Tyranny of Steel

Itami sat within the confines of her personal quarters. On the table was her latest invention, something that was incredibly easy for someone like herself, who majored in mechanical engineering to create. What existed on this paper was none other than a basic combustion engine.

With the light of the divine mirror, not only had Itami received inspiration, but so had the scientists beneath her banner. They were progressing at a rate far quicker than they had previously. Thus, she had decided now was the time to create a combustion engine so that she could advance her military's capabilities.

There was just one problem with this, and that was the fact that she herself was severely lacking in means to power combustion engines. Whether it was oil or diesel, Itami lacked the means to power her newest invention, and this was of considerate concern.

By now, the German Empire had enough bio-diesel to fuel their cars, tanks, IFVs, etc. They had also begun pumping and refining gas to power their aircraft. In this manner, the German Empire was vastly superior to their Japanese counterparts.

Itami was faced with a losing scenario. If she could not get her hands on a region rich in oil and natural gas, she would naturally fall behind the German Empire, and would ultimately fail to compete with them.

Since this had become her reality, Itami needed to advance her plans to seize the Philippines as quickly as possible. In her past life, there were an estimated 4.8 billion barrels of crude oil within the Louisiana Marsh, as well as 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. If she could seize this for herself, she would have no problems powering tanks and aircraft.

The young Japanese Empress had decided to make use of the distraction she had created within the Indian Subcontinent to launch her invasion of the Philippines. Initially, she had desired to coax the local tribes and petty kingdoms into annexation with exceptional gifts, but after word had spread about what Japan had done within Korea, Hokkaido, and the Ryukyu Islands, few were willing to even accept her merchants let alone submit themselves to her.

If not for the fact that the Ming continued to exist as her largest trading partner, the Japanese economy would have tanked by now. Especially since it had become reliant on the export of luxury goods to sustain itself.

Thus, Itami could only sigh as she spent the next six hours drafting an invasion plan for the region that was known in her previous life as the Philippines. After she had finished devising her plans, she sent them to one of her newest generals, a man by the name of Saito Korenari, who she intended to lead the charge against the primitive populace of the isles.

With this order given, and the stamp of her approval. Itami could finally relax as she placed down her pen, and walked towards her bed, where she decided to finish the rest of the sweater that she had knitted for some time.

During days like this, where her brain had trouble recognizing reality for what it is, she liked to close her eyes and fulfill a simple task while daydreaming about a life together with Julian as a couple. The vivid sights in her mind were practically another world that she was living in her own head.

It was only after an hour passed, and the sweater was finished, that a smile formed on the albino woman's beautiful face. She quickly took hold of the finished product and placed it around the body pillow she had made to represent her long deceased love interest.

After adorning the pillow with the sweater, she smiled and hugged it before speaking to the inanimate object as if it were the man himself.

"Do you like my present, Julian? I made it for just for you!"

She could practically hear the man's words in her head and see his smiling face in her eyes as she said this. However, just when she was about to plant a kiss on the pillow, the door to her room opened and her little sister witnessed the scene.

Itami's snow white cheeks flushed red as she halted her actions and stared at her little sister, who had a concerned look on her face. The young woman could not help but question her older sister's sanity at that exact moment.

"Onee-chan... What's going on here?"

An overwhelming sense of humiliation and fury rose in the young Empresses heart as her blood-red eyes pierced into her sister's soul. With a shout that shook the room, she issued a command to the girl.

"Get out!"

Momo could only sigh as she heard this before shutting the door, and leaving her sister alone with her rapidly deteriorating mind. A slight mutter escaped beneath her breath as she voiced her thoughts aloud in a voice so low even she could barely hear it.

"Onee-chan, you really need a man in your life..."

Once Momo had left the room, Itami sat still for several moments, glaring at the pillow which represented her deceased lover. As if she could see a smirk on its non-existent face, she simply pouted before voicing her thoughts aloud.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

After saying this, she struck the pillow with her fist and knocked it over, and in doing so, brought herself back to reality. After taking several moments to recover her state of mind. Itami realized that the boon she had received from the Goddess Inari was actually a curse in its own right. She was wondering if she had become schizophrenic, as this delusion she found herself randomly dwelling in was becoming more and more intense.

It took Itami several moments to fully re-enter the real world, and once she had done so, she climbed to her feet and left the pillow behind. She searched through the halls before she found her sister in the great hall speaking with their mother. However, the two women had yet to spot her presence, and thus she hid herself while listening in on their conversation.

"Okaa-san... Onee-chan is getting worse. I'm really worried about her. What should we do?"

Mibu Saya sighed as he heard her daughter's words and nodded her head. She did not know what was going on with her eldest daughter, but it was something serious. Something that she held no power to aid with. The mature beauty could only respond with her best intentions as she came up with an excuse that would hopefully dispel her youngest daughter's worries.

"Your sister is under a lot of stress right now. After all, she is the Empress of Japan. You don't need to worry too much. I assume what you witnessed was just her coping with things. It's probably nothing serious..."

Though Saya said this, there was a hint of worry in both her tone and expression. Even she was not convinced by her words, let alone Momo. However, this was a primitive world, and the field of psychology was not fully developed. Nor were these two women aware of Itami's grief, so how could they properly understand how she processed it?

Ultimately, they decided to let things be for now, but should things become more serious as time went by, Saya decided that she might have to find a Shinto priest to cure her daughter of whatever demons ailed her.

Itami walked away without saying a word. She knew she was worrying her family with her actions, but there was not much she could do to control these delusions that plagued her mind. In the end, she went to her liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of sake before returning to her room in depression once more.

She had to put the past behind her and focus on the present. What mattered now was invading the Philippines and seizing their natural resources. If she could not manage that, then no matter how hard she fought against Germany when the time came, she would lose miserably.

The idea of admitting defeat made her blood boil, and thus the young woman found herself drowning her incessant rage with copious quantities of alcohol and getting back to work on her ambitions.

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