Esthirant, Parpaldian Empire

Sitting in one of the dinghies of the Cavour, Antonio Catalano eyed the approaching capital city as he held his suitcase filled with folders about Italy. Behind him were also various products handpicked by the ministry to give to Parpaldia as both gifts of friendliness and apology after being made aware that they occupied territory but it cannot exactly be helped.

On the docks, Antonio could see a well dressed man who stood beside an excited looking woman as behind them was a crowd that were trying to be pushed back by what he assumed to be guards. The dinghies then stopped at the nearest dock as once it was tied up, Antonio was assisted by his guards onto shore.

The well dressed man in front had a look of anticipation. Antonio waited for his assistant Ricci, who wore the same suit as him and the guards to disembark before he then had a smile plastered on his face as he approached the pair. "Ahem, hello there. My name is Antonio Catalano and this Mario Ricci. We're diplomats for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the nation of Italy. I do apologise for our sudden arrival. We would have sent a message in advance of our visit." He said as his friendliness was reminiscent of a young college student while Ricci beside him was more on the reserved type it seemed.

Kaios cleared his throat as he regained his composure as so did Raita beside him. "Greetings to you, sir. My name is Director Kaios of the Third Foreign Affairs Department. We the Parpaldian Empire welcome you to the imperial capital of Esthirant." He said as he and Raita bowed.

Antonio smiled as he spoke. "Thank you for the welcome, Director Kaios. As you may know, I'm here for official diplomatic business on behalf of the Italian Republic." He said as he brushed his hand through his hair.

"In that case, our office for such affairs is a walk away. Shall we?" Kaios asked.

Antonio nodded. "Let's go." He said. With that Kaios and Raita started to walk back to the Third Foreign Affairs building. His Italian counterpart then had a question about his department. "So you come from the Third Foreign Affairs Department. Then that must mean there is a First and Second one yes?"

Kaios nodded. "Oh yes there is. Not to worry, I will explain once we get to my office." He said as Antonio nodded. On the way, Antonio along with his assistant Ricci looked around Esthirant in curiosity. However, unlike the wonder or amazement he'd see from other diplomats in lesser nations, Antonio and Ricci simply observed as if they were simply in some sort of museum, taking in the sights in more of a studying way and not in wonder. Kaios could only theorise why Antonio and Ricci didn't seem too impressed by Esthirant as they only had a little smile while they observed the scenery.

As Kaios walked, his curiosity got the best of him as he looked to Antonio. "Ambassador Catalano, I must ask... The mountains northeast of our capital, is that the extent of your country?"

Antonio looked to Kaios before he shook his head. "Ah, no. That's only part of the most northern regions of our nation. We refer to the mountains as the Alps. It was actually a way bigger mountain range shared among our neighbours. However when Italy arrived to this... world, it only brought the mountains just a bit outside of our borders."

"I see.... We only have a few mountain ranges that can reach the same heights as these Alps mountains but there would barely be any villages within the valleys." Kaios said as he rubbed his chin.

"Alpine villages are rather popular tourist destinations. They accommodate those who wish to visit our mountains." Antonio explained.

"Who would wish to visit mountains? I digress that they are beautiful sights, but survivability is hard by itself."

"Well thanks to our infrastructure we can deliver food in any corner of the country. Because of that even the most remote villages get a steady supply of food." Antonio explained.

"I see... Must be an incredible feat." Kaios said. Excluding the fact that they force conquered regions to send in food, even if the capital wants to they wouldn't have the means to bring food to the far reaches of the empire. Kaios's trail of thought was then cut off as he looked up. "Here we are, the Third Foreign Affairs Department." He said.

Antonio eyed the building which reminded him of various small government offices in Rome. He followed Kaios inside as he looked around while he spoke. "Reminds me of some small offices of our various ministries." He idly commented. He wasn't usually a show off in regards to supposed friendly diplomacy, but he was ordered to show Parpaldia that Italy was not to be a target.

Kaios took note of the comment. While they were for Foreign Affairs in just the Third Civilization Area, he believed that their building was at least somewhat grandeur. Raita then returned to her post as she bowed to the passing diplomats.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"This way, gentlemen." Kaios said as he walked past a set of double doors and down the hall. While they did, Antonio and Mario spoke to each other.

"These buildings and their designs really remind me of Europe... Are you sure we aren't in some alternate universe?" Mario asked his superior who simply shrugged.

"Who knows. They said that Italy's position right now mirrors our old one on the Mediterranean, a continent above and below."

"Ah the Rodenius Continent. You do not need to waste your time with them, I assure you." Kaios said as he overheard their conversation while he entered his office.

Antonio meanwhile perked his eyebrow up. "Why not Director?"

Kaios first sat down in his seat before he gestured to the two armchairs in front of him for the diplomats as they took the offer. He then explained. "Rodenius Continent is merely a barbaric and outdated place. Mind you, most of their buildings are still made of timber and don't even have glass. Muskets and cannons haven't even been invented yet..."

"Hm, that reminds of the Medieval Era. Don't you think?" Antonio asked as he looked to Mario who nodded.

"Hm? The Medieval Era? How long ago was it in your time?" Kaios asked as he clasped his hands.

Antonio answered as he opened his suitcase to pull out the first file. "Hmm I'd say around 500-ish years ago I believe." He said.

Kaios took that number into consideration. While he did admit that Rodenius was backwards, the fact that for the Italians it was that far off concerned him. He then looked up first to the two as he spoke. "Then... what about for us? How far are we?"

"Well you mentioned muskets and cannons. Along with those wooden ships, it reminds of the time of Napoleon... I'd say over 200 years ago."

Kaios felt conflicted. On one hand, Parpaldia was over 300 years more advanced than Rodenius which made him feel proud but then Italy was nearly as far with their technology. He shook his head to return focus as he opened the file before he had a look of confusion. "I... can't read this."

Antonio and Mario looked at each other in confusion and then to Kaios. "What do you mean?"

"I don't understand this language." Kaios simply said as he looked up to the two.

Antonio had a look of surprise. "You don't? But you're speaking in Italian as of now." He said.

"But you're speaking in the common tongue for me." He simply said as he set the file down.

"Huh, strange.... Well, I'll explain it then." Antonio said as he opened his briefcase and pulled out a map and a few pictures.

The map showed a boot shaped peninsula on an unrecognizable continent which somewhat amused Kaios due to the appearance along with the fact that these diplomats were just showing such a detailed map all willy nilly. Antonio then spoke.

"The nation of Italy is located 300 kilometres southwest from a region you call Doric if I'm not mistaken, 700 kilometres east of your capital Esthirant. We recognise that Italy has been laid on top of a few of your regions. Along with the fact that one our airplanes breached your airspace we truly apologise." Antonio said.

Kaios didn't know what to make of this. On one hand, they had lost a chunk of their territory along with a few port cities not to mention their airspace was indeed breached but he could not exactly blame Italy for this happening. He went with the neutral route. "On behalf of Parpaldia, we acknowledge this mistake. Continue."

"Well aside from that, Italy is not alone in this event. Within it are two of our micro nation neighbours, the Holy See and San Marino which are rather similar to us culture wise. As such we have close ties to them and they are under our protection. Italy itself has a population of around 59 million while our capital and biggest city is Rome. We control islands around the peninsula the biggest of which is Sardinia just around 260 kilometres southwest of Rome."

Kaios took note of these facts. Parpaldia had a population of over 70 million and it took ages to get that number through conquest and yet somehow Italy with its way smaller size is just a bit under 11 million. He then watched Antonio grab another picture as it was a crude map of Italy placed over Philades. He noticed that the peninsula nearly reached across the Rodenius Sea as he listened.

"If the maps we obtained are correct, this is the approximate new location of Italy. Being around 300,000 square kilometres, we are well defended naturally by the Alps north of us and also rather militarily." He said as he then pulled out another file. He then handed it to Kaios. "Disregard the words, I'll explain it for you." He said.

Kaios nodded and opened the file as he eyed the contents. Inside were very clear images of various Italian military equipment. From their ships to their flying machines and their iron calvary, Kaios could've sworn he felt the room warm up.

"Italy is a proud producer of our own military equipment. We have companies that export weapons and equipment to other countries back on our world. Even the most powerful nations on our planet would import Italian-made weapons. But that's not all, we also export cars, foods, wine, all of that. But this comes at a cost... While Italy exports luxuries, we do need to import a considerable amount of food for basic survival of our people. Much of us live in cities and we need as much food as we can to ensure everyone lives a comfortable life."

Kaios was then handed another file. This time it was filled with pictures of the cities in Italy. From the skyline of Milan to the palaces of Rome, the historic streets of Florence and the canals of Venice, Kaios was convinced that Italy was a cultured nation just like them. He eyed each picture of the people having cars, livelihoods and even smiles on their faces. He looked up to Antonio as he spoke. "Ambassador Antonio, I believe that fair trade is what make the world works yes? If we give you food, all we ask is the exports you speak of."

"Well, Italy isn't willing to export weapons—" Curses. "But we are willing to export our other staple products, which, speaking of..." He then nodded to Mario who then had a bag of something. Kaios perked an eyebrow up as Mario then placed two bottles of wine, a box of cheese and even some chocolates. The man went wide eyed at the pristine quality of the packaging as he observed them. He held the box of wine as he gently opened it to pull out the bottle which was so impossibly smooth, he assumed it was made by possibly the Mirishials if it weren't for the clear labels.

Kaios then looked up to Antonio as a rare expression was on his face when he met diplomats, he smiled. "I believe Italy and Parpaldia can come to an agreement."