Not even five years ago, it might've seemed strange that the sitting Emperor of Fusan would attend a conference such as this; after all, matters such as these were, more often than not, seen as being below his station. Yet despite this, since first becoming Sesshō to his father in 2019 and then Emperor the year after, Eijirō had attended more meetings like this than his grandfather had in his nineteen years on the throne, and certainly more than his father. Only his great grandfather had him beat, and that was simply due to him reigning for nearly half a century and through one of the most tumultuous periods in the nation's history, no less. More often than not, matters such as these would be handled by the Prime Minister or some other member of the Cabinet. Sometimes, even a member of the Privy Council might attend, if the need arose. Yet for some reason, this subject called to him, no doubt a result of his background, and so, he found himself leading the Fusanese delegation.
And what a delegation it was. While also joined by the standard array of aides and assistants, he found himself in the company of the current Minister of War and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Field Marshal Okimoto Esashi, with whom he'd had a good working relationship for some time now. It was not lost on him, of course, that theirs was a relationship more close than most former War Ministers had with their Emperors; after all, for starters, most of the time the War Ministry wasn't headed by someone who, albeit technically, still held a commission within the Armed Forces, much in a similar fashion to himself as Commander-in-Chief, but there was more to it than that. He had grown up around him after all, at least in his teenage years, and he could be partly credited with inspiring Eijirō to join the military. Him and a certain Achkaerinese royal, back in the day... Those were far better times, simpler, too. Either way though, the group was rounded off by Kunihiro Marutaka, the CEO of Zayasu Heavy Industries, and Yuko Harada, President of Kasori, both of whom had a vested interest in the field and had thus managed to secure an invitation, though they would be arriving separately.
"Remind me why I ever agreed to Marutaka-san tagging along?" Eijirō asked Okimoto as he straightened his outfit aboard the plane. It wasn't as though he disliked the man, but it hardly seemed appropriate that he join.
"You'll have to ask the Prime Minister, your Majesty." The sixty-one year-old Esashi replied from one of Suzaku One's many seats. "But I will remind you that having people involved in the field can be helpful in determining policy."
"To suit their own interests, maybe."
"Maybe, but I know him well enough to know he's a man of principle. Well, as much as you can be in that field, anyways."
"And what of Harada? What do you know about her?"
"No more than most. She's as reclusive as you can get for someone in her position, but I'd imagine she's more likely to work to further her own agenda and that of her company. Just be careful around her."
"I will."
A short while later, the group would arrive at the site of the conference, whereupon the Fusanese Emperor, speaking on the behalf of the delegation, would greet his Morelander counterpart.
"Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to see you again." Eijirō said with a bow before motioning to his companions. "Field Marshal Esashi, Mr. Marutaka, and Mrs. Harada." He said so as to introduce them. "On the behalf of the government of the Empire of Fusan, I wish to make clear our sincerest hope that these talks will be most fruitful."
