"Tell me what you know? Are there any leads to Rasa Massoud Rachmadi's whereabouts?" Marcus asked the Princess as they sat down in the meeting room.
The black-haired woman shook her head. "I only learned that he was missing when the civil unrest happened. It was extremely fast. The Conservatives don't trust us, and they hide the fact that he was missing." She explained, with a strained look, that the distrust between the two parties is so deep that she is ashamed just to talk about it.
"This is going to be a bit more difficult." The Inventor Emperor pretended to ponder what to do. He already knew how to proceed months ago, when he came up with the plan.
"Graham, you and your boys will be keeping the peace until the regs arrive. It will take a couple of days. Until then, we must keep the infrastructure intact. From what I understand, the Conservatives don't like the modern Electrical installations done by AEU.
They could target them." The disguised Emperor said to the blonde man behind him.
"Understood, sir!" With that said, the Over Flags following him left the meeting room.
At that moment, the sharp-looking assistant patted Princess's shoulder.
It was some sort of sign for her.
Maria trembled as she looked uncomfortable.
"...Umm… may I ask for something, Lieutenant Anaheim?" The black-haired lady asked, looking nervous.
"What is it, Princess Maria?" He asked, wondering what she could ask now.
"...You are part of the Energy Board and a UN diplomat, could you perhaps, restart the energy distribution program?" She asked him with a hopeful tone.
"Oh… Well, I still have to follow the UN charter, and according to it, your country is unstable; any of my attempts at approval will be declined in a meeting." Marcus said while shaking his head.
"...I see…"
"However, I could help as CEO of Anaheim. But for that, we need to talk when I am off duty. That is, if you want to talk about this at a late hour."
Her eyes widened a bit; she didn't hear the last part, only the first, as she immediately got her hopes up.
"O-Of course, I don't mind!"
Soon enough, the meeting had ended as Marcus needed to reorganise the local military and coordinate with his troops.
As he left, the Princess and the Assistant talked.
"Princess, this is a golden opportunity for Anaheim to invest in our country," Shirin said to her princess.
"Yes, it is!"
"But do you hear what he said? After hours? Do you realise that you will be meeting a man in the late hours? People could be talking about this if they learn." The glasses-wearing assistant said with a sharp look.
"...But he is married… and…"
"There are talks that he has a harem. There are pictures of him with at least five women, among them was his wife." The Assistant told her.
"W-What!?" Maria gawked at this information!
"It is understandable, he is a one-of-a-kind man who can change the world. He already did it, and he is only in his twenties.
He could fancy you as well. Having a Princess is something he could be interested in." Shirin explained to Maria, making the Princess gawk at the Assistant.
"B-But…"
"Our country is burning, even if we get Rasa back, our country is in no better state. We can't trust the UN, as they can leave us at the first sign of trouble.
We need a more stable ally, something like Anaheim." The woman in glasses said to the Princess.
"...I-I see…yes…"
She was still processing what she heard! The famous Union Golden Boy has a harem?
'M-Makes sense, he is like a shooting star, in mere two years he changed the world. Helped so many people, not just with his prosthetics, but lowered bills for many.'
Honestly, if he were not married, she could have tried to seduce him.
But then her eyes widened as she shook her head, and a bit of blush crept into her cheeks.
'W-What am I thinking!?'
"Princess, if you don't want, I can do it for you. I can attend the meeting, but I think we will disappoint the Lieutenant."
"S-Shirin! What are you saying!"
"As I said, look through the window." She walked to the window and looked through it. The Assistant can see smoke in the streets, and some windows in buildings are missing.
There are some burned buildings, too. It was a city that experienced civil unrest.
"...I understand this… but… do we have to do it?" Maria asked. She was uncertain.
"Depends on you. How are you going to face your people knowing that you didn't give your all?" Shirin said to her as she looked at the princess sitting on the couch.
"...You are right."
~~~
Marcus wasn't aware of how he changed the situation around him. He didn't pay much attention to the Princess.
He is more focused on making his Empire flourish. First, to infiltrate the country under the Union's guise.
Then they built staging areas for population pickup.
His goal is to relocate people to his Empire. Not for something like cheap labour, no, he has Legion bots, and there is nothing that can surpass their building prowess. What he needs are engineers, physicians, scientists, and mechanics.
So once he has the people, they will undergo a rewiring process before testing at Lagrange 3. The testing will reveal what they are good at.
Once that is done, he will spread them through the Empire. He will gain thousands of new residents in a matter of weeks.
And he needs them, as the construction of the Star Base is more than halfway done. He will return to Jupiter's colonisation soon, and for that, he needs a population.
As he thought about that, he sent a message to his Mercenaries. Before long, explosions rocked the transistors, and electricity went down.
Moments later, some of the Union soldiers rushed over to his side.
"Sir! The electricity is down in the Capital! Someone took out the power plant!"
"Then don't just stand here! Send someone to investigate!" Marcus pretended to be annoyed and ordered him to scramble and organise an investigation.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
The soldier scrambled to organise a few men to investigate the incident.
Not long after, in the command base, he saw an image of black Enact shooting rockets into a power plant close to the capital.
"An Enact… leave it to AEU to sell military hardware to anyone who has money," Graham complained as he saw the picture of a black mobile suit.
"This confirms that it's rogue mercenaries that want to cause chaos in the region.
Do you think they want to take over the government and establish some sort of petty state?" Billy asked Marcus.
"With Gundams around? They wouldn't last for a week." Graham snorted at such a suggestion.
"Yes, but what if they know that we will take care of Celestial Being?" The glasses nerd said with a thoughtful look.
"We have 12 Over Flags that can hurt the Gundams, not to mention 30 regular flags that have Anaheim railguns and Beam Sabers we can take them out." He said with a smile that he is quite confident in their odds.
"Maybe, with Moralia gone, these mercenaries are doing whatever they want." The Lieutenant Commander of Over Flags frowned as he looked at the videos.
"Graham, take your squad and do a fly-by over this region. You might find something in the air. Maybe a clue or two."
"Yes, Sir!" The blonde scrambled to fetch his group for the launch.
"While you, Billy, prepare the base for emergency repairs, if we might need them, Celestial Being could appear any moment."
"Understood."
Soon enough, everyone was doing something. Marcus reorganised Azadistan's intelligence operatives to assist in 'looking' for the missing spiritual leader.
As this is happening, the disguised Emperor sends word to his troops to prepare for a descent and to build outposts in this mountainous, arid country.
There are more than enough spots to build bases in this place, especially when the Union information network is linked to the Empire.
After placing everything in motion, Marcus returned to his hotel. It was rented out for the commanding officers, something the disguised Emperor bought out of his pocket.
One of the reasons why his soldiers like him even more is that he doesn't mind giving the best for his men.
"Oh? I wasn't expecting you to come to see me, Princess." Marcus was surprised to see Maria and her Assistant waiting for him.
The Princess especially looked nervous.
"I do believe that you are the best option for Azadistan, Mr Anaheim," Maria said with a nervous but hopeful tone.
"..." He motioned for them to enter his room.
It was a VIP room at the top of the hotel, and he could see the city well from this spot.
Once inside, he removed the stuffy hat and jacket before taking a seat in a comfortable, cushioned seat.
"The thing is, Princess, that your country is very unstable, and anything remotely investing is extremely volatile. Not only will it take years for me to get anything back, but I potentially could get nothing back because your people tend to show their displeasure with a rifle in hand." Marcus said with a small frown.
"...I understand, this is what I heard from AEU and UN." The black-haired princess sighed, as this is what she heard from people all over the world.
"Precisely, now the question is why should I, metaphorically speaking, throw money into fire?" He asked her with a curious smile.
Maria looked at Shirin for a second.
"...Well…"
"...The Princess is willing to persuade you… in any way you want." The glasses-wearing assistant with a straight face.
The black-haired princess gawked at her Assistant! Shirin said with such a straight face!
"S-Shirin!"
"You don't mind, Lieutenant Commander?" The woman pushed her glasses up as a strange smile spread across her face.
'Did Milly brainwash this woman at some point?' Marcus was a bit confused. He never imagined hearing this!
For a second, he wanted to use his Geass, but he decided to see how this would evolve.
"The question is if the Princess understands what is happening, because she looks more confused than ever." Marcus chuckled, seeing Maria looking out of place.
"I will be as blunt as possible." Shirin began with a no-nonsense tone. "Our country is in a very bad state, and we don't have much to offer. Princess Maria thinks that many people want to help us from the bottom of their hearts, but it's simply not the case.
As you said, it will be like throwing money into fire. That is why Princess Maria has decided to 'persuade' you to help us as you are our best hope." She explained to him.
"... Is that so? I suppose you have a point, I have some means for Azadistan to generate power without connecting to the orbital system, and it's not fossil fuel." He smiled a bit as he was in a desert, so Solar Panels are a good alternative.
The pair perked up when they heard that.
"...I could be motivated to spend some money in this country, as I have a considerable amount of spare funds." The Disguised Emperor was not lying. Leila has taught him quite well how to save funds. It's one of the reasons why Anaheim is that well-funded.
From time to time, he can splash a bit of money if it's to see a Princess throw herself at him.
"...I see. Then it's up to Princess Maria to persuade you to do that." Shirin commented as her gaze went from Marcus to Maria, who was still sitting there rooted in place.
She was not experienced and… well, not used to such 'diplomacy'.
"Well, since there is hesitation, does the Princess's assistant plan to sit by?" Marcus asked the glasses-wearing lady.
"...This…" She looked surprised, but soon enough she took off her glasses and met his gaze with a small smile.
"I suppose if you desire me to 'persuade' I don't mind." Shirin's smile turned a bit lustful.
~~~
500 powers stones = 1 Extra Chapter
1000 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters
And so on, You know what to do.
~~~
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