The American In Another World
Chapter 48: Moving Forward

Runepolis, Mirishial Holy Kingdom

A pleasant sunlight shone through the stained-glass windows on the main altar of Albion Castle, bathing the entire room in a delicate golden light. This aspect of the design allows for an atmosphere where it is as if the gods themselves have descended to bless this room. Kneeling in the middle with his eyes closed and hands holding a magic jewel, the Mirishial Emperor remained silent, silently reciting prayers to the gods.

In the middle of his prayer, his ears twitched imperceptibly, making him complete his thoughts. As he uttered the last few sentences of his prayer, the magic jewel died. Their light diminished as they began to fade, dissolving into a fine mist. Mirishial then opened his eyes and without turning his head, commanded, "You may speak now."

“Your Highness,” the man behind her spoke in a trembling voice that was barely visible, “I just received word from the delegation we sent to the dragonfolk in Eimor. They have used the magic gem we gave them, and their astrologer,” he said, pausing to regain his composure, “has decided that..” He gulped. "The Ancient Sorcerous Empire will return in less than two decades."

Silence befell the room as the Mirishial Emperor swallowed the information. He stood up, asking, "Do we have a more accurate time frame, Liage?"

Liage nodded his head, but soon realized that the Mirishial Emperor could not see him, as his back was still facing backwards. “For a small part, Your Majesty. Their best estimate puts the return of the light-winged bastard about fifteen years from now. They anticipate a three-year error limit.

Mirishial sighed. He finally turned around. “So, the time has come to us... Do we have any news from Siwalf or Phiam?”

"Yes," Liage bowed as the emperor's gaze adorned his presence. “Delegation of Minister Siwalf disembarks from Galatine to return immediately from Otaheit International Airport. They're waiting for us in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' main conference room. The Phiam delegation left the United States yesterday, but had to refuel at the Altaras. They should arrive in a few hours.”

"So so. Have Minister Siwalf prepare his findings and report while we wait for Minister Phiam to return. Call Ministers Pao and Brinston; I think they might consider this report informative.” The Mirishial Emperor walked past Liage. "In the meantime, I have an urgent meeting to attend."

——

Albion Castle, Imperial Office

Standing alone outside the door, the Mirishial Emperor placed his hand on the cold metal handle. He hesitated, finally letting some of his emotions leak into the world after harboring it for so long. He let out a heavy sigh, and did not let his feelings materialize as he quickly steeled himself and entered as if nothing had happened.

Inside, two men were waiting for him. In a rare moment of transparency, their white masks were both removed, revealing their identities. One of them, a brash middle-aged human named Hyrane Parpe, represented one of the most important figures in the entire Mirishial Holy Empire. As the director of the Mirishial Ancient Weapons Department, he controlled the ancient weapons left behind by the Ravernal Empire.

The old elf sat before him, his appearance was very similar to that of a professor at the university. Serving as the director of the Mirishial Preparatory Department, Birkburn led the defense operations of the Mirishial Holy Empire in connection with the Ravernal Empire. He manages budget constraints and allocates resources to prepare for the inevitable return of Elysia conqueror — tasks that have become increasingly important lately.

"Your Majesty," they simultaneously rose from their seats and saluted the Mirishial Emperor.

“Let's start with this meeting,” said Mirishial, his urgent actions reflect the magnitude of the imminent threat. “Our submission to Eimor has found that the Ravernal Kingdom will return in about fifteen more years. Because of this, I will open our treasury to speed up our preparations. Birkburn, in coordination with the Ministry of National Defense and Military Affairs. Prioritize the research and construction of our new weapons: Orichalcum Class, Alpha-4, and so on. Hyrire, this may be the time where we can start forgetting confidentiality for faster results

Hyrane gave an expression of uncertainty, tilting her head as she began to open her mouth in protest. Before he could say anything, Emperor Mirishial continued, “Now, this does not mean a complete announcement about the existence of your department. MNN will soon release this troubling news. In the meantime, I'd like you to expand your recruitment activities. If you see promising people at our university or one of our royal innovation firms, look for them and invite them to join. If we want to keep Elysia from her ancient torturers, we should be able to understand the technology left behind.”

Moved by the reason and determination of the Mirishial Emperor, the two men nodded, devoting themselves to their new orders.

“Now, I think there may be some information that may be useful. Siwalf and Phiam, along with their respective delegations, should have been waiting for us by now. Let's see what they've found.”

——

The chair shift accompanied the arrival of meeting officials as everyone sat around a large round table. Placed in front of each seat is a stack of paper — copies of reports submitted by delegates. Rising from the sight of the sound of paper shuffling and nervous knocking, the voice of the Mirishial Emperor broke the silence. “I have heard many rumors and stories about these two countries. It gives me great satisfaction that my curiosity will eventually be satisfied. Siwalf,” Emperor Mirishial nodded at him.

“I understand, Minister Siwalf,” said Emperor Mirishial. “You did your job well. We may have suffered a blow to our self-esteem, but we will definitely show how wrong they are. May the unprofessionality of these single diplomats not reflect their leadership attitude.” He then turned to Zammas. “Now, what about their technology? Zammas, you can talk freely.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. Included in the report are sketches of the Gra Valkan vehicles, from warships to their aircraft. Officers Pasha and Gorms helped provide their initial insight. I guess I can start with their navy ship, ”dia sighed. Reviewing his description once again, he recognized how fantastic it sounded. He would have considered his own writing to be unbelievable, had he not seen the Valkan Gra with his own eyes. Hoping his comrades would take him seriously, he began, “Their naval vessels, at first glance, are similar to Mu. Made of steel, their design has much in common with the battleship Muan, although the Gra Valkan ship appears to be larger in size. The doctrine of the Valkan Gra fleet revolves around the superiority of maritime air and warships, accompanied by abundant escort.”

Zammas analyzed the sketches of a large warship they had encountered while entering the waters of Leiforia. “Their standard warships are equivalent to our Gold and Mithril class. However, we found one that even made them dwarf - one that was so large that our ship looked like the destroyer Muan in comparison. Based on visual inspection, the ship is over 800 feet long, the top of which is armed with a large cannon. Especially, the ship has three triple towers.” Zammas began to sweat, still denying the sight he saw. "We estimate their calibre to be about eighteen inches."

“No sense!” A voice immediately shouted.

Liage raised his hand, “Don't get too excited, Minister Brinston. As he said, the estimation is done through a visual inspection, the duration of which is likely short. Mr. Zammas, please continue,”.

“Master,” Zammas nodded. “Although their warship estimates seem unbelievable, we have matched his description with those of the surviving Leiforian military personnel and even Muans who had a chance to see him up close during a diplomatic meeting between the two countries. There may be some room for error, but I support the analysis of the ship's weapons. Furthermore,” he said before anyone could protest, “ ships Gra Valkan recorded have metal construction on top of its mast. They also employ many aircraft carriers, and the number of destroyers they put into their fleets indicates that they are well-versed in maritime air warfare. The aircraft we found, which we assumed was ground-based, was,

Gasps of shock erupted from non-diplomatic personnel. Surprisingly, the Phiam delegation showed absolutely no surprise. While everyone was still too stunned to speak, Zammas continued, “Finally, we tried to catch a glimpse of their army units. This is something we cannot do, but we got a chance to see their civilian vehicle — which shows the ability for fast deployment of — and their guard weapon, which is a short-barrel machine gun. We assume it is a more advanced version of the submachine gun recently developed by Mu.”

Discussions swelled among the top military officials in the room. It subsided as soon as the Mirishial Emperor raised his hand, a signal that everyone received and was immediately responded to. "Director Freeman," he said, "What do you think of the information that Officer Zammas obtained?"

Arneus was still in a state of disbelief, but he confirmed his trust in Zammas. “I don't believe what I'm hearing, but I also believe that Zammas is telling the truth. Minister Siwalf, do you justify the information provided?”

"I want to" said Siwalf. "I may not understand his terminology, but I've seen things he has and can prove his credibility."

“That's enough, then. We will move forward with the assumptions given. This means we have to take the western giants more seriously from now on, ”Mirishial decided. “Now, how about the east giant, United States?”

Phiam summarized his important travels across the United States, quickly reading his impressions of their tourism and then detailing his meetings with the American leader, President Lee. “Their presidential residence seems quite simple, but the facilities are definitely suitable for a king,” commented. “He and his administrative staff expressed a great desire to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with us. This includes trade and potential knowledge exchange: magical technology for scientific technology.”

“That sounds good. However, before we work out the terms, we should know more about what they can offer us. Officer Rydorka, what did you find?”

Rydorka felt the same pressure experienced by Zammas, though it was strengthened tenfold due to the even more ridiculous description of American technology. He calmed himself down by considering the broadcast MNN interview, along with data from Mu and the Parpaldian Republic. At least he had a basis for the claim he was going to make. “We haven't been able to see much of their naval technology; we've only seen a few ships anchored in their San Diego port. Of these ships, most of them had a single cannon. They appear to be advanced, but not threatening. If the story of the guided light arrows was to be believed, then their cannon weaponry made sense. They may have developed a far more powerful means of combat than ship-based artillery.”

Murmurs of approval swept the room. Everyone recalled the descriptions of the guided explosives during the Lourian and Parpaldian wars.

“Although we were unable to gather much from their navy or army, we certainly saw a considerable demonstration from the Air Force. In fact, our first encounter with the Americans involved a plane, where two of their warplanes escorted our plane to their airport. They broke the sound barrier by a significant margin, producing shock waves as they surged past our plane. Although impractical for conventional dogfighting, this kind of speed is practical to implement and is referred to as 'BVR fighting'. Evidently, their guided light arrows were able to strike the target further than the eye could see, using unknown technology.”

“I noticed you said 'Air Force'. Does this mean it is a special branch? ask Minister Pao.

"Yes" Rydorka nodded. “It was once part of their Army, but was split as air power became more important. I don't know if this is true, but the common thing to boast among these Americans is that their Navy has the second largest Air Force in the world, with the United States Air Force, with the United States Air Force, of course, be the first.”

“To make such a claim. It means that the air forces of other countries can not even get close. How strong were they in their old world?” Freeman wondered.

Rydorka recalls his interactions with American military personnel and citizens who were military enthusiasts. “I have been told that the United States discarded the term 'superpower' in favor of more precise terms. They grow so strong that they are known as 'superpowers'.