Ch.427Modern Era: The Age of Grand Anastasia (25)

In fact, fellow Black people expressed outrage at these policies.

“Our ancestors cultivated these islands! Do they not know who they owe their current prosperity to?”

“Can they repay kindness with enmity?”

“Some even openly refuse to sell us goods in convenience stores.”

“We oppose the President’s policies!”

Black people also rebelled against this.

Given the population difference, quotas might be understandable. But dividing the military and essentially allowing self-governance for the Yamato people under the guise of a union system?

How could this make any sense? Black people felt wronged.

It was they who had pulled this barren land up by its bootstraps.

Without Black people, the Yamato would have barely survived under minimal American support.

Without Black people, how would the Yamato have found jobs and lived with dignity?

“These people have lost their minds.”

“Those idiots. See? This is why Black people can’t be trusted.”

The Yamato people’s animosity toward Black people only continued to rise.

“Are we just going to take this lying down? You are the proud descendants of the sun!”

“We cannot entrust our country to those darkies!”

Meanwhile, an internet manipulation team dispatched from South Africa was busy inciting the Yamato people from within.

“Who is stirring up these far-right extremists?”

“Could it be Ana-chan? I mean, AI Anastasia?”

“According to the Aegis system, that’s not the case.”

“Then we can assume the Yamato people rose up on their own?”

“Frankly, you can’t blame the Yamato. How absurd it must be for them to hear Black people claiming to be Japanese too.”

In truth, America’s position was understandable.

Wasn’t it the white Americans who, fearing the Black people tainted by racial discrimination and communism, relocated them all to Japan in the first place?

Of course, Black people had also gone to South China and Southeast Asia, but they had only taken control in East Japan.

What would happen if this situation spiraled to the worst?

For America, it was a lose-lose situation.

* * *

The proposal made to the American President was relayed back to the Kanto Republic.

The Black President George, after serious consideration, announced in Congress his acceptance of some conditions from the Yamato Association as mediated by America.

A loose union system between Black and Yamato people.

The so-called Yamato-Black Union. It sounds strange coming from descendants of Imperial Japan.

The result was unexpected.

“The Yamato people are still dissatisfied but willing to accept it, while your position is that you cannot give up what Black people have built, correct?”

Surprisingly, the far-right Yamato people had accepted it.

That’s truly unexpected. I wouldn’t have thought they’d be satisfied with this.

I expected the Imperial Japanese blood to boil over and clash with the Black people, but they’re accepting it surprisingly quickly.

I’m surprised by their rationality, but so be it.

However, the Black people seem different. There appears to be some pushback.

Black civic groups are boldly protesting against George’s reconciliation policy.

“It’s shocking that Black people are taking this stance.”

“Perhaps it’s a Yamato plot.”

A Yamato plot? Ah, thinking positively, that makes sense.

The Yamato pretend to accept while counting on Black people to rebel against it.

That way, they can naturally cast Black people as the aggressors.

They can create a narrative like that.

“You Black people made us like this!” and so on.

But am I overthinking this?

“Maria, are you saying the Yamato deliberately accepted the conditions and are now waiting for the Black people to make a move?”

“Yes.”

It’s entirely possible, but what will happen to them?

Surely it won’t escalate to civil war? Don’t we need a compromise?

The military should be unified, but if the Yamato military and Black military are divided, won’t they end up fighting each other?

Is this really the right approach? It doesn’t seem so.

“Come on, it won’t go as far as war.”

“Right. It’s unlikely that war would break out in this era of peaceful senility.”

After all, with gun ownership prohibited, both sides know that if either rises up, East Japan would be destroyed.

Even the Yamato people understand this much, which is why they haven’t requested support from West Japan.

Let’s keep watching this for now.

The baton has been passed to America, and we’ve done enough to mediate through compromise with the US.

“We’re washing our hands of this now.”

Let America handle it; it’s not our concern anymore.

It’s troublesome. We’ve done our part, and we’ve told South Africa to handle the incitement themselves.

If they get caught later, we can deal with it then.

Now, I’ve personally received the next item from the Duma.

“It’s related to Nikolai 5, is this relevant to me?”

Just report the results to me. My dream is to be a wealthy young idler.

After my return declaration, they’re openly sending me all these proposals. At my age, I have to worry about these kids’ political games. It’s complicated.

And this time it’s about space matters.

“Yes. Construction on the moon is already underway. The foundation work has been done, but we’re not sure what to decide on.”

“Weren’t you going to erect a statue of Anastasia?”

Just put up anything. After all, this is to declare that the Roman Treaty has occupied the moon! The Roman Treaty owns it! This is to prove that.

And we already said we’d put up a statue of Anastasia.

“Separately, we need to decide on the type of statue. The composition and such.”

Various candidates for the statue have been submitted.

As I carefully examine the drawings of the proposed statues, I find them amusing.

Some resemble the goddess statue in Anastasia Palace, others show me in uniform.

There are even bizarre, imposing statues like those seen in communist countries, both unpleasant and majestic.

Now that things are getting serious, something concerns me.

Could installing structures affect the moon?

“Installing structures… Will it work properly? Isn’t it dangerous?”

Looking at the candidates, they’re quite large. Could they affect the moon?

For example, if we build a massive statue, could it cause the moon to move farther from Earth?

I’ve heard the moon naturally moves a few centimeters away from Earth each year. What if the statue accelerates this?

“We’re not installing anything massive enough to have such an impact. Just something simple like the Anastasia Palace—”

“No, no. That’s definitely not right.”

Building something the size of Anastasia Palace on the moon doesn’t seem right.

The moon’s surface is surprisingly small. Of course, we could still build a palace, but I prefer something more modest.

“Of course not. Since there’s nothing to see on the moon, we’re just planning a simple statue with our flag in front.”

“I see.”

In original history, humans went to the moon once and never returned.

They never saw further space development before falling into the abyss of nuclear war.

-“I’m the one giving the orders in the first place.”

“Really?”

-“Yes. This Nikolai 5 has a system that allows me to give direct commands. I can freely use the construction robots on board.”

The world has developed incredibly.

It’s developed more than I expected, which isn’t bad from my perspective.

There’s something I’ve been curious about.

“Oh, that’s interesting. Can we also see real-time footage of the moon?”

-“It’s possible, but…”

“But what?”

Why are you hesitating? We need to monitor the moon’s situation for space development.

It’s right that we’re doing what America couldn’t do.

America reached the moon but couldn’t undertake such a serious project.

-“First, we need to decide what to build.”

“What’s all this talk about building something on the moon?”

-“Or perhaps we could create a pattern on the moon?”

“A pattern on the moon?”

-“Yes. An ‘A’ for Anastasia.”

I try to imagine it. A giant ‘A’ drawn on the moon. Would it look the same from Earth?

Like seeing a huge ‘A’ when looking at the moon through a telescope? No, that doesn’t seem right.

So building a structure is the better option.

“AI Ana! That’s not right!”

Oh, Maria III is raising her voice for once? I’ve never seen Maria get angry like this.

Right. They say AI Anastasia sometimes goes overboard.

Someone besides me needs to speak up to keep her from going too far.

Or maybe I should take a brain-linked photo of Ana-chan’s ecstatic face, which wouldn’t be bad either.

“Not an ‘A’—we should draw Your Majesty’s face. Mere structures can only be preserved in photos or videos!”

Maria III says this with a bright smile.

She’s just like the others from East Earth. AI Ana-chan and Maria are no different.

Seeing their determination to completely conquer the moon in my name, it seems certain that the moon will soon become Roman Treaty territory.

-“Then we’ll do both. I’ll switch the construction robots to ground-leveling mode to make it visible from Earth.”

These people are fools.

AI Ana-chan is a bit foolish too. I may have synchronized my brain with hers, but still. Even with all that knowledge, she can be foolish.

That giant ‘A’ pattern and my face on the moon, plus structures? Ugh.

By Nikolai 7, could we send a mini Ana-chan doll into space?

-“Actually, I could directly control a mini Ana-chan doll without sending it, so there’s no problem.”

“I see. That’s acceptable. But if you handle everything yourself, we might end up with another half-Ana-chan.”

So we should start making it properly.

I heard recently that mini Ana-chan can be installed on smartphones.

While this is all thanks to AI Ana-chan, mini Ana-chan can now be installed anywhere.

“The mini Ana-chan research team says it’s theoretically possible to install her in washing machines or cars.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Since washing machines and cars now have AI capabilities.

She could be installed and mini Ana-chan could even drive for us.

-“We’re looking for a figurine collaboration with West Japan for mini Ana-chan.”

“Is it difficult for us to develop it ourselves?”

Honestly, wouldn’t it be easier if we developed it ourselves? Figurines are just about appearance, and we already have robots that can be controlled. It’s just about making them into figurines.

It feels like we’re just boosting West Japan’s figurine business.

-“Building the robot itself isn’t difficult, but to meet mini Ana-chan’s appearance standards, wouldn’t it be better to work with specialists?”

I guess that’s how it is. It’s better to recruit experts.

Figurines are best made in their homeland.

“It would be good to recruit people from the figurine industry.”

“What about using the male version of Your Majesty?”

Huh? I tilted my head, wondering what she meant.

“The male me?”

Using the male me as they please seems like an inversion of our relationship.

Even if he is my other half… well, he’s not an otaku. Would he dislike talking about figurines? Though he’d probably like it if it makes money.

After all, when it comes to money, dreams become irrelevant.

The male me in this world probably isn’t that different.

He also prioritizes making money.

While he may have dreams, he might switch to making more money if they seem impossible.

“If we involve him in developing something new, wouldn’t he stay in Russia longer?”

Oh, that’s a very good point.

I can’t let my other half leave Russia. Even if he does leave, he should just go to Balhae briefly to feel nostalgic and then return to Russia.

Above all, he’s full of curiosity.

“That’s right. He’s full of curiosity.”

Though sometimes too curious, trying a bit of everything.

A moving Ana-chan figurine? He wouldn’t be able to resist that.

He even wanted to make a Balhae-style Ana-chan because AI Ana-chan was cute.

It might be a bit strange to see my other half holding a figurine and smiling, but if it’s a figurine of the real Ana-chan that moves, that’s different.

An army of Ana-chan figurines conquering the world. That’s fun just to imagine.