Fools

Despite it being winter, Ria still woke before dawn and, seeing Serge still asleep, quickly changed her clothes.

She went out to the garden and pulled out Nagasone Kotetsu.

It was time for her never changing morning training. Each time her swung her katana, the sound of the air being cleaved could be heard.

She followed through the form. Over and over, she slowly followed the ideal image in her mind.

Sensing someone, she pointed her katana toward them. Kikuchi had been watching Ria from the veranda.

"It looks like you really are Tamura. Want a sparring partner?"

"I'm thankful for the offer, but…"

Ria picked up a random pebble and crushed it with her fingers.

"I'm more inhuman than not, so I'll have to pass."

"Was that magic just now?"

"No, it was just my grip strength. I could even crush a diamond."

"Yeah, that's inhuman…"

When Kikuchi walked out into the garden, they started talking about martial arts. What Kikuchi wanted to know was whether or not martial arts were useful in that world.

"Yeah. Rather, they were even helpful in everyday life. There was a lot of times I was riding on horseback in war."

"War, huh… Did you kill a lot?"

"For direct kills… around three hundred people? Well, a lot more if you include the spears I made."

"What about archery? Most casualties should've happened during the battle itself though. Come to think of it, there weren't any guns?"

"Bows aren't used much against other humans. Magic is more accurate and can be used at longer distances. As for guns… not really, but again, magic is used for about the same."

"Can you use magic too?"

"Yeah. Like this."

Right then, Ria ascended into the air. Slowly, she landed immediately next to Kikuchi.

He was so amazed that his jaw fell open.

 

*

 

"Tamura-san, breakfast is ready. Please bring your friend as well."

Hearing the maid call out, she kicked Serge awake, had him change, and headed to the room. The two sat down as though they were going to be interviewed.

"Oooh~, Japanese food for the first time in ages!"

His eyes gleaming, Serge looked at the food as though to gobble it all up.

"Well now, Tamura… no, that way of calling you doesn't feel right, does it?"

"Please, call me Ria. I'm already accustomed to it."

"Then, Ria-san. Last night, it was arranged that people would come together for a meeting."

Though to be precise, he'd been having conferences every day since the Demon King's proclamation.

"Truthfully, they are a group that keep the country moving. I'll be going as well."

"Understood. How long until then?"

"After lunch is over. Would you like to do something before then?"

"… Yeah. I'd like to meet my family… but with my appearance, it's unlikely they'll understand."

Even if they could, it would likely take a considerable amount of time. She didn't think a single morning would be enough time.

Ria talked about various political matters with him until the appointed time.

Each country had their own reactions towards the Demon King's proclamation, but as expected, the United States, under the name of freedom and justice, insisted on defending Earth. Even Russia and China were in agreement with it. Then again, their innermost thoughts were of the undeveloped frontiers the new world held.

Japan was following America, but as Ars had specifically stated that it would be in Japan's parliament building, it appeared that questions concerning whether or not it had some connection with this new world were coming up.

"I could have done something about it if I'd had some information ahead of time…"

"True, but he doesn't need to worry about things like that."

"That Demon King, is he that strong?"

"He is strong, but in strength alone, I'm stronger. However, that world has a country of demons and its level of civilization is on a whole other level. Winning against it is impossible."

"… You defeating the Demon King wouldn't work out?"

Thinking about it now, that means had existed at one point.

However, the moment she learned that they were connecting with Earth, her options had disappeared. The main thing causing that was, above all, the God Dragons' backing of the Demon King.

"By the time I learned the Demon King's goal, it was already too late."

Yes, the dream of human-demon symbiosis. Nowadays, it was thought of as something great.

Even when he said that another world would be destroyed by the Great Collapse, Ria had agreed with the Demon King. When she was informed that that world was Earth, it was no longer possible to go to war against the demons. There was too much attachment between the demons and her own citizens.

That man had been carefully working behind the scenes long before Ria was born, even leading Lemdria into peace through a de facto defeat.

"Then the real negotiation will be after that bastard gets here.."

"Will it actually be a negotiation though…? There's no doubting that he's a tough opponent though."

Sipping their miso soup, Ria thought of the man who was a far distance away.

 

*

 

The conference room in a section of the National Assembly Building was guarded strictly, around a dozen men collected within.

They were the incumbent minister, senior bureaucrats, and big shots of the business world. This lineup certainly could shake all of Japan.

The big shots stood up and bowed as Ozen entered the room. Even though he himself says that he's retired, his influence hadn't decayed at all.

"Come now, raise your heads."

Doing as he said, everyone looked up and were surprised upon seeing the two people who followed in behind Ozen.

One was an overwhelming beauty who had black hair and golden eyes. The other was a young man.

"I'll start with some introductions. These two are Ria-san and Serge-kun, they came from that other world."

"I am the Archduke of the Ogress Archduchy, Ryuke Riana Crystal Casalia Ogress."

Ria had come in a modern button-up black business suit. Although she would have been alright with wearing the other world's style of clothing for intimidation purposes, she wanted to avoid standing out too much.

"I am a Baron of the Ogress Archduchy, Sagittarius Crystal Crowley."

Although Ozen introduced each of the men present in the meeting room, Ria honestly found memorizing their faces troublesome.

Serge wrote the information down on a notebook he pulled out of nowhere.

"Now then, how about we begin?"

Ozen and Ria sat down, everyone else following suit afterward.

The long discussion began.

"So then… first, I'd like to hear about that other world, but you… should I call you Your Excellency? Are you alright with using Japanese?"

"I don't mind if you use Your Excellency or Ryuke Riana, but I'm often called Your Majesty. Also, Japanese is fine."

"Then Your Majesty, I'd like to ask you about your world…"

"Serge, the map."

Serge projected a rough map of the Dragon Bone Continent in the air. Everyone still surprised over it, Ria started her explanation.

"This large blue area is the Demonlands. It is governed by Demon King Ars. The second largest area here in the south is Lemdria Kingdom. The third largest over in the west is the Ogress Archduchy. There are other countries, but I'd like to proceed with these three first."

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, this person you call the Demon King is, in other words, a ruler of demons? What do you mean by that?"

"Should I start with that then?"

Ria scratched her head. It was true that earthlings were only humans, they didn't have demons on their planet.

"There are three basic classifications of intelligent life on our world. Humans, demi-humans, and demons. Humans are the newest of the three, but they are also the most numerous. Demi-humans and demons are divided into further classifications. And the one who rules the demons is the Demon King."

"Umm, could you describe those 'demons' in some more detail? Are they hostile to humans, or…?"

"They used to be hostile. Even now, there are still some demons that are hostile. Though those brutish races also tend to be thought of as savages by other demons as well. While on the topic, there aren't any groups of human savages."

"Demons… how exactly are they different from humans?"

"That part is difficult… the definition of 'demon' was races that were hostile towards humans, demi-humans included, until recently. But now, after the Demon King's invasion, humans and demons have reconciled and live together. Still, to give you an example… vampires are demons."

Hearing her last words, people began to murmur.

"Did she say… vampires?"

"To say a few more that are well known on Earth, there's also goblins, dark elves, and werewolves."

A few inquisitive questions followed after that, but that shouldn't have been the theme of that day's discussions.

"So then, this Demon King is actively trying to destroy the Earth?"

"Although the Demon King did set the table, the ones who will be destroying the Earth are the God Dragons. To be precise… the Demon King prepared a situation such that the God Dragons must destroy the Earth."

"What do you mean by God Dragons?"

"Godslaying Dragons. They have lived in that world for several billion years and are quite literally our world's gods. In order to protect the world, they chose to destroy Earth as the natural order of things. The current situation is that we are trying to have at least some of Earth's humans migrate over first."

"According to Your Majesty's story, it sounds as though you could destroy the Earth even without bothering to accept immigrants…?"

"You are correct. That's why you could call what the Demon King is doing a… personal matter. He is a former Japanese citizen, after all."

"Japanese!?"

"He was summoned into that world when he was fifteen years old, killing that era's Demon King as the Hero. After that, he gathered together the disjointed demons and helped them become civilized. He spent a thousand years doing that."

"Can humans live a thousand years in that world?"

"If you use magic or request it from a God Dragon, it is possible. I myself am expected to live several hundred million years."

Several hundred million.

Mankind's history was at the most in the millions. Ria waited for everyone to calm back down.

And finally, the main topic came up.

Telling them that Japanese would have the priority in migrating over was Ria's gole.

"How could we transfer tens of millions of people into the sky…?"

"We have a way to manage that. If we use the floating continent, we could transfer a few hundred million in one go. We can just repeat that ten times and be done with it."

"A floating continent…?"

"It's a flying landmass that's 120 kilometers long. It can even travel through space, as it had originally been made as an outer space exploratory vessel to begin with."

"But what about facilities and equipment…?"

"We'll provide them. We should be able to catch up to at least the 1980's after ten years."

"Foolish."

"The populace will never consent to something like that."

"That's too unilateral!"

Ria felt nothing despite the hostile gazes.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something…"

Ria stood up and faced them with her Dragon Eyes. That alone caused enough pressure to bind them to their chairs.

"This is neither a negotiation nor a petition, it isn't even an order. It's a simple suggestion."

Smiling, Ria spoke.

"It's a simple suggestion. Shall all of Earth's earthlings disappear? Or shall a few earthlings survive? You have two choices."

Silence fell upon the meeting room.

"Do you need some time to think this over?"

Having stayed silent the whole time, Ozen made a remark.

"Ria-san, Serge-kun, could you leave us for a moment?"

Drinking coffees they'd gotten from a vending machine, Ria and Serge leaned up against the wall.

"… I wonder what'll happen."

"They probably won't be able to respond today. I guess they'll consult America?"

"America, huh… What about China and Russia?"

"We can ignore them. Especially China, they don't accept Japanese immigrants after all."

It was decided on when she talked with Ars. They wouldn't accept immigrants from China. Taiwan was another story though.

"Islam's a problem huh~"

"They wouldn't have Mecca, yeah. On that topic, Christianity would be a problem too though."

Devout Christians might just take this to be the Last Judgement and accept death. America would definitely resist it though.

"You can stop ICBMs too, right?"

"Yeah, probably. And we left that world's defense to the God Dragons too, anyway."

To be exact, the God Dragons were existences that defended that world, not the humans and demons within it.

They would be troubled if too many people died, though. She did verify that matter.

After just under an hour, Ria and Serge were called back into the conference room.

They'd half anticipated the conclusion.

Answer pending.

They would discuss it with the United States, their ally, before deciding what to do. Ria nodded her head.

"It doesn't matter either way, but if you plan on asking America for military backup, I suggest not doing so."

Giving them a friendly smile, Ria said the same thing as the Demon King.

"In the case you attack us, this country will disappear from the map."

 

*

 

"Well, that's that."

Leaving the National Assembly building, Ria bade farewell to Ozen.

"Where are you doing next?"

"To my family. Even in the worst case, I want to protect my family."

She would also temporarily separate from Serge.

How could she get them to believe her?

"Ozen, please make sure to put together some personnel to take along to the other world."

"… Do you truly believe the whole world will lose?"

"It won't even be a fight. It might be if we intended to capture it, though."

It'd definitely be prolonged if resistors used guerrilla tactics. But the Demon King and the God Dragons' goal was to destroy the planet itself. They weren't interested in its territories or resources.

"I'll head out first."

Serge teleported. His destination was his old home.

After bowing, Ria also set off, flying into the sky.

Everyone present in seeing them off were stunned. Ozen called out to them.

"How about we get to work? It's impossible, but we can still hope."

—This will be my final public service.

Ozen muttered in his heart.