Volume 8: Alliance

Chapter 105: Wa

The Lion of Asia.

That title had unquestionably belonged to Qing, a great nation known even in distant Europe. As the bearer of Chinese civilization inherited from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Qing had been considered one of Asia’s greatest powers—more than fifty years ago.

Comparing it with my knowledge from my previous life, Qing might be described as the Qing Empire without Empress Dowager Cixi.

Empress Dowager Cixi, who held real power in China’s Qing dynasty during the era of the First World War, was exceptionally capable when it came to protecting her own authority. It was hardly a praiseworthy talent, but it was precisely what had held the Qing Empire together.

In this world, Qing had begun modernizing to catch up with Europe.

But that proved fatal. As reforms gradually weakened the central government, each region began gaining power.

The result was civil war. Qing initially split into dozens of factions and descended into a brutal conflict. Half a century after it began, the civil war showed no sign of ending. More than ten factions still continued to fight.

Qing wasn’t sleeping. It lay across the continent as a dead lion.

The country most directly affected by Qing’s disgrace was Wa, its neighbor across the sea.

Friez Kingdom was the first nation to reach the long-isolated Wa and force it to open its borders through military power. Wa—the Japan of this world—had followed a history very similar to Earth’s Japan.

The Meiji Restoration occurred, and Wa began to modernize, raising its national power to the level of the great powers in less than half a century.

But Wa couldn’t find an opportunity to display its strength.

Qing, the formidable rival it should have challenged, had already fallen apart. Wa hadn’t fought a single war since modernizing.

No country had stopped it from annexing Korea.

The Rosha Empire had taken Manchuria and secured a warm-water port amid the chaos of Qing’s civil war. Satisfied with that, it showed little reaction to the annexation of Korea.

There was some minor tension between the two countries, but it never developed into war.

Wa modernized.

It acquired Korea and Taiwan. It went even further, taking the Philippines and other Southeast Asian territories that Friez Kingdom had failed to colonize after the collapse of Superia.

By repeatedly trading with the successor states fighting in Qing’s civil war, Wa earned foreign currency and acquired a broad territory. Its national strength surpassed even that of Japan before the First World War.

But it had fought no war.

Consequently, Europe still regarded Wa as merely a “nonwhite nation.”

“Y-You have business with us?”

This was the result.

Wa had been unable to gain an ally in Europe and remained isolated. It was still not recognized as a fully fledged nation. Although it had practically forced its way into the former emperor’s funeral, its delegation couldn’t join any circle and stood alone in the grand hall.

They had formed a rather pitiful little group in one corner.

“Yes. Were you busy? If so, I apologize. I can wait for a better time and approach you again.”

“No! Not at all… We were merely surprised. We never imagined anyone here would speak our language.”

I had addressed the lonely-looking delegation from Wa in ordinary Japanese.

“Well, your country may be the fastest-rising power in the world today. As a responsible nobleman, it was only natural that I learn its language.”

The language spoken in Wa was simply Japanese. I could speak it naturally without studying.

For that matter, Ilhan’s language was close to Latin, while Lunoa’s resembled German. Perhaps humans raised on similar continents developed convergent languages as well.

The language of Wa had a slight accent, but it was Japanese for the most part. I could speak it without difficulty.

“My, my… How should I put it? Speaking my native language here feels a little strange.”

“Does it? Strangely enough, I find it calming.”

Japanese. It had been so long since I last spoke it.

I couldn’t help becoming a little emotional.

“…!? A-Are you crying!?”

“No. Perhaps you’re imagining it?”

Of course a tear or two would fall. Dad, Mom… I wondered if they were doing well. I had died young, but I hoped they and my older sister had lived happily together.