Gunshots.

invitation

It was the morning of May 20th. This is how things have been going since then. He had already written two letters, but he felt that the letter which he wrote this time seemed more natural than the previous ones.

"Can we really make it?" Ryo asked himself. "My reputation isn't so bad after all..."

The news of the war had spread across the world. It was said that the war had begun in Europe, and so many countries had joined the war right away with a huge number of soldiers, and this time is the perfect time to make connections with other countries.

After hearing about the war, Ryo hadn't wanted to go back home yet as he didn't want his friends or relatives to know about how the outside world is doing. But, if he wanted to be an emperor someday, he couldn't just stay here forever.

He wanted to be in a higher position so that he could control everything, including politics, economy, and military. If he stayed at the capital, he might lose sight of reality. Of course, there were some things that only the emperor can do such as giving out orders to subordinates, but most of the things are done by the ministers and generals. He also has a goal, a pure one out of vengeance. That is why he wanted to get involved with politics and military affairs from now on.

Right now, the empire is far behind the others. There are several nations that have surpassed them technologically, economically, and even militarily. Ryo just needs the time to think straight, but at the moment.. he's all blank.

But, what is he supposed to do? He needed to find a way to gain an advantage over the enemy. After thinking of all sorts of ways, he came up with a plan. Europe, Europe is the key. To be more specific, it's Britain.

The British Empire is known around the world for its powerful navy. Their naval power and their ability to get people together and cooperate has made them a big nation. They are the strongest nation in terms of both technology and manpower. But to be more close to the British Empire, he first needs to make alliance with France. Speaking of France, he ever got invited to a specific meeting if he's correct. He took the old invitation and take a glance at it for a bit.

The letter that Ryo wrote this time was not addressed to the French government, but rather to the general of French army that Ryo knew. So far, Ryo has been sending letters to the French embassy, but this time he decided to send a personal letter to the guy who was actually in charge of the army.

"What should I write? Ahh, I don't know what to say... I guess I'll just put down everything that crossed my mind. Hmm, maybe I should start with my name. What should I call myself? Should I use 'Yoru-sama' like I always did until now? No, I won't let him misunderstand me again."

These days, he frequently called Yoru-sama at the end of his letters. He preferred it when people call him by his codename, but he didn't want to cause any misunderstanding. He thought that the best strategy would be to call him by his real name. The Japanese language is different from the European languages, so Ryo prepared some English vocabulary words in advance. He looked up a list of common English words, and copied the phonetic pronunciation into his dictionary. He then practiced writing the proper spelling of each word in his notebook, and decided to use those words. Ryo is indeed very neat, he may look intimidating and act like it, but he's quite the gentle one.

When he finished writing the letter, he folded it neatly and placed it inside a large envelope. He then wrote the address on the envelope and sealed it tightly before placing it in a mailbox. The next day, he went to the post office to check whether the letter was delivered, and sure enough, it was.

_____________________________________________

Dear France governmental individuals.

I, Ryo Kitinari. The General of Japanese imperial military, has accepted invitation to visit the southern French city discussing the special assignment for a specific problem of diplomacy, and also making a step on our relationship through politics. I hope these words would please you and your people. I will visit on xx/xx/xx.