Vol 3 Chapter 6 (1/2)

And so, the japanese diploin the preparations for the peace talks Piña breathed a huge sigh of relief, having crossed a difficult hurdle After all, she was only a mediator, and what happened next would be up to the japanese and the Senators

Piña’s job was to guarantee freedom of movement to the japanese or to facilitate that movement It was not very important, which meant that it was a job with little responsibility Now she could start clearing up the leftover work that the official she sent to House Forht order She could also spend ti her beloved “art”

Of course, as a meress of the negotiations However, the real problem was the veteran Senators She knew the facts and that she had no role in as to co

In addition, Bozes’ uarantee of uilt, her unease and the ret in her heart Because of that, she felt like the storm had passed and the sun had finally come out for her

Piña wiped her tear-stained cheeks with the back of a hand, and so, she had been in the depths of despair, but now her spirits were rapidly rising, like a PatriotPiña’s unguarded, genuine smile made him nervous

What htly against hirance, all of which titillated his senses As his affection gauge rose, not just by 1 point, but all the way up to 8 (10 points would be the ht red, like a shy schoolboy

“Ah, that, this, your Highness We shouldn’t go on with this, a lot of people are watching”

After the , “So you like it like that,” or “Having fun, e?” even if he tried to protest, it would just look like he wasexcuses That was to say, in order not to be teased, he had to get back to work

And of course, Piña as she was now said, “And what about that?” She was so high on joy that she scarcely knehat she was saying Even if she knew, she probably would not care After all, her delight sprang from the bottom of her heart

Forget it, this is just part of the job, Itaht about hoould be scolded when he went back, he fell into a funk Those were his true feelings Just then, his earpiece rang

“Avenger, this is Archer Please respond”

His wildly beating heart immediately returned to normal and his blood and brain that felt like liquid fire promptly cooled down He pressed his comm button and replied

“This is Avenger What’s wrong?”

“Sorry to interrupt your fun A bunch of riders who don’t seeuests have just passed the SSL (surveillance security line) and they’re headed your way”

“One moment”

After Itami finished, he turned back to Piña in his arms

“Your Highness, I’ve received a report that a group of horse about it?”

“Ah ~ I haven’t Is so?”

An old Oriental medical text once wrote that an excess of certain eer, the blood would rise to the head and expand the blood vessels, while for fear, the blood would rush to one’s lower body, causing theto incontinence, and a loss of strength in the diaphragm Similarly, excessive joy would cause a profound relaxation throughout the body Because of her joy, Piña was now excessively relaxed in a mental sense, so her reflexes were dulled and she was useless to him

There were also soht better under stress Piña was probably this sort of person Since he could not get any inforangsters, or that they were elements of the Empire’s military, and think of countermeasures

If he wanted the “S” (Special Forces Group) contingent watching over them to take care of it, he would have to hurry, but it would be unwise to take action without knoho the eneo to work, it le one of them would be buried in darkness He had to consider if his actions would make trouble for Piña

If they were thieves or bandits, then they would have to be eliovernment or the military In that case, they could not be taken out unless there was grave danger However, if they saw the JSDF here, it would be very bad, so he would have to think of a way to hide everyone

Because Itami’s basic principle was “escape”, he was not particularly troubled by that conclusion

“Tomita! Kurata! Katsuawara-san, there’s a group of unidentified horseotiations Get the VIPs out of here But the garden party doesn’t need to stop Let their family members stay here”

After clearing up the rifles and awara also swiftly gathered up the Senators and his harried actions spoke of the urgency of the situation

Itami patted Piña’s face with both hands and said “Please pull yourself together Get a grip” before she finally returned to normal

The Senators who heard of the situation froaere very aware that they could not let their dealings with japan coht If it was discovered that the pro-war faction was preparing for peace talks, the radicals in the faction ht well have them assassinated In addition, they also heard that the Ministry of the Interior would resort to dirty means

They would surely conclude that “Senators together = preparing for negotiations”, and after listening to scattered fragments of news and ruhts and come to a twisted conclusion The truth would be lost forever This would not be an isolated incident

Therefore, everyone approved of leaving right away Even if the people approaching were bandits, there was no need to worry After all, they had just witnessed the terrifying power of japanese weapons In addition, they wanted their families to enjoy themselves, so there was no reason to protest the evacuation

Since both sides had already agreed to negotiations, the fine details could be handled through correspondence Therefore, the Senators

Three HMVs threw up curls of sand as they screeched to a halt These vehicles were left behind by 1st Recon A total of six JSDF troopers dismounted and stood before the Senators

After being shocked by the rifles and the ons whichpulled by a horse With these, japan could cross the distance between here and Arnus with a snap of the finger At the same time, it clearly demonstrated the uselessness of the barrier of distance which the E on

“Are we going to board these?”

“We’re going to take you to the vicinity of one of the capital’s gates That is to say, ill drop you at the less crowded southeast gate Do enjoy the ride”

The southeast gate opened into the forest, and the gate itself was s to it was dark, and probably nobody would be walking down it The eastern and south sides were poorly lit by the sun because of the wall, and the living conditions there were like a sewer Naturally, the only people who lived there were on the bottoar’s District It was also called Akusobcause of the lack of safety there Norood reason

However, because of those reasons, it was the best place tospotted

In truth, the JSDF also used the southeast gate In addition, they were already faht off the guards with cash and japanese products They had also reeted the criminals of the Black Streets

With Kurata leading the way, the twenty-odd Senators boarded the HMVs

After that, the HMVs’ engines roared as they sped out, and everyone screa a roller-coaster

Zorzal led a group of his men to the forest park on the outskirts of the capital, and the HMVs left around the same tiht be able to hear the sounds of the HMV engines vanishi+ng into the forest They ht not knohat it was, but they could probably tell it was headed away from them

Nohat Zorzal saas children and their aaudy dresses at each other All he heard was lightthat Count Marx had warned hi their merriment, all hatred faded fro noise

“What’s this?”

Although he had not been invited, nobody stopped Zorzal fro Everyone could sense that Zorzal and his cronies were directing surprised looks at them

After exa the women here, he realised that they were all patrician ladies or heiresses He knew some of them from the courts

While these ladies were surprised by the people barging in on the that he was the first son of the Eht, “even the Prince was invited”, and so everyone swept forward to welcoanizer of this party was Princess Piña, so it was hardly unusual for her to invite her older brother as well He was siuest of honor

Zorzal and his h with them

In the face of people who had nothing to do with the policy and were of patrician birth to boot, they had to treat the underfoot ithout saying Their fierce desire to shout “What’s going on?!” drained away After dis on

“What are you doing here?”

“This garden party was organized by Piña-dono and Sugawara-dono It’s not an officialof various noble faether Were you not invited as well, your Highness?”

The one answering hi on in years, but she stood raht as she answered the Prince The fact that she had named his half-sister Piña drew his attention, but not awara” which he had never heard before

The maids presented wine and all sorts of food to Zorzal and his men The trays were loaded with en-rich meat juices were chilled into blocks (with other foods within) and served as a jelly Then there was the Ma Nuga meat and fruits, and then on another plate there was flatbread etable and s loomed like a mountain in front of them

Zorzal and friends nervously picked up the unfamiliar food in front of it and put it into his ed

“It’s good!”

The meat jelly bounced as he chewed it and melted in his reat irls would not co in his ue at work Size, texture and flavor, all these were the crystallization of Furuta’s efforts, producing the highest order of cuisine

In the blink of an eye, the food in front of them vanished Zorzal’s men spread out to look for more

“Mmm”

Elsewhere, Zorzal tilted his head, unable to understand the situation Count Marx should not have lied to hiood for his Ministry Could it be that he told that lie so he would come to this party? But there should have been a better way to put it

At least, this place looked like a festival, and not the site of some conspiracy like what Count Marx said He otten the place wrong, and found a place like this while exploring

At the sa toward the rare food and drinks

“Mmm…”

Zorzal was used to the palace’s food, but he had never tried these before

The soup was just a siolden arant scent

The Ma Nuga meat felt different when he ate it It practically melted in his mouth before his teeth touched it This must have been the product of an incredible control of heat in cooking And then there was the skilful use of salt and other flavors (spices) It was the best Ma Nuga meat he had ever eaten

Zorzal tookout into his h, all three trays were empty

“Ani-sama!” Piña shouted Zorzal tossed the bone he had finished aside, and looked to her

As he saw Piña jogging over, he noticed that she did not have her knight gaht that if she was the organizer of this event, then Count Marxsomewhere

“Ani-sa here all of a sudden?”

Zorzal replied, “What, can’t I be here?” as he reached for his fourth piece of Ma Nuga meat

Piña certainly did not want him here, but under these circumstances, she could not say so directly Instead, she replied, “Of course not, how could I leave my elder brother alone? It’s just that you hadn’t shownOh, it’ll taste better with this”She handed hio with Ma Nuga meat

Zorzal frowned as he saw theodor When he bit into the meat, the intense flavor made his eyes water

“Piña, who made these dishes? Where can I find him?”

He was holding his fifth piece of Ma Nuga meat, this time drizzled with the yellow mustard He seemed quite fond of it

Piña looked at the piece of meat before her which was practically painted yellow, and did not kno to answer hih the one in charge of the actual food preparation were the palace chefs, Furuta of the JSDF was the one who did the flavoring and directed the cooking

“Have him prepare the royal dinner next time His Majesty will be pleased”

“Brother, even if you ask personally, I’uarantee that”

In the courts, a chef did not have a lofty position Hardly anyone would bring in a low-status chef However, Zorzal thought nobody was looking and shrugged, and then tried to think of a way around this problem

“That’s nothing, as long as he doesn’t enter the palace, it should be fine, right? We’ll just say we borrowed someone from a noble family That should solve the dinner problem”

Piña thought for a ood chance to let her brother meet a japanese person But then she immediately shot that idea down

Yes, her brother thought he lived in a world where “everything goes according to ood was for his benefit in the world which existed solely to satisfy hi which denied this Even the truth would become his enemy… no It was precisely because it was the truth that it was his ene as they pleased him

Naturally, the greatest fantasy he had was that the Eest power in this world

Zorzal would not understand that there was a country far more puissant than the Empire on the other side of the Gate, that had already dealt the defeats and which could not be beaten In this case, he would turn the truth into his enemy

Therefore, Piña gave up the idea of showing Zorzal the truth

The problem hy her brother had come here It could not possibly have been a coincidence She decided to ask Zorzal, and the answer she got was “Count Marx told me to come here”

“Did he say that, exactly?”

“No, just so like it”

“Then, what did he say?”

Zorzal clicked his tongue at Piña’s incessant questions and replied, “He said there were people gathered here to plot and conspire Heof it!”

After that, he joined his cronies in assaulting the other food stalls They even chased away the kids gathered around the ice-cream maid

As Piña watched him leave, she ain

Zorzal and the others did not just eat their fill, but they carried a lot of food away

There was only just enough food for the garden party, so in the face of these rapacious intruders, a food shortage immediately developed They took the entire tub of ice creaan circulating whispers about the poor manners of the first prince

Because of theawara, Ita to eat Those maids who had pinched some food were lucky, but Ita to fill their bellies

Even so, they continued s, as they watched the patricians and their fari up

Piña and Sugawara stood in a corner of the forest garden, which was quiet again As they watched Itaht out some herbal tea for them, and some of the leftovers of Furuta’s fish bone dessert (she was surprised that it could actually be eaten after suitable flavoring with salt and pepper), and then they began discussing the reason for Zorzal’s intrusion

“We should think of this as a warning by Count Marx”

“Could it be a recon by fire? Because he wasn’t sure ere doing, he barged in directly to see our response?”

“It’s not impossible, but Ani-sama would not use a recon by fire or whatever He and his men are hot-headed and a clever ruse like a recon by fire is beyond him”

“They don’t have anyone who canthem, so it does not follow they could perform a recon by fire It would be best to treat their actions as a warning However, after considering your brother’s position, hefor a direct attack”

“Indeed, if he had seen the Senators discussing business with furtive expressions on their faces, Ani-saladly scattered the party and captured everyone Senators gathering together to discuss things is not a cri would happen But Ani-sas That’s just how he is”