“French… The man thought I was French!”

The ambassador was almost yelling. Even sat at the desk across from the CEO of VEZO Heavy Industries, the man could not control his usually calm and collected temper,

“Sir, these people are barbarians! They have no class, they don't do research.” The ambassador pointed at himself with all his fingers, “... They thought I was French.”

Mahafaly Mananjara nodded and tried his best not to break his stern look,

“They are arrogant. I would not expect anything less from a Westerner. But tell me, how much were they offering to buy for?”

The ambassador exhaled sharply through his nose and shook his head, the look of despair still plastering his face,

“They didn’t haggle; they took what I offered.”

Mananjara’s eyes widened,

“A single billion?”

The ambassador nodded solemnly,

“But at what cost? They think we are fools… They think we’re selling low.”

Mananjara tapped his solid oak desk, finally unable to contain his joy,

“Then that is what we tell them… If the arrogant Westerners want to buy for more, let them.”

The ambassador seemed to have given up on the topic of his title of Frenchman, he continued in a defeated tone,

“How long were you in contact with them for this ship, sir?”

Mananjara thought for a moment, then responded,

“A year or so, no more. Why do you ask?”

“Did you ever convene with Ngolo while doing so?”

Mananjara scoffed; why would the bedridden monarch need to know VEZO’s international dealings?

“Of course I didn’t. Again, why do you ask?”

The ambassador murmured something that sounded like Dear Lord while he put his hands over his eyes and leaned forward. Finally, after what seemed like a couple of minutes, he responded to the CEO’s question,

“Sir, I am to believe that the King of South Africa is so incompetent in the ways of diplomacy that he thinks you are the Philosopher King of Madagasikara.”

The workers below Mananjara’s office quarters within the shipyard hangar recalled hearing the uncommon sound of deafening laughter coming out of the room.

[Mobilizing the 'HMS King Michael']