24. Embassy 2

The prevailing view among Western governments was gradually settling on the idea that Agirakana did not appear to harbor aggressive intentions—so long as they refrained from making peculiar overtures toward Japan, all would be well—and accordingly, financial markets across the nations began to stabilize. Still, commodity markets, particularly those related to energy and metals—oil, natural gas, coal, and the like, which Japan consumed in massive quantities—remained sluggish.

Diplomatic overtures from various national governments toward Agirakana were, for Japan, effectively limited to requesting mediation—though Agirakana’s unilateral declaration of defensive obligations rendered it impossible to determine what constituted an attack on Japan, thereby precluding any meaningful pressure. Consequently, no effective action could be taken. At this juncture, Western governments were attempting, however faintly, to align Agirakana with their own national interests, though that seemed unfeasible in the immediate term; their primary concern, therefore, was simply avoiding harm to their own interests—a stance characterized by cautious inaction.

The Japanese Government, for its part, was providing explanations to foreign governments regarding Agirakana—but these amounted to nothing beyond what had already been reported in the media.

In the morning, after surveying the Embassy grounds, I returned to AA-0001, changed into civilian clothes, slipped my apartment key and wallet into my pocket, and descended via stealth mode to the rooftop of my condominium. Ain was the only one accompanying me. The small liaison craft remained on standby in the upper atmosphere.

Ain opened the elevator room key as usual, and I returned to my apartment. After the door’s lock clicked open and I stepped into the small foyer, there it was—the everyday life I’d known in Japan.

“Captain, no tea seems to be available. Shall I make coffee instead?”

“Thank you.”

Drawing back the closed curtains revealed the same view I’d seen from this room all along.

The golden rod beneath the bed remained covered in the blanket, just as it was. Strange—was I just feeling a bit worn down? Back in the day, I’d joke that money never accumulated, but fatigue did, and laugh about it.

The smartphone, left on the table beside the television, had already run out of power.

“Here you are.”

Taking the coffee poured into a mug and set on the dining table, I sat down and took a moment to steady myself.

“Captain, your smartphone can be used right away on the upper decks. I’ll have a few more power outlets installed in your quarters.”

“Then I’ll take it with me.”

Slipping the charger and smartphone into my pocket, I left the room. The curtains had already been closed by Ain.

I descended to the first floor, sorted through the mail from the mailbox, then returned to the rooftop and signaled the shuttlecraft.

Returning to his quarters aboard AA-0001, Keiichi found that two-pronged outlets had already been installed in several locations, so he plugged in his charger and began charging his smartphone.

The moment the smartphone was powered on, piro-rin. Piro-rin.

The ring of a notification echoed through the silence. Upon checking, nearly all of them were emails from Ichijō. Once the Embassy had settled down a bit, I’d contact that one too.

Whether or not I have a work schedule is uncertain, but I decide to change back into my uniform and head to the adjacent temporary office.

Sitting in my makeshift Office, I request tea from the female secretary in the room. They, too, are working at desks set up in this space. My desk is the only one that looks luxurious—a long rectangular business desk—but the ones they’re using are the same curved operation boards used in Agirakana’s Secretary's Office.

“Just received word from the Japanese Government—they’re saying they’ll be sealing off the area around the embassy site starting tomorrow morning at six, with police enforcement to ensure full compliance.”

One might not have expected quite this level of formality, but then again, this is probably one of the gestures of sincerity Japan is making toward Agirakana.

“Confirm from our side that no one has entered the premises, and if everything checks out, inform the Japanese Government that we’ll begin construction of the embassy at seven a.m. tomorrow.”

“Understood. Also, what about the logistics terminal?”

“We’ll handle that all at once. We’ve already identified a few key resources—can we ship them from Agirakana via transport vessel? Let’s get trade started early, so the Japanese people can start feeling the benefits of Agirakana’s generosity. Apparently, everyone there’s been waiting for Japanese food.”

“That’s right—using H2×2 (H2 Twin)-class transport ships, we can carry substantial quantities of resources, so loading up on notable minerals and just floating them near the Moon would be quite convenient, wouldn’t it? As for foodstuffs and other imports from Japan, a few C1-class transport ships should be more than enough.”

“What exactly are H2×2-class and C1-class transport ships like?”

“The H2×2 is originally based on the H2-class: two 240-meter-sided hexagonal prisms, each 2,400 meters long, joined together into a twin-hull spacecraft. Since it’s just a transport vessel, there’s no armored hull like you’d find on a warship.”

“Not sure what’s stored inside, but with that capacity, Japan’s needs could be met for years… wouldn’t you say?”

"Given that the volume exceeds 700 million cubic meters, that’s quite a substantial amount. We can’t produce crude oil directly, but we can manufacture various petroleum products from methane, ammonia, and other hydrocarbons—so it might be wise to stock up on those. As for gases, the construction vessel currently near Jupiter is drawing from the planet’s atmosphere through its atmospheric extraction wells, which means we can tap into an endless supply. That’ll be slightly faster than shipping from Agirakana."

"So that’s why the construction vessel always stays put near Jupiter. Makes sense. What about the Class C transport ships?"

"Smaller, but still a Class C transport ship—about twenty meters in diameter, a hundred meters long, cylindrical in shape. The new distribution terminal was designed with this model in mind. It's the smallest standard transport vessel available, but it can still carry a respectable load, and it's not particularly slow—so from Agirakana, a round trip is doable in a single day."

"Tankers for oil are big because they have to be—size is expected. But for gas or refined petroleum products, you’d probably need to fit into tanks specified by the recipient. In that case, each receiving location would need its own docking station—or, more precisely, infrastructure for resource intake."

Let’s draft a docking station specification—something like that—and have the supplier company build it. Try to make it substantial, something Japan’s technology can handle without issue. The construction costs will be covered by Agirakana, so don’t worry about that. That way, at least a few decent enterprises should benefit, right? Though that’s still a ways off, Ain—just keep it in mind.”

“Consider a docking station specification with sufficient margin for expansion.”

“Then, Ain, I’m counting on you.”

“Once the embassy building is complete, it might be worth hiring Japanese staff to conduct direct negotiations with Japanese firms. For now, perhaps recall the attachés who’ve already grown somewhat accustomed to Japanese culture—they’ll be able to manage the initial phase.”

We’ll need personnel to bridge the gap with the Japanese Government, too. And someone to coordinate them all.

"The派驻 officer should be recalled promptly. As for the Japanese staff, we’ll actively hire them—just one, but we do have someone in mind."

We do have someone in mind, though it remains unclear whether they’ll actually be of any use.