As Phoebe and Violetta went away to continue talking by themselves, Yamato continued studying Violetta's behavior carefully, finding her surprisingly comfortable around people of higher social status for someone of her age and social awareness.
"Boo, if I remember correctly, you told me Capetapart was also the name of…"
"The Incarnation of Wrath, yes. Zonar, or ratzer Sir Zonar, as he insisted to be called. I assumed he was some sort of noble, but I did not expect him or his relatives present at this event. But then again, I was not sure what to expect from this event at the first place."
"Do you think he is here as well?"
"I haven't seen him yet, but we should stay on alert from now on."
"Well, from what you told me, spotting him shouldn't be too difficult. But his presence might complicate things. Should we just leave? We don't even know his ability yet, and with Phoebe here, things might be difficult to manage."
"No, as long as it's just him, we have nothing to worry about… Just stay close to me."
"Aww, with pleasure~!"
As she hugged him, staying close as he had asked, they were approached by the same butler from before.
"Excuse me, your majesties, if you may follow me upstairs? The main event is about to begin."
"How far away from this room is that?"
"Just one floor above, it is completely secure though, I assure you. If you worry about your daughter, we can provide a temporary room for her until you return. Or she can stay here, which is what most of the children present will be doing, as this part of the event will continue as longs as needed."
"She can stay here then. Yuki, signal Petrisha to not let Phoebe out of her sight until we return."
"Okay, done! Let's go upstairs, I'm so excited!"
After sending Petrisha a telepathic message that could be read as both order and threat, mixed with a bit of insult, Yamato and Yuki were escorted to the third floor of the mansion, where there was a conference room, with a large circular table in the middle. All but two from the many seats were already filled, so they sat down on them but not after Yuki moved her seat closer to Yamato's, since they were a little too far apart for her taste. Yamato noticed that most of the 21 people sitting at the table had people stand behind them that looked capable enough to protect themselves and those around them in case of an emergency, though he would hardly need that with Yuki by his side. A man, dressed in a green robe and having long blond hair, wearing a crown out of golden leaves, stood up from his seat. Yamato was sure he had not seen this man at the party below, but his appearance and most notably his long, pointy ears made him think he could guess who that man was.
"First of all, I, Masami Ryo would like to thank all of you for coming here on such short notice. I'm sure the last couple of months have not been easy for any of us, having to manage the major change happening amidst us. However, I'd like to point out the person solely responsible for this, Yamato Tasumaki!"
As he pointed across the table at Yamato, the eyes of all other people followed and lingered on them, though they had been noticed ever since they enter the room anyway.
"Excuse me?", Yamato said in his usual cold and indifferent voice.
"You heard me. What makes you believe killing an emperor, and taking his territory just like that would be acceptable? I say, we all, as proud, independent nations, can't allow such a violent takeover to succeed. We should remove him from his position immediately, and ensure things go back to normal as soon as possible."
"How would you go about removing me from my position, if I may ask?"
"You don't scare me, you self proclaimed god. If there were anything divine about you, how do you, why don't you just force all of us to submit to you right now?"
"Why would I be doing something like that…? If your only doubt in me stems from that idea, you almost sound like a believer to me."
"Don't play dumb. It's because you can't. This is why he has to rely on the woman next to her, who I will admit is remarkably strong, but cannot be all powerful for the same reason."
"Well, to me all this just sounds like you want to declare war to us. Is that not the case?"
"I suggest, that all of us combine forces to stop this evil from spreading any further. Need I remind you that the power of this woman allowed him to take over the Holy Empire of Humanity just like that, and that could happen to anyone of you next? I saw with my own eyes how they assaulted the imperial capital Vancia and killed everyone in their way with no hesitation or mercy."
"He is right!"
A third party emerged. A man, with brown hair and eyes, wearing blue stood up as well.
"I think Sir Masami is completely correct, we must act now. And if they don't resign by themselves immediately, they must be made to by force. I volunteer to lead this alliance, if no one else objects to it."
"I feel like it goes without saying, but anyone taking part in this "alliance", no matter how small their contribution, will be treated as enemy of the Absolute Empire and receive an appropriate response. I'm also slightly confused as to why the approach of my takeover would be an issue at all, seeing as how the Naru Empire had undergone a similar transformation, thanks to Masami here enforcing what I can only define as a coup."
"Nonsense, that was but a rumor. Our Empress is still well and watching over us as we speak, she was merely entrusting me with delivering her word, instead of coming here personally."
"You can't be serious…"
"Of course I am. I don't know where you got your information from, but it is simply not correct."
"Interesting…"
"What?"
"Nothing, please proceed. You have my full support."
"I—… What?"
Masami was completely disrupted by this seemingly nonsensical statement. How could Yamato be okay with, and even support him right now, he wondered. In his confusion, his eyes darted through the room, lingering on an obese man in a red uniform, who was completely calm and had not said a word, despite being one of the first to arrive. Though his gaze quickly returned onto Yamato, who just sat there in silence as well, looking him up and down, after also glancing through the room for a brief moment.
"Well? It seems like Masami has nothing left to say… In that case, I ask who here is willing to team up with him against me? Please raise your hands if you are."
But no one rose their hands, besides the man previously supporting Masami and of course, Masami himself. Then a third hand was raised, but the man it belonged to quickly clarified that he was merely wanting to say something.
"May I note that this matter seems like a personal conflict between Masami of the Naru Empire and Yamato of the Absolute Empire, and that we should not be dragged into this conflict?"
"W-what are you saying, Sir Zonar? Surely you will lend me your support?"
"But of course not. I refuse to participate in this bickering. It is my understanding that you came into contact with the Absolute Empire at Vancia during their takeover, so I must wonder if this already qualified as an act of aggression from your side, since the Holy Empire and the Absolute Empire at the time were in open war, unlike you."
"I-I… What makes you think the Naru Empire had a military presence at Vancia during that time?"
"Have you not said that you saw their violent takeover with your own eyes? I find it hard to believe that you would have been there by yourself."
"That was nothing but a figure of speech! I had men stationed there since their conflict had potential to escalate into our territory!"
"So you admit to espionage?"
"The Holy Empire owned that territory at the time, not the Absolute Empire, and you cannot prosecute me for espionage of a nation that no longer exists!"
"Maybe… But does it not seem suspicious to anyone else here that someone spying on the two nations in war, now comes out and speaks against the victorious nation, as if only they had not been involved at all? I believe we should ask ourselves where else the Naru Empire is listening in."
"That's not what this meeting was supposed to be about!"
"Uhm, excuse me, you guys, but I have something to say…"
Yuki said, stretching after almost falling asleep until now, only staying entertained by poking Yamato's leg with her feet beneath the table and watching him ignore it, which she found cute.
"I just want to say that whoever keeps trying to read my mind has one more chance to back off before I track it back. Dunno who else's mind they try to read right now but I thought I'd throw it in the room."
The room went silent, everyone looking around to look for a reaction, a sign of panic, but no one seemed to notice anything.
"Well, I think it stopped. Anyway, I haven't been listening the whole time because whatever you are discussing right now feels kinda pointless. It's also getting late, so if you could wrap this thing up that'd be great."
"That's the most insolent thing I have ever heard, has everyone in here lost their minds!? I'm asking you to listen to me and—!"
Masami's outburst was cut short, as the already dimmed lights went off completely, before a short squish noise broke the silence in the dark. The next moment, something heavy dropped onto the table, and movement could be heard. As the lights turned back on, Masami's body laid flat on the table, with a pool of blood spreading beneath him. Just as people were about to stand up and go check on him, as well as leave, the light began flickering again, a masked man appeared in the middle of the table, his clothes reminding strongly of that a magician would wear. The light was now focused on him, like a spotlight. He took of his magician's hat and bowed to those around him, as if to receive applause.
"It is I, the great, the wonderful, the one and only, Bambini! And I come to perform…"
"…And what exactly are you planning to perform?"
All eyes wandered to Yamato, who was one out of five people that seemed completely calm right now. However, seeing Yuki on his lap instead of her chair was even more surprising to the rest. She must have moved during lights out, but if there was a reason behind it or not, only she knew. The Great Bambini responded in the same theatrical tone as his introduction had been in.
"I'm so glad you asked, Audience 20… Because I have planned something spectacular for all of you!"
As he extended his arms, the whole mansion began shaking, and Yuki immediately shot a sword at his head. However, it just passed through him, as if he were but a cloud of smoke, landing in the wall behind him.