Alto and I returned to Eden following our encounter with Yona, and after nightfall, I got to work on preparing the western train system between Eden and the coastal area that I'd discussed with Alara. I made one train with the same number of passenger and cargo railcars as the eastern train system.
When it was all finished, I only had about six hours left until sunrise. I'd quickly crawled into bed thereafter, careful not to wake a violent Nina or Ilina, and promptly fallen asleep.
Now, I'm being woken up by a pressure on my chest. As I stir and open my eyes, I see Ilina lying on top of me. She's awake and watching me with an amused grin. I start to tell her she's being creepy, but she raises a finger to her lips and shakes her head. She gestures towards Nina, who is still fast asleep next to me.
As I look back towards Ilina, she leans forward and kisses me softly. When she pulls away, she rests her chin on my chest and smiles, then whispers to me.
"I heard you had an interesting encounter yesterday – a Greater Spirit, huh? They're quite aloof toward the other races, so we don't know much about them. What was the spirit you met like?" (Ilina)
Really? That's her first question? I consider responding with a thought message, but that feels a little weird since Ilina is speaking, so I just whisper back.
"Her name is Yona, and her personality is kind of annoying. Otherwise, though, she is quite interesting. She overwhelmed Zara and Alara in battle, and her attacks are based on true magic theory, like mine. Also, normal physical and magic attacks don't work on her. Honestly, while she can't kill an Elder Dragon, I doubt that they could kill her either. Even I'm only guessing that I could kill her." (Mizuki)
Ilina's eyes widen in surprise.
"Mizuki, everything else is troubling, too, but…based on what you said about her magic, isn't she a threat to the deal you made with Azazel? What are you going to do?" (Ilina)
"Well, my intervention might be unnecessary. Her and the other Greater Spirits' magic knowledge is not a result of my actions. More importantly, it seems that Azazel knew about their situation before he even brought them to Azura. So long as I don't increase their knowledge of natural theory, I think it's fine. Still, I'll discuss it with Azazel when I visit him." (Mizuki)
Ilina seems to relax and nods, then she sighs disappointedly.
"It's a shame that my obligations as First Princess keep me from joining you on these adventures…they sound so fun. I miss when I was Second Princess, and I could just travel with you without it being such an issue." (Ilina)
"Yeah, I've been wanting to ask…what exactly do you do all day that's keeping you from touching grass? Most of the time, you're reading in your room when I visit you. I'm not sure what these 'First Princess obligations' are that you're mentioning." (Mizuki)
Ilina's eyes narrow at me dangerously, and I realize that, while I didn't intend it as an insult, I could have phrased that statement much better. It's too late, though…I signed, sealed, and delivered my own execution orders.
"The reason I was in my room reading, is because you always visited me after sunset you lech! If you want to know about my job, how about visiting me during the daytime every now and then, huh? Maybe see how you can make yourself useful and practice supporting your future wife and Queen." (Ilina)
Okay, yup…I see where I went wrong here. I plead for mercy with my eyes, and quietly but furiously make a placating gesture.
"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it as an insult, I'm sure you're busy! I'll try to be more involved from now on. On that subject…why not tell me how you spend your days when I'm not around?" (Mizuki)
Ilina glares at me suspiciously, seemingly trying to gauge how sincere and remorseful I am. It's true that I'm partly asking the question to distract her, but I maintain my poker face like my life depends on it. Because it might.
Eventually, she relaxes and nods her agreement, and I breath an internal sigh of relief. She smiles and rests her chin on me again.
"Great! I'm glad we understand each other. Now then, I spend a lot of time with Mother in meetings. Most of them are about managing Avalon and the surrounding royal lands, like nobles do with their territories, and the rest are basically intelligence briefings. Those include reports on surveillance of other countries, but also surveillance in elven territories." (Ilina)
I make a puzzled expression, and Ilina pauses inquisitively.
"I knew the other nobles surveilled one another, and I guess it makes sense that the royal family would surveil the nobles, but does that ever turn up anything relevant? All elves seem pretty committed to obeying Queen Elira, so it's hard to imagine even the nobles plotting anything against the royal family. Why expend the resources to continually surveil someone who's clearly no threat?" (Mizuki)
"Well, it's virtually unheard of for nobles to undermine the Queen or initiate inter-noble violence, but there are other reasons to surveil them. First, they commonly compete for citizens, shares of business markets, and other economic interests. The more independent information we gather on those efforts, the more equipped we are to mediate conflicts between nobles when they inevitably arise during such competition." (Ilina)
Ilina stops for a moment and looks off thoughtfully before continuing.
"Second, it's a sad truth that we can't assume that every noble will manage their territories sufficiently. Some may fall short in providing necessities for their citizens, some may not maintain proper border security, there can be improper taxation, and the list goes on. Nobles may not willingly notify the royal family of such things because they're unaware, embarrassed, or fearful of repercussions. So, surveillance also helps us track such shortcomings and address them promptly." (Ilina)
Ilina is smiling at this point, seeming to enjoy explaining the nuances of her job to me.
"We also use surveillance to gauge the commoners' feelings about events, people, and policies in the country. We can't rely on them to tell us directly, and the nobles may not know or convey such information, so it's important to investigate their sentiments across all the kingdom's territories. Usually, we make arrangements with traveling merchants to collect that kind of information and verify their information with a small number of royal intelligence personnel that discreetly roam the country." (Ilina)
My apprehension has risen from Ilina explaining just this one aspect of her job – the sheer complexity of it scares me. When it comes to managing a country, even one as utopia-like as the Elven Kingdom, there are so many moving parts that she's casually discussing countermeasures for. I hadn't even considered half of them.
She seems to notice my distress, and she becomes concerned.
"Mizuki? What's the matter?" (Ilina)
I shake my head apologetically.
"I was just reminded why, no matter my strength, I'm not suited to be a ruler. I think I'm good at small-scale management – solving specific problems and handling individual people. However, the scope of what you're discussing would be paralyzing for me, and I'd have never considered most of those actions. By contrast, you seem remarkably good at that sort of thing. I'm just...in awe." (Mizuki)
Ilina's eyes widen in genuine surprise for a moment, then she smirks at me.
"Is that so? Well, I was raised with an emphasis on learning these things, Mizuki. I am part of the ruling family, after all. Still, I'm quite enjoying this unsolicited praise from you. Are you saying that I'm much better than you at something important, and you value and rely on my expertise?" (Ilina)
I know she's expecting me to act embarrassed or prideful, but…no. I don't think I've ever given enough thought to the specifics of Ilina's future role as Queen, and to her associated responsibilities that I'll have to support her in. Currently, I'm pretty unequipped to understand and sympathize, much less help with, the kinds of decisions she'll have to make.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying, and I'm sorry if this is the first time that I'm outwardly recognizing it. After this mess with the Empire settles down, and if it won't cause issues, I'd like to accompany you during your royal duties on occasion. It seems I have a lot to learn before I can support you the way that Dargo supports Elira. I'm...sorry it has taken me so long to recognize that." (Mizuki)
After wiping the shock off her face, which I might deserve, Ilina grins mischievously.
"I think I can talk Mother into an arrangement like that. Are you sure that's what you want, though? Fufufu…I would happily work you ragged on the days that you join me. If you have no interest in ruling the world, which I'm sure everyone on Azura will be relieved to hear, then it may not be worth the trouble." (Ilina)
Ilina's voice sounds playful, but there's a restrained intensity in her gaze and words – it feels like she's testing me.
I nod my head confidently.
"Yes, I'm sure. While I may never govern a country directly, I've reluctantly started influencing world events. I can't, in good conscience, willfully ignore how my actions may affect those countries. With the Empire, I want to avoid taking the ship down with the captain. So, not learning more about how countries are managed would be negligent of me." (Mizuki)
Ilina smiles proudly, then leans in and kisses me again. I guess I passed.
"I think that's a wise perspective. In that case, I'll discuss it with Mother. I'm honestly a little curious how she'll react to you taking an interest in our country's inner-workings…it may be quite funny." (Ilina)
She's just buzzing for an opportunity to troll her own queen…who's the real national security threat here? Of course, since I've already agitated her once in my short time awake, I refrain from voicing such an opinion. I just smile back at Ilina appreciatively. We lay in silence for a while, and then I hear Nina start to stir. I guess my little heart-to-heart with Ilina is over.
Time to get ready for the day…I've got another noble's territory to visit.