Tyranny Of Steel

Little Kyoto was a small but thriving part of the German capital. Though it was safe, clean, and exotic, it was anything but a paradise. In reality, this small section of town was a glorified internment camp for the Japanese refugees who sought safety within the borders of the Reich.

Despite the fact that all refugees were thoroughly vetted before permitted entry into the German Empire, they lived under constant surveillance by German Intelligence. After all, it was unwise to leave a population which defected from a hostile Empire to themselves. 

In fact, Little Kyoto acted as an experiment in both counter-intelligence and crime prevention. Cameras were around every street corner, which fed their video and audio recordings to a remote viewing station within the headquarters of Imperial Intelligence, where a team of observers kept close watch for any signs of crime or rebellious intent. 

Thus, despite being its own little enclave in a foreign nation, there was not the slightest hint of organized crime developing within Little Kyoto. Despite the fact that the suburb enclave acted as a free range prison, the people who dwelled within were friendly to those Germans who visited for a taste of the exotic. 

Thus, when Berengar and Linde entered the restaurant, all eyes were on the royal couple, as even the most recent asylum seekers were aware of who the Kaiser was. Min-Ah was stunned into silence when she saw Berengar approach her podium. She had completely forgotten to ask about whether her guests had a reservation and instead gawked silently for some time.

This awkward meeting allowed Berengar to activate his eye of Horus and gaze upon the woman’s hidden intentions. A black miasma shrouded the Korean beauty, though it was not thick enough to signify murderous intent. The result was obvious. This woman had come to the Reich with malicious intent. 

Despite the fact that Berengar just confirmed Min-Ah as a hostile agent. It did not show on his face, instead an amused smile formed on the man’s lips as he made a joke to the enemy spy. 

“What is it? Am I so handsome that I stunned you into silence? It happens all the time.”

Linde merely pouted when she heard this and nudged her man in the ribs with her elbow with just enough force to garner his attention. In response to this, Berengar chuckled before addressing Min-Ah once more.

“I have a reservation for two, under the name Berengar.”

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It was only after observing this calm facade that Min-Ah snapped out of her daze and realized that her target had not come to her place of employment in search of her. Instead, he was just looking to take his woman out for a nice meal. 

The Korean Princess was not a trained spy, and because of this, she struggled to do anything other than glare at Berengar with a serious expression on her face. After taking a moment to calm her nerves, she forced a smile before pulling out two menus and leading the couple to their seats.

“Of course, right this way.”

Berengar grabbed hold of Linde’s hand, and led the redheaded beauty to the table, where he pulled out her seat like a proper gentleman. Linde smiled and thanked her man before sitting down. Once she was properly seated, Berengar took his own before looking at the menu. He knew immediately what he wanted to eat. Whereas Linde hadn’t the slightest idea. To her, the entire menu was alien, and she could not easily decipher what it was that she craved. 

After seating Berengar and Linde, Min-Ah bade them farewell and returned to her podium, where she gazed upon the royal couple from the corner of her eyes. Linde immediately noticed this, and then questioned Berengar on what he had seen, despite already being keenly aware of the woman’s intentions after one brief interaction with her.

“So? What did you see?”

Berengar did not lower his menu and continued to eye its contents with a perfect facade of stoicism. He did not reveal the slightest facial expression as he whispered in a voice so low only the two of them could hear it.

“As expected, the woman is a spy, and a rather poor one at that. To send a hostile agent, one that is adept in the art of poisoning into my own hometown. Itami has truly underestimated me. Have the woman arrested and taken to a black site for interrogation. I want to hear everything she knows from her own lips.”

Linde merely smiled and nodded her pretty head before questioning her husband about a matter that was far more important to her. 

“Of course, it won’t be a problem. Now that we have gotten that troublesome business out of the way, I have a far more important question to ask. What the hell am I supposed to eat? I have no idea what any of this means, even if it is translated into our esteemed tongue.”

With a swift move of the hand, Berengar placed his menu down on the table while smirking at the woman. He knew what he wanted and was quick to voice his suggestion.

“For an appetizer we will have Tokoyaki. They’re fried octopus dumplings, and they are incredible. I would order five plates of those damn things and just have that as a meal if I could. However, it’s merely an appetizer, so we will get two orders, one for each of us. As for the entrée, I suggest the pork tonkatsu ramen. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

Though Linde had no idea what Tonkatsu was, and had never tried octoupus before. She smiled and nodded her head, completely trusting her man to select an enjoyable meal for her. Shortly after deciding, the server approached. For the sake of security, Berengar gazed upon the young man with his eye of Horus, and saw a positive aura.

At the very least, there were no hostile intentions in this man’s heart. The man wore a broad smile, and it was not the typical forced smile that one wore in the service industry. Instead, it seemed to have a deep sense of respect.

Whatever the man was thinking, he was a true professional, and did not mention once the fact that he was serving the Kaiser, instead he simply requested the order.

“What shall I get started for the two of you on this fine evening?”

Linde shot Berengar a gaze, implying that she wanted him to order for the two of them, and as a result, the man immediately took charge while he smiled in response to the server’s positive attitude.

“A bottle of your finest sake will do. As for the appetizer, the misses and I would each like an order of the takoyaki. I hear it is the best in town. For the main course, she and I will both have the pork ramen tonkatsu, and if you could add an additional cutlet, and egg into mine, that would be most appreciated.”

The man simply smiled in response as he wrote down the order to perfection on his notepad. After doing so, he asked one more question before departing.

“I assure you that won’t be a problem at all. Will that be all for the night? Or is there something else I can get for you?”

Berengar shook his head with a polite smile on his handsome face before responding to the man in with an equally positive energy.

“That will do for now, whether or not we choose to have desert will depend on how we are feeling after we eat what we have already ordered.”

Upon saying this, Berengar grabbed the two menus and handed them back to the man, who promptly went back to the kitchen to give the cooks their order. He did not mention to the staff that the guests were the kaiser and his wife.

As long as they were unaware of the identities of their guests, there would be no funny business, and as a man who owed his life and that of his family’s to the Kaiser, he would be remiss if he created an opportunity for hostile action against his benefactor. 

While Berengar sat back in his seat with a comfortable expression, he decided to break the silence and posed a question to his favorite wife, one regarding one of her closest subordinates.

“So, now that we have a moment to ourselves, I have a question that’s been lingering in the back of my mind for some time. I just haven’t found the right moment to give voice to it. I’m curious. Did your subordinate Hemma ever find a proper man to marry, or is she still overwhelmed with work?”

Linde wore a mischievous smile as she responded with a whisper in her man’s ear, one that sent chills down his spine. 

“Oh? You’re on a date, alone with me, and you’re thinking of other women? Bold… very bold…” 

When Berengar heard this, he immediately took his statement back. If there was one thing in this entire world he was afraid of, it was getting on Linde’s bad side. He knew the woman well enough that if she were to ever turn against him, it would be his undoing. 

“I’m sorry, that was rather inappropriate of me to ask. I’m just curious, is all. She seems like she is overburdened with the workload you give her.” 

When Berengar said this, the bottle of sake arrived, along with two crystal glasses where the server poured them to the brim before handing them off to his guests. After doing so, he departed, leaving Linde to sip on her rice wine while glaring at her man with a curious glint in her eye. After taking several sips, the woman responded to his question in a mocking tone.

“It’s not like it’s a secret or anything. If you’re that curious, I won’t hide it from you.”

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