I Dare Say, I'm Trying To Relax
Phew~
Hot springs are great.
They really soothe your tired body to the core.
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. In the middle of the Q&A session, Hilde suddenly made a big declaration to the representatives of the countries who were there. I was watching this on a 3D spatial monitor while soaking in the hot spring.
"Those representatives must be racking their brains right now. I'm sure it never crossed their mind that we would declare our mobile battleship as a country."
"*beep*.... Is it possible to establish a country with that declaration?"
"Yes, it is. Since we declared that our country would be located in the high seas of the Pacific Ocean, far from any air or sea routes, no other countries could protest or claim it as their territory."
One of the requirements for a country to exist is that there cannot be more than one government within its territory, and that clears it. I had Octa One checked this area, so there should be no mistake.
"*beep*.... We also comply with most international laws. The only thing that remains is whether other countries will recognize our country or not."
"I don't think the US, Russia, China, or Japan will give us their recognition. If they recognize us as a country, there will be a lot of vested interests involved, after all."
"*beep*.... Do you dislike those four countries? Unlike other countries, they are very cold towards us."
That's not the case. People may like or dislike the US, Russia, and China, but I fall into the category of those who like them. In my previous life, there were Chinese and Korean working at the company I worked for. Naturally, we were colleagues, but we also had personal relationships outside of that. However, education also contaminates people's thinking. Even for a decent person, it is difficult to overturn knowledge that has been imprinted on one's mind by one's country. This applies to Japan too, but there are countries out there where it's even more pronounced. That's why I judge people not by their country origin.
The same goes for the four countries mentioned above. It's not the people who are bad. It's just that there are countries with bad politics and ideology that instill this idea to control people. So, when it comes to countries like that, I have no intention of going easy on them. Furthermore, I will not tolerate anyone who treats me with ill will or disturbs my peace.
"---that's what I mean. You don't understand, do you?"
"*beep*.... I don't understand the emotional side of it, but I understand what you're trying to say. Mutual understanding leads to mutual growth, right?"
"That's right. I really want to believe in the theory of innate human goodness. People are neither good nor evil when they are born. Many people say that it is the environment they grow up in that determines whether they are good or evil."
"*beep*.... I understand. We magical brains can also become good or evil depending on the education of our masters. Someone once said; whether good or bad depends on the remote control."
You must have been educated by a Japanese!
Why is that phrase coming up here?
"Well, I'll just take my time and see how things go. If they want to talk to me directly, then bring along the top person of their country. In the first place, there's no reason for me to show my face in that place, right? I'd hate to be assassinated."
"*beep*.... Among the delegations from various countries gathering in Switzerland, we have spotted disguised special forces like SAS, Mossad, SEAL, and Japanese special forces."
"See? That's why it was the right decision to dive into the dimension. Had we parked Ama no Murakumo out in the open, it's obvious that we would be targeted."
"*beep*.... If you give the order, we can subdue them in 10 minutes. What do you think?"
No, thanks. I mean, why does Octa One get so hot-headed sometimes? If it was Truss One, I'd understand. Truss One is in charge of security and battle, after all.
"Rejected. Let's live peacefully, peacefully. Now we are still in the middle of the Q&A session, alright? They're asking a lot of crazy questions, but I'm more surprised that they want to see me so badly."
I'm feeling less tired now, so shall we go out for something to eat?
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Inside the Palais des Nations in Geneva. In a complete reversal of the light-hearted questions, the representative of Russia began to demand an explanation about the seizure of Gremyashchiy in Tokyo Bay.
"Can you please explain the previous attempt to seize a ship from our fleet?"
"It was simply an act to reduce the fighting power of those who attacked and spied on us with hostile intentions. However, Gremyashchiy self-destructed after that. Is there any problem?"
"May I consider that act as a declaration of war against Russia?"
"I don't mind, but are you sure? We had been very careful to keep human casualties to a minimum so far. If I may add, we were merely using your ships as shields. It was a necessary action to fend off attacks from China."
Hildegard declared boldly. When dealing with militaristic countries, it would be best to be aggressive and to confront them head on. Ama no Murakumo was neither so idle nor so weak that it would fire a regret cannon every time it was subjected to minor harassment. In fact, it would be fine to become their enemy, as it would allow her to crush them in a full-scale resistance and made the existence of the Ama no Murakumo more known to the world. That was what Hildegard thought. From Misaki's perspective, this was the worst move, but Octa One and Truss One also concluded that Hildegard's opinion was correct.
"Then, Russia will not recognize Ama no Murakumo as a country. Is that fine?"
"Yes, that's fine. Ama no Murakumo has no expectation of being recognized as a country by all member states of the United Nations in the first place. From now on, we will not take any questions from Russia."
Hildegard cuts him off decisively.
"Then, China will not recognize Ama no Murakumo as a country, too . Do you think that the attack against our fleet in Tokyo Bay can be forgiven?"
"There was no attack whatsoever. Or rather, it was China that suddenly attacked us without a declaration of war. We have full access to all the communication networks around the world. Among them, there are countries that have tried to be friendly towards us. But what did China, no, the Chinese fleet that was in Tokyo Bay, do to us?"
Hildegard knew that the attack was planned from the start, and was not the result of an arbitrary actions by the Chinese fleet commander. However, to justify this attack, they had sent a 'false report' to mainland China, saying it was Ama no Murakumo that launched the preemptive attack, and the Chinese fleet was forced to intercept them. Of course, President Ouyang was not so naive as to believe all of that. The punishment for the fleet commander had already been decided. On top of that, he also decided that it would be better to follow the lead of their neighbor, Russia, rather than tried to acquire unknown technology that they could no longer touch and that was no longer available to them.
"That's a fallacy. We simply helped our ally Japan to fight the invader. We also have determined that Ama no Murakumo's existence on this earth brings more harm than good."
"Feel free to think so. We will also stop taking questions from China."
After this, other Asian countries joined China and Russia in not recognizing Ama no Murakumo as a country. However, one word from the US turned the situation around.
"First of all, as a representative of the US, I'd like to apologize for the attack on your country, even though it was a military operation."
Your country --- it meant that the US had recognized Ama no Murakumo as a country. This statement was being broadcasted all over the world.
"In addition, we would like to establish an embassy in Ama no Murakumo. The name is too long, so it would be helpful if there was an abbreviation of some kind."
*chuckle*
Hildegard laughed for the first time that day. In her calculations, she had predicted that Russia would fold first and the US would fight to the end. Even Truss One was speechless. However, Octa One had predicted this development.
"Then, how about we use the characters that the name Ama no Murakumo is based on. Let's call it the US Embassy in Heaven. We will give a positive consideration to the establishment of an embassy. If any other country requests it, we will have them contact us through our negotiating agent at a later date."
Hildegard emphasized that it was not the right time and place to talk about such topics. However, she acknowledged that the US had made a formal apology in front of the entire world. Many representatives started showing positive responses towards the establishment of Ama no Murakumo as a country afterwards. However, there were also those who still showed negative responses.
"A country is a country because it has land. Ama no Murakumo does not have land, so we can not recognize it as a country. However, we may accept it as a vassal state of our country."
There were also countries that were asking for submission in exchange for ceding their islands as Ama no Murakumo's territory. Hildegard dismissed such suggestions with a snort. The discussions continued after this, but since they had all reached an impasse, Hildegard decided that more than this would be just a waste of time.
"No further discussion seems to be needed, so we will excuse ourselves for now. We will officially contact any nations that are willing to come to the negotiating table at a later date."
Having said that, the two bowed and left the venue. Immediately afterwards, the special forces from each country that had been waiting outside the facility began to move.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"*sigh*.... There's a reaction from the anti-personnel sensor. The numbers are.... 48 in the largest group, 4 in the smallest.... a total of 286 people. I guess we can call this the world's strongest special forces alliance."
"Big Sis Hilde, shall we use teleportation to return to the ship?"
"Yes, but only after we've eliminated the threat. Grim, you can't kill them."
"Don't worry, I'll use anti-personnel shock knuckles."
*snap*
When Grimgerde swung both of her hands simultaneously straight down, a pair of knuckle guards formed on both hands from the sleeves of her suit. They then instantly became electrified, glowing whitish blue.
"We're surrounded, but we can't fire. If we fire carelessly, it will involve the agents from other countries in other locations. In this situation, wouldn't it be best to do nothing, right, gentlemen?"
Hildegard asks the group of four who were approaching them from behind without hiding their presences. They were members of the US special forces SEAL.
"We have no hostile intent. We came here to assist you."
"Because I don't sense any murderous intent or hostility, I will trust you on that point. So, can you get us out of this siege?"
“That's a stupid question. I'd like to say that, but no matter how elite we are, I feel like running with a coffin on my back against more than 200 special forces from various countries.”
"Then, we will handle it ourselves. Let's go, Grimgerde!"
"Yes, Big Sis!!"
*swoosh*
All SEAL members who were watching the battle had the same thought --- the wind blows. The special forces hiding all over the place were rendered powerless one by one. The sounds of gunfire became louder and there might have been friendly fire here and there. However, they were chosen elites, and to complete their missions, they would bare their fangs even against friendly countries. Five minutes was how long it took for the pride of each country to be crushed.
"My pants are torn. I guess I'll have to go shopping again later."
"I'll join you. My sleeves are burnt."
"Oh, you didn't adjust the output?"
"It was the lowest output, but as you can see...."
Hildegard and Grimgerde were talking as if they were high school girls walking home from school. Then, noticing the US special forces looking at them with awe, they smiled.
"I'll leave the cleanup to you. It's not a bad deal, right? You will get to know all the identities and equipment of the elite special forces from each country."
*zap*
Hearing Hildegard's words, all SEAL members saluted and immediately began their work. Meanwhile, Hildegard and Grimgerde returned to Ama no Murakumo using teleportation.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Ama no Murakumo's declaration of statehood in Geneva. The world was shocked by this development. A gigantic mobile battleship with unknown technology. Who would have imagined that it would declare itself as a country? There was once a Japanese manga about a nuclear submarine declaring itself as a country, but this one went beyond that scale.
Then, there were videos of special forces in combat in some country leaked into the internet. Their faces and equipment had been blurred to make it hard to recognize. However, any expert in that field would have recognized them immediately. The problem was the fact that these special forces from all over the world had been defeated by two young women so easily.
The countries whose special forces were in the videos immediately banned the videos and sent a warning to the uploader. However, the videos had been downloaded in large numbers, and ended up on various video streaming sites. There were rumors that the Mobile Battleship Ama no Murakumo was behind these videos, but no one knew the truth.