Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 45 - Chapter 3

Infiltration

Friday, November 18th

The solar systems in Forthorthe that were considered frontiers lay on the outer edges of where movement was possible. But surprisingly, they were neither too far nor too close to the Forthorthe system. This was because of the history of the space immigration age and the influence of scientific and technological developments.

When it had first entered the space immigration age, Forthorthe had developed planets that were within easy travel distance. But warp technology at that time could move ships only a fraction of how far it could now. It was a simple matter of output, but open space was necessary for warp margin of error, and such space was not always in range. As a result, development had been limited to specific areas.

However, as time passed and technology advanced, the range of warp dramatically expanded. The time and cost between uses was also reduced, allowing them to reach a distance far beyond what they originally could. That led to the desolation of the solar systems that had served as staging grounds for long-distance travel. Those systems had only been valuable because of their locations, and had been developed through supplies and commodities that were brought in, so when more and more ships passed them by, they naturally became desolate.

These systems had been left behind when it came to development, and from an economic perspective, they were unattractive. But they were extremely attractive to anti-government forces. These places didn’t see a lot of traffic, yet their access to the Forthorthe system wasn’t bad. It wasn’t as though the locations themselves were lacking; it was just that people didn’t stop there.

“It’s a similar situation in Ikoran, where I’ve been before,” Koutarou muttered after getting an explanation about their destination.

The whole matter reminded him of the planet Ikoran. The Dalgamaran system, which Ikoran was a part of, was rich in minerals and had been developed as a relay station at the beginning of the space immigration age. But as technology evolved, fewer people had come around, and only transport ships really showed up to carry away the minerals. Ralgwin’s production facility had been based there.

“It is not just a matter of the passage being convenient; there are also unused buildings and ports. It makes for a perfect place for armed anti-government forces to hide,” Theia explained with a frown. As royalty, she had her opinions on anti-government forces.

In response to that, Harumi raised her hand to ask, “Theiamillis-san, if they’re unused, doesn’t that mean that it’s old equipment? Will it still work?”

Since the remote regions were gradually being depopulated, many buildings still remained in good shape. However, even the newest were decades old, so Harumi wondered if the equipment still functioned.

“There will be few machines in perfect function. But if they gather functional equipment from multiple buildings, they should be able to use it even if it’s somewhat inconvenient,” Clan answered.

It would certainly be difficult to find perfectly functional equipment in abandoned buildings, but they could move gear from multiple buildings to create a single facility. Many organizations that were hiding out operated in such a fashion.

“Do they match the current standard?”

“The protocols should be backward compatible. The empire being as big as it is, there will be differences in technology from edge to edge, but for spaceports, standards would match for several generations,” Clan said.

Modern technology was preferred, but given how vast space was, keeping everything up-to-date could be difficult. Not to mention different regions developed things in their own ways. By keeping things backward compatible, it was possible for all that equipment to operate in tandem. A typical example was a spaceship automatically landing at a spaceport.

“I see...so a galactic scale even comes with those kinds of problems...” Harumi said in admiration.

That was when Ruth spoke up from the operator’s seat. “We can now see planet Taurus Cobon.”

The Hazy Moon’s camera could see Koutarou and the others’ destination. It was where the anti-government force in question was hiding.

Taurus Cobon, as its name suggested, had been developed by a man of the same name. He was the first leader of the pioneers, and through his strong leadership, they had made it through the difficult settlement period. He was still respected as a great man, which was why the planet had been named after him in later years.

This planet, like Ikoran, had been developed as a relay station. However, its key industry was agriculture, and during the early years of warp travel, they had grown food for surrounding planets in order to make a profit. As a result, even as they’d fallen behind in technological developments, they hadn’t seen as big of a decline as Ikoran. The volume they handled had decreased, but the people of the surrounding planets would always need food.

“I thought the same when I saw it from above... This really is a beautiful planet,” Koutarou noted.

He and the others had already landed. Since the world hadn’t declined to Ikoran’s degree, there were still plenty of ships coming and going. Koutarou and the others had gotten into a transport ship from the Hazy Moon and easily managed to land. Their current target wasn’t as cautious as Ralgwin had been, but they would still proceed with caution.

“Their key industry is agriculture, so the planet was chosen for its environment,” Ruth explained. However, she wasn’t with them on the surface. Instead, her voice came from a small rabbit robot that she had prepared for the sake of the mission.

Maki narrowed her eyes as she looked at Koutarou and the talking rabbit. She had seen it before, as it was a reconnaissance robot that had accompanied them on a previous undercover mission. According to Theia, Ruth had said that she’d been too embarrassed to show Koutarou.

Good for you, Ruth-san... Maki thought.

Ruth had finally gotten to show Koutarou her cute rabbit robot. And it would surely be of use to him. Maki could imagine her getting excited on the other side of the call.

“So, where should we go from here?” Koutarou asked as usual, unaware of how Ruth felt.

As someone who knew about Ruth’s feelings, Maki felt a little vexed, but she also understood that it was a necessary phase. Instead, she walked up to listen in on the explanation. As she did, her eyes met Nana’s, who was doing the same thing, and they exchanged a wordless smile.

“There is a forest up ahead, and inside is an abandoned spaceport. It is a relatively small one that a corporation once owned, but it’s now the military base of the Dawn Corp of Taurus Cobon,” Ruth explained.

“The Dawn Corp of Taurus Cobon?” Koutarou tilted his head. He hadn’t heard the name before.

“It is an anti-government force. They carry out all kinds of activities under that name,” Ruth said.

“Based on the name alone, they don’t sound like villains,” Koutarou remarked.

“They don’t see themselves that way either. They want to eliminate the evil royal families and create a new world.”

“They sound sick in the head...” Koutarou sighed. He could understand if they just wanted to overthrow the imperial government. There was no right answer for a system of government. For example, any democratic system during Japan’s Warring States period would have been destroyed. There were efficient systems of government for different situations, and it just so happened that the imperial system had worked for Forthorthe for a long time. But that didn’t mean that it was the correct one. So wanting to try out a different option wasn’t a bad idea in and of itself.

If they were simply spreading their ideas to gain public support for a peaceful transition, Koutarou had no objections. Alaia probably wouldn’t have had any complaints either. However, they were claiming that they wanted to eliminate the evil royal families. How exactly could they see Elle, Theia, or Clan as evil? Even without Koutarou’s bias, their assertion made it clear that the Dawn Corp of Taurus Cobon was acting on emotion.

“However, this time their one-sided sense of justice is helping us out,” Ruth said.

“Because they chose to join up with the Forthorthe Liberation Army.” Koutarou nodded. He and the others were here because the Dawn Corp had decided to seek allies. By joining hands with a larger group, they hoped to eliminate the royal families. Thanks to that, Koutarou and the others had a lead on the Forthorthe Liberation Army.

“So, would that make Satomi-san something like a demon to them?” Nana mischievously asked. She’d been making a joke, but it probably had a hint of truth to it.

“So it would seem. They associate blue with the color of an evil knight, but it’s not something the people support,” Ruth explained.

“There is a complete record of Satomi-san’s activities, after all. Of course it wouldn’t get support,” Nana added.

Since they saw the royal families as evil, they equally despised Koutarou, who was an ally of the rulers. Considering his strength and influence, perhaps they really did think of him as a demon. But the people were different. This era had all kinds of records, be it live footage, coordinates, or otherwise, and they all proved what kind of person Koutarou was. This group frantically brandished everything as conspiracy theories and fabrication, but the laymen knew that wasn’t realistic.

“Dark Knight Layous, huh? That sounds cool.” Koutarou smiled.

“Please be more serious, Master,” Ruth scolded him.

“Sorry about that.”

“Make sure you never remove that bracelet, Satomi-kun,” Maki instructed him.

“I know. I don’t want to put myself in danger either,” Koutarou answered.

He and the others wore bracelets made in preparation for the mission. They were magical bracelets that made them look like other people, but the ones wearing the bracelets could see one another’s true appearance. It was a laborious task that Yurika and the court magicians had undergone together to create. They’d taken the utmost care to ensure that the disguising magic couldn’t be detected, and that concealment had taken the bulk of their efforts. Because of that, they hadn’t been able to make any spare bracelets. Normally, people who weren’t known by the enemy were sent to infiltrate, but their foes’ abilities meant that Koutarou and the others had to go instead.

“Then let’s set out,” Nana stated. Once she had a grasp of the situation, she jumped up from the ground.

According to the intelligence department, the Dawn Corp would be moving soon. So they couldn’t afford to take too long. The rabbit robot sat down in front of Koutarou and lowered its head.

“I will take my leave now, Master,” Ruth said with a tone of regret through the rabbit.

“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, I wish you the best of luck.”

With those words, she cut the transmission. They couldn’t use communications from this point on, as they couldn’t let the enemy detect any communication waves. The rabbit shifted to autonomous mode and would be gathering information while leading Koutarou and the others.

“All right, let’s go, Ruth-san.” Koutarou stood up and started walking. The mechanical rabbit hopped after him.

Being able to do that so naturally is why everyone loves you, Satomi-san... Nana thought. Koutarou had called the rabbit “Ruth.” It hadn’t been anything deliberate on his part—that was just how things had flowed. But Nana thought that when Ruth checked the records later, she would rejoice. With a slight smile she chased after Koutarou.

According to Ruth, there was a small spaceport, but that wasn’t the case from what Koutarou could see. As he looked at the top of a small hill, the edges were hazy so it was hard to tell, but...

“Isn’t that huge?” Koutarou asked.

No matter how he looked at it, it was larger than any airport in Japan. It far exceeded what he had imagined.

The rabbit’s AI answered in Ruth’s voice, “This spaceport has the capacity to service a number of large transport ships. But it is a rather small spaceport for transporting grain.”

Just like maritime transport ships on Earth were huge, the transport spaceships were also huge. There were several ships the same size as the destroyed Blue Knight. At an industrial scale, several such vessels were necessary for business, which meant that a spaceport needed to be several kilometers long at the bare minimum.

“Is the spaceport in Fornorn even larger than this?” Koutarou asked.

“That’s right, Master. When standing at the landing site, everything you can see is the spaceport,” the AI explained.

Fornorn, the capital of Forthorthe, had a spaceport as well. But its size was far larger than this one. What Koutarou had thought was an amazing city was merely the spaceport.

“I was fooled by the spaceport being made on Earth. That really is the bare minimum, huh?”

The spaceport being made by Japan was the reason for Koutarou’s difference in perception. At the current moment, there was no economic trade between Japan and Forthorthe. Because of that, the port was only being used by inspection teams and transfer students. Being able to service one or two smaller passenger ships was enough, so it wasn’t all that different from an airport.

“But, Satomi-san, it seems they’re only using part of it as a port. It looks like the rest is a training facility,” Nana observed.

With her good eyes, she’d noticed right away. The facility was large, and seeing it appear through the trees had been shocking, but only two ships were parked there: a relatively small warship, most likely a destroyer, and a medium-sized transport ship. It was too small to call an army, but it was a lot for an anti-government force. The rest of the spaceport was being used as a training facility, storage, and space for tents.

“I see. I guess that’s an easy way to use it...”

Koutarou could understand why anti-government forces would choose a place like this. It was far easier to set up such facilities at a spaceport than to have to cut down a forest. It was hard to imagine until he could see it for himself.

“If they’re about to group up, those ships must be heading for the Forthorthe Liberation Army,” Maki pointed out.

“I think so,” Nana agreed. “However, that transport ship is a little suspicious, so if we’re going to sneak in, it should be through the warship.”

Nana agreed with Maki, but she feared the transport had only been carrying supplies in. It was more than possible if they intended to maintain the spaceport after joining the Forthorthe Liberation Army. For the enemy, this location was excellent in terms of ease of use and location.

“Then it’s decided. We’ll sneak onto the warship,” Koutarou concluded.

A warship would no doubt be used after grouping up with the Liberation Army. They would want every warship they could get their hands on, so it made sense for the group to get onto that ship. From there, they only had to remain hidden and they would be taken to the Liberation Army’s base.

Maki and Nana came from military organizations, so they knew what they needed to do and what to avoid in order to sneak on board. The rabbit robot was also gathering information from its surroundings at all times. Koutarou left everything to them while he focused on the spiritual energy around them.

Are these beasts? It’s probably a pack of something like wolves. From this sensation, they probably won’t attack unless we get close.

Life was abundant in the forest, with all kinds of spiritual energy around it. There were some types to be cautious of, chief among them predators and humans. Predators could attack them, so the group needed to avoid stepping into their territory and aggravating them. Humans were more troublesome; not only would it be bad news if Koutarou and the others were discovered, but the enemy had also set up surveillance. Being discovered by either method would mean the mission would fail, so it was extremely important that they weren’t found.

“Satomi-kun, stop!” Maki warned.

“Whoa,” Koutarou breathed.

“Be careful. There’s a wire at your feet,” she explained.

“Thank you, Aika-san. It didn’t have any spiritual energy.”

Koutarou had almost fallen for a wire trap. It must have been set up a while ago, so there were no remnants of spiritual energy around it, and he had failed to see it with his Spirit Vision. Spiritual energy tended to remain in things that someone had put a lot of thought into. In other words, the more something lingered in the user’s memory, the easier it was for spiritual energy to remain. So there was almost no spiritual energy in something that had been quickly set up through menial labor. It was a flaw of Spirit Vision, and Koutarou would have been in danger if not for Maki.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe,” Koutarou told her. Maki smiled with relief.

“Hehe, you really are sensitive to Satomi-san’s safety, Maki-san,” Nana giggled.

“Ah, uh, that’s...” Maki blushed. Everyone knew that she was fully devoted to protecting Koutarou, but it was still embarrassing to have it pointed out. She was normally very composed, so it was a rare chance to see her acting like a normal girl.

“Oh, you don’t have to be embarrassed. You saved us,” Nana said. She had actually noticed the wire too. She had drawn her laser gun, which was her usual magic gun disguised to look like it had been made in Forthorthe, to shoot the wire. Since lasers didn’t have any impact, they were well suited to dealing with wire traps. But Maki had stopped Koutarou before that, so she hadn’t needed to pull the trigger. Therefore, she pretended not to notice in order to avoid diminishing Maki’s efforts. Nana smiled as she subtly returned her gun to its holster.

At that moment, Koutarou’s and Nana’s eyes met. It was just for an instant, and Koutarou didn’t say anything. Nana wondered what that was about while returning to her own role. Since there was a trap, they were already in enemy territory.

Suddenly, a large hand landed on top of her head.

“Huh?”

The hand belonged to Koutarou. It moved ever so slightly, patting her head. That was all he did before quickly removing his hand and taking the lead once more.

Come on, Satomi-san...

Nana was too surprised to say anything. She was lauded as a genius, but in that moment, she had forgotten the situation. If they had been ambushed by the enemy just then, she would have no doubt been taken down.

If you do things like that so naturally... she thought. Even I will begin to feel things...

Koutarou knew that Nana had noticed the trap and that she’d kept quiet for Maki’s sake. So he’d patted her head without saying anything to thank her for her consideration for Maki.

Because of that, Nana was struggling. If she didn’t calm her pounding heart, she wouldn’t be able to complete the mission.

But it wasn’t that simple.

By the time Koutarou and the others reached the Dawn Corp’s site, Nana had returned to normal. She’d gone ahead to scout and come back with her usual light steps. She had gone out to scout alone, taking the rabbit with her, but that had helped her get a handle on her feelings.

“Sorry to keep you two waiting. Like I thought, we should be able to infiltrate up ahead,” Nana reported.

When they’d been on top of the hill, they had found a place they might be able to infiltrate from. Nana had scouted ahead just in case and confirmed that their observation was correct.

“How did things go over here?” she asked.

“There seem to be patrols but not that many. It’s a big place, so unless we really stand out, we should be fine,” Koutarou answered.

“And there are no signs of magic. As expected, it hasn’t been deployed to anti-government forces,” Maki added.

Koutarou and Maki had been checking the base for spiritual energy and mana. Fortunately, they hadn’t found anything irregular, nor had anyone detected them, since security wasn’t all that tight.

“They don’t seem to be very skilled. That’s fortunate for us, but...”

Nana was a little unhappy. Although they were enemies, she was irritated by the lack of caution. The patrols were too irregular for the size of their base, and any traps were exceedingly simple. The defense of one’s base was an important factor affecting the lives of allies, and as a former genius magical girl of justice, she couldn’t just ignore it.

“Now, now, they might be an anti-government force, but only a few go through proper training. They’re trying for amateurs, right?” Koutarou attempted to soothe Nana.

According to information they’d gathered ahead of time, there were only a few who had proper military training, and there was a limit to training in such an enclosed area. It was only natural that they wouldn’t match up to Nana’s standards, which were on the level of the Nefilforan unit and Folsaria’s armies. If anything, for amateurs, they were trying their best to keep up appearances.

“He’s right, and with this, we should be able to proceed without trouble,” Maki said. She was siding with Koutarou. The less skilled the enemy, the safer it was for them. It wasn’t like she couldn’t understand Nana’s frustration, but Maki welcomed the safety.

Nana relented. “Well...I guess so. I wouldn’t want to get into it with normal people, even if they have extreme ideas...” She had started to show her feelings more through her interactions with Koutarou and the others, but deep down she was still a magical girl. She valued love, courage, and justice above all, and a smile ultimately returned to her face.

“For now, there don’t seem to be any problems...so let’s wait until the sun sets as planned,” Koutarou suggested.

Since there were no other concerns, he wanted to stick to the plan. Nana and Maki agreed.

“Let’s hide behind those rocks until then,” Maki suggested.

“Yes, since this is a good break, why not eat something? We may not get time for it later,” Nana added.

The plan was to infiltrate at night. While the Dawn Corp might have their guard down, it wasn’t wise to move in broad daylight. It was best to play it safe, and there should be proper soldiers among the Dawn Corp members as well, so it was safer to wait until there were fewer people out and about.

Since the site was several kilometers long, the fence around it was a simple partition. The total length exceeded twenty kilometers; it would take too long to install alarms and high-voltage currents everywhere, and since it wasn’t a military base, nothing had been installed in the first place. At best it had cameras at important locations, and even those had degraded over time, with only few still functioning. As such, it would cost the Dawn Corp too much to install new devices, not to mention it would need a large-scale generator to power them. But the biggest reason was the enemy’s lack of caution. If they had understood the threat at hand, they would have patrolled in larger numbers.

“Let’s go. It should be safe for a while,” Koutarou reported to Nana and Maki after observing their surroundings with Spirit Vision.

The robot rabbit was doing the same. “Beginning countdown. There are roughly fifteen minutes until the next patrol.”

While Koutarou and the others were hiding behind the rocks, the rabbit had been gathering information in a grassy area near the base. As a result, it had a good grasp of the patrol schedule.

“That’s more than enough time,” said Nana. Based on her experience, there was almost never a moment when they would have more than ten minutes of leeway. She also had experience infiltrating important bases on high alert when she’d only had twenty-eight seconds, so she couldn’t help but feel let down.

“Let’s proceed with caution. Outside is one thing, but once we get in, there might be soldiers who understand the dangers,” Maki answered seriously as she gave Nana a small device. It was a small plasma torch to cut through the metallic fence.

“That’s true, we should account for the quality of the soldiers being better. We’ll have to assume they are well trained. All right, let’s get started,” Nana stated, accepting the torch. She must have used one several times before, since she handled it without hesitation.

Next to her, Maki was holding her staff up high. “Create Darkness.”

She cast a spell that brought forth darkness. Since they would be infiltrating from the back of a building, there was almost no concern that the soldiers would directly spot the light from the torch, but it might still light up its surroundings. That was where the darkness came in. By expanding it in a dome around Nana, the light was blocked out.

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Koutarou said.

“As you wish, my lord.”

While Maki and Nana worked on getting through the fence, Koutarou and the rabbit observed the location. Since the dome would hinder their vision, they were on either side of it to cover any blind spots.

It didn’t take long to hear the sound of the torch cutting the fence. It was surprisingly noisy and could be heard from twenty meters away, but that sound soon disappeared as well. Maki had used a spell to stop it. Still, that was a double-edged sword. By cutting out both light and sound, the pair inside the dome had no way of knowing what was happening on the outside, which meant that Koutarou and the rabbit’s mission was very important.

“Alarm Message. Enemy soldiers approaching from ten o’clock.”

That was when something unexpected happened. The rabbit’s ears shot up and delivered its report to Koutarou while turning around. When he heard that, Koutarou immediately poked his head into the darkness.

“Stop working! Someone is approaching!”

“Got it!”

Nana swiftly turned off the torch and lay down. Koutarou and Maki followed suit, and the rabbit jumped into the darkness. Once she’d confirmed that, Maki moved her staff ever so slightly and shrank the dome so that it would only cover them. At the same time she canceled the sound-obstructing magic, as it would get in the way of detecting the enemy.

“They’re muttering about something,” Nana whispered. Her hearing was sharp.

“I will enhance and relay the sound,” the rabbit announced. With its large ears it could pick up sound better, and after getting rid of the noise, it conveyed the results to the others’ bracelets.

“God dammit, why do I have to be the one to get the booze!”

“Booze?”

Koutarou’s eyes opened wide as he heard the soldier’s voice. Maki, lying down next to him, did the same. Nana gave them a wry smile.

“It’s a very stressful environment; let them have their drinks.”

She understood what happened on the battlefield. The lives of your allies were always at risk, which ate away at the mental strength of soldiers and stressed them out. Troop deployments weren’t always being changed merely for strategy purposes, but to alleviate stress as well. Yet there were times when the situation wouldn’t allow for such measures, like when they had to hold out until reinforcements arrived. At such times, soldiers often relied on alcohol. Nana thought drugs would be going too far, but she did feel that a reliance on alcohol was inevitable. The Nefilforan unit also had quite a few alcohol-loving soldiers.

“Is that how it works?” Koutarou wasn’t even twenty yet, so it didn’t feel real to him.

“It is, normally. You and Maki-san end up supporting each other, so you might not notice,” Nana explained.

Koutarou and Maki exchanged a glance and blushed slightly. They and the others also felt stress, but they didn’t need alcohol. Like Nana said, their presence healed one another. Then again, they weren’t always on the battlefield, which was a big part of it.

“Still, nobody’s going to notice if I pilfer some bottles for myself, so it’s all good.”

“This soldier’s destination appears to be the storage unit right in front of us,” the rabbit reported.

“I see...so this building is a good storage space,” Koutarou confirmed.

The building in front of them was hiding them from the soldiers. Koutarou could vaguely sense some spiritual energy coming from it as well. Food and alcohol had an easier time leaving spiritual energy behind. Vegetables and fruits were still alive, and fermented foods were also alive with microorganisms. Fresh meat and fish likewise had spiritual energy. Meanwhile, tools and weapons had next to none. At best, they had some spiritual energy left behind from the people who handled them, but the difference between tools and food was clear. In summary, the soldier hadn’t noticed Koutarou and the others—he simply had some business at the storage building.

“Let’s wait until he leaves,” Nana whispered. Since the soldier was getting closer, their voices might reach him.

“True, it would be better for us if they all got drunk,” Koutarou whispered back.

If the soldiers were drinking, there was still time before the departure. With some luck, they would drink and pass out, so it was safer to wait a bit before going.

“Maybe it would have been better if we had some booze...” Just sitting around and waiting was rough, so Koutarou made a joke.

Nana grinned in response. “Oh my, Satomi-san, you’re going to make girls drink after dark?” She hit him back with a joke of her own. That was certainly one way to interpret it.

“That’s not what I—” But before he could finish his answer, Koutarou realized: This is one of those times when there’s no right answer.

If he denied it, it would be like saying that the girls had no feminine charm. They would sometimes surprise him with a question that had no good answer, so Koutarou carefully picked his words to try to minimize the damage. “Well, maybe a little, just in this situation.”

“Hehe, what a bad boy, Satomi-san,” Nana scolded him, although her tone suggested she was doing anything but.

“Hahaha.” Maki looked back and forth between Nana and Koutarou and laughed.

Seeing that, Koutarou let out a small sigh of relief and smiled along with them. After waiting for the soldier in question to pass by, he and the others infiltrated the Dawn Corp base. Fortunately, after getting through the fence, they weren’t discovered by anyone and successfully reached the warship.

“As I thought, they’re not very skilled nor are they on guard,” Nana observed.

She was watching soldiers coming and going from behind piled-up goods. Yet despite their success, she was a little unhappy. She gave the base a failing grade by her own standards. Their patrols were lackluster, and so were their numbers. Enemy or not, it was too much to bear.

Koutarou smiled wryly. “Nana-san, you can’t compare civilians to the Nefilforan unit.”

No unit would match up to the skill of the Nefilforan unit. The Glendad family was renowned for its military arts, and their most elite unit carrying their pride received training that was of exceptional quality and frequent. It would be cruel to compare them to civilians who had the bare minimum of training.

“Even then... Oh, come on, make sure your light reaches the corners! Good grief!”

“So, it’s this perfectionism that beat magic into Yurika,” Koutarou murmured.

“I think I can imagine how it must have looked,” Maki added.

Seeing the small Nana so frustrated was adorable. Imagining her doing the same when teaching Yurika made the other two smile.

“Oh, I haven’t had a student as excellent as Yurika-chan, you know?” Nana really was unhappy, and she’d have loved to have had several soldiers like Yurika.

“Really?” Maki asked.

“She could do anything I taught her on the first try. If she couldn’t she wouldn’t have become an arch-wizard in such a short amount of time.”

Nana and Yurika hadn’t been together for that long. They had trained less than a year in total, yet Yurika had finished her training and even been appointed arch-wizard. When it came to magic, she was without a doubt a genius.

“I guess that makes sense.” Maki nodded. Although she didn’t doubt it now, when she had first heard how short Yurika’s training had been, she hadn’t believed it. Her frank impression had been that there couldn’t be such a genius.

“Of course, she was no good at anything but magic...” Nana smiled wryly and dropped her shoulders. All kinds of troubles stirred in her memories. Food being burned into charcoal had happened more than a few times. When she’d tried teaching Yurika how to handle a knife for self-defense, Yurika had cut her own finger. She really was a bad student when it came to anything but magic.

“I can imagine...” Koutarou couldn’t help but smile again. At the same time he was shocked that despite Yurika’s many flaws, the top brass had had no choice but to make her an arch-wizard. In other words, that was just how amazing her magic was. It was proof of her talent and the reason Nana had trained her as a magical girl. The idea of the enemy using her frightened Nana.

“Getting back on topic...the enemy are neither geniuses nor elites; they’re just civilians with some training in how to handle weapons. Isn’t it better that we don’t have to fight them?” Maki asked.

Their foes weren’t professional soldiers. They were no different from armed civilians, so Maki felt it was good that they wouldn’t have to fight.

“Well...I guess. Yeah, I’ll think of it that way,” Nana replied.

She really was a former genius magical girl. The teachings of love and courage were still alive and well within her. Since their enemies were civilians who had taken up arms due to their ideology, a magical girl should proceed while avoiding any fights with them.

“Now then, this is where it gets hard. Nana-san, how should we sneak in?” Koutarou asked, pondering the situation. There were fewer soldiers moving about at night, but goods were still being carried into the spaceship. It would be hard to get in without being discovered.

“We’ll have to put our trust in this bracelet that Yurika-chan created, or alternatively search for a different entrance that doesn’t stand out as much,” Nana told him as she held her arm up, showing the bracelet.

If they were going to infiltrate while carrying goods, the bracelet that changed their appearance was perfect. But they could also look for another entrance. If there was a way in, away from prying eyes, there would be no need to worry about anyone seeing them.

“Let’s use magic as a final resort. It will carry a risk from here on,” Maki suggested. As someone who was usually on the side of infiltrating, she had experience with defenses against specific methods. Because of that, she operated on the assumption that Maxfern had given the enemy tools that would detect magic. If those tools existed, they were most likely by the entrances.

“That’s true. Let’s do that.” Nana nodded. She was more on the defensive side, so she could only agree with Maki’s opinion. Maki had more experience when it came to infiltrating.

“Okay, then let’s go around.” Koutarou had no objections either. He trusted their decisions.

They settled on using the engine maintenance hatch as their route. Maintenance personnel used it as an entrance, but at night it had far fewer people coming and going.

“It seems only the space distortion navigation maintenance staff are working overnight,” the rabbit reported.

“Clan also said that kind of maintenance takes a lot of time,” Koutarou commented.

The slightest error in space distortion navigation could be fatal, so maintenance took a lot of time. It also required its own fuel and catalysts, as well as spare parts. As a result, the maintenance staff were at their busiest just before departure. Conversely, after departure, the computer handled most of it, so they could relax. It was a profession that had big ups and downs.

“So we should get away from the engine quickly,” Nana hurriedly announced. The bracelets might hide their identities, but a stranger lurking at the engine block would be suspicious. Since it was a specialized profession, the workers would know one another, so Nana wanted to move somewhere else.

“Affirmative. This ship doesn’t have a habitation zone, so I recommend moving to storage,” the rabbit explained.

“Ruth-san, do you have a schematic of the ship?” Koutarou asked.

“Of course, Master.”

The rabbit sent the ship’s schematic to the others’ bracelets as requested. The destroyer was from three generations ago, with the last of its generation being phased out of the Imperial Army over a decade ago. However, the army still had the data on the ship, and Ruth had gathered it all ahead of time.

“Hmm...it’s pretty different from the Hazy Moon,” Koutarou noted.

“I recommend the water and propellant storage,” the robot suggested.

Water was simply for the crew on board to use day to day, and the propellant was used to move the ship during standard flight. Both were put in large tanks, and they had specific storage spaces.

“Why there?” Maki asked.

“Both have hoses connected to the tanks, so even during transport, people won’t show up. At most, staff will come to check that things are still working after their shifts.”

Outlets for water and propellant typically had a port on the outside of the ship for the sake of convenience. So they weren’t carried in like all other supplies, which was why not many people would be around.

“Right, then let’s go with that. Thank you, Ruth-san,” Koutarou replied.

“It is an honor, Master.”

Koutarou was still calling the rabbit “Ruth.” Since it had her voice, it felt right. They followed its advice and made their way to the storage area for water and propellant.

“All right, let’s go,” Koutarou said.

“I will take the lead. Maki-san goes to the back,” Nana added.

Maki nodded. “Got it.”

“What should I do?” Koutarou asked.

“Stay in the middle and use your Spirit Vision just like before, please. We want to avoid people, if possible,” Nana answered.

“Got it.” Koutarou nodded as well.

Their formation for infiltrating was the same as before. Nana and the rabbit took the lead, while Maki took rear guard. Meanwhile, Koutarou was in charge of using his Spirit Vision. The enemy might not be very skilled, but there was no room for carelessness.

Their group headed for the propellant storage. Water had a purification facility, so more people were likely to be there. Meanwhile, as long as they got past the initial safety checks, no one was likely to come to the propellant storage.

“We managed to sneak in, but when does the ship leave?” Maki wondered.

The group had made it to the storage unit without being discovered. In front of them were several propellant tanks. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any real obstacles, and they had arrived while avoiding the enemy. Infiltrating while everyone was busy carrying in goods had been a success.

“According to the intelligence department, it will be tomorrow...but they don’t know the exact time,” said Koutarou.

Maki shrugged at his words. Now that they were here, they needed to stay hidden. Since propellant was still being added, people might still show up. Moreover, there was no telling how long it would be until they grouped up with the Forthorthe Liberation Army after departing.

“Let’s find some place that doesn’t stand out. I’m sure there’s a maintenance corridor or a room to store tools,” Nana suggested.

Rather than hiding in the storage space itself, she felt like a small room was safer. If they found an area like that, they could cast a barrier to keep people out.

“Affirmative. But before executing that plan, bring me to the communications port by the wall, please.” The rabbit’s AI supported Nana’s idea, but there was something it wanted to do first.

“What do you mean?” Koutarou asked, lifting the rabbit up. He started walking toward the wall before it even answered.

“I will infiltrate the system and gather information,” the rabbit stated.

“Can you do that?”

“Affirmative. I am capable of breaking through the security of a standard Imperial Army warship.”

It was out to gather information. The ship was a type that the Imperial Army had once used, and the Dawn Corp of Taurus Cobon must have gotten their hands on one through the black market. Because of that, it wouldn’t be hard for Ruth’s and Clan’s technology to break through the security of an old-fashioned Imperial Army vessel. That was also one of the reasons Kiriha had narrowed down the candidates to anti-government forces that were using ships that were easy to hack.

The rabbit’s right leg changed shape, and a port for communication appeared. It stuck it into the port in the wall. Normally, it could be connected wirelessly, but the AI chose to connect directly in order to avoid any unnecessary radio waves.

“Departure will be in twelve hours, but for security reasons, the destination has not been listed. Based on the amount of goods loaded, it is within two days’ journey,” the rabbit reported.

The easiest indicator of their destination was the amount of food being loaded. The destroyer had a crew of two hundred. Six hundred meals were necessary every single day, and the ship was loaded with twenty-five hundred meals—roughly four days’ worth of food. That might suggest a journey of four days, but typically one stocked twice what was necessary due to imperial regulations so that rescuers would have enough time to make it if something went wrong. Of course, anti-government forces were piloting the ship now, so they might have less spare food. Even so, the journey shouldn’t be longer than three days.

“Two days... So they’ll warp twice.” Koutarou counted on his fingers.

The primary method of space travel in Forthorthe was warping. Ships skipped from safe area to safe area with a warp once a day.

“That’s some good information, especially when combined with the amount of propellant.” Nana folded her arms as she thought. Although it depended on the performance of the warp drive, Forthorthe’s space travel didn’t allow full freedom. Due to the distribution of safe areas, there were trafficked points through which a lot of ships passed, so two days of journeying meant that the destination couldn’t be far from one such place.

That allowed them to narrow down the list of possible destinations. Of course, once their infiltration mission was a success, they would get their hands on more detailed information. But right now, the kind of details they had would be useful for escaping, and for Theia and the others who were pursuing them.

“I will send a small drone to share this information with the operator,” the rabbit said.

Koutarou nodded. “That’s Ruth-san’s hard work for you! You’re not only cute, but excellent as well.”

A part separated from the rabbit and fell to the ground. A moment later, it changed shape into a smaller rabbit that ran out of the building. It was a small multipurpose drone that would be taking the information with it outside. It made sure to record Koutarou calling it “cute” as well.

The warship departed twelve hours later and journeyed for two days, just as the rabbit had predicted. Once they approached the port, the ship suddenly got a lot busier, which was typical, and the soldiers were filled with anticipation and anxiety over grouping up with the Forthorthe Liberation Army. It was only inevitable that things would get noisy.

“Master, it appears procedures for docking are taking place on the bridge. We will be landing in roughly fifteen minutes,” the rabbit reported.

“Got it, then we should get ready too.” Koutarou nodded. He and the others were calmer than the crew despite being uninvited guests. They’d taken various precautions, but it had still been two and half days of tension building up, so the relief of being freed from the sealed space was huge. Relieved that they would finally be able to get out, they gathered their belongings in preparation to disembark.

“Please be careful, Satomi-kun. There are a lot of cases of being tracked after making camp,” Maki said. Since she was good at pursuit and infiltration, she knew that there tended to be a lot of clues at a hideout. They couldn’t leave any trash, they were not allowed to drop anything, and everything had to be returned to its original place. That was an ironclad rule for these sorts of missions.

“Got it, I’ll be careful,” Koutarou said. He knew about these things too, but most of his knowledge came from two thousand years ago. He felt that he should obey the experts of this age and agreed with Maki.

“Still...that went surprisingly fast,” Nana said. Having spent so much of her life on the battlefield, she was calmer than anyone. After becoming the Blue Tower’s arch-wizard at a young age, she’d had a long military career and gained lots of experience, and having been stationed on the front line where she had experienced bombings for weeks, she wasn’t fazed by the current situation.

“I’m glad you’re with us, Nana-san,” Koutarou said.

“Oh my, thank you, Satomi-san. I’m happy to hear you say that. But...” Nana kicked Koutarou. She didn’t put a lot of force into it, but simply exaggerated the motion. Because of that, her intentions were clear.

“I’m glad you’re with us, Aika-san,” Koutarou said.

“Satomi-kun! Hahaha, me too.”

While surprised by the strange flow of events, Maki quickly understood what was going on and smiled. But the most surprising thing of all is seeing Nana-san doing something like that to somebody... It’s a good thing...

Maki looked at Nana. She’d never seen her kick Koutarou before. It was a sign that she was starting to depend on people other than Yurika. Nana had gone through a rough childhood in a different way from Maki, so Maki was concerned about her.

“Is something the matter, Maki-san?” Nana asked.

“No, I was just thinking that you are cute today too, Nana-san.”

“You’re starting to sound like Satomi-san,” Nana remarked.

“Ahaha, yes.”

Their feelings were mutual, since Nana was concerned about Maki too. She felt that they had similar circumstances, which she couldn’t ignore.

“I want to hurry back home and take a bath,” Maki noted.

Nana nodded. “I can agree with that.”

The two girls whispered to each other. Koutarou and the others had been hiding in a corner of the storage for propellant, a small room for storing maintenance tools. It was a room even smaller than room 106, and it was very cramped for three people and their belongings. Moreover, there was no bath or shower. Although they were used to military environments, the desire to take a bath was inescapable. Even more so since Koutarou was with them.

“That should do it,” Koutarou announced.

While the two were whispering, he had finished cleaning up his own luggage, then returned the hand truck to where it had been after they’d moved it in order to create more space. With that, unless someone had a special ability, there was no way they would be able to tell that people had spent the past two days there.

“This is where the problems start, Satomi-san,” Nana said with a serious smile. Now that she’d finished cleaning up, she wore the face of a warrior.

Koutarou followed suit and straightened up, nodding at her words. “They should be much more cautious than before,” he said.

“I can’t sense any mana yet, but it would be a bad idea to assume that there’s nothing.” Maki also had a stiff expression. Depending on the circumstances, she might have to contend with Grevanas’s magic. As a former evil magical girl, she understood how dangerous that really was.

In that moment, there was a rumble as the warship, which had spent all of its time quietly flying, shook. It was the landing gear making contact with the space port. They had arrived at the stronghold for Maxfern’s forces.

The first bit of information Koutarou and the others needed was where exactly the warship was. Fortunately, they were able to get that information through the rabbit. It pulled data from the navigation computer’s data bank and sent the information to them.

“It looks like we’re inside a base,” Koutarou said.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge to get out of here...” Nana noted.

Unlike a normal space port, this one had a roof that only opened when a ship entered or left. That meant it was a very large-scale base, much bigger than what they had expected.

“Ruth-san, can you send out another small drone to contact Theia and the others when you get a chance?” Koutarou asked.

“As you wish, Master.”

The original plan had been to escape after arriving and make contact with Theia and the others who would be following behind. But it was questionable whether such a thing was possible. Even if it was, the task was monumental, so Koutarou wanted to use another drone as insurance.

“How about we stay hidden and leave after they set out?” he suggested.

It was unlikely that the warship would stay at the base forever. And Koutarou figured they would be able to get out when that happened, but Nana shook her head.

“If this ship is going to be useful in the war, it will need a major renovation. It would be dangerous to stay hidden inside,” she said.

A ship that saw daily maintenance would be ready to set out immediately, but that didn’t apply to the ship they had been on. It was something that an anti-government force had haphazardly been using, and it was very unlikely to reach military standards. It wouldn’t be setting out again until it did, so staying in hiding until then would be next to impossible.

“Then we’ll need to get out of the ship,” Koutarou concluded.

“The crew should be getting off, so we can blend in with them,” Maki suggested.

Just as the ship had to be maintained, so too would the soldiers be registered and have their health checked. The infiltrators could disembark alongside them and go into hiding before they were discovered.

“It’s a little reliant on luck, but I guess we have to,” Nana agreed.

“Aika-san, let’s put our trust in Yurika and Crimson’s efforts,” said Koutarou.

“Yes, I agree.”

They had no objections, so they set out to infiltrate the base. They would step off the warship and get inside that way. Although it sounded simple, it was exceedingly dangerous, so before they set out, they inspected the footage the rabbit had sent them. If there was no place to hide nearby, they would be trapped with no way of escaping.

“Could we hide behind this container? It’s not that far from the ship’s hatch either.” Nana had set her eyes on a container near where the ship had landed. It contained replacement parts and ordinance, so it was large enough for their group to hide behind.

“But there’s no cover on the way there,” Maki said.

In order for the container to be kept out of the way, it had been placed a distance from the ship, and there was nothing but open space between it and them.

“We’d have to blend in with the soldiers and hope we can get close... Two hundred people, huh?” Koutarou folded his arms and pondered. While the crew was getting off the ship, they could blend in, but their numbers worried him a bit. Two hundred was the equivalent of a company in the military. Typically the people in that company knew one another for the sake of better cooperation. That meant that even with Yurika’s transformation bracelets, it was dangerous. It was easy to imagine someone walking up to them after failing to recognize them. Even if Koutarou’s identity wasn’t exposed, it was still risky.

“Even if we use the bracelets to blend in, we’ll have to hope that they don’t fully know one another on account of being a mishmash of people,” Maki commented, sharing Koutarou’s opinion. With just the bracelets, they would have to hope that the two hundred among the Dawn Corp didn’t know one another. It was essentially a gamble.

“There’s also the option of taking a chance and using magic,” Nana suggested.

So far they’d used the bare minimum out of fear of being discovered, only detecting mana and using a barrier to keep people away. Since Grevanas might have spread countermeasures for magic, they wanted to avoid using it wherever possible, but Nana felt that they had good reason to use it now.

“So we go in relying on luck or magic, huh? Which is more dangerous?” Koutarou frowned. It was a problematic question. They could be seen through, or Grevanas might have taken countermeasures. They needed to compare such vague possibilities and choose the best one. Moreover, they had to make a choice soon. The soldiers were getting off the ship even as they spoke.

“Satomi-san, you choose,” Nana said.

“That’s so reckless,” Koutarou retorted.

“Nana-san and I won’t regret it no matter what you choose. We all know that you’re always doing your best,” Maki told him.

Maki had an indigo-colored crest on her forehead. Nana had entrusted herself to Koutarou after removing all of her prosthetics. Both had required resolve, and that resolve hadn’t changed.

“All right, let’s use magic. We’ll turn invisible and go behind the containers,” Koutarou decided.

“Are you sure?” Nana asked.

“Yes; rather than giving up the initiative, I think it’s better to use magic.”

In the end, he decided to rely on Maki’s abilities. Rather than going with the flow, he felt it was better to take action to resolve the situation. The decision was very much like Koutarou.

The soldiers were instructed by the broadcast on the ship to gather at the cargo space. If they were all going to get off at once, using the hatch there would be fastest.

“When you get out, line up in your platoons. There will be registrations and checkups after that,” someone announced.

Like Koutarou and the others had expected, the soldiers would be registered and checked. The ones gathered in the cargo space were currently exchanging words with their comrades. Koutarou and the others were watching them from the shadows in order to find the best timing for Maki to use her magic.

“It’s been ages since I had a health checkup.”

“Didn’t you get one when you joined?”

“I joined five years ago during a merger.”

“Oh, you’re a former Wind of Sashuyan.”

“How nostalgic. It’s been a while since I heard that name.”

“By the way, what kind of people are the Forthorthe Liberation Army?”

“Apparently, they’re remnants of the Vandarion faction, but they didn’t like his methods.”

“I was pretty freaked out too, disgusted even, especially by that huge weapon...”

The soldiers had their own opinions on the matter. Merging and splitting up was common among organizations, as well as a source for problems. They understood that well and felt uneasy about it.

“They look like normal people,” Koutarou remarked as he watched them.

They were an anti-government force, but they didn’t look like violent people to him. They just looked like normal folks you would find anywhere. That perplexed Koutarou.

“There are people joining organizations like these just to survive in any era,” Maki said with her eyes cast down. She had been one such person with no other place to go. Be it poverty, a lack of food, or something else, there were all kinds of reasons for joining anti-government forces aside from one’s principles.

“Now that you mention it, it was the same two thousand years ago...” Koutarou recalled there being people like that in ancient Forthorthe, like the fourth son of a farmer or those in serious debt. There were also people from villages that Maxfern had destroyed. Even Forthorthe’s army had been that way, so it was certainly possible for anti-government forces to take on such refugees.

“I can imagine those who lost their jobs because of the civil war joining because they had nowhere else to go,” Nana said.

Some people had joined anti-government forces to make a living. After last year’s civil war there were some who couldn’t make ends meet anymore. People like that were victims of political marginalization. Koutarou had complex feelings on the matter. He didn’t think that Theia, Elfaria, and Alaia were at fault.

“It’s not your fault, Satomi-kun,” Maki said. “Nor is it the fault of the people important to you. It’s just impossible to save everyone at the same time.”

Only a god would be able to save everyone without exception. Yet a god wouldn’t do that, since it would be like making all humans into puppets. Since people had free will, it was impossible to save them all.

“You can hold your head high, Satomi-kun. You can keep saving the people in front of you, just like you saved me,” Maki continued.

It was impossible to save everyone, but they could at least aim for it. And even if not everyone made it, they could be happy about the lives they had saved. Maki wanted Koutarou to be proud of what he’d accomplished. After all, he was the one who’d rescued her from the darkness.

“Thank you, Aika-san. I guess I got a little fainthearted.” Koutarou sighed and gave her a small smile.

That’s it, that’s fine. I am only human...

It was something he was always thinking about as well. He wanted to save the people in front of him. It was arrogant to think that everyone could be helped.

“It’s okay to get fainthearted. If not, there would be no point in us being here,” Maki replied.

Seeing Koutarou acting like a normal person, she flashed him a smile. Not everything went as they wanted, which was why people supported one another. It wasn’t just Koutarou saving Maki, but the other way around as well. That was how it should be.

“Haha...” Nana looked over the two with a calm stare. That was a problem she had run into before. The magical girl of justice had agonized over wanting to save everyone.

“Information Message. The soldiers have begun moving.” As the rabbit’s voice interrupted, the three put on serious expressions once more.

“Satomi-san!” Nana called out.

“I know. Aika-san, if you would.” Koutarou nodded.

“Yes!” Maki acknowledged. She wanted to protect as many people as possible.

They understood the situation well. After confirming with them, Maki began the incantation for a spell to turn them invisible. When it came to turning them invisible and covering up traces of mana, the latter required more mana. The invisibility wouldn’t last even a minute.

Koutarou weaved his way through the soldiers of the Dawn Corp and left the warship. Then he made his way to the container they’d agreed on.

It looks like they both made it too...

They couldn’t see each other, since the invisibility hid them even from infrared sensors and they were impossible to see with the naked eye. However, Koutarou could still see their spiritual energy. Thanks to that, he knew they’d managed to follow. The girls also had a rough idea of where he was, since the rabbit could detect the flow of air around his body.

There was some anxiety. The problem is the moment the spell was cast...

Even though the mana was being concealed, the moment of casting allowed some to leak out. There was a slight delay before the concealment magic started working, and if that was detected, they would be found out.

“All right.” Koutarou nodded and ran behind the container as Maki and Nana followed behind. A few seconds later they reappeared. The spell had ended.

“Don’t move, you two!” Koutarou said. They pushed themselves together and froze. If the mana had been detected, their actions would be pointless, since soldiers would come rushing in at any moment.

Please let it be needless fear!

Koutarou could only pray. It was unclear how valuable this base was to Maxfern and Grevanas, so the security setup was unknown.

“It looks like we’re good...” Nana said.

“So it seems.”

They were both stiff, but there was no sign of the enemy coming, nor were there any alarms.

“I can’t sense any hostility. It went well,” Maki concluded.

As a magician who manipulated the mind, she didn’t have to use a spell to sense the surface of a person’s mind. That power told her the atmosphere of their surroundings. Maki could only sense the vague tension between the visitors and the people already there. There was no feeling that one typically had when discovering an enemy.

“Good grief,” Koutarou sighed.

“This kind of thing is always stressful no matter how many times you do it...” Nana said.

They were finally able to relax a little. They weren’t in a situation where they could let their guard down, but at least they were safe from danger for the moment. It appeared there were no countermeasures against magic at the landing site.

“Welcome, Dawn Corp of Taurus Cobon. I am Claisen. I oversee the Human Resources at Wiesalam. The Forthorthe Liberation Army welcomes you with wide arms!”

The atmosphere softened for more than just Koutarou’s group. With the Forthorthe Liberation Army’s representative welcoming them, the soldiers’ anxiety calmed. The foot soldiers didn’t know exactly why they were joining the Forthorthe Liberation Army, so when a field officer welcomed them, it helped alleviate their fears.

“Information Message. Wiesalam is the fourth planet of the Varkala system. Not much of the area has been developed, and this base is likely to be in the surrounding region,” the rabbit reported.

“Okay, we’ve accomplished our goal! Now we just have to get home!” Koutarou said.

Ralgwin’s faction had never let the empire get a lead on them, but now that the leader had changed to Maxfern without anyone’s knowledge, the imperial side had finally succeeded. Since this was a base that accepted soldiers, it would be exchanging information with other bases, so infiltrating it was the first step in cornering Maxfern—although that did require Koutarou, Nana, and Maki to escape first.

“Releasing drone, and attempting to establish contact with the outside,” the rabbit reported. It released a small drone once more. Like before, this would attempt to carry information to the outside. It was the same information that Koutarou and the others would bring if they managed to escape, but it was best to relay the details as soon as possible.

The drone crept from shadow to shadow like a mouse, jumping on a container being carried outside.

“I hope it will make it out...” Nana knew that it was just a machine, but its cute appearance made it look like a living animal, so she couldn’t help but worry that it might get scared, crushed, or lost.

“I do not know if it will be able to get outside, but this is an espionage mission, so chances of being discovered are believed to be very small,” the rabbit assured.

If a drone from the Imperial Army was discovered here, they would be in danger, and it would also inform the enemy that their base had been discovered, in which case bringing back information might be useless. That was why they had relied on subterfuge. Depending on the circumstances, they might even have to give up on escape and wait in hiding somewhere. Covering their presence was their foremost priority, so chances were high that both they and the drone would be safe.

“I see. I’m glad to hear that.” Nana smiled.

Much of Nana-san’s body is machines... Koutarou felt like Nana was worried about the drone not just because it was cute, but he chased that thought out of his mind and focused on the dangerous situation they were in.

“From here on, you will receive a health checkup and register as soldiers. This— Hm? What is it?” The officer called Claisen was continuing his reception of the Dawn Corp, but then a subordinate of his came up from behind and whispered something into his ear, prompting Claisen’s expression to change. “What?! What does that mean?! Why do I have to do something like that?!”

“I do not know, sir. Those are the orders from above...”

“Nothing will come from arguing with you. I will go to them directly. Excuse me, it appears there has been some sort of mistake on our end. Once preparations are done, you will be guided in order, so I ask that you wait here a little longer,” Claisen said before he shuffled down from the platform he’d been standing on, heading for the exit of what was likely the hangar. It was hard to tell from a distance, but Koutarou could tell that his voice, expression, and aura had all turned more severe.

“It looks like the situation is getting worse...” Nana couldn’t sense auras, but she felt the same thing as Koutarou. Some trouble that Claisen hadn’t anticipated must have occurred.

Maki tilted her head in confusion. “But this is strange. It doesn’t feel like they’ve found us. What do you think, Satomi-kun?”

“I don’t think so either. There’s nobody focusing on us.”

The first thought that came to mind was that they had been discovered. If he was coming to fight them, Maxfern would have given orders that would confuse the general troops, since magic and spiritual energy weren’t known to typical soldiers. But it would still mean that someone was aware of Koutarou and the others, and hostility or caution would be directed toward them or the ship they had been hiding in.

Yet Koutarou could sense neither, so it was likely some other trouble. It made not just them, but also the soldiers of the Dawn Corp anxious.

“What is going on?”

“Is it the enemy?”

“In that case, we should be sent out too, but I don’t hear any combat either.”

“Yeah, it’s strange.”

“But that officer made it look like it’s a big deal.”

The anxiety only spread as they spoke among themselves. That emotion was conveyed to Koutarou and Maki, whose anxiety over the situation had nowhere to go.

“Information Message,” the rabbit said. “I have deciphered the order that was given to the officer. It reads, ‘Shut off the air conditioning system immediately.’” The robot was gathering information even now. It only had access to junior officer security clearance, but a new order had come down.

“Shut off the air conditioning?! But why?!” Koutarou was so confused he almost shouted out loud.

“Is it some sort of epidemic?”

The first thing Nana suspected was a contagious disease. Hospital wards that specialized in disease were isolated from the outside world in order to keep anything from escaping through the air. Although turning off the air conditioning wasn’t completely airtight, it was still a possible countermeasure for a contagious disease.

“No...Satomi-kun, something is happening!” Maki felt a strong disturbance of feelings from outside the hangar. It was a terrible confusion with a strong sense of fear and survival instinct mixed in. But those emotions were gradually disappearing. The speed of disappearance was also accelerating. It was clear what that meant—people were being slaughtered. And before long that tsunami of death crashed into the hangar.

“What the?! You damn idiots! Maxfern, Grevanas, are you insane?! What the hell are you thinking!!!”

At that moment, Koutarou understood everything: why the air conditioning had been stopped, why anti-government forces had been so easily accepted, why they didn’t care if the soldiers were untrained or ignored security—it was all so they could do this.

“What is happening, Satomi-san?!” Nana frantically asked.

“It’s the zombies we fought before! Maxfern and Grevanas are going to convert all of the Dawn Corp into zombies!”

Crashing into the hangar were soldiers from the base. At the front was Claisen, but he looked wrong. His skin had darkened, and his eyes were sunken and had a threatening glare to them. With his Spirit Vision, Koutarou could tell at a glance that these were zombies created by the waste from before.

“You mean they think untrained soldiers would be more useful as zombies?!” With Nana’s quick wit, she could understand the situation based on Koutarou’s brief explanation. Maxfern and Grevanas had never intended to accept the Dawn Corp as allies. They knew the Dawn Corp’s security and fighting power were so lacking it would only hold them back. So instead they had called them to a convenient planet to turn them into zombies.

Since zombies didn’t communicate, there would be no issues with security. Moreover, they fought on instinct, so the lack of training didn’t mean anything. The air conditioning had been stopped so that the waste wouldn’t escape outside. At the moment, it hadn’t spread through the air, but it could still spread from splashes or through small animals. The sewage had probably been sealed off as well. Of course, that wasn’t meant as a safety measure but rather to prevent the spread of the infection, which would practically broadcast their location to the empire.

“So, it’s a factory for making zombies?!” Maki couldn’t hide her astonishment. It was an evil deed so cruel that it made even her, a former executive of Darkness Rainbow, shudder in fear.

Darkness Rainbow had used zombies too, but only the dead, not those made using living people as material. Yet that was exactly what was happening here. The loose elements that were anti-government factions were being called on to be processed into zombies. It resolved a lot of problems in one fell swoop, but it wasn’t something any sane person would even think of.