26. Chapter 25: Brewing trouble

At the same time, in front of Alnus Town.

The nineteen-years old daughter of the Emperor, Pina Co Lada, spurred her horse forward. In front of her was Alnus Town, the place occupied by the Men in Green. The hustle and bustle of intense activity reached her ears while she took in the sight, amazed. The otherworlders were installed on Alnus since less than two month, but a whole city was seemingly already built, and ever expanding. A large part of the city was comprised of the very common architectural style of the region, but behind it was a smaller part built from rock, steel and glass, while the third part of the town, surely the lord's castle, was hidden behind a large star-shaped wall.

"Do you think they're going to be hostile, princess?" Asked Bozes Co Palesti.

"They shouldn't be." Answered the Princess. "And even then, there's only thirty of us, while there's a full base of them. If they have a functioning brain, they'll rather capture and ransom us. My father also made sure to avoid any engagement with them. Unless they allied with the traitorous vassals, and we haven't seen proof of that, we're going to be fine."

She spat the word "vassal" with content, showing her distaste of the treason the Empire was a victim of.

The majority of the Rose knights stayed back at Italica in order to appear less threatening to the Men in Green. Or, the "Japanese", as the Emperor's informants said they called themselves. Pina had received a letter from him while she was in Telta, protecting the city's lord and a senator while they negotiated a trade agreement.

When she read the content, Pina was immediately ecstatic. Finally! Finally her father was giving her a task befitting of her position! She was to make contact with the Japanese, and address them over the rightful ownership of the terrain they were on. After all, Alnus hill was part of the lands owned by the Emperor. As a foreign power, the Japanese were unlawfully building a town. To her surprise however, he didn't ask for immediate surrender. He heavily insisted on the fact that under no circumstances was war to break out between the Empire and the Japanese, and relations to remain positive.She was puzzled, but she didn't question the order.

It took longer than expected as the two noblemen she was protecting were bickering over tiny details, but when the accord was finally struck and the Senator safely brought back to his province, she immediately rounded up her knights and made her way to Alnus.

They soon reached the first part of the town, which looked like a typical imperial village with wooden hovels covered in thatch roofs, and a few seemingly important buildings with stone walls. She was surprised at the number of demi-humans observing them with varying degrees of emotions, going from mild excitement to outright hate.

"Have we done something to them?" Asked Panache with worry, riding at Pina's left.

"We're imperials. Even more, we're direct representatives of the Imperial family." Answered Grey Co Aldo, riding up to them. "If the rumors are to be trusted, the Japanese don't practice slavery, and allow any race to live in Alnus Town. Here, they don't have to worry about slavers and they can make an actual living. It's a safe heaven."

Pina looked at the veteran with understanding eyes.

"I guess if it takes them away from the likes of my brother, I can understand…"

Grey raised his arms, covering his ears, smirking.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

They went deeper into the town, the procession of knights bringing in a large crowd, the knights tightening their hands around their weapon's handle. They were trained warriors and wore expensive armor, but even them couldn't fight off a bloodthirsty crowd.

Thankfully, the crowd's aggressiveness dissipated when a green iron chariot drove close to them. The knights looked, flabbergasted, at the sight of the cart moving seemingly on its own. They had heard rumors, but seeing it in person was something else. No horse or animal either pulled or pushed it, and glass windows at the front let them see the inside. From there, five men dressed in green got out and started dispersing the crowd.

"Shandy, Suissesse, Nikolasha!" Shouted the princess, catching the attention of the named knights. "Flags up! And everyone, stand at attention!"

The flags of the Red Rose, Blue Rose and White Rose raised in the air, proudly displaying the allegiance of the knights, while the men and women under Pina's orders stood in rows of three at equal distances. One hand tightened in a fist over their heart, the other on the pommel of their swords.

Satisfied that at least all the time spent marching in victory parades wasn't completely useless, the Princess redirected her attention to the Japanese soldiers. They were still dispersing the crowd, but now a group of three was heading towards them, followed by a short woman with blue hair, a thick white, blue and light green dress and a magical staff in her right hand.Now that they were closer, she could make out the equipment of the soldiers. A helmet, what looked like a padded vest protecting their chests but not their arms, and no other visible protective equipment. In their hands was a black staff, which reminded her of a crossbow, albeit one bulkier and with no visible mechanism to launch the bolt. And finally of important note was that they all wore the same uniform, and their equipment was unified, meaning Japan was rich enough to arm its soldiers.

Clearing her voice, Pina took the most authoritative tone she could muster.

"I am Pina Co Lada, envoy and daughter of the Emperor Molt Sol Augustus! I wish to speak to the lord of this town!"

The soldier at the front frowned, before speaking in hushed tones at the blue-haired girl, who raised her monotonous voice.

"General Hazama is a busy man, says Lieutenant Hatake, but he'll most certainly be able to clear up his agenda for you, Princess Pina. However, Lieutenant Hatake says that you can only take three knights with you, the rest will have to wait in the outer ring of the city or leave."

Gasps of indignation sounded from the knight's ranks, and Norma was the one to sound their protest.

"We're Princess Pina's knights! We have a duty to protect her! We-"

His shouting was interrupted by the Princess raising her right arm.

"It's fine, Norma. I trust the Japanese not to harm me. I will take with me Bozes, Grey and Panache. But they will keep their weapons, as well as I will. Will that be alright?"

Mentally, Pina was sweating bullets. She was essentially offering herself up on a silver plate if the Japanese wanted to capture her, but then again, her father's informant who brought her the letter assured that they weren't hostile to the Empire.

After a short while of translating between the mage girl and this "Lieutenant Hatake", she got her answer.

"The Lieutenant says it's alright, as long as you keep your blades sheathed."

"Naturally." She answered. "The rest of you, wait outside of the town!"

After her knights begrudgingly accepted to retreat, she spurred her horse forward, following the iron chariot driving at her pace.

Hazama heard the last report from Hatake with relief, before putting down the radio and turning to the other occupant in the office. He was Koji Sugawara, a Japanese embassador. For the first contact, it was chosen to let the Japanese handle the discussion as they were obviously the most concerned about whatever could come through the Gate.

Hazama's office was quite simple all things considering, but it had its own degree of comfort. In the back of the room, behind the general's desk was a sword stand with a luxurious katana, Hazama's family heirloom. Occupying the other side of the room was a short table and two comfortable sofas to conduct more private business, as well as a small cabinet holding a few bottles of luxurious alcohol. On the walls were a few shelves displaying cups and medals of the General's skill in Taekwondo and Kendo.

"The Princess will be there in a few minutes. , it seems you were right."

"Naturally." Answered the diplomat. "We're building a town on this Empire's territory. It was only a matter of time before some kind of official representative came to see what was up. However, I'm concerned about the other ambassadors we're currently housing…"

"Ah yes, the…" Hazama picked up a document from his desk, flipping a few pages. "The League Principality, the Dragon's Shore Islands, Elbe and Toumaren…"

"I'm amazed they had the mind to send ambassadors at all, with all the chaos caused by the Dragon before your soldiers took it down, General. And giving how the vassals rebelled against the Empire, I fear she would hurt them if she saw them."

The General frowned.

"I would feel insulted if this diplomatic envoy was stupid enough to attempt that. Besides, I intently let the Imperials enter Alnus to observe their reaction. They didn't insult, attack or did anything of the sort to the residents. Rest assured, my men were at the ready to end them on a moment's notice if such a thing happened. Nevertheless, the princess' here, let us be ready."

Hazama stood straight in the middle of the room while Sugawara stood at his side, dusting an nonexistent stain on his suit.

Soon, a knock sounded in the silent room, followed by a JSDF soldier entering, ushering in the Princess, a female knight with blond drill hair and another female knight with short white hair, while a male knight remained outside the door. All were incredibly beautiful, a standard commonly shared by the women of Falmart it seemed.

The Princess wore plate armor on her feet, chest and arms, finely decorated with golden engraving and a crimson cape with a rose was held in place by two rubies on her shoulders. A sword in a luxurious white and gold sheathe rested at her side. Her hair was put together in a braid, and a fine circlet of gold and jewels adorned her forehead.

The knight with blonde hair had an equally beautiful armor, but had a rolled-up parchment rolled in her right hand. The knight in white hair had a lighter armor, mainly composed of mail and leather, while her cape sported a blue rose.

The princess stood undecided for a moment, wondering who to speak to, but Hazama was the first to speak.

"Princess Pina Co Lada of the Empire, it's an honor to meet you. I am General Hazama, commander of the task force sent by Japan to Falmart. To my right is ambassador Koji Sugawara, envoy of our government."

Pointing to the sofa on the other side of a table, he mentally congratulated himself.

Thanks to the time passed mingling with the local population, all of the important figures of Alnus had learned an acceptable level of Saderan. Thankfully, the imperial language spoken by almost everyone, Low Saderan, was a mix of latin, Greek and celtic language which made it much easier to learn to the people from earth. High Saderan, the language spoken by the Imperial nobility, was an old form of latin.

Hazama's speech was a little rough around the edges, but it was more than acceptable for any type of discussion.

"General Hazama, since you know me, let me present by followers. With me are Bozes Co Palesti, my second in command, Panache Fure Kalgi of the White Rose and Norma Co Igloo of the Blue Rose. I have come with an official message from the Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, and to act in his name. Bozes!"

The blonde-haired knight got up, unfolding the parchment in front of her. She cleared her throat, before reading the content in an authoritarian tone.

"In the name of our glorious Emperor, Molt Sol Augustus, Ruler of the Empire of Sader, conquerer of the northern mountain tribes, blessed of Emroy! The settlement known as "Alnus Town", built by the Japanese on Holy Alnus has been done so without seeking the counsel of the Emperor who owns the land, and is desecrating a holy ground as well! This is grave offense to His imperial authority, but His majesty is generous! His majesty recognizes Alnus Town as part of Japan, and wishes to open positive relations between the two powers!"

While the four Japanese expected the empire to react to the occupation of the territory, they didn't expect the religious part. The diplomat was the first to react.

"Am I to understand we are conducting negotiation with a religious figure, Princess?"

The three knights in front of them watched him with confusion.

"What? No. I represent my father, the Emperor of Sader." Said the Princess. "Whether or not the gods will look upon favourably of your presence on such a holy place is not of my business. And if the gods are against you… I fear even you wouldn't be able to withstand the wrath of their apostles…"

Mentally, Hazama made a note to conduct a more thorough research on Falmart's religion. Rory Mercury, the supposed apostle of Emroy, the God of war, was currently housed amongst the refugees. He read the report of her exploits when helping to defend a column of refugees second lieutenant Itami was leading to Alnus against a large group of bandits. He saw the footage of her ability to cleave entire formations of men with her giant halberd. If more of these… Demi-gods attacked Alnus simultaneously, the JSDF could get in trouble. And that was not counting the possible addition of magic into the equation.

However, the general wasn't too much worried.

The "Allied Nations", former vassals of the Empire, attacked them before. They were pushed back with ease, and even then, their defensive position was terrible. Now that they had a literal fortress fitted with tens of tanks, helicopters and heavy ordinance, along with a runway for jet fighters to take off, fighting a technologically inferior enemy who relied on numbers to win would be a child's play.

"So, you wish to discuss the ownership of Alnus Hill, is this correct?" Asked Sugawara. "Even through diplomatic or military means, the Japanese government has put too much funds in this project to let it go…"

The Princess visibly shuddered.

"By the Gods, no! My father wishes to recognize Holy Alnus as a territory of Japan. We know what you are capable of, the failed assault of the former vassals against you was enough. What we want is trade and friendly relations from one power to another."

The two Japanese looked at each other for a second, before turning back to the Princess.

"I'm afraid it's not our duty to take that decision, Princess. However, your message shall obviously be relayed to the higher authorities. Shall we discuss the details?"

Before she could answer, Hazama's radio crackled to life, surprising the imperials who looked for the source of the noise. Excusing himself, the General got up from the sofa and picked up the radio.

"Hazama here, what's happening? I'm pretty sure I told I didn't want to be bothered. Over."

"Lieutenant Iyemasu, posted at the Gate sir. Sorry sir, but there's a bunch of trucks waiting to enter Alnus Base, they say they've got your clearance but I see nothing of the sort in my papers. Should I let them in? They already passed the checks back in Tokyo. Over."

Confused, Hazama searched in his mind but to his knowledge, he authorized no such thing. However, as he was about to flick the button to answer the lieutenant, the recognizable sound of a firearm's safety being turned off in the silent room froze his movements.

"You will let these trucks pass, General." Said a sultry voice. "And of course, the air base shall not be notified of these trucks. No drone, helicopter or plane shall take off to search for them. And naturally, no one else outside of this room will be made aware of what happened here."

Slowly raising his arms and turning around, Hazama witnessed the JSDF soldier who let the Princess in, holding the general at gun point. Using his free arm, he knocked on the door a few times. Then, a second soldier came in. As soon as the door was closed, he too took out his gun and pointed it at the Princess and her two knights.

"And finally," added the first soldier, "We'll be taking the Princess with us. Should something be happening that we do not appreciate, she'll be killed and the murder placed on the JSDF's back. Hazama, get behind your desk, arms raised. I wouldn't want you getting any funny ideas."

While the general moved, the Imperials were ever more confused. Standing between the two parties, the princess and her knights had obviously understood that something unexpected was brewing amongst the JSDF. They of course couldn't understand Japanese and as such were left in the dark.

Hazama himself observed the soldier more closely, until he understood who he was. Under the colored lenses, the life-like wig and the glasses was the supposed agent from Internal Security who he met a few days ago. How he managed to sneak in the command's guard team in such a short time was a mystery.

"You do know there are literally thousands of soldiers answering to my orders outside of this building, right? " He told.

"Of course." Answered the traitor with a smirk. "But how many are loyal to you, general? I may be against you, but I did work for internal security once. I did everything that is necessary to reach my goal. You think too much of the outside threat, but not enough of the inside threat."

"Am I to assume Agent Niseki never existed to begin with?"

"Stop wasting my time, General. Now, take your radio and give the authorization for these trucks to pass. If it isn't done in a minute, just know that the bases' helicopter hangar is rigged to explode on my command." Said the traitor, pointing to a detonator now sticking out of a pocket.

Hazama's hands were effectively bound. His office didn't have any camera, so unless someone came in, he was at the traitor's mercy. And unfortunately, it was currently lunch time. For about thirty more minutes, the only people working in the general's office vicinity were low-ranked privates who had no reason to interact with him. And to add insult to injury, Hazama had his service gun in the safe in his desk today. He would never be able to unlock the safe, load the gun and fire before the traitor.

However, fortune would smile today.

"GREY!" Shouted Pina. She understood at least that a treason was happening within the JSDF, and she wouldn't be dragged like a toy to whatever machination was taking place.

Immediately, Grey Co Aldo burst out in the room roaring, sword in hand and almost dislocating the door from its hinges. While the two traitors raised their guns in Grey's direction, Pina unsheathed her blade and impaled one of the traitors in a swift move. Blood immediately poured out like a broken faucet, and the Princess let go of her sword, opting instead for a lunge at the second traitor with her dagger which she hastily grabbed.

The second traitor, seeing that the situation was slipping out of his control, fired twice at Pina, the first shot missing her but the second going right through her armor and her shoulder, sending her screaming to the ground.

Before he could fire a third time, he found something odd. His gun hand wasn't responding to his command. Like a curious child, he looked down only to find his hand was missing. Looking back up, he saw Hazama, katana in hand, ready to strike a second time.

Using Pina's distraction, the general had unsheathed his family heirloom, and just like his ancestors, wielded the three-century old blade with a grace only the best could show.

The second strike never came, instead, something dense hit the back of the traitor's head who immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.

Sugawara immediately dropped Hazama's kendo cup and fell on his knees, heaving. He was no soldier, and seeing both a man run through with a sword and another lose his hand was too much for the diplomat's mind.

Seeing that the situation was back under control, Hazama sheathed the sword back and picked the radio.

"Lieutenant Iyemasu, arrest immediately everyone on these trucks, no exception! Be cautious, lethal force may be used against you. You have clearance to fire as you see fit! Over!"

Without waiting for the answer, he switched the channel.

"Lt. Colonel Kengun, Hazama here! Over."

"Sir, Lieutenant Kengun here, what-"

"Security of the base is compromised; explosives are likely to be placed in the helicopter hangar! Check the land vehicles, planes garage and the armoury as well, and look out for suspicious behaviour, we might have traitors in our ranks! I want the base on full lockdown! No one in, no one out! Pass the order to Colonel Kamo! Over!"

"I… Sir, yes sir! What about the civilians?"

"They're to stay in their homes. Anyone outside will be considered a suspect and immediately apprehended until I, and no one else, releases the lockdown! Over!"

Switching the channel one last time, Hazama tried to calm himself. Now that the direct danger was over, he needed to reign in his emotions. After making sure that an ambulance was sent to his office from the base's hospital, he put back the radio on his desk.

Now, he needed to make sure that the Princess was healed. With a little luck, he would even make her think she owed him a favour. As he prepared to speak to the imperials who had their blades unsheathed, one last thought passed his mind.

"I need to contact the team sent to Elbe, but if Niseki was a traitor, can I trust any of them?..."

Hello there, author here,

Sorry for the long pause, but starting from today I should go back to the regular release schedule.

Happy new year, and see you next week!