Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 15 - Chapter 3

The Surface and the Underground

Saturday, July 3rd

Once the Sun Rangers could no longer be seen, Koutarou and the others began climbing down the mountain again. While they were tired from beetle hunting, the unexpected reunion had left them in high spirits.

“How are you holding up, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“Thank you for worrying about me, Nijino-san, but I’m still going strong thanks to Clan-san’s invention. Thanks to you too, of course, Clan-san.”

“W-We can’t be too overconfident. It’s still just at the prototype stage.”

“Don’t get so embarrassed, Glasses. It’s times like these that you should brag about what you’ve done!”

“By the way, are you fine with leaving the Satomi knights’ uniform to Theia-chan and Ruth-san, Aika-san?”

“Yes. I don’t know anything about Forthorthian fashion, so I think it’s best to leave it to them”

“We’re talking about Theia and Ruth-san here. I have no idea what they’re up to, but it can’t be anything good.”

Kiriha was the only one among them whose expression remained dark. To her, the meeting with the Sun Rangers wasn’t just a reunion. It was an omen. The fact that the Sun Rangers, a surface defense force, were on the move was proof that the radical faction was stirring. That doubt overshadowed all the joy she felt over getting to see them again.

“Nee-san, I got a message from Karama, ho! The Sun Rangers have moved past where we were hunting beetles and are headed deeper into the forest, ho!”

“Have Karama continue following them.”

“Roger!”

While one of the haniwas was keeping an eye on the Sun Rangers, Kiriha planned for the future.

Since they were using a close range spiritual energy sensor, they must be on someone’s trail. They most likely pursued someone after a battle, or they came out here with some kind of a lead...

Kiriha predicted that the Sun Rangers had caught wind that their enemy—the radical faction—was hiding in this area. Her reason for thinking so was their sensor, which was far inferior to the ones the haniwas were equipped with. With its diminished range and accuracy, trying to find something with the sensor alone would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. That had to mean that something led them to the mountain. There was no way they were here by chance.

That was why she’d sent one of her haniwas after them. Karama, who had a superior sensor, might be able to find something before the Sun Rangers could. With the radicals on the move underground, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that they’d made it to the surface as well.

“If we can find them first and make the first move...”

Kiriha normally didn’t like fighting, but it was something she might be forced to do in order to stop the radical faction. The situation had potentially deteriorated to that point. If the radical faction had already built a base on the surface, or if they were in the middle of a large-scale operation, they would likely be past the point of talking things out.

“Nee-san, this is bad, ho!”

“What is it?!”

That threat became all the more real with the bad news from Korama.

“An emergency message from Chief Daiha, ho! Shijima Tayuma has escaped, ho!”

“What?!”

Shijima Tayuma was a leader of the radical faction. As part of the People of the Earth, he was especially elitist and harbored a lot of hate for the surface dwellers. Last year, Tayuma had tried to enact a military operation on the surface, but was stopped by Kiriha and the others. The ordeal ended with him being sent to prison underground, but he had now apparently escaped. Kiriha knew just what that meant.

As of this very moment, her battle had begun.

The ones responsible for breaking Tayuma out of prison were a young man and woman rarely seen underground. The man was tall and blonde, wore a suit, and had a foreign air about him. The woman had keen eyes and wore a revealing, dark indigo outfit. Since the underground dwellers typically preferred simplicity in their fashion, Tayuma looked very plain standing next to the two of them.

All three of them were on the run after breaking Tayuma out of jail. They were still underground, so the operation wasn’t a complete success yet. Currently, they were on standby, hiding in the basement of a certain building while they waited for an escape vehicle to arrive. Though the basement was dim and dirty, it was a welcome respite since it was the first real chance they’d had to rest since fleeing the prison.

“...It’s been a while since we last met face to face, indigo warrior.”

“Well, getting in touch has been difficult lately.”

Tayuma began by addressing the woman. Her name was Maya, and the two of them had been working together for over ten years now. Tayuma ordinarily hated surface dwellers, but Maya was an exception. She was from the lost seventh tribe mentioned in the legends of the People of Earth. In other words, she was technically one of them. That’s why Tayuma was willing to cooperate with her.

“So, Maya, who is this man?”

However, Tayuma didn’t know the man she was with. Tayuma was adamantly convinced of the superiority of the People of the Earth, and it rankled him to think that he’d been reduced to being saved by a pitiful surface dweller.

“This is Elexis. We became partners a while ago. I can’t go into details, but I can guarantee that he isn’t Japanese.”

“My name is Elexis. It’s a pleasure meeting you, Your Excellency Shijima Tayuma.”

Elexis bowed elegantly. As an experienced businessman, he was quite used to being met with hostility. He wasn’t shaken in the slightest.

“Hrmm...”

“I understand it may be hard for you to accept, but I implore you to consider the bigger picture. It is because of Elexis that we’re able to mass produce weapons. Isn’t it obvious he’s no ordinary man?”

“That’s true... but...”

Maya, Tayuma, and the radical faction backing them were only able to enter the final stages of their plan with Elexis’s support. The machinery he’d brought in was far superior to both what the surface and underground dwellers could get their hands on. Thanks to that, they were able to overcome the technological hurdle in their way and considerably shorten the timeframe it would take to enact their plan.

“And like I said, he’s my partner. Insulting him is the same as insulting me.”

“...I understand. I am sorry, Elexis. I do apologize. I’m quite grateful for your support and cooperation.”

“I’m honored.”

In the end, Tayuma broke. He considered Maya part of the People of the Earth, not to mention she held great power and supported his cause. She was a wonderful ally, and Tayuma had no intention of doing anything to jeopardize that. Besides, Elexis was an outsider with superior technology. He was clearly quite different from the surface-dwelling Japanese that had chased the People of the Earth underground. They were Tayuma’s real enemy, so he saw no point in persecuting Elexis when Maya was willing to vouch for him.

“By the way, how is the factory progressing?”

With the matter of Elexis settled, Tayuma got back down to business. In the end, the war against the surface was what really mattered to him.

“Everything is going smoothly. About 95 percent of the scheduled production has already been completed, which is why we came to pick you up.”

“That’s much faster than what we expected.”

“We’ll go over the details when we arrive at our destination. It would be better if you see for yourself.”

“Which means that our destination is the factory on the surface?”

“That’s correct. The invincible army awaits you, their commander, there.”

“Wonderful... Now I’ll be able to pull one over on the Kurano family...”

Hearing Maya’s report, Tayuma flashed a twisted grin, a cruel and ugly expression of his envy and hatred.

After escaping the underground, the three of them headed towards the mountains just outside of Kisshouharukaze City. It was where Elexis had erected a base when he first came to Earth, and the simple repair and production facility that he’d brought with him was still there. The radical faction had made it into a full size factory for their own purposes. Tayuma’s first impression upon seeing it was satisfaction.

“Seeing it in person, I must say it’s quite a masterpiece! So this is my army!”

In the factory warehouse were mechanical soldiers that utilized the same technology Maya’s body did, though these constructions weren’t anywhere near as human-looking. Less than half of the total force was in the building, but they still numbered over a thousand units.

“We have already relocated our portion, so the ones remaining here are without a doubt yours,” explained Maya.

“So these will be equipped with your clan’s techniques—I think you called it magic, didn’t you? I can hardly contain myself just imagining the sight of them advancing. So these are the fruits of the true power of the People of the Earth! Muahahaha!” reveled Tayuma.

“Regarding that, the trailers that are transporting the soldiers to our base will return with that equipment.”

Once the production of the weapons, including the mechanical soldiers, reached 95 percent completion, Darkness Rainbow’s take of the deal was accounted for. After sending that portion to her own base, Maya had gone to rescue Tayuma. She was being cautious and minding the order of operations in this exchange to make sure she wouldn’t suffer any losses even in the event of something unforeseen. The same was true with the magical weapons that Darkness Rainbow was sharing with Tayuma and the radicals. Under the pretext that finding transportation was difficult, Maya had made sure the spiritual weapons she was getting from the underground dwellers were taken to her base first, where they would exchange them for the magical weapons. So while Maya appeared to be cooperating with Tayuma on the surface of things, she was still safeguarding her own interests and profits above all else.

“Once the trailers return with the weapons, all preparations will be complete. Maguz-sama will be pleased.”

There, Tayuma mentioned a strange name. Maguz was the leader of the radical faction, but largely controlled things from the shadows and didn’t make public appearances very often. As a result, even though the conservatives had caught radical soldiers before, they were never able to get much information on their leader. All they knew was the codename Maguz.

“By the way, Tayuma, that’s who requested your rescue.”

“So it really was Maguz-sama... I must send my thanks later.”

“While you’re at it, let them know they got a good deal.”

“Very well. Then I will go report and send my thanks to Maguz-sama right away.”

Tayuma had safely arrived at his base and confirmed the progress at the factory. Everything was in order, so it was now time to get to work. A large-scale attack on the surface was right around the corner.

“Me and Elexis are gonna go perform the final adjustments on that.”

“It’s already complete?!”

“I’d say it’s also about 95 percent finished. That’s why we’re making final adjustments.”

“I see, then I’ll leave—”

Tayuma was interrupted by jarring alarm sounding throughout the factory.

“Intruder alert! I repeat: intruder alert! Intruders are believed to have broken past the eastern fence and entered the site! Guards are to find and dispose of these intruders right away!”

“So they’ve made it here, have they? It seems the wretched surface dwellers aren’t all just idiots!”

Tayuma, Maya, and Elexis left the rest of their reports for later and headed straight for the operation room. There was no longer any time for chitchat. They needed to find the intruders as quickly as possible and prevent any information from being leaked.

The Sun Rangers had stumbled across the factory by chance, though it was their hard work and dedication that allowed them to be in the right place at the right time. In essence, it was both a stroke of good luck and the result of all their training.

“We did it! There really was a base! It’s just like you said, Kotaro!”

“I thought something was strange. They’re underground people, but lately they’ve been flying in the sky.”

The Sun Rangers had fought against the underground dwellers on several occasions, though never publically. They were thwarting small-scale attacks like the sabotaging of communication facilities. And after a minor skirmish, the underground dwellers would always retreat.

However, as of late, something had changed. Whereas they used to always escape underground, they’d recently also started escaping into the air. And whenever they did, they would always fly off in the same direction. The Sun Rangers took the hint and followed after them, searching high and low for where they might be going.

With their unreliable sensor, they’d come out several times without any luck, but today was different. They persevered in their search, and finally came across a dot on the screen of their sensor. It was moving swiftly, and they hurriedly gave chase so as not to lose it.

They had no way of knowing, but the reaction they’d picked up was the vehicle that Tayuma and the others had used to escape. Solely concerned about their underground pursuers, they’d sped up once they reached the surface. Since the engine to the vehicle used spiritual energy and increasing its speed meant increasing its output, that put them on the Sun Rangers’ radar.

Tayuma and the others had made three mistakes. They underestimated the accuracy of sensors the surface dwellers had access to, they didn’t consider the possibility that surface dwellers might be investigating nearby, and they were in too much of a rush.

The quality of a sensor didn’t matter if what it was detecting was close enough. And something like a speeding spiritual energy vehicle was easy enough to detect in the first place. In short, carelessness, coincidence, and haste had all conspired against them and led the Sun Rangers right to Tayuma’s factory.

“But what do we do now, Kenichi? This is definitely no normal base. They’re making something on a large scale here.”

Hayato was wearing his blue battle suit and looking at the facility through the scope of his rifle. It definitely had the feel of a military base, but it also looked like a factory. It was taking in a lot of water from the river and had several smokestacks protruding from the roof. It even looked like it had its own power plant. It was easy enough to tell that something was being made inside.

“It’s too big for just the five of us to attack.”

“I think so too. If we move in now, we’re only going to end up regretting it.”

Megumi and Daisaku, dressed in their pink and yellow suits respectively, both wanted to play it safe. The base was too massive for them to try and take on alone. They believed calling for reinforcements would be best.

“So we’re just going to leave without doing anything? They’re definitely up to no good.”

“I agree with Hayato. We can’t return emptyhanded. Remember what Professor Roppongi said the other day? A large-scale battle might be close.”

Hayato in blue and Kenichi in red wanted to take a more active approach. Now that they’d found the enemy base, they wanted to at least throw a wrench in the gears. With a large-scale battle potentially ahead of them, they might end up at a disadvantage in the near future if they didn’t take their chance here. That being said, it wasn’t like they wanted to charge in without a plan.

“Then it’s two against two... Kotaro, what do you think?”

“Hmm...”

Kotaro, wearing his green suit, scratched his head as Kenichi asked for his opinion. After thinking on it for a minute, he slapped his hands together.

“That’s right! Kenichi-niichan, what if we compromise and take the middle ground?”

“Middle ground? What do you mean?”

“We’ll take a look inside the factory. We’ll figure out what they’re up to and then get out. That way, we won’t have to attack and we won’t have to walk away with nothing to show for ourselves. We’ll at least get information.”

“Kotaro, you’ve been on a roll lately.”

“Hehehehe.”

Being praised by Kenichi, Kotaro proudly puffed out his chest. He was the shortest of the group, but he was standing a little taller now.

“I’m thinking of going with Kotaro’s idea. Does anyone have any objections?”

Kenichi looked to the rest of the group to get their consent. Everyone nodded their heads in unison without any disagreement. Kotaro’s third option suited everyone.

“With that decided, let’s go, everyone!” declared Red Shine.

“Yeah!” the other four Shines shouted.

With Kenichi out in front, the Sun Rangers carefully approached the factory. Since they didn’t want to be discovered before they could scout the place out, they needed to be stealthy and choose their moves wisely.

“It’s just that this isn’t very hero-like... Baron-san might get angry if he saw us now.”

“Kotaro, Baron-san would understand. This is for the sake of the children.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Like Kotaro said, sneaking around wasn’t very heroic. If anything, it was more villainous. But their intentions and their hearts were unquestionably on the side of good.

Around the factory was an electrified fence. Carelessly touching it would make for a shocking experience, but if they cut it, the enemy would realize they were there and find them in no time.

“All right. Come on over, guys.”

This was where the giant Daisaku showed off his talent. Using a cable to reroute the electricity, they could safely break through part of the fence. He might have looked to be the clumsiest of the bunch at first glance, but in reality, Daisaku was the most dexterous of them all.

“Thanks, Daisaku-kun. You’re always such a lifesaver.”

Megumi smiled as she helped Daisaku put away his tools.

“It’s not as difficult as it looks, Megu-chan.”

Megumi held quite a bit of respect for Daisaku’s expertise since she was unfamiliar with machinery. Partially thanks to that, Daisaku was the man she favored the most, not including cases of her sickness. She was unaware of that, however, and it would probably take quite a while yet before her feelings blossomed into love.

“I’ll go first. Wait for my signal before you follow.”

“Be careful, Kenichi.”

“Roger that!”

Kenichi lightly waved at Hayato before passing through the hole opened up in the fence. It was the job of the leader to jump into danger first. Their second in command, Hayato, would bring up the rear. That way, either the leader or the second in command would be able to handle any threat, whether it approached from the front or the back. This was the formation that had naturally developed between them over the past few months.

“All right, it’s safe!”

Having passed through the fence, Kenichi hid in the shadow of a nearby container and waved his allies over. The Sun Rangers passed through the fence one at a time, and they all made it stealthily over to Kenichi inside of thirty seconds.

“This is where it gets difficult.”

After accounting for everyone, Kenichi poked his face out from behind the container to take a look at what was ahead. There was nowhere else to hide, so they would need to rush all the way up to the building. Since he could see armed underground dwellers actively patrolling, they would need to time their move just right.

But they didn’t get that far. All of a sudden, a loud siren sounded throughout the entire factory grounds, putting the patrolling guards in a scramble.

“Intruder alert! I repeat: intruder alert! Intruders are believed to have broken past the eastern fence and entered the site! Guards are to find and dispose of these intruders right away!”

“They found us?!”

“Get it together, Kenichi! Judging from the alert, they’ve only just now found out about the fence!”

Kenichi turned pale, but Hayato calmed him down. Neither the contents of the alert nor the movements of the guards indicated anyone had actually spotted them.

“Nii-chan, they might have cameras checking the fence regularly. It’s much cheaper than higher-tech security devices.”

“What do we do, Kenichi-kun? It’s going to be hard to scout out the factory now.”

“Daisaku-kun is right! We can’t scout while they’re all on high alert like this!”

The number of guards was steadily increasing. The Sun Rangers had grown strong over the last year, but not strong enough to deal with several dozen enemies at once. Just scouting the factory like they’d planned now would be dangerous.

“All right, here’s what we do. Me, Hayato, and Kotaro will get their attention. While we’re doing that, Megumi and Daisaku will go take pictures of the inside of the factory. I don’t care if it’s through a window. Once that’s over, we all get out of here ASAP! We’ll make a diversion and book it!”

Since the underground people didn’t know how many Sun Rangers there were, they should be able to fool them with just three of them. That would make it easier to escape down the line, too.

“Okay. Be careful, Kenichi-kun.”

“You too, Daisaku! Now let’s go, Hayato, Kotaro!”

With their strategy meeting concluded, Kenichi and the other two jumped out from the shadow of the container. Giving them a few seconds lead time, Daisaku and Megumi took off in the opposite direction. On their way, they saw a lot of guards running towards Kenichi and the others.

“I hope they’ll be okay...”

“You don’t have to worry about them, Megu-chan. Let’s just focus on our own job.”

Megumi was worried, but Daisaku gave her the reassurance she needed.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Daisaku-kun. Let’s do our best, the two of us.”

“Yeah.”

They didn’t have the time to worry about Kenichi and the others. They had their own dangers to overcome.

While they had acted cool about it, Kenichi and the others were pursued relentlessly the moment they came out of their cover.

“They’re shooting! They’re not even asking questions!”

“Kenichi-niichan, there’s more coming from the left!”

“Kenichi, Kotaro! Don’t go to the right either; a different squad is flanking us!”

They still had some distance between them, but there were underground dwellers everywhere. The guards were armed with rifles, and were mercilessly firing at the three rangers. Slowly but surely, they were being cornered.

“Hayato, where should we go?!”

“Just focus on running forward!”

The three rangers pressed onward as bullets whizzed passed them. All they could do right now was keep going. They had to keep running to buy time for Megumi and Daisaku to fulfill their mission.

“Nii-chan, something’s weird!”

In the middle of their chase, Kotaro realized something was indeed odd.

“What?”

“It’s their guns. They’re—”

“Whoa!”

“Are you okay, Kotaro?!”

“I-I’m fine! It only hit my helmet! But you get it now, right?! The guns they’re using aren’t firing that mysterious beam they usually do!”

“Yeah, now that you mention it... I wonder why they’re using normal guns today.”

The strange thing Kotaro had noticed was that the underground dwellers weren’t using their regular weapons. There was no mistaking that these were underground dwellers, however. They were wearing the same trademark Shinto-style priestly robes and body armor that the Sun Rangers were used to seeing.

But the underground dwellers they’d fought up until now had used spiritual energy rifles. They were powerful weapons that gathered and focused spiritual energy before releasing it in beam form. Every now and then one or two in a troop would use something different, but the spiritual energy rifle was their weapon of choice by far.

But for some reason, all of the guards here were using regular guns. Without knowing why they’d switched to more common weaponry, the Sun Rangers couldn’t help but find it strange.

“No, those aren’t normal guns!”

“What do you mean, Hayato?!”

“The bullets they’re firing are arcing to chase after us! They’re like magic homing bullets!”

Hayato used a rifle himself. And being the resident expert on guns, he was the first to realize what was truly strange about the weapons the underground dwellers were using. He saw a rifle fire in one direction, but the bullet hit in another. At first he figured that he was mistaken or seeing things, but when it happened time and time again, he came to realize that wasn’t the case.

It was beyond bizarre, but the bullets were actually changing trajectory after they were fired. It wasn’t a significant change, but it made accurate fire possible even on the run. Hayato thought back to the trajectory of the bullet fired in the assassination of a certain president. While it was just slight, it was far from realistic that a bullet could change direction.

“Seems like this is their new weapon!”

“So they traded firepower for accuracy, huh?”

“If they get any closer, we’ll be done for in no time! Hayato, Kotaro, don’t stop running no matter what!”

Since the enemy had the overwhelming advantage in numbers, Kenichi and the others had no intention of confronting them in a real fight. But even just running around the factory site was getting harder and harder.

Who knows how long we’ll last...

As a powerful anxiety started taking root in Kenichi’s mind, Megumi’s voice came through the speaker of the communications device built into his helmet.

“Kenichi, we’re done on our end! We’re withdrawing!”

“Understood! We’ll pull out as well! I’ll contact you about the rendezvous point later!”

“Okay! Be careful!”

After reporting just the critical information, Megumi ended the call. She didn’t have the luxury of going into details right now either. But the good news raised everyone’s morale. It was time to make their escape.

“Nii-chan, let’s hurry up and get out of here!”

“Hayato, use one of your grenades to blow a hole in the fence up ahead!”

“Leave it to me!”

Hayato raised his rifle, and the underslung grenade launcher let fly a grenade with a bit of kickback and flame. The grenade hit the fence right where Hayato had aimed, and blew open a large hole. The three rangers sprinted straight for it. That was their way out.

“Hayato, you go first! Kotaro, you next!”

“Understood!”

“What about you, Nii-chan?!”

“I’ll go last! Just in— Hah!”

Kenichi hung back so he could watch everyone’s flank as they retreated, and it paid off. He was just barely able to fend off a surprise attack from an assailant who’d snuck up on them without making a sound.

“I won’t go down that easily!”

Kenichi swung the sword in his right hand and repeatedly fired the handgun in his left at his attacker. But the assailant elegantly jumped backwards and dodged the bullets.

“Wh-What’s with this guy?!”

The assailant had an overall humanoid shape, but a mechanical appearance. It was about as tall as your average man, but giving it a closer look revealed that its limbs were far too thin, as if they were just bones. On top of that, its hands and feet were equipped with large claws, making it look quite monstrous. The sheen on the surface of the whole thing made it clear it was metallic, but it had a very different look than the typical humanoid robots Japanese corporations produced these days.

“The underground dweller’s killer robot, huh? Damn it...”

Kenichi frowned and held his side with his left hand. He had a large wound carved into him there. The assailant, the underground people’s mechanical soldier, had cut him up as it jumped away. Despite its bony appearance, it was strong and quick. Kenichi thought he’d been able to defend himself, but it seemed that the mechanical soldier was one step ahead. If it wasn’t for his combat suit, the wound would have been fatal. But even with his suit’s protection, the wound was deep and pumping out an alarming amount of blood.

Not good... I can’t escape like this... I’ll have to...!

Kenichi jumped back and stood with his back against the hole in the fence.

“Kenichi, what are you doing?! Hurry up!”

“Hayato, Kotaro, you two go! I’ll buy you some time!”

Kenichi figured that they would all be wiped out at this rate. Even if the three of them fought together, it would take time to defeat the mechanical soldier. Time that they didn’t have. More guards were arriving by the minute. And even if they all fled, they’d be hunted down. He didn’t want to lead the underground dwellers to Megumi and Daisaku too. In order to prevent that, somebody needed to stay behind and stall the mechanical soldier. Since he was already injured, Kenichi thought that job should fall on his shoulders.

“You can’t, Kenichi-niichan!”

“If I don’t, none of us are going to make it out of here! Now quit your yapping and go! Return to base with as much information as possible!”

As Kenichi gave his order, the mechanical soldier attacked again. While he did his best to defend with his sword and handgun, he was clearly at a disadvantage. He took blow after blow from the mechanical soldier’s claws.

“Kotaro, let’s go!”

“Yeah!”

Hayato and Kotaro took flight, but they were running towards Kenichi rather than away from him. They dove back through the hole in the fence and entered the factory site once more.

“You idiots, what are you doing?!”

“I won’t let you hog the spotlight, Kenichi! Being cool is my job!”

“Daisaku-niichan and Megumi-neechan will take the information back.”

Hayato’s rifle belched flame, and the bomb that Kotaro threw exploded with a grand boom. With the three of them working together, the battle began to progress in their favor. Kenichi prevented the mechanical soldier from getting any closer, Hayato kept it from retreating with covering fire, and Kotaro dealt damage to it. It was a combination they’d cultivated over the past few months.

“Do you understand what you’re doing?!”

“Of course we do! We just couldn’t leave you behind!”

“Nii-chan, we all came this far together. Let’s stay together until the end.”

“You guys...”

But regardless of how much of an advantage they gained over the mechanical soldier, it was but a small victory. Before they could defeat the mechanical soldier, they would be surrounded by the guards that had caught up to them.

“...I guess I can’t stop you. In that case, let’s give it our all. If we work together, we might even make it out of here alive.”

“That’s better! That’s more like a Red Shine!”

“I wish Baron-san could have heard what you just said, Niichan. He would definitely be proud.”

The three of them already knew that there was no turning back. In the face of desperation, they steeled themselves. They were prepared to take as many enemies as possible with them. That was their job. They were soldiers who protected the peace and the safety of the people. And much unlike a year or so ago, they took pride in their work.

“You’re absolutely right! Well said, Red Shine!”

Someone called out to Kenichi, but it wasn’t Hayato or Kotaro. It wasn’t Daisaku or Megumi either. And mere moments after they heard it, the mechanical soldier in front of Kenichi was cut in half.

“Huh?!”

Just on the other side of the fallen robot was a boy in beautiful blue armor wielding a large sword.

“It looks like you’ve become real heroes in just a few months.”

“Baron-san!”

The boy who’d cut down the mechanical soldier was none other than Koutarou. Kenichi was completely stunned, and just stood there completely speechless and motionless. He was both surprised at Koutarou’s sudden appearance and the fact that he’d just cleaved the mechanical soldier in two with ease. But while he was dumbfounded, Kenichi made an easy target. The guards let loose a hail of fire. That was when the black-haired girl standing next to Koutarou—Kiriha—quickly gave an order.

“Karama, Korama, spiritual energy field to maximum output!”

“Roger!”

“Leave it to us, ho!”

In the blink of an eye, two haniwas floated up in front of Kenichi. They generated a shield of yellow light between them to protect him.

“This is bad, Koutarou! These attacks aren’t based on spiritual energy!”

The shield of light was already starting to collapse. It was partially because of the sheer amount of fire it was taking, but also because it was designed to be used primarily against spiritual energy attacks. Under such heavy fire from regular weapons, it wouldn’t last long.

“It’s okay! Leave it to me!”

Next, a girl with silver hair—Harumi—stepped forward. She closed her eyes, held her hands in front of her chest, and spoke in a mysterious tongue almost as if she were singing. It was Ancient Forthorthian, a language of rituals and magic.

“Gather, spirits of water! Dance, spirits of wind! Combine these two powers and appear, spirits of lightning!”

As she recited those words, a white light enveloped Harumi and grew stronger. As if responding to it, Koutarou’s sword began emitting the same light.

“Like a coiled snake, like a rising tornado, show yourself! Whirl! Thunder Spiral!”

Upon finishing her incantation, Harumi opened her eyes wide and thrust her hands forward. As she did, a giant coil of red light several meters in diameter appeared from her outstretched hands. It generated a powerful electromagnetic current, which twisted the trajectory of the incoming bullets via induction. As a result, they never made it anywhere near the haniwas’ barrier.

“What is this?!”

Kenichi was confounded at the odd events happening around him one after another.

“Now’s not the time to be surprised! We’re running away!”

“Y-Yes!”

But when Koutarou roared at him, Kenichi collected himself immediately. The enemy was right in front of them and there was no time to waste. Asking Koutarou questions—including just who he really was—could wait for later. He quickly passed along the order to his allies.

“Hayato, Kotaro, you heard him! We’re getting out of here!”

“G-Got it!”

“I don’t really understand, but thank you, Baron-san!”

Hayato and Kotaro seemed equally as confused as Kenichi was, but they obediently followed his orders. They hurriedly darted back through the hole in the fence and exited the factory site.

“Red Shine, I’ll lend you a hand.”

“Thanks.”

The wounded Kenichi borrowed Shizuka’s shoulder and chased after his allies.

“You’ve taken quite a beating. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

Sanae accompanied the two of them, and used her spiritual powers to perform some emergency treatment on Kenichi as they went.

“Clan, give us a smokescreen!”

“Smoke discharger fired!”

“Yurika, stop the enemy from moving!”

“Okay! Ice Burn! Modifier: Effective Area, Large!”

“Aika-san—”

“Wall of Flame!”

And after obstructing the enemy as best as they could, Koutarou and the others followed after the Sun Rangers.

It wasn’t by coincidence that Koutarou and company appeared just as Kenichi and the other rangers were in danger. Not long after Kiriha received a report that Tayuma had escaped from prison, Karama, who had been following the Sun Rangers, picked up something on his spiritual energy sensor. Kiriha suspected that there was a high chance that it was Tayuma, considering the timing. At that point, Kiriha set off in pursuit of the Sun Rangers herself.

The Sun Rangers didn’t know that there was a conservative faction of underground dwellers, nor did they know that the radical faction had made connections with magic users. They didn’t even know that magic existed in the first place. They had absolutely no way of knowing what they were going up against. On top of that, the timing was bad. The radical faction had been gearing up for an attack on the surface lately, and they were more than prepared to defend themselves at all costs. If help hadn’t come, the Sun Rangers would have been wiped out by unknown weapons that could only be described as magical.

Seeing that the Sun Rangers were willing to sacrifice themselves and that the enemy was preventing them from escaping, it was quite clear that this was no average skirmish. There was a dangerous chance it might serve as the trigger for the war between the surface and the underground. If that happened, it would be the worst case scenario that Kiriha dreaded. That’s why she decided to save the Sun Rangers, well aware that her identity might be exposed in the process.

In the conference room of the Sun Rangers’ secret base were Koutarou and the seven girls that were with him, plus all five Sun Rangers and their commander, Professor Roppongi, for a total of fourteen people in all. It was quite a crowd, but unlike room 106, the conference room was quite large. It didn’t feel cramped even with all of them in it.

“...I see. So the underground people are currently split into the conservative faction and the radical faction. I never put much thought into that, but in the end, we’re all human. The same as the Earth isn’t united, neither are the People of the Earth.”

Despite Kiriha explaining the circumstances, Professor Roppongi didn’t seem very surprised. He stroked his beard while nodding contently. Considering Earth’s history, he saw no reason to doubt what Kiriha had told them. While the question remained whether or not Kiriha really belonged to the conservative faction herself, the existence of a conservative faction made perfect sense to him.

“There are two problems. The first is that the radical faction does not represent the intentions of the People of the Earth. The other is that the radical faction is rushing to get results.”

“So the minority that is the radical faction is trying to force a war with the surface that the majority does not desire?”

“And if they succeed, we will be brought to ruin. Yet despite knowing the risks, they insist on fighting.”

“So they’d die for their pride... As expected of radicals.”

The radical faction’s way of thinking made them look like any other terrorist organization. In the end, humanity’s worst enemy was itself. Whether you were from the surface or underground didn’t matter.

“We of the conservative faction have chosen to move to the surface unbeknownst to the surface dwellers with the intent of eventually assimilating. The radical faction can’t accept that.”

“So they would rather die in battle than have their way of life extinguished...”

The conservatives had decided to migrate to the surface, and intended to live there peacefully without causing any difficulties for the locals. As a result, once those that had migrated to the surface obtained a secure means to live on their own, the People of the Earth’s government would be dissolved. While they would likely keep some sort of organization for the welfare of their people, they would otherwise become Japanese citizens. In other words, while the People of the Earth would live on, their nation would die out. That was what the radicals could not abide.

What the conservative faction was trying to protect was their people—their lineage. But the radical faction wanted to protect their nation—their pride and traditions. And since what each side valued was at odds, no amount of discussion could reconcile their differences.

“I understand the circumstances. It seems like it would be for the best if we can work together. Sadly, it would have to be unofficial...”

“I understand your circumstances as well. I appreciate your offer for cooperation.”

“I see. Then I will speak with the higher-ups.”

The Japanese government probably wouldn’t accept the conservative faction’s methods. After all, the kind of mass undocumented move they were orchestrating was essentially illegal immigration. The government had a very clear stance on that, and likely wouldn’t make concessions for an unknown nation they had no diplomatic relationship with.

But realistically speaking, they would want to cooperate with the conservative faction in order to combat the radicals. That meant they would only be able to offer small-scale support under the table. In exchange, the People of the Earth would be “forgotten” once the radical faction was taken care of. The Japanese government wouldn’t want to risk angering the conservatives for fear of ending up with another radical faction on their hands. But looking at it from another viewpoint, the People of the Earth had been living in Japan all this time. They could technically be considered natives, which would leave the government responsible for them. All in all, it would be easiest for everyone to just pretend like they’d never made contact in the first place.

And so it was decided that the two sides would work together, but that left certain members of the meeting rather shaken. Namely the Sun Rangers.

“Things sure have taken a strange turn...”

“Are you not satisfied, Hayato?”

“That’s not it... but I am confused.”

“I know what you mean, Hayato-niichan. We were fighting against the underground dwellers until just earlier today, and now we’re working with them. It feels pretty strange.”

Hayato and Kotaro were fairly stumped by this series of developments. Until just earlier that day, they’d believed that all underground dwellers were evil and a threat. But in just a few hours, that had been completely turned on its head. The underground dwellers were split into two factions, and they would be working with the good guys to fight against the bad. It would take some time to get used to things.

“Kenichi, are you okay with this?”

“I’m... relieved, actually.”

The Sun Rangers’ leader, Kenichi, saw things differently from his companions. He was a bit perplexed himself, but overall, he was quite pleased.

“Why?”

“Say we’d defeated the evil underground dwellers and reached their empire... What would we have done then? Kill their children? Their women? Their elderly?”

“That’s...”

“By working together with the conservative faction of the underground dwellers, I’m finally able to see a clear end goal. We only have to fight against the invaders; we don’t have to do anything else.”

Up until now, Kenichi hadn’t been able to conceive an end to this fight. Essentially, the Sun Rangers had only been dealing with the invaders and not the cause of the invasion. It was like trying to treat symptoms and not the disease itself. They’d only been able to fight individual people or groups of people, which made no difference in the bigger picture. They hadn’t found the underground dweller’s stronghold and had no means of stopping the invasion at its core. Realizing that they were more or less stuck, Kenichi had worried a great deal about the future.

What would happen if they did find the enemy’s stronghold? Would they kill everyone there? There would likely be unarmed civilians and children. Would they have to kill them too? Or would they capture everyone and keep them locked away in some kind of concentration camp? Pondering what might lie at the end of their battle with the underground dwellers made Kenichi dread its approach.

If things had continued the way they were going, the future would be grim indeed for either the surface or the underground dwellers. But now that they were working together with the conservative faction, there was another option on the table—a hopeful one. That’s why Kenichi welcomed their alliance with the conservative faction. He wanted to work towards a future where as many people as possible were alive and happy.

“Kenichi-niichan, did you eat something strange?”

“You don’t have to put it like that! I can be serious at times too, you know!”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that everything you’re saying is right. It’s... just kind of surprising, right, Hayato-niichan?”

“Yeah. You’re right on the money, Kenichi. We just never even thought about it like that.”

Hearing what Kenichi had to say helped clear up both Hayato and Kotaro’s confusion. They’d never considered the future like he had. And when they thought about it now, they realized he was right. If the battle came to an early end, it would be good for both them and the underground dwellers. It would be the ideal conclusion.

“Kenichi, you really are the Sun Rangers’ leader.”

“So you finally admit it, Hayato-niichan?”

“I just realized that a leader shouldn’t be chosen purely based on ability or the coolness factor.”

“You’re a sore loser. But I think so too.”

“Hayato... Kotaro...”

Kenichi teared up a little. His teammates felt the same way he did, which renewed his determination to see this through with them.

“Silly Hayato and Kotaro! It was obvious that we should be friendly with the underground people the moment my Baron-sama showed up with one of them as his ally! You’re all overthinking this!”

“I’m sure the underground dwellers have delicious food, too. So I’ll be glad if we don’t have to fight them.”

“You get it, Daisaku-kun! Ohohoho, I wonder what kind of wonderful underground people there are... Hahh... I can’t wait to see them!”

The remaining two rangers, Daisaku and Megumi, weren’t bothered over the matter whatsoever. They were all in favor of working together with the People of the Earth before Professor Roppongi even suggested it.

“You’re the same as always, Megumi, Daisaku...”

“I’m envious of that simplicity.”

“Shhh! Nee-chan will hear you, Hayato-niichan.”

The Sun Rangers were slightly shaken up after the decision to cooperate with the conservative faction of the underground dwellers, but in the end, their resolve was only strengthened.

The Sun Squad was a secret task force created by the government, meaning they had a special role to fulfill. A mission. The truth was that the underground dwellers had once had a third faction apart from the conservatives and radicals. It was a faction that strived after harmony with the surface even more than the conservative faction. They were a party of people that advocated dissolution of the People of the Earth.

Their platform was simple. Once the twentieth century rolled around, progress and development really started to take off on the surface. The dissolution faction was enamored with surface lifestyle and culture, and began petitioning for the dissolution of the People of the Earth so that they could go live on the surface.

However, both the conservative and the radical faction objected. The radicals denounced them since dissolution went against their pride as People of the Earth, and the conservative faction thought that dissolution was rushing into things too quickly. As a result, both factions distanced themselves from the dissolution faction.

Isolated, the dissolution faction decided that they would migrate to surface alone. Coincidentally, this was right around the time World War II broke out. A few brave members of the dissolution faction took advantage of the chaos on the surface and made the move. Once they had successfully migrated, they cast aside their identities as People of the Earth and began living as surface dwellers.

It could be said that this early migration changed the fate of the People of the Earth. Those living on the surface would sometimes bring cultural items or entertainment from the surface back down to the city, and they would share what their experiences had been like above ground. As a result, more and more people grew to admire the surface, and more and more people gradually began to make the move. As emigration increased, the conservative faction was forced to accept that People of the Earth were in decline. When Kurano Daiha came to power, he took the opportunity to change the faction’s policy on migration.

However, this change was far from welcome to the radical faction, and they began considering the dissolution faction as enemies. As traitors. Of course, the dissolution faction sensed that and realized that the radical faction might eventually come attack the surface. If that happened, the dissolution faction in particular would be in trouble. They loved the surface and couldn’t stand to see the surface destroyed, and they certainly didn’t want to be caught between the surface and the underground in any sort of conflict. That’s why the remaining members of the dissolution faction decided to go ahead and emigrate, making their stance clear to the rest of the underground dwellers and taking out an insurance policy of sorts.

That insurance policy was secretly contacting the government on the surface and giving them spiritual energy devices that they had taken from underground. That would indirectly let them know that there was someone out there with advanced technology, and hopefully it would help them prepare in case one day they did come into conflict with the underground.

Consequently, the Japanese government began researching this new and mysterious technology. The Sun Squad was formed based on those findings. In other words, all of the equipment the Sun Rangers used was a product of the government’s research on underground technology, their combat suits and sensors included. That’s why their gear was so inferior to Kiriha’s. The technology that the dissolution faction brought to the surface was over half a century out of date by now.

Only within the last few years had the radical faction begun preparing for their attack on the surface. As such, the dormant Sun Squad was brought back online to handle the situation.

“And that’s roughly how we’ve come to be where we are now,” concluded Professor Roppongi.

“So what we have is replicas of old technology? No wonder we can’t win...”

“But we’ve been training so hard so that we can win, Megu-chan.”

“Professor, does that mean that we’ve been allies with the peaceful underground people from the very beginning?”

“If you call the enemy of your enemy your ally, then that would be the case, yes. But we have no official alliance. It’s more of a give-and-take kind of relationship.”

“You should have just said so from the start.”

“Hayato, would you have believed it a year ago?” asked Kenichi.

“That’s...”

“It’s just as Kenichi-kun says. The underground invaders’ existence has only became apparent as of late. Even with their technology as evidence, nobody would have believed it.”

Reflecting on the professor’s words, Kenichi and the others thought back on themselves a year ago. When they did, they realized that Roppongi was quite right.

“But now we all have a much better view of the bigger picture. Kiriha-san and her people have taken the middle ground in all this.”

When Kenichi and the others fell silent, it was Koutarou that spoke up. After listening in on everything everyone had to say, Koutarou had gotten a grasp on the problems surrounding the underground world.

“Yes. We conservatives are, as our name suggests, conservative. We have a peaceable and reasonable approach to things. We were hesitant about dissolution at first, but we’ve changed our minds because the situation has changed.”

Kiriha wore a satisfied expression. She had been curious about the inferior spiritual energy technology that the Sun Rangers were using, and Roppongi’s explanation had supplied her with the information she was missing.

“Then all that’s left is how we suppress the radical faction...”

Harumi wrapped up the discussion so far. Considering the safety of both the surface and underground dwellers, it was clear that the radical faction was the problem. The surface wanted to avoid a full-scale war with the advanced People of the Earth. Even if they won, there would be considerable losses. And the People of the Earth had such a scarce population that they too wanted to avoid a war with the surface. Even if they could achieve what they wanted to in the short term, it was unsustainable in the long run. Yet while neither side desired war, the radical faction was trying to start one. They had to be stopped no matter what.

“Um, Satomi-san, can I say something?”

That was when Yurika, who had stayed quiet all this time, raised her hand and asked for permission to speak.

Yurika?

In that instant, a bad feeling came over Koutarou. Looking at Yurika, she was wearing the resolute expression she did when she stood up for justice as a magical girl. It didn’t bode well considering the situation.

“...Go ahead.”

Koutarou held back his apprehension and urged her to continue.

“Okay. Um, uh, about this gun...”

When Koutarou told her to speak up, Yurika held up the rifle in her hands. It weighed several kilos, and the heavy sound it made as she placed it on the table struck anxiety into the hearts of everyone waiting to hear what she had to say.

“The truth is... there’s a magical reaction coming from this gun.”

“What?!”

They all had a good reason to be concerned.

When Koutarou and the others were saving the Sun Rangers, Yurika felt the presence of mana scattered across the battlefield. The majority of it was from the weapons the underground dwellers were using. Thinking it was strange, she picked up one of the rifles from a defeated guard and brought it back with her. That was the rifle she put on the desk.

“The gun itself doesn’t have magic cast on it, but the bullets inside of it do. It looks like they adjust their trajectory based on what the user targets.”

Yurika had been examining the rifle while everyone else was talking. She only cut into the conversation when she realized things were worse than she initially suspected.

“I don’t understand magic, but this lady is correct. The bullets fired from their guns definitely changed course midair.”

Hayato backed up Yurika’s claims. He knew his way around guns, and had picked up on the unusual feature of the rifles being used back at the factory.

“Just where is the radical faction getting magic enchanted bullets from?”

“Probably through Maya-sama. Maya-sama’s body was made from spiritual energy technology, so they’re likely sharing technology with each other.”

Maya, the previous Dark Navy, was Maki’s former master. In a previous battle, Maya had suffered grievous injuries and was no longer capable of fighting. But she’d reappeared on the battlefield with a mechanical body that utilized spiritual energy technology. If the radical faction had supplied her with it, she’d likely given them something in exchange. The rifle Yurika picked up seemed to be proof of that.

“Magical weapons are being used to invade the surface. This is clearly a misuse of magic... This is a job for me.”

Even if it wasn’t Darkness Rainbow per se, Yurika couldn’t abide the abuse of magic. As Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika, she had to do something about it. Her expression was more serious than ever. This time it wasn’t just about saving her friends or upholding her duty; it was both.

“If we’re making a move, we should do so soon. Looking at this gun, the radical faction has already made careful preparations.”

Clan too wore a serious expression. Both she and Yurika had investigated the gun, and her scientific analysis of it revealed details that were almost as alarming as what Yurika had discovered.

“What do you mean?”

“This gun has extremely high processing precision. I could only analyze it with the instruments I had on hand, but it was made using technology that far exceeds what’s available on the surface.”

“Well, of course. It was made by underground dwellers.”

The underground dwellers had advanced spiritual energy technology. On top of that, they now had magic that could probably make their machinery even more precise. It wasn’t strange to think they’d immediately put that to use in their weapons.

“That’s not the problem. While the parts that affect the rifle’s shooting ability were made using the utmost precision, the wear parts of the gun—the ones that will eventually need to be replaced after enough use—weren’t.”

“What do you mean?”

Koutarou tilted his head in confusion. Hayato, the resident firearms expert, explained the rest.

“In other words, the rifle is designed so that the consumable parts can be reproduced on the surface... which is bad. Really bad. It means they’ve even taken what happens after they’ve invaded the surface into consideration when making their weapons.”

“I believe it’s the same reason why the guns themselves don’t use magic. They’re probably working under the assumption that replacement parts wouldn’t be able to reach the front lines in time.”

When making weapons, the build and design changed considerably whether the firearm was intended for long-term or short-term use. Weapons designed for the short term could use high quality parts, like what an elite team might need on a special mission.

However, in a drawn-out war, that would lead to problems. If soldiers used high quality weapons that they couldn’t maintain themselves, they would quickly become unusable. The same was true for magical weapons and parts. If the supply chain couldn’t keep up as the battlefield expanded, magical weapons would be unserviceable. In other words, useless.

So for extended battles and longer wars, weapons needed to be designed for ease of maintenance. Instead of specialized parts, they needed parts that were easy to reproduce. So the guns they’d created could fire regular bullets in addition to enchanted ones—the regular bullets being the standard load while the enchanted ones were held in reserve for when they were necessary.

In short, all weapons were designed with a purpose in mind. And these guns were made for the explicit purpose of invading the surface. That was what Clan meant when she said that the radical faction had made careful preparations.

“This gun is both superior from an industrial and strategic point of view. It’s hard to believe this is how far they’ve come since their first attack. Without a doubt, they’re aiming to play the long game.”

“Which means that once they begin moving, it’ll be hard to stop them, huh? Kiriha-san...”

“I know. Let’s take action as soon as we can.”

The radical faction couldn’t be underestimated. It was clear now that they were more dangerous than anyone had imagined. Knowing that, no one could sit by and let them get away with what they were planning. Koutarou and the others no longer had time to spare.

After discussing possible countermeasures, it was decided that the factory should be infiltrated. The primary reasons for that were to investigate what was being produced inside and to get a grasp of the radical faction’s plans. They knew that weapons were on the factory line thanks to Daisaku and Megumi’s photos, but they wanted more details. And if possible, they wanted to sabotage the manufacturing.

Once they had a plan, they met up with Theia and Ruth who had been at the station. The group was currently in the middle of briefing them.

“I see, those Sun Rangers are... What a strange turn of events.”

“So what will you do, Master?”

“I’m going to guard Kiriha-san and infiltrate the factory.”

There would be two groups on the factory mission. The larger group would serve as a diversion while a select few would sneak in a different way. The smaller group would be Koutarou, Kiriha, Clan, and Harumi. Kiriha was an expert on the People of the Earth, Clan was an expert in science, and Harumi was a burgeoning expert in magic. Koutarou would be their bodyguard.

“What should we do?”

“Please join Yurika and the others and attract the enemy to the main entrance. The diversion team will have a fierce fight on their hands. We’ll need as many people as we can to keep the radicals busy and in check.”

“That’s my specialty, so leave it to me. I will perform my role splendidly.”

“Master...”

Theia agreed to the plan right away, but Ruth clasped her hands in front of her chest and looked up at Koutarou. The moment he looked into her eyes, he understood what she wanted.

“Lady Ruthkania Nye Pardomshiha, vice captain of the Satomi band of knights, accompany Princess Theiamillis and divert the enemy’s attention.”

“I will do so with my life!”

Receiving her orders from Koutarou, Ruth’s eyes shone like diamonds as she replied with a Forthorthian-style salute.

Theia and Ruth had been by the station to do a little shopping and to pick something up. That something was the uniform they’d designed.

“Maki-sama, how does it fit?”

“It’s perfect.”

“It doesn’t feel restricting anywhere, does it?”

“Don’t worry. It’s quite easy to move in. But Ruth-san... could you stop calling me ‘Maki-sama’?”

“Why?”

“You’re the vice captain, and I’m your subordinate, so...”

“Then... Maki-san.”

“That’s better.”

“Heehee, you’re surprisingly strict.”

“How can you say that when you’re the one who wanted uniforms?”

“Ahaha, that’s true.”

Ruth and Maki were now dressed in matching uniforms. They were somewhat resemblant of Koutarou’s armor, but the overall design was much closer to that of a school uniform. It was a girlish and cute outfit. It was made of blue and white fabric in honor of the Blue Knight and Alaia, and each member’s uniform had extra touches of their own personal color decorating it. Ruth’s was yellow, and Maki’s was indigo. They were wonderful uniforms inspired by Theia and Ruth’s maiden dreams.

“...Why is it just Ruth and Maki?”

Sanae watched the two of them, wholly dissatisfied. Since she hadn’t officially joined the band of knights, she didn’t get a cute uniform for herself. This displeased her greatly, and the frown on her face grew more and more pronounced.

“Higashihongan-san, you can wear one once this fight is over,” said Harumi, calling out to her.

“Really?!”

“Of course. Once the problem with the underground dwellers is resolved, there won’t be any reason to maintain the standoff.”

At the moment, Sanae had to maintain her position as an invader of room 106 to keep tensions from exploding with the People of the Earth. But once the radical faction was taken care of, that would no longer be an issue, leaving Sanae free to join the Satomi knights and get her own uniform.

“Koutarou, Koutarou! Once this is over, will you let me join the band of knights?! I can be in charge of the chores!”

“Yeah, yeah, just calm down a little.”

“All right! I’m going to give it my all!”

“Just keep it in moderation.”

“Yeah!”

Sanae clung to Koutarou’s back, her mood having done a complete one-eighty. She looked like a child, but her spiritual energy was as strong as ever. It filled her body to the brim and then some. The portion that overflowed formed a faint halo. She was the very definition of high-spirited.

“...”

In stark contrast to Sanae, Yurika was completely downcast. She was holding her staff, Angel Halo, while quietly thinking to herself about something.

“Hey.”

A dull thud rang out.

“Ow!”

Seeing Yurika sulking the way she was, Koutarou casually bonked her on her forehead.

“Wh-What are you doing, Satomi-san?!”

Yurika held her forehead and complained to Koutarou. Her serious expression had vanished in an instant.

“You weren’t looking like yourself. It was just reflex.”

“Why can’t you be more gentle?! Jeez!”

“But if I’m gentle now, you’d cry, right?”

However, Yurika’s complaining didn’t last long. Koutarou’s words had drained all of her will, and she embarrassedly looked away.

“Th... That... might be true, but...”

“Don’t get so worked up just because this is related to magic. You’re not fighting on your own anymore. We’re all with you.”

“Satomi-san... hahh...” Yurika took a deep breath and loosened up her expression. “I feel a little better. Thank you, Satomi-san.”

“All I did was hit you.”

“...I’ll leave it at that.”

With some of the tension leaving her body, Yurika flashed a smile. But then she had to wipe away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. In the end, she did cry a little.

“Satomi-kun really gets Yurika-chan.”

Shizuka laughed as she watched their exchange. Koutarou responded with a dry smile.

“For better or for worse, she’s a handful. But if you spent over a year living with her, you’d start to understand her too, like it or not,” he said with a shrug.

But both Koutarou and the girls around him knew that he was just hiding his embarrassment.

“Jeez, Satomi-san! If you love me then you should just say so. You’re so shy.”

Another dull thud rang out.

“...S-Sorry. I got too full of myself...”

“By the way, Satomi-kun, don’t you have anything for me?”

“You want me to hit you too?”

Koutarou waved the fist he’d just used to bop Yurika at Shizuka.

“No. I mean don’t you have any words of encouragement or good luck charms for your unfortunate landlord who’s been dragged into the fight? There’s always something like that in the movies.”

“Then... how about this?”

Koutarou placed the hand that was waving around on top of Shizuka’s head and gently patted her. When he did, she smiled with a satisfied expression.

“Hmm... Well, it’ll do.”

“I’m honored that I could be of service.”

Normally Koutarou would have complained a little in such a situation, but not now. He paid it no mind and just smiled

Anyone would be anxious right now...

While all of the girls present held strong powers, they were still girls in their teens. There was no way they would be able to stay calm when faced with a battle that would decide the future of the surface and the underground. The results of this battle would also affect room 106’s future. Koutarou may have known nothing about the hearts of women, but he understood the hearts of his friends well enough to know how they were feeling.

“Then could you do it for one more?”

“One more?”

“Over here, Koutarou.”

“Owowow...”

Koutarou was confused by what Shizuka meant, but Sanae forcibly turned his head towards Kiriha, who was studying a map with a serious expression.

That’s...

Koutarou could see the card Kiriha was secretly clenching in her hand, and he knew what that meant. It was just as Shizuka had suggested—there was one more person he needed to take care of.

“She’s been emitting a strange aura for a while now. I tried doing some stuff... but nothing really worked. So you do something, Koutarou.”

“Okay, Sanae, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Pretty please.”

After hugging Koutarou once, Sanae climbed off his back.

“But what on earth am I supposed to say to her...?”

Koutarou thought on it for a while. Kiriha was a commander of the People of the Earth. She was situated right at the heart of all this chaos. If he said the wrong thing to her in an attempt to comfort her, it might even backfire. Seeing his consternation, Harumi decided to give him a friendly word of advice.

“Satomi-kun, you only have to act like you do normally. Like you do with us. Pretty words with little meaning aren’t what you want to convey to her, right? Speak from the heart. Your heart.”

Harumi’s words were filled with conviction, and her eyes were as gentle as could be.

Empress Alaia...

Her appearance reminded him of the girl he’d gotten to know so well in the past. He knew that they were different people, but he’d started seeing more and more of Alaia in Harumi lately. She’d started emitting the same aura of dignity and grace the Silver Princess had. And this was for real, not acting.

“Right now, Kurano-san is your princess. So please go to her side at once, Sir Knight.”

“Right.”

Harumi called Kiriha a princess, but to Koutarou, the calmly smiling Harumi was the one who really looked like a princess.

As Koutarou walked over to Kiriha, the remaining girls naturally followed him with their eyes. They watched and waited, full of curiosity and wondering how he would treat her.

“He’s talking to her.”

“Well, that’s the natural way to start.”

Once he was in front of Kiriha, he began talking with her. Since Kiriha would glance down at her hand from time to time, they were probably talking about her card.

“Now that I think about it, I wonder what the card is.”

“R-Ruth-san, I think it’s a trading card with a character from an old anime on it. But it seems to mean a lot to her, so it would be prying to ask about it, right? That’s why we don’t know much either.”

“I see. So, Shizuka-sama, what charac—”

“Pardomshiha, have a look at Veltlion!”

“Huh?”

As Ruth was about to encroach on a dangerous topic, Koutarou made his next move. He and Kiriha were still talking, but Koutarou had placed his hand on her head and gently began patting her.

“I love that.”

Seeing Koutarou patting Kiriha’s head, Maki blushed a little and her eyes moistened. When she thought back to when he’d done the same thing for her, she understood what Kiriha must be feeling right now.

“Kiriha-san is crying!”

“Unlike you, Kiriha can’t just jump on the boy she likes whenever she needs him.”

“She’d be fine if she would just take a more demanding attitude like Her Highness.”

“Ruth, are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

“Of course not, Your Highness.”

As Koutarou pat her head, tears streamed down Kiriha’s cheeks, each one proof that she was just a normal girl on the inside. These were her true colors, something she ordinarily only showed Koutarou. He reached out for her cheek and wiped her tears away.

“Koutarou’s hands are really warm, you know. That’s why I’m always rubbing my face against them.”

“I remember the first time he patted me on the head too... It was the first time anyone had since my dad died, so I cried.”

“There’s a part of Satomi-kun that craves the warmth of others... So when he’s doing that, he might feel the same way we do.”

“Sakuraba-senpai, you make it sound like you’re Satomi-san’s girlfriend.”

“That wasn’t my intention... I-I just mean in general!”

All of the girls watching over Koutarou and Kiriha recalled themselves in the same situation with him at some point or another. It helped them understand what Kiriha was feeling right now, and helped them see their own feelings objectively. It reaffirmed for each of them that they needed Koutarou, and that the same was true for the other girls too. No one was surprised when Kiriha leaned in and hugged Koutarou.

“Of course she’d hug him... I think about doing it every day.”

“From time to time... I think that maybe Koutarou was sent by the Goddess of Dawn to save us.”

“Your Highness, if you’re going to say that, it doesn’t apply to just Master.”

“You’re right. We’re all saving each other in one way or another.”

Eventually, Koutarou hugged Kiriha back. As he did, Kiriha clung to him and began crying even harder.

“It’s because he hugged me like that that I was able to leave Darkness Rainbow. I knew if it was him, we could support each other...”

“In my case, I annulled my engagement, but... I don’t regret it.”

“But your fiancé was a bad guy.”

“When Satomi-kun protects you, you get this feeling of wanting to protect him too. But I think that’s what happiness really is. One-sided relationships are lonely, aren’t they?”

Most of the girls had experienced the embrace of Koutarou’s powerful arms. They’d felt the exact sensation that Kiriha was feeling now. That’s why they began tearing up when they saw it. They each had their own personal investment in it.

“I can’t accept this...”

But there was one girl among the bunch who looked rather unhappy. It was Clan, who was frowning quite discontentedly. If that wasn’t enough, the stormy eyes behind her glasses said it all.

“He’s never done that for me. Not even once.”

“Me neither, Clan-san. Though I guess he did during the play...”

“In your case, it was practically real, right? That counts, Harumi!”

Clan was the only one who hadn’t been hugged by Koutarou. Strictly speaking, he hadn’t hugged Harumi either. The most she’d been able to do was get close to him during their knitting society activities. But since Harumi had Alaia’s memories intertwining with her memories of the play, she knew what it was like to experience it.

“But, but, but... Clan-san, Satomi-san is always saying how much he loves you.”

“He only says that when he’s working me to death!”

“But he’s never said that to me when he’s working me to death...”

Clan’s flash of anger didn’t last for long. Just like Yurika said, though Koutarou had never hugged her, she had her own special moments that she shared with him. It was too rash to judge their relationship solely based on physical contact.

“Ah, Kiriha is smiling now.”

“How wonderful. It looks like she’ll be fine.”

After hugging Koutarou for a while, Kiriha eventually let go of him and smiled. She’d probably been able to straighten out her feelings by talking to him, and the other girls rejoiced to see her come out triumphant on the other side of her moment of doubt.

That was when Harumi sighed and mumbled a bit under her breath.

“What can we do... to keep Satomi-kun this way...?”

Koutarou needed Harumi and the others. That’s why he had returned from the past. And if possible, Harumi wanted things to stay like that forever. She didn’t want him going somewhere far out of her reach ever again. And it wasn’t just her. All the girls wanted the same thing.