Now having dealt with Amael, Yamato's focus was back on the war they were currently in, even though it had surprisingly little effects until now. Putting the recent, rather devastating attack aside, which if directed at the town would have completely destroyed it. Luckily only the castle was hit, which of course was planned to be abandoned and destroyed anyway. However it made Yamato think, since that attack was truly so powerful, and able to be fired from such a distance, why was it not directed at any civilians as well? It would be the fastest way to resolve the situation for the Empire, was it not? This lead Yamato to conclude that Natsumi's influence, which made this attack possible in the first place, probably prevented them from acting without concern for the lifes in this city, as obviously Natsumi's only goal was Yamato's death and no one elses. However, since his beloved capital rush would be difficult to start right now, they both seemed to be at somewhat of an impasse. Because if they could only act when almost only Yamato was targeted, and Yamato could not act at all because of lacking military resources, obviously neither side could make a move. And since Yamato would just stay at the cube for now, his safety was guaranteed for the time being. And Natsumi should be able to recognize the material of the cube and be able to tell that even attempting to break through would be a waste of time. Yamato concluded that his only main concern would therefore be an assassination of a single person or small group infiltrating, rather than an larger assault. Which of course was no real threat with Yuki around. However, it still hindered his ability to make progress with forming a military. He had no plans to use people of the town, as training them would simply take too much time, and those that had experience were far too few to make a difference. As he pondered about this, he already felt restricted by the space of the Cube, even if it was a larger area than the castle. Yuki was not helping either, as she seemed to just be goofing around ever since she made Carina do all the work for her at the church. And since she could not leave his side, he could not even blame her.
Amael, not having the expected troops with him, was also rather useless for the moment, and just did Yuki's paperwork. Quite diligently so. Meanwhile, at the Imperial capital, Natsumi, Hana and the Emperor Arctinus were in the middle of discussing the events of the day before.
"How is any of this my fault? I did my part as fast as I could. If anything, miss angel over here failed to make enough time."
Looking at Hana without offense taken, Natsumi took a sip of her cup of tea, which reminded her of the ones Yuki used to make them for fun, even if they did not need to drink anything.
"Hardly so. I gave you more than enough time to work with, yet you failed to kill a single human while no one was protecting him. I'm sorry, but I was under the impression you were the elite of the Empire. A lapse in judgment on my part, I suppose…"
"You… Well, if you're so great, why don't you do it yourself? Matter of fact, why are you sitting here anyway instead of finishing the job or at least distracting Yuki again?"
"Oh my, I was unaware you had such little awareness about the things happening around you… I sit here because your emperor made an agreement with me, in which I only have to get active as I see fit, as long as I provide legitimacy for your religion to counter the one Yamato attempts to spread across the globe. As for why I'm not finishing the job, as you phrased it… Isn't it obvious that no such thing will ever work on them again? We only had this one chance, and you blew it."
"Okay, fuck you!"
"Hana…", Arctinus said, trying to defuse the situation.
"No, I'm leaving! I already told you I don't care about this kind of stuff, so you make that out between yourself, since you're both on the same page here!"
Slamming the door behind her, he followed her out and left Natsumi alone.
"Aren't they close… Well, no matter. All that is important is that they do something about this and get their act together. Maybe I should have chosen to support someone else after all…? No, otherwise I could not have intervened with Yamato this early on. However, I fear this country won't survive our encounter with Yamato, if things continue to escalate in his favor… Yet, I must confess that I have sinned… For I am willing to sacrifice this country, and the town Yamato commands, for the saftey of my sister…"
After a short moment, Arctinus returned and sat down in front of her again.
"Well, she took off for now. I apologize for her behavior, I'm sure you understand she is under a lot of stress after our little stunt failed so spectacularly."
"I see. Do not worry, I hold no grudge against her. I do wonder why you allow such outbursts in your presence. Should an emperor not demand respect from his subjects?"
"I like to think I'm showing her respect by allowing her to act freely around me. She helped me a lot in the past after all and stays with me even now, where despite all, it doesn't look too good…"
"It sounds like you already gave up."
"No, I wouldn't go that far just yet. It just seems weird that we can't seem to reach him, despite having a supposed angel on our side, that's all…"
"Excuse me?"
"You are excused. I too, hold no grudge against you for failing your only job in this plan, which was your idea, as I recall. From now on you would do better do do as I say, instead of throwing ideas into the room when my ministers are present. Because they might do as you ask, but I will just have them replace if that continues to become a problem with you."
"I might just have you replaced then…"
"Ahaha, I'm sure you would love that. But I'm afraid you will find it hard to act on that threat, as without me, this Yamato guy will surely overrun us in no time. His angel seems more capable in that ragard at least. So if I were you, I would think twice about threatening me again. Because unlike myself, you are very well replaceable by someone pretending to be an angel or other form of god-sent thing. I'm sure there will be hardly any difference. And if you are thinking about switching up on me, or going to another country, just remember that you are publicly associated with me, and let's just say our neighbors aren't too fond of me or my friends. That would be all, see you when I need something."
Hearing the door shut once more, Natsumi was left alone again. However now it was much more her concern than the first time. No one had ever talked to her like that, so she let him leave without showing a reaction to his disrespect. She could not help but wonder if Yamato was treating Yuki the same way she was just treated, which she decided must be the case, because Yamato was horrible in any way imaginable. Meanwhile the oh so horrible Yamato had, for the first time in quite a while, real time off, since Amael was so productive. Which of course Yuki immediately claimed as time spent with her.
"I know you don't want me to go outside, but I think a little bit should be fine. It's not like they would know that I left."
"No! Everything we need for a perfect date is in here, trust me!"
"Alright… But it's up to you then."
"Don't you worry! I've been planning this as I was constructing the building~"
"Ah, of course…"
"First, we eat at the finest restaurant in the world!"
"I thought you said we wouldn't have to leave…"
"That's right! Whoosh~!"
Yamato suddenly found himself sitting at a table next to a tinted window, with a single candle lighting the room. The aesthetic reminded of the restaurant they went to in Lunis. Though a bit less ostentatious.
"Ahem, may I take your order?"
Yuki stood next to him in a waitress outfit, which she apparently prepared just for this as he never saw her or anyone else wear one like that.
"Are we even still in the Cube… I remember the blueprints and there were no windows on it."
"What a great question, yes! Our establishment was indeed built in the famous Cube, built out of Divinium. What many don't know is that Divinium is so super duper that it can become mildly transparent when influenced by a certain mana concentration! For a full guide, please take a look at our prospect!"
"You're too deep into that roleplay… I don't want to be served by you like that when it's supposed to be a date where we focus on each other."
"Aww, but I had so many lines! But you are right… Even though I didn't plan on hiring staff or having you interact with anyone else at all… I guess there is one emergency option… Just a moment please."
". . ."
Briefly disappearing, Yuki returned with Petrisha in that same waitress uniform. Or af least he assumed it was her, as it was hard to tell for certain with the paper bag above her head that only had holes for the eyes. While Yuki was now in a red dress which she would have worn anyway once the food arrived, so she did not mind too much. Petrisha on the other hand seemed to mind much more, as the uniform did not quite fit and was too big around the chest area, which was apparently solved by tying a random rope around her chest. Yuki clearly did not care for the aesthetic of their waitress once it was no longer herself. Ignoring that however, she put her hands in her lap and looked at Yamato from the chair across and smiled as if everything was still as she imagined it.
"I'm ready to order if you are, Master~"
"R-right… We haven't gotten a menue yet?"
"Everything is on the menue~"
"Everything?"
"Yes, everything."
"Alright then… Is there anything recommended?"
"Everything is recommended and made with love!"
"Aha… And what are you having?"
"Whatever you are having!"
"Right… I guess I would want a pizza then. I don't think there are any in this world after all."
"Uhm… What is a pizza?", Petrisha asked, as he now recognized her voice through the bag.
"Just say "coming right up" and then get lost, okay?"
"Y-yes, Mistress… C-coming right up…"
Even through the bag, he felt like he could see her expression which feared annoying Yuki in the slightest as she left and looked around in the background, before finally finding a door in the darkness. She had only arrived here by teleport after all.