AUGUST 20

My God, I can't believe that helping the needy would get me so much extra work. By now it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon, normally by this time I would be at my coffee shop, but instead, I was stuck here in my home office with a table full of documents everywhere, and worse, more were piling up. Right now only Tifa was keeping me company, trying to help me by sorting through the documents and attending to the minor ones. Normally that would be a job I would leave to Wilson, but right now there was a huge shortage of personnel in Tokyo, as most of them were still in Okinawa helping with repairs and shelters. I also tried to stay and help as much as possible, but with the attack of the Imperial fleet, my workload was multiplied by 5. Near me, there was a TV on, as it was good for me to keep up with the news.

"Several protesters have taken to the streets throughout the cities of Europe"

"Most of them, the activists, are protesting along several I.S.C. headquarters with demonstrations and blocking the access to the entrance since yesterday, Mr. Damien Raven, president of the company, announced a billionaire investment to help the reconstruction of the Okinawa region after it was destroyed by the earthquake."

"Mr. Damien called this a humanitarian aid for the people who lost everything."

"The same words that have annoyed these protesters, who dismissed Mr. Damien's words as all hypocrisy"

"According to them, Mr. Damien Raven, as president of I.S.C., one of the companies that supplied the Alliance with the most weapons during the Continental War, is largely responsible for the destruction made by the Alliance"

"The protesters indicate that before helping the people of a country outside the conflict, they should instead help the territories that have been affected by their war products such as the missiles used by the air forces of several Alliance countries"

"I have finished with the documents regarding the requests for basic supplies"

"The Akasaka Press Center base will run out of food in the warehouse, but I am sure the soldiers will be able to buy their food in the surrounding area until they send us more"

"I don't think anyone will complain when we send all that to Okinawa"

"Thank you very much, Tifa"

"Do you think you can help me with these accounting balances?"

"Just add up everything that is on each sheet and check that the number is less than what is written in the green folder"

"Just let me know if anything is over budget"

"Okay, I'm on it"

"And Mr. Damien has also given a lot to talk about this week because as if he wanted to give more reasons to the protesters, he has held a press conference to announce the newest product of his company, which aims to revolutionize the exercises and take them to the war field of the future"

"Like something out of a video game, I.S.C. has just unveiled the HIMAS-WX1"

"A combat robot about 10 meters high and weighing only 30 tons unarmed"

"Although it is only a prototype at the moment, the robot, which will be used by a human operator at all times, is capable of walking up to 10 kilometers per hour, much more than a human at a regular pace, and of running up to 20 kilometers per hour, a little more than the average human"

"In the words of Mr. Damien himself, this "Walker" as he refers to the biped robot will be vital in operations in quite irregular terrain and difficult to access by conventional means to the armored divisions of a regular army, giving extra firepower in places like the interior of cities or swampy places or in the mountains"

"But it has not only been satisfied with this but has also committed to a price of easy access for security forces, as well as a long-term commitment to further develop and improve the "Walker" project to its full potential"

"And following the topic, the reactions have not been long in coming from several professionals who indicate that the project is doomed to failure and as a waste of money"

"Nor the Internet community have not been slow to comment on the announcement with their usual humor"

"Images of the HIMAS-WX1 are already circulating on the web, calling it a rip-off of a "Metal Gear" design"

"Most of the images even include it with the words "a weapon to surpass metal gear" as a mockery of the design that Mr. Damien chose for the robot"

[https://i.imgur.com/sHk9VxU.png]

That's funny, Cesar had also mentioned that the robots that he drove in the war against the dragons were called Walkers too, although by the stories he mentions, the ones he used must have been much more advanced than this "HIMAS" because it seems that this one has a little trouble walking while Cesar mentions how the one he used could fly, had hands and could move freely as the human body extension, so how long will it take to develop it to that level?

The news continued with the sports section but I didn't care about that so I turned off the TV to concentrate better on my work. And this time I had enough to do. From making the initial plan for the repair of the Okinawa base to various politicians looking for new information about what happened. And this time the governments are nervous about what happened, because everyone thought, including me, that with the end of the continental war, peace would return, but then came the attack on New York, which we thought it was only an isolated force that attacked that day. But now the attack of the Imperial fleet on Okinawa made one thing clear, these remnants of the Empire were very well equipped, and what was worse, with the possibility of attacking any of the land without being detected, because it was impossible for them to sail from the other side of the planet to reach the seas of Asia, one of the most guarded, without anyone noticing.

The message is clear, no one is safe, it will only be a matter of time before they attack another place, but we have no way of knowing until it is too late. The attack on New York was quite clear what their target was, the United Nations, but no one could answer why they attacked Okinawa, a place of no value to the empire and had been damaged by an earthquake a couple of days before, it made no sense. The only common denominator in both events is that I happened to be in the places, but in both cases, it was something I decided to do unexpectedly at the last minute, attacks like these at least require days of planning. The other was Carrier Strike Group 5, which was returning to port on the day of the New York attack, and providing humanitarian aid in Okinawa after returning from Hawaii.

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The situation is becoming very worrying for everyone. So much so that the Alliance governments are preparing to meet to discuss the problem of the Empire's missing army which is now the most wanted terrorist group on the planet. They plan to hold a meeting in the allied nation of South Korea, in Seoul, to also pay respects to the lost sailors of the missing Korean naval fleet, which seems to have been the first to confront the Empire while on their way to Okinawa to help in the earthquake rescue efforts, no survivors have been found so far.

The meeting looks like it will take place in several weeks, so I will have time to catch up with my work and Cesar to rest from his last battle.

And the poor guy needed it, because he had certainly tried hard to help as much as he could. But despite the insanity of going so far as to hijack an enemy aircraft carrier, his efforts were to no avail, for after searching the ship from top to bottom, no strange artifact was found on the mysterious machine used by the Empire to transport itself. It is their best kept secret and they protect it. At the moment we know it exists but because the angels have several to move between places, but we have no proof to show others that it really exists.

"Mrs. Adelis, it is already 9:00 p.m."

"We should stop and rest a little"

"It is not healthy to be working all day long without stopping."

"Today Momo cooked Curry for all of us."

"Dinner is already served downstairs" said the little fairy flying close to my face.

I"t's already so late?"

"Hell, time flies when you don't want to waste it"

"All right, let me just get this cleaned up a little bit and I'll be right down"

"Besides, I've already told you to be less formal"

"A simple Mom is enough"

"Sorry, sorry"

"I forget to check in from time to time"

"I'm just not used to calling someone else Mom other than my parents"

"I feel it's very disrespectful to someone."

"Oh come on, I've already told you that it doesn't bother me in the least."

"I really want you to call me that"

"...."

"...."

"And you talk about respect, yet you keep calling Cesar as Darling like everyone else"

"Well...that....those...those are different things!"

"Well, you don't have to be so embarrassed either."

"You just want to be affectionate with him, don't you?"

"After all, you're a nice couple, so there's nothing wrong with wanting to show love"

"...."

"Speaking of which, how are things between you two?"

"Have you made any progress?"

"Progress? like what?"

"I'm not good for things like that, I'm too small for him"

"We can't hold hands like the others, but he lets me sit on his shoulder close to his cheek"

"The other day at night it was getting pretty cold but he took me and put me between his clothes and boobs when he lay down to sleep"

"It was quite comfortable but I was afraid he would forget I was there, start sleeping on his stomach and crush me"

"Ah! and the other day he took me out to buy me more doll clothes"

"I really don't think we are a good couple, I'm too small for him, next to him I'm insignificant"

"Damn Tifa, you're small but you're a natural killer"

"???"

"Why? Is that weird?"

"He was just doing that because he can't do a lot of things with me"

"I can't keep up with his expectations for a girlfriend or his strength"

"I'm just too small, I'm sure I just arouse in him the feeling that I should always be protected right?"

"On the contrary, I think you are abusing it and using it as an advantage"

"In what way?"

"Well, it's true that you make everyone want to protect you, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"Why don't you look at it like you are so pretty that Cesar wants nothing to happen to you?"

"Just think about it, if all the girls are in one place with him, who do you think will pay more attention to him?"

"Is Lisa near a sharp or pointed object?"

"No"

"Then I think it would be me"

"Exactly!"

"The first one would make sure you're okay before doing anything else"

"Basically you are constantly in his head."

"That's a big advantage, something that only you have."

"In fact, all you have to do is reward him for his work of protecting you."

"You have a much easier job than the other girls!"

"Do you really believe that?"

"That he is loving me because he has to protect me?"

"No, I got it wrong!"

"It is because he loves you that he is protecting you!"

"The love is already there, you just have to love him back!"

"Make a gesture that tells him that you love him too!"

"What do you mean?"

"There's not much a little fairy like me can do for him"

"Well, how about a bracelet?"

"I've seen in several movies that fairies are pretty good at crafts."

"Why don't you try making one for him?"

"I'm sure because of your size it would be easy to make one."

"I'll buy you the materials myself"

"You could give it to him as a gift when you have your date with him!"

"That would be a great idea!"

"Please help make it happen!"

With a plan in place the two of us went down to the dining room to meet up with the others and have dinner together like we used to do. It was in the middle of the meal that the doorbell rang, Cesar didn't want to answer it in case it was Stella, so this time I went to open the door. On the other side was someone, he seemed to be a messenger, as he came with a letter, and although his uniform was normal, the fact that he was wearing a helmet with wings, as well as his boots was quite strange. He was referred to as Hermes' express messenger, with a letter to deliver for Momo, who was quite surprised and went out to receive it. After the messenger left she opened the letter and read it.

"Oh shit!" said the angel while still holding the letter.

I think it was the first time that I heard the angel curse. And I think I wasn't the only one because everyone was silent and even Lisa stopped eating to pay attention to what had happened.

"It's from my parents!"

"They will be visiting us soon!"