Chapter 106

EPISODE 1 LET’S ENJOY OUR NEW LIVES! Even though another Sacred Blooded nation had popped up in Japan, the lives of the people living in the Sacred Blood Empire remained unaffected. On the surface, nothing had changed. It wasn’t like any of the stores were being looted or glass was being broken and scattered everywhere. If they didn’t watch TV, some might not even be aware anything was going on. Freshmart Warakia was having its weekly sale, and a certain convenience store was selling an excess number of Kairakuten magazines. Even the day after a festival, with its lingering atmosphere of celebration, felt more unusual than this. But just beneath the surface, things were not as easygoing. In the First Cathedral, Alfoncina was engaged in yet another top secret phone call. “Uh-huh~. So they weren’t told at all? Mm-hmm~. So the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has split into two factions, and your rival faction is making progress. I see~.” There was a stern look on her face as she spoke into the mouthpiece. Her cheeks occasionally puffed out with discontent. “That’s what I’m saying. Sorry, I didn’t know isn’t going to cut it. They created their own country! Now we have to figure out how we’re going to deal with it. And they used the Alfoncina name, which is going to be terrible for business! My real name? I would never! You know it’s Matsuko Kimura, right? That name doesn’t have an ounce of dignity!” Alfoncina realized her voice was growing very sharp. Those who engaged in politics weren’t supposed to let this much emotion show. Letting everyone on the other side of the table know exactly how she felt didn’t make for good diplomacy. But Alfoncina felt that she had been deceived, too. She had known there were some, maybe even a lot of Sacred Blooded who did not take kindly to their country. That was inevitable, considering a small few professed to be the only ones representing the Sacred Blooded. They would, of course, make enemies of all those who were not happy with their methods. Regardless, they still had to create the framework of what it meant to be Sacred Blooded. That was the price they had to pay for being first. That said, it was almost impossible for a second Sacred Blooded nation to establish itself. Ever since the Empire was founded in Akinomiya, she had heard the police had tightened up security and were being more cautious, and that was true. Japan would collapse if everyone and their grandmother started establishing countries for themselves, so the Japanese government was doing its best to prevent that from happening again. And Alfoncina herself had leaked information to Japan about influential Sacred Blooded who were not on their side. Independence by the Sacred Blooded posed an even greater threat to the Empire than Japan. So even if there was opposition, they should not have been able to accomplish anything. Alfoncina had been convinced of that. But Sairi Fuyukura had managed to create another nation without direct help from Japan, and she had pulled it off by calling her group a “nation” in name only. As a result, there had been no need for an uprising; it had been difficult to foresee, and she hadn’t required that many backers. It wasn’t against the law to begin with, so there was no way the government could have clamped down on it. Not only that, but Sairi had also managed to establish both secular and religious aspects of this new nation by creating both an emperor and an archbishop. There was no way to tell how many “citizens” she had without any real territory. Instead, however, they had a clear grasp on their institution’s number of “supporters.” She might even be plotting to destroy our empire… Once that thought took seed in Alfoncina’s mind, she began to doubt everything. Did Sairi take the name of Alfoncina because she was planning on overshadowing her and tormenting her until she died? Ouka is going to be smitten with Ryouta for a while, so she’ll be useless. I suppose I must take matters into my own hands… Alfoncina felt impatient. She didn’t have the tools for what she needed to do. I need to look into this now—their organization wasn’t on our radar, and I don’t have any useful connections… I knew we should have kept a closer eye on the Virginal Father… I didn’t think the organization posed us any danger, but I had no idea it’d been weakened to that point. What could she do? Alfoncina sank into her chair. As she found herself at a loss for how to proceed, there came a knock at the door. She could tell who it was right away by the knock—the secretary, one of her minions. About ten of Alfoncina’s minions worked at the First Cathedral. The one she trusted most among them was her secretary. Unfortunately, the woman had one habit Alfoncina absolutely hated. “Um, Archbishop Kimura, a call came in for headquarters…” Alfoncina did not budge. She sat still, leaning back in her chair. “Considering the nature of the call, I wanted to come and confirm with you directly rather than send it on through the internal line…” Alfoncina still did not turn around. “Um……… Archbishop Alfoncina?” “What is it?” Alfoncina finally turned around. As always, she had zero intention of answering to her real name. Her secretary always called her Kimura, which never failed to irritate Alfoncina. She really wished this woman would learn how to address people properly. “Who is it from? It can’t be my manga editor if they’re calling for headquarters.” “It’s from someone calling themselves New Progenitor Alfoncina…” With a loud clatter, Alfoncina shot up from her chair. “Transfer the call to me right now!” Her heart was pounding in her ears. She took a deep breath before lifting the receiver so the person on the other end wouldn’t know how flustered she was. Her gaze sharpened and grew in intensity—this expression was for work only. No one at school had ever seen her like this before. She readied a notepad and took a pen in her hand. If anything happened, she would write it down right away. “Hello, this is Sairi Fuyukura, New Progenitor Alfoncina.” “Using that name—not that I have sole legal rights to it or anything—is a declaration that you intend to rival me, isn’t it?” “Rivalry? Are you implying war? I have no such intention. But it’s good I called.” Alfoncina was doing everything in her power to read the emotion in Sairi’s voice, but she could not sense any ulterior motives. “Many, like you, think I’m being antagonistic. The reason I’m calling today is to explain myself, to let you know that isn’t the case.” Sairi plainly denied any aggression on her part, but Alfoncina wasn’t the type to naively celebrate prematurely. One’s words and one’s true intentions were different matters. She needed to confirm Sairi was expressing the latter and not the former. She had already pressed the button to record their conversation. Depending on what happened, she might want to listen back for confirmation on one thing or another. I will not give up on this country. I refuse to let Ouka’s hard work go to waste. She decided to ask her question first before Sairi could steal the initiative. “If you have no intention of fighting, perhaps you can explain the reasoning behind this new country of yours?” “People who aren’t Sacred Blooded will find greater peace of mind with the birth of the Holy Sacred Blood Empire. I think this will benefit all Sacred Blooded.”