The two officers stood, saluted, and departed.
Meanwhile, back at the luxury hotel where the President was staying, Hans Ernst made his way to the presidential suite. Upon his arrival, a young girl who had been chatting happily with the First Lady noticed him and ran over, throwing her arms around him.
"Welcome back, Hans!"
"I'm back, Natalia," Hans said, patting her head before nodding to the First Lady. "Thank you for looking after her, ma'am."
"Think nothing of it. She's like a daughter to me. You have a report for my husband? He's out on the balcony."
"Thank you."
Hans left Natalia—Natalia "Lina" Kontratchenko—with the First Lady and stepped into the living room. Normally, a President would be surrounded by guards, but this hotel was managed by the Kamizaka Group and was protected by layers of magical security. Consequently, President Diacca Spirestilo was able to enjoy a quiet moment of reading in peace.
"Colonel Hans Ernst reporting, sir. I've brought back... some news."
"You look troubled, Hans. I take it there was a complication?"
Hans sighed. "I can't hide anything from you, sir. The truth is—"
He explained the encounter in the city: a group seemingly from the Great Asian Alliance attempting to abduct a Caucasian girl named Jazz; his decision to intervene; and how the girl had eventually left with a man claiming to be her father.
"I see... and what was your impression of the pair?" the President asked.
"They spoke fluent Japanese, which initially made me think they were of Japanese descent or very friendly to this country. However... I caught a hint of British English in their pronunciation. Furthermore, the girl seemed far more mentally mature than her age suggested."
Hans noted that when learning a second language, the nuances of one's mother tongue often bleed through. The "clumsy" Japanese of the man calling himself James Jackson had felt performed rather than genuine.
"I believe they are both military mages," Hans concluded.
"And you think they are from the Great Asian Alliance?"
"No. Their Psion flow was different. To be honest... it felt most similar to British mages."
Despite the EU's split, military exchanges had continued to counter the influence of the New USSR and the USNA. Hans had visited the UK during such joint exercises, and the "feeling" of the magic from the girl and the man resonated with what he remembered of British casters.
"Of course, it's just my personal observation. I could be wrong."
"I have no reason to doubt your instincts, Hans... If I recall, 'Jazz' is a common nickname for Jasmine. It seems we've meddled in someone else's operation."
"A 'poking the beehive' situation, sir?"
"In your case, it couldn't be helped. Based on what you described, I would have done the same thing."
Both men realized they had inadvertently hindered the capture of a sabotage suspect. Diacca waved it off as a political matter to be settled later.
"As an apology of sorts, I want you to work with the Japanese National Defense Force starting tomorrow to prevent any further sabotage."
"Sir! Understood. And what will you be doing, Excellency?"
"I intend to relax for a while. I've been fighting mountains of paperwork lately."
The President's recent workload was largely due to the "Humanist" extremist movement and the USNA's negligence. Unlike the SSA, which had suppressed the movement quickly, the USNA had attempted to use the Humanists to destabilize other nations. They had even tried to use the operative Gu Jie to push the movement into Japan—and the SSA had nearly suffered a similar fate. However, the SSA's elite counter-guerrilla units had crushed the attempt and uncovered documents proving the USNA's involvement.
"I'll make sure your 'wife' is well looked after here too," Diacca added with a grin.
"Sir... I am not even engaged, let alone married."
"The Prime Minister back home already considers you a married couple. You might as well give up."
"I know, I know..." Hans muttered. Despite his protests, he knew that when the heads of state of both Germany and the SSA treated them as a couple, resistance was futile. Still, he clung to his pride as a man.
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