Port of Genoa, 8:32 AM, Day 1 of Delegation

The yacht had docked at the port and with that there were a few guards who waited for them as they were the guides for the delegation. Antonio stepped down first with his suitcase as he was followed by Mario. Kaios and his staff followed while Remille was the last whose luggage had to be unloaded by a few hands.

Remille looked around the port. Her grip on the skirt of her dress was fairly firm as she eyed all the ships around her. No matter where she looked it seemed like that all of the vessels could beat Parpaldian ships both in size and grandeur. Even the rugged naval ships of Italy which also docked seemed like a fortress on the seas.

Kaios too observed all the ships and buildings. He has never been to Mu nor the Holy Mirishial Empire but he reckoned that it'd be like in this place if he had. He held his luggage close as he was prepared for any small time dockyard thieves and yet nobody seemed to be that way. Unlike Antonio however, what he assumed to be the Italian common folk who observed the curious groups of Parpaldians had rather odd way of dressing up. Some clothes seemed a bit too short for them but he could tell their fabric seemed high quality.

Antonio then smiled as he spoke to the group. "Welcome to the Port of Genoa, one of our most prominent cities. Before we head on with our tour of the country, I received permission for you all to tour around the Cavour for a little while." He said as he pointed to the aircraft carrier.

"Oh is that right? We'd love to see it!" Kaios said in a bit of excitement, both genuine and to hide any attempts to try and look for details on how to build such a ship.

"Hmm I wonder where... Ah there they are." Antonio said with a hum. Three black Fiat sedans stopped in front of the group as their drivers hopped out while the guards went on with packing the luggage in the trunks. "Miss Remille, Director Kaios, you can hop in this car. Me and Mister Ricci will be in the second while your staff can be in the third." He explained.

The driver opened up the door for Remille who promptly hopped inside as she sat down. Of course the young woman looked around the car as not even her best carriages could compare. Kaios followed and sat down as well as he spoke. "I've seen Muan cars before but these are on another level." He said.

"Tsk... These Italians worry me." Remille muttered. "If the whole world sees what they can do, Parpaldia would look... pathetic in comparison." She said with a sigh.

"That's why we have to be careful, Miss Remille. If we get in their favour, they may trust us enough for us to receive some of their military equipment. The possibilities Parpaldia could achieve is astonishing." Kaios said before they both went quiet as the driver came inside and instead decided to have a more innocent conversation.

"So, what is the plan for today then Kaios?" She asked with no intention of calling him Director at all.

The man was used to it and simply answered as he pulled out the map. "Well for our first day as you heard we will be touring their flagship the Cavour before we ride on a machine called a train to the city of Milan. There we attend a fashion show and indulge ourselves in shopping before we rest." Kaios said as he showed the map and route they'd be taking.

Remille listened and observed the map as she couldn't quite believe the amount of detail it had. If they had a map of Parpaldia like this it would be locked away as a state secret. As Kaios casually folded it, she spoke. "Don't lose that map." She simply said.

Kaios nodded. With that the car started to move as their convoy was headed to the other side of the port to the Cavour aircraft carrier.

Remille observed the smoothness of the ride. With her carriage, even with the best wheels it tended to be bumpy on their cobblestone roads. Here she observed the concrete and the tyres of the other cars as she watched the scenery go by.

A short drive later, the convoy stopped by the Cavour who had its men disembarked for a break while it was being loaded up with supplies. The driver helped Kaios and Remille out of the car as Antonio was there with a smile. "Here she is, the flagship of the Italian Navy. The Cavour Aircraft Carrier." He said as he showed off the vessel.

Kaios gulped. The sheer size of the ship would easily dwarf even their biggest wyvern carriers. Remille stayed silent as Antonio spoke further. "Follow me." He said as he started to embark onto the Cavour.

As the group boarded the Cavour, Antonio walked them throughout the ship as he showed them the living quarters first. "The Cavour is more than just a ship. As you know ships can have sleeping quarters, offices and whatnot but on board this carrier are larger rooms for superiors, a medical bay, a cafeteria, even a few rooms for entertainment like a library. Of course there's also a small conference room, even showers, and more. It's almost like a castle on water. Even on the job our sailors could live in comfort."

As Antonio went on, Kaios observed every nook and cranny to try and get an idea of how the ship worked but alas nothing of importance was gotten out of it but he was still impressed nonetheless. He then spoke to Antonio. "So I know that Mu uses machinery much like you, but how does the ship work exactly?" He asked as he masked the sensitive question with an innocent curious tone.

"Ah we use an engine and fuel. Nothing special." Antonio said as he didn't detail into the specifics to prevent any sensitive information being given.

"May we see the engine?" Kaios asked once more but Antonio surprisingly yet unsurprisingly shook his head.

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"Unfortunately the engines are off limits except for maintenance. Besides it can be dangerous to get inside them as a group. Rest assured though I'll show you more parts of the carrier." Antonio said as he smiled back to Kaios but in his eyes he essentially told the man to back off with the questions.

Kaios felt a tingle go up his spine as he did so. Remille meanwhile mentally dissed at Kaios's failed attempt to get anymore information.

As the group continued they then reached a large room which had a huge doorway that had platforms on them. Antonio smiled as he spoke. "Welcome to the hangar. You may think that the flying machines on the deck were the only ones but that isn't quite right. In our carriers, there is this place where more of our jets are stored if not in use. Well not only jets, there are also our helicopters which too are flying machines though they do work differently.

Remille stopped in her tracks. It was one thing to see and hear four jets fly around Esthirant, but as she saw even more in the hangar and what she assumed more on the deck, she gulped. Even with her pride she could tell that wyverns would be outmatched by these jets. She followed with the group as Antonio arrived to the platform. He talked to a crewman before the platform started to be raised.

The Parpaldians yelped in surprise at this sudden movement while Antonio casually stood there with his hands in his pockets. After a bit, the platform stopped at the deck as there were also jets and helicopters stationed. "And welcome to the Cavour's deck. Here is where our radio tower is-" He pointed to a small structure on the deck which was the size for a nobility's home in Parpaldia. "-where we can coordinate with our pilots."

"So... It's almost like a manacomm then." Kaios said as he rubbed his chin.

"You could say that yes. Along here is the runway that our jets use to gain speed so they can fly off." Antonio said as he settled for a basic explanation. "With that our carriers and ships in general can traverse massive distances to fight in the far corners of the world, all while letting our sailors still be comfortable and have high morale." He said with a smile.

The Parpaldians took their time as they observed the details of the carrier. To them the standards of living was higher than even their best forts in the empire. Remille gripped her skirt tighter as ever so slowly she had to come to terms with the fact that Italy is not an easy foe to deal with.

Remille then looked around the scenery as everywhere she could see ships as big as the Cavour and grander than their own. She spotted a group of huge white ships that had rows of windows. It was like a building she reckoned and as curiosity took over she spoke to Antonio. "Ambassador Catalano... What ships are those?" She asked as she pointed to the vessels.

"Hm?" Antonio looked back before he saw the ships. "Ah those are cruise ships. They're essentially civilian vessels where people can board and go on a trip around the seas for the scenery. It's essentially like a floating palace in my opinion. There'd be restaurants, shows, bars, entertainment and high quality rooms for the passengers." He said.

Suddenly Remille didn't want to know more of it or else she'd faint at such luxury.

Antonio then guided the Parpaldians down the Cavour and back to their cars. As Kaios and Remille hopped into theirs, they stayed silent in contemplation throughout the car ride. Everywhere Remille could look, buildings whose designs fit only the best imperial offices were not only everywhere, some were grander than their own. Kaios too looked out the window as he observed the people. Compared to those on Esthirant, the business of everyone had them rushing to and fro their destination. Some meanwhile relaxed in leisure and he could see the smiles on some of their faces. Life as an Italian must be rather nice, he assumed.

The cars then stopped in front of a large greyish-white building as columns dominated its facade. Remille eyed it as the driver opened the door for her before she looked to Antonio and strutted over to him. "What is this place? Is this your palace?"

"Palace? Oh no no. It's the Genova Piazza Principe, a train station. There are a few palaces in Genoa but this one isn't." Antonio said as he got his belongings.

Remille meanwhile noticed he used the word 'a few'. With that she spoke further. "Was this city the capital before?" She asked as she held her purse while behind her was Jana who was loading up Remille's luggage onto a trolley.

"Not exactly. The royal family back then simply had palaces all around the country." Antonio said before he checked his watch. "We should hurry, we don't want to miss the train." He said as Mario beside him nodded and started to lead the way.

Remille followed as he thought of what he said. The family only had one palace and it was the Imperial Paradis Palace in Esthirant. The fact that royalty in Italy had multiple when they had at best manors made her rather jealous.

The group was lead into the train station. All around her oddly dressed commoners eyed the curious group as some even took out rectangular objects and raised them up for some reason. Luckily the guards hushed them away as Remille had her posh expression while she followed.

As they reached the platforms, the Parpaldians aside from Kaios somewhat gawked at the rows and rows of trains as people boarded, waited, or hopped off the train as all of them had luggages that were finer quality than Remille's. They kept walking before they reached a red, sleek train as Antonio smiled.

"All aboard the Frecciarossa." Antonio said as he hopped on now.

Kaios went wide eyed. "The trains are way different than those from Mu or the Holy Mirishial Empire...!" He said as he gazed at the train.

"Well these trains are under the government's own company, the Trenitalia. Come on, don't be shy." Antonio said with a wide smile.

As the group boarded the train, they were in the carriage with quite a few seats but they looked rather cozy. "This is first class. Go ahead and relax. We'd arrive at Milan in about... one hour and thirty minutes." He said as he set his bag on the overhead compartment before he sat down.

Kaios looked surprised at that number as he sat down. "One hour and thirty? But Milan from what I saw on the map is around 120 kilometres away. It'd take at least a day to traverse that distance." He said as he looked to Antonio.

"Well the train can simply just go that distance in that time. And it'll be a pretty smooth ride. I gotta say that it's one of our country's best investments." Antonio said before he pushed a button and reclined the seat.

Kaios blinked, dumbfounded at the thought of going at such high speeds before he copied Antonio's movements and reclined the seat though he'd be embarrassed to admit he flinched at the sudden motion.

Remille meanwhile looked out the window as he watched the people move about. All of them looked healthier and happier than the average Parpaldian. She kept her gaze on them before she looked around from a sudden loud noise.

The train blew its horn and with that they started to move. The Parpaldians were fairly spooked by the sudden motion but Kaios kept calm as he read about these machines before.

As the train departed the station, the Parpaldians naturally looked out the windows by their seats. Kaios gazed at the seaport between the gaps of the buildings as Remille meanwhile observed the structures by the tracks and their designs. Both of them felt envy that Parpaldia wasn't like this city remotely before they got into the tunnel.