ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (1)

Quarrel Between Brothers

January 27, 2029

Lithianburg, capital of the Crossnellyard Empire

"All right, all right... good! Bring it down!"

Construction workers' voices echoed through the air, and the sound of hammers beat a high-pitched rhythm. Around the planned construction site of the clinic, which had begun construction in the suburbs of the capital, outer walls and floors that had been prepared in advance in Japan were laid out, and these were lifted up by cranes and placed one after another on the foundation that had already been built over the planned site. So-called prefabricated buildings. Around the construction site, residents from the suburbs of the capital gathered to watch the construction work, as if the heavy machinery from Japan was a rare sight.

"Ooh, that's amazing! That heavy-looking thing can be lifted with ease!"

One onlooker pointed to a truck lifting the outer wall and exclaimed in amazement.

"Is that another tool from the far east?"

"It's from a country called Japan. They are building something at the direct request of the Emperor."

"By order of His Majesty? What in the world is this?"

The people of the capital looked with interest at the structures being built by the unfamiliar dark-eyed, dark-haired foreigners.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Same day

Imperial Palace, Emperor's Office

At this hour of the day, two men were visiting the office where Emperor Fasta III was performing his duties.

"Brother! What in the world you are thinking!?"

The name of the banging on the emperor's desk and denouncing him is Alphon Sikh Anglem. He is the biological brother of Emperor Fasta Ed Anglem.

"...What is it?"

Fasta, seemingly oblivious to his angry brother, took one look at Alphon's face and asked him the reason for his anger.

"That country of Japan... why did you ask unknowns like them to establish a medical clinic, if not just to establish diplomatic relations!? And what excuse will you give... to the Pope of Rovance for inviting a pagan to be the court physician!?"

The younger brother Alphon lashed out in indignation at his brother's words and actions over the past few months. The reason is that the Emperor of Crossnellyard is subordinate to the Pope of Rovance in terms of his position in the Irulan faith. Furthermore, the physicians of the Irulan states are trained by the Church, and the imperial and royal physicians of the Irulan states are trained by the Head Temple, which is the best medical school in the Irulan realm. The rule is that physicians who have graduated from Delight Medical College are dispatched. In other words, the act of refusing the appointment of a physician sent by the Head Temple and accepting a pagan medical doctor as the court physician was an insult to the Head Temple.

If this offends the Pope and the emperor or the imperial family is excommunicated, there is no telling how the people, especially the aristocracy, who are Irulans, will look at them. In the worst case scenario, the seven Knight Commanders and eleven Margraves who govern the eighteen regions of Crossnellyard, excluding Imperial Domain, would be forced to take up arms against the emperor and his family. Alphon is worried about these things.

"After seeing the work of their country's physicians in Zittold, which eradicated an epidemic, I decided that it would be better for the people to entrust the medical care of the capital to the Japanese physicians rather than to the Church physicians. That's all."