Disclaimer: FoZ/ZnT belong to the departed Noboru Yamaguchi and whoever inherited the I.P.. Any real life organisation/person is merely being used in a fictional non-profit way.

Author's notes: Here's the next chapter. Many thanks to Tundra Fox, Trainalf and F-14 Tomcatlover for the help here.

To the reviewer called Fate: When you look at the FoZ's universe, you can actually realize that it's quite ripe for a political thriller. The whole Reconquista trying to take over, intrigues in Henrietta's court, the Gallian power plays with Joseph and Vittorio's scheming. The light novels considerably amp up the Pope's meddling and string pulling compared to the Anime. Since the main focus is on it being a harem series with the related tropes… well most of the political thriller aspects get thrown out. Hope you enjoy this chapter though… lots of political plays.

Haven't forgotten about the Zero fighter nor the other Earth weapons scattered all over Halkeginia and hidden inside Romalia's vaults and crypts… Gonna be very interesting to write!

The Great Powers

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump were seated and waiting when Henrietta entered the room, flanked by Saito and Louise. She could immediately note the different atmosphere. There wasn't the friendliness of the earlier meal- this was all serious. Even Trudeau had stopped smiling. Her group were led to seats opposite of both men. The Canadian Prime Minister cleared his throat.

"The first matter we should be discussing is this mysterious portal that has opened up between our worlds," he declared in a serious tone.

"I understand," Henrietta replied, "This mystery is something that our best scholars are unable to comprehend. We have summoned the finest Earth mages of our kingdom to its site but it has not yet been conclusive."

"I see," Trump answered flatly.

"Have your scholars met with any success?" Henrietta asked, hoping that they would tell the truth.

Both men shook their heads.

"Our scientists don't understand any of this," Trump explained bluntly, "They've been working on it but without any success. We even called up our allies in Europe and they're just as baffled as us."

This caught Henrietta off-guard. A world with such wondrous things couldn't comprehend that portal?

"I believe that it would be in our mutual interest that our researchers and your scholars work together on understanding the portal," Trudeau suggested, "It could also beneficial that they work together on other subjects."

"I agree M. Trudeau," the princess said, curiosity in her voice, " Such a contribution can be beneficial but I cannot see what my scholars can know that yours do not."

"The answer is quite simple: Magic," he answered pleasantly, "We don't have magic on Earth outside of legends and stories. Many of our scientists would be quite happy to study how it works even if they can't use it."

Henrietta nodded in understanding and could see why Saito said M. Trudeau was popular amongst his people.

"What is your military situation your Highness?" Trump suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing in interest.

"Why?" Henrietta asked, nervous. Did he want to gauge her answer to see if it was viable to invade Tristain?

"Let me say this bluntly then: your country is now linked to our continent. If something goes wrong in your country, it can cause problems for us here. So we're very interested in making sure you don't have any problems," Trump declared with no uncertainty in his voice. Trudeau looked slightly annoyed at his very blunt and undiplomatic declaration.

"But what happens if something happens to your nations?" Louise suddenly asked. Trump smirked smugly.

"Lady Vallière! The American military is the greatest one on Earth. No other nation can even come close to us! We have the best soldiers and the best weapons available."

Louise could briefly understand Saito's explanation of American bloodlust as she heard the president's boasts. Trudeau did his best to hide his annoyance. His time as a drama teacher paid off in moments like these.

"Your Highness, the portal is located in the second largest city of Canada, Montréal," he explained, "If something was to happen to Tristain, it could jeopardize the safety of many of my citizens That is why we need to know the state of your military. "

"Not to mention that is fairly close to the United States' northern-eastern border," Trump imperiously injected, "The American people are also at risk if something happens to you, Your Highness."

Henrietta looked at Louise and Saito for support. The Tokyo teen nodded his head, urging her to answer.

"Tristain's army is small and woefully underequipped," she replied uncertainly, "Our airshipŝ are largely outdated while our alliances are gone."

"Gone?" Trump asked, frowning before remembering the briefing earlier that day, "You mean the arrangements with Germania?"

"Exactly, Tristain stands alone. Only the word of Pope Vittorio and Brimir's blessing protects us right now from our enemies," she paused nervously, "How did you know?"

Trudeau answered her question.

"M. Ambroise and his guards have reported to us what you've told them earlier on your flight here." Henrietta supposed that was to be expected.

"Ah, you see that our situation is quite… dire."

"I understand."

"Excuse me, but what of your alliances?" Louise asked, feeling her temper beginning to stir, "Are you and the United States allied only to each other?"

"No," Trudeau stated, "We are part of a much broader alliance that encompass 27 other nations called NATO."

"Twenty-seven nations?" Henrietta asked skeptically but both men nodded to confirm the Canadian's answer, "How does this alliance work?"

Trudeau sensed an opportunity.

"It is quite complex," the Prime Minister began, thankfully Trump kept quiet despite his opinions, "But the basic idea is that an attack on one is an attack on all."

Henrietta's eyes lit up. If she could get Tristain into such a powerful alliance, she could guarantee her small kingdom's independence for the future. Trump cleared his throat.

"Your Highness, please understand something though: purely military alliances are very rare in our world," Trump began, letting some of his businessman self come out to the fore while he maintained that he was a national leader, "We are interested in cooperating with your country, especially given the circumstances. We are also people who are interested in trade. We may help you to the best of our ability," he gave her a moment to let that all sink in before adding, "But we are not willing to risk the lives of our troops or antagonize other nations for no reason."

Henrietta took the meaning for what it was. They wanted to open trade with Tristain, likely to their benefit, but she wouldn't get a military alliance out of it. She was told to think carefully as well.

The princess shook her head.

"I am preoccupied mainly about maintaining my kingdom's sovereignty, not conquest," she answered proudly, "If I am to form an alliance with you, it is to protect my people from foreign threats."

Both men nodded in agreement at this.

"Perhaps when the diplomatic situation between our nations has normalized well enough," Trudeau suggested, "It could be possible to have a defense treaty. However, that will take time."

"There's also the matter of the American soldier buried in your Academy." Trump said in a very straightforward tone.

"You mean the man that saved Old Osmond's life?" the Princess tilted her head questioningly.

"Yes, that man," Trump stated in response, "We rarely bury our dead soldiers outside of America anymore. We bring their remains home so they may be buried by their loved ones and a thankful nation."

Henrietta was taken aback by the American leader's words and declaration. Even Agnes showed great surprise, being a soldier herself, she expected to, at best, being buried with some dignity on whatever battleground she fell. Even Louise showed her surprise, but saw Saito not so surprised and figured he either forgot or didn't think the information would come up like it did.

Trudeau, sensing their surprise and difficulty, spoke up next.

"Every major nation of our world and a number of the smaller powers, all try to recover their dead to be buried with honor and dignity as thanks for their service and sacrifices," Trudeau stated to both, " In fact, this building is in front of our military's national graveyard were many of our soldiers are buried."

"That being said," Trump began imperiously, "If you would allow our military to send a recovery team to exhume the body and collect the man's things, it will be very welcomed by the American people."

"My citizens will view this positively as well," Trudeau added.

"Pardon me for speaking out of turn," Louise began suddenly, "But how would you know the man is your one of your own?"

"We have ways of identifying our soldiers," Trump responded simply.

"We can identify men who died a century ago and return their remains to their descendants" Trudeau added to cement the fact.

"No man gets left behind," Saito remarked, having remembered that fact from the many FPS's he played.

Both North American leaders nodded in agreement while the Tristainians were surprised by the efforts to find a commoner soldier.

"We also need to collect all of his equipment," Trump continued on, "It's property of the United States Government. We are also not fools to believe that the weapons could not be misused either. Frankly, you're quite lucky that old rocket launcher didn't explode in your face or misfired."

"Explode?!" Louise yelped surprised before turning to glare at Saito, "Why didn't you tell me that?!"

"HEY!" he defended himself, "I didn't know how old that thing was anyways! Besides, did you have any other ideas at moment to kill that Earth Golem? If Kirche's family got a porn magazine from my world, it shouldn't surprise you that M. Trump and M. Trudeau probably don't want people trying to summon weapons."

"Exactly, M. Hiraga," Trump praised.

"Por-" Henrietta was interrupted by Agnes' quick action.

"Can we be assured that this 'recovery team' will only be just that?" the Captain of the Musketeer Corps had to be assured herself and changed the subject.

"Someone leave those two kids behind next time," Trump muttered a little too loud, but Trudeau recovered the situation, even though he silently agreed.

"Yes," Trudeau stated immediately, thankful to move this away from that topic, "These teams can be quite small or as big as a couple dozen people with heavy equipment if need be. They'll treat all recoveries with great care and greater respect."

"Then," Henrietta's attention turned back to the talks, "Of course. We will do what we can to make it swift so that your soldier may be returned to his native land and his family."

"Thank you Princess Henrietta," Trump nodded slightly, "The American people will thank you for such a kind gesture. We do what we can for our men and women in uniform. The very least is to make sure they are buried at home with full honors."

"I've seen enough anime to know you also want to have access to Tristain's resources as well," Saito accused as he remembered an anime with the JSDF in it he saw a few years ago, "You getting your soldier back, is one thing, the other is how we can get your help."

"Insightful," Trudeau didn't mince words, "There's a lot of liberties in the entertainment media, though, M. Hiraga and a lot of them are far from reality."

"We're not charities," President Trump stated, not knowing how used that line is in Anime, "But we are in the business of making good deals. Which frankly, despite what could be said, I doubt that Tristain's resources would really put a dent in our economies, but that said, we only stand to lose if we don't see what we got to work with first."

"You mean you need to know what we have for what we can give before we can trade?" Princess Henrietta frowned, as she didn't know what they could trade. Her kingdom was fairly small compared to the other Blessed Realms or Germania.

"A few examples of these Windstones that got mentioned would be helpful and a good starting point," Trump responded flatly, "Get an idea of how they work and why they work. We're also interested in magic, as we said earlier. But we also know there are limits and between the two of us, we could potentially get the best doctors available to work with your healers and see what magic can do with our knowledge."

"Cattelya," Louise said softly, realizing what was being put before them.

"Not only your sister, Lady Vallière," Prime Minister Trudeau kindly smiled at the stunned girl, "But many others who are sick or hurt and beyond your medical care as well as ours. We can help there as well as learning from your magic. There's possibly great potential for improving healthcare for both our worlds."

"Now to pay for it ain't going to be easy," Trump interjected, "I ain't going to lie about that. But a trade agreement will work out. You got neighbors, which from the sounds of it, at least one isn't trying to attack you right now and for the foreseeable future. That means a market of trade right there. We start with small stuff, get an idea, we got tools and people who can find resources and tell you what it is worth. Once we get a good idea, we can really start talking shop, but resources are only so much of trade."

"Such as?"

Henrietta could see how Trump became wealthy in the first place. Germania might begin to trade with the Canadians and Americans given its wealth.

And since Tristain was in between the three, that meant they could get a bit of leverage to stay safe from their enemies.

"You grow grapes, make wine, yes?" Trump pretty much stated.

"We do and some areas have very nice vintages that are well liked," Henrietta knew that much before it clicked, "We can trade wine for something of equal value! We are also known for our fine breweries!"

"Correct young lady. A lot of people on Earth would be ready to pay lots of cash for new wines and beers they've never tasted including myself," Trump smiled at her, "Trust me when I said I can sell like no one can. Part of making a deal, is getting the other party to realize what they have and can get for it."

"Very basic," Trudeau interjected himself, "But you'll be surprised how often overlooked. On a side note, Montreal and the province of Quebec are well known for their love of beer and fine wine so you might already have a market there."

"We do have a number of things we could potentially trade and as a trade route to Germania and potentially other nations, like Gallia, we would stand to gain through the tariffs of moving goods," Henrietta explained her understanding of what they had given her.

"Princess Henrietta," Trump began, "Stay as Royalty, otherwise, I might have to sweat a little," the man laughed at his own joke, but part of the tense atmosphere was gone in that moment.

"Trade is more than acquiring raw resources," Trudeau began, glancing at Trump, "It is about trading what you have for what others lack for things they have that you lack. Most people today have forgotten this very basic lesson, regardless of nation, believing that any trade can be made in their own nation and forgetting that is not always the fact."

"Another thing that would need to be discussed," Trudeau continued on, "is if our businessmen- merchants if you will, will be safe in your country."

"You mean from bandits?" Henrietta wasn't sure how safe they would be from bandits and other unsavory things that roam around. They could provide a guard. But it wasn't a sure thing.

"Exactly, crime isn't good for trade," Trump stated, "That's why we've stamped out such problems here."

"So bandits are not an issue for you?" Henrietta is surprised, as even Gallia and Germania had many problems with bandits themselves, despite the size and power of their armies.

"In the past, yes," Trudeau responded, "Both our law enforcement has been extremely proficient at establishing order on our territories. We can get back to the bandit issue later,"Trudeau proposed and the other two leaders agreed, "Now as to what we meant, we actually meant about your nobles. Will they try to also tax and tariff our people and goods to move through their territories?"

"Oh," Henrietta responded, knowing that would be an issue, "They do have that right, but I can ensure that it is fair and not heavy handed."

"We're going to be busy again," Saito successfully whispered to Louise who can only nod in response.

"That will be a problem," Trump stated without hesitation,

"Tariffs are generally viewed as bad for trade," Trudeau added pointedly, glaring at Trump whop was oblivious.

"As long as you're willing to make your lands secure, we can make many great trade deals." That was good. Bringing such prosperity to her kingdom wouldn't solve some of the most pressing issues, but it'd be a good step regardless.

But then Henrietta remembered what Saito said.

"If I can assert upon the nobles to have fair dealings and preferrable arrangements, even spending some coin from the Royal Treasury to offset their losses, would it be possible for you to lend us soldiers to help fend off foreign invasions?"

That caught both leaders off guard.

"Huh?" Trump actually blinked at that.

"M. Saito had told us, that after you Americans defeated his country in a war, you rebuilt it and provided troops to defend it in exchange for trade, correct?" Henrietta pressed.

"Well…" Trump scratched at his opposite hand, caught off guard by that, "Technically, Canada was in the war too, but that's beside the point, I guess, and well…Committing troops is a very serious matter to us. We can't make any guarantees on it."

"For the time being," the Prime Minister added, "However, if our relations grow well, the possibility is there for us."

"I doubt that you would be able to join NATO," Trump remarked bluntly.

"But why?"

"NATO is an alliance dedicated to a specific region of our world. And to be honest, your troops would not be very valued or... useful compared to the other members." To the side, Agnes glared at Trudeau while he explained that fact. Tristain was small but her soldiers were brave.

"How are the beaches M. Hiraga?" Trump suddenly asked, his experience ruling a chain of luxury hotels kicking in.

"Huh?" Saito blinks at being addressed by the President of the United States.

"You've been there longer, right?" The teenager nodded."There's got to be places to see, right?" Trump pressed on the Japanese boy, "Tourist spots that people would love and pay money to got to."

Immediately, Saito got what was meant.

"Oh right!" Saito slammed one hand into the other, "You mean like beaches, fishing spots and nice sights M. President?"

Trump nodded with a grin.

"Yeah, there's some of that. I saw some of the country during my adventures with Louise. I bet people would also pay a lot just to go up in a real wooden airship too! Just like in anime and games!"

"Precisely my boy," Trump smugly leaned back, looking pleased with himself, "Once the security issues are addressed and a bit of time passes by, Tristain could become an exotic destination. Easy business for your inns and restaurants and likewise, if your people want to visit our side, to ski in the winter or head further south into America, it's easy business for us. Both sides win out."

"And with windstones we can trade for," Trudeau added, "That could encourage good will. And that good will would make it easier to consider providing troops."

"Yup," Trump's smile was so large that Henrietta thought that the man's face might break, "That probably could be something we could use. There's a lot of possible applications if we can get them to work on Earth."

Henrietta shook her head.

"Unfortunately, Tristain isn't known for its deposits of Windstone," she pointed out, "The greatest veins are in Albion who is occupied by Reconquista."

"Oh. Well, there are other things, as we've already discussed."

"When are you to be coronated your Highness?"Trudeau asked as he remembered her Regency council.

Henrietta swallowed nervously.

"It is a topic that my Regency council constantly dislikes discussing," the princess replied, a mix of nervousness and irritation in her voice, "They keep claiming that I am unready to rule and too inexperienced. Yet they refuse to let me gain experience through making my own decisions."

"But how are you here?" Trudeau asked skeptically, "If your Regency council refuses to let you take your own decisions?"

"Her Highness's Regency council refuses to let her take any decision they deem important," Louise answered flatly, "I think they don't want her to gain too much popularity or power amongst the nobles and the commoners."

Princess Henrietta scoffed.

"My Regency council did not view these talks as something meaningful nor did they expect them to amount to anything. I merely defied their wishes by coming here."

Trudeau and Trump grinned at this little tidbit.

"Your Highness, I think your Regency council will be quite surprised with the deal we'll give you!" Trump boasted, "It'll knock their socks off!"

"Indeed," Trudeau added, "While it will be slow initially, we can also assist in helping you use some of our agricultural techniques to aid in increasing your yields without extensive modifications to your farms for the time being. Perhaps introduce certain high yield crops as well."

"You can?" Henrietta found herself surprised, "How do you do it?"

"America produced some of the greatest minds of our world," Trump boasted again.

"My colleague is correct," Trudeau agreed, "Many people fled to both Canada and America in our nations' earliest years to escape danger, start new lives, or build their wealth. You'll be surprised how hardy our two nations have come to be over the last two centuries. We've taken in a great number of minds and scholars. This has lead to many important developments such as crops that can survive our harsh winters."

Henrietta wanted some of these developments for Tristain and her people. Increased crops could help stave off any famines and reduce its dependency on Gallia's imported grain.

"I see, thank you," Henrietta smiled, grateful for their assistance. Saito smiled at the proposals. They were surprisingly quite fair.

"We'll get some people to throw together a couple of packets for you to read on what might be the best areas to start in," Trump suggested looking to Trudeau.

"I'll have my people contact the necessary academies and agencies," Trudeau agreed with a nod.

"With these arrangements, the Regency council won't be able to refuse your coronation your Highness!" Louise exclaimed, a broad smile on her face.

"Now what is this 'Reconquista' your Highness, the one you mentioned earlier?" Trump asked, intrigued. He and Trudeau had read the briefings earlier, but a direct source was always preferable.

Henrietta's gaze hardened at the question.

"They are a revolutionary group led by a renegade priest of our Church, Oliver Cromwell," she explained, venom in her voice, "They are fanatics who wish to topple the thrones of the Four Blessed Realms."

"What are their demands or goals, your Highness?" Trudeau asked, carefully looking at her expressions as she answered. The name Oliver Cromwell was familiar to him though he couldn't quite put his thumb on it.

"They seek to unite all of our lands and overthrow Pope Vittorio Serevare. They have already conquered Albion, Tristain's oldest allies, and proclaimed the Holy Republic of Albion in its place and placed Cromwell as Lord Protector."

The name caused both Trudeau and Trump to raise eyebrows. That sounded dangerously like a fanatical theocracy. Something both of their countries already had plenty of issues with.

"Do they merely wish to unite the lands or is there an ulterior motive?" the Canadian asked, taking notes.

"Yes, they wish to lead crusades to reconquer our Holy Lands who have fallen to the Elves over 6000 years ago. They know they alone aren't powerful enough to do this, hence why they seek to subjugate the other Kingdoms."

Elves? Well… They had seen the unicorns and both of the young ladies had hair that was not natural on this side of that gate. Plus the princess had used magic. Hopefully they wouldn't have to worry about any demons or the like.

"We see," Trudeau began slowly, Trump kept quiet himself, but the Canadian could hardly blame his American counterpart, "And how do Elves view humans?"

Henrietta took on a cautious look.

"The Elves do not worry about human affairs. They prefer to keep to themselves and refuse to even trade with us. However, they do view us as inferiors and will not hesitate to kill a human if the need arises. Their magic is also far more powerful than ours."

"They are confrontational, then?" Trump asked.

"Not at all, they never leave their land of Nephthys."

"When was the last crusade undertaken?"

Trudeau needed to know that important little fact. Henrietta tried to remember her history lessons that were drilled into her head by her tutors.

"I'm afraid I don't remember exactly when they took place but it was many generations ago. Most of the details have been lost but we know that it was unsuccessful and that the sacrifices had been in vain. Reconquista seeks to avenge this failure."

"It seems that crusades are something that both our worlds have in common."

"You've had crusades in your world, M. Trudeau?" Henrietta asked, stunned.

"Yes, although for one of our Gods instead of any land. We can include information on that in those packages we mentioned before."

"Gods?" Louise breathed, "You worship multiple gods?"

"Not really, it's quite frankly more complex?" Trudeau replied, "There are many different religions on Earth but that is a question that is… not relevant to our discussions."

Trump scoffed at Trudeau.

"Did those crusades succeed?" Louise asked tentatively. The lack of magic and elves meant that they must have had a better chance of success.

"No," Trudeau answered simply, "They had their problems that led to their failures. But what is your faith? We've heard from M. Ambroise that you worship the Founder Brimir."

Louise and Henrietta took turns to explain their faith to the two men with Trudeau being interested in each word while Trump occasionally stared away.

Finally, the Canadian took a glance at his watch as he noticed the American president's lack of interest.

"I believe that this session of ours should be soon finished," he concluded.


"Looks like we are dealing with the real deal," a CIA agent said, glancing at his reports. The two Earth leaders were holding a meeting after the first round of (questionably successful) talks.

"There's nothing we can say against that," Trudeau remarked, "Magic, their hair color, M. Hiraga's story and how are those unicorns doing?"

"The vets report them to be largely healthy," a RCMP agent flipped through the notes, "They just have a few things in them that they only read about in their textbooks. The good news, is that they can be treated with on hand medical supplies and without invasive surgery. Well they think. Though they confirmed the that the horns are real. Bad news is, they are a bit jittery right now, apparently some of the sounds our horses are used to are too new for them and it's proving upsetting."

"So we ask for someone to fly back and calm them down and ask nicely to have a deeper look at them," Trump summed up, showing his annoyance in more than one way, "I'm still wrapping my mind around this, so I'm thankful for something that could be described as normal."

"At least her guards haven't been as troublesome as Count Mott's," M. Ambrose stated from his seat.

"Yes, well the Princess is a lot more pleasant than the count," Trudeau remarks, "She's surprisingly modest and pleasant. Though I would hazard, given from what we've seen, they probably pass for what could be described as a professional volunteer force, much like our own armies now are."

"Makes sense," Trump admitted after some thought, "They remind me of the Marine Guards at the White House in many ways. So that would explain a lot."

The three men nodded in agreement.

"But if she's telling the truth about those Reconquista people, setting up trade could be difficult," Trump remarked, "They sound like the kind of people to back terrorists or simply attack you because you disagreed with them on even the smallest thing. I don't want to send in our troops just yet, even I'll admit we'll a bit stretched right now, but there's a principle here and we all know it."

"Indeed, but these men don't exactly pose the same threat, do they?" Ambroise asked, "They're still a few centuries behind us."

"Their magic is a wild card that we don't understand," Trudeau answered, "We don't know the full limit of their powers."

"We know we have some effect," Agent Harper interjected, "The M72 LAW sounds sufficient for 'Earth Golems', but beyond that, we are in the dark."

"So that's something we should ask her Highness," Trump suggested simply, "She's probably well learned in magic considering her station. Probably had some of the best private tutors her family could buy."

"What about Lady Vallière?" Trudeau pointed out, "If magic is something that is the exclusive domain of the nobles then she must be well learnt about it too. Her powers are probably dangerous as well if she can summon a teenager from our world."

Agent Harper shook his head.

"No M. Prime Minister, Lady Vallière is called the 'Zero' in her world. She is apparently unable to cast any form of magic without it causing explosions. Apparently her only success is summoning M. Hiraga."

"I see."

Trudeau didn't even want to know how could someone can cause explosions with simple willpower and summon a person from another world be called a 'Zero'. He wondered what a competent mage could do that was more impressive than explosions.

Both leaders sensed a headache.

"As for trade, it'll still be hard to conduct even without Reconquista" Trump said, frowning, "Those nobles of theirs probably don't even understand proper business, finance and economics. How do we even convert dollars to whatever they use?"

Trudeau shook his head as well.

"There's also the issue of safety. If they're equivalent to our 14-15th century, their sanitation would probably be not up to par. Anything food related could possibly be dangerous."

"About that," Devers spoke up, "Apparently they do actually have some idea of foodborne illness and understand basic sanitation as well. We also think that their magic helped prevent diseases from spreading. In addition, M. Hiraga told us that they have fully functional indoor plumbing, crude by our standards, but according to some historians we spoke to, that knowledge wouldn't be new even by our standards, just very crude and simplistic."

"CSIS is in agreement," Harper stated, "Crude, simple, but functional and works. We believe magic might have helped them understand a few things and get around some issues that had plagued us. It would make some sense, but we find it hard enough to believe we're even saying that."

"I see," Trump replied almost greedily. He was already looking forward to sample some Tristainian wine.

"But what about M. Hiraga? The fact is that he is a foreign national to an allied nation,"Ambroise pointed out, "He's also listed as missing since August and his family is probably worried sick."

"About that, we can arrange to contact the Japanese Embassy and put M. Hiraga in touch with his family," Trudeau suggested, "Time zones might make things a bit difficult."

"That'll be a mess to explain to them," Trump groaned, massaging his temples "I'm not sure Abe would want to get in on this deal."

"Considering that Japan is far away and removed from the immediate situation, I'd doubt they would want to get involved as a general rule." Ambroise pointed out, "Their leaders are more preoccupied with the Chinese and the North Koreans, and to a lesser degree, the Russians. However, I'd think they'd want to get M. Hiraga back since they can't spare losing any of their youth."

"There's also the fact that he essentially got plucked from the street of Tokyo to be 'bound' as Lady Vallière's 'familiar'," Trudeau added, "That alone would get Abe demanding a few explanations, amongst other things."

"Sounds like kidnapping."

"What a headache," Trump groused.

"Exactly. That could be a diplomatic issue," Ambroise said, "This is will be difficult to unravel."

"I say we tackle the easy part first," the POTUS stated, "What kind of agreement can we give these people?"

"Anything to do with trade, scientific endeavours, and maybe economic aid could be interesting for them and would be at low cost for us. We can also set up diplomatic missions in their capital," Trudeau suggested, "Trade will be limited to what they can use immediately and we should avoid anything related to weaponry."

He already had to deal with critics about Canada's weapon deals to Saudi Arabia… he would never hear the end of it if Canadian weapons ended up arming some kind of genocidal religious crusade in a fantasy land.

"Agreed, we don't want our weapons arming dangerous fanatics," Trump nodded, "I think we can work something out with Princess Henrietta along those lines. We can also add in provisions for returning any of our weapons found there to us and something to ensure the recovery of that American soldier."

Trudeau and Ambroise silently agreed before seeing Trump excuse himself for an emergency phone call to Mattis...


Henrietta sat down in one of the chairs. She felt a surprising amount of optimism after her first true meeting with the American and Canadian leaders. Louise was almost leaping of joy inside the room.

"Your Highness! Do you realize just what this opportunity represents!" she exclaimed, "We might able to bring great wealth to Tristain! Perhaps even get you coronated!"

"Yes Louise-Françoise," the princess replied, "If I can secure any assistance from Canada and the United States. Even the smallest aid from them would benefit us greatly."

Agnes didn't seem to share their optimism as she seemed to be in deeper thought and greater concern.

"Everything seems too perfect here," the woman stated as she leaned against a wall, "Can we actually trust them? M. Hiraga was wrong about many things about them."

Saito flushed in embarrassment. Okay. Maybe it was true the Internet wasn't the most accurate place for information. He's learned that little lesson. Louise turned back at him with a disappointed look.

"Saito, why did you lie? Was it because you wanted to go home?" the pinkette said, sniffling and wiping a tear away, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Please explain yourself M. Saito," Henrietta ordered in a rather firm tone that lacked her usual friendliness.

He sighed briefly.

"Well Louise," he shifted nervously, knowing he had really screwed up and embarrassed her, "It's because that's what I thought I knew," he explained, "Honest. I'll be more careful about what I read. Promise."

"What do you mean what you thought you 'knew'?" she asked, perplexed, "How do you not know the nations of your world?"

"Well," Saito's mind raced, trying to explain the Internet and memes, "For starters there's alot of nations on Earth."

"How many are there?"

"I think one or two hundred, if I remember my class lessons right," Saito admitted, "So it's kind of hard to keep track of everything."

The three women looked at him with complete shock. The very idea of there being that many nations in their world… They struggled to wrap their minds around it.

"I think some are really small," Saito added, hoping it was helpful.

"Still, these are two powerful countries and you said that the United States had soldiers in your country," that allowed Henrietta to regain her mental traction.

"Yeah, it's because I didn't really attention in class when my teachers were talking about those countries."

"Dummy," Louise rolled her eyes. Sometimes her familiar was incorrigible.

"Hey! They were boring classes okay? I didn't get to learn about cool stuff like magic alright?"

"I still think you're a bit of dummy but you're my favorite dummy." the pinkette teased before kissing him.

"But yeah, I read about Canada and the United States on the Internet and saw movies about them," he explained after she broke off.

"Movies, you mean the plays with the moving pictures?" Louise asked.

Saito nodded.

"Do you think we could ask them if we can watch a movie?"

Her eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

"Sure!" he answered enthusiastically.

"M. Saito, you do realize that plays like to satirize sometimes no?" Henrietta remarked. How could someone not understand that?

"Yeeah," he drawled, "I forgot that."

Louise couldn't help but snicker a bit.

"Still, I must thank you for scaring my Regency council. It was most entertaining to see," Henrietta giggled mischievously.

"Oh I can think of another way to scare them," Saito had the biggest grin they had yet to see on his face and knew he actually meant it.

Agnes cleared her throat.

"Can we return to more pressing matters? I still do not trust M. Trump," she said, "No matter what he proposes, it is probably self-serving for him and his nation. He is also more powerful than M. Trudeau and can probably force him to do his bidding."

Henrietta sighed.

"Agnes, your counsel is indeed wise but do we have any other choice? Can we afford to refuse anything they propose?"

The knight sighed and bowed her head.

"No."

"Let us see what they propose then," Henrietta said before hearing a knock at the door.

"Excuse me but the next meeting session is about to begin," M. Ambroise announced.


The Tristainians and Saito were led through the luxurious halls of Rideau Hall once again. They were still impressed by the regal decor of the building. Magnificent paintings depicting luxuriously dressed people, magnificent scenery and great battles graced the walls that surrounded them.

A door opened, revealing the same meeting room where they had M. Trudeau and M. Trump. Both were already seated and were accompanied by M. Ambroise.

"I hope that you were able to enjoy the break in our discussions," Trudeau said warmly.

Henrietta nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, it was most enjoyable."

"A little break can do wonders when it comes to clearing out your head and coming up with solutions," Trump chimed in, "Makes dealing and negotiating a lot easier. Speaking of which, Trudeau and I have come up with a proposal that will benefit all three of our nations."

Henrietta's face lit up with hope.

"Yes, our nations would like to formalize diplomacy and trade with Tristain," Trudeau stated simply, "We would like to set up embassies in your capital where our representatives will be able discuss with your diplomats as a starting point. Once diplomatic relations are underway, we're going start trading with you as well as allow the movement of scientists between our nations for research purposes."

Henrietta liked the proposal so far but something still itched her mind.

"What can we get from you?" she asked, "There are so many things that you can offer us."

Both men looked at each other before Trump answered.

"We'll have to see. America and Canada make a lot of goods that you would want. The importance is to figure what you should get first."

"Our scientists and other experts should be able to figure out your needs," Trudeau added.

"Very well, I like your propositions so far." Henrietta replied.

"I have also spoken with my Secretary of Defense, James Mattis," Trump said with Henrietta presuming that the man was the defense minister or advisor.

"Yes?" she hoped that Mattis had convinced Trump to send troops to help her. Saito's jaw almost dropped at hearing the name. He heard that the Secretary of Defense was a tough and fearless warrior that enjoyed war. If anyone could convince Trump to help Tristain, it was him!

"He's looking forward to recovering our soldier and wants arrangements done as fast as possible." the POTUS explained, "He also wishes to invite you to the soldier's funeral."

"Ah, I would be very honored to attend," the Princess replied, hiding her disappointment.

"M. Mattis thinks it would be good publicity for you and your Kingdom," Trump continued, "Our soldiers would certainly appreciate your presence and be thankful for your cooperation."

Louise suddenly piped up with an idea.

"Would it be possible for Old Osmond to attend this funeral?" she suggested, with both leaders looking at her curiously, "He was the man your soldier saved and is the current Headmaster of the Tristain Academy of Magic. He was grateful enough to have him buried on the crypt of the Academy." Both leaders looked at her and Louise could see that they liked what she told them.

"It is a high honour in our kingdom to be buried alongside the greatest minds that taught our nobility's youth."

Both men smiled in agreement.

"I don't see why not," Trump said, wandering off into his mind. This was an excellent coup for publicity and would shut any opposing voice.

Agnes was impressed as well. The Chevalier could understand what it meant for any soldier to see one of their fallen being returned for a proper burial. Henrietta could also see the reasoning behind this. A nation known for its military and excellent soldiers would appreciate such a gesture. If it meant increasing her chance to gain military allies, so be it.

"Furthermore, Secretary Mattis would like an idea of your weapons and their capabilities," Trump added, surprising everyone, even Trudeau, "That way, if we do move troops to support Tristain, we know what we're working. Could it be arranged for us to send some of our military experts in to observe?"

Henrietta gasped at this. Trump had changed his mind so quickly!

"We would be glad to welcome them!" She agreed immediately.

Saito and Louise nodded in agreement at the sudden but very generous proposal. Trudeau was glaring openly at Trump who brushed it off.

"This is not what we agreed to," he shot back, shock all over his face.

"M. Trudeau, the circumstances have changed," the American president answer back, "Mattis believes that the quicker we send some people, a small team mind you, through, the quicker we can confirm what are the threats to North America."

Trump turned back to Henrietta.

"Your Highness, the experts will be going in with the recovery team. We've made arrangements for them to leave quickly but would it possible for long term lodgings for our experts to stay in Tristain?"

"It would be possible for them to stay in the Royal Palace of Tristania until we find lodgings," she answered with a nod, "It is the most secure location in all of Tristain save for the Academy."

Agnes nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the palace is extremely well warded M. Trump and I am personally in charge of its guards."

Trump grinned at this proposal.

"I haven't heard such a brilliant proposal in a long time your Highness!" he praised with Trudeau still fuming at how the POTUS completely steered the discussion in his favour and out of the Canadian Prime Minister's control.

"We have a deal your Highness!" Trump scribbled down on a paper some orders.

"Very well then," Trudeau said through clenched teeth, "I would like to send a diplomat with this group however. I wish to show them that this is done with peaceful intentions."

"I have no objections to that M. Trudeau," Trump replied smugly, "What about you, your Highness?"

She shook her head.

"Such a move can only be beneficial," she replied warmly, "I see no issue."

"Very well then, M. Ambroise will be assigned as the representative since you have already worked with Princess Henrietta and Count Mott."

"I would be honored M. Prime Minister," he respectfully bowed his head, "Your Highness, I am very excited to visit your kingdom."

"The pleasure will be mine M. Ambroise."

Trump cleared his throat as he looked at Saito.

"There's also the issue of M. Hiraga Saito here."

Louise felt worried and looked at the American president in fear. Why did Saito matter so much all of sudden?

"W-what is the issue M. Trump?"

Trump looked at her with a dead serious look.

"I'm glad you asked milady. The issue is that M. Hiraga is a foreign citizen of one of our allies that has gone missing. We've already contacted their ambassadors and they want to meet you and M. Hiraga to discuss."

"This won't cause any issues between our countries, will it?" Henrietta asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"The Japanese ambassador would like to have a word with you as well concerning the well-being of one of his citizens. I'm afraid I can't say more however since that is up to the Japanese; the matter is strictly between you and them, not us."

"I see."


The two North American leaders met afterwards to break down what had happened, although the mood was not pleasant at all; Trump's breakaway from consensus earlier in the conversation was the forefront reason.

"What was your idea back there?!" Trudeau demanded angrily, "This is going to escalate any tensions they have with that Reconquista group!"

Trump raised a placating hand.

"Look, these people aren't going to be able tell the difference between a soldier and a CIA Agent, even that Hiraga boy. This way we can get important data on their world immediately. We've needed to confirm it's all true still, and this is the perfect opportunity!" It suddenly made sense- Trump had more or less tricked the princess into allowing intelligence officials to legally enter her country by playing on her fears and hopes.

Trudeau's rant was silenced almost instantly but he still had a scowl on his face.

"I see your point Donald but you do remember that the portal is on Canadian soil. You've essentially forced me to authorize the passage of American troops over my territory!"

"Can you argue with the results?" Trump replied boastfully, "I had her give us everything we wanted on a silver platter!"

Trudeau massaged his temples. The president was right in his bragging. Results were there.

"Moving on," he sighed, "Did you think it was a good idea to let the Japanese deal with that boy?"

"A country has to look after its own citizens. That's not our business. The kid looks fine to me. Hell, he even got himself a nice girlfriend out of the whole thing judging by how that Lady Vallière's hanging off his belt." Trump casually explained before taking a more serious tone. "We have far more important business with these people than one kid."

The POTUS was right.

"Security arrangements will be delicate to say the least," Trudeau stated, "We are dealing with a kingdom that is a few centuries behind in terms of diplomatic customs."

There was simply a lot of things that had to be taken into account. Besides choosing personnel that would be able to function in such a backward, otherworldly environment, there was also the risk of infiltration from certain… unfriendly nations on Earth. Russia and China both came to the forefront. At least anyone hostile on the other side would stand out.

Trump rolled his eyes.

"They'll have to learn how to deal with us. We're the ones holding the big end of the stick."

No hesitation in his voice whatsoever. Trudeau pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned in his chair.

"We also have to deal with the UN and the rest of the international community." The rest of the world would no doubt want to get in on this, for trade, discovery, or whatever other reason. And the man could already foresee the mess that would ensue in Montréal. The city was already a port city but turning it into an interdimensional gateway that would be running 24/7? That was a challenge to the island city's overloaded infrastructure not to mention a political nightmare in Quebec. Trudeau could already picture the Quebec nationalists maybe getting united again and issuing demands that would have to be juggled against the rest of Canada telling them to back down.

"Do we really want to go forward with a deal like this with so many changes in play?" Trudeau finally asked, "Once the cat is out of the box, there's no going back for anyone." All of Earth would change, and not just in the knowledge it held. Barring M. Hiraga, they could conceivably cut all ties now, just have both sides go to their respective ends of the portal and stay there for good.

Trump grunted and looked out the window, deeply in thought.

"I say we go forward. We've already gone this far and there's a lot of business opportunities," he said confidently, "What are the risks? Their scout almost froze to death just getting here and they fight with muskets at best."

Trudeau couldn't help but feel confident with this.

"There's also great possibilities for both our worlds," he finally said, "There are more than just business opportunities if this is true. There could be great scientific leaps forward and we would help a people move forward in time." He nodded. "Let's change the world, then."


Saito was a strange mixture of excited and nervous. Excited because he'd get a taste of home after so long- his own language and people when he'd thought for a time he'd never seen them again. But definitely nervous too, since he didn't know what would happen next.

He, Henrietta. and Louise had been waiting at Rideau Hall for the Japanese ambassador's arrival in the same room where they had met Trump and Trudeau earlier, both men having excused themselves. Glasses of water sat on the table in front of them, untouched. There was a tense silence that was disturbed only by the sound of a clock ticking in the background. Suddenly voices and steps could be heard in the hallway, muffled by the door. The door opened, revealing a man in his late 50's. A simple business suit, square glasses and well groomed greying black hair defined the aging man. He held a suitcase in one hand while his other hand was holding a pile of files.

The diplomat looked hurried, his expression marked by a frown. Saito didn't know it, but he'd caused people to scramble at all levels of his government. Japan was like a lot of the world at that moment- sitting back and watching what was happening without trying to get directly involved. 'Let America and Canada deal with it', they thought. The two countries were wealthy enough and well armed enough to defend themselves. Saito had now thrusted his country into being a major party in this affair, although fortunately not publically. Yet.

The diplomat cleared his throat and stretched out his hand for a handshake with Saito shaking it.

"Greetings M. Hiraga, I am Ambassador Junchiro Arima," he greeted in Japanese before turning to Henrietta and Louise to shake theirs, "It is an honour to meet you both." He said in French.

He bowed his head respectfully at both nobles.

"It is our pleasure to meet you Ambassador Arima," Henrietta answered, bowing her head back.

"The feeling is mutual Ambassador Arima," Louise responded as well, trying to hide her nervosity at meeting an official from Saito's country.

"Thank you milady," Arima nodded respectfully to Louise, "Please let us begin. My government is, understandably, gravely concerned over this matter. Can you please clarify how this happened precisely?"

"Of course M. Arima," Henrietta set her scepter across her lap, but did not remove her hands from it, though doing so, hid how her fingers had tightened nervously around it, "First, I must state, that what did occur, has not been seen before as far as we've have investigated and the Headmaster, Old Osmond, of the Tristain Magic Academy had one of his best researchers spend several days pouring over every book, tome, scroll, and other literature in the academy's library as well as those found in the Royal Castle Library."

"And nothing was found again I assume?" the ambassador made some notes as he listened to Henrietta.

The American and Canadian reports were so far showed to be quite accurate. The princess was seemingly quite honest. But at the same time, she could a skillful actress or she could be in a position she just lie about without repercussions with the two North American nations.

"Yes," Henrietta nodded, "We were going to ask both Albion and Germania for information, should they have had any, but after Albion fell under the control of rebels and Germania ended our alliance, we had no way to learn if they knew of anything."

"I see," Arima could tell this was going to be an issue, "Now that we've established that you do not have prior records of this event, may we discuss the event in question and what it is precisely?"

"It is considered one of the most sacred and important rituals for a young mage to learn and perform," Henrietta began with a quiet sigh.

"The Ritual of Familiar Summoning or simply the Summoning Spell since there is little of a ritual anymore," Louise spoke immediately out of turn, but she also was the most learned in finer details and theory, "My apologies, but Your Highness, I am better learned in Magical Studies and Theory, and I was also the one to cast the spell in the first place."

"Oh?" Arima showed his surprise, "You were young lady?"

He already knew that from the reports, but nothing more than that. Now was the time to confirm those reports.

"Would it be alright if she spoke on your behalf then Your Highness?"

"I would be most appreciative if she would be allowed so," Henrietta responded with some relief, "Louise-Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière is indeed one of our finest minds when it comes to theory and study. Few are her peer within the student body to such knowledge and even some instructors have learned from her on occasion."

"Then this will go much quicker and with better understanding," Arima agrees wholeheartedly, if only because he needed to get onto what to do with Hiraga-san.

"Thank you," Louise curtised to the ambassador, before she began speaking, "The Summoning Spell is supposed to only summon a familiar who will be the life long partner of the Summoner. Normally they are bound, with unquestionably obedience, to their master, but they are also typically merely animals from as small as my fellow student, Montmorency Margarita La Fère de Montmorency's own summoned frog, Robin, to even what Saito has stated to be fantasy creatures for you, but are very real and respected creatures such as my classmate Tabitha's dragon, Sylphid, or my own mother's manticore, Camille."

Arima had to cough when he heard about a dragon and a manticore. While not much learned on mythology, anyone knew what a dragon was. To hear one be mentioned and even named, spoke much.

But it also pointed to something as well.

"Some of our literature that speak about dragons, give them great intelligence and sometimes peerless wisdom, especially in Asia where Japan is located," Arima explained, "I recall a faux pas by an American shoe company with one country when they fictionally showed a dragon being slain to sell their product some years ago."

Louise nodded in response, "There are such dragons, yes. I know of Sylphid being of some intelligence, but I do not know much. I have little to no direct involvement in dragons, but I have read that there are those who are more than merely large creatures and that some summoned dragons have shown very advanced intelligence in the past."

"I do not wish to be rude but wouldn't this summoning spell not bind such creatures as slaves to a human master?" Arima asked with great care and caution.

"Told ya so," Louise elbowed Saito for that and rolled her eyes in annoyance. Though Arima, reluctantly allowed it without protest. The boy had not only spoken out of turn and could have made things worse, but it showed something to him as well.

"By perhaps any definition, very much so," Louise stated, "We had not really considered it in recent years, perhaps decades I would hazard. Largely because the chances of summoning such intelligence creatures is very rare to begin with."

"And Hiraga-san is the first of his kind?" Arima pressed lightly, "What do you ask of him? Any other relationship that the familiars and masters appear to be slavery."

"Yes," Louise nodded, "When applied to a human, it would sound like slavery to be very honest. But it has also been noticed that, nearly all the time, if not all the time, Saito only follows my demands when it suits him. Otherwise he continues to exercise a strong sense of independence and choice in all matters,"

Louise could see Ambassador Arima make some notes.

"Much of the knowledge is lost but during the time of Founder Brimir, the legends said that he had a elven familiar that later betrayed and killed him."

The diplomat knew that myths were something that were unreliable at best, with much of their content warped by the passage of time.

"How old are these legends?"

"About 6000 years old," Louise answered, much to Arima's consternation. Extremely old legends were even less reliable.

"What do we know about this elven familiar?" the ambassador asked, not hoping for much.

"It is said that she had runes on her body and that she accompanied Founder Brimir during his travels. According to the written legends, the runes on Saito's hand might be the same as the Founder's familiar. Unfortunately, we don't know much else."

"I can understand" the ambassador nodded. The 6000 year time gap made research probably very difficult. However time was getting short for their meeting.

"This has been rather interesting," the ambassador, his tone changing, "What tasks do you ask of him though?"

"I tried to get him to clean my clothes and dress me."

Arima raised an eyebrow. That sounded like servant work.

"Tried milady?"

"We ended having a rather long quarrel over the subject."

Saito rolled his eyes at how mildly she put it. Said quarrel involved both parties getting sore throats, Louise getting her riding crop snapped and thrown out of the window, Saito a red mark on his cheek from the diminutive mage slapping him before both finally calmed down and started talking it out. As well as everyone on the same floor casting spells to muffle the sound of their shouting.

"I've been treated pretty well," Saito interjected seriously before the Japanese official could press any embarrassing questions, of which there were a few, "Arima-san, I have proper sleeping arrangements and I can get new clothes easily enough," Saito tugged at his jacket's collar, "I just prefer my own from home. Hopefully I can get a few more pairs to have soon."

"Of course!" Louise almost shouted, red faced, "Why wouldn't I make sure you are supplied with fresh clothes! Is it that you don't like them? I thought you liked my knitting!"

Arima witnessed Saito waving his hands furiously in front of himself and before the girl, "Not what I meant Louise!" his tone was a pitch higher, but it had all the makings of a boyfriend in sudden trouble. Just as the reports had said.

"Please you two," Henrietta injected firmly, "Calm down."

"Definitely leave them behind next time," muttered Agnes as she felt the migraine that she assumed that merchant, Trump, had felt as well.

"Thank you your Highness."

The two relaxed and calmed at the princess' words. Arima could see that the two had a relationship that went beyond Master and Slave judging by their antics. He was slightly uncomfortable with their demeanour. Asian culture, especially Japanese frowned on showing one's affections and emotions publicly. The ambassador presumed that Saito had picked some of the Tristainian customs during his time there.

"I apologize for my outburst," Louise looked embarrassed and red as she bowed apologetically.

"Yeah, totally my fault there, my apologies Arima-san," Saito rubbed the back of his neck, "We had assumed that when I was summoned, it had been a one way trip with no going home. This whole thing has been… Trying on both of us. The idea that my parents might be a phone call away has gotten me a little too excited at times."

Arima could understand the teenager's excitement. He had been separated from loved ones and now had a chance to contact them, perhaps even see them again.

"Would it be possible for me to contact my parents?" Saito asked excitedly, hope filtering through his voice. The ambassador nodded as he took notes.

"I believe it would be possible to set up a video call Hiraga-san though this might take a few hours given the 12 hours of difference between here and Tokyo."

"Thank you Arima-san!"

Arima could only smile inwardly in relief. The meeting had gone better than he thought so far. Saito hadn't been mistreated during his time in Halkeginia. The boy also seemed to be in a good psychological state and his health appeared to also be well cared for as well.

"What is going to happen to Saito now?" Louise asked fearfully. She hadn't dared ask that question during the meeting, fearing the answer. Her familiar looked at her anxiously as well.

"Well, to be honest with you Lady Vallière, I can't really say," Arima answered honestly, "This is the first time such a thing has happened for us. Had Hiraga-san been badly treated, we would have demanded his return but since he's looking well and happy with you, I am uncertain of what my government would want to do right now. At the same time, what happened to him is can be seen as abduction in our country and that is a severe crime. However, I do consider that this is more of an accident than anything since you didn't, from what I understand, intentionally take him from his home."

Both Louise and Saito looked at him desperately, not liking the answer so far.

"How old are you again Hiraga-san?" the ambassador remarked.

"I'm 17, Arima-san."

"Hmm, that would make for some complications," Arima admitted, honestly, he couldn't tell where this would head. "Like I said, this is not a crime as far I can tell. I believe that the Cabinet would think the same thing but they will probably review the evidence to confirm. Still, not a crime in my opinion but an accident."

"But it would be difficult to say that for certain," Henrietta showed that she may be inexperienced, but she would one day have that experience.

"Yes," Arima agreed, "What is Hiraga-san's standing in your nation at this time?"

"For now," Henrietta indicated Saito, "M. Hiraga is still considered merely Louise-Françoise's Familiar by many, but given his actions he does have some renown and I have made both Louise-Françoise and M. Hiraga both agents of the Crown, a position they have been well adept at performing, if the increase to the Royal Treasury and the decrease in criminal activity where they have been are any indications."

"I must admit surprise," Arima did look surprised, "Are they not a little young for such tasks?"

Holding a hand before her chest as she closed her eyes, Henrietta explained "I have few I can trust. If I am to have some idea to my nation's status, I need those I can trust not only as allies and friends, but as capable individuals as well."

She opened her eyes, pride beaming from them.

"He may be a familiar and Louise-Françoise considered a poor mage, but they make up for those limitations and I can trust them with tasks very important. In fact, it was M. Hiraga that saved her life after being they were tasked with delivering a message to my dear friend, Prince Wales of Albion. He saved her from a treasonous knight captain after the traitor had murdered the prince in cold blood."

Arima showed his shocked and surprise at that admission. To hear that Hiraga Saito had been sent on such dangerous missions and one that clearly was some kind of diplomatic mission of some kind. Yet the boy had survived and come back, clearly in good health from each, though from the grinding of the boy's teeth, that traitorous knight captain had made a lifelong enemy.

"What exactly is the nature of his work for your country, though?" He asked.

From what she'd just described, he was doing something akin to internal security. And 'an agent of the crown'?

It sounded like having a citizen of your country in a foreign security or intelligence force.

Arima only had a faint idea about the European-esque societies that apparently laid beyond that portal, but he knew politics was a nasty business, far nastier than it could get in their world. If word got out a Japanese citizen was involved in violent political activities, that would be a major scandal.

"Louise-Françoise and M. Saito have been helping me root out traitors and corrupt officials in my capital as well as recovering important documents that have allowed the Musketeer Corps to successfully destroy a number of brigand brigades and raid more than a few criminal dens."

"Not easy work," Saito admitted right there, "But it's pretty clear how complicated things are without policemen around to investigate and stop crimes."

"Police work!?" Arima sounded shocked, his face paling.

"Uh," Saito brought his hand up and wobbled it from side to side, "Yeah, something along the lines of Ghost in the Shell is the best way I can describe it."

"Anything particularly dangerous or requiring an overt response is handled by the Musketeer Corps," Louise quickly added, having seen Arima suddenly become agitated, "We mostly keep our eyes and ears open for any trouble."

Arima released a breath of relief. So what the two got was the light work. Important, especially since it was the capital of Tristain, but nowhere as dangerous as what could actually be given.

"I take it that the mission to see Prince Wales was simply an exception to the dangers they faced?" Arima inquired, not believing that Hiraga Saito was not in such danger.

"It…" Henrietta held herself briefly, "Unexpected, yes. It was a simple courier mission. Yes, one requiring subtlety and secrecy, but the addition of a traitor, who was supposed to lead the mission, made it a complete disaster."

"I had not expected Viscount Wardes to have been a traitor," Louise added, "We had long believed that he was a loyal servant of Tristain's Crown."

"It basically turned into a hostage situation. I had to do something." Saito explained.

"He saved my life." Louise added proudly.

"I see," the Japanese Ambassador concluded that the mission was the exception to the rule.

"I'm glad they escaped unharmed," Arima continued feeling more sure, "I'm surprised they were able to escape and evade a trained officer of your army though."

Henrietta immediately coughed into her hand again, before she explained, "M. Hiraga was the one to defeat him actually. His summoning granted him unusual abilities to understand and make use of any functional weapon he touches while increasing, how did he put it? Increasing his base stats, I believe it was. And when he, um, equips Derf, an ancient magical and talking sword, he is able to, er, um, tank enemy attacks and magical abilities in order to power through to engage them."

Arima just stared at the princess like she grew a second head before turning to Saito who was fidgeting a bit and had a sheepish look on his face. Of course, the boy must have used gamer speak. He made the princess sound foolish alright, which was more embarrassing for him than the princess.

"I have…" the ambassador trailed off briefly, "an idea of what he meant. So he ended up fighting this traitor?"

Henrietta was just glad she didn't have to try to explain more of what Saito had said to her. She barely understood what it meant.

"Yes. He fought and defeated not only him, but a small number of enemy agents with the traitor as well as a small group of Royalist knights that had been tricked into attacking him, but unlike the traitor and his men, M. Hiraga did not actually harm any of them and most have since arrived in Tristain seeking shelter after Reconquista's triumph."

"How bad did Hiraga-san hurt this traitor and his men?" Arima knew this was very bad. If the boy had actually killed someone, it would be a greater disaster. They'd never hear of the end of it and the boy would likely become a social outcast in Japan.

"None were killed unfortunately," Henrietta spat out the last word angrily, which showed she had strong feelings about what had happened, but with traitors, that was to be expected.

The princess had very strong emotions on the matter and it showed in her voice.

"I see now," Arima said a bit strongly, before he stopped and recovered his composure, "My country will take issue with the fact he had fought others, especially with regards to his age," Arima could see the princess's composure suddenly begin to fail, "But also, from the sounds of it, he conducted himself well and has been conducting himself respectfully."

Henrietta let out a breath of relief, before Arima straightened up a bit in his seat.

"In Japan, unlike the west, a young man performing such acts would be seriously ostracized by his peers and even elders," Arima could see Henrietta and the blond woman, Agnes, surprised, "But I can understand the circumstances. Hiraga-san was forced into fighting." he turned his attention to Saito, "As such, I will explain to our government the situation though we would like for you to be examined by psychologists to ensure no lasting issue stemming from what happened."

Henrietta's education in etiquette was the only thing keeping her from slumping in her seat in relief. A word in his sentence intrigued her.

"What is a psychologist?" she blinked.

"A…type of mind healer. They are usually in charge of making sure that our people's minds are sound, especially after traumatic situations."

"I can understand why you would wish for him to see one," Henrietta replied, understanding in her voice.

"Please, I wish for him to be seen by your psy-cho-logist," Louise added, blushing, "He means a lot to me and I do not want him to be unwell in mind or body."

"Thanks Louise. Never thought you'd say that," he joked before she glared at him, still embarrassed.

"Agreed," Arima nodded his head while groaning inwardly at their antics, "I will speak with my government to advance our communications and see this matter through."

"And M. Hiraga's request?" Henrietta would never deny Saito his request to at least speak to his family.

"We'll see what can be done about a visit, but video chat is a wonderful thing of communications that has been developed by our world," Arima smiled happily, "We can easily arrange for him to communicate with his family easily enough. It will be done by tomorrow."


After a short but pleasant diner with Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump, Princess Henrietta was led by the two men to a reception hall where reporters from all over the world were awaiting them.

During the dinner, both men tried to coach Tristain's heiress before she would face the press as well as explaining the function of a microphone. With very differing advice. Trudeau's advice and tips was to show a friendly, open facade while Trump was to show a strong one that would dominate any opponent. The princess thought that both men had façades that went along with their personalities.

Much to Trump's chagrin, Trudeau remarked that Henrietta's appearance and demeanour was rather unsuited for the American's way of expression. As the three leaders entered a reception hall and made their way to a podium, cameras turned on and flashes began to appear. News commentators everywhere began to speak about this historical moment. Trudeau was the first speak as Canada was where the talks had taken place.

"It is my pleasure as Prime Minister of Canada to introduce her Highness and heir apparent to the Blessed Water Throne of Tristain, Princess Henrietta de Tristain, to our world. President Trump and I have had the pleasure of speaking with her today. She has proven to be a very smart, young woman that seeks peace and understanding between our worlds. On behalf of the people of Canada, I look forward to working with her and her people to bring progress to both our nations as well as the United States."

As he spoke, his tone was firm but polite. His hands and body barely moved while his eyes looked into each camera that he saw. This was a man that did not need to raise his voice to impose his presence.

"I will now let President Trump speak."

The American president stomped up to the podium with each step conveying might and power that bordered arrogance. He cleared his throat.

"Thank you M. Trudeau," he said before turning to the cameras, "Today I have had the pleasure of speaking with a very intelligent young woman with the name of Princess Henrietta. Her very wise decisions that she has taken today will bring great prosperity to our three nations of which the likes have never been seen before! I believe that never in the history of Humanity has such talks have brought forth such great potential and I am quite happy to have taken part in them!"

His voice was far more boastful than Trudeau. He also waved his hands and moved his whole body rather than just his head to face the cameras as to impose his presence.

"I now have the pleasure of introducing her Highness, Princess Henrietta de Tristain!"

Henrietta nodded and walked towards the podium. She had already spoken before her subjects but speaking to an entire world that was completely different from Halkeginia was a whole other thing. Clearing her throat nervously, she began to speak as Earth held its collective breath.

"Thank you President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau for holding such talks with me. I have never had the chance to talk to such powerful yet reasonable and honest leaders. I look forward to opening more discussions with them as well as other rulers of your world so that as many nations as possible may enjoy trade and gain great wealth both in resources and knowledge."

She kept her tone steady and thanked years of etiquette training for giving her composure in front of such a foreign crowd.

"Furthermore, I look forward to dealing with other great leaders on Earth. I can only see great things to come from this. I thank you for this opportunity and look forward for future talks."

Before she could exit the stage, reporters began to barrage her with questions, catching the young princess off guard.

"What is your world like?"

"How old are you?"

"Are those unicorns real?"

But before she could answer anything, Trump moved her out of the way and took her place behind the podium. Henrietta was behind the man.

"Her Highness, Princess Henrietta will not answer any questions!" he declared much to the shock of many reporters before Trudeau moved in to help salvage the situation.

"She is still unused to how our medias work. This is uncomfortable for her so please show her some leniency for the time being."

"Excuse me, but may I speak to the media one more time?" she asked in a whisper over the sound of the protesting reporters. Trump and Trudeau looked at each other before the Prime Minister nodded and made a sign for her to to do so. She cleared her throat.

"I wish to apologize for cutting this exchange short but I still have much to learn about how your media works but I promise that I will return."

This seemed to have calmed the reporters.


Not everyone on Social media seemed to like the answer. Accusations of Princess Henrietta being a puppet to American and Canadian interests popped up all over the Internet both from certain governments to various political groups. Some still remained skeptical as well still not believing how this was not a monumental farce.

Others understood Trump and Trudeau's reasoning but expected more coming from the Princess in the future. Some had growing optimism as well while others began to wonder how could they benefit from dealing with Henrietta and her world.

In the end, only time would tell how things would go for both worlds.

"Thank you, your Excellency," Louise said as she bowed in respect to Julie Payette.

"It's no trouble Lady Vallière, I hope you enjoy your stay here in Rideau Hall." The governor-general then turned her head to to Saito who was looking at her in awe. It wasn't any day that one met a former astronaut.

"If you need anything, there's a phone connected to room service M. Hiraga and the menu is next to the phone. I expect you to show how things work here to her Highness and Lady Vallière," she said as she left the room.

"Thank you, your Excellency!"

Saito grinned from side to side. He was finally reunited with many of his favorite creature comforts. Meanwhile, Louise was looking around at many of the strange devices that Earth had in curiosity. The lights had been turned on as the sun had gone down early.

"Are you still hungry Louise?" he asked excitedly as he made ihs way to the phone and menu that sat on a bedside table. He hoped they had his favorite food, Teriyaki burgers.

"After that feast? I couldn't eat for another week!" she exclaimed as she sat down on a bed. She saw a strange dark mirror with her reflection staring back at her.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the TV. Saito looked at it, his eyes misty from longing.

"That, Louise, is a television! One of the greatest inventions ever made by mankind on Earth!"

Louise looked at it skeptically. It looked rather simple and unassuming.

"What does it do exactly?"

"Remember those 'plays' I told you about?" Saito replied excitedly.

"That's what your world uses to show them?!" she gasped, "What kind of plays do you have?

"We've got all kinds of channels." Saito started to list off ones that came to mind randomly. "Sports, news, weather, uhhh…well, these channels pay people to make plays they can show. So that more people watch their channel."

"Channel?"

"It's like...umm…" Saito was at a loss on how to explain it. "Let me show you!"

He grabbed a remote and began pressing buttons on it. Louise was amazed when the mirror was suddenly filled with light and was then filled with what she could only describe as moving pictures.

"So… euh what do you want to watch?" Saito asked as he sat next to Louise.

"What kind of plays does this have?" Something flashed in her mind, "What about that play about the warrior O'Neill and his knights?"

"Sure!"

Saito wondered if that show was still being broadcasted on TV as he and Louise cuddled each other.

In the hallway outside, Agnes and her troops were giving some people a fright. The Musketeer Captain was taking the Princess' security seriously, as she should. Even after this productive day she was still weary of this world and its peoples. There were guards in front of the door and at each end of the hall. Needless to say, the few people still in the building that late were more than a little surprised to see women in medieval armor standing around.

She heard a series of footsteps and recognized Princess Henrietta and M. Trudeau. Both were walking down the hallways escorted by men in dark and white clothes. It still made her uneasy that these men didn't carry any weapons on them while guarding such important people.

"Thank you M. Trudeau for your advice. I shall put it to good use next time I face your press."

"It is only natural that I help those who need it," he replied in a warm tone. "We're almost at the suite you'll be staying in."

"I have one last question for you though before we leave."

"Yes?"

"Where have you learn to speak in such a way before a crowd?"

Trudeau seemed to take a rather nostalgic look on his face."

"Ah, I was a teacher once and I use to teach Drama amongst other things."

That stunned Henrietta. A drama teacher had become a Prime Minister? It was unheard of in Halkeginia. At the same time, it explained how easy it was for him to speak in front of such an intimidating thing that was the media.

"I can see why you are good with your media."

"Thank you and please have a good night. I must return to my family for the night," Trudeau said before bowing. At the same time, one of his guards was talking to Agnes in a rather irritated tone.

"Please Captain Agnes, tell your guards that they can rest easy and that they can let us handle security!" he said, a fed-up expression apparent on his face.

"How do you expect us to rest easily?" she retorted, "We are in a foreign palace in a world that is utterly different from ours!"

The Musketeer threw a glance at the Canadian guards.

"You also do not carry any weapons on you! How can you be so callous around your Prime Minister as well as the Princess!?"

The guard merely opened his vest, revealing what seemed to be a black device hanging on his side. It looked like a very large pistol though Agnes never saw such a design. There was no visible flintlock or ramrod on it.

"Does this reassure you?" he asked flatly. Agnes quickly nodded, wishing that she could try the weapon and test its capabilities. She was impressed they could hide it on their person without seeming too obvious. Impressed- and a little concerned. Any assassin could do the same.

"I have complete faith in M. Trudeau's guards so please rest you and your Musketeers, Agnes," Henrietta ordered before she and Trudeau bid each other a good night.

Agnes led the Princess into the suite where she could voices that she couldn't recognize mixed with two very familiar ones.

"Why can't you find it Saito?" Louise asked impatiently as she saw the Princess enter the room, "Your Highness!"

Saito was still furiously scrolling through the channels, wishing he could find a channel showing Stargate SG-1. Meanwhile, Agnes was being led to another suite for her Musketeers.

"Well it was an old series so they might not show it!"

Henrietta looked at him curiously.

"What is M. Saito doing?"

"He's trying to find a play he wanted to show-"

Louise was suddenly interrupted by a loud moan of pleasure. Turning her head towards the source, she a blushing Saito looking at the TV… where a naked woman was having a very good time with a man.

"Your Highness!" the pinkette yelled as she leapt towards an oblivious Henrietta to cover her eyes, "Your eyes and ears shouldn't witness such debauchery!"

Glaring at the Tokyo teen fumbling with the remote, she shouted a familiar cry whenever Saito accidentally invaded her privacy.

"SAITO YOU PERVERT!"

Author's endnote: And that's how day one ends for the Tristainians in Canada! So far, things are going pretty well eh? I initially wanted to have Saito contact his parents in this chapter but the time zones make it impossible to happen without prior arrangements. Especially in terms of security… after all, Saito's presence in Halkeginia is only known to a few right now...

Trivia-wise, the agent's gun is an MP5A3. Rideau Hall is a rather versatile building. Government office, place to receive foreign dignitaries, home to the Governor-General of Canada, art museum and a place to allow ViP's to stay at. Practical eh?

Harems… fuck that bullshit. Can it with the demands. Want that? Go write your own fic! No one in real life on Earth would recognize any wedding between Saito/Henrietta/Tabitha and no one would help them simply on that basis. There's a good chance that we'd laugh at him for asking for help on that basis only.