As Yamato woke up the next day at sunrise, that same relaxation remained on him. And as he looked around, he remembered how he fell asleep in his office yesterday. He must have been sleeping for more than twelve hours.
"Good morning, Master. I hope you slept well."
Realizing Yuki was still beneath him, he moved away to stand up instead.
"Good morning… Did you stay like that the entire time…?"
"Why, of course! I wouldn't dream of missing a single second of this blissful state."
He walked to his desk and fell into the chair, looking at the paperwork in front of him. Yesterday had been less productive than he had counted for due to the sudden attack after all.
"Uh huh… So, did you find a solution for our dire situation?"
"No, but I thought of baby names! I ordered them alphabetically, from worst to best."
"…"
"I will just tell you about them another time…"
"Anyway, I came to the conclusion that we need to decide on how to make progress towards their capital, since we are at war after all."
"Came to the conclusion when… You've been asleep until now, and I know you didn't wake up once during the night!"
"Just now. You know strategy games?"
"Uh… Like chess?"
"No, like simulations."
"Can't say I ever played those kind of games. Neither did I come into contact with people that did. Why?"
"Well, whenever I did, I used the same tactic every time. Whether it having worked due to a lack of realism, or something else, I'm not sure. However, it shouldn't matter in this case."
"And what was that tactic?"
"I called it capital-rush. Instead of slowly invading pieces of land and securing them, you break through and don't stop until you reach the capital, without securing anything besides that. The goal is the completely destroy structure and economy, as well as the picture of the land itself entirely."
"That seems reckless and aggressive, Master. And add cruel and heartless too…"
"So something you would be totally fine with…"
"Hey, I'm pro safety first!"
"Assuming my safety was guaranteed."
"Well then… I guess whatever then. But the only way that would be the case is if you stay with me! And how would that work if I go lead your reckless capital rush? One of us, more like both though, have to stay here after all."
"I know that, of course. Which is why you won't be the one that leads this operation."
"…But I want to!"
"But you can't, you just said so yourself…"
"Fine! Whatever, I didn't really want to anyway!"
"What…? Okay then, uh… Moving on, since you will be staying here, we need to create a force to pull this off on their own."
"But I wanna be the only person you rely on when it comes to military force…"
"Again, not possible… You can stay my favorite though."
"I guess I will be the favorite then… The best!"
"The very best, yes. Now, from what I can tell, but correct me if I'm wrong, Marneras is the strongest person we have besides you, right?"
"Well, he's a demon, so I guess he's naturally gifted in that regard… And I suppose Trishy is no match for him either, and no one else comes to mind, so, yeah, I would agree with you calling him second strongest. Not close to me though~ The favorite~ And best~"
"He is also relatively dispensable for our structure… All his work can be handled by someone else, even if it won't be as efficient."
"Then it's settled! But he alone won't be enough… Even if the few soldiers we have go with him. Hana alone would stomp them. Not to mention the about 600.000 soldiers that potentially follow her. If they do decide to use their full force against us, that is."
"You're right, that is still a problem… But we also have time for this. We can defend ourselves if we have too. We shouldn't rush things, even if it's in the name…"
"Don't worry! Operation Capital-Rush will surely set a milestone for this country!"
"Aw, thank you for your enthusiasm… While we are at milestones, a while back we talked about your birthday, if you recall."
"I do! You said, if I successfully infiltrate the chruch, you will marry me and give me anything I want forever!"
"I said we pick a birthday since you don't have one…"
"Oh. Or that. Pretty mean though. Having me work just to have a birthday, like it isn't my right!"
"Not my fault you wanted my approval for that…"
"It totally is."
"Well, whatever the case, you did your thing, and I didn't forget about it. So go on, pick a day and I will remember it as your birthday forever."
"This is weird, I can't just pick a birthday! It doesn't even make sense!"
"It was your idea… I'm just trying to hold my promise. But if you don't want one…"
"…Then I want the day we met…"
"Is that even a day? We met in that place between heaven and hell, no? Where souls go to be judged, was how you explained it I think."
"January 6th… But since this world doesn't have dates like that but rather works through days from 1 to 365, I will take the 6th."
"I mean, January is the easiest to translate for this I guess… The 6th it is. And since that already was twice now, we will celebrate it as soon as possible to make up for that."
"Aww, I love you, Master!"
"I love you too, Yuki."
Yuki jumped off the couch now as well, and straightened her clothes.
"However, now that this is settled… You will not just be starting work like this!"
"…I won't?"
"You will not!"
With a dramatic gesture, she rung a small bell which Yamato could not remember seeing her have a moment ago. As the bell rang, the door opened and Petrisha entered with a plate of food.
"I bring the—"
Yuki took it immediately out of her hands and shoved her out again.
"—Yeah, yeah, whatever, Trishy. Get lost."
Closing the door shut behind her, Yuki turned to Yamato as if nothing happened, putting the plate down in front of him and sitting down as well, though she would only watch him eat this time as she crossed her fingers underneath her chin and smiled at him.
"There you go, Master. Breakfast is very important and must be eaten with a loved one. And since that's me~…."
"Thank you for your concern…"
"You're very welcome! Sadly, once you finish I will have to depart and do church stuff… But take your time. I will get you more if you want too."
"Aren't you eating any?"
"No, I'm going to sustain myself with mana today. Because I have lots of work to do. And lots of work is really exhausting if it is without you…"
"I see… Well, lots of work is exhausting without you too."
"Aww, I love that~ I will hurry up then."
After Yamato finished his food, Yuki took the empty plate and was about to leave before Yamaro's question stopped her.
"What exactly is it you are going to do exactly?"
"I told you already, church stuff!"
"Are you going to make a mystery out of this now…"
"You're not supposed to worry about the work I'm just doing so you have less work. It kinda defeats the point."
"If you put it like that, I guess you want me to thank you too…"
"There's no need. There's nothing I love to do more than helping you. You don't have to thank me for that. You can praise and reward me though~…"
"…I will be sure to do that."
"Hehe, yay~ Well then, bye, bye~"
"Goodbye."
Yamato still wondered what exactly this "church stuff" was, but he decided to trust Yuki wirh it and focus on his own work.
Meanwhile Yuki, after handing the dishes over to Petrisha, began her official church work. Though, as there was still no church in town, her only member currently housed in the castle as well. Entering a room on a different floor from the one Yamato was on, her work could begin.
"How is it going, Carina?"
"Ah! G-good! And what about you, your holiness?"
"I told you to not call me that… Nothings changed between us. Except that I'm kind of your boss now or whatever."
"That changes everything!"
"No it doesn't. We're still friends, and are members of a church."
"About that… Shouldn't friends, y'know… Be equal? How could I be equal to an angel?"
"Good point! But you need to see it this way… We were already friends before, and I was already an angel then."
"But I only acted that way because I didn't know… Now that I do, I'm not sure if I…"
"Fine! I order you to then! Is that better?"
"Order me to do what?"
"To not view me any different now that you know."
"I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way…"
"Urgh… Fine! We will continue this another time. Now, did you finish the blueprints I asked you to make?"
"Ah, yes. But your instructions were already so specific, I think they would count as a blueprint on their own… Why do you need them like that?"
"I need to show them Yamato first. And I want to make sure he is satisfied with it."
"The emperor? Why? You should have the authority to do it without his permission…"
"Oh. Yeah, I guess. But this is a difficult time for everyone. I just want to make sure it's not an ecological issue, you understand?"
"Oh… Yes, I suppose."
"Which brings me to another issue… Your beliefs… What exactly do you believe in again?"
"Pardon? You must be aware of that, no?"
"Oh, uh… Jusg checking for mistranslation in messages across time, y'know? Like, to make sure your knowledge is accurate or whatever…"
"Ah, that makes sense! Thank you for your test! Well, I was taught the Absolute Deity is the most sacred and powerful of all beings. She created all life equally, at first, however the gift of free will was it that let inequality spread throughout the minds of the people… However she still loves all equally and will bless us with her presence once again when all her creations are united again."
"All her creations? So all kinds of species?"
"…All humans, yes!"
"What about non-humans?"
"…What about them?"
"Are they not part of the Absolute Deity's creation?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Only humans were blessed and favored by the Absolute Deity. All other species merely exist as challenges to overcome for humanity. Is that wrong?"
"No, that's… Hm…"
"Well, that explains why it's the Holy Empire of Humanity… Do I like that? I dunno… Master is of course a human, so it's only natural that all ofher species would be worth less. But then again, in comparison to him, all species, including humanity are worth less. So maybe I can't use him as a reference here… But then, without him they all feel equally worthless… Elf, human, and whatever else there is… But Carina is a human, and I like her. And Lucy is okay too, I guess… I met a couple of elves but I can't say I know any of them. In the end, all that matters is what kind of place Yamato wants to create though… If he says only hunans, I guess I should support this… But I can't know for certain for now. I will just decide on it next time and move on for now."
"Yuki?"
"Ah, don't worry about it, I will tell you more about the truth in detail another time. For now, let's go hold a public speech!"
"Uh… Okay then!"