Meant to work on this and get it out on Friday or Saturday, but got distracted by video games, haha.

Chapter 40 – The End of Tragedy

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant, special prison

The prison was dim, and no sound from outside could reach them. In the otherwise suffocating silence, the only sound came from the intermittent drip-dropping of water. Outside the cell, there were a number of men dressed in black suits; within the cell, there was a woman restrained with an iron collar and chains.

The woman glared at the men so hatefully it almost seemed as though she were going to lunge at them any moment. One of the men took a step forward and addressed the woman.

“Long time no see. Not since… the empire formally declared war. Miss Remille.”

Remille turned away from Asada’s gaze and hung her head down.

“……How disgraceful.” She truly looked pitiful now. But, when she put that admission into words, her life and upbringing as part of the imperial family and the pride they gave her sparked a flame of anger within her. “Do you think this insolence will be allowed? To hold captive a citizen of the Papaldia Empire, a superpower, and a member of the imperial family, no less… Do you really think you will be forgiven for this?”

She was, of course, well aware of her position at the present, that she was completely out of luck and out of time. However, her pride would not allow her to admit it, and she did everything she could to project this brazen façade.

“You are all from outside the civilized areas. No matter how many barbarians a superpower kills… For something as little as that, for you to look at me with those eyes! Me, the royalty of a superpower! You will not be forgiven for that!”

Asada darkened in anger. “Like I thought… from where I’m standing, the only uncivilized barbarian I see is you.”

“Gh—!!!” Remille was so overtaken with fury that her face became distorted. “I am kin to the emperor! Those I ordered to be executed… those who died were only commoners!!!”

“So what?! Do you think your sins would be forgiven for that reason?! Do you think people of other countries are things without hearts, without feelings?! They all had families!!! How many people do you think wept because of your actions?! How many lives did you derail or cut short… did you ever think of that?! Do you think that human lives come into existence without any meaning, without any thought? You cannot raise another person without love!!! Those lives that you snuffed out without a second glance received tremendous amounts of love from their parents as children, those priceless lives were raised with the love and support of countless other people! And you took those lives away, like they were just toys for your amusement! And far from regretting your actions, you still insist on spouting that self-centered garbage.”

Remille was silent for a time, then began to sob hysterically.

“Ah… Aaahhh! Uaaaahhhhhh!!!”

Deciding to end the conversation here, Asada gave the order to the accompanying policemen.

“Take her!”

The former noble Remille was bound and escorted out by the Japanese police.

Where did things go wrong… She constantly thought back to what she had done.

In order to achieve control by fear and compel absolute obedience, Remille chose to use slaughter, one of the methods to subjugate an enemy country, and one that had been used any number of times by the empire. An uncivilized island country to the south, Balusa, had one of its towns conquered and a few hundred people put to death. It may have seemed extreme from one perspective, but, as a result, they surrendered quickly and only those few hundred people were sacrificed. If instead Balusa had fought back, they would be expected to lose tens of thousands of lives. Therefore, one interpretation was that the executions were a mercy in order to save tens of thousands of lives.

That was what she wanted to accomplish with those Japanese people. However, in this case, Japan was incensed, and, as a result, the empire became damaged beyond repair and was now split into 74 different countries.

Soon, she would be delivered to Japan. She would never lay foot in Esthirant ever again—the most elegant and prosperous city in the Third Civilization, the capital of a superpower, the beautiful Papaldia Empire. Tears welled up in her eyes.

The Japanese policemen arrived at the capital’s port with their captive, the bound Remille. The group got into a small boat with no sails and left port.

“It’s so fast!”

It was far speedier than any boat she had ever seen. They headed for one of Japan’s large ships, which was anchored offshore. The boat tore through the waves as it plunged forward, but, despite how quickly they traveled, there was barely any shaking at all. It was only a small-looking boat, but it was clearly a high-quality product.

“Gh!”

They thought they had known that Japan, a country capable of defeating the empire, was powerful. They had heard about Japan’s strength from Mu’s ambassador as well, and they had engraved in their minds that understanding. However, from experiencing Japan’s technology firsthand, her entire body was stiffening up in shock.

They boarded the large warship. Remille was confined to a small room. In front of the door, female soldiers stood guard. For the time being, it appeared as though she would avoid being raped.

The warship did shake faintly, but it was still fair to say that it was completely free of swaying. In addition, the room was a comfortable temperature that did not change at all, and there was even a bed.

The fatigue hit her like a bag of bricks, and Remille, who had forced herself into a hyperaware state for far too long, was immediately out like a light.

A few days later…

“All right, wake up!” called one of the female guards.

It seemed they had arrived in Japan. The woman explained that from the “Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s” base, which was what Japan’s navy was called, she would be riding a “bus,” a mechanical vehicle like they had in Mu, to the capital of Japan, which was named Tokyo, and she would be transferred to a certain facility there. She wondered what the capital would be like…

Remille was extremely interested in the capital of the country that devastated a superpower. She was put on a police minibus used to transport criminals. The bus had iron bars covering the windows; it was a like a moving jail cell. Even the bus astonished her with how quickly and smoothly it moved.

(What?! This road is made from a single unbroken piece of stone!!!)

Then, when they neared the city, she saw skyscrapers everywhere she looked.

(WHA……!!!)

There wasn’t just one. Almost every building was a high-rise building, and, according to her common sense, they were impossibly tall. On the ground, the roads were completely full with vehicles zooming about. The number of people walking around as well; Esthirant did not have even a fraction of this number of pedestrians, and they all wore beautiful clothes with striking designs.

From the pictures that Mu’s ambassador had provided, she did have an idea of what it would be like, but, as the saying goes: seeing is believing.

Buildings with a nonsensical height, vehicles that moved in waves like water, gigantic aircraft that flew through the sky… every new sight she took in caused her heart to throb. She thought that Papaldia’s capital, Esthirant, thrived like no other city possibly could. Compared to the other superpowers’ capitals, it wouldn’t be outdone, and it promised prosperity beyond imagination.

However…

In light of what she now saw before her eyes, Esthirant might as well have been a countryside hamlet.

“I… I…”

Remille was experiencing Japan’s might with every faculty of her body. They were so powerful that no matter how much the empire flailed, it could never win; even in 100 years, they could never approach this grandeur… for the first time, she could finally perceive the insurmountable difference in national power.

“The outcome… was already decided, from the very beginning…”

Regret…

Despair…

Remille’s heart was crushed under the weight of this cruel reality.

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant

All over the city, magical image receivers had been installed for public viewing; the empire’s citizens had heard that there would be an important announcement today and had gathered around the screens. The Japanese military had come out of the skies over the capital and easily demolished both their powerful dragon knight squadrons and their elite ground forces; if this was a report on Japan, then the people were naturally very interested. Because of the otherworldly strength that Japan exhibited, among those who witnessed the battles, some even believed that Japan was allied with the ancient sorcerous empire.

“What kind of announcement will it be?”

“The government is going out of their way to do it, so it’s gotta be something big.”

“It can’t be that… the empire lost the war, and everyone’s going to become slaves, could it……?”

“No way! We’re a superpower!!!”

“But, all of our elite troops got taken out already.”

All sorts of guesses were brought up. Finally, the screens began to brighten with magic light. The people all quieted down and stared at the screens. They saw a single man walking up onto a stage.

<<People of the empire, I am the provisional head of state, Kyeos.>>

The watchers began whispering at this.

<<Over the course of this war, many people have been injured, many family members have been lost, and many, many people have been unable to understand what’s been happening. Due to the failures of the previous government, imperial soldiers were wounded and killed, and seventy-three countries that we previously called territories all rose up in rebellion and declared their independence. Had we continued waging war, we would have had nothing to gain, but a great many more things to lose. In order to protect the people of the empire, and before the damage to our country was too great to recover from, I decided to pursue reconciliation with the country of Japan as soon as possible.>>

“What did you say?! We’ve been humiliated this much, and you want to make peace?!”

“Yeah, that’s right! We shoulda kept fighting until the very end!!!”

“No, suing for peace was the right move! If we kept losing, soon we’d have nothing left!”

“The fact that we still have our independence at all is good.”

Many different opinions were shouted at the screens.

<<As a result of this war, the Papaldia Empire is losing its territories and being split into seventy-four different countries. The seventy-three country anti-Papaldia Empire coalition had also declared war on us, but we were able to somehow negotiate with them as well. From these talks, we have been able to obtain true peace. In order to safeguard this peace for a long, long time, we will coexist with these other countries, and I believe that our country can thrive in this new future.>>

After numerous questions were answered, the broadcast ended. People continued to talk and argue in front of the screens.

The empire, which constantly crowed about its superiority and how they never conceded anything to anyone, ended up divided into 74 countries, then somehow settled for peace without gaining anything. Everyone now comprehended that they lost. Many people were crying emotionally in the streets.

To the citizens of the empire, Japan had become their own source of fear.

Japan, capital city Tokyo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“My word, I’m glad things weren’t as chaotic as we thought they would be.”

One week had passed since peace was established with the Papaldia Empire. With the giant empire being split up into 74 parts, the ministry had predicted that there would be mayhem everywhere. However, by investing heavily in police organizations to maintain order, there were no overt troubles, and the newly-established governments put in a lot of hard work to launch successfully.

“You’re right about that. I was worried that there would be more havoc, but the natives were all just happy to reclaim their old countries again from the empire’s tyranny. Most of the new governments are starting out very conservatively, too, so it doesn’t seem like there’ll be any huge fires any time soon.”

All of the countries freed from the empire’s rule wanted to take the initiative to build up a good relationship with Japan.

Japan, Yamaguchi prefecture, prisoner-of-war camp

“Basically, your Papaldia Empire and our country have made peace. So, tomorrow, we’ve prepared a ship to return you all to your home country.”

The 2,000-odd Papaldian soldiers who had been imprisoned in Japan erupted into cheers. They were all told about the rights they had as prisoners of war, but it sounded so unbelievable that many soldiers were still constantly on edge, wondering when they would be executed, so this news allowed all of them to finally relax.

When he was captured by Japan, the defeated General Cius was prepared to be tortured and killed, but, in the end, he was just a prisoner. Thinking back, he thought they were just some barbarians from the east. No… it wasn’t just him, everyone in the empire thought the same. They figured it would be an easy conquest, like a shark gulping up a minnow.

However, Japan wasn’t some little minnow—they were a leviathan. One of the world’s most advanced countries, one of the five superpowers, and the strongest country in the Third Civilization, the Papaldia Empire, couldn’t even put up a semblance of a fight. General Cius resolved to learn everything he could from Japan, for the sake of the empire’s future.

“We finally get to go home, General Cius,” Dragon Knight Reckmeyer called.

“……Yes, finally. But I… am conflicted. I don’t know how I can possibly apologize for my failings.”

“General!!! After warring with Japan, we have a severe shortage of people with military leadership experience and ability. This is no time to lose yourself!!!”

While Reckmeyer and other soldiers were talking to Cius, one of the prison administrators interjected. “Ah, that’s right, Mr. Cius.”

“Yes?”

“You’ll be going with the police since you’re a suspect in the massacre at Nishinomiyako. If you’re cleared of involvement, then you’ll be able to go home.”

“Wh—”

Japan, capital city Tokyo, Prime Minister’s Official Residence

“It’s finally over, Mister Prime Minister,” the Minister for Foreign Affairs said with a relieved expression.

“It really is. To think that you yourself would become the Minister of the Army, I never could have imagined that happening,” he expressed honestly.

“Not at all. This world is still full of mysteries. We haven’t been able to negotiate with the Holy Mirishial Empire, which the people in this region of the world all recognize as the strongest country. We need to be wary of them, but we also haven’t even been able to contact the Gra Valkas Empire, a country that might be capable of manufacturing nuclear weapons.

“Our satellites found another continent about twelve thousand kilometers to the east. There are many large islands in that area, and they all seem to have developed some level of civilization. This planet is much too large, and we’ve only explored the areas that we can reach using ocean currents. On the other side of the planet, in a part of the ocean walled off by a gigantic mountain range, it appears that there are many more continents. The area of that enclosed sea seems to rival that of the entire planet Earth.

“The conflict with the Papaldia Empire this time went well enough; we can predict similar results if another country like them were to appear. Of course, we would still prefer to conduct peaceful negotiations, but…”

“Speaking of, the SDF’s poor offensive capabilities are a problem. I guess we really do need a carrier fleet. In addition, we need to be able to perform precision bombing. Our new GPS is still not ready for widespread use.”

“Based on the size of Earth, we would need twenty-four satellites to establish working GPS. It would take quite a lot of money, but…”

“But the planet is so big that it’s now a question of how many we can launch? If we consider the first GPS satellites launched by the United States in the old world, each one weighed about seven hundred and fifty-nine kilos, right? We can make them lighter now, but even if we went with that weight, the H-IIB could put ten of them into orbit with each launch, no? Well, this is much different from Earth, so that does complicate things. If we spread out lots of satellites in orbit, will that lower the launch costs? It also depends on how many we can fit inside the payload fairing.

“That said, let’s say all twenty-four satellites needed separate launches. A rocket is about ten billion yen, and each satellite about twenty billion, so twenty-four launches would cost seven hundred and twenty billion yen, right? That’s a cheap price to pay to protect the well-being of Japan. Public Assistance expenses total three-point-seven trillion yen per year, and the Gender Equality Bureau also uses up ten trillion yen each year. In comparison, even with maintenance costs thrown on top, seven hundred and twenty billion yen is nothing.”

“Well, you’re right about that, but……”

Suddenly, the door opened. A foreign affairs official entered the room and whispered something into the Minister for Foreign Affairs’s ear.

“Now that’s heartening news.”

“What did they report?”

A smile appeared on the minister’s face.

“Mister Prime Minister, I brought it up earlier in passing, but the Holy Mirishial Empire has requested approval to send a delegation here before starting diplomatic negotiations.”

“Ohh, so they’re the ones asking to come to us. Perhaps other countries have begun to see us in a bit better light?”

The Japanese government approved the request to receive the Holy Mirishial Empire’s diplomatic delegation.

Chapter 39 — Table of Contents — Chapter 41