January 17, 1640

Esthirant, Parpaldian Republic

Emperor Ludius surveyed the courtyard outside the Imperial Palace surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of cheering individuals. Standing up from their seats, they applauded not for him, but for the man that was just inaugurated as president. He stood beside President Kaios, who wore a sleek, distinctly American suit. The two maintained their handshake while both individuals smiled at the crowd, allowing their historic event to be documented by news companies from all over Elysia.

After performing his ceremonial duties as emperor, he retired to his seat, allowing the inauguration process to continue. The moment he knew he was out of sight from the cameras, he dropped his smile. He sighed, feeling the warmth of Remille, who put her arms around him as he sunk into his chair.

“It’s okay,” she said soothingly. “You made the right choice. If you had gone down a different path… Kaios might have killed you. Or worse, those barbarians would have!”

“Barbarians,” he dwelled on the word, rolling it over his tongue. “Is it even appropriate to refer to them as barbarians anymore? They bested us in technology. They bested us in economy. Now, they’re besting us in politics, replacing our imperial system with their democratic ideals. I would fight back; I would have retaliated…”

“Why didn’t you?” Remille asked, looking into his eyes.

He locked eyes with her, staring into calming blue while he was reminded of why he made his choices. “If I had done that, I would’ve lost everything.” He put his hand on her cheek and kissed her. The two embraced for a while before Ludius continued, “And at the very least I get to retain some of my wealth. Not what I used to own, but I suppose it’s better than nothing.”

“I… agree. Maybe a quiet life isn’t so bad after all,” she said.

Ludius nodded and they returned their attention to the inauguration.

Kaios’ voice swelled as he arrived at the conclusion of his lengthy speech. “... could not have been possible without the generous aid of the United States of America! Their advisors were paramount to the smooth success of this election and the restructuring of our government. With our ally’s help, we will push the Parpaldian Republic to greatness never before seen! And this starts with the gradual emancipation of all slaves and their repatriation to their home countries!”

The audience gave a mixed reaction. Evident discontentment, signified by a chorus of jeers, became drowned out by a subsequent series of cheers. Many nobles were dissatisfied — even angered — by the announcement. Not only did they lose their titles, but now they were losing some of their assets. Some remained quiet, hoping that Kaios would provide compensation.

“Noncompliance with this directive will result in a complete confiscation of all assets and imprisonment in accordance with the recent legislation passed by Congress.”

Disgruntlement echoed throughout the crowd, but ceased as Kaios put his hand up. He continued, sweeping his eyes left to right as he scanned the crowd, “All nobles will receive access to subsidized infrastructure and machines from the United States. All current businesses will also receive subsidies if they agree to at least one contract with an American corporation or company.”

The audience simmered down, considering the offer proposed by President Kaios. As suggested by government advisors, the nobles had studied aspects of American society and economy. With this context in mind, many began to form positive opinions. Despite the staggering hit to their pride, profits could certainly make up for it. After all, everything has a price.

“We will also be revising all relationships with existing vassals by granting them autonomy, once provisional governments have been established. Additionally, all agreements with said vassals will be revised in order to reflect these new relationships.”

Claps and cheers arose from the vassals’ attendees. Having waited in tense anticipation since the fall of the Parpaldian Empire, vassal states such as Kooze — who spent decades in subjugation — were ecstatic. With an era of suffering coming to a close, they were somewhat dismayed that vengeance wasn’t possible; the Americans had made sure to end the cycle of violence. Still, this represented a significant victory for the despairing vassals, who decided to focus on their newfound freedoms rather than meaningless revenge.

Emperor Ludius’ mouth twitched into a frown upon hearing the cheers, which served as a reminder of what he failed to accomplish. He folded his arms, sighing while they celebrated. “Why did these Americans have to appear out of nowhere?” He lamented.

“The Eimors announced that the Sorcerers are returning in a decade or two. If you had conquered the world, we would’ve had to deal with that. At least now, we don’t have to worry about that problem anymore.” Remille reassured him.

Ludius held Remille’s hand. Accepting the fate bestowed to him, he decided to let go of his ambitions. “Then let us live without worries.”

——

“There are so many things to worry about,” Kaios complained, covering his face with his hands. He sat upright on his bed,

He felt a reassuring pat on his back, followed by a hug. “That’s why we have the advisors, darling,” a beautiful voice said behind him.

“Raita…”

“Yes?”

Kaios smiled softly, “I kinda miss how simple things were, back when all I had to do was manage the Third Foreign Affairs Department. These Americans just had to go and scramble everything!”

Raita chuckled. “They even scrambled your speech; you’re starting to talk like them!”

“Oh,” he said. “Anyway, do you remember the first time we saw their ships?”

“I do,” she replied. “I remember being so shocked with how large their vessels were.”

“Everything is always about size, isn’t it,” Kaios joked.

Raita laughed, “No, that’s not what I meant! Although it is true — size really does matter.”

“And that’s why you picked me,” Kaios said confidently.

Raita blushed. “Among other things, yes. So what were you saying about the ship?”

“Right. The moment I first laid my eyes on that vessel, I already knew our world had changed. It didn’t take much to connect the dots: Varhal’s testimony and reports, the eyewitnesses in Louria’s navy, our department’s loss of assets… I don’t know why it took so long for Emperor Ludius and our military to recognize how hopeless it was. I had to be the voice of reason for them. To save Parpaldia from destruction. I don’t know why, but I feel guilty. I feel like I got myself into a position that I don’t deserve, a position that I don’t understand. I really didn’t want to do this, but I couldn’t say no to the Americans.”

“Oh, don’t say that! Without you, Esthirant probably would have been burned to the ground. You deserve this position, and you might not understand what to do, but that’s why we have the American advisors. Parpaldia will prosper under your rule!” Raita shook him slightly, emphasizing her points.

“Yeah.” He fell back onto the bed, his body sinking into the soft mattress.

“And look: now we get to enjoy all these things, like,” she looked around, finding examples to support her claim, “The bed, and the computer, and the refrigerator and air conditioner! Our personal chefs have new recipes and tools to work with! We have a ‘DVD player’ and we can watch American movies!”

“Yeah, that is true.”

Raita gave Kaios a naughty smirk, “And with American birth control…”

Understanding the implications of her statement, Kaios broke into a grin. “I can’t argue with that. Wanna close the curtains?”

“Of course, darling.”

——

Washington D.C.

“Looks like the inauguration is going smoothly,” President Lee said, staring at a screen in the Oval Office. He looked at the other men in the room — Director Klein and Secretary Heiden — to gauge their reactions.

Klein simply nodded, his blank expression reflective of his expectations. He was unsurprised with the anticipated outcome, or perhaps he had an excellent poker face. Lee chose not to dwell on this.

Across from Klein and seated on the other couch, Heiden seemed to relax his posture in relief. “That’s one less worry. I’m glad to hear that all the vassals have agreed to refrain from violence.”

“So I take it that the region is more or less stable?”

Heiden gave a shrug. “I suppose, Mister President. As stable as regime changes can be.”

“Good,” he said, watching the televised newscast wrap up. “So, do we know what the other Philadean countries are saying about this?” He looked at Klein and Heiden. “Privately? Publicly?”

The two men looked at each other, coming to a quick unspoken agreement about who would go first. “Privately,” Klein began, “they seem to be wary of the regime change. Some are thankful that the expansionist Parpaldians have been kept in check. Some fear destabilization due to a power vacuum, although this is an unlikely concern, considering that most of the Parpaldian military remains intact. Some, such as Riem, are moving quickly to take advantage of the newfound freedoms of the vassals by trapping them in exploitative deals.”

Lee nodded.

Heiden then spoke, “Publicly, they have moved to strengthen relations with us after realizing how quickly and efficiently we shattered the pre-existing concept of Parpaldian invincibility. They’ve seen what we have to offer, and now they want a piece of the American pie.”

“Do any of them have unique resources? Magic artifacts, magic gem mines, et cetera?” Lee asked.

Heiden shook his head. “Not really. Not on the scale of Parpaldia or Altaras. They could be useful in boosting the economy though, and some do seem like promising candidates for establishing bases, although I’d have to consult with the Secretary of Defense.”

“Okay. Let’s do that. Gordon, what about the uh…” he paused, searching for a more appropriate term than ‘uncivilized’ or ‘barbarian’. “The umm, medieval-level countries?”

“Restructuring Louria’s government has proven to be difficult. Literacy and education rates are fairly low, so we’ve decided to postpone elections. For now, we’re working with Prime Minister Maus and his colleagues to sort everything out. He and his council have agreed to an expansion of our industries, so we can start moving our basic manufacturing there. From the way it looks, Louria is on track to becoming our China.”

“That’s good. New production of cheap goods will help this transitory inflation diminish.”

“Right. Speaking of that, Quila agreed to our earlier propositions. Oil, gas, and metals won’t be much of an issue by the end of the year. As for Qua Toyne, we’ve expanded our research cooperation with them. Apparently, they have something that they think our archeologists should see.”

“Hmm? What might that be?”

“No clue, Mister President. They’re en route as we speak.”

“Oh, alright then. Continue,” Lee said.

“Our ports in Sios are scheduled to be completed in a couple months, same with Altaras. My department has also established relations with the nations of the Vestal continent and are beginning to send a delegation to Tango Island.”

“Tango Island… that’s the one that looks like a target? An island surrounded by mountains?” Lee remembered reports about the island, which was basically unknown to the rest of the world. Nonexistent on most Elysian maps, the island was forgotten due to the excessive natural barriers surrounding it. Past sailors who had encountered the outer border of mountains found it impossible to scale, and weren’t willing to retrieve appropriate gear and return to the island once more.

Heiden confirmed, “Yes, Mister President.”

“Huh,” he leaned back, thinking about the secrets that could be hiding within the main island. The formation was too peculiar, and definitely unnatural. “That one should be interesting. Keep me informed. Is there anything else I should know?”

“One last thing, Mister President. The Topa Kingdom has agreed to the expansion of our bases there.”

Lee accepted the information with satisfaction. With the Grameus campaign already authorized by Congress and scheduled to begin in April, he wanted no delays. The unclaimed resources in the continent were necessary for a speedy economic recovery. “Alright. Do you mind giving the related documents to the DoD? I want them to begin operations right away. And uh… prepare a delegation to go along with them.”

“Will do, Mister President. If I may ask, why do you want to send a diplomatic team? We already have personnel in Topa.”

“Ah.” Lee rubbed the back of his head. “Apparently, our satellites found traces of civilization up in the Grameus region. It’s right outside of the Anomalous Regions. There’s a chance that this is some sort of ‘demon’ base, but on the off-chance that the region is inhabited by humans or other friendly sapients, I’d like a team to check it out.”