Mutagen

After the unscheduled stop in the afternoon that caused a bit of delay, the welcoming of the delegation from Auraboros proceeded as planned. They were brought to where they would stay during their time in the Reclaimed City.

Everything that happened the previous afternoon was reported to the higher-ups by the witnesses. It was the case for the two representatives of the army who managed to follow the Empress into the base of the  Evernight group, shedding some light on their mysterious existence.

The leader of Evernight, Mark, was acknowledged by the leader of the Japan Branch of Auraboros, The Empress, as a threat. Although there were currently no hostile interactions between the two groups or, possibly, organizations, Evernight was more of an enemy to Auraboros than an ally.

To think that the Empress would deem Evernight to be more of a threat when she did not even put the Japanese Government into her eyes. It was a clear testament to Evernight\'s strength and identity.

A notion to be allied with Evernight and proceeding with immediate amicable interactions erupted within the higher management of the Reclaimed City\'s Government. With the acknowledgment of the Empress and the unknown technology they had in their hands, there were more benefits than deficits for the government and the army to ally with this mysterious group.

The Evernight faced some problems after the [Mutated Hornet] incident. However, their stay in the Reclaimed City should be mostly positive so far. If they start trying to get to their positive side now, it should be possible for the government and the army to get the group an ally.

Just imagine the soldiers being equipped with those amazing weapons. Even the Science Bureau would be able to research that unknown technology.

Unfortunately for the officials, their imaginations were doused with reality before they could even delve deeper.

There was the fact that the only reason the members of Evernight got their peace was because of the Temple\'s interference. Furthermore, one of the causes of the trouble was them, who wanted to get hold of that technology through various means possible.

Furthermore, the Temple had a confirmed close friendship with the group, testified by the fact that the Priestess would sneak out of the Temple only to have lunch with them. People who would hear this information would think it was bull. However, it was witnessed by the two representatives from the army, and even the Empress was there.

And while the politicians were arguing about what to do, the new Prime Minister could only sigh with something deep inside his mind. He looked at the ceiling, not minding the noisy meeting room. He still had a choice to make with a deadline for tomorrow.

The messy meeting of the government officials continued for a while. But without enough time, the meeting was adjourned for the time being.

After all, there was still a welcome banquet for the guests in the early evening.

Soon enough, the welcome banquet began. Aside from the guests and the Empress, the main stars of the banquet were the representatives of the involved parties. The new Prime Minister, Hirokawa Isamu, represented the government and the army. On the other hand, it was clearly the Priestess, Ise Hikari, for the Temple.

There were also representatives from the Ancient Japanese Clans and Business Clans. These people held high amounts of influence over the Reclaimed City\'s citizens. However, it was still farfetched to line them with the leaders of the main players of the alliance.

This welcome banquet was planned despite the Reclaimed City\'s overall situation. Winter finally came creating a risk of food shortage for the whole Reclaimed City. However, to try to make the alliance work nicely, the banquet was hosted to solidify relationships and support the incoming alliance meeting.

But then... For those supporting the alliance, a dilemma immediately appeared as soon as the banquet started.

It was due to the fact that humans hated Demons, and Demons looked down on these vulgar humans. 

Although it was not shown frankly, the banquet hall was currently being divided into three groups. The supporters, the anti-Demons, and the guests. These divisions created a clear wall between said groups, with the supporters of the alliance having the hardest time.

And the worst thing of all...

Both the Priestess and Empress were not cooperating.

Every time the Priestess was out in public, interaction with her was always limited. The Priests and Maidens from the Temple were always around her, making the needed interactions for her.

By the looks of it, it was the same for the Empress. The Empress already appeared to be an unapproachable existence to humans, and the number of guards surrounding her was not helping. Furthermore, although the Empress looked human enough, she was the exact same [Kitsune] supposedly killed in the legends. With her historical background, those who knew of it would not dare approach her at all.

The supporters of the alliance could only lament this situation. There was already a lot of threat to humanity, and the human population had decreased to a small percentage of what it was before. Even if the alliance only consisted of a peace treaty, it was way better as it would drastically decrease the threat the people of the Reclaimed City could face outside its boundaries.

And as if the trouble for the supporters was not enough, the biggest supporter of the alliance, the new Prime Minister, was behaving oddly. His status was enough for him to be able to interact with the Priestess and the Empress. Yet, he was not doing anything as if his mind was floating elsewhere.

The silent cries of the Pro-alliance faction were left unheard as they tried to do their best to keep it from moving positively.

***

Day 340 - 7:02 PM - Evernight Base, Kachidoki, Reclaimed City, Ruins of Tokyo

Inside the restaurant area of the Evernight Base, Mark sat with the girls while playing another session on their phones. The girls surely caught Mark\'s hobby of playing video games as they enjoyed playing together on a certain decade-year-old block game.

Since there were a lot of things happening in the Reclaimed City, along with the first snow of winter, it was time for Mark\'s group to take a break from missions in the Bureau.

The girls also frolicked in the snow for a bit right after the visitors left. Well, they soon got tired of it. Emika was used to this scene as she was half-Japanese. Amihan was a [Sylph], so she did not like the freezing temperature too much. The three daughters of Mark were not too fond of the snow either for some reason. Maybe, because it was just boring compared to killing the [Infected]. Besides, they could do snowball fights within video games, and no one would get too cold and drenched by the melted snow afterward.

And the rest of the day passed with everyone just spending some quality time together at home.

But now that night time came...

"Time to sleep."

Mark told the girls as he urged Mei to bring them up with Spera and Amihan.

The three girls obeyed without problems, but Emika protested a little bit. In the end, all the girls went up to the second floor, leaving Mark alone.

It was when Mark stood up with a shrug as he opened the back door. There outside the door, five people, divided into two groups, stood waiting.

"Don\'t you people have a banquet to attend?"

Mark greeted the uninvited guests with a question.

The uninvited guests were no other than the Priestess accompanied by her grandniece and the Empress accompanied by Yukine and Kuroe.

"Enter."

Mark said with a nudge of his head, not waiting for the guests to answer.

The five women followed Mark inside to be seated. They then took the same seats they had this afternoon. The only difference was the Priestess\' grandniece, who took the seat beside the Priestess instead.

Since the temperature outside was quite cold, Mark already had hot water prepared, which he planned to brew coffee with. But as some guests appeared, he asked them.

"Any of you want to drink? I only have instant coffee and tea, though."

The Empress and her escorts only stared at Mark. It was clear that they were not too interested.

"Give me coffee. We always drink tea in the Temple. It\'s nice to have something different."

And, obviously, it was the Priestess who said it while now being stared at by her grandniece.

The Priestess grandniece also declined the offer. But she declined politely, unlike the other three.

Mark had no problems and gave a cup of coffee to the Priestess while having his own cup. He then sat at a different chair, facing the two groups.

"Where should we start?"

Mark muttered.

"Then, I\'ll introduce myself..."

The Priestess grandniece spoke. However, Mark raised his hand.

"There\'s no need to. You\'re Ise Tsubasa, right? Granddaughter of her younger brother."

Mark said, pointing at the Priestess.

"How did you know?"

Tsubasa was, of course, surprised.

"She mentions you from time to time," Mark replied to Tsubasa while his eyes stared at the Priestess, "...saying that you nag her too much."

Tsubasa fell silent, staring at her grandaunt with a stern expression.

"Anyway, I\'m planning to contact you two after the banquet. I didn\'t expect you two to appear before it ended."

Mark moved into the topic.

"I have no problem with that," The Priestess spoke after taking a sip of coffee. "I don\'t really appear too much in those kinds of sham events. In those times, a double would take my place. It is a safety measure since many people want to get rid of someone like me. It is easy since not many people know of my appearance. I always appear in those kinds of events with a veil to cover my face."

Hearing the Priestess reason, Mark turned to the silent Empress, forcing her to explain.

"I am using one of my tails to create a clone," The Empress said. "It is a way for me to be able to appear in the places I did not want to be."

"And like her," The Empress continued as she turned to the Priestess, "It is also a safety measure. Have you heard of the myths formed with my involvement with the emperor in the past?"

"That myth where you got killed and turned to stone?"

Mark replied, to which the Empress made a slight nod.

"The one that got killed and turned to stone is one of the clones," The Empress explained. "That is why I am here despite the knowledge that I am supposed to be dead. Having my clones in dangerous places instead of going there myself had saved my life countless times."

It was a perfect safety measure. In that case, the Empress, no, Tamamo-no-Mae, managed to stay alive and lay low after those events due to her magical clones.

As for the humans, they rejoiced in her death, not knowing that what they managed to kill was nothing but a clone. But there was probably something more to it since the Empress said she used her tail to create a clone. If that was the case, the Tamamo-no-Mae that was killed and sealed in that stone was probably not just some simple clone.

"So, the ones I fought before were your clones?"

The Priestess asked.

"Precisely."

The Empress replied with a beautiful but infuriating smile.

"Tsk... No wonder you just won\'t die..."

The Priestess pouted.

"Let us just move to the main topic, shall we?"

The Empress then asked Mark and the Priestess, to which both agreed.

Tomorrow would be the alliance meeting and the likely time the enemies would try something.

Then, it was time to discuss things between the three factions. Perfect cooperation might still be far, but, at the least, they would be able to move on their own without hindering the other.

And on this dark snowy night of winter\'s beginning, the schemes were cooked between the three leaders to face the possible threat for tomorrow.