Heart-Less

Chapter 5

Letter one - From Pendragon of Sakoku to President Rebekah of Kaiguo

Dear Madam President,

Greetings from Sakoku. I trust that the newest batch of wizards sent over have integrated into the culture of your lovely country and are performing their jobs of maintaining your network to your satisfaction. Please do not hesitate to contact me should any problems arise. After all, as our only link to the outside world, Kaiguo is a valued partner of Sakoku.

I apologise for the abruptness of this letter, but I would like to extend an invitation to the best and brightest of your country's youth for a bilateral youth meeting at Sakoku. The foreign student sent here, Ada, has made a favourable impression on her peers and teachers alike, and we are eager to welcome more of your excellent students.

Attached is a letter from the Emperor himself, showing approval for the conference.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require further details.

I remain, as always, your humble servant,

Wizard Pendragon.

Letter two - From President Rebekah Kaiguo to Head wizard Pendragon of Sakoku

Dear Headwizard Pendragon,

Thank you very much for your letter. I have conveyed your emotions to the new graduates, and they have been encouraged by it. Or at any rate, they have started working harder.

Your generous offer is much appreciated, and after careful valuation, we believe it could be beneficial to both our countries. We have calculated an increase in my cabinet's approval rating of at least six percentage points on the release of the news. And so, you must understand that it pains me to decline your offer.

As you know, your country is closed while mine is open. While we respect your traditions - certainly, we have not required Ada to report to the Network of her life in Sakoku - a bilateral meeting that is not covered on the Network goes against our concept of human rights. For the meeting to take place, we would require all participants to have the freedom to take whatever they learnt from your wonderfully disciplined country, mix it and create something new, and upload it to the Network for all to learn from.

I understand that this is highly unusual for Sakoku, but I'm sure that as a fellow foreigner, you understand the desire of all to learn more about this mysterious country.

We await your reply with baited breath. If possible, please send your reply on those quaint parchment papers like the one by the Emperor — our citizen's engagement with our posts always rises when the photo includes pictures of your wonderful culture.

Yours sincerely,

Rebekah Maria Fay, President

Letter three - From Pendragon of Sakoku to President Rebekah Fay of Kaiguo

Dear Madame President,

I have consulted with the Emperor himself, in person, about your unusual request. Naturally, he has his reservations, but I believe we are able to come to a compromise.

Sakoku will allow the Kaiguo visitors unfettered access and permission to our culture, to upload to your Network. In return, Sakoku will be granted the right to choose which Kaiguo students come as delegates, and in order to fulfil that, you will grant our wizards the permission to access the Network history of all applicants, in order to evaluate their suitability.

I apologise for the brief note, but Academy duties require my immediate attention. I did not, however, wish to make you wait any longer, and so write this note in my clumsy hand.

I remain, as always, your humble servant,

Wizard Pendragon.

Message on the Kaiguo Government Official Page, Network.Kaiguo. A screenshot was also sent to Pendragon, along with an official letter of acceptance.

Calling all Youths

Are you interested in the mysterious country of Sakoku? Have you ever wondered where our wonderful trained wizards, the ones that keep our Network running come from? Do you wish to gain exclusive material that may help you go viral?

This is your chance!!

Sakoku and Kaiguo have decided to organise a joint bilateral youth conference, and we want YOU to join.

Interested youths between the ages of 15 and 24 can apply at the link HERE. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

<Fine print. Hover to open.>

The judging and acceptance will be carried out by Sakoku. By entering, you grant Sakoku wizards permission to access your Network History. Your data will not be released to the public.

QuickMail from Nic to Ada

<attached: Screenshot Calling all Youths.jpg>

Have you seen this???? Why didn't you tell me about it???? I'm totally applying. Put in a good word for me!!

Virality, here we come!

P.s. does that mean they lifted your restrictions too?

Letter four - Sent to 10 different countries.

Dear _(insert head of country here)_,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the first multilateral youth meeting held by Sakoku. As the head wizard of the Sakoku Academy of Magic, I would like to be the first to warmly welcome the best and brightest of your youth to our lovely country.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you be interested in this wondrous offer. I will be happy to furnish you with all the details you need.

I remain your humble servant,

Pendragon.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this week's chapters. Let me know if there's anything confusing, since I've been using things like letters and such. But the narrative becomes more conventional as the story moves on, so no worries! And of course, if you liked it, please vote. Comments too, will be greatly loved by me, because when it's your own story, you just end up missing so much stuff!