Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 13 - Chapter 3

Empress Elfaria

Wednesday, May 19th

It had almost been a month since Yurika began studying with the ultimate goal of getting into university. She’d been drilled under Koutarou’s strict guidance, and thanks to that, her math skills had improved by an entire grade level every week since. She was now solving fifth grade math problems.

“Um... Tarou-kun’s average score for three subjects is 60 points, and he got 80 points on his literature test, so his average score for four subjects should be 70 points?”

Yurika was now learning the basics of averages, but she still hadn’t fully gotten her head around the concept. Her calculation this time was off the mark.

“Ah! No, that’s not right! This must be a trap!”

But after a month-long math boot camp, Yurika realized her mistake just in time.

There’s no way the last problem Satomi-san would give me would be this easy! I’m sure there’s something I’m overlooking!

Specifically, it wasn’t that she’d realized anything was wrong with her math. It was that she’d developed an instinctive sense of danger after studying under Koutarou’s guidance for so long. A glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel usually led to even greater despair, and Yurika knew not to fall for that too easily.

“That’s right! I can’t just average the average! First I have to add up the total score of all three subjects, and then add in the additional 80 points before calculating the average of the four subjects... Um, that makes it 65 points! Satomi-san, I’m done!”

Thanks to her instincts telling her she needed to rethink the problem, Yurika had arrived at the correct answer. She proudly presented her solution to Koutarou with a smile.

“...”

However, Koutarou was completely silent and staring out the window. She had to call out to him a second time to get his attention.

“...Satomi-san?”

“Hmm? Ah, sorry. Are you done?”

“Yes! Tarou-kun’s average score is 65 points!”

Yurika smiled again and handed her notebook to Koutarou. And checking her work, he nodded.

“Correct.”

That problem was the last one for the day, and having gotten it correct meant that Yurika had adequately mastered the day’s material. And with that, Koutarou had no reason to be strict and push her further. Instead, he gave her a satisfied smile.

“Well done, Yurika.”

“Thank you!”

Sensing Koutarou’s approval, Yurika presented her head to him. It was a gesture common for Sanae, and as of late, Yurika had started to copy her.

“I did my best!”

“Good work, good work.”

Koutarou’s large hand patted Yurika on the head. Yurika smiled happily. Though she had to work hard for it, she adored his praise. As a girl, she wanted to show Koutarou her good points. So not only did she get to show him how hard she could study, but he would then treat her to an affectionate gesture like this. And because of that, she’d begun working especially hard at studying and looked doubly forward to her reward.

“Hmm? You don’t have to study any more today, you know.”

Koutarou was done for the day, but for some reason, Yurika flipped to the next page of her book.

“Yes, but, but... I wanted to prepare for tomorrow.”

“I’m impressed. But don’t go overboard, okay?”

“Okay!”

If she prepared today, her study session tomorrow should be easier. And that meant she could get praise from Koutarou faster. And showing her determination and preparing ahead of time earned her praise too. Studying was a necessity for the future they had planned out for themselves, so Yurika’s hard work, determination, and optimism all seemed like they’d pay off.

As Yurika got started on the next day’s lesson, the cellphone in Koutarou’s pocket started vibrating. Koutarou pulled it out, and saw the name of his best/worst friend flash across the screen.

“Mackenzie? It’s rare for you to call at this hour.”

Cellphone in hand, Koutarou got up. Feeling like there were too many people in the apartment to talk on the phone, he left Yurika at the tea table and walked out of the room.

“Bye, Satomi-san... All right, I’ll do a little more.”

Yurika said goodbye to Koutarou as he walked off before turning back to her workbook. Seeing that Yurika and Koutarou’s study session was over, the other girls started gathering around the tea table.

“Satomi-kun was looking up at the stars again...”

The first one to say anything was Harumi, who took a seat next to Yurika.

Harumi’s room was connected to room 106 via Clan’s ship. Technology-wise, it worked the same way Theia and Ruth’s gate did. As a result, Harumi had been making more frequent appearances in room 106 as of late.

“He must be worried about Theia. Well... that’s true for us too...”

Sanae took a bite of a rice cracker and replied to Harumi as she looked out the window herself. A beautiful, starry summer night sky twinkled overhead. Theia and Ruth had disappeared somewhere far beyond it. That’s why, just like with Koutarou, the girls of room 106 found themselves looking up at the stars more often these days.

Sanae’s room was actually connected to room 106 the same way Harumi’s was. Since Sanae’s parents trusted Yurika, she was in room 106 even more frequently than Harumi. With the threat of Darkness Rainbow looming, they wanted Sanae by Yurika’s side as much as possible.

“We’ve spent more than a year together. It’s only natural.”

Shizuka joined Sanae in looking up at the stars. She considered Theia and Ruth close friends as well. At first she’d only yelled at Theia for being reckless, but that was just the beginning. Most of her memories of them together since then were happy ones. And now that she and Ruth were gone, Shizuka felt like she’d lost a big part of her everyday life.

“I really won’t work as Theia-san’s or Ruth-san’s replacement...”

Maki, who had only just started coming by room 106 recently, had less of a connection than the others with Theia and Ruth. As a result, her feelings were directed towards Koutarou and the girls who were grieving their absence.

“Nobody can serve as someone else’s replacement. We would feel the same if any one of us were missing.”

Kiriha called out to Maki, who had a lonesome expression on her face. Maki responded by raising her head and slowly lifting her hand to her chest.

“Even me?”

“Of course. You’re already a part of our lives.”

“I... I see...”

Thanks to Kiriha, Maki’s expression turned a little brighter. She felt like she truly understood Kiriha’s words. A month had passed since she first came to introduce herself to everyone, and since then, she’d begun feeling like the time she spent with everyone in room 106 was an important part of her everyday life. So when Kiriha said what she did, Maki felt a true sense of belonging.

“But... I don’t think that would be enough for him.”

It was Clan who’d spoken up this time. She hated sitting in the cramped room, and was using a device of her own invention to float in the air. She looked rather similar to how Sanae had in the past.

“It’s okay. We only have to work together to support him,” Yurika said boldly as she put her pen down.

After the sudden and tragic loss of his mother, parting with someone close to him held a special meaning to Koutarou. However, Yurika wasn’t going to be pessimistic about how this would affect him. She firmly believed that they could protect Koutarou together.

“...What’s wrong? You all look so serious.”

It was then that Koutarou finished his call with Kenji and returned to the room. Noticing the serious atmosphere that had fallen over everyone, he cocked his head to the side and looked at them all.

“Hyaaaaah!”

In response, Yurika sprung up and ran over to him. She grabbed on to him and tried to execute a joint lock technique like the ones he always used on her. Yurika knew that neither words nor silence were what was needed now. What was needed now was action. And Yurika wanted the same thing, so she was doing this for both of them.

“What’s going on?!”

“Take thiiiss!”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but you’re too naive!”

“Gyaaaaah!”

However, Yurika’s wrestling skills were extremely basic. Koutarou easily broke free from her hold and turned the tables on her. Yurika’s expression contorted in pain, but she was satisfied with this result.

“Yurika-chan...”

“Well done, Nijino Yurika. She knows exactly what we need and how to do it.”

At first glance, it simply looked like Yurika’s surprise attack had failed and she was now being punished for it. But it was so much more than that. She was engaging Koutarou, and she hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to do it. That fact slowly sunk in to the hearts of the girls watching.

“Hah!”

“Uwah! Who is it this time...? S-Sakuraba-senpai?!”

Inspired by Yurika, the normally modest Harumi took action too. She was the one who had helped Yurika come to an understanding of what needed to be done, and because of that, she understood the meaning behind her actions better than anyone.

“Um... Hiyah!”

Relying on a vague memory of a similar situation, Harumi tried to perform a joint lock technique on Koutarou’s leg. Being so weak, however, she was unable to hold him down. She then called to the other girls for backup.

“Everyone, come help!”

“Martial arts is my specialty!”

“Leave this to yours truly, Sanae-chan! I’ve clung to Koutarou’s back for over a year, so I know all of his ticklish spots!”

Shizuka and Sanae were the first to respond. The two of them joyfully joined in and pounced on Koutarou.

“Jeez... Fine, I’ll help, but physical labor is outside of my field of expertise.”

“I’m surprisingly good at it. And besides... It looks fun.”

Clan and Maki soon followed suit. They didn’t want to be left out.

“Heh, it looks like things are getting interesting.”

The last to join in was Kiriha. Since she loved being mischievous around Koutarou, there was no way she would miss a chance like this.

“Wh-What now all of a sudden?! Wahahahaha! Owowow, ahahaha!”

With seven girls attacking—some using wrestling moves, others tickling him, and others simply holding him down—even Koutarou was powerless. All he could do was helplessly resign himself to enduring the tickling and pain.

“What are you all doing? Owowow, not there, not there— Wahahaha!”

“Give it up, Satomi Koutarou. Resistance is futile.”

“Waaaaah!”

Koutarou’s umpteenth scream echoed throughout room 106. But not a moment later, a far louder sound rang out. It was a noisy alarm warning coming from the bracelets that Koutarou and Clan were wearing, and with it came a great sense of unease.

“Large-scale spacequake detected. It is presumed, with 98 percent certainty, to be a warp out signature.”

Hearing the warning blaring, everyone instinctively stopped moving. Silence returned to the room, and the only thing that could be heard was the artificial voice being emitted from the bracelets. It was a warning from the AI of Clan’s ship, the Hazy Moon.

“Mass calculated from the warped space. Warning. Within a few minutes, a fleet of four ships will warp out. The formation is one royal class battleship, one spaceship carrier, and two medium-sized battleships. Certainty is 90 percent. This is an emergency situation, my princess.”

The contents of the warning report signaled that a serious fight was about to break out.

After receiving the AI’s report, Koutarou and the others all moved to the bridge of the Hazy Moon. If it was Theia returning, she would have sent a message ahead of time, and it was hard to believe she would come back with four ships. Regardless of who was about to warp out, it was quite clear that something was up.

“Emergency rescue signal received via hyperspace communication. Unable to verify signal source, but based on signal strength, certainty is over 99 percent it is being sent from one of the four ships.”

The moment they entered the bridge, they received a new report. One of the four ships, though it was unclear which, was sending out an SOS. There was even a possibility it was all four ships sending the emergency signal. Transmissions during warp were difficult to interpret, and the situation was hard to grasp.

But upon hearing the new report, Clan spoke the name of the sender.

“...It’s Theiamillis-san.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I can’t imagine it being from anyone but her in this situation.”

Clan was certain that Theia was the one sending out the rescue signal.

If it had been a mere mid-warp accident, the hyperspace signal would have made use of all frequencies. But the signal the Hazy Moon was detecting was only on the frequency Clan normally used. In other words, it meant that it was a transmission from someone who knew that the Hazy Moon was close to Earth. And considering that one of the four ships was a royal class battleship, it was only logical to assume it was Blue Knight.

“And she’s probably in big trouble...”

“I bet.”

Koutarou nodded with a stern expression. Sanae, on the other hand, didn’t understand what was really going on and simply tilted her head in confusion.

“Hey, glasses girl, how can you tell?”

“She’s asking me for help. How bad do you think it would have to be for her to do that?”

“I see... You get along well with us, but your family and Theia’s are rivals or something, right?”

Normally, Theia would take steps to conceal the fact that Clan was on Earth. If anyone found out where she was and what she was doing, Clan very well may fall from her own family’s graces. But despite knowing that, Theia was essentially asking Clan directly for help. That meant it had to be serious enough for her to risk doing so.

“Clan, we’re going to help. Move us toward the position where Blue Knight will appear.”

“I thought you’d say that, so we’re already on our way.”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

Koutarou thanked Clan and placed his hand on her shoulder. Clan responded by placing her hand on top of his and smiled.

“I don’t mind. I can’t let Theiamillis-san run off with a victory, after all.”

“That’s true, you’re absolutely correct.”

Koutarou lightly squeezed Clan’s shoulder before letting go and heading to the front of the bridge. In front of him was a large monitor showing the stars twinkling ahead. It functionally served as a window into space. And in addition to displaying their surroundings, it also had all kinds of information overlaid on top of it. It was on this monitor that four ships would soon appear.

First, four blue lights appeared right where the Hazy Moon’s AI had predicted. There was one close by, and three further away. They were in the same formation the Hazy Moon had forecast.

“Spacequake detected. A fleet of four spaceships have warped out. One royal class battleship, one spaceship carrier, one battleship, one defensive ship. The ship in front belongs to the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire. ID: the seventh royalty class battleship, Layous Fatra Veltlion. The other three ships and their IDs are unknown.”

The four lights that appeared shone like shooting stars with long, blue tails streaking behind them as they flew. When the lights gradually faded away, four massive spaceships appeared in their places.

“A gravitational wave communication was received from Layous Fatra Veltlion as it exited warp. Message reads: ‘We are under attack by ships of unknown origin. Immediate backup requested.’”

Three ships were chasing after one. The ship being chased was over a kilometer long, and was built in a humanoid shape. Chasing after it were three other ships in a line formation.

“Isn’t that Theia’s spaceship?! She’s being attacked!” Shizuka shrieked as she pointed at the monitor, horrified.

The ship being chased, the Blue Knight, had taken a considerable amount of damage. The guts of the ship could be seen from the punctures in the hull, and the areas around the holes were charred black. The luster of the ordinarily white and blue craft was gone.

“Koutarou, they’re shooting at Theia! We have to hurry!”

The damage was, of course, from the three ships chasing after it. They were still shooting even now, and colorful lasers and beams danced through space. From time to time, the light show was punctuated with fire spewed out from missiles. Though Blue Knight was returning fire, it had taken significant damage, and its counterattacks were sporadic at best.

“Not good! Clan, can’t you do something?!”

“I’ll try!”

Obliging Koutarou, Clan tapped away at the device by her seat, ordering the Hazy Moon to cover the Blue Knight and open communications.

“This is the second princess of the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire, Clariossa Daora Forthorthe. To the three unidentified ships, you are to stop your attacks immediately and surrender. Do so now and I will spare your lives.”

Clan sent her gravitational wave message across all frequencies. If the ships were from Forthorthe, there was no way they wouldn’t receive it.

“Kiriha-san, do you think they’ll obey the order to cease their attacks?”

Koutarou stared at the monitor with a serious expression as he asked Kiriha for her opinion. After thinking for a while, she answered.

“There’s a chance it’ll work, but the situation might become more complicated if it does.”

But before Kiriha even finished her sentence, the three ships stopped firing and slowed down.

“Clan!”

“I know!”

Not missing her chance, Clan positioned the Hazy Moon between Blue Knight and the three other ships. Though the Hazy Moon was ordinarily weaker than Blue Knight in terms of sheer combat capabilities, now that Blue Knight was badly damaged, that was likely no longer the case. It was dangerous, but the Hazy Moon stepping in was necessary to protect the compromised Blue Knight.

And so the Hazy Moon and the three ships faced each other. It seemed like the three ships weren’t sure what to do, as they remained unmoving.

“Clan, if it comes to it, work with Blue Knight to counterattack.”

Koutarou could feel a bead of sweat run down his forehead, and he placed his hand on Clan’s shoulder again. Clan could tell he knew how serious the situation was when she felt him put a little strength into his grip.

“Yes, I know...”

Clan adjusted her glasses and stared at the monitor intently. She didn’t actually know if the Hazy Moon and the damaged Blue Knight could win against the three ships.

“Now then, what will they do...?”

“Go away, just go away...”

“I don’t want to die in a place like this!”

“God...”

“It’s frustrating not being able to do anything.”

“This would be so easy if I could just punch them to solve everything!”

If things turned into a battle between spaceships, there was almost nothing the girls of room 106 could do. Apart from Clan, the others would only be able to pray for their safety and Theia’s. And just as the atmosphere on the bridge was reaching peak tension, a new message came from the Hazy Moon’s AI.

“A small container has been fired from the carrier. Spacequake detected. Generation of a warp field confirmed. The three unidentified ships are retreating.”

The three ships were wrapped in blue light once more. It was a sign they were activating warp technology, which allowed them to travel long distances in a short amount of time. They had chosen to cease the fight and retreat.

“Koutarou, what do we do?”

“Let them go. We don’t really understand the situation.”

“Okay.”

Though the ships hadn’t surrendered as Clan had demanded, she let them leave without attacking them. Wrapped in light, the three ships accelerated and flew off like shooting stars, streaking trails behind them.

“The three unidentified ships are leaving the region.”

As their tails of light became as long as they had been when they first arrived, the three ships completely disappeared. They were moving far faster than the speed of light.

Once they were gone, only Blue Knight and the small container left behind by the carrier remained.

Blue Knight, slowly growing larger on the monitor, was seriously damaged. Being very familiar with how it usually looked, Koutarou was shocked to see it in its current state. Theia and Ruth had somehow managed to escape whatever crisis had befallen them by themselves.

Theia, just what happened on Forthorthe?

Seeing the severe damage made Koutarou uneasy. He wanted to make sure that Theia and Ruth were safe as soon as possible.

“Clan, can’t we head over to them right away?”

“Just wait a moment. This region is still a bit unstable from the three ships warping out. It’s too dangerous to transfer live people right now.”

“I see...”

Koutarou endured his impatience as he stared at Blue Knight closing in. It would take several minutes before the two ships connected.

“More importantly, Koutarou, I figured out what’s inside the container they ejected.”

Clan operated the panel in front of her and displayed a hologram for Koutarou. Strangely enough, what he saw was a Forthorthian-style men’s suit. It was neither a pilot’s uniform nor a military uniform, but brand new, fashionable and elegant formalwear.

“Is this really what’s inside?”

“Yes. There was practically no meaning in sending an unmanned ship to investigate.”

Because it was dangerous to directly collect the container using the Hazy Moon, Clan had sent an unmanned work machine to inspect it. However, the contents of the container were nothing dangerous. It only gave off a reaction for textiles. And when the container was opened, the suit was all that was revealed.

“Is there anything else?”

“There was nothing else inside. If it was a present, they should have at least left a card...”

Clan had a puzzled look on her face. She had suspected that they might have left a bomb behind as a souvenir, but it was really just the suit. Based on that, it was hard to judge if they were enemies or not.

“A suit... A suit, huh?”

Koutarou had an idea of who the suit might be from and who it was intended for.

To think he would really keep his promise... What a troublesome guy...

If Koutarou was correct, the suit wasn’t a present, but rather the opposite. It was a challenge. And as Koutarou was contemplating the identity of the sender...

“Koutarou!”

He heard a voice he hadn’t for the past month. It was an unforgettable, welcome voice that everyone on the Hazy Moon had been waiting to hear.

Once the owner of the voice entered the bridge, she started sprinting. Without any hesitation, she kicked off the ground with all of her might and hurled herself through the air. The golden hair flapped behind her like a golden flag waving in the wind.

“H-Hey, wait, wait!”

“I am back! Greet me with all your heart too!”

She shot through the air and headed straight for Koutarou with her arms stretched out before her. It was obvious to anyone watching that she was planning on embracing him on first contact.

“I told you to waaaiiiiit!”

“As if I cooouuuuuld!”

If she had just been planning on embracing him, Koutarou probably wouldn’t have budged. But she had a running start and jumped from several stair steps above him, so she flew towards Koutarou at a terrific speed. And with that kind of momentum, she easily knocked Koutarou to the ground. It was a violent expression of love that could only be described as a tackle.

“Ouch...”

“You fool! Why did you fall?! Are you telling me you can’t accept my everything?!”

The girl who had knocked Koutarou to the floor straddled him and looked down at him with a frown. Her golden hair fell over her shoulders and tickled Koutarou’s face.

“That’s just a metaphor, Theia...”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear, my knight!”

The girl puffed her cheeks out in a pout. Her expression reminded Koutarou of a young girl he had met in past Forthorthe. Partially thanks to his nostalgia, Koutarou found himself unable to complain about the situation he found himself in.

“...Welcome back, Theia.”

“Heh... I told you I’d come back, Koutarou.”

And so Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe returned to Koutarou and the others.

Because Theia couldn’t wait any longer, Ruth had transported her over from Blue Knight to the Hazy Moon using a small spaceship. Ruth herself had to stay behind to perform some necessary procedures from the Hazy Moon’s hangar, so she arrived on the bridge shortly after Theia.

When she did, she was greeted with the sight of Theia gracefully flying through the air and then knocking down Koutarou.

“Ah...”

Theia and Koutarou were playing around. Just seeing that familiar sight made large tears fall from Ruth’s cheeks.

We’re back... We... managed to come back to Master and everyone...

Ruth had assumed that they wouldn’t see each other again for at least another few years. If Empress Elfaria had collapsed due to illness, she was certain they wouldn’t be able to do anything until it was determined who would become the heir to the throne, which could take quite some time. And even once that was over, they wouldn’t be able to return to Earth until Elfaria recovered from her illness. If Elfaria had died, the situation would become even more complicated.

But through a strange twist of fate, Theia and Ruth were back to Earth within a mere month. Though the current situation was bad, Ruth couldn’t help but feel relieved to see the faces of her close friends.

“Theia, you’re heavy...”

“Heavy?! Is that what you would call your highly esteemed master?!”

“Highly esteemed or not... I guess we know it’s not your breasts weighing you down.”

“There you go being mean again! Didn’t you say that the size of my breasts didn’t matter?!”

“It matters now. I’ve had a change of heart.”

“Is this the mouth spouting such refuse? Take that, and this!”

“Ow, ouch, owowow!”

Most of all, Ruth was happy to see the boy she loved again. Theia hadn’t behaved as anything but a proper princess over the past month, but thanks to Koutarou, she was now acting like a child once more. Ruth knew what he meant for Theia, because he meant the same thing for her.

But...

But on the other hand, though she was happy to see them, meeting with their beloved friends under such circumstances would mean getting them caught up in problems from Forthorthe. Joy and guilt intermixed, creating a complex emotion within Ruth.

“Koutarou, there’s Ruth!”

That was when Sanae spotted Ruth and reported it to Koutarou.

“Really?!”

“Kyah!”

Koutarou forcibly lifted up Theia and ran over to Ruth with her.

“Koutarou! Don’t treat me so roughly! Be more gentle! Show some affection!”

“You know you tend to treat the things you love with less care, right?”

“Oh, well in that case... No, no, no! I won’t fooled by that!”

“Fine, jeez...”

“Go on, do that thing.”

“What thing?”

“Hold me like a princess.”

“Okay, okay. As you wish, my princess.”

“Hmmhmm!”

Even as Koutarou and Theia approached Ruth, they continued to quarrel. It was even more intense than normal, but their faces were brighter than ever. And seeing that, Ruth’s tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

“Ruth!”

Once they reached Ruth, Theia slipped out of Koutarou’s arms and moved behind her.

“Your Highness?”

When Ruth instinctively chased after her with her eyes, Theia whispered in a quiet voice only Ruth could hear.

“Now it’s your turn.”

“Huh?”

The next moment, Theia pushed Ruth forward.

“Kyaaah!”

Having completely lost her balance, Ruth wildly flailed with her arms as she fell towards the ground. But since Koutarou was right in front of her, he easily caught her.

“Are you okay, Ruth-san?”

“Mas― I, I mean Satomi-sama! I’m fine, th-thank you!”

Caught off guard from being pushed so suddenly, Ruth almost called Koutarou “Master” in front of the others. Shaken by both of those things, Ruth’s voice was faltering. And then on top of that, she realized Koutarou was holding her in his arms. She blushed furiously.

“Ah, uh, I... Umm...”

Ruth could barely speak. Noises came out of her mouth rather than words, which only flustered her even more. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, but her mouth only moved up and down meaninglessly. She tried over and over again to form a sentence, but all that came to her was more tears.

“Ruth-san...”

Koutarou realized she was crying in his arms, and wiped her tears away with his right hand. That didn’t stop them, however, so he patiently wiped them away a second and third time.

“U-Um... I...”

Ruth didn’t know what to do or what to say, so she simply entrusted herself to Koutarou.

“Welcome back, Ruth-san.”

“Ah...”

The moment she heard that, Ruth realized what she wanted to say to him most. Finally, she was earnestly able to channel all of her feelings into words.

“Yes, I’m back... Satomi-sama...”

They were words she’d spoken countless times since being born, but she’d never worked so hard to say them.

Koutarou, Theia, Ruth, and the other seven girls all rejoiced over their reunion for a while. After some time had passed and they were all able to calm down a bit, Theia began explaining what had happened once she returned to Forthorthe.

“The truth is that my mother being sick was a lie.”

Theia, who had been smiling with joy just a moment ago, now wore a very gloomy expression. Thanks to their time together, Koutarou could read a lot just from the faces she made, and he had a very bad feeling about what she was going to say next.

“Lie? You mean you lied?” he asked.

“No, why would I have to lie?” Theia retorted.

“Fair enough... Then who lied about it?”

“The people trying to depose my mother. In other words, a coup d’etat was happening in Forthorthe.”

“What?!”

“Just wait a minute, Theiamillis-san! Is that true?!”

Since this was news regarding Forthorthe, Clan was standing beside Koutarou and listening to Theia too. When she heard the words “coup d’etat” come out of her mouth, Clan slammed her hands into the table everyone was gathered around and leaned forward intently towards her.

Clan was royalty of Forthorthe as well. And recently, she’d started to become conscious of her position and matured as a princess. A coup d’etat was a serious matter for the country, and it wasn’t news Clan could take sitting down.

“Unfortunately, yes, it’s true. It seems the military was unable to overlook my mother’s calls for disarmament any more, and have placed her under house arrest.”

Theia’s mother, Empress Elfaria, was a pacifist pushing for national disarmament. The military of present-day Forthorthe had grown too strong, and a powerful force was hard to control. Elfaria insisted that if the military wasn’t reduced to a reasonable size, it would eventually end up running amok and causing a serious incident.

The military staunchly objected to that. In order to uphold their pride as the long-standing protectors of Forthorthe and to safeguard their vested interests in profits from weapons manufacturing and other military technologies, they did everything in their power to obstruct Elfaria.

And that kind of obstruction was exactly what Elfaria was worried about. Their interference began to build and build, until they eventually developed into a full-on coup d’etat movement. Ironically, in the very act of opposing Elfaria, they had proven her point.

“Which means that Elle... uh... Theia’s mother being sick was just a trap to lure you out, Theia?”

“Yes. Since my captured mother wasn’t listening to them, they were going to capture me and use me to negotiate.”

The out of control military placed Elfaria under house arrest under the pretext of her being ill. But even then, Elfaria wouldn’t change her stance on disarmament, so they had decided to capture Theia and use her as a bargaining chip. They were the source of the encoded message sent to Theia, calling her back to Forthorthe.

“No wonder there was no information about Her Majesty Elfaria’s sickness in my network... She was never ill in the first place. What’s more, the military has placed her under house arrest. It’s not that they didn’t leak the information, it’s that they couldn’t.”

“Wait, so what happened and how did you get back here? You were tricked, right?”

“That’s because we realized that it might be a trap just before it was sprung... Ruth.”

“Yes.”

Ruth continued to explain from there.

“Actually, just before we left Earth, Clan-sama told me that she hadn’t heard anything about Her Majesty’s illness on her end.”

“Now that you mention it, yeah, I did.”

Because the Mastirs had a bad relationship with the military and the Schweigers had a good relationship with them, the information Theia and Clan had access to via their family connections could vary drastically. Clan noticed that she hadn’t heard anything about Elfaria, and had warned Ruth accordingly.

“Back then, I too believed that Her Majesty might be seriously ill... But when I told Her Highness about what you said just before we arrived at Forthorthe, she had a bad feeling about it.”

The military, who opposed the empress and would pounce on any sign of weakness, had overlooked something as important as her falling ill. Theia couldn’t help thinking it was strange. She recognized that there was a possibility the military was silent on the matter because they were involved. That’s what Theia’s intuition had warned her.

“So instead of returning home according to schedule, we returned home secretly with the aid of an old retainer. If Her Majesty really were ill, we would have been able to laugh at ourselves for being overly cautious, but it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, if Her Majesty weren’t ill, it would be no laughing matter at all...”

“And as Theia-dono suspected, no one was laughing, I see,” said Kiriha.

“Yes,” Ruth said with a nod. “Behind the scenes, the military was planning a coup d’etat, and they had placed Her Majesty Elfaria under house arrest in the imperial palace.”

“So what did you do?” Sanae asked excitedly.

Since she knew that Theia and Ruth had safely gotten away, she was anxious to hear the details of their dramatic escape.

“With the help of loyal subjects, we rescued Her Majesty and escaped to Earth aboard Blue Knight.”

“So it was coup d’etat forces chasing after you?”

“Yes, part of it. Thanks to the efforts of Pardomshiha’s and Wenranka’s bands of knights, only three ships managed to come after us.”

Wenranka was a distinguished family of knights on the same level as the Pardomshihas. They were known for their absolute loyalty to the royal families since the Silver Princess’s era, and they hadn’t hesitated to side with the Mastir family in this crisis either. Together with the Pardomshihas, they played a major part in letting Blue Knight escape.

“But, but... Why did you flee to Earth? Wouldn’t it be better to hide somewhere else?” the cowardly Yurika asked.

It was known in Forthorthe that Theia had spent a year on Earth, so even the coup d’etat army could guess where she’d run off to. That’s why Yurika was concerned that it wouldn’t be a good enough place to hide.

“There are two reasons,” Theia explained in answer to Yurika’s doubts. “The first is a matter of diplomacy. Forthorthe follows a policy of nonintervention in regards to planets we have no formal diplomatic relationship with. That’s why if I hide on Earth, the coup d’etat army can’t carelessly attack here.”

Using a contrived illness as a front, the coup d’etat army had put the empress under house arrest. It wasn’t like she or her daughter, Theia, had committed a crime or any other kind of breach of trust with the people. So if the coup d’etat army suddenly launched what appeared to be an unwarranted attack on Earth, doubts would be cast on the coup d’etat army instead, and it would weaken their position in terms of public image. Since they couldn’t do anything that would bias the citizens against them in favor of the royal family, they couldn’t launch a major attack on Earth until they concocted a way to frame Elfaria and Theia.

“The other reason is simply that we have no safe territory elsewhere right now.”

“Safe territory?”

“Yes. The coup d’etat is pressuring the planet of Forthorthe, as well as the territories on other planets that have fallen into their hands. The only territory spared their influence is the one right here.”

“Theia, by territory, you mean...”

“The only territory that’s rightfully ours that hasn’t fallen into the hands of the coup d’etat army... is Corona House room 106. It is our only safe haven.”

Theia had established Koutarou as the lord of his apartment, but she maintained indirect control of it through him. And with all the other Mastir territories under pressure from the military, room 106 was Theia’s last stronghold.

“In other words...” Upon reaching this point in her explanation, Theia clasped her hands together in front of her chest and looked up at Koutarou’s face. “We came seeking your protection, Koutarou, though we were well aware that this would involve you and everyone else here in our fight...”

Theia was always bullish and proud, but right now she was uneasy and timid. Koutarou could hear it in her voice and see it on her face.

“We alone can’t do anything anymore... We don’t have enough help, wisdom, or power. But it’s not like we want to involve all of you! We want all of you to be happy and safe! But... But there’s no one else we can rely on!”

Theia desperately pleaded their case to Koutarou and everyone else. Theia and Ruth had been cornered and had nowhere else to go. That’s why they’d come back to Earth. Come back to Koutarou and the other girls.

Sanae’s psychic powers. Kiriha’s brains. Yurika, Maki, and Harumi’s magic. Clan’s science, Shizuka’s martial arts. And Koutarou who combined all those powers. To Theia and Ruth who were lacking in numbers and support, they would make a perfect team.

But it wasn’t like Theia and Ruth had wanted to get them involved in all this. They simply had no recourse but to reach out to their friends.

“Please help us, Koutarou! Everyone! I am aware how selfish I sound! I have gotten you involved in a dangerous fight you have nothing to do with! But you are the only ones who trust us! And you’re the only ones we can trust!”

And in the midst of her crisis, that’s who Theia wanted to rely on—her friends. Not a legendary knight or the Goddess of Dawn. Though her friends each had various powers, they weren’t all that different from Theia herself. They were all normal people deep down.

“So, please!”

But together, they would surely be able to do something. That’s what Theia believed. Her friends were her last hope.

“Please... lend us your power...”

As Theia made her request, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. Her body was stiff and her hands were tightly clenched. Why was only obvious. She knew she was asking for something unreasonable.

“...What are you doing? Raise your head, Theia.”

The decisive will behind those powerful words drove them into Theia’s chest.

“...What?”

They unfroze her body and made her look up. When she did, her eyes met Koutarou’s. The look in his eyes was just as powerful as his words.

Koutarou...?

Theia had never seen Koutarou with eyes like that before. She didn’t know what kind of feelings were behind them.

“Raise your head. Pull yourself together. Stick your chest out. Now, that’s what a ruler should look like.”

Koutarou was being especially harsh. He wasn’t even this strict when teaching Yurika.

“Koutarou, what are you...”

Theia felt a pressure from Koutarou. She hesitated, like any normal girl would.

“You’ve fundamentally misunderstood something.”

“I don’t understand... What are you saying?”

“What is our relationship?”

“That’s...” Theia momentarily hesitated before answering. “I am your princess. And you are... You are my knight.”

“Then there’s an attitude that you should take, and words you should say.”

That was when Theia realized what Koutarou wanted.

“B-But...”

But even though she understood, she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. The kindness and love she had developed over the past year held her back.

“I’m only talking about the formality. Not the feelings you put into it.”

“Koutarou...”

“Do it properly.”

“...”

Understanding Koutarou’s intentions, Theia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then opened her eyes wide, like she’d just awoken. Her expression changed completely. Her eyes glinted with a strong will, and her expression was sharp. She was no longer the anxious girl from a few seconds ago, but a ruler that had decided to fight.

She then made her declaration.

“My knight, Koutarou, carry out your duty to recapture our motherland.”

It was a royal order. And Koutarou from one year ago would have absolutely refused.

“That’s better.”

But once he heard it, Koutarou nodded and smiled at Theia. She’d done exactly what he’d hoped she would, so it was a bright and satisfied smile. But he quickly wiped it from his face and replaced it with the expression of a proud knight. He kneeled before Theia and placed his right hand on his chest.

“As you wish, Princess Theiamillis.”

That was as long as Theia was able to keep herself from crying.

Koutarou wasn’t the only one who wanted to help Theia. All of the girls on the bridge of the Hazy Moon had the same intention from the start.

“You’re an idiot from time to time, Theia. There’s no way we’d say no.”

“Yeah. Everyone loves you two.”

“Eventually, I will need everyone’s help for my fight as well. If you were to hold back here, I’d have to hold back when my time comes.”

“Theiamillis-san, I consider you a precious friend. You’re also an amazing playwright.”

“Theia-chan and Ruth-san are my tenants. So your enemy is my enemy.”

“I just became friends with you, Theia-san, but I know friends help each other out. Besides, Satomi-kun is getting all fired up... so I don’t need any more reason than that.”

“I really don’t like the idea of sneaking into the castle and launching a coup d’etat at all. If they had a problem they ought to have been upfront with the matter.”

“...Didn’t you first come here to assassinate Theia?”

“It’s about time you forget about that, Koutarou!”

Koutarou and the others considered Theia a friend too, so they naturally wanted to help her in her time of need. Besides, they’d all saved each others’ lives more than once or twice by now. There was no reason for them to refuse this time.

“Thank you... for doing so much for us...”

“Thank you very much, everyone. I will never forget this day...”

Theia and Ruth offered their tearful thanks.

Since they’d escaped Forthorthe in a hurry, they didn’t have anything to offer in the way of a reward. But nevertheless, Koutarou and the others hadn’t even hesitated to offer to help.

And so Theia and Ruth thanked them over and over, and over and over again. They had no other way of showing their gratitude and joy.

Once some time had passed and everyone had calmed down, Koutarou returned them to their original topic.

“So, Theia, what will you do now?”

“Th-That’s right... Wait a moment.”

When Koutarou asked her that, Theia hurriedly wiped her tears away and slapped her cheeks a few times to psych herself up. As she did, she regained her composure some. Apart from a slight blush when she looked at Koutarou, she looked like her normal self again.

“For starters, I will be gathering information. While few, I do have allies on Forthorthe. After obtaining intelligence from them, we’ll wait for a chance.”

“So even if we went to Forthorthe, we wouldn’t be able to do anything without intel, huh?”

“Precisely.” Theia nodded and continued. “At the same time, we have to protect ourselves. The coup d’etat army will eventually attempt to capture me and mother after creating some false evidence against us. Of course, we can’t let them do that. We’ll most likely have to defeat all the enemies they’ll continuously send at us.”

The coup d’etat army would eventually change their policy to silence Theia and her mother, either by capturing them or murdering them. In order to do that, they would need to frame them for something beforehand. Following through on that, they could kill the empress and her daughter by claiming they resisted during their arrest.

“Which means that the current problem will be the strength and numbers concerning the forces they send.”

Once she heard Theia’s idea, Kiriha addressed the most immediate concern they’d face. Theia’s side was still lacking the information required to make a move. So while they waited for it, defending themselves would be their number one priority. And if that was the case, they’d need to predict the enemy’s numbers and strength to prepare for them. If they made a mistake here, they would pay for it dearly.

“What do you think?”

“In order for them to operate in Japan without being noticed, there will be an upper limit to the number of soldiers. At most it would be around fifty men.”

Fifty soldiers was what Kiriha and the People of the Earth had used for their simulations in a surface invasion. Having more soldiers would of course make the force more formidable, but they would stand out even more. Capturing or assassinating Theia and Elfaria would be a mission that needed to be done in secret, so sending more than fifty men would likely mean blowing their cover out of the gate.

“What if they stay in space?”

“A space battle is hard to imagine. Even with Forthorthe’s technology, it would be hard to pull off without being observed from Earth, right?”

“Is that true, Clan?”

“Well, with stealth capabilities on par with the Hazy Moon’s, a battle in orbit might be possible, but it’s not very realistic. And I find it hard to believe that Blue Knight could win in that state...”

Not wanting to be discovered by the people of Earth still applied in space. Since there were even less places to hide in space, any battles in the vicinity of the planet would certainly stand out. In order to avoid being spied, they would need to fight somewhere far away from Earth, or make use of ships with stealth like Clan’s. But ships equipped with stealth functions often sacrificed combat potential for it. If the coup d’etat army sent a lone stealth ship, it likely wouldn’t be able to beat Theia’s Blue Knight. They could increase their numbers, certainly, but it would be difficult to cooperate in the battle like that while maintaining stealth, making the possibility rather unrealistic.

“Which means that Blue Knight won’t be attacked as long as we leave it in orbit like this.”

Normally, Theia and Ruth left Blue Knight orbiting Earth, pretending to be an asteroid. Finding it would be hard, and even if the coup d’etat army did come across it, they wouldn’t be able to attack due to its proximity to Earth. So as long as the Blue Knight didn’t move, they had no reasonable need to fear an attack in space.

“Can I ask something?” Shizuka said, raising her hand.

“What?”

“If the Blue Knight won’t be targeted, why don’t you two just hide in it?”

“That’s not a bad option, but I would fear leaving my mother and myself in the same place. And if our link to Earth were cut, we’d eventually starve to death. So we’re most likely looking at a ground attack ahead of us.”

Considering the worst case scenario, it would be bad for Theia and Elfaria to be in the same place. Hiding separately would eliminate the possibility of them both being captured or killed at the same time.

On top of that, Blue Knight didn’t have an unlimited amount of supplies. They had to resupply from the ground at regular intervals. So if the coup d’etat army locked down the planet, they would essentially be under siege. And without supplies, they wouldn’t be able to stay hidden.

It seemed, then, that the ground was the safest place to be, meaning that they were inevitably staring down a surface attack.

“Yeah, I’m against setting ourselves up to get sieged too.”

But there was one more reason Koutarou was opposed to it.

“If that guy’s on Earth, there’s no guarantee that the Blue Knight won’t be found in orbit.”

“That guy? Who are you talking about?”

“DKI’s Elexis. He’s back on Earth.”

“Satomi-sama, are you sure?!”

The moment Elexis’s name popped up, Ruth’s face turned pale. And for good reason. He was her former fiancé and the CEO of Dragon Knight Industries, a Forthorthian conglomerate working with the military.

“There’s no doubt about it,” said Koutarou with a nod.

Koutarou was sure that Elexis was on Earth. He only had one reason to suspect it, and that was the contents of the small container left behind by the unknown ships.

When Koutarou had fought Elexis in the past, his clothes were ruined in the explosion from one of Elexis’s missile attacks. At the time, Elexis told Koutarou he’d give him one of his old suits. And the small container left behind held exactly that—a suit. Koutarou just knew it was from Elexis.

“Since he’s here, those unidentified ships are probably new models from DKI. Who knows what kind of equipment they have on them...”

Elexis’s enterprise, DKI, was a frontrunner in technological development. And when Koutarou had fought Elexis previously, he’d made full use of that. He had all kinds of technology at his disposal, and wasn’t afraid to use it. While Koutarou had fortunately managed to fend him off then, DKI’s power couldn’t be underestimated. They might even have means to find Blue Knight.

That suit might even be it... I might be playing into his hand, but we can’t just leave Theia and Ruth in space forever...

Koutarou had a suspicion that even the suit might be part of his plans. By delivering it as promised, Elexis was revealing DKI’s involvement. Perhaps that was a way of telling them it was pointless to hide. That’s what Koutarou thought.

But even putting that aside, Koutarou still thought hiding in space was a bad idea. The risks were too high. Having their supply route cut off would be devastating. So even if it was a trap and Elexis was only trying to scare them into leaving the spaceship for Earth, they had to do it. They would face whatever forces came at them on the surface.

“We’ll have to factor this all into our plans,” said Kiriha.

She’d come to the same conclusion as Koutarou. Her expression was severe.

“Can I trust you with that, Kiriha?”

“It’s a tricky problem to approach, but... I’ll give it a shot.”

In situations like this, the attacking side had an overwhelming advantage. It was difficult for the defending side to prepare for each and every kind of a potential attack. It would be a challenge even for the quick-witted Kiriha.

“Your Highness, the passage is almost stabilized.”

With the explanation over for now, Ruth pulled up a hologram of some kind of data and showed it to Theia.

“Hmm, very well. Contact the other side.”

“Yes.”

After giving Ruth some instructions, Theia turned towards Koutarou and the others.

“Actually, Koutarou, everyone... There’s someone I would like to introduce to all of you.”

“Introduce?”

If Theia was introducing them, there couldn’t be that many possibilities as to their identity. In fact, there was one person in particular who had been mentioned a few times already that wasn’t present.

“This is my mother, Elfaria.”

When Theia spoke her name, a beautiful woman appeared behind her. Now that the instability from the previous warps had diffused, a gate connecting Blue Knight and the Hazy Moon had been opened, and this woman had travelled through it.

“It’s nice to meet you, everyone.”

This woman was none other than the one hundred and twentieth empress of the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire, Elfaria Dana Forthorthe.

Elfaria had fled with nothing but the clothes on her back, so she was wearing more toned down clothes and accessories than normal. But even casual for her was exceptionally luxurious. Her well tailored dress made from expensive looking textiles made that quite clear. She also had brilliant golden hair like Theia, which was crowned with a jeweled headpiece. Even her pure white shoes were lined with gold and jewels. Everything she had was exquisite. Elfaria truly looked like the empress of an empire that ruled over many worlds.

“Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. I’m Theia’s mother, Elfaria. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

But she was a very openhearted person. Befitting of a pacifist, she spoke with a gentle tone and smile.

“Y-You could buy three mansions using just what she’s wearing...”

“Yurika, keep it together! She might be ridiculously rich, but she seems like a nice person!”

“Hahh... So this is the empress of a country that’s been around for over two thousand years...”

“So that’s Theia-dono’s mother... I’m glad to see she’s in good health.”

“Will Clan-san and Theia-san turn out like this too eventually?”

“That’s my plan. In order to become the next empress, I’d have to at the very least be on equal grounds with Her Majesty.”

“A real empress, huh...? I’ll make sure to absorb all of this for reference in the next play...”

The girls all instinctively held their breath when they beheld Elfaria. And it wasn’t just her outfit; Elfaria herself was beautiful. She had the attractiveness of a grown woman, but a youthful look that made it hard to believe she was a mother. And on top of all that, she had an aura of benevolence seemingly overflowing within. Thanks to that, what she was wearing didn’t appear gaudy in the slightest. Her clothes and accessories all served to amplify her beauty. Empress Elfaria was truly picturesque, even just standing still.

“She sure is making herself look young...”

And though the girls all beheld the beautiful Elfaria with wonder, there was one person who abstained. Unfazed by her beauty, this person threw a frosty gaze Elfaria’s way.

“She should be in her late thirties... yet she looks like a young woman...”

It was the only man on the bridge, Koutarou.

“Ah?!”

Hearing those disrespectful words, Elfaria noticed Koutarou’s presence. It certainly hadn’t been a compliment, yet she smiled brightly. And like a young girl, her eyes sparkled as she ran up to him.

“Long time no see, Layo―”

“Aaaaahhh!”

Realizing what Elfaria was about to say before anyone else, Koutarou hurriedly stopped her and covered her mouth. He then wrapped his arm around her neck, forcibly drew her closer to him, and whispered into her ear.

“Elle, if you say any more than that, I swear I’ll punch you even if you are the empress.”

“Hmmh, mhhm!”

Sensing that Koutarou was serious, Elfaria frantically nodded her head. Koutarou then let go of her, but Elfaria didn’t move right away. Instead, she whispered into his ear.

“Layous-sama, you still haven’t told Theia the truth, even in this situation?”

“How could I tell her? Do you want her to be in even more danger?”

“I don’t think there is anything more dangerous than a coup d’etat...”

Koutarou had shouted over her and treated her roughly, yet the empress allowed it. On top of that, they were now secretly talking about something. Koutarou and Elfaria’s strange behavior astonished most of the girls on the bridge.

Theia spoke for all of them when she asked, “Koutarou, do you and my mother know each other?”

As far as Theia knew, Koutarou and Elfaria had never met before. Theia had mentioned Koutarou to Elfaria a few times in the past, but it had only been small talk. However, considering how they were behaving, this certainly didn’t seem like the first time they’d met. Theia suspected that Koutarou had somehow managed to contact Elfaria after she’d given him full access to the Blue Knight’s systems.

“N-No, it was a misunderstanding on my part. She just happened to look like someone I know. Right, Elle?”

“‘Elle’?”

Theia cocked her head to the side at hearing that strangely intimate nickname. Seeing Theia’s reaction, Koutarou realized his blunder and hurried to correct himself.

“Um, I mean... Your Majesty Elfaria.”

“That’s right, Theia. This is my first time meeting Layous-sama―”

A thud rang out.

“You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you, Your Majesty?!”

“Ouch... And that’s not true. This is our first time meeting, after all.”

“Oh yeah?”

But every time Koutarou was about to convince Theia, Elfaria mixed things up. It would take a little while longer until he was able to convince her.

Seeing how Koutarou and Elfaria were behaving, Ruth came up with a certain theory.

“Could this be...”

That theory was that Koutarou and Elfaria had met in the past when Koutarou was returning home from Forthorthe. Going off that as a premise, a few other things would start to make sense. A prime example would be Blue Knight’s maneuver suit, Koutarou’s blue armor.

When Koutarou had first put it on, it matched his physique perfectly. There hadn’t even been a need for minor adjustments. At the time Ruth had thought it was sheer happenstance, but thinking back on it, was far too strange of a coincidence.

As an archeologist, Elfaria had allegedly reproduced that armor based off descriptions in ancient documents. It was easy to think that Elfaria had redesigned the armor based off of Koutarou’s measurements recorded in documents from past Forthorthe, but that wasn’t the case.

A few months passed between Koutarou first putting on the armor and him being sent to the past. It was hard to believe that Koutarou, who was in the middle of growing, hadn’t changed at all in that time. Just going off of height alone, there should be a few centimeters’ difference. So if Elfaria really had based her measurements off of an old document, the armor still should have needed adjusting. But in spite of that, it hadn’t.

So if wasn’t that and it wasn’t outright dumb luck, Ruth could only think of one other possibility. And that was that Elfaria had met with Koutarou before starting her work on the armor, and obtained the initial data at that time. That was the only way for her to know what Koutarou’s measurements would be when he first put on the armor.

“As things stand, it might not have been a coincidence that Her Highness’s trial was to invade Satomi-sama’s room...”

Elfaria was a famed archeologist, but she was also a specialist when it came to computers. That was because being an archeologist in modern Forthorthe required extensive knowledge of ancient computers.

And with that knowledge, Elfaria might have made some alterations to Theia’s trial. She very well may have even intentionally made it so she’d have to invade Koutarou’s apartment. All she would have had to do was hack into the computer before Theia’s trial was decided. And taking everything into consideration, Elfaria had a strong motive to do so.

Elfaria, who had a lot of political enemies, would want to put her daughter somewhere safe before making any major political moves, like proclaiming disarmament. And if asked where the safest place would be, any citizen of Forthorthe would surely reply the same:

With the Blue Knight, Layous Fatra Veltlion.

We might have been moving according to Her Majesty’s plans all along...

Ruth started to suspect that this was all by Elfaria’s design. From raising Theia as a fan of the Blue Knight to choosing Ruth to be her guard. It might all have been to protect Theia, and to have Koutarou choose her.

Once Elfaria had introduced herself, Koutarou and the others started their own introductions. The introductions took place one at a time in parallel with the strategy meeting. And since there were eight people who hadn’t meet Elfaria before, it took nearly an hour before it was the final person’s turn to go see Elfaria.

“It’s been a while, Clan-san.”

“I see you haven’t changed at all, Your Majesty.”

“I’m glad we could meet again.”

As Elfaria said that, she smiled like she was greeting an old friend.

“Truth be told, I’ve always been watching over you until today.”

“Me?”

Clan put her hand on her chest. Her eyes behind her glasses showed surprise.

“Yes. I watched over as you matured and started to look like you did in my memories, eagerly awaiting for you to become the you that I know.”

“Then, when I left for Earth...”

“I danced for joy, thinking that the time had finally come.”

“You weren’t worried for Theiamillis-san?”

“Why would I be? I already knew how things would turn out. And besides, Layous-sama was with her.”

Elfaria and Clan both turned to look at Koutarou. He was currently in the middle of a serious discussion with Theia and Kiriha. He didn’t look like the high school boy Satomi Koutarou, but the legendary hero, the Blue Knight. It was the version of him that Clan had monopolized until today.

“In fact, I’m more worried now.”

“That’s true. We’re currently in a very serious situation, and―”

“No, no, I’m not worried about that.”

Clan had assumed that Elfaria was worried about the coup d’etat. However, she smiled and shook her head. That wasn’t what was on her mind.

“Whatever happens with the coup d’etat happens. And if I am defeated walking alongside the Blue Knight, then so be it. As long as I do my best for the citizens, then I will have no regrets.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“That girl. The one who called herself Harumi...”

“You’re worried about Harumi?”

It turns out what Elfaria was worried about was the girl behind Koutarou listening in on the strategy meeting, Sakuraba Harumi. But Harumi didn’t look like a threat to Clan. She couldn’t understand why Elfaria was concerned.

“She looks just like the Silver Princess. It’s like she’s her very reincarnation.”

“Surely that can’t be... She might be able to control Signaltin and it’s true she has Alaia’s memories... But Harumi is her own person; she’s not Alaia-san.”

“If I had met you first... If... I had asked you to help me first... what would you have done, Koutarou-sama?”

“What?”

“That’s what the Silver Princess said before Layous-sama left. I found it recorded in the history of the translation device that came with the data you gave me from the armor.”

Twenty years ago, Elfaria had asked Clan for the data from Koutarou’s armor. Since the data had direct recordings of important history to Forthorthe, it was something she was eager to get her hands on.

“Harumi met him before anyone else, and now she is serving as the Silver Princess’s replacement. There’s nothing I’m more worried about than that.”

Elfaria flashed a pained smile. If that wasn’t by pure chance, then what did it mean? There was nothing that worried Elfaria, who wished for her daughter’s happiness, more than that.

“...Fate might not be on Theia’s side.”

“There’s no need to worry, Your Majesty.”

However, Clan wasn’t worried like Elfaria was. Now it was Clan’s turn to smile.

“Even if your worries come to fruition, Veltlion isn’t so simple a man that he’d accept just Harumi.”

“You sound confident, Clan-san.”

“I guess you could call it a woman’s intuition.”

“Well, that’s a problem. It seems I’ve found yet another reason to worry.”

“I won’t back down easily, you know?”

“My, my, heehee... But still, it feels very strange to hear Schweigers’ daughter speaking of a woman’s intuition.”

“Even if you’re the empress, I won’t forgive such rudeness... Though I know exactly what you mean, heehee.”

“Teeheehee... Then allow me to formally apologize, Princess Clariossa.”

Before long, the two women were laughing together. Their first meeting in twenty years was a joyous, peaceful occasion. But something would soon put a stop to that. Clan’s bracelet began vibrating.

“Oh?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Um... it’s a message from my family. What could it be?”

Clan went to a nearby terminal to bring up the message.

“This is...”

And once she read it in its entirety, the smile on Clan’s face vanished in an instant.

The message Clan had received was actually a demand from the military sent through her family. The military wanted Clan and the Hazy Moon to retreat.

The military didn’t know about Clan’s change of heart or how she’d changed over the past months, so they still thought she was after Theia. In order words, that she was on their side, and they didn’t want her involved in the commotion. There was also the chance that Theia might use Clan by sending an emergency rescue signal again. So in order to avoid that, they wanted Clan to fall back.

All things considered, as a Forthorthian, it was only natural that Clan would try and rescue the princess. And after receiving an emergency rescue signal like that, Clan was practically forced to side with Theia upon seeing Blue Knight being attacked by unidentified ships. The three unidentified ships knew that, so they’d left without putting up a fight against Clan.

The military enjoyed their close relationship with the Schweiger family, and didn’t want to do anything to endanger that. But as long as Clan was in the area around Earth, Theia would inevitably try and use her for help again. That’s why they sent a message through the Schweiger family asking her to return home.

Immediately after receiving that message, Clan consulted with Koutarou and the others. She was now Koutarou and Theia’s ally, and she had also been friends with Elfaria since twenty years ago. She wasn’t cruel enough to retreat without consulting with those close to her.

“This is bad. Having me retreat is proof that an attack is on the horizon. We can also assume that they’re planning to attack in space.”

“Clan, fall back to a safe area.”

“No!”

Koutarou recommended retreating, but Clan shook her head.

“Are you telling me to obey the coup d’etat army?! That’s not a funny joke! I might still be immature, but I am a proud member of the Forthorthian royalty!”

After the growth Clan had undergone, she couldn’t accept the coup d’etat’s cowardly way of doing things. She was planning on standing with Theia and Elfaria and fighting.

“Please, Clan. Take the civilians with you and retreat.”

However, Theia’s words got Clan’s attention.

“Civilians?”

“That’s right. There are other people aboard Blue Knight who helped me and my mother escape. We can’t fight with them still on board. Please protect them on your Hazy Moon, just in case.”

“That’s...”

Clan started to hesitate.

Theia had considered her way of fighting. Her standard MO included dangerous attacks and maneuvers, but she would be hesitant to do any of that with people she wanted to protect on board. Escaping would be easy if it was just Theia and Ruth, but that wasn’t the case with so many civilians onboard. And that would limit the kinds of plans they could use.

“I’m asking you too, Clan. If there’s real danger, it will be your job to escape with Theia and Her Majesty. Until then, I want you to keep away and hide.”

Because the Hazy Moon had excellent stealth capabilities, Clan wouldn’t have to fall back far in order to keep herself from being detected by the coup d’etat army. That would allow the Hazy Moon to remain on standby until it was needed.

“I... understand...”

Though mortified, Clan reluctantly agreed to Koutarou and Theia’s request. She knew it had to be done. But doing nothing while seeing the princess and the Blue Knight off into battle was frustrating.

Fate might not be on my side either...

Clan was reminded of what Elfaria had said just a moment ago. She couldn’t help feeling like a side character seeing the main characters off before the climax.

The coup d’etat army chasing after Theia and Elfaria was using newly built, unmarked ships. At a glance, it was impossible to tell their faction or purpose. Essentially, they were operating as a ghost fleet that didn’t officially exist. That was why they couldn’t contact Clan directly, and had to go through headquarters and her family. Because of that, there was a considerable delay in communications, and any detailed discussion was difficult.

“Elexis-sama, we have received a reply from the Schweiger family.”

“And the results?”

“It seems princess Clariossa is retreating. But if she falls back without reason and we attack shortly thereafter, she will be suspected of being a part of it, so she wants us to wait before we strike.”

“How long of a delay did she request?”

“Three days, sir.”

“Hmm... Well, it was pretty sudden, and the top brass didn’t leak any information to Her Highness Clariossa, so three days seems fair.”

Having received a report on Clan, Elexis leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. He was sitting in the commander’s seat on the bridge of a carrier ship.

As Koutarou had suspected, the three ships that had come after Theia were under Elexis’s command. DKI had secretly produced a fleet of ships, and they were being operated by Elexis and the Melcenhein band of knights, which he had a deep connection with thanks to one of his distant relatives. Everyone with rank of captain or below was from the Melcenhein family, and Elexis was the one at the top giving the captains instructions.

“That’s just within our time limit.”

“But it will do. Either way, we’ll only have time for one attack, so there’s no need to worry about the loss of a few days. Just think of it as showing respect for the lovely Schweiger family.”

The military was chasing after Theia and Elfaria in a highly secretive and illegal way with the help of Elexis and DKI’s manpower and equipment. But there was a restriction on how much time they could spend on this mission in such a fashion. If they took too long, they wouldn’t be able to cover it all up.

After that, they would need to act through legal channels, and in order to do that, they would need to frame Theia and Elfaria for some kind of crime in order to pursue and detain them. Of course, the empress and princess hadn’t done anything illegal, so finding a way to frame them would take a considerable amount of time and effort. And while that groundwork was being laid, the empress and her daughter would be untouchable.

That meant they had to act quickly, before anyone caught on to what was going on, in order to prevent there from being a large gap of time between this and their next attack. But Clan had agreed to retreat within the timeframe they had for this mission, so Elexis didn’t think much of it. He knew, regardless of when they attacked, they’d only have one chance at it, so this had no effect on his plans.

“In fact, I’m more worried about him.”

“Him?”

At first the captain didn’t understand who Elexis was referring to, and gave him a puzzled look.

“You don’t know?”

“Ah, the man you sent the suit to?”

Elexis was now making the same face he had when he’d packed his suit into the container and launched it. Thanks to that, the captain was quickly able to connect the dots and determine who Elexis was talking about.

“That’s right. You could say that everything hinges on whether or not we can beat that extraordinary boy, Koutarou-kun.”

“Can we win?”

“We will. I’ve made preparations to ensure exactly that.”

Elexis was smiling. There was tension in his expression, but he was confident above all else. To the captain, it looked like Elexis was about to play a game with a good friend.

“You look like you’re having fun, Elexis-sama.”

“Oh, I most certainly am. This might sound imprudent, but I’m having a blast.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the composure to enjoy myself the same way. This will decide the future of Forthorthe, after all.”

“I’m not worried for Forthorthe’s future in the slightest. No matter who takes the throne after Her Majesty Elfaria, their political views will be closer to my ideals.”

“Even if that’s Princess Theiamillis?”

“That’s what I believe.”

Elexis believed that any future ruler would take the coup d’etat that happened during Elfaria’s reign into consideration in their politics. There would be a certain amount of wariness, and an increased emphasis on defense. And by capitalizing on that, DKI would rake in a tidy profit while making the world a better place—at least, according to Elexis. So no matter what, as long as the coup d’etat took place, that was enough for Elexis to get what he wanted out of this.

“Besides, I am confident I can survive no matter what way the world turns out.”

“You stand to gain from this no matter how it goes down, and you’re confident you’ll survive no matter what... Yet you’re concerned about this boy?”

“Yes. Not even my most desperate efforts might be enough. I’ve never met an opponent like him before. Can you tell? I’m going all out for the first time in my life.”

Before he met Koutarou, Elexis had always been the victor. He could repel all of his enemies without even getting serious. Because of that, he’d never felt like life offered him much of a challenge. Part of why he’d agreed to work with the military in the first place was for exactly that—a challenge. That was also why he was present on-site. Normally, there would be no need for the CEO of DKI to be on the front line.

But things had changed when he met Koutarou. Koutarou had powers that surpassed his understanding, and composure far beyond his years. Elexis couldn’t even imagine what Koutarou had experienced for him to be the man he was. And that all made him leap for joy. What excited him even more was that he’d lost to him. He was thrilled to finally find an opponent that required him to push himself to the limit.

“You make it sound like you don’t even mind if you lose.”

“Oh, that wasn’t my intention. Despite how I sound, I hate losing. Though, I suppose if I do lose, my enjoyment will only be prolonged.”

“Then I’ll be putting my hopes on your determination to win.”

“Don’t worry. That side of me is diehard.”

Elexis and the captain both smiled, partly because they were related and partly because the bond between Elexis and the Melcenhein band of knights was so strong. They were smiling because they trusted one another.