Author Notes:
Huh, so we have reached this point in the story of RM already, feels like a journey and a half. If you read this chapter, it means that the end of this Volume is right around the corner, and so shall a new war be ignited. At this point, I am left wondering, just how many of us remains a captive reader of RM. I am legitimately curious, as the me of now has changed, vastly different from the naive me that pen down RM because I hated how a certain story got discontinued.
Fine, if you don't do it, then I will do it myself!
Such is what I had in mind back then, still now, in fact, albeit for a different reason altogether. Can you guess what that is?
Without further ado, please enjoy the story, and thank you kindly to all the readers that had enjoyed, still enjoy, and will enjoy the this long saga of Yuki.
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P.S: I was thinking about making this an IRL update segment, but given the nature of this particular chapter, I decided against posting my plea for now.
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Laputa, the Castle in the Sky, Japan.
In the grand chamber of the Divines, even a mortal Emperor finds himself sitting in the lower seat. For Emperor Hirohito, however, this is supposed to be an honor beyond compare, being so close to the Gods and Goddesses that form the backbone of the Shinto Pantheon, even if they sit a few levels above him and his sons. Yet, for the first time in a long time, Hirohito feels shame and helplessness, having to present to the Divines yet another one of his subordinates' mortal failings.
"So you're telling me that..." Amaterasu maintains a straight face, but one can tell that it's a struggle to maintain her divine composure, given how her eyebrow is twitching. "We miss the official declaration of surrender, made by the Eruseans to the Belkan Reich, for two whole days? All because your subordinates didn't believe the intelligence was real and thus delayed its verification?"
The Sun Goddess' gaze of smoldering anger causes the mortal man, who is kneeling near the lowest levels, to nearly wilt out of fright.
"Y-Yes, Great Goddess..." Oh, how Emperor Hirohito wishes to strangle this intelligence operative for such a massive oversight. Because of him, the efficiency of Hirohito's reign will no doubt be placed under strict scrutiny once more.
"And you," Amaterasu then turns to look at someone else, a lady dressed impeccably in a modified, gray-colored officer attire of the Imperial Japanese military. "We placed you to supervise our reorganized intelligence agency, yet this still happens. I would understand if you fail to acquire military intelligence regarding the Reich. But for your underlings to sit on their laurels and miss such a monumental declaration, something that you can read in the daily newspapers, for two days...! Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
The lady is much calmer than the mortal intelligence officer kneeling next to her.
"I have none, Your Grace. It's I who have failed in educating my subordinates on the finer details in this line of work. I have brought shame and great disadvantage to Japan. I beseech your punishment." The Chief of Intelligence bows her head after calmly saying her piece, ready to accept whatever judgment is to come.
One might say that the Chief of Intelligence appears remarkably unruffled by the situation, given how poorly her agency's failure reflects on her. But being someone appointed by Amaterasu and her Divine Court to handle intelligence gathering in a world so dominated by Belka's shadowy hands, the Chief of Intelligence is, by normal means, lacking in mental fortitude. She has long since prepared to lose her head over a significant failure like this one. Even if she could throw the subordinate beside her, someone with ties to Emperor Hirohito's interests, under the bus and escape the blame, the Chief of Intelligence still chose not to, out of an ingrained sense of honor.
Fortunately for her, Amaterasu goes on to say this after a deep sigh. "You're speaking as if we can afford to replace you, Miss Setsuna. There are only so many people who can handle your line of work, and you know that. Our only question is this: Will it happen a second time?"
"You and I both know that I can never promise certainty, Your Grace." The Chief of Intelligence, Setsuna, replies instantly.
While one may think that Setsuna's reply is an insolent one, no one rushes to call her out on it because the Chief of Intelligence was speaking the truth. Ever since a few years ago, it's getting harder and harder to speak with confidence when it comes to worldly situations. No one, not even Amaterasu and Susanoo, expected that Belka would slay the vast Kingdom of Erusea while still supposedly stuck fighting Polania and restructuring Ustio.
It feels inconceivable, to say the least. As no country in the world should have access to such vast, seemingly endless wealth of resources, manpower, and national unity, to go from one war to another, on and on and on.
As such, the fault for failing to report on the surrender of Erusea and the crumbling of its colonies lies not because of the Japanese's ineptitude, but because of their inflexible mindset. The Japanese refused to believe that a nation like the Reich could exist despite their two nations' past ties. In their opinion, if the rising Imperial Japan, with all of its technologies provided by the Mad Scientist and summoned heroine Vill-V, couldn't even accomplish half of what the Reich did, then the world itself must be wrong, somewhere.
Regardless, a decision is then jointly made by the Divine Court that, while punishments will be meted out to those directly responsible for the gross oversight, Setsuna, who was at one point as blind as they all, is let off with an admonishment. The conversation is then steered by Amaterasu to discuss the recent changes and their impact on Japan.
"This changes everything." Susanoo interjects in a grave tone at one point in the talk. "So many of our military plans will have to move up."
Amaterasu says dryly to Susanoo. "You're the one who has been urging us all to raise the banner of war, don't tell me this development doesn't please you, brother of mine."
"It does." Susanoo nods simply, taking the pointed look from the Sun Goddess and from those of her faction, in a stride. "One less threat to worry about, and there's a credible reason to think that the Reich will have its handful digesting the too-big of a pie that is Erusea. We shall have ample room to maneuver now."
"You're speaking quite confidently for someone whose army is not yet up to par, Susanoo." Amaterasu says the scathing observation in an even tone.
"I have faith in our soldiers, in our people's burning will, sister. They will be able to make good use of the weapons they already have and crush any resistance that they come across." Susanoo's words trigger the more zealous Generals and Admirals of the Imperial Japanese military to sit with their backs a bit straighter.
Simple words, spoken casually by a God, but to these Japanese, these Nazis, they're the highest recognition they would ever get in their little lives. Even Hirohito finds his mood uplifted and is more willing to echo Susanoo's warring sentiment. Such is the power of faith. The shifting mood in the chamber doesn't escape Amaterasu's notice, of course.
With an audible sigh, she closes her eyes. "Vill-V, how far along is the rearming of our Army and Air Force?"
The self-appointed Helixcraft Maestra, a Mad Scientist, a Magician of Technologies, Vill-V, fixes herself up with a monocle from her place behind Amaterasu before shrugging with a small smirk.
"Ain't far enough, if that's what you're asking. Army-wise, we're looking at 50/50 splits of non-motorized and mechanized units. Around half of our combatants will be going to war on foot, not riding on the back of trucks or half-tracks. Our Chi-to, fortunately, has come to our armor units in time and in sufficient numbers. The same, however, can't be said for our auxiliary vehicles. Things like armor recovery, anti-air, and even artillery vehicles are all lacking in quantity across our Army Divisions. Many of them have to make do with the more abundant, if hopelessly obsolete, replacements or have to come up with their own patchwork ideas to fill the gap. Oh, and don't expect much in terms of automatic small arms. Other than dedicated machine gun teams, our individual infantry squads are lacking in suppressive, close-quarter weapons."
The blunt way Vill-V has put it causes a few Army Generals to look away or look down in shame. They all silently curse the Navy Admirals who are nearby, looking at them in schadenfreude. Clearly, the Imperial Japanese Navy has consumed many master artisans and high-grade resources in its effort to build its massive fleets. Investments that would have tide the Army through many times over, even leaving surplus to arm the growing militia forces in Japanese colonies with more deadly weapons than black powder rifles.
Vill-V would have made a jest at the Army's expense, given how bolstering the Navy first has been her idea, but given the public venue and Susanoo is around, she picks the wiser course of action, which is to keep reporting.
"The Air Force gets the better end of the stick, though. At the very least, integrating modern doctrines, electronics, and anti-air missiles into the Aviation branch has been quite successful. Unfortunately, the production quantity and quality of anti-air missiles still leave much to be desired. And I don't think we will have enough time to incorporate a countermeasure system into our Air Force at any major number. As for the Navy..."
Vill-V looks across the entire chamber, seeing Admiral Isoruku in the lower dais, sitting calmly. "... Need I say more about them? Like, we all know their capability at this point, right? Pretty sure our Navy can blow both the Chinese and American Navies out of the water, given how they're built to 1920s-early 1930s standard."
Stopping to take a breather, Vill-V languidly rests her weight on the backrest of Amaterasu's throne before adding.
"In other words, Japan is ready for a quick war. One that seeks to grab as much land and resource nodes from hostile territories as possible and in the shortest amount of time before digging in to protect our prizes. We can only hope that our enemies are as unprepared as we are. Honestly, I prefer another peaceful year to steadily develop our military power before initiating any true aggression with our Eastern and Western neighbors. But as it is, that is one tough wish to have."
The chamber falls into a brief silence afterward, one that is broken by Susanoo himself, who levies his gaze on the eccentrically dressed Mad Scientist.
"For once, you and I have something in common."
"That's high praise, coming from you, Lord Susanoo." Vill-V smiles, before adding. "I'm just a lowly Magician, so I won't harp on how to best use what. I will leave that to professionals. Instead, I will only offer a kind reminder that Japan's singular want right now is resources. Just resources, and none of those unprofitable side quests."
"You give me steel, I will make you ships. You give me oil, I will make you an entire industry." Vill-V continues. "You give me radioactive materials though... I will make you a sun. That's my vow to Amaterasu, to the people of Japan. Despite our differences, I think Lord Susanoo can sense my sincerity these past few years, no?"
"... You will have your resources. You will have your Uranium." Susanoo answers simply. "Do not let our soldiers' blood be shed in vain."
"I don't intend to, Lord Susanoo. Japan will catch up to Belka." Vill-V utters her reassurances.
Ultimately, the conversation moves on to discuss the overall military approach. Something that Vill-V, while capable of interjecting, opts out of due to finding its lack of charm. It's unfortunate, but the fact that Japan will be going to war while not in its best state, despite Vill-V's years of effort, has killed her mood. Others may not notice it, but Amaterasu, who's the closest person to Vill-V, silently takes note of it.
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"Waagh! We're so fucking screwed!" Vill-V screams into her Amaterasu's pillow while lying on her belly. Her legs kicked backward into the air. "What, blowing the Chinese and Americans out of the water!? What Japan will catch up to Belka!? Susanoo and his cohorts are playing with a live grenade, and they don't even know it!"
"Who to say the Belkans haven't already planned for our aggression against the Chinese!? Who to say the Chinese haven't anticipated our arrival and are sharpening their bayonets, readying themselves to drown our soldiers with bodies!? Screw obtaining an entire mine, we will be lucky to get a lick of Uranium back from there!" Vill-V fights with the pillow in her hands, rolling around on Amaterasu's bed, much to the Sun Goddess' increasing displeasure.
Finally, having had enough of Vill-V's very realistic fears, Amaterasu delivers a resounding chop that causes Vill-V to be faceplanted into the bedding for good.
"Honestly," Amaterasu sighs in exasperation before sitting next to Vill-V's sprawled out form. "I understand where you're coming from. I am traumatized, too, by the way my niece keeps pulling out one thing after another from her Mystery Box. But don't underestimate Susanoo. If he thinks that a multi-prong invasion of China is the best way to achieve what Japan so desperately wants, then there's a good basis for him to do so. He is our martial God, after all."
Vill-V, hearing Amaterasu's reassuring speech and being patted on the head, weakly mutters. "Just... Don't give me a chance to say I told you so..."
"I won't, Vill-V."