ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (1)

Memoirs of an Envoy

October 2, morning

Port of Alinor, Ilamania Kingdom

On this morning, a group of officials dispatched by the Royal Government gathered at the port of Alinor, the capital of the Ilamania Kingdom, located on the eastern tip of Northaroia Island. Headed by Mihira Skelethal, Director General of the Diplomatic Service of the Ilamania Kingdom, they were entrusted by the King with the mission of sending a delegation to Japan. At the pier of the port, they met a man who had been sent from Japan.

"Greetings, gentlemen of the Ilamanian Delegation. I am Daigo Minami, dispatched by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I will serve as your guide."

"...My name is Mihira Skelethal, Director General of the Diplomatic Service of the Ilamania Kingdom. I have been appointed by His Majesty the King as the delegate of the mission. Mr. Daigo, it is my pleasure to serve you as well."

The representatives of the two countries introduced themselves and shook hands with each other. Minami, the guide, explained the future schedule.

"That is our passenger ship, the Oriental Ocean, and you will be boarding her. However, due to the insufficient depth of the water in this port, we were unable to dock. Therefore, we will take another small boat to that ship."

Minami pointed to a huge white ship floating on the sea, which had not been there when the Japanese envoy first appeared.

"The ship will be escorted by the Akizuki, a Japanese naval vessel, which should arrive within a day."

Minami then pointed to a huge gray ship floating next to the passenger ship. This is the same ship that carried the first Japanese envoy to the Ilamania Kingdom.

'...It's really big. It doesn't have sails, but it's not going to go with wind power, is it...? By the way, I have heard that the powerful nations of the western world are developing ships with self-propelled engines... However, a ship as huge as that... even the powerful nations don't have that.'

Mihira, the delegation's representative, looked at the Japanese cruise ship and warship anchored offshore and pondered. All they could tell at this point was that Japan, at the very least, possessed technology beyond the scope of their common sense.

. . .

Memoirs of Mihira Skelethal, Head of Delegation

October 2

On the morning of this day, we departed for the mainland of Japan on a Japanese passenger ship. A man named Daigo Minami was dispatched from the diplomatic service of Japan to guide us. He called himself "Minami Daigo". The order of family names in Japan seems to be reversed from that of our country.

The Japanese ship was so large that it could be mistaken for a castle, and it was made of iron and had no sails. It is really a ship of another world, one that is so far removed from our common sense. The ship's interior is so large that it could be mistaken for a castle. The interior of the ship is more gorgeous than the royal castle of our country, and even though the ship is moving through the sea at a speed that is unbelievably fast, it does not sway too much, and the interior of the ship is so bright and dry that it is hard to believe it is inside a ship. And thanks to the excellent food preservation technology, the food served on board was fresh and plentiful, tasting better than anything we had ever eaten on the ground.

Accompanying the cruise ship was the Akizuki, a Japanese warship that was used by the Japanese to make the first contact with the Ilamania Kingdom. This ship is as large as the cruise ship, but according to Mr. Minami, the Japanese Navy owns 50 'goei kan' warships, including the Akizuki, and a total of 140 ships. This is a small number for the navy in general, but it is only for the sailing warships of our world. With 50 or 140 ships like this, they could at least conquer this Far Eastern World in no time at all.