On the day following his abrupt summon to the Main House, Tatsuya spent the day in Miyaki shima attending to his Stellar Generator presidential duties, which included the portion he postponed the previous day.
The company employs a litany of dedicated specialists who auxiliate in its management, but Tatsuya had no intention of sitting back on the role of token figurehead. He would at the very least read the paper before signing off on a decision. Even if he wasn't able to , he would not be a "decoration. Even if he was unable to formulate management policies on his own, he made an effort to understand the documents that came his way.
He would very much prefer to devote himself purely to his research, but his goal with this endeavor was not just to develop new applications for magic, it was also to promote it as a profitable enterprise. If businesses that use magic gain a certain level of prominence in society, it might serve to change even the Majority's view that it is a waste to use mageists as weapons. Tatsuya vowed to personally see the Stellar Reactor project to the end, lest it fail on its own without him even being aware of it.
His view of the world may be rather pessimistic. He wasn't under the impression that he could improve the status of the holders of the magic potential, magians, with pretty words like humanitarian principles. Only by demonstrating the potential benefits and profits he would be able to reach the masses and usher some kind of change in society.
In what could be perceived as his youthful disposition, Tatsuya couldn't let the project run completely in the hands of others. He might already be an adult in age and responsibilities, but there was still much to be learned.
That was the reason he busied himself with his work this entire morning. By late in the afternoon, when the sun was already setting, Tatsuya received an international call.
[Apologies if I'm interrupting, you must be busy, Mister] The videophone monitor displayed Chandrasekhar from the IPU.
"By no means, there would be no comparison. I was just about done."
There was a nuance in Tatsuya's response where he implied that Chandrasekhar was probably busier than he was. Her nation, the IPU, was in the middle of a direct conflict with the Greater Asia Alliance. Though it didn't quite amount to an all-out war since the security of either party's home territory was not at stake, it could be hardly regarded as an inconsequential skirmish.
Chandrasekhar currently enjoys civilian status, having officially stepped away from the military. Nevertheless the status of a developer of strategic-level magic and the IPU's number one magic researcher was not so easy to disassociate from. As long as magic is fielded on the battlefield she would never be able to fully sever her ties with the military.
She seemed to catch on to the unsaid part of Tatsuya's comment. [I'm glad to hear that. I'd say that, by the same comparison, I haven't been so busy yet.] She could sense that her workload would soon grow busier in earnest.
"I see. Sounds like there is quite a challenge up ahead for you."
[Knowing of all the research material that awaits you afterwards is what makes this challenge such a delicious spice, Mister.]
"Are you referring to the Relics at Potala Palace's basement?"
Tatsuya wished he could pretend not to know about it, but he couldn't. It was himself who pointed the finger at the Potala Palace and told of all the powerful Relics they could find there.
[Indeed, Mister. Once Tibet has been liberated, how do you feel about doing a cooperative excavation?]
"Would that be really alright...?" Tatsuya was overcome with feelings of puzzlement and anxiety in rapid succession. Rather than bottling it all up, he turned his puzzlement into tempered excitement at an unexpected good turn of fortune, and his anxiety into an eager curiosity, and performed in front of the videophone camera.
[Yes, of course. If anything, it'd be very reassuring to have you here, Mister.]
"For that to be possible, Lhasa would have to capitulate with minimal damage as possible."
[I'm afraid you're right. Setting aside the time and effort the excavation would take, we hope that we will be able to get them to surrender without causing much harm.] Chandrasekhar then added jokingly, [So we can't very well use 'Agni Downburst' to solve our problems, can we?]
[Agni Downburst] is a strategic-class magic that she herself developed. The IPU has so far refrained from fielding it, along with its user, and thus Apostle, Bharat Chandra Khan.
Something that may or may not change depending on how the conflict unfolds. Their deployment to the front is in consideration if the situation escalates. Regardless of the magic developer, Chandrasekhar's wishes.
Tatsuya ended his call with Chandrasekhar with his answer to the invitation for the joint excavation at the Potala Palace pending.
He was too busy mulling over what he had done, and this was just him reaping what he sowed.
Too focused on his own immediate goals, he remarked without any deep consideration about strong signs of Relic under the Potala Palace. Very much suggesting an invasion of Tibet, which was then ensued. Now he has to worry about an escalation into a full-blown war that would risk exposing the secrets of these important relics.
Granted his unawareness of the importance of the ruins at said location at the time, it was still a blatant act of carelessness, something that Tatsuya himself came to deeply regret.
So far the ruins have remained a secret, even when the location came under the effective control of the Greater Asia Union. The fact that neither them, nor their predecessor states, called for any investigation of the Potala Palace suggests that the ruins have some means of concealing their existence.
Which was undermined with Tatsuya's slip-up, and now the IPU will be looking for magical artifacts beneath the Potala Palace. With that in mind, their investigation is bound to be meticulous. The IPU will try every means at their disposal to find out, poking and probing at every corner, where it is more likely they'll find something concealed where the GAU beforehand only did a cursory search.
In terms of preserving the ruins of Shambala under the Potala Palace, it would probably be best if the IPU's military campaign failed. But given his position, Tatsuya cannot stand in the way of the IPU forces.
This conflict is officially a dispute between the allied forces of the Tibetan government-in-exile and IPU against the allied forces of the Tibetan puppet government and the Greater Asia Union.
The GAU has suffered a significant decline in their military capabilities over the past few years. Meanwhile, the IPU by contrast has not engaged in a major armed conflict for more than a decade, and has since been building up its military strength. Whereas five years ago, the GAU would have had a clear edge in military power. At present, however, the power balance has likely been overturned.
Barring major intervention by a third power, the liberation of Tibet is an eventuality. Whether or not the Tibetan population, accustomed to long years of subjugation as a vassal state, would welcome such a change was another matter to be considered.
At the current state of affairs, all there is to hope is that control of Lhasa will be transferred peacefully, lest a heavy-handed investigation be conducted in the name of a strategic military maneuver against the Potala Palace─the center of government. One way to keep the situation under control would be to join the civilian observer group that Kazama asked him to join in.
But by doing so he would be pushing things beyond the scope of self-defense. It would render any excuse of protecting one's life and rights invalid. And give a new twist on the military use of magic.
The more thought he put into it, the more he found himself at a loss. He could add a new expression to describe how he felt; this was no more a situation of just "reaping what he himself sowed", it seemed that now "the more he opened his mouth, the more likely he would have to put his foot in it."
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login