Summoning Our Country - NHS Kai

Chapter 4: Welcome to Asherah

Note: This is rose. This chapter has some NSFW content, as well as some sensitive parts. Tread through this chapter knowing that you have been warned.

As of April 22, 2022, this chapter has been rewritten

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Central Calendar 21/04/1639, Myhark, Principality of Qua-Toyne, 10:00

"Your tea, Your Majesty."

Placing a white porcelain cup of steaming hot tea on top of the elegant brown surface of the table, the servant maintained his professional, unemotional face in front of his sovereign. Sitting dignified on the only chair present along the table was Llanfair Gwergin, princess of the Principality of Qua-Toyne. She looks up to him with her usual domineering glare, with her words and tone being a bit more reserved.

"Thank you."

After a single prompt bow, the servant made himself scarce, leaving Llanfair alone in the room with her thoughts and her tea. Looking down at it, she meticulously observed the stalks standing upright as they floated on the surface of the still steaming, translucent liquid. There were no ripples, no waves, no disturbances; it was as if time had stopped.

But time still marched on, so she went along with it.

Picking up the teacup with her slender fingers, curling neatly into the intricacies of the handle, she maneuvered its lips to her own. The hot tea hardly bothered her as it found its way down her tongue and onto her throat. Satisfied, she returned the cup back.

"Mmm."

The leaves that made the tea could still be felt from the smell emanating from it, reinforcing the natural, somewhat earthy taste that engulfed her taste buds. It provided a soothing emotion to her otherwise stressed mind, a window through which she could feel the calming allure of the forest, her race's natural dwelling. Indeed, she wanted to feel the liberating sensation of being in one, free from duties, paperwork, managerial stresses, and so on. However, this tea was what she had to settle for, because today, she is in the city of Myhark, the largest Qua-Toynian settlement on the northern coast.

Specifically, she was in her ducal villa, situated on top of one of the hills that could be found south of the city. From where she sat, she could see the ocean through a window directly opposite her, the glittering waves under the mild spring sun looking like the twinkling pearls that they undoubtedly contain.

"To think that there lies a new nation beyond..."

Her thoughts subconsciously manifested through her speech, but she paid no heed for she was alone.

Thus, the source of her increased anxieties as of late. Far more pressing than even the Lourian warmongers to the west, their recent discovery of a yet-to-be-contacted nation in the seas just north of their chunk of Rodenius threw her government into confusion. Not only was it unbelievable that they'd never been contacted before, despite being right next door, but their quest for answers was plagued by them not being able to speak nor understand the common tongue. However, for some strange reason, the Fennese were able to communicate with them, having already established trade relations as of yesterday. Through the Fennese ambassador to Qua-Toyne, they were able to learn of this new country's name.

"Japan..."

A name so short, it simply rolls off the tongue. They didn't even identify by what kind of country they were. A kingdom? A confederation? Perhaps an empire? According to the Fennese translators, they did have a type of country, but even they had trouble trying to make sense of it. In their best attempt to word it, they were a "country dictated by the will of the people."