Nihonkoku Shoukan Chapter 44

Bleh, did a lot less translating yesterday than I was hoping, and had a lot of work to do today, so didn't get this done until late.

I'll be on vacation for a couple weeks, little or no time to translate, so this'll have to tide you Summoning j.a.pan fans over for a while ? don't expect anything until the first weekend in July, at the very earliest. I will be getting a MS chapter out in the next couple days, though. Deer B might also have a little something soonish for those of you who follow us on MangaDex, too.

Chapter 44 - The World Conference Begins!

One year after the Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire visited j.a.pan—

Second Civilization, superpower Mu, Eastern Port City Maikal

The sky was clear, the weather wasn't too hot, wasn't too cold, and the smell of the sea was pleasant. Sea birds cried off in the distance. An old man sat watching the port from his chair.

"Maikal sure has changed over the last year," he remarked to the woman next to him.

There were a couple s.h.i.+ps anch.o.r.ed at the port: a large tanker flying a white flag with a red sun, and a RORO s.h.i.+p. After the renovations finished about half a year ago, the port was now deep enough to support large s.h.i.+ps like that tanker. Up on land, there were numerous huge, cylindrical oil tanks standing in rows. On the south side of Maikal, a petrochemical plant had been constructed. Until recently, a plant of that size would have been completely impossible for Mu, but it had just started operations last month.

Now that they knew how to build this kind of state-of-the-art plant, Mu's major corporations had expanded into Maikal and begun widespread construction. Capital investment in Mu was the highest it had ever been, and the unprecedented construction rush continued on without end.

"Isn't that the truth. It's like they're chasing after j.a.pan; everywhere you look, the scenery's changing. The month after next, apparently the sky will be opening up to private citizens, too."

In order to accommodate the j.a.pan's jumbo jets, the airports that Mu had built in various countries had to have their air traffic control functions overhauled and their st.u.r.dy runways further improved and elongated.

"That reminds me, lately you see a lot of j.a.panese cars on the roads."

"They're the best you can get right now, after all."

Mu didn't adopt any protectionist policies, so j.a.panese cars were selling like hotcakes to the wealthy. Between the quickly-growing Princ.i.p.ality of Kua Toine, the Kingdom of Rowlia that was currently upgrading its infrastructure, and the unending demand for j.a.panese cars in the Third Civilization, j.a.pan's factories were at full capacity day in and day out. They couldn't even come close to supplying enough to meet demand. Finally, because of the New World Technology Outflow Prevention Act, goods could only be made domestically, so capital investment in j.a.pan was also through the roof.

Every country also had their eyes on j.a.pan's video and telecommunications technology, yearning to set up a government-managed television network and constructing radio towers to help realize that ambition. However, very few countries were equipped to generate electricity, so there were just as many orders for power plants, which also couldn't be fulfilled quickly, resulting in many screams of despair. On top of that, countries in the Third Civilization pa.s.sed various governmental bill in order to provide support for j.a.panese mobile phones, and many city centers had already begun turning on their networks. Unfortunately, since j.a.pan's factories were already operating at maximum capacity, this led to a new, strange fad of deaths due to overwork cropping up all over the country.

That wasn't the end of the construction woes. Port renovation requests were also endless and could not all be fulfilled. In the s.h.i.+pbuilding industry, there were floods of orders for tankers, generating a ten-year waiting list. Even the clothing industry was affected; cloth was being exported in bulk, and both sewing technology and j.a.panese fas.h.i.+on were very popular, so they were the busiest they had ever been in history.

Between the Technology Outflow Ban and their enormous lead in technological advancement, j.a.pan's economy was booming. Their market had made a sharp recovery, stock prices were soaring, and everyone gossiped that all signs pointed towards the current economy easily outstripping the last bubble.

j.a.pan, capital city Tokyo, Ministry of Defense

"But I must say, in this last year, the government has been really bold."

"Agreed; if we hadn't been transported here, all of this would have been completely unthinkable."

"It's because there are so many hegemonies here. With Papaldia's no-questions-asked invasion, our fundamental understanding of the world, as a country, began to change. It's now common knowledge that the Gra Valkas Empire could possibly have nuclear weapons. Our character keeps swinging between extremes. I hope it doesn't swing too far…"

After the Papaldian War, the government decided to adopt a defensive stance and made large-scale adjustments. Defense funding was increased dramatically, and many directives were established, described below:

The maintenance of 4 aerial support escort vessels, AKA aircraft carriers. Having received all the operational know-how from the USFJ, by starting to train personnel at an early stage, they can expect to be launched 7 years after the Papaldian War. Production of the F-3 sixth-generation combat aircraft using research prototype aircraft as a base to begin development. It will have supersonic speeds, 3-D thrust vectoring, advanced stealth capabilities, and be carrier-capable. As the first combat aircraft being developed after the transfer, the developers have been calling it the Type 0 combat fighter, which got picked up by journalists and turned into "development of a new Type 0 carrier fighter," and now civilians simply call it the Zero fighter. Scheduled to be launched in 6 years. Deployment of 5 nuclear submarines. Because this planet was too large, these could be used to handle missions where normal submarines were found lacking. Scheduled to be launched in 7 years. Launch of the j.a.panese GPS. Because of the incredible economy, the j.a.panese GPS is on track to be launched within 5 years. Bolster the JSDF's personnel. Construct more tanks, escort s.h.i.+ps, and submarines. Research GPS-guided weaponry, such as bombs and long-range cruise missiles. Research anti-ground, anti-s.h.i.+p supersonic cruise missiles. Research atmospheric reentry for rockets for this planet. Research new transport aircraft. Etc.

The government also secretly greenlighted research into nuclear warheads.

"And it hasn't been much time since all these directives were pa.s.sed down…… Things are going to be busy as h.e.l.l from now on."

Within the Ministry of Defense room, the two men continued conversing with long sighs occasionally mixed in.

Gra Valkas Empire, imperial capital Ragna

The empire was having an important meeting in order to determine the future of the country.

"We will now commence the imperial audience."

As the announcer declared, the meeting began. All the attendees were already informed of the plan, so this meeting was a final confirmation of everyone's a.s.sent.

"Kaisar, Myrkaenes, the international leaders.h.i.+p conference will start soon, how are the preparations progressing?"

Emperor Gra Lukas directed this inquiry at the imperial navy eastern fleet commander, Kaisar, and the judgment army commander, Myrkaenes.

""Yes, Your Excellency, all preparations are complete,"" the two answered simultaneously.

"Excellency, with this plan, the native peoples… no, the entire world will be laid low at our feet," praised Chief Mobarl from the Foreign Affairs Bureau with confidence.

"Surely this won't cause us to fall behind the Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire, would it? They are purportedly the 'strongest country in the world,' after all."

"It's out of the question for us to fall behind any of these natives. Once you see their weapon design philosophy, you'll understand why that country's been headed in the wrong direction. Nothing in this world can stop us."

"I see. In that case, I approve this endeavor. We're counting on you all!"

The imperial audience ended.

Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire, port town Cartalpas

Cartalpas had extensive port facilities. That was the reason it was chosen to be the location of the 11-country international leaders.h.i.+p conference; it could easily accommodate each country's amba.s.sador and their military escorts. The port authorities were keeping tallies on each country as they arrived.

"First Civilization, Torquia Kingdom is arriving! Seven s.h.i.+ps-of-the-line and one delegation boat, eight in all!"

"Got it, have Eriahe from the First Civilization greet them."

The s.h.i.+ps arriving at the port were a.s.signed an appropriate guide.

"First Civilization, nation of Agarta is nearly here, convoy of six magic s.h.i.+ps and two civilian s.h.i.+ps."

"Got it."

The port manager, Bronze, loved the leaders.h.i.+p conference. All the countries used "escorting our diplomats" as an excuse to roll out their latest wars.h.i.+ps in a show of strength. To a military fanatic like him, working this event was basically like being at a festival.

"None of them are as impressive as the s.h.i.+ps in the zeroth magic fleet, but I digress."

Normally, the only time he would get to see a bunch of wars.h.i.+ps was when the 0th fleet, which were maintained at a nearby base, a.s.sembled each year for a customary, yearly joint training event with some western island countries. And so, Bronze waited with bated breath. For this year's conference, he was most excited to see the s.h.i.+ps brought by two countries in particular. One was the militaristic country that took down the western superpower Leifor in the blink of an eye: the Gra Valkas Empire. The other forced the Third Civilization superpower, the Papaldia Empire, to break up into 74 separate countries: j.a.pan. What kind of s.h.i.+ps did they have? He simply couldn't calm his rapidly-beating heart.

That was when the lookouts began causing a ruckus. A gigantic s.h.i.+p, almost as big as a castle, could be seen on the horizon. It only grew in size as it came closer. Even Bronze, who was intimately familiar with the sight of Miris.h.i.+al's magic s.h.i.+ps, could only stare speechlessly, captivated by the majesty of such a beautiful, powerful wars.h.i.+p approaching the port.

"The Gra Valkas Empire is arriving, only one s.h.i.+p!"

"Ooh!!!"

Every person who saw the s.h.i.+p was astonished. It was the pride of Gra Valkas, the world's largest, most powerful wars.h.i.+p.

Length: 263.4 meters Width: 38.9 meters Displacement: 72,800 tonnes Propulsion: 150,000 horsepower

The residents of Cartalpas were all completely overwhelmed by the stunning sight.

"The cannons that thing is packing are huge!!!"

There were three of the 45 caliber, 46 centimeter-barrel triple-gun turrets, the largest cannons in the world, proudly pointing at the horizon. The Gra Valkas Empire's super-dreadnought Grade Atlastar was docking at the Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire's Cartalpas port. The enormous wars.h.i.+p was so large, so intense that the nearby First Civilization s.h.i.+ps, Torquia's s.h.i.+ps-of-the-line and Agarta's convoy, looked like toys in comparison. Bronze could only stand there, staring in mute amazement.

"……f!!! Chief Bronze!!!"

Having been thoroughly mesmerized by the Eighth Empire's wars.h.i.+p, it took the shouts from Bronze's subordinates to bring him to his senses.

"Ah, um, what is it?!"

"j.a.pan has arrived! They have one cruiser and one pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p, two in all!"

Bronze took out his binoculars and looked out to sea. On the horizon, he saw something too flashy to be a wars.h.i.+p; a s.h.i.+p painted all in white, and, behind that s.h.i.+p, a large pa.s.senger boat.

"j.a.pan's s.h.i.+ps sure are shaped weird."

Bronze quickly lost interest in j.a.pan and turned around to admire Gra Valkas's wars.h.i.+p again.

The j.a.panese government seriously considered sending a destroyer to accompany their representatives at the international leaders.h.i.+p conference. However, they reasoned, this was not only an international conference, but one being hosted by the strongest country in the world, the Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire. They would be betting their pride on the security of the conference venue, so it would be extremely rude to send a wars.h.i.+p for protection, or so they reasoned. Because they had received a message from Miris.h.i.+al saying "Allow us to plan the protection of your Minister for Foreign Affairs," and because it was too dangerous to simply send out a pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p all by itself, the only other s.h.i.+p to accompany them was the j.a.pan Coast Guard's s.h.i.+kis.h.i.+ma patrol boat.

At 150 meters in length with a full-load displacement of 9,350 tonnes, the s.h.i.+kis.h.i.+ma was the largest patrol boat in j.a.pan. It was an order of magnitude larger than other patrol boats, on par with the JMSDF's Kongou, a guided missile destroyer. Originally built under the pretext of guarding plutonium transport s.h.i.+ps, it boasted the highest firepower among all of the JCG's patrol boats.

"I can't believe the other countries all brought an entire fleet along… Does everyone practice gunboat diplomacy here?" Kondo muttered to himself.

After seeing for himself all the s.h.i.+ps that were brought to the conference, he thought the j.a.panese government's decision to take care not to provoke the other countries backfired, and now he was worried.

"I really hope we don't get looked down on because of this, like with Papaldia……"

Kondo began to feel anxious about the upcoming conference.

Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire, port town Cartalpas, imperial cultural center

The imperial cultural center was a symbol of prosperity; it was luxurious, gorgeous, and exuded dignity. Kondo and Inoue from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were walking into that very same cultural center, the venue for the international conference. After confirming the location of their seats, they went out to the lobby to drink some tea from their canteens while waiting for the conference to begin. This year's conference would start with a working-level diplomatic meeting. After that, the latter half would be meetings and decision-making between all the foreign affairs leaders.

This would be j.a.pan's first formal appearance on the international stage since being transferred, and there was no doubt this conference would go down in j.a.panese history, so the two men were understandably nervous.

"It'll be starting soon…… I have no idea what's going to happen," Kondo said to his subordinate Inoue.

"I know. This'll be the first time we'll have gone into an international conference without first seeding the bed. Do you think it'll go well, even though we're mostly blind?"

"All we know is that the people who are coming here could have the power to move an entire country."

While they chatted, a group of three people walked up to them. They had rather unique outfits, and they stopped before Kondo.

"Are you gentlemen perhaps… j.a.panese?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"I am from the Central World's nation of Agarta, Maggi from the Office of Foreign Affairs. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

He held out his right hand.

"j.a.panese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kondo. It's very nice to meet you."

Kondo took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly. Maggi grinned amicably.

"Mister Kondo, it is my honor to meet you. Rumors of j.a.pan's battle prowess have spread all the way to the Central World. In this world of magic, you have progressed with only the power of science. Even though your country is in the far eastern reaches, outside the civilized areas, you challenged and crushed the Papaldia Empire; truly a land of valiant peoples. Even the superpower Mu, who prioritizes scientific technology, still relies on magic to some extent. However, I have heard that j.a.pan is a curious country that uses science for nearly everything. Based on our perception of life until now, without the use of magic, it is impossible to build up a proper civilization; it may be unjust, but the prejudice of applying a label of 'barbaric' is very strong. However, even without magic, we have heard that j.a.pan is very sophisticated. My nation of Agarta has become extremely interested in your country. We would love to arrange a visit, if that is at all possible."

"Your words are too kind. Indeed, we welcome visitors from Agarta at any time. In addition, this is j.a.pan's first time experiencing this international conference. We will be relying on your lead here," Kondo replied smilingly.

>

At this announcement, Kondo and Inoue went to find their seats.

Fifteen minutes later~

>

In the imperial cultural center's meeting hall, the announcer declared the kickoff of the conference. This would be where the direction of the world would be decided (or at least the area considered to be "the world" by these countries), and this conference included nearly every country currently receiving attention and scrutiny around the world. The conference was scheduled to last for about a week. It was a great honor to be invited to partic.i.p.ate, and all partic.i.p.ating countries, except one, would become known as powerful, world-influencing forces.

j.a.pan was attending this time, but they were not yet a yearly partic.i.p.ant. Both they and the Gra Valkas Empire would need to be approved at this conference in order to become regular attendees. The Papaldia Empire lost an enormous amount of national power, and Leifor was nearly erased from existence, so, the only regular attendees were currently the following:

The magic-based Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire (Central World) The land of dragonfolk, the Eimor Kingdom (Central World) Mu, the nation of science (Second Civilization)

Alongside these three countries, the other attendees at this year's conference were:

Gra Valkas Empire (outside civilized areas, west of Second Civilization) j.a.pan (outside civilized areas, east of Third Civilization) Torquia Kingdom (Central World) Nation of Agarta (Central World) Magycaraihi Collective (Second Civilization) Nigrado Union (Second Civilization) The Great Magic Duchy of Pandora (Third Civilization) The Empire of Anionnrial (outside civilized areas, southern regions)

Only the most powerful countries had been gathered, so once the conference began, the atmosphere in the meeting hall became tense.

Kondo looked around. There were many representatives of other races aside from humans, so he keenly felt that this really was another world.

An emissary from Eimor raised his hand. The coordinator called on him, granting him permission to speak. Even though they only had a population of a million, the dragonfolk country still carried the t.i.tle of world superpower. The Eimorsh emissary stood up. He boasted a height of two meters, red hair, red eyes, and two horns growing from his head.

"I am Moriaul from the Eimor Kingdom. I have a message to convey to you all. This is a very grave matter, so please, listen well."

The hall quieted down.

"Recently, we conducted a divination of s.p.a.ce."

Eimor's s.p.a.ce divination was known to be extremely accurate, so all the representatives were eager to listen.

"What we have learned is… the resurrection of the ancient sorcerous empire, the Empire of Ravannar, will soon be upon us."

The temperature in the room instantly dropped.

"How… How could this be!!!"

"If the legends are all true, then we have no means to resist them!!!"

The hall erupted in panicked chatter. Moriaul continued speaking.

"Because of a distortion in s.p.a.ce, we don't have precise information on when or where it will be, but, from our calculations, we predict that they will reappear somewhere in the world sometime between four to seventeen years from now. How much we are able to resist them, how true the legends are, both are unknown. However, we do know, from the tales that have been pa.s.sed down and from their ruins that have been excavated, that their civilization is advanced beyond imagination. We implore all countries here not to engage in needless conflict, strengthen your militaries, and for the world to unite in order to prepare for the return of the Empire of Ravannar."

Whispered discussions broke out throughout the hall, and various amba.s.sadors were nodding their heads fervently. The sound of laughter suddenly rose up from among the crowd, and it came from a single woman in her late twenties.

"Heheheh…… Haaaahahaha!!!"

Many of the people in the hall looked at her with accusing eyes.

"Oh my, that was rude of me. I'm from the Gra Valkas Empire's Foreign Affairs Bureau, the eastern otherworld division chief Cielia. I don't know anything about a 'sorcery empire' or whatever, but the fact that you natives are all scared of some old fossils just amazes me. In the first place, you put together this huge international conference, and the first thing we hear is some fortune telling? And the one saying it is what this world considers a 'superpower' country? Gimme a break. Our empire stomped all over Leifor and, as weak as they were, they also had this 'superpower' t.i.tle, I hear. 'International conference' my a.s.s…"

"How dare you! You're just a newcomer! You speak above your station!!!" the amba.s.sador of Torquia, Eimor's close ally, shouted.

Moriaul did not look perturbed in the least. "So you are from the new country, the Gra Valkas Empire, huh. If I recall correctly, yours is a nation of humans who know not of magic. Humans with low magical power certainly enjoy vomiting out meaningless words. We hold no expectations for those of your ilk."

"Subhumans like you don't even understand the true power of science… Our empire has no use for your palm readings."

"You call us subhuman, below humans?! We are a nation of dragonfolk, you churl!!!"

The venue dissolved into mayhem while the coordinator tried to calm things down.

"This is a pretty crazy conference," Kondo remarked to Inoue.

"You said it. Compared to Earth, it's unbelievable how little progress has been made since it started."

The two men from j.a.pan simply observed the chaos in mild amus.e.m.e.nt. Once the hall finally quieted down, Mu was given the floor.

"My country of Mu has submitted a statement of censure against the Gra Valkas Empire here at the international leaders.h.i.+p conference. We would like to enforce two years of economic sanctions against them for their large-scale invasion of the Irnatea Kingdom's capital city of Kirkuls. While the two countries were indeed at war, in this case, their actions were clearly excessive. If we do not curb their behavior, it is very possible that the entire world order will crumble."

Next, the Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire requested the floor.

"Indeed, the Gra Valkas Empire's actions are eroding the balance of the world. If they continue their conquest across the Second Civilization, the Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire will have no choice but to intervene. We agree with Mu's proposal and further request that the Gra Valkas Empire immediately withdraw from all Second Civilization lands."

When the country recognized as strongest in the world threatened to step in, the people there to hear it found themselves shuddered violently, more than willing to bend to Miris.h.i.+al's will. Everyone turned to catch the response from the beautiful Gra Valkan diplomat, Cielia. She seemed unfazed.

"First of all, I have only one thing to say. Our empire did not come to this conference to contribute an opinion or anything. This was a gathering of the most influential countries in this region, so we came to make an announcement. In the name of Emperor Gra Lukas of the Gra Valkas Empire, we hereby declare to all you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds: obey us. To those who pledge loyalty to our empire, we promise eternal prosperity. However, those who do not obey will be shown no mercy. Silence will be taken as dissent. So now, let me ask. Right here, right now, will any country swear loyalty?"

For a second, there was only silence.

"Is this woman delusional?"

"What garbage!"

"Stupid barbarian, babbling like a fool."

Her sudden, nonsensical ultimatum was met with a storm of harsh retorts. As the room filled up with clamor, the angry shouts started to mix into wordless aggression.

"As we thought, no one's gonna submit right now. Well, of course you wouldn't. The emperor is generous, though. If you must wait to first witness our might, he does not mind. When the time comes, visit my bureau in Leifor. Heh, your countries might be nursing some broken bones by that point, though. Well then, you filthy natives, you've certainly gotten our message!!!"

In the middle of the international leaders.h.i.+p conference, the amba.s.sador from the Gra Valkas Empire exited the room. As she left the port entirely, the first day of the conference ended.

Days left in the conference: 6.

Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire, western islands

Miris.h.i.+al's 0th magic fleet was currently out training in the islands. In some parts of these waters, visibility was very bad. There were three magic wars.h.i.+ps, two armored cruisers, three magic gunboats, and eight other accompanying s.h.i.+ps, a fleet of sixteen. This was the grand fleet said to have no equal in this world, and they made great efforts to maintain their high standards through training exercises that closely resembled live combat.

"Huh?"

The observer watching the magic detector noticed numerous human-level signals coming from the ocean and quickly closing in on their location.

"These… These must be—!"

If these were Mu's mechanical s.h.i.+ps, that would explain why stronger signals didn't appear on the magic detector. With all those people gathered together moving at high speeds, he was convinced that this was some kind of attack. He quickly called it in to his superiors.

"Objects on the detector! From the north, closing in fast, I think they're Mu's mechanical s.h.i.+ps! Twenty-seven knots, sixty kilometers away, my guess based on the signals is two wars.h.i.+ps, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, five smaller s.h.i.+ps, total twelve enemy s.h.i.+ps approaching our fleet! Ah, now they've accelerated to twenty-nine knots!!!"

"What did you say?! Twenty-nine knots?! Mu shouldn't be able to reach that speed… meaning… is it Gra Valkas? All hands, man battle stations! All hands, battle stations! Unknown fleet approaching! This is not a drill!!! I repeat: This is NOT a drill!!!"

The Holy Miris.h.i.+al Empire's 0th magic fleet, lauded as the strongest fleet in the world, hurried to prepare for hostilities with an unknown group.

 —  — Chapter 45