Nihonkoku Shoukan

One big factor explains why this chapter went so quickly: I enjoy the politics and planning so much more than the battles. But also, just had a free day and felt like translating :s

Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas, Imperial Cultural Center

For today"s working-level diplomatic meeting, the Holy Mirishial Empire notified every partic.i.p.ant that they had an urgent announcement to make.

Having just arrived at the cultural center, the j.a.panese delegation ran into the Empire of Anionnrial"s delegation. Based on the doc.u.ments they had received in advance, they knew that Anionnrial was a magic-based nation that was in charge of the southern countries outside the civilized areas, and that they have attended every leadership conference to date. They themselves were an island nation outside the civilized areas, and they effectively had full control of the two large continents in the southern part of the world. No one ever sets foot on their homeland; foreign relations were limited to a single northern island about half the size of Shikoku called "Bushpaka Latan." In terms a j.a.panese person might understand, they had enacted "sakoku."

Because everyone thought of them as a country outside the civilized areas, no one was interested in them at the conference. They were only invited as barbarians that "just happened" to control a huge amount of land. Their people were not humans; they had wings growing from their backs—one white, one black.

However, they were very much a country of interest for the j.a.panese government. Based on satellite imagery, Bushpaka Latan, their sole window to the outside world, was completely dark at night. In contrast, looking instead at their mainland, the amount of artificial lighting they had rivaled that of the Holy Mirishial Empire and the Gra Valkas Empire, and photographs revealed that their capital was very advanced.

The boats the Empire of Anionnrial used to travel to Cartalpas were a fleet of old-fashioned sailboats, something clearly less advanced than what other countries used. The j.a.panese government had already discerned that the ships being serviced at their home country"s ports were as sophisticated as the Holy Mirishial Empire"s magic ships, though.

Kondo had received a directive from the j.a.panese government to look into this empire if he had the chance, so he called out to their delegation. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. You are from the Empire of Anionnrial, correct?"

"Ah…"

Though this person"s face was emotionless, their eyes betrayed a lack of interest in addition to obvious scorn.

"My name is Kondo, and I am a diplomat from the country of j.a.pan. My government is very interested in your country. If we seek to establish diplomatic relations with you in the future, I hope you"ll remember that we are very much hoping to a.s.sociate with you and treat us well."

"Is that so? You may already know this, but our country only deals with foreign affairs from our northern island of Bushpaka Latan. If you would like to open negotiations, please travel there. In addition, be aware that trade with the southern countries under our control is strictly prohibited, so please send any requests for cultural exchange to said island as well."

While the words spoken were courteous, it was clear as day that they had zero interest in j.a.pan. Or really, looking back over the past few days of the conference, they had never shown any interest in anyone period.

"By the way, does your country limit relations with every other country to this northern island?"

"Yes, this was decreed by our homeland; any visitations from other countries is expressly forbidden."

"Is it possible to fully experience your culture when visiting the island?"

"Yes, Bushpaka Latan may be the gate to all of the southern countries, but it is also still part of our country. Of course, its culture is the same. But why would you ask such a thing?"

After a momentary pause, Kondo responded, "Oh, no particular reason, it"s just that your home country appears to be far more developed than the gate island, so I had some doubts…"

The eyes of every member in the Anionnrial delegation lit up.

>

The broadcast from the Imperial Cultural Center cut the conversation short.

"I guess it"s time. I"ll introduce myself again at another time, so I shall be in your care then as well."

Kondo and his colleagues stood up and left for the meeting room, leaving the Anionnrial delegation behind. After they were alone, they muttered among themselves, "Lowly humans… Who the h.e.l.l is this "j.a.pan"?"

The Anionnrial delegation soon followed after and entered the meeting room.

"At this time, the working-level meeting for the eleven-country leadership conference will now commence."

At the coordinator"s words, the meeting began.

"Today, I have an announcement for all present from the host of the conference, the Holy Mirishial Empire. The other day, the Gra Valkas Empire executed a surprise attack on our western islands and defeated our land forces there."

In order to protect their image, Mirishial decided to conceal the fact that their 0th Magic Fleet was annihilated and instead delivered a fake story where they were ambushed. Regardless of the claim that it was their land forces instead, the news that one of the Holy Mirishial Empire"s forces lost shook the venue.

"Cartalpas has been a.s.signed eight light cruisers to defend against terrorism, and our air force can mobilize from the airport in order to provide cover, so we do not foresee any problems. However, in consideration of the extreme unlikelihood that Gra Valkas"s forces reach our soil and perpetrate an attack, in order to ensure that nothing unpredictable occurs, we request that all fleets prepare to depart this evening to relocate the conference east to Kan Braun. While this is a different location from where we had announced previously, please indulge us with your understanding and cooperation."

After a moment of silence, the amba.s.sador from the First Civilization superpower Eimor Kingdom (the land of dragonfolk) burst out in anger.

"Those newcomers first insulted us, then they make to attack this conference gathering the most powerful nations in the world, and you expect us to just tuck our tails between our legs and flee? Let them come; we have no need to run. My country may have come by land, but the other guests here have all brought fleets of varying size, have they not? They came to protect their foreign affairs ministers, did they not? Our opponent only has magically weak humans, and they do not belong to any civilized area; for the numerous world powers in attendance here, I say it would be shameful to run away without fighting. While we did not bring our navy, we do not mind lending out our twenty-two wind dragons."

""Ooh…!""

Eimor Kingdom"s Order of Wind Dragon Knights: wind dragons evolved with smaller wings to reduce the effects of wind pressure, allowing them to fly at speeds of 500 km/h. Humans cannot handle that velocity, but dragonfolk and their hardier bodies have no such problems. These knights could rival the Holy Mirishial Empire"s air superiority-type Floating Ship of the Heavens, the Alph3, so the hall settled down as every country kept an eye on Eimor and their declaration to send their elite squadron.

"We… We would be happy to lend a hand in exterminating those rude Gra Valkans with our seven ships-of-the-line! Indeed, only with a surprise attack could a noncivilized force have caused any damage to the Holy Mirishial Empire; if not for that, our Central World nations could run circles around them!"

The Central World"s Torquia Kingdom also voiced their discontent with moving the conference.

"The Gra Valkas Empire has been running roughshod all over the Second Civilization. If the Central World intends to oppose them, then our fleet too shall join."

The Second Civilization"s Magycaraihi Collective declared their intent to fight, and the other Second Civilization countries soon followed.

Sitting next to the j.a.panese delegation, the only Third Civilization country, the Great Magic Duchy of Pandora, looked over at them with sparkling, expectant eyes. "We"ve heard numerous tales of your war against the Papaldia Empire. What does j.a.pan intend to do?"

Truthfully, because they had only come to partic.i.p.ate in the world conference, they didn"t have any escort ships in the vicinity at all. Based on the introductory information received from Mirishial, all the sea routes would be secured by the host country, so they wanted to trust in that guarantee. And that was what they were told in person as well.

Back on Earth, whenever there was an international conference, no country had ever dispatched a fleet to represent their own country; no matter how far back you looked in history, there was never a single example of this. Furthermore, as soon as they saw the name "Gra Valkas Empire" in the list of attendees, it would be normal to a.s.sume that they planned to partic.i.p.ate in the conference, not wage war. In other words, j.a.pan had completely written off any chance of the conference being attacked. Were they supposed to go up against a country with weapons on par with j.a.pan from World War II with a single patrol boat from the j.a.pan Coast Guard? Out of the question, right?

The Mirishial Empire had wanted to relocate the conference to Kan Braun, and Kondo simply couldn"t find any reason to refuse.

"I will have to contact my home country first to determine our stance on this topic," Kondo replied tactfully.

The amba.s.sador from the Empire of Anionnrial raised his hand, and the coordinator allowed him to speak.

"Our country is outside the civilized areas. If you suddenly tell us to move to your eastern city, we cannot respond to that. If following you would result in us becoming an obstacle during your battles, we would rather just excuse ourselves from this year"s conference."

The southern countries were known to be lacking in economy, technology, and military, and Anionnrial was only invited as per custom, so their presence wasn"t particularly needed or desired and they were allowed to leave.

j.a.pan, capital city Tokyo, prime minister"s residence

An emergency meeting had been convened at the prime minister"s residence, where top officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were giving a report.

"The Holy Mirishial Empire has concluded that it is extremely likely for the Gra Valkas Empire to a.s.sault the port town of Cartalpas while the leadership conference is in session. To increase their protection, Mirishial is asking the attendees to relocate to the eastern city of Kan Braun, but, indeed, it appears as though the prevailing opinion differs as much as the humanoid races do; the other countries are pushing to deploy the escort fleets they brought to engage them instead."

The room fell quiet.

"We must pull our people out immediately!!!" the Minister of Defense insisted.

"No, if all the other countries are in agreement and they all join together to oppose the Gra Valkas Empire, when j.a.pan alone withdraws, that would be devastating for our reputation," the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs objected.

"Minister of Defense, the Gra Valkas Empire has a fleet comparable to one from our history, correct? How well could one of the j.a.pan Coast Guard"s newest ships fight against them?" asked the Minister of the Environment.

"While it"s true that they don"t have modern weaponry, we"re basically going up against battleships and carriers from the Empire of j.a.pan"s naval task force, from World War II. If the Shikishima mobilizes, there"s no doubt that it would be sunk and we would incur heavy losses. Vice Minister, if the other countries are all set on fighting as you said, then there will be countless deaths. In the first place, aren"t the escort fleets that were sent mainly a precaution against pirates? Why won"t they evacuate? Depending on the strength of Mirishial"s air forces, perhaps there"s a chance of victory, but with only the naval forces on site… The conference attendees will get slaughtered.

"In any case, the Ministry of Defense is preparing two escort fleets for departure right now, but there"s no possible way they can make it in time before the invasion happens. As for air support, unfortunately, the airfields we"re constructing in the various countries won"t be completed until next month. We simply don"t have enough fuel reserves prepared, so that avenue is closed as well."

The room became silent again.

"Vice Minister!!!" The Minister of the Environment glared at the number two of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "After the incident at Fenn"s military festival with the Papaldia Empire, why was only a single patrol boat from the j.a.pan Coast Guard sent as an escort?! If the SDF had gone with them, our current predicament would instead be a huge win for our national interests, would it not?"

The Vice Minister paused to think for a moment before answering the Minister of the Environment. "The Holy Mirishial Empire themselves declared that they would take care of security for the conference, and with the scale of their security, the other countries had always left it to them as well. Even as protection against pirates, the patrol boat we sent was decidedly overkill. The fact that every country would send their elite fleets just to show off was, frankly, outside our expectations; we did not think to thoroughly investigate that. That"s because, in the old world, if we had sent a fleet of escort ships to an international conference, what would have happened? The entire world would have criticized us. That"s why we didn"t think of it.

"Furthermore, after seeing the Gra Valkas Empire"s intent to attend the conference, who could have predicted that they would announce their plans for world conquest? And though I hate to say it, we simply did not consider the possibility of the conference being attacked. If Gra Valkas really is going to attack, then it"s only natural to think of evacuating early in order to protect the lives of the diplomats and the Minister."

"I see. Let me ask the Minister of Defense a question now. We currently have four reconnaissance satellites in operation, yet we were unaware of the Gra Valkas Empire planning an attack on the Holy Mirishial Empire. Can you provide an explanation for this?"

"While it"s true that there are four satellites, we can only get reliable information on macro things such as topography and large-scale movements. In order to monitor exact positions, we need to launch more satellites. Not only that, this planet is much larger than Earth was. If we want continuous, twenty-four hour monitoring, we"d need around thirty satellites to achieve that. And might I remind everyone, we don"t really have the time for a philosophical debate right now. We need to come to a decision soon, otherwise there might be a blockade at the strait at some point, and our people will be stuck in there. We need to tell them to get out of there as soon as possible."

It was a chaotic meeting. Shortly after, the j.a.panese government would decide to withdraw the Minister of Foreign Affairs and all diplomats from the port town of Cartalpas in order to prioritize their safety.

Holy Mirishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas

Cartalpas is in the south of the Holy Mirishial Empire. On the eastern and western parts of the city, land stretches down creating a 60km-wide bay. At the very end of the bay, after pa.s.sing through a small 14km strait, the open sea stretches out endlessly. Unlike on the open sea, even stormy days in the bay are relatively calm, so Cartalpas developed into a prosperous place of cultural exchange between the three civilizations.

In the section of the port town hosting the international leadership conference, said conference was currently in disarray.

"Please, we are only thinking of everyone"s safety in the worst case, please comply and evacuate now! If Cartalpas really is going to be attacked, then there"s no time! We cannot continue simply sitting here and having this debate!"

Four hours had already pa.s.sed since the Empire of Anionnrial left. Even though there was a short recess, the fact that there was still no resolution stretched credulity.

It was dangerous here, so without the presence of a large military force, it would be better to evacuate. Kondo was having a hard time understanding why the other countries could not realize something so simple.

However, the countries opposed to evacuating also had their own circ.u.mstances to consider. Unlike j.a.pan, who only brought the bare minimum necessary to travel safely, they had all subscribed to gunboat diplomacy and rolled out the red carpet for their newest ships and elite soldiers, the most polished fleet they could a.s.semble. In j.a.panese terms, it was like they had brought two full escort fleets along with a guided-missile destroyer, and now those ten chest-thumping countries were being told to run from uncivilized barbarians. Not only would their dignity take a dive in front of their peers, they would invite criticism from their own citizens as well.

All of these considerations caused the meeting to go round and round in circles.

"…Amba.s.sador Kondo!"

Inoue was trying to get his attention.

"What is it?!"

"Message from home. We have orders to evacuate from Cartalpas after notifying the host country. The Minister has already been informed and is currently being ferried back to the patrol boat, it"d be a problem if we"re not waiting there when it"s back."

"Got it."

Kondo stood up and raised his hand in order to let the host know that they were evacuating. Unexpectedly, the coordinator"s face warped in anguish at that moment.

"Everyone, quiet down! Quiet down! I have urgent news to announce!"

The hall immediately fell silent.

"Just now, one of our patrol planes spotted a Gra Valkan battleship about a hundred and fifty kilometers south of Cartalpas, heading north. We have yet to locate their carrier. We are mobilizing our air force to attack, but at this rate, they will arrive at the strait first. Considering the speed of Gra Valkas"s ships and our distance from the strait, evacuation is no longer possible. As you have all suggested, we shall organize an allied force and head out to repel them. However, regarding the safety of the diplomats and ministers, our country shall take responsibility and secure them to the best of our ability. Please board the train as soon as possible and you shall be evacuated north."

Kondo couldn"t help pulling at his hair in frustration.

With things turning out the way they did, j.a.pan recognized its delegation"s right to self-defense and authorized the use of military force with the caveat that if there was an opportunity to withdraw from the battlefield, they must take it.

Regarding the few crew members of the pa.s.senger boat and other staff members at the conference, they were evacuated on the train as well. Regarding the j.a.pan Coast Guard patrol boat, the Shikishima, in the unlikely event that cla.s.sified information could end up being leaked, she was to find any opening during the naval battle to break through the strait and escape.

Port Town Cartalpas

The port manager, Bronze, was a.s.saulted by both fear and excitement simultaneously. He heard rumors that the country in control of those giant ships he had never seen before had attacked the world"s strongest country, the Holy Mirishial Empire. When he had looked up earlier, he saw a number of his country"s multipurpose combat fighters, Bet2s, fly off to the south in formation before disappearing from view.

Those rumors were probably true. However, despite the ongoing crisis, he felt very calm. He simply remarked in his head how it wasn"t terrorists but an actual fleet coming to attack, and how this was so far removed from reality. His attention was then drawn to the port, where the fleets from the strongest countries in the world were setting off in droves.

"Magycaraihi Collective, armored ships-of-the-line, setting sail!!!"

The most bellicose member of the Second Civilization, the Magycaraihi Collective"s ships-of-the-line raised their sails. Compared to the former Second Civilization superpower Leifor, the Magycaraihi Collective was inferior in size and scale, but in terms of warship technology alone, they were above Leifor. A miraculous blend of Mu"s machinery and the wonders of magic, the strength of these armored ships-of-the-line were exceptionally noteworthy within the Second Civilization.

"Nation of Agarta, magic convoy, setting sail!!!"

From the Central World, Agarta"s convoy of six ships left port.

"Nigrado Union, dragon carrier fleet, setting sail!!!"

The Second Civilization"s Nigrado Union had a fleet of four ships-of-the-line and four dragon carriers. Each dragon carrier housed twelve wyvern lords, so with four carriers there were 48 in all, and they were in high spirits.

"Mu, mechanical fleet, setting sail!!!"

The superpower of the Second Civilization, Mu"s fleet had two battleships, four armored cruisers, eight light cruisers, and two aircraft carriers. As a superpower"s fleet, and widely considered the strongest fleet to have been deployed to the conference this time, all other countries had high expectations for them.

"j.a.pan, patrol boat, setting sail!!!"

A beautiful white ship that would easily stand out on the battlefield, it was longer than Mu"s La Kasami-cla.s.s battleships and about the same length as the empire"s light cruisers. j.a.pan probably only deployed this one ship because it was quite confident in its battle capabilities. j.a.pan"s legendary might and their war against the Papaldia Empire had already spread across the world. Whether or not it could compete with Gra Valkas"s monstrous battleship was unknown, but considering the tales of how many of Papaldia"s ships they destroyed, this white ship should be quite powerful. Port manager Bronze was feeling very giddy as he watched all the ships from these strong countries leave port.

The following is a summary of the ships being dispatched:

Altogether a grand fleet of 53 ships, and providing additional firepower were 22 dragon knights from the Central World superpower Eimor Kingdom"s Order of Wind Dragon Knights, as well as the Holy Mirishial Empire"s eight light cruisers. In other words, this was a melded fleet of 61 ships that represented every civilization, as well as air cover being provided by the Eimor Kingdom and the Holy Mirishial Empire. The representatives from each country felt very confident about the upcoming battle.

Seto Mamoru, captain of the j.a.pan Coast Guard patrol boat Shikishima, felt very anxious as he observed the mismatched fleet leaving port. With this many ships and air cover, as soon as there was an opening in the enemy fleet"s formation, he would make a break for the strait right away. However, the enemy"s level of technology was close to j.a.pan"s during World War II, based on the reports. If that"s the case, then with this mob of World War I era (or worse) ships, they"d need to have overwhelming numbers to have a chance. The Holy Mirishial Empire"s light cruisers appeared to be around World War II-level, but with only eight of them, he couldn"t help thinking they simply lacked the war potential.

That said, setting aside their chances of escaping, from the perspective of protecting j.a.pan"s technology, there was no self-destruct mechanism on the boat, and abandoning the ship was completely out of the question. Captain Seto Mamoru had to force himself to ignore the fear that he might be leading his crew to their deaths as he guided his ship out of the port town of Cartalpas.

 —  — Chapter 48