Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

When Luvia is accosted at her home by individuals wearing black suits and tinted glasses, the first thing she blurts out before them is.

 

"Oh come the fuck on! I haven't breached any state secret in the last three months, right!?"

 

Instead of answering her, a pair of fine gentleladies in black put their hands on Luvia's shoulders. The next thing Luvia knows, she arrives at a meeting room through twists and turns that leave her completely baffled about her true location. Escorted into the room, Luvia sees many familiar faces in the reporter world being present, some of them are even her friends. Owing to her keen perception, Luvia immediately notices their host for the occasion. The female host stands out for being the only one with a distinct aura, putting her way above the grassroots reporters and guards around. Picking an empty chair as her seat, Luvia looks on as the host is animatedly chatting with a female elf with pink hair. If one is to guess the elf as the famous Miss Pink Elf♪ then one is correct in their assumption. That said, if there exists a lady that can chat with Miss Elysia as if they're family or best of friends, then it can only be the Marshal or Miss Pink Elf♪'s co-singer, the Voice of Heaven, Miss Eden. Judging from the height and the long velvet hair of the person, it's highly likely that it's Miss Eden herself. Luvia's guess is proven to be correct when Miss Elysia bids goodbye, leaving their host free to turn around with a bright gentle smile on her face.

 

Eden, in her trademarked night brown dress, directs her amber eyes to check the reporters in the room, nodding when she sees everyone is present.

 

"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies." Eden greets in her silky smooth and warm voice. "I hope the trip here has not been challenging for any of you?"

 

At the question, Luvia finds herself automatically reassuring the idol that, indeed, everything was fine on her way here. The notion is supported by other news reporters like Luvia. They really are speaking the truth though, for the people in black have been very considerate of their needs and questions, not to mention this is not the reporters' first rodeo to an unknown site. Seeing their honesty, Eden smiles lightly. "I am glad that we haven't given any of you a scare. That said, I think by now you all must have an inkling as to what we will be requesting of you. Hence, I will be cutting to the chase, saving us precious time to tackle our respective pursuits."

 

The reporters and Luvia nod, finding themselves oddly at ease and intrigued. They have been in this situation a few times already, though each of those times involved a different host so they're understandably curious about Miss Eden being here. The idol then explains.

 

"You may know of me as Eden, no need for further introduction there. Yet, you may not know about my other duties other than my passion for being a singer. I am one of ONI's Section Heads, a position that no doubt most of you have extrapolated at some point. My task as the Section Head is quite simple, really, and not that far off from your day-to-day work. I have the honor of steering the Reich's propaganda machine, something that I have managed to do quite successfully thus far."

 

There are a few murmurs here and there, with even Luvia feeling surprised at the sudden and easy-going revelation that Miss Eden just delivered. Yet ultimately, none of the reporters voice any question, letting Miss Eden continue to say.

 

"I tend to run my Section from behind the scenes and elsewhere, yet recent events have prompted me to tackle them with a more personal touch, at least for a short while. If you are a reporter worth your salt, then you may have noticed the mobilization of our military garrisons by the Polanian-Belkan borders. Tonight, I will first show you the reason why such a course of action was decided upon by the Marshal herself."

 

If before the announcement, Miss Eden had Luvia's and the others' curiosity, now she has their attention. Some guards help Miss Eden set up a video projector and hand out packets of documents for each reporter. As if they've shaken on an unvoiced deal, the reporters all opt to watch the prepared video first before reading up on what they are given. Miss Eden just watches on with a small smile, though it remains unnoticed when she has a goblet of wine in her hand.

 

The video first starts with a recording, excerpted from the helmet cam footage of soldiers in Warsaw. What follows next is a series of subtly edited footage that censors out the classified parts, yet still retains the full authenticity of the actions, it even comes with full subtitles! Starting from the point when first contact was made between the Belkan-Rusviet unit and the Warsaw military garrison, the video showcases nearly everything for the reporters. It even includes the painful and heart-aching combat march of civilians and allied soldiers to get to the point of extraction. In short, Luvia and her peers are treated with the truth of what happened on that day in Warsaw. They're renowned reporters of their respective publishing houses, rarely fazed by anything. Yet tonight, they get an eye-opener in the form of a complex series of events, culminating in unannounced acts of aggression from multiple involved parties.

 

The Belkan-Rusviet unit committed justifiable acts of self-defense and upholding justice in the face of Polanian aggression. Still, the matter is also made convoluted by the way the Reich sent out unannounced aircraft to violate the Polanian airspace, seemingly with ease and with such a swift response time. While the air support did ensure the safety of the civilians, it doesn't change the fact that Belka willingly trampled on the sovereignty of a country they hadn't declared war on. Miss Eden, seeing the reporters start catching onto the crux of the matter, twirled the goblet in her hand.

 

"It seems that you all have noticed the problem Belka may be facing shortly. On one hand, we may have attained the hearts of the people by our acts of heroism. On the other hand, we have showcased to the world our blatant disregard for treatises and agreements, just by rescuing some poor souls. The latter will no doubt be harped upon by the antagonists of the Reich. As such, Belka must take control of the narrative, steering the story in our favor and drowning out the naysayers. It's why the state must now enlist your help once more. Like any other time, you will be credited handsomely, albeit with more bonus due to the nature of this request. You do it for the rewards, if not for loyalty. As long as you get the job done, the Reich will not forget your service."

 

Subconsciously, Luvia and the reporters start salivating at the prospect of the promised bonus. While reporters are required to have a neat code of conduct, they will still be reporting cold hard facts, albeit with some flourishing as per normal, so it should be fine, right? It's not like they are embellishing and pulling stuff out of their asses, right? They're doing this for the state, right? They're patriots, right? It's fine if they do their job and get paid a premium to feed the mouths back home, right? Right?

 

Eden giggles to herself when she sees the stoked spirits in the eyes of the reporters. "Then I believe we have a deal. Here's to a pleasant cooperation." The idol raises a toast, prompting the reporters to do the same with their glasses of wine. Don't ask how they have them, the glasses weren't there moments ago.

 

Sipping her delectable drink, Eden continues.

 

"In your hands is additional information. Some of it is field reports, some is dirt we have on the politicians behind the things in Warsaw. Either way, the recording, and the data folders will help you all paint a clear picture of what to do. The Reich requires you to compile two things. First, a narrative to present Belka and Rusviet as the heroes of the day. The second will be that the Polanian Revolutionary Command Council is corrupted to the core, with every member of the Council having a hand in a crime or many. Do your job well and sincerely like any other time, and you will wake up to the smell of Reichsmark in the morning."

 

Eden stops before adding. "If there are doubts about what we have given you, they're quite easily verifiable using your talents. Though seeing your expressions, I think that the headlines will be dominated in a couple of days by your report. You all are free to leave then, and I look forward to reading what you have to say. Meeting dismissed."

 

Eden smiles at them before bidding her farewell, leaving Luvia and the other reporters to fall into a cacophony of discussion. It's only when dawn has arrived that these men and women finally go home one by one.

 

When Luvia is escorted back into the confines of her home, she can't help but idly think.

 

"This is kinda like us lighting a fight beneath the Polanians' asses, ain't it?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Now that public opinion is soon to be on our side, what will you do, my dear?" Mommy Hel asks me while I am cuddled up on her lap. As per usual, her warm and elastic bosom is something I can easily fall asleep on.

 

I yawn before lazily responding to my Mom. "Well, when everything is fully in the light, I can start acting more and more brazenly on our side of the border. Ignoring the Polanian delegation and drumming the public in our favor is but step one. Step two will be to turn the Polanian citizens against their ruler and to lure the Polanian military into doing something they shouldn't. The former is easy with how we can just disseminate whatever crimes the Revolutionary Command Council committed to get to this point. As for the latter, both Belka and Rusviet can just regularly skim the Polanian borders with military exercises and troop maneuvers. There will come a point when the Polanian military pops a vein and fires the first shot, giving us another casus belli."

 

Mom lays her chin on my hair, asking softly. "With how things have progressed, I thought you would have enough weight to just declare war on them already."

 

I sigh, actually in contentment due to Mom enveloping me with her warmth. "I sure can do it now, but since Belka has already bombed Warsaw without any announcement, I refrain from doing so immediately. Instead, I push for both us and the Rusviets to take a slower slower, making sure the Polanians will take the fall when the time comes for shots to be exchanged. This way, we won't give the other nations any more dirt to throw at us. I reckon that by the time everything kicks off with the Polanians, it will also be the time that the Months of Demons will come to an end."

 

Mom moves her head, looking down at my eyes now that I have removed my eyepatch. "Then won't we be fighting a war on multiple fronts? Isn't that something we should avoid?"

 

I gaze up into her purplish gray eyes, the same color as her long silky hair. "That's true, but I have decided on a more proactive approach. Now that I have my temporal clones, I can lead both the Ustian and Polanian fronts at the same time. There's also the fact that we won't be grabbing most of the land in Polania, only aiming to seize 1/3rd of it. The Rusviet Union will be doing most of the heavy lifting for us, Mom. This means the chance of us straining our supply line is abysmally small. Nevertheless, I won't disregard any concerns you may have over the plan, nor would I ease up on my guard when the time comes."

 

Mommy Hel smiles gently before leaning down to claim my lips. She gives me a perfectly sweet kiss, not too short or too long.

 

"That's my girl." My mom praises me before lightly pinching my cheek. "Now let's get some shuteye, no funny business this time as you may need the strength to do a public speech soon. The Polanians won't be condemned in the eyes of the people if you don't step up."

 

I smile before leaning into her embrace. Together we both fall onto the bed. "Sleep cuddle only?"

 

Mom giggles. "Sleep cuddle only."

 

It's just us two tonight, but it's still comfortable enough for both of us. As the little spoon in our hug, I sigh contently in my mind.

 

'Gosh, I love the women in my life so much.'