Ultimate Diplomatic Weapon: Mayo
Days had passed since Masato left the Seven Luminaries, and spring was in full bloom.
For the Republic of Elm, that meant that the elections were underway.
There were a few conditions to run as a candidate for the National Assembly. You had to be an adult of at least fifteen years of age, be able to read and write, and there was a deposit you had to pay.
The deposit’s amount was a trifling sum for any former noble, but it was on par with an entire year’s living expenses for a commoner. At first, its announcement earned heavy criticism and accusations of unfairness.
However, nobody was able to rebut Tsukasa’s argument that those who lacked the skills to obtain financial backers before the election via the strength of their policy positions and rhetoric would be unable to prevail in the election anyhow. Between that and the desire to limit people from running frivolously, the practice was ultimately implemented.
Once the candidates were decided, they each marched from place to place and spoke of their visions for the nation of Elm in order to garner the masses’ support.
Unsurprisingly, the key issue was the Yamato situation, and political aspirants fell primarily into two camps. Some wanted to follow the current provisional government’s lead and lend Yamato a hand. Others, however, wanted to leave Yamato to fend for itself to prioritize their relationship with the empire.
In the Findolph domain, where the Seven Luminaries had first started, and the Gustav domain, which owed them a great debt, the popular stance was to honor the Seven Luminaries’—Tsukasa’s—example and render aid to Yamato in the name of equality. Meanwhile, the prevailing school of thought in Buchwald and Archride was that the country should acquiesce to the empire’s demand and cut ties with Yamato.
Of the two groups, the candidates who urged the importance of helping Yamato became known as Principlists, and those who insisted that their relationship with the empire be prioritized were dubbed Reformists. With the lines so clearly drawn, people on each side of the issue began working together with their like-minded peers, and a pair of political parties were thus formed.
Each was spearheaded by one of the women who had once come to make their case directly to the Seven Luminaries. Tetra led the Principles Party, and Juno ran the Reform Party. They had taken the initiative to share their opinions with the provisional government before anyone else had. In retrospect, it seemed almost inevitable that they were the ones at the center of their respective parties. In the opening stages of the election, neither yielded an inch, and the balance between the two factions was more or less even.
While all that was going on, Tsukasa paid a visit to the Buchwald barracks’ dungeon, where prisoners were detained. It was currently home to the pair the election revolved around—First Imperial Yamato Princess Kaguya and White Wolf General Shura.
“Ahhh. Truly, no food in any land can compare to white rice. ”
“Munch, munch, munch.”
The cell’s stone walls were rough and angular, and it had been hastily furnished with a four-and-a-half-tatami-mat floor. Atop it, Kaguya, Shura, and Tsukasa were sharing a meal.
“When the soldiers told me that you didn’t have much of an appetite, I sent to have some rice delivered from Yamato. I see I made the right call.”
“Indeed. In this land of the empire—this Republic of Elm now, rather… Whatever its name, the bread they eat in this land in place of rice doth disagree with me. I find it unbearably rough, and it dries the mouth out terribly.”
“Munch, munch, munch.”
Steam rose from the rice into the cold dungeon air. Shura nodded in agreement with Kaguya as she shoveled the food into her mouth. She was clearly ecstatic, as her white tail wagged restlessly from side to side.
“What a delight it is to know a table filled with Yamato. The pickled nanohana hath a wonderful crunch, and their flavor lingers on the tongue just so.”
“The miso soup with seaweed is good, too,” Shura appended.
“Were it only that we could enjoy it in slightly larger quarters.” As she spoke, Kaguya glanced around the cell.
There were tatami mats laid awkwardly across the floor and a low tea table placed atop them to make the Yamato natives feel more at home, but they did little to alleviate the gloom that came from being surrounded by sheer stone on three sides, and the room’s sole source of illumination was the scant sunlight that streamed in through the cell bars from above.
It wasn’t exactly a view that whetted the appetite. However, the two young women’s being held as prisoners in Elm was the only thing keeping them from being deported to the empire, so there was little to be done about it.
“We can’t show you too much hospitality, or we risk drawing the empire’s ire. I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with it,” Tsukasa remarked.
“Oh, I know that full well. This white rice is luxury enough for me. Thou hast my thanks, angel.” Kaguya gave him an amiable grin.
Tsukasa shrugged. “Think nothing of it. I prefer rice to bread as well, but due to my position, I can’t very well ask to have it delivered simply because I want some. That’s why I took this opportunity to impose on you like this.”
“Is that so?! I suppose it doth only stand to reason that an angel would possess such refined taste. A divine food for a divine tongue! For of all the feasts and delicacies the culinary world hath, none can compare to a bowl of fresh-cooked white rice topped with a single pickled plum. Such is indisputable.”
However, as Kaguya sang white rice’s praises—
“…Not true.”
—Shura spoke up and voiced her dissent.
“Oh?”
“I like barley rice better. Nice and firm. Tasty. Better than white rice.”
“Hmph. Thy palate is dull, Shura. The texture of barley rice hath its charm, but doth it not lack the sweetness of white rice that fills thy mouth more with each subsequent bite?”
“How like a weak little princess. Thinking that sweetness is all that matters.”
“Why, I never!”
“Barley rice is good for you. Doesn’t make you fat. That’s why we samurai like it. Also, it goes perfectly with soup. If you pour miso soup over it, the texture gets really nice. But with white rice, it just gets soggy. That’s because white rice is weak. Barley rice is stronger and tough. End of discussion.”
“Thou aren’t even beginning to make sense! If thou art so fond of tough food, then why not just go chew some burdock?!”
“I could say the same to you. If you like sweet things so much, go drink millet jelly.”
The two of them stared daggers at each other. Neither was willing to back down.
To look at them, one would hardly guess them to be a princess and her attendant.
If anything, they seem more like a pair of close sisters, Tsukasa mused.
Yet as he watched their good-natured argument play out—
“Angel, settle this! Which do you think is better?!”
“Tell us!”
—he suddenly found himself thrust into the middle of it as each girl looked to gain an advantage by winning him onto their side.
“Good question.”
Tsukasa paused for a moment before answering.
“Personally, I prefer rice cakes wrapped in seaweed and drizzled with soy sauce.”
“Th-that’s cheating.”
“So it is!”
“By the way, angel, what exactly is the white thing thou hast on thy dish there?”
Midway through their meal, Kaguya pointed at a small tray sitting next to the grilled salmon.
A gleaming, cream-colored goo sat atop its flat surface.
“The other dishes are all from Yamato, but that one alone is new to me. It doth appear far too soft to be tofu.”
“…Looks weird.”
The two of them timidly prodded at the goo with their chopsticks.
“Ah, you mean the mayonnaise,” Tsukasa replied.
““M-mayo…?!””
Kaguya’s and Shura’s reactions were instantaneous.
The looks on their faces, which mere moments ago had been ones of puzzlement, were replaced with expressions of intense caution.
Hmm?
“Th-the Seven Luminaries’ dreaded mayo! ’Tis said that ingesting but a single drop is enough for its effects to take hold, and that it doth possess addictive qualities surpassing those of even the devil’s aphrodisiac, opium! A scant few days without it will reduce its victims to invalids, and in the war with the empire, the Seven Luminaries used it to lay countless cities low…!”
“Stay back, Princess. You mustn’t eat any. What are you playing at, angel, bringing us something so dangerous?”
“I fear there’s been a big misunderstanding.”
However, Tsukasa also knew that the blame for that resided close to home. An image of his grinning friend who’d made a pile of messes, then ridden off into the sunset without cleaning any of them up, rose to the forefront of his mind. He was struck by an urge to give it a good, hard kick. Instead, though, he took a piece of salmon, lightly spread some mayonnaise atop it, and took a big bite.
““Aaah!””
“As you can see, as long as it’s prepared in a sanitary manner, it doesn’t cause addiction or hallucinations or anything of the sort. Mayonnaise is just a condiment made of egg yolk, vinegar, and oil that we Seven Luminaries taught the people about to enrich their lives. I felt that only offering you food you could already get in Yamato wouldn’t allow us to show you the full range of our hospitality. I promise, it’s quite tasty when spread on the grilled salmon.”
After he finished speaking, Tsukasa ate another piece of salmon with mayo.
Seeing that, Kaguya gulped—
“…Very well.”
—then took a bit of fish for herself and topped it with mayonnaise while wearing a resolute expression.
“Princess…” Shura gave her an apprehensive gaze.
“As Yamato’s rightful empress, ’tis my duty to accept his hospitality with grace,” declared Kaguya. “If anything doth happen to me, I leave Yamato’s future in thy hands, Shura… Haumph!”
Then, after making her dramatic final statement, she shoved the mayo-covered salmon in her mouth.
“OHHH?!”
Her eyes went wide, and she let out a strange cry.
“Princess?!”
“Why, this… What is this indescribable flavor?! Sweet? Spicy? Sour, perhaps? In any case…’tis bold! Yet despite that, the harmony it hath with the salmon is impeccable. How delightful! I have never eaten anything like it…!”
“R-really?”
“If thou dost doubt me, Shura, then try some for thyself… Ah, I cannot get enough! Its taste is overpowering in a most agreeable way, and it doth elevate the rice to new heights! First hearing that the Seven Luminaries’ god was spreading something white and goopy among his followers made me think ye heretics of the darkest nature, but to learn that this world had such a marvelous food in it!”
Urged on by Kaguya’s words, Shura hesitantly ate some mayonnaise.
The moment she did, the shock of experiencing a flavor that shouldn’t have even existed in this world touching her taste buds sent a shiver through her entire body. The young byuma’s tail puffed up to double its original size.
After that, she was the same as Kaguya.
She began gobbling rice down at twice the rate she had before as though possessed by the mayonnaise’s magic.
“Munch, munch! Munch, munch, munch!”
Tsukasa nodded happily when he saw their reactions.
“I’m glad you both like it.”
“Indeed! Once Yamato is restored, I insist that you teach me how to—I say, Shura! That one is mine!”
“I’m testing it for poison.”
“I’ve already eaten from it, though! Thou art too late! Return it at once!”
“There might be poison in the bottom half. It’s my duty to protect you.”
“You dare espouse thy loyalty merely when it serves you?!”
Their chopsticks clashed atop the table as they vied for the last of the mayonnaise.
When Tsukasa watched their undignified battle play out, he was again reminded of mayonnaise’s diabolical powers and wondered if, going forward, it might be best to try solving all his diplomatic problems with mayonnaise.
He shook his head to rid himself of the dangerous notion.
Eventually, an armistice was reached in the Great Mayonnaise Battle when Tsukasa split the rest of his share between the two combatants.
The three then enjoyed pleasant conversation as they finished their meal, and after the guard cleared away the dishes, they washed down their food with hot tea as they relished the satisfaction of a stomach well filled.
“Ahhh… It hath been some time since I last ate so heartily.”
“All full now.”
“The mayonnaise was sublime, but the other dishes were fantastic, too. My compliments to the chef.”
“For sure.”
“You honor me… Hearing you say that makes all the effort I put in worth it.”
Kaguya’s and Shura’s eyes went wide at Tsukasa’s response.
“Goodness me. You mean to say that you made our meal yourself?”
“That I do. Cooking is something of a specialty of mine.”
“Shocking!”
“I suppose it stands to reason that an angel would be blessed with not just handsome looks and wit enough to run circles around the empire, but culinary skills as well. If you were human, that would make you quite a catch.”
“I’ve heard that there’s a custom in Yamato for the master of the house to serve tea to their guests themselves, no matter who holds the higher status,” Tsukasa replied. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about official tea ceremony rituals, but I think there’s a lot to be learned from that ethos.”
Kaguya’s shoulders shook as she laughed.
“…Heh-heh, what a strange notion. True, we do say that there are no lessers or betters in the tearoom…but that is mere pretense. Unlike the equality for all you preach, it hath no real substance. What exactly is there to learn from that?”
“Pretense is important. It’s sad to say, but humans are evil by nature. Without something to hold them back, it’s all too easy for them to descend into wickedness. Falsehood, morals, and rules are there to keep them in check. Even if everyone knows they’re all smoke and mirrors, they’re important nonetheless. It’s precisely when charade meets charade that peace can be born.”
“Is that not but a false peace brokered between two sides who do not trust each other?” pressed Kaguya.
“Any peace is good peace. True or not, it’s still far preferable to war,” Tsukasa asserted.
Between lives lost in the name of justice and lives saved through deception, it was clear which outcome was better.
Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door—
“Pardon the intrusion. I’ve brought the dessert.”
—and a maid came down into the dungeon.
When Tsukasa saw her, he stood up and opened the cell to let her in. She set the table, and he thanked her and quietly dismissed the woman. Then he returned to his seat and gestured at the plates. Each one was covered with small yellow discs.
“These are some potato cakes I made with sweet potatoes from Yamato.”
They were a kind of tea cake enjoyed all across Yamato. Rich and poor alike adored them.
When Kaguya and Shura saw desserts—
“Potato cakes…”
“…”
—they merely stared at them for some reason. Neither moved to take a bite.
“…Would you have preferred something else?” Tsukasa inquired.
Kaguya shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing of the sort. They simply brought back memories.”
“Of what, exactly?”
“I once knew a man skilled at serving tea. His brew itself was good, but his potato cakes were truly something else… Someday, I hope the time comes when I may eat them again.”
“No more talking about him,” Shura interjected sharply. “He was a samurai general, but he sided with your sister and betrayed you and the Yamato people anyway. I’ll never forgive him for what he did. He’s a stain on my family, and I swear I’ll cut him down myself.”
Shura’s eyes were cast downward, and she spoke in a voice so low it was like she was cursing the very air itself.
Kaguya shrugged awkwardly. “My apologies. ’Tis hardly an appropriate topic for this table you’ve so graciously prepared. I hope you can forgive us.”
“Think nothing of it. Things don’t always turn out well, even when it comes to family.” After waving off Kaguya’s apology, Tsukasa forcibly changed the subject. “However, I will agree that it doesn’t particularly pique my interest. I don’t know what happened between you, your parents, and your siblings, or why you stand on opposite sides now, but that’s all in the past. I came here today to talk about the future.”
He looked Kaguya right in the eyes, and she responded by straightening her posture.
“I see. So this is the true reason behind your visit?”
Tsukasa nodded. “As a member of the Seven Luminaries and as the head of Elm’s current provisional government…I’m here to give my answer regarding your request that we free Yamato.”
“My, my, such pageantry. If ye would hold to the righteousness your god upholds, is not your answer a foregone conclusion?” Once again, Kaguya was using the Seven Luminaries’ fundamental principle of equality for all as a negotiating tool.
Without its tenets, an organization had no reason to keep existing. That was as true of Elm as it was of anything. Kaguya’s threat was an indirect one, but it was a threat all the same. Yet Tsukasa wasn’t the least bit shaken by it.
“Let me cut to the chase: Elm will not be fighting the empire on Yamato’s behalf.”
“…Oh?” Kaguya narrowed her gaze.
“At the moment, Elm and Freyjagard have a peace treaty and are hard at work fostering friendly relations with each other. Destroying all that would carry tremendous costs for Elm.”
“Ye angels would abandon my nation to ruin, then?”
“Eras come and go, and every dynasty eventually falls. The way I see it, Yamato’s time has come. You have my sympathies.”
However, it was a ruler’s final duty to go down with the ship.
Just like in any organization, a leader was a person whose job it was to take responsibility.
Whenever something went wrong, they were the ones who had to shoulder the blame.
That was true even if they bore no fault of their own.
Their taking on that cost was the reason they were afforded such privilege in the first place.
As such, Kaguya’s current situation was a natural conclusion of that.
However…
“However, your people are another matter.”
“Hmm?”
“When an autocracy falls, it isn’t the fault of its citizens. Guilt can’t be leveled upon those who lacked the ability to prevent something from occurring.
“As such, if the people of old Yamato genuinely are suffering under the dominion government’s rule, then Elm will freely offer them its aid.
“We’ve gotten in contact with the dominion government, and we’ve requested to visit them in person.
“They’ll want to take the opportunity to try to convince me to turn you over, so I have no reason to believe they’ll refuse.
“Once we’re there, I’ll use the opportunity to see for myself what state the dominion is in. If what you say is true, and they really do need help, we intend to demand that the dominion and imperial governments amend the situation at once, and if necessary, we’re prepared to offer technological aid and financial relief to help make that happen.
“In the name of equality for all, we’ll ensure that the people of old Yamato can expect a reasonable quality of life and to have their fundamental human rights respected. That is what we’re prepared to offer your people. No more and no less.”
“In short, you mean to say that ye Seven Luminaries are allies to the ‘people’ but will do nothing for Yamato as a ‘nation’?”
Tsukasa nodded. “That’s exactly right. The Seven Luminaries are in the business of saving people, not countries. Reestablishing a fallen nation would carry a level of risk that we’re unwilling to assume. We simply have no reason to go to such lengths for Yamato. And in keeping with that… To put it bluntly, if the empire demands that they be allowed to interrogate you in exchange for bettering the conditions of the Yamato populace, we’re prepared to consider handing you over.”
“ ”
The moment the words left Tsukasa’s mouth, bloodlust flared up in Shura’s gaze beneath her dangling forelocks.
However—
“’Tis fine.”
—Kaguya verbally held the White Wolf General in check, then replied to Tsukasa.
“If my life is enough to ensure the safety of my citizens, then as Yamato’s rightful ruler, I can imagine no greater joy than to lay it down for them. If ye angels tell me with surety that my sacrifice will safeguard my people, then I shall have no reason to refuse.”
Kaguya’s words made it clear that she, too, was acting for the sake of her subjects rather than trying to reclaim the Yamato imperial family’s lost glory. It was an exemplary response.
When you were relying on the other party’s goodwill, you needed to convey to them that your intentions were honorable as well. Whether Kaguya was lying didn’t matter, for it was the only reply she could have given. Still, Tsukasa was impressed by how she had stated so without a hint of trepidation in her eyes. He could tell that she possessed the valuable combination of wisdom and courage.
“…But I must say, I feel a trifle let down,” Kaguya admitted, continuing with a disappointed smile. “All this pedestrian talk of risk and return. When I came to ye Seven Luminaries, I had assumed that ye would merely use your divine powers unconstrained by the limits of man to see justice meted out in an instant. But this, why, it feels as though I’m talking to a mere mortal.”
“Well, that makes sense. We are only human, after all,” Tsukasa said plainly.
“…What?”
Tsukasa had to agree that this was anything but what an outsider like Kaguya might have anticipated.
Kaguya’s and Shura’s expressions froze as though they had just been punched in the backs of their heads.
After lowering his voice, Tsukasa elaborated. “I’ve already cleared the area…and I trust that what I’m about to tell you can stay between us.”
Tsukasa told the pair how he and the other Prodigies came from Earth, a planet where technology was far more advanced. He revealed their search for a way to get back home and how battling the empire became necessary in the process. Then he explained how Grandmaster Neuro ul Levias was from another world as well—and that he possessed a way to send them back to Earth. Tsukasa recounted everything that had happened to him and the other Prodigies since the plane crash.
“A village saved our lives when we first arrived, and all the fighting we’ve done since then has been to repay that kindness. The only reason we called ourselves gods and angels was because it made our words more convincing. Doing so was necessary to build a nation where our saviors could live their lives in peace.”
““………””
Tsukasa spared no detail, even going so far as to expose the fact that the Prodigies had deceived the world. The dungeon cell was silent save for his confession of the truth behind the fake Seven Luminaries. Kaguya and Shura didn’t say a word. They just listened.
“Have I dashed your hopes?” Tsukasa asked once he had finished.
With a cautious gaze, Kaguya responded, “…Why wouldst thou tell us this?”
She didn’t understand. If what Tsukasa was telling her was true, then it was a massive weakness for both the Seven Luminaries and for the Republic of Elm as a whole. If these facts came to light, the Seven Luminaries would lose credibility; it could even lead to Elm’s collapse.
Tsukasa should have been guarding this secret with his life. And yet here he was, baring it freely. Kaguya couldn’t figure out what his motive was, and that put her on guard.
Perhaps sensing as much, Tsukasa tried to elaborate. “If I didn’t lead with that, it would make it difficult for me to address the main reason I’m here.”
“There’s more…?”
“As I just told you, we built the Republic of Elm for our saviors—no, our friends—from this world. However, once the elections we’re holding decide the National Assembly, and we hand over power from the provisional government to the citizens, the vast bulk of our work will be done, and we’ll no longer have any reason to remain here. And with Grandmaster Neuro ul Levias already having offered us a way to get back to our original world, the only thing we’ll have left to do at that point is to take him up on his offer… However.” Tsukasa took a sip of his green tea to wet his lips, then continued. “At the same time, I can’t help but feel that we have left something unresolved.”
“What dost you mean…?”
“The thing is: We don’t even know the reason we were brought to this planet in the first place. Departing before solving that mystery will leave us with regret. I have an uneasy feeling in my gut about that, and I’ve learned to trust my gut. I need to know—who sent us here and why?”
Tsukasa and the other Prodigies had been tracking down leads on a pair of phrases that seemed related to those questions. He asked Kaguya about them point-blank.
“Do you know anything about either the Seven Heroes or an evil dragon?”
This was what Tsukasa had truly hoped to discuss. Those phrases were the only clues he and his friends had about who had summoned them to this world.
“…The Seven Heroes or an evil dragon?” After Kaguya repeated the words back, she tilted her head. “I have not heard of them. Shura, what about thou?”
Shake, shake.
Shura was in the same boat. She shook her head no. She didn’t know anything, either.
“…I see.”
Tsukasa let out a sigh, dejection welling up within him.
Several centuries ago, the emperor of Freyjagard decided that no higher entity than he could be allowed to exist and conducted a religious purge. All the information on the original Seven Luminaries, which likely held ties to the Seven Heroes and the evil dragon, went up in smoke. Shinobu was in the empire trying to see if she could find anything out about them, but the fact that she hadn’t called with good news yet spoke to just how thorough the purge had been.
However, Kaguya’s nation of Yamato had a long history and sat on the same continent as the empire. Tsukasa had been hoping that some of the erased Seven Luminaries knowledge or teachings had secretly survived there. Regrettably, that didn’t seem to be the case, and he was right back to square—
“…Ah! No, no! Hold on a moment!”
Then, it happened. Out of the blue, Kaguya raised her voice, rested her finger against her shapely jawline, sank into thought—
“…Ah, the evil dragon. I have heard a phrase bearing a similar nuance before.”
—and then finally answered.
“You have?!” Tsukasa exclaimed.
“When I was but a babe, and my mother was yet alive, she told me that Yggdra doth not like bad children—and that a mean old dragon would gobble them up.”
“Is that from some Yamato fairy tale? A legend told to children to get them to behave?” Tsukasa pressed.
Shura shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of it.”
“My mother was of a minor tribe of elves skilled in magic who lived in the forest. See how my ears are different from those of normal hyuma?” Kaguya tapped on her long, pointed ear with her fingertip.
“This is apparently a feature of the tribe, and those rich in elven blood can use their large ears to hear the voices of spirits. My mother’s kin kept to themselves for the most part. As I recall, her generation was the first to so much as interact with the Yamato government. ’Tis hardly a surprise they would have their own oral tradition and beliefs. I imagine the phrase about Yggdra is part of that.”
“ ”
Kaguya’s revelation stunned Tsukasa into silence. It was all connected. No, he couldn’t jump to conclusions. There wasn’t enough information to say that for sure yet. Tsukasa could feel it, though. For the first time since waking up stranded here, he was close. The truth about the long-lost Seven Luminaries Winona had told him about was nearer than ever before.
And of particular note was that bit about the elves.
After all, the feature Kaguya just mentioned…was something that could be said of Lyrule, too. The mysterious person who had called the Prodigies the Seven Heroes had spoken through her back at Castle Findolph.
Tsukasa was pretty sure it was no coincidence that they had crash-landed near Lyrule, and now he’d discovered that a group of people with heritage similar to hers lived in the forests of Yamato. Even more conspicuous was how a phrase from their oral tradition mentioned an entity resembling the evil dragon.
This is something I need to look into.
Tsukasa rose from his seat and looked out the lattice window toward the blue sky.
“Perhaps the land of Yamato might hold some of the answers we’re looking for, after all.”
Their meal and discussion were finished, and Tsukasa had left the dungeon cell. Now that the two young women from Yamato were alone, Shura posed a question to her master.
“…Are you sure about this, Princess?”
“Sure about what?”
“We could have tried to trade that information for his help.”
“I quite doubt it.” Kaguya’s reply was immediate. Trying that wouldn’t have gotten them anywhere. “If he were the sort of man to steer his nation merely to serve his ends, he would have turned us over to the empire long ago. From what he said, their relationship with Neuro is akin to a lifeline. Despite that, he agreed to help Yamato’s people all the same, albeit not with blade in hand. Even with the risk of angering Neuro looming, he chose to act for the sake of his country’s future.”
Kaguya could tell that Tsukasa was the sort of man ready to take extreme measures to avoid behaving selfishly. He claimed to be mortal…but that mentality of his could very well be described as angelic. It didn’t seem human, that was for sure. To put it bluntly, the integrity he conducted himself with was downright unsettling.
“A man like that would never accept such a deal.”
“What about threatening to tell people he isn’t an angel, then?” Shura inquired.
“That would prove equally fruitless. True or not, ’tis the people who ultimately choose to believe. Our accusing the Seven Luminaries of deceit will hardly cause the populace’s faith in them to waver. Were that not so, that man would never have revealed the truth to us.”
Kaguya and Shura could say whatever they pleased, but getting folks to believe them was another task entirely. Tsukasa hadn’t left the pair a single chip to bargain with. From a diplomatic standpoint, Kaguya’s side had suffered a crushing defeat.
And yet…
“’Tis of no concern, though. We have no need for such wheeling and dealing in the first place.” As she spoke, Kaguya’s gorgeous lips curled into a faint smile.
“Huh?”
“Our conversation made that quite evident. That man hath aims not just to found a nation, but to change this world’s very way of being. Thou shalt not commit acts of violence. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not violate others.
“He intends to take the morals that only exist between those of even standing and use his philosophy of equality to elevate them to ubiquitous ideals. To create a land where they are seen as inviolable principles, accepted and taken for granted by all.
“To usher in an era of peace, built atop a mountain of deceit.”
People wouldn’t trust one another.
They wouldn’t accept those who were different.
However, because they didn’t want to be mocked and decried as immoral barbarians, they would begrudgingly compromise anyway.
Tsukasa had said that even that kind of peace was far preferable to demanding justice violently. However, that was precisely why Kaguya knew that it wouldn’t work out. Once Tsukasa learned what Yamato was like now, he would have no choice but to accept as much, too.
He wanted to make a world where humanitarianism was a universally accepted constant. But if that was his goal…then war with Mayoi, current lord of the Yamato dominion, was inevitable.
“Hatred foolish enough to level nations cannot be permitted to exist in his new world,” Kaguya muttered with such grief it almost sounded like she would begin to sob.
That evening, Tsukasa called Prodigy journalist Shinobu Sarutobi, who had infiltrated the Freyjagard Empire under the guise of being an exchange student, on his satellite phone.
“Hey, hey, hey! It’s your girl Shinobu, reporting live from Drachen. What’s up?”
“Shinobu, do you have a moment?”
“Yup! Just takin’ a bath right now.”
“…Should I call back later, then?”
“Nah, it’s all good. I got Ringo to make my phone waterproof, and I’ve got it on speaker, so my hands are free, too. FYI, I’m lathering up my boobs right now.”
“Why the play-by-play, exactly?”
“Figured I should start throwing in some fanservice every now and then.”
“That…won’t be necessary.” Tsukasa frowned, then got down to brass tacks. The purpose of his call was to compare notes with Shinobu. He started by telling her everything that had happened over the last few days. Between Kaguya’s intrusion, Masato’s departure, and the things he’d learned from Kaguya, there was a lot to unpack.
“…Ah.” After listening in silence, Shinobu let out a sigh. “So Massy’s already left for Lakan with Roo?”
“He has. I knew that the work I had him doing wasn’t exactly his speed, but…I didn’t realize he took the goss incident so hard.”
“He might not look it, but Massy regards his work seriously. The way he sees it, cutting people from assignments they’re not a good fit for is a basic part of project management. Course, Roo’s situation probably played into his choice to head for Lakan, too.”
Tsukasa paused for a moment before replying to Shinobu’s assessment. “…Yes, I imagine so.”
“?”
Shinobu had expected him to answer immediately, and Tsukasa could feel her suspicion through the smartphone, but—
“Lakan has a de facto monopoly on this world’s shipping industry. If he wants to know what came from the New World and where it went, heading to Lakan is the quickest way to do that.”
—instead of explaining his pause, he simply elaborated on the reason for his agreement.
“Anyhoo, I think that gets me up to speed on Massy. And it’s him we’re talking about, so I’m sure he’ll be fine on his own,” Shinobu responded, choosing not to press the issue. She trusted Tsukasa. If there was something he wasn’t saying, it was because he’d decided that it didn’t need to be revealed. Instead, Shinobu shifted the conversation to a more pressing matter.
“…Plus, I think Princess Kaguya’s story deserves some thought.”
This time, Tsukasa’s answer came promptly.
“Not only does a species called elves with features similar to Lyrule’s live in Yamato, but that race has a phrase used to admonish children that bears a striking similarity to the legends we know about the Seven Luminaries… Given Yamato and Freyjagard’s geographic relationship, I suppose it only makes sense that people fled there to avoid the religious purge.”
“So there’s a pretty good chance that this tribe’s beliefs might be the OG Seven Luminaries’?”
“I don’t have any firm evidence, but I think it’s a real possibility.”
“Sorry, I know this would all be easier if I could just find a smoking gun for you. Like, if I discovered that this Yggdra who Kaguya mentioned was the entity the Seven Luminaries worshiped or something. But so far, I haven’t been able to find a single thing past what Winona already told us—that the Seven Heroes came from another world, beat the evil dragon, and saved the day. People ’round here are still in panic mode over Kaguya asking Elm for help, so I haven’t had the chance to really dig into the Seven Luminaries or the Seven Heroes. Sorry ’bout that.”
Shinobu’s tone was apologetic, but Tsukasa told her not to worry about it. Tensions between Elm and Freyjagard were high because of Kaguya, so Tsukasa had requested that Shinobu prioritize ensuring their exchange students were safe over everything else. It was hardly her fault that she didn’t have much time to dedicate to gathering intel. Still, they didn’t call her a Prodigy journalist for nothing. Despite the adverse conditions, Shinobu hadn’t come up completely empty-handed.
“I do have a tidbit, though… After doing a little digging on Grandmaster Neuro, I turned up something that caught my attention.”
“Go on…”
“Honestly, I’d be surprised if you weren’t wondering this already, too. Why do you suppose Freyjagard would even want to invade Yamato?”
“That question has been on my mind lately. From what I’ve gathered, Yamato was a nation that valued honorable poverty,” answered Tsukasa. “It didn’t have any major industries or natural resources, but it was known for its unique samurai and ninja military forces. If it were a fish, it would be one with little meat and lots of jagged bones that made for poor eating whether simmered or fried. Freyjagard going out of its way to gobble it up seemed peculiar, to say the least. And it’s apparent that they’re still having trouble governing the region to this day.”
At first, the empire fully annexed Yamato into itself, but between the region’s low economic merits and the active danger posed by its resistance movement, nearly all imperial nobles refused to take the domain as their own. Ultimately, it was left as a self-governing dominion. Observing the facts certainly made it seem as though the empire’s invasion had been for nothing.
“Are you saying that Neuro was involved somehow?”
“Apparently, it was the Four Grandmasters who pushed for the invasion in the first place.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah, and even at the time, the aristocracy wasn’t too happy about it. I barely even had to look to find out that most of the noble big shots brought complaints about the campaign to Emperor Lindworm himself. All the stuff you just brought up—they did, too. But Neuro and the other grandmasters pushed Lindworm to start the war, and because they’d been loyal to him since day one, he chose to listen to them.”
According to Shinobu, the grandmasters had insisted on the matter, and the friction that caused between the blue bloods and them was a big factor in their current power struggle.
“Don’t you think that’s weird?”
“Yeah. Something smells fishy.”
No matter how you sliced it, something was off about the whole situation.
“It doesn’t take a political mastermind to know that invading a country with few resources but a robust military is a wasteful decision. And Neuro claimed that his primary goal was to be able to live in peace. It should have given him even less of a motive to attack Yamato.”
“Yet he and the other grandmasters were the ones who were pushing for the assault. And that means…”
“…There was something in Yamato they needed above all else, even if it meant creating a fierce enemy in their own backyard.”
Neuro’s goal hadn’t been to take Yamato for himself. If that was the case, he’d be ruling it already. Thus, it wasn’t land he sought, but something else.
“No clue what he’s after, though. But ever since the emperor left Neuro in charge, all the policies he’s enacted have been moderate and sensible. He doesn’t favor the commoners, the nobles—nobody. And that makes it tough to get a sense of what kinda guy he is. Yet for how hard to pin down he is everywhere else…it looks like he really pressed for the Yamato invasion. If we start researching why, I think it’ll paint a pretty clear picture of who exactly Neuro ul Levias is.”
“That’s your intuition as a ninja talking?”
“As a journalist, more like!”
“I see. Well, I know better than to doubt that. The work you did for me in Japan taught me that much.” Tsukasa smiled faintly as he recalled how Shinobu had helped him expose political corruption—and not just in enemy factions, but within his own party as well.
Her ability to sniff out wrongdoing in places he didn’t think to look was invaluable. Coming to another world hadn’t changed that.
“You’re right—uncovering that reason is important, as is knowing more about Neuro. For now, I want you to concentrate your efforts on his background. Digging up intel on the Seven Luminaries and the Legend of the Seven Heroes will be easier for you once we unearth more on our end.”
“How’re you gonna do that?” Shinobu asked, puzzled.
“The dominion government got in touch with Elm through Freyjagard to inform us that they want to discuss turning over Kaguya and Shura. I’m heading down to Yamato myself tomorrow for that meeting, and while I’m there, I also plan on looking into the aforementioned minor tribe.”
“…You sure that’s a good idea? You aren’t afraid they’ll attack you if you refuse to hand ’em over?”
“Yamato’s former second imperial princess, Mayoi, might have been put in charge of ruling, but it’s still a dominion of the empire. Freyjagard is trying to cultivate a strong relationship with Elm, and there’s no reason for Yamato to go against the empire’s orders. Aggression wouldn’t benefit them. I can’t imagine them stepping that far out of line.”
After reassuring her, though—
“…If anything, I’m more concerned about what the Republic of Elm will do.”
—Tsukasa went on in a voice tinged with sorrow.
“Huh? How’s that?”
“Elm has talked a big game about democracy, but up until now, it’s been a democracy in name alone. We’ve ruled as despots, using the shadow of our overwhelming strength to drag the country along whether it wanted to come or not. All of that changes now, however. Starting with the national elections, Elm will begin walking on its own two feet and choosing its path for the first time. And when it does…things are going to come to a head. Between democracy and the malice that follows in its wake.”
Tsukasa’s voice was firm. This was something he was confident of. He knew precisely what was about to happen to the fledgling nation. And he understood that there was no way to avoid it, no matter how hard the Prodigies tried, for there was an intractable evil that dwelled within the nature of humanity.
“This is going to be do-or-die for the Republic of Elm.”
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