Previously:

"You could've been seriously hurt!! Do you realize how lucky you are this nice onee-san was able to save you!? Did you thank her properly yet?" Hope asked strictly.

"Th-Thank you, onee-san…" Aladdin told the young woman who had just saved him, trembling slightly with shock at Hope's sudden transformation. He really hadn't been expecting that at all. Hope let out a sigh.

"All right, come here…" she said, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry I hit you… just try to be more careful next time, okay?"

"… Okay…" Aladdin said, forgiving her almost instantly as he snuggled up against her soft chest.

"Yeah, seriously, be more careful…" Faith said, sweat-dropping. Her sister was 99% angel, but you did not want to tap into that last 1%...

The young woman who had saved Aladdin, Ren Hakuei, smiled as she watched the exchange, thinking those sisters must have been very worried about their little brother. It made her think of her own… But now was not the time for that. The arrival of her armed escort was a firm reminder of that.

Chapter 23: The Great Kouga Empire

"I am the third child of the first emperor of the Kou Empire, Ren Hakuei. I have some to engage in diplomatic talks with you." Hakuei formally introduced herself to the Kouga Clan and their leader once her retainers had arrived.

"Emperor's daughter!!" the people gasped in astonishment.

'Crap…!!' the twins thought, fighting to keep their poker faces firmly intact. Hope hadn't expected to run into the Kou Empire again so soon, let alone another member of the royal family… But it was too late to hide now. Doing that would just make them look suspicious and draw attention. The princess didn't seem to recognize them as possible fugitives, so their best option was to play it cool for now. Hope shot her sister a look to remind her to keep a low profile.

"… Welcome, Your Highness." Baba greeted her. "I am the granddaughter of the 155th King of the Kouga Clan. My name is Chagan Shaman."

"I know that name well." Hakuei said with a polite bow to the older woman. "In our country too, there are legends about you. 'The Kouga Clan', the most prosperous 'troopers'. In the past, there was no greater horse-riding tribe. I have heard that the first king, Chagan Han, who 'possessed a power comparable to that of a demon' built the greatest nation in history… and the name of your country, that was one step away from the unification of the world was the 'Great Kouga Empire'." The members of the clan narrowed their eyes at her. "However, in recent years, your nation's power has waned. They even say you've fallen victim to the slave trade." The people bit their lips as they glared at her, mortified that she would dare to bring it up. "Never the less, your suffering ends today." Hakuei continued bravely. "People of the Kouga Clan… Come under our patronage! Be part of our Kou Empire!" she finished grandly.

"!!?" Everyone gasped.

"Be part of you!?" one of the men asked incredulously.

"We of the Kou Empire have dominated the plains of the far east. In the future, we shall also dominate the lands of the Reim Empire in the west and Partevia in the southwest… In other words, our aim is to 'unify the world'! This is the same dream… that your ancestors pursued! I ask for your help in realizing it. Please, lend us your strength." Hakuei said earnestly.

"The same dream… as our ancestors…" members of the clan began to murmur amongst themselves.

"…" Baba, Aladdin, and the twins stood there, considering everything they had just heard. The arrival of the Kou Empire on their doorstep spelled trouble for everyone involved. You could cut the tension with a knife. Aladdin looked down at his flute.

"What happened? Ugo-kun?" He asked quietly, wondering why the Djinn suddenly seemed restless.

"Maybe they don't understand…" said one of the men standing beside the princess. "You're so high and majestic…"

"Of course they will…" Hakuei told him. Hope frowned. She didn't like the look of that man. He was totally different from the princess and her other attendant. His contempt for the situation was way too obvious. It was like he wasn't even trying to hide it… He was clearly looking down on the clan.

"Hey!! Don't speak in such a friendly way." Dorji said grimly. "'Be part of us' means… 'surrender' our village, doesn't it?"

"Doesn't it!?"

"It does!!"

"Silence!!" Baba commanded sternly. "Give us time, Princess. It is not easy to accept this proposal so suddenly. Since our ancestors' time, we have been independent." She stated calmly, doing her best to be diplomatic without surrendering any of their dignity.

"I understand…" said Hakuei.

"…" the rude man behind her frowned.

"Umm… I've poured some horse milk wine, so why don't you come inside and talk calmly with us?" Toya offered politely with a kind smile.

"Oh, thank you." Hakuei said, happy to find someone who was willing to negotiate. But as Toya was handing over one of the bowls on her tray, the rude man suddenly thrust his hand out at Toya's chest and pushed her away harshly with enough force to send her to the ground.

"!!?" Everyone gasped in shock as she fell to the ground, soaked with spilled milk.

"Are you all right!?" Hope asked, kneeling down to check on her. The poor thing looked mortified.

"That bastard…!" Faith cursed under her breath, clenching her fist as vein throbbed on her forehead. It was bad enough that he had pushed Toya, but he had made sure to maximize her embarrassment by gripping her breast as he did it.

"What are you doing!?" Hakuei shouted angrily at the man.

"I have a position for such an act. I cannot allow the princess to take things from immigrants." He stated smugly. "In addition, in our country horse milk is compared to a drink for dogs."

'Immigrants…?' Hope thought, frowning deeply. Did he forget whose territory they were in right now? 'As I thought, this man is…'

"Ryosai!!" Hakuei said sternly, furrowing her brow in disapproval. They were not there to make enemies. The man frowned.

"You cannot do this just for a negotiation." Ryosai told her before turning to address the rest of those present. "Hey, you!! From now on, this village is under the control of the Kou Empire! Submit to our authority at once!! Is it not a good trade!? We are saving you from this disgusting and stinking life of mud and horseshit!!" he sneered loftily, pointing to Toya in her stained dress. Hope narrowed her eyes and glared coldly at the hateful man while she held Toya, who paled, trembling nervously, as she tried to cover herself out of embarrassment and humiliation. Dorji's eyes widened and his pupils constricted with anger when he saw the state she was in. "If you want to know how high the level of human happiness is… then join our empire!" Ryosai finished with a vindictive grin. The next thing he knew, Hope was rushing past him in a blur.

"Hey… You two need to calm down…" Hope said evenly as she stood between Ryosai's back and Dorji and Faith, holding her sister's raised foot in one hand and the spoon she had just used to deflect Dorji's blade in the other.

"Huh!?" Ryosai said, looking startled to see just how close he had come to being attacked.

'This girl…!' Hakuei thought, astonished by her speed.

"I know how you feel," Hope continued as they all held their ground, "but striking this man down could be construed as an open invitation to war… Is that what you want?"

"How dare you… insult my family?" Dorji said angrily, glaring straight past her at Ryosai. The hand holding his sword was trembling with rage.

"Stop, Dorji!!" Baba said urgently, stepping in to help Hope diffuse the situation before it exploded in their faces.

"You too, Faith." Said Hope calmly, keeping a firm grip on her sister's shoe. "Let it go."

"But he…!!" Faith said, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"We're guests here. Such an important decision shouldn't be decided by us." Hope reminded her seriously. "Don't cause trouble for our hosts."

"…!" Faith bit her lip and clenched her fists as she finally lowered her leg. Hope was right, she knew that… but it didn't stop her from being pissed off.

"And you…" Hope said lowly. Her face was cast partially in shadow as she turned to face Ryosai. "Princess, forgive me if this sounds rude, but I think before you try to take anyone else under your wing, you might want to take a better look at those already serving you. Coming into someone else's home and insulting their way of life… for someone who claims to be 'higher', you have a really low personality." She told him. "Why don't you try coming back after learning some manners, sir?" she requested coolly with enough frost in her voice to freeze a lake solid, standing straight and proud as she lectured the condescending bastard.

"You little…!!" Ryosai shouted furiously, raising a hand against her. Faith tensed, getting ready to bury him.

"Ryosai!!" Hakuei snapped sternly, stopping him in his tracks. "You will stand down as well. We're leaving now." She ordered firmly. What the girl had said wasn't wrong. As a force seeking peaceful negotiation, this was a shameful way for them to act. And judging by the looks on the faces of the clan members, if they pushed them any more, then they would have a riot on their hands. In order to avoid a violent conclusion to this meeting, they were left with little choice but to withdraw for the moment. Aladdin stared after the princess, watching as she and her entourage left to return to their base.

"I am sorry…" Baba apologized to the twins with a bow. "As you said, Hope, you and your sister are guests here, and yet you have become drawn into our troubles… You stopped Dorji from doing irreparable harm, and you even got angry on our behalf…"

"Please, there's no need for you to feel bad about it. We took action because we wanted to, that's all." Hope reassured her with a kind smile.

"Yeah! That guy was really pissing me off!!" Faith muttered moodily, still ticked. "Hmph! But so much for keeping a low profile…"

"Yeah, there's no way they'll forget us now…" Hope said with a chagrined sigh, sweat-dropping. They were so screwed.

"Why did you stop me, Your Highness?" Ryosai demanded later that evening as he confronted Hakuei in her tent. "That was a golden opportunity to bury those damned barbarians. Why let it go to waste?"

"Calm down." Hakuei said patiently. "They are future citizens of the Kou Empire. Let us consider what the best strategy would be."

"Yes!" Seisyun Ri and the rest of the soldiers responded dutifully.

"…!!" Ryosai grit his teeth in annoyance.

"I will decide how we should move forward by tomorrow morning." Hakuei said as she stood and moved to leave the tent. "Give rest to the soldiers."

"… She is too kind! The princess does not understand war…" Ryosai bemoaned bitterly once she was out of sight.

"Be careful, Ryosai!!" one of the especially loyal high-ranking soldiers snapped at him, while Seisyun listened closely in her absence.

"…" Hakuei paused for a moment outside the tent, having just heard everything. She sighed as she allowed her fatigue to show for a moment. "… I can't. As general, I've got to keep everyone in line!" she scolded herself, clenching her fists as she straightened up again.

"Good evening, onee-san!" Aladdin greeted her from above.

"!!?" Hakuei gasped, surprised to see him hovering over her on his magic turban. "Who's there!?" she asked nervously as he came lower, preparing to draw her sword. Aladdin grabbed his turban and quickly wrapped it around his head again as he landed before her.

"Hi! I'm Aladdin, a traveler." He greeted her with a friendly smile and a little wave. "Thanks for this afternoon. I'm a little interested in you, onee-san, so I decided to drop by!" He had made up his mind to come without the twins since they seemed to want to avoid being captured.

"…!?" Hakuei said, staring at him in astonishment. 'The boy from this afternoon… why is he here?' she wondered. 'More importantly… That cloth… can it be possible…'

"I want to chat with you for a little while… Can I?" Aladdin asked.

"…" Hakuei let out a small sigh as she relaxed and took her hand off her sword. "But of course, young man. There are things I would like to discuss with you as well."