
"And so death pays for life," Gaius commented cryptically.
I don't reply, more focused on my own internal musings as I deal with the uncomfortable realization that I just ordered the murder of three people.
Murder.
I've killed many people before, but I've never murdered anyone. Despite what allied propaganda may have claimed, I never specially target non combatants or went out of my way to cause undue suffering to civilian populations. Every death caused by my hand has been perfectly within the bounds of the rules of war, lacking as they might have been.
Yes, I have played fast and loose with rules of engagement, even stretching the legality of some actions to their absolute breaking points. But the rules were still followed in the technical sense, if not the 'moral' sense. I worked within a system to achieve the best possible results by its own rules, nothing more, nothing less.
Every act was done with dotted 'I's and crossed 'T's.
Was I cruel? Probably.
Was I aggressive? Absolutely.
But was I some monster who destroyed everything before them for the sake of destruction itself? No.
But here there is no plausible deniability.
No legal loophole to absolve myself of any wrongdoing.
These were not enemy combatants, not spies, not traitors, not even rioting civilians, they were people stolen from their homes and enslaved, brutalized, then murdered. I couldn't even claim I didn't know about them. I have seen them, I heard the medical professional say they could be saved, and then I told him to murder them regardless.
But honestly, I don't know what was worse:
My rationalization of the act itself, a war crime to hopefully expedite the peace process and stop any further military actions by, at least, the Japanese forces.
Or the relief I felt when the order was carried out without a single complaint after I clarified my intent.
Heh….
I wonder, have I gone native to disregard life as such, or am I so desensitized to killing from the Great War that it doesn't even phase me anymore?
--
--
"So what's all that stuff you're pulling?" Private Kenzo looked up from his clipboard at the native man and his wagon, noting the oxen pulling it. His Falmart language skills were a tad rusty, he had quite the accent according to one helpful tutor, but it was enough to talk to someone properly. "Is it for your job?"
"Indeed, I'm a cobbler by trade, ser," he explained. "A damn fine one too if I may say so."
"And why are you here," he noted it down, he assumed a 'cobbler' had something to do with shoes given the crudely painted pair on his wagon. He just noted it down regardless.
"Men marching back and forth, leagues upon leagues at a time, it'll wither away their shoes. There's a good, honest coin to be made. Not that we pray for war, but in times like these our trade is in great demand. No man wants to walk barefooted. Why, I've seen some soldiers ready to sell their own mothers for a pair of decent shoes!"
After engaging in some more small talk, Kenzo finished writing up the entry forum and handed it to the man, "just follow the main road, then turn left by the red sign with the arrow. You can't miss it. When you get there, just hand this forum to the guard at the gate, he'll walk you through the entry process from there. Welcome to Alnus."
"Oh thank you ser, thank you kindly!"
Seeing the cart ride off, Kenzo sighed.
That would probably be the highlight of his day.
Since the Coda refugees set up the quaintly named 'Alnus Town', people from across this part of the Empire have been flocking to it for protection and economic opportunities. A lot of paperwork to be done, and a lot of people to see through.
You'd think being in some fantasy world would liven up a soldier's life. Fighting monsters, saving princesses, learning magic, hell even dealing with dragons like that one recon team. But no, it turned out it was more of the same. Paperwork, guard duty, patrol, sleep, routine stuff.
Sometimes he wishes he was in one of those Recon Teams. You know, out exploring a brand new world! Anything to deal with the boredom.
The most exciting thing today was seeing that Ministry of Foreign Affairs guy and his escort head off to the Imperial Capital to hash out a peace treaty with them. Supposedly the way was clear and they could pass through the Imperial lines without issue. Their Emperor even gave the order himself.
Regardless, a rapid response team was on call to cover their retreat, just in case.
Still, maybe it was for the best, for all that adventure there were a lot of risks. Sure they can gun down anything they see, but what about things they can't see? Like magic! Or vampires! Maybe there were more people like that Apostle lady with Third Recon who looked innocent to make you let your guard down until BAAM! They pull out a blade that can chop you in half!
Maybe staying back was the safer-
Then his radio chirped to life. "This is Entryway 3, we have a situation here."
"Copy that Entryway 3, what do you need?" Kenzo listened into the conversation like a fly on the wall. So much for a lazy day.
"A group of refugees just came to us and we need some help.Their starving and wearing rags."
"Come again Entryway 3?"
"Their skin and bones sir, never seen them this bad. They need medical help ASAP."
There was a short pause. "Understood, direct them to Quarantine 3. Medics there will be expecting them."
"Copy that, sir."
And then it was silent again.
Another group of refugees, Kenzo grimace. And it sounded really bad this time.
While Alnus is slowly turning into a hub of commerce and trade, it was also attracting long lines of people who came just looking for basic survival. People with nothing but the clothes on their backs and skin on their bones begging for crumbs.
The story was always the same with the worst off groups. Someone or another looted their granaries or burnt their village, all their wealth was stolen, their starving, and they came to Alnus looking for help.
Depressingly normal thing now. They got about one or two groups a day like that. Usually little more than a dozen or so ragged people just looking for help.
While the JSDF controlled Italica, it was still recovering from that bandit army. It barely has enough to keep itself afloat even with JSDF aid packages of food and medical supplies, let alone a big influx of refugees. So most ended up making the journey to Alnus.
And everyone who worked in 'Entry' had a story about the refugees. For his part, Kenzo won't forget the first time he saw a group of them. How a gaunt man broke down crying when he was allowed into Alnus, thanking every God they worshiped that they would live another day. This was even more so for the non-humans, who thought they were going to be put up in some dilapidated ghetto and not with the rest of the people in the 'normal' town.
He almost teared up himself with how these poor people treated every token of accommodation and kindness as some great mercy they were being shown. It was heartbreaking that these people had to endure this sort of suffering.
If only there was more they could do to help…
Kezno looked out in the direction of the Imperial capital, or at least the direction the convoy went off in.
Despite knowing better, Kenzo almost hoped that those negotiations would fail so the JSDF could finally have the go ahead to finally put the boot to this monstrosity of a nation.
--
--
"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius; and thou hurt not the oil and the wine."
Book of Revelations, Third Seal of the Apocalypse
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Ah yes, politics, scheming, Tanya having genuine introspective reflection on herself, and all that good stuff.
Also, another seal down, four more to go!
I have no doubt, that everything will go according to plan.....WINK~
How rather convinient, that others apparently were that low of the bar that Tanya dont even need walk and still pass over the bar. Isnt this a bit far too easy, cause arent Tanya supposed to struggle and overcome it and thus what make her be 'badass' that fandom want? Not exactly shown to be capable or being good for Tanya if the bar for her to pass and the predecessor she need to pass were that low cause apparently Tanya having "modern sensibilities and morals" = apparently peoples of the past cannot comprehend or have even basic virtues and treat Tanya like living incarnate of Saint Paul. i dont think i sees any falmartians sees what Tanya did as "gathering populist support by endearing to the populace" even in amongst the most cynical or politically astute ones.
And what about when the politic get bad? I doubt all in Tanya's camp would be "selfless" and innocent like that wolf boy or that eunuch monotheist scholar, and more so that may join later, including those of other factions when it get destoryed. What about those that like the civilian officials for example, desirous of higher positions, petition her to wear the crown? Or when when soldiers, eager for more rewards and/or revenges against JSDF, demand her sit on the Imperial Throne? As her influence and renown grows, men of talent will flock to her banner, some for purely selfish reasons, few others believing in her espouse dream(that likely not what she actually want or believe, but because "misunderstanding" and Tanya being Tanya bending backward to societal expectations) . All will demand a voice at her court and all will expect rewards for the service they render. You know basically what happen when dynasties falling in china and peoples pick sides and ever-changing allegiances throughout the chaos of civil war as the chaos reign.
Like, i'm here to see Tanya and how she would react and try to survive, with some struggles as this time she in different place and society and thus would meet different peoples than not!Viktoria and not!Lergen, with peoples with their own virtues and flaws she had to faces. It just that sometime i think people are confused between Tanya from canon and Tanya from AYWPR, especially when expecting what Tanya would do. Keep up a good work btw.
edit 21/7/2023: Also, the "zorzal coup", aside from being very ooc, its feels like he just have powers(and independent thinking) to do so with power of magic, not, you know, securing, expanding, and mantaining base of supports among key figures(which make the whole "Zorzal were only supported by the yes-men and lickspittle bootlickers hurdurr" rather contradictory.), carefully controlling funds(and later the national treasury), rallying the majority through scapegoating powerless minority or foreign power, the latter which are literally invading and bribing the Doves, and drowning everyone in mass propagandas after controlling the important infrastructures for that and propaganda mills (and not even re-branding what were done in different like every propagandist would among the lists of you had what he did). Which, how on earth Tanya even sign the 'proscription' and even taken seriously and enforced if zorzal magically able to do all of these supposedly, much less somehow he can even do 1/10th of the "lists" in first place.
Last edited:
A Hopeless War - V
Midas_Man
One of the Brightest Stars
Given the recent state of affairs, and the unpleasantness I recently dealt with, it was clear that I needed to take a more 'proactive' stance in regards to Japanese captives.
To that end I decided to create a small unit of troops to do the dirty work that was needed to liberate those enslaved. A group that would ferret out the locations of Japanese across the seedier locales of the capital and liberate them, along with whoever else had the misfortune of being in the general area as well. When freed, they would be shepherded to a more 'secure' location' until such time as their repatriation to Japan could be properly done.
Though, calling it a 'unit' is a little too formal for a couple dozen people drawn from my own personal retinue. They were a mix of normal humans and a handful of bunny warrior women that I had taken into my employ.
Ugh.
On the matter of those rabbit eared women, they had some of the strangest cultural quirks. Mostly just how damn proud they can be!
From the lowliest girls to the mightiest huntresses, they are as a whole some of the most mulish people I have ever encountered. They stick their noses up and refuse to do anything that is either a cultural taboo (of which I have yet to actually figure out what they are), or anything they see as beneath them.
And to my eternal chagrin, most of the girls I have emancipated are warriors. So you can only imagine how hard it is for them to get any meaningful employment. They turned their noses up at nearly everything!
And I heard every excuse in the book!
Being a servant was dishonorable.
Being a laborer was beneath them.
And on and on it went!
Sure, some of them swallowed their pride and took what jobs were on hand to have more than the meager pittance I provide them upon their emancipation, but it was hardly graceful. Strangely enough being nursemaids or anything involving children, such as babysitting and the like, is bizarrely okay for them.
Regardless, they were stuck in quite the dilemma. One of their own making, but a dilemma nonetheless.
So, rather than wait for the inevitable riots and uptick in crime to plunge the lower end areas of Sadera into a warzone, as a band of militarily trained individuals use their skills to acquire money in less than legal ways, I decided to make use of this sizable pool of (wo)manpower and offer these warrior women positions in my retinue.
Understandably, many did not take up my offer (surprise, surprise~). However, enough did that my own fighting force was augmented to a noticeable degree.
If any of the men in my service had issues with serving beside women, as is the cultural bias of Sadera, they quickly learned to swallow their own respective pride right around the time one of the women broke a man's arms.
'Growing pains' aside, they were to be the 'stick' to my financial 'carrot'. The carrot in this case being "I will buy these slaves from you" and the stick being "I will take them from you".
I'd like to think it is working as well as can be expected.
---
---
Mari Kurokawa was hardly surprised at the state of Sadera's slums. Run down, crime ridden, and with no real attempt by the Imperial government to rein in the worst excesses of criminal behavior.
Not a surprise. A nation like the Empire that built itself on conquest and enslavement would hardly care about the lowest of their society. No social nets, no care or even basic decency for those at the bottom. These people lived, and died, uncared for and in filth.
She didn't even need orders to head out to the JSDF's forward clinic in the slums, nor did she need any encouragement to get to work.
The politicians can call it an 'outreach program' while the media can deride it as a 'PR move', she didn't really care. If she was able to extend a helping hand out to people, people could call it whatever they liked.
And they were doing good work here, both from what she had seen so far and from the reports she skimmed before arriving. The locals were cautious but not overly hostile. Over the past couple of weeks, more and more people have been using the clinic's services, but most still kept their distance. No one has revealed them to the authorities yet, so that was a promising sign.
Probably the best they could expect given all the propaganda the Empire had spread about the Japanese so far. The way the Empire spun it, it made Japan and its people out to be monsters in human skin.
The young woman was also becoming painfully aware that the situation on the ground was hardly as 'static' or straightforward as she was led to believe.
Kurokawa frowned as she watched soldiers in dull colored armor barking out orders to a group of people lined up against a nearby building across from where she was. They were not gentle as they shoved and kicked those who tried to argue or run. One man was beaten so badly he stopped moving altogether.
If it weren't for the line of starved and beaten men and women flowing out of the building openly thanking the soldiers in question, she'd probably chalk this up to casual Imperial brutality.
"Looks like someone is cleaning house," Chief Nyutabaru mumbled at the sight through the window, while on edge, he didn't sound overly concerned. Probably because the patients around them were calm, though intrigued by the events outside.
"And I say it's about time something was done," the winged woman Kurokawa was treating, Mizari, quipped before making a disgusted sound. "The Matron of that brothel was a sadistic cunt. Pretty sure she got off on seeing just how brutal her customer could be to her girls."
Not that the sight made any of them let their guards down. The clinic was, despite strictly being a humanitarian outpost, technically against the terms of the treaty Princess Pina signed with the JSDF. The few guards assigned here could be seen, by the Imperials, as a militarization of the clinic.
"I'm genuinely surprised by how heavy handed those guards are," the chief grimaced at the sight of a rabbit-eared woman in similar garb to the other soldiers dragging out an older human woman into the street by the hair. The lupine woman tossed the woman towards the line up like a sack of flour, ignoring her illegible cries.
Mizari chuckled, "Guards? Why would they do anything? Unless some lord, or lord's son, gets roped into something outside their comfort area, the city guard could care less what happens here."
"Well it seems like they're doing something about it now," Kurokawa mused to herself her native tongue. "But if they aren't guards, do you know who they are?"
"By their colors if nothing else," the winged woman shrugged. "And knowing that, I can only guess the matron did something truly abominable to get the princess's own troops to drag em out onto the street like that. And they aren't the only ones. Why just a few days ago, a different brothel was burned down to its foundations, with the husband and wife who ran it strung up from a tree. "
"Wait, those are Rose Knights?" Kurokawa did a double take on the soldier's outside. They didn't look anything like Pina's knights. Beyond the mere fact they were all men, beyond a pair of rabbit women, their armor didn't have the same knightly aesthetic as Pina's group. It looked more like a slimmed down version of what the legionaries they fought wore, with darker colors.
"A Rose Knight?" Mizari questioned, "isn't that a play or something?"
Another rabbit woman, one who was missing half an ear, grabbed the matron's arm and twisted it like a corkscrew. The screams of pain were enough to scare the rest of the prisoners into line.
"The Rose Order of Knights. They're the princess's knightly order."
"The princess doesn't have a knightly order," the avian woman shook her head. "Guards? Sure. A retinue, probably. But no knightly order or the like. We would've heard about it."
"That's not right, Princess Pina said that her knights are her pride and joy," from their brief time together, the medic just couldn't imagine the young woman downplaying her group or their capabilities.
"Princess Pina?" Realization flashed on the woman's face. "Oh wait, you mean that consort girl, right?"
"Consort girl?" Kurokawa remembered the princess mentioning something about being a concubine's daughter. "Are we… talking about the same person? Young woman, or late teens I guess. Red hair, red eyes?"
"That's the only consort princess I know about," Mizari nodded.
"Wait there's another princess!" a different girl, younger than Mizari and with a pair of cat ears on her head, quipped from the ad hoc 'waiting room'; which was little more than a few chairs pushed next to each other. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Duh! Because there's only one princess!" A girl next to the feline eared teen chimed in, her eyes slit like a snake's.
"But the Japanese lady just said-"
"Well she's wrong."
"Not quite," Mizari interrupted the pair before they could continue. "Technically, Pina is a princess. Specifically, she's her highness's half sister; same father, different mothers."
The pair nodded at the older woman's words, as if it explained everything, though Mari still felt out of the loop.
"I'm sorry but who's 'her highness', if you're not talking about Princess Pina?" Kurokawa got the feeling the answer only led to further questions.
"Princess Tanya Augustus," the winged woman replied, to the nodding of the other girls. "Though you hardly need to say her whole name and title around these parts. Just saying 'the princess' or 'her highness' is enough for anyone in these parts to know who you're talking about."
Oh!
I suddenly clicked in Kurokawa's head who Mizari was talking about. Pina talked about someone called 'Tanya' a few times in Japan, and mentioned that she had a sister, but they were said in such passing and the Princess refused to elaborate when pressed that Mari assumed the two were separate people.
"So there's another princess then?" Chief Nyutabaru mumbled in Japanese. He looked down at his clipboard, the text detailing some basic facts of Sadera to avoid any unnecessary alterations with the locals. "Looks like someone messed up with our primers then."
"More an oversight than messing up," though even saying, Kurokawa felt a tad dim herself for not catching the mistake on the primer herself.
"Call it what you like, sergeant," the chief made a note somewhere on the sheet.
"Now I don't doubt that Pina is probably a nice girl," Mizari continued, "but don't expect many people here to know about her by name. Hell, I only know about her from some noblemen who want to take her as his concubine!"
"Well that might change very soon," Mari commented, recalling her short time with the princess. "Not only is she the one who pushed for the ceasefire between the Empire and Japan, and a strong force behind the peace talks themselves, but she seemed to be a bright young woman with a strong sense of right and wrong. Given enough time, I have no doubt the people here will see that."
"....and?" the lizard eyed girl interrupted whatever Mizari was about to say.
"And?" Mari was confused by the girl's question.
"And," the girl repeated. "How will that help people like us?"
"I mean… It would end the war if it works out. Saving the lives of thousands," Kurokawa was surprised by the hostile tone.
"Okay…" the girl did not look impressed, "Will that put food in our bellies?"
"Excuse me?"
"I said 'will it put food in our bellies'," the girl seemed frustrated with the medic. "Is she going to do anything to help look after young children when their mothers and fathers go out to work? Will her play knights patrol our streets to stop the muggings and rapes? Her highness gives out food to the hungry, work for the listless, even helps the sick like you guys are doing! Comparing someone who has done everything for us, to someone who has done nothing for us? Well excuse me for not giving a damn about some girl who just happens to be lucky enough to have a few drops of royal-"
"Helena," Mizari shot a look at the lizard girl, her icy tone silencing her in short order. "Enough." As the cat girl sank into her seat, the older woman turned to Kurokawa, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."
"No, no, it's alright," Mari waved off the apology. "I'm more surprised by how strongly she feels about this."
"Not just Helena," the winged woman looked out the window, the incident on the streets wrapping itself up as the line of prisoners were dragged away to an unknown fate.
"You too?"
"Most people in Akhusko actually hold very strong feelings towards her highness and those who would say someone else is more deserving of that respect, and yes myself included. Though some of us are just more mature about saying it," she gave a sideways glance to the previously vocal girl. Before Mari could speak up, Mizari continued. "I'm sure Pina is a lovely woman. A gem even. But she hasn't done anything for us. Gods, you foreigners have done more for us in your short time here than the consort girl has seemingly done in her whole life."
"She's still young," Mari felt the urge to at least offer a small defense to the woman who was enabling an end to the war with the Empire. "Only nineteen or so. I'm sure given some time she'll-"
"Princess Tanya is only thirteen," Helena quipped again, though immediately shrunk back into herself when Mizari shot another look towards her.
Kurokawa knew when a conversation was just going to aggravate all involved and decided to change subjects. "You said there were other clinics here?"
"A few dotted about the slums, free of charge for any to use. Courtesy of her highness," Mizari seemed to pick up on Mari's desire. "The healers there can't really be compared to the ones the nobility uses, or the stuff you Japanese have here, but they get the job done.
"Oh? Have you gone to them yourself?"
"Naturally. Would still be going to them if one of my friends didn't let me know about this place and curiosity did overtake me."
"If it wouldn't be much trouble, could you show me one of these places?" I know a few girls whose children would have died without the care they provide." The medic found herself intrigued by the prospect of seeing these 'healers' and what they did. Was it like a genuine hospital environment, or as close to one as this world could allow, or was it more like a charity sort of system.
Given the smile and nod from Mizari, Kurokawa had a feeling she'd learn about it sooner than later.
---
---
"The raid was a success, your highness. We placed the matron and her enforcers into custody. Additionally we uncovered evidence of a Japanese slave in another part of the district. With your permission, we will move in and retrieve them."
"Do it," I didn't hesitate, looking across the table to the trio kneeling before me. Two men, one bunny woman, all garbed in a more 'mundane' version of the gear they were used to wearing. Far better then the flashy colors most armies used here.
Now I can't say I wasn't concerned about the first few missions I sent them out on. The inflexible doctrine of Sadera mixed with the loose warrior ethos of the bunny warriors. But in the end it turned out the two distinct philosophies paired well together. At least, in terms of small unit tactics.
The discipline of Sadera tempered the warriors, while the close knit bonds of the warriors was complemented by discipline. They certainly proved how devastating it could be in that degenerate place that pushed me to act in the first place.
I was about to question them a bit more before they left, when I heard a knock at the door.
"Hey, your playmate's here," even though I couldn't see Cordelia through the door, I could just tell she had some smirk on her face. She knew how much I hated her calling my similarly aged acquaintances 'playmates'.
"We'll talk again after the mission," I commented to the trio, before addressing Cordelia, "let her in."
It was less than a moment later when Sherry practically skipped through the door. Though her face soured slightly when she passed the bunny warrior woman as she made her way out, almost recoiling at the sight of the blade at her side. Quickly crossing the room, the young girl did her best to ignore the lupine woman's presence.
"It's wonderful to see you, your highness," the girl curtseyed, though her muscles noticeably relaxed as the door shut and the demihuman walked out.
"You too," I smiled, doing my best to hide my distaste for her views.
Even a blind man could tell that Sherry Tyueli had an 'issue' with demihumans. From the way she talked to them to the manner she acted around them. The few times I did ask her about it, I got the impression that she didn't so much hate them as she thought they were 'primitive'.
Deeper questioning on the matter amounted to the equivalent of "I'm not racist, but….".
She would say she felt sad they were not as 'smart' as humans (or elves I guess), but they still could be 'taught' and civilized to an extent. She also claimed that some types of demihumans who integrated into Imperial society like orcs and goblins merely 'mimicked' human behavior and didn't understand the principles behind said behavior. This view extended to all demihumans, from the amazons of the south, to dwarfs, to beastkin, and the like, they were all equally primitive.
Strangely, or perhaps expectedly, Zaynab, and elves in general, seemingly get a pass in the broad viewpoint.
Honestly, it was sad to see an otherwise bright girl have such a narrow view of the world. Sure, some races had reputations for a reason, but to blatantly state all members of all these races were the exact same? Acting as if there is a comparison between tribal orcs and the dwarf kingdoms is ludicrous.
She knows my opinion on the matter of course, and 'respects my opinion', but she says the words in a way someone attempts to minimize conflict then a true understanding.
I can't force her to believe in something she clearly has no interest in and she can sway me to her way of thinking. So we do our best to avoid the topic as a whole.
But it doesn't stop me from seeing it from time to time.
Though I hardly invited her over to discuss race relations and the like. "So, how was the Japanese party?"
The girl's eyes lit up at the mention as she started to regal me with her story.
Ah yes, the Japanese party.
More a PR stunt than anything else. Essentially, putting a 'human face' to the 'evil barbaric dispoilers'. Not sure how effective that'll be against months worth of propaganda and a literal pile of corpses, but these things have to start somewhere. It did allow them to at least begin to dispel the absurd rumors being spread on the streets about them.
I would have attended, Pina invited me even, but caution and indecision got the better of me. I rationalized I needed more 'information' to figure out what the hell was going on for the Japanese Self Defense Force to be acting the way they are.
Like who the hell has a live fire exercise in a diplomatic meeting!?
Add in other aforementioned aggressive posturing, and I was honestly beside myself on what to do; beyond what was already being done. The aggressiveness on display is beyond anything I could ever imagine "my" Japan doing.
Perhaps if it weren't for an Imperial Gala being held a day or so after this Japanese Party, in which the Japanese already agreed to attend, I might have had more of a 'kick' to go to this event.
Still….Too many unknowns, too many variables to consider. I had most of the puzzle pieces, but it still felt like I was missing something…
"...and Mr. Sugawara told me he'd take me to Japan one day," while I had mostly tuned in and out of Sherry's retelling, I was still nodding occasionally to give the illusion of proper attention. Still, even I could almost see the literal hearts in the girl's eyes as she gushed about her crush.
"That does sound wonderful," I replied with a smile, though I am tempted to point out the differences in Japanese and Saderan courtship to her and nip this whole 'infatuation' in the bud.
"Oh it was, until your brother showed up," she frowned at the memory. "He rode in with some of his men and acted like utter brutes! Or pigs even! They harassed Sugawara, talked down to all the senators there, then had the audacity to make off plates full of food!
…
It took me a moment to truly process her words.
"Wait, what?"
---
---
"Where is he!"
Those were the first words I called out as I threw open the door with a burst of magic and marched into Zorzal's manor. I had used my magic to fly straight to his home, not bothering with any of the usual formalities like giving prior warning or arriving in a carriage.
I can only imagine how bizarre it looked to the guards who rushed over to stop the 'intruder' only to find little old me, hair frazzled from the flight and looking very undignified.
"Where is he," I repeated, though lower now that I was talking face to face with actual people rather than yelling into the dark void of Zorzal's home.
Without saying anything, they motioned down a hallway and gave me a wide berth as I stormed in that direction.
They were right on the money, my nose twitching as the stink of sex and alcohol became heavier until I reached the sole occupied chamber along the collection of rooms.
I was as gentle with that door as I was with the one at the entrance.
"What did you do!?"
The girl Zorzal was pawing at leapt from his lap at my sudden entrance and sprawled out onto the floor. He took my entrance in stride, readjusting his clothes and greeting me as if I didn't look like I wasn't going to blow a blood vessel from anger.
"My beloved sister," Zorzal scooped me up into a frustratingly tight hug. He refused to release me until I wriggled out of his grasp like an eel. "
"Why did you do that!?" I repeated.
"I'm sorry, you're going to have to be a little more specific," Zorzal snapped his fingers pointing at the woman in the room to get out, not even giving her the time to cover herself. "I do a lot of things."
"You barged into that party being held at the Jade Palace and almost single handedly sparked a diplomatic incident!"
"Barged?" He laughed, only infuriating me further. "Sister, they are invading us. Me strolling into Pina's villa with some friends is hardly offensive. Those barbarians should have been honored that I, the crown prince, even paid attention to their going ons. Though, given I barely knew it was going on, how did you find out?"
"Sherry," I used magic to levitate myself to eye level with him. "She said you barged in and acted like a pig."
"Oh, I thought I recognized one of the kids there," Zorzal nodded to himself. "I don't like to get involved in your personal life, Tanya, but I don't think that girl is good to keep around. She's a little too 'close' to the enemy."
"It wasn't even that dangerous," Zorzal shrugged. "I heard they were showing off those so-called dangerous weapons, but I couldn't see a single sword amongst them. Not even a scrap of armor! Nothing!"
"They don't fight like us…" has he not been paying attention to anything for the last few months? Even the beggars in the streets knew the Japanese fought with 'magical weapons'.
"And then they come to us in what amounts to colored rags and we're the ones who have to parlay with them?" And he wasn't even listening to me. "If that weren't bad enough, they have women warriors. Women! Can you believe it? For Gods sakes, how have we not slaughtered them all already?"
"You don't just go around insulting people at diplomatic events!" Was he even listening to me? "You might have single handedly made the situation worse for the Empire!"
"Sister, I know the situation looks scary, but trust me," he put a hand on my shoulder, as if to console a child. "I've fought in war. And I can assure you that we are in absolutely no danger from these barbarians."
Was…he being serious right now? I mean, there's being arrogant, and just flat out ignoring reality!
"Then how do you explain all the damage they've caused until now? They wiped out the vassal armies and our own legions. Twice!"
"The vassal states are weak, and our legions were led by timid old men," he brushed aside my worries. "How else can we explain the horrible performance of our forces? I mean, look at me. Without any prior experience whatsoever, I managed to conquer the warrior bunnies with little trouble. If I could do something like that, what excuses do these 'experienced' generals have?"
"The situation is completely different," I wanted to pull my hair out. Just who in their right mind was filling Zorzal's head with this stupidity!?
"My Prince, you should not compare yourself to others so casually."
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear…
Tyuule slipped into the room, her body was barely covered in that 'outfit' Zorzal had her wear, though it was more off putting then arousing given all the bruises and scars it revealed.
"You are a once in a millenia genius of warfare, the likes of which may never be seen again. At best, these men hold only a fraction of your talent." I'll give her this, the warrior queen played quite the broken bird act. Demure, passive, and never meeting Zorzal's eyes. Yet her expressions were too unnatural, her voice was so sickeningly sweet it made me feel like my teeth were rotting.
Only someone desperate for some kind of recognition would buy into this act.
"Ha! Right you are Tyuule," he patted the woman on the head for her 'kind' words like she was some dog. "But if they don't even have that. Even a fraction of greatness would have prevented their abominable performance."
"You are too kind, I only speak the truth," How the hell was he not seeing the woman's knuckles going white from clenching her fists?
"So," I butted into the conversation , "what are you going to do to fix the situation?"
"What do you mean? What's there to 'fix'?"
"The Japanese," I decided to be blunt. "What are you going to do to apologize to them?"
"Why should I have to apologize?" Zorzal snorted.
"Because it's expected of you!"
"These barbarians aren't worth wasting any time thinking about."
"They aren't just going to forget you barging in unannounced and insulting them!"
"Good!" he smiled, "then they won't have to be reminded that this is our land, and we shall do here as we please!"
Ugh….
I suppose I'm going to have to run damage control for Zorzal…
Again….
"I suppose I'll head home then," I sighed as the man wrapped me up in another tight hug.
"Well it was wonderful of you to drop by, no matter how brief it was. And sister, don't waste anymore of your time on these barbarians."
I mumble something under my breath as I make my way out, hearing the faint beginnings of Zorzal's next conversation.
"By the way Tyuule, where have you been?" Zorzal questioned the woman. "You weren't in bed when I woke."
"Oh? I was merely attending to a matter that is so far beneath your notice, it's not even worth mentioning. I merely-"
I didn't hear the rest of it, not that I wanted to hear her bullshit excuse that Zorzal would eat up. I had more important things to do, like preventing a diplomatic incident by apologizing on behalf of the crown prince.
--
--
Despite his calm demeanor, Koji Sugawara felt ever so slightly out of his depth.
Negotiating the end of what could be described as the first 'interplanetary' or 'interdimensional' war in Earth's history tended to have that effect on people. And for as familiar as it all might appear at first glance, these people might as well be aliens.
Magic and monsters were only the start of it.
There were dozens in the foreign office with more experience than him and were probably more suited for this role. Not even taking into account how vulnerable he felt being so deep inside this tyrannical state,
Hell, he had to wear a stab vest just to go to a party his consulate was hosting!
Still, he was lucky, or unlucky, enough to gain a grasp of the Imperial language faster than his counterparts. So here he was, walking into the monster den.
And even when they did arrive at the city, the Emperor refused to even speak to them for two whole weeks!
Of course Sugawara knew what the Emperor was trying to do. Some negotiation tactic no doubt meant to imply that despite the current situation, or that he had other things more important taking up his time than talking to Japan, and when he finally did meet with the Japanese that they should feel honored he found time for them in his 'tight schedule'.
Though it was clear to everyone that the Emperor's eyes were squarely on the Jade Palace. And he wasn't just referring to the literal army of observers and spies they found watching them from just outside the consulate's grounds.
Just a few days ago, Sugawara and his staff decided to host a 'garden party' for members of the Imperial elite, to show them that the Japanese were not some faceless monster. Within hours of the date being decided, an imperial messenger arrived to say how the Emperor had 'decided' to host a massive imperial ball a couple days after the Japanese party and that all foreign dignitaries were welcomed to attend.
Tit for tat the ambassador supposed.
Still, the fact the official 'summons' to actually meet the Emperor arrived mere hours after the consulate party's demonstrations of modern weapons probably also had no bearing on the timing of this first meeting.
"My Lord, you are about to meet with the Emperor of Sadera and Master of all Falmart. When you meet his majesty, you must address him properly. By his full title or not at all," the servant addressed Sugawara as they walked through the empty halls.
Though Sugawara had several JSDF guards with him, and his trusty stab vest back on, he hardly felt safe.
Scores of armored men followed around the party. Sugawara assumed they must be the vaunted Praetorian Guard the Princess mentioned. They certainly looked more intimidating than the usual imperial legionary.
In fact, it looked like some fusion between European full plate armor and the normal "roman" looking variants the SDF reported to have encountered. But there was something odd about the armor. It was too quiet. No clinking of plates or even footsteps for that matter! As if the boots were just slippers on the marble floor.
"I assume 'Your Majesty' is acceptable," the diplomat guessed. "Or would 'your highness' be enough?"
"Your 'Imperial Majesty'," he was corrected, "spoken clearly, with the respect and dignity the title commands."
"How humble" the negotiator mumbled to himself in Japanese, one of his guards coughed into his hand to hold in a chuckle.
"This is not a joking matter," the servant stated, clearly picking up on the meaning of what was exchanged if not the words themselves. "Are you aware of the punishment a barbarian, emissary or not, will suffer if they flagrantly break court protocol?"
"I assume some sort of censure? A fine?" Another thing he found annoying was how the Imperials kept calling him, and all other Japanese, 'barbarians'. Princess Pina did explain how the word technically meant 'people not part of the Empire', but also conceded that it did carry the negative connotations the term had on Earth.
Koji also couldn't help but find the concept of a society that still used wagons and horses as their main modes of transportation seeing itself as superior to the modern world as laughable. Given enough time and manpower, he bet even the most backward militaries on Earth could roll over the Empire.
"Fifteen lashes," the servant quipped back. "For your own safety, I would ask that you adhere to proper protocol."
"I'm sorry, but are you saying you whip foreigners for addressing the emperor wrong?" he questioned, astounded by the barbarity.
"As would be administered to citizens, though only seven lashes," the servant clarified, as if that explanation made the situation better.
As they walked through the Palace, he noticed how the hallways were sealed off by pairs of praetorians, their heavy shields and bully armor obscuring curious servants looking on. Every doorway had a guard, every hallway a pair, and lines of men with crossbows stood at higher elevations when possible, ready to litter the Japanese with bolts should they step out of line. It all made Sugawara feel like the Imperials were treating them like wild animals.
"This all seems a bit much for security," Sugawara commented at the sight of all the soldiers.
"With all due respect, the mountains of corpses at Alnus and Italica would say we have too little security for your… kind", The servant clearly held back the 'B' word.
The rest of the walk was mostly silent after that, beyond the occasional quip about this or that as they passed paintings and busts they passed.
Eventually after climbing flight after flight of stairs, they reached a line of praetorians beside a door. The armored men parted like a sea before the group. The servant then knocked on the door twice. Seconds later, a single knock replied.
The doors opened to reveal the Emperor in all his glory.
Emperor Molt Sol Augustus was not quite what Sugawara expected.
For whatever reason, despite the personal accounts of Princess Pina, and even his own better judgment, he'd thought this man would be some sort of monster. Not in the figurative sense, but a literal monster. Scales, horns, lizard-like eyes, and so on.
Hell, most of the media in Japan thought of him as such. Devil horns, hoofed legs, insectoid, and other more monstrous ideas. To them, he was either the man who ordered the brutal attack on Japan, or the man who simply let it happen. Neither were especially good.
But it was almost anti-climactic how mundane the man truly was.
Sure, his clothes were something he'd seen in a few movies about European nobles, a little more well done in some ways, a priceless looking circlet on his head with a fanciful gem at its center, but overall the man was more…normal then he'd assumed he would be.
But normal was fine. Preferred even. Even so, how do you even begin a negotiation like this?
Several minutes passed by, with neither party willing to start.
"How has the capital been treating you, Lord Sugawara?" the Emperor finally spoke up, after ending the deafening silence. "Well, I hope."
"It's a beautiful city," he answered. What else could he say? That it didn't smell quite as bad as he feared it would? "And I'm not a lord, your majesty, just a humble diplomat."
"...you don't say," Molt flexed his shoulders, silent for several seconds "...moving on, I feel that there is a 'but' for the comment about the city."
Sugawara had to admit, the man was sharp.
"But," Sugawara decided to test the waters to see how Molt would react. "I did hear some exaggerated rumors about my people being loudly spread in the city streets. Disgusting things that have no basis in reality."
"The masses will say what they will say," he dismissed Sugawara's question outright.
"And they just happen to say we live in tents made of human skin and cook children in pots…" he knew from Pina that the Emperor had a hand in the propaganda being spread. And no doubt, the Emperor knew he knew.
"What is more important is what you and I say," Molt moved on from the question to something he was clearly more comfortable talking about. "And what your people have said so far is that you want a great deal of money."
"I see the Princess informed you of our initial estimates," Sugawara immediately tried to downplay the first draft of costs, "rest assured, they are being adjusted, and the amount would not have to be paid wholly in gold."
"The term outrageous was used frequently by my ministers in response to it," the Emperor continued, ignoring the negotiator's mitigation attempts. "One almost had a stroke at the table."
"Again, I would like to emphasize that these are merely preliminary estimates," he continued. "The amount will most likely be reduced in light of the…impossibility of it ever being paid as it stands."
"How generous. Will this new amount only be ten times all gold the Empire has ever had rather than the hundred times your Emperor first suggested?"
"Our Emperor had no role in that," the negotiator explained, trying to clear up any misunderstandings. "Amount initially proposed by the Prime Minister and his cabinet."
"Of course, my mistake," Molt did little to hide his disbelief at the purely ceremonial role of the Japanese Emperor. "If only the Emperor knew."
"Your Majesty," Sugawara tried to reel the conversation back to a more acceptable topic, "I am-"
The door slammed open before he could even get a word out. A finely clothed man hurried into the room.
"Marcus," clearly the Emperor knew the man. "What can justify interrupting my meeting. I've barely exchanged pleasantries with the-"
"A thousand pardons, your Majesty," the man held out a folded piece of paper. "But this could not wait."
Molt regarded the man, then took the note, his eyes quickly skimming across the words. His expression shifted, though Sugawara had no words to describe it. Some mixed emotion of surprise and anger, followed by the emperor returning to his more neutral expression.
"Apologies ambassador, but this matter cannot wait," the Emperor stood up and whispered something to Marcus before looking back at Sugawara. "We will continue this discussion at the gala tomorrow, my guards shall see you and yours out."
Ah yes, the Imperial Gala.
The Emperor didn't even ask if Sugawara was going to attend the party. He either assumed he would or this was a command to attend.
Not that Sugawara had been planning on missing the event, the networking opportunities alone made going to it worth it. It just rubbed him the wrong way that he felt the Emperor saw it as if he was being commanded to go rather than go of his own free will.
After being led out of the palace in full, and a few blocks away, Sugawara let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding in.
Everything starts with baby steps.
---
---
The three minor Japanese nobles that had ended up in Imperial custody were dead.
They all died the same way: in their beds with slit throats.
As if Molt's day couldn't get any worse…
"You mean to tell me that no one, not the guards on the premises, or even the ones stationed outside their doors noticed a damn thing!?" Regulus looked as if he was going to beat the sniveling man before him.
The servants and the guards of the Japanese's accommodations were lined up against the wall by the praetorian guard. Some of the maid servants wept as the Prefect interrogated the guard captain in front of them all.
"They…well…" the guard capitan struggled to find his words, his throat contracting as if a phantom noose had been tied around it. "My lord, I- we… None of us saw anything out of the norm. We opened the doors in the morning and found them like that! I swear to all the Gods, it's the truth."
The villa Molt placed them in was hardly the Imperial Palace, but any assailant would have had to avoid at least a dozen guards and a small host of servants, both on their way in and out, to remain undetected.
The haryo? Mongrel they might be, they certainly understood the power of subterfuge and coin. They certainly had skill to pull off such an operation, and the 'why' was clear as day. For the Empire to suffer continued defeats at the hands of the Japanese barbarians and spread chaos across all Falmart.
"So you say," Regulus was unconvinced, turning to his underlings holding the man and the others. "Find out if they're incompetent or complicit, then hang them all."
"I see the situation is as dismal as you wrote." Molt ignored the cries for mercy as the crowd was led away, directing his attention to his Prefect.
"Sadly," the Prefect bowed to his liege. "And your talks with the barbarians?"
"Equally dismal," Molt frowned at the memory, regaling the Prefect with the meeting. How they sent a commoner to treat him, then they have the gall to demand extortionate amounts of money from the Imperial coffers, Molt could only imagine what other indignities he would have to suffer through before this war was over.
"Their arrogance is beyond comprehension," was Regulus's response to the story.
"Arrogance built upon a mountain of corpses," Molt absently noted the bodies of the nobles were wrapped up and placed into a burning pit.
"But arrogance nonetheless," Regulus scowled. "To demand so much, in such an insulting manner? Entire barbarian tribes have been exterminated for a fraction of what they have shown."
"And how is your scheme to humble them?" Molt inquired, genuinely curious about what the Praetorian had planned. "Done? In progress?"
"It's either already carried out, or will be shortly," the Prefect explained. "A simple sleight of hand to not only play upon man's most common fears, but demonstrate our power should the need arise."
---
---
Itami hated parties.
Actually that wasn't quite true.
He enjoyed them, so long as it was about something he cared about.
Birthdays? Karaoke? Anime? Sign him up!
Political gatherings where people in overly expensive and uncomfortable clothes passive aggressively poke and prod each other for an evening? Not so much.
Just like, for example, a massive Imperial Gala.
"So how did Kurokawa weasel her way out of this again?" Itami mumbled as he and the rest of his team waited for Sugawara to finish getting ready. The ranger fiddled with his dress uniform's collar to bleed off the stress he was feeling.
"She said she was going to investigate some Imperial clinics, see how they shape up and see if they need anything we can provide," Kuwahara reminded him.
"I should have thought up an excuse like that," the lieutenant bemoaned.
"I doubt that would have worked, seeing as how you were personally invited by Princess Pina."
Before Itami could reply, one of the diplomats tapped his shoulder."Excuse me Lieutenant, but there's a call from Alnus for you."
"Me? Really? Did they say what it was about?"
"No, just that it was urgent."
"Right," he waved to his team, "be back in a few guys, gotta call to take."
In the small room given over to communications equipment, Itami picked up the receiver.
"This is Second Lieutenant Itami."
"Itami, it's Yanagida, we have a situation here at Alnus."
"Well good evening to you too, Yanagida."
"Itami…"
"Right, right, I get it. So how bad is it?" Given the severity in his tone, Itami tried counting off the threats that could be against the base at any time. Dragons, monsters, Imperial forces.
"General Hazama woke up this morning to find a note on his night table. It was written in the local language and addressed to the 'Barbarian Warlord occupying Alnus. We checked it for poisons, but it came up clean.``
"Shit…" Someone broke into the base without getting spotted. How else could he respond to that? "I'm guessing you're already reviewing the security footage. Any clues, or are we still at square one?"
"That was the first thing we did, but we got nothing. The note just appears out of thin air in a single frame. It's not there, then it is. No one, besides the general, was in that room."
"So magic?"
"That's the leading theory we have thanks to Miss Lelei's input."
"So a threat to the General's life?" Though the idea seemed a little too brash for the Empire given the ceasefire in effect. Spying sure, but death threats?
"Worse: it was his itinerary for the last week."
"Are you saying some imperial spies stole something and then gave it back to show they could sneak in and out with impunity?" That didn't sound as bad as the security breach itself. Itami was more concerned about assassins using whatever this trick was to drop little 'surprises' onto soldiers as they slept.
"Yoji," Yanagida let out a frustrated sigh on his end of the line. "When we translated the message, it read out as a detailed account of everything the General did in the last week. Everything. Down to the most minute detail, for over a week, written by them. Everyone he talked to, everywhere he went, everything he did, everything he ate, even how long he slept. Everything was written down."
"Oh…" damn, that was really bad. If anyone could be observed with such impunity…
"Sure it didn't have exact names, and whoever wrote it doesn't know how computers or radios work, but it is still obvious what they mean given all the notes of the time they left in the margins. Itami, Some of these things took place in rooms with no windows or anything to observe through. I was even in one of these meetings! There was nothing out of the ordinary!"
A moment of silence reigned.
Itami honestly had no idea how to respond.
"We're already increasing the scale of surveillance across Alnus and we've begun to investigate possible spies among the Alnus Town residents. For the moment, we're also beginning a more thorough screening process for locals wanting to enter Alnus."
"You know this could be exactly what they want right?" The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. An overreaction by the SDF could ruin what relations they've built up with the locals. Dragging people away for 'questioning' would absolutely sour people's opinions of the Japanese.
"I know, but what else are we supposed to do?"
"...end the war, I guess," Itami laughed at his own poor joke. "Make the empire have no reason to do this anymore."
"Just like that?"
"I mean, we got a ceasefire. That's at least a start, right?"
Yanagida was quite on his end, then sighed. "Just be alert for anything odd or suspicious. If they can reach Hazama in Alnus, they can absolutely reach our people in Sadera."
"Yeah, I'll spread the word," the conversation quickly ended soon after.
Putting the radio down, Itami looked out to the towering edifice of the Imperial Palace at the highest point of the city.
He could just feel it in his bones that it was going to be a long night.
---
---
"This is going to be a long night," I mumbled to myself as I approached the doorway into the main chamber.
Inside were hundreds of the most important people in the city, if not the Empire. All to bask in the authority of the crown, and show the wider world that even with all the losses suffered and territory lost, the Empire was still great and powerful.
While I know how to play the game of politics, I absolutely detest it. Add in my high station granted by virtue of having the right parents, with my gender and age, I would almost certainly start having to deal with scores of men trying to 'woo' me or arrange some sort of marriage agreement.
While I wasn't concerned I was about to be shipped off like a mare, the Emperor made it clear he wasn't going to even consider arranging that sort of thing for some time, the sheer audacity of some people got on my nerves.
Political maneuvering aside, I normally wouldn't bother with this sort of thing.
But this gathering has one thing the others didn't: the Japanese attending.
I let caution get the better of me before, given recent events with Zorzal, I refuse to let another slip through my fingers again. And it will give me a chance to finally figure out what the hell is going on with this version of Japan.
"Uncomfortable?" Gaius mused, the eunuch putting on his finest robes for the occasion. Remus and Cordelia would have joined us, had the Gala not prohibited demihumans from attending; excluding those explicitly invited.
"Naturally", I tsked, shifting in the accused dress I was forced to wear and wiggling in the uncomfortable shoes I had to put on. This damn outfit probably costs more than an entire village, so how can it feel this uncomfortable!?
"I hear some girls go their whole lives wishing to be in your position."
"And some girls go their whole lives with their heads in the clouds," I quip back.
"Hm, someone's overly prickly tonight."
"More nerves than anything."
"Hm, anything to do with the Japanese weapons being brought so close to us?"
"Please, I know they won't do anything," I roll my eyes at the thought of them starting something at a party. They were 'winning', why would they do anything to jeopardize their position?
"Well, feel free to tell that to the cohort of Praetorians out there," Gaius mused aloud, reaching to the door, he looked to me for permission to open it.
I nodded, not saying a word as the two of us walked out into the veritable powder keg beyond.
If all goes according to plan, this night will finally put an end to any questions I might have on this version of Japan.
----------
----------
AN: Spoilers(?), but the night will not end in a good way.
To that end I decided to create a small unit of troops to do the dirty work that was needed to liberate those enslaved. A group that would ferret out the locations of Japanese across the seedier locales of the capital and liberate them, along with whoever else had the misfortune of being in the general area as well. When freed, they would be shepherded to a more 'secure' location' until such time as their repatriation to Japan could be properly done.
Though, calling it a 'unit' is a little too formal for a couple dozen people drawn from my own personal retinue. They were a mix of normal humans and a handful of bunny warrior women that I had taken into my employ.
Ugh.
On the matter of those rabbit eared women, they had some of the strangest cultural quirks. Mostly just how damn proud they can be!
From the lowliest girls to the mightiest huntresses, they are as a whole some of the most mulish people I have ever encountered. They stick their noses up and refuse to do anything that is either a cultural taboo (of which I have yet to actually figure out what they are), or anything they see as beneath them.
And to my eternal chagrin, most of the girls I have emancipated are warriors. So you can only imagine how hard it is for them to get any meaningful employment. They turned their noses up at nearly everything!
And I heard every excuse in the book!
Being a servant was dishonorable.
Being a laborer was beneath them.
And on and on it went!
Sure, some of them swallowed their pride and took what jobs were on hand to have more than the meager pittance I provide them upon their emancipation, but it was hardly graceful. Strangely enough being nursemaids or anything involving children, such as babysitting and the like, is bizarrely okay for them.
Regardless, they were stuck in quite the dilemma. One of their own making, but a dilemma nonetheless.
So, rather than wait for the inevitable riots and uptick in crime to plunge the lower end areas of Sadera into a warzone, as a band of militarily trained individuals use their skills to acquire money in less than legal ways, I decided to make use of this sizable pool of (wo)manpower and offer these warrior women positions in my retinue.
Understandably, many did not take up my offer (surprise, surprise~). However, enough did that my own fighting force was augmented to a noticeable degree.
If any of the men in my service had issues with serving beside women, as is the cultural bias of Sadera, they quickly learned to swallow their own respective pride right around the time one of the women broke a man's arms.
'Growing pains' aside, they were to be the 'stick' to my financial 'carrot'. The carrot in this case being "I will buy these slaves from you" and the stick being "I will take them from you".
I'd like to think it is working as well as can be expected.
---
---
Mari Kurokawa was hardly surprised at the state of Sadera's slums. Run down, crime ridden, and with no real attempt by the Imperial government to rein in the worst excesses of criminal behavior.
Not a surprise. A nation like the Empire that built itself on conquest and enslavement would hardly care about the lowest of their society. No social nets, no care or even basic decency for those at the bottom. These people lived, and died, uncared for and in filth.
She didn't even need orders to head out to the JSDF's forward clinic in the slums, nor did she need any encouragement to get to work.
The politicians can call it an 'outreach program' while the media can deride it as a 'PR move', she didn't really care. If she was able to extend a helping hand out to people, people could call it whatever they liked.
And they were doing good work here, both from what she had seen so far and from the reports she skimmed before arriving. The locals were cautious but not overly hostile. Over the past couple of weeks, more and more people have been using the clinic's services, but most still kept their distance. No one has revealed them to the authorities yet, so that was a promising sign.
Probably the best they could expect given all the propaganda the Empire had spread about the Japanese so far. The way the Empire spun it, it made Japan and its people out to be monsters in human skin.
The young woman was also becoming painfully aware that the situation on the ground was hardly as 'static' or straightforward as she was led to believe.
Kurokawa frowned as she watched soldiers in dull colored armor barking out orders to a group of people lined up against a nearby building across from where she was. They were not gentle as they shoved and kicked those who tried to argue or run. One man was beaten so badly he stopped moving altogether.
If it weren't for the line of starved and beaten men and women flowing out of the building openly thanking the soldiers in question, she'd probably chalk this up to casual Imperial brutality.
"Looks like someone is cleaning house," Chief Nyutabaru mumbled at the sight through the window, while on edge, he didn't sound overly concerned. Probably because the patients around them were calm, though intrigued by the events outside.
"And I say it's about time something was done," the winged woman Kurokawa was treating, Mizari, quipped before making a disgusted sound. "The Matron of that brothel was a sadistic cunt. Pretty sure she got off on seeing just how brutal her customer could be to her girls."
Not that the sight made any of them let their guards down. The clinic was, despite strictly being a humanitarian outpost, technically against the terms of the treaty Princess Pina signed with the JSDF. The few guards assigned here could be seen, by the Imperials, as a militarization of the clinic.
"I'm genuinely surprised by how heavy handed those guards are," the chief grimaced at the sight of a rabbit-eared woman in similar garb to the other soldiers dragging out an older human woman into the street by the hair. The lupine woman tossed the woman towards the line up like a sack of flour, ignoring her illegible cries.
Mizari chuckled, "Guards? Why would they do anything? Unless some lord, or lord's son, gets roped into something outside their comfort area, the city guard could care less what happens here."
"Well it seems like they're doing something about it now," Kurokawa mused to herself her native tongue. "But if they aren't guards, do you know who they are?"
"By their colors if nothing else," the winged woman shrugged. "And knowing that, I can only guess the matron did something truly abominable to get the princess's own troops to drag em out onto the street like that. And they aren't the only ones. Why just a few days ago, a different brothel was burned down to its foundations, with the husband and wife who ran it strung up from a tree. "
"Wait, those are Rose Knights?" Kurokawa did a double take on the soldier's outside. They didn't look anything like Pina's knights. Beyond the mere fact they were all men, beyond a pair of rabbit women, their armor didn't have the same knightly aesthetic as Pina's group. It looked more like a slimmed down version of what the legionaries they fought wore, with darker colors.
"A Rose Knight?" Mizari questioned, "isn't that a play or something?"
Another rabbit woman, one who was missing half an ear, grabbed the matron's arm and twisted it like a corkscrew. The screams of pain were enough to scare the rest of the prisoners into line.
"The Rose Order of Knights. They're the princess's knightly order."
"The princess doesn't have a knightly order," the avian woman shook her head. "Guards? Sure. A retinue, probably. But no knightly order or the like. We would've heard about it."
"That's not right, Princess Pina said that her knights are her pride and joy," from their brief time together, the medic just couldn't imagine the young woman downplaying her group or their capabilities.
"Princess Pina?" Realization flashed on the woman's face. "Oh wait, you mean that consort girl, right?"
"Consort girl?" Kurokawa remembered the princess mentioning something about being a concubine's daughter. "Are we… talking about the same person? Young woman, or late teens I guess. Red hair, red eyes?"
"That's the only consort princess I know about," Mizari nodded.
"Wait there's another princess!" a different girl, younger than Mizari and with a pair of cat ears on her head, quipped from the ad hoc 'waiting room'; which was little more than a few chairs pushed next to each other. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Duh! Because there's only one princess!" A girl next to the feline eared teen chimed in, her eyes slit like a snake's.
"But the Japanese lady just said-"
"Well she's wrong."
"Not quite," Mizari interrupted the pair before they could continue. "Technically, Pina is a princess. Specifically, she's her highness's half sister; same father, different mothers."
The pair nodded at the older woman's words, as if it explained everything, though Mari still felt out of the loop.
"I'm sorry but who's 'her highness', if you're not talking about Princess Pina?" Kurokawa got the feeling the answer only led to further questions.
"Princess Tanya Augustus," the winged woman replied, to the nodding of the other girls. "Though you hardly need to say her whole name and title around these parts. Just saying 'the princess' or 'her highness' is enough for anyone in these parts to know who you're talking about."
Oh!
I suddenly clicked in Kurokawa's head who Mizari was talking about. Pina talked about someone called 'Tanya' a few times in Japan, and mentioned that she had a sister, but they were said in such passing and the Princess refused to elaborate when pressed that Mari assumed the two were separate people.
"So there's another princess then?" Chief Nyutabaru mumbled in Japanese. He looked down at his clipboard, the text detailing some basic facts of Sadera to avoid any unnecessary alterations with the locals. "Looks like someone messed up with our primers then."
"More an oversight than messing up," though even saying, Kurokawa felt a tad dim herself for not catching the mistake on the primer herself.
"Call it what you like, sergeant," the chief made a note somewhere on the sheet.
"Now I don't doubt that Pina is probably a nice girl," Mizari continued, "but don't expect many people here to know about her by name. Hell, I only know about her from some noblemen who want to take her as his concubine!"
"Well that might change very soon," Mari commented, recalling her short time with the princess. "Not only is she the one who pushed for the ceasefire between the Empire and Japan, and a strong force behind the peace talks themselves, but she seemed to be a bright young woman with a strong sense of right and wrong. Given enough time, I have no doubt the people here will see that."
"....and?" the lizard eyed girl interrupted whatever Mizari was about to say.
"And?" Mari was confused by the girl's question.
"And," the girl repeated. "How will that help people like us?"
"I mean… It would end the war if it works out. Saving the lives of thousands," Kurokawa was surprised by the hostile tone.
"Okay…" the girl did not look impressed, "Will that put food in our bellies?"
"Excuse me?"
"I said 'will it put food in our bellies'," the girl seemed frustrated with the medic. "Is she going to do anything to help look after young children when their mothers and fathers go out to work? Will her play knights patrol our streets to stop the muggings and rapes? Her highness gives out food to the hungry, work for the listless, even helps the sick like you guys are doing! Comparing someone who has done everything for us, to someone who has done nothing for us? Well excuse me for not giving a damn about some girl who just happens to be lucky enough to have a few drops of royal-"
"Helena," Mizari shot a look at the lizard girl, her icy tone silencing her in short order. "Enough." As the cat girl sank into her seat, the older woman turned to Kurokawa, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."
"No, no, it's alright," Mari waved off the apology. "I'm more surprised by how strongly she feels about this."
"Not just Helena," the winged woman looked out the window, the incident on the streets wrapping itself up as the line of prisoners were dragged away to an unknown fate.
"You too?"
"Most people in Akhusko actually hold very strong feelings towards her highness and those who would say someone else is more deserving of that respect, and yes myself included. Though some of us are just more mature about saying it," she gave a sideways glance to the previously vocal girl. Before Mari could speak up, Mizari continued. "I'm sure Pina is a lovely woman. A gem even. But she hasn't done anything for us. Gods, you foreigners have done more for us in your short time here than the consort girl has seemingly done in her whole life."
"She's still young," Mari felt the urge to at least offer a small defense to the woman who was enabling an end to the war with the Empire. "Only nineteen or so. I'm sure given some time she'll-"
"Princess Tanya is only thirteen," Helena quipped again, though immediately shrunk back into herself when Mizari shot another look towards her.
Kurokawa knew when a conversation was just going to aggravate all involved and decided to change subjects. "You said there were other clinics here?"
"A few dotted about the slums, free of charge for any to use. Courtesy of her highness," Mizari seemed to pick up on Mari's desire. "The healers there can't really be compared to the ones the nobility uses, or the stuff you Japanese have here, but they get the job done.
"Oh? Have you gone to them yourself?"
"Naturally. Would still be going to them if one of my friends didn't let me know about this place and curiosity did overtake me."
"If it wouldn't be much trouble, could you show me one of these places?" I know a few girls whose children would have died without the care they provide." The medic found herself intrigued by the prospect of seeing these 'healers' and what they did. Was it like a genuine hospital environment, or as close to one as this world could allow, or was it more like a charity sort of system.
Given the smile and nod from Mizari, Kurokawa had a feeling she'd learn about it sooner than later.
---
---
"The raid was a success, your highness. We placed the matron and her enforcers into custody. Additionally we uncovered evidence of a Japanese slave in another part of the district. With your permission, we will move in and retrieve them."
"Do it," I didn't hesitate, looking across the table to the trio kneeling before me. Two men, one bunny woman, all garbed in a more 'mundane' version of the gear they were used to wearing. Far better then the flashy colors most armies used here.
Now I can't say I wasn't concerned about the first few missions I sent them out on. The inflexible doctrine of Sadera mixed with the loose warrior ethos of the bunny warriors. But in the end it turned out the two distinct philosophies paired well together. At least, in terms of small unit tactics.
The discipline of Sadera tempered the warriors, while the close knit bonds of the warriors was complemented by discipline. They certainly proved how devastating it could be in that degenerate place that pushed me to act in the first place.
I was about to question them a bit more before they left, when I heard a knock at the door.
"Hey, your playmate's here," even though I couldn't see Cordelia through the door, I could just tell she had some smirk on her face. She knew how much I hated her calling my similarly aged acquaintances 'playmates'.
"We'll talk again after the mission," I commented to the trio, before addressing Cordelia, "let her in."
It was less than a moment later when Sherry practically skipped through the door. Though her face soured slightly when she passed the bunny warrior woman as she made her way out, almost recoiling at the sight of the blade at her side. Quickly crossing the room, the young girl did her best to ignore the lupine woman's presence.
"It's wonderful to see you, your highness," the girl curtseyed, though her muscles noticeably relaxed as the door shut and the demihuman walked out.
"You too," I smiled, doing my best to hide my distaste for her views.
Even a blind man could tell that Sherry Tyueli had an 'issue' with demihumans. From the way she talked to them to the manner she acted around them. The few times I did ask her about it, I got the impression that she didn't so much hate them as she thought they were 'primitive'.
Deeper questioning on the matter amounted to the equivalent of "I'm not racist, but….".
She would say she felt sad they were not as 'smart' as humans (or elves I guess), but they still could be 'taught' and civilized to an extent. She also claimed that some types of demihumans who integrated into Imperial society like orcs and goblins merely 'mimicked' human behavior and didn't understand the principles behind said behavior. This view extended to all demihumans, from the amazons of the south, to dwarfs, to beastkin, and the like, they were all equally primitive.
Strangely, or perhaps expectedly, Zaynab, and elves in general, seemingly get a pass in the broad viewpoint.
Honestly, it was sad to see an otherwise bright girl have such a narrow view of the world. Sure, some races had reputations for a reason, but to blatantly state all members of all these races were the exact same? Acting as if there is a comparison between tribal orcs and the dwarf kingdoms is ludicrous.
She knows my opinion on the matter of course, and 'respects my opinion', but she says the words in a way someone attempts to minimize conflict then a true understanding.
I can't force her to believe in something she clearly has no interest in and she can sway me to her way of thinking. So we do our best to avoid the topic as a whole.
But it doesn't stop me from seeing it from time to time.
Though I hardly invited her over to discuss race relations and the like. "So, how was the Japanese party?"
The girl's eyes lit up at the mention as she started to regal me with her story.
Ah yes, the Japanese party.
More a PR stunt than anything else. Essentially, putting a 'human face' to the 'evil barbaric dispoilers'. Not sure how effective that'll be against months worth of propaganda and a literal pile of corpses, but these things have to start somewhere. It did allow them to at least begin to dispel the absurd rumors being spread on the streets about them.
I would have attended, Pina invited me even, but caution and indecision got the better of me. I rationalized I needed more 'information' to figure out what the hell was going on for the Japanese Self Defense Force to be acting the way they are.
Like who the hell has a live fire exercise in a diplomatic meeting!?
Add in other aforementioned aggressive posturing, and I was honestly beside myself on what to do; beyond what was already being done. The aggressiveness on display is beyond anything I could ever imagine "my" Japan doing.
Perhaps if it weren't for an Imperial Gala being held a day or so after this Japanese Party, in which the Japanese already agreed to attend, I might have had more of a 'kick' to go to this event.
Still….Too many unknowns, too many variables to consider. I had most of the puzzle pieces, but it still felt like I was missing something…
"...and Mr. Sugawara told me he'd take me to Japan one day," while I had mostly tuned in and out of Sherry's retelling, I was still nodding occasionally to give the illusion of proper attention. Still, even I could almost see the literal hearts in the girl's eyes as she gushed about her crush.
"That does sound wonderful," I replied with a smile, though I am tempted to point out the differences in Japanese and Saderan courtship to her and nip this whole 'infatuation' in the bud.
"Oh it was, until your brother showed up," she frowned at the memory. "He rode in with some of his men and acted like utter brutes! Or pigs even! They harassed Sugawara, talked down to all the senators there, then had the audacity to make off plates full of food!
…
It took me a moment to truly process her words.
"Wait, what?"
---
---
"Where is he!"
Those were the first words I called out as I threw open the door with a burst of magic and marched into Zorzal's manor. I had used my magic to fly straight to his home, not bothering with any of the usual formalities like giving prior warning or arriving in a carriage.
I can only imagine how bizarre it looked to the guards who rushed over to stop the 'intruder' only to find little old me, hair frazzled from the flight and looking very undignified.
"Where is he," I repeated, though lower now that I was talking face to face with actual people rather than yelling into the dark void of Zorzal's home.
Without saying anything, they motioned down a hallway and gave me a wide berth as I stormed in that direction.
They were right on the money, my nose twitching as the stink of sex and alcohol became heavier until I reached the sole occupied chamber along the collection of rooms.
I was as gentle with that door as I was with the one at the entrance.
"What did you do!?"
The girl Zorzal was pawing at leapt from his lap at my sudden entrance and sprawled out onto the floor. He took my entrance in stride, readjusting his clothes and greeting me as if I didn't look like I wasn't going to blow a blood vessel from anger.
"My beloved sister," Zorzal scooped me up into a frustratingly tight hug. He refused to release me until I wriggled out of his grasp like an eel. "
"Why did you do that!?" I repeated.
"I'm sorry, you're going to have to be a little more specific," Zorzal snapped his fingers pointing at the woman in the room to get out, not even giving her the time to cover herself. "I do a lot of things."
"You barged into that party being held at the Jade Palace and almost single handedly sparked a diplomatic incident!"
"Barged?" He laughed, only infuriating me further. "Sister, they are invading us. Me strolling into Pina's villa with some friends is hardly offensive. Those barbarians should have been honored that I, the crown prince, even paid attention to their going ons. Though, given I barely knew it was going on, how did you find out?"
"Sherry," I used magic to levitate myself to eye level with him. "She said you barged in and acted like a pig."
"Oh, I thought I recognized one of the kids there," Zorzal nodded to himself. "I don't like to get involved in your personal life, Tanya, but I don't think that girl is good to keep around. She's a little too 'close' to the enemy."
"It wasn't even that dangerous," Zorzal shrugged. "I heard they were showing off those so-called dangerous weapons, but I couldn't see a single sword amongst them. Not even a scrap of armor! Nothing!"
"They don't fight like us…" has he not been paying attention to anything for the last few months? Even the beggars in the streets knew the Japanese fought with 'magical weapons'.
"And then they come to us in what amounts to colored rags and we're the ones who have to parlay with them?" And he wasn't even listening to me. "If that weren't bad enough, they have women warriors. Women! Can you believe it? For Gods sakes, how have we not slaughtered them all already?"
"You don't just go around insulting people at diplomatic events!" Was he even listening to me? "You might have single handedly made the situation worse for the Empire!"
"Sister, I know the situation looks scary, but trust me," he put a hand on my shoulder, as if to console a child. "I've fought in war. And I can assure you that we are in absolutely no danger from these barbarians."
Was…he being serious right now? I mean, there's being arrogant, and just flat out ignoring reality!
"Then how do you explain all the damage they've caused until now? They wiped out the vassal armies and our own legions. Twice!"
"The vassal states are weak, and our legions were led by timid old men," he brushed aside my worries. "How else can we explain the horrible performance of our forces? I mean, look at me. Without any prior experience whatsoever, I managed to conquer the warrior bunnies with little trouble. If I could do something like that, what excuses do these 'experienced' generals have?"
"The situation is completely different," I wanted to pull my hair out. Just who in their right mind was filling Zorzal's head with this stupidity!?
"My Prince, you should not compare yourself to others so casually."
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear…
Tyuule slipped into the room, her body was barely covered in that 'outfit' Zorzal had her wear, though it was more off putting then arousing given all the bruises and scars it revealed.
"You are a once in a millenia genius of warfare, the likes of which may never be seen again. At best, these men hold only a fraction of your talent." I'll give her this, the warrior queen played quite the broken bird act. Demure, passive, and never meeting Zorzal's eyes. Yet her expressions were too unnatural, her voice was so sickeningly sweet it made me feel like my teeth were rotting.
Only someone desperate for some kind of recognition would buy into this act.
"Ha! Right you are Tyuule," he patted the woman on the head for her 'kind' words like she was some dog. "But if they don't even have that. Even a fraction of greatness would have prevented their abominable performance."
"You are too kind, I only speak the truth," How the hell was he not seeing the woman's knuckles going white from clenching her fists?
"So," I butted into the conversation , "what are you going to do to fix the situation?"
"What do you mean? What's there to 'fix'?"
"The Japanese," I decided to be blunt. "What are you going to do to apologize to them?"
"Why should I have to apologize?" Zorzal snorted.
"Because it's expected of you!"
"These barbarians aren't worth wasting any time thinking about."
"They aren't just going to forget you barging in unannounced and insulting them!"
"Good!" he smiled, "then they won't have to be reminded that this is our land, and we shall do here as we please!"
Ugh….
I suppose I'm going to have to run damage control for Zorzal…
Again….
"I suppose I'll head home then," I sighed as the man wrapped me up in another tight hug.
"Well it was wonderful of you to drop by, no matter how brief it was. And sister, don't waste anymore of your time on these barbarians."
I mumble something under my breath as I make my way out, hearing the faint beginnings of Zorzal's next conversation.
"By the way Tyuule, where have you been?" Zorzal questioned the woman. "You weren't in bed when I woke."
"Oh? I was merely attending to a matter that is so far beneath your notice, it's not even worth mentioning. I merely-"
I didn't hear the rest of it, not that I wanted to hear her bullshit excuse that Zorzal would eat up. I had more important things to do, like preventing a diplomatic incident by apologizing on behalf of the crown prince.
--
--
Despite his calm demeanor, Koji Sugawara felt ever so slightly out of his depth.
Negotiating the end of what could be described as the first 'interplanetary' or 'interdimensional' war in Earth's history tended to have that effect on people. And for as familiar as it all might appear at first glance, these people might as well be aliens.
Magic and monsters were only the start of it.
There were dozens in the foreign office with more experience than him and were probably more suited for this role. Not even taking into account how vulnerable he felt being so deep inside this tyrannical state,
Hell, he had to wear a stab vest just to go to a party his consulate was hosting!
Still, he was lucky, or unlucky, enough to gain a grasp of the Imperial language faster than his counterparts. So here he was, walking into the monster den.
And even when they did arrive at the city, the Emperor refused to even speak to them for two whole weeks!
Of course Sugawara knew what the Emperor was trying to do. Some negotiation tactic no doubt meant to imply that despite the current situation, or that he had other things more important taking up his time than talking to Japan, and when he finally did meet with the Japanese that they should feel honored he found time for them in his 'tight schedule'.
Though it was clear to everyone that the Emperor's eyes were squarely on the Jade Palace. And he wasn't just referring to the literal army of observers and spies they found watching them from just outside the consulate's grounds.
Just a few days ago, Sugawara and his staff decided to host a 'garden party' for members of the Imperial elite, to show them that the Japanese were not some faceless monster. Within hours of the date being decided, an imperial messenger arrived to say how the Emperor had 'decided' to host a massive imperial ball a couple days after the Japanese party and that all foreign dignitaries were welcomed to attend.
Tit for tat the ambassador supposed.
Still, the fact the official 'summons' to actually meet the Emperor arrived mere hours after the consulate party's demonstrations of modern weapons probably also had no bearing on the timing of this first meeting.
"My Lord, you are about to meet with the Emperor of Sadera and Master of all Falmart. When you meet his majesty, you must address him properly. By his full title or not at all," the servant addressed Sugawara as they walked through the empty halls.
Though Sugawara had several JSDF guards with him, and his trusty stab vest back on, he hardly felt safe.
Scores of armored men followed around the party. Sugawara assumed they must be the vaunted Praetorian Guard the Princess mentioned. They certainly looked more intimidating than the usual imperial legionary.
In fact, it looked like some fusion between European full plate armor and the normal "roman" looking variants the SDF reported to have encountered. But there was something odd about the armor. It was too quiet. No clinking of plates or even footsteps for that matter! As if the boots were just slippers on the marble floor.
"I assume 'Your Majesty' is acceptable," the diplomat guessed. "Or would 'your highness' be enough?"
"Your 'Imperial Majesty'," he was corrected, "spoken clearly, with the respect and dignity the title commands."
"How humble" the negotiator mumbled to himself in Japanese, one of his guards coughed into his hand to hold in a chuckle.
"This is not a joking matter," the servant stated, clearly picking up on the meaning of what was exchanged if not the words themselves. "Are you aware of the punishment a barbarian, emissary or not, will suffer if they flagrantly break court protocol?"
"I assume some sort of censure? A fine?" Another thing he found annoying was how the Imperials kept calling him, and all other Japanese, 'barbarians'. Princess Pina did explain how the word technically meant 'people not part of the Empire', but also conceded that it did carry the negative connotations the term had on Earth.
Koji also couldn't help but find the concept of a society that still used wagons and horses as their main modes of transportation seeing itself as superior to the modern world as laughable. Given enough time and manpower, he bet even the most backward militaries on Earth could roll over the Empire.
"Fifteen lashes," the servant quipped back. "For your own safety, I would ask that you adhere to proper protocol."
"I'm sorry, but are you saying you whip foreigners for addressing the emperor wrong?" he questioned, astounded by the barbarity.
"As would be administered to citizens, though only seven lashes," the servant clarified, as if that explanation made the situation better.
As they walked through the Palace, he noticed how the hallways were sealed off by pairs of praetorians, their heavy shields and bully armor obscuring curious servants looking on. Every doorway had a guard, every hallway a pair, and lines of men with crossbows stood at higher elevations when possible, ready to litter the Japanese with bolts should they step out of line. It all made Sugawara feel like the Imperials were treating them like wild animals.
"This all seems a bit much for security," Sugawara commented at the sight of all the soldiers.
"With all due respect, the mountains of corpses at Alnus and Italica would say we have too little security for your… kind", The servant clearly held back the 'B' word.
The rest of the walk was mostly silent after that, beyond the occasional quip about this or that as they passed paintings and busts they passed.
Eventually after climbing flight after flight of stairs, they reached a line of praetorians beside a door. The armored men parted like a sea before the group. The servant then knocked on the door twice. Seconds later, a single knock replied.
The doors opened to reveal the Emperor in all his glory.
Emperor Molt Sol Augustus was not quite what Sugawara expected.
For whatever reason, despite the personal accounts of Princess Pina, and even his own better judgment, he'd thought this man would be some sort of monster. Not in the figurative sense, but a literal monster. Scales, horns, lizard-like eyes, and so on.
Hell, most of the media in Japan thought of him as such. Devil horns, hoofed legs, insectoid, and other more monstrous ideas. To them, he was either the man who ordered the brutal attack on Japan, or the man who simply let it happen. Neither were especially good.
But it was almost anti-climactic how mundane the man truly was.
Sure, his clothes were something he'd seen in a few movies about European nobles, a little more well done in some ways, a priceless looking circlet on his head with a fanciful gem at its center, but overall the man was more…normal then he'd assumed he would be.
But normal was fine. Preferred even. Even so, how do you even begin a negotiation like this?
Several minutes passed by, with neither party willing to start.
"How has the capital been treating you, Lord Sugawara?" the Emperor finally spoke up, after ending the deafening silence. "Well, I hope."
"It's a beautiful city," he answered. What else could he say? That it didn't smell quite as bad as he feared it would? "And I'm not a lord, your majesty, just a humble diplomat."
"...you don't say," Molt flexed his shoulders, silent for several seconds "...moving on, I feel that there is a 'but' for the comment about the city."
Sugawara had to admit, the man was sharp.
"But," Sugawara decided to test the waters to see how Molt would react. "I did hear some exaggerated rumors about my people being loudly spread in the city streets. Disgusting things that have no basis in reality."
"The masses will say what they will say," he dismissed Sugawara's question outright.
"And they just happen to say we live in tents made of human skin and cook children in pots…" he knew from Pina that the Emperor had a hand in the propaganda being spread. And no doubt, the Emperor knew he knew.
"What is more important is what you and I say," Molt moved on from the question to something he was clearly more comfortable talking about. "And what your people have said so far is that you want a great deal of money."
"I see the Princess informed you of our initial estimates," Sugawara immediately tried to downplay the first draft of costs, "rest assured, they are being adjusted, and the amount would not have to be paid wholly in gold."
"The term outrageous was used frequently by my ministers in response to it," the Emperor continued, ignoring the negotiator's mitigation attempts. "One almost had a stroke at the table."
"Again, I would like to emphasize that these are merely preliminary estimates," he continued. "The amount will most likely be reduced in light of the…impossibility of it ever being paid as it stands."
"How generous. Will this new amount only be ten times all gold the Empire has ever had rather than the hundred times your Emperor first suggested?"
"Our Emperor had no role in that," the negotiator explained, trying to clear up any misunderstandings. "Amount initially proposed by the Prime Minister and his cabinet."
"Of course, my mistake," Molt did little to hide his disbelief at the purely ceremonial role of the Japanese Emperor. "If only the Emperor knew."
"Your Majesty," Sugawara tried to reel the conversation back to a more acceptable topic, "I am-"
The door slammed open before he could even get a word out. A finely clothed man hurried into the room.
"Marcus," clearly the Emperor knew the man. "What can justify interrupting my meeting. I've barely exchanged pleasantries with the-"
"A thousand pardons, your Majesty," the man held out a folded piece of paper. "But this could not wait."
Molt regarded the man, then took the note, his eyes quickly skimming across the words. His expression shifted, though Sugawara had no words to describe it. Some mixed emotion of surprise and anger, followed by the emperor returning to his more neutral expression.
"Apologies ambassador, but this matter cannot wait," the Emperor stood up and whispered something to Marcus before looking back at Sugawara. "We will continue this discussion at the gala tomorrow, my guards shall see you and yours out."
Ah yes, the Imperial Gala.
The Emperor didn't even ask if Sugawara was going to attend the party. He either assumed he would or this was a command to attend.
Not that Sugawara had been planning on missing the event, the networking opportunities alone made going to it worth it. It just rubbed him the wrong way that he felt the Emperor saw it as if he was being commanded to go rather than go of his own free will.
After being led out of the palace in full, and a few blocks away, Sugawara let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding in.
Everything starts with baby steps.
---
---
The three minor Japanese nobles that had ended up in Imperial custody were dead.
They all died the same way: in their beds with slit throats.
As if Molt's day couldn't get any worse…
"You mean to tell me that no one, not the guards on the premises, or even the ones stationed outside their doors noticed a damn thing!?" Regulus looked as if he was going to beat the sniveling man before him.
The servants and the guards of the Japanese's accommodations were lined up against the wall by the praetorian guard. Some of the maid servants wept as the Prefect interrogated the guard captain in front of them all.
"They…well…" the guard capitan struggled to find his words, his throat contracting as if a phantom noose had been tied around it. "My lord, I- we… None of us saw anything out of the norm. We opened the doors in the morning and found them like that! I swear to all the Gods, it's the truth."
The villa Molt placed them in was hardly the Imperial Palace, but any assailant would have had to avoid at least a dozen guards and a small host of servants, both on their way in and out, to remain undetected.
The haryo? Mongrel they might be, they certainly understood the power of subterfuge and coin. They certainly had skill to pull off such an operation, and the 'why' was clear as day. For the Empire to suffer continued defeats at the hands of the Japanese barbarians and spread chaos across all Falmart.
"So you say," Regulus was unconvinced, turning to his underlings holding the man and the others. "Find out if they're incompetent or complicit, then hang them all."
"I see the situation is as dismal as you wrote." Molt ignored the cries for mercy as the crowd was led away, directing his attention to his Prefect.
"Sadly," the Prefect bowed to his liege. "And your talks with the barbarians?"
"Equally dismal," Molt frowned at the memory, regaling the Prefect with the meeting. How they sent a commoner to treat him, then they have the gall to demand extortionate amounts of money from the Imperial coffers, Molt could only imagine what other indignities he would have to suffer through before this war was over.
"Their arrogance is beyond comprehension," was Regulus's response to the story.
"Arrogance built upon a mountain of corpses," Molt absently noted the bodies of the nobles were wrapped up and placed into a burning pit.
"But arrogance nonetheless," Regulus scowled. "To demand so much, in such an insulting manner? Entire barbarian tribes have been exterminated for a fraction of what they have shown."
"And how is your scheme to humble them?" Molt inquired, genuinely curious about what the Praetorian had planned. "Done? In progress?"
"It's either already carried out, or will be shortly," the Prefect explained. "A simple sleight of hand to not only play upon man's most common fears, but demonstrate our power should the need arise."
---
---
Itami hated parties.
Actually that wasn't quite true.
He enjoyed them, so long as it was about something he cared about.
Birthdays? Karaoke? Anime? Sign him up!
Political gatherings where people in overly expensive and uncomfortable clothes passive aggressively poke and prod each other for an evening? Not so much.
Just like, for example, a massive Imperial Gala.
"So how did Kurokawa weasel her way out of this again?" Itami mumbled as he and the rest of his team waited for Sugawara to finish getting ready. The ranger fiddled with his dress uniform's collar to bleed off the stress he was feeling.
"She said she was going to investigate some Imperial clinics, see how they shape up and see if they need anything we can provide," Kuwahara reminded him.
"I should have thought up an excuse like that," the lieutenant bemoaned.
"I doubt that would have worked, seeing as how you were personally invited by Princess Pina."
Before Itami could reply, one of the diplomats tapped his shoulder."Excuse me Lieutenant, but there's a call from Alnus for you."
"Me? Really? Did they say what it was about?"
"No, just that it was urgent."
"Right," he waved to his team, "be back in a few guys, gotta call to take."
In the small room given over to communications equipment, Itami picked up the receiver.
"This is Second Lieutenant Itami."
"Itami, it's Yanagida, we have a situation here at Alnus."
"Well good evening to you too, Yanagida."
"Itami…"
"Right, right, I get it. So how bad is it?" Given the severity in his tone, Itami tried counting off the threats that could be against the base at any time. Dragons, monsters, Imperial forces.
"General Hazama woke up this morning to find a note on his night table. It was written in the local language and addressed to the 'Barbarian Warlord occupying Alnus. We checked it for poisons, but it came up clean.``
"Shit…" Someone broke into the base without getting spotted. How else could he respond to that? "I'm guessing you're already reviewing the security footage. Any clues, or are we still at square one?"
"That was the first thing we did, but we got nothing. The note just appears out of thin air in a single frame. It's not there, then it is. No one, besides the general, was in that room."
"So magic?"
"That's the leading theory we have thanks to Miss Lelei's input."
"So a threat to the General's life?" Though the idea seemed a little too brash for the Empire given the ceasefire in effect. Spying sure, but death threats?
"Worse: it was his itinerary for the last week."
"Are you saying some imperial spies stole something and then gave it back to show they could sneak in and out with impunity?" That didn't sound as bad as the security breach itself. Itami was more concerned about assassins using whatever this trick was to drop little 'surprises' onto soldiers as they slept.
"Yoji," Yanagida let out a frustrated sigh on his end of the line. "When we translated the message, it read out as a detailed account of everything the General did in the last week. Everything. Down to the most minute detail, for over a week, written by them. Everyone he talked to, everywhere he went, everything he did, everything he ate, even how long he slept. Everything was written down."
"Oh…" damn, that was really bad. If anyone could be observed with such impunity…
"Sure it didn't have exact names, and whoever wrote it doesn't know how computers or radios work, but it is still obvious what they mean given all the notes of the time they left in the margins. Itami, Some of these things took place in rooms with no windows or anything to observe through. I was even in one of these meetings! There was nothing out of the ordinary!"
A moment of silence reigned.
Itami honestly had no idea how to respond.
"We're already increasing the scale of surveillance across Alnus and we've begun to investigate possible spies among the Alnus Town residents. For the moment, we're also beginning a more thorough screening process for locals wanting to enter Alnus."
"You know this could be exactly what they want right?" The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. An overreaction by the SDF could ruin what relations they've built up with the locals. Dragging people away for 'questioning' would absolutely sour people's opinions of the Japanese.
"I know, but what else are we supposed to do?"
"...end the war, I guess," Itami laughed at his own poor joke. "Make the empire have no reason to do this anymore."
"Just like that?"
"I mean, we got a ceasefire. That's at least a start, right?"
Yanagida was quite on his end, then sighed. "Just be alert for anything odd or suspicious. If they can reach Hazama in Alnus, they can absolutely reach our people in Sadera."
"Yeah, I'll spread the word," the conversation quickly ended soon after.
Putting the radio down, Itami looked out to the towering edifice of the Imperial Palace at the highest point of the city.
He could just feel it in his bones that it was going to be a long night.
---
---
"This is going to be a long night," I mumbled to myself as I approached the doorway into the main chamber.
Inside were hundreds of the most important people in the city, if not the Empire. All to bask in the authority of the crown, and show the wider world that even with all the losses suffered and territory lost, the Empire was still great and powerful.
While I know how to play the game of politics, I absolutely detest it. Add in my high station granted by virtue of having the right parents, with my gender and age, I would almost certainly start having to deal with scores of men trying to 'woo' me or arrange some sort of marriage agreement.
While I wasn't concerned I was about to be shipped off like a mare, the Emperor made it clear he wasn't going to even consider arranging that sort of thing for some time, the sheer audacity of some people got on my nerves.
Political maneuvering aside, I normally wouldn't bother with this sort of thing.
But this gathering has one thing the others didn't: the Japanese attending.
I let caution get the better of me before, given recent events with Zorzal, I refuse to let another slip through my fingers again. And it will give me a chance to finally figure out what the hell is going on with this version of Japan.
"Uncomfortable?" Gaius mused, the eunuch putting on his finest robes for the occasion. Remus and Cordelia would have joined us, had the Gala not prohibited demihumans from attending; excluding those explicitly invited.
"Naturally", I tsked, shifting in the accused dress I was forced to wear and wiggling in the uncomfortable shoes I had to put on. This damn outfit probably costs more than an entire village, so how can it feel this uncomfortable!?
"I hear some girls go their whole lives wishing to be in your position."
"And some girls go their whole lives with their heads in the clouds," I quip back.
"Hm, someone's overly prickly tonight."
"More nerves than anything."
"Hm, anything to do with the Japanese weapons being brought so close to us?"
"Please, I know they won't do anything," I roll my eyes at the thought of them starting something at a party. They were 'winning', why would they do anything to jeopardize their position?
"Well, feel free to tell that to the cohort of Praetorians out there," Gaius mused aloud, reaching to the door, he looked to me for permission to open it.
I nodded, not saying a word as the two of us walked out into the veritable powder keg beyond.
If all goes according to plan, this night will finally put an end to any questions I might have on this version of Japan.
----------
----------
AN: Spoilers(?), but the night will not end in a good way.
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It is kinda funny that Tanya hasn't realized that this is the general consensus on the topic. Presumably, Tanya's thought process was something like 'these arguments sure resemble racist arguments from my past lives, and all of those were bunk, so these ones are probably as well' and then just went on not listening to them, but in the Empire, Falmart's opinion that 'demihumans make good domestic servants and should have some rights' is a radical one.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They
Can't wait to see the fireworks. *Grabs Popcorn*
Tawsnrrtsyip
Rick's Law Enthusiast
- Location
- Terra, Sol System, Orion Arm, Milky Way
- Pronouns
- Nice/Try/FBI/Pricks
- Pronouns
- They/Them/She/Her
I'm guessing that was supposed to be something like this:Midas_Man said:
?
Thanks for writing!
A Hopeless War - VI
Midas_Man
One of the Brightest Stars
Hazama would be lying if he said recent event's hadn't spooked him.
Someone, an imperial agent or saboteur maybe, broke into his private quarters and left without leaving a trace. No video, no audio, no footprints, not even damn finger prints! No vent cover was out of place, no door or window ajar, the fence around the barracks were still intact as was the barbed wire atop it, not even a spec of gravel was out of alignment.
Absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary.
Except that their defenses had been utterly circumnavigated.
Given the supernatural aspects of the intrusion, Leilei and her teacher were consulted on the matter. The pair proposed that it might be the work of a hypnotist. That is, the intruder mind controlled one of the soldiers in Alnus to let them in without raising an alarm.
As for the other issues, such as finding no trace of their existence? Enchanted gear could muffle the sound someone produces while a spell or cloak of invisibility would hide them from cameras. Not items or magic commonly utilized, but hardly unheard of.
If the pair's theory was right, then whoever this was literally came through the front door. And while they could question each and every soldier on duty at the time, that wouldn't be any good since the suspect could easily 'erase' themselves' from the mind of whoever they used.
The most likely culprit was a Saderan agent, someone who either infiltrated Alnus or even blended in with refugees to get inside.
The reason?
Well the General was leaning towards Yanagida's theory that this was all some big 'song and dance' by the Empire to scare the JSDF into some sort of overreaction.
One of the SDF's greatest assets in the Special Region was the good will the local population held for them. Acts of heroism and genuine decency over the past few months have gone a long way in ingratiating themselves with the people.
In open battle, the SDF was seemingly unstoppable. Every battle they've fought with the Empire has ended in a lopsided Japanese victory.
But wars were more than just battles. You can't just bomb all your problems away, as tempting as it might be for many in the cabinet. Victory will be impossible if the people of the Special Region feel as if Japan is just a different flavor of tyranny, or worse.
Cooperation, built on mutual respect and understanding, was the only viable path forward long term.
So what would happen if the JSDF began to lash out blindly at random people? Rejecting asylum seekers outright because they 'could be' Saderan spies or agents? Pulling people off the street for interrogation because they seemed 'too interested' in the JSDF? Or any number of mundane things that take on sinister meanings with enough paranoia?
Things would get ugly very fast.
He expected to hear from Tokyo on the matter later this evening, or early tomorrow at the latest. No doubt with a revised threat assessment on the Saderans at the bare minimum. In pitched battles they might be woefully lacking, but in infiltration and subterfuge what approximated for their intelligence services were seemingly experts in their craft.
While the trouble has seemingly come and gone, or at least this infiltrator wouldn't try the same thing so soon now the SDF was aware of it, he couldn't help shake the feeling he was being watched.
Like there was someone stalking him at all hours. That there was nowhere he could go without some all seeing eye noting his every movement. Even now in his office, he couldn't help but second guess every shadow or double check the ceiling as if he would find some ninja looking figure up there staring back at him.
Whoever it was could have killed him, but they didn't.
But before Hazama could muse on the situation further, he felt…something.
A soft thud that reverberated across the room.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
Each shake, each thud, reverberating longer and longer.
By the tenth, Hazama heard an assortment of car alarms go off in the motor pool across from his building.
This was far from normal.
He raced over to the window, parting the blinds aside to look across the base.
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
Hazama watched a nearby street pole wobble with each vibration, lights across the base flickering on and off as the shaking slowly, but surely, intensified.
Then, a singularly strong quake nearly threw him off his feet, breaking his fall against the wall.
He frowned, keeping his hand on the wall as he walked towards the door to leave the building rather than stay where he was.
The quakes shimmered down from that high point, but still continued a low rumbling. The fire alarm went off, or someone set it off. Regardless, people would be vacating the building as he planned to.
Through it all, he could only wonder how bizarre this all was.
Earthquakes simply happened. They don't slowly rev themselves up over the course of slowly intensifying quakes. Was this something native to the Special Region? Something they had seemingly overlooked when asking the locals about their world? When they spoke, the people seemingly had no concept of earthquakes so they assumed they must be far from a fault line.
Were the people wrong, were the JSDF wrong, or was this as unnatural as it appeared?
He managed to get to the door before another singularly strong quake shook the foundations of the building.
Out of his office, he watched people make their way down the halls to the exits, seemingly as confused as he was.
As the quakes continued, almost pulsing with no end in sight, he could already tell this was going to be a long night.
--
--
Cassel El Tiberius knew that there were some in the Empire that would label him a traitor. All for the sake of wanting to end this senseless war.
A coward.
A traitor.
An honorless cur that ought to simply fall upon his own blade to salvage the dignity of his family.
But he knew better.
Beyond the propaganda, beyond the chest pounding, trumpets, and standard waving,
His position granted him more insight into the state of their conflict with the Japanese than the average citizen. And even then, he has no doubt that Molt's bootlickers have gone over every detail given to the senate with a discerning eye.
Even so, what was provided to them was already disheartening enough on its own. He could only imagine what the uncensored reports detailed.
Knowing the Green Men's proclivity for destruction, perhaps he could not.
But he knew in his bones, this was not a conflict the Empire should fight. Victory, in the conventional sense, was becoming more and more of a feverish dream shared only by the uninformed and the blind.
The Empire could win, Cassel knew this in his heart. Yet even with his love for his Empire, he also knew that an Imperial victory would cripple the Empire. That it would take too much of its wealth and strength to push back the Japanese that the Empire would cripple itself.
Not unlike how a man may eventually break a brick wall, at the cost of running his fist.
What point was victory if it left the Empire so weak, so broken, that it collapsed in on itself shortly afterwards? Or worse, was overrun by barbarians from all directions?
He would not see the bastion of civilization break its own back for the sake of pride and ego.
So when Princess Pina offered to introduce him to the Japanese ambassador, he accepted.
"You look pale, ambassador. Are you well?"
"Oh, I'm just tired is all," Sugawara dismissed Cassel's comment with a half hearted laugh. "Haven't gotten enough sleep the past few nights. It's nothing to worry about."
The senator was unconvinced, but did not press the Japanese ambassador.
The streets were lined with assortments of horse drawn carriages and slave carried lints, all moving towards a singular point: The Imperial Palace.
For tonight the Emperor would grace the lords and ladies of the Empire to assure them that all was well and there was nothing to be concerned about.
Of course, the other reason so many were journeying there was to see the 'barbarian' foe from Alnus in person. To examine what sort of culture had broken the Imperial Legions so thoroughly that some even whispered that Sadera's walls would be soon put to the test.
This would also be the best place for the Japanese to not only encourage the Senators and dignitaries that they are far from the monsters propaganda is depicting them as, but also impress upon them the self destructive reality of continuing hostilities.
"A word of warning, Mr. Sugawara," Cassel leaned forward with a grim expression, the Imperial Palace looming before their carriage.. "You're about to step foot in one of the most dangerous places in the world: the Imperial Court. I cannot emphasize the danger you will be in enough. Steel yourself, otherwise those vultures will devour you whole."
"I'd have thought Alnus Hill might have taken that place," the ambassador jokes, knowing full well the implication of his words. "Nevertheless, I thank you for your warning, but I'm sure I'll be fine. If worse comes to worse, and I find myself in anything too dangerous, my escort will see me out safely."
While the Senator disagreed with the cavalier attitude, he could hardly argue that the legion's performance on the field has done nothing to temper it. "Since you mentioned the Hill, I will pray we can only be as lucky as those fallen men should the worst come."
"Excuse me?"
"They had the luxury of dying only once. We shall have no such luxury," Cassel sighed, looking out the window of their carriage as they rode towards the imperial palace. "Trust me when I say there is no civility at court, only politics. More so now that your forces are pushing the Empire into a corner, and it will do as beasts tend to when put in similar situations."
The ambassador frowned, "I know the Empire suffered losses, severe losses, but is the situation really that bad?"
"It is heading there," Cassel assured him. "The treasury is hemorrhaging gold, so much so that someone, maybe even his majesty, ordered the selling of the grain reservoirs to offset the cost. Add the sheer scale of the new wave of mobilization, and harvest projections are below even our bleakest forecasts, and there are economic woes beyond those from disrupted trade. The Empire is at a precipice, that much is obvious to me."
"...I never realized the situation was that bad," Sugawara looked out the window himself. "Naturally, it's also in the interest of Japan to end this war as quickly as possible. Not just for our sake, but for the sake of the Imperial people. Of course, if it turns out the Empire is using this pause in hostility to redeploy its forces, that would be a violation of the ceasefire agreement."
"Are imperial forces even a concern for your people?"
"...It's the spirit of the agreement," the ambassador did not refute Cassel's claim, "and trust. Her highness worked hard for even this much, it would be a shame for those in power to throw away all she's done."
"Yes," the senator noticed the red haired girl waiting for them at the base of the Palace alongside some of her fellow warrior women, all in proper dress rather than plate. Her highness rushed to one of the carriages behind them carrying some of the Sugawara's retinue for the evening. Perhaps to greet that 'Sir Itami' she has spoken of. "I suppose it would be."
--
--
I watched the gala from the sidelines. Far enough away that no one could really approach me without committing some social faux pas of approaching a royal without prompting, but close enough that I could just make out everything going on.
Even better was that all eyes were on the Emperor, little old me got to slink away into the shadows.
Ughhhh, I hate political functions.
The pointless prattle, the fake praise, and oh so 'witty' barbs traded like this was a damn soap opera. All of it done with the most 'genuine' smiles just to show just how friendly they are.
They are oh so friendly and genuine…
Why it was so hospitable, that I almost wished I was on the Western Front again…
At least there I could wear something more comfortable then a fucking dress!
"There is such a thing as being too open with your feelings," Gaius took a break from his 'people watching' to see the scowl on my face. "Why, people might even start to think that you don't want to be here."
"Can't have that," I grumble, wishing so dearly that I could drink myself into a stupor so the night could just flash before my eyes and it could be 'tomorrow' already. But me being intoxicated would defeat the whole point of me enduring this menagerie in the first place. "Might cause a scandal."
"Scandalous indeed. You should follow your brother's example," the eunuch pointed over to Diabo, drink in hand and surrounded by a dozen women.
"Surrounded by beautiful women?" Gotta admit, it's not the worst idea. My hormones are starting to 'kick in' after all.. And politically speaking it's probably safer to be in relations with women since it lets me keep that all important 'maidenhood' that somehow makes me more valuable.
"Surrounded by those hanging to your every word," Giaus explained.
"They're leeches," I watched them throw themselves into a fit of giggling after Diabo said something 'witty'. Their 'amusement' might be more believable if they didn't try so hard. "They either just want his money, or the influence that comes with being a royal's mistress."
"I never said it wasn't parasitic. But imagine if you were the parasite leaching those around you?"
"I'm not that pathetic," I snort.
"Not pathetic, resourceful," he countered. "Think about it: the sole true born daughter to the reigning emperor, with a brother who's likely to come down with a natural case of 'hunting accident' in the near future, your only other siblings are from consorts, you don't need to be an erudite to realize how to use this on powerful men."
"Can we change the subject," I knew what Gaius was getting at. Patriarchal as the Empire was, marrying the daughter of an emperor was seemingly enough for a man to claim the whole Empire by virtue of his wife's lineage. It's happened before, it'll happen again.
"Well, if you insist, I shall refrain from skulduggery and scandalous thoughts," he gulped down his drink in a single sip, he pointed across the room. "Oh look, a pair of senators we are acquainted with."
"Subtle," I roll my eyes.
"I try."
"I should have made you my jester at this rate."
"Well, I do pride myself on being sanguine."
"But you're only half as funny as you think you are."
"Still more than most men."
A large commotion at the front gates broke up the tempo of our jabs.
In walked the 'main event' as it were: Marquise Cassel, Pina, and a group of Japanese.
It was clear who most people were observing.
The Japanese delegation seemed to be mostly military, going by the dress uniforms all but one of them wore. The last one was no doubt the ambassador I heard Pina speaking about, and Sherry infatuated with.
Looking at him, I had no idea what the girl saw in him. He looked so…bland.
While Pina had walked in beside one of the Japanese officers, she peeled off to go meet the Emperor. Words were exchanged, pointless pleasantries, and the gala resumed.
But before I could even take a step towards them, they were surrounded by couriters and others. A gaggle who either wanted to observe them like some dangerous animals or wanted to watch others do so. A few, miraculously, seemed to actually want to interact with them.
Ugh…
I refuse to try and wrestle for their attention like some preening child.
I shall simply wait.
…
However long it may take to get a one-on-one meeting.
…
I could already tell it was going to be a while.
--
--
Itami wanted to rip his hair out!
Ever since they got here, they've been hounded every moment by someone or other!
Sugawara loved it, Pina seemed to take it in stride, Senator Cassel was in his element, but it drove Youji insane!
After a couple hours of it, he left the diplomat in the care of Kuribayashi and Kuwahara while he went out to get some air. If something happened, or someone tried something like they did in Alnus, they'd radio him and he'd rush back; not that he was even going that far.
But he was pretty sure nothing would happen, or at least if something did happen, then it was not intentionally. After all, if you invite someone to your party and something happens to them, it's pretty obvious who people will point fingers at first.
This was probably the safest place for them in the city right now so long as the war stays cold.
Or at least the impression of the Emperor that Pina gave them didn't make him out as the sort who would do something at his own event. Invade other nations without provocation and run a slaving empire? Sure. But that would be a line he would not cross.
Even after Pina explained it to him, he couldn't help but feel like some crazy values dissonance was going on.
He wandered over to a large, and thankfully less crowded, garden filled with murals and artwork. Well it was still noisy, but nowhere near as bad as it was inside.
Statues and busts sat besides paintings and fine decorative armor. Kind of reminded him of some CGs he saw in Visual Novels involving fantasy settings.
The irony of that statement was not lost on him.
But amongst it all, what caught the lieutenant's eye was a large mural that stretched along the space between two columns: a man in armor entering a bedroom where a woman was being violated by another man.
Well he's read enough H-Novels to know where that was going…
"'The Defilement', commissioned in the year two hundred and three by Emperor Tycho." The sudden voice startled Itami.
At the far end of the garden was a man, older than the lieutenant, with bright red hair and a scepter-like cane. Beside him stood a giant among men, clad in armor and while unarmed, looked strong enough to break Itami in two with his bare hands.
Suddenly the kevlar he had under his uniform didn't make him feel so safe.
Smiling that he was noticed, the man approached Itami, his giant in tow.
"It depicts the Saderan Republic's last dictator, Cyrus, caught forcing himself upon the maiden Viria. A maiden promised to a man Cyrus despised," the man continued unpromoted. As he neared Youji, he tapped his cane in a strange rhythm, each tap reverberating across the lightly populated garden and leaving a strange white noise in his ear for a brief moment before there was only silence yet he could still hear the man clear as day.
Maybe it was just the light, but Itami swore he saw lines of light racing up and down that gemstone…
"The man in armor is her brother, Syagrius," he continued, clearly not caring that Itami was lost. "The man who would later go on to cast out the dictator, end the hedonism of the late republic, and become our first emperor."
"That's…interesting," Itami tried to be diplomatic. Interesting as it might be for some, he was still wondering why in the world some guy started randomly talking to him, and then there was that white noise. "And sorry but, did you just do something? I heard a high pitched whine when you tapped your cane and-"
"Just a little bit of magic so I don't have to try talking over everyone around us, or overhearing us. At these parties it is almost impossible to have a private conversation otherwise."
"That's…good…" he really didn't know what to say. "So are you a mage or-"
"Goodness no. I know a little bit, but hardly enough. All I can do are parlor tricks compared to what true mages do." The man stopped for a moment, then realized something. "But where are my manners? Rambling off to someone without being prompted," He gave a curt bow to Youji, though it was more akin to slightly leaning forward compared to the other 'proper' bows he had seen so far. "Clovis Syagrius, Governor of Soissons."
"Governor?" Now that got Itami's attention. While having a somewhat limited understanding of the inner workings of the Empire's political structure, he at least did enough homework to know the 'important' positions. Governor being one of the top ones. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Second Lieutenant Itami. Sorry about the way I acted…sir?"
Was that the right way to address them or was it 'lord'? You didn't have to be a lord to be a governor so maybe?
"No, no, I should be the one who apologizes," Clovis brushed aside Itami's worry. "I came out of nowhere, and just started detailing the history of a painting. I'm actually a little embarrassed, good ser."
"Then how about we call it even then," Youji scratched the back of his neck and let out a nervous laugh. Where was Sugawara when you needed him? But, hang on… "Wait, you said the guy was called Syagrius? And you're…"
"Clovis Syagrius, yes."
"Any relation or is it just a common name?"
"My ancestor, actually," the man smiled at the mention, turning his gaze back to the painting. "But those halcyon days are long behind us. And as colorful as it may look, and the story itself is, I can assure you it's more fiction than fact."
"Really?" How did one politely decline speaking with a governor?
"Indeed," the man nodded. "The story says Cyrus snuck into the villa alone, yet the dictator was well known for his paranoia; never going to so much as the privy without a retinue accompanying him. Yet we are to believe he went alone to his political rival's home? For a woman of all people?"
"Crazy people do crazy things sometimes," The Japanese man gave a half-hearted mumble, recalling a few anime he watched with stranger plots.
"As for Viria?" he continued. "True she had yet to wed, but the girl was a follower of Miritta. A devout follower. I dare say she could make a whore blush."
"That's…um."
"It simply doesn't make sense when you think about it," the governor shook his head. "Not that it makes the story any less valuable. A morality tale for the ages about reach exceeding grasp. Of good vanquishing evil. Simple, yet effective."
"...Yeah." What was he even supposed to say to this? He could hardly tell the guy to go away. Sugawara would never let it go if he did that. 'Diplomatic Incident' and all that.
"But personally, I don't take such fantastical stories completely seriously. Take yourself for example," Clovis gestured to Itami with his scepter.
"Wait, me?" oh geez, was this about the Flame Dragon?
"Well, not specifically you of course. You Japanese in general," he clarified. "I scarcely believe a fraction of the drivel that comes up regarding your people. Unless, that is to say, you do build your homes out of the bones of the dead and weak cloaks of flayed skin to keep out the cold of your homeland."
"Eh!" that caught him a tad off guard. Sure he heard some of the stuff about 'honorless barbarians' and 'treacherous invaders', but that. "No, no, no! We don't do bone or skin stuff, absolutely not. Nope!"
"Well my point stands then," he gave the Lieutenant a melancholic smile. "I don't blame the ones who spread these stories however. A lie, or their life. I don't envy such a choice."
"I…realize you're trying to tell me something important, given you did the whole 'silence thing' with your cane before coming over, but I think it's going a little over my head," Youji nervously chuckled.
Sort of a white lie on his part. Youji was very much aware of the implications of a foreign political figure meeting a military official from a nation they were currently at war with. A nation that was losing the war. At least, it made some sense from his contemporary mindset. But maybe he was just over thinking it and this sort of stuff was normal here.
"What I am trying to say," the governor looked to where his giant of a man was, giving him a nod, then back to Itami. "Is that I love my Empire, but I am not blind to its failings. In my heart, I have always been a man of peace. So believe me when I tell you that the Emperor will say, or will make others say, whatever is needed to safeguard and aggrandize himself."
"Are you saying the Emperor would go back on anything he agrees," that was not exactly what he thought the guy was gonna start with, but it is almost just as bad. If this whole thing was just a smokescreen, that the Emperor had no intentions of peace, just agreeing to this to get some breathing space then-
"I mean what I said, the Emperor will do and the Emperor will do," the governor repeated, cutting off Itami's thoughts. "The senate is at a standstill, half for peace, half for continuing the war. The barest push in either direction will chart the course for the Empire. Princess Pina has started that push, but it still needs that barest additional force to see it done."
"If that's true, why don't you-"
"I'm afraid that is simply impossible," the man dismissed the idea outright. "My support to the Emperor has been lackluster enough recently, my desire for peace becoming harder to mask. I'm already suspected as a 'defeatist'. Shorthand for 'traitor' these days. Being seen working openly in your favor would be… unfortunate for myself and my family."
"I think I get it," his family was being held hostage, seem par for the course from when he heard of the Empire from Leilei and Rory.
"I'm not a coward," he continued, thinking he needed to defend his actions. "If it was just myself, I would be singing for peace atop the balconies. But I have a family to consider. A son, a wife, a young daughter, surely you understand?"
"No, I get it," he tried to calm the guy down. "It's not easy standing up for what's right when those you love are in danger."
"Exactly, I've only ever wanted what is right and-" before he could finish, the giant patted Clovis on the shoulder. The man sighed, "Oh dear, our time's up."
"Up?" Youji looked around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Well we could only talk so long in 'private' given where we are, those speculatores must have finally noticed," Syagrius grumbled, tapping his cane in a rhythmic tone just as before. The white noise flared once again, his gem lit up again, and suddenly noise returned.
Itami could swear the thing lit up like a circuit board…
"Please relay my words to your lord, your leader, tell him what I have told you," he whispered, his voice just hidden beneath the ambient noise of chattering dignitaries. "And a pleasant evening to you, Ser Itami."
Before Itami could say anything else, he heard another voice call out to him.
"Ser Itami," Princess Pina walked over to him, "I was wondering where you wandered off to-" she stopped short, noticing the governor and giant walking away. "What happened?"
"Happened?"
"Did he threaten you?" Pina spoke plainly, "even if he just implied one?"
"Not really, he was mostly talking about…that," he gestured to the large painting. "I mean I guess he said a lot of other stuff, but no threats."
"Good," she let out a sigh of relief, even her shoulders relaxed. "Governor Clovis is not someone to take lightly."
"He seemed," he looked back at the pair, finally disappearing into the throngs of people inside, "nice enough."
"He's dangerous," Pina cautioned. "My father worries about him and his growing power."
"Isn't he worried about a lot of things, moreso now with everything we've done?"
"No, Itami you don't understand, my father rarely worries," Pina explained. "Concerned, annoyed, peeved even, almost all the time. Comes with dealing with the Senate. But worried? I can't say I've ever seen him worry about any specific person as much as he does that man. Please be careful around him."
"Sure," he promised, making a mental note to get a dossier on the man with clear instructions for JSDF personnel in Sadera to stay clear of him.
Maybe he was telling the truth, that he was a peaceful man stuck in a rough place. But he doubted Pina would knowingly lie about something like this.
And in Itami's own mind, scepter (wand?) or not, he never could fully trust a man who walks with a cane but has no limp.
--
--
The night dragged on, party goers came and went, courses came and went, and I kept a watch of the delegation from afar.
Just biding my time until the right moment. On and on it went.
One group, then the next, then the next.
Eventually Pina peeled off from the main group to do her own thing, or follow that man who left earlier. Then Senator Cassel went off to speak with the Emperor. This left the Japanese diplomat, metaphorically, alone.
And now, with the crowd having thinned, the diplomat alone, or at least away from the courtiers, I finally had my shot! To ask the questions that have been plaguing my mind and clear up the misunderstandings that are filling my mind with how the JSDF is operating.
But if they aren't misunderstandings…
No, first answers!
Collecting all my confidence, I walked across the palace floor to the Japanese. My stride picked up more than a few glances from guests, no doubt curious as to why a child was marching with such conviction. For once, I was hoping my physical age would shield me from most of the questions as to why I'm so abruptly showing up.
Though I could only hope he didn't misunderstand me and think I was like Sherry with some childish crush.
Ugh… I think I need a shower just thinking about it.
Reaching the man in question, I smiled.
"Greetings," I began, overthinking that it was too formal a start. Well, I can't back down now. "May I have a moment of your time? I just have a few questions about Japan that I'm curious about."
"Well hello to you as well," the man took my introduction in stride, smiling. "I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have."
"Excellent," I nod, aware of all the eyes now on us. For the love of… now I was going to have to parse my words even more carefully. I can already see the gossip: Imperial Princess talking with foreign representatives of the nation kicking out teeth in: was I a traitor or just naive?
Yet before I even asked my first question, I heard them.
"You know she's actually kinda cute," the female officer commented in Japanese to her colleague. "I mean, in that 'Disney Princess' sort of way."
"Yeah I can see it," he agreed with her, nodding. "I have a cousin who used to dress up like that for costume parties when she was a little girl. This girl's dress is nicer than anything out of a custom store though."
…CUTE!?
"And I don't think she liked that, Kuribayashi."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, she doesn't seem to like you calling her a Disney princess."
Twitch…
"Yep, see, she really doesn't like it."
"It's more like she doesn't like someone whispering behind her back," the woman rationalized, "not that she actually understands us."
"...I can understand you," Never in a million years did I think my 'unveiling' of conversational Japanese would be under this sort of circumstance.
The JSDF woman's expression soured, as if she ate a lemon.
Her older companion laughed, "See? Didn't like it."
"Your Japanese is… impressive," the diplomat commented, clearly not expecting my fluency. "You barely have an accent."
"I've practiced a lot," I shrug, hoping he doesn't start pressing for 'why' I know it so well.
"If you're plotting something could you at least do it in a language I understand?" Gaius decided to make himself known, seemingly gliding over. "I love a good plot."
"I was just explaining that I knew their language," I shot the man a glare for his flamboyant.
"Quite the surprise, no doubt," he grinned, then regarded the diplomat. "And pardon if this is an overreach, but is it not custom in your lands to not properly show respect when speaking to a member of royalty?"
"Royalty?"
"Wait, she's actually a princess!"
Gaius found the JSDF pair's antics more amusing then I did.
"You have the privilege and honor of addressing her Highness Tanya Augustus, second true born child of Molt Sol Augustus," was it wrong that the way Gaius introduced me almost made me roll my eyes.
While the pair looked stunned, the diplomat recovered first.
"Apologies, your highness," he gave a curt bow. "I should have known. I'm Koji Sugawara, negotiator from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have."
"Would you prefer that I speak in Japanese?" I ask, not wanting to sound mean by claiming his accent in the Imperial language was very grating.
"I'll be fine with any language you feel most comfortable with," how accommodating.
"Very well," I chose to stick to Japanese, for my own sake if nothing else. "First, what is Japan's end goal in Falmart?"
"Well in the short term we want to end this conflict between our nations," he answered smoothly. "In the long term, it is our hope that the Empire and Japan can reach mutual understanding and encourage cooperation between our peoples. And beyond that, we hope to continue exploring this world for some time to come."
Well that's delightfully boilerplate and non descript. How about we try something a little more, in depth.
"What about Italica and the other regions you've occupied? Do you plan on keeping it once the war is over?"
"Beyond the immediate region around the Gate at Alnus for national defense, and a small security detail in the city of Italica, all territory will be returned to the Empire once a peace treaty is finalized."
I can understand the territory just around the Gate, but a security detail in Italica? Does he mean an embassy? A consulate? Or was Japan actually planning on carving out a bit of Italica after the war like some concession in China?
Mmmmm, time to ask the big question.
"Are there only Japanese at Alnus?"
"Certainly not," Oh that's a- "Refugees from across the Italica region have actually set up a small settlement just within the JSDF base's boundaries. We've provided homes, jobs, and medical care to those left homeless from the war or are fleeing persecution."
"I meant," better be more specific, "are there only Japanese troops in Alnus."
"Well," Sugawara took a 'thinking man' pose, "I did hear the commanding officer, General Hazama, was setting up a local police force for the Alnus settlement. Let the new settlement have a bit of autonomy from the usual SDF forces stationed there."
Oh for the love of!
"I am not being specific enough," I sigh. "Are there only Japanese troops arriving from beyond the Gate?"
"I would assume so, it is in Japan after all," he laughed it off as a joke.
Okay, it was official, something was absolutely wrong with this Japan.
"What about the United States of America," I decided to just be blunt and cut to the root of my concern.
"...I'm sorry," the ambassador looked as if I had grown a second head, the other two seemed more shocked than confused. "What did you say?"
"The United States of America," I repeated, "the nation your county has a mutual defense treaty with. Since the Empire attacked, it should have been automatically invoked. So I'm asking where their troops are."
"Oh I do hate being out of the loop," Gaius may not have understood what I was saying, but he clearly understood the shocked looks on their faces. "But I know I am going to enjoy hearing about this later."
"Well…um…you see," the diplomat fumbled his words, clearly my line of questioning was never even considered before now. "Since the Gate connects Japan to the Special Region, our term for Falmart, the government ruled that the Imperial attack in Ginza was a domestic act of terror. Therefore we did not need to invoke our treaty with the United States."
….What?
"How can the Imperial attack be a domestic issue?" I tilt my head a bit, trying to understand what he was saying. "We were a foreign power, an alien one even from your perspective, attacking your nation unprovoked."
"Well…This is the stance of the Prime Minister in relation to the Special Operation here in your world." Wow. I worked HR, and even I am appalled by how flimsy that excuse was. "That is. The attack was an act of domestic terror given the current connection between Japan and the Special Region."
That is just…
What the…
I was expecting something….
But this is…
"So… officially," I tried to work through the logic I was being fed, "the Empire are just terrorists according to your government?"
"No, no, no," Sugawara must have realized he was fumbling. "The nation of Japan acknowledges that the Empire is a sovereign nation. After all, I am here as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"Apparently we're not sovereign enough to be considered anything but domestic though," I frowned. This was not at all what I thought I would hear."A nation, in a completely different world, that you never knew about until the Gate appeared, but was still considered a domestic attack?"
I mean, I guess I was expecting some sort of excuse. But this is just…pathetic. Word play at its finest.
What's worse is that I know exactly what the Japanese government is trying to do. They're doing this to have a legal excuse to claim land from beyond the Gate, or at least exercise exclusive influence across it.
Why was it labeled a domestic attack? So the Americans don't have an excuse to come over and set up shop here? And if push came to shove, America would have a much bigger stick to force Japan to do whatever it wanted. Still, while Japan would be the 'king maker' who decides who from Earth comes and goes from Falmart, no doubt taxing anyone for the privilege, they wouldn't be the sole power in this world.
The thought is intoxicating. To have no peer rival. To be able to do literally anything you wanted without international outcry or backlash. To be practically immune to embargos from all the resources in this world.
This was colonialism, pure and simple.
Maybe not to the extent of the late Co-Prosperity Sphere, I know for a fact that Imperial Japan would not be acting anywhere this pleasant if they found a foe with the same disparity in power as Japan see's in Sadera, but it's still colonialism.
And the worst thing is, I can't really fault them for it.
No nation would turn away this chance! Germania would have jumped at the chance. Hell if I was ruling a country, I would have jumped at the chance!
But if that's the case, then the whole calculus of why the war is being fought changes. The post war environment goes from Japan keeping to themselves and just exploring the world to actively seeking to influence and interact with all the nations here.
This was…
I couldn't even think with all the information racing through my skull. Being X's long lost warnings ringing ever more true now…
"If you don't mind me asking," it was Sugawara's turn to ask questions. No doubt he had plenty of them for me given how massively I blindsided him. "You seem to know a lot about Japan, I'm curious how. Your sister, Pina, didn't seem as… informed about Japan beyond ending the conflict with us."
"One of the books she brought back was a history book," I lied, not that he would know. "Modern history, sanitized, no doubt censored, but enough to tell me a bunch of things. Like your military forces not being as impressive in your world as they are here. In essence, that you're not strong, we're just weak."
"That is," he searched for the right words, "very interesting. I'm curious to learn what else your book told you about us. And how someone seemingly was self taught to read Japanese at that."
Ah…shit.
Right.
Maybe I went a bit overboard with what I knew.
Thankfully, fate seemed to turn in my favor, setting in motion an event that would cause everyone to forget the question just asked.
Unfortunately for me, that event was an earthquake that shook the very foundations of the Palace.
--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
AN: And so it is over! Confrontations and an earthquake!
I wanted to write more, but the word count was ballooning out of control! Had to snip around stuff to get it mostly coherent!
Also, good news! Most of the next chapter is already done and should be out 'relatively' shortly.
Someone, an imperial agent or saboteur maybe, broke into his private quarters and left without leaving a trace. No video, no audio, no footprints, not even damn finger prints! No vent cover was out of place, no door or window ajar, the fence around the barracks were still intact as was the barbed wire atop it, not even a spec of gravel was out of alignment.
Absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary.
Except that their defenses had been utterly circumnavigated.
Given the supernatural aspects of the intrusion, Leilei and her teacher were consulted on the matter. The pair proposed that it might be the work of a hypnotist. That is, the intruder mind controlled one of the soldiers in Alnus to let them in without raising an alarm.
As for the other issues, such as finding no trace of their existence? Enchanted gear could muffle the sound someone produces while a spell or cloak of invisibility would hide them from cameras. Not items or magic commonly utilized, but hardly unheard of.
If the pair's theory was right, then whoever this was literally came through the front door. And while they could question each and every soldier on duty at the time, that wouldn't be any good since the suspect could easily 'erase' themselves' from the mind of whoever they used.
The most likely culprit was a Saderan agent, someone who either infiltrated Alnus or even blended in with refugees to get inside.
The reason?
Well the General was leaning towards Yanagida's theory that this was all some big 'song and dance' by the Empire to scare the JSDF into some sort of overreaction.
One of the SDF's greatest assets in the Special Region was the good will the local population held for them. Acts of heroism and genuine decency over the past few months have gone a long way in ingratiating themselves with the people.
In open battle, the SDF was seemingly unstoppable. Every battle they've fought with the Empire has ended in a lopsided Japanese victory.
But wars were more than just battles. You can't just bomb all your problems away, as tempting as it might be for many in the cabinet. Victory will be impossible if the people of the Special Region feel as if Japan is just a different flavor of tyranny, or worse.
Cooperation, built on mutual respect and understanding, was the only viable path forward long term.
So what would happen if the JSDF began to lash out blindly at random people? Rejecting asylum seekers outright because they 'could be' Saderan spies or agents? Pulling people off the street for interrogation because they seemed 'too interested' in the JSDF? Or any number of mundane things that take on sinister meanings with enough paranoia?
Things would get ugly very fast.
He expected to hear from Tokyo on the matter later this evening, or early tomorrow at the latest. No doubt with a revised threat assessment on the Saderans at the bare minimum. In pitched battles they might be woefully lacking, but in infiltration and subterfuge what approximated for their intelligence services were seemingly experts in their craft.
While the trouble has seemingly come and gone, or at least this infiltrator wouldn't try the same thing so soon now the SDF was aware of it, he couldn't help shake the feeling he was being watched.
Like there was someone stalking him at all hours. That there was nowhere he could go without some all seeing eye noting his every movement. Even now in his office, he couldn't help but second guess every shadow or double check the ceiling as if he would find some ninja looking figure up there staring back at him.
Whoever it was could have killed him, but they didn't.
But before Hazama could muse on the situation further, he felt…something.
A soft thud that reverberated across the room.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
Each shake, each thud, reverberating longer and longer.
By the tenth, Hazama heard an assortment of car alarms go off in the motor pool across from his building.
This was far from normal.
He raced over to the window, parting the blinds aside to look across the base.
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
Hazama watched a nearby street pole wobble with each vibration, lights across the base flickering on and off as the shaking slowly, but surely, intensified.
Then, a singularly strong quake nearly threw him off his feet, breaking his fall against the wall.
He frowned, keeping his hand on the wall as he walked towards the door to leave the building rather than stay where he was.
The quakes shimmered down from that high point, but still continued a low rumbling. The fire alarm went off, or someone set it off. Regardless, people would be vacating the building as he planned to.
Through it all, he could only wonder how bizarre this all was.
Earthquakes simply happened. They don't slowly rev themselves up over the course of slowly intensifying quakes. Was this something native to the Special Region? Something they had seemingly overlooked when asking the locals about their world? When they spoke, the people seemingly had no concept of earthquakes so they assumed they must be far from a fault line.
Were the people wrong, were the JSDF wrong, or was this as unnatural as it appeared?
He managed to get to the door before another singularly strong quake shook the foundations of the building.
Out of his office, he watched people make their way down the halls to the exits, seemingly as confused as he was.
As the quakes continued, almost pulsing with no end in sight, he could already tell this was going to be a long night.
--
--
Cassel El Tiberius knew that there were some in the Empire that would label him a traitor. All for the sake of wanting to end this senseless war.
A coward.
A traitor.
An honorless cur that ought to simply fall upon his own blade to salvage the dignity of his family.
But he knew better.
Beyond the propaganda, beyond the chest pounding, trumpets, and standard waving,
His position granted him more insight into the state of their conflict with the Japanese than the average citizen. And even then, he has no doubt that Molt's bootlickers have gone over every detail given to the senate with a discerning eye.
Even so, what was provided to them was already disheartening enough on its own. He could only imagine what the uncensored reports detailed.
Knowing the Green Men's proclivity for destruction, perhaps he could not.
But he knew in his bones, this was not a conflict the Empire should fight. Victory, in the conventional sense, was becoming more and more of a feverish dream shared only by the uninformed and the blind.
The Empire could win, Cassel knew this in his heart. Yet even with his love for his Empire, he also knew that an Imperial victory would cripple the Empire. That it would take too much of its wealth and strength to push back the Japanese that the Empire would cripple itself.
Not unlike how a man may eventually break a brick wall, at the cost of running his fist.
What point was victory if it left the Empire so weak, so broken, that it collapsed in on itself shortly afterwards? Or worse, was overrun by barbarians from all directions?
He would not see the bastion of civilization break its own back for the sake of pride and ego.
So when Princess Pina offered to introduce him to the Japanese ambassador, he accepted.
"You look pale, ambassador. Are you well?"
"Oh, I'm just tired is all," Sugawara dismissed Cassel's comment with a half hearted laugh. "Haven't gotten enough sleep the past few nights. It's nothing to worry about."
The senator was unconvinced, but did not press the Japanese ambassador.
The streets were lined with assortments of horse drawn carriages and slave carried lints, all moving towards a singular point: The Imperial Palace.
For tonight the Emperor would grace the lords and ladies of the Empire to assure them that all was well and there was nothing to be concerned about.
Of course, the other reason so many were journeying there was to see the 'barbarian' foe from Alnus in person. To examine what sort of culture had broken the Imperial Legions so thoroughly that some even whispered that Sadera's walls would be soon put to the test.
This would also be the best place for the Japanese to not only encourage the Senators and dignitaries that they are far from the monsters propaganda is depicting them as, but also impress upon them the self destructive reality of continuing hostilities.
"A word of warning, Mr. Sugawara," Cassel leaned forward with a grim expression, the Imperial Palace looming before their carriage.. "You're about to step foot in one of the most dangerous places in the world: the Imperial Court. I cannot emphasize the danger you will be in enough. Steel yourself, otherwise those vultures will devour you whole."
"I'd have thought Alnus Hill might have taken that place," the ambassador jokes, knowing full well the implication of his words. "Nevertheless, I thank you for your warning, but I'm sure I'll be fine. If worse comes to worse, and I find myself in anything too dangerous, my escort will see me out safely."
While the Senator disagreed with the cavalier attitude, he could hardly argue that the legion's performance on the field has done nothing to temper it. "Since you mentioned the Hill, I will pray we can only be as lucky as those fallen men should the worst come."
"Excuse me?"
"They had the luxury of dying only once. We shall have no such luxury," Cassel sighed, looking out the window of their carriage as they rode towards the imperial palace. "Trust me when I say there is no civility at court, only politics. More so now that your forces are pushing the Empire into a corner, and it will do as beasts tend to when put in similar situations."
The ambassador frowned, "I know the Empire suffered losses, severe losses, but is the situation really that bad?"
"It is heading there," Cassel assured him. "The treasury is hemorrhaging gold, so much so that someone, maybe even his majesty, ordered the selling of the grain reservoirs to offset the cost. Add the sheer scale of the new wave of mobilization, and harvest projections are below even our bleakest forecasts, and there are economic woes beyond those from disrupted trade. The Empire is at a precipice, that much is obvious to me."
"...I never realized the situation was that bad," Sugawara looked out the window himself. "Naturally, it's also in the interest of Japan to end this war as quickly as possible. Not just for our sake, but for the sake of the Imperial people. Of course, if it turns out the Empire is using this pause in hostility to redeploy its forces, that would be a violation of the ceasefire agreement."
"Are imperial forces even a concern for your people?"
"...It's the spirit of the agreement," the ambassador did not refute Cassel's claim, "and trust. Her highness worked hard for even this much, it would be a shame for those in power to throw away all she's done."
"Yes," the senator noticed the red haired girl waiting for them at the base of the Palace alongside some of her fellow warrior women, all in proper dress rather than plate. Her highness rushed to one of the carriages behind them carrying some of the Sugawara's retinue for the evening. Perhaps to greet that 'Sir Itami' she has spoken of. "I suppose it would be."
--
--
I watched the gala from the sidelines. Far enough away that no one could really approach me without committing some social faux pas of approaching a royal without prompting, but close enough that I could just make out everything going on.
Even better was that all eyes were on the Emperor, little old me got to slink away into the shadows.
Ughhhh, I hate political functions.
The pointless prattle, the fake praise, and oh so 'witty' barbs traded like this was a damn soap opera. All of it done with the most 'genuine' smiles just to show just how friendly they are.
They are oh so friendly and genuine…
Why it was so hospitable, that I almost wished I was on the Western Front again…
At least there I could wear something more comfortable then a fucking dress!
"There is such a thing as being too open with your feelings," Gaius took a break from his 'people watching' to see the scowl on my face. "Why, people might even start to think that you don't want to be here."
"Can't have that," I grumble, wishing so dearly that I could drink myself into a stupor so the night could just flash before my eyes and it could be 'tomorrow' already. But me being intoxicated would defeat the whole point of me enduring this menagerie in the first place. "Might cause a scandal."
"Scandalous indeed. You should follow your brother's example," the eunuch pointed over to Diabo, drink in hand and surrounded by a dozen women.
"Surrounded by beautiful women?" Gotta admit, it's not the worst idea. My hormones are starting to 'kick in' after all.. And politically speaking it's probably safer to be in relations with women since it lets me keep that all important 'maidenhood' that somehow makes me more valuable.
"Surrounded by those hanging to your every word," Giaus explained.
"They're leeches," I watched them throw themselves into a fit of giggling after Diabo said something 'witty'. Their 'amusement' might be more believable if they didn't try so hard. "They either just want his money, or the influence that comes with being a royal's mistress."
"I never said it wasn't parasitic. But imagine if you were the parasite leaching those around you?"
"I'm not that pathetic," I snort.
"Not pathetic, resourceful," he countered. "Think about it: the sole true born daughter to the reigning emperor, with a brother who's likely to come down with a natural case of 'hunting accident' in the near future, your only other siblings are from consorts, you don't need to be an erudite to realize how to use this on powerful men."
"Can we change the subject," I knew what Gaius was getting at. Patriarchal as the Empire was, marrying the daughter of an emperor was seemingly enough for a man to claim the whole Empire by virtue of his wife's lineage. It's happened before, it'll happen again.
"Well, if you insist, I shall refrain from skulduggery and scandalous thoughts," he gulped down his drink in a single sip, he pointed across the room. "Oh look, a pair of senators we are acquainted with."
"Subtle," I roll my eyes.
"I try."
"I should have made you my jester at this rate."
"Well, I do pride myself on being sanguine."
"But you're only half as funny as you think you are."
"Still more than most men."
A large commotion at the front gates broke up the tempo of our jabs.
In walked the 'main event' as it were: Marquise Cassel, Pina, and a group of Japanese.
It was clear who most people were observing.
The Japanese delegation seemed to be mostly military, going by the dress uniforms all but one of them wore. The last one was no doubt the ambassador I heard Pina speaking about, and Sherry infatuated with.
Looking at him, I had no idea what the girl saw in him. He looked so…bland.
While Pina had walked in beside one of the Japanese officers, she peeled off to go meet the Emperor. Words were exchanged, pointless pleasantries, and the gala resumed.
But before I could even take a step towards them, they were surrounded by couriters and others. A gaggle who either wanted to observe them like some dangerous animals or wanted to watch others do so. A few, miraculously, seemed to actually want to interact with them.
Ugh…
I refuse to try and wrestle for their attention like some preening child.
I shall simply wait.
…
However long it may take to get a one-on-one meeting.
…
I could already tell it was going to be a while.
--
--
Itami wanted to rip his hair out!
Ever since they got here, they've been hounded every moment by someone or other!
Sugawara loved it, Pina seemed to take it in stride, Senator Cassel was in his element, but it drove Youji insane!
After a couple hours of it, he left the diplomat in the care of Kuribayashi and Kuwahara while he went out to get some air. If something happened, or someone tried something like they did in Alnus, they'd radio him and he'd rush back; not that he was even going that far.
But he was pretty sure nothing would happen, or at least if something did happen, then it was not intentionally. After all, if you invite someone to your party and something happens to them, it's pretty obvious who people will point fingers at first.
This was probably the safest place for them in the city right now so long as the war stays cold.
Or at least the impression of the Emperor that Pina gave them didn't make him out as the sort who would do something at his own event. Invade other nations without provocation and run a slaving empire? Sure. But that would be a line he would not cross.
Even after Pina explained it to him, he couldn't help but feel like some crazy values dissonance was going on.
He wandered over to a large, and thankfully less crowded, garden filled with murals and artwork. Well it was still noisy, but nowhere near as bad as it was inside.
Statues and busts sat besides paintings and fine decorative armor. Kind of reminded him of some CGs he saw in Visual Novels involving fantasy settings.
The irony of that statement was not lost on him.
But amongst it all, what caught the lieutenant's eye was a large mural that stretched along the space between two columns: a man in armor entering a bedroom where a woman was being violated by another man.
Well he's read enough H-Novels to know where that was going…
"'The Defilement', commissioned in the year two hundred and three by Emperor Tycho." The sudden voice startled Itami.
At the far end of the garden was a man, older than the lieutenant, with bright red hair and a scepter-like cane. Beside him stood a giant among men, clad in armor and while unarmed, looked strong enough to break Itami in two with his bare hands.
Suddenly the kevlar he had under his uniform didn't make him feel so safe.
Smiling that he was noticed, the man approached Itami, his giant in tow.
"It depicts the Saderan Republic's last dictator, Cyrus, caught forcing himself upon the maiden Viria. A maiden promised to a man Cyrus despised," the man continued unpromoted. As he neared Youji, he tapped his cane in a strange rhythm, each tap reverberating across the lightly populated garden and leaving a strange white noise in his ear for a brief moment before there was only silence yet he could still hear the man clear as day.
Maybe it was just the light, but Itami swore he saw lines of light racing up and down that gemstone…
"The man in armor is her brother, Syagrius," he continued, clearly not caring that Itami was lost. "The man who would later go on to cast out the dictator, end the hedonism of the late republic, and become our first emperor."
"That's…interesting," Itami tried to be diplomatic. Interesting as it might be for some, he was still wondering why in the world some guy started randomly talking to him, and then there was that white noise. "And sorry but, did you just do something? I heard a high pitched whine when you tapped your cane and-"
"Just a little bit of magic so I don't have to try talking over everyone around us, or overhearing us. At these parties it is almost impossible to have a private conversation otherwise."
"That's…good…" he really didn't know what to say. "So are you a mage or-"
"Goodness no. I know a little bit, but hardly enough. All I can do are parlor tricks compared to what true mages do." The man stopped for a moment, then realized something. "But where are my manners? Rambling off to someone without being prompted," He gave a curt bow to Youji, though it was more akin to slightly leaning forward compared to the other 'proper' bows he had seen so far. "Clovis Syagrius, Governor of Soissons."
"Governor?" Now that got Itami's attention. While having a somewhat limited understanding of the inner workings of the Empire's political structure, he at least did enough homework to know the 'important' positions. Governor being one of the top ones. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Second Lieutenant Itami. Sorry about the way I acted…sir?"
Was that the right way to address them or was it 'lord'? You didn't have to be a lord to be a governor so maybe?
"No, no, I should be the one who apologizes," Clovis brushed aside Itami's worry. "I came out of nowhere, and just started detailing the history of a painting. I'm actually a little embarrassed, good ser."
"Then how about we call it even then," Youji scratched the back of his neck and let out a nervous laugh. Where was Sugawara when you needed him? But, hang on… "Wait, you said the guy was called Syagrius? And you're…"
"Clovis Syagrius, yes."
"Any relation or is it just a common name?"
"My ancestor, actually," the man smiled at the mention, turning his gaze back to the painting. "But those halcyon days are long behind us. And as colorful as it may look, and the story itself is, I can assure you it's more fiction than fact."
"Really?" How did one politely decline speaking with a governor?
"Indeed," the man nodded. "The story says Cyrus snuck into the villa alone, yet the dictator was well known for his paranoia; never going to so much as the privy without a retinue accompanying him. Yet we are to believe he went alone to his political rival's home? For a woman of all people?"
"Crazy people do crazy things sometimes," The Japanese man gave a half-hearted mumble, recalling a few anime he watched with stranger plots.
"As for Viria?" he continued. "True she had yet to wed, but the girl was a follower of Miritta. A devout follower. I dare say she could make a whore blush."
"That's…um."
"It simply doesn't make sense when you think about it," the governor shook his head. "Not that it makes the story any less valuable. A morality tale for the ages about reach exceeding grasp. Of good vanquishing evil. Simple, yet effective."
"...Yeah." What was he even supposed to say to this? He could hardly tell the guy to go away. Sugawara would never let it go if he did that. 'Diplomatic Incident' and all that.
"But personally, I don't take such fantastical stories completely seriously. Take yourself for example," Clovis gestured to Itami with his scepter.
"Wait, me?" oh geez, was this about the Flame Dragon?
"Well, not specifically you of course. You Japanese in general," he clarified. "I scarcely believe a fraction of the drivel that comes up regarding your people. Unless, that is to say, you do build your homes out of the bones of the dead and weak cloaks of flayed skin to keep out the cold of your homeland."
"Eh!" that caught him a tad off guard. Sure he heard some of the stuff about 'honorless barbarians' and 'treacherous invaders', but that. "No, no, no! We don't do bone or skin stuff, absolutely not. Nope!"
"Well my point stands then," he gave the Lieutenant a melancholic smile. "I don't blame the ones who spread these stories however. A lie, or their life. I don't envy such a choice."
"I…realize you're trying to tell me something important, given you did the whole 'silence thing' with your cane before coming over, but I think it's going a little over my head," Youji nervously chuckled.
Sort of a white lie on his part. Youji was very much aware of the implications of a foreign political figure meeting a military official from a nation they were currently at war with. A nation that was losing the war. At least, it made some sense from his contemporary mindset. But maybe he was just over thinking it and this sort of stuff was normal here.
"What I am trying to say," the governor looked to where his giant of a man was, giving him a nod, then back to Itami. "Is that I love my Empire, but I am not blind to its failings. In my heart, I have always been a man of peace. So believe me when I tell you that the Emperor will say, or will make others say, whatever is needed to safeguard and aggrandize himself."
"Are you saying the Emperor would go back on anything he agrees," that was not exactly what he thought the guy was gonna start with, but it is almost just as bad. If this whole thing was just a smokescreen, that the Emperor had no intentions of peace, just agreeing to this to get some breathing space then-
"I mean what I said, the Emperor will do and the Emperor will do," the governor repeated, cutting off Itami's thoughts. "The senate is at a standstill, half for peace, half for continuing the war. The barest push in either direction will chart the course for the Empire. Princess Pina has started that push, but it still needs that barest additional force to see it done."
"If that's true, why don't you-"
"I'm afraid that is simply impossible," the man dismissed the idea outright. "My support to the Emperor has been lackluster enough recently, my desire for peace becoming harder to mask. I'm already suspected as a 'defeatist'. Shorthand for 'traitor' these days. Being seen working openly in your favor would be… unfortunate for myself and my family."
"I think I get it," his family was being held hostage, seem par for the course from when he heard of the Empire from Leilei and Rory.
"I'm not a coward," he continued, thinking he needed to defend his actions. "If it was just myself, I would be singing for peace atop the balconies. But I have a family to consider. A son, a wife, a young daughter, surely you understand?"
"No, I get it," he tried to calm the guy down. "It's not easy standing up for what's right when those you love are in danger."
"Exactly, I've only ever wanted what is right and-" before he could finish, the giant patted Clovis on the shoulder. The man sighed, "Oh dear, our time's up."
"Up?" Youji looked around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Well we could only talk so long in 'private' given where we are, those speculatores must have finally noticed," Syagrius grumbled, tapping his cane in a rhythmic tone just as before. The white noise flared once again, his gem lit up again, and suddenly noise returned.
Itami could swear the thing lit up like a circuit board…
"Please relay my words to your lord, your leader, tell him what I have told you," he whispered, his voice just hidden beneath the ambient noise of chattering dignitaries. "And a pleasant evening to you, Ser Itami."
Before Itami could say anything else, he heard another voice call out to him.
"Ser Itami," Princess Pina walked over to him, "I was wondering where you wandered off to-" she stopped short, noticing the governor and giant walking away. "What happened?"
"Happened?"
"Did he threaten you?" Pina spoke plainly, "even if he just implied one?"
"Not really, he was mostly talking about…that," he gestured to the large painting. "I mean I guess he said a lot of other stuff, but no threats."
"Good," she let out a sigh of relief, even her shoulders relaxed. "Governor Clovis is not someone to take lightly."
"He seemed," he looked back at the pair, finally disappearing into the throngs of people inside, "nice enough."
"He's dangerous," Pina cautioned. "My father worries about him and his growing power."
"Isn't he worried about a lot of things, moreso now with everything we've done?"
"No, Itami you don't understand, my father rarely worries," Pina explained. "Concerned, annoyed, peeved even, almost all the time. Comes with dealing with the Senate. But worried? I can't say I've ever seen him worry about any specific person as much as he does that man. Please be careful around him."
"Sure," he promised, making a mental note to get a dossier on the man with clear instructions for JSDF personnel in Sadera to stay clear of him.
Maybe he was telling the truth, that he was a peaceful man stuck in a rough place. But he doubted Pina would knowingly lie about something like this.
And in Itami's own mind, scepter (wand?) or not, he never could fully trust a man who walks with a cane but has no limp.
--
--
The night dragged on, party goers came and went, courses came and went, and I kept a watch of the delegation from afar.
Just biding my time until the right moment. On and on it went.
One group, then the next, then the next.
Eventually Pina peeled off from the main group to do her own thing, or follow that man who left earlier. Then Senator Cassel went off to speak with the Emperor. This left the Japanese diplomat, metaphorically, alone.
And now, with the crowd having thinned, the diplomat alone, or at least away from the courtiers, I finally had my shot! To ask the questions that have been plaguing my mind and clear up the misunderstandings that are filling my mind with how the JSDF is operating.
But if they aren't misunderstandings…
No, first answers!
Collecting all my confidence, I walked across the palace floor to the Japanese. My stride picked up more than a few glances from guests, no doubt curious as to why a child was marching with such conviction. For once, I was hoping my physical age would shield me from most of the questions as to why I'm so abruptly showing up.
Though I could only hope he didn't misunderstand me and think I was like Sherry with some childish crush.
Ugh… I think I need a shower just thinking about it.
Reaching the man in question, I smiled.
"Greetings," I began, overthinking that it was too formal a start. Well, I can't back down now. "May I have a moment of your time? I just have a few questions about Japan that I'm curious about."
"Well hello to you as well," the man took my introduction in stride, smiling. "I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have."
"Excellent," I nod, aware of all the eyes now on us. For the love of… now I was going to have to parse my words even more carefully. I can already see the gossip: Imperial Princess talking with foreign representatives of the nation kicking out teeth in: was I a traitor or just naive?
Yet before I even asked my first question, I heard them.
"You know she's actually kinda cute," the female officer commented in Japanese to her colleague. "I mean, in that 'Disney Princess' sort of way."
"Yeah I can see it," he agreed with her, nodding. "I have a cousin who used to dress up like that for costume parties when she was a little girl. This girl's dress is nicer than anything out of a custom store though."
…CUTE!?
"And I don't think she liked that, Kuribayashi."
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, she doesn't seem to like you calling her a Disney princess."
Twitch…
"Yep, see, she really doesn't like it."
"It's more like she doesn't like someone whispering behind her back," the woman rationalized, "not that she actually understands us."
"...I can understand you," Never in a million years did I think my 'unveiling' of conversational Japanese would be under this sort of circumstance.
The JSDF woman's expression soured, as if she ate a lemon.
Her older companion laughed, "See? Didn't like it."
"Your Japanese is… impressive," the diplomat commented, clearly not expecting my fluency. "You barely have an accent."
"I've practiced a lot," I shrug, hoping he doesn't start pressing for 'why' I know it so well.
"If you're plotting something could you at least do it in a language I understand?" Gaius decided to make himself known, seemingly gliding over. "I love a good plot."
"I was just explaining that I knew their language," I shot the man a glare for his flamboyant.
"Quite the surprise, no doubt," he grinned, then regarded the diplomat. "And pardon if this is an overreach, but is it not custom in your lands to not properly show respect when speaking to a member of royalty?"
"Royalty?"
"Wait, she's actually a princess!"
Gaius found the JSDF pair's antics more amusing then I did.
"You have the privilege and honor of addressing her Highness Tanya Augustus, second true born child of Molt Sol Augustus," was it wrong that the way Gaius introduced me almost made me roll my eyes.
While the pair looked stunned, the diplomat recovered first.
"Apologies, your highness," he gave a curt bow. "I should have known. I'm Koji Sugawara, negotiator from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have."
"Would you prefer that I speak in Japanese?" I ask, not wanting to sound mean by claiming his accent in the Imperial language was very grating.
"I'll be fine with any language you feel most comfortable with," how accommodating.
"Very well," I chose to stick to Japanese, for my own sake if nothing else. "First, what is Japan's end goal in Falmart?"
"Well in the short term we want to end this conflict between our nations," he answered smoothly. "In the long term, it is our hope that the Empire and Japan can reach mutual understanding and encourage cooperation between our peoples. And beyond that, we hope to continue exploring this world for some time to come."
Well that's delightfully boilerplate and non descript. How about we try something a little more, in depth.
"What about Italica and the other regions you've occupied? Do you plan on keeping it once the war is over?"
"Beyond the immediate region around the Gate at Alnus for national defense, and a small security detail in the city of Italica, all territory will be returned to the Empire once a peace treaty is finalized."
I can understand the territory just around the Gate, but a security detail in Italica? Does he mean an embassy? A consulate? Or was Japan actually planning on carving out a bit of Italica after the war like some concession in China?
Mmmmm, time to ask the big question.
"Are there only Japanese at Alnus?"
"Certainly not," Oh that's a- "Refugees from across the Italica region have actually set up a small settlement just within the JSDF base's boundaries. We've provided homes, jobs, and medical care to those left homeless from the war or are fleeing persecution."
"I meant," better be more specific, "are there only Japanese troops in Alnus."
"Well," Sugawara took a 'thinking man' pose, "I did hear the commanding officer, General Hazama, was setting up a local police force for the Alnus settlement. Let the new settlement have a bit of autonomy from the usual SDF forces stationed there."
Oh for the love of!
"I am not being specific enough," I sigh. "Are there only Japanese troops arriving from beyond the Gate?"
"I would assume so, it is in Japan after all," he laughed it off as a joke.
Okay, it was official, something was absolutely wrong with this Japan.
"What about the United States of America," I decided to just be blunt and cut to the root of my concern.
"...I'm sorry," the ambassador looked as if I had grown a second head, the other two seemed more shocked than confused. "What did you say?"
"The United States of America," I repeated, "the nation your county has a mutual defense treaty with. Since the Empire attacked, it should have been automatically invoked. So I'm asking where their troops are."
"Oh I do hate being out of the loop," Gaius may not have understood what I was saying, but he clearly understood the shocked looks on their faces. "But I know I am going to enjoy hearing about this later."
"Well…um…you see," the diplomat fumbled his words, clearly my line of questioning was never even considered before now. "Since the Gate connects Japan to the Special Region, our term for Falmart, the government ruled that the Imperial attack in Ginza was a domestic act of terror. Therefore we did not need to invoke our treaty with the United States."
….What?
"How can the Imperial attack be a domestic issue?" I tilt my head a bit, trying to understand what he was saying. "We were a foreign power, an alien one even from your perspective, attacking your nation unprovoked."
"Well…This is the stance of the Prime Minister in relation to the Special Operation here in your world." Wow. I worked HR, and even I am appalled by how flimsy that excuse was. "That is. The attack was an act of domestic terror given the current connection between Japan and the Special Region."
That is just…
What the…
I was expecting something….
But this is…
"So… officially," I tried to work through the logic I was being fed, "the Empire are just terrorists according to your government?"
"No, no, no," Sugawara must have realized he was fumbling. "The nation of Japan acknowledges that the Empire is a sovereign nation. After all, I am here as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"Apparently we're not sovereign enough to be considered anything but domestic though," I frowned. This was not at all what I thought I would hear."A nation, in a completely different world, that you never knew about until the Gate appeared, but was still considered a domestic attack?"
I mean, I guess I was expecting some sort of excuse. But this is just…pathetic. Word play at its finest.
What's worse is that I know exactly what the Japanese government is trying to do. They're doing this to have a legal excuse to claim land from beyond the Gate, or at least exercise exclusive influence across it.
Why was it labeled a domestic attack? So the Americans don't have an excuse to come over and set up shop here? And if push came to shove, America would have a much bigger stick to force Japan to do whatever it wanted. Still, while Japan would be the 'king maker' who decides who from Earth comes and goes from Falmart, no doubt taxing anyone for the privilege, they wouldn't be the sole power in this world.
The thought is intoxicating. To have no peer rival. To be able to do literally anything you wanted without international outcry or backlash. To be practically immune to embargos from all the resources in this world.
This was colonialism, pure and simple.
Maybe not to the extent of the late Co-Prosperity Sphere, I know for a fact that Imperial Japan would not be acting anywhere this pleasant if they found a foe with the same disparity in power as Japan see's in Sadera, but it's still colonialism.
And the worst thing is, I can't really fault them for it.
No nation would turn away this chance! Germania would have jumped at the chance. Hell if I was ruling a country, I would have jumped at the chance!
But if that's the case, then the whole calculus of why the war is being fought changes. The post war environment goes from Japan keeping to themselves and just exploring the world to actively seeking to influence and interact with all the nations here.
This was…
I couldn't even think with all the information racing through my skull. Being X's long lost warnings ringing ever more true now…
"If you don't mind me asking," it was Sugawara's turn to ask questions. No doubt he had plenty of them for me given how massively I blindsided him. "You seem to know a lot about Japan, I'm curious how. Your sister, Pina, didn't seem as… informed about Japan beyond ending the conflict with us."
"One of the books she brought back was a history book," I lied, not that he would know. "Modern history, sanitized, no doubt censored, but enough to tell me a bunch of things. Like your military forces not being as impressive in your world as they are here. In essence, that you're not strong, we're just weak."
"That is," he searched for the right words, "very interesting. I'm curious to learn what else your book told you about us. And how someone seemingly was self taught to read Japanese at that."
Ah…shit.
Right.
Maybe I went a bit overboard with what I knew.
Thankfully, fate seemed to turn in my favor, setting in motion an event that would cause everyone to forget the question just asked.
Unfortunately for me, that event was an earthquake that shook the very foundations of the Palace.
--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
AN: And so it is over! Confrontations and an earthquake!
I wanted to write more, but the word count was ballooning out of control! Had to snip around stuff to get it mostly coherent!
Also, good news! Most of the next chapter is already done and should be out 'relatively' shortly.
- Location
- Somewhere
About what? How to properly respond to having that letter delivered, now that they have some ideas how it got there, or the fact the younger princess of the Empire seems to know far too much about Japan for someone from that side of the Gate?
Zedman7054
Eternally 3rd
- Location
- United States
They might tie the infiltration of the one guy's office to Tanya's advanced knowledge of the United States. Especially once the Japanese slave angle comes in.
It just makes so much sense. Tanya has a spy infiltrate the office, magically copy some documents and bring them back, then have the liberated and gracious ex-slaves read her into the political situation of Japan and the US.
It just makes so much sense. Tanya has a spy infiltrate the office, magically copy some documents and bring them back, then have the liberated and gracious ex-slaves read her into the political situation of Japan and the US.
- Pronouns
- They/Them/She/Her
I guess maybe also the first, but I meant the second -- particularly, how much attention they were paying to her vs. how much attention it looks like they should have been paying to her, between what was recently discovered about her actions towards the common people of her empire and the new revelations about just how much she's apparently been studying them.Spi.Guyver said:
Midas_Man
One of the Brightest Stars
Yep. Much larger than the anime (or Light Novel) cares to show. Hoping to avoid that in this story.
