The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

force, regimental commanders, horses, and kijuu must be factored in as well. You can begin to imagine the logistics of feeding and provisioning such a large ensemble?"
    "Yes, indeed. Feeding and provisioning--" She quickly arrived at a total of thirteen-thousand. Thinking in terms of the country of her birth, at the bare minimum, one cup of rice per meal, times three meals, times thirteen-thousand came to thirty-nine thousand cups of rice per day. "You're right. It is more than I can imagine. Even in terms of hamburgers, thirty-nine thousand hamburgers a day--"
    "What?"
    "Oh, nothing," Youko said with a smile.
    "That's why the Minister of Summer in each region must provide for the logistics of the army. If chaos breaks out in a certain area, when troops are dispatched, they are provisioned by the quartermaster general. But in another kingdom, and in the midst of a rebellion, the logistics get a lot more dicey. Basically, you'd have to carry everything you'd need with you. Aside from the issue of transportation, could that many supplies be put together at any one given time?"
    "Doesn't seem possible for Kei."
    "Even exhausting the kingdom's internal stores, not even the bare minimum of provisions could be scraped together. Not to mention that Kei does not have enough ships to transport them. How would you get them to Tai in the first place?"
    "I see."
    "From the start, dispatching soldiers to another kingdom would be impossible. In the first place, don't the Divine Decrees forbid one kingdom to invade another?"
    "It wouldn't be an invasion. We would otherwise have no intent to occupy foreign ground."
    Kantai inclined his head. "I suppose. You might have a point there."
    "And besides, if that is true, then what is to become of me? I employed the Imperial Army of En to topple the pretender and make my way to Gyouten."
    "That is true."
    "Simply finding the Royal Tai and Taiki by itself would be sufficient."
    "And their current location?"
    "Nobody has the slightest idea. What do you think? How would a search using a squadron of kijuu from the airborne cavalry work out?"
    Kantai inclined his head some more. "Twenty-five pegasi would hardly make a dent. You'd need at least an air wing. With a hundred, you could attempt a systematic search."
    "An entire air wing--"
    That was not impossible. But the ministers were unlikely to approve. At a time when Kei's internal resources were so strained, they'd wonder if she'd lost her marbles. Youko placed her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands and thought about it.
    "Obviously having a king occupying the throne really matters a lot," she muttered.
    A firm expression came to Kantai's face. "That is entirely correct. Setting aside the question of what kind of man the Royal Tai is, as long as he is missing, the people of Tai will be in a bad place. Moreover, the winters in Tai are harsh. If you would pardon the expression, he might be better off dead."
    "Better off dead?"
    "If the king dies, then the next monarch will be chosen to replace him. In that case, the people can anticipate an end to their suffering. Even in the case of an incompetent king, Heaven will eventually wrest the throne from him. It simply becomes a matter of waiting him out. A throne unoccupied by a king who isn't dead could be said to be the worst of all worst case scenarios."

Chapter 12
    R isai was wakened in the dead of night by voices whispering back and forth.
    "I'm positively famished."
    "I thought so. I made tea. It's waiting for you."
    "Thanks. Want to have it together?"
    The frivolous nature of the conversation made Risai raise her head. The lady-in-waiting by the bed gave her a surprised look. Another young woman leaned around the doorframe and poked her head into the room.
    "Oh, sorry. Did we wake you?"
    Risai shook her head, no. "You didn't miss dinner on my account, did you?"
    Suzu waved her hand back and forth. "Just taking the opportunity when it comes. Shoukei was good enough to bring me a midnight meal, so it's okay."
    "Please go ahead and eat," Risai said. "I'm fine."
    The girl called Shoukei smiled at Suzu. "Hurry up and clean your plate. I'll be waiting here."
    Suzu nodded and left the room. As if taking her place, Shoukei sat down next to the bed. "I apologize for making such a racket over something so silly. My name is Shoukei. I'm a lady of the court like Suzu."
    "Think nothing of it. I've been such a burden on you all. You needn't feel compelled to wait upon me hand and