Chapter 75 Negotiating The Oni Prince's Release



The situation at the border of the Great Oni Empire was fairly tense at the moment. The Thirteenth Fleet of the Germanic Star-Empire was now holding the Prince of their greatest military ally as a prisoner. After all, he had done the unthinkable and attempted to assassinate an officer of the Germanic Navy. 

To settle this dispute before it worsened relations between their two Empires, the Great Oni Emperor, Kondo Kenji had dispatched his aunt who was the ambassador to the Germanic Star-Empire so that she may settle this matter peacefully. 

It took the woman some time for her personal starship, and her armed escort to reach the area of conflict, but in the end she was permitted to dock aboard the Germanic carrier, where she immediately met with officers in charge of the fleet. 

Kondo Yumi looked quite similar to her great niece, Ayumi. They both had bob cuts, and similar facial features. However, the primary difference between the two of them, were that Yumi had dark hair and eyes, as well as a much more slender build. She was not curvy and voluptuous like her Great Niece, but was instead quite petite. 

However, her beauty was enough to captivate most humanoids, especially those species that were considered by the Germanic Star-Empire to be near-humans, much like the Oni and Light Elves. Surprisingly, the ambassador of the Great Oni Empire did not greet the admiral or his executive officer. Instead, she ran over and hugged Erich while stuffing his head into her modest bust. 

"Oh little Erich, I heard you died, but here you are, alive and well. Leave it to that stupid nephew of mine to sire such a troublesome child. Alright, don't you worry one bit aunty Yumi will settle this matter peacefully so that we can all go back to being friends." 

Upon seeing the Oni beauty practically smother the CAG of his carrier with her modest bosom, Admiral Halvor Kilen realized immediately why the Oni Prince had done something as foolish as pulling his sidearm in an attempt to murder Erich. There was clearly something going on between these two that was most certainly illegal! 

But the Admiral did not immediately speak out against Erich's actions. It was a new administration, one that was more tolerant than the last, and he had been explicitly warned by the supreme leader to give Erich certain liberties that others were not permitted to have. 

Instead, Admiral Kilen deliberately coughed to break up the awkward scene. Which caused Yumi to glower at the man for daring to interrupt her fun. As for Erich, he was trying his damndest to control himself. It had been over three years since he had last had physical relations with a woman. And though Yumi's body might be petite and modest, it was more than enticing enough to compel the man to act in lust. 

Thus, he forced his heart and body to calm itself, as he gently pried himself away from Yumi's grasp, before wearing a strictly professional expression as he addressed the woman by her title and surname. 

"Ambassador Kondo, I do believe you are being a bit inappropriate. Please, we are here to discuss an important political matter..."

Yumi simply pouted, and averted her gaze from Erich, as if she were displeased with how callous he had become, something which she was quick to voice. 

"Hmmm... I see they have thoroughly beaten your free spirit out of you. Such a pity. I had fallen head over heels for that aspect of your personality."

This remark caused Erich to slightly blush, as he averted his eyes, something which immediately caused Yumi to giggle as she prodded his chest, before taunting him with her playful words.

"Look at you, getting so flustered, I was only kidding. Anyway, you are right, it's time to have a serious discussion. Admiral! I would like to see my great nephew before we discuss any further issues!" 

Upon seeing that the mature vixen had finally had enough of her games, Admiral Kilen sighed in relief before doing as commanded. He, along with his executive officer, and Erich, travelled to the brig where the Oni prisoners were currently kept under guard. 

Yumi strolled throughout the ship's interior as if this was one giant game to her. All the while pestering Erich with questions about what he had gone through over the past few years since they had last seen one another, none of which he answered.

It was clear to everyone who witnessed this that the Commander's legendary ability to sway alien women applied to more than just S'aleth. But nobody dared to speak a word of this taboo subject and instead avoided their gazes from the embarrassing scene. 

Eventually the group arrived at the Brig, where the Oni Prince gazed in shock at the appearance of his great aunt, who was so shamelessly clinging to the damned foreigner who had put him in this precarious position to begin with. The man gnashed his teeth as he called out to the woman from within his cell. 

"Aunt Yumi! What are you doing?"

Yumi's joyful expression turned to one of utter disappointment as she approached the cell and gazed upon her great nephew with a look of complete and total pity in her dark eyes, before calling the man out for his unbefitting behavior. 

"Kondo Ryu! Do you have any idea how much trouble and shame you have brought upon our dynasty with your foolish actions? If you weren't stuck in that cell, I would bend you over my knee and spank your bottom until it turned red! Your father and I are incredibly disappointed in you!"

This reaction shocked quite literally everyone who bore witness to it. Everyone had expected Yumi to plead on behalf of her great nephew, and to react in anger at his mistreatment. Instead, she threatened to humiliate him in front of so many people. 

The man's face turned red as he averted his gaze, which only caused Yumi to further snap at him. 

"Oh, is that how you treat your precious aunt? Perhaps I should tell Ayumi just how you have been behaving during your first deployment to an active war zone! You actually dared to pull your sidearm on one of our most important ally's officers? Were you born stupid? Or did you just suddenly become so the moment you stepped foot on this ship? Well, answer me!"

Kondo Ryu did not immediately relent to his scolding, and instead protested his mistreatment with fury in his amber eyes. 

"This is all his fault! He defi-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Yumi's dark eyes cast a murderous gaze upon her great nephew, one that was so frightening that he immediately shut his mouth and recoiled in fear. It was obvious that she was quite perturbed by the fact that the boy continued to openly speak about her personal affairs. Something which she would rather keep private. 

Her following words were once more shocking to everyone who heard them. 

"You can keep this idiot in the brig for the rest of this war, even if it takes us ten years to achieve victory. I do not care! The damn fool has long since sought to earn honor and glory on the battlefield, and because of this, I see no more fitting punishment than to deny him these things. Although once the fighting stops, we expect our Prince to be returned to us free of harm. As for your other prisoners who partook in this madness, feel free to vent them out the airlock!" 

Nobody could have expected this outcome. Yumi had not only decided to use this incident to teach her great nephew a valuable lesson in obedience, but she had also chosen to permanently silence those men who may have heard too much about her private affairs. 

Something which caused Admiral Ogami Nobuhisa and Commander Goto Akinori to plead for their lives. 

"Your majesty! Surely this little dispute has not earned us a death sentence. I beg of you to forgive us for our sins. We swear not to speak a word of what happened here until the day we die!"

However, Yumi was not buying their little act, and instead she snubbed them with a simple turn of the cheek. After that, her chilling expression immediately shifted to one of joy, as she grabbed hold of Erich's hand, and immediately begged the man for some time alone together. 

"Erich, now that this nasty business is over with, how about you and I head to the mess hall and have a drink together? I am sure you have all kinds of things to tell me about! Including how you survived the war with Terminus!"

Yumi did not wait for an answer, and instead dragged the young man off, while everyone else who bore witness to this scene just stared with their mouths agape. They had no idea what had just happened, or why. But, since a representative of the Great Oni Empire had given them permission to continue holding their prisoners, and to even execute a few, the Germanic Star-Empire would not disobey. 

Thus, the Crown Prince of the Great Oni Empire would continue to rot away in the brig, while his compatriots were vented out of an airlock. He would be forced to watch, and wait, as Erich proved himself an Ace of Aces during the war with the Lutharian Ascendancy, while he himself was stuck in jail.