Capítulo 175: A New Tomorrow
After the battle between Babel and the three foremost Otherworlders, the world experienced a change that sent waves all across its countless countries and people.
From all across the landmass of earth, some people began to become dizzy and spoke about memories that they can't remember living through. While most simply dismissed it as eating something unwell or numerous head injuries catching up to them, those in the small island nation in the east knew what it was about… and among them, three people did not receive memories of their past life but was rendered into a comatose state altogether.
"It's good that we were there and we somehow managed to destroy all of those tendrils as they were killing the monster."
"You're right, Kyouko-sama… we managed to save them because of that."
"Well… "save them" isn't the best word to describe it, you two."
"…Right. Looking at them like that, I can't really call it as something deserving of praise."
Behind a thick glass pane, Kyouko, Mitsuhide and Kotori all looked at the three Otherworlder heroes that lay unconscious on their beds, surrounded by medical equipment and flanked by their loved ones.
"Lady Chiasa hasn't left the Shogun's side since she arrived. We even had to force her to eat something unless she collapse too."
"…Looking at her now…"
"Kotori-san?"
"I find it hard to believe that she is someone that caused so much pain and death in my homeland."
"Well… as they say, everyone has the face of both an angel and a demon."
"…"
Beside Maya, she was being attended to by two people who exhibit unnatural appearances. For one, an eight-foot-tall woman was moving her limbs around to avoid having them atrophied while a young woman with five fox tails behind her was diligently wiping down her body to clean it up.
"She's a tough one. I never thought that Shrine Priestesses can keep up with monsters as strong as that."
"Too bad, we didn't see her in action, huh?"
As Kotori and Mitsuhide spoke about not being able to see the battle, Kyoko's eyes went to the last person being embraced lightly by his lover.
"…In the end, it was still you who saved everyone and yet, you disappointed me a bit. Haah… come on, you two. If we go now, we can still hear the summary of the meeting."
"Yes, Kusanagi-sama!"
"I'll call for a car. Let's meet at the lobby."
In the new National Administrative Hall in the city of Naka, Kiko province, the first national assembly was being held to finally decide if it is the right time to declare the end of the current civil war era.
After the death of Babel and its vessel, Miyazono Keiji, that was covered up by battlefield reports as an eventual consequence of the nuclear bombing of his bunker complex, things began to pick up pace after the last remaining pockets of resistance fell and the last province in the northernmost tip of the country, Niijima province, was brought back to the folds of the empire.
In every essence of the word, Japan is now united, and all battles have ceased. However, what came up next was a big question that is yet to receive a proper answer.
"Of the 134 provinces and territories in this country led by a Daimyo, some of it has been deprived of its landlords and now, we are left with only 72 provinces that still have leaders."
"Those 72 provinces have all agreed to come under the uniting force of the Amanogawa Shogunate and the Imperial Family, signaling the long overdue unification of this country."
"And yet, we are now left with a question awaiting a rightful and fitting answer…"
Who will lead Japan and how shall it be governed that such a destructive war would never happen again in its borders?
"If I may speak, ladies and gentlemen?"
"You may, Lord Yayoi. Please stand and give out your statement as briefly as possible."
"Thank you… My fellow leaders, we are now past the time of war and strife and are now entering a time of peace and prosperity. Although it should be obvious that no other era can be called as worse than what we have experienced, it must be made clear that right now, we are walking down a dimly lit path illuminated only by a lantern of our meager experiences in living a peaceful life."
The old man's words gained the approving nods of those around him… and yet, what left his mouth afterwards made some to think that his proposed idea may not be good enough or even be just as bad as the system that gave birth to the long civil war from before.
"Thus, I propose that everyone in this room be allowed to independently rule their lands, demand taxes and raise armies as they wish and only be made to answer to the Shogunate."
"That's…"
"It never changes anything…"
After the speaker sat down, those whispers spread in the room that was promptly hushed by the arrival of a young woman who took over the highest seat in the assembly room.
"Martial Leader Kusanagi, you have arrived a tad too late."
"I have no excuses to give, General Shimura. I beg your pardon for this, but I will be taking over the national assembly at this moment."
"By all means. I'll be handing the position to you."
Once Kyoko sat on the chair and Nobisuke stood behind her alongside Mitsuhide, the atmosphere of the meeting hall changed dramatically.
"With her here…"
"Right… it wouldn't be so easy."
Although peace has already been achieved outwardly, it doesn't take a gifted mind to know that the political sphere of this new age is a powder keg awaiting one purposeful or accidental spark to blow it all up.
All of the people seated in the auditorium knew that with the arrival of a superpower quasi-state such as the Southern Quartet Alliance, their futures are in a shoddy standing and soon, they will either be ousted from those leading roles or worse, they will be seen as the last scapegoats to be blamed for everything that happened during the long civil war and thus, must be put down for justice's sake.
However, the greatest threat politically isn't the existence of the Alliance alone but also the fact that it is on the side of another superpower named the Amanogawa Shogunate. With these two sides of equal power totally joined on the hip by their shared victory from the past war as well as the connection of the leaders who share the same desire to unify the country, there was no aces in the opportunistic nobles' hands, and they knew that their end would draw closer than they initially expected.
At such a time where they can push to at least preserve their positions of power though, the worst possible presiding chairperson entered the fray, settling this loophole that they aimed to exploit.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I can already sense it with the hushed whispers and the telling facial expressions that you are giving to each other… My presence here has squashed your chances to preserve any kind of power over your lands as well as your authority passed down from the ancients, yes?"
"L-Lady Kusanagi, please refrain from-"
"Silence. Courtesy and sweetening my words aren't my focus right now. Instead, I would highly prefer for us to be frank about what will happen from this point onwards. Politically, economically and most important of all, militarily."
After saying those words, she raised her hand and from the three doors leading to the hallways outside the grand meeting chamber, ten soldiers dressed in all kinds of armor and uniforms and wielding every kind of weapon from the barebones Ashigaru-sen spear to the most recent infantry soldier assault rifle entered the room.
"Right in front of us is a brief historical exhibit of every soldier's belongings in our country's long history. From the ancient leather armor and spears of the age before the empire was even founded to the battle uniform and high-powered firearms that won our war against the coalition… anyone notice where I am heading to in here?"
The daimyos were silent because of the intimidating aura that Kyoko exuded but soon, a female daimyo raised her hand and spoke out.
"Are you talking about the military power that we are now wielding?"
"Correct, madame. That is exactly what I am talking about and what I and Chancellor Iwasawa conversed before he headed to the frontlines."
After that, Kyoko snapped her fingers and the lights of the meeting chamber turned off to allow a backlit film projector to show a slide containing all kinds of information about the current economic state of Japan.
"As you can see here, our economy has also started to grow explosively ever since total war was declared on the Northern Coalition. Although we expect it to slowly go down, it would only take a while for the industries that went into military production to switch towards civilian production and cause another explosive growth in the economy."
The soldiers who stood as an exhibit walked out of the meeting room to give way for the use of a wider projector screen. With that, Kyoko stood up from her seat and scanned the faces of every daimyo in the room.
"That leaves us with one last point of contention… and that is our political system. To follow up on Lord Yayoi's suggestion, I believe that it is better to forget the "total feudalistic system" of the old ages in favor of a better and more secure system of governance."
"With all due respect, Martial Leader Kusanagi. Doing so will not only bring shame upon our late elders but all of what they stood for as well."
"Then with all due respect as well Lord Yayoi, I do not give a crap about any of that."
"Y-You brat-!"
"Lord Yayoi."
"EEEP-!"
"Please stay seated, you may pull a muscle by standing up so abruptly."
Before the old man can even stand up in protest of her words, a soldier pushed him back down to his seat and gave a mild warning to him covered up as a concern for his health.
"As I have said, although it also pains me to say it, the ways of the old can no longer be depended on in our new and rapidly advancing world… While we can preserve some tenets and methods of the old feudal system into our new governmental system and policy, ultimately, what we need is a government that are able to fulfill these three qualifications."
The projector showed the map of Japan and its 72 remaining provinces.
"Firstly, we need a government that preserves the Shogunate and the Imperial family's respective positions. Under the agreement reached by Shogun Amanogawa and the Emperor, the imperial family agreed to be a symbolic leader instead of an active leader in the country. However, now that our country is unified and there are no outside forces trying to invade, Shogun Amanogawa's opinion to have the Shogunate take a step back from being the leading force in running the country suggests that we have to form a civilian government, giving way only to the Shogunate during times of emergency."
"Lady Kusanagi, if I may."
"Yes, madame?"
"Are you saying that the Shogunate will back up the civilian government with their military power to give it the authority and legitimacy that it needs?"
"Correct. But it will be entirely dependent on whether the civilian government that would form will be stable or not… which brings me to the next point."
The projector screen flicked into the next slide and there, it showed a simple hierarchical pyramid of the current population of Japan. From bottom to the top, it showed laborers, artisans and food producers below the specialized trade experts, soldiers and public sector workers who are below the business owners and government officials who are then below the feudal lords who are themselves below the Shogun and the Emperor.
"While you may mistake this as a class caste system, this is nothing more than a representation of our population taken from the latest census held by Kiko's public welfare agency. As you can see, advancements in agriculture, food preservation techniques and tools have massively lessened death from starvation and food poisoning. There is also the widespread availability of medical services and products through both public and private hospitals that lessened deaths from illnesses and injuries as well as lowering the deaths from childbirth."
"So, we are in a population boom?"
"Right. Even while the war raged, reports suggest that there are more children being born than people dying in our country. While we can say that this is due to the fact that new military tactics and weapons have made our soldiers keep their lives safer during battles, the point remains that presently and long into the far future, our population will more or less grow slowly and it's expected that in five decades or so, we would have 125 million citizens. Which is the second point, we have to form a government that can lead that large amount of population and utilize them properly for our various industries as well as provide for their needs."
That point made some of the daimyos to shudder in nervousness.
Back then, it was easy to control the peasants under them because they are almost wholly dependent on the decisions that their landlords made, whether it be taxation, conscription or personal demands, and by their so-called "ancient and heaven-appointed authority", they are the people to be rightfully followed.
However, the technology, science and ideals brought by Kiko almost instantly resolved all of the plight of the peasants and now, it would be an understatement to say that they can only lead now by their inherited names and titles. The projected population growth didn't help either as this only shows that in the near future, their grip on the populace would slowly slip and in the end, they may lose it altogether.
This is the reason why they are so keen on preserving the feudal system of governance.
"Lastly, and most importantly of all is this one…"
The projector flicked to the last slide and it showed the kanji characters of "Tsugi wa do suru?" or "what to do next?"
"We need a government that can set the new goal for this new age that is hopefully, filled with peace and prosperity."
"…"
"It would be an understatement to say that we are a rich and powerful nation that now has to find a new path to take and a new goal to reach. When the alliance was formed, our main goal was to simply protect our borders and people. When we met the Shogun, we agreed to help him against his fight with the Northern Coalition and now that all of that has been resolved, this country and its people are united and there are no problems requiring the effort of the entire country to resolve, we need to set a new goal to pursue which the new government would focus on doing."
It took a while for the other daimyos to digest those words but soon enough, some of them whispered to each other and had ideas that instantly caught Kyoko's attention and soon, her annoyance and anger.
"Don't you dare think that we will go back to waging war but this time, outside our country. Ending wars and the death and destruction that they bring with them is exactly why the alliance was formed."
"But Lady Kusanagi, this is the only viable goal to be pursued now that Japan is united. We have in our hands the strongest and technologically superior military force in the world, who can stop us from enacting our righteous-"
*Shwick-!*
"AYIEEEE!!!"
From her seat, a young woman dressed in a formal kimono drew the sword of the soldier beside her and hopped across several seats to put the blade a hairbreadth away from the speaking man's neck.
"You know nothing about war and yet, you dare speak about declaring it?!"
"Interim Daimyo Daigo Shizuka! I order you to stand down and surrender that sword to the soldier."
"Kh-!"
Slowly, she inched it away from the man who is now shaking in fear and returned to her seat but refraining from breaking her bloodshot gaze towards him.
"As you can already see, this war has taken its toll with some people present here. Though it is clear who among us that are present here came face to face with such suffering, I don't want to antagonize anyone who doesn't fall into that category, so please, refrain from saying things that would bring back such terrible memories for those who do as well."
"…"
"In any case, although I already presented the two main points that the new government that would be formed has to fulfill, there is a third one that I personally added as a safeguard for years to come."
The projector flicked again and showed a child's drawing of a family.
"The government that we would make doesn't just have to find a way to balance out our newfound military power and economic capability, as well as finding a way to preserve the old ways in our new and advancing world, but also be clear on what and who it is meant to serve."
"…What exactly do you mean, Lady Kusanagi."
"It's simple. I wish to make it clear that in whatever form it would take, in its entirety, this government would press onto a future where its citizens are cared for and able to live a life of contentment, a country of peace and quiet and most of all, one that would endure for as long as its people and ideals persists."
Kyoko stood up from her seat and with a mellow tone, gave a speech that would go down in history.
"In the uncertain future, we cannot leave each other in the dark lest one fall and many others follow suit. As a nation and as its people, we are so different as individuals and yet, we are united by our shared suffering from the countless wars that happened around us. Ladies and gentlemen, we do not need to repeat the same mistakes that led to all of this war and bloodshed. There is no more enemy to fight and no more things to make right. Therefore, I believe that if there is anything that would further divide us and break every effort, will and sacrifice that brought us this victory, it is an enemy far stronger and dangerous than any monster… and that would be us and our selfishness."
By the evening, the meeting was adjourned, and one last hearing would be held before a decision can officially be made.
"…Lady Kusanagi, if I may."
"Speak, Mitsuhide."
"Of the 72 daimyos, the cosigners of the draft agreement grew from 14 to 38."
After the meeting, Mitsuhide met with Kyoko at a private meeting room and there, she told her master about the change in the number of leaders who agreed with their proposed form of government.
"This is good. With this many signatories, we can achieve a majority vote and press on with the formation of a committee. With this, we can officially declare the end of the civil war and the start of a new era for this country."
"There is one thing that bothers me a bit though, Kusanagi-sama."
"And that is?"
"Although she already signed in place of her husband, Lady Chiasa has been asking for meetings with us for the past few days."
"For what purpose?"
"She says that it's about the truth that you and the other leaders discovered underneath the Shogunate palace. She wishes to discuss with you if it is worth it to publicize it."
The subject of the requested meeting made Kyoko shudder. In her heart, she knows that she cannot afford to keep the secret limited to the knowledge of a few and the people deserve to know who they used to be as denizens of the past world.
But on the other hand, she also has to make such a decision with the insight of a leader. She knows that she cannot afford to cause mass panic and possibly, distrust from the public for speaking out such ridiculous things.
"Mitsuhide, you said that you're heading to the north to help the disassembly process of our temporary base there at Friday, yes?"
"Yes, Kyoko-sama. Forward base Camp Shirou is being disbanded, so I was tasked to lead it and handle the return of the land to its respective daimyo. Why do you ask, Kou-sama?"
"I want someone to come with me in the meeting. Since you're going to be unavailable, I guess I should take Mitsuha or Gojo."
"I regret to inform you, Kyoko-sama. But both dear elder sister and Ishigawa-dono are also unavailable at that day. Mitsuha-onee-sama will be handling the awarding and thanksgiving ceremony for Yukonami's returning soldiers while Ishigawa-dono has already sent his advanced notice that he'd be visiting his family's mausoleum."
"…I see, I guess I have to attend that meeting alone."
All of a sudden, the door of the private room opened and from there, a mellow yet resolute female voice spoke towards Kyoko.
"You don't need to attend it alone, Kyoko-sama."
"Y-You are-"
"Haah… at least knock before you come in, Shizuka."
It was no one else than Daigo Shizuka, the new interim lord of Kise province and who is unofficially, in the lowest ring of the nation's noble pecking order. The reason for which is no other than the fact that under her late elder sister's reign, it betrayed the alliance and caused tens of thousands of deaths in both the battlefield and in civilian population.
Being the lone survivor of the Daigo clan after she was sent by Miyazono Keiji to personally seek the life of Iwasawa Hiroshi, albeit failing, she was allowed to return to her homeland to lead it once again… but her family and people's sins still burns in infamy.
"What do you seek with interjecting yourself into that meeting, Shizuka-chan?"
"I have no ulterior motive if that is what you wish to speak about, Kusanagi-sama… but I will say this, I am aware of what the Shogun's wife wants to talk about and I concur that my presence there would protect the alliance's interests from being infringed."
"…Are you trying to make the argument that you wanted to regain honor and prestige for your dishonored family by joining in its rebuilding efforts?"
"I won't deny that I do have that intention in mind, but I wish to make it clear that it isn't the only reason."
Kyoko looked at the young Shizuka and sensed that there is no longer any trace of the sheltered child who used to spend her affluent personal allowance on shopping sprees in Kiko's malls and shopping districts. Now, she is a rugged leader who may have nothing to her name but wields a tenacious and goal-oriented spirit.
In a way, it reminded her of her days as a young leader before Hiroshi's arrival that changed her entire life as a leader for the better.
"…Mitsuhide, inform the Shogun's wife that I will accept her request for a meeting under the condition that Shizuka and General Nobisuke will be there too."
"But Kyoko-sama, she may argue that involving two other parties would defeat the purpose of the meeting being a private affair instead of an assembly."
"Then tell her that we will talk over an informal tea ceremony. From what I remember, both Shizuka and Nobisuke are trained with tea ceremony etiquette."
"Y-Yes, I am knowledgeable with the practice." Shizuka followed gingerly.
"Then it's settled. Mitsuhide, send her my conditions."
"I shall make haste, Kyoko-sama."
After Mitsuhide left, Shizuka was about to leave the room too until she heard Kyoko speak softly to herself.
"If Akari is here instead of you, I wonder if she'd have made the same decisions as you did right now."
"…Onee-sama… Akari-onee-sama had a choice between turning her back against the fate we were born into or continuing towards it. Although she chose the latter, I wish that you'd find it in your heart to at least understand her situation… even if you will never forgive her."
"I have already condemned her deep inside and out loud. Her decision to betray us have caused many deaths and erased any sympathy that I could ever give her. I will never forget her crimes."
"…"
"But the fact that we grew up like sisters and the countless times that she helped me and gave me her counsel… I will never forget those as well."
After hearing her words wrapped in a somber tone, Shizuka left the room, leaving Kyoko whose eyes let a few tears trace down her face.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
All across the nation, news of the declaration of the end of the war filled the air waves of both radio and television stations.
"Kampai!!!"
"How many cups have we downed already?"
"Who cares? The war is no more!!!"
"You're right! Hahahaha!!!"
In the streets, the people celebrated the victory day with scrumptious food, plenty of drinks and even joyous music and dances from nobles and commoners alike.
The distinction between the two social castes were mellowed by the technological and educational advances offered by the Kiko Public System model. Although it did face some naysayers in the more enclosed lands, in the end, they cannot compete with the level of culture and opportunities offered by adapting.
In the end, the nobles can do nothing but bow down to the new order of things, abandoning their hifalutin behaviors and taking in a more public friendly persona if they wish to remain in their positions of power.
Therefore, the arrival of one of these young noblemen who has served in the Shogunate's intelligence gathering agency earned the surprise of its director who is cleaning up before heading out to the celebrations as well.
"Director Endou."
"Oh, I'm here by the file cabinets. What brings you to my office now of all days? I expected you to be with the other liaison officers and clinking glasses of cold beer to our victory."
"…I'm afraid that we have to postpone the victory party for the entire Shogunate Intelligence."
"And… what do you mean by that?"
The young nobleman sharply handed him a sealed folder with a black label. Seeing that, Endou took the folder and carefully opened it to see what message it contained.
"At 0500 hours today, our routine scout plane squadron sighted several unidentified ship silhouettes south of Okinawa. However, low-lying clouds and thick sea mist hindered a close-up fly-by identification."
"What ship did the local commanding officer send then to shadow these unknown ships?"
"Before a coastal defense ship was to be assigned, it was snapped by the captain of our first submarine, and they sortied out as soon as the order was signed. They shadowed the unknown fleet through radar for half an hour before diving below the seawater once they are in visual range."
"Good decision… what did they see through their periscope?"
What was spoken next convinced Endou that there are no victory parties to be attended for now.
"It's a Dutch invasion armada. Their ships number in the hundreds."
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Ephraim_Chronia
Ephraim_Chronia I'm sorry for leaving you guys hanging for a month. Life's been busy for all three of us and problems has been popping up constantly. In any case, it has been agreed by us to end this novel at Volume 15 with one additional volume to explain the afterstory of the characters and the world.
As consolation, we are glad to announce that Author Rai is currently writing 3 other novels and have already finished the first volumes of 2 of them. We will release them as soon as "I Became a Sengoku Lord" is finished in its entirety.
Cheers!
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