Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 46 - Chapter 5

How the Intelligent Fight

December 5, Monday

When the missile equipped with the wide-area incineration warhead exploded, Koutarou and the others were just outside its effective range, which was simply because they had moved in a zigzag pattern rather than directly toward Kiriha’s group. If they had moved a little closer, they would have been in danger.

“This is horrible...” Koutarou said. “Maxfern blew up even his own allies.”

Upon reaching the effective area of the missile, they were faced with a land devastated by fire. The trees and shrubs were carbonized and had lost their shape. The only things left were scorched stones. There were no survivors in the burned wasteland.

“Yeah. There are a lot of confused spirits,” Sanae said. “Neither the animals, plants, nor humans know that they’ve died.” She was quietly angry. She normally openly displayed her emotions, but not this time. The sight she was seeing was terrible.

“They really will do anything...” Koutarou murmured. He and the others had expected this sight. Even a few hundred meters away from the effective area, they had felt the blast wave and heat, so they had known what sort of destruction they would witness, and they’d been prepared for it. Still, when faced with reality, the shock was palpable.

“Even I would not cause such senseless destruction,” Alunaya said in disgust. Not even the fire dragon emperor would bring such chaotic destruction with his flames. He used fire for life and to live. The destruction before them was clearly not for such a purpose.

“I wonder if the others are okay...” Shizuka murmured with worry. If the girls had been within the range of such destruction, it was hard to imagine they were safe.

“I hope they’re all right,” Koutarou agreed with a somber expression. Though he believed they were alive, he couldn’t shake the fear of what he’d do if they weren’t. But those three had created countless miracles, so Koutarou told himself that surely they had done so this time as well.

“Wahahaha, they’re dead!” Maxfern’s voice suddenly echoed through their surroundings. “I fired the missile right where I knew they were!”

Koutarou looked up at where the voice was coming from and found a large mobile weapon floating in the air. Maxfern had been convinced that Koutarou would show up and had moved the mobile weapon into position.

“Maxfern! Are you insane?!” Koutarou shouted.

“Who can say? After two thousand years, how much sanity could remain?”

“How many of your own allies have you sacrificed to kill just three people?!”

“You do the same, don’t you?!” Maxfern shouted back at him. “Or are you under some delusion that soldiers won’t be harmed?!”

“The soldiers aren’t fighting under the assumption that they will be killed by their allies! You’re just tightening the noose around your own neck, Maxfern!”

“Don’t worry. They will hear that it was you who killed them!” Maxfern laughed. Even if the Imperial Army had proof, the Liberation Army would only say it was fake. They would never imagine that Ralgwin would do such a thing. His reputation shielded Maxfern from suspicion, hiding the truth from the troops.

“You are rotten...” Koutarou was aghast at Maxfern’s words. He had fought others who could be considered evil. But even when cornered, they had followed the unwritten rules of the battlefield. None had ever ignored the loss of soldiers from the outset. But Maxfern was different. He easily committed taboos. Koutarou didn’t understand what drove him, but it was shocking behavior.

“This is war, Blue Knight! I will pay any price to kill your women!” Maxfern taunted him. Killing Kiriha, Ruth, and Clan was a huge strategic victory for him. It would also allow him to pay Koutarou back for some of the grudges of the past, so losing some soldiers meant nothing. He would do anything—use anything—to win. His frame of mind hadn’t changed in over two thousand years.

“Unfortunately, you have failed in that, Violbarum Maxfern.” That was when a cool voice rang out, stopping Maxfern short. It was a voice he never could have expected.

“Kiriha-san?!” Koutarou exclaimed.

“We finally meet, Satomi Koutarou.”

The voice belonged to Kiriha. At some point, she had joined them, wearing her usual calm smile. Naturally, Clan and Ruth were behind her. All three of them looked fine.

“How?! How could you have survived that?!” Maxfern screamed, astonished by their appearance. He couldn’t believe it. There was no way they could have survived the wide-area incineration warhead as far as he knew. That wasn’t overconfidence or blind belief either—anyone would understand that upon seeing the devastating explosion.

“It was simple,” Clan replied. “We collapsed a cave on purpose and buried ourselves.”

They had run into a cave by the ravine and blown up the entrance. The threats from the warhead were the shock wave, heat, and lack of oxygen. However, distortion fields and Spiritual Energy Fields had some resistance to those, so by using bedrock to block out most of the danger, they had survived. Of course, depending on the direction of the entrance and how deep the cave went, they could still have been cooked alive, but fortunately, the cave they had run into was deep enough for them to survive.

“But even if you survived the explosion, how did you get out?” Shizuka asked, perplexed. Hiding in a cave could protect them from the explosion, but it would trap them. It should have been incredibly difficult to get out without proper tools.

“Good point.” Ruth nodded. “It was a gamble.” The girls had actually been buried inside.

“We didn’t know if we could escape before running out of oxygen,” Clan explained.

Not everything had been ideal, and they hadn’t been able to plan everything, but their top priority at the time had been to escape the explosion.

“Then how are you here?!” Maxfern shouted. “That should be impossible!” He couldn’t accept the situation. And especially not that Kiriha was alive. She looked a lot like his niece, Lidith, who had once betrayed him. Her getting out of the situation unharmed was incredibly frustrating.

“In conclusion, you went too far, Violbarum Maxfern,” Kiriha told him, hiding her mouth behind her fan.

The gesture that seemed to be making fun of him only angered Maxfern further. Then Theia and Sanae-nee, who spoke through the comms on Koutarou’s armor, poured even more salt into the wound.

“How foolish. This is what happens when you let your emotions get the better of you and use that kind of bomb,” Theia said.

“Thanks to you burning everything down, it was easy to find them,” Sanae-nee added.

It was they who had saved the girls. The effects of the warhead had been disastrous, burning down everything within a kilometer, but that had removed all life from the area, including plant life. As a result, Sanae-nee had been able to easily locate them. After all, there were no other living auras nearby, which had made it simple. Theia had rushed to the spot with soldiers and dug them out.

“Impossible!” Maxfern exclaimed.

“If you had been a little more careful, you would have won,” Theia continued. “You were too hasty, Maxfern.”

If Maxfern had used a less powerful bomb, or a biological or chemical weapon, the outcome would have been different. Some life would have survived, and it would have been difficult to find the three girls in the cave. But due to his insistence on using excessive firepower, he had lost his chance. In that crucial moment, the gap in their experience fighting with spiritual energy and magic had decided the outcome.

“Even so, it won’t matter if you all die here!” Maxfern screamed. “Die! I’ll kill you all!”

The large mobile weapon had a second Rengan Strategic Missile stored behind it with the same warhead as the first one. If he fired it, he would be able to kill the three girls for sure, not to mention the Blue Knight and Princess Theiamillis were present too. It was the perfect time to make up for his failure.

“You seem cunning at first glance, but when you get emotional you lose sight of things,” Kiriha answered just as the three people next to Koutarou disappeared. A moment later, there was an explosion in the back part of the mobile weapon.

“Grevanas, what happened?!” Maxfern cried.

“It seems like an unmanned craft self-destructed! The missile launcher has been damaged!”

“What?!”

One of the unmanned craft that Clan was controlling had self-destructed. She had stolen four from the Liberation Army, three of which had been lost when used as decoys. Clan had used the remaining one to attack the mobile weapon. When firing a weapon, the distortion field in the area was released, so a relatively small unmanned craft could slip in. Thanks to Clan’s skilled disguise of signals, the craft’s approach had gone unnoticed, so Maxfern had had no way of stopping it. That said, because it was so small, the force behind its self-destruction wasn’t all that large. The missile launcher had been damaged, but it hadn’t caused any real damage to the mobile weapon itself.

“It looks like it worked out,” Clan remarked. “Now there’s no need to worry about that bomb.” Her voice came from Koutarou’s armor. She wasn’t actually there. In fact, the three girls were just holograms serving as a distraction, which was how they had suddenly disappeared.

“Good job!” Koutarou exclaimed. “Nothing less than I’d expect from you!” He smiled, showing no sign of surprise. Since he could sense spiritual energy, he’d known they were holograms from the start and had had a hunch about what their plan was.

“Curse it! Damn women! Not just once, but twice!” Maxfern shouted.

“What should we do, Maxfern-sama?!” Grevanas asked.

“That’s obvious! Send in our squads! Don’t let them leave alive!”

“At once!”

Maxfern might have been outsmarted, but he still had soldiers and mobile weapons deployed in the area, so he would use them to take down Koutarou’s group with a frontal attack.

Before firing the missile, the Liberation Army had deployed a large number of forces. The majority of the transferred forces were unmanned craft, but there were also some human squads. That was an outrageous act that the Imperial Army would never do. It was extremely dangerous to use transfer gates before they were stable. So while unmanned crafts could be sent at times under the assumption that some would be lost, humans would never be sent over. Being able to do that without batting an eyelid was one of Maxfern’s terrifying sides. After firing the missile, those forces set out for the affected area with the large mobile weapon in the lead, and they were facing Koutarou’s group.

“But we won’t lose either,” Clan replied. “After Theiamillis-san discovered us, we deployed our forces too.”

The Forthorthe Imperial Army wasn’t without a plan of their own. Once Kiriha, Clan, and Ruth had been successfully rescued, they’d deployed their soldiers. Before then, no one could communicate with the girls because the enemy would have reached them first. But that restriction on comms had disappeared once Theia and Sanae-nee had them safely away. All of the unmanned craft in the area were being called in, and standard forces were marching over.

“I only wish we had your new machine ready for you,” Clan said.

“That would be too much,” Koutarou replied.

As battles had started looking more like wars, he would often fight in the Warlord-series mobile weapon because there were large enemies on the battlefield, though there was another reason for it too. Koutarou’s Spirit Vision wouldn’t allow him to avoid stray bullets or attacks from unmanned craft. However, when the enemies were few, he could handle himself. Still, the danger shot up when a battle became more disordered, and even more so after Koutarou was discovered to be the Blue Knight. With that in mind, after Kiriha and Harumi’s “very polite request,” Koutarou had ended up using the Warlord series. After the last battle, Warlord had been seriously damaged, so a new machine was being built, but it wouldn’t make it in time. Koutarou would therefore be relying on his sword and armor for the first time in a while.

“Please make do with me for today,” Alunaya said.

“I don’t have to make do with you. You’re always a huge help,” Koutarou replied.

In Warlord’s place, Alunaya had returned to his original form, and Koutarou was on top of his head. At twenty meters long, the dragon was far larger than Warlord, and his firepower was equally powerful. If anything, it was Shizuka who had to make do.

“Uncle, you can’t overdo it, okay?!” Shizuka said.

“I know, I know,” Alunaya responded consolingly.

“I’m not so sure...” Shizuka said with suspicion.

Only Alunaya’s soul had come to the modern world, so transforming into his original form took a great deal of mana. When he returned to Shizuka’s form, the less mana he had, the weaker his control over gravity became. That would appear as an increase in weight for Shizuka, which was a problem a girl in her teens didn’t want to have.

“I’m here this time too, so don’t worry, Shizuka,” Sanae informed her.

“I’m counting on you, Sanae-chan!” Shizuka pleaded.

Sanae-chan was also next to Koutarou. She was in her astral-projected form and would support the others. Meanwhile, Sanae-san was taking refuge with the body.

“It has been a while, Fire Dragon Emperor!” Maxfern’s voice came from the large mobile weapon facing Alunaya. “So, you’re the Blue Knight’s slave now?!”

Both sides were acquainted. Two thousand years ago, Alunaya had been enslaved by Grevanas, which was why Maxfern sneered at him.

“Indeed, I am having fun,” Alunaya replied. “It would seem you are using something rather unshapely.”

Alunaya wasn’t perturbed. He simply bared his fangs and calmly retorted. He did have a point, as Maxfern’s large mobile weapon was quite misshapen. The general shape was round, with propulsion and weapons sticking out of it. It had been made with only victory in mind. When two mobile weapons were the same size, a sphere was the strongest shape, even when accounting for the protection of a distortion field. And since a large generator could be placed in the center of the ball, both offense and defense were strengthened.

Moreover, since there was no real front, aside from the back part, which had been destroyed by an explosion, it could attack in any direction. There were no blind spots, with it constantly being on the offensive and very sturdy. Its structure made a lot of sense in melee and for fighting Koutarou, but it was no doubt unshapely.

“As long as I win!” Maxfern said. “There’s nothing as foolish as losing because you’re concerned with looks! Brace yourself, Fire Dragon Emperor and Blue Knight! This is where I will settle the score with you!”

At Maxfern’s words, the Forthorthe Liberation Army advanced. Small unmanned craft at the front formed a wall, and behind them human soldiers and large mobile weapons were being deployed. It was a dangerous strategy of having the Imperial Army fight the unmanned craft while the Liberation Army attacked from behind the wall.

“We’re going too, Blue Knight!” Alunaya cried.

“Yes!” said Koutarou. “Ruth-san, I’m counting on you.”

“I am sending the forces forward, Master!” Ruth answered. Her words didn’t quite feel right to Koutarou.

There should only be unmanned craft coming, right...?

The Forthorthe Imperial Army should only have had a few soldiers in the area, since they were the ones who had descended with Koutarou and the others a few hours earlier. So that should have been their main troop, but what advanced was a force quite unlike it.

“What is this?!” Koutarou exclaimed.

“Oh, what an interesting thought,” Alunaya commented. “A steel legion?”

Koutarou was surprised, and Alunaya laughed. What advanced from behind was a band of unmanned craft, but its composition was abnormal. There were various unmanned craft with humanoid craft at the center. In the front were unmanned craft with heavy armor and firepower meant to support the front line, and the humanoid ones accompanied them with handheld firearms, covering their blind spots. The troop carriers were also taking part in the attack under automatic control. Farther in the back were medium-sized unmanned craft for shelling, aiming at the approaching enemy. In the sky were reconnaissance drones, kamikaze drones, and medium unmanned craft flying around instead of fighters or helicopters. It was like a trade fair of machines, and “steel legion” was a good name for it.

Who wouldn’t be surprised by that? Clan sighed while looking at the forces advancing.

Nobody else would try to make a military force like this. If anything, it was too difficult from a technical point of view. After all, crafts of various designs would have to work in concert with each other. Adjustments would also need to be made in the middle of battle as allied and enemy numbers fluctuated. Maintenance was also a source of confusion, since all sorts of technology would be mixed. That was why only one or two types of unmanned craft were normally used. Yet Ruth had used them despite all that because they were lacking in numbers.

Clan had objected to the suggestion at first. “Sure, this will make up for our lower numbers, but what about controlling them?” she’d asked. “If all they can do is go forward, they’ll be destroyed!”

If the unmanned craft couldn’t coordinate, their AI would make them fight on their own. They might cooperate at some points, but they would essentially just charge and attack. That would make them easy targets. Since they needed to do more than just buy time, Clan didn’t think letting the simple AI control them was realistic.

However, Ruth’s response was reassuring. “I will handle it somehow! I have done research into this before, though I haven’t done any testing!”

The steel legion had been born from the current conditions plus Ruth’s special talent. The only things that could immediately make its way over from the Imperial Army’s side were unmanned craft. But one or two types wouldn’t be enough. Since they were normally deployed as support for normal forces, there weren’t enough to make up a main force. So Ruth had scraped together all unmanned craft from nearby bases and spaceships without caring about the standard theories behind such warfare. Naturally, that meant all kinds of machines were mixed together, and coordination should have been impossible, with them only being able to recklessly charge.

But Ruth had made the impossible possible.

“If the enemy turns their zombies into soldiers, we can use unmanned craft as our army!” she announced.

The inspiration had come from the battle the other day when Grevanas had used undead soldiers. It had been made possible by embedding the model of a soldier into the living dead. Using that idea as a reference, Ruth had the diverse unmanned craft act like an army. Having done some research into the subject, she’d been able to apply it to the special circumstances they were in.

That’s normally not something that you can pull off just because you thought of it, Pardomshiha. Clan sighed. You can be quite a monster...

Making various kinds of unmanned craft act like trained soldiers was easy to say, but putting it into practice was head-splittingly complex. Being able to do that showed unbelievable talent. Even so, Ruth was only human. The controls were incomplete, and she was losing time making up for that, so she couldn’t fulfill her normal role—which was why Clan took over as the operator.

“We will support the front line with the unmanned craft!” she told Koutarou. “You just focus on that large mobile weapon!”

“Got it, I’ll leave that side to you!” Koutarou replied.

“Then let us go!” Alunaya cried.

“Go get them, Uncle!” Sanae cheered.

The ground trembled as Alunaya ran. His big body had a lot of blind spots, and enemies would normally aim for those. But there was no need to worry about that now. Alunaya was surrounded by the steel legion, so there were no concerns about the enemy circling around and attacking him. They had once fought a mechanical dragon that was ten meters tall, but this sphere was easily double that. Moreover, because of its shape, it was probably closer to twenty times more in weight.

“It’s unexpectedly fast! That must be because it’s spewing fire from all directions!” Alunaya noted as his claws missed their mark.

Before getting hit, the mobile weapon in question used its emergency boosters to rapidly change direction. It moved far faster than one might expect from its size.

“But of course!” Grevanas replied. “This Acturus has been made with all the knowledge gained from previous battles! Your data has naturally been integrated as well!”

Grevanas was in charge of controlling the mobile weapon. It had been created per his proposal, and he was more knowledgeable about it than anyone else. He’d named it “Acturus,” an ancient Forthorthian word that meant “ball,” “circle,” or “perfect.” The name was not just a reflection of its appearance, but also a sign of his confidence in the machine.

“It’s not technologically inferior either! The situation is different from two thousand years ago!” Grevanas added.

Acturus followed his instructions and bombarded Alunaya while moving rapidly. It was firing masses of spiritual energy. Alunaya was protected by mana and sturdy scales, but a direct hit would still chip away at his spiritual energy. Grevanas now had technology on par with Koutarou’s, and he understood its weak points. It wasn’t a reckless show of strength. Through countless battles, they had developed equal power. Acturus’s name was not simple vanity.

“Hyper Sanae-chan Barrier!”

A spiritual energy bullet was repelled moments before scoring a direct hit on Alunaya thanks to Sanae’s powerful psychic powers.

“Thank you, Sanae!” said Alunaya.

“Just charge right in there, Uncle! I will block the spiritual energy!”

“Of course!”

They fought back as a unified front. Alunaya was already very strong against magic and physical attacks, but his defense against spiritual energy was limited. If Sanae were to block it, however, his defense was perfect.

“Koutarou, a couple of them are coming your way!” Theia announced.

Her job was to take out the enemies in the sky. Ruth was stopping the ground forces with her steel legion, but flying units couldn’t be halted. They could take out Sanae, which would make Alunaya’s defense collapse, so Theia’s job was serious. Even so, given the number of enemies, some of them inevitably got through.

“Got it!” Koutarou nodded “That must be them!”

Taking out those enemies was his job. In a sense, he was the cornerstone of their defense. If he fell, Sanae and Alunaya would follow in a domino effect.

“I’m not all that good with ranged weapons...but I don’t really have the luxury of complaining!” he said.

Koutarou jumped off Alunaya’s head and repeatedly fired the beam cannon equipped on his shoulder. It was a piece of the additional equipment, Garb of Lord, which was a useful weapon that would automatically eliminate enemies that came too close. But when used on enemies farther off, it had to be aimed manually. Koutarou was better with swordplay than shooting, so he struggled a little, but fortunately, he was able to gun down the incoming unmanned craft.

“Curse you, Blue Knight,” Grevanas spat out. “Attacks by unmanned craft while other people are around! No matter. I will have them support the ground forces to avoid pointless waste.”

“Don’t think about the consequences, Grevanas!” Maxfern said. “The Imperial Army’s standard forces will be coming soon. Focus only on the enemy before you!”

“Maxfern-sama... I... Very well!”

He had almost been distracted by their enemies’ skillful cooperation, but Maxfern’s rebuke quickly calmed him down.

It is just as Maxfern-sama says. I should only focus on killing the Blue Knight and his party...

As an advisor, Grevanas had to think of a lot of things, so he had a habit of overthinking at times. Fortunately, Maxfern’s clear sense of purpose pulled him back to their true goal.

“Increase the generator output to 120 percent!” Grevanas ordered.

“Pardon me, Grevanas-sama, but doing so will make it burn down in a few m—” a soldier began.

“A few minutes is more than enough! The Imperial Army reinforcements will show up before then!” Having calmed down, Grevanas pushed Acturus to its limits. But he wasn’t without a plan. Since there was little time left, the machine only needed to last for a short while. It was a strategic recklessness.

The battle grew more intense, the clash of the forces on the ground becoming more confusing.

“Commander, it seems like the entire enemy force is made out of unmanned units,” a soldier observed.

“That was to be expected, since we were transferred here...but it’s hard to believe,” the commander answered. “How are they controlling them?”

“A soldier has also gone missing from Ulworth’s squad,” the soldier reported.

“Is that certain? They didn’t die in battle or go missing during the fight?”

“It has been confirmed that they were missing before battle.”

“What the hell are our superiors thinking with such a reckless transfer?!” the commander shouted.

The cause of their confusion was the Liberation Army’s low morale. The top brass’s recklessness in the battle had lowered the soldiers’ morale. Several people had disappeared, and confusion and anxiety rippled through the ranks.

“Seeing this, those rumors might not be untrue either...” the commander muttered.

“You mean Mulact’s eight mobile infantry. I have a bad feeling about it...” the soldier whispered back.

In fact, contact with some of the ground units had been lost. It was a unit that was supposed to be deployed northwest of the landing craft.

“They must have gone to the center of the explosion,” the commander mused.

“Surely they couldn’t have gone there... No, but...” The soldier hesitated.

They had been transferred to the ground as reinforcements, but they couldn’t contact the unit in question. A rumor had quickly spread that they had been caught up in the wide-area incineration warhead. The troops hadn’t believed it at first, but now that people had gone missing in the process, the rumors were starting to sound true. The idea that their leaders would let all of them die to kill the Blue Knight was a mental blow. Soldiers were prepared to die in battle, but they didn’t want themselves or their allies to die for no reason.

“Commander, bad news!” another soldier said. “Large mobile weapons have appeared among the enemy!”

“What?!”

Their confusion was further exacerbated by the appearance of large mobile weapons being deployed by the Imperial Army.

“Our attacks are having no effect! Their defense is too strong! It’s entirely one-sided!” the soldier continued.

The mobile weapons were twenty meters tall, with wide bodies, and they moved slowly. However, their defensive power was overwhelming, and neither beams nor bullets had any effect on them. They advanced, ignoring the Liberation Army’s attacks, and took out soldiers and unmanned craft.

“That’s a humanoid weapon I’ve never seen before. Could it be a new weapon developed by Princess Clariossa?!” the commander exclaimed.

Princess Clariossa was well-known among the people as a highly skilled scientist. She had invented all kinds of things, including the PAF. It made sense to assume that she had made a massive robot. Looking up at the constructs, the commander felt despair.

It was Sanae-nee who had seen through the soldiers’ panic, but it was Clan who took action. So the Liberation Army surely believed that it was all Clan’s doing. But their mistake lurked elsewhere.

“Oh, it’s working!” Sanae-nee said. “They’re all scared, and it looks like they’re thinking it’s your newest idea. Great work, Glasses!”

“I’m not sure if I should be happy or not...” Clan sighed. For some reason, her shoulders drooped. The massive humanoid weapons that she’d sent in were achieving great results. The Liberation Army was running, and the unmanned craft had cut down their numbers. There was no reason for her to be disappointed.

“I think you can be happy.” Kiriha smiled.

“Kii...I wanted to send in the real ones.”

Surprisingly, most of the large humanoid weapons were actually holograms. Hiding behind the holograms were five unmanned craft meant for bombardment pretending to be a massive robot. That was why the enemy attacks weren’t working. They were simply passing right through, but the soldiers didn’t have the composure to notice.

“They look real to the enemy,” Kiriha assured her. “Nobody could imagine they’re fakes when a steel legion is approaching them. Moreover, the enemy is confused and their morale is low. They all believe it’s real and fear it.”

Since the Liberation Army was in a panic, nobody was paying attention to the details. If they checked the sensors, they would see through the trick, but nobody did. Not to mention that it was in the middle of the night, which hindered their vision. As a result, everyone believed there were massive robots in front of them. Like Kiriha said, they appeared real to the Liberation Army’s soldiers, who were giving up on fighting and running away.

“Go, Sun Fighto!” Sanae-nee excitedly shouted the name of the weapon. The model for the massive unmanned craft had been taken from a humanoid weapon on Earth called Sun Fighto. It was the robot that was made when the five Sun Rangers combined their machines. Clan had helped in its construction, so she had a holographic model of its exterior.

“You really are a genius, Glasses!” Sanae-nee exclaimed.

The enemy was in an uproar. Clan’s flash of genius had brought about fantastic results. However, her expression was dark. She didn’t desire those results or the high praise.

I can’t believe I’m getting results from scams and scheming again... she complained internally.

Clan knew that once she discovered the enemy’s weakness, she had to exploit it. The results of the fight would greatly affect their future. If they won, there would be far fewer casualties. But if possible, she wanted to be praised for being more like a princess.

Clan’s fake giant robot scheme was successful, and the Liberation Army’s formations were falling apart. If they’d had more unmanned craft than soldiers, they likely would have maintained cohesion—the Liberation Army forcibly transferring soldiers had worked against them.

“Looks like everything’s falling apart, Maxfern!” Koutarou taunted his opponent.

“Say whatever you like! It will all be worth it if you die here!”

Maxfern had gone after Kiriha and the others at first, but now his target had shifted to Koutarou. It was questionable whether that had been his original goal or if he was simply coming apart.

That said, we’re in a troublesome situation, Koutarou thought. We’ve already rescued Kiriha-san and the others. We could retreat, but if we disappear, he’ll obviously go after the conference...

Koutarou’s side would be very troubled politically if the conference was attacked. Important people from all over the galaxy would be gathered there, and the venue was on Alaia, which was Mastir territory, so losing VIPs there would bring the empress’s authority into question. Moreover, they would have allowed it to happen, knowing the enemy was there. If any civilians died, Koutarou’s group would be held responsible, so they couldn’t carelessly retreat. They needed to defeat the Forthorthe Liberation Army here.

“Sorry for burdening you like this, Koutarou,” Kiriha said. She had known the risks but felt they were worth taking. That was why her voice coming through the comms sounded so apologetic.

“You can say that again! But I’ll save the lecture for later!” Koutarou answered. He swung Signaltin and cut a missile in half, then looked at Acturus, which was their biggest problem. “Be honest with me, Kiriha-san. That’s bad, isn’t it?”

Koutarou had a bad feeling. It wasn’t a matter of fighting strength. They could win if they fought hard enough, not to mention that reinforcements were on the way. Even so, he felt uneasy. He had no real basis for it, but he was up against Maxfern. He couldn’t imagine that the battle would end without a bang.

“Exceedingly so,” Kiriha agreed. However, in her case, she had more in-depth predictions.

“I thought so.” Koutarou sighed.

“I was just thinking about bringing it up,” Kiriha continued. She hadn’t contacted him to apologize, but to talk about this very topic. “There is a time limit on this battle. Once that time is up, the Liberation Army will automatically lose. So Maxfern will do something just before that point.”

Alaia was under Forthorthe control. Naturally, the Imperial Army had a big presence on the planet. Since a major battle had begun, a large Imperial Army force would inevitably come. Once they did, the Liberation Army would be trapped. At that point, regardless of who was winning, they would lose. Kiriha imagined that Maxfern would do something drastic before accepting defeat.

“It’s only a prediction, so I can’t make any guarantees, but I imagine he would indiscriminately bombard the entire area or self-destruct,” Kiriha explained.

Soldiers who could retreat probably would. But those who couldn’t or were too slow would be left behind, and an attack would be launched at the conference venue or nearby cities. Alternatively, the mobile weapon would self-destruct to take Koutarou down with it.

“Most attacks can probably be stopped. The Imperial Army has plenty of defenses,” Kiriha went on.

Most attacks wouldn’t be a problem. Since Kiriha figured the enemy might target the conference venue, she had put antiair defenses into position. A self-destruct shouldn’t be a serious threat either. Since there were few large unmanned craft, an explosion wouldn’t have an influence on other locations.

“But there is something we can’t block.”

“The missile on that thing’s back, huh?” Koutarou concluded.

“Yes. If that explodes, we can’t stop it,” Kiriha stated.

The missile on Acturus’s back was the real worry. Its launcher was broken, but it could still be detonated. Since Acturus was so large, it would be easy to pursue but difficult to retrieve, so it could be used to take Koutarou down with it.

“That would be horrible. He’d burn even his own allies to death!” Koutarou exclaimed.

“You will need to hold them back. If Maxfern self-destructs, he will indeed take his allies down too,” Kiriha agreed.

If the idea was to take down Koutarou with Acturus, the warhead would be detonated mid-battle, meaning that the Liberation Army would be right there. Maxfern would rather do that than have the soldiers retreat and allow Koutarou to catch Acturus. Kiriha predicted that this was how Maxfern would think.

“I’ll stop it from happening no matter what!” Koutarou had no intention of letting Maxfern detonate the warhead. He could understand Maxfern self-destructing in hopes of taking him down, but he couldn’t accept Maxfern sacrificing his own allies to do it. Koutarou was determined to stop the destruction to save both himself and any meaningless casualties.

“If it was launched, we could shoot it down, but since it’s stuck, you would need to get behind the mobile weapon and take out the warhead directly,” Kiriha explained. “If Maxfern catches on to what you’re doing, he will probably detonate it right then and there, so it’s not realistic to dispose of the warhead either.”

“Then what should I do, Kiriha-san?!”

“We want to avoid any situation where the enemy would feel suspicious or uneasy, so you need to destroy the control system in a single shot.”

It was very likely that Maxfern would trigger the warhead when he ran out of time or sensed that he was at a disadvantage. Likewise, if Koutarou tried to escape or mess with the warhead. Acturus’s computer had to be destroyed in a single shot so that it couldn’t give relay orders. Kiriha concluded this was the method with the highest chance of success.

“You make it sound so easy,” Koutarou grumbled.

“I’m sorry, Koutarou. I didn’t expect Maxfern to go so far.”

“What a pain...” Koutarou sighed.

He couldn’t even imagine how difficult this would be. Since Maxfern’s craft was spherical, the computer should be at the center. In front of it would be the generator, which was the next most important piece of hardware. In other words, Kiriha was demanding that he shoot through that. But Acturus was large and sturdy. Stopping it was one thing, but penetrating it required some serious firepower.

“There’s no need to lament, Blue Knight,” Alunaya stated. “This is our job. There is nothing you and I can’t do.”

Koutarou exhaled. “Then let’s live up to those expectations.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Boo, don’t forget about me!” Sanae-chan complained.

“Sorry about that,” Alunaya apologized.

It would be up to Koutarou, Alunaya, and Sanae-chan. The three of them had the highest firepower when combined. If anyone was going to shoot the computer through the generator, it would be them.

Kiriha’s prediction was correct. The moment Acturus’s missile launcher had been damaged, Maxfern had decided to self-destruct depending on the situation. But with the Imperial Army reinforcements arriving in the form of unmanned craft, there was no guarantee that they could kill Koutarou and the others there, so he was thinking of using it as a last resort.

“Ralgwin-sama...”

A subordinate contacted Maxfern, who was on the bridge of a battleship. The soldiers still believed that he was Ralgwin and called him by that name.

“Imperial Army transport ships are approaching the battlefield,” the soldier reported.

“How much time do we have?”

“At their current rate, they should have ground forces deployed in two, three minutes,” the soldier answered.

“Very well. How are the Blue Knight and the others doing, Grevanas?” Maxfern ended the call with his subordinate and turned to Grevanas, who was right next to him. He was operating the computer, sending instructions to Acturus. In other words, Grevanas was the one fighting their enemy.

“Considering that they have been fighting relatively passively, they might be waiting for reinforcements,” Grevanas guessed.

The Imperial Army had already achieved their objective by rescuing Kiriha, Clan, and Ruth. The Liberation Army’s assassination had ended in failure, so it made sense to assume that the Imperial Army didn’t want to sacrifice anything else.

“So, we are the ones who must act... Now, what to do?” Maxfern pondered.

He gathered his thoughts in a short amount of time. Acturus was performing as expected. It was an even match for the Blue Knight’s side. It was more than possible to take someone down with it, be it the Blue Knight himself, the Fire Dragon Emperor, or even the psychic girl. The Fire Dragon Emperor was strong in both offense and defense, though the psychic girl didn’t have a body, so it was unclear if she could even be defeated. That meant that the Blue Knight, who was covering for the others’ weaknesses, was the prime target.

“Grevanas, focus your attacks on the Blue Knight,” Maxfern ordered.

“Without consideration for anything else?”

“That’s right. I’ll leave the time of detonation to you. Use it to kill the Blue Knight!”

“As you wish!” Grevanas nodded, bared his teeth, and smiled. Even the Blue Knight’s defenses would weaken under Acturus’s attacks. If the wide-area incineration warhead was detonated at the right moment, it could kill him. It was a worthwhile gamble.

Acturus coming at Koutarou was something he welcomed, since he wanted to keep casualties to a minimum. It also meant that Maxfern and Grevanas hadn’t realized that he and the others were planning to stop the detonation. But it was also dangerous. With Sanae protecting Alunaya, and Koutarou protecting her, he became the target.

“Another attack is coming! The spiritual energy is increasing!” Sanae-chan warned him.

Acturus was a machine, and unmanned at that. But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t emitting any spiritual energy. It had a spiritual energy generator, was protected by a Spiritual Energy Field, and attacked with a spiritual energy cannon. Some of its controls also used that same technology. So the spiritual energy would change the instant it attacked or defended. Sanae read those fluctuations and relayed them.

“We sure are busy!” Koutarou exclaimed.

He created a magical shield to block the mass of energy. But that wasn’t the end of it. Smoke grenades shot out from his armor and covered their surroundings in smoke just before lasers came flying and struck him. Fortunately, the smoke reduced the power of the lasers and the Garb of Lord’s distortion field was able to block them.

“They’re aiming for our weak point,” said Alunaya. “Blue Knight, they know that they can take me down in a domino effect if they take you out.”

He swung his right arm to intercept a missile that was closing in on Koutarou, causing it to go off early. The missile exploded, but being made for anti-mobile weapons, it wasn’t going to leave a scratch on the dragon. The spiritual energy cannon was necessary for that, which was why Koutarou was being targeted. In order to take down Alunaya, both Koutarou and Sanae had to go down first.

“Thank you, Alunaya-dono!”

“But what are we going to do? There is no end to this!” Alunaya responded.

They were having trouble attacking. Acturus moved fast and was hard to hit, not to mention that it had superb defense. There were no openings, as it used various weapons based on what the situation required. It was also advantageous for it that there was nobody on board, and it attacked at times that would normally be illogical. It was a powerful enemy with all the combat knowledge of both sides installed.

“If we could only stop it for a moment...” Shizuka said, watching from inside Alunaya, as Acturus’s nonstop, fluid moves caught her eye.

Living beings would temporarily stop when deciding on or reaching their destination, but Acturus never did thanks to sophisticated and dedicated AI. Koutarou and the others had no way of knowing about that, so the only thing that was certain was that they couldn’t land a big attack until Acturus halted.

“Hmm... For a moment...” Sanae stared at Acturus while releasing her aura from her palms to block the machine gun bullets. There was something on her mind. “I might be able to stop it for a moment. But I can’t say for sure...”

“That’s fine! Do it, Sanae!” Koutarou replied. “We don’t have much time!”

An attack is coming! Be careful! Sanae thought.

Oh, only now do I notice that just before moving, there is a slight sound from its thrusters. I will be able to pursue it now! thought Alunaya. He started flying acrobatically. Thanks to Sanae, he could hear the slight operation sounds of Acturus’s thrusters. Since he could hear them just before they fired, he changed direction in tandem with them. That way, he wouldn’t fall behind and could stay on Acturus’s tail.

Thanks, Sanae! Now we can fight back! Koutarou thought. Acturus was still focusing its fire on him, but he could track the attacks just like Alunaya. It might be hard for a longer period of time, but he could handle it for a short duration.

“Ehehehe,” Sanae giggled again.

“What are you going to do next, Sanae?!” Koutarou asked.

“We need to get a little closer first,” she replied.

“So you can do something if we get closer?!”

“Probably!”

“Okay!” By the time Koutarou answered, he had already jumped to the right of the direction they were heading in. In response, Acturus changed the direction it was traveling.

“That’s being reckless, Satomi-kun! You’ll get yourself killed!” Shizuka screamed.

Koutarou’s armor had flight functions as well, but he was far slower than Alunaya. The lack of thrust had already slowed him down considerably. There was no way he’d be able to escape Acturus now. It was like he had jumped into his own doom.

So that’s your plan, Blue Knight! Alunaya grinned and chased after Acturus.

The mobile weapon was headed straight for Koutarou. Since he had jumped off to the side, Acturus was flying diagonally in relation to Alunaya, showing him its flank. For that brief period, the enemy was flying slower relative to Alunaya. Using its determination to attack Koutarou, Alunaya had lured it into moving a specific way.

“Go get him, Uncle!” Sanae cheered.

“Of course!” Alunaya nodded and closed in on Acturus until he was close enough to hit it with his claws or wings.

That was the moment that Sanae-chan had been waiting for. “Listen to my soooong!!!” she loudly declared before singing the theme song of the magical girl anime that she loved. “I will beat away your boredom. When you look down, I will brighten your day. I will save you with the magic of smiles...”

The song itself didn’t really matter. The real point was that she was putting her heart into it. Her song didn’t come out as sound waves—instead, it echoed through her surroundings as aura.

At that moment, Acturus’s posture fell apart. Its boosters and thrusters malfunctioned, stalling it.

“Good job, Sanae! So that was your plan!” Koutarou cheered. The timing was perfect. It had happened right before his eyes.

“Yesterday’s tears will melt away in the morning sun. The wind will bring you happiness...” Sanae continued singing rather than answering him, but she wore a proud expression.

Maxfern and Grevanas, on the other hand, weren’t laughing.

“What is going on?!” Maxfern screamed. “Grevanas, what is happening?!”

“I do not know. There is a spiritual energy transmission malfunction! The system is rebooting?!”

Despite it not looking like anything was being done to it, Acturus was suddenly malfunctioning and its system was being rebooted. Since they couldn’t hear Sanae’s song, they were confused.

“What are you doing! Get it moving!” Maxfern ordered.

“We have another eight seconds until it finishes rebooting! At this rate—”

Sanae had been aiming for the moment Acturus launched an attack on Koutarou. The mobile weapon used all kinds of spiritual energy technology, including for communications. When the transmission’s spiritual energy had decreased, she’d hit it with a powerful aura. It had torn the transmission to pieces, causing an error in the system, which had made it reboot. It was a spiritual energy version of electronic warfare—the kind of daring move only Sanae could pull off.

“Now, Blue Knight!” Alunaya cried.

Koutarou yelled out a battle cry as Signaltin struck Acturus. The beautiful silvery blade, which had the power to break up mana, pierced the magical barrier on Acturus and ripped up its armor.

“Let’s do this, Uncle!” Shizuka exclaimed.

“Come out, flames of purgatory! Roar, burst flames! Dwell in my arm as an apocalyptic wedge that will burn the heavens and earth!” Alunaya was the supreme ruler of flames. He didn’t need an incantation to control normal fire, but that wasn’t the case when creating special flames. By incanting, he could add additional properties to the fire, and he created a powerful flame that dwelled in his right arm.

Normally, it was impossible to attack while chanting. But Alunaya and Shizuka were one in body and soul. While Alunaya chanted, Shizuka attacked. It was an impossible move made possible by their special circumstances.

Shizuka thrust Alunaya’s right fist forward in the basic seiken of karate. And because of that, it was a movement Shizuka had practiced endlessly. Alunaya’s body created a powerful blow, and the kinetic energy was slammed into Acturus’s body, right where Koutarou had ripped up the armor. The fist easily slipped through the opening.

“Hear my oath! Ultimate Flame Wedge!” In that instant, the mana dwelling in Alunaya’s right arm was released. The power within his fist destroyed Acturus’s interior. At the same time, the fire burned it all. Naturally, these were no normal flames. For a moment, the fire was tens of thousands of degrees, and a blinding flash was unleashed.

The strike pierced not just the generator and computer, but all of Acturus. It was a beautiful strike that loudly declared the presence of Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya. The hole in the frame was a perfect circle, and Koutarou worried about the flames that passed through.

“Good thing there’s a mountain over there...although it has a new cave now.” Koutarou sighed.

“I’ve still got it, don’t I, Blue Knight?” Alunaya said proudly.

“Could you please hold back a little, Alunaya-dono? That was gut-wrenching.”

“Impossible. I didn’t know how strong it was, so I went all out.”

“I suppose so...” Koutarou relented. He was covered in a cold sweat, but Alunaya was in high spirits.

Meanwhile, Shizuka was in the dumps. “I’m definitely not stepping on a scale for the next few days,” she cried.

“Hmm, your feet are sinking into the ground, so you definitely weigh a few tons,” Sanae replied.

“Don’t say that, Sanae-chan! I don’t want to hear it!” Shizuka shook her head. She understood the situation and wouldn’t complain. But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t painful for her.

“Sheesh, it’s finally over,” Koutarou said with a wry smile. The battle had ended a moment ago. Once Acturus was destroyed, the Forthorthe Liberation Army had begun its retreat, although some had missed their opportunity and surrendered. There had been casualties, but at least the Liberation Army soldiers hadn’t been killed by Maxfern.

“Satomi Koutarou,” Kiriha began.

“Kiriha-san,” Koutarou answered.

“It looks like everything has safely ended.”

“Do you know what I want to tell you?” Koutarou asked.

“A proposal?” she jested.

“You idiot! Don’t you move from where you are! I’m coming over there right now to scold you!” Koutarou shouted. “I have a ton of things I want to say to you!”

“I gladly accept.”

“I said it’s not a proposal!” he retorted.

Most importantly, Kiriha, Clan, and Ruth were all safe. They had managed to escape Maxfern’s assassination attempt. When Koutarou had first heard that their craft had been shot down, it had felt like his heart had stopped. Relief washed over him as everything ended safely, but his rage was intense.

When Kiriha and the others consulted Harumi, the latter immediately shook her head. “You can’t. That is too dangerous for you. I can’t help you. If anything, I would prefer you didn’t do this...”

Kiriha’s group was going to leak information to the enemy and be shot down on purpose. They wanted Harumi, Maki, and Yurika to gather information during that time. But naturally, Harumi couldn’t accept it.

“I know how you feel...but I can’t agree either.” Maki had the same opinion. She understood why the others wanted to hurry and gather information. Fighting an enemy without enough knowledge was dangerous. As a former member of Darkness Rainbow, Maki was well aware of that. But the risk to Kiriha, Clan, and Ruth was too big. If things went poorly, they would die.

“But...why do you have to do something so dangerous?” Yurika was troubled. She wasn’t very knowledgeable in this area, so she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to hear a more detailed explanation.

“There are two primary reasons,” Clan answered. “If we fight the Forthorthe Liberation Army upfront, the war might last months or even years. That is why we want information on the location of their stronghold even if we have to get reckless, so that we can have a decisive battle right away.”

At the moment, they still didn’t have information on the main base of Maxfern’s band of knights or the location of the Forthorthe Liberation Army’s main force. Conversely, Maxfern did have some information on the Imperial Army. It was similar to fighting a guerrilla organization, so the conflict would follow the same sort of flow, which meant they would have to slowly fight an enemy they didn’t fully know. In order to avoid that, the trio was prepared to take on a massive risk to get a lead on their enemy.

“Moreover, we have only just started recovering from last year’s civil war. If a long war was to begin now, the people would be forced to make sacrifices, and it would take decades to recover. We have to avoid that at all costs,” Clan continued.

The civil war that Vandarion had started last year was still a burden to Forthorthe. If another war began just as they were starting to recover from the fallout, Forthorthe could take some fatal damage. The economy was shrinking, and the people would be stuck in poverty. Moreover, a lot of people would die in the war, soldiers and civilians alike. Maxfern wasn’t the sort of man to care about that.

“There’s also another serious problem,” Ruth added. “But this one is more personal.” She explained the second reason, which ultimately moved Harumi and Maki. “We don’t want Master to fight in a war for years,” she concluded.

“That’s...” Maki’s eyes opened wide.

“That might...certainly be a problem...to consider...” Harumi muttered, equally shocked.

They both understood that Koutarou wasn’t suited to fighting a war for years. He was too kindhearted for that. But since the people he was close to were all important, he often ended up in battles for political reasons. He couldn’t be heartless against an enemy unless they were particularly horrible. Because of that, many people wanted him to win, and he wanted to live up to their expectations. But secretly, his heart was being worn down with each battle. So the girls wanted him to be able to live without that stress and agreed that he was better off not fighting. That was the reason they would take the risk instead. If they could shorten the war, that was more than enough reason for them to accept the risk.

“Satomi Koutarou is already shouldering so much,” Kiriha noted.

“He is doing what the royal families are meant to do,” Clan added.

“If we can return Master to an ordinary life even a second faster, that is enough for us to stake our lives on,” Ruth said.

“Now is our only chance. Once they get used to handling magic and spiritual energy, we will never have one like this again. Think it through thoroughly before making your choice,” Kiriha pressed them.

Much of the girls’ happiness lay in Koutarou’s ordinary daily life, so they had no reason not to go through with their plan. Kiriha, Clan, and Ruth were determined.

Seeing that glow in their eyes, Yurika made her decision. “I understand. I’ll help.” She casually accepted. She didn’t understand the difficult stuff, but she could see the girls’ love and courage glowing. She had to protect that as the guardian of love and courage.

“Yes, I will help too,” Maki agreed. “We have no choice but to fight for that reason.”

Yurika didn’t say much, but Maki could feel her sincerity. She was also a magical girl of love and courage now. The way that they put it into practice differed, but they strove for the same goal.

“What about you, Sakuraba-senpai?” Yurika asked Harumi in a casual tone. The gleam in her eyes was strong and kind. She was neither coercing her nor pulling back.

Harumi had been thinking about all sorts of problems, but she’d come to her conclusion already. “Satomi-kun is a hero because of the burden we placed on him...and ending the war quickly will help the people of Forthorthe too. I understand. I will help.”

Not even Harumi knew if these were her emotions or somebody else’s, but it didn’t matter. Her wish was the same as that certain someone’s.

As Kiriha’s group descended in the landing craft, Harumi’s group was in orbit. Their cover story was that they were there as part of an exercise, but they were actually on Nefilforan’s Hidden Leaves to gather information on mana, with the Nefilforan Unit gathering other intel.

“How are the others?!” Harumi asked.

“They’re fine. They have been safely shot down as expected,” Nefilforan reported.

Harumi was in the process of getting an update on the situation. Fortunately, the first phase of the plan had gone as expected, as the landing craft pretended to be shot down.

“Thank God,” Yurika said in relief.

“I wouldn’t call being shot down safe, though,” Maki disagreed.

The first stage was the biggest point of concern for them. Once it was safely over, they felt deep relief.

“Well then, please take it away,” Nefilforan said.

“Yes, we will get right to it,” Harumi answered.

Once their call with Nefilforan was over, they got to work. Preparations had already been completed. Harumi’s group borrowed the Hidden Leaves’s hangar for a large-scale ritual spell for mana detection. The three worked together to cast it so that they could detect when Grevanas used magic. There wasn’t much of a chance of Grevanas using a spell when the landing craft was being attacked due to the distance and lack of accuracy, so their job began now.

“Please begin, Yurika,” Maki said. “I will match you.”

“Okay.” Yurika nodded. “I’m beginning the chant for the ritual version of Detect Magic!”

Maki and Yurika stood on top of a magical circle and began chanting together. The two users of modern magic language would be in charge of the spell. Harumi used the ancient language, so she wasn’t involved in casting that spell. Instead she was in charge of gathering and amplifying mana. Using magic in space was slightly different from using it on the surface. Harumi would be assisting in that part.

“I think this should be fine,” Yurika said.

“Sakuraba-san, can you increase the mana a little?” Maki requested.

“Okay...how about this?” Harumi replied.

“Thank you. I can confirm that the ritual worked and it’s operating normally.”

Mana was usually generated by life and objects. So aside from a few exceptions, there was next to no mana in space. Because of that, magicians couldn’t use the mana around them, causing the cost of spells to increase. But that also meant that mana in space went much further. Without any obstacles, it didn’t decrease like normal. That was why the effective range of magic detection was far wider there than on the surface. By using a ritualized version of the spell, they could ensure it had an even longer reach and could cover the area around Alaia.

“And now we wait.” Harumi nodded, then checked a crystal that had been charged with mana ahead of time. Using the mana within the large crystal, they could maintain the ritual for a full day. If Grevanas used magic during that time, they should be able to determine his location.

“Do you think he’ll use magic?” Yurika asked.

“Only God knows. But it will be big if we detect something. We would be able to pinpoint his location, after all,” Maki answered.

The Nefilforan Unit and intelligence department under Clan were tracking enemy communications. Since they were looking for random enemies, chances were high that they would find something. But it was just as likely that it wouldn’t lead anywhere. When looking for magic, chances were high that Grevanas wouldn’t use a spell, leading to them finding nothing. But like Maki said, if he did, they would know his location, which meant finding Maxfern’s location as well. It was a low chance but too valuable to overlook.

“Do you think Kiriha-san and the others are okay?” Yurika asked, worried.

“I hope so,” Maki answered.

“They’re fine. In this case, no news is good news,” Harumi stated.

For several hours, nothing happened. It wasn’t until five hours after the landing craft was shot down that a bell-like tone rang out in the hangar. That was the sign that the ritual magic had detected something. When Maki heard that, she hurriedly stood in the center of the magic circle.

“Sakuraba-san! This is it!” Maki cried.

“Yes, I’m starting the measuring instrument!” Harumi replied.

A glowing red point appeared near the magic circle at around the height of the girls’ waists. It was a mana reaction. If the mana circle was the center of Alaia, the red dot was the location where mana had been used. Feeding that information into the measuring instrument and comparing it to a map of space would allow them to determine an accurate location.

“Nefilforan-san!” Harumi called.

“What is the matter?”

“We detected something! I am sending the data over to you!”

From that point, the Nefilforan Unit, or intelligence department, would take over. A stealth ship would be sent to the revealed location to pursue Grevanas. That way, they might be able to find Maxfern’s base. Even if they didn’t find it, they would still learn a lot.

Once everyone had safely returned to the royal palace, Koutarou received an explanation from Kiriha. The shock left his mouth wide open.

“So you were shot down on purpose to get information from the enemy?!”

Koutarou knew that the girls had been acting as decoys based on Clan’s message but had believed they’d unexpectedly been shot down in the process. That was why he had gotten angry with them for doing something so dangerous. But according to Kiriha’s explanation, being shot down was part of the plan. Not even he had expected that.

“More accurately, we wanted to get the enemy to communicate more,” Kiriha said. “Even smaller forces will contact their commanders when something unexpected happens. They will get a response too. So by maintaining a state where we stay just out of reach, the volume of communication would increase, which would be monitored.”

The original goal had been to increase the volume of communications to narrow down the location of the enemy fleet and stronghold. Of course, that might not have been possible from increasing the number of messages alone, but fortunately the information they gained from their last battle had come in handy. They knew that Grevanas was gathering special materials for magic and spiritual energy technology, so they could narrow down their active region somewhat by reaching out to the logistics industry. Therefore, the region they surveyed wasn’t all that large, relatively speaking.

“No matter how good their camouflage, they weren’t able to hide everything. Even more so when motivated by a chance for revenge. Thanks to that, it went much better than expected,” Kiriha explained.

“Veltlion, the intelligence department is currently pursuing Maxfern’s battleship,” Clan announced.

“You found him?!” Koutarou exclaimed. “Right! They were close enough for communication and transfer gates!”

Kiriha had merely aimed to locate the ship of someone who was high in rank, but Maxfern was more eager than expected, so they’d managed to find his battleship. A stealth ship was currently following it.

“By the way, it was thanks to Harumi-sama and the others,” Ruth added.

“They were involved too? So that’s why that exercise was suddenly decided on,” Koutarou said.

“I’m sorry, Satomi-kun,” Harumi apologized. “The fewer people who knew, the better.” She didn’t like hiding things, but if people were told, their actions would change, which might have allowed the enemy to catch on. She’d had to stay quiet about it.

“But it was worth the risk, Satomi-kun. Now we should be able to shorten this battle,” Maki added with a determined look. She didn’t doubt her decision in the slightest.

“I guess so...” Koutarou had no choice but to agree. With the information Kiriha and the others had risked their lives to get, the strain on the citizens would be limited. In hindsight, it was the right course of action, so he couldn’t blame them for their choices.

“Anyway, don’t ever do something like that in secret again, okay?” Koutarou had been truly shocked when he was told that the girls had been shot down. He’d believed that they were still alive but had been anxious until he could see for himself. He never wanted to experience the same thing again.

“That won’t be a problem,” Kiriha said with a smile. “They aren’t foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice.”

Maxfern was no idiot, so the girls had only had a single chance. Once Maxfern’s and Grevanas’s knowledge of magic, spiritual energy technology, and science deepened, they wouldn’t fall for Kiriha’s ploy again. The trap they had sprung was the first and only time it would work, which was why Kiriha didn’t plan to do it again.

“Hmm...”

Even though he’d heard what Kiriha had to say, Koutarou was still worried. He believed in the girls—they could be fully trusted—but they had a tendency to jump into danger. That was what bothered him.

Seeing that, Ruth smiled. “It’s okay. You don’t have to worry, Master. If Satomi Koutarou-sama rather than the Blue Knight wishes it, we will obey.”

Ruth vouched for her words. Even if he wasn’t the Blue Knight or the captain of their band of knights, as long as Satomi Koutarou wanted it, the girls would live up to his wishes. Ruth might have been the one to say it, but all of the girls agreed.

“That’s...” Koutarou faltered. In other words, the girls were telling him to tell them to always stay at his side. When he realized that, he recalled what Kiriha had said. “A proposal?” and indeed, it was something like that. Koutarou reflexively looked over at her, and she gave him a graceful smile that she hid behind a fan.

“Then maybe I will do it once more...” Frighteningly enough, Kiriha threatened that she would do it again if he didn’t show with his attitude that he agreed.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t ever do something dangerous without me knowing again!” Koutarou exclaimed. While he knew it was practically a threat, he didn’t want the girls to do something dangerous in secret again. He never wanted to repeat that experience.

“Ahahaha, well if you insist, I suppose we have no choice.” Theia let out a refined laugh and answered as a representative of the girls. “We are all fine women. We have the capacity to respect your wishes.”

She and the others looked happy. Much of that joy lay in Koutarou leading an ordinary life. They were all sick of what was happening as well.

At the same time, Maxfern and Grevanas realized that they had been caught in a trap. They’d felt that something was off when fighting, but that suspicion didn’t turn into conviction until after they retreated and grouped up with the Gray Knight. When they linked up, the Gray Knight noticed a stealth ship following them.

“It looks like they pulled one over you, Maxfern,” the Gray Knight said. “They dragged the fight out on purpose to find you.”

“To think we would lead them all the way here...” Grevanas said.

“Dammit! You’re saying I fell for the Blue Knight’s plan?!” Maxfern slammed his fist into his desk.

They had already repelled the intelligence department’s stealth ship. Or rather, once they’d learned they had been detected, they’d retreated. Since the ship wasn’t built for fighting, it was a reasonable decision. Moreover, it had already accomplished most of its mission. The enemy hadn’t gotten all the way to their stronghold, but once they started investigating the area, they would find it eventually. It was only a matter of time.

“How utterly vexing. It would seem that the time of operating in the shadows has come to an end,” Maxfern said.

“That would be for the best,” Grevanas answered. “That was our original intention anyway.”

They’d been planning to go on a major offensive after the assassination plan anyway. Once they launched their offensive, their bases and various strongholds would naturally be exposed. The time left before that happened would differ, but it would happen eventually.

“In large-scale battles there will be mass deaths, so Forthorthe will be weakened whether they win or lose. And it will turn the public sentiment away from Elfaria,” Grevanas continued.

Attackers had the advantage in choosing where they attacked, while defenders didn’t have that luxury. With such a vast territory, the Imperial Army would be spread thin. On top of that, if they failed to defend and people died, the public sentiment would turn away from them. The defenders always faced such risks. Maxfern and Grevanas might have ended up on the back foot due to the trap, but they could still win.

“There is just one case that will cause problems,” the Gray Knight calmly pointed out.

There was indeed a very tricky problem hidden in plain sight when it came to Maxfern and Grevanas going on the offensive. The Gray Knight thought it would be risky to put the plan into action before taking measures against it.

“That’s right.” Maxfern was aware of the issue. “It is the problem of the Blue Knight attacking before we can go on the offensive. It will all hinge on whether we can avoid that.”

The Forthorthe Liberation Army would need time to gather their forces before they could go on the offensive. But it was no easy task to get a large organization to move as one. If they didn’t, they would be individually destroyed, so some time was necessary. It would be a problem if the Blue Knight led an attack on their headquarters with a small unit before then. It would be easy for the Imperial Army to allocate enough forces to launch a surprise attack on their base.

“Then I will go,” the Gray Knight said. “It’s about time I see the Blue Knight anyway.” The Gray Knight also wanted a large-scale battle. Since that might not happen if the Blue Knight and the others weren’t stalled, he would lend Maxfern a hand without hesitation.

“How reliable, Gray One,” Maxfern said with a smile. The knight had given him the answer he had hoped for.

The Gray Knight had nothing to say in response. He had no expectations of Maxfern, aside from him becoming a trigger for a large battle.

“Haha, no matter. Now then, war is coming, Blue Knight! And Empress Elfaria! Enjoy the sight of the lands being burned again!”

Despite the lack of response, Maxfern showed no sign of anger. His expectations for the future were more important. With the Gray Knight’s powers, he could stop the Blue Knight, which would allow him and Grevanas to attack as planned, and the problem of being discovered wouldn’t matter for much longer. Before long, the Imperial Palace would become Maxfern’s new base. He was convinced of that.