Chapter 52
Of Opportune Ample
In the past, the Numbers Administration Council served as basically a fig leaf to give the impression that the Empire actually listened to the opinions of its Japanese subjects. It was a very bare fig leaf, and in practice Britannia treated the NAC more like useful scapegoats than a source of genuine policy input. Little surprise then that Lelouch dismantled the body, replacing it with a genuine advisory committee that was composed of both Britannians and Japanese. There was a period of time wherein the newly created committee remained wary of their new fellows, but such apprehensions were by now well faded. For the Japanese, it was genuinely a relief to be working with people actually invested in the betterment of their mutual home. For the Britannians, they were equally glad to finally be making progress on the backlog of work needed to bring Japan up to satellite status.
Perhaps as a consequence of how much work there was, it was actually quite rare for the committee as a whole to meet. Coordinating the schedules of all the involved persons was no trivial task, with Lelouch himself find free slots being especially tricky. Still, there were times when the matter at hand warranted such effort be exerted, hence why all of the committee members were gathered this day. They were even seated around a round table.
"The process of untangling McDougal Chemicals' ownership stakes has been completed," Sancia began, "though the majority of the identified parties have indicated they would prefer to surrender their stakes to the state than suffer the liability that accompanies ownership."
That was not terribly surprising. Under Britannian law, while individuals were shielded from commercial liability in the case of a business going under, the moment criminal actions entered the picture, that protection went away and the people behind a corporation could and would be held culpable. Sometimes the extent of that liability could be basically paid off by surrendering one's stakes in whatever enterprise was conducting criminal acts, though that option was only on the table if the person in question could demonstrate genuinely extenuating circumstances for how they could have been unaware of said crimes. Usually however, the guilt by association would see at least some fines being levied, and in more egregious cases harsher punishments like jailtime or even death. And when the crimes in question involved such travesties as manufacture and distribution of a banned substance, as well as outright human trafficking, it was less a question of if but how many heads would roll.
"At present the government controls of 90% of the company's shares," the Eden Vital sister continued, "which includes those seized from McDougal and his family. The rest are likely to be seized in short order once the criminal trials wind down. Fortunately, McDougal Chemicals was not publicly traded, so no retail investors were caught in the fallout."
That the government was able to obtain such a large percentage of McDougal Chemicals was not just because the McDougal family itself was the largest stakeholder. Effectively all of the others with a large stake in the company were upon further investigation co-conspirators to the company's elicit ventures. The subsequent arrests, interrogations, and trials produced a ripple effect sweeping across Britannia as conspirator after conspirator got caught in the dragnet. And while the initial arrest was winning Lelouch a lot of accolades from crown prosecutors and the Empire's various policing agencies, untangling the repercussions of so many arrests was still a daunting task. After all, it was not as if everything associated with such persons were criminal in nature, there were plenty of businesses, employees, and other commercial ties that were entirely benign or even crucial to the economic wellbeing of some part of the Empire. Case in point was McDougal Chemicals' role as a sakuradite refiner here in Japan.
"That should at least lessen the risk of outside interference while the company is being reorganized," Lelouch remarked, then gave a slight grunt. "Not that the task itself is made much easier."
More than a few smirks were cracked at the cardinal's remark, for no one present disagreed with the sentiment. Even if the previous owners were out of the picture, it was not as if the current stewards were uniformly united in what direction the company should be taken.
"With the shares as a whole in government hands, that would make it easier to split the company," Albrecht Stadtfeld, one of the newest members of the advisory committee, stated. "As tainted as Babel is, the other parts of McDougal's business are perfectly viable, and there is plenty of interest from various parties in acquiring them."
"And yet there is also merit in keeping the company as a whole intact," Tousai Munakata, one of the Japanese representatives, spoke up. "Babel notwithstanding, many of the company's constituent parts have complementary synergy with each other, seeing as they are involved in different stages of the chemical processing pipeline."
The two views so espoused broadly represented the divergent positions the Britannian and Japanese sides were taking. The motivations driving the alternate proposals were however less to do with racial background but more with the differing economic proprieties. Quite a few Britannian interests would love to be rid of one of their competitors, which McDougal Chemicals as a whole certainly served as, while also picking up the lucrative bits and pieces of the company involved in the sakuradite trade. The Japanese on the other hand saw transforming McDougal as an opportunity to create another commercial bulwark to protect their collective interests, especially if the company's new management came from their ranks. Either approach was entirely valid from a commercial perspective, so which course the government took was ultimately a political decision.
"The Babel assets will remain in receivership, regardless of how the rest of the company is reorganized," Lelouch declared. "Any terms proposed for McDougal Chemicals' return to private ownership should take that into account."
That was a new piece of information to the other attendees, though obviously the decision, or at least approval thereof, must have been made at a higher level, with the cardinal simply delivering the news.
"The resort assets were always something of an outlier amongst the rest of McDougal's interests," Lawrence Kraft, the head of Imperial Bank of Britannia's local branch, said. "Having them hived off should actually make things easier, whichever route the company ends up taking."
As the man's otherwise noncommittal remark indicated, it was not completely strictly along racial lines that positions were staked. At least on the Britannian side, some of the representatives were more indifferent as to whether McDougal Chemicals was broken up or kept whole, so long as some reorganization happened to fully purge the company of its bad apples.
"The simplest approach would be to put the company up for auction," Edward Rochester, a senior partner of the Ruvik Group, one of Britannia's largest commodity brokers, chimed in. "That would allow the government to better recoup the investment it has made thus far keeping the company running, and make sure whoever ends up taking it over is serious about whatever plans they have."
"That approach would preclude the current employees of the company from having a say over the fate of their employer, would it not?" Kaguya spoke up.
"Not necessarily," Edward responded. "If the current employees can put together a credible plan of how they would manage the company, they should be able to find outside investors willing to back them."
That saw a contemplative expression cross Kaguya's face. The girl was undoubtedly considering how her own company might support those employees in such an endeavor, but the full effort would require more than just whatever brainstorming she might manage here.
"At present the government can continue to oversee the company's operations," Lelouch said. "Once the relevant parties have put together full proposals of how to transition the company back into private ownership, the viceroyalty will review it and make a selection from there."
The others nodded, indicating their acknowledgment of this particular topic being closed and the meeting moving onto the next item on the agenda.
"Eve," Lelouch said, directing everyone's gaze to the woman seated next to Lawrence. "Were you able to review the government's provisions for the strategic grain reserve?"
"Yes, Your Eminence," Fleur von Eiterzental Mariel Bolan-Kraft, generally called Eve by those with at least some familiarity with her, nodded. "The target of eight hundred thousand metric tons aligns with my own estimates as to the range necessary to stabilize grain prices in Japan, though the initial costs of establishing the reserve will be substantial, especially in the stipulated timeframe."
"But you consider the timeframe to be achievable?"
"The harvests in South America this year were quite bountiful," Eve responded, "and combined with the winter harvest being brought in now from North America, there should be ample grains to procure. The main challenge is going to be logistical, to shipping those harvests to Japan. Locally the islands' agricultural sector has not recovered enough to be producing the volumes that would allow us to divert a substantial portion of the harvest to building up the reserve."
As indicated by her last name, Eve was married to the man seated next to her. And while Lawrence worked in finance, his wife was a major player in the agricultural commodities market. That made Eve's input into matters relating to the field invaluable when formulating policy, and the woman was a professional enough businesswoman that even if the input she offered had a slight slant in her favor for the long term, it was still sound advice.
"The government does not have enough storage capacity to handle the entirety of the reserve, not yet at least," Lelouch said, "and the survey of elevators in private hands showed the total available for requisition would also fall short. Would you have any proposals to remedy this deficit?"
"A few," Eve pursed her lips. "I suspect the total number of elevators available is higher than your survey is picking up, Your Eminence, if only because some of the derelict facilities have not yet been reclaimed. Refurbishing and repairing those should be faster than building new ones wholesale, and the reclamation program your agricultural ministry is undertaking should add substantially to the available storage capacity in short order."
"While that addition will certainly be helpful, there is the slight issue of many of those elevators being concentrated in Hokkaido," Lelouch said.
There wasn't any particular inflection in the cardinal's tone, his statement was made matter-of-factly with no particular emphasis of note, and yet somehow an audible intake of breath sounded from the others as everyone immediately picked up on the subtext associated with the concern. The prospect of invasion had been steadily growing over the passing weeks, with commentators across the world speculating as to how the conflict would unfold. One thing that most of those armchair talking heads agreed upon was that Hokkaido would definitely be hit. The island was not only extremely close to Russia and China, relatively speaking, it being separate from Honshu also meant it should be nominally more difficult for the Britannians themselves to reinforce once the shooting started, the Empire's flying fleet notwithstanding.
While it had not been openly stated previously, the purpose of the strategic grain reserve that the viceroyalty government was trying to put together was certainly also part of its preparations for the impending conflict. Japan was not self-sufficient in food production even before its conquest by Britannia and the years of neglect its agricultural sector had suffered since had not helped. If any significant disruption occurred to the flow of food imports to the islands due to, say, a war breaking out, how the residents would fare would be heavily dependent on what reserves had been built up beforehand.
"In that case, should the reserve requisitions be perhaps increased?" Edward suggested.
Eve's face twitched ever so slightly. "It will already be taxing on shipping resources to transfer the current requisitions to Japan in the allotted timeframe. Trying to procure more product is by itself not going to measurably improve our situation."
"I suppose that would be too easy," the viscount conceded wisely, likely recognizing from past experience interacting with Eve what her expression meant. Lawrence's reputation for steely nerves was only partially down to his commercial acumen, the other half came from managing to win Eve's hand.
"A shame the closest source of such grains is otherwise unavailable," Lelouch said with a slight smirk. "Logistics aside, simply having a larger reserve would still be more reassuring."
An obvious joke, perhaps, but not one anyone else in the room was likely to have dared utter. Trying to buy food that you were stockpiling in preparation for a war against the sellers was generally not advisable, even if there was something to be said about those selling the rope that would eventually be used to hang them.
"If reserve levels are genuinely a concern," Eve spoke up, "there may be another source that we could tap that, while not exactly close by, at least would have some amount of grain on hand and immediately available, assuming shipping could be arranged."
The cardinal regarded the woman. "And this source would be?"
"Australia."
While the continent's name was evident to all present, the mixed set of expressions was a clear delineator between those that caught onto Eve's suggestion and those lacking the context to do so.
"You refer to Australia's own strategic grain reserve," Lelouch said, giving another hint to those not familiar with the matter.
"Yes, Your Eminence."
That Australia possessed such a reserve was probably not in and of itself that much a surprise, pretty much every region in the Empire, for that matter most developed regions in the world, did so. That Australia was being brought up in this context was due to the size of the reserve they maintained, which was itself a consequence of its rather special circumstances. Despite the vast size of the continent, Australia was one of the least populated regions in the entire Empire, numbering only five million or so subjects. The reason for this was due to a deliberate policy decision made in the mid-1900s, one of the first major policies driven by the economic and social models provided by Eden Vital in fact, that pointed out that Australia was simply not capable of sustaining a large population base, at least not with the technology then available. Water was the biggest issue, with the low level of precipitation over much of the continent leaving it too dry for the intensive agriculture needed to feed a larger population base. That combined with the overall low humidity made many regions exceptionally vulnerable to wildfires, which certainly added to the difficulty of increasing the density of plant life.
Despite these challenges, Australia was still an extremely rich jewel in the Empire's crown. While iron ore might not be as lucrative as sakuradite, it, and the steel produced from it, still underpinned much of industrialized society. Mining that ore still required human labor, and that labor needed someplace to rest and play outside of work, not to mention places for their families to reside. And all those people of course still needed to eat. There was some local production, but again due to that issue of water, it was never going to be enough to sustain the resident population at the standards Britannian citizens were used to. Imports therefore made up the slack, and as a precaution, the Australian authorities maintained large stockpiles of the staple grains to ensure that, should something happen to the regular flow of foodstuffs, they would still have a fallback to avert outright starvation if nothing else. For a time at least.
"My office approached the Australian provincial authorities about whether they would be willing to release some of their stockpile," Lelouch said. "The answer we received was mostly in the negative."
Naturally that meant the Australians were somewhat touchy about those reserves and making sure they did not appear short in any way. One could hardly blame them, however inconvenient that might be.
"Am I to take it that you have some alternate avenue that would produce a different response?" the cardinal continued, clasping his hands together as he regarded Eve.
A slight smile crossed the woman's face. "The Australian reserves do partake in the general commodity market, and they seek to refresh their stocks on a regular basis. As part of that process, they offload a portion of their existing stock. Under normal circumstances that offloading is usually just to meet existing local demand, but should the right inducements be made, we could likely courage a greater degree of offloading, and their destination, to Japan."
"How expensive would this inducement be?" Lelouch asked, eyebrow quirked upward.
"With the right options, not significantly so," Eve said. "And there is one logistical detail that would make the transfer easier to arrange. The bulk of the grain purchases by Australia would be coming from the South American harvest, the same source of which Your Eminence is contemplating for building up Japan's."
"Ah," Lelouch said with a nod. "By using Australia as an intermediary, we avoid the longer distance for shipment from South America. And because you hold options for grain purchases from South America that the Australians want, they can be induced to trade some of their existing stockpile for those options."
"Glad to see you're quick on the uptake, Your Eminence," Eve said, smile still on her face.
"Submit a bid once you have one ready," the cardinal said. "While I'm sure your brokerage is capable of striking a perfectly fair price, I'll still want the transaction properly accounted for in the government's books."
"Of course Your Eminence."
Eve even had the decency to not let any hint of satisfaction leak in her tone. The other attendees could only look on in mild wonderment at the way in which the woman helped both advance government policy more efficiently and directly benefit from its implementation. Enlightened self-interest was not a bad thing, but it required a certain caliber of skill to pull it off in a way that wasn't detrimental to society at large.
"If no one else has any input on the matter?" Lelouch began the process of concluding the meeting.
"Ah, one question, Your Eminence," Lawrence said, "not related to the reserve though."
Lelouch tilted his head to indicate permission for the banker to ask anyway.
"You mentioned that the Babel properties would be hived off from the rest of McDougal's assets. Does that mean Your Eminence already has plans for them?"
Quite a few curious looks were now settled on Lelouch and after a moment the cardinal shrugged.
"Eden Vital requested early on in Japan's occupation to be allowed to establish a large medical treatment, training, and research center to service the administrative area. The prior viceroys all declined to grant them permission to do so. In light of the tainted nature of the properties, I requested and obtained consent from His Majesty's government to turn the land over to the Order to finally allow for the development of such a center."
Of course, it could be argued that Lelouch himself was also extremely adept at the furtherance of complementary goals. There was little doubt that Japan was in dire need of more medical services, as well as reestablishing the pipeline that would see those services staffed. And land being something of a premium in the country, there was likely to be few opportunities in which such prime property might be had for so cheaply. While certain commercial developers might be disappointed at this lost opportunity to turn a profit, no one was likely to gainsay the cardinal's machinations on this matter. After all, this little bit of enlightened self-interest might prove outright prescient, especially if war did erupt. Hopefully the hospital could be completed before its services were needed.
The mood in the room was dour, as befitted matter being discussed. One generally did not approach the rising prospect of nuclear war with enthusiasm, after all.
"There is confirmation that Britannia has already finished mobilizing three divisions of its reserves," Gaoshun said, "and transferred them to Honshu. We also have indications that several provincial lords have consented to deployment of a portion of their guards to Japan to bolster the area's defenses, with Marquess Ashford and the New England Guard taking the lead."
Seeing as the marquess himself was residing in Japan, it was not perhaps that surprising that he would be willing to shoulder the costs of deploying such an expeditionary force. What was surprising however was that a peer's provincial guard was deploying outside of its usual jurisdiction at all.
"It is my understanding that a peer's guard usually does not ever leave their home province," Jinshi remarked, "much less partake in some sort of overseas deployment to a yet to be fully integrated administrative area."
"That is so, Your Highness," Gaoshun said. "Setting aside the expense, the imperial government has reasons of its own for wanting to discourage the peerage from performing any sort of power projection with their private armies. In this case however, all three of the noble houses in question have extremely close ties with the imperial family. Aside from the aforementioned Ashfords, the other two are headed by the emperor's own wives."
Jinshi's eyes narrowed. "Is that so."
The question was of course rhetorical, so Gaoshun did not bother directly responding to it. Instead he continued with the overall briefing.
"The combined contribution comes to about a single division in strength, which totaled with the army reserves and the occupational forces already stationed in Japan, puts the area's standing strength at corps level at minimum. If Britannia continues mobilizing at its currently estimated rate, we could be looking at an entire field army being positioned in Japan within six months' time."
The prince felt the beginnings of a headache slowly encroach upon him.
"Surely the Empire does not think such a provocation could go unanswered, in light of its recent history of aggressive imperialism?" Jinshi said, thereby demonstrating that whatever his genuinely high intelligence, there were still gaps in his experience that could see him make less than astute statements. Then again, he did have a petulant side that tended to assert itself at inopportune moments.
"The Empire has likely determined that war is inevitable," Gaoshun said with measured patience, "and therefore making concessions in appeasement of diplomatic sentiment to be pointless. Much as we have been able to discern some of their movements, Britannia will almost certainly have picked up some hints of China's, and Russia's, preparations. Of the targets that we might strike at, Japan would be the most valuable, hence the Empire's moves to reinforce its position there."
The unhappy look on Jinshi's face belayed his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs Gaoshun described. But that was the thing about reality, it cared little about the satisfaction of mere humans.
"I presume the ministry has adjusted its own plans accordingly in light of this development?" Jinshi said.
"To an extent," Gaoshun responded. "An attempt to take Honshu was always considered something of a long shot as far as an opening move was concerned, the reinforcement of its garrison has simply confirmed the unlikelihood of any attempt. The ministry has therefore shifted the entirety of its focus onto the islands of Kyushu and Hokkaido. The Britannians have only a single mechanized infantry division defending Kyushu, and Hokkaido is similarly garrisoned by only a single armored division, with air elements attached to both. Thus far the Empire does not appear to have significantly augmented the defenses of either island, but it goes without saying that even the existing forces are substantial. If our marine units cannot quickly seize a port to allow us to land additional conventional forces, they would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of defenders alone."
"And if they are able to seize a port?"
"Then we stand a genuine chance of taking the islands," Gaoshun said, "initially at least. The problem however is that Britannia has no need to similarly seize a port to land additional troops of their own, thanks to their flying transports."
And therein lay the biggest weakness to China's plans. The flying transports that Britannia possessed allowed them to shift entire divisions at a time to any place where they possessed control of the air. Combined with their Eighth Fleet, a fleet of warships similarly equipped with the innovative float system only the Empire had perfected enough to put into practical deployment, denying Britannia air superiority was a very difficult task. While China did possess a decently capable air force, plus a measurable stockpile of cruise missiles, they would have to expend a truly tremendous amount of them to have a meaningful chance of defeating the Empire's airborne fleet. But that fleet would not be fighting alone either, all of the air capable assets the Empire already had stationed in Japan proper would be offering their support as well. However one looked at it, the Britannian occupied Japan was a veritable fortress of which a successful invasion would be extraordinarily difficult. China was by no means a poor country, its massive population alone gave it an immense economic heft. But that wealth was still no guarantee that they could marshal the resources to take Japan away from Britannia.
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting the two men.
"Excuse me, Your Highness," an elderly woman announced from outside, "but Master Basen has arrived."
Jinshi and Gaoshun exchanged looks. The youngest of the latter's sons, Basen had followed his father's footsteps in joining the Ministry of War and was presently a very junior member of Jinshi's staff. It was therefore not unusual for him to drop by Jinshi's offices or even residence, though calling upon the prince directly was a rare occurrence.
"Show him in," Jinshi responded after a moment.
When the young man entered, he promptly bowed. "Your Highness, apologies for intruding upon you, but there is news that I thought you had best be made aware of as quickly as possible."
That saw both Jinshi and Gaoshun grimace.
"What is it?"
"Sir," Basen began. "We have received confirmation of the force level the Russian Federation is preparing to commit to the joint training exercise that is being planned."
A training exercise that anyone with even a single working brain cell knew to be camouflage for the invasion preparations being undertaken by China and Russia.
"The Russians have confirmed the participation of their Pacific Fleet, including their carrier Minsk, alongside six divisions of their Far East military district."
That the Russian Pacific Fleet would play some part in the upcoming invasion was a given, the only real question had been whether they would be able to get the Minsk and its air complement combat ready in time. With its participation assured, the Hokkaido operation would see an effective doubling of the number of carrier-borne aircraft supporting it, no small consideration considering the much smaller sizes of the Chinese and Russian carriers in comparison to their Britannian counterparts. That was also not counting the air combat elements Britannia itself had stationed in Hokkaido.
The other pertinent detail was the number of ground troops the Russians were preparing to commit. Six divisions were nothing to sneeze at and would certainly outnumber the Britannian defenders stationed in Hokkaido. It would still be wholly inadequate for an attempt upon Honshu, but assuming the Chinese and Russians could actually land their troops upon Hokkaido, their combined forces stood a decent chance of actually taking the island. What happened afterward would be contingent on the allies' ability to supply their forces, but the numbers involved at least indicated how serious the Russians were about this endeavor.
"Even so, the odds feel too chancy," Jinshi said unhappily.
The prince was not wrong there. With war, it was not just a matter of whether the initial tactical objectives were achievable or not, the odds of strategic success were what truly dictated whether a risk was warranted or not. Even with all of the resources China and Russia were investing in their Japanese adventure, even if they succeeded in taking Hokkaido and Kyushu, they would still be far from liberating the most important of the Japanese isles, and with it the true prizes, Japan's bountiful supplies of sakuradite located on Honshu, and the Kamine Island thought elevator. All victory on the two smaller islands would achieve is the provide the opportunity to make a play for the latter two objectives, and then only if China and Russia could hold onto their initial gains. Japan might have fallen to Britannia in a mere month, but the very advantages that allowed the Empire to achieve such a lightning victory would now be arrayed against the allies, and Jinshi was not foolish enough to ignore what that meant.
On top of the military dimension, there was also the political and diplomatic angle as well. Both China and Russia intended to justify their invasion as an effort to liberate the Japanese people from their Britannian oppressors, and a scant year ago such a reason would have found ample purchase worldwide. Britannia had after all made little effort since its victory to actually integrate its newly conquered domains and peoples, instead inflicting upon them abuses that genuinely horrified those peoples of other, still independent polities. There might be a slight whiff of hypocrisy there, since many of those self-same polities possessed overseas colonies of their own that saw only mildly better treatment. Then again, politicians were hardly going to let hypocrisy get in the way of some action they felt served their own self-interest.
Unfortunately in that intervening year, one Cardinal Lamperouge had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and not only brought to heel the worst dredges of the Britannian abusers but also achieved a measure of genuine uplift in conditions for the Japanese people. Combined with the Special Administration Act now working its way through the Britannian parliament, and almost assured to pass considering the royal family's strong backing for it, more and more Japanese were questioning whether it was still worth risking their lives to achieve political independence when they were being offered comparable, or even greater, economic prosperity to become Britannians. The provisions intended to help safeguard their culture certainly didn't hurt either.
If the Japanese people themselves were questioning the worth of risking their lives for independence, one could only imagine what effect such doubt would have on the citizens of other polities. Even the most autocratic dictator needed at least some measure of willing collaboration by his citizenry to pursue his goals, since they were ultimately the ones to do the actual work in advancement of said goals. If those people did not believe in the goal, attainment would be at best dubious and at worst exorbitant.
That Britannia's own people had supported its recent imperial conquests was down to a combination of the Empire successfully concluding those conquests rapidly, thanks at least in part due to how much weaker many of its targets were, and also because of the readily evident prizes won. Even then, there was a definite fatigue setting in amongst Britannia's citizenry, even successful wars came at a price in treasure and blood after all, and it would likely have been difficult to convince them to pursue any further overseas adventures. Fortunately for Britannia, and unfortunately for China and Russia, reluctance to partake in further conquests was not the same as reluctance to defend already conquered prizes. And with the Cardinal Lamperouge's successes in furthering Japan's integration, more and more Britannians were likely to see the area as worth the effort to hold onto, even setting aside its sakuradite wealth.
Neither China nor Russia was immune from these sorts of considerations either. While China leaned a bit more towards the authoritarian side, and Russia a bit less, discontent with their respective government's policies could still incite considerable unrest within the countries and otherwise hamper efforts to liberate Japan. Russia also had the additional complication of needing to heed the opinions of the other European nations, many of whom had already emphatically stated they did not want to see their fellow EU member get involved in a shooting war with the Empire. The Russian Federation could ignore those opinions, which was what it was effectively doing now, but there would be a significant cost in doing so, especially if the venture failed.
Jinshi frowned again. "Why does it feel like the entire Japanese gambit is turning into one giant trap laid by the Empire?"
"Britannia cannot but know of our intentions," Gaoshun said, "which allows it the opportunity to make any attack upon Japan as unpalatable as possible. While they recognize it unlikely, the Empire could still be hoping that should the prospective cost be too high, China and Russia could be deterred."
"The cost is already too high," Jinshi said, his otherwise nymph-like visage twisted by his disgust. "And it might climb higher yet, if the Empire makes good on the insinuations regarding their ballistic missile submarines."
While Basen inhaled sharply, Gaoshun maintained his usually stoic demeanor.
"Britannia will likely not go that far," the older man said. "No one could actively wish for a nuclear exchange, that alone will see all sides seek to avert such drastic escalation."
"The hope is that no one is actively wishing for a nuclear exchange," Jinshi however was not assuaged. "Considering the demeanor of some of the Eden Vital dissidents, can you truly claim they are of a rational mindset?"
To that Gaoshun could only respond with a telling silence.
The prince sighed, but soon adopted a more serious demeanor of his own.
"We cannot avert the impending conflict with Britannia, nor is it within our means to measurably increase our chances of success." Jinshi snorted. "It is already straining China's resources to mount the offensive currently planned."
War was expensive, a truism since antiquity, and the costs associated had only grown since then. What truly distinguished the great powers from other lesser polities was how their immense wealth allowed them to actually logistically support campaigns beyond their borders. By that metric, Britannia's ability to orchestrate a string of conquests all the way on the other side of the globe put it in a league of its own. Other nations may possess comparable weapons and similarly competent soldiers, but no one could match Britannia's ability to get those weapons and troops, and everything else those soldiers needed, across the globe as quickly or as efficiently as the Empire. If Japan were not literally on China's doorstep, if the geography was somehow reversed and the Japanese Archipelago were on the other side of the Pacific next to Britannia instead, it would have been far outside China or Russia's means to mount any meaningful offensive.
"I have no desire to wish misfortune upon our own soldiers," the prince continued, "but we must have contingencies prepared for whatever outcome occurs. If we are to suffer a significant reverse, then we must make sure the lives lost are not in vain, that some benefit be obtained, even if that benefit is to simply circumscribe the reach of our domestic enemies."
"We already have Prince Yao positioned with the East Sea Fleet," Gaoshun pointed out, though he did not further elaborate on just what purpose that station served.
Jinshi however shook his head. "If we are to succeed in our own objectives, we cannot be reliant on a single gambit, especially one as chancy. No, we must make use of every opportunity that comes our way, regardless of the wider fortune that provided them."
Gaoshun tilted his head. "What do you propose, Your Highness?"
The prince's lips thinned. "Whatever the outcome of the Japan gambit, there will be responsibility aplenty to account for. We are all agreed that the chances of liberating Japan are, problematical. If things turn out the way we fear, there must be consequences." Jinshi's eyes visibly hardened as he met Gaoshun's gaze. "It would behoove us that those consequences be felt in their entirety by those genuinely responsible for the sad state of affairs that we would find ourselves in."
While Basen looked at least a little uneasy, Gaoshun simply gave a nod.
"I will prepare the list for your review and approval," the older man stated, then almost as if an afterthought added. "To have some fall would make way for others to rise. Does Your Highness also wish to exploit that opportunity as well?"
"Yes," Jinshi said, though his expression seemed to waver ever so slightly. "There is certainly at least one person who would be of tremendous utility if we were to bolster his career even further, though there is a certain degree of risk in further elevating him."
Gaoshun needed no further hints to know exactly who Jinshi was referring to, as well as infer the cause of the prince's trepidation. After all, even a prince might hesitate in the face of his father-in-law's displeasure, and it was from a most capable lineage that produced a wife as willful as Jinshi's.
While Kallen had kept herself up to speed with a knightmare's controls using simulators after her enlistment with Eden Vital, this would be the first time since Shinjuku that she was riding in an actual frame. And what a frame it was! Eden Vital's simulators provided her with a sneak peek at what it was like to control a knightmare using the neuro-link interface, but actually doing it herself was still something of a revelation.
"Enjoying yourself in there, Kallen?" Lelouch's voice sounded over the radio, and really inside her head for that matter.
"Just getting my bearings, Your Eminence," Kallen responded professionally, but the wide grin on her face proved hard to suppress.
"Well, so long as you take it in moderation," the cardinal said. "The Guren might share the same baseline as the other GX's, but it has enough features unique to it that independent shakedown is required."
Case in point was the gamma ray laser mounted on the knightmare's right arm of which the frame served as a namesake to. The presence of the weapon was also why Lelouch himself was attending the test, along with the Guren graser's principal inventor, Dr. Rakshata Chawla.
"I still can't believe you mounted my graser as a weapon like that," Rakshata said with a grimace.
That was not the first time the good doctor had made such a remark, though not out of outright discontent as would all too easily be presumed by her wording. Rakshata was if nothing else a realist and a pragmatist, meaning she recognized from the outset that her graser might see weaponization in one form or another. This particular form had still taken her by surprise however, simply because the power requirements behind the graser should have made it impractical. Of course Rakshata had no inkling as to Kallen's rather special ability, which should allow for the Guren knightmare to power its graser, if only barely. Whether that actually moved the needle into practical still remained to be seen.
"Does everything feel alright, Kallen?" Sancia asked.
"Yep, no problems," Kallen answered. "Ready to go whenever all of you are."
"Then please proceed out to the target range."
"So long as I'm not the target," Kallen could be heard muttering even as the Guren rolled off the trailer.
"Well we do need to test out the Blaze Luminous system your knightmare is equipped with," Sancia noted.
And with that system the kinetic energy conversion that Kallen's geass was supposed to afford her frame. Granted that at least had seen some testing, first with them firing rubber bullets at the Guren's Blaze Luminous before moving up to actual bullets and even an RPG or five. Under that much firepower the shield, and conversion system, could be determined to be working. The graser itself had also been test fired independently, both before and after its installation onto the knightmare proper. Today however they would be putting the combined system through its paces, to see whether the graser and energy conversion system powering it was usable under conditions more akin to a battlefield, if only slightly.
In addition to Kallen, Alice and Dalque were also out on the field. They would be responsible for handling the weapons that would be tested against the Blaze Luminous, ranging from the standard knightmare battle rifle to Eden Vital's version of the VARIS railgun. Despite all this hardware however, almost conspicuous in their absence were any representatives of the Camelot Institute. Had Lelouch asked, nothing would have stopped Lloyd from accepting and showing up, so it was probably a relief to the colonel's minders that the cardinal had kept the test more or less in-house. With the technical staff now available to him from both Eden Vital and the Ashford Foundation, plus members of Rakshata's team, Lelouch was not exactly wanting for expertise like in the early days of his deployment to Japan.
"In position," Kallen reported over the radio.
"All personnel, prepare for firing," Sancia ordered in response.
The Guren had enough energy charged up for a single full-up graser shot, which would serve as the first step of testing out the cycling of the complete charging loop. Three targets had been set up for today's run, two decommissioned Britannian M60 tanks, along with a similarly decommissioned Glasgow knightmare frame. Kallen stepped up close to the first tank and pointed her firing arm at it.
"Firing in three, two, one!"
The distance was not quite pointblank, the graser was capable of hitting targets at some range, but the closer it was, the less blooming that might disperse its beam. That issue was not enough to invalidate the graser's utility as a battlefield weapon, if it was genuinely so short ranged not even the Order Sabine would have bothered mounting it on a knightmare, but for the purpose of today's test, better that they minimize any chance of a shot missing or otherwise going off into the distance and fry something unexpected. That would also explain the layers of lead shielding, and simple dirt, that had been piled up behind each target, to absorb as much of any burn through as possible.
With the lower frequency energy weapons Britannia employed, like lasers, the damage inflicted upon their targets was readily identifiable as a consequence of the imparted heat melting through whatever material was hit. Even with the speed at which the melting occurred, the progression of damage could still be tracked by the naked eye, at a certain granularity at least. And with the appropriate protection, it was even possible to, somewhat, absorb the transferred energy to mitigate some of the damage. The effect of a graser hit was considerably more dramatic. What occurred was less the target material being melted or even cut, the molecular bonds holding it together were outright shattered. The structural damage was therefore much more pervasive, as was the depth to which the graser beam penetrated. The boom that sounded was simply dramatic accompaniment. The slagged tank, plus the glassed earth behind it, those were the true testaments to the graser's destructive power.
"Energy charge depleted," Sancia said matter-of-factly. "Radiation levels nominal and falling. Shielding remains intact."
Whether it was because he had already witnessed the graser's capabilities before or the cardinal was naturally so stoic, Lelouch's expression remained utterly impassive. The responses of others around him were nowhere as muted, as gasps and even a few cries sounded. Perhaps tellingly, there were no cheers or hollers.
"Proceed with the next stage," the cardinal ordered.
"Sister Alice," Lucretia said with greater formality than normal, "Sister Dalque, take firing positions. Sister Kallen, please move to the target location."
The three knightmares obeyed, though a bit of steam could still be seen wafting off the Guren's right arm. The amount of heat yet to dissipate was quite clearly considerable. Hopefully it would not interfere with the next test.
"Sister Dalque, you may begin."
"Roger!"
Hefting the knightmare rifle, Dalque began taking potshots at Kallen, making sure to hit the other knightmare's general frame but not aiming at anything sensitive. Each shot at least flew in close enough proximity to trigger the Blaze Luminous shield, which flared with every impact.
"Charge is climbing," Sancia reported, "slowly."
Lelouch leaned over to get a closer look at the readout. At the rate it was going, Dalque would have to go through quite a few magazines before they approached the thresholds needed to fire the graser again.
"Switch over to Alice."
"Understood," Sancia said, then repeated the order over the radio.
Out on the field, Dalque stopped firing and stepped back to make way for the other girl.
"Step VARIS to lowest setting," Lucretia ordered.
At that setting, the composite armor of a modern main battle tank was just barely able to withstand the hit. It was still liable to mission-kill the tank due to wrecking the tracks or causing other collateral damage, but penetration through the hull was at least unlikely. The purpose of this particular setting was if one needed to target unarmored vehicles or structures, as otherwise the shot from a fully charged VARIS was liable to blow right through the intended target. The lessened power also meant the Guren's shield was capable of withstanding a few hits, but as with everything else happening today, they would take it one step at a time.
"Fire when ready," Sancia ordered.
Alice didn't need any further prompting and pulled the trigger. The sound that echoed was less of a boom and more of a shriek, at least up till the impact. The Blaze Luminous flared noticeably brighter, but the tungsten slug was stopped dead in its tracks. On the screens, the charge for the graser and the shield's own reserves mirrored each other's change in an inverse fashion. From the look of things, the shield could withstand another two, maybe three hits before being entirely depleted. And while the graser's charge had jumped significantly more than from the regular cannon shells, it was still well under a fifth of the required energy to fire again. Not unexpected, but the present numbers argued strongly against the practicality of the graser even when augmented by Kallen's geass.
"Thoughts, Doctor?" Lelouch said as he glanced over at Rakshata.
The woman shrugged. "Not sure what you expect me to say. There's no secret that'll get the graser's power requirements lower than what it is, not if you want to induce gamma ray emissions."
Lelouch tilted his head. "So if we were to go for a lower frequency emission, the power requirements would correspondingly drop?"
Rakshata seemed mildly surprised at the cardinal's observation, but nodded nonetheless. "Even going down into the x-ray range would make things simpler, and it might help with the blooming effect, a little."
"Sabine should have probably gone with that approach in the first place," Lelouch said with a mildly exasperated sigh, then looked over at Rakshata again. "Though did you consider a microwave laser for the ICF experiments as well?"
"It was evaluated as an alternative to the graser," Rakshata said very carefully.
"And how far did that evaluation get?" Lelouch however pressed.
The Indian doctor pursed her lips thoughtfully for a few moments before responding. "A word in private, Your Eminence?"
"Hold further testing," Lelouch ordered before heading out the room with Rakshata and Lucretia in tow, the Eden Vital sister immediately rising to accompany her charge.
The trio were soon settled in an otherwise empty conference room and Lelouch gestured for Rakshata to say her piece. The doctor pulled out her pipe, and after a nod of assent from the cardinal, lit it and took a long puff.
"Is Your Eminence aware of the full extent of my relationship with the Sumeragi Group?" Rakshata finally said after soothing her nerves.
"They fund your research, and offer tacit support for your sympathies for India's separatist movement."
"Independence movement," Rakshata corrected.
"If you succeed."
The edge of Rakshata's lips quirked slightly at that before she continued. "Most of that tacit support you refer to comes in the form of money, and the Sumeragi provided it even before Britannia invaded and made them even more, sympathetic, to the Indian desire for independence. They could not provide more concrete support back then, and certainly aren't in a position to do so now, since the governmental authorities in both cases would likely frown upon a merely private entity making a geopolitical play like that." The doctor's eyes narrowed. "Britannia on the other hand appears to be plunging headlong into such a play in the very near future."
What the doctor was insinuating was blindingly obvious, though whether whatever she had on hand would be enough to buy the Empire's support, and to what extent that support reached, was another matter entirely.
"The Empire's strategic goals vis a vis China would not necessarily be served by it assisting the Indian resistance movements," Lelouch stated frankly but carefully, "especially with the sort of precedent that would be set if those movements actually succeeded in their goal."
"And I suppose a fully functional microwave laser design that could be immediately weaponized would not constitute a worthwhile enough prize to shift those goals?"
Lelouch drummed his fingers. "Size?"
"Easily swappable with the graser currently mounted on the Guren knightmare."
"Range?"
"Twenty kilometers in atmosphere, easily hundreds out in a vacuum if mounted in orbit."
Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "In orbit?"
Rakshata took another puff from her pipe. "Surely the utility is self-evident? With sufficient numbers of such lasers in space, Britannia would be capable of completely neutralizing any attempts to launch ballistic missiles at its territories."
Perhaps it should not have been that surprising the doctor would have conceived of such a use for her own creation.
"That would arguably depend on how many shots the laser would be capable of before the emission medium became too degraded," Lelouch said.
A brief pause, and then a shrug. "Hypothetically, fifty-plus."
That saw both eyebrows go up. "Fifty-plus?"
"Hypothetically," Rakshata emphasized. "We never pushed the test model past twenty for safety reasons. Plus, it became quickly evident that we would not reach the energy density thresholds required for ICF fusion with the x-ray laser, so effort shifted over to the graser shortly thereafter." The doctor tilted her head. "How many shots has Britannia achieved?"
Technically that information was extremely classified. In practice, someone like Rakshata was certainly not going to blab, and the doctor was smart enough to already have put the pieces together about the bigger overall secret, the existence of Damocles.
"Fifteen is the hypothetical limit," Lelouch thus answered, "before the medium degrades to the point of uselessness. In practice, it's probably closer to ten."
"Fifteen," Rakshata repeated. "Not bad. I don't suppose a collaboration could be arranged between my lab and Britannia's developers?"
"Kaguya would probably take issue with me poaching you and your team like that," Lelouch responded, indicating the threshold required before that could happen.
The doctor shrugged. "A shame."
"The Sumeragi Group or the Japanese government never considered weaponization?" Lelouch asked this time.
"It was considered, but the Japanese government never found the funding to pursue the project."
Not a terrible surprise, considering just how expensive such a program would be. Britannia after all had sunk over a hundred billion pounds into Damocles and they were still not at the operational deployment stage yet.
"So, does the x-ray laser interest Your Eminence? Or should I say Britannia?"
Lelouch drummed his fingers again as he contemplated a response. While he was the emperor's direct representative as viceroy, his direct authority was still constrained to the administrative area he oversaw, so it was not like he could commit the wider Britannian government to anything. Still, there were at least token gestures available to him to signal to Rakshata the degree, and extent, of interest the Empire was likely to express.
"I understand that the Sumeragi Group is amply generous with their funding for your work," Lelouch said. "Still, there must be ways in which additional resources, in money and materiel, that might help expedite your progress."
Rakshata's eyes narrowed a bit on a certain keyword there.
"Some such support would be within my discretionary authority as viceroy to approve," the cardinal continued. "Others would require consultation with higher authorities. Still, to perform that consultation, I at least need to know what is desired. You wouldn't happen to have a list handy?"
After a brief moment, Rakshata gave a slow nod. "Give me a little time to put one together. I'd like to consult with the rest of my, team, to make sure I don't miss anything."
"Of course," Lelouch said. "But try not to take too much time. There is a narrowing window in which such support is still readily available before other demands arise."
To that the doctor gave a firmer nod of understanding. Once the shooting started, Britannia would need to have settled upon its strategic objectives, limiting its flexibility for future pivots. Still, it should not take her too long to put together her wish list. And once done, the cardinal would need to have another chat with the powers that be.
"Food shouldn't be an issue," Cole Kraft, head of the culinary club at Ashford Academy, declared with a degree of confidence. "We've already spoken with a few vendors and all of them have the capacity to meet our requirements. We even have plans to have a few Japanese dishes, real ones, not the westernized stuff served in a lot of restaurants these days, available, based on how the taste testing goes."
"All within budget, I hope?" Milly spoke up.
The look Cole gave his classmate was one of aggrieved honor. "Since when has the culinary club ever gone overbudget on my watch? As opposed to certain others that deal with more animate four-legged creatures?"
That earned him a raspberry, eliciting chuckles from the other attendees. Though to be fair, any shortfall the equestrian club suffered, of which Milly was herself a member of, was usually made up from donor funds instead of the school budget. Even if Ruben Ashford himself was the source of some such donations.
"That's good to hear," Nina Einstein, the student-treasurer and therefore the person responsible for balancing the books, said, directing the conversation back to the matter at hand. "Depending on what's left over, that can probably be added to the culinary club's discretionary budget for next year."
"A shame I won't be around to enjoy it," Cole said.
Like Milly, he was a third year that would be graduating this coming spring, which offered a certain inducement to make the event as memorable as possible. Then again, Cole was a responsible sort, so he likely would try to make sure his juniors would have a nice nest egg left over to enjoy.
"If food is settled, then we should move onto the next item on the agenda," Rivalz said.
"Very well," Milly gave an assenting nod. "I'm sure you're all curious as to why security is a topic we're discussing at all, so I'll just get it out of the way now. My boyfriend is going to be attending the dance."
The otherwise blithe mood disappeared in an instant. The purpose of this meeting of Ashford Academy's student body leadership was to plan for the celebration that capped the end of the academic year. The event rolled up a sort of cultural and athletic festival during the day with a formal ball in the evening and served as a hallmark for the students' growth as well as a sendoff for the graduating class. To say it was a grand celebration would be to drastically understate things, the logistical challenge associated with pulling off the event was akin to running a small corporation. Considering how many of young men and women graduating were in the line of succession, if not outright heirs, of some noble patent or another, the task was not an unreasonable capstone to their formal education. Besides, it was they who got to enjoy the fruits of their labor with the dance.
"In light of Lelouch's presence," Milly continued, "it has been decided that the Eden Vital Order Militant will be responsible for coordinating security at the event, instead of elements of Princess Cornelia's royal guard."
The presence of which was originally necessitated by the pink-haired girl seated at the table with a knight hovering protectively behind. Apparently the Princess Cornelia trusted her half-brother enough that she was confident that whatever security arrangements were made to protect Lelouch would similarly cover Euphemia to her satisfaction.
"His Eminence's office," Milly switched over to a more formal tone, "has communicated with me the arrangements they require on our end of things. First and foremost, all Ashford students attending need to be biometrically pre-verified. That's not really that much of an issue, since the academy does that anyway for all students. Second, if anyone intends to bring a date that isn't a student, that person must also be pre-verified, and if lacking proper credentials, have gotten that sorted out before the dance."
By and large that was not a major concern for the Britannian students either. There was a slightly higher possibility of some Japanese students running into a complication there, but with the forewarning they had, there should still be time to get all the paperwork in order.
"Third, the guards present, both Eden Vital's and the academy's own, will be armed. Don't do anything stupid."
That was probably a wide enough stipulation to cover any conceivable action that might draw unfortunate attention from the guards. Hopefully.
"That includes trying to flirt with the guards, regardless of how attractive they may be. They're there to do a job, and don't need any extraneous distractions getting in their way."
Whether that warning was aimed at the boys or the girls was open ended, though arguably as far as the girls were concerned Milly probably had more reason for concern about someone trying to make a move on Lelouch. Despite the evident commitment the cardinal had shown to his girlfriend, there were undoubtedly some noble daughters that were ambitious enough, or reckless enough, to think they could displace the Ashford heiress. Thanks to Milly's high standing the numbers weren't quite as bad as they could be, but that just meant those that still persisted were going to be truly hardheaded about it all.
As for the boys, there were at least two girls who were busy breaking hearts as the students worked out finding dates. Oldrin and Toto had both grown immensely popular at the school despite their short tenure, with many boys asking to accompany them to the dance. Unfortunately, both were being tapped for active-duty security at the dance, to the immense regret of their would-be suitors. There was also the issue that Oldrin was already in a relationship, but there was no need to let the boys know they had already lost to another girl. Kallen was also in the process of turning away prospective dates, but she was still obliged to attend the event as an actual participant instead of as security. There was still a passing effort to hide her martial duties which precluded it, and for her own reasons Kallen preferred to not have that out in the open while she was still attending the school. She really only needed the masquerade to last for another year, though if Lelouch ended up accompanying the Order Militant into the field in the upcoming conflict, that might become moot.
Before the meeting could continue, the door opened to reveal one of the Ashford family's maids.
"Apologies for the intrusion, milady," Sayoko said, "but there is a call for Ms. Euphemia."
The girl in question blinked once before rising and taking her leave, with Marika right behind. She followed Sayako to a side room where the maid picked up a phone receiver, did something with it, and then presented it to the princess. Euphemia thanked the woman and put it up to her ear.
"Hello?"
A deep breath was audible before the speaker began.
"Euphie? It's me."
The princess herself inhaled sharply. "Suzaku? Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I mean-no, not yet. But, I think I will be."
Despite not being face to face, Euphemia's eyes still widened. "Do you really mean that?"
"Yeah. The doctors, Eden Vital really, they think they have a way to treat my, condition. I'm scheduled to begin treatment soon."
"That's wonderful news, Suzaku!" Euphemia exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah it is," the youth agreed. "Though they're not completely sure it'll work. But still, I'm still going to give it a shot."
"I know it will work," Euphemia insisted. "And when you're better, you'll be able to come back to m-to me."
The princess did catch herself, but ultimately decided there was nothing to correct. On the other end Suzaku fell silent again, but only for a brief moment.
"Yes. I will come back to you, Euphie."
Euphemia could feel the flush in her cheeks, as well as the smile that was equally insistent.
"Suzaku, at the end of the term there's going to be a big ball. Would you like to accompany me?"
"A ball?" Suzaku said somewhat dumbly. "Umm, you mean a dance? But…"
"It's fine," Euphemia assured him. "Just having you with me, that'll be enough."
The pause this time dragged on noticeably longer. Still, Suzaku eventually mustered a response.
"It would be my honor, and my pleasure, Euphie."
The rapid beat of her heart began settling as the answer quelled Euphemia's anxiety. The smile however was still on her face even as she left the room.
End of Chapter 52
You know, I didn't intend to be so topical with all this talk about a potential invasion by Russia, the timing just worked out that way.
A combination of work ramping up and me spending a bit more time playing various games to unwind resulted in less time being devoted to writing. That and some of the parts ended up needing more effort being committed to get them out. We're slowing inching towards the conflict breaking out, but there's a lot of stuff that needs getting set up before things kick off in preparation for both the war itself and the plotlines that follow. There is nominally about two, three chapters' worth of content to still cover before the war starts, but that might stretch out a bit further depending on if I discover some other development that needs to get shoved in beforehand.
So the Euphemia and Suzaku pairing in the original canon anime was not something I particularly cared about. I don't dislike it with the vehemence some others do, but I always felt it was somewhat haphazardly handled, insomuch as the two got together because the writers wanted them together, not because there was a natural affinity that drew the two together. Or rather, I could see the affinity that the writers wanted to imply, but Euphemia never got the degree of character development needed to make that affinity easier to swallow. Combined with the archetype of character that Suzaku was, and there was a lot of cognitive dissonance that their relationship elicited.
If I am to be honest, I don't think I actually provided enough depth to the relationship in my rendition either to eliminate most of that dissonance. That is perhaps inevitable, we're going on fifty plus chapters and still haven't gotten to the end of the R1 phase, and I need to make cuts somewhere to move the main storyline along. My main priority with Euphemia was to make clear that while she shares the naivety of her canon counterpart, those around her are doing a better job tempering it and giving her room to actually grow instead of constantly coddling her and trying to shield her from the realities of the world. That then sets up Euphemia's own actions to be something that can be regarded with less cynicism by the readers, because that was one of the bigger problems with the canon Euphemia, her actions too often didn't feel like they should have had the impact they did. My Euphemia might not be proposing something as dramatic as the SAZ, but readers at least won't suffer the same sort of suspension of disbelief problems in the smaller acts that she does propose, and can thus better sympathize with both her successes and failures.
Looking back, there are arguably three or more scenes that would have needed insertion had I wanted to give her budding relationship with Suzaku the greater depth necessary to really sell it. That's anywhere from ten to fifteen thousand more words, or one to two chapters' worth of content. It'd be one of those things that'd get inserted if I ever did second passes or remasters of my works, but for a first pass, I can live with them not being there. I've already undo I think the most egregious of Euphemia's problems as a character from canon, and I'll settle for that for now.