Another three months had passed since the day that Itami's soldiers had massacred an entire village. An incident which sparked an entire new wave of insurgency to appear within the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula.

Itami, perhaps fearing for her own personal security, had returned to the Japanese mainland, leaving the control of the forces in Korea under the command of her lead General Shiba Kiyohiko. Upon her return to Japan, she had instantly begun developing new technologies to increase her industrial output and her military capabilities.

By securing vast deposits of iron, coal, and other major industrial resources within the Taebaek mountains. Itami had immediately shifted her focus to building a powerful fleet of warships that was capable of contending with the Reich.

Though it would be several years before the first of these steel behemoths could set sail, she felt that these battleships which she modelled after the Nagato-class Dreadnoughts of her past life were more than capable of dealing with anything the Reich had built to conquer the seas, and she was right, assuming she could build enough of them to counter the Kriegsmarine's numbers.

She also began the production of Momi-class destroyers, Kongo-class Battlecruisers, and Kaich VI (Ro-33 class) submarines. Just how many vessels she would be able to create in the coming years remained to be seen. However, unlike Berengar's current fleet of Great War era ships, Itami's would be modelled after those introduced during the inter-war period of her past life, giving her a slight technological advantage.

Naturally warships were more than just steel and turrets, and because of that Itami had established the blueprints for the development of radio, and other important sensors. She knew enough about their design to get the ball rolling, so that in two to three years' time when the hulls of her ships were completed, her scientists could rapidly convert the ships to accept radar, radio-communications, and sonar.

Other military innovations that she designed were new infantry weapons such as the Type 4 semi-automatic rifle. While only existing as a prototype design in her past life, Itami was an expert at mechanical engineering and quickly finished the weapon's design so that it was theoretically a reliably and durable pieceo f military hardware. She also designed a copy of the Type 99 Light Machine gun, the Type 92 Heavy machine gun, the Type 14 semi-automatic pistol, and the Type 100 submachine gun, making improvements where needed.

Aside from infantry weapons she had also ordered the manufacture of the Type 38 75mm Field Gun which she had previously designed, but halted production of due to a lack of resources, and even expanded upon her artillery by adding larger guns like the Type 92 10cm Cannon.

Though Itami could design the basic blueprints of these weapons, they would require thorough testing and improvements from her own staff of engineers. A process that could easily take a year or possibly even two before they could be manufactured in any functional capacity.

Itami selected these engineers for their intelligence and understanding of mechanics. From the moment she assumed power as the Empress, she had given them a crash course in basic education and engineering principles, and had in the years since expanded their knowledge based upon the information she knew from her past life.

Since gaining the iron and coal needed to fuel her growing industry, Itami had focused on the expansion of her armed forces, and equipped them with the latest uniforms, modelled after those issued to Japanese soldiers in WW2 of her past life.

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The young Empress knew it would be some time before she secured the oil deposits necessary to create modern vehicles, and had outlined an invasion plan for her rapidly growing armed forces to take Hokkaido, the Ryukyu Kingdom, and Indonesia within the next two to three years.

With the introduction of modern weapons onto the battlefield by the German Empire, Itami no longer had the nerve to lead her troops into battle, and would instead focus all her efforts on administration, ensuring the proper growth of the Japanese Empire.

However, before she could reform the Empire into a more modern state, she needed to eliminate the traitors in her midst who had leaked her invasion to the Joseon King, and had alerted Berengar von Kufstein to her presence. Though she did not know who the men were that had betrayed her, she ordered her Kempeitai to conduct a secret investigation into their identities.

At the moment, Itami had been up for three days straight working on her technological innovations and government reforms. She had not showered and had barely eaten. It was only now that she had a moment to think for herself that she realized how badly she stunk. With this, she decided to visit her personal hot spring and wash away the filth that had accumulated on her otherwise pristine body.

After grabbing a proper change of clothes, Itami entered the hot spring, where she scrubbed herself clean before descending into the steaming pool of water. She could not help but exhale heavily in relaxation as she leaned back against the onsen's edge while gazing up at the stars above.

Now that the young woman was finally alone with her thoughts, she could not help but reflect on the disaster of the Korean invasion. She kept repeating a name over and over again in a slight whisper as she tried to understand the man she was fighting against.

"Berengar von Kufstein... Berengar von Kufstein.... Just who are you?"

The more Itami had time to think, the more she realized that an all-out war with the Reich was a losing battle. Though she could make the Germany army bleed, defeat was all but a certainty. If she was really dedicated to fighting with Germany, she would need to make them suffer to such a point that they would be forced to negotiate with her. If she wanted to achieve such an outcome, she needed to force them into a campaign similar to that which America fought in WW2.

Itami still did not know exactly how advanced Berengar's armies were, but she had a decent idea because of rumors that were floating across the Ming Dynasty about a faraway land with rigid airships and armored vehicles propelled without the need of steeds.

Zhu Zhi was so astonished by the Victory Day parade that he often boasted of what he had seen. Because of this, Itami had some semblance of an idea of where Berengar was at technologically speaking. In the words of Sun Tzu know your enemy, and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

Itami knew that She had started her reign later than in this world than her rival, and because of this, she was far behind him. However, was that truly the reason Berengar had beaten her in Korea? After all, aside from a few minor engagements with what she assumed was his special forces, most of her defeat came at the hands of the local insurgents armed with the same military capabilities that she herself had.

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When she thought about this, Itami felt conflicted. Berengar had beaten her at her own game. When nobody else in this life had. Though she felt bitter towards her losses, she also felt something else, respect for the man she was fighting against. Just as she thought this, the doors to the hot spring sprung open, and two feminine figures revealed themselves. Itami was stunned when she saw the sight of her little sister, and her mother enter her bath, and she could not help but voice her disbelief.

"Momo-chan? Mibu-san-"

Before she could even question why they were in the capital, Momo jumped into the bath, and hugged Itami, her own substantial bust pressed against the pale bosom of Itami creating a sight that any man would enjoy to see, as the teenage girl smothered her elder sister with affection.

"Nee-sama! Are you surprised to see me?"

Itami Riyo was indeed surprised to see her little sister Itami Momo in her private, secluded hot spring. She could only glare at her mother, who gracefully sat down in the steaming pool of water next to her two naked daughters, and condemn the woman for violating her sanctuary unannounced.

"Mibu-san, you should have told me you were coming..."

The mature beauty glared back at her errant daughter before lecturing her on her choice of words.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Okaa-san? I brought you into this world, and yet you are always so cold to me! Besides, I did inform your servants that your sister and I were arriving in the capital, and they were the ones to lead us into the palace. How do you think I found you in here?"

Itami's brows raised when she heard this. Her own servants had not bothered to inform her of her family's arrival. Then again, she had given very explicit orders not to disturb her study. She only had herself to blame for this outcome. Perhaps it was a mother's intuition, but Mibu Saya could immediately tell something was up with her daughter, and she accurately guessed what it was based upon the girl's flushed cheeks.

"Were you perhaps thinking of a boy before we walked in? Go on and tell your mother all about it!"

Momo instantly looked over at her elder sister with an excited expression and asked her all about this mysterious man before Riyo could even deny her mother's claims.

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"You found a man! I'm so happy for you! Who is he? Can I meet him?"

Itami could only growl in frustration as she tried to convince the two nosy women that there was not a man in her life.

"There is no man. I was just thinking about the enemy I currently face, and the defeat I suffered at his hands!"

However, these words did not convince Itami's mother in the slightest. Instead, a cunning smile formed on the woman's lips as she repeated the words Itami had always said to her.

"Aren't you the one who always said, and I quote, I refuse to settle down and marry until I find the man who is capable of defeating me in battle? So are you saying you finally met this man? Who is he? Oh, is he perhaps the Ming Prince Zhu Zhi? I hear he is quite the handsome man!"

Itami flushed red with embarassment as she heard her own words repeated to her. She had quite often said such shameless words in the past to avoid marriage, and it was only now that she was realizing that Berengar had met her qualifications.

Even if it was only a proxy war, Berengar had still defeated her on the battlefield. Hell, the man had quite literally caused her to piss herself in fear. The moment she remembered that, Riyo grew even more embarrassed and covered her face before shouting at her mother and sister.

"Get out of here! I'm taking a bath!"

Mibu Saya immediately misunderstood Itami's words and nodded her head with a smile on her gorgeous face before guiding Momo out of the hot spring.

"I understand. You need some alone time while thinking about your man. We will be downstairs, come find us when you finish!"

Before Itami could even respond to her mother's shameless words, the woman had already absconded with her other daughter in tow. Leaving Itami as an embarrassed wreck as she hugged her knees to her chest and thought deeply about what her mother had said.

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