Chapter 48: Silver Soul (Earth Chapter)

Stepping into the conference room, Take Okakura found her seat and sat down, not too far forward, nor too far back—perfectly in the middle. At the main table, she saw the young General Sadate Tokugawa, sitting with dignified authority, his eyes bright and sharp.

Beside the general sat his most trusted confidant, Katsuhiro Matsudaira, the Chief of Police. Unlike the general, the older man slouched, legs crossed, chatting with Isao Kondo, who sat nearby.

Next to them was her recently acquired pen pal—Isaburo Sasaki. As Okakura's gaze settled on Sasaki, he noticed her as well, and a foreboding feeling welled up in her chest. Sure enough, her phone pinged with a mail notification.

"Take-chan, I see you! We’re pretty far apart, what a pity." (Attached: a crying cute animal picture.)
Samuro

How much does this man like sending emails...?

"It is rather far, but that's how the committee arranged it, nothing can be done."
Take Okakura

"Take-chan, your emails don’t sound like those of the younger generation. You write like a serious old man—so strict." (Attached: a picture of someone pulling their eyelid to look serious and cute.)
Samuro

His reply was lightning quick, Okakura thought.

"What are younger people like these days?"
Take Okakura

"They love using emoji to act cute, and their words are sticky and sweet. You don’t give off that vibe at all—not adorable." (Attached: a sulking, pouting little girl.)
Samuro

...Okakura thought, your face is hardly cute, so how can you act adorable so naturally in your emails? In fact, it’s almost disturbingly out of character.

"Sorry, I’ve been away from Earth too long. I don’t really understand the current online communication style of young people."
Take Okakura

Just as Okakura sent her message, the meeting began. Sadate Tokugawa started speaking.

The young general delivered a string of hopeful words, expressing his aspirations for Earth’s bright future. Okakura noticed that the aliens around her listened with cynical smirks.

To them, Earthlings were mere playthings, and talk of the future was laughable.

After Tokugawa’s speech, the real issue was raised: which department would be granted supervision of the Earth’s customs.

The aliens in the audience began aggressively vying for the prize, one by one standing to deliver grandiose, empty speeches, subtly boasting of their planet’s power to intimidate the shogunate.

Okakura noticed that Matsudaira’s sunglasses grew darker and darker; the "Destroyer" must be feeling pressure, having to protect the young general while facing these greedy aliens.

Yet, none of this concerned her.

Her phone chimed again. Who else but the odd Sasaki? She opened the message—of course, it was him.

"Take-chan, watching a bunch of wild beasts fight is really amusing o(n_n)o~."
Samuro

"Mr. Sasaki, emailing during a meeting isn’t very appropriate."
Take Okakura

"It’s fine. You and I are just supporting actors in today’s gathering. No one’s paying attention to us, Take-chan."
Samuro

Just as Okakura was about to reply, she heard someone call her name.

"I propose that the Earth Customs Supervision be handled by the branch of the Universal Police Alliance. Minister Okakura, what do you think?"

Okakura looked over—it was the diplomat from Central Nation Star, a forty-something mudskipper alien named Vika. She’d dealt with him before, but hadn’t expected him to single her out.

She quickly shut her phone and stood. "Thank you, Mr. Vika, for calling on me. Regarding the supervision of Earth’s customs, I believe everyone here shares the responsibility. No matter who is chosen, we must all do our duty. If it falls to me, I’ll do my part as well."

Her words were smooth—essentially, whoever decides, she’ll comply, and if others are chosen, she won’t object.

After speaking, Okakura sat down, noticing Vika’s dissatisfied glance. Why had he singled her out to fight for the customs supervision? With so many “wolves” here vying for meat, she feared she’d end up as the meat herself.

"Take-chan, you got called out! Such presence, unlike me, always warming the bench." (Attached: a forlorn cat.)
Samuro

Does he have a stash of cute pictures just for emails? Okakura wondered.

"Sometimes being unnoticed is a blessing. Besides, being singled out like this isn’t pleasant."
Take Okakura

Seconds later, the reply came.

"Take-chan, don’t you want a bite of that meat?"
Samuro

Seeing the message, Okakura glanced at Sasaki. He gave her a knowing smile.

"I do."
Take Okakura

Of course she wanted the Earth customs supervision. But to receive it now would only mark her as a target.

"Now, let’s begin the vote," announced the meeting host.

Diplomats pressed their choices on their screens. Okakura chose a planet friendly to Earth.

After ten minutes, the host announced the results.

"After tallying, the Universal Police Alliance received sixty-seven votes, Guardian Star fifty-two. The Universal Police Alliance Earth Branch is granted supervision of the Earth customs. Congratulations, Minister Okakura."

Okakura was stunned—how had the vote turned out this way?

"Take-chan, congratulations! You got the big piece of meat."
Samuro

Okakura smiled as she stood, her gaze icy as she watched the insincere applause around her. Perhaps what she’d received wasn’t meat, but poison.

Giving such a prize to a minor figure like her—they wanted her to become a thorn in their side.

If she wasn’t careful, she’d be thrown to the wolves and torn apart. At this thought, Okakura’s smile grew brighter.

The meeting ended. A crowd gathered around Okakura, offering false congratulations. She returned their fake smiles as she dealt with each alien. When she finished, she found Vika waiting nearby.

"Long time no see, Mr. Vika," Okakura greeted.

"Miss Okakura, long time no see. Congratulations on obtaining Earth customs supervision. The prince will be delighted," Vika said with a smile.

Okakura gritted her teeth—the foolish prince was involved in this too?

"The prince hopes that when he visits Earth, his pets can pass through customs smoothly. So please, be accommodating," Vika said.

The weight on Okakura’s shoulders grew heavier. With so many people waiting to make trouble for her, now even her pig-headed superior would meddle. She sighed.

"Mr. Vika, please tell the prince I understand."

Vika smiled, relieved that he’d no longer have to deal with the prince himself.

"Miss Okakura, would you care to join me for dinner?"

"Thank you for your kindness, but perhaps next time."

"Very well, Miss Okakura. I’ll invite you again when you have time."

After bidding Vika farewell, her phone chimed again—another email from Sasaki.

"Take-chan, would you like to dine with an elite tonight? A friendly dinner between pen pals." (Attached: delicious food.)
Samuro

Okakura saw that Sasaki had already left—she didn’t know where. She replied:

"Sorry, I have no appetite for dining with an elite tonight. The meat is so rich it makes me nauseous. I need to digest it on my own."
Take Okakura

The reply came quickly.

"Then next time, Take-chan, you must dine with me! I’ll prepare lots of delicious treats for you." (Attached: starry-eyed cute picture.)
Samuro

"All right, looking forward to your treat next time, Mr. Sasaki."
Take Okakura

After finishing her correspondence with Isaburo Sasaki, Okakura decided to return and check on the three from the Odd Jobs Agency. Osei had been waiting in the parking lot for her. She got into the car and headed toward the Universal Police Alliance branch.

"Minister, I’ve heard the news—our branch has won the Earth customs supervision. That’s wonderful," Osei said.

"This is only the first step, Osei. We’ll be busy from now on," Okakura replied, chin resting in her hand. They’d become targets—the benefits were too great, too conspicuous.

After some time, the car returned to the branch. Okakura got out first and walked inside.

She examined the floor and windows—everything was quite clean. It seemed the Odd Jobs Agency had done a decent job.

"Hurry up! Just a bit more and we’ll have cleaned up this mess you pig made."

Was that Kagura’s voice? Okakura walked over, puzzled.

"Hurry and scrape off that chewing gum you spat out! Littering like this causes trouble for everyone—you don’t even feel ashamed?" Gintoki said, kicking the hefty figure beside him.

Okakura saw clearly—the fat body, pig’s head, and garish floral shirt belonged to the troublemaker from the Logistics Department she’d warned the trio about.

"What are you all doing?" Okakura asked.

"Miss Okakura!" Shinpachi cried, eyes darting away guiltily.

"Take-chan, you’re back!" Kagura waved.

"Ah, um, we’re cleaning up, hahaha," Gintoki said, awkwardly moving his foot off the pig’s rear.

These three fools were troublemakers themselves, Okakura thought helplessly. She crouched beside the pig-headed man and asked, "Bayani, are you alright?"

To her surprise, the once arrogant young master blinked his beady eyes and said,

"Minister Okakura, I used to cause trouble for everyone, but today marks a new beginning. I’ve experienced the joy of labor—please don’t blame Mr. Sakata and his friends."

How did these three manage that? Incredible! It’s true what they say: when the devil meets his match, things get sorted in no time.

"Is that so? Then keep up the good work," Okakura said, her mouth twitching.

"Yes, Minister," Bayani replied, returning to battle with the gum on the floor. Okakura stood and walked over to the three from the Odd Jobs Agency.

"Well done," she said.

The three smiled brightly at her words.

Indeed, even amidst their chaos and noise, being with this group was always joyful. How wonderful.