Rising Sun above the Land of Pearls (Ashigawa-Franerre)

[callmedelta]

Seth took Tagomi's hand in a firm grip. "I think I speak for all of Franerre when I say we are glad to be here," Seth said, beaming. Breaking off the handshake, then bowing, Ewan following in Seth's place. "So, what now?" the younger diplomat asked, "I remember we had a party at the Administration after we entered the Commonwealth of Granuras. Do we have a party every time we manage to sign a trade deal?"

Seth chuckled. "I don't think we'll be having a party this time, Ewan, though it's still cause for celebration, and I think I have an idea. Minister Tagomi," Seth said, turning to the man, "Do you happen to have any restaurant recommendations? As we are in Ashigawa, I thought it right to celebrate with an Ashigawan dinner."

[aimway921]

Tagomi glanced at the clock on one of the walls before turning his eyes back at Seth.

"There is one, but it doesn't open until 5:00 pm. Hinokizaka is one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city, favored by esteemed businessmen and even a few members of the nobility. Kido-san will escort you there. As he was speaking, he took a piece of paper on the table and wrote something on it, then gave it to Seth. "Give this to the waiter when you arrive. As a welcome gift, this will put your bill on my tab. Kido-san, or whomever he seems fit to assign - most likely the latter he is, after all, the Chief Commander of the Kempeitai and has other matters to attend to - will come with you as an interpreter. You will then be taken to the Chuyokata Hotel in the Western part of the city where you shall stay until we set up an embassy building for you, which will become your residence. As you may have noticed" - he motioned with his hand around the room - "it is sort of a custom to you residence in the same building as your work, here in Ashigawa.

[callmedelta]

"Speaking of embassies, that neatly brings up another topic I had wished to discuss," Seth said, "Director Jacques asked me to look for possible sites of a new embassy in Kyoto. However, it looks like you are one step ahead of me, Minister. As Hinokizaka does not open until five, we should have some time to look at possible locations, unless you already have one in mind. Before we go, I would just like to extend my thanks one final time. One day, I hope to be able to repay your kindness in Franerre."

[aimway921]

"Of course," Tagomi said. "Unfortunately, however, I have other matters to attend to, so I will not be able to join you. I will have one of my subordinate join you on the search for a good site. We have several upper class buildings vacant for a role such as an embassy, a few on the outskirts and some in the center of the city. Wait here as I send someone to accompany you." As he was talking, he was approaching the door. "And do not worry," he said, glancing over his shoulder, as the officer on the other side opened the doors for Tagomi to exit. "I'm sure there will be a way for you to repay soon enough." With those words, Tagomi left the room, with the officer closing the door behind him. Seth and Ewan were left alone, with the drinks and the center of the table at their disposal. About 10 minutes would pass before the doors opened again. In came a rather young man. The fire in his eyes was a clear indication that he was excited to be given an assignment as important as giving foreign ambassadors a tour of the capital. Standing there for a few seconds, he suddenly shook his head lightly, as if suddenly realizing that he forgot something. Instantly, he bowed. "Kowaru Tori, sir, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I will be your guide around the city." There was much excitement in his voice.

[callmedelta]

"So, what have you thought of your first assignment so far, Ewan?" Seth asked in Franch, picking up a bottle to examine it. The label was written in Moon Runes, and a quick glance at the other bottles told the same story.

"Well, it's been exciting," Ewan answered, "And a little bit tense too. No amount of training can prepare you for the real thing, I suppose."

Seth chuckled, setting the bottle down. "You think this is tense? This was an easy assignment, Ewan. What made you think it tense?"

Ewan stared at the doorway where Tagomi left. "I don't know. You said it yourself that this was an easy assignment. This all felt a bit too easy, though. Only 5%? The Ashigawans could have easily asked for double or triple that, and I would have signed the deal with no further negotiations. And what the Minister said, that there would be a way we could repay soon enough. It doesn't sit right with me."

"I'll admit, I'm impressed," Seth said, "I caught on all of that too, but I didn't suspect you would, since this is your first mission. In fact, I think you may be a bit too worried. Sure, we are in the Ashigawan's debt, diplomatically speaking, but not so much as for them to make any unreasonable demands. There is also the possibility we're looking too deep into it, but in my experience, it's better to be cautious." As Seth finished those words, another Ashigawan man came through the doorway.

Seth and Ewan returned his bow, Ewan beginning, "Pleased to make your acquaintance as well, Mr. Kowaru."

[aimway921]

"If you would please follow me, sir," Kowaru said, as he motioned towards the door politely, "I will give you a tour of the capital, as well as show you several prospectful sights for your embassy to be set up."

As they got through the building and back into the yard, where the limo once stood was a much smaller car. While it was a full sized sedan, it paled in comparison to the limo. However, it still looked like it had luxurious upholstery inside.
"Unfortunately the limousine would not fit in the narrow streets of some central districts," Kowaru explained, as he opened the rear door, letting the ambassadors in. Once they were in the car, he closed the door and got into the front passenger seat. There was already a driver, to whom Kowaru said something in Ashigawan, and the car started moving.
"We'll take a look at the Old City first - it's the oldest historical district of Kyoto, and home to a lot of cultural events."

[callmedelta]

"That will be fine with us," Seth said.

"Speak for yourself," Ewan scoffed in Franch, "I quite enjoyed the bar in the limousine, thank you very much." Seth shot the younger man a glare. "It was just a joke." The two Franchmen stepped into the limo, sitting down in the comfortable seats.

"You know, this reminds me of the Royal District in Pareau," Seth said in common, "It's a eight-block area around the old Royal Palace, now the National Museum of Franerre, that remains untouched by time."

[aimway921]

"I'm sure every old city has some districts like that", Kowaru replied. "They are invaluable, as they hold the city's, and sometimes the nation's history. Oh, we're about to enter the Old city, look!" he suddenly raised the level of excitement in his voice, as he pointed forward at the windshield - the car was spacious enough for the back seat passengers to see out of it clearly.

In front of them, above the street, was a red wooden Torii gate frame with an inscription on top. "This is the South Kobaru Shrine," Kowaru explained, as he pointed at the gate. "It is said that those who pass under it while praying to the Kami of luck will have fortune while in the district."

Behind the gate, it is as though they instantly went back in time. All the houses here looked much older, many built of wood in the traditional Ashigawan style. The street paving changed from asphalt to cobblestone, They would drive by a lot of shops and businesses. One of the potential embassy spots, in a big building 3 floors high, in traditional architecture, located almost in the very center of the Old City. After touring the district, they would drive by several other embassy spots, including a wider, but one floor shorter building in one of the newest districts bustling with technology on the West side of town, and a third, in the North part of the city, a rather plain looking but big building.

After the tour, Kowaru would take them to Hinokizaka, where they would have a marvel of a traditional Ashigawan feast.

---

Several days later, after the embassy was selected and was being set up, the Ambassadors were invited to the house of one of Ashigawa's officials - Akane Kondo.

[callmedelta]

"Arigato," Seth said to Kondo's chauffeur as the pair of Franch diplomats stepped out of the car. Making their way towards the door, they continued their conversation from the car. 

"What do you think it will be?" Ewan asked in Franch, "It can't be anything too big, but if it's something in exchange for the trade deal, why not just have Tagomi bring it up at the meeting in the first place?"

Seth thought as he walked. "I don't know for certain what it could be. The Ashigawans certainly didn't give us a lot to work with, but considering the fact that it wasn't at the meeting, I would likely say this is a new development. I doubt any further speculation will help, though, we simply don't have the information needed. Any assumptions we make will likely just prove to be wrong, or worse - active detrimental."

"That's all you can think of?" Ewan asked, "I hate flying in blind like this. This could be anything we're getting into."

"I don't like it either, but there's nothing more that can be done," Seth assured, the pair reaching the door to the house. He reached his hand forward, giving a quick knock knock knock.

[aimway921]

The door has been opened by a middle-aged man in a fairly dapper suit. This clearly was a butler.
"Good morning," he greeted the ambassadors, as he bowed. "Welcome to the Kondo household. Kondo-sama is waiting for you in her office. Right this way, please.

The butler would lead the two Franchmen down a few corridors and up a flight of stairs. Seth and Ewan would notice that the hallways were being patrolled by soldiers with rifles. Finally, they came up to a door, marked with a single Ashigawan rune. The butler would knock and open the door. "Kondo-sama" he bowed, speaking in Ashigawan, "Gesuto ga tōchaku shimashita"

"Yoshi, irete," a voice from the room replied, still in Ashigawan. "Anata wa anata no chūmon o ukemashita. Sā ikimasu," the voice continued.
"Hai," a different voice answered, and a young man in a uniform stepped out of the room. "Konnichiwa" he bowed to the butler and the ambassadors, before heading down th hallway.

As the man exited, the butler finally stepped aside, letting the ambassadors inside the room. It wasn't big, but not too small either. The wall opposite of the door had two windows. The Right wall was entirely taken up by a bookcase and file cabinets. The left had some shelves, cupboards and a low table with some pillows around it. In the center of the room there was a big desk, two empty chairs in front of it. The desk itself was filled with various papers, some books, two telephones, one black and one red and even a typewriter to the side. Behind the desk there was a woman wearing an officer uniform. Golden collar tabs with stars designated her high rank - Taisho - General. She had long hair of reddish color that matched the fur of her ears and tail.
"Welcome, Ambassadors," she said, as she stoop up and bowed. "I am General Kondo of the Ahsigawa Army. I hope you had a good journey here."

[callmedelta]

Ewan was trying not to let his nerves get the better of him. But all the soldiers and guns didn't really help all of that, now, did it? Whoever they were meeting, it certainly wasn't just a diplomat. A bead of sweat rolled down his brow. He was a diplomat, not a soldier! He didn't belong in this place, whoever this Kondo was. What could he even do here?

Seth. meanwhile, kept calm on the outside as he followed the butler through the halls. Internally, though, it was a different story. 'What did you manage to get us into, Jacques?' the elder diplomat thought, 'Assuming, of course, that you knew this all was going to happen. Either way, there's no use fretting over it now. I'll make sure to give you a piece of my mind the next time I see you.' Seth spared a glance to Ewan, noticing the younger man's nervousness. He placed a hand on Ewan's shoulder, calming the diplomat. It wouldn't do good to come into this meeting sweating a rainfall. 

Entering the room, both men returned the General's bow with an even deeper one, before taking their seats. Seth gave Ewan a quick two taps on his thigh, the agreed code to, as Seth had put it on their flight, 'sit down and shut up.' "The ride was wonderful. You have an excellent chauffer. To what do we owe the honor of meeting such an important woman as yourself?"

[aimway921]

"As you know," Kondo began, "by becoming a member of the Commonwealth, Franerre has agreed for military cooperation and assistance, both to you and from you." She stared into Seth's eyes as she was saying that. Then she slid a file from the side of the desk to the middle in front of her. "What I'm about to tell you," she said as she was opening the file, "is highly classified. Not even Exterior Minister Tagomi knows of this."

She slid a single paper towards Seth. On it was a photograph of a young looking woman in a military uniform, with text in Ashigawan.

"This is our agent currently operating in Elenria. With the developments that ensued after your entry into the Commonwealth, increased military presence in Elenria, we see it fit to pull her out. With the increased Kumo and Takpoe activity in Elenria, the chances of her capture are increased, and that would lead to a conflict between Kumosenkan and th Commonwealth, potentially a war. I'm sure you'll agree, no one wants that."

"My request is simple," Kondo said, after giving some time for Seth and Ewan to process the information. "We need assistance from the Franch military and secret service to safely extract our agent. Do this, and your debts if form of the extremely good trade conditions Tagomi gave you will be considered paid for."

[callmedelta]

Seth picked up the file, looking it over while he sorted out his thoughts. Everyone back home was worried about a war, and the General was right - if this got out, it would almost certainly start one. This could spell disaster for Franerre. “Those are not the terms of the Treaty,” Seth corrected, a cold seriousness to his voice as he sat down the file, “Franerre is only obligated to allow transit for military assets, and one could argue that your agent isn’t a military asset. If Franerre were to keep it’s hands clear of this whole affair, there is the possibility she could escape war if an incident were to occur. If we choose to help you, however, and this operation discovered, it would mean war, and most likely the ruin of Franerre. Ever since Kumosenkan invaded Eleneia, a Kumosenkan invasion has been the fear of every Franchmen. That is the knife looking over my nation. That is why we accepted humiliation under the Nevarrans. I say this to you not as a rejection, General. I don’t have the authority to do that. I say this so you know the risk Franerre takes if it helps you.” Seth gazed into Kondo’s eyes, a fire lit behind the Franchmen’s own.

[aimway921]

"I understand that," Kondo replied. "But you must keep in mind that the capture of the agent, regardless if it's during her operations in Elenria or during our effort to pull her out, would lead to Kumo being reassured that their border shutdown is justified. Which is why we need your help to get her out of there. Believe me when I say it, Ashigawa wants to avoid a war at all costs. It would be a compete ruin for us as much as it would be for you."

[callmedelta]

“I don’t doubt that, General,” Seth said, “If the COG were nothing but a group of warmongering thugs, we wouldn’t have joined. But war may still find you, regardless of your efforts. Either way, as I stated, I don’t have the authority to make this decision. I can pass this information on to Pareau, either in person or over the telegram, though due to the sensitive nature of the information, I can understand if that option is less than appealing.”