Draconia Offline vol. 2

83.3. My Alien Half - Part 3

Because of my little incident during breakfast, we arrive slightly late. The throne room is already full and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence are waiting. I met Minister Hayashi only very briefly at the airport when I was greeting the Japanese delegation, but I didn't have any time to analyse him back then.

It surprises me when I realise how young he is—he can't be over forty yet. His skills and ambitions must be exceptional otherwise he would never acquire such a high posting so young. I remind myself that the Minister of Defence is second only to the Prime Minister so I should treat him with respect.

Hayashi is piercing me with his gaze when I'm passing him to get to the throne. He bows out of pure politeness and habit because it's the Japanese custom and I sense that he won't be nearly as amicable as Ichikawa. I can tell that he disagrees with the decision of the Japanese government to let Draconians protect their country.

"Good morning, I apologise for my lateness. We can start now," I sit on the throne and nod so that everyone can sit down as well. I wink at Gotrid, happy to be reunited with my beloved, and I also give a reassuring smile to Liana and Gavreel who have been working hard since early morning.

The meeting starts and my suspicion proves right. Hayashi hates the idea of Draconians being primarily in charge of protecting Japan against monsters and the Japanese Self-Defence Forces just assisting us with damage control. He's willing to cooperate with us only because there's no other way and he has to comply with the final decision of the Japanese government.

I don't hold it against him, though. Unlike Delgado, I can feel that he doesn't hate Draconians by default. He just doesn't like the idea of losing control. He wants to be the one to protect his homeland, it's only understandable. I make it a priority to talk to him informally during a coffee break. Maybe part of the problem is that he doesn't like negotiating with someone who's literally sitting on a throne.

At ten, Liana finally calls for a break. I drank one cup of coffee during the meeting and I go for another at the buffet tables the first chance I get. I feel so tired. If I take a nap after lunch, will my father use that opportunity for a short training session? I hope not.

"You shouldn't drink that much coffee, love, you know it makes you jittery," Gotrid is worried when he sees me drinking my second latté in just a few gulps.

"I crave caffeine today," I shrug it off and look for an opportunity to make small talk with the Minister of Defence.

I see him standing next to his entourage, ignoring the delicious refreshments we had prepared for our esteemed guests. Instead, he's whispering something to his assistant and looks annoyed. The Prime Minister, on the other hand, is chatting quite merrily with Liana. Good, that's one thing taken care of.

I try to mingle, but there's no such thing as the Emperor casually mingling. The Celestials seem to think that break from the meeting means that I have time for them now. As much as I'd love to spend more time chatting with my subjects, I have a mission. I tell the guards to make a passage and they do.

"Your Majesty," Hayashi gets startled when he notices that I'm confidently heading to him.

I want to say it's impossible that someone like the Minister of Defence would be afraid of me, but he is. He sees the Celestial Emperor approaching with his Royal Guard and my pretty face that Erik and Gotrid love so much isn't helping. My attempted smile is probably only making it worse. I'm alien in his eyes and he knows only half of it.

"These are pretty good, Hayashi-san," I say, taking one of the canapés from the buffet table and putting it into my mouth, hoping to break the ice.

"I'm vegan," he informs me dryly.