Chương 160: Chapter 159: Cascadian Strength

Polina didn't know what to make of their liaison. She was strange, to say the least. In fact, for some reason, Highlord Driss reminded her of Amelia. It had taken a moment for Polina to realise who the Highlord was, and even then, she wasn't entirely sure the demon was actually who she said she was. House Driss, headed by the powerful Greatlord Driss, had crossed her desk on a few occasions.

The Bureau knew about the infamous Highlord daughter, a woman said to be a rising moon in Cascadia; a woman of unmatched demonic beauty who rejected potential suitors without even meeting them, choosing to focus on her swordsmanship and duties. Of all the Cascadian Lords the Bureau tracked, Highlord Driss' file was one of the few that was paper thin. They only had rumoured descriptions of her beauty, lacking even a single photograph.

Halfway through the Republican-Cascadian conflict, they had determined she was personally training Speakers before they travelled to the front line, which explained her rise to Highlord so quickly. But beyond that, the only Cascadian Noble they knew less about was the mythical Western Overlord. There was an old Bureau joke that they would know the colour of the Empress' undergarments before they knew the identity of the Western Overlord. The demon's description matched most of what she remembered.

Katalin was beautiful. Polina knew demons valued symmetry in their horns, and Katalin boasted a perfectly symmetrical pair of Northern horns, extending above a bed of fiery auburn hair. Her features were sharp, but still undoubtedly feminine. There was, however, one difference between what Polina saw and the Bureau's knowledge. The demon should have emerald eyes according to their reports, but sitting before Polina was a set of brilliant purple irises.

We know she has communed two First-Words already, Polina thought. There were rumours she was on the verge of a third. If her eyes have changed from emerald to purple, is it due to a successful Marzanna communion? Could she already have gone beyond that, and communed a Second-Word?

"You're staring, yes?" Katalin intoned, pulling Polina out of her thoughts. The demon's voice was smooth, richly accented in Northern Imperial. Katalin's lips curled, and she leaned forward.

"You keep looking at me. Are you trying to use your blessing?"

"No, I'm not. I'm just…" Polina took a deep breath.

"I was distracted." She turned and looked out of the carriage window. They had left with Highlord Driss and Lord Inoue, leaving Greatlord Oshiro and clambering into a waiting carriage of House Inoue. They trundled through the streets of Asamaywa, awkwardly entering small talk with each other, keeping their voices low. Although the atmosphere was tense, there was a sense of relief about the situation.

They hadn't been arrested, and by the looks of things, Cascadia intended to uphold all propriety and obedience to international law. For now. Bird remained quiet, arms folded. Caolan sat with perfect posture, his eyes closed, as if trying to enter a meditative state. Aldous hummed softly under his breath, although judging by how rapidly he was tapping his knees, it was more an attempt to relax himself than to be genuinely cheerful.

"Lord Inoue," Polina said, catching the attention of the demon mage known as the Aether Addict.

"Why have you volunteered to host us?" The aged demon blinked.

"Lord-Prospect Thornheart left a lasting impression on me. This is the least I could do to pay her back." The demon ended her words with such finality that Polina knew she wouldn't elaborate.

"I had hoped it was for me," Caolan said quietly, breaking his trance.

"Keep hoping," Lord Inoue responded. The demon turned to Polina.

"I'm not the only one Lord-Prospect Thornheart has left an impression upon. I hope you keep your blessings under control, Miss Volkova. I won't tolerate their usage in my home." Polina nodded, then froze. Was it a slip of the tongue, or had the demon said blessings? Did she know of Polina's second blessing? It wouldn't be unusual for the information to be shared, considering how devastating it had been the last time Polina had invoked it.

She cast an awkward glance at her colleagues, but if they had picked up on the plural usage of the word, they didn't show it.

"Look," Katalin said suddenly, pointing out the carriage window.

"It is the Asamaywa Officers Academy. One of three in the Three Sisters. It produces some of the finest officers in the Empire," the demon said, a note of pride on her voice.

"You can see the mage tower, yes? That is where Lord Inoue does her valuable work."

"You're too kind, Highlord Driss," Lord Inoue responded smoothly. They peered out the window, sighting the iron gates and buildings beyond. Polina returned her gaze to the carriage, somehow finding herself drawn into Highlord Driss' purple eyes once more. There was definitely something about her that reminded her of Amelia.

"I had the honour of training Lord-Prospect Thornheart," Katalin said, her eyes twinkling.

"She was interested in Shimokan, as was I. I taught a semester down here. I like to think I made quite the impression." The demon chuckled to herself, as if amused by a memory.

"Was she talented?" Caolan asked. Katalin raised a hand and wiggled it.

"Above average, but nothing exceptional. I was much better." The demon nodded to herself with a smile.

"Her true talent lies in her spellwork, yes? How else would she have evaded the clutches of that lazy old man, mmm?" The demon flashed an easy smile at Caolan, while an awkward silence developed.

"Highlord Driss…" the Paladin said slowly, looking half confused and half disturbed.

"Did you just refer to His Holiness as… a lazy old man?"

"Well, he's still in that chair, isn't he?" the demon responded innocently. She's capable of teasing, Polina noted. Like Amelia.

"His Holiness gains strength by the day," Caolan responded. His voice was even, without ego. Decades of faithful service meant a Highlord's teasing wouldn't bother a man like him all that much.

"The day of the First Step comes ever closer," he said, squeezing his knees.

"Then," he said, "the world shall tremble."

"He'll need more than a step to catch up with our Empress, yes?" Katalin responded without a moment of hesitation.

"Have you heard the rumours? That she travels the Empire in disguise? His Holiness will need to learn to run first…" The demon smirked at her own jest.

"Do not underestimate Christdom, Highlord Driss," Caolan said.

"We are powerful." The demon blinked.

"Of course not, Caolan the Paladin." She turned and looked at the only other Cascadian Lord in the carriage.

"Lord Inoue, does your home still host a training hall?" she asked.

"... Yes?"

"Good." Katalin nodded.

"Then, Caolan the Paladin, I would very much like to spar with you."

"Is that wise?" Caolan asked, slowly.

"I would like to experience some of Christdom's power myself, if that is fine with you."

"To what end?" the Paladin challenged.

"I have heard the stories of you, yes?" Katalin said, her eyes taking on a strange look.

"What you have done on the battlefields in Terra Aurea. How you rendered those Federation armies into blood and bone. They say you are strong, so I will show you the strength of Cascadia, so that you will behave, understand?" The demon clenched her fist, a rising excitement growing on her face.

"... I will consider it," Caolan responded after a few seconds of silence.

"And you?" Katalin looked at Bird.

"There is little opportunity to experience Luhran these days." The Karligard Speaker looked the demon up and down.

"No," Bird said, with as much finality as Lord Inoue had before.

"Mmm," the demon hummed. She locked eyes with Aldous.

"Ha…" The Murian priest rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think it would be an unfair match, Highlord." Katalin tilted her head in a very Amelia-like way.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Are Murian priests not skilled warriors?" Aldous chuckled and wiped his forehead.

"In our own ways, but against a Word? It is not our way. We are not Speakers, Highlord. We take the Vow of Silence."

"You're still doing that?" Katalin frowned.

"I would still like to talk to you about your interpretation of the Murian Prophecy. The Great Storm affects the North, so I would know what the Stormwatchers of Mur have seen in detail. If it is serious, I can tell my father, Greatlord Driss." Katalin blinked.

"And he can tell the Northern Overlord, yes? Who knows, perhaps your warnings may find their way to the Empress herself?"

"Oh?" Aldous' expression brightened.

"I would take you up on that offer, Highlord."

"Good," Katalin responded.

"Very good." A lull in the conversation formed that lasted all the way until they pulled into Lord Inoue's estate. Katalin peered out the window, looking up at the Lord's home. It was then, perhaps, how the light fell upon her face that Polina found yet another similarity between them. Amelia was human, and Highlord Driss was demon. But, somehow… Their facial features were similar. For some reason, deep down, a part of Polina knew that it wasn't a coincidence. She had a mystery to solve.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Greatlord Oshiro's carriage pulled into his estate, the horned Hallant horses crunching the gravel underhoof. Alone in the carriage interior, he delayed getting out, taking a minute to collect his thoughts. All manner of people, demon and human, highborn and lowborn, had been trying to get access to Lord-Prospect Thornheart through him. If he had the ego of his youth, he might have been envious of her popularity.

Now he only felt a simmering headache from the additional work, accompanied by a rare feeling he hadn't felt for many years. A subtle urge to grasp his horns. But of all the people that wanted to see the up-and-coming Cascadian noble, this latest group was a strange combination. If Lord-Prospect Thornheart's potential meeting with a Karligard Speaker wasn't risky enough, meeting one of Tamerlane's Paladins could be a disaster.

The Murian priest spelled trouble as well, but not as much as the return of the Federation Truth-Teller, Polina Volkova. Chesterfield would be digging into that at this very moment. At another time, Oshiro would have refused them entry in Asamaywa. However Intelligence had other ideas, and had pushed strongly to have him grant them travel. From his prior discussions with Chesterfield, they believed they had more to gain than lose.

As much as Oshiro trusted his plain-looking friend, he could not understand why Highlord Driss had been chosen as the liaison. This was the second time the enigmatic swordmaster of the North had come to the Eastern Terra-Firma, breaking her relative solitude. The first time had been an honour, and a mark in Asamaywa's favour; their academy and skill at Shimokan had drawn the interest of the famed Highlord. But this second visit?

Chesterfield had suggested that she'd been so impressed with her previous experience that she'd volunteered for the duty. That explanation didn't sit right with Oshiro. There was no shortage of talented Speakers in the East whom Oshiro would have trusted to act as liaisons and, if necessary, suppress the Karligard Speaker and the Paladin should they run amok. Many instructors from the Asamaywa Academy would be suitable for the task. Lord Inoue would be the obvious choice.

If she wasn't available, then Nathaniel Endo or Ryosuke Yamamoto could handle a Paladin or two. But… Highlord Driss? First as a guest instructor, and now as a liaison. Was it just a coincidence that both duties were tangential to Lord-Prospect Thornheart? Was Greatlord Driss, no, the Northern Overlord making a play for the human saint? I must keep an eye on her, Oshiro thought. With that decision, he felt his bubbling headache ease, and the urge to grasp his horns vanish.

With a clear mind, he exited his carriage and entered his estate. His arrival was announced by his senior steward and punctuated by the household bowing deeply, having already lined up to receive him.

"Greatlord," the senior steward intoned, "your guests have arrived." Oshiro acknowledged the man with a simple nod. He removed his sword and entered a private room. He swapped his travelling robe for a formal kimono and washed his face and hands. With his preparations complete, he walked deep into his estate, where the most secure reception room lay. No servants were permitted to enter the room, nor could the guards eavesdrop, despite being capable of orange aura.

The aetheric Writing inscribed on the walls prevented that. Oshiro took a moment to steady his breathing before opening the door and entering. Considering the status and gravitas of the two guests within, many would guess that their meetings were saturated with propriety and ritual. In public or at ceremonies, that would be true. But here, deep within Oshiro's estate? Things were more casual than one might imagine.

"I took longer than intended," Oshiro said, walking up to his guests and sitting in seiza.

"There is no end to the work Lord-Prospect Thornheart causes me." The man to his left scoffed. At first glance, one might think he was overweight, given his round face and large frame. But Oshiro knew the man possessed a terrifying strength, even without using any aether. The demon shook his head, his long hair tied in a top knot, swaying with the movement. He was Kenshin Kiyoshi, Greatlord of Asamino.

"Has the continent flipped?" Kiyoshi joked.

"Since when did our Lord-Prospects make us work? Saint or not, you should control this one, Takahiro, or she'll run rings around you."

"Sounds like she already is," the woman next to him mused. Oshiro glared at her, but the demon was unperturbed. In her early fifties, she was the youngest of them all, and one of the few women Oshiro would permit himself to be in a private setting with. Her straight black hair extended to her waist, tracing a path to a neat set of Samino horns and balanced features. She was perfectly refined; her posture and etiquette were second only to Oshiro's wife.

"Your horns look more twisted each day," Tomoe Masanori, the Greatlord of Asamoto teased further. She reached forward, delicately offering him a small cup.

"To ease my senior's stress," she added with an almost imperceptible smile. Oshiro took the cup, drinking it smoothly in one gulp. It was loqua, an enhanced edition of the normal blue variant.

"I'd be happy to delegate you both some of the workload, if you'd like," he said. The others followed suit, drinking their portions. Oshiro refilled their cups.

"A toast," he said.

"To?" Kiyoshi questioned.

"To my senior's new Lord-Prospect, perhaps?" Masanori offered.

"May she live long and remain loyal." The Greatlord raised her cup, the movement perfect and controlled. She met his gaze, her eyes twinkling.

"May she continue to provide us with the most entertaining moments." Kiyoshi chuckled, but Oshiro refused to entertain the jest.

"May she live long and remain loyal," he said, raising his cup.

"May she live long and remain loyal," the other Greatlords echoed. They all drank.

"Loyalty," Kiyoshi said, clearing his throat.

"I'm not sure I'm convinced, Takahiro. When I met her at the canonisation, I was not reassured. She may seem loyal now, but what about in ten years? Twenty? She is not like us. It is not true loyalty that keeps her here."

"What do you mean?" Oshiro asked.

"Must I spell it out?" Kiyoshi examined his empty cup, as if something unpleasant was within.

"Her relationship with that captain of yours." He scratched his nose.

"Can such things produce true loyalty? It is desire and convenience that keep her here. What if the relationship collapses? Would she stay? Humans are fickle, emotional creatures. They do not understand duty as we do."

"You would rather we let her go?" Oshiro responded.

"I would rather our Empire did not engage with someone with such an…" Kiyoshi frowned, as if finding his words were painful.

"Unnatural disposition. I am sorry to say it, but that goes for your captain as well, or is she now a commodore?"

"Soon she will be," Oshiro answered. He looked down, collecting his thoughts. Meeting Kiyoshi's gaze, he replied, "Are we in a position of such strength that we can refuse this opportunity? We all know what the future holds, Kenshin."

"I'm not saying we throw her out of the East," Kiyoshi countered.

"Vikram's made it clear that she must stay. I am concerned with your reputation, of"—he gestured to them both—"our reputations. This unnaturality will become public. I am already hearing whispers about it. I fear the Empress sanctioning her sainthood will only cause further damage. This is the kind of thing that could cause the Church to schism." He turned to his left.

"What are your thoughts, Tomoe?"

"My thoughts?" The female Greatlord echoed. She closed her eyes.

"If you are hearing whispers of their disposition, then the Bureau and the Golden Cathedral know about it. Did that Federation Truth-Teller not befriend Lord-Prospect Thornheart? They are likely waiting for the opportune moment to release it. We cannot stop that happening, therefore…" She opened her eyes, meeting their gazes.

"We should proactively leak it. If we can prepare high society, it will prevent the worst damage."

"I am in agreement," Oshiro added.

"It is the path I hope we can agree to take together."

"My Highlords will not like it," Kiyoshi said.

"It is too much, too fast. A Karligard refugee into a citizen of the Cascadian Lordship and Sainthood? All within half a year? For a demon, it's too fast. For a human, it's even worse. It is unnatural, in more ways than one, no matter her value."

"Unnatural or not," Masanori said smoothly, "are we not hypocrites to complain of such things?"

"What do you mean?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Have we not welcomed the use of black crystal into our navies?" she asked, her expression narrowing slightly.

"That is different," Kiyoshi responded, tapping his knee.

"That was a military necessity, in response to our adversaries. They created aetheric warfare ships so we must as well."

"Hmm," Masanori hummed.

"If we look at Lord-Prospect Thornheart's rapid integration into the Empire from another angle, could we not say it was a military necessity, to deny our adversaries the same opportunity?" A short silence descended upon the trio. It was a good point.

"Furthermore," Oshiro added, "we avoid the future where our Empire finds out an Enemy Speaker has communed with Suijin. Think what that would do to our morale." Seeing Kiyoshi slowly nod in agreement, Oshiro pushed forward.

"We must deny them every advantage we can. Christdom is not sitting idle. They have pushed into Marzanna's Circle and secured trade routes to Tinh Hai. As we speak, they are building up their indigo stockpiles. We do not know the extent of its military application." Kiyoshi cracked his knuckles slowly, grumbling. With each crack of a knuckle, his expression relaxed, and by the end, he was nodding.

"Then, I will go down this path with you, Takahiro. I will begin hinting that this… relationship between your future commodore and our new human is nothing to be concerned about. I will do this for the betterment of the East, and the Empire as a whole."

"You are wise," Oshiro said, letting a smile form.

"When he wants to be," Masanori added quietly.

"When I need to be," Kiyoshi said, a note of exasperation in his voice. The Greatlord took the bottle of loqua and filled their cups.

"A toast," he said, raising his cup.

"Strength and stability." Without a moment of hesitation, he gulped down the alcohol.

"Strength and stability," Oshiro and Masanori echoed, following suit.

"Since we're on the topic of wisdom and stability," Kiyoshi said, "we should have pushed back on allowing Highlord Driss to act as liaison. Such a task should have gone to a native. Half my Highlords could have done the task." Masanori nodded her agreement.

"It does make us look weak. The Northern Overlord may favour Greatlord Driss, but our desire to maintain good relations with the other Terra Firmas should not override native matters." Her eyes took on a dangerous glint.

"Now is not the time for us to look weak. It is not just Terra Aurea from which the threat of war rears its cloaked head."

"The Ainese," Oshiro said slowly.

"Yes," Masanori said.

"The Ainese." Kiyoshi rapped his knuckles against his knee.

"They are looking for an excuse, I am sure of it," he said.

"They might even use Lord-Prospect Thornheart's disposition as fuel. One spark is all that it would take, Takahiro." He raised a finger.

"One spark, and Nachon, Fengra, and Hokanai will go to arms. Hells, Kraken Kur will follow, and if they do, we've lost Samino influence over the Southern Passage."

"We've already lost it, more or less," Oshiro said, feeling a note of bitterness in his voice.

"Do you remember our previous discussion about the Indefatigable? Vikram wouldn't send a search and rescue operation from our side, and I am in agreement. We can't send anything but civilian ships that way. Anything else and they'll take it as preparatory moves for an intervention. It is unacceptable, but we are forced to accept it, for now." He tapped the floor.

"But things aren't as bad as they seem, Kenshin. Nachon will not follow if the Ainese rebel. Sunsin knows better." It wasn't just that Yi Sunsin, the Greatlord of Nachon, knew better. Nachon sat in the mountains east of the Three Sisters, far from the other Ainese cities of the Far East. Strategically and logistically, it would be cut off immediately by Samino forces. Nachon's lowlands and the lowlands of the Three Sisters were one and the same.

The integration between their economies meant Sunsin would never raise the flag of rebellion with his Ainese brothers. I hope, Oshiro quietly thought.

"Even if only Fengra and Hokanai rebel," Masanori said, "once they cut the singular rail line, it would take months to march an army down there. They are both fortress cities. If they have the stocks, they could hold out for years. Perhaps that is their plan…" A thin smile appeared on her face, and Masanori made a small, polite sigh.

"It is a shame that Vikram cannot act as Saladin would." Oshiro chuckled at that. Unlike the Southern Terra-Firma, the Eastern Overlord was limited in what he could lawfully do to bring any future rebellion under control. The Eastern legal framework was designed to prevent Overlord abuse. If the Ainese framed their rebellion as against the East rather than the Empire itself, then it could only be dealt with by Eastern forces as an internal matter. That was not the same as how things worked in the South.

Should a city try to detach itself from the Tasalsul, the Southern Overlord would have both the mandate and the desire to bring the rebellious city back into the fold, lest his authority and right to rule be questioned. Whether that city returned to the Tasalsul still as a city or as a pile of rubble, it wouldn't matter to Saladin the Mighty. He was a man not unfamiliar with destruction.

"It would come down to us," Kiyoshi said, his tone tense, "to the Samino. The Manwese will consider it our problem. Being so close to Centralis, they have grown fat on its influence and wealth. They will not join an internal conflict. Not easily, anyway." He looked at Masanori and then at Oshiro.

"I have seen the reports, Takahiro," he said, his expression darkening.

"They are stockpiling."

"And thus," Oshiro said solemnly.

"We arrive at the purpose of this meeting."