OOO

"It is often the small steps, Not the giant leaps, That brings the most lasting change" - HRM Queen Elizabeth II

OOO

(Masamune Pov)

Hm? That feeling again..., Eh whatever I  will think about it later, for now, I must finish this important task... Of brushing my and my sister's teeth.

For some odd reason, my sister is lazy most of the time and doesn't want to do anything other than play games with me, she reluctantly eats as she needs to have enough energy to play with me.

But she refuses to do everything else like her hygiene routine unless I help her do it and by that, she means she must be spoiled by me... Oh well, not like I mind except for the more not-so-safe routines.

Thankfully she at least understands and lets a maid or our aunt if she is available to take care of those... Let's say cleansing routines.

We need to prepare today more thoroughly as we will be attending the world chess tournament in a few days, which is taking place in Europe, it intrigued me deeply they still run these world tournaments even in this timeline, it seems... Odd

<<?>>> S.S. felt confused by my inner thoughts but she understands what I mean, probably, she is very smart after all.

The tournaments are probably more of an entertainment show than anything in this boring timeline but it will do, for our grand debut, it would cause more eyes to pry upon us, but nothing more unless I show more than I should.

It would be interesting...Tournament to say the least...

After some time, we left the washroom connecting to our room, I could see a well-organized room, a large comfortable sky blue bed to my left, to my right, and all sorts of gaming consoles of different periods, they don't have full access to the internet though, only the game Libraries.

Even a pad shelf that had pads of different books, etc information related to many things in this world, and two sets of still brand new highest graded PC  in the middle in a gaming style set up, we got that when we turned five years old couple of months ago, although mostly only I use it for now.

This is usually where I and my sister hang out, the room is still very spacious though, mostly because I haven't started hoarding many of the techs available in this world, but it will soon be filled, that I am sure of.

Shaking my head, we went outside the room, into the large corridor, our mansion is a mixture of tech and 21st-century mansions, as architectural designs from the old centuries are more famous and considered as prestige in this century, more as a memory of the olden days when everything was so blissful and less polluted.

We walked to the dining room, and afterward, we had a peaceful breakfast as mom fed me and my sister what she has cooked, surprisingly they have improved a lot, they can now make a lot of different dishes, I even gave them modified versions of my recipes as there were ingredients that weren't available anymore, at least the organic ones.

Soon we were ready to go out, I wore a black shirt with grey pants befitting my scarlet eyes, and my sister wore a dark purple dress that went up to her knees.

We went outside the mansion where our hover car was waiting surrounded by other military-grade combat vessels, it was different than the usual ones I used to go to work, as we were traveling quite far today.

Soon we entered the car after they made sure everything is secure and it started driving pretty fast, it still did take some time to reach the station, but we eventually reached it.

They utilized a technology called the maglev train or mega train, which in simple terms levitates the train and moves it forward at an extremely fast speed that reaches 400 miles (700 kilometers) per hour at normal speed through a big tunnel connecting the arcologies.

It is estimated to take around 16 hours to reach England, where the main arcology of Europe is located, it's a pretty cool piece of tech they got, almost makes me wanna dismantle it to see how different they are compared to mine, but alas probably another time  

We quickly moved inside the station and it was almost breathtaking, small clean droids were everywhere doing their job, and the place was pretty active as people left and entered the many mega trains there.

Some were empty indicating it has already left this station, they were much bigger than the traditional bullet trains, yet still fast, Bullet trains are still used but mostly in many of the dome cities surrounding an arcology mostly to travel in-between domes or for work.

Soon we were politely directed to one of the more luxurious mega trains, it had a refined build, stainless glass windows, and looked more techy than the ones outside.

This section of the station was pretty empty, we then entered our designated mega train, insides it felt more like a cruise ship than anything, the corridors were wider and had more room to spare.

We each picked a different room as mom told us to freshen up a bit and then return to the large lounge area, I chuckled as I entered my room with shouri following behind and just claiming the first bed as hers, I guess she is exhausted even without doing anything.

A chuckle escaped my mouth, as I sat on the other bed and started taking out our pads so we can play some games, which seems to almost at lightning speed wake her up and fill her with energy as I asked "Not so tired now?" with a teasing tone.

She didn't care and moved directly to the top section of her bed and crossed her eyes I sighed as I moved next to her and opened a chess game, she started playing a match with me, and we took our time when

<<< Pardon my ignorance, I still couldn't comprehend, why you must participate in this tournament and potentially risk exposing yourself to your enemies >>>S.S confusedly asked me, I chuckled at that, but I could see My sweet little make a confused face as well.

She can now listen to our conversation via the soul corridor whenever she wants, mostly because she is bored and wants to know what her dear big brother is up to.

I started another game of chess after a draw screen appeared on the pad.

< Oh my Sweet little summer child, we are already exposed to our enemies, so anything we do will inevitably be told to them, they have managed to plant a spy deeper than before because we have tickled Their beards.> I told them both with a hint of humor not that they will ever appreciate my jokes.

Tsk wasted effort considering they ignored it.

 I tried to bait shouri with a pawn.

<<< But that still wouldn't explain your movement, wouldn't it be more logical to stay hidden and not do something so eye-catching>>> S.S asked more so she could learn and improve herself.

Shouri presumes to fall for it but I do know it's not the case.

< Why do you think, japan's conglomerate managed to capture most of Asia as their territory and represents the Asia conglomerate instead of the big panda called China?> So I asked her, as I ignored that pawn shouri moved to get and focused on another piece.

<<< From my analysis, it would be because China's conglomerate was more busy trying to subdue the ever-expanding new Russian polar bear as they try to come up with a middle ground of sorts to avoid a war between fellow bear family>>> S.S stated with an attempt at humor.

As shouri focused to stop me from the left side of the board while I tried to take control of the flow of the game, I knew S.S wasn't done so I waited.

 <<< It left Asia's market open for grab, however, there was also the issue of the middle east at the time so the conglomerates were busier with those, but it still shows an abnormality as India's conglomerate would have been an obstacle against Japan's influence>>> S.S finished stating.

Shouri was so focused on listening to us and the game, she instinctively  forgot about that pawn.

< Indeed, India's conglomerate was struggling at the time to remain neutral as they already have a pretty solid grasp around their area, but they had to pick sides soon so Japan's conglomerate utilized that fact along with their country's image and reputation at the time  to economically and culturally propose an alliance to remain neutral as long as more trading was done> I said and then continued without waiting for a reply.

< Which India accepted gladly, as they assumed instinctively Japan's conglomerate at the time didn't have any grand ambitions, Do you know what's fearsome about Japanese people? They have a lot of patience, they are humble and appear polite yet their past truly shows what they feel deeply> I told S.S as the game would soon reach climax for this chess game.

<So Japan's conglomerate patiently waited, slowly accumulating economic power... Until they invented the Neuronal Nano-interface for the military in 2079..., at first they didn't realize it, at most, it made them the industry leader in medicine... Since it was expensive to maintain it... until their CEO suggested it could be utilized commercially similar to how the internet started, that ignited a flame of ambition within them as they quickly managed to launch commercially in mere seven years>.

< It caused a rapid development phase in many industries causing Japan's conglomerate position to solidify but even that didn't make them the top, that was until five years later in 2095, the first DMMO Rpg was released, Asia's market quickly was absorbed by them before the conglomerates could react, thus they quietly but quickly managed to take it over> I said and waited patiently

So S.S could process it and come up with the conclusion I hope she would come across and thankfully she didn't disappoint.

<<< I see, what you are trying to imply here is, it would cause the other conglomerates to focus on Japan's conglomerate due to your nationality, considering how the corporations here secretly back each other up against all foreign corporations to eliminate competition since they first started>>>

<<< They would instinctively feel uneasy and want to team up against Japan, thus effectively removing their focus on us, Truly your cunningness is unmatched, Masa-sama >>> S.S answered with what I could feel a sense of pride and respect towards me.

< Well you are correct in assuming that, so good done, but it's more complicated>  I praised her as I won utilized that pawn from the beginning promoted it to a horse, and caused shouri to lose.

<<<?>>> I knew she was confused due to the last remark but if I told her the complete answer she wouldn't improve fast enough to keep up with me...

< Just continue to observe and learn, you still have a lot of time to grow and you will soon find out anyways> I replied as I threw the pad near me as smiled while staring at the ceiling.

I was genuinely happy S.S Finally at least somewhat managed to deduct that, It means she has improved and so has shouri, considering she is making a face that indicates she is pondering over it, well mostly due to the chess game, as she understands better if I explain it using games.

Soon it was already afternoon, I heard a knock and then our aunt's voice to come outside for lunch, so I woke shouri up as we freshened up and went to eat lunch in the large lounge area along with our aunt.

"Masa-chan~, Shouri-chan~, you are finally here~ I missed you dearly, why didn't you come outside earlier?" Mom asked while taking us into a hug.

"Shouri wanted to sleep, so I stayed behind to protect her from danger!" I proudly claimed childishly.

"Ara~ taking care of your sister~ Then who will take care of me and your aunt~ then will you leave us?" Mom asked me in a teasing tone and with pretend sadness at the end.

"I will take care of you all, you are my lovely family after all!" I replied with a proud smile without shame, I have grown used to her teases, especially after that bath incident.

"Ara~ my Masa-chan has already grown up," Mom said as she patted my head.

After messing around more, soon the food was delivered, our food preferences were already informed to the chef so we didn't need to worry, we all decided to have ramen for lunch.

I ate my Shio ramen with a red crab, the broth was just the right amount of salty, the noodles were thin but chewy, and I was easily able to eat it with my chopsticks.

Although I did have difficulty with the crab, thankfully aunt helped me remove the shells, although people might find it weird, I like eating the shells as well but dipping them in the broth, just adds another flavor to it.

Shouri ate udon ramen in miso broth, although I think she didn't like it considering she stopped eating it after a single bite, sigh why even order it then... Oh well, we can finish it ourselves, We also had some side dishes such as egg rolls, fried rice, shrimp fried rice, and chicken dumplings, so it wasn't like she didn't have anything to eat.

Mom ordered a traditional Shoyu Ramen which was made in savory soy sauce-based clear broth, classic toppings like chicken chashu, seasoned bamboo shoots, and a half-boiled seasoned egg. I think she saw how I was almost drooling as she offered some from her, which I shamelessly accepted.

Aunt went for a more simple ramen with nothing much to add to it, saying it's not good to eat heavy food while traveling even though this mega train feels like it isn't moving at all, but S.S already confirmed to me, we are, she also checked the rooms around us and said nobody suspicious is here.

Which is good, fewer things to worry about, soon after eating, I rested for some hours with my family in the long area, then explored the mega train just to be sure nothing fishy is going on here, which thankfully there wasn't, only saw our bodyguards.

We quickly returned to our room and after playing for some hours we went to sleep.

A new day arrived and I followed the usual morning routine with my sister, we spend the day until evening either chatting or playing games.

I browsed the news, especially the Europe section to see if anything abnormal happened, but everything was normal, only news related to, etc things and laws and especially the world chess tournament.

Soon when evening was near, they informed us we will be arriving in England it was announced we have arrived.

We walked out of the mega train, and I saw how drastically different it looked from Japan's station, I took a deep breath and let it out as I mumbled "So the game called life thus begins..." with a smile on my face, that only shouri and my family heard it, but they understood what I meant.

I walked forward while putting my hands in my pocket until I heard "Masa-sama, that's the wrong direction..." Aunt said it as low as possible to not embarrass me.

I simply coughed and made an excuse saying "I wanted to explore this new place" as I didn't wanna state my actual reasons.

"We can do that tomorrow masa-chan~, for now, we need to rest, so let's go to our resident here" Thankfully Mom didn't question it and went with it even though Aunt suspiciously looked at me which I avoided, she is starting to notice what I do... And my plans...

OOO

Word count: 2686

Hmmm I could have done better but oh well, I need to fix my writing schedule, also since we are close to 500 cols on my fanfic,expect two chapters tomorrow

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