Cent. Calendar 13/06/1639, Third Foreign Affairs Dept., Esthirant, Parpaldian Empire, 7:00

“Meow.”

The soft yet low meow of a cat populated the otherwise silent, still atmosphere of the room. The drab, boring purple of the Third Foreign Affairs Dept. Chair’s office gave way to the splendid striking velvet when rays of glowing sunlight flooding in from the clear glass windows found their mark on the room’s supposedly brightly colored wallpapers. Interrupting the glorious span of purple were long banners of imperial red draping from the ceiling, each one marked with the prominent golden symbols of the Parpaldian Empire. Despite the grandiose display of awe-inspiring colors, it was still early in the morning, with the department still only populated by regular night shift watchmen and maintenance workers.

Dust particles danced aimlessly in the early morning sunlight, witnessed only by the ever glaring portrait of His Highness, Ludius, Emperor of Parpaldia, hung above the elaborately chiseled reliefs decorating the heavy doors of the office. And yet, the room was still asleep, with little excitement and progress. Then...

“Meow.”

Another mellow meow.

However, it now had a hint of annoyance.

“Give me a break, Yvonne...”

Then, the groaning rumblings of a man half-asleep. After that, scratching noises. It sounded like something was being scraped against a wooden object over and over again.

The noises, which, while seemingly insignificant, were the only sounds he could hear in the tranquil, soundless ambiance of the room. As such, they reached the eardrums of the man, Kaios, the department chair of the Third Foreign Affairs Dept., without distortion. He was sound asleep, although he neither snored nor groaned, besides the moments in which he climbed past the barrier between being asleep and being half-asleep. The sounds of scratching tickled his consciousness, prompting it to respond without prior consultation by opening his eyelids.

Immediately after he started entertaining the stimuli coming from his sense of sight, his sense of touch wasn’t far behind. He felt an itchy, thread-filled sensation all over his body, including his left cheek. He recognized what it was, and then his logic pointed to the circumstances in which he woke up.

Using whatever bodily energy and mental drive he possessed at the moment, Kaios got up from the carpeted floor of his office, where he apparently fell asleep the night before. His newly opened eyes looked down on the darkened stain on the carpet from where he just was a mere second ago. He realized he had drooled in his deep slumber and instinctively reached out for his cotton napkin before using it to wipe the dried recesses of saliva from his left cheek.

“How unsightly for me.”

Kaios disappointingly commented as he tried to fix his appearance.

His attention then moved to the annoying, incessant scratching sounds that woke him up. Turning to his left where the sounds were emanating from, he saw a round, white ball of fur in front of the brown, wooden gates to his office. Stretching out from the ball of fur was a long, white line that twirled and twisted in the air. How adorable, Kaios thought, but another sound helped him snap from his early morning daze.

“MEOW!!!”

The meow, which now had an unmistakable tone of irritation, pulled Kaios out of his mental morning bootup. While he was indeed flustered by the suddenness, Kaios’ thoughts cohesively came to a sound conclusion.

“Ah, oh no! You must be itching to go potty! So sorry!”

Walking speedily towards the wooden doors that towered even above him, he then gave them a slight push, creating a gap for his charming cat Yvonne to slip through. Seeing the snow-white furball slither down the corridor outside, he then turned his gaze to the right. Hanging on top of the now brilliant velvet wallpaper was a white disc with a black outline. If one can look closely, the white disc was dotted with equally spaced points all around its circumference, with a set of long needles protruding from the middle spinning in a clockwise fashion.

The simplistic wall clock, imported from the Realm of Mu, was much more compact and economical than the huge, furniture-sized clocks created by Parpaldian watchsmiths. However, both Parpaldian and Muish clocks served the same, single purpose: telling the time. As Kaios made out the position of the black needles juxtaposed from one another and contrasting with the white background of the clock, he arrived at an unsavory result: It was 7:18 in the morning.

His mind then raced through his itinerary for the day and immediately came upon his first appointment: a meeting with His Highness, the Emperor at 7:30. Kaios’ thoughts and emotions then swung towards grumbling and complaints, wondering why the Emperor had set such an early appointment. Before he could begin ripping out hair from his middle-aged scalp, he busied himself with gathering the documents for his report.

“Will they believe this? Damn it; even I couldn’t... But the evidence seems sound... Gods...”

With only 10 minutes to do personal hygiene, fix his reports, and then go to the Imperial Palace, Kaios made haste.

Imperial Palace, 7:30

As Kaios nonchalantly entered the room, pushing through the heavy, gilded bronze doors, he was greeted by the sight of a big, elliptical mahogany-colored table with all of the seats around its circumference already occupied save for one. At the far end of this elliptical table sat the unmoving silhouette of Emperor Ludius, his late-thirties expression equally unimpressed by Kaios’ on-time arrival. Immediately in the seat next to him was the gorgeous facade of heavy makeup that was Remille’s face, her silver hair glistening in the sunlight protruding from behind.

Clutching his report in hand and slight anxiety in his heart, he promptly made way for the sole remaining open seat somewhere near the elliptical table’s shorter axis. Just as he was about to feel the flat, sturdy face of the ornately built wooden chair, he was interrupted by the Emperor’s bone-chilling voice shattering the heavy silence.

“Stop.”

Acknowledging the command given to him, Kaios stood still.

“It's already the appointed time; you might as well begin.”

He inwardly lamented waking up late as he perused through the opening statements being presented in his mind. He then picked one of them, and his mouth began to convert it into speech.

“Good morning. I will now be presenting my report on the Lourian Kingdom’s demise.”

Procuring one of the bigger scrolls he brought, he unfurled it and placed it down at the center of the table. It was a map of Rodenius and southern Philades, where the Parpaldian Empire dominates the Third Civilized Region. The map was positioned in such a way that Emperor Ludius gets to see it from the correct perspective. Kaios then resumed speaking.

“At noon of the 5th of Sevrune (Month 6), 1639 on the Central Calendar, the armies of the kingdom of Louria began their invasion of the Principality of Qua-Toyne after months of planning. For this initial invasion, we have provided the Lourians with aid in the form of siege mortars for artillery. However, roughly six minutes later, our command detachment in Jin-Hark has confirmed that they have lost communications with the mortar unit close to the Qua-Toyne border.”

Kaios then pulled out a bright red ink marker, imported from Mu, and used it to draw symbols on the map corresponding to developments. He drew a simple, military convention symbol for artillery close to the Qua-Toyne border near the town of Gim before crossing it out.

“For the next two hours, task force commander Marcus and his subordinates would be trying to reach the mortar unit near the border. At around 2:30 PM, an explosion rocked the capital, Jin-Hark. While it is fortunate for us that none of our people were hurt in this explosion, the explosion was confirmed to have occurred at the royal castle, demolishing it almost completely. Sometime later, it was confirmed that King Hark Louria XXXIV had perished in the royal castle when they found his burnt regalia near what remained of the baths, which he frequented.”

Kaios once more used his red marker to cross out the crown symbol in Jin-Hark.

“Just before 3 pm, the various lords under Lourian command independently sued for peace from Qua-Toyne, while some marched on the capital. Our reports from the task force ended that night when they snuck out of Jin-Hark. They have returned to Parpaldia via steamship due to the remaining leaders’ mistrust of them. As it currently stands, the kingdom of Louria is no more, broken into the individual territories that were swallowed under the Lourian dynasty.”

Kaios drew a long line starting from Jin-Hark, pausing briefly on the infamous island of Sios, before stopping at the imperial capital, Esthirant.

As he momentarily paused to catch his breath, he examined the reactions of those present in the meeting. With the exception of the foreign affairs auditor Remille, most of them, including the Emperor, were fraught with bewilderment and disappointment. It was understandable; their investment into Louria’s hegemonic expansionism played a part in their plan for domination of the Altaran strait. Expectations were high for the Lourian king and his armies against the principality of Qua-Toyne. However, the unexpected death of the Lourian king reversed their gains, disintegrating their ambitions at the south side of the strait. It was only natural then for them to start finding someone to blame, and when considering the unusual circumstances that Hark perished in...

“It’s those damned Altarans! They’ve caught wind of our plans and have actually done it!”

Second Foreign Affairs Dept. Chair Rius could not contain his rage.

The Altaras Kingdom, a powerful maritime nation situated in the middle of the strait named after them, controls the lucrative inter-civilization trade routes that cross between the Central World, Philades, and Rodenius. It is from this control that they have gotten ludicrously rich and influential, enough to bottleneck the regional power that was Parpaldia from extending their dominance over the entire Third Civilized Region. It is due to this massive, gaping insecurity in its hegemonic reach that Parpaldia has long considered Altaras to be the bane to its existence, aggravated by it being situated right next to their power base, Esthirant. As such, it was then natural for Parpaldians like Rius to see the Altarans' hand in their failure in Louria.

“Your Highness! I think this is within justification to launch an inva–ahem, implement more stringent diplomatic strangleholds on those bastards!”

Rius cried out, the anger in his voice echoed by the walls of the room and sentiments of the other Parpaldian officials. All attention looked to the Emperor, who closed his eyes in restraint as he sighed deeply.

“I agree with your sentiment. I, too, want the Altaran menace removed, but our plans have been long in the making, and we have contingencies in the event that something like this happens. We must at least be consistent with our public image and the foreign policy we have adopted.”

Opening his eyes, they darted first to Kaios, who looked back at him with a look that was telling him he had more to say.

“Excuse me, but I believe Sir Kaios has more to say about his report. Continue.”

Kaios coughed before resuming his report.

“I will now be delving into the circumstances behind the explosion at the royal castle in Jin-Hark.”

He reached out for his leather bag, procuring from it a bundle of parchment. He laid it out on the table above the map that was already placed there.

“These are the witness reports from that day, gathered by both the military and intelligence bureau.”

Kaios turned his face to Ianos, the intelligence bureau director, sitting diagonally across from him. He nodded in gratitude for the information he provided, which Ianos returned with a slight smile and a nod.

“Some of these witness reports were written by our own personnel from the task force. There are, of course, discrepancies in the details in these reports, but they are all related to the time at which they reported them to have occurred. All of them tell a similar thing: before and after the explosion, they recalled hearing distinct, high-pitched shrills and roarings emanating from the sky. According to commander Marcus himself and several of his subordinates, the noises peaked in volume and intensity immediately after the explosion before gradually disappearing.”

The Parpaldians’ eyes widened as they listened to Kaios and read the witness reports. They were heavily leaning on denying the credibility of these witness reports, blaming the eerie experiences they reported on the explosion’s aftereffects. However, they also knew that these were military personnel, the most acclimated to the effects of explosions, and so are more capable of distinguishing which is which. Their reports also almost match those from non-military personnel, which may give the possibility that what they're saying is true.

“There are two witness reports of high interest.”

Kaios singled out two pieces of parchment from the bundle and presented them one by one.

“This one is from Patagene, a veteran Lourian commander whom the task force trained with. This one is from the vice-commander of the task force. They both detailed an extra part in their witness reports: they spotted unidentified silhouettes in the sky immediately after the explosion, moving around at high speeds and almost blending into the backdrop due to their blue color. If these witness reports are to be believed, then the explosion was caused by something that was in the sky at the time.”

The other officials set aside their dismissive tendencies to ponder on what had happened. An explosion coming from the sky was imaginable since military-purpose wyverns can send down explosive flames mid flight. However, no wyvern in existence, including their stronger breeds of wyverns, could sufficiently produce a blast powerful enough to demolish a castle, especially in a fashion in which no one could have seen them coming. Additionally, no wyvern breed currently discovered is capable of blending into the blue backdrop of the sky.

“I can’t imagine that the explosion could have come from any type of wyvern. Our military personnel would have reported the presence of hostile wyverns.”

Elto, First Foreign Affairs Dept. Chairman laid her thoughts out loud.

“Dammit! Maybe the Altarans procured their hands on one of those ‘aircraft’ the Muish and the Imperials possess!”

Adamant in finding someone to blame, Rius kept finding reasons to connect the dots.

“I beg to differ, Sir Rius.”

The chief of staff grumbled in his seat as he found an opening to part with his thoughts on the matter.

“I’ve seen the models of aircraft that the Muish and even Leiforian militaries employ. While they indeed fit the bill, since they are capable of carrying bombs that can produce the level of destruction necessary to level a stone castle, I think it’s fair to say that they are not the ones behind this.”

“And how is that?”

“Other than that, they produce a completely different manner of sound to the ones described in these reports. I’ll let Ma’am Elto explain the rest.”

The chief of staff then gave the chair to Elto.

“I agree with the chief of staff. As of right now, Mu and the Imperials have both enacted their own laws forbidding the sale of aircraft and aviation-related technologies to any country. Provisions have been made for Leifor and us, but I’d say that they’ve been especially keen on keeping the technologies close to their person. This then leaves the ones who have access to these aircraft to just Leifor, Mu, and the Holy Mirishial Empire. We can rule out their involvement in the explosion at Jin-Hark.”

Elto then pulled up her hand and showed three fingers before going through the three nations she mentioned.

“Mu has explicitly announced their defense doctrine to be centered in and around their continent, and they have historically been allergic to deploying military forces to our backyard primarily because of distance. The Imperials are more liberal with their deployment tendencies, but they have a doctrine of keeping their air forces strictly for the defense of their borders. Historically, they only deployed their air forces abroad during the Great War 20 years ago. Lastly, Leifor’s only diplomatic contact with the Third Civilized Region is us, and they have adopted a neutral stance in any issues concerning this side of the world. Also, historically, they have never deployed their forces this far east.”

It was a sound explanation from Elto regarding the other powers’ innocence in the incident at Jin-Hark. However, there still lay the question of what or who could have caused the explosion at the royal castle. The Parpaldians were eager to hear more, concerned with the existence of an unknown entity with the capability of blowing up castles out of nowhere. They wanted to lift the veil on this mysterious entity. Attention shifted back to Kaios.

“With that in mind, it is unlikely for Altaras to be involved in the incident.”

He tidied up the parchments spread out all over the table and set them off to one side.

“As to what or who may have caused this, I have procured some information that points to a certain nation.”

He paused for a moment. There, he saw the curious stares of everyone around the table, including the golden-brown irises of the Emperor that pierced through his person, like a leopard that had already planned the plethora of ways its prey would be killed.

“First off, we will return to the conflict between Louria and Qua-Toyne. Due to the flight of our task force, which was our de facto diplomatic channel with Louria, after the attack in Jin-Hark, we were not able to send any representatives to the peace negotiations. Now, given that our information on Qua-Toyne’s national power is true, it is certainly impossible for them to be the ones behind the explosion at the royal castle. However...”

Kaios returned to his leather bag and pulled out a worn ledger, its pressed cover already torn in some places.

“This is commander Marcus’s daily log, detailing certain events during their deployment in Louria. One part of noteworthy interest is the entry on the 10th of Mev (Month 5).”

Sifting his fingers through the dry pages of the ledger, he then stopped at the page marked with the date he mentioned. He coughed before proceeding to read the entry out loud.

“At around 10 in the morning, I received a notification from Val, who was posted on reconnoiter duty at the port. According to him, a mysterious ship flying a flag he had never seen before had steamed into port. When he said that the ship was massive enough to be seen from where our headquarters were, I decided to take a look at it myself from the balcony of our quaint yet luxurious-for-the-barbarians quarters.

- - -

From where I stood, the ship was indeed a massive vessel. It was extensively horizon gray, with a noticeable lack of sail propulsion, although it had a mast of sorts, similar in structure and appearance to the masts on Imperial, Muish, and Leiforian ships. It had a single cannon at the front, but it is encased in what appears to be a turret, a surprisingly advanced design that complements its other minimalistic aspects. Although the doctrine for why such a ship exists eludes me, it’s nonetheless an advanced, probably even futuristic design. As for where it came from, the only clue lay in its equally mysterious flag: multiple rays of bright red emanating from a single red disc on the hoist side of the white banner.

I’ve had Val take a photograph of it and will send it with haste to the military and intelligence bureau for analysis.”

The faces of the Parpaldian officials echo a resounding consensus of perplexion and confusion at what they heard. Thoughts started flying around their heads as to what entity was behind the mysterious ship as their minds struggled to visualize the description offered by Marcus’s entry. Fortunately for them, Kaios had also pulled out the photograph that Marcus and his task force took of the mysterious ship.

“Once again, this is courtesy of the intelligence bureau.”

Displayed in the photograph’s monochromic crispness is a long, girthy ship floating above the surface of the water. Also captured in the photographs were various sail ships, from caravels, galleys, fishing boats, and so on, helping give scale to the comparatively massive ship juxtaposed next to them. The Parpaldians gawked at its contour and features, every single blurry detail a fascinating chore for their minds to unravel. Even Kaios and Ianos, who’ve both already seen the picture countless times, shared their sentiments. It was an undeniably alien vessel; too clean, too boxy, too many unknown parts that they could not even find equivalences for in the ships of other, more modern powers. Everyone in the room who was looking at the picture was starting to feel convinced that the entity that produced such a magnificent-looking vessel was the one that was behind the actions in Jin-Hark and Gim. Their gazes then shifted to the noticeable flag that flew from the ship’s mast–their only clue as to who this mystifying entity may be.

Impatience built up within the Emperor, his facial muscles twitching at the all-encompassing veil that still covered this entity’s identity.

“Madam Elto, Sir Rius. Do you recognize this flag?”

His voice, peppered with hints of ire, propagated through the area, immediately catching the attention of those he called out to.

“I’m afraid not, Your Highness. None of the other powers nor their navies fly this flag.”

Elto gave her collected reply.

Rius, on the other hand, hesitated, his eyes darting from here to there as he fiddled with his fingers nervously. After a few seconds of continuing silence, Ludius did not have second thoughts on letting some of his impatience show.

“Now, Sir Rius.”

Rius straightened his back as a reflex to Ludius’s deep, intimidating bellow as he proceeded with his answer.

“I recognize the flag. My department is currently doing an investigation into a dispute between the Faire-Miroiter Group and the kingdom of Riem, in coordination with Riem authorities. The dispute got violent at one point, leading to a clash between both parties. As the investigation into who’s to blame continues, I’ve done some studying on what had happened. Apparently, the glassware company had been driven to the sidelines by another glassmaker that was making better glassware at highly competitive prices due to more lenient trade agreements with the glass maker’s nation.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened as his body subtly leaned forward, his body language pointing to an itching eagerness to know who to blame their recent misfortunes on. The other officials were as squirmy and impatient but also wary, for a nation that can also outdo them in something as simple as glassware was definitely not one to be trifled with. Rius continued with his answer.

“According to local sources, as well as those from our embassy in Riem, this nation formed diplomatic relations with Riem as far back as Apfrolde (Month 4), and vessels from this nation frequent their port at Hilkiga. The gigantic, steel merchant vessels are at times escorted by armed vessels, which also fit the description of this ship.”

Rius dropped his right index finger on the black and white photograph of the mysterious ship photographed in Jin-Hark.

There was a pause as Rius and the rest of the Parpaldian officials looked to the Emperor, who was staring down on the monochrome picture, for his response. Clutching his hands together, he controlled the slight quivering in his muscles, masterfully keeping composed in front of his subjects, who still looked to him as the cornerstone of Parpaldia’s preeminence. He knew his own power, its limits, and by extension, the power and limits of the glorious empire he controls. Consequently, he also knows how Parpaldia fits into the greater world around it, in spite of his and his people’s desire of changing their geopolitical status quo. It is here that he has learned that the world he knows of will continue to change, consequently making his knowledge obsolete, his plans must, his desires irrelevant. He fears having to adjust once more, but it is part of the inevitability that he just realized. His hesitation is now replaced with resolve, and he goes on to change with the world.

“Who are they? Tell me their name.”

Equally resigned to the inevitability was Rius, who flatly said in turn.

“Japan, Your Highness. They’re a nation called Japan.”

Confusion.

The other Parpaldian officials, Kaios included, swiveled their heads to face one another. Their puzzled gazes met with equally puzzled expressions as the Parpaldians continued to digest the information.

“Japan? I’ve never heard of that name before.”

“Where could they have come from?”

“This is getting ridiculous...”

As the room continued to be filled with clamor, Emperor Ludius raised his voice to control the discussion.

“Enough, enough! Before this gets out of hand, allow me to say that we finally have a name for the nation that may have been responsible for our failed venture in Louria.”

Ludius then turned his face towards Ianos.

“Sir Ianos. I order you to find more information on this nation, Japan and find out their role in Jin-Hark. We need to know who this new player we’re up against is.”

Ianos wore a worried expression as he turned to Kaios, who looked back at him with a face that mirrored his. As the other officials started to question their lack of response to the Emperor, Ianos once more faced Ludius.

“Your Highness, we at the intelligence bureau have already compiled and scrutinized information on this nation, Japan. I asked for Kaios’ help in reporting this, and it was a coincidence that he was scheduled to report to you on the Jin-Hark incident.”

A light smile popped up on the Emperor’s face.

“Really? Why did you not tell us in the first place? While we still have time, we can discuss the issue here.”

Ianos took a deep breath before proceeding, his concerns aggravated by the Emperor’s apparent relief.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, what I’m about to say may sound ridiculous, but we’ve already double-checked everywhere... Given the intelligence we’ve gone through regarding their estimated national power, capabilities, and scope, this new nation, Japan, is powerful.”

“And what’s your basis? It sounds like a rushed conclusion to me!”

One of the officials barked in response.

“Also, a powerful nation that we did not know of beforehand? What, did they just appear out of nowhere?”

Another one joined in on airing their skepticisms.

“Unfortunately, I myself find it hard to believe, but yes. Intel points to them being situated to the ocean far east.”

The officials looked at one another in perplexion. While there had indeed been legends and theories as to what lay across the vast ocean to their east, including a supercontinent with a highly-advanced race of unknown peoples, they weren’t expecting them to manifest into reality at any point in time. Joining them in their disbelief was Emperor Ludius, whose composure had partly given way to his impatience.

“I’m sorry, Sir Ianos. I’m already hard-pressed to believe Kaios’ report, but I just find it really difficult to believe you here. Actually, never mind. I also find your report equally as dubious, Sir Kaios.”

Ludius shifted attention back to Kaios as he scratched his head in open frustration, his composure continuing to fade. As the other officials started following in airing their bewilderments against Ianos and Kaios, a different yet equally piercing voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Now, now, Ludius.”

The officials turned to the source of the seemingly meek voice, the woman next to the Emperor, Remille. Their hairs stood at the end at vexation when they heard their Emperor, the pinnacle and backbone of the greatest empire, get addressed by his personal name. Remille’s pale, white hand reached out for the Emperor, breaching His Highness’s sacred personal space before finding a spot on his shoulder. With a gentle expression written on her face, she rubbed Ludius’s shoulder, to which the Emperor reacted with unsightly tolerance of this protocol-breaching behavior.

“Calm yourself and give them a chance. I personally think they are honest in their intentions. They are, after all, dealing with the intricacies of the empire’s distribution of power across the region.”

Rubbing his face with his hands in a bid to rebuild his composure, Ludius then whimpered “okay” in response, a disappointing scene for the other officials to have witnessed. As Kaios looked in dismay at his Emperor being treated like a child having a tantrum, he saw Remille’s smooth, beautiful face turn his way, nodding in apparent affirmation. Before he could physically express his distaste for the woman’s not-less-than-obvious pampering for the Emperor, he proceeded with helping Ianos in his report.

“Ianos and I agree with your sentiments regarding the nation of Japan. However, I plead with you to listen to us with an open mind, for we believe that this nation is of extremely deep concern.”

The other officials scratched their heads, struggling to find the willingness to open their minds to what Kaios and Ianos had to say. Once more, Kaios reached for his leather bag, but this time he procured a sizable, cylindrical container that appeared to be made out of cloth. Opening the container’s top, he then turned it upside down, resulting in its mysterious contents being emptied out onto the table.

Dozens of bizarre, shiny, egg-like objects fell out of the container. The officials, unable to make out what it is they were looking at, leaned in to take a closer look, but at a more detailed inspection, the objects got even weirder. Each object was differently colored, but all of them were in bright, dazzling hues, some of which were saffron, lavender, lily, which were expensive dyes. When some of the officials gathered the courage to touch the baffling objects, they were perplexed by the material with which it was made off. It was horrendously light, but it was hard enough not to be molded by a hand, and yet it did not absorb the sweat forming from their hands, which quivered at the alienness of the object. Furthermore, on one side of the object was a clear, reflective surface, something like glass, but its texture and evenness were anything but. Below the mirror-like surface were several black knobs, which were made out of the only material they recognized.

“Are these small knobs... rubber?! What in the world is this?!”

They were puzzled, horrified even, by the minuscule size of the rubber knobs. Adding to their anxieties was the uniformity of the knobs; they were almost identical to one another. As the other officials, including the Emperor and Remille, examined the egg-shaped objects with child-like interest, Ianos continued on Kaios’ behalf.

“These things were confiscated from a merchant in Esthirant that did not have the appropriate licenses to conduct trade. We at the intelligence bureau fiddled around with them, breaking them up to see what they’re made out of, but even with help from the experts over at the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the parts we found inside were too advanced and... out of this world. It was basically near impossible to study, let alone reverse-engineer.”

“Indeed. Now, I invite you to begin interacting with it by pressing the knobs.”

The Parpaldians were even more befuddled. What did Kaios mean by “interacting” with the objects? As they began to think that these objects were more than mere curious, inert novelties, one of the officials put pressure on one of the knobs, finding out that the knobs easily sunk into the unknown material of the object’s hull. Then...

Beep!

“Eeek!”

Mired with anxiety and fear, the official reflexively jerked back at the unexpected, high-pitched sound produced seemingly in reaction to his pressing the knob. Just as he was about to lash out at Kaios, he caught sight of something unusual, something which made him even more curious. There, on the clear, reflective surface on the egg-shaped object, was a drawing in black.

“Huh? This wasn’t here befo–”

Then, the drawing moved. The black squares that formed the drawing that had appeared on the clear surface began fluctuating.

“Is that...”

“...an egg? It’s moving?!”

“What magic...!!!”

Soon, the other officials began pressing the knobs to replicate the occurrence. After several dozen high-pitched beeps, gasps followed suit. Just like the first one, the other objects’ clear surfaces magically spawned a drawing of an egg that was moving.

The Parpaldians froze, unable to take their eyes off the pixelated dancing egg on their Tamagotchis’ screens. Their minds struggled to explain the phenomenon that was happening before their very eyes as the egg continued to dance in seeming mockery at their inability to comprehend its existence. Not exempt from the bewilderment, Emperor Ludius looked on in shock and confusion at the picture of the egg dancing in front of his gaze. His hands that held the light egg-shaped object began to sweat profusely, a byproduct of his anxieties brought about by his inability to understand.

Briefly indulging in the scenery of his flabbergasted co-officials, Kaios then proceeded to deliver his closing remarks.

“Ladies and gentlemen, these bizarre, alien objects are toys from the nation of Japan. Products of such sophistication, complexity, and intricacy, exported as if they were but mere gravel.”

Hearing this, the other officials broke away from their trance and looked at Kaios with similar astonishment, their disbelief aplenty that something so magically sophisticated was but a mere toy. However, this time, they were more inclined to believe him, their skepticisms seemingly silenced and humbled by the outlandish “toy” that they held in their hands.

Kaios then turned to the Emperor, who had now put down his Tamagotchi and looked at it with worrisome eyes.

“Your Highness, I really believe there is merit in the intelligence bureau’s conclusion. Armed vessels seemingly on par with the other great powers, minor products with astonishing, even alien quality and bizarreness being sold all across our periphery threatening to sideline our own exports, and above all: a strong will capable of deciding to eliminate another nation’s leadership.”

Ludius and the other officials shuddered to various degrees upon hearing the last part of the statement. While still not definitive and proven, one can imagine the power they possessed, capable of ground-shaking explosions while remaining virtually invisible, as the method with which they carried it out was still unknown. An image popped up in their minds: that of the Imperial Palace, its glorious, shining facade signifying the grandeur of Parpaldia might, helplessly destroyed by an invisible enemy.

Ludius then raised his hand, a sign for Kaios to cease with his statements. He fumbled around for the right words to what he wanted to say, but he gave up after failing to arrive at a satisfying syntax. He decided to say what he thought out loud as raw as he could.

“I’m... I’m deeply concerned with the power that this nation, Japan, wields, especially if we are to go by your reports’ conclusions. However, I cannot allow Parpaldia to make another miscalculation in its decisions, especially not after Louria and Altaras, both costly affairs that are continuing to haunt us. What you presented us has now convinced me to take Japan seriously, but I still think that this information is not enough. I need their statistics, their products, their concrete military capabilities, geographical particulars, demographics, and so on.”

The other officials nodded in agreement, now more convinced than they were a while ago that they were dealing with something that requires to be addressed urgently.

“This is my command to all of you present here: paint me a complete picture of this Japan! It is imperative that we do so, for if a nation of equal strength to that of the Realm of Mu or the Holy Mirishial Empire is indeed right on our doorstep, then we have a massive problem on our hands.”

Ludius’ stern face, reflecting the gravity behind his statement, sent chills down their spines. This was the expression he makes when he is doubly serious about a certain prospect. Given an order directly by the Emperor himself, the officials felt a sense of duty befalling them, pushing them to be firm and resolute in carrying out their obligations.

After the Emperor had adjourned the meeting and dismissed them, Remille looked down on the saffron pink Tamagotchi placed in front of her. Her desensitized eyes, despite their dazzling aquamarine color, could not be any darker, just as equally tainted thoughts circled in her mind. Then, the dancing egg on the screen of her Tamagotchi broke its shell, discarding them in a flood of black pixels as it revealed a newly born being with square eyes and a line for a mouth.

“Japan... Interesting...”

A bone-chilling slyness seeped out of the womanly voice that came out of her plump, green lipstick-smeared lips. She picked up the Tamagotchi before letting out a faint, somewhat forlorn smile, a divergence from the deep, panging pain that gripped her heart.

“I love interesting developments...”