Temperature And Technology Differences
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. On this day, This military facility was filled with tension like never before in its history. The cause of this tension was a call from Ama no Murakumo yesterday.
"Misaki Tendo, the head of Ama no Murakumo, would like to visit Guam, a territory of the United States of America. The purpose of this visit is sightseeing. If permission is granted, we would like to travel directly to Andersen Air Force Base at a later date. I hope to receive a favorable response."
This request from Ama no Murakumo diplomat created tension among the military officials and politicians of the US. If they made even one mistake in their response, it would not only lead to future diplomatic problems between the two countries. Ama no Murakumo had enough power to reduce the entire US to scorched earth, after all. But despite the need for caution, the US president readily and willingly accepted their request. He also gave Ama no Murakumo a permission to land their aircrafts at Andersen Air Force Base.
"What on earth is our president thinking? Did he forget what’s on this island of Guam?"
"The Battle of Ishikari Bay and the Defense of Tokyo Bay. Our 7th Fleet was deployed to these two battlefields. But Commander, have you read the report from the United Nations Security Council?"
"Yes, I have. It's basically saying that they seek peace and has no intention of starting conflict, right?"
Ama no Murakumo’s policy is strictly defensive. However, they apparently have the resolve to retaliate if attacked. If only they, like Japan’s Article 9, denied war altogether. How much easier would it have been for other countries to deal with them?
Pushover --- that was the impression of other countries had of Japan. This was also the reason why many foreign vessels entered their territorial waters to engage in poaching, and foreign fighter jets sometimes fly across their airspace without permission. Even if their territory was occupied and effectively controlled by other countries, they only filed formal protests to them, but never dispatched their Self-Defense Forces.
"Mr. President instructed us to proceed with caution. If Ama no Murakumo expresses 'regret,' understand that it is not just a stance, but power. Unlike Japan, they will fire their 'regret cannons' from Magia Ritters from the reports."
"Hahaha. Mr. President’s jokes keep getting sharper."
Such a conversation was taking place inside the air base command center. This helped soften the tense atmosphere throughout the room.
"Sir, the reconnaissance unit reported that our guests have been sighted 100 km west of Guam."
"Oh, is this a plane? Or maybe a ship?"
"Thirteen Magia Ritters have been confirmed so far.... One of them is Misaki Tendo’s personal Magia Ritter mentioned in the report."
Had they not been notified in advance about the visit, this would have immediately triggered a scramble order for all aircraft at the air base. That being said, the air base currently only housed strategic bomber jets such as the B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit. The need for fighter jets had become an urgent matter since Ama no Murakumo established themselves as a country near Guam. Currently, they were in the midst of a major effort to build the military infrastructure for that. Even some of the US Marines stationed in Japan have begun relocating to Guam. The report was immediately relayed to the USS Ronald Reagan, flagship of the 7th Fleet, which was anchored in Apra Harbor.
"Contact the Marine Corps. Tell them to send several public relations vehicles around the city to spread the news about Ama no Murakumo diplomatic envoy will be arriving on this island in giant robots. They have to reassure the public that there’s no danger."
"Understood."
"Still, I didn't expect Ama no Murakumo to show off their trump card so soon. I will be raising the security level around the base to its maximum."
Then, 30 minutes after they received the report, thirteen Magia Ritters landed at Anderson Air Force Base.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The official purpose for our visit to Guam was 'tourism and inspection', but my real purpose was to purchase luxury goods. I didn't want to make too much fuss about this visit, but since Ama no Murakumo has become such a prominent presence, I accepted Octa One's opinion that it would be better if we went all out in a flashy manner. His exact words were; ‘Since Lady Misaki is personally going to Guam, it's bound to attract a lot of attention regardless.'.
I rode my personal Magia Ritter to Guam followed by 12 other Magia Ritters acting as my escorts. Four people would be following me around, while the other eight would be on standby with our Magia Ritters at the air base. Even within Guam Island, they wanted to guard me from the air, but the commander of Anderson Air Force Base made a strong request to not do that, saying he would deployed the Marine Corps as my bodyguards instead. I thought such strict measures weren't necessary, but apparently, having conspicuous bodyguards was also important.
"Umm, can't we do something about this outfit?"
I communicated with Gerhilde, the head of escort team, from the cockpit of my Magia Ritter. When we entered Guam territorial waters, I was told to change my pilot suit with the formal attire of Ama no Murakumo.
This outfit is, how should I put it, inspired by traditional Japanese kimono, like that of priestess or shrine maiden, and sort of like the protagonist's outfit from a certain manga I’ve read long time ago. The Phantom Knights of the Far East. Those who have read it would recognize this outfit immediately. Mirage's highest-ranking person. The goddess.
I’d rather wearing something more casual, though....
"No, this intimidating appearance is necessary. Lady Misaki is the supreme existence of Ama no Murakumo, after all."
Well, if you say so, I guess it can't be helped. I thought I could enjoy this sightseeing more leisurely.
"Alright, I'll just go along with it this time."
"*beep.*... Which country's representative or head of state, shops in a souvenir shop wearing sandals and an aloha shirt during official visit? Consider it your duty as a person of rank."
"I got it, I got it already. Prepare for landing."
As the runway of Anderson Air Force Base came into view, I instructed all units to adjust their gravity control systems.
If we don't do this, even though our Magia Ritter are made of mithril light alloy and orichalcum materials, both of their feet would sink into the runway. To prevent this, the gravity load on Magia Ritters have to be adjusted.
*rumbling*
Landing in a slightly bent-knee posture, thirteen Magia Ritters slid along the runway by inertia. Naturally, they didn't leave even a single scratch on the runway. Then, following the guidance, we moved to the hangar to park them.
*psshhh*
"Nice to meet you. I'm Misaki Tendo. Thank you for welcoming us."
I spoke to a military officer adorned with many medals standing in front of me.
Up to this point, I followed the script prepared in advance, but from here on, it will be a battle of wits.
"Nice to meet you. I am Air Force Lieutenant General Mikhail Twining, the commander of Anderson Air Force Base, Guam Territory, United States of America. I welcome Lady Misaki Tendo, the head of Ama no Murakumo, to our country."
After he politely returned my greeting, I extended my hand for a handshake.
"We plan to stay in Guam for the next three days, so I'd like to make a hotel reservation first. Do you have any recommendations?"
Do not bow my head. Do not be humble. Treat the other party like my subordinates, but don't look down on them. Those are some pointers that I have to keep in mind as a person of authority.
To be honest, my heart is pounding right now. This is like when I used to have a meeting with important people in my old job. Sometimes, the executive from the other party would suddenly join the meeting, creating a pressuring atmosphere. But now, I should be the one applying the pressure here.
"We have already reserved the best hotel for your accommodation. Your diplomat and our official will handle the details. Please, this way."
"Much appreciated."
I want to talk more, but I've been told to be careful not to make any promises.
Afterward, a welcome ceremony was held at the air base. Even though we had told them to make it simple in advance, it was still a pretty big ceremony. We were then guided to the hotel to relax and recover from fatigue.
"It's already night when I realize it. Should I go shopping now? No, I'd rather not miss out on some night sightseeing in Guam."
"Lady Misaki, I've been told to contact the security personnel first before going out. What should I do?"
"Then, please contact them. In thirty minutes, I want to take a stroll outside."
I can dress casually at last.
Just as I was thinking that, Gerhilde took out an official informal attire of Ama no Murakumo. The clothing was designed like a jinbei and looked very light and durable.
"Oh, so you have prepared everything."
"Since tight clothing would be uncomfortable, Hildegard ordered this design from the workshop. For your information, the cloth was woven with mithril fibers."
"Well, I already guessed that this wouldn't be an ordinary clothes. So, who will be my escorts?"
When I asked, everyone raised their hands.
I knew this coming. Oh well, I don't have any luggage that would be a problem if I left it here and got stolen. In addition, I also have my Infinite Storage. Let's go boldly empty-handed.
“You are Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, correct?”
"You may call us by our first names."
"That's right. Please feel free to call us by our first name."
"Our mission as Combat Servants is to protect our master. Please feel free to use us."
"Gerhilde, do all Combat Servants have personalities like this?"
"They say the name represents the body. In order to distinguish them from civilian Servant, all Combat Servants are named after famous military commanders."
I see. Come to think of it, there are Combat Servants called Cao Cao and Sun Quan on standby at the air base.
"Well then, please take care of me."
"""Yes!"""
"Of course, Gerhilde, too."
"Thank you for your kind words."
Then, 30 minutes later, we were enjoying the night scenery of Guam, guarded by the local US Marines from distance.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Five hours after Misaki left Ama no Murakumo and headed for Guam, the battle with the French soldiers broke out. Initially, the French fleet, along with Russia and China, only monitored Ama no Murakumo from a safe distance. However, perhaps growing frustrated, the French oceanographic research vessel Pourquoi Pas joined the investigation. Despite receiving warnings afterward, they continued to ignore them, resulting in a battle with Ama no Murakumo military, where they were completely defeated within just a few minutes.
Naturally, the rest of the French fleet, stationed nearby, could not have been unaware of what happened. However, wanting to see Ama no Murakumo's reaction, the fleet commander let the situation escalated. Even though Pourquoi Pas was seized as a result, he was confident that he could get it back through diplomacy. Later that night, a communication from French diplomatic sources arrived at Ama no Murakumo.
“This is a communication from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They wish to speak with the person in charge.”
“I will take the call.”
Hildegard, who was on charge of Ama no Murakumo during Misaki's absence, answered the call. The content was very simple: they demanded an explanation regarding the recent military attack by Ama no Murakumo on the French oceanographic survey ship.
“The crew of your survey ship attached themselves to our country’s territorial boundary buoys and began investigations without permission. Despite two warnings from us, they did not cease their activities, so we resorted to using force.”
“Even so, wouldn’t it be proper to contact our home country first or express regret?”
The other party protested Ama no Murakumo for taking military action without prior communication with the French government.
"*beep*.... If it's 'regret' we did express it properly. Though we didn't use the usual cliche words like 'it's regrettable'."
Octa One chimed in from the background.
"I have heard about this expression of regret before. However, we used ‘威’ (power or might), instead of ‘意’ (intention or sentiment) because no matter how many words were arranged, they did no seem to be conveyed to them."
Hearing Hildegard's counter-argument, the French diplomat was at his wits' end. If it were Japan, even if French fighter jets violated their airspace, they would at most only issued a warning to the pilots and then called the French embassy to lodge a protest. There was absolutely no chance of them attacking after the warning, like the case in other countries. His two mistakes were thinking that Ama no Murakumo would be like Japan and taking the oceanographic ship captain’s report at face value.
"But according to the testimony of Pourquoi Pas' captain, your military personnel suddenly attacked them without warning."
"Is this what they mean by to be brazen like a thief? Shall we copy the black box of the captured Pourquoi Pas and send it to you? You can also confirm it with other countries' vessels that were nearby at that time."
"I understand. I will bring this matter to the parliament for further discussion. In the first place, we couldn't recognize a battleship without land as a country."
"There are other countries that float on the sea, aren’t there? Like the Principality of Sealand for example. In my opinion, what defines a country is 'territory', not whether the country has land or not."
"That's a fallacy. The Principality of Sealand's foundations were built on the seafloor. In other words, it’s connected to the land."
"In that case, we will build a platform connected to the seafloor that will serve as our 'land' territory. That would solve the problem, right?"
"Hmph, how many years will that take? In any case, we clearly view this incident as an act of hostilities initiated by Ama no Murakumo."
He was trying to shift the blame and ask for a reparation instead. Even though he said that France didn't recognize Ama no Murakumo as a country, he wanted Ama no Murakumo to take responsibility like a country. He interpreted the law to suit his own convenience. Nevertheless, the majority of the French parliament had decided that this incident was ‘an arbitrary act by the captain of Pourquoi Pas' and that they should avoid further conflicts. That being said, they still didn't recognize Ama no Murakumo as a country.
"Our sea platform will be completed within a week. I think this is the end of our discussion."
"Wait, we still haven't discussed about the reparation and other things."
"What reparation? Please confirm the details of this incident with the crew of Pourquoi Pas when they return. Well, then...."
*beep*
There was no need for further discussion. In every country, there were always politicians who refused to admit their mistakes and wanted to shift the blame to the other party. Despite being a magical brain, Octa One prayed that this was not the case.