Chapter 147: Fragile Peace and a Terror Within
Many amongst the ruling families of the Central plain provinces predicted that it would take almost a decade for the "barbarians" of the south to even breach half of their lands. They say that all of the chattering of the so-called "eyewitnesses" are blatant exaggerations to spread fear or was fabricated by "refugees" that are actually spies of the enemy in order to turn the populace against their rulers.
They say that it would take 10 years to even reach half of the conquest process… And yet, three weeks later, an announcement from the public radio station of Kiko carried this news.
{"Good day to all of our listeners. We are cutting the regular radio program to announce a news mandated by the Office of Kiko Lordship… Ahem… As of 2:00 PM today, under the official announcement of Alliance Chancellor and Lord of Kiko, Iwasawa Hiroshi-sama, the conquest and pacification of the whole Central Plain provinces has been finished. Hostilities has been completely suspended and peace-keeping forces are being sent to the occupied lands both by the Alliance and the Shogunate army that has been liberated by the alliance from their ruling lordships. Following updates on the field will be given by our news reporters on the ground."}
To say that the news didn't cause a joyous celebration in wherever it was heard would be a total lie. In actuality, it was the total opposite of it.
"We won! We really won!!!"
"Hurrah for the Southern Alliance!"
"""HURRAY!!!"""
On the streets of villages and towns, women, children and the elderly all came out of the houses to openly celebrate the cessation of the war and the possibility of seeing again their loved ones who left to serve in the military.
"Nii-san! Let's try to call Papa's unit! You still remember the radio number they said he's in, right?"
"Yes! Let's try to see if he will respond! Hmm… This and that… Ah!"
["124th Infantry Battalion, identify yourself, unknown transceiver!"]
"U-Umm… W-we are-"
"Do not waste time! If this is an unofficial transmission, I will be cutting this line now!"
"A-Ah! No! We are the children of Kanbei! S-Sergeant Major Kanbei!"
"Oh… Haah… I already told these guys to quit giving away the frequency channels of our military comm lines. What if their kids get tricked and they compromise our entire communications…?"
"S-Sir?"
"BAH! Whatever! It's V-day anyway! Hold on a bit while I'm getting your dad on the line."
"T-Thank you very much, sir!"
Of course, it isn't only the regular citizens who had loved ones on the battlefield who are on cloud nine right now. There are also those who has bankrolled the entire war that enabled the Allied forces to fully utilize their new lightning war doctrine with no fear that a sudden deficit in food, ammunition or fuel supply would hinder their charge.
"Would you like another glass?"
"Why, yes. Please pour me another one."
"Hehe… You seem amused with that thing you just received, Consul Edogawa."
"I sure am, Ambassador Ikehara… To think that he and the other Daimyos would end all of this as quickly as possible… He really is as amazing as he seemed to be when he's still here."
At the CEO's office of the new corporate headquarters of the Kashima Merchant guild, one of the consuls and currently the leading diplomatic representative of Hashidate province, Edogawa Gin, is conversing with Hashidate's ambassador to the Southern Quartet Alliance, Ikehara Machiko.
Gin was holding the invoice sent earlier by the Southern Alliance Army's Finance department regarding the maturation of all his short-term War Bonds and detailed that if he would cash-out those during the current cessation of the war, he would be getting about a ten-fold profit from the money he lent out.
"So, how much profit would it be for you?"
"The total of my short-term War Bonds is about 1.6 million Yen. If I claim it now, I will get almost 14 million Yen including deductions due to taxation…"
"So, would you claim it?"
"Nah."
He plainly replied to the young lady before elegantly sipping his red wine that she poured for him earlier.
"Huh? Why? I think almost over a ten-fold profit margin is already the best scenario for those short-term loans now that they have matured. Wouldn't it be a waste to claim them while the rate is high?"
Strangely uncharacteristic to him and his former loud and rowdy self, Gin chuckled lightly like a refined gentleman before placing the invoice letter on his desk and taking the wine bottle to return the gesture to the female ambassador.
"I find it surprising that you aren't aware of the difference, but I guess the stock exchange and the Allied Army's Finance system just operate on different wavelengths…"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"What I meant is that unlike usual loan agreements, War Bonds operate on a different system as loans given by banks or the stock exchange organization itself. Just because the loan term matured doesn't mean that it is the best time to cash-out. War bonds sold by the army are best to pick when there will be a long peace that will follow it."
After filling her wine glass, Gin looked at Machiko's face and found the expression that he expected her to have after hearing about his explanation.
"Y-You mean…"
"Yes… Hiro-kun gave me a heads-up about it way before the war even started and I snapped up war bonds to help out in the effort. He told me that reaching the Shogunate capital is only half-way the battle ahead of us, and if I wanted to genuinely help while also lining up my pockets as per Hashidate custom, it'd be my best call to not claim any of those bonds until he has done what he must do."
At that moment, the composed personality that Ikehara Machiko has formed after she became used with her job of being the representative of her land cracked for a moment as cold sweat flowed down her neck in nervousness.
"The war isn't over… and because of that, my riches would increase more and more. It really sounds bad to speak about this in that way, but I guess this is the best way I can call this nationwide tragedy as…"
"Please, Consul… Even King Yama would die of shock with what you are trying to imply…"
"Hahaha! Only our enemies would be meeting that guy! And if King Yama will die of shock if I state that I am profiteering off of his job of dealing with the dead, I don't mind not showing any remorse about it."
While looking at the current estimate of his profit from the war written on the invoice, Consul Edogawa Gin smiled a bit with the thought of how much it would balloon out more later on.
"You really are an amazing person, Hiroshi. It was a right call to befriend you not only because of our shared values but because you also understood how to properly treat and utilize the interests of those around you."
"Hrm… I guess I need to go to the Kiko Embassy later to express our continued financial support of them while you handle the collection of funding from the other bond buyers, huh?"
"Right. I'll be depending on you, Ambassador."
"Likewise, Consul."
With a clinking of their glasses, the two most influential people of Hashidate's upper ring in both politics and economy set forth with their next moves regarding the war between the Southern Alliance whom they are part of, and the Northern Coalition whom they have begun to see as nothing more but a point of financial growth in the near future.
Another group that are surely exhilarated with the end of the war are the men and women of the military factories that has contributed a major portion in the war effort.
"We did it, everyone!"
"We won!!!"
"All of our overtime shifts weren't for nothing!"
One factory that specializes in ammunition for both small arms and artillery was awash in cheers and celebratory actions after hearing from their factory's radio that the war has ended, that the machines had to be shut down because there are no employees watching over them.
"Alright! This is a day for celebration for everyone! With that, we're closing for a few days! Go home and celebrate with your families, everyone!"
"Yahoo!!!"
"Let's go now!"
Another factory, one that makes engines, gears and other components for the tanks and armored troop carriers for the army had an owner who declared that the factory would be closed for a few days to allow his workers to celebrate the victory. With more than enough stockpile for the vehicles either en route to the battle areas or kept in their warehouse, this decision was a satisfactorily made one.
"Come on, lads! Just a few radio sets to finish and we can share our drinks!"
"""Yosh!!!"""
"Don't drink too much, alright? We still need you here tomorrow to pack those up."
Another factory, this one making radio sets for the military, had workers who are keeping a quick phase with producing the radios with a promise from their supervisor that they can drown in alcohol later on.
All in all, there are great cheers around the Southern Triad and its surrounding allies as the news of their great victory spread out.
However, this mood of cheers and happiness isn't shared that much by those who are actually on the battlefield.
{"Hello? Are you there, kids?"}
"Ah! It's Papa!"
"Papa! I heard that we finally won! Congratulations!"
{"Oh. Ahaha! Yes, yes. We won the war, kids. Papa and his comrades have finished the battles. Did you hear about this from the radio reporter?"}
"Mm! They said that you have reached the Shogun's province and are defending it now!"
"They even said that you might get back before Christmas! Is that true, Papa? Are you coming home before Christmas?!"
There was a pause and some static on the radio call after the little girl asked if their father could get back before the said holiday.
"Papa…?"
{"I'm sorry, you two… Papa and his comrades might not be able to go home until next year."}
"E-Eh?!"
"Wait, what do you mean, Papa?! Why aren't you coming back if the war has already ended?!"
{"…"}
"Hey, Papa! Answer us!"
"Yumeko, Chouji…"
"Mama?"
"…Can you hand me the phone and go out for a moment?"
To the two children's surprise, their mother interjected between their conversation and asked for the radiophone along with their compliance to leave the house for a while.
{"Son, please give the radiophone to your mother for now… and also, I want you to take Yumeko outside for a while… I will talk to you two later once I have told your mother what I want to say to her."}
"O-okay…"
After doing as he was instructed, he took his little sister and closed the room's door behind him to let the two talk in private.
"So… what Rie-chan and the other soldiers' wives said are true, huh?"
{"Yes… I'm sorry for not speaking about this before. I knew that you would be saddened with this, that's why I didn't want to inform you about this unlike the others."}
"No, no… I understand. I understand that this is your duty to fulfill. I have nothing but longing for you in my heart. I don't resent Iwasawa-sama and the other leaders about this."
{"Thank you for being understanding, Darling… I'm glad that my wife is a considerate person."}
"Please, you're just making me miss you more… In any case, what can you tell me about this "extended deployment" that you and the others have?"
{"Much of it is still under wraps… but the gist of it is that both Iwasawa-sama and Shogun Amanogawa is planning to send soldiers into the north as guerilla fighters. It seems like a preparation for the continuation of the war after the winter season."}
"I see… So, the victory declaration is just…"
{"Right… It's just for the war with the Central Plains. The real war ends when we have pushed into the northern lands and even to the original homeland of the Shogun."}
Hearing how dangerous and how long this added task would be, the wife of the soldier on the phone can hardly keep her tears at bay. And even with nothing but her voice and soft sobs on the phone, the soldier on the other side of the line can hardly keep his composure as well.
"If so… I want you to promise me."
{"What is it, my love?"}
"Promise me and our children that you will come back. You will be back after all of this, and we will be a complete family again."
Hearing those words filled the soldier's heart with a bit of sorrow but a lot of determination.
{"I will… I promise that I will come back safely… That's why I also want you and the kids to always pray for mine and my fellow's safety. Please, darling… We all need as much encouragement and prayers with where we will be deployed."}
"I will… I will always pray for your victory and safe return."
Of the several tens of divisions of soldiers sent out in the war against the Central Plain provinces, a few of them won't be able to fulfill their plans to celebrate Christmas together with their families.
About 3 divisions, all composed of a hundred thousand men, volunteered to stay back in Yamato province to take part in an operation where the Alliance army and the Shogunate army collaborated in the infiltration and guerilla warfare operations of the eleven provinces north of Yamato province.
"…Go on. I won't judge you."
"Kuh!"
"…"
At an Allied military camp on the outskirts of Nadeshiko city, the soldier who was talking to his family earlier was told by his superior officer that he can let his tears out without facing any reprimand.
"Even Major Kanbei can cry, huh?"
"What would you expect? Both his kids will be entering their school next year, so he wanted to be there when they get enrolled. But with the war breaking out and him holding a specialized battalion under him… this is an inevitable thing."
"Why did he volunteer if he wanted to get back to Kiko?"
"Because of his sense of duty."
"Huh?"
"You're new here so I won't question your innocence about it, but Major Kanbei lost a few men in the bombings several months ago. He's here even if he misses his family exactly because this is how he wishes to stand by on his duty as a soldier of his nation."
"I see… It seems like I still have a lot to learn."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
[May all of you be reborn in a life which belongs to no one but yourself.]
This one sentence was enough to overturn yet again all of the notions that I had about this world where I was reborn.
"Damn it… To think that we are all the same at the end of the day… This makes my former ideas that I am somehow special in this new life and world painfully stupid."
Normally, I would immediately start questioning the legitimacy of a message like that… and yet, the fact that only I and the person who wrote those words in stone can understand it, and that I have been noticing a lot of irregularities in the way this world operates.
And the visions that I have seen many times… I knew that there is something about this world that isn't normal… and somehow connects it to my past world.
"I heard from Chiasa-san about everything… Even she was shocked beyond disbelief. After all, who could've guessed that all of the inhabitants of this world are reincarnated survivors of our past world's destruction?"
"You are…"
"Kawasaki Endou. Subordinate and close friend of Shogun Amanogawa Sora."
"…Will you not include what made your name infamous in our past world?"
"Oh-ho? It's been a long while since someone asked that from me."
"…"
Kawasaki Endou… to many who lived after the mid-2040's, that name is synonymous with a terrible human being whose globally-reaching atrocities borders that of a monstrous natural calamity.
"Tell me… Did the world turn out to become more fearful of those things after what I have done?"
"They did… especially for those who cannot afford to be cloned to save themselves from the terrible illness that you made."
"I see… That gladdens me."
Those who lived years after the spread of his MB-2 virus would simply call him a monster who created an illness out of his sadistic desire to kill people. Much of this was due to the media who saw it as a business opportunity to not dig up anything more about the perpetrator and his reasons for doing such a horrible thing.
"Heh… 'Gladdens me'? You seriously consider the death of innumerable number of people as something that makes you smile?"
"Why not? Did no one smile when I and my family hopelessly faced the oppression of that filthy world and its equally evil inhabitants?"
"…"
"So, tell me lad… Why shouldn't I have the right to torment those horrible people the same way the world tormented me and my family to no end?"
It was only a decade after the countless deaths and infections, that independent news writers and close confidantes of Endou stepped out from their silence to come and defend his name and at least salvage what can good can be pinned on his legacy.
On online interviews and internet message boards, they all spoke about Endou's early life as a boy who deeply looked up to his policeman father who was later sent on a suicide task by his superiors in order to eliminate the only clean lamb in their ranks of filthy swine.
Some of these corrupt officers would later see an opportunity to coerce his family to cough up money through loans that do not actually exist. And finally laying their eyes on his widow and daughter, even planned to force themselves on them, only to be shot dead one by one by Endou who got hold of his father's gun which he entrusted to his in order to save them after his passing.
From there, much of the information came from a single source. Someone who posted on the internet under the pseudonym of "Odysseus". He said that he was a senior of Endou at high school and someone who saw firsthand how all of those experiences forced the formerly understanding and thoughtful Endou into a brutal murderer who trusts and cares for no one other than his family and closest of friends.
His path to revenge was a long and bloody one. One that this anonymous person hiding behind said pseudonym spoke about in three parts.
First, it was those police officers that were partly responsible for his father's death after none of them answered his call for back-up nor did they inform that someone is still stuck on the police station being besieged by rebels. He gathered all of them under the fake command of the superintendent that he just killed into a room in the police station's armory before pumping into the room's ventilation duct a canister of nerve gas that he found in the evidence room.
Second, there was the city's mayor and vice-mayor. Responsible for letting the police force to become a cesspool of corruption that led to his family's destruction. He baited both government officials to go to an abandoned building with the threat that he will leak the records of their fraudulent actions if they won't give him money. Both of them would later come to the place with plan of circling the area with their hired gunmen who will shoot him as soon as they exchanged the proof of their wrongdoings. Little did they know that to him, the money was nothing but a way to fool them about his intentions, for instead of the young man holding the briefcase of the said documents, what greeted them in the building was a bomb that turned them into bloody bits and splatters.
Last on his list was literally the entire world… for after losing his mother and sister to a disease that could've been curable if only they can enter a hospital without being arrested or immediately killed, he would use that same disease and a cocktail of many other horrible illnesses sourced from someone he knew who had access to vials of them to create the plague that would almost end the human race.
"You know what? Let's cease with this kind of conversation… although this world might be connected with our past world, and Rai's final reminders on those stone pillars states that all of the people here are reborn survivors of our past world, that is all already behind us."
"…"
"Right now, you are a subordinate of the Shogun, and I am the leader of my land and alliance. What we were back then shouldn't matter anymore… as long as you won't carry on with those kinds of things here, that should be a good compromise."
"Well, if that is how you would look at it, I am glad to comply. After all, this world is still a clean slate. I doubt that there would be a need for me to redo what I did in the past world."
"…I see."
If I told someone from the relatively peaceful Japan that I grew up with that I was able to speak cordially with a person who was responsible for the deaths of innumerable number of people, I would most likely either be labelled as delusional or asked how I somehow survived through it.
"Anyways, was the fact already been told to the Shogun?"
"It is. Chiasa-san was the one who told him about it and he sighed afterwards as if something heavy was removed from his shoulders."
"It mattered that much to him?"
"It did… That should tell you a little bit about his true outlook on other people. He's not really the ruthless person that you thought of him as initially. That guy wants to save those that he can save and the fact that those who got through all of the horrible things that happened to our past world before it was destroyed must've loosened a deep-seated feeling of guilt from his heart and mind."
"I see…"
"For me though, it was something that was unsurprisingly not that important."
"What?"
"Whether the people of this new world are reborn people from our ruined old world, or it is not, that doesn't matter to me… All that I want is for those people to live a life and create a world different from the one we grew up with and suffered through."
"…So what you want is for there to not be someone like you in the future?"
"Right… It was only after I lost my mother and sister that I was removed from the brutal grip of the hatred in my heart. As the disease spread, I was arrested and I stayed behind bars to await my execution, all that I was thinking about are things like "what if my father didn't die back then?" or "what if I stopped when those who were directly connected to that plot has died?", yet in the end, I realized that what I should be really thinking about and wished for is "what if someone like me wasn't brought into being by this world's cruelty?"… It was honestly the root cause of all of this."
"I quite agree… I read about your life from a myriad of people. They said that you could've lived a normal life if you weren't pushed to a brutal end by the life you were given. Although I will still not look at you as someone who did those things justifiably, I would at least say that you did them with a reason that is just as equally horrible."
We conversed for a bit more as fellow Otherworlders, the topics of our talk going further and further from the dark and dreary past and into our thoughts about the future of this world that we want to steer away from a scenario similar to our past world.
"Oh! Look at the time… I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly like this, but I have to go and meet up with my retainers. I'm glad to have talked with you, Endou-san."
"Likewise, Iwasawa-san. It's rare for me to talk with someone who doesn't easily become uneasy with my infamy."
"Hehe… You can't really blame them anyway."
By noon, I excused myself and left the terrace of the palace as I remembered a meeting with my subordinates in our army's camp at the outskirts of the city.
"Iwasawa-sama!"
"Welcome back to the camp, sir!"
As soon as I entered the makeshift office building, I was greeted by enlisted and officer-rank soldiers who gave me perfect text-book salutes, feeling grateful of the gesture, I gave it back although it wasn't needed from me at all.
"My lord… It's rare for you to personally come down here without General Shimura's request for a receiving convoy."
"Don't make it sound like I am a bum of a leader, Ayato. I might be best during wartime as nothing more but a diplomatic speaker or a strategist, but that doesn't mean that I cannot drop by regularly to see how all of you are doing."
"My, my… I mean no disrespect, my lord. I wish that you accept my sincere apologies."
Ayasaki Ayato, one of the former Haguro samurai that I recruited back at my travels, must've been informed of my sudden arrival and met me by the HQ building's hallway to guide me to the room that I wanted to visit today.
"General Shimura… Iwasawa-sama is here."
"Mm. Please let him in and secure the door behind you."
After stating our identities and receiving a proper reply, Ayato opened the door of Nobisuke's province to let me in first before following me and locking the door shut behind him.
"We were all surprised after hearing that you came here unannounced. If you called ahead, I would have sent an escorted convoy to guard you from the Shogun's palace to here."
"Please, Nobisuke. Yamato province is safe. I don't want to attract unnecessary attention right here."
"I see. If that is what you wish, then."
I approached the strategy table to see how our preparations are going and noticed something odd at the map.
"Eleven provinces and eleven new coalition leaders… that guy really is a headache to match… General Shimura, is this info aready guaranteed by the Crows."
"It is, Ayato-kun. No need to worry about its legitimacy."
"About that, Nobisuke… I have a question about this."
"Oh… Actually, I was thinking about discussing that with you and the others, sir."
"…"
What I meant with what is odd on the map is something that we presently have no knowledge if caused by our side or is coming from the enemy. However, Nobisuke is suspecting that it is the former among the two sides.
"Brigadier General of the Allied Forces, Himeji Kotori… is suspected to be performing actions that are against our Conventions of War. With my power as the Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces, I wish to open an investigation into her actions during the past few months."
Kotori… might be doing some things behind our backs.
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