Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 21 - Chapter 6

Gold and Silvery White

Monday, November 15th

Travelling from Earth to Forthorthe on a normal spaceship would take approximately a month. It was accuracy, however, rather than distance that made the trip a tricky one.

Earth and Forthorthe were about 10 million lightyears apart. Even using a specially designed computer to navigate such an extreme distance, a margin of error of but a single percent could put them off target by 100,000 lightyears, or roughly the diameter of the Milky Way. In other words, they could end up anywhere in the galaxy. In the worst case scenario, they might warp directly into a black hole or a star. The true error of margin was actually only a fraction of a percent, but even then, it was still necessary to have certain safeguards in place.

So in navigating the grand vastness of space, its very vastness became an asset. Anywhere there was open, empty space was useful in warping. They made much safer warp destinations because of the significantly reduced chance of accidental collision. When travelling between galaxies, the empty bands between them could be used. Within a galaxy, the space between stars could be used. And once a ship got close enough, it could target specific solar systems. Essentially, they acted as stepping stones on longer voyages. Travelling in incremental fashion also greatly reduced the margin of error. The first warp would traverse 90 percent of the total trip distance, the second would traverse 90 percent of the remaining distance, the third 90 percent of the new remaining distance, and so on. As the remaining distance tapered off, so too did the margin of error.

A normal spaceship would repeat that warp process until it finally reached Forthorthe, which took about a month all said and done. Of course, Blue Knight and the Hazy Moon were no normal ships. Their navigational computers were top of the line and their warp drives extremely accurate. As a result, Koutarou and the others would reach Forthorthe in just ten days.

Over the course of the warp voyage, things were quite peaceful for Koutarou and company. Even with an enemy fleet chasing after them, thanks to the margin of error over such long distances, the odds were astronomical that they would ever cross paths along the way. That also made it harder to find allies, however, and as such, they weren’t able to regroup with Clan until the eighth day of their trip.

“You better not have made a mess of the ship again while I wasn’t around...”

“As we discussed previously, I was in cold sleep, so I couldn’t have even if I’d wanted to.”

Despite it being day eight of their journey, Koutarou and the others felt like only half a day had passed since they left Earth. That was because they’d slowed time aboard the ship, just like what Clan and Koutarou had done when they returned from the past. It was an important part of the warp process, and was frequently used over extended voyages across long distances.

“Satomi-kun, why don’t you be honest with her and say that you were worried?”

“A-Aika-san?!”

“Is that true, Maki?!”

“Yes, Clan-san. Your, um... Hazy Moon, was it? Satomi-kun was restlessly pacing the bridge until he saw it reappear.”

“I see... Um, I’m sorry for making you worry, Veltlion... As you can see, I’m safe.”

“I-I wasn’t worried about you. I was just worried about you making a mess of the ship.”

“Heh... Of course.”

“Satomi-kun certainly is stubborn...”

“Aika-san, you’ll pay for this later.”

“I’ll gladly accept whatever punishment you have in store for me. My forehead is ready and waiting.”

As things stood, they had another two days of their voyage to go. It would only take a few more warps from here. But as they closed in on Forthorthe, the open spaces they could safely warp to reduced in number, consequently increasing the chances they would run into the coup d’etat army. To discuss how to proceed, the Corona House crew gathered on Blue Knight’s bridge for a strategy meeting.

“Now that we’re all here... we first need to decide what to do about Clan.”

“Me?”

Indeed, the first topic Theia put on the table was Clan. Not expecting her name to come up in such a fashion, Clan went wide-eyed.

“Yes. The Schweiger family and the Mastir family have been rivals for generations. If you stick with us, there will eventually be trouble.”

Theia wasn’t worried about Clan specifically. She practically considered her family, and there was no doubt in her mind that Clan shared that sentiment. The other Schweigers, however, were a different story. There was no way they would side with the Mastir family, especially not now that they’d been publicly accused of being criminals. That put Clan in the same precarious situation she’d been in when they left Earth eight days ago.

“Like I said before, I have already made up my mind. Even if it costs me a home to return to, I will protect Forthorthe.”

Clan’s answer, however, hadn’t changed since then. She was prepared to fight until the bitter end alongside Koutarou and Theia. She too was a proud princess of Forthorthe, and she refused to allow some pretender to take over the nation by force.

“But Clan, your place might not be here.”

“Veltlion?”

“It might be more advantageous to have you as a mole in the Schweiger family rather than openly fighting alongside us.”

As their escape from Earth had proven, the enemy not knowing they had Clan on their side was a huge asset. As such, her continuing to support them secretly from within the Schweiger family might be even more useful than her direct assistance in combat.

“You’re not just saying that to try and send me home, are you?!”

“I can’t say that’s not part of it. But having you as a mole would genuinely be helpful. And if you go home and maintain your relationship with your family, then even in the worst case scenario where we lose, you could still become empress.”

The military’s first objective would be to install a puppet regime. From there, they would move to end imperial rule altogether and install Vandarion as a dictator—though not obviously. So if Clan were around when that happened, she could pretend to go along with the scheme while secretly stalling Vandarion’s plans. Really, returning Clan to her family would give them all kinds of opportunities and options.

“You’re asking me to go home and just sit and watch while you and Theiamillis-san take on all the danger?! I don’t want that!” Clan protested, rising from her chair with a clatter.

“We need you to secretly support us while preparing for the worst.”

“That’s not what a princess should be doing!”

Clan was vehemently against Koutarou’s idea. When faced with a ticking time bomb, she would rather try and disarm it than be on standby with body bags. Rather than preparing for the worst, she would rather spend her time and efforts making sure it didn’t come to that in the first place. That was what Clan believed her royal duty to her people was.

“Besides, you don’t understand anything! Just how lonely do you think it is to sit and wait?! Just how hard do you think it is to watch a fight from afar?!”

Clan couldn’t accept it. Not just because of her status as a princess, but because of her personal feelings. Because of her talents, she was often relegated to playing a supporting role rather than participating in fights directly. All too often, she found herself powerless to do anything other than pray for Koutarou and the others to return safely. She now understood how Alaia must have felt when she saw Koutarou off to battle. And having to do it from close up was bad enough. Imagining what it would feel like to do it from afar while silently, secretly waiting for good news at the Schweiger estate... It was too much. She couldn’t stand the mere thought of it.

“If you don’t need me, then just say so! Leave me out! But... if you do need me, then please let me stay by your side!”

With tears in her eyes, Clan loudly declared her feelings for all to Koutarou for all to hear. It was so passionate and intense that it might be mistaken for a declaration of love... No, in the grand scheme of things, it was indeed a declaration of love—for all her friends gathered here and for all the people of Forthorthe.

“See, Layous-sama? It’s just like I said,” said Elfaria with a proud smirk.

“Sheesh... I guess we don’t have a choice,” Koutarou relented with a sigh.

These reactions confused Clan

“Veltlion? What are you talking about?”

Clan blinked a few times in confusion as the tears spilled from her eyes. There, Theia stepped forward to explain in Koutarou’s place.

“Actually, while we were waiting to rendezvous with you, we spent some time discussing amongst ourselves how to treat you from now on. My mother said that you would ultimately choose the right thing for yourself, both as a princess and as our friend.”

“Elfaria-san...”

Surprised, Clan looked to Elfaria. Her smirk waned into a gentle smile, and she gave Clan an encouraging nod.

“Now, Clan, the reason you feel this way is because of the long journey you took with Koutarou, isn’t it?”

“Yes... it is. If it weren’t for that, I would still be my old, immature self.”

“We all know that, but Koutarou was still somewhat reluctant. So we threatened him a little. We told him that if he didn’t take the responsibility for making you the splendid princess you are today... Well, we told him that the rest of us would be forced to do something drastic.”

“So...”

Clan then turned to Koutarou. He’d been talking to Elfaria and had his back to Clan, but she could tell why he wouldn’t turn around and meet her gaze. After what they’d been through together, she knew him at least that well.

“Then from the start... Veltlion was...?”

“That’s right. Knowing what your answer would be, he chose to ask anyways. He felt like he had to confirm your determination.”

“I see...”

Clan wiped away her tears and stared at Koutarou’s back. She wanted to run right up to him and hug him, all while complaining about how cold he was... but in the end, she chose not to. It was partly because of her stubbornness, and partly because she knew she didn’t have to for Koutarou to know how she felt.

“Master, all else aside, I believe there is something you need to say to Clan-sama.”

And Clan was quite right—Koutarou knew good and well how she felt. So, at Ruth’s urging, he too made up his mind.

“Clan...” he said, his back still turned.

“Yes?”

“Be my servant like before... I need you.”

“Heh, you’re the servant here. When are you going to get that, you neanderthal? Heehee...”

Clan jokingly responded how she would have during their travels in past Forthorthe. It was her way of saying that she was happy to be his partner even now. The only thing that had changed over two thousand years was that now when she said those words, they were filled with a warm, tender kindness.

As the discussion continued, the group ultimately decided that Clan would stay with them disguised as Koutarou’s servant from Earth. As an Earthling, no one would question why she didn’t have any Forthorthian identification and no one would be able to look into her background. Moreover, no one would dare to think that a princess was serving as a knight’s servant. Luck allowing, no one would ever figure out her identity this way.

Once it was decided that Clan would be playing the role of Koutarou’s attendant, she took the seat to his right. Koutarou’s servant, partner, advisor, science expert... There were a lot of titles Clan could go by, but whichever she chose, she believed that the seat right next to Koutarou rightfully belonged to her. And Koutarou was fine with this. He was still embarrassed, so he wouldn’t have to look directly at her this way. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls of room 106 observed this awkward master/servant relationship with fascination.

“Well, now that we’ve decided the matter with Clan-dono, let’s move on.”

In the end, everyone knew that there was still plenty that had yet to be discussed. So when Kiriha suggested advancing the conversation, the girls put Koutarou and Clan out of their minds for now. It would certainly come up again during dinner, but there were presently more important matters at hand.

“With Clan-dono accompanying us, we can think a little bigger. We’ll be able to rely on the Hazy Moon for a great deal.”

“Leave that all to me. You won’t regret it.”

Whether or not Clan was on board would affect the way plans proceeded from this point. Her inventions would be useful in all kinds of situations, and having access to a second royal-class battleship could mean all the difference in the battles to come.

“Theia-dono, what do you plan to do now?” Kiriha asked.

Really, she already knew the answer. But for the sake of discussion, she wanted everyone else to hear it.

“At first, my plan was to meet up with our allies outside of the solar system. It would be too easy for the coup d’etat army to find us once we’re inside it. But with the Hazy Moon’s help, we can be a bit more bold. If you will, Ruth.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

There, Ruth used her bracelet to bring up a planetary display in the middle of the table everyone was seated around. It was different from the models Koutarou, Shizuka, Harumi, and Yurika had grown up seeing in school. There was still a sun in the center, but there were only eight planets orbiting around it. In the past, people had only inhabited a single one of those planets. But with Forthorthe’s development and expansion, there were now people living on all eight. Together, this sun and its eight planets comprised the Forthorthian solar system. It was the center of the Holy Forthorthe Galactic Empire, where Theia, Elfaria, Ruth, and Clan called home.

“Our first destination is here—Planet Alaia.”

When Ruth said that, the sixth planet from the sun in the display enlarged. It was a beautiful blue planet with a ring around it just like Saturn.

“Alaia?”

Harumi’s ears perked up upon hearing that, and she turned to Ruth in question. With good reason, of course. The name Alaia held special meaning to her.

“Yes. Originally, only our main planet—the third planet from the sun, Planet Forthorthe—could sustain life. But the remaining planets have since been terraformed to do the same, each of them named after a different historical figure in commemoration.”

At first, Planet Alaia had been completely barren. But with its vast resources, it was relatively easy to work with and became the first of the planets to be terraformed. Once it was habitable, it was renamed after the legendary Empress Alaia. That was arguably the start of Forthorthe’s golden space age.

“My, what an extraordinary tale...”

What would eventually happen in Earth’s future had already happened long ago in Forthorthe. Harumi couldn’t help the wonder that overcame her hearing about it, and Alaia most likely would have felt the same way.

“Planet Alaia is under the direct control of the Mastir family, so Her Majesty Elfaria still has a lot of support there. That’s why it’s where her faction has set up its base.”

Forthorthe had seven royal families, each of which had been given control of a terraformed planet within the Forthorthian solar system. As such, the residents of the planets each had a strong allegiance to the royal families that governed them. Even amidst the flying accusations, Elfaria’s approval rating on Alaia had barely taken a hit. Public support was still strong for her there, making it a sanctuary for her faction. Accordingly, it was where they’d secretly set up their headquarters.

“Therefore we’ll head to their base and meet up with our allies.”

Theia and Elfaria were planning on using the reconnaissance their allies had done to expose Vandarion’s conspiracy. Rendezvousing at a base would be the easiest way to do that, but Elfaria’s faction had very few safe places they could meet right now. Of all the secret bases they’d set up, the one on Alaia was the largest and served as a headquarters for the whole operation. It was also conveniently distanced from any stars, making it relatively easy to get to via warping.

“However, there’s one big problem,” cautioned Theia. “And that’s how we’re going to get down to the surface without being spotted by the coup d’etat forces.”

“Getting into Alaia’s airspace won’t be an issue,” said Clan. “The Hazy Moon can get as close as we want without being detected. The real problem is how to proceed from there. While it’s not as densely populated as the main planet, plenty of people still live there. Its air defenses aren’t negligible, so entering the atmosphere will be next to impossible without being detected.”

Not even the stealthy Hazy Moon could completely conceal the heat and light given off during reentry. Using a gate or warp presented a similar dilemma—they were detectable. So while the better part of their journey had already been completed, it seemed this last leg would be the most challenging yet. Actually getting down to the surface without being detected in this day and age was next to impossible.

Interestingly enough, however, Sanae—who was actually listening for a change—was the first to offer a plan.

“In anime and stuff, this is where we would stow away on ships or blend in as passengers on a train to cross the border.”

While her plan showcased her general lack of knowledge on the matter, the idea of stowing away somehow wasn’t a bad one. That was how Theia and Ruth had slipped into Forthorthe when they came to rescue Elfaria, after all.

“That might have been possible before, but now they’re on their guard. We’re felons on paper, and we have a space battleship with us. No matter how we decide to get in, it’s going to take something extraordinary.”

However, the situation was different now. Officially, Theia and her allies were being treated as terrorists riding around a rogue battleship. Accordingly, counterterrorism measures had been taken and security had been increased around each of the planets. That would make playing the stowaway card harder and riskier, but if the girls couldn’t come up with anything better, it would have to be their last resort.

“Yurika-chan, if you really gave it your all, how far could you teleport?” Nana asked, turning to Yurika.

Hearing Elfaria say they’d need extraordinary measures, Nana’s mind immediately turned to magic. As a former magical girl, she was familiar with all kinds of spells and knew that teleportation might be able to do the job.

“Let’s see... Using a ritual while we’re moving will be impossible, so... if I stretch the incantation out as long as possible and use as much mana as I can... Um, I think I could manage ten kilometers?”

“Ten kilometers won’t be enough. We’d need a hundred at the very least.”

But alas, it seemed magic wouldn’t be a realistic option in the end either. If Yurika could teleport them ten kilometers, that meant they’d only get thirty or forty at best even if Harumi, Maki, and Nana all helped out. Moreover, the physics were an issue. If Yurika teleported everyone in at the velocity the ship was moving during reentry, they very well may all end up nothing more than a red stain on the surface of Planet Alaia. There was also the additional complication that teleportation magic might actually be detectable by Forthorthian technology if it was bending space-time.

“Honestly, Theiamillis-san, I thought you’d be a little more impressed that a human can warp ten kilometers without the aid of science...”

“Well, if Yurika-chan’s magic won’t do, it’s Uncle’s time to shine.”

“Indeed, I can descend normally. I’ve done it several times before.”

Another trump card the group had was Alunaya. He could take on his full dragon form and enter the atmosphere without the use of teleportation magic, so there wouldn’t be any fear of detection from bending space-time.

“But prepare for your weight to increase quite a bit, Shizuka.”

“If there’s nothing else we can do, then I’ll accept it this time. So go for it, Uncle.”

“You’re right. A human that can teleport and a dragon that can enter the atmosphere from space... Hearing it again does make me appreciate how incredible it all is.”

“But Your Highness, even if all of us were to ride on Alunaya-sama’s back, there’s still a chance we might be spotted visually or by radar.”

Ruth had valid concerns. Alunaya was over twenty meters in size, and would still give off a substantial amount of heat and light during reentry. Moreover, a simple radar would be all it took to detect him.

“Indeed, that is a problem...”

“In that regard, we should be able to use this,” said Kiriha as she pointed to the planetary diagram.

Currently, it was displaying the ring around the lovely blue planet of Alaia.

Planet Alaia had a ring much like Saturn’s that consisted mostly of ice and dust with some rock mixed in. Occasionally, pieces of it would fall down to Alaia. Kiriha’s plan was to blend in with the falling debris and enter the atmosphere that way. There was one major problem, however. Alaia had a system set up in order to prevent damage from any such debris.

Most of the ice burned up in the atmosphere as it fell, but in the case of particularly large chunks, they could cause serious damage if they managed to survive the trip and reach the surface. To prevent that, there were satellites around the planet set up to detect falling chunks above a certain size and neutralize them with a laser. As such, there was a high chance the group would be attacked too if they tried to blend in with falling debris. In order to avoid that, some clever maneuvering was required.

The plan Clan and Kiriha came up with to break through the defense system was to give a small spaceship a coating of radar-absorbing paint. It wasn’t a stealth-oriented ship to begin with, so it would still be detectable by radar, but the idea was to make it appear smaller. Since the goal was to blend in with falling debris, there was no need to conceal it completely. As long as they made it appear small enough on radar that it wouldn’t trigger the lasers, all they’d have to do was cut the power and let gravity pull them down towards Alaia. Once they were inside the atmosphere, Alunaya would use his mana to protect the spaceship from the building heat and cushion them for a safe landing. While it would be a comparatively slow trip since they’d be relying solely on the power of gravity for the descent, all and all, this was the plan with the highest chance of success.

The small ship they would use for the trip was the Kiriha’s Ohime. Since Ohime was essentially designed as an accessory for the haniwas, it could operate in all the same environments they could. It was, of course, no match for specialized ships that were meant for the water or outer space, but its adaptability was a huge asset.

Since they’d be playing a big part in the descent operation, Karama and Korama took the lead in helping out with the Ohime remodel. Calling it a remodel was perhaps a bit grandiose, however. All they were really doing was adding a cover to make it look like a lump of ice and painting it with RAM.

“Hey! The paint on the starboard side is thin, ho! What are you doing, ho?”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I’ll repaint it right away!”

“As expected of Harumi-chan, ho! The finish is very nicely done on the port side!”

“You flatter me.”

“I’d like Harumi-chan to do the starboard side too, ho!”

“I’m painting it again right now! And I’m doing it properly this time! See?!”

Theia was idly watching as the work proceeded smoothly. Though she was staring at the Ohime, however, her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking of what lay ahead of them.

In the end, all I can do is fight, huh? I haven’t really matured at all...

When Theia first came to Earth, she’d been intent on using force to put the owner of room 106 into submission. After maturing, she’d eventually come to see the error of her ways. But now that she was returning home, here she was preparing to fight again. While she knew deep down that was how it had to be, it also sowed a seed of doubt in her heart.

And this time, it’s not just Ruth. I’ve gotten a lot of people who are important to me involved... Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a ruler...

Ruth was a Forthorthian-born knight that served the Mastir family, so she had her own reasons for fighting. That wasn’t the case, however, with their other friends. They had all come at Theia’s request. Each of them possessed special powers and abilities that would make them invaluable in the fights to come, but that didn’t change the fact that Theia was dragging them into a fight they had nothing to do with. Of course, they would all say it had something to do with them personally since Theia was involved... but that didn’t make her feel much better about it.

“You’re open.”

Suddenly, an acute pain struck Theia’s forehead

“O-Ow! What are you doing?!”

Indignant and in pain, Theia turned to face her attacker with tears in her eyes. It was Koutarou, who was standing there looking like he was about to swing his fist again.

“What? All I did was punch you.”

“Yes, thank you! I got that part, you jerk! I wanted to know why you punched me!”

“No real reason.”

“Don’t hit people for no reason!”

“Fine. I hit you because you’re you, Theia.”

Everyone understood how Theia was feeling right now. They had all, more or less, felt the same way during their own ordeals. No one here enjoyed putting their friends in danger. But when they tried to tell each other not to worry, it was hard to get the point across. That’s why the girls had sent Koutarou as their emissary. He was the only one who knew how to communicate with Theia with something other than words.

“I don’t need any other reason to hit you.”

“Then that means I can hit you right back!”

Without missing a beat, Theia swung her fist at Koutarou’s stomach. While she looked delicate, her punches were anything but—and she knocked the wind right out of Koutarou.

“Urgh...”

“You belong to me and Ruth, after all!”

“S-So you do get it, Theia!”

“How naive! Did you think I was some kind of idiot that would just let you punch me over and over?!”

Following that, things broke out into an all-out fistfight between Theia and Koutarou. In order to disable their opponent, however, they quickly both moved to using joint locks on each other.

“Y-You little...! Using brute force like this...!”

“If your citizens... could see you right now... what would they think, princess?!”

Theia swiftly slipped behind Koutarou and wrapped her thin arms around his neck. Unwilling to let her get away with that, he used his strength to try and tear her off of him. Theia had the advantage in terms of technique, but Koutarou had the upper hand in terms of strength. It could be anyone’s game.

But... why did Koutarou do something like this?

With Koutarou currently in a chokehold, Theia had some breathing room. As she mercilessly squeezed tighter, she couldn’t help wondering why Koutarou had come after her in the first place. Surely he’d done it comfort her in his own way. He never hesitated to use violence if it meant pulling someone up from the depths of their own dark thoughts. Yet somehow, Theia suspected that there was more to it than that this time.

Koutarou said something about “getting it”... In other words, he wanted me to see something.

Indeed, actions spoke louder than words, and Koutarou’s actions told Theia that something deeper was at play here.

Because I’m me, because he’s him... He punched me to remind me of that, which means...

A few minutes into their fight, Theia finally realized what Koutarou was trying to tell her. No, what he was trying to show her.

“...Hmm? What is it, Theia?”

The strength in Theia’s arms suddenly weakened. He’d been frantically trying to tear her off until now, so he immediately noticed that her hold on him had weakened. He eased up too and turned to look at her.

“It’s... nothing...”

Theia was in tears. She’d given up her chokehold, and was now simply crying with her arms wrapped around Koutarou’s neck.

“I see...”

Koutarou put his hand on Theia’s head and lightly patted it two, three times. There was no longer a need for words. Theia already knew everything he’d been trying to tell her.

“I just remembered... That’s all...”

There, Theia put strength into her arms again. But it was different this time. Gentle. It was a hug.

“I realized... that me putting you in pain like this... means nothing to you...”

As long as Theia was Theia, Koutarou didn’t mind if she punched or squeezed him. The opposite was also true. As long as Koutarou was Koutarou, Theia didn’t mind getting punched or squeezed. They could only interact like this because they were open with each other and relied on each other equally. Theia was keenly aware of that.

“...”

Still silent, Koutarou lightly patted Theia’s head again. There was still no need for words.

“But if you come with me... you really will get hurt. And I know you’ll say you don’t mind... but I do. I don’t want that...”

“...”

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me relying on your goodwill...”

“...”

Koutarou patted Theia’s head once more, then began gently rubbing it as he moved his hand left to right.

“But here I am... relying on you... because you don’t mind getting hurt because of me...”

“...”

Koutarou continued silently stroking Theia’s head, which seemed to convey his feelings well enough. Theia only held on to him tighter. Once he’d confirmed that she’d reached her answer, Koutarou finally spoke up.

“You’ve always thought that way too, though, right? You never cared if you got hurt while you were helping someone else.”

“...”

This time, Theia was the one to fall silent. Or more accurately, she simply couldn’t form words through her sobbing. So to convey her feelings instead, she squeezed Koutarou tighter still.

“For me... I have things I want to protect, even if that gets me hurt. And I think the others all feel the same way... just like you do, Theia.”

Still unable to speak, Theia simply pressed her forehead against Koutarou’s and cried quietly. Her face now hidden, no one apart from Koutarou could see that she was sobbing.

“Still, you really are a nice girl. Even though we feel that way and you know it, it still worries you.”

“Mm...”

“So whenever that worry gets to be too much, come to me and I’ll punch it right out of you again. I’ll make you remember like I did just now that you fight the same way.”

Theia had found her answer, yet she still felt conflicted deep down. That part probably wouldn’t change.

“Can I hit you too...?”

“Stupid. Of course you can.”

“Mm...”

There, both of them fell silent. Koutarou simply continued to stroke Theia’s head as he waited for her to stop crying, which wouldn’t be for some time yet.

“Say, Theia...”

It was only when he sensed she’d finally quieted down that Koutarou spoke up again. There was something he wanted to ask her.

“What is it, Koutarou?”

Theia answered him in a calm, gentle, and incredibly sweet voice—one she rarely used. It was something she saved, only to be used with people she absolutely trusted at special moments like this.

“Can we pick up where we left off with the chokehold? I’d be too embarrassed to go back to the others like this.”

The other girls knew that Koutarou and Theia were together. They’d been tossing the occasional worried look their way for a full hour or so now. Of course, they didn’t know what the two of them were talking about. That’s why Koutarou wanted it to look like their conversation had been derailed and a fight had broken out again. He had a certain degree of pride to protect as a teenage boy, after all.

“You really are hopeless... But yeah, I agree.”

“Right?”

“I want to keep our relationship an extreme one...”

Theia paused there. There were two words she meant to end her sentence with, but chose not to—“For now.” As a girl of age, she had her pride too. Instead of saying what she meant, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Koutarou’s cheek so gently that he hardly even noticed as she wrapped her arms around his neck again. It would be the seal on a vow she made to herself.

“All right, are you ready?”

“Wait... How did it go again?”

“You had my right hand.”

“Right, right. Now I remember.”

And so the two began fighting once more. It was as intense as always, though only on the surface. The girls watching them noticed, of course, but had no intention of calling them out on it. There was no need. They’d realized that everything had already worked itself out.

With the haniwas’ help, Ohime’s preparations were complete by the time Blue Knight reached the ring around Alaia. Moreover, the group had safely been able to get in contact with Elfaria’s faction, meaning they now had information about what was going on on Planet Alaia and back home on Planet Forthorthe.

“...And that’s the situation. We think it’s the correct decision to refrain from making yourself known at this juncture, Your Highness. Security is a lot stricter than before; we’re still looking for an opening in it.”

“Meaning stowing away would be too high-risk. There are too many opportunities for it to fail.”

“That’s why we agree with your plan to descend from the ring.”

“Very well. Send a team to come pick us up.”

“Understood.”

According to their contact, Forthorthe was leaning dangerously in favor of the coup d’etat army. The media under their control continued to slander Elfaria. Even with other media outlets trying to weigh the pros and cons, the overall tone of the coverage concerning Elfaria was negative. It was slowly eroding public opinion. The only reason the conversation was still ongoing was because public support for Elfaria had been so high at the start. Had that not been the case, the people would have turned on her instantly with the amount of bad press she was getting right now, however false it might be. And at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before her supporters back home started giving out.

Fortunately, however, even with things as bad as they were, the citizens on Alaia were still loyal to Elfaria. The people’s opinion of the Mastir family was high based on their historical reputation alone, but they’d proven themselves in modern times as well. After overcoming the hardships of the age of terraforming on Alaia, its citizens were exceptionally supportive of the Mastir family—so much so that it was unlikely to change no matter what the coup-controlled media said about Elfaria. To that end, Planet Alaia and its people were an incredible ally to Elfaria’s faction. And the coup d’etat army knew it.

That was why they would try and keep Theia and the others from making it there at all costs. They knew the citizens would just eat up the story of the exiled empress and her only daughter returning to their planet named after the Mastir family’s legendary Silver Princess, which was why security around the planet had been beefed up and any and all entries were being carefully monitored. And because of that, Elfaria’s faction agreed that descending to the planet alongside falling debris from the ring would be much safer than trying to sneak in any other way.

“Then, Your Majesty, Your Highness... We’ll be wishing you a safe journey.”

“Thank you.”

“Farewell.”

After concluding his business with the empress and princess, the contact for Elfaria’s faction swiftly left Blue Knight’s bridge. His role wasn’t just to deliver information to them, but also to report back to their other allies. And there was no time to spare right now.

“The princess thanked me... Heehee...”

“Ah, there he is! Hey, mister!”

“I’ve gathered everyone’s letters!”

“And here are the pictures of the princess we promised!”

“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure to deliver these. In exchange―”

“Yeah, we’ll take a lot more pictures, so please deliver more letters!”

“It’s a deal.”

The contact had one other important job as well. He was responsible for delivering letters and messages from the children aboard Blue Knight to their friends and family. Compared to his primary mission, mail carrying might be seen as trifling work, but to children, he was their only connection to the homes they’d come from. Seeing to it that their letters be delivered was also of the utmost importance to him.

Around the same time on Planet Forthorthe, Vandarion was in the middle of receiving a report from the fleet admiral. He’d already heard word of what had happened via their hyperspace communications, but since the contents of the report were hard to accept, he summoned the fleet admiral to report directly to him once they returned.

“The Satomi band of knights? I’ve never heard of them.”

“If we are to believe the words of their commander, they are a new band of knights sponsored by Princess Theiamillis.”

“Let’s forget about their name for now... There’s no mistaking their strength, is there?”

“That’s correct, my lord. Forty trained special forces soldiers didn’t stand a chance against just nine of them.”

Vandarion’s primary questions concerned the enemy’s strength and numbers. He was rightly confused, as anyone would be, to hear that forty grown men had been vanquished by a group of teenagers. The fact that they’d done it with basic, outdated gear like swords only added insult to injury. And perhaps the most perplexing and alarming detail of all was that a girl in an apron had taken out a dozen or so men with her bare hands.

“And so they easily took out an elite special forces team... How pathetic.”

“Vandarion-sama, it would be unfair to blame the soldiers. With no casualties on either side, I believe this new band of knights was simply out of their league.”

“Granado? Hmm... You might be right. There just might be something special about Earth.”

However, between the fleet admiral’s report and the documented footage, there was no doubt about what had happened. Their enemy was just that powerful. This had confounded Vandarion at first, but he slowly began to accept reality. Denying an enemy’s full strength out of pride was foolish. It would be better to accept the truth and respond with appropriate force, and Vandarion could do that much. He had the manpower to back it up, and he knew it. He was more than ready to crush these new opponents when the opportunity presented itself.

“Now, why did you allow Blue Knight to escape orbit?”

That was now the hardest pill for Vandarion to swallow. The strength of this new enemy shouldn’t have mattered once the fight had reached space. Individual power meant nothing aboard a ship.

“Since we had data on Blue Knight’s stealth signature, we used that to pursue them.”

Blue Knight’s stealth functioned allowed it to fly invisible to radar, but it wasn’t completely untraceable. It still leaked a specific electronic and gravitational wave pattern when in stealth mode. Knowing that pattern, the fleet had quickly identified it and given chase.

“However... I don’t know how or when they pulled a fast one on us, but before we knew it, we were simply chasing a decoy. As we were, the real Blue Knight fled in the opposite direction and entered warp.”

The fleet had pursued their target in line with their objective. All seemed normal up until that point. But by the time they caught up with what they thought was Blue Knight, the real Blue Knight was already entering warp. They were confused, and rightfully so.

But that was because they had no way of knowing that the real Blue Knight had been disguised by the Hazy Moon’s stealth field. And no one would have guessed it considering the circumstances, so it would be unfair to blame them for it. But that wasn’t the way the army worked. When it came down to brass tacks, the fleet admiral was at fault.

“How troublesome...”

Hearing the details of the situation, Vandarion’s expression turned harsh. Seeing that, the admiral was struck with the sinking feeling that he was in for punishment and demotion. That was just how severe the look on Vandarion’s face was.

“It seems Empress Elfaria is a far tougher opponent than I expected...”

Director General Granado wore a similar visage. Based on the admiral’s story, he had a relatively sound idea of the technology their enemy had at their disposal. And he wasn’t thrilled. It was enough to make him wonder if he should begin pulling some of his projects out of R&D.

“Indeed she is, but I was referring to someone else.”

“Who, Vandarion-sama?”

“The DKI brat.”

“Elexis, my lord.”

“I misread the situation. He knew that this would happen when he gave us that information. He was setting himself up to get a good deal from us.”

“You mean to suggest that DKI already has countermeasures?”

“That’s right. He wanted us to see that we would lose both on the surface and in space for a reason. I don’t like it one bit, but we’ll have to work with him for now.”

Without Elexis’s interference, the coup d’etat forces would have only dealt with Blue Knight in space. His tips had led them to believe that a surface fight would be more favorable, but he’d led them into that scenario knowing they still wouldn’t win. It seemed he knew good and well just how strong these people were already, making his real message loud and clear now.

“‘You get it now, right? If you want to beat them, we’ll have to work together.’ That’s what that brat was trying to say.”

If all they had to do was crush Elfaria, it wouldn’t be all that hard. It would simply take a short, brutal display of uncompromising power. But what would the citizens think after witnessing such a thing? It would only incite them against Vandarion, making it difficult for him to seize rule after the fact. Instead, the ideal solution was to find Elfaria with a small, specialized force and resolve the situation as swiftly as possible with as little evidence as possible. And in order to do that, they’d need whatever tricks and secrets Elexis had up his sleeve. What else did he know that they didn’t?

“That said... we likely wouldn’t have believed him if he’d simply come to us and said it.”

“I know, Granado! That’s the most irritating part!”

Bang!

Vandarion pounded his fist into his desk out of frustration. The loud impact alongside his fierce voice echoed through the command room. Everyone present immediately froze in place, their eyes glued on Vandarion.

“I concede for now, brat! We may need your power right now, but it won’t be that way forever! I am Marswell Dayora Vandarion, the man that will rule all of Forthorthe!”

And so Vandarion settled on forming a reluctant alliance with Elexis. He was a prideful man, so it killed him a little inside to admit he needed anyone’s help, but he was willing to pay any price to fulfill his dreams—to be the man who stood atop the world. That was the kind of man Marswell Dayora Vandarion was.

Koutarou and the others took off towards Planet Alaia some time after their contact from Elfaria’s faction departed. That was partly because they wanted to give him some lead time, but also because they were waylaid a bit trying to find a suitable cluster of ice. In order to successfully hide Ohime, they’d need to find large pieces of ice, but not ones so large that they’d trigger the planet’s laser defenses. They didn’t exactly want to get incinerated on the way down.

Once they found an appropriate ice formation, they headed towards Alaia with it in tow. Timewise, it had been about half a day since their contact had departed, and it would be another two days yet before they reached the surface even with the Hazy Moon taking them as close as possible before they began their descent. And over the course of those two days, there wouldn’t be much they could do, as they’d need to keep power use to a minimum in order to avoid detection. Basically, they’d just be quietly waiting inside Ohime as they fell.

“Man, a tatami mat really helps calm you down.”

“Heh, you should thank Sanae-chan’s brains for that one.”

“You did good.”

“Heehee.”

Shizuka patted Sanae on the head as she kicked back on the tatami mat. They and the rest of the Corona House crew were currently in the living quarters in the back of Ohime. As it was only a small gunboat, Ohime wasn’t originally outfitted with living quarters. Its back room, however, was a flexible space that could be rearranged to suit the pilot’s needs. The armaments were easily removed and the room was refashioned into living quarters. That said, since it was done in great haste, the room was rather dull. To help, though she’d done it without permission, Sanae had laid out the tatami mats to try and make it a little more bearable.

“If only there were a wardrobe, it’d be just like we were back in room 106.”

“Just settle for that locker over there.”

“It’s really hard to sleep standing up, you know?”

The small room was comparable to Koutarou’s apartment, consisting only of a main room, bathroom, and small kitchen. With the majority of passengers being girls, those were the facilities they’d requested.

“Everyone, tea is ready.”

“We’ve got snacks too.”

The situation being what it was, for better or worse, Koutarou and the girls were mostly spending their time as they usually did. Ruth and Kiriha had just prepared refreshments, and everyone gathered around the small, low table in the middle of the room.

“Maki, could you hand me my cup?”

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Though the room was cramped for the number of people in it, they all worked together to pass out the tea and snacks in an experienced and familiar fashion. They knew they were in the middle of a dangerous journey, but doing this gave them some sense of normalcy and helped calm their nerves. Their origins and powers aside, they were all just normal girls in the end. This was the kind of quality time they craved with each other, even in the face of grave danger.

“Oh? Where’s Sakuraba-senpai?”

Koutarou sat down to have tea and snacks with the girls, but that was when he noticed that Harumi was missing.

“We passed by her in the hall a little while ago, ho!”

“She was headed for the cockpit, ho! Not the bathroom!”

“Thanks. I’ll go get her.”

At the rate things were going, her tea would be cold and all the snacks would be gone by the time she got back, so Koutarou left Ruth and Kiriha to safeguard his as he made his way toward the front of the ship.

The stars as seen from the cockpit were especially vivid. With no atmosphere in the way, they weren’t twinkling. Looking at them felt more like looking a painting, which felt like a bit of a shame to Harumi. She felt she knew what they were truly meant to look like—dancing little points of light—yet she couldn’t help laughing a little over such a selfish thought.

“What are you giggling about over here all alone, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“Satomi-kun... Heehee, actually I was thinking that it’s a shame that the stars aren’t twinkling.”

“You’re right. You can see them so clearly here that there’s no magic to it.”

Koutarou walked over to Harumi and, standing side by side, they stared out into space together. Like Harumi had said, the stars weren’t twinkling in the slightest. Koutarou couldn’t help thinking it was a shame too.

“Sometimes, seeing something from further away makes it look all the more beautiful.”

“You’ve got another twenty years or so before you start worrying about wrinkles, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Oh you, Satomi-kun...”

“When that happens, I’ll make sure not to look too closely.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll just rejuvenate myself with magic.”

“Then all the other girls will ask you to do it for them too.”

“Then I will, heehee.”

“Haha, I bet.”

Right now, they were inside a tiny spaceship over 10 million lightyears away from home, yet they were joking around and giggling like they were in the knitting society’s club room. Since it had been just the two of them there for so long, the mood naturally drifted in that direction whenever they were alone together.

“You’re a romantic, aren’t you, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“I won’t deny it, but aren’t all girls romantics compared to boys?”

“Was... that directed at me?”

“Only a little, heehee.”

There were times when Harumi found Koutarou’s emphasis on the rational side of things irritating. She thought it would do him some good to be a little open and give in to the romance of the moment every now and then. But at the same time, his inability to do exactly that was part of Koutarou’s charm. Though she knew that and couldn’t be but so mad at him, there was still a part of Harumi that was dissatisfied.

“Honestly, in terms of romanticism, I don’t think I hold a candle to Theiamillis-san.”

“She really eats that stuff up, huh?”

“Think about it. In the pursuit of romance, she even managed to turn you into the real Blue Knight, you know.”

“It really is a puzzling story.”

“Yet in the end, being just a normal Earthling girl puts a bit of a damper on the romance of it for me.”

“Hahaha! That’s just like you, Sakuraba-senpai.”

Koutarou couldn’t help laughing. Harumi was romantic, certainly, but her serious and down-to-earth side prevented from keeping her head in the clouds. That was simply her personality.

“Heehee, maybe. But... right now... everything strangely feels like a dream. So perhaps I have it in me after all.”

Harumi gently smiled at Koutarou and looked back outside. She was happily chatting away with an underclassman and clubmate. Moreover, he was the boy she loved. That set her heart aflutter with joy, but as she looked out into space, a tingling of another emotion blossomed within her.

“Like a dream? What do you mean?”

“Even though this is the first time I’m seeing this sky, it feels nostalgic.”

There was no way Harumi had ever seen the stars shining outside the cockpit right now, yet they felt familiar somehow. It was like she was seeing the sky at home for the first time in a long time... And she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d done something like this with Koutarou before.

“I know how silly that must sound, heehee...”

“That’s probably...”

“Yes, I know. This is the first time I’m seeing these stars with my own eyes, after all.”

Inside of Harumi were the memories of a certain girl. They were something Harumi had inherited when she took over her mission. And while this wasn’t the sky over Forthorthe, the stars were the same. Indeed, they were stars that girl had stared at many times over the course of her life.

“I understand that these aren’t my memories. That this isn’t something I felt personally. But... these feelings are so similar to my own. I guess that’s why... I can’t help feeling wistful...”

As they looked out at the stars together, Harumi could recall a time they’d done this together on Forthorthe.

“I even remember what was said back then... and what wasn’t.”

The painful feeling of loving someone, but not being able to tell them. The painful feeling of wanting to keep someone near, but not being able to stop them from leaving. Those emotions welled within Harumi as tears welled in her eyes, making the stationary stars seem to twinkle brilliantly like they did back home.

“Back then, you said...”

Giving herself over to the memories, words came to Harumi’s lips. She didn’t resist them, but simply let them flow from her mouth.

“‘I came from the other side of that sky... from the world of stars...’”

Koutarou had had a place to return to, a promise to keep. It was impossible to stop a knight that only listened to reason. And hearing those words, she’d had no choice but to give up. So painful though they may be, they were special to her. They were words she’d never forget.

“I could only wait for the day you would return to Forthorthe... so that we could look up at this sky together once more...”

Before Koutarou’s eyes, Harumi’s hair began glowing silver and her dewy eyes turned blue. Unable to stop them any longer, the tears she was holding back trickled down her porcelain cheeks.

“It can’t be...”

Koutarou was at a loss for words. He was bewildered and taken aback. The girl in front of him right now was without a doubt Harumi. He knew that... but she looked like someone else.

“Welcome back, Koutarou-sama... I have forever waited so long for this day.”

That beautiful silvery hair, those clear blue eyes, that soft, calm voice, and graceful demeanor... Apart from her outfit, she appeared exactly as the girl in Koutarou’s memories.

“Sakuraba-senpai...? Or... am I speaking with Her Majesty?”

Koutarou couldn’t tell anymore. Was this girl Harumi, or someone else? There were too many similarities in the way they behaved and carried themselves. The only clear distinction Koutarou could make was the color of her hair and eyes.

“Who knows? I can’t really tell myself... Am I Harumi? Or am I Alaia? I might even be both. We share something which can’t be distinguished, because there is no need for that...”

Harumi possessed all of Alaia’s memories. They’d long overwritten all the mental images and scenes Harumi had conjured to play the part of a Forthorthian princess in the school plays. Perhaps that was why Alaia’s memories had never scared Harumi. There was a place for them. Harumi’s memories were Harumi’s, and Alaia’s memories were Alaia’s. There was a clear boundary between them... with one exception.

While they were born under different circumstances and had lived completely different lives, they shared something in common—their feelings for a certain man. So when those feelings were fanned, it was difficult to tell whose feelings she was feeling exactly. And in that sense, Harumi and Alaia were one right now. When she was with Koutarou alone, the distinction wasn’t important.

“Heehee... I’m just happy you’re back, Koutarou-sama. I’m sure Charl would be thrilled as well.”

“Y-Your Majesty, I... I...!”

Both she and he had a great many things they wanted to say. They’d both spend long days and nights thinking of what they would say should the day come they ever had a chance to meet again. There were an infinite many things, but now that the moment was here... not a single word came to mind. It was all too sudden. The only thing they could do was look at each other.

“Hey, Koutarou! Harumi! If you don’t hurry, we’re gonna eat all the snacks without you!”

“Ah...”

In the end, the moment passed just as suddenly as it had come. The instant Sanae’s voice came calling from the living quarters, the spell was broken. Harumi’s thoughts were clear and the glow in her hair was gone. She was herself again.

“...Sakuraba-senpai, right?”

“Yes...”

Harumi nodded solemnly and bowed deeply to Koutarou. She felt badly.

“I’m sorry, Satomi-kun. I wish I could have stayed as Alaia-sama a little longer... but my feelings were disturbed...”

Harumi and Alaia were only one in rare circumstances where all the proper conditions aligned. It wasn’t something Harumi could control or do on purpose. Koutarou didn’t fully understand how it worked, but he knew there was no reason for Harumi to apologize.

“It’s fine. You’re you, Sakuraba-senpai. You don’t have to force yourself to be anybody else. Not even Her Majesty. I don’t think that’s what Alaia would want, either.”

Alaia’s intentions were clear. While she had allowed Harumi to succeed her duties, she wanted Harumi to live her own life. Just because she had the ability to didn’t mean she wanted Harumi to become her.

“Yes, I think so too...”

Harumi finally raised her head and smiled again. She knew Koutarou was right. The Alaia within her didn’t want Harumi to change how she lived her life. The two of them aligning as they did was just as much of a surprise for her as it was for Harumi. But even so, a wish that could not be erased budded within Harumi when she saw the tears forming in Koutarou’s eyes. If nothing else, Harumi knew that she and Alaia were united on that matter.

“But you know, Satomi-kun... Sometimes I wish that I was actually Alaia-sama’s reincarnation instead. If only I could become her...”

“Sakuraba-senpai, that’s...”

“Then it wouldn’t matter if I was Harumi or Alaia-sama. We would be the same.”

For the first time, Harumi wished from the bottom of her heart that she really was Alaia. She wanted Koutarou to be able to see her again, but she also wanted Alaia to be able to be with Koutarou. As kind as she was, it broke Harumi’s heart that their farewell had been so lonely. That’s why she wanted, if she could, to make Alaia’s dreams come true.

But in the end, Harumi’s sensibilities brought her back down to Earth. She knew that could never really happen. That much was obvious, but it only made her feel impatient.