Inquisitor's Promise (Act Two, Chapter Twenty-Two)

Aeneas has to keep his promises. His father's mission will be completed. And while he's at it, he will become Galatea's lord and Inquisitor. But love and politics are an explosive combination.

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Chapter Twenty-Two: Saving the Zaibatsu

The arrival of Princess Omaha with her soldiers turned what was already a tense situation even more explosive. Aeneas knew that he had to tread carefully.

“Princess!” Aeneas shouted as authoritatively as he could. At this point, he was now standing up and facing Omaha. Perhaps not the best move, but he had to get her to stand down somehow.

“Out of the way, Sir Aeneas,” Omaha said angrily. “You have no idea what that monster had done.”

“Is that so?” Lavinia chimed in. “Tell us more.”

“Stay out of this, Vinia!” Aeneas barked to his cousin once more.

Aeneas then turned back to Omaha. Inwardly, he said a few words of prayer for the Almighty to get him out of this situation with no bloodshed.

Slowly, Aeneas approached the princess carefully. The Inquisitor was fully aware that some of the Imperial soldiers had their weapons aimed at him. He could only hope that none of them had any itchy trigger fingers. Once he was close enough, he pulled the princess into an embrace. She let him.

The Inquisitor’s gambit seemed to have worked as Omaha had calmed down considerably. Sadness replaced anger as the proud princess was now in tears.

Aeneas then broke off their embrace, much to the consternation of Princess Omaha and the relief of Tsar Nikolai. Regardless, the princess was ready to explain herself.

“Hannegan, my sweet brother. Suffered because of him,” Omaha muttered.

“What do you mean?” Aeneas asked.

“Do you remember my younger brother, Sir Aeneas?” Omaha responded.

“I do,” Aeneas answered. “The special one.”

“He wasn’t always like that,” Omaha explained. “He used to be normal, until he was given a vaccine!”

“Excuse me?” Aeneas gave Omaha a puzzled look.

It was Tsar Nikolai who gave the much-needed clarification. “A poison vaccine, Sir Aeneas. The accursed concoction given to Prince Hannegan was rushed and untested.”

“I see,” Aeneas said. “When you told me on our way here that you have a business to settle. This was it wasn’t it?”

Omaha nodded. “Yes. The vaccine manufacturer was from an Imperial protectorate. But in truth, the supply was received from the Zaibatsu.” She then glared at CEO Honda hatefully. “A clear attempt by the Corporatists to hurt the Imperial Crown!”

But Omaha’s rage was assuaged when she felt the Inquisitor’s comforting hand on her shoulder. Uncharacteristically, the Princess gave the Inquisitor a needy look. Clearly, she was desperate for Aeneas to embrace her once more.

The Inquisitor would have done so, but he caught himself in time. There was a frown on Tsar Nikolai’s bearded face, a sign of jealousy. Once again, Aeneas knew that he had to tread carefully.

Aeneas gently pushed Omaha with his hand that was on her shoulder. It was a subtle move, so subtle that only Nikolai and Omaha noticed it. But the message had been sent. To the Imperial Princess, it was a warning not to take his actions the wrong way; the Inquisitor remained dedicated to his beloved Galatea. To the Tsar of Slavia, it was an assurance; Aeneas had no intention of taking his woman.

Omaha gave Aeneas a disappointed look, but the Inquisitor paid it no mind. He now focused his attention on saving the Zaibatsu from the Imperium.

“Princess,” Aeneas began. “I understand your desire for vengeance. I lost my mother because of a faulty pharmaceutical. Mama was always a sickly one, she could never go outside. When papa heard of a medicine that can heal her condition, he jumped on it. But it ended up giving her cancer, and she died not long after.”

“And this medicine,” Omaha said hesitantly.  It came from…”

“The Zaibatsu, yes.” Aeneas answered.

At this point, all eyes turned to CEO Honda who was even more nervous. “I assure you, Sir Inquisitor. It wasn’t out of malice.”

“Of course not,” Omaha hissed, unimpressed. “You did it for profit. And yet your own employees are so poor that I was able to get up here with my soldiers by simply bribing them!”

“I see, so that’s how she managed to get up here with those soldiers without causing some sort of chaos,” Giulia mused.

At this point, Lavinia spoke up. “Aeneas, this jerk is responsible for killing Uncle Anchises and Aunt Aphrodisia. He must pay!”

“I am aware of that, Vinia,” Aeneas said calmly. “But now we must get to why he did all this.”

“What game are you playing at, Sir Aeneas?” Nikolai asked in suspicion.

“Must be some sort of scheme he had concocted,” Omaha said coolly. At this point, her tears were completely wiped. “Go on, Sir Inquisitor. We await your masterstroke.”

The princess then motioned for her troops to stand down, and the Imperials quickly put away their weapons.

Disaster averted.

Aeneas then turned towards the CEO. “Mr. Honda, you struck me as a good man despite everything. Why then? Why the unethical business practices?”

“Maybe the Cabal made him do it,” Pep offered.

“Don’t be silly,” Giulia said. “That sounds foolish.”

“No, the Lektros is right,” Honda said. “In truth, I signed away the Zaibatsu to the control of Bashan Voronin and his black cat cronies long ago.”

“You signed your whole country away?” Lavinia asked in confusion. “How?”

“Through a contract, of course,” the CEO said nonchalantly. “The black cats gave me billions of florins which I used to build up the lands of the Zaibatsu. In return, they have free reign over a lot of things here.”

“Is that such a bad thing though?” Pep asked.

“Once you let the black cats in, they take over your house,” Honda stated. “As it turned out, that money wasn’t even free but was a loan. And now I’m stuck with them because I couldn’t pay it back! Especially not with its usurious interest rates! Because of my foolishness, the Zaibatsu is in the thralls of the felinids until Kingdom Come.”

Aeneas could see that the CEO was in tears. He felt pity for the man, but he couldn’t stop just yet.

“And why didn’t you tell us? The Church could have helped,” Aeneas asked.

“It was thanks to black cat money that the Zaibatsu and the Corporatists became a major power,” Honda answered. “There’s no way we could’ve come clean without spelling the end of the Zaibatsu.”

“And that’s why you fought back in your own way,” Nikolai stated. “You were hoping for the good Inquisitor to take out Bashan for you while remaining none the wiser.”

The CEO nodded. “Yes. The death of Grand Inquisitor Anchises Aquilanus was the final straw for me. I told Bashan in no uncertain terms that our partnership is over.”

“And that’s when Bashan kidnapped me,” Kunoichi said. “I trusted him.”

“A desperate move, to be sure,” Omaha commented.

“Which one?” Nikolai asked.

“That’s the million-florin question, isn’t it?” Giulia responded.

“It’s over for the Zaibatsu,” Honda whined. “No way we could ever pay off this debt. And now everyone knows of our evil deeds.”

“If you could take everything back, would you have done it?” Aeneas asked.

“Well of course,” Honda answered. “I would like nothing more than to be rid of the black cats and their terrible influence.”

Aeneas grinned; it was now time for him to reveal his trump card. The Inquisitor then took out a letter and put it on the CEO’s desk.

“A letter?” Honda said. He began to read it and his eyes widened. “This is…”

“A statement from the Pope declaring that the predatory contract that you had signed to be null and void. I worked all night to ensure that it arrived at your desk as soon as possible,” Aeneas stated. “Also, a debt jubilee had been declared for all other debts related to your initial contract.”

Honda could scarcely believe what he had just heard. “But that means…”

“It means the black cats have no more power over you, Mr. Honda.” Aeneas smiled. “The Zaibatsu is free.”

“Nothing in the fine print, I assume?” Nikolai said as he narrowed his eyes.

“What do you take me for?” Aeneas asked sarcastically. He then looked around the room. “Any objections from my faction representatives?”

The Inquisitor was asking this question to three women in particular: Lavinia, Giulia, and Omaha. They were not just crewmembers of the Lepanto. They were also faction princesses whose words would have sway over the leaders of the Five Factions.

Giulia was the first to speak up. “None, Captain.”

“No. I trust you, Aeneas,” Lavinia said as she followed suit. In addition, she put away her weapon and returned to where she once was.

Everyone’s attention then turned towards Princess Omaha who was deep in thought. She finally spoke up.

“I have no objections.”

Aeneas grinned. He then turned towards CEO Honda. “I was mistaken. Now, the Zaibatsu is free.”

“You would do this for me, the man responsible for the deaths of your parents?” Honda asked.

“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” Aeneas stated.

“I understand of that reference!” Pep cried out.

“Thank you so much, Sir Inquisitor,” CEO Honda said profusely as he began to take Aeneas’ hand and kissed it.

“Uh, that’s enough,” Aeneas said, feeling awkward.

But Honda was not deterred. For the next few minutes, Aeneas stood still as he was mobbed by an overly grateful CEO and his adopted daughter. But eventually the two stopped.

“I don’t want to break the happy moment,” Pep began. “But you are going to join our cause, right?”

“Oho, that goes without saying,” Honda said. “I pledge the loyalty of the Zaibatsu to the Holy League. May we work together to defeat the Grey Globe and the Cabal.”

“The Cabal?” Aeneas asked.

“Uwee hee yes. It is all well and good to save the world. But we also need to make sure that we have a world that’s worth saving in the first place!” the CEO said.

Aeneas nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“To help you in your mission, I will give you a group of my mercenaries and the finest ninjas of the Zaibatsu. This will include of course…”

“Me,” Kunoichi finished.

“As you might have expected, I have trained my daughter to be a very capable ninja,” Honda said. “I am sure you have seen the results for yourselves.”

“We did,” Aeneas responded. “Welcome to the team, Kunoichi.”

Aeneas extended his hand towards Kunoichi and the two shook hands together. But when Aeneas was about to bring his hand back, Kunoichi refused to let go.

The Inquisitor briefly considered his options. Commanding her to let go would most likely work, but it would come across as rude in front of her father.

But thankfully, the CEO came to the rescue.

“Stop, Kunoichi” Honda said authoritatively. “Remember what I told you about holding a boy’s hand?”

Upon realizing what her father had meant, Kunoichi quickly let go of Aeneas’ hand. Though Kunoichi apologized afterwards, it was an awkward moment for all involved.

Aeneas would like nothing more than to tell Kunoichi about his situation with Lady Galatea. But he did not want to humiliate the poor girl in front of everyone. The Inquisitor’s mind was already at work as he glanced at Shaka who had remained in the background. Aeneas had noticed how the normally stoic pathfinder would show signs of discomfort whenever Kunoichi was acting close with Aeneas, something to keep in mind.

With the situation resolved, Aeneas and his group returned to the lobby of the Zaibatsu’s Headquarters.

“I’m glad things work out just fine. But must you make things more dramatic than it has to be?” Giulia asked, not pleased with how Aeneas had conducted himself. “Someone could have been killed!”

“In my defense,” Aeneas responded. “I didn’t expect Her Highness to barge in with a squad of Imperial soldiers. She really put a spanner in the works.”

“Oh?” Omaha raised her eyes. “I suppose the Inquisitor’s schemes aren’t foolproof after all.”

“No human plan is foolproof, Princess. In anything, they often go awry. You must always be ready with contingencies,” Aeneas said.

Everything was coming together for Aeneas. He had secured the loyalty of four of the five factions to the Holy League. He had also dealt a major blow to the Cabal. With the loss of their second paradise, the dark felinids only had the Azov left.

While the Grey Globe remained to be a threat to Earth as it inched ever closer to Portal Zero, Aeneas couldn’t help but feel optimistic about his chances.

The Inquisitor was filled with anticipation as he contemplated his next stop, San Felipe. Of course, securing the loyalty of the knights was important. But he also couldn’t wait to catch up with his beloved Galatea.

Though they had not seen each other in person since that fateful night at Castle Aquila, the two had been corresponding over the brick. Not only was Galatea now able to walk on her own two legs but she had also been training Sancho Panza to be a proper war wyvern. Based on the videos that Aeneas received, Galatea was not exaggerating when she said that Sancho Panza was one of the strongest wyverns in San Felipe.

The Inquisitor still questioned whether or not it would actually be possible for Galatea to become a true knight. But Aeneas remembered from a conversation with Galatea that her uncle, the Grand Knight of San Felipe himself, had tacitly supported her aspirations to be his knight. Aeneas knew that for someone to be knighted, only another knight or a Bishop of the Church were needed to knight him. Or her in this particular case. Thus, Aeneas knew that Galatea still had a chance as long as her uncle remained supportive of this endeavor.

For the time being, the crew of the Lepanto was still working to get everything ready before they leave for San Felipe. Aeneas was overseeing the Zaibatsu’s soldiers entering the Lepanto when his nav-comm beeped. It was the Lepanto’s ship captain, Mario Riva.

“Lord Inquisitor,” Mario greeted. “We have received an urgent message from the Grand Knight of San Felipe. He said that Lady Galatea had gone missing.”

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