Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 3 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 1===

November 8th, 0:00.

It was midnight right when the date rolled over.

Princess Shiori had gone to visit an old acquaintance.

"Our last meeting was..."

"August this year&mdash;Yes. It happened to correspond to the time when Your Highness returned from the Roman imperial capital."

"Yes, and you happened to be staying in Tokyo at the time, Akigase-sama."

This conversation was taking place at a special sickroom at the Suruga tutelary fort's medical division.

Eighteen hours earlier, Shiori had been lying on this same bed. Supplying ectoplasmic fluid for Tachibana Masatsugu for consecutive days, she had collapsed from exhaustion.

Now, her bed was being used by someone else.

Akigase Shouzan, Governor General of the Tōkaidō Fiefdom. He was Rikka's father and according to reports, he had been heavily injured at Nagoya Castle eight hours earlier.

"It is far too shameful for me to meet Your Highness in such a manner."

"Both victory and defeat are commonplace in war and injuries are often inevitable. I believe there is no shame in this." Shiori politely offered words of consolation, then changed her expression.

She smiled fearlessly and revealed the acuity of her intellect.

"It is impossible for a single fiefdom of Japan to stand against the British Empire. Any Governor General would have met the same outcome had they been in your place, Akigase-sama."

The elderly Governor General was on the bed, only managing to prop up his upper body.

He narrowed his eyes for a moment to scrutinize Shiori then smiled wryly.

"I almost thought your personality changed all of a sudden... But it turns out you had simply discarded your facade."

"Oh dear, please call it 'treating others with sincerity' instead."

Akigase Shouzan was a powerful politician and highly experienced as a judge of character.

Shiori had offered honest words to some degree, hoping to bring each other closer.

This was not to cultivate personal friendship. For a princess seeking ascension and a fiefdom's Governor General, this was simply part of their job.

"Strictly speaking, Akigase-sama, you are only to blame for one mistake."

"Waiting in vain for aid from Tōsandō and Kantō until the very end... I suppose that should be it."

"Indeed, you should have requested Eastern Rome's aid instead."

After hearing this, the elderly Governor General's wry expression lost its smile.

With a bitter face, he said, "Eastern Rome is Japan's ally, indeed, but one cannot consider them a friendly nation after all. Recklessly inviting a great army from Rome would very likely turn Tōkaidō into their dog, which was why I hoped for my compatriots in eastern Japan to extend a helping hand. All things considered, we are fellow citizens of Imperial Japan&mdash;"

"Certainly, it would be ideal to prevent Rome's participation in this situation." Shiori nodded in agreement. "The Restoration Alliance are aided by Edward the Black Prince and Richard the Lionheart, which necessitates Lord Caesar's active participation to oppose them. The problem here is that allowing Lord Caesar to join the battle would effectively make him the commander of the 'Anti-Restoration Alliance' forces&mdash;"

"Regardless of the Restoration Alliance's success or failure, Tōkaidō would end up owing him an excessively large favor."

Imperial Japan was divided into twelve provinces, ruled by the Twelve Houses as regional feudal lords. The relationship between the Japanese Empress and the houses was analogous to that "between the shogun and the various feudal clans of the Edo period."

Among the twelve, the Kantō Fiefdom held the most special position.

While serving as the protector of the imperial capital of Tokyo and the current Empress, they were also extremely wealthy economically.

And the one had Empress Teruhime and the higher-ups of the Kantō Fiefdom secretly "feeding from his hand" was none other than Generalissimo Caesar of the neighboring Eastern Roman Empire.

Akigase Shouzan had vowed to never repeat the same error as the Kantō Fiefdom.

However, the elderly Governor General now sighed in anguish.

"Lord Caesar is starting to intervene in the war, yet Japan has no one capable of relegating him to a supporting role... It would appear that Tōkaidō's futile struggle ends here."

"No, it would be impossible to relegate Lord Caesar to a supporting role."

This old man was powerful but he was not a hero of timeless transcendence.

His house and territory had fallen into an unprecedented crisis.

It was time for Shiori to deliver her feature presentation to him. Currently, there was no one in Japan in greater need of Lord Tenryuu's granddaughter and a powerful Resurrectee than him.

Shiori smiled with full confidence.

"However, as for relegating him to second billing... I do believe that such a casting would be feasible."

"Oh? Speaking of which," the Tōkaidō Governor General looked sharply at Shiori. "Lately, a familiar name has frequently come to my ears."

"Please allow me to offer a proposal, which covers this matter too. It concerns the future of the Tōkaidō Fiefdom now that it has lost Nagoya and met defeat at the hands of the Restoration Alliance..."

This was one item on the agenda during the war council this morning.

After the Roman military's Staff Officer Yang had relayed Generalissimo Caesar's intent, Shiori had devised "the next step in the plan." Rikka and Tachibana Masatsugu had agreed as well, which amounted to consensus on the Suruga side.

"How about abandoning Nagoya for the time being to pursue opportunities in the ''east''?"

"East... So 'Hakone Checkpoint' is what you are referring to?"

"Yes. The Tōkaidō Fiefdom will first make Suruga its temporary provincial capital then take back Hakone from Edward the Black Prince."

"Take back?"

"Indeed. This is also the purpose for which we are relying on your Chevaliers to head out to battle ''tonight''."

Hakone Checkpoint was an impregnable fortress. Furthermore, it was Black Prince Edward's stronghold.

Currently, the defenses at Hakone Checkpoint were far more secure than even Nagoya Castle. Akigase Shouzan widened his eyes, very surprised by the suggestion.