“A child noticed the adults’ concerns. Sure, kids do that. But would he make a proposal willingly? What kind of child does that?”
“Well, you see, Lord Liam is very smart. And he is in a different position from us.”
“He’s a kid. He’ll cry if you poke him wrong.”
“I can’t deny that our concerns must have influenced Lord Liam. Hence the apology.”
“What are you even trying to say, here?”
“Excuse me?”
“We were humiliated. You said you wanted to apologize. So we came all the way here for that, and you just excuse yourselves and blame it on the kid? Where’s the apology?”
“No, we sincerely apologize for…”
Rosei’s aura of intimidation grew stronger and stronger.
“Hanakiri, bark,” Ruri said immediately. Hanakiri, in Shirahagi’s arms, barked louder than he ever had before.
The pressure from the two gods was overwhelming. Evan shrank back but still managed to respond.
“It is true that we suggested to Lord Liam that we were concerned for the future and would like to deepen our relationship with the gods incarnate. However, we did not expect that he would propose marriage that day, so we can only say that he did it out of concern for the succession… Or perhaps it was the Guard’s instruction.”
He seemed committed to absolving the Church itself of any responsibility.
“…Can I open the window?” Ruri said, then did not wait for an answer.
As soon as she whistled, wild birds flew to the window; she must have trained them earlier. Ruri twirled her index finger, and they flew in circles inside the room.
The Agent of Summer’s Life Operation could give animals the power to kill people. Anyone who had seen Summer fight could immediately tell that she was ready for combat.
“Let him say what he wants. Then we can decide what to do next.”
Ruri leaned on the wall by the window, playing with the birds. Chills ran down Evan’s spine…and everyone else’s from the Church, too.
Yamato listened to their rhetoric for around half an hour.
The premise of their argument was that the Church of the Living Gods wished for a good relationship between the two countries. For this reason, they wanted the young gods incarnate to intermingle. They also wanted Yamato to consider reinstating the mutual aid system.
Although they had their concerns regarding the decrease of gods incarnate, they did not want to force anyone to marry. The Church thought that it could be necessary to open possibilities for the future, but it was only one option of many. However, as an organization, they would continue to mediate for motivated individuals; and even without marriage, sharing sperm and ova samples was also an option.
They took applications not only from the households who produced Agents.
Regardless, they wanted to try a variety of strategies for the sake of maintaining the structure of the world for the people living in the future. And to that end, they wanted the help of other countries as well.
Ruri and Rosei resorted to verbal attacks.
“…We understand the value of friendly relationships. But you’re still not admitting responsibility for appointing a seven-year-old child to bear the burden of your negotiations, and then you try to convince us that it was all a misunderstanding. You keep trying to avoid blame with pretty words, but a child cannot be at fault for this. As for the Guard, I would like him to do his job properly, but I imagine he wasn’t in a position to do that. Do you have any excuses for that?”
“And what are you talking about, ‘samples’? Why do people who really want to have children need to do that for the sake of the bloodline? Where’s our human rights? Also, do you really understand the hierarchy here? You keep acting so high and mighty, but your nonsense has no weight in Yamato.”
Even Tsukihi joined the argument.
“We only exist to support the gods and hold them up. Believers are meant to protect them. Yet you made the young Lord Autumn propose marriage? How is that not acting beyond your authority? Lord Liam may be the vessel of a god, but he is still a young child. Think of how much the adults’ words must have hurt and confused him. You made our Yamato delegation go against you for his sake, and our Autumn also seemed terribly hurt. She was ill yesterday, in fact. Is this how you want to do an international exchange? I’m embarrassed as a fellow follower of the Church. No matter what either of our countries want, the feelings of the gods incarnate always come first. I intend to report this to the Church of the Living Gods’ HQ in Yamato and to National Security. And this is not a threat; in my position, it’s the only thing I can do.”
The argument seemed like it would go on forever, but then someone from the Church came up to whisper into the chief’s ear.
The conversation paused there.
“…I have an announcement. Lord Liam and Lord Jude appeared to have come to the Church. They say they want to speak to everyone from Yamato. If you have the time…would you please allow them?”
Rosei clicked his tongue, and he took advantage of the fact the chief didn’t know Yamatoan to speak to Itecho next to him without lowering his volume.
“They planned this from the beginning. They’re just trying to mollify us.”
“Stop it.”
Itecho’s scolding did not work. Rosei was most likely right.
They must have had Autumn on standby to take over in case they didn’t reach a settlement.
The Agents really were lower in the hierarchy here. Rindo looked at Nadeshiko. She was present, but they had told her she could just let the adults talk.
“Nadeshiko, do you want to meet Lord Liam? If not…”
“Yes. Oh, but… Only if you allow me…” Nadeshiko was just as concerned for him. “I won’t if it will make things worse for you.”
“Nadeshiko…”
I can’t even tell who’s the adult here.
Rindo wore a smiling mask.
“You don’t need my permission… What matters is what you want. You weren’t able to have a friendly conversation with him because of me. If you want to meet him, then by all means.”
“Okay. I will meet Lord Liam.”
“But you won’t get engaged, okay?”
“…Okay.”
“I won’t let that happen. I’ll be with you.”
Once Nadeshiko had agreed, the conversation came to a close. The interpreter was also exhausted from translating Yamato’s verbal onslaught and tiredly guided them away.
“You haven’t seen the garden on this side, have you? We’ll get more tea, too… The escorts should also feel free to have a snack.”
Dish after dish began to arrive at the big wooden table on the open terrace.
Accepting the food could be taken as a sign of reconciliation, but refusal could reflect badly on their sense of diplomacy.
The Agents were frustrated with the thoroughly prepared reception, but the hungry escorts were glad for it.
Once the mood had relaxed somewhat, Liam and Jude arrived.
The boy seemed rather stiff, likely because he was being watched by the Church. Jude next to him bowed at the Yamatoans.
Everyone waited for someone else to speak…until Ruri broke the silence.
“C’mere, Lord Liam.”
She beckoned the boy to the garden table where the Agents were sitting.
Liam remained still, flustered, and she stood up to walk toward him and grab his hand and pull him over. Liam looked up at her bashfully while following her.
Watching them, Rindo whispered, “…That side of Lady Ruri is so gentle.”
The Goddess of Summer was fundamentally friendly and kind. Her nature warmed people’s hearts, as befitting of summer. At the same time, the heat she sent to her enemies was relentless.
Rosei watched as Ruri brought Liam over with a grin on her face and muttered to himself, “Doesn’t she have any caution at all?”
Once Liam was with the Agents, he said, “H-hello, everyone.”
He spoke in awkward Yamatoan.
“So…sowry.”
They could tell he was trying to say sorry.
He must have learned the words very quickly. His bashful and anxious use of the unfamiliar language was a perfect show of good faith.
“I want to apologize to you all for having upset you,” Jude added in fluent Yamatoan, shocking everyone.
In fact, they were so surprised that even Jude seemed taken aback.
“…M-my second, um…foreign language elective…? Was Yamatoan.”
“You can speak it?!” Ruri shouted the exact way she had yesterday.
“Yes.”
“Wh-why didn’t you tell anyone?! What’s the deal?!”
Jude smiled awkwardly. “Lord Kikka was present there, and most of our party didn’t understand it. I was being considerate of them. The truth is, a big part of why Liam was chosen for this was because I’m his Guard.”