Nihonkoku Shoukan: Beyond

Chapter 59: Heaven's Arrows

Palace of Hersting, Otaheit, United Kingdom of Mu, 28th March 1640 CCY

"Hmm? An invitation to Japan you say?" – Duncan IV

"That would be correct, Your Majesty." – Captain Klara

"And may I ask why Japan wanted to invite our second prince, Captain?" – Alan

King Duncan IV of Mu and Prime Minister Alan ask the lone Cosmos Navy captain sitting in the guest room with an incredulous expression. For Duncan, his eldest daughter is already in Japan, and for Alan, Mu has successfully captured the Pagandan terrorists as well as handed them over to Japan. So they are a bit surprised to hear about Albert's invitation. What reason could Japan have to invite their second prince?

"Your Majesty and Sir Alan, the reason we invited His Highness Albert was... well... for the lack of a better word; the joyride. We weren't allowed to have any foreigners, much less a prince of another kingdom in the cockpit of my spacecraft. So..." – Klara

"So... as the cat has gotten out of the bag, the Japanese government decided to invite my son Albert... but for what, captain?" – Duncan

"It was for this, Your Majesty." – Klara

Klara takes out a tablet and hands it over to Alan. The prime minister of Mu read over the document that is on it with an increasingly surprised expression, in turn, making the king more curious about it. After Duncan has the chance to read it over, the room now falls into complete silence.

"So... Japan... want us..." – Alan

"And my son..." – Duncan

"Is it not to your liking, Your Majesty and Sir Alan? I could ask my superiors for..." – Klara

"No! Of course not! It's the best news yet today! Please, captain, I'll notify my son to get ready as soon as possible!" – Duncan

"I will also inform the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Royal Science Academy. This is... this is a God sent to us. Thank you, you have my gratitude, Captain Aberbach." – Alan

"Well then... I shall return to my ship. We'll leave at 0600 tomorrow. Thank you for granting me this audience." – Klara

Yokosuka Naval Yard, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, 1st April 1640 CCY

The Yokosuka Naval Yard is usually a place beaming with activities, from repairing, refitting, or building brand new ships for the Cosmos Navy and Cosmos Marine. However, on this day, the Naval Yard is seeing a rare respite. All work at the naval yard today is temporarily halted. At long last, every man and woman of the naval yard can finally look on with pride at their hard work, together with many guests and dignitaries from different countries.

Fighter jets from the Allied Air Forces and the JCN doing aerobatic maneuvers together while the warships of the JCN silently hold the guard in the sky above and the Alliance Navies hold a vigil on the surface. The people are happily looking around, except for the Earth's service members. The last time they used this slipway was for launching the Andromeda-class, right before the Gatlantis War. In the auditorium, people are taking their seats. Most of them are officials from many nations as well as civilians from both Japan and Elysia.

On the launching platform that was used to launch the four battleships of the Andromeda-class is a new group of warships for the Japan Cosmo Navy. Now, they are holding the Enterprise-class fleet carriers, which is the next shift in strategic naval priorities for the Cosmo Navy. Even though they are surrounded by other major combatants of the navy, the new ships are clearly the center of attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the news of Prince Albert's voyage with one of our pilots may still be fresh in your mind." – Todo

The people sitting in the auditorium began to murmur and discuss among themselves, as the news about the impromptu and short space exploration trip made by a JCN captain and a Muan prince spread, bringing a massive shockwave throughout Elysia. After all, they saw the images taken by Prince Albert of Mu, who was currently standing on the stage next to Captain Klara Aberbach on the stage. The Holy Milishial Empire in particular, not only has ordered its magical institution to prioritize the development of space travel but also for its foreign affairs to scramble and reexamine what they have known about Japan. Because it was obvious that Japan was hiding more things than they expected.