Those Who Look to the Future

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This is this month's chapter.

I chose this title because it is a conversation among two sides who are looking at opposite 'futures,' but we'll see what happens...

- Kazuhiro Kasami

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October 12, 1750

Singularity Castle, Valsinki, Finweden Sea Kingdom

A brief flashback.

In the city of Valsinki, the capital of the Finweden Sea Kingdom, in the Singularity Castle, the high-ranking officials had gathered for a meeting discussing the country of Japan.

"We should concentrate our forces and strengthen the defense of the capital!! The Grand Lago Kingdom had joined Japan in the recent naval clash and they sank our newest battleship!! It was thought that we were at least evenly matched until now... but now!!"

"Indeed. At this rate, it could escalate into a world war, possibly involving the Empire."

"But if we fail to respond to the Empire's request, that would also be a problem."

This state of affairs had been in turmoil for a while now, and it had already been going on for more than three days. All of this was due to suspicions that "Japan might have more power than the Yetisk Empire," as well as the fact that the Grand Lago Kingdom had achieved unprecedented strengthening.

Furthermore, it could be seen that the problems in this country were twisted in various ways when no one, including the king, could blame the negligence of the military and intelligence departments, who had been complacent, thinking that "the Yetisk Empire is the world's greatest country, and we, as its subordinates, cannot lose." Even King Sulo was honestly just thinking, "What should we do?" and couldn't come up with any cohesive ideas. Naturally, it was also difficult for his vassals to unify their opinions.

The Yetisk Empire apparently never thought that its vassal would lose, and they had remained completely silent since then. If the Empire had diplomatic sensibility like "We should have a ceasefire and establish diplomatic relations to assess our opponent," the situation might have improved. However, the Empire was too prideful in claiming to be the "greatest in the world," and the Finweden Sea Kingdom, which followed suit, was not skilled in diplomacy either. So, if you were to say that this chaos was self-inflicted, it wouldn't be an exaggeration.

"We are currently preparing an additional budget to secure new forces to replace the sunken battleship in the navy... but will the enemy wait for us?"

"Rumor has it that Japan is heavily inclined towards pacifism. Will they attack us first?"

"Well, I don't know. They deployed a large force against the Yi Empire, even though their country didn't suffer any damage. Whether they will do the same to us..."

"Shouldn't we consider requesting assistance from the Empire?"

"I doubt the Empire will be willing to act in our favor..."

"The Empire has been heavily committed to recent campaigns in the Eastern regions, so they have become sluggish. It's probably best not to have high expectations."

In terms of direction, there is a sense that "we don't want to fight a stronger Japan," but being the vassal of the Yetisk Empire, they cannot surrender without the Empire's permission. Currently, the fighter planes deployed for capital defense are Snufkin fighters, which closely resemble the Bf 109 (early model) and are capable of speeds of up to 620 km/h. Due to their short range, they were deployed for the defense of the capital.

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