78. Meeting

The temporary immigration reception facility, entrusted to Ichijō, is progressing smoothly—candidate sites have been identified, and design work is underway in sequence. Considering future needs, we’ve instructed them to build with considerable surplus capacity. From Agirakana’s perspective, diagnostic and medical equipment to be installed within the facility is being fabricated aboard their construction vessels.

Amid these arrangements, the week turned over. Today is the day of the press conference with the head of government of this nation. It’s been a while since I’ve appeared in public—well, we’ll see how it goes.

I headed toward the Prime Minister's residence with Ain, Maria, and nine uniformed infantry personnel. The infantry were distributed across four Embassy vehicles, three per large sedan, forming a convoy. Though the infantry were lightly equipped, their combat gear allowed them to move faster than ordinary sedans—but since it was impractical to have foreign soldiers in full combat gear speeding through city streets, they were dressed in their standard uniforms and crammed into the sedans instead.

The appointed time was ten o’clock. Arriving five minutes early, I found the Prime Minister’s residence already surrounded by reporters. I recall that the first time I came here, there’d been a police cordon set up far away—but this time, no such measures had been taken.

Stepping out of the car parked in front of the Prime Minister’s official residence, I was immediately blinded by a barrage of flashes—close-up and intense, leaving me squinting despite the brief moment of adjustment.

Only one man stood at the entrance. Later I learned he was one of the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries. Without so much as a formal greeting, he led me through the building to a conference room. The ground troops remained stationed just outside the front doors.

Inside the conference room, I found a row of people I had never met before—familiar only from old television broadcasts—and they were seated side by side, gesturing us to take our places across from them.

Wait—no greetings? No introductions? Fine, I suppose. But what’s with these people? Don’t they know the basics of professional conduct?

“You’re Mr. Yamada, representative of Agirakana, aren’t you? You’re rather young for the role. I assume you know who I am—I’m Minister of State, Hanada Naoki.”

Not at all—though he was the representative of a nation, and perhaps, by formal pretense, an ambassador now, he certainly wasn’t acting the part. I felt Maria, seated beside me, glowering at Prime Minister Hando, though Ain, seated beside her, seemed to have placed a hand on her knee to still her. The atmosphere suggested it would be best to cut one’s losses early. As Ain had said yesterday, the Sōmei Party had already cut ties with this administration, stepping back and refusing to send ministers—clearly a sound judgment.

Since there was no proper response, I offered a vague smile.

“Then, what brings you here today? I’m Cabinet Secretary Makino.”

Hmm? I suppose the official pretext today was that Agirakana would formally notify the Japanese Government of its decision to begin accepting Japanese immigrants—yet evidently, the Prime Minister hadn’t been informed.

“Minister of Foreign Affairs Morita. Prime Minister, my apologies for the delay in communication. Mr. Yamada, our representative, has come to the Prime Minister’s residence today to formally notify the Government of Japan that Agirakana will begin accepting immigrants in the near future.”

What’s going on with this Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? I’d been told beforehand—by a visiting official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—that we’d already been notified. The relationship between this administration and the bureaucracy seems to be rather strained. But I hadn’t expected to get caught in the crossfire like this.

“That’s right. You’re asking to relocate our nation’s citizens to Agirakana, I assume. Of course, the Japanese government can’t legally prevent individuals from renouncing their nationality, so we can only say, ‘Be our guest.’ Honestly, though, we’d be grateful if you took those over seventy-five along with you. Ha ha ha.”

I understand the sentiment—but is it appropriate to say such things in public, especially in front of a foreign representative like us?

“Understood, on that matter. Also, Minister Kurokawa has something to convey to Mr. Yamada of Agirakana. Please see to it accordingly.”

"Kurokawa here. First, regarding the interest-free, indefinite loan of one trillion yen previously extended by the Japanese Government to Agirakana—now would be an appropriate time to return it. Second, concerning the grounds of Agirakana’s Embassy in Harumi, we kindly request that future use be accompanied by rental payments. The amount is two billion yen annually. Should Agirakana’s finances be as robust as rumored, this should pose no difficulty."

By the time I’d finished listening, my head had started aching. I hadn’t felt a headache since quitting that company—about fifteen years, maybe. Fresh, certainly, but this one… what to make of it? That one trillion yen was, admittedly, borrowed money—but I’d already spent more than that on purchases from Japan. I’d never bothered to check how much cash was in the Embassy’s account, but a trillion yen or so was surely there. Two hundred billion yen annually in rent was outrageous, yes—but negligible compared to Agirakana’s earnings in Japan. Given the current fiscal state of the Japanese Government, this sum couldn’t be significant for them either. In short, these people want to distance themselves from Japan—just as the United States, once an ally, now stands apart. I see.

The matter on this side had not reached the other, and the matter on the other side had not reached this one. This is beyond repair now. One can understand why other nations would lose interest in dealing with this government, and why there would be no diplomatic matters to speak of.

"Understood. We’ll arrange for that matter promptly."

But can something like this possibly count as a diplomatic achievement? I cannot comprehend it at all.

"Thank you for your understanding," said Kurokawa, the Minister of Finance, bowing politely. The others were suppressing smirks.

Seeing Ain nod, I assumed the procedure would be concluded by day’s end. In the meantime, I’d ask Ain later to handle the formalities of renouncing Japanese citizenship. I’m already a full-fledged Agirakana citizen.

“Lastly, Mr. Yamada—about the Agirakana spacecraft hovering above Tokyo. Could we possibly relocate it?” Prime Minister Hantani said to me.

True, even if 100 kilometers up is technically outside territorial airspace, having a massive starship parked directly over the capital is hardly a comforting sight. Yet the Blaze is, in many ways, a symbol of Japan’s defense—so is it really wise to move it?

“Understood. We’ll carry out the relocation shortly.”

“I’m glad you said that. Oh, thank you.”

Having nothing further to contribute, I remained silent. Then Cabinet Secretary Makino spoke.

“Then, shall we conclude the meeting? We’ve prepared a commemorative photo session in the adjacent room—please follow along.”

What in the world is this farce?

We were led into the adjacent room, where, under the relentless flash of reporters’ cameras, we were forced into a smiling handshake with Prime Minister Hantani. His hand was oddly damp.

“Today, Yamada Keiichi, Representative of Agirakana and Agirakana’s Ambassador to Japan, visited the Prime Minister’s residence and held talks with Prime Minister Hantani and other senior cabinet ministers. According to a government statement, after prolonged negotiations between the Prime Minister and the Agirakana Representative, the Japanese Government has agreed to repay the one trillion yen previously loaned to Agirakana. Additionally, the Government has consented to pay an annual fee of two billion yen for the use of the land on which the Agirakana Embassy has been located. Furthermore, it appears Agirakana has agreed to relocate its spacecraft from Tokyo’s upper atmosphere in the near future.”

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