Fates Parallel Chapter 415 - Independence (Patreon)

Subduing Yuan Xing was simple enough. He was still confused, but he could tell that Yoshika was xiantian and that was enough to cow him, for the time being. That was a mess she’d have to clean up later.

She had quite a few such messes to clean up. There were still demons roaming the academy, and Yoshika wasn’t comfortable with either releasing or exterminating them—a complicated issue. Several had already been slain after attacking her allies.

In the meantime, however, she redirected her attention to the formation circle, startled to find yet another unexpected guest.

Do Hye smiled wryly at High Magus Hwang Sung, his long-time rival, standing in the center of the teleportation circle.

“What a pleasant surprise. I don’t suppose you’re here to reminisce about old times?”

Magus Hwang responded by casting a sealing spell, snapping a cage of force around Do Hye.

“Try to cast a spell and that cage will shred you to mince. You’ve been outmaneuvered at last, you old snake.”

Do Hye chuckled.

“So it would seem, but you’re just the piece that captured me. I wonder...who’s the player behind the move?”

His eyes drifted towards Dae, who averted his gaze. Hwang Sung shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter. Your schemes end here—and Miss Yoshika, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to hand over the Sovereign’s Tear and submit yourself to my custody. You’re not accused of anything, but you are an important witness to Do Hye’s crimes.”

Dae’s head whipped around to shoot Hwang Sung a betrayed look.

“That’s not what we agreed on!”

The owly old mage sighed and shook his head.

“I know, Magus Hyeong, and I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you everything—you’re too involved.”

Yoshika pursed her lips. Headaches on headaches. She didn’t blame Dae—she only wished he had told her his plans sooner. She might have been able to help him.

“Magus Hwang Sung, you’re one of my respected masters and I wouldn’t be here without you, but I can’t comply with your request. Do what you like with Do Hye, but the Tear and I are remaining right here.”

“Yoshika, dear, surely you knew that you would need to relinquish the artifact once you recovered it? As a citizen of Goryeo—”

“I renounce my citizenship. Everyone keeps saying that, but surely you realize how much it would destabilize the continent for one of the three great nations to hold the artifact? This coalition has proven that peace is possible, and I worked too hard on it to throw that away now.”

Hwang Sung’s hair feathers puffed out a bit as he smiled at her sadly.

“You’ve always been bright young women, but you have a habit of biting off more than you can chew. This doesn’t need to concern you, girls. You’ve grown beyond even my most wild expectations, and you can be proud of that without trying to bear the world on your shoulders. I know that our nation hasn’t always been the kindest to you two, but you should think of your families.”

Yoshika narrowed her eyes.

“Are you threatening me?”

He waved his hands urgently and shook his head.

“No! No, no, I didn’t mean it like that! My apologies! I only mean that defecting would mean abandoning them.”

“Defecting? I have no intention of doing that either. Joining Yamato or Qin would have the same problem. No, I’m going to remain neutral and independent.”

Hwang Sung raised an eyebrow curiously.

“That’s an interesting idea, but I don’t see how you’re going to accomplish it. Do you plan on becoming hermits, or traveling across the sea?”

“Tempting, but no. We’ll stay here. It’s already neutral ground, legally recognized by all three great nations.”

He stroked his chin, frowning.

“You’re talking about the Special Extranational Territory of Geumji. A clever idea, but—”

“The paperwork is already done.”

Hwang Sung blinked at Dae’s interruption, and Dae took advantage of his surprise to continue.

“‘Provisions for the Reinstatement of the Grand Academy of Spiritual, Martial, and Arcane Arts.’ A proposal which I drafted together with Tae In-Su and Hayakawa Kaede, stating that should the academy grounds be reclaimed from the demons, Goryeo will immediately recognize its reinstatement. The proposal was granted by Queen Seong Eunhee before we left, provisional upon the agreement being ratified by appropriate representatives from Yamato and Qin.”

“I see...and I assume that Miss Hayakawa has already signed it. That still leaves Qin, does it not?”

Xin Wei cleared his throat.

“Ah, the empire’s stance on the Extranational Territory is somewhat complex. Legally, it is essentially treated as an independent sect. Qin Zhao was originally the official sponsor of the sect, but in his absence any representative of either the imperial family or a great sect may sponsor it instead.”

Yue smirked.

“I’ll do it. As the scion of Yan, I proclaim that the Great Awakening Dragon Sect officially recognizes the reinstatement of the Grand Academy. I also appoint myself as the sect’s sponsor.”

Do Hye let out a sharp bark of laughter.

“Oho! This is fun! What a privilege it is to witness all this. Seems like I’m not the only one in checkmate, old friend.”

Hwang Sung shot him an irritated glare before sighing.

“That’s all very well and good, but it doesn’t change anything. I respect what you are trying to do, but if you force my hand I’ll have to capture you for treason. Even if this is neutral ground, I’m compelled to act on behalf of the Goryeon state as the academy’s designated representative.”

Dae shook his head.

“Actually, you’re not. The provisions indicate that new deans should be appointed upon re-establishment. Goryeo’s appointment is Hyeong Daesung—that is, me—while Yamato offers Hayakawa Kaede. As for Qin...”

Yue raised her hand.

“That would be me, again. Feel free to add that to your paperwork.”

Magus Hwang Sung frowned.

“Look, I consider you all to be my valued pupils, but I truly don’t have a choice in all of this. If I could leave you all to your own devices to play whatever strange game this is, I would. I’d advise you strongly against it, but it is your decision to make. My hands are tied, however—I have strict orders to recover Do Hye and the Sovereign’s Tear if possible.”

Going against Hwang Sung was the last thing Yoshika wanted, but it didn’t surprise her that Queen Eunhee was playing two hands. It was a bit early, but Dae and Kaede’s plan would have to move forward immediately if she was going to have any hope of avoiding further conflict.

“Dae, is there any formality I’m forgetting about that would prevent us from just doing it now?”

He blinked.

“Er, I’m not sure what you...oh! Uh, we need all three deans present as well as third party witnesses from each nation. Magus Hwang represents Goryeo, but we’re missing Lady Hayakawa and the other witnesses.”

Do Hye grinned widely, but said nothing while Magus Hwang scratched anxiously at the feathers in his hair.

“I don’t like the sound of this at all. There are only a few things you could possibly require such an assembly for, and none of them are good. Once again, as your mentor I am begging you all to reconsider whatever you’re about to do.”

Yoshika ignored her former teacher’s plea. She felt bad for him, to be torn between obligations as he was, but it didn’t change what she needed to do.

She tapped into the base of Dae’s teleportation circle, drawing on her connections with Kaede’s body to bring it through. Though she could have used an avatar, it felt more honest to present her actual flesh and blood body.

Kaede met Magus Hwang’s eyes and bowed.

“It’s good to see you again, Magus. I apologize for the circumstances.”

He sighed.

“I don’t suppose you’re here to talk sense into your peers? No, no—don’t answer. This was your idea from the beginning, wasn’t it?”

She nodded.

“Lee Jia and An Eui are genius cultivators and natural leaders, but they lack foresight. From the very moment they first described their plight, I had some idea of what their future would have in store, and I recognized that the world would have no place for them at the end of their quest.”

It felt weird to praise herself like that, but they were Kaede’s honest thoughts—Yoshika was just giving them a voice.

“As a friend, it didn’t feel right to leave that problem unaddressed. I’ve been taking steps towards this—or something akin to it—ever since. Xin Wei, can you bear witness on behalf of the empire?”

“Sun Quan or my mother would be better, but I’ll do my best in their absence.”

“Good, then that only leaves Yamato.”

At that moment, Eui arrived with Master Ienaga Yumi in tow. Ienaga had a stern expression on her face.

“I’ll bear witness, but I don’t disagree with Magus Hwang. If this is what I think it is, you have no idea what you’re getting into.”

Kaede bowed respectfully.

“Thank you for your counsel, master, but this is something I have to see through.”

Dae cleared his throat, trying in vain to hide his anxiety.

“This is it then, everyone necessary is present. I hereby propose that the academy grant special administrative privilege to a single designated representative, and nominate Lee Jia as that representative.”

Kaede raised her hand.

“Seconded.”

Hwang Sung’s eyes widened.

“Oh no. No, this is much worse than I thought—you’re making a terrible mistake—”

Do Hye cackled in this cage of magic.

“Let them be, you old spoilsport! What’s the point of youth if not to spend it making absurd, terrible decisions, eh?”

Yue ignored the old mages and raised her own hand.

“Agreed. By unanimous decision, Lee Jia is now the head administrator of The Grand Academy of Spiritual, Martial, and Arcane Arts.”

Meili took a deep breath. There would be no turning back after this.

“With the broad executive privilege granted by my new position, I hereby declare the Special Extranational Territory of Geumji to be an independent, self-governed state, no longer affiliated with any of its patrons. Do any deans wish to veto my decision?”

Yue shrugged.

“Pretty sure that Qin is still just going to count you as a sect, but I have no objections.”

Dae and Kaede both nodded in agreement—it was their idea, after all.

“No objections.”

“Nor I.”

Hwang Sung buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

“Oh, girls...what have you done?”

Kaede crossed her arms and gave him a challenging glare.

“We’ve created a new sovereign nation. Would you like to arrest our head of state? We’ll consider it an act of war.”

“An act of war against a nation with no territory, no people, no real government to speak of—nothing. Your threats ring hollow, Lady Hayakawa.”

“And? I ask again, do you intend to unilaterally bring Goryeo into a war against another nation? Do you have the authority to do so?”

He groaned and rubbed his temple.

“Unbelievable. Do you have any idea how lucky you had to be for all of this to work? To assemble the legal framework, gather the right people together at just the right moment, for it to have been me of all people to make this decision? Most of my colleagues would call your bluff without hesitation.”

Dae chuckled.

“I had hoped for more time to prepare, but Yoshika has a way of creating opportunities at inopportune moments.”

“Very well, I suppose you win. I’ll take my captive with me back to Goryeo and consult the queen for further orders. I hope you understand that the consequences of this are going to be dire to say the least. Merely being branded as traitors is among the best outcomes you can hope for.”

Yoshika bowed.

“I understand. We will just have to deal with those problems as they arise. I pray that this incident doesn’t tarnish our relationship too badly—I still hold you in high esteem as one of my original masters.”

“We’ll see. Good luck, girls. I always saw great potential in you, and I pray now more than ever that I wasn’t mistaken.”