Summoning Italy

Chapter 12: Glory of the Past

Quirinal Palace, 7:23 AM, Day 3 of Delegation

An early start isn't something rare for Antonio but today it was certainly a bit of an exciting day. The ambassador was in his room inside the palace as he sat in his bed. With a tray of food in front of him, his pace with eating was rather slow as he read the news.

"First encounter with foreign civilisation... MEF considers revival of lira over euro... Possible immigration over lost jobs in Italy..." Antonio sighed as he sipped his coffee. While it wasn't obvious during the delegation so far, Italy's economy has obviously taken a hard hit. Foreign companies whose parent nations were back on Earth especially were hit hard, and it didn't help that the government had to of course assist them first over the citizens but with Parpaldia, the economy should slowly stabilise.

As Antonio read the news, he checked the time on top of the screen. "Ah, better hurry." He said to himself as he started to eat quicker.

As the morning progressed, Antonio freshened himself up in his room. It was a curious thought how similar yet different the Quirinal was to the Imperial Palace in Esthirant. As he brushed his hair in the mirror, he heard a knock from a door. "Come in!"

The door then opened and from there, Mario's head peeked in as he spoke. "Hey. The delegates are almost ready. How about you?" The man asked as he adjusted his glasses.

After a bit more brushing, Antonio then tossed his comb into his bag. He grabbed the Italian flag pin and placed it onto his collar. "Just in time." He said with a smile as he looked back to Mario before he grabbed his bag and slipped it on. "Shall we?"

Mario nodded with a smile and left the room as Antonio followed soon after.

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Outside the palace, Antonio was waiting for the Parpaldians as he eyed their vehicle for today. A fancy little bus better fit for a tour around the city with its wide windows. He eyed the police and their motorcycles. Of course there were still a group of journalists who took pictures from afar but they weren't too much of a disturbance.

Antonio eyed the map of Rome in his hands. On it were places of interests with the route to be taken. He then looked back to see the Parpaldian delegates, half of them wearing their new Italian clothing as he smiled. "Good morning to you all."

"Morning, ambassador." Kaios said with a polite smile. "I must say your president's palace was nothing short of exquisite. I had a lovely night."

Remille meanwhile stood beside Kaios as she stayed quiet. Indeed the palace was very comfortable to stay in. She didn't feel out of place at all but she wouldn't say that. At least with anyone around. As usual her pride stood tall.

"I'm glad you did, sir Kaios. We got quite the day ahead of us." Antonio said with a smile before he directed his arm towards the bus. "Hop on, we'll be touring you around Rome."

Kaios nodded. He looked back to his group before he boarded the bus with them. Remille took notice of this. It was almost like a train yet way shorter. An ingenious invention, she thought to herself.

As the delegation boarded onto the bus, Antonio sat in front. As much as he found tourists a nuisance, he knew that walking around Rome was a whole other experience for someone who isn't Italian. While Antonio wanted to walk around the city with the Parpaldians, a bus was necessary to keep them safe from being swarmed by journalists. Or worse by creeps he saw online commenting on Remille.

For now Antonio shuddered the thought away as he looked back with a smile. Soon enough he stood up and grabbed the intercom of the bus as he spoke. "Good morning once again everybody. For today's events, we will be touring you around one of our world's most famous cities. With such a deep history, we will be bringing you to our first destination which should be coming up right about... now."