Port District, Megamisama

"Ah, representative Gauthier, welcome to Megamisama!"

"I see you were expecting me Assistant Auxiliary Vice-Undersecretary Linnnaeus Van Pelt."

"Meihomei has seen fit to reward me by removing some words from my titles, representative, I am now her CI-08 Vice-undersecretary of State for Eurani."

"That is a meteoric rise, and your charming sister?"

"Is my peer now, as vice-undersecretary of state for Moniq and Goguryeo, unfortunately, she is visiting there, she mentioned to give you her greetings."

"The Kagomine state department is as ever, an example to follow in organisation and planning. My visit here was no surprise at all for you, was it?"

"If you wanted to surprise us, speaking to Bameimeito Amarat was very counter productive, he would not leave any detail of your interactionn to chance."

"His reputation isn't made though, it seems, few seem to know of him."

"A lot of them are fooled by the uniform."

"Fooled?"

"Until they learn what he did to get his Merit of Honour perhaps, they would underestimate him, as a non-commissioned officer in our air force."

"How is that signal, I'm afraid I'm not totally fluent."

"The Legion of Eurani enjoys especial prestige in Alessia, I hear, being given to signal acts of dedication, valour and selflessness beyond compare?"

"Aye."

"A Merit of Honour in Kagomei enjoys similar, protected privileges."

"Protected privileges?"

"A meritant can claim audience with our chief of state, once a year."

"Which he can do at will, from his parentage."

"And it doesn't tell you anything, that despite having already the privilege, he did something to earn it?"

"Oh, yes, so it'd be a bauble to him who's had actual royalty tending to him as a baby, but he still did actions that the same royalty would sit up and take notice, were they done by a commoner?"

"If you want to explain it that way, sure. In Kagomei, one has things one cannot do, privileges one hasn't earned, you could say."

"Yes? And?"

"There are no privileges he has not yet earned, no singular achievement he cannot claim, his greatest achievement was spanning our civil and military hierarchies in the short time he did so."

"Surely, there are other privileges..."

"He has earned academic instructor privileges, as befits our NCOs above quota, the equivalent of your Doctorates."

"He has earned those?"

"He is a graduate teacher of People Engineering at Maëlle Comma aerospace academy, where he specializes in Morale. His dissertation is not classified, and considered leading thoughts in how to motivate citizens in times of war."

"I'm just sinking myself further, aren't I?"

"I'm amazed you say you've even met people who he hadn't met before, to be honest, any statesman or diplomat who hadn't met him when he was in diapers met him when he escorted his mother for the signing at Lai Dang."

"He was escorting her?"

"She was our backup chief of state, and will be until she formally renounces the throne and hands it off to him. So what brings you here, representative? I thought you didn't include diplomacy in your regular tasks." That was a lie, but a well-practiced one, Linus knew Gauthier was a deniable, the Alessian term for a player with political stakes in the game, and kept with exactly zero knowledge of secrets worth keeping, but an immense capacity for distraction. Linus also thought he would be using Gauthier to distract others today.

"The Bameimeito was so kind as to propose I enjoy Theatre with him this season. May I introduce Marina? She begged to join us and hopes to be introduced to the young prince."

There was a commotion at the back, Linus turned, and saw... Midnight Blue Silk, now, to a Kagomine, the colour of royalty, the colour of people who you do not want to impede, was a dark emerald green, but Linus, who had been to Eurani, to Alessia, specially, knew they had different ideas. Whoever was wearing that dark blue dress was trouble, until he saw the face. He knew that face. And she was coming towards him, the smarmy little man behind her in tow.

"Assistant-vice-undersecretary-Van-Pelt?"

"Vice-undersecretary-Van-Pelt, please. I'm sorry, but you have the advantage of me... Zim." Falling back to the neuter, deferential term had never been such a good idea as just now...

"I am Annunzia Dell'Auro, Archduchess of Bramant-Reigundy, Duchess of Ferrare, with me is the King of Alessia, Andorra, Nice and Corsica." It was the way she said it, as if he was luggage she carried around as she conducted state business. Annd how he acted, like he was so used to it, but couldn't do a thing about it...

"Your eminences, please, surely the Secretary can come and speak a few words with you in private?"

"That may not be possible, we are here for theatre, and we are, perhaps not late, but we are not early, either."

"Now, now, Annunzia, don't be too hard on my mother's staffers, she keeps railing on how she has so few worth promoting even once..." Amarat, who was, after all, expecting Gauthier to try something, had decided to show up, in full formals uniform, for theatre, with Flora in tow, her deep emerald green dress from Bellisama, a statement as stated above. Flora had seen no alternative but to come in her Hannabrid dress, after all.

"Amarat, darrrrrrrling!" She kissed his cheeks. After he grabbed her wrists, and pushed her away, he knew she wanted to try to see if she could taste his tonsils, but he was not going to let her try.

"Your Hérévallin?"

"Yes, my wife, Flora, Flora, please meet the King of Alessia, and his fiancée, the archduchess of Bramant-Reigundy, duchess of Ferrare, sister of Natalia."

"You could just have said, my ex, dear. You're the one that got away..." She giggled.

"I can see why he'd rather not be in a cage with you, no matter how golden..."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Amarat is an Amber Raptor, like me, it's a sin to cage us, you'd burn in hell!"

"Such a lovely district."

"It has its amenities, today we are going to Megamisama Drydock Complex Plaza #3, where the stage has been set for the retelling of Beornigar, please come with me."

Marina was almost jumping up and down. "You didn't say he was soo handsome Guillaume."

"Welcome to Kagomine, I am Amarat, I will be your host, unless Mother, or Meihomei herself, joins us. Representative Gauthier, is Marina your Miptun?"

"Err, I think her parents see a politician as problematic..."

"Oh, my life would have been much simpler, if more people felt that way..."

"Amarat! We'd probably have never met..."

"I'd have never met Annunzia or her sister, either, I did say simpler, not happier. And by that I mean, dear Annunzia, that you and your sister made my life more complicated, while Flora makes it happy."

"Oh, wounded to the quick, I am."

"There were moments, though, just.. complicated... Shall we go?"

"One moment, I need to set up subtitle support, my Kagomine ain't up to rapid-fire Theatre."

"We're been rapid-firing since this conversation started!"

"Oh, you, I guess I'll let you have this lil bit of flattery!"

"All right, so everyone set to frequency D, we'll be enjoying Theatre, in the high mode, with Pentacular Disorders, as is the Kagomine preference. Refreshments will be served only during intermezzo."

"Will there be tcha?"

"There will be an assorment of refreshments, I do not know the menu, please, I'm sure you will remember our hospitality for ages to come."