The Red Princess of Yamato, Part 1
Before flying from Gimpo to Haneda, I had Oleg Lazarev, our Head of Finance, generously donate one hundred million yen to the Japan Communist Party. It wasn't an astronomical sum, but to a Communist Party outlawed by the South Japanese government, even a hundred million yen was something to be deeply grateful for.
In the original history, political party activities were legalized after the war. However, in this world, where the Soviet Union had occupied Hokkaido and its adjacent islands to plant a satellite state, it would be stranger for the Communist Party not to be branded as traitors. While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and other opposition parties had corporate sponsors—so-called support groups—dangling from them to align their interests, the Communist Party, an illegal underground organization, couldn't even dream of such backing.
No matter how communist an organization claimed to be, they couldn't avoid drowning in the middle of the bubble economy's collapse; if they wanted to survive, they had to embrace capitalism. Though I hadn't met any party officials in person yet, it was obvious that my hundred-million-yen donation had been of significant help.
In exchange for the donation, I demanded only one thing: a meeting with one of their high-ranking officials, Tokugawa Chiyoko. Sitting down and talking with her would surely yield at least one valuable takeaway from this trip to Japan. Delis had already analyzed what we could extract from them or what we should put on the negotiating table. Thus, before my departure, I received a reply stating they would gladly meet with me, provided my identity could be verified. Well, they could hardly refuse under the circumstances.
Right after we landed at Haneda, Pavel suddenly asked, looking somewhat concerned.
"By the way, miss, how do you plan to handle that identity verification?"
"Hmm? What about it?"
"Are you planning to present your identity as Irene Lonska? Even if it's a cover, nothing good will come of Moscow finding out about this."
It was a perfectly valid concern. The intelligence network that the Soviet Materialists had built up since the days of the International and the Comintern was not something to be underestimated. No matter how strained the relationship between the Japan Communist Party and the Soviet Union was, they were still entities that would readily join hands for the sake of the communist world revolution. It was for a similar reason that I hadn't acted aggressively in South Korea just to chase immediate profits. If I had wanted to, I could have used the Juche-ideology mage who escaped from the anti-communist interrogation facility as a bargaining chip to contact the Agency for National Security Planning.
But I hadn't done so solely because I didn't want Yerina Bronska's existence to be widely exposed by the commie spies lurking inside the ANSP.
There's absolutely no way they don't have spies in there.
A North Korean sleeper agent inside the ANSP would immediately send any intelligence straight to Kim Jong-il in Hamhung, and from there, it would be forwarded to Moscow in the blink of an eye. In such a situation, exposing my cover identity to the Japan Communist Party—who undoubtedly had connections to the Soviet of Materialists in Moscow—would be sheer madness.
Wouldn't that be practically shouting my location to the world? That absolutely cannot happen.
Just as no idiot would shout their resident registration number in the middle of Gwanghwamun Plaza even if it were practically public property shared with China, I had to avoid exposing my own location at all costs.
"That's why I haven't given them a definitive answer yet. If they demand further verification of my identity... well, things will get a bit tedious, won't they?"
I could only hope it wouldn't come to that. After unpacking at the hotel, I immediately contacted the Japan Communist Party's liaison. My message was simple: I wanted to meet without any separate identity verification. However, the reply that came back via email was exactly as expected.
Tokugawa Chiyoko's official title was Acting Secretary-General. Although the position of Secretary-General was vacant, twenty-one was a bit too young to officially hold the second- or third-highest office in the party, so she had taken the "Acting" title for the time being. Well, that was the surface explanation, anyway. There was no real need to dwell on the "Acting" part.
I let out a sigh of deep annoyance at the expected response.
"Sigh... What a pain."
Part of me wanted to just flip the table and call the whole thing off, but one shouldn't make major decisions based on fleeting whims. This time, I contacted London and gave further instructions to our Head of Finance.
"Pardon...? Are you serious, Miss?"
"Of course. We have more than enough operational funds anyway, don't we?"
"I will proceed as ordered. Leave it to me."
"Good. Make it happen."
It didn't take long before a new message arrived from the Communist Party.
"Mhm, that's more like it."
Finally receiving a satisfactory answer, I closed my laptop and flopped face-down onto the bed. I had instructed Oleg to wire an additional one hundred million yen as a donation. If things don't go your way, you should always consider whether you haven't spent enough money. In the past, I would have just barged in recklessly, but now that the Syndicate was wealthy, there was no reason or need to do so. Of course, I would make sure to get a proper return on this unexpected extra expense of a hundred million yen.
Thus, on the first day of December, I dressed in warm winter clothes and headed to Shibuya Station as instructed. I approached the individuals matching the descriptions sent via email and gave the contact password. Though they were briefly taken aback by my exotic appearance, the guides quickly recovered their composure and led me to a commercial building near the station.
The five-story building we arrived at housed ordinary businesses on the lower floors, but the top three floors seemed to be occupied by a company of unknown purpose. Judging by the look of things, it was undoubtedly a front company. It was too obvious to even warrant a second thought.
I whispered to Pavel in Russian. The guides flinched in unison. Since Russian was the language of the revolution, it wasn't surprising that some of them understood it, but I didn't care either way.
"Hmm... Are they showing their hand on purpose?"
If it were me, I would have brought an outsider to a separate rented office rather than the party headquarters.
"Perhaps it is their way of showing sincerity," Pavel replied.
"A reasonable guess. A sort of 'We are being this open, so you should show some sincerity too' gesture?"
If I were truly curious, I could have used Charm to peer into their minds, but after a brief moment of deliberation, I concluded there was no need. There was no reason to reveal my strongest weapon first in enemy territory crawling with their people. The fact that there were too many people to use Charm on also played a part. Whatever the case, there was no reason to reject their current display of sincerity.
After entering the room I was guided to and waiting for about ten minutes, I finally came face-to-face with the princess I had been so eager to meet.
"Nice to meet you. I am Tokugawa Chiyoko, the Acting Secretary-General of the Japan Communist Party."
Our first meeting took place with not just me, Pavel, and Tokugawa Chiyoko, but with several other members of the Japan Communist Party present. As one of the party members stepped forward to translate Chiyoko's Japanese into Russian, I raised a hand slightly, signaling that it wasn't necessary. Then, shaking the princess's hand, I looked straight into her brown eyes and replied in Japanese.
"You don't introduce yourself as Akihito's cousin-once-removed. I would think that's a far more valuable asset."
"...I prefer to rely on my own abilities rather than my bloodline."
Instead of responding with a conventional introduction, I opened the conversation by rubbing her the wrong way. There was no way mentioning the current Emperor to someone who had abandoned the Japanese Imperial Family would elicit a positive reaction. In a normal meeting, it wouldn't have been surprising if she had flung my hand away and kicked me out on the spot. But I was a generous benefactor who had donated a total of two hundred million yen in a single week. They were the ones in a tight spot. Even though she hadn't even heard who I was yet, Tokugawa Chiyoko returned to her seat without showing any outward annoyance.
"By the way... your Japanese is very fluent."
"I just happened to pick it up."
To survive as a mage dealing with relics in South Korea, learning Japanese was an absolute necessity, alongside the international standards of English and French. Since the Japanese were the ones who had plundered and carried off countless relics from the Korean Peninsula, one had to learn Japanese just to read the relevant documents. Since there was absolutely no reason to explain my past life, I simply offered a brief, convenient summary: "I just happened to pick it up." Then, I made a request to Tokugawa Chiyoko.
"Well, seeing as we don't need translators or anyone else, would it be possible for just the Secretary-General to remain?"
When I made the request while subtly lacing my gaze with Charm, the Secretary-General hesitated for a moment before nodding and dismissing her people. Since I absolutely wanted to avoid another headache, the fewer outsiders in the closed room, the better. However, there was a strange sensation that my Charm wasn't taking hold as sharply as usual... but at least the goal was achieved. Only three people remained in the spacious reception room: the Secretary-General and I, buried in our respective sofas opposite each other, and Pavel, standing at attention behind mine.
Tokugawa Chiyoko asked.
"Does the gentleman behind you speak Japanese as well?"
When I shook my head, the Secretary-General switched to Russian.
"Then this will be more comfortable for you."
"Excellent. Let's do that."
As expected, the Secretary-General knew the language of the revolution. She was already showing off an impressive linguistic repertoire, but thanks to that, I was spared the trouble of translating everything for Pavel.
"Now that we are alone, please introduce yourself first. Since we have accommodated you as much as possible, I trust you can do at least this much."
"Of course. I am Irene Lonska of Szczecin-Oder Logistics. And this is Executive Director Choi, from the same company."
"...Choi?"
The Secretary-General tilted her head. I let out a soft chuckle at her reaction, immediately dispelling the assumption that must have crossed her mind.
"He is not a Zainichi Korean. And of course, he has no ties to Chongryon or Mindan, so you don't have to worry."
Hearing the surname Choi, it was only natural for a Japanese person to immediately think of the Zainichi Koreans—those who chose to remain in the Japanese archipelago after liberation. Among them, those aligned with North Korea belonged to Chongryon, while those aligned with South Korea belonged to Mindan. Although a bright red Ezo Soviet had been established in Hokkaido, Chongryon's influence still remained in South Japan. The relationship between Chongryon and Mindan could not be described as good, even as a polite lie. In essence, the conflict between North and South Korea was being waged as a proxy war right here in the Japanese archipelago. Because of this, getting dragged into their feud was something not just the Japan Communist Party, but any Japanese organization, would desperately want to avoid.
There's nothing pleasant about getting caught in a turf war between the Yakuza factions backing each side.
On top of that, one had to consider the poor relationship between Chongryon and the Japan Communist Party. If you asked a communist if North Korea was also communist, they would naturally get angry. To dispel her suspicions, I subtly flashed the cover of my passport.
"As you can see, we are British citizens for now. And as the word 'Logistics' in our name suggests, we prefer money over ideology."
"..."
"Ah, you don't believe me? How disappointing. I spent a whole two hundred million yen just to meet you, Princess."
Seeing her calm down slightly at the mention of the two hundred million yen, I realized this underground Communist Party was even more desperate for cash than I had thought. Tokugawa Chiyoko took a sip of the green tea on the table and asked.
"Let us assume that is the case for now, Miss Lonska. It is entirely possible for a private British firm to enter Japan for financial gain."
"I'm glad you believe me."
"However, if your goal is to make money, shouldn't you have gone to the Liberal Democratic Party instead of us?"
The ruling party of Japan was, of course, the LDP. The Prime Minister was Koizumi Junichiro—the father of that 'fun, cool, sexy' guy. Therefore, her question about why a business would approach the Communist Party instead of the LDP was entirely logical. It wasn't even a surprise. I chuckled.
"You have a point... but I have no intention of walking the path everyone else takes. To me, you seem like a far more attractive investment than those other pathetic members of the House of Councillors and House of Representatives."
"...I am not a princess. I am simply Tokugawa Chiyoko, a human being."
"Ah, if you say so. Secretary-General Tokugawa."
"Miss Lonska, while we are grateful for the two hundred million yen donation, we cannot help but question your intentions. Didn't you request this private meeting to answer that very question?"
I felt a prickle of irritation. We hadn't even gotten to the main point, yet this sparring match was already quite intense. Since she didn't seem likely to show any weakness easily, perhaps I should leave it at this for today. I gestured to Pavel to hand me my coat as I spoke.
"Whether you believe our company is here to make money or not, Secretary-General, the facts remain unchanged."
As I made moves to stand up, Tokugawa Chiyoko finally showed a more urgent reaction.
"Are you leaving already? We still have plenty of time to talk."
"Ah, some business has come up. But I doubt this will be our last meeting, don't you think?"
"..."
"Please think of the two hundred million yen as a gift from a friend who wishes to build a good relationship. I'll contact you in a few days for another meeting, and hopefully, we can both be a bit more sincere next time."
Unlike the case with Ham Cheon-ho, it was difficult for me to act recklessly with Tokugawa Chiyoko, who was a member of the imperial family. Although she believed she had completely severed ties, it was a given that watchers from the Imperial Household Agency were tailing her everywhere. In South Korea, I had shown the audacity to march straight into a private residence immediately upon arrival, but in Japan, it was wiser to tread carefully.
Well... at least I'm definitely the one holding the financial upper hand, right?
As long as I held this capital, the princess would have no reason to refuse my requests to meet. While the Imperial Household Agency provided financial support to individual members of the imperial family, it would be awkward for her to draw on those funds after declaring she had severed ties. Moreover, such an allowance was only enough for an individual to live modestly. It was certainly nowhere near enough to run a political party.
Just as I stood up to end this first meeting of mutual probing, I suddenly felt a force pressing down on my entire body... or rather, an attempt to do so.
A magical trace...?!
Feeling a trace of magic in a place like this was completely unexpected. Though startled, I deflected the sudden attack with the grace of a first-rate mage.
Though it's not telekinesis strong enough to kill...
It was just strong enough to suppress me. If my goal had been a surprise attack, I would have deployed telekinesis powerful enough to flatten the target against the floor. Pavel seemed just as startled as I was. As I quickly turned my gaze, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. I spotted the Secretary-General, who looked far more bewildered than either myself or my head of security.
Understanding the situation completely, I slowly reversed my motion to stand and sank back into the sofa. Crossing my legs, I asked with a face full of amusement.
"You should have told me beforehand. Aren't you approaching me a bit too sincerely?"
"Could... could it be, Miss Lonska, you too...?"
...No wonder my Charm had felt so sluggish. I feigned composure.
"Ah, it seems we are finally ready to open our hearts and talk. If this is indeed your true self, Princess."
Princess Chiyoko, the cousin-once-removed of Akihito—or rather, Tokugawa Chiyoko, the Acting Secretary-General of the Japan Communist Party—was a mage.