As it turns out, the process of altering someone's memories was actually an easy process.

  'Easy' once you find someone who can use that sort of magic I mean. I left the 'sourcing' to Gaius, who somehow managed to find one of these elusive mages with very little effort. Something about them being 'old friends', though by the look on the mage's gaunt face the feeling was clearly not mutual.

  Friends in low pces aside, once the mage actually started his work the process went rather smoothly. The civilians were brought into the main dining room under the assumption of having 'group dinner'. Once inside, they fell into a trance and the mage began his ritual. I was assured this would alter their memories just enough to fit with the story I was trying to sell the Japanese.

  Thankfully, the mage was correct. The following morning the people seemed to think they were only guests here for a matter of days rather than weeks.

  And it all just seemed too… simple.

  It seemed that all it took to change people's very minds and memories was some random vagrant chanting gibberish over the course of a dinner and poof, minds altered.

  I feel like I should be worried about this. This whole thing, this entire branch of magic, just seemed too…unreguted for my liking. Gaius assured me that people with this level of skill were beyond hard to find or come across, but it was hardly comforting that anyone was capable of this at all.

  It reeked too much of Being X and his bullshit for my liking no matter what the eunuch said.

  Personal feelings aside, I moved quickly informing Pina, Mr. Sugawara, and finally bringing this whole 'exchange' to the attention of the Emperor. I'll admit I was a little concerned he would dismiss the gesture outright, if for no other reason than I went behind his back, but he seemed positively thrilled and gave the exchange his blessing.

  I think he was just happy to have something to work with to restart talks on a more 'neutral' mindset.

  All that was left was the handover itself, to py up my part, maybe 'over act' in some respects to get the appropriate reaction from the Japanese, and to make sure the mage's magic was actually capable of holding up to scrutiny.

  Well, actually…

  If this did all end up blowing up in my face, and the people actually remembered everything and spilled the beans, I at least had a fall guy ready to take all the bme off my hands.

  ----

  Sargent Kurokawa fought back a yawn as she looked over medical reports of the st of the civilians, occasionally looking up to watch them mill about in the gallery room of the mansion. The anxiety was paple, and the nervousness that seemed to hang in the overly decorated chamber was clear even to her sleep deprived sight.

  With only three hours of sleep, she could feel herself reaching the limits of what her body was capable of with judicious caffeine consumption. But she soldered on, knowing how important this was.

  Unlike the rest of Third Recon, she had remained in Sadera in the JSDF's outpost in Akusho to provide medical aid to the people of the slums. She could have stayed at Alnus after delivering Noriko, but she rotated back to Sadera. She just felt like she could do so much more here than in Alnus Base.

  After the airstrike and the riots that followed, she and the rest of the medical staff were put to the test, working almost nonstop tending to the injured civilians flooding their clinic. The violence in the streets only caused their outpost to fill up even further. It was a tide of casualties that was only dampened by the combined efforts of the various other local clinics in the district offering to support the Japanese.

  They pooled their resources with said local doctors, healers she supposed was the correct term, to help as many people as they could. She'd have even thanked the efforts of the Imperial troops in quelling the rioters and restoring a sembnce of w and order, had it not been said imperial response that caused nearly a third of all the patients their outpost treated.

  Still, amidst the carnage, she found herself fascinated by the magic used the more she looked into it and saw in practice.

  With a flick of a wrist a doctor here could knit skin back together in minutes, leaving no scar or any trace that there had even been an injury. A 'potion' washed away biological material while a magical fsh of light would decontaminate all the doctor's instruments.

  She'd even seen a healer in one of those small clinics regrow a finger. Not reattach a finger, regrow it. Bone and all!

  It defied all reason!

  Then again, that's probably why it was 'magic'. By its very nature, it didn't seem to operate under any of the usual ws of science, or even reality, that she was used to.

  It made her curious by its applications if combined with Earth's more advanced medicine and science. She remembered Leilei saying that science from Japan was helping her improve her magic, shouldn't the same be true for healing if the healers and priests were taught more about the human body?

  Even so, the routine she had established as upended when Kurokawa was informed overnight that more survivors of the Ginza Attack were found in the Imperial capital. Gathered by Princess Tanya, the youngest of the Imperial children, and saved from varying conditions of svery and servitude.

  Remembering the state Noriko had been in, she, and everyone else at the clinic, feared the worst.

  They rushed over to the mansion they were being kept in the following day, meeting up with a team from Alnus base and several Imperial doctors, or apothecaries, to assess their conditions.

  But to her surprise, and relief, she found the people in generally good health. A bruise here or a cut there, but nothing that warranted immediate medical attention. No obvious infection, no sickness, no lingering signs of abuse. They were hardly in pristine condition, but compared to Noriko, they were very well off.

  Physically well off that is.

  She winced, not even beginning to imagine the mental hardships they've endured or how long it would linger. Some still flinched at the sight of Imperials or curled into themselves at the sound of armored footsteps of the mansion's guards patrolling the halls. The worst case she saw was a woman who seemed incapable of being in the presence of men, be they Japanese or Imperial.

  "Any issues on your end, Kurokawa?"

  "None," the sergeant shook her head at her colleague's question, disposing of a pair of used gloves. "Or, none that I could see. They are in remarkable condition, given they were…sves until a few days ago," the word almost made her gag.

  "Agreed," he colleague agreed, running a hand through his short hair. The deep bags under his eyes matched her own. "Crazy to think what could have happened to them if they stayed here. Actually, weren't you the one who tended to Ms. Mochizuki?"

  "Yeah," she nodded, feeling a little sick at the memory of the poor girl's condition. "She was… in critical condition."

  "I skimmed the report, disgusting what happened to her," he grimaced. "After reading that, I pretty much expected these people to be in a simir state?"

  "Traumatized?"

  "Brutalized more like. Imperials might have said they were in good health, but-"

  "Of course they are in good health," the heavily accented voice interrupted the pair. An imperial doctor, or apothecary as they preferred to be addressed, marched over to them. He sounded almost insulted by their conversation, though it was hard for Mari to know for sure on account of the mask he wore. He appeared to glide toward the pair, as his robes covered his entire body. "I oversaw their care myself."

  "O-oh," Mari's colleague stumbled with his words, taken aback by the Imperial knowing Japanese. "Sorry, I didn't think you knew….um, that is to say-," he cleared his throat. "I mean, I'm surprised by how well they look. The st girl we rescued was in horrible condition."

  "And you assumed all these people would be in equally deplorable states?"

  "I suppose when you put it like that…"

  "The crown prince's appetites are well known,"

  "I assume your own examinations are done?" The apothecary brusquely changed the topic. "You can confirm that your people are, perhaps not sanguine, but at least hale?"

  "Yes," Mari said, "would you mind sharing what exactly you did?"

  "You doubt your own eyes?"

  "I'm just curious about the magic you used to heal them," she was also curious about how much trauma the Imperials were trying to hide.

  "If you must know, my acolytes and I saw to their physical well being," a statement that gave away little.

  "Which is?"

  The apothecary sighed, perhaps realizing what she was digging for. "Bruises and scarring for the most part, torn muscles from a few of the men taken from the mines, broken bones in the hand from one who worked as a servant, and a pair of young dies with…," he fumbled over the word, butchering Japanese and his own nguage.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand that st word."

  "I was saying some women were…" again a jumble of words before she caught one she recognized, "...marked…."

  "Marked? You mean like some form of tattoo?"

  "Tat…tattoo?" the apothecary struggled with the word, Shaking his head, he gestured for a nearby servant, some wolf eared boy, whispering to him before getting an answer in an equally hushed tone. "You are referring to ink markings, yes? If that is so, then no, these markings were not, tattoos. Their skin was marred with hot irons, not ink."

  "Hot irons?" It took Mari a moment to realize what he was saying. "You mean they were branded!?"

  "Branded, like cattle? No. There was no symbol or marking, only burned flesh," he crified. "It was not fresh. Months old if I had to guess. No doubt a punishment from their owner for acting out. Some sves can be a bit rowdy when learning their new pce. It is not uncommon, you know. You can bathe a barbarian, clothe them, but teaching them manners is the true challenge."

  "They aren't sves anymore," it took all of Kurokawa's self control to keep her voice steady, equally insulted by someone calling her people 'barbaric' given his words.

  "Yes, they are free, now. All thanks to Her Highness's efforts and grace. But when they were burnt?" He seemed to snort. "I know that look, that barely hidden expression of contempt. You hide it better than him, or the others," his head nodded towards the other JSDF medical staff and guards. "Allow me to offer you some advice, this type of softness your kind nurtures and your disgust to the reality of things is a weakness that will drag you down like an anchor around your throats in the long run."

  "And yet it's the Empire on the backfoot right now," she wanted to snap that kindness wasn't some horrid thing, but again, she controlled herself.

  "…backing-foot? Moving backwards? But we are standing…Oh. Yes. I think I understand what you are saying," he struggled for a moment. "And you are correct. The Empire has lost this first war with Japan. Another bit of advice for you, unfettered pride is its own poison. I wonder if the Lords and Ladies of Japan will learn from my peoples failures."

  While Mari was taken aback by this man's rather open admission of the Empire's defeat, another phrase caught her attention; 'this first war with Japan'. Did she miss hear that or-

  "Lady Kurokawa!" Mari perked up as Princess Pina approached them; heels clicking on the marble floor. The red head walked quickly, out pacing her assistant and a younger blonde girl beside her. "Thank you so much for responding so quickly."

  "Princess Pina, a pleasure to see you again," the medic smiled, watching as the pair Pina left behind finally caught up to her. She absently noted how the girl's Japanese had improved drastically since she st spoke to her.

  "And you as well, Lady Kurokawa. Mr. Sugawara said he was sending healers to tend to your people, but I did not realize you would be among them. Had I known ahead of time, I would have personally welcomed you."

  "It's fine, your highness," the medic still felt a tad embarrassed at how Pina chose to address her. She had told the princess before, back in Japan, that she was not a 'Lady' but Pina respectfully ignored her.

  The medic turned to the smaller of the three, the blonde with crystal blue eyes, and gave a deep bow, "your highness."

  The blonde nodded, waving the apothecary away.

  During the little dispy, even as the man left, Pina's expression twitched slightly. It began and ended so quickly Mari was almost convinced it didn't happen.

  "Your Highness," Pina's assistant cleared her throat. "Perhaps introductions are in order?"

  "Oh, yes, you're right Hamilton," the princess smiled again, flourishing towards the shortest of the three. "Sister, this is Lady Kurokawa, a healer of the Japanese Self Defense Force. And Lady Kurokawa, my precious little sister; Princess Tanya Augustus."

  "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Kurokawa," the young girl curtsied, surprising Mari with her almost non-existent accent.

  So this was the girl Itami was talking about? She was aware of the girl, of course. You could hardly walk the alleys of Akusho and not find some form of her charity work or humanitarian activities, but it was strange to actually put a face to the one behind it. Even knowing the girl's younger age, it was strange to see such a young kid behind all of it.

  Mari remembered reading about how noble children in the past were pushed to mature faster due to their rank and station, but it was quite the thing to see it in person.

  Then again, perhaps she had more pressure on her than Pina? She was aware that Princess Pina was the child of one of the Emperor's consorts, whereas Tanya was a child of the te Empress. Maybe societal expectations were greater for a 'proper' child of the imperial family then a 'consorts child'.

  Giving the young girl one st look over, she almost broke into a fit of giggles when she realized something. Yoji was right!

  She also remembered how Shino kept kicking up a fuss when Itami kept referring to the Princess as a 'magical girl' and other rather fantastical things when recalling the events of the Ga. Given the man's eccentricities, she had assumed some of that sort of talk was hyperbole or just him mixing his hobby with off the cuff comments.

  But Kurokawa found herself having to agree with Itami on this one, she did look like a Disney princess.

  "The pleasure is mine, Your Highness," Mari replied, keeping her giggles in her chest. "I admit, I'm surprised someone so young was able to organize all this. Your sister may have sung your praises, but to see it is another thing entirely. You must be very talented."

  "It is kind of you to say that," the girl dismissed the praise. "This was more an extension of the work I already do, it's hardly praiseworthy to compliment someone for something they already do. Even the scale of my work is the same."

  "Sister, there is no need to be humble," Pina praised her sister. "How many could have done what you did in such a short time?"

  "Plenty," the girl again demurred.

  "Please, you know that's not true."

  "Anyone with adequate management skills and resources could have done so. I am pleased to have pyed my part in ending the suffering of these people… physical suffering I mean," Tanya seemed to correct some unspoken fumble. "But I have done no more than what any decent person ought to have done."

  "There is no possible way you think anyone would have done the same!?"

  "I am not denying my involvement, but I will not put myself on some pedestal…"

  As the pair seemed to descend into sibling bantering, Pina's attendant rolling her eyes at the dispy, Kurokawa almost started ughing. For as different as their worlds may be, some things seemed to transcend dimensions. Sibling bickering being one of them.

  Yet while they continued to speak, exchanging and dismissing praise, a rabbit woman in armor silently approached and knelt to the younger princess's level. She whispered into the princess's ear. The young girl blinked, then sighed.

  "I'm sorry, but something has come up that requires my attention. Please excuse me."

  "Is something wrong, sister?" Pina questioned, switching to their nguage. "Did something happen?"

  "I don't know," the princess sighed. "Maybe?"

  "Do you need any help? I could-"

  "It's nothing important," the younger sister interrupted. "Besides, someone needs to stay here and liaison between us and the Japanese."

  "I insist-"

  "No, I insist you stay here. You're one of the few who-"

  As the pair continued talking, she felt so out of the loop. Times like this, Mari wished she understood the Imperial nguage better. She could hold a conversation easily enough, but the fast quips between the pair, not to mention Pina's aid chiming in, made it hard for her to follow.

  "...I guess if you're sure," Pina looked cornered.

  "I am," the younger princess gave Kurokawa another curstie."Again, I am sorry, but I must see to something. If you have any questions about your people and the conditions I found them in, I will be happy to provide you with any necessary information. Just speak with Gaius, the bald man in the robes over there," she pointed to a rather pudgy man by the entrance. "He'll make sure everything gets to you."

  "Of course your highness," Mari smiled, "and thank you again for all your help."

  With one final nod, she walked off, the rabbit-eared woman following close behind.

  Mari couldn't help but wonder what was so important.

  ----

  I almost wanted to scream and tear out my hair when I was interrupted in my discussion with the Japanese medic.

  The conversation was moving along perfectly. Fwlessly even!

  The humbleness, the demuring, oh so innocent humanitarian attitude, it was all reinforcing the carefully curated image I wanted them to see. Pina unknowingly pyed her part beautifully as well, her constant attempts to get me to accept even the mildest praise would only elevate my position in the Japanese government's eyes.

  But all that effort was now put to the back burner since now I had to deal with a rat problem.

  Since it was a guard telling me this, I assumed the 'rat' in question was a euphemism for espionage or some other cloak and dagger business.

  As it turned out, 'rat' was in fact quite literal.

  I frowned at the sight of the creature on the table in the depths of the basement. It looked like someone had sown a bunch of different animals together and attached them to a pair of chicken legs. A piggish face and snout, rat-like tail and hands, and a pair of dog ears and canine-like teeth in their rodent snout.

  Simply put, it was disgusting.

  On the next table was a collection of items found on the body. Knives, potions, a hook, and a collection of sealed letters.

  "What is it?" was all I asked the man standing guard.

  "A Haryo, your highness," he, Kelric I think was his name, answered. "They are known for their treachery and low cunning, your Highness."

  That answered nothing.

  "Why is it here? Where did you find it?" I questioned.

  "I can only assume it was in the middle of some form of skullduggery on the grounds," Kelric sighed. "As for where it was found…" he looked over to the rabbit woman who led me here.

  "Yeah, I found it," she stepped forward, "it was scurrying about near the outer wall."

  "What was it doing when you killed it?" looking for anything to start working off of.

  "I wish it was my kill," the woman tsked to herself. I gestured for her to continue. "So it was like this. I was just on patrol, minding my own business, when I heard something in some bushes on the east wn. When I went over to check, this thing rushed out and tried to get me in the gut with its knives."

  "Poisoned knives," Kelric added.

  "Yeah, poisoned knives," her lone ear bobbing as she nodded. "Didn't get me, obviously, but it started running away before I could bring my own bde out. So I tried to go for a killing shot with my bow before it got to the bushes over the wall. I hit my mark, and it squealed like a sick pig so it wasn't hard to find in the shrubs. But when I walked over to slit its throat, it was acting strange. Still squealing, sure, but also foaming at the mouth and twitching like some-ow!"

  "It killed itself before Vira could deal with it," Kelric interrupted again, jabbing the woman in the gut. "Poison would be my best guess."

  "Hey! What was that for? I was expining- ow!"

  "Her highness does not need to know every grisly detail," he frowned.

  "Wasn't giving her any. If I was, I'd have told how it soiled itself- ow!."

  "Perhaps for your drinking companions, but not for a Princess of the Empire."

  "Moving on," I nip whatever argument was about to start in the bud. "I assume no other Haryo has been found?"

  "Not that I know about," the woman answered first.

  "None," Kelric added, shaking his head. "But I would recommend additional patrols and guard rotations to cover any possible gaps in our security. Where you find one Haryo, there are most likely more."

  "Do it," I ordered, "and if you see any of these…people again, capture them if you can. I have some questions for them."

  Tuning out their replies, I fished around the other table for one of the letters this would-be spy/assassin was carrying. Inside the envelope was a folded piece of parchment covered in lines of neat scratch marks.

  I frowned, opening up the next one. Simirly covered in scratches.

  As was every other letter I checked.

  Was it some sort of code or just their nguage?

  Did it even matter if I was obvious to both?

  However, the reason why it was here was kind of obvious in hindsight. An infiltrator just happened to be spying on this pce on the very day the Japanese hostages are to be turned over to their government? Armed with weapons fit for assassination?

  It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

  I tossed the letters aside and moved to my personal study.

  What mattered was who would benefit from a resumption of hostilities from the deaths of these people?

  Rival non-Imperial states? Possibly. But any outside interference would have been beaten back by the various secret police equivalents in the city, or at least interfered enough to make such an infiltration difficult.

  Utterly idiotic Imperial actors who assumed they could weather the destruction of the state by some unknown means? Perhaps, but Imperial bigotry would limit what sort of people would work with these sorts of demi-humans.

  Being X? Possibly. But nothing about this screamed faith or blind zealotry he loves to inject into people. Then again, his influence can be utterly insidious.

  Ugh!

  I guess that means I had to just prepare for the unexpected. Lunatics maybe? Or will it be more biblically appropriate? Locusts, possessed zealots, some colossal misunderstanding that painted me in the worst light…

  A servant jumped as I smmed the door shut behind me.

  No. I was going to come out ahead of this, control as many variables as I could to keep this wheel turning. After a certain point, simple inertia would handle the rest and nothing Being X could do would fuck it up.

  Luckily, I was painfully aware of the single most likely point of failure in this whole situation.

  Zorzal.

  ----

  Maki ducked into a corridor as another soldier passed, holding her breath until his footsteps went back into the many rooms where all the others were.

  He wasn't one of the unusual soldiers, the ones in bck and red armor the princess had, but one from Japan in green fatigues. There were her people.

  JGSDF soldiers.

  Right there!

  Getting dozens rescued from captivity ready for transportation back to Japan. One word on her part, one little bit of Japanese and she'd be sent home. Free from being a maid in some European medieval fantasy nd.

  And yet…

  Tightening her grip on the hem of her maid attire, Maki went in the opposite direction. Into one of the quiet, dark, corners of the manor. As far as one could be from the 'guests' and noise without actually walking outside.

  But…did she even want to go back home?

  What was there for her?

  Home, where she was just a disappointment?

  School, where she had no friends?

  The better question ought to be, why should she go back?

  Back to some boring life, finishing school to go to college, all so she could work herself into an early grave?

  Maybe ending up hanging herself like her cousin?

  Actually, it was probably better this way. Wasn't it kind of better for her to be here anyway?

  Yeah.

  Yeah!

  There was so much stuff she could do here!

  Well, not as a servant, or at least not always as a servant.

  Like, she had all these modern day ideas in her head that she could introduce into this world for profit! Or she could write down some books and manga she remembers and sell it as her own stuff!

  Okay that st one might not work if more people from Earth started to come into this world and found one of her works and went 'hey I know this' and then she gets exposed as a hack and sued into oblivion by authors and publishers.

  Wait…could they even sue her if technically it wasn't copyrighted here-

  A sudden thump on the wall shocked Maki out of her thoughts.

  Peering into the next room, she saw that angry white haired rabbit girl looking over something next to a firepce. A slip of paper on one hand, the other a fist against the wall. She was muttering something to herself that Maki couldn't quite hear-

  In a flurry of motion, another door opened and the rabbit girl's ear twitched. Suddenly the paper in her hand was roasting in the fire.

  "There you are," a man entered the room. A bald man, Guy-us, approached the rabbit girl. "Ah, tossing a slip of parchment into an open fire. Such a normal reaction to someone entering a previously empty room."

  "Eat shit, eunuch," the girl spat in response.

  Maki was silently grateful that her 'full immersion' in this world had helped her with their nguage. Unlike before, she could actually follow the conversation as it happened!

  "Vulgar as always," the man ughed to himself then looked out a nearby window. "You're a passionate young woman, but not necessarily subtle. And you are not nearly as subtle as you think you are."

  "Still better than most."

  "Not really," the man shrugged. "You're actually an open book in most regards. Obvious tells, clear ticks, from your ear twitches to the way you bite the inside of your cheek."

  "...just get to the point already."

  "The point is that I usually don't care who you're in communications with, afterall you're hardly privy to anything that useful. Except until recently, that is. I confess that I have no idea who you are passing these messages off to, but I am confident in whose hand they ultimately end up in."

  "..." silence was his answer.

  "What? No smart quip? No childish jabs?"

  "...you know I can kill you, right?"

  "Easily," he agreed. "Just as you should probably also be aware that in the event of my untimely death, I have a list of my most likely killers in the hands of very skilled men.

  "And my name's at the top of that list, right?"

  "No, but it is on the first page."

  "...It's got nothing to do with her," she growled. "So back the fuck off."

  Maki did her best to keep herself quiet, even biting the edges of her cheeks, as some real life seinen plot unfolded before her eyes.

  "I believe that you believe that is the case," the bald man looked like he was about to leave the room, but turned back at the st moment. "By the way, have you heard? They found a Haryo spying on the estate."

  A what?

  "A Haryo?" the rabbit girl snarled, her hands balling into fists. "What's one of those pig-rats fucks doing here?"

  "...a pity," the man sighed, leaving. Though his words still found their way to the room. "I suppose the vector of your correspondence remains a mystery for now."

  "Wait…what!?" the white haired rabbit stormed out, following the bald man. "You thought I was doing something with one of those dirty rats! You fucking dickless-..."

  Maki winced as the albino smmed the door behind her. Now truly alone, she was left feeling her heartbeat like a drum in her chest from what she heard.

  Rat people? Secret messages? Death lists? Oh God, what has she just stumbled onto?

  Why couldn't this just be some shojo plotline?

  ----

  Honestly, there were some days that Taro Kano was convinced Yoji was trying to send him to an early grave.

  First he gets word the kid went AWOL with military hardware to help some elves with their issues. Then just as he was starting to get a handle on the situation, and figuring out what the hell was actually going since everyone questioned were giving different answers, he received a notice from General Hazama that Itami was now a hero for killing that Fme Dragon from the refugee incident months ago.

  And before he could even start asking the 'how's' and 'why's' he gets handed a contract signed by the King of a nation called Elbe noting that Japan now had exclusive mineral rights to their underground resources and that Itami was now a nded noble in said kingdom.

  In short, it was a whirlwind of events and drama that Kanou was only now feeling he was coming to grips with. But for all the stress he caused him, Taro genuinely wanted to pin another medal on Itami's chest. Still, it took several favors for the punishment of Itami's 'excursion' to be reduced to merely docked pay and reassignment to a new mineral survey team.

  Honestly, after the King of Elbe started showering the poor man with titles and a knighthood for killing the Fme Dragon, he doubted that anything could have been done to Yoji without the JSDF getting blowback from the locals.

  Now came the task to expin all of this to the Prime Minister and the rest of the cabinet in a way that didn't sound like a jumbled mess of events and words.

  "...and secured the exclusive mineral rights to all of Elbe's underground resources," Kanou was surprised even though he could keep the story simple as he expined it. He watched as the other ministers thumbed through the packets of documents he hastily had written up. "Excluding precious metals like gold and silver, and certain minerals like diamonds."

  "But not things such as rare earth minerals or fossil fuels," the Finance Minister, Otani Masanori, spoke up, the portly man having read through the document faster than Taro recounted its contents to the group.

  "Yes. Outside of already listed minerals and metals, which will be split twenty-five/seventy-five in favor of Elbe, all other resources will be granted exclusively to Japan," Kanou concluded his report.

  "Only because they don't even know things like oil and rare earth minerals even exist," the Minister of Foreign Affairs countered, tossing his packet across the table. The balding Minister turned to Kanou with a dour expression. "Do any of you even understand half the crap I have to deal with thanks to GSDF's conduct so far in the Special Region. I already have half of East Asia screaming into my ear about 'Japanese Imperialism'?"

  "It's not as bad as you're making it out to be," Tarou tried to calm him down. "And you're acting like we just invaded these people. It's just a contract that grants mineral resource rights to Japanese corporations at market-"

  "Oh no, don't you dare try to downpy this! I already have to deal with the Chinese member of the Security Council screaming about the 'Neo Co Prosperity Sphere' and you go and do this!?" He ignored Kanou protests. "You cannot tell me you don't see the issue here!"

  "Calm down, Kayo," Masanori chimed in. "Tarou is right, the situation isn't as dire as you're making it out to be.

  "Are you intentionally not trying to see the optics of this move?"

  "It's nothing a good messaging campaign can't solve."

  "But what am I supposed to do when other nations start raising a ruckus over this when word gets out."

  "Emphasize that this is part of an economic development program, and if they keep making a fuss tailor a response for each nation," he suggested. "If it's China, remind everyone they're a literal dictatorship with inhumane working conditions. France? Their economic stranglehold in West Africa. The Americans? Point to any of their wars in the Middle East. We can get ahead of this."

  Kayo grumbled under his breath, but did not continue the argument, a hand started to nurse his clear discomfort over the situation.

  "This is all assuming we can guarantee the safety of the survey teams you mean," Prime Minister Morita finally decided to chime in. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a heavy sigh. "I don't think this administration could survive if a civilian contractor ended up dead under our watch. Refugees are one thing, but Japanese citizens dying because of some monster?"

  Kanou grimaced at Morita's words. He only cared about his own image and public opinion. Ever since Motoi Shinzo resigned, he's done everything he could to distance himself from his predecessor. A constant string of meetings and PR tours to make himself look sparkling by comparison to his peers and flip flopping his positions as it suited him.

  Anti-military until he was pro-military. Free trade absolutist until he decided to become a protectionist. Even for things as mundane as the new mascot for the Tokyo prefecture he would charge his messaging at the slightest push back. He was its biggest supporter until it was revealed and public opinion for it was middling, then he became its greatest detractor who apparently never agreed with the change.

  In short, he was the worst sort of politician. And he inherited the situation with the Gate.

  Hell, he'd probably throw them all under the bus if it raised his approval rating by a single point.

  "If we're moving on from this, there is another matter we should discuss," the minister of Public Security, Noda Tsutomu, slid another packet of papers across the table.

  Tarou read the documents, eyes wide. "Wait, why wasn't I told about this?"

  "It only just came through."

  "I'm the Minister of Problem Measures in the Special Region, this is entirely meant to be my purview."

  "It just came through that?" Morita asked, not even opening his copy.

  "Dozens of Ginza victims were just turned over to our embassy in the Imperial Capital," the Public Security Minister smiled. "They're on their way home even as we speak."

  A jubint mood arose from his words.

  "Oh did the Pro-Peace faction push this through?" The Finance Minister questioned. "That's a peace offering if I've ever heard it."

  "No, it was the Princess who did it on her own initiative."

  "I thought the princess was busy trying to wrangle more senators into the pro-peace camp. When did she have time to do all this?" Kayo questioned, his mood improving at the news of the survivors.

  "Sorry. I meant this was done by Princess Tanya, her younger half sister. She organized it and informed people in the Imperial capital."

  "Oh right, her."

  Kanou was certain the man had no idea who they were talking about. Hell, he only knew about the girl from a brief line in the dossier about the Imperial Family.

  "But is this information accurate?" Mortia questioned. "Has this princess found our people?"

  "So it seems," The Public Security Minister flipped to the next page, urging everyone to follow suit. "Sugawara confirmed it, and our own medical teams have checked them over. Outside of some nicks and cuts, they seem healthy. No word on their psych evaluations."

  "Dreadful," Morita commented, "but at least this sordid affair is over and can finally move forward with the peace process to end this pointless conflict."

  "Sir?" Kanou finally spoke up. "Even with this list, we still have dozens of people unaccounted for. This is an amazing step forward, but I would hardly say it's 'over'. We still need to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. And the Empire has hardly begun to demobilize. In fact, our intelligence reports troops further inside their territory are massing, maybe even for another attack on our base at Alnus."

  "So we smash it apart like all the rest, " Masanori chimed in. "I think you're blowing their capabilities out of proportion, Tarou. Yes there are threats like those dragons and magic, but the most are people armed with literal bows and arrows and wooden spears. With air support, armor, and some basic precautions, taking on any Imperial force is basically like shooting fish in a barrel."

  "They killed hundreds in Ginza when they first attacked. It's dangerous to write off a threat like that."

  "They were pushed back once the SDF was fully mobilized," he zily countered. "They're hardly the boogeyman you're making them out to be, especially now that the shock has worn off and we can see without a shadow of a doubt just how superior our armed forces are to theirs."

  "I have to agree with Minister Kanou's caution," Tsutomu added his own opinion to the matter, closing a packet he had been skimming. "A saboteur broke into General Hazama's room without tripping any of the security devices we had. Perhaps they are a joke in conventional terms, but there is a disturbing capacity for asymmetric actions against us. "

  "Has it happened again?" He didn't wait for Kanou to answer. "No? Then my point stands."

  "Let's open up the Special Region to the press," Morita abruptly proposed, taking the wind out of all present.

  "Sir?" Kanou raised a question, looking around to see his colleagues' equally confused expressions. "You do realize that the Special Region is still an active warzone?"

  "I do. But the people think we've been doing nothing but wasting their taxes for some rk or some vanity project," Morita expined, leaning back in his seat. "The issue with the Special Operation is that the previous administration kept everything that was going on to the public. The secrecy might have been to our advantage when we had no idea of what sort of world we'd find on the other side, but now that we have a better view of things it's becoming a hindrance.So let's show everyone the progress we've made. Let's give the people of Japan….no the world, a proper look at this new world."

  "That…might work," he was genuinely surprised by how well thought out the points were and that he actually agreed with it. "Still, while there might be a town there, Alnus base is still a military instaltion. Some precautions will be needed-"

  "No, not for the base," Mortia interrupted. "Well perhaps the base as well. But no. I mean let's have the press there for the peace talks in Sandra"

  "Sadera," an aid corrected.

  "I know, I know," he waved off the aid. "What I suggest is that we bring the press into the city, fly them in, and have them catch the whole thing as it happens. Imagine it. Cameras, photoshots, one on one interviews if we can get them. Give the Imperials some big gift, and have it all caught on camera and broadcasted here as it occurs."

  "I'm sorry?" Kanou was taken aback by the suggestion. "Sir, I… the situation on the ground is still very chaotic at the moment. And you want to bring the press in?"

  "It seems to me like this conflict is starting to wrap itself up even as we speak," the Prime Minister sighed, adjusting his gsses. "Look, I do understand the situation, Kanou, and I understand your concerns. But I also know we need an unambiguous win under our belts for the upcoming elections. As it stands now, our party will be swept out of office if things keep going like this. We need something to show that we are not a do nothing party."

  "But sir-"

  "My decision is final, Kanou," the Prime Minister put his metaphorical foot down on further discussion; as if there had been any discussion beyond Morita announcing his idea. "Coordinate with Tsutomu to arrange security for the guests and associated press. I'll leave the specifics and details for the pair of you to figure out."

  "...yes, sir," Tarou slumped in his seat, knowing well enough this was not something he could push back on; not with the others being silent or nodding along eagerly.

  Even as the Prime Minister talked of his 'vision' and pn to the others, Kanou could just feel in his gut that something terrible was going to happen due to how spontaneous this whole scheme seemed to be. No pnning, no preparation, simply decring it will happen and assuming nothing will go wrong.

  Quietly, he felt like this whole situation was akin to pouring oil onto a simmering fme and hoping it doesn't catch fire again.

  ----

  "So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him.

  "And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth…"

  Book of Revetion, Fourth Seal of the Apocalypse

  MidasMan