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Chapter 98 – Zeppelin Airship Comes to Japan

“Today, the entire city turns into the Zeppelin itself”

This was one of the headlines in the morning papers the day after the incident that occurred in the skies over the imperial capital on August 19.

If a cigar-shaped object larger than the battleship Nagato were floating in the sky, of course anyone would be shocked. Especially considering that in 1929, even airplanes were still a rare sight in the sky.
It must have appeared as an overwhelming presence looming above.

“Whoa, it’s huge, just like you’d expect.”

“You’re not all that surprised, are you?”

“I am surprised! I mean, something like that is floating in the sky!”

“I heard it’s full of hydrogen inside. Isn’t that dangerous?”

At the Kasumigaura Naval Aviation Test Base—designated as the landing and docking site in Japan—Ootori Kouryuu-sensei and I were present.
We wouldn’t actually board it until five days later when it departed to cross the Pacific, but we were here for a preliminary greeting.

Though to be honest, we were basically just onlookers.

Since it was using a naval facility, the Japanese government was more or less managing the whole thing.
Not only the navy, but also the Foreign Ministry (which handled coordination), the Navy Ministry (which oversaw air defense of the capital), and the Ministry of Communications (due to it being a civilian aircraft) were all apparently hard at work behind the scenes.

In addition, NHK even broadcast the event live on the radio—something still extremely rare for that time. The radio covered the welcome ceremony, including greetings from the crew and representatives from the Japanese side.

As for the Kasumigaura airfield, an astonishing 300,000 people reportedly gathered there.
Even without knowing the exact number, it was easy to tell from our prime seats that the crowd was enormous.

“Maybe we should buy our own airship.”

“Why would we do that? Sure, it’s convenient for long-distance travel, but there’s no way we’d ever make our money back.”

“No, I mean, if this many people show up, there might be all kinds of business opportunities.”

“…Stop talking like that. You’re just a kid. Don’t say such unromantic things. Anyway, the guests are starting to disembark.”

“Oh, you’re right. But hey, we’re just going to greet them quickly after everything is over, right? Let’s go rest over there for a while.”

“We can’t do that. We’re boarding as guests, and besides, the Ootori family is funding part of this airship’s operation, aren’t they?”

“Yup. Just to get two tickets. Two tickets cost 5,000 dollars. The investment was five times that. If it’s just within Japan, I’d love for them to paint the Ootori logo on the ship’s hull.”

“Logo?”

“Yeah, the company emblem.”

“I see. That would’ve been great publicity if they had. Sounds like a promising business idea too.”

“Right? There seem to be all kinds of potential uses for it.”

While we were chatting idly, the captain and some of the crew, along with a dozen or so passengers, disembarked from the airship. All of them had boarded either in America, where the journey began, or in their homeland of Germany, where the ship had stopped.

The airship could carry 20 passengers, but three seats were still unoccupied—two of which we had reserved. The remaining one was apparently going to be taken by a naval officer, partly as a publicity move. I hadn’t been able to meet any of the top brass when we visited the Combined Fleet in Kure, so I was hoping I might get a chance to talk with someone this time.

The ceremony proceeded, and we had to take part in it, at least formally.

That said, I was just an accessory—Kouryuu-sensei was the main guest.

“Captain, I regret that it’s only for the transpacific crossing, but I’m in your care.”

“Not at all. It’s an honor to have the distinguished Dr. Ootori aboard.”

They exchanged a few words in English. I, being just the accessory, wore a flashy furisode kimono and had my hair styled in a traditional Japanese updo, with a fixed smile on my face like a doll.

This appearance was meant as a service for the foreigners.

As I stood there with that smile stuck on my face, playing the role of a decorative doll, one middle-aged white man—looking to be in his early sixties—kept watching me with a curious expression.
He didn’t give off any bad vibes, and he had the demeanor of a refined gentleman, so I figured he was just intrigued by the sight of an Oriental woman in a flamboyant kimono.

After that, the Zeppelin airship remained at Kasumigaura until departure on the 23rd, but while the crew stayed with the ship, all the passengers relocated to a hotel in Tokyo. Apparently, even the passenger quarters on board are quite cramped, so unlike a luxury cruise ship, it’s not the kind of place you’d want to stay in while on land.

All the passengers stayed at the Imperial Hotel.

It’s a standard arrangement in these cases—the Imperial Hotel exists for situations like this, with staff accustomed to handling foreigners and well-prepared for such events.

The Ootori Hotel in Sannou is also building up its own system for this kind of occasion, but when politics are involved, the Imperial Hotel is still the go-to, so for now we have to accept that there’s a “difference in prestige.”

Of course, both I and all the staff are determined that one day we’ll be on equal footing, but as a nouveau riche hotel in just its second year, it’s not something we can change overnight.

I was taking it easy with that thought in mind, but then the main investor in this venture said he wanted to greet the Japanese investors, so I couldn’t exactly refuse to meet him.

And so, on the middle day of his stay in Japan, that man came to visit.

“Thank you for investing alongside us in this project.”

Following his greeting, those were the words of William Hearst—the mastermind behind this Zeppelin round-the-world trip and the newspaper king of America. His empire didn’t just cover newspapers, but a wide range of magazines as well, making him a true tycoon of the American publishing world.

In any case, he was one of the “kings of America.” And since he had come in person, as a provincial wealthy family from the East, we had no choice but to give him the utmost welcome.

All the household staff turned out to greet him, and even my grandfather—the head of the family and my nominal father—took leave from his military duties to welcome him at the entrance.

Since the reception was just light refreshments, we moved to the drawing room for conversation. It was understandable that Kouryuu-sensei would be asked to join, but for some reason, I was included as well.

Most likely, it was because of how I had looked in a kimono at the airfield. After all, the elderly white man who had been watching me there was none other than this man.

Incidentally, I only learned the name Hearst after studying and working in this world. His name and face were not part of my memories from my previous life.

On the contrary, based on the information I’ve gathered here, he’s not exactly someone to admire. He rose to power through what’s known as “yellow journalism,” increasing newspaper circulation through sensationalist articles.

And I could more or less guess the reason he came to see the Ootori family.

For me, it was a situation where I regretted boarding the airship out of mere curiosity. Even so, the conversation ended smoothly—until he made one final move.

“Then, tomorrow, I would like to invite Doctor Kouryuu, who will be accompanying us, as well as the countess young lady, to my suite at the Imperial Hotel. Would that be agreeable?”

Of course, there was no way we could refuse.

And then, the next day—

“As expected, we can finally talk without interference, true master of the Phoenix. But still, I must say, I’m truly surprised that you’re such a little lady. Are you a princess? Or perhaps an empress?”

The moment we were invited into Mr. Hearst’s suite at the Imperial Hotel and the door closed, he opened with those words. Kouryuu-sensei was practically ignored.

In other words, I was his real “subject of interest.”

I glanced at Kouryuu-sensei, but he only gave a slight shrug of his shoulders—it looked like I would have to handle this myself.

“No, I’m neither. What a curious thing to say.”

I responded in as refined an English as I could manage, making myself appear slightly surprised, slightly amused.

There’s no reason for me to show my true self to a monster like this from the start.

But the battle-hardened king of newspapers didn’t buy it.

Well, of course he didn’t. Still, my intuition—my ghost—is whispering that this is a chance.

“The curious one is me. To encounter something this fascinating, it was worth every penny I poured into that airship.”

“I find a round-the-world trip on an airship fascinating enough on its own, but what exactly do you find so amusing about it? Would you be so kind as to enlighten me?”

I kept feigning ignorance for the time being. Then, dropping the flashy words and gestures typical of an American, he stared straight at me.

It only lasted a short moment, but it was almost unbearable. He probably already knows most of what’s going on, but I steeled myself to endure until he played a few more of his cards.

Now then, it’s a showdown with the King of Newspapers.

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Zeppelin Airship:
LZ 127 “Graf Zeppelin”
Nicknamed “Graf Zeppelin” (Count Zeppelin).
First flight: September 18, 1928.
With a total length of 236.6 meters and a maximum volume of 105,000 cubic meters, it was the world’s largest airship at the time.

Hearst:
William Randolph Hearst
King of Newspapers. In modern terms, a media tycoon.
One of the iconic Americans of the 1920s.
After the Great Depression, his influence declined somewhat.
Nevertheless, the company Hearst built remains one of the leading media groups in America to this day.