Chapter 18: Alliance's Framework
Even the female, who was confident about her knowledge since the bird saint had trained her, was dumbfounded. She didn't even understand half of what they were talking about.
Swablu, on the other hand, was asking Dratini, "Little brother, would you mind introducing me to God Floyd?"
"Huh? I'm not your little brother," Dratini snorted.
"But you are small," Swablu retorted.
"I'm not small!" Dratini shouted.
"You are," Swablu said.
"Dare you say that again?" Dratini threatened.
"Keke, you are small," Swablu teased, then flew away.
"You… Come back here!" Dratini chased her.
Swablu flew to the top of the ceiling where Dratini couldn't reach her.
"Do you think I can't catch you up there? Wanna try my move?" Dratini was about to use his newly learned skill, Twister, when a water drop hit his face.
"Who's that?" Dratini looked at the position from which he was shot and saw Horsea eating some food inside Floyd's bag.
"If you make trouble here, Floyd will catch you, and you'll never get away," Horsea warned, concerned that if they made noise, Floyd would see her.
"Hmph," Dratini walked away and followed Axew, who was contemplating training the Dragon Dance.
"Sister, can you introduce me to God Floyd?" Swablu approached Horsea.
"I'm busy," Horsea didn't bother about her as she ate.
"What are you eating?" Swablu approached her.
"You… Hide here, be careful; Floyd will see us," Horsea warned her to hide.
"Sister, are you doing something wrong…? Eh, what is this, oh delicious, oh my god, so delicious!" Swablu felt she was in heaven as she tasted it.
"Of course, it's made by Floyd; there's no one better than him," Horsea raised her chin and felt proud.
"Really? No wonder he's God, my idol, he deserves to be my idol," Swablu's eyes shone as she looked at Floyd.
"Oh, you're a fan of Floyd?" Horsea asked.
"Yes," Swablu said excitedly.
"Follow me from now on, and you can eat it; I will also introduce you to him," Horsea said.
"Really?" Swablu's eyes shined.
"What, do you think I'm kidding?" Horsea snorted.
"Okay, Boss!" Swablu raised her right wing.
"Ehem, it looks like that little guy is coming to you," Horsea warned her.
"Bastard, that's my food!" Dratini came angrily, looking at Swablu.
Swablu flew away and said, "I'm sorry, little brother."
"I'm not your little brother."
"You are."
…
"So, let's introduce ourselves once again. I'm Professor Kanraku Hiroshi," Kanraku stood in the center.
"I'm Suzuki Akiko," Suzuki introduced herself.
"Floyd," Floyd said in a calm manner.
"Jonathan," Jonathan casually responded.
"Bianca," Bianca responded with a low and careful voice.
"… Ivan," Ivan maintained his usual gloomy demeanor.
Kanraku spoke his native language to Suzuki.
"The Professor says that since we're already here, he's going to explain what we're going to do."
"Actually, you're the last batch after Rong Xanh, Longdong, and Jo-a; they are already on Takihama Island."
"Let me just remind you that the least time you will stay there might be half a year."
"What we will do is arrange the beasts in their own habitats; we will become familiar with them."
"Planting berry seeds will also be arranged."
"Professor Kanraku will also teach you some basic knowledge about the beasts."
Suzuki Akiko explained it one by one as she translated what Professor Kanraku said.
"Any questions?" Suzuki asked.
Jonathan raised his hand.
"Yes, please," Suzuki nodded.
"So, in short, we will become your slaves?" Jonathan snorted and asked.
"No, you will not be… our slaves. We will give you a salary of 10k yen… per day, and actually, there is something I'm going to show you," Kanraku said as he took out a map.
"What's this?" Jonathan and the others became curious and took a look.
"A map? What's up with this?" Jonathan was confused.
Kanraku took a red marker and circled a small island below the country of Nihon.
"This is where we are going to stay for half a year. What we're doing might seem like unfair treatment to you—taking care of dangerous beasts, planting berries, listening to things you don't need to know—but what we're doing here is creating a new industry," Kanraku explained in detail.
"Industry?" Everyone was confused.
"You know that the majority of people dislike beasts, so we really can't undertake this on a large scale as it might cause trouble for the government—within our country, your country, and any part of the world."
"Government officials will certainly not agree with my plan. That's why I marked this island. As a remote place in Nihon, located far away from the mainland, government officials will have a hard time causing trouble for me here."
"And the reason I invited representatives from four countries as well is to hasten the pace of my plan. Since government officials will not agree, it's challenging to recruit people, so it's much better to recruit from neighboring countries."
"I say hasten the pace because, after we start work on the island, we will catch other beasts all over Takihama Island."
"Are you crazy?" Jonathan stood up, fear on his face, thinking this was an absurd idea.
"Catching all beasts, can you manage them? What if they all attack? How can you defend against it?" Ivan, who had been silent, suddenly asked the question.
"Good question. Then I ask you back, why do beasts attack us?" Kanraku countered.
"They want to kill people…?" Jonathan answered uncertainly.
"Do you think so? But what if, vice versa, humans are the ones who want to kill them, and they are just defending themselves?"
"Isn't it normal? They first started to invade our territory, and we will just fight back," Jonathan said.
"Do you believe that, in the blink of an eye, these beasts just miraculously appeared here?" Kanraku questioned.
"I… I don't know, but the situation is… they really did appear here," Jonathan admitted.
"So, what's the connection to the previous topic? How will you defend against it?" Ivan pressed.
"That's right, you don't know, I also don't know, and maybe all of us don't know the reason why. So, rather than pondering why they appeared and invaded us, let's think of the right solution to solve the current problem. And that is to understand them. I have found one of the reason why the beasts attack us, and it's because of food."
"Food?" Jonathan contemplated.
Bianca and Ivan also contemplated, while Floyd agreed.
"The characteristics of the beasts are akin to animals: their instincts, appearances, and behavior. Yet, a difference can be seen, as beasts possess greater intelligence and strength."
"So, the law of the jungle can applied to it as well where the strongest one reigns supreme. The strong consume the weak, the weak cunningly hunt the weaker, and the weakest of all, humans, remain ever as a forever prey"
"Hidden within the heart of the forest are treasures for the strong beast to relish, while the weaker ones struggle at its edges, ever in search of more vulnerable prey—such as humans."
"So, once we have resolved the issues surrounding food, it will be time to seize the opportunity to forge alliances with them, utilizing their abilities for mutual benefit, with no risks to either beasts or humans."
"Here, I am calling upon representatives from the four neighboring countries because, once we accomplish this mission, our next targets are Okinawa, and Kagoshima Prefecture, along with, of course, your respective countries. Each of you will be the pioneer this endeavor in your respective nations."
"Takihama Island will serve as the core of this platform, acting as the lifeblood that connects us—the five representative countries. And I name this… the Asian Alliance Association, or in short…"
"Alliance."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone