Itami kneeled on a cushion within the interior of her largest warship. Her long snow white hair flowed behind her back and was styled elegantly. For the sake of this meeting, she had dressed in a blood-red silk saree. As a woman, she enjoyed dressing up for special occasions, especially diplomatic visits, where she often wore the fashion of the culture she was negotiating with.
On a normal day, the young empress would simply tie back her hair into a ponytail and dress in men's clothing. If she was being honest with herself, she simply preferred the practicality of the clothing that the opposite sex wore. It was because of this utilitarian taste that many of the men under her command considered her beauty to be lacking.
It was not that Itami wasn't beautiful when she put no effort into her looks; it was simply that men found her cross-dressing and her lack of cosmetics to be undesirable. After introducing modern makeup to the Japanese Empire, the women of Japan had reached a new level of attractiveness.
Thus, when compared to other pretty women in Japan who always wore makeup and kimonos, she was commonly seen as a second-rate beauty. However, on the rare occasion that Itami actually put effort into her appearance, she rapidly transformed into the most gorgeous woman in the room.
That beauty was once more on full display as she waited patiently for her ship to reach the shores of the Bengal Empire. After all, Itami had found that having a pretty face always led to her negations ending in her favor.
In her experience, Men were foolish creatures, who at the first sight of a pretty face, and a nice pair of tits would make any sacrifice just for a chance to sleep with the woman they belonged to. Luckily for Itami, she was blessed with both assets, making negotiations with foreign rulers an easy endeavor.
Though Itami would never go so far as to seduce a man in order to accomplish her goals, she knew that simply by looking pretty, and acting friendly, most men would instantly become puddy in her hands. After all, what guy didn't like being treated well by a foreign beauty?
Well, any man except for one. It was while she was thinking about how she would manipulate the Bengal Emperor into becoming her puppet that she thought about all the chances she tried to get Julian to notice her in her past life. She honestly never knew if the man was gay, dense, or simply a lolicon.
Scratch that, she knew Julian wasn't gay because she had seen his browsing history while he wasn't paying attention, and whatever pornography he was watching in his spare time always included a woman. When a man lives alone, he doesn't concern himself with using incognito mode or clearing his browser history. That was a lesson she had learned from Julian.
While Itami was thinking about the past, her ship pulled into the docks of the Bengal Empire's largest port city. In this world, Islam had never spread to India or Eastern Asia. As a result, Hinduism and Buddhism were the two most practiced religions on the Indian subcontinent.
When Itami stepped off her vessel and into the city, a man dressed in lavish silk trappings greeted her. He was young, roughly Itami's age, perhaps a year or two older, and was exceptionally handsome, at least by the local standards. He had relatively light skin, dark eyes, and jet black hair which flowed down to his shoulders like a river of ink.
This man was the Bengal Emperor who had recently ascended to the throne after his father died of a heart attack. He took one look at the Japanese Empress and immediately fell head over heels in love with her. He quickly approached the woman and opened his arms in a shameless attempt to get a hug.
"Empress Itami, it is my greatest pleasure to welcome you to my Empire. I see the rumors about your beauty were true, I must say I have never seen such a fine woman in my life before now..."
Itami's interpreter translated the man's words, causing the young empress to force a smile on her cherry lips as she accepted the compliment, but refused the man's hug, instead speaking to him as if he were her peer.
"Emperor Asha Sarkar, I must thank you in advance for your hospitality. As promised, I have brought the goods. Shall we conduct business over lunch? After all, I am dying to taste some of the local cuisine."
The man did not let the fact that Itami kept him at a distance ruin his mood. The fact that she was willing to dine with him so soon after meeting for the first time was a good sign in his eyes. In reality, Itami was simply sick of sea rations and instead wanted to eat something fresh. It helped that she enjoyed Indian food in her past life. Though how many of those distinctive dishes existed in this period, she did not know.
The two of them walked forward with their guards, while Itami's marines secured the items on board the ship. She would not hand over the goods for inspection until they could come to an agreement on the terms of their sale. If Itami was being honest with herself, she was less concerned about making a profit, and more interested in turning the Bengal Army into her proxy against the German Empire in the west.
Asha led Itami into the Palace, where his servants were quick to prepare the meal. Instead of a local delicacy like Itami was expecting, she instead saw a bowl filled with canned soup, imported from the German Empire. Her disappointment was unfathomable as she expressed her discontent with the dish.
"This is what you choose to serve to your guests?"
Asha had already eaten a spoonful of the canned soup with a satisfied smile on his face. When Itami called him out on his actions, he was stunned. In the lands outside the reich, they considered canned food a delicacy that only the nobility could obtain. In fact, even in India, the prestige of German goods had become a status symbol. He could not believe his guest was unhappy with such an expensive meal.
Naturally, Itami was from the 21st century, or at least a reincarnation of such an individual, and because of this, the idea of eating canned food for a diplomatic visit was not only laughable but outright offensive. In her eyes, canned food was something you ate when you were either too lazy to prepare a proper meal, had no skills in cooking whatsoever, or were so poor it was the only thing you could afford. It was definitely not something the wealthy elite dined upon.
Asha gazed upon Itami's stupefied expression, and quickly asked if it was not to her liking, he realized the woman may not have contact with Germany, since her empire was so far away, and believed that the concept of canned food was simply alien to her.
"This soup is made in a foreign land to the far west. It is superb quality, and easy to make. Here in the Bengal Empire we can only get our hands on a limited supply of the stuff, so naturally it has become a popular item among the nobility. Is it not to your liking?"
It took Itami a moment to process the idea that this foreign reincarnator had so much influence on this world that foreign countries treated his canned food, which he undoubtedly used to feed the poor in his country, and as rations for his army, as a supreme delicacy. She could not help but press her forehead into her palm, and sigh before cursing Berengar's name in her native tongue.
Naturally, the Bengal Emperor couldn't understand her, and because of this, Itami used the translator to change her words from a curse to a question.
"I don't mean to offend, but do you mind serving me some fresh food? This just seems so unappealing to me for some reason..."
The Bengal Emperor realized he must have somehow offended the foreign beauty and was quick to yell at his servants to prepare the woman a local delicacy. Upon smelling some proper food being cooked up, Itami once more smiled before immediately questioning the man about what he knew regarding the German Empire and its Kaiser.
"What do you know of this Berengar von Kufstein? I have heard rumors about him, but what I have learned is limited. Since you are clearly engaging in trade with the man, surely you can enlighten me on his personality?"
Naturally, after Berengar had announced to the world that the exiled Anangpur Empire and his sister were under his protection, the various powers of the Indian Subcontinent began to search for information regarding the Kaiser and his capabilities.
With the opening of the Kaiser's Pass, trade had flourished among Germany and India, and because of this, the various Indian states learned quite a bit about life in the Reich. Needless to say, they were shocked when they heard the rumors regarding the fatherland. Thus, Asha was quick to speak about what he had learned. The Bengal Emperor's next words would unwittingly have a major impact on this world's future. One caused simply because of his desire to sleep with Itami.
