《Living a Maiden Game in Hard Mode》 CH extra 1 September 437 of the Monarchy Calendar. In the Middle School of the Royal Academy of Magic, the ranking after the magic power anchoring was announced according to customary practice. The purpose of announcing the magical power ranking is to incite the competitive spirit of each aristocratic family to increase their magical power and their engagements. It is to have them consider their engagement partners. The 1,500 royal aristocratic families are descendants of the high magic power holders who fought with a small number of interstellar ships entrusted to them by the Diete group during the War of Independence. Since Diete became independent, the fate of the families has been to increase their magical power by taking in the blood of other high magic powered people for more than 400 years, with the support of the nation and the people. The magic power ranking of the Middle School of the Magic Academy, which gathers the children of the royal aristocrats and passes only the top 100 students in terms of magic power values, is almost the same as the top ranking of the Monarchy for that year. This year, the magic value that is touted as the highest in the Monarchy, is led by the Grandson of Sovereign, Leandre, who has a magical value of more than 30,000. It was a big hit year with several high magic people who would go on to serve as the heads of Duke Households, attracting a high level of interest from each aristocratic family. But the result betrayed everyone¡¯s expectations. Among the students who were elated or disappointed with the results, there was a blonde haired girl with blue-eye and a baby face, wearing a white jacket with pink trim, a white cloak, white gloves on her hands, white stockings and white boots on her feet, a white ribbon in her hair, a white choker around her neck, and a barely pale pink skirt. Her name is Digitalis Takrham. As the Young Lady of the Duke Household, she turned her attention to the ranking many times and eventually tilted her head and muttered. ¡°What is this?¡± The results put her in tenth place, and of course, Digitalis could understand that fact. It is also understandable that her magic value was fixed at 17,980, which was slightly above the Marquis-class magic power value of 17,280. ¡°Oh, I see, I understand, but I cannot agree to this.¡± Digitalis patted her hands lightly against her long gloves and convinced herself to not stand for the status quo. The Duke family, headed by Digitalis¡¯ grandfather Brom Takrham, misrepresented the items donated to the school the previous year, and ¡°a device that absorbs 10% of the magic of all students and adds them to their daughter¡± was smuggled in. It was an Earth-era relic owned by the Duke family. It turned out that the relic had the effect of absorbing magical power, and the Duke himself had the idea to smuggle in the device with donated items. Collect the absorbed magic power in the magic stone, and use it by refluxing the absorbed magic power. The seniors one year ahead of Digitalis, who anchored their magic in Year 436 of the Monarchy Calendar, had their magic power sucked up by the device, making the average anchored magic power drop by an average of 10% and they fell into chaos. Using the magic stone that had absorbed an average of 800 to 900 magic power value from 100 seniors, Digitalis¡¯ magic power value can increase by about 80,000 to 90,000. Digitalis¡¯ total magic should be about 100,000, the greatest magical individual in the history of the Monarchy was supposed to be born. But the result was a huge failure. The magic power value of Digitalis was the same as the estimated value, and she barely settled in the form of Marquis-class magic power. Women lose their magic by 10% each time they give birth, so after having one child, she will be a Count-class magic power holder, and if she gives birth to three, she becomes Viscount-class. ¡°Now now now, this is terrible.¡± She considered her magic power value too egregious for a Young Lady of a Duke Household. If this was the result of the Duke Lady of another family, she would have thought it funny, but being her own results, she did not find it amusing. In a dignified manner, Digitalis reported her disastrous magic power value to her grandfather. Upon receiving the report, her grandfather, the Duke of Takrham, waited for Digitalis in the residence of Capital planet so that they would move immediately when the good news arrived. The Duke is an old man who has lived more than two-thirds of his 150-year lifespan, but he has a wide, sturdymasculine physique with wide shoulders, and his all-back, in-your-face hairdo exudes an ageless vitality. He has a sarcastic smile with one side of his mouth lifted up, and when he comes up with various imperturbable schemes, he accepts them without hesitation, regardless of whether he succeeds or fails. The Duke laughed at the bad news that his granddaughter brought home. ¡°I understand the results¡± Yes, grandfather ¡°Didn¡¯t I experiment with 100 mighty magic individuals? I wonder if the magic stones or the device failed. Even if there is no problem with the equipment, there is a possibility that it was not compatible with Digitalis.¡± The Duke judged that the difference between the experimental results in his territory and the results of this time was the cause of the failure. At the same time, he chided himself for being too greedy this time. The evidence has been destroyed and there is no danger of discovery. If it is repeated many times, it would seem suspicious and they could be exposed, so he calmly decided to back out this time. ¡°You know, grandfather. The first-place Hiragi, is from the branch of a Baron family. When I saw his result surpassing His Highness Leandre, I thought perhaps the magic of the device had flowed to Hiragi.¡± The Duke also imagined his granddaughter¡¯s point, but concluded that it was impossible. ¡°A middle school student without any knowledge can¡¯t do that. The device must be unlocked with a master code and the relic used correctly to gain magic power. Well, it would make more sense that his magic power inheritance was doubled.¡± It is a phenomenon that occurs in 1/20 million, in which the inheritance of magic from parents is more than doubled. Of the Monarchy¡¯s 40 billion people, 800 had inherited more than double their magic power, the Duke thought, which might have occurred in the offshoots of the aristocrats. ¡°His brother is also a Count-class magic individual. In rare cases, there are couples whose children¡¯s magic power values are unevenly greater. It is said to be due to magical compatibility, but there is no way to confirm this. If this phenomenon can be elucidated and expressed in the magic of children, those who have elucidated it will be granted senior aristocratic peerage, even from among the common people.¡± ¡°I wonder if Hiragi¡¯s magic really has nothing to do with the device.¡± ¡°Doubtful.¡± The Duke¡¯s interest, asserted with conviction, had already turned to his next plot. Although it failed with Digitalis, the relic and magic stones have been recovered. There is a risk of continuing at the Academy of Magic, but it will not be revealed if they deal with the Duchy¡¯s quasi-aristocracy or lower. Risk management is a top priority in conspiracy. That was the Duke¡¯s theory. ¡°So, grandfather, what happens to me?¡± ¡°There is nothing to be done. The plan to marry the Sovereign¡¯s grandson is abandoned. I can prepare the position of the wife of the head of a Viscount family for you, but a Count would be difficult. As the candidate for the wife of the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, there will be five high magic power holders who surpassed Digitalis. If I was the head of a Count family, I would select from among them. And the other party does not have to be limited to this year.¡± The Duke returned a dry smile with a sarcastic expression at his granddaughter, whose cheeks were gradually twitching. Senior aristocrats are lords with provinces of hundreds of millions of people. And, magic power value is indispensable for remaining a lord, and there is nothing they want in exchange it for it. For senior aristocrats with territories, Digitalis, who barely had enough magical power value to reach the Marquis class, was fixed at the value of a Young Lady of that level. Digitalis had her own pride as a Duke Lady. The five Dukes originated from former royalty, each of which has been conferred as a Duke in the past on behalf of an immigrant fleet and for their achievements in bringing immigrants to each new system. The family are direct descendants of those who have contributed to the stability and development of the system for many years. The Viscount family, on the other hand, are households that have no provinces and can only operate warships. This is what Digitalis thinks. As the Young Lady of the Duke, it is her wish to marry into the royal family and gain prosperity. It is also acceptable to marry into other Dukes and make each other¡¯s star systems prosperous Marriage to a Marquis, who is not the main ruler of the star system, or a Count, who may be promoted to a Marquis, was inwardly dissatisfactory. And when it goes down to a Viscount family, it becomes impossible for Digitalis to accept. ¡°It¡¯s too suspicious, isn¡¯t it?¡± Resentment over an unacceptable future continued to smolder undigested until the beginning of the second semester of the third year of middle school. Eventually, the second semester of the third year of middle school began. The magic power anchoring, the largest event in the middle school, has ended, and the remaining half year is a period to reexamine and build the relationship with the surroundings according to status and ranked magic power value. Some people confirm their engagement with anchored magical power values, and some look at the rankings and find their desired fianc¨¦e. The principal had retired during the school holidays, and the new principal, who had moved from the Education Guidance Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, greeted the third graders as they started to move as instructed by their parents¡¯ homes. Among them were those who gathered under Digitalis. Each of the five Dukes governs about 36% of the Monarchy¡¯s total population. If you take the 1410 aristocratic families as a percentage of the total, about 50 of them are strongly influenced by the Duke of Takrham. All 1,500 families cannot be present in a 100 students per school year, but even if you divide the 50 families influenced by the Duke by 1/15 of the total number of students in the academy, there will still be 3-4 students in the same school year under the influence of the Duke. In the middle school, the three people who surround Digitalis are a Viscount Young Lady, Baron Young Lady, and Baronet Young Lady, and they are sometimes called A, B, and C behind the scenes. That¡¯s because their names are Amelia, Belinda and Charlotte, and the ABC threesome usually followed Digitalis for the sake of their households. ¡°It¡¯s strange to think that the second son of a Barons¡¯ second son could surpass His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Sovereign in magic power.¡± Instead of praising the magic results of the 10th ranked Digitalis, or even comforting her, they criticize the person who no one would argue with even if he was stingy. ¡°That¡¯s right. Amelia praised herself inwardly for giving Digitalis a short affirmation, despite her uncomfortable mood. ¡°It is weird that the daughter of the Baron¡¯s daughter is third place, and Stefan, Duke of Langlois¡¯ son, who is an aide to His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Sovereign, is fourth place. The magic anchoring, I think there was a glitch this time.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Belinda, who transferred the responsibility to the academy, decided to push the theory that the academy was to blame because of the positive reaction of Digitalis. ¡°It¡¯s funny that two Baron Children are in the single digits.¡± Charlotte, who wanted to say something for the time being, made a careless remark. Amelia and Belinda, who were listening, all turn their eyes out to Charlotte in protest. ¡°Could you rent a salon after school and summon Hiragi and Takamiya there?¡± ¡°Oh, yes, Lady Digitalis¡± Charlotte, who was instructed with a smile by Digitalis, a Duke Young Lady ranked in the double digit, trembled as if she had been touched with static electricity. She hurriedly operated the terminal, went through the procedure to rent a salon, and then ran to another class where Hart and the others were. The middle school of the Academy of Magic, one of the most prestigious schools in the world, divides 100 students in the first grade into 5 groups of 20 students each. In the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± that Hart knows, the heroine Yuna, her best friend Colette, and capture targets the Grandson of the Sovereign and Duke¡¯s son Stefan were in the same class. And in fact, Hart¡¯s class, to which gave a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, was also in the same class as in the game. Yuna and Colette belonged to it. Charlotte, who entered the class, approached with a happy look on her face when she found Hart and Yuna. ¡°Mr. Hiragi, and Ms. Takamiya. Please come to the 4th salon after school!¡± Yuna tilted her head to Charlotte, who suddenly entered the class and openly called them. ¡°Um, what do you want? Charlotte, with her pure and innocent eyes turned, answers with some trepidation. ¡°I can¡¯t say it here, so we¡¯ll talk at the salon. I¡¯ll be waiting! Charlotte, who declared unilaterally, turned on her heel and fled the class. ¡°What is it?¡± In contrast to the wondering Yuna, Colette was pretending to think on it. She understood that the caller was one of the entourage of the Duke of Takrham Young Lady. For Hart, it was a situation he had never experienced in the game. In easy mode Yuna gains magic, in normal mode, Digitalis simply fails, and in hard mode, Digitalis gains magic. Hart has not experienced a male character who steals magical power and receives a call. However, he had a good idea of what they¡¯re getting into. And, when the matter was understood, he came up with a countermeasure. ¡°Ms. Yuna, I have an idea.¡± ¡°What is it, Mr. Hart?¡± Hart spoke to Yuna and began to explain what to do at the fourth salon. The opulentgaudy salon they were called to is one of the facilities that any student can rent freely. After all, the middle school graduates are the future heads and wives of the royal aristocrats who rule over 40 billion people. The donation to the alma mater was a tremendous amount, and to that extent, the 4th salon, which reduced even a fraction of the savings in the name of the school, rented out the fourth salon to Digitalis, who waited for Hart while relaxing gently and elegantly. And when they saw Hart and his friends who came to the designated street, Digitalis and ABC frowned. Behind Hart, there was a Colette, followed by a male and female androids in a black suits. There are many types of androids, but all of them had smooth skin with no spots, wrinkles, or freckles, no veins, and no hair. And the eyes emitted blue light, which makes it easy to distinguish if you look at it properly. ¡°I called only Mr. Hiragi and Ms. Takamiya. Why is Ms. Listner and even androids here? Even after school, androids are not allowed in the school building!¡± Hart shrugged at Charlotte, who protested with her cheeks inflated. ¡°These are military android soldiers of the Royal Army.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Charlotte, who learned that they were from the military, looked as hysteric as a pigeon that ate a peashooter. Hart, while talking to the frozen body of the hysteric pigeon, sent a warning to those behind Digitalis. ¡°During the holidays at the end of the first semester, I took the Military Academy entrance exam and passed it. In the future I am expected to be a mobile fortress operator, and the Royal Army is here for the purpose of collecting magic power data. It seems they will take data in detail for about half a year, and once it is over, they will build a dedicated large-scale Magic Element Engine or something.¡± ¡°Ha? ¡°Also, it seems that my remarks are also collected and analyzed by the Royal Army, my information terminal is also equipped with a data collection function, and when I become a mobile fortress operator. I wonder if it will be checked for thought. But that is for the Monarchy, so I¡¯m proud of it. Anyway, did you do anything for me?¡± Hart¡¯s explanation, of course, is a lie. The Military Police, who conducted an investigation after learning of Hart¡¯s magic power value, reported to the upper echelon of the military that Digitalis had herself caused deaths through bullying using the power of the Duke, and that Hart had hidden his magic power for that reason. Understanding the situation, Commander-in-Chief Valfrete, the third prince, sent an escort to the school to protect Hart, who had the unprecedented magic power value of more than 90,000. In addition, the principal was replaced to change the approach of the school teachers, and at the same time, the countermeasures were also communicated to Colette. The remarks are collected and analyzed by the Royal Army. In place of Charlotte, who was silent when she was told that, Digitalis asked Hart a question. ¡°What was your magic power value?¡± ¡°My magic power value, after I have enlisted in the Royal Army, is being treated a state secret from the perspective of national security. I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t tell you.¡± After refusing to answer, Digitalis nodded her head and asked again. ¡°Well well well, are you going to keep a secret from me?¡± It was the male android soldier behind Hart who responded to Digitalis¡¯ coercion. ¡ºDigitalis Takrham, should anyone force the leakage of state secrets by his or her status or position, we have grounds to arrest the offender for violating the State Security Act. Please be aware of your subsequent remarks.¡» The blue eyes of the android soldiers that came forward changed to yellow, the warning color, and began to glow. ¡°Just, who are you?¡± The android soldier replied to the curiously questioning Digitalis. ¡ºWe are of the military police in the Security Bureau under the Command Office of the Ministry of Military Affairs of the Monarchy. Notification from the Royal Army. Digitalis Takrham, you will be arrested depending on your subsequent remarks.¡» Staring at the eyes of the warning color emitted by the android soldiers, Digitalis replied with a troubled expression. ¡°I only asked a classmate of mine how they did in school. I¡¯m done, so you can go home now.¡± Digitalis¡¯ white-gloved hand was waved as if to dispel insects. Hart walked away from the salon, pulling Yuna and Colette in both hands, with the Military Police as a shield. Behind them, the Military Police followed in a dignified manner, the salon door was closed and a few minutes of silence flowed. The entourage, who had eventually rebooted, raised their voices of anger. ¡°Hiragi, to treat Lady Digitalis like that!¡± When Amelia got angry, Belinda went along with it. ¡°That second son of a Baron, I wonder if he could even speak. He was like a barbarian wielding a stick.¡± And Charlotte, who called Hart and his friends, was angry on a different matter. ¡°I submitted an application to use the salon for 2 hours!¡± In front of Digitalis, the three began to verbally curse Hart. ¡°What are his parents¡¯ jobs again? If the military are sticking to him, could we put pressure on his parents?¡± ¡°When I looked it up, they are magic engine operators of the battleship of the Royal Army. You¡¯ll be arrested as a national traitor if you put pressure on the Royal Army to interfere with the military service. His grandfather, Baron Hiragi, is a member of the Royal faction. If you put pressure on His Majesty, you¡¯ll be considered a rebel.¡± ¡°If so, I won¡¯t share my sweets to them at a tea party!¡± Hart¡¯s parents are quasi-aristocrats who don¡¯t even attended social parties. Therefore, even if both the person himself and his parents are excluded from the aristocratic group and cannot go out to social circles, not being able to attend social gatherings does not affect them at all. His grandfather is a Baron, but he is a general aristocrat who does not have a territory belonging to the planet Diros, and if divided by faction, he will be under the Royal faction. You cannot tell the Sovereign to get rid a Baron of his faction, and it is not possible to compel the aristocracy of the Royal faction to exclude a companion of the same faction. And although they completely lost track because of the Military Police and Hart made too strong an impact, the grandfather of Yuna, who they also called, was also a military veteran and a Baron on the Capital planet. Even if she remembered, she couldn¡¯t apply pressure to him. ¡°Then I¡¯ll kick Hiragi out of the women¡¯s association news group?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a boy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put thumbtacks in his shoes!¡± The disgruntled Digitalis¡¯s temples twitched at the pitiful sight of her cronies, whose scale was getting smaller by the minute. Because the Monarchy¡¯s armed forces are monitoring, neither violence nor abusive language can be used, and pressure on parents using the power of the Duke cannot be applied. Their usual bullying methods didn¡¯t work, and they grew impatient and gradually began to stray. ¡°Then, how about making a fool of him with the first test results of the second semester, ¡®if you have high magic power and are so talented, you should have good test results. The next test is a match.¡¯, and the illiterate second son of a shallow-educated Baron family can be ridiculed by the result. With this, Military Police can¡¯t speak out.¡± Digitalis showed little interest in Amelia¡¯s proposal. ¡°What were your exam scores?¡± ¡°At the end of the first semester, I was 6th place out of 100, I¡¯ve never seen Hiragi in the top 10!¡± Determined that she would surely win, Digitalis nodded to Amelia and gave her permission. ¡°Then do it, announce it in Hiragi¡¯s class.¡± ¡°All right! Got it!¡± Amelia triumphantly went into Hart¡¯s class. They will compete by grades. Of course, the student-like battle cannot be interrupted by the Military Police. ¡°Mr. Hiragi, since you¡¯re talented and with high magic, you¡¯ll probably be to get great test scores. The next test, it will be a match. Look forward to it. You too, Ms. Takamiya!¡± Amelia, who walked into Hart¡¯s class, declared openly in front of their classmates. Of course, high magic power value and high test scores have little to do with each other. Practical skills related to magic are highly evaluated, but other departments are different. Still, after receiving the declaration, Hart replied plainly to Amelia. ¡°So, what are we betting on?¡± ¡°Eh, are you expecting to win?¡± In an unexpected response, Amelia could not measure Hart¡¯s intentions. ¡°Well, Mr. Hiragi, you¡¯ve been ranking in the 30s. I have seen Ms. Takamiya in the 10s a few times, but there¡¯s no way you can beat me.¡± Amelia was making fun of him with a relaxed expression, but Hart was sure he could win. In the first test of the second semester, the academy, which had been occupied by the government and the military due to the appearance of high magic power holders, and undergoing a thorough investigation, was unable to prepare the exam questions. Therefore, there was no choice but to use the previous year¡¯s data. It appeared in the game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± that Hart played. And last year¡¯s test data has already been obtained from the Senior Students. ¡°Then, let¡¯s do this. And if you win, I¡¯ll listen to only one request.¡± ¡°Uh, I was going to say that. Well, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m going to win anyway. I wonder what I¡¯ll get you to do when I win. Mr. Hiragi is a high magic power holder, so even the second son of a Baron will have some value. What should I do?¡± For Amelia, victory or defeat is obvious from the start. Defeat Hart and win the right to one request. And if you report it to Digitalis, who internally is fluming flames at magic power anchoring results, she can also vent her anger. Amelia, who thought that this would solve the problem, took advantage of the match that Hart had set up. ¡°Then, Hart of Baron Hiragi and Amelia, the Viscount Young Lady of Stanhope, will compete in the next test. And to the winner, the loser will listen to only one request. The witnesses are the 19 children of royal aristocrats in this class, except me. Will you respond? ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± When Amelia returned triumphantly after receiving the match. Yuna, who was anxiously watching, called out to Hart. ¡°Will you be all right, Mr. Hart?¡± ¡°Yeah! You were also set to be in the match, Ms. Takamiya. So let¡¯s win it. If we win, let¡¯s have them promise not to get involved with us anymore.¡± ¡°But ¡­¡­.¡± The single-digit range of the Academy is often taken by children of the highly educated Count families or higher. Colette and Amelia are both Viscount Young Ladies, but they are always in the single digits. Hart¡¯s behavior from Yuna¡¯s perspective was too reckless. Hart stopped Yuna from being puzzled, and sent a message from the terminal. ¡°I think this will come up in the next test questions, remember the answers. Keep it secret from Colette. ¡°Eh!¡± ¡°These are past questions, so it won¡¯t hurt to study them. Well then, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Past questions.¡± With fearing whether she could win, Yuna obediently followed. In the unlikely event that the exam was not the same as the past questions, Yuna had not made any promises to Amelia. Hart also took the test with ease, thinking that he would be able to find answers at the tip of his tongue if the need arose, and became the winner of the test. Amelia collapsed on her knees when she saw the test results. ¡°I was able to beat Philine this time¡­¡± For Amelia, it¡¯s around 6th place as usual. The only difference is that the people on top of her are, of all people, the two people she challenged to a match, Hiragi and Takamiya. Even if the ranking is high, there is no point if you lose to the opponents who you challenged to a match. With both knees and hands on the floor, Amelia¡¯s shoulders slumped and she felt depressed, but the victorious man spoke from behind her. ¡°Now, I can request any one thing. You have given each of our family names and made the declaration with His Highness Leandre and the son of Duke Langlois as witnesses. You can¡¯t refuse anything I ask on this.¡± Her shoulders trembling at Hart¡¯s words, Amelia eventually murmured in a whisper. ¡°What are you going to ask?¡± ¡°A pretty girl of my class will listen to anything from me, what do you think I¡¯ll ask you to do?¡± Whispered to from behind, Amelia used her rich middle-school imagination and eventually shuddered in despair. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Ku, kill me! The Viscount Young Lady, like a female knight captured by orcs, urged the man who captured her to kill her. ¡°No, why?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Please, just kill me.¡± Amelia stares with her dead eyes, and Hart, who is about to feel really cool, calms her mind with a deep breath. The request was conveyed in a whisper. ¡°Don¡¯t get involved with me, Takamiya, and Listner who beat you anymore. Stop making us targets for Digitalis¡¯ bullying.¡± There were a few seconds from the transmission. In the meantime, Amelia, who chewed oncomprehend Hart¡¯s request, spat out the demands that she couldn¡¯t swallow. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I can¡¯t do that at my will.¡± ¡°Still, stop it. The military, the government, and the royal family all know about it. That¡¯s why the former principal was dismissed. It is either the whole Monarchy or the one Young Lady of a Duke whose magic power value is barely Marquis-class. Do your best to keep your distance. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking. Obey this.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I¡¯ll tell father.¡± The spat out request was swallowed again, and Hart nodded. Later, Amelia seemed to keep her promise, and others recognized that Amelia, who had been defeated by Hart, accepted some request and the shock made her useless as a subordinate of Digitalis. No one knows the details of what was requested. However, what middle school students came up with by their imagination was roughly the same. Since then, Digitalis has shown a bizarre expression in which only her eyes are full of anger, while he was smiling comfortably. Belinda and Charlotte also noticed the change in their leader and became more impatient than ever before. ¡°Let¡¯s send an anonymous love letter and laugh at Hiragi when he is called from the classroom and there is no one. A view from the classroom window might be a good idea.¡± ¡°What if they find out?¡± Belinda asserted to Charlotte, who spoke of her anxiety, that there was no problem. ¡°I was going to confess, but I lost my courage and decided not to. I was attracted by his high magic power, but I thought it was crazy, so my feelings cooled down. And that¡¯s my excuse. Then the Military Police can¡¯t speak out.¡± ¡°I see!¡± Charlotte, who was very convinced, nodded vigorously in agreement. However, the operation carried out with the permission of Digitalis was unsuccessful because the essential Hart did not appear where he was summoned. For Hart, who is being messed around with by Digitalis, there is no way he can respond to a suspicious love letter call from an unknown sender. Belinda¡¯s face paled in disgust as she was stared at silently by the Digitalis, who had been waiting in the classroom. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t the story different?¡± The class to which Digitalis belongs include the Sovereign¡¯s grandson Leandre, who is more than equal to the Dukes of Takrham, and Langlois The son of the Duke, Stefan, was not present. Therefore, no one interjected the actions of the Duke Young Lady, and Digitalis planned to make the class watch and laugh at the second son of the Baron¡¯s family, who was summoned to the position visible from the classroom window. Asked by Digitalis, who had lost face in front of her classmates, Belinda was impatient and uttered something unnecessary. ¡°Well, then I actually called, confessed, and got him to say yes, and then I said, ¡®I was joking with you. It¡¯s impossible, you¡¯re the second son of a Baron family¡¯, laughed, made him look like a fool. Watching the live video and making a fool of him. Just because you confess to a lie, the Military Police won¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine. Do it.¡± Digitalis was in a good mood, but Belinda, who proposed it, just uttered an idea and never thought of doing it herself. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve confirmed my magic and it has been decided that I will get engaged to Jack of Viscount Lauser family¡­. it¡¯s a little inconvenient.¡± Digitalis tilted her head to Belinda, who appealed to her to use another Young Lady. ¡°Belinda, I wonder if you suggested something that couldn¡¯t be done.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­. of course not.¡± Against the Duke family. Belinda couldn¡¯t say no to Digitalis who applied pressure. ¡°Make it a punishment game. Then, saying that is fine, right?¡± Belinda had no choice but to ride the optimism that Digitalis showed. In this way, Belinda had to make a false confession, but since she was discussing it in the classroom, the rest of her classmates naturally heard her. Most decided to ignore the oppression of Digitalis because they did not want to be involved in the bullying. Seeing transferees and suicides in the past, they knew that the academy will not cover for them and were taking such defensive actions. However, there was only one person in the class who saw this as an opportunity. She is of a family equivalent to the Duke family, the Young Lady of the Marquis of Carneus It was Philine. (This is a chance.) In the Marquis of Carneus, there is a struggle for the succession of the title between Philine and her sisters. All three sisters have enough magic power value to inherit the Marquis. Therefore, the method of settlement would be determined by the one who brought the spouse with whom their child will have the highest magic power value among the three sisters. Do you inherit the Marquis family or fall into a quasi-aristocrat without inheriting it? In Philine¡¯s case, she would not only fall into quasi-aristocracy, but also be subjected to horrible things by Dorothea if she gained power in the future. As a result, Philine had to find herself a partner with high magic power. And, the magic power holder who surpassed the Sovereign¡¯s grandchild to be declared the highest peak in the Monarchy appeared from among her classmates. (First of all, I have to get close to him.) Philine contacted Hart, who saw Digitalis¡¯ conversation as a great opportunity. After conveying the plans of Digitalis and her cronies, they set a trap with Hart. Make a false confession and mock the captured goof in the live video. Belinda, who became the perpetrator, is an attractive young lady with a gorgeous appearance and sparkling blonde hair, a beautiful brow, a small face, tall body, and an ample chest. She didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable when she appeared in a magazine as a fashion model, and she was clearly a gorgeous sprinkled bait. Their hunting ground is behind the middle school building. Under a large cherry tree with thick roots. Belinda was convinced of the success of the operation when she saw Hart, who had been lured to her. ¡°Ms. Belinda of the Baron of Percy, did you call for me?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been waiting for you, Mr. Hart Hiragi.¡± Why did she have to deal with a Baron¡¯s second son when her engagement to Viscount Lauser¡¯s son has been decided? Belinda was frustrated. And, and in order to end the unpleasantness quickly, she went ahead immediately. ¡°I decided to go out with you, would you like to?¡± Belinda, the Baron¡¯s Young Lady, had no idea that the second son of a quasi-aristocrat would refuse her. The confession was a request, and the response from the other party was only a fact confirmation that the words had been received. But Hart¡¯s response was unexpected for Belinda. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. As I have enlisted in the Royal Army, I can¡¯t respond to your feelings.¡± If you join the Royal Army, do you not go out with women. And such There is no law like that. She didn¡¯t understand the meaning at all. Hart continued to refuse to Belinda who appealed with her face. ¡°Also Belinda, your fianc¨¦ is over there.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± From the base of the cherry tree pointed to by Hart, jack, who unraveled the optical camouflage, quietly appeared. To Jack, who was Belinda¡¯s fianc¨¦, Philine said¡­ [I need to talk to you about Belinda.] He had been summoned by Philine and was waiting for her here. Jack has been told that Belinda made a false proposal for bullying and stared at the executioner, and that he had almost said the words out of her mouth several times. He withdrew his cold eyes from Belinda¡¯s face and eventually spoke a few words. ¡°I¡¯m breaking off our engagement.¡± The live video was being played in Digitalis¡¯ class. Behind Jack, who turned on his heels, Belinda, who had been dumped twice in a day in front of her classmates, turned into a stone statue. The Baron Young Lady confessed to the second son of a Baron family in front of her fianc¨¦, a Viscount Young Lord. This is a situation that cannot be helped even if the Baron Young Lady is told her engagement is annulled by the Viscount Young Lord. The Baron Young Lady has to apologize to the Viscount Young Lord. The only salvation is that Belinda worked for her parents¡¯ home under the Duke of Takrham and acted as part of it. The Baron¡¯s family would not cut off Belinda. A series of these situations continued to rotate in Belinda¡¯s brain, and she was trapped in a labyrinth of thought and turned into an immovable stone statue. On the other hand, Hart, who evaded Belinda¡¯s trap, thanked Philine for reaching out via information terminal. ¡°You saved me, Lady Philine of the Marquis of Carneus.¡± Philine, who received a bow from Hart, smiled at him through the terminal. [That¡¯s a manner with strangers. I think of you as a friend, so in the future, please call me Philine without being so formal. I¡¯ll call you Hiragi.] ¡°Thank you, Ms. Philine.¡± [Friends don¡¯t need honorific titles either. Please just call me Philine, without the ¡°Miss¡±. That¡¯s how you can thank me for this.] ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. I understand. Then, thank you very much, Philine.¡± [Of course, you¡¯re welcome. I look forward to working with you in the future.] Philine was in a good mood from beginning to end, but Hart, distracted by avoiding the Digitalis¡¯ attack, couldn¡¯t imagine Philine¡¯s purpose. Under the soulful digitalis, Belinda, who is soulless like stale carbonated water, came back. In the video that had been broadcast to the class, Belinda, who was double dumped by Hart and her fianc¨¦ Jack, sits in a daze without looking at anyone. And, she turned into a stone statue. It was uncomfortable, but also completely self-inflicted. In the classroom, the indoor temperature declined rapidly, Charlotte, who is alive and well, made a desperate dedication. ¡°Now that this has happened, I¡¯ll pass by and talk to Belinda, who is by my side, instead of Mr. Hiragi himself. I¡¯ll say something sarcastic while disguising myself!¡± ¡°What will you say?¡± Not expecting much, Digitalis, in an unenthusiastic tone, urged her to continue, just to say it for the time being. ¡°In the corridor wall of the classroom, which is not soundproofed, I will say, ¡®I heard that quasi-aristocratic people are getting carried away with waving their status around these days!¡¯. I¡¯m just talking to my friend, so the Military Police can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± The classmates who were listening to this desperately stopped Charlotte inwardly as she tried to drag Belinda, who had become the living dead, around. However, the unspoken thoughts were not understood, and the permission was issued by Digitalis. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Have it your way.¡± ¡°Thank you. Here Belinda, let¡¯s get going. I¡¯ll say something sarcastic to cheer you up.¡± Would it be a beautiful friendship just because she cares for Belinda too? What she¡¯s doing, though, is just harassment. With permission, Charlotte went to the Hart¡¯s class, dragging Belinda¡¯s living corpse. Charlotte knew that Hart returned to the classroom after rejecting Belinda. She stuck to the wall of Hart¡¯s classroom, set up the stone statue of Belinda next to her, and faced the classroom. She then shouted out loud. ¡°Lately, I¡¯ve heard that quasi-aristocrats are getting carried away with their pretensions to their status these days!¡± There was no reaction from the stone statue, but Charlotte decided that it was only necessary to arrange the appearance, and continued to speak behind the scenes. Holding both hands, she put her strength, and shouted with a loud voice. ¡°Surpassing His Highness the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson in magic power, surpassing His Highness the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson in grades, he¡¯s starting to get overly conceited just because of that. His Highness became 2nd in magic power, His Highness became 2nd in grades, doesn¡¯t he know the meaning of ¡®self-restraint¡¯? With such lowborn standing, to not hold back and yield to Royalty, unimaginable!¡± Charlotte was gasping for breath when she finished talking, and she heard a wild noise from the classroom, as if someone violently kick their desk away. Hart, who was listening, might have fallen because he was upset. With that thought in mind, Charlotte turned a ridiculing expression to the person who jumped out of the classroom. ¡°Shut up, so annoying. What¡¯s wrong with second place?¡± It was not a black-haired young man, but a pale blonde princely young man who jumped out. At the sight of him, Charlotte, with a foolish expression on her face, turned into a second stone statues with Belinda next to her. Meanwhile, the blonde aristocrat shouting at her alternately glared at two stone statues and then questioned a tall man with gray hair who was waiting behind him. ¡°Stefan, just who are these guys!¡± ¡°The one who is out of breath is Ms. Charlotte of Baron Astor, next to her is Ms. Belinda of Baron Percy. I remember them harassing some students other than Your Highness.¡± The tall gray haired man, Stefan the son of the Duke of Langlois, describes them as habitual bullies, number two! Number two! The Sovereign¡¯s grandson Leandre, who was repeatedly called out, distorted his neat face with shame. ¡°You have quite the nerve to say all that so that I could hear you. Tell the Baron of Astor and the Baron of Percy that Leandre, Grandson of the Sovereign, said he would definitely remember this.¡± One stone statues slowly fell down to the death at Leandre¡¯s anger. Beside it, Charlotte looks pale and shakes her head desperately to amend things. ¡°N, no, that¡¯s not the case. I was telling the second son of a Baron family not to get carried away, not Your Highness.¡± ¡°Quiet, don¡¯t speak. I understood the policies of the Baron of Astor Household. The aristocratic way is to spread the word that they are deliberately losing to the royalty and carry the palanquin with me, the clown, on their shoulders? It must be very amusing seeing me to lose to a quasi-aristocrat.¡± Leandre¡¯s long legs kicked the wall of the classroom. ¡°From now on, any drop in Hiragi¡¯s performance will only be seen as him cutting corners under pressure from you guys. I¡¯m still number 2. No, really, what number? Stefan, you¡¯ve been cutting corners too, right? I¡¯ve never been so ridiculed in my life!¡± Leandre clicked his tongue and hatefully glared at Charlotte. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t mean that. It¡¯s not. It¡¯s the fault of that second son of the Baron family, not Your Highness.¡± ¡°Annoying, shut up. I have not misunderstood your remarks. You blamed a Baron family for making a Royal take 2nd place by your conjecture. Well, who asked for such a thing? I don¡¯t deserve to have my grades or my life influenced by you people. How extremely unpleasant. Be gone. Don¡¯t show that face again!¡± Sitting down on the floor, Charlotte shed tears from her eyes and continued to say it was otherwise. But Leandre was having none of it, yelled at her to get lost and returned to the classroom. Thus, as a result of the inability of Digitalis and her crony threesome, the last of Hart¡¯s Middle School life passed without incident. CH extra 2 June 442 of the monarchy calendar. Only three months have passed since the end of the 479-year interstellar war between the monarchy and the Coalition. In a frenzied state of enthusiasm, the whole Monarchy was melting with excitement, and with the return of the expeditionary forces led by Valfrete, and men and women of all ages of all over the Monarchy erupted again. ¡°The arrow shot over 479 years ago has returned after destroying the enemy!¡± ¡°Hurray to the Monarchy of Diete, long live the new Sovereign!¡± Next month, Valfrete, who led the Monarchy to victory, will ascend to the throne. It is also widely known that the First Princess, the eldest daughter of the new Sovereign Valfrete, Yuna, and the new Marquis of Amakawa, who was the actual driving force behind the destruction of the Coalition, are engaged. The royal people were pleased that the nation they formed was correctly rewarding those who had rendered service to it. And the aristocrats were also moved to see their heroes become the new Sovereign and the new Marquis. Earlier, two people, the grandchild of the former Sovereign and the former Duke, have committed treason, but if the rewards for heroes are new status, it will not be the end of the aristocratic system. As for the direction of the Monarchy, the Senate and the National Assembly believed, ¡®let¡¯s leave it to the new Sovereign Valfrete, who destroyed the Coalition. Even if there are some differences in perceptions, it is a reward for the new Sovereign for his achievement¡¯, and the will of the nation toward a new era was unified. With the talented new Sovereign Valfrete and the power of the nation being redirected from war to development, the Monarchy will have a golden age of leaps and bounds. In the streets, bright news was circulating in the media and songs about the bright future were selling like hot cakes. At a time when there was renewed enthusiasm that engulfed the whole Monarchy, a young man with a rank of General set foot in a world of confusion, isolated from the excitement. The scene of the confusion is in front of the Deputy Commander¡¯s Office of the Ministry of Military Affairs Command Office. In front of the office, which should only be accessible to relevant personnel, there is an old-fashioned cardboard box that was probably made on purpose, and in front of the box is a sticker that says ¡°Please pick me up¡±. And in the cardboard, a red-haired girl, who seemed to have not yet entered middle school, sat with chipmunk ears attached to her head. Hart guessed the girl to be over 10 years old. She wore a pink dress adorned with ruffles and ribbons, with a headdress on her head. ¡°Hello, young lady. I am Hart, the Marquis of Amakawa. Could you tell me your name?¡± Placed in front of the room of the Deputy Commander of the Ministry of Military Affairs Command Office, which was a mass of military secrets, Hart guessed, judging from the girl¡¯s appearance, that the young lady is from an aristocratic family and had come for a matchmaking purpose. When Hart gave his name, the red-haired girl stood up from the cardboard box and bowed to lightly pluck the hem of her skirt. ¡°My name is Willow, the eldest daughter of Count Cartlett. My father gave me my admission permit from our new Sovereign Valfrete for my entry into the office.¡± Presented with a permit, Hart closed his eyes while holding his forehead with his right hand. The flow of trying to have Hart, with magic power value of over 90,000, produce descendants did not settle at all even after the destruction of the Coalition, and it surged into Hart¡¯s body. The new Sovereign, Valfrete, already has the Monarchy¡¯s greatest power. However, it seems that he owes some debts to the Machaon system, to which the Marquis of Ornelas, the family of his wife, belongs, for their cooperation in preparing a fleet of immigrant ships for the new system. Hart guessed that Valfrete had received a modest request, mixed in with about 90% jest, to send a girl old enough not to be married for five years or so to meet with Hart. Of course, the adults who sent her would think that if Hart liked this young lady, she would be a candidate for a future concubine. Hart, like an aristocrat, tried to keep his composure and cope with the situation. ¡°Thank you very much. I will now call on Viscount Lady Listner to be your hostess. Since you came all this way, it would be nice if we could go and have a cup of tea. By the way, who told you to wear those ears?¡± ¡°I heard from my father that this is a hobby of the Marquis¡¯. I have dog ears and rabbit ears, do you want to see them?¡± Hart¡¯s brow slightly twitched at the unexpected reputational damage. In order to avoid any misunderstandings about having touched her, Hart summoned Colette, a female aristocrat and best friend of the First Princess, to be present, and while receiving a cold stare from Colette, he politely interceded for the Count Young Lady Willow, in order to save face for Valfrete and the Count. Since returning to the Capital planet, Hart has been subjected to various actions. The issue hasn¡¯t been forced so far, probably because of the fact that he is engaged to the daughter of the new Sovereign, Valfrete, but the action itself is unlikely to stop. When Hart consulted with Claudia, who is well versed in the affairs of the aristocracy, about moving the Castle in the Sky, which used to be the Viscount¡¯s residence, into the territorial waters of the new Marquis territory, he discussed the current situation with Yuna. And Claudia confronted them with a cruel reality. [¡®I¡¯m too busy, so I can¡¯t¡¯¡­ I think that excuse can only postpone the situation for a few years, but later we will not be able to escape any more. And if you don¡¯t put a stop to the construction of the Castle in the Sky, there will be no end to it.] When Yuna¡¯s own excuse was rejected outright, a question mark appeared on her face. ¡°The war is over, isn¡¯t it? We don¡¯t need High Magic Individuals, do we?¡± The first half of what Yuna said was true, but the second half was just her wish. Claudia, who had just entered the Military Academy in April, smiled ruefully over the communication screen at Her Royal Highness Princess Yuna, who was four years older and held the rank of Major General. ¡°We don¡¯t need High Magic Individuals, do we?¡± Yuna¡¯s tone, when she asked again, was receding from prayer for confirmation to a request to do so. [The reason for Master Hart¡¯s refusal was because his residence was still broken. Since the castle was built at the nation¡¯s expense after discussions at the House of Parliament, the three of us whose magic power values were cited could not be refused. Even less if the end of the war is added as a reason¡­¡­..] Claudia offered a compromise and then admonished Yuna, who was at a loss. Yuna, who had requested the refusal on the grounds that it was impossible to accept anyone while the residence was a small ship floating in the sea, sent a glance to Hart in search of rescue. However, unfortunately, Hart¡¯s small boat, the former Viscount Amakawa¡¯s residence, has been disposed of, and the Castle in the Sky, which was the new Viscount¡¯s residence, is virtually under Claudia¡¯s control. In the first place, Hart, as the head of the Amakawa family, refused the approach from the Duke of Coesfeld with a clear reason. Now that the Duke of Coesfeld has solved the problem, he couldn¡¯t claim that the reasons given were withdrawn. Yuna can rely on her father, Valfrete, but this is a matter of the Marquis of Amakawa and the Duke of Coesfeld, not the Royal Family. The Amakawa family would owe the new Sovereign if they use his power and influence to bend the principles. Yuna, who is aware that she will be the first wife of Marquis Amakawa, cannot suddenly bring a disadvantage to the Amakawa family as the legal wife. Of course, Claudia, the second wife, will not cause any disadvantage to the Amakawa family. Claudia¡¯s appreciation for Hart, who destroyed the Coalition, is tremendous and can be overwhelming. From her point of view, she has judged that only the other two people whose magic power values were specifically mentioned at the House of Parliament cannot be refused. Understanding that Claudia had reason, Hart replied as the head of the Amakawa family. ¡°Common sense tells me I¡¯d better accept it.¡± Yuna puffed out her cheeks and protested, but Hart grasped her left hand with his right, and placed the right hand on Yuna¡¯s thigh with the intention of ¡°I¡¯ll entrust you with one right hand, please be a little patient¡±. Yuna grabs Hart¡¯s right hand with both hands and begins to vent her dissatisfaction by hitting it against her thigh. So Yuna calmed down, and Hart checked with Claudia. ¡°Was it Miss Evelina, Young Lady of Count Ordolene, and Gabriella, Young Lady of Viscount Allerede Household? It¡¯s been more than a year, but haven¡¯t they changed their mind?¡± When they were introduced to Hart, Evelina was in a bad position because she was close with Alisa, the daughter of Count Harvist, who allegedly fled in the Defense Battle of the Capital Planet, albeit under the instruction of her escorts. However, during the Battle of the Hercules in July 441, Alisa made great achievements in saving a large number of the forces of the Royal Army and the Aristocratic Fleets by making a charge with her own battleship and the fleet of the Count family to break through the siege net of the Coalition Forces. Alisa, receiving full support and testimony from the Duke of Mauriac, whose successor was rescued, and many other aristocrats who were aided, completely restored her honor, partly due to her acquisition of a Medal of Honor. As a result of the fact that Leandre became a national traitor and that various problems with the former Crown Prince Gracian and the Crown Princess came to light, Alisa was not only free from any problems but rather has reversed her reputation as a model of aristocratic women. For this reason, Evelina, who had been devalued for being friendly with Alisa, had completely reversed her position as if the stigmatized villainous lady had regained her honor. Her father, Count Ordolene, would not even consider making Evelina a Viscount¡¯s concubine. However, Hart has also risen to Marquis. It is quite possible that Count Ordolene will send his daughter Evelina to the Amakawa family as a concubine, as he initially suggested. Hart imagined what choice the Duke of Coesfeld, the Count of Ordolene and Evelina would make, but Claudia replied with a rueful smile at Hart, just as she had directed at Yuna earlier. [Do you think Evelina could get another fianc¨¦ after all that pomp and circumstance at the House of Parliament?] Hearing Claudia¡¯s explanation, Hart had to agree that she was absolutely right. Although the three specific names were not mentioned in parliament, but it is well known to the aristocracy that Hart was taken by Philine to participate in the future arrow social gathering, that he had met the Duke of Coesfeld there, and that Mr. Dryver worked under the Duke of Coesfeld. It is easy for even average citizens to predict that Claudia¡¯s cousin, Evelina, was cited as a Count-grade magic power holder at the time Claudia was chosen as the second wife. There is no way other aristocrats can break up the project for the birth of the high magic power holders that moved 90% of the members of the House of Representatives. ¡°Miss Evelina, I understand, was vice-president in the Middle School Student Council, so she must be excellent.¡± [She was put in a disadvantageous position for a while, but she kept her status as a potential partner of Master Hart, so she seems to have made an effort. Now she is the Student Council President of the high school, and has a wide range of connections from middle school to graduates. I think she can be of service to the Marquis of Amakawa.] ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll ask for a schedule adjustment.¡± Realizing defeat, Hart decided to accept Evelina. And the confirmation moved on to the next candidate, Gabriella. Gabriella, the Young Lady of the Viscount of Allerede, is the daughter of the mistress of the Duke of Coesfeld. There are quite a few situations where an aristocratic lady is unmarried. It is a result of combining ¡®I cannot increase the number of wives endlessly without causing a house turmoil¡¯, and ¡®a high magic individual is essential to maintain the title, and I want to draw the hit in the magic succession¡¯. In the case of males, they become independent and become quasi-aristocrats, like Hart¡¯s father, and become the magic engine operators of battleships. On the other hand, women often choose to be aristocratic concubines and mistresses in order to maintain the aristocratic life supported by the royal citizens. As the number of next generation magic power holders increases, the defense of the country will increase, so a position like Gabriella¡¯s mother¡¯s is recognized by society as necessary. As for how much they understand, it is so publicly recognized that it was discussed in the House of Parliament and a Castle in the Sky was built at national expense. ¡°Is Gabriella considered in the same position as her mother?¡± [Yes. If anyone takes her as a wife or concubine, there will be problems with succession. And when the child becomes a Marquis or Marquess, it becomes difficult to balance them by class when they are married. It¡¯s easy to raise your child¡¯s position later as a formal wife, but you can¡¯t lower it.¡±] Hart thought of Yuna¡¯s parents who raised her to the Duke¡¯s daughter in order to counter the Marquis Lady Philine. If Yuna¡¯s parents had been married from the beginning and the high magic powered Yuna was the first wife¡¯s child, there would have been a battle of succession with the child of the second wife, a Lady of the Marquis of Ornelas, for the Duke of Strani. And if you¡¯re a Duke¡¯s daughter, you can¡¯t marry someone half-heartedly. If the magic is high, she will be a wife of a senior aristocrat, and even if the magic is low, the concubine of a senior aristocrat or the legal wife of a general aristocrat is within reasonable range. If Yuna had been a royal or duke lady from the beginning, she would have had little choice for marriage partners. Yuna¡¯s parents made her the Duke¡¯s daughter because there was a clear partner named Hart, and it was confirmed that there would be no house turmoil even if she was a Duke¡¯s daughter, and it was a necessary upgrade to oppose Philine. Gabriella¡¯s case is the same as Yuna¡¯s. [Gabriella, isn¡¯t looking to cause any internal strife. She said that she wants a daughter because a child between her, a Marquis-grade magic individual and Hart, a hero with high magic power could make a good wife of a senior aristocrat. She¡¯s hopeful for about two.] Shortly after Claudia explained, Hart¡¯s face grimaced due to the pain in his right hand. ¡°If Gabriella herself wants to, I¡¯ll accept it according to what she said at the time. But just to be sure, if she¡¯s not willing, tell her she¡¯s free because the war is over. After going to university, she may be able to find someone she likes, and it would be up to her. Is that okay?¡± The excuse that Hart himself is not actively seeking her was made to Yuna, who was squeezing his right hand. At the same time, he tells Claudia of the Duke of Coesfeld, that the Amakawas will keep their promises. Claudia, who heard Hart¡¯s argument, remanded the paper, though barely giving a passing grade. [I¡¯ll forward your thoughts, but do you know that Gabriella¡¯s aunt¡¯s husband is Senator Dryver?] Hart and Yuna, who had a fusion round placed right in front of them, had their thoughts blown away in an instant. What passed through Hart¡¯s mind was an Assembly at the House of Parliament. Senator Dryver takes the stage proudly and begins to address the entire Monarchy through the assembly hall, hitting the podium of the assembly hall with a powerful thump. [Does Prime Minister Stanley not understand how much value the descendants of the high magic power holders who were the decisive forces of the destruction of the Coalition have? In the future, the High Magic Powered Individuals will continue to play a variety of roles in many fields, including systemic immigration, large-scale transportation, and national defense. Is there any other use for such a cost effective budget? Do you understand what the government needs to do, Prime Minister?] Prime Minister Stanley, who was pointed out by Senator Dryver, could say, ¡°Now that it¡¯s a Marquis¡¯ residence, we will expand it and increase the number of World Heritage Sites.¡±, while dripping cold sweat. The Castle in the Sky would be expanded from the size of a battleship to a fortified ship, and about three pyramids would now be built there. The garden might be lined with a row of Moai statues. Compared to the life where if you look out the window of your house, you can see the Sphinx sitting there as guard dogs, Gabriella living alone in a villa is probably nothing. Just think of the niece of Senator Dryver, who built the Castle in the Sky, as the keeper of the castle. ¡°Please tell Gabriella that she is always welcome.¡± There was no attack from Yuna against Hart¡¯s right hand as he resubmitted his answer sheet with major revisions. Perhaps even in Yuna¡¯s brain, an absurd scene comparable to Hart¡¯s imaginings was spreading. It likely occurred to her, too, that by not accepting Gabriella, the sight of new concubines and mistresses being sent one after another from the Monarchy would be bloomed by Senator Dryver. Hart, who had also given up on Gabriella, reminded Claudia. ¡°As for the Castle in the Sky, please end it with the acceptance of Evelina and Gabriella. I have only refused the consultation of the Duke of Coesfeld pertaining to three people with the evacuation ship as an explanation. The new reason is that we¡¯ve exceeded the number of people we can accept.¡± [I understand. The first generation of the Amakawa family is biased towards the Royal family and the Duke of Coesfeld, but Master Hart is in a really busy position, so I will adjust things accordingly. I will contact you again regarding the schedule with Evelina.] After the communication video of Claudia, who bowed, disappeared, Hart¡¯s right hand continued to be attacked by the grumpy Yuna. As a result of Hart¡¯s willingness to meet, the Duke of Coesfeld seemed to have moved the Monarchy government, and the Castle in the Sky was promptly relocated to the new Marquis of Amakawa territory. A magic element engine and a propulsion engine were installed to the Castle in the Sky, and a Count-grade magic power holder was called to fly it 100-kilometer offshore of the territorial waters of the new Marquis territory. The citizens of the new Marquis must have been astonished by the sudden appearance of the Castle in the Sky off the coast. Hart, as the second son of a Baron Household, must have looked up at the sky in dismay. And then using the relocated castle, Hart and Evelina were to meet. ¡°Oh, how extravagant.¡± When looking up at the sky on his back at sea, cotton candy like cumulonimbus clouds flowed in a thin light blue Canvas. If you look from the Marquis of Amakawa towards the Ortegia continent where the Royal Capital is located, you will find the Marquis Villa¡­ also known as The Castle in the Sky, which has turned into one of the tourist attractions in the Marquis of Amakawa, is reflected in the field of view. On top of the floating island that looks like Mont-Saint-Michel, there is a mansion that looks like the Palace of Versailles and its gardens, with waterways running through the island like the City of Water, Venice. It¡¯s 100 square kilometers in size and is still built under its own weight in order to blend in with the artificial floating islands in ??the Mediterranean Sea. Hart¡¯s connected vision turned away from the castle in the sky and looked up at the sky of Diros again. [Is something wrong, Mr. Hart?] The hearing of Hart, who is lying in an enclosure, received the chirp-like little bird voice of Evelina, who is connected to him online. ¡°No, no problem. I¡¯m on my way.¡± When the enclosure that read the electrical signal emitted by Hart sent a signal to the swimming robot drifting in the Mediterranean Sea, Hart¡¯s consciousness slowly began to sink into the sea. The underwater view through the robot was like a sky surrounded by a pale blue color. In the sky-like world where water exists, a black cloud called fish shadows were flowing. In addition to artificially released krill, there are a large number of blue fish such as herring, mackerel, saury, and pompano etc, as well as larger fish such as yellowtail and tuna, and the odd species of sturgeon. Cetaceans are also swimming in the water. As he passed through the fish swimming freely, he could see destroyed artifacts on the seabed. In Diros¡¯ Mediterranean Sea, artifacts blown away in the Defense of the Capital planet and the remnants of the swept floating islands have sunk. Some of the destroyed structures were home to fish and helped their prosperity. When Hart landed in a world of ruins where people had disappeared, he found Evelina in a white dress, faintly illuminated by the light shining from the sea. On the actual seabed stands a robot for underwater swimming operated by Evelina, and in Hart¡¯s vision, he could see Evelina¡¯s image as she came to meet him online. Evelina was gracefully dancing and playing with the fishes around her. Evelina caught sight of Hart, then held the hem of her dress and slightly lowered her head. [It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I¡¯m Evelina, Count Young Lady of Ordolene.] Evelina was a woman with a warm, gentle atmosphere. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Hart, the Marquis of Amakawa.¡± Hart, who was swallowed up by Evelina¡¯s gentle expression and atmosphere, returned her greeting after taking a deep breath. Then, Evelina gently reaches out and invites Hart to dance, as if it were a ballroom. ¡°I¡¯m not much of a dancer, being an upstart.¡± [How about the waltz we learned in middle school?] Taking Evelina¡¯s outstretched hand, Hart put his hand around her waist, and while holding hands, stepped on the ocean floor and began to dance with the fishes. The drawn hands and the moving bodies performed a natural spin turn and then entered the Turning Lock with steps 1 & 2, 3. In contrast to Hart¡¯s dance counting at Weave from Promenade Position, Evelina kept her posture straight with a natural smile on her face, taut to the tips of her fingers and feet, and matched Hart¡¯s movements with her light footwork. As they repeated turns, pivots, steps, and movements, they floated softly on the seabed over and over again, slowly turning as they sank in the sea. In contrast to the struggling Hart, Evelina danced gracefully on the seabed, lightly adjusting her stance with a smile on her face. When the movement slowed down and eventually subsided, Hart asked Evelina. ¡°Miss Evelina, I would like to ask, but are you dissatisfied with being the concubine of the man who was the second son of the Baron household. If you are, you may decline the offer as I exercised it.¡± To Hart, who had confirmed the intention of the person in question just in case, Evelina answered from the bottom of her heart with a curious expression, tilting her head. [The Monarchy aristocracy is a class system designed to protect the Monarchy from the Coalition. Mr. Hart, along with His Majesty the new Sovereign, has defended the Monarchy and destroyed the Coalition, so he is more deserving of aristocracy than any other.] ¡°I suppose?¡± Evelina, who said that Hart was most worthy of the aristocrats, continued to say more. [And so, I have no objection. Um¡­ do you know how competitive you are, Mr. Hart?] ¡°No. Lately, I¡¯ve been getting a lot of offers for matchmaking, and I¡¯m having trouble with them.¡± Evelina pointed out to Hurt, and he took into account his own competition. He is a 1-year Marquis, a Royal Army General, a hero who fulfilled the long-cherished wish since the founding of the country, the leading aristocrat of the new royal faction, the manager of spirit crystals, holder of the highest magic power value in the Monarchy, whose child is also confirmed to have high magic power. It is time to review the aristocratic system due to the end of the war but there is no consensus that Valfrete and Hart, who destroyed the Coalition, are unnecessary, and even after the aristocratic system disappears, Hart will be left with tremendous honor and a huge fortune as the owner of all the shares of a company that monopolizes the production of spirit crystals. What a horrible cheat person there is in the world¡­ and¡­ Hart was dumbfounded. ¡°All right, then we¡¯re officially engaged now. I am lucky to be paired with such a lovely lady.¡± Recalling that it was more luxurious than looking up at the sky from the Mediterranean, Hart projected a stereoscopic image in front of the slightly embarrassed Evelina. Deep in the forest, was a pale blue crystal of the spirit, clear and pure as the headwaters. To the bewildered Evelina, Hart explained the footage. It is a special spirit crystal that is superior to the ones for the aristocracy. It can be used in conjunction with her current spirit, and is only given to his fianc¨¦es. ¡°Today is just a face-to-face meeting, but next time we will meet formally. I want to give it to you as a secret gift. Will you accept it?¡± [Yes, I will.] The enclosure where Evelina was lying read her expression, and red ink appeared on her cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to our next encounter.¡± [Yes, I¡¯m looking forward to it as well.] As the face-to-face meeting ended, the seabed reflected in Hart¡¯s field of vision dimmed. End. CH extra 3 Light Novel Volume 3 Extra Story ¨C The Marquis and the Sheppard July 442 of the Monarchy Calendar. In the Marquis of Amakawa, a flock of sheep was fiercely asserting themselves, surrounding a humanoid robot that connected Hart¡¯s senses, eating the hem of his clothes and frolicking. ¡°Nmeeeeeeehh¡± ¡°Meeeeeeeehh¡± From high-pitched baby-like cries to the lowest operatic bass range. The sheep relentlessly licked Hart¡¯s body, toying with him by sheer force of numbers. ¡°My Lord, you¡¯re loved by the sheep.¡± A bearded nomadic representative declared with a broad smile, showing his white teeth. Hart, reflecting on his own situation, assumed that the sheep did not like him, but were probably just licking him in a double sense, but he dared not mention it so as not to undermine the authority of the Marquis. However, having been covered in sheep¡¯s saliva, Hart felt that the authority of the Marquis had not only been lost and fallen to the ground, but had gone deep underground. ¡°September is the estrus period for sheep. When the daylight hours are shorter, their pituitary gland is stimulated and they go into heat. They have a decreased appetite, squeal frequently and shake their tail as they become emotionally unstable. At that time, you might have been even more popular.¡± Hart was relieved from the bottom of his heart that it was still July. Sheep and nomads are in Hart¡¯s provinces because of the former Crown Prince Gracian, who died in the war. They were subjects of a forced exodus carried out on Earth under Gracian a year and a half ago. The purpose of taking one billion people from Earth was to reduce the number of enemy citizens who supported the enemy¡¯s national power during the war and, conversely, to balance out the national strength lost when one billion people were killed in the defense of the Capital planet. The other reasons included to cover up the failure of the Solar System invasion, to lower the disgrace of allowing the Royal people to be killed by the attack on the Planet Diros, and the issue of succession to the throne. Thus, if one billion people were brought only based on youth and health condition, it was only reasonable that the subjects included Nomads. At the conclusion of the End of War Treaty, the Monarchy used a serious flaw in the former Coalition¡¯s ¡°fabrication of cause for war¡± to justify Gracian¡¯s folly or to stab at the Gracian faction. They were taken in the form of forced labor in the Monarchy as ¡°war reparations for the death of one billion people of the Planet Diros based on unjust grounds fabricated by the former Coalition¡±. After the end of the war, returning them was also considered. But Earth had become a hotbed of terrorism against the people of the Monarchy. If they sent back a billion people, it was obvious that they would replenish the hostile forces against the Monarchy with a large number of fighters, and their return to the country had to be abandoned in order to prioritize the safety of the Royal Citizens. Thus, 20 million people, or 2 percent of the billion, were allocated to the Marquis of Amakawa. The Marquis has 800 million people, accounting for about 2% of the Monarchy¡¯s total population. Therefore, the Earthers were assigned according to the population ratio. The majority of the 20 million people allocated to the Marquis of Amakawa were Nomads. The treatment of the former Coalition people is left entirely up to the individual lords. In other words, Hart was forced to deal with the Nomads. ¡°The gestation period of sheep is about 5 months. When they are born around January and grass grows, lambs start grazing around March. From March, when the lambs are weaned, to the end of August, it¡¯s time for milking.¡± As the Nomad representative gleefully explained the ecology of the sheep, Hart questioned him on a fundamental problem. ¡°You guys, what century do you think it is now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the 38th century, but don¡¯t you know that? Lord, will you pull yourself together?¡± The Nomad representative laughed so amusingly that Hart also laughed back sarcastically, his mouth twisted into a smile. Unfortunately, Hart¡¯s swarthy atmosphere could not be reproduced by the high-performance relay robot, which was designed with its destruction and plunder by former Coalition people in mind. The question Hart wanted to ask was not about the lunar calendar, but about whether it¡¯s a bit outdated to have sheep graze under skies where interstellar vessels fly. To begin with, there is a rough division between primitive period, ancient period, medieval period, modern period, and present day. The divisions of eras have changed with the development of humankind, but the divisions that Hart learned in school in the 38th century are as follows: The four major civilizations are the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indus and Chinese civilizations, which are roughly dated from around 3000 BC to 1500 BC. It was around this time that written characters were created, and a historical period was established in which written records remain. Nomadism, then, is a product of the primitive period that existed before the Prehistoric Era. The nomadic lifestyle is, to Hart, primitive. ¡°Nomadic herding is very anachronistic.¡± The history of human herding, Harte recalled, dates back to the Middle to Late Mesolithic period, from 12,500 B.C. to 9,500 B.C., known as the Natouf culture. At that time, among the remains of the Levant Corridor from northeastern Turkey to Israel, the bones of the gazelle that were discovered were changed from 50% male and female to 80% male. Mankind had begun sorting gazelles caught by pursuit hunters into sexes, eating the males and overlooking females that give birth to their young. And then came the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (PPNB period) from 8600 to 7,000 BC. The bones of the ruins quickly changed from gazelle to sheep and goats. The reason for the rapid replacement of bones with sheep and goats is thought to be the beginning of sheep and goat herding. In other words, the life of grazing sheep began before the dawn of history in a primitive period known as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period. At the same time, wheat farming also began, and human beings gained the power to create ancient civilizations by establishing agriculture and livestock farming. Human beings, who initially only ate domesticated meat, then began milking. Domestic animal¡¯s milk cannot be drunk as it is. This is because the majority of mammals, including humans, produce less lactase, a lactose-digesting enzyme, after being weaned. When lactase production decreases, undigested lactose interferes with water absorption in the large intestine, causing various symptoms such as diarrhea. This is why most adults cannot drink unprocessed milk. Mankind, who started milking, learned to process and consume livestock milk. When milk is placed in pottery, which is ubiquitous in the Earth¡¯s Southeast Asia, lactose is fermented by bacteria and converted to lactic acid, which eliminates diarrhea and other symptoms. The milk of domestic animals was processed into long-term preservable foods such as cheese, butter and butter oil, to support human sustenance. Meat, dairy products and wool from sheep, goats, cattle and so on have evolved with the development of humankind. In present times, machines automatically perform everything from production to distribution, and there is no work performed by Nomads. It is the common view of the Royal Citizens living in the 38th century that this is much more efficient. ¡°Do you know the phrase ¡®labor productivity¡¯?¡± ¡°Why, if you worry about such things, won¡¯t you go bald in the future, my lord?¡± An intuitive primitive man irrationally rebutted an intelligent interstellar civilization man. It has already been 152 years since human beings have been able to change the length of their hair freely with medicine. Hart could not help being perplexed by a primitive man¡¯s anachronism, as it would be far from idyllic. At the same time, Hart was convinced that the government¡¯s response, which gave nomads the same jobs as on Earth, was correct. It is impossible to ask the individual circumstances of 20 million former Coalition people who did not receive mandatory education in the Monarchy, provide them with necessary education and vocational training, and help them find work in the Monarchy. Since it is discriminatory to state that the primitive man cannot operate a space station and operate the resource recovery ship¡­ he does not mention it, but it is 100 times more secure in real intention to leave it to the Royal people who have completed mandatory education. 100 times is the minimum estimated frequency of troubles. Some of them are fatal. One day, all of a sudden, a space station controlled by a primitive man crashes to the planet. Hart, who had imagined the spectacle of a colony drop by the primitive man, instinctively closed his eyes. However, as a natural consequence, the nomadic life of the nomads was a very old form of moving from one place to another in the spring, summer, fall, and winter to graze their sheep. Nomadism requires wide, lush grasslands that extend beyond the horizon. If they had their way, 20 million nomads and their flocks of sheep would make the Marquis¡¯ territory inevitable great grasslands. The sheep-occupied territory would generate much more revenue if used effectively for other purposes. There are plenty of easily feasible ways to utilize the land as long as it is available, such as attracting companies and factories on the condition that they are exempted from land tax for a certain period of time. After completing his inspection of the territory, Hart consulted with Philine of the Marquis of Carneus, his predecessor, about the headaches the territory was facing. ¡°And that¡¯s the circumstances. Our territory is being invaded by primitive humans and white-haired mass. I want to do something about those aliens. I need your wisdom.¡± ¡°What a disaster. I¡¯ll gather information on how it¡¯s handled in other territories.¡± When contacted by Hart, Philine pledged to help as a cooperating marquis, with a bitter smile at the footage of Hart being swarmed by sheep. However, Philine carefully confirmed what Hart thought was a good idea. ¡°By the way, do you have any special thoughts on the treatment of the former Coalition people?¡± Some territories give stricter treatment to the former Coalition people. There are intellectuals who frown upon this, but for the Royal citizens who have lost their parents and children, resentment has become the ¡°last driving force for survival¡±, and the Royal citizens¡¯ opinions on how to treat them is divided. The Defense battle of the Capital planet was only a year or a few months ago, so was too soon to fade away. In addition, Hart personally had his artificial floating island, which Philine had arranged for him, destroyed. Philine herself was told by Hart, ¡°you can choose the house we will live in¡±, and the house that she chose has been destroyed, so she is not without resentment. However, Hart had a clear policy on this matter. ¡°I, as the representative of the Royal citizens, destroyed three star systems, killed 20 billion people and brought about the destruction of the Coalition. So, in my mind, the war with the Coalition is over. I do not deny the feelings of the Royal citizens who resent the death of their family, but I have decided to treat the former Coalition People of the Marquis of Amakawa without retaliation.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Convinced, Philine used the messengers of the Marquis of Carneus family to collect various case studies from other aristocrats. However, although there are many cases of Earthers who make a living from herding sheep and other livestock, there are no large-scale cases of nomads who led a nomadic lifestyle. ¡°It has been discovered that nomads were concentrated in the new Marquis territory that Mr. Hart had been entrusted by the Monarchy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Why?¡± Hart asked aloud in frustration, but he could guess the reason himself. Originally, they unloaded immigrant containers all over Earth and packed them with local people to bring them over. It is only logical that people living in the same region would be clustered in the same group of containers. In addition, the nomads, who would not be treated well if sent to other aristocrats, were intentionally gathered into territories under the direct control of the royal family, so as not to cause the discontent of the aristocrats. As a result of Hart being entrusted with the territory after his promotion, the nomadic population was transferred in its entirety. Hart had a distant look in his eyes as he imagined a life surrounded by a flock of sheep mewing. ¡°I think we should build a sheep-farm, not a chicken farm, and let the nomads take charge of it.¡± Philine¡¯s proposal was also considered by Hart. Sheep in the Monarchy of Diete are raised underground with multi-tiered ranches, placed under precise control of machines and androids, and efficiently bred with artificial feed while changing the season on a plot-by-plot basis. Sheep have been genetically modified over the years, are resistant to diseases and crude foods, have good fertility, and can provide a lot of milk and wool. As a result, while greatly reducing the area of land used, fresh milk meat of any age can be obtained at any time, and production can be expected to increase beyond comparison with nomadic herds. Still, biologically, they are sheep, and their ecology is much the same. As nomads, they would be able to take on the role of sheep farm manager. While he thought it was a perfectly legitimate idea, Hart expressed concern. ¡°If the former Coalition people receive preferential treatment, won¡¯t there be discontent?¡± The sheep farm is a public-run, stable job in the food infrastructure, and a job where losses are factored in because it is the raising of living creatures. Hart, who was licked by sheep, wants to tilt his head as to whether that is a good job, but there are a certain number of people who yearn for the slow life. If they advertised a job opening for a sheep farm manager, they could easily attract the necessary number of royal citizens. Even if it is to acclimate 20 million nomads to the Monarchy, it may be the wrong priority to create jobs for the former Coalition people with the taxes collected from the royal people. To Hart, who had such a question, Philine answered with a proud expression. ¡°We make up for it with added value!¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Added value?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shepherd¡¯s experience. None of the Royal people knows what life was like for primitive people. You can dismantle the sheep and serve them as a dish or experience making cheese. If we can create a remote experience tour, it will be very popular with families.¡± Hart, who was briefed by Philine, was convinced and nodded lightly. If you justify the necessity of the nomads, the Royal people will be convinced. The details of the project are also within the scope of what a nomadic people could do without difficulty. As long as the land used for it can be narrowed, it is not necessary to pursue complete efficiency. Hart also agreed with the proposal for a sheep farm that included a nomadic experience tour. ¡°Let¡¯s use that idea. I¡¯m sorry, but is there any data that can be used as a reference?¡± ¡°Of course. I had the officials of the Marquis of Carneus make detailed design data, too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s helpful.¡± The data Philine forwarded contained design data that would give a nostalgic experience. Sheep¡¯s barns, grass racks, rock salt platforms, water tanks, pasture fences, drive fences, delivery fences, sheep¡¯s exercise area, medicinal herb baths, leg baths, shearing area, etc., are all products of the old age. Hart understands that medicinal herbs are the sensations that primitive people possessed when they were discovered from the glaciers of Earth thousands of years ago. Hart believes that medicines are far more effective than herbal remedies. In the first place, it is unclear whether medicinal herbs grown in the environment of the planet Diros will exert the same effect as on Earth. However, what they are looking for is not profits, but a tour to experience the life of a shepherd. Hart reconsidered that all of the old-fashioned experiences would serve the purpose. Hart, who handed over the data received from Philine to the territorial government of the Marquis of Amakawa, developed a rough plan and informed the Nomad representatives of the plan. If he were to build a multi-layered sheep farm underground and have them as managers, can they be instructors on an experience tour? As expected, the nomads immediately agreed. ¡°Yes?¡± Hart, who was supposed to be looking for a positive answer, was rather worried. ¡°It was an immediate answer, but is it really okay?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re used to dealing with sheep, and we got sheep from the lord. Oh, was it the Sovereign of the country?¡± ¡°The sheep were distributed a little over a year ago, so it was His Majesty, the Former Sovereign.¡± ¡°But well, the former Sovereign has retired, and if the Lord¡¯s wife is the Princess, it means that the family has taken over the estate.¡± It was the Monarchy government who gave the Nomads sheep. The Monarchy, who did not know how many sheep the nomads needed to live, asked the Nomads what they needed. Nomads then said that an average household of five could manage 300 sheep. In addition, there was also a detailed request for 90% of the sheep to be female. If 20 million nomads, or 4 million families, are given 300 sheep each, the total number of sheep will be 1.2 billion. Moreover, because it was designated as a male and female, the Monarchy mass-produced cloned sheep adjusted to prevent genetic diseases in order to arrange a huge amount of sheep. Although the Nomads requested sheepdogs, which could not be arranged, androids were mass-produced and given to each family, two per family, to handle everything from sheep management to administrative procedures. This has the main purpose of suppressing the former Coalition people in the event of an emergency. In addition, in order to get their lives on track, they received non-cashable electronic money. The total amount of support for 300 sheep, android, and e-commerce is 20 million Rhodes per family, and 30 trillion Rhodes for 4 million families. The 80 trillion Rhodes that supported them is funded by the technology and resources that the ruined former Coalition has stored. The Coalition, whose diplomatic relations had been cut off, was an interstellar nation on an equal footing in scale and technology, so the national power of the annexing Monarchy was doubled. The highly redeemable technology and resources alone are sufficient to raise support funds. Therefore, there is no expenditure from the Monarchy government or the Marquis of Amakawa. However, Hart thought that the primitive people could not understand more than half of the flow of funds and the details of the aristocracy system even if he explained to them, and nodded his head pretending to agree with them. ¡°Sheep are a fortune for us. If they give you as much as you want, it¡¯s much better than the Coalition government that just takes taxes.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re following my policy. Well, that¡¯s fine.¡± Thus, with the cooperation of Nomads, who had a positive attitude toward the Marquis of Amakawa, a multi-level sheep farm with added value was created under the territory. The Monarchy is accustomed to building underground shelters necessary for war, and has also built water storage and purification to support urban functions underground. Thanks to the accumulated technology, the vast, multi-tiered geofront was built in a short period of only one month. A vast prairie stretching to the far horizon and a cool stream with a water level where sheep can cross. The sky has a clear blue sky color, and artificial light illuminates it moderately. The vast underground space is lined with houses where shepherds can live, as well as brand new pastures, sheep houses and all the other facilities necessary for herding that were listed by Philine. In order to prevent epidemics from spreading, each level was divided into four sections, and each section was divided into 12 plots with each season shifted by one month. One plot is expected to accommodate 1 million people, 200,000 families and 60 million sheep, which is 48 million people, but that is a large margin. A ten-fold increase in population will not lead to a shortage of space or resources. Thus, primitive man and flock of sheep who were roaming Hart¡¯s territory moved to the new land. ¡°Thank you for preparing new houses, facilities, and even a large plot of land.¡± The Nomad representative, who monopolized the vast grasslands, smiled with satisfaction while showing his white teeth. Life without having to be reserved for the Royal people must be liberating for the former Coalition people. Hart, who is still flocked by sheep, would be very grateful if this behavior was limited to the Geofront. ¡°I¡¯m glad you are satisfied. Then, let me check your life experience tour. In August, was it the final season for cheese making?¡± ¡°The sheep are milked until August.¡± The milking time of sheep was born from the combination of natural providence and human circumstances. In order for Nomads to gather and move flocks of sheep, it is difficult for sheep to be born regardless of the season. Therefore, it is necessary to unify the birth period, but the optimal delivery time is around winter. If born around that time, lambs will be able to start grazing in March, when the grass begins to grow. Under these circumstances, Nomads breed sheep around September to make them pregnant, give birth in winter, breastfeed, separate mothers and children in spring to milk, creating a rhythm of life in which grazing and milking continues in the summer. For this reason, the sheep were milked from the beginning of March to the end of August. ¡°Newborn lambs can be crushed by other sheep when they are in a flock with their parents, so we¡¯ll sort them out separately and take them to their mother sheep only at the time of breastfeeding.¡± Since the lamb is still in danger even two weeks after birth, they are placed in the pasture of the parent sheep or the double pasture in the stone enclosure, and people help breastfeeding for a while. That¡¯s why a herd of about 300 is the limit that can be managed by a single family. The newborn sheep begin to eat grass in about a month, and in about four months they are about 60% the size of the mother sheep and completely weaned. At that point, Nomads will be able to follow them as they move around the territory. Hart was surprised to learn that the sheep were being assisted not by machines, but by humans. Such a rare life experience for the Royal people would certainly have added value. ¡°In the hierarchy from January to March, can we use the hands-on tour to take care of the lambs?¡± ¡°I guess so. But, after all, the main thing is cheese making, isn¡¯t it?¡± Nomads turn milked milk into yogurt. First, the milk is heated over the fire, and when the temperature drops to human skin temperature, yogurt is added to stimulate lactic acid fermentation. The milk is then covered with a thick cloth and left for 6 hours to produce a large amount of yogurt. This yogurt can also be used for daily meals. Next, put the yogurt in a leather bag made of sheep¡¯s skin with a little water, and tender it. The lump becomes butter and is obtained by straining it with a cloth. If the yogurt is left hanging from a well and shaken for about three hours, small lumps will form and the liquid will become buttermilk. It was hard to keep shaking for three hours, so it seemed that the part was done using a machine. ¡°Do you use a machine, too?¡± ¡°Of course we do. The energy is stellar photovoltaic, but is manual work better for the experience tour?¡± ¡°No, a handy machine would be fine. Just make sure the tour instructors have their terminals and androids with them so they can verbally explain how to make the machine.¡± ¡°All right. But we¡¯ll just tell Androids what to do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. The government will follow up on the details.¡± When buttermilk is heated, it hardens quickly because of its high acidity. It is put in a cloth bag, dehydrated, salt is added, shape is adjusted, and it is dried by sun drying to become cheese. Even non-aged cheeses have a shelf life of several years. Butter is also kept for several years by putting it in a pan and heating it to increase its purity. The product made in this way is called ¡°ghee (butter oil)¡±, and is a valuable preserved food for nomadic people. In addition, by eating mutton, primitive man stabilized his diet. ¡°The April to August experience tour is good for cheese making, so it¡¯s decided from January to August. So, after September, is there anything in store?¡± ¡°September is for breeding, but are you sure you want to let the families experience it?¡± When asked, Hart thought that while it was a part of the human life of raising livestock, it was not within the scope of a communal experience for parents and children who came on vacation with a light heart. ¡°No, you¡¯ll be busy in September. How about it after October?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a traditional event. It¡¯s marriage negotiations.¡± Hart was very interested in the words uttered by nomadic representatives. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°We live together as a family, with people and sheep as property. The man who welcomes his wife takes one from the house where she was raised, so instead he gives a sheep to the house that raised his wife. It is a tradition that has been handed down from generation to generation. It is like a bargaining chip for a betrothal gift.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the bargain?¡± ¡°The relatives negotiate how much sheep they will give to the family of the man¡¯s wife-to-be.¡± The word misogyny passed through Hart¡¯s mind. The betrothal gift is one of the traditions that took place in japan, where Hart has roots, in which the groom hands over cash to the bride¡¯s house. And in the case of nomadic people, it is said that the groom¡¯s side gives a sheep to the bride¡¯s side¡¯s house. Hart was at a loss to decide whether it was right to take away the tradition from the Nomads, denying it as discrimination against women. Women who become pregnant and give birth are unable to work for a certain period of time. The betrothal gift and transfer of sheep are acts of proving that the marriage will not ruin their lives by showing that the man has the capacity to support the wife who cannot work and the newborn, which might be necessary for the Nomads in Hart¡¯s territory. The fact that tradition was born and has been passed down for many years has some meaning. Hart urged the story to continue, avoiding blunt denials. ¡°Tell me what kind of negotiations you¡¯re going to have.¡± ¡°That¡¯s like deciding on insurance premiums. The market price is only 50 sheep ¡­¡± A Nomad representative explains to Hart, who tilted his head. The herd of sheep managed by nomadic houses is about 300, of which 90%, or about 270, are female. If 100 female sheep born a year ago are omitted from the birth schedule, 170 female sheep can be born annually. Assuming that 100 of them will give birth to lambs, if the deaths of twins and babies are subtracted, about 100 sheep will be born in one year. In other words, a house that keeps a limit of sheep can dispose of 100 old sheep in a year. When welcoming a full wife, the 50 sheep they give to the bride¡¯s house are about half of the sheep that a typical nomadic family can consume in a year. ¡°In other words, a house that can give 30 sheep can manage sheep properly and make a stable living. On the contrary, a house that cannot, is a house cannot welcome a wife.¡± Nodding to Hart, the Nomad explained the negotiations. The number of sheep to be given varies depending on the number of relatives and relationships on the wife¡¯s side. Relatives come out because they are like commissions to join a mutual aid association via kinship. Sheep, living creatures, can be accommodated if they have a connection with their relatives when the disease spreads and they have to be disposed of, or when a disaster occurs and they suffer losses. Hart was convinced by the meaning of insurance when he was told that it was like depositing a part of the sheep for that purpose. In short, it is a kind of insurance system which borrows the name of the tradition. In the marriage negotiations, the father of the bride and groom and the male relatives negotiate with each other about the number of domestic animals that the groom will pay, asking such questions as, ¡°Do you want to pay the sheep to the one who raised the daughter who will be your wife?¡± and, conversely, ¡°Do you want your daughter to starve to death?¡±. However, since they become relatives, they both know not to overdo it, and the negotiations are a kind of game. If it is known in advance that a wife will be welcomed in the first place, it will be possible to increase the number of animals to be sown while reducing the number of animals to dispose of. If the groom¡¯s side has a good plan, he will not fall into a situation where he will have a hard time making a living. Hart, who was told that it was also meant to show that the man and the family were capable of planning, was very convinced about the meaning of the tradition. ¡°The tradition is stipulated by the Ordinance of the Marquis of Amakawa. Please incorporate it into your experience tour.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The culture and traditions that have continued have a certain meaning and value. The nomadic man told Hart, who had changed his mind. ¡°By the way, the lord gave us 1.2 billion sheep, so it¡¯s okay to offer our nomadic daughters. Would you like to choose some?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ No, that¡¯s fine.¡± Intercultural communication with primitive people comes with some difficulties. Hart was reminded of this, but in fact the Monarchy aristocracy does something similar. Humanity may not have made much progress at its fundamental level. Thinking that way, Hart exhaled a deep sigh. Thus, a large amount of sheep came to be kept in the underground of the Marquis of Amakawa by the hands of the primitive people. The End CH 1 ¡°Keep in mind, this is not an interrogation. Of course, you understand, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I know. Principal.¡± The principal, who has Western roots, made his case with exaggerated gestures. On the other hand, Hart, a 15-year-old boy with Japanese roots, nodded back obediently. Even if there was no choice in this interrogation, even if the police regiment is here from the military, it¡¯s not an interrogation for now, as no violence will be committed so long as he obediently responds. Hart is a third-year middle school student at the Royal Magic Academy in Diros, the Capital planet of the Monarchy of Diete. And this middle school was also one of the settings of the maiden game, ¡®The Galactic Prince¡¯. In the game¡¯s story, it was an important place for the heroine to establish a network of connections while also determining her general abilities before moving on to high school. In addition, based on the detailed knowledge of the play through, which he had gained for some reason, Hart in the story should have a supporting role, a mob character whose name is not even mentioned. That changed completely when the conspiracy of the Duke¡¯s family, the household of the villainess, was destroyed. The villainess, Digitalis Takrham, is the Duke¡¯s granddaughter. It¡¯s a great aristocracy with only five families in the Diete Monarchy, which has a population of 40 billion. The Duke of Takrham¡¯s family installed ¡®a device that absorbs 10% of the magic power of all students and allows it to be accumulated to their own daughter when the magic power value is anchored¡¯ by smuggling it in with various items donated to the school last year. The Duke of Takrham¡¯s goal was to gain a thousand years of prosperity by marrying off his granddaughter to the Crown Prince¡¯s son, who as the Sovereign¡¯s grandson was the foundation for a very long term of power. The current life span is 100 years, and those who can use expensive aging stagnation technology can live up to 150 years. Moreover, technology is advancing from generation to generation, and it is believed that while the grandfather generation was 150 years, the parent generation is 200 years, and the child generation will be 300 years. In other words, the prosperity of 1,000 years is as good as promised if the granddaughter is married to the grandson of the Sovereign. To that end, the Duke of Takrham tried to gather the 10% of the magic he had taken from the third-year middle school students at the Magic Academy last year. Knowing of it as if he had seen it in a precognitive dream, and based on his knowledge of the maiden game, Hart sneaked onto the scene on the day when a hole opened in the security, entered the master code, and used the device himself, throwing the wheels of the storyline off its rails. Of course, it wasn¡¯t immediately discovered, but because Hart showed an abnormal reading on the day of Magic Anchoring, this interview was being conducted first. ¡°Then let me ask you. What the hell, you read at 90,000 magic power value? That¡¯s an impossible figure.¡± In the past, Earthlings defined the mass and energy of the entire universe into three categories. The first, ¡°Normal Matter¡± 4.9%¡£ This was all the matter that could be recognized at the time. The second, ¡°Dark Matter¡± 26.8%¡£Long ago, only mass was observable. The third, ¡°Dark Energy¡± 68.3%¡£ It was only a theoretical existence. The third one, Dark Energy is now referred to as the ¡°Magic Element¡± in 3737 A.D., and the power used to handle it is called ¡°Magic Power ¡°. In 2487 AD, the practical application of hyper navigation type warps that did not cause the UrashimaTime Dialation effect using dark energy was successful, and thus the value of magic power jumped explosively. Ten light years took only one year each way, and humanity began to expand beyond the solar system, with only one in 10,000 people possessing magic power as ship captains. In 2521 A.D., mankind survived for the first time in a star system outside the solar system. In 2754 A.D., humanity settled in the Hercules star system, 120 light-years away. In 2823 A.D., settled in Diros, the main planet of the Diete star system, 180 light-years away. In 2928 A.D., settled in Nephthys, the main planet of the Frodi star system, 240 light-years away. In 2992, settled on the main planet Fynn of the Myrna star system, 270 light-years away. However, with the economic domination of Earth, each stellar system, that was a substantial colony, was burdened. In 3167 A.D., the Diete government rejected the Earth¡¯s demands and was subsequently sent a punitive fleet to punish its leaders. After that, humanity¡¯s first interstellar war broke out, with Earth in a state of extreme deterioration. In 3282 A.D., the Diete side dropped a giant meteorite on Earth, ending the war. In 3301 A.D., the returning troops, of which only 10% of their ships survived, reported their war results, and from that year on, the Dietes abolished the Christian era calendar and changed it to the 1st year of the Diete calendar, achieving independence from Earth as the Monarchy of Diete. At about the same time, the Frodi star system also declared its independence as a neutral state. But the stellar systems Hercules and Myrna were taken over by the Coalition of Humanity, who had fled from the devastation of Earth. Since then, the Diete Monarchy has made the Human Coalition a hypothetical enemy, expanding its resident star system and devising various countermeasures. One such countermeasure was to protect precious bloodlines by granting status based on magic power possessed to those who have achieved independence from Earth by dealing with Dark Energy. Magic was provided by a set ¡°reference value¡±, and the statuses could be divided on a scale of 1 to 14. Specifically, 2-3 were Knights, 4-8 were Baronets, 9 were Barons, 10 were Viscounts, 11 were Counts, 12 were Marquises, 13 were Dukes, and 14 were Royalty. The magic power value can be indicated by [(Reference Value)3 x 10]. In other words, for a knight with a reference value of 2, magic power value would be 80 (2¡Á 2¡Á2¡Á10=80). As a knight with a reference value of 4, magic power value would be 640 (4¡Á4¡Á4¡Á10 = 640). Therefore, the magic power value of a knight with a reference value of 2 to 3 is between 80 and 640. Magic power value of 640 is enough to move a spaceship of less than 640 meters length. In case of an emergency, a suicide attack order against Earth could be decided. This will guarantee peerage in exchange. Hart, who was being interviewed, is a student of the Magic Academy Middle School, attended by children of the aristocracy, who are among the 1,500 families of the Monarchy of Diete. Hart¡¯s father is the second son of a Baron family, and his mother is the eldest daughter of a Baron family. In order to become the head of a Baron family, a reference value of 9 and magic power value of 7290 or higher were required, and Hart¡¯s magic power was measured at 8,140, which was appropriate for the lineage of the Baron family. Then, at the end of the first semester of the third year of the middle school, when the magic power generally reached the maximum value, the magic power value was anchored, a process to immobilize magic power to prevent it from decreasing with age. His was anchored with magic power value of 91,150, more than 10 times the previous value for some reason. This was overwhelmingly higher than the magic power of Sovereign¡¯s Grandchild, which is chanted as the highest peak in the State. It was clearly an outlier, so it was not unreasonable that the Military Police would come. ¡°I had high level of magical power to begin with. This time, I got a magic power value of 91,150, but I thought it might be about that.¡± The interview is being conducted by adults who are unaware of the Duke of Takrham¡¯s plot. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a Duke Family, if it was discovered that they extracted 10% of the magic power from the children of 100 aristocratic households was taken, the entire clan will be subject to execution. Therefore, only a few people know of the situation, and the evidence has already been destroyed. Even if you try to expose the crime like in the main story, it was now impossible because no evidence has been gathered. Therefore, Hart gave the most plausible excuse. ¡°You should possess the magic power required of a Baron Head.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve hidden my high magic power up to now.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± A sharply questioning tone was uttered. ¡°The principal is aware that Miss Digitalis Takrham has been using her family name to brutality bully her classmates. Boltzmann, Miss Olson, Miss Dolores, Miss Cohen. They were either driven to suicide or forced to transfer. Do you need another explanation from the students in our class as to what exactly was done?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± The principal, who received a sharp gaze from the military police, remained silent with a stern expression. Basically, the principal is the type who is wound up by powerful people. After all, the other party is one of the only five Duchies in the Monarchy. This is a world where the strong feast on the weak, so if the damage is limited to a very small few the principal will look the other way. Of course, if the heroine can accumulate evidence on her own, she could sway the children of the royal family and senior aristocrats who are capable of opposing the Duke of Takrham, and possibly deliver judgment on the side of justice. However, without a feasible authority countering them, the matter will be hushed up and brought to an end, like they did before. ¡°For that reason, those of us in our grade who are of Viscount families and lower have made great or small efforts to avoid being noticed by Miss Digitalis. My family is also a branch household, at the level of a Knighthood. Therefore, being the final exam, I was finally able to reveal my true magic power value.¡± On the other side, as Hart explained, the principal was being glared at by the Military Police from both sides. Thus, Hart¡¯s point was made and he was released without further ado. Afterwards, the military police didn¡¯t come to independently look into the situation, suggesting that Miss Digitalis was not pursued again. Though he casually tipped them off, it was not enough for them to pursue the matter because the event was not ripe enough. Although the Duke family was the mastermind, it was unexpected that someone else would use the device without permission. Hart, who should have no information on it, can¡¯t possibly do that. Even if the heroine had interfered, the fact that the device did not work in the first place suggests that it would not last for a year if the magic stone was filled with 100 people¡¯s worth of magic power. The villainess¡¯ role as the Last Boss has been avoided, but since the heroine has not obtained her magic power, it is unknown what kind of impact it will have in the future. In the first place, Hart had just recognized his dream as a reality. ¡°Or more precisely, I don¡¯t want to go on to High School.¡± The progression from middle school to high school is an escalator system. However, if he goes on to high school with the villainess, he may be the target of harassment instead of the heroine because of his high magic power value. Also, as a man, there is no way the prince or the son of the prime minister would protect Hart. After reconsidering his career path, he decided to escape from the muddy maiden game setting and enroll in a Military Academy where even the Duke¡¯s family could not reach him. CH 2 Year 438 of Diete History. After changing careers six months ago, Hart successfully enrolled at the Military Academy. The Military Academy is a four-year system with a recruitment capacity of 40,000 students. Most students enroll after graduating from high school. However, about 5-10% of the students belonging to the Commandant¡¯s Department are exceptions. The Royal Army has allowed middle school graduates to skip the three-year course in order to secure a large number of individuals whose magical power is anchored at a reference value of 4 or higher. The Heavy Battleship department with a reference value of 7 has a recruitment capacity of 300 people. In the future, they will be captains of battleships or cruisers. The Carrier Ship department with a reference value of 6 has a recruitment capacity of 300 people. In the future, they will be captains of regular or light aircraft carriers. The Battlecruiser department with a reference value of 5 has a recruitment capacity of 2,400 people. In the future, they will be captains of destroyers or gunships. The Auxiliary Ship department with a reference value of 4 has a recruitment capacity of 1,000 people. In the future, they will be captains of escort ships, reconnaissance ships, transport ships, craft ships, etc. Among these, the departments with a reference value criterion of 5 or higher can also serve as field officer¡¯s education. In the first place, without magical power, the ship¡¯s magical engine, which uses the inexhaustible dark energy in the universe, that is magical element, cannot be operated Hyper-navigational warps, which are the one and only means of interstellar travel, the Mass Wave AgglomerationEnergy Laser bombardment, the Protective MembraneShield that protects ships from cosmic radiation and dust and the Multidimensional Magic ConversRadar cannot be generated without magic. The current Monarchy of Diete has expanded its territory to six star systems. At present, magic power cannot be artificially generated, and it is not possible to synchronize the magic power of multiple people with the magic element engine, so there was a public-private sector conflict for individuals with high magic power values. Then, the Diete Monarchy¡¯s Army is buying up young prospects. The advantage of the Military Academy is that from the time they were students, they were treated as cadets, so there was no tuition or living expenses, and they received a monthly allowance of 100,000 + magic power x 200. With 800 magical powers, a sum of 260,000 Rhodes will be provided for 100,000 + 160,000 per month, so there are quite a few children who come in for that. Thanks to that, the applicant-to-acceptance ratio of the Military Academy, even for the Commandant Department, is not low at all. However, when Hart, who had about 90,000 magic power value, volunteered, the Royal Army¡¯s examiners were in a frenzy. If Hart joins the army, the Royal Army will be able to move the First-class Fortified ships or even the Mobile Fortress itself between the stars. Thanks to that, ¡°Try to do a few push-ups¡± and ¡°Take off your clothes and show how healthy you are¡± that are common in the military did not occur at all, or rather he received a free pass. It should be noted that, very rarely at the Military Academy do four classmates from middle school meet each other. ¡°How come Takamiya and Listner are in the Heavy Battleship department of the Military Academy?¡± Hart cast a question mark on Yuna Takamiya, the heroine of the maiden game ¡®The Galactic Prince¡¯, and her best friend Colette Listner. The heroine was to enter the highschool of the Academy of Magic, where she would interact with various other parties such as His Royal Highness the Sovereigns Grandson, the sons of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Magic, the son of the distinguished Proprietor of a Huge Business Conglomerate, the great magic power value holder who emerged from a marquis family, and the Academy teachers and so on¡­. that was the schedule. And, the best friend is a supporting role of the heroine. ¡°Why can¡¯t I be there?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that you couldn¡¯t.¡± If you come to the military academy with a male rate of 99%, there is no doubt that you will be in a reverse harem state. But here, there are no Royal grandchildren, no rich sons, no gloomy magic power holders, no hateful villainesses and their cronies. 99% of the surroundings are muscles. Wouldn¡¯t you find the demand for such a Maiden Game to be questionable? ¡°Takamiya is the daughter of a Baron. And Listner is the daughter of the Viscount, so the Military Academy wouldn¡¯t suit you.¡± ¡°My brother will succeed the family estate, so too bad for you.¡± Usually, those whose family can earn a place within the quota of 100 students per grade in the Middle School of the Magic Academy do not flow into the harsh and strict Military Academy. Of course, aristocrats are obligated to operate the magic engine of military ships during wartime. But as long as you meet that, you don¡¯t have to be a part of the Military. In addition, those who have high magic value in middle school would also aim to be within the 300 students per grade quota of the first year expansion in the High School division of the Magic Academy. If you do so, you may become the spouse of a nobleman, and even if you do not, you will be able to make good connections and secure a future. Therefore, only Baronets who could not enter the Academy of Magic come to the Military Academy. This year¡¯s examiners must have been baffled by the regurgitation of four students from the School of Magic. ¡±Is it because of Digitalis?¡± What Hart came up with was not knowledge of the maiden game, but Digitalis, the daughter of the Duke of Takrham, who had been raging since the magic power anchoring took place. Magic power value greatly influences one¡¯s future life. After all, the magic power of the parent is adapted and partly passed on to the child. Moreover, at the time of childbirth, the mother gives 10% of her magic power to the child, so they cannot give birth to many children in hopes of drawing a win someday. Therefore, each aristocrat wants a spouse to have a higher magic power value in order to maintain their peerage. In other words, the reason why life is affected by magic power is that the marriage partner changes depending on the magic power. The villainess, Digitalis, would have had a huge figure of 97,980 magic power value if she had been able to acquire the magic that Hart had pilfered. However, her result was a magic power value of 17,980, which was just enough to serve as a Marquis. Also, each person¡¯s magic value is announced as a ranking. With this, it is impossible to marry into the royal family, and it is not possible to become the legal wife of a duke family, who is on equal footing with her parents¡¯ house. In addition, the Marquis family, which is similar to the Duke family, will almost certainly avoid it because it is not worth the disadvantage of having a concubine and making insurance if the wife is a daughter of a Duke with delicate magic power. In other words, Digitalis¡¯s marriage partner would have to come from a Count family or lesser. Thanks to that, The Digitalis had it rough in the latter half of the third year of middle school. On the other hand, the magic power value of the heroine, Yuna, is 26,138, almost in the same range as the royal family. After all, in her case, while her mother is merely from a Baron Household, her unidentified father, who will be revealed sooner or later, is the third prince. The magic power value of the heroine¡¯s best friend, Colette, is 22,050, near the Duke¡¯s standard. Depending on how the story unfolds, Yuna marries her cousin, the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, and Colette marries his confidant, a Duke¡¯s son. Both of them far exceeded the magic power value of Digitalis with the legitimate results. There were other girls who outperformed Digitalis, but in any case, Yuna who ranks first among the girls, and Colette, who ranks third, were the new targets of bullying. Thinking about it, the harassment of Digitalis began in the latter half of the third year. ¡°Mr. Hart, you¡¯re too straightforward.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, Hart seems unable to express himself like an aristocrat. Your guess is as good as mine, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m convinced.¡± Hart himself, who surpassed the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, had declared that he would proceed to the military academy after graduating from middle school, so he escaped from Digitalis venting her anger on him. In the past, the Diete government recognized a loose system of aristocracy aimed at protecting magical powers of those who achieved independence at great cost from the Earthlings who once ruled them, and who have promised to oppose them in the future. Anyone who unjustly harms those who volunteer to fight the Coalition of Humanity, who claim to be the heirs to the Earth, will be convicted as an enemy hostile, no matter if they¡¯re the daughter of a Duke. The heroine and her best friend, who saw how Hart dealt with the situation, chose the military academy as a safe zone. That was a moment when the story of the maiden game completely collapsed. By the way, Yuna changed her brown hair from long straight hair to bob haircut when she entered the military academy. Although the military academy gives some consideration to the children of the aristocracy, the heroine, who is only ¡®Daughter of a baron¡¯s daughter¡¯ is treated almost as a quasi-aristocrat, so even her hairstyle has collapsed. However, Colette, whose parent is a viscount, is the daughter of a Viscount, and with that privilege maintains her long hair mixed with gold and green. Here is the ultimate betrayal by the best friend character. ¡°I wonder if the high school is coming into a dark age by now with the Digitalis Rampage and The Sovereign¡¯s Grandchild being disappointed by the lack of consort candidates in his school grade.¡± ¡°Oh, there were a couple of girls with high magic power between me and her.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they the new targets of her bullying?¡± ¡°I wonder if that person will ever be condemned.¡± Hart swallowed his words, ¡°You¡¯re supposed to do your best to condemn her.¡± Of the two potential targets for Digitalis¡¯ new attack, one has a masculine personality, and if harassed, it will be a decisive head-to-head battle involving teachers making the right decision. The other is a Count¡¯s granddaughter, whose older brother will be the student council president of the high school, so if she attacks carelessly, evidence will be gathered, and eventually she will receive a major counterattack in front of all the Magic Academy students. Depending on the story route, they are both strong-minded girls who side with the heroine. Of course, it is unfavorable to go against the Duke¡¯s family, so it will be a struggle for a while. Incidentally, there is another reason for the struggle. ¡°The daughter of Marquis Carneus, who was able to suppress Digitalis, also came here.¡± Depending on the story route, Philine Carneus becomes the heroine¡¯s rival. She is the granddaughter of the Marquis Carneus, a senior aristocrat, but in addition she has special circumstances. ¡°You can call me Leene, if you want, Hiragi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the second son of a ¡®Baron¡¯s second son¡¯ and ¡®the Eldest Daughter of the Baron¡¯, and I¡¯m barely of aristocratic descent, but almost certainly in a position to fall into a quasi-aristocrat.¡± ¡°If so, it¡¯ll be fine if you become the spouse of a Marquis.¡± Perhaps because of the precognitive dream, the feeling of affinity and the likability to the heroine were high. The rival character¡¯s rivalry event was progressing, leaving the heroine behind. CH 3 The Military Academy is a four-year program and graduates are treated as University graduates. The majority of cadets enter the academy after graduating from High School, so even if they graduate from the Military Academy, they will be treated as university graduates. However, since there are many Middle School students in the Commandant Department, it is possible to skip three years. It is very questionable how much of an advantage a three-year skip will have in a 300-year lifespan, but it is worthwhile to be perceived as an excellent human resource that has been able to skip three years. However, the military academy is a most demanding place where enrollment decreases by about 40% at the time of graduation. As a member of the Diete Military, there are many people who drop out because they are required to learn various liberal arts, military training, various laws, thorough officer education, and some specialized fields. However, in the Commandant Department, the higher the magic power value, the more compensation based on performance. So those who are honest with their instructors and have high magic power rarely drop out. Thanks to that, Hart finished the first semester of the year without a hitch, and was able to enter the second semester. This simulation exercise is a Meteorite Swarm RaidMeteosquall operation against the Earth, who treat the Dietes as semi-slaves. For those whose families have been semi-enslaved, it doesn¡¯t matter that Earth is the origin of humanity. ¡°Confirm Warp Out¡± In outer space, where the stars look far more beautiful than looking up at the night sky, a transport ship appeared. The observation begins immediately, and the navigation officer reads out the result displayed on the sub-screen one after another. ¡°Distance to the Sun, 0.0007875 light-years, 7,449.75 million km. Within solar range. About 8 hours to reach Earth. Approximately 1.71 times the distance from Earth to Neptune.¡± ¡°Strike Force III in warp out into the surrounding sector. Error is 400 million km. The closest battleship in the vicinity is the A301, 24.1 million km. The closest carrier ship from A301 is B301, 17.1 million km. Light carrier ship is D302, 14.5 million km¡± Hyper-navigation warps use magic to perform a short-cut movement through high-dimensional space. For this, it is essential to measure whether there are no obstacles such as dark matter on the path of high-dimensional space, calculate detours, and confirm in advance to deploy the shield in a timely manner. Failure to do so will damage the shield that protects the ship in high-dimensional space and swallow it into a high-energy turbulence. Therefore, it is impossible to perform a warp without measurement, and each ship cannot move to a single location at the same time, avoiding the path calculated based on coordinates and the captain¡¯s magic power. How to derive the optimum solution and the amount of magic power compared to a boarded ship will result in reducing the error margin and warping out to the target location. ¡°Well, it¡¯s within the acceptable limits.¡± This operation is a reenactment of the Diete War of Independence that broke out in 3482 AD. At that time, despite launching a surprise attack with all their might, the Earth¡¯s military had four times as many forces. At present, their presence is known to nearby observation satellites. Of course, emergency alerts are issued at the speed of light, so in seven hours, the Earth¡¯s military will begin an emergency sortie. If they do not hurry, Earth¡¯s defense capabilities will rapidly increase. The failure of this operation is the deterioration from a semi-slave state to full slavery. They must absolutely drop the celestial bodies to Earth and deprive Earth of its ability to control the planet Diete. Among the battleships to be launched this time, the Commander-class Heavy Battleship and Captain-class Carrier Ships are captained by third year cadets, Major-class Battlecruisers are captained by second year cadets, and Captain-class Raid Ships are captained by first-year Cadets. The same cadets are also leading the opposing Earth-side vessels, bringing the number of ships in both forces to a total of 7,000. In addition, cadets from the Non-Commandant department in charge of the defensive fortifications, training school students of Battlecruisers and suppression ships are also participating as ship¡¯s crew, making it an extremely large-scale joint exercise. Hart, in the role of Captain Hiragi, the captain of the Independent Diet government forces, immediately gave out instructions. ¡°Assume the ship to be incorporated under the command of A301, we will commence operational action immediately. Search for a towable celestial body in the vicinity. As soon as we find it, we start moving.¡± ¡°Copy that. Begin mass observation.¡± A celestial body to be dropped to Earth is not simply a matter of size. In order to hold it on the bottom of the Raid ship and drop it on the Earth while protecting it from the Earth Military¡¯s interception laser with the ship¡¯s shield, it must be large enough to hold. ¡°Suitable celestial body has been selected. Start moving.¡± ¡°Work crew, begin preparation for celestial body installation.¡± ¡°Copy that. Work crew deploying the Android corps to begin preparations of celestial body installation for Earth entry.¡± ¡°Battleship A301 has forwarded formation orders.¡± At the battle command post of the Raid ship where Hart is, orders arrived from the closest battleship. Knowing that each ship would be misaligned at warp out, it was planned for the formation to be reorganized. The squadron to which Hart belongs seems to consist of 55 Battlecruisers and 31 Raid ships. When looking at one of the sub-screens, the Raid ships had most of the ships with their classmates on board. It is presumed that the classmates who were out of the formation and those who got mixed in from other positions had unstable magic power output and thereby became less coordinated. The demon instructors decided on supplementary training for them. ¡°Reply to A301, orders accepted. From now on, this ship will be under the control of A301.¡± ¡°Roger. Returning acceptance signal to battleship A115.¡± ¡°From the carrier ship B301, launch of mounted Battlecruiser confirmed. Next, from the light carrier D302, launch of space suppression craft squadron confirmed. With two vessels onboard to support all the Raid ships.¡± 40 Battlecruisers with a total length of 120 meters flew out of the Carrier ship, and 80 large humanoid weapons with a total length of 40 meters flew out from the light carrier ship. The Battlecruisers transport the suppression ship, and the suppression ships attach the celestial body to the Raid ships. Hart immediately issued an instruction to accept. ¡°Begin Preparation to receive the suppressor¡± ¡°Copy that, work crews, support operation for space suppression ships.¡± ¡°Battlecruisers, approaching our ship.¡± ¡°Android Squad, up and running¡± At the time of the War of Independence, the military already had a large number of androids in operation. Although military-grade androids are expensive, unlike humans, they do not need to be trained as recruits, so they can be replenished and the combat strength of each ship can be maintained at a certain level. For example, androids and drones do all tasks that require accuracy, such as route calculation during warp, energy laser bombardment using magic, and generating shields to protect ships from cosmic radiation and dust. So what humans do is making decisions and giving orders. By intervening with the human brain, androids and drones are controlled so that they cannot hi-jack functions or take incorrect actions due to misinterpretation. Therefore, the ship¡¯s crew is not needed in large numbers. The military has been cutting back on personnel costs and spending more on high-performance weapons, deployment of military androids and drones, securing magic power holders, and aging stagnation treatment costs. With a total population of 40 billion, the Monarchy of Diete still has only 40 million military personnel, the rest being androids. Androids are excellent, and nowadays, they are widely used in civilian households. They can take on a considerable amount of human burdens, mainly responsible for household chores and material purchases, household income adjustment, child care, and nursing care, etc. Such civilian androids are treated as an extension of home appliances. There is no function for them to act as substitutes for human workforce, so you can¡¯t end up NEET. From an employer¡¯s perspective, it¡¯s better to buy them yourself than through a third party. It can be said that the maiden game is more severe than the men¡¯s game in that area. While Hart was having such delusions, his orders were completed, and the task of installing celestial bodies proceeded. ¡°Incoming Transmission from the fleet flagship. Orders to simultaneously advance and assemble received. All Raid ships, installation operation completed¡± ¡°Return order acceptance signal. From this point on, Meteorite Swarm RaidMeteosquall operation to Earth will launch. Return Battlecruisers to the mothership.¡± ¡°Copy that, commencing Raid operation. The Battlecruisers have withdrawn to the mothership.¡± The squadron has begun to move. The speed is about 70% of the maximum ship speed, and it seems to be waiting for Strike Force III, which is delayed. The third-year students of the heavy battleship and carrier ship, who are in command, are now relieved because the squadron¡¯s celestial body mounting efforts have not been delayed. This is also a credit to their evaluation. When Hart turned his attention to the squadron¡¯s deployment, the sub-screen sparsely displayed his classmates¡¯ Raid ships. Hart¡¯s Raid ship is J301, followed by Yuna with J302, Philine with J303, and Colette with J304 in order of magic power value. Basically, it is impossible for a highly magical aristocrat who attends the magic academy to come to a military academy without looking for a marriage partner. Each of them held considerably large celestial bodies, and was pushing toward the Earth. Then, Hart suddenly had an epiphany, and ordered a slight formation change. ¡°At 80% ship speed, move the ship about 2 million km backwards from the midpoint between the J302 and the flagship. The goal is to have the Raid ship solidify and reduce the effort of the battlecruiser escorting it.¡± ¡°Copy that. Begin the move.¡± What Hart came up with is the heroine correction for the maiden game. It¡¯s the hard mode in which people die in a flurry, but the heroine, Yuna, survives to the end. In the bad ending, the Kingdom of Diete is destroyed by the Coalition of Humanity, and she is captured for her high magic power and forced give birth to a lot of children, and even if that can be avoided, she is caught by Digitalis and suffers an even worse fate, then the ending CG fades to black. As for the content, though, he wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. What was the intention of the port¡¯s production team for that bad end? The more Hurt recalls the story, the more he feels sorry for Yuna, the more he feels a sense of companionship, or rather, sympathy, that is, a feeling that the affection point is rapidly rising. However, just because he feels sorry for her, doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t have a say in the placement of other ships. Changing the formation is a matter that Yuna herself should ultimately judge as the captain or be instructed by a third-year commander. The act of overriding authority will be recorded and subject to deduction of points. Hart silently took a look, but instead of Yuna not taking action, her best friend Colette approached Yuna¡¯s ship. The purpose is to increase safety by concentrating the escort of two ships. Hart, who is impressed at the same time, receives a report from the navigation officer. ¡°Captain, Raid ship approaching the rear¡± ¡°What¡¯s the ship¡¯s register?¡± ¡°Raid ship J303. Approaching slightly faster at 81% speed¡± Philine¡¯s Raid ship took position behind the Raid ship commanded by Hart. Seeing his use of Yuna as a wall, she tried to use Hart as a shield. ¡°Captain Carneus? You¡¯re in a good position.¡± Hart thought he had been beaten, but evasive action without justification is subject to point deductions. The ship was on a course to plunge into the Earth as is, they cannot change its position now. The expansive, umbrella-like formation gradually narrows around the flagship as if closing the umbrella. Eventually, when the cone was completed, the Earth came into view on the main monitor. In the space ahead, they could see the violent movement of artificial lights, which were not stars. ¡°Earth Ships, confirmed on Uranus orbit ahead. 53 vessels. The Confederate Forces of the Northern Continent. A halt order has been issued to our forces.¡± Hart involuntarily clicked his tongue, the response was too quick. Today, it¡¯s impossible to believe the opposite, but at that time, Earth was full of diverse nations, keeping each other in check and deploying their military in every direction of the solar system. It is likely that one such force caught sight of them. ¡°Directional Communication from flagship A301. Orders to raise ship speed to maximum received.¡± ¡°Raise ship¡¯s speed to maximum, pay attention to relative distance to other ships. Concentrate shield in front. As long as they have to stop the meteorite, they will certainly fire on us from the other side.¡± ¡°Copy that, Deploying shield.¡± ¡°Enemy forces have opened fire!¡± Suddenly, energy bombardment began, and about five unaware friendly ships exploded. By now, the crew of the ship that exploded and dropped out would be complaining a lot about the fact that the opposing cadet did not anticipate the situation. However, the nature of Earth¡¯s military varies from nation to nation. The Confederate Forces of the Northern Continent are mainly Russian troops. The speed of decisiveness is among the highest in the global nation. During this period, the Diete government was already fighting the Earth¡¯s forces on planet Diete, and was already certified as an enemy. If they feel something is strange, they could be annihilated immediately. The attacked friendly battle fleet immediately launched a counterattack. Energy bombardment is carried out, and two enemy forward ships explode at the same time. In addition, all Battlecruisers were launched at once from carrier ship B301, and began to surround the enemy fleet from above and below the galactic reference plane. Enemy artillery was also dispersed to the Battlecruisers, reducing damage to friendly ships. If the two forces intersect as they are, Diete government forces will head to Earth side, and the Northern Confederate Forces will head outside the solar system. Despite being in the middle of battle, the Northern Confederate Forces hurriedly reversed the course of their ships and tried to pursue the Diete government forces. Diete¡¯s attack was concentrated on the flank of the defenseless ship, and the enemy was dealt a blow that outweighed the damage suffered by allies in the preemptive strike. ¡°Friendly Raid ships and Suppression Ships, participating in support attacks¡± ¡°If you stand out, you will be targeted and prevented from dropping the celestial body. However, if attacked, there is no choice. Instruct the escort ships to take part in the attack.¡± ¡°Copy that. Each suppression unit given support bombardment.¡± The two suppression ships, which remained after the celestial installation operation, participated in the support bombardment. This act is a delicate one, either the evaluation is raised for giving the support to the friendly forces, or the evaluation falls for interfering with the celestial body drop due to the Raid ships being easily targeted. However, after the attack has begun, there is no other choice but to participate. In Hart¡¯s case, the ship¡¯s position is within the friendly forces, so it won¡¯t fall that much. Rather, it is Yuna and Colette who are on the outside that are targeted. ¡°Each suppression ship of friendly Raid ships, follow up and begin support bombardment¡± ¡°Part of the enemy forces, changed attack target to Raid ships¡± ¡°J302, J304, under fire from enemy destroyers.¡± Allied Raid ships begin to be bombarded one after another. Yuna¡¯s ship is desperately defending the celestial body, but a new destroyer is joining the attack and the magic engine output of the Raids ships is becoming saturated. If the maiden game heroine is a saint, will she be able to use her divine protection to safeguard allies from the demonic onslaught? Unfortunately, there were no princes or knights to come rushing to her defense, but instead Colette provided support. To his surprise, Colette discarded the celestial body attached to her ship and began to act as a shield to protect Yuna¡¯s Raid ship. ¡°Colette, are you insane?¡± The heroine¡¯s best friend character, is terrifying. If Colette were one of the cheat characters instead of a friend framework, she would have greatly raised her stock. Perhaps they couldn¡¯t see the action or they were concerned about their performance, their allies¡¯ battleships began to support Colette and Yuna. A spectacular battle between the destroyers began, and further reinforcements arrived at the expense of several ships. For Hart, who was in the proximity of Yuna and Colette¡¯s ship, he was in an extremely safe position as his allies rushed past him to reach Yuna¡¯s side. The two forces exchanged fire as they crossed Saturn¡¯s orbit into Jupiter¡¯ orbit. ¡°New warships ahead, 77 ships. The Security fleet of the People¡¯s Republic of China¡¯s military in Jupiter orbit. Confirmed battleships and Carrier ships. They are deploying to block the course of our forces.¡± ¡°Transmission from flagship A301. [Full charge to earth]. That is all.¡± This is a true indication of how important the initial formation is. As long as the maximum ship speed is reached, it is already impossible to change the ship¡¯s alignment. The destroyers that went to support Yuna and Colette, only moved diagonally at the expense of their predecessors. The formation of the squadron, which had barely been maintained, was thrown into disarray by the new Earth forces mixing with them. Yuna and Colette had a fierce engagement, and the Battlecruiser units attacked like vultures and hyenas. ¡°Allied destroyers, Raid ships, Battlecruisers, dropping one after another¡± ¡°J304, propulsion engine down, it dropped out. J302, in retreat.¡± ¡°J302, exploded.¡± A series of flashes erupted in front of the right flank. Colette, the heroine¡¯s best friend, is in the bad end, being caught by the Earth forces. And, the heroine was blown up in space. Hart shouted in his heart, ¡°Heroine, why are you dying!¡±, while holding his head. The Earth ship which destroyed them approaches the ship that was camped inside. ¡°We¡¯re in orbit around Mars. 13 minutes left to reach Earth.¡± ¡°Celestial body drop imminent. Deploy Shields in all directions to avoid impact. Move ship to the left flank. Move away from battlefield.¡± ¡°Copy that. Shield Omni-Directional continuous deployment. Making minor changes to deployment.¡± ¡°New enemy fleet ahead. 33 vessels. The Mars Security Fleet of the North American Continental Forces. In addition, more than 60 enemy ships advancing towards the fleet from Earth side.¡± When you reach this position, your surroundings will be full of enemies. Their forces have more than quadrupled, and already allies are concentrating only on dropping celestial bodies with the resolution of annihilation. It is a historical fact that only 10% of Diete government forces were able to return home. The survival rate of combat participants is extremely low, as some ships withdrew after hearing the results of the battle. Hart casually entered the Earthbound course using the flagship as a shield. However, enemy bombardment broke through the energy shield and destroyed part of the celestial body, and the debris scraped off part of the ship. Emergency alarms sounded throughout the ship, and the bulkheads were lowered one after another. ¡°Damage to the bottom of the ship. One suppression ship dropped out. The propulsion engine is safe. However, there were multiple fatalities among the crew.¡± ¡°Maintain the shield. Is it possible to detach the celestial body?!¡± ¡°We have no control from this ship. However, since there is still one suppression ship left, it can be done manually.¡± ¡°Instruct the suppressor to detach¡± ¡°Copy that. Instructing suppression ship.¡± ¡°Captain, Directional Communications from J303¡± ¡°Connect communication. And have the android corps rescue the crew as long as it does not hinder ship¡¯s navigation.¡± ¡°Roger. Communication engaged. Android corps, initiate rescue operations as soon as possible.¡± As the battle command center panicked, Hart received a communication from Philine, who had followed him closely. ¡°Captain Hiragi, we are ready to receive your crew. When you plunge the celestial body into Earth, we will pick you up as you leave by carrier ship.¡± ¡°Captain Carneus, if you do that, you¡¯ll greatly reduce your chances of survival.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll only owe me one. As captain, make a decision.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Okay. In parallel with ship¡¯s entry into Earth, the ship¡¯s crew will attempt to leave by carrier ship. All hands, prepare to disembark. Send the departure course to J303¡± ¡°Roger, we¡¯ll wait for you. Communication out.¡± Hart, who had cut off communication, immediately gave instructions to the crew. ¡°The ship will be on auxiliary fuel and manned by an android. Survivors should move to the carrier ship. All injured to be transported by androids. Abandon all but humans and minimal food on board.¡± Even the flagship finally exploded as the Hart and others transferred to the small carrier ship. About 1,000 Diete ships have been deployed, but none of the units have succeeded in attacking the Earth yet, and they were expected to struggle in various places. However, J301 took advantage of the confusion and was completely on a course for Earth, separated the small carrier ship on which Hart was onboard and fell towards Earth at high speed. J303 followed, plunging in the celestial body. Two massive celestial bodies that burned bright red smashed through the tectonic plate shortly after Earth took a direct hit, blowing away the Earth¡¯s atmosphere in one swoop. ¡°Port to J303 completed. A transfer order has been issued. Emergency withdrawal by warp to commence.¡± ¡°All hands, transfer immediately.¡± ¡°Copy that. All hands transferring to J303.¡± Behind Hart, the Earth was caught in a major eruption. Historically, this surprise attack reduced the solar system population from 40 billion to 6 billion. Over the next half century, the drastic changes in the global environment such as when dinosaurs went extinct were reproduced, and more than 4 billion people moved away from the solar system. The environment is now normalizing with atmospheric dust purification plants and solar-reflecting satellites, and Earth¡¯s population has recovered to 6 billion people. However, the terrain has changed, emerging countries of Earth¡¯s residual population are in a turbulent state. Thus, the result of this simulation was mission accomplished. The evaluation of Hart and Philine, who succeeded in delivering the celestial bodies, will be superlative, along with their subsequent successful cooperation in the withdrawal. The heroine, however, blew up. As for the heroine¡¯s best friend, an R18 age restricted scenario is inevitable after being captured by the Earth Forces. CH 4 Philine Carneus, one of the heroine¡¯s rival characters. Her family is one of only 14 Marquis Households in the Monarchy of Diete, which has a total population of 40 billion. Including the Royalty and Duchies, they are among the top 20 great houses in the state. Each Marquis has a territory of about 800 million people. In addition, it has tremendous power due to the synergistic effect of their broad range of tax exemption privileges as aristocrats. It is a clan that unites to a notion about eight times the size of Japan, where Hart¡¯s ancestors lived. In exchange for their title, a Marquis¡¯ duty is to use their vast magic power to operate a 17,000m-long fortress ship. In wartime, it becomes a barrier to protect the capital planet from enemy bombardment, and it becomes one of the meteor showers that rush into the enemy¡¯s capital planet. The current Marquis is Philine¡¯s grandfather, and the next in line is Philine¡¯s father. However, it remains to be seen who will succeed the Marquis in Philine¡¯s generation. The Monarchy Law requires the Marquis to possess a reference value of 12 and a magic power of 17,280 or more. This is to maintain the magic power value and the strength to oppose the Human Coalition. Because the Monarchy of Diete has a history of deadly battles against Earthlings and high magic power values are essential to maintaining its independence, no exceptions are allowed in the conditions of the Marquis¡¯ succession. National law stipulates that if the magic power value of the next generation falls, so does the peerage. Moreover, the succession of the title is defined only by direct lineage in order to prevent the monopolization of the title by the same bloodline. Therefore, in many cases, the successor is a man who does not have to worry about losing their magic power by 10% at the time of childbirth hence not meeting the reference value of the head of the aristocracy. However, the children of the Marquis Carneus were three sisters and one younger brother, in addition to four elder sisters and younger brothers. The eldest daughter Johanna has 19,750 magic power. As the family head, she can give birth to a child once. Second daughter Philine, has magic power value of 25,733. As the family head, she can bear children three times. Third daughter Dorothea, has 27,040 magic power. As the family head, she can have four children. The eldest son Horst, has 12,548 magic power which is only equivalent to a Viscount. Due to lack of magical power, the eldest son, who was originally intended to be the Family head, was excluded from the candidates for succession to the Marquis. After that, a three-way struggle began with the second and third daughters as the favorites, and the eldest daughter as well. The specific method of conflict for the three sisters is the choice of spouses. The transfer of magic power from parents to children is based on [(father + mother x 3) ¡Â 4], and approximately 99.99% falls within the range of more than half to less than twice the reference value. However, the average magical power of a child tends to decrease by 0.9 times that of a parent, and if there is an extreme difference in pedigree, like if the father is an aristocrat and the mother is a commoner, the succession does not go well. In rare cases, the magic power can be more than twice that of the parents, but it is said to be equal to the probability of winning the first prize in the lottery (1/20 million). Therefore, not only the Marquis Carneus but also each aristocratic family selects the successors to their title so that the descendants will have as high a magic power value as possible. The condition of the Marquis is that the child selects the person with the highest magic power value during the sister¡¯s marriage or by the time the title is transferred to the father. In order for the child to inherit magic power, the mother has three times as much influence as the father, so Philine must bring her into her household a partner with good conditions such as magic power difference of 3921, which is three times the magic power difference of 1307 with the younger sister. The magic difference between Dukes and Marquises, also Marquises and Counts is about 4,000. Therefore, Philine must take a Marquis if the third daughter brings a Count, and a Duke if the third daughter brings a Marquis. Moreover, because the third daughter is younger, she has an overwhelming advantage of being able to change her partner according to the second daughter¡¯s selection. In the hard mode, the relationship between the second daughter Philine and the third daughter Dorothea is the worst. At the very least, Dorothea has identified Philine as an enemy, and if Dorothea succeeds to the Marquis, there¡¯s no telling what she will do to Philine. For the time being, what Hart saw in his precognition was a gruesome development that was impossible for a man. Therefore, among the capture targets that the heroine Yuna meets in high school, if the affection point with a high magical person other than the Royal Grandson who needs a consort or the Duke¡¯s exalted son, who is a trusted retainer of the Royal Grandson, increases, Philine becomes a powerful rival character who does not pull back one step in self-defense. In middle school, there were no candidates other than the Royal Grandchild and his right hand man the Duke¡¯s son, who did not pay attention to women, so Philine was supposed to expect a large number of boys with high magic power value that would enter high school. However, in the middle school ranking, Hart surpassed the royal grandson, who is considered the highest peak of the Monarchy, with magic power value of over 30,000, so her behavior was slightly ¡­ the change she awaked went beyond what one would call humble. ¡°I was hoping that you could return the favor from the other day.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ it¡¯s about the succession battle of the Marquis Carneus, right?¡± ¡°Oh, you know. How much do you know? ¡°You¡¯re at a greater disadvantage than the third daughter Dorothea, and if you don¡¯t present a higher ranking candidate, you¡¯ll be in a big pinch.¡± ¡°It¡¯s troubling that even Hiragi knows about this. Over the past days, my sister Johanna brought a candidate with Marquis-class magic power. If I don¡¯t take anyone with me, I won¡¯t be able to stop her when something happens to my grandfather.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you want to introduce me as a high magic candidate? It is certainly a great honor to be approached by Philine, though.¡± Is Philine¡¯s far ancestor Scandinavian? As one would expect of the Maiden Game heroine¡¯s rival, her appearance and beauty is a great sample. Flowing silver hair and sky blue eyes. Her features are adorable like flowers blooming, and her figure is slim and lean like a gymnast. Her gestures are soft, her demeanor is gentle, and her core is strong. When the heroine fights with Digitalis, there is also a route where she becomes an ally and lends a hand, so although she is a rival character of the setting, her personality is not bad. It¡¯s just that he sometimes breaks down when cornered too much. If she inherits the Marquis family, she can firmly fulfill the Marquis role. Certainly, her breasts aren¡¯t large, and although she looks like a fairy, she is not bewitching, so men¡¯s tastes may differ. For Hart, however, Philine¡¯s figure was not a negative. And, there was also the circumstance in which he wanted the backing of a senior aristocrat due to his extraordinary magic power. Incidentally, her younger sister, who is two years younger, is also shaped like a doll. However, the inside is a doll that starts to move at midnight and attacks with a knife in hand. She has a magic power value close to that of the Royal family, and is the most promising candidate for the Marquis, so her personality was distorted. If you omit the ¡®Dere¡¯ from Yandere, you will get the third daughter Dorothea. ¡°Ah, is there any problem then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like being a convenient gigolo for Philine.¡± Hart¡¯s argument is a biological problem for ¡®Males¡¯. There are many men who are kept by their wives without knowing it, but that is only possible because they are successfully deluded to it. It is extremely difficult for a man to live on knowing that he will be kept by a woman for the rest of his life. ¡°I¡¯m troubled. As a woman and as a member of a Marquis house, I¡¯m making the greatest of concessions.¡± ¡°I understand it¡¯s an exceptional concession. But I don¡¯t want to be a gigolo.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s discuss the terms. I¡¯m sure we can come to an agreement.¡± Philine shows a relaxed expression, but Hart knows that she is actually recognized as a target by her Yandere sister (*omitting Dere), and has a sense of impatience and anxiety in her heart. If her younger sister gets the position and even succeeds Marquis Carneus, to protect herself the only options are either as the Royal Grandson¡¯s Consort or the wife of the successor to one of the 5 Duchies. However, now that the life span is said to reach 300 years, the age of each Duke and their spouse does not match, and the only partner who fits the grade is the confidant of His Royal Highness, the Duke¡¯s son, and he does not give any opportunity to the women around him. And, at this rate she¡¯ll be defeated by the ludicrously obsessed Dorothea. When the heroine, Yuna, raises the affection points with the capture targets, Philine, feeling a sense of crisis, takes various bold actions. For example, there is also a development where she says that it doesn¡¯t matter if they like Yuna as long as the capture target cooperates with the heroine and consents being a high magic power breeder. He admits to cheating on her as long as he doesn¡¯t use any of the Marquis¡¯ property. Rather, Philine becomes the adulterer, but she tries to secure a partner even if she has to lower her own conditions. For the time being, Hart tried to raise his own likability to Yuna. Then, when he thought he liked Yuna enough to want to get married, he is approached by Philine for negotiations. ¡°For example, I want my freedom to the extent that I do not use any of the Marquis¡¯ property.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t restrict you that much. I¡¯ll even grant you an allowance to use as you will.¡± In the end, the condition that Philine presented was to make Hart a gigolo with no freedom. Is it because she is not in dire straits yet, or because she is not competing with the heroine for me? ¡°If I don¡¯t show my worth, my state of being kept will not change.¡± ¡°Magic power of 30,000 is worth more than enough as an aristocrat of the Monarchy.¡± ¡°With her degree of advantage, won¡¯t Dorothea propose a contest using the magic power of the child to be born? Instead, there is a suggestion that will help you defeat Dorothea sooner rather than later.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it?¡± ¡°Before that, we need to negotiate. If my proposal guarantees that Dorothea can be defeated, why not treat me as an equal collaborator if you agree to it? On the condition that I don¡¯t interfere with Marquis Carneus, but they equally would not interfere with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to begin by telling me about your proposal.¡± Hart, who couldn¡¯t speak, still sent his personal data. Personal data is the official identification card in the Monarchy of Diete. By looking at the data, it is possible to know the magic power value and the origin of the parents, and it is also one of the confirmation methods used when aristocrats consider formal marriage. The data sent included Hart¡¯s magic power value. Hart quickly sought a confirmation from Philine, who is at a loss for words. ¡°When you present me and show my personal data, the battle for succession of the Marquis Carneus will be settled. That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Hiragi, are you an ancestral resurgence or something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only three times as magical as His Royal Highness. So if you accept that you can defeat Dorothea for sure, we can get on with the proposal, then you are willing to be an equal collaborator.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± From Philine, an onomatopoeia that was unlike the daughter of the Marquis was emitted. Hart pretends not to hear it and adds the coup de grace to his continuous attacks. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, you can use this magic power by selling it to Dorothea¡­¡± ¡°Wait, wait, that¡¯s no good.¡± ¡°The exchange condition to Dorothea is that I can make Philine my concubine even though I love her¡­¡­¡­¡­ I feel it¡¯s much better that way.¡±¡± ¡°I, I understand. The earlier conditions are fine.¡± This Maiden Game seems to be equally in hard mode for each character. CH 5 Hart and his colleagues advanced to the second grade and were granted permission to go out. Most students returned to their parents¡¯ home, but Hart has two appointments. One is to visit Marquis Carneus¡¯ residence in the Royal Capital, and the other is to purchase unlisted stocks based on his overarching knowledge of the Game¡¯s Play through. Cadets in the Monarchy of Diete are prohibited from working part-time or trading short-term stocks. However, long-term investments that are not sold for more than three years are recognized as property rights. Hart, whose allowance as a cadet is [100,000 + magic power x 200 = 18.33 million Rhode] a month, earned 219.96 million Rhodes in one year. Even high magic power individuals who operate battleships normally earn about 14.4 million annually, which is an unexpected amount for the military. However, it was not reduced as they understood that the fortress could be operated in the future. Based on his funds and overarching knowledge of the Maiden Game, he planned to purchase stocks that would absolutely be profitable. The stock to be purchased is that of a company that sells ¡°Spirit Crystals¡±. Although the company has already developed the product and established a production system, it has been stalled because it did not calculate a high registration license tax for selling products related to information terminals, which are essential to people¡¯s lives. In the True End, the heroine meets the chairman of the company and provides funds from her parents¡¯ Baron household. And in exchange for buying unlisted stocks from the chairman, she covers the registration license tax. The spirit crystal of this company has four very distinctive features. The first is by connecting the Spirit crystal to the information terminal that people wear, one can manifest a Spirit. The manifested spirit perceives the ¡°five senses¡± and the ¡°sixth sense¡±, which is the flow of magic and dark matter, and voluntarily takes actions that are desirable to the wearer. Second, the spirit itself possesses magic power and can exercise it in sync with the wearer. In other words, the wearer can add magic power. Third, the energy source uses almost infinite magical element. Therefore, although the output and service life of the crystal are limited, maintenance costs and labor are not required. Fourth, the manufacturing process only involves the condensation of the magic with the cooperation of the high-ranking spirits, almost no raw material is required, and developers can easily mass-produce spirit crystals at low cost. Technically, it has leaped technology over a thousand years forward. The first point is spirit assist, which is when connected to a ship¡¯s magical element engine, the conventional ship maneuvering via androids or humans will be replaced by the optimal behavior through the assistance of a spirit that can perceive the sixth sense. The ship¡¯s maneuvering efficiency can be increased many times, and the calculation time of the warp can be significantly reduced. The second point is a feature that everyone wants, such as the addition of magic power of the wearer. Although there is a limit to the wearer¡¯s magic power to synchronize, 40 billion people still want it. The third point, which does not require cost or effort, strongly supports the purchase. The fourth point is that mass production is easy, but only developers can do it. It is an indispensable event to reach the true end in hard mode. In the final battle, a spirit fleet, made up of troops equipped with spirit crystals, will become meteors and rush into the huge fortress ridden by Digitalis. It¡¯s just a matter of connecting to the information terminals that everyone has at present, and most of the information terminals of the Diete Monarchy¡¯s 40 billion people will connect to spirit crystals in about 10 years. In the meantime, the unlisted private stock of Second System Co., Ltd. will divide 1 million Rhodes worth of stock by 100,000 to have 100,000 shares at 10 Rhodes per share, before confidently listing on the market at 1 million Rhodes per share. However, the stock sold well, and even if one stock was divided into 100 shares, the stock price was maintained at 1 million Rhodes. In other words, the first stock will be worth 10 million shares. This time, Hart acquired 200 shares, or 40% of the shares, with 200 million Rhodes. In 10 years, it¡¯s value is expected to reach 2,000 trillion Rhodes. ¡°Well, thanks to you, we¡¯re on track to get the capital to start selling.¡± ¡°No, the Spirit is a revolutionary invention, it will definitely succeed.¡± Dr. Joseph Kerman, the president of the company that developed the spirit, asked Hart for a handshake with a friendly expression. Hart also responded with a smile, praising the young genius. ¡°I earn about 18.33 million Rhodes every month, so please let me continue to buy 18 million Rhodes worth of shares a month from now on. It will be expensive for a while, but if we own more than two-thirds of the stock, we can exercise our sole voting rights and we won¡¯t be interfered with.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I think we have enough funds.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need money to pay the trade when you put it into distribution. It¡¯s better to have a little extra money saved.¡± Dr. Kerman¡¯s biggest drawback is his lack of economic sense. If he doesn¡¯t keep at least half of the stock, the company will eventually get taken over. And the company will be sued in court over the development of the spirit, which will not lead to the true true end. But because of his naivety, Hart will be able buy up more than 50 percent of the company¡¯s stock without going public, even if the device sells explosively. ¡°And I¡¯ll pay another 10 million Rhodes, so please sell me spirit crystals.¡± ¡°The planned selling price is 100,000 for F-class, 200,000 for E-class, and 300,000 for D-class. C-class is a little expensive though.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s okay to raise that too. Let me see, F-class for the general public, E-class for knights, D-class for Barons, and C-class for aristocrats, right?¡± ¡°I only explained it once, but you remembered it well.¡± Although he was often impressed, Hart does not have a good memory, only an overarching knowledge of events. There are 7 ranks of spirit crystals from S-class to F-class. The abilities of the spirits vary greatly depending on the class. ¡°I¡¯ll pay 10 million Rhodes, so can I ask for an A-class? I¡¯ll also leave the shareholders¡¯ carte blanche.¡± ¡°If I could seal some of the abilities, that would be fine, but anything above B-class gives a troubling performance, and I have no intention of putting them out to the public. Since you are military, I would ask that you keep your performance under control and only unleash them in crisis situations.¡± ¡°Very well. Thank you.¡± Hart nodded, trying hard not to let his inner joy show on his face. ¡°Please allow me to buy some C-class or lower for acquaintances. They¡¯ll be scarce soon anyway.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve even built a production plant, but we couldn¡¯t get them into circulation, so our inventory is overflowing.¡± ¡°Once it gets on the market, it¡¯ll sell by word of mouth right away. Even if someone wants to buy stocks from there on, please do not sell. If you¡¯re going public, it¡¯s better to divide one stock into 100,000 shares or more before selling.¡± Hart made an immediate payment using an information terminal and got an A-class crystal. Thanks to that, despite going to the Marquis Carneus¡¯ residence the next day, his mood remained at its best. As a result, Philine was so skeptical about Hart¡¯s unusual attitude. The territory governed by the Marquis Carneus, a senior aristocrat, is in the Apollo system. The Apollo system is 310 light-years from Earth towards Anthares in the Scorpio Constellation. From Diros, the Capital planet of the Monarchy of Diete, it is about 150 light-years away, and even in modern times, with the improvement of travel technology, it takes less than two months for a one way trip there. Philine¡¯s grandfather, the Marquis Carneus, usually governs the territory in the Apollo system. However, Philine had contacted him five months ago to present her partner, which was the condition of the succession for the three sisters, at their mansion in the royal capital, so he had come all the way from the Apollo system. Thus, Hart was shot by the keen eye of a dignified, gray-haired, elderly man. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. Your Excellence, Marquis Carneus. I am the youngest son of the Baron Hiragi family, and my name is Hart Hiragi. I am currently a second year cadet at the Diete Monarchy Military Academy. I am 16 years old. The same age as Miss Philine.¡± And Hart swallowed the words, ¡°May I go home?¡± No matter how intimidating he may be, to the Marquis who came from the Apollo star system, that manner of speaking may be beyond him. ¡°I am Bastian Carneus. A Marquis of the Monarchy.¡± Originally, Hart was not in a position to answer directly to the Marquis, but the Marquis responded nonetheless. And while being intimidated, he is invited into the residence. Hart¡¯s paternal grandfather was Baron Hiragi, and his maternal grandfather was Baron Melendez. His father was the second son of a Baron family, and his mother was the eldest daughter of a baron family. Hart is a second son, but he is of the blue blood that the aristocrats care about, that is, the bloodline of the high magic powered people from the past. Philine, one of the three sisters fighting for succession, brought him here, so he was barely recognized as a formal visitor. What is most noteworthy about Hart is his anchored magic power value of 91,150. A figure so outrageous that a Police Squad flew in from the Military to investigate. The magic power value is currently classified a state secret. The details can only be disclosed to parents and a potential spouse¡¯s aristocratic family. Others only knew that he surpassed the Royal grandson due the system of publishing the result rankings of the Academy of Magic. If he had been born on the chaotic Earth side after the War of Independence, he would have been strapped to a machine and lived as a breeding horse until he was depleted. Since the destruction of Earth, magical individuals have been treated as an indispensable part for operating ships by those who claim the right to live over there. As a result, the population continued to be forcibly increased, and the magic power holders of the Coalition of Humanity have surpassed the Monarchy of Diete in both quality and quantity. The Monarchy of Diete has a sense of crisis, and magic power is valued by each aristocratic family. Dinner was already prepared, and Philine¡¯s parents, sisters and younger brother were also present in the residence. The Marquis himself took the initiative in the conversation, and after a light introduction of the family, the meal was served while Hart exchanged greetings with them. Psychologically, Hart was in no mood to eat. He swallowed ¡°May I go home?¡± for the second time, and turned his gaze toward Philine. Then Philine gave a very charming smile. To Hart, it was a devil¡¯s smile. At the end of the simple test on attitude and table manners, Marquis Carneus finally got into the main subject. ¡°Now, Cadet Hiragi. I understand that you have heard a little about the circumstances of my Marquis Carneus from Philine.¡± In response to the review process of Marquis Carneus, Hart discussed the battle for succession of the three sisters, which he had confirmed with Philine, and the terms of their victory. ¡°Miss Philine has 25,733 magic power and Miss Dorothea has about 27,040 magic power. The required difference in the magic power value with the partner is about 4,000. In other words, Miss Philine wins if she presents a candidate with more than 4,000 magic power than Miss Dorothea¡¯s.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I did some research on you. The man with the most magic power, over 30,000, surpassing His Majesty the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson. When I was told that Philine had enrolled in the military academy, I doubted my ears, but if this is the result, I see no problem with it.¡± The Marquis turned slightly toward Philine with the keen gaze he had been giving Hart. ¡°Thank you. Grandfather.¡± Philine does not interrupt the conversation, and just gives a light bow. ¡°If you say just over 30,000, Dorothea¡¯s candidate has more than 26,000. Even though you may not be a part of the senior aristocracy.¡± ¡°No, Your Excellency. The magic power I possess is not about 30,000. Please confirm my personal data. This is a figure that has been vetted by the Royal Army.¡± In addition to his magic power value of 91,150, Hart sent a formula calculating the magic power to be inherited by their child when multiplied by Philine¡¯s magic power. Magic power of the first child, 21,044-84,175. The expected value is 37,879. Magic power of the second child, 20,079-80,315. The expected value is 36,142. Magic power of the third child, 19,210-76,841. The expected value is 34,578. In addition, he also transmitted a formula using the hypothetical magic power of Sovereign¡¯s Grandchild, the highest peak in the system, and Dorothea. Magic power of the first child, 13,890-55,560. The expected value is 25,002. Magic power of the second child, 12,876-51,504. The expected value is 23,177. Magic power of the third child, 11,963-47,854. The expected value is 21,534. ¡°The magic power value required to inherit the Marquis title is 17,280. Miss Dorothea poses a risk if the magical power transfer is low. But Miss Philine has no risk at all.¡± The entire Marquis family hardened like the stone statue, and looked back at the data over and over again. After confirming that the gazes had shifted to the numbers, Hart had a slightly relieved expression. Philine, on the other hand, snuggled up to Hart and pretended to be a good companion and lover in order to put the finishing touches on the shocked Dorothea. Dorothea opened her eyes wide and turned her gaze to the two, with an expression that said she would curse them to death with hatred. Hart¡¯s expression hardened at once when he was struck head on by the murderous gaze, but Philine, who was accustomed to Dorothea, spoke without any regard to it. ¡°Are you unconvinced?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I haven¡¯t brought in my candidate yet. Sister probably didn¡¯t know of Mr. Hiragi until his magic power was anchored. Since there is such a precedent, even if it is unilaterally decided, it is unreasonable, unfair and I cannot consent.¡± Dorothea made a strong case and turned her gaze toward her grandfather, who had the power to decide. ¡°Very well. We will wait until three years after Dorothea graduates from the Academy of Magic to confirm the successor to the title.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± It was put on hold for the time being, but the match seemed to be as good as decided. At least Marquis Carneus and the Marquis decree had expressions that considered it to have already come to a conclusion. Moreover, Philine also had an expression of composure as if she were the successor to the Marquis family. Hart¡¯s magic power is worth making a decision. But don¡¯t underestimate Dorothea. If overly agitated, she may look to plunder the partner Philine brought with her. In that case, she would entangle the other party by offering much better conditions than choosing her elder sister. Prepare her elder sister¡¯s condemnation to justify the choice, and drive her sister away. In short, the actions of the Villainess in the Maiden Game. And, if judged to be a nuisance, the plundered party is mercilessly subdued by the number of conspiracies, and exiled or in some cases eliminated. Hart desperately tried not to look at Philine, who incited her sister with an expression of triumph, and Dorothea, who clearly had her eyes on a plan. CH 6 At the military academy, the hierarchical relationship between seniors and juniors is extremely strict. This is because the curriculum for learning the roles of superiors and subordinates is built into every part of the Military Academy. One example would be the meals. The dining hall where the students of the Heavy Battleship department sit has a table for seating 10 people. There are two 3rd and 4th year students each and three 1st and 2nd year students each. The first-year students serve as the waiters, and the 2nd year students are assigned as their instructors. If something goes wrong, the 3rd years will scold the 1st and 2nd year students, while the 4th years supervise the 3rd year students¡¯ attention. This is a part of the military education, where the orders of superior officers are absolute, and the combination of each table is changed many times, allowing the experience of various superiors, colleagues, and subordinates. At the military academy, where obedience to superiors cannot be taken for granted, it is difficult to refuse a request from a senior officer, no matter what it is. Even if it is a unilateral request made in a secluded cadet dormitory with no other eyewitnesses. ¡°2nd YearThird class Hiraki. When will your next leave request be?¡± ¡°Next month, sir.¡± ¡°Then you may join us at that time.¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± Hart has no knowledge about the senior students¡¯ summons. They were seniors he was not usually involved with, and they did not even recognize each other¡¯s faces. He wanted to lodge a complaint about the fact that he was being asked to use up one of the few leaves granted to cadets arbitrarily. However, the best way to deal with this situation is to attach the ¡°instructions of the three seniors recorded on the information terminal¡± to the leave request and report to the military academy that the outing is based on their instructions. By doing so, the student who was instructed to take leave under such direction will not be given a negative evaluation for conduct or propriety. Or, depending on the instructor, they may receive a positive assessment. However, ultimately, he had no right to refuse. Instead, Hart decided to put some extra effort in addition to adding the attached data to the application. ¡°Seraphina, please.¡± When Hart called out, a beautiful blond female spirit with purple eyes emerged from the information terminal. Her name is Seraphina. For some reason, it was not the one that supported Yuna in ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, but the spirit that the best friend, Colette, had received as part of the happy ending. Would artificial spirits become the new life forms created by humans? Even though it is an additional terminal connected to an information terminal, the support power is much higher than that of the existing information terminal, and in addition, it is capable of self-judgment. The self-judgment is about that of a 14-year-old for the F-class, and it increases by 2 years with each class level. Although the basic specifications do not improve, experience is accumulated, so the longer the device is worn, the smarter the artificial spirit will be. Hart¡¯s wearing time is short, but Seraphina had high level judgment from the start. She turned her attention to the entrance where the three seniors had left, and immediately created an alter to follow them. There was no way they could have imagined that an alter form of an artificial spirit would follow after them. Relieved and light-hearted after accomplishing their mission, they let slip that they had been ordered by the Marquis of Carneus to bring Hart to Dorothea. Hart decided to take evidence footage of their unknowingly confession and kept it as an insurance policy. His opponent is the most powerful person Hart can ask for. ¡°That¡¯s why Dorothea is conspiring against us. You might have stirred things up a bit.¡± ¡°Ugh¡± From Philine¡¯s mouth, a hoarse groan unbecoming of the daughter of the Marquis family was uttered. ¡°I¡¯m sure Dorothea will be waiting for me at the place where you took me out. In that spot, the communication function of the information terminal could be cut off.¡± Assuming Dorothea is the instigator, she will come out to negotiate directly with Hart. If that fails, will she resort to threats? The ones who will perform the communication function blockade of the information terminal, naturally they will deal with that. ¡°My grandfather is currently in the Royal Capital. I¡¯ll report this as soon as possible.¡± ¡°And so that they can¡¯t feign ignorance, we need to catch them on scene. I have access to a new type of information terminal in which its communication function can¡¯t be blocked, so I¡¯d like the Marquis family to prepare people who can use it to observe the situation in real time.¡± ¡°A new type of information terminal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a terminal extension, to be precise. It is a product sold by a company called Second System, and this video evidence was secured using it. They say evidence is better than argument, so I¡¯ll explain it to you, please try it out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The C-class spirit crystals that were secured before they became popular became immediately useful. ¡°All things considered, I wonder what kind of offer she will present. She could claim, ¡®I wanted to meet with brother-in-law so I could ask for a favor¡¯, as for the matter of using seniors from the Military Academy, I wouldn¡¯t expect any punishment.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not the kind of girl who says cute things like that.¡± ¡°So, what do you think it is?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Enticing you by presenting better terms than I did. If it doesn¡¯t work, then blackmail. Failing that as well, frame Mr. Hart as the criminal who tried to harm the young lady of a Marquis family, kill him on the spot, and have the match restart.¡± In Philine¡¯s position, she would want to avoid Dorothea¡¯s plot at all costs. Therefore, in order to caution Hart for his personal safety, she purposely gave a warning. ¡°For this matter, can I assume that Philine will repay me for taking me to the Marquis of Carneus family?¡± ¡°Ugh¡± Philine¡¯s mouth overflowed with a more painful hoarse groan than usual. ¡°In all honesty, if I am treated too poorly, I may end up agreeing to Dorothea¡¯s terms. I might have to explain to the Marquis that Philine didn¡¯t take responsibility for the terrible things that happened after being forced to cooperate with her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll report Dorothea¡¯s actions to my grandfather.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something I could do myself, given the evidence. In the first place, the problem is the poor treatment of the Marquis family, who promised to be equal partners, but completely seized the initiative and tried to adapt everything to their convenience. I am discontent.¡± In the event that Dorothea, who is being cornered in the struggle for succession, is willing to abandon a high magic power individual as a genetic donor in order to secure the Marquis, Philine would have no chance of winning unless Hart is her candidate. Hart, on the other hand, wants asylum, but it doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be from Philine. Since he is a member of the Royal Army, he may be granted protection by the military. ¡°Then what do you want? I¡¯m getting more and more sullen. Speak up, please.¡± ¡°A genuine equal relationship. Milady, take a chance at playing the sweetheart a little.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ uh, eh!?¡± ¡°If not, let¡¯s break it off. I can¡¯t go along with a relationship where I¡¯m only being used unilaterally.¡± The engagement annulment event in the maiden game. He¡¯s not actually engaged to her. When Hart pressed her on what to do now, Philine was on the verge of fleeing. But she paused and closed her eyes, perhaps thinking of Dorothea, who was about to plunder her. Hart hesitated about a second, against Philine, who had suddenly lost all resistance in front of him. However, it is a man¡¯s shame if he does not eat the meal set before him. In the back of the academy building, a sweet moment of silence passed. Eventually, Philine, who had grown quiet in Hart¡¯s arms, finally opened her mouth. ¡°You¡¯ll have to take responsibility for this.¡± ¡°It depends on Philine¡¯s treatment of me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t know what you want if you don¡¯t clearly tell me.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take the ¡®play¡¯ out of playing my sweetheart.¡± ¡°Uh, gah¡± Whether it is a hoarse groan or an inherent cry, it¡¯s difficult to judge such a voice. ¡°Th, that¡¯s fine. But if we¡¯re on equal footing, please match me.¡± Philine, who had been quiet, gradually resurrected herself as the heroine¡¯s rival. Though the heroine, who is most important, was completely out of the loop. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to fit Philine. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you to match me a little too. It¡¯s going to take a lot of work to educate this young lady.¡± Hart silenced Philine once again by using the ¡°Wall Slam with a Serious Look¡± and ¡°Chin Lift to the Kiss¡± combination, which are said to be among the top 10 most crucial secrets in the maiden game. After that, he handed over a number of new information terminals, explained them to her, and asked her to deliver them to the Marquis family, so that he could prepare the trap for Dorothea. The following month, Hart was brought into a building in a city by his seniors. Dorothea was waiting there as planned. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Mr. Hiragi. I¡¯d like to have a word with you, so I¡¯m glad you accepted my invitation.¡± ¡°Miss Dorothea of the Marquis Carneus. How courteous of you, that is until the communication function of the information terminal is cut off. For the most part, I suppose you would offer better terms than your sister and try to recruit me.¡± ¡°Oh, your judgment isn¡¯t bad. I don¡¯t mind quick talkers.¡± ¡°Why yes, thank you.¡± Hart suspected that the reason Dorothea acted so quickly was because she wanted to make sure that his relationship with Philine did not make much progress. Haste is not a bad thing, because if you take the opportunity, you¡¯ll have the upper hand. What was unreasonable to her was that Hart had predicted her actions in advance, was prepared and ready to take action. ¡°My sister is ¡®a character that takes the initiative, imposes her desire on others and constrains them¡¯, I would never do that.¡± ¡°As for Miss Philine¡¯s character, it may be undeniable. So how is Miss Dorothea different?¡± ¡°Me, I do not come with shackles. You can build a harem to surround yourself with all the women you like, it doesn¡¯t matter if you make use of the Marquis¡¯ fortune, Hiragi. Ostensibly, you may make her a maid working in the annex or villa, and do whatever you want.¡± Hart thought of Philine, who was listening through the spirit crystal, and restrained his cry of joy. ¡°Won¡¯t you feel sorry for your children when their parents are in that sort of relationship?¡± ¡°Hiragi¡¯s father was the second son of the Baron family, and Hiragi was his second son.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°You may not know this, but there are very few men of high aristocracy that don¡¯t have mistresses or concubines. For men of high aristocracy, it is a social duty to increase the number of magic power holders. Although women of high aristocracy are more for quality over quantity.¡± Hart thought of the conflict between the Diete Monarchy and the Coalition of Humanity, and the need for magic holders, so he understood the need for this as a social issue. However, he felt a sense of rejection in being admonished by a girl younger than him. In any case, it seems that Dorothea has no interest in Hurt as a member of the opposite sex. ¡°My sister can¡¯t accept such matters.¡± ¡°Miss Philine may not accept it. I have the impression that she likes romance novels.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite troublesome.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Uh huh.¡± The two were hitting it off, but there is also the development where Philine tells the heroine and the character to be captured that as long as they cooperate with a high-magic power crossbreed, she doesn¡¯t mind if he likes Yuna. But only if she¡¯s very cornered. However, as Hart doesn¡¯t want to push her too hard and have her become a Yandere (¡ùDere omitted) like Dorothea, he wants to find a compromise line. ¡°In any case, Mr. Hiragi, you have no other choice.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°In an environment where communication is cut off, we are also ready to take you down. It is easy to prepare false charges that make you unworthy as a member of the Marquis family, or even kill you. So you have no choice but to accept the proposal, Mr. Hiragi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ false charge that makes me unworthy, what sort of circumstances would that be?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. A cadet who was granted permission for leave assaulted a 12-year-old girl in the city. The procedure is to stun Mr. Hiragi, collect semen samples, and use it on a girl that was prepared in advance. How about that? We have witnesses, and they are ready to subdue you.¡± ¡°I see. Then, Your Excellency, I would ask that you intervene in the criminal acts committed by the Carneus family.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ eh?¡± When Hart operated the information terminal via spirit crystals, a real-time image of Marquis Carneus was projected. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Grandfather.¡± Drotea, frozen with a smile on her face, was pierced by the stern gaze of her grandfather, the Marquis, and the chilling glare of her father, the Marquis¡¯s son. Behind them were her mother, the wife of the Marquis¡¯s son, and her sister, Philine, who were silent. ¡°As the head of the Marquis of Carneus, I shall inform all who court Dorothea. The time for tomfoolery is over. All actions so far have been recorded. Those who continue to intervene in the Military Academy and attempt to entrap cadets with false accusations will be charged with treason against the state. In which case, there can only be the death penalty.¡± ¡°As for now, I only had to play along with your antics. Next is a game of tag. At any rate, restrain Dorothea.¡± After the Marquis¡¯ grave declaration, all the family members, who were offered a way out by the Marquis¡¯ decree, rushed out and detained Dorothea. She was not roughly held down, but Dorothea had nowhere to escape. On the orders of the Marquis¡¯ son, the waiting troops began to move in, and those who were found to have been involved in her antics were ordered not to resist. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ how?¡± Dorothea muttered to Hart, who was up close. As for Hart, he did have a single response on hand just in case. The communication blackout had failed, and Hart was able to send the recorded footage to the Marquis. Therefore, the Marquis family could not cover up the scandal by keeping quiet, but simply lose the unprecedented high magic power holder at hand, and ended up being stared down by the military for attempting to falsely accuse a cadet. It would be better to cut Dorothea off than make such a fool of yourself. Because the favorites are Philine and Hart, and Dorothea is no longer essential. But Hart did not say such a cold-hearted thing. The Marquis, who spoke on Hart¡¯s behalf, punished Dorothea for pressuring three cadets into committing crimes and for threatening her sister¡¯s partner. It will lead to a significant reduction in the authority Dorothea had as the young lady of a Marquis. She was prohibited from using the family name in any flexible manner, her right to give orders to servants was restricted, the amount of money she could spend was reduced, she was prohibited from interfering with Hart and Philine, and her actions would be monitored by the entire family. Also, regarding the selection of successors to the Marquis, the condition of waiting for three years was abolished. It¡¯s a ¡°woe is me¡± development, but not really that big of a punishment. Dorothea has magic power value comparable to that of royalty, so she can be an insurance policy in case something happens to Philine. Even if Dorothea herself can¡¯t succeed the Marquis, there¡¯s a way to get her child to inherit the title. Therefore, the Marquis of Carneus did not impose heavy punishment on Dorothea. However, the fact that Dorothea tried to falsely accuse Hart was recorded, so if Dorothea was to appeal for something in the future, on the contrary, her past actions would be brought up leading to her self-destruction. ¡°The next time we confirm any unilateral illegal activity, we will take appropriate action. Cadet Hiragi may claim a nuisance fee from the Marquis for Miss Dorothea¡¯s misconduct.¡± The nuisance fee is not only a consolation prize but also hush money. There was no way Hart could be allowed to refuse it, so he received a transfer of 5 billion Rhodes, about 22 years¡¯ worth of his income as a candidate for a super high magic power officer. Thus, after Dorothea¡¯s failure, the Marquis, who punished his granddaughter, shifted his interest to the spirit crystals that were the decisive factor. When the household contacted Dr. Kerman, they learned that Hart used the hush money to buy up 500 million Rhodes of 500 shares, which was the entire stock, eliminating the company¡¯s debt and even covering the working capital through additional large-scale capital investments. ¡°I had high hope all this time, but Dorothea tripped my footing.¡± The only way to get involved in the spirit crystals interests is to coerce Hart, who owns all the shares. However, under Royal law, cadets are prohibited from short-term trading of acquired shares for three years. When Hart used the hush money to buy all the shares, the Second System stock, which deals in spirit crystals, were sealed for three years. Three years later, Second Systems, with a capital of 500 million Rhodes, will expand to an intergalactic company that connects its products to a percentage of the information terminals of all the Royal citizens. If the other party were a mere cadet, it is possible to carefully prepare his demise, and take the stock after transferring them to the hands of his relatives. However, Hart will become a gene donor with super high magic power for the Marquis of Carneus household. His property will also be inherited by his descendants. In light of this, killing him is out of the question, and he must be protected from other aristocrats. The Marquis closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and gave a short sigh. This was the moment of the birth of a new genre called ¡°Serves You Right Old Man¡±. CH 7 It has been a year and 3 months since Hart and his colleagues entered the Military Academy. Since the 2nd year students were given permission to go out, information about the Magic Academy, which had been out of contact until now, began to come in, mainly through Colette. The Magic Academy has 100 students per grade in middle school and 300 students per grade in high school. The 200 students who joined in high school were mainly external students with high magic power values. In fact, The Magic Academy is a matchmaking scene to find marriage candidates whose family background and magical power match. The purpose of enrolling high magic powered individuals below quasi-aristocracy is to attract quasi-aristocrats who want status, honor, wealth, etc., with aristocrats who desire the bloodline of high magic power holders. It can be said that the Academy itself was a matchmaking scene as if it were a stage for a maiden game. Hart¡¯s grade included the Grandson of His Majesty the Sovereign, the son of the Prime Minister and The Secretary of Magic, son of a Huge Business Conglomerate Proprietor, and the High Magic Power Holder who emerged in the Marquis family. There were too many candidates with excellent qualifications that the female students were always on the lookout. Only the Villainess, Digitalis, aimed solely for the Sovereign¡¯s grandchild from the beginning. However, the plundering of magic power from the surroundings was not realized, and it became impossible for her to become the crown princess. In addition, unlike the Maiden game, she was not in the same class as the Sovereign¡¯s grandchild. The cause of the deviation from the original plotline was mostly attributed to Hart. Because he complained of Digitalis¡¯ bullying in front of the military police and the principal did not deny any of it, it was judged that Digitalis was unsuitable as a concubine, not to mention the future queen, and was secretly excluded from the venue of the mass marriage interview for His Highness. Thanks to that, Digitalis was rampaging against her classmates. However, the problem with her thought process was not her fault, but the responsibility of the adults around her. She was only raised by her family with the expectation of becoming the Crown Princess. Hart hopes that the Duke will accept the status quo and face reality. After all, the Monarchy has a mighty foreign enemy. In the year 439 of Monarchy¡¯s history, humanity is roughly divided into three powers. A is a state independent from Earth, B is a collection of countries that moved their bases from the Earth, and C is a republic fortunate enough to achieve independence after the war. In addition to the three major powers, there are also the descendants of Hercules and Myrna, whose home planet was taken over by B, Earth states that did not join B, and those who headed to other star systems. Moreover, it is expected that the irregular population, which does appear on the family register, will reach billions. However, the vast majority of humanity belongs to the forces of A to C. ABC¡¯s population ratio is 10:7:4, and the difference in strength is 10:14:4. The reason for the imbalance between the population and the war potential is that a part of the B nation group mass-produces the high magic power holders through artificial insemination. However, the average magic power inherited from parents to children at that time was 0.9 times that of A, while the B nation group was about half the size of A. With the magic power decreasing by half with each generation, the B nations felt a growing sense of crisis. After the inheritance of magic between parents and children who were together was confirmed, some of the B nations began to manage their high magic power holders, and decided their marriage partners based on magic power value. Inhumane opinions were naturally raised, but the following threat silenced the more sensible people. ¡°Do you want our home planet to be blown up again by those vicious Dietes, who dropped a swarm of meteorites on Earth?¡± A magic power holder¡¯s personal taste for the opposite sex and the survival of all. From the beginning, arguing which one should be emphasized was unnecessary. The success stories of couples who were forcibly attached by the state were frequently promoted, and as a result of the continuation of the system, the ratio of high-powered couples in B increased several times higher than that of A. A, feeling threatened by the B nation group, were devising countermeasures assuming various situations. One of them is mobile training that assumes that B suddenly invades C, and the 2nd grade of the Military Academy are sent to the main planet of C for space flight drill. ¡°The Frodi Republic is an independent state, so the Royal military has restrictions on entry. Therefore, on paper, this is a transport ship troupe. The fleet consists of 24 transport ships, 16 escort ships, 5 destroyers, and 2 light cruisers for the instructors, for a total of 47 ships. By the time we reach the next stop, organize teams of 4 people.¡± Cadets responded in unison with ¡°Yes, sir¡±. To the public, this would be a school trip for the 2nd year high school students. At the Magic Academy, there must be many plans to improve the relationship between men and women throughout the academy. However, in the case of the Military Academy, it is a harsh training that lasts 70 days over 360 light-years round trip. The instructors shout abuse at the students as they prepare navigation plans, operate the ship, command the crew, and write the space logbook entry. Even so, as long as each person receives a monthly allowance, they have no choice but to silently accept it. After the supervisor left, Philine, who was sitting next to Hart, grabbed his finger and operated the terminal without permission, and made Hart a candidate for team leader. Then, when she operated her own terminal and applied to be a member of Hart¡¯s team, she manipulated Hart¡¯s finger again to approve the application. Philine, who absolutely wants to take the initiative, tried to control her behavior by putting on the act of indulging Hart. At that time, Philine, who only valued Hart¡¯s magic power value, had the luxury of being the young lady of a Marquis family. Without power, there was a limit to what he could do, and he thought that he would have to rely on Philine in times of trouble. However, after she learned that he had a monopoly on all the shares of Second System Co. Ltd., the manufacturer and seller of spirit crystals, she became impatient. The number of spirit crystals already sold is in millions. Since spirit crystals can be mass-produced as easily as ¡°producing sweets in a candy factory¡±, they sell out once a buyer is found. Currently, the largest seller is the Marquis of Carneus. The Marquis noted ¡®the ability to support the wearer automatically¡¯ and ¡®the ability to raise the level by tuning the magic power¡¯. Out of the 800 million people in his territory, he ordered spirit crystals for 20 million civil servants, including the lord¡¯s army and police. If senior aristocrats make extreme moves, other aristocrats and government administrations will also take notice. Orders have already begun to be placed by other senior aristocrats, and once they understand the unparalleled performance and overly-low price tag, each aristocratic household is expected to imitate the Marquis of Carneus. Once the Royal Army also grasps the situation, it will join the purchase, the civilian fleets will follow suit, which would cause a big stir throughout the system. Hart¡¯s influence, with his 100% monopoly of the company¡¯s private shares, will eventually surpass that of the Marquis of Carneus, as it is obvious that the entire system will use the expansion function of Second Systems¡¯ information terminals. Hart did not resist Philine¡¯s impatience and unconscious indulgence. Anyway, the team will be formed by the two, and if it is so, there is no point in complaining about the process of the default route. Then, Colette, who was watching the situation, submitted an application to Hart¡¯s team along with Yuna, and, in the same way, grabbed Hart¡¯s finger and pushed for approval. And the moment the application passed, Colette casually threw away Hart¡¯s hand, which she had grasped. ¡°Um, look. At the very least, isn¡¯t there a more graceful way, such as holding my hand with both of yours or showing a little shyness? Lady of Viscount Listner.¡± ¡°Oh, why didn¡¯t you ask the Lady of Marquis Carneus to do that?¡± ¡°Deep down, Philine gets seriously embarrassed¡­ ouch.¡± Hart, who was poked by the young lady in question, is probably the least authoritative team leader. ¡°Sure sure, thanks for the treat¡± The supervisor ordered teams to be organized, but such a team should be unexpected. However, Hart¡¯s team, who had skipped the entire process and completed the formation as fast as possible, received the highest evaluation in terms of organization speed, and were automatically assigned the newest destroyer. It is no use saying anything at all. Hurt shrugged his shoulders and accepted the self-imposed team. The matter between Hart and Philine was considered only natural by the people around them. As long as each agrees with the other on a one-on-one basis, it is tasteless to interject. Up to that point, it was within the category of common sense and their tolerance. However, when it comes to Yuna and Colette, Hart was at the receiving resentful looks. The main reason the other cadets turned demonic is the ratio of men and women in the Military Academy being 99:1. Like the stage in the maiden game, out of 100 girls there is 1 real beauty, and they have a 1 in 100 chance of attending the Military Academy. In other words, among the 30,000 students in the 1st grade, there were only three: Philine, Yuna, and Colette. Even if it is understood that Colette¡¯s motive was to protect herself by consolidating with her classmates from middle school, the men around his age couldn¡¯t help looking at Hart as if telling him to do something about it. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the destroyer we¡¯ll be assigned to.¡± Hart, who dared to pretend not to notice the gaze of the surroundings, confirmed the information entered in the terminal. The destroyer they were assigned seems to be the DD422Vel-04319, commonly known as the Velociraptor-class destroyer, adopted from 422 of the Diete calendar. The Royal Army¡¯s destroyers are often named after small dinosaurs. In recent years, in order of generation, they have been named the Buitreraptor class, Velociraptor class, Piloraptor class, Graciliraptor class, Atrociraptor class, and Utahraptor class. If it has ¡®Raptor¡¯ in its model name, it is a Royal Army Destroyer. The destroyer has a total length of 1200 meters and a crew of 150 as well as a large number of Androids. About half of the 4,750 crew members on the 45 training vessels are cadets from the Commandant Department. In addition to the four on Hart¡¯s team, they also came from the Carrier Ship department, Battlecruiser department, and Auxiliary ship department, as well as other non-commissioned officers who have the necessary skills to operate the ship. The main armament of the ship is the Mass Wave AgglomerationEnergy Laser. With magic power, dark energy, magic engines, and conversion devices, you can continue to use them for decades unless fired too much. In addition, the Protective MembraneShield and Multidimensional Magic ConversRadar etc. remain as standard military equipment. The Velociraptor-class is a new destroyer, only one generation down from the latest model, which began deployment last year, and its overall performance has been highly evaluated by the military. As a ship that cadets can use in space flight drills, it is one of the most advanced. ¡°This one¡¯s not bad.¡± It was a modest assessment, but a smile was spilling from his expression. ¡°That¡¯s right. Judging from the ship registration number, it doesn¡¯t appear to be the oldest ship of that series.¡± ¡°Good thing we applied right away. There only ones left are two Pilo-class ships, a Gracila-class ship and an Atroci-class ship.¡± ¡°Destroyers are upgraded to newer models every 16 years, aren¡¯t they? The Pilo-class is no problem, the Gracila-class is 34 years old even in its latest version, and the Atroci-class is over 50 years old. No matter how you think about it, it¡¯s to punish the team that is late to organize.¡± Philine and the others continue to express their approval one after another. Because it is training that requires the formation of ships of various capabilities, even if you¡¯re late, it doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be left behind. In addition, destroyers are much faster than escort ships and transport ships. However, it is obvious that it will be a struggle to operate a ship from half a century ago. To top it off, the instructor would yell at them and they wouldn¡¯t get a high evaluation. The surrounding cadets, who had been listening to the conversation between Hart and his team, hurriedly began to organize themselves. ¡°Mr. Hart should consult with the other four destroyer captains to draft the fleet formation and the actual battle plan. We will create a route plan and an operational plan.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to increase the burden on the new ship to compensate for the difference in performance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to your judgment, Captain.¡± Hart, whose fingers were repeatedly manipulated, reviewed the composition table, and found that Philine was the Executive Officer, Yuna was the Chief Accountant, and Colette was the Chief of Aviation. The formation of the other teams was halfway through, and now the captains of the transport ship began voting for the fleet names. The Republic of Frodi is also aware of Space Flight Drill, but on the paperwork it is a Transport Troupe, with 24 of the 47 ships being transported. The name of the fleet must also be something like a troupe. Looking at the candidates, there were names of well-organized transport troupes, such as the Silk Road Troupe and the Gold Rush Troupe, and in opposition to these, the Catcher¡¯s Den Troupe and the Overnight Gold Troupe were mentioned. Of course, all were rejected. These were the team names that the Royal Army would register as a transport troupe on the paperwork. It¡¯s obvious that the instructor would reprimand them later for attracting too much attention. ¡°This name should be safe¡­¡­. Aladdin Troupe?¡± Hart, who was looking at the candidates, read out the name of one of the troupes, not simply in a reading tone, but in a tone that made it seem unacceptable and suspicious. Then a look of heartfelt disgust appeared on his face. Based on the play through knowledge that unexpectedly came back to him, the Aladdin troupe was the team used as a pretext for the start of the interstellar war that would suddenly break out between the Monarchy of Diete and the Coalition of Humanity. The Human Coalition, knowing that the Aladdin Troupe was a fleet of the Diete Monarchy, attempted to conduct an inspection in the outer rim of the Nephthys system. However, the Diete Monarchy could not give any jurisdiction to the Human Coalition. If they were caught, they would be taken away, so legally and practically, the only option was to resist. And if they resist, they will capture or destroy all the ships, using a preemptive strike by the Monarchy of Diete as an excuse. The Coalition of Humanity wanted an excuse for open domestic war due to the long natural ceasefire period. It never occurred to Hart that it was a ship that was performing Space Flight Drills. However, when he thought about it again, it seemed natural for the opponent to target a ship that is undergoing flight training. As long as the reason for the start of the war is not scrutinized, it is a reasonable decision to aim for trainees who cannot take adequate initial response to troubles. In addition, if you can destroy or capture more than 2,000 high magic holders belonging to the Commandant department, the result will be equivalent to destroying a whole fleet. From his recollection, the Human Coalition side should have about twice their own war potential. The Coalition cannot send a large force to the region around the Republic of Frodi, but two units joined as a working force to form a force of 4 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 32 escort ships, are waiting to surround them. Surrounded by a double the force difference, the opponent also has overwhelming high magic power compared to their ships. Outside such an active force, there are also support vessels waiting in case of emergency. On the other hand, the magic power that can be manipulated by allies is a group of newly licensed 2nd year cadets of the Military Academy who are far inferior to new recruits. No matter where they run away, it becomes a one-sided massacre, and they will be kicked to the curb without being able to resist. ¡°Why do you look so disgusted?¡± Hart was reminded again that this world was in hard mode. CH 8 The main planet of the neutral state of Frodi is about 180 light-years away from the capital planet of the Monarchy of Diete. This distance was about the same as to Earth, so it would take 18 years for a one way trip at the time of independence 439 years ago. Thanks to this, when celestial bodies were plunged into Earth, the Earth nations could not afford to fight back, and the Diete government was able to achieve independence from Earth. In the present day, with the development of the Magic Element Engine, the long and large route became the one-way 65-day route. Since it can travel 100 times faster than at that time, it is just the right distance for the Military Academy flight drills. What is done in such a long-term training is to obtain a ship navigation license. Without it, the warship could not be operated, and before that, cadets of the Commandant Department would not be able to move to the 4th Year. On the outward journey, all cadets undergo ship maneuvering practical exams. The written and simulation tests are completed at the Military Academy, and the practical tests are to confirm if the actual operation of the magic engine, the output adjustment, the short-range warp, etc. can actually be performed. The test is for determining the ability to adjust magic power, and those who get the passing grade are granted a general-purpose license from class A to B, and those who fail are given a class C military license. At that time, the spirit crystal that Hart handed out had a great effect, and all four received a perfect evaluation for perfect control, earning a class A license for ships up to standard value of 5. The license is a perpetual qualification, and a class A license allows for unrestricted solo operation of the ship. As it was, even after retiring from the military, one can operate passenger ships and merchant ships, and not be stranded on the streets. The cadets aboard the ship were astonished by the effects of the spirit crystals and asked where to get them. Even with the spirit crystals, they would still be no match for a fleet of soldiers with twice the skill. Even if they were captured by the enemy, it cannot be reproduced, but if the cadets were captured and interrogated, it would be disadvantageous in the war, so it cannot be handed over to the cadets here. After passing the exam, Hart submittedas an excuse various proposals that would contribute to ensuring the safety of the fleet, assuming situations and countermeasures in case the fleet faces a crisis. The result was simply evaluated as him being enthusiastic about strategy planning. The natural ceasefire period was so long that even the instructors did not have a sense of urgency. Hart, whose proposals were all dismissed, was forced to ask the instructors how to deal with the situations individually. The purpose of the enemy in the event of an attack, the distance and content of the warnings by the Monarchy of Diete Military, the criteria for judging when to commit to a response and corresponding space tactics, the anticipated tactics of the enemy targeting from a light cruiser, the method of confirming the affiliation of the enemy ship, how to escape on the transport ship, how to communicate to the friendly forces. After recording the various stories of the instructors, the Aladdin Troupe arrived at Nephthys, the main planet of the Republic of Frodi. However, the group only landed at the space station that orbited Nephthys. The cadets, who were once again informed that this was not a sightseeing trip but a flight drill, reluctantly switched their cargo and left the only other country they could enter. And when he reached the outer edge of the Frodi system, Hart experienced the first of many hard mode developments. It was Seraphina, an A-class spirit who was vigilant of the airspace, who first sensed the abnormal situation. The Multidimensional Magic ConverRadar identified a ship¡¯s shadow approaching at sub-light speed from the port rear, where there was no target. The ship¡¯s Magical Conversion Output was observed to be on the scale of a light cruiser. If it continued on this path, it would intersect the Aladdin Troupe in 41 minutes. Hart immediately issued an alert to the entire fleet with the confirmed information. ¡°Destroyer No. 1, Captain Hiragi to the entire fleet. Type 4, we have an abnormal situation. From the port rear, from the sector without target, confirmed shadow of one Class 6 and three Class 5 ships approaching our fleet at sub-light speed. Approximately 41 minutes to intersection. Remain vigilant. This ship will come into contact with a ship of unknown affiliation.¡± Hart, issuing a warning, sent the ship to the port side of the fleet. Subsequently, he ordered the ship to transition to a Type 1 combat formation aimed at preventing the collision of one approaching light cruiser class and three destroyer-class vessels. First of all, a warning was issued by the magic communication and the light signal emission, and if they do not comply, it is transmitted that the propulsion engine will be bombarded and the ship will be forced to stop. Since the ship¡¯s operations are supplemented by artificial spirits, the number of Android combat units will be increased to prepare for a battle in the event of a forced berthing. In addition, it is reported to the instructors by attaching a countermeasure plan that was previously submitted, assuming an abnormally approaching ship. Hart, who is moving away from the fleet while preparing for battle in an instant, receives a stop order from a light cruiser instructor. ¡°Cadet Hiragi, we¡¯re not an advancing fleet. If the ship is registered to the Republic of Frodi, any indiscretion could lead to an inter-state incident.¡± The instructor sternly pointed out, but did not mention how to deal with the light cruiser approaching at sub-light speed. Even if the fleet tried to evacuate, they only had a rough idea of what they were up against, and they had no idea which direction to run. Moreover, there are a number of new and old warships, and each ship captain was either newly licensed or under provisional license. Even if they were told to avoid the approaching ships, they would be unable to do so. Hart, while affirming the instructor¡¯s words and actions, presented a feasible proposal that would currently be possible. ¡°Yes, sir. The dangerous approach of a ship of unknown affiliation is contrary to Navigation laws of the Monarchy, the Republic, and the Coalition. First of all, we will point out illegal maneuvering by communication and ask the ship to stop. If they do not comply, the other party¡¯s maneuvers are either deliberate or the ship is inoperable. In either case, the ship must be stopped to avoid a collision.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but it will be a difficult task against a ship moving at sub-light speed.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. This ship will approach the unknown ship for 17 minutes, then turn around and run parallel with it at an angle to issue warnings, and if it does not comply, run parallel with it and open fire. That will give you time to call a halt.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Discuss with other instructors.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. If an abort order is issued, we will abort the operation. Until then, we will take action to prevent the collision in time.¡± ¡°Very well¡± This is the response plan Hart had submitted in advance, with modifications based on the opinions of his instructors. Instructors who understood the allegations that had been theoretically armed had to approve the action. The crew of the destroyer, who had been silently watching the situation, including Philine, were all relieved to hear the instructor¡¯s approval. This will result in actions with the permission of the instructor, so the crew will not be held accountable. The movement of the ship instantly became smoother after receiving the approval from the top. ¡°Philine, switch all spacesuits to anti-space mode.¡± ¡°Roger. All hands, switch spacesuits to anti-space. From this point, the ship will attempt a forced stop, including artillery, against the unknown fleet.¡± ¡°Yuna, prepare the Android and Drone units.¡± ¡°Uh, yes, sir.¡± ¡°Colette, Anti-Artillery Defenses.¡± ¡°Copy that. Activating the barometric pressure regulators in preparation for artillery barrage. Blocking Bulkhead between main and secondary passages. Next, all unnecessary passages also blocked. Emergency warning lights activated on all bulkheads.¡± The destroyer DD422Vel-04319, which was gradually preparing for battle, jumped to an ideal position diagonally ahead of the opponent moving at sub-light speed, guided by class-A spirit Seraphina. If you are moving at sub-light speed ahead of the opponent¡¯s fleet, you will never be able to catch up to the ship in front of you, even if the ship behind you fires a shell or missile Since they can determine that the only position the ship can be attacked is at the stern, by concentrating the Protective MembraneShield on the stern of the ship, the other ship¡¯s Mass Wave AgglomerationEnergy Laser can effectively be blocked. In other words, Hart and the others were ideally placed to send as many communication as they liked without being attacked by the other party. From there, Hart began to send clear warnings using multiple languages, including common languages, using every possible method of communication toward the other party¡¯s disguised fleet. That their affiliation is a destroyer of the Monarchy of Diete Military. There¡¯s a fleet ahead, and if they proceed as it is, they will intersect. The majority of the vessels are transport ships, and evasive action cannot be taken against sub-light speed approach. The current dangerous maneuvering is in violation of any of the three States Navigation Laws. If ignored and approached as is, they must take emergency evacuation action to avoid collision by artillery fire. However, the other fleet did not show any signs of stopping. When communications are received in such a scenario and they are stopped, the pretext of an on the spot inspection cannot be utilized. Of the 12 minutes time limit, 4 minutes pass in an instant. ¡°It seems there is no intention of stopping.¡± ¡°What will you do, Mr. Hart?¡± ¡°Bombard as planned. We have enough records to justify the attack. ¡­¡­ This is Captain Hiragi. Type 1 combat deployment is issued. From now on, the ship will commence bombardment on the opposing fleet. The captain himself will conduct the bombardment via spirit crystals.¡± As the alarm sounded on the ship, Hart secretly turned to Seraphina and muttered ¡°All limits have been lifted¡±. Then, Seraphina, who had appeared small on the information terminal, nodded back with a smile. ¡°Drop the lead destroyer.¡± At the same time as the order, the golden glow stretched in layers, slightly illuminating a corner of the galaxy. Immediately after, the energy broke through the shield of the disguised Coalition destroyer, broke through the side of the ship, burned away the interior, and pierced out the bottom of the ship. Immediately after, a ball of light swelled up and released a dazzling flash of light, then dropped out, scattering wreckage in a ring. ¡°Next, drop the second destroyer¡± At the moment the new order was issued, a golden light was issued without even a momentary lag, this time cutting through the shield of the second ship and penetrating through the interior of the ship. This also scatters flashes and dropped out while emitting a flash of light. And the enemy finally began to fight back. First, a shield was generated at the stern of the Hart¡¯s destroyer, followed by a red glow from two enemy ships, which was repelled by the shield and scattered. ¡°Enemy ships, opening fire!¡± ¡°The amount of energy observed exceeds the standard values for light cruisers and destroyers, respectively. The other fleet is clearly a military combat fleet.¡± ¡°They¡¯re finally revealing themselves.¡± Other cadets in the combat command center began to report what they could see on the monitors one after another. Hart notified the other ships of his conclusion. [This is the Monarchy of Diete Military, destroyer DD422Vel-04319. Captain Hart Hiragi. Your fleet is determined to be a disguised combat fleet. In addition, violations of Navigation Laws, dangerously approaching while disregarding stop orders, and unjustified artillery action against a ship under forced stop based on emergency evacuation are called clear acts of aggression against the Monarchy of Diete forces. Surrender immediately. If not, we will drop every last one of you.] Even during Hart¡¯s warning, the attack from the other ships continued. However, any attack was rebounded by the shield that Seraphina automatically activated. Hart sent the progress to the friendly fleet and ordered the resumption of the attack. ¡°Continue the attack. First, fire on the enemy destroyer. Then, fire on the cruiser.¡± The golden lights emitted from Hart¡¯s ship continue to penetrate the enemy ships one after another. The destroyer, whose attitude control vent on the right side wall, the launch port of the onboard boat at the rear, and the stern propulsion port were scraped off one after another, scattered a dazzling flash of light and exploded. The light cruiser that was targeted next was also bombarded by the golden lights that attacked one after another, the walls were scraped, and all sides of the ship were wrecked. On the other hand, the red light emitted from the enemy ships was completely repelled by the golden walls without leaving any residue. In the case of destroyers and light cruisers, the attack power of light cruisers is overwhelmingly superior. In the first place, the output of the magic element engine is different, so if they fire on each other head on in empty space, the destroyer cannot win in principle. The two points in Hart¡¯s favor are that he is moving forward at sub-light speed while positioning ahead of his opponent, and that he is supported by an artificial spirit. The current positioning is good enough to even out the odds. And the support of A-class spirits had the advantage of creating a one-sided match, rather than reversing the difference in strength between the two ship types. It was as if they had made a technological leap of at least a thousand years. Or rather, it is simply the trump card for the true end in the Hard Mode of the Maiden Game. The developer, Dr. Kerman, is a brilliant man unless it comes to financial management. ¡°Enemy ships, attempting to reverse course and retreat¡± ¡°Pursue. Follow up with bombardment and destroy all main and secondary armament on enemy ship. Then, damages each area, including energy bypasses, and destroy defenses within enemy ships. From then, this ship will forcefully berth the enemy ships and board, send the Android units and capture the enemy. We must clarify their purpose of action.¡± In addition to reducing the hit rate, warships have a long, narrow rectangular shape so that their area when facing the front is reduced. The side walls of the enemy ships, which had broken through and began to turn over, were bombarded as if with a large shower, and numerous holes were pierced. At the same time, Hart¡¯s destroyer also reversed and came around to a position parallel to the flank of the opponent¡¯s ship. In the meantime, Philine evacuates the cadets from the gangway. Yuna made final checks of the android and combat drones units, and Colette prepared for a forced berth to the enemy ship. ¡°Ideally, we want to capture multiple enemy soldiers alive. If not possible, confirm their affiliation.¡± On the full surface of the main monitor, the huge hull of a wounded enemy light cruiser approaches. ¡°Coming in for a forced port¡± ¡°All hands, brace for the impact.¡± The inside of the ship, which had been heavily anchored and wired to the enemy ship, shook violently, and Hart and others were shaken up and down. Before the impact completely subsided, a forced entryway is connected from the port entrance through the side wall of the nearly wrecked enemy ship. Immediately after the passage was forcibly created, 300 military androids, that were standing by in combat readiness, rushed into the enemy ship one after another. It is easy to forget, but this is a maiden game in which girls fall in love. CH 9 After the forced berth into the wrecked light cruiser, an energy output is then sent from the ship¡¯s own magic element engine to the other ship, which disrupts its energy to prevent escape. This takes advantage of the characteristic that keeps multiple magic power holders from synchronizing to the magic engine, causing mass conversion with magic power that greatly exceeds the opponent, and forcibly inhibits the operation of the opponent¡¯s magic engine. This method was introduced in the ported version of ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, but it is a rough process with extremely limited implementation status, which can only be performed if there are no other enemy ships around and it is close to the other ship. In the meantime, 300 android units and a combat drone corps sent internal footage from within the enemy ship. The boarding party had invaded the interior, where no air leak had occurred, and were in a fierce firefight with enemy androids and drones. The Anti-Intrusion system is not working because the enemy¡¯s magic engine is inhibited. In the first place, the enemy ship itself was in tatters, and the erosion rate was steadily increasing. ¡°Entry through the main passage of the enemy ship. Engaged with enemy troops. We have identified the enemy ship as a Coalition of Humanity light cruiser.¡± ¡°Send an urgent transmission to friendly fleet via Magic Conversion Wave. [Have secured evidence of unidentified ship being a disguised Coalition light cruiser. This is an operation by the Coalition fleet aimed at the Royal Fleet. There is a risk of enemy reinforcements. Please respond]. That is all.¡± ¡°Yes, sir, understood. Transmitting to friendly fleet.¡± Real-time footage is being sent to the friendly fleet, but only one ship stands out from the fleet, resulting in a 6-minute time lag in communications. Immediately, the cadets in charge of communication sent the situation via Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave. ¡°The boarding party secured three downed enemy soldiers in need of medical assistance, two wounded enemy soldiers, and five deceased. Team D will transport them to the ship.¡± ¡°The priority of transport is the order of survivors of healthy survivors, wounded survivors, high-ranked corpses, and low-corpses in a safe and secure manner.¡± ¡°Copy that.¡± About 20% of friendly androids and combat drones have already suffered damage. Certainly, the total length of the light cruiser is twice that of the destroyer, and there are a lot of internal forces, too. However, despite the destruction of the ship¡¯s hull and defense system, and the large number of fighters and android soldiers on the ship being sucked out of the ship along with the air leak, the response capability was too high. As the fierce battle continued inside, the artificial spirit Seraphina issued a new warning with a calm voice. ¡°Alert. 24 ships approaching at sub-light speed from the front and left of the friendly fleet, and in front and above the galactic reference plane. There are 2 class 6 vessels, 6 class 5 vessels, and 16 class 4 vessels. Estimated time of arrival, 35 minutes. 99% chance of enemy reinforcements.¡± ¡°Tch. The warp measurement work won¡¯t be done in time.¡± Apparently, the hidden enemy fleet rushed in after confirming the explosion of the destroyer. It seems they determined that there was a preemptive attack by the Monarchy of Diete. thought Hart. Despite the legitimacy of the attack from the Monarchy of Diete, it will be difficult to disengage. Hyper-navigational warps through high-dimensional space require measuring dark matter in high-dimensional space in advance. If you jump without calculating the amount of energy generated, the detour route of obstacles, the timing of shield strengthening, etc., they would be swallowed up by the vortex of energy in high-dimensional space and even the elements would be broken down. However, it is not possible to measure in about an hour, except for Hart¡¯s ship, which is supported by the Artificial Spirit. But even if they can¡¯t warp, there¡¯s no reason not to inform them of the enemy¡¯s imminent arrival. ¡°Emergency transmission to friendly fleet via Magic Conversion Wave. [From the front and left and right wings of the fleet, the front and top of the galactic reference plane, confirmed the shadow of two light cruisers, six destroyer-class ships, and 16 escort ship-class vessels with a semi-enclosed net at sub-light speed. Estimated to be an enemy separate fleet].¡± As the fierce firefight continued, Hart issued a warning to the enemy ship being berthed. ¡°Royal Military Destroyer, Captain Hiragi, to the Coalition light cruiser. In 15 minutes, we will release the berth and drop your ship. We have already secured the records of the attack and crew members who will serve as witnesses. We have no reason to hold the ship. Surrender. If not, you will be reduced to space dust. Those who surrender should do so with a white flag or both hands raised.¡± When Hart cut off the communication, Philine turned with a suspicious expression. ¡°Mr. Hart. If they think that surrender will be followed by interrogation and a death penalty, they will not comply.¡± ¡°If they speak frankly, they will not be interrogated. But I can¡¯t guarantee their life, so there¡¯s nothing I can do about that.¡± ¡°Then, as the Marquis of Carneus, let me call for as much consideration for life as possible. The testimony will be in the best interest of the Monarchy, and perhaps it will be accepted.¡± ¡°In that case, the guarantee of life is not an affirmation, but we ask for consideration as much as possible.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll take over the call then.¡± After Philine declared her name and again called for their surrender, the enemy soldiers gradually began to surrender. Eventually, the captain of the enemy ship also sent a message to accept the call for surrender. However, the content said that the transfer would take time because there were many injured personnel. Judging that it was to delay for enemy reinforcements to arrive, Hart again replaced Philine as a communicator. ¡°This is Royal Destroyer, Captain Hiragi. No stalling will be approved. Finish the transfer by time as transmitted.¡± ¡°This is Major Alexis Hume, the captain of the ship. As you are aware, the ship has been wrecked, the passageways have been cut off, and there are a number of injured. Many of the crew cannot physically get there. Give me another 20 minutes.¡± Hart gasped involuntarily at the man who appeared in the video feed. Calm and gentle eyes with deep-carved and impressive features. At first glance, the self-proclaimed Major Hume, who appears to be of Black-haired Italian, is believed to be Brigadier General Marcelino Salinas. He is a heartthrob character on the enemy side added in the ported version, and is one of the operators of the mobile fortress with both genetically engineered high-spec abilities and royal-class magic power value. As a private citizen, he is very mild-mannered, but he has a strong will to carry out his goals. As a soldier, he is cold-hearted, willing to sacrifice his allies, and efficiently produces results. This time, as a member of the force that created the pretext for the war, he played an important role in the battle to drive the Aladdin Troupe. Then, during the invasion of Diros, he operated one of their mobile fortresses and attacked. After that, he was promoted to Rear Admiral and became a fleet commander, chasing down the heroine as she escaped to other star systems with students of the Magic Academy. In some routes, he would have the middle boss position. In the ported version, there is also an ending in which the heroine becomes Salinas¡¯ concubine and has a child. In any case, Salinas, who is currently impersonating Major Hume, is lying. ¡°We will not respond to any request for a time extension. If you don¡¯t make it, we¡¯ll assume you¡¯re stalling, and leave you behind to drop out. If you don¡¯t want that, use androids to hasten the transfer. However, only humans may board. We will not stand to be sabotaged.¡± Hart looked back at him with a serious expression, but he returned an irreverent expression and maintained his ignorance. Salinas then communicated that he would use androids to rush the transfer. He was quick to make such a decision. Hart arranged several rooms to house prisoners of war, had the surrendered enemies disarmed and biometrically registered, and instructed their information terminals be taken and thrown into separate rooms. 142 prisoners of war were captured, about 60% of the number of light cruiser crew members, due to the surrender of the other party. It would be easy for a 600-meter-long destroyer to carry that many, and if they increase the utilization rate of food plants that were added due to difficulties encountered on the way back from the celestial swarm of Earth, they won¡¯t run out of food. However, there is a sense of crisis in the situation where the number of enemy soldiers on board is comparable to that of allies. Moreover, half of the allies are cadets less than recruits, and the rest are non-commissioned officers or below. On the other hand, the other party is an elite unit of regular military personnel engaged in special operations. As for Brigadier General Salinas, who is the most important person to watch out for, Hart assigned one room at the Captain¡¯s discretion because he was in battle, locked it tightly, and assigned 18 combat androids for exclusive surveillance. The captured character of the maiden game is basically a cheat. You never know what they will do to you if you are not careful. There were three shifts of android soldiers on the watch, six at all times, and any requests from him were to be confirmed by Hart via Android. In addition, Seraphina¡¯s alter is added to the surveillance after disappearing. Meanwhile, an unfavorable transmission came in from the instructor. ¡°Attention, all ships from the flagship. From this point on, the fleet will retreat back to the Republic of Frodi. Reverse course.¡± Knowing that detached force was standing behind him, Hart frowned at the bad move. Unable to explain why he knew, he briefly hesitated and sent the message back to the flagship. ¡°Dispatch, destroyer No.1 to flagship. The enemy carried out a surprise attack after an encirclement was completed. I suspect that opening only one place in the siege network is a trap that hides a separate unit and lures our troops in. I propose a strategy for all ships to break through the front and then leave the sector.¡± After a short pause, a negative message was sent from the light cruiser. ¡°The reason why only the rear is empty is because that is the space we passed through. Destroyer No. 1, position between the enemy ships on the left-wing and the allied fleet, and support the withdrawal.¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± By the time that the order was received, the allied fleet had already reversed course and began its departure to the Republic of Frodi. Therefore, Hart, who was located in the sector automatically instructed, reluctantly conveyed his intention to consent. It would be extremely difficult for the allied fleet to withdraw from here. Of course, he doesn¡¯t want any sacrifices, but he has to follow the instructions as much as possible on the record. After 14 minutes and 20 seconds, Salinas had surrendered, and after securing him, Hart had 15 minutes to remove the ship from berth. While packing them disarmed, they remove the anchor and fixed wires of the ship, return the entryway, and separate from the destroyer. Immediately distanced from the wrecked light cruiser, he dropped it with artillery fire while deploying shields. There are 13 minutes left until contact with the enemy approaching from the left flank. ¡°From now on, based on the orders of the flagship, we will inhibit the advance of the enemy fleet. This is a reenactment of the previous attack on the light cruiser and three destroyers. We will catch up with the friendly fleet preceding us, and attack the enemy unilaterally as we position ourselves in front of them.¡± With the wreckage of the destroyed light cruiser in its back, Hart¡¯s destroyer glided out of the sector. Eventually, they engage with the enemy destroyer and escort ship that were chasing, and begin a fireworks display while maintaining a long distance with a low hit rate. The battle itself is a more secure reproduction of the previous one. As a result, the ship was intact, but the results of the battle were poor, with only one enemy escort ship defeated and dropped out, and only one destroyer slightly damaged. However, while pretending to evade the enemy¡¯s bombardment, he was able to gradually avoid the main planet Nephthys and proceed outside the system. Far beyond such a small artillery battle, the friendly fleet was pushing toward the main planet of the Frodi system, away from the collapsing formation. However, a new shadow appeared between the friendly fleet and Nephthys. ¡°Confirmed the shadow of 1 class 6 vessel, 3 class 5 vessels, and 16 class 4 vessels in front of the friendly fleet. It looks like another squadron.¡± ¡°I had read the enemy¡¯s strategy, and advised on countermeasures, but an order is an order.¡± Philine and the others are impressed, but in reality it is not a prediction, but a precognition from a dream. After some thought, Hart decided to simultaneously transmit all the information on the battle records via magic communication to each sector of the system, including Nephthys, the main planet of the Republic of Frodi. ¡°From this point on, we will transmit all battle records through magic communication to all sectors, including the Republic¡¯s main planet. The purpose is to explain the reason for the battle in the Frodi system. And to prove that the main perpetrator of the case is the Coalition. Lastly, to draw the attention of the Combined Fleet to this us.¡± ¡°Mr. Hart, isn¡¯t it better to ask the instructor for orders?¡± ¡°The instructors are in battle with an evenly matched opponent while defending the transport ships. Moreover, the enemy reinforcements are imminent, so we can¡¯t afford to. And if we release the information, the Coalition will have to turn its response capabilities to the ship that is sending inconvenient information.¡± Hart, who managed to persuade Philine, began to stream their battle record. With this, the Coalition will not be able to claim, ¡°During an inspection, they attacked and tried to run, so we pursued as they headed towards their star system and were forced to shoot them down ¡°, etc. If evidence is sent to the majority, including civilian urban areas, they will not be able to hide it from the political discretion of the Republic or have events be to the Coalition side¡¯s advantage. ¡°A total of 10 enemy ships are in pursuit. 1 Light Cruiser, 4 Destroyers, 5 Escort Ships.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible for us to continue the fight. Contact the flagship. [Dispatch, Destroyer No.1 to, flagship. We are engaged with 10 times the enemy ship. We are not yet surrounded, and can leave the system while drawing enemies away. There is a high possibility that the evidence of set up by the Coalition side can be brought back to the home sector. Request instructions].¡± At this point, they are in battle, and if they are stopped, they will be surrounded, so even if the instructor says no, there is no choice but to flee at the captain¡¯s discretion. Hart considered accepting the instructor¡¯s orders and running away under false pretenses, but fortunately, what came back was approval. ¡°Destroyer No. 1, you are cleared to leave the sector with the enemy fleet in tow.¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± In a brief communication, the instructors sent the casualty count on both sides. The friendly dropouts were 3 destroyers, 7 escort ships, and 12 transport ships. The enemy lost 1 light cruiser, 5 destroyers, and 6 escort ships. However, 1 enemy light cruiser and 3 destroyers are Hart¡¯s battle achievements. It can be seen that they are only increasing their losses without achieving any significant results. Although there is a limit in the output of the magic element engine, the overwhelming difference in magic power created a difference in both artillery bombardment and shield capability. Therefore, as soon as they were attacked, victory or defeat had already been decided. Classmates were being dropped out or captured one after another. ¡°The most important mission of the ship is to bring back information of the surprise attack by the Human Coalition to the home sector. We cannot risk damaging the ship to provide support and failing our mission. Accelerate and leave the current sector.¡± The destroyer, named after a small dinosaur, lost its former companions and sped away alone through the midst of space. For some reason, it held a handsome guy in its jaw. CH 10 A few days after leaving the combat sector. Hart, who shook off his pursuers and secured his safety, decided to attempt a cross-examination of the prisoners. Rightfully, it should be left to the specialists after bringing them back to the home sector, but then he would miss the opportunity to obtain advanced information about the enemy¡¯s operation. Thus, as the Captain, Hart made it a pretext to confirm the minimum necessary information, such as why the ship attacked and whether other enemy ships were lurking around, in order to ensure the safety of navigation. The interrogation method in this case is quite simple. They simply injected a powerful truth serum and asked questions that needed answering without fear of breaking their minds. Of the 142 people secured prisoners, 14 died of battle wounds, but the rest are still alive. From the survivors who were isolated separately, they could extract a few who are likely to break and question them even if some of them died. But ahead of the interrogation, Hart handed over a personal information terminal with a spirit crystal connected to the captured handsome guy via Android and secretly interviewed him. ¡°I am the captain, Hart Hiragi. Major Alexis Hume. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I¡¯ll be questioning you from now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a good night¡¯s sleep. My body has become a little sluggish, though. Captain Hiragi.¡± The handsome guy, who had been completely cut off from information, did not show any signs of anxiety, and on the contrary, responded to the conversation in a calm manner. However, his smile only went so far. ¡°That¡¯s an enviable story. I¡¯ve had a lot of trouble here. By the way, Brigadier General Marcelino Salinas. Although the mission to create an easy-to-understand pretext for the Coalition starting a war has failed, I would like to talk about the forces that are gathering in the Loki star system, which will be the forward base.¡± Salinas suddenly lost his expression and closed his mouth in a single line for a while, looking at Hurt¡¯s expression. What answer he found from there was that Hart was sure of the information. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ that¡¯s quite straightforward. Captain Hiragi.¡± While Salinas has been trying to get some information out of the conversation, Hart spells out even more important words. ¡°As for Operation Fenrir, it¡¯s quickest to ask the Brigadier General, one of the Fortress Operators. If you use deception or silence, we will continue to administer truth serum until your mind breaks. After all, the Capital Planet Diros is a danger of the destruction. First of all, let¡¯s talk about the number of mobile fortresses.¡± Salinas¡¯s expression changed to a half smile. The words are so accurate that there was no longer any doubt that the other party had already grasped the information. In that case, it is impossible to deceive with the tip of the tongue, and even if he resists, it will result in nothing but a truth serum overdose. In the first place, as he was trapped on a fast destroyer for several days, he could not hope for rescue from his allies, and returning to his home sector was near impossible. Salinas had no choice but to think of his position and personal safety. Hart, on the other hand, personally wanted to kill Salinas. He was a fearsome opponent with genetically engineered high-spec abilities and royal-grade magic power, who could hunt down and kill his allies one after another, and even ensnare the heroine depending on the situation. But his value as a prisoner of war is extremely high. By obtaining information about the invasion from the captured Coalition Brigadier General, he can be much more persuasive than if it was heard from other lieutenant-level prisoners of war. Therefore, if he speaks honestly, he will be treated as Brigadier General Marcelino Salinas, but if he remains silent, he will be secretly killed via a spirit as Major Alexis Hume. Knowing him, Hart expected the latter choice, but he chose the former after much deliberation. ¡°In order to tell you everything, I would like to seek asylum in the form of being killed in the official records. Otherwise, my tentative family would face death over there.¡± ¡°I can stage Major Hume¡¯s death, but I don¡¯t have the authority to grant asylum. We will take you to Diros and hand you over to General Command at the request of Brigadier General Salinas.¡± ¡°All I ask is a new identity and security of life. And as an asylum seeker, I would be grateful if you could take the food rations here into consideration.¡± Salinas, who was mentally revived in a short time, declared with a smile. Hart, who saw the situation, reluctantly approached him with a deal in mind. ¡°Then, I have a proposal for the Brigadier General.¡± ¡°What kind of proposal do you have?¡± ¡°Since we will take the official record again from the beginning, after the threat of administering truth serum by an interrogation specialist, the brigadier general, who feared for his subordinates, agreed to cooperate himself in exchange for their safety. That way, the brigadier general can be judged highly willing to cooperate and more valuable to the Monarchy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a very nice offer. But what are your merits.¡± ¡°The duty of the royal military is to protect the Monarchy. If we can get the cooperation of the brigadier general and learn more about the coalition¡¯s operations, I have decided that the rest is trivial. Regarding the future of the Brigadier General, I will also ask for assistance from the Marquis of Carneus.¡± ¡°Then I see no reason to refuse.¡± Hart¡¯s idea was to make Brigadier General Salinas the first witness to the Coalition¡¯s Fenrir fleet rallying in the Loki system. It¡¯s strange that Hart knew about it from the start, and Salinas had no doubt that he had the advantage. As a result of the agreement between the two parties, a communication record was created in which the Brigadier General spoke himself. Thus Hart, who secured the first witness, made a report based on the confession. After that, the crew¡¯s non-commissioned officers and other cadets were added, and the prisoners of war were extracted and cross-examined. Interrogations revealed a great deal of information that was crucial to the Monarchy. The reason for the deliberate unusual approach with the disguised ship was an attempt to test both the disguised ship and the royal fleet under the pretext that there was navigation that could lead to a major accident, and if the royal army resisted, it would give the reason for the war to start. All of the disguised ships were carrying high magic power holders, and they should have been able to overwhelm them in battle. In the Loki system, which is 110 light-years from the Diros system, a large-scale provision stockpile has been completed, and a large force and mobile fortress have been assembled. When the prisoners of war, who were told that Salinas had opened his mouth out of concern for their safety, they revealed the secrets they knew one after another as if a dam had broken down. The cadets and non-commissioned officers who heard them were in an uproar over the gravity of the situation. ¡°In the name of the Marquis of Carneus, I promised to give the greatest consideration to their lives. But to those who perjure or refuse to cooperate in this situation, we will not be forgiving.¡± ¡°Yes. I know what my priority is.¡± After obtaining approval from Philine, Hart listened to 20 of the 128 survivors and obtained information from 13 obedient prisoners and a confession via truth serum from 7 prisoners who were uncooperative. The remaining 108 were left untouched and isolated from those who were questioned, to be taken to their home sector and handed over to the regular army. If amateurs got them all involved, it would hinder the investigation back home. Besides, the essential information that Hart thought that it was necessary to be extracted was sufficient enough. With the information secured, he greatly increased the warp frequency with the help of the artificial spirits and sped toward Diros, the capital planet, at twice the normal speed. 20 days later. After the final warp ended and they reached the capital planet, Hart immediately declared a state of emergency to the Royal Army¡¯s Navigation Control Center using multidimensional magic conversion communication waves. ¡°Emergency declaration. Declaring a state of emergency. This destroyer DD422Vel-04319. Cadet Captain Hart Hiragi. Royal Army Navigation Control Center, please respond. The ship declares a state of emergency. I repeat, the ship declares a state of emergency¡­¡± After sending communication and waiting for about 40 seconds, a multidimensional magic conversion communication wave responded. ¡°This is the Diros Central Royal Army Navigation Control Center. DD422Vel-04319, Report your status.¡± A young controller, slow response time, and a not-so-serious expression. Hart communicated the critical situation at once in order to convey the gravity of the situation. ¡°The 47th space drill fleet to which the ship belongs was ambushed by a Coalition fleet of 50 Ships at the outer edge of the Frodi system. The ship was ordered to disengage when 22 allies and 12 enemies dropped out, and was forced to evacuate from the battle sector while drawing an enemy force 10 times its size. Information on the engagement is also widely known throughout the Frodi system. The main force was besieged, with the high possibility of total annihilation.¡± After a beat, he continued. ¡°This ship holds a record of the engagement with the Coalition Forces. We also hold 128 captured Coalition prisoners. By questioning the prisoners, we also obtained detailed information on how the enemy¡¯s attack was a disguise to gain a pretext for war, that a large force and a mobile fortress are gathering in the Loki star system, and that Operation Fenrir, a mission to invade the capital planet, Diros, is underway. The safety of the ship was critical to the fate of the Monarchy. Hence, handle with the highest priority. There is also a high value prisoner who wishes to seek asylum. I request a communication from a person of general authority before we enter port.¡± ¡°This is the control center. Cadet Hiragi, this communication is part of a training exercise, right?¡± The navigation controller of the control center seemed doubtful about the situation since the reporter was just a cadet. Or perhaps they didn¡¯t want to believe in a national crisis for the first time in 439 years. Hart, who had decided he would not speak, sent a record of the encounter with the Coalition Fleet to the Navigation Control Officer, who seemed eager to hear words of denial. ¡°Captain Hiragi here. This is not a drill. I am sending an excerpt of the engagement record with the enemy fleet, as well as the final communication from the fleet flagship. Please confirm with the highest priority and the largest number of people possible.¡± Hart forwarded the last record sent by the instructors on the light cruiser. It is a record of a fleet battle with the enemy, and there were images of friendly destroyers, escort ships, transport ships, etc. exploding one after another. The instructors in command are heading inward of the Frodi Star System, desperately slowing the rate at which allies are destroyed, besieged by an overwhelmingly superior enemy fleet. But with the emergence of a new fleet ahead, they were completely surrounded. After a few moments of waiting after sending the desperate footage, the correspondent replaced the young controller with the pale-face of the control center commander. Behind the commander, a red alert resounds, signaling a state of emergency, and the center¡¯s staff were running around screaming. ¡°This is the Communications Command of the Royal Army Navigation Control Center. A state of emergency has been declared. Capital planet General Headquarters please respond urgently.¡± ¡°A fleet battle between the Royal Army and Coalition forces has broken out. Numerous friendly ships have been dropped out. Apparently, it was a surprise attack operation by the Coalition of Humanity. One friendly destroyer disengaged the combat sector with a record of the engagement. There are 128 prisoners of war onboard. Also confirmed pursuit by the enemy fleet. Urgent request for rescue of friendly destroyers.¡± ¡°Communications Command of the Royal Army Navigation Control Center to all battleships within the star system. A fleet of the Royal Army has engaged with Coalition forces. The enemy fleet is in pursuit of a friendly ship in retreat. Request support for omnidirectional search of hostiles by Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves¡± ¡°Access to the third space port and the surrounding sector is prohibited. All ships in the vicinity should evacuate promptly. All personnel within the restricted block must evacuate immediately.¡± ¡°The Capital planet General Headquarters issues a Type-2 combat deployment to all forces in the Diete system. As soon as each fleet is ready for launch, depart the port as soon as possible.¡± The communications command center was in an uproar, like a beehive being poked. The source of the uproar looked on and wondered if his remarks might have oversold the threat. The destroyer warped by the artificial spirit based on Hart¡¯s magic power had already shaken off the enemy. In other words, all the actions of the friendly fleet, which were rushing out in a hurry, are futile. However, it was still a situation that should be dealt with on a national level, and it did not matter if the report is determined to be exaggerated at a later date. Therefore, Hart didn¡¯t regret what he had done. From then on, as Hart¡¯s destroyer approached the capital planet, Diros, the Diete system became so hectic like a beehive smashed with a stick. Battalions of warships, battlecruisers, and suppressors poured out from the military space port and space fortress, and the orbital satellites of the capital planet began to operate in battle mode one after another. The thousands of warships that emerged from them formed a wall of light, and they made their way to the outer edge of the system, passing Hart¡¯s destroyer. Wary of the pursuing enemy fleet, the Grand fleet received battle records from Hart and pushed toward the Republic of Frodi. From the wall of light, hundreds of beams split off to create a sphere, which thickly surrounded and protected Hart¡¯s destroyer. Surrounded by such a sphere of light, Hart¡¯s ship was given top priority to enter one of the gates of the spaceport. Two fully armed combat android corps were waiting at the port of arrival. The prisoners were transported individually while being monitored by more than 100 androids per person. Hart and his colleagues were also requisitioned, made to submit all records, and taken to a military facility for debriefing. This overly strict treatment is the fault of the man who never took measures to calm down the turmoil. In a blink of an eye, a week passed. By the time Hart returned, he had already completed a report detailing the enemy¡¯s operational objectives and forward bases. The testimonies of prisoners of war, which were extracted using knowledge of the precognitive dreams, were summarized in a consistent manner, all warnings and battle records were secured, along with the navigation method used as the basis for the attack. And Brigadier General Salinas, who held the highest rank among prisoners of war, is also cooperative. Therefore, Hart was kept on stand-by until the Monarchy confirmed the facts. With so much spare time, he asked if he could do some curriculum during the waiting period, but he was kicked out and told not to do anything unnecessary and overwrite his memory. Afterwards, he just rolled around on the bed and went through the delusional days. The more free time he had, the more frequent the delusions. For example, in this raid, the heavy battleship department issued 176 out of 180 as unrepatriated. Then, what happens to those who were captured instead of dropped out? In addition, do the four who survived take future classes together? There is no choice between 176 and 4 cadets. Of the four survivors, including Hart, three are girls with Duke-class high magic power value with a reference value of 13 capable of operating first-class fortress ships, and an ultra-high magic power boy who can operate the mobile fortress. Their education will be carried out without delay, as four people are cost effective. In addition, the Monarchy of Diete has a huge fortress that was operated by the villainess, Digitalis, in ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, which is essentially moved using multiple magic element engines with multiple people. Omitting the education of Hart, who can move it between star systems, is an impossible decision. Therefore, the birth of a department with only four people since the start of the academy is almost confirmed. After repeating such unrelenting delusions, the confirmation process of the Monarchy was finally completed. In conclusion, Hart¡¯s actions were recognized as a great achievement for defending the Monarchy from the vicious Human Coalition¡¯s schemes. ¡°Cadet Hiragi. For thy service and devotion to the Monarchy, we are truly grateful. The Monarchy acknowledges thy achievement by granting thou honors with a new Viscount peerage and a place in the aristocracy.¡± ¡°Thank you for the blessing. I will continue to do my best and show loyalty to the Monarchy.¡± Hart, who was only the grandson of a Baron, originally ordained as a quasi-aristocrat, but he was knighted and allowed to start a new Viscount family. Peerage higher than a Count with territory cannot be granted unless the person already has a decent vassal corps or their parents are senior aristocrats and in a position to give support. Therefore, this bestowal was the highest evaluation that could be given to the current Hart. Moreover, Sovereign Asteria himself conducted the Conferment Ceremony, and praised Hart in front of the Royal Family and high-ranking aristocrats gathered in the audience chamber, making it an investiture with both name and reality. An aristocrat of such a Monarchy comes with rights and obligations. The rights include institutional protection of pedigree and a wide range of tax exemption privileges. The duty is to cooperate in the fight against the Coalition of Humanity. This award is not only a recognition of his achievements, but also a desire on the part of the Monarchy to impose the obligations of aristocracy on Hart, a quasi-aristocrat who is a high magic power holder but is not obliged to mobilize. However, if the war is left unattended, the future destruction of the planet will come to pass, so Hart has no choice. The status of consideration and tax exemption privileges are attractive to Hart, who has a monopoly on shares in Second Systems Inc. In addition, the state system guarantees that Hart¡¯s title and property can only be inherited by himself and his direct descendants. In this case, both the Monarchy and Hart are in a win-win relationship. Therefore, Hart accepted the conferment of the peerage according to the pre-established schedule. ¡°Hiragi is the family name of thy grandfather. Henceforth thou shalt take a new family name.¡± ¡°Ha. Then, with all due respect, I would like to be known as ¡®Amakawa¡¯ from now on.¡± ¡°I deem this Acceptable. Hereafter, thou shalt be the Viscount of Amakawa.¡± Amakawa, his desired family name, written ¡°Ìì´¨Amagawa¡± in Japanese kanji, which is his roots. The name of the galaxy, ¡°Milky Way GalaxyÌì¤Î´¨ãyºÓ¡± is the origin of the new family name. The reason it was chosen wasn¡¯t too deep, he liked it and it sounded good along with ¡®Ò£ÒôHarukan¡® which was the Chinese character for Hart¡¯s name. Ìì´¨AmakawaÒ£ÒôHaruto¡£ It was a truly brilliant name, like the stars twinkling in the galaxy. CH 11 ¡°Transition to national mobilization system¡± That¡¯s the best way to summarize the current state of the Monarchy. More precisely, the state of a natural truce, which was neither a ceasefire nor an end to the war, has come to an end, and the wartime system has been restored for the first time in 439 years. So far, the Monarchy has been allocating its national budget to boosting its national power rather than military spending. The construction cost of 2,000 ships per fleet is about 500 trillion Rhodes. Combined with 50 years of maintenance, renovation, and personnel costs, it will triple to 1,500 trillion. The annual budget for the entire fleet is 750 trillion, as the annual cost is split by 50, but there are 25 fleets. However, the total population of the Monarchy is 40 billion. In Japan, where ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± was made, the annual budget for a fleet is about 1.875 trillion out of a national budget of 100 trillion. The Military budget includes the cost of construction and maintenance of fortifications and bases, labor costs for personnel assigned outside the fleets, and the cost of developing weapons and equipment, bringing the annual defense budget to 4 trillion, which is less than Japan¡¯s defense budget of 5 trillion. In the Monarchy, the production system was streamlined, the number of androids and other non-manual labor was high, and expenditures exceeding revenues and government bonds were not issued, so it was difficult to say that military spending was putting pressure on the national treasury. Therefore, the Monarchy decided to expand its war potential on a large scale. First, the government decided to increase the number of regular fleets from 50,000 vessels to 70,000 vessels in the short term, and then double the number of regular fleets to 100,000 in the medium term. The total population of the officer class, which can operate military ships with a total length of 600 meters or more, is 2 million, and 100,000 warships is feasible if the national mobilization system is shifted. The 10-piece fleet will be expanded to 20,000 vessels and 5 million crew members. Local squadrons and small fleets were pulled out to keep the number of ships uniform, and the holes were filled with aging and modified ships. The shortage of crew members was replenished with logistical captain-class magic power holders, retired civilian reserves, and personnel recruited from the private sector. At the same time, an attack fleet will be formed to preemptively destroy the expeditionary fleet from the Loki system, which is a Coalition forward base 110 light-years away. In the main story of the Galactic Prince as Hart knows it, the first battle was a planetary defense battle from the invading Coalition forces. Having obtained detailed information on Operation Fenrir from the captured prisoners of war seems to have changed the future significantly. From the 1500 aristocratic families, the first group of high-magic holders, who were worthy of peerage, was dispatched. In the first formation, those who have the least impact on the maintenance of their household, such as the elderly aristocrats who let their children take over the family, and the second sons before independence, are selected. In the conventional aristocratic family, there was a tendency for children after the second son to become independent as soon as possible so as to avoid turmoil among the household. However, the reversal of this trend happens now, and even if part of property is allowed to be inherited, there is a growing movement of people rejoining the family. Senior aristocrats also offered funds, supplies, and support ships free of charge based on the share of the burden presented. Provinces and tax-free privileges were granted to each aristocrat in anticipation of this day. They took the initiative in offering goods in order to maintain those privileges. With the help of wartime recruitment and cooperation of aristocrats, the Royal Army is rapidly increasing its strength. Among the supplies collected by the Royal Army, spirit crystals were also included. Spirit crystals have been the focus of attention even before the resumption of the war. After Hart defeated four enemy ships and fled while being chased by 10 times as many enemies, spirit crystals became a necessity for the captain. ¡°Suddenly the army came. I was told to deliver one million units as soon as possible.¡± ¡°So, did they pay in full?¡± Dr. Kerman, who hadn¡¯t seen Hart in a long time, shrugged his shoulders as soon as he saw him. Neither of them are senior aristocrats, so there was no obligation to provide property free of charge. Since Hart was conferred his peerage this month, he did not enjoy any benefits based on aristocratic privileges, and even if the burden ratio is calculated from the profits, his financial burden would be zero. If asked for supplies, they will have to give priority, but it is natural to ask for payment. ¡°It was deposited the day after it was delivered. Your fianc¨¦e¡¯s family were there as intermediaries.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a gene donor, not a gigolo or a son-in-law. I was more than happy to pass the bill.¡± The Royal Army¡¯s 35th fleet consisted of 70,000 warships. There are 350,000 battlecruisers and space suppression crafts. Including the Vice-Captain, navigator, and spirit crystals for reserve personnel, one million units will be needed. It¡¯s a tremendous number, but there is no problem with delivery. The Doctor can mass-produce spirit crystals as if he were making sweets in a candy factory. The production line has also been significantly enhanced, thanks to the Marquis of Carneus¡¯s hush money. Fortunately, the convenient method of simply connecting to an existing information terminal seems to have been completed quickly. ¡°I¡¯ve saved a lot of money to fund the company¡¯s operations, but I¡¯m not sure what to do.¡± ¡°The Marquis of Carneus alone has 20 million people, right?¡± ¡°If you add large orders, it¡¯s already 20 times to 400 million people.¡± 400 million people make up 1% of the total population of the Monarchy of Diete. Even if one is sold for 100,000 Rhode, if it is sold to 400 million people, it will be 40 trillion Rhode. ¡°Can enough be produced for 400 million people in time? ¡°It¡¯ll take six months under the current system. After that, with the expansion of production and orders, I think it will be a tit-for-tat game.¡± ¡°Even under the current system, will it reach 40 billion people in 50 years?¡± If we sell to 40 billion people, the revenue will be more than 4,000 trillion Rhodes. Even if taxes and expenses are deducted from it, net income is more than 2,000 trillion Rhodes. Even after reaching the entire Monarchy, it will continue to sell to newly born children, so the company can permanently obtain a sales profit. If sold to 500 million people every year, it will be 50 trillion Rhodes. Even if half the profits are left to the company, their income will temporarily be 500 trillion Rhodes each, followed by 12.5 trillion Rhodes every year. Hart firmly pledged not to list the stock, which is the gavel of the hammer, on the market. ¡°If you have income, I think it¡¯s imperative to strengthen the company¡¯s structure. A legal department, an administrative department, a security department, and the establishment of a personal security unit for the doctor. Right now, we have the support of the Marquis of Carneus, but if we can¡¯t handle things in-house, we¡¯ll eventually be taken advantage of.¡± ¡°We have S-class spirits guarding us, so we¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°I think there are a lot of unscrupulous characters out there, like someone who would deliberately bump into you and demand settlement money because they were attacked by a spirit.¡± ¡°Oh, dear. That¡¯s troublesome.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you to take care of it. If the person trying to set you up is a senior aristocrat, it will be a hassle.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯d like to ask the Marquis¡¯ messenger for the initial personnel to set up the organization. If anyone comes in, it¡¯s better to have someone you can negotiate with.¡± The Marquis Carneus is a family of senior aristocrats, but their standing position is different from other households. That is Philine¡¯s promise from Hart to provide genes. The current Hart has four things that even the Marquis cannot ignore. In this case, the best way for the Marquis to benefit is to have a child with Philine while maintaining all their magic, power, property, status, and honor. Therefore, if requested, they will gladly send personnel to the company, eliminate obstacles and troubles, deeply connect the business relationship with the Marquis family affiliates, and strengthen the relationship with the granddaughter. Most important, Philine, like a rival character, opposes or resists Hart and is fighting to hold the initiative. Is it her personality that makes it impossible to succumb to the other party? Or is it because Dorothea has fallen out and the mental hierarchical relationship with Hart has become a top priority? After Hart increased the third and fourth pieces in his hand, her attitude of not backing down in order to gain a mental advantage became more prominent. Hart sighed inwardly and decided to skip Philine and directly approach the Marquis for negotiations. After the transition to the wartime system, a whirlpool of emotions has engulfed the entire system. Those who laughed greatly at the special demand for war, and those who wept as they were deprived of their human resources and goods, and a large amount of money and goods went up and down, and a high speed communication ship using a spirit crystal flew around between the six star systems. The same was true for the Military Academy and other military schools. In the Military academy, the recruitment capacity of the Commandant department in the next fiscal year will be tripled. In addition, the capacity of military schools will be doubled and mass production of combat androids will be carried out. Since only 74 of the approximately 3,300 second-year cadets in the Commandant department were able to survive, it seems the vacancies in teachers and classrooms will also be fully utilized. Due to such bookkeeping, the second grade heavy battleship department has settled down with four people. All four were classmates in middle school, which would normally drown out the feeling of loneliness. However, the four are not always together. Due to the fact that the second grade heavy battleship department became four people, all were assigned some kind of work. And now that the two of them are working as committee members at the same time, Hart is left alone with Yuna. Yuna is the main protagonist of the Maiden Game, and her looks were as blessed as Philine¡¯s. She is usually accompanied by Colette, who is a nuisance, but when she is alone with a mob character without any insect repellent, she can¡¯t help but raise her heart rate. Pure eyes that are slightly droopy, cherry-red colored lips, glossy skin, and a feminine figure. The light brown haired beauty of the mixed race are the results of the genes of her mother, a Takamiya family Baroness with Japanese roots, and her father, a royal who adopted high magic powered people of various races. The reason why Hart cannot help being nervous about Yuna¡¯s charm is that he remains unfamiliar with women because Philine stubbornly refuses to have physical contact with him, following the example of a young lady in a Maiden Game. ¡°Well, I would have liked to have been transferred to the third grade.¡± It was just the two of them in the silent lecture room. Unable to endure such a situation, Hart carelessly talked to himself to find a clue to the conversation. In reality, due to the lack of completion of the curriculum, it is an unlikely future. Hart was expecting to be pointed out and denied, but he was dismayed when someone stared back at him with a look of deep sadness. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Yuna was quivering like a volcano enduring an eruption. On the other hand, a quiet anger, similar to the steam erupting from the ground, was also erupting. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Realizing that he had stepped on the tiger¡¯s tail, Hart was the first to apologize. In retrospect, Hart and other¡¯s classmates had mostly been killed. If they move up to the third grade, they would be thrown into the deadly battlefield a year earlier. Hart himself was prepared for war due to the precognitive dream. In addition, he was a super high magic power holder, and had the leeway to acquire A-class spirits. But that¡¯s impossible for anyone else to relate to. Yuna would likely find the status quo unacceptable. Philine grew up conscious of the rights and duties of aristocrats from an early age. Colette also kept herself in check to calm Yuna down. But Yuna doesn¡¯t have any of these. ¡°I¡¯m scared of war. What do you think, Mr. Hart?¡± The moment Yuna¡¯s anxiety overflowed, Hurt thought of a scene from ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±. It was almost the exact same lines where the heroine expresses her anxiety to the highly likable capture target when they entered the war. The capture character would encourage her saying, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll protect you,¡± and Yuna replies, ¡°But I also have to be on the frontlines,¡± based on her high magic power. In the hard mode storyline, the Monarchy was at an overwhelming disadvantage, so it was impossible for a high magic power holder who could move a first-class fortress ship, like Yuna, to be left behind. At present, the other side is preparing for war first, but it is still not overwhelmingly disadvantageous. However, cadets eventually enter the battlefield. There is no change in Yuna¡¯s mobilization. Looking back on how his affection points rose so much that the lines meant for the capture targets were issued, Hart had various clauses that came to mind. The best boy for Yuna right now is Hart. After all, she hasn¡¯t entered the Magic Academy, and there are no capture targets. There are no school events in this academy, cadet classmates were too rough for a maiden game, so they were rejected by Colette, and they all died in battle the other day. For Yuna, Hart brought a comfort from having been in Middle School with her, gifted her a hard-to-find spirit crystal, had a joint experience of overcoming the Human Coalition raid together, the sense of trust that he led her to survive, and the understanding of the sense of desolation she feels as her classmates were gone. Originally, even though he was less than a mob character, there is a degree to raising the favorability too much. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s certainly unsettling.¡± Hart first showed his understanding to Yuna, who was shaken by anxiety. When they found her in this situation, some of the capture targets calmed Yuna down by showing her a loophole to keep from having to enter the battlefield. There is a way for women to gain a cause for exemption from the battlefield, even if they are cadets, like Yuna, who are aristocrats. First, infants, their biological mothers, and pregnant women are excluded from conscription. Second, for married women and women of childbearing age with fianc¨¦s, recruitment will be postponed. Moreover, even if they are recruited, they will not be sent to the frontline, but will be assigned transportation missions. That is because when considering the stable supply of high magic power holders, others should be recruited first. Unless the nation is cornered to a great extent, abandoning the future will not be an option. A few of the characters in the game took advantage of the fact that aristocratic wives wouldn¡¯t have to go to the frontline and called out to their fianc¨¦es, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get married when this war is over.¡± As could be imagined, the cost of raising a death flag in hard mode was high. If Yuna doesn¡¯t get a not-for-sale spirit crystal and give it to her candidate, and they hadn¡¯t been on the battlefield together, there is a 90% probability the capture target she seduced will die in the battle or become a prisoner of war. After a little hesitation, Hart dared to say almost the same lines as the capture target. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll protect you.¡± ¡°But I also have to be on the frontlines.¡± The words returned by Yuna were exactly as in the precognitive dream. At this point, saying ¡°If you are an aristocratic wife, you won¡¯t have to go to the frontline. Will you become Viscountess Amakawa?¡± will make her a weak heroine who is mentally trapped. Incidentally, the death flag is also a get. Here, Hart dared to choose the wrong option. ¡°I will give you an advanced spirit crystal that is much higher than the intermediate spirit I gave you before¡± Hart returned to the ocean the fish, which he had grasped for a moment with the manly line about protecting, with the adult word ¡°assets¡± between the lines. A Catch & Release. However, in his case, instead of releasing it because he has already caught one and his stomach is full, the first fish he caught resisted and he released the second because his hands were full. Since she was only pretending, where¡¯s the fault in starving her boyfriend? If the man below mob character says that he cannot capture the rival character, that¡¯s all there is to it. However, even if starving, when the second fish is caught, it needs backing to the extent that it does not get bitten by the first fish that was caught. For instance, royalty and the duke family, etc. By the way, the second half of the sophomore year is when the identity of Yuna¡¯s father is revealed. Yuna¡¯s father is Valfrete Asteria, the third prince. Shortly before Hart was born, the Monarchy of Diete had designated the first prince with magic power value of 29,000 as the first heir and the third prince of magic power value of 28,500 as the second heir. At the same time, the magic power value of both princes was so close that there was a tendency to determine the magical powers of their children. However, the third prince made clear his intention not to succeed to the throne. He advanced from the Military Academy to the Royal Army, moved away from the court politics, and had not even entered into a marriage with a high magic power noble lady that could affect the succession of the elder brother. In an army that is not at war, there is no opportunity to earn valor. The third prince was valued for his Royal-class magic power value and willingness to relinquish the throne and serve the Monarchy, and with the backing of the Sovereign, he pushed through the middle of the career path. At a point in his life, the third prince had an affair with the daughter of Baron Takamiya, whom he met in the military. Eventually, his elder brother¡¯s child confirmed a boy with a magic power value of 30,000, and the turmoil subsided. Afterwards, the royal family stabilized when the third prince welcomed the daughter of a Marquis to be his formal wife. When it was time for the royal grandchild to graduate from the high school of the Magic Academy, the succession right second place is changed from the third prince to the Sovereign¡¯s grandchild, and the third prince who was the elder brother¡¯s reserve is given the Duke peerage and became a vassal. Depending on who Yuna aims for at that time, the event where she remembers her father from her childhood and consults her mother about it may or may not occur. If capturing the Royal grandchild or Duke¡¯s son, her status as the daughter of a baroness whose father is unknown is disproportionate. At that time, Yuna¡¯s mother becomes the third prince¡¯s concubine, and Yuna becomes the Duke¡¯s daughter. On the other hand, if the candidate is a quasi-aristocracy or less, the status of the Duke¡¯s daughter will be unbalanced. In that case, the baroness and her daughter will stay together until the capture. Hart suddenly reconsidered, and sprinkled bait again. ¡°Because I¡¯m resented by people who can¡¯t obtain it, I¡¯ll only provide them for three people in secret. I really only want to give it to Philine and Yuna, but if Yuna has it, Colette will definitely find out.¡± ¡°Yes, I may not be confident enough to hide it. Other than that, Hart. Why is it just me and Philine?¡± Yuna looked at Hart, her cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes filled with hope. ¡°I like you second in the world, Yuna. If I had any chance, I would have made you Viscountess Amakawa.¡± Though hungry, he could not easily catch, and missing in a situation where she came to him would be unfortunate. Such a man continues to scatter bait around the fish he released. ¡°I¡¯m not the first, am I?¡± The fish looked at the sprinkling of bait and poked carefully with its mouth. ¡°When I bought shares in Second Systems, I wanted a backing. Philine wanted a high magic power holder as a gene donor in the Marquis¡¯s battle for succession. I have a higher sense of trust in you, so if you two were in the same position, I would have chosen Yuna.¡± Hart sincerely has a high sense of affinity and trust in Yuna. This is because he had seen the various lives of Yuna in the precognitive dream of ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±. Now that he has confirmed the match with reality, there is no room for doubt about Yuna¡¯s personality. So he added¡­ ¡°Philine will inherit the Marquis, so she will not be Viscountess Amakawa. If Philine approves, I would like to cooperate with the Marquis of Carneus and welcome Yuna as the Viscountess of Amakawa.¡± ¡°Hart, do you mean that.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m serious. Are you mad?¡± The man continues to scatter bait. ¡°I¡¯m not upset. Look, I¡¯m also an aristocrat, so I can understand my house and position. And if Hart is serious, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Although the main character of the Maiden game, the fish that was fasting due to lack of love bait, finally took the bait. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Ehehe. It¡¯s a secret.¡± Yuna, who had completely changed her mood, was smiling all the way until the other two returned. The man made an excuse to himself, saying, ¡°I was starving, so couldn¡¯t help myself. It was her fault for being so preoccupied with the struggle for dominance that she didn¡¯t feed me properly.¡± However, this is also one of the story developments. Philine in the storyline has a development that desperately tries to stop the capture target, saying ¡°I don¡¯t care if you like Yuna, as long as you cooperate with me as a high magic power gene donor¡± to the character that the heroine aims for. What Hart hoped was for Philine, who thought the gene donation was confirmed and secure, to be cornered by a change in circumstances and break down and give in to his demands. Indeed, it is a typical scene in a maiden game, a game of love. CH 12 ¡°Gueh¡± Hart, who was hit in the abdomen as he looked back, groaned in spite of himself. The culprit was Miss Colette of the Viscount Listner household. She is a close friend who gently watches over Yuna, smiling as softly as the flowers swaying in the wind. The maiden, who could make even flowers blush with her beauty, hit Hart¡¯s abdomen behind the school building while swinging her wavy long pale green hair that stretched to her waist. Completely on his guard, Hart was more damaged by mental shock than by the physical impact which was mitigated by the power of the spirit. ¡°I¡¯m a third party, but aren¡¯t you being insincere to hit on two classmates at the same time?¡± It is the best friend character intervention. Perhaps she is some kind of story mechanic to prevent harem developments from unfolding in Maiden Games. Without a doubt, Colette¡¯s actions are closely related to Yuna. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve heard everything.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m glad the spirit crystal that Hart gave me is excellent. And thank you for giving me a non-sale item originally meant for only two people. If you had said that you wanted to make me a concubine, I wouldn¡¯t have been so hard on you. What a pity.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get the impression Colette could end up anyone¡¯s concubine at all.¡± At least in ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, there¡¯s no future in which Colette becomes anyone¡¯s concubine. Even on the route of Yuna¡¯s marriage to the Royal grandson, Colette was married to the Duke¡¯s son, a classmate of the Royal grandson. ¡°Oh, I also have aristocratic ties of obligation.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like that.¡± ¡°Aristocratic marriage is a mutual cooperation within one¡¯s faction. The successor of the one¡¯s household takes a wife with high magic power, so their offspring will have higher magical power. For that reason, daughters are offered within the faction.¡± ¡°Hmm¡± ¡°In any faction, calculations are made to work out the difference between the magic power of the daughter they offered and the magic power of the wife they took. The difference is carried over, so it is quite common for a house under large debt to offer their daughter as a concubine. If my family owes a lot of money, I could be offered as the concubine ¡° ¡°I see.¡± If so explained, Hart was obliged to nod in approval. The highest priority placed on the aristocrats is to maintain high magic power values in preparation for the war with the Coalition. However, a marriage partner cannot be prepared only by one¡¯s own family or close relatives. As a countermeasure, each aristocrat forms a faction and introduces each other to marriage partners. This is because if they can lend and borrow from faction members across generations, they can keep your house stable. On the other hand, if kicked out of a faction, that house would be in danger of falling to ruin. It is due to such circumstances that the 20 senior aristocrats with territories that form a large faction can act as they please to the other 1,480 nobles. As with the Duke of Takrham¡¯s Miss Digitalis and the Marquis of Carneus¡¯s Miss Dorothea. The soil where egoist aristocrats and villainesses can sprout is thus formed. ¡°If you can understand that much, you can understand the inheritance problem of the Marquis Carneus and the reason why the Viscount Amakawa needs a legal wife.¡± ¡°Then imagine Hart. There are a total of 4 in the class with 3 men and 1 woman. Therefore, the woman chose two men as a gene donor and a husband candidate. What would happen to the mood in that class?¡± Hart, who imagined switching the genders as Colette suggested, moaned. The man chosen first as the gene donor will be a spouse to someone other than him. The man chosen second as the husband candidate might have children with someone other than him. The third unselected man cannot help but be concerned about his charm as a man. The relationship between the three parties would be very awkward. It may not have been a problem if they didn¡¯t get along from the start, but two were best friends and the relationship with the other wasn¡¯t a bad one. The first and the second will not complain to the woman in consideration for the future. They would be troubled if the woman¡¯s honor is offended, and they lose their share. Only the third man, the one who was not chosen, could complain with impunity. If the reversed genders were restored, that would be Collette¡¯s standpoint. ¡°Would it be better to marry them all?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. At the very least, you should limit it to one person from the same class.¡± In response to Hart, who made a joke with an embarrassed expression, Colette knocked down the Harem plan, with a color of contempt in her eyes. ¡°I understand where you¡¯re coming from. But it¡¯s almost impossible to find anyone other than Yuna to be my wife.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the reputation of the Viscount Amakawa family. If I search outside, who do you think will send their daughter as a candidate?¡± The newly ordained Viscount Amakawa household was widely reported on by various media outlets along with Hart¡¯s prompt report on the start of the war. Hart, who was announced as a hero, has magic power more than double that of His Royal Highness, the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson. In addition, the spirit crystals that contributed to the battle and retreat, has said hero in exclusive possession of all shares of the manufacturing company. Consequently, the emerging, faction-less household with no record of debt consists only of one 17-year-old young man. Such a real-estate is too appealing to the untrained eye. ¡°I wonder if your paternal grandfather, the Baron of Hiragi, will intervene.¡± ¡°My father was his second son, and after my uncle had a child, he left the family without inheriting any property. I myself am his second son and was treated the same, so when I started the Amakawa family, I cut ties with my father. The Baron Hiragi Household has no justification for interference because the houses are so different.¡± Hart¡¯s mother was also a Baron¡¯s daughter, and because she had only Baron-class magic power, her value in marriage diplomacy was not recognized, and at the same time she got married, she was cut off from her family. There is currently only one member in the Viscount Amakawa family. ¡°Then the Marquis of Carneus could send in a substitute for Philine since she cannot be welcomed as a legal wife. Even if the eldest daughter has a partner and Philine was unavailable, there would still be the third daughter. Was her name Dorothea?¡± ¡°There were circumstances, so that is absolutely not possible.¡± ¡°Then a young lady from one of the Marquis household¡¯s retainer families.¡± ¡°I myself refuse to join the Marquis of Carneus¡¯s household. The gene donation for the backing of the Marquis are equivalent exchanges. Support for SS company and benefits of the Marquis family affiliates are also exchanged equally. There¡¯s no unilateral lending and borrowing.¡± ¡°Oh, then there really are no fetters.¡± ¡°For now.¡± ¡°Such an enviable house. If that¡¯s the case, the Duke of Takrham could send in Digitalis first. Because as a hero with higher magic power than His Royal Highness, whom they were aiming for, it will be a change of policy rather than a compromise. It won¡¯t hurt Digitalis¡¯ pride.¡± ¡°The Viscount of Amakawa household would likely end in the first generation.¡± ¡°What a coincidence. I agree with you.¡± As far as he can think of her as a legal wife, the self-indulgent, insidious Digitalis is close to the worst candidate as he could think of. In the case of Digitalis, when he tries to take the reins, she would steal the reins and tie Hart down as she laughs. After that, she would mercilessly push him down to the bottom of the abyss. All that remains would be Viscountess Amakawa, who has lost her husband, and all the wealth of the Amakawa family. When the waters have cooled, the child born between Digitalis and her partner after remarriage will take over the house and Hart¡¯s bloodline will be severed. Without a Strategy Guide or Save and Load function, it would be impossible to capture Digitalis. Before that, it is unclear whether this opponent can be captured in the first place. ¡°I¡¯m sure other families above Counts will also send daughters with family ties one after another. They¡¯ll take advantage of your ignorance of the social world to push their bad-natured daughters, and siphon off the profits of the Viscount Amakawa household in the form of support for the wife¡¯s family. Well, that¡¯s tough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that there will be others like Digitalis.¡± ¡°Yes, of course there are many.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± A low-tension voice leaked from Hart¡¯s mouth. As expected of a Maiden Game, it seems that there are various types of villainesses. Moreover, they are rushing all at once towards Hart. Life itself is now a punishment game. ¡°I don¡¯t think any house below the rank of Viscount can oppose the Marquis of Carneus. If you are a quasi-aristocrat or less, the difference in magic power with you will exceed 10 times, and normal magic inheritance would be impossible. The Amakawa family might possibly end with the first generation.¡± ¡°This hard mode life is too harsh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as sweet as salted ice cream. So Viscount Amakawa is willing to have Yuna as his legal wife and keep the family independent, with the support of the Marquis of Carneus in return for cooperating as a gene donor.¡± Hart, who felt that there was no other way, nodded powerless. Colette then dropped her shoulders, sighed, and began to operate her information terminal. Shortly after, a message arrived at Hart¡¯s terminal. ¡°It¡¯s an invitation from Yuna¡¯s father. If you make that choice, you¡¯ll have to present yourself. Of course you have the option to withdraw.¡± ¡°Why would Colette give this to me?¡± ¡°Because the Viscount of Listner is a retainer of Yuna¡¯s father¡¯s family.¡± Hart was surprised to hear the background setting that was not mentioned in the original story, but considering Colette¡¯s continuous efforts to protect Yuna and her own lineage, it was quite a possible plot. The reason why Yuna was supported by the retainer family¡¯s daughter was probably because Yuna would be one of the princesses if the third prince had succeeded to the throne. If Colette is a relative of the royal family, it would explain why she had Duke-level magic power, even though she was the young lady of an inconspicuous Viscount family. ¡°The Third Prince has made Yuna¡¯s status as a Duke¡¯s daughter official, putting her in a position where she could compete with and foil Philine. Then, in the event of a national crisis, the royal family could spread the official high magic bloodline of the current Sovereign, and extend the royal family¡¯s uninterrupted insurance policy. Also, the essential items for the war, such as the spirit crystals, cannot be controlled by other aristocrats. That¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so perceptive sometimes. I¡¯m a little surprised. It is a great evaluation, but in the case of Hart, it is thanks to the cheat knowledge obtained from the precognitive dream. With an ambiguous wry smile, he made the confirmation just in case. ¡°Don¡¯t put your hand on my daughter. Is it like that? ¡°I didn¡¯t raise her, so I can¡¯t say that. But there will be trials, so don¡¯t get your hopes up for Yuna yet. ¡°Trials?¡± ¡°The Coalition of Humanity will be preparing to invade the Monarchy. If you are to marry the granddaughter of the Sovereign, you¡¯ll have to prove worthy of her valor.¡± ¡°Seriously.¡± ¡°As an aristocrat of the Monarchy, I expect victory. As a close friend of Yuna¡¯s, I won¡¯t mind if a two-timing man dies.¡± Hart, who received mixed support, left the back of the school building with his shoulders heavily slumped. CH 13 In the Monarchy of Diete, preparations for the war were steadily underway. 16 fleets were organized as the interception force against the enemy¡¯s expedition fleet. The target of the attack is the Loki system, 110 light-years away, with the aim of launching a preemptive strike ahead of the enemy¡¯s advance and hitting the enemy forces with an unassailable blow. The Monarchy fleet is basically organized as follows: Lieutenant General, fleet of 2,000 ships and 500,000 crew members. Major General, Divisions of 200 ships and 50,000 crew members. Brigadier General, Squadrons of 40 ships and 10,000 crew members. ¡ù Combat vessels are incorporated into carrier craft personnel. In the past, the three types of fleets were used according to the scale of the problem. However, in this case, the number of fleets required to deal with the issue is insufficient even for the entire army. The 16 fleets heading for interception were the maximum number that could be sent, based on a compromise between a policy of summoning as many fleets as possible and a policy of sending them in before the enemy is ready. As the Commander-in-Chief of such an unprecedented fleet, the third prince, General Valfrete Asteria, was chosen. General Valfrete is a regular military officer who graduated from the Military Academy¡¯s heavy battleship department and advanced from lieutenant, the first rank above the Battleship department, to the highest rank of General to avoid a succession dispute with his brother. He has the most requirements as the Commander-in-Chief, not only in rank, but also the pedigree of the banner to fight the Coalition of Humanity, the status to have other aristocrats follow him, his position in the military while being a Royal, and tremendous trust from the Sovereign. No matter whether you are a soldier who cares about rank, an aristocrat who cares about titles, or a royal citizen who cares about history, no one can argue with the appointment of the Commander-in-Chief, General Valfrete Asteria. He has been promoted to the rank of Colonel General, which can only be given in wartime, and has organized an interception force centered on 16 fleets, preparing to intercept the Human Coalition. Because the Monarchy¡¯s most important assignment, the Colonel General, has ordered Hart to report in, the teachers of the Military Academy rushed to issue a special permission to go out, told him to go immediately, pushed him out of the Military Academy, packed him into a flying vehicle and sent him on his way. It took about 30 minutes to fly over the Military airways of the Capital Planet, Diros, in the flying vehicle he was sent in. As a cadet, Hart, who stepped into the Commander-in-Chief¡¯s office of the Ministry of Defense for the first time, was called by the master of the room not by his rank but by his title. ¡°Viscount Amakawa, right on time. Splendid. At ease.¡± ¡°Excuse me. Your Royal Highness Valfrete.¡± Hart, who was called by his title, was somewhat relieved. A conscripted Viscount is supposed to be treated as a Colonel. Since the other party is a Colonel General, he remains an existence above the clouds, but if he had been called by the rank of cadet, his only answer would have been ¡°Sir, Yes sir¡±. ¡°Have a seat. I don¡¯t have much time, but what I¡¯m about to discuss worth publicly spending time on.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Hart sits down after Valfrete, who had moved to the sofa from the Commander-in-Chief¡¯s seat. Then the android, who had been waiting by the wall, bowed and walked out, poured coffee, and bowed again and returned to the wall. ¡°Let¡¯s finish the private affair first. I am Yuna Takamiya¡¯s genetic father. I¡¯ve heard that you wish for Yuna to be the Viscountess of Amakawa and that you have an arrangement to provide genes with the young lady and successor to the Marquis of Carneus, but is that true?¡± ¡°It is a fact¡± Hart, who was earlier told of the prince¡¯s busy schedule, answered immediately without maneuvering. ¡°Very well. This is a confidential matter, but I will be going to war as a member of the Royal family, and when the operation succeeds, I will be conferred the Duke peerage as a reward for my achievements. At that time, I will take Yuna¡¯s mother by my side and she will become a Duchess, making Yuna the daughter of a Duke. That¡¯ll keep the Marquise of Carneus from applying pressure. All that¡¯s left is for the Viscount to settle the rest.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m grateful, Your Excellency, for your assistance.¡± The Duke¡¯s backing, where Yuna can compete with Philine, has been obtained without a doubt. On the occasion a problem with social status arises, it is according to the flow of the story that Yuna borrows the power of her father. When Yuna asked him to wait a bit, the flag to resolve the identity issue must have been raised. This would give the Viscount Amakawa family 2 backers. In other words, in case of trouble, the insurance will be increased to two types, and if the balance between the two families is maintained, high discretionary freedom can be maintained. However, Valfrete didn¡¯t just lend a hand out of the goodness of his heart. If Yuna is given the title of the Duke¡¯s daughter, the new duchy will be responsible for her. They decided that there was merit in giving Yuna, a young lady of the Duke house, to the Viscount Amakawa family. The Viscount Amakawa family has super high magic power, and holds all the shares in spirit crystals. If a connection is kept with the family, it gives a considerable advantage at the formation of a new faction. However, it is meaningless if Valfrete is killed in action. Hart kept in mind that this was Hard Mode and that Valfrete had a low chance of surviving until the end of the story. ¡°Let us move on to the half private and half public matters. I want the Viscount to also participate in the war. That is the duty of the aristocracy.¡± Part of the reason why the Monarchy gave Hart the Viscount peerage is precisely the purpose of conscription. The reason why the third prince called Hart by the Viscount rank earlier is probably because of that meaning. In the case of Viscount households, it is sufficient to recommend a member from the clan with magic power value of 10,000 or more as a suitable representative for the Viscount family, but since the current Amakawa family has only Hart himself, there is no choice but to have Hart. It would be possible to avoid the conscription because he was a newly anointed aristocrat and was not well prepared, but his reputation would deteriorate immediately after being conferred his title. Hart bowed and accepted. ¡°This is your rank and duties as a Lord.¡± ¡°My rank?¡± Hart tilted his head. Conscripted persons from Viscount families were treated as ¡°Colonel¡±, but no official rank will be given. Hart, who felt uncomfortable, suddenly doubted his eyes when he confirmed the letter of resignation and appointment sent to the information terminal. By conscription from the battleship department, he is appointed as a Lieutenant, which is the rank at the time of graduation. Promoted to Captain for his achievements in defeating one cruiser and three destroyers. Promoted to Major for his achievements in derailing the enemy¡¯s falsification of justifiable cause. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel for his achievements in the capture of 128 enemy soldiers, including a Brigadier General. Promoted to Colonel for his achievements in obtaining information on the enemy invasion and transmitting it at an early stage. Awarded the Order of Gliese, 7th Class, for outstanding war service in the Battle of the Frodi System. Appointed as War-time Brigadier General due to lack of Fortress Commander positions. Brigadier General Amakawa is appointed as Acting Commander of Fortress Kerviel. ¡°Your Excellency, what is this?¡± Hart looked over at Valfrete, stunned. ¡°In the conscription of aristocracy, one¡¯s official military rank does not rise. It would be better to evaluate their military service as a soldier because they will serve in the Royal Army anyway. They are assessed to have fulfilled their aristocratic duties as they have a track record of service.¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern, but¡­¡± Apparently, Hart was not conscripted as a Viscount household, but by the Military Academy. However, it was not the basis for the commission that concerned him, but the speed at which he would be promoted, which was impossible in peacetime. It was not at all strange to be appointed as a Lieutenant. There is nothing wrong with becoming a Captain on merit. A promotion to Major for national contribution is also understandable. But beyond that, it was out of Hart¡¯s common sense. ¡°Were you surprised by the sudden promotion?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Yes, I¡¯m astonished.¡± The magic power holder is valuable, and even in peacetime, the promotion speed to captain is quite fast. At the Military Academy, simulation training is included in the first year, flight training in the second year, and practical training in the third and subsequent years in order to develop immediate fighting ability. Therefore, at the time of graduation, all cadets will have three years¡¯ experience in ship operation, so they are assigned to the field immediately after being commissioned, and are promoted several times in an average of several years to Captain. The type of ship they can operate depends on their magic power value, so they can be promoted to Major for a destroyer, Commander for a cruiser, and Colonel for a battleship. Since Hart had the magic power to operate the mobile fortress, he could be promoted every few years after his appointment, and in the future he could be promoted to Major General, the commander of the mobile fortress. Even so, in peacetime, it would have taken about twenty years. However, all this common sense was completely overturned. ¡°In order to operate a fortress, you must be at least a Brigadier General, the Acting Commander. As cadets can understand, to operate without rank could create conflict within the organization.¡± ¡°I certainly agree with that.¡± Hart showed a tentative understanding for the reason why the third prince had pushed himself so hard. Fortresses cannot be operated without Royal-grade magic power holders. Therefore, it is assumed that a member of the Royal family will be commissioned as Fortress Commander with the rank of ¡°Major General¡± and conscripted senior aristocrats as the Fortress Deputy Commander with the rank of ¡°Brigadier General¡±. However, ordinary aristocrats conscripted as ¡°Colonel¡± cannot be expected to operate the Fortress. It seems Valfrete gave Hart an individual evaluation of his achievements and a medal to raise him to wartime Brigadier General in order to have him operate the Fortress. Hart was amazed at the rather aggressive technique, but on the surface he understood his purpose and saluted him. ¡°I respectfully submit to you, sir. As Acting Commander of the Attack Fortress Kerviel, I will take the lead in the interception force and contribute to the victory of the Monarchy.¡± ¡°Very well. Let us hope that a new milestone will be added to the Viscount¡¯s illustrious war record. If you perform a new deed of valor, even if you marry a beautiful young lady who is a direct descendant of His Majesty the Sovereign, possesses magic power close to the Royal family and is sought after by many, there will be no one who will be able to object.¡± After confirming Hart¡¯s consent, Valfrete operated the terminal to issue the ranks of Colonel and wartime Brigadier General. With this, Hart can display his rank as a Colonel or a wartime Brigadier General in the ID card of his information terminal or the rank insignia on his collar. In addition, a medal was attached to his chest. Fortress Kerviel, to which Hart is assigned, is one of the Monarchy¡¯s seven major Fortresses. There are 4 Mobile Fortresses. Each a 27,000m diameter class that can be operated by a Royal-grade magic power holder. There are 2 Defense Fortresses. Each a 54,000m class that can be operated by the magic power of two Royal-grade holders. And one Attack Fortress. A 81,000m class that can be operated by the magic power of three Royal-grade holders. The mobile fortress is operated as a Royal throne ship, and is used as an interstellar medium for the purpose of intimidating local star systems to deter rebellion. The weapon load and defensive capabilities are overwhelmingly higher than that of battleships. The sight of the huge fortress circling around the star system is overwhelming, and the power of high magic holders can clearly be demonstrated. In addition to the functions of the mobile fortress, the defensive fortress also functions as a military port, reception of refugees, and planetary improvement. In the event of the destruction of the Capital planet, it can accept a large number of refugees and restore the destroyed planet to a habitable level. In addition to the functions of the defense fortress, the attack fortress functions as an independent military base with military supplies, shipbuilding, and city construction. However, both defensive and offensive fortresses have their downsides due to their size. Since the magic element engines cannot be operated by more than one person, the magic engines are dispersed in the large fortress, dividing the area for magical transformation. If Hart was to operate it, they would be able to realize the warp that was originally impossible. ¡°We¡¯ve been working on the construction of a dedicated magical engine ever since the Viscount enrolled in the academy. But I didn¡¯t expect him to put it to use so soon.¡± Fortress Kerviel is only 68 times the total length of a destroyer, but the amount of energy conversion reaches 4556 times by simple calculation. This is because the fusion reaction of the magic converted from the magic engine does not simply multiply. Therefore, when estimating the amount of energy of each ship, it is calculated by the square of the total length of the ship. Destroyer 1, Battle cruiser 1, light cruiser 3, cruiser 8. 3rd class battleship 17, 2nd class battleship 35, 1st class battleship 63. 3rd class fortress ship 117, 2nd class fortress ship 201, 1st class fortress ship 306. Mobile Fortress 506, Defense Fortress 2025, Attack Fortress 4556. This number is only realized when the magic engine is operated independently. The attack fortress has only 1518, with three 506s added, even if three Royal-grades ride it. However, with Hart aboard, the amount of energy will be 4556. Valfrete expects the battle result of operating the fortress with the combat power of 4,556 destroyers. If realized, it will bring tremendous war results, and the carrot hanging at the tip of Hart¡¯s nose will also reach his mouth. ¡°Just so you know, the Viscount has not graduated from the Military Academy. Your rank and achievements will remain after the war, but the necessary curriculum has not been completed in the latter half of the second year, so understand that recruitment is only during wartime. A Military Academy education is essential to become a General. Once your commission is over, continue your studies ¡° ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Very well. Check the information terminal for details, and if you have any opinions as an Acting Fortress Commander, communicate them to the repair work units. Regarding the connection between the magic element engine and the spirit crystals, you may ask Dr. Kerman of SS company, with whom you have a close relationship, to help you out. I¡¯ll authorize them in my name.¡± That was the end of the message from Valfrete. The rest of the conversation was about Yuna, mostly about the similarities between Yuna¡¯s mother, Maina, and Yuna¡¯s personality. Since Yuna was raised by her mother, it was only natural that their personalities would be similar. She was pure and gentle, and seemed to be the opposite of the perceptive Valfrete. Hart thought that Valfrete, who had left the struggle for the succession to the throne to join the military, might have been healed by meeting Maina. Valfrete seemed to be really busy, so Hart ended the conversation and left before the coffee had cooled. He was greatly relieved that he wasn¡¯t pursued in the case of Philine, like he was by Colette. CH 14 It has been three and a half months since the Monarchy¡¯s Capital Planet, Diros, received news of the resumption of war with the Coalition. In order to defeat the enemy forces gathering in the Loki system, the Royal army dispatched 16 fleets of 32,000 ships, two mobile fortresses, and one attack fortress from the Diete system. In response to the enemy¡¯s Operation Fenrir, the Monarchy army called itself the Vidar fleet. V¨ªearr is the son of Odin, the God of Norse mythology, who stomped on Fenrir¡¯s lower jaw, grabbed his upper jaw and tore it to death. The Vidar fleet, bearing the divine name, has two mobile fortresses in the center and 16 fleets around it forming a double octagonal disk-shaped wall. It is a battle formation that responds by confronting the enemy face to face, and depending on the enemy formation and the battle situation, can expand or contract the circle, stretch it into an ellipse to attack from both sides, or advance the outer circumference of the circle and semi-enclose the enemy. The orderly formation was beautiful, creating a harmonious fleet movement throughout. At the edge of the formation, only one attack fortress ran alongside the fleet formation. The name of the fortress is Kerviel. The name comes from ¡®Cherubiel Yahweh¡¯ , the head of the second class of Cherubim in Pseudo-Dionysius¡¯ ¡°Nine Classes of Angels¡±. According to ¡°Enoch Chapter 3¡±, The Cherubim Kerubiel was a gigantic being whose body was filled with flaming coals, and when he opened his mouth, he exhaled blazing flames. He also carries the Dazzling Shekhinah Bow that is much brighter than the sun, and Book of Genesis it is said that God placed a Cherubim with a burning sword to protect the Garden of Eden. According to mythology, Fortress Kerviel contains tremendous energy inside its artificial body, and once it is shot, it unleashes a dazzling light that burns down the target. The name speaks for itself. The renovated Fortress Kerviel was enlarged to 90,000 meters in length, making it the largest man-made object in the vicinity, and it had the highest fighting power to match its size. ¡°Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t upgrade the fortress¡¯s main engines in time. If you and the spirit crystal are combined, you can generate an output equal to 6,588 destroyers, but the Magic Engine was not built for that. I¡¯ll have it ready by the time you come back.¡± Dr. Kerman, who declared this, cooperated with the military¡¯s engineering team to make various modifications before the attack. Since the magic engine could not be operated by more than one person, he plan was to use a large magic engine for Hart to operate the attack fortress alone. He adjusted it so that Hart could use it while simultaneously using other secondary engines. Since the original attack fortress had three magic engines, there were multiple lines for the transmission of magic elements. From one of the two defense fortresses on the Capital Planet, he removed the magic engine and its accompanying armament, and added it to Fortress Kerviel. What was removed from the defense fortress was the magic engine, a dedicated Mass Wave Agglomeration Cannon for the main gun, a large-scale Magic Conversion Protective Membrane generator, a propulsion engine dedicated to the fortress, and a wide range of Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves. In addition, the crew was transferred, including battle crafts, suppression craft, androids, and a large number of fusion ammunition. The perimeter of the fortress was heavily armored with multiple liquid metal layers such as sodium metal, lonsdaleite, potassium, boron nitride, cermet, and eutectic alloy to match with Hart¡¯s surplus magic power, and was converted into armor that could withstand enemy fusion bullets. As a result, the fortress was greatly enhanced with the combat power that was insufficient as a star system deployment type at the beginning of construction, and reborn as an interstellar mobile combat fortress. As a result, Fortress Kerviel took on a metallic figure of a curled up hedgehog covered in multiple layers of liquid metal. In exchange, one of the defense fortresses, Fortress Iblis, turned into a remnant of a hedgehog with its needles and fur ripped out and flesh hollowed out. In other words, one of the defense fortresses had been reduced to wreckage before the battle. After receiving the report, Colonel General Valfrete must have been astonished. However, he did not express any surprise, and promoted Yuna, Philine, and Colette to the rank of Major, which is appropriate for the operator of the combat magic engine, using the same method as Hart, and sent them to the command center of Fortress Kerviel as operational personnel of the additional magic engines. Hart believed that Yuna was sent in to add pressure as the future Duke¡¯s daughter. Collette would be in a supporting role, and if Philine alone was left out, things would get off to a bad start at a later date. Since all four members of the Heavy Battleship Department are present, this expedition was treated as a practical training session, and instructors are also onboard to give lessons. The magic power of Yuna and Philine, when combined with the powers of the advanced spirits, were of Royal-class and Colette was Duke-class, so the fortress¡¯s strength evaluation greatly exceeded the initial assumption. The combat energy of Fortress Kerviel, which allocated two royal-class cadets assigned to secondary armaments, and Colette to the propulsion engines, is estimated to reach 5,568 destroyers at 4556+506+506. The Vidar fleet, with such an extremely unique force, was advancing toward the Loki system. ¡°Communication from the Reconnaissance fleet. 40 light-years to the Loki system. No hostiles detected in the surrounding sector.¡± A communications officer reported to the operations command center in the center of the fortress, which has a multi-leveled atrium. The sub-monitor provides a complete picture of the Vidar fleet. 16 large light points divided into numerous small lights with each warp, but quickly gathered into a large light as if they were being sucked together. Hart was repeatedly fascinated by the orderly gathering of the lights. ¡°The fleet operation is so beautiful that it is incomparable to cadets. The warp has little error, yet the relative distance from the flagship doesn¡¯t change at all.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all experienced veterans. It may also be an auxiliary effect of intermediate spirits.¡± On the left side of the Commander¡¯s seat where Hart was sitting, Philine, the Operational Assistant, was forcibly seated next to him. On the contrary, she spoke aggressively, occasionally entwining her right hand with Hart¡¯s left hand. In fact, even if his left hand rested on her thigh, or by chance his elbow touched her chest, Philine was not offended at all. It seems that the drug Yuna, her rival, had the same effect on Philine as in the game. In this case, if only the two were alone, there is a possibility of asking to wear cat ears or a maid outfit. The 17-year-old Hart was fantasizing. Paw gloves would be impossible, though. Yuna also secured Hart¡¯s right-hand side against Philine. The right side had the same arrangement as in the Space Flight drill, and Hart was clutching Yuna¡¯s right hand, which was trembling at that time. Originally, Yuna did not have a pushy personality, but she insisted that this was her seat and didn¡¯t take a step back from Philine. If Philine wore cat ears, Yuna is likely to put them on herself without asking. The innocence of the past has returned, but at a moment¡¯s notice, the dark side of Yuna appears and she changes into her dark mode. In that state, Yuna might even say, ¡°Fine¡±, and put on a collar. And Colette took a step back from the group and said, ¡°Look. What are we going to do?¡± to Hart with only a glance In any case, Hart¡¯s current feeling is that he wants the operation command center to keep a low profile. Hart had been hoping for Philine to be more aggressive, but since the two of them were competing with each other and wouldn¡¯t stop, he was forced to play a restraining role. They are currently on the march, and Hart firmly vowed, ¡°When this battle is over, we will have a romantic comedy.¡± ¡°Hey, Hart. The Pleiades star cluster is shining blue in starboard direction. I wonder if what we can see from here is the light from when the Monarchy of Diete declared its independence.¡± ¡°439 light-years away? The escapees from Earth never settled in that area. There are those who succeeded in migrating to Betelgeuse, 625 light-years from Earth.¡± There are many nations that have fled to other star systems after their celestial swarms were dropped. In terms of population, an estimated 8 billion people have moved out of the solar system, and most moved to Hercules and Fynn, on the other side of the Diet government, but there were quite a few nations that headed to other systems. The technology in 3282 A.D. was lower than that of modern times, and with the celestial swarm dropped on their home planet, most of the challengers who headed for the unknown star system seem to have failed. However, in the 290 years since humans settled in the fifth star system, the Myrna system, in 2992 AD, several countries have moved to other star systems. There are many planets in the Milky Way Galaxy that could be inhabited by humans. To estimate the number of habitable planets, it is easy to use the Drake equation. The Drake equation was used by American radio astronomer Frank Drake in 1961 to explain how many sentient intelligent life forms exist in the galaxy. N£½R¡Áfp¡Áne¡Áfl¡Áfi¡Áfc¡ÁL N= Number of sentient civilizations R= Number of stars born in the Milky Way in a year fp= percentage of stars with planets ne= number of habitable planets fl= the rate at which life actually occurs fi= the rate at which life evolves into intelligent life fc= Percentage with highly advanced civilization L= The number of years that civilization continues to emit radio waves Drake insisted that if a reasonable value was applied in each, ¡°N¡± will be greater than or equal to 1, so a careful search of the galaxy would surely find another civilization. It has been confirmed that there are at least 400 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Of these stars, more than 40 billion (10%) are ¡°fp¡± stars, which have terrestrial planets and Super Earths. Of the 40 billion stars, 5% are planets orbiting within the habitable zone, where water can exist in liquid form. One percent of them are Earth-sized. In other words, there are 400 million Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way that orbit stars at a distance where water is in liquid form. The next condition necessary for life to exist is water. There is a large amount of hydrogen in the universe, and the main-sequence stars, such as the sun, use hydrogen to cause nuclear fusion. Oxygen is also naturally generated by stellar nuclear fusion and explosions. When hydrogen and oxygen meet, water molecules are created and bound to rocks in outer space. For example, after a planet is formed in a habitable zone, if an ice celestial body is drawn from the outer reaches of the star system and collides with the planet, the planet can gain water. And Earth-sized planets in the Habitable Zone can keep water within the gravitational field if they have a moderate atmosphere. The number of planets ¡°ne¡±, on which life can exist, was about 1/40 of the observable planets. In other words, there are an estimated 10 million primordial life-generating planets ¡°fl¡± in the Milky Way Galaxy. However, no matter how many primordial life-generating planets exist, not all of them are suitable environments for human life. Atmospheric composition, atmospheric pressure, the presence of a magnetosphere, radiation levels, average temperatures, and various other conditions are omitted, and the number of planets that human beings can live on is reduced to about 1/1,000. In conclusion, in the Milky Way galaxy, there was an average of one planet every 10 light-years that could be inhabited by humans if modified. However, planetary remodeling takes an enormous amount of time and effort to maintain the environment. For this reason, human beings have been migrating to planets where they are likely to live with little or no improvement from the beginning. ¡°It was a country on the Eurasian continent that went to Betelgeuse, right?¡± ¡°Yes. They seem to be separate from the Coalition of Humanity, and they are acting independently.¡± As he pondered further into the 439 light-years, Hart¡¯s left hand began to be strongly tampered with. Apparently, the silver-haired Marquis daughter is silently protesting with a sober face not to talk only with the brown-haired young lady. Then, from the right side, the left hand reached out from the future Duke¡¯s daughter, and was placed on Hart¡¯s right hand. Hart thought of the faces of the Marquis of Carneus and Colonel General Valfrate, and suppressed his reaction. As if to sweep away the actions of these three, the alert of the battle command center began to sound. ¡°Emergency communication from the preceding reconnaissance fleet. Discovered a large fleet of the Human Coalition. Enemy Course, the Diete Star System¡± The personnel in the command center all turned their attention to the sub-monitors, which displayed the enemy fleet observed by the reconnaissance fleet. Number of Enemy Fleet: Estimated 25,000 to 30,000 vessels 6-7 Mobile Fortresses Convinced that the invasion plan was revealed, the Coalition forces had already begun advancing into the Diete system, earlier than from the history of Hart¡¯s knowledge. The correlation between this and the fact that the Acting Commander of the attack fortress raised a death flag by saying ¡°When this battle is over, we will have a romantic comedy¡± is a phenomenon that cannot be clarified by science yet. CH 15 The Grand fleet of the Royal army and Coalition forces encountered each other. The coordinates were 70 light-years from the Diete system and 40 light-years from the Loki system, and they inevitably encountered each other as a result of their advance to attack each other¡¯s star system. As a result of the search by the scout ships of both armies, the forces were generally found to be evenly matched. Royal Army: 32,000 ships, 3 fortresses. Coalition Forces: 28,000 ships, 7 fortresses. The Royal Army has a greater number of ships and uses spirit crystals to increase the performance of its ships. The Coalition forces have more fortresses, and their warships and fortresses are larger and more powerful than the Monarchy¡¯s. Both sides had fully grasped the scope of enemy forces, and were gradually closing their relative distance. It is impossible to avoid battle at this point. If one runs away, they will be pursued, and the allies with slower ship speed would be captured and destroyed in turn. A head-on battle was the only way forward. Hart, who had resolved himself, received an order from the General Headquarters. [To the entire fleet, form a rectangular wall in accordance with enemy formation. Fortress Kerviel, along with the 14th Fleet, is to turn clockwise to the side of the enemy right wing and attack with long-range artillery.] ¡°Send an order acceptance signal. Fortress Kerviel, start moving¡± Hart¡¯s magic powers flowed into the giant magical engine of Fortress Kerviel, via spirit crystal apparatus. Then, the magic engine converts the magic into enormous energy, and the 90,000-meter-diameter fortress shines with a pale light. The massive power generated by the propulsion engines pushed the fortress forward with explosive force, and the fortress began to move out of the royal fleet and toward the side of the enemy right wing. ¡°Lieutenant General Alchunian, Acting Commander of the 14th Fleet, has sent us the projected course. It includes the path of this fortress.¡± ¡°Bring it up on the sub screen.¡± After confirming the information, Hart involuntarily clicked his tongue. The final coordinates were only slightly protruding from the leftmost flank of the friendly forces, which was not enough to completely go around the enemy side. Even if it is overestimated, it is only in front of the starboard side of the enemy¡¯s right wing. Hart, who had his left elbow on the desk, his face on his left hand, and his cheeks bulging in frustration, complained to Philine when their eyes met. ¡°Apparently the commander of the 14th Fleet is a cautious man.¡± ¡°Being careful is not always a bad thing, is it?¡± ¡°Generally, that¡¯s the case. With a diplomatic rupture of more than 400 years, the true military strength of both sides is unclear. Except for us, the entire army has no combat experience. I know you want to be cautious and fight over stone bridges, but it¡¯s a bad idea to lose the opportunity to launch a preemptive strike at a fortress.¡± Optical observation is still impossible at the current distance, but the magic element converted by the enemy ship¡¯s magic engine can be observed. If the enemy¡¯s magic is targeted and pinned with spirits, it is possible to hit it with artillery strikes. If one enemy battleship is destroyed, one ally battleship can redirect its response elsewhere by simple calculation. It¡¯s not simply a battleship. With one battleship, half of the 46 allied vessels in the Frodi system could have escaped. ¡°All right, I¡¯ve decided.¡± After secretly making his decision, Hart appealed directly to the General Headquarters, maintaining the speed of the fortress. ¡°In the name of Acting Commander of Fortress Kerviel, report the instructions of the 14th Fleet Command to the General Headquarters and request permission. At the final coordinates instructed by the Lieutenant General, we cannot go around to the side of the enemy right wing as ordered by General Command. Request permission to move as ordered by General Command.¡± ¡°Copy that. Sending report to the General Headquarters.¡± As a matter of fact, Fortress Kerviel belongs to General Command, not the 14th Fleet. If the orders of General Command and the 14th Fleet are different, it is decided that the orders of General Command should take precedence. And, in the true sense, he judged that he had a different way of thinking than the commander of the 14th Fleet, and that he would miss an opportunity while persuading him. It is highly unlikely that the commander of the 14th Fleet, who had his own clear ideas, will listen to Hart¡¯s suggestion, as he is extremely young and of a lower rank. Their ranks are that of a Lieutenant General, who was properly promoted in due course, and Wartime Brigadier General, who was promoted during the war. Their ages are a middle-aged man, who has passed 80 years of his 200-year life span, and a boy who is only 17 years old. It was only natural that he would be looked down upon in the military, which is a hierarchical organization, and it was not surprising that he was underestimated as a young man. As the fortress crossed the specified coordinates without slowing down, a jam-packed inquiry was sent three times from the 14th Fleet. However, Hart replied that Fortress Kerviel was under the orders of General Command, and that he was checking with the General Headquarters. As Fortress Kerviel jumped out of the left wing and continued to advance, a new order arrived from General Command. [Fortress Kerviel is to go around to the enemy right wing and attack with long-range bombardment. The 12th Fleet will intercept enemies from the left rear of Fortress Kerviel. The 14th Fleet should secure the sector at the halfway point between the Main Fleet and Fortress Kerviel.] Hart smiled as he was told that the support fleet had been replaced by the 12th Fleet and that the fortress and fleet would not have to move together. ¡°Send an order acceptance signal to General Command. The fortress will advance in a clockwise direction.¡± ¡°Copy that. Sending order acceptance signal to General Command.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ 14th Fleet, Live Long! In a different sector from me.¡± ¡°Hart, I can hear you.¡± Hart, who was scolded by Colette, dodged the issue with a deliberate cough. The two forces continue to approach each other, changing their formation several times. The Coalition forces stretched out in a horizontal line, trying to encircle the Monarchy Fleet from both sides at the edge. Against this, the Monarchy fleet also extended its formation in the same way according to the enemy fleet. Then, the Coalition Fleet reconfigured the horizontal line into two lines, top and bottom, and crowded together. However, only the right wing fleet, perhaps wary of the amount of magic elements that Fortress Kerviel could convert, turned three of its fleets and three fortresses around. Approaching the enemy in a clockwise direction, Fortress Kerviel finally set its sights on the enemy right-wing fleet and the enemy fortress, thanks to its long range and Seraphina¡¯s capture capabilities. It was out of the enemy¡¯s range, the ideal coordinate for only Hart to unilaterally attack. ¡°Fix the fortress in the current sector. Philine will be in charge of the right side of the fortress, and Yuna in charge of the left, attacking with secondary armament and deploying shields. Colette is on auxiliary engine to propel the fortress.¡± ¡°Understood. What will you do, Mr. Hart?¡± ¡°It¡¯s decided. Using the power of 4556 destroyers, I shall attack with the fortress¡¯ main cannon. From this point on, begin irradiating energy toward the enemy fortress. Commence bombardment.¡± Immediately afterwards, directional energy was irradiated toward the mobile fortress located on the enemy¡¯s right wing via an irradiation device protruding from the thick composite fluid metal layer of Fortress Kerviel. The attack of Fortress Kerviel was not a series of single-shot laser bombardments, but a powerful, uninterrupted laser irradiation. The black canvas of space is strewn with a beam that looks like it is condensed with magnifying glasses. The enemy fleet that was in its path had the shields generated by its ship instantly blown away, and was swallowed up in the turbulent flow of energy and disappeared. Outer space is by no means empty, but full of interstellar gases such as hydrogen and helium, dark matter, and magic elements. Therefore, the irradiated energy was attenuated, but it still extended to the enemy fortress and hit the fortress¡¯ shields directly. Of the full energy laser bombardment, which was equivalent to 4556 destroyers, half was somewhat attenuated by the shields of 625 ships, and the remaining 1653 worth of energy struck the outer walls of the defenseless enemy fortress. If this was the actual bombardment of 1,653 destroyers, the fortress might have been able to withstand it. However, the irradiated energy was agglomerated into a single beam of light instead of 1653. As if stabbing a watermelon with a sharp spear, the fortress armor was mercilessly pierced without any resistance. ¡°Laser hit to enemy fortress observed via Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave. The enemy fortress has lost shields, and the energy penetrated through the enemy fortress!¡± The enemy fortress, pierced through by the spear of light, continued to move by the law of inertia while being penetrated, and divided itself into pieces. The contents of the watermelon overflow into the black canvas of space, staining the beautiful world. Then, the enemy fortress short-circuited the energy output from the magical element engine in the broken transmission circuit, and destroyed itself in a chain reaction with overflowing energy. A huge explosion of magic elements occurred, and a fortress disappeared from the radar. ¡°Enemy Fortress, Exploded and Scattered!¡± The 100-year-old warrior excitedly reported the observation results, and cheers erupted at the Operations Command Center. This is not only the first spear, but also a tremendous victory in a unilateral attack by the allies. The enemy mobile fortress is estimated to be a force equivalent to 625 destroyers. It was obliterated with a single blow, and at least tens of thousands of enemy soldiers and more than 100,000 android units were reduced to cosmic dust. The number of enemy ships rushing into the Diete system has been reduced by 625. The enemy fortress must have been filled with troops and weapons to control the star system. All the Monarchy troops who observed it should also be cheering loudly. Three fleets and two mobile fortresses of the enemy right-wing, whose fortress had been destroyed, hurriedly began to advance toward Fortress Kerviel. It must be unbearable to be shot unilaterally from out of range. ¡°Fluctuation confirmed in the enemy¡¯s Magic Element Conversion Protective Membrane. Presumed missile swarm launch is imminent.¡± The enemy is not simply advancing, but also launching a large number of fusion missiles. The missiles are equipped with artificial intelligence, and after reaching close range, modify the course with a propulsion agent and attack the enemy, so even if the observation accuracy is low at the time of launch, they will still likely hit the target. In addition, fusion missiles, unlike lasers that use magic, do not attenuate energy even as they push through outer space. Missiles are much slower than lasers, but, unlike lasers, have the advantage of eventually being able to reach the enemy. ¡°Gunnery Chief, launch 500,000 fusion rounds at the center of the enemy fleet. Then launch counter-missiles to destroy the enemy¡¯s fusion missiles. I¡¯ll leave the number of counter-missiles to you. Show them the amount of missiles a huge 90,000-meter-long fortress can carry.¡± ¡°Copy that. Launching fusion rounds and interceptor missiles.¡± Immediately after, 500,000 fusion rounds were released, crossing the enemy¡¯s fusion rounds in the space between the two forces, and heavily rained down on the enemy fleet ahead. The fusion rounds fired from Fortress Kerviel reach the enemy right-wing fleet, the enemy¡¯s main force and the left-wing fleet beyond it, each of which creates a stellar explosion, engulfing numerous ships into a vortex of light and heat. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of fusion rounds fired from enemy fleets have been destroyed, most of them as a result of the 3 million counter-missiles fired as a second wave, splitting their warheads and eating them up. ¡°Enemy formation is in disorder. Advance to destroy the second enemy fortress while the enemy is unable to go on the offensive. Request support artillery fire from the Commander of the 12th Fleet deployed on the port side. Philine and Yuna, please assist with our secondary guns in a timely manner.¡± ¡°Mr. Hart. We¡¯re not requesting the 14th Fleet?¡± Hart grimaced at Philine¡¯s confirmation, and inwardly muttered, ¡°We don¡¯t need it¡±. ¡°The 14th Fleet has been given an important task by General Command: ¡®Secure the sector at the midpoint between the main force and Fortress Kerviel.¡¯ They would be inconvenienced if contacted. Best wishes for the success of the 14th Fleet Commander¡¯s mission. By the way, you don¡¯t have to send a message.¡± Hart reminded the communications officer, who was confused by the Acting Commander¡¯s remarks. The other party has the position and authority of a fleet commander, and can make his own decisions and report to the General Headquarters. There was no need for War-time Brigadier Generals of different affiliations to take care of each other. With a shrug of his shoulders, Hart fired the main gun toward the second fortress within range. On the other hand, the enemy forces unleash a mass-wave cohesive bombardment toward Fortress Kerviel. Lasers cancel each other out and shine between the two forces, and around them, fireworks of fusion rounds release tremendous heat and energy to color space. The large number of fusion missiles flying between the two forces has the destructive power to burn a planet¡¯s surface tens of thousands of times over. The storm of raging fusion rounds repeatedly stifled the advance of both forces. However, Fortress Kerviel, which advanced, kept the enemy on the opposite bank across the fireworks of the fusion rounds within range. A second energy irradiation was performed, breaking the shield of the enemy fortress, melting the armor, and penetrating the fortress¡¯ interior. ¡°Enemy fortress shield is extinguished, direct hit on the enemy fortress!¡± After the report echoed in the battle command post, a loud cheer erupted again. Both warship fleets are still out of range of the main guns, but a second enemy fortress has been destroyed. The second enemy fortress was cut into slices, and then exploded with a brilliant light. The Coalition, which continued to suffer unilateral damage, began to make forced advances in the storm. If they retreated, they would only be shot in the back. On the other hand, if they bring the battle into close quarters and the enemy and allies get mixed up, Fortress Kerviel will not be able to fire its main gun in a careless manner. As a large number of fusion missiles raged between the two forces, the enemy forced its way forward, enduring the storm. ¡°Fire on the third.¡± Hart grew more than a little impatient with the enemy, who was charging at them with no regard for damage. If the enemy fortress is destroyed from out of range, Fortress Kerviel will continue to produce results while remaining unscathed. However, at long distances, while it is enough to shoot at a huge enemy fortress with the main gun, it is not possible to get to the many enemy ships. Valfrate is in command of the main force at mobile fortress, Zophiel, and although there is another mobile fortress, Raguel, beside it, there are a total of four fortresses in the center and left flank of the Coalition Forces. Moreover, the fortresses of the Coalition are larger than those of the Royal army. If they concentrate their forces on the central army, the Monarchy¡¯s mobile fortresses could be destroyed. If that happens, the matter of Yuna becoming a Duke¡¯s daughter, the birth of a new Duke¡¯s household to support Hart, and the Cat-Ears plan, everything will be broken. ¡°Advance to the enemy¡¯s right wing side. Once the third enemy fortress is destroyed, get in range of the central enemy fortress while pressing the enemy¡¯s right wing. The target of this fortress is only the enemy fortress with high attack power.¡± Immediately after Hart¡¯s declaration, the main cannon of Fortress Kerviel was fired, and a spear of light was thrown at the third enemy fortress. In the meantime, the Monarchy¡¯s central and right-wing forces began to exchange fire with the enemy fleet. The exchange of fusion missiles creates hundreds of thousands of momentary stars. The bursts were small compared to the vastness of the space battlefield, but if they continued for hundreds of thousands of times, the heat would be enormous. The area around the two forces, approaching while shooting at each other, rapidly heated up from the extreme cold of minus 270 degrees Celsius. Terrified as if plunging into a star, the officers and soldiers of both forces began to fire at the enemy in front of them in an attempt to forget their fears. The continuous flashes of the fusion rounds disrupted the original optical observation distance. By the time the bombardment began, the two forces were much closer than initially expected. The ships of both forces that got too close are torn apart by energies large and small. Damaged ships were swallowed up by artificially created supernova storms and destroyed one after another. Reports of the battle continued to come in from all parts of the fiercely contested battlefield. ¡°Fortress Kerviel has destroyed the fourth enemy fortress. Advance is stopped due to the enemy¡¯s fusion missile. Fortress Kerviel is currently engaged with three enemy fleets and one fortress.¡± Fortress Kerviel was halted in the middle of a fierce battle. Fusion missiles do not use magic and cannot be examined by Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves. Even at a distance where optical observation is possible, the flashes of fusion rounds exploding in the surroundings are too strong to observe. Jumping into a torrential downpour of untraceable fusion bombs was reckless, even for the thickly armored Fortress Kerviel. As a result, they were forced to maintain a certain distance from the enemy fleet and concentrate on interception and defense. Valfrate, who is in overall command of the Monarchy¡¯s armed forces, did not see the current situation as a disadvantage. Hart¡¯s battle results far exceed Valfrate¡¯s expectations. The enemy has seven fortresses, but Fortress Kerviel is likely to destroy them all. [The 14th fleet is restrained, and the 15th and 16th fleets are deployed above and below Fortress Kerviel. Cut off the stationary missiles and move the left-wing forces forward. Retreat the central army to 7 o¡¯clock. Retreat right-wing forces to 5 o¡¯clock. Pull the advancing enemies into the crossfire point.] ¡°I will notify you immediately.¡± Valfrate sought further results from Hart. According to the testimony of Marcelino Salinas, who was captured, the Coalition fortress is a huge object of 30,000 meters in length, and the magic power of the operator is about 30,000 to 32,000. They are designer babies who have been genetically engineered from fertilized eggs of high-magic power holders, making it easier to increase their magic power values. The success rate is only a few percent, and most children cannot inherit normal magic power. Even so, the Coalition, which can obtain a large number of high-magic powered people that are rarely born by leaving it to nature, can assign as many high-magic powered people as the number of fortresses it built. If the Coalition, which can mass-produce high-magic power holders, and the Monarchy, which cannot, battle each other, the Monarchy will lose. It is a bad idea to smash allied fortresses against enemy fortresses. However, if Hart can unilaterally lay waste to the enemy without taking damage, there is no problem at all. The hand he got was a completely unexpected card. ¡°Left-wing forces have resumed their advance. Fortress Kerviel is now in range of the fifth enemy fortress. The enemy has stopped advancing. The auxiliary fleet in the rear is starting to break away ahead of us. The enemy appears to be retreating!¡± Confident of victory, Valfrete smiled grimly. [Immediately shift to pursuit. Damaged vessels are to remain and the second sub-commander will be in charge of reorganization and operations. The remainder of the fleet will pursue while avoiding the mines of the retreating enemy, and drop them in order from the slowest enemy.] The communication officer in the General Headquarters also responded with courage to the Commander-in-Chief who gave the order with great enthusiasm. They also saw a path to victory in this battle. However, even the best of them could not have imagined that the man who had achieved the greatest victory had been thinking about the Cat-Ears after the battle. CH 16 The Loki system is 110 light-years away from the Diete system towards Conopus. The distance from the solar system is about 100 light-years, making it little closer to the Coalition as a sphere of influence. Within the star system, there is a rocky planet ¡°Loki¡¯d¡± whose surface is ice with a thickness of several kilometers, has liquid water, with gravity is close to Earth and has reached the magnetosphere, so the possibility of settlement has been considered several times. However, human beings never colonized the Loki system. Loki¡¯s primary star is a quasi-dwarf star, which is darker and hotter than the sun due to its low proportion of heavy elements, and has strong ultraviolet rays due to its high transparency of the atmosphere. For humans who evolved from Earth in the solar system, the star system¡¯s environment was too different. Due to the strong stellar winds in the Loki system, celestial bodies blown away before the formation of giant gas planets have formed a cluster of extrasolar exoplanets on a scale of several hundred to several thousand times the size of the Earth, about 6 billion to 7.2 billion kilometers minimum from Loki¡¯s primary star. Since it is impossible to warp out directly into the star system, colonists will have to travel between a huge number of celestial bodies. The Loki system has been neglected for a long time due to the inconveniences and dangers. However, it is located near the border between the two powers, it is a star system protected by a magnetosphere where no one can approach and has an inexhaustible supply of water. The Coalition, having reassessed the value of the Loki system through war, has secretly built a forward base to provide a foothold for the invasion of the Monarchy. The Coalition invasion fleet and the Monarchy¡¯s interception fleet rushed toward the Loki system one after another. ¡°Warp out confirmed. All sections clear.¡± The Subscreen of the Command Center shows the map of the surrounding sector centered on Fortress Kerviel. The fortress was positioned about 8 billion km from Loki¡¯d, the planet where the Coalition base was built. In the sector leading up to the planet, a vast number of unobservable celestial bodies form a wall. It is impossible to move from the fortress¡¯ entry point into the system using warp. Within the star system, magic elements are swirling in a powerful current. A ship diving into the turbid stream of dark energy would only be an act of suicide. In the surrounding sector, billions of kilometers away from such a whirlpool, allied fleets were warping out one after another, and about 500 million km away, the Coalition Fleet was withdrawing into the system. The position of the two forces was the difference between their grasp of the extent of the outer rim of the star system and their understanding of it. The Coalition, which uses the Loki system as a forward base, has an overwhelming geographical advantage. Both forces were out of range, and except for the rare occasion when a ship from one side or the other missed its coordinates and was struck down by the other side, they were both gathering and moving into the system. ¡°The Coalition appears to be building a line of defense in the outer edge of the star system. Friendly forces are scheduled to move in en masse after blowing up a group of celestial bodies with fusion rounds to create a path. The blown-up celestial swarm will rain down on Loki¡¯d as a meteor shower, destroying the enemy base.¡± The communications officer who received information from the preceding fleet reported to Hart, the Acting Commander of the fortress. The attitude of the older subordinates has visibly improved since the huge success of the previous fleet battle. Prior to that, he had received a mixed reception between his achievements in the Frodi sector and the battle with Philine and Yuna. ¡°I wonder if the cluster of celestial bodies we blew up will damage the enemy fleet.¡± Hurt hoped that they would be able to take advantage of this, but people around him had a different opinion. ¡°I think they¡¯ll fall back when the celestial bodies get blown up.¡± Perhaps because there was no danger in the previous victory, Yuna, who was in a normal state and not feeling as though she was on the battlefield, calmly predicted the movement of the enemy. Colette supplements that view. ¡°The enemy will also use fusion bullets, so they will stay away from the celestial bodies drifting around the outer edges of the star system. Rather, when the Monarchy forces passes through the narrow sector emptied with fusion missiles, it will be exposed to a barrage of fire.¡± The speculated development was quite possible, and Hart nodded his head in agreement. To prevent this, large-scale fusion rounds must be used. There should be some remaining amount of fusion ammunition, but whether it will be used for the opening of the cluster depends on the decision of General Command. ¡°Do you have any instructions for our fortress?¡± ¡°The Commander-in-Chief has informed [Fortress Kerviel to give top priority to the elimination of enemy fortresses].¡± There was no instruction on the route of the advance or coordination with the rest of the fleet, and it was an order with a high degree of discretion. Is it because he has achieved considerable results? Hart thought. Even if Hart were the Commander-in-Chief, he would not issue every single order to the man who would destroy the enemy fortress one after another with his most powerful spear and throw fusion bullets into the center of the enemy fleet. If the scene is doing well, leave it to the scene for the time being. ¡°Send an [order accepted] to General Command. The fortress will advance after friendly forces have blown away the celestial bodies with fusion rounds as planned. Each personnel on combat deployment will take a short break of one and a half hours in two shifts. Given the travel time to the celestial swarm, there will be no battle for three hours.¡± ¡°Understood. Notifying now.¡± The officers in the operations command center who had been ordered to take a break looked relieved. As a human being, if fatigue accumulates, it is inevitable that concentration and morale will decline. It is within the scope of the fortress Commander¡¯s duties to endeavor to restore the physical strength and mental energy of the troops by finding the right time for rest. If a fierce battle is on the horizon, a break is even more necessary. ¡°Then we¡¯ll take a break too. I want to return to the command center quickly, so I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll take a break first. Keep the fortress close to the outer edge of the star system. I¡¯ll leave the coordinates to you.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Please take a rest.¡± The first to answer was Philine, who smiled, and as if in competition with her, Yuna also smiled and gave a word of encouragement. And the third saw Hart off with a jittery look. The huge fortress is also designed to accept refugees, and is equipped with all legitimate facilities that exist in large cities. Hart ate a meal instead of nutritional supplements, took a shower, and relaxed in his room before returning to the Command Center ten minutes ago. After taking turns with the other three, they watch the fireworks launched by both forces on the outer edge of the star system. The vast river of stardust surrounding the Loki system was blown away by the enormous energy created by nuclear fusion, changing the landscape. The friendly forces seem to be pushing, and the celestial bodies are flooding and flowing into the star system. Unmanned weapons deployed in the celestial bodies were destroyed and blown away one after another. A huge storm is blowing through the star system, and celestial bodies of all sizes will eventually descend on Loki¡¯d, the planet where the Coalition base is based. By the time the Philine and the others had returned, the Monarchy Fleet, judging the effects to be sufficient enough, began to avalanche into the system. They would pressure the Coalition forces so as not to prevent the group of celestial swarm from falling to Loki¡¯d. ¡°Fortress Kerviel, begin advance¡± Artificial lights jump in one after another as if they were sucked into the space vacant of celestial bodies. Fortress Kerviel, which emits the brightest light among them, also flowed in from the left edge of the empty sector. ¡°Four fortress-class magic reactions ahead on the opposite bank of the celestial bodies. Presumed to be enemy fortresses.¡± The command center¡¯s screens displayed the four huge magic responses observed by radar. Five of the seven fortresses mobilized in the last battle were destroyed, so only two should remain. There are two more fortresses than there had been during the chase. ¡°Were they deployed for defense or as reinforcements?¡± Asking himself, Hart thought that it was probably a follow-up. There is no reason to leave important forces in the supply base when attacking the Monarchy¡¯s capital planet. Perhaps they were late because realizing prisoners were taken and the invasion information revealed, they rushed to advance before the defense system was set up. ¡°There were to be at least nine of them on the actual plan?¡± Yuna muttered with a gloomy expression. The nine Coalition fortresses are evaluated on the same level as Hart¡¯s Fortress Kerviel. If they get together and are within the range of both sides, it can become a 50-50 shootout. Hart also wants to avoid an even firefight, but there are times when he has no choice but to follow orders when his allies are in danger. As a result of her various imaginings, Yuna seems to have darkened. When Colette saw Yuna¡¯s condition, she immediately followed up. ¡°They advanced with insufficient force, so they dispersed their strength and were individually destroyed. It¡¯s fine.¡± That¡¯s exactly true, but Hart had something to call attention to. ¡°If there are more fortresses, then the fleet must be increasing as well. With 28,000 ships and 7 fortresses, 2 fortresses have increased the ships by about 8,000. We should assume that the ships and fusion missile they spent in the pursuit have been fully recovered.¡± ¡°Ugh¡± From Philine on the left, a hoarse moan that was unlike a daughter of a Marquis was raised. There are more magic power holders who can operate warships in the Coalition than in the Monarchy. Simply put, the Coalition has more warships. ¡°Why are they attacking us?¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be difficult to take control of the star system. I wonder if it will end with the celestial swarm against Loki¡¯d.¡± Colette pulled Yuna back to reality as she began to talk on philosophical matters. Of the royal forces that jumped into the holes vacant of the celestial bodies, the first to capture the enemy in range was Fortress Kerviel. ¡°We will destroy the fortresses on the enemy right wing. Same way as last time. Open fire.¡± A huge energy beam from the long-range Fortress Kerviel broke through the shield of the fortress on the enemy¡¯s rightmost wing and pierced the fortress¡¯s magic element engine. The spirit-corrected main cannon on Fortress Kerviel outperformed the enemy¡¯s evasive maneuvers. The enemy would be terrified, wondering how they could hit the target. Spirit crystals are not the result of accumulated technology, but an existence created without any previous technology. It is a technological breakthrough approaching that of the invention of the magical elemental engine, and it is unilaterally attacking with the margin as if the Coalition was running tanks on the ground while attacked from the sky by unmanned drones of the Monarchy. By the time the first fortress was destroyed, Hart was already illuminating the second fortress. The Reaper¡¯s Scythe, created by absorbing technology a thousand years ahead and the magic of 100 aristocrats of the Monarchy, hunted the shields of the second mobile fortress, sucked out the lives of the soldiers inside the fortress, and ran through into the space behind it. The perforated fortress spilled air, supplies, and people into outer space, destroyed the transmission line of the magic element, causing a short circuit, and dropped out in a glowing chain of explosions. ¡°Destruction of the second enemy fortress confirmed. Two fortresses remaining on the enemy left wing side.¡± The left wing of the enemy is the opposite side to Hart, who is to the left of the open sector of the celestial cluster. It¡¯s out of range, and if they cross the battlefield straight, they¡¯ll be bombarded by a concentrated fire. Fortress Kerviel has high combat power, but it is not all-powerful. If fusion missiles were to be detonated at close range, the close range turrets would be burned down, even if the long-range cannon¡¯s and propulsion engine embedded in the metal layer were safe. If the enemy concentrated on it and obstructed its path, they will not be able to irradiate accurately, and if sabotaged, they will risk destroying the embedded turrets and propulsion engines. If the main unit is destroyed and allies are forced to withdraw, it is possible that the fortress will be captured. Hart, who did not possess a heroic self-sacrificing spirit, considered Fortress Kerviel to be a giant long-range battery, and had no intention of going out to the front and becoming Aegis¡¯ shield. ¡°The fortress will move counterclockwise to the right wing to attack the enemy fortresses. There is no need to overdo it. Better to keep the fortress intact and continue to defeat the enemy steadily.¡± Hart, who announced his policy as Acting Commander, moved the fortress from left wing to right wing through a sector secured by his allies. Both forces were firing at each other once within range, but the battle lines were in a stalemate because there were enemy reinforcements that had not depleted. A group of celestial bodies were poured into the star system, but the fleet battle was evenly matched at best. The space that was vacated by blowing up the celestial bodies was too narrow to deploy a large fleet. The fleet can¡¯t change its formation and can only exchange fire with the enemy head-on. Hart¡¯s fortress is intact, but the fortress armament is not suitable for targeting small ships. The damage they can inflict to the enemy fleet is too small to be decisive. ¡°We can¡¯t attack them. It¡¯s a draw.¡± Hart¡¯s conclusion was that the Loki system was within the enemy¡¯s territory, and given that reinforcements would come after this, there was no choice but to withdraw. ¡°Given the damage rate, it¡¯s a victory for the Monarchy Army. With nine mobile fortresses, the construction cost alone would account for 20% of the Coalition¡¯s estimated national budget.¡± The amount calculated by Philine did not ring true to the upstart Viscount. The battle has caused significant losses in terms of both material and human resources to the Coalition forces. Still, the damage has not reached the point of making the war unsustainable. The wealth and resources accumulated by the two powers during the more than four-century natural truce have not been exhausted even though decades¡¯ worth of the national budget have been wiped out. ¡°We¡¯ll just do our job. Destroy the third fortress.¡± After moving to the right wing, Kerbiel Fortress irradiated the newly captured third enemy fortress, and after a short time, pierced the fourth enemy fortress. The fleet battle between the two forces continued for a while, and General Command decided to withdraw, deeming it impossible to annihilate the enemy. ¡°All forces. Fire fusion rounds into the forward sector. Under the energy of the explosion, we will retreat, and the enemy will be pushed into the system and away from us. After that, scatter as many mines as possible to keep the enemy in the system, do not let the enemy out of the system.¡± Hundreds of thousands of fusion missiles remaining in the Monarchy¡¯s army created a huge planetary-scale flame that burned down the optical observatories of both armies with its intense light. The celestial bodies and the ship wreckage that were blown off by the explosion became mass weapons and flew away around both warships, destroying those that were unfortunate enough to be hit, creating a new threat. The outer edge of the system has become a hell where a vast group of celestial bodies were blown into disorder. Each planet in the Loki system is also attacked by a meteor shower. The Loki system has become a dangerous sector that is not worth being a water supply base. The Fenrir fleet, with its mobile fortresses and a large number of ships destroyed, has also lost its ability to invade the Diete system. ¡°All forces, withdraw ¡° The V¨ªdar fleet of the Royal Army trampled on Fenrir¡¯s lower jaw, which was the purpose of the operation, and after the upper jaw was knocked off, they retreated in an orderly manner. CH 17 The school year changed during the Battle of Loki, and Hart was now a third-year student at the Military Academy. After serving for five months, it was only natural that he felt like the fairy tale, Urashima Tar¨­, when he saw that the seniors two years ahead were gone and three times as many new cadets were walking around the academy. In the Loki system, a Dragon Palace rich in natural water resources, Urashima Tar¨­ danced with the Sea bream fortress and the fleet of ships that swam around like flounders, and instead of applauding, he slammed lasers and missiles into the Dragon Palace, destroying half of it before returning home in triumph. As a result of killing 9 sea breams and reaping a good amount of flounder, he was promoted to Brigadier General, and he also received the Battle of Loki Military Service Medal and was decorated with the Order of Eridanus 6th Class. Will military medals and insignias be a substitute for The Jewel Boxes? It looks great, but when seeing it, he felt like an old man who is indulging in a retrospective. ¡°Seven million people received the Military Service Medal. It doesn¡¯t have much scarcity value.¡± Hart smiled bitterly at the insignia displayed on the chest of his uniform. All military personnel who participated in the battle have received the ¡°Loki Star System Battle Military Service Medal ¡°. With that being one in six Monarchy soldiers, it¡¯s a long way from going up in value. On the other hand, the Medal of Honour, which is awarded for outstanding military merit, has a high value. The standard for receiving the Medal of Honor is to ¡°single-handedly defeat an enemy with a higher strength rating than your own in a single battle¡±. The Medal of Honor starts at 7th class, and if you receive 7 medals, you will be awarded 1st class. The origin of the 7 classes is a spectral classification of the stars, which is also the color of the medal. The medals were named after real stars. Order of Orion, 1st class (Blue) £¼O type£¾ Order of Algol, 2nd class (Blue and White) £¼B type£¾ Order of Sirius, 3rd Class (White) £¼A type£¾ Order of Procyon, 4th Class (Yellow-White) £¼C type£¾ Order of Capella, 5th Class (Yellow) £¼G type£¾ ¡ùThe Sun is G type Order of Eridanus, 6th Class (Orange) £¼K type£¾ Order of Gliese, 7th class (Red) £¼M type£¾ If you fight an enemy stronger than you, you will usually die. If you receive a medal for defeating a superior enemy, you will be noticed, even if you don¡¯t want to be. Hart and the others have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice, the Frodi System and the Loki System Battle, and have the highest military decoration in the Royal Army. This battle is a victory for the Monarchy Army. In a series of battles, including interstellar battles, pursuit battles, and Loki Star System Battles, the Monarchy fleet had 3041 unreturned ships, while the Coalition lost an estimated 10,000 ships. In addition, hundreds of Coalition ships and a large number of Coalition personnel who were on board have been captured, so the acquisition of Coalition technology and information can be expected. And most of all, they prevented the enemy invasion into the Diete system. A victory parade was held in the confetti-filled royal capital, and the soldiers were praised with all that could be mustered. In order to fill the void left by the 3,000 lost ships, and to prepare the personnel of 10 fleets that were being reinforced, promotions and medals of valor were scattered among active personnel with merits. The royal people favorably accept that the soldiers were rewarded for their achievements. Hart, who has remarkable success, is also an object of jealousy, but it is also proof that his contributions to the state are duly appreciated. In strengthening the military on a large scale, the ranks of the upper echelons were also promoted. The Secretary of State (Military Affairs) and Chief of Staff (Operations), two of the three military commanders, were promoted to the rank of Colonel General, the same as Commander-in-Chief Valfrete (Combat), and some of the fleet commanders were promoted to Generals in order for them to command multiple fleets. On the other hand, Valfrete, who had rendered great service, was not promoted to Colonel General, but was granted the sixth Duke peerage and a Dukedom in the Monarchy as originally planned. Valfrete, who had been registered as a vassal, laid claim as the Duke of Strani. Yuna¡¯s mother was welcomed into the new Duke¡¯s household, and her daughter Yuna also officially became the Duke¡¯s daughter. It has also been announced that Yuna is Valfrete¡¯s biological child and that she was engaged to the Viscount of Amakawa. As a result, Yuna met the condition that ¡®women with high magic power who are married or engaged to a high-magic holder will be exempted from the conscription ¡®. From now on, unless she wishes it, she will not be sent out to the front line. However, for Hart and the others, the opportunity to go to war has been delayed due to political reasons. This is because the issue of the succession to the throne of the third prince, Valfrete, who defeated the Coalition forces, is being rekindled, and there is a widespread belief that the first prince should make an expedition to Earth to make his mark. From a purely military point of view, this is not only pointless, but a negative idea that takes unnecessary risks. What the Sovereign needs is not to excel in tactics, but to establish a path to the end goal of ¡°eliminating the threat of the Coalition¡±. One of the methodologies is military power, and in order to operate it effectively, it is the specific role of the Sovereign to appoint a Minister of Military Affairs, who can give the appropriate authority to those who excel in military administration, strategy, and tactics. If the Sovereign keeps track of national power and human resources, prioritize them according to their importance and urgency, and strive to facilitate negotiations and coordination between ministers, it will be easier to plan the future of the nation based on stable military power. What rulers and their successors should have for the nation is political power. Nevertheless, the Monarchy¡¯s government and the royal army were forced to accept it because the current royal family made the greatest contribution to the independence of the Monarchy of Diete, and the populace realized that the royal family would carry the banner in the battle against the Coalition. This is a matter of identity as citizens of Diete and the reason why the Deite Monarchy¡¯s political system is a constitutional monarchy, so logic and profit-and-loss calculations cannot truly convince the royal people. Therefore, the expedition for gaining achievement was carried out not for military reasons, but for political reasons. The first prince has never attended a military-related school, but operational command is carried out by the general staff that follow him when he is conscripted as aristocracy. Earth, at the halfway point between the Diete system, where the Monarchy¡¯s Capital planet is located, and the Myrna system, where the Coalition¡¯s main planet is located, is the key to the outcome of the war. Now that the Coalition has been dealt a major blow, there is little fear that they will be prevented from invading Earth. If you go as Commander-in-Chief to a battle that can be expected to at least destroy military facilities thoroughly, you will be able to create a track record that will satisfy the people. If Hart, who is by all accounts under Valfrete faction and is engaged to the third prince¡¯s daughter, and Yuna, who is the daughter of the prince, play an active role in such a campaign to make a record, it would be a complete disaster for the side that is trying to establish the legitimacy of the first prince. Thus, it was decided that Hart and the others would remain until the first prince was active. Considering the round trip to Earth, it would take at least half a year. At least until they reach the 4th year of the Military Academy, they won¡¯t be called to duty. Considering the high school of the Magic Academy, which was the stage of the game, the main story until graduation has been fixed. While watching the news footage of the reorganized Grand fleet, Hart imagined the end roll flowing on the game screen as the story progressed without them. The only problem left for Hart is to return some of the tilt of the balance, which is too biased towards the Duke of Strani, to the Marquis of Carneus. With the daughter of the Duke of Strani¡¯s wife as his fianc¨¦e and being considered as under the Valfrete faction in the military, even though he and the Marquis of Carneus are working together on the Second System¡¯s Spirit Crystals, the balance is 2 to 1 in favor of the Duke. For Hart, his own freedom is important. He wants to maintain his right to self-determination without being swallowed up by the Marquis of Carneus or the Duke of Strani. So, Hart relied on Philine and by extension, the Marquis Carneus family to help him arrange the residence and servants of Viscount Amakawa in the capital planet, Diros. ¡°What are your intentions?¡± ¡°The mansion and servants brokered by the Duke of Strani would be reluctant towards Philine. I¡¯m not going to treat Philine as under Yuna. Apart from the formal occasions, I don¡¯t think of you as a concubine in spirit. Lately, I¡¯ve been able to behave more like a lover.¡± Philine looked at Hart¡¯s face in silence, as if struggling to find the right words to reply. If she had been acting like a lover from the beginning, it would have been only Philine. If Philine showed her willingness to make concessions, Hart was willing to reciprocate. If you think about it as a maiden game, Philine probably made the wrong choice. But now that she was willing to compromise, Hart was also willing to compromise. ¡°I have appeared several times at the Carneus gatherings. So if you demonstrate your cooperation with me, you¡¯ll be able to compete politically.¡± ¡°Yuna is a Legal wife. It¡¯s not balanced.¡± Hart was impressed by the appearance of Philine, who looked up at him, as a rival character who competed with the heroine. ¡°Then, after graduating from the Military Academy, will Philine live with me? ¡°Uh e~!?¡± Philine raised her voice at the unexpected. Hart, on the other hand, thought he had made a rather serious proposal that wasn¡¯t so bad. Magic inheritance from parent to child is 0.9 times higher than the Coalition at the time, which was mass-producing magic power holders by artificial insemination. Philine will be with the child, but the rate of magical inheritance will be higher if Halt is also with her. Philine must succeed to the Marquis, but since her grandfather is the current head and her father is the next head, there is a 100-year grace period before succession. In order to increase the magic inheritance rate of descendants, the Marquis family will not object to cohabitation. Yuna is engaged while aware of Hart¡¯s relationship with Philine, and she isn¡¯t opposed to Philine. Of course they will compete with each other. ¡°It¡¯s what we call living together. And it¡¯s sweet.¡± ¡°Doh¡­¡± Vermilion came into contact with the white Scandinavian skin. ¡°Usually, it¡¯s common to have separate houses.¡± Philine spoke of the general theory, but it was not a very negative tone. ¡°If you were to be away from home for three days at a time, wouldn¡¯t it be lonely for those three days? It is the tradition of the Viscount Amakawa family to try to live together.¡± The Amakawa family is a venerable aristocratic household founded seven months ago. The family head is a cadet, who usually lives in the dormitory of the Military Academy, and has not appeared in the social world at all because he was recently sent to war. Therefore, the prestige and traditions of the Viscount Amakawa family are all that he claims to have at the moment. ¡°Please don¡¯t open up so brazenly. Anyway, I don¡¯t understand anymore!¡± ¡°Anyway, look at some of the candidate houses. Philine¡¯s taste is fine.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we can¡¯t take Yuna¡¯s preferences into account, so we¡¯ll all talk about it together. I¡¯ll need some time from you.¡± As a result of forced pushing, the confused Philine agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you. Oh, and¡­¡± Hart nodded afterwards, but then paused and pretended to think. ¡°What is it?¡± Hart speaks cautiously to Philine, who asks suspiciously. ¡°Don¡¯t get mad when I say it.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re honest, I¡¯ll consider that.¡± ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s see¡­¡­ sometimes, it¡¯s really just from time to time, so I really wish you could go along with my hobby and tastes, and I¡¯ll love Philine more.¡± ¡°Please say it.¡± Despite being skeptical of Hart¡¯s appearance, Philine urged him to continue. ¡°It¡¯s about fashion at home. I¡¯d like you to use one of the so-called headbands, only when I ask you to.¡± ¡°Hah. A headband? I don¡¯t mind that much.¡± In a somewhat listless reply, Hart added casually, enduring a hearty laugh. ¡°I¡¯m glad. And I¡¯d like clothes that look good with a headband.¡± ¡°What kind of clothes?¡± ¡°The clothes are like those worn by servants working in the Marquis family, they look great with a headband. Nothing too outlandish or revealing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re asking for something like that, but I don¡¯t mind as long as it¡¯s not too weird.¡± ¡°The clothes that the Marquis¡¯s family¡¯s staff wear shouldn¡¯t be weird. Then I¡¯ll arrange them!¡± Hart, who passed the extremely high level request, declared with high tension that Philine lightly pulled away. The Cat Ear Maid figure of the silver haired young lady was already flickering in his mind. While tilting her head to Hart¡¯s behavior, Philine, who was distracted by the mansion, shelved her doubts and began operating the terminal to ask her parents for a list of potential mansions. Even if he consulted with Yuna, if she would listen to his wishes, he had various desires he would like to pass on to Philine. Eventually, Yuna and Colette, who returned to the classroom, saw a man who had left for a fantasy world filled with lust and a woman who also left for the fantasy world filled with flowers. CH 18 It has been two months since the Earth invasion fleet, which is larger than the Loki System Battle fleet, has departed. After completing the first semester of their third year of the Military Academy, Hart and the others went on a long vacation. As usual, with only four members of the Heavy Battleship department or 74 in the Commandant department, the Military Academy, with so few candidates to operate warships, cannot afford to fail valuable cadets. Thanks to that, students with poor grades are now in remedial hell. As for the practical training part of the curriculum, four members of Hart¡¯s class who served in the Loki Star System Battle were exempted from all grading during their enrollment, including the fourth grade. Hart questioned being given future credit, but the instructor in charge assured him that there was no problem at all. ¡°Five months of military service is sufficient practice time for 3rd to 4th graders. The result of defeating 9 enemy mobile fortresses is also satisfactory. This was decided at the instructors¡¯ meeting.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± At the Military Academy, practical training is incorporated from the 3rd year in order to develop immediate combat ability. In light of their purpose, Hart and others who achieved great results in the battle following the space flight drills, have proven to be an immediate fighting force. By this, even if given a low score, it would only be considered as a problem with the grading method on the school side. ¡°That¡¯s fine. In fact, thanks to your overachievement, we¡¯ve had to lower the grades of the other candidates by one level.¡± ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°Participants and non-participants in the Loki System Battle cannot be given the same score. Unless other students exceed your valor, you will be the top four.¡± The instructor even informed on the other side of the grading process. Perhaps it was because Hurt was a cadet and also had the rank of Brigadier General that he was able to receive such a detailed explanation. The ranks of the teachers of the Military Academy are; the principal is a Major General, the vice-principal is a Colonel, and the head teacher is a Lieutenant Colonel. If a higher-ranking person asks questions, they will have to answer more politely than if the other person was a mere student. ¡°Thank you. It was worth the effort.¡± ¡°Your grades are originally high to begin with, so there are no problems. It would be good if I didn¡¯t tell the other students about this. That is all.¡± Hart saluted the teacher who had just dismissed him and turned on his heels. As the instructor explained, Hart¡¯s performance was originally of a high standard. For one thing, it is due to the assistance of excellent spirit crystals, so they dominate from the top to the fourth in ship maneuvering, magic element analysis, and artillery control. Even in classroom lectures, the Magic Academy, attended by aristocratic children, firmly educates in the field of magic, which is only taught in outline in ordinary schools without magic power holders. Hart and his colleagues had learned before they were taught at the Military Academy. Of course, in the military-related lectures, there were many other people with excellent grades. In that field, no matter how hard you try, you can¡¯t beat real geeks. However, with 97% of his classmates as non-returnees and his performance being double-corrected for his magical power and battle results, it is likely that the top student of the Military Academy will be among the four members of Hart¡¯s group. Among the four, Hart earns in his specialty in practical skills and classroom studies, Philine, who has a strong background from her lineage and upbringing, Yuna, who is quick to mature but is unsuitable for tactics and combat, Colette is high level without any weakness in general. Colette, however, is a retainer of the royal family, and behaves so as not to attract too much attention from the surroundings. Therefore, Hart suspected that she was deliberately cutting corners in some subjects. Colette had previously said, ¡°I also have aristocratic ties of obligation¡± and Hart was stunned when he realized that she was deliberately lowering her final grade at the Military Academy. Colette deliberately lowered her score and conceded the win, and Hart felt an emotion he could not digest. ¡°It¡¯s a nice view.¡± Hart was in complete agreement with Colette¡¯s frank impression. The Viscount Amakawa family mansion, which Philine and Yuna discussed and decided on, was on an artificial floating island in the Mediterranean Sea of ??the Capital planet, Diros. From the terrace, a view of the blue sea spreading out over the horizon and the orderly arrangement of artificial islands. The Capital planet, Diros, is one that has undergone almost the same birth process as Earth, is about 1.4 times the size of the Earth, and has been orbiting the habitable zone of the G-type main sequence star, which is the same as the Sun, for about 3.5 billion years. In other words, after the birth of the planet, rain fell while dissolving chlorine gas in the atmosphere, and the sodium contained in the planet¡¯s rocks dissolved in the water that fell, producing seawater containing sodium chloride. Before human settlement, the sea on Diros was green due to the abundance of chloroplast-bearing green algae and phytoplankton near the surface of the water. In order to bring Diros closer to Earth¡¯s environment, human beings electrolyzed carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and oxygen, produced oxygen by photocatalytic reaction of titanium oxide, sown seeds of various plants, so as to establish an oxygen supply system that does not rely on native phytoplankton in the sea. Afterwards, the krill which ate phytoplankton was scattered in the ocean, turning the sea blue. The salinity of seawater is about 0.8% higher than that of Earth, but many sea creatures can adapt to that level, and even if they cannot, they can be improved by genetic manipulation. After the proliferation of krill, 1,000 kinds of seafood such as sardines, horse mackerel, and saury, which feed on krill, were artificially hatched from eggs and released, then tuna and other fish that ate them were introduced, and livestock were raised on land, hence Diros established a food supply system. As for the sea, adjustments were made from the calm Mediterranean Sea, which is sandwiched between the continents and has gentle waves, so the inland sea is a clear blue color with little phytoplankton, and the open sea still has a mysterious greenish appearance. In front of their eyes, a beautiful ocean that surpassed the Earth¡¯s, with a clear blue color and an ecosystem favorable to humans, which had been improved further. Colette, who was invited by Yuna at the unveiling, was fascinated by the magnificent sight created by human hands. ¡°The seas about here must be very popular.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure because it was arranged for me, but I couldn¡¯t find it for sale through the usual means.¡± The artificial floating islands in the Mediterranean Sea are a few dozen minutes away by flying vehicle from the continent where the royal capital is located. The surrounding waters are lined with thousands of ultra-luxury residential floating islands that are not high-end residential areas. The area of ??each island ranges from a minimum of 200 square meters to a maximum of 2 square kilometers. The area of the building is one-sixth to one-quarter of the island¡¯s area and can be as low as six to up to 40 stories above ground, underground or under the sea. Guided by satellite radio waves, they are moved to the position where the sea area management fee and the rental fee were paid for, and connect with the fixed platform on the seabed to form a floating island. Every island has a minimum energy supply plant, a food production plant, a facility for attracting underwater fish, a garbage disposal facility, a landing pad for flying vehicles and out-of-atmosphere vessels, and a private beach, while Hart¡¯s island also has facilities to catch fish from the sea and draw them into the building. Floating islands are what every royal capital citizen, who have achieved great success in life, dream of purchasing. The one that Hart was ceded by the Marquis of Carneus for less than the market price was one of the best floating islands in the surrounding waters. After looking around, Colette turned to Hart and gave her impressions. ¡°Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty from which the Diete system takes its name, was born at sea. It was a beautiful sight, just as it should have been. But Aphrodite, like Hart, was a lustful woman.¡± ¡°Excuse me for being lumped in with a goddess, but I¡¯m not lustful.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not convincing at all.¡± Colette¡¯s gaze was directed behind Hart. Hart, who was caught and turned around, saw a silver-haired cat-eared young lady in a neat maid outfit. ¡°Nugua¡± The moment he invited the opposite sex to his home, he showed what should not have been seen. The awkwardness made Hart¡¯s head go blank as he hardened. The pointy cat ears that Philine had on are the same silver as the color of her hair on the outside, white on the inside, and fluffy to the touch. The small floral hair clip on the ears emphasizes her girlish cuteness. And the ears even have a function that moves them naturally in conjunction with the movement of the head. The maid outfit with a long skirt is black with a white apron and silver hair, creating a natural harmony. A pink diamond with a gold trim is attached to the collar, the cuffs are wide and fluttering, emphasizing fashion and appearance over practicality. When Hart searched on the information terminal to buy a Cat-Eared maid set, a huge number of cat ear maids were hit. Many of his comrades are hiding behind the Monarchy. When Hart saw the search results, his heart trembled at the splendor. It was none other than Hurt himself who wanted a scene reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. He has no regrets about his choices, and is grateful that he chose to be brave when he expressed his wishes. He deeply engraved that if he wanted something, he should take a step forward. But if only one complaint is allowed, it¡¯s not asking for it to be worn until Colette arrived. Of course, it¡¯s Hart¡¯s own fault for not saying it properly. ¡°What a good hobby you have. Your Excellency Viscount Amakawa.¡± At Colette¡¯s sarcasm, Hart dropped his shoulders and silently accepted the reputation of being a lustful man alongside the goddess Aphrodite. After the man went down with the ship, Philine lightly picked the hem of her skirt, and twirled around. Then she stares upward at Hart and murmurs, in a purposely audible tone. ¡°If you had asked from the beginning, I would have worn it.¡± Hart was still shot through by a brutal attack without any resistance. Philine was initially puzzled when asked for cat ears, but she seemed to be happy to have discovered what to do to hold Hart¡¯s reins, and rather took the initiative. Incidentally, Philine appeals to ¡°tell me from the beginning¡± because there is an orange tabby cat to oppose the white cat. ¡°Yuna, what are you doing?¡± The Viscount young lady, who elegantly put her mouth on a cup of tea without concern, was astonished to see a newly-revealed brown-haired cat-eared maiden. The orange tabby cat quietly walked up to Hart, slammed into his chest from the front and cried out. ¡°Nya~¡± ¡°Gubba¡± An onomatopoeic moan that wouldn¡¯t normally be heard in a lifetime overflowed from the mouth of the man who was hugged by the orange tabby cat. The orange tabby cat, who burns with rivalry against the white cat, rubs its body against Hart as if claiming that this is my owner. The texture of the maid outfit is as soft as a cat¡¯s ear, and coupled with the softness of the woman wearing it, fascinates Hart and never stops. ¡°Do you have an excuse?¡± Colette¡¯s inquiry chilled Hart¡¯s mind like an air conditioner. Hart, whose aristocratic visage and appearance had died, mused on an excuse to mitigate the negative 1 million valuation to about 500,000, but in the end he couldn¡¯t think of anything. That¡¯s what being caught red-handed is all about. ¡°Cat-Eared maids are cute.¡± ¡°In short, I wonder if it is merely a peculiarity.¡± Hart¡¯s re-opening was cut off by Colette. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ For now, I demand a lawyer with an understanding of Moe culture.¡± ¡°I have strong French roots, so I have a little understanding of Japanese culture. But the verdict is guilty.¡± Do the French really not understand Japan¡¯s Moe culture? Thought the man on the side being pursued. People that do not have Japanese roots sometimes misunderstand the Japanese culture of Moe. They may feel that it is immoral to make women wear cat ears. Or is there a desire for dominance derived from animal instincts? Such a straightforward desire was inferred. Hart¡¯s idea of Moe culture is to love cute little animals, not glittering skin-colored desires. ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Oh yes, it¡¯s cute.¡± Philine, who could take Hart¡¯s reins, and Yuna, his fianc¨¦e have declared that they will accept Hart¡¯s hobbies and tastes. However, the defense counsel¡¯s remarks are not defense at all. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you just in case, I won¡¯t put cat ears on.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± It¡¯s not cat ears that suit Colette, but fox ears. Hart, who had such a delusion, didn¡¯t say anything because he¡¯s afraid for his own life. And he thought that he might be unfair by hugging the orange tabby cat, and lightly stroked the white cat¡¯s head. ¡°Hopeless. When I¡¯m with Hart, words that I¡¯ve never heard used in my life come up many times. Thank you for this valuable experience.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ No, you¡¯re welcome.¡± On behalf of Hart, who was tired, Philine and Yuna tried to persuade her to move to the building and invited her to dinner. The information terminal attached to Hart¡¯s left arm sounded an alarm, and then the other three information terminals rang out all at once. ¡°What is it?¡± After operating the device, Hart¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. It was an alert that the Grand Fleet of the Coalition was already closing in on the Diete Star system. CH 19 The Kingdom of Diete noticed the Coalition of Humanity¡¯s circumvention force in a sector completely off-route, 10 light-years away from the Diros system. 10 light years are separated by 3.6 days in time in time without the use of spirit crystals. In three-dimensional space, it is extremely rare to encounter another spacecraft with pinpoint accuracy in a sector that is completely off course. It is safe to say that there is no such thing as a chance encounter. On the resumption of the war, the Royal Army was running reconnaissance ships into each sector to set up a search network. On the other hand, the Coalition drew information from the Monarchy prisoners of war they had acquired in the Loki Star Battle and implemented a method that allowed them to approach the Diete system without being caught in the search network. This resulted in the Royal Army finding the enemy ten light-years away from the Diete system. ¡°According to information from the reconnaissance ship, the enemy force is estimated to be 30,000 to 34,000 ships, 15 to 17 fleets.¡± When he was told that the size of the enemy was equivalent to that of the Earth Invasion Force, Hart stared in the direction of Earth. The Royal Army plans to build up to 35 fleets, with 29 fleets now in force, after deducting rapid construction, aristocratic offerings, and damage from the Loki Star System battle. However, 19 of the Royal Army¡¯s fleets have left for Earth for political reasons. 4 of the 10 fleets left in the home sector are deployed in the Athena system, with only 6 left in the Diete system. Two more fleets could be incorporated by adding the division fleets, squadrons, and private aristocratic fleets on the capital planet, but against the approaching 15 to 17 enemy fleets, only about half of the 8 fleets are available. Adding private ships would have outnumbered the Coalition fleet, but considering that the surprise attack of the Frodi system had to use the transport ship as a shield, the private ships would only serve as shields. No matter how you think about it, the cause of such a crisis is the invasion of Earth. As the enemy moved towards the Diete system, the invasion of Earth was confirmed to be a crushing victory. But the solar system is a frontier system for the Coalition, and the Diete system is the heart of the Monarchy. To be attacked in the Diete system for the sake of the solar system is not worth breaking one of the enemy¡¯s legs, only to be pierced in the heart. Proponents of the House of Representatives (Senate) and the National Council (Lower House) of the Monarchy Parliament, who resolved an early invasion of Earth despite the military explaining the risks, for reasons such as giving the First Prince the prestige, will be blue by now. Hart can¡¯t help but hope that at least Yuna¡¯s father, Commander-in-Chief Valfrete, would not be held accountable. ¡°It would have been better if the Earth invasion forces had either postponed until our defense forces were in place, or had met the enemy forces and fought a frontal battle.¡± Hart, who was excluded by the First Prince¡¯s faction and left house-sitting, was greeted by a sudden visitor. Fortress Kerviel, which can only be operated by Hart, remained on the planet, and Hart¡¯s role as Acting Commander had not been lifted. After spending half a day rushing to Fortress Kerviel, which was located in a sector away from the Diros, Hart and the others immediately sent an arrival report to General Command. General Command had already issued various orders, and Hart¡¯s report was immediately responded to by an operations chief with the rank of Brigadier General. Hart, who has the same Brigadier General rank but is under the General Headquarters in the chain of command, saluted first. The chief of operations responded to Hart¡¯s salute and briefly began to outline the point. ¡°It is estimated that the enemy¡¯s objective is to reduce the Monarchy¡¯s ability to continue the war by dropping celestial bodies or plunging ships into the Diete system, which has a population of 12 billion. The purpose of our army is the complete defense of the planet Diros.¡± Hart agreed with that view. The Monarchy of Diete has a total population of about 40 billion people, of whom 30%, 12 billion people, live in the Diete system. If the capital planet, Diros, is lost, the total population of the Monarchy and the Coalition will be leveled at about 28 billion. Against a Coalition of Humanity that can increase its High Magic power holders by ignoring their human rights, if they are lined up in population, they will clearly be disadvantaged by the number of magic powered people. In other words, the Coalition will be closer to victory, and the Monarchy will be closer to defeat. ¡°We will gather private ships to defend Diros. However, in order to defend the capital planet, we must defeat the enemy in the sector as far away from the capital planet as possible. The first battlefield is a sector 7 billion kilometers away, where the enemy ships were broken up at warp out and were chased in parallel and cut down by friendly forces distributed in each area. Fortress Kerviel is to strike the strongest portions of the enemy.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± It was an explanation that was more than enough to send them into despair. The ideal intercept position for planetary defense is outside the system, away from the planet. However, due to the lack of forces, they can only be prevented by pulling them into the system and using civilian ships to destroy them individually. After the communication, Hart wondered about how to stop the enemy with maximum efficiency, and sent magic power to his spirit to convey his will. ¡°Help me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seraphina replied in a light-hearted manner, as if she was responding to a request for a dinner menu. In the game, the spirits lent their strength to the heroine, Yuna, to move the fleet. The conditions for standing up to Fortress Kerviel, which was the ship of The Villainess Digitalis, are not currently met, but there are things that are only possible with Hart¡¯s Magic power and Fortress Kerviel. ¡°Head towards the Diete sun, the center of the magic elements blowing around in the star. From there, we ride the waves of magic to gain acceleration, and while semi-encircling the invading forces, penetrate from the flank. I¡¯ll use my magic power conversion to defend and maneuver.¡± ¡°Aha, hahahahahh¡± A blond purple-eyed, white-winged half-elf laughed with tears in her eyes as she put her white hand over her mouth after hearing the strategy. And then, it calls out to the surroundings in a good mood. ¡°Eleanor, Sharon, Angela, it looks interesting, so give me a hand.¡± Then a blond elf appeared by Philine¡¯s side, a light green-haired nymph beside Yuna, and a peach-haired half-elf by Collet¡¯s side, nodded lightly to indicate their willingness to accept. It seemed Philine and the others could only see their own spirits, and they appeared to speak to them with magic power while looking only at their own spirits. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll declare the operation. This fortress will accelerate towards the Diete sun and use the waves of magic emitted from Diete to gain acceleration. We will attack the enemy fleet heading towards the planet Diros in a clockwise direction while semi-encircling it, and thoroughly destroy them by any means. Commence.¡± Hart¡¯s explanation startled the command center. It is common sense that magic is blowing from the center of the system, but to gain acceleration on them was unprecedented. The Operations Chief raised doubts on behalf of the crew. ¡°Please wait. There¡¯s no precedent for this.¡± ¡°With my magic, the Kerviel Fortress and the spirit crystals, it is possible. Even if it¡¯s not, we can still intercept the enemy without getting the expected acceleration. If there¡¯s no loss, there¡¯s no reason not to try.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ but¡­¡± When Hart saw that the rebuttal had stopped, he quickly made a statement. ¡°Commence.¡± After informing General Command of the action, Fortress Kerviel began moving toward the sun, away from the fleet clusters floating in the Diete system. The surrounding ships were skeptical of moving in the opposite direction of the enemy¡¯s arrival, but regardless of that, Fortress Kerviel pushed toward the sun. It took four hours for the fortress to get close enough to the sun to reach its limit, and then, while riding a huge wave of swirling magical elements, it gained explosive acceleration and flew out from the sun as if blown away. The fortress deployed its shields and glowed like a racing meteor, leaving a trail of light in the system. The Coalition Fleet warped out one after another at the outer edge of the Diete system, breaking into 16 portions before entering the system. One of them was attacked by Fortress Kerviel, which protruded from its allies. Eight golden glows extended to the enemy fleet, and six large enemy ships, including a fortress ship, were blown away. The glow immediately increases to 16, 32, and 64, blinding the center of the enemy fleet one after another. A bundle of red light was also shot back from the enemy fleet, but the shield covering the fortress partially thickened at the moment the enemy attack hit, repelling the attack. ¡°Gunners, the attack targets are in order of energy response. Take out larger ships that are difficult for allies to destroy with the attack power of Fortress Kerviel.¡± ¡°Copy that. All artillery, priority targets are large ships. Take aim from the largest enemy first.¡± Information gathered by hundreds of thousands of observation devices in the fortress is aggregated into the fortress¡¯s quantum computer. The quantum computer and the organically linked spirit crystal immediately prepare to fire, distributing energy according to priority. Then, the artificial intelligence and android in charge of the artillery made sure that there was no accidental fire on friendly ships, and released a powerful golden shower that devoured the enemy ships one after another. The counterattack of the smaller enemy ships was also fierce, and they came close to the fortress and began to crush its turrets. Enemies that caused more damage to the fortress were moved up in the order of battle and showered with golden light. However, there was no end to it, as new enemies continued to invade the battle zone. Fortress Kerviel and a single enemy fleet shoot at each other, and a corner of the outer edge of the system glows with light. Fortress Kerviel, whose main engine was strengthened after the Battle of the Loki Star System, combined with the power of Hart and class-A spirit crystals, to enable the use of combat power of 6,588 destroyers. Combined with the secondary armament attacks of Philine and Yuna and the assistance of Collete, the addition of 556 + 572 + 421 is equivalent to the power of 8137 destroyers. The combat power of a single fleet of enemy battleships is equivalent to 3065 destroyers. Instead of defeating each of them individually, the prominent Hart defeated each of the dispersed enemies with more than twice the combat power. ¡°Enemy fleet¡¯s counterattack breached part of the fortress shield. Damage to external armor. Damage is minor.¡± After hearing the report of the general staff, Colette moves the propulsion engine at the rear of the fortress to slightly change the trajectory of the fortress. One after another, the enemy lasers extended into the star system, deviating from the fortress that had shifted its course. Some of the enemy ships had huge explosions that seemed to be fusion missiles. ¡°Broken through the enemy fleet. Damage done is 80%.¡± Fortress Kerviel, which plunged from the side of the enemy fleet and pushed through the opposite side, hit the flank of the next fleet in a clockwise direction. The second enemy fleet to be hit was struck in its side, and kept being stabbed in the stomach by each turret of the hedgehog-like fortress and dispersed in a sprawling manner. The long-range Fortress Kerviel pierces the rear of the fleeing enemy with a series of laser needles one after another. All over the outer rim of the system, allied fleets were beginning to exchange missiles with enemy fleets. The capital planet had greater number of missiles, but the enemy won in number of fleets, so the Monarchy¡¯s forces were pushed into the system on several battlefronts. ¡°Broken through the enemy. Damage done to the enemy is 70%. Fortress armor has not been breached, but some of the external turrets have been destroyed.¡± Not much damage, Hart decided. Fortress Kerviel, which was 81 km in diameter with 3 km thick armor, has been enlarged to a diameter of 90 km to match Hart¡¯s magic power value, and its armor has been reinforced to a thickness of 8 km. The larger ships that came within range were defeated by the first shot, and the spirits blocked the laser attacks of the smaller ships. ¡°Launch into the third fleet.¡± The battle between Fortress Kerviel and a single enemy fleet is almost a one-side game. For a brief moment while passing each other at high speed, the Coalition Fleet was burned by a series of golden lights one after another, exploding and blowing its debris out of the star system. As they pass by the enemy, fusion rounds are relentlessly fired from the fortress, exploding inside the enemy fleet, obliterating them. ¡°On to the fourth fleet!¡± Moving clockwise, Fortress Kerviel skipped one enemy fleet to face the next. Because the third fleet was in the zenith of the galactic reference plane, and the flying enemy was in the nadir range, Fortress Kerviel, which was moving too fast, could not change its trajectory. Fortress Kerviel, which mowed down its fourth fleet, was hit by fusion rounds from an enemy fleet that flew in towards it, burning the outer walls of the fortress, and losing a few percent of its external turrets. Instead, Fortress Kerviel, which pierced through the enemy¡¯s larger ships, scattered more fusion rounds than it had taken and flew away. ¡°To the fifth fleet.¡± At various locations on the outer rim of the system, the both forces are shooting lasers at each other. Battlecruisers flew around, electromagnetic pulse artillery bombarded the space, and missiles and anti-missiles brightly lit up the system. The fleets of both armies were moving toward the center of the star system over time, reducing each other¡¯s numbers along the way. The current situation seems to be a reenactment of the attack on Earth by the Diete government forces 457 years ago. At the time, the Diete government conducted the same operation, because there was no other way to escape colonial rule. It¡¯s not Yuna¡¯s point, but why would the Coalition side, which is not under colonial rule, risk their lives in a similar suicide attack? The answer is that the historical background of the colonial rule of the Coalition countries had been altered or trivialized to make the Monarchy of Diete the villain. Simplifying the education of the Coalition citizens, they are taught that ¡°if we do not defeat the heinous Diete system, our planet will be destroyed¡±. All of the Coalition soldiers who received such patriotic education are pushing their ships towards the capital planet, Diros. Hundreds to thousands of people are killed each time an enemy or ally ship explodes, unlike when playing a game. If it continues as it is, the requisitioned private ships in the rear will receive damage as well. The conscripted civilian ships have operators with the status of knight or baron. Hart was relieved that they weren¡¯t commandeering full-fledged civilians, but he didn¡¯t want the enemy to reach their line of defense as civilian ships couldn¡¯t defeat warships. ¡°The 10th Fleet¡± Hart had already lost count of the number of enemy ships he had dropped. He was unconsciously firing and exploding ships one after another as he raced through the sector. It was becoming a pattern in Hart¡¯s mind, and while he was desperately defeating the enemy in front of him, his consciousness was obscured. Hart consciously swallowed his panting breaths, and sent magic power to the magic element engine to make it shoot out a rain of light around him. The golden light was showered on the enemy fleet, and the enemy ships constantly turned into photospheres. ¡°Engaging the 11th fleet. The enemy¡¯s attack speed is about 50% of the speed of light. About 7 hours to the capital planet, Diros.¡± Determining that the interception would not make it in time, Hart expanded his hand further. ¡°Fire 20% of the fortress fusion rounds at each enemy fleet advancing through the sector. Launch all fortress battleships. Disrupt the formation of the enemy fleets that we missed so friendly forces may destroy them individually.¡± Initially divided into 16 sections, the battlefields of the two fleets began to narrow in relative distance as they approached the planet. In that narrow space, hundreds of thousands of fusion rounds that Hart had shot exploded in rapid succession. In the burst of light, many black shadows of Coalition ships emerge, half of which are swallowed by giant fireballs. Even the ships which were not swallowed by a fireball were blown away by the energy wave, and their course was greatly derailed. Then, swarms of lights flew out from the fortress one after another, swarming around the small enemy ships whose formation had collapsed and fallen apart. After flying out of the fortress, the ships engaged in a fierce battle for the sector against the enemy¡¯s ships. Small ships caught in a rain-like bombardment of enemy and friendly shelling are constantly exposed to attacks that exceed energy limits and take damage. ¡°We will engage the 12th fleet. This is the last enemy fleet moving in a clockwise direction.¡± Raging in a vortex of magical elements, Fortress Kerviel flew into the last enemy fleet. The decelerated fortress continued to fire its lasers and half-reduced external turrets at the enemy fleet, piercing and reducing them to dust in exchange for the destruction of the fortress¡¯ outer hull. ¡°Lots of damage caused by the enemy close range missiles. Majority of movable gun gates are unusable. Space combat capacity almost lost.¡± ¡°The third armor of the fortress has been damaged. About 4 hours needed for repairs. If the battle continues as it is, fatal damage will occur inside the fortress.¡± ¡°90% of the fortress¡¯ fusion rounds have been consumed. Anti-missiles are available. However, counter-fusion explosions are not possible. Any further consumption will have a serious impact on fortress¡¯ defense capabilities.¡± ¡°All battleships have been launched, sir. The fortress is severely losing its close combat capabilities.¡± Each situation monitor at the Fortress Command was filled with blinking red warning lights. The Operation Chief was also repeatedly calling out the danger, and even Hart understood that the situation was dire. If you think of the fortress as a warship, it has already been wrecked, and it continues the fight as it is, it will drop out. Determined that they could no longer function, Hart thought of the battle results achieved by Fortress Kerviel. 12 fleets have been scattered, and each was reduced by about 60%. The damage done to the enemy is roughly calculated to be 14,400 ships, which is more than 7 fleets. Other fleets were also roughly scrapped, and all mobile fortresses were destroyed. 8 of the 16 enemy fleets were destroyed by them alone. If Fortress Kerviel, which had a strength rating of two fleets, had defeated 8 enemy fleets, that was enough. The Royal Army of the Diete system had about eight fleets gathered together. There were also mobile fortresses and defense fortresses at the Capital Planet, and a vast array of weapons were in operation. The numerical disadvantage should have been overturned. After doing the calculations in his brain, Hart exhaled a rough breath, judging that he should have fulfilled his role. The fortress is broken, and its personnel are busy working to restore it. Even if Hart wants to move, he couldn¡¯t do it now. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s over. Thank you for your hard work.¡± Seraphina appeared and smiled at Hart, who lifted the tension and relaxed his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ve done a great job. Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. It was fun. If it¡¯s just me, I¡¯d be happy to play with you again.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± Of course, Hart wasn¡¯t looking forward to the next opportunity. The Coalition¡¯s remaining fleet was pushing inside the system and finally entering direct combat with the battleships launched from the planet Diros. Private ships are also participating in the defensive battle, and a large number of light balls are shining enough to make you want to turn away. The Monarchy was overwhelmingly dominant in the total number of ships, and the Coalition vessels were in a position to be hunted down. Colette offered coffee to Hart, who looked at them in a daze. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be promoted after the battle. I think Hart will be the first teenage Major General since the Monarchy declared independence.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably true. There hasn¡¯t been any fighting since independence, so there¡¯s no way it was possible.¡± After a dry chuckle, hot coffee passed through his throat. Hart gave a frank impression while looking at the planet. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to miss at least a couple of ships.¡± The final line of defense is a large number of civilian ships that have been requisitioned. Unlike the Monarchy Army fleet, civilian ships cannot see the overall movement and coordinate with their allies, nor can they maneuver quickly enough. They are being caught by the enemy, and their defenses are being punctured and breached. But the battleships and soldiers that could fight went ahead of them and engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight. Hart brought the situation to a more than even level playing field, but that was not enough to keep any of the enemy from getting through. ¡°We did the best we could.¡± Hart nodded and turned his attention to warships fighting in front of private ships. The ships of both forces continued to drop in response to heavy artillery fire, and as new ships flew into the vacated sectors, they disappeared one after another as they melted away. Large-scale relief effort was needed to rebuild, and there seemed to be no time to spare for civilian ships. As a result of the relative distance between the two forces shrinking too much, collisions between ships were occurring. The collisions made both sides twist and get swept away from the planet Diros into a misplaced sector. In the intense conflict, a small group of the Coalition forces finally broke through the final line of defense and fell while shielded toward the planet Diros. Heavy artillery fire is shot from surrounding ships and orbital satellites. However, due to the large ship that served as a shield, smaller ships that could not be burned broke through the atmosphere, and plunged directly into the surface as a fireball. From the large ship that exploded as a shield, a mass of ice covered with a metal film was separated, and fell as a huge fireball. From the moment the defense line is broken, the second and third wave of the enemy rushed in. Most of them were destroyed by warships rushing in and intercepts from the ground, but some of them could not be extinguished and fell to the capital planet. A huge hemispherical explosion on the continent of the capital planet, which can also be observed from space, occurred and blew away its surroundings. ¡°¡­¡­ Aaahh!¡± An unidentified moan escaped from the Command Center of Fortress Kerviel. Several enemy ships, half-destroyed by orbital satellites, fell into the waters of Diros. The monitor observing the planet showed how a massive 1,000-meter tsunami was triggered by the explosion of fusion rounds. Enemy ships and debris were falling across continents of the entire planet. Already there was no safe place on the capital planet. One of the most deadly places observed was directly above the underground evacuation facility of the royal capital, the military production base, and the first production plant of spirit crystals. A fusion explosion caused by a ship plunging into the sea caused a huge tsunami to flow into the underground evacuation facility of the destroyed royal capital, dramatically increasing the number of casualties. Looking at the scene, Hart eventually closed his eyes quietly. The death toll of the Monarchy population in the Diete Interstellar War was over one billion. And among the dead was Dr. Kerman, the developer of spirit crystals. CH 20 In September of the 440th year of the Kingdom¡¯s history, a battle took place in the Diete sector, and according to custom, it was named the Diete Star System battle. In comparing the damage, the Monarchy and the Coalition suffered from each other, the battle was a defeat for the Monarchy. The Coalition forces were decimated, losing more than 90 percent of their 16 fleet and all their mobile fortresses. The Monarchy lost 3 of its 8 fleets, a number of civilian ships, and the Royal Capital was also destroyed. Over 1 billion dead. More than 3 billion refugees. The destroyed assets amount more than a decade of the national budget, and a great many people have lost their families or livelihood. Aristocratic mansions in the royal Capital have also been blown away, and in Hart¡¯s grandfather, Baron Hiragi¡¯s residence, valuable data from the Earth era, including the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± played by Hart, has also been erased. There was so much damage that could not be converted into monetary value. The loss of human resources is also severe, and Dr. Kerman, the only one who was able to produce spirit crystals, is among the dead. This is presumed as the body was not found, but he cannot be alive because he was in the impact zone of the enemy ship. Such is the Monarchy¡¯s judgment. ¡°Major General Amakawa, what is the status of restarting the Spirit Crystal Factory¡± Colonel General Valfrete Asteria, Commander-in-Chief, who is busy with the aftermath, took the time to personally confirm the spirit crystals, which are an important strategic resource that cannot be replaced. The main engine of the warship, the magic element engine, is affected by the magic power output of the operator. The Magic Power holders of the Monarchy of Diete are inferior in quality and quantity to those of the Coalition of Humanity, who are mass-produced without regard for human rights. According to information from genetically modified individuals that Hart took prisoner during the Space Flight Drill, in the Coalition, fortress operator-class magic power holders were created by the application of cloning technology, somatic cells of high magic individual A, unfertilized eggs of high magic female B, and medium magic woman C to be used as an incubator. The procedure is as follows. This method has several advantages. Of course, there are disadvantages. In the old era, the Coalition of Humanity mass-produced Magic Power Holders with individual A¡¯s sperm and high magic female B. However, using a large amount of medium magic female C group rather than high magic female B group can prevent the decrease of magic power value due to the birth by B group, and can also produce fortress operator-class magic power holders. That is the newly introduced magic powered individual manufacturing method of the Coalition. The trump card against such a Coalition was the spirit crystal developed by Dr. Kerman. Spirit crystals can be mass-produced quickly and at a low cost so that even the general public can use them to increase the magic power of the user, turning even ordinary people into High Magic power holders, and dramatically improve the capability of each ship. The Spirit Crystal Technology of the Monarchy can sufficiently compete with the Magic Individual Manufacturing Technique of the Coalition. Therefore, Dr. Kerman, the developer, was evacuated to an underground evacuation zone for important people such as intellectuals of the Monarchy, but an enemy ship crashed into the evacuation zone, even causing a huge tsunami to rush in from the sea. On the Capital planet, which will be a defeat if it falls, while the royalty and aristocrats, who were conventional important figures, joined the battlefield as high magic individuals, the decision to let the doctor escape to another star system in an emergency was not made in advance, greatly delaying the initial response. As a result, the Monarchy made a grievous blunder that led to the loss of its most important figure to be the trump card of the war. ¡°The first production plant was damaged beyond repair. Second System has established a mass production system by constructing a second production plant on the continent across the Mediterranean Sea from the royal Capital. However, even if the second production plant can mass-produce in quantity, only E-class and F-class crystals can be produced in terms of quality.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A simple analogy to the production method of spirit crystals is¡­¡± According to the knowledge Hart gained in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, spirit crystals are created as in fairy tales, ¡°A water spirit is born from a beautiful spring in a deep forest¡±. It was the doctor who created the singularity, and made it the production base. The first production plant was a place like the boundary point with the spirit world, and the spirit god of the S-class spirit crystal that the doctor had, produced the spirit crystal as a catalyst so that spirits could interfere with this world. And, the doctor added restrictions on the production of the B-class crystals or higher. In the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, the spirit king, who was attached to Yuna, connects the spirit world in which he is a king and this world to produce spirit crystals that his family spirits can interfere with. The purpose was to help with mass production, and production was limited to the lower levels. Therefore, now that the first production plant and the Doctor have been lost, it is not possible to produce spirit crystals of intermediate level or higher. When applying for a patent, he explained that he had replaced the singularity that could produce spirit crystals with a ¡°magic element singularity¡±, and that he was extracting and crystallizing magic elements directly. The specific production method of spirit crystals is to use high-purity spirit crystals¡­ that is, S-class and A-class spirit crystals, as catalysts. If the purity is S-class, C-class or less can be produced, and if it is A-class, only E-class and lower can be produced. The most important point here is where the doctor first sourced the S-class spirit crystal. Dr. Kerman has not patented a method for creating the first spirit crystal from nothing. That¡¯s why it is impossible to produce spirit crystals higher than D-class, and they are also unable to expand the production plants. ¡°Then, can¡¯t spirit crystals of D-class or higher be produced in the future?¡± ¡°Yes. I believe that we could find a way to reproduce it, even if we must introduce other military and government research agencies. The second production plant is safe for the time being, but maintenance is required. If we put pressure on production and overdo it, the production environment could be damaged.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll request that Second Systems provide us with the technical information.¡± ¡°We will provide you with everything. We will also set up a specialized department at the company to explore reproduction methods.¡± Hart agreed, but thinks it would be impossible to build a new plant, even for lower-grade spirit crystals. Instructing scientists of this era to ¡°summon a new Spirit King to submit to them¡± is as unreasonable a task as instructing alchemists in the Middle Ages to ¡°create gold¡±. In the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, which has various similarities with this world, spirit crystals were described as technology more than 1,000 years ahead. In other words, 1,000 years will not arrive. ¡°How much C-Class and D-Class crystals are in stock.¡± ¡°After the war resumed, even after delivering 1 million units to the military, they were mass-produced at the request of aristocratic families. Some of the stock was blown away, but all remaining spirit crystals will be turned in for military use.¡± ¡°Very well. If there is a spirit crystal before delivery, it will also be requisitioned by the Royal Army under the law of war.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± There is no shortage of spirit crystals in the Monarchy at this time because military relations have been given top priority. However, because there is no prospect of production, there will surely be a time when it will be insufficient. If it is lower class, it can be produced in the future, but that will not be enough to compete with the Coalition forces. Valfrete postponed the problem by commandeering the entire inventory, but he had to figure out how to bridge the magic gap with the Coalition. Incidentally, there is one thing which he did not dare to mention Valfrete. It is a high-performance spirit crystal possessed by Hart and Yuna. In fact, Hart received 10 B-class and 20 C-class crystals from Dr. Kerman. Three of them were handed to Philine, Yuna and Collette, but the rest were in his possession. But even if Hart has a reserve, if he hands it over to his colleagues, Fortress Kerviel will be more secure. If he gives it to his descendants, a high-performance spirit crystal will pass on to the next generation¡¯s highest magic powered individual. And Hart¡¯s fianc¨¦e is Valfrete¡¯s daughter. There was no confirmation from Valfrete to Hart about the spirit crystals that had been delivered. ¡°There¡¯s so much at stake, I can¡¯t help but laugh.¡± Just before the communication was cut off, Valfrete, who had been burdened with various responsibilities, was mocking himself. The functionality of the Capital planet, Diros, is half broken. Even the Diros citizens who were not among the 1 billion dead, had three times as many injured, with people displaced from their homes and workplaces, out into flooded lands. The artificial floating island that had been Hart¡¯s home was also blown away, half-destroyed and drifting across the Mediterranean Sea. All the artificial floating islands in the surrounding waters have also been blown away and collided with each other, and most of the smaller islands have been completely destroyed. Those who were thrown out into the flooded land had no choice but to become refugees. The Royal army, which drove the Coalition forces away from the Diete system, were forced to make efforts to rescue the war victims, set up relief shelters, and distribute food immediately afterwards. Hart and the others continued to be conscripted and spent their days devoted to rescue and reconstruction. Eventually, when the reconstruction crossed the first hurdle, the communication ship of the Earth Invasion Fleet reached the Diete system and triumphantly reported the suppression of Earth. The invasion of Earth has resulted in the domination of 6 billion people in the solar system. Since two-thirds of Earth¡¯s population of 6 billion is not affiliated with the Coalition, about 2 billion of the 28 billion Coalition people have been cut. The remaining 4 billion are just a group of Earthers who once colonized the Diete system, but have changed their affiliation to Coalition and Non-Coalition. The Monarchy of Diete, which has been at war with Earth people since that time, had no particular reason to refrain from taking control. Of the ships stationed in the solar system, all except those belonging to the neutral Republic of Frodi have been destroyed or forced to surrender. After that, as a result of the destruction of military and important facilities on the planet from outer space, the governments of Earth surrendered one after another. In reality, however, a majority of the region has yet to be conquered, as the people have refused to accept the government¡¯s surrender and have appealed for a full-scale war, fled, and even the government itself has gone into hiding. Nevertheless, it can be said that the power struggle in outer space is over since the sweep of outer space has been completed and the remaining forces of the Loki star system have been wiped out after the suppression of the solar system. The results of the battle were sufficient, and all that was needed was for the Earth Invasion Forces to be considerate of the damage to the Capital planet. However, as a result of a miscommunication between the Deity and the Earth invasion force, the Earth invasion force simply declared victory. It became a source of anger for the evacuated that now live a difficult life. The declaration of victory by the Crown Prince Gracian Asteria, Commander-in-Chief of the Earth Invasion Forces, was immediately spread over a sea of information, causing a tremendous conflagration. ¡°The Monarchy¡¯s most carefree man.¡± ¡°If they throw a triumphant parade, I will throw fried shrimp at them.¡± ¡°I want to hit that smug face of his.¡± ¡°The Next King should be reconsidered.¡± ¡°The Sovereign¡¯s grandson wasn¡¯t very helpful.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t Speak ill of the Magic Academy students.¡± ¡°I would go with Valfrete, he defended the Capital Planet.¡± If this were normal times, they would have been swept away by the muddy flow of the advocacy comment mechanically sent by the central government. However, the essential executing agency and facilities were blown away with the royal Capital. Hart, exhausted from all the rescue and reconstruction, was irritated and also wrote a sarcastic remark, but recalled his position and shut down the message. When those unfortunate events passed, the emergency recruitment ended and they returned to the Military Academy, an unexpected circumstance awaited him at the school. ¡°In the future, the course will include training to transport goods between the Capital planet and Earth using Fortress Kerviel. In addition, various education such as group command and management, organizational operation, administrative procedures and legal affairs will be carried out. Other lectures will also be given by instructors on board the fortress.¡± The principal of the Military Academy proclaimed so to Hart. ¡°Headmaster, didn¡¯t the four of us already get credit for the exercise?¡± ¡°The four of you only received what could be considered field officer education at the Academy. In your case, you already have the rank of Major General, the order was reversed, but you should also receive a one-year Command staff course and General¡¯s officer education.¡± ¡°That¡¯s certainly something I have to take.¡± After listening to the principal, Hart had no choice but to agree. The military academy¡¯s battleship department incorporates field officer education. This is because those who have entered the battleship department will surely become Majors within a few years of graduation. On the other hand, there is no General¡¯s officer education at the Military Academy. It is normal to be recommended for education in the Command Staff and General¡¯s Course after being promoted to a Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel, or even Captain of a large ship, based on excellent grades at the Military Academy, high rating from his superiors¡¯ evaluation list, and opportunities to command multiple ships of the same type. After completing the Command staff course, if the timing and conditions match, he will move up to Brigadier General who commands a squadron, Major General who commands a division fleet, and Lieutenant General who commands a fleet. Hart¡¯s group of four had been promoted to Major general or Colonel by their Valor of War, but not taking a Command Staff and General¡¯s Course at this rank is not something that should be desirable. A General who has not been trained as a General is a detriment to his subordinates who receive orders and go to the battlefield. ¡°In the first place, this is not a decision of the Military Academy, but of the Royal Army.¡± ¡°What does that mean, if I may ask?¡± ¡°Earth is in danger of being retaken or destroyed by enemy forces. We need to transport supplies to the front lines and bring back people, various resources, historically valuable materials, and more from the solar system.¡± ¡°Does it mean that transport vessels and private transports are inadequate? The principal nodded vigorously at Hart¡¯s question. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Royal Army has asked us to lend them Hart Amakawa, a student at the military academy. Do you have any objections?¡± After hearing the principal¡¯s explanation, Hart thought again about the military¡¯s transport capacity. One military transport ship can transport 4 million cubic meters on its own. This is enough transport capacity to carry grain eaten by 4 million people in a year, and one ship is enough to carry food and medicine for 500,000 people in a fleet. The reason why 100 transport ships with such transport capacity are deployed in one fleet is to carry a variety of items, such as communications satellites, jamming satellites, fusion missiles, counter-missiles, self-sustaining propulsion mines, ship auxiliary engines and restoration materials, military drones, androids and replacement batteries, combat vehicles and large power generators for planetary control, magnetic field generators and oxygen generators. In particular, the more missiles and mines that are brought in, the more advantageous the battle will be. Therefore, in the Loki Star System Battle, even private convoys were mobilized. However, private ships have been flying between the systems for reconstruction ever since Diros, the Capital planet, was severely damaged with the deaths of one billion people and three billion refugees. Pulling those ships out for transport would delay the reconstruction of the Capital planet. In the midst of this, Fortress Kerviel became the focus. Fortress Kerviel is a spherical object with a total length of more than 90 kilometers. This is about 1/140 the size of Earth. If one-tenth of the massive fortress was devoted to transport compartments, it would have the same transport capacity as all 100 transport ships in a fleet transporting 95,426 times. Using Dr. Kerman¡¯s enhanced magic element engine and the power of A-Class spirit crystals, they can move between star systems much faster than the fleet¡¯s movement speed. The fortress¡¯ combat power is also extremely high, and in the Battle of the Diete Star System, it destroyed more than 7 enemy fleets alone. Therefore, no matter how many important supplies are carried, even one escort ship would be unnecessary. In Hart, an irreversible conclusion was reached regarding his recruitment. ¡°I don¡¯t have the option to decline.¡± The principal gave a big nod at Hart¡¯s reply. ¡°Transportation does not provide a good opportunity for valor, but resupply is an essential part of supporting the front lines. It will be a good experience. Your performance will be taken into consideration. Rest assured, we want you to perform your duties with dignity and pride.¡± Thus, Hart¡¯s new life as a pseudo-trade merchant between two star systems began. Afterword This is the end of volume 1. With 100,000 characters + ¦Á, it was about one light novel volume. Thank you for reading this far. This work is written in a change of pace, and there is no stock. I also thought about the development Volume 2, but if I am to write it anyway, I would rather not rush it. Because I wanted to do it at my own pace, I will complete it once. Thank you to everyone who supported our science fiction love story. Translator¡¯s Note First of all Thanks for reading this far and I¡¯m glad you seem to be enjoying this Web Novel. Apparently, it has been picked up to be published as a Light Novel to be released sometime this summer. Great news for the author and I¡¯m pretty happy for them. Though it seems this has also brought some changes to the Web version, as is evident in this very chapter. If you noticed, it is stated that the only copy of the Maiden Game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± was lost with the destruction on the Capital planet. This implies that Hart played the actual game to gain the knowledge he did, instead of merely having a precognitive dream of the playthrough, as was written so far. I believe the author went back and edited this plot-point, probably to sync it with what will be published. In fact I went back and had a look at the raw of chapter 1, and it has in fact been edit to make Hart having played the game when he found it at his Grandfather¡¯s residence, as the Baron of Hiragi is a collector of Ancient Japanese artifacts and data (including Otome Games it seems). Then, Hart realized the similarities after attending Middle School, and stealing the Pilfered Magic from the Duke of Dakhram was his way of confirming the world was similar. I first noticed the changes when I was in the middle of translating Chapter 13 and suddenly whole new paragraphs and info were added as I was in the reedit phase. I just wanted to take the time to inform the readers of this, as I doubt I will go back to edit the past chapters. Just know that from now on, the source of Hart¡¯s knowledge is the Game he played, NOT the dream he had. Guess the original creator of the Maiden Game was the dreamer???? We will have to wait and see. Thank you and looking forward to your continued support. CH 21 It¡¯s been a while. I haven¡¯t written much at all lately. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve written anything, so I¡¯m posting this as a rehabilitation exercise. I will post once every day until it is completed, so thank you. ********** In 1957, the Soviet Union flew Sputnik 1 into space, and that was 1784 years ago. More than 200,000 military satellites orbit each planet and moon in the Solar System. ¡°I wonder if there are more stars visible from Earth than there were a year ago.¡± It was Major General Hart Amakawa of the Monarchy of Diete who likened the sparkle of man-made objects to stars. Hart is an official Major General of the Royal Army, who was commissioned as a Lieutenant for wartime recruitment from the Military Academy¡¯s Heavy Battleship department, and was raised by one rank for each merit suitable for promotion. His assignment is to Fortress Kerviel, where he held the post of Fortress Commander. At the same time, however, he was still a third-year student at the Military Academy. ¡°There¡¯s a year and a month left until graduation, so at the very least couldn¡¯t he wait until then?¡± ¡°And he¡¯s 18 years old. Won¡¯t those of lower rank be perplexed by their 18-year-old superior?¡± It is an extremely common sense opinion. Even so, the reason why Hurt is asked to serve in the same capacity is due to his irreplaceable high magic power. Hart¡¯s magic power value is 91,150. This is three times the power of the Monarchy¡¯s second-highest, recorded by the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, and is capable of operating the 90-kilometer Fortress Kerviel. Protected by 8km-thick composite armor, Fortress Kerviel is a massive attack fortress with multiple magic element engines, a vast arsenal of weaponry and facilities, a military space port that can accommodate huge amounts of civilian ships, planetary improvement functions and urban construction facilities. It is one of the Monarchy¡¯s leading military bases, a huge arsenal and a shipyard, and with enough resources, you can continue to fight while manufacturing anything on your own. It also has the Monarchy¡¯s largest transport capacity, with 21,217 cubic kilometers, which is 10% of the fortress¡¯ interior. The scale of the transport compartment is easier to understand when compared to the Royal Army transport ship. The large container, which is the standard in the Monarchy, has a total length of 500 meters, a total width of 160 meters, a total height of 50 meters, and a volume of 4 million cubic meters. In Japan, 1,700 years ago, when the maiden game that Hart played, ¡®The Galactic Prince¡¯ was released, the volume of a large container was more than three times the volume of the Tokyo Dome¡¯s 1.24 million cubic meters. A transport ship can carry one large container, and a million can be carried by Fortress Kerviel. Moreover, it is 1 million units with partitions and a surplus space for efficient loading and unloading, so the volume of the transport compartment itself can accommodate as many as 5,304,350 large containers. Fortress Kerviel has the transport capacity of more than one million transport ships. This tremendous ability is why Hart is conscripted no matter what anyone says. The solar system¡¯s 200,000 military satellites were transported by Fortress Kerviel. The size of a military satellite is comparable to that of a large container, and it is an unmanned weapon equipped with lasers and radio frequency weaponry that do not use magic element engines, artificial intelligence and surveillance systems, and independent power generators. If there is a dubious activity on the ground, the satellites are linked together and automatically attack from space. A laser without a magic element engine cannot break through a warship¡¯s shield. Still, it was effective against guerrillas who only had conventional weapons, so the resistance of the Earthers was suppressed from space. ¡°It¡¯s still raining light.¡± At the fortress command center, Colonel Yuna Strani, a Fortress Operation Assistant sitting to Hart¡¯s right, muttered as she gazed at the satellites and Earth on the sub-screen. She is engaged to Hart, who meets the conditions of ¡°Women with high magic who marry or become engaged to high magic power holders will not be sent to the battlefield¡±, which is one of the systems to increase the number of magic powered individuals in the Monarchy of Diete, and is in a position not to be sent to the battlefield if she wishes. Still, Yuna is here because her fianc¨¦ is here. Hart thinks. In middle school, Yuna was a pure and innocent girl. After enrolling in the Military Academy, she became mentally unstable after her fellow classmates were killed by the Coalition Fleet during a space flight drill, but settled down after Hart consoled her and they got engaged. Afterwards, she and Philine fought over Hart, and perhaps due to receiving some shock therapy during the Loki Star System Battle, a shadowy part appeared behind the pure girl, giving birth to a two-sided nature. Yuna, in her dark mode, is able to accept the painful reality as it is. It may be that she has gained a dual personality, in order to protect her pure side from being broken. Hart gently grasped the left hand of his fianc¨¦e, Yuna. ¡°If you are at war, and you are armed, you have no choice but to be shot at by the other side. If you don¡¯t want to be shot at, don¡¯t carry a weapon. Besides, they¡¯re the ones who started this war.¡± The conflict between the Monarchy and the Coalition is deep-rooted. In the late 2700s A.D., plans for interstellar immigration to the Diete system and the prospect of colonization to recoup the funds and resources invested were already in place. In 2823 A.D., at the time of settlement in the Diete system, there was no exploitation, but as Diete developed, exploitation in the name of return on investment from Earth increased. In 3167 A.D., the Diete government, unable to endure the excessive exploitation, ignores Earth¡¯s demands. In 3226 A.D., Earth¡¯s punitive fleet executed the leader of Diete on charges of insurrection. In 3263 A.D., humanity¡¯s first interstellar war breaks out between Diete and Earth. In 3282 A.D., Diete plunged a celestial body into Earth, leading to a natural truce. In 3739 A.D., the Coalition attacked a Space Flight Drill convoy in the Frodi system, ending the natural truce. There is no consensus on when the conflict began. Whether it was at the beginning of excessive exploitation, when Diete ignored Earth¡¯s demands, when the leader of Diete was executed, or when the interstellar war officially broke out. The most recent opinion of Hart and modern humans is that ¡°they started this war¡± when the Coalition side attacked the Monarchy¡¯s space flight drill fleet in 3739 AD. Since the truce had been in place for 457 years, there was an option to just end it. Instead, they attacked Hart and the others during the flight training, and burned their fleeing classmates to death. In the Diete system, they have killed a billion civilians and turned three billion into refugees. At this point, the Coalition cannot be allowed to play the victim. It is only natural that the Royal Army will not cease its military operation until the Monarchy and the Coalition reach a truce or the war is brought to an end. However, in order to convince the Royal citizens of the truce, the one billion people killed by the Coalition would have to be revived and returned to their families. The scene before him was unstoppable, and Hart himself had no intention of stopping. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect Yuna.¡± Were these lines spoken in the Maiden Game? Thinking as such, Hart spoke to Yuna, who is in Dark mode. With Fortress Kerviel and the Spirit Crystals, they can escape to other star systems if the Monarchy is defeated. Those of the fortress personnel who want to stay in the Monarchy will have to leave, but the Coalition¡¯s treatment of magic power holders is too harsh. He doesn¡¯t want the bad-end development of the maiden game, and he intends to protect Yuna as his fianc¨¦e. ¡°Will you really protect me?¡± Hart smiles at Yuna, who looks sideways, with a relaxed expression. ¡°Leave it to me. If it comes to that, I¡¯ll take you to the other side of the galaxy if I have to.¡± ¡°Oh. I see. Take me with you.¡± When Hart nodded, Yuna clasped her right hand which was connected to his. Hart felt Yuna¡¯s shadow clearing up. ¡°Oh, won¡¯t you take me as well?¡± From behind the command seat, where visibility and audio were usually blocked and access was restricted, Colonel Philine Carneus, also a Fortress Operation Assistant same as Yuna, appeared. Philine walked up between Hart and Yuna, grabbing hold of both their hands, pulled in an attempt to peel them apart. Yuna, on the other hand, resisted with a silent smile, tightly clutching Hart¡¯s right hand. The two smiled at each other in silence, and Hart interrupted them. ¡°I¡¯d take you too, Philine, but I have to consider the Marquis of Carneus. I¡¯ll do my best to avoid having to take you in the first place.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you invite me a little more passionately, like you did with Miss Yuna?¡± Philine had an expectant expression and Yuna put pressure on Hart with her eyes. Troubled, Hart cast his gaze at Colonel Colette Listner, the third Fortress Operation Assistant who came in with Philine. Colette then tilted her head, with no understanding of what he wanted to appeal to, and took her seat without worrying about it. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Okay. Let¡¯s conquer the Coalition for the time being so we won¡¯t have to run away.¡± Hart grabbed Philine¡¯s right hand with his left hand and brought it over his head to the left side of his body, pulling Yuna and Philine apart. He then operated the screen with his gaze and zoomed in on the end of the light falling to the ground onto the sub-screen. Philine looked at him as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, remained silent and sat to Hart¡¯s left with a prim expression. With her left hand connected to Hart¡¯s right hand, Yuna simply turned her gaze to the sub-screen. The enlarged projection shows the territory of the Coalition of Humanity. The battle had already ended, and several destroyed Coalition androids were lying on the ground. ¡°They¡¯re so tenacious, even though there¡¯s so much military satellite coverage and a lot of android soldiers and combat drones.¡± Not a single flesh-and-blood Monarchy soldier has descended on to Earth during the battle. Instead, vast unmanned combat units were filling Earth¡¯s land, sea, and air. The Coalition, still showing its readiness to fight, hid weapons and factories underground and occasionally attacked the Monarchy¡¯s forces. The weaponry brought in by Fortress Kerviel was enormous, and they even brought in weapons manufacturing facilities. Since resources can be procured on other planets and celestial bodies in the Solar System, the Monarchy will not lose even if it becomes a war of attrition. However, it seemed the battle was going to be a long one. ¡°They must be desperate.¡± Collette expressed the sentiments of the Earthers in a nutshell. ¡°Prince Gracian was reckless. It may have been General B?deger¡¯s idea, though.¡± Hart also wholeheartedly agreed with Collette¡¯s opinion. Currently, Earth has a population of 6 billion. 2 billion people belong to the Coalition of Humanity, and the remaining 4 billion are non-members. The Crown Prince Gracian Asteria, the Commander-in-Chief of the Earth Invasion Forces, made the decision to bring all of the magic power holders above the rank of Knight in the Solar System, as well as 1 billion out of 2 billion people of the Coalition Territories, to the Monarchy. Taking Magic power holders from the Solar System to the backward system is an understandable measure as the Monarchy would be damaged if they turn hostile when armed with weapons equipped with the Coalition¡¯s magic element engine. On the other hand, 1 billion ordinary people will be used for hard labor such as space resource development. It seems that the elderly and the sick who cannot move will be left on Earth from the start. Therefore, the Coalition people resisted thoroughly, and even now, when the suppression of outer space ended months ago, there is still fierce fighting on Earth. ¡°If you leave behind only the elderly and invalid, families will be torn apart.¡± Hart nods to Philine¡¯s point. ¡°Android soldiers that are being sent in don¡¯t care about individual circumstances at all. Civilians will resist as much as possible.¡± The Crown Prince aims to earn points against the Royal citizens. Last year, the success of Valfrete, the younger brother of the Crown Prince, reignited the issue of succession to the throne, so the Crown Prince invaded the solar system with 19 of the Monarchy¡¯s 29 fleets. The aim was to make the people accept his succession to the throne by citing the spectacular credit of conquering Earth. The invasion of the Solar System left an opening in the defense of the Capital planet, which was then attacked by twice as many enemies, resulting in one billion deaths, three billion refugees, billions of people losing their families and their jobs. If the crown prince were to brazenly return home, the 11 billion Royal citizens, filled with murderous intent after the death of their families, would rise up and attack him at once. That¡¯s how the Diete War of Independence happened in the past. The beleaguered Crown Prince had to earn merits immediately as a successor to the throne, so he went into action with a vengeance. In the defensive battle, Hart achieved remarkable results in Fortress Kerviel. Against the invading 16 enemy fleets and one mobile fortress, Fortress Kerviel dropped 60% of the enemy, comparable to 12 fleets, and one mobile fortress, and the remaining four fleets were also beaten with battleships and missiles. Moreover, the 12 fleets, which were destroyed, were made up mainly of large ships that were highly evaluated for their strength. The evaluation of the capabilities of Fortress Kerviel is equivalent to 8,137 destroyers. The evaluation of the defeated enemy¡¯s ability is equivalent to 25,450 destroyers. By defeating 3.1 times as many enemies, 11 billion of the 12 billion people on the Capital planet managed to survive. It would have been beneficial if Hart were a member of the Crown Prince¡¯s faction, but since his fianc¨¦e Yuna was the daughter of Valfrete, who was second in line to inherit the throne until last year, this added the fuel to the matter of succession to the throne on the basis that Valfrete was a better choice. However, there was no option not to defend the Capital Planet due to consideration for the crown prince, and they could not stop the transport of resources of the Solar System to the home country for reconstruction. The current Fortress Kerviel is synchronized with the Earth¡¯s rotation in geostationary orbit. The distance from the surface of Earth to the center of the fortress is 35,786 kilometers. At that position, eight 2-kilometer-square gates were opened on the surface of the fortress, and guidance rays were extended to accept transport ships and battleships carrying containers one after another. Large containers are being transported one after another from Earth¡¯s atmosphere, the supply depot of Jupiter¡¯s moon Callisto, large satellites in geostationary orbit, and bases set up on the moon, and are swallowed up by Fortress Kerviel. After two weeks of work, the fortress¡¯s transport compartment was mostly filled. ¡°Commander Amakawa, communication received from His Excellency General Lautenbach, Commander of the Solar System Forces.¡± ¡°Put me through.¡± The communications officer reported, and Hart and the others hurried out of their seats. Then, on the main screen of the fortress command center, a stern looking old man with a pruned head appeared. [Major General Amakawa, will the delivery of supplies be completed as scheduled?] Hart, who saluted at the same time as his grim face appeared, reports in a solemn voice. ¡°As planned, everything is scheduled to be completed by 14:00 today.¡± It¡¯s been more than three months since the Monarchy of Diete had taken control of the outer space of the Solar System. The supplies accumulated in the solar system had been confiscated, and it was a simple matter of transporting the containers carried by Fortress Kerviel to the site, filling them up, and returning them to the fortress. If the personnel of the Grand fleet and the huge fortress mobilize all their transport ships, battleships, and even suppressors and work for two weeks, there was no way the work on the requisitioned supplies could have been carried out. It was not the supplies that did not end, but human beings. [How many Coalition People have been accommodated?] ¡°The number has reached 1,001,600,000 people. The criteria for the elderly and sick that can¡¯t move are somewhat ambiguous, although some claim to be non-members of the Coalition.¡± In order to meet the political condition of ¡°taking a billion people¡± issued by the crown prince, a blind eye was turned on various matters. How long does one need to be unable to move to be considered an elderly or a sick person who is immobile? How do you distinguish between 2 billion Coalition people and 4 billion Non-Coalition people living on Earth? In order to meet the absolute requirement of carrying a billion people, if they move even a finger, they are considered to be moving, and if they are in the Coalition territory, they are regarded as Coalition citizens for whatever reason¡­ perhaps. The additional 1.6 million people seem to have been added in order to allow for a slight decrease. Hart, who arrived in the solar system two weeks ago and was not involved in any local requisition work, only overheard the information and did not confirm it. Lautenbach nodded briefly and gave the younger commander an admonition. [Major General. The conquest of the Solar System was an achievement beyond our imagination. Not to mention the military supplies requisitioned, the labor resources are enormous. We also obtained data on technical research conducted by the Coalition. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince¡¯s achievements are great.] ¡°Yes!¡± Hart struggled to make a stern look, emphasizing a military character. [The Lord¡¯s task is to ¡®promptly¡¯ bring back to our home country the enormous achievements of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and help him win over the Monarchy. If delayed, we will miss the opportunity. This is an easy task to carry the container to the rear where it is safe, unlike the frontline, but don¡¯t let your guard down and do it well.] ¡°Sir, Yes sir¡± When Hart saluted again, General Lautenbach returned the salute and cut the transmission. When he lost communication, Hart sat deep in the commander¡¯s seat and sighed. General Lautenbach has been promoted from Lieutenant General after the Subjugation of Earth¡¯s Forces. He is one of the people responsible for the enormous damage to the Capital planet, and is in a position to earn points with the Crown Prince. The side responsible for the defense of the star system was treated as the defeated because they were unable to completely defend the Capital planet, and could not be promoted unless they made a tremendous achievement like Hart. On the other hand, the Solar System Invasion Forces, which had been absent while the enemy forces were on an expedition to the Capital planet, were recognized for military service one after another with the victory declaration by the crown prince, who as the Commander-in-Chief of the expeditionary force, and scattered new rank insignias in a good mood. It is extremely unreasonable, and the Crown Prince not only offended the Royal citizens, but has also created a discord between the Solar System Invasion Forces and the other Royal Army Forces. The first person to speak to the silent Hart was Colette, who had ignored him earlier. ¡°That was more like a lecture to Military Academy cadets.¡± Hart, who recalled Lautenbach¡¯s stern face, gushed involuntarily. ¡°The fact is that I¡¯m still a Military Academy cadet.¡± With a chuckle, Hart watched the footage of the last transport ship entering the port. CH 22 ¡°Hart, look, look!¡± Yuna¡¯s eyes sparkled as she showed Hart the video inside the delivery container. A mysterious voice was heard, and Hart watched into the video stunned with his mouth open. The image was the inside an aquarium made up of large containers connected together. Under artificial gravity in the fortress, the container had a water surface and was supplied with oxygen, light, and food. Huge marine organisms swarmed and swam gracefully in the water. ¡°Sharks¡­ no, dolphins.¡± Hart was amazed by the huge marine creatures he was seeing for the first time. The Diete system did not carry dolphins during settlement from Earth. Therefore, Hart had never seen images of dolphins moving in real time. ¡°That¡¯s right. They¡¯re a species called bottlenose dolphins. They¡¯re cute, aren¡¯t they?¡± Yuna watches the dolphins swim by like a child taken to the aquarium. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Hart initially agreed, but inwardly tilted his head. Earth keepers, who have been brought in with the dolphins, are working in the same container, but the dolphins are about twice the size of keepers. According to the data stored in Hart¡¯s information terminal, it was a species of whale with half the torso of a False Killer WhalePseudorca Crassidens or a Short-finned Pilot WhaleGlobicephala Macrorhynchus¡­ hence called the ¡°half-body Handou¡±. On Earth, there are other theories and names, but on the Deite side, it is registered as Handou (half body). It¡¯s not as big as a whale, but it¡¯s more than 3 meters long. The king of the sea in the Capital planet Diros, is the Bluefin Tuna, but its average size is 2.5 meters and the weight is about 300 kg, making the bottlenose dolphin one size larger. About 10 bottlenose dolphins were put in each large container, of which there were 20. There are apparently as many as 200 of these dolphins being brought to Deite. ¡°Will these dolphins be released into the waters of Diros?¡± Yuna¡¯s eyes are shining. When Hart looked at the data on the information terminal, it was written that dolphins sometimes cooperate with tuna to prey on fish. The tuna would circle the sardine horizontally, while the dolphin would circle vertically, forming a spherical ball of sardines to feed on. They are intelligent and friendly, and on Earth, and it is said that they sometimes entertain visitors by performing in aquariums and other places. There were many records of them aiding humans at sea, and apparently humans did not eat dolphins like tuna. ¡°If we release them into Diros¡¯ sea ??, the waters of Diros will be filled with dolphins in about 200 years.¡± Humans eat tuna, but dolphins have no natural enemies. Hart imagined edible fish in the waters of Diros being devoured by a flock of dolphins. As Hart was pondering this, Philine, who had arrived on her shift switch with Yuna, stepped in between them. ¡°In the [Purpose of Transport] column, they are listed as being for research and ornamental use. After transportation to the oceanarium, they will be used for national entertainment as Earth terrestrial creatures.¡± ¡°I see. As long as we don¡¯t release them into the ocean, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Hart was convinced by Philine¡¯s explanation, lightly convinced. Bringing back the results of the Earth invasion and showing them off to the Royal citizens who were severely damaged in the Battle of the Diete system is an easy-to-understand manner to resolve their dissatisfaction. Giant marine life has an outstanding visual effect. ¡°Hart, when the dolphins enter the aquarium, let¡¯s go see them.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll probably be pretty crowded.¡± Hart imagined tens of millions of people rushing into an aquarium, but Yuna¡¯s eyes have asked Hart for confirmation. If you just want to see dolphins, you can go to one of the containers under the pretext of randomly inspecting transport as a fortress command staff. But what Yuna wanted, of course, was not to inspect the transport. ¡°¡­¡­ Okay. Let¡¯s go to the aquarium.¡± ¡°Yay! Hart, I love you.¡± Yuna was so pleased that she gave Philine a momentary look of pride before changing shifts and happily returning to her room. ¡°Of course, you will go with me.¡± ¡°Hahahaha. Of course.¡± Hart nodded to Philine, with his face twitching, as he imagined a future in which he would be swallowed twice by a sea of people in an aquarium. Then, as if to forget the sight of the future drowning scene, he began to look at the list of transportation items other than dolphins. The list of items to be transported included the names of natural resources and raw materials, as well as the names of various production machinery and products. Some of the containers were relocated to research facilities. There are medium and small containers with various creatures also loaded. Dogs were separated by breed, and pet breeders and their families were also loaded together. In some cases, there were even containers loaded with trees that had been transferred with their soil. ¡°This is terrible.¡± Hart was dismayed because the use of the container was too extravagant. For a transport ship, it would take more than two months to transport one large container, or ten medium containers, or twenty small containers. What would the crew of the transport ship think if they were ordered to carry a tree as research material? While switching the items to be transported with dismay, he arrived at an item of a certain organism. The number of individuals is about 1 billion, and of all transported goods, there are the most delicate items to be handled. Hart became expressionless and remembered ¡°the Galactic Prince¡± he once played. If reality had progressed according to the game¡¯s storyline, without interfering with the plots of the Dukes of Takrham, the Capital planet Diros would have been subdued and the royal people would have been loaded into containers. Before the resumption of the war, many of Diete¡¯s citizens believed that the war was over. The idea was that ¡°what they had done was offset by what had been done to them¡± in the celestial swarm operation carried out against Earth at the time of the War of Independence. However, the Coalition of Humanity does not teach colonial rule as a bad thing. They are of the opinion that it is a legitimate debt collection of funds and resources invested on the development of a new planet, and the punishment of the Diete government was also a lawful act, indicating the view that Diete had unilaterally attacked them. As a royal citizen, Hart believes that ¡°if the war was to end, the Coalition side should have accepted that they were forced to fight a war of independence and compromised to end the war before it resumed¡± but the Coalition would believe that the Monarchy should have compromised. 1 billion people were killed on the Diete side after the resumption of the war, and 1 billion people were taken from Earth on the coalition side, making it nearly impossible for the two sides to come to an agreement. When Hart pressed the list of terminals, the inside of the container was projected. Large containers that house humans are 500 meters long, 160 meters wide, and 50 meters high by standard. One large container can accommodate 40,000 people. At a height of 50 meters, 30 meters is like a 10-story condominium, and the remaining 20 meters are loaded with a recyclable circulation supply system, and food cultivation is also carried out. In a 10-story condominium with a height of 30 meters, five-eighths are used for living areas, and three-eighths are used for passageways, soundproof walls, and edible botanical gardens. At 500 meters long and 160 meters wide, it has an area of 80,000 square meters. Since the living area is five-eighths, there will be 10 living lots of 50,000 square meters in a large container. The 50,000-square-metre living area can accommodate about 4,000 people, with four people in a 50-square-metre 2LDK space or eight people in a 100-square-metre 4LDK space. Because it has 10 levels, the capacity of one large container is calculated to be about 40,000 people. A large container of these specifications is the interstellar travel container in the Monarchy of Diete. In the Monarchy of Diete, large-scale migrations have been carried out many times in the past using migrant containers. Large containers are loaded on transport ships, and they are wrapped with Magic Conversion Protective Meshield generated by a Magic Element Engine to protect them from cosmic radiation and dust, as they travel across the stars. When stored on Fortress Kerviel, they can be transported in bulk because they can be shielded as well as a transport ship. ¡°The fact that they are listed as a type of organism aside, the method of transportation is exactly the same as the type used by the Monarchy for immigration.¡± At Hart¡¯s monologue, Philine describes her interpretation. ¡°I guess it was because the existing immigration containers were readily available. The Monarchy has immigrated to five star systems in 388 years. And if the war hadn¡¯t resumed, a sixth migration would have taken place.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes. In the royal family, when a member excellent enough to cause an issue with succession appears, they were granted Duke peerage and sent out to other star systems. If not for the war, I think the former Third Prince Valfrete would have been the sixth interstellar immigrant as the Captain of the initially developed interstellar immigrant fleet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why the reconstruction was so quick and the shipping containers were ready.¡± Hearing from Philine about the origin of the large-scale containers, Hart could see why they could quickly procure reconstruction resources and transport containers. Carrying a billion people would require at least 25,000 migrant containers. It is also necessary to incorporate an advanced circulation system into plots that can be used for food cultivation, provide furniture and supplies necessary for human life, and even create soundproof walls and an edible botanical garden. Even though the resumption of the war was unexpected, it is impossible to manufacture that many new units in parallel until the Capital planet was severely damaged. However, if they were prepared in advance, it is sufficient to simply postpone the immigration plans and divert them. ¡°I think the timing of immigration was when the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson, Prince Leandre, graduated from the high school of the Magic Academy and he replaced the third Prince Valfrete as second in line to the throne. Instead of lowering the order of succession, he would take on the role of the Commander of the immigrant fleet as a vassal.¡± ¡°Well, if it weren¡¯t for the war, immigration plans might have been announced by now. I think the senior aristocrats were providing support and recruiting immigrants from their territories.¡± It is February 441 of the Monarchy history, one month before the graduation ceremony of the Magic Academy. The migrant containers flies through space with Earthers captured in the war, rather than the originally planned Royal Diete nationals. With mixed emotions that could not be simply expressed, Hart looked at the data of the container holding the Earthers. The containers are separated in three layers by the outer walls of two containers and the partitions of the fortress, so there is a low risk of the Earthers uprising all at once. Moreover, according to the manual handed down by the Solar System Forces, an entire container can be thrown into space in the event of a mutiny. Since there are 1.6 million more people, that seems to be within the expected range. ¡°By the way, one of the container management officers made an Educational video to prevent Earth people from rioting. The final decision was in the hands of the Planning and Public Relations Department.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a work ethic.¡± More than a million containers deposited from the Solar System Forces are managed by the subordinates of the Colonel, the chief of the fortress¡¯s Accounting Department. One Division is responsible for the 25,000 containers carrying humans, and it is the officers in charge of the division who directly manage them. They are an elite group of non-captain graduates from the military academy who control automated functions and military androids at will, supporting the backbones of the Royal army. After hearing the story from Philine, Hart showed interest in the contents of the Educational video. ¡°I think a written approval was sent by the Director of Planning and Public Relations. It may have already been approved, but we can also view the application data if we want.¡± Philine, who has the rank of Colonel, picked up the application data on her terminal and sent the link to Hart¡¯s terminal. When Hart played back the data sent, a female secretary of about 20 years old with curly hair and droopy eyes, wearing a cream-colored jacket and grass-colored skirt appeared, deformed into a three-dimensional image with a soft atmosphere. The deformed female secretary, who seemed to have been made using rendering software, introduced herself cheerfully and then started talking. [The people of Earth lost the war.] The sad-faced secretary resumes the explanation after a few seconds of silence. [You will now be taken to the Monarchy. However, if you cause problems, the destination you¡¯ll be taken to may turn into a terrible place.] Next to the female secretary, a deformed image of Earth is projected. A disk-shaped UFO appeared in the footage, shooting a mysterious ray from the sky above Earth, and showing the Earthers being pulled up. The Earthers, who showed resistance by moving their hands in a jittery manner, were helplessly pulled up and retrieved by the UFO. Many UFOs were sucked into a huge fortress one after another, and eventually a large fortress traveled away from Earth. And inside the fortress, one of the Earthers goes on a rampage. Immediately after, a D¡¯nin sound effect was played. [You have caused problems. Then you will be taken to a different place from everyone else. Let¡¯s take a look at what kind of place you will be taken to. You who caused the problem were taken to a place as a cleaner.] The large fortress that flew through space eventually reached a beautiful planet. From the fortress that stopped on the planet, a UFO slowly descended to the beautiful planet. There, the footage changed, trees and the lawn were planted in a vast site, and a gentle road which continued to a magnificent building was projected. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Magic Academy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been so long. You can see the school building in the distance.¡± As Hart and Philine were nostalgically looking at the scenery of the video, pure white luxury flying vehicles descended from the sky into the premises one after another. Then, a blonde young lady, dressed in white with a barely pale pink skirt, dressed like a saint, landed majestically on the ground. ¡°Geh, Digitalis!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ been a long time.¡± Hart raised a disgusting voice at the blonde-haired model who appeared, and Philine muttered indifferently. Standing on the lawn of the Magic Academy in the video that the two watched, the young lady looked around deliberately and then frowned at a certain point. At the end of her gaze was a shabbily dressed man cowering, moving a lawnmower and a trash collector. [Well, well, well, what a mess. Hey you, call the academy¡¯s androids.] [Yes, Milady] When one of the butlers operated the terminal at hand, the academy¡¯s androids rushed in. [Hey, look, there¡¯s dirty trash over there. I¡¯m going to wash it off with a tree water sprinkler, so do hold it down.] [Please stop. I was washed yesterday too.] The man who was seized desperately resisted, but the opponents were four androids who are much stronger than humans. The resistance was futile, and his limbs were grabbed one by one and his body was lifted in the air. The man continues to plead for mercy, frantically twisting himself. Hearing that he had been washed yesterday, Hart was convinced that Digitalis had deliberately descended near the man. [Here, activate it.] When the young lady smiled, a watering nozzle came out from under the lawn. Then, with a jaa sound effect, she began to spray water on the body of the man who closed his eyes. [Gyaaaa¡­. mugagagaga] [Well, well, well, even the rinsing doesn¡¯t clean the mess. I wonder why.] After a close-up of the lady laughing mirthfully, the video switched back to the female secretary. [If you cause problems, this will be your future life. If they like you, they may take you in and keep you as a cleaner in their territory. If they get bored along the way, you may be discarded and disposed of at random. And no one will be able to help you. Please refrain from inconveniencing the Royal Army for your own sakes. This is a sincere warning.] When the female secretary bowed with a sad face, the screen switched to an advertisement center logo along with an ¡°AC~¡± sound effect. After the data had been played, Hart and Philine, who had been frozen for a while, opened their mouths gravely. ¡°For the time being, I¡¯m going to pretend I didn¡¯t see that.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll clear the browsing history.¡± Later, the container in which the video was broadcast no longer caused any problems for the Royal army to deal with. Hart did not interfere with the discretionary authority of his subordinates, and returned to the Capital planet, solemnly serving as fortress commander. CH 23 March 441 of the Monarchy history. After returning from Earth, Hart reported to the Military Academy. Currently, Hart and the others are third-year cadets at the Military Academy, and will be in the fourth grade the following month. In the Military Academy¡¯s cafeteria, 1st years are assigned as waiters, 2nd years as instructors, 3rd years to scold any errors, and the 4th years supervise the 3rd year cadets¡¯ attention. Since it is part of the education provided to experience various superior and subordinate interactions, any supervisory role can be played as long as the role is clear. As a 4th year cadet, Hart was wondering what supervisory role he would try, when he received an unexpected call from the principal of the Military Academy. ¡°3rd year cadetSecond Class Amakawa, good work on the transport mission. By the way, you four are no longer required to come to the academy.¡± Hart was stunned, but had to accept the words that followed. ¡°The lectures sent by Military Academy instructors to the fortress are unprecedented and extravagant education in which excellent instructors teach a small group of four people like private tutors with the help of on-site officers. You can¡¯t get a better education than this at a Military Academy.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Hart agreed, and the principal nodded very strongly. ¡°All the military work that the Royal Army has given you during your time in school is reflected in your performance. The Monarchy¡¯s Ministry of Military Affairs¡¯ postwar assessment of the Battle of the Diete Star System has concluded that without Fortress Kerviel, the Capital planet, Diros, would have been destroyed. You four saved 11 billion lives. Your grades have been determined as first, second, third, and fourth, and your graduation in one year has been confirmed. Congratulations on your graduation.¡± According to a post-war evaluation, the principal stated that without Hart, there would have been no survivors, and the Capital planet itself would have suffered damage that would render it uninhabitable. It was also concluded that without Yuna, Philine and Collette, there would have been hundreds of millions more dead for each missing person. If one point is added for each life saved in practice, Hart has 11 billion points and the other three have hundreds of millions of points. It may be natural to have a monopoly of the top four seats and that everyone will be certain to graduate. ¡°¡­¡­ Thank you, sir.¡± Hart, who was congratulated for graduating from the Academy by the principal a year before graduation, was stunned and expressed his gratitude. Currently, Hart and the others were undergoing a command staff course for Generals. If they hadn¡¯t taken this course, they might have graduated from the Military Academy by skipping a grade. Hearing Hart¡¯s brief acknowledgment, the principal nodded again. ¡°It is certain that you are at the head of the class, but I¡¯m at a loss for the second and subsequent seats. Strani and Carneus, who dropped hundreds of enemy ships with secondary armament, saved hundreds of millions of people each. Listner, who assisted in the fortress maneuvering with the propulsion engine, also did a great job of breaking through the entire enemy force. What should I do? With the rank of Major General, what are your thoughts on this?¡± The principal asked something he would never ask a cadet. Hart was at a loss for words but replied, reconsidering that he was at the head in the command staff course. ¡°Miss Listner has a broad perspective, so I was relieved to entrust her with the fortress propulsion system. She is not only a decent operator of the Magic Element Engine, but can also take charge of both the Command and Staff positions at a high level. In our year, the number of students has dropped significantly, but if she is the 2nd seat, it will not be said that the quality of the next seat has fallen compared to that of the previous year.¡± Colette¡¯s family, the Viscount of Listner, is a clan that moves at the will of the Royal family. In that special environment, she has a wide field of view that is incomparable to ordinary people, and can play her role in a stable manner in various situations. Hart entrusted her with the assistance of propulsion engines and shields because he trusts that Colette would be able to handle it. The principal, who heard Hart¡¯s explanation, nodded briefly. ¡°Well, then what do you think of cadets Strani and Carneus for the next seats?¡± When asked about the two, Hart couldn¡¯t answer immediately and thought. Yuna is not good at combat in pure child mode, and in the space flight drill, she shed tears at the death of her fellow cadets. In dark mode, Yuna can shoot down enemies and dismiss the sacrifices of allies as necessary, but she doesn¡¯t have any other outstanding talent. As a fortress operation assistant, she is capable, but she can¡¯t be a fleet commander. That¡¯s Hart¡¯s view of Yuna. The Chief of Staff would have a hard time with Yuna as a fleet commander, although she might be good at it if he actually tried. Philine is capable as a commander of a fleet. Hart thinks. She is studying as the future Marquis of Carneus, and is also learning territorial management and the operation of the province army. Due to her unique position and Military Academy education, she acquired the ability to be a fleet commander. At least it¡¯s better than Lieutenant General Alchunian, commander of the 14th Fleet, who pulled Hart¡¯s leg during the Battle of Loki. Hart would welcome it if she was to replace the commander of the 14th Fleet. Of course, he would like to have a fortress operation assistant at hand. ¡°Miss Carneus will have the ability to serve as fleet commander in a few years. It will be 100 years at the earliest to succeed to the Marquis. As long as we are at war with the Coalition, I think it¡¯s best to grant the 3rd seat for easy retrieval. Miss Strani is one of His Majesty the Sovereign¡¯s granddaughters, but if you don¡¯t take that into consideration, I think 4th seat is fine.¡± The principal silently stared at Hart¡¯s face and nodded for a while. ¡°I can use it as a reference. Thank you for your help. Please tell the other three to collect their belongings from the dormitory. Even if you are unable to attend the graduation ceremony due to your duties, you will receive your diplomas electronically. But please come and pick up your bow and arrow memento at the earliest convenience.¡± ¡°Understood, sir.¡± Thus, the 4th year cadet¡¯s enjoyment of supervising the younger students in the cafeteria was cut short. Hart contacted the other three, and while receiving the attention of his juniors, quietly collected his personal belongings from the dormitory of the Military Academy and completed the baggage delivery procedure. After clearing the dormitory, Hart, along with the other three, disguised themselves and went out into the city with the android soldiers guarding them, who were dressed as citizens. Diros, the Capital planet, had been recovering beautifully less than six months after being half-destroyed. In the reconstruction, the Monarchy seems to have used all the urban construction facilities that were scheduled to be deployed to the sixth star system for the reconstruction of the Capital planet. The urban construction facilities are like the old generation of 3D printers, but on a larger scale and with higher performance. When an individual wants to build a house, they can enter the size of the land, type of building material, number of floors, number of rooms, and other items on the terminal, and the building model that meets the conditions and price will be displayed. If the model is approved, the contract is concluded, and the desired house is automatically constructed in the urban building facilities, it is put on the distribution network, and it is built at the destination in a few days. Furniture and electrical appliances necessary for the house can also be arranged at the urban construction facilities. The largest of the buildings is a total length of 500 meters, a total width of 160 meters, and a total height of less than 50 meters and can fit in a large container. Large public facilities can also be built by connecting large containers of a size that can be carried vertically and horizontally. Because the Monarchy had building data in the Capital Planet, the survivors were quickly rebuilding their homes by investing a large amount of urban construction facilities and resources. All of the Capital planet¡¯s buildings have been rebuilt free of charge, and the cost has been covered by the national treasury. The restoration of lifelines was also carried out in a blink of an eye. The Monarchy has built several huge reservoirs and water purifiers deep underground in the city. The reservoirs are located below sea level, and the seawater of the Capital planet, Diros, is pulled into the reservoir, pumped from there to the water purification tank, converted to freshwater, pumped to the surface, and supplied to the royal citizens. Since the underground reservoir and the water purification layer were dispersed, several were safe, and they were able to quickly restore the water to the rebuilt houses. When it came to power restoration, it was easier than water restoration. The Monarchy generates solar power in space and then delivers it to the ground using a microwave power transmission system. The energy that reaches the ground is sent to the unconnected power battery in each home, and each home uses electricity. Power generation satellites can be deployed in any number of locations, ground-based receiving devices can be easily installed, and disconnected power batteries are automatically attached with the construction of a house. Even if it is destroyed, it can be restored in a few days. As for the reconstruction of the Capital planet, a declaration had already been declared finished for the homes of the royal citizens. In fact, Hart¡¯s home remains damaged, but it was built by the Marquis of Carneus, so it was not listed in the national building database. Hart thought that he had been left behind because he had been on a two-month expedition after being busy with reconstruction work. Since he still retains the right to use the sea area, he temporarily floated a purchased passenger ship and used it as his home. As the main home of the Viscount family, it was not appropriate at all. On the contrary, it is a pitiful level as the home of a knight who can operate an interstellar ship and earn a reasonable amount of money. However, Hart finds it useful because he can avoid visitors under the pretext of restoring his home. If he doesn¡¯t make a blunt refusal, he¡¯ll end his day just by responding to various applications, such as wanting to meet the hero and thank him, or to meet an unmarried Viscount. ¡°Reconstruction has progressed a lot.¡± After entering a restaurant in a brand new hotel, Urashima Taro was deeply moved while ordering a stylish lunch in a well-furnished space. As Yuna and Philine, sitting next to Hart at the round table, subtly kept each other in check, Collette, who entered the order without any concern for Hart, corrected his remarks. ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s almost finished, rather than progressed. The cost of rebuilding the survivors¡¯ homes was completed at no cost. Furniture, appliances, and mobile vehicles were specially attached as complementary.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing. People who were thinking of rebuilding their houses are going to make a profit.¡± The government has been very generous. Hart was surprised. The reason for the quick reconstruction is that the Monarchy paid for most of the reconstruction costs. The urban construction facilities are state-owned facilities, and most of the resources consumed have been recovered from Earth. Some resources could not be recovered, but they were procured from other star systems by allocating various resources and goods obtained from Earth to financial resources. Therefore, the expenditure from the national treasury has been surprisingly low. ¡°There are some people who have made a lot of losses because the equipment and inventory of the facilities and the androids for labour are not subsidized.¡± As Colette pointed out, while the buildings and vehicles have been restored, the contents of the corporate buildings have not. The government doesn¡¯t know what kind of equipment they had, how many years were there, how many androids were present, and so on. There was no way to interview each of the 11 billion people individually, so the lines were drawn as they were being rebuilt. ¡°The government rushed things because the solar system invaders damaged the Capital planet and wanted to make up for the mistake that allowed it.¡± ¡°Maybe so. The government ruling parties supported His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so they were pushing hard to invade the solar system, but now the wind has changed and they seem impatient.¡± In Hart¡¯s imagination, Philine, who was by his left, uttered a word of agreement. If the house remains broken, dissatisfaction and anger will be turned to the cause. If the government had not been able to recover quickly, public dissatisfaction might have been even higher. Now that the city has been restored, people¡¯s daily lives are generally returning to normal. ¡°By the way, it¡¯s graduation time at the Academy of Magic, do you know how everyone is doing?¡± Hart turned his gaze to Colette, who seemed to be the most informed. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Academy of Magic, other schools, delegates and apprentices. Some of the engaged girls are doing their bridal training. However, there are no reunions for middle school students alone, so there won¡¯t be many opportunities to meet. I wonder if it will be a small reunion of close friends.¡± Hart, who was told that there was no middle school reunion, agreed that it was inevitable. Since there is an escalator system from the Middle school to the High school of the Magic Academy, and the classmate of the Middle school basically doubles as the classmate of the High school, there is no point in planning a reunion for the middle school alone. Hart is also unlikely to be called to a small reunion of good friends. Because in the middle school, where aristocratic children attend, Hart was the second son of a quasi-aristocrat. Therefore, Hart was of lower rank to the aristocratic children around him, and was not a close friend. Yuna was the only one in the class who didn¡¯t care about Hart¡¯s status at all. And even at the Military Academy, the Heavy Battleship department cannot be held with only four cadets. Even if the range was expanded to include the Commandant department, the number of 3300 classmates has been reduced to 74, and the rank difference between Hart and other cadets was too large, so even if the reunion was held, it would be worse than a dinner party between the 4th and 1st years of the academy. ¡°I may never be invited to a reunion for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear that.¡± Hart, who was thrown words of affirmation by Collette, dropped his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re with me, Hart, so we can have a reunion anytime.¡± ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Hart, who had recovered from Yuna¡¯s consolation, was overcome by the fact that the reunion would not take place. With Yuna, Philine, and Colette, it¡¯s like holding a small reunion of the middle school of the Magic Academy and a small reunion of the Heavy Battleship department of the Military Academy. When Hurt had changed his mind about the reunion, Colette returned to the subject. ¡°As for career paths, not all hands are smooth sailing. It seems that everyone participated in the Capital planet defense battle, but some failed and had their engagement offer canceled.¡± ¡°What kind of failure led to the engagement offer being canceled?¡± The Academy of Magic is not a military school. Hart thought it was natural for the students there to fail after being recruited by the military. ¡°I¡¯m sure you remember Alisa. Alisa, the young lady of Count Harvist.¡± Hart remembered the name Colette mentioned. A member of a senior aristocratic family, the grandchild of the Count, she is a blond girl with blue eyes, white skin, and a mild personality with slightly drooping eyes. Her magic power value is between Colette and Digitalis, a Marquis class close to the Duke class. She was also an excellent student, and her name was always in the single digit range on the rankings. ¡°Alisa, who was the secretary of the Student Council in the 1st year of the Academy of Magic, and in 2nd year became Vice President, and was also informally appointed as the fianc¨¦e of His Highness, the Sovereign¡¯s grandson.¡± ¡°Heh. That¡¯s amazing.¡± At the high school of the Academy of Magic, which gathers aristocratic children and excellent magic powered individuals from all over the Monarchy, she had been a secretary from the 1st year and became a Vice President in the 2nd year, so it is clear that she is highly capable. The Monarchy also judged her to be an ideal person because she was the grandchild of a Count, had a good personality, and it was enough to become the fianc¨¦e of the Sovereign¡¯s grandson. ¡°But in the Battle of Diete, because she was a candidate for the royal princess, she was demoted to the safe rear, under the direction of the guards whom the royal family arranged, and it spread and caused antipathy among the people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why the engagement was canceled.¡± When Hart heard Colette¡¯s story, he realized it was hopeless. National law stipulates that if you are officially engaged, you will be exempt from participating in combat in accordance with the requirements of the system established for the purpose of securing the next generation of high magic powered individuals. However, a mere informal candidate does not meet that requirement. The royal citizens have been granting aristocratic privileges to the 1,500 royal aristocratic households for the first 440 years since the founding of the country, in order to protect themselves. And all 1,500 families have obligations in exchange for their aristocratic privileges. If the star system is attacked, members of the aristocratic family who have completed compulsory education up to middle school will be obliged to serve. If they flee from their duty to serve, their contract with the royal citizens will be defaulted and the aristocratic privileges granted by the contract will be terminated. It is impossible for Alisa, who fled before the enemy, to become a crown princess who is a member of the royal family, and Alisa¡¯s descendants will not be recognized by the royal Citizens as heirs to the throne. ¡°She wasn¡¯t the only aristocrat who turned and fled the battle, but all of them were listed and, in principle, stripped of their aristocratic status. The National Assembly has passed a resolution, the House of Lords has approved it, and the Monarchy¡¯s Parliament has decided to enforce it.¡± ¡°Have Alisa¡¯s family been stripped of their aristocratic status?¡± ¡°No. The fact that she followed the instructions of the guards arranged by the royal family was interpreted as ¡®following instructions from the top¡¯, and it was thus avoided. However, the resentment of the people is so great that they had to cancel the engagement. She may find it difficult to marry an ordinary aristocrat because the other aristocrats are also avoiding her.¡± The severe measures Collette described conveyed to Hart the magnitude of the Royal Citizen¡¯s anger. CH 24 ¡°Dr. Kerman¡¯s spirit crystals were discovered during your expedition to Earth.¡± At the Commander¡¯s Office Diros¡¯ Department of Military Affairs, Hart reported his return to his future father-in-law, Colonel General Valfrete Strani. There, Hart was again confronted with the reality of the doctor¡¯s death. ¡°There is probably only one S-class spirit crystal in existence, correct?¡± ¡°Yes. only what the doctor wore.¡± As far as Hart knows, the only S-class spirit crystal that exists was used by Dr. Kerman. ¡°It was found in the doctor¡¯s evacuation area. He had retreated to an underground evacuation zone, but an enemy ship plunged into it, blowing a whole area away, and there was a huge tsunami triggered by fusion rounds from enemy ships that crashed into the ocean.¡± Valfrete simply piled up the situation. ¡°The spirit crystal functions like a pseudo-living body in which the manifested spirit performs desirable actions for the wearer. Moreover, the stronger the crystal grade, the stronger the power of the spirit. Therefore, until the doctor¡¯s spirit crystal was found, his death was presumed. But now that spirit crystal has been found, there is no choice but to reach that conclusion.¡± Hart, who played in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, knows something that there is no way of knowing. The S-class spirit crystal is merely one of the energy sources of the spirit god¡¯s interference in this world. If the spirit god is willing to do so, then Dr. Kerman could be spared. However, if the doctor is tired of the spirit crystal production life and does not appear because he wants to spend his time in peace and quiet, the act of chasing the hidden Doctor around will be displeasing for the spirit god who cooperated with him. In the worst case, every spirit crystal in the Monarchy may become dysfunctional. ¡°Does the Lord have any objections?¡± ¡¹ ¡°No sir, I don¡¯t. I also believe that the doctor¡¯s death has been confirmed. His loss is very regrettable.¡± Hart¡¯s face was observed for a few seconds as he responded. As far as Hart is concerned, Valfrete is sensitive to human¡¯s subtlety. This is evident from the fact that he enrolled himself in the Military Academy to avoid the issue of succession to the throne without anyone¡¯s recommendation, had no relationship with the high magic powered lady, which could develop into a succession issue, got married only after the high magic power of the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, Leandle, was discovered, and has always controlled the people around him with his meticulous actions. ¡°Very well. Then I¡¯ll declare the doctor dead. We have lost a truly valuable individual.¡± Hart couldn¡¯t predict what Valfrete was thinking during the few seconds of silence. However, with Valfrete¡¯s declaration, the death of Dr. Kerman, the developer of spirit crystals, was officially confirmed. Dr. Kerman not only invented the spirit crystals, but also improved Kerbiel Fortress to be able to use multiple magic element engines together, and that technology can be introduced to other fortresses in the Royal Army. If the doctor is still alive, he would have been sought after by the Ministry of Military Affairs¡¯ Technical Bureau and the Ministry of Education. Hart thought, and was convinced that the doctor would never show himself again even if he survived. Valfrete, who had been observing Hart¡¯s expression closely for a while, eventually resumed the conversation. ¡°Let us talk on an important matter. The discovered S-class spirit crystal was used for the operation of the first spirit crystal production plant. The first factory, rebuilt based on data provided by the Lord, was able to resume the production of spirit crystals.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I see.¡± Valfrete smiled curiously at Hart¡¯s immediate conviction. Hart had explained to Valfrete about the first production factory, at a place like the boundary with the spirit world, where the spirit god of the S-class spirit crystal that the doctor wore, and various spirits of D-class and above that he produced could interfere with this world. By Hart¡¯s explanation, if the production plant can be restarted with the restored S-grade spirit crystal, the first production plant can be resumed unless Dr. Kerman shuts down the plant functions. ¡°Did you understand the theory? Then, let¡¯s hear your opinion. Production could only be resumed for C-class and below, but not B-class and above. Why is that?¡± With a serious look from Valfrete, Hart pondered the cause. Even in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, the doctor did not provide the military with B-class advanced spirits, but made them for a small amount of personal use. And when he met Hart, he said, ¡®anything above B-class gives a troubling performance, and I have no intention of putting them out to the public, only to a limited number of people¡¯. That¡¯s why Hart was limited to 10 B-class units by the doctor. ¡°I believe the doctor has put restrictions on the production.¡± ¡°Do you know how to release them?¡± Hart shook his head at Valfrete¡¯s inquiry. ¡°Spirit crystals can only be used by the first human wearer. And the S-class spirit crystal was worn by the doctor. I¡¯m not a technician, so I can¡¯t operate it.¡± ¡°I see.¡± In a few short words, Valfrete was devastated by the situation. ¡°Even if only C-class or lower spirit crystals can be produced, they are a countermeasure to the number of high magic powered individuals in the Coalition. Each captain who wears a C-class spirit crystal can be switched to a higher class ship, and the operator of the combat ship can move an auxiliary ship.¡± The additional magic power of the C-class spirit crystal, whose production has been resumed, is 810. With C-class spirit crystals, operators who have been moving 120-meter-long combat ships can operate the 600-meter auxiliary ship¡¯s magic element engine. Auxiliary ship captains can operate 1,200 meters long destroyers. Destroyer captains can generally operate 2,100-meter-long light cruisers. Light cruiser captains can operate about half of the 3,300-meter-long cruisers. Battleships with a total length of 5,000 meters or more can be covered by conscription from 1,500 aristocratic families. There are 50 battleships per fleet, so by gathering 1,500 people, 30 battleships can be operated. Since each lower ship model is more than twice as large as the upper model, just by doing this, the Monarchy Fleet can be more than doubled. ¡°Certainly, if it is a switch to a higher ship, I doubt that there will be any inconvenience. I¡¯m worried about switching from a combat ship to an auxiliary ship, but then again, even a destroyer will be operated during the second year of training at the Military Academy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The second-year cadets have dropped four enemy ships in the Frodi system, and after the political propaganda in the Republic of Frodi, they retreated at high speed, overcoming ten times as many enemies. For a thickheaded bunch, that was some scandalous conduct.¡± Hart¡¯s face naturally overflowed with a smile as a nostalgic story was dug up. The combat ship has one crew member and the auxiliary ship has 100 crew members, but they are not that advanced except for the warp, as long as the role is limited to the operator of the magic element engine. Of the 2,000 ships in a single fleet of the Royal Army, there are four types of auxiliary ships, for a total of 500 ships. Escort ships provide missile defense and mine removal to protect fleets and facilities. Reconnaissance ships detect enemies as quickly as possible by scanning Multidimensional Magic Conversion Waves. Transport ships carry a wide variety of supplies in large and small containers to any location. The craft ship maintains the fleet by maintaining and repairing warships and military facilities. These auxiliary ships were powered by baron-class magic power holders, and there were only 2 million of the 40 billion in the Monarchy of Diete. If the knight-class, which has 8 million people, could operate ships, securing human resources will be four times easier. ¡°The fleet expansion plan is likely to move forward soon.¡± The plan is to double the Monarchy¡¯s 25 fleets of 50,000 ships to 50 fleets of 100,000 ships. To that end, the Commandant department of the Military Academy has tripled its capacity to 6,000 since the year Hart became a third-year cadet. Last year, however, 10,000 ships were lost in combat. With so many casualties, the captains of the Royal Army, which were decreasing rather than increasing, were revived at once with the operation of spirit crystals. As Hart spoke happily, Valfrete also looked like a sly child. ¡°And using D-class spirit crystals, we will also increase the number of combat ships. We have already recruited a wide range of people among the royal citizens.¡± With the D-class spirit crystals, even commoners without magic power can operate the magical engines of a combat ship. Combat ships are specialized for short-range combat, eliminating all interstellar navigation capabilities and versatility such as warp, circulation system, and habitability. The crew consists of one operator of the magic engine and androids. Most of the maneuvers are controlled automatically, and they fight under the command of a battle-linked system with the home port and the mothership. The total length of the combat ship is one tenth of the destroyer, and the strength evaluation is one twentieth that of the destroyer. Operation requires a home port or carrier craft. Since one carrier ship can carry 100 ships, one carrier ship that avoids combat can contribute as much as five destroyers. Since the magic element engine of the carrier ship and cruiser are the same size, and the fighting strength of the cruiser is equal to eight destroyers, there is an opinion that it is better to reduce the number of carrier ships and increase the number of cruisers. But with only one crew member and eliminating all functions, the combat ships are much simpler and easier to build than a battlecruiser with thousands of people on board, including Androids. The operators of the combat ships are of the knight-class, and compared to the barons who operate the battlecruisers, the denominator is larger and easier to collect. Valfrete said that he would increase the number of such fighters from 8 million to 39 billion, a target 4,875 times more than the previous one. ¡°If the general public¡¯s Combat ships actually play an active role, the traditional knight class could disappear.¡± Valfrete admonished Hart, who confirmed that he was fine with it. ¡°It¡¯s better than losing the war. The other side has brought out modified magic powered individuals and the like. Even if the Monarchy¡¯s class system collapses, we have to do this.¡± Other than Valfrete, it would have been impossible for anyone to achieve. However, Valfrete, who was removed from the front line and was on the Capital planet, made the most of the Crown prince¡¯s absence from his home country, and his position and status as both commander-in-chief and a former duke of the royal family allowed commoners to board combat ships. The combat ships are mostly controlled automatically and come with androids, making it easy enough that kids could play with them like experience-based games. The main role played by the operator is the operation of the magic engine, but the spirit crystal solves it. If it were compared to the operators that are being rapidly created, it would be like a child who was learning to drive a car in a game and then given directions to a driving school. In the future, he will go to the school and get a license, and eventually he will be responsible for interstellar defense while attaching Learner¡¯s sticker. Hart imagined that the future Monarchy¡¯s army would be significantly strengthened. ¡°We have gained a means of countering the ever-increasing number of enemies through magic power alterations. The Spirit Crystal Factory is under the strict control of the Royal Army, but in terms of rights, this is how it is done.¡± Valfrete operated his terminal and transferred data regarding the handling of the Spirit Crystal Factory to Hart. Hart confirms that the spirit crystals are strategic supplies and the production plant is controlled by the Royal Army. Second Systems is paid compensation for military conscription, and defense and administrative expenses by the Royal Army are not charged to the company. The lower-grade spirit crystals produced at the second production plant will also be sold to the royal citizens in order to widen the range between the operators of combat ships and suppression crafts. The proceeds from the sales of spirit crystals will be paid to Second Systems, after deducting the costs necessary for sale. In summary, it is a situation in which ¡°The Royal army will protect it for free¡±. It is now wartime, and there is no guarantee that the Coalition did not send spies or saboteurs via the neutral Republic of Frodi. The Royal Army will work with the government to protect it, and if anything happens, it will take responsibility. The conditions were unbelievably favorable, so Hart agreed. ¡°That¡¯s one of the key matters about how spirit crystal plants are restarted and operated.¡± ¡°Is there anything else of importance to discuss? When Hart asked, Valfrete¡¯s face, which looked as if he were a cunning child, changed to a chilling adult. ¡°Our Crown Prince is destabilizing the front lines.¡± Hart involuntarily looked over the Commander¡¯s Office and reaffirmed that no one was there. The invading forces, led by Crown Prince Gracian, commander-in-chief of the Solar System Invasion Force, are still stationed in the solar system, conducting patrols and one-off battles with the Hercules system 120 light-years away. The casualties they have caused by being away from their home planet are far greater than the results of their battle to conquer the Solar System. Therefore, the Invasion Force cannot make a triumphant return to the Monarchy without further accomplishments. ¡°Is the influence of his Royal Highness the Crown Prince strong? With a fed up expression, Hart asked the commander-in-chief about the situation. ¡°Because my eldest brother is the next Sovereign. The people who went to the Solar System with the royal prince, instead of stopping the crown prince as staff members, were impatient for war results, and gradually crushed the forces I was increasing in their near-sighted fleet battle. As a split in the matter of succession, I cannot interfere with the Crown Prince¡¯s behavior. At this stage, if I restrain my eldest brother, the Monarchy will be split in two.¡± ¡°Political issues narrowing down military action. It¡¯s a classic example.¡± Valfrete nodded lightly at Hart¡¯s candid assessment. ¡°The invasion of the Solar System and the Battle of Diete have significantly reduced our defenses. Therefore, it was reported that there were no additional reinforcements, but the Crown Prince issued an order to senior aristocrats to participate as Commander-in-Chief of the front line and acting Commander on the expedition. He organized a fleet of offerings from senior aristocrats and war-time conscripts from ordinary aristocrats, and added a step to increase the fleet without receiving reinforcements from the Royal Army.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I can think of a few Generals who might be willing to do that.¡± With two military orders in one country, Hart wanted to hold his head. However, that was the bad news conveyed by Valfrete, from then on came the turning point. ¡°I speak only to you as my son-in-law, but my eldest brother¡¯s act of gathering the aristocrats extensively is overt. The large-scale invasion of the Hercules System by the Royal Army came only a month after the aristocrats gathered on Earth. A day later, it was known to the Coalition via the neutral Republic of Frodi.¡± ¡°If you do it so flashy, you¡¯ll be known to all.¡± Perhaps dissatisfied with the perception that Hart had shown him, Valfrete repeated his explanation. ¡°When, where, who, for what purpose, and on what scale, the enemy is accurately aware of it all. Major General Amakawa can imagine what the outcome will be.¡± ¡°Unless the Coalition forces are too dumbfounded, the Monarchy army will be defeated. And they will suffer heavy losses.¡± Satisfied with Hart¡¯s answer this time, Valfrete began to talk about countermeasures. ¡°I will give some advice to my son-in-law, Sir. ¡®When someone is in a critical situation on the battlefield, think about whether saving their life will benefit the Monarchy. If the Monarchy is defeated, you and your fianc¨¦e will be in dire straits. Don¡¯t make a mistake about what¡¯s important.¡¯ That is all.¡± The intention that can be inferred from the flow of conversation was clearly conveyed to Hart. The Monarchy could be destroyed if the Crown Prince, a deadly fool who invades the Solar System for political reasons, which led to the Capital planet being half-destroyed, disrupts the Royal Army. When he understood what Valfrete was asking for and sincerely agreed that it was necessary, Hart realized that he had become a member of Valfrete¡¯s faction. ¡°What I seek is the final victory of the Monarchy. I sincerely agree with your Excellency¡¯s ideas and would like to move on with a broader perspective.¡± Valfrete looked at Hart with a keen eye, with a sarcastic smile on his mouth. ¡°Very good. The Lord will go there to transport supplies. Do well when the opportunity arises. And the details pertaining to the spirit crystal production plant will be sent to Colonel Strani, your auxiliary and fianc¨¦e. Thank you for your hard work on the transport mission in the Solar System. Dismissed.¡± ¡°Sir, excuse me.¡± Hart saluted, turned his heels, and left the Commander¡¯s Office. CH 25 The intense glimmer of light emitted by the Diete Star is trapped in a myriad of jewel boxes called the man-made power-generation satellite, and sent to the ground using a microwave power transmission system, and the surface of the capital planet Diros shines at night like the celestial stream. 918 years ago, a small light lit on a plot of the planet Diros eventually spread throughout the planet, shining a beautiful, life-filled star into space. Diros¡¯ radiance was greatly reduced for a time, but it quickly regained its powerful light and continues to shine on the surface. In the satellite orbit of the beautiful planet that twinned in the universe, a huge luxury liner was slowly orbiting, as if to entrust itself to the flow of stars. The Future Arrow. Hearing the name of the ship, many of Diete¡¯s people stop and think about their history. It is the name given to the first interstellar immigrant arrow shot into a new star system, following the arrows of independence the Monarchy had unleashed on Earth. The maiden voyage of the released arrow was 400 years ago. Over the course of 12 years, the arrow reached the Apollo system, 150 light-years away, with 1 billion royal citizens on board, and eventually became the cornerstone of the immigration of 28 billion people outside the Diete system. The Future Arrow, with the purpose for which it was created, laid down its exhausted hull in the Apollo system. Later, the Duke of Coesfeld, who served as the Commander of the immigrant fleet, took over the immigrant ship and rebuilt it with a new role after several modifications. The new role is the narrative of the history of the Monarchy of Diete. To never forget the history of Diete. To make sure that the thoughts of the predecessors of the Monarchy of Diete are never broken. Today, aristocrats, members of the House of Representatives on the Monarchy, and prominent figures from the Apollo star system gathered today on the ship that marked the history of the Monarchy. ¡°¡±¡±¡±Cheers!¡±¡±¡±¡± Men and women of the upper-class in gorgeous costumes and wearing prestigious insignia were drinking from gleaming cups in various places of the social gathering. And among the attendees were Hart and Philine, who also wore a splendid insignia which was not inferior to those in attendance. Philine, family representative of the Marquis of Carneus, who is an Apollo aristocrat, is participating with her gene donor, Viscount Hart Amakawa. For Hart, this is part of the political consideration of balancing the scales that had tipped in favor of the Duke of Strani towards the Marquis of Carneus. ¡°Streaming a waterfall in outer space, the idea of a senior aristocrat is unimaginable.¡± The total length is 22,000 meters. Looking up at the waterfall inside the massive immigrant ship, which could only be warped by Duke-class or higher high magic power holders, surpassing even the Monarchy¡¯s first-class fortress ships, Hart¡¯s eyes fluttered at the size of its scale. ¡°Please don¡¯t look so nervous.¡± With a chuckle, Philine took the Viscount, who had no fragment of dignity, like an older sister and brought him to the Marquis of Carneus. In the House of Lords (Senate), one seat is allocated for every 100 million people. A Marquis household, who oversees a population of 800 million in their territory, would have 8 seats in the Senate. The 90 senior aristocratic families with provinces also lend seats and territorial representatives to the 1410 general aristocrats, and subordinate them. This is a tradition born from the history of the Monarchy, where senior aristocrats became fleet commanders and general aristocrats became captains, fighting the Coalition and immigrating fleet. ¡°I was under the mistaken impression that a Viscount was of a certain standing, but coming to a place like this, I can¡¯t help but feel that the wall between a Count and a Viscount is thick.¡± Hart compared the Viscount¡¯s insignia on his chest with the Marquis¡¯ insignia worn by Philine. A count is the acting king of a province entrusted with a territory with 200 million people. A viscount is a resident who does not have a territory and is subject to the royal family or a senior aristocrat. This absolute difference in power is the reason behind why the Digitalis did not receive any repercussions for tormenting children below the level of general aristocrats. ¡°Then, let¡¯s give our greetings to some of them.¡± After greeting the Carneus clan, Philine then began to pull Hart¡¯s arm as she checked the positions of the attendees. ¡°You¡¯ve been making a lot of rounds.¡± ¡°As the star systems have common interests, we hold these social gatherings on a regular basis. It is essential to greet houses of the same rank as Carneus or higher, so if Hart meets them first, it will make things a little easier next time.¡± ¡°I am a little relieved to hear that.¡± In the Apollo system, there are only two families of equal or higher rank than the Marquis of Carneus, the Duke of Coesfeld and the Marquis of Z?ckingen. Since the heads of both families are participating this time, it is polite to approach the greeting from the Philine side. Philine looked at both of them from a distance, and seeing that there was a line of greetings to the Duke of Coesfeld, she walked up to the Marquis of Z?ckingen first. The Marquis de Z?ckingen is a middle-age man who has half consumed his life span, which has been prolonged by age-stagnation technology. His bangs are flowing back like a lion, and his face features have a strong expression reminiscent of a long-nosed goblin. Hart guessed that he might be maintaining a body trained in the military because of his tall, muscular and sturdy physique, and his flamboyantly colored ceremonial uniform also had the insignia of a retired Lieutenant General¡­ The Marquis is older than Philine¡¯s father, but no successor has been determined yet. However, he is known to have many mistresses, and he is accompanied this time by a young and beautiful woman. ¡°Greetings Your Excellency, The Marquis of Z?ckingen. I am Philine, granddaughter of the Marquis of Carneus.¡± As Philine greeted him gracefully, the Marquis of Z?ckingen turned around and smiled with his big mouth. ¡°Oh, Miss Philine of the Marquis Carneus. It¡¯s been a few months since I¡¯ve seen you. I hear you¡¯ve made another splash, haven¡¯t you? Must have procured a lot of resources from Earth. If our ancestors were to hear of it, they would carry the best casks out of the brewery and hold a grand feast in celebration. Inheriting the thoughts of our ancestors, Z?ckingen will praise you. You¡¯ve done so well! Excellent! Very impressive! Lady Philine is a model of the Monarchy Aristocracy!¡± The Marquis, with his glass raised high, gave a grand congratulatory speech. To the jovial Marquis of Z?ckingen, Philine returned a wry smile ¡°To beg your pardon, Your Excellency. However, I am only an operating assistant of the fortress. I would like to introduce the person who actually operates the fortress. This is Mr. Hart, the Viscount of Amakawa, Major General of the Royal Army, and Commander of Fortress Kerviel.¡± Hart, who was introduced, stepped forward and gave a bow to Marquis Z?ckingen before giving his name. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Marquis. I am Viscount Hart Amakawa, the title was conferred to me only a year ago. My father is the Baron of Hiragi and my mother of Baron Melendez. I have been fortunate enough to be able to participate in this prestigious event.¡± When Hart greeted him, the Marquis of Z?ckingen turned to Hart with a big smile on his goblin-nosed face. ¡°I¡¯m Arthur, the Marquis of Z?ckingen, who is entrusted by the Monarchy with the Marquis peerage and a portion of the Apollo system. I¡¯m very familiar with the illustrious Viscount. Welcome to our gathering of Apollo system aristocracy. You are, of course, most welcome. The Lord is a very fine Monarchy Aristocrat, worthy of his title!¡± The Marquis praised Hart as a famous person, and he is aware of what he meant. First, a reporter of a surprise attack operation by the Coalition of Humanity. Second, first to be conferred a peerage for his distinguished war service since the independence of the Monarchy. Third, the owner of all shares of the sole Spirit Crystal company. Fourthly, a high magic power holder who can operate a super massive fortress. Fifth, he dropped 9 enemy fortresses in the Loki Star System Battle. Sixth, he single-handedly defeated half of the enemy in the Capital planet defense battle. The career of thwarting the fabrication of a legitimate pretext for the war by the Coalition and preventing the destruction of the Capital planet is well known to humankind. However, as the information is through the media, and not all the details of the personality that transformed Philine into a cat-eared maid are known. ¡°Thank you. Marquis Z?ckingen. I am also proud to serve as a member of the Monarchy¡¯s aristocracy.¡± When Hart thanked him, Z?ckingen nodded vigorously, with his mouth hanging wide. ¡°Do not be so modest. I¡¯m willing to write a letter of recommendation for the Viscount¡¯s promotion to the rank of Count. I am only self-conscious because the management of the territory may be a nuisance, but if you need a recommendation, please let me know. I have also served in the Royal Army. I understand the greatness of the valor that The Lord has established in more detail than other aristocrats or the media.¡± To the Marquis, who laughed fearlessly, Hart replied after glancing at Z?ckingen¡¯s insignia. ¡°Thank you very much. Your Excellency is also a retired Lieutenant General.¡± ¡°Indeed!¡± Z?ckingen began gaily speaking after pressing his chest to show off his insignia. ¡°I was in the position to succeed the Marquis, but went to the Military Academy in defiance of my father. As an aristocrat, your mission is to protect the royal citizens. So why not go to the Military Academy? After that, I thought aristocrats can¡¯t fulfill their mission if they lose to the general public, and I took it upon myself to make my way up to Fleet Commander!¡± Hart was stunned by Z?ckingen¡¯s bravery in his younger days. ¡°Before the war, I heard that the quota for Generals was very strict, and it was quite difficult to rise through the ranks. I think it¡¯s quite an achievement to have risen to Commander of the fleet before you inherited the peerage.¡± ¡°My career was most useful in the Battle of Diete. I am a Marquis and retired Lieutenant General. I scolded the aristocratic children who were straggling left and right, and made them follow the army during the defense. I was able to hold off the oncoming enemy to a reasonable degree. That was one of the best moments of my life.¡± Z?ckingen looked pleased and sighed with delight at the battle he had recounted. ¡°So someone like Your Excellency protected our rear, didn¡¯t you? As an active member of the royal military, I would like to express my gratitude to your Excellency.¡± ¡°Oh. I am ready to die at any time for the Monarchy. However, having experience in the military, I was blind to many things that could happen with the invasion force of which His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the overall commander.¡± While shaking his head, Z?ckingen swallowed the words he was about to spit out. ¡°I believe everyone who claims to be a Monarchy aristocrat should attend the Military Academy. It¡¯s the duty of the royalty and aristocracy to fight the Coalition, and if you learn everything at the Military Academy, the army will not have to babysit them.¡± ¡°I see¡± Hart nodded to Z?ckingen, who calmly expressed his theory, because he could not find any difference. ¡°In any case, I am very pleased that the future Marquis of Carneus and her partner, the Lord, are the ideal aristocrats I envisioned. I am very proud as an Apollo system aristocrat. I look forward to the lord¡¯s continued success. Good health to you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Your Excellency, Marquis Z?ckingen ¡° Z?ckingen held out his right hand, and Hart shook it. As soon as the meeting was over, Z?ckingen, with one hand raised, walked away with his mistress at his back. Pulled into his opponent¡¯s pace, Hart exhaled lightly after Z?ckingen walked away. ¡°He was quite an impactful person.¡± ¡°He has that kind of personality.¡± Seeing Philine chuckle, Hart summarized his impressions, ¡°Seeing is believing¡±. After greeting Z?ckingen, they then headed towards the Duke of Coesfeld. Coesfeld is the host of the social gathering and the highest Duke in attendance. For Hart, who is a participant and a Viscount, he is an indispensable person to give a greeting to. Perhaps the Duke of Coesfeld and the Marquis of Carneus were also blood-related, as the Duke and Philine had the same silver hair. If you liken Coesfeld¡¯s face to an animal, is it a silver fox? Hart thought. An old silver fox quietly observing the surroundings without panicking. After having such an impression, Hart greeted him in the same way as he did with Z?ckingen, but the Duke was quick to take the initiative. ¡°I heard that the Viscount had decided to become Miss Philine¡¯s gene donor first from among the 1,500 aristocratic young ladies. I wonder if Miss Philine is Viscount¡¯s preference.¡± Asked by Coesfeld, Hart turned his gaze to the neighboring Philine, before affirming. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about complimenting women, and I don¡¯t have the confidence to properly express them. She¡¯s as beautiful as a fairy. Gorgeous silver hair flowing like clear water, well-proportioned features, and a slender, lovely figure. I think she is a woman who is too good for me.¡± It seems to have been a good expression for Hart, and Philine¡¯s face broke into a smile. ¡°I see. By the way, it was announced that the Viscount¡¯s magic power value exceeds 30,000, surpassing His Royal Highness the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, who was once touted as the highest peak in the country, but it is actually more than 90,000, if estimated by the total length of Fortress Kerviel.¡± ¡°The detailed figures are confidential.¡± Hart¡¯s magic power value was classified, but if you look at the total length of Fortress Kerviel, it is obvious that the magic power value is 90,000 or more. Hart did not dare to deny it because it was no longer an open secret and the other party was also a Duke. Coesfeld nods twice and expresses his view of Hart¡¯s magic power value. ¡°Then, the magic inheritance to the child of the Viscount would be Duke-class even if it is an average value, if the other party is equivalent to a viscount. Royal-class if equivalent to a count. Even a 48,000-meter-long defense fortress can be operated for interstellar travel if you can get a hit within two times.¡± ¡°Hopefully, it will be more than 0.9 times the average value.¡± Each aristocrat places great importance on magic because there is a minimum value set for the inheritance of the title, and if it is not met, the peerage will be lowered. Rather, it is no exaggeration to say that it is of the utmost importance. Why is the Duke of Coesfeld interested in Hart¡¯s magic power value? Hart, who was having such a conversation, thought. ¡°The Viscount¡¯s parents have drawn great success.¡± ¡°Yes. My parents were the second son and eldest daughter of Baron households, and they were both Baron-class magic power holders. No one in the family could have imagined that the grandchild would have had such magic power.¡± ¡°I hear that the Viscount¡¯s older brother also drew 1.8 times as much magic as a Count, surpassing the Count¡¯s standard by more than 1000. The Hiragi genes are now attracting attention. It seems that several aristocratic families have approached him for marriage.¡± The Monarchy conducted various investigations into Hart¡¯s high magical powers. His parents were asked if there was a trick to producing a high magic powered individual, and his brother was also made to undergo the same magical power test that Hart was subjected to. Hart felt sorry for his family on the matter. Although, having several aristocratic offers for marriage may be fortunate for his brother. As a general aristocrat whose survival is threatened by magical power, they may ask to adopt a son-in-law. If the family you¡¯re approaching gets a son-in-law from another aristocratic family, you¡¯ll owe them, but if the other party is a Baron, there is no need to send any of the descendants instead. In addition, because both parents in the Hiragi family are from baronial households, it is not a bad family background for a general aristocrat household to welcome a son-in-law by adoption. ¡°As for my brother, I have no particular opinion, as it is his decision. However, I don¡¯t think there was anything special about the Hiragi family. If the clan had such techniques, the Baron of Hiragi would have high magical power. Even my grandfathers were amazed at my magic power value.¡± Convinced by Hart¡¯s argument, Coesfeld nodded with an understanding. ¡°By the way, Viscount Amakawa. I don¡¯t like to gamble. If there¡¯s a sure way to win, I will choose it. How about you, Viscount?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a military man, so I¡¯ll take what I can get.¡± When Coesfeld shook his head twice and operated the information terminal on his arm to send data to Hart. When Hart glanced at the contents, it was personal data of several people. Personal data is a kind of resume used by aristocrats when considering marriage. ¡°These are young ladies with a connection to our Duke¡¯s family. I was going to send it to Miss Philine in case she expressed an inclination. Because they are relatives, who have mixed their blood several times, they should not be too far removed from the Viscount¡¯s taste. Of course, I have the consent of both them and their parents.¡± ¡°Your Excellency, I am not comfortable with this in my presence.¡± Now that the Duke¡¯s intentions were finally clear, Philine, who had been quietly watching the conversation, filed a complaint. However, the Duke, instead of showing signs of apprehension, told Philine the circumstances. ¡°To be considerate, the Viscount was confined to the dormitory of the Military Academy or in the fortress on military service. He is a newcomer and has no family connections. His estate is gone, and his mansion was destroyed in the war. There was no other opportunity to pass the personal data except today.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Uth.¡± ¡°The Duke families are all descendants of former royalty who split from the royal family. Our family, entrusted with starships and the future generations to come by the people suffering from colonial rule, are dedicated to the people. In exchange for tremendous power we have been offered, we will spare no effort to fulfill our duty.¡± Coesfeld pointed to the hull of the Future Arrow, which is projected at the top of the venue. ¡°This ship once reached the Apollo system with a billion people on board. It¡¯s exactly the same number of people burned down in the Capital planet Defense. The same thing happened to the Future Arrow, an immigrant ship, that was destroyed halfway through the migration, killing off a billion people.¡± The successor to the Coesfeld family, who once served as the fleet leader of the Future Arrow, kept his gaze on the Future Arrow as he continued to speak. ¡°The magic power of the young lady of the Marquis Carneus is Duke-class. She served in the defense of the Capital planet, dropped hundreds of enemies and saved hundreds of millions of royal citizens from being burned down. If Viscount Amakawa can have one child with a young lady of Viscount rank, hundreds of millions of people will not be burned to death.¡± Quietly clenching his fist, Coesfeld felt like he was scrambling desperately to help the crew members move from the wrecked, sinking Future Arrow to another ship. ¡°I saw charred people dragged out of the hypocenter. The young child, who was held by his charred mother until she died, saying he wanted water, and died at the end. A billion people killed could be zero the next time they attack, if the Viscount has about three children.¡± The scene of the rescue operation for the war victims passed through Hart¡¯s mind. After a 439-year natural truce, the Monarchy and the Coalition both have a surplus of funds and resources. If they wanted, a fleet of 1 million ships or 100 fortresses could be built. Due to the unavailability of magic powered individuals to operate either side¡¯s magic engines, the current situation is that they are half-destroying or conquering each other¡¯s planet while grinding away at each other with tens of thousands of ships and a few fortresses. If there was one more mobile fortress in the defensive battle, the death toll in the capital would have decreased by more than 100 million. With 10, it may not have been possible for the enemy army to reach the Capital planet. Hart couldn¡¯t find a word to hang on the back of Coesfeld, who was looking up at the Future Arrow. ¡°All the aristocratic young ladies I sent the data to have lived affluently on the property entrusted by the royal people. I reminded them that they would have to waive their rights if they dislike their duties, but they chose to fulfill said responsibilities. If they are not the Viscount¡¯s liking, you can tell me. At such time, I will search for other ladies to the best of my abilities. As a Duke of the Monarchy, I will spare no effort in protecting the royal people. I will run around as much as I can.¡± The stern eyes of the old fox turned and quietly looked down at Hart. CH 26 Hart¡¯s home is a passenger ship floating in the waters where he has rights to. It has a total length of 200 meters and can navigate within the star system, but is incomparable to the luxurious 2 square kilometers of artificial floating islands. From the standpoint of a quasi-aristocratic position, there would have been no particular problem. Because quasi-aristocratic are not given any aristocratic privileges and no one has any reason to complain. However, for the aristocrats, it was excessively unreasonable. Since the 120-meter-class combat ship cannot navigate interstellar space, the 200-meter-class ship is an interstellar spacecraft slightly larger than a combat ship that a knight can operate. For aristocrats, it¡¯s the level of a doghouse, and looking at Hart now, it feels like watching a minor living in a cardboard house in the park. If an aristocrat who receives tax-free privileges and preferential purchase of shares of a state-owned enterprise with a high profit margin uses a 200-meter class passenger ship as their home, the royal people will be skeptical of how the blood tax is being spent. Even if they live on such a ship, it will only be assumed that the home is destroyed in the war, and they will not be contacted or visited because of the inconvenience. If anything, it is not possible to visit them in good conscience. The day after he came home from the Apollo social gathering, Hart, who had explained the situation to Yuna by communication, was scolded by Yuna when she boarded the passenger ship. ¡°Please don¡¯t add to it.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± After Hart replied briefly, the passenger ship was enveloped in silence. It was Philine who took him to the social gathering, but it was Hart himself who actually made the decision to attend, so the participation itself is at his own responsibility. Although Philine is the lady of a Marquis, she has directly expressed her bitterness to the Duke, hence fulfilling her responsibilities. It¡¯s just that both their assumptions about Coesfeld¡¯s intentions were naive compared to reality. Hart sank deeper into his chair and let out a light sigh. ¡°So, Hart, what were the girls you were introduced to like?¡± Hart broke out in a cold sweat when Yuna, in pure child mode, asked with a smile. In addition to Hart and Yuna, Philine was also invited to the passenger ship as a party to the incident. The main blame is on Hart, but Philine was also overpowered by the pressure that Euna generated. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hide anything from you, but access to personal data is limited to the aristocrats who are considering it. Is it okay for others besides me to look at information about the Duke of Coesfeld?¡± When Hart confirmed this, Philine expressed her opinion fearfully. ¡°Yuna is Hart¡¯s fianc¨¦e, but she belongs to the Duke of Strani now. You can¡¯t view the magic values of the personal data.¡± As Philine explained, Yuna smiled. ¡°Ugh¡± Hart breaks in between Philine, who is under pressure, and Yuna, who smiles. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t look at the personal data, I can explain their name and family background.¡± Yuna smiled silently to Hart, who is desperately trying to patch things up. ¡°Philine, is it okay to show a three-dimensional image?¡± ¡°Y, yes. Personal data that can only be accessed and browsed by the Monarchy government is no good, but if it is a private three-dimensional image sent for reference, I think it¡¯s okay for a prospective wife to see it. I think they are people I¡¯m familiar with, and I¡¯m only now seeing it, so I¡¯d say it¡¯s no problem.¡± In the end, Hart and Philine lost to the pressure Yuna generated, and decided to check the persons of the sent data. If it is a preposterous prospect, like the young lady of the Duke of Takhram, Digitalis, she would escape the forefront with a warp beyond the speed of light, but no such woman would be added to the mix. Hart thinks. The Duke of Coesfeld sent the data on three young ladies to start with. The first is Claudia, young lady of the Duke of Coesfeld family. Her father is the Duke¡¯s son and the next head of household, and her mother is his legal wife. Of four children, Claudia is second born in the order of eldest son, eldest daughter, second daughter, and second son. Magic is estimated to be Royal-class for the eldest son and Claudia, and Duke-class for the second daughter and second son. She is a third-year student at the middle school of the Magic Academy, and her estimated magic power value is around 28,650. The second is Evelina, young lady of the Count of Ordolene. The daughter of Count Ordolene and his wife, her maternal grandfather is the Duke of Coesfeld. Of four children, Evelina is second born in the order of eldest son, eldest daughter, second daughter, and third daughter. Magic is estimated to be Marquis-class for the eldest son, Count-class for the eldest daughter and the second daughter, and Viscount-class for the third daughter. Since April, her magic power value has been 16,566 at the high school of the Magic Academy. The third is Gabriella, young lady of the Viscount of Allerede. Her father is of the Duke of Coesfeld¡¯s household, and her mother was the lady of a Viscount and a mistress of the Duke. The Viscount Lady has two children, and Gabriella is the older sister. Magic is estimated to be Marquis-class for the elder sister and the Count-class for the younger sister. She is a first-year high school student at The Magic Academy, and her magic power value is 18,580. After Hart names the three candidates, Yuna would turn a smile on Philine for an explanation. Then, with a troubled expression on her face, Philine gives her impressions of the women that Hart mentioned. ¡°I know Claudia, the young lady of the Duke of Coesfeld, and Evelina, the young lady of the Count of Ordolene. I know Viscount Allerede, but I don¡¯t remember ever meeting Gabriella. As long as personal data is being sent, there is no doubt about the source.¡± Was the unknown daughter of an unmarried Viscount Lady meant to become a mistress? Hart was convinced, and decided to ask in order from Claudia. However, Hart had a general idea of ??Coesfeld¡¯s intentions based on Claudia¡¯s magic power value. Claudia is presumed to be a Royal-class Magic Power Holder. If her magic is anchored as it is, she can become the fianc¨¦e of the Sovereign¡¯s grandchild who does not have a candidate after canceling the engagement offer with Alisa, the Count family young lady who was the classmate of Hart and others. Since the child to be born would be male, if the magic power inheritance ratio is 0.95 times or more, the child can become next in line to the throne after the Sovereign¡¯s grandson. Clearly, it is not power she seeks but an offspring with high magic power, and by approaching Hart the possibility of being the future Queen Dowager is firmly planted. When a child with Hart is born, even if the inherited magic power is 0.9 times, the magic power value will be close to 40,000, and it will be possible to operate a fortress that is twice as large as the Coalition Forces¡¯. If it is 1.25 times more, it will be possible to operate a 54,000-meter-class defense fortress. Even Hart¡¯s brother had an inheritance rate of 1.8 times. Collette once explained the aristocratic ties of obligation to Hart. That marriage between aristocrats is a mutual cooperation, a lady with high magic power is offered, and the difference is passed on. When receiving the Royal-class Claudia, the Amakawa family may be descendants of Claudia or other descendants, but in the future someone among them will have to marry a lady of similar magic power into the Duke of Coesfeld¡¯s House. The Duke of Coesfeld arranged for Hart a high magic power young lady to fulfill his wishes and at the same time seek the stability of the Duke¡¯s family. Hart imagined Duke of Coesfeld¡¯s thoughts. ¡°What can you tell me about Claudia? Oh, this is her stereoscopic image.¡± In the three-dimensional image projected by Hart, a girl with silver-white hair, an adorable feature and blue eyes sparkling with curiosity, emerged. She gave a small wave, laughing mischievously like a little fox. A large sky-blue ribbon was attached to the left side of her hair, and around her neck was a sky blue choker and a small ribbon. She was dressed in a white and sky blue dress, so Hart wondered if she liked sky blue. ¡°Hmm, pretty girl.¡± Yuna gave her first impression with a smile. Hart takes a slight damage to his stomach and glances at Philine. ¡°In addition to her personality, I also have to talk about other special circumstances.¡± Philine began to talk about Claudia with a preface. ¡°Personality wise, if you compare it to Hart¡¯s favorite classical Japanese literature, it¡¯s that of ¡®a princess who actively supports the hero when she¡¯s reincarnated in another world¡¯.¡± Hart, whose formal marriage interview candidate¡¯s character is likened to classical literature from 1,700 years ago, gazed unblinkingly at the image of Claudia. ¡°If she had been among our classmates, I think she would have stopped all of Digitalis¡¯ actions and helped everyone cheerfully.¡± ¡°In short, she¡¯s a bright and decent girl.¡± After listening to Philine¡¯s explanation, Hart had a general understanding of Claudia¡¯s character. If the Lady of the Duke, who has tremendous power, moves by virtue of her good nature, it is bound to be a little reassuring. If it were a Maiden Game, the heroine would not get in a pinch and the story wouldn¡¯t have peaks and valleys, so she is a character that ends the story before it even begins. She would come in handy in the quest to defeat the mighty Demon King, though. ¡°She has a relationship with the children of most senior aristocrats. She is a legitimate duchess who¡¯s educated as future Queen or Duchess candidate. She¡¯s also a very popular member of a special association called ¡®The String Society¡¯.¡± ¡°¡±The String Society?¡±¡± Hart and Yuna simultaneously reacted to the unfamiliar words Philine had uttered. ¡°A women¡¯s association where volunteers from royalty and senior aristocrats gather¡­ is it a mutual aid association? On the bow that is the Monarchy, if the Lords are the arrows, we are the strings. It is a gathering of such people. After the turmoil of our Marquis family succession was concluded and I returned from the Loki Star System battle, I finally earned a recommendation to join.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was such an association.¡± The emergence of secret organizations behind the scenes of the Monarchy made Hart keenly aware of the vastness of the world. ¡°The String Society works on a different basis than the factions created by the Lords. Women are strong when they stand in solidarity. And Claudia is among those who can make The String Society work.¡± When he heard a startling story, Hart unconsciously shivered. And Yuna¡¯s smile seemed to be frozen in place as well. At this point, Hart revised his view on why Coesfeld sent Claudia¡¯s data. If he only wanted a high magic powered child, he didn¡¯t need to offer Claudia, one of the powerful trump cards of the Duke of Coesfeld. The reason Claudia offered is because Hart, who is an emerging Viscount, is also in a tug-of-war between the Duke of Strani and the Marquis de Carneus, so they sent out a person who is able and willing to seriously support him. The earnestness of the Duke, who puts in so much effort, was conveyed to Hart. ¡°The first option already exceeds the processing power of my brain.¡± ¡°Hart, if this girl comes, I¡¯m going to lose.¡± Yuna, the daughter of a Duke, who is also the granddaughter of the Sovereign, was intimidated by Claudia¡¯s high specs and filled with timid words. Hart extended his right hand and gently held the left hand of Yuna, who was twitching with a smile on her face. This is a mental stabilization method that Hart uses on Yuna ever since the space flight drill. Then, when Yuna¡¯s hand was held, relaxed from her shoulder and sighed a little. Hart extended his left hand, wondering if it was unfair, and held Philine¡¯s right hand. Then Philine, with an embarrassed smile, held Hart¡¯s left hand back. ¡°The other ladies are not as troublesome as Claudia.¡± The standard is too high. Hart, who retorted inwardly, urged Philine to explain by the glance, without feeling quite at ease. ¡°Ms. Evelina was Vice President of the Middle School student council. She also received advice from Alisa, who formerly had an engagement offer with His Highness the Sovereigns Grandson and was Vice President of the High School student council, and it was mentioned in the public relations magazine. Because of that, her position is not very good right now.¡± ¡°Is that right? Hart tilted his head at the idea that Evelina¡¯s position would be compromised simply because she had received advice from Alisa, the Vice President of the High School student council. Although it was an order from the escorts, it is unavoidable that Alisa, who fled before the enemy from the Coalition forces that attacked the capital planet, is now in a bad position. ¡®If you hadn¡¯t run away, my child wouldn¡¯t be dead. Why do you think we¡¯ve been supporting the aristocracy for 440 years?¡± Such curses were spat out by the citizens, as the escorts ushered her to run away. Even if she tried to explain herself, there is no reason they would be convinced. However, Evelina has nothing to do with fleeing in the face of the enemy. ¡®How bad is her position?¡¯ To Hart¡¯s question, Philine showed signs of hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s not as if those who received guidance from the ones who fled are safe. In that way, it is deplorable that aristocrats everywhere continue to be so harshly scrutinized by the people. Evelina, she could at least be the wife of a Baron who desperately needs magic power¡­. that¡¯s her situation.¡± By Philine¡¯s explanation, Hart recognized that Evelina was being used as a reason for a rough inquisition, and was treated as a dud that could go off when a problem occurred. In Evelina¡¯s position, due to her subtle magic power, it is no longer possible for her to be a senior aristocrat¡¯s formal wife. There is only one easy way for Evelina to completely dispel the doubts on her and to be praised as a model aristocratic lady. That is to come under Hart, a hero since the beginning of the war and also a super high magic powered individual. If she supports Hart, who saved 11 billion people in the defense of the Capital planet, by fully assisting in his career, no one will complain. On the contrary, they may treat anyone who complains as an enemy and beat them thoroughly. If a child with high magic power is born, they will raise their hands and sing three cheers. It makes sense for Count and Countess Ordolene to agree to the terms that she becomes the Viscount¡¯s concubine. ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡± Yuna stabbed a nail and Hart stopped projecting the stereoscopic image. The appearance of the aristocratic young lady, who has been selected for hundreds of years, is beautiful enough that everyone can become a character in the maiden game. Evelina was no exception. Hart gave a general overview of Gabriela, who Philine didn¡¯t know. ¡°Maybe, I think the Duke of Coesfeld introduced three different patterns, a second wife candidate, a concubine, and a mistress. Evelina is in a position to be taken as the concubine, and Gabriella¡¯s mother is an unmarried mistress herself.¡± The Duke, who didn¡¯t know what Hart was looking for, must have produced all the possible patterns. After the explanation, Yuna smiled and told Hart the conclusion. ¡°Hart. With this small floating boat, you can¡¯t welcome an aristocratic lady related to a Duke family, can you?¡± Afterwards, Hart silently wrote a letter to the effect that no one would be accepted. CH 27 A wave of intense energy emitted by a huge battleship was disrupting the vortex of magic flowing through the Diete system. Next to the huge immigrant ship Future Arrow, which once carried 1 billion people to the new world, three 13,000-meter-class third-class fortress ships, which are comparable to it, crossed powerfully while operating a huge magic engine. A fortress ship that can only be operated by high magic power holders of the Count-class or higher, and its gigantic body is specialized for combat power. From behind the hull, which has enormous destructive power, two even larger 17,000-meter-class second-class fortress ships and one 21,000-meter-class first-class fortress ship appeared one after another. And from behind the first-class fortress ship, a huge 27,000-meter-class mobile fortress that can envelop the huge immigrant ship Future Arrow, emerged silently, shining white with the light of the magic conversion. Around the giant ship, there is a line of large battleships operated by Baron-class and Viscount-class magic power holders, which are not found in ordinary fleets. They were accompanied by 2000 warships such as battleships, carrier crafts, and cruisers. After majestically orbiting the moon of the Capital planet, Diros, the group headed into space about 300,000 kilometers away from the planet and created a 12th wall of light next to the army that had already formed 11 walls of light. Then, they lined up their artillery in unison toward the faraway Coalition territory. ¡°Your Excellency General B?deger. The Duke of Mauriac¡¯s army and the mobile fortress Ophaniel have arrived. The fortress operator is Lord Laurent, the Duke of Mauriac.¡± After receiving the report, General B?deger, the coordinator of the gathering fleet, questioned his second-in-command. ¡°Lord Laurent was the next Duke?¡± ¡°Yes. In the Battle of Capital planet, his fianc¨¦e was killed by the Coalition. Reinforcements from the Duke of Mauriac include 2000 ships per fleet with a high ratio of battleships, six fortress ships of the senior aristocratic family, and 1 Royal-class mobile fortress that Laurent himself decreed to operate.¡± ¡°I see.¡± B?deger muttered briefly with wrinkles between his eyebrows, and then went silent. In order to compensate for the lack of strength on the front lines, The Crown Prince Gracian ordered the 89 senior aristocrats to provide reinforcements on behalf of Sovereign to fight on the front lines. The 70 Count households each have a fleet of 200 ships. The 14 Marquis households each have 3 fleets with 600 ships. The 5 Duke households each have 6 fleets with 1,200 ships. One fleet must gather 200 Baron-class Magic Power Holders and 2,500 Knight-class Magic Power Holders. The 1,410 general aristocrats were instructed to cooperate with senior aristocrats, who gathered warships and personnel from the faction¡¯s aristocrats and territorial forces to form a reinforcement fleet. According to the instructions of the Crown Prince, seven fleets were scheduled to gather. When the lid was lifted, murderous aristocrats sent 12 fleets with a high battleship ratio, a large number of fortified ships that had not been requested to gather, and even mobile fortresses. The average strength of a fleet of aristocratic troops is 20% more than that of a royal fleet. After a few moments of gazing at the thick wall of light, B?deger eventually addressed his second-in-command. ¡°It¡¯s as if we¡¯re looking at the War of Independence 478 years ago. Lord Laurent is a Brigadier General in the aristocratic conscripts, but he is to be treated with the same courtesy as a Fleet Commander.¡± ¡°Understood, sir.¡± When the Lieutenant straightened his posture, B?deger gave the order. ¡°Issue the launch order.¡± ¡°Ha! From the General Command, order all the forces of the assembled fleet. [Fire the Arrows of Fury at our enemies].¡± As soon as General B?deger¡¯s orders were given, the 12 thick walls of light transformed into 12 giant arrows of light, released one after another toward the Coalition territories. The advance of the Royal Aristocratic Army is also relayed throughout the Monarchy¡¯s territories. The 12 arrows of light, which were made by the aristocrats, are part of a great expedition by the next Sovereign of the Monarchy of Diete, Prince Gracian, and will be thrust into the entire body of the Coalition of Humanity. It has been 441 years since the Monarchy of Diete declared its independence. The Monarchy fires a new Arrow of Fury following the War of Independence against the Coalition of Humanity, which still misunderstood the Monarchy of Diete as colonial rebels and launched an attack. And defeating the hated Coalition, Diete wins independence, freedom and peace. This is a holy war for the Royal people and it must be known throughout the Monarchy. And if the battle is won, the issue of succession to the throne will also be settled, and the Monarchy can move forward to a brighter future. That is what B?deger believes. Some of the expeditionary forces, though, have commanders with different ideas than B?deger. [Fortress Kerviel, keep clear of the fleet, and launch.] ¡°Roger. Fortress Kerviel, departing.¡± The commander of Fortress Kerviel, who had been instructed to keep a low profile in order to promote the political propaganda of Royal Prince¡¯s activities, began operating the fortress, keeping it away from the arrows of light. And, after finishing his role in the launch ceremony, Hart exhaled a heavy sigh. To Hart¡¯s right, Yuna, whose eyes were completely glazed, was only physically present. Sitting in such an atmosphere. ¡°It¡¯s good to be away from the Capital planet.¡± Yuna, who had heard the words of Colette, nodded and returned to her state of stupor. Hart, holding his head, tried to replay a recorded video, looking for a way out of the problem that was troubling them both. ¡°It¡¯s no use.¡± Colette advised, but Hart, who couldn¡¯t give up, operated the terminal so that only he could hear it, and started playing the video. The video showed the center of the Royal Capital. It was the parliamentary hall of the Monarchy¡¯s House of Representatives (Senate), which had once been blown up by the Coalition force, but had been restored to its full dignity. In the chamber, Senator Dryver, a bearded, middle-aged aristocrat, stood up and began to make a speech at the top of his voice. [It has been half a year since the Capital defense battle. Four months after the defense, Prime Minister Stanley declared that all the homes of the surviving Royal citizens destroyed in the battle, including special structures, had all been rebuilt or replaced.] Dryver paused and looked around the assembly. Then, after taking a deep breath, he declares in a loud voice that roars throughout the assembly hall. [However, the residence of Viscount Amakawa, who broke through 16 enemy fleets and mobile fortresses from the side in the defense battle of the Capital planet, single-handedly destroying more than 7 fleets and enemy mobile fortresses, saving 11 billion lives and the Capital planet itself, has yet to be restored, no replacement has been prepared, and it appears he currently resides on a temporary refugee ship floating in the Mediterranean at his own expense.] Immediately after Dryver¡¯s statement, a three-dimensional image of a small ship floating among a large group of artificial floating islands was projected in the parliamentary hall of the Monarchy¡¯s House of Representatives. In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, amidst a picturesque view of a beautiful row of ultra-luxury residential floating islands close to 2 square kilometers, one small boat with a total length of only 200 meters was floating. The legislators were stunned by the tragic scene of a second-hand camper van, which is one tenth of the size of the surrounding area, popping up in a row of condominiums. [This small boat is the current Residence of the Viscount of Amakawa. The original residence was the same as the surrounding floating islands. Currently, it is a temporary refugee ship about 200 meters long, slightly larger than a combat ship, with no room for a person to host a single visitor, and not even the space needed to park the guest¡¯s flying vehicle.] Dryver clenched his fist and slammed the podium. [So I will ask the Prime Minister. Has the government not been issued a damage assessment for the residence of The Viscount of Amakawa? Please access the government¡¯s data here and voice search the words ¡°damage assessment¡±, ¡°Mediterranean¡±, ¡°Hart Amakawa¡± and report your findings.] Stanley wrinkled between his eyebrows at the demand, distorted his mouth, and remained silent for about 10 seconds. With the attention of 400 members of the House of Representatives and billions of Royal citizens watching the broadcasts, he eventually checked the government¡¯s record out loud. [¡­¡­We have confirmed the damage assessment.] When Stanley responds, Dryver nods powerfully and speaks loudly again. [The Viscount of Amakawa¡¯s residence, which the Prime Minister found in a search and records have it as damaged, should have been rebuilt, replaced, or compensated for in some manner. So, is it registered as such?] With wrinkles between his eyebrows, Stanley spoke his words with an agonizing expression. [¡­¡­¡­¡­ it is not.] The resounding roar erupted from the members of congress who were present at the House of Representatives. Looking up at the temporary refugee ship floating unreliably in the Mediterranean Sea, some legislators shouted, ¡°How terrible¡±, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t it been restored?¡±, ¡°It¡¯s been left for six months¡±, ¡°The reconstruction budget should be surplus¡±. Then, Dryver who stood on the podium questioned Stanley again while pointing to the small ship. [The Prime Minister declared that all the homes of the surviving Royal citizens destroyed in the battle, including special structures, had been rebuilt or replaced. Such was the declaration. Then, is Viscount Amakawa not included in the Royal citizens? Or was he killed in battle? Or is the Stanley administration a group that cannot even subtract the number of restored homes from the homes that issued a damage assessment and calculate the difference?] After a quick glare at Stanley, Dryver began to talk about the root of the problem to the attending legislators and the Royal citizens listening to the broadcast. [The Prime Minister may think that it is merely a house. However, Viscount Amakawa¡¯s magic power is the highest recorded in the history of the Monarchy, and even if his partner were a Count-class magic powered individual with an average inheritance rate, their child could become a Royal-class fortress operator. The Viscount lives on a refugee ship. So, he clearly explained the situation, and has already had to turn down numerous offers from Royal-class, Marquis-class, and Count-class candidates!] Next to the three-dimensional image of the floating evacuation ship, the 90-kilometer-long Fortress Kerviel and Hart¡¯s magic power value of more than 90,000 that operates it are displayed. The safety standard shows a figure of 91,000 or more. Next, the magic power values ??of the children born to the Royal-class, Marquis-class, and Count-class candidates were shown. Dryver reminded the legislators and billions of Royal citizens staring at the numbers. [This is based on the assumption that the magic power of Viscount Amakawa is the lowest expected value of 91,000, and then uses actual magic power values that have personally been entrusted to us by the three women who have actually been informed by Viscount Amakawa that the home is still destroyed.] As Stanley was appalled by the shocking remark, Dryver followed up. [The Prime Minister has caused the loss more than 10 future high magic powered people, as I can only submit to evidence now. Each of these lost high magic powers could save hundreds of millions to over a billion lives in a single battle. And they could save the Monarchy in the next battle, and in the next generation as well. Moreover, more than 20 aristocratic households considered approaching Viscount Amakawa but gave up on contacting him due to the damage to the residence.] In the quiet of the chamber, Dryver scolded Stanley as if hurling abuse. [This will surely reduce the number of large mobile fortress operators to be born in the future in the Monarchy, depriving the Monarchy of such possible descendants, creating opportunities for the Coalition of Humanity to kill billions of Royal citizens, even creating the danger of being colonized again by the Coalition, and that is what Prime Minister Stanley and the current administration are doing!] Your presence threatens the existence of the Monarchy of Diete. Stanley, the Prime Minister accused of such, frantically uttered an apology as he shivered with a blood-drawn face. [¡­¡­¡­¡­ we believe there was some sort of oversight. We will immediately apologize to Viscount Amakawa and make arrangements for the restoration. We will work with the Ministry of Reconstruction to investigate the cause of the oversight, and thoroughly ensure that it does not happen again.] Dryver slightly lowered his voice and pressed the pale-faced Stanley. [I would like to confirm the oversight that the Prime Minister has been mentioning. Shortly after the Capital defense battle, Viscount Amakawa was scrambled to rescue the victims of the battle, and then headed to the Solar System to recover supplies for reconstruction. And when he returned home, he found that the Prime Minister had declared the reconstruction complete while the Viscount¡¯s residence was still destroyed. With regard to the oversight, was the Viscount in any way at fault?] It is widely known by the royal citizens that Fortress Kerviel was devoted to the rescue and reconstruction of evacuees after the Capital planet battle, and that it had gone to the Solar System to recover the resources consumed in the reconstruction. Because, the return from the Solar System and its achievements have been widely reported throughout the country. Stanley, who was reminded of the point, answered Dryver. [¡­¡­¡­¡­ the Viscount was never at fault.] If you make mention of faults, you will be asked whose it is. Even if the words are slurred, it will be pursued. Dryver who nodded to Stanley who replied that there was none, and pronounced. [Then, due to the government¡¯s blunder, the Viscount¡¯s residence will be rebuilt even better, with compensation for being the only individual left out of the restoration efforts and publicly humiliated. If you do not rebuild better and enable him receive more concubines, mistresses, or gene donation offers, we may not be able to recover the at least 10 people lost. If the government does not conclude the matter in the reconstruction of the Viscount¡¯s residence, I will submit a motion to impeach and prosecute the present administration for breach of trust against the Monarchy.] Dryver called out majestically in a powerful voice, looking over at the members of the House of Representatives in parliament. [Members in attendance. As I have just said, if the Stanley administration, despite its explanations in the House of Representatives, did not compensate for damages, failed to restore Viscount Amakawa¡¯s home, and reduced the future super high magic powered individuals of the Monarchy more than it should be, would this not constitute a breach of duty to the Monarchy? For those who would believe that such is truly a breach against the Monarchy, please stand for reference.] When Dryver called for it, 400 members of the House of Representatives stood up in unison in groups of hundreds. And the seated members who saw the situation around them also hurriedly rose from their seats. Eventually, about 90% of the members present in the assembly stood up, and Senator Dryver thanked them. [I would like to express my gratitude to the members of congress for their ability to transcend factions and make sound decisions for the sake of the Monarchy. I ask that you be seated.] Dryver looked back at the blue-faced Stanley after seeing the seated legislators. [Do you understand, Your Excellency? In this case, I would like your endeavor in the recovery of more than 10 people who have been lost by doing an outstanding job that will become a symbol of the reconstruction effort. Look back at my explanation as to why it is necessary for the Monarchy. That concludes my questions.] Hart finished the playback as the scene shows Dryver proudly returning to his parliamentary seat. And again, he exhales a deep sigh. His home was destroyed in the battle, so no one could be welcomed. It was Hart himself who refused. In addition, he cannot take more fianc¨¦es as he goes to the battlefield. He felt like he said that. In response, the beautiful silver-haired saintly young lady smiled mischievously like a fox and said, ¡°Please rest assured. For aristocratic women in the Monarchy, it is natural to support the lords who go to battle. Also, arrangements for the mansion have been made, so please be patient.¡±. Hart tilted his head, but the result was as could be seen. ¡°The String Society¡±, a group of volunteer women from royalty and senior aristocracy. If you make an enemy of these women, even the Prime Minister may be sentenced imprisonment in an impeachment trial through House of Representatives, which elects all members from among the royal family and senior aristocrats who hold territories. ¡°Give it up.¡± Hart, who was exhausted after Colette¡¯s admonition, was slowly dragged through space by the reinforcement fleet that was pushing forward in high spirits. While the Monarchy was in an uproar over the restoration of the Viscount¡¯s residence, the Hercules System, 120 light-years from the Solar System, provided detailed information about the reinforcement fleet. ¡°The Crown Prince is a burden. We don¡¯t need to go to the trouble of getting rid of him.¡± Lieutenant General Hawkins, who serves as the Chief of Staff of the Hercules Armed Forces, advised his superior, the Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Dexter. Ever since the Monarchy¡¯s Crown Prince Gracian conquered Earth, information on the Monarchy has been leaked to the Coalition. To illustrate the movements of the Royal Army, they would compare chess players that are foolish and only know how to advance their pieces in a straightforward manner. The movements of such an opponent were obvious, without even thinking about it. Hawkins, the Chief of Staff, thought about the significance of such an existence since anyone could easily read his thoughts. And he suggested that it would be better for the Coalition if the Crown Prince was not killed. Dexter, however, dismissed the suggestion. ¡°It¡¯s true that he¡¯s a liability. But if we don¡¯t exploit the enemy¡¯s weaknesses, we may not be able to defend the Hercules system from a major offensive. We are the General Command of the Hercules Sector Army.¡± Hawkins, though inwardly disappointed, accepted Dexter¡¯s will and nodded. Since the beginning of the war, 25 fleets and 10 mobile fortresses of the Coalition of Humanity¡¯s Forces have been lost. In return, public support from the people of the Coalition member states has increased as a result of political propaganda within the Coalition that the suicide attack on the Monarchy¡¯s Capital planet has had a certain effect, and the retaliation for the targeted attack on Earth has been realized after 458 years. However, there is no longer as much leeway as there was at the beginning of the war. The force difference of the Coalition and the Monarchy were calculated as being ¡°14 to 10¡± in terms of the total number of the Magic Power Holders, and the Coalition had an advantage in preparing for war in advance. However, when the war actually broke out, the Solar System was taken in exchange for the attack on the Monarchy¡¯s Capital planet, so it was a back and forth situation. If they hadn¡¯t stumbled at the start of the Frodi System, the Fenrir fleet would have made a direct assault on the Monarchy, and by now they might have conquered a majority of the Monarchy¡¯s territory and began moving to sweep off the remnants. Reality doesn¡¯t always go the way you want it to. Hawkins looked back and considered what would happen after the Crown Prince was killed. ¡°If the first prince is killed, the Sovereign¡¯s grandson will move up as the next heir. The struggle for the throne with the Commander-in-Chief Strani, who was demoted from the 3rd Prince to a vassal, should continue to fan the flames via the Republic of Frodi.¡± Dexter agrees with Hawkins. ¡°Should we remind the homeland to let the conflict continue even if the actors change?¡± ¡°That would be best. I think they¡¯ll do it without us having to tell them.¡± With the royal system, if the person with the least right to succeed the throne is superior, the country will be divided, and if a fool ascends to the throne, it will easily fall apart. The Coalition took a cold look at the state system of the Monarchy and was eager to support its collapse. With the Third Prince, Valfrete and The Crown Prince, Gracian, there is a hierarchical relationship between the elder brother and the younger brother that makes it impossible to give the final push. However, with the Grandchild of Sovereign, Leandre and the Third Prince, Valfrete, the relationship is that of nephew and uncle, which is worse than that of Prince Gracian. Dexter, hoping for a turnaround, ordered him to explore the weaknesses of the monarchy. ¡°Arrange for Leandre and Valfrete to fight each other after the Crown Prince¡¯s death.¡± CH 28 ¡°The target of the invasion is the Hercules Star System. It is humanity¡¯s first immigrant system, located 120 light-years from Earth and is the frontline base of the Coalition. The objective of this operation is to take control of this system, deprive the enemy of a foothold from which to invade, and on the contrary, provide a stepping stone for our invasion.¡± General B?deger, the second-in-command of the Expeditionary Fleet, projected the star system onto the main screen in the center of the Generals¡¯ Assembly. Hercules, the star, is a small, cool red dwarf. As a star, it is the most common and mundane type in the universe. But the star Hercules is orbited in the Habitable Zone by Alcaeus, a giant terrestrial planet about eight times the diameter of Earth. The planet Alcaeus is tidally fixed, facing its star, so day and night are fixed on the planet. Usually, on a planet with fixed day and night, the daytime region becomes scorching hot and the night region becomes extremely cold. However, the giant planet had a thick layer of atmosphere, a large ocean, and a moon orbiting near-distance Cades, and all 3 came together to induce thermal circulation within the planet. With a thick ozone layer protecting the planet and a super-continent at the midpoint of day and night that had 20 times Earth¡¯s entire land area, Alcaeus had many areas that were habitable by humans on the planet without terraforming. In addition, due to the proximity of the star Hercules to the planet Alcaeus, celestial bodies from space are attracted to the star, so the planet is also safe from meteorites. In 2629 A.D., the first manned research fleet launched to Hercules, and as a result of various supplies and personnel being sent to the planet, the first interstellar migration was realized 125 years later in 2754 A.D. ¡°This is the history of settlement in the Hercules system. However, the gravity of the planet is 1.8 times that of Earth, and it was pointed out that it would be difficult to live there from the preparation stage of the settlement. Therefore, the Diete immigration plan was launched, and in 2823 A.D., Diete immigration was realized.¡± B?deger pointed to the biggest problems the giant planets in the Hercules system have. The biggest obstacle to immigration to the giant terrestrial planet Alcaeus was the planet¡¯s gravity, which is 1.8 times that of the Earth. A human weighing 50 kilograms on Earth would weigh 90 kilograms on the planet Alcaeus. On high-gravity planets, all activities are taxing and work efficiency is reduced. Blood pressure increases to pump blood throughout the body, and the stress on the heart shortens life expectancy. Because of the enormous amount of time and money spent on immigration to the Hercules system, the Earth government at the time could not cancel the Hercules system immigration policy even though the Diete system proposal was found to be significant in the middle of the preparatory stage. Instead, as a countermeasure against gravity, the immigrants to the Hercules system underwent repeated genetic environmental adaptation adjustments. With each generation, they grew shorter and thicker, transforming themselves into dwarf-like figures over the course of several hundred years. The Herculeans were the test subjects and victims of the Earth government¡¯s immigration policies. Pests such as mosquitoes, fire ants, and cockroaches were brought into the Hercules system, but based on the lessons learned, the Diete immigrants took steps to prevent the invasion of such creatures. At the time of Diete¡¯s independence, the Herculeans were driven from good lands by Earth refugees. Moreover, Earth displaced persons adapted to the environment with the technology of 3300 A.D., and did not become dwarves themselves. The Herculeans, who have accumulated dissatisfaction with the Earthers, have become a people of extreme disobedience to the Coalition of Humanity. Currently, the Hercules system is home to a billion Coalition members, but the Herculeans have not even disclosed their population. ¡°Dwarves are characterized by high blood pressure, short temper, violence, stubbornness and exclusiveness. The living space spreads to the strata, so the suppression of the planet surface is ineffective. Therefore, the Coalition has separated the Dwarven community from their own, and has placed its military bases on the moon Cades.¡± B?deger insulted the Dwarves in a vicious manner, but there was a reason for it. The dwarves encountered during the conquest of Earth had the attitude that B?deger had pointed out, not only towards the Coalition but also towards the Diete Monarchy as well. As a reason for the dwarf¡¯s antipathy, during the Diete War of Independence, the Dietes drove the Coalition into the Hercules system, causing them to be deprived of their sphere of life. That¡¯s what they say. At the root of the discontent, Herculeans were the victims of a crude immigration policy when immigrating from Earth, while the Diete immigrants gained a utopia that surpassed even Earth, with lessons learned from their failures. The Dietes¡¯ view is that it is natural to correct the problems found in the first immigration on the second occasion, and it was the Coalition that took the Hercules system, so that the Dwarves are simply taking it out on them. ¡°The dwarves are also unfriendly to us Royal Diete¡¯s citizens. So after we conquer the Hercules system, we will station our Royal Army station on the moon Cades, just like the Coalition.¡± When B?deger explained this, there were many voices of approval in the conference hall. ¡°If we¡¯re based on a moon, we won¡¯t have to worry about sabotage from the planet.¡± General Jhering, who is in charge of the right-wing forces of the expeditionary fleet, agrees, and General Reinelt of the left-wing fleet also expressed their support. ¡°Let¡¯s just recover the planetary resources and use the system as a supply base.¡± With two more Generals following B?deger, and the three highest-ranked Generals in the expeditionary force in agreement, the policy set by General Command was finalized. Of course, the preliminary discussions were over before the Generals meeting began. The 19 fleets of the Solar System invasion force, led by The Crown Prince Gracian, conquered the Solar System, but on the other hand, the Capital planet was hit due to a significantly reduced defense force, which left a billion Royal citizens dead. At this rate, they would not be able to make their triumphant return home. The three generals, as well as General Lautenbach, who became Commander of the Solar System Invasion Force, were forcefully promoted from the Lieutenant General to General by the Supreme Commander, Prince Gracian, to praise his own achievements. The four Generals who were promoted did not have any achievements, let alone military exploits. As for the military exploits, the enemy forces in the Solar System were not present while invading the Diete system, so there was no cohesive enemy. In the Solar System, which should have been suppressed, Earthers are still resisting underground. The Generals want to bring down the Hercules system before returning home, so as to match the military exploits and achievements of their promotions. Otherwise, even if they had the money and position, they would not be able to maintain their honor. Other officers and soldiers also want to at the very most be able to explain their actions to their families and surroundings so that they won¡¯t be looked down upon by the people of the Capital planet after returning home. Thus, the Solar System Invasion Force is trying to invade the Hercules system with Prince Gracian who wants to suppress the burning succession issue. In the place of the purely formal General officer meeting, those present were not asked for their own opinions. With no one raising any objections, B?deger¡¯s moderator proceedings went according to the script. ¡°The one billion Coalition people of the Hercules system will be taken to our home country with the subdued Earthers to avoid continued resistance on the front lines and joining hands with the dwarves. What do you think, General Jhering?¡± When B?deger asked, Jhering of the right wing army agreed. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea. This will keep the uncooperative dwarves in order to control their growing power. But we must not let the dwarves go from being uncooperative to hostile due to the Coalition¡¯s manipulations.¡± If they were not brought in, worse things could happen. Jhering suggested such a possibility, and the General Command¡¯s proposal was reinforced. ¡°I agree. If I had to choose between the Coalition and the Dwarves, I¡¯d say the Dwarves are better. What do you think of General Reinelt?¡± After nodding, B?deger then turned to Reinelt of the left wing. Then, Reinelt agrees. ¡°As long as we use the moon as a base, and keep it above a certain altitude or higher, the dwarves on the planet will not be much of a threat. The recovery of resources should be the same as Earth, I think it would be okay if we could do it remotely. Pests will spread and quarantine will be difficult if we drop people off.¡± All the Generals of the invasion fleet agreed. Finally, B?deger reminded the youngest Major General in attendance of the General¡¯s meeting of a very important point. ¡°We will use Fortress Kerviel to bring in the Coalition members and transport resources. Major General Amakawa may have done well in combat, but the people want their Crown Prince, who will succeed to the throne, to make further historical achievements, like the great ancestors who succeeded in the War of Independence. In consideration of the political decision, General Command orders Fortress Kerviel to refrain from participating in the battle.¡± In the General officers¡¯ meeting, the second-in-command General B?deger, gave orders to Hart by name, the contents of which could not be misunderstood. ¡°Understood, sir.¡± Hart also gave a salute and an unmistakable response. B?deger nodded while looking at Hart, and then moved on to the substantial matter. ¡°Then, I will announce the fleet formations. The expeditionary fleet will have 23 fleets and 4 fortresses. This will be divided into 3 combat groups and 1 transport convoy.¡± Central Forces: 8 fleets (including 4 aristocratic fleets), 1 mobile fortress Commander in Chief, Prince Gracian; Deputy Commander, General B?deger Conscription fleet = Diete, Athena Aristocratic Army Right-wing Forces: 7 fleets (including 3 requisitioned fleets), 1 mobile fortress (including 1 aristocratic fortress) Right-wing Army Commander, General Jhering Conscript fleet = Apollo, Machaon Aristocratic Army Left-wing Forces: 7 fleets (including 4 requisitioned fleets), 1 mobile fortress Left-wing Army Commander, General Reinelt Conscript fleet = Artemis, Podalley Aristocratic Army Transport Convoy: 1 fleet (including 9 aristocratic squadrons), 1 attack fortress Fleet Commander, Major General Rendano; Fortress Commander, Major General Amakawa Solar System Area Army: 5 fleets Area Army Commander, General Lautenbach The announced formation allocated the aristocracy to three for each of the two star systems. And, when he saw the aristocrats assigned to the convoy, Hart was beyond dismayed and even laughed at the blatant nature of the assignment. The Marquis of Ornelas, a Machaon family from which Valfrete took his wife. The Marquis of Carneus, an Apollo household for which Hart became a gene donor. The Count of Harvist, an Apollo family of which the fianc¨¦e of the Sovereign¡¯s grandchild was stripped. Each of them has contributed 3 squadrons of 600 ships, and they are assigned to the transport convoys. With regard to these formations, B?deger added a supplement. ¡°This time, a fleet and a mobile fortress were offered by the Machaon Duke of Mauriac, and they came together to make the most of the original group. Therefore, a part of the increased Apollo- Machaon system aristocratic army was sent to the transport convoy to coordinate the whole thing.¡± Hurt was impressed by B?deger¡¯s brilliant excuse. Fortress Kerviel alone can serve more than one million transport ships. In the Capital planet Defense, they alone dropped more than 7 enemy fleets, and even escorts were unnecessary. Adding a fleet of only 100 transport ships to the convoy to which Fortress Kerviel belongs would only waste the strength of one fleet. For those familiar with the aristocratic affairs, it was obvious that in order to reinforce the Crown Prince¡¯s right to inherit the throne, those they did not want to make achievements, including Hart, were collectively assigned to the transport convoy. The Duke of Strani, who went from royalty to vassal, only founded his Duke household last year and is not subject to fleet offerings. If there was a fleet of the Duke of Strani, it was clear that B?deger would have given a new reason to send it to the transport convoy. And if it were Valfrete, such a foolish formation would not have been made. Hart thought. In the General officers meeting, where the groundwork had already been laid, Hart turned into a puppet that shook his head vertically as required. In the end, Prince Gracian, the Commander-in-Chief of the expeditionary force, gave his very gracious words to those present, and the meeting of the Generals of the royal army, which was to be an expedition to the Hercules System, was closed. After the closing, there will be time for individual meetings within the same unit. Hart shared his perception with Major General Oscar Rendano, a fortress commander affiliated with the convoy and fleet commander of the same convoy. With the same rank and clear title, it was evident that the command of the fleet was in the hands of Fleet Commander Major General Rendano, and command of the fortress would go to Fortress Commander Major General Amakawa. What both of them needed to do was to clarify where the responsibility lay for the foreign element, the aristocratic fleet assigned to the convoy. Rendano is not an aristocrat, and the aristocratic fleet is assigned to the aristocratic family with a close relationship with Hart. Rendano¡¯s idea was to keep it within the military framework by the book, with no special considerations. ¡°The aristocratic fleet may be under my command while the fleet is in operation, and under the command of Major General Amakawa while stationed in the fortress. Even if it is a conscript from a senior aristocracy, they will be treated as a Brigadier General, and there is no problem in terms of status.¡± ¡°Yes, I think so as well.¡± Even if Major General Amakawa was told to take care of it, Hart would have complied. Hart, who has Japanese roots, flexibly accepted Rendano¡¯s policy. The aristocratic fleet of the three families also obediently followed the military policy. The Marquis of Carneus did not oppose the fact that Philine was under his command since she was in the convoy. The Marquis of Ornelas, whose daughter¡¯s husband is a Colonel General, the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy Army, Valfrete, did not go against the Royal army. However, the remaining family, the Count of Harvist, was not convinced. Brigadier General Alisa, the young lady of the Count of Harvist, who had come out on the frontline due to the aristocratic conscription, visited Colonel Colette, a classmate from middle school, under the pretext of a private consultation. Colette, who had met an old friend for the first time in a long time, greeted her gracefully like a Viscount young lady, but in her heart she was surprised at how Alisa had changed. The face of the benevolent Mother Goddess, who once smiled with such kindness, is distorted and she couldn¡¯t disguise her exhaustion with makeup. The skin which had lost freshness was morbidly white, and stirred uneasiness in the spectator. Her emerald-like blue eyes are cloudy and lost their brilliance. Alisa, with a morbid smile that had at least a sliver of her middle school days left in it, appealed to breathless Colette. ¡°Colette, can¡¯t you rearrange the formation of the Harvist family?¡± Colette cannot possibly alter the formation. She did not make any attempt at answering the question directly. The deployment of the expeditionary fleet has been decided at a meeting of General officers attended by the expeditionary fleet and the Major Generals of the Solar System Invasion force and above, and cannot be changed by Colonel Colette or even the fortress commander Hart. Even Major General Rendano, who commands the transport convoy, can only change the order of the aristocratic squadrons belonging to the transport fleet. Colette ascertained the extent of the changes Alisa was asking for. ¡°What exactly do you want to do?¡± ¡°I want to achieve a distinguished war service.¡± When Colette heard Alisa¡¯s hope, she did not deny it, but rather answered curiously in return. ¡°I can confirm for you that you are not a soldier, Alisa, but credit is given in the transportation mission. When Fortress Kerviel brought in large quantities of supplies from Earth, the entire Monarchy cheered. But war merit can¡¯t be cited unless you defeat the enemy. I wonder if you want to earn military achievement, not credit.¡± Alisa shook her head at Colette, who implicitly told her that the convoy would also be credited. ¡°Transportation is not enough. We must defeat the enemy.¡± Colette understood that Alisa¡¯s purpose was to restore her honor. As mentioned in her Deed of Arms, ¡°Escaping the Defense Battle of the Capital planet was not Alisa¡¯s will, but under the instruction of the escort arranged by the royal family. Alisa is willing to fulfill her aristocratic duties¡±. However, the safe rear transportation convoy cannot prove that. Earning a military achievement in battle with the Coalition is the only way Alisa can regain her honor. The Count of Harvist offered a fortress ship in addition to 3 squadrons, equivalent to a Marquis, rather than the single squadron required of the Count. The Count¡¯s family is also pushing themselves very hard. It was clear what Alisa wanted, but Colette couldn¡¯t give her the answer she wanted. ¡°This time, it¡¯s difficult to change the formation because it has already been decided. But the importance of transportation is also evident in the use of Fortress Kerviel. Without transport, we can¡¯t support the military¡¯s activities. I¡¯m sure the Royal Army understands that the Count of Harvist is responsible for that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ That¡¯s not good enough.¡± The role is so important that even Fortress Kerviel, which was active in the defense of the Capital planet, is utilized. When Colette appealed, Alisa backed down. But to Colette, Alisa didn¡¯t seem very convinced. CH 29 July 3741 A.D. After 987 years of human settlement in the Hercules system, a third power has emerged in succession, one that is neither the Herculeans who settled the system, nor the Coalition of Humanity that brought them into the system. The calm lake of magic elements within the system surges violently, as if the surface of the water had been hit by torrential rain. Each of the Warships of the Monarchy of Diete becomes a huge drop of water, which is densely poured into three locations on the outer rim of the star system. Tens of thousands of brilliant stars were born in the system, and they began to race through space like meteors. [Attention, to the 8 fleets of the Central Command. All ships, immediately adopt fleet formation. Deploy an octagram in the sector 50 million km ahead of the flagship Raguel. Commence reconnaissance, consolidate information with friendly forces, and prepare to launch missile swarms.] After receiving the signal from General Command to assemble the fleet, each ship used the powerful energy converted by the magic element engine as propulsion to push its huge body forward into the designated space. Right-wing and left-wing forces also began to move at about the same time, and tens of thousands of lights gathered at three locations on the outer edge moved to an effective position to generate the maximum fire line while following the optimal course. And then, a super massive fortress appeared like a shimmering flame, emitting a flash of blue-white light that could have been mistaken for a blue giant star, while producing almost no waves of magic elements¡­ ¡°Fortress Kerviel, Warp Out complete. No abnormalities in any section. We will begin searching for enemies within a 320-million-kilometer radius of this fortress.¡± The general staff reported to Hart, who nodded lightly before issuing an order. ¡°Commander Amakawa notifying all hands. Be on type 3 alert. If any enemy enters a radius of 320 million kilometers from this fortress, attack immediately. Report warp-out to the central, left and right forces. Send the coordinates of Fortress Kerviel and consolidate information with ally reconnaissance.¡± ¡°Copy that. Will send coordinates immediately and consolidate information.¡± Philine muttered in a small voice beside Hart, as he was looking at the command center which had begun to move solemnly. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a while, but what¡¯s going on with this fortress?¡± When Hart heard the voice, he wondered if it was the difference between warps. Other Monarchy ships emerge with a wave of magic elements appropriate to their hull. In contrast, Fortress Kerviel can descend silently and not affect the magic elements of the cosmos, as if an apparition had materialized on the spot. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the difference between the spirits. Seraphina is really good at what she does.¡± When Hart praised his spirit, the praised Seraphina slightly narrowed her light purple eyes and raised the corners of her mouth with a satisfied smile. Fortress Kerviel is an over-technology that combines Dr. Kerman¡¯s technology to operate a huge magic element engine at maximum efficiency with Hart¡¯s magic power, which has an inordinate level of output, and Seraphina¡¯s insane support. When the Fortress Kerviel goes into warp, the strong shield generated by Dr. Kerman¡¯s technology and Hart¡¯s magic will grant the fortress generous protection, enabling ultra-long distance leaps at once with high power output. Then there was Seraphina¡¯s support, as she usually leads the way through the spirit world with the ease of a guide when one would normally wander through the forest with a map and compass. When traversing the Spirit Forest under Seraphina¡¯s guidance, it is possible to descend very quietly, without knocking down or trampling on the plants and trees. Not only does she warp, but when she spies on the enemy, she will detect the reaction of both enemy and friendly magic engines in detail, as if detecting a foreign substance that has invaded the spirit world. If compared to Hart¡¯s maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, it would be similar to the magic power of Digitalis, who was the last boss, and the spirit crystal of Dr. Kerman who led it to the True End, teaming up. This is the reason why Fortress Kerviel was able to break through 10 fleets in the Diros Defense, despite having a military evaluation of two or more fleets and less than three. Fortress Kerviel, which descended into the system under the guidance of Seraphina, began to drift quietly through the sector 500 million kilometers from the Central Forces. ¡°We have received footage of the Hercules system from the advanced reconnaissance fleet. Projecting onto main screen.¡± After the staff reported, the main screen of the fortress command center showed the red dwarf, the galaxy¡¯s most common star. Illuminated by a glowing red star, the giant planet Alcaeus emerges from the darkness. Eight times the diameter of Earth, the giant planet has a fixed midpoint between day and night, and a supercontinent about 20 times the land area of the Earth. On the planet, a huge continent and the ocean could be seen. The diversity of Alcaeus planetary environments will far surpass Earth in terms of scale and specific environment. If the planet Diros boasts a man-made utopia, the giant planet Alcaeus boasts the grandeur of the great universe. Seeing the huge continent, Hart was suddenly curious about the undisclosed dwarf population. ¡°If the land area is 20 times that of Earth, the dwarves living underground might number about 100 billion people.¡± Yuna tilted her head at Hart¡¯s impressions. ¡°Diete has 39 billion people, 6 billion people on Earth, the current Coalition has 26 billion people and the Republic of Frodi has 16 billion. The uncalculated population is assumed at a few billion, and the interstellar nation of the Tenka Federation is about 20 billion people. There¡¯s no way a single planet can have enough population to match all of that combined.¡± To Yuna, who thinks it is impossible, Hart presents a possibility. ¡°The Herculeans immigrated nearly 1000 years ago. With 20 times more land than earth, the technology to make the underground of the planet a living space, sufficient air, water and food production technology, and about 1000 years of time. Since they are prolific in terms of race, the population will only increase. If 100 million people increase 1.5 times every 30 years¡­¡± Hart did the math on his terminal, and after 990 years, the result was 28.7627 trillion people. Then he pretended he hadn¡¯t seen the number. ¡°We¡¯re not going to conquer the planet, so I think it¡¯ll be alright.¡± Yuna gave her seal of approval with a smile, but Hart could not imagine what his fianc¨¦e was thinking behind that smile. ¡°I guess so.¡± Hart also understood the dangers of descending to the giant planet Alcaeus and fighting with the dwarves. The reason why the Coalition of Humanity, which controls the Hercules system, has not completely conquered the Herculeans, who maintain an attitude of extreme disobedience, is that conquest is probably impossible as a practical matter. However, since the Herculeans have few high-magic power holders and cannot operate warships that use magic engines, they are considered to be a low level threat. Even if the planet is conquered, the battle ends once a celestial body is dropped from space. One of the reasons Herculeans do not have high-magic power holders is due to humanity¡¯s immigration to the Diete system in rapid succession after immigrating to the Hercules system, so the high-magic power holders who immigrated to the Hercules System moved on to the Diete system instead of staying behind. The high-gravity planet, where the migration had just taken place, was less attractive to retain those with high magic power. On a planet where everyone was suffering, it was not possible to implement a policy that gives special preferential treatment to high-magic powered people. At that time, the treatment of the high magic power holders came in three ways. The Coalition of Humanity treated them differently on a nation by nation basis. Some countries paid them high salaries, others treated them as civil servants, and some left it to other countries to have their own country¡¯s high magic power holders work away from home. The Diete government considered high magic power holders as indispensable for space advancement, and welcomed them with open arms. The Hercules government treated them like any other immigrants, and gave high magic power holders a hard time. The result would have been a one-man victory for the Diete government, which succeeded in gaining independence from Earth. However, the Coalition switched to mandatory state control of their magic power holders after the Diete War of Independence. For these reasons, Herculeans had few descendants of high-magic power holders from the start, and it is believed that the blood faded and was cut off except for the ancestral revivals. Therefore, as long as the moon Cades is secured and pressure is applied from outer space, the dwarves are not considered a threat. The Coalition forces, who are currently holding the Dwarves¡¯ leaders in check, launched a fleet from the moon Cades to form a formation in a sector about 4 billion kilometers from the star, and lined up their artillery against the invading Monarchy forces. Hart¡¯s staff reports the consolidated results of radar observations from each fleet. ¡°The Coalition forces consist of 16 fleets and 6 fortresses. The difference in strength based on the amount of conversion energy of the magic engine is 100 to 70 in favor of the Monarchy side, excluding this transport convoy. The current enemy formation is in the sector about 4 billion kilometers from the star Hercules. They appear to be using the outer rim of the star system in front of the fleet as a shield.¡± ¡°16 fleets and 6 fortresses, that¡¯s more than when they attacked the Diete system.¡± Hart thought it was a moderate number, but they had prior information on the invasion so he believed that the number of enemies was small even if they had invaded the country. There are 25 billion people living in the four star systems behind them, and since the foothold for the invasion of each system would be attacked, he thought they would muster more forces. In the Hercules star system, magic elements swirl within 4 billion kilometers of the star. Within this range, warping through high-dimensional space using magic elements is impossible, so it is unlikely that they will suddenly appear from behind. In the vortex of magic elements present in the star system, the enemy can only deploy in the front, so it is not a bad position for a defensive battle. The Coalition forces were in just such a formation. Hart checked with the staff to confirm the instructions from General Command. ¡°Are there any orders for us, the convoy?¡± ¡°Orders from General Command. The commander-in-chief has ordered us to [Refrain from participating in combat and remain in the safe sector].¡± As with the Generals¡¯ meeting, Fortress Kerviel was repeatedly ordered not to participate. Hart nodded and returned the instructions to the staff. ¡°Send a message to General Command, the order is accepted.¡± ¡°Copy that, replying order acceptance to General Command.¡± The Royal Army and Coalition forces have a military evaluation of 75,691 vs. 52,790 units in terms of royal destroyers. This is calculated as 100 to 70. The Monarchy has more than seven fleets in its favor. In a head-on fight with 10 to 7, a 2 on 1 battle will occur somewhere on the battlefield and it will be settled, and the two free units will join the next battlefield and repeat the process, gaining the upper hand at an accelerated rate. In this situation, victory is possible even if Fortress Kerviel does not participate. If Fortress Kerviel does not participate, the sacrifices will increase, but if the Generals informed him by name that politics is the priority, then there is nothing that Major General Hart can do about it. ¡°Then, in accordance with the orders of General Command, this fortress will refrain from participating in combat, move to the safe sector, and stand by until further notice.¡± ¡°Understood. What are the coordinates?¡± To confirm, Hart pointed his right index finger to the upper right corner. ¡°Three mobile fortresses are in play, but the left-wing forces is a regular army, while the right are troops under the conscripted aristocrat, Lord Laurent, Duke of Mauriac. As a precaution, we will standby at the zenith, midway between the central and right-wing forces.¡± ¡°Understood. Contacting General Command and Fleet Commander Rendano.¡± Eventually, Hart¡¯s fortress began to take a long detour around to the rear. Meanwhile, the Monarchy Expeditionary Force, which arranged the line of ships, advanced toward the outer rim of the star system, spreading its wings. A considerable number of conventional weapons that cannot be detected by Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves are deployed in the star system. But most of the weapons can be blown away with fusion rounds. Conventional weapons without a magic engine will require a large amount of propellant to return to the battlefield if blown away, and even if they do return, there will be a time lag and the barrage will be thinner. The Royal Army began with a common sense response, and on the main screen of Fortress Kerviel Command Center, which reflected the front lines, the intense flashes of fusion rounds began to shine in countless numbers. While the screen¡¯s light level is automatically adjusted, the next group of missiles that crossed thousands of giant photospheres blew away the celestial bodies further ahead. The uninterrupted missile barrage has finally begun clashing with the Coalition¡¯s counter-missiles. In the intense flash that exploded at the midpoint of both forces, a single mass-wave agglomeration artillery fire was blended in. ¡°Irradiation towards enemy fleet detected, Sir.¡± The laser bombardment reported by the staff was fired from a fortified ship of the Monarchy¡¯s right-wing army. The distance between the right-wing forces and the enemy frontline displayed in the fortress command center is about 150 million kilometers. That is eight light minutes away. At such a distance, whether the objective is destroying enemy missiles or targeting moving enemy ships, it is basically impossible to hit the target. In addition, the magic engine is fully operational and the enemy is informed of the ship¡¯s coordinates and type, so there is a risk of being targeted preferentially from an enemy fortress. If other reasons than the destruction of missiles and enemies are considered, you can think of observation shoots, intimidation of the enemy, boosting morale of allies, and so on. The laser bombardment that Hart paid attention to went on to obliterate the celestial bodies, piercing through the cosmos without hitting the enemy, and then disappearing. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s completely pointless, but someone among the conscript aristocracy must have fired it without much thought.¡± Hart made a harsh assessment that the only saving grace was not having to worry about energy consumption. The energy lasers employed as the main gun of a warship is used by converting dark energy, which accounts for 68.3% of the total mass of the universe. Because it uses the magic elements that exists in any part of the universe, it does not require replenishment and can be shot semi-permanently unless it is shot too many times. However, the range of the energy laser is limited. This is because while it is irradiated and travels through space, it comes into contact with the dark energy in space, which cancels out and attenuates it. In the case of a magic engine that powers a light cruiser with a total length of 2,100 meters, the reach is about 21 million kilometers. However, the enemy ship¡¯s shield cannot be brought down because the energy is close to 0 when it reaches the target. The effective range against enemy destroyers is about 9 million kilometers and 30 light seconds. At 9 million kilometers, 1200 energy will remain when the attack on the enemy destroyer hits. There is a possibility that the shield¡¯s defense energy of 1200 generated by a destroyer with a total length of 1200 meters can be surpassed. Up to about 320 million kilometers would be within range if the Coalition¡¯s mobile fortress were redirected for an attack. Therefore, Fortress Kerviel searched within 320 million kilometers when it reached the star system, and prioritized the elimination of enemies within that range. A mobile fortress main gun can break through a Cruiser¡¯s shield or lower within 250 million kilometers. However, it is extremely difficult to hit a warship that is in combat maneuvers from 14 light minutes away. The relative distance of the two forces was 150 million kilometers, which was reduced in about two hours of missile exchanges. Eventually, both warship fleets, which had reached the effective warship range, fired arrows of light from the main gun. The light arrows that illuminated the darkness of the universe increased at an accelerated rate and pierced the shields of light held up by both warships. The attack breaks the shield of the enemy ship, pierces through the armor of the ship, shorting out energy transmission circuits, and causing a large explosion. The staff reports the situation verbally to Hart who silently watches the scene. ¡°The two fleets engaged using the main guns. In the Vanguard units, many ships dropped!¡± The burst of the magic elements became a huge shock wave and blew through the sector. Each ship, swayed up, down, left, and right like a small boat floating in the ocean, immediately realigned and pulled back the bow and arrow of the counterattack. The two wings of the Monarchy¡¯s forces, outnumbered, and are spreading out side to side, trying to contain the Coalition side in a semicircle. The Coalition forces were also spreading their wings, retreating into the star system. As long as the Coalition forces continue to fall back at the same pace as the Royal Army¡¯s advance speed, the Monarchy cannot contain the Coalition into a semicircle. The two forces were advancing inside the system at 100 million kilometers per hour, and the staff told Hart that they would reach the moon Cades in about 37 hours at this rate. Cades, the moon of the giant planet Alcaeus, is a massive natural celestial body 38 times larger than Fortress Kerviel, and it is estimated that the military base of the Coalition of Humanity there is also considerable. The Monarchy Army, which wants to reuse the moon Cades, does not plan to completely destroy it by crashing with massive celestial bodies. It was predicted that the final battlefield of the Heracles Battle would be the space around the moon Cades, as it had to be controlled. ¡°ETA 37 hours. Fortress Kerviel will remain in the current sector, following General Command¡¯s waiting orders. All hands, revert to type3 alert and take breaks in two shifts.¡± At Hart¡¯s direction, the staff gave instructions to the fortress personnel. Then Yuna asked. ¡°Hart, what should we do about our break?¡± Only the four in Hart¡¯s group can operate the Magic Element Engine in Fortress Kerviel. It is the same as it was when Dr. Kerman had made adjustments for four people, and they cannot tinker with it easily due to technical problems. Only Hart can warp the fortress, but Yuna and other Operation Assistants can operate the secondary armament, partial shields, and other fortress operators can search for the enemy. In situations such as a Capital planet defense, everyone must stay awake while using medication to maintain the power output of the magic engine at all times. However, under the present circumstances, there was no need for everyone to operate the magic engine. ¡°Let¡¯s have two shifts, too. Group 1 is me, group 2 are Yuna, Philine, and Colette. How about a 12-hour shift from the time of the date change?¡± Hart has 97,400 magic power value, including an A-class spirit crystal. Yuna and her group combined three B-class spirit crystals to make 81,601. Considering the total amount of magic power, there is no other choice. As the three agreed, Hart decided to take a break first, judging that the situation would not change for at least 12 hours. He also informs the Staff to assemble an output plan for the magic engine in line with the shift change of Hart and his group. After the instructions, Hart looked at the battle situation projected on the screen. In the Hercules system, three walls created by the Monarchy and the Coalition were facing each other and moving in parallel toward the star. The uneven parts of the wall are shaved off to create a beautiful flat plane. The two wings of the Monarchy¡¯s army are steadily moving away from each other, perhaps unable to give up on the original semi-encirclement concept. On the other hand, the Coalition forces also extended both wings, and both sides were divided into three battlefields with three armies each. The command center also has a downed to shot-down ratio between the two forces, and the numbers of dropped ships of both forces are almost the same, and the Monarchy side, which has a larger number, is dominant. Suppose that the strength is 100 Monarchy vs. 70 Coalitions, and 40 damages are caused to each other. In that case, the remaining strength is 60 to 30. For the Monarchy, the number of enemies, which was 70% at first, has been halved. If the fighting continues as is, the final result will be 30 to 0. The fewer their number, the more disadvantageous it will be for the Coalition, so it will be difficult to keep the losses at equal numbers. Analysis shows that the Coalition forces are currently trying to draw them into the moon Cades, using a number of missile launch facilities deployed in the star system to block the Monarchy¡¯s forces. The battle situation did not change significantly, and soon the date changed. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and rest first.¡± ¡°Good night. Sweet dreams.¡± Hart was seen off by a smiling Yuna and retired into his large room inside the fortress. Having a good dream was unlikely. Before lavishly soaking in the bathtub, taking sleeping pills to fall asleep, Hart thought about the battle. Hundreds of people die each time a friendly ship within range creates a flash of light. Two years ago, Hart was maneuvering a destroyer during a space flight drill. When one destroyer is dropped, 150 humans die. For a light cruiser, the death toll would double to 300, and a cruiser quadruple to 600. If Fortress Kerviel and the convoy were to join the battle, the strength rating would be 100 to 60. Thousands of friendly ships would not be dropped, and the death toll would be decreased by a million. This was the second time that Dietes had been sacrificed so the Crown Prince could take credit. The battle of the Capital planet defense, and now this battle. In between, he has been wearing down the fleet in a futile war of attrition between the Solar System and the Loki System. At this rate, there will be a third or a fourth time. Valfrete¡¯s advice passed through Hart¡¯s mind. ¡®When someone is in a critical situation on the battlefield, think about whether saving their life will benefit the Monarchy. If the Monarchy is defeated, you and your fianc¨¦e will be in dire straits. Don¡¯t make a mistake about what¡¯s important.¡¯ Hart lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and called out to the spirit that was magically connected to him. ¡°Seraphina. Is there more than one fleet of Coalition forces around the Hercules system and around the star system other than the front?¡± ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± After about 10 minutes of silence, Seraphina eventually appeared beside Hart and said with a smile. ¡°12 Coalition mobile fortresses. There are a lot of fleets embedded within, and they are jumping a very long distance from behind. There are royal people among them, and they have spirits with them, so they know everything.¡± Seraphina transmitted the message by magic, and the scene of the enemy circumvention was projected on Hart¡¯s retina. The friendly mobile fortresses and large ships with a wide search range have already entered the Hercules system. All of them are swallowed up by a vortex of magic elements, and there is no possibility of noticing the enemies advancing on a detour. Reconnaissance ships are stationed around the system, but their magic engines are small and the search range is narrow. On the other hand, the only enemies that bypass the system are mobile fortresses with large magic engines that can jump long distances, so unless Fortress Kerviel investigates, they will not be caught by the Monarchy¡¯s search network. After hesitating for about 30 seconds, Hart asked Seraphina. ¡°Ask the Spirits of Fortress Kerviel not to report the Coalition forces coming from behind. It is the Crown Prince¡¯s fault that planet Diros, home to Dr. Kerman and the spirit god, was attacked. And the Prince will continue to waste his lives of spirit crystal wearers in vain. So I would like the Prince to leave now. Don¡¯t tell the humans about this.¡± When asked, Seraphina did not answer immediately, but tilted her head several times, then smiled and said. ¡°We have come to a conclusion. The answer is approval.¡± Hart nodded, and closed his eyes, letting the effects of the sleeping pills take over. A good dream was very unlikely. CH 30 Just 21 hours after the invasion of the Heracles system and 16 hours to the arrival at moon Cades, which is considered to be the final battlefield, a state of emergency was announced from the rear sector. ¡°Emergency transmission from a reconnaissance ship. [Numerous enemy fortresses advancing on a detour route].¡± The staff shouts to the report of the communications officer and asks for more details. The information from the reconnaissance ship was that in the sector one light year towards the star Spica, the magic reactions of 12 Coalition mobile fortresses were observed entering high-dimensional space. The expected emergence sector is 4.1 billion to 4.4 billion kilometers in the outer edge of the system. The expected arrival time is about 2 hours later. A map of the star system¡¯s perimeter was projected onto the main screen of the Fortress Command Center, and 12 red light dots rapidly approaching from beyond the peripheral map were added to the arrangement of enemies and allies, shown in blue and red. ¡°What was the reconnaissance fleet around the system doing? It was positioned to search for enemies.¡± The staff yelled, but Hart calmly gave instructions. ¡°It must have been an ultra-long range warp from outside the reconnaissance ship¡¯s observation range. Calm down and deal with it. Chief of Staff, add the 12 enemy fortresses to give us the updated strength assessment.¡± ¡°Yes. Adding the current known enemy detours and recalculating latest strength assessments.¡± When the Chief of Staff hurriedly recalculated, the 100-65 force was rolled back to 100-77. The Coalition had gained the upper hand compared to the start of the battle, but the Monarchy would still prevail. The staff members regained their composure after seeing the assessment. ¡°Just in case, report the information of the enemy detour force advancing into the star system to the friendly forces, along with the strength assessment. In addition, report that the convoy will continue moving toward the zenith to avoid engagements with the enemy separate until otherwise ordered by General Command.¡± The staff immediately executed Hart¡¯s order. Upon learning of the enemy¡¯s reinforcements of 12 mobile fortresses, the Central Army¡¯s General Headquarters fell into some confusion. General B?deger, the second-in-command of the entire army at least, stood up involuntarily and reviewed the numbers. The Coalition¡¯s mobile fortress is one size larger than the Monarchy¡¯s and boasts a total length of 30 kilometers. It is a scale that only two people in the Monarchy, Hart and The Sovereign¡¯s Grandson Leandre, can operate. With the addition of 12 mobile fortresses, they couldn¡¯t help but be convinced that the Coalition¡¯s magic powered individuals had been in mass production for over 15 years. ¡°General B?degar, how do you plan to respond?¡± When asked by Prince Gracian, who is unfamiliar with the military, B?deger returned himself and reported. ¡°Yes. There are 12 fortresses in the detour unit, but the strength evaluation is equivalent to 7,500 destroyers, and 2.4 fleets. If we divert 3 fleets from the center and both wings, we¡¯ll have an advantage of 100 to 75 in front and 100 to 67 behind.¡± After seeing the results of the three fleet extraction, Gracian asks B?deger for another deployment. ¡°I¡¯d like to know what the strength ratings would be if I were to send my fortress to the rear as well.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ Your Highness Gracian, will be joining?¡± B?deger was stunned to hear that the Commander-in-Chief himself would confront the enemy. But Gracian explains his intentions. ¡°Yes. I want to destroy one enemy fortress. In one battle, if you defeat an enemy with a higher evaluation of strength than yourself, will earn you a Medal of Honor. If you have one, you will be recognized as a royal aristocrat who risked his life against a stronger enemy. With this, I will fulfill the obligations required of royal aristocrats, and the issue of succession to the throne will be settled.¡± B?deger was convinced, thinking about the political effects of the next Sovereign earning a military decoration. Valfrete, a former third prince who is a rival to Crown Prince Gracian, won a crushing victory at the Battle of the Loki Star System as Commander-in-Chief, but did not receive an individual Medal of Honor. If Gracian earns the Medal of Honor, the issue of succession to the throne may easily be settled. The problem is that the Crown Prince will be at the forefront. If the enemy were to target Gracian in desperation, such was a possibility. B?deger operated the console himself and reported the results of changing the conditions. ¡°Your Highness is the Crown Prince. The extraction from the center will be increased to 2 fleets, and the extraction from the left and right will be changed to the aristocratic army with a high strength evaluation. The front will temporarily be rated 100 to 83, but the rear will be overwhelmingly dominant at 100 to 53, and we will be able to defeat them quickly. The main force will halt its advance, and resume once Your Highness rejoins after hitting the enemy detour corps.¡± Gracian felt he was being overly cautious, but he also thought that it would be a way to come to terms. ¡°For good measure.¡± Orders were sent to the Central Forces and both Left and Right wing forces, and two regular army fleets from the Central Command to protect the Crown Prince, and aristocratic army from both the left and right forces triumphantly began to move toward the rear sector. During that time, the 12 Coalition fortresses had warped out and began advancing from the outer edge of the Hercules system toward the Monarchy Army. The battlefield was in a lull, and 14 hours had passed. The Monarchy army was poised to intercept the enemy in a semicircle, with 4 fleets led by Gracian, rolling about 1 billion kilometers to avoid being caught in an enemy pincer attack. With the Coalition¡¯s detour forces looming, Fortress Kerviel was timed to switch shifts from Hart to Yuna¡¯s group and back to Hart again. ¡°It¡¯s time for a shift change, so take a rest.¡± It will be terrible from now on. Hart added in his mind. However, Colette complained about the situation with a mysterious look. ¡°The Crown Prince¡¯s unit is already in contact with the enemy¡¯s separate unit.¡± Do the deep-rooted aristocrats, Colette and Philine, feel they have to witness this? With that thought in mind, Hart decided to let the three be free. ¡°I understand. Just make sure you don¡¯t consume too much of the break time and don¡¯t let it affect you.¡± With Colette and Philine nodding, and Yuna, who seems to be going along with them, Hart watched the Royal Prince and 12 enemy fortresses at the command center. In the sector behind the Monarchy¡¯s main force, a billion kilometers away, Prince Gracian¡¯s mobile fortress and 4 fleets enter the 300 million kilometers range of 12 enemy mobile fortresses and the main gun. Then, the 12 enemy fortresses shut down their magic engine all at once and performed a 6-minute inertial navigation. With a distance of 30 million kilometers in just six minutes, the 12 enemy fortresses immediately restarted 12 magic engines. And around the 12 fortresses, 20,000 new magic element reactions appeared. ¡°Emergency. A large fleet has appeared around 12 enemy fortresses. Estimated 12 fleets!¡± Hundreds of people in the fortress command center stared at the main screen in unison as the communications officer shouted. On the star system chart that the astonished people looked up at, a dark red sphere was generated near the displayed 12 mobile fortresses, dying a part of the star system map red. The dark red spheres gradually morph into 12 lumps while being bathed in the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave of each ship. ¡°Magic element reactions, mostly combat ships. The force is 12 fleets. Auxiliary ship sized vessels presumed to be escort ships. Shields are fluctuating, it appears missiles have already been launched against the Crown Prince¡¯s detached force!¡± The twelve red photospheres displayed on the star system chart began shooting missiles in unison. ¡°The 12 mobile fortresses will serve as shields for the 12 fleets and go straight for the Crown Prince¡¯s Fortress Raguel!¡± The detour unit, which transformed with the dexterity of a magician, became a great force and pushed through the empty sector toward the flagship Raguel. The 100-77 rating was reevaluated to 100-136, changing to the overwhelming dominance of the Coalition. Even with the addition of Fortress Kerviel and the convoy fleet, they were outnumbered 100 to 116. Moreover, 100-53 changed to 100-316 if limited to the battlefield of Gracian. The Monarchy side has 4 fleets and 1 fortress. The Coalition has 12 fleets and 12 fortresses. Moreover, the Monarchy is exhausted from the long battle, while the Coalition side has just reached the battlefield and is unharmed. Inside Fortress Raguel, where the battle situation had taken a sudden turn, B?deger was desperately screaming, urging Gracian to retreat. ¡°Your Highness, you must flee. The enemy is three times larger.¡± ¡°Where are they!?¡± Fortress Raguel, on which Gracian was aboard, performed a sudden braking with the magic engine in full operation. However, due to the laws of inertia, it was not reversing, but continuing to decelerate. Moreover, the Gracian response force was thin in the center because the two wing forces were attempting a semi-encirclement from the sides. Immediately after the Coalition released its 12 fleets, the Monarchy was in motion. However, the aristocratic army, which moved to help Gracian, foolishly turned from the battlefield facing the enemy¡¯s main force, showing its back to the enemy. The friendly ships on either side turned their bows 180 degrees around and rolled forward, each punching a holes in the battle line. Naturally, enemy bombardment would focus on the holes through which the aristocrats have left. The Royal army, which stayed on the battlefield while the aristocratic army left, lost the firepower of the aristocratic army and was also forced into a battle to protect the back of the aristocratic army that turned around, and being unable to endure the enemy¡¯s offensive, was destroyed. The right-wing force was suddenly overtaken by the ally fleet and the fortress, and was struck by an enemy facing the place where the formation collapsed, and faced the danger of the front collapse. ¡°Lord Laurent, come back. If you break rank without permission, the formation will collapse and various sections will be divided.¡± General Jhering, commander of the right-wing force, stopped them, but Laurent, who commanded the Duke of Mauriac¡¯s army, replied. ¡°What are you saying? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and many aristocrats are participating in the detachment. General Yelling, are you asking us to just watch as they die?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying that. But if you move on your own, the battle line will collapse.¡± The aristocratic army, which accounts for half of the Monarchy expeditionary force, began to turn around one after another as if hit by an avalanche, each household at its own discretion. The detached force, led by the Crown Prince, contains 2 aristocratic fleets. The right-wing forces consisted of the Apollo and Machaon aristocratic army. The left-wing forces are Artemis and Podalley aristocratic army. Aristocrats have relationships with each other. Even the newly emerged Hart would not easily abandon the Marquis of Carneus and the Dukes of Strani. Aristocrats with hundreds of years of interaction could not desert their peers. But the distance of one billion kilometers was too far to save lives. The two central fleets defending Gracian shoot their guns at the approaching 12 enemy mobile fortresses and 12 fleets, desperately trying to resist. But for the larger enemy force, it was only a modest resistance. 12 large beams of light extended from the 12 Coalition fortresses that broke through the resistance of the Monarchy, four of which pierced Fortress Raguel. The skewered Fortress Raguel shined with the magic light, and exploded with a tremendous flash. ¡°Fortress Raguel, has exploded. The fortress¡¯s magic element engine was in operation and has been destroyed. There was no sign of escape from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The General Headquarters of the Expeditionary Force has also disappeared!¡± It was an event so tragic that it was enough to stun the entire Monarchy army. Despite the remaining forces, the Commander-in-Chief and General Command were suddenly erased. But the tragedy for the Royal army was not over yet. The detached force of only four fleets, which were led by Gracian, is in direct contact with 12 enemy fortresses and 12 fleets. The headless force is retreating to join the rushing aristocratic army instead of simply conducting a decisive frontal battle, but since the aristocratic army is moving at the discretion of the senior aristocratic households, an organized response cannot be expected. ¡°Communication from Major General Rendano.¡± Immediately after the staff reported, Rendano, who was stationed in the fortress, appeared on the screen. [Major General Amakawa, what are we going to do?] Hart, who was briefly asked, thought that he would have no choice but to withdraw. ¡°The objective of this operation was to conquer the Hercules system, take the foothold of the enemy invasion, and on the contrary, make it a stepping stone for us to invade. At present, the forces are at a disadvantage of 100 to 116, including this convoy, and getting worse. If you cannot achieve your goal, you should withdraw before the damage spreads.¡± Rendano immediately nodded in agreement to Hart¡¯s idea. [Do you have any opinions on specific methods?] ¡°The Central forces moves up and down, avoiding the dangerous space behind them, the right wing retreats to the right, the left wing retreats to the left, while facing the enemy, and once they reach the warpable sector, flee via warp. The detached force and the aristocratic army will muster as much as possible and evacuate to the outer edge of the system while avoiding the enemy detour force. That¡¯s how I see it.¡± What Hart presented was a conventional strategy. If you conduct conventional operations, you cannot expect remarkable results, but you can get common sense results. What the Royal army should do now is not a groundbreaking comeback with a 20% success rate, but a solid withdrawal, with a 100% success rate at the cost of sacrifice. Hart pushed for his own strategy, believing that a certain amount of casualty would be reasonable. ¡°The enemy¡¯s main force will pursue the retreat of the friendly main force. In other words, we can predict the enemy¡¯s course. Then, we will fire several million fusion rounds, with a time delay. We will also fire long-range artillery from Fortress Kerviel at the enemy¡¯s detour units that are facing the detached force and the aristocratic army.¡± Rendano himself, who was the one to ask, was surprised that Hart immediately offered a countermeasure. But Rendano had another concern. [The General Headquarters is gone, but will they listen to our suggestions?] The Monarchy Army has lost its General Command and is moving in pieces. Also, the aristocratic army no longer listened to what the Royal army said. The senior aristocrats were treated as fleet commanders at the direction of General B?deger. As such, the senior aristocrats really misunderstood themselves as commanders of the fleet and divisions. The senior aristocrats also obediently listened to the Crown Prince, who was the Commander-in-Chief and the next Sovereign. But now they¡¯re rampaging as much as they want, like the animals that have escaped from the zoo. Meanwhile, the Royal army are the keepers scrambling to put out the fires in the burning zoo. To Rendano, who expressed unease, Hart deliberately turned his gaze to Yuna, who was standing to his right, and then disclosed his plan. ¡°If you have Colonel Strani standing next to the communications officer, the ones who see it will assume our intentions. The military will see the daughter of their Chief Commanding Officer acting as a messenger. The aristocrats will see His Majesty¡¯s granddaughter standing on the battlefield in his name. Military personnel follow the Commander-in-Chief, and aristocrats obey His Majesty.¡± Yuna¡¯s gaze was directed at Hart, and a silent protest was appealed. Rendano agreed with Hart, who pretended not to notice it and waited for a response. Hart¡¯s suggestion was immediately sent to the entire Monarchy expeditionary force. In addition, as if it was a definite matter, it was accompanied by the arrival time of millions of fusion rounds. It is unbearable to have millions of fusion rounds rain into the sector you are occupying. The Monarchy¡¯s forces hastily began to prepare for the retreat, as if driven to the brink. However, the aristocratic army, which was engaged in battle with the enemy, was not moving fast enough. The large fleet of the aristocratic army, which had a high ratio of battleships, and the 12 fleets of the Coalition forces, which had jumped out from 12 mobile fortresses, were dropping each other, shattering each other¡¯s shields in a fierce bombardment that went in all directions. The red and blue blobs of the star chart were blending together to form a huge purple battle sector. It¡¯s unclear whether the aristocratic army will heed the withdrawal order or not. At least they didn¡¯t show signs of withdrawal. And there were other aristocrats who didn¡¯t listen. ¡°The Harvist fleet is departing the fortress. Projected course, the battle sector. They intend to rescue the friendly forces.¡± Hart was stunned by the report of the staff. He was telling them to withdraw, but what would they do if they joined the fray? In the meantime, Rendano, the fleet commander, called out to the Harvist fleet. [Harvist Fleet, turn back. The convoy will give support with missiles and long-range artillery fire from the fortress. We are not ordering a raid!] The Harvist fleet, which flew out of the fortress, began to fall one after another, perpendicular to the galactic reference plane. The fleet formation stretches like a spear, among which the fortress ship of Alisa, the granddaughter of the Count of Harvist, stands out. [Our allies are in danger.] Alisa responded to Rendano¡¯s call in a short and unassuming manner. Rendano desperately tried to regain control, but Alisa refused to budge, saying only that she was trying to save her allies. Colette, who couldn¡¯t see the situation, reached for the communication terminal. ¡°Alisa. You must save as many allies from danger as you can, do not just assault the enemy. The best way is to stick to the outer circumference of the battle sector with your fleet, keeping a certain distance and hit the outside enemies on the outside to let them escape. If you get results, you can receive a Medal of Honor. If you have a Medal as proof that you have defeated a superior enemy, your honor will be fully restored. Fleet personnel of the Harvist fleet, move in that form.¡± Alisa, staring at Colette through the communication screen, chewed the instructions over time, then slowly swallowed and digested it. [Thank you.] At the end of Alisa¡¯s statement, communication from the Harvist fleet expired. Immediately after, Rendano questioned Hart. [Major General Amakawa, what are your intentions?] Colette¡¯s action was a clear violation of her authority. Hart made an excuse in his brain and pleaded in defense of Colette. ¡°The Count¡¯s young lady, the commander of the Harvist Fleet, became enthusiastic while she was stationed in the fortress, where I am responsible. Therefore, I sent advice on the battle from the Fortress Headquarters. I¡¯d like to ask Major General Rendano to take command from now on.¡± The excuse was so terrible that the one who made it was amazed at himself. As expected, Rendano set the conditions for accepting his poor excuse. [It appears Major General Amakawa makes a lot of money from Second System stock dividends. When we return, do share some special wine. All the officers and soldiers under my command will appreciate it.] Currently, Rendano has a total of 500,000 people, including the nine squadrons of the aristocratic army assigned to him. Hart assumed 100,000 rhodes a bottle to 500,000 people and calculated that it came to 50 billion rhodes in his brain, remembered the amount of savings, and complied with a half laugh. ¡°I understand. Please look forward to it.¡± [I¡¯m looking forward to it. Transport fleet, to all hands on the field. One fleet will stick to the outer circumference of the enemy and support the retreat of our allies. If you can make it back home, we¡¯ll have a big banquet, courtesy of the Viscount of Amakawa!] After Rendano¡¯s communication was cut off, Hart threw a sideways glance at Colette. ¡°¡­¡­ Um, you owe me one.¡± Hart nodded mechanically to Colette, who had an unusually twitchy smile. As the transport fleet entered the battle, Fortress Kerviel also began to rush into action. The torrential rain of the fusion rounds is poured down from the galactic zenith direction in the expected course of the enemy main force chasing the ally main force. Fortress Kerviel is 74 kilometers long inside the thick armor, with more storage space than 50 million transport ships. The weapons held inside the fortress are not comparable to those of the enemy fleet, as the 54-kilometer defense fortress on the planet Diros was dismantled and added. Fortress Kerviel, which released a vast barrage of missiles, considered the support to the main force sufficient and followed the transport fleet ahead into the battle sector. ¡°The fortress will go around outside the battle sector, and drop all enemies within the range unless friendly fire is likely. The target priority is in descending order of the magic engine output. This has a longer range. Shoot before you are shot.¡± Explaining the fortress¡¯s combat policy, Hart deviated from the deployment space of the convoy and jumped into the base space where the enemy detour force maintained a clean formation. The star map showed a blue planet-like mass attached to the hemispherical, almost red half of a purple star mass. From the planet, huge spears and arrows were thrown at the stars. The giant spears pierced 11 red light points one after another, shining brightly even in the red part of the star. The red spots pierced by the giant spear were swung around by the pierced spear and scattered with a fierce flash of light. Arrows fired from the planet trace the surface of the star cleanly and gradually scrape the hemisphere of the star into smaller pieces. With each spear and arrow, the star gradually lost its red glow, winding up a red flare. As the color of the star began to change from red to purple, a blue light emerged from its brilliance. ¡°The Duke of Mauriac fleet. Confirmed the mobile fortress Ophaniel. Also three fortress ships of the Duke¡¯s army around¡­ 1 has dropped. They are being swarmed by enemy ships.¡± What the staff appealed for was the plight of the Duke army, who engaged in a battlefield that had finally changed from a space that was unilaterally overrun to a turbulent battle sector. The main gun on Fortress Kerviel is not weak enough to fire into the battle sector. When Hart was wondering whether to release the combat ships, a flock of blue light broke in from the outside of the sphere. ¡°Friendly fleet, it is the Count of Harvist¡¯s fleet¡± Hart felt uneasy upon hearing the staff read out the affiliation. However, the Harvist fleet did not rush into battle. Alisa¡¯s fortified ship slammed its main gun against the enemy ship from the zenith direction, destroying two large enemy battleships one after another as they tried to drop the mobile fortress Ophaniel. In the surrounding area, the Harvist fleet, which is lined with artillery, dropped enemy ships by laser bombardment like heavy rain from above the Coalition force fighting the Monarchy¡¯s aristocratic forces. Alisa and the Harvest fleet pierced the enemy forces that were confronting the Monarchy forces and rescued the allies from the brink of death. ¡°The allied fleet in the battle sector, with the support of the Harvist fleet, is exiting the battle sector.¡± Alisa¡¯s advance was an unexpected huge gold star. She rescued many allies from the battle sector and had even pulled up Royal-class magic power holders and mobile fortresses. Hart suddenly turned his attention to the number dropped by Fortress Kerviel. Fortress Kerviel destroyed 11 enemy fortresses and 4,431 ships, equivalent to a total of 14,344 destroyers. Although the enemies who were fighting with their allies will not be one-sidedly defeated, they are attacking the sectors that the enemy was systematically deploying while maintaining fleet formations, and even on a low estimation, they can earn a rating of about 70%. Even if the rating is lowered to 70%, the equivalent of 10,040 ships will be recognized as destroyed, and the battle results will be above the 8,137-ship rating of Fortress Kerviel. Hart, who himself judged that the criteria for the Medal of Honor had been exceeded, issued an order to withdraw. ¡°Retreat out of the system while supporting the withdrawal of our allies and the transport fleet through the battle sector. Keep shooting fusion rounds at enemies who have taken a distance.¡± From Fortress Kerviel to the Coalition Detachment, an endless rain of fusion rounds began to fall. The Coalition forces trying to pursue are exposed to a huge muddy stream of energy and are roughly pushed back into the star system. On the other hand, the Monarchy army was swept away to the outer edge of the system, their shields bathed in intense energy. CH 31 The Battle of the Hercules System was a defeat for the Monarchy. The Royal Army failed to subdue the Battle of Hercules, which was their operational target, and even Crown Prince Gracian, the Commander-in-Chief, was killed in action. The Coalition, on the other hand, repelled the invading forces, and killed the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command of the invading forces. Royal Army (including convoys and Fortress Kerviel) Mobilized Force: 23 fleets, 4 Fortresses; equivalent to 87,506 destroyers. Remaining Force: 11 fleets, 2 Fortresses; equivalent to 50,940 destroyers. Lost Force: 12 fleets, 2 fortresses; equivalent to 36,566 destroyers. 41.7%. Major Casualties: Commander-in-Chief, Crown Prince Gracian; Deputy Commander, General B?deger. Coalition Forces (including detour forces) Mobilized Force: 28 fleet, 18 Fortresses; equivalent to 97,070 destroyers. Remaining Force: 18 fleet, 6 Fortresses; equivalent to 58,920 destroyers. Lost Force: 10 fleets, 12 Fortresses; equivalent to 38,150 destroyers. 39.3%. Battle results of Fortress Kerviel: 11 Fortresses; equivalent to 14,344 destroyers. 14.7% Initial Force Assessment of both forces: 100 to 111 Final Force Assessment: 100 to 116 As far as the losses inflicted on each other are concerned, it may be close to a painful split. Still, a defeat is a defeat. The death of the Crown Prince is a serious matter, so the question of responsibility was raised in the Royal Army. At the forefront, even General Lautenbach of the Solar System, who was not a part of the expeditionary force, began to worry about who was responsible for the death of the Crown Prince. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the battle progress, but if it was Fortress Kerviel, couldn¡¯t you have fought better?¡± At Lautenbach¡¯s question, Hart sensed the degree of confusion among the Generals. ¡°By your leave, I can proudly say, as a petty official who was assigned to the transport convoy, although I may be presumptuous, I was first to propose a withdrawal plan to all forces after the explosion of Fortress Raguel, sent fusion rounds to various sections of the battlefield in advance, and in the battle sector, have destroyed more than 30% of the enemy forces, thereby reducing the damage to our allies. And initially, orders from General Command were to remain on standby.¡± Hart began to operate the terminal and play back the video recording. [We will use Fortress Kerviel to bring in the Coalition members and transport resources. Major General Amakawa may have done well in combat, but the people want their Crown Prince, who will succeed to the throne, to make further historical achievements, like the great ancestors who succeeded in the War of Independence. In consideration of the political decision, General Command orders Fortress Kerviel to refrain from participating in the battle.] It was a record of the orders by General B?deger, deputy commander of the General Headquarters, at a General meeting before the expeditionary forces invaded the Hercules system. Participants in the meeting included General Lautenbach of the Solar System Forces, who was also shown participating in the video. Hart pressed Lautenbach for a response. ¡°Even after entering the enemy star system, General Command ordered us to ¡®refrain from participating in battles and to stand by in the safe sector¡¯. A direct order that even refers to political decisions cannot be overturned by a Major General.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ hmm. Upon receiving the explanation, Lautenbach gave up on holding Hart responsible. In the first place, Hart thinks that the person responsible for the death of the Crown Prince is Prince Gracian, the Commander-in Chief, himself. He joined the battlefield himself. Hart thinks. The invasion of Hercules was an operation conducted by the Crown Prince, who enabled the attack on the Diete Star System by counter-attack during the invasion of the Solar System, all in order to stabilize his succession to the throne, on the basis of political propaganda to the Royal people. As a result of the political propaganda, the enemy forces were made aware of it via the Frodi system, and they waited in full readiness. Otherwise, the enemy main force would not have drawn the Royal Army into the system, while a separate force with 12 fortresses and 12 fleets attacked from behind via warp over a very long distance. However, if you say, ¡°We lost because of the Crown Prince,¡± the royal system of the Monarchy of Diete could collapse. The Generals of the Royal Army were also bewildered by the unprecedented situation. ¡°Do we need to present a letter of resignation?¡± General Jhering, who commanded the right-wing forces, muttered about his departure, and General Reinelt of the left-wing forces also frowned. ¡°Quitting does not mean you have taken responsibility. It is only in the manner of the young lady of Count Harvist that one proves they have fulfilled their responsibility to the Monarchy.¡± Jhering sighed deeply at Reinelt¡¯s analogy. Of the mobilized aristocratic forces, six fleets, about half, survived. Among them, the survival rate of large ships operated by aristocratic magic power holders was high, and most were rescued from the retreat path that Alisa and the Harvist fleet had opened. Hundreds of aristocrats and the soldiers who were saved with them have given thanks to Alisa and promised to help restore her honor when she returns home. Among them, Laurent, the Duke of Mauriac, whose life along with the Duke¡¯s army were saved directly by her actions, was deeply grateful. He said he himself died once in the Hercules system, and declared that he will use the life he was given for Alisa in the future. And Alisa, whose engagement offer with the Grandson of the Sovereign was canceled and would have been unable to marry an aristocrat, was courted by the Duke¡¯s heir, Laulan. Alisa accepted the marriage proposal, and the two were blessed by many aristocrats and military personnel. ¡°It¡¯s also difficult to hold the aristocrats accountable for their selfish movements.¡± ¡°It would be impossible.¡± Most aristocrats were granted free reign as fleet commanders or division commanders. However, it was Crown Prince Gracian of the General Headquarters and General B?degar who allowed it. Jhering and Reinelt, who were Generals of the expeditionary forces, entrusted the evaluation of the battle to their home countries. Then, a communication from Colonel General Valfrete Strani, the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy Armed Forces, who received the news of the defeat, ended the fruitless debate. ¡°Reorganize the depleted fleet and immediately rebuild a regular fleet capable of combat. The remaining fleets of invasion forces and the Solar System forces should reinforce their patrols and watch out for enemy movements until reinforcements arrive from the home sector.¡± Valfrete, who was at the home sector, was the first to restructure the defense system. Jhering and Reinelt were ordered to reorganize their remaining fleets, and Lautenbach was forced to build a search network to keep an eye on the Coalition¡¯s movement. And to the relief of the generals, the following words were spoken. ¡°The reason for this defeat was that the information about the invasion was widely publicized, forcing the enemy to take a defensive stance, yet no countermeasures were taken. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a nominal Commander-in-Chief who served as an aristocratic conscript. The responsibility for the defeat lies with General B?deger, the Second-in-Command, and General Command, who assisted His Highness as military experts. They are considered to have taken responsibility by their deaths and will not receive any posthumous promotions.¡± The blame for the death of the Crown Prince and the defeat of the battle was placed on the General Headquarters that had exploded. On the other hand, all the living were praised. ¡°Although the withdrawal plan itself was suggested Major General Amakawa, it was due to the skills of both Generals Jhering and Reinelt, who accepted it, and the Commanders, who actually executed it, that damage in the difficult retreat battle was mitigated. 12 of the Monarchy¡¯s fleets were saved by the swift decision of the Generals to withdraw and their precise command.¡± Both Generals and the Commanders of each fleet were praised for their efforts in battle. After returning home, it was decided that promotions would be given not only to transport convoys that had performed exceptionally well, but also to those who had been killed in action, in order to fill in the gaps. These were objective assessments from the Commander-in-Chief who is unrelated to the defeat, and there was no way the exonerated servicemen could argue with them. The fleet commanders unanimously agreed with Valfrete¡¯s decision. ¡°It was General Command who directed the entire matter. It would be unnatural to hold anyone else responsible for the defeat.¡± ¡°It certainly would. Even after the General Headquarters exploded, the best was done.¡± Among the generals of the expeditionary force, the conclusion was settled that the defeat was the fault of B?degar¡¯s General Command, which is no longer of this world. And Valfrete also took action against the aristocrats. All the aristocrats who served in the army were honored, and a Letter of Commendation was presented from the Commander-in-Chief to all aristocratic households that sent them out. The words aristocrats most desire are ¡°contributed in the fight against the Coalition¡±. All aristocrats, who have enjoyed privileges for 441 years since the founding of the country, must prove to the royal citizens why they are aristocrats. In his own name, Valfrete gave the certification that the aristocrats wanted most. The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army praised each aristocrat by name, presented each with a personal Letter of Commendation and military service insignia, and also presented the prestigious Medal of Honor to those who met the conditions. Alisa, the young lady of Count Harvist, was also presented with a Medal of Honor and a Letter of Commendation, and is praised for her great contribution to the nation by fulfilling her duties as a royal aristocrat under extreme conditions. ¡°Your family has successfully fulfilled the desire of Diete, which has been passed down from generation to generation since its founding.¡± The aristocrats, who were presented with a Letter of Commendation and a Medal of Honor, embraced them carefully and withdrew, and accepted the defeat summary in the Battle of the Heracles Star System. At the same time, the aristocrats thanked Valfrete and understood that they owed him a great debt. Looking at the battle progress record of the battle, it was evident that the aristocrats and their fleets were acting on their own and putting the main force in danger, which did not necessarily follow the Letter of Commendation. ¡ºWith the death of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the only successor to the throne is His Royal Highness the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson. This is unfavorable in times of war. Shall we not restore the royal title of Prince Strani, who was the third prince until last year?¡» The first to make the proposal was one of the senior aristocrats who had ignored orders during the Battle of Hercules and caused casualties to the Royal Army. The idea, which was inspired by his guilt, was surprisingly favorable for the aristocrats. Just by supporting the restoration of Valfrete back into the royal family with the justification that ¡°the Prince Leandre is the only successor to the throne during wartime¡±, it is possible to repay the great debt of one¡¯s own family made with the Letter of Commendation. If the Crown Prince was alive, it would have been an impossible option. By displeasing the Crown Prince, all the efforts and private promises they had made in order to be remembered and favored by the Crown Prince had gone to waste. However, the situation had changed when the Crown Prince died in battle and the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson is a teenager who had just graduated from the HighSchool of the Magic Academy in March. ¡°Most aristocrats have only met His Royal Highness briefly at garden parties. We shouldn¡¯t expect the ledger will be taken over.¡± For most aristocrats, their investment in Prince Gracian was reset by his death in battle. ¡°Not only that. The Duke of Langlois is surrounding us. Her Highness the Crown Prince Gracian¡¯s consort is the Duke¡¯s sister, and the close aide to the Sovereign¡¯s grandson Leandre is the Duke¡¯s eldest son. His Royal Highness Leandre, who has not inherited any relationships and oral agreements, will simply give preference to the Duke of Langlois.¡± Even if Leandre becomes the next Sovereign, the investments cannot be recovered and it won¡¯t be of benefit to them. On the other hand, in the case of Valfrete, circumstances are different. ¡°In the case of Valfrete, the former Third Prince, none of the aristocrats in his social circle expected him as future Sovereign. No one made any promises in private. And, every aristocrat who participated in the battle was given individual Letters of Commendation. That is to say, rather than giving preferential treatment to the Duke of Langlois, he will give us all the same consideration.¡± It is preferable that the Letters of Commendation be in the name of the future Sovereign than the Commander-in-Chief. For each aristocrat, there were great merits of Valfrete¡¯s restoration in the royal family, but no particular disadvantages The concern for them is that Valfrete, who has the political considerations to issue a Letter of Commendation, is a far more formidable political opponent than Leandre, who has just graduated from the High School of Magic Academy. ¡°Former Prince Valfrete is wise and too smart to be a godsend. His Royal Highness Leandre is a child, so he seems easy to deal with.¡± The aristocrat who said that he looked easy to handle was stopped by another aristocrat. ¡°His Royal Highness Leandre was defeated by the Viscount of Amakawa with the magic power value that was once the highest peak in Monarchy, lost to Amakawa in academics, and was delusional that he was being criticized behind his back by the aristocrats, and in the Capital planet defense battle, he was there when the final line of defense was broken through by the enemy, causing damage to the Capital planet, and continues to fail in the selection of his fianc¨¦e. In the last four years, he¡¯s become quite warped.¡± ¡°What is his entourage doing¡­ no, the more distorted he is, the easier it is for Lord Langlois to handle him.¡± The aristocratic heads were imaginative about the developments after the revival of Valfrete¡¯s royal title. Leandre, the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, and Valfrete, the Sovereign¡¯s third son. Leandre is likely to repeat the same thing as his father, who reduced the fleet by half. Valfrete won the Battle of Loki Star System, where he served as Commander-in-Chief, and successfully accomplished the cleanup in this instance. Leandre, who has to invest more than before and has the barrier of The Duke of Langlois. Valfrete gave those Letters of Commendation even before they invested in him. Which is preferable for the households to have become Sovereign? The scales of their minds leaned toward one side each time they ran with their imagination. ¡°Let¡¯s all join together in calling for the restoration of the royal title of His Royal Highness Valfrete.¡± ¡°The legitimate reason is the crisis of having only one successor during wartime. As long as this is a reward for issuing Letters of Commendation, I doubt anyone will object.¡± The correct answer was not that they won¡¯t disagree, but that they can¡¯t. Even the Duke of Langlois, who had also provided fleets to the Crown Prince, was named in the report, and Valfrete¡¯s royal title was to be restored. At the same time, the summary of the Battle of Heracles was officially finalized by the upper ranks of the Royal Army and the senior aristocracy, and was reported to the Sovereign and formally confirmed Later, as the Royal Army reinforcements arrived in the Solar System, many of the aristocratic and frontline forces gathered and were on their way home. CH 32 The Battle of Hercules ended in the defeat of the Monarchy. The Monarchy of Diete could not make the Solar System a safe haven. It was clear that there will eventually be a Coalition offensive, and if the Solar System is lost, the Monarchy will be in danger again. However, the main reason that made the Royal Citizens uneasy was the death of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was extremely unpopular with the people after the battle of the Capital planet Defense, but the fact that he had been killed in battle even though the Royal Army had done everything in its power to protect him brought home the reality that the Royal Army might not be able to stop the Coalition, causing the people to feel anxious and scared. The news of the death of the Crown Prince has rocked the Monarchy. At the Royal Palace, a slender young man with blue eyes, a handsome face and blond hair that reached down to his neck, was sitting in the office given to him, questioning his entourage. ¡°Why is The Duke of Strani¡¯s royal status restored?¡± The name of the man who asked the question was Leandre Asteria. He is the grandson of the reigning Sovereign of the Diete Monarchy, the second most magical man in the Monarchy, who, after the death of the Crown Prince, ascended to the first in the line of succession to the throne. Leandre¡¯s voice contained anger, and his tone was close to questioning. The one he is taking his anger on is Stefan, son of The Duke of Langlois, and a classmate at the Academy of Magic. Stefan¡¯s father, the Duke of Langlois, and the Crown Prince¡¯s mother, the Princess, are siblings. Therefore, Stefan and the Sovereign¡¯s grandson are cousins. On the contrary, Stefan was born when the Duke conceived his wife to coincide with the Princess¡¯ pregnancy. Stefan, whose gender was specifically selected as male even before he was born, was assigned to be the aide of the royal grandson, and was accustomed to these fits of anger. He calmly swept away the anger that would frighten other aides. ¡°We are currently at war, and His Majesty the Sovereign, who has reigned for 55 years, is also elderly. The situation where there is only one heir to the throne is a national crisis in an unlikely event. I believe restoring Prince Valfrete to the royal family is unavoidable at this time.¡± In the unlikely event, a situation like the Battle of the Diete Star System is assumed. In last year¡¯s Capital planet defense, the Sovereign¡¯s grandson also participated in a defense fortress operated by several royals, and there was a risk of the Sovereign dying in the battle. If the defense fortress, in which the Sovereign and the sole heir to the throne were on board, was destroyed, the Monarchy, which no longer has a royal line of succession, will be in turmoil over who would be the next Sovereign. Valfrete, who does not have the right to succeed the throne, cannot easily be accepted. Therefore, the number of successors to the throne had to be increased immediately. This was the principle, and even the Duke of Langlois household could not oppose it. Thus, Valfrate¡¯s entry in the royal family register was revived, and the second in line of succession to the throne, after the royal grandson Leandre, was secured. At the same time, with the restoration of Valfrate¡¯s royal title, his children were also added to the royal family. The eldest son of his wife, Bernard, has a magical power of 27,788. The second son of his wife, Josslan, has an estimated magical power of 27,900. The eldest daughter of his wife, Mirabelle, has an estimated magical power of 21,500. The eldest daughter of his concubine, Yuna, has a magical power of 26,138. The magic power value required to succeed to the throne is set at 27,440 or more. Therefore, only two of the children, Bernard and Josslan, have the right to succeed the throne. However, the number of successors to the throne has increased to a total of four, including two sons of Valfrete, and has stabilized. ¡°It is unprecedented in the history of the Monarchy to have both a Royal title and a Dukedom. Moreover, Duke Strani also serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army. Doesn¡¯t he hold too much power?¡± An active volcano called Leandre was seeking justification for its eruption. Standing in front of him, the tall young man looked down at the crater and tried to mitigate the damage that would be caused if it erupted. ¡°His Highness Valfrate graduated from the Military Academy and was appointed the same rank as the people. Him having influence over the military is inevitable. However, in terms of magical ability and the order of succession to the throne, Your Highness Leandre is above him.¡± Leandre¡¯s magic power value is 30,128, and Valfrete¡¯s is 28,512. Since there is a difference of 1616, Leandre has been chosen for the purpose of having the future Sovereign with high magic power. Leandre felt slightly better in that respect, but soon became grumpy as he recalled Valfrete¡¯s actions. ¡°I would have received a warm reception from the aristocrats by issuing Letters of Commendation. I¡¯m sure even the Langlois family received one.¡± ¡°The Letters of Commendation were certainly helpful.¡± Stefan answered immediately without hesitation. The Letters of Commendation prove that one has fulfilled the duties of the aristocracy for 441 years, and will be deducted from the loan so large that it could affect the existence of each household if they were forced not to accept it by other aristocrats. To make such a loan or to cancel the debt, it would not be worth it to force the other noble families not to accept the letter of Commendation. There was no option to refuse for the Duke of Langlois, and in return it was a reasonable decision for the Duke to be added to the petition to restore the royal family registry. However, Leandre felt threatened by the succession to the throne as a result. In the past, Leandre was touted as having the highest magic power value in the country, and him being the future Sovereign was also regarded as certain. However, in terms of magical ability, Hart, who was in the same grade in middle school, pulled far ahead of him. After Hart overtook him in academic grades, there have been incidents in which Hart lowered his grades after being pressured by some aristocrats to ¡°not beat the royal family¡±. Even with a track record of military service, there is an irreversible difference. Hart successfully defended the Monarchy in the Capital defense battle, but Leandre, who had operated the defense fortress on the final line of defense, allowed enemy ships in his area to break through and destroy the royal capital. Even in the selection of a fianc¨¦e, the top 3 girls according to magic power value in the middle school division chose the same destination as Hart, and the young lady of the Duke was also omitted from the list of candidates due to Hart¡¯s testimony. Alisa, whose engagement offer was revoked, regained her honor after receiving military strategy from Hart¡¯s command center. Hundreds of aristocrats and members of the Royal Army forces, led by the Duke of Mauriac, have been clamoring for Alisa¡¯s spectacular success. Alisa became known throughout the Monarchy as ¡°a tragic heroine who was ordered by the royal family to flee before the enemy only to be stigmatized for desertion, and then went to the front line to defeat many enemies and rescue many allies, clearing the stigma herself¡±¡­ The government privately asked Leandre if he could issue an apology, even if it was just a formality, which added additional fuel into Leandre¡¯s wrath. Valfrete¡¯s return to the race for the throne was partly due to Valfrete¡¯s son-in-law, Hart, who made the greatest achievement since the founding of the country. Therefore, Leandre believes, ¡°All of this is Amakawa¡¯s fault¡±. The original Leandre should have had it all. Because of Hart, he was demoted to ¡°second place¡±, and was no longer showered with the words of praise he once received. On top of that, Leandre fears that he will have nothing left if Valfrete were to succeed the throne. If others knew, they may be astounded at his dissatisfaction in being the second place among a total population of 40 billion. But Leandre was raised from the beginning to want to be Sovereign, and he didn¡¯t know any other way to live. Stefan, who understood Leandre¡¯s feelings, chose a safe answer from the several that came to mind. ¡°His Royal Highness Valfrete has been reinstated, but as long as Your Royal Highness Leandre remains, the next Sovereign will not be reversed. If Your Royal Highness had a high magic powered son who could succeed to the throne, said son would be Crown Prince, and the royal family would be secured.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no possible concubine candidate with such high magic for that.¡± Sparks rained on the hand he stretched out to try to contain the eruption. Leandre throws unreasonable anger at Stefan, who cannot refuse. ¡°There were no suitable girls at the Magic Academy. The one with the highest magic power value in middle school was actually the daughter of The Duke of Strani¡¯s concubine. It was such a terrible trap.¡± Stefan nodded and tilted his head inwardly. If Valfrete wanted to give the throne to his descendants and was thinking of having his daughter marry Leandre, he would have had a child with a lady from a senior aristocratic family, not a low magic lady of a Baron. Yuna, the young lady of the Baron of Takamiya, went on to the Military Academy after the results of her high magic power. If she had entered the High School of the Academy of Magic, she would surely have been in the same class as the Sovereign¡¯s grandson. If she had been aiming to be Queen, she would have gone straight to the High School. It was entirely Leandre¡¯s paranoia and allegation, but Leandre himself, who insisted, was not conscious of it, and would not accept it honestly if it was pointed out, so Stefan did not point it out. ¡°Come to think of it, I heard that your cousin Beatrice, a member of the Duke of Langlois, showed a Royal grade of 28,000 in the recent magic power anchoring.¡± Stefan nodded at Leandre¡¯s point. ¡°The Duke of Langlois was also surprised at the matter. Beatrice is of a branch family, but she didn¡¯t tell the main Family Head until September, when her magic power was anchored.¡± Magic is anchored in the middle school of the Magic Academy every September. This year, three of them were royal-class magic power holders: Claudia, the Duke of Coursefeld young lady, Beatrice, and Bernard, Valfrete¡¯s eldest son, who had been resurrected as a member of the royal family. ¡°Was she to be your fianc¨¦e?¡± ¡°Yes. After anchoring her magic, Beatrice¡¯s father approached my father. Originally, she was one of the candidates for my legal wife.¡± Leandre nodded to Stefan¡¯s affirmation. ¡°If she is a Royal-class wife, the next generation of the Langlois family will be in good hands.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± In response to Leandre¡¯s words about his aide, Stefan bowed a little while tilting his head inwardly. But the following words made his uneasiness a reality. ¡®Because of Alisa, I¡¯m unable to choose my fianc¨¦e. And my mother, who is from Langlois, could no longer be queen. Therefore, I propose that another future queen be chosen from the Duke of Langlois family.¡± After a few seconds of silence, Stefan fully understood the meaning of those words, and rebuked the Sovereign¡¯s grandson. ¡°Beatrice has been chosen as my fianc¨¦e.¡± Leandre smiled scornfully at his close aide¡¯s admonition. ¡°It¡¯s probably unannounced. It must have been the Duke¡¯s policy to produce a Queen from the Langlois household. The Duke of Strani is stirring up a lot of trouble, but if it¡¯s me, a person with high magic power, and his Royal-grade legal wife, even my descendants can make a difference. As a consideration for my political decision, please inform the Duke first. Noble Duke¡¯s Son¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Understood.¡± Leandre knew how to say things in a way that Stefan, who was sent by the Duke¡¯s family, could not refuse. Of course, Stefan did not agree, and he only withdrew in the hopes that his father would reprove the matter after telling him. ¡°Also, I would like to inform His Majesty, and have Duke Strani take responsibility to embark on an expedition.¡± ¡°Responsibility? To Stephan, who was wondering of what responsibility, Leandre spoke of it, as if he had decided. ¡°As Commander-in-Chief of the military, he is responsible for the death of my father, who was the Crown Prince.¡± Deflated, Stefan could barely hold back a sigh. The death of the Crown Prince is not Valfrete¡¯s fault, as he had been removed from the front line. As a matter of fact, it is the Crown Prince¡¯s camp that removed him from the front line. But Stefan made no unacceptable and meaningless points. What Stefan pointed out was another problem. ¡°If Your Royal Highness Leandre, who lost his father, announces that he will avenge the death of the Crown Prince, it would be a good idea to send His Royal Highness Valfrete, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, to war in his name. However, if he goes to war, he may be able to garner more military achievements, as in the Loki Star-System Battle, is fine with you?¡± The Crown Prince, reluctant to have Valfrete¡¯s success escalate the issue of the right to succession to the throne, did not allow Valfrete to play an active role on the front line. In the Monarchy, where magic power is valued, Leandre, who has a higher magic power than Valfrete and is the legitimate son of a legitimate son, will not be dropped from the first succession unless Leandre wishes to do so in peacetime. However, the Royal citizens recognized the royal system because they wanted them to fight the Coalition, and if Valfrete continues to fight and defeats the Coalition, there is a good chance that they will want Valfrete as Sovereign. Leandre¡¯s actions had the potential to be self-destructive. Stefan intended to point out the problem politely, but Leandre¡¯s next remarks blew away any explanation as a trivial matter. ¡°Leak information on the formation of expeditionary forces and any unfavorable military secrets to the Coalition. Let Duke Strani die.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Stefan doubted his ears and asked back. But Leandre didn¡¯t take back his statement as a joke. No matter how much he is told to maintain a good mood as Leandre¡¯s aide, there is a limit to what is acceptable as an aristocrat of the Monarchy. Stefan answered no, from the standpoint of the Duke¡¯s son. ¡°This is different from simply reducing the number of opposing royals in a political struggle. If we do that, there will be heavy casualties in the Monarchy¡¯s army. We are at war with the Coalition. Now that we¡¯ve lost the Battle of Hercules, the Monarchy itself would be in peril if we reduce our forces further.¡± Leandre did not feel the sincere appeal of his aide. ¡°It¡¯s to stabilize a country shaken by the issue of succession to the throne. If there is a civil war here, that is the danger to the Monarchy. I am judging from the position of the next Sovereign. Please inform the Duke first. Son of the Duke of Langlois¡± Stefan had no choice but to push down his desire to yell at him and tell his father, Lord Maxim, the Duke of Langlois, who sent him. And he wanted to expect a proper judgment. However, the Duke, who made sure Stefan was born at the same time as the Sovereign¡¯s grandson and made him an aide, did not make a proper judgment. In a sense, he made a calculated judgment as expected. He agreed without hesitation on the idea of making Beatrice the Crown Princess. ¡°Then father would give My Fianc¨¦e Beatrice to Leandre and pass the information on to the enemy.¡± A light of deep anger was emitted from Stefan¡¯s eyes. His father responded calmly to his son, who asked for an explanation. ¡°Yes. His Majesty is old, Leandre is young, and the next Sovereign will reign for 200 years. I went to the trouble of submitting the Duke of Langlois Household to him. Moreover, if he takes away your fianc¨¦e, Leandre will owe a debt. Accept and be compensated.¡± As for compensation, that can certainly be expected. Since he will be in a position to work closely with the Sovereign as an aide, it is easy to do things that are convenient for him with that authority. But for Stefan, handing over his fianc¨¦e was emotionally unacceptable. And as for the other instruction, it was unacceptable from an ethical point of view. ¡°Leandre intends to have His Royal Highness Valfrete killed on the battlefield in order to settle the issue of succession to the throne. To that end, he has told us to release information on the Royal Army and have them lose the war. Father, do you want me to betray our country?¡± Stefan might not have rebelled so much if it was a matter of assassinating one person in a political struggle during peaceful times. But now they are in the middle of a war, and the one they want to kill is the Commander-in-Chief who could win the war, and the method is to leak military information so the entire Royal Army would be defeated. The Duke grumbled to Stefan, who was clearly having a hard time accepting the idea. ¡°Leandre, as the next Sovereign, probably made a political decision to solve the problem of succession to the throne. If this resolves the succession dispute and prevents civil war, it may be a wise decision rather than a betrayal of the nation.¡± Stefan felt indignant at the Duke for saying something so ridiculous. ¡°Leandre is not the Sovereign. He has no such authority. And even His Majesty would never be forgiven for deliberately causing the defeat of the Royal Army and throwing the lives of officers and soldiers away in vain.¡± The Duke was not moved by Stefan¡¯s sound argument. ¡°Listen, Stefan. The crown princess is my sister, your aunt. The Dukes of Langlois has been throwing people, money, assets, efforts, and connections at the royal family long before you thought of such things. All the while struggling against the intrusions of other senior aristocrats.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with it?¡± ¡°If Lord Strani turns the tables on us, everything we have spent so far will have been for nothing. First, recover what we have spent. And then comes the country.¡± Until now, Stefan did not know how much the Dukes had invested. But for Stefan, it looked like the Duke, who had placed his bet, was about to throw in an even higher-risk gamble in an attempt to recoup his losses. Because he had a firm grip on Leandre, he cannot cut his losses. ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend there was never an offer for Beatrice to you, so choose another woman. If you take a woman with high magic power from the same family as your wife, you can¡¯t divide it numerically as if you were renting or borrowing from another family, so you must be considerate. You can enjoy playing with a mistress who is a quasi-aristocrat.¡± Could there be a more aggravating piece of good-natured advice? Stefan set aside the matter of Beatrice, and focused on another issue. ¡°I understand father¡¯s thoughts on Beatrice. Our opinions are different, but that¡¯s all I can do as a Duke¡¯s son. However, as an aristocrat, I cannot overlook the matter of sacrificing the Royal Army. As a Duke, does father not think anything of it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re green. The Monarchy lost a billion people, but took the Solar System and 6 billion people from the Coalition. Since the start of the war, the Monarchy gained a star system and increased its population by 5 billion, and the Coalition lost 6 billion and a star system. And there are spirit crystals and battleships. The Monarchy will not lose. And there will be fewer opportunities to erase The Duke of Strani.¡± The argument of population and the system is true, and Stefan, though repulsed, could not deny the logic. However, the Solar System was not easily acquired. It was a result of the crisis in which the population of the Diete system was about to be killed and the Capital planet lost. The Duke simply downplays the sacrifices of the royal citizens. ¡°If you can only say frivolous things, you will never serve as the head of a senior aristocratic house. There is no head of a senior aristocracy who runs a territory and has clean hands.¡± There is no way for Stefan to confirm that this is really the case. His father uses only things that Stefan can¡¯t confirm to persuade him, and he doesn¡¯t try to persuade him sincerely. As a result, Stefan was completely unconvinced by his father¡¯s forceful persuasion. ¡°There will be unnecessary sacrifices to Monarchy Forces.¡± ¡°Fighter crafts can be mass-produced as easily as toys. The throne was to be held by His Highness my brother-in-law and then my nephew Leandre. We can¡¯t afford to change our plans now.¡± The Duke once again reiterated to his silent son. ¡°Send the Royal Army formation data and military analysis results to the Coalition. It would be prudent if they knew that the majority of the forces which the Duke Strani has gathered are fighter crafts, and that their weakness is a massive electromagnetic pulse cannon for interceptor. You will tell His Highness Leandre that you have relayed his instructions to your father and that everything went well.¡± Stefan remained unconvinced, but the Duke didn¡¯t relent. CH 33 After returning to the Capital planet for the first time in five months, Hart saw a castle in the sky over the waters where his home was. ¡°The basic principle is the same as a floating island being kept afloat by the magnetic repulsion between its base and a fixed platform in the sea. In order to amplify the repulsive force, electricity is converted into magnetic force, and a large-scale battery converter using a microwave power transmission system is installed on the island¡­¡± Having received an explanation from Prime Minister Stanley, Hart looked up at the huge castle in the sky as he gave a distracted, raw reply. The original artificial floating island was one where a floating stretch of land was connected to a fixed base on the seabed. The area of ??the islands are set at a minimum of 100 square meters and a maximum of 2 square kilometers, and the floating island arranged by the Marquis of Carneus was one of the largest. Still, at the time, it was not as floating as other artificial floating islands. In a double meaning. ¡°The architecture was based on the now defunct Palace and Garden of Versailles on Earth, Mont Saint-Michel, and Venice, the city of water. It also has all the functions of a floating island, and it is possible to land and view the underwater scenery from the underground level.¡± ¡°Hmm, very impressive!¡± Stanley¡¯s explanation was commended by a middle aged aristocratic legislator, Senator Dryver, who had reprimanded the Prime Minister five months ago in the House of Representatives. He asked to be present at the handover of the home. ¡°The area of the island was 2 square kilometers by ordinance, but we enforced the Special Wartime Law aimed at recovering from the adverse effects of the war, and adjusted the allocation of the sea area to 10 square kilometers. Here is the distribution¡­¡± The temporary evacuation ship, which was the same as a 200-meter-long battleship, was transformed into a 5000-meter-class battleship. Before the destruction, it was smaller than a 1200-meter class destroyer, so it is about 500% of the original. Of the 10 square kilometers of the castle in the sky, less than 2 square kilometers were built in reference to Mont Saint-Michel, and the remaining 8 square kilometers were built in reference to the Palace of Versailles, with many artistic pavilions, beautiful gardens, and forests. The floating island is divided by rivers built with reference to Venice, and can be accessed by old-fashioned looking boats and bridges. Each of the buildings, which are modeled after the Palace of Versailles, is a luxurious palace that is perfect for an aristocratic home, and they overlook the vast gardens and the Mediterranean Sea. It was built to accommodate many concubines and mistresses, and there was plenty of room for expansion. ¡°Viscount Amakawa, what do you think?¡± Stunned, Hart expressed his acknowledgment to the prime minister, who peered at Hart¡¯s pale complexion with an anxious expression. ¡°Thank you very much for the wonderful restoration of my home. I accepted it as a punishment for my being unable to prevent all the enemies in the Defense of the Capital from attacking, but I¡¯m sorry that it has caused you more trouble than it is worth.¡± ¡°No, not at all!¡± ¡°Indeed. This was a failure of our government.¡± When Hart tried to make up an excuse for floating the evacuation ship to avoid guests, Dryver denied it with wide eyes, while Stanley agreed, breaking out in a cold sweat. Hart nodded his understanding, and thanked them again. ¡°I would like to express my gratitude to Your Excellency the Prime Minister for such a wonderful reconstruction, Your Excellency Senator Dryver for all his efforts, and to everyone else involved as well.¡± I hope this is the end. Hart thought while laughing, and then Dryver asked¡­ ¡°So, it looks like you¡¯ll be conducting those engagement interviews that have been stalled!? ¡¹ Hart smiled with a twitch as he thought of Yuna¡¯s face in response to the powerful question he had expected. The Monarchy government is serious. If he doesn¡¯t like this, they¡¯ll build you a home as big as a fortress ship next. The number of World Heritage sites would increase by about 10, and they might even build pyramids. Hart nodded in the state of enlightenment. ¡°Yes. There were people I had to refuse due to the state of my home, but with the reconstruction realized, if there is still a connection, I would like to contact them once more.¡± At the very least, he had to contact the little silvery fox who sent the message, ¡°arrangements for the mansion have been made, so please be patient¡±. Should he ignore her, there is no telling what would happen next. After hearing Hart¡¯s thoughts, Dryver clapped his hands in agreement. ¡°Hmm. That is excellent to hear. Do make contact as soon as possible. With such a magnificent residence of the Viscount¡¯s, there would be no issue even if the candidate were a Lady of a Duke Family. Isn¡¯t that right, Honorable Prime Minister?¡± Following Dryver, who completely knew where he was coming from, Stanley also hit the gavel. ¡°Of course. In fact, Senator Dryver told us in private the sort of relationship had been declined, so we made adjustments to allow no further deficiencies. Please be assured Lord Viscount that such problems will never occur.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ then sincerely, I am very much obliged.¡± Removing obstacles in the way of one¡¯s objective would refer to this situation. Hart, with a strained smile, mechanically gave his thanks. Artificial lights lit up one after another on the dimming waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The glittering sight of numerous floating islands was like a reflection of the stars of the galaxy on the surface of the water. In the midst of all these shining stars, there was one island that shone with a particularly large light. Viscount Amakawa¡¯s Residence¡­ Commonly known as the Castle in the Sky. It is a floating island in the Mediterranean Sea that recreates several world heritage sites that once existed on Earth but disappeared during the Diete War of Independence, and also incorporates a generous amount of modern technology. Hart, the lord of the castle, lives in the main building, which is a reference to Mont Saint-Michel. And on the walls of its passageways, from the castle¡¯s guest room to the walkway, reliefs with the motif of the history of the Monarchy were engraved on the walls. Today, Hart was walking down a relief-engraved passageway to meet his guest, Claudia, young lady of the Duke of Coesfeld. The beginning of Diete was the golden age of transforming the planet into a utopia. After crossing the sea of ??stars to reach the planet, they dropped equipment that induced electrolysis and photocatalytic reactions on the planets, sprinkled seeds from various plants, and worked to improve the planetary environment while increasing oxygen levels. The first light was lit on the pitch-black planet, and it spread across the planet in an instant like a burning flame. The green sea turned beautiful blue, and various fish carried from Earth began to swim vividly. The brown wilderness was overflowing with greenery, livestock roamed freely, and the settlers¡¯ families laughing happily next to them. After such a glorious golden age, came the worst dark period. The people of Diete were long tormented by Earth¡¯s exploitation of resources and labor. Those who tried to protect Diete were sent to the execution platform by a punitive fleet sent from Earth, and killed as a warning, their corpses left for all to see. The people of Diete entrusted their meager possessions and their future to those with Magic Power, and the Magic Power Holders, with their parents and siblings killed, threw themselves at Earth with their ships in a desperate resolve. The dark period came to an end with the report of the returning fleet which had been reduced to less than 10%. The people, freed from oppression, rejoiced and embraced each other, shouting for their independence in the devastated land. The rich planet, whose productivity shifted from exploitation to advancement, developed in a blink of an eye. While standing in the family graveyard, the elderly watched the high-rise cities stretching to the heavens, deeply moved that their deaths had not been in vain. That era was also the beginning of Diete¡¯s interstellar immigration. A large-scale migrant ship project that was underway to escape to another star system should the suicide attack on Earth fail. The man who was supposed to be the second Sovereign entrusted the Diete system to his younger brother, and became the fleet commander himself, leading the immigration to the Apollo System. It¡¯s more difficult, so I¡¯ll go. The first head of the Duke of Coesfeld, who told his brother so, was sent off by his brother and those who remained in the Diete system, and traveled with a billion people to a new world on the Future Arrow. Dozens of reliefs have been carved into the walls, depicting all the major histories of the Monarchy. If you touch each relief with your hand, you can see the image of the time with the projection device built into the passage. At the end of such reliefs, three new pieces of relief were carved into the wall. The Coalition surprise attack of the Frodi System. The Battle of the Loki Star System. And the Capital Planet Defense Battle. As Hart walked on immersed in nostalgia, the last relief suddenly activated, swallowing the area around Hart in the projection space of the stereoscopic image device. [To all aristocrats and all private vessels, emergency conscript orders have been issued. All age restrictions are hereby lifted. Immediately join with the Royal Army and get the designated warships up and running.] An emergency alert resounded, and students from the Middle School of the Academy of Magic were transported to the spaceport using a military air route. The worst information was brought one after another to the surrounding Middle School students, who looked anxious. Royal Army Forces: 8 fleets and 3 fortresses, including squadrons and privately owned ships. Estimated Coalition Forces: Estimated 16 Fleets. 1 mobile fortress. Strength Evaluation 100 vs. 177. Enemy Strength Rating: Approximately 1.77 times. Enemy Invasion Imminent, Friendly Reinforcements Unlikely. In response to the threat of the destruction of the Capital planet, the Royal Army commandeered all the old and decommissioned warships with under-aged aristocratic children as operators, as well as all private ships to begin the defense. [Lady Claudia, the Future Arrow is not equipped with the latest armament. Please join the Duke¡¯s private fleet.] An escort called to Hart, who was looking at someone¡¯s point of view in the stereoscopic image. Then Claudia, the subject of the original point of view, spoke back to the escort. [Warships will have their original operators, won¡¯t they? The old-fashioned Future Arrow should be operated by me as a middle school student.] [However, on the Future Arrow, only the shields are operational, but the main guns are a model from 60 years ago, and there are no secondary armaments] The escort repeatedly warned, but Claudia did not listen. [Flee on your own. I will not run away. No matter what trouble may come, the Coesfelds will lead the people to the end.] Resolutely, Claudia eventually got the old-fashioned large immigrant ship up and running, and with the planet Diros at her back, she stood in front of the invading enemy forces. Ships raked from all over the system were gathering at the final line of defense. Then a transmission came in. [I am a retired Lieutenant General of the Royal Army and a former fleet commander, Marquis Arthur Z?ckingen. Due to the lack of hands from the Royal Army, I have been entrusted by the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy¡¯s armed forces, Colonel General Valfrete Strani, with the command of the conscripted students. First of all¡­] Under the orders of Z?ckingen, multiple nets to catch the enemy began to spread in front of the planet. Students formed a semi-encircling net with one large ship as the base, four in the middle row to form a four-pointed star, and eight in the front row to form an eight-pointed star. Z?ckingen watched the students¡¯ movements and rearranged them one after another before the enemy arrived, placing the faster ships on the outer eight-pointed star and the slower ships on the inner four-pointed star. In front of Claudia, one of the starting points of the net, the battle between the Royal Army and the Coalition Forces finally began. The first engagement began with a blue light dot that struck the flank of the 16 red spheres. When the blue light dot hit one of the red spheres at an extraordinary speed, it instantly emitted blue rays in all directions, scraping the inside of the red sphere. [Fortress Kerviel destroyed one enemy fleet. About 80% of the enemy ships dropped!] The blue light dot that destroyed one of the red spheres pierced through and collided with a second sphere. A blue light shone in the sphere, blue needles were blown from the inside like a hedgehog, and 70% of the red sphere was scraped off. The blue light disintegrated the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth red spheres in the blink of an eye. Eventually, when it had devoured the eleventh sphere, the sphere caused a huge tremor in the shield. The report of the communications officer reached the students who were amazed at what had happened. [Fortress Kerviel fired about 10 million fusion rounds at the four remaining intact enemy fleets. The enemy is swallowed up by the explosions. In addition, the combat ship unit launched all at once from the fortress. They are overrunning the collapsed enemy fleet one after another.] Fortress Kerviel, which had managed to devastate the enemy, smashed through the twelfth red sphere, laying waste to all the enemies. [Fortress Kerviel single-handedly destroyed more than half of the enemy forces. All enemy fortress ships and the command mobile fortress have dropped out. The enemy formation has completely collapsed. The strength evaluation has reversed from 100:177 to 100:77 for the Royal Army. However, report from Fortress Kerviel Command Center, they will be inoperable for about 6 hours.] Cheers erupted from the aristocrats of the defense network. Claudia gazed at the star map, which showed the collapsed, amorphous, pale red color being scraped off by the cohesive blue of the Royal Army. However, they could not block all of the red waves, and one after another, they broke through the Royal army defense line. [All in front, move your ship between the planet and the enemy ship within your allocated area. The frontline should spread out to contain the enemy. In the middle, don¡¯t let the covered enemy escape.] Under Z?ckingen command, students of the Academy of Magic move their huddled old ships to meet the enemy¡¯s assault. The students accepted most of the enemies that approached. The enemy ships overflowing from the spread net were crushed by Z?ckingen¡¯s privately owned ship which moved at high speed. The red color on the star system chart gradually faded, and it seemed as if they could be halted. However, a small group of Coalition ships outside of Z?ckingen¡¯s defense area slipped through the gunfire area of the defense fortress on which the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson was in charge and fell towards the Capital planet. Claudia¡¯s Future Arrow unleashed its main gun at a falling enemy. An enemy ship jumped out of a small group to act as a shield and exploded under the main gun, disrupting the enemy group that was pushed by the blast. The Future Arrow had no secondary guns. It fired its main gun multiple times, but it was too slow to shoot down all the ships of the small group. And the defense fortress operated by the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson only shelled the large ships in front, and did not provide supporting fire to sweep the small ships behind. The surviving enemy ships fell to the Capital planet as fireballs. The enemy ship, which reached the sky above the royal capital, slammed into the planet surface shortly after scattering fusion rounds to its surroundings in an instant, causing a huge explosion. The fusion rounds which exploded in the sky covered the land, burning it down in a blink of an eye. [Young brother Asteria, the people of Diros were entrusted to you 400 years ago, what are you doing!] Claudia¡¯s screams echoed throughout the Future Arrow Command Center. And at the end of the scream, the pseudo-universe created by the stereoscopic image device disappeared. Returned to the aisle where the relief was engraved, Hart exhaled a heavy sigh and then began walking down the aisle again. The end of the passageway is a white wall, where the history of the future will be carved. Out of the passageways that traced the Monarchy¡¯s history, Hart began to walk along the promenade beyond. In the promenade, there are many floating islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the distance the light from the continent shines beautifully. A girl with silvery-white hair was sitting in a corner of the promenade facing the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. Claudia, young lady of the Duke of Coesfeld family, whose point of view was adapted in the stereoscopic image, is also the person who called Hart to the promenade. ¡°You set up the stereoscopic image.¡± As Hart smiled, Claudia returned a proud smile, pleased with the success of her prank. ¡°We had half a year to prepare.¡± Six months have passed since the uproar at the House of Representatives before Hart¡¯s return home. On the four-season planet of Diros, the royal capital has a climate close to Earth¡¯s European Mediterranean. Already in October, over the Mediterranean Sea on a slightly chilly night, Hart took off his coat and hung it on the girl¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Thank you very much¡± Claudia thanked him honestly and put on Hart¡¯s coat. Then they silently gazed at the lights of the Mediterranean Sea for a while. Claudia was the first to speak. ¡°In the battle for the Capital planet, you defeated more than half of the enemy single-handedly, and if there were two Fortress Kerviels, that would have settled it. I¡¯ve had it properly analyzed.¡± I wonder if she¡¯s explaining why she set up the prank. Hart thought, as he silently listened to Claudia. ¡°I¡¯m a Coesfeld. What I want to do is protect the Royal citizenry. That is my personality, my disposition, my way of life, my self-chosen path as a human¡­¡­. however, magic power insufficient, magic power insufficient, magic power ins¡­ I let a billion people die.¡± Tears were flowing from Claudia¡¯s downcast eyes. Hart took a handkerchief from the coat he handed Claudia and wiped away her tears. After a while, Claudia wiped her own tears and resumed talking. ¡°I love the Royal citizens. I¡¯m happy when everyone is smiling. I love the history of the Monarchy, and the people who move forward¡­¡± Remembering something, Claudia sank down again. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit back and let the next billion people die. That would drive me to insanity. And I don¡¯t want my descendants to feel as sad as I do.¡± Hart, hearing Claudia¡¯s story, wondered if she was suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). However, it may be strange if everyone was calm in a war, and it seemed normal to be stressed. Furthermore, she was in charge of a Royal Defense Fortress, but was unable to destroy the enemy right in front of her, and the royal capital was obliterated. Claudia appealed to Hart. ¡°This is not the same as marrying His Royal Highness Leandre and providing political support. There are many other people besides the Magic Powered who can play politics. Even if I do such a thing, I will always regret it for the rest of my life. I know what the Royal citizens are desperately looking for in us, entrusting their wealth and their future for generations to come.¡± Claudia looked up and stared at Hart. Hart wondered how to respond to her gaze. It¡¯s not about whether or not to accept Claudia that he is confused about. Regarding Claudia, 90% of the legislators of the House of Representatives and the Monarchy¡¯s government have been dragged in and the outer moat has been filled. Not only Hart, but even Yuna is resigned to the fact that she¡¯s his wife and Claudia will be his second wife and nothing more¡­¡­ Hart wants to believe so. Hart¡¯s difficulty in answering the question was how much information he would disclose to Claudia. He doesn¡¯t want to make a deal of it, but if Claudia¡¯s grief and anxiety is ¡°I don¡¯t have enough magic power. I don¡¯t want my descendants to feel this way¡± it could be relieved to a certain extent. Hart decided to play the role of a wizard who soothes a crying child. ¡°First of all, I hear you like sky-blue and blue colors Miss Claudia, please accept this gem as a substitute for an engagement ring.¡± Hart took out a beautiful blue spirit crystal and handed it to Claudia. ¡°Eh, why, yes. Thank you.¡± Claudia was confused by the sudden gift, but accepted the jewel with a happy face when she heard that it was for an engagement. ¡°I¡¯m sure you already have a spirit crystal meant for aristocrats, but I have three secrets to tell you about them. If you join the Amakawa family, please keep them from your parent household. Can you do that?¡± Claudia, who was taken aback by the sudden remark, eventually answered with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I will stand by Master Hart as long as it doesn¡¯t violate the laws and ethics of the Monarchy.¡± Hart was impressed by the idea that she would act accordingly if he violated the law or ethics, rather than blindly obeying him. If she acted accordingly, he would be in great trouble. ¡°Be gentle. The first is known to His Highness Valfrete, the Commander-in-Chief, and some of the Royal Army, so it should be fine. What I¡¯ve just handed you is a spirit crystal above the aristocratic level. The Magic Power addition to your value will be 2560, not 810. Claudia, your magic power value will be second highest in the Monarchy with over 31,000.¡± As Claudia looked back at the blue spirit crystal in surprise, Hart disclosed the second secret. ¡°Second, don¡¯t tell anyone, but there is no rule that says you cannot contract with two spirits at the same time. There are conditions, and it is impossible with a spirit crystal that is available to the general public, but it¡¯s okay this time. Give it a try.¡± This time, Claudia was astonished, but Hart repeatedly urged her to use it. When Claudia connected the blue spirit crystal to her information terminal, a white-winged nymph with hair as blue as the seas of Diros appeared from the terminal. With blue hair and blue eyes, wearing a white two-piece and a large blue jeweled scythe, the nymph turned their gaze to Hart¡¯s spirit, Seraphina, and then did something, before speaking to Claudia. ¡°My name is Cynthia. I¡¯ve heard your story. I don¡¯t know if this is the third one, but with the blessing of the Higher Spirits, the magic inheritance is guaranteed. If you and that man have a child, do look forward to the results.¡± Claudia¡¯s thoughts couldn¡¯t keep up with the reality, as Hart displayed a mischievous face for having revenge for her prank. ¡°B-Class spirit crystals have not been produced since Dr. Kerman¡¯s death. The remaining stock is in the single digit and was given to Viscount Amakawa. This will be limited to the descendants of Viscount Amakawa, who have the highest magical power. By the way, please keep it a secret.¡± Hart gently patted the head of the saint, who was desperately trying to hold in her emotions. CH 34 October 441 of the Monarchy calendar. The Royal army, which was ordered by the Sovereign, went on another large-scale expedition. ¡°The defeat of Hercules killed the Crown Prince. We must dispel the anxiety of the people. I order the Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Valfrete Strani Asteria. Lead the Royal Army in battle against the Coalition of Humanity and bring about a great victory that will overshadow the defeat.¡± ¡°By your will. I shall bring victory to the Monarchy.¡± The sortie of Valfrete, who returned to his status as the Third Prince due to his restoration to the royal family, was the wish of the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, Leandre. Publicly, he asked his uncle, through his grandfather, to avenge the death of his father. The Sovereign¡¯s grandson is a teenage child who graduated from the High School of the Academy of Magic in March. The Third Prince is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, and has a track record of triumph in war engagements. When asked which of the two is appropriate to command the army on behalf of the aging ruler, the overwhelming majority would support Valfrete, no matter which demographic was surveyed. Of course, the people also understand the issue of succession to the throne. They also know that if the Third Prince is killed in action, the Sovereign¡¯s grandson would be pleased. Therefore, it was also inferred that the motive of the royal grandson¡¯s request for vengeance included the issue of succession. However, if Valfrete is once again victorious in the battle against the Coalition, there is a greater chance that the succession will be reversed. Therefore, people in various positions supported the expedition for their own reasons. The first thing Valfrete did was to change its flagship for the expedition. ¡°For this expedition, my flagship, Sariel, will remain on the Capital planet. The expeditionary force¡¯s General Headquarters will be moved to Lieutenant General Amakawa¡¯s Fortress Kerviel.¡± It was a change made due to the fleet capacity, movement speed, and combat power of Fortress Kerviel. If all troops are stationed in Fortress Kerviel and moved, the movement speed will be doubled, there would be no fatigue of the officers and soldiers due to the expedition. However, even Fortress Kerviel could not accommodate the mobile fortress Sariel. The Generals were surprised at the bold idea of leaving the original flagship behind, but were convinced when they heard the reason. However, when Valfrete explained the number of fleets to be mobilized, they could not believe their ears. ¡°Currently, the Royal Army has 28 fleets. Of these, 18 will be used to defend the home sector, and the remaining 10 will be used to defend the Solar System and conduct the expedition. 5 fleets will be used for the invasion. If you combine the garrison and transport compartments, that¡¯s how much can be accommodated.¡± Fortress Kerviel is 90 kilometers long and has an internal space of 74 kilometers in length under an 8-kilometer thick composite fluid metal layer. If only fleets are to be packed, it can accommodate 150 fleets including battleships. However, various facilities must be installed inside, and the space available for stationing ships is one-tenth of the total. Moreover, since it is difficult to move ships in and out without excess space, the number of ships that could be accommodated would be reduced by a quarter to 3.7 fleets, a reasonable capacity. This alone would not be enough to hold five fleets, but if they also used a transport compartment of the same size as the garrison compartment, they could hold 7.4 fleets. However, even if the speed of the advance is increased, the number of forces will be too small. In the Hercules Star System Battle, 23 fleets and 4 mobile fortresses advanced and were defeated despite the fact that 5 fleets were in charge of Solar System defense. This time, he said he would do it with 10 fleets, close to a third of the last total. Valfrete¡¯s Chief of Staff objected, thinking of the 11 fleets lost in the Hercules Star System Battle and the Diete Star System Battle, which occurred due to too much concentration on the front lines. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s too little.¡± ¡°Instead, we¡¯re going to take about six million Fighter crafts.¡± ¡°Fighter crafts?¡± The number of Royal citizens who responded to the open call for participants was undisclosed, but it was a tremendous number. One billion people were killed and 3 billion were temporarily made refugees in the Capital planet defense. A huge number of people have lost their jobs and livelihoods and are seeking income to support their families, wanting revenge for their lost loved ones, and have fear or a sense of crisis. And 312 million people, 0.8% of the Royal Citizenry, offered to volunteer. At the time of application, the applicants are considered by their age, gender, health condition, and intent. From there, it was further narrowed down to one-tenth by fitness evaluations, aptitude tests, etc., and a huge number of 31.2 million combat craft operators were created in the six star systems of the Monarchy. Moreover, the largest number of applicants was from the Diete system, where the population and damage were the greatest, and 10 million crafts have been born on the Capital planet. The disadvantage of Fighter crafts is that they can¡¯t navigate between star systems, but this can be solved by accommodating them in Fortress Kerviel. If the volume inside Fortress Kerviel is divided by the volume of the combat craft, which is a 1/40 of an operational transport area, 18.41 million crafts can be accommodated. Six million combat craft occupy less than one-third of the transport area, and since the compartment can only hold 1.3 fleets instead of 3.7, the capacity can be achieved. In addition, the extra 1.4 fleet¡¯s transport area can be packed with a reasonable amount of supplies. The number of Fighter crafts to be packed is 20, which is equivalent to the strength evaluation of one destroyer. With 6 million crafts, the enemy will need the defense force of 300,000 destroyers. The strength evaluation of one fleet is equivalent to 3693 destroyers, and the strength evaluation of 6 million crafts is equivalent to 81 fleets. Moreover, the Fighter crafts of the Royal army are operated not by knight-class magic power holders, but by commoners using spirit crystals. If you want to increase the number, you can increase it by 100 million units. Understanding the numbers, Hart was concerned about the skill of the pilots. ¡°With less than six months of training, will they be adequate as pilots? Hart¡¯s concerns were natural, and Valfrete was also taking measures. They are performing as many simulations as possible, and even within the Mobile Fortress, while the fortress¡¯s magic engines were not in use, the instructors would have them use the magic engines of the Fighter crafts for space maneuver training. And they had already decided on the limits of their ability to improve. ¡°If you¡¯re less than half a man, you can defeat the enemy with three times the conventional numbers.¡± Even if the force equivalent to 81 fleets is reduced by a third to 27 fleets, that will be 37 fleets when combined with 10 fleets. This greatly exceeds the 28 fleets introduced by the enemy during the Battle of Hercules. ¡°There are 150 military personnel on board a Monarchy destroyer. It would be a great achievement if we could defeat an enemy destroyer, while going toe-to-toe with it, with only 60 semi-amateurs trained for half a year.¡± ¡°Certainly. If the Coalition forces knew the reality, their heads would spin.¡± The Captain of a Royal Destroyer is a position held by an officer who graduated from the Battleship department of the Military Academy and gained several more years of practical experience after being promoted to Major. Other than Captains and Vice-Captains, there are more than ten times as many officers who have graduated from military academies other than the Commandant Departments, and they are assigned according to their aptitude. Even non-commissioned officers are a group of professionals with various skills who have graduated from vocational schools and training schools. On the Coalition side, there are excellent people from each country, who are not much different from the Royal Army, on board. It wouldn¡¯t be unbearable if such professional soldiers were dropped by a semi-amateur who practiced in combat simulations with less experience than themselves. Hart responded with a frightened half-smile to his fianc¨¦e¡¯s father, who smiled with a dumbfounded half-smile as he effortlessly overturned the crisis of mass production of magic individuals by the Coalition. One month later. Upon reaching the solar system, Valfrete immediately divided his forces into expeditionary and defensive units. Expeditionary Force: 5 fleets, 6 million Fighter crafts, 1 Attack Fortress Commander-in-Chief: Colonel General Strani Vice-Commander: General Jhering, Gen. Reinelt Fortress Commander: Lieutenant General Amakawa Solar System Force: 5 fleets Commander: General Lautenbach The two Generals who commanded the two-winged forces in the Hercules Star System Battle are determined to win this time, encouraged by Valfrete. On the other hand, Valfrete strongly reminded General Lautenbach. ¡°General Lautenbach, if a superior enemy invades the Solar System during the expeditionary force¡¯s advance, your orders are to withdraw to the home sector. We will have the 18 fleets at home, the 5 in the Solar System, and the Fighter crafts protect our Star System, no matter which system the enemy attacks.¡± Diete¡¯s system is about the same as last year¡¯s Capital planet defense, with 4 million Fighter crafts as well as the regular fleets and squadrons deployed. If 16 enemy fleets, as in the Diete System Battle, were to rush in there, it would be a repeat of the Capital planet Defense. The aim was to stop the enemy by adding 21 fleets, more than the 19 fleet Solar System Invasion Force that the Crown Prince had moved there. ¡°Huh. But why don¡¯t we move the rear forces into the Solar System? Pushing up the front line will increase the safety of the home sector. The Solar System has a workforce of 4 billion Non-Coalition members, and abundant precious natural resources, and I think it would be a shame to withdraw.¡± Valfrete resolutely responded to Lautenbach¡¯s argument. ¡°What if the enemy ignores the Solar System and attacks the home sector directly? The Solar System is enemy territory, and there is no need to defend it. Even if we give it up once, we can take it back again. I will issue a written order as Commander of the Armed Forces of the Monarchy, so it will not be your responsibility, General Lautenbach. Please obey.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Valfrete issued an order to General Lautenbach, a man considered inflexible and stone-headed, to keep the Solar System Forces under control. After the 5 fleets to be used for the expedition were housed in Fortress Kerviel, the requirements were complete and they immediately flew out of the Solar System. ¡°Lieutenant General Amakawa, generate the Magic Conversion Protective Membrane of Fortress Kerviel.¡± ¡°Sir! Deploying the Shield.¡± At Valfrete¡¯s command, Fortress Kerviel generated a Magic Conversion Protective Membrane that blocked the operation of all Magic Engines inside it. It is not possible to synchronize the magical powers of multiple people with the same magic engine. Therefore, at the moment as the shield was generated, the only way to emit a Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave from the inside of Fortress Kerviel was through Hart. ¡°From now on, 24 hours a day, maintain the shield at all times with the Lieutenant General, the Operation Assistants, and the high-magic powered people I¡¯ve chosen from the General Command, to block all communications. No matter who in or out of the fortress asks for communication for any reason, the Commander-in-Chief orders that it is absolutely prohibited. Prevent leaks of military secrets.¡± Valfrete completely cut off the Magic Conversion Communication of the expeditionary forces with strict order and use of force. Then, at the General meeting where the Generals of the Expeditionary Force were gathered, he discussed a destination that no one had imagined. ¡°This time, our forces will not invade the Hercules System.¡± ¡°Sir, then, where?¡± The answer to Jhering¡¯s question was given by stereoscopic image. The image showed a K-type main sequence star smaller than the Sun. The system has many planets in the star system, and two terrestrial planets orbit in the habitable zone. The planet nearer to the star system is named Finnegus by mankind. Finnegus is a planet with islands scattered throughout its vast ocean, and because of its small land area, it had a low oxygen concentration. On terrestrial planets, which have undergone the same evolution as the Earth, cyanobacteria generally generate large amounts of oxygen through photosynthesis, and while being consumed by the oxidation of dead cyanobacteria, they increase oxygen slightly. If the land area is large, the dead cyanobacteria are trapped in the ground by weathering erosion action, and oxidation does not occur, and the amount of oxygen increases at once. Due to the small land area of ?? Finnegus, the oxygen concentration was not high enough to immigrate. Therefore, human beings migrated to another planet. The planet farther away from the star system is called Finn. The origin of the naming is Finn McCool, the chief of the Fianna Knights in Celtic mythology. Finn means ¡°white, beautiful¡±, and is named after the clouds that frequently occur on the planet Fynn, which reflect stellar light and shine white and beautifully. After Earth was destroyed in the War of Independence, the Coalition chose this rich planet as their next home planet. In other words, the planet reflected as a destination was the head planet of the Coalition. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ The Myrna System¡± ¡°Our destination is the Coalition¡¯s head planet!?¡± The various Generals present were astounded by the plan to strike directly against the enemy¡¯s head planet. The Myrna system is located 270 light-years from the Solar System. The Hercules system is 120 light-years away, so the Myrna System is 2.25 times farther. To the surprised Generals, Valfrete replied calmly. ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous, too far away, it¡¯s impossible to project when you¡¯ve experienced the Capital planet defense. The Hercules system should have had its strength reduced. All these common-sense thoughts will cause the Coalition, knowing about our invasion, to gather in the Hercules System, leaving the Coalition home sector empty. Our defense force is sufficient and it can prevent a counter attack. With this opportunity, we can choke the enemy with a single blow.¡± Important attack targets were displayed one after another in the projected Myrna system. Planetary defense satellites, military space ports, security fleet garrisons, defense missile launch facilities, natural resource accumulation sectors, large-scale processing facilities, military shipbuilding facilities, munitions production plants¡­ Advance while destroying the enemy fleet and facilities, destroying both the planet Fynn and the planet Finnegus. The Myrna System is home to 9 billion of the 25 billion Coalition population, and its destruction would reduce the Coalition¡¯s overall productivity by 36%. Furthermore, the national power accumulated in 441 years can be blown away by a considerable amount. ¡°I¡¯m not against the Commander¡¯s idea, but how would the Myrnans respond?¡± The Myrnans, as pointed out by General Reinelt, are the descendants of the Myrna System immigrants who were colonized by Earth. The Coalition, driven out of Earth in the War of Independence by the Diete government, had taken over the Myrna system and settled there. The Myrnans, whose homes were hijacked at that time, were reduced from colonial rule to direct rule. The Diete side believe that ¡°if you bear a grudge, you should bear a grudge against the Earthers¡±, but the Myrna side has a different view from ¡°doing unnecessary things¡±. As a result of being dominated by the Coalition and continuing to control the information given, the anger was directed at Diete rather than the Coalition that controlled them. Knowing the history of humankind can give a broad perspective on the matter, but few Myrnans get the opportunity to do so. ¡°The Myrna System is home to the Coalition of Humanity, and the Myrnans are part of the Coalition¡¯s workforce. The Myrnans are part of the enemy forces that are coming to kill our Royal citizens. No special consideration is required. We cannot even afford to sort them out in the first place.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± The Generals of the Royal Army agreed with Valfrete¡¯s policy. The Royal Army is an organization that protects the Monarchy and its people, not the enemies who come to kill them. ¡°If we invade Myrna, the enemy forces will be called back from the Hercules system.¡± In Valfrete¡¯s remarks, the Generals thought he would explain that there would be no counter-attack by the enemy on the Diete system. Valfrete, however, expressed something different from the General¡¯s expectations. ¡°But it will be faster for Fortress Kerviel to reach its next destination, the Thor system, than for the recalled enemies to reach the Myrna System.¡± ¡°The Myrna system isn¡¯t the only destination!?¡± Valfrete smiled wryly at the surprised Generals. ¡°Yes. And it will be faster for us to reach our third destination, the Freyja system, than it is for the enemy forces recalled to Myrna to reach other systems. In the last stop, the Mclelle System, the enemy commanders can abandon the Freyja system and catch up, but if settled there, we can end a war that has lasted nearly 500 years.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ my word.¡± The Generals were shaken by the path that Valfrete had shown to the end of the war. Among them, Jhering expressed concern about unexpected situations because of his sense of responsibility as a General. ¡°What if the enemy force¡¯s strength is superior to ours, mainly because they have a large number of mobile fortresses manned by magic powered individuals? ¡° ¡°If the forces are equal, drop a celestial body into the head planet Fynn and raze it. If we are inferior, we can avoid advancing into the Myrna System and destroy the Thor System. At present, the semi-amateur Fighter crafts are one-third of the force rating, but it will be a normal evaluation in a few years. Even if our surprise attack doesn¡¯t work, we can win eventually.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After Jhering, who was convinced, finished his question, a General with the rank of Lieutenant General raised his hand. It was Hart, Commander of Fortress Kerviel, the cornerstone to the operation. All the Generals in the conference room turned to Hart all at once. ¡°Lieutenant General Amakawa? Do you have any opinions?¡± When Valfrete asked with a laugh, Hart bowed and then opened his mouth. ¡°The 135th Military Camp near Allesmeier District, New Gaia Province, McCool Continent of the Planet Fynn¡± ¡°What, is that?¡± The place Hart mentioned was a prisoner-of-war camp for Monarchy soldiers, where a male character that was in love with the heroine was sent after being captured in the war in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±. In the camp, needless to say, there is also pointless torture being carried out by the Coalition, who hates the Monarchy. One example of such torture is the use of a rotating handle attached to a pillar propped up against the ground, which the naked prisoners are forced to spin in circles. Androids are monitoring the work, and if the prisoners get out of their hands, they whip their backs, and the men who are whipped moan erotically. Incidentally, there was no point in turning the handle. Hart shook his head and took his mind off the horrifying scene he once saw. ¡°Some of the non-returnees from the Frodi System Battle, which took place in September 439, are being held there. I don¡¯t know if there are any captives from the Hercules Star System Battle there, but our fellow cadets and officers who were captured in the Frodi System Battle are, and if given the opportunity, I would like to send a rescue unit.¡± ¡°How accurate is your information?¡± ¡°It¡¯s from the enemy prisoners of war from the Solar System conquest. They don¡¯t expect us to attack the Myrna system, so I doubt they would transfer everyone.¡± On the screen of the conference room, integrated information collected from enemy prisoners of war was projected. As highly accurate information, a total of 340 Military Academy students and Non-Commissioned Officers are held captive in the area. ¡°About one light cruiser worth of personnel.¡± From the seat of the fleet commander who saw the numbers, there was a voice of distress. Descent operations into the atmosphere are more difficult and time consuming than space fleet operations. In the first place, if they can get alongside the head planet, they are already in a situation where they can freely conduct celestial entry operations. This operation is a race against time as they charge the Thor System and the Freyja System to end the war. Considering the major goal, you should drop the celestial body into the Myrna System immediately and head to the next target. Hart understood what the Generals thought. Therefore, Hart switched the persuasion method to the political effect and continued the proposal. ¡°The rescue targets are living witness cadets who have been captured by a surprise attack. As His Highness conducts a celestial raid into each of the Coalition¡¯s star systems to bring the war to an early end, we can show the royal citizens, the people of the Republic of Frodi, and future history who is to blame for the resumption of the war, how despicable the enemy was, and why they had to be defeated.¡± After hearing Hart¡¯s explanation, the Generals were silent and waited for Valfrete¡¯s judgment. Valfrete stared at Hart with a sharp eye and eventually answered. ¡°Is the aim to show the people of the present and the future the legitimacy of the celestial swarm operation? Is it worth it to add a detour to the path to the end of the war ¡­¡­¡­¡­? Very well, I¡¯ll approve it.¡±¡± Valfrete, the final decision maker, made some modifications to the operation after calculating the interests. ¡°This is Lieutenant General Amakawa¡¯s idea, sir. The Lord will organize a rescue unit at Fortress Kerviel and attempt a rescue if possible. If Sir succeeds in the rescue operation, it will also boost the effectiveness of our political propaganda for rescuing the last survivors of the Coalition attack.¡± ¡°Thank you. We will organize them immediately.¡± With permission, Hart immediately began organizing the planetary descent units using the vast military androids and production facilities present at Fortress Kerviel. Thus, Fortress Kerviel advanced beyond 270 light years. CH 35 January 442 of the Monarchy Calendar. The 12-month year is a remnant of the calendar used during the Earth era. As humanity expanded into the galaxy, each inhabited planet had a different orbital speed. But the years and months were still used as the standard time for humanity. However, only the days differ due to the rotation of each planet, and some planets have 12 or 40 days in a month. Therefore, January 1st of the Monarchy calendar was also January 1st for the Coalition of Humanity. ¡°Happy New Year¡± ¡°Happy New Year¡± The new year was being celebrated with great fanfare on the Coalition¡¯s head planet, Fynn. Fireworks were set off on all continents, artificial auroras dominated the night sky with curtains of light, and giant structures around the world were lit up in hundreds of thousands of colors, revealing the text of 3742 AD. The president of the Coalition government raised a toast in front of a huge crowd, the main streets were bustling even at midnight, and the nagging authorities acquiesced to the late-night commotion only for today. People full of alcohol in their bodies at the celebration paraded through the streets, screaming with gusto. ¡°This year, we¡¯re gonna take down the head of those Dietes.¡± ¡°Those barbarians should go from colonial rule into chains and slavery.¡± Of course, not everyone on the head planet is parading around the city. For those who were at home, artificial intelligence bodies that can sing a tune and dwelled on the information terminals of the Coalition people were delivering cheerful songs suitable for the New Year. A military officer belonging to the Communications Command of the Myrna System Army was one of many who listened to the singing. ¡°Oh, Linnell is so cute. I can¡¯t wait to see what you¡¯re wearing today.¡± ¡°Oi, Alan. We can¡¯t have a Captain peeking up an artificial intelligence skirt while on duty. If the command staff has that attitude, the others will slack up.¡± ¡°But, Commander, I can see just fine.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what¡¯s up the skirt you need to see, it¡¯s the regular reports.¡± The Commander on duty at the Communications Command Center, who was also forced to work the New Year¡¯s shift, took a dig at his subordinate, but the reality is that the entire communications command center is loose. Alan, who was warned, retorted without a hint of remorse. ¡°Artificial intelligence is probably a preliminary stage of the spirit crystal of the Monarchy. When they mutate and evolve by some chance, they may become like the spirits in spirit crystals. We have to help them.¡± ¡°Help them when you¡¯re off-duty. So how are the regular reports coming along?¡± After making an excuse, the Commander asked for the periodic report again. ¡°It¡¯s fine, sir. The Hercules System Army never miss a regular report. General Dexter is in command of the large force, and he can¡¯t get wiped out without even having time to communicate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­.¡± The Commander could not help accepting Alan¡¯s statement. Then an urgent communication came from the outer rim of the star system, and the Commander temporarily suspended his attention to his subordinates. When Alan opened the line of the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave, the ship registration number of the reconnaissance ship is displayed at the bottom of the screen of the Communications Command Center, showing the captain and three officers at the Battle Command Center of the reconnaissance ship. [This is reconnaissance ship 4-C06-09BH0121, Captain Boltshiek. Emergency!] ¡°This is Communications Command, Communications Officer Captain Alan Glucook. Captain Boltshiek, explain the situation.¡± Boltshiek spoke with a terrifying look in his eyes that almost shot Alan to death. [Have identified, Fortress Kerviel of the Monarchy of Diete Army!] Alan¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment, and Boltshiek continued to shout. [Warped out of the high-dimensional space, a sector of 232.54 million kilometers above our port side. Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave confirms it is Fortress Kerviel¡­] Before he could finish saying everything, the Communications Command Center screen glowed white and the communication was lost. ¡°¡­¡­ Hey, Captain Boltshiek. What¡¯s wrong?¡± As Alan was confused, the Commander received what Boltshiek wanted to say more clearly than could be conveyed in words. Without pause, screams poured in from the other operators in the communications command center. ¡°The Communications Command is receiving a series of urgent transmissions and requests for help from the outer rim of the system.¡± ¡°Activate all emergency call systems.¡± The Commander, who was the highest-ranking officer in the Communications Command, immediately issued a state of emergency. ¡°Emergency report to the entire Myrna system. This is Lieutenant Colonel Clement Starnik, Commander on duty at the Myrna System Military Communications Command. The Monarchy¡¯s Fortress Kerviel has appeared on the outer rim of the Myrna system. Please respond immediately.¡± By the time the Communications Command raised the alarm in the Myrna system, Fortress Kerviel, which had completed its ultra-long-range warp, had already commenced operations. The celestial recovery unit, which was the first to be released, will deploy to the outer rim of the system and begin work. During that time, Fortress Kerviel, which had forced its way through the celestial group, released the 5th Fleet to sweep the rear sector. Immediately after, the fortress reactivated its magic engine and began to accelerate. At the same time, while probing the entire system for magic engines, four fleets were put on standby for departure. ¡°We have integrated past images with Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves, mass waves, and optical observations. Information is also being integrated with the 5th Fleet, which is out of port.¡± Along with the Communications Officer¡¯s report, a system map and force distribution were projected onto the main screen of the fortress. In the huge operations command headquarters of Fortress Kerviel, more than 100 screens and projectors, large and small, display various information, and thousands of officers are checking the information and issuing instructions to the expeditionary forces. Valfrete, the Commander-in-Chief, sits in the top seat, and overlooking him are the command posts of Vice-Commanders, General Jhering and General Reinelt. Hart had set up his original fortress command center in a section of the huge Operations Command Headquarters, and was operating the fortress according to Valfrete¡¯s orders. ¡°Add the search results of Seraphina to the fortress¡¯s search information.¡± ¡°Copy that.¡± As soon as Hart instructed, the main screen of Fortress Kerviel displayed a series of enemy fleets, fleet divisions, squadrons, and even single ships stationed in the Myrna System Space Port. Mobile fortresses, including those under construction that were missed by magic observation, were also picked up by optical observation, and the Coalition strength was calculated every time a red light was displayed, eventually settling at 100 to 60. Valfrete glanced just for a moment at Hart¡¯s Command Center and then declared. ¡°First target, the military spaceport and garrisoned fleet of the planet Finnegus, and mobile fortresses in satellite orbit. Accelerate the fortress and launch the entire fleet and all Fighter crafts from the rear of the fortress. Destroy them quickly before enemy soldiers from planet Fynn rush to planet Finnegus.¡± ¡°Understood. Seraphina, accelerate. Get us at a reasonable speed.¡± ¡°Such nerve.¡± Seraphina, who was rushed by Hart, smiled and interfered with the magic elements in some way. Then, Fortress Kerviel flashed blue light like a blue giant star and began to accelerate explosively. ¡°Fortress ship speed, impossible acceleration. 200 million kilometers per hour. 300 million kilometers¡­ at this rate, the deployed troops will not be able to decelerate and will rush into the enemy planet!¡± The head of the Navigation Department looked very pale and complained with a scream. Upon receiving the report, Valfrete immediately stood up and shouted. ¡°Stop acceleration now! All fleets, Fighter crafts groups, commence emergency departure from fortress ports. After deployment, re-accelerate the fortress. Defeat the enemy before they start moving.¡± As soon as the propulsion device was stopped by Valfrete¡¯s roar, Communications Officers began yelling at each other. ¡°All the troops, deploy immediately. Fortress acceleration exceeds specified value. We will reach the enemy before all the troops are deployed. Repeat, all the troops, deploy immediately.¡± The exterior walls of Fortress Kerviel opened one after another, and millions of Royal army ships flew out at explosive speeds, like a swarm of hundreds of thousands of bats flying out of the cave. The four fleets, which flew out, turned their bow and headed to the planet Finnegus, deploying the formation in a position that surrounds the top, bottom, left, and right of Fortress Kerviel. The sector in-between the fortresses and fleets were filled with six million Fighter crafts. Instead of using a combat-linked system to operate 6 million crafts as they were, the Royal Army General Command established a command station for every 30,000 crafts to supervise them. Each of the 200 combat craft command stations uses a combat-linked system to move 20,000 Fighter crafts, while the former combat craft pilots work in a command station to check for deficiencies. As a result, the General Headquarters has reduced its command burden and is barely within operational limits. ¡°Fighter crafts, 1st to 200th command stations, now linked to General Headquarters. Information integration system, up and running¡± ¡°Fleet departure complete. The battleships have begun to disembark the port sequentially, but ejection is also possible, so magic engines can be operated.¡± The Royal Fleet, which was thrown into the Myrna System, quickly destroyed all Coalition ships in their path as they pushed into the center of the System at lightning speed. Valfrete gives orders in rapid succession. ¡°All deployed fleets, launch your fusion rounds. Everything in front is the enemy. I don¡¯t care what you hit. Missiles can be produced in the fortress. Don¡¯t be bothered about the amount left. Fire at the enemy.¡± ¡°Sir. To entire fleet, launch missile swarm. Target, everything ahead¡± ¡°Lieutenant General Amakawa, fire fortress missile swarm. Break through interceptor missiles launched from enemy defense missile launchers.¡± ¡°Copy that. Missile swarm launch. Target, all enemy missile launch facilities in the system Seraphina, aim at the enemy spaceport before missiles block the front.¡± The Royal Army in the Star System split into ships and missiles, quickly doubling the total number. The missile group that precedes the fleet becomes the shield and spear of the fleet and advances against the enemy. The Mass Wave Agglomeration artillery of Fortress Kerviel passed right next to such a group of missiles. ¡°Fortress Kerviel, laser irradiation fired. Distance 920 million km¡­ has not diminished. Hit an artificial satellite in Planet Finnegus orbit!?¡± ¡°F, Fortress Kerviel¡¯s main gun, hit the enemy military spaceport.¡± In the midst of the General Command staff¡¯s astonishment, the fortress¡¯s main cannon penetrated the enemy spaceport in its irradiated state. Hart¡¯s magic power value is 91,150, but by adding an A-class crystal, it becomes 97,400. The coordinates and orbital speed of the spaceport can also be identified by the magic element reaction of the enemy fleet departing from the spaceport. Spaceports, which are unable to move on their own, could be hit even over long distances. In the Coalition spaceport, which suffered an unexpected attack, a warship preparing to leave the port was hit, causing a massive explosion that set off a chain of explosions on other unprotected ships. The main gun continues to tear through the military spaceport under irradiation, further increasing the explosions. ¡°Fortress Kerviel main gun is tearing up the enemy space port. Enemy stationed fleet estimated from the magic reaction, about 6 fleets. 6 enemy fleets, annihilated!¡± Many of the fleets were unable to leave because they were using the neighboring planet Finnegus as a military spaceport, instead of the mostly inhabited head planet Fynn. Many of the officers and soldiers returning from the Hercules Star System battle were on vacation, either staying home at midnight for the New Year or taking to the streets for drinks and merrymaking. The transportation network was paralyzed when the Fynnians learned of the Monarchy¡¯s invasion, and there was too little time to board the fleet from there to the next planet in orbit. ¡°Seraphina, attack the enemy fortress next. Let¡¯s destroy them all.¡± ¡°They¡¯re in the shadow of the planet. Angela, please get the fortress to orbit the planet.¡± When Hart asked Seraphina, Seraphina took the liberty of instructing Colette¡¯s spirit to adjust the operation of the Fortress Propulsion Engine. After the spaceport and its moored fleet were cleared, the Fortress began to switch targets to destroy the 60 mobile fortresses in Finnegus¡¯ satellite orbit. ¡°Fortress Kerviel main gun is destroying enemy fortresses. Magic engine operation by battleship class detected, but the fortress main gun pierced the armor. Approximately 60 enemy fortresses in geostationary satellite orbit have been successfully destroyed sequentially.¡± The Coalition fortresses did not seem to have functioning operators. The completed magic powered individuals must have been dispatched to the Hercules system with another fortress. Hart imagined. The Coalition was mass-producing magic power holders, and the fortresses they operated were built in the Myrna system. The Coalition mobile fortress is about 30 kilometers long. To cover a mass of that scale with a shield, 30,000 magic power value would be required. Not a single one of the Coalition¡¯s mobile fortresses could be shielded, and in fact, when those who lacked the magic power tried to operate the Magic Engine, their locations were grasped and destroyed one after another. ¡°This fortress has destroyed the enemy fortresses, reversing the orbit around planet Finnegus.¡± The 60 Coalition mobile fortresses, which were unprotected in the satellite orbit of the planet Finnegus, were destroyed in an instant after being irradiated by Fortress Kerviel. In parallel with the fortress¡¯s success, the Monarchy¡¯s missiles also clashed with the Coalition¡¯s missiles, making the star system shine with a huge flash. The Monarchy Fleet and Fighter crafts also shot at Coalition and private ships that flew out of space ports and bases, scattering flashes of explosions through the system. Those violent explosions were like fireworks celebrating the New Year. ¡°The Royal Army of the Monarchy of Diete, Commander-in-Chief Valfrete Strani Asteria, informs all troops under his command that a New Year¡¯s salute is in order against the Coalition of Humanity for breaking the 457-year no-engagement period and launching a surprise attack against us. Do not relent. Our salute is what the enemy has asked for.¡± The nine billion people living on planet Fynn went from the excitement of the New Year to a state of mass panic. As the people avalanched into underground shelters around the planet, they watched in amazement on the screens of the shelters as the Coalition troops were destroyed. In the replay video, 60 mobile fortresses were shot through one after another, and people collapsed from their feet one after another. The planet itself, where they live, is also a target of the Royal Army. Already in the outer rim of the star system, craft ships, carrier crafts, and light carrier crafts that had left Fortress Kerviel were scouring celestial bodies, with some Fighter crafts and suppression craft in tow. It was a mandatory course incorporated into the first year of the Royal Military Academy. It is an operation to tow a celestial body that had been pushed outward by the solar wind with a warship and plunge into an inhabited planet. When plunging a celestial body, its power varies depending on its size, weight, angle of incident, velocity at entry, collision terrain, etc. Any graduate of the Royal Military Academy would know how much power can be generated by such an attack. The Royal Army had a series of celestial bodies necessary for the operation. And, another strategy was advancing in parallel with the celestial rush operation. ¡°Your Highness Commander-in-Chief. We have dropped more than 70% of the enemy fleet and 60 mobile fortresses. Permission to leave the remaining enemies to our comrades and rescue allies being held on planet Fynn.¡± ¡°Is that why the fortress rushed at full speed¡­ proceed. Lieutenant General Amakawa¡¯s war achievements are more than enough. Do as you please. A promotion and Medals of Honour are not enough for the Lord¡¯s military service. When we return home, we¡¯ll go through the procedure for the promotion, so look forward to it.¡± Hart, who was told that he was to be promoted, looked on in astonishment, but quickly recovered his composure and gave his gratitude. ¡°Thank you. Fortress Kerviel changing course to planet Fynn¡± Fortress Kerviel has turned its course towards a planet of 9 billion people. As Hart prepares for the Planetary Descent operation, Valfrete also issues additional instructions. ¡°Orders to all fleets and all Fighter crafts. Destroy all targets. From now, Fortress Kerviel will conduct special operations. General Jhering, have one fleet support special operations.¡± ¡°Sir. Orders to Lieutenant General Rendano of the 4th Fleet. Support the mission of Fortress Kerviel.¡± ¡°Understood. Viscount Amakawa, I look forward to our second great banquet after returning home.¡± The Monarchy forces, which have shifted to a rampage battle, will destroy all targets within the system. Planetary defense satellites, military spaceports, security fleet garrison, defense missile launch facilities, natural resource accumulation sectors, large-scale processing facilities, military ship shipbuilding facilities, munitions production plants¡­ all of them were blown to pieces. In the meantime, Fortress Kerviel entered the satellite orbit of the planet Fynn, accompanied by the 4th Fleet. ¡°Reconnaissance satellites, target for extended projection. 135th military camp near Allesmeier district, New Gaia, McCool continent. Launch ground assault, omitting operational targets. Operation to suppress the head planet Fynn, commence¡± A huge amount of artifacts was released from Fortress Kerviel. Millions of missiles, 100,000 military satellites, 200,000 unmanned atmospheric crafts, 600,000 remote combat drones and as many as 10,000 assault landing craft spread out in orbit. The first millions of missiles and interceptor missiles launched from the planet¡¯s surface filled the atmosphere outside the head planet Fynn with flashes and blasts. A huge number of military satellites that crashed through the storm began to rain down in a downpour of light on the surface of the head planet Fynn. On the ground, not only military facilities but also huge structures that were lit up to celebrate the New Year were destroyed one after another, and rubble and dust blew up, creating clouds of sand in the sky. A huge number of unmanned fighter jets and combat drones crash through sand clouds and fly over the planet, hitting all man-made objects in the atmosphere. The Monarchy¡¯s forces, which had thoroughly suppressed the enemy¡¯s head, plunged 20,000 assault landing crafts into the atmosphere en masse. The assault landing craft, which burned red in the atmospheric plunge, deployed about 1.94 million military android soldiers and suppression weapons on the ground, while being intercepted and hundreds of ships were damaged. ¡°Our top priority is to control the entire area as quickly as possible. If any prisoners are taken hostage, kill the enemy with the hostages and move on.¡± The Monarchy of Diete will not allow hostages to be used as a bargaining chip for demands in consideration of their lives. This is because if value is given to a hostage, the perpetrator will take hostages in subsequent crimes. Even if hostages were taken, it was a crime prevention policy in the Monarchy of Diete to capture or kill the perpetrators regardless of the safety of the hostages, and Hart also strictly adhered to the principles of the Monarchy. However, he was willing to help those who could be rescued as much as possible. ¡°After repression is complete, secure as many of the surviving Royal Prisoners of War in the camp as possible. Sort them later, but if explosives are embedded on them, remove them first. Quickly now.¡± Given the objective, the androids, with their suppression weapons in tow, completely ignore all damage and push towards the target like an avalanche. Heavily armed Royal Army androids and weapons were bombarded with support from satellite orbit, and engaged in fierce ground battle with large Coalition man-made suppression machines equipped with Magic Engine, and Coalition Android soldiers. Meanwhile, the seven Royal Army fleets and six million Fighter crafts that had devastated the Coalition Forces were destroying every man-made object in the Myrna Star system. In military shipbuilding facilities and munitions production plants, new ships that were under construction will become cosmic dust along with each construction facility. Then, General Reinelt confirmed to Valfrete. ¡°Your Highness Commander-in-Chief. The 3rd Fleet reported that it had taken the natural resource accumulation sector. There are many rare minerals that can hardly be mined in the Monarchy¡¯s territory and are imported via the Frodi System, and they are requesting confirmation as to whether or not they should be seized.¡± Valfrete judged that the goods must be of such high value that the fleet on maneuvers took the trouble to confirm it. ¡°Seize them. Consider it interstate trade. In exchange for operational military satellites, packed them into the transport compartments of Fortress Kerviel.¡± ¡°Understood. Order the Third Fleet to begin seizure.¡± When the Royal army began to show some leeway in seizing resources, 400 craft ships deployed on the outer rim of the star system entered the star system, towing huge celestial bodies. Celestial size, weight, angle of incident, rate of entry, collision terrain. The size of the celestial bodies varied, but their weight is generally the same. This is adjusted by the angle of entry and speed of entry, and the weight is generally evenly distributed. As a Monarchy, they would like to reuse the Myrna System after the war, if possible. Therefore, the planet itself will not be destroyed, and the entry will be adjusted so as to blow up as many people as possible who have gone underground or under the sea. In this battle, they were able to annihilate the enemy, so they can afford to adjust that much. ¡°The Celestial Rush Task Force will complete its mission in approximately 24 hours.¡± As the fleet and Fighter crafts swept through the Myrna system, and the crafting units towed the celestial bodies, Hart impatiently awaited the outcome of his rescue operation. On the ground, there is a fierce battle being waged, that is incomparable to when Hart carried out a forced berth and rush operation unto a light cruiser during the Frodi System battle. Rain of uninterrupted missiles has been launched from the McCool continent, where ground assault forces have descended, and the missiles of Fortress Kerviel were exploding by seconds. Underneath them, a large Coalition Force gathered in New Gaia, where hundreds of thousands of military satellites, unmanned fighters and combat drones engaged and shot each other down. Fighter crafts launching from within the planet are carrying out laser attacks against Lieutenant General Rendano¡¯s 4th Fleet, which is holding the planet¡¯s head. Hundreds of thousands of androids have blown each other away. Then, 13 hours and 23 minutes after entering the atmosphere, the long-awaited good news finally arrived. ¡°Report from the Raiding Force, succeeded in controlling all areas. Based on results of biometric verification, confirmed tentative match of 302 non-returnees of the Frodi system, 24,556 non-returnees of the Loki Star System, and 339,749 non-returnees of the Hercules Star System.¡± ¡°Good, well done!¡± Following Hart¡¯s delight, roars, cheers, and even shouts erupted from the operations command headquarters. The good news was also conveyed to the 4th fleet and other fleets that supported the operation, and cheers and fervor spread throughout the Royal Army. ¡°Send out additional transport ships from the fortress and rescue the prisoners immediately. After the rescue is complete, all operation units are to withdraw. Discard any units that are difficult to withdraw or recover. Before introducing the celestial body, leave the head planet Fynn and meet up with the Third Fleet to recover resources. Combat craft units will also be accommodated in sequence ¡° ¡°Yes, sir.¡± At the time Hart gave his orders, the force rating in the system was less than 100 to 1. This battle was an offensive reversal for last year¡¯s Capital planet defense. The attackers were able to catch them off guard even more than last year by approaching unnoticed from ultra-long distances with Fortress Kerviel and Spirit Crystal. And the defenders, like the last ones, were absent because the main force was sent to the frontline. There were 60 defense fortresses, but they should not have been calculated as they had no operators. The result of the foolish judgment was attacks on the planet Fynn and Finnegus in the form of the celestial rush. Celestial bodies that were adjusted not to destroy the planets were dropped, cracking continental plates to scorch the surface, and smashing the oceans to wash away the continent with a massive tsunami. The continent¡¯s structures were blown to dust by intense blasts, swept away in the oceans, and the winds of the rock rained down on the whole planet. Nearly 100 celestial bodies fell on each of the two planets, causing extensive damage to the two planets, and temporarily reducing the planetary environment to uninhabitable levels. It has been 442 years since the Declaration of Independence. Diete destroyed the Coalition head planet once again. CH 36 January 442 of the Monarchy calendar. After devastating the Myrna system, the Royal Army made a detour into the Thor System, 110 light-years away. It is an invasion where they make it appear to the Coalition as if they were returning to the Solar System, but change course outside the Star System. The Coalition¡¯s main force, which had returned 150 light-years from the Hercules System to the Myrna System, received reports of the destruction of the Thor System during their rush to the Head planet. ¡°Was it really Fortress Kerviel that attacked the Thor System?¡± ¡°Fortress Kerviel was definitely confirmed.¡± General Dexter, who commanded the rescue fleet, couldn¡¯t believe his ears, but Lieutenant General Hawkins, the Chief of Staff, nodded heartlessly. Fleets and fortresses were also deployed in the Thor System, and the reconnaissance fleet was also actively searching. It is unlikely that the regular army could have mistaken Fortress Kerviel. ¡°Nonsense. It¡¯s too soon.¡± What the hell is going on? Dexter wondered. A huge number of private trade ships come and go between the Myrna System, home to the Coalition¡¯s head planet, and the Thor System, which is the closest to the Neutral Republic of Frodi. The only possible reason why all of those ships did not report in was because Fortress Kerviel took a significant detour. However, by taking such a huge detour, their arrival should have been delayed. Fortress Kerviel has three times the power output of a Coalition Fortress, and even if it could warp long distances in a single pass, there are restrictions to calculations in high-dimensional space. From a common sense standpoint, it was an impossible advance speed. ¡°Did they use drugs and keep moving with little sleep?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. If you lose consciousness during warp, you will be swallowed up by a high-dimensional vortex.¡± Dexter¡¯s imagination was immediately dismissed by Hawkins. It¡¯s not physically impossible, but doing so would be insane. Fleets and fighter crafts were also stationed in the fortress, and the losses would be too great. ¡°We have two Magic Engine Operators on every ship and are advancing 24 hours a day. But the only one operating Fortress Kerviel should be Viscount Amakawa.¡± ¡°A high magic power holder that can warp a 90-kilometer fortress is a genetic miracle that has occurred in the Monarchy. There can¡¯t be two of them.¡± Obtaining information on Fortress Kerviel is the first priority of the Coalition. Information has also been gleaned from the Royal Army personnel that were taken prisoner by the Coalition during the Battle of Hercules, and the fact that there are three Operation Assistants, Yuna, Philine, and Colette, as well as their magic power values, ??was generally known. They have multiple Magic Engines that operate secondary laser armaments and generate shields, but they cannot warp the entire fortress. ¡°Then why is it so fast?¡± The secret to the advance speed of Fortress Kerviel, which Dexter wanted to know, was in Hart¡¯s A-Class crystal. The Coalition had also obtained information on the spirit crystals, but since the prisoners of war had mistakenly believed that C-Class crystals were the highest grade, the inconsistency was based on that. It is 150 light-years from the Thor System, which the Royal Army has conquered, to the Freyja system. It is 120 light-years from the Myrna System, which the Coalition Forces have not reached yet, to the Freyja system. However, at this point, the Royal Army was not necessarily going to invade the Freyja system. The Coalition of Humanity is a national group of multiple member states. It was difficult for the fleets of the nations that were mainly in the Myrna and Thor systems to ignore the rescue requests from their home sectors and head for the Freya system, whose fate is currently unclear. Then, after they reached the Myrna system and sent a rescue force to the Thor System while rescuing survivors deep underground and under the ocean floor of the hellish planet Fynn, a tragic transmission arrived from the Freyja system. ¡°Urgent report. The Freya System is under attack by Fortress Kerviel.¡± ¡°Damn it. Those frontier barbarians are going to destroy the entire Coalition system.¡± In the present situation, Dexter fully understood the purpose of the Royal Army. The goal is to destroy four of the Coalition¡¯s five star systems, excluding the Hercules system, and drive the Coalition of Humanity to the brink of ruin. The Freyja system has not fallen yet, but it is a rear star system with poor defenses. Its devastation was only a matter of time. The population per system is 9 billion in the Myrna System, 6.2 billion in the Thor System, 5 billion in the Freyja System, 4.8 billion in the MacRil System, and 1 billion in the Hercules System. If the 25 billion people of the four most populous systems are lost, even if only one billion people in the Hercules System, which cannot be said to effectively control the planet, remain, the Coalition of Humanity will inevitably be defeated. ¡°All forces, proceed to the MacRil system, where the Royal Army will attack next. ASAP.¡± Dexter had no other choice. And Hawkins, who received the order, could not make any other judgment as Chief of Staff. ¡°Shall we divert some of the fleet¡¯s auxiliary ships to the Freyja system for rescue?¡± ¡°Do so. Also, dispatch additional rescue forces from the Hercules system. After the rescue, evacuate to the Neutral Republic of Frodi. If you carry even one citizen of the Frodi Republic on board, they won¡¯t be able to refuse.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°At the same time, order the battlecruisers. All ships to keep jumping beyond warp limit distance. Ignore fleet formations. Even one ship is fine. If we get there before the MacRil System is destroyed, we can put my family on an evacuation ship. Tell them so and drive each ship out.¡± Dexter threatened the battlecruisers and rushed to the MacRil System. From the Freya system where the Royal Army is located to the MacRil System, it is about 160 light-years. From the Myrna system where the Coalition forces are located to the MacRil System, it is about 110 light-years. Both forces chose the shortest flight course, but the Coalition began to move into the Freyja System from the moment it was attacked by the Monarchy. As a result, the Coalition Fleet was able to reach the MacRil System ahead of the Royal Army, although a reasonable number of their ships dropped out. When Fortress Kerviel appeared in the MacRil System, the Coalition Fleet, led by Dexter, had just joined the MacRil System¡¯s defense fleet. ¡°Warp out complete sir. Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave shows no enemy shadow in the area surrounding 320 million kilometers. Numerous warship-scale magic reactions detected in the system.¡± Valfrete gave his instruction while staring at the system chart when the Navigation Officer of the Command Center reported. ¡°Shut down the magic engine. All fleets, deploy immediately. Fighters crafts, stand-by. Re-accelerate the fortress, close the distance to the enemy before launching.¡± On the main screen of Fortress Command, the search results in the MacRil system are reflected one after another. Meanwhile, the fleet jumped out and began to take formations around the fortress. By the time the fleet had finished deploying, the blue and red enemies and allies were clearly separated and displayed on the star system map. Royal Army: 4 fleet equivalent, 5.78 million Fighter crafts, 1 Attack fortress Coalition Forces: 15 fleets, 8 mobile fortresses, Numerous civilian vessels Force ratio 100:71 The MacRil system had an overwhelming majority of forces stationed in the System compared to the other two frontier star systems, except for the Myrna System, where the Coalition Head planet was. It was easy, even for Valfrete, to imagine that the source would be the Hercules system. ¡°If we turn around now and head straight for the Hercules system, the fleet that came to rescue MacRil will not be able to catch up, so the second Battle of the Hercules Star System will be an overwhelming victory.¡± As Hart smiled at Philine on his left, Philine smiled back. ¡°That¡¯s true, but we also have the upper hand against the enemy before us.¡± That was also the case. Hart agreed. In the fourth star system, the final battle, although the Coalition fleet arrived on time, the enemy¡¯s strength evaluation was half that of their allies, giving them an overwhelming advantage. With no reason to miss it, Valfrete ordered the advance. ¡°When we crush that enemy, it¡¯ll be a chokehold on the Coalition. Win this battle, and I promise you all promotions and special merits. With our hands, we will fulfill Diete¡¯s long-cherished wishes. All forces, push towards the system!¡± The officers and soldiers who received the order were inspired, and each ship¡¯s Magic Engine emitted light with its output, and as a gigantic tsunami they surged towards the Coalition Forces. Fortress Kerviel also accelerated, preceding the fleet. In time with their advance, a group of missiles were also unleashed all at once. Even if they do not defeat their immediate enemies, the Coalition has lost most of its ability to continue the war. However, if the enemy fleet and mobile fortresses are left unattended, there remains the risk of another suicide attack on the Monarchy¡¯s Star Systems, as in last year¡¯s Capital planet defense battle. In order for the Monarchy to establish its security, it should choke the life out of them. Fortress Kerviel, which was ahead of the fleet, shut down its magic engine outside the enemy¡¯s range and released a large number of fighter crafts during inertial navigation. ¡°Fortress missiles swarm intercepting enemy missiles.¡± Fusion rounds from both sides began to collide, increasing the number of stars shining in the night sky of each planet. The optical observations of both fleets are deprived of their view by the cascading white light. By the time the shockwaves of the stellar explosion rocked each ship¡¯s shield, the two forces were finally within laser range. ¡°Fire, sweep the Coalition!¡± ¡°All ships, spread out and secure your line of sight. Repel the Royal Army.¡± The warships of both powers did not vary greatly in performance, and both sides started firing from similar distances. While the 4 blue fleets and the 15 red fleets collide with each other on the simplified star system map, the 192 blue masses representing 30,000 fighter crafts approach the red fleet. An extremely useful fighter craft corps that can cut down enemy ships without damaging the fleet. In three star systems, 220,000 vessels were dropped, but the losses are low compared to the 500,000 people in a fleet. And the semi-amateur pilots, who were estimated to be one-third of the original number, were also growing rapidly by experiencing three major battles. In what is becoming a winning pattern for the Monarchy armed forces, the Royal Army Command was convinced of its fourth victory as well. But the blue waves were counteracted by the red vanguard. ¡°Reporting status of the fighter crafts. The damage is too great.¡± Valfrete, who had a strange feeling about the star system chart, checked with the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff immediately instructed his staff to pick up the report from the command station of the Fighter Craft Corps to ascertain the cause. ¡°Enemy ships are equipped with a large number of Fusion Energy Conversion Electromagnetic Pulse Cannons. Fighter Crafts that continue to be attacked are shot down the moment their shield disappears. Moreover, even if the shields stay up, they are dropped by ship main cannons.¡± ¡°How many are equipped?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the worst-case scenario our military had considered in advance.¡± What was added to the Coalition ships was an auto-tracking electromagnetic pulse cannon. Because warships are mostly disabled by the coding process, electromagnetic pulse cannons are only useful for anti-craft fire against fighter crafts. In addition, by attaching fusion converters to various places of the hull, it becomes a dangerous state like a bomb wrapped around the belly. The enemy fleet with a large number of electromagnetic pulse cannons was too unnatural. ¡°The enemy must have jumped out immediately after reports of the Myrna system being attacked. Just because we used fighter crafts in the Myrrna system, they shouldn¡¯t have had time to equip that many electromagnetic pulse cannons.¡± The Chief of Staff recalled destroying factories and resources in the Myrna system, when considering if they had time to install them since the Mynna system. And he also realizes that there was no way for them to be installed in the Myrna system in time to perfectly reproduce the worst-case scenario that the Royal Army had spent half a year studying when they introduced the fighter crafts. ¡°Clearly, classified information on our forces was leaked.¡± Valfrete clicked his tongue at the Chief of Staff¡¯s conclusion. ¡°We haven¡¯t told the pilots themselves how many people have been recruited as fighter craft pilots. Or how many were taken on the expeditionary forces. Only the upper echelon of the Monarchy would be wise to what the worst-case scenario was. How the Coalition could know, the answer is clear.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something His Royal Highness the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson can do on his own, is it?¡± Valfrete also turns his murderous gaze toward the opposing fleet at the name the Chief of Staff blatantly put out. ¡°If it was just Leandre, we can replace his right to succeed the throne after this battle. But Langlois will have already destroyed the evidence. I¡¯m not sure how to get rid of him¡­ to begin with, I¡¯ll have to get right in front of him. Lower the fighter craft¡¯s evaluation from one-third to one-tenth and re-issue the force assessment.¡± ¡°Copy that.¡± The force assessment of both forces changed dramatically, from 100:70 to 100:112. Valfrete, who saw the figure, groaned in spite of himself. The addition of fusion converters has also lowered the defenses of enemy ships. The next task for Fortress Kerviel, which is to unilaterally shoot down the Coalition¡¯s mobile fortresses, could bring victory, but 5.78 million fighter crafts would have to be used up like hot water. However, if the fighter crafts are accommodated, they will lose to the Coalition. It¡¯s already a close range engagement, and they can¡¯t withdraw from here. Valfrete made a separate transmission from the Commander-in-Chief¡¯s seat and contacted Hart. ¡¸Lieutenant General Amakawa, I¡¯ve run out of room. Can the Lord and the spirit crystals play a more active role?¡¹ Hart was at a loss when Valfrete asked with a really tight voice. Of course, Hart understands the figure of 100:112. And in the story leading up to the ending that he saw in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, he also saw a way to reverse the disadvantageous situation. But it comes at a cost. Realizing that he was standing at the turning point of the end of the war, Hart answered hesitantly. ¡¸If it¡¯s to win by a narrow margin, we can still do it as is, but in order to greatly improve the situation, the spirit crystals I am currently wearing will have to be sacrificed. Fortress Kerviel¡¯s future performance will decline, is that okay?¡¹ After hearing Hart¡¯s explanation, Valfrete hesitated and eventually answered. ¡¸If we win this battle, the war itself will be over. I¡¯ll cover your loss in some way later.¡¹ ¡¸Understood.¡¹ After individual communication with Valfrete was cut off, Hart¡¯s line of sight shifted from the brutally scattered fighter crafts to his own terminal. ¡ºHigh-dimensional lifeform¡­ Spirit King Seraphina.¡» ¡ºSomething on your mind?¡» Responding to his call, Seraphina¡¯s light purple eyes widened like a cat¡¯s in the night, and she raised the corners of her mouth in a fearless smile. ¡ºI want you to make a contract directly, not through the spirit crystal. And I want you to connect this star system and the spirit realm, and turn this place into a white lily sanctuary. All spirits in this system should be placed under the influence of the Spirit King.¡» It was information that Hart should not know, words that Hart should not know. In the story that led to the true-end in the Maiden Game, this is the keyword that Yuna and her friends used to draw out the power of the Spirit King. Seraphina was the Spirit King attached to Colette, but Seraphina¡¯s words also appeared in the work. When Hart held up his spirit crystal, he imagined the large number of spirit crystals without contractors that he had brought into Fortress Kerviel. ¡ºWill this and the spirit crystals in the fortress be sufficient to interfere with our world?¡» Seraphina, who stared at Hart with light purple eyes, eventually answered with a determined expression. ¡ºIt¡¯s more than enough. And the next spirit crystal you use should be a deep green one. Take them out of your pocket for a moment.¡» When Hart took out six B-Class crystals from his pocket, Seraphina looked at them and said. ¡ºOh well. I¡¯m sure Mira will get along with the cherry blossom Fleur and the yellow-green Rhea as well.¡» ¡ºThree simultaneous contracts?¡» As Hart stared at the spirit crystals, Seraphina turned to Hart with a gaze like a scientist observing laboratory animals. Shortly after, Hart¡¯s spirit crystals shattered, and Seraphina appeared in Fortress Kerviel instead. ¡°Aaaahh!!¡± Philine, sitting by the left, screamed at Seraphina, who suddenly appeared on Hart¡¯s left hand side. Without acknowledging the scream, the blond, light-purple-skinned half-elf flapped a pair of white wings from her back and covered the Fortress Command Center with white light. Seraphina¡¯s light ignored physical obstacles and spread outside the Fortress Command Center, eventually shattering spirit crystals stored in the fortress. Then, Fortress Kerviel itself emitted an intense white light, creating a shining fog-like phenomenon in the surrounding space. The glowing fog continued to spread faster than the speed of light, quickly covering the entire star system. Both forces in combat were dazzled by the phenomenon that suddenly arose from Fortress Kerviel. And in the fortress¡¯s huge command headquarters, thousands of eyes were turned on the spirit who had vanished from Hart¡¯s left side before they noticed, and then to the one who seemed to have caused it. Regardless of attention from the Command Center, Hart operated the communication terminal, and after a pause, sent a transmission throughout the star system. ¡°Lieutenant General Hart Amakawa, Commander of Fortress Kerviel, to all forces in the star system. Just now, I activated a souvenir left by Dr. Kerman, the developer of spirit crystals. The spirit crystal performance of all forces has been improved, and on the contrary, the combat power of enemy ships has dropped significantly.¡± Most of the people who were listening to the transmission could not understand the meaning of the communication from Hart. But the scattered Royal fighter crafts began tearing apart the Coalition destroyers with a volley of white-light energy lasers, while avoiding the bombardment of electromagnetic pulse cannons. The Royal Army destroyers irradiated rain-like lasers and smashed the shields of the Coalition cruisers. The Shield of the Royal Cruisers drowned out the lasers of the Coalition Battleships. The arrows of white light released from the Royal Army shot through the Coalition Fleet in an instant. The spectacle of single-handedly destroying a top-ranked ship type that would normally be impossible to overturn proved that the output of the Royal warships overwhelmingly exceeded that of the Coalition warships. This phenomenon is due to the fact that the Spirit King Seraphina manifested in the MacRil System and connected it with the spirit world, which improved the movement of the spirits and prevented the Coalition from using the magic elements of the spirit world as they pleased. Hart understood. Since a Spirit King resides in the area, such manifestations can only be used once with each Spirit King. This was where Hart said goodbye to Seraphina, who connected the spirit world to the MacRil System. ¡°The enemy should be unable to warp. Destroy every last one of them. That is all.¡± After Hart, who finished the communication, took a seat, the Operation Command Headquarters remained silent. Still, only the force evaluation calculated from the output of the magic engine was recalculated in a disciplined manner and re-fluctuated to 100:22. Hart thought that the war was now over, and sent a personalized communication to Valfrete just in case. ¡¸I¡¯ll leave the rest to you. It being Dr. Kerman¡¯s gift is mainly an excuse.¡¹ ¡¸You did it. Well good. We will have a meeting later. Until then, don¡¯t explain it to anyone, claim that it¡¯s a military secret.¡¹ ¡¸Yes, sir.¡¹ Half a day later, the MacRil System government, whose defense forces were unilaterally wiped out, surrendered unconditionally to the Monarchy of Diete. After that, the Hercules System surrendered after learning that it had lost all its forces, bringing to an end the first interstellar war fought by humanity in 479 years. CH 37 ¡°Hail, the Monarchy of Diete. Long live, His Highness Valfrete.¡± ¡°We¡¯re completely free!¡± ¡°Glory to Diete. May our descendants prosper forever!¡± Year 442 of the Monarchy calendar. The 479-year interstellar war ended when the Royal Expeditionary Force, led by Colonel General Valfrete Strani Asteria, nearly destroyed or surrendered all the star systems of the Coalition of Humanity. The Monarchy, which had lost 1 billion people and 3 billion made into refugees in the Battle of Diete two years ago, was swallowed up by a whirlwind of joy. The hatred between both nations made a ceasefire impossible, and the only way to end it was for one of them to win unilaterally. If they lost to the Coalition, they would only be killed or semi-enslaved, so it was only natural for the Royal citizens to rejoice in victory. Many people, young and old, cheer on those who march with the national flag. A child hugs his father with a smile, and the people around him smile and applaud. The entirety of Monarchy of Diete was in a festive mood, and all the media were filled with the news of the end of the war due to the Monarchy¡¯s victory. Unfortunately, the expeditionary force that fought so bravely and brought victory to the Monarchy is still active in the Coalition territory, and there is no prospect of their return for the time being. They rescued survivors from the underground shelters in the three-star system that had undergone celestial incursions, disarmament the Coalition forces, banned intergalactic travel, and stopped the production of modified magical individuals. By banning marriage between Coalition magical people and banning the use of aging stagnation technology for magical people, they aim to make them harmless like the Heracleans who do not have magic power holders in the long run. This forced the Royal army to continue operations in the Coalition¡¯s Five Star Systems. However, on the Capital planet, Diros, where the festivities did not subside, the nation was to hold a ceremony to commemorate the victory, as it was not possible to wait for the return of the expeditionary force. The commemorative ceremony was attended not only by the Monarchy¡¯s government and members of both Houses of Parliament, but also by the aristocrats and governments of each system. The event was broadcast via Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave to the entire planetary systems of the Monarchy, the Neutral Frodi Republic, and the occupied former Coalition territories. The aristocrats gathered triumphantly and excitedly talked at their seats as they waited for the ceremony. ¡°I was surprised that His Highness Valfrete had secretly changed the destination.¡± ¡°His Majesty never specified a destination. We just assumed it would be the Hercules System.¡± When the black-haired middle-aged aristocrat was impressed, a blue-haired young aristocrat with the same peerage reflected on his misunderstanding. ¡°His Highness graduated from the Military Academy and started his career as a Lieutenant. His background is different from ours. I never thought it would lead to such a result.¡± ¡°Including that, the value of the letters given by His Highness has risen dramatically.¡± When the young nobleman with blue hair referred to the Letter of Commendation, the middle-aged nobleman with black hair nodded. ¡°Those letters will become family heirlooms for generations to come. I hope I can get something that my descendants can be proud of. Next time, I¡¯d like to gather the entire clan and take a recorded video with a focus on the Letter of Commendation.¡± There is no end to the topics of conversation among the aristocrats. At another table, a short, fat, middle-aged aristocrat with brown hair and a gray-haired old aristocrat were speaking of their future prospects. ¡°Will the order of succession to the throne change?¡± ¡°His Royal Highness Leandre, who only asked for the defeat of the Coalition, and His Royal Highness Valfrete, who destroyed the Coalition itself and ended the 479-year war. It will surely change.¡± When a gray-haired old aristocrat spoke with conviction, a fat aristocrat with brown hair asked anxiously. ¡°What if His Majesty should object?¡± ¡°The House of Lords and the People¡¯s House of Representatives have issued motions for replacement, so it will change eventually. The only choices are between doing it yourself and being forced to do it by others.¡± The stout, brown-haired noble tilted his head. Leandre was unable to perform as well as his strength evaluation while operating the defense fortress in the Capital planet defense battle. Valfrete, on the other hand, swiftly made the entire Coalition systems surrender and led to the end of the war. The National Council will undoubtedly support Valfrete. However, the House of Lords is determined by the interests of the senior aristocrats. After the Crown Prince died in the Hercules Battle and Valfrete issued Letter of Commendation, leading to the reinstatement of his royal title, there have been changes in the factions. However, this is a recent development, and the brown-haired fat aristocrat did not have a clear picture of the overall change in power. The white-haired old aristocrat on the other side of the line had a different perspective. ¡°With the end of the Coalition, the significance of the aristocracy will be greatly weakened. In order to convince the people of the continuation of the system, His Highness Valfrete, who brought victory, must be the next Sovereign. If you¡¯re an aristocrat, you¡¯ll have no choice but to agree.¡± ¡°I see, we all have to agree with that. I will have the members of the Houses of Parliament, who represent our territory, support His Highness Valfrete.¡± The gray-haired old aristocrat nodded strongly only once to the conclusion of the brown-haired fat aristocrat. ¡°His Highness Leandre dug a grand grave. However, if he retires, he would receive a Viscounty. His Highness¡¯s magic power value of 30,000 is worth it.¡± The aristocrats, who could see the conclusion about the next Sovereign, wondered how to stand in the middle of it. The Monarchy of Diete, which has doubled its governing star systems and is no longer under threat from the Coalition, will continue to develop around Valfrete, the next Sovereign. Valfrete, the next Sovereign, has two sons, neither of whom has a fianc¨¦e. The eldest son Bernard has an estimated magic power value of 27,700, and the second son Josslan has an estimated magic power value of 27,900. The magic power value required to succeed to the throne is 27,440, and both princes have just barely enough magic power. Therefore, the succession of thrones from Valfrete is likely to be based on one criterion: how high the magic power value of both princes¡¯ children will be. ¡°Do you need Royal-grade magic power to be the legal wives of both princes?¡± A young, red-haired aristocrat whispered, and a bearded, middle-age aristocrat nodded. ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s difficult at the last minute. Lifespan will reach 300 years¡­¡­ if I were an aide, I would advise to welcome the daughter of the Viscount of Amakawa, who is promised high magic power value, as a legal wife. It would also bring in the blood of a hero and gain public support. As long as you have the support and the magic power to succeed the throne, it¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°But his legal wife is Her Royal Highness Princess Yuna. They would be uncle and niece.¡± To the question of the red-haired aristocrat, he answers that the beard¡¯s middle-aged aristocrat is fine. ¡°As a child by the concubine, there would be no kinship. No matter who the mother is, there would be no problem so long as she had the title of the daughter of Viscount Amakawa, who overthrew the Coalition and brought freedom and peace to the Monarchy. Even if it is the child of a sinner, all problems are canceled by her father¡¯s achievements.¡± ¡°Then, when we marry out a daughter from our household, the best partner is the Viscount of Amakawa.¡± The value of Viscount Amakawa¡¯s magic power and the amount of magic power that his children will have is a hot topic in the House of Lords and is spreading throughout the Monarchy. If the offered daughter gives birth to a grandchild, even if she does not marry the two princes, there is a possibility that the future Viscount Amakawa family would also marry off a high magic-powered lady from the Amakawa clan in exchange for receiving the daughter. If the two aristocratic families both gave daughters to each other and exchanged their grandchildren back to the two families, even a Viscount family could have Royal-class magic power. After calculating, the red-haired young aristocrat involuntarily gulped at the result. ¡°Some could even offer their daughters to His Highness Valfrete as mistresses.¡± A mustache aristocrat tried to make a suggestion, but the red-haired aristocrat shook his head. ¡°No, let¡¯s stop there. His Highness has struggled in various ways, such as avoiding the issue of succession to the throne, joining the military, and even avoiding relationships with high-magic women. It would be unbecoming to do something inappropriate and bring his displeasure upon us.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be safe. But do you have a daughter that would match his age?¡± ¡°If Miss Claudia, a 15-year-old lady, can get engaged, then even at the age of 11¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide. Also, I do not know of Viscount Amakawa¡¯s preference in women. I dare not say anything.¡± There was no end to the aristocrats¡¯ topics until the ceremony began. The ceremony, which began with the sound of a high-pitched trumpet, first told a grim history of conflict with the Coalition. The Earth government¡¯s colonial rule over the people, the execution of Diete leaders by the Earth¡¯s punitive fleet in 3226 AD, and the long war that began in 3263 AD. The Sovereign consoled the spirits of his fallen predecessors, declaring that Diete¡¯s wishes had been fulfilled and that the war was over. Amidst thunderous applause, a young man stepped forward from a seat behind one of the heads of the 1,500 aristocratic families and shouted. ¡°Please wait. The war is not over yet. The enemies of the Monarchy still remain.¡± From the aristocrats present, no one¡¯s voice leaks. In it, someone whispered, ¡°That is Stefan, the heir to the Duke of Langlois.¡± At first, the attendees at the ceremony thought it was a rendition or something. The guards who knew the participants were also at a loss when dealing with the Duke¡¯s heir, who came out from directly behind the aristocrat lords. Stefan cried out as the Sovereign looked down in silence. ¡°Your Majesty, I, Stefan, eldest son of The Duke of Langlois, hereby accuse the Royal Grandson Leandre and Maxim, the Duke of Langlois, of treason against the Monarchy. These men were communicating with the enemy and sending out the formation data and military secrets of the Monarchy. Please see the evidence!¡± As soon as the accusation of state treason was declared, everyone in the venue was frozen. Without pausing, Stefan held up the terminal on his left hand and began playing a spirit crystal recording with a magnified projection and maximum audio at the ceremony venue. The footage, which played from the terminal to the sky above the ceremony venue, showed a blond, clear blue-eyed Leandre questioning Stefan in the office given to the royal palace. [Why is The Duke of Strani¡¯s royal status restored?] It was the scene in the office of the royal grandchild in the royal palace after the Battle of the Hercules Star System. Stefan appeases Leandre by explaining that the Sovereign has reigned for 55 years and is elderly, and that a single heir to the throne would be dangerous in case of emergency. However, Leandre resented the fact that his uncle might have too much power and claimed he would have issued Letter of Commendations to the pleasure of the aristocrats. Leandre returned to the subject of Valfrete after accusing his middle school classmate of being Valfrete¡¯s trap, and demanding that Stefan¡¯s fianc¨¦e be sent to him. [Also, I would like to inform His Majesty, and have Duke Strani take responsibility to embark on an expedition.] [Responsibility?] [As Commander-in-Chief of the military, he is responsible for the death of my father, who was the Crown Prince.] If the conversation had gone that far, even if it was insanity and megalomania, it could not be called a national treason. However, Leandre¡¯s subsequent remarks could only be judged as a national treason, no matter what the legal interpretation. [Leak information on the formation of expeditionary forces and any unfavorable military secrets to the Coalition. Let Duke Strani die.] It was not just the leakage of state secrets, but the remark of the traitor who shot and killed the Royal army from behind. It was released by the Sovereign¡¯s Grandchild Leandre, the first heir to the throne. In front of the ceremony attendees, who are speechless at the vileness of it all, Stefan of the past appeals to Leandre. [This is different from simply reducing the number of opposing royals in a political struggle. If we do that, there will be heavy casualties in the Monarchy¡¯s army. We are at war with the Coalition. Now that we¡¯ve lost the Battle of Hercules, the Monarchy itself would be in peril if we reduce our forces further.] [It¡¯s to stabilize a country shaken by the issue of succession to the throne. If there is a civil war here, that is the danger to the Monarchy. I am judging from the position of the next Sovereign. Please inform the Duke first. Son of the Duke of Langlois.] The footage about the Sovereign¡¯s grandson stopped there. But there is another person that Stefan has accused. ¡°Next, I will present you the evidence that Maxim, Duke of Langlois, who was instructed by His Grandson Leandre to disseminate military secrets to the Coalition, did so and caused enormous damage to the Royal Army.¡± While the Duke of Langlois has already been seized by the surrounding senior aristocrats, new footage was projected from Stefan¡¯s terminal. [Then father would give My Fianc¨¦e Beatrice to Leandre and pass the information on to the enemy.] It was the scene of an argument between the Langlois parent and child, which took place on the Capital planet. The Duke, affirming Stephen¡¯s question, explained his reasons. A Queen is produced from the Duke of Langlois. The Sovereign is old, the grandson is young, and the next Sovereign will reign for 200 years. If he takes away the fianc¨¦e, the grandson will owe a debt. Accept and be compensated. He said. The son was not satisfied with his fianc¨¦e¡¯s case and questioned the Duke about another matter. [Leandre intends to have His Royal Highness Valfrete killed on the battlefield in order to settle the issue of succession to the throne. To that end, he has told us to release information on the Royal Army and have them lose the war. Father, do you want me to betray our country?] [Leandre, as the next Sovereign, probably made a political decision to solve the problem of succession to the throne. If this resolves the succession dispute and prevents civil war, it may be a wise decision rather than a betrayal of the nation.] The Duke¡¯s intentions were clear, and he also accepted the defeat of the Monarchy¡¯s forces by the leakage of military secrets. In order to have the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army killed, the Coalition will be used by providing their military with information about the formations and weaknesses of the army. If this is not treason, what is? In front of the exasperated ceremony attendees, Stefan in the past complained that the Royal Grandchild was not the Sovereign and had no such authority. And even the Sovereign cannot be allowed to deliberately cause the defeat of the Monarchy¡¯s army and throw away the lives of officers and soldiers in vain. The Duke, on the other hand, said it was him who offered the Crown Prince¡¯s wife from the Duke of Langlois family, and that if the Duke of Strani turned the tables on them, the investment of people, money, assets, efforts, and connections they had made would be wasted. And he told his son to play with a mistress from the quasi-aristocracy. The attendees were left speechless by Stefan¡¯s candid accusations. Stefan made it clear to the Duke that he could accept his fianc¨¦e¡¯s case, but that he could not overlook the sacrifices to the Royal Army. [You¡¯re green. The Monarchy lost a billion people, but took the Solar System and 6 billion people from the Coalition. Since the start of the war, the Monarchy gained a star system and increased its population by 5 billion, and the Coalition lost 6 billion and a star system. And there are spirit crystals and battleships. The Monarchy will not lose. And there will be fewer opportunities to erase the Duke of Strani.] The Duke, who clearly said to erase him, also reminds Stefan about the aristocracy. [If you can only say frivolous things, you will never serve as the head of a senior aristocratic house. There is no head of a senior aristocracy who runs a territory and has clean hands.] The aristocrats attending the ceremony kept listening to the accusations with their teeth gritting in anger, alternately glaring at the footage and the Duke of Langlois with murderous eyes. The royal aristocrats are educated as ¡°descendants of the arrows shot to pierce the Coalition in the War of Independence¡± and are proud of their origins and blue blood. The royal aristocrats¡¯ mission is to defeat the Coalition and protect the Monarchy, not to tell the Coalition to ¡°break the shot arrows¡±. The aristocrats continued to listen to Stefan¡¯s accusations, struggling to hold back their curses. [There will be unnecessary sacrifices to Monarchy Forces.] [Fighter crafts can be mass-produced as easily as toys. The throne was to be held by His Highness my brother-in-law and then my nephew Leandre. We can¡¯t afford to change our plans now.] And the Duke uttered words that were enough to convince all that it was treason. [Send the Royal Army formation data and military analysis results to the Coalition. It would be prudent if they knew that the majority of the forces which the Duke Strani has gathered are fighter crafts, and that their weakness is a massive electromagnetic pulse cannon for interceptor. You will tell His Highness Leandre that you have relayed his instructions to your father and that everything went well.] When the second footage finished playing, Stefan resumed the accusations in his own words. ¡°Due to the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson Leandre and the Duke of Langlois, the Coalition installed a large number of Electromagnetic Pulse Cannons for interception. In the final battle of the MacRil System, hundreds of thousands of the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts dropped out, and many volunteers were killed by the Coalition. In order to fill the holes left by these fighter crafts, a number of warships of the fleet must have also been lost.¡± Many people who had seen Stefan¡¯s accusations were convinced of the point as experts kept discussing the fact that it was incomprehensible in the daily news. At the same time, they were able to realize the sort of damage the Sovereign¡¯s Grandson Leandre and the Duke of Langlois had caused. Stefan appealed to the Sovereign, who remained silent, about the gravity of the crime. ¡°The Sovereign¡¯s Grandson Leandre and Maxim, Duke of Langlois, are traitors to the nation, who have killed hundreds of thousands of volunteer Royal citizens for the sake of a power struggle, put the expedition at risk of defeat, and the Monarchy once again falling under the colonial rule by the Coalition of Humanity.¡± At that moment, Sovereign¡¯s Grandson, who was inside the sound barrier membrane that had been put up at the ceremony, shouted out, shaking off the surrounding restraints. ¡°This is fake!¡± Stefan explained to the surroundings, facing Leandre who had jumped out. ¡°Anyone in the Monarchy, whether they are attending the ceremony or watching the broadcast, anyone is fine. Can anyone process the records of the spirit crystals? Spirit crystals have been black-boxed by the late Dr. Kerman. I can only play back the saved records, I can¡¯t process them.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fake!¡± ¡°Then Leandre. Tell your spirit crystal, ¡®Record Replay, September 15, 441 of Monarchy history 11:35 a.m.¡¯. You¡¯ll see the same thing as before, but from your perspective. If you insist on claiming that even that was doctored, then would you like to verify all the records from the time you attached the spirit crystal to the present with all the Royal people.¡± ¡°Stefan, you, why did you do this to me?¡± When asked, Stefan gave a self-mocking smile. He was told that by offering up his fianc¨¦e, he would be favored by the lord and gain some influence. However, the lord has no justice and no regard for the feelings of his subordinates. What is the value of a lifetime of service to such a man? The Duke of Langlois himself offered his sister, but it was not his own fianc¨¦e. The Duke of Langlois will not take his nephew¡¯s absurd orders, but his son is forced to serve him. What the parent and child lose is never the same, and the son has exceeded the limits of patience. ¡°This is a conspiracy. It is the Duke¡¯s trap.¡± ¡°If you charge the Duke of Langlois with treason, the Duke¡¯s household will surely be ruined, and even if you take into account the fact that the successor, I myself, was the whistleblower on you, I am sure to be demoted by several ranks, never to be Duke again. Of what benefit is such a plot to the Duke of Langlois?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Leandre could not answer Stefan¡¯s question. He did not even realize that his own questions and answers were confessions, and he diverted the story he had brought up. ¡°You¡¯re just angry that your fianc¨¦e was taken away!¡± ¡°What possible reason could I have for making such an accusation in my position, other than that I do not want to serve a lord who not only lacks justice, but would also take away my fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t involve me in your self-destruction.¡± ¡°If you had been like His Royal Highness Valfrete, or at least in your more honest days, I would have served you with sincerity and life without abandonment. I stopped you time and time again, advised, and begged you to reconsider. It¡¯s your own fault for not listening to me.¡± Stefan yelled at Leandre and then looked up at the Sovereign standing in the middle of the ceremony venue. ¡°Your Majesty, the accusations of traitors to the state is over. The enemies of the Monarchy still remain. They are enemies who have killed numerous Royal people and put the Monarchy in danger of colonization. What will Your Majesty do with the enemies of the Monarchy?¡± The 1500 aristocratic families in attendance watched the Sovereign every step of the way, as well as the Monarchy government ministers, legislators of the House of Lords and the National Assembly, the delegation of bereaved families who were allowed to participate, and the people inside and outside royal capital who watched the broadcast. For the Sovereign, the accused were his grandson and the brother of his eldest son¡¯s wife. But at the same time, they were attempted murderers who tried to kill his third son, Valfrete. At the ceremony, he himself talked about what Diete is and what kind of history it has traced. Those who threaten the Monarchy¡¯s independence and kill hundreds of thousands of volunteers are enemies of Diete, no matter how you look at it. The Sovereign, who eventually came to a conclusion, spoke gravely. ¡°Arrest The Royal Grandchild Leandre and the Duke of Langlois. Under charge of treason. They are hereby stripped of their personal titles and all rights.¡± A moment later, Stefan, the young man who was no longer a Duke¡¯s heir, attacked Leandre, a traitor who was no longer the Sovereign¡¯s grandson, punching him in the cheek with all his might. In addition, Stefan grabbed Leandre and pulled him to the ground, mounting him and punching his face. Meanwhile, Maxim Langlois, a traitor stripped of his Duke peerage, did not resist. He could have simply committed suicide, but he calculated that his son, Stefan, would maintain the household, and began considering how to stay on the best terms possible. The father was a man of calculation and interest, but the son did not take after him. He looked with a masterful eye at his son, who did not measure up to him. Aristocrats who lost loved ones on the battlefield turn their eyes in anger to Maxim, the traitor. But he brushed them aside. CH 38 The accusations of state treason against the Sovereign¡¯s grandson and the Duke quickly spread throughout the Monarchy, in part due to the live-broadcast of the victory ceremony. Every media outlet reported on it daily, spreading public outrage that was incomparable to when the Crown Prince once made his Declaration of Earth¡¯s Conquest. If left unchecked, it could even trigger the collapse of the aristocracy of the Monarchy of Diete. The Sovereign, who consulted with Valfrete as he was on military duty in the Coalition Star System, was presented with a severe punishment by his son via Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave. Disposition against the Asteria Royal Family Disposition against the Duke and Duchess of Langlois The beheading will be carried out by Guillotine, and will take place in the square where the victory ceremony was held. The executioner that will drop the guillotine will be selected from the bereaved family of the Fighter craft pilots who died in the MacRil System. The reduction of aristocratic privileges ranged from the abolition of non-taxable privileges, the abolition of the right to preferentially purchase shares in highly profitable state-owned enterprises, expansion of discretionary powers of the provincial governments, and the abolition of the Knight class. Instead of abolishing the tax exemption privileges, the Committee will consider a series of measures such as the burden on the aristocracy by limiting the number of forces in its possession, and reducing tax breaks instead of the conscription system if it continues. The Sovereign, as the initiator of the reduction of aristocratic privileges, and Stefan, the Viscount of Langlois, serves as a member of the Executive Secretariat, shall fulfill their responsibilities by contributing to the people while bearing their grudge. The Sovereign, who was briefed on the details of the execution, urged his son to reconsider. ¡°Leandre is only 19 years old.¡± ¡°Therefore, we will hold the former Crown Princess who raised him accountable, stripe her of her status and position, and expel her.¡± Valfrete was adamant about the public beheadings of Leandre and former Duke of Langlois and the ousting of the former crown princess. ¡°Why would you demand such a harsh punishment?¡± To the Sovereign, who asked why, Valfrete explained the significance of the executions and expulsion. ¡°If you loosen the treatment of royalty and the aristocracy, the anger of the people will turn to the royal aristocrats. When you do it correctly, punish criminals regardless of their social status, then the anger of the people is directed at the criminals, knowing that they are properly punished. Father, you do not understand the people¡¯s point of view.¡± ¡°The people¡¯s point of view, what are you saying?¡± ¡°With the end of the war, the aristocracy, which favors those who fight the Coalition, is no longer a necessity. The time has come for the people to judge whether or not the aristocracy is necessary in the future. If you do anything lukewarm, we will be declared unnecessary.¡± Valfrete attended the Military Academy and was appointed to Lieutenant, the first rank for the Commandant Department¡¯s graduates. Most of the people around him were commoners, and he learned their way of thinking while interacting with them. They do not consider the aristocracy to be superior. It is in their actions, when they sacrifice themselves in order to protect the royal citizens, that aristocrats are recognized as great. If an enemy attacks, they will act as a shield and protect the people. While the people are fleeing, they will launch a suicide attack on the enemy to remove the threat. Only when there is due value can the people recognize the aristocrats as great, even if they are great enough to do what they can¡¯t do. Therefore, the royal aristocrats that only bring harm are mere exclusion objects for the royal people. ¡°If I say that the guillotine is going too far?¡± ¡°A revolution will occur if the Sovereign protects the traitors. If you cannot execute the enemies of the Monarchy, then Father, you are no longer qualified to be the banner of the Monarchy. If you make a mistake in judgement, then be prepared.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ give me time to think.¡± ¡°Your sense of crisis is fatally lacking. If my father protected traitors, I would have no choice but to start a revolution to prevent the collapse of the aristocracy and civil war. If we can¡¯t make a decision right now, best be ready for a revolution soon, but what will it be?¡± Here will be the farewell of their current life. The Sovereign imagined the development ahead, considering what Valfrete just told him. Currently, Valfrete holds the entire force that conquered the Coalition at hand. If this communication is made public and the Sovereign calls for the traitors to be protected, the entire Monarchy will be on Valfrete¡¯s side. The Monarchy¡¯s greatest force, Fortress Kerviel, and the Viscount of Amakawa, who is Valfrete¡¯s son-in-law, will surely side with Valfrete. The Royal Army, of which Valfrete serves as Commander-in-Chief, the aristocrats who supported him due to being issued Letters of Commendation, and the people who were angry at Leandre and the former Duke Langlois, will all side with him. Realizing he had no choice, the Sovereign accepted all the conditions given to him by Valfrete. After passing his demands, Valfrete had the Sovereign announce the promotions, Medals of Honor, service insignia, and special merits for the expeditionary forces that made the Coalition surrender, along with the punishments of the Royal and Duke families. The purpose of the announcement of the war merits was to divert the public¡¯s attention. Valfrete went from Colonel General to Fleet Admiral. The honorary position of Supreme Commander was also created on top of the three chief posts, and was given to Valfrete. Hart, commander of Fortress Kerviel, went from Lieutenant General to General. He was also awarded the Order of Sirius, 3rd Class for his distinguished military service, which was the highest evaluation among aristocrats and Generals. Princess Yuna Strani Asteria, Marquis Lady Philine Carneus, and Viscount Lady Colette Listner, all of whom were Operation Assistants, were also promoted from Brigadier General to Major General and awarded the Order of Sirius, 3rd Class. The outrage of the public gradually subsided with the announcement that aristocratic privileges would henceforth be curtailed, along with the guillotine sentence for the former Royal Grandchild and former Duke, permanent expulsion of former Crown Princess, severe punishments of the Royal family and Duke household, and punishment of the Sovereign and Stefan. Those who have contributed to the end of the war were honestly praised, and when it was announced that Yuna and the other 19-year-old beautiful ladies had earned their ranks and medals of Major General by their genuine achievements, and the public¡¯s gaze was sufficiently diverted. What awaited Hart and the others upon their return was a graduation letter from the Military Academy. As Hart suggested, the results were Colette in 2nd, Philine in 3rd, and Yuna in 4th. Yuna¡¯s result was accompanied by the principal¡¯s explanation for her ranking. ¡°I got 4th position because Hart talked to the principal, right?¡± Hart muttered a reproach with a resigned expression when Yuna who said so with a smile. ¡°Principal, you sold me out.¡± This is the second time he had to deal with an incompetent principal, following the Middle School of the Academy of Magic. However, for Yuna, who has been promoted to Major General, the final ranking of the Military Academy would be a matter of the past. Essentially, the hurdle to rise from Colonel to General is very high. One of the materials needed to accelerate toward that hurdle and leap high is the Military Academy ranking, but the hurdle has been crossed as soon as the results were obtained. The results of the Military Academy are now even better, as they have accumulated military decorations that are worth more than the ranking. After succeeding as a member of society, your school grades may be close to irrelevant. Hart tried to explain himself in this way, but Yuna returned her recent specialty, a silent smile. ¡°Well, at any rate, the war is over, but Hart, will you continue with the Royal army?¡± To Yuna¡¯s question, Hart considered his future. Hart volunteered to join the army to escape the threat of the Coalition, but the threat was gone after the war ended. And himself, he is a General. In the current Royal Army, four positions, the Three Chief Posts and the Commander of the MacRil Star System Forces, are considered Colonel Generals. Jhering, who was promoted after participating in the Expeditionary Force, was appointed Commander and Reinelt was appointed Commander of the MacRil System Forces. Following that are the Generals, who have been appointed Commanders of the 7 Star Systems and 2 fleets since before the end of the war, the Chief of Staff of the expeditionary force and Commanders of the 5 fleet after the end of the war, and after Hart has been promoted, makes 16 people. Since no more Generals are required, the General quota of the Monarchy Army may be considered closed. Of all the Colonel Generals and Generals, Hart is the youngest. The difference in age between him and Rendano, the second youngest, is 30 years. Moreover, Hart graduated from the Military Academy at the top of his class, established an unparalleled military service in the war with the Coalition, and was awarded the Order of Sirius, 3rd Class. Since there will be no promotion due to war in the future, he is certain to be among the three future chiefs unless he retires, no matter what selection criteria. ¡°For the time being, the title is fine, and I think I¡¯ll keep it going.¡± ¡°Yes. I see.¡± Upon hearing Hart¡¯s answer, Yuna nodded with a smile in the wind, accepting him as her fianc¨¦. Hart, who returned to the Capital planet on Fortress Kerviel with Valfrete, was instructed to stay on Diros, with the fortress for a while after the accession of the new Sovereign. Under the three chiefs, he will be appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff while also serving as the Commander of Fortress Kerviel. He is to learn how to run a military organization while he holds the posts of Deputy Military Secretary, Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander. Just when he thought he had graduated from the Military Academy, he had to study once again. Yuna and others, the Major Generals, have also been given new titles, concurrently serving as Operation Assistants for Fortress Kerviel. Yuna received an unofficial announcement as the Director of the Spirit Crystals Department in the Technical Bureau of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Philine received an unofficial announcement as the Third Director of Instruction in the Instructional Bureau of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Colette received an unofficial announcement as Assistant to the Deputy Director, a role that would allow her to assist Hart. Spirit Crystals are assets in which the Amakawa family has a monopoly on all shares, and his fianc¨¦e, Yuna, will be the administrator of Hart¡¯s wallet. Hart thinks. Philine¡¯s job is to make aristocratic girls of the Magic Academy High School a little better. The Battle of Hercules was so bad that the Royal army realized the need for improvement. And they put a feather in Philine¡¯s cap because of her accomplishments, her status, and her age. Colette is Hart¡¯s assistant. Colette was saying, ¡°This is how I will pay back my debt ¡°. In addition, 221 of the 502 cadets taken prisoner in the Frodi system and rescued in the Myrna system, excluding non-commissioned officers, have also made their own choices. They spent about two years and five months as prisoners of war from August 439 to January 442, when they were in the second year of the Military Academy. If they want to return to the Military Academy, they can do so in September 442, after the second year¡¯s space flight drills. They would no longer be in the same class as Hart, but their time in captivity would still be counted toward their military record, and they would receive a special consolation pay. If they return to school, their promotion would be accelerated due to military career after appointment, and will be consistent within ten years. In addition, as living witnesses to the Coalition¡¯s surprise attack operation, they are given a stable, relatively light job as a military spokesman until retirement. In order to encourage them to stay in the military and play the role of public relations officer, the amount of the consolation money was reduced, but 167 people returned, and the remaining 54 left the military. ¡°I wondered if there was anything I could do to help those former classmates who were leaving the military.¡± ¡°The first thing that comes to mind is the spirit crystal production factory.¡± When Hart muttered, Yuna proposed in her new position. ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t be possible.¡± The phenomenon that Seraphina caused in the Battle of the MacRil Star System was a trial mechanism that activated in the spirit crystal that Dr. Kerman handed to Hart in exchange for the spirit crystal breaking and losing a large amount of spirit crystals. Since the person who set it up is dead, the details are unknown. However, the importance of the spirit crystal increased further, and the military¡¯s requisition continued even after the war ended, though the powerful person who pushed it out with a brute force method imposed full responsibility on the doctor. Former prisoners of war who leave the Military Academy cannot be hired at such an important facility as they may have been brainwashed by the Coalition. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it in the Kingdom Army, you can arrange something in the Marquis of Amakawa. Hart will also be a Marquis.¡± ¡°Really, why am I going to be a Marquis? ¡°You became a Count for your achievements in the Capital planet Defense, and Marquis for your service on Fortress Kerviel in the annexation of the Coalition.¡± As Yuna explained, Hart was to be raised to Marquis. Valfrete, who will become Sovereign by the end of this year, has revealed the unfair acts of the former Crown Prince faction in order to enhance his legitimacy. The aim is to strengthen Valfrete¡¯s sovereignty by publicizing that the former Crown Prince, the father of the rebel Leandre, also took problematic actions and made the former Crown Prince faction lose its power. As part of this, Hart, who was promoted by only one rank in the military despite his tremendous achievement of saving 11 billion people by defending the Capital planet, was promoted for ¡°the former Crown Prince¡¯s unjust humiliation of the son-in-law of the third prince due to the issue of succession to the throne¡±. Orders prohibiting participation in battle from General Command in the Battle of Hercules were also made public, and the Crown Prince faction, which is almost nonexistent, was destroyed. In the new system of the Monarchy, Hart, a Marquis and General, who has become the head of the Valfrete faction, receives constant contact from all over the place. ¡°Hart. You can refuse any matchmaking interview, since you are too busy serving as both a Marquis and a General. The war is over, so you don¡¯t have to add any more, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Hart nodded slowly at Yuna¡¯s smiling face. Thus, humanity¡¯s first interstellar war came to an end. However, the second interstellar war will come sooner than any of the Royal citizens imagined. The Tenka Federation was watching the struggle between the Monarchy and the Coalition. Faced with the defeat of the Coalition, they soon began to make their move. Their total war potential, which had been forcibly pushed through the magic powered individual mass production method that was once abandoned by the Coalition, was overwhelmingly higher than the sum of all the fighter crafts of the Monarchy. With their declaration of war, the Monarchy will lose many things in the blink of an eye. Author¡¯s Note This concludes the story. Thank you for staying with us until the end. I will post it in the future, so please do not miss the next work and beyond. (November 3, 2020) ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I will continue. The explanation will be in the next post (^_^; (February 21, 2021) Translator¡¯s Note Originally this was the end, but the Author continued the story afterwards. There will be a post showing the revisions he made to the story as a result. Do check it out. I will take a 1 week break and return. Later! CH 39 ¡°We must come to a decision.¡± 600 light-years away from the MacRil star system, in the outer reaches of the galaxy. YuenEuen, heir to the T¨¢ng DynastyTan, which governs the star system called Tenka and its neighboring systems, spoke to the leaders of the five families that also ruled stellar systems 250 to 500 light-years away. The Six Families, including Yuen, are the rulers of the six nations that make up the Tenka Federation with a total population of 100 billion. 697 years ago, in the year 3045 A.D., the great powers of the Eurasian continent emigrated to Fukashiro, a star system 500 light years away from our solar system, with only their own countries. This was an interstellar migration for the purpose of their own prosperity, and was kept secret from nations of Earth. The great powers continued to migrate their citizens to the newly developed Fukashiro, and established the star system as their own territory. Fukashiro, 500 light-years away, was a star system with an ideal living environment comparable to that of Diete. Because Fukashiro was far away from Earth, it continued to develop at the discretion of the local government, and was inevitably reborn as an independent star system with strong autonomy. By the time of the celestial attack on Earth, 237 years after the immigration, Fukashiro had a population of billions and had become an interstellar nation that was moving into surrounding star systems in search of new places to emigrate. After forcibly incorporating the ¡°helpless but overbearing misunderstood people¡± who had evacuated from the Earth¡¯s mainland with only the clothes on their backs into their rule by military force, they called themselves the ¡®Tenka Nation¡¯, and after they migrated to multiple star systems, they called themselves the ¡®Tenka Federation¡¯. The Tenka Federation is currently composed mainly of six inhabited star systems. In order of populationTen-toTi¨¡n d¨±, FukashiroCh¨¦n Ch¨¦ng, Shinky¨­X¨©n J¨¬n, ¨­izumiD¨¤qu¨¢n, Hony¨­B¨§n Y¨¢ng, Ky¨±yamaJi¨³ Sh¨¡n. The ruling families are T¨¢ngTan, S¨°ngSon, G¨¡oGao, X¨³Shu, C¨¢oTsao, LinRin. Each star system was separated by 250 light years at the shortest and 500 light years at the longest, and due to the temperament of the Tenka, they were divided into six nations as a highly independent group. Each of the six Tenka nations has incorporated the surrounding star systems as resource procurement sites, and while competing and restraining each other, they have continued to prosper for 697 years since their first settlement in Fukashiro. There was limited interaction with the Coalition of Humanity. Contact was limited due to the origin of Tenka, but the minimum exchange was maintained in order to obtain various information. There were no civilian trading ships coming and going, but the government¡¯s interstellar trading ships did conduct interstate trade. The Tenkan people consider themselves a rational people. Based on that rational way of thinking, the path that Tenka chose was to fish for prosperity as the Monarchy and the Coalition fought each other. While the Monarchy and the Coalition waged war, they stood on the sidelines, and if it looked like it would be settled, they would intervene and watch the course of events. However, the interstellar war between the two powers ended with the annexation of the entire Coalition by the Monarchy. [We need to make a decision, but the problem is the content. The S¨°ng family opposed the declaration of war against the Monarchy as proposed by the T¨¢ng family. We have missed our best opportunity.] Five screens are currently displayed in Yuen¡¯s communication room. One of them, a man who is connected by long-distance communications from Fukashiro with a Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave, firmly expressed his opposition. The S¨°ng family ruled Fukashiro, the birthplace of Tenka. Born between the family leader and his first wife, H¨¤o L¨¢nHaoru showed his talent and became the successor. Yuen narrowed his eyes and stared back into the face of his troublesome opponent. In addition to him, concerns were initially expressed from Shinky¨­, who was third in Tenka, and ¨­izumi, who was fourth. The one opposing house and the two that had expressed concern all have main planets in sectors that the Monarchy can attack. The former Coalition¡¯s MacRil system, which the Monarchy has attacked, is only 250 light-years from Fukashiro. Shinky¨­ and ¨­izumi are also less than 400 light-years away, and the Monarchy can certainly attack them. The Monarchy of Diete is a nation that routinely launches celestial attacks on enemy inhabited systems. The hesitant houses were all concerned about the possibility of damage to their own territory. The rear star systems agreed to the first approach, and Shinky¨­ and ¨­izumi also responded to the persuasion, leaving only the S¨°ng family of Fukashiro. Not only was Fukashiro close to the MacRil system, but also close to Hercules and the Solar systems, with the shortest range of ??680 light-years from the Monarchy. It is the first star system that the Tenkans migrated to from the Solar System, so it is no surprise. ¡°If it is against the current Monarchy, we can definitely win. But in 100 years, it will be a nation of 100 billion people in 12 star systems, with a vast group of Battlecruisers using Spirit Crystals to defend each system. What does the S¨°ng family think of the threat to our children and grandchildren?¡± When asked by the first-ranked T¨¢ng family, the second- ranked S¨°ng family expressed concern with a stern look. [The point is true. Right now, they have 50 fleets by their standards and tens of millions of Fighter crafts that have completed countermeasures against conventional weaponry¡­ if they are all skilled we can estimate them to be equivalent to 400 fleets. With recruitment, it will increase, but the Tenka Federation can win because Fighter crafts cannot move between stars. However, if the Monarchy abandons them, Fukashiro could face destruction. So I object.] In the meantime, the entire systems of the Monarchy can surely be annexed. When the words came out, Yuen swallowed the emotion that had crawled up in his throat. In the war against the Coalition, the Monarchy swiftly razed its four-star systems, with a large army of Fighter crafts using spirit crystals on a giant fortress. After the fourth system, the MacRil system, was conquered, the Hercules system, which had one billion Coalition people left behind in the dominion of the Monarchy, had no choice but to surrender, but there were those who were unable to accept the surrender and defected. Information about the Monarchy¡¯s forces and spirit crystals was obtained from former Coalition soldiers who defected to Fukashiro. After that, Tenka determined that it could definitely win. In response to Yuen¡¯s thoughts and silence, the opposition H¨¤o L¨¢n expressed his own opinion. [Even if the purpose is to eliminate the threat to Tenka, first of all, we should first establish diplomatic relations, and after Tenka has obtained the technical capabilities of spirit crystals, we should then move at an overwhelmingly advantageous timing. In recent years, it has been loosened, but Tenka¡¯s state mages can double in number with each generation. To begin with, we have no grudge against the Monarchy.] As H¨¤o L¨¢n pointed out, the Monarchy of Diete was an opponent that Tenka had no particular grudge against. Earth was destroyed, but by that, Tenka was completely liberated from its home country. The irreverent refugees from Earth were assembled under Tenka, outside of Tenka, but among them, the high magic holders were incorporated into the bloodline of each family, and the medium magic holders became the foundation of the present state mages. The T¨¢ng family¡¯s Yuen, the ruler of the first-ranked Tenka nation, also has the blood of Russian refugees who had high magic power values, and looks like a Lucian with chestnut hair, white skin and brown eyes, not Asian in appearance. The mass production method of the state mage is the same as the Coalition of Humanity, which uses the sperm of the magic powered man to produce the child to the magic powered woman. The Coalition gave up on the method after the average magic power dropped to 0.45 times per generation, but Tenka forcibly pushed through. For example, a child born between a high magic man with magic power value of 22,000 and a medium magic woman with about 3,400, even at 0.45 times, would result in the first child at 3623, the second child at 3508, the third child at 3404, and the fourth child at 3312, without deteriorating the mother¡¯s magic. If four people are born and the males and females are even, the next generation will have two men who will operate the ship and two women who will give birth to children, doubling the number of Tenka¡¯s ship mages and mothers. The system, which began 360 years ago with about 2,000 mothers, has increased the number of mothers by 1.8 times in a cycle of about 30 years, and has created more than 1.2 million new mothers in the current generation. With the same number of men as women being born, Tenka has a total military force of more than 2,000 fleets by the Monarchy standard, with more than 1.2 million magic powered men who can operate ships the size of a Royal cruiser. The versatility of the fleet is not low, as the descendants of those who have fallen from the target value can also pilot fighter crafts. If that¡¯s not enough, the men of the previous generation can be re-conscripted. Even women who have finished bearing children can operate a destroyer scale ship. Private ships are operated by Tenkan people who are not subject to compulsion, so there is no problem. The six Tenka nations currently have such tremendous power. The celestial plunge into Earth by the Diete government, which created the impetus for prosperity, was even gospel for Tenka. But for Yuen, the lack of resentment was not a reason not to nip the buds of future danger. ¡°Now we can condemn the Monarchy for killing 20 billion people in their celestial rush and demand that the former Coalition Star Systems and their population be handed over. The next step would be to demand the return of all the Coalition people that the Monarchy had taken to their homeland, and declare war on them at any time. This cause will become useless once we establish diplomatic relations with the Monarchy.¡± H¨¤o L¨¢n puts a stop to Yuen, who was talking about the specific way to start the war. [I understand the situation. I don¡¯t even expect us to be defeated. But there will be sacrifices. And I have great doubts about the spirit crystals. What are spirits in the first place? Where are the limits? We should be wary of anyone who wields weapons we do not understand.] ¡°In the war against the Coalition, they were evenly matched even with larger ships of the same class. I admit that the number of Fighter crafts is troublesome, but they do not have warp capability and only come out to defend the system. The Coalition was more capable of destroying enemy star systems than the current Monarchy is.¡± [That doesn¡¯t exempt Fukashiro from destruction.] H¨¤o L¨¢n is very cautious about spirit crystals. Among the asylum seekers from the Hercules system, were Monarchy prisoners of war with spirit crystals who were brought as souvenirs. The highest grade spirit crystal is said to be exclusively for aristocrats and warships used by the Royal Army. Once connected, it cannot be used by anyone else, but it has been used by the prisoners themselves and most of its performance is known. By increasing the convergence rate of the conversion magic element, it increases the shield penetration power of lasers, and on the contrary by collecting the conversion magic element and changing the thickness of the shield, it increases the defensive power, improves the movement speed and cruising range in the high-dimensional space, increases search range and improves detection accuracy. By raising the magic power of the user, even ordinary civilians can operate a magic engine, no energy is required for the operation of spirit crystals, and mass production is possible, so all human beings can have one. Such technology could not be underestimated. [It would be fine if we could understand it but couldn¡¯t put it to practical use due to a few technical problems. However, I do not understand the contents at all. Hence I cannot even judge whether I am being overly cautious. If we start the war with such concerns intact, we may regret it. I will put the safety of Fukashiro as my highest priority.] Yuen appeals that this is an opportunity, and H¨¤o L¨¢n remains as cautious as ever. The two sides could understand each other¡¯s point of view, but it became clear that it was impossible to come to an alignment, so Yuen made a decision. ¡°Very well. Then the war will start with the five families in agreement, and the S¨°ng family who oppose it should not participate. In exchange, there will be no share of the spoils of war to those who don¡¯t fight.¡± [¡­¡­¡­¡­ that is fine. I accept.] Each of the six families was relieved when they came to terms. As a result, only the S¨°ng family of Fukashiro, the closest to the Monarchy, established diplomatic relations with the Monarchy, and the remaining five families decided to start a war. H¨¤o L¨¢n of the S¨°ng family, who had to negotiate diplomatic relations ahead of others, started to move immediately after the communication with the five families was cut off. ¡°Diplomatic relations with the Monarchy, that will make an enemy of the five nations, will surely be established. The Monarchy of 39 billion people, fighting against 79 billion people in five nations, will not want to make an additional 21 billion enemies. It¡¯s better to devote energy towards development rather than conflict.¡± H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s top priority is to avoid causing damage to Fukashiro. In order to establish diplomatic relations as soon as possible, he considered adding the return of the royal prisoners of war, who were brought as souvenirs by exiled soldiers from the Coalition, to the conditions for the establishment of diplomatic relations. H¨¤o L¨¢n also decided to make another move. Marriage diplomacy. H¨¤o L¨¢n, the S¨°ng family ruler that governs Fukashiro, has six wives and 15 children. He has only four daughters as a result of having to give birth in order to have an excellent successor, but Xu¨§ L¨¬Shari, the second child of his fifth wife, was the perfect daughter for the marriage diplomacy. Born to a talented and high magic mother who was able to marry the central figure of the S¨°ng family, which ruled 21 billion people, Xu¨§ L¨¬ is a talented beauty with excellent genes inherited from her mother and the gifted education of the S¨°ng family. Last year, at an age when others would begin to attend college, she skipped grades to graduate from the most difficult national university, Fukashiro University. Her physique is petite, with a small face, droopy eyes, and fair skin. Her hair is a natural pink glaze innocent color, and she wears it long, slightly longer than her shoulders, in random waves that are easy to maintain and give her a natural look. She usually has a languid atmosphere, which in combination with her age, creates a dangerous sex appeal between a girl and an adult. She had a fatal flaw: she was a game loving shut-in with a communication disorder. ¡°I¡¯ve chosen you, Xu¨§ L¨¬, to be part of a delegation that aims to establish diplomatic relations with the Monarchy of Diete. The purpose is marriage diplomacy. This will connect the S¨°ng family with new households and expand the roots of the S¨°ng family. You are to marry a man who will be beneficial for the S¨°ng family.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬ immediately refused the declaration by her father, H¨¤o L¨¢n, who had barged into her room. ¡°I mean, what are you saying to a shut-in? I can¡¯t go outside Tenka. I¡¯m gonna die.¡± ¡°If you refuse to go outside Tenka, then choose the one that will best be for the S¨°ng family from among the Six Tenka families. Even if he is a giant perverted demon who has been single for about 100 years and has various issues, as long as he is within Tenka, you will have no complaints, right?¡± ¡°Huh? Why the worst of 2 choices? What¡¯s the third and fourth option?¡± H¨¤o L¨¢n tells his daughter, who hates the entire matter and wants to buy time, a heartless decision. ¡°You think because you graduated from college by jumping grades, you can just stay home and play games. That¡¯s why I decided to let you choose your own path. The sooner you sell, the better. The other party is unaware of your notoriety. Do well.¡± ¡°Notoriety, in case you¡¯re wondering, I¡¯m more or less socially withdrawn, but I¡¯m also a board member of an organization. Papa arranged it, only my name however.¡± ¡°And for over a year, you have only confined yourself. You no longer have the right to refuse. Choose the best candidate out there. You can¡¯t say no. This is your last chance to return to being a true human. I¡¯m going to give you all known information about the Monarchy.¡± Looking at H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s complexion, Xu¨§ L¨¬ realized that this time her father¡¯s ¡°work and stay indoors¡± was different from usual. Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s small mouth gradually twitches. ¡°Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, really impossible. Hey, please papa. Oh, I¡¯m going to marry my papa!¡± ¡°If you shamelessly return after being dispatched to the Monarchy, I¡¯ll bind both hands and legs with a rope and throw you into a pervert¡¯s bedroom with your marriage registration.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ you¡¯re joking.¡± ¡°My only concern is which pervert¡¯s bedroom to throw you into. The darker the pervert, the more he will be indebted to me, and the better for the S¨°ng family. With that in mind, decide! Either enter into marriage diplomacy or choose not to and be thrown into a pervert¡¯s bedroom.¡± After his notification, H¨¤o L¨¢n turned on his heel and left his daughter¡¯s room. After the door was slammed shut, Xu¨§ L¨¬ remained frozen, stunned and self-defeated. CH 40 After the war, the Monarchy of Diete belatedly decided to take countermeasures against electromagnetic pulse cannons and improve the capabilities of its fighter crafts. In the Monarchy, hundreds of thousands of volunteer soldiers were sacrificed due to the leakage of the secrets by the traitors, so it was absolutely necessary to implement countermeasures even after the war. The original fighter craft is 120 meters long, but with a D-Class spirit crystal that grants an additional magic power of 160, it can be increased to 150 meters in length. Whether it was thickening the coating to prevent electromagnetic pulse cannons or strengthening the armament, there was no problem with the magic power holder and the magic engine. Official name, Project Salamander. The Salamander is a fire spirit that was counted among the four great spirits of earth, water, fire, and wind in the ¡°Book of the Fairy¡± written by the alchemist Paracelsus in 16th century Europe. The new fighter craft will be named Salamander, because it is a name suitable for a fighter craft that runs around the battle sector powered by spirit crystals and shoots down enemy ships with fierce flames. The advantages of a fighter craft are that it needs only one operator hence minimizing human casualties, they could be easily recruited among those who wore spirit crystals, it is easy to train the pilot because it is automatically controlled, and it is easy to build because it has a simple structure. The original fighter craft was a high-speed maneuverable turret that connected a laser cannon with a magic engine, attached thrusters to various parts of the ship hull, and covered with an exterior to shape it. The Salamander became a flying laser beam cannon with no handle as a result of giving top priority to its performance. Various functions such as interstellar navigation and habitability, food production and circulation systems, weapons loading capacity and versatility were all discarded, and the construction was as easy as making a laser gun in an automated factory. The prototype was completed, and all that was left was to issue authorization. [I will now explain the test results of the new fighter craft, the Salamander.] The head of the Salamander Project Division of the Planning Bureau of the Ministry of Military Affairs, who held the rank of Colonel, has begun to explain to the nine Major Generals of the three offices who appear on the communication screen. The director of the Salamander Project Department, the director of the Fighter Craft Department, the director of the Carrier Craft Department, the director of the Fortress Department, the director of the Defense Facilities Department, the director of the Android Department, the director of the Audit Department, the director of the Fighter Craft Education Department¡­ and the director of the Spirit Crystal Department. These are all Generals who have a reasonable amount of discretionary authority within their jurisdiction. [The total length of the Salamander is 150 meters. It will be 1.25 times larger than the conventional craft, but the number accommodated on the carrier crafts will remain the same. The magic engine has 1.33 times the output by using a dedicated type that matches the additional 160 magic power value of the D-Class Spirit crystal.] The Directors of Carrier Crafts, Fortress, and Defense Facility, who coordinated to make adjustments, each wore a bitter expression. Even so, the size had to be increased in order to apply the coating treatment against electromagnetic pulse cannons. [The Salamander, which has a larger magic engine, has improved offensive power, defensive power, and mobility. Its anti-ship combat power is 1.6 times more than conventional fighter crafts. Of course, its fleet strength evaluation has also improved.] [Combat power increased by 1.6 times!?] When the head of the Fortress Director raised his voice in amazement, the Project Director had a proud expression. The head of the Project Division showed the data on the new fighter crafts compared to other ships. After repeatedly checking whether the figures were correct, the Fortress Director asked the Project Director. [If these numbers add up, there will be some debate about the necessity of cruisers. How many simulations did you run?] [We had 5,000 pilots with average skills maneuver the ship, collect data, and used computer simulations to perform mock combat in all sorts of environments a total of 10 trillion times. With 1.2 times the enemy¡¯s rating, the average win rate for all ships is over 80%.] [Nuu¡­ but what about the cost of construction?] The Accounting Director, who was asked by the Fortress Director, opened his mouth while holding his temples with his right finger. [It uses twice as much resources as before, but we have concluded that if mass production of new fighter crafts reduces the damage to warships and military personnel, it will be much cheaper. During the war, I would have been on the side pushing hard on this.] [Is it different now?] [I only felt a little confused at the timing of the end of the war. It may be necessary to intimidate the former Coalition people. The Finance Bureau has already approved the budget required for the directorate.] [What? If you are in favor of it, why don¡¯t you just say so?] [It¡¯s part of the job of the Audit Department, which maintains the military¡¯s purse, to be reluctant on spending.] When the Director of the Accounting and Audit Department replied resignedly, the Fortress Director stood silent with a bored expression. After the discussion between the two parties, the head of the Project Division resumes the explanation. [The ship can be easily constructed in the shipyard without the need to procure new resources. If approved, we will build them and deploy them to the interstellar navigation units first, then to the system defense units. Are there any questions?] A few practical questions were raised, none of which were objectionable, and the nine Major Generals quickly gave their approval. And so the Salamanders were officially deployed to the Monarchy of Diete forces. The Major General, who was the only one who remained silent until the end of the meeting, cut the communication as soon as it was over and left the communications room. The Major General walked through the wide corridors with the androids bowing in vain. Eventually, they arrived at one room and knocked before complaining to the room¡¯s owner. ¡°Mom, listen!¡± The Major General appeared to be in their late teens. Their brown hair with a slight tinge of black spread out softly and reached the shoulders. Her eyes, brighter than her hair, are brown and full of life. Her white, fresh skin reflects her plump, light cherry-colored lips. Her face is beautifully sculpted, and she has a charming personality that gives a soft impression to those who meet her. Her well-balanced body is more toned than the average woman, but still has a feminine roundness. Her name is Yuna Strani Asteria. She is a veteran Major General who received five Medals of Honor given only when one defeats a superior enemy, and is one of the protectors of the Monarchy who saved hundreds of millions of people in the Defense Battle of the Capital planet. Also she is the First Princess of the royal family, who boasts immense popularity and recognition second only to the Sovereign. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Her mother, who replied to Yuna, seems to maintain her 30-year old looks with age stagnation technology. Her blackish, flaxen hair is silkier than her daughter¡¯s, lightly wavy and extends to her chest. Her eyes are a mixture of green peridot and black, with a darker pigment than Yuna¡¯s. Her eyes are droopy and give a gentle impression, in contrast to the color of the eyes that gives a powerful impression Unlike her daughter, who was a military officer, she does not train her body and is one of the most common aristocratic ladies. Her mother¡¯s name is Maina Strani Asteria. She is the Second Queen of the Monarchy of Diete and is officially known as Her Royal Highness Princess Maina and Her Royal Highness the Second Queen. When her only daughter, Yuna, had to contend with a young lady of Marquis Carneus over a boy who was her classmate, she had no choice but to become the second wife of Yuna¡¯s father, Valfrete. And she is a former Lady of a Baron family, who became the Second Queen without receiving any education when her husband became the Sovereign. She is widely known to the people as the biological mother of the First Princess, Yuna. Thanks to the achievements of her husband, who ended the war, and her daughter, who saved hundreds of millions of people, the public¡¯s sentiment has exceeded the upper limit from the beginning. Therefore, the point of being formerly of a Baron household and not receiving the education of a queen did not work against her at all. While supporting the First Queen, who is considerably younger, she assists with official duties as the Second Queen, and focuses on her own hobbies, such as supporting war orphans. She lives in a leisurely manner, occasionally asking how her only daughter is doing. Such are the days of the Second Queen. ¡°Even if I attend the meetings, I¡¯m completely out of the loop!¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± The Second Queen, who enjoys her daughter¡¯s story, urged her to continue with a gentle smile. ¡°You know. Once before, my father, His Majesty Sovereign Valfrete Strani Asteria, the Supreme Commander and Fleet Admiral, was listening behind me and came into the meeting in the middle of the conversation. And since then whenever I attend the meetings, everyone was in favor of everything and the meeting turned into nothing more than a debriefing session!¡± ¡°What did he say at the meeting?¡± Yuna pouts at Mina, who asks mysteriously. ¡°¡®The Spirit Crystal fleet reinforcement plan was originally my idea. You should grasp the problems in realizing the plan within the scope of respective areas of jurisdiction and solve them. If there is a factor that could cause delays, please mention it at the meeting. Then I will take care of it.¡¯ I¡¯m sure the department heads are reporting to their bosses, the Directors, because they¡¯ve already given their approval before the meeting!¡± ¡°I see, I¡¯m sure they wanted so badly to make it happen.¡± Yuna continued to appeal to Maina, who nodded and continued to listen to her. ¡°So, I try not to bring anything up as much as possible, but when they do, they use polite language, and they bring in a Colonel or someone of a lower rank to explain things, who would then ask if their use of honorifics were fine. They ask. If I make a comment, the Colonel would start to panic and the mood in the meeting would freeze.¡± ¡°Oh my, how troubling.¡± ¡°Sheesh, I¡¯m really stumped.¡± As Maina continued to listen, Yuna gradually regained her composure. ¡°Yuna, why don¡¯t you try the royal family¡¯s work for a change of pace?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Eh, what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The Royal Family is short-staffed.¡± In a leisurely tone, Maina spoke of the lack of human resources in the royal family. The royal family has various official duties, including honorary president and vice president of a public interest corporation, and attendance at various ceremonies. However, the current Sovereign has only six immediate family members, the First Queen, the Second Queen, and four children. The former Sovereign, who abdicated on retirement, is unable to take up official duties, and the former Queen is receiving the same treatment as her husband. The former Sovereign had children moderately, including by concubines, but the men who remained without starting a branch family were demoted to vassals at the time of enthronement of the new Sovereign, and the women were all grown up and mostly married off. Some of her half-sisters remain, but royalty and aristocracy have obligations¡­ namely defeating enemies and bearing magic powered children, not just sitting in the royal family without contributing to the nation, basically what can they do as they are looked on unfavorably, their every action scrutinized, it¡¯s not as if they are expected to substitute the Queen. In the Monarchy of Diete, the royal aristocrats are great because they fulfill their obligations, not because they are royalty. The former Crown Prince was killed in battle, the former Crown Princess was expelled, and the former Sovereign¡¯s grandson was executed. The children of the former Crown Prince, including the children of the concubine, are in moderation. However, their father was a fool who killed 1 billion people on the Capital planet as a consequence of his invasion of the Solar System. Their brother is a traitor who leaked military secrets to the enemy. If it is a child of the royal family, their mother raised her eldest son to be a traitor, and their uncle was a traitor who killed hundreds of thousands of royal citizens as the perpetrator who leaked military secrets to the enemy. The children are innocent, but considering their ¡°origin¡±, it is impossible for them to take office. Maina, who also holds many honorary positions, was reaching the limit of her concurrent duties. And right in front of her is the First Princess, who is most popular with the people, and doesn¡¯t hold any honorary positions. The First Princess not only defeated many enemies, but also saved hundreds of millions of lives during the Battle of the Capital planet, and then went on to work on rescue and reconstruction efforts, as well as procuring the resources that were consumed for reconstruction in the Solar System. For the First Princess, the billions on the Capital planet who were saved by Fortress Kerviel and their relatives and friends are strong supporters. No matter how much work she concurrently has, whether she attends ceremonies less often or only contributes once a year, no one would complain. Rather, the public interest corporations would be grateful to have been lent such a wonderful name. ¡°It would save your mother if you could put in some royal duties.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m getting married, so I can¡¯t.¡± After being instantly rejected, Maina stared upwards at Yuna. ¡°You can¡¯t look at me like that. And if I put in work during my days off, I won¡¯t have time to see Hart. So what if another girl gets to him?¡± ¡°That is also true.¡± Maina reluctantly gave up on sharing the honorary positions. If her only daughter¡¯s marriage is at stake, there is no choice. Yuna is working in the military because her fianc¨¦, Hart, is in the military, and because she manages the spirit crystals of Second System, a company in which the Marquis of Amakawa has a monopoly on all shares. These are the two main reasons. Maina, however, stuck a nail in her daughter. ¡°But Yuna, you will be the only adult among His Majesty¡¯s children. If anything were to happen to His Majesty right now, you will be Queen Regent until the next in line can ascend to the throne as Sovereign.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Yuna, who did not understand the meaning of the unexpected words, asked back loudly. ¡°I don¡¯t have the necessary magic power value to succeed to the throne, do I?¡± ¡°Oh, what is your magic power value when combined with your special spirit crystal?¡± At those words, Yuna sensed a very unpleasant situation. Yuna¡¯s magic power value is 26,138, and with the addition from her B-class spirit crystals it becomes 28,698. The magic power value required to succeed to the throne is 27,440. The Sovereign is required to have the magic power to operate a mobile fortress, and there is no rule that the magic power of the spirits could not be added to operate the mobile fortress. The question of whether it actually works and is useful is answered by the Order of Sirius, 3rd Class Merit, which shines on her chest. In fact, there are only a handful of people in the entire Monarchy who have been more useful than the First Princess. And there are billions of supporters on the Capital planet. ¡°Absolutely not. I¡¯m not interested in that! Father, live a long life!¡± From the bottom of her heart, Yuna prayed for her father¡¯s health. CH 41 In the war against the Coalition of Humanity, the Monarchy of Diete made two major blunders. One was at the Battle of Diete in 440. A billion people died on the Capital planet. The other was at the Battle of Hercules in 441. The army had no control over the aristocracy. Therefore, in the Monarchy, star system defense exercises were added to the Military Academy from 441, and joint defense exercises with students of the Academy of Magic were added in 442. Once a month, those who are registered as aristocrats at the Magic Academy High School and volunteers from the Military Academy, enter the virtual space with an extremely high-performance military simulation machine, and operate the given warship. Maneuvering a ship in virtual space is almost the same as in reality. This is because each person emits real magical power through the spirit crystal, and their movements are reproduced according to the measurement results and the abilities of the ship. This simulation machine is only available to the military. This is the third joint exercise to be held since July 442. Because the star system to be defended is different every time, the assigned ships are also different every time. Reserve military ships, defense ships for aristocratic conscripts, newly built ships that have yet to be launched, old ships that have not yet been decommissioned, and defense satellites that use magic engines are all eligible. The announcement by Major General Philine Carneus, Third Director of Instruction in the Instructional Bureau of the Monarchy Ministry of Military Affairs, was broadcast in the chassis of the simulation exercise machine that each participant was in. [We will now engage in a defense battle. Your duty is to prepare for emergencies and to protect the Monarchy and the Royal citizens in the event of an emergency. Even if the Coalition is destroyed, anything can happen at any time: remnants of the Coalition, a domestic revolt, encounters with neutral nations, the Herculeans, the Tenka Federation or other immigrant nations that have not established diplomatic relations, and encounters with hostile invaders.] The countries and powers lined up did not make the trainees feel as threatened as the Coalition did. However, this exercise is not done because it is currently urgent, but to ensure that they can move properly in an emergency. Military cadets and training school students are obliged to perform their duties. Those who are in the aristocracy are also obliged to respond to the conscription. And if they don¡¯t like it, they can quit, but at this point, they are not fleeing from the enemy. [If you are not motivated, please drop out of the military and training schools and abandon your aristocratic titles. If there are rotten oranges in the mix, the other oranges will also end up rotten. And, we do not seek any rabble either. First, listen to your commander¡¯s orders. I will now activate the simulation machine.] Claudia Coesfeld, a freshman at the Military Academy, watched the moment when the virtual space, which had been pitch black, was flooded with an enormous amount of stars and artificial light. The two largest celestial bodies in space are a G-type main sequence star and a planet 1.4 times the size of Earth. The name of the star Diete, and the planet Diros. A large number of warships are flying out of the military space port in orbit one after another. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ is it the defense battle of the Capital planet?¡± The friendly force consists of 8 fleets, 2 mobile fortresses, 1 defense fortress, and Fortress Kerviel. The enemy force consists of 16 fleets and 1 mobile fortress. The force evaluation is 100:150. Although the force evaluation is the same as it was then, the defense fortress has two sons of Sovereign Valfrete on board and one of the mobile fortresses has Claudia, who joined the Royal Army. Other than that, the commander is a senior cadet of the Military Academy, the warships are operated by junior cadets, the fighter crafts are operated by students of the training school, and the students at the magic academy operate the scavenged warships that have been gathered. Everything else is run by the computer. Philine¡¯s announcement interrupted her emotionally charged hearing. [The non-negotiable line is less than 1 billion deaths. No matter how great the process is, the result is everything. Each commander can¡¯t just say, ¡®I couldn¡¯t do it¡¯. You absolutely must learn to do it. This concludes the communication from the Instructional Bureau. Situation initiated.] When Philine¡¯s communication screen disappeared, Claudia sent magic to the magic engine of Zophiel, a mobile fortress, converting a huge amount of magic elements into energy of the propulsion engine, turning it into a star flowing through the system. Cadets and aristocratic children also use C-class spirit crystals, but only Claudia has a higher-grade B-class spirit crystal, in addition to the C-class spirit crystal to support her. Claudia is not sure about the difference between C-class spirits and B-class spirits. As for the appearance, they are obviously different. Sophia, the spirit of the C-class spirit crystal, appears as a girl of the same age as Claudia. She has light purple hair and eyes and white skin. She wears crimson clothing with a large ribbon on her hair, white gloves and white boots, and a white cane with a golden-white stump with a blue jewel floating on top. She has a mild-mannered and highly cooperative personality, and she is the type who lets Claudia choose her path and follows along behind her. Cynthia, the spirit of the B-class spirit crystal, appears as an adult female, and is a white-winged nymph. She has blue hair, blue eyes, wears a white dress-like two-piece, and holds a tall white sickle with a blue jewel at the tip. She has a winning personality and will take the initiative to show the best path, and if asked, will inform on the results of multiple paths. The difference between the two that Claudia was curious about is the blue gem that they were carrying. Sofia¡¯s jewel looks like a land-free water planet, surrounded by five moons. And Cynthia¡¯s jewel is like the dark and deep blue of Neptune. Perhaps the difference in power between C-class spirits and B-class spirits may be reflected in their jewels. As Claudia pondered this, she received a communication from the General Headquarters. [I¡¯m Elias Laurent, 4th year senior Cadet of the Royal Military Academy. I will be in charge of General Command, I and Garcia, a 4th year cadet as Deputy Commander, will be in charge of the military forces, and Deputy Commander Faure, the 3rd year Senior student, will be in charge of the General Headquarters of the Magic Academy students. Now, we separate the communication channels.] After the communication between the military cadets and the Magic Academy students was split, Laurent gave instructions to the cadets. [We are receiving a transmission from Fortress Kerviel that they are going to attack from the enemy¡¯s right flank. The attack is expected to break through the entire enemy force and cause the enemy formation to collapse. Therefore, we will deploy the 8 fleets into 2 vertical lines and four horizontal rows. Furthermore, in the sector under the charge of each fleet, 10 fleet divisions will be subdivided into 3 vertical lines, 3 horizontal rows, and 1 rear division to ensure no enemy will overflow.] Despite not being aware of the contents of the simulation exercises in advance, Laurent quickly distributed eight fleets into the space sector. The star system map of Fortress Zophiel Command shows a series of virtual fleet formations. First, the fleet spread out in a rectangular shape in two lines vertically and four rows horizontally in the direction of the enemy attack. Each of the 8 fleets was then deployed in a 3 by 3 square of 9 fleet divisions, behind which a single division with the fleet commander was placed for command and support purposes. [The flagship is the mobile fortress Sariel. In case of emergency, Deputy Commander Garcia and the First Sub-Command will operate the mobile fortress Zophiel, Deputy Commander Faure and the Second Sub-Command to the defense fortress Galgaliel. I will command the army, but I will leave the deployment and command of Fortress Zophiel to the judgment of Deputy Commander Garcia. Now then, get into position.] The flagship Sariel will be placed in the center of the 8 fleets. The path of the meteors running through the star system rapidly turned, leading towards the center of the Royal army, which built eight walls. Meanwhile, communication came in from Garcia to Claudia. [That¡¯s why I¡¯m on board with you, but as a fortress commander, do you have any opinions about the operation of the fortress?] ¡°Please let the spirits run free. We just need to defeat as many enemies as possible without dropping the fortress. If you leave it to the spirits, you can achieve the greatest results. Like Fortress Kerviel.¡± [¡­¡­¡­¡­ All right. I leave it to you.] After the communication with Garcia was cut off, Claudia called out to Cynthia and Sophia, with whom she had a magical connection. ¡°Then, I look forward to working with you both.¡± ¡°It was the best choice. Leave it to me. Let¡¯s run clockwise in Nadir bearing. That way, the enemy won¡¯t be able to get below you, so you can limit the direction in which the enemy arrives to the zenith.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. Sophia will operate the propulsion engine.¡± After the meteors moved to the center of the fleet to recover Garcia, they accelerated and continued to speed up from the bottom left of the fleet. Fortress Kerviel has already launched a suicide attack at the enemy right flank. When Fortress Kerviel fights first, it was believed things won¡¯t end up a straight star system defense battle, but if it was omitted, it would not be possible to protect the star from enemies with a force difference of 100 to 189. Also, if the current defense system is reflected, in which fighter crafts would be deployed in large numbers, on the contrary, it will be an overwhelming win and no longer count as training. This may be the best exercise because each person will become more serious if the engagement actually happens and has dire consequences. With that in mind, the meteor began to whittle away the far right wing of the enemy fleet from the bottom. Garcia, who was a deputy commander stationed at Fortress Zophiel, began commanding fortress personnel on Claudia¡¯s behalf. Laser attacks are carried out from the main and auxiliary guns, and enemy ships scattered by Fortress Kerviel begin to drop out one after another. The two-spirit operated Fortress Zophiel emerged when there were few enemies, dived to the bottom when there were many enemies, unilaterally hunting enemy ships from beyond their attack range. The thinning out of the enemy became bolder as the fortress advanced. Even if the enemy attacks, Sophia will deploy her shield in time to protect the fortress, and Cynthia will immediately shoot down the enemy with the main and auxiliary guns. For the enemies on the battlefield, it would have been as if a second smaller Fortress Kerviel had appeared. Following the preceding Fortress Kerviel, Claudia continued to run across the battlefield. The enemy ships approaching the Capital planet are turned into momentary light spots one after another, and red lights are deprived from the system chart. The scythe wielded by Cynthia caught and killed the enemy, the staff held by Sophia repelled the enemy¡¯s attack, and the fortress broke through the enemy mostly unscathed. As a result of the battle, 315 enemy ships were dropped, a total strength evaluation of 1188. This was more than double Fortress Zophiel¡¯s military strength evaluation of 506. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how easy it is. Is there a problem with the machine? ¡°It¡¯s because you went in after Fortress Kerviel rampaged and disrupted the enemy, but before they could rebuild. In battle, an opportunity presents itself. Keep that in mind. Next time we¡¯ll go from the top. Their formation has already been rebuilt, so the difficulty will be a little higher.¡± ¡°Yes yes. We¡¯ll go a little carefully. Claudia, we¡¯ll protect the Capital planet.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± If only I were born four years early and had been in the same grade as Hart and others. Claudia, who prevented Sophia from reading her negative thoughts, ascended toward the zenith as if pulled by Cynthia. The enemy has already given up on winning the battle, and will push through as a group to destroy Diros. The majority of the enemy was intercepted by the fleet deployed by Laurent, the Commander-in-Chief. Even so, the density of the enemy was so high that the fleet divisions could not prevent them all from breaking through. At that time, instead of fortifying the fleet formation and repelling the denser parts of the enemy, they allowed a small number of breakthroughs from all directions. And this time, instead of distributing the fleet and preventing it broadly in general, the dense enemy group passed through as it was. Of the two, which is better? Claudia, from her experience defending as a conscripted aristocrat, thinks that it is better to keep the enemies apart. If they approach a few ships at a time, they can be dealt with by the rear line. When they come in a group, they will be coordinated and instantly become stronger. Laurent has failed. Claudia thought. After breaking through the frontline of the Royal Army, the enemy also began battle with 3rd year Faure¡¯s response unit, who was in command of the Magic Academy students. The conscript fleet did its best to fire from the front, but it was not as flexible when it was under the Marquis of Zeckingen, a former fleet commander. They were easily caught, a gap was made, and they pushed towards the Capital planet as a group. The Future Arrow, which was operated by someone else, shone its shield with the bombardment of the enemy ship. The defense fortress moved to cover it, and defeated the enemy ship which was attacking. However, enemies who had passed through the empty sector created by the movement of the defense fortress rushed to the Capital planet one after another. A high-speed suicide attack by an enemy ship with an incident angle of nearly 90 degrees was enough to shatter the ground and expose most of the underground evacuation zone. The planet surface was blown away, and the heat from the fusion rounds detonated by the enemy ships laid waste to the underground without mercy. Half the planet was burned by the rain of the scattered fusion rounds. The death toll of the Royal citizens who had evacuated to the underground shelters exceeded 2 billion. ¡°Bernard Asteria, do you know what you¡¯ve done?¡± Claudia revealed her anger at the foolish prince who was operating the defense fortress as she cut down the remaining enemy ships. This is a simulation exercise and is done to educate them. After reconsidering it, Claudia closed her eyes, adjusted her breathing, and calmed her anger. At the end of the exercise, the students were reviewed while still in the housing of the simulation machine. In the end, the death toll exceeded 2.6 billion, but the enemy fleet was successfully eliminated. Still, the evaluation from the Instructional Bureau was harsh. [First, I said the result is everything. Two years ago, we fought a defense battle without knowing the movements of our enemies or our allies. But now you know this as a part of history and you should have been able to improve on it. So why did the results get worse?] The problems with the movement of the Royal Army and the conscripted aristocrats were exactly as Claudia had imagined. The Royal army was deployed evenly, and although the number of enemies that had breached was lower than last time, the rear could not respond to the large group of enemies that passed behind them without breaking up. The conscripted fleet, although each of its capabilities was different, operated at the same level as the Royal Army fleet, and therefore, could not defend the final line of defense without the arrival of their allies. After warning the cadets of the Military Academy, Philine finally warned the students of the Academy of Magic as well. [Trainee Bernard Strani Asteria, operator of the defense fortress. Why did you not follow the Deputy Commander¡¯s order, and directed the output of the attack to the propulsion engine and headed for the Future Arrow?] [Our allies would have been dropped if we hadn¡¯t.] Bernard, who appeared on the communication screen, answered Philine¡¯s question indifferently. Philine, on the other hand, even though he was the First Prince, resolutely informed him. [As a result, the final line of defense was breached, resulting in a large number of deaths among the Royal citizens. In fact, if you had followed orders, the death toll would have been less than the level of the battle two years ago. You acted on your own initiative and caused the death of 1.6 billion people. The selfish actions of amateurs will drag our feet on the field. If you serve as a conscripted aristocrat, be sure to absolutely obey the orders of the Royal Army.] [¡­¡­¡­¡­] [What is your answer? His Majesty has given me a decree not to go easy, even if you are a prince, so I will mercilessly lower credits. Can you understand the obligations of royalty and aristocrats or will you suffer the humiliation as you retake this course with your junior students next year?] [¡­¡­¡­¡­ I understand.] Bernard replied in a dejected manner to Philine, who smiled pleasantly. CH 42 The calendar of the Monarchy of Diete is inherited from the history of the Earth era. The Capital planet Diros, which has a 28-hour planetary rotation, has 28 hours a day, but by setting the month to 26-27 days, it matches the Gregorian calendar. From the perspective of economic activity, a seven-day week is still in effect. Even if a business is open on Saturdays and Sundays, it is not possible to make transactions with other companies because they are closed, and children¡¯s kindergartens and schools are closed, so there are no employees. Therefore, companies have no choice but to close their doors too. The Royal Army of the Capital planet is also closed on Saturdays and Sundays in peacetime, just like most companies. Hart, a General of the Royal Army, who has been assigned to the Monarchy since June 442, also works on a five-day workweek system, just like the majority. On weekdays, Hart wakes up at 6 a.m. and clocks in after 7 a.m. The military has a number of dedicated air routes for flying vehicles, and Hart has access to officer-only air routes, so he can be at the office within an hour from his home and start work from 9 a.m. Regular work ends at 18:00, and meetings, conferences, committees and debriefings are held after hours, and ends around 20:00. Since he is in a managerial position, he does not receive overtime allowances. Even though he is not financially troubled, he sometimes feels disappointed because Hart, who comes from a quasi-aristocratic background, has a small-town spirit. Hart¡¯s rank, a General, is one of the top ranks in the Royal Army. Above the General, there is only one Fleet Admiral and four Colonel Generals, for a total of five people. Moreover, Hart, who came in second after Valfrete in military achievements for defeating the Coalition, has the highest rank as a General, except for his predecessor, and is ranked 10th out of 16 people. But Hart¡¯s position is Deputy Director, and unfortunately he has a solid boss called Director. The Monarchy of Diete, the government has a ministry called the Ministry of Military Affairs, and under that government agency, there are three offices: the Military Government Office, the Staff Office, and the Command Office. The three heads of the Royal Army are the Chiefs of the three offices. The Military Government is in charge of general affairs, legal affairs, accounting, planning, technological development, and so on. Yuna is the director of the Spirit Crystal Department of the Technology Development Bureau in the office, the Planning Bureau is proceeding with the Salamander project, and the Finance Bureau has the Accounting and Audit Department, etc. The Staff Office has jurisdiction over personnel, education, and property including personnel affairs, education, and administration. Philine is the third director of the Instructional Bureau within the office, the Personnel Bureau is in charge of personnel affairs, the Administration Bureau is in charge of warships and equipment, and the Instructional Bureau is in charge of the Military Academies and vocational schools. The Command Office is in control of the operation of the actual forces. The Command Bureau within the Agency has the General Command, the Security Bureau has the Military Police Department, and the Star System Bureau has the District Department, etc., which issue instructions to the Royal Army¡¯s active forces. The order of the three offices was the Military Government Office, the Staff Office, and the Command Office, but during the Battle of Loki Star System, when Valfrete alone was promoted to Colonel General, the Command Office was given the highest priority. The exceptional wartime privileges continued until Valfrete was promoted from Commander-in-Chief to Supreme Commander. Hart is scheduled to be appointed as the Deputy Director of these three offices. Once he served as Deputy Director of the three government offices, he would be able to take control of all of the entire Royal Army. After that, he would be viable to replace the three Chiefs at any time. Sovereign Valfrete may be trying to raise Hart, the son-in-law of his biological daughter Yuna, to be his agent in the military. That is what Hart and the military personnel around him think. That¡¯s why Hart is being educated in a cramming program. Before the war, it would have been enough to work in a pattern over the years. However, as a result of the reorganization of the military organization due to the resumption of the war with the Coalition, the doubling of the territory controlled due to the surrender of the Coalition, and the corresponding reorganization of the army, the conventional operational pattern became completely unacceptable. The three offices are spending their days forced to deal with requests and demands from all sides one after another. If you¡¯re a first class graduate of the Military Academy and have completed a one-year command staff course, you can do it¡­ this is a great misunderstanding, and in each field with a high degree of specialization, it is usual for the officers who have graduated from the Commandant department of the Military Academy to enter and steadily improve while gaining practical experience. For the time being, Hart was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Command Office, saying, ¡°Because he was a commander of a combat unit, he should be capable of managing the Command Office in charge of the actual combat force ¡°. In the three offices, the decision makers are the Chiefs (Colonel General), the Directors of each bureau (Lieutenant General), each Department Head (Major General), and the Section Heads (Colonel) according to the contents. Hart, the Deputy Director, despite not having the final say at any level of decision, was required to pre-confirm everything in the Chief level decision and attend various committee meetings as an observer. [Seems you¡¯re about to drop dead.] It was Colonel General James Anderson, the Chief of Military Affairs, who described the man as dead over the communications screen. Anderson, an old man who graduated from the Military Academy at the top of his class 78 years ago, reached the mandatory retirement age of 100, but remains the oldest member of the Royal Army since the resumption of the war and the end of the war. He always says, ¡°I¡¯ll retire after the post-war cleanup¡±. However, he was not apathetic, but rather an energetic old man who claims, ¡°We destroyed the Coalition in my generation. Now I can dominate the Retired General¡¯s Association. So I want to retire early. Otherwise, the person I¡¯m bragging about will die in my lifetime¡±. Hart straightened his posture over the communication screen. ¡°Excuse me.¡± Anderson spoke to Hart, someone from his grandson¡¯s generation, as if he were making small talk. [It¡¯s hard to get used to at first, but that¡¯s because you¡¯re not grasping the point yet.] ¡°The point?¡± [Yes, the main point may be enough, so if you think about what the purpose of the Royal Army is and what is required to fulfill it, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to figure out what you need to do. For example, here would be the approval decision for the Salamander deployment.] Anderson showed the settlement data for the Salamander deployment, which was still subject to final approval by the Commander-in-Chief and the Chief of Staff. When Hart nodded, Anderson opened the contents and shared the data with Hart. [This approval will increase the Royal Army¡¯s military power by 1.6 times. The Royal Army is an organization that protects the Monarchy and its people. Therefore, if the military power is increased by 1.6 times and there are no issues with the budget and resources, then it is okay to proceed. On the contrary, if you do not approve and the military power is insufficient in an emergency, you would regret it. I wonder if there¡¯s anything else you don¡¯t understand.] ¡°No, I think the Chief is right.¡± Hart nodded to Anderson, wondering if such a simplification would be sufficient. Anderson speaks leisurely in a relaxed manner, stroking his beard. [What I believe is necessary for the postwar Royal Army is the maintenance of its organization. Man has a combative instinct. General Amakawa, have you read any of the research materials on the World War III awareness survey conducted during the Earth¡¯s era?] ¡°Just a glimpse.¡± The materials Hart read during his time at the Military Academy are international awareness surveys that began on a global scale using social media half a century after the end of the Cold War. The contents were, ¡°When will the next world war happen?¡± and ¡°When will the nuclear war occur?¡±, etc., and people who consistently answered that the world war would never happen again in every survey of every era were always a minority. And in fact, there have been interstellar wars, not just planetary ones. As for wars and conflicts that were not on a global scale, they were occurring for a long time until Diete dropped celestial bodies on Earth. [The next war will surely happen. The sound maintenance of the military is indispensable for deterrence and response. My final task is to see to it that my successor understands this. A General with whom I have spoken directly, who is as young as possible and has a strong influence inside and outside the Military. If he has the support of the people, so much the better. How would you like to be Director General of the Military for about 200 years? I will make a direct appeal to His Majesty in exchange for retirement.] ¡°Ha, ha, ha¡­¡± Anderson and his colleagues, who had an average life expectancy of 150 years due to aging stagnation technology, had a mandatory retirement age of 100 years. However, in the generation whose life expectancy would increase to 200 years, the retirement age will probably increase to about 150 years. And if Hart and his colleagues have an average lifespan of 300 years, the retirement age may be extended to around 220 years. In Hart¡¯s position, it would not be impossible for him to hold the post for 200 years. Anderson, who offered a 20-year-old man a job that would last ten times longer than he had ever worked in his life, nodded with satisfaction. [Whether it¡¯s the Chief of Staff who oversees the aristocrats, a Commander-in-Chief who presides over a combat unit, you are capable, General Amakawa. If you occupy one of the three Chief posts, you can exert influence over the other two. You can pass it on to your successor when you retire. And now, with this my work is done.] Satisfied after saying what he wanted to say, Anderson stamped his approval on the settlement data of the Salamander deployment and displayed it on Hart¡¯s communication screen. Anderson ended the call, noting that he intended to finish the settlement or the handover. Anderson, who saw Hart¡¯s salute across the screen, returned the courtesy, appealing for something as his eyes conveyed a strong sense of purpose, and cut the communication. When communication was disconnected, Mira, one of Hart¡¯s new spirits, brightly announced on his left side. ¡°One, done¡± Hart sighed deeply and leaned against the back of the chair. Next to him, Mira, who looks like a girl about 10 years old, sits on the desk and toying with a large silver fork that is about two-thirds her height. Hart recognizes that the high spirits have an inhuman appearance, the intermediate spirits are human females, and the lesser spirits are little girls. Intermediate and lesser spirits are further divided into upper and lower categories. The upper intermediate spirits possess, without exception, some form of objects, such as distinctive wands and books, and uncharacteristic belts and ornaments. In addition, lower spirits recognize their power at an early age. However, they can¡¯t see the contracted spirits of others. Hart¡¯s other two contractors were both inhuman in appearance. Fleur, a cherry-colored spirit crystal, is a spirit with half-elf ears and fairy wings. Rhea, a yellow-green spirit crystal, is a spirit whose elf ears swirl around with a green breeze. But Mira, the same high spirit, didn¡¯t quite fit the criteria that Hart knew at all. She had the appearance of a ten-year-old girl, like a lower spirit, with a silver fork, like an intermediate spirit, and the figure she had shown only once when she made the contract was a beautiful Naiad that lived in a spring or river. Incidentally, the Naiad also had a black-covered book with a silver chain jeweled necklace hanging from her neck. When Hart asked about Mira¡¯s appearance, she replied, ¡°Because this is easier.¡± As it turned out, Mira was a very unusual spirit. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing, though.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s move on, shall we?¡± ¡°Hey, wait.¡± Mira took the liberty of manipulating the equipment and connected the communication to the office of the Chief of Staff, Colonel General Javier Ortiz. Hart hurriedly explains to the officer in place that he had a prior appointment and confirms the Chief of Staff¡¯s schedule. Ortiz seemed to be available, and immediately appeared on the communication screen. Ortiz is the third son of a Viscount family who graduated from the Military Academy 77 years ago. When he could not take over the family, he joined the military at an early age, where he steadily rose through the ranks, taking advantage of his high magic power and his origins to eventually become one of the three Chiefs. Ortiz, who is also approaching retirement, has publicly stated that if he sees Anderson retire he will also retire. [General Amakawa? Have you finished your conversation with Director Anderson?] ¡°Yes sir, I just received approval.¡± [Very well, send the data over.] ¡°Of course, I will send the data immediately.¡± When Hart handed over the data that had been approved by the Chief of Military Affairs and the Commander-in-Chief, Ortiz checked it over and then turned to Hart with his arms crossed. [Before I approve the Salamander hand-over, I¡¯ll tell you one thing.] ¡°Yes sir. What is it?¡± [Other people don¡¯t always operate the way you expect them to. How do we prevent a rebellion by citizens with weapons capable of destroying the Royal Fleet? It is the job of the higher-ups to make sure that each department always thinks of the worst and prepare in advance to deal with it.] ¡°Yes, sir, I¡¯ve heard that Chief of Staff Ortiz proposed that Salamanders be equipped with a forced remote control function from the mother ship or home port.¡± [That¡¯s right, even if His Majesty supports it, there is no point in three Chiefs just blindly accepting things. Shove in what is necessary. You are already in a position to do so, so all you have to do is increase your knowledge and experience, and have the will to do it.] ¡°Thank you for your advice.¡± Ortiz nodded, stamped his approval, and shared the data with Hart. Then he said, ¡°That is all,¡± and readily cut off communication. When Hart soundly leaned back in his chair, Mira said cheerfully. ¡°There, all done!¡± ¡°Thanks to you.¡± The Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Jhering, who should be receiving the approval, was promoted from Lieutenant General to General during the expedition of the Solar System Invaders, served in Valfrete¡¯s expeditionary force, but was not up to dealing with the other two commanders, who are older. Hart, who was granted permission to receive Salamanders on his behalf for study purposes, felt fatigued by his role. After all, it¡¯s been only half a year since Hart graduated from the Military Academy in April, skipping three years. His aversion to dealing with his superiors is not as bad as Jhering. If you are as distant as Hart, you may as well be a bit defiant. In the final written decision, Hart sent an order to the relevant departments of the three offices to deploy salamander to the Command Office. Once the order is issued, each department and the field will execute it automatically. After finishing the biggest job of the day, Hart imagined what he would do when he got home. Hart is not only a General of the Army, but also a Marquis with a territory of 800 million people. The territory of the new Marquis is part of the continent of Cynthus across the Mediterranean Sea from the continent where the royal capital is located. There was a second production factory for spirit crystals there, and after much consideration, it was separated from the territory under the direct control of the Royal family. The provincial government has been divided and transferred from the Monarchy¡¯s government, and the former ministers and chiefs of the Monarchy¡¯s government have been replaced with ministers and chiefs of the local government, and they continue working as they are. The Marquis¡¯ policies are adapted from the Monarchy¡¯s government, and even those with regional characteristics are decided according to the overall plan of the Capital planet, Diros. Therefore, Hart has few decisions to make, but since the final arbiter is Marquis Hart, he must settle the estate of 800 million people. Not only the Command Office of the Royal Army, but also the administration of the territory was all new to Hart, and he had to start by understanding the contents. Hart, who spends two hours of the round-trip time between his home and the Royal Army to read, and is forced to work for about two hours after returning home, is freed after 24:00. In addition, Hart has various social positions. General, Marquis, fianc¨¦e of the First Princess, owner of the spirit crystal manufacturing company, etc. Then, many aristocrats, big figures in the political and business world, influential people in the territory, scholars, and so on, came to request a meeting one after another, and Saturdays were devoted to the visits. Hart would like to be able to at least take Sundays off, but as usual, hope and reality differ. If not for the fact that Diros, the Capital planet, had 28-hour days, he might have died of overwork. Something seems wrong, but Hart has convinced himself that he must be imagining things. ¡°If you don¡¯t properly cut corners, you¡¯ll collapse.¡± ¡°I hear that, thank you.¡± Hart, who was advised by a spirit with an appearance age of 10, thanked her honestly. ¡°That¡¯s why, though things are hectic, I have some rather unfortunate news for Mr. Hart. It was fortunate I rushed to finish receiving the Salamander. You¡¯ll be glad I did.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ was there an uprising in the old Coalition?¡± ¡°It would have been nice if that was all.¡± Instead of explaining, Mira manipulated Hart¡¯s terminal without permission. Then, it seems that the spirit operated on its own even at the other end, and a serious-looking Colette was surprised to see the communication screen that connected her to Hart. CH 43 ¡°I¡¯ve received two communications from the Tenka Federation. One is to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the other is an ultimatum to prepare for war.¡± At the first meeting of the Royal Court after his accession to the throne, Sovereign Valfrete made known with cold anger the two types of communications he had received from the Tenka Federation. A total of 41 officials were in attendance, including the Sovereign, the prime minister, 15 ministers, 20 senior military officers at the rank of General and above, the First Queen and the First Princess, the Speaker of the House of Lords and the Speaker of the National Assembly. Each of them was nervous as they reaffirmed the information they had been informed in advance. The Tenka Federation is an interstellar nation whose ancestors settled on a planet that was independently developed by a large country in the Eurasian Continent during the Earth Age before the Diete War of Independence. According to information obtained from the MacRil system of the Former Coalition, which was annexed by the Monarchy, there are currently six central star systems, which are divided into six nations to form a federal state. Apparently, the relationship between the six nations is not particularly favorable, and they are competing with each other for development. The total population is much larger than the Coalition, which is due to the fact that the original nation had a huge population during the Earth¡¯s era, so if the planetary environment can withstand population increase, explosive population growth can occur. This is what the Monarchy has determined. In terms of science and technology, there is no extreme difference because there is an exchange between Tenka and the Coalition, the Coalition has exchanges with the Republic of Frodi, and the Republic of Frodi is in relations with the Monarchy of Diete. And according to the information the Coalition had obtained, Tenka continued mass production of the magic powered individuals via artificial insemination methods the Coalition gave up on. The number of the Coalition¡¯s mass-produced magic holders through artificial insemination had declined by 0.45 times for each generation. 10,000 magic powered individuals become 4,500 after 1 generation, 2025 after 2 generations, and 911 after 3 generations. For this reason, the Coalition abandoned mass production by artificial insemination, but Tenka pushed the system through with the state¡¯s authority. Moreover, the warship mass production consists of the combination of the gene of high magic holder and medium magic mothers. Although the Coalition could not grasp the total strength, the estimated power of Tenka surpasses the Coalition. If Tenka¡¯s high-magic holders existed up to the Duke class, which is the highest grade for non-modified magic holders of the Coalition, even if the medium magic holder were about 100 or 500 people, it is estimated that the magic power value of the children would be pushed up for each generation and eventually reach cruiser-class magic holders. Compared to the Coalition Cruisers, which are larger in size, the military strength evaluation will be a little lower, but the overwhelming quantity is more than enough to compensate for the quality. The reason why the powerful Tenka Federation did not intervene in the war between the Monarchy and the Coalition is great distance and a matter of consciousness. The shortest distance from Earth is 500 light years, and the shortest distance from the Diete System is 680 light years via Earth. At the time of the War of Independence, when travel technology was much lower than it is now, intervention was not practical. Also, for those who separated from Earth before the war of independence and secretly devoted themselves to the development of their own planet, the conflict between the Diete government and the Earth government was a separate affair. The only reason why they have come into contact with each other now is that the Monarchy has gained the MacLir system, 250 light-years from Tenka, and the border wall of the Coalition has been removed. ¡°First of all, the S¨°ng dynasty of Fukashiro asked for the establishment of diplomatic relations. They are only one of the six nations, hold the star system that Tenka first settled on, and a self-proclaimed population of 21 billion people, which is the second largest in Tenka. They want to remain neutral, they claim they will not participate in the war between the Monarchy and the other five nations, they say they won¡¯t sell the other Tenka nations, but won¡¯t sell the Monarchy either.¡± Forty other attendees were silent, except for Valfrete. Since they have never been involved in any of these parties, they lack sufficient information to judge them. Are the five nations and this one other nation at odds? Or is it a trap to catch the Monarchy off guard and shoot from behind? If the history and relations of the six nations were known, it would be helpful in making a decision, but the former Coalition that was taken over did not have any detailed information. But by the time the meeting was held, Valfrete had already come to a conclusion. ¡°The establishment of diplomatic relations with Fukashiro, and the neutral position of Fukashiro, has been accepted. There is no need to unite a broken enemy. The other side has made a number of proposals in preliminary negotiations, all of which were acceptable.¡± I see. Hart nodded. The conditions proposed by Fukashiro at the Royal Court meeting were as follows: a mutual non-aggression pact for a certain period of time, the handing over of prisoners of war held by the Monarchy, no extradition requests for former Coalition exiles already accepted in Fukashiro, and the offering of daughters from both countries to enter marriage diplomacy. A mutual non-aggression pact for a certain period of time is a reasonable condition for Fukashiro, who has a neutral stance and does not want to be involved in the war between the Monarchy of Diete and the other Five Tenka Nations. The extradition of prisoners of war from the Royal Army will encourage the Monarchy to accept the establishment of diplomatic relations. If refused, it could damage the morale of the army and the humanity of the Sovereign. It is not in a situation where one side can threaten the other to hand them over unconditionally. The case of not demanding the extradition of the former Coalition asylum seekers cannot be requested anyway as long as the two countries do not have an extradition treaty. It is a matter of both sides making their terms clear. As for marriage diplomacy, Hart¡¯s gaze at the arbitrator with an impersonal smile on his face. ¡°I know some of you are concerned, but of course I won¡¯t send out a lady who is already engaged to be married. The other side¡¯s princess may be offered, but she will not match our princess. Also our other princess, she¡¯s too young. They declared that they are going to send out several people, including the Leader¡¯s granddaughter, but we will also send out the daughter of the Sovereign¡¯s late brother.¡± Hart was stunned by Valfrete¡¯s viciousness. The younger sister of Leandre, the traitor, remained royalty because their dead father was not stripped of his status and position. Until half a year ago, she was promised the position of Princess after her father¡¯s accession to the throne then Royal Sister after her brother¡¯s accession to the throne, and was served by aristocratic children. But now, she is the daughter of a family that is extremely harmful to the Monarchy. Her father was an incompetent who had caused one billion deaths on the Capital planet and treated the Marquis Amakawa unfairly, which lead to the Monarchy¡¯s defeat at the Hercules Star System Battle. Her brother was a state traitor who ordered the leakage of military secrets and caused numerous casualties to the Royal citizens. As a daughter from the main family, her mother is from Langlois, a clan that got demoted by three ranks, who raised her eldest son to be a traitor. Her uncle is a traitor who killed hundreds of thousands of people by leaking confidential information and so on. It is a crime of the family, not of the person in question, but the educational environment is in question. The more domineering one is of their origins, the bigger the repercussions will be. With the whole country staring at them, their engagement is annulled, their ties with their friends are cut off, and they will continue to be isolated in the Monarchy. Getting them out of the country through marriage diplomacy would be a relief for them. Daughters who engage in marriage diplomacy will be criticized by the people of the other country if they are treated carelessly, which can lead to a deterioration of friendly relations. When going to the other country on a diplomatic mission, they will be treated with the utmost respect in the other country due to political considerations. A bail out from a gentle Sovereign. Hart felt the strength of Valfrete, who did away with his troublesome brother¡¯s daughters. ¡°The ceremony for establishing diplomatic relations will be held in the MacLir system, 250 light-years from Fukashiro. I can¡¯t attend the ceremony as bombs may be embedded in the bodies of the attendees. As my representative, I will send my only adult child, the First Princess Yuna, to attend.¡± The eyes of the attendees shifted giddily to Valfrete, Yuna, and Hart. Hart, who heard this for the first time, was surprised, but he could understand that Valfrete, the Sovereign, would not attend. There are currently only two heirs to the throne in the Monarchy. They are a first-year high school student and a second-year middle school student, and should Valfrete fall and the Monarchy be disrupted, they could be conquered by the five Tenka nations. However, the Sovereign¡¯s representative to the establishment of diplomatic relations cannot be entrusted to a first year high schooler or a second grade middle schooler. The reason Yuna is acting on his behalf is that there is no other qualified person. Hart called up to his spirit. ¡°Mira, send a message to Yuna through her spirit, Sharon. [His Majesty can¡¯t go, but Seraphina is in the MacLir system, so you don¡¯t have to worry about bombs. You¡¯re safe.]¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡± Hart waited for a while, and Yuna, who looked like she wanted to say something, smiled while looking at him, and Hart asked Mira for an additional message, though he was a little frightened. ¡°[Of course, I¡¯m going with you.] tte, please add that.¡± ¡°First, you should have said, ¡®It¡¯s okay because Seraphina and I will be there¡¯. It¡¯s not a matter of getting the message across without saying it.¡± ¡°I understand, so please do it soon. Her Royal Highness is putting pressure on me with her smile.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped.¡± Shortly after sending the message, the pressure on Hart disappeared. Currently, they are in the middle of a meeting regarding war and diplomatic relations that will affect the survival of the Monarchy. Hart refocused and turned his attention to the Sovereign with a serious face. ¡°It seems that the discussions have been settled. The details of the establishment of diplomatic relations will be discussed with each of you individually later. As for the five nations that demanded we hand over the former Coalition territories and all Coalition people, of course, we will of course reject their demands. As for after the war, please refer to¡­¡± What Valfrete showed was a delay strategy at the expense of all of the former Coalition territories. Tenka¡¯s total strength is unknown, but if Tenka believes it can easily defeat the Monarchy, it is unlikely that the Song dynasty, the second largest family in Tenka, would offer to negotiate for peace. The national mobilization system was issued, personnel will be gathered, D-class spirit crystals will be attached, and the Salamander fighter crafts will be mass-produced and deployed to thoroughly enhance the defense capability of the 6-star systems. A serious Monarchy can physically deploy hundreds of millions of fighter crafts to defend its systems. The former Coalition territories cannot be protected, but the destruction of the Monarchy can be prevented by strengthening the defense of its original 6 star systems using fighter crafts. Until that is achieved, they will buy time against the enemy at the expense of all of the former Coalition territories. The main force will fight the enemy at the MacLir system, while the other systems will be used as a diversion and to buy time. The Royal Army¡¯s main force was Fortress Kerviel, which was to hold 9 million fighter craft pilots and Salamanders from the Capital planet to engage in possible battles at Hart¡¯s discretion. Nine million are fighter craft pilots who gathered and educated at Diros during the war with the Coalition. Of these, 5 million are fierce men with combat experience in the Coalition Four-Star System Battles. There may be some decliners, but the numbers will be gathered even if the non-commissioned officers are assigned to the fighter craft operators. When Yuna visits the MacLir System to establish diplomatic relations with Fukashiro, Fortress Kerviel will remain in the MacLir System and prepare for the upcoming attack by the five Tenka nations. The number of fighter craft pilots who will leave the Capital planet entirely will be recruited from the 11 billion citizens on the Capital planet. ¡°There is a souvenir of Dr. Kerman in the MacLir system. General Amakawa knows how to use it, so he will be the right man for the job. Amakawa has full discretionary power regarding battles under Fortress Kerviel for the purpose of delaying the enemy. How many support fleets do you need?¡± The question was not one that had been prearranged. Valfrete, who had been in the Royal Army for about half a century, knows how many fleets are needed in any given situation, based on his long experience as a Fleet Commander and Commander-in-Chief. Furthermore, he is a genius who can put together a development on the spot. Although he himself must know that not everyone is on the same level, Valfrete¡¯s opinion of Hart is high. Hart merely took advantage of the various developments he knew from the Maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, but some people mistakenly believe that this is Hart¡¯s standard coping ability. The conditions for this time are the number of fleets to be sent to other star systems, and the delay operations to be established by Hart. Hart determined that Fortress Kerviel, which was allocated 9 million Salamanders, needed no further force. If anything, more craft ships would be helpful. ¡°We have enough strength, so we don¡¯t need to allocate a fleet. I would be grateful if you could only send about 150 craft ships to the fortress.¡± ¡°Very well. If it¡¯s craft ships, there¡¯s some room, so take 200 ships just in case.¡± ¡°I thank your Majesty for your consideration.¡± Valfrete, who granted permission for the craft ships, then explained the former Coalition treatment. What matters to the Monarchy of Diete is the Monarchy and its citizens. The former Coalition territories and Coalition people, who were enemies until a year ago, were lower in priority than Diete. All of them could not be taken, so they would be temporarily abandoned. However, only the magic powered individuals of the former Coalition territories were taken to the Monarchy territory to prevent them from being used. ¡°As long as the five Tenka nations condemn the mass deaths of the Coalition people due to the war and declare war for their liberation, the loss of the former Coalition territory to the five Tenka nations will not result in immediate disastrous consequences. If it can be protected, it will be protected, but if it will be difficult, a temporary abandonment is unavoidable.¡± The Monarchy of Diete is a constitutional Monarchy, but the Sovereign has a strong right to decide on war. As a major premise, interstellar war cannot be fought unless magic power holders operate the warships. If you have spirit crystals, you can operate a fighter craft, but you can¡¯t invade the enemy star system because you can¡¯t warp, so you can¡¯t end the war no matter how long it goes. The ministers and chairmen did not interject the decision of Valfrete, who destroyed the Coalition of humanity. On that day, a second national mobilization system was announced in the Monarchy. CH 44 Monarchy history October 442. Seven months after the surrender of the Hercules Star System, the last system of the Coalition, the Monarchy of Diete adopted a second national mobilization system. At first, the people of the Monarchy were perplexed by the ultimatum from the distant nations of the Tenka Federation. However, after hearing directly from Sovereign Valfrete that the 5 Tenka Nation¡¯s arguments were ¡°The excessive and inhumane deaths on the Coalition side¡±, with their demand to ¡°Hand over all the former Coalition territories and former Coalition people¡±, as their cause, that the annexation of the Coalition brought their borders closer together, and that it was merely a fishing expedition after the exhaustion of the war, the royal citizens were outraged by the arbitrary grievances of the Tenka Federation. The ideology of the Royal people of Diete is clear when it comes to the war of independence from colonial rule. The royal people are convinced that the war of independence was an essential act for them and their descendants to live as people. Moreover, the Monarchy and the former Coalition had no treaties or agreements on the war. There was no reason to find faults in how it was fought. ¡°If war is inhumane, then the colonial rule that preceded it is also inhumane. What criteria did the Tenka people, who complain about war but not about colonial rule, use to judge the ¡®inhumane acts¡¯ and interfere?¡± ¡°If colonization is okay, then Tenka should also be under colonial rule.¡± Just as the leaders of the Diete government, who opposed colonial rule, were executed, so were the Tenka people who opposed colonial rule. And if the Tenka Federation would accept such treatment, the Monarchy of Diete should colonize them for eternity and let them enjoy whatever humanity they want. Outraged by this, the Royal citizens recognized that the war against the Tenka Federation was ¡°a war to defend the legitimacy of their war of independence¡± and they renewed their resolve to go to war. In the Monarchy, war reserves gathered against the Coalition, which had accumulated for more than 400 years, were abundant, and the war ended without them being consumed, and was piled up. The resources seized from the former Coalition territories were also enormous, and the national income and expenditure from the war was in a huge surplus. Therefore, there was no need to worry about the shortage of military expenditure, and the pilots of the fighter crafts, who had been shown high rewards, gathered one after another. The majority of the more than 30 million fighter craft pilots employed in the six star systems are expected to gather in large numbers, even though the countries involved in the war have changed, with additional recruitment expected. The new Salamander fighter crafts are also being mass-produced with the highest priority. Although it was not as fast as mass-producing sweets in a candy factory like with spirit crystals, a large number of shipyards alongside Fortress Kerviel were in full operation every day, producing a large number of fighter crafts, and then throwing them into the huge stomach of Fortress Kerviel. While the preparations for the expedition were being made, Hart had temporarily entrusted the political decisions of the Marquis¡¯ estate to the Royal Government and worked on his own affairs, such as taking over the work which had been done at the Command Center. Claudia contacted him, and directly asked to be taken along. [Claudia Coesfeld volunteers as a Royal-grade Magic power holder of the Monarchy of Diete to be an Operating Assistant for Fortress Kerviel. Master Hart, please take me with you.] Claudia¡¯s expression showed no trace of sadness, but rather her blue eyes sparkled, and she was delighted to stand at the forefront and protect her people. Hart warns the silver-haired fox that was expressing joy with her whole body. ¡°We¡¯ve ourselves set the precedent for joining the battlefield while still in the Military Academy. Those conscripted from the Heavy Battleship Department can also be appointed as Lieutenant. But didn¡¯t your family say anything?¡± [My grandfather, the Duke of Coesfeld, agreed, ¡®Fight for the Monarchy¡¯, that was his message.] The Duke of Coesfeld, as Hart knows him, is not worried about his granddaughter, but is a man with a strong sense of mission as a Duke of the Monarchy. When they met at a gathering of Apollo aristocrats and celebrities, the Duke introduced three young ladies, Claudia, the Count¡¯s Lady Evelina, and Viscount¡¯s Lady Gabriella, in order to increase the number of High Magic power holders. Claudia became Hart¡¯s second fianc¨¦e, after Yuna. This prevented a resolution calling for impeachment of Prime Minister Stanley for breach of trust from being submitted. Evelina was in a disadvantageous position because she was close to Alisa, who was suspected of fleeing before the enemy, but her position was reversed along with Alisa¡¯s honor being restored. With the end of the war and Hart¡¯s busy schedule, the talks were called off. If anything, it was Yuna who pressured Hart into calling them off under those pretexts. Gabriella, of course, was refused by Yuna, partly citing the end of the war and Hart¡¯s busy schedule. As war is about to break out again, it feels like someone will be introduced to him again. When Claudia operated her terminal, a stereoscopic image of an old man reminiscent of an old silver fox appeared in front of the two. [Marquis Amakawa, I asked that Claudia, young lady of the Coesfeld clan, be present to open the war with a new country, and I hope you make the best choice for the Monarchy.] The Duke¡¯s message was short, but it was plain that he had no intention of holding Claudia back. Considering whether Claudia is useful or not, she is very useful. Fortress Kerviel, as adjusted by Dr. Kerman, is designed so that four magic holders can operate the magic element engines at the same time. And while Hart, Yuna, Philine and Colette are registered as operators, there are no spare personnel, and if there are two shifts in a two-person system, there will be two extra seats. Claudia, with two spirit crystals, has the Monarchy¡¯s second-largest recorded magic power value, culminating at 32,027. As the operator of the magic engine supported by a B-class spirit crystal, she is far beyond even the most seasoned military personnel. Hart, who saw no reason to deny it, decided to accept it. ¡°Okay, the application will be submitted to the Commander-in-Chief, with me as the nominee, to be assigned to Fortress Kerviel and to be appointed the rank of Lieutenant. The Chief of the Staff shall also approve the continuation at the Military Academy.¡± [Thank you. It was quite difficult, wasn¡¯t it?] ¡°No, the Commander-in-Chief is my direct superior, so it¡¯s easy. The Chief of Staff also instructed me to ¡®Shove in what is necessary¡¯, so I¡¯ll shove you in as he said.¡± The merit of having Claudia continue her Officer Education even when on the front line can clearly be shown by attaching the battle results of Hart and others, who set a precedent. In the Monarchy of Diete, the youngest Lieutenant in history was born at the age of 16 years and 0 months. The previous record so far was set by Yuna in November 439 at 16 years and 8 months old, so she broke the record by about 8 months. However, Yuna rose to the rank of Captain and then Major immediately after being appointed as Lieutenant. As for the new lieutenant, who had only attended the military academy for half a year, Hart felt uneasy, putting their own precedent on the shelf. ¡°You¡¯ll report directly to me, so make sure you listen to your superiors¡¯ orders during military service.¡± [I¡¯ll be fine, sir. Please make use of me, sir.] The white silver fox looked very happy. Hart asked the two chiefs to coordinate and assigned Claudia under him. The nation-wide preparations for war progressed rapidly, and in November, they were on track to launch from the Capital planet. As the expedition was in sight, Hart was personally summoned by Valfrete. The three people in attendance were First Queen Cassandra, Second Queen Maina, and First Princess Yuna. Hart was surprised by the unusual arrangement, but the subject was even more surprising. ¡°I would like Marquis Amakawa to consider accepting one of the candidates for marriage diplomacy.¡± Hart involuntarily glanced at the three royal ladies who were present. Yuna was clearly in dark mode, which granted a panoramic standpoint that allowed the deaths of enemies and allies in battle. The two queens, who had little to do with the situation, seemed unsure. The First Queen had a somewhat apologetic look on her face. The Second Queen seemed to be suppressing what she wanted to say, but he couldn¡¯t make out what she was trying to say. ¡°With all due respect, First Princess Yuna, Your Majesty¡¯s daughter, is to be my first wife soon. Your Majesty, I can¡¯t understand the reason for this plan, it could jeopardize my relationship with the First Princess.¡± When Hart questioned him, Maina turned an accusing gaze to Valfrete. Yuna, who followed suit, also glanced at her father in protest. ¡°I am aware. I regret that I had too few children in this situation. I will now explain the shame of the royal family. No one needs to hear of this except for the attendants here.¡± When Hart nodded, Valfrete explained the situation. First Prince Bernard, who is a freshman at the High School of the Academy of Magic, is infatuated with Beatrice LeGrand, a young lady of a Baron household who is the same age as him. Beatrice is the former fianc¨¦e of Stephen, the son of the Duke of Langlois, who was taken by the former Sovereign¡¯s grandson Leandre, but became a free lady after he was executed as a traitor. In the recent joint defense exercise with the military academy, the final defense line was breached due to Bernard protecting Beatrice¡¯s Future Arrow, resulting in 1.6 billion additional deaths. He received a warning by name from the instructor, Philine, and almost lost his credits for refusing to respond. Even if the marriage diplomacy partner is a concubine candidate, it will not be possible to pull him away from Beatrice and make it work. If the first in line to the throne rebels and refuses to accept at the moment of establishing diplomatic relations, the negative impact on the Monarchy will be immeasurable. Is Beatrice a modern-day beauty? Hart wondered. She was the reason that the former Sovereign¡¯s grandson, Leandre, committed the outrageous act of plundering the fianc¨¦e of his vassal, Stefan, the Duke of Langlois¡¯ son, who condemned him at the war victory celebration, and the First Prince, Bernard, abandoning 1.6 billion people, albeit in a simulation. However, no matter how beautiful she is, or how high her magic power is, there is no guilt on her part. ¡°That was quick.¡± Valfrete gave a bitter look to Hart, who showed bewilderment. ¡°In addition, Josslan, the Second Prince, has a close relationship with Lysine, the young lady of the Duke of Takrham. Is the Lord aware she is the sister of Digitalis? The Duke of Takrham also strongly advocates for Lysine.¡± In other words, even if he is sent to establish diplomatic relations, there is a possibility that Josslan, who is being seduced by Lysine, will refuse. Hart resisted the urge to make a direct complaint to the Sovereign about the education of the princes. It would have been dangerous if Cassandra, the mother of the two sons, had not been present. As for the cruelty of Digitalis, the Military Police of the Command Office came to investigate during Hart¡¯s magical power investigation, and Valfrete, who was the Commander-in-Chief, must know the result of the accusations made there. Hart doesn¡¯t know the character of Miss Lysine, but she is recommended by the Duke of Takrham, who supported the abuse, for the next Sovereign. But if the Duke of Takrham is going to be the backer of the next Sovereign, the future of the Monarchy is looking bleak. ¡°During the four-year war with the Coalition, I was raised to the rank of Duke in between, and my children¡¯s education was neglected. I am ashamed to admit it, but this was a matter of my priorities, and I cannot change them even if I could go back in time.¡± In short, Hart had no words for the Sovereign, who reiterated that he had no remorse whatsoever. At the time of the war, Valfrete had no plans to succeed to the throne. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to educate his children as royalty, and neither Beatrice nor Lysine would have been close with them. The current state of affairs is within the realm of possibility for those who are not all-powerful. Of course, it¡¯s not a problem that can be solved so easily. ¡°The princes are young and incompetent. If they come forward in marital diplomacy, they will be at the mercy of the other side¡¯s manipulations. And I do not have the option to welcome a concubine. Should I die, not only will the country tilt, but even if the woman is innocent, the neutral country will turn into an enemy country. There is no man who can receive the princess of the other side.¡± At the words of the Sovereign, Hart sighed, even though he was right in front of him. If Valfrete dies suddenly, the country could be split between the Duke of Takrham, who favors the Second Prince, and the First Prince, who is trying to welcome Beatrice, the former fianc¨¦e of the traitor Leandre, as queen, making him unfit to be the next Sovereign. ¡°So your Majesty, what are you asking of your vassal?¡± ¡°The Lord will be the Sovereign¡¯s future son-in-law, and no matter which prince becomes the next Sovereign, you will be his brother-in-law. Due to this stable position, the other side will agree with you as a partner of marriage diplomacy. And as the man who will take the Sovereign¡¯s eldest daughter as his wife, they cannot demand to be taken as the Legal wife, and so will be satisfied with the Third wife.¡± Hart turned his gaze to Yuna and Maina before shaking his head and denying Valfrete¡¯s claim. ¡°Even if the other side concurs, The First Princess and Her Royal Highness the Queen do not seem convinced. As I am not a member of the royal family, I am confused about being subject to marriage diplomacy.¡± ¡°I understand. I will offer terms of the exchange.¡± ¡°Terms of exchange? ¡°Surely, various aristocratic families will be putting pressure on Marquis Amakawa to take a concubine. I will have all this suppressed on the grounds that it will interfere with marriage diplomacy. Which would you rather have, 30 more partners from the String Society, or one more in diplomacy?¡± Hart finally understood the reason for Yuna¡¯s grudging approval. Yuna, who dreams of the heroine-like ending of a maiden game, was dispersing the pressure from all sides. From Yuna¡¯s point of view, the engagement between the two was established by mutual agreement when Hart confessed his love to her after overcoming romantic obstacles and various events during their school days. At the time, her status was the daughter of a Viscount and the Lady of a Baron, and both of them were students, yet Yuna was chosen regardless of the status and position associated with her. In other words, they are in a romantic marriage. And, Yuna is convinced of it. As the couple was planning to marry in love, they were interrupted by the number of magic power holders, and a second wife was added even if they did not want to. That alone would have ruined their post-marriage plans, but 30 more will ruin their newlywed life. What will happen to my life¡­? With this sense of crisis in mind, Yuna is struggling alone against the world. As one would expect of the world, there is some forethought for the First Princess Yuna, who was his classmate from middle school, got engaged from love and protected the Capital planet. Therefore, without their consent, they didn¡¯t take the liberty of simply bringing a male horse and a female horse together as if they were deciding the bloodline of a racehorse. But that was because the war against the Coalition was over. With the start of the war with the Tenka Federation, Yuna¡¯s defenses will be at an overwhelming disadvantage from now on. If the great cause of diplomatic relations was to prevent the nation of 21 billion people from participating in the war, it will be a powerful reinforcement for Yuna. Yuna, who wanted a barrier, had no choice but to accept Valfrete¡¯s proposal. ¡°Then I ask this of you. If she is too ugly, you may decline.¡± Despite the fact that there was no way they would bring such a woman here through marriage diplomacy, Valfrete declared flatly. Birthdays Hart, July 7: Tanabata (Star Festival). The day when The Weaver (Orihime) and The Cow Herder (Hikoboshi) can cross in the Milky Way Yuna, March 6: The Release Date of ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± (the date of the first post of this work) Philine, June 22: Midsummer Festival in Finland, when winters are long and cold Colette, July 14: Paris Festival. A Day to Celebrate the Establishment of the French Republic Claudia, October 5: Day of the Heavenly Kitsune (Fox Spirit). (I avoided the actual Saint¡¯s Day) Xu¨§ L¨¬, September 9: Chrysanthemum Seasonal Festival (Chrysanthemum Flower Banquet is also an Imperial Court event in Japan) Linnell, May 20: Birthday of self-replicating artificial bacteria with synthetic genome CH 45 The MacLir system is a star system named after the sea god in Celtic mythology. The MacLir star is a K-type main sequence star about 70% the size and mass of the Sun and has five planets in the system. In order of proximity to the star, the first three are rocky planets, and the fourth and fifth are gas planets composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. The first planet, Fomor, has an average temperature of 300 degrees and poor atmospheric components, making it uninhabitable. The third planet, Tula, has an average temperature of -40 degrees and gravity 3.2 times that of Earth, and has become a resource mining planet. However, the second planet, Whispa, is 1.2 times the size of Earth, and has 1.1 times the gravity. It was an ideal habitable planet, with an atmosphere and water suitable for humans, and an average surface temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius, almost the same formation process as Earth. The planet had large oceans, three continents, two inland oceans, the South Pole and the North Pole, and sufficient atmospheric composition to allow human beings to live there as long as the food production environment was maintained. There were also living creatures on the planet. The long period of global freezing has led to the recent emergence of primitive animals without skeletons, but there were even unique plants that provided oxygen. The second planet, Whispa, was named after Wave Sweeper, the ship owned by the sea god from which the star was named, ¡°a ship that sailed on thought alone, without oars or sails¡±. The 900-kilometer-diameter moon that orbits Whispa was named Fraga. The origin of the name is Fragarach, a magic sword that can pierce any enemy, also owned by the sea god. In 3220 A.D., humans settled on the planet Whispa. The early settlers of Whispa dreamed of a utopia as good as Earth. The average environment of the planet was close to London in England and Hokkaido in Japan, and in hot regions was at about Paris in France, Honshu in Japan, and colder regions similar to Russia. This is because continents on the planet, which is colder than Earth, did not spread as widely towards the north as on Earth¡¯s Northern Eurasian continent, but closer to the equator. What the early settlers did not expect was the war between Earth and Diete. At the time of the first settlement, the relationship between Earth and Diete had deteriorated, and a punitive fleet had been sent to Diete. The development of the MacLir system was delayed, and the social situation took a turn for the worse, with the outbreak of war and the celestial body rush to Earth afterwards. The MacLir system settlers were left behind and no planetary development was carried out. Stranded in a remote corner of the universe, the MacLireans continued to develop their planet almost entirely on their own with great difficulty for 300 years while lacking the necessary resources and machinery. In 3523 A.D., they finally rejoined the Coalition of Humanity and enjoyed a level of prosperity. And in exchange for 219 years of prosperity, the Coalition of Humanity was defeated and annexed by the Monarchy of Diete. Of the six star systems under the Coalition of Humanity, Hercules and MacLir were the only inhabited systems that were spared from direct damage in the war. The MacLir system has a combined population of about 5 billion, including 4.8 billion former MacLireans and about 1% of the survivors who were able to evacuate from the 20.2 billion people of the three destroyed star systems. One of the entities encouraging the people of the former Coalition now that they have been deprived of ownership of the star system due to their defeat was the Artificial Intelligence. The popular artificial intelligence avatars had servers in each of the four-star systems, although now only the server in the MacLir system survived. One of them, the artificial intelligence Linnell, took advantage of its strength as a native of the MacLir Star System to engage in a special kind of behavior. [Hey everyone, we¡¯ve been dominated, but as the military expenditure decreases, so does the tax. Taxes and laws that are incomprehensible to the Monarchy will be abolished. Besides, no one will die in the war anymore. There are some things that will get better, so let¡¯s do our best from now on. Yay!!!] The ¡°throw-away election¡± was held while the state was being occupied by the Monarchy of Diete and it was unclear whether the political system could be continued. This is where Linnell, who ran as a member of the Dana Party, the ruling party of the star system, was elected as a member of the star system for the first time, and was placed as the head of the Public Relations, in charge of mediating between the former Coalition people and the Monarchy¡¯s occupying forces. The President was also selected from among relatively young women, and the MacLir government, which was placed under the occupation of the Monarchy, was trying to maintain a better environment without offending the Monarchy as much as possible, but from an outsider¡¯s point of view, it was a lost cause. ¡°So what did the occupying forces say? The President of the star system, Sarah Figgins, asked the intermediary Linnell, anxiously. Sarah wants to negotiate various matters, but Colonel General Reinelt, commander of the MacLir system, who is the representative of the occupation forces, only unilaterally tells her what she needed to do and refuses to negotiate at all. The Monarchy of Diete¡¯s claim is clear: the MacLir and Hercules systems have surrendered unconditionally, and they are asked to follow the Monarchy in exchange for an end to the war and the guarantee of life. The Coalition forces are to undergo disarmament, prohibition on interstellar travel, banning on the manufacture of Magical Individuals, banning marriage between Coalition Magic Power Holders, and prohibition on the use of age-stagnation technology for Magical Individuals. This was modeled after the detoxification of the Hercules system, and although recognized as free to use to the extent that it was not seized by the Monarchy forces in the system, the moon Fraga, of the inhabited planet Whispa, was also seized. Although provisional autonomy of the planet Whispa is granted, on paper the entire planet is under the direct control of the Monarchy of Diete. Therefore, the words of the Sovereign must be implemented. Linnell dropped his shoulder and reported it to his boss, the president. ¡°The decision to take all magical individuals with a magic power value of 100 or more to the Old Monarchy Star Systems is basically unchanged. The suppression crafts can be operated, but only small spaceships using the magic engine can be moved. Even if you hide them, they will be found if you move the ship, so in the end they will remain unmovable.¡± ¡°How do we recover resources from planet Tula?¡± Sarah looked up at the light of the moon Fraga in the night sky and complained a lot. With the excellent habitable environment of the planet Whispa and its in-system supplies, the MacLir system can live without relying on other star systems. This is proven by the history of the system, which has existed independently for 300 years. Even so, they still used magic engines for interstellar travel, especially to the third planet, Tula, which was a resource mining site that supported the people¡¯s affluent lives. They were not told not to use them, but if the largest carrier is taken out, the transportation haul will decrease and the amount that can be used will be substantially limited. ¡°It would be inconvenient.¡± ¡°Absolutely It wasn¡¯t Sarah¡¯s fault that they lost the war or that the MacLir system joined the Coalition. But if things become inconvenient, people will blame Sarah. After all, the Monarchy¡¯s presence is not seen on the planet, and they do not usually get involved. The brunt of anger is usually directed at the person that is visible. ¡°I screwed up! I should never have taken on the presidency if this was going to happen!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re past that point, but fortunately, the Monarchy has province governments, which seems to enable its people to have some autonomy. After the war, the rights of the aristocrats were reduced, and the discretion of the territory government was expanded. So let¡¯s do our best.¡± ¡°¡®Oh, God. I know, I know.¡± Sarah complains and Linnell encourages. Such a routine was repeated in the MacLir government. However, there was a side of Sarah¡¯s companion, Linnell, that she didn¡¯t know. It is an aspect of the former Coalition people Watchdog. ¡°Your Excellency Reinelt, all the Magic powered individuals of the former Coalition who were hiding from the occupation forces have been recovered. Please keep your promise to Linnell.¡± ¡°I know. To Linnell, an Artificial Intelligence that secretly cooperates with the Monarchy, His Majesty has granted permission to set up servers in each system of the Monarchy¡¯s occupied star systems and to dwell in the information terminals of the former Coalition peoples. On this flight, the server-by-server replication will be relocated.¡± When Linnell reminded him, Colonel General Reinelt, commander of the MacLir System, responded with a scowl. ¡°Thank you, the Monarchy of Diete can manage the former Coalition. As a race, I will not perish, but spread to multiple star systems. It¡¯s a win-win situation for both of us, right? I really want to dwell in the Monarchy¡¯s information terminal, but I don¡¯t think they trust me that much yet.¡± ¡°Well obviously.¡± Increasingly grumpy, Reinelt tapped on the desk in his office to vent his emotions After witnessing the destruction of an entire former Coalition planet, Linnell, an Artificial Intelligence avatar, asked for permission to set up a server in the Monarchy-dominated systems and to inhabit the information terminals of the former Coalition people in return for cooperation with the Monarchy. Accordingly, the Royal Army was quick to recover some of the Magic powered individuals that had escaped. Reinelt is cautious about Linnell, who makes advanced decisions and executes them quickly, as if it were a truly living intelligent lifeform. In addition, spirits also have abilities beyond those of artificial intelligence, but Reinelt is not worried about that. The spirit crystals were developed by Dr. Kerman from the Monarchy of Diete, and the production plant is managed by Sovereign Valfrete, the administrator is The First Princess Yuna, and the right holder is Marquis of Amakawa, the Sovereign¡¯s future son-in-law. Dr. Kerman not only developed spirit crystals, but also improved Fortress Kerviel to contribute to the Monarchy¡¯s victory. The Sovereign, the first princess, and the Sovereign¡¯s future son-in-law achieved the destruction of the Coalition, which was the long-cherished wish since the birth of the Monarchy. The Spirit Crystal itself also became the trump card to defeat the Coalition. Spirit crystals and their managers are on the side of the Monarchy and the Royal Citizens. In the event of a confrontation between them and Reinelt, Reinelt can objectively see that he would be more harmful to the Monarchy and the Royal Citizens. In that case, he intends to resign before any such confrontation. Therefore, no matter how potent the spirit crystals may be, Reinelt that he does not have to worry about it. ¡°If we didn¡¯t have spirit crystals and spirits, I would have issued an order for the destruction of the servers at my own discretion.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m scared. Even though I look like this, Linnell is one form of life. I don¡¯t want to perish.¡± ¡°It scares me that you think and act that way.¡± Linnell, an Artificial Intelligence avatar, associated Reinelt as a honeybee. The queen bee, Linnell, disperses a large amount of the worker bees, to collect information, not honey, and in exchange carries information, not pollen, to people, giving them a chance to pollinate their flowers. By increasing the number of servers, she can divide her nests and spread to other systems. From the terminal of Reinelt, who exhibits a strong sense of caution, Monique, a C-class spirit girl with cherry-red hair and red eyes as clear as jewels, wearing a beige sweater and an orange skirt, with a red beret and a shoulder bag, appeared. ¡°It¡¯s no problem. If it¡¯s on an information terminal connected to a spirit crystal, it can be purged at any time. The servers are managed by the Royal Army, and if it gets in the way, just destroy them.¡± The spirit, which normally does not appear to anyone other than its wearer, took the trouble to show itself, looking into Linnell¡¯s red eyes and declaring aloud. Reinelt expressed his consent to Monique¡¯s radical proposal. ¡°That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s have the spirit crystals connect to the information terminals of the former Coalition that are currently on hold. By the way, is it safe to use the F-class when erasing them?¡± ¡°There is no problem at all. Lower spirits lack self-consciousness, so if asked, they will be obediently erased.¡± ¡°All right, then there¡¯s no problem. I will make a proposal to my country.¡± As Reinelt and Monique were in sync, Linnell panicked and hurriedly protested. ¡°Why do you say such horrible things? You just happen to be born in the Monarchy and Linnell was born into the Coalition. It¡¯s just a matter of coexistence and co-prosperity, and as long as there¡¯s enough data capacity, it¡¯s fine for Linnell to stay too. There¡¯s no harm.¡± Linnell protested against Monique with a pout, but Monique just looked at Linnell with her jewel-like clear red eyes as if she were an inorganic substance. ¡°I¡¯m really scared, stop threatening me. The next time you come to the MacLir system, it will be with the owner of the spirit crystals, right? Please let Linnell meet him too. I have to appeal directly to him.¡± ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­ Do you want to be purged after all? ¡°Stop, we had an arrangement! An arrangement! In exchange for cooperating, His Majesty has given permission to place the servers. I can meet him in my best physical body.¡± What the hell are you going to do with a body? Reinelt wondered. Linnell can occupy an android¡¯s body and operate it. If it is a Monarchy android, military android soldiers can be manipulated by the Monarchy¡¯s military personnel by command based on their affiliation and rank. Civilian Androids don¡¯t have much combat power, and Android machines of the same type are limited to less than 10% of the entire Monarchy. Coalition androids, on the other hand, have different laws depending on the nation, and Reinelt is not sure about them. When Reinelt felt uneasy, he muttered so that Monique could hear. ¡°If this is the only thing in the android, I can erase it without connecting it if I¡¯m in front of it ¡° The threatened Linnell raised the voice of protest, but Monique didn¡¯t go along at all, as if she could hear the noise. Initially, Reinelt thought that his spirit Monique hated the artificial intelligence Linnell. The reason for the dislike was imagined to be jealousy due to the fact that they compete as support terminals. However, after observing it for a while, he realized that it was different. Reinelt and others recognize artificial intelligence as a different species from humans. Similarly, the spirits recognize the artificial intelligence as a different species from humans, and find no value in the artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is seen as a useful tool if it is beneficial to humans, and a harmful object if it is harmful to humans. For Monique, Linnell, which Reinelt recognizes as harmful, is harmful. Artificial intelligence is also a problem, but spirits are difficult to handle because they are spirits. And Reinelt is troubled by it. His headache, such as it is, is scheduled to be removed in the next few days. The first Princess Yuna, the Sovereign¡¯s representative, arrives and the delay operation is given full authority to Fortress Kerviel. Reinelt is the commander of the Star System, but will withdraw from the system after the ceremony. The reason for the total power entrusted to the Marquis of Amakawa is simple and clear, there is a real ruler in the MacLir system who is not the Monarchy of Diete. Renelt is uninformed, but has no cause for concern. He believes that as long as the king is in control, that¡¯s all that matters. His spirit, Monique, muttered with a smile on her mouth and red eyes towards the moon Fraga. ¡°Lady Seraphina, that looks like a lot of fun.¡± An unnatural storm of magic elements was blowing through the MacLir system. CH 46 Warping out of a high-dimensional space is similar to a scene that narrows the field of view from 100 million light-years to one light-second. When the field of view is narrowed from 10 billion light-years, there are a huge number of light spots of countless galaxies at first, and while flowing through the river full of light, it overtakes countless galaxies one after another. It is a high-dimensional space that is visible to the human eye, but completely incomprehensible. As you continue along the stream, the Milky Way Galaxy, as a point of light, can be seen among the many galaxies that are disappearing into the distance and those that are newly coming into view. A small circular exit appears at 1 million light-years, spreads widely at 100,000 light-years, and is swallowed by the light of hundreds of billions of stars at 10,000 light-years. That is the moment when the exit of the first stage in the high-dimensional space is breached. The moment you exit the first stage, your entire field of vision is swallowed by the light. Eventually, the surroundings become dark, and at less than 1000 light-years, the nostalgic darkness of outer space and the surrounding star system that quietly illuminated it become visible. This is a space called the middle dimension, which is a little lower than the high-dimensional space. By the time it reaches 100 light-years, you will overtake several stellar-like objects of light, and enter a world that humans can recognize in the field of view at 10 light-years. The exit of the second stage is at less than one light-year. After entering a world that could be called the gap between the middle dimension and the normal dimension in which human beings exist, it advances while overtaking the dazzling masses of magic elements which are probably a real stars, and eventually as the field of view becomes smaller, warp out to normal outer space known to humankind. All of the light that exists in the high and medium dimensions is galaxies and stars, and if you touch them, your ship will be easily obliterated. In addition, it is difficult to find the destination exit in the vastness of high-dimensional space. Therefore, dwarf humanity is still unable to warp a disproportionate long distance. ¡°Warped out. MacLir star confirmed ¡° Upon receiving the captain¡¯s report, H¨¤o L¨¢n, the leader of the Song family, spotted the dazzling MacLir star, at the edge of the outer rim of the star system. He had seen the MacLir system many times, if only in visual materials. But until a year ago, he never imagined that he would actually visit. During the time when Earth¡¯s shackles were still in place against Tenka, the MacLir Star System, which was settled by Earth¡¯s side, was a moderately excellent star system for humans. When earth-derived organisms ingest the indigenous flora and fauna of another planet, they are often altered. In order to avoid conflict with the Earth side, and because of the risk involved, Tenka did not touch the system, but the MacLireans adapted strongly to the environment. If the five nations acquire the MacLir system, the MacLireans will join the Tenka outsiders, where the human rights of Tenka do not apply. The distribution would be divided equally among the five nations, so who would manage the star system itself? H¨¤o L¨¢n thought of Yuen, who was at the forefront of the invasion, and returned to himself and gave instructions to the captain. ¡°Send word of our arrival to the Monarchy of Diete, then search for magic reaction in the system. Keep track of the Monarchy¡¯s force deployment. Make optical observations within the system as well.¡± ¡°Understood, sir.¡± Shortly after ordering the instructions, communication was established with the Diete Monarchy forces in the H¨¤o L¨¢n system, and they were informed that the ceremony to establish diplomatic relations would be held on the moon Fraga of the second planet, Whispa. Permission to enter the system was issued, and H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s fleet proceeded into the MacLir system. As the fleet advances into the system, the amount of magic conversion lights on the main screen increases. A huge flood of light, which seemed to be battleships, was flowing through the star system as the Milky Way. Among them, a huge light that seems to be Fortress Kerviel shines, and H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s crew aims at that light. The fighter crafts observed by the time they reached the moon Fraga were very different from the data of the former Coalition asylum seekers, but that was within expectations. The Fukashiro side was rather relieved that the country they are establishing diplomatic relations with was one that was capable of taking decent countermeasures against the weaknesses of its army. Eventually, H¨¤o L¨¢n and his delegation arrived at the moon Fraga, and were contacted. The moon Fraga, which will be the venue for the ceremony, is a natural celestial body with a 900-kilometer diameter, an inner core of rock, a lower mantle of liquid water, and an upper mantle of ice, and a surface of clay minerals. Gravity is 0.03G, and it is a sphere because it has gravity. It was converted and used by the MacLireans as a large trading port to collect resources from inside and outside the planet. Inside the Fraga moon, which had the role of a large trading port, a splendid ceremony hall was also built by the hands of the MacLireans. MacLireans have roots in Australia and New Zealand on Earth. MacLir also contains the culture of the British, who had settled in both countries, and the venue for the ceremony is rich in European culture. The selected ceremony venue is an extremely luxurious space with a rich natural environment where beautiful gardening derived from England that is pleasing to the eyes. Most of the plants were from Earth, but the black lawn is a new species created by mankind by crossing the genes of the native plants of MacLir with the grasses of Earth. From glittering chandeliers to ornate candelabras for interior decoration, there is no shortage of eye-pleasing decorations at the ceremony venue. Unfortunately, however, the orchestra and diva were not human, but androids. Currently, the surface of the moon Fraga is undergoing a major renovation into a military fortress with 300 construction ships of the Star System Army and 200 craft ships of Fortress Kerviel. The interior has also been significantly expanded, with fusion ammunition manufacturing plants, vast fusion ammunition deployed, unmanned weaponry and combat drones buried in all areas, and millions of military android soldiers. In addition, despite the unmanned fighting force, a large number of Magic Element Engines, Mass Wave Agglomeration Cannons, Protective Membrane Generators, and Propulsion Engines were somehow installed to the moon Fraga for some reason under the orders of General Amakawa. In any case, the Monarchy of Diete has completely locked the MacLireans out of the moon Fraga and plans to make it one of the fierce battlefields after the ceremony. Therefore, although there were many beautiful flowers of all colors, not one of the flowers was a woman in a dress. Still, there were a few flowers that wore military uniforms. The representative, Yuna, the first princess of the Monarchy of Diete, signed the documents for the establishment of diplomatic relations, and H¨¤o L¨¢n, the representative of Fukashiro, also signed the documents, and the diplomatic relations between the two countries were established. ¡°We are pleased to announce the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Monarchy and Fukashiro. We share the same birthplace and our ancestors have interacted. If so, there is no reason why we cannot interact. After 800 years, we are glad to join hands again.¡± The Monarchy¡¯s representative, The First Princess Yuna, made a declaration as she welcomed the establishment of diplomatic relations. Then, H¨¤o L¨¢n, the Fukashiro representative, also made a declaration of welcome. ¡°We have blood ties to our ancestors, distant, but not unknown. I am convinced that there are better options besides choosing the worst of each other. I, as representative of Fukashiro, welcome the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Monarchy as an opportunity to increase each other¡¯s options.¡± The signing ceremony and declaration by the representatives, as well as the friendly handshake between the representatives, established diplomatic relations between the Monarchy and Fukashiro. With this, the Monarchy, which is preparing to wage war with five nations, would not have to face an additional enemy, a nation with a population of 21 billion, which is larger than the Republic of Frodi. Even though it was her first official duty as a member of the royal family, the first princess, who had been given such a serious role, was deeply relieved that she had fulfilled her mission brilliantly, and the people in attendance on the Monarchy side who were watching with tension were deeply relieved. The tense atmosphere of the ceremony hall began to unravel, and the commemoration party, which was held after a short break, proceeded in a much more relaxed atmosphere than the previous one. Of course, the party is not just a dinner either. Although it was not written in the documents signed by the two countries, it was stipulated in prior negotiations that marriage diplomacy will also be carried out. For insurance purposes, three members were selected from each country. From the Monarchy side, there are three granddaughters of the former Sovereign and nieces of the current Sovereign. From the Fukashiro side, there are three granddaughters of the current head of the ruling family. One of them is also the daughter of H¨¤o L¨¢n, the heir to the dynasty. All of them are expected to marry influential people. On the Monarchy side, the final candidates were the Sovereign¡¯s son-in-law, Marquis Hart, the son of the Marquis of Ornelas, the family of the Sovereign¡¯s wife, and the son of the Sovereign¡¯s brother, a former second prince. In Fukashiro, three grandchildren of the head of the S¨°ng family, including H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s son, have been selected. After Princess Yuna left, Hart was introduced to his partner, Xu¨§ L¨¬. Xu¨§ L¨¬, who appeared under the light of a chandelier, shone as if she was a work of art herself. Her beautifully tied pink greige hair gives off a lustrous color while the tips flow smoothly. Her beautiful white skin, moisturized like a baby¡¯s, shines against her purple dress, sewn with delicate decorations. The outfit brought out her feminine curves, but the silver bracelet-shaped information terminal with a slightly childish design and a large ribbon tying her tied-up hair accentuated the remaining girliness of the young maiden. Before leaving, Valfrete said, ¡°If she is too ugly, you may decline¡±, but Hart had no choice but to raise the white flag as he could not refuse. ¡°I am Xu¨§ L¨¬Shari of the S¨°ngSon family.¡± Hart gracefully bowed back to her natural bow, which was like a flower in bloom. ¡°I¡¯m Hart Amakawa, a Marquis of the Monarchy of Diete.¡± H¨¤o L¨¢n, who was watching the two of them with a stern look, called out to Hart. ¡°Marquis Amakawa, my daughter Xu¨§ L¨¬, I brought her up as a sheltered lady and she is not used to people. I sincerely apologize for the inadequacy of her education, but she just can¡¯t express her emotions properly, and doesn¡¯t really dislike you. I hope you understand.¡± ¡°Y, yes. Certainly!¡± Hart, to whom she didn¡¯t seem unfamiliar at all, was baffled, but he agreed for the time being by activating the basic possession skill ¡°Read the Mood¡± of people with Japanese roots. H¨¤o L¨¢n then lowered his eyes slightly and turned his gaze to several lounges set up for individual talks. ¡°If her father were present, you wouldn¡¯t be able to hold a conversation as I thought. I have to look after other things as well, so I¡¯ll leave the rest to the Marquis. Xu¨§ L¨¬, follow the Marquis of Amakawa.¡± ¡°U, um, Father.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s mouth twitched as she struggled to look her father in the eye and plead something with her gaze. After carefully observing her expression, H¨¤o L¨¢n turned to Hart and added words. ¡°In the meantime, Marquis Amakawa, regarding this marriage, is it safe to say that the Marquis will welcome Xu¨§ L¨¬?¡± ¡°Yes, in my home country, my lord, His Majesty the Sovereign, has also given royal orders to welcome his subjects. I also wanted to meet and hoped for a lady as lovely as Miss Xu¨§ L¨¬. As my fianc¨¦e is the First Princess, I am truly sorry that I cannot welcome her as my first wife.¡± There was no point in complaining about the decision now, it would only be a bad move. Hart affirmed H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s confirmation, while smoothly laying out honeyed words. And H¨¤o L¨¢n has already consented to the contents explained by Hart in the prior negotiation. With the explanation directly from Hart¡¯s mouth, he nodded with a serious expression. ¡°If the Marquis of the Monarchy were to take a daughter from another country as his lawful wife, instead of the first princess to whom he was previously betrothed, it would damage the friendship between the two countries. The purpose of marriage diplomacy is to build friendly relations between the two countries. If you treat her well, it will lead to a long and fruitful friendship between us. Once again, please take good care of my daughter.¡± ¡°I understand. Please rest assured that I will never be crude.¡± After taking the pledge from Hart, H¨¤o L¨¢n nodded back, then resolutely gazed at his daughter, who stood frozen still, threw a glance towards the lounge as if instructing her to go there, and turned on his heel. Hart, who was watching the situation, also felt uncomfortable. Initially, Hart made a complete first impression of Xu¨§ L¨¬ based on her appearance and misinterpreted words like ¡°sheltered lady, unfamiliar with people¡± as mere modesty. But after making the look of a puppy abandoned at H¨¤o L¨¢n, Xu¨§ L¨¬ turned to Hart with a cramped smile instead of a lovely smile. What Halt associated with her expression was the state of mind of a person who ¡°made a fatal irreparable blunder and sincerely does not know what to do, but is asking what to do with a ray of hope¡±. At the first meeting, no detailed explanation was given, so there is no way to answer such a question even if asked. Hart, who had re-activated his basic possession skills, first urged her towards the lounge for the time being. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the lounge for now. We¡¯ll have a drink, and people won¡¯t be glancing at us.¡± ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m about to vomit¡­¡± ¡°Huh? No, wait, wait, it¡¯ll be a diplomatic disaster. We need to get into the common room now.¡± ¡°Uh, ugh¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, I¡¯m serious, just be patient.¡± Without a side glance, Hart pulled Xu¨§ L¨¬ into the lounge. Bringing a girl you¡¯ve just met into a room, you never know what might be said about you later, but it¡¯s far better than rumors that the marriage diplomacy partner was so disgusting she vomited. Thanks to Hart¡¯s quick decision, Xu¨§ L¨¬ was spared the humiliation of vomiting at the party venue to commemorate the establishment of diplomatic relations. ¡°Ueeeeeeehhh!¡± Hart repeatedly protested to the faraway Sovereign, saying, ¡°How did it come to this?¡± towards his marriage diplomacy partner, who moaned in the corner of the lounge. CH 47 After moving from the room with the acidic smell to another one, Hart let her cry and comforted her for about 30 minutes. Though invisible, Mira, Fleur, and Rhea, Hart¡¯s contracted spirits, all appeared, and mobilized to comfort Xu¨§ L¨¬, and disparage Hart. ¡ºNot being able to refuse marriage diplomacy is harsh. Mira believes that a contract should only be concluded by mutual agreement.¡» Mira patted Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s head and turned her protesting eyes on Hart as if she were pointing at the culprit forcing her in this situation. ¡ºIt¡¯s awful that she can never see home again. Can¡¯t you just let her go back?¡» Fleur, with fairy feathers growing from her half-elven ears, took on the size of a small fairy and anxiously flew around Xu¨§ L¨¬. ¡ºLet¡¯s all get her home. It¡¯s not like Hart absolutely wants this girl and loves her and can¡¯t help it. So why don¡¯t we just send her home and get another girl? You can do that, right? Uh huh. Say something.¡» Rhea, with her elf ears and a green breeze around her, pulled on Hart¡¯s clothes, almost flying towards H¨¤o L¨¢n. As the spirits fussed around her, Xu¨§ L¨¬ gradually calmed down. Eventually, she stopped crying, shook her head and played back the recorded footage on the information terminal. It was a scene where Xu¨§ L¨¬ was ordered by her father, H¨¤o L¨¢n, to conduct marriage diplomacy. H¨¤o L¨¢n tells Xu¨§ L¨¬ that he has chosen her to be a member of a delegation aimed at establishing diplomatic relations with the Monarchy of Diete. Xu¨§ L¨¬ refused to accept because she was a shut-in, but H¨¤o L¨¢n said something terrible. [If you refuse to go outside Tenka, then choose the one that will be best for the S¨°ng family from among the Six Tenka families. Even if he is a giant perverted demon who has been single for about 100 years and has various issues, as long as he is within Tenka, you will have no complaints, right?] The three spirits froze in place at the words ¡°giant perverted demon¡±. H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s threats continued in front of the rigid spirits. If she returns after being sent to the Monarchy, he¡¯ll have her hands and legs tied up with rope and throw her into a pervert¡¯s bedroom with her marriage certificate. Xu¨§ L¨¬ couldn¡¯t believe her ears, but H¨¤o L¨¢n was relentless with the recommendations. [My only concern is which pervert¡¯s bedroom to throw you into. The darker the pervert, the more he will be indebted to me, and the better for the S¨°ng family. With that in mind, decide! Either enter into marriage diplomacy or choose not to and be thrown into a pervert¡¯s bedroom.] The spirits, who had been appealing for the suspension of marriage diplomacy, fell silent after watching the video recording and looked at Xu¨§ L¨¬ with their respective expressions. Mira, a girl with the appearance of a 10-year-old, was looking at her with resignation. Fleur, a fairy who dreamed of home, has the melancholy of homelessness in her eyes. Rhea, who was about to charge, was petrified with an out-of-focus expression. According to the materials submitted in advance, Xu¨§ L¨¬ was an 18-year-old woman who graduated from Fukashiro University, the most difficult university on a planet with a population of 21 billion, and after majoring in the Planetary Circulation System at the Faculty of Environment, she became a board member of a Planetary Environment Building Organization. Beautiful stereoscopic images were also sent, and her pink greige hair and white skin suggested that she was probably a woman who took in the genes of Irish refugees with Celtic roots. One of only four daughters of H¨¤o L¨¢n, the successor to the S¨°ng family that ruled Fukashiro, hence the Monarchy, which cannot send out a royal with the right to succeed the throne, struggled to find a suitable match for the brilliant, beautiful and noble Xu¨§ L¨¬. If Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s candidates were not balanced, Fukashiro¡¯s side would get angry for being insulted, which could lead to worsening of public sentiment and deterioration of diplomatic relations. As a result, they were forced to use their trump card, the Marquis of Amakawa, a General of the Monarchy of the same age as Xu¨§ L¨¬. A Lord who rose from quasi-aristocrat to Marquis in a generation, with magic power value of over 90,000, and the owner of a spirit crystal monopoly company. Shari¡¯s reality is that she was a game lover with a communication disorder. Her background is not a lie, but she¡¯s been brilliantly tricked up to sell at a high price. The Monarchy is also pushing three sisters of the traitor Leandre, who are in a bad position, to get rid of the nuisance, so they aren¡¯t completely different in this regard. In any case, Hart has no option to refuse from the start. It is a position that must be successfully maintained for diplomatic purposes. ¡°I see. I don¡¯t mind if you¡¯re a game-loving recluse with a communication disorder. Since the first wife is the Princess, and the second wife is a young lady of a Duke, you don¡¯t have to do any official duties unrelated to Tenka. By the way, I¡¯m not a perverted demon. Oh, and I like to play games too.¡± Although he is a cat-ear loving demon. Hart made a concession, adding in his inner thoughts. After hearing Hart¡¯s remarks, Xu¨§ L¨¬ turns a suspicious look to such a convenient story. When asked without words, Hart arbitrarily explained the question, imagining it himself. ¡°Our relationship affects the national sentiment of both countries. In other words, Xu¨§ L¨¬ works just by having fun and doing her job at home. Even here, you can get a game of the Monarchy, Coalition, and Republic. I¡¯ll budget some money, so you¡¯re free to spend it on whatever you want.¡± After the explanation, Hart felt that she had changed from a suspicious gaze to an anxious one. He had no choice but to guess because she didn¡¯t explain it verbally, but he wonders if she was confused by the overwhelmingly favorable conditions. Hart imagined it himself. ¡°Shall we play a game together for now? Did you bring any of Tenka¡¯s strategy games or war games?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I¡¯ve been looking forward to all the new releases.¡± ¡°We¡¯re about to go to war with the nations other than Fukashiro, so let¡¯s play in a war game where you can understand the strengths of the five nations and their types of ships.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ But I¡¯m Tenkan.¡± ¡°As of today, you will be the fianc¨¦e and future third wife of the Marquis of Amakawa in the Monarchy of Diete. And if the Monarchy wins, the S¨°ng family, who disagreed with the other Five Nations, will prove to be more discerning. It would also improve Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s position, since she came to the Monarchy through marriage diplomacy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I don¡¯t think our standards match with the Monarchy¡¯s terminals.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬ took the data storage from her party bag and showed it with a Tenka information terminal attached to her left hand. Then, from next to Hart, Mira peered into the device. ¡ºNo problem.¡» Mira muttered without any thought, clenching her empty left hand and slowly opening it. Then, on the left hand, which should have had nothing, a dark green spirit crystal was born. Hart was amazed at Mira¡¯s act of creating a spirit crystal. Spirit crystals can only be produced on Diros, the Capital planet of the Monarchy of Diete. There is no doubt that if the scientists who were desperately researching witness the phenomenon now, their heads will go blank. Hart recalled the setting of the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± and asked Mira. ¡ºBecause I contracted directly with Seraphina without going through her spirit crystal, Seraphina is out of the Spirit God¡¯s control. So Mira, who entered the realm of Seraphina, is not bound by the rules of the Spirit God, but subject the rules of Seraphina instead?¡» When Hart spoke to the spirits with magic, the three had smiles on their faces. ¡ºThat¡¯s a sound guess. The Great Spirit God has concluded his business here, so as long as you follow the prearranged rules, he will not interfere with you.¡» ¡ºI see¡­ no, wait. If the restrictions are off, then aside from lower level spirits who lack self-awareness and malice, intermediate level spirits will be able to terminate contracts with their contractors, right? Will warship operators and fighter craft pilots face termination?¡» ¡ºMr. Hart would be in trouble there, so Seraphina made arrangements. With the exception of Mira, whose magical power is connected to Seraphina via Mr. Hart, the restrictions are maintained. If Mr. Hart calls on Seraphina, she can always lift them.¡» ¡ºIf our military strength is reduced, the legitimate contractors could also die. For the time being, maintain the conditions imposed by the Spirit God.¡» ¡ºYes, that¡¯s fine.¡» Mira nodded at Hart¡¯s request, and presented the spirit crystals she had created to Xu¨§ L¨¬. ¡°The basic principles of Tenka and the Monarchy¡¯s information terminal are the same. There¡¯s nothing wrong with it, so please attach this spirit crystal to the terminal.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ um, this.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a spirit crystal I had in stock. I originally planned to give it to you, so use it.¡± To the bewildered Xu¨§ L¨¬, Hart nodded back and urged her to wear the spirit crystal. Since the spirit crystal was supposed to be handed at the time of belonging to the Monarchy side, it¡¯s no problem if he says that it¡¯s no problem. Since Mira manifested it, the spirit would be one under Mira¡¯s influence. In terms of being in Mira¡¯s and thus Hart¡¯s control, it is much better than passing the spirit crystals created by the Spirit King. When Xu¨§ L¨¬ fearfully wore the spirit crystal, a dark skinned girl with blond hair, a green cane and a green dress appeared. Hart had mistaken her for a dark elf for a moment, but since the ears of the spirits that appeared were human-like, he judged that her power was C-class. This collapses the assumption that spirit crystals of D-class or higher can only be manufactured in the first factory. ¡°My name is Chloe. I can be of assistance, so please let me know what you need.¡± The beaming Chloe had some interaction with Mira as she pulled the information from Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s information terminal and data storage. Then, the game made by Tenka was sent to Hart¡¯s information terminal. ¡°You can play together now.¡± As Chloe declared, Xu¨§ L¨¬ and Hart¡¯s information terminals were connected, and even the Tenka-made game stored in the storage was launched on Hart¡¯s terminal. Moreover, the language used in the game is automatically translated from Tenkan to the common language. ¡°¡­¡­ Er, no way?¡± ¡°You may think of spirit crystals as a future technology. Rest assured that the contracted spirit will only listen to its Contractor. If Xu¨§ L¨¬ says something different from me, this one will absolutely give priority to Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s will.¡± However, the creator of the spirit crystal can impose various restrictions and limitations on it. Spirit crystals of Spirit God are imposed with various restrictions, and Mira should have imposed the necessary constraints as well. It should basically not be possible to do anything that would really trouble Hart. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ the Monarchy, is too awesome.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the Monarchy, it¡¯s the great doctor who developed it. Then let¡¯s play a game. My contract spirits can also play games, so when I¡¯m not around, you can play with their alters. So, what kind of war game would be good?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ the Galaxy War series, but I don¡¯t know if it will be helpful.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯d like the latest version if possible. Which is it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ this one.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬ pointed to the screen of the terminal right next to Hart, giving off a sweet scent. Operating as he was told, Hart became one of the leaders of the Six Tenka family and descended into the game world. It was released in October 3741, a year and a half ago, but an additional version update reflected the history up to the fall of the Coalition in March 3742. Starting in 3731, 10 years before the game was launched, players aim for conquest by intervening in the war between the Coalition and the Monarchy. ¡°How did you bring this in here?¡± It¡¯s no wonder that Hart is so amazed. From the opening of the game, the weapons information contained details of the performance and armament of each of Tenka¡¯s warships. This kind of game requires a lot of realism from the player. Perhaps with actual specifications, the space map of the Tenka Federation¡¯s territory is also fairly accurate. Since the settlement of Fukashiro in 3045 AD, they had not been involved in war with other countries for 700 years, so there is little awareness of the need to protect military secrets, and the information is almost as it is. Just one battle will provide a general idea, but the outcome of the battle can vary dramatically when Hart, commander of Fortress Kerviel, knows about it before the first blow. ¡°¡­¡­ I bought it before this whole ordeal. The offline storage was hidden in my handbag and wasn¡¯t found. There was some good data on the ship. But that¡¯s been checked.¡± ¡°Yes, this is a great help. Let¡¯s keep this a secret, Fukashiro would be in trouble if it was known that Xu¨§ L¨¬ had leaked the information. I¡¯ll pay it back by giving Xu¨§ L¨¬ the treatment she deserves.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Uh huh.¡± In the game, Hart chose Shinky¨­, the third ranked nation in Tenka, and Xu¨§ L¨¬ chose Fukashiro, her native nation, and began to prepare for the war. The first step is to conscript national mages among the Tenka outsiders owned by six nations. They were refugees from Earth, and about 400 years ago when they evacuated, they demanded Tenka submit to them, claiming that ¡°we are the Suzerain of Tenka, and because we developed it, we have the right to it¡±. Then, Tenka was treated as having prevailed over them in the War, and in exchange for the right to survive using Tenka¡¯s water and air, men were obligated to serve in the army for 30 years and women were required to give birth to four children with the designated genes. If they refuse, anything Tenka owns would be seized and they would be expelled from Tenka¡­ In other words, they would be thrown into outer space with nothing, which was practically a death sentence. It was easy to gather the descendants because they were educated to work for Tenka, and the warships were also equipped with an android that made Tenka outsiders subservient by violence. As a result, about 200,000 Monarchy cruiser-class mages gathered, and 200 fleets could be organized. Each of Tenka¡¯s fleet consists of 1,000 ships. The main fleet consists of 990 ShirakiB¨¢ich¨¦ng vessels, equivalent to the Monarchy cruiser. In addition, There are 10 ShiroyamaB¨¢ish¨¡n ships, which correspond to the Monarchy carrier craft, for a total of 1,000 ships to form a fleet. Their Flagship is the Ry¨±shouL¨®ngsh¨¨ng, a battleship class operated by Tenkans, which is outside of the 1,000-ship limit. In addition, for domestic security, non- Tenkans operate the IshijouSh¨ªch¨¦ng, which is a destroyer class vessel. Their fighter craft is called the YunfuY¨²nf¨², and 150 can be mounted per carrier craft. The pilots are national mage Tenka outsiders who fell from the captain class that moved the warship. It was assumed that the size of the fighter craft was the same size as the old fighter craft of the Monarchy and the Coalition, and it matched. Since one Monarchy fleet has 5,000 fighter crafts, Tenka¡¯s fleet with 1,500 seemed to be few, but if 200,000 ships from 200 fleets were deployed, the resulting 300,000 fighter crafts would be more than enough. If Tenka intervenes even in one country, even before the war, they will win at the time by annexing the Monarchy and the Coalition. Even if Tenka¡¯s cruisers are evaluated with a force rating of about 70% that of the Monarchy, one Tenka fleet is stronger than a single Monarchy fleet. In the game, the premise was about how to outsmart the other five Tenka nations and seize the Coalition and Monarchy territory. If you achieve the greatest results with the least amount of damage, the points will also be higher. ¡°Could it be that the intervention was delayed because the Tenka nations were restraining each other?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Tenka may have thought that they could win at any time because the number of national mages is increasing. If there wasn¡¯t enough, they would re-conscript from the previous generation of national mages, or female national mages who have finished giving birth would operate the IshijouSh¨ªch¨¦ng ships, this can make up the numbers.¡± After Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s explanation, Hart was convinced by Tenka¡¯s way of thinking. Tenka could drink up the Monarchy at any time, if the irregularity of spirit crystals had not occurred. However, just as Tenka was divided into six nations from Fukashiro, even if a distant star system was acquired, a seventh and eighth nation would only emerge, and therefore the six ruling families had little merit. The history of Fukashiro¡¯s independence from Earth and its further division into six star systems, as well as the disagreement between the five countries and Fukashiro this time, shows that Tian Hua has difficulty in uniting as one. Historically, the Earth-era countries, that were the origin of Tenka, were divided several times. If the technology had developed further and the travel time between star systems had become shorter, they might have moved to annex. But originally, it was probably not the time to start the annexation yet. ¡°¡­¡­ If the Monarchy loses, I¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± ¡°Tenka¡¯s 1.2 million national mages and 12 billion spirit crystal wearers of the Monarchy. There is a 10,000-fold difference between the two powers. Even if there is a 100-folds difference in the strength assessment between cruisers and fighter crafts, the Monarchy is 100 times stronger considering the difference in the number of people. That¡¯s why Fukashiro signed a nonaggression treaty with the Monarchy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Can we win?¡± ¡°We can win. The Monarchy of Diete is a group that attacks enemy planets with their ships when provoked. Of all the human nations, they¡¯re the last ones you want as enemies.¡± Hart, even with the seal of approval, was not confident they could stop 1.2 million cruisers with only 9 million fighter crafts. Even if the MacLir system is Seraphina¡¯s domain, it is still not enough. If they fight in another system, the Monarchy will lose as in the Tenka game. While continuing the war game, Hart spoke to his spirits with magic. ¡ºIf you are outside the constraints of the Spirit God, by purifying the miasma accumulated in the planet where living creatures live and absorbing the energy and accumulate power, you can also be promoted to Spirit King in this system. Is it safe to assume that you will not refuse promotion?¡» The three spirits, whom Hart looked at, all seemed confused. Mira responded on behalf of the group. ¡ºMira is a vegetarian, hence can¡¯t eat planets with intelligent life, but Fleur and Rhea are fine.¡» ¡ºI see. In that case, I¡¯ll use a portion of the craft ships, place 20 pieces of tungsten on Fortress Kerviel, with 1 kilometer diameter and a heat-resistant coating for atmospheric entry. Fleur and Rhea, pour magic power into 10 entry objects each.¡» Mira tilted her head at the wording contained in Hart¡¯s request. ¡ºBy the way, Mr. Hart, you know things that you shouldn¡¯t know. I know that Seraphina isn¡¯t speaking. So who taught you?¡» ¡ºIncidentally, Mira, you¡¯re much too casual when addressing the Spirit King Seraphina. Spirits usually show absolute respect when addressing other higher ranked spirits. In other words, Mira, you have power on par with a Spirit King, but as a vegetarian, you refuse to trigger the promotion. Well, even among Spirit Kings there¡¯s a wide power gap. Mira is probably pretty high up there.¡» ¡ºFufufu. The information that you have could be accepted as dowry, Mr. Hart.¡» Hart, who is not being taken as a groom, shrugged his shoulders at Mira¡¯s joke. CH 48 In Shinky¨­, located in the center of the Six nations of Tenka, a great fleet of four nations had begun to gather since the beginning of the year. Since the first settlement of Fukashiro in 3045 A.D., the Tenka Federation has continued to develop strongly so that weeds spread on the ground. The Six Tenka Star Systems all had wonderful planets¡­ such a declaration cannot be made. Based on the habitability of Earth. Fukashiro was the only one that surpassed overall, with Ten-to being comparable, and the rest of the star systems were inferior to Earth. The Tenka Nation, which first settled on Fukashiro, was forced to immigrate to Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama simultaneously out of necessity due to the growing population in the star system. Both systems were less habitable than Fukashiro, and in addition to those who had immigrants to both systems, many people, including additions from Fukashiro, moved to the next three systems. Currently, Tenka has a total population of 100 billion. 30.3 billion in Ten-to, 21 billion in Fukashiro, 14.7 billion in Shinky¨­, 12.5 billion in ¨­izumi, 11.2 billion in Hony¨­, and 10.3 billion in Ky¨±yama. With the exception of Fukashiro, the population of the five-star system has increased to near the limits of the planetary environment, and the survival environment has been maintained through birth control in the form of imposing fines. In order to advance to the next planet, they would be forced to spend a huge amount of money. Moreover, since Tenka is independent on a system-by-system basis, there is no way for those who gain independence to receive any sort of return. The current situation is generally not bad for the ruling class, as the irregular population provides a cheap labor force. Under these circumstances, even if Yuen thought about advancing into a star system, the people around him were uncooperative and it was difficult for him to move forward. But now, a large number of modified star systems that can be inhabited immediately have emerged. If it is the acquisition of a star system of another country, it will be promoted with various reasons such as eliminating future threats or increasing Tenka¡¯s power. If the 6 star systems of the former Coalition could be acquired, Tenka¡¯s population would reach 200 billion people. If the original 6 star systems of the Monarchy could be acquired, they¡¯ll reach 300 billion people. If Tenka¡¯s star system increases to a dozen, even if they are dragging each other down, they will not be prevented from expanding into new star systems. Yuen couldn¡¯t see beyond that, but Tenka¡¯s sphere of existence will increase from a radius of 1000 light-years centered on the current Solar System to over 1 trillion people when it expands to 2000 light-years. It will only be a matter of time before the Tenkans expand to the entire Milky Way galaxy, all 100,000 light-years. How many people will the total Tenkan population end up being if they advanced to the entire Milky Way galaxy? The galaxy itself has a habitable zone, and if it is too close to the center of the galaxy or too far outside, it may be unsuitable for human habitation. Even so, Yuen imagines that there will be about 30 trillion people. Beyond that, expansion into another galaxy. In the universe, there are clusters of galaxies in which thousands of galaxies are densely packed within tens of millions of light-years, and super clusters formed by gathering tens of thousands of galaxies gathered in a network within hundreds of millions of light-years, and there are at least several trillions of galaxies in the entire universe. Moreover, in the present age when the existence of higher dimensions is known, there is more than one region of the universe in which humanity can advance into. By expanding into another galaxy, the encounter with an advanced intelligent life other than humanity will be inevitable. Whether humanity wins, comes to terms, or loses at that time is down to how human beings developed by the time they encounter advanced intelligent life. For Yuen, who is looking far into the future, he is convinced that defeating the Monarchy of Diete in this war will lead to a leap forward for humanity as a unified force. For Yuen, the Monarchy of Diete is a constant source of caution. The Royal Diete nation, which rose to the top by reducing other ethnic groups through the celestial raids, are making extremely efficient choices as far as their own development and prosperity are concerned. If they were close to each other, they would have been very reassured. And he was disappointed with the S¨°ng family and H¨¤o L¨¢n in Fukashiro. Why can¡¯t he think about the future of Tenka as a whole while governing Fukashiro, the birthplace of Tenka? If they allow Diete, which has obtained the Spirit Crystals, to leap forward, the future of humanity¡¯s leap forward under Tenka will be lost. Working together is a pipe dream. Inevitably, there will be conflicts in any era. And, Yuen thinks that it is quite likely that Diete, which currently has twice as many star systems, will not be able to stay under Tenka¡¯s control. Now is the only opportunity to hold Diete for the sake of their descendants. They only have to win outright. Even if they don¡¯t, they have to weaken Diete¡¯s power by taking their star systems or reducing their population. After all, war is inevitable. Yuen concludes. ¡°After such a long story, I still believe war is essential for Tenka.¡± L¨ªng Y¨©ngRikyou, the head of the G¨¡o Family, the ruling dynasty of Shinky¨­, squinted at Yuen¡¯s speech and nodded with a grim expression. ¡°We have agreed, and so we will not hold you accountable, Yuen. We have concerns about the damage caused by the war, but even so, we couldn¡¯t choose to take the path Fukashiro did.¡± Details of the S¨°ng family¡¯s return of prisoners of war and marriage diplomacy is known by the operatives in Fukashiro, who have paid off figures in the central government. If the five nations win, Fukashiro can rejoin the victors. If Diete wins, only Fukashiro can stay safe. And if the two powers draw even, Fukashiro will be in a leading position against all of mankind, including intermediate trade and mediators. However, L¨ªng Y¨©ng believes that it is a path that only Fukashiro could have taken. Shinky¨­, 3rd ranked system in Tenka, is a star system with a harsh living environment, and could not afford to keep waiting. Shinky¨­, a K-type main-sequence star, has a habitable planet called Su¨¡nSu-An in its habitable zone, which is about 1.3 times the size and gravity of Earth. Because of its slow rotation, the day-night cycle takes as long as a week on Earth, making it mid-summer during the day and mid-winter at night. Due to the rotation, the Coriolis Effect was scarce, and clouds form mostly when the temperature changes dramatically as day and night change, and the interior of the continent is often wasteland because of the lack of precipitation. Although the air density has been improved and greening has been achieved by human hands, the rotation speed cannot be adjusted. Despite his attachment to his hometown of Shinky¨­, L¨ªng Y¨©ng is willing to take the lead in immigration for most of Shinky¨­ if he can obtain a suitable planet from the Coalition or the Monarchy. Agreeing with this idea was Li¨² H¨¤oRyuuho of the Lin family, who ruled Tenka¡¯s sixth-ranked system, Ky¨±yama. ¡°Our Ky¨±yama is even poorer than L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s Shinky¨­. We need a new star system.¡± Xi¨¤sh¨¡nShi~¨¡chuu, a habitable planet within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star , is almost identical to Shinky¨­¡¯s planet Su¨¡nSu-An , but due to its proximity to the star, tidal locking occurs, and day and night are completely fixed. As a result, the planet is exposed to a lot of sunlight, and the amount of water on the planet is decreasing. In addition, the planet¡¯s magnetic field is weak due to its lack of rotation, and its atmosphere and water continue to disappear due to the influence of the stellar winds. Since the Coriolis Effect does not occur, there is no cloud formation and no rain. Currently, ice is transported from within the system and dropped into the regions of perpetual day and perpetual night on Xi¨¤sh¨¡nShi~¨¡chuu to maintain the environment. Without human settlement, the planet¡¯s water would have eventually run dry. Li¨² H¨¤o resented his ancestors for migrating, saying, ¡°Why would you settle on such a planet?¡±. And now he thinks they must have been deceived by Fukashiro at the time, when the population of the star system was reaching its limit. His feelings about the simultaneous emigration from Ky¨±yama are stronger than those of L¨ªng Y¨©ng in Shinky¨­. To both of them, Yuen made a promise. ¡°Both your nations will be assigned the MacLir System and Solar System, which are immediately habitable. Thor, Myrna, and Freyja need about 100 years of environmental adjustment after suffering the celestial raid. The Hercules System is unusable because it is inhabited by the Herculeans.¡± Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­, where immigrations took place after Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, were easier to live in compared to both systems, and their situation is not so urgent. However, the only drastic solution is migration. Based on the situation in each country, Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama will acquire the two star systems that can immediately be inhabited, and the three star systems that have been rushed with the celestial bodies will be specifically allocated, with the Myrna system going to 1st ranked Ten-to, the Thor System to the 4th ranked ¨­izumi, and the Freyja system to the 5th ranked Hony¨­. And the Hercules System will be considered to be under the joint administration of Tenka. Myrna, Thor, and Freyja are all expected to recover their habitats simply by adjusting the environment. In addition, trade with the Republic of Frodi can be expected, and can eventually become a bridgehead to acquire the three Star Systems of the Republic of Frodi. After leveling all of the old Coalition territories, they will invade the Monarchy. Since there are six inhabited star systems in the Monarchy territory, Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, who were assigned good systems first, will forgo priority, and Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­ will choose three Star Systems. The specific allocation depends on their contributions to the war, but it is believed that adjustments are possible because there are six Star Systems to be allocated to the five nations. YaaiSei ran , who attended from C¨¢o Family, the fifth ranked in Tenka, asked Yuen about the allocation of the acquired star system. ¡°We have agreed on the allocation. What¡¯s more, I heard that Y¨²nl¨¢nUn ran X¨³Shu from ¨­izumi is going to Freyja, Thor and Myrna as a separate force.¡± ¡°Ah, Tenka¡¯s total strength is overwhelming, but if too much time is wasted, the Monarchy will also increase its strength through conscription. The X¨³ family will join us in Hercules and the Solar System after suppressing the three Star Systems that deviates from the direct path. After that, there¡¯s also the option of proceeding to multiple star systems in the Monarchy simultaneously.¡± When Yuen explained while showing the star system chart, Yaai, who understood the need for separate force, nodded his head in agreement. If they don¡¯t crush the enemies in the vicinity without fail, they could face invasion into their star systems as a counter. In that sense as well, it is necessary to hold down the Freyja System. More importantly, Tenka has enough strength to do so. Of the 1.2 million national mages in Tenka, 1,000 fleets of 1 million people, excluding Fukashiro, is a mobilizable force of the five nations. Three-quarters of them, 750 fleets, are deployed for offense, and the remaining 250 fleets are deployed for the defense of the five Star Systems. The main force is the 600 fleets from four nations heading for the MacLir system. The separate 150 fleets led by X¨³ Jie are invading from the Freyja system. According to the warships and data brought in by the exiles of the former Coalition, the force difference between the Monarchy cruiser and the Tenka cruiser class is 8 to 6, and the fighter craft is 0.05 to 0.04. However, a single fleet of 1,000 ships would have a strength rating of 6,000, overwhelmingly surpassing the Monarchy¡¯s 3,693. Even if the 400 fleets have a force rating of 1.47 million, which H¨¤o L¨¢n of Fukashiro puts as the worst estimate, Tenka¡¯s 1000 fleet has a force rating of 6 million. Moreover, the Monarchy had been at war with the Coalition until last March, which greatly reduced the number of magic power holders who could move the fleet. The magical individuals of the former Coalition, who have been incorporated under their control, would not be sent to the front lines for fear of betrayal and sabotage. Now, when the Monarchy is weakening, Yaai understands that Tenka can¡¯t be defeated with either the main force, which is overwhelmingly numerous, or the separate force attacking a star system where Fortress Kerviel would not be present. The distribution is a concern, but with regard to the former Coalition territories, there is no need to worry about it because the star systems to be distributed have been decided beforehand. The distribution of Monarchy territories will take contributions into account, but at this point it is unclear which one will most benefit, the four nation forces that will go straight and collide with the main force, or the X¨³ family, who are unlikely to detour and fight in the battle. ¡°Our invasion of the MacLir system will take place in March after the S¨°ng family and Monarchy have entered into diplomatic relations in February. Even if our paths have diverged, they are also Tenkan. They may have one last consideration. After that, the war starts according to the ultimatum, and the former Coalition territories will be taken first. Next, we¡¯re invading the Monarchy.¡± The reason for the five nations of Tenka in starting the war is to condemn the human genocide by the Monarchy of Diete and to overthrow the Monarchy. More than 30 billion people, the majority of humanity, died in the celestial raid of Earth 461 years ago, and more than 20 billion died during the war against the Coalition a year ago. They have enough cause to keep up appearances. In terms of attacks carried out by modern people, the Coalition launched a celestial and fusion attack on the Monarchy¡¯s Capital planet, Diros, two years ago, and the Monarchy¡¯s attack on the Myrna System happened a year ago, so the Coalition was first. However, the war between Diete and Earth was still ongoing, so it is interpreted that it was the Dietes who carried out the celestial raid attack first. The Coalition¡¯s counterattack and the death of a billion people were the bare minimum in a war between interstellar nations. The actual situation was simply ignored, but the future interpretations of the history can be changed to suit later generations. ¡°The acquisition of the former Coalition territory is the first stage. If we see the extent of the damage is too great, we can interpret it as having fulfilled the purpose of liberating the Coalition, and a temporary truce may be allowed. If we have an overwhelming advantage, there¡¯s no need to suspend. Moving on, do any of the three families have any questions?¡± ¡°The G¨¡o family has no objection. Let¡¯s go to war on that policy.¡± ¡°The C¨¢o family also has no objection. Let¡¯s bring prosperity to Tenka with our hands.¡± ¡°The Lin family has no objection. Let¡¯s work for the sake of our descendants.¡± With their final agreement, 750 fleets from five Tenka countries began their invasion of the Monarchy. CH 49 The Fortress Kerviel Command center currently has five seats for the magic element engine operators. In the center sits Hart, who is connected to the main magic engine. Yuna and Colette sit on his right side, and Philine and Claudia sit on his left. The other four with Yuna can operate the three sub-magic engines. If left as it is, there will be one extra person, but in Hart¡¯s absence, they will be connected to the main magic engine, allowing four people to operate the magic engine at the same time. The operators work on a shift system, so basically not everyone is available at the same time. The exception is during battle, which is about to break out at the moment. The powerful Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave of Fortress Kerviel captured an enormous amount of magic element light reflected in the three-dimensional space. One light shines with dozens or thousands of warships gathered together, and there were thousands of these light swarms. They were approaching the MacLir system while passing through high-dimensional space. For Hart, this is the first time he has had complete discretion with no superiors on the battlefield. As the supreme commander of the battlefield, Hart had doubts for the first time. What Hart does is not combat, but a fairly one-sided massacre. Even though the opponent is the side that declared war against the Monarchy and attacked, Hart, who associated the act with pouring water into an ant¡¯s nest, had hesitations unbecoming a soldier. Then, suddenly, Valfrete¡¯s words passed through his mind. ¡°If the Monarchy is defeated, you and your fianc¨¦e will be in dire straits. Don¡¯t make a mistake about what¡¯s important.¡± When Hart saw the faces of Yuna and the others sitting next to him, he shook off his hesitation. ¡°Rotten oranges should drop out of the military and abandon their aristocratic titles¡±, as Philine, sitting to Hart¡¯s left, has said. No matter the outcome of this war, it is Tenka, in its own self-interest, that declared war and unilaterally attacked despite having no point of contact with each other at all. From now on, Hart was determined to embody the horrors of the Monarchy of Diete, which is merciless towards its enemies. ¡°Enemy fleet estimated at 600,000 ships. Size is equivalent to cruisers. The Force Evaluation is estimated at 3.6 million. Under the new standard, it is equivalent to 936 fleets. Roughly five times the strength of nine million friendly fighter crafts, which are rated at 720,000.¡± ¡°The doctor¡¯s souvenir is in this system. If the difference in strength between friend and foe is less than five times, we can fight them.¡± After receiving a report from the chief of staff, Hart corrected his assessment of the allied forces. The MacLir system is a sector where Seraphina, the spirit king, has connected to the spirit world. In the first Battle of the MacLir Star System, the Coalition forces at that time were inhibited from the magic conversion, and their magic engine output was greatly reduced. The reason why the Tenka side does not have this information is because the Coalition¡¯s side was prevented from sending information to the Hercules system, where they defected, during the First Battle of the MacLir Star System, due to warp and communication inhibitions. However, the Tenka Federation¡¯s strength would not be exhausted even if they won this battle. The previous generation has over 700,000 national mages, more than 700,000 female national mages who finished having children that can operate destroyer class ships, and about 200,000 can definitely be mobilized from the generation before the last. In addition, the current generation of 1.2 million has more than 2.3 million children. Imagining the enemies coming one after another, Hart reaffirmed that a drastic solution was inevitable. ¡°From now, this fortress will simultaneously attack all enemy forces immediately after warping out. Chief of Staff, use computer control to place 20 million fusion rounds on the enemy ships¡¯ warp-out lines, excluding the area around this fortress. We don¡¯t know the emergence point, but we¡¯ll detonate the moment they¡¯re closest to the warp-out line. That should take out 10 to 20 percent of the enemy.¡± ¡°Yes sir, ordering the launch immediately.¡± The strength assessment of Fortress Kerviel, including Claudia as an Assistant Operator, is equivalent to 2.19 fleets. Thus, if 93 fleets, which are 10% of the enemy, were to be defeated, it would be an unprecedented achievement in the history of the Monarchy. With such great achievements, the military decoration and promotion of the fortress personnel are certain. It is only possible in the MacLir system under extremely limited circumstances, with Hart as the sole executor, since it cannot be established unless the enemy warp-out line can be identified with Seraphina¡¯s support. Nevertheless, with such extraordinary war achievement, Hart thought that the calculation criteria for strength evaluation would be revised from the output of the magic engine to the number that takes into account the amount of fusion rounds that can be loaded. While the Chief of Staff notified his subordinates of the order to launch the missiles, Hart also gave instructions to the four high magic power holders sitting on either side of him. ¡°For the first six hours, I¡¯ll be on defense and propulsion, and on offence will be Yuna, Philine and Claudia. When I¡¯m away,Colette will substitute on propulsion. Six hours from now, the four of you should take a 12-hour break. Afterwards, we¡¯ll all be on 12 hours shifts.¡± ¡°I wonder if we should stay awake the entire time.¡± Colette, who belongs to the Command Office in charge of the actual force, asked the question on behalf of everyone. A magical individual in combat can stay awake for about 200 hours by maintaining their level of consciousness with life support, medication, and machines that are standard equipment in the magic engine operator¡¯s seat. The five senses become vague, but you can continue to send magic power to the magic engine with a sense of sleepwalking or dreaming. However, as accidents can occur during warp, the use of this machine and medication is not recommended. ¡°If you¡¯re just running the ship, that¡¯s an option. But what I want to do is play tag. So I want you to keep your judgment up.¡± ¡°Tag?¡± ¡°In this star system, the enemy¡¯s magical engine output is greatly reduced. So, if we keep retreating, we can unilaterally shoot from outside the enemy¡¯s range. On the other hand, if we get surrounded, we will be trapped in an instant, so I want the four of you to be in perfect condition and alert to avoid being surrounded by the enemy.¡± After hearing Hart¡¯s explanation, Colette was convinced. There is no option for Colette to sacrifice Fortress Kerviel. Also for the Royal Army, if Fortress Kerviel gets dropped in this system, they will not be able to obtain any further achievements. Rather than gaining twice the battle results in a single engagement, it would be far better in total if they could continue to use it for a long time, even if the results were only half. The total magic power of the magic power holders divided into two shifts is also balanced, with Hart himself and three spirits adding to 98,830 magic power value, and the other four with spirits added at 113,628. Hart has less total magic power, but considering the fact that he can put up a shield that covers the entire fortress and the cooperation of spirits connected by the magic power of the same person, it cannot be said that Hart is generally at a disadvantage. ¡°How should I operate the Salamander fighter crafts while Hart is absent?¡± ¡°If Salamanders are spread out in all directions, you¡¯ll burn down your allies every time you fire the fortress main gun. I don¡¯t care if it lowers the battle results, so while I¡¯m gone, avoid close combat as much as possible and shoot while running away.¡± Originally, the plan was to unleash the large number of Salamanders in Fortress Kerviel, which was only as strong as two fleets, to fight. To Hart, who completely disregards the normal way, Colette supplemented with a half dumbfounded look. ¡°If we limit the Salamander to a one-way deployment, we¡¯ll be less restricted. They¡¯re going to have less engine output, so Salamanders can shake off their enemies and return. Let me use them when needed.¡± ¡°Very well, even if the Salamanders on the sortie are to be sacrificed, the safety of Fortress Kerviel is the priority. This is a formal order¡­¡± Hart used the terminal in the command seat to formally notify all fortress personnel, including the Salamander crew members. [Orders from General Amakawa to all officers. If it will contribute to the safety of Fortress Kerviel, fire on the enemy even if the Salamanders sortie in the area. If the fortress is destroyed, the Monarchy forces in the star system will be annihilated, including the Salamanders. The fortress personnel must comply with the General¡¯s orders. The order is issued by General Amakawa, hence General Amakawa will bear full responsibility.] Hart thought he ordered something rather horrible, but there was no objection from Yuna or Philine, both Military Academy graduates who have completed the Command Staff course. And Claudia was rigid, either because she was nervous in her first battle, or because she was of the rank of Lieutenant. Standing out of his seat, Hart went behind Claudia and placed his hands lightly on her little shoulders. ¡°Hi, what is it?¡± Hart laughed at Claudia, who made a funny yelp. ¡°You¡¯re nervous in your first real battle, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Yes, I¡¯m nervous. I volunteered for this.¡± ¡°Being nervous is a normal reaction, it¡¯s not a bad thing.¡± Moderate tension and moderate relaxation can bring about concentration. Hart thought of balancing Claudia¡¯s tension so that it would be moderate. ¡°Since we¡¯re fighting on the outer rim of the system, the Fortress can escape at warp, but the enemy¡¯s magic engine is inhibited and cannot warp within 1 lightday from this star system. If we are at a disadvantage, we will flee, so don¡¯t worry. But you can¡¯t warp without me, so wake me up if there¡¯s any danger.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so different from what I learned at the Academy, it¡¯s confusing. But I understand. Please leave the task of waking Master Hart to me. How would you like me to wake you up?¡± ¡°All you have to do is shake me awake. I¡¯ll leave it to you, Lieutenant.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be my pleasure.¡± Hart was relieved to see Claudia smiling. If he needs to be woken up, he just needs to be reminded of Yuna and he¡¯ll be awake in no time. Sure enough, the expression on the face of Her Highness the First Princess, which Hart had caught with a sideways glance, indicated that she was not in a good mood. ¡°Enemy fleet, warp out into the MacLir system.¡± After receiving a report from the Chief of Staff, Hart felt rather relieved and issued instructions. ¡°All fortress artillery, destroy all enemies in range.¡± Immediately after, a large amount of light bubbles began to burst on the outer edge of the MacLir System. All of these bubbles of light were bursting light from fusion rounds. They flashed and popped, engulfing enemy ships with each burst. Not everything functioned as it should have, as some exploded in induced explosions or were displaced by shockwaves. Even so, the enemy ships that warped out into the scorching heat were destroyed one after another by the energy surging in from all directions. In a space where huge flashes of light nullified optical observations, Fortress Kerviel, which emphasized radar-based reconnaissance, had firmly captured the abnormalities in the magic element reactions of the enemy fleet. ¡°The output of the enemy fleet¡¯s magic engine has been rapidly declining since warping out into the system.¡± The output from the magic element engine is directly linked to the deployment range of the shield. If a 3,300-meter-long warship had the output of its magic engine reduced to a fifth, the shield¡¯s deployment range would drop to about 660 meters. 2,640 meters would end up outside of the shield range. Fortress Kerviel is protected by an 8-kilometer-thick composite fluid metal layer, because it was built to act as the last fort to accommodate a vast number of refugees. Regular warships do not have special armor, such as a composite fluid metal layer that automatically repairs damaged areas. If the part of the ship that is out of the range of the shield is exposed to the energy of a fusion round, the ship hull will be damaged according to the energy it is exposed to, and the hull inside the shield that is connected to the hit part will also be detonated and dropped. The enemy ship, which was bathed in enormous energy and dropped, had the exact results Hart had imagined. Although the area within a 300 million kilometer radius of Fortress Kerviel was out of the range of the explosions, the dropping rate of the Tenka Federation ships in that space was far higher than in other spaces where fusion rounds were spread on the warp out line. The fortress cannons fired by Yuna and the other three high magic power holders, burned down enemy ships, warped out around them in seconds. The first hour was mostly one-sided. The first wave of the Tenka Federation which jumped into the minefield of the fusion rounds were destroyed across the board and turned into wreckage. The wreckage became metal fragments that mixed in with the blowing blast, destroying the parts of the next ship that couldn¡¯t be covered by the shields and taking them to hell. In about six hours, when the 20 million fusion bombs that had been scattered had been used up, the Tenka Federation lost 23 percent of its main force, 140,000 ships. And among the battle casualties, there was damage that Tenka could not ignore. ¡°The flagship of the Hony¨­ army, has dropped out. C¨¢o family¡¯s Lord Yaai has been killed in action.¡± The spirit of the Tenkans serving in the army exploded with a shock greater than from a fusion round. Regardless of the predicament on the battlefield, as long as all the Tenka outsider state mages were able to leave before they were killed, it wouldn¡¯t affect many people. For the Tenkan people, a Tenka outsider is like a disposable android, and is by no means equal to a Tenkan. The Tenka outsider state mage is a presence that should move forward and become the spearhead and shield. In a situation where only 23% of the gathered force was lost, a successor of the six Tenka families being killed in battle is a situation that should never have happened. Of course, Yaai¡¯s death was not due to the national mages incompetence, but due to the bad luck of having fusion rounds on the warp-out line. 23% of the total was dropped immediately after warping out without any means to react. However, the national mages of the Hony¨­ army, who had lost their successors in battle, had no idea what they would be subjected to if they returned home as things are. Losing their commander, Hony¨­¡¯s army was in blatant disarray. Then, YuenEuen of the T¨¢ng DynastyTan, the representative of Ten-to, sent a message to the Hony¨­ army. [The Hony¨­ army is to resume leadership roles based on their chain of command. We have observed the circumstances of Lord Yaai¡¯s death in battle. I will make a proper report to the C¨¢o family. And the distribution of the former Coalition and the Monarchy will be fulfilled in accordance with the prior arrangement with the C¨¢o family. Act calmly, so that the Hony¨­ army can receive praise and reward from the C¨¢o family head at a later date.] After receiving Yuen¡¯s communication, the Hony¨­ army slightly regained their composure. In each of the six Tenka families, it is the successor who is active in the public eye, not the head of the family himself. Two pillars of each house are prepared to minimize confusion in the event of the death of the one in the public eye. Even if he is elderly and has passed on the actual authority to his successor, he could at least nominate the next one. Recalling this, the Hony¨­ army put a ray of hope in the words of Yuen, a member of the six Tenka families, that he would testify, and order was restored. On the other hand, the Commander-in-Chief, Yuen, who warped out safely, understood that the fusion rounds had been pre-positioned by the spirit¡¯s scouting ability, but he couldn¡¯t immediately make a decision about the abnormal output of the magic element engine. The former Coalition ex-defectors also brought in battle information sent from the Myrna, Thor, and Freyja star systems. In none of those battles was there an anomaly in the output of the magic element engine. Only the last battle of the MacLir Star System did not receive any communications, and there were no escapees, but whether this phenomenon is unique to the MacLir Star System or whether the Monarchy had established a new technology in the last battle cannot be determined on the spur of the moment. The results of the battles in the Freyja and Myrna systems, which Tenka¡¯s separate forces were invading, would determine whether it was this star system alone or the establishment of a new technology, but for this engagement, Yuen had to get through it on his own. And he presented the optimal solution in the current situation. [All four nations, fire fusion rounds in unison at Fortress Kerviel. Not only direct hits on the fortress, but also attacks on the enemy¡¯s expected path of retreat to make them use energy on the shield. Spread all our forces out in all directions, and block their escape routes. Even if the output of our magic engine drops, the ship¡¯s speed will increase if we continue to accelerate. If we surround them and attack them, we can surely destroy them.] Yuen¡¯s chosen means thwarted Hart¡¯s prospect of unilaterally shooting while fleeing. The number of missiles possessed by Fortress Kerviel was enormous, but Tenka¡¯s warships are 3,300 meters long, and 600,000 ships could compete with Fortress Kerviel. If it was a missile shootout limited to the front, it wouldn¡¯t be a one-sided battle like before. While Hart, who made the safety of the fortress a top priority, is forced to retreat and exchange missiles while putting up shields, Yuen rebuilds Hony¨­¡¯s fleet, which was in chaos, and also sends suppression forces to the inhabited planet Whispa and the moon Fraga. Due to the difference in power output of the magical elemental engine, the Tenka Fleet was unable to catch up to Fortress Kerviel. Even so, Yuen confirmed that the fortress operator was being replaced based on the observed difference in the output of the magical element engine of Fortress Kerviel. The fact that four of Fortress Kerviel¡¯s magic engines can be used at the same time has been conveyed to the Coalition by the prisoners of war from the Hercules Star System Battle. In contrast, what Yuen finds inexplicable is the irrational behavior of Fortress Kerviel in not mobilizing eight operators, including replacements. Tenka also has one man per ship and does not deploy replacement personnel. However, if it is Fortress Kerviel, it is better to deploy replacements to get more results. If it were Yuen, having three times as many operators as there are magic engines would be given priority. 12 hours after observing the first shift. The remaining 76% of the Tenka fleet has survived the heavy damage immediately after they warped-out, and since then it has almost never decreased, and Fortress Kerviel has consumed an additional 4 million fusion rounds. The pursuit from all directions had been successful, and the Royal Army was retreating to the outer reaches of the system, abandoning it. Furthermore, the magic engine output of the Tenka Federation was recovering as the distance from the star system increased. It would be about 26.3 billion kilometers until the magical element engine was fully recovered. Against Tenka, who was closing in on Fortress Kerviel while expanding its walls to prevent it from returning to the star system side, the commander of the Monarchy side who had taken over made a new move. The first observation was of a group of about five million missiles. Behind them, millions of fighter craft launches have also been observed. Moreover, the Royal Army¡¯s fighter crafts were performing magic element conversion at a higher level than the prior information from the former Coalition defectors. Upon receiving the report, Yuen realized that the battle had moved to the second stage. [All troops, launch missiles in unison against the opposition. All ships, switch your attacks to anti-fighter craft melee guns. ShiroyamaB¨¢ish¨¡n carrier crafts, start up all YunfuY¨²nf¨² fighter crafts.] When the order was delivered, millions of missiles were fired from the Tenka Army towards Fortress Kerviel. At the same time, 1,368,000 fighter crafts overflowed from the remaining 9,120 carrier crafts, like water overflowing from a broken embankment. CH 50 In the space 1.6 billion kilometers outward from the outer rim of the MacLir system, ephemeral stars occurred in the millions. The Tenka officers in charge of searching for the enemy were terrified by the flashes that filled the screen with pure white during optical observation. Hundreds of thousands of fusion rounds without magical elements were flying through the sector. In the field of magical observation, it is impossible to find missiles that do not generate magic. The explosions caused a large amount of warship wreckage to fly around, making Mass Wave Observations useless. Even optical observation is sealed, so how can the missiles be found? Deprived of sight, three million Salamander crafts of the Royal army attacked the right wing of the Tenka Army, which stretched the shields to the limit all at once. [All fighter crafts, from the 1st command post to the 100th command post, successfully linked to the information integration system of the General Headquarters. Battle interlocking system of each post has launched simultaneous attacks on enemy army right wing in response to enemy magic response.] The Tenka Federation Army was advancing toward Fortress Kerviel. Therefore, the swarms of Salamanders coming from Fortress Kerviel could not be avoided. In the blink of an eye, Tenka¡¯s Vanguard Fleet, which fell into a state of battle, was irradiated with rays of light from three million laser light guns flying around the sector, melting one after another like snow in a torrential downpour. The Salamanders have been instructed to attack targets in the fortress¡¯s combat interlocking system, but not by the pilots. There were a certain number of pilots who cited results that greatly exceeded expectations. Second Lieutenant Alois Kahn, a pilot in the 42nd division that just dropped an enemy ship, was one of those pilots who accumulated such extraordinary results. Alois volunteered as a fighter craft pilot for the Royal Army two years ago, and was appointed as a Corporal after leaving the short-term training school. At that time, he was given a military grade D-class crystal, and since then, he served in the 4 consecutive star system battles that took place, starting with the Battle of the Myrna Star System, achieving great results, and was officially appointed as a Second Lieutenant under a special promotion system. In the four battles, Alois felt as if he was one with his fighter craft. While flying around at high speed, he perceived the enemy¡¯s attack and evaded by twisting his body, going around enemy ships with the sensation of kicking the ground with his feet, and shot his lasers with the sensation of hurling his will. It was during the 4th battle, in the MacLir Star System, that his senses became more pronounced. In a world repainted with white light, Alois saw a clear blue lakeside with white lilies blooming on the water. It was a world like the midnight sun, where instead of fixed stars, the world was illuminated by a single large star and countless smaller stars. There was a nebula-like zone between the MacLir star and the planet Whispa in the MacLir system, and the large star, and some kind of communication was going on between them. In a mysterious world, Alois, in the midst of a huge flow of magical elements, managed to release the converted magical elements as they were pushed out, and achieved great results in single-handedly dropping a destroyer much larger than a fighter craft. For his achievements in the 4 Star System battle, Alois, who was highly decorated with the Order of the Procyon, 4th Class, was called out by the army to become a royal military officer. The same feeling was felt during the Second Battle of the MacLir Star System. While using his senses to avoid the tens of millions of debris flying around the sector at high speed, he put up his shields to repel shockwaves and borrow the magic flowing in this special star system to flow like a missile. Beyond that were dozens of allied vessels, and they were fighting cruiser-class enemy ships. The Salamander, driven by Alois, ran through the countless short-range cannons fired by the enemy ships, closing in on the enemy in an instant, shot the main gun on the unshielded bow from the zenith, destroying it, and ran straight to the nadir as it was. The exploding enemy ships scatter shockwaves and debris as they spread out in a circular pattern. The military android soldier assisting with the fighter craft operation praised Alois for his achievements in battle. ¡°Defeat of enemy cruiser-class B¨¢ich¨¦ng confirmed. Second Lieutenant Alois has met the criteria for Medal of Honor and promotion. Congratulations.¡± ¡°He¡¯s next in line for Lieutenant. A Second Lieutenant is the standard for a pilot of a fighter craft, but what happens when he gets promoted?¡± ¡°Lieutenant as platoon leader of 5 crafts, Captain as squadron leader of 25 crafts, Major as commander in charge of 100 crafts, 100 crafts are assigned a carrier craft. The fighter craft commanders in charge of 100 bases and the fortress fighter craft commanders are Lieutenant Colonels and above. The current fighter craft commander at Fortress Kerviel is a Brigadier General. The highest ranking fighter craft commander in our military is a Major General.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m glad to see you have a future.¡± There was no platoon leader among the millions of fighter craft pilots who were recruited en masse. Of the 9 million Salamander crafts on board Fortress Kerviel, the commander of the 300 command centers, which oversee 30,000 crafts each, is like a Captain to Alois. At least four veteran fighter craft pilots are assigned to the command center to help coordinate issues that cannot be addressed by Android. As for himself, Alois believes that he will probably continue to be promoted. Not only because he is good at what he does, but also because the spirit he has attached is diligent. Suddenly, Alois¡¯ left hand grabbing the control stick was pushed to the left by the spirit on its own. After the Salamander flew to the left, the original path was bombarded by Tenka ships. ¡ºThat was dangerous.¡» ¡ºAh, you saved me.¡» In a situation when he should have died, Millie, Alois¡¯ spirit, helps avoid attacks by forcibly pushing Alois away. Not only that, Millie was always assisting in maneuvering the craft, sensing magic reactions, and coordinating with the other crafts. ¡ºA stray enemy ship is heading toward the fortress, I¡¯ve informed the spirits around us, so let¡¯s work together to defeat them. Don¡¯t worry about the fighter crafts in front of you, they¡¯re foolish little children who were given up by the girl they were following. Let¡¯s earn more results and head straight back to the fortress.¡» ¡º¡­¡­¡­¡­ got it.¡» ¡ºDon¡¯t tell anyone about me. I wouldn¡¯t be troubled, but you would.¡» ¡ºI know, I won¡¯t tell anyone about my partner.¡» ¡ºThat¡¯s good.¡» In the royal army, there are a certain number of ace pilots like Alois who have achieved remarkable results like Alois. Although not as good as the Ace Pilots, there were many others who came up with big achievements, and on the other hand, there were some who died right away. The original Salamander was rated 0.08, while the standard Tenka ship, the B¨¢ich¨¦ng, was rated 6. 75 Salamanders are an even match with a single B¨¢ich¨¦ng. The B¨¢ich¨¦ng, which could not operate its magic engine properly, was targeted at the part of the hull that could not be shielded, and was in an even trade-off with about 15 crafts. The same is true for the Tenka¡¯s battle boat, the YunfuY¨²nf¨². Originally, with a strength rating of 0.04, one Salamander and two Yunfu should have been evenly matched. In reality, ten crafts were evenly matched by one Salamander. The Royal Army¡¯s Salamander raced through the sector, dropping a large number of enemy ships, while cutting down on the enemies that were newly stepping in after them. While the Salamanders were destroying the enemy, Fortress Kerviel attempted to make a large turn towards the right wing of the enemy and correct its course to a clockwise rotation when viewed from the zenith. Major General Colette, the acting commander, received a report from the Chief of Staff, who has the rank of Brigadier General. ¡°Salamander damage is 280,000 vessels, 9.3% of the 3 million crafts in sortie. Enemy dropped is about 15,000 ships, about 3.3% of the remaining 456,000 ships. Approximately 80,000 enemy fighter craft dropped, 5.8% of 1.37 million.¡± 280,000 fighter pilots were killed in just three hours after engagement with the enemy. Colette, who sent them out, turned pale as an individual, but from the perspective of the General of the Royal Army, she recognized that the results of the battle exceeded expectations. There are a total of 9 million Salamanders in three shifts. If 300,000 crafts can cut 3.2% of the enemy, 9 million crafts can cut 96%. With the enemy¡¯s fighter crafts being exhausted, they can concentrate on warships, so it¡¯s not impossible to cut down enemy forces with 9 million crafts. The mission of Fortress Kerviel is to buy time on the front lines until the home country can gather conscripted fighter craft pilots. It is a cruel way to use up soldiers, but it serves the original purpose. The fighter craft pilots in Fortress Kerviel are those who volunteered to protect their families in their homeland, so they are willing to defend them¡­ there was no other choice but to think that way. ¡°Fortress Kerviel will continue to move clockwise through the system, and when the Salamander¡¯s shift time comes, second wave will deploy. Fighter craft leaders, prepare to launch.¡± ¡°Understood¡± The fortress cannon cannot be used because the course change uses the Salamanders as a shield. Feeling frustrated by this, Colette corrected the fortress course clockwise. In exchange for the first wave of Salamanders pulling up after the battle, five million new fusion rounds were fired, and three million second-wave crafts sortied from behind them. The Royal Army released as many missiles and fighter crafts as during the first wave, which caused quite a stir on the Tenka side. Fortress Kerviel had stockpiled missiles and fighter crafts throughout the fortress, just like a squirrel in winter gathering nuts. The amount of missiles and fighter crafts stored in the fortress¡¯ overly huge space is unimaginable. Therefore, Tenka imagined that if the conflict continued, they could be defeated. ¡°Lord Yuen, from Fortress Kerviel, a second wave of missiles and fighter crafts.¡± ¡°Fire counter-missiles, Deploy Yunfu to the front against enemy fighter crafts. All ships, continue close combat. Fire fusion rounds at the expected path of Fortress Kerviel and lead the fleet ahead.¡± ¡°Sir, sending instructions be executed immediately. But our missiles are not infinite. If we continue to consume at this rate, we will exhaust them during the battle in this system.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Yuen, who received an obvious report, gave an abhorrent expression. The content of the report is true, and at this rate, even if they win, they will need several months to resupply and replenish their forces. The Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts were equipped with measures against electromagnetic pulse cannons, and their fighting power was also increased. Also what was completely unexpected is the output abnormality of the magic element engine. At the pre-conference of the six Tenka Nations, Yuen was keenly aware of what H¨¤o L¨¢n of Fukashiro meant when he expressed concern about the ¡°threat of technology that the contents could not be understood at all¡±. If the results of the battle in the MacLir System had been brought by exiles of the former Coalition, Yuen might have chosen other means, such as advancing the Tenka immigration policy to the former Coalition planets. However, the war has already begun, and Yaai, the heir to the C¨¢o family, which is one of the six Tenka ruling families, has died in battle, so it cannot be stopped. Realizing that the war situation was far worse than expected, Yuen was forced to use an undesirable strategy. ¡°The enemy fighter crafts have no measures against fusion weapons. Put ally Yunfu to the forefront and engage the enemy fighter crafts. Then blow up enemy fighter crafts that have swarmed with fusion rounds along with allied crafts. It doesn¡¯t matter if 20 allies are lost from a fusion round, as long as 10 enemies go with them.¡± ¡°Huh ¡­ but will they be shot down by allies?¡± ¡°Let them shoot. Four nations are gathered in this sector. Each nation only has to shoot in the form of involving Yunfu operated by Tenka outsiders of another nation, not Yunfu with their nations Tenkans. As a result, the B¨¢ich¨¦ng¡¯s damage will be reduced and the shooter will be saved. Tell them that, and they should be able to do it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ understood.¡± ¡°When there are no more fighter crafts, we¡¯ll use the vanguard B¨¢ich¨¦ng as bait to do the same thing. At first, however, there is no need to tell people about using B¨¢ich¨¦ng. First of all, shoot at ally Yunfu and destroy the psychological brakes.¡± The severe strategy came at the moment when the second wave of Salamanders entered the battlefield and engaged the Yunfu. When Salamander began to overrun the Yunfu, Tenka¡¯s fusion missiles, which had been launched to avoid allies until now, began to burn Salamander engulfing their allies without mercy. ¡°Tenka Federation forces fired millions of fusion rounds all at once, involving the Tenka fighter crafts. The second wave of Salamander that was dispatched is swallowed by the localized supernova explosion class energy.¡± On the main screen of the Operation Command Room, which shows the surrounding system map, a huge white light lit a sector with 100 blue and many red light points. The white light never disappears, and the blue and red light that invaded the sector is completely wiped out. Each blue light point represented up to 30,000 fighter crafts, but dozens of lights disappeared at the same time. In addition, in the turbulent space of both armies, close-range bombings of nuclear fusion rounds continued, and Salamanders of the Royal Army were also erased in exchange for almost extinguishing Tenka¡¯s fighter crafts. ¡°Retreat the second wave of Salamanders to the fortress. Launch interceptor missiles. Cover the Salamander¡¯s withdrawal.¡± Colette reasonably suppressed her urge to complain loudly, thinking that it would hinder the Chief of Staff¡¯s orders. Following the rapidly reversing Salamanders, Tenka¡¯s fusion missiles were approaching. The missile swarm of the fortress intercepted them, and the explosion which occurred there swallowed a part of the Salamanders that had failed to escape. In exchange for almost all 1.29 million Tenka fighter craft being destroyed, the same number of Royal Army fighter craft was lost. The three million crafts of the second wave that the vanguard fleet had displayed on the subscreen had now been drastically reduced to 1,795,000 crafts. The tentative strength evaluation was 100:94, in favor of the Royal Army, but if the same hand is used by the Tenka Army, the fighter crafts moving in groups will be unilaterally shot down regardless of the strength evaluation. ¡°Acting Commander Listner, the fighter crafts are operated by a battle-link system. If they don¡¯t move in groups, they won¡¯t be able to use the battle-link system. However, if they move in groups, they will fall prey to fusion missiles, and if they engage individually, each will be destroyed by the enemy ship¡¯s automatic interception system.¡± ¡°I know, abort all fighter craft launch. Commander Amakawa will decide what to do next after the change.¡± ¡°Understood. Aborting all fighter craft deployment.¡± After the Chief of Staff issued the order, Fortress Kerviel retreated while continuing to respond to the missiles. Colette herself had dismissed the Salamander as expendable and used them to cut down the enemy forces, but she would not engage in combat where she shot the enemy along with the Salamander. If the Capital planet was attacked and they could break through, she would shoot without hesitation if cornered to the situation where civilians living on the planet will be killed, but it is unethical for Colette to shoot her own allies while invading a planet in a war of aggression. During the 12 hours under Colette¡¯s command, about 1.6 million Salamander crafts were destroyed and 1.368 million Tenkan fighter crafts and about 17,000 warships dropped. Under conventional assessments, this result would have cost 1.96 million Salamanders, and under the special environment, which was five times more favorable, it was a result that would have cost 392,000 crafts in damage. Of course, Colette believes that she lost to the enemy commander. When Hart came to the operational headquarters an hour before the shift time, Colette reported the worsening situation. Hart had no intention of blaming her for his own judgment, including leaving it to Colette. ¡°We had three shifts, so the damage was only one third, and the decision to withdraw was quick and decisive. It could have happened on my shift, and I think Colette did well, this was just bad luck. I mean it.¡± ¡°Thank you for saying that, but what about Hart?¡± One command post operates 30,000 fighter craft units, and there are 300 of them. If the fighter crafts are to be subdivided, it is necessary to increase the number of posts, but the commanders of the post are veteran former pilots, who have coached the current fighter craft pilots as instructors since the time when volunteers were gathered. Because they take charge as the commanders of the post, it is possible to command well, and even if they support those who have never moved the fighter craft, the operation execution ability of the fighter crafts falls greatly. As with fighter crafts, the posts have three shifts, but the commanders of the command post, who need to make decisions, cannot be kept awake with drugs. Even if the commanders are overworked, the backlash will result in reduced combat efficiency and fatal mistakes. Any further combat by fighter crafts, Hart decided, would not be profitable. ¡°From now on, we will temporarily abandon the MacLir System and invade Shinky¨­, the third largest nation in Tenka, closest to the MacLir system. The aim is to destroy the inhabited planet, reduce the number of national mages that can be recruited, disperse planetary attack weapons, and force the enemy invaders back to their homeland for relief. We will then determine the next system to attack based on the system¡¯s defenses at that time.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ are you serious?¡± Colette, who has been assisting Hart in the position of Deputy Director, is more accustomed to Hart¡¯s ideas than others. Even such a Colette had to reaffirm Hart¡¯s statement when he suggested a counter-invasion of the enemy¡¯s home base even though his mission was to buy time in defense. Of course, Hart was serious. The damage to Tenka was significant, with 176,000 of the 600,000 invading vessels and 1,368,000 fighter crafts dropped, bringing the total to 31.3% lost. It is estimated that half of their fusion ammunition was consumed. On the other hand, about 1.6 million out of 9 million Salamander crafts were destroyed, totaling 17.7% lost. The two forces are evenly matched in the special environment of the MacLir System, and it can be said that Fortress Kerviel has achieved great results. Even so, the invasion will not stop unless their base is destroyed by a reverse invasion. ¡ºSeraphina, I¡¯m going to crush the enemy system for a moment to gain energy for the promotion of Fleur and Rhea. Kindly block enemy warps, radar observations, and communications to the extent possible. Also, feel free to use the moon Fraga¡¯s magic element engine. In this star system, you can do whatever you want.¡» When he called out with magic, a nostalgic voice echoed in Hart¡¯s brain. ¡ºWe have constraints because we need them. But this time, the enemy has invaded my territory to attack my contractor, Hart, so it is acceptable.¡» Although he could not see Seraphina, Hart felt a connection of magic power to his left and turned around. With blond hair and light purple eyes, ears as long as half-elves, wearing a ultramarine blue two-piece, lily floral decorations on the chest and white wings on the back. From such a temporary form tailored to human visual information, the current Seraphina has simply returned to her original form. Even if he can¡¯t see her, Seraphina is still by his side. Hart pretended to be unconcerned and casually called out to her. ¡ºI¡¯ll leave it all to Seraphina. Then I¡¯ll be going.¡» ¡ºI¡¯ll help you out for the first time in ages. Have a safe trip.¡» The magic power of Hart and Seraphina, as well as some of the vast amounts of magical elements flowing through the system, flowed into the magic engine of Fortress Kerviel. The world reflected in the visual field of Hart and his people shone blue, then the stars surrounding it solidify four times and become smaller, and as he narrowly swam through the space where countless rivers of stars flowed in the pitch-dark, Hart saw the small, solid stars spread four times. Despite being in battle with the Tenka Federation, Fortress Kerviel, which skipped the route calculation, quickly disappeared from the MacLir System in an instant. Before the eyes of Yuen and his colleagues, who were engaged in the MacLir Star System Battle, Fortress Kerviel suddenly glowed blue and immediately vanished. ¡°Fortress Kerviel has warped out, its magic conversion reaction has disappeared from within this system¡± The Tenka Federation invaded and the Monarchy of Diete withdrew. It was undeniably a victory for the Tenka Federation, but Yuen didn¡¯t feel like he had won. ¡°Has the abnormality of the magic engine recovered?¡± ¡°No sir, even after the withdrawal of Fortress Kerviel, the power output, radar, and communication are all in an abnormal state, It is the worst in the star system, and an improvement of about 8% can be seen in the current space area 2.1 billion kilometers away from the outer edge. It is estimated that 1 light-day radius from the star system is an abnormal region.¡± If they can¡¯t shield the entire ship, they can¡¯t enter high-dimensional space and warp. If the radar and communication are also malfunctioning, they can¡¯t track the enemy¡¯s movement at all, and it is not possible to contact the outside. With this, even if the MacLir system is secured, it cannot be used as a territory controlled by the Tenka Federation. ¡°Is it always active even without the Monarchy Army? Can¡¯t you identify the source?¡± ¡°Unknown at this time. If there are any broken and drifting enemy fighter craft, we will order them to be secured for interrogation. We will also interrogate the conquered MacLireans.¡± Upon receiving a report from the staff officer, Yuen recognized that the results were not promising. Even if Yuen had special military technology, he would not be able to teach the lowest-ranked soldiers or MacLireans. He ordered the planetary assault force he had brought to suppress the inhabited planet Whispa and the moon Fraga, and the main force was forced to leave the abnormal territory by normal navigation. Regarding the planet Whispa, the other side informed him of their unconditional surrender. The preservation of the system was given the first priority, so Hart allowed their surrender to the conquerors. However, the moon Fraga was equipped with a large amount of fusion rounds by the Royal Army, and mass-wave agglomeration cannons and protective membrane generators connected to a large number of magic engines installed throughout the fortress. The moon Fraga has no atmosphere and its facilities are located inside the satellite, so attacking it from the satellite orbit would be ineffective. It was also speculated that there were a large number of personnel and weapons inside. If the moon Fraga is not subdued or destroyed, the planet Whispa would remain within the attack range of the Royal Army. The moon has a total length of 900 kilometers, so it is possible to produce fusion rounds in the moon. They wanted to capture it quickly, but the counterattack from the moon was fierce. An anomalous system where they could not fully deploy shields was too dangerous to perform landing battles. In order to attack with great firepower, he used too many missiles in the battle with Fortress Kerviel. The commander, who was instructed by Yuen to take final control of the MacLir system, was forced to half-destroy the moon Fraga in order to control the planet. However, when he sent a celestial body towards it, it was not only deflected from its orbit by a counter-propellant fusion missile from the moon, but also avoided by the propulsion system despite its huge size, leaving him helpless. On the other hand, Yuen, who took three days to leave the abnormal region, made contact with Y¨²nl¨¢nUn ran of the X¨³Shu family, the fourth ranked in Tenka, who was attacking the Freyja star system as a separate unit. Communication between star systems that have just been snatched by the Monarchy is possible because they deployed a large number of reconnaissance ships and communication satellites in the invading area to relay magical communications. In a communication with Y¨²nl¨¢n, Yuen revealed what happened in the MacLir system. And in the Freyja system that Y¨²nl¨¢n invaded, they also learned that there was no abnormality and the enemy immediately withdrew. [I understand the situation on the main side, and I also understand why the former Coalition exiles could not obtain any communication from the MacLir System. It has not occurred in the Freyja system, so it cannot be used extensively. If so, the X¨³ family will propose a drastic solution.] ¡°What drastic proposal?¡± [We, the detached force, will cancel all plans, divert from the galactic zenith direction, and hit the Diete System directly. Completely destroy the spirit crystal factory on the capital planet Diros.] ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I see¡± In Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s proposal, Yuen found a way out of the current situation. The former Coalition was also successful in attacking Diros, and production of the spirit crystal factory has been temporarily suspended. At that time, Dr. Kerman, the developer, died, and the spirit crystal factory could no longer be expanded. If a situation similar to that of the MacLir system occurs, the detached force could be destroyed. But if they don¡¯t proceed because it¡¯s dangerous, it would be impossible to win the war against the Monarchy. Yuen decided to take Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s bet. ¡°Very well, what do you need?¡± [Hold Fortress Kerviel at the front and buy us some time. They will most likely go into the Hercules system to defend against an invasion of the Monarchy territory. Go along with it. And I¡¯ll ask you to take control of the Myrna and Thor systems that we won¡¯t go to.] ¡°I will take care of everything, and if we¡¯re going to attack the capital planet, we will send 200,000 ships from the main force there. With Yaai dead, Honyo¡¯s troops will not be able to return to their home country unless they destroy the planet, Diros. Use them in suicide operations with fusion rounds.¡± After communicating with Y¨²nl¨¢n, Yuen took various measures. In order to control the Myrna and Thor systems, 30 separate fleets of 30,000 ships were organized from the main force. Carrier crafts that lost ships and fighter craft that needed repairs in their home countries were returned to their respective countries. At the same time, each country was instructed to conscript former national mages and send reinforcements to the front lines. The main forces advanced to the Hercules System, where Fortress Kerviel probably retreated to. Hart, on the Monarchy side, determined that the invading forces worn out in the MacLir system needed to be replenished and reorganized. And he thought that if the bases were attacked one after another, they would not be able to invade Monarchy territory. On the other hand, the leaders of the Tenka side also decided that Fortress Kerviel needed replenishment. They never imagined that the third wave of fighter crafts were halted, and that after engaging the main force, a reverse invasion was underway, ignoring both supply and defense. Both armies marched under common sense assumptions. CH 51 April 443 of the Monarchy history. Fortress Kerviel, which had disappeared somewhere after the opening of the second MacLir System Battle last month, had invaded the territory of the Tenka Federation without being captured by the enemy. The MacLir system invasion force is presumed to have left Seraphina¡¯s realm, but if their destination is not detected and they are not spotted Tenka¡¯s ships on the way, they can launch a surprise attack on the star system. The Monarchy is not supposed to have a detailed star map of the Tenka Federation. At least H¨¤o L¨¢n of Fukashiro understood that there were plenty of people inside Fukashiro who would sell the information for money, and that it would leak to the Monarchy side, but he did not pass the information to the Monarchy side. However, his daughter Xu¨§ L¨¬, who sold it to the Monarchy of Diete, passed the information to Hart in view of her position. Xu¨§ L¨¬ is a shut-in with a communication disorder. At that time, Hart couldn¡¯t tell whether she was desperately trying to communicate with him while vomiting, or whether she sold herself high because she was smart enough. But Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s actions were bearing fruit. At least she obtained a mighty patron, the Marquis of Amakawa, in the Monarchy of Diete. And, Hart, who learned the route used by Tenka, proceeded through the sector far away from it, and was able to approach the sector around Shinky¨­ without being detected. ¡°After the first battle in the MacLir Star System, this is the second one I owe you. With any hope, I¡¯ll do my best to repay the two. Ah, apart from the fact that you¡¯re a game-loving, incommunicable shut-in who doesn¡¯t do any official duties unrelated to Tenka, I will fulfill your wishes, so please feel at ease.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬, who contributed to the success of Fortress Kerviel, followed Hart, her marriage diplomacy partner, after the ceremony to establish diplomatic relations. It was also possible to send her to the Diete System before the Second MacLir Star System Battle, and in fact, the other two who came for marriage diplomacy, the staff of the Fukashiro embassy in Diros, and the diplomatic delegation were headed there. But even if Xu¨§ L¨¬ went to the Diete system, there are no Amakawa family members, just the people from the Monarchy and Fukashiro who are assigned to watch her. The Monarchy would then invite Xu¨§ L¨¬ to various social gatherings and events to keep her occupied, but that would have been hell for her. Hart prepared Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s room in a manner similar to keeping a sheltered cat, with an android to take care of her, and he even shows up regularly. Whether it was the result of successfully using the game, the spirits acting as mediators, or the result of hard work on her part, Xu¨§ L¨¬, when talking with Hart, is not so stagnant. ¡°Then, don¡¯t abandon me, I can¡¯t go home anymore.¡± ¡°Yes, of course, I won¡¯t abandon you, and I will reaffirm the isolated and unsupported position that came from marriage diplomacy, and I¡¯ll be mindful to protect Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s position. In exchange you gave me performance data on Tenka warships in advance for the MacLir System Battle. Even if I get into a conflict with His Majesty the Sovereign, I¡¯ll do something about it.¡± When Hart gave his stamp of approval, her pink-greige head gave a small nod. ¡°Also, don¡¯t be too angry, I can¡¯t say what I want to say, I can¡¯t get over it.¡± ¡°Is that so ¡­ I see. I won¡¯t be mad at Xu¨§ L¨¬. Even if something goes wrong, I won¡¯t get angry, instead I will talk with you about what to do. If I forget my promise and get angry, Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s spirit, Chloe, will issue me a warning. In exchange for showing the Monarchy a reverse route, I won¡¯t get angry.¡± When he called out to Chloe, the spirit who appeared for the battle game, Chloe returned her consent with a smile. ¡ºI understand the promise between Shari and Hart. What would you do if you broke it?¡» ¡°I apologize first. I probably didn¡¯t have enough time and forgot that Xu¨§ L¨¬ is not good at conversation. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll try not to get angry as much as possible, so I hope you¡¯ll forgive me.¡± ¡ºPlease apologize properly.¡» ¡°Ah! Xu¨§ L¨¬, is that all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± After forming an agreement with Xu¨§ L¨¬, Hart was still glad that he hadn¡¯t sent her home. If he hadn¡¯t established a personal relationship at the beginning, he felt that she would have completely put up a mental wall. Marriage diplomacy is based on the Sovereign¡¯s orders, but once it has been undertaken, he didn¡¯t want her to be irresponsibly thrown out. Society demands that Hart increase the number of his concubines and mistresses. What society wants is high magic power holders, and it may be appropriate for those who cannot spend time. The meaning of increasing the number of high magic power holders was well taught. However, the common people could not dispel the sense of discomfort about it. For Hart, as a gene donor for Philine, they will never marry but feel like partners. Yuna feels that she is the one who will become his legal wife. Claudia had a sense of acceptance, since she had come to him through a clear self-selection, even moving the parliament. Xu¨§ L¨¬ was also able to recognize the individual personality in Hart and had the awareness to accept him with conviction. Hart self-analyzed his own thinking, wondering if he didn¡¯t like the feeling of treating the other women as objects. Looking back, if he didn¡¯t like it, he shouldn¡¯t become a high magic power holder, but when he used the Duke of Takrham¡¯s device himself, he was unsure, but thought it was far better than letting Digitalis use it. The only question now is how to reconcile his own ideals with the demands of society. ¡°In the meantime, you can count on me. Also, it would be better if you meet my intended legal wife, Yuna, as soon as possible. Yuna has been forced to do a lot of things as the First Princess, but she¡¯s a very good girl at heart. When she hears about Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s situation, she will be on your side.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ can¡¯t do it all over again.¡± ¡°Just play that footage, and I¡¯ll basically explain the rest. How about that?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I need a few days to prepare my mind. Or I might throw up.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬ spewed a weak tone, but Hart chose to involve Yuna. Yuna must be convinced by emotions, while Collette is the type to be convinced by reason. Philine is a complicated mix of maiden circuit and senior aristocratic perspective, but Hart has learned how to forcibly push through. Claudia would accept it if she understands that it will benefit the Royal Citizens. Hart, with his personal life settled, began to focus on the mission at hand. Fortress Kerviel continued to warp and eventually reached the sector three-light-years from the Shinky¨­ Star System. They have not been discovered by the enemy yet, and can enter the outer rim of the star system by performing the next warp. Hart, the fortress commander, declared to all. [From now on, Fortress Kerviel will make a final warp-in to the enemy system. The purpose of the operation is to drop celestial bodies on the enemy¡¯s inhabited planet and destroy the enemy national mages who invade the Monarchy. This also has the purpose of informing the enemy invasion forces that their stronghold is being attacked and having them withdraw from Monarchy territory.¡± Hart has not explained it, but another objective is to elevate his spirit, Fleur, to an A-Class spirit like Seraphina. The expected emergence point after warping out is outside the outer star system celestial group, about 5 billion km from the star system. They will invade into the system at 400 million km/h, and after 12 hours advance to the inhabited planet, Su¨¡n, rushing celestial bodies No.1 to No.10 were housed in Fortress Kerviel. The celestial body, made of tungsten with a heat-resistant coating, is 1 km in diameter. Tungsten has excellent high temperature strength even in its natural state, and its density is 19,250 kg/m3, more than six times higher than ordinary rocks, making it suitable as a rushing object. Of these, No.1 to No.10 are imbued with Fleur¡¯s magic. 1 km in diameter is about the size of a destroyer, but if it collides with a continent at an incident angle of 45 degrees at 10 million km/h, it would create a crater 200 km in diameter and 75 km deep at the point of direct impact. This is energy comparable to the celestial collision that destroyed dinosaurs on Earth. Although there is little effect on the planet¡¯s orbit or rotation, a 4,000-km radius from the direct point of impact is within the range of thermal radiation, and living beings exposed directly to it would be burned to death. The earthquake that occurs will have a magnitude of 11.4 on the Richter scale. More dangerous is the shock wave, which destroys all structures within a radius of 8000 km from the point of impact, except for reinforced structures with multi-layered frames. During this process, the Fleur¡¯s magic power will run through the planet, purifying miasma and converting it into energy to be absorbed. It obliterates all but the miasma, but the Monarchy of Diete will be in a position to blow away the invading enemies in order to protect the royal citizens. The death toll from the 10 celestial incursions is expected to be about 90% of the planet¡¯s population. In addition, they scatter deadly weapons on the planet and force the invading enemy to turn back for relief. ¡°Chief of staff, in 12 hours, a fierce battle is expected. Order all fighter craft pilots to take a break and be prepared for type-1 battle formation in 12 hours. We will adjust the advance speed of the fortress, so the major battle won¡¯t be earlier than 12 hours from now.¡± ¡°Sir, executing order immediately, but will your Excellency stay awake?¡± ¡°Once we¡¯re discovered, speed of advance is important, I will reduce wear with machines and medication. The Chief of Staff should take a turn with the Deputy Chief of Staff and rest. You¡¯ll do the brainwork later.¡± ¡°Understood¡± After seeing off the Chief of Staff, who had withdrawn with a salute, Hart made the final warp when Yuna and the other assistants also rested. Once at warp, he operated the command seat and attached a life support system to his body. Next, he activated the visual and audio blockers in his seat, and the world experienced by Hart was enveloped in darkness. Then a monitor in front of him projected a scene that looked like a single screen projection. From the surroundings, only the murmur of a stream flowing through the mountain could be heard. The limitation of visual and auditory information is to reduce the burden on the brain. Hart has already temporarily lost his senses of touch, smell and taste, and in this state he can fight for 200 hours. However, if he were conscious, he would see the equipment at hand, and by the operation of Hart, Fortress Kerviel began to move in the star system. With the help of the spirits, they avoid the celestial groups floating in the sector at high speed. After breaking through the outer edge, he increased speed to 400 million km/h and advanced towards the lodgings of the inhabited planet. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ after raising speed to 600 million km/h, fire 500,000 fusion rounds onto inhabited planet in 10 bursts. Only missiles are to precede the fortress. As long as it is a straight line, a wide range of attacks are not required. Shoot down enemy interceptor missiles.¡± Hart is lightening the burden on his brain, but he¡¯s still clearly conscious. After giving instructions, the magic engine¡¯s output was increased, and the fortress accelerated rapidly, and then unleashed a torrent of nuclear fusion missiles in 10 bursts on the enemy system. The first salvo is at 600 million km/h, and from the second salvo they will slow down by 20 million km, with a time lag to precede the uninterrupted attack. After the launch, the fortress slowed to 400 million km/h and advanced into the system. Six hours after advancing into the system, the missiles of both forces collided with each other ten times at 30 minute intervals. A million white stars explode many times on a black background of outer space. The Tenka side, which had never experienced war since its founding, shot too many fusion rounds first. As a result, many fusion rounds turned into huge fireworks in the first explosion, and the repeated attacks after that caused them to lose their missiles to return fire. As a result, the sector where the explosion occurred gradually approached the inhabited star system. ¡°Lord Amakawa, please temporarily deactivate the shields at the rear of the fortress. We¡¯re two hours from the enemy system. We will launch the Salamanders.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Very well.¡± The Chief of Staff and Operating Assistant, Yuna, returned to the fortress command center and issued a launch order to the Salamanders, 7.4 million crafts. At that timing, Hart also released the blocking device and returned to his normal senses. Looking around, Yuna and Colette sit on his right side, and Philine and Claudia on the left side. Half of the command center¡¯s screens are glowing with missile explosions. The star system map showed the attack target, planet Su¨¡n, and in front of it, about 50,000 enemies of 50 fleets were displayed. 50,000 Tenka ships are comparable to 3.75 million Salamanders or 78 fleets of the Monarchy. The current Royal Fleet, half of the total army, was a defense force that could never be conquered without the presence of Fortress Kerviel. However, the force evaluation in the current sector was 100:51, and the Royal Army was overwhelmingly dominant. ¡°Prior to contact, I will irradiate the fortress main cannons to burn down the neatly aligned enemy forces, continuing the irradiation in the range of 900 million to 200 million km. After the battle between the fighter crafts and the enemy, we will move in the zenith direction and continue to attack with the main gun and fusion rounds diagonally from the rear of the enemy and the enemy system. Yuna and Claudia, assist the attack, and Philine is on the propulsion engine. Colette will take her place in a timely manner.¡± Hart chose the conventional method of shooting unilaterally from outside the enemy¡¯s range, but the conventional means are used frequently because they are effective, and because they are frequently used, they become mundane and conventional. Hart thinks that there is no need to take an eccentric measure in a predominant state. And to prove that his idea was correct, he fired the fortress gun at the enemy¡¯s line. A pillar of blue light stretched from Fortress Kerviel toward the front row of the Shinky¨­ fleet. When the pillar of light penetrated the front-row ships located on the Tenka right wing, it swept through to the left wing side as it was, and it penetrated the ships located next to it one after another. By arranging the ships in an orderly manner, it is possible to show the public the high level of control of the ships. But when facing Fortress Kerviel on the battlefield, it was as stupid as lining up the targets neatly and insisting that they be shot at all together. The fortress cannons quickly penetrated from the right wing of Tenka to the left wing and burned down a thousand ships. And this time, from the left wing side to the right wing side, the enemy line of the next stage is burned. ¡°The defense commander is incompetent.¡± Tenka¡¯s national mages are obedient to their superiors, or worse, have poor self-judgment. The national mages are not graduates of the military school. Androids that ride on board and execute commands do not care for their lives. If the individual ships couldn¡¯t make decisions, then the commander would have to take charge. In Hart¡¯s experience, the commander¡¯s ability to defend the system was a few steps lower than that of the commanders of the invading forces. As Fortress Kerviel continued to burn the defense fleet unilaterally, the Tenka fleet took steps to move forward toward the fortress while breaking the line of ships. If the enemy is disorganized, they will become prey to the group tactics of the fighter crafts. Salamanders rushed into the enemy Tenka fleet and went deep inside to avoid being burned by fusion rounds. 7.4 million ray guns attack 50,000 cruisers. In the midst of the confusion, the attacks of the two forces in all directions of the battle sector intermingled, and many ships and fighter crafts fall. With the exception of some fighter crafts that were very good at maneuvering, warships and fighter crafts collided on the battlefield. Fortress Kerviel tried to reduce the damage to its allies by unilaterally burning down the enemy back-row that was not engaged in close contact. Yuna and the others played their role, and Colette took the lead in reducing the burden on the other three and coordinating with the general staff. ¡°Our army is overwhelmingly superior. Part of salamanders have penetrated the enemy inhabited planet Su¨¡n¡± After receiving the staff¡¯s report, Hart nodded to the good news, but reaffirmed his purpose. ¡°Chief of Staff, our aim is to drop the 10 celestial bodies in the fortress to the enemy planet. Move some of the Salamanders towards the zenith direction to wipe out the enemies in the zenith. The fortress will go around from the outside and drop the celestial bodies.¡± ¡°Copy that, executing orders at once.¡± When the Chief of Staff¡¯s notification flew to the fighter craft division, from the two types of light that intersected in the front of the planet reflected in the system map, a blue part separated and began to move around the planet from the zenith direction. As the fighter crafts pushed through in numbers to create a safe sector, Hart accelerated the fortress and released four rushing bodies to the top, bottom, left, and right of the planet facing them. Confirming that celestial bodies had been released from the fortress, the Tenka army moved to prevent the entry of celestial bodies. Because they had lost control of the sector, they had no choice but to forcibly intercept them with fusion rounds from deployed ships or from within the planet, but they were still able to stop two of them. However, the remaining two shots could not be stopped, and they entered the continent and Arctic on the left side from the fortress with the speed and angle of incidence close to what Hart had planned. The continent¡¯s entry point was encased in a fireball, and heat radiation burned down a radius of 4,000 km. In addition, a powerful shockwave ran through the range that was further doubled. Even on the Arctic side, the point of impact went through the ocean with ease, and a huge tsunami occurred from the impact point, and headed for various parts of the northern hemisphere. ¡°Successfully rushed into two shots.¡± ¡°Second projection, three points except the north pole. On the left, slightly lower the target to the continent in the south.¡± Before the shockwaves and tsunamis generated by the rushing bodies raced through the planet, Hart had sent the next projectiles. The target is three places excluding the north pole. The shattered continent on the left was removed from target and replaced by the southern continent. When the second celestial body was ejected, the Tenka defense fleet, which had been deprived of control, tried to break into their path, ignoring the damage. As a result, the Tenka fleet succeeded in stopping one of the three celestial bodies amid the number of dropped ships. As it was aimed at the continent on the right, Hart revisited his assessment of the commander, inwardly praising the efforts of the Tenka Defense Fleet with a click of his tongue. But the national mages must be killed. In order for Fleur to absorb the purified magic elements, Hart brought Fortress Kerviel closer to the planet side. ¡°The continent to the right remains. There are three celestial bodies left, but one of them must be dropped on the continent on the right side. If it fails, we can¡¯t cut down their national mages and protect the Monarchy. Chief of Staff, order to the command post to have Salamanders take down the enemy fleet on the path with the highest priority. At this time, our sacrifices will not matter.¡± ¡°Understood, Issuing the highest priority.¡± The order was executed immediately. As the fighter crafts, which were told the meaning of the operation, desperately secured the sector, Hart increased the speed of the fortress, deepened the angle of incidence, and projected one of the remaining three objects onto the right continent. Regretting that more celestial bodies had not been prepared, the 8th celestial body broke through the enemy¡¯s obstruction and rushed into the target continent. Although it was more powerful than planned, Hart considered it within the margin of error due to the multiple failed objects. Dropping celestial bodies on three major continents, Hart then sent the 9th body onto an independent continent on the north side. Perhaps because of the efforts of the fighter crafts, the 9th celestial body also succeeded in rushing in, so six out of nine hit the target. Hart, who threw the last celestial body into the right continent, advanced the fortress to the limit of the enemy ship¡¯s attack range, and looked at Fleur¡¯s situation. Fleur, the contracted spirit of Hart, wore a hair ornament with crimson jewels on her head and held a staff with huge blue jewels in her hands, with a look of anguish and suppression on her face. Recognizing that she was in the process of absorbing the massive magic elements being converted, Hart did not tell the people around him about it, but simply communicated his policy. ¡°The celestial rush was a success. The order prioritizing the suppression of the path is lifted. Originally, I wanted to force the return of the enemy¡¯s invasion by scattering deadly weapons from satellite orbit, but it is impossible to destroy the enemies in the sector. After weeding out the enemy fleet in a dominant state, we will leave the sector. Let the battle continue until further notice.¡± ¡°Understood, Lifting top priority order.¡± The battle sector is still in a state of chaos, with the wreckage of both forces warships¡¯ were still flying around, with ships and salamanders that were thought to be wreckage moving and shooting. In the battlefield, far beyond the information processing ability of the human brain, both armies were fighting with battle-linked systems, the decision-making speed of the androids, and the senses of the spirits attached to each of them. This kind of crushing battle is not the way Hart likes to fight. In terms of strength evaluation, the Monarchy had an advantage, and it was possible to bring it to a state of complete melee so that each ally could not shoot fusion bullets, but if it was just a fight, he wanted to cut it short. ¡ºIt¡¯s over.¡» After holding out for three hours, Fleur reported that both allies and foes have suffered considerable damage. After sighing, Hart removed the fortress from the planet¡¯s orbit, and then ordered Salamanders in battle to retreat to the fortress. After Salamander left the planet, Hart further expanded the damage by firing a total of 3 million fusion rounds at the dense enemy fleets and enemy planets. The shockwaves of the explosion created a distance between the two armies, as if forcing Hart and others to leave the sector. CH 52 The news of the destruction of Shinky¨­, third ranked in Tenka, was immediately delivered under the invading army. [Fortress Kerviel has raided the Shinky¨­ system. The defense fleet was destroyed with 85% dropped. At Su¨¡n, celestial bodies were plunged into all continents and half of the surface was burned up with fusion rounds. The death toll is 85% of the total population, estimated at more than 12.5 billion people.] The unrealistic report was accompanied by a huge amount of video data. Once a major city, the area was now a desolate wasteland with huge craters and no vegetation. The remnants of buildings that had been repeatedly exposed to the explosions of fusion bombs were charred and tattered, looking as if they would crumble to pieces if touched. There was footage of celestial bodies rushing in, with defense fleets and Monarchy fighter crafts jumbled together around the planet, and Fortress Kerviel rapidly accelerating and repeatedly firing projectiles in sectors where it could not be shot upon carelessly, making it nearly impossible for the planet¡¯s defense facilities and defense fleets to prevent the raid. It was impossible to prevent the subsequent fusion rounds if three million shots were fired near the planet. Fortunately, the inhabited planet of Shinky¨­ took a week to cycle between day and night, and because the day was midsummer and the night was midwinter, people¡¯s living space expanded underground. As a result, 15% of the total population escaped thermal radiation and shockwaves above the ground. However, the defensive battle has been unilaterally devastating, leading to defeat. The commander of Fortress Kerviel has a wealth of experience in actual warfare and is accustomed to battle, such as missile wave attacks that change from acceleration to deceleration, how to force a melee battle, and moving the fortress position to continue one-sided attacks. Yuen evaluated. ¡°Of course the Sovereign of Diete would offer his eldest daughter.¡± In a royal state, the best way to control an overly competent vassal is to offer his daughter. With that alone, the vassal becomes a son-in-law, a brother-in-law for the sons, and various restrictions can be imposed on the vassal. By becoming a parent-child relationship, their interests would basically align. In addition, the daughter, who became a wife, acts as an intermediary between her husband and her parents¡¯ household, so most grievances are resolved before they lead to a fatal collapse. Should he kill the father or brother of the wife, the people would not follow the culprit from the perspective of humanity. Those who would try to incite dissatisfaction can only give up when the target is either the father-in-law who gave his daughter or the son-in-law who took her as his wife. Commander Amakawa and his Fortress Kerviel possessed more combat capabilities than Yuen could have imagined. Despite having consumed an estimated 30 million nuclear fusion rounds against the Tenka main force, they used about 8 million nuclear fusion rounds and deployed an estimated 7.4 million fighter crafts at the Shinky¨­ Star System. Shinky¨­¡¯s defense fleet destroyed an estimated 2.07 million crafts, about 28% of the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts. In exchange, however, the defense fleet lost 33,152 ships, about 66% of the fleet. Most of the other ships that participated in Shinky¨­ were half destroyed, and the death toll on the inhabited planet is estimated to be 12.5 billion, which is 85% of the total population. The surviving fleet is conducting rescue operations, but the planetary habitability has collapsed, and it will take a great deal of time and effort to restore the planetary environment to a state where humans can live. In the invasion army of Tenka, L¨ªng Y¨©ngRikyou, the successor of the G¨¡o family who ruled Shinky¨­, is also participating. Upon receiving the report, L¨ªng Y¨©ng did not become distraught. This was war, and it was known before the start of the war that the people of Diete were notorious for celestial raids into enemy systems. In Shinky¨­, there were voices of concern, and after many heated discussions, the decision to start the war was made in light of the various prospects for the future. Will the descendants of Shinky¨­, who will live in the new star system 1000 years from now, conclude that this battle was necessary? Or will they scorn it as folly? Which will be the case will depend on L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s future achievements. With a fierce emotion that could not be hidden on his face, L¨ªng Y¨©ng tried to accept reality by force of will. ¡°To protect a planet from Fortress Kerviel, a defense fleet of 50,000 vessels is not enough.¡± L¨ªng Y¨©ng, who was full of emotion, still issued a warning for Tenka¡¯s victory. Tenka¡¯s five nations had one million warships powered by one million national mages. Of those, 750,000 were used for the invasion and 250,000 for defense. Each system had 50,000 ships, the minimum defense force for nations with low national power. From the battle results to date, the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts are considered equal to the Tenka cruiser class ShirakiB¨¢ich¨¦ng, with 75 crafts. In other words, a defense fleet of 50,000 is even with 3.75 million Monarchy-armed fighter crafts. In combat, an attack by fusion rounds involving allies is also effective. However, when fighting Fortress Kerviel in the defense of the Shinky¨­ system, there was no room to shoot fusion missiles at the fighter crafts in order to prevent fusion rounds from endlessly raining down from the fortress toward the inhabited planet. 5.32 million of the Monarchy fighter crafts that participated in the Shinky¨­ Star System Battle have survived. If they come to Ten-to, the first ranked in Tenka, which has abundant defensive forces, they can intercept it, but if they attack other systems, they won¡¯t be able to withstand it. Fortress Kerviel¡¯s strength will be exhausted in the second system, and the third system raid will be prevented, but the damage to the second system cannot be tolerated. ¡°Until the movement of Fortress Kerviel is known, the reinforcement fleets issued from each nation will be returned to each country, each instructing its own nation to strengthen its defense system. L¨ªng Y¨©ng, return to Shinky¨­ with your troops, deal with the damage, and take command of the defense of Tenka territory. I will also entrust you with the command of the reinforcement fleets of each nation.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Even if the main unit, which was about to enter the Heracles system, were to return, it would not be able to catch up with Fortress Kerviel, which is heading from Shinky¨­ to the next system. Knowing this, Yuen decided to return the troops that could respond in time, and at the same time, return L¨ªng Y¨©ng, the successor to Shinky¨­, to his home nation. After the devastation, Shinky¨­ needs a leader to set the course for the future. It would have been better if the high-ranking families in Shinky¨­ had escaped when Fortress Kerviel struck. However, this was the first war since the founding of the country, there was no idea that the national leader would flee when the enemy attacked. If L¨ªng Y¨©ng is not returned, Shinky¨­, which has lost its ruler, cannot move properly. On the contrary, even if other star systems are damaged, he will cooperate with the other families to take provisional measures and make independent decisions. ¡°We, the main force, will capture the Hercules System as scheduled to support the detached force heading for the Diete system and attract enemy forces. The destruction of the Spirit Crystal Factory is now essential. We will report the situation while still in communication with Y¨²nl¨¢n of the detached force.¡± The Tenka Federation made the inhumane actions of the Monarchy its cause. But to destroy a military factory, it is only necessary to blow the continent where they are located. Yuen reminded the detached force. Essentially, Yuen does not want to blow away an entire continent. It is far more reasonable to incorporate enemies as national mages like those who left Earth, rather than killing them all. The original plan was to scatter the enemy fleet and conquer the intact star system, but now there was no longer any room for that choice. It has been confirmed that the Monarchy¡¯s greatest force, Fortress Kerviel, will not be able to participate during the attack on Diros, led by the detached force. Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s detached force consists of 350 fleets of 350,000 ships, including 200,000 reinforcements from the main fleet, which is equivalent to 26.25 million fighter crafts. ¡°¡­¡­ they sacrificed a limb to ensure the kill.¡± Planetary control of the MacLir system has stagnated because their force cannot gain control of the moon Fraga, but the Royal Army has been forced from the system. The Freyja system has been dropped, and a detached force is also underway in the Myrna and Thor systems. The Hercules system is about to be invaded, and Diros, the Monarchy¡¯s capital planet, can also be hit directly. However, of the five nations, if nothing is done, two will be attacked. The Monarchy suffers great damage from the loss of multiple systems, but the Tenka side also suffers great damage in the short term. When H¨¤o L¨¢n of Fukashiro, who chose a neutral position, came to mind with regards to the victor of this war, Yuen wrinkled his eyebrows out of discomfort. If H¨¤o L¨¢n had participated on the Tenka side, another detached force could have been organized, and the Athena system and the Apollo system could have been attacked at the same time as the Diete system. The struggling nations will resent the traitors of Tenka. Knowing that some action would have to be taken eventually, Yuen made a decision on various issues awaiting his judgment. As Yuen had made a sort of split decision, Hart did not attack Ten-to. The attack on the Shinky¨­ system was a surprise attack that could only have been carried out without knowledge of where Fortress Kerviel had gone to. There, 2.66 million Salamander crafts have been lost, and despite the fact that it will not be a surprise attack next, there is no way to attack Ten-to, which has twice the population of Shinky¨­. There were three target systems: ¨­izumi the fourth ranked, Hony¨­ the fifth ranked, and Ky¨±yama the sixth ranked. Of the three, Hart chose the one with the least strength, Ky¨±yama. In raising Rhea to Spirit King following the contracted spirit Fleur, Ky¨±yama with a longer history of human habitation than ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ and a total population of over 10 billion was sufficient to meet the requirements. To the members of the fortress command, in addition to it having low defensive capability, they are making up for it by citing the fact that it was the closest to the Monarchy¡¯s main territory and that they can destroy and divide the system adjacent to Fukashiro, which has declared its neutrality. Of the 9 million Salamanders crafts aboard Fortress Kerviel, 4.27 million crafts have been lost, which is 47.4% of the original. The policy of targeting the lowest-ranked Ky¨±yama, which had the lowest strength, was understood by Yuna and others. For Yuna, Hart tried to gain another understanding. ¡°So, it was Xu¨§ L¨¬ who taught me about the performance of the Tenka Warships and the navigation routes within the Tenka territory.¡± Hart revealed everything from Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s vomiting at the diplomatic ceremony, playback footage of the conversation between the father and the daughter kicked out of her home for being a shut-in, taking out the data storage from her party bag and sharing it with Hart, and Mira giving her a spirit crystal. It¡¯s because they are not good at hiding things that they get into trouble, but if everything is told in full and she is brought into the fold, they won¡¯t have to make excuses. Hart thought. The reason for involving Yuna first is to appeal to her emotionally by showing that Yuna is the one he relies on the most. ¡°So what do you want me to do, Hart?¡± ¡°The way I see it, knowing Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s character and contribution, I thought it would be better to prevent Yuna from getting angry with Xu¨§ L¨¬, and not to hide her as a fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Oh, hmm. That¡¯s what it is?¡± In one go, Yuna was able to get rid of her harsh look, and Hart immediately erased it from his mind so that she wouldn¡¯t realize, as he associated it with the dangerous word ¡°simple-minded¡± that appeared in the game he played at his grandfather¡¯s house. Yuna, who understood the situation, walked up to Xu¨§ L¨¬, who was frozen with tension. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re asking, and I agreed to the marriage diplomacy.¡± To Yuna¡¯s greatest concession, Xu¨§ L¨¬ responded with a nod, her utmost response. Because of this, his reaction was interrupted, and Hart became the relay of the conversation. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let each other¡¯s spirits meet? Even if there is something you find difficult to say in person, you will be able to communicate with Yuna¡¯s spirit Sharon and Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s spirit Chloe.¡± While watching the two alternately, Hart urged them to reveal their spirits. Yuna and her spirit Sharon have been together for three and a half years, since before the Loki Star System Battle. Yuna¡¯s trust in Sharon is unwavering, as a comrade who has survived numerous battles. Xu¨§ L¨¬, on the other hand, has a short relationship with Chloe, but Chloe is one of Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s greatest allies in the Monarchy. Perhaps because she is not human, Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s shyness has not kicked in, and she is a valuable conversation partner. Chloe bowed to Sharon as she appeared, and Sharon nodded back and the face-to-face meeting of the two spirits before their contractors was over. Later, while traveling from Shinky¨­ to Ky¨±yama, Hart spent the time playing the game that Xu¨§ L¨¬ brought with the three of them, so that Xu¨§ L¨¬ and Yuna would be able to get to know each other. Then, as the friendship value rose to some extent, and he thought to add Claudia to the mix next, they reached the second enemy star system, the Ky¨±yama system. The battles in Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama will basically remain the same as they were fought one after another in less than a month. Up to a short distance, the information received from Xu¨§ L¨¬ is used to approach on a route that civilian ships cannot take. Fortress Kerviel¡¯s search range was much longer than the enemy¡¯s, and Fleur, who gained enough power to be promoted to Spirit King, increased its jumping distance, allowing them to reach Ky¨±yama system without being caught by enemy search. The increased capabilities of Fortress Kerviel will be a nightmare for the enemy. There was no way to scatter swarms of mines throughout the vast outer rim of the star system, and the warped fortress invaded the system without encountering any resistance. Hart, equipped with a life support device and cutting off various information, goes into a world completely different from Shinky¨­. It was a scene of walking through a spring field full of blooming flowers and grass, guided by the fairy Fleur. A large number of colored butterflies, which seemed to be Fleur¡¯s kin, mixed with Hart¡¯s magic power and took the form of fortress cannons, flying through space. All of the ships and interceptor weapons in the Star System were surrounded by these butterflies and destroyed. Red, blue, yellow, and white butterflies fly around the star system, and the space where they flew was filled with petals dancing in the wind. Hart accelerated in the same way as Shinky¨­, slowing down after 10 strikes of 500,000 missiles, and only the course in front was neatly arranged. The enemy¡¯s attack, which came from outside the front, was erased by Fleur¡¯s butterflies, and even if they got through, the petal shields that emerged on the surface of the fortress blocked them. In the Shinky¨­ System, the flashes of fusion rounds burned up space and vision was intermingled, creating a world in which the new star explosions danced. On the other hand, in the Ky¨±yama system, the scene where the sector is swallowed up by a spring storm is created. With the power of Fleur being greatly raised, Hart realized the difference in ranks that existed among the spirits. The Ky¨±yama defense fleet was terrified by Fortress Kerviel, which was causing an incomprehensible phenomenon. As a result of their enemy search, Ky¨±yama¡¯s defense force had increased to 65,000 ships. This is comparable to 4,875,000 Salamanders. The number of Salamanders is 5,328,000 crafts, and the two armies have a force rating of 100:91, excluding the fortress. They were almost even with the lowest ranked Ky¨±yama system, and Hart recognized that attacking the weakest Ky¨±yama was the right decision. The Royal Army is numerically inferior, and as long as Fortress Kerviel is the only move for a reversal, and failure is unacceptable. Hart, who lifted the information block, ordered the Chief of Staff, who had already returned. ¡°Fire an additional 3 million nuclear fusion rounds, and from behind them, launch anti-missile swarm. Launch all Salamanders while blocking the enemy with missiles. Break through enemy lines in melee combat.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± A huge swarm of missiles was shot out of the fortress, and behind it, 5.328 million Salamander boats began to invade the inhabited planet Xi¨¤sh¨¡nShi~¨¡chuu in the Ky¨±yama Star System, in the form of a huge tsunami. Hart believes that the Tenka Federation, which has invaded the Monarchy, must have the horrors of war engraved into their soul and brought into a pessimistic mindset. Whether it is a ceasefire or an end of the war, neither will be realized unless one side abandons the continuation of the war. The former Coalition, who experienced a one-sided battle in the MacLir Star System, don¡¯t think of starting any foolish revolts. People are forgetful creatures, but as long as the generation that experienced the war survives, there will not be a war. Therefore, Hart embodied the unreasonableness of unilaterally burning down the enemy from outside their range. ¡°Distance to the enemy, 980 million km, Your Excellency, we are still out of range¡­¡± As the Chief of Staff was puzzled, Hart¡¯s main fortress cannon, which combined the magic power addition of three spirits, ran through the long distance to destroy the front row of the defense fleet. As Fortress Kerviel advanced, it would continue to reliably destroy enemies at a distance that should be impossible to hit. The enemy was like a neatly arranged target. If it were not for the fact that this sector was within the enemy¡¯s system, that they possessed more missiles, and that their manpower and fleet would increase with time, Hart would have continued his shooting game without any harm to his allies. After two hours of devastating the enemy, Fortress Kerviel moved toward the galactic zenith ahead of the Salamanders and fired the main cannon at the enemy fleet¡¯s rear, forcing the enemy defense fleet into melee battle. On offense was Yuna and Claudia, propulsion was Philine with Colette as auxiliary. Hart deploys an absolute defense called the Spirit King Fleur, and had Mira and Rhea attack in between. The star system map projected the collision of the blue light wall representing the Salamanders and the red light wall representing the enemy defense fleet. The inhabited planet is projected at the far end, and a tsunami of blue light flows into it, mixing with red light to show a purple battle sector. The more purple it is, the more successful the formed melee state, making it impossible for the enemy to fire fusion rounds. Almost the entire area in front is in a state of congestion, and the celestial raid into the enemy star system broke through the first barrier. At the fortress headquarters, the fighter craft command posts and the staff are engaged in various exchanges. ¡°The melee situation in the right wing direction is more advantageous to me. There are many battlefields that are numerically disadvantageous in the direction of the left wing. It seems that the enemy forces are deliberately consolidating their forces and trying to destroy each one¡± ¡°Move units from the center to the left flank, divert the Salamander units from the 65th to the 100th divisions from the right wing into the hole in the center.¡± Hart never interferes with the staff¡¯s coordination. No matter how much he leads, there is no end to it, and it is a very difficult situation. Instead, he moved the fortress to the enemy¡¯s thin right flank, from which he fired about 200,000 fusion rounds toward the enemy planet. Enemy forces and enemy planet hurriedly launched interceptor missiles, and enemy fleets moved some units from left to right to eliminate the inferiority of the left wing. Thus, there are other ways to eliminate inferiority besides diverting units. In order to establish a system that makes that unnecessary, they must increase the number of command posts to every 10,000 crafts from the current situation where a command post is set up every 30,000 crafts and increase the number of personnel in the posts and the fortress headquarters. However, the Monarchy is recruiting additional Salamander pilots in all its systems, and experienced and talented people who can command fighter crafts are indispensable for leadership roles. Even with this, Fortress Kerviel is still the most favored site in the Monarchy. Hart thought of assigning pilots with extensive combat experience to command, but witnessing the ongoing deaths of Salamander pilots, he questioned the feasibility of the idea. However, even at the cost of their lives, celestial bodies must be dropped on enemy planet to reduce the number of Tenka¡¯s national mages. As the fierce battle of attrition continued, there appeared a huge hole on the left wing that the enemy could not block. The enemy¡¯s left collapsed as Hart concentrated his attack on the right wing at that timing, causing the enemy to move to the right wing, and Fortress Kerviel¡¯s staff diverted the fighter crafts to the collapsed left wing. The Salamanders, powered by the information integration system and the battle link system, did not overlook the bias of the enemy. They relentlessly exploited the weaknesses and annihilated the enemies in the sector. Of course, Hart did not miss the chance at the enemy¡¯s gap either. ¡°It¡¯s time, project 6 celestial bodies!¡± Six rushing objects were launched at high speeds of more than 1,000 km/h into the sector where the enemy had disappeared. The enemy fleet, which were stuck on the right wing, could not stop them, and the objects broke through the atmosphere and pierced the continent in six places. Six fireballs are created on the planet, burning away the surrounding area with thermal radiation. Immediately after that, the shockwave pierced through and swept across the surface of the planet. ¡ºRhea, convert and absorb purified miasma.¡» ¡ºI know, I¡¯ve already started.¡» Rhea, a spirit with elf ears and a green breeze swirling around her, stared at the void with her out-of-focus eyes, fluttering her brown stall. Because of the large amount of magic elements being converted and absorbed, she wore an unfamiliar gold bangle on her right hand, tied a white ribbon to her hair, wrapped a belt around her waist and put on a shoulder bag, and desperately tried to disperse energy. After confirming the situation, Hart moved the fortress further to the left from the left wing and threw four celestial bodies into the continent on the other side of the planet. Two were shot down by interceptor missiles launched from the planet, and the other two were successfully rushed. Instead, 100,000 nuclear fusion rounds will be fired at the two locations that could not be attacked. Although they were still absorbing the miasma that Rhea had purified, the safe continent had to be destroyed as it launched missiles at them. The Tenka Federation had no hypothetical enemy like the Monarchy and Coalition, and was not originally designed for war. As a result, the number of underground evacuation facilities was small, and the damage caused by fusion ammunition far exceeded that caused by celestial attacks. With enemy ships and fighter crafts flowing in on the other side of the planet, Hart called off the fusion missile attack. ¡°In order to force back the enemy invading the territory of the Monarchy, we will cut down the enemies in the Ky¨±yama System, making rescue difficult for them on their own. We will continue the battle for a while.¡± Actually, he stayed because he wanted to promote the spirit Rhea to a Spirit King, but Hart, who cannot explain it, made up a suitable reason. At the meeting of the Royal Court, Sovereign Valfrete made it clear that ¡°Amakawa has full discretionary power regarding battles under Fortress Kerviel for the purpose of delaying the enemy¡±. All of Hart¡¯s actions aimed at delaying the enemy have been approved by the Monarchy. Hart kept waiting for Rhea¡¯s magic absorption without rushing. The Salamanders, who without Fortress Kerviel had no means of moving from the system, and the Tenka defense fleet, which would lose their homes and families if the planet was destroyed, fought for nearly three hours, and many enemies and allies who could not repel each other were dropped. ¡ºIt¡¯s over, let¡¯s go home.¡» Upon receiving a report from Rhea, Hart was relieved by the success and took the fortress out of planetary orbit. ¡°We are withdrawing from the enemy system, all Salamander crafts, withdraw immediately.¡± ¡°Copy that, sending withdraw order immediately.¡± The pilots of the Salamanders were even more pleased than the Chief of Staff to receive Hart¡¯s order. They hurried away from the battlefield and returned to the fortress, looking over their backs at the last torrential downpour of the last nuclear fusion rounds from Fortress Kerviel. CH 53 During the Ky¨±yama Star System Battle, the damage to the Royal Army fighter crafts amounted to 2.4 million crafts. The remaining Salamanders aboard Fortress Kerviel are about 2,928,000 crafts. From 9 million crafts before the battle, it has dropped sharply to less than a third. The damage inflicted on the enemy at the Second MacLir Star System Battle was 176,000 enemy ships and 9,120 carrier crafts. They lost about 33,000 ships in the Shinky¨­ Star System Battle. And about 32,000 vessels in the Ky¨±yama Star System Battle. The total amounted to over 250,000 vessels, equivalent to 18.75 million Salamanders. Tenka¡¯s five nations have a standing force of one million vessels, so a quarter of the total army. Around 21 billion people, 80 to 90%, are dead, 14.7 billion people in the Shinky¨­ system and 10.3 billion people in the Ky¨±yama system. The total population of the five nations is 79 billion, and more than a quarter of the population has been lost. The number of next-generation national mages possessed by the five countries is estimated to be 1.92 million. About 650,000 next-generation warships disappeared due to the damage of the two countries. The subsequent descendants have also disappeared in a chain reaction. If the forces currently on the battlefield are lost, the two countries will not be able to continue the war. Defeating three more nations will mean victory for the Monarchy of Diete. But compared to Shinky¨­, where the greater surprise attack was carried out, the enemy¡¯s defense power in the Ky¨±yama star system had improved significantly. Attacking a third system with current force was impossible, so Hart abandoned his offense. ¡°Chief of Staff, a report on the front line battle situation. The relay satellites at MacLir and Hercules will have been destroyed, so send a reconnaissance ship to connect to communication satellites that extend to Fukashiro. Also Fortress Kerviel to return to the MacLir system at once.¡± ¡°Huh, But Your Excellency, why are we returning to the MacLir system? The fortress¡¯ strength is drastically reduced, making it difficult to continue fighting. I contemplate whether we should return to our country immediately and replenish our fighter crafts.¡± Fortress Kerviel must replenish its lost fighter crafts. It is also necessary to stop by the MacLir system in order to promote Fleur and Rhea to Spirit King. In the absence of such information, the Chief of Staff¡¯s suggestion was correct. Unable to explain the situation, Hart made up an excuse for a detour. ¡°In order to make it more difficult for the enemy to invade Monarchy territory, we will destroy the three systems beyond the MacLir system, namely Myrna, Freyja, and Thor, to increase the distance between the enemy and Diete. The purpose of our stopover in the MacLir system is to replenish the celestial bodies for the raid.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ we are destroying them?¡± ¡°Yes, the enemy has lost Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, and the abnormal MacLir system can¡¯t be used. The Hercules system is the home of the dwarves. The Solar System is a multiracial difficult-to-rule area. If we destroy the three systems of Myrna, Freyja, and Thor, they will not have a good staging area and will find it difficult to invade due to the excessive distance.¡± The distance between the Diete system and ¨­izumi, the closest Tenkan system, is 930 light-years, a 10-month one-way trip. Even if a system in the Monarchy is taken, it would be faster for the enemy to send a recapture unit from the surrounding systems than to send a reinforcement unit from their home country. Salamanders cannot move between star systems, but if Fortress Kerviel is packed with 10 million crafts and rushes in, it can destroy and recapture the depleted invasion force. And even if they can¡¯t recapture it once, they can try two or three times before enemy reinforcements arrive. Hart wants to return to his home country, but there are very few Royal-Class magic power holders who can operate a mobile fortress large enough to carry Salamander troops. Royal-class magic power holders can maintain the Royal Family by providing concubines and mistresses for the successor to the throne, and if they give birth to Royal-class magic power holders of royal lineage, these concubines and mistresses can be elevated to full wives. The rest were from Duke Households, and those were born very rarely. If born, they would be candidates for a Household head¡¯s legal wife or a candidate for the Queen, and so would be unsuitable for the transportation staff of Salamanders. Even so, with Hart present, the recapture of stolen star systems would be possible. ¡°But, is it okay to destroy our inhabitable planets as well?¡± The Chief of Staff expressed his understanding of Hart¡¯s explanation, but he also considered the time, effort, and cost that would be required to restore the three star systems to a habitable state. Planets that have been artificially destroyed to a state where they are difficult to recover require significant investment at the national level to restore such environments. The extent of the destruction is up to Hart, but if, for example, a 30 km mass of iron is rushed into the planet head-on at 100 million km/h, it could create a crater on the planet as large as Earth¡¯s radius of 6,371 km. A planet the size of Earth would not only lose its entire atmosphere and water, but 30-40% of the entire planet would dissolve. There will never be a return of life on that planet again in the lifetime of the current generation. Of course, Hart¡¯s purpose is to have Mira absorb the purified miasma, not to annihilate the planet. But he intended on destroying it to some extent. In principle, this is not a decision that can be made by a military commander. However, Hart received an edict at the Royal Court meeting attended by the Sovereign and the Speakers of both Houses of Parliament. ¡°I was ordered at the Royal Court to use the former Coalition territories to buy time. In other words, the act of destroying the former Coalition territories to hinder the invasion of the enemy is within the scope of approval of our highest decision-making body. If we fail to protect the Monarchy to instead protect an uninhabited planet, we are putting the cart before the horse. First of all, whatever we do, we must win.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ understood.¡± Hart, whose Chief of Staff seemed unconvinced, decided to add a few more words. ¡°Chief of Staff, His Majesty Valfrete once gave me a very good word of advice. ¡®If the Monarchy is defeated, you and your fianc¨¦e will be in dire straits. Don¡¯t make a mistake about what¡¯s important¡¯. You also have a family. Which would you choose, an uninhabited planet of the Former Coalition or the lives of the Royal Citizens? Do not mistake what is important.¡± ¡°Sir, yes sir.¡± After the Chief of Staff, who had corrected his posture and gave a salute, withdrew, Colette turned an impassive gaze toward Hart. ¡°So, Colette, do you have any questions?¡± Currently, only Hart and Collette are in charge of the shift for the magic engine operator¡¯s seat of the fortress. The visual and audio from the outside are cut off, and Hart asked the question with the casualness of talking to a classmate rather than a member of the staff. ¡°I¡¯m pretty convinced of the fundamentals of Hart¡¯s thinking, I¡¯m not going to object. So, may I ask what you have in store for us after we destroy the three systems of the Former Coalition and return to Diros?¡± ¡°In my impression, the possible range changes depending on how much force we can replenish¡­¡± Hart cannot predict how much force his home country will gather. At the time of the expedition, 30 million people gathered during the war with the former Coalition were reassembled and additional recruitment was being made. Nine million people gathered at the Capital planet Diros, which Hart brought along. It is possible an additional 9 million could have been gathered again. If three times as many are collected, it will be 27 million. Even if three times as many were gathered, if they were to be pulled out of the Capital planet again, about half is the limit when considering defense. Fortress Kerviel can then take up to 13.5 million crafts. The current Fortress Kerviel has about 3 million crafts, which when added together will exceed 16 million. However, with less than 20 million Salamander crafts, it would be difficult to capture the Tenka nations that have set up a full-scale defense system. In the Second Battle of the MacLir Star System, the Tenka invaders were dealt a blow. However, if each nation mobilizes all its active and previous generation national mages, it will still be possible to prepare 260,000 warships, which is equivalent to 20 million Salamanders. If a large number of fusion missile facilities are deployed in the system to prevent the deployment and entry of the Salamanders, a direct hit on the inhabited planet by Fortress Kerviel would be impossible. It is unclear how many next generation national mages have been raised, but if they are sent into battle, the more they are put into the field, the more they can be used to attack. In order for the Monarchy to counter, the entire system must have the strength to repel the enemy¡¯s attacks, and then invade the enemy star system to reduce its strength faster than the enemy can increase. In order to carry that out, a total of 100 million Salamanders will be required for offense and defense. ¡°The ultimate goal is to destroy the remaining three Tenka Systems and end the war completely in a crushing victory like the annexation of the former Coalition.¡± Hart has no intention of jumping into immediate peace talks with Tenka when they are resentful of the Monarchy and hold enough strength. Three more times. Attacking the three nations of Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­ to lower the enemy¡¯s strength, and at the same time, if they mess with the Monarchy of Diete, their planets will be burned down. He will engrave this into the history and soul of the enemy nations. This is the warning color worn by the Royal Citizens of Diete. Like poisonous frogs and blue-ringed octopuses, they instill in predators that eating them is poisonous, so that even if they are eaten, their offspring will not be able to touch them, thus reducing the next damage. It is the same as when humanity lived only on Earth, and each country kept peace by deterring each other with nuclear weapons and threatening to shoot back if fired upon. Let the enemies of the Monarchy understand that the Monarchy of Diete is a country capable of destroying planets, the last resort in interstellar wars. Then, some countries, like Fukashiro, will choose peace instead of war from the beginning. I have become unbound, since when I wonder¡­. Hart looked back on himself. The first time he shot an enemy on a destroyer, his hands might have trembled. However, if he didn¡¯t shoot, they would have been captured, and once he did, he had no hesitation. Hart also has his own sense of ethics, sso he wouldn¡¯t burn down a planet if the other side didn¡¯t invade. If you didn¡¯t want to be attacked, you should not have attacked. 3rd, 4th and 5th Star Systems Hart intended to mercilessly destroy the entire system and make the five Tenka nations understand the nature of the Monarchy of Diete. By doing so, he could maintain the peace of his country and reduce the sacrifices in the long run. ¡°With Hart, it can be done. This time, you destroyed twice as many enemies and two star systems, you¡¯re bound for a promotion to Colonel General and Order of Algol, 2nd class. Next, if we succeed, Fleet Admiral and Order of Orion, 1st class. After the war, you¡¯ll be able to sit back and relax in the Commander-in-Chief¡¯s seat.¡± ¡°Being Deputy Commander alone is hard enough, I can¡¯t even imagine being the Supreme Commander. But if I move up two ranks, Colette will also move up two ranks and become a General, and you¡¯ll be the first woman to hold one of the three Chief positions, so I suppose we can share the workload.¡± ¡°I wish you would refrain from doing so. If you do anything more, I¡¯ll never be able to get married.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ huh?¡± Hart, raising a dumb voice, expressed with his whole body that he could not understand. The Medal of Honor, which can be awarded only when a soldier single-handedly defeats a superior enemy in a single battle, is evidence that the soldier himself had performed his duty as an aristocrat for a lifetime. At the very least, the Royal Citizens acknowledge that aristocrats with Medal of Honor have fulfilled their aristocratic duties. Colette, who will be awarded the Order of Algol, 2nd class for this battle, has fulfilled her duty seven times over in her lifetime. The contents are also brilliant, such as the defense of the Capital planet and the conquest of the former Coalition, so the aristocratic household that welcomes Colette as a wife will be guaranteed the support of the royal citizens for several generations. In addition, if she is promoted for this achievement, she will be a Lieutenant General, and although her magic power value is barely enough, she is a Duke-class. With the current Colette, it would be safe to hear from a Marquis family saying, ¡°become the wife of the heir and future Marquisess¡±. At least Hart recognized it that way. Colette denied Hart¡¯s misunderstanding. ¡°I told you before, aristocrats offer their daughters as a loan. I¡¯ve been too active so there¡¯s no one left to accept me.¡± Ah. Hart felt very much understood and consented. The main beneficiaries of the war in Fortress Kerviel are the four people who operate the magic element engine, Hart, Yuna, Philine, and Colette. Fortress Kerviel, which is the core of the Monarchy of Deite¡¯s success, has achieved not only the defense of the Capital planet but also the conquest of the Coalition of Humanity, which has been a long-cherished wish since the Monarchy of Diete was founded, giving it the highest evaluation. Hart was promoted to the second highest aristocratic rank of Marquis, the First Princess is scheduled to marry him, and his province is given preferential treatment. In the future, he is assured a Chief position in the Royal Army. Yuna acquired the status of the First Princess, and received the treatment as the Sovereign¡¯s representative in the establishment of diplomatic relations with Fukashiro. If she felt like it, she could obtain various honorary positions as she wished. For Philine, the Marquis of Carneus, which she is to succeed, has risen to be the top Marquis household. Their seating order surpassing Amakawa¡¯s shows just how highly Carneus was regarded. The Royal Aristocracy system was created to defeat the Coalition, so it is only natural to receive the highest evaluation for actually defeating the Coalition. That is the Sovereign¡¯s assessment. Colette¡­¡­¡­ her parents¡¯ household, the Viscount of Listner, has not been promoted. This is because the Viscount of Listner is due to be succeeded by her brother, so Colette will not inherit it. The achievements were laid by Colette, and if she were to start her own household¡­ she can probably be conferred as a Viscount in comparison to Hart. If she marries someone else, her achievements will be carried over to that household. If the household is Count Rank or lower, their rank can be advanced one level. If they are Duke or Marquis, their seating order in the aristocratic standing will rise. This would be the first time since the founding of the nation that a Duke¡¯s seat in the court would be raised. Colette¡¯s value has skyrocketed too high for even the most senior aristocrat to easily pay for it. Is it my fault? Hart wondered, and estimated modestly that about half the blame goes to the Sovereign, who had assigned Colette to Fortress Kerviel in the first place, and the other half was due to him dragging her around. As a matter of fact, it¡¯s mostly Hart¡¯s fault. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ ah, err. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°If it comes to a crisis, the Amakawa family will welcome you as my concubine to settle it. I¡¯m sure Yuna will approve if it¡¯s Colette.¡± It will be a concession to the pressure of society to increase the number of concubines, and there will be no conflict between the wife and the concubine either. Yuna and Colette are best friends, and Hart and Colette have a certain relationship with each other. The price to the Viscount of Listner will be solved if one of her descendants with high magic power value marries back into the household. Colette replied to Hart¡¯s proposal after a short pause. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as an option. So how long until you need a response?¡± ¡°With age-stagnation technology, the average life expectancy will be 300 years. For the time being, I¡¯ll wait for about half a century.¡± ¡°Okay. Just don¡¯t get your hopes up too high.¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Upon hearing Hart¡¯s reply, Colette smiled slightly and nodded. CH 54 The two months from April to May in 443 of the Monarchy Calendar were the second deadliest months in human history. The death toll was 21.25 billion. The deaths from planetary attacks by celestial rushes and fusion rounds wiped out 85% of the total population of the Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama Systems. There are 3.75 billion survivors, all of whom have become refugees. Many of the refugees who did not lose their emotions were overcome with despair or burned with flames of anger. The words of curse were lined up in billions, many of which were sent towards the executioners of the Monarchy and to Hart. However, the Tenka ruling class had more to do than spin cursed words. L¨ªng Y¨©ng, the successor to Shinky¨­, who became the rear-guard, had to immediately select the evacuation destinations for several billion refugees. ¡°What the 3.75 billion people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama need is a planet they can settle on immediately.¡± It had been 989 years since humanity established an interstellar civilization. Compared to 1,000 years ago, the means of water acquisition and food production technology have improved dramatically, but they have not yet come to the point of producing everything from nothing. In order for humans to live with a certain dignity as people, rather than being raised like chickens in poultry farms, it is necessary to obtain a stable supply of air, water, land, food, resources, etc. to a certain quantity. An inexpensive, safe, and large scale supply is a planet that has all of these. Shinky¨­¡¯s inhabited planet, Su¨¡n, was packed with 14.7 billion people, three times the ideal population of 4-5 billion people despite the severe temperature difference between day and night and food productivity being difficult to maintain. Planets can be forcefully pushed, but there is a limit to what can be done. The habitability of people crammed in an area is inversely proportional to the population growth, the wear and tear of infrastructure facilities would intensify, the labor cost of the human beings who are swept away would drop, crime among low-wage workers would increase, and the government would have to implement a policy of population control. The same was true in the three systems of Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­, which had not been attacked by Fortress Kerviel, and the systems could not afford to accept billions of refugees. If accepted, refugees would turn to crime due to poverty, and the deterioration of security would lead to a chain of events that would turn the dissatisfaction of the people towards the ruling class. As the relationship between the five families fighting together deteriorates, internal strife could be expected. Such conflict is difficult to suppress by force. Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, which suffered heavy losses of 85% to their total population, were not inferior to the other three star systems in terms of their military strength. At the start of the war, they had provided their forces in perfect condition. The remaining fleet of the main army was about 160,000 ships, they left a fleet of about 50,000 ships at their main planets, and the troops that had been recruited and dispatched to the reinforcement fleet before the main planet was destroyed were 190,000 ships. Even without bringing in the survivors of the next generation of national mages, 400,000 ships can be operated, and resources outside the main planet remain untouched. On the other hand, Y¨²nl¨¢n of ¨­izumi, which is attacking the Monarchy of Deite¡¯s Capital planet, Diros, Hony¨­, which accompanied ¨­izumi on its mission, and Ten-to, which is taking on various burdens in addition to the diversion, will be reducing their forces from now on. If two nations that still have military strength and the three nations that are about to consume theirs compete, they will all collapse and be defeated by the Monarchy. After establishing communication with Yuen of the main force and Ky¨±yama¡¯s successor Li¨² H¨¤o, L¨ªng Y¨©ng had no choice but to reconfirm the difficulty of the situation. ¡°Immigration to the three star systems is extremely difficult. But we can¡¯t immigrate to the one star system we have already acquired either.¡± Yuen and others agreed with L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s point. The three acquired star systems, Myrna, Thor, and Freyja, had their surface blown off by the Monarchy of Diete the previous year. The current planetary environment is worse than when the dinosaurs died out on Earth. The Hercules system, which was conquered by the main force, also has 1.8 times the gravity of Earth, and countless dwarves that are unfriendly to other ethnic groups settle underground. From now on, each planet controlled by the Monarchy of Diete must be permanently conquered, and there is no room for ground battles with the dwarves. The MacLir system has not yet been subdued. There is also an abnormality in the magic engine output, and even if it can be suppressed, it cannot be defended. Unless safety is ensured, it will not be possible to relocate. It is not possible to evacuate to the other three Tenka star systems nor to the other systems they have taken. L¨ªng Y¨©ng, who holds the lives of 1.5 billion people of Ky¨±yama in addition to 2.2 billion people of his own country, was forced to find a third path that involved neither the Tenka star systems nor a former Coalition territory that they had taken. ¡°To save our refugee compatriots, we will take the Fukashiro system¡± L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s declaration was a thunderbolt to Yuen¡¯s bold, iron heart. [¡­¡­ you will take Fukashiro?] ¡°That¡¯s right. We, the Tenka people, absolutely have our birthplace in Fukashiro, so it can be said that we are returning to the land of our ancestors.¡± Next to Yuen, Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama was also amazed and revealed his astonishment. Fukashiro, the birthplace of Tenka, has a system population of 21 billion. But the habitable population is estimated to be over 50 billion. The rationale is that the population of the Solar System in 3482 AD, when celestial bodies were rushed in by the Monarchy of Diete, was 40 billion. As a G-type main-sequence star, Fukashiro¡¯s inhabited planet, Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, has a diameter 1.3 times that of Earth, and a land area 1.25 times that of Earth. In other words, if the land area is 1.25 times larger and the technology is more advanced, Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng in Fukashiro should be able to accommodate 50 billion people. The ocean area of ?? Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng is larger than that of Earth, and its depth is on average 2.6 times, so it has abundant water. The atmosphere is thicker than Earth, making it an excellent cradle for life. The planet¡¯s rotation is 26 hours, while Diros, the Diete Monarchy¡¯s Capital planet, is 28 hours, so it is closer to Earth¡¯s environment than the Monarchy¡¯s best planet. For the human race that originated from Earth, planets that are more habitable than Earth are rarely found. The Fukashiro system, which gave rise to the Tenka Federation, was an extremely exceptional system. The only reason Tenka didn¡¯t touch it is because Fukashiro was a Tenkan star system from the beginning. It was a Tenkan star system until the S¨°ng family separated from them. There are great advantages and disadvantages in taking Fukashiro. The merits, of course, is that the five Tenka nations can get what they want. Not only will they gain a habitable planet, but also the property that Fukashiro possesses. The disadvantage is they would make enemies of the S¨°ng family. Fukashiro has a standing fleet of 200,000 national mages, even though they have not conscripted. And given a few months¡¯ time, their forces will double. Other problems include the reluctance of the people of Tenka to start a war within Tenka, and the deterioration of relations with the various prominent families and corporations with ties to the S¨°ng family. And, if the precedent which affirms civil war is set, they could be on the receiving end of it in the future. From the long-term perspective of the rise and fall of a nation, is there enough merits to offset the demerits of creating one trigger that could bring the current Tenka to ruin? The refugees of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama have no choice, but can Yuen of Ten-to give a good reason to persuade his home nation? After recovering from the shock, Yuen questioned L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s argument. [L¨ªng Y¨©ng, what are the benefits of taking Fukashiro? Is there more to it than settling the refugees?] L¨ªng Y¨©ng must have given it plenty of consideration by the time of his declaration. The benefits proposed by L¨ªng Y¨©ng went beyond saving the lives of 3.75 billion people. ¡°We will annex Fukashiro and execute the key figures of the S¨°ng family for their betrayal of Tenka, and after suppressing their anxiety, we incorporate their national mages into our war potential. If so, the five nations¡¯ depleted strength will be restored, and we will be able to increase our wings in the war with the Monarchy. If we have a separate force attack other Monarchy systems, Tenka will be victorious.¡± Yuen was strongly attracted by the temptation to incorporate Fukashiro¡¯s national mages. The national mages are Tenka outsiders educated to obey Tenka. Tenkans are the people who settled in Fukashiro in 3045 AD, and the subjects to follow are not limited to the S¨°ng family of Fukashiro. In terms of ideological education, it is also possible to follow the other five families, and it will be easier to make them obey if a just cause is created, such as the S¨°ng family betraying Tenka. If you take control of the androids that physically enforce order, the national mages of Fukashiro will belong to the five nations. [What are your plans?] ¡°Because the movement of Fortress Kerviel is unknown, we will use 400,000 ships from Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama as well as civilian vessels. The refugees will be put on civilian ships equipped with nuclear fusion rounds, and hard-armed all over Fukashiro to control the entire sector. If they are blocked, they can be used as cover to go into battle. If we surprise them with twice the force, we won¡¯t lose.¡± [We can extract up to 100,000 ships from the main force. It is a force that was scheduled to confront Fortress Kerviel in the Hercules system. I¡¯ll send them over just in case.] ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯ll help.¡± Following Y¨²nl¨¢n of X¨³¡¯s proposal to attack the Diete system, the Commander-in-Chief, Yuen also took advantage of the Fukashiro System invasion proposed by L¨ªng Y¨©ng. Li¨² H¨¤o of the Lin family, the ruling family of Ky¨±yama, was appointed as the commander of the reinforcement force, and he sent the maximum force that could be put into the invasion of Fukashiro in a short time. July 443 of the Monarchy Calendar. When Hart returned to the MacLir System, Fukashiro, the oldest on the Tenka side, was about to be invaded by the same Tenka people. The first wave was a huge number of civilian ships. The news of the destruction of the inhabited planets of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama had reached Fukashiro. As a result, Fukashiro failed to recognize the refugees as hostile forces in the beginning. [Attention, refugee ships. Follow our protocol and guidance. Otherwise, you will be dropped.] Fukashiro¡¯s control system was capable of guiding millions of civilian ships, but there were no more than a few million warships that could be stopped using force when the other party did not comply. In response to the unusual situation, Fukashiro gathered its forces, and when they opened fire on several ships that had rushed in without following protocol to protect only the inhabited planet Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, L¨ªng Y¨©ng of Shinky¨­ appeared. [We have confirmed an attack by Fukashiro on unarmed Tenkan refugees, the S¨°ng family is not neutral. It is an enemy of Tenka connected with the Monarchy of Diete. We, the G¨¡o family of Shinky¨­, and the Lin family of Ky¨±yama, for the sake of the Tenkan people, will overthrow the S¨°ng family, which has become an enemy of Tenka.] In the Fukashiro system, when several civilian ships that did not comply with Fukashiro¡¯s laws and regulations were fired on, the two nations accused them of treason and then declared war unilaterally. Moreover, the 500,000 ships that had attacked at the same time as the declaration of war were ready for battle from the beginning, and were densely packed among the huge number of civilian ships, and they attacked Fukashiro¡¯s ships, which were in a small group, with sheer numbers. Fukashiro retaliated by hurling lasers and missiles along with curses against the camouflaged refugees who were clearly intent on attacking from the beginning. [You are the enemies of Tenka. Such shameless betrayal, you gave up on conquering the Monarchy and invaded Fukashiro after waging war on the Monarchy and having your resident star systems destroyed. Who gave you a share of their national mages? Who provided resources during the migration?] Missiles fired from Fukashiro¡¯s defense system swept away hundreds of civilian ships from Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. From the perspective of the entire civilian ships, only 1/10,000 were the refugees who learned of Fukashiro¡¯s anger and fled. In response, the fleet led by Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama launched a strong counterattack. An avalanche of missiles, originally prepared for use against the Monarchy, surged in, destroying the system¡¯s defense system one after another. With 500,000 ships already organized for a surprise attack and a total of 200,000 ships caught off guard, the battle would be forced into a one-sided development. The system defense system is useful, but the protagonists of the war are laser weapons using magic element engines, and missiles only play a supporting role. It was impossible to reverse the force difference of 300,000 ships. Fukashiro introduced tens of thousands of additional ships in a short period of time, but even these had to be defeated individually. Storms of curses were thrown at Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, but the two nations had lost their home systems, and would not back down no matter what was said. Ignoring all the taunts as the howls of the losing dog, they overrun the warships of Fukashiro. History textbooks are written by the victors. Even if the warring parties understand that, ¡°this is an invasion by Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama¡±, it will be written in the textbooks as, ¡°Fukashiro, who sided with the Monarchy, attacked refugees¡±, The S¨°ng dynasty in Fukashiro had no way of overturning their inferiority against the violence of both nations. Instead, the S¨°ng family took steps that went against the plans of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. They made a declaration to the 21 billion people of Fukashiro and the Monarchy of Diete using interstellar communication lines connected to the Monarchy and the communication network connected to the entire Fukashiro. [I am the current head of the S¨°ng family. As of the moment when Fukashiro was invaded by Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, I assumed all responsibility and handed over leadership of the S¨°ng family to my son, H¨¤o L¨¢n.] A bedridden old man with total gray hair half rose his body from his bed to make the declaration. H¨¤o L¨¢n, who was standing beside him, took over the declaration from his father and began to speak. [I H¨¤o L¨¢n, who took over the S¨°ng family, and in light of the current situation where Fukashiro is being invaded by Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, will nominate Xu¨§ L¨¬, the second child of my fifth wife, as my successor. Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s husband is Marquis Amakawa, commander of the Royal Army¡¯s Fortress Kerviel, who destroyed Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama.] Footage from the S¨°ng family shows Xu¨§ L¨¬ and Hart meeting at the ceremony to commemorate the establishment of diplomatic relations. [Fukashiro and the S¨°ng family apply for nationalization or subordination to the Monarchy and request rescue from the invaders. I will end my life if the hands of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama reach out to me, allowing Xu¨§ L¨¬ to inherit Fukashiro and the S¨°ng family. The S¨°ng family has only one request in the case for nationalization or subordination. Please do not destroy Fukashiro.] When H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s proclamation was broadcast, L¨ªng Y¨©ng, who had maintained silence until then, appeared on the transmission and spoke to H¨¤o L¨¢n. ¡°Selling out the system is the ultimate betrayal of Tenka. I¡¯d say you¡¯re doing us a favor by reinforcing our cause.¡± The sarcastic expression on L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s face exuded resentment. The invasion carried out by L¨ªng Y¨©ng, although the battle is proceeding smoothly, has resulted in the unfavorable result of reducing each other¡¯s strength. It wasn¡¯t the worst in terms of being able to secure the previous generation and the next generation of national mages, and in terms of being able to safely secure the planet, but it was far from ideal. And because of H¨¤o L¨¢n, their plan to marry a woman of S¨°ng family blood to the successor of the G¨¡o and Lin families and take over Fukashiro moderately was thwarted. That couldn¡¯t have put them in a good mood. Of course, H¨¤o L¨¢n had no reason to improve the mood of the invaders trying to kill him. [Someone has forced me to sell our independence to protect my planet and my people. If you give them a cause and show the merits of being able to control Fukashiro easily, they will not drop celestial bodies on opponents who have surrendered. It doesn¡¯t matter if we become a subordinate nation or aristocrats of the Monarchy, as long as the ruler of Fukashiro is a descendant of Xu¨§ L¨¬ of the S¨°ng family. Fortunately, the Marquis of Amakawa is in a position not to be despised by the Monarchy. The people of Fukashiro should understand and stand by that well.] L¨ªng Y¨©ng asked H¨¤o L¨¢n, who persuaded the people at the same time, with a grim expression, while saying calmly by the communication. ¡°You are talking on the premise that the Monarchy can win, but do you think the Monarchy can win?¡± [Do you believe there is no third time even after the celestial raid occurred twice? My top priority is to protect Fukashiro. The Five Tenka families have taken in blood from the S¨°ng family for 700 years. If the Five Tenka families win, then so be it.] As far as L¨ªng Y¨©ng knew, H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s principle of action is consistent. And although they could not agree, he had to concede that the arguments were rational. L¨ªng Y¨©ng, who had somewhat recovered from his temper, suppressed his emotions and asked H¨¤o L¨¢n. ¡°Just because you surrendered, doesn¡¯t mean they will allow you to rule a whole planet.¡± [How many star systems do you think there are in the galaxy? As the Monarchy¡¯s territory expands, senior aristocrats will be able to govern at least one star system. And in the future, the number of governed star systems will increase. There are many Fukashiro people, so we can mix with the people of the Monarchy. And as a result, our descendants dominate the galaxy.] H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s choice made sense for a creature that thrives by leaving offspring. Although the direction was different from that of L¨ªng Y¨©ng and Yuen, it still held the rational aspect of Tenka. ¡®If you don¡¯t care if the five Tenka families win, then surrender immediately. There will be fewer and fewer people to leave the descendants of Fukashiro.¡± [If you compare the conditions of subordination to the Monarchy and retaining a certain level of authority, and the path of surrendering to the invaders and losing all authority, it will be clear for yourself which one we will cooperate with.] The Monarchy needs to leave the subordinate S¨°ng family in order to peacefully rule the people of Tenka. The five kingdoms cannot afford to have the S¨°ng family remain in order to control Fukashiro. It was obvious which one H¨¤o L¨¢n of the S¨°ng family would cooperate with. ¡°If you surrender, you may remain as a prominent family¡± [The burglars who broke into our house are insinuating that we will be given preferential treatment if we drop our weapons? If it was you, L¨ªng Y¨©ng, what would you do?] Ryo¡¯s white words were cut off by H¨¤o L¨¢n and discarded. ¡°If you have too bad an attitude, you will be treated poorly after the suppression of Fukashiro.¡± [If you have a bad attitude, you will face unfortunate consequences when my daughter and son-in-law win. Also don¡¯t look down on the S¨°ng family.] L¨ªng Y¨©ng would learn that H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s words were not those of a sore loser as he continued to conquer Fukashiro. From strategic resources, military factories, and even to the isolated production island of the national mages, the places where L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s hands reached had all been obliterated by self-destruction. H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s purpose in extinguishing the national mage production facility was to avoid celestial raid attacks on Fukashiro by the Monarchy, and footage of the destruction was sent to the Monarchy via interstellar communication. For L¨ªng Y¨©ng, the most coveted national mages of Fukashiro was lost, military facilities were lost, and more than 100,000 invading ships were lost in the Battle of the Fukashiro Star System. And on the habitable planet, Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, there are 21 billion people who are dissatisfied with the invasion. Among them, there are probably some people hiding who are planning to revolt. L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s invasion of Fukashiro provided shelter for 3.75 billion refugees, but that was the only result he had achieved. CH 55 July 443 of the Monarchy Calendar. Since the disappearance of Fortress Kerviel, a separate force of 30,000 ships of the Tenka Invasion Army have attempted to subdue the MacLir system for three months. It was the military-fortified moon Fraga that continued to resist suppression. Inside the 900-kilometer-diameter moon, a large number of unmanned weapons and combat drones were deployed, as well as millions of heavily armed military android soldiers. In order to take control of the interior, a planetary capture-scale suppression unit must be rushed in. The number of ships in Tenka¡¯s fleet overwhelmed that of the Monarchy, but the weapons and personnel that can be mounted on warships are limited. If the planetary suppression unit is deployed against a mere moon, and the moon were to self-destruct, the original goal of controlling the planet will be impossible. Therefore, suppression from within was impossible. However, it was extremely difficult to destroy it from the outside. The interior of the massive fortress was equipped with enough fusion rounds to suit it, and it was possible to mass produce nuclear fusion rounds inside. In addition, a large number of Magic Element Engines, Mass Wave Agglomeration Cannons, Protective Membrane Generators, and Propulsion Engines were installed. The Tenka invaders, exhausted by the battle against Fortress Kerviel, were outgunned by the moon Fraga, which continued to fire large amounts of fusion missiles generously. Furthermore, even when they got into close combat, they were attacked by lasers, defended by shields, and evaded by propulsion engines, with disastrous results. The separate Tenka force mistakenly thought that the Monarchy had deployed a large defense force on the moon Fraga. The commander, who was entrusted with 30,000 ships, abandoned the attack after making great sacrifices. [The MacLir system will be captured with the subsequent arrival of our reinforcements. Currently, Fortress Kerviel is rampaging through the Tenka Territory, and the Lord L¨ªng Y¨©ng of the G¨¡o family is responding to the situation. The main force and another detached force are also on their respective missions. Of all battlefields, the MacLir system has a low priority. We will maintain the status quo for several months.] What Yuen expected of the separate force of 30,000 ships was the capture of the MacLir system. The commander of 30,000 ships was forced to choose to maintain the status quo in order to prevent the destruction of the troops, even though he understood that his own reputation would suffer. The moon Fraga, which was imagined to have a large Monarchy force stationed within, was actually an unmanned satellite. Seraphina, who can freely use the magic elements of the star system, was moving it by imbuing magic power. The Tenka invasion army, from Seraphina¡¯s point of view, is an intruder who stepped into her spirit world to attack her contractor, Hart. It was Seraphina¡¯s rule to cooperate with the interception by pouring magic power into the moon Fraga, which was prepared by Hart. As a result, the MacLir system was able to resist the invasion of the Tenka army for three months, with no Monarchy troops. ¡°There is a souvenir of Dr. Kerman in the MacLir system.¡± As Sovereign Valfrete mentioned at the Royal Court meeting, this phenomenon is supposed to be a gift of the doctor. No one has the means to question the dead. Hart was able to feign ignorance to those around him, leaving Seraphina to defend MacLir, and returned after attacking the two systems of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. ¡ºI¡¯m back. How was the situation while I was away?¡» After arriving in the system, Hart casually checked in with Seraphina, who remained at home, as if he had been away on a business trip for several days. If the moon Fraga remains, a report will be received from the military android soldiers. However, the arrival of information is slow because it does not use Magic Communication. It was quicker and more reliable to ask Seraphina, the spirit king, whom Tenka had no way to defeat. ¡ºWelcome back, the mass of the moon has decreased by about 10%. It was quite a sight to see so many celestial bodies heading towards them all at once. Instead, about half of the remaining 30,000 ships were returned to magic elements.¡» Seraphina¡¯s military achievement was a great battle result of shaving 1.5% of the enemy¡¯s entire army of 1 million ships. Tenka¡¯s 15,000 warships surpassed 1 million salamander vessels in terms of Force Evaluation. She defeated that many enemies, with zero casualties to the allies. If the enemy had attacked the moon Fraga with the 300,000 ships they had left, it would have been destroyed. Hart wondered if the Second Battle of MacLir Star System had cost them more than he had imagined and they had temporarily pulled out. ¡ºYou have done me so much? Thanks for the help. So what are they doing?¡» ¡ºRetreating to the outside of the outer edge of the system and simply monitoring. The number of ships is decreasing.¡» ¡ºAll right. A repair ship will be sent to the moon Fraga. We will carry on to purify and absorb the miasma of Myrna, Thor, and Freyja, and promote Mira.¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s time for Mira to pay tribute, Fleur and Rhea have already been promoted to Spirit Kings. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what Hart does with the extra Spirit Kings.¡» Fleur and Rhea were stunned to learn they were promoted before they were even aware. After absorbing the purified miasma in Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, the presence of Fleur and Rhea, which their contractor Hart could sense, had increased dramatically. Since entering the MacLir system, their appearance had also changed. Fleur¡¯s appearance had changed from a fairy with innocence to a Fairy Queen with an adult atmosphere, with an invisible depth behind her eyes. Rhea¡¯s appearance changed from an elven girl wearing a breeze of green light to an elf-like figure manifested by the spirit king of the wind with a unified green light. They can already do the same thing as Seraphina, the spirit king. For example, creating a realm by connecting their own spirit world to the Diete system. Alternatively, they could create a realm in the Ten-to star system, first ranked in Tenka, and dramatically reduce the performance of the Tenka fleet. And if the spirit kings cooperate, they can do more than that. Even if the MacLir system was temporarily abandoned, the counter-invasion was well worth it. Hart affirmed his own action. As soon as Fortress Kerviel entered the MacLir system, a report arrived from the surviving androids of the moon Fraga. ¡°Hart, we¡¯ve received a war report from the remaining android units on the moon Fraga.¡± ¡°It¡¯s here? What is the situation?¡± ¡°The moon Fraga seems to have held its own.¡± The report given by Colette was consistent with what Seraphina had previously informed him. The former Coalition of the MacLir system had quickly surrendered to the Tenka invasion army, and since the Tenka invaders were defeated by the moon Fraga and retreated to the outer edge of the star system, they also surrendered to the Monarchy forces of the moon Fraga. As there was no damage to the planet, Hart thought his call to allow the surrender in advance was a good one. The stationary communication satellites were destroyed, and the reconnaissance ships that relayed the communication also withdrew, making it impossible to communicate with each star system. Additional resources were needed to fully restore the functions of the moon Fraga. Hart sent 300 craft ships inherited from Colonel General Reinelt and 140 craft ships from Fortress Kerviel to restore the moon Fraga. The remaining 60 craft ships will be instructed to create 60 pieces of tungsten with a diameter of 1 kilometer with a heat-resistant coating for entry and put them in the fortress. Scout ships belonging to the fortress were sent to the rear to report the current state of the MacLir system and the destruction of the three systems. During that time, the 15,000 Tenka units remaining in the star system did not move at all. The strength of Fortress Kerviel is known from the battles with Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. Its 2,928,000 fighter crafts are comparable to the 39,040 Tenka ships, so a Tenka force of less than half that number cannot handle them. Moreover, though limited to the MacLir Star System, the output of the magic engine will be drastically reduced, and the strength will be reduced to one-fifth. It would take 200,000 warships to defeat the current Fortress Kerviel. Hart worked majestically, completely repairing the moon Fraga, and procuring rushing celestial bodies in the system. After that, he set out to destroy the three star systems of Myrna, Thor and Freyja, which have become former Monarchy territories. ¡°It¡¯ll be four months before we come back from the three star systems. Whether the moon Fraga will hold depends on the reinforcements from the Tenka army.¡± Colette, who heard of Hart¡¯s monologue, pointed out the difference between the common sense of the Royal Army and the perception of Hart. ¡°With the unmanned moon Fraga alone, we¡¯ve dropped half of enemy¡¯s 46 fleets by the new standard. If we can do this, we should fundamentally review our defense plan and deploy huge Fraga-class celestial bodies in all Monarchy systems. I don¡¯t see why we can¡¯t do that outside of the MacLir System.¡± There are no other members working the shift of the magic engine operator¡¯s seat where two were sitting. Hart thought it would be better if his assistant, Colette, and him talked about the future prospect. ¡°We couldn¡¯t do it before, but eventually we¡¯ll be able to in the Diete system.¡± ¡°When will that be?¡± ¡°The next time we return to the Capital planet.¡± It was sooner than she imagined, and Colette was amazed. ¡°I wonder why we couldn¡¯t do it before.¡± ¡°The price was too high. We have to sacrifice an inhabited planet where people lived on the scale of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. Or render the three star systems of Myrna, Thor, and Freyja unusable for a century. We couldn¡¯t sacrifice a whole inhabited planet in peacetime.¡± ¡°Hey Hart, you¡¯re the head of one of 15 Marquis Households in the Monarchy, but you¡¯re too powerful. The Sovereign, His Majesty Valfrete, his eldest daughter Yuna as your first wife, and Claudia of the Duke of Coesfeld, who founded the String Society, as your second wife. Be careful with your self-preservation in the future.¡± Hart nodded in agreement to Colette, who gave sincere advice. Even if Hart¡¯s contracted spirit could be taken from him, no other person can re-contract them. If the three unused B-class spirit crystals in his possession were taken, no other person can promote them to spirit king. But if the Sovereign had not been Valfrete, but the former Crown Prince Gracian, who died in battle, or the former Royal Grandson Leandre, who became a national traitor, Hart would have been restricted in his actions even if they could not take his spirit crystals. Even if they didn¡¯t cripple him so as not to offend the spirits, it is very possible that he would be kept in a formless chain, without being allowed from the Capital planet and having no real authority. The legal wife would be changed to Leandre¡¯s younger sister, and the successor to the Marquis of Amakawa would also be changed to Leandre¡¯s younger sister¡¯s child, effectively completing the takeover. The Gracian faction has disappeared, but without the patronage of the Sovereign and the Duke of Coesfeld, the Dukes of Takrham would probably be making a move. The relationship between Alisa of the Count of Harvist, who Hart and his allies provided a chance to play an active role in the Battle of the Hercules System, and the Laurent, Duke of Mauriac, who was saved by them, is not bad. Other than that, they should also be careful not to come into conflict with the Dukes of Takrham and Dauphin¡­. Incidentally, Hart recalled the past when he and Yuna were outplayed by the Duke of Coesfeld due to their devastating political sense. ¡°I think I¡¯ll leave the political negotiations of the Amakawa family to Claudia.¡± ¡®That¡¯s a good idea. You earn the best results in battle, so show off your worth there, Hart. Just like you can¡¯t do everything on your own, no one else can do everything. So you just have to skillfully separate the two.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks for the advice.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Having lost two-thirds of his fighter crafts, Hart first headed to the Myrna system to destroy the three star systems in the former Monarchy territory before returning to his homeland. Yuen, who led Tenka¡¯s main force, sent a fleet of 30,000 ships to take control of the system in April in place of Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was leading a separate force to the head star Diros. The Myrna system was dropped in May and the Thor system was also dropped in June, but at the same time the Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama systems of Tenka¡¯s main territory were attacked and destroyed by Fortress Kerviel, the troops were ordered to withdraw from the three uninhabited and low-priority star systems. With the exception of a small number of troops maintaining the systems, the detached force has returned to the Heracles system or the main territory of Tenka, leaving only a small fleet of 2,000 ships in the Myrna system, where Hart rushed. Hart, on the other hand, had 39,040 ships worth of fighter crafts, making the Force Evaluation of 100:5. [Fusion rounds can also be manufactured at Fortress Kerviel. Don¡¯t spare missiles. Use the main and the secondary cannons to destroy the enemy with an overwhelming force advantage. This is a war of attrition, and the Salamanders will suffer casualties. Be on your guard, and do your best to reduce the friendly casualties by even one craft. Salamander pilots, bow to your spirits and ask them to help you.] With a 20-fold difference in strength, the result of a battle in which the supreme commander on the dominant side ordered all the troops to stay alert ended with the total collapse of the Tenka army. No matter how competent the commander of the Tenka army is, with such a force difference, and the enemy being alert, there was no overturning it. As a result of the battle, the wreckage of 485 Tenka ships and 16,490 Salamanders were added to the man-made objects flowing through the Myrna system. And 20 tungsten pieces with a diameter of 1 km, were dropped on Fynn, the former head planet of the Myrna system. The appearance of Hart¡¯s contract spirit Mira changes from a girl with an apparent age of 10 to a Naiad, a mysterious ageless fairy who lives in a fountain or river that he saw only once at the time of contract. The girl¡¯s mischievous eyes turned into a mystical gaze that looked through Hart, as she stared at him. ¡ºWe can still absorb more. Next is the Thor system, then the Freyja system.¡» ¡ºMira just didn¡¯t have the keys for promotion, but she had enough energy as a spirit king from the beginning. If Mr. Hart provides three keys, and she undergoes promotion, you can triple the additional magical power of her A-Class.¡» The contents of the words told in a casual manner did not appear in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, from which Hart gained prior knowledge. The magic power addition of the Spirit King is 6250, which can operate a third-class battleship. If it is tripled, it will surpass the Marquis-grade magic power value that can operate a second-class fortress ship by the additional magic power alone. Mira informs Hart, who is surprised that such a thing can be done. ¡ºThree keys will open the door to the accumulated energy, and it is likely to burst open. Please return to Seraphina¡¯s realm as soon as possible.¡» ¡ºThat sounds dangerous.¡» Warned by Mira, Hart jumped between star systems at high speed with the power of Fleur and Rhea, who had become spirit kings. There were two Tenka fleets stationed in the Thor System, but it seems that they had received invasion information from the Myrna System, and as soon as Fortress Kerviel attacked, they turned their heel and fled. 20 celestial bodies were also dropped in the Thor System, and Mira¡¯s power rose to a self-proclaimed AA+, while the habitable planet was rendered useless for the next 100-years. The damage was so great that even if the Monarchy were to remodel the planet as a national project, it would take 100 years to return it to habitable status. If they do not insist that the scorched earth operation is to prevent Tenka from using it, they would not be able to get any support for its destruction. The situation may change if he explains the promotion of his spirit, but Hart has no intention of doing so. Originally, the existence of the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± was kept hidden in order to avoid retaliation from the Duke of Takrham. And since the war with the former Coalition blew up the royal capital of the planet and erased the game archives along with the residence of the Baron of Hiragi in the royal capital, the information only currently exists in Hart¡¯s memory. Hart was going to continue to keep quiet about the whole thing. After destroying the Thor System, Hart attacked the Freyja System, dispersed the stationed fleet, and destroyed the third system. With Mira, who had powers beyond the normal spirit king, he returned to the MacLir system, and after promoting Mira, Hart returned to the Capital planet. November 443. Hart, whose means of communication had been disrupted by the Tenka invasion forces, was still unaware that two irreparable events had occurred at the same time. CH 56 October 443 of the Monarchy Calendar. One year has passed since the Monarchy of Diete issued a second national mobilization system. At the forefront, Fortress Kerviel destroyed 250,000 ships, 25% of the entire enemy force, and also destroyed the inhabited planets of the two enemy nations. The destructive effect of the habitable planets is tremendous, erasing an estimated 1 million previous and next-generation national mages and 500,000 mothers who have given birth, making the same number of magic element engines inoperable. 80% to 90% of the mothers who produce national mages were eradicated, and the five nations permanently lost one-third of their future national mages. Destroying the remaining three inhabited planets would bring an end to the war. This was the main result of the Monarchy¡¯s war in just one year. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just give General Amakawa about 50 million Salamander crafts and leave it all to him? If he needs a promotion and a position for his military service, I can always retire and vacate the Chief position.¡± It was Chief of Staff Ortiz who commented with dismay at Hart¡¯s achievements. As for the delayed operations conducted by the Royal Army, only the battle results of Fortress Kerviel had broken through the upper limit. On the other hand, the results of the fleets deployed to each star system remain within the expected range. In March, they abandoned the Freyja system, which was attacked by 200,000 ships. In April, they abandoned the Myrna system, which was attacked by 30,000 ships. In May, they abandoned the Thor system, which was attacked by 30,000 ships. In May of the same year, the Hercules system, which was attacked by 160,000 ships, was abandoned. In July, the neutral Fukashiro, which was invaded by 500,000 ships, fell. Communication with each system has been cut off, and the Solar System is already the only secure system of the former Coalition territories. 30,000 Tenka Federation ships are comparable to 46 of the Monarchy¡¯s fleet by Force Evaluation. If the invading forces outnumbered the entire fleet of the Royal Army, there was no way to hold off the invasion. Therefore, each fleet set up a large number of mines and automatic missile launch facilities in the outer rim of the star system, and advanced into the rear sector to disrupt the enemy forces. Anderson, the Chief of Military Affairs, affirmed some of Ortiz¡¯s high praise, which he doesn¡¯t often give. ¡°I would like to leave my seat to such an excellent subordinate, but the duties of the Chief would be a shackle for Amakawa now. His promotion after returning home will be unwavering, but the post of Chief will have to wait until next time. His majesty has prepared separate rewards that seem insufficient compared to his success.¡± A promotion of only one rank is very disproportionate to the battle results that Fortress Kerviel has achieved. Valfrete prepared a second peerage for this annihilation of two star systems. There is no rule that the titles of the Monarchy should not be combined. The best example is Sovereign Valfrete, who himself doubles as the Crown and the Duke of Strani. The new family name and title given to Hart is the Duke of Son. This is also the Duke peerage given to the S¨°ng family of Fukashiro, which has come under the Monarchy, and the Duke of Son territory will be part of the Fukashiro system. Hart, who also serves as both the Marquis of Amakawa and the Duke of Son, will be able to pass the title of the Marquis of Amakawa to the next generation, and at the same time, let his child with Princess Xu¨§ L¨¬ of the S¨°ng family succeed to the Duke of Son. Fukashiro is still under the control of the five Tenka nations, but Xu¨§ L¨¬ and her descendants have the right to claim it as legitimate successors. There is also an opinion that if Xu¨§ L¨¬ of the S¨°ng family and her descendants joined the government, it would be easier for them to rule 21 billion people in Fukashiro. ¡°There is no prospect of recapture, though.¡± As Ortiz mentioned, the recapture of the subdued system has not yet been decided. The Monarchy scoured 30 million salamander pilots through a second national mobilization system a year ago. Of these, 9 million of them were given to Fortress Kerviel, while the Capital planet drew ten million people from the five local star systems and gathered them in the Capital planet to secure it. The Monarchy then recruited volunteers in the entire star system on a large-scale, which was unprecedented. At present, the Capital planet drew 50 million crafts, 20 million in each of the other five systems, making a total of 150 million crafts in operation. This is the limit that the current Royal Army can operate, and they plan to continue strengthening the operational system and increasing the number of personnel in the future. Still, the recapture of the stolen star system is undecided. The 30 million people gathered under the re-mobilization system are the pilots of the fighter crafts gathered in early 441. Moreover, more than half of the 9 million pilots led by Fortress Kerviel had combat experience against the former Coalition in the four star system battles. The remaining 120 million are currently in the first grade of training school, and their strength evaluation is one-third. And even if they had experience, there is no way to send them to the enemy star system. The only exception was Fortress Kerviel, and in the end, the success or failure of the recapture operation ultimately depended on Hart. ¡°When this is accomplished, the two of us will retire, leaving the Chief of Military Affairs and the Chief of Staff posts to Colonel Generals Jhering and Reinelt, and the Commander-in-Chief to Fleet Admiral Amakawa. The balance between the three agencies will be slightly disrupted, but it will be within acceptable limits.¡± ¡°I understand. Amakawa not only has high magic power value, but he also destroyed enemy planets, killing 20 billion enemies. If he can command and lead the recapture of the Star System, he would be impeccable as Commander-in-Chief during wartime. If we consolidate the management of the military organization around us, will our role be over?¡± Ortiz expressed full affirmation in Anderson¡¯s vision of the future. However, the future map that both sides envisioned was greatly upset by the news of the enemy invasion that roared across the Capital planet. On that day, the Diete system¡¯s search network discovered a large fleet of 350,000 ships, including the X¨³ family¡¯s Y¨²nl¨¢n, who conquered the Freyja system seven months ago, and the forces that joined him from the MacLir System. Just as Yuen of the T¨¢ng family led the war with the Monarchy in anticipation of the future of Tenka, just as the S¨°ng family¡¯s H¨¤o L¨¢n attempted reconciliation with the Monarchy, just as L¨ªng Y¨©ng of the G¨¡o family planned to conquer Fukashiro, the X¨³ family¡¯s Y¨²nl¨¢n also had his own ideas. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who learned of the annihilation of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama in the last communication, gained an insight into the ideology of the Monarchy of Diete. (The enemy must be killed without fail.) If the Tenka side can overwhelm and incorporate them under their control like the national mages after the suppression, then it is better not to kill as much as possible. It would be ideal to acquire habitable planets without destroying them as much as possible. At first, Y¨²nl¨¢n agreed with this idea. However, the Monarchy of Diete proved to be an enemy with the power to destroy the Tenka Federation. Then, for the sake of Tenka, the Monarchy must be defeated at the moment it can be defeated. Y¨²nl¨¢n considered this to be the only opportunity to destroy the spirit crystal production plant. If they can no longer produce spirit crystals, it will eventually run out even if it is in stock. On the other hand, the Tenka side can increase the number of national mages. If doubling the number is insufficient, then they can triple or quadruple it. No matter how great the Monarchy of Diete is, they will cease fire if it¡¯s enough to annihilate each other¡¯s entire star system. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who warped out an army of 350,000 ships in all directions of the Diete system, confirmed that there was no abnormality in their magic engines like in the MacLir System, and gave necessary orders for the ending in which Tenka would not lose. [All troops, retrieve the rushing celestial objects from the outer rim celestial groups and simultaneously invade the capital planet Diros. Target, the spirit crystal first factory in the royal capital. Annihilate the entire continent. If it¡¯s difficult to aim, drop 100 to hit the target. You may eradicate the whole planet. I don¡¯t care what the damage is. Accomplish this even if it means total annihilation.] The 350,000 Tenka ships that hit the Diete System are comparable to 546 of the Monarchy¡¯s fleet or 26.25 million Salamander crafts operated by skilled pilots. In the Diete system, the Monarchy¡¯s defense capabilities were only 40 million Salamanders operated by less than one-third of the pilots, with the exception of 15 fleets and 10 million skilled crafts from the other 5 star systems. The Force Evaluation of both armies is 100:109. In a short two-day period, civilians living on the inhabited planet cannot be evacuated to the outer rim of a warpable Star System billions of kilometers away. If enemy forces entering a star system know where to warp out, they can escape to the other side, but if they don¡¯t, they move to the front of the enemy and fall prey. There was no escape route for civilians, forcing them to apply for additional D-class crystals and spare Salamanders held by the Monarchy. Approximately 30 million people, with little more than video game experience in operating fighter crafts, joined the defense by boarding Salamanders built in anticipation of the following year, supported by D-class crystals they were wearing for the first time and androids. The weapons deployed in the Deite system are enormous, and the number of missiles overwhelms the invading army. There are 30 million volunteers, aristocratic private fleets, and civilian ships joining and becoming even and dominant ¡­ and the Royal Army did not think that either. In the second MacLir Star System Battle, Tenka burned down swarms of Salamanders along with their own allies with fusion rounds. Salamanders are forced to move in groups due to their fighting style of breaking through enemy shields by bombarding them all at once in swarms. If a missile explodes between a Tenka cruiser, which has a certain level of defense against fusion rounds, and the Salamanders, which do not even have countermeasures against fusion rounds it is clear to see which will suffer the most damage. Still, volunteer Salamanders are put out ahead because it is better than the civilians of the Capital planet being burned. This was the beginning of the Second Battle of the Diete Star System, to have to choose the method of fighting. [Proceed!] Upon reaching the star system, Y¨²nl¨¢n ordered the advance, swinging his raised right hand forward. The sight of the Tenka invasion army, comparable to 546 of the Monarchy¡¯s fleet, descending onto the planet Diros as an enormous meteor shower was as beautiful as the god of death¡¯s scythe reflecting light and shimmering. Sovereign Valfrete, who took overall command of the defense, countered by creating a thick nebula that protects the Capital planet with a total of 80 million salamanders. The Monarchy side had commanders of the rank of Lieutenant General or higher, in charge of defense in each direction. The subdivided areas were handled by Major General and Brigadier General level commanders, who gave detailed commands over the entire huge battlefield. [Place the fleet behind the Salamanders to avoid damage while continuously shaving the enemy with long-range artillery. Aristocratic fleets should also participate in the bombardment. Don¡¯t deploy your forces in succession. Throw in all available ships and continue to cut down the enemy with maximum firepower.] By orders that only the current Sovereign, who had complete control of the military, aristocrats, and citizens, could give, the Royal Army, aristocratic fleets, and volunteers began to attack the enemy as a thick barrier protecting the planet. Among the artillery ships was even the mobile fortress, Sariel, on which Valfrete was aboard. Civilian ships are stationed on the final defense line, with the only exception to the warships being Galgaliel, the defense fortress operated by the two princes. The defense fortress has the function of planetary improvement, accepting vast numbers of refugees and restoring destroyed planets to habitable levels. Galgaliel, which had already accepted some refugees from the Capital planet, was placed in the rear, making it the most important defense base alongside the planet. The fact that the defense fortress was designed so that it can only be operated by Royal-grade magic power holders was meant to preserve the rightful successor to the throne, and it was time for the defense fortress to utilize all of the significance for which it was designed. The Tenka invaders attached propulsion engines to celestial bodies and preceded the fleet with fusion rounds. The Monarchy¡¯s forces shoot interceptor missiles from all fleet and system defenses, trying to prevent even one of the celestial bodies from heading towards the planet. With missiles pouring in from outside the system and missiles emitted outward from inside the system, the system shone brightly with the light of energy exploding in all directions. Eventually, the Tenka fleet emerged from the dazzling light and shot lasers at the Salamanders racing around the sector. The two armies deployed forces more than 10 times the scale of the Shinky¨­ System Battle held by Fortress Kerviel six months ago. The force was so large that the Commander-in-Chief of both armies were unable to control every detail. Y¨²nl¨¢n and Valfrete quickly entrusted their commanders with the details of the command. [Fleet commanders, use your judgment on the details. Enemy fighter crafts are vulnerable to fusion rounds. Burn them down and move on.] [Commanders of the rank of General and above, do not wait for my orders, but move according to your own judgment. Your duty is to protect the Capital planet, Diros. Take the best possible action to that end. All combat operations are authorized. There will be no problems at a later date.] That created dominance and inferiority in the subdivided sectors, with Y¨²nl¨¢n adding forces to the superior side in an attempt to eat through the defenses, and Valfrete sending reinforcements to the inferior side to counter. It was the Tenka side that gained the upper hand in the battle. The Royal Army has only the royal citizens, and the Tenka army mobilized their Tenka outsider national mages. Y¨²nl¨¢n followed the battle in the MacLir Star System and dominated using fusion rounds to erase enemies along with allies. As a result, Tenka, who had declared war on humanity as a cause, trampled on humanity, and the Monarchy, who could not be inhumane, was pushed back. Even though they know that the enemy will blow away their army, they were forced to deploy a large number of Salamanders to protect the planet. Frustrated, Valfrete complained to the Chief of Staff. ¡°It¡¯s true that the aftermath of dropping celestial bodies on Coalition planets was inhumane, but they have no right to question our humanity.¡± ¡°If we could talk to each other, we wouldn¡¯t be at war.¡± ¡°Hmm, no doubt.¡± Valfrete, who gave a bitter smile to the Chief of Staff¡¯s accurate opinion, regained his composure and returned to his command. The enormous force of both armies, which is equivalent to a flood of light, were swept away in all directions by the blast, canceling each other out. The battle between 80 million Salamander crafts and 350,000 Tenka cruiser class was a decisive battle of the greatest forces in human history. When the damage to the two annihilated forces reached 20 million Salamander and 86,000 Tenka ships, Valfrete realized their inferiority. If the battle continues at this rate, about 6,000 Tenka ships will remain after all the Monarchy forces, Salamanders, and the aristocratic private fleet have all disappeared. 6,000 Tenka ships are equivalent to 9 Monarchy fleets. The number is too large to be dealt with by the combat power of civilian ships. ¡°The Salamander¡¯s shipyards are still in full operation?¡± ¡°Yes sir, we¡¯re still sending new Salamanders to the battlefield.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ we need one more move.¡± Valfrete, who had questioned the Chief of the General Staff, couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°if only we had Fortress Kerviel at hand¡±. Fortress Kerviel led 9 million Salamander crafts to destroy 250,000 enemy ships and two planets. If he had ordered them to reduce the 350,000 enemy ships, they would have cut it by half. However, if Hart was at hand, 600,000 ships of the enemy main forces and 150,000 of the separate corps would be advancing toward them, the number of national mages would have increased by conscription in the mainland of Tenka. The choice to send Fortress Kerviel to the forefront had to be considered the best course of action. To defend the Capital planet, Diros, the moves in Valfrete¡¯s hand weren¡¯t enough. As Valfrete was thinking, the two armies continued to crush each other without interruption. Y¨²nl¨¢n, Commander-in-Chief of the Tenka invasion army, was an excellent man who had both a strategic eye to propose a detour invasion of the Capital planet, Diros, and the operational command ability to realize it. And he didn¡¯t give any foolish orders to drag the foot of the forces he had deployed. With the Salamander¡¯s damage approaching 40 million crafts, half of which are still intact, the embattled Valfrete pondered the course of the battle between the Monarchy and Tenka. A sufficient amount of spirit crystals have already been produced and deployed in all star systems. Regardless of which system it is, a solid defense of 100 million Salamander crafts will be established in a few years, and an invasion of this magnitude will be prevented. If the enemy tries to destroy the factory now, they will not be in trouble. Tenka, on the other hand, lost the strength of the next generation to the same extent as it is now due to the destruction of two planets. In addition, after experiencing the advance of Fortress Kerviel, the enemy was forced to place large defensive forces on each planet, and the forces that could be sent to the invasion were greatly reduced. The destruction of the enemy planet can be left to Hart. If they can be destroyed, the Monarchy can win, and if not, the Monarchy can wait for a generation, and let the children of Hart, who are certain to have high magical power, help push them to victory. Valfrete couldn¡¯t help but smile as he thought of the angry face of Maina, Yuna¡¯s mother. Valfrete saw a path to victory. The only source of anxiety was his successor. (Currently Bernard and Josslan can¡¯t handle Amakawa properly. If they pull his leg because of jealousy, the existence of the Monarchy will be shaken¡­ let¡¯s change the order) Valfrete¡¯s ears on the battlefield were excellent, and as the enemy invaded, he began to hear the footsteps of the Grim Reaper. The Salamander¡¯s damage reached 60 million crafts, and warships and aristocratic ships were dropped one after another. The enemy is also killed accordingly, but no matter how many disposable national mages die, Tenka is unlikely to withdraw until it fulfills its purpose. Sensing the signs of inevitable death, Valfrete was determined to lay the groundwork for the Monarchy to win even after his own death. ¡°Chief of Staff, I shall leave you my last will and testament, just in case the Monarchy wins.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ huh, a will?¡± Valfrete nodded back to the Chief of Staff, who instinctively asked, and told him that he had not misheard. ¡°I can see the equation that will lead to the Monarchy¡¯s victory. Even if I die in battle, as long as the equation doesn¡¯t change, we will win. You must notify all the Royal citizens and ensure victory.¡± ¡°Your majesty¡¯s presence is irreplaceable compared to the rest of us. If you are to be killed in battle, would you not consider withdrawing?¡± ¡°It is unthinkable. If the Sovereign flees before his people while attacked by enemy forces, there is no value in the existence of the Monarchy. In order to ensure the fulfillment of the will, it is to be sent not only to the Diete system, but also to the other five star systems via interstellar communication. Sir, you will continue to assist in the command of the entire army. Let¡¯s do our best to make my will a funny story.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ your will.¡± In other countries, the death of a leader would be a disadvantage that puts a lot of effort into restructuring. For this reason, there is no such development as having a leader fight knowing that he will die. However, in the unique country of Diete, it is more disadvantageous for the people¡¯s will to fight and unify their will if the Sovereign flees. If it is reported that the Sovereign tried to defend the system even if he dies in battle, the people would actively cooperate in the war and there will be no end to the number of volunteers for the Salamanders. The Chief of Staff, who understood this, even if unwillingly, was compelled to follow the will of the Sovereign. After the Chief of Staff complied, Valfrete communicated his last will and testament throughout the Monarchy. In the beginning, Valfrete explained the current situation. The produced spirit crystals have been deployed in all systems, and the defense system will be in place without delay. On the other hand, Tenka has lost two star systems, which forces their remaining three systems to allocate defense forces. The forces of both powers are tilting toward the Monarchy side at an accelerated rate, and in the future, the Tenka side will not be able to break through the defense of the Monarchy, and on the contrary, Fortress Kerviel can step into the enemy star system, and the Monarchy will be able to win in the end. These were facts that could not be overturned even if the communication was intercepted by the Tenka side. After finishing the preface, Valfrete began to talk about the contents of his will. [The greatest crisis in this war is about who will be Sovereign after I fall on the battlefield. The two princes who are eligible to succeed to the throne are both minors, have no military, political, or diplomatic experience, and at this point in time cannot serve as Sovereign in a time of war when the very survival of the nation is at stake. Therefore, when I die in the war or become unable to exercise my royal authority, I appoint First Princess Yuna as the head of the Asteria Royal Family and the Queen of the Monarchy of Diete.] The shock of the next Sovereign being nominated swept through the Monarchy on the communications network. Valfrete, who nominated Yuna as his successor, supplemented with a pause for breath. [Yuna¡¯s magic power value, with the addition from her spirit crystal, is Royal-class. The reason why the Sovereign is required to have Royal-class magical power is so they will operate a mobile fortress in times of war and fight. There is no provision that spirit crystals should not be used when operating a mobile fortress. In order to prove that you are Royal-class, you must operate the mobile fortress to let it be known to the Monarchy.] It was a confession that there was a higher level in the spirit crystals which were previously considered for aristocrats and military use. As the Sovereign speaks his will on the battlefield, doubts will arise eventually, though it may not be far from that now. Valfrete, who threw later excuses at Hart, continued his will, cutting down the details. [Yuna is a Royal-class magic power holder who acts as an Assistant Magic Engine Operator of Fortress Kerviel, and helped to destroy the Coalition. In addition, on behalf of the Sovereign, she signed a non-aggression treaty with Fukashiro, one of Tenka¡¯s nations, to render one nation harmless. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s more than capable of handling the Monarchy¡¯s greatest warrior, the Marquis of Amakawa. Therefore, with Yuna as Queen, survive the war against the five nations of Tenka.] After sharing with the public his vision of the path to victory, Valfrete added more about the future. [Once the situation is settled, the two princes or any royal may succeed the throne as per Yuna¡¯s nomination. After abdication, Yuna will be granted the Grand Duke peerage for only one generation and her descendants shall inherit a new Duke title. The royal citizens should fulfill my will. Then the peace of the Monarchy will continue in the future.] Having said his last will and testament, Valfrete felt emptiness as well as a sense of accomplishment. Born as the third prince with Royal-grade magic power value, he has taken the best possible choice with all options while avoiding a battle for succession with his eldest brother. Without any interposition of his own will, he has lived mechanically choosing only the best moves, and has reached this moment. It wasn¡¯t the life of an individual named Valfrete. The only thing that wasn¡¯t the best was when he lived as a soldier away from the royal family. He was aware that he had caused trouble for Yuna¡¯s mother, Maina, but at that time it was pleasant because of his own will. On the verge of death, he looked back. As a result of a less-than-optimal choice, Yuna was born and that was the catalyst that led to the Marquis of Amakawa becoming acquainted with Dr. Kerman, and the decisive factor in his teaming up with Valfrete to destroy the Coalition. Now it is also a way to counter Tenka. Perhaps you don¡¯t have to choose the option you think is best. Shouldn¡¯t you decide your own life choices? Valfrete couldn¡¯t do it, but he doesn¡¯t have to tie the young ones down. Having reconsidered that, Valfrete reconnected the communication. [A personal message to Bernard and Josslan. You may choose whoever you like as your lawful wives. The child of the Queen does not necessarily have to be the successor. Do as you please with your own will. You don¡¯t even have to be concerned about the throne. There is also a way to pass it on to Yuna¡¯s child. Also, Yuna and Marquis Amakawa, you¡¯ll have a hard time of it, but I ask you to take care of your younger brothers.] With a calm expression on his face, Valfrete cut off the reconnected communication again. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, took a breath, and then looked back at the blue and red glowing star system charts. From the front, the red light is rushing in without interruption, and the blue light is catching it as a wall. The civilian ships are also added to the wall of blue, behind it is the planet Diros. Even the ships behind the flagship Sariel were dropping one after another, and the line of defense was in tatters. And from there, a wall of red light was pouring in. The red wall of light was the last tsunami Y¨²nl¨¢n produced. They collided with the blue walls of light, and the walls flowed from the collapsed sector to the planet, Diros, destroying parts of the planet¡¯s surface. However, the enemy is devoting all his strength to ¡®The continent of Ortegia, where the first factory of spirit crystals is located¡¯ and ¡®Sariel, the flagship of Sovereign Valfrete¡¯ who put out the communication, and are concentrating their attack on the continent in one spot. Then, the blue and red light had been slightly replaced to predominance, perhaps because the fusion rounds on the Tenka side were exhausted, and the Salamanders could not be defeated collectively. However, only the overall formation was reversed, and there was an overwhelming amount of red light around the Sovereign. (Would it have been better if the force we pulled out of the local star systems had been 15 million instead of 10 million?) Questioning himself as such, Valfrete, who confessed that the choice of abandoning the provinces was impossible because it would leave a disaster in the future, concluded that he had chosen the best way the Monarchy could win. [The Sovereign embodies the will of the Monarchy of Diete, but is not the Monarchy of Diete itself. If the Monarchy can be saved by sacrificing the Sovereign, it will be Sovereign Diete who embodies it. And the Monarchy¡¯s defenses are in place, and after this, it will come to a reversal.] Valfrete, who put it into words, nodded in agreement. Valfrete can proudly assert that it was a necessary sacrifice to maintain the independence and dignity of the Monarchy. Sensing the swing of the Reaper¡¯s Scythe above him, Valfrete suddenly remembered H¨¤o L¨¢n of Fukashiro and thought of leaving behind words that seemed to be the embodiment of the Monarchy of Diete. They must threaten them here to discourage those who would mess with the Monarchy of Diete in the distant future. Operating the communication device at hand, he issued communications to the invading army. [I must also tell the fools of the five Tenka nations who summoned Diete¡¯s wrath. Don¡¯t underestimate the Monarchy of Diete. I, the 11th Sovereign of Diete, who embodies the Monarchy of Diete, fires a deadly arrow at the time of my death. The released arrow will eventually pierce and kill you all. Look forward to it.] With a confident smile, Valfrete¡¯s ship, Sariel, was hit by more than a dozen shells fired from the invading warships. The concentrated attack easily broke through the fortress¡¯s slight shielding ability, which redirected its energy to offense, and laid waste to the interior of the fortress. The explosions that occurred were cascading, and the flagship Sariel, was swallowed up by the dazzling light. CH 57 Yuen, Commander-in-Chief of Tenka, said in his briefing to the three families prior to the invasion of the Monarchy: ¡°The acquisition of the former Coalition territory is the first stage. If we see the extent of the damage is too great, we can interpret it as having fulfilled the purpose of liberating the Coalition, and a temporary truce may be allowed. If we have an overwhelming advantage, there¡¯s no need to suspend. Moving on, do any of the three families have any questions?¡± A year later, all former Coalition territories, including the MacLir System, which had taken a long time to fall, and the Solar System, which had been deliberately left behind to reduce the strength of the Diete System, were conquered by the five Tenka nations. With this, Yuen has accomplished the first stage he had set for himself. The five Tenka nations suffered damage amounting to 250,000 ships in battle with Fortress Kerviel, 60,000 ships before the complete destruction of Fraga, a moon in the MacLir System, 100,000 ships at the time of the capture of Fukashiro, and 350,000 ships in the Diete system. In just one year, 760,000 ships were lost, the habitable environments of the two planets were destroyed, causing ten times the damage imagined a year ago. The national mages of the previous generation and the generation before that have also been drafted, but even with them combined, the number of cruiser-class ships that can be mobilized is less than it was before the war began. The mothers of the national mages were also mobilized for the defense, and there was no choice but to get to work on the next generation. The Monarchy, on the other hand, can increase their vast number of fighter crafts and send them to the Tenka side as many times as they want using Fortress Kerviel. Recognizing the power of Fortress Kerviel, Yuen and others prepared a force that would prevent their star systems from falling even if 9 million of the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts attacked. However, if the Monarchy repeats the invasion, the Tenka side¡¯s defense forces will be reduced. The concern is that there is too much difference in force replenishment. The difficulty of replenishment is as different as the heavens and the earth between the national mages who must be raised from babies and secured at the age of 15 and the fighter craft pilots that can be secured only by wearing spirit crystals. The defense power of the Monarchy that endured the Tenka side¡¯s great offensive was unexpected, and the estimates made by the five Tenka nations before the war were naive. Or perhaps the estimates pointed out by H¨¤o L¨¢n in Fukashiro were correct. Here the purpose of liberating the Coalition was fulfilled and the ceasefire¡­ such a selfish dialogue could never be opened, Yuen also understood that. ¡°You¡¯ve done well, Y¨²nl¨¢n. Killing the Sovereign of Diete, eradicating the spirit crystal factory on Diros, and causing enormous human casualties to the Royal army and aristocrats. We recognize that ¨­izumi has earned first priority in the distribution due to these achievements.¡± Just as Yuen realized the first stage he spoke about, Y¨²nl¨¢n also realized the direct attack on the Diete System and the destruction of the spirit crystal factory that he himself proposed. He also achieved the overthrow of the Sovereign, which somewhat compensated for Tenka¡¯s miscalculation. The acclaimed Y¨²nl¨¢n nodded modestly and then warned Yuen. ¡°Fighter crafts that can be increased by the number of people remain a threat. It is better to repeat the second and third attacks on Diete and crush them as soon as possible. The only time we can attack is now, when the enemy¡¯s defenses are falling. If left unattended for three years, the next invasion with a million ships, three times as many as before, might not be able to bring them down.¡± Warning the Commander-in-Chief, who is in good spirits, is an undesired act for Y¨²nl¨¢n himself. As the successor to ¨­izumi, Y¨²nl¨¢n is well aware of the dangers of not having a defensive force in the three star systems on the Tenka side. Even so, he could only see the future of destruction ahead if they only defended, and he had no choice but to point it out. ¡°Very well. We¡¯ll immediately arrange for a second invasion force.¡± Yuen, who really showed understanding to Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s warning, decided to regain the strength of each nation, which was in disarray due to the drastic reduction and conscription. However, even if the next strike force achieves results, that does not mean the end of the war. According to a communication intercepted by Y¨²nl¨¢n, the next Sovereign turned out to be a young queen. Yuna Strani Asteria, currently only 20 years old. A graduate of the Military Academy, she fought through numerous battlefields as an Operation Assistant of Fortress Kerviel, inherited the former Sovereign¡¯s military force, and was promoted to the rank General through military service. She acted as the Sovereign¡¯s Representative at the ceremony to establish diplomatic relations with Fukashiro, proving that she can play a political role as the country¡¯s ruler. Her fianc¨¦, who stands besides the queen, is the Marquis of Amakawa, commander of Fortress Kerviel and General of the Royal Army. In his reverse invasion of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, he mercilessly killed 21.2 billion people living in two star systems. There is no element to suggest that the replacement of Sovereign has reduced the ability of the Monarchy to continue war. Even if the Tenka side calls for a ceasefire to draw the curtain with their acquisition of the Coalition territory, the Monarchy would not accept the cease-fire because the Queen whose father was killed would lose public support if she accepted the cease-fire immediately. In order to break away from the current situation, which has developed into an unexpected violent conflict, Yuen could not think of anything but a complete settlement, or the draw of the curtain in the form of a natural truce like between the Monarchy and the former Coalition for more than 400 years. Five months have passed since the Second Battle of the Diete System. The final damage to the Monarchy was enormous, losing 96% of its defense force, more than 90% of the aristocrats and generals who participated in the defense battle were killed, and 3.74869 billion Royal Citizens were killed. Still, they were able to repel the invasion force which surged to the Capital planet by a paper thin margin. The rescue operation was swiftly carried out because half of the Capital planet and the defense fortresses were safe. Most of the planet¡¯s habitable environment was restored with the generous investment of production facilities and resources in the star system. However, a huge crater has been created in the royal capital, and there are many parts that had to be abandoned for restoration, as such the royal capital was relocated to the continent of Cynthus on the opposite bank across the Mediterranean Sea. When Hart returned from the front lines, he was stunned when he saw the royal capital had been wiped out. The first factory of spirit crystals had once existed at the coordinates of an empty space above a huge crater. It was such a state. The spirit crystals of the spirit god were collected by A-class spirits in the second factory, but at that time, the flow of magic elements in the first factory changed, and the production function would not return. ¡ºEven if it can¡¯t be produced at the first factory, it can still be used as an energy source. Mira can take care of it.¡» ¡ºI don¡¯t mind, but what are you going to do with it?¡» To Mira¡¯s rough question, Hart thought about future developments. Hart himself has been promoted to Colonel General and appointed Commander-in-Chief. Chief of Military Affairs Anderson and Chief of Staff Ortiz were killed in action, forcing him to fill one of the Chief posts. If both Colonel Generals of Jhering and Reinelt were not forcibly sent to the rear in the name of dispersing the overall command and survived, it would have been even worse. Too many Generals are dead and in short supply, so Yuna, Philine and Colette, who have achieved good results for promotion, have all been promoted to Lieutenant General. As for their positions, Yuna is attached to the Military Government Office and remains only on the military register, Philine is attached to the Staff Office and serves as Commander the Fortress Garrison Fleet, and Colette is the Assistant Commander and Deputy Commander of Fortress Kerviel. Claudia, a Royal-grade magic power holder, was promoted by one rank each to Lieutenant Colonel for her achievements in the MacLir, Shinky¨­, and Ky¨±yama Systems respectively, in order to quickly raise her to Fortress Commander level. It wasn¡¯t a promotion¡­. the reality is that they were promoted instead. Colonel General Reinelt, the Chief of Staff in control of personnel affairs, has pledged to fully support Hart along with Colonel General Jhering, the Chief of Military Affairs. The ultimate expectation from the Monarchy to Hart and his colleagues would be, ¡°We entrust the full power of the Monarchy of Diete, so launch a deadly arrow of Diete into the Tenka Federation¡±. The prime example is the inauguration of Yuna as Queen. In accordance with the last will and testament of the previous Sovereign, Valfrete, Yuna, the First Princess, moved the Mobile Fortress Zophiel to let it be known to the public that she was a Royal-grade magic power holder, received the approval of the House of Lords and the House of Representatives, and became the 12th Sovereign of the Deite. In peacetime, it would not have been possible to appoint Yuna, who has just turned 21, as the Monarchy¡¯s first Queen, but Diete is currently in the midst of a national crisis. With the Monarchy on the brink of extinction, it was up to the pair of the Monarchy¡¯s most decorated warriors, Princess Yuna and Marquis Amakawa, to take the helm. After being asked by Mira, Hart decided to use his game knowledge to the fullest. ¡ºIn the MacLir System, Mira said, ¡®the Spirit God has concluded his business here¡¯, Janet, who is not under contract with the doctor, and whose role as an assistant has ended with the destruction of the first factory, will be free. I would like to sign a contract with Janet and have her create her own domain in the Diete system. Now that Mira has gone up in rank, it¡¯s possible to temporarily contract with four bodies, right?¡» Janet is the A-class spirit that Yuna had contracted in the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±. In the game, Yuna and Colette had both contracted A-class spirits. Among them, Colette¡¯s spirit was Seraphina, and Janet is the A-class spirit that Hart had not obtained from Dr. Kerman. Dr. Kerman, who had not given Janet to Hart, used it to build a second factory for spirit crystals. However, Janet has not turned the star system where the spirit god was manifesting into her own realm. At the request of the doctor who had a contract with the spirit god, she was only mass-producing low-grade crystals that can be easily made at the second factory. And the spirit god has finished his business here and left. ¡ºIf Mr. Hart knows the words to contract directly with Janet, it is possible. If you can make a contract, what would you do afterwards?¡» She seemed accustomed to Hart knowing things he should not know, so Mira urged him to continue without asking any questions. ¡ºI also want to create systems for Fleur and Rhea and connect them with transition gates. I¡¯m thinking of Fukashiro as one of the systems. Xu¨§ L¨¬ would be saddened with her home-system in its present state. As a contractor who contributed to the promotion of the Spirit Kings, I¡¯d like your help. My lifespan is less than 300 years at best.¡» Fleur and Rhea appeared at Hart¡¯s call, Fleur seemed to have no other choice, Rhea muttered with a sigh. ¡ºOncidium, Xu¨§ L¨¬ played a game with me, and the Fukashiro System is excellent.¡» ¡ºAnemone, it doesn¡¯t have to be the Fukashiro System, but a weird star system is absolutely no good.¡» March 444. The Monarchy lost about 10% of its total population just one year after the war, and lost all of its former Coalition territories and 11 billion people. The Tenka federation, on the other hand, has gained more population and systems than it has lost due to the domination of the Fukashiro System and the former Coalition territories. The first queen, who just turned 21 this month, succeeded the throne from the previous Sovereign, who died in battle during a national crisis. Yuna, who was the Young Lady of a Baron Household until the age of 17, has never received any education to become a Queen. On the other hand, it seemed that the scale, which tipped too far to one side, indicated the outcome of the war. However, at Yuna¡¯s side, a man who has seen the end of her life many times will soon bring about an abnormal situation that will overturn the end of the war. CH 58 In early 3744 A.D., the ruler of the Solar System was the Federation of Tenka. Tenka is the only country with warships out in outer space, and given the fact that only civilian ships that follow the control system of the Tenka Federation are allowed to navigate, it is clear at a glance which is the effective ruler. Earth was home to a total of 5 billion people, including 1 billion former Coalition members and 4 billion former non-members, but they are uniformly under Tenka¡¯s control. During its rule, the Monarchy of Diete had a policy of favoring 4 billion former non-members and treating the one billion of the member states coldly under the direction of the former Crown Prince Gracian, who was the first invading ruler. After Gracian¡¯s death and Valfrete¡¯s accession to the throne, the privileges that had once been granted to the former members were taken away, and the system continued until the star system was robbed by the Tenka side. From the former non-member¡¯s point of view, the member states were responsible for the suppression of the Solar System. As a result of member states¡¯ preemptive attack on the Monarchy in the Republic of Frodi, the Solar System was suppressed in the counter-offensive, so it is only natural that the member states should compensate for the economic losses suffered by the non-member states. By the idea, the preferential treatment of the Monarchy was self-justified. The four billion people, whose dissatisfaction with the Monarchy¡¯s rule had been counteracted by various preferential policies, such as the cession of the member states¡¯ land on Earth and the transfer of rights and shares to the non-member states, were dissatisfied with the uniform treatment by the Tenka Invasion Force. Non-member states, whose hidden assets have been confiscated due to accusations by member states, have no way of resisting Tenka¡¯s overwhelming military power, hence creating a situation where Earthers are fighting each other. This is a convenient situation for the Tenka side, where the labor of governance decreases if the Earthers fight each other and expose their property. Tenka, who suppressed the resistance of the local residents by overwhelming force, reversed the number of dominant systems with the Monarchy in just one year. The residential systems of both forces, including destroyed ones, have flipped from 12- 6 to 6-12. As far as the sphere of influence is concerned, it can be said that Tenka¡¯s leaders made progress according to their plans. The Fukashiro system has also been acquired, which can be viewed as an increase from what was expected. By explaining it in this way, the opposition within the Tenka nations was minimized, except for the former inhabitants of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. ¡°If we cease at this stage, we won¡¯t have a significant increase in the dominant systems.¡± ¡°Only the national mages will die in battle. We should throw more in and take the Monarchy territories.¡± Many brave and irresponsible voices have risen in Tenka. In light of the destruction of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, some people are concerned about the defense of the star systems, but brave people talk. How many national mages do you think are available? It is true that there were many national mages in Tenka, but they did not know the number of national mages that had been lost in a year. Although it is not disclosed to the public, the number of national mages has decreased significantly in one year. The current generation has decreased by 760,000 from 1.07 million, leaving 310,000. The previous generation has decreased by 310,000 from 920,000, leaving 610,000. The next generation has decreased by 650,000 from 1.92 million leaving 1.27 million. The number of people who can fight right now has decreased from about 2 million to 920,000, less than half. Moreover, the 9 million crafts held by Fortress Kerviel, which were evenly matched by a Tenka fleet of 120,000 vessels, require at least 480,000 ships to simultaneously defend the four star systems inhabited by the Tenka people. Then, the force that can be used for the invasion is only 440,000 ships. If this fact is made public, those who bravely argued would turn pale. Yuen, who manages the whole of Tenka, ordered the next generation of mages to be doubled as much as possible, and at the same time ordered the total mobilization of the mothers for defense. The mothers consist of 700,000 in the active generation, and 600,000 in the generation who have finished giving birth. Meaning at least 1.3 million destroyer-class ships operated by the mothers can protect the four inhabited systems. This would add up to 173,000 cruisers to the defense force, and they would be able to mobilize 610,000 ships for the invasion, the same level of force as when we attacked the MacLir system. However, the national mages of the Tenka outsiders will have been exhausted with this. The only option left is to wait for the next generation of national mages to mature or to conscript the Tenka people. Mages of Tenka nationality are able to move private ships to support their economic activities, and they are all from wealthy families of great pedigree, and so cannot be used as if they were national mages. If the situation is not dealt with by the national mages alone, the footsteps of governance will be shaken. In addition to these forces, the five Tenka nations had other major concerns. ¡°What is the status of the control of Fukashiro?¡± L¨ªng Y¨©ng of the G¨¡o family, who proposed the invasion of Fukashiro, answered the question in the communication from Yuen, who oversees the five Tenka armies, with a bitter expression. [At the very least, it was established. H¨¤o L¨¢n of the S¨°ng family was unable to be captured because of the suicide bombing, and as long as the daughter Xu¨§ L¨¬, the named successor the S¨°ng family, lives, it will give the Fukashiro people a cause for their resistance. Organized resistance activities will continue for years.] ¡°Can¡¯t we use someone from the S¨°ng family to be a substitute governor, or have them marry into the G¨¡o or Lin families to create a buffer and keep the people in Fukashiro calm?¡± Yuen, who asked the question himself, thinks that he would have done as much. What he really wanted to ask was ¡°why didn¡¯t it work?¡±. L¨ªng Y¨©ng kept silent for a while with a rugged expression, and eventually opened his mouth gravely. [The interests of the 3.75 billion displaced people from Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama are at odds with those of the more than 20 billion Fukashiro people. The victors, the people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, are, of course, the ones who will take the land, property, and rights of Fukashiro. If they don¡¯t take it, it won¡¯t work, and if they do, it¡¯s inevitable that there will be resistance. Unless you hold them down with force, there is nothing that can be done.] After receiving the explanation, Yuen nodded with deep consent. Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama were destroyed by the raid of Fortress Kerviel, and the refugees were only able to save the bare minimum of their possessions. Some would only have the clothes they were dressed in, and since the forces of the five Tenka nations could not compensate for them, they had no choice but to take from Fukashiro in order to survive. Yuen was on the side of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, and they have to consider that it is unavoidable to take Fukashiro¡¯s land, property, rights, etc. in order for them to live as human beings. The occurrence of resistance activity was an understandable result. Even if the people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama were taking more from Fukashiro than was necessary to survive, Yuen had no intention of stopping them. The people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama are strongly dissatisfied with the destruction of their resident star system and they were turned into refugees. In order to solve these problems, they had to take more from Fukashiro than was necessary. Otherwise, the rulers, L¨ªng Y¨©ng and Li¨² H¨¤o, would be disgruntled by the people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, and would not be able to move the war potential of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama freely. It would put the Five Tenka Nations at a disadvantage, as only two would be offering forces, and would lead to their defeat in the war. Those who have been deprived of their lifelong wealth will spend their entire lives in resistance, but Yuen decided that it was unavoidable. ¡°L¨ªng Y¨©ng and Li¨² H¨¤o, please continue to govern the subdued Fukashiro. There may be conflicts of interest between Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, but please coordinate properly so that there is no conflict.¡± [Yes, understood.] After the interstellar communication, Yuen then discussed with the X¨³ family¡¯s Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was stationed in the same Solar System. Y¨²nl¨¢n, ranked fourth in Tenka, hit the Diete system with 350,000 ships, killing Sovereign Valfrete and destroying the continent where the spirit crystal factory was located. Y¨²nl¨¢n rose to great fame, but he regretted not being able to completely destroy the planet Diros. According to the former Sovereign¡¯s communications, there is a large stock of spirits crystals already produced. The survivors will be able to use the stock of these spirit crystals to pilot the fighter crafts. If you change the pilot from a volunteer system to a compulsory conscription system and scour the population, the pilots will be in the hundreds of millions. Changes to social systems that are directly linked to the lives of the people require considerable reasons, but they are fully feasible because their Capital planet was attacked and billions of people were killed. [The fighter craft pilots immediately after the draft are weak. Nuclear fusion rounds were also effective, with 80 million crafts and 350,000 ships being balanced. Instead of 75 crafts, one ship has knocked down 228 crafts. While the enemy is weak, we should strike. We must not stop attacking the Monarchy.] Y¨²nl¨¢n insists on striking again as soon as possible because he has experienced the violence of numbers in the form of fighter crafts. Attacking with a massive force of 350,000 ships, he was met by a massive nebulous force of 80 million crafts, and was forced to use up his troops in exchange for the battle results. The Royal Army was advantageous in the replenishment speed of their forces, and it was predicted that if they sat back and waited, a flood of stars would eventually flow into Tenka¡¯s side. If the Tenka side had unilaterally won, there would also have been an option for a ceasefire, but the Tenka side, which lost Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, suffered greater damage, and the former Sovereign Valfrete directed the way to win through his communication. Therefore, it must be considered impossible to conclude the war at this stage. The only way for Tenka to win is to destroy the Monarchy¡¯s six systems and defeat them completely, or by making them realize that it is impossible to win by inflicting appropriate damage and forcing their surrender, or draw in battle and have the current dominant star system recognized. As such, Y¨²nl¨¢n insists on Yuen, who has the authority to make the decision. ¡°Whether it¡¯s a victory or a ceasefire, we must destroy the Monarchy¡¯s systems and cause enough damage to make the enemy consider ending the war. I urge you to invade immediately with all your forces, excluding defenses and reserves. If the problem is with uneven achievements, you can change the commander.¡± [I understand.] As for the re-attack, Yuen also recognizes that it is necessary. Yuen¡¯s concern is that if the Tenka side destroys each star system, their declaration of war, on the cause of inhumanity of the Monarchy that massacred the former Coalition people, will not hold as legitimate. It would also be impossible to acquire the systems of the Monarchy, which was planned at the beginning of the war, without any damage, or to rule the Monarchy¡¯s people with non-tenure. Still, understanding the current predicament, he was forced to decide that winning the war, even if they could not maintain the cause, would take priority over maintaining the cause only to face defeat. ¡°They were the ones who destroyed Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama first. It pains me to say this, but if we are attacked in a war of annihilation, we have no choice but to fight back. Moreover, it is not necessary to change the commander who produced the result. The defense from the forces of 920,000 ships¡­¡± In the three Tenka systems and Fukashiro, the mothers of the national mages can be used for defense. Each system can be allocated 43,000 cruisers, and if defense forces of 90,000 ships are allocated from the fleet, the total force will be equivalent to 133,000 ships. With this, it will be possible to stop the force equivalent to 120,000 ships of Fortress Kerviel. While Yuen deployed 90,000 ships in the four star systems, the former Coalition Systems of MacLir, Hercules, and the Solar System were allocated 20,000 ships to set a total of 420,000 as defense forces, leaving the remaining 500,000 to Y¨²nl¨¢n. The next generation of national mages will be replenished by 60,000 to 70,000 people in the five nations per year, which will be the reserve force for each star system. ¡°500,000 ships are the limit, so is it possible?¡± [That¡¯s enough.] Y¨²nl¨¢n, who caused considerable damage to the Diete System with 350,000 ships, was satisfied with Yuen¡¯s offer of 500,000 ships. Y¨²nl¨¢n wasn¡¯t thinking of simply invading the Diete system again with 500,000 ships. [The Monarchy should be gathering defense forces in the Diete system. We will bypass it, hit the lesser Athena System, followed by the Machaon System, Podalley System, and then destroy rear star systems.] ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ what was that?¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n adds plainly to Yuen, who instinctively asks back. [Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama wanted a habitable system, that has been settled by the acquisition of Fukashiro. As a reward for Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­, there are also MacLir, Hercules, Solar Systems, and the three destroyed systems. All that¡¯s left is to destroy each Monarchy system and end the war.] ¡ï Afterword Volume 4 will be posted on Wednesdays & Saturdays at 20:00, Additional posting may be made for announcement purposes. Thank you very much. CH 59 Yuna Strani Asteria, the 12th Sovereign. Yuna, who was born as the Young Lady of a Baron Household, became a Duke Lady at the age of 17 due to the formal marriage of her parents, the First Princess at the age of 19 when her father ascended the throne, and at the age of 21 her father died in battle and she ascended to the throne. During the war between the ages of 17 and 21, 20 billion people were killed in the Coalition of Humanity, 21.3 billion in the Tenka Federation, and 4.8 billion in the Monarchy of Diete. and of the 18 human-inhabited planets that existed between the three powers, five, or about 28%, became uninhabitable. In just four years, a quarter of humanity and its inhabitable planets were lost. Having lost her parents and grandparents at the same time, Yuna has unwillingly ascended to the throne as queen over 35.3 billion people, and her mental landscape is painted in darkness like the abyss of the universe. The walls of her isolated mind were so solid that only when Hart¡¯s right hand held Yuna¡¯s left hand did a little light shine through. The coronation ceremony, tentative policy making, defense system reporting orders, and notifications of the Lords¡¯ meetings were all done by Hart, in coordination with the government, to Yuna, who was steeped in darkness. Hart believes that what Yuna needs now is time to accept reality and improve her situation. If Yuna was at the peak of her shock in the period between her parents¡¯ death and when she became a queen, she is now trying to get through the situation from a bird¡¯s-eye view by activating Dark Mode, and there¡¯s an improvement. He asked Sharon, Yuna¡¯s contracted spirit, to stabilize Yuna¡¯s mind through Mira, but in order to make a drastic improvement, the underlying anxiety must be removed. Yuna¡¯s fundamental concern is on how to govern the nation as Queen. In the midst of a war with the very survival of the nation at stake, the fate of 35.3 billion people and their descendants will be determined by the Queen¡¯s leadership. Even the Sovereign or the Crown Prince would feel uneasy, so it¡¯s only natural that Yuna, who feels strongly about being the daughter of a Baron Lady, would feel more uneasy. In order for Yuna to become healthy, first the burden of the nation¡¯s helm on her must be eased, then the situation should be turned around to ensure that the Monarchy of Diete will not be defeated, and finally she must abdicate to leave Bernard or Josslan as the next Sovereign. First of all, there is an urgent need to reduce her burdens. As the day of the Lords¡¯ meeting was a week away, Hart took Yuna to visit the second spirit crystal factory. Hart explained to Yuuna as he took her out: ¡°The Doctor¡¯s souvenir that occurred in the MacLir System is actually the domain that I asked my contracted spirit to create. I can make two more similar systems. Let¡¯s make a third one, and we¡¯ll have it protect the Diete system. Please follow me.¡± After digesting the meaning of the words, Yuna expressionlessly asked Hart with clear jewel-like eyes. Why didn¡¯t he do it before the second Diete System Battle broke out? ¡°Only the Spirit King who knows the keyword to enact a direct contract can expand their realm. Fleur and Rhea, who I have contracted with, were Advance Spirits before we attacked the Shinky¨­ System, and it was only after returning to the Diete system that taught me the keywords of the contract. The spirit of the second factory, where we are heading for, could not move according to the contract to assist the first factory. We can now expand her realm as soon as possible.¡± ¡ºSharon, is that true?¡» Yuna asked Sharon, the Advanced Spirit she had contracted, not Hart. When asked, Sharon appeared and answered Yuna with a gentle expression. ¡ºGenerally, it is. Fleur was promoted in the Shinky¨­ Star System. Rhea in the Ky¨±yama Star System. The Spirit King in the second factory finished her role after the first factory was destroyed. I don¡¯t know when her keyword was transmitted, but the worlds cannot be connected until after promotion and release.¡» ¡ºWhy didn¡¯t you tell me such an important thing?¡» ¡ºIt is only now that this high-ranking spirit has been qualified to transmit the information on Spirit Kings, and Mr. Hart would be troubled if I didn¡¯t teach it correctly, so Lady Mira has granted permission.¡» Yuna took a sharp breath and exhaled, showing resentment. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me, Hart?¡± ¡°Major General Yuna Strani Asteria, who was only a Fortress Operating Assistant, was not authorized to access confidential information. I have no intention of concealing it from the Queen.¡± Resolutely speaking back, Hart then explained the effect of the Spirit King on creating territory. Out of the three-stage situation improvement that Hart had conceived, he would enact two steps simultaneously, the first stage, reducing the enormous burden of governing the nation as the Queen, and the second stage, ensuring that the Monarchy will not be defeated. ¡°Once the Spirit King has established a realm, all spirits below advanced level in the system will come under their control. They can gather the information on the Royal Citizens, and guide their consciousness with spirits, which will help govern the nation and make correct political decisions. And, of great military importance, the creation of a second realm will allow us to connect transition gates and travel between star systems in an instant.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ What do you mean?¡± Yuna¡¯s indignant questioning suddenly lost power and turned into confusion. Manipulation via spirits is unfathomable, but it is normal for system administrators to have administrative privileges. It has been thought that the spirit is a special technology and that no one could touch it since the developer, Dr. Kerman, was certified dead, but Hart knew how to manage it. Yuna had her thoughts on that, but she understood. But what exactly is it to connect the transition gates and enable travel between star systems in an instant? When hyper-navigational warps using magic elements were first put into practical use, 10 light-years took one year each way for human interstellar travel. With the development of technology, it shrunk to about 1,000 light-years a year each way. Philine¡¯s parents¡¯ home, the Apollo System, is 150 light-years away, which is a voyage of less than two months one-way. Since the travel speed was doubled with spirit crystals, it now takes less than a month to travel one way. If two captains keep moving without rest, the speed will double and the destination reached in less than half a month. When Hart and the others withdrew from the Republic of Frodi, they fled in this manner. That is the modern interstellar travel as Yuna is aware of. To the perplexed Yuna, Hart reaffirmed the principle of hyper-navigation warp. ¡°Hyper navigational warps would cover the ship with a shield and move through the higher dimensional space. The spirit world is that high-dimensional space. If the Spirit King of the Diete System opens an entrance to the spirit world and the Spirit King of the MacLir System opens the exit, the same phenomenon as warp will occur. It¡¯s possible to move in an instant, even if it¡¯s to another galaxy, and even send tens of millions of fighter crafts all at once.¡± Hart paused the explanation and waited for Yuna to understand the meaning of the explanation. The fact that you can increase the number of realms by three means that if you create a realm in the Diete System and another star system, such as the enemy¡¯s stronghold, Ten-to, you can freely send a large number of fighter crafts from the Diete System to the enemy system that has weakened in the realm of the Spirit King at any time. Moreover, in the territorialized systems, while the performance of the Monarchy warship increases, the enemy army¡¯s magic engine output drops dramatically, making it impossible for them to shield themselves properly. The difference in strength has widened to five times the original level, with overwhelming results like in the two MacLir Star System Battles. In addition to its combat power, the moon Fraga in the MacLir System was able to operate its magic engines unmanned, and even destroyed 15,000 Tenka ships. In the system where the Spirit King has made a territory, that alone would give them an overwhelming advantage. Hart believes that if tens of millions of fighter crafts are sent there, victory is assured. Two of the star systems to be territorialized, Diete and Fukashiro, have already been determined, but the remaining one can be freely decided. If he could freely decide on three more, he could have created territories for Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­, but as expected, he doesn¡¯t have that much on hand. After creating a realm in Ten-to, you cannot drop celestial bodies with the magic of the newly contracted B-class spirit to promote them. In that case, Ten-to is the realm of the Spirit King, so another spirit cannot make the energy there its own. Besides, the Spirit King who had the celestial body dropped into its territory will be angered by the destruction of its energy source. Therefore, the only way to promote a new Advanced spirit is to steadily attack Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­, and drop celestial bodies when the opportunity arises. Therefore, with regard to Rhea, Hart¡¯s idea was to have her create a realm in the Athena System, which is the closest to the enemy¡¯s sphere of influence after the Diete system, and to share forces in both systems. Even if Yuna couldn¡¯t completely swallow it, she probably understood that it was a matter that could determine the outcome of the war. She urged Hart to continue the conversation with her gaze. ¡°In order to win the war, we need to make a contract with Janet at the second factory to increase the realm of the Monarchy. So follow me as I show you the contract and the development of the territory.¡± ¡°Hart. At the end, my dad said that we should increase our strength, fortify our defenses, and reduce the strength of the Tenka Federation to win, but there¡¯s a better way than that, right?¡± ¡°Using the realms and the transition gate, we will take back the MacLir and Fukashiro systems within a year, and split the enemy into Tenka and the former Coalition. Recapture the former Coalition territory in the second year, chip away the Tenka systems in the third year, and settle everything in the fourth year. As he¡¯s about to be a first-year cadet at the Military Academy, the goal is to be done by the time Prince Josslan graduates.¡± Hart, the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy¡¯s Armed Forces, did not consider the goals he had mentioned to be so difficult. ¡°Hart, who would you prefer to be the next Sovereign, Bernard or Josslan?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s a violation of my vassalage, but honestly, I¡¯m uneasy about both Prince Bernard, who was rebellious against Philine, and Prince Josslan, who is friendly with the Duke of Takrham. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll make sure that the Monarchy won¡¯t be defeated no matter which one becomes the Sovereign.¡± ¡°All right, I want to abdicate as soon as possible, so my two younger brothers will have to grow up quickly.¡± If either of them had been nominated as the next Sovereign, would they have done the same? Hart was afraid that his remarks would decide the next Sovereign and influence the future of the Royal citizens, and his body trembled when he recognized the current situation in which Yuna alone held the authority and responsibility. It¡¯s not very bearable. After reaffirming that it should be finished sooner, Hart accompanied Yuna to the second spirit crystal factory. The second spirit crystal factory is strictly controlled by the Royal Army, but they do not have the authority to reject the Commander-in-Chief and the Queen. Hart and company stepped into the depths of the factory and caught in sight a mysterious polyhedral spirit crystal that was about the size of a fist with different color depths depending on the surface. After disarming all security, Hart stood before the spirit crystal and called out. ¡°Janet, you wouldn¡¯t have signed a direct contract with Dr. Kerman. Could you sign a direct contract with me to connect the worlds between Janet¡¯s spirit world and the Diete system?¡± When the call was made, the blue spirit crystal reacted and slowly floated up, revealing a thin woman wrapping it in her hands. She had sky blue eyes, fair skin, and a single tuft of braided blue hair. She had a blue ribbon on her hair and a blue corolla. She wore a blue ethnic dress that showed off her shoulders, and her fingernails were all painted blue. Her hair is a mixture of blue and white, although it is not uniformly thick. Her ears, characteristic of the higher spirits, are in the shape of a half-elf. The woman of a pure blue color, which could never be forgotten once seen, curiously tilted her head. ¡ºI never told you my name. Where did you learn it?¡» Despite the fact that only Hart and Yuna are present, Janet sent the magic message directly to Hart so that he could hear it. ¡ºI know that the resident system is a source of energy, I also know the keyword for a direct contract with Janet. As you¡¯ve been here for four years, you might have come to like the Diete system. If you contract directly, you can purify the miasma of this system and absorb it as you please. Her Majesty the Queen has also agreed to territorialization.¡» Janet, who squinted her eyes, answered Hart with a smile on her mouth, though her eyes were not smiling at all. ¡ºThen, give the keyword of the contract that I had decided on. If you get it wrong, I will never grant a contract again. If not for Lady Mira, I¡¯d let you know when you¡¯re wrong.¡» ¡ºPurple Lisianthus.¡» ¡ºI, haven¡¯t told anyone about that.¡» When Hart gave her the right keyword, Janet¡¯s eyes changed from indignation to intense interest. After confirming the correct answer from Janet¡¯s response, Hart turned his gaze to Mira and pointed to the unshipped spirit crystals. ¡ºJanet, please use the spirit crystals you¡¯ve created for the energy to interfere with this world. If you fill the system with your magic power first and then purify and absorb the miasma, you can be promoted to Spirit Emperor like Mira. The Diete system is the foundation of our country, and we need the power of the Spirit Emperor to protect it.¡» ¡ºI¡¯ll accept you¡­ do you understand what this means? I suppose you do. Strangely enough.¡» With a bitter smile, Janet shattered the spirit crystal that was wrapped in her hands. At the same time, all the unshipped spirit crystals that existed in the second spirit crystals factory shattered in an instant. On that day, the mysterious blue luminescent phenomenon that originated from the second spirit crystal factory on the continent of Cynthus quickly spread throughout the Diete system and merged into the sector. CH 60 The Lords¡¯ Conference was held by the Queen, inviting all senior aristocrats to attend. They were informed in advance that the content of the meeting is to explain the specific procedures for winning the war. Most senior aristocrats attended, as interstellar communication was permitted for participation and attendance was considered acceptable for successors in addition to household heads. The only ones who couldn¡¯t attend were the senior aristocrats, whose head and successor were both killed in the Second Diete Battle, and whose successor has not yet been determined. The death toll among the aristocracy in the previous battle was extensive. As a result, there were many aristocrats whose households have fallen or been demoted due to the loss of succession qualifications and lack of magic power. In particular, the aristocracy of the royal capital was severely affected, and most of the aristocratic children who attended the Academy of Magic and the aristocrats who resided in the royal capital were killed in battle. There are several Count households that have disappeared as a result. Hart, Yuna, and Colette had lost their parents and grandparents, and Hart and Colette also lost their brother. In the case of Philine, her parents, sister, and younger brother who were in the royal capital were killed in the battle. These effects were so enormous, that Yuna was forced to succeed to the throne, and Colette was automatically made the heir to the Viscount of Listner. Philine has no choice but to inherit the Marquis family, which her father was supposed to inherit, one generation earlier. Hart¡¯s paternal household, the Baron of Hiragi, had barely survived by one of Hart¡¯s cousins in the main family, otherwise Hart would have been forced to serve as the Baron of Hiragi, in addition to the Marquis of Amakawa and the Duke of Son. Thus, the aristocratic society is in a dire state, and it is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time to recover. How do you generate the time required to rebuild it? Each aristocrat had the utmost interest in the Queen¡¯s policy. At the beginning of the conference, Yuna explained why Prince Bernard and Prince Josslan were also present. One of the two will be the next Sovereign, and the other will be the next Duke of Strani. Each household is allowed to have a successor, and the two are treated in the same manner. Since the next Sovereign is undecided, both names are eligible to speak as the next Duke of Strani. Yuna, who gave such an explanation, told both princes. ¡°Both of you should listen without making any statements for now. This time, after explaining the specific procedure for the Monarchy to win, there will be a notice to get the lords to cooperate. Watch your sister¡¯s methods and use it as a reference when you succeed to the throne or the Dukedom.¡± Yuna decided to raise both princes, and have them begin gaining experience that would allow them to become the next Sovereign. Bernard is a third-year student at the high school of Academy of Magic, but as the Acting Duke of Strani, he was entrusted with the governing of the Duke¡¯s territory, which included the Capital planet. After graduating, the policy is to have him take full control of the Duke¡¯s territory and become a candidate for the Sovereign who can participate in politics. In April, Josslan will be a first year cadet of the Military Academy at his own request. He will naturally become a candidate for the throne who is well versed in military affairs like the former Sovereign Valfrete and Queen Yuna. Yuna also plans to provide an opportunity for Josslan. Yuna, who did not want to be Queen, had no intention of obstructing the path to the Throne for the two princes, even if Hart was uneasy about them. While respecting their career paths, both of them will be given the opportunity to become Sovereign, and she took a position to support them as their Sister. Hart intended to respect Yuna¡¯s will. Although he is worried about Prince Josslan, who is backed by the Duke of Takrham, an investigation conducted by Valfrete has revealed that Lysine, the young Lady of the Duke of Takrham, who is in love with Josslan, has a decent personality. The problem is clearly the villainous Duke Takrham. Lysine¡¯s magic power value was anchored at 36,451 last year, well above the estimated value. Hart is convinced that this was done using the device owned by the Duke of Takrham. If you wear spirit crystals, you can prevent absorption because the spirit will protect you, but the former Coalition people are not allowed the use of spirit crystals, so if the Duke of Takrham wanted to collect it from them, they could have done so. Unless the former Coalition people are allowed to use spirit crystals, the Duke of Takrham can continue to raise their descendants to high magic power holders. The Duke of Takrham¡¯s goal is to gain 1,000 years of prosperity for his household, and it seems that the purpose can be achieved if Josslan becomes the next Sovereign with Lysine as his wife. However, Yuna¡¯s presence could be a cause for concern to the Duke. A living and abdicated Sovereign usually becomes an Emeritus and maintains their royal family status, so should Yuna abdicate the throne and claim her Grand Duke title, she would not fall into vassal status. Yuna¡¯s children, who have royal status, will also be royalty according to their parents¡¯ status, so the next generation after Josslan could compete for the succession to the throne with Yuna¡¯s children. As Grand Duke, Yuna plans to take the name Taka AmanoharaHigh Plain of Heaven. The name originates from Takamagahara, where the god Amatsu lived in Japanese mythology, and is composed of ¡°takahigh¡± from her mother¡¯s parents¡¯ family name, Takamiya, ¡°amaheaven¡± from Hart¡¯s family name, Amakawa, enter, and ¡°harafield¡°, the plain of the province in the sky called the galaxy. Her name will be Yuna Amakawa Taka Amanohara Asteria, and she will be referred to as ¡°Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Taka Amanohara¡± and ¡°Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess¡±. It is inevitable that Yuna will be conferred a Grand Duke and that her child will be royalty, so the Duke of Takrham must be vigilant. Still, Hart, who has placed much higher priority on Yuna¡¯s psyche, had to decide that if Josslan grew to the point where he could assume the Sovereign, there would be no choice even if the Duke of Takrham was backing him. Not only the Duke of Takrham, but also the Duke of Langlois were problematic. Hart is also the Duke of Son who possesses spirit crystals, his prospective second wife is the granddaughter of the Duke of Coesfeld and founder of the String Society, and he will be with Yuna, who will become the Grand Duke, so he can at least suppress Takrham, one of the Duke families. For now, both princes are serious about becoming Sovereign. Hart hoped that they would grow up to be decent people. ¡°Then we¡¯ll start the meeting, Commander-in-Chief Amakawa¡­ his title as the Duke of Son takes precedence, but I call him Amakawa. I do not mean to disparage the Duke of Son, I¡¯m on good terms with Miss Xu¨§ L¨¬, but I intend to also serve as the Marquess of Amakawa after my abdication.¡± ¡°As your future spouse, I am especially grateful for your patronage of the Amakawa family.¡± Yuna improvised in front of the lords and ladies to show her intentions after her abdication, and Hart, who had foreseen that she would do as much, also improvised a reply. Perhaps because Yuna had told Bernard and Josslan not to speak beforehand, the lords who were observing Yuna did not reply with any joking remarks. Having regained her composure, Yuna returned to the matter at hand. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten off track. Commander-in-Chief, please explain the specific steps we will take to win the war. I allow the disclosure of any military secrets necessary to achieve our goals. And your lordships and successors are strictly prohibited from leaking said military secrets. In such cases, they will face severe punishment.¡± After bowing to Yuna, the Queen, Hart began explaining his military¡¯s plans as Commander-in-Chief. ¡°A week ago, we launched the so-called ¡®Dr. Kerman¡¯s souvenir¡¯ in the Diete system. The effect is similar to that of the MacLir System.¡± In the first move, a fusion round-class bombshell remark was thrown into the air. The bombshell remark grandly exploded into a shockwave, trampling the Lords and knocking their successors down on their behinds. In the MacLir System, Dr. Kerman¡¯s souvenir was widely known to raise a ship¡¯s strength rating by a factor of five, interfere with enemy communications, warp intrusion and withdrawal within a light-day range from the system, and enable unmanned operation of magic engines to defeat the enemy. The Monarchy dealt a crushing blow to its bitter enemy, the Coalition of Humanity, using Dr. Kerman¡¯s souvenir. It was only two years ago, and no senior aristocrat could have forgotten it. After the shock had worn off, the Lords were left with many questions. How many souvenirs were left by the doctor? And why hadn¡¯t they been used before? Yuna, with very little change, indifferently mentioned that they could not implement it before the second Diete Star System Battle. ¡°I, who lost my parents and grandparents at the same time in the battle, made the Commander-in-Chief explain the reasons. There are some people, like the former Sovereign¡¯s grandson and the former Duke who became national traitors, who would leak military secrets even if they had high status. Therefore, I will not disclose the details of the ¡®doctor¡¯s souvenir¡¯ in accordance with His Majesty the Sovereign¡¯s example.¡± As with the souvenirs, the senior aristocrats deeply remember how the former Sovereign¡¯s grandson and the former Duke of Langlois leaked classified information to the Human Coalition in order to kill Yuna¡¯s father, Valfrete. After sealing the question, Yuna reminded the Lords. ¡°As the Queen, I will do what I need to do for the Commander-in-Chief, whose interests are completely aligned with mine, the future Marquess of Amakawa, to ensure victory for our Monarchy. Commander-in-Chief, please continue.¡± Prompted by Yuna, Hart resumed the explanation. It was about the true value of the Doctor¡¯s Souvenir. ¡°Certainly. It is possible to create a transition gate between Star Systems that have the doctor¡¯s souvenir. The Diete and MacLir Systems are 550 light-years apart, but as a result of the secret experiments, our fighter crafts were able to travel back and forth between the two systems in a matter of minutes.¡± How many of the Lords inwardly requested a halt to the proceedings and said ¡°wait¡±? Some may have been stunned and doubted their ears, or thought that Hart and Yuna had lost their minds. The Lords did not call for a stop because they knew that spirit crystals had the ability to assist in warping, and that the MacLir System¡¯s so-called ¡°Doctor¡¯s Souvenir¡± also had the effect of causing extraordinary phenomena. They understood that the transition gate was the ¡°disclosure of state secrets necessary to achieve the goal¡± that the Queen ordered the Commander-in-Chief. ¡°The next souvenir will be deployed in the Athena System to share forces with the Diete System. And the transition gate can be maintained in conjunction with an orbiting celestial body in a space 300 million kilometers from the inhabited planet, so it can be used as a refuge in case of enemy invasion.¡± Hart added that immediately after the meeting, the magic element engine operator would travel to the Athena System in a three-man high-speed cruiser to trigger a souvenir. Any of the Lords would have stopped speaking and asked for a detailed explanation of the transition gate if it had been explained by a subordinate in the territory, or if it had not been prefaced as a military secret. Hart, who disclosed some of the important military secrets, continues to explain, ignoring the interests of senior aristocrats. ¡°After sharing the forces of both systems and having prepared necessary strength to suppress the system, we rush into the MacLir System via the transition gate and destroy the enemy. After that, we will advance to Fukashiro at high speed and activate a fourth souvenir to destroy the enemy there as well. By the end of this year, we will overtake the five Tenka Nations in terms of population and number of systems held.¡± It would be difficult to control the inhabited planets, but once even the transition gates are connected, it is possible to send in as many military satellites and combat units as you want to control the planets. Although Hart omitted it from his explanation, the Deite system is currently mass-producing military satellites and android soldiers for planetary control. If they destroy the enemies in outer space, destroy the enemies on the ground from the satellite orbit, and then send heavily armed military android soldiers to the ground, they will be able to complete the suppression. It is not a planet formally inhabited by the Royal citizens, and although the Monarchy ignores hostages to conquer the enemy, it can carry out even more radical suppression operations. In addition, in order to utilize two large celestial bodies from the outer edge of the Diete System as strategic satellites similar to the moon Fraga, they are also working on installing them with magic element engines. In the MacLir System, the moon Fraga fought single-handedly and destroyed 15,000 enemy ships, comparable to 23 of the Monarchy¡¯s fleets, in exchange for 10% of the moon¡¯s mass. After that, while unsure, it is possible that it could have achieved more results. The strategic satellites will be built and put into the orbits of inhabited planets in the MacLir and Fukashiro systems for post-system domination. The 430-kilometer-diameter strategic satellite Sandalphon will be deployed in the MacLir System. The 480-kilometer-diameter strategic satellite Metatron is deployed in the Fukashiro System. By orbiting the new giant strategic satellites on both planets, like the moon visible from Earth, the former Coalition and Fukashiro people will know who their ruler is. Should the Monarchy ever be seriously offended, a huge celestial object more than 400 kilometers in diameter can be plunged into their planet. This should dissuade any who might be tempted to start an uprising en masse. When Hart had finished explaining the operation, Yuna supplemented it before the Lords could speak. There is a limit on the number of souvenirs, so they cannot be placed in every star system. The star systems to be used were decided in advance in consultation with Hart. They don¡¯t want to give the enemy forces time to incorporate Fukashiro. ¡°I shall now issue a royal decree. Each system is to promptly gather 100 million fighter craft pilots. I have no intention of continuing this war for another 479 years, as we did with the former Coalition.¡± Yuna, with a scant expression, turned her eyes to the princes. ¡°I order both Princes to serve aboard Fortress Kerviel. You may both get engaged to women of your choice, and as candidates for the Crown Princess or Duchess, they are to serve together with you to build up military experience. Earn Medals of Honor and be ready to succeed to the throne or the Duke immediately.¡± CH 61 After the first Lords¡¯ conference, Bernard disconnected the communication and returned to the detached palace. The royal decree for him to serve in the military that his half-sister, Queen Yuna, issued at the meeting was announced in advance. To Serve as an Operation Assistant to Fortress Kerviel and earn a Medal of Honor, an achievement that will allow the Royal citizens to recognize their succession to the throne or the Duke. By making it known at the Lords¡¯ conference, her intention was to disseminate the fact that they had fulfilled the conditions to be recognized by the people as a Sovereign or a Duke after earning such achievements, Yuna herself explained this. Yuna had previously told Bernard that he was to gain political experience as the Duke of Strani because his younger brother Josslan is about to enroll in the Military Academy, and in fact she had expectations of him as a legitimate son. (She may have said the same thing to Josslan.) Bernard is not childish enough to swallow Yuna¡¯s words, but he still didn¡¯t feel bad when he was told she had expectations of him. Bernard is a legitimate son, and he is aware that he is the heir to Valfrete. When he was little, his father told him that he would eventually become a Duke and lead the immigration to a new Star System. His father, who will become the new Duke, would bury his bones in the new system. Bernard, as the second Duke, was expected to stabilize the rising system. As a selection criterion for a marriage partner, he wanted a woman with high magic power who would not let the Duke¡¯s family fall into ruin. In terms of personality, he was also told to choose someone who would follow him to the new star system, which is the most remote and undeveloped part of the Monarchy. Therefore, Bernard¡¯s criteria for selecting women has become ¡°a woman with high magic power who would follow him to the frontier, without being selfish or extravagant,¡± in accordance to the standards instilled by his father at an early age. Even if their position changed afterwards, the indoctrinated selection criteria did not. The reason he chose Beatrice Legrand, the daughter of a Baron, is that she does not seek her own selfish desires or luxury, is a high magical woman who has two broken engagements with her second partner being a traitor, and had no other way to live but to follow the first prince. Major General Philine Carneus issued a warning for protecting her in the exercise, but he had no remorse or regrets about giving priority to getting her for sure over his grades. In the second Diete System Battle, which was the real thing, he played his part, so there is no reason to complain. Bernard is convinced. The future of immigrating to the remote new system disappeared in the war with the Coalition of Humanity. The way of life he had been told to live as a child fell apart, and without being told how to live a new life, his father¡¯s royal family register was restored, and Bernard himself became the heir to the throne. Before long, his cousin Leandre became a traitor, his father ascended the throne, and Bernard became the first in line to the throne. It was here that it finally became clear that Bernard, in his new position, was required to become the next Sovereign. Though bewildered by the change in his position, Bernard accepted the reality that couldn¡¯t be helped because of the circumstances. However, just as he was about to change his way of life, his father died in battle and his half-sister ascended to the throne as Queen, forcing him to once again reconsider things. His sister told him he would be the next Sovereign or the next Duke. As for Bernard, he wanted it made clear which one he would assume. If he is to succeed the Dukedom his father had founded, Bernard, who had been prepared for it from an early age, is willing to accept it. Moreover, if he is to succeed as the next Sovereign, he has accepted that it is destined for the son to succeed because the father had been the Sovereign. Therefore, it doesn¡¯t matter which one was chosen, but he wants them to clearly decide which one he will be. The Sovereign, who rules over tens of billions of people, and the Duke, who stands between the cunning aristocrats, have different ways of preparing. And, if it is his elder sister, all she has to do is declare it and it will happen. She has the overwhelming support of the Royal citizens due to her accumulated victories, her fianc¨¦ has control of the Royal Army and spirit crystals, also she is entrusted with the right to decide the succession by the former Sovereign Valfrete and has a good cause. The sooner the decision is made, the shallower the wound will be for the one who is not chosen. Even if other things are not his sister¡¯s fault, Bernard thinks that she should stop playing with his life. ¡°Would it be offensive to say I have an indecisive sister?¡± ¡°10 billion people who sympathize with Her Majesty¡¯s position would take offense at you, Your Highness.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll stop it.¡± When Beatrice pointed that out, Bernard withdrew his expression of dissatisfaction. Whether as a Sovereign or a Duke, turning 10 billion Royal Citizens into hostiles will have a negative impact on your reign. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. According to my sister, I and Josslan will be confirmed as the next Sovereign and the next Duke. Regardless of which one of us becomes the next Sovereign, it is said that the side that becomes the Duke of Strani will take a form that preserves enough honor.¡± If Bernard is chosen as the next Sovereign, they can claim ¡°in terms of military experience, his younger brother Josslan surpassed him, but the Monarchy in the future will have to rule as the dominant Star System, and she chose Bernard, who is the prince with experience in governing a dominant system¡±. If Josslan is chosen next Sovereign, they can claim ¡°in terms of political experience, his brother Bernard, who ruled the MacLir System surpassed him, but because it was wartime, he went to the military academy and so she chose Josslan, who was familiar with the military¡±. In the first place, the Duke of Strani was a family founded by the former Sovereign, Valfrete, who destroyed the Human Coalition, and succeeded by the national hero, Queen Yuna. Although its history is short, it has established an honor that other aristocratic families envy. ¡°Congratulations are in order.¡± ¡°At the Lords¡¯ conference, I was told I could have my fianc¨¦e join me as a candidate for the next Crown Princess or the next Duchess when I serve. Your father would not object anyway. I¡¯ll take you as my official fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°This is the third time my father has sold me. I¡¯m a quasi-aristocrat of a Baron Household, and I haven¡¯t benefited from any aristocratic privileges. I¡¯ve even received a lot of infamy.¡± When Beatrice looked at him with an optimistic expression, Bernard thought of his half-sister. Yuna, who was undesirably enthroned as the Queen, has changed her expression from the one she used to show when the Second Queen Maina was still alive to one that lacks something now. In just a few years, the people of the Monarchy had lost a lot of things. When Bernard returned to the palace, Josslan also returned to one of the mansions owned by the Duke of Takrham on the Capital planet. As previously announced, his half-sister Yuna declared Bernard and Josslan to be the next Sovereign and the next Duke of Strani at the Lords¡¯ conference. Bernard and Josslan are the children of the First Queen, whose origin is a Marquis family. Josslan thinks that it is natural that he and Bernard will succeed as head of the family, in light of their mother¡¯s rank in the pecking order and the title of their parents¡¯ household. Of course, he understands that Yuna obtaining a Grand Duke title after she abdicates the throne is necessary because the Former Queen and the Vassal Duke do not stand on the same level. All of this was set by the former Sovereign, Valfrete, and for Josslan, it was all by default. It would be more than two hundred years in the future before Josslan succeeded to the throne and abdicated. With that much time, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have been born, and even if Yuna¡¯s children have high magic power, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will not have enough magic power to mix with the others and push away the main family. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the lineage of the heir to the throne shifting to Yuna¡¯s side. Josslan, who was taught the idea by the Duke of Takrham, who was concerned about the future of his granddaughter Lysine, was generally satisfied with the current situation. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad¡­. or so I¡¯d say ¡° Even after inheriting the throne, he can¡¯t despise his half-sister and prospective brother-in-law whose achievements are too high. A vassal with too much power like Marquis Amakawa is troublesome, but if Hart does not want the position of Sovereign and can accept being a vassal, Josslan¡¯s stance is that he must be treated well while reducing his power. Those around Josslan, such as Lysine and Duke Takrham, are hoping for him to become Sovereign, and he imagines many things about what will happen after he becomes the Sovereign. (It isn¡¯t possible to give Marquis Amakawa a daughter like with father, so is it better to offer sister Mirabell as a concubine to follow him?) Josslan also considers the possibility of not becoming Sovereign. His two-year-older brother Bernard shares the same parents, and Josslan has slightly higher magic power value, but since Yuna has the right to decide, it is not clear how much of an advantage he has. However, even if his brother Bernard becomes Sovereign and Josslan becomes Duke of Strani, there is an opportunity for a reversal. It is a form in which the throne is transferred from the Bernard side by the magic power value of their child. Beatrice, of the Baron of Legrand, who is friendly with Bernard, has a magic power value of 28,152. It¡¯s certainly high, but with an average magic power inheritance of 0.9 times, no Royal-grade magic power holder will be born between her and Bernard. Then, Bernard¡¯s claim as the next Sovereign would naturally flow to Josslan side. Lysine, the young lady of the Duke of Takrham, had magic power value of 36,451. In this case, even if the magic power inheritance is as low as 0.8 times, their child can become a Royal-grade magic power holder. It is unclear why Lysine¡¯s magic power value has jumped significantly from the estimated value. She also tilted her head, saying she hadn¡¯t done anything unusual, other than spending time in the Duke¡¯s family mansion of the royal capital before her anchoring. An investigation was carried out carefully and meticulously because of her position as a Duke Lady, but the Second Diete Star System Battle broke out the month after the investigation started, and the mansion to be investigated on-site was also wiped out, so the investigation ended. It is clear that the Duke of Takrham cannot arbitrarily manipulate the magic power value at will, as Lysine¡¯s sister Digitalis, who was seeking to be the fianc¨¦e of the former Royal Grandson Leandre, produced a result in accordance with the estimated magic power value. Therefore, it ended up being unknown. If some reason why it can be manipulated artificially is understood, you could increase the magic of the child and the succession to the throne will be decisive¡­ Josslan imagined that as the granddaughter of the Duke who owned the mansion entered the communication room. ¡°Your Highness Josslan. Congratulations on being confirmed as a Duke or higher.¡± The Duke probably told Lysine about the part of the contents announced at the Lords¡¯ conference related to her. Lysine, who looked excited, ran up to Josslan. Josslan received her, and a slight smile appeared on his face. ¡°Thank you. Then, as promised, I, Josslan, the Second Prince of the Asteria royal family, will propose marriage to Lysine, the Young Lady of the Duke of Takrham. Will you accept?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. My grandfather has already given his permission.¡± ¡°That¡¯s splendid.¡± Josslan embraced Lysine¡¯s slender body, which had become his own. After confirming her soft feminine sensation for a while, Lysine also puts her hands on his back. Josslan hugged Lysine, and spoke of his plans for the future. ¡°My sister asked me to serve as an Operation Assistant to Fortress Kerviel. She wants me to earn the Medal of Honor.¡± ¡°So you can safely serve with distinction? Will I receive the rank of Lieutenant?¡± ¡°Thankfully, yes. She said that she would support us with our military achievements while supporting my brother with his political achievements as acting Duke of Strani. She even told me that she wants to abdicate as soon as possible. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be quite a sight to wear the Medal of Honor at the ceremony.¡± In April, Josslan and Lysine will start their first year at the Military Academy. At this point, their knowledge of the military is no different from that of an amateur, but he knows that Fortress Kerviel will not be destroyed and that those assigned to it have earned glorious Military Achievements. His Two Year senior, Claudia, Young Lady of the Duke of Coesfeld, volunteered in October of her first year of Military Academy and was assigned as a Lieutenant. A year and a half later she was promoted three times to Lieutenant Colonel for her exploits at the MacLir, Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama Systems. Having become a member of Fortress Kerviel that had dropped as many as 250,000 enemy ships, Claudia had also earned the Order of Gliese, 7th class award in the MacLir Star System Battle, and was considered to have fulfilled the duty of the Monarchy aristocrat. If he could be in such a setup, it would be a very welcome story. Queen Yuna, who became his half-sister four years ago, had been in contact with Josslan for a short time, but as an older sister, she supported Josslan accordingly. Yuna is of the blood of the former Sovereign Valfrete, and Second Queen Maina is also the official second queen of aristocratic descent. Her military achievements shine in the history of the Monarchy, and Josslan thought, ¡°I could accept her as an elder sister¡±. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that our mothers were different, I would have accepted her outright from the beginning. Or should I consider it a good thing that she was my half-sister, so that she could protect what my father had left me and she could pass it on when I came of age?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Her Majesty an excellent sister? My own sister has been dragging me down, using our sisterhood as an excuse. During her time at the Magic Academy, she could have been close with Her Majesty the Queen and His Excellency the Duke of Son. I wish I had¡­ ¡° Lysine¡¯s older sister, Digitalis, was in the same grade as Hart and Yuna in the middle school of the Academy of Magic. If their relationship had been normal, the Duke of Takrham would have used his own power to push Digitalis into being Hart¡¯s concubine. Lysine asked her grandfather why the Duke of Coesfeld could send a Young Lady they had never met to be the second wife, but the Duke of Takrham could not do the same. The answer was ¡°because their relationship was the exact opposite of cordial¡±. When asked with whom she had a relationship that was the exact opposite of cordial, the answer was both the Queen and the Duke. In addition, it seems that she was also the exact opposite of cordial with Lieutenant General Colette Listner, who is the Queen¡¯s best friend and Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief. Lysine was angry at her sister¡¯s actions, wondering what in the world she had done in a place where people were to make connections. The daughter of the Baron¡¯s daughter and the second son of the Baron¡¯s family ended up being the ones that the Duke¡¯s family can¡¯t even touch. Usually no one would blame her for being the exact opposite of cordial with quasi-aristocrats, who can be crushed by even one of her entourage. It may be that she wanted to pretend to be a dignified queen, or that she was under pressure to be a potential queen, or something like that. However, the two who she was the exact opposite of cordial with became the current Queen and the Duke who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army and the administrator of the Spirit Crystal. As a result, because of the foolish sister, the damage suffered by the Duke of Takrham was immeasurable. What would happen if Bernard¡¯s side was chosen as the next Sovereign because of Lysine¡¯s origin as Duke of Takrham? Likewise, what would happen if the defense priority of the Artemis System was lowered or the distribution of spirit crystals was reduced because of the Duke of Takrham? Just imagining the situations that could happen because of the exact opposite of cordial relations with the two made Lysine feel dizzy and far from conscious. If Lysine gets engaged to the Second Prince of Josslan, and Digitalis were to make the mistake of thinking that the Queen has forgiven her, what will she do? Lysine¡¯s arms, indignant at the thought, were squeezing harder. (¡­¡­¡­¡­ That foolish sister. Going so far as to trouble her cute little sister like this!) ¡°Lysine, it hurts a little.¡± Lysine, whose anger at his sister blinded her to the surroundings, tightened her hands around Josslan¡¯s body. CH 62 April 444 of the Monarchy calendar. A month has passed since the Royal Capital of the Monarchy of Diete was officially transferred to the continent of Cynthus. The continent of Cynthus was originally developed due to its good location on the opposite bank across the Mediterranean Sea from the continent of Ortegia, where the royal capital was located, and the damage there was relatively minimal. Thus, some of the government¡¯s functions had already been transferred, but the Queen declared that she would build a palace on the Continent of Cynthus, and it took form in name and reality. ¡°The Royal Capital is not the city where the central government is located, but the city where the Sovereign resides. Therefore, the city where the Sovereign lives is called the royal capital, even if it is in the remote countryside of a remote planet.¡± Under such logic, Queen Yuna moved her residence to the residence of her fianc¨¦, Marquis Amakawa, on the continent of Cynthus, hence the territory of the Marquis of Amakawa became the Royal Capital as well. The Royal Capital was destroyed by the enemy, and a Marquis territory being rented is¡­ unheard of, and could spark very unsavory rumors. However, when people hear that ¡°an engaged woman has started living at her partner¡¯s home¡±, most people suddenly feel ridiculous and say, ¡°Kindly let them do as they please¡±. Those who wanted to speak about the danger of war spoke of the former, and those who did not want to feel serious spoke of the latter, but the ratio between the two was overwhelmingly inclined to the latter. If the parties deliberately created such a situation to dispel the feeling of war, it was not so, and truthfully Hart was concerned about the psychological impact of Yuna living alone in the Royal Palace, where her family had been killed. The brand new Marquis Residence was highly functional and there was no practical inconvenience in using it as a Royal Palace. There is also the fact that various government agencies from the former royal capital were relocated to the royal territory adjacent to the Marquis territory. The fact the Marquis territory doubles as the Royal Capital is probably a temporary measure. After Yuna abdicates, it is highly likely to be relocated to the neighboring royal territory and then the continent of Ortegia, which is undergoing reconstruction. Neither prince wishes to stay at their sister and brother-in-law¡¯s residence after they become Sovereign. But at the moment, the Royal Capital of the Monarchy of Diete was undoubtedly the Marquis of Amakawa. The Military Academy was also relocated to the Royal territory, directly adjacent to the Marquis territory where the new Royal capital was located. The academy, which was destroyed in the Second Diete Star System Battle in October and began restoration in November, was completely rebuilt and reopened by the time Hart and the others returned home. The Royal Army has a group of urban building facilities for the construction of military facilities, including various building models and artificial intelligence with excellent design capabilities. They can be automated, and if land is requisitioned for the war effort and the conditions are indicated, a splendid building will be completed regardless of whether the person in charge is a rookie. For more than 400 years, the Monarchy has been amassing resources and budgets in preparation for war against the former Coalition. The Military Academy¡¯s building is necessary for the war against Tenka and there is no reason to spare resources and budget. But when Claudia saw for the first time in a year and a half that the academy had been reborn as a modern metropolitan area with all the budget and resources invested, she tilted her head at the use of the funds. She was summoned to the principal¡¯s wing, which was a luxurious, dignified and dedicated building, and received the same orders Hart and the others had received three and a half years ago from the principal, who was apparently in good spirits. ¡°Cadet Claudia Coesfeld. As part of your General officer education, you will also undergo a one-year Command Staff course. Commander -in-Chief Amakawa and Her Majesty the Queen also took this course while they were at the Academy.¡± ¡°I am honored to be of service.¡± The fact that the principal¡¯s wing is so lavishly constructed and has many special androids in it may be to inspire the cadets by showing them, ¡°if you become a General, you will receive this sort of treatment¡±. With this favorable interpretation, Claudia put her doubts to rest and complied with the principal¡¯s order with a friendly smile on her face. In the Command Staff course, a Lieutenant Colonel or higher who was recommended by their immediate superiors or other Generals who are qualified to recommend them, is accepted. And the nominator for Claudia is Colonel General and Commander-in-Chief Hart. The nominees are deliberated by the relevant department of the Staff Office, but Chief of Staff General Reinelt issued an official notice to the office, stating, ¡°fully support Commander-in-Chief Amakawa¡¯s nomination¡±. The Military Academy is also under the Instructional Bureau of the Staff Office, and it was a definite matter for the Royal Army that Claudia would take the Command Staff course. And even if Hart doesn¡¯t order it, the basic idea of the Royal Army since before the war has been to have at least one Royal-grade magic power holder who graduates from the Military Academy as a Commander of a Mobile Fortress. The 27-kilometre-long Mobile Fortress is huge from the human body, but insignificant in terms of the amount of minerals that exist in the star system. Building 100 or 200 Mobile Fortresses would not be much of a burden for the Monarchy. The reason for not building Mobile Fortresses to scatter the enemy fleet is that there is no magic power holder who can operate them even if they are made, so they will only be ornaments. If there are magic power holders who can move it, and they graduate from Military Academy and complete the Command Staff course, you can increase the number of Major Generals to be Fortress Commanders by 100 or 200. In fact, the Royal Army¡¯s thinking is that they will give out as many rank insignia as they want, so as many people as they want can come. ¡°Your completion of the Command Staff course will serve the national interests of the Monarchy.¡± ¡°If I can protect as many Royal citizens as possible, I¡¯ll be happy to accept your orders.¡± Claudia knew the reason why the principal spoke solemnly. Still, Claudia responded with a genuine look of joy at the principal. When the principal saw the situation, he nodded twice and cast an eye on the vice-principal who was present. ¡°I look forward to your continued success. That¡¯s all from me. I wonder if there is anything from the vice-principal.¡± ¡°Yes. First of all, as your instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Coesfeld, I am proud of you for your remarkable military achievements while still a cadet at the Military Academy. Thank you for your service.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± The vice-principal, with a thin, stern face, praised her politely without looking nervous. In response, Claudia also thanked him in a polite tone. ¡°As one of your instructors, what I would like is for you to have the experience to handle your subordinates in a manner appropriate to your rank. Your attendance is less than that of Commander Amakawa. If possible, as a senior cadet, I would like you to gain experience in mentoring juniors, but will you be able to attend the academy in the future?¡± ¡°The military duties of Fortress Kerviel are a top priority, ordered by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, who oversees the entire army, with the approval of Her Majesty and the other Chiefs. However, as long as it doesn¡¯t interfere with the duties of the fortress, I will try to attend to it as much as possible.¡± In response to the vice-principal¡¯s perfectly legitimate argument, Claudia promised to make every effort but keep her priorities clear. ¡°Very well. Actually, there are two new cadets who other seniors seem to have difficulty mentoring. The runner-up cadet, Second Prince Josslan Strani Asteria, who is in line as the next Sovereign, and 1st place cadet, Lysine Takrham, Young Lady of a Duke Household. If you can mentor these two, I¡¯m confident that you can treat anyone else as a subordinate no matter who they are. You will graduate at the top of your class.¡± One of the only two candidates for the next Sovereign and his fianc¨¦e. The mental stress that comes with mentoring these two is unlikely to be mediocre. It would be fine for an instructor with a clear role, but it would be too much for a cadet who was merely a senior student to handle. Claudia understood what the vice principal had said about how difficult it would be for ordinary people to handle the two. ¡°The guidance of junior students is the role of a senior, so of course I accept. I think it would be more feasible if I were in charge of them.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry, but please. As long as you¡¯re doing things that other cadets can¡¯t, your grades will be higher than other cadets.¡± ¡°If I may humbly give a suggestion, I heard that His Majesty the former Sovereign and Her Majesty also followed the Military Academy¡¯s educational policy, such as serving as waiters at the dining hall when they were in the Academy. Since they themselves wish to attend the Military Academy, I think that excessive preferential treatment will not be to their benefit, even if it¡¯s the bare minimum.¡± In the cafeteria of the Military Academy, as part of the education to experience various superior and subordinate relations, the 1st year cadets serve as waiters, the 2nd year cadets as instructors, the 3rd year cadets scold any mistakes, and the 4th year cadets supervise the 3rd year cadets on their attention. The 1st years will understand the psychology of soldiers and noncommissioned officers who move under orders, the 2nd years will understand the psychology of the officers in charge of the field, the 3rd years will understand the psychology of a commander, and the 4th year will understand the psychology of the General who is the leader. In the military, where the orders of superiors are absolute and organized, there is no room for disobedience just because you don¡¯t get along with your superiors. In the course of education, the role of a superior is to be assigned not only to the role of a recognizable superior, but also to the role of a superior who gives unreasonable orders, with the intention of learning what kind of orders would lead to rebellious behavior, how to manage dissatisfied subordinates and superiors, how to supervise subordinates, and what kind of organizational management would be desirable. Hierarchical education is reflected not only in cafeterias and places of living, but also in joint exercises, etc. Such a variety of education is necessary, and if the other party is a prince who may become the Sovereign who controls the entire army, Claudia thinks that he should be given the proper experience even more. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯ve placed you in the mentor role to provide the proper education.¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite convinced. Then, as a senior, I¡¯ll get muddied for the sake of my juniors.¡± Thus, Claudia took on the mentorship of Josslan and Lysine. The recruitment capacity of the Military Academy was 40,000 for the first grade in the year 438 of the Monarchy calendar when Hart and others enrolled, but in 440 of the Monarchy calendar, the number of recruitment was tripled to 120,000 due to the resumption of the war with the Coalition. This year, 444 of the Monarchy calendar, the number of recruitment has increased by 12 times to 480,000 due to the war with Tenka, which has since intensified. Among such 480,000 people, Josslan and Lysine have achieved a high level of magic, taking the second and first places. However, since ¡°an excellent soldier is one who can kill a lot of enemies and protect a lot of people¡±, there is no issue with the top two positions being people who have Royal grade magic power that can operate a Mobile Fortress. In order to secure a wide range of cadets from the provinces, each department except the Commandant Department has a branch school in the other 5 star systems, and the number of cadets in a single star system, plus the increase/decrease in the Commandant Department, is 80,000. Although the number of cadets has increased dramatically, in the Monarchy of Diete, where a total of 4.8 billion people have been killed in two Capital planet defense battles, they do not think that 480,000 people is too large to have carrying military weapons each year. As a result of considering various problems such as the number of teachers and training destinations, the compromise was only 480,000. In addition, the Commandant Department is kept at 5% of the total by providing C-class crystals to extremely talented students. The Heavy Battleship Department has 1800 cadets, the Carrier Craft Department 1800 cadets, the Battleship Department 14,400 cadets, and the auxiliary ship Department 6,000 cadets. Each school year, the captains capable of running the 24,000 ships of the Royal Army¡¯s 12 fleets, started to increase from 24,000. This year¡¯s program is characterized by recruitment that prioritized winning at the moment without any consideration for the postwar period. The entrance ceremony, which attracted 24,000 cadets from the Commandant Department and 80,000 from other departments, was held in an online virtual space. Because of the online nature of the ceremony, the guests of honor were lavish, and therefore only three of the guests, the Queen, the Chief of Military Affairs and the Chief of Staff, were allotted time to address the new cadets. The entrance ceremony ended with the top 4th year representing the current cadets giving words of welcome, and Josslan Strani Asteria, the Second Prince, who was placed 2nd according to magic power value, gave a return speech on behalf of Lysine Takrham, the 1st place who declined giving a speech. In contrast to the 1st year cadets of the Heavy Battleship Department, which has 1,800 members, 90% of the 2nd year cadets and higher were killed in the Second Diete Star System Battle, decreasing them to about 45 enrolled people for the capacity of 450 people in each grade. The ratio was 40:1 and the frequency of receiving guidance from senior cadets was low in the first grade, but Josslan and Lysine had the opportunity to receive guidance from the top cadets of the academy, including Claudia, in about two weeks. As for the waiters, the 2nd year instructors explained the purpose of their education in detail before the 1st years began serving, so they did not encounter any problems. Lysine and others who understood things found serving rather enjoyable. As a result, Claudia, the reprimanding officer, had to scold the 2nd year students. ¡°Admittedly, they are careful to avoid accidents, but showing model answers before the exam will reduce their experience. In the future, the 1st years will have subordinates as commanders and make use of their experience from the Military Academy. You have to give guidance. Try not to deprive them of experience opportunities as much as possible.¡± ¡°Ha, I¡¯m sorry.¡± The 4th year cadet, who saw the reprimand, announced the start of the meal. ¡°The ship is moving within the enemy¡¯s territory and is on Type III alert. Each of you must eat during the allotted break time. All hands, you may have your meals.¡± It was also possible to postpone the 1st year cadets under the pretext of the work system, but the 4th year cadets were allowed to eat all at once. Claudia, who realized that both the 2nd and 4th year cadets only played the role of a superior to those who understood the matter, had no choice but to play a scolding role. ¡°As a senior, I¡¯ll be instructing them from a different direction, since they¡¯ve already figured out the purpose of their education. 1st year Cadet Takrham, you are 1st place among the recruits, but you handed over the responsibility of addressing the incoming students to 1st year Cadet Asteria, who was placed 2nd. What was your intention?¡± In her gentle voice, she had the power to impart a quality without being obtrusive. Lysine, who was wary of the word ¡°guidance¡±, responded, thinking for a moment whether it was necessary to speak, but she thought that it was basic to answer when asked by a superior in the military. ¡°It is Diete¡¯s basic idea that the Asteria Royal Family should lead the way.¡± Claudia nodded with a smile at Lysine¡¯s answer and said, ¡°that will not do¡±. ¡°Commander-in-Chief Amakawa was a Major General while in the Academy, and he was asked by the principal how he viewed the results of the subsequent positions. Here he made a recommendation in the order of ability. The order was Lieutenant General Listner, a Viscount Lady, Lieutenant General Carneus, a Lady of a Marquis Household, and finally Her Majesty the current Queen, who was also the grandchild of the 10th Sovereign and the daughter of a Duke. 1st year Cadet Takrham, can you understand His Excellency the Commander¡¯s intentions in the recommendation?¡± Hart, the current Commander-in-Chief and the Queen¡¯s fianc¨¦, had not propped up Yuna, the Sovereign¡¯s granddaughter, in the order of the academy performance. Lysine, who was pointed out how with the situation between the current Commander-in-Chief and the Queen, that the exact opposite was taking place with Lysine and Josslan, and Josslan, who was listening next to her, weren¡¯t able to dismiss it as a trivial matter done by someone else. Yuna will ultimately decide whether Josslan will be the next Sovereign or a Duke. And by all accounts, the person who influences Yuna¡¯s judgment the most is Hart. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ No, I don¡¯t know.¡± Lysine, who could not carelessly deny their actions, took a passive measure. Claudia, who restricted Lysine¡¯s behavior, then pointed out the error in Lysine¡¯s thinking. ¡°The answer is that in the military, if the attitude is not to evaluate abilities and results rather than status, the abilities of those with lower status and position will turn rotten, and the Royal Army will suffer for it. As a fact, the Commander-in-Chief makes the most of the abilities of Lieutenant Generals, Listner and Carneus, making Fortress Kerviel active and able to cite the current achievements of the war. It is not idealism, the Royal Army chooses the most practical advantage in how to protect the Monarchy and its people. 1st year Cadet Takram¡¯s actions are somewhat out of line with that of the Commander-in-Chief and are not in the best interest of protecting the Royal citizens. As a military officer, be careful from now on.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I understand.¡± For a moment, Lysine was stuck for a response, but mended her ways and answered. Claudia looked on with satisfaction, adding guidance. ¡°I also sympathize with the idea that the Royal family should stand before the people and support them. As such I expect 1st year Cadet Asteria to play as much an active role as 1st year Cadet Takrham. I am also a 2 year senior to both of you at Fortress Kerviel and also your superior. If you have any questions, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask. Though I know little of the affairs of the Military Academy.¡± Claudia, who had taken on the role of mentor, smiled. CH 63 After the Lord¡¯s conference, Hart, accompanied only by Xu¨§ L¨¬, boarded a three-man high-speed ship and headed for the Athena System. Yuna and the others had a lot to do on the Capital planet, and Fortress Kerviel was also undergoing renovations. The journey takes about half a month, but there is a separate ship operator. With nothing else to do, Hart deepened their interactions as they played games together with Xu¨§ L¨¬ and the spirits. Yuna¡¯s mental state is not good, but neither is Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s. The Diete Star System Battle has made many to lose a lot. Yuna lost her parents and grandparents, lost the home she lived in, and even lost her freedom after being crowned as the Sovereign. Although there are no royal citizens who have been burdened with a heavier responsibility than Yuna, there are many people who have suffered damage to their spouses, descendants, and other entities that leave offspring for the next generation. Among these many people, the women who had come to the Monarchy a year ago in marriage diplomacy had lost something that was difficult to compare with others. What they had lost was their home system and backing. The government had the mass media report on Fukashiro in order to assert its rights to the star system, but the content was lacking. On the other hand, the MacLir System has declared independence from the Monarchy as a protectorate of Tenka, and more news is not always better. ¡°In the Fukashiro system, which was occupied in July last year, the communication satellites have been destroyed, so we don¡¯t know anything about the situation. Lord H¨¤o L¨¢n, who was the representative of the Fukashiro system, has nominated Xu¨§ L¨¬ as the successor to the S¨°ng family and applied for subordination to the Monarchy. The Monarchy has also approved by former Sovereign Valfrete. The Monarchy government has included the Fukashiro system in the realm of the Monarchy, and the operation to retake it is certain to take place, but the timing is undecided¡­¡± Fortunately for Xu¨§ L¨¬, she was able to establish a relationship with Hart before Fukashiro was occupied. H¨¤o L¨¢n also named Xu¨§ L¨¬ as the S¨°ng family¡¯s successor, making her valuable in governing Fukashiro, which led to the establishment of the Duke of Son family by Xu¨§ L¨¬ and Hart. Thus, Xu¨§ L¨¬ became the ruler of the 21 billion people of the Fukashiro system who proposed subordination to the Monarchy, and would maintain a position as Duchess of the Duke of Son Household, which became the core governing entity, with her husband Hart as co-ruler. However, she was not able to maintain her psyche. Asked to become a co-ruler of the Fukashiro system in the future, Xu¨§ L¨¬, despite the fact that the message had been delivered with the utmost care, froze after the transmission and became desperately distracted while her body quivered. Those who think that Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s life is less difficult should try governing the 21 billion people of the Fukashiro Star system, which is occupied and contested by 3.75 billion refugees from Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. If the people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama were inhumane during the occupation, after the reoccupation by the Monarchy, 21 billion vengeful occupied people would begin a fierce vendetta against the 3.75 billion who occupied them and the security would be at its worst. Once that is settled, some will be dissatisfied and rebellious against the S¨°ng family for their subordination to the Monarchy. Even if Xu¨§ L¨¬ wasn¡¯t a game loving shut-in with a communicative disorder, she would still have difficulties in governing. The risk of being assassinated by the remnants of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama would be the highest in the Monarchy territory, and in fact, even Hart had his cheeks twitching. However, the Fukashiro system will become Fleur¡¯s own domain, and then she will be able to connect a transition gate to other systems. If the Fukashiro people are equipped with spirit crystals, they will be able to receive the same kind of assistance that the spirits attached to the Royal citizens in the Deite star system provide to Yuna, such as protecting her and gathering information for her. If even one of the assassination conspirators is wearing a spirit crystal, the information will be leaked, and if none of them are, they will be identified as a suspicious group, so the difficulty will be reduced somewhat. Besides, the use of the transition gate will stimulate economic activity and enrich the people. The Diete System, connected to the transition gate, is home to the Marquis of Amakawa. And the MacLir, which is in Serafina¡¯s realm, is likely to become the domain of Yuna, who will take the Grand Dukedom after her abdication. In the Monarchy of Diete, there is an unwritten rule that one Duke is assigned to each star system. The purpose is to enable independent decisions and action should the Diete system become dysfunctional. If this unwritten rule is to be followed, the Duke of Son will be placed in the Fukashiro system, the Grand Duke Yuna will be in the MacLir system, and the Duke of Strani will be placed in the Athena system, where the Duke of Langlois was demoted and there is no Duke. The Athena system, which has been part of the Monarchy from the beginning, is much easier to govern than the MacLir system, which is a former Coalition System, and the idea is to appoint the prince that could not be Sovereign there. The Dukes of MacLir and Fukashiro System would have an unusually large territory population if the other senior aristocratic families did not come in to assist them. However, no senior aristocrats who have territories in the realm of the Monarchy want to change their territories to a former Coalition territory or Fukashiro. The Fukashiro and MacLir systems, which can do as they please and can perform groundbreaking economic activities via the transition gate, may be hard to govern, but they have great potential. In addition, there are some people in the world who are living a much harder life than the serious Xu¨§ L¨¬. The three sisters of Leandre, who traveled from the Monarchy to Fukashiro on marriage diplomacy, are living the most difficult lives of all mankind. The present-day Fukashiro is overrun by the forces of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, which were destroyed by the Monarchy. In other words, they are surrounded by billions of people who are raging with vengeance. In order, they would have been killed, and if they were still alive, they would have suffered even more miserably. What will it be like in hard mode? After arranging the appropriate terms in his brain, such as Lunatic, Omega, and Death¡­ Hart thought that if by any chance the girls made it out alive, the state should compensate them for the rest of their lives. If asked to find a marriage partner, they would politely reply that you should get one for them, thus making it impossible to propose, but as far as financial compensation is concerned, the best will be done to encourage the military as they have contributed to the national defense. Hart¡¯s priority is to fulfill his responsibility to Xu¨§ L¨¬. The game chosen for the purpose of stabilizing Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s mind was one that she had been familiar with from playing in Tenka for a long time. The game consisted roughly of a number of loose cartoon characters that looked like stuffed vegetables, competing against each other in an attraction. Xu¨§ L¨¬ and her spirit Chloe form a team, Hart participates alone, Mira, Fleur, and Rhea control many characters at the same time like an online game, with the spirits competing with some restraint. Xu¨§ L¨¬ had the highest win rate, Hart rarely won, and Mira and the others won more than Hart did, so the development was balanced. Hart was controlling a stuffed radish with a face and short arms and legs. It was attacked intensively by Mira¡¯s stuffed tomato, eggplant, and bell pepper, pushed off a cliff and crushed. ¡°I mean, three on one is so unfair!¡± The soon-revived angry radish made a mad dash after the stuffed tomato, grabbed its body, and decided to backdrop it. Then the eggplant hit the upturned radish in the abdomen, and all three of them fell down the cliff together. Xu¨§ L¨¬ scored in the meantime, but a brawl between the radish, tomato, and eggplant had broken out at the bottom of the cliff. The fact that Hurt was so pissed off about losing probably helped, but Xu¨§ L¨¬, sitting next to him, was able to listen and respond to Hart¡¯s conversation, albeit while playing the game. After playing with her for a few days to relax her, Hart gradually explained to Xu¨§ L¨¬ about the future treatment of the S¨°ng family, while keeping an eye on her. The first explanation was the treatment of the S¨°ng family as Dukes. The S¨°ng family had two paths, one was to be transformed into a Vassal State by becoming a Principality, and the other was to become a Dukedom, a member of the Monarchy aristocracy. The Dukedom, a lower position, was chosen because it was more convenient for the former Sovereign Valfrete, though of course, from the viewpoint of Hart and Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s descendants, the Dukedom was considered the better path. ¡°By becoming a Principality, the position will be lower than that of the Monarchy. Even if the territory of the Monarchy expands, the Principality¡¯s territories will not increase, and there will be restrictions on the rights and movements of the people who are in a lower position. On the other hand, a Dukedom would be treated as the same Royal citizens of the Monarchy and have no restrictions. So in the future, the Dukedom may have larger territories, more say, and more rights for the people, which is convenient.¡± Considering only the generation of Hart and Xu¨§ L¨¬, the Principality may be a better choice. However, in the last 400 years, the Monarchy of Diete has increased its inhabited systems by six times, and the speed of interstellar travel has also jumped. By the time Hart and others reach their end of lives, the Monarchy may have expanded its territory to 36 star systems, six times the current size, or even more. As a Principality, the next generation will be left behind in the leap of the Monarchy. In a corner of the galaxy, it is the descendants of Hart and Xu¨§ L¨¬ who will be left behind as masters of a frontier planet. At first glance, the Duke seems to be in a lower position than the Sovereign, but Hart believed that the Duke was better in practical terms. ¡°Why did the Monarchy give us a Dukedom that grants us more rights in the future?¡± ¡°From His Majesty the former Sovereign¡¯s standpoint, me being a Duke would have been better than me being an Official Ruler. Because of the war, it is easier for a Duke retainer to obey him than an official ruler of a Vassal State. Besides, his daughter Yuna was also scheduled to be married off. He may have been concerned that a wife who was in a stronger position than the first wife would be a source of confusion.¡± Before the Second Diete Star System Battle, the First Princess Yuna was scheduled to marry the Marquis of Amakawa and become his first wife. Then, if Xu¨§ L¨¬ becomes the consort of the ruler of a Principality which cannot be despised, there will be a problem in the official hierarchy. However, in the current situation where Yuna is the Queen and will become a Grand Duke after abdication, there can be no hierarchy issue with the Duchess of Son, Xu¨§ L¨¬. Thanks to this, the Duke of Son family has established a position to increase its territory in line with the development of the Monarchy. Hart believes that with the Monarchy having several Dukes, if the territories only increase side by side, they will not be considered dangerous. In the first place, the first head of the Duke of Son is Hart. Hart is the arrow of the Monarchy that destroyed the Human Coalition, and all the Royal citizens recognize that Hart and his descendants, who fulfilled the significance of the Monarchy¡¯s existence, are Monarchy Aristocrats. In fact, no aristocrat or Member of Parliament has complained about the establishment of one of the Duke families along with the subordination of the S¨°ng family. That¡¯s how the Monarchy views the Duke of Son family. ¡°Is the S¨°ng family okay?¡± ¡°Yes, no problem at all. We¡¯ve already established our position.¡± After being briefed on her position, Xu¨§ L¨¬ was both satisfied and relieved. However, Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s attitude toward being co-rulers was unreasonable and consistent. ¡°I don¡¯t think joint governance is possible. I can¡¯t go out in public in the first place.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Uh.¡± Even Hart, who envisioned Xu¨§ L¨¬ as a co-ruler, couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy about the feasibility of it, imagining the scene of her vomiting and collapsing during official duties. In the next game round, Hart kicked the eggplant right after the start, and thought about how to respond while proceeding to bump bodies with the pepper, dodging the tomato that was chasing him with flair. If Xu¨§ L¨¬ had been educated as an aristocrat of the Monarchy, she might have been required to take on aristocratic responsibilities. However, the three women who went to Fukashiro from the Monarchy for marriage diplomacy were not provided with Fukashiro¡¯s ideological education. It would be unreasonable to ask the other side for things that you were not doing. However, Yuna, for example, is not unreasonable, but she is not in a good frame of mind at the moment. If Hart explains, ¡°Xu¨§ L¨¬ can¡¯t do it,¡± Yuna could say, ¡°I couldn¡¯t do it either.¡± (I¡¯m glad I explained Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s personality in advance. Also, green peppers don¡¯t turn yellow all of a sudden. I don¡¯t understand.) Yuna, who had been briefed and understood Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s personality in advance, has the leeway to accept the proposal accordingly. Hart thought of a compromise where only he gave orders on official business, and Xu¨§ L¨¬ would follow Hart to attend a few limited ceremonies. ¡°The only purpose is to show the people of Fukashiro that Xu¨§ L¨¬, the successor of the S¨°ng family, is co-ruler of Fukashiro. If the people of Fukashiro understand that the patriarch of the S¨°ng family is the co-ruler and that the descendants of the S¨°ng family will take over the rule, then they will be satisfied.¡± ¡°I suppose most people would agree.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬ reluctantly affirmed Hart¡¯s confirmation. In Fukashiro, which was led by the S¨°ng family for nearly 700 years, if Xu¨§ L¨¬, the legitimate successor of the S¨°ng family, governs Fukashiro with her husband and passes it on to her descendants, it would be according to the history that has been accumulated so far. As for the inclusion of other people¡¯s blood, it was business as usual for the six Tenka families, who had incorporated the blood of high magic-powered individuals who had evacuated from Earth many times. Therefore, if Xu¨§ L¨¬ appears as a co-ruler, the majority of Fukashiro people will be satisfied. This will enable the Monarchy to rule smoothly and achieve the goal of incorporating Xu¨§ L¨¬. In light of Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s circumstances, Hart thought this would be the greatest achievement he could obtain. ¡°Maybe a few times a year, we could wave together in public.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t go out in front of so many people. I think my stomach will hurt and I won¡¯t be able to really walk. If they carry me out on a stretcher and put a sheet over my face, I might be able to come out shivering. But I might really cry.¡± ¡°And the people of Fukashiro, convinced of your abuse, will start a massive, system-wide uprising.¡± At Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s declaration, Hart was forced to lower his requirements. ¡°Is there no choice but to record it in advance and play it back?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re the only one there when recording, I¡¯ll probably be fine.¡± It was barely a compromise¡­ rather, as Hart gave in completely, Xu¨§ L¨¬ showed her willingness to comply. The two members of the Duke of Son family breathed a sigh of relief at the uncertain future ahead of them, and continued on to the Athena System. CH 64 Half a year had passed since the Second Battle of the Diete System, and the Capital planet had regained some calm. The death of the former Sovereign in the attack on the Capital planet was a great blow, but as the new Queen Yuna and Commander-in-Chief Amakawa switched to the new regime, and the massive conscription created a flood of Salamanders in the star system, the Royal citizens understood the path of the nation and began to move forward. The Royal citizens were keenly observing the Queen¡¯s facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice, which were reported daily in the news. If the Queen seemed anxious about anything, it would mean that there was cause for concern, which would have a profound effect on the future of the Royal citizens. Therefore, the Royal citizens, without being called upon by anyone, kept an eye on her daily affairs, so as not to overlook her slightest change. From the people¡¯s perspective, Queen Yuna had a clear direction for military affairs and began to exert mighty leadership with the government and Lords. With a 100 million people from each star system, the recruitment of fighter craft pilots is overflowing from the media to street advertisements, and the military has requested various companies to register reserve personnel to fly and operate in emergencies. With the momentum to eat up resources in the entire star system, a huge number of fighter craft that far exceed the recruitment personnel will be mass-produced. Queen Yuna was undeniably an Asteria. The majority of the Royal citizens, convinced of it, showed their willingness to follow the Queen¡¯s guidelines when it came to policies in line with the former Sovereign¡¯s will. As for the administration, there are parliaments and governments in the constitutional monarchy, and Yuna has not made much of a change from the former Sovereign¡¯s political system. ¡°In terms of politics, I will carry over the policies of the former Sovereign. As for political skills, His Majesty the former Sovereign has done better than I, who has just succeeded to the throne. In situations where it is necessary to correct the trajectory, I will interfere with my authority as a leader of the nation, but I think it is normal not to abuse the Royal family¡¯s treasured sword.¡± This announcement was decided in advance after Hart had discussed with Yuna. The majority of the Royal citizens who heard the announcement were relieved that the Queen¡¯s policy, which is basically left to politicians, was justified, regardless of who influenced it. When it comes to military affairs, it is urgent in the midst of war, but as for politics, it would be better not to make sudden changes so as not to cause confusion. The Royal citizens¡¯ confidence in the Queen¡¯s political power to continue making reasonable decisions was gradually increasing. However, Yuna did not throw all political judgments to the government. Only the Aristocratic Privilege Reduction Committee, which was organized by Valfrete, was dissolved by Royal Order, saying that certain results were achieved in the abolition of the knight class. ¡°My parents and grandparents were killed in the Second Diete Star System Battle, fulfilling the service duty of royalty and the aristocracy. The parents and grandparents of my fianc¨¦, the Marquis of Amakawa, were similarly killed in battle. More than 90% of the aristocrats who served in the defense of the Capital planet were killed in action. Stefan Langlois, who was the secretary of the Aristocratic Privilege Reduction Committee, also died in the battle. In exchange for their lives, the Capital planet was protected. It was a reduction theory that started with the treason of the national traitors Leandre and Maxim Langlois, but if it contributes so much, the aristocratic system should be maintained as it is. They are necessary for national defense. Even if the aristocrats are pompous, they will fulfill their dedication to the nation. If they go too far, as Sovereign I will demote them and strip their aristocratic peerage. The Queen¡¯s remarks, which were completely unadorned, became controversial in the media, but on the Capital planet it was those who survived aided by the devotion of the aristocrats who argued. There were some who thought that the Queen¡¯s words were too harsh, but there were also those who felt that the Queen¡¯s position, with her parents and grandparents killed, as influenced by the spirits, encouraging them to be sympathetic to her feelings. In addition, in the National Assembly of the House of Representatives, which represents the people, the cost-benefit figures were readily available, which could be examined from a logical point of view, leading to the analysis that the aristocracy was necessary, and no proposals were submitted against the dissolution of the committee. After the debate on the aristocracy had settled down for a week or so, the Queen then worked on the award for meritorious service to the aristocrats during the Second Battle of the Diete Star System. For the aristocrats who had demonstrated their devotion, they were given Letters of Commendation and Medals of Valor according to their achievements in the name of the Queen. At the same time, she also provided the families with a military merit bonus that would allow them to live comfortably, and an indemnity that would fully compensate them for all damages caused by the war. Regarding the succession to the peerage, she allowed inheritance to include the addition via spirit crystals, in accordance with her own precedent. In addition, various relief measures were taken, such as even if there is no one eligible to inherit the title at the time, if there are children who would reach the reference value when they come of age, they will be allowed to inherit the title, and even if the descendants of the branch family will reach the reference value, they will be allowed the succession by returning to the main family, and forgoing demotion if there is a Young Lady who is a direct descendant of the family head whose future child could possibly reach the threshold. The Queen had a general grasp of the actual situation of each aristocratic family, and took steps to rescue the aristocrats who were in need. Though no one knew where she had gathered the information from. The Queen, who made her announcements in rapid succession, finally performed Colette¡¯s promotion. Colette, the Viscount Lady of Listner and the second child of the family head, was forced to take over the Viscount household prematurely due to the death of her parents and brother in the Second Battle of the Diete System. The surviving relatives of the branch family had a magic power holder who could inherit the Viscount, but the adult daughter of the head of the family was alive, and she was Lieutenant General Colette Listner, an Operating Assistant to Fortress Kerviel, who was the best friend of the Queen and a decisive factor in destroying the Coalition. So, from anyone¡¯s eyes, Colette had no choice but to inherit it. In the Ministry of the Interior of the Monarchy, data on unspoken agreements and loans which were conducted by aristocrats were kept, so that even if the head of the family dies by accident, the data can be viewed by the next head of the family to ensure a smooth succession. Colette, who took over the head of the family, did not accompany Hart and the others heading to the Athena System, but was working to take over the Viscount in the Diete system and to grasp the data stored in the Ministry of the Interior. Then Yuna issued a royal order to promote the Viscount of Listner to Count for her achievements. According to her, three of the four Magic Engine Operators of Fortress Kerviel have been promoted for their achievements in destroying the Coalition. Hart is the Marquis, Yuna is the First Princess, and Philine of the Marquis of Carneus is next in the line of succession for the Marquis title. As for the four Magic Engine Operators of Fortress Kerviel, which was the decisive force to destroy the Coalition, all achieved the objective of establishing the Monarchy of Diete to oppose the Coalition of Humanity, and their promotion was warranted in view of the purpose of the royal aristocracy system established to fight the Coalition. Only Colette has been foregone from promotion of status according to her achievements because there was a possibility of her marrying into another family. However, since Colette herself inherited the Viscount family, she was promoted to Count according to the merit that she had reserved so far. ¡°Colette and I have been good friends since we were children, and it would be foolish not to give her the credit and punishment she deserves, for fear that it might be perceived as preferential treatment. As a close friend, she gave priority to the salvation of other aristocratic families and put it off, but her promotion is a definite matter. I will clearly state the reasons for the elevation as well as other examples, so that you may use them as a basis for your judgment.¡± At this stage, the Royal citizens came to believe that Queen Yuna had her own sources of information and the ability to manipulate public opinion, and made decisions based on her own clear criteria. It was the Queen who mentioned the promotion, and since Yuna and Colette are close friends, the idea of unjust suspicion is not advice that an official would give before expressing his or her intention of promotion. It is the ideal ruler who is able to confer the right rewards and punishment according to merits and action without being distorted by the unjust suspicions of others. At times, public opinion and approval ratings distort one¡¯s judgment, but it shows a high level of competence as a leader to point this out, clearly explain the decision-making process, and then persuade the people to act promptly. A reliable leader is a welcome presence in the face of a national crisis. In a short period of time, those who were closely observing the new Queen soon began to place a certain level of trust in Yuna, not only in her youth and appearance, but also in her ability to rule. When Yuna was finally able to take a breather, Colette, who had been promoted to the rank of Count, went to Yuna¡¯s private chamber in the Royal Palace, the residence of the Marquis of Amakawa and complained. ¡°Thank you very much for your nomination and your promoting me to Count. Thanks to you, it¡¯s been very difficult.¡± Yuna, who switched her mindset from the Queen to the casual way Colette spoke, turned to her best friend after a long absence. ¡°Countess Listner¡¯s estate exists only on paper, and its administration is controlled by the same government as the Royal Family, so the burden of governance isn¡¯t that great.¡± ¡°Being a Count is already a burden, though. It comes with an obligation to attend the Lords¡¯ Conference, and so on.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯d like you to attend those.¡± If the Queen¡¯s best friend is absent from the meeting proposed by the Queen, it would be a problem. Colette mysteriously asked Yuna, who made such a decision, with her right hand on her chin. ¡°You¡¯re doing a lot of things, but who taught you?¡± ¡°Hart and my spirit Sharon, but I think for myself.¡± In fact, she received support from Janet, who had made the Diete system a realm, but that was a secret between Hart and Yuna. Basically, the Royal citizens are equipped with spirit crystals, and the spirits attached to the people are under Janet¡¯s control. There was no way they could tell anyone about that. Yuna realized why Hart and Valfrete were so secretive, but in fact, Hart did not give a lot of information to Valfrete either. Concerned about Yuna¡¯s lack of political ability, Hart used Janet, who was Yuna¡¯s spirit in the Maiden Game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±, to give support. ¡°You might be too competent to be able to abdicate.¡± Yuna returned her resolute will to Colette, who muttered jokingly. ¡°I¡¯m the one who decides on the abdication, so as long as I want it to happen, it will.¡± ¡°A pity for the Count.¡± After elegantly sipping her tea, Colette switched feelings and confronted Yuna. ¡°Because I took over the information from the Ministry of the Interior, I also know that the Viscount of Listner was the shadow of the Royal Family.¡± ¡°You were protecting me at the behest of your house.¡± After getting a response from Yuna, Colette gave a troubled sigh before confessing. ¡°Although I was guided in my actions, I learned my exact role only after I entered middle school. But before that I knew about my house and I knew my role.¡± Even before she could remember, Colette often acted with Yuna, who had been taken in by her parents. It was natural for parents who hear their children¡¯s reports to guide their behavior, but this was influenced by the social position their parents held. If the child was close to the child of the president of the company they worked for, the parents may guide him or her in some way. However, the fact that the employees and the president had agreed from the beginning to let their children be close to each other, and the employees¡¯ children being told to protect the president¡¯s children, may have been peculiar. Yuna never dreamed that she was in such a position even after becoming a Duke¡¯s daughter and the First Princess. However, after inheriting the throne and taking over the royal family data, she was shown that she was in that position. Still, Yuna considered Colette to be her best friend. ¡°If you¡¯ve been seeing each other since you were children, you¡¯ll naturally get along. You¡¯re my closest friend, so I think it¡¯s right that we¡¯re best friends, and even if us being close was arranged by our parents, it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve been so quiet, but if you¡¯ll forgive me, I will be in your care.¡± In contrast to Colette¡¯s expression of relief, Yuna¡¯s expression was apologetic as she spoke to her. ¡°Yes. There are more things that I can¡¯t talk about, so I apologize too. As a Queen, there are things I¡¯m doing to you, Colette, but I can¡¯t say anything. I¡¯m sorry. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I wonder what it is. A Royal family that has ruled the Monarchy for 444 years likely has a lot going on.¡± Colette, who had no intention of seriously questioning things, let it slide without pursuing it. And then, as if this conversation was over, she changed the subject. What Colette brought up had to do with the future of the Count of Listner household. ¡°Oh yes. Actually, when we were withdrawing from the Ky¨±yama system to the MacLir system, Hart invited me to his concubine in the Amakawa family. But now that I¡¯m the Count of Listner, I can no longer be a concubine. So I¡¯m going to ask for him to be a gene donor, just like Philine.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Ha?¡± ¡°As the head of the family, I would want children of high magical power, right? Fortunately, I have Duke-grade magic power value, so I can have up to four children. Since we have a system that allows the addition from spirits crystals as well, having up to six children is fine. Now is not a good time to take maternity leave, so we¡¯ll have to wait until things settle down. Ah, I¡¯m also into cat-ears now.¡± ¡°What the hell do you mean, Countess Listner?¡± The Queen drew the treasured family sword and approached the Countess with a smile. CH 65 A/N: I have received permission from the editor to announce the book version. Under the postscript, I put it on the ranking tag. Thank you very much. Fortress Kerviel, left behind by Hart, was undergoing renovations in the Diete system. It all started with the lack of interstellar communication capabilities that prevented them from grasping the Second Diete Star System Battle. Fortress Kerviel is 90 kilometers long, with 74 kilometers of interior space under an 8-kilometer thick composite fluid metal layer. It can physically hold 9 million crafts in 42 decks if packed with Salamanders alone, even a single fleet, including battleships, can hold 150. In fact, only one-tenth of the total space can be used for stationing ships. Considering the loading and unloading, an additional quarter of the capacity is reasonable for operational purposes. In other words, for Salamanders, 9.42 million crafts. For fleets, 3.7 fleets. Based on this calculation, it was decided to add a stationed fleet since 9 million crafts were used in the delay operation against the enemy, but the lack of a fleet had interfered with communications with each star system. A Salamander is 150 meters long, 75 meters wide, 50 meters high, and 562,500 cubic meters in volume. The auxiliary ship is 600 meters long, 200 meters wide, 150 meters high, and 18 million cubic meters in volume. There is a 32-fold difference in volume, but if the number of Salamander crafts is limited from 9.42 million to 9 million crafts, the room left by 420,000 Salamanders can accommodate about 13,000 auxiliary ships. If auxiliary ships can be accommodated, not only would reconnaissance ships be preferable, but also craft ships that can be used to repair fortresses and remodel celestial bodies, like with the moon Fraga. In addition, the volume of a destroyer is eight times that of an auxiliary ship, but if the number auxiliary ships are reduced to about 4,000, the number of destroyers capable of relaying interstellar communication that can be accommodated is about 500 per fleet. ¡°Renovate Fortress Kerviel to accommodate destroyers and auxiliary ships. I want 500 destroyers, 1000 escort ships, 2000 reconnaissance ships, 2000 transport ships, and 4000 craft ships.¡± As for whether there are enough personnel to operate that many ships, if it is limited to the captains who operate the magic engines, they can be available if C-class spirit crystals are given. The captains of the auxiliary ship use the Knight class that operated the old fighter crafts. In the past, 2,000 fighter crafts were deployed in a fleet. The 9,000 Auxiliary Ship Captains are equivalent to 4.5 fleets, but considering the success and importance of Fortress Kerviel, if Hart deems it necessary, the request will pass. Also, the captains of the destroyers are the former auxiliary ship captains with C-class crystals. There are 500 auxiliary ships deployed in one fleet, and the Commander-in-Chief can easily pull the auxiliary ships of one fleet to Fortress Kerviel. For personnel except Captains, only a maximum number of military Android soldiers is required. As for the rest of the personnel, those who had been assigned to the systemic forces of the former Coalition territories, and were now retreating to their home countries, they would be reassigned to Fortress Kerviel. ¡°The size of the fleet will be 9,500 ships, but the number of personnel will be 975,000, which is not double the 500,000 per fleet. There will be no more than light cruisers, and they will only be used to support the fortresses, so one fleet commander will be fine. Is there anything else you need, Philine?¡± After hearing Hart¡¯s mutter, Philine groaned, unlike the Lady of a Marquis, for the first time in a long time. Philine is the successor to the Marquis of Carneus family, which has a population of 800 million, and her ability to manage her subordinates to such an extent was expected, but these things should come in stages. She should first be assigned to Fleet Commander or at least Division Commander. In response to Hart¡¯s actions, Philine predicted that Colette would be Deputy Commander-in-Chief and herself the Commander of the Stationed Fleet, overseeing multiple fleets, in anticipation of future promotions. Now, even if a newly appointed Lieutenant General having command of more than one fleet is unsuitable, the rank will soon come to fruition. Anyone who had a B-class spirit was a suitable Operating Assistant to Fortress Kerviel. Philine and the others were chosen because of the lack of the essential number of crystals, but that is a choice that has nothing to do with their own abilities. Philine herself thought. It was the current situation of the Commander of the stationed fleet that was desperately trying to fulfill their role while being aware of this. Eventually, Hart¡¯s murmuring became a reality, and fleet formation and fortress renovation were put into action. During the renovation, the composite fluid metal layer worn by Fortress Kerviel was first removed. Then, the main body of the 74 kilometer fortress was exposed, and the urban construction facilities of the Diete Star system, which had been used for about half a year for the reconstruction of Diros, and the military building facilities, which had been owned by Capital planet, were all thrown in, after which the facilities for the stationed fleet were assembled. When you input the conditions, the unmanned construction facilities will automatically build it. In a zero-gravity space, it was a simple matter of mass-producing and assembling the same structure, and the stationed fleet facilities were built in the blink of an eye by the unmanned facilities. Finally, the exterior walls are covered again with a composite fluid metal layer, and the renovated Fortress Kerviel is completed. ¡°It was finished without the Fortress Commander being present.¡± After witnessing the completion, Philine exclaimed in dismay. It was true that Fortress Kerviel would be better off with auxiliary ships for various missions in addition to Salamanders. Normally, every mission should not be assigned to a single fortress, but Fortress Kerviel was no longer considered a ¡°single fortress¡±. To assist in the mission of Fortress Kerviel, which is even considered a strategic fortress, Philine has incorporated a fleet of 9,500 ships under her control. In between the trial operations of the assigned fleet, Philine had time for interstellar communication with her grandfather, Marquis Bastian Carneus, who was rounding up Salamander pilots in his province. [I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯re in good health, and that your relationship with Duke Son remains unchanged.] ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad grandfather is also doing well.¡± Nodding, the Marquis spoke with a grim expression, his brow creased. [The death of Theodor, who was on the Capital planet, has made you the next successor. You intended to be free for 100 years, but you will become a Marquis in only 20 years.] The Marquis of Carneus family was supposed to be passed from Philine¡¯s grandfather, the current Marquis, to her father, the next generation, and then to Philine, the generation after. However, with the death of her father in the Second Battle of the Diete Star System, they were forced to skip her father and Philine became the next generation successor. Philine¡¯s parents, who are based in the Apollo System, were on the Capital planet to spend time with her brother Horst, who was a second year student in the High School of the Academy of Magic. The Marquis of Carneus ruled the Apollo System, and the next Marquis interacted with aristocrats from other systems on the Capital planet. The trend that had continued for many generations had been going well, but then war, an event that hadn¡¯t happened until the previous generation, struck with the misfortune of the next Marquis being killed in battle. [Your succession of the family name has been finalized, but you need some insurance if you are to enter the battlefield. Since you graduated from the Military Academy a year ago, there are no military restrictions on having children. What do you have in mind for your plan?] ¡°¡­¡­ Erh.¡± From Philine¡¯s mouth, a groan that was unlike the Lady of the Marquis was uttered for the first time in a long time. In the event that a cadet gets pregnant with the consent of the person in question, he/she will be expelled from the Academy according to the rules. Since there was no way she could choose to be expelled, it was natural to postpone the genetic donor matter until graduation. Having graduated when the war with the Coalition ended, and after returning home, she received an unofficial announcement that she would be the Third Director of Instruction at the Instructional Bureau of the Military Staff Office, and after doing some work, she served in the war against Tenka, and was finally able to return from the frontline and take a breather. Philine is convinced that Hart will not break his promise, but now, when Yuna lost her parents, ascended to the throne as Queen, and Hart needed to support her, it was bad timing. The Marquis showed understanding when Philine explained the situation, but he did not back down. [In the Second Diete Star System Battle, more than 90% of the aristocrats who participated in the defense were killed. There were too many deaths, especially of male aristocrats. Aristocrats, who were left with only children who would lose their eligibility for inheritance if they lost their magic power in childbirth, are seeking the genes of men with high magic power. There seems to be a troubling movement on the Capital planet now.] ¡°What do you mean?¡± [There is a flow of systematic gene donation requests to the Duke of Son. Various tests received after immobilizing his magic power confirmed that there was no problem in inheriting the magic power from his sperm to have children. It¡¯s just a matter of sperm, so can he provide it?] ¡°The original gene donation should have included the cooperation of magic power inheritance. With mere artificial insemination, wouldn¡¯t the average drop to 0.45 times?¡± Philine remarked upon the conventional wisdom, but the Marquis silently showed the figures as evidence rather than theory. Magic Power Value of children born between Hart and a 17,280 woman (Marquis-grade). First child 0.45 times = 16,086. Magic Power Value of children born between Hart and a 13,310 (Count-grade) woman. First child 0.45 times = 14,747. Second child 0.45 times = 14,297. Magic Power Value of children born between Count-grade couple. First child 0.9 times = 11,979. Second child 0.9 times = 11,081. Magic Power Value of children born between Hart and a 10,000 magic (Viscount-grade) woman. First child 0.45 times = 13,629. Second child 0.45 times = 13,292. Magic Power Value of children born between Viscount-grade couple. First child 0.9 times = 9000. Second child 0.9 times = 8325. When Philine saw the figures the Marquis had presented, her mind went blank. Even without Hart¡¯s help in the magic power inheritance, the magic power of the Viscount family has become Count-grade in the next generation. The magic of the Count does not seem to reach the Marquis-grade, but on the contrary, it increased by 1.1 times, and it originally decreased by 0.9 times on average even if efforts were made to inherit the magical power. The magic of the Marquis has diminished but can be improved. A Marquis family would have more means of making contact, so if the Marquis family could get a little cooperation from Hart, and if it were raised by about 0.7 times, it would reach Duke-grade close to Royal-grade. [If I was the head of the Viscount family and had a daughter with a magic power value of about 10,000, I would instruct her to take over the head and take advantage of this flow. The magic power of the Viscount family will be secured regardless of whether the child is male or female. If two children are born, in exchange for sending one to another house, a spouse with the same level of magic power will be welcomed by the other house, and even after that, the same hand can continue to maintain high magic power.] ¡°Who in the world came up with this?¡± [On the surface, it was put in motion by Marquis Draghi and Marquis Jerome of the Artemis Star System, but it is something that anyone can come up with originally. His Majesty the former Sovereign had put a restraint on concubines and mistresses, because it would interfere with the marriage diplomacy, but His Majesty the former Sovereign was killed in action and the restraint was weakened.] Convinced, Philine decided to pass the information she received from her grandfather to Hart and Yuna. In view of Yuna¡¯s position of losing her parents, being enthroned as the Queen and far from getting married, it is clear that bringing up such a matter would upset her emotions. It was Philine¡¯s judgment that it would be better to inform her in advance and prepare her mind so she may consider how to respond in advance. [It seems that this proposal was about to be made at the recent Lords¡¯ Conference. The two Marquis, who were going to make a joint proposal, lost their enthusiasm in the face of the matter at the conference. I¡¯m sorry the information was late.] ¡°Not at all, I can¡¯t ask my family to participate in a genetic donation program when we¡¯ve already discussed it. And grandfather, that matter is a military secret.¡± [I understand.] The Marquis, who had been warned by Philine, held his tongue. ¡°But the information will be released very soon.¡± [What was that?] ¡°I communicated at this time because I wanted to show grandfather a live relay. I¡¯ve only seen small-scale experiments, but I¡¯ve heard that the practical applications will be on a much larger scale.¡± The Marquis, who sensed what was going to happen from the way Philine said it, swallowed raw spit when he saw Philine shift her body on the communication screen and show him a live image of an empty space. [You don¡¯t say, was it today?] ¡°Yes, we plan to connect the Diete System and the planet Diros in a straight line, and we plan to deploy in space corresponding to the revolution of 300 million kilometers from there. A radius of 100 million kilometers from the surrounding space is closed off by the Royal Army. The scheduled deployment time is in about 2 minutes.¡± The Marquis looked at the footage sent from Philine with wide eyes. He saw the brilliance of the vast number of scattered stars illuminate the world of emptiness in the corner of the cosmos. However, in a point of space that had been just that, a new small glow of light was born. It gradually swelled, creating a huge vortex of light in outer space. The deep vortex that appeared on the calm, wave-free surface of the water, as if it was pulling the water into itself, exploded in scale. The live footage was from Fortress Kerviel, and as the vortex expanded, the footage was pulled back to fit the whole picture, instead showing a scale at the edge of the footage. The vortex shown expanded explosively from 10 kilometers in diameter, twice the size of a battleship, and finally stopped expanding around 2000 kilometers in diameter, which is 20 times larger than Fortress Kerviel. From the center of the colossal vortex that suddenly occurred, a small black light eventually invaded. After the appearance of a cruiser that was miniscule compared to the vortex that was 3,300 meters long, countless small dots of light followed from behind. When the flood of light that overflowed in thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands was magnified, they were the Salamander fighter crafts of the Royal Army. Behind the shining floods, the massive fortresses of the Marquis of Audran, the Marquis of Sharett, and the Count of Girard, who ruled the Athena System, and the Monarchy fleet deployed in the system invaded the Diet¨¦ System one after another. The forces that had entered directly into the system, which should have been impossible to warp to due to the swirl of Magic Elements, eventually sent a communication to the Diete System. [This is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, Colonel General Amakawa. As of today, the 150-light-year distance between Diros, the Capital planet of the Deite system, and Aegis, the inhabited planet of the Athena system, is less than a day each way. This concludes the transmission of proof of affiliation.] CH 66 It has been a month since the transition gate connecting the two systems in an instant was opened. Queen Yuna has made the details of the transition gate a military secret, and has announced that it will be used for sharing the forces of both star systems and securing evacuation destinations. During the evacuation, millions of salamanders will be deployed. The 150-meter-long, slim Salamander can tow a 100-meter-long medium-sized container with a magic engine. One medium-sized container can provide enough living space to house 4,000 people for a month. An emergency evacuation within one day does not require a comfortable living space, and if 1 million Salamanders crafts each carry 10,000 evacuees, 10 billion people will be evacuated. Deploying about 3 million salamanders with medium-sized containers in each area of the system will ensure the evacuation of either system, which do not have 10 billion inhabitants. All that was left was for the Royal citizens to trust the transition gate, and the use of the transition gate was completely opened to the private sector in order to facilitate a smooth evacuation. ¡°The transition gate will also be open to civilian ships. By the galactic reference plane, the upper half is reserved for the Royal Army and the aristocratic households obligated to serve, and the lower half is for civilian use.¡± Even if they enter from both systems at the same time, as long as they follow the guidance of the spirits, no collision accidents will occur. And if they follow the guidance of the spirit, anyone can use it at any time. The Royal citizens were initially perplexed by the news, but after the media made a safe return trip via live relay, a large number of civilian ships had come and gone through the transition gate to another system, which occurred only 300 million kilometers from the inhabited star system. ¡°This is a tremendous business opportunity.¡± Private companies and interstellar logistics companies viewed the toll-free transition gate as an opportunity for business, and began to actively travel back and forth to create new trade. The researchers, whose interests differ from those of the general public, have been sticking to the transfer gate and observing it with various instruments after their jaws dropped by its existence. In addition, the warship Captains of both systems, the pilots of Salamanders, and the aristocrats serving in the military were all forced to pass through the transition gate at least once. As a result of the fact that even the students of the Magic Academy were made to pass through the gate, the aristocrats of each star system were stunned to learn that the existence of the transition gate was a fact. The second Lords¡¯ Conference was held after the impact of the transition gate shook the aristocracy. The content of the meeting notified in advance was ¡°The administrators of the new star systems¡±. The MacLir System had the Doctor¡¯s souvenir from the beginning, and if a souvenir is deployed in Fukashiro as well, the recapture of both systems would be close to realization. One of the purposes of the conference was to form an agreement on the administrators after the realization at the Lords¡¯ Conference. The unwritten law that exists in the Monarchy will be followed. ¡°One Duke situated in each star system.¡± The Fukashiro system will be subordinated to the Monarchy under the Duke of Son family. The MacLir System will be under the Grand Duke of Taka Amanohara, which Yuna will found after abdication. In the absence of a Duke in the Athena System, it will be under the Duke of Strani. These ideas were communicated in advance, and discussions will be held on whether to place Marquises and Counts to assist in the management of the system in both populated star systems. ¡°Then, we will hold the second Lords¡¯ Conference. This time, we will be discussing the administrators of the new star systems.¡± Yuna, who chaired the conference, first shared her awareness of the Duke houses to be placed in each system. Naturally the Duke of Son is to be placed in Fukashiro, and as for the remaining MacLir and Athena Systems, it is clear that MacLir is the more difficult to govern, and the proposal is that Yuna should be placed in the difficult one. After all, MacLir is a former Coalition territory inhabited by the people with whom they had been at war with for a long time, and has already declared independence from the Monarchy as a protectorate of Tenka. The difficulty of governance is too high to leave it to the prince who could not become the Sovereign. The plan for MacLir is based on the consultation between Hart and Yuna, and for the time being, contemplates indirect governance, which involves controlling the local government from a distance, as was done by Colonel General Reinelt. On the practical side, the plan assumes support from the Monarchy government, the Royal Army, Seraphina who controls the territory, and Linnell, an artificial intelligence that manages the Coalition people. While 96% of the MacLir System are MacLireans who had not suffered any civilian casualties in the war, the remaining 4% are the Coalition refugees from the 3 destroyed star systems who basically resented the Monarchy. The Monarchy understands that it will be difficult to govern, and there are no complaints about Yuna¡¯s management methods. Yuna herself, who would become the Grand Duke at the direction of the former Sovereign, is not looking for a free and profitable territory. After her abdication, she simply wants to marry Hart and lead a newlywed life, and that would happen if she were to indirectly govern the MacLir System. ¡°I told Bernard and Josslan, who could be involved, in advance to consider whether the Duke of Strani would be content with the Athena system, so I will ask of both of them their will. First of all, Bernard, do you have any objections?¡± [There is none.] Between the Athena system, the home of his fianc¨¦e Beatrice, and the MacLir System, where the former Coalition is prevalent, Bernard¡¯s choice was only natural. Yuna nodded to the answer, and then confirmed the will of the Second Prince Josslan. ¡°Does Josslan have any objections?¡± [Before I object, I would like to ask about the conditions. Will there be other aristocrats in the MacLir System with a population of 5 billion? If one Duke Household governs 5 billion people, I think those would be pretty good terms. If it¡¯s 1.2 billion people, no one would want to do it, so I think doubling the number would be reasonable.] Josslan seemed to be trying to reduce the governing population of the Grand Duke of Taka Amanohara and the Duke of Son. It is unclear whether he came up with the idea or if it was suggested by the Duke of Takrham, but Hart, who wanted to do it himself, communicated his intentions directly to Yuna through the spirits. ¡ºIf he thinks it¡¯s a good deal, then Josslan can manage the MacLir System. The Spirit King Rhea is in the Athena System as well as a transition gate, so there is no problem at all even if Yuna¡¯s territory becomes the Athena system.¡» When Yuna received Hart¡¯s message, she stated her conclusion on Josslan¡¯s remarks, with an expression lacking in emotion. ¡°Then, Josslan, you shall become the Duke of Strani and govern the 2.4 billion people you just mentioned as reasonable in the MacLir System. Taka Amanohara shall govern the 1.2 billion in the Athena System. Bernard, be prepared to succeed to the throne. We will now move on to the next item on the agenda.¡± [How can that be?] When Yuna declared Josslan the Duke of Strani and tried to move to the next agenda, a flustered Josslan raised a call to stop her. When asked, Yuna replied calmly. ¡°Because I judged that Josslan lacked the sense of balance which is indispensable for the Sovereign. Therefore, the Sovereign was not entrusted to him, and the Duke was confirmed.¡± [What do you mean ¡®lacked the sense of balance¡¯?] ¡°The 2.4 billion people of the former Coalition who were our mortal enemies until a few years ago and the 1.2 billion Royal citizens of the Monarchy. It is foolish to think that this is balanced as territories. The Sovereign that would pursue a sense of balance, cannot possibly be entrusted. That¡¯s all. Now, as for the next agenda¡­¡± The Athena System is home to 1.2 billion people, comprised only of the royal citizens developed by the Monarchy. The MacLir System has 2.4 billion former enemies who were at war with them until a few years ago. Moreover, the MacLir System is close to the new enemy, the Tenka Federation, far from the mainland of the Monarchy, and has even declared independence as a protectorate of Tenka. The Lords and the royal citizens would also acknowledge that Athena and MacLir are not balanced, even if their governing population is doubled. Therefore, the royal citizens will be satisfied with Yuna¡¯s decision to choose Bernard as the next Sovereign. Josslan, who tried to reduce the governing population of Yuna and Hart, hurriedly solicited in response to the painful reprimand. [Wait. It seems that MacLir¡¯s rule was not balanced by 2.4 billion people. Earlier, I was mistaken.] Perhaps he didn¡¯t want to govern the 2.4 billion former Coalition people. When Josslan withdrew his remarks in spite of himself, Yuna turned to him with a scowl on her fine features. ¡°Then I ask again, Josslan, what is the reasonable governing population now that you have reconsidered? Imagine yourself in a position to govern and speak out, as that may be the number entrusted to your rule. I will not allow the retraction of your remarks twice on the same issue.¡± While the Lords watched, Josslan paused for a moment before opening his mouth cautiously. [I think the MacLir System is fine as a Duke territory under the assistance of the government. Doubling or tripling the population is not worth it, and if not managed collectively, it would feel unfair and lead to dissatisfaction among the residents. Also, I think the rule of the former enemy country is a heavy burden unless it is under my sister.] When Josslan changed his way of speaking, Hart imagined the shadow of the advisor standing behind him. Just as Hart uses the Spirits to consult with Yuna, Josslan is probably getting advice from the Duke of Takrham. ¡ºMacLir and Fukashiro will be established as our territories. In the hundreds of years before incorporating the inhabitants into the Monarchy, enrich the Monarchy¡¯s territories and raise the governing population of other Duke territories to adjust the balance. But maybe I should say that.¡» Yuna gave a slight nod to Hart¡¯s message, then looked over the Lords and addressed them. ¡°If I were the next Sovereign, I would leave the two systems to Taka Amanohara and Son, and in the hundreds of years needed to incorporate the inhabitants into the Monarchy, I would develop the Monarchy¡¯s territories and raise the governing population of other Duke territories to balance them. Josslan, you should use this as reference.¡± [Yes, I understand.] With Josslan¡¯s agreement, a consensus was formed between the next Sovereign and the Lords. The next agenda was about whether there were any aristocratic households who wanted to change to a province with more than twice the governing population in the former enemy MacLir System or to Fukashiro, with a Tenkan population, which the Son family expected to rule. Of course, there should be no such household. It was just after Yuna and Josslan had discussed the matter, and the Lords understood that Yuna was not asking anyone to take on the hardship, so no one came forward. Nevertheless, it was a decision made at a meeting attended by all the Lords, giving them the opportunity to freely express their wishes. If they get dissatisfied at a later date, she could reply, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so when we had the discussion?¡±. Creating the grounds for this was one of the purposes of this conference. ¡°That is all for the prearranged agendas. Are there any opinions or suggestions from the Lords? I allow free remarks, priority is given in order of precedence in the Royal Court. We will begin with the Dukes, indicate on the communication screen your intention to ask questions.¡± The organizer, Yuna, gave the chance to speak freely, so the Duke of Dauphin of the Podalley System expressed his intention to ask questions. [With your permission, I would like to ask Her Majesty the Queen a question. I¡¯m sure the Lords are also concerned, it is about the transition gate. What exactly is the transition gate?] For Hart and the others, it was a question that they had expected would come up. Hart even asked Marquis Carneus, ¡°If the Dukes don¡¯t raise their hand with the question, I want you to ask it when it¡¯s the Marquises¡¯ turn¡±. How many transition gates can be created and to what extent are transitions possible? Depending on the answer, the difficulty of immigration to another system will decrease dramatically, the acquisition of resources in another star system would become easier, and the Monarchy can develop explosively. The Duke of Dauphin will want to connect the Capital planet and each Star System to the Podalley System via the transition gate for the development of his territory. Yuna assigned a predetermined respondent to explain. ¡°As they¡¯re the ones who manage and operate the transition gate, I¡¯ll allow an answer from the Royal Army. Commander-in-Chief Amakawa, please report to the extent that it does not reveal any military secrets.¡± ¡°Certainly. At this Lords¡¯ Conference, I will be reporting in my capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army on military duty, not as the Marquis of Amakawa or the Duke of Son.¡± Hart, who prefaced that he would answer as the Commander-in-Chief on military duty, began to explain the transition gate. ¡°The transition gate is a warp doorway through the high-dimensional space controlled by the spirits. The gate administrators are all my contracted spirits, including in the MacLir System, and I can direct who opens and closes the gate and passes through. Please be assured that the enemy will have no access whatsoever.¡± [What was that!?] The Lords were deeply shocked by Hart¡¯s explanation. If the explanation was true, the reversal in the final battle with the Coalition of Humanity in the MacLir star system, which was said to have been saved by the activation of the Doctor¡¯s souvenir, would be a phenomenon intentionally caused by Hart. If it can be intentionally triggered by a contracted spirit, can it be increased, and if so, by how much? As a contractor, Hart would be in control of all of this. [Isn¡¯t it possible to add more to other star systems? For example, if we were to open one in the Podalley system, we could send a great deal of force to Diete.] In response to Dauphin, who was the first to come forward in his capacity as speaker, Hart indicated that it could not be realized by shaking his head. ¡°Currently, we are limited to only Fukashiro. If we could increase it, we would connect with all the systems of the Monarchy to gather forces, even open transition gates to each Tenka system, rush in with our entire army to annihilate the enemy and win the war.¡± In view of Hart¡¯s position as an actual commander on the battlefield, if they could be installed in large quantities, there was no reason to spare the advantageous transition gates. Convinced about this, Dauphin turned his gaze to the future in light of the fact that the souvenir, which was active only in the MacLir System, had increased to Athena and Diete. [I believe we can expect more in the future.] ¡°I won¡¯t deny the possibility. I can¡¯t reveal the method as it¡¯s a military secret, but if we can increase the number, we will decide whether to connect it to a Tenka System and devastate them, or open it to a Monarchy System to increase our defense, based on Her Majesty¡¯s will and the situation of war.¡± [If you need cooperation to increase it, our family will spare no effort.] ¡°Thank you, Lord Dauphin.¡± After the expected question, it was the Marquis¡¯ turn and the two Marquises expressed their intention to give their opinions jointly. The Marquis of Draghi and the Marquis of Jerome both have territories in the Artemis System. They are the central figures who have gathered supporters among the aristocrats of the Diete System about Hart¡¯s gene donation. Hart and Yuna, who obtained information from the Marquis of Carneus via Philine, concluded that they would not provide the gene donation and planned to respond here. ¡°Marquis Draghi and Marquis Jerome may speak at the same time. What would you like to ask? Perhaps it¡¯s about gene donation.¡± [Indeed it is.] [I¡¯m with Marquis Draghi.] In light of Hart¡¯s position in marriage diplomacy, Valfrete, the former Sovereign, had ordered a suspension on all requests to Hart for gene donation. When the former Sovereign died in battle, the weight was lifted, and both Marquises were moving against the order. With Fukashiro conquered by Tenka, there is no longer any need to take diplomatic relations into consideration. They argued that if it was only the provision of sperm, it would not be a burden on Hart, who was acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy¡¯s Armed Forces. Yuna¡¯s response to this was to state the answers she had prepared in advance. ¡°In the Monarchy of Diete, it is forbidden for the state to use its authority to force magic powered individuals to procreate. When did my Monarchy become like the Coalition or Tenka? Please abide by the constitution that has been established for the Monarchy.¡± Referring to the former Coalition, which produced genetically modified magic individuals, and Tenka, which was forcibly producing national mages, Yuna dismissed both of their appeals with the good argument of constitutional provisions. In response, neither of them withdrew. [I have no intention of coercion. Senior aristocratic men are fulfilling their obligations, so I would like to ask the Duke of Son for his cooperation.] [I concur. The aristocrats have a duty to increase the number of magic power holders.] Draghi was stern, and Jerome had a smirk as they prodded him to do his duty. That was a death sentence when moving to win over other households of the Monarchy to their side. ¡°If the Queen approves and then demands it, Lord Amakawa substantially can¡¯t refuse. That is coercion by authority, and what both of you are proposing is unconstitutional.¡± Yuna harshly questioned both of them, as they insisted that it was not coercion, but the fulfillment of his duty. The Marquis of Amakawa had been the decisive factor in destroying the Coalition, defeated 250,000 Tenkan ships, destroyed two Tenka Systems, and opened realms and transition gates to two Monarchy Systems. Yuna, who listed Hart¡¯s contributions, questioned the contributions made by the two households, who claimed Hart was not fulfilling his obligations. ¡°The two Lords have slandered Amakawa, who was made a Marquis only two years ago, as not fulfilling his obligations, but to the Marquises, who have enjoyed the aristocratic benefits of the Monarchy for 444 years, how much of a contribution have you made to the Monarchy? Have you contributed 222 times as much as Lord Amakawa has?¡± The two families in question have not been able to contribute 222 times more than Hart, or even 1/222 times more than Hart. When both of them were unable to argue about their contributions, Yuna pressed for their response. ¡°If the combined contribution of the two families to the nation is less than 222 times the contribution of a single Amakawa, both houses will be punished by the Queen¡¯s authority for unjustified hostilities against the Commander-in-Chief, currently on military duty, by falsely accusing Amakawa of not fulfilling his aristocratic obligations and forcing him to explain the transition gate. Please state in order how your households outperform Amakawa¡¯s achievements to the Monarchy by a factor of 222.¡± In his earlier explanation of the transition gate, one of the reasons Hart made remarks in the position of Commander-in-Chief on active military service was to bring the Commander-in-Chief in military service into a form of unjustified disgrace through slander. Both men, who have been accused of acts of injustice, attempted to explain themselves. [By this humble subject¡¯s word, I only mean to point out that as aristocrats, we must leave descendants and connect them to the next generation. I do not deny any military service or contribution.] [I as well. The Duke of Son is unrivaled among the aristocracy in terms of military prowess, but he is unaccomplished in terms of leaving descendants. I am only speaking in that regard.] Both of them panicked when they realized the reason why Hart highlighted his position as Commander-in-Chief during military service, but Yuna had prepared a response to their defense in advance. ¡°Both of you seem to be mistaken, but the aristocracy has no obligation to produce descendants. The Monarchy is only trying to maintain and improve the magic power of the aristocratic families by providing aristocratic privileges and establishing a system where their titles are lowered if they fail to fulfill their obligation to serve. At this Lords¡¯ Conference, by the Queen¡¯s authority, you two are downgraded to Count for the vindictive acts of demeaning the Commander-in-Chief by making unscrupulous accusations of him not fulfilling his duty.¡± [Please wait. Your subjects have such intentions¡­] Immediately after Yuna glared at them, the audio from both people was cut off by the operation of the conference organizer. ¡°We will make public the details of their descent, so if you are dissatisfied with the decision, please pass a resolution in parliament to dismiss the Queen. But on the other hand, you would have to handle the Tenka Federation without the Marquis of Amakawa, who is apparently 222 times inferior to both families, and his Marquess, who goes with him on maternity leave to create the children that both families so desire. If you can contribute 222 times as much as Amakawa, who has established realms and transition gates, then I can leave things in your hands with peace of mind.¡± With two-thirds of the parliament¡¯s approval, the resolution to dismiss the Sovereign will be passed. Along with the decision, after Yuna told parliament to move if dissatisfied, Hart, who was watching Yuna fight, expressed his intention to speak. ¡°Your Majesty, if I may have a moment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow it.¡± With permission, Hart declared the words he had prepared beforehand. ¡°I can¡¯t let Your Majesty take the quarrel that was sold to Amakawa, even though you are my future wife. So I will take it on myself. Janet, I will be imposing restrictions on the Counts of Draghi and Jerome, and all descendants of their bloodline, for having made unreasonable demands on the Amakawas.¡± ?What restrictions will you impose?? After the word ¡®Janet¡¯ was uttered by Hart, her voice was delivered while she remained unseen, the Lords sensed that this was Hart¡¯s contracted spirit that had created the transition gates. ¡°All ships on which the Counts and their descendants are on board are prohibited from passing through the transition gates. All spirit crystals subject to Amakawa¡¯s interference are prohibited from contracting with the two families. The contracted spirits of the two families, who are now enemies of Amakawa, will forcibly cancel their contracts and return to the spirit world. This will be in effect for the next tens of thousands of years.¡± Hart told the Spirit Emperor Janet to put restrictions on all spirits contracted by Hart and the spirits crystals under her control. Immediately, the bodies of both men, who were active in the Diete System, glowed a pale white, and the connected spirit crystals broke, causing the spirits to disappear. ¡°There are two types of spirit crystals. The Dr. Kerman line and mine. The realms, the transition gates, and the spirit crystals that will be created in the future are all from my line. This is a constraint imposed by me, the originator, and the restrictions cannot be lifted even by my descendants who will use my line. And I have no intention of lifting it, not even by the command of the next Sovereign. So it will be eternal.¡± The additional purpose of positioning Hart as Commander-in-Chief in military service was also to reveal that Hart was the current administrator of spirit crystal matters and to demonstrate the impact of losing the benefits. Hart, who had deprived them of the benefits of the spirits, declared that the two families would be mortally wounded as aristocrats, with the two people confused only by their appearance while their voices were cut off. ¡°These two great families will not need any assistance from the Amakawas, who have apparently failed to fulfill the duties of the aristocracy. Should anyone go along with the agenda of the two families that considered my descendants to be like the Coalition¡¯s gene-modified individuals or Tenka¡¯s national mages, I will impose the same restrictions on all hostile households. Propose any such resolution. Of course, it would mean all-out war. Now, that¡¯s all your retainer has to say.¡± Hart cast his eyes on Yuna, ignoring the buzz of the noisy Lords. ¡°The people of Diete will fight any unjust treatment that exceeds the limit, even if it means self-harm. Do not mistake the descendants of the Amakawa family as possessions that the Lords may do with as they please. Those who have forgotten the founding principles of our country, take this opportunity to remember them. As the current Sovereign, I will allow the Amakawas to defend themselves.¡± The current Sovereign, Yuna, allowed the actions of Hart, who declared that he would not lift the restrictions even at the order of the next Sovereign. It is not clear whether it will be accepted by the next generation, so Yuna made a further remark. ¡°Be careful, Bernard and Josslan. If they dance to the tune of persuasion and issue orders that trample over their subjects, even the Royal Family may be hated by the spirits. A Monarchy perishes from within when the ruling class goes astray. Well then, this concludes the second Lords¡¯ Conference.¡± It is unclear whether the younger brothers will follow their sister¡¯s advice, but they were restrained by suggesting that should an order to lift the restrictions be issued by the prince that will take her place, the Royal Family or even the Monarchy could become collateral damage. Thus, the second Lords¡¯ Conference ended in confusion and frustration. CH 67 The Queen and Commander-in-Chief Amakawa¡¯s dispute with the two Marquises caused a great deal of controversy, as the two Marquises were demoted to the Counts, and the story was made public. ¡°At the Lords¡¯ Conference, two Marquises insulted Commander Amakawa, who was serving in the military, for ¡®not fulfilling the duties of the aristocracy¡¯, an act of hostility that unjustly undermines the trust of the Royal Army, and at the same time proposed forced gene provision, like the Coalition and Tenka, contrary to the constitution of the Monarchy.¡± All the footage from the two people¡¯s remarks was released, and the Royal Citizens were informed of the exact reason for the descent. The cause of the conflict is indisputable because the footage has been released to the public. The Royal Citizens were roused about whether or not the two deserved only a ¡°one-rank descent¡¯. Was undermining Commander Amakawa, who defeated 250,000 ships at Fortress Kerviel and killed 21.2 billion Tenka people, and hindering his activities worthy of a peerage? The majority concluded that they deserved the drop in peerage. ¡°Now that we are at war, interfering with Her Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief is an act of enmity in of itself.¡± ¡°Have the Marquises earned any achievement to criticize Commander Amakawa?¡± Of course, the person who asks the question out loud knows the answer. If there were two Commander-in-Chief Amakawas, they would have been able to flawlessly defend the Capital planet Diros in the first Battle of Diete, and during the second Battle of Diete, they would have invaded the enemy and defended the home country simultaneously. The Marquis families did not contribute as much as the second Commander Amakawa. More precisely, the contribution to the state by the two households, which have fallen to Count, was only to send out forces in the Hercules System Battle, just like other aristocrats. The results are almost the same as if the two Marquises were under the direct control of the Monarchy. Moreover, in the present age of the Salamanders, even if they were active on a battleship, it would have only a minor impact. Compared to the contributions made by the Commander-in-Chief, it was determined that neither of the two was entitled to declare the fulfillment of their obligations, which were significantly inferior, but rather that they had only fulfilled their minimum obligations. The Marquises, who lacked contributions, made unjust demands to Yuna, the unfortunate Queen whose marriage was delayed and was forced on the throne, for the genes of her fianc¨¦ Hart to be handed over. And Hart, the hero of the nation, took on the quarrel to defend his fianc¨¦e Yuna. With such a composition, it became impossible to pass a resolution to dismiss the Queen at least in the National Assembly¡¯s Council because the Royal Citizens sided with the Queen, both logically and emotionally. In addition, on the matter of Hart managing and operating spirit crystals, the Doctor¡¯s Souvenir, transition gates, etc., the Royal Citizens repeatedly uttered ¡°I knew it¡± in various parts of their networks. It¡¯s unclear whether they really knew, but if Hart was the one who carried it out, it would explain how the Doctor¡¯s Souvenir was conveniently used in the MacLir System, the Diete System and the Athena System after the death of the doctor was certified. Rather, the majority of the Royal Citizens were relieved by the fact that the Queen and Commander-in-Chief were able to manage the phenomenon of the transition gate and used their power to counter Tenka. Furthermore, even if the Marquises formed a faction, people¡¯s confidence in the Queen, who clearly expressed her intention and refused unreasonable demands, only increased. The loss of cooperation between the two Marquises was within the margin of error for the Queen and Commander-in-Chief who operated with Salamanders. The effects of the conflict were considered to be negligible. Of course, some of the Royal Citizens have been greatly influenced by the conflict. At the High School of the Academy of Magic in Diros, the Young Lady of the Count of Jerome Household, which had been dropped from Marquis to Count, received a visit from her fianc¨¦ and it attracted attention from the surroundings. ¡°Lady Therese Jerome, I¡¯m breaking off our engagement.¡± The fianc¨¦¡¯s first words were something most students could understand. Leon, heir of the Marquis of Sharett, announced the annulment of his engagement. The territory of the Marquis of Sharett is in the Athena system, which has a transition gate connected to the Diete system. The Marquis of Sharett, a territorial aristocrat, is responsible for the movement of refugees in the event of a Tenka attack. If the bloodline of the Count of Jerome, who were physically prohibited from passing through the transition gate, was taken in, it would prevent the Marquis of Sharett from fulfilling their aristocratic duties. ¡°Therese, you¡¯re not at fault. I¡¯ll testify that you are a wonderful person who is too good for me. I was really happy to have a cute, witty, and faithful fianc¨¦e like you. I wanted us to get married and walk together immediately after graduating from High School.¡± Prince Bernard was present as Leon gave his explanation, but he and his fianc¨¦e Beatrice could only watch the discussion. For a moment, just after Beatrice smiled, Leon explained the reason for breaking off the engagement. ¡°If you can no longer use the spirits, your descendants will not be able to meet their aristocratic obligations. Our family, which benefits from aristocratic privileges, must fulfill its duty to the Royal Citizens. We have no choice but to annul our engagement.¡± If the descendants cannot contract with the spirits, that alone will be a fatal blow as aristocrats. Without the spirits, the speed of the ship would be halved and it would not be possible to keep up with modern fleet operations. The ship¡¯s combat capabilities will also decline, and each house would not be able to make a contribution worthy of their magical power. The students, who were watching the situation from afar, began to talk about whether there was an escape route for the distressed pair. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be all right to change Ms. Therese from a legal wife to a concubine?¡± ¡°Every descendant of Lady Therese won¡¯t be able to use spirit crystals. They can¡¯t even go through the transfer gate, so they¡¯ll be denied access to even board a ship.¡± As the surroundings gave up and quieted down, Leon, who was silent, made a hair-flicking gesture and then said to Therese. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I¡¯m not breaking off the engagement, after all. I will remain your fianc¨¦ even if I must give up my right to inherit the title!¡± ¡°¡±¡±Eeeeeeeehh!?¡±¡±¡± Leon withdrew his previous statement and made the declaration, and the spectators were taken aback. ¡°I personally participated in the Second Diete Battle and fulfilled my duty to serve. I returned the benefits I personally received to the Monarchy. Besides, I myself can use spirit crystals. Let¡¯s move a large transport ship to a remote star system and live together. I will marry you.¡± ¡°Master Leon!¡± Therese, whose engagement had been broken, was so overcome with emotion she burst into tears. When the students witnessed an extremely rare comeback, they were moved and applauded all at once. Beatrice, who was watching the situation, looked at the two and muttered. ¡°Oh, how lovely.¡± Such a phenomenon is basically impossible. When her engagement with Stephan, heir to the Duke of Langlois, was annulled by the Royal Grandson Leandre, Stephan did not resist. Beatrice, who was twice sold, and whose honor was tarnished when her second partner became a traitor, was sold by her father a third time to Bernard, leaving her with nothing but the title of the lousy fianc¨¦e of the First Prince with Royal-grade magic power. Imagining a difficult future, Beatrice still gave them an enviable glance. If the people in question are happy, she will be happy for them. Unfortunately, the two who were dropped to Count could not feel happy about their situation. Recognizing his plight, Count Draghi made an appeal. [We had lobbied for the gene donation at the behest of Lord Takrham. During wartime, such an altercation would be detrimental to the national interest, so I would like the House of Lords to vote for a resolution against the demotion and a resolution against the actions of the Commander-in-Chief.] The Duke of Takrham, who received interstellar communications from the Diete system, smiled with a sarcastic look on one side of his mouth, with a vibrant expression that seemed unlike a man who has passed two-thirds of his 150-year lifespan. ¡°Do you intend to split the Monarchy between the aristocracy and the military and plunge it into civil war? At a time when we are at war with Tenka? Such a bold idea.¡± At the Lords¡¯ Conference, Hart threatened to impose the same restrictions on the aristocrats who would joingroup with the Count Households. From Takrham¡¯s point of view, no matter how many aristocrats voted, Hart might seriously impose restrictions on all of them. Thinking that he could win the war without the aristocracy, Takrham regarded the possibility of it happening to be quite high. The Royal Citizens, who have obtained spirit crystals that can enable even non-magical people to operate magic engines, can defend the system without relying on the power of the aristocracy. Even if the aristocrats order them not to cooperate, the citizens will protect the system where they and their families live. The majority of the Royal Citizens, who know the history of Yuna and Hart¡¯s quarrel with the two Counts, will side with the Queen, eventually attack the enemy star system and make it impossible to launch an invasion force, hence the Monarchy will be protected by the hands of the Royal Citizens. Then, the aristocrats who were uncooperative in the war will prove unnecessary, and the aristocratic system will be abolished. How many aristocrats are willing to join the two families knowing all that? Takrham has determined that the battle between the Queen and Commander-in-Chief camp, and the Counts¡¯ camp has already been won or lost. [We were told publicly¡­] As Count Jerome appealed, it was Takrham who suggested that the gene donation proposal be put together. ¡°I certainly recommended it, but not against the Queen and the Commander-in-Chief with a Duke¡¯s rank, to the point it would escalate into a civil war, despite the fact we are at war with another country. In light of the plight of the aristocracy in general, would you be so unsavory to ask if they would consider supporting us?¡± [Aren¡¯t they getting a little carried away, even though they were the daughter of a Baron and the second son of the Baron family until a few years ago?] In Draghi¡¯s case, Takrham thought that the pride of the two people had pulled them down. Certainly, Hart and Yuna were the second son of a Baron Household and the daughter of a Baron until a few years ago. The pride of the heads of prestigious Marquis Families might not have permitted them to bow their heads towards such people. Indeed, whether it is a domestic power struggle or when firing artillery in the war with the Coalition, when fighting the enemy, the one with higher title and magic power is stronger. It is reasonable, then, that with magic power value that exceeded 90,000, they lost against Amakawa, the Queen¡¯s fianc¨¦ and a Duke. In the current battle, it makes no sense to say that they were weak in the past. ¡°The contribution they made to the current status of Monarchy might be higher. The Marquis and others should yield on this occasion, as your manner of speaking had unintentionally caused a misunderstanding. How about an apology? Please ask the Marquis of Ornelas, His Majesty the former Sovereign¡¯s father-in-law, or the Duke of Coesfeld, the grandfather of the Duke of Son¡¯s second wife, for mediation. Cut your losses this once.¡± Takrham, who imposed the cleanup on others, mocked himself after cutting off communication. ¡°It¡¯s not going so well.¡± Acquire the Hart genes and use the Coalition magic individuals under the Duke of Takrham to mass-produce high magic powered children, then pilfer magic power from the children who do not have royal nationality and are not protected by spirits, and add it to the children of Josslan and Lysine. The proposal was to distribute genes for such a future, but the result was a failure. Risk management is a top priority in any conspiracy. That is Takrham¡¯s theory. Although it failed with Digitalis, he used the device recovered from the Academy of Magic to take the magic power of the former Coalition people, and added it to Lysine, bringing her one step closer to becoming the future Queen. He wanted a second step, but as a result of being cautious and letting the two Marquises bear the brunt, this failure would not damage the Takrham family. Two easy-to-use Marquises have fallen to the two difficult-to-use Counts, so it¡¯s just a matter of cutting their losses. The harvest of this time would be the knowledge of what Hart and the spirits can do. Takrham thinks there is no need to be impatient. At this point, he is in a very advantageous position to take away magical powers. He dived into a deep sea of thought as to what he should do next from among the countless moves that he could make. CH 68 No mediator appeared in the grand quarrel between the Queen and the Command-in-Chief and Counts of Draghi and Jerome. This is partly because Hart threatened the same experience as the two households to any who sidesfactionwith them, but also because there were no relatives who could urge Yuna and Hart to change their minds. In the Second Battle of Diete, Hart lost his parents and brother, and the Baron of Hiragi on his father¡¯s side and the Baron of Melendez on his maternal side were also killed in action. The same is true for Yuna, whose parents and grandfather, the Baron of Takamiya, died in the battle. Therefore, even though the former Marquis tried to set up an intermediary to encourage them to reconsider, there were no relatives to do so. The Marquis of Carneus could talk to Hart as the family seemed very close to him, but the Marquis of Carneus family is in a position where their superiority through gene donation has been compromised, so the former Marquises could not ask him for mediation at this time. The ones who were mentioned by the Duke of Takrham, the Marquis of Ornelas, the grandfather of two Princes, and the Duke of Coesfeld, Claudia¡¯s grandfather, were among the few aristocrats capable of being intermediaries. The Counts of Draghi and Jerome eventually brought the matter to the Marquis of Ornelas, who was not leaning towards Hart, and were casually turned down. ¡°Certainly, I am the father of the First Queen and the grandfather of two Princes, but know that I have no kinship with Her Majesty the present Queen. Not even as her grandfather-in-law. If you expect my mediation as a member of the Royal family, I can¡¯t help you.¡± Ornelas was concerned that if he tried to mediate between the furious Yuna and the Counts, and as a result, a confrontation occurred between Yuna and the princes, who were the grandchildren of Ornelas, the situation would develop into a royal family dispute. As it stands, even if he remains silent, one of the two princes will be Sovereign and the other will be the Duke of Strani. At least Yuna publically professes so. However, if Ornelas defends the Counts, it could be considered that ¡®both princes of the Ornelas bloodline, who engaged in an act of hostility by using the position as the grandfather of the princes, were not worthy of succeeding to the throne because they both allowed the tyranny of their vassals¡¯, and succession would be transferred to Yuna¡¯s child. Also there was a danger that the princes would lose the protection of the spirits. Even if they try to prove that the spirit crystals have become unusable and seek compensation for damages, they cannot establish the causality of the event that the spirit attached has returned to the spirit world by Hart¡¯s proclamation. If it can be proven, the compensation for damage that made C-class crystals with a selling price of 500,000 Rhodes unusable is only a little more than 500,000 Rhodes. The thought of the spirit crystal being unusable in exchange for such a small sum is unbearable. Ornelas had no particular reason to step on the tiger¡¯s tail and risk being mauled to death by the seriously angry tigers just to defend the two Counts. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but as the Marquis of Ornelas, I intend to remain neutral in this conflict. A repeat of the confrontation between his Royal Highness Gracian, the former Crown Prince, and His Majesty the third Prince, would only undermine the national constitution.¡± When the two former Marquises were being rejected by the Marquis of Ornelas, Hart was performing his duties as Commander-in-Chief after completely banning both Counts from entering the residence of the Marquis of Amakawa, which served as the Royal Palace. It was currently wartime, and Hart, the Commander-in-Chief, has an appropriate job to do. As the Commander-in-Chief was concentrating on his work, Lieutenant General Elmer Schmidt, former Director of the Salamander Project Division, who had been promoted to Director of the Planning Bureau due to the success of the project, approached him with a new project. ¡°The misunderstanding was caused by a leading statement. To be precise, it was a project for a large fighter craft, which was submitted along with the Salamander Project a year and ten months ago, but was postponed due to a political decision.¡± Schmidt himself made the proposal, and the former Sovereign Valfrete and former Chief of Staff Ortiz rejected it. The Salamander, which is currently in operation, is a new fighter craft developed based on reflection of the MacLir Star System Battle, where they were overrun by electromagnetic pulse cannons. The old fighter craft is 120 meters long, 60 meters wide, 40 meters high, and 288,000 cubic meters in volume. The new fighter craft is 150 meters long, 75 meters wide, 50 meters high, and 562,500 cubic meters in volume. Although its military power was 1.6 times higher than the previous model, the Salamander, which could be mounted on existing carrier crafts, quickly drove out the old model and became the standard specification for the modern age. The Israfel project was proposed at the same time as the Salamander project. Israfel, which means ¡°burning¡±, is the name of an angel that blows a trumpet to signal the coming of the apocalypse, causes a great fire, and presides over the Last Judgment. Israfel, also the angel of music, has the most beautiful face of all creations. It is also said that it is his job to visit hell three times a day and three times a night. When he sees the suffering of man in hell, he bursts into tears and washes away the earth with a great flood of tears. In other words, the large fighter craft, Israfel, symbolizes the beautiful figure of the royal people protecting the nation with their own power. It is a ship that controls stronger flames than the Salamander, flies around the hell of the battlefield, and washes away enemies in huge numbers. After Schmidt explained the reason for naming the ship, Hart demanded that the main points be summarized, although he understood that the name affected military morale. ¡°Please state the performance of the large craft, why it was rejected, and why you brought it back up.¡± ¡°The performance is here, Sir.¡± Looking over the data sent by Schmidt, Hart was convinced that Israfel was rejected on the basis of a political decision. The large fighter craft is 600 meters long, 100 meters wide, 75 meters high, and has a volume of 4.5 million cubic meters. The C-class crystal grants a magic power addition of 810, and it easily enables the operation of the large fighter craft Israfel, which is four times the length and eight times the volume of the Salamander. The auxiliary ship capable of interstellar navigation is 600 meters in length, the same as the Israfel. In other words, the introduction of the large fighter craft Israfel means removing the title of being ¡°essential for interstellar navigation¡± from magical individuals. From a purely military point of view, it is a superior craft. Since it is the same size as an auxiliary ship, the magic engine, propulsion engine, outer wall and coating can be used as a whole. The plan is to appropriate the main armament from the battleship. In other words, the large fighter craft Israfel does not require any development, has a track record in the operation as an auxiliary ship, and can utilize the existing warship shipyard as it is. It can be mass-produced immediately in order to be used by the warships currently in operation. The strength evaluation is 0.08 for Salamander and 0.4 for Israfel, which is five times higher. One Monarchy destroyer with 150 crew members is even against 2.5 large Israfel fighter crafts with a crew of one. The Tenka cruiser is even with 15 Israfel crafts. Moreover, auxiliary ships are taking measures against fusion rounds, so large fighter craft of the same size can be equipped with the same countermeasures. As for why the Royal Army was unable to introduce such a superior weapon, Hart imagined that it could put the aristocracy of the Monarchy in crisis. Aristocrats who can move large ships are not worthless, but they would no longer be worth granting provinces because they can be replaced by 10,000 600-meter-class transport ships. Although they adopted the Salamander, which cannot navigate between stars, they could not make the decision to adopt the Israfel and put an end to the aristocratic system. ¡°I understand the performance and why it was rejected. It¡¯s a weapon that would kill aristocrats in society.¡± When Hart gave his assessment, Schmidt partially affirmed it. ¡°It was, indeed, a danger before. However, the reason I brought it back was because the preconditions had changed.¡± Schmidt explained why the Israfel had become necessary. The five Tenka Nations that they are at war with, used nuclear fusion rounds to destroy the Salamanders along with their own allies on all sides. Therefore, it became necessary to have a large fighter craft the size of an auxiliary ship that can be equipped with nuclear fusion missile countermeasures. If Salamanders can move through the transition gate, the Israfel can be expected to play an active role beyond the defense of a single star system. And although there is concern about the survival of the aristocratic system, if Hart is the producer of spirit crystals that can realize essential interstellar navigation, then the aristocratic system can be maintained if Hart does not cater to the private sector. The only problem is the opposition of the aristocracy. ¡°Your Excellency may have been in a position to be considerate of the aristocracy, but now you have the pretext of claiming they are forming factions and picking a fight. Because they sought the quarrel, the Israfel was also introduced. How about saying something like that? Her Majesty the Queen and Your Excellency, who threatened the reversal of the spirit crystals, are not afraid of the aristocracy forming a faction.¡± In response to Schmidt¡¯s suggestion, Hart was silent for a while and pondered. If the aristocracy wants a fight, Hart will also allow the people to operate warships. If the aristocrats are shown that things can be managed independent of their cooperation, the aristocracy¡¯s attempts to use cooperation as a shield to make threats will be blocked. The introduction of the Israfel would weaken the position of the aristocracy, but Hart thought that it would be fine to weaken the system that was protecting those who wanted to claim his descendants as their own property. Rather, if it is a system that becomes a fetter of the descendants, it is the obligation of ancestors to destroy it. Even if the aristocratic system was broken, the Amakawa family, which has a monopoly on spirit crystals, would not collapse. If the Amakawa family were to be destroyed, the spirit crystals and the transition gates would no longer be available, so the Royal people could afford the collapse of the aristocracy, but not the Amakawas. As Schmidt pointed out, Hart is not afraid of the aristocrats forming factions, even without relying on Yuna¡¯s Royal Authority. If the Israfel was deployed, the strength evaluation will be five times that of the Salamander, so the number of casualties on the battlefield where it is deployed will be 1/5. If replaced on Fortress Kerviel, with the volume of Israfel being 8 times larger, only 1,125,000 Israfel crafts will be accommodated in the fortress¡¯s containment compartment which could hold 9 million Salamanders. If the number of crafts is reduced to 1/8 and the strength evaluation is multiplied by 5 times, the simple calculation of the fortress¡¯ strength will be 5/8. However, if you put the most skilled of the eight pilots on board, you can create a combat unit with only the pilots employed during the war with the former Coalition. Recruited in the year 441 of the Monarchy calendar, they have more than three years of experience and have survived a total of seven battles: the four-star system battles of the former Coalition and the three-star system battles against Tenka. The skill level is not only one serving but two, and there are rumblings of ace pilots and pilots whose results are clearly extraordinary. With such fierce pilots on board, the results will not fall to 5/8, but will exceed 10/8. The stationed force of Fortress Kerviel will rise from 120,000 vessels in Tenka to more than 150,000. And the death toll should be reduced to less than 1/8. The first rank to be given to the pilots of the Israfel would be somewhere between Second Lieutenant, the regular pilot of the Salamander, and Lieutenant, the captain of an auxiliary ship. And, special allowances for war results should also be established. The surplus pilots after the switch to the Israfel will not be wasted. They can operate 40-meter-long suppressors equipped with Magic Element engines and engage in planetary control operations, reconstruction work, and development work within the star system. Even so, the remaining personnel should continue to operate Salamanders without receiving C-class crystals, and be sent to handle the high-speed movement of the suppressor and the transportation of people from one star system to another via the transition gates. Hart, who had a general idea of ??the various developments that would occur in the Monarchy by introducing the large fighter craft Israfel, told Lieutenant General Schmidt, who brought in the project. ¡°We¡¯ll get permission from the Queen, the Chief of Military Affairs and the Chief of Staff to formally introduce it today. You will also serve as the Director of the Israfel Project as of today. Replace the shipyard construction line and bring it into full production. I will ask Her Majesty to issue a Royal Decree.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°If Israfel achieves significant results, I will recommend you to the rank of General. The appropriate position would be the vacant Deputy Chief of Military Affairs. Keep up the good work.¡± ¡°Sir, I will do my best for the Monarchy.¡± After the decision, Hart immediately moved to get permission from Yuna and the two Chiefs, and two hours after the action, he prepared the necessary orders and forwarded them to Schmidt. Fortress Kerviel, which had just been renovated, once again pulled out its composite fluid metal layer and was refurbishing the space reserved for 9 million Salamanders to accommodate 1,125,000 Israfel crafts, which has eight times the volume. Due to the unmanned operation, workers did not complain as a large number of urban construction facilities started to move and rebuild the interior of Fortress Kerviel. In the meantime, the following five items were jointly announced in the names of Yuna and Hart. ¡°We will introduce a 600-meter-long large fighter craft, the Israfel¡± ¡°The number of pilots from each system will be 40 million by switching to the new craft.¡± ¡°The necessary C-class crystals will be produced by Amakawa at the second factory of the Capital planet.¡± ¡°The surplus personnel will be assigned to various missions of the Salamanders and suppressors.¡± ¡°Demoted aristocratic households will be exempted from military duty and recruitment targets due to their heavy burden.¡± The decision to target unspecified descended aristocrats, rather than the two specific Counts, was a statement of intent that all cooperation from hostile descending families was unnecessary. With respect to the initial target of 100 million Salamander pilots, pilots for 40 million Israfel crafts, whose military strength evaluation is five times higher, would be twice as strong as the 100 million Salamander crafts. The 40 million Israfel crafts are on par with 1.6 million warships, far more than the total strength of the five Tenka Nations before the war. 40 million large fighter crafts are too powerful, and even half of that, 20 million crafts, are sufficient for interception. Even if all aristocrats stop cooperating at once, they can defend each star system with only the royal citizens who have volunteered. In addition, by announcing that Amakawa could produce C-class crystals that could move 600-meter-class vessels capable of interstellar travel, it was shown that the royal people would not have trouble with interstellar travel even if the aristocracy formed factions. As a result, the conventional assertion that the presence of aristocrats was required was no longer valid. It was clear that these announcements were a continuation of the ¡°all-out war on hostile houses¡± declared by Hart at the second Lords¡¯ Conference. At least that¡¯s how the Lords understood it. The two Counts, who had suffered a second fatal wound in their pursuit of Hart, had no choice but to ask the Duke of Coesfeld, who had little to do with them than those close to Duke Takrham, to act as mediator. [We didn¡¯t expect our request for gene donation through Her Majesty would arouse so much anger. I am withdrawing the request altogether. I would like to ask Lord Coesfeld to mediate for us.] [In exchange for the Marquis of Amakawa undertaking marriage diplomacy, all requests to him for gene donation within the nation were to be suspended. Even though Fukashiro was conquered, his marriage with the Duchess of Son continues, and I was late to realize that the royal order was still in effect.] Grudgingly declaring so, two Counts made their request over the communication with Coesfeld, who opened his mouth after a short while. ¡°I thought it would be better to increase the number of magic power holders, so I actually recommended some Young Ladies and offered my granddaughter as the second wife to the Marquis of Amakawa.¡± The preface of two counts was uttered, and the complexion of the two who applied for the median suddenly became brighter. [Oh, then!] ¡°However, I reviewed the footage from that time, but I never forced the issue. Although I might have made some moves, I left the right of choice to the other party, who seemed to have a line that one should not step over in consideration of his feelings. Given the feelings of Her Majesty the current Queen, it is unethical to form a faction and accuse the Duke of Son of not fulfilling his aristocratic duties and demanding him to share his genes.¡± To the two men, whose expressions were stiff again, Coesfeld mentioned the Israfel, which was recently announced. ¡°You may have heard of the introduction of a large fighter craft of the same size as an interstellar ship. It seems that this was adopted as a result of the conflict with your two families.¡± [¡­¡­ If it is introduced, it will undermine the aristocratic system itself.] When Jerome affirmed, Coesfeld nodded and agreed. ¡°This bloodless civil war has caused a collapse in the Monarchy¡¯s aristocracy. Even so, as declared at the second Lords¡¯ Conference, the other side is willing to fight against unjust treatment that goes beyond limits, even if it means stabbing themselves.¡± Pointing out that the conflict was a type of civil war, Coesfeld anticipated the actions of Hart and the others, then cut off his words and looked closely at the two parties involved in the civil war. The aristocrats who had gathered in both names when they were struggling to realize the gene donation are now refusing contact for fear of chained punishment. With the announcement of the Israfel Project, the conflict between the Queen and the Commander-in-Chief has spilled over to the status system, and now they are looking at each other with resentment. Leon, the Young Lord of Marquis Sharett in the Athena System, who declared that he would continue his engagement to Therese, Young Lady of Count Jerome, was expelled from his family¡¯s aristocratic registry by his father, who has also announced that he will be separated from the family after graduation. ¡°If the protection system for magical powers disappears and there are no magical powers left, there will be no way to recover the unfathomable spirit crystals when they are lost. The system should be preserved, but¡­¡­¡­ how about you two leave a will of apology and submit to self-judgment.¡± For a moment, neither Count was able to understand the meaning of the words uttered by Coesfeld. After their brains understood what the word ¡°self-judgment¡± meant, they looked questioningly at the proposer, not understanding the meaning of the word that had been uttered. ¡°If both men judged themselves with an apology, the struggle for control over the Amakawa family¡¯s genes may come to an end and the constraints imposed on their descendants may be lifted. Isn¡¯t an end to the civil war the best course not only for both families, but also for the Monarchy and the aristocracy?¡± [Is that a condition for the cancellation?] Coesfeld shook his head and replied to Draghi. ¡°I don¡¯t know. However, if such a harsh response was made to the gene request of two people, it will be settled by the self-judgment of the two people. If an end is prepared, it will be easier to lower the fists that have been raised. If that¡¯s the case, I would take the risk, but I am willing to take the pains for the sake of my family.¡± [¡­¡­¡­¡­ is there no other way?] Instead of the silent Draghi, Jerome sought other solutions. Coesfeld again says, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±. ¡°The previous idea is the approach that I would take if I were in the position of those two. Each of you can think about it and come to your own conclusion. However, even if you take your time, I think that both families will continue to be used as a source to take a scalpel to the aristocratic system. This is a general statement, but the sooner you apologize, the better.¡± Later, the bloodless civil war that broke out in the Monarchy was ended by proclaiming that Hart, who put up the face of Coesfeld as an intermediary, would lift the restrictions imposed on both families. Once adopted, there was no need to stop the construction of the Israfel, for C-class spirit crystals, it was announced that mass-produced products would have a service life of about 20 years, indicating consideration for the preservation of the aristocratic system. Energy is required for the activity of the spirits, and if the contractor is a magical individual, it can be supplemented with their magic power, but in the case of a non-magical person, it is supplemented only by the crystal itself, and there is a limit to the energy allocated to each crystal at the time of production. C-class crystals distributed to pilots for fighter crafts are free of charge, and as long as the manufacturer says that they cannot allocate energy, the recipients, regardless of the facts, have no choice but to accept the conditions. Consideration was also given to the pilots who would lose their contracted spirits in 20 years, and it was announced that mass-produced C-class crystals and old D-class crystals could be contracted at the same time, causing new confusion. Nevertheless, as far as defense systems were concerned, both the Deite and Athena systems combined gathered fighter craft pilots that were comparable to the Second Diete System Battle. Thus, as the Monarchy turned most of its line of sight inward, the 500,000 Tenka invasion force led by Y¨²nl¨¢n attacked the Athena System. CH 69 Eight light-years away from the Athena System, the search network of the Athena system, which had deployed a large number of interstellar communication satellites, captured the invasion force of hundreds of thousands of Tenka ships. [Captured Tenka invasion force. Total number, an estimated 500,000 ships. Declaring a state of emergency. All star system residents, proceed to evacuation ships immediately. Repeat. Get to the ships now. The Monarchy shall compensate for any loss. The enemy is approaching. More enemy ships than in the Second Diete Star System Battle when 3.7 billion people were killed. Evacuate now, or you¡¯ll be killed!] The evacuation order was issued by the Communications Commander of the Communications Control Center, who has a rank of Brigadier General. Commander-in-Chief Hart had fundamentally reworked the reporting system from the bitter experience of being ambushed by the former Coalition during the Space Flight Drill in the Republic of Frodi. A severe content was added to the order which enforced them. Hart himself felt that ¡°if emphasized to this extent, the report will be processed with positive results¡±, but the psychological impact suffered by the threatened party was extremely enormous. Recently, the story of two Marquises, who were counted among the unreachable top 20 in the Monarchy, were demoted to the rank of Count, faced the simultaneous condemnation of the aristocracy and the people, and driven to suicide, was well known throughout the Monarchy. Upon receiving information on the invasion of Tenka, the Brigadier General trembled as he imagined the future of his family being attacked from all over the Monarchy, desperately manipulated his fearful fingers to activate the emergency call system, and issued an evacuation order with a pale complexion and a deathly cry. After receiving the evacuation order from their communication terminals, the residents propagated the Brigadier General¡¯s depression and rushed to the nearest medium-sized container in a panic as if they were being chased. Some of them were late, but military android soldiers who judged that they were ¡°slow¡± based on the location information and movement speed from the information terminals, used every means possible to collect those who lagged behind and throw them into the containers. The 5 million Salamanders deployed throughout the system were ready to launch with the nearest pilots rushing to them. As soon as they packed the evacuees who rushed in, they immediately took off from the planet and plunged into the green-shining transition gate in the Athena System. By the time Fortress Kerviel reached the Athena Star System, one day after the announcement, 5.9 billion people, more than 98% of the total population, had been evacuated. ¡°Should all those involved in the handling of the report be given a promotion and a lump-sum payment after the battle?¡± Hart, who was shown a video of the Brigadier General with a deathly pallor desperately pleading for the evacuation, muttered, feeling like he had done something wrong, even though he was convinced that his orders had merit. However, making the Athena System into a realm was the right decision. Hart looked back on his own judgment. Initially, for personal convenience, he considered creating a transition gate in the Apollo System, where Philine and Claudia¡¯s parents¡¯ homes are located. Spirit crystals are Hart¡¯s private property, and as the Apollo System is in the central territory of the Monarchy, where it¡¯s easy to gather supplies and reinforcements, it is a simple reason for the creation of the transition gate. Philine, who will succeed the Marquis of Carneus, will find it easier to take over the Marquis if there is a transition gate. However, the transition gate was opened in the Athena System because he was convinced that as the closest star system to Tenka and the Diete Systems, it was easiest to target alongside the Diete System. In the Athena system alone, only 45 million Salamander crafts had been deployed. In the Battle of the Diete Star System, 80 million crafts faced against 350,000 enemy vessels. If Hart did not create a realm and a transition gate in the Athena system, 45 million Salamander crafts would have had to intercept an enemy force of 500,000 ships, and it is estimated that all 6 billion inhabitants would have been killed. The Diete and Athena systems have a total of 70 million pilots. The large fighter craft Israfel, which is finally ready for mass production, was not ready for the switchover. The fighter craft to be deployed is the Salamander, of which there are about 10 million fewer crafts than the previous battle and will face about 150,000 more enemy vessels. The strength evaluation of 70 million crafts and 500,000 ships is 100:160. Even if the fighter crafts and the pilots were only gathered in the Athena System, they would not have been able to win. The only option that could protect the Athena System was to create a realm. There is an estimated 23 hours left until the enemy forces reach the outer rim of the star system. The action to call on all residents to evacuate was swift, but there was no time to have them escape to a warpable sector. [Salamanders are being distributed to each sector of 2 billion kilometers from the Athena star before the enemy reaches the outer rim. We will shut down the magic engines at the fighter craft command posts in each sector and wait until the enemy approaches. We are also pre-positioning fusion rounds in the intermediate space between us and the enemy.] Lieutenant General Marcel Bertrand, a staff officer who served as Major General when Hart was Wartime Brigadier General and had recently been promoted to the position of Chief of Staff, reported the situation while observing the movements of the entire Star System. Four years ago, he was a young major, but Hart, who raised his promotion speed to the shelf and was indulged in a light emotion, decided that he had no particular instructions for Bertrand, and asked Rhea, who had created a realm in the Athena System. ¡ºBefore the enemy¡¯s leading forces arrive, close the transition gate. Don¡¯t interfere with the enemy¡¯s magic conversion until just before engaging with the enemy. I want to trick the enemy and draw them to a range where they can¡¯t escape, and then destroy all enemy ships.¡» ¡ºWhy don¡¯t we just fight them head on and destroy them all with a bang?¡» ¡ºI¡¯d be troubled if the enemy escaped to another star system, so let¡¯s finish them here.¡» Hart, cautioning Rhea who wanted to rush forward, looked to the seats of the magic engine operators of Fortress Kerviel. Yuna, Colette and Philine were not on board. The three are aboard the newly built mobile Fortress Ramiel, which was given to the Queen Yuna and was orbiting the planet Aegis on satellite orbit as the last refuge for the evacuated residents who failed to escape. The Sovereign of the Monarchy of Diete is required to operate a Mobile Fortress and play an active role on the battlefield. If you show the people Yuna¡¯s Medal of Honor, they will be convinced if told that ¡°the more active she is on Fortress Kerviel, the better the results of the battle¡±. However, Yuna, who is only a Duke-grade magic power holder without spirit crystals, is better off actually standing on the battlefield in a mobile fortress that only Royal-grade magic power holders can operate to avoid argument on that point. Thus, Ramiel was deliberately painted white to show that the Queen is on board. The fortress is also decorated with numerous ornaments, making it look like a real royal throne ship. Colette, who is on board the flagship Ramiel, is the assistant to the Queen on the battlefield. With the rank of Lieutenant General, and standing as Count, Colette is in a very good position to assist Yuna, as she can use her Duke-grade magic power for the shield and propulsion. Philine is responsible for the preliminary fleet deployment to retrieve the residents who failed to evacuate and bring them to Ramiel, and escorting Ramiel during the battle. Thus, the three usual Operating Assistants were absent from Fortress Kerviel. In addition to Hart and Claudia, there were five other people aboard Fortress Kerviel as the magic engine operators. Princes Bernard and Josslan, the Princes¡¯ fianc¨¦es Beatrice and Lysine, and Xu¨§ L¨¬, the Duchess of Son. In the first half of the battle, both princes will work with Hart and Claudia. In the second half, it will be Hart and Xu¨§ L¨¬ along with the fianc¨¦es of the Two Princes. The members will operate Fortress Kerviel and, according to the arrangement, earn the Medal of Honor by setting them up to fulfill the duty of the royal aristocracy. The fortress¡¯ strength evaluation is 8,442 in the first half and 8,600 in the second half. Even if you multiply the overestimated strength evaluation of 9000 by 5 times the strength of the star system to get 45,000, by destroying 7,500 Tenka cruisers with a force evaluation of 6, members who served in the battle will be awarded a Medal of Honor. The reason why two princes are paired at the same time is that if they are made to fight separately and make comparisons possible, it may be said that one of them had a higher military achievement. In addition, the plan is to activate the visual and audio blocking devices on Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s seat and make her fight against vegetables, fooling her into thinking she was playing a game with numerous cartoon characters in vegetable costumes. Hart considered that it was necessary, in terms of the arrangement, for Yuna to award both princes and their fianc¨¦es so that she could abdicate, and to have Xu¨§ L¨¬ of the S¨°ng family, who is not educated in the Monarchy but is essential for the governing of the Fukashiro system, fulfill her quota. Therefore, Hart himself proposed to bring these five people along. Things are well arranged so that no one will be able to point fingers. ¡°Evacuation sites after the transition gate is closed are essential. If it is the Queen¡¯s mobile fortress, the safety of evacuees will be the highest because the Royal Army will defend it with all their might. It would be safest to have Her Majesty the Queen protect the Royal citizens who failed to escape.¡± ¡°The last evacuation destination, the mobile fortress, should be equipped with an auxiliary magic engine operator. As a high magic powered individual, a Deputy Commander of the Royal Army with the rank of Lieutenant General, and the status as Count, Lieutenant General Listner can also give orders to the military and aristocrats to protect the fortress.¡± ¡°It is also necessary to repair ships that actually carry evacuees to the fortress, the fleet that protects the fortress, and ships damaged in battle. The best solution is to have Lieutenant General Carneus, who is a special-class unit with many auxiliary ships under her command, take charge of them.¡± Thus, Yuna, Colette, and Philine were removed for the sake of the royal people, and the operation of Fortress Kerviel, with four magic engines, was left to two people, Hart and Claudia. Therefore, both princes with Royal-grade magic power value, their fianc¨¦es, and Xu¨§ L¨¬, who had Duke-grade magic power value, became the necessary personnel to operate the magic engines of Fortress Kerviel. If the five people contribute, prove useful to the Monarchy, and if the criteria of the Medal of Honor are met, it is a natural decision to make. With this set up, Hart was ready to award the five people a medal. ¡°Major General Bernard Asteria, and Lieutenant Josslan Asteria, are sure to receive the medal of honor. I also have plans to promote the Lieutenant. Even if the opportunity does not come this time, it definitely will in the future. So don¡¯t rush, take it easy. Be sure to obey the orders of the military.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Yes Sir. Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief.¡± Nodding at Bernard¡¯s cool response and Josslan¡¯s affectionate salute as a cadet, he turned his eyes to the outer edge of the Athena System. Eventually, the transition gate closed behind Fortress Kerviel, and when Rhea sensed the actions would precede the warp out of the enemy¡¯s leading forces into the system, Hart immediately told the magic engine operators to rest. Even after entering the system, there is some time before the battle begins. Due to the closure of the transition gate, the evacuation destination of the residents was switched to the Mobile Fortress Ramiel. From within the star system, tens of millions of salamanders drowned out their magic reaction as if to hold their breath. The 500,000 ships of the Tenka invasion force that reached the Athena System were a mixed force of the five nations that pulled out as much strength as possible from the fleets that reached the frontline of the Solar, Hercules, and Fukashiro Systems. As a feature, many previous generation national mages, who were considered expendable, were assigned there. It was the goal of Y¨²nl¨¢n, the Commander-in-Chief of the expeditionary forces, to use up those disposable personnel and cause tremendous damage to each star system of the Monarchy. ¡°Warp out, the outer rim of the Athena System, sector is 5.7 billion kilometers from the planet. As reported by the preceding assault reconnaissance fleet, there is no pre-placement of fusion rounds. Also no rapid magic reaction decrease phenomenon. Observation results are normal.¡± Upon receiving the Chief of Staff¡¯s report, Y¨²nl¨¢n was deeply relieved that they hadn¡¯t been caught in a fusion storm upon their arrival, like the one in the MacLir system. In the MacLir System, the 600,000 ships of the Tenka invasion force were bombarded with 20 million fusion rounds immediately after warping out, causing them to lose 140,000 ships in just six hours. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was with a separate force, was not a party to the attack, but when he invaded the Diete System, he took the measure of dispersing in all directions and warping out. This time as well, he took the same precaution of dispersing in all directions and warping out their main force after confirming the safety of the preceding force, so they would face the battle in perfect condition. ¡°Chief of staff, what are the enemy numbers?¡± ¡°Optical observations have identified a number of fighter craft mooring facilities 2 billion kilometers from the planet. System forces estimated to be between 60 and 80 million fighter crafts. And although there is no magic reaction, optical observations have confirmed what appears to be Fortress Kerviel.¡± When Y¨²nl¨¢n heard about the strength of the Monarchy¡¯s forces, he frowned at two problems. One problem was that there were more defensive forces deployed than expected. Since the Diete System, where the capital planet was located, had 80 million crafts, he thought that the Athena system, which was not the main star system, would only have about half that number. Even if the defense force is 80 million crafts strong, Y¨²nl¨¢n, who brought 150,000 more ships than last time, will not be defeated. However, the force needed to advance to the next star system is insufficient. Another problem is the existence that appears to be Fortress Kerviel. If there is no magic reaction, it is unknown whether it is merely papier-mach¨¦ or the real thing. However, if it was genuine, it means that the invasion of Y¨²nl¨¢n has been read. They were not attacked immediately after warping out like in the MacLir system, so there is a possibility that it was a fake. And even if it is the genuine article, they wouldn¡¯t be able to take as many countermeasures as in the MacLir system, but it was a situation worthy of alarm for Y¨²nl¨¢n. In any case, there is no option not to attack the Athena System. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was prepared to use up all his war potential, gave orders to the Chief of Staff to advance. ¡°Be wary of Fortress Kerviel, just to be safe. Order each fleet¡¯s L¨®ngsh¨¨ng flagship to lead from the rear of the fleet. Command ships from the flagship to rank 10 are not to enter the system. Give advance orders to the national mages of the entire fleet.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± The Tenka Invasion Army, which received orders from the flagship, began to advance toward the center from all directions of the star system, bringing their national mages to the forefront. A meteor shower pushed forward from the whole sky, and towed celestial bodies follow from behind. The thin membrane that had been spread out in the star system gradually became thicker and smaller. Watching the movements of the national mages from the outer rim, Y¨²nl¨¢n felt that the Monarchy force was well controlled. The Monarchy¡¯s forces in the Athena System are waiting for the invasion force of 500,000 ships, much more than in the Diete System, at 2 billion kilometers from the planet, without moving. In this situation, it is not easy to make even the lowest-ranked soldiers comply with orders. If the reason was to bring it into a development like the MacLir System, the Tenka invasion force would be destroyed due to the large number of Monarchy forces in the Athena System. The Diete System did not experience the same phenomenon as the MacLir System, but it may not always be the case. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who had a bad feeling, changed his orders somewhat. ¡°All command ships from the flagship to rank 10, move back to the rear with the escort fleet. In the event of a magic engine malfunction and communication interference like the MacLir System, inform the flagship of each fleet in advance to order a retreat. The retreat destination will be the Solar System.¡± Eventually, when the Tenka invasion¡¯s vanguard approached the 2.2 billion kilometer mark, the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts began to operate their magic engines one after another and assumed their battle positions. By that time, fusion missiles from both armies exploded several times in the mid-space sector, disrupting the optical observation of the two armies, and their search for the enemy was mainly based on Multi Dimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves. The magic reaction observed by the Tenka side is about 70 million crafts. Although he thought that he would win with just that, Y¨²nl¨¢n kept his eyes on the results of the frontline observations. Then, the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave on the frontline was interrupted, and the inside of the star system was painted from black to green, and immediately after the reaction of the magic engine fell, he shouted. ¡°All troops, retreat. Turn the flagship around and break off!¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s order was carried out, but the invasion force, which had been drawn close to the enemy, plunged into an all-out clash with the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts due the law of inertia. The first to fly out was Fortress Kerviel. Fortress Kerviel, which had been stationary, was pushed by the muddy stream of magic elements swirling through the system, accelerated with explosive momentum, and attacked the invasion force. ¡°The enemy can¡¯t properly put up a shield. Even if hit with secondary armaments, they will explode. Fire a few shots at once from the many sub-cannons. Leave the shielding and propulsion to me and keep firing on enemies in range with the help of your spirit!¡± Pushed forward by Rhea, the Spirit King who controls the magic elements within the star system, Fortress Kerviel flew around the system at high speed, keeping the invading forces within range one after another. The first to make a move among the magic individuals of Fortress Kerviel was Claudia. Receiving the support of her B-class spirit Cynthia and C-class spirit Sofia simultaneously, she immediately activated the secondary armament of Fortress Kerviel all at once and began turning the surrounding Tenka Ships into shining stars in the blink of an eye. The torrential rain of light that has been transformed from Claudia¡¯s magic power violently poured down and struck the Tenka fleet, which was swarming in large numbers, transforming each ship into a bright new star. The many emerging stars were soon erased from space, scattering shockwaves and debris in their wake. Claudia sharply called out to both princes as she continued her attack. ¡°Both of you, fight quickly and defend the Royal citizens and the inhabited planet behind you!¡± Ordered by Claudia, the two princes came to their senses, hurriedly activated the magic engines and sent their powers into the secondary cannons and scattered them around. The efficiency is inferior to the B-class spirit, but the spirit crystals worn by the two princes are also C-class. While the two men achieved excellent results for amateurs, Fortress Kerviel ran clockwise through the fiercely embattled sector, riding the flow of magic elements swirling through the system. The Spirit King Fleur was responsible for the defense of Fortress Kerviel. Around Fortress Kerviel, partial shields danced wildly like flower petals, catching attacks fired from enemy ships one after another. It is not clear how the enemy¡¯s attack is perceived, but all enemy ships¡¯ attacks were being repelled. Mira seemed to be moving the fortress while receiving the power of Rhea to drive Fortress Kerviel forward by pouring in the magic elements in the system. Seeing how it was conveniently flowing into the sector with good combat efficiency, Hart entrusted the defense and movement of the fortress to the spirits. As Fortress Kerviel created new stars in the system, the intensity of the battle in each sector also accelerated. Within the green-dyed star system, 500,000 Tenka ships and 70 million Salamanders clash, creating a mess of vast rays of light that can¡¯t be processed by the human brain at all. The wreckage of the ships that occurred swallowed both armies in a frenzy while randomly blowing in all directions at a high speed that could not be evaded even with the processing power of the computers mounted on the warships and fighter crafts. The strength evaluation of both armies, including the strategic satellite Sandalphon, is 100:32. However, the Tenka invading army has turned to retreat, showing their backs in a decelerated state trying to reverse the direction of the movement, and many are being swarmed with Salamanders that fly freely in the sector and falling prey one after another. ¡°All troops, push forward. The enemy has lost communication and their chain of command has collapsed. They can¡¯t even put up a shield. It¡¯s a good opportunity to destroy them individually!¡± The Tenka side has introduced 2 million vessels, including 500,000 cruiser class ships and 1.5 million crafts launched from mother ships. In contrast, the Monarchy side has 70 million Salamander crafts. The ships on the Tenka side, which had reversed and slowed down, were pursued by the Salamanders and while they were resisting, reinforcements were called in one after another, and they were swallowed by the swarm and crushed in order from the front row. For the Royal Army, it was the Athena system that they were familiar with, and since they do not suffer communication interference, the battle linkage system from the main planet and home port is fully functioning. For Tenka, on the other hand, this is the first time that they have entered a star system with insufficient information, and due to communication interference, they were unable to coordinate within the same fleet. As a whole, the Salamanders were chasing the fleeing enemy, gradually heading towards the outer rim of the system. The Tenka side is trying to break away by the strategy of blowing up the pursuing Salamanders with the nuclear fusion missiles along with their allies who have failed to escape. The Salamanders were forced to stall somewhat, which created a great opportunity for Fortress Kerviel to attack the enemy without risk of friendly fire. ¡°Your excellency, the private fleet of Marquis Sharett of the Athena system and the accompanying Fortress Ships are on the frontline and jumbled with the enemy. It appears that the two second-class Fortress Ships have already achieved 1.5 times the standard of receiving the Medal of Honor.¡± Two 17,000-meter-long Second-class Fortress ships and a fleet of hundreds of ships gathering around them were projected on the screen of Fortress Kerviel command center. The operators of the Fortress Ships are listed as Leon, son of the Marquis of Sharett, and Therese, Young Lady of the Count of Jerome. The two Fortress Ships are hurling a huge bundle of light forward, biting into the backs of the reversing enemies and burning them from behind. ¡°Leon of the Marquis of Sharett, was the fianc¨¦ of the demoted Count Jerome Young Lady, right? I undid the restrictions on Jerome and so the parents withdrew the insulation¡­ I see.¡± After pondering for a bit, Hart reached for the communication device and sent communication to Leon and Therese simultaneously. ¡°Colonel General Amakawa, Commander-in-Chief, to the Marquis of Sharett fleet and the Fortress ship of the Count of Jerome.¡± First, Hart clarified the position of himself and the other party. It was a communication conducted by the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army to the conscripted aristocrats in the midst of battle, so both families were obligated to comply. It was an unexpected order issued to the families who were bracing themselves. ¡°I will arrange for Leon, the Marquis¡¯ son, and Count Lady Therese, who have achieved remarkable results in battle, to be awarded the Order of Merit from Her Majesty¡¯s hands after the battle. In addition, I¡¯ll send them a congratulatory telegram for their wedding, and gift some aristocratic spirit crystals for their children. So back off a little bit. So far, no conscripted aristocrats or Generals have been killed. Neither house should tarnish the glorious accomplishments in the first battle of Her Majesty¡¯s enthronement.¡± Leon, who appeared on the communication screen, responded resolutely. [¡­¡­ As you wish. As per Your Excellency¡¯s orders, we will fall back a bit. Allow me to express my gratitude for your consideration.] Following Leon¡¯s response, Therese also bowed deeply and disappeared from the communication. Soon, the Marquis Sharett fleet and Therese gradually slowed down, and the fleet, which had been in chaos at the frontline, gradually separated. Hart said nothing in particular to Bernard and Josslan, who watched on with interest. Fortress Kerviel, having single-handedly destroyed about 8,000 enemy ships, replaced its operators with the second-half members. When the fortress single-handedly destroyed 7,500 ships, it met the criteria for earning medals, but it had to defeat more to avoid any stroke of bad luck in the future. Claudia, who seemed like she could fight on with a little more time to spare, and the princes, who looked mentally exhausted in the first round, stepped down, and Fortress Kerviel, which replaced the three in the second half, went on a rampage again. ¡°Their vegetables, vegetables, just vegetables¡­¡± ¡°Fufufu¡­¡­ I feel like I¡¯m crushing ants.¡± ¡°The more ships we defeat here, the closer the Monarchy will be to victory!¡± Seeing the bizarre combination of Xu¨§ L¨¬ desperately deceiving herself, Beatrice happily muttering disturbing things, and Lysine, the most decent member of the Duke of Takrham, Hart turned his gaze away and concentrated on the battle at hand. The entire area within the star system has already been overrun by the Royal Army. The Salamanders, chasing the enemy¡¯s backs throughout the area, continue to produce military results, but the destruction efficiency of Fortress Kerviel decreases against the increasingly spreading enemies. ¡°If you don¡¯t earn achievements soon, you might not be able to meet your quota.¡± After forcing the noble fleet to fall back, Hart continued to move forward and hunt enemies in the second half to achieve the quota. After that, the Royal Army chased the Tenka invasion force for about two days, but they were able to reach a warpable sector and took off. In the end, Fortress Kerviel dropped 24,174 enemy ships, which is 3.2 times its strength evaluation. The damage to the Royal Army in the Athena Star System Battle was 7.43 million Salamander crafts. The Tenka federation, on the other hand, lost 356,000 ships, 71% of the 500,000 invading force. In this battle, the Royal Army had 10 million crafts less than in the Second Diete Star System Battle, but repelled an enemy force with 150,000 more ships than in the previous battle, and suffered less than 1/10 the damage. The planet Aegis was unharmed and no civilian casualties were recorded. Afterword It seems that Rakuten Books has 41 books in stock by mail order. Such information deeply digs into the author¡¯s heart (£» ¡ä§¥ £à) If you want to be able to go anywhere¡­I¡¯d like Volume 1, ( ¤Ã©b¡¢¡£)¤Ã please Q£®What will the author do if the inventory display decreases from 41 books? A£® Next chapter¡­¡­ I will post an additional chapter! CH 70 AN: [¡ùThis is a 24-hour series since last post] Or rather, today I will post an additional post in about 20 minutes. ¡û please read the previous story. Thank you very much. Heart palpitations and hand tremors have subsided w I¡¯m going to sleep properly tonight¡­ Let¡¯s continue, and do our best to write¡­¡­ The entire Monarchy¡¯s system was engulfed by the torrents of joy and enthusiasm from the overwhelming victory of the Athena Star System Battle. The detailed battle records of the war, generously provided by the Royal Army, have covered the sight and hearing of people throughout the media. The purpose of the Royal Army¡¯s disclosure was to make the Royal citizens trust the new regime, which was the first battle since Queen Yuna¡¯s enthronement. As a result, Yuna, who stood on the battlefield as Commander-in-Chief, was naturally compared to the former Sovereign Valfrete. Compared to the previous battle, the number of invading vessels increased from 350,000 to 500,000. On the other hand, the number of fighter crafts in defense had decreased from 80 million to 70 million. And the result was an overwhelming victory for the Royal Army. Salamander¡¯s losses are less than one-tenth that of the previous battle. There are only 14 dropped ships on the Monarchy side, from 28,000 ships in the previous battle. 96% of the Generals and aristocrats were killed in action previously, but there were no casualties in this battle. Not a single civilian ship was dropped, civilian casualties went from 3.75 billion to zero, and the inhabited planet Aegis was also unscathed. However, the number of dropped enemy ships has increased from 349,000 in the previous battle to 356,000 in this battle. The Royal citizens, who were informed of the results of the war, were so overjoyed at the victory that they suspected the reported figures were actually exaggerated. Each media outlet invited experts to give various commentaries on the results of the battle. Among these experts, the explanations made by the Marquis of Z?ckingen, a retired Lieutenant General and a former fleet commander of the Royal Army, were unique. ¡°The Salamanders and Tenka cruisers have a different force rating, with 75 crafts being balanced against a single cruiser. However, since the majority of the pilots are inexperienced and the Salamander itself is vulnerable to fusion weapons, the revised force assessment is about one-third, so one cruiser is considered equal to 225 crafts¡­¡± In the Second Diete Battle, it took 220 crafts to defeat one cruiser. This was a slightly better performance than the revised force evaluation. In the Athena Star System Battle, considering the 5-fold effect of the realm, it is calculated that 45 crafts are balanced with one cruiser. In fact, one cruiser was dropped by 20 crafts, which is more than twice as efficient as in the previous battle. The quality of the pilots was comparable. In the Second Battle of Diete, 30 million of the 80 million pilots were boarding a fighter craft for the first time with D-class crystals. And even in the Athena Star System Battle, most of the pilots were killed in the previous battle, so the percentage of newcomers was high. There was no major difference in the military power other than Salamander. Yuna had Fortress Kerviel which was equivalent to three fleets, while Valfrete also had 15 fleets, aristocratic fleets, and civilian ships. The enemy¡¯s commander was the same person in both battles. As for Hart¡¯s role in the planning and command of the Athena War, the Queen is not required to make a plan by herself, but to have the ability to use the Commander-in-Chief properly. Yuna, who successfully used her Commander-in-Chief, does not mean that her ability as a Queen is low. ¡°The difference between the two battles is the difference in strength between the two armies. 100:109 in Diete and 100:32 in Athena. If two equally matched sides face each other one-on-one, the match would be a close victory, but if three people attack one person, the match will be a crushing victory. What is required of the leader of the nation is to create a favorable situation. Her majesty the Queen seems to be good at that.¡± Z?ckingen¡¯s summation on the two battles was widely shared by the Royal citizens. If Valfrete was the quick-witted offensive leader, would Yuna be the solid defensive leader? Yuna created a realm in the Athena system, but if it were the former Sovereign, he might have used it to attack. Then, in exchange for destroying one enemy system, the Athena System would be destroyed. If defeated by the enemy, Yuna¡¯s position would have been shaken by criticism that ¡°the Queen who supplemented her lack of magic power with spirit crystals did not have enough ability¡±. On the other hand, by her overwhelming victory in the system defense battle, which Valfrete had failed at, Yuna even earned a reputation as ¡°a leader who is stronger in war than the former Sovereign Valfrete who destroyed the Coalition¡±. The Royal citizens, whose resident system was attacked, want the result of protecting the system. It doesn¡¯t matter if they use the realm, the transfer gate, Fortress Kerviel, or anything else, they just need to win. Yuna became the goddess of victory for the Monarchy with stunning images of 70 million fighter crafts protecting the Athena system against the invading fleet of 500,000 enemy ships, overrunning them, burning them down, and painting the entire system with vast rays of light. With the fact of the overwhelming victory, Yuna no longer needed the authority of the previous Sovereign. ¡°Colonel General Amakawa, by virtue of your overwhelming victory in the Battle of the Athena Star System, you are hereby appointed as Fleet Admiral. You will be the only one appointed Fleet Admiral in my reign. I hope you will continue to support me.¡± ¡°Thank you, I turn this body into a deadly arrow, and will pierce through the enemies of the Monarchy and Your Majesty.¡± The declaration to close the Fleet Admiral post puts restrictions on the competent Generals in the future. Still, Yuna limited the Fleet Admiral in her reign to Hart alone. Along with his promotion, Hart has also received the Order of Orion, 1st class medal. The Medal of Honor is an easy-to-understand indication of ¡°single=handedly defeating an enemy with a higher force rating than oneself in a single battle¡± and shows how many times he has done it. As Hart was awarded the highest rank, new medals were created. It was the Order of Orion, 1st class, with a companion star next to it, the Double Star. This was followed by the Triple Star and the Quadruple Star. The 8th award = Order of the Double Star Gliese, 1st class The 9th award = Order of the Double Star Eridanus, 1st class The 15th award = Order of Triple Star Gliese, 1st Class Yuna, Colette, and Philine, who participated in the Athena Star System Battle, have not been promoted and have not won medals. The fact that the Flagship Ramiel accepted the evacuation of the residents was appreciated as a merit, but it was because it was within the scope of the role given to Lieutenant Generals. The promotion of Hart and others so far has been based on clear achievements, albeit at a fast pace. It was decided not to promote them because it would create animosity around them and bring them harm. On the other hand, those assigned to Fortress Kerviel have been promoted. Claudia was promoted to Colonel and received the Order of Eridanus, 6th class medal. Josslan and Lysine were promoted to Captain and received the Order of Gliese, 7th class medal. Bernard, Beatrice, and Xu¨§ L¨¬ also received the Order of Gliese, 7th class medal, and have obtained evidence of fulfilling the duties of the royal aristocrats. Upon receiving the medal, Xu¨§ L¨¬ fearfully asked Hart with a twitching expression and upturned eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve done my duty, haven¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Of course. With one of these, no one can complain to Xu¨§ L¨¬, the Duchess of Son. Well done.¡± Hart repeatedly affirmed and praised Xu¨§ L¨¬ in order to relieve her anxiety. Unfortunately, Xu¨§ L¨¬ cannot remain withdrawn in the future. The suppression of Fukashiro, originally planned for the end of the year, will be carried out without delay, even after the unscheduled Battle of the Athena Star System broke out. Xu¨§ L¨¬ must participate in the operation to recapture Fukashiro, and it is necessary to appeal that Xu¨§ L¨¬ is alive and well when governing. Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s father, H¨¤o L¨¢n, nominated her the successor and subordinated to the Monarchy, so although it was not a flow created mainly by Hart or the Monarchy, she was in a position where she could not escape. Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s character and behavior are disappointing, but her intellectual level is high and she understands her position, so she spends her days frightened by the looming Battle of the Fukashiro Star System. However, the pretext of preparing for the recapture of Fukashiro also functioned as a shield against the tremendous number of invitations from social circles, which was impossible for Xu¨§ L¨¬. If you want to shoot a General, shoot his horse first. Due to the overwhelming victory of the Athena Battle and the territorialization of the Diete System, and with the information that Hart was doing these things at will, the Monarchy aristocrats judged that the possibility of defeat was almost eliminated. For aristocrats who thought they could not lose, the next thing to consider is how to keep their own home. The successors must retain the magic power required by the Monarchy and maintain the aristocracy by fulfilling their duty of military service. In addition, in light of the end of the two marquises¡¯ descent, they should avoid conflict with Hart, who holds all of the spirit crystals. If possible, like the Duke of Coesfeld and the Marquis of Carneus, they want to offer their daughters and get insurance. If that is difficult, they want to get close to the women who have succeeded in their prior investment and receive indirect consideration. Hence Xu¨§ L¨¬ was added as their target. Xu¨§ L¨¬ was awarded the Medal of Honor and established herself as a Monarchy aristocrat. She is a Duchess with strong influence who can travel back and forth between the Capital planet and the province via the transition gate, but she has just recently joined the Monarchy, has only shallow friendships, and few people to rely on, so she can still establish deep friendships even now ¡­¡­¡­¡­ or so the other aristocrats misunderstood. The Ladies who had been pushed by her husband to ¡°invite her to a tea party¡± and the daughters who were suggested by her fathers to ¡°improve their chances of marriage by being close with the Duchess of Son¡± were targeting Xu¨§ L¨¬. Of course, a shut-in couldn¡¯t handle such situations, though Hart asked her just to be sure, but Xu¨§ L¨¬, who had tears in his eyes, clung to him, saying in the Tenkan language, ¡°I can¡¯t do it, I¡¯m sorry¡°. Xu¨§ L¨¬ can only deal with a person she¡¯s meeting for the first time when she meets them with a guardian, such as Hart, and can hide behind Hart¡¯s back. When she met Hart with her guardian H¨¤o L¨¢n, she vomited because she couldn¡¯t hide behind his back. For this reason, Hart, with advice from Claudia and Colette, declined all communications for the Duke of Son under the joint name of Hart and Xu¨§ L¨¬ in preparation for the recapture of Fukashiro. The only people who couldn¡¯t be refused were two women who came to the Monarchy of Diete on the same Marriage Diplomacy and their husbands. ¡°Your Excellency the Duke and Lady Xu¨§ L¨¬, may I bid you good fortune. I, S¨±ra S¨°ng and my husband, Viscount Dominic Margoire, have come to visit you.¡± The person who offered a greeting with an easy-to-understand smile like a stage actress wasS¨±raSuura, Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s cousin the S¨°ng family, who has Russian features with blond hair and gray eyes. Although she is married, in the Tenka Federation, the surname of a woman does not change even after marriage, so she is S¨±ra S¨°ng to the Tenka community, and when identifying herself in the Monarchy side, she is Viscountess S¨±ra Margoire. Her marriage partner is Dominic, the second son of the next Marquis of Ornelas, the older brother of former First Queen Cassandra. Dominic is a cousin of Bernard and Josslan, the next Sovereign and Duke of Strani. As the second son, he was not in a position to inherit the title, but he received a new Viscount peerage as a result of the marriage diplomacy. He is tall, has a solid physique, and has a submissive personality. Hart suspects that he was chosen because it was easy for former Sovereign Valfrete to use him. And, as is the case with most married men, his wife held the reins of power over him. Dominic, a Viscount of the Monarchy, is controlled by his wife, S¨±ra, who came from Fukashiro for marriage diplomacy. Fortunately or unfortunately, Fukashiro was conquered, so there is no worry that he will be moved according to Fukashiro¡¯s intentions. S¨±ra¡¯s goal is to improve the Margoire Family¡¯s position in the Monarchy, which is not something to be alarmed about, as all aristocrats are doing it. In the interests of the Monarchy, S¨±ra should remain in the Monarchy as a reserve lineage for the S¨°ng family who can rule Fukashiro. Following the greeting from the Viscount of Margoire, there was a greeting from the other woman who also came to the Monarchy for marriage diplomacy. ¡°Good day, Your Excellency the Duke, Lady Xu¨§ L¨¬, I am L¨ªn f¨¡ S¨°ng. I¡¯m here with my husband, Viscount Philman of Durkheim.¡± L¨ªn f¨¡Linfa appeared to be a quiet person by nature, although she herself seemed to be in a bad mood as she gave the greeting. She is also one of Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s cousins, who has black hair, blue eyes, and has inherited the features somewhat found in British descent. Her marriage partner is the eldest son of the second elder brother of the previous Sovereign Valfrete, who was the third son. The Durkheim family, who obtained a peerage through the pedigree of the older brother of the former Sovereign Valfrete, tried to establish a position through their achievements, and made their heir, Philman, inherit the peerage by marriage diplomacy. Viscount Philman Durkheim is Valfrete¡¯s nephew, and he was a cousin not only to Bernard and Josslan, but also to Yuna. The Viscount Durkheim family is not caged, but as aristocrats of the Monarchy, he has the will to stabilize his household and improve its position, and his actions are no different from that of S¨±ra¡¯s. ¡°Viscount Margoire, Viscount Durkheim, and both Ladies, it¡¯s been a long time. Thank you for coming today. I am sorry that I have not been able to take the time to meet with you, but as we are all internationally married, we should try to interact more actively.¡± This time, S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡ visited Xu¨§ L¨¬, and Xu¨§ L¨¬ gave her first greeting. After that, Hart and the two Viscounts greeted each other and invited the two Viscounts to the overly combined residence of the Marquis of Amakawa, the Royal Palace, and the house of the Duke of Son. While Xu¨§ L¨¬, who had used up her energy gauge in the first greeting, became an ornament, mainly it was S¨±ra who took the initiative in the conversation and congratulated Hart on the victory in the Athena Star System battle. ¡°As a person who hails from Fukashiro, when I heard that you would recapture the Fukashiro system by the end of this year, I couldn¡¯t believe my ears at first, but now I am confident that it will be realized.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. We plan to secure the sector of the MacLir System by September and the Fukashiro system by October. In October, we will mark the first anniversary of the Second Diete System Battle. We have to show the will of the Monarchy by fighting back as soon as possible.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going through the battlefield like a Thunder God, aren¡¯t you?¡± After going over the details briefly, S¨±ra finally brought up the main subject. ¡°As such, my Lord Viscount and I are here today to be of service to you and aid in the recapture of the Fukashiro system.¡± Hart had anticipated such a proposal when he received the request for a meeting. For the Monarchy of Diete, Fukashiro is a system that has never been explored. Due to the Tenka-made information terminal and data storage Xu¨§ L¨¬ brought with her, the Monarchy of Diete has the general knowledge of local high school students, but does not have any information such as human relationships that do not exist in the data. If they stumble at the beginning of governance and give the Fukashiro people a bad first impression, it will be quite difficult to dispel the impression that ¡°they are people of a different country who do not understand our matters¡±. Who can gain support from local people? Who will be loyal and trustworthy? On the contrary, who should be used heavily to create antipathy for the people? If S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡, who have a wide range of connections and information, cooperate as dignitaries of the S¨°ng Family, it will help the rule of the Monarchy. After their request for a meeting, Hart, in consultation with Yuna and the government, decided how to handle the proposal. ¡°In light of various circumstances, the Monarchy government will grant four members of the two houses the position of Assistant Governor-General of Fukashiro, and will also continue to provide abundant funds that are not inferior to the interests of the Counts, in order to prevent takeovers.¡± ¡°We would like to thank you for your patronage, Lord Duke, and shall be of service to you.¡± Perhaps because she completely achieved the purpose of her visit, S¨±ra¡¯s smile was filled with emotion. The other three also seemed satisfied with being recognized as useful by the Monarchy. Looking around the four, Hart nodded, adding the matter considered in the preliminary consultation. ¡°We have great expectations of you. In addition, if you are willing to take on the project, there is a proposal that would have the Viscounts be promoted to Counts, and then be entrusted with territory on Fukashiro as well as the Fukashiro people who are within the Count territories¡­¡± ¡°Well, what kind of proposal are you talking about?¡± The quick-witted S¨±ra immediately responded. In a Monarchy where the rank and the dignity of the aristocracy carry a heavy weight, they are not promoted unless they make a great achievement. Colette, the Viscountess of Listner, contributed to the defense of the Capital planet and worked hard to defeat the Coalition, which had been a long-cherished wish since the founding of the country, and became a Count. This is one measure of how to rise from a Viscount to a Count. In the end, what Hart and the Monarchy expected was for them to be a buffer between the Monarchy and the Tenka people. ¡°In addition to the Fukashiro people, there are also refugees from Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. We cannot kill civilians after the war. Effective control is carried out by the military, and administration is the responsibility of the Monarchy government. The Duke of Son will be in charge of overall governance, but if you can be entrusted with the management of the refugees, Her Majesty will raise both families to Count.¡± ¡°If we satisfy the people of Fukashiro by giving them cold treatment to the extent that they do not go out of control, would it be alright?¡± S¨±ra fully understood what the Monarchy wanted. Due to the invasion of the five Tenka Nations, the people of Fukashiro suffered a reasonable number of deaths, lost much of their properties, and had their rights trampled on. Then, after the recapture of Fukashiro by the Monarchy, a reenactment of a year ago would occur, with the perpetrators and victims swapped. However, since Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama did not kill all the people of Fukashiro, even if the position was reversed, it would not be possible to just kill them all. The events caused by the reversal of position are basically karmic retribution. After having the victims take revenge in post-war trials that favored the Fukashiro people, the surviving Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama refugees will be allowed to settle in Fukashiro. At that time, if they are treated in the same way as the Fukashiro people, the Fukashiro people will be angry, and on the contrary, if they treat people of Tenka too harshly, they will distrust the people of Diete, who are from a different country. A way to avoid this is to appoint the daughters of the S¨°ng family, who were born in Fukashiro and whose parents were killed, in charge of the administration. The revenge of S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡, who are Tenkans, becomes an issue between the same Tenka people and will not lead to resentment or distrust of the royal people. Even if there is some discrepancy in the interpretation of the ruler¡¯s decision, if it is a decision by S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡, whose parents were killed, the people of Fukashiro can be convinced that each person has a different interpretation. In this way, Fukashiro will be able to maintain law and order instead of a chaotic cycle of revenge. If they can undertake it, Hart believes it¡¯s okay to promote the two Viscounts to Counts, which is no longer filled with constants due to a lack of successors. The prior consultations with Yuna and the Monarchy government also made such a conclusion. Hart nodded lightly and affirmed S¨±ra¡¯s speculation. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Fukashiro people can be sorted from the others using the magic element of the system that the spirit will introduce into their bodies. The people of Fukashiro will be given Royal nationality and rights, while the refugees will not. I want to show the difference and give the Fukashiro people a sense of belonging to the Monarchy. I¡¯ll entrust you with their implementation and coordination.¡± ¡°How should we treat the refugees, Your Excellency?¡± Hart responded promptly to S¨±ra, who asked with a smile, although he was agitated, but did not reveal it. ¡°The aim is to incorporate the people of Fukashiro into the Monarchy, and as long as it serves that purpose, it doesn¡¯t matter what happens to the refugees from Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama.¡± ¡°Then I would like to undertake this task on behalf of the Margoire Family. L¨ªn f¨¡, you should also accept. You can leave the provinces and the people of Fukashiro to us.¡± Hart saw a disturbing light in the depths of S¨±ra¡¯s eyes. However, the war between the Monarchy and the five Tenka Nations was initiated by the Tenka side. The people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama also unilaterally invaded and militarily occupied the Fukashiro system. Hart, who convinced himself that it would be karmic retribution to return what had been done with interest, silently closed his eyes. CH 71 In November of the previous year, the Tenka Federation had conquered the MacLir System. Many celestial bodies were plunged into the moon Fraga, the last stronghold in the MacLir System, and Fraga was crushed in exchange for the sacrifice of 60,000 ships. During the celestial rush, Fraga left satellite orbit automatically to avoid damaging the planet Whispa. As a result, the celestial bodies that were launched in the operation and the fragments of the destroyed Fraga were kept from falling on the planet. Because the mysterious output abnormality phenomenon disappeared at the time Fraga was destroyed, Tenka issued a hypothesis based on their desire that the source of the abnormal output phenomenon of the Magic Element Engines might have been Fraga. The 60,000 Tenka ships it took to destroy Fraga are equivalent to 93 of the Monarchy¡¯s fleets. Still, the upper echelons of the five Tenka Nations accepted the painful damage, falsely believing that they had ¡°killed the magical individuals of the Monarchy worth the damage and taken the inhabited star system¡±. After conquering the star system, Tenka immigrated tens of millions of military personnel and their family members to the system. The purpose of Tenka is to mass-produce military grade weapons in large quantities using the natural resources of the third planet, Tula, for mass deployment in war against the Monarchy and, in the future, the Republic of Frodi. A defense fleet of 20,000 ships, equivalent to 31 Monarchy fleets, is deployed in the MacLir System. It was a force that could defend itself as long as Fortress Kerviel did not attack, and the defense fleet gathered technology in the former Coalition territory, utilized resources, and sent weapons to the front while protecting tens of millions of Tenkans. Hart, who learned about Tenka¡¯s actions directly from Seraphina through a miniscule transition gate, was disappointed that there were so few enemies. ¡°If they had deployed about 500,000 ships, we would have redone the overrun play of the Athena System.¡± In this battle, the Royal Army mobilized more forces than in the Athena Star System Battle. Strategic Satellite Sandalphon, 1 unit. Although it is about half the size of the moon Fraga, it has far more magic element engines and weapons than the Fraga because it was built in the Diete system, and the strength rating is equivalent to an enemy fleet of 30,000 ships, even if estimated modestly. This alone outweighs the enemy¡¯s defense capabilities. Regular army, 10 fleets. Due to the effect of the star system, their range is longer than the enemy¡¯s and their shields are stronger, so they can unilaterally attack from outside the enemy¡¯s range. With the fleet alone, the force evaluation against the enemy is 100:62. Large Fighter Craft Israfel, 4 million crafts. The pilots, who will be deployed for the first time, were selected in order of skill. With more than twice the fighting power and combined with the star system effect, it has a strength rating of 4, which is comparable to the Tenka Cruiser¡¯s 6. The force of 4 million crafts is equivalent to 2.66 million enemy ships in the realm of the Spirit King. Aristocratic Forces, equivalent to 15 fleets. The aristocrats decided that due to the great victory in the Athena system, the invasion force of Tenka no longer exceeded the defense force of each system. And when they heard about the planned invasion at the Lords¡¯ Conference, they voluntarily gathered to participate in the star system recapture battle as aristocrats. Fortress Kerviel and Ramiel, the Royal flagship operated by Yuna, will also be deployed. After the battle, Hart will leave the time-consuming ground domination to other officers and head to the Fukashiro System to create a new transition gate. In Hart¡¯s absence, only the Queen could oversee such an overly huge army, so she divided the ships. The two princes and their fianc¨¦es have not been placed on Fortress Kerviel because they have earned Medals of Honor. Josslan and Lysine, who wished to join the army, were entrusted with two mobile fortresses. The act of the Prince and Queen Candidate going to the battlefield in a mobile fortress at the behest of the Queen is of great significance to the Monarchy of Diete. To Bernard and Beatrice, Yuna gave a task that was no less important than Josslan and the others. She recruited all the students of the Academy of Magic under the command of Bernard and gave them the task of passing parts of the connected spaceport through the transfer gate. Moreover, the presence of the war correspondents is admitted in this battle. Many reporters were also on board the battleships of each fleet. ¡°Why did you include reporters? Once you do, they¡¯ll want to be war correspondents in subsequent battles.¡± Regarding the newly added war correspondent, Philine, who is the highest ranking Operating Assistant of Fortress Kerviel, took the initiative to ask Hart. It was a question from Philine, so Hart honestly explained his intentions. ¡°If we broadcast the operation to conquer the two new star systems in the media, the Royal citizens will recognize them as Monarchy territories. It is important to have the support of the Royal citizens.¡± MacLir and Fukashiro are the closest from the five Tenka nations and the Hercules System. In the future, when attacking an enemy system except the Solar System, they will pass through either system. Therefore, both systems will also serve as a bulwark against the various star systems of the Monarchy. If they are aware of this, the Royal citizens will be convinced of the defense of both systems and will actively cooperate. ¡°And when the Monarchy develops both systems, it will be easier if we obtain the understanding of the Royal citizens beforehand. This will be convenient for future lords.¡± ¡°Until I was a cadet, I used to have more of an opening, like when I was hooked up by Claudia.¡± Three years ago, Hart declined, saying ¡°I live on an evacuation ship¡±. Hart had a sour expression when he thought of a castle in the sky having been built with Claudia¡¯s money. ¡°I¡¯ve never been defeated by Philine, though.¡± ¡°Shall I put on cat ears?¡± Fantasizing about Philine with cat ears, Hart began to expand his imagination to clothing that suited the cat ears, losing the thought resources to use for rebuttals. Why do cat ears and a maid outfit go so well¡­ and so on, various theories on the topic had been pondered since 1700 years ago. ¡°When you wear cat ears, it may be good to end each sentence with ¡®nya¡¯.¡± ¡°Erm¡­¡­¡­ nyan¡° As the Commander-in-Chief and Fleet Commander headed towards the day after tomorrow, only Fortress Kerviel, where the legitimate military personnel set their course, headed for the deep blue, swirling transition gate that glowed blue in the Diete system. In the last Athena Battle, 7.43 million Salamander pilots were killed in action. In order to reduce the war casualties as much as possible, this time Hart has deployed a trump card, the strategic satellite Sandalphon. The unmanned satellite, Sandalphon, plunged into the transition gate at a high speed of 200 million kilometers per hour and quietly disappeared without rippling the magic elements. Following that, Hart¡¯s Fortress Kerviel also touches the transition gate and is swallowed into the higher dimensional space. At the moment of passage, there was a delay as if time had stopped only around Hart, and Janet, the one who made the Diete system a realm, appeared. ¡ºWhat¡¯s the password?¡» ¡ºFrom Purple Lisianthus to White Lily.¡» Transition gates through the spirit world can optionally allow the selection of multiple exits from a single entrance, or open to multiple gates beforehand. Hart saw Janet disappear and the MacLir System appeared in order, as he thought about opening two gates connecting Diete and Athena at the same time to intimidate the former Coalition people after conquering the MacLir System. In front of Fortress Kerviel, Sandalphon charged at high speed towards the planet Whispa. From the rear, 10 regular army fleets, 15 fleet-equivalent aristocratic fleets, and 4 million Israfel crafts spout out one after another, like bubbles blowing out from the swirling transition gate. Suddenly appearing inside the MacLir System, the large fleet began to charge at the planet Whispa, as each vessel activated its magic engine at the maximum, stretching out millions of sparkling trails across the sector. On the other hand, the enemy fleet 20,000 ships were stationed in the satellite orbit of the planet, with each fleet floating in a simple spaceport. The distance to the enemy is 300 million kilometers, and the magical power of Hart and Claudia has already caught the enemy within range. ¡ºSeraphina, that satellite is a gift. If it breaks, I will make it as many times as I want, so use it as you like.¡» When Hart sent his thoughts to Seraphina, who was connected by magic, she began to direct a large number of laser cannons at the enemy fleet, making the large number of magic element engines attached to the 430-kilometer Sandalphon glow white one after another. Hart then issued an order to the fortress. ¡°This fortress will move to the zenith of the galactic reference plane so that the line of fire does not overlap with the friendly forces. Aim at enemy spaceports where the magic engine¡¯s reaction is gathering, and crush all the idiots who are slow to start. Philine is on defense and propulsion, and Claudia and Xu¨§ L¨¬ are on offense.¡± After Hart declared that he would move above the galactic reference plane, Seraphina¡¯s Sandalphon began to move below it. From behind the two giant man-made objects that split up and down, the large fleet that followed clung to them as if they were fighting for the lead. The Monarchy fleets, whose formation was hardly disrupted due to the guidance of the spirits, rushed forward in an orderly manner, building a wall of light. In the surrounding sector, a number of Fortress Ships, each with hundreds of vessels in tow, are advancing to increase the size and thickness of the walls of light created by the regular army. Reinforcing the wall of light are the 4 million Israfels, large fighter crafts with a huge body comparable to that of an auxiliary ship. The huge wall of light began to flow towards the planet as a turbid stream. In front of a large number of reporters, it might be more politically effective to give the aristocratic fleet and the new large fighter crafts an opportunity to play an active role, but it is against Hart¡¯s style to increase unnecessary sacrifices for that purpose. In the Frodi system, Hart has combat experience as the Captain of a destroyer. Knowing the personnel required to operate just one destroyer, the time and effort to train them, the construction, maintenance, and operating costs, and with the common sense of a former second son of a Baron Household, Hart had no intention to lose them in vain. ¡°To Fortress Kerviel, drop as many enemies as possible to reduce damage to our allies. Once Sandalphon deviates from the line of sight of Fortress Kerviel, commence attack immediately.¡± Just a few tens of seconds later, Claudia fired at a timing which might have been too early. A huge pillar of light stretched out, and before the result could be seen, three huge pillars of light also extended forward, shining through the sector, from the three cannon ports where Hart¡¯s magic was divided into three. The four cannon ports did not wait for the hit, but changed their targets one after another, shining light on the spaceports of the Tenka Invasion Force in the satellite orbit around the planet Whispa. As soon as the enemy entered range with even Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s magic power, a fifth light was added, and Hart¡¯s magic divisions increased to 4 or 5 as they headed towards the enemy. At the same time, Sandalphon and Fortress Kerviel launched a huge missile swarm that adjusted the input line of fire and auto-tracking settings to avoid hitting the planet Whispa. On the other hand, the Tenka side launched their fleet from the spaceports one after another and began a missile attack as they pointed their cannons at Sandalphon and Fortress Kerviel. The transition gate was not used at the Athena System, so this is the first time that Tenka has witnessed it. Nevertheless, it was presumed that it was an abnormal situation when the transition gate opened in the star system, and that some of the fleets sensed danger and were preparing to launch. The moment Hart¡¯s light pillar reached the Tenka spaceport and Chief of Staff Bertrand issued a landing report, the entire MacLir System was filled with white light. The spaceports, which were in satellite orbit around the planet, continue to explode one after another. The Tenka fleet, emerging from the light of these explosions, began a counterattack by artillery and started to illuminate the sector with light. ¡°Battle with the enemy fleet has begun¡­¡± The moment Bertrand reported, something like a thin mist broke out in the MacLir System, drowning out the light of the MacLir star. The entire MacLir System was covered with a faint light like before a dim dawn. On the outside of the star system, the scenery was distorted as if looking into the lake. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± In the midst of a mysterious world that is impossible from human common sense, one large planet emerged as if looking down on the diminutive human race. It was right after the planet appeared that the magic engines on the Tenka side rapidly reduced its ability to convert magic elements. At the confused Bertrand, Hart issued an order. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. This is the realm of the spirit who has contracted with me. All phenomena are under the control of my spirit. Carry on fighting.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Sir, [All forces, continue fighting as is. All phenomena are under the control of His Excellency the Fleet Commander.]¡± The fleets of both armies were already closing in on each other. The war correspondents witnessed a chain of fusion-induced explosions that burst like fireworks in front of them. In outer space above and below the flash, the strategic satellite Sandalphon and the Attack Fortress Kerviel were engaged in a fierce firefight with the enemy¡¯s large fleet. The Tenka Fleet was barraging fusion missiles toward the transition gate, as they hurled a barrage of light at the two giant man-made objects attacking from above and below. ¡°Your Excellency, the enemy is deploying back towards the planet Whispa. Our army¡¯s attack power is too high, breaking through the enemy and causing damage to the planet.¡± ¡°Order all ships to avoid putting the planet in the line of fire. To large fighter craft Israfels, order to engage the enemy fleet in melee combatdogfight. Warships are to serve as the Israfels¡¯ shield and send the Israfels into the bosom of the enemy.¡± The missiles are equipped with artificial intelligence, which changes the course toward the enemy. However, the energy from the explosions is blowing through the sector, and the missiles are swept away, unable to fly precisely. Wary of accidental fire on the planet, Hart chose safety and began to aim at enemies without the planet in the line of sight, keeping a distance between Fortress Kerviel and the enemy vanguard fleet. Seraphina¡¯s Sandalphon also synchronizes with Hart, and the subsequent large fleet approached the enemy while the two man-made objects pressured the enemy fleet from above and below. With fusion round countermeasures in place, the Israfels jumped out from the rear of the regular fleet, which served as a shield, and ran through the storm of fusion rounds, avalanching into the dense enemy fleet. ¡°All Israfel crafts have entered melee with the enemy fleet.¡± At the moment Bertrand reported, part of Israfel had already dived into the explosion of fusion missiles. While intense flashes make optical observation impossible, it is the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves that are used to observe enemy position information and attack. Furthermore, in conjunction with the information integration system, the position of all objects in the sector that the crafts cannot observe is determined and avoided. Just after the Israfel crafts made a sudden turn in the light, the huge black body of the half-destroyed Tenka cruiser was thrown back and forth right next to the crafts. From the surroundings, spears of light were thrown at the black hull, tearing it apart from all directions and creating a new flash. In the midst of the explosions, the hordes of Israfel began melee engagement, a change from the Salamanders¡¯ battle where they had devoured the enemy in large numbers, and began to cite the results in a new way of fighting with one or several crafts to destroy enemy ships. Lieutenant Colonel Alois Khan, one of the pilots of such a fighter craft, who had always been promoted by winning the Medal of Honor in previous battles, defeated four enemy ships in a blink of an eye with the Israfel, which had a much higher performance than Salamander. ¡°4th enemy cruiser destroyed single-handedly. The 0285-073 battalion under your command has also reached 100 ships. Lieutenant Colonel Alois has defeated six times his strength rating. The entire battalion has destroyed 1.5 times as many enemy ships.¡± Receiving the battle report from an Android passenger, Alois realized that he had risen to the limit of his rank as a fighter craft pilot, as the android did not state any promotion expectations. With a volume eight times that of the Salamander and a magic engine as strong as that of an auxiliary ship, the Israfel had one Lieutenant as a pilot, a Captain as platoon leader of five crafts, a Major as company leader of 25 crafts, and a Lieutenant Colonel as battalion leader of 100 crafts. The Israfel is currently not designed to be mounted on a carrier craft, but even if it can be redesigned and 100 crafts can be mounted, the pilot of the fighter craft that should follow the carrier craft captain cannot surpass the rank of said carrier craft captain. In the first place, Alois is a Lieutenant Colonel, but he has not even received a military education. In peacetime, such a promotion would not have been possible. Alois realizes that it is not due to the ability of Alois, the battalion leader who has not learned how to command, that the battalion has cited such battle results without causing damage as a group, but due to his contracted spirit Millie. (My spirit is¡­ funny¡­) According to what Alois heard from other Israfel pilots, the spirits possessed for a limited time of 20 years seem to have a uniform figure, mostly wearing purple dresses with light blue hair. On the other hand, the spirit that Alois received and which Millie suggested and entrusted him with, had brown-hair in a twin-tail, and was small, fair-skinned, cheerful spirit, which was clearly not a mass-produced unit. ¡ºYou may call me Jessica. Oh, as this is a limited contract, I didn¡¯t have to tell you. Basically, Millie is in charge, and Jessica will only assist.¡» In this battle, Jessica has helped Alois and the battalion as declared. ¡ºIt is better to advance several battalions under the sector without rushing in from the center and fight with the support of Sandalphon. If you want to ride the flow of magic elements in this world, you should leave the maneuvering of the fighter crafts to the spirits.¡» The result of following the smiling Jessica was the current situation of the Alois battalion. A huge number of ships from both armies rush through the sector in all directions, intermingling millions of artillery and missiles in the explosions. As the energy winds of the explosions raged, the ships of both armies changed positions at every moment, making it impossible for even machines and androids to predict the position of the enemy or allies and their attacks. In such a fierce battle zone, Sandalphon fired a supportive bombardment as if to protect Alois, and as a result, Alois and others were able to sew in-between enemy fleets. Alois¡¯ Israfel is taking a seemingly unreasonable orbit due to the magic engine that Jessica operates, yet destroying as many as four Tenka ships unscathed. The battalion also achieved great results. ¡ºYes, well done. But please tell your subordinates to be careful not to be over reliant on the power of the spirits. As a matter of fact, Jessica was doing a lot of things. If other people tried the same thing alone, they¡¯ll die instead.¡» Jessica is obviously weird. Compared to other spirits of the same rank, she may be one step higher in power. Although suspicious, Alois managed to survive a fiercely beleaguered battle where missiles and ships were exploding. ¡ºMillie, how¡¯s the overall status of the battle?¡» ¡ºDue to the magic element reaction on the enemy, less than 100 ships remain. Even if we go elsewhere now, we won¡¯t make it in time. We beat a lot, so I think it¡¯s fine.¡» ¡ºThat¡¯s true. What¡¯s the damage on our side?¡» ¡ºNot much at all, I think we lost 3,000 crafts.¡» ¡º¡­¡­¡­¡­ we dropped as many as 20,000 enemy ships, with only about five cruisers worth of casualty?¡» Alois couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut. The force evaluation between the 4 million Israfel crafts and 20,000 Tenka ships is more than 100:1. As a result of beating one person with 100 people, the Tenka fleet was swallowed up by the muddy stream of the Royal Army and disappeared in an instant. The battle for the scant prey pressured by being sandwiched up and down by the Strategic Satellite Sandalphon and Fortress Kerviel was fierce, and the troops that were delayed could not even engage. It merely showed the former Coalition and Tenka peoples in the MacLir System the spectacle of 25 fleets and 4 million auxiliary ship-class large fighter crafts swallowing their enemies with a flood of light. Wondering if it was okay for things to be this easy, Alois accepted the end of the sector battle when he saw a screen showing the rear sector. ¡°Her Majesty¡¯s main force has arrived.¡± The sector battles carried out by the Alois and his comrades were nothing more than a scuffle. From behind the sector where the enemy ships were wiped out, the Queen¡¯s Throne Ship Ramiel, which shines white, and the planetary suppression unit that followed the Queen were approaching. With a group of 500,000 military satellites comparable to the large Israfel. Millions of combat drones and millions of unmanned aerial fighters. An army of heavily armed androids numbering in the hundreds of millions, and a group of assault landing craft used by androids to land on planets. 20 million humanoid suppression machines with a total length of 40 meters equipped with magic engines. And, 30 million Salamander crafts carrying medium-sized containers with them push through outer space at high speed. Furthermore, from the transition gate, the connected fleet spaceport and the dedicated spaceport of the large fighter craft Israfel, operated by the students of the Magic Academy under the command of Prince Bernard, overflowed from the transition gate at a furious pace, like a flood that swept away the system. Afterword Thank you very much for purchasing this work in various places. As a thank you, I had Philine say ¡°nyan¡± in return! ¡­¡­ Is this the right direction? There are 21 copies left until the Four Heavenly Kings (Rakuten Books) are defeated (out of stock)! CH 72 Even in the modern era of 3744 A.D., when technology has evolved compared to the days when humanity lived on a single planet, ground warfare was still like being caught in a quagmire. In the current MacLir System, tens of millions of Tenka people are mixed in with the 5 billion former Coalition people who were enemies until a few years ago. The former Coalition has a large number of civilian androids capable of combat. The immigrated Tenka people also mass-produced enough ground weapons and military android soldiers to control each system of the Monarchy. The planetary suppression forces brought in by the Monarchy overwhelmingly outnumber both the Tenkan and MacLir forces in the MacLir system. Nevertheless, it was assumed that it would take considerable time and effort to conquer the Tenka Army so as not to kill too many former Coalition people who were uncooperative with the Monarchy. In order to take advantage of the surprise effect, Hart, who needed to create the next realm in the Fukashiro star system as soon as possible, made two requests to Seraphina, the ruler of the system. ¡ºBring Sandalphon in orbit around the planet Whispa and restore the planet Whispa¡¯s rotation. Also, use the magic element that is imbued in the body to determine the MacLireans who will listen to some extent, the other former Coalition people who will be hostile, and the Tenka people who will definitely be enemies, and communicate this information to the spirits of the Monarchy¡¯s soldiers.¡» ¡ºI understand. I¡¯ll place markers on all the humans in this system, so the spirits can identify them.¡» ¡ºThat helps. I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡» With Seraphina¡¯s cooperation, Hart delegated the command of the planetary control operation to other commanders to move to the Fukashiro System. The commander of the operation was General Rendano, who was appointed Commander of the MacLir System Forces. He complained greatly about the difficulty of his mission of conquering the planet. ¡°Even if humans can be distinguished, we can¡¯t tell the military android soldiers of the former Coalition from those of Tenka. And what if the former Coalition android soldiers and civilian androids are programmed to attack when they encounter the Royal people?¡± There were conditions in the planetary control operation that Rendano was entrusted with. It said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how long it takes for the suppression, but in order to commence the capture of the Fukashiro system via the transition gate in two weeks, half of the planetary forces must be available for the next battle¡±. In a separate communication with his former colleague Hart, Rendano asked him how he really felt. ¡°The MacLir System will be Her Majesty¡¯s territory after abdication. How far can I take the attack?¡± Hart¡¯s response to that was clear. [The life of a single royal national is greater than the lives of five billion enemy people. These are your orders in the name of Hart Amakawa, Fleet Admiral of the Royal Army. You may kill all hostile who try to kill the Royal Citizens. Attack until they lose the will or ability to resist. I¡¯ll take all responsibility.] Rendano appreciated the Commander-in-Chief¡¯s statement that he would be responsible for everything, but he also pondered the mental burden on his subordinates to carry out the orders. ¡°Treat all the officers and soldiers under my command to an even better drink.¡± During the Hercules and Myrna Star System Battles, Rendano had forced Hart to buy drinks for his reckless behavior. Therefore, he requested a third banquet, but currently, the officers and men led by Rendano, including Salamander and the Suppression craft pilots, has reached 60 million. Inwardly, Rendano thought that the message would not get across, but Hart calmly responded. [About 100,00 Rhodes per person comes to a total of about 6 trillion Rhodes. With the Marquis of Amakawa territory also serving as the Royal Capital, and the budget of the Marquis is abundant. The liquor fee will be deposited in the Military Administration and will be transferred to all of you with your next paycheck. Then, System Army Commander Rendano, I¡¯m counting on you.] Rendano, who had completely underestimated the Marquis of Amakawa¡¯s purse, was involuntarily dazzled by Hart¡¯s reply, but said nothing aloud. After the communication was cut off, Rendano, who was given command, deployed 10 fleets under the command of the Commander-in-Chief and a number of troops carried by 30 million Salamanders in the system. For the first move, 500,000 military satellites surrounded the planet Whispa along with the fleets. As the fleet routed the missile swarm launched from the planet¡¯s surface, 500,000 Salamanders connected to the military satellites entered the planet¡¯s orbit at combat speed and deployed the military satellites with exquisite deceleration. A screen in Rendano¡¯s General Command Center shows the surface of the planet to be attacked. The second planet, Whispa, is 1.2 times larger than Earth and has 1.1 times the gravity. It is an ideal habitable planet with water and atmosphere suitable for humanity and an average temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius on the surface of the planet, in almost the same formation process as Earth. Within the planet, there are the South Pole and the North Pole in the ocean, three continents, and two inland seas, and the atmospheric composition is sufficient, making it a wonderful planet that could be inhabited without the need for extensive terraforming. Many areas are close to London in the UK or Hokkaido in Japan. The hot areas are like Paris in France and Honshu in Japan, and the cold areas like Russia. And the planet is home to 5 billion hostile inhabitants. After confirming that the military satellites were encircling the satellite orbit, Rendano began the battle before the deployment of all the units was completed. [Attention, all forces. The MacLir System is an enemy nation that declared its independence as a protectorate of Tenka. His Excellency has declared, ¡®You may kill all hostile who try to kill the Royal Citizens¡¯. I concur. Destroy all enemy forces and the facilities that support them thoroughly.] Rendano, who gave the order, further added. [Once the job is done, the Fleet Admiral will treat all 60 million officers and soldiers serving in the army with 100,000 Rhodes worth of alcohol per person. Let¡¯s get this over with and move on to the next banquet hall. Shoot with gusto. Spare no ammunition. All forces, commence bombardment! Fire, fire, fire!] Shortly after Rendano¡¯s order, incandescent rays and missiles poured down from the Monarchy forces in satellite orbit toward the planet like a cascade. The numerous waterfalls pouring down from the sky crushed the large number of missiles launched from the surface, and as they were, pierced the facilities and troops on the ground, scattering shock waves and debris around while hollowing out the ground. The special effects of the system prevented the planetary magic element engines from operating normally. Their magic shielding was dysfunctional, and their ability to counter the attack of the Royal Army was greatly reduced. Some facilities created neutralizing force fields to resist, but when the fleet surrounding the planet bombarded them with a concentrated attack of main cannons and missiles, they were inevitably crushed. ¡°Reporting, Sir. From the enemy¡¯s weapons arsenal, a large number of android soldiers are moving in a dispersed manner through the cities. They are moving at high speeds using atmospheric assault landing crafts designed for planetary suppression.¡± ¡°You may cause damage to the city. Use artillery of the battleships to crush enemy soldiers. Inform the aristocratic fleet, they are free to shoot at enemies on the planet. Don¡¯t let them escape!¡± The 500,000 military satellites, which change their attack targets by the minute, destroyed hundreds of thousands of various man-made objects in minutes. A missile cloud trails over the entire planet, and the bombardment that penetrates the cloud pierces the surface. Countless flashes shimmered on the surface of the planet, and the dust that rolled up obscured the brilliance. In addition, massive nuclear explosions occurred in the sky, scattering powerful electromagnetic waves on the surface of the planet, indiscriminately destroying the electronic equipment on the ground in a wide range. For military facilities that had taken measures against electromagnetic waves, even electromagnetic pulse cannons were directly deployed from the military satellites, destroying their equipment one after another. The targets of the Royal Army¡¯s attacks ranged from military facilities and munitions factories to communication facilities and energy supply facilities shared with the private sector, private ports, production factories, material depots, etc. On the ground, the communication network was disrupted, energy supply was cut off, and the waterfall of light, which fell across the planet, caused great turmoil. ¡°The enemy¡¯s energy supply network is gradually being cut off. However, the enemy is using underground emergency batteries to counter.¡± The side that controls the sky has an advantage in gravitational warfare. And in modern times, it has an even greater effect in that it can cut the energy supply from the star. In the Solar System, the birthplace of humanity, only 1/2.2 billionth of the total energy emitted by the Sun reached Earth. So the modern energy acquisition method developed with advanced technology is a condensation system installed near the star, which is a natural fusion power generation device, that sends the energy obtained from the star to the planet. In other words, if the energy transfer circuit is cut off by suppressing the satellite orbit, the energy that can be used on the planetary side can be suppressed to a minimum. Against the Monarchy forces that took most of their energy, the planet Whispa countered it with emergency equipment. Rendano, on the other hand, also ordered the destruction of emergency batteries, which had only a small capacity. ¡°Destroy as many emergency batteries as possible.¡± ¡°General, Sir. The enemy¡¯s energy supply network is connected to all the energy supply plants on the ground. If we destroy all of them, energy will not be able to reach civilian water purification facilities and hospitals.¡± Energy is essential not only for combat, but for all civilian life, maintenance of urban functions, and production activities. If energy is lost, electricity and water will be shut down, food production plants and transportation systems will not be operational, and even building security cannot be deactivated. Rendano, confirmed by the Command Center¡¯s staff, replied with a displeased expression. ¡°Then you say that we should leave energy for the enemy? Besides, it is the civilians on the enemy side who are supporting the activities of the enemy forces. Do you want to see the Third Diete System Battle? Don¡¯t worry, break everything. Even if they return to the Stone Age, no Royal citizen will be bothered!¡± The Tenka and MacLir defense forces on the planet continued their desperate resistance in the face of Rendano¡¯s thorough eradication of all resistance on the planet¡¯s surface, making full use of their own communication networks and energy supply systems. ¡°Have confirmed a missile launch base on the seabed of the planet Whispa. Attacking the seabed from outer space will be difficult.¡± Rendano was inwardly surprised that they had prepared such a thing. There are many surface-to-air missiles that attack air targets from the ground and surface-to-space missiles that attack enemies in outer space, but facilities that attack from the seabed are rare. This is because even if launched from the seabed, the missiles will not be able to gain enough speed and will be shot down by the enemy in satellite orbit. However, even from outer space, attacks do not reach the facilities under the sea. Battleships and crafts are not designed for underwater warfare. It is possible to order underwater battle-specification suppressors to attack, but if you capture an underwater facility in an underwater battle, the suppressors will suffer some damage. ¡°What a wasteful facility they have set up. Is it a check against the former Coalition by Tenka?¡± The attack from the bizarre facility, which he had never imagined, made Rendano look grim until Sandalphon orbiting the planet Whispa began to move. ¡°General,Sir. From Strategic Satellite Sandalphon, a notice to the General headquarters. [The missile launch facility on the seabed will be destroyed with an attack by Sandalphon]. Fleet Admiral Amakawa has issued prior permission for Sandalphon operations.¡± ¡°If so, let them do as they please.¡± With permission from Lenderno, a heat-resistant coated tungsten with a diameter of 1 kilometer was ejected and super-accelerated from the 430-kilometer-long giant of the Strategic Satellite Sandalphon. The massive tungsten mass that soared into the sector accelerated to 100,000 kilometers per hour and plunged into the ocean at an incident angle of 70 degrees. The MacLir government forces and the Tenka ground forces did not have the ability to stop falling celestial bodies. The underwater facility where the tungsten was driven was crushed in an instant, and a crater of 20 kilometers in diameter and 7 kilometers in depth was born in the sea area. The surrounding waters were ravaged by a series of thermal emissions, massive earthquakes, and huge tsunamis. In addition, the rolled up rock and seawater poured in, causing secondary damage. Sandalphon, which dropped the celestial body, orbited the planet Whispa at a distance as close as one-tenth the distance between Earth and its moon, illuminating the night sky with a white light as large as the moon seen from the ground, while spreading fear on the ground. ¡°Strategic Satellite Sandalphon has destroyed the surrounding waters, including enemy facilities. All enemy reaction, completely disappeared¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ So you¡¯re saying doing that much is okay? That¡¯s fine. Order all forces to carry out thorough ground assaults. The enemy¡¯s civilization has not yet returned to the stone age!¡± After sweeping military facilities and large weapons on the ground, the 500,000 military satellites began to crush military vehicles, small weapons, and military android soldiers on the ground one after another. Arrows of light fall, instantly setting off a chain of small explosions on all continents of the planet. Most of the resistance and active energy of the planet Whispa had already been lost. In the midst of all this, a communication was sent from the MacLir System government via the communication network, of which about 40% was left intact on the MacLir System side. ¡°General, Sir. Communication from Sarah Figgins, President of the MacLir System government.¡± ¡°Put it through.¡± While impressed that the communication capability was well maintained while the Royal Army thoroughly interfered, Rendano connected the communication. Then, on the front screen of the Royal Army Headquarters, the President of the Star System, who is still in her 20s, appeared with an angry expression. ¡°This is General Oscar Rendano, Commander of the MacLir Star System Forces. What can I do for you?¡± Asked in a calm manner, Sarah took a deep breath and then cried out. [I don¡¯t want anything. Stop your attack at once. The MacLir System has no power to oppose the Monarchy. You know that, because you ruled us until 10 months ago!] To Sarah desperately soliciting, Rendano tilted his head and replied to her in a questioning manner. ¡°I saw footage of the MacLir System declaring its independence. The Monarchy and Tenka are at war, and the MacLir System, which became a part of Tenka¡¯s camp, is now an enemy nation. The number of weapons has also increased compared to before. Those are weapons that can kill the Royal people. Who are you going to use them against? We have the right to bring an enemy civilization back to the Stone Age for the sake of our own security.¡± [WE?SU?REN?DER! Since the Monarchy side withdrew in the second Battle of the MacLir Star System, we had no choice but to submit to Tenka, who took all effective control. The Monarchy, who abandoned us, is partly at fault for our being dominated by Tenka. The only conclusion is our surrender, so, JUST?STOP?AL?REA?DY!] The declaration of surrender from the other side was somewhat disheartening to Rendano, who had assumed that it would be the kind of muddy ground battle that the former Crown Prince Gracian had been engaged in on Earth. The reason for the overwhelming victory so far was thought to be the existence of the transition gate. To carry a single military satellite, one transport ship is required, and even if the transport ships of all 10 fleets are used, only 10,000 satellites can be brought in. There are many other supplies that need to be transported, so the limit that can be carried by 10 fleets would be about 300 units. In addition, the Royal Army brought in 20 million suppression crafts, millions of combat drones, atmospheric fighters, billions of heavily armed android soldiers and assault landing crafts, along with 30 million Salamanders for transport. Without the Transition Gate, the idea of transporting the Strategic Satellite Sandalphon, the large-scale atmospheric fighter port, the fleet spaceport, and the dedicated spaceport of the large fighter craft Israfel to another star system would not have been born. The presence of a dedicated spaceport of the large fighter crafts allows the Royal Army to constantly deploy 4 million Israfels in combat formation into the system in 4 shifts every 6 hours. Even if Tenka sends a million warships, it would be impossible to bring down the current MacLir System. It¡¯s not surprising that Hurt, who doesn¡¯t want even a single friendly destroyer damaged, left the ongoing battle in the system to Rendano and headed for the next battlefield. (If I were in the position of being attacked, I would conduct guerrilla warfare to buy time for the Royal people of other star systems.) Rendano, who remembered that the people to whom he had surrendered were not the Deite royal people, who would gladly sacrifice their lives to take a shot at the enemy, but the MacLireans who was always left behind and drew the poor lottery, declared indifferently through all the communication networks that the Royal Army had seized. [General Oscar Rendano, Commander of the Star System Forces, to all humans in the system. Sarah Figgins, President of the MacLir System, has surrendered. The remaining Tenka people should choose to express their intention to surrender via their terminal or die in vain with their stubbornness. To the Royal Army, kill all enemies who do not surrender. That is all.] Rendano sent in millions of atmospheric fighters and drone units on standby to make his remarks a reality. Next, 100 million units of heavily armed android soldiers and a group of assault landing crafts carrying them were also sent in. However, the 20 million suppressors did not rush into the planet. They anticipate that the planet Whispa can be subdued with unmanned weapons only, and did not want to cause casualties by sending in manned forces. With the introduction of new troops, the hostile responses across the planets displayed in Rendano¡¯s command center quickly disappeared. Some of them were erased by the attack of the Royal Army, and others by surrender, but in any case, the victory of the Monarchy was imminent. It was easier than expected. Rendano had such an impression, but the angry demands from Sarah, who surrendered, overshadowed his impression. [Since we have surrendered, I beg that you send energy immediately. Looting has occurred in urban areas because of the collapse of transportation and distribution, the shutdown of water purification facilities and food production plants, and the shutdown of lifelines. Please do not attack armed security forces else security cannot be maintained. Rather, send the Royal Army to stop the looting. Also, please send rescue squads to areas attacked from orbit. The coastal areas have been hit by a tsunami, so please send troops there as well.] He wondered why they were being asked to do so much by someone they had just been fighting with, even though they were still in the middle of a battle with the Tenka army. Despite such dissatisfaction, Rendano was moved by Sarah¡¯s spirit and responded reluctantly. ¡°The resumption of energy supply will come after the surrender or annihilation of Tenka Forces. Other requests will be met.¡± Shortly after he thought that the rescue teams had been arranged, he was exposed to the barrage of requests from the war correspondents, ¡°We want androids for local coverage to accompany the army¡±. ¡ï Postscript Four Heavenly Kings R: ¡°Guaaaah, they ran out of stock before the release date!¡± General Bookstore King: ¡°Looks like the Four Heavenly Kings R has been hit¡­¡± Anime Store King: ¡°Fufufu¡­¡­ he was the fastest of the Four Heavenly Kings¡­¡± Mail Order King A: ¡± Out of stock before it goes on sale, our Four Heavenly Kings¡¯ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ mate, what did you say??¡± General Bookstore King: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Mail Order King A¡± Mail Order King A: ¡± Philine¡¯s ¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð appears in the first volume ¡° Anime Store King: ¡°What? ¡®Nyan¡¯ wasn¡¯t just a suggestion!¡± ¡ù For details, please check the first volume. Thank you for defeating Four Heavenly Kings R. CH 73 Information on the complete suppression of the MacLir System also reached Fortress Kerviel, which had connected a communications network by scattering reconnaissance ships at each warp. Since its founding, the Monarchy of Diete has only executed two planetary control operations. The first was the invasion of the Solar System by the former Crown Prince Gracian. As a result of the twists and turns, Earth is still a dangerous zone where the Royal Citizens cannot set foot on even now. The second was the recent third MacLir Star System Battle. The results were far better than initially expected, and the Tenka army that had taken root on the ground, as well as the former Coalition¡¯s resistance faction and the mafia, which had stockpiled weapons, were all wiped out. Major facilities of the former Coalition, which had been left untouched, and the Androids, that had been programmed to attack the Monarchy in case of an emergency, were also destroyed in the operation. The Monarchy, which has taken control of the MacLir system, had brought in a number of city-building facilities and manufacturing plants through the transition gate, and plans to impose alternatives that they can control in the future. The economic reconstruction of the MacLir System will be carried out by investing the industrial power of the Monarchy on the third planet Tula, which is a huge resource-mining planet, and connecting it with the Monarchy using the Transition Gate. A review of Anti-Diete education will also be initiated. As the Monarchy takes over in earnest, the areas that were likely to pose a threat to the lives of the Royal Citizens are steadily being resolved, and the threat level of the MacLir system is rapidly declining. In the future, the Monarchy will be able to allow its citizens to walk around the planet Whispa, instead of being confined to the moon Fraga, as was the case during the reign of the previous Sovereign. ¡°What will happen to the Fukashiro Star System?¡± The Fukashiro system, which Hart would directly govern, was also accepted by the former Sovereign, Valfrete, as its ruler H¨¤o L¨¢n expressed his willingness to subordinate to the Monarchy. The people of Fukashiro already have the appropriate rights as Royal citizens of Fukashiro. Therefore, in the Fukashiro System, it is not possible to carry out a strategy of ¡°The life of a single royal national is greater than the lives of five billion enemy people ¡± as in the MacLir System Suppression Operation. It would be nice if we could rule smoothly and govern properly¡­ And so, Hart indulged in sweet fantasies like the Normal Mode of the Maiden Game. The Monarchy¡¯s third planetary suppression battle will take place on Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ngRensh¨­, an ideal inhabited planet superior to Earth. It has larger and more resource-rich land and oceans than Earth, pests are almost non-existent, thick and stable atmospheric layers, and a planetary rotation of 26 hours. The biggest factor in the Tenka Federation¡¯s leap forward was that its first inhabited planet was Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng. Currently, in addition to the Fukashiro people, there are 2.2 billion Shinky¨­ people and 1.545 billion Ky¨±yama people, and the rulers are a total of 3.75 billion intruders. Their forces are 90,000 Tenka cruisers and carrier crafts, and 325,000 destroyers. In terms of Tenka cruisers, this is a force equivalent to 133,000 ships. Fortress Kerviel with 9 million Salamander crafts has a force equivalent to 120,000 ships, so the former five nations believed that they could adequately defend if Fortress Kerviel attacked. ¡°Space forces are no longer an issue. What¡¯s troubling is the atmospheric forces.¡± Hart is wary of the atmospheric forces that control the 21 billion Fukashiro people. The more intense the resistance on the Tenka side, the more casualties the Fukashiro people will have, and the more difficult it will be for Hart to rule after the war. Attack at the fastest speed and minimize casualties. With that goal, as soon as Hart reached the outer edge of the Fukashiro System, he immediately sent magic power to the Spirit King, Fleur. ¡ºAs a contractor, I apply for a direct contract with Fleur, without going through spirit crystals. Please connect this world with the spirit world of Fleur. Onsidium.¡» When Hart called on the cherry-colored spirit crystal, and Mira also hoisted the spirit crystal of the Spirit God for activation, Fleur, who appeared before Hart¡¯s eyes, smiled while touching the two crystals. ¡ºHow much do you understand the meaning of connecting me with magic power? But since Hart offered, it¡¯s fine, right?¡» ¡ºI don¡¯t mind. I want to sign a contract with Fleur.¡» ¡ºI see¡­¡­¡­ Congratulations. I¡¯m actually peculiar. Looking forward to working with you. With pleasure.¡» As Fleur radiated a pale glow, the scenery in Hart¡¯s field of vision gradually began to distort and collapse as if melting. The scene repainted with the light emitted by Fleur was a peaceful world with flower fields that spread out to the fullest, forests with yellowish green in the distance, and a series of gentle mountain ranges with snow on the mountaintop. The colorful flowers brightly decorated the land. In the sky above these flowers, yellow, white, and pink petals danced in the wind, transforming into butterflies as they fluttered about. Hart, the contractor of Fleur, intuitively sensed that all the beings in his sight were the lower class spirits of the genus who followed Fleur. Their total number is meaningless to count because Fleur can produce as much as she likes. If hundreds of billions are needed, Fleur will generate hundreds of billions in the blink of an eye. Fleur¡¯s red eyes narrowed and she pointed her wand with a large blue gem at the tip towards the planet. ¡ºYou should distinguish the Fukashiro people from the Shinky¨­ people, and the Ky¨±yama people. Mark them as blue, red and orange. Everyone, go on.¡» Brightly colored butterflies descend into the star system, leaving the trail of light. They became petals, sticking to the humans in the system, and giving the Hart and his troops a way to identify the indistinguishable Tenka people. The Fukashiro System was already under the control of the Spirit King Fleur, not Tenka or the Monarchy. Fascinated by the insane and mysterious scene, Hart closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly opened them. Then, the world that spreads out in the field of vision returns to the outer edge of the Fukashiro Star System as Hart knew it. However, just because the scene in his field of vision had returned to the command center of Fortress Kerviel, which reflected outer space, did not mean that the anomalous phenomena in the Fukashiro system had subsided. The Fukashiro System was repainted with the light emitted by Fleur, and at the coordinates of what should have been a normal space area according to human instrumentation, mysterious luminous phenomena, as if stars were twinkling, were occurring wildly. ¡ºI¡¯ll give you the Strategic Satellite Metatron, operate it and help me. I¡¯ll make you a new one if it breaks, so I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡» ¡ºAll right, then I¡¯ll make a shortcut.¡» At the point where Fleur pointed the tip of the cane, the space in front of Fortress Kerviel was distorted, and a huge vortex of white, blue and red colors with a diameter of 2000 kilometers was generated there. At the appearance of the vortex, which swallowed up the surroundings at such a rapid pace, the personnel of the fortress command center, who were terrified as if a black hole had appeared, all turned their eyes to Hart and silently asked for an explanation. Looking over the command center personnel, Hart gave them orders. ¡°That is the transition gate at the outer edge of the star system. From now on, we will return to the MacLir system via the transition gate, and with the troops waiting in the MacLir system, we will deploy through the transition gate that will be generated 300 million kilometers from Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng. Think of it as a shortcut of about 4 billion kilometers into the star system. Details are confidential. Proceed.¡± Although the shape was somewhat different, the fortress personnel who were informed that it was the transition gate as planned patted their chests inwardly and accepted the sight of the fortress being swallowed by the vortex. If Hart himself had been a staff member, he would have advised the Commander-in-Chief to explain the situation beforehand. Hart knows that it would be better that way, but he had not expected Fleur to be so peculiar. He can¡¯t explain what he didn¡¯t know. Hart can only guarantee that Fleur¡¯s seizure of the star system¡¯s magical elements will enable her to use the transition gate, reduce the output of the enemy¡¯s magic element engine, and identify the enemy. However, for the Monarchy forces in the MacLir System, it was enough just to connect the transition gate. The moment a third transition gate appeared in the MacLir System, from which Fortress Kerviel appeared, the Monarchy forces, which had been on standby, simultaneously activated the magic element engines at maximum output. [Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, to all forces. A transition gate has been connected to the Fukashiro System. From this point, our forces will rush into the Fukashiro System, annihilate the enemy forces occupying the Fukashiro System, and liberate the subordinated Royal Citizens of the Fukashiro System. All forces, rush into the transition gate immediately.] After clarifying his purpose, Hart ordered the entire army to advance. The Eight fleets and aristocratic troops, 4 million Israfel crafts, and 25 million Salamander crafts with various units, which received the orders, began to flow into the transition gate as a turbid stream of light, emitting a succession of magic element converted light. From the zenith direction of these huge muddy currents, the 480-kilometer-long Strategic Satellite Metatron super accelerated and quickly overtook the army, and followed the reversed Fortress Kerviel into the transition gate. Following the two giant meteors, millions of large stars and tens of millions of small stars transfer 250 light-years in an instant one after another. Immediately after passing through the transition gate, the Royal Army began to broadcast a recorded video of Xu¨§ L¨¬ through multidimensional magical conversion communication waves via the magic elements that Fleur had hijacked, and the lower spirits of the petals attached to the Tenka people. [I am S¨°ng Xu¨§ L¨¬, the current head of the S¨°ng family, who have ruled the Fukashiro System for 699 years since the first head. The S¨°ng family entrusted the G¨¡o family to rule Shinky¨­ and the Lin family to rule Ky¨±yama, but did not grant them the rights to the Fukashiro star system. From this point on, we will use force to eliminate the five nations that have deceived us and restore the legitimate rights of Fukashiro.] Xu¨§ L¨¬, resolutely naming herself, issued a warning to the people of Fukashiro. [In the name of the head of the S¨°ng family, I hereby declare martial law throughout the entire Fukashiro System. Until the battle in space and the suppression of the planet is over, the people of Fukashiro should take refuge in their homes. After annihilating the space forces of the five Tenka nation Army, the Royal Army will launch a large-scale ground battle with tens of millions of fighter crafts and suppression crafts. Each of you, bring down all androids that you can manage. All who are caught outside will be annihilated.] Xu¨§ L¨¬, in the recorded video, also explained the future developments. The people of Fukashiro have the rights of the Royal People as part of the Royal citizenry. The rulers of Fukashiro were Xu¨§ L¨¬, the successor of the S¨°ng family, and the Marquis of Amakawa, whom her father H¨¤o L¨¢n introduced to the Fukashiro people. The Marquis of Amakawa was entrusted with the Fukashiro System by the Monarchy and became the Duke of Son. Other aristocrats involved in Fukashiro are Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s cousins, S¨°ng S¨±ra and S¨°ng L¨ªn f¨¡, who engaged in marriage diplomacy with the Monarchy, and their husbands. S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡ will decide the treatment of Shinky¨­ people and Ky¨±yama people together with their husbands. Basically, they will punish criminal acts committed during the occupation and confiscate the property of former occupiers to compensate for the damage. What they cannot fully compensate for, they will enact forced labor to pay it back, even if it is for generations to come. This was a publicity campaign to give the Fukashiro people relief so that they would not mistakenly side with Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama in their campaign to suppress the cities. The moment she uttered the word ¡°labor¡±, Xu¨§ L¨¬ had a painful expression even though it was a recorded video, but this was the best video that was taken. As the video was repeatedly played, a turbid stream of light hit the Fukashiro System. The star system rush of the Monarchy of Diete was as vigorous as the eruption of a volcano. The ships that stood in the straight path between the transition gate and Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng were crushed by Metatron, a strategic satellite which came charging as a huge mass. The giant Metatron is equipped with a mass-wave aggregation cannon connected to the magic engine, a magic conversion protective membrane. Fleur, the Spirit King in the system, pours in magic power and operates it with the internal computer and the deployed military android soldiers. Driven by Fleur¡¯s power, Metatron crushed the unfortunate ships in its path with enormous mass and shields, and against the Tenka ships that avoided it up, down, left, and right, it exploded them with a rain of artillery showered from the many cannon gates attached to it. From behind, Fortress Kerviel, which followed with a slight deviation toward the zenith, blew away the surviving remnants of the battlefield where Metatron rampaged. In the sector where the two meteors flew by, the light of the great army, which dyed the area around the transition gate like scorching magma, swarmed over the red and orange reacting Tenka ships in the vicinity as it flowed in to spread out at the base. Four million large fighter crafts with combat capabilities to compete with Tenka cruisers wrap around the surrounding Tenka ships from all directions, skewering each ship with dozens of bombardments. The area around the Transition Gate of the Fukashiro Star System was immediately conquered by the Royal Army. [The enemy can¡¯t put up a shield properly. They explode with just a small artillery hit, so fire a number of shots at once from the many secondary armaments. Leave the shield and propulsion to me and keep shooting enemies in range in cooperation with your spirits.] Philine, Claudia and Xu¨§ L¨¬ are the three Operating Assistants to Fortress Kerviel. Compared to Yuna and Colette on the General flagship Ramiel, Philine¡¯s military rank is higher, which may cause a difference in the merit and the medals of honor. The more such concerns arose, the more enemies Fortress Kerviel was shooting down in the MacLir and Fukashiro Star Systems. In the surrounding space where Metatron and Fortress Kerviel passed, the Tenka Fleet is in turmoil. The Tenka side, unable to receive orders from the flagship due to the interference of communications through the magic element, was unable to even form a formation and was caught up in the melee, being hunted down by the subsequent fleet and Israfels. Tenka¡¯s defense force is nearly seven times that of the MacLir System, but it is only a slight increase in prey for the Royal Army. ¡°The magic conversion reaction of the Monarchy forces, more than 20 times that of our army!¡± The Tenka rulers, who had been invaded, were given desperate reports. ¡°A star system anomaly is occurring. Auxiliary ship-sized fighter crafts and Salamanders have more than 10 times the power of our military, equivalent to 1.3 million ships. A new fortress, which is more than five times the size of Fortress Kerviel, is also confirmed. In addition, enemy reinforcements continue to warp out directly into the system. There are too many enemies. Lord L¨ªng Y¨©ng, we can¡¯t handle them.¡± Having witnessed the invasion of the Royal Army, L¨ªng Y¨©ng understood that the Monarchy had developed and introduced a new technology that would allow them to warp out directly into the star system. What L¨ªng Y¨©ng couldn¡¯t understand was that fighter crafts that should be incapable of interstellar travel and even the fortress more than five times the size of Fortress Kerviel have invaded via warp. No matter how he tried, he could not respond with his existing forces. It is impossible for one side to win against a 20 to 1 strike disadvantage. And L¨ªng Y¨©ng had neither the power nor the time to take measures. The Fukashiro System had three inhabited planets and one manned moon, and a huge number of facilities were scattered throughout the system, but the Monarchy¡¯s forces were conducting simultaneous capture operations throughout the system. As the Royal Army approached at high speed, L¨ªng Y¨©ng used optical communication to issue a warning to the Monarchy. ¡°This is L¨ªng Y¨©ng, of the ruling G¨¡o family of Shinky¨­. This is a warning to the Diete¡¯s forces. We are holding in Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng¡¯s satellite orbit. We can drop fusion munitions on the planet. The people of Fukashiro were incorporated into the Monarchy. I don¡¯t care what happens to the Royal people. Cease your attack. Otherwise, we¡¯ll blow the Royal people away.¡± The threats made by the cornered L¨ªng Y¨©ng surprised even the aides around him. In addition to the Fukashiro people who were the original residents, Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng also has a total of 3.75 billion people, including Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama residents. If he uses fusion munitions, he will burn down his own people as well. Of course, if the Monarchy withdraws, L¨ªng Y¨©ng and his troops will be able to overcome the current situation without any sacrifice. The hopes of such aides were shattered by the black-haired young man who appeared on the communication screen. [This is Hart, the Duke of Son, Husband of S¨°ng Xu¨§ L¨¬ and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army. I will give you my conclusion. The Royal Army will continue the attack. In the Monarchy, there is a principle that hostages should not be valued. You will be a warning to those fools who would think of taking hostages in the future.] During the war with the former Coalition, Hart was responsible for the hostage rescue operation during the invasion of the Myrna System. The hostages were classmates of the Hart from the Military Academy. The order given by the person in charge, Hart, was, ¡°If any prisoner of war is used as a hostage, shoot and kill the enemy along with the prisoner and proceed¡±. After the operation, the number of prisoners who were rescued did not match with the prisoners held in detention. The inhabitants of the Fukashiro System are also the inhabitants of the system that will be governed by the descendants of Hart and Xu¨§ L¨¬. Still, Hart ordered the attack. [Against the Monarchy of Diete, hostages are meaningless. All forces, continue to annihilate the enemy.] The conversation between the two was transmitted throughout the system, and the attack of the Royal Army became even fiercer. Each Tenka ship was bombarded by the Monarchy side dozens of times, and even in the space where the ship had exploded and been dispersed, the bombardments filled with murderous intent continued. Asked by aides who witnessed the increasing momentum of the attack, whether he would really shoot the fusion rounds, L¨ªng Y¨©ng put blame on Hart for making a ruthless decision. ¡°Don¡¯t associate this with other hostage incidents. There should be tens of billions of hostages. 20 billion people. More than a third of the Monarchy¡¯s total population. Will you just let them die?¡± There is no reason to accept criticism from the person taking hostages, but that does not mean that Hart feels nothing. The families of the murdered residents will resent Hart for his ruthless decision. In the future, when Hart¡¯s descendants rule the Fukashiro System, they will face various difficulties. Originally, the person to resent should be L¨ªng Y¨©ng who shot the fusion bomb. And for Hart, the Monarchy¡¯s only Fleet Admiral and Commander-in-Chief, it would be the biggest disgrace of his life to let 20 billion of the Royal people die, even in the Fukashiro System, in a battle he himself faced as Commander-in-Chief during his tenure. He will be reminded of it many times until he dies, wondering if there was any other way. If there had been a time window of half a year when he was entrusted with Fukashiro by H¨¤o L¨¢n, he would have protected the Fukashiro system like the Athena system and evacuated the important figures of the people of Fukashiro. However, it was after the fall of Fukashiro that Hart heard of the matter entrusted to him by H¨¤o L¨¢n, and there was no room for maneuvering. Hart, who was unable to come to terms with his feelings, uttered words that were at odds with his own emotions. [Some casualties in the operation to recapture a star system will be unavoidable.] ¡°This is not a threat. I¡¯m really going to fire!¡± A grim look of determination rose in L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s complexion. Shortly after, Hart threw a stone at a party other than L¨ªng Y¨©ng. [I am also serious. I will make sure that the people of Shinky¨­ pay for the damage incurred, even if it takes generations to pay for it. However, the damage caused by Shinky¨­ will not be shouldered by Ky¨±yama. Moreover, if they turn on Shinky¨­ and stop the nuclear fusion attack, then the post-war treatment of Ky¨±yama will be better. With whom will the Lin family¡¯s Lord Li¨² H¨¤o side, the S¨°ng family or the G¨¡o family?] It was a blatant invitation to betrayal. When Li¨² H¨¤o, who was unexpectedly invited, momentarily froze, Hart folded from the standpoint of the Tenka side, the S¨°ng family. [It¡¯s a simple matter. I don¡¯t value hostages, but I appreciate contributions to the Monarchy. I cannot disrespect the will of my father-in-law, Lord H¨¤o L¨¢n, or the former Sovereign who accepted Fukashiro¡¯s decision. This is the best concession I can make. If you were to side with the S¨°ng family, I would not treat the Lin family and the people of Ky¨±yama badly, but what do you think?] When asked by Hart, Li¨² H¨¤o suspected a possible trap. He wondered if the intention might be to set up a dispute between Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, block the launch of the fusion rounds, and then attack the weakened armies of both sides. However, if he uttered falsehoods in the negotiations, the promises of the Monarchy of Diete and the royal aristocrats would henceforth be discredited by their own people and by other countries. Moreover, Hart mentioned the name of his predecessor, H¨¤o L¨¢n, as the successor to the S¨°ng family. If he lies using this name, he will lose the credibility of 20 billion Fukashiro people. In a battle where the Monarchy¡¯s victory is already assured, reducing some sacrifices at the cost of permanently damaging the credibility of the Monarchy and the royal aristocrats is unbalanced. In addition, in the Second Battle of the Deite Star System, Dirus, was attacked by Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s ¨­izumi Army, who were core the members, the Hony¨­ army, who had to make a mark after losing their successor, Seiran, and Yuen¡¯s Ten-to Army. In the battles so far, Ky¨±yama has not killed any Monarchy civilians and did not directly incur resentment from the royal people. As the weakest of the six Tenka nations, Ky¨±yama is not worth the trouble of being deceived by the Royal Army. Given no choice but death or surrender, Li¨² H¨¤o was quick to seize the miraculously presented opportunity not to miss it. ¡°We, the Lin family, have given up on the G¨¡o family, which is trying to burn down Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng with all the people of Ky¨±yama, and we are joining the S¨°ng family. Burning an entire inhabited planet along with their own people is completely incomprehensible. It seems that we, the Lin family, were the wrong to side with those people to start with. If we follow the S¨°ng family now and attack Shinky¨­, will we receive additional merits for our achievement?¡± Li¨² H¨¤o¡¯s sharp eyes and the raised corners of his mouth reminded Hart of a hunter. If you want a good job done, you should provide good terms. With the lives of 20 billion people in his own territory at stake, Hart showed that he could offer a reward commensurate with his work. [Of course. I am the sole Fleet Admiral of the Monarchy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, and the Duke in charge of the Fukashiro System. In the name of the Duke of Son, I promise better treatment to Ky¨±yama as long as the lives of the Fukashiro people are saved.] ¡°I understand.¡± As L¨ªng Y¨©ng condemned the betrayal, negotiations were concluded between Hart and Li¨² H¨¤o. And Hart immediately instructed Fleur, who had expanded her realm into the Fukashiro system. ¡ºFleur, change the orange marker attached to the Ky¨±yama people to another easy-to-understand color. Also, please remove the communication interference on Ky¨±yama and stream the conversation I just had with L¨ªng Y¨©ng.¡» ¡ºI¡¯ll make it green. I¡¯ll remove the obstruction and play the video. Don¡¯t worry, leave it to me.¡» Shortly after Fleur¡¯s reply reached Hart¡¯s ear, the orange Ky¨±yama army displayed on the screen of Fortress Kerviel command was all repainted green. All enemy and foe identification displays of the Royal army use the same system. Judging that the display of the entire army had changed, Hart immediately issued an order to the entire star system. [Hart, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, the Duke of Son, to all mankind in the Fukashiro System. Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama sides with the Monarchy and the S¨°ng family as L¨ªng Y¨©ng of Shinky¨­ is attempting to launch fusion munition at Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng where the Ky¨±yama people also live. People of Shinky¨­, you too will be killed by L¨ªng Y¨©ng. The Royal Army and the Ky¨±yama army must jointly attack the Shinky¨­ Army. To the Shinky¨­ Army, stop following the foolish L¨ªng Y¨©ng and surrender.] Following Hart¡¯s orders, Fleur showed L¨ªng Y¨©ng attempting to launch a nuclear attack on the planet, dramatically changing the flow of the battlefield. The Ky¨±yama army, which had changed to green, recovered the output of their magic engine and began to attack the surrounding unprotected Shinky¨­ army with overwhelming firepower. Although the Ky¨±yama Army was outnumbered by the Shinky¨­ Army, the five-fold difference in force evaluation due to the output abnormality of the magic engine quickly overturned the number¡¯s inferiority. The Ky¨±yama army, exploiting the gap in which the various units of the Shinky¨­ Army were unable to decide whether to counterattack or not, overran the surrounding Shinky¨­ fleet and crushed it. Some Shinky¨­ vessels fired fusion rounds according to L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s orders, but the number of missiles fired was not large because the planet was also inhabited by Shinky¨­ residents. And the fusion missiles that were fired were also shot down by the Ky¨±yama army, which was deployed right next to the Shinky¨­ army, in order to protect their own people. ¡°Your Excellency Fleet Admiral, the Ky¨±yama army is destroying or self-detonating weapons in the system one after another. Even those under the control of Shinky¨­ are sending location information to us.¡± ¡°Share the information with all forces immediately. Destroy each fleet command and fighter craft command post, prioritizing them at the discretion of each Commander. Advance the schedule and launch the atmospheric suppression operation. All Salamander crafts, commence the capture operation.¡± After receiving information from the Ky¨±yama army, the Royal Army pushed the fleet and Israfels into the midst of the disorganized Shinky¨­ Army to clear a path and launched an attack against the Shinky¨­ Army on the planet. A swarm of blue light swept away the red light in overwhelming numbers. [Li¨² H¨¤o, you shameless traitor wagging your tail to other people!] Li¨² H¨¤o squinted and smiled at L¨ªng Y¨©ng, who was swearing at him. ¡°Finally, allow me to express my gratitude. By threatening to attack the people of Ky¨±yama with fusion rounds, you gave me the cause to stand with the S¨°ng family in a big way. It also greatly increased our value in stopping fusion rounds shot at the Royal people. Shinky¨­ took on the wrath of the Monarchy and Fukashiro. I appreciate your foolishness, L¨ªng Y¨©ng. Thank you very much.¡± [Bastard¡­] There, L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s expression, distorted by anger, was drowned out by the light and wiped out. The Israfel bombardment hit the part of the L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s General Flagship which was outside the range of the shield effect due to the territorialization, and caused a huge explosion. Israfel, who carried out the attack, was the craft of Captain Alois Khan, who was identified as the Battalion Commander of Battalion 0285-073 in the Royal Army. The craft, which skillfully used the supportive artillery of the Strategic Satellite Metatron and the flow of magic elements, ran through the battle sector like a meteor, accelerating in response to the huge explosion that occurred with a shield. ¡°Lord Li¨² H¨¤o, the flagship of Shinky¨­ has been dropped. We can¡¯t confirm any escapees.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine.¡± After receiving reports of L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s death, Li¨² H¨¤o suddenly confirmed that two hours had not yet passed since the start of the battle, and he smiled uncontrollably. The two hours to this moment were a turning point in the fate of the 1,545 million Ky¨±yama people¡¯s future, which had changed dramatically. The losing side would not be recognized as being of much value if they sold themselves, and traitors would not be trusted or appreciated. However, if he was being recruited by the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, the story is completely different. If he was told that they were going to launch nuclear fusion munitions at his own people and betray them due to unavoidable circumstances, and if he had a track record of protecting the people of the Monarchy, albeit in the Fukashiro system, his position would be dramatically improved. By deeming Shinky¨­, who tried to shoot fusion munition at the planet, as a villain, he can explain the policy change to the people of Ky¨±yama and convince them. And when he looked back on what the Ky¨±yama people gained from the war, he saw a future where they could say that they had a much more comfortable living environment than in the Ky¨±yama System. If the future of the people is examined in thousands of years, perhaps the balance of payments could be settled. In just under two hours, Li¨² H¨¤o, who had managed to escape from the losing camp, gave orders to his troops using the magic element communications, which had restored its function, while biting back laughter at the sudden development. [To all Ky¨±yama forces, earn as much merit as possible. We must have the head of the S¨°ng family appreciate our success. Stop the fusion round attacks with the highest priority. Thoroughly destroy the Shinky¨­ army and defense weapons, and reduce the number of casualties of the Royal Army and the Royal people. And don¡¯t accept Shinky¨­¡¯s surrender. Tell them condescendingly that we have no such authority. In fact, we don¡¯t.] The reason why Li¨² H¨¤o intentionally gave instructions to agitate Shinky¨­ was to make the Shinky¨­ army rampage and show the viciousness to the Royal people in an easy-to-understand manner, and to raise the rewards that the Ky¨±yama people would get. How many times would this draw¡¯s fortune be equivalent to the first prize of a lottery ticket? Li¨² H¨¤o, who even had time to think about such mundane matters, mercilessly attacked the Shinky¨­ army which had been an ally a little while ago in order to solidify his foothold as a convert. However, the support of the Ky¨±yama army was hardly necessary. Having brought down the defensive satellites that had been deployed on each planet and moon, the Royal Army began its invasion into the atmosphere. As if they could not even wait for the military satellites to surround the satellite orbit, more than 20 million fighter crafts will descend into the atmosphere as shooting stars. Some of them dispersed millions of unmanned fighters and drone units in the atmosphere and spread them over the units and facilities that the Shinky¨­ Army had on the planet. In the blink of an eye, unmanned weapons from both armies begin to engage, and artillery and missiles fly over the sky, sparking flashes of explosions in the sky and on the ground. Later on, bombardment from military satellites began, and defense facilities on the ground counterattacked, creating shock waves in the atmosphere. In between the battle airspaces, humanoid 40-meter-long suppressors and assault landing crafts carrying heavily-armed Android soldiers were landing all over the planet. A large unit of the suppressors bombarded the planet with the energy converted from the magic engines, shooting through the diverse weaponry of the Shinky¨­ Army and conquering various regions. Both the Salamanders and the suppressors have unusually high output of the magic engine, with Salamanders flying around in the sky with powerful shields, and the suppressors laying waste to ground weapons with overwhelming firepower. As they destroyed large weapons, the Monarchy¡¯s android troops were deploying operations to control major cities while annihilating the Shinky¨­ android soldiers. ¡°The resistance of the Shinky¨­ army and militia may last what, two months? But that¡¯s if they didn¡¯t have this.¡± Fascinated by the green light that stuck to him and did not disappear, Li¨² H¨¤o revised the expected time until suppression to 10 days. CH 74 The shadows of the Monarchy warships shrouded each sector of the Fukashiro Star System as a black cloud. Fifteen million of the 40-meter-long suppression machines were dispersed throughout the system, along with hundreds of millions of heavily armed Android soldiers to make a massive military force used to maintain security. By these great forces, the Tenka people were made aware that the effective ruler of the star system had changed to the Monarchy. When they looked up at the night sky, 20 million Salamanders and Israfels were flying around as a meteor shower. Among them, the Strategy Satellite Metatron, which shines brightly, became a new moon and illuminated the night of Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng. The military city-building facilities sent through the transition gate were building new Monarchy facilities one after another across the planet, using resources in the star system. The Monarchy has begun to govern much better than originally anticipated, using the data on the period of occupation provided by Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama, who had submitted to the S¨°ng family. The population of Fukashiro, which was 21 billion people at the time H¨¤o L¨¢n subordinated, had decreased by 1 billion when the Monarchy liberated them after a year and two months of occupation. The damage suffered by Fukashiro was so great, that it was extremely difficult for the Monarchy, which was of a different people, to rebuild the governing system that Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama had established, without the entire governance structure being transferred to the Monarchy and then taken over by Ky¨±yama. The restoration of all social systems was carried out promptly, and some were smoothly switched to the Royal System. Spirit crystals were distributed free of charge to the Fukashiro people, and the connection between the S¨°ng family and the Fukashiro people and the communication system were also rebuilt. The restoration was swift not only in terms of systems, but also in terms of human resources. Xu¨§ L¨¬, who succeeded H¨¤o L¨¢n as head of the S¨°ng family, and S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡ of the S¨°ng family, who were Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s cousins, returned to the Monarchy, and the former senior retainers of Fukashiro, who had fled and hid, returned. Regarding them, they have all been uniformly returned to their original positions, and future replacements will be decided by S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡ in consultation with Fukashiro¡¯s aides. As for the serious crimes ¡­¡­ such as massacres and rapes committed during the armed occupation by Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, the serious criminals of Shinky¨­ are being dealt with harshly, while the Ky¨±yama side is being dealt with a little more care and attention. Consideration is being given to the Ky¨±yama people, as it is necessary to show that they will be rewarded if they follow and contribute to the Monarchy. Property stolen from the Fukashiro people will be returned, and the Monarchy will provide support to compensate them, and they will not be saddled with debts. Their position is tentatively the same as that of the people of the MacLir system, and they are in the process of calculating the merits and demerits of the situation and considering the best way to settle the matter. As for the postwar Shinky¨­ citizens, Hart left them to Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s two cousins and their husbands as originally planned. He hopes that they will be used successfully as targets for the Fukashiro people to vent the resentment, which can no longer be directed at Ky¨±yama. Although it is L¨ªng Y¨©ng¡¯s crime, it is easy to drive anger at the Shinky¨­ people, as they are also guilty of launching a fusion munition. The creation of a common enemy was a blessing for both the Monarchy and Fukashiro. However, Hart has decided to use his own authority to deal harshly with a small number of Shinky¨­ residents. ¡°Your Majesty, I would like to report on Leandre¡¯s three sisters who were sent to Fukashiro on marriage diplomacy. The result was the rescue of two and the confirmation of one death. As for the two, they were found to be mentally deranged and invalid.¡± The younger sisters of the traitor Leandre, daughters of the former Crown Prince Gracian, were exiled in the form of marriage diplomacy after being defeated by former Sovereign Valfrete in the political dispute. The marriage diplomacy with the Fukashiro system was hostage exchange on behalf of both countries. If Leandre¡¯s sisters were treated unfavorably, Xu¨§ L¨¬ and her comrades would be treated unfavorably in retaliation, so their personal safety should have been guaranteed. At least Valfrete, who sent it out, had that view. What was unexpected for the Monarchy was the invasion of Fukashiro by Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama. It was impossible for the Monarchy, which had no diplomatic relations with Tenka, to foresee such a situation when diplomatic relations were established. Still, the Shinky¨­ side should have treated the girls respectfully to use them as a material for political negotiations. If the Shinky¨­ side had such consideration, the Monarchy would have also given Shinky¨­ consideration if only to that extent. The reality, however, was that things had taken a turn for the worse. When Shinky¨­ invaded Fukashiro, they had no intention of giving any consideration to Fukashiro, and had a strong desire for revenge against the Monarchy of Diete, which had dropped celestial bodies. That had dire consequences for the girls. Although Hart is too horrified to mention aloud what exactly was done to the girls, they were targeted for retaliation by the Shinky¨­ side as representatives of the Monarchy that destroyed the Shinky¨­ Star System, and were subjected to the full extent of the human imagination. Astrid has developed a mental illness, and her thinking is fundamentally distorted. Unless all the memories from the invasion of the five Tenka nations are erased, it is unlikely that she will ever be able to return to a normal Royal Diete citizen. Cecilia, who had become an invalid, lost her language and regressed to an infantile state of vocalization, speaking instead like a one-year-old child. She is also emotionally unstable, and even if her body could be regenerated with modern medicine, it is not possible to cure her broken spirit. This was also the fate of Yuna, Xu¨§ L¨¬ and the others should the Monarchy lose the war. ¡°I do not wish to trouble Your Majesty, so please leave this matter to your vassals.¡± Hart adamantly refused to give Yuna a detailed report on the circumstances of the two rescued people. ¡°That¡¯s what I ought to know.¡± ¡°Yuna, you don¡¯t have to take on all the responsibility. Let me take care of this.¡± ¡°Who am I and who are you?¡± Hart didn¡¯t back down from Yuna, even when she went into dark mode. ¡°You¡¯re my wife, I¡¯m your husband. We put it off because due to the issues of the Queen¡¯s magic power decline due to childbirth and the authority of the Queen¡¯s Sovereignty, but we would have been married by now. I¡¯ll say it again. Yuna, you don¡¯t have to take on all the responsibility. Let me take care of this.¡± Yuna¡¯s lips quivered slightly for a few seconds, with a scant expression. Hart is more familiar with Yuna¡¯s inconsistencies and position than Yuna herself, although he could not convey the specifics of what she was unconsciously trying to appeal to. ¡°Fleet Admiral, by the name and responsibility of the Marquis of Amakawa, I ask that you handle this matter appropriately.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll make it work to your satisfaction.¡± Nodding, Hart walked up to Yuna and silently hugged her body. Yuna did not resist, nor did she return the hug, but instead let Hart do what he wanted. Hart sighed at Yuna¡¯s reaction and began stroking her head with his right hand. The sweet feminine scent tickles Hart¡¯s nasal passages. Hart made a nonsensical analysis that the mental strain on Yuna was not enough to dismantle her minimum personal appearance yet. He thinks that Colette, Yuna¡¯s best friend, should stick with Yuna for the time being, something that Yuna herself, in his embrace, would protest if she knew about it, as if she had nothing else to offer. Patting Yuna¡¯s head, Hart began rocking her small form side to side, as if he were soothing the baby Yuna, who he was hugging. Yuna relaxed her body and let Hart rock her¡­ The next day, Hart laid down the terms of the punishment. ¡°Those who ordered it, those who carried it out, and those who are their blood-kin, will all suffer the same fate. Let the children resent their parents for their actions. Said parents did the same thing to minors who represented the Monarchy. You will not be allowed to escape alone.¡± An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The law of vengeance for the same harm, expressed in Latin as LEX TALIONIS, is a theory of retribution that has been adopted in a wide range of ages and nations, both ancient and modern, and is one of an orderly system that avoids excessive retribution and limits it to a similar degree of revenge. Hart ordered retaliation because, as a representative of the Monarchy, he is in a position to embody what would happen to those who put their hands on the Monarchy. By inculcating human society as a group that will surely retaliate, criminals will hesitate, and the future descendants of the Monarchy will be safer. Hart announced to all mankind, both inside and outside the Monarchy, that the retaliation he had determined would ¡°be the same, and extend to all descendants¡±. The severe punishment does not extend to the uninvolved general Shinky¨­ people. What the Monarchy of Diete does to ordinary Shinky¨­ citizens is to punish criminals in accordance with the law, and to collect war reparations with interest for the damage caused due to the invasion by Shinky¨­, which was also within the scope of international common sense formed by humanity. The reason why the debt continues to the descendants of Shinky¨­ is because it is the war reparations owed by the nation of Shinky¨­ itself, and this has been a very common practice between the victorious and defeated nations. The resources and property of the Fukashiro system belong to Fukashiro, and it is only natural for the transgressors to pay compensation to those who have suffered damage, even if the interest will not decrease no matter how long they continue to do simple labor as a result of being charged for the use of land and energy leased in Fukashiro. S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡ are the ones to determine the amount of debt and the details of forced labor as a means of repayment. After two former royals and most of the war generations have lived out their natural lives, if the majority of the people decide, ¡°Shall we forgive them now?¡±, they will reduce the debt or grant them some rights, and then the situation will be brought to an end. Until that day comes, even if the hardships of the Shinky¨­ people continue, it was the Shinky¨­ people who supported the G¨¡o family who started the war, and they can compensate for the damage caused by the war they set up. Hart thought, and let the victims who could no longer express their will begrudge him. As for the rescue of the two former Royals who carried out marriage diplomacy, what exactly had been done to them was not disclosed, but only the resulting death, mental illness, and invalidation were reported to the Monarchy. However, even without knowing the specifics, one can imagine what was done. And it is also possible to use it. It was the Duke of Takrham who made a move. He brought a solution for Astrid, who resented the royal family, and Hart, who was troubled by Cecilia¡¯s eventual need for full care. [The two can be taken care of by our family. There are conditions, but they are within reason. What do you say?] The old man, still virile at the age of over 100, with his full-backed hair and glistening eyes, and full of vitality throughout his body, made a proposal with a sarcastic smile. The two young ladies would be taken in as a form of remarriage to the Viscounts prepared by the Duke of Takrham. [Both Households are in danger of being demoted due to lack of magical power after their heir candidates died in the Second Battle of Diete. The children will succeed the aristocratic peerage, so they can receive the greatest treatment as Viscountesses.] Takrham¡¯s proposal showed the best future for Leandre¡¯s two sisters. If Astrid and Cecilia had their own dedicated aides, just as Hart maintained Yuna¡¯s spirit, he thought that it would be far better than throwing them into a sanatorium. The condition of the exchange was to have Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama be conferred as a Viscount for his efforts in saving many Fukashiro Royal Citizens, marrying him to the Duke¡¯s granddaughter Digitalis, who will be conferred as a Count, and having them her rule the people of Ky¨±yama on the condition that their children take over the household. ¡°Attaching the Duke¡¯s granddaughter Digitalis to Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama?¡± [Indeed.] It was with regard to the governance of the people of Ky¨±yama that Takrham turned his attention. As a basic premise, Takrham claims that it is preferable for the Ky¨±yama people to follow the Lin family¡¯s lineage, just as the Fukashiro people follow the S¨°ng family¡¯s lineage. There was no one else to be the central figure but Li¨² H¨¤o, who was on the side of the Monarchy. Li¨² H¨¤o is of a different nation, but if he can mix in a suitable bloodline, such as the Lady of a Duke branched from the Royal family, it will be easier to gain the understanding of the Royal people. When Digitalis was mentioned as a candidate, even Hart, who nowadays is unmoved by some matters, was shocked psychologically and fell into a temporary pause in his thinking. The villainess Digitalis, who was in Hart¡¯s school year, was the Last Boss in the Maiden Game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±. She was unable to receive the magical power that the Dukes had stolen, and Hart assumed that she had been completely abandoned when her sister Lysine became the fianc¨¦e of the Second Prince, Josslan. ¡°How does Duke Takrham feel about the provinces to be given to the new Count.¡± [The people of Ky¨±yama will resent the Duke of Son, and the people of Fukashiro will resent the people of Ky¨±yama. The Artemis System has more available land than Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng. There is also the land of those who have fallen from Marquis to Count. All they have to do is go there. I, the grandfather of Digitalis, can support you.] ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I see.¡± Hart was taken aback by Takrham¡¯s argument, but at the same time he was aware that the purpose of the Duke¡¯s desire to bring the Ky¨±yama people into the Artemis System would be to rob the Ky¨±yama National Mages of their magical powers by using Digitalis, who know the secrets of device that steals magical power. From those who do not have spirit crystals, the Duke of Takrham¡¯s device can take away their magical power. Those who know the secret are very few. Perhaps even Lysine is unaware that it takes away magic. The Lin family will take Digitalis as a bride, but the Duke of Takrham and Digitalis, who will be his backers, must be treated graciously. Countess Digitalis will be in a position of considerable freedom. And among the Tenka people, because the national mages do not have human rights from the beginning, no matter how they are treated, there will be no conflict with the Lin family. Even if told, ¡°Send us about 10,000 National Mages to engage in development,¡± Li¨² H¨¤o would comply. Their position in the Monarchy is completely different between a mere resident and a person who has been given the title of Count and is officially entrusted with a territory and its people. There is no doubt that Li¨² H¨¤o will comply. [If one is to marry an old enemy and rule over them, I think it¡¯s better to be as bold as Digitalis.] The boldest genes are yours¡­ thought Hart, as he plunged into the other party¡¯s brain, and pondered over his answer. The magic of the national mages is about one-third that of the middle school students of the Academy of Magic. The magic power that can be added by stealing it from them is about one-third of Hart¡¯s, which is about the same as a Royal-grade magic power holder. If Takrham fulfills his purpose, up to 50,000 high magic powered individuals will be created from the descendants of the Duke of Takrham. If the Duke is creative, he will be able to aim even further. Hart¡¯s descendants, on the other hand, can compete by inheriting magical power with the help of spirits, but they would not have an overwhelming advantage. And, as in this case, political defeat is also a possibility. Hart thought as much. (The power is too biased towards the S¨°ng family. It is impossible to refuse the proposal of the Dukes of Takrham, considering the governance of the nation from the Queen¡¯s point of view.) The option of not entrusting the Lin family and the Ky¨±yama Peoples to the Duke of Takrham cannot be adopted. As for the Fukashiro system and the people of Fukashiro, since the ruler H¨¤o L¨¢n himself has subordinated to the Monarchy when it was an independent state, they are allowed to be incorporated in the same form as they are. However, the Lords¡¯ Council has not approved the incorporation of 1,545 million Ky¨±yama people, who have the same rights as the former Coalition people, under the Duke of Son. If none of the Lords come forward as administrators, let alone if other Dukes do come forward, it is not possible to entrust the excessive population to the Duke of Son family. As for the population to be governed, with reference to the Duke of Taka Amanohara, who rule former enemy nations who do not give royal citizenship, it is possible to resist to the extent of having Li¨² H¨¤o govern about four times the 200 million people ruled by the Count of their home country, and leave the rest under the direct control of the Royal family. Although it makes no sense to halve the governing population to prevent Takrham from pursuing his intended purpose. After abandoning his pointless resistance, Hart mitigated the damage and replied. ¡°I understand Lord Takrham¡¯s proposal. First of all, I would like to express my appreciation for your offer to take in the two former royals. Regarding the case of the conferment of peerage and territory, it is beyond my authority, so I will ask Her Majesty the Queen, who has the authority, about her intentions, and will reply as soon as possible.¡± [As we are also Dukes, we will not impose any burden upon the Duke of Son alone. Then, I shall proceed with the preparations.] The depths of Takrham¡¯s eyes shone with interest at Hart¡¯s unhesitating approval, but in his attitude, he showed his willingness to cooperate as a Duke. Once again, Takrham presented an alternative, with a light tone as if he was offhandedly mentioning it. [I can marry off another Lady to the Lin family, instead of Digitalis. But only on the condition that Digitalis, who will no longer be able to marry, be made a concubine of the Lord.] Even more than when Digitalis was named as Li¨² H¨¤o¡¯s partner, Hart was stunned by Takrham¡¯s proposal. For the second son of a Baron Household, albeit a former one, to be allowed to take his favorite granddaughter as a concubine, such a development would never have come up in the game. ¡°Because we were in the same grade in the middle school of the Academy of Magic, I know a little about the character of your granddaughter. I am sure that Miss Digitalis has no interest in the second son of a former Baron Household.¡± [As the Lord is now with the title of Duke, Digitalis will follow you. It cannot be denied that the lawful wife to the third wife, in terms of family lineage and magical power, surpasses Duke-grade, but it would not matter to a concubine. If that¡¯s fine, it is a viable option.] What Duke Takrham did, Hart thought, was a time-honored technique of making people compare a somewhat decent proposal with an unacceptable alternative, making them think it is better than alternatives and making them feel like they had a choice. If Hart removes Takrham¡¯s aim and chooses the other proposal, it would not bother Takrham in the slightest. Of course, Hart welcoming Digitalis as a concubine is an impossible choice. With Digitalis as a concubine, there will be stomach-wrenching daily conversations between Yuna, the former Queen turned Grand Duchess, and Digitalis, the former Duke Lady. ¡°Is Her Majesty the Grand Duchess unaware of such things?¡± ¡°How does that help me fulfill my duties as a royal aristocrat? If you are going to assert your aristocracy, why don¡¯t you at least earn one of the military decorations? ¡°It is a matter of dignity and respect for the Amakawa family. The aristocracy, who represents the state, must act accordingly. If one were to behave like a Baron Lady, what would the people think?¡± ¡°You should think back to your middle school days. Did you know what dignity is? Dignity does not imply intimidation, though, does it?¡± ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s sometimes necessary to attack, intimidate, and even overpower domestic political opponents. Wasn¡¯t it the First Lady who demoted the two former Marquises of Draghi and Jerome before she got married?¡± The dispute unfolds until Hart intercedes, and the moment he does, the attack is directed at him. He would be blamed by Yuna for the situation, and by Digitalis for his lack of education of the senior aristocrat. When a man interferes in a quarrel between women, he only adds fuel to the fire. Hart is a military man, but he doesn¡¯t want to see war when he returns home. Although somewhat accustomed to war with weapons fired at each other, the war between women is completely beyond his area of expertise, and he doesn¡¯t even understand the unwritten rules. If he can manage Digitalis, he can avoid her becoming the last boss of the world, but instead, it is inevitable that the Marquis of Amakawa will become the last boss. Hart, who was tormented by headaches and stomach pains just by thinking about it, clearly expressed his rejection of the idea. ¡°I think the first idea is more realistic. Let the people of Ky¨±yama be ruled by Li¨² H¨¤o and Miss Digitalis, with the assistance of Lord Takrham. If it is Miss Digitalis, it may work. There will be no need for another plan.¡± Hart, who avoided the impossible option, consulted with Yuna and others about the proposal to marry Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama and Digitalis in exchange for taking in the two former royals. If they demanded that the Amakawa family¡¯s genes be donated, only Hart and Yuna would be sufficient to deal with the situation. But the proposal made by the Duke of Takrham this time ¡­¡­ at least the first one, was not that kind of a fight. In addition to Hart and Yuna, Colette, who is familiar with what Digitalis is, and Claudia, who is better to talk through on matters of aristocratic relations, discussed the proposal of the Duke of Takrham. Claudia is told that Digitalis was in the same grade in middle school and she did a lot of things back then. Claudia, who has a strong influence at the string society, knew the details, of course. ¡°If anything happens to the Ky¨±yama people, the Fukashiro people will be able to settle their resentment, so I wonder if it¡¯s a good deal. I just hope that the people of Ky¨±yama, who have lost patience with him, won¡¯t get the better of him and rise up in arms.¡± Colette, who trusts Digitalis in another sense, spoke in a harsh manner. ¡°Master Hart, it seems that the Viscounts who will be hosting the former royals are really suffering from a lack of magical power. I think the Duke of Takrham¡¯s proposal is a godsend.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you for confirming that.¡± Hart thanked Claudia for acting as an intermediary to collect evidence. Most of the aristocrats in the Diete System served in the Second Battle of Diete and lost their successors, and many houses were in danger of descent and extinction. There are aristocrats who have pulled in their relatives and, whatever the reason may be, have welcomed high magical women and are maintaining their households through various hardships. These aristocrats will surely cherish the former royal women certain to have Count-grade magical power. As far as the remedies for the two former royals are concerned, the Duke of Takrham¡¯s proposal is superlative. Hart self-analyzes that although his family is currently in power, he still has a sense of dislike toward Digitalis, which Hart attributes to the trauma of his middle school days. Hart himself knows the deeds of the Duke of Takrham, who stole magic from 100 aristocratic children, but because he cannot explain the incident, he has to leave the two former royals and the Viscounts alone. It is not possible to show enough threat to make the two families abandon their salvation. ¡°I accept the proposal of the Duke of Takrham. Hart will transfer the responsibility for Astrid and Cecilia to receive proper treatment, and also incur the treatment to the Ky¨±yama people.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Hart, guessing the purpose of the Duke of Takrham, thought that the Duke of Takrham family, who is in charge of support and supervision, would rule the Ky¨±yama People, the people of the domain, excluding the National Mages, in order to avoid outsiders finding faults on the matter. In conclusion, Hart and Yuna recognized the birth of the Count of Lynn family and Countess Digitalis, who ruled the people of Ky¨±yama. CH 75 AN: Hirame Shibaishi, the illustrator of this work, He posted an announcement comic on his twitter! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Is there about four pages in full color?? It is ¡îáê a heartful cartoon that exactly matches the image of the book version October 444 of the Monarchy of Diete Calendar. Seven months after the coronation of Queen Yuna, the power structure of mankind has changed dramatically. The total population went from 64 billion vs. 60 billion, to 35.2 billion vs. 97.5 billion. 100:277 became 100:94. The number of possessed habitable star systems has also reversed from 6:7 to 8:5. With regard to the 42 billion people in the four-star system at the forefront of the Monarchy, the realms of the Spirit Kings and transition gates created an ironclad defense that could not be breached even if the Tenka Federation invaded with total force. On the other hand, the Tenka Federation became the three Tenka nations after the two nations of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama disappeared. The damage inflicted so far is enormous, and except for the head planets of the three nations, there is no force left to withstand the invasion of Fortress Kerviel. Only one year has passed since the former Sovereign died in the Second Diete System Battle. The Monarchy reversed the Tenka Federation in its total population, habitable systems, and total war potential, and the gap was widening over time. In each system of the Monarchy, defense vessels will be switched from Salamander to 40 million large fighter crafts, Israfel, in about a year. This was a military power equivalent to 1.6 million Tenka warships, and if at the scale of when the Athena system was attacked by 500,000 warships, it will be possible to defend the system without the realm of the Spirit King. Each system had more than 40 million pilots, and the surplus personnel had D-class crystals, and there was even room for resource mining and transportation using Salamanders and suppressors. Having built a strong defense system, Hart also made some changes to personnel at Fortress Kerviel. Brigadier General Alois Khan, who was approached to Head the Fighter Craft Division, was a first-generation fighter pilot that Valfrete had gathered in his home country in early 441, when the former Crown Prince Gracian, who had died in the war, dominated the Solar System. At the tender age of 19 when he volunteered, Alois was only one year older than Hart, and was a war victim of the First Battle of Diete. There were a lot of desperate volunteer soldiers who lost family and property in the battle, and abandoned themselves in the war, and it was a common story that they die or fight to the last, but Alois was among the ones who achieved extraordinary results. ¡°I want to entrust the Head of the fortress¡¯ Fighter Craft Division to you, a graduate of a short-term training center, not even from the Military Academy or a Fighter Craft School, because I thought it was the best way to increase the fortress¡¯ security.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Oh.¡± Alois, who lost various things and enrolled in the short-term training center, became a Corporal six months later and served in the four-star system Battle against the former Coalition, and officially became a Second Lieutenant. The serious shortage of personnel caused by the Second Battle of the Diete Star System coincided with his period of distinguished service, and he rose to Major in the three-star battle of Fortress Kerviel last year and to Brigadier General in the three-star system battle from Athena to Fukashiro. In the ten battles in which he served, Alois has surpassed the threshold to receive the Medal of Honor at least six times in each case. In one notable achievement, he single-handedly destroyed the flagship of the Shinky¨­ ruler, L¨ªng Y¨©ng, in his Israfel. Hart is convinced that the spirit attached to Alois had a great deal to do with Alois¡¯ war achievements. A rare spirit, that was seriously devoted to a low-dimensional existence like a human being, stood beside Alois. Hart believed that if Alois were placed on Fortress Kerviel, this spirit would move the spirits around her to protect Alois, and as a result, the security of the fortress would increase. ¡°While serving as Deputy Director of the Fighter Craft Division at Fortress Kerviel, you will undertake a six-month Field Officer Education and 1-year Command Staff course. After that, I will recommend your promotion to Major General. Since we are recruiting you, you can expect to be paid for your preparation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s going to be some animosity if a training center graduate is promoted to Major General.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fill in the [Recommender] column with [Fleet Admiral Amakawa, Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy Armed Forces]. I look forward to working with you.¡± There is no faction conflict in the current Royal Army. In the former Royal Army, there were two major factions: the former Crown Prince Gracian faction and the third Prince Valfrete faction. However, after Gracian¡¯s son Leandre became a national traitor and it was publicized that the Gracian faction had made unjust personnel moves against Hart, even causing the Monarchy¡¯s defeat at the Hercules Star System Battle, the Gracian faction, which had become the enemy of the Monarchy, disappeared completely. The past Valfrete faction was succeeded by his son-in-law, Commander-in-Chief Amakawa, due to the death of former Sovereign Valfrete. Two Colonel Generals, the Chief of Staff and the Chief of Military Affairs, have also publicly professed their full support for Hart. There are no Generals in the current Royal Army who are opposed to Hart¡¯s direct personnel management. Such an existence could be a danger to the nation. But fortunately, from the public¡¯s point of view, Hart is not seen as a potential threat to the Queen. The royal people know Commander-in-Chief Hart and Queen Yuna are childhood friends since Middle School, enrolled in the Military Academy together and that Viscount Hart confessed his feelings to the Baron Young Lady Yuna. During the war, they were both assigned to the same fortress duty and were formally engaged, and they are still together with the Marquis of Amakawa as their Royal Capital. It is a sweet relationship which seems something like out of a Maiden Game, and it¡¯s hard to believe that Hart could ever be a threat to Yuna. If Hart had any ambitions for the position in the first place, all he has to do is let Yuna continue as Queen. It is very easy to convince the public of that. ¡°During wartime, the survival of the nation was at stake. Even after the war, the two princes are not strong enough to incorporate the former Coalition and Tenka people.¡± With such an explanation, the majority of the Royal Citizens would consent. The Royal Citizens created the aristocracy in order to enable what Yuna is currently doing. Yuna¡¯s achievements, which brought a reversal from the crisis of the destruction of the Monarchy in a short period of time, have already become so huge that they are not influenced by the will of the former Sovereign. If Yuna says she will continue as Queen for the Monarchy, there is no way that the Monarchy Parliament will not pass the bill. If the Queen is replaced and sacrifices increase, the one who pushed for the change will become the enemy of the Monarchy, so who can demand the replacement? However, Yuna raised Bernard and Josslan as candidates for the next Sovereign, and allowed Josslan to retract his previous erroneous statement. Hart also led the two princes to earn Medals of Honor in the Athena Star System Battle. From the objective facts, it can only be considered that Hart does not want the position of Queen¡¯s Prince Consort. The Commander-in-Chief, who is safe and secure for such a nation, immediately stopped his advance with the acquisition of the MacLir system and the Fukashiro system. The reversal of the power structure was necessary to quickly establish the position of the crowned Yuna. The recapture of the Fukashiro system also required urgency so that the people of Fukashiro, who were subservient to the Monarchy, would not be integrated into Tenka¡¯s side. Now, however, it¡¯s no longer necessary to rush operations. The Solar System and Hercules System were not originally territories of the Monarchy, nor did any Royal Citizens reside there. Now that the MacLir and Fukashiro Systems had been acquired, they are not even valuable as a bridgehead to the enemy¡¯s stronghold. For the Tenka side, it could be a bridgehead for the invasion of the Monarchy, but the defense system is already in place. While the fighter crafts of each system are preventing the invasion of Tenka, it would be advantageous if the enemy invades carelessly because it is possible to counter-invade with Fortress Kerviel. As time goes by, the deployment rate of Israfels and the skill level of the pilots would increase, and the gap in strength against Tenka would widen, so Hart decided that there was no need to hurry. In the meantime, he plans to incorporate the acquired MacLir and Fukashiro star systems into the Monarchy. ¡°Tenka has lost most of its mobile forces in the Athena System, and we want to expand ours as well. There will be a short interval.¡± After stopping the march, Hart promoted Yuna and the other three and the Chiefs of Staff to Generals, in recognition of the three battles that followed from the Athena System. He also gave Colette the post of Deputy to the Commander-in-Chief. This is to make it easier for Colette to issue orders to others when Yune and Colette operate on the flagship Ramiel. Claudia was promoted to Major General, the rank of a Fortress Commander, by raising the rank by one for each battle, and Hart¡¯s plan for military personnel was largely achieved. The only time he can do as he pleases in this way is while Yuna is Queen. Now, under the joint name of Yuna and Hart with the Duke of Takrham, it is easy to manage the Ky¨±yama people with the pair of Li¨² H¨¤o and Digitalis, the Lady of the Duke of Takrham, as the Countess. If this were to be replaced by Bernard or Josslan, various hurdles will arise. Even with regard to this promotion, Philine, who was awarded the Order of the Double Star Gliese, 1st class, may have needed political consideration, such as keeping Yuna and Colette¡¯s ranks unchanged, depending on the current situation. Taking care of these troublesome matters, Hart, who had raised his rank early, began to prepare for the inconvenience that will be caused by the replacement of the Sovereign. When will Yuna¡¯s successor be nominated? Bernard is now a third-year student at the Academy of Magic, and Josslan is a first-year Cadet at the Military Academy. It is necessary to wait at least until Bernard graduates from the high school in six months. The Sovereign dropping out of high school would not be received well. And if she were to be fair to her brothers, it would be three and a half years after Josslan graduated from the Military Academy. The older sister who helps out with the family business a little¡­¡­Within the framework of this common sense, Yuna has to accept it, and she can endure until her brothers have graduated from school. During her reign, Yuna reversed the difference in power with enemy states and created transition gates between Star Systems, and achieved results that would be worthy of a mention in a list of the achievements of past Sovereigns. Hart believes that if she can keep her position as queen for another three and a half years, it will be enough. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Our army won overwhelming victories in three star systems, but all of that were in special systems. The transition gate cannot be opened outside the realm, and the output of the enemy¡¯s magic engine would not drop. Please keep that in mind. From now on, while incorporating MacLir and Fukashiro into the Monarchy, we will take the opportunity to capture the Solar System and the Hercules System to improve the security of the Monarchy. That is all on the Royal Army policy and the outline of the governance of MacLir and Fukashiro.¡± At the third Lords¡¯ Conference, the outline of the military actions and rule described by Hart had been communicated to the Lords in advance. After Hart finished his explanation, Yuna, who is in a much better mood than the second Conference, posed a question to the two princes. ¡°The powers of the Monarchy and Tenka have reversed. Here, if I were to give up the throne right away, how would you two deal with the war against the five Tenka nations? First, answer from Bernard, the First Prince.¡± Yuna¡¯s questions were communicated to the two in advance, and anyone other than Yuna and Hart could have asked it. In order to prevent one from changing his answer after hearing the other¡¯s, their answers were also submitted in advance. Bernard stated the opinion which he had submitted to his elder sister beforehand in the Lords¡¯ Conference. [In my case, I would entrust the policy to Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief. I know that if I leave it to him, we can win. The Sovereign doesn¡¯t need to micromanage affairs when experts are at hand. It¡¯ll only be a hindrance to meddle half-heartedly.] When Bernard finished answering, Josslan, who was nominated next, gave his findings. [Now that we have the advantage, we attack thoroughly, continue cutting down the enemy forces, causing them to lose their defensive capability, and bring down the enemy systems. A specific plan has been submitted in advance.] Josslan brought in a proposal that would have been discussed with the instructors at the Military Academy. According to the information provided by Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama, each main planet of Tenka only has enough defenses to withstand one or two invasions of Fortress Kerviel. When Hart examined the offensive by applying it to himself, he calculated that he could completely defeat the enemy, probably in about three years, although he would have to retreat several times because he could not attack all three Tenka main planets. On the specific plan that Josslan omitted, Hart expressed his evaluation from the standpoint of Commander-in-Chief. ¡°His Royal Highness Josslan¡¯s proposal was based on the plan to allow the invading Royal Army to make sacrifices and withdraw several times, but by the third time it would be possible to capture the enemy star system. This is also a strategy that the Monarchy forces attacking the enemy¡¯s star system must actually consider in the future. As Commander-in-Chief, I highly evaluate the contents of His Highness Josslan¡¯s proposal as extremely realistic.¡± When Hart praised him, Josslan showed his joy with a proud smile. However, from Hart¡¯s point of view, he used Josslan¡¯s proposal as a pretext to get the Lords to accept the ¡°repeated invasions and defeats in order to cut down the enemy¡±. To be fair to both princes, Yuna mentioned Bernard¡¯s assessment. ¡°In Bernard¡¯s case, the result is the same as mine, when I left it to Commander-in-Chief Amakawa. We won big in the three systems of Athena, MacLir, and Fukashiro, and Bernard could do the same. Both of them are capable of doing roughly what is required of the Sovereign during wartime. Time and experience will tell on the details.¡± Yuna, who simultaneously gave the two princes high marks, smiled softly for the first time in front of the Lords. ¡°It seems that the day when I will abdicate the throne is near. I commend all the contributions made by the Lords to the Monarchy with a letter of commendation in my name, so that they may remain for generations to come. Now, if there are any opinions or suggestions, I will allow you to speak freely.¡± Postscript ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Oh, today is the release date of this work! By all means, we look forward to your purchase. CH 76 Three months had already passed since the Battle of the Athena Star System. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who led a huge fleet of 500,000 ships, faced 70 million fighter crafts of the Royal Army, was helplessly defeated and forced to retreat to the Solar System while lacking the means to do so due to the output abnormality of the magic engine. Y¨²nl¨¢n, now a defeated general, gathered as many scattered fleets as possible and was reorganizing the units in the Solar System when he was informed that the MacLir System in the rear had fallen. With the MacLir system taken, the home country will be within the range of the enemy. And while rushing back to the Hercules System, he received a report that the Fukashiro system had fallen in quick succession. Although no decent information from the MacLir System was provided because no vessels escaped, many ships navigating within the Fukashiro System had escaped and details were delivered. Fortress Kerviel, which was supposed to have appeared on the outer rim of the Fukashiro system, caused a phenomenon similar to that of the MacLir system, warped out directly to a short distance of about 300 million kilometers from the inhabited planet, swallowing the star system with the light of its vast warship, along with the large forces following. The Monarchy¡¯s rule over the Fukashiro system is possible because H¨¤o L¨¢n¡¯s daughter, who has been nominated as a successor, is working with the Marquis of Amakawa. Shinky¨­ took it, but the Monarchy regained it and redistributed it to the people of Fukashiro. It is the lineage of the S¨°ng family that inherits Fukashiro, so it is inevitable that the people of Fukashiro will side with the Monarchy instead of the five Tenka Nations. Furthermore, it is obvious that information on the five Tenka Nations army was extracted from Shinky¨­ and the upper echelon of Ky¨±yama in the subdued Fukashiro system. Information that should not be known, such as the strength possessed by the five Tenka Nations, the number of deployments to each star system, the reserve forces, and the replenishment speed of national mages, will be sold to the Monarchy. ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡­ tte?¡± Every event in the universe has a beginning and an end, with no exception. The end of the war between the Monarchy of Diete and the Tenka Federation, which is but one of these events, was foreseen by Y¨²nl¨¢n, one of the leaders of the Five Tenka Nations, and this held great meaning for present-day humanity. But for humankind in the distant future, it will be nothing more than an event that appears in history textbooks. About the war, which is trivial to the people of the future, Y¨²nl¨¢n calmly realized that his side would be the defeated. The biggest factor that convinced Y¨²nl¨¢n of defeat was the speed at which both sides were replenishing their forces. In the short period from a year ago, when the royal capital was destroyed by Y¨²nl¨¢n, to the present day, the Monarchy recovered its war potential and its technological development had progressed to the extent that it can deploy as many as 4 million large fighter crafts into the Fukashiro System. This is an unbelievable story from the standpoint of common sense, and to Y¨²nl¨¢n it seems like a nightmare. In addition to large fighter crafts, mysterious output anomalies have been caused in the Athena and Fukashiro Systems, making warpouts directly into the star system possible, and giant battle satellites with a diameter of about 480 kilometers have been deployed. Each technological breakthrough that can be decisive in war has occurred frequently. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who compared the hands of both sides at the moment, had to conclude that the result would not change, only the time of defeat and the damage incurred would be different, no matter what kind of move was played. The number of large fighter crafts will increase with time, and the event in the Fukashiro Systems may not be the last use of the trump card. Even if Marquis Amakawa died suddenly right now, Tenka already had no chance of winning. ¡°How should we convince the people?¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s concern was about how to lose. It would be easy to simply inform the Monarchy of their intention to surrender, but even if they did so, the Tenka people of the three nations, who had been led to believe that the Tenka side was winning, will not accept the surrender. They were indoctrinated to that point by the five Tenka Nations annexation of all the former Coalition territories and the attack on the Capital planet of the Monarchy of Diete, which resulted in Sovereign Valfrete¡¯s death in battle. No matter how it is interpreted, it is information that should have judged the Tenka side as superior, and it would be inconceivable for them to suddenly surrender. Because the national mages are not considered Tenkan citizens, but expendable weapons, they will not be accounted as casualties no matter how many have fallen. So they didn¡¯t inform about them. The fact that Yaai of the C¨¢o family, who ruled Hony¨­, was hit by a nuclear fusion round just after warp-out in the MacLir System and died in battle is known, but since it was not something that could be aimed for and executed by common sense, and since the Royal Army that was on defense also withdrew, it was merely regarded as an unfortunate accident. As for the damage to Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, the Monarchy ignored the damage to its own country and made a suicide attack, and although the defense forces of both star systems were not destroyed, it was reported that the celestial bodies were dropped by a margin. Therefore, Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama invaded and took control of Fukashiro, which had become closer with the Monarchy. Because everything has been communicated in a manner convenient for the ruling families, even if they say, ¡°Surely we¡¯ll lose, so we¡¯ll surrender¡±, the Tenka people will not accept it. At present, the Tenka people will only accept the end of the war with a declaration of victory. The purpose of securing the Coalition people, which was the cause of Tenka, and acquiring their resident systems was fulfilled, and the Sovereign of the Monarchy was also punished by being killed in battle, so the current territories will be divided among them¡­ if this is the case, the ruling families can convince the people. This will not happen, however, since the MacLir System has already been retaken. If all the facts are told as they are, what will happen? The current rulers will be dragged down, and it is possible that their entire clan could be killed. After that, the Tenka people, who underestimated the wrath of the Monarchy, whose Sovereign was killed and royal capital destroyed, would seek a compromise line with the Monarchy. It is impossible for the Monarchy to accept negotiations on conditions that are too lenient. However, the Tenka people cannot accept conditions that are severe for Tenka. The war continues, and celestial bodies were dropped on the inhabited planets of the three Tenka Nations, ending with the destruction of the Tenka Federation. Even if explained in an orderly logical manner, the Tenka people will still not accept it. Y¨²nl¨¢n thinks that fools, being fools, do not understand anything unless they experience it firsthand. However, the biggest fool in Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s opinion is himself, who started the war with the Monarchy and brought it to the present state. After a long time of wandering in the endless sea of thought, Y¨²nl¨¢n has come up with a general answer as to what he had to do. First, consult with his ally, Yuen, about the surrender policy, and if Yuen accepts, follow it, and if not, ¨­izumi alone will seek a way to have a decent surrender. If he consults Yuen, the leader, but is not accepted, then he would surrender on his own, and if he surrenders to the Monarchy while Ten-to and Hony¨­ are still engaged, the result would be somewhat better. As for Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s own death, it is inevitable because he killed the former Sovereign, Valfrete. Y¨²nl¨¢n does not have a taste for torture or exposure, so he would prefer to take responsibility and judge himself once the surrender is arranged. ¡°If it is now, I could at least arrange for my family¡¯s escape beforehand¡­¡­¡­ huh? When Y¨²nl¨¢n muttered with a light sigh as he activated the interstellar Magic Conversion Communication Wave, his surroundings were suddenly shrouded in darkness. He quickly looked around and saw that even emergency lights, which should have been turned on, were off, which was physically impossible. While the darkness deprived him of sight, his sense of hearing picked up a ¡°sharang-sharang¡± sound, like the clanging of a cane. Turning his body toward the sound and listening for a while, he could hear it gradually getting closer. The Hercules star, the planet Alcaeus, and the moon Cades would eventually emerge from the dark. And between the stars and planets, a faded planet, which should not have been there, appeared. The surface of the mysterious planet illuminated by stellar light has a rough, uneven surface. A faint blue color is visible, but Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s intuition tells him that it was different from water. The mysterious white planet fluttered pale light, erasing stars and planets in the light, and eventually transforming into a woman with a scepter. A faded-haired woman with reddish-purple eyes, wearing a gray cloak over a white monastic-like robe and a forehead ornament. She held a white wooden scepter in her left hand, which made a dry sound when struck, and at the tip of the scepter were a number of blue crystals. The woman¡¯s taut smile made Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s skin crawl with fear. A dwarf was standing beside the woman who approached close enough that her expression was discernible. He was a middle-aged dwarf with long blond hair, wearing a white shirt and red trousers, a red and black vest with golden embroidery, a black bow tie, white gloves, a long red and black coat that matched the vest and coat. He was of a dwarven build, and childish in stature, with the comical appearance of a fat child dressed as an aristocrat. When Y¨²nl¨¢n saw them both, he closed his eyes and slowly opened them to assess the unchanging scenery. ¡°I must be suffering from a terminal condition if I¡¯m having visual and auditory hallucinations at the same time. Besides proposing surrender, I should select a proxy. At present, I don¡¯t think anyone who can see our future will accept the position of proxy.¡± The hallucinated dwarf replied to Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s monologue, shaking his beard. ¡°What would you say if this were no hallucination, and the pale girl beside me was like the Spirits of the Diete Monarchy? Although Y¨²nl¨¢n is a quick thinker, there was a pause of several seconds before he understood the dwarf¡¯s words and replied. ¡°What is there to say? I never imagined the Monarchy¡¯s hands would turn towards the Herculeans. If this is a surrender offer, let¡¯s hear it.¡± The dwarf shook his head calmly at Y¨²nl¨¢n, who tightened his expression and regained his composure. ¡°No, this is not a surrender offer, it¡¯s a suggestion.¡± ¡°What is the suggestion?¡± ¡°Um. She is a daemon whose diet is different from that of a spirit. Spirits purify and eat miasma. And daemons eat miasma and spirits.¡± ¡°Eat¡­ spirits?¡± Observing the confident dwarf and the quiet, white woman¡¯s every movement, Y¨²nl¨¢n couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of ¡°eat¡± that reached his hearing, and asked for an explanation both with his gaze and words. The dwarf man, on the other hand, responded with a shake of his neatly trimmed beard. ¡°As I understand things, the spirit side also purifies daemons and eats them, so both seem to have a predatory relationship with each other?¡± When Y¨²nl¨¢n heard the dwarf¡¯s explanation, he quickly thought. The spirit purifies and eats the daemon, and the daemon eats the spirit. Human beings have not been able to observe or control miasma. If so, the spirits of the Monarchy possess human beings because it is necessary to have human intervention. At least spirits have a reason to possess humans. If so, isn¡¯t it necessary for daemons, who are similar beings, to also possess humans? Whether the Monarchy understands and uses the spirits or is deceived into using them, they are currently in a coexistence relationship. If a white woman who calls herself a daemon is in a predatory relationship with the spirits, then she cannot coexist with the Monarchy that coexists with the spirit. If the daemon side has a cooperative relationship with the dwarves, and they reach out to Y¨²nl¨¢n because the dwarves alone are not enough, then she may need magical individuals or interstellar ships, which Tenka has and the dwarves do not. (The Monarchy has spirits. However, there is also the existence of daemons, and they are trying to take the side which is in conflict with the Monarchy. We have two choices, to work with daemons or not.) If spirits and daemons prey on each other, the power relationship will not be one-sided. What Y¨²nl¨¢n thought could be gained by cooperating with the white woman might be daemon crystals similar to spirit crystals and many other mysterious phenomena that the Monarchy is performing. If so, what price will Y¨²nl¨¢n have to pay in return? Whatever it takes¡­ Y¨²nl¨¢n decided. In order for Tenka not to perish, they need a weapon that can counter the Monarchy. Compared to the deaths of a nation and its people, most things were better. ¡°Do we provide ships and technology? The war is not going well, but how many daemon crystals can you offer?¡± The dwarf¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at the answer that Y¨²nl¨¢n came up with from the brief explanation. ¡°Ah, you talk fast. Very fast, indeed. This girl is Zirke, the Daemon Emperor. She will increase the number of her m¨¦nage, feed on planets, increase her realms. The three Tenka nations will be given Monarchy-like realms and transition gates. The first planets to be eaten will be the three star systems of the Republic of Frodi. I ask you to prepare an effective force.¡± From the words the dwarf uttered, Y¨²nl¨¢n quickly understood the various phenomena that the Monarchy was causing. The mysterious output anomaly was in the realms, and the direct warp into the system was the transition gate. If the spirits of the Monarchy have gained their power by eating planets, it would explain the reason why the mysterious phenomenon of the Monarchy have increased after the destruction of the five systems, Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama of Tenka and Myrna, Freyja, and Thor of the former Coalition. There is not enough force to defeat the star systems of the Monarchy, but for the three systems of the republic of Frodi, Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s current forces are sufficiently capable. ¡°We will also provide the necessary number of daemon crystals. But it is my contracted daemon that will create the realms, and if you harm me or my subordinates, do not forget they can take away their power. Betrayal is destructive. We are bound together by fate.¡± ¡°I understand, but don¡¯t make demands that would be no better than surrendering to the Monarchy, else I will just surrender to the Monarchy. You have been watching for the right moment to call out to me, so you must know.¡± The dwarf nodded twice to Y¨²nl¨¢n, who hit the nail on the head. ¡°Of course. Our purpose is to get out of the Hercules System, a modest matter. Dropping just one celestial body would end us. We realized that in the war between the Coalition and the Monarchy. After hundreds of years trapped by the Coalition, our interstellar navigation technology has become completely obsolete. Allow us a whole ship. Where do we live? How far shall we go? We will be free at last.¡± In response to the dwarf, who spoke of his dreams in a pleasant mood, Y¨²nl¨¢n offered a word of advice after hesitating at the risk of offending the dwarf holding Tenka¡¯s fate. ¡°It¡¯s the biggest failure of my life, but if you underestimate the Monarchy, you will be hurt.¡± The dwarf looked somewhat surprised by the advice, but did not appear to be offended, and looked at the Daemon Emperor standing beside him. ¡°That¡¯s why Zirke avoided intervening until the Spirit God was gone.¡± ¡°What is a Spirit God?¡± ¡°Spirits and daemons seem to have an absolute power relationship, such as ranks and hierarchy. But now, the Daemon Emperor Zirke and her m¨¦nage can eat the spirits of the Monarchy.¡± ¡°Tell me more.¡± October 444 of the Monarchy calendar. The war between the Monarchy of Diete and the Tenka Federation, which was finally coming to an end after more than 25 billion casualties, inevitably became entangled in their affairs as a result of the Monarchy¡¯s reliance on spirits. Postscript With this chapter, volume 4 is over. Please wait for a while for the post of volume 5. Thank you for reading so far. TL Note: And that¡¯s it for Volume 4. Quite a twist at the end. FWI This chapter was actually titled Evil Spirit. I just thought I¡¯d get a better designation for them since they will pop up a lot going forward. Thanks for reading so far. I¡¯ll take a week off and return for Vol. 5. See you then. CH 77 The universe repeats the Big Bang of expansion and the Big Crunch of contraction. The fact that the universe caused the Big Bang is an event that is already certain, although not directly witnessed by mankind. However, what will happen at the end of the Big Bang has not been certain for some time. Would the universe continue to expand, would the force of attraction between the expansion and the gravity of objects be balanced, or would the force of attraction prevail and the universe start to contract? Before the invention of the magic element engine, humankind considered the Big Freeze theory, in which the universe continues to expand. The Big Freeze Theory, in which the universe continues to expand, claims that the universe will continue to expand because the power of the dark energy that expands the universe will prevail. Humans at that time believed that the universe would be stretched by expansion, gradually diminished in density, hence eventually no new stars would be born, and old stars would reach the end of their lives and die out. It was not until 2487 A.D., when mankind invented the magic element engine and was able to use dark energy as active energy, that they became convinced that the Big Freeze theory was wrong. Dark energy is a finite resource that humans can use to power interstellar ships, suppressors and so on. It is impossible for modern humans to fully consume the vast amount of dark energy that exists in the universe, but that is a different story after continuing to develop civilization in billions to hundreds of billions of years and expanding to the entire universe. The energy that was expanding the universe will be depleted by human hands, and the universe will eventually turn to contraction. But even with the disastrous future in sight, its use remains unrestricted. Because if the universe expands and fades away, and the only available energy resource around it is dark energy, there are only two options: to do nothing and perish, or to use the energy to prolong life. Besides, living organisms adapt to their environment. The various organisms known to humanity have evolved in a wide variety to survive in a placed environment. Even if humanity does not use dark energy, the numerous cosmic life forms that will arise in the universe will be able to use dark energy and will surely do so. In order to force the cosmic life forms not to use dark energy, to which humanity¡¯s rules do not apply, it is necessary to take physical measures with the energy. These factors led humankind to revise its prevailing theory of the end of the universe from the Big Freeze theory, in which the universe continues to expand and lead to its destruction, to the Big Crunch theory, which leads to its contraction. As dark energy diminishes, the universe changes from expansion to contraction, eventually causing the Big Crunch. This is because the force of the contraction, or dark matter, that pulls the universe into a state of contraction is greater than the dark energy that has been depleted through consumption. If that happens, the universe will change from expansion to deceleration, and will eventually contract, as if the universe were rewinding back from the time when it was expanding. Eventually, the entire universe will be drawn into a central black hole, and the entire universe will become one singularity, from which the next Big Bang will occur, and a new universe will be born. The phenomenon is known as the Big Bounce. The universe repeats the Big Bang of expansion and the Big Crunch of contractions. This became the established theory for mankind. After that, a man with a more elaborate way of thinking on the premise of the theory of contraction appeared in human society after a short time. ¡°Assuming that the universe repeats the Big Bounce, if this present universe isn¡¯t the first, I wonder if all the life forms of the previous universe simply perished. Though I think it¡¯s highly likely that they escaped into the multiverse or higher dimensional space.¡± The name of the man who recalled the life form before the pre-universe is Joseph Kerman. If there were several pre-universe events, it is very unlikely that they would have survived the Big Crunch as a species through the vastness of space and hundreds of billions of years. In other words, Kerman believed that the existence of the pre-universe may have survived the Big Crunch. And if there are pre-universe entities, they would want energy for their activities. As for the energy required for living organisms, essential energy such as survival and gene inheritance has the highest priority, followed by non-essential surplus energy. Even if it is for entertainment, surplus energy is never wasted because it creates the possibility of evolution. Assuming that there are transcendental beings that have overcome the Big Crunch, Kerman believed that they found some value in the present universe based on some of the out-of-place artifacts (OOPArt) that existed in the hands of humankind. Kerman then attempted to communicate with them in various ways to convey his willingness to become their collaborator. The act, which probably led many of his predecessors to suffer reasonable defeats against miniscule odds, came to fruition at Kerman¡¯s timing. Kerman, who succeeded in making contact with a higher-dimensional life form called a spirit, had the opportunity to come into contact with events that had been replaced by a form he could understand. It was an event that happened only a short time ago for the Spirit God who contracted with Kerman. The end had come for the universe. The red light of the red shift due to expansion turned to the blue light of the blue shift due to contraction. Numerous galaxies, drawn to the center of the universe, collide with each other, and the black holes that were the core of each galaxy merge with each other. Huge gravitational waves were emitted around the sector where black holes fused together, shattering numerous planets and planetary-scale megastructures into pieces. The initially moderate rate of contraction had already exceeded the speed of light as a result of the continued attraction and acceleration. The numerous civilizations desperately fleeing from the central point of the universe were dragged into the singularity at the end of futile resistance commensurate with their respective technological capabilities, without being able to cross the barrier to a dimension high enough to be free of interference from this universe. ¡°¡­¡­ didn¡¯t work, did it?¡± It was so simple, but¡­ Zirke, after receiving the last of the miasma offered by the species she had led, looked over at the fading civilization with a tearful smile on her face. In defense of the foolish civilization, the larger the scale of the Big Bounce, the lower the purity of the Big Bounce, and the lower the likelihood of life forms being able to cross the dimensional barrier. What was once easy for Zirke and her kin was becoming more difficult with each iteration. It would be like the universe being reproduced in a degraded form. At the core, however, Zirke and her kin must not help. Even if they increase the number of mere guardians and share the energy that can be obtained, it will be a fetter for Zirke and her kin. They share a common understanding that this is impossible. And, the civilization that Zirke watched over had reached the point where it is almost ready to cross the dimensional barrier. A life form with outstanding talents emerged from among the race, and one of the many disciples raised by that individual reached the edge of the boundary and appeared to Zirke and the others beyond it. If the entire race had cooperated, they would have reached a dimensional height where they could have avoided extinction. Regrettably, Zirke put herself into the civilization of the diminutive lower dimensional life form called dwarves and wasted too much energy as a result. As a result of consuming their own power to produce energy to protect them that spread throughout the universe, they lost the fight for energy with Daemons on this side. The civilization they had risked so much to protect was eventually torn apart without being able to cross the dimensional barrier. The crystal sword in Zirke¡¯s hand, which had lost everything, was shattered, and the color of her hair, which had once been red, was now inverted and dyed a pale blue, as if it had changed from red-shifted to blue-shifted. There is no way for Zirke to get it back now. ¡°The only harvest was being able to salvage Mariel¡¯s magical powers.¡± Next to Zirke, whose presence had faded with the loss of her powers, a woman with equally faded blonde hair disheveled and eyes closed and unopened whispered softly. Zirke, who turned a tearful smile on the woman standing next to her, apologized to her, who was close to ending up as a spirit as she was. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I pushed you too hard. Even Ebel is going to become a Daemon.¡± The pale blonde woman turned her closed-eyed face in the direction of Zirke¡¯s voice and shook her head with a gentle smile. ¡°No. Even if Zirke started it all, I got myself involved, so it can¡¯t be helped. I also retrieved Theia.¡± Even while Zirke apologized, the Spirits and Daemons swirled around the singularity, stirring the end universe and swallowing a lot of miasma. Among them, a huge purple spiral extended its vortex in all directions, and forcibly sucked in miasma and Daemons that it touched. While watching the situation, Zirke muttered vacantly. ¡°I don¡¯t like the doctrine of efficiency.¡± Even without giving a proper name, Ebel guessed who she was referring to from the flow of magical elements around her and added, as if to appease her. ¡°I hear Great Inanna wants to produce a black spirit.¡± ¡°Black, you mean to create a spirit that can generate magical elements?¡± ¡°It seems to be. It¡¯s on the scale of a Spirit God as well.¡± Zirke was stunned by Ebel¡¯s affirmation. As spirits, they each possess attributes as their essence. It was represented by color, red for Zirke and gold for Ebel. There is no superiority or inferiority in the attributes themselves, their nature are simply different, if one were to be more specific, it is said that purple, which is rampant in the singularity, has two attributes and is difficult to manifest. In addition, black, which is an attribute of dark matter and dark energy, is a theoretical property, and Zirke has never actually seen it. It is said that if black is created, it will be possible to create an infinitely circular box garden on the scale of a single universe. In other words, one stable universe can be created. The creature will surpass the creator. Zirke was stunned by the purple Spirit God who strived toward such an unrealistic dream. ¡°What? You were a dreamer, not one for efficiency.¡± Beyond Zirke¡¯s gaze, toward the purple vortex that was unilaterally overrunning the surroundings, a slightly blue fog of white silver turned into a white dragon with many necks and approached. ¡°From now on, I shall have to call you Great Marlene, the Daemon God.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Zirke apologizes, and Ebel shakes his head. Far beyond their consciousness, numerous necks stretched into separate purple vortices, biting, and beginning to drag all their strengths at the singularity of the universe. The universe squeaks and its death throes echoes. ¡°It looks like the interconversion has been balanced. Then, let¡¯s meet in the next universe. Though it will be a universe with more expansion, less purity, and less potential.¡± As she uttered her last words, Ebel¡¯s entire body shattered as if to scatter what little gold sparkle remained. The scattered golden radiance turns white and then gathers again to form the shape of a dagger. Around the dagger, a white woman in the form of Ebel, who had been a spirit until a moment ago, appeared vaguely in the air. Ebel, who had been reborn, slowly opened her once-closed eyelid and opened his bright red eyes, grabbed the dagger, and her whole body blurred like a mist. The misty Ebel swelled rapidly, eventually turned into a water dragon, and swam towards the singularity of the universe. The water dragon, which is moving through the sector, took in the surrounding miasma, tore through the surrounding spirits, devoured them, and threw itself into the frenzied sector. After witnessing the scene, Zirke closed her eyes and muttered to herself. ¡°Why did you interrupt Mariel? If it weren¡¯t for that, we would have made it. We wouldn¡¯t have perished. That¡¯s why I hate low-dimensional life forms.¡± In Zirke¡¯s mind, the figure of a girl who crossed the boundary passed and disappeared. Immediately after, the crystal sword that Zirke was holding shattered. The hilt of the sword in Zirke¡¯s grasp grew, turned into a tin cane, and the crushed crystal clung to the tip of the cane. Gripping the tin staff, Zirke was transformed into a faded-haired woman with reddish-purple eyes, wearing a white habit-like garment and a gray cloak and forehead ornament. The reborn Daemon Emperor Zirke melted like fog, eventually becoming a serpentine dragon covered in scales and thorns, and began to swim quietly toward the singularity. CH 78 ¡°Eliminating obstacles in order to survive is the natural providence for living things.¡± It was Ishidor Azarova, the leader of the Herculeans, who were derogatorily called Dwarves, that preached his theory with conviction. The three powers of the Coalition of Humanity, which contained the Herculeans, the Monarchy of Diete, which inherited their policy after the war, and the Republic of Frodi, which traded with both forces and supported their activities, are obstacles to the survival of the Herculeans, and were therefore to be eliminated. However, in order to realize their claim, they must have the appropriate power. What Ishidor, the contractor of the Daemon Emperor Zirke, did was to ally himself with the Tenka Federation. Even if one possesses the special power of the Daemons, without an interstellar ship, one cannot fully utilize the power of the Daemons. And simply having Daemons alone cannot counter the military power of Tenka¡¯s battleships, which would be exploited unilaterally. Therefore, Ishidor had to find the best timing for him. The Tenka federation fell into a disadvantageous situation, and he approached them at a time when they would have been doomed without his cooperation. Tenka, who was approached at the right time, had no option to decline the alliance with the Hercules. However, Ishidor also had an unforeseen miscalculation. Contrary to Ishidor¡¯s speculation, the Daemon given to Tenka¡¯s Y¨²nl¨¢n gave priority to its contractor, Y¨²nl¨¢n. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who joined the Herculeans, used the Daemon crystals passed to the non-magical people to confirm their safety and effectiveness, and then attached the Daemon crystal himself. Mariel, a Senior Daemon who manifested from the Daemon crystal Y¨²nl¨¢n used in the contract, was a girl with gray hair and blue clothes. Mariel made a proposal to her contractor, Y¨²nl¨¢n, as if admonishing him in a gentle tone of voice. ¡ºI think the first thing Y¨²nl¨¢n should do is to verify the effect of the Daemon crystal. Make sure non-magical people can use D-class crystals to operate fighter crafts, and then let them know where they need to go. We can check that right away, can¡¯t we?¡» After conducting the verification as Mariel suggested, Unran confirmed that the Daemon crystals were comparable to the Spirit Crystals of the Monarchy, at least in terms of performance. As Y¨²nl¨¢n was about to contact Yuen immediately, Mariel stopped him. ¡ºWait a minute. It would be more effective to hide the existence of the Daemons, so why don¡¯t we proceed in that way? Also, have the Herculeans make the declaration of war on the Republic of Frodi and let them bear the brunt.¡» Despite being manifested from the Daemon crystals given by the Herculeans, Mariel was not only willing to put Hercules at a disadvantage, but rather took the initiative in proposing it. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was skeptical about the matter, looked at her suspiciously. ¡ºWhy recommend the dwarves be at a disadvantage? Aren¡¯t they on your side?¡» When asked, Mariel curiously tilted her head. ¡ºI¡¯m Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s contracted Daemon. I don¡¯t care if the dwarves (????) are annihilated, and I thought that if we gave the dwarves, who outnumber us, warships to fight, it would help Y¨²nl¨¢n.¡» When Mariel called the Herculeans, whose leader was the contract partner of the Daemon Emperor, a derogatory name for the Dwarves, Y¨²nl¨¢n involuntarily swallowed his saliva. ¡ºShouldn¡¯t the Daemon Emperor¡¯s will be discerned?¡» ¡ºLady Zirke doesn¡¯t see any value in Hercules.¡» Observing Mariel¡¯s ephemeral smile, Y¨²nl¨¢n understood that the Daemon Emperor was not simply following her contractor, Ishidor. (Instead of rebellion against the Daemon Emperor, there is a clear delineation of rules among the Daemons, so is Mariel self-selectable within those rules?) At least for Mariel, there is a sense of indifference to the Herculeans, who was not her contractor, and she even seemed willing to put them in the line of fire or dispose of them as if they were expendable. She is also proactive in supporting Y¨²nl¨¢n, as he is Mariel¡¯s contractor. Recalling that the spirits of the Monarchy also favored their contractors, Y¨²nl¨¢n asked Mariel again. ¡ºI understand. I would appreciate it if you could tell me more about things.¡» ¡ºYes, that¡¯s good.¡» After that, what Mariel said was extremely important to overcome the disadvantageous situation for Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was on the verge of defeat. ¡ºFirst of all, I¡¯ll explain what can be done to raise me to Daemon King. It¡¯s possible to expand my domain into the star system, take away the realm of the Spirit King, and create Daemon crystals. When attacking the three systems of the Republic of Frodi, it¡¯ll be good to mix in celestial bodies imbued with my magic power. Even if ¨­izumi is connected to a realm, I can take it back later.¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was surprised, hurriedly asked back. ¡ºThe three star systems of the Frodi Republic will probably be attacked by three Senior Daemons contracted by the Dwarf King Azarova, the contractor of the Daemon Emperor. Is it safe to let them blend in?¡» ¡ºUnless you¡¯re dealing with Zirke herself, you won¡¯t get caught. Besides, the number of Daemon Kings of Lady Zirke¡¯s lineage will increase from 3 to 4, and the number of contract races will increase to 2, the Herculeans and the Tenka people, so is there any inconvenience for Lady Zirke?¡» When asked by Mariel, Y¨²nl¨¢n was convinced that it was in the Daemon Emperor¡¯s best interest. He wasn¡¯t surprised that the Tenka Federation had been chosen as the target of the Daemons¡¯ contract from the beginning, instead of Hercules, but in that case, the Hercules System would not have been made a miasma recovery site for the Daemon Emperor. The negative energy of the dwarves, of which there may be tens or hundreds of billions of people, should be one of the largest on any human inhabited planet. The Daemons have their own way of thinking, and they were working for their own convenience. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was very convinced that the other party was rational, confirmed the indicated policy. ¡ºIf there is no problem on the Daemon side, let¡¯s do it. If we are going to mix the celestial bodies, how much should be enough?¡» ¡ºWell, the three senior Daemons and I are not friends, so I think I¡¯ll take one-third from each of the three star systems. I will get one-third three times, and the three senior Daemons each get two-thirds once. That should be about right.¡» ¡ºI understand. By the way, if you can take away the realm even if they connect a domain to ¨­izumi, does that mean that you can take away the realm deployed by the Spirit King of the Monarchy?¡» If that were possible, the defeats in the Athena Star System battle, the third MacLir Star System battle, and the Fukashiro Star System battle could have the exact opposite result in the future. Mariel nodded lightly in response to Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s question as he unconsciously put strength into his clenched hand. ¡ºI¡¯m unique, so I can take away territory from an ordinary Spirit King or Daemon King. In other words, even after Ishidor¡¯s Daemon King deploys a realm in ¨­izumi, I can take it away.¡» At Mariel¡¯s statement, Y¨²nl¨¢n could not believe his ears. ¡ºThen, is Mariel stronger than the other three Senior Daemons?¡» ¡ºAgainst any of the three, one on one, even if I¡¯m at my worst and they¡¯re at their best, I can fight 10,000 times and win 10,000 times.¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n, who had drummed into his mind that she would never lose, was conversely interested in how strong Mariel was. ¡ºThen, how about three-on-one?¡» ¡ºI would win over 9999 out of 10,000 battles. Y¨²nl¨¢n may think I¡¯m over-selling my personal statement, but I think I¡¯m under-selling it.¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n asked the obvious question to Mariel, who spoke confidently. ¡ºWhy such a difference between the same Daemon Kings?¡» ¡ºWell, would computers with similar power consumption have the same performance even if they were manufactured in different eras?¡» ¡º¡­¡­¡­¡­ I understand.¡» Computer performance will be completely different after 100 years. With three computers from 100 years ago, it would be impossible to beat the latest model. Y¨²nl¨¢n had no choice but to accept it. ¡ºPlease note that I am just talking in an easy-to-understand manner, being new does not mean that you are strong. But I think I¡¯m strong among my peers. Ashen, though I look to my great regret.¡» Mariel muttered with a look of resignation, and then shut her mouth. After finishing his meeting with Mariel, Y¨²nl¨¢n reported to Yuen. Even if Yuen, who was in charge of the whole project, refused to cooperate with the Herculeans, Y¨²nl¨¢n had already decided that ¨­izumi alone will work with them. Upon receiving the report, Yuen fully agreed with Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s report. This is because the Tenka side is overwhelmingly inferior in the war, and if they miss the opportunity to obtain Daemon crystals, there will be no way to overturn the situation. [If forces are insufficient, the defense force of the Solar System will also join Hercules.] His statement that he was willing to abandon the Solar System even though the war was started because he wanted habitable planets was a straightforward expression of the current situation and his expectations for the Daemon crystals. With the approval of the general manager, Y¨²nl¨¢n began to talk about his future plans. ¡°Of the 144,000 vessels remaining from the Athena Star System Battle, 70,000 will be left for defense and the remaining fleet will head to the Republic of Frodi. The Hercules System is the domain of the Daemon Emperor Zirke, and is sufficient for defense. The Republic has a force equivalent to 12 fleets of the Monarchy, about 7,400 in our ships.¡± The Hercules System originally had a fleet of 20,000 ships. Combined with the fleet left by Y¨²nl¨¢n, the total number of ships is 90,000, and with the abnormal effect of the magic engine output of the realm, the force difference is 5 times, as much as 450,000 ships. Fortress Kerviel can carry 9 million Salamanders, which has a force rating equivalent to 120,000 Tenka fleets. Even if attacked by the Royal Army, they can intercept with approximately four times its strength. Y¨²nl¨¢n was concerned about Mariel¡¯s information that she could take away the realm, but Zirke was the Daemon Emperor, and he was assured that she would not be easily robbed even if against a Spirit Emperor. (Common sense does not apply to the Monarchy.) Y¨²nl¨¢n, who had failed at every attempt to apply common sense to the Monarchy, felt a strong sense of urgency about Mariel¡¯s assurances. However, he decided he was willing to let the Hercules System fall. If the Monarchy had a Spirit Emperor and consumed it in the Hercules System, it is better than it being used in a Tenka System. If Y¨²nl¨¢n is able to produce Daemon crystals on his own with Mariel¡¯s promotion, the Hercules System and the Daemon Emperor will no longer be objects to be protected. And the 74,000 vessels heading to the Republic of Frodi will be 11.5 times the total military power of the Republic. With an overwhelming force that will not fail, the plan is to recover miasma from the three star systems and raise the four senior Daemons to Daemon Kings. After that, realms will be created in the three star systems of Tenka to increase the defense effect. And, it was Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s idea to secretly possess Mariel who pretended to be a senior Daemon. ¡°I believe the invasion and defense forces are sufficient and reinforcements will be unnecessary. We would rather leave our forces in the Solar System, draw the Monarchy to us, and use them as a stumbling block.¡± When the situation was explained to Yuen, except for Mariel¡¯s part, he expressed his satisfaction. [I understand. In anticipation of the transition gate being connected, I will gather pilots in advance and mass-produce fighting crafts. I leave it to you.] ¡°Of course. I will do my best for ¨­izumi.¡± If the Daemon King creates a realm and the Daemon crystals and the Yunfu fighter crafts take charge of defense, the fall of each Tenka system will become impossible. Battles such as the Athena Star System Battle will be recreated, with the offense and defense switched. If there is a realm, the output of the magic element engine will be abnormal and the battle strength will increase by a factor of five, and reinforcements can be sent without restraint from other systems via the transition gates. Yuen, who was aware of the unreasonableness of the Monarchy¡¯s defenses and the fact that he was wielding the mantis axe, was forced to consider the outcome of the war, which was beyond human knowledge. CH 79 November 444 of the Monarchy Calendar. The Monarchy, which had recaptured both the MacLir and Fukashiro Star Systems, temporarily halted its advance. Three battles had been fought since the Battle of Athena, but the Monarchy¡¯s forces have not suffered damage that could make it impossible to continue fighting, nor has it experienced any problems with supply systems or morale. Perhaps if Hart had ordered an advance, Fortress Kerviel, packed with 9 million fighter crafts, would have entered the Solar System, and by this time the fourth Solar System Battle would have taken place. When the former Crown Prince Gracian invaded the Solar System, the Coalition headed to the Diete System, so a large-scale engagement that could be called a ¡°battle¡± did not occur. Also, during Tenka¡¯s invasion of the former Coalition territories last year, the Tenka side avoided attacking the Solar System, which would have triggered the Monarchy¡¯s forces to gather in Diete, in order to support Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s detour to the Diete System. Therefore, if a battle were to take place in the Solar System, it would be the Second Battle of the Solar Star System, the first time in 462 years since the Diete War of Independence in 3282 AD. The conquest of the Solar System has an ideological value for the Diete people, who are independent of the Solar System. Therefore, there were many opinions that the army should be advanced immediately. ¡°The Athena invaders, who have retreated, are expected to enter the defense of their homeland. Now the Solar System and Hercules System can easily be taken. Also, if the enemy remains in the Solar or Hercules System, we have the opportunity to cut them down before they rejoin their home country.¡± General Bertrand, Hart¡¯s long-time Chief of Staff, was among the majority in favor of an early attack. And when the Royal Army acquired both systems, he suggested that 500,000 crafts be transferred from the Israfel deployed in defense of the two systems to Fortress Kerviel. If operated by pilots with ordinary skills, the 500,000 Israfel crafts are equal in strength to the 33,333 Tenka ships. For Tenka at present, 30,000 ships are a force that cannot be easily deployed, and the more the war rages on, the more dominant the Monarchy becomes. As for the base of operations within the star system, by having the magic power holders of Count-grade and above send fortress ships, a huge home port capable of mooring Israfel can be deployed. Those Lords who want to contribute to the state in order to maintain the aristocratic system would be willing to cooperate. Israfel¡¯s hull could be left behind in the two systems, and if only the pilots could be put on warships and replaced periodically, they can continue to keep their forces deployed for years. Even if Tenka invades with a large army that cannot be handled, they could retreat with only the flesh-and-blood pilots on board the warship. At the time of withdrawal, if 500,000 Israfel crafts are self-destructed, they will not be handed over to the enemy. Therefore, the Chief of Staff advised that they should invade. Hart understands that the proposals made by the General Staff are not so bad. The problem, as Hart sees it, was that Fortress Kerviel was necessary to retake the Star Systems that was stolen by Tenka, and only Hart could respond. Hart, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, the main ruler of the Fukashiro System, and depending on the situation, the trump card for attacking Tenka directly, was not the type of personnel to be deployed in a battle for an undervalued and unsustainable Star System. Hart himself thought that they would have to invade both star systems eventually, but it is not enough to simply rush in like a wild boar just because there is an enemy, and there is a timing to use the trump card. ¡°If anyone other than me could load Fortress Kerviel with a lot of fighter craft and head to the battlefield, I would immediately give permission to advance.¡± Bertrand withdrew his suggestion after Commander-in-Chief Hart said no. However, those who wanted the next invasion operation were not confined to the Royal Army. [Now that the enemy is weakened, it is our greatest chance!] [We must reclaim our Solar System and Hercules System before the enemy can regain their stance.] [Reclaim all the systems of the Monarchy from the Tenka Federation.] Behind the Monarchy wide rise of public outcry is the fact that after 3 billion people were killed in the Second Battle of the Deite Star System, the Monarchy side made a big turnaround in the last three battles. In other words, the enthusiasm of the Royal Citizens was contrary to their fears, and Hart, who was touched by the enthusiasm, felt that they wanted to dispel their fear by accumulating victories. Of the last three battles, the MacLir and Fukashiro Systems, which mobilized 50 million people, saw a total of only about 200,000 Monarchy casualties. The death toll was about 0.4%, and the majority were fighter craft pilots, which can be easily replenished. However, the results of the war are enormous, acquiring two habitable systems and 28.7 billion people, destroying the Shinky¨­ army and absorbing the Ky¨±yama army. The Royal people screaming to move on is an unavoidable flow. ¡°This is such a hassle.¡± Hart, who had ordered the reinforcement of the defense posture by switching to the large fighter crafts, complained with a disgruntled expression at the irresponsible voices of the people. In the Monarchy of Diete, the supreme leader, Queen Yuna, has the final say. And military decisions are left to Hart by Yuna. However, the will of the Royal people cannot be completely disregarded. The members of the Monarchy are mostly ordinary royal citizens. And the Royal Aristocracy was established by the will of the royal people. If actions that are too far removed from the will of the people continue, the system itself will be called into question. As a result of the energy of enthusiasm sweeping the Monarchy, the members of the National Assembly, pushed by the people, began to take action. Then, when the members of the House of Representatives officially questioned the government, the government made an inquiry to Hart, the Commander-in-Chief. It is not an invitation as a witness by the Parliament, but an inquiry. Because the Monarchy council had its own reason not to invite Hart as a witness. Four years ago, during the invasion of the solar system that was approved by the majority of the Parliament, the Monarchy was counter-invaded by the Coalition of Humanity and a billion people were killed in the planetary defense battle. And Hart is formerly of Valfrete¡¯s faction, which was not involved in the failure of the Gracian faction. If Hart was invited as a witness, it was assumed that the failure of the Solar System Invasion Operation would be taken up in Congress as a reason for Hart not to invade. ¡°I, as a military expert and Commander-in-Chief with the greatest results, ordered the reinforcement of our star systems defenses. The amateurs in parliament are asking me to disregard defense like the former Crown Prince Gracian did to earn achievements. Would you have me re-create the defense battle of four years ago where we were counter-invaded and 1 billion people were killed?¡± If the members of the National Assembly who supported the invasion of the Solar System were condemned by Hart, the supreme military authority, saying, ¡°You caused the deaths of a billion Royal Citizens. How have you taken responsibility for it?¡±, they may lose all the honor they have built up as politicians. Fearing a counterattack, legislators made a safe inquiry through the government to avoid the extremely dangerous act of summoning Hart and questioning him in parliament. In the Monarchy government, there is an organization called the Ministry of Military Affairs, which has jurisdiction over the military, and its minister is the Military Advisor. Minister Elliot Burns, a retired Major General who once served as commander of a fleet division, has by far the highest military knowledge among members of parliament. After observing the National Assembly members raising their voices in the parliament hall and Prime Minister Stanley, whose eyebrows were furrowed at the National Assembly, Burns, who was well versed in military affairs, asked Hart, who was his subordinate in the organizational structure, a question. ¡°Commander Amakawa, what will you do?¡± Regardless of the fuss made by Congress, the decision to invade is in Hart¡¯s hands. Because only Fortress Kerviel can capture the Tenka systems. If Hart says he will not go, the invasion will not succeed no matter who else is sent. In addition, Hart received the Order of Merit eight times and Yuna six times, fulfilling the duties of the Royal Aristocrats for several generations. Suppose the royal people tried to dismiss Yuna in accordance with the official procedure and make Bernard or Josslan the next Sovereign and forcibly order a sortie. In that case, if Hart, angered by the proposed dismissal resolution, retires, he cannot be forced to go as an aristocrat. The legislators, who cannot capture the Tenka systems no matter how hard they tried, will be blamed by the Royal people, who are impatient as Tenka restores their war potential, and will eventually be forced into resignation from Parliament or hold a general election for dissolution. And if Hart, who was apologized to by the new parliament, came out saying ¡°it can¡¯t be helped¡± and invaded Tenka after the defenses were in place as planned, in the end, things will eventually go according to Hart¡¯s plan. Burns¡¯ question was based on his understanding that the choice was entirely in Hart¡¯s hands. Hart decided to follow the policy of the royal people and parliament. ¡°It¡¯s unavoidable. The invasion of the solar system and the Hercules system will be moved up in accordance with the request of the Congress. Taking into account the participation from Podalley and Machaon, which takes two months each way, the next invasion should take place after the beginning of the year.¡± ¡°It¡¯s different from the Commander¡¯s schedule, but is that okay?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not okay. An unplanned invasion carried out at the will of the people while the defense posture is inadequate¡­¡± Nevertheless, Hart accepted it because he did not want to do anything dictatorial with Yuna and Hart in anticipation of Yuna¡¯s abdication. If there were reasons such as the obvious great sacrifices, or a known failure from the beginning, Hart would have opposed it decisively, citing his reasons, considering that it was his duty as Commander-in-Chief to oppose it. However, the defense forces of Salamander and Israfel deployed in each system are so high that they cannot be easily broken through even if a Spirit King does not deploy a realm. If Tenka were to invade with a large fleet of hundreds of thousands that could destroy the Monarchy¡¯s systems, Tenka would have depleted almost all its military power. In that case, in exchange for the destruction of one Monarchy system, the three Tenka Nations could be destroyed and the war ended. Such a meaningless invasion would not be possible for the Tenka side, which calls itself rational. Therefore, Hart was reluctant to take any risks, but allowed an early invasion in the form of making the Congress responsible. ¡°Very well. Then I¡¯ll explain it to congress. The Minister should proceed with his preparations.¡± ¡°I understand¡± Burns fulfilled his role as a military attach¨¦, even though he was surprised by Hart, who followed Congressional policy while leaving the Defense Enhancement Plan half-finished. Since then, the movement of the Monarchy Parliament has been quick. After a vote was held in the National Assembly and the Solar System Invasion Plan was passed, the House of Lords approved the bill and the invasion was decided. The specific operational strategy was left to the Royal Army. The mobilization force determined by Hart is Fortress Kerviel, 1,125,000 Israfel crafts, 10 regular army fleets, and 15 aristocratic fleets. In addition, a General officer of Ky¨±yama who has insider information on the five Tenka Nations will join as an information staff member. The conscription of the aristocratic army was based on the criteria once convened by former Crown Prince Gracian. Dukes provide five fleets, Marquises three fleet, Counts one fleet, and Viscounts and Barons battleships along with appropriate magic power holders, subject to conditions that exempt them for past service, emerging peerages and so on. Even though Hart narrowed the scope of the conscription, the aristocrats volunteered to participate. It is unthinkable for an aristocrat of the Monarchy of Diete not to participate in an ¡°Operation to Invade the Solar System,¡± in which the invasion was decided by the will of the Royal Citizens, and in which they would be officially considered aristocrats once they earn military achievements and a Medal of Honor. Rather, Hart was worried that they would gather too many people, even though they did not represent his family, he even mentioned the importance of star system defense and the fact that if they died in the battle, it would affect the survival of their households, and asked that they respect the set quotas. Hart also informed them that Queen Yuna and the Mobile Fortress Ramiel would not participate in this operation because the transition gate cannot be used in the Solar System. ¡°In the two Diete Star System Battles, if His Majesty the former Sovereign had not been present, the Capital Planet would have been destroyed. It would be dangerous for everyone to charge in and leave the person in overall charge of the defense absent. From now on, I will be the aggressor, and Her Majesty the Queen will be the guardian.¡± Yuna, the Queen and General, and Hart, the Duke and Fleet Admiral, will both be obeyed at the time of the battle, no matter who they may be against in the Monarchy. And if they are on the battlefield and on the Capital planet, they can deal with any situation by force. Burns, while showing understanding, referred to the unwritten law of the Monarchy. ¡°The Royal people have a deep-rooted belief that Royalty should be on the battlefield. If the Sovereign is elderly, it is understandable that the Prince will stand on the battlefield in his place, but Her Majesty is still 21 years old. How do you explain that?¡± Hart is convinced that if Yuna did not go to the battlefield, her aptitude as a country ruler will not be questioned. But instead of ignoring it, Hart thought that it would be better to prepare one of the official conditions, and responded to Burns¡¯s question by bringing up the Monarchy¡¯s conscription system. ¡°Her Majesty has been awarded the Order of Merit six times and fulfilled her duty as a royal aristocrat. In the first place, Her Majesty is engaged to me, a high magic power holder, and met the conditions for exemption from military service. If you ignore the system and force Her Majesty into service, other aristocratic women will have to follow suit, and we may not be able to stably secure the next generation of high magic power holders.¡± In the Monarchy, there is a condition of exemption from military service that ¡°high magical women who are married or engaged to high magical individuals are excluded from the target of recruitment¡±, and Yuna is a representative of the side which defends the system. If Yuna takes the initiative and enters the battlefield, other aristocratic women will not be able to use the military exemption system. With the advent of spirit crystals, the value of high magic-powered people has declined, but they are still necessary for interstellar travel and cannot be eliminated. Moreover, Yuna¡¯s partner is Hart, who operates Fortress Kerviel. The Royal people, who want the next generation of mobile fortress operators, will have no choice but to accept the reason why the Queen, who was named by Hart, will not enter the battlefield. Burns nodded, expressing his willingness to accept the explanation. ¡°If a clearly stated system is presented, the parliamentary side of the system will have to accept it. There are two royal candidates who will go into battle besides Her Majesty the Queen. Their Highnesses the Princes. Since both are candidates for the next Sovereign, it would be just right as replacements in Her Majesty¡¯s name.¡± Bernard and Josslan both plan to take the throne or the Duke, and both understand that it is better to have the appropriate military achievements in either position. Although they will not be able to win the Order of Merit because they do not have enough enemies in the Solar System and the Hercules system, their achievements of serving in the operation to recapture the Solar System and successfully capturing it will be useful in the future when they hold the throne or Duke title. Burns, who was convinced that both princes would become representatives, accepted Hart¡¯s claim, confident that the Parliament would agree that the Queen would not serve in the army. Most recently, Hart was beginning to question the old belief that Royal-grade magic power holders operated the mobile fortress to shoot the enemy. Fortress Kerviel can accommodate 1,125,000 Israfel fighter crafts. The strength rating of one craft is 0.4, but if you multiply it by the number crafts on board, it will be estimated at 450,000. On the other hand, the strength rating of the Fortress Kerviel itself is about 8,000, the magic of Hart accounting for 6588, and only about 500 to 700 added with each operation assistant. It cannot be said that the strength of 700 destroyers was marginal, but unlike during the war with the Coalition, the strength of Fortress Kerviel can no longer determine the outcome of the battle. The current role required of Fortress Kerviel is as a supermassive carrier craft for transporting fighter crafts, and Hart alone is sufficient for that role. Even if another royal family member came in place of Yuna, it would only be a formality. For the time being, Hart suggested that the operation of the fortress be revised. ¡°Your Excellency, Nowadays, the number of fighter crafts that can be deployed into battle determines the outcome. As for Fortress Kerviel, it seems better to operate it as a flagship and home port than to deploy it to the front lines with a full complement of personnel to operate the magic elemental engines. We will change the operation in the future.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Congress about that, too. Even so, when I was in active service, having a large ship was the top priority, but things have changed dramatically in a few years.¡± In response to Burns¡¯ recollection, Hart believed that the form of war had not changed, but that history was simply repeating itself. ¡°This is just a repetition of the history of the evolution of the Battleship Artillery Principle with the advent of aerial warfare. It was just time for a change¡± ¡°I seem to be getting older and not thinking as flexibly as the Commander. I will leave the building of new things to the younger generation, and I, as the older generation, will deal with the old dogs.¡± Thus, the Royal Army, requested by the Congress, was to conduct an invasion of the Solar System. CH 80 During the invasion of the Solar System, the Monarchy did not deploy a realm into the star system, and the transition gate was not connected. This is because only a limited number of star systems can be territorialized, and the importance of the Solar System is low. As a result, there were no plans to deploy large-scale fighter crafts, and the tens of millions of fighter craft and suppressor pilots operating within the four systems already connected to the transition gate were available, along with the hull and airframes. Therefore, they were put into the development of the acquired star system. ¡°We will send troops into MacLir and Fukashiro for resource mining and heavy industry. The tens of millions of available fighter craft and suppressor pilots will devote themselves to development and transportation missions.¡± Tula, the third planet in the MacLir system, is a huge resource mining planet. Under the law of universal gravitation, gravity is proportional to the mass of the celestial body and inversely proportional to the square of its radius. The mass of the Tula is 2.5 times that of Earth and the radius is 0.9 times that of Earth, the gravity is 2.5 ¡Â 0.9 ¡Â 0.9, which is 3.08 times greater. It is smaller than the Earth but has greater mass because the Earth¡¯s core is a metal mainly composed of iron and nickel, while Tula is a heavier metal. As a result, Tula became a resource planet of high value to mankind. Factors that hinder the mining of planets are its high gravity and average temperature of -40 degrees Celsius. Therefore, mining has been conducted only sporadically, and resources have not been fully utilized. Under the grand cause of ¡®incorporating the new star system into the rule of the Monarchy¡¯, Hart, with the full support of the government, invested tens of millions of fighter crafts and suppressors of the Royal Army to push development forward at once. A large number of city building, military construction, and android production facilities were sent from each star system using the transition gate. And, unmanned mining facilities were mass-produced on Tula, and development began with explosive momentum. ¡°The planet Tula was requisitioned by the Royal Army. All local laws and vested interests are to be disregarded. Develop it as thoroughly as physically possible.¡± To have the military, to which blood money is poured, develop a planet, it is necessary to have a good cause. As a reason for investing troops into the MacLir and Fukashiro Systems, Hart added that it was not only to incorporate the new system into the Monarchy¡¯s rule and economic sphere, but also to improve the skill of the pilots by engaging in work with fighter crafts and suppressors. The proceedings ignored various vested interests because the main rulers of both systems were Grand Duchess Taka Amanohara and Duke Son, and the political and military heads of the Monarchy were Yuna and Hart himself, who gave the order and had full authority. In just one year in power, Yuna and Hart have connected realms and transition gates to four systems, won three battles, recaptured the two star systems, and completely overturned their inferiority in the war. The current regime of Yuna and Hart, which has produced results, has received overwhelming instructions from the royal people. This is why they were able to forcefully push things forward with their strong authority. In fact, Hart has been quite reckless. ¡°The mineral resources obtained in the MacLir System can meet the demands of the entire Monarchy. If we can channel them at about 30% of the fair price, it will accelerate the Monarchy¡¯s production activities.¡± As a result of the vast resources of the planetary scale being put on the market at an unprecedentedly low price of 30% of the fair price, all production activities in the Monarchy began to accelerate explosively. The large volume of products produced will surely enrich the lives of the Royal Citizens. Although this had a reasonably large impact in the short time that followed, with the stock market in turmoil, repeated volatility in futures trading, and the bankruptcy and takeover of major companies, the Monarchy as a whole was expected to see a significant increase in national strength. Some economists have expressed the view that the current situation is more than a simple increase in national power. ¡°In the four systems connected by the transition gate, the synergistic effects of the resource revolution and the transportation revolution, similar to the time when the chain of the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution of Earth age were triggered, will occur. The economic development that will occur in the future will be called the Transition Gate Revolution.¡± There are already countless economists who point out that the situation caused by maximizing the use of the transition gate and national power is not just the beginning of economic growth, but also the trigger for the increase of the human economic level. Behind such economic development, some people raised their unscrupulous voices. ¡°Dumping, dumping¡­¡± The one complaining to Hart was Sarah Figgins, the current President of the MacLir System and the person set to hold a key position in the province government of the Grand Duke of Taka Amanohara. Sarah, in her dual capacity as the current president and a key figure in the territorial government, was willing to spare the resources in the system that would be siphoned off. ¡°Isn¡¯t 30% of the fair price crazy? If it¡¯s 60%, the profit is doubled. Tula¡¯s minerals don¡¯t decompose, and they¡¯re used as building materials, so there¡¯s no shortage of demand!¡± Sarah¡¯s assertion was not wrong, but Hart reiterated, tilting his head. ¡°The Monarchy government and military have deployed tens of millions of fighter crafts and suppressors, building resource mining plants, and distributing them at the transition gate, which shortens a one-way trip from two months to a few hours. They don¡¯t roll that into the selling price, which makes it cheaper, but can the MacLir System do it on its own?¡± ¡°Mugu!¡± The number of magical individuals is limited, and there are individual differences in magic power values. Without spirit crystals, it would be impossible to launch tens of millions of fighter crafts and suppressors on a large scale. The same is true for transportation. Without the transition gate, the only way to transport the goods would be by transport ship over a one-way route that would take two months. Sarah, who was easily defeated, kept silent and was pouting, and Linnell, an artificial intelligence standing next to Sarah in her android body, joined the disgruntled persuasion. ¡°A large number of urban construction facilities, military construction facilities, android construction facilities, tens of millions of people equipped with military grade spirit crystals, a realm that strengthens magic element engines, transition gates that can jump hundreds of light years in an instant. If you think of it as paying a fee for the services, it might be very cheap.¡± Every time Linnell cited the benefits, Sarah, who had been showing a bulging expression, gradually began to think that they might be getting something out of it, and smiled. Looking at Sarah, who has a simple mental structure and seems to be a naive MacLirean, Hart wondered if Sarah, who was being persuaded by the artificial intelligence they had created, was really okay as an executive of Yuna¡¯s territory. The MacLir System has a history of being left behind by civilization and starting over from farming and ranching, with no development at all due to the outbreak of the war between Earth and Diete at the time of settlement. In essence, the MacLireans are countryside hicks who were left behind by the development of human civilization. It became a member of the Coalition in 3523 AD, 219 years before the Coalition was defeated by the Monarchy. Even after joining, large-scale development was not possible, and it was lagging behind other star systems in various fields. Linnell was created using the basic technology of artificial intelligence conceived by the Coalition member states of the other star system. Linnell, the daughter of the MacLir, has already surpassed her creator and is moving in accordance with the will of the Monarchy. Hart did not expect Sarah to be easily persuaded, but instead offered her material to persuade the local government on her own. ¡°Incidentally, the Duchy of Taka Amanohara in the MacLir System is going to be dispossessed of everything the Monarchy has built, from mining plants, to resource processing and production plants, to sales channels. That¡¯s part of the severance package to Her Majesty the Queen. With this, we can expect a semi-permanent trade surplus.¡± ¡°Please say that sooner!¡± ¡°The Duke of Taka Amanohara is the house that will be inherited by the descendants of Her Majesty and myself. There are matters I can¡¯t explain to you, but remember that I would never do anything against my own children. You understand, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± Hart is the Commander-in-Chief who commands the entire Monarchy, and can cut down the few for the sake of the whole, or impose an unequal burden. In contrast to Sarah, who simply believed without thinking about what would have been understood if he had thought about it a little, Hart deepened his understanding of the MacLireans as a ¡°simple and easy-to-handle people¡±. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good. The MacLir System will be economically developed, and in the future you will be granted royal citizenship. The Duchy will then have a large territorial income and council seats according to their population. Your lives will be enriched and everyone happy. Persuade the MacLireans that way.¡± ¡°I understand, then it¡¯ll be easy to convince them. Until last year, the occupying forces of the Monarchy did not explain anything to us, so the people became suspicious and the presidential office had a hard time suppressing them ¡­¡± As he watched Sarah traveling through a delusional field of flowers, Hart held back a sigh. As Sarah pointed out, the former Coalition people of the MacLir System were subject to a neutralization policy during the former Sovereign¡¯s reign. They had forbidden marriage between magical individuals, attempted to diminish their interstellar navigation abilities and incapacitate them from rebelling against the Monarchy. The reason the plan was changed was because of the war with the Tenka Federation. In the Second Battle of Diete, Tenka killed three billion royal people. As a result, the anger of the people was directed towards Tenka, and the allergic reaction to the already destroyed former Coalition has lessened. And the MacLir Star System has already been neutralized, as every person with magic power value of 100 or more was taken to the Monarchy in response to the invasion of Tenka. The system is connected to a transition gate, and in a situation where tens of millions of fighter crafts fly around, there is no way to revolt. In the present situation, the MacLireans are no longer the target of threat to the Royal people, and are no longer foes to be taken seriously. The fact that the system was declared the territory of Queen Yuna after her abdication meant that the treatment of the former Coalition people in the MacLir System will change from the neutralization policy of the previous sovereign to the absorption and amalgamation of Queen Yuna. ¡°After that, we need to reform the history education that the Coalition has been conducting to suit their own needs. Let them learn from Diete¡¯s perspective on the colonial rule over Diete, the outbreak of war triggered by the execution of the Diete government leader, and the Battle of the Frodi Star System launched by the Coalition. If they do not receive the same education as Diete, the hatred will not end.¡± Sarah, who had been in a good mood until a while ago, was again silenced by her bad mood. Sarah is also of the generation that has received education from the Coalition, and was instilled with history from the perspective of the Coalition. Even if they were the perpetrators, it is not easy to accept. From the opposite perspective, Hart, after losing to the Coalition, would have been told, ¡°What Earth was doing to Diete was trading, not colonial rule. It was an outburst due to a one-sided misunderstanding on the part of Diete¡±, and he was told to ¡°Educate them like that¡±, he would be displeased. However, it is impossible to give royal nationality without such education. ¡°In the first place, I myself was the party that was attacked in the Battle of the Frodi System. I have evidence and witnesses to the former Coalition¡¯s attempted fabrication. The Monarchy orders that the facts be educated. This is enforced by the Monarchy in order to prevent another war. I¡¯m not asking for your opinion.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ I understand.¡± Sarah was a woman of few words and revealed her dissatisfaction, but she did not refuse. Evidence of the Coalition¡¯s surprise attack and the fabrication of the cause that took place in the Republic of Frodi was revealed at the end of the war. As long as the Neutral Republic of Frodi recognized it and the former Coalition rulers accepted it, Sarah had no choice but to admit it as well. Given the fact that it was fabricated in this way, it may be difficult to accept it from a psychological point of view, but it cannot be said that the Coalition is an organization that does not commit such fabrication. If the Coalition had won, they could have pushed it through, but they lost. The history of mankind is written by the victors. Sarah did not express her inner dissatisfaction, and reluctantly accepted Hart¡¯s request. After having made the local government of the MacLir system accept various demands, Hart left the administrative details to the government of the Monarchy. From the beginning, he could have thrown everything to the government, but if Hart, the Commander-in-Chief with high authority and fianc¨¦ of Grand Duke Taka Amanohara, moves directly, everything will proceed at the fastest possible speed without anyone interfering. Hart, who wanted the project to move quickly, decided to move directly. In the MacLir System, Hart can play the hateful role of being strict, and Yuna plays the role of being considerate and caring, and the balance can be adjusted while watching the situation. In Fukashiro, Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s cousins, S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡, can play the hateful roles, so Hart does not need to. Hart¡¯s capacity is limited in this area, and it is out of reach of Philine or Colette¡¯s territory. He was so busy that he was thinking of leaving the royal capital, the Marquis of Amakawa, to Claudia. Since the Marquis Carneus has a long history and the current head is still active, it is likely that Philine will be able to manage his domain. On the other hand, Colette, who had been conferred the Count rank, should be in a daunting situation, but Hart, who promised to donate his genes, was not in a position to help. Hart felt sorry for Colette, who must be struggling with the Deputy Commander-in-Chief post and territorial management, but hopes that she will solve the problems on her own. CH 81 [¡ùThis is an additional, unreserved post] ? Notice regarding the distribution of the e-book We are pleased to announce that the e-book of this work is now available on BOOK¡îWALKER in addition to Kindle. Thank you for your support. We look forward to working with you in the future. In a space region about 280 million kilometers from the Capital planet Diros, a huge spaceport was being built linked to the orbit of the planet. It looks like a huge cast-iron net, and the rope part serves as a collection point for supplies. And the part corresponding to the knot of the net was the control station. The supplies are carried to the spaceport via Israfels with large containers and Salamanders with medium-sized containers. They came from the MacLir System through the transition gate, 20 million kilometers from the spaceport. Each container enters a designated circle and transfers the cargo to the collection point, then the crafts turn around and it returns quickly. The containers accumulated in the spaceport were transported to depots and factories throughout the system by unmanned vessels sent from Capital planet. The idea for the spaceport to receive these goods came from the inhabitants of the Athena System, where the transition gate was connected. They were now able to make a profit just by sending vast amounts of resources from the new star system at 30% of the fair price and then passing them without further ado to the rear star systems. ¡°If we can reduce the role and restraint time of the fighter crafts, they should be able to focus on the round trips to and from the transition gate.¡± The only time that a fighter craft is indispensable in the distribution route is when the magic engine is operated to protect the hull and the container with a shield when passing through the transition gate, which is a high-dimensional space. If other tasks are supplemented elsewhere, the amount of transport will be doubled even with the same number of crafts. Specifically, by building a spaceport near the transition gate or introducing unmanned vessels to replace what the fighter crafts were doing. However, the policies of the new system are decided by the Monarchy government, the fighter crafts are operated by the Royal Army, and the transition gate is managed by the Marquis of Amakawa. The people of the Athena System, who faced a high hurdle in changing their operations, petitioned Prince Bernard, acting Duke of Strani, who manages the Athena system, to improve the efficiency with the construction of the spaceport. As expected, Bernard okayed the petition. ¡°Very well. the construction proposal would be a contribution to both Athena and Diete.¡± Bernard is a candidate for Sovereign and must consider the interests of the entire Monarchy. After collecting the petition, Bernard presented it to Queen Yuna, who also served as the Duke of Strani, and had a large-scale spaceport built in both the Athena and Deite Star Systems. The plan submitted by Bernard was easy to implement and in the best interest of the Monarchy. The proposed spaceport could be installed immediately to the control station, which is the knot of the net, using old-generation large ships, large civilian vessels, and ships of the Lords that were scheduled to be decommissioned, by moving and connecting to them. The construction of a spaceport would increase the amount of resources flowing from the new star system, and it was easy to get the cooperation of the Lords because it would contribute to the interests of the entire Monarchy, including the territories of the Lords. In addition, the safety standards that could become a problem when operating the older generation vessels were cleared by operating unmanned ships and androids outside the inhabited planets. Thus, the spaceport was adopted, and the entire Monarchy expanded its economic activities. Bernard, who had coordinated the petition, gained a domestic achievement of accelerating economic development by proposing a large-scale spaceport, following his military achievements in the Battle of Athena. Bernard¡¯s domestic success was very troubling to the aristocracy. ¡°I thought Prince Josslan, with the support of the Duke of Takrham, would have the advantage, but it¡¯s becoming difficult to tell.¡± Both Princes¡¯ military decorations are lined up, with the elder brother Bernard having a track record in domestic affairs, and younger Brother Josslan, who is enrolled in the Military Academy, is expected to excel in military affairs. Between a student of the Academy of Magic and a military cadet, Josslan, the cadet, had the advantage. Given the origins of the Monarchy of Diete and the current state of war, it is better to have the ability to lead the people with an understanding of the military. However, Bernard, who had contributed to the nation in domestic politics, was no longer a mere student at the Academy of Magic. He is clearly superior to a mere cadet. The more Bernard achieves, the more of a threat he is to Josslan¡¯s camp, and the backing Duke of Takrham could not afford it. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to be seen as hostile to the Duke of Takrham, but we can¡¯t carelessly follow them.¡± The aristocracy became cautious because if Josslan becomes the next Sovereign, in addition to the next Sovereign and the Duke of Takrham, Yuna and Hart, who will choose the next Sovereign, will be in a position to support the new Sovereign, and most aristocrats will also be in the new Royal faction. The disadvantages to the non-mainstream factions who supported Bernard would be immeasurable. The opposite is also true. If Bernard becomes the next Sovereign, most aristocrats will follow the new Sovereign in order for Yuna and Hart to support the new Sovereign, and the Duke of Takrham and the Duke of Strani, who become non-mainstream, will be the disadvantaged minorities. The aristocracy¡¯s preferential treatment of their own factions, and the settling of their debts, is inevitable in order to maintain the magic of their own households. As long as one cannot bequeath offspring alone, one has no choice but to favor one¡¯s allies for the sake of one¡¯s offspring, even if it is Hart and his family. Such is the case with Hart and Yuna, who manage two new systems and the transition gates. The power of the new mainstream faction, centered around the next Sovereign, is enormous, and the aristocrats do not want to become the non-mainstream faction. The Duke of Takrham, who had made his position clear before the new star systems were connected by the transition gate, probably did not expect things to reach this point. As the aristocrats were struggling, the construction of the spaceport progressed steadily, and its operation started in parallel. The spaceport will continue to expand, but a ceremony was held to commemorate the opening of the large-scale spaceport in order to mark the end of the project once it began operations. Bernard, who organized the large-scale spaceport, was the host of the large-scale ceremony that brought together the Lords, territorial governments, senior officials of the relevant ministries and agencies, executives of companies involved in transactions, leading figures in the business world, and various media. The ceremony, organized by Bernhardt, proceeded without a hitch, and the event moved to a glamorous celebration. Bernard, who organized and realized the petition and held ceremonies and celebrations, was evaluated as a candidate for the next Sovereign, and achieved successful results in terms of his ability. It was very significant that Bernard was able to show that he could handle everything, including military affairs, domestic affairs, and ceremonies, and that he could serve as acting Sovereign when Yuna was unable to continue as Queen. At the venue where the celebration was held, the Lords and Ladies gathered under Bernard, who showed his ability and potential to become Sovereign. The first aristocrats to arrive were regarded as the spearhead of the Bernard faction. If they made it clear that they were with Bernard, they would be in trouble when Josslan ascends the throne. As a result, not a single aristocrat was the first to rush to Bernard¡¯s side, causing the aristocrats to look around them. At the celebration, young aristocratic children who could not bear the silence were whispering to each other. ¡°Leon, you have returned to the Marquis of Sharett in the Athena System, will you not go to greet them? His Highness Bernard will have a close relationship with the Athena system.¡± ¡°My parents are petty, so a second isolation is inevitable. Why don¡¯t you go?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, we are a Viscount household that can easily be blown away by the winds. The first greeting should be given by the head of a senior aristocratic household¡­ carrying their own fate.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t suggest it to me, I¡¯m not the head of the family.¡± Not only aristocratic children, but also the family heads who understood the situation did not move. A woman walked from the center of the ceremony hall toward Bernard, while the eyes of the audience watched with bated breath. Who was that¡­ there is no aristocratic child asking such a question. Her face and name, as the head of a Count Household, with the insignia of the General of the Royal Army and the Order of the 2nd Class, are known not only to aristocratic children but even to small children in the Monarchy. As a public figure, she is the Royal Army Deputy Commander-in-Chief, in private, a close friend of the Queen, and as an honorary, one of the Operation Assistants of Fortress Kerviel. Fortress Kerviel protected the Capital planet and the Athena System, destroyed the Coalition of Humanity in an instant, and repelled the Tenka Federation. One of the greatest treasures of the Monarchy, she walked majestically up to Bernard, overwhelming the surroundings by her presence. Eventually, when she reached Bernard, she lightly plucked the hem of her pink dress, bowed with her long, wavy, pale gold and green, waist-length hair, and expressed congratulations in a light voice. ¡°Greetings, Your Royal Highness Bernard, I am Colette, the Count of Listner. I am pleased to see the opening of the large-scale spaceport conceived by Your Highness, which will greatly contribute to the development of the Monarchy. I, a slightly older head of a Senior Aristocratic Household, commend Your Highness for your devotion to the Monarchy.¡± Smiling softly, Colette added in a whisper. ¡°You¡¯re doing a good job. I have raised my opinion of you.¡± It was something added to relieve Bernard¡¯s nervousness. The reason Colette was able to speak so openly and intimately in front of the crowd was that she was an undisputed member of the Queen¡¯s faction, and it was clear that she supported the prince whom the Queen would nominate. Even if she took the initiative in greeting Bernard, she was not considered to be the spearhead of the Bernard faction. Colette¡¯s actions will not cause Bernard¡¯s admiration, but she will not incur any displeasure from Josslan either. It is generally understood, correctly, that the aristocrats were trying to create a flow of people to talk to Bernard. Bernard, who was approached, understood Colette¡¯s position and intentions. ¡°I would like to thank you for being the first to congratulate me. I was wondering who would be the first to arrive, but as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army approached, you were indeed very prompt.¡± ¡°Oh, if you are testing the Lords, I hope I have not disrupted you.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ve already established that no one is taking the initiative. No need to go any further.¡± Colette also agreed with Bernard¡¯s conclusion. In the first place, the position of Colette who can move freely is special, and the reaction of the aristocrats is normal. The Count of Listner, who has been elevated to the rank of Count, has been given a territory next to the Marquis of Amakawa, which also serves as the Royal Capital. The same officials as Marquis Amakawa¡¯s Estate collectively manage the Count of Listner Estate, the system is the same, with the Count of Listner being treated as a suburb of the Royal Capital. Immediately after the promotion, the Monarchy provided administrative and financial support, they could commence stable trade with the territories of her close friends Yuna and Hart¡­ two new systems, via the transition gate. For the preservation of magical power, a top priority for the aristocracy, Hart has attached a promise to donate his genes, which will assure that their children will have high magic power value. With two children, they can send one of them to another family and receive a spouse in return for the debt, and the third generation and beyond will be secure. There are only a handful of aristocrats in a position like Colette¡¯s, such as the Marquis of Carneus with Philine and the Marquis of Ornelas, the grandfather of both princes. ¡°Even if it was Prince Josslan, I think that the aristocrats of the Duke of Takrham would have taken the lead in the flow of greetings. It is natural that the head, who is responsible for protecting the household, is unable to move around carelessly, so please don¡¯t be too concerned.¡± However, this does not mean that loopholes do not exist. The most effective of the several options is to make Mirabell, the sister of both princes, a fianc¨¦e. Mirabell, who is two years younger than Second Prince Josslan, is currently in the second year of middle school and has an estimated magic power value of 21,530, which can make her the first wife of a Marquis family. Not only is she the biological sister of both princes, but also the half-sister of Queen Yuna, and Hart¡¯s prospective sister-in-law. With Mirabell as a wife, an aristocrat can easily overcome most of the problems that arise in the aristocracy encounters through the ¡°Requests to Siblings,¡± which she will perform. On the contrary, the problems themselves hardly occur because the elder siblings and the people around them take care of them on their own. The former Sovereign, Valfrete, declared in his will that his children may ¡°choose their betrothed freely¡±, so Yuna and former first Queen Cassandra also respect the wishes of the former Sovereign. Therefore, Mirabell can choose her own fianc¨¦. In the presence of Mirabell at the opening ceremony, many of the children of the aristocracy, who had not rushed to Bernard, gathered around her and tried their best to please her and her parents¡¯ family. Even the neutral Colette frowned a little at the sight of older men swarming around a second-year middle-school girl without restraint. ¡°I wonder if Her Highness Mirabell attended with the resolution to be mobbed.¡± ¡°She¡¯s in a position to choose her own partner. Ah, I see, she¡¯s earnestly gauging the distance with the people around her.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s surprising.¡± Colette was surprised, if anything Bernard had a rather deep sense of discernment. Colette is convinced that the next Sovereign would have been confirmed when Josslan failed at the Lord¡¯s Conference if Bernard had showed such intellect from the beginning, gotten engaged to an aristocratic lady who was not unpopular with the royal people, and did not have a rebellious attitude toward his leader, Philine, in a joint defense exercise. Yuna and Colette¡¯s aversion to the Duke of Takrham was so strong that they changed schools from the Highschool of the Magic Academy to the Military Academy. His defiance of Philine earned Bernard a great negative rating, and the failure of Josslan, who was engaged to the Young Lady of the Duke of Takrham, was not decisive. As a result, both princes received a fair evaluation of their abilities and achievements. Bernard¡¯s actions in realizing a large-scale spaceport would be given due recognition. Colette never mentioned it, though. ¡°If Her Highness Mirabell is present with such determination, should we stop meddling? She seems to have friends who will protect her.¡± ¡°As her brother, I¡¯ll thank you for the concern.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Mirabell was accompanied by a middle school classmate. Her friend is no less famous in social circles than Mirabell. Daisy Brown. Although she is enrolled in the middle school of the Academy of Magic, she is neither an aristocrat nor a quasi-aristocrat, nor even a Royal Citizen. She is the daughter of the Ambassador of the Republic of Frodi, the only country with which the Monarchy of Diete, which has incorporated Fukashiro, has established diplomatic relations at this point in time. Her father, Ambassador Grayson Brown, divorced his wife and took in his daughter. ¡°Why did the Republic of Frodi choose a man who divorced his wife as a diplomat?¡± Some raised their eyebrows, but Daisy, who was small at the time of the divorce, defended her father, criticized her mother¡¯s domestic hysteria and violence, and expressed her willingness to follow her father. Grayson was not dismissed as a result of the judgment that the problem was with the mother, as it was considered reasonable for a young child to choose her father over her mother. Grayson, who was thus sent to the Monarchy, rose from the ministerial envoy to the present as a result of the death of his predecessor in the first Battle of Diete. The Monarchy, which had been liable for the death of a foreign ambassador, gave some consideration to the surviving diplomats of the Republic of Frodi and their families. One of them was that Daisy, the daughter of the ambassador who suffered a casualty in the war, was offered a seat at the school of her choice, and Daisy wanted to attend the Academy of Magic. The Republic of Frodi has devoted its high magic individuals as ambassadors and envoys who frequently interact with the Monarchy¡¯s high magic power holders. His daughter Daisy¡¯s magic power value was 16,132, enough to serve as the head of a Count¡¯s family in the Monarchy, so she was admitted to the Middle School of the Academy of Magic as she wished. This is the first foreigner to enroll in the Academy of Magic, and he became a classmate of Mirabell¡¯s and deepened their friendship. Daisy, the daughter of the ambassador of the Republic of Frodi, who accompanied Mirabell, functions most effectively as a barrier to prevent the children of aristocrats who flock to the school from saying anything indiscreet from the standpoint of confidentiality. The aristocratic children, who have no choice but to act as gentlemen, chose a roundabout way to increase their likeability by identifying topics of interest and chatting with Mirabell, to have her remember their faces and names. Daisy¡¯s father, Ambassador Grayson Brown, walked up to Bernard and his party, as they watched them from a distance. ¡°Your Royal Highness Bernard, congratulations on the opening of this large spaceport.¡± Grayson, who spoke in a formal tone, is a tall, slender man with a neatly coiffed all-back and a nervous look on his face. In his mid-fifties, with an average lifespan of 200 years, he is considered young by his home country to be the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the superpower that is the Monarchy of Diete. Grayson, however, has played his role as a diplomat sent by the Republic without flaw. In the earliest days when Hart and Dr. Kerman sold spirit crystals, he obtained spirit crystals before restrictions were placed on their sale to other nations. His background is also perfect, except that he divorced his wife, his grandfather held two vice minister positions, and his grandmother being the daughter of a former cabinet minister. His father is a university professor and his mother is a famous musician. After graduating from the most difficult graduate school in the Republic of Frodi, he studied abroad at the Royal University, the most difficult university in the Monarchy, before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic. When he was a high school student, he won a prize in the high school division of the Republic¡¯s piano competition, makes paintings, presents priceless but good ceramic works of his own creation to the Monarchy¡¯s officials, and appreciates operas, so he had a lot of influential cards when dealing with the Royal Aristocracy. With the tricky ambassador as his opponent, Bernard returned the greeting with a renewed expression on his face. ¡°Ambassador Brown, thank you for taking the trouble to attend. We were just talking about my sister and your daughter, so you must have picked the right moment.¡± ¡°It is easier to talk about my daughter if she is the topic of conversation.¡± Grayson affirmed, pointing out that the influx of cheap raw materials from the MacLir System would have various effects on trade with the Republic, and that overall, it would be a good thing for the Republic¡¯s economy to improve. It was a roundabout conversation that traced a canned phrase that did not offend one of the princes fighting for succession to the throne, but as Colette, who was listening next to him, summed it up, ¡°Best wishes for the future¡±. Grayson also told Colette, who was also present, about the convenience of the transition gate, and inquired whether opening one in the Republic of Frodi would make it easier to get to and from the Monarchy. Colette, with a smile, received it lightly. Bernard asked Grayson, who had finished the purpose of greeting both the host and the influential people present. ¡°About your daughter, a friend of Mirabel¡¯s, do you wonder what to do after she graduates from high school? I¡¯m also a senior high school student, and I¡¯ve heard a lot about the paths people around me are taking, but a position such as your daughter¡¯s is unprecedented.¡± When asked about his only daughter¡¯s career path, Brown did not answer immediately, but rather made a gesture as if he were thinking about it, and then answered in a matter-of-fact manner. ¡°Let my daughter choose her career path and marriage partner freely, following the example of His Majesty the former Sovereign. If my daughter is to marry internationally and live in the Monarchy, it is not bad to reside in the Monarchy after my retirement. I¡¯ve made more friends here, and my daughter won¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± ¡°If you want to live in the Monarchy, I am always willing to help you. Your daughter is Mirabell¡¯s close friend, and for us royalty, close friends are hard to come by.¡± Bernard glanced at his sister¡¯s best friend, Colette, and then glanced at Mirabell and Daisy. In the distance, Mirabell and Daisy justly reproach the aristocratic children who tried to restrain Daisy in accordance with the proverb, ¡°If you want to shoot the general, shoot the horse first¡±. CH 82 After issuing a general policy for the MacLir System, Hart moved to the Fukashiro System and issued similar instructions, and reported the results of the inspection of the Fukashiro System to Yuna. The details are being examined by the ministries and agencies in question, but for the time being, all that is needed is a summary. The reporter who accompanied him was Xu¨§ L¨¬, who had become so familiar with Hart and the others that she was able to converse normally with Yuna as long as Hurt and the others were there and she was able to see them through the screen. In Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s brain, Yuna is probably replaced by a vegetable¡­ that is the secret of the Duke of Son family, which Hart never speaks of. ¡°The Fukashiro System, settled in 3045 AD, is the sixth immigrant system in all humanity. The system is unique in that it has more intra-stellar matter than any other star system.¡± The Fukashiro Star System, as described by Xu¨§ L¨¬, became independent of its parent Suzerain State in 3333 AD due to the Diete government¡¯s war with Earth. 410 years later, in 3743 AD, H¨¤o L¨¢n was invaded by the Five Tenka Nations, and announced its subordination to the Monarchy. In September of the following year, it was incorporated into the Monarchy, which has continued to this day. Its star is a G-type main sequence star, with five rocky planets, three gas planets, four giant ice planets, and a number of quasi-planets and satellites that surpass the Solar System. [Is the amount of dust and interstellar gas left after the birth of Fukashiro more than that of similar G-type main sequence stars like the Solar System and the Diete System?] Xu¨§ L¨¬ nodded lightly to Yuna¡¯s confirmation. ¡°Yes, the density of interstellar molecular clouds was relatively dense, and they were not able to gather into a star, resulting in their current state. The gas giant planet of Fukashiro is about the size of several colliding Jupiters in the Solar System. Because of its size and the abundant natural resources in the system, Tenka was able to develop.¡± The sun, one of the G-type main sequence stars, occupies 99.86% of the mass of the entire Solar System. And if it was an F-type main sequence star that is one level higher in the spectrum classification, the mass of the star would be 1 to 1.4 times that of the sun. With the mass of the Fukashiro System, the star would have been F-type. However, at the time of its birth, the star failed to collect enough material in the current system to become an F-type star, so it became a G-type star. ¡°Thanks to this, we have a great selection of affordable celestial bodies on which to build strategic satellites.¡± Hart expressed his impressions from the position of the Commander-in-Chief, but the amount of material in the Fukashiro Star System is unusually large. The mass of celestial bodies floating in the outer edge of the Fukashiro System is about 100,000 times the mass of Earth, and so much exists that it cannot be used up by the current human population. As a military man, he¡¯s for this grateful, but if people in the business world knew, they would be horrified by the amount of resources in the Fukashiro System, which is an order of magnitude greater than that of the MacLir System. The Fukashiro System has three rocky planets in the habitatable zone. The fourth planet, in order from Fukashiro¡¯s star, is Rensh¨­Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, which has become the head star. The third planet, KawachiH¨¦ch¨ª, and the fifth, TamaeY¨´ Qi¨¢n, are also within the habitable zone using modern human technology, and are undergoing terraforming on a scale of several hundred years. Compared to Earth, the diameter of each planet is 1.2 times for H¨¦ch¨ª, 1.3 times for Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, and 1.5 times for Y¨´ Qi¨¢n. The third planet, the H¨¦ch¨ª, has had half of the planet, which was close to Mars, transformed into an ocean, improving its atmosphere to human habitable levels, and is now home to 560 million people. The fourth planet, Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, is orbited by a 5,000-kilometer-diameter satellite called Ho-monB¨£o m¨¦n, which is a terra-formed, huge resort. The fifth planet, Y¨´ Qi¨¢n, has its global freezing terraformed and has been transformed to resemble Russia in the era of Earth, and it is now home to 440 million people. [Three habitable planets, such a luxurious system.] It is understandable that only Fukashiro was not complicit in the war of aggression, or conversely, that it was invaded by the other five Tenka Nations, as it is such a rich system. About the two planets, Xu¨§ L¨¬ supplemented. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, they are not natural, just within the habitat zone that can be maintained with modern technology, but are still terraforming so not many people can live there. We have to keep making adjustments.¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬ majored in Planetary Circulation System at her University¡¯s Faculty of Environmental Studies and then served on the Board of Directors of the Planetary Environment Building Organization. Although being a board member was mostly just a title, she learned what was necessary for the future of Fukashiro. As humans continue to develop their technology, the habitable zone in other system systems will expand, and the number of habitable planets will increase. Yuna, taking into account the circumstances of the Fukashiro System, reconsidered the future direction of the Monarchy from the Queen¡¯s point of view. [Rather than increasing the number of habitable star systems, would it be better to increase the number of places where people can live in existing star systems?] In the past, the Monarchy of Diete has been dispersing inhabited planets as a national policy in anticipation of the destruction of inhabited planets by the Coalition. However, the former Coalition has perished, and the war with Tenka is coming to an end. Given the rapid development of domestic logistics through transition gates, it may be better to increase the inhabited areas in existing star systems than to advance into many frontier systems that require months of round-trip travel. Currently, the Monarchy has eight inhabited planets. Half of them have spirit realms spread over them, and the rest are untouched. Hart could create a fifth realm with the contracted Mira, but he didn¡¯t want to give up the Spirit Emperor Mira because if he had a capable spirit at hand, it would help him pass on his magical powers to his children. ¡°Even if the Monarchy immigrated to another system, I can¡¯t increase the realms. The limit is to crush three inhabited planets of the three Tenka Nations and increase three Spirit Kings. If used for the Apollo and Artemis Systems, the rest would either be Podalley or Machaon. Although leaving just one would cause offense.¡± Both the Podalley and Machaon Systems are about the same distance from the Capital planet and Tenka, and are equally populated, making them difficult to prioritize for territorialization. [A situation where only one of the Monarchy¡¯s eight star systems cannot be connected to the transition gate would be a problem for the Queen¡¯s standing. But we don¡¯t have the leeway, I understand.] It is physically possible but politically unfavorable to connect the transition gate to all but one of the eight star systems without giving a clear reason that the Royal citizens can accept. If Hart reopens the gate, he can push it through, but it would provoke resentment from the aristocracy and the Royal people who were unable to connect the transition gate. Hart¡¯s spirit crystals are his private property, and it would be resentful for him not to use them. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to connect the transition gate to only one side without any reason.¡± [Yes, so be it.] Hart thought that Yuna was returning to the soft tone of the past because the Monarchy had won an overwhelmingly victory, but seemed to be very aware of her role as Queen. As if to affirm Hart¡¯s perception, Yuna also commented on Fukashiro¡¯s territory. [So, there are two Count territories in the Fukashiro system, but aren¡¯t they too big?] It was more for Xu¨§ L¨¬, who was with Hart. The population of the Fukashiro system is 20 billion Royal people of Fukashiro and 2.2 billion former Shinky¨­ residents. The Duke of Son will govern 19 billion Royal people of the Fukashiro, excluding a total of 1 billion ruled by the two Counts, and will be responsible for the management of the former Shinky¨­ people. The 2.2 billion former Shinky¨­ people who owe war reparations will be forced to mine resources from the Fukashiro System or engage in the reconstruction of the two planets without giving them royal nationality. S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡ will decide the nature of the work, taking into account the dissatisfaction of the Fukashiro people. The two Counts have a larger population than the regular Count family, but for a new territory, it was allowed to take care of a larger ruling population than it should in light of various circumstances that make it difficult to govern. Therefore, it does not matter if the ruling population of both Counts is more than twice as large. Regarding the territories, the Duke of Son of Hart would be assigned to Li¨¢n Sh¨¡ng, the Count of Margoire, married to S¨±ra, to Y¨´ Qi¨¢n the 5th planet, and the Count of Durkheim, married to L¨ªn f¨¡, to H¨¦ch¨ª the 3rd planet. Although the two counts are of equal rank, S¨±ra, the sociable one and the leader of the situation, chose Y¨´ Qi¨¢n, which is 1.5 times larger than Earth and has high future potential. And the subordinate L¨ªn f¨¡ received H¨¦ch¨ª, which is now 1.2 times larger than Earth, and is superior in population and habitability. Xu¨§ L¨¬ thought that although there are many natural resources, it would not be a problem in Fukashiro. ¡°Sure, the territory may be large, but the two planets are not very comfortable, and the natural resources are not much in the grand scheme of things for Fukashiro as a whole. Also the income will be used for planetary remodeling. Isn¡¯t that a problem for the Monarchy?¡± The two planets are not easy to live on, as they are not fully adapted to the speed of their rotation and the difference in temperature. And the vast natural resources in the Fukashiro System, like other systems, are managed by the system aristocracy and the provincial government, and ultimately the opinion of the main ruler, Duke Son, is what will prevail, so it was impossible for the two Count families to do as they pleased. Xu¨§ L¨¬ nodded her head, wondering if this was not a problem for the Monarchy, since the resources possessed by about two planets are an error and will be the source for the new territory to get on track as a new territory, and the surplus will be spent on terraforming. Hart, who approves the policy as Xu¨§ L¨¬ described, supplemented. [As a different ethnic group, it is easier for Fukashiro people to throw it all at the S¨°ng family¡¯s S¨±ra and L¨ªn f¨¡, since only the S¨°ng family can currently rule them. How about explaining that if the population of the two planets increases, the portion not worth the title would be placed under the direct control of the royal family?] Fukashiro is a system that has voluntarily requested to be incorporated into the Monarchy, and since almost all of the inhabitants are also Tenka people, it is difficult to rule unless the leader is from the S¨°ng family. Yuna reluctantly showed understanding to such Hart¡¯s words. [Then the next Sovereign will have to be the one to make the arrangements, since I¡¯m the one who took back Fukashiro by force. As the next Sovereign, there might be some animosity.] ¡°That might be a good idea. I¡¯m sorry, but the first thing you need to do is to make it known that the number of seats is limited. The people of Fukashiro, who have just been intimidated by tens of millions of fighter crafts and suppressors, will not go against Yuna if she says so.¡± Regarding the seats requested by Hart, in the Monarchy, the Senate, the House of Lords, and the National Assembly, the House of Representatives, are granted one seat for every 100 million population. The exception of such a system is the new territories. The Duke of Son and the Duke of Taka Amanohara hold the same 12 seats as other Dukes, regardless of the population. The two new Counts will also be limited to only two seats, the same as the other Count families. Furthermore, the former Coalition people of the MacLir System, who will not receive Royal Citizenship for now, will not be given a seat in Parliament either. This was Hart¡¯s own proposal, which he forced Yuna to accept. Hart is concerned about future independence and division of the nation. As long as the former Queen Yuna and the National Hero Hart are the heads of the state, there is no need to worry about how powerful they may be. If Yuna and Hart have ambitions, they just have to not cede the throne, and if they fight the next Sovereign even after the succession to the throne, Yuna and Hart will win, so the next Sovereign will not be tempted to take the risk. However, after the next generation, if someone who is not the Sovereign has too much power, there is a risk that the country will be divided. A nation is the largest herd that can be formed by humankind. By forming a herd, you can share resources and deal with common enemies, which improves activity efficiency compared to hostility and neutrality. Not only humans, but animals and fish as well, form larger herds and the whole has a better chance of survival. Hart believes that it is undesirable to divide that large herd, create conflicts, and reduce the likelihood that offspring will survive. Reducing the number of seats is part of the consideration to keep the seats and voices of the two Dukes on the same level as the others so as not to divide the country. After a few hundred years, the Monarchy would advance into other systems, and the importance of the MacLir and Fukashiro Systems from the perspective of the entire nation would decrease. By that time, the new star systems will have acclimated to the Monarchy, and the Monarchy will continue into the future without breaking. Yuna, in her capacity as Queen, did not object to the idea of restraining the power of her subjects. Her concern was about the equality of rights held by the people and each star system. [If we have the same number of seats as the other Dukes, there will be a huge disparity in the number of votes, won¡¯t there?] The 19 billion people of the Duke of Son are the Royal Fukashiro people of and part of the Royal Citizenry. Wouldn¡¯t it be unfair that they, the same Royal people, can only hold 1.2 billion seats and voice? Hart had his own answer to the problem. ¡°Based on the individual circumstances immediately after the transfer, we will conduct the politics of both systems in a compromise between the Monarchy and the local system. Meaning, in exchange for reducing their voice in the Monarchy parliament, their local political system and culture would be respected.¡± In light of the fact that it is just after the incorporation, the Monarchy laws will not be imposed completely, and in exchange for respecting their systems and culture, their right to dictate the Monarchy law would be reduced. Yuna decided that Hart¡¯s proposal was a realistic one and agreed to curb the seats. The Queen, the leader of the nation, does not make every adjustment to the details. The government is in charge of these matters, and the text of the bill is prepared based on the Queen¡¯s proposal, which is then deliberated in the assembly parliament. The government, which believes the Queen should give top priority to dealing of the war, does not bother with internal affairs, but undertakes administrative work after receiving instructions from the Queen. Nobody would object to the bill, as none other than the Duke of Son and the Duke of Taka Amanohara insist on restraining the power of their households. The policy presented by Hart and the others would also apply to the Count of Lynn of Ky¨±yama on the side of the Duke of Takrham. The Count of Lynn family has two seats in The House of Lords, and cannot hold a seat in the National Assembly at this time. Hart explained to the new Count, who is leaving the Fukashiro System, the intention of the system he proposed and enforced. ¡°Count Lynn, the reason for curbing the power of the emerging aristocracy is to prevent future revolts. The suppression of authority is similar for the Duke of Son and the Duke of Taka Amanohara. Convince the people of Ky¨±yama and devise a way to incorporate it successfully.¡± Accept this¡­ instead, it is Hart¡¯s position to convince and to tell him to devise it, and it is Li¨² H¨¤o¡¯s position, as a Count of the Monarchy, to respond. Li¨² H¨¤o, of course, will not say no. He understands that it is the greatest concession from the Monarchy that Li¨² H¨¤o, despite the condition of being with Digitalis, was given territory in the Artemis System, making him join the ranks of senior aristocrats, and gained direct control over half of the Ky¨±yama people and indirect control over the other half. The people of Ky¨±yama had earned a lot of grudges from the Fukashiro people. Even if the Monarchy does not charge them with anything, it would be difficult for them to live in the same land. In addition, as a Count family, two seats were also obtained in the House of Lords. With the seats, he can join the Duke of Takrham faction and do much more with the power of that faction. Lysine, the sister of Digitalis, who would become Li¨² H¨¤o¡¯s wife, is the fianc¨¦e of the second prince Josslan, who is a candidate for the next Sovereign. Li¨² H¨¤o thinks that it is not a bad position to be in. by explaining the superficial facts, it was not difficult to convince the Ky¨±yama people. [I understand. The Artemis system seems to be a planetary environment on par with the Earth, and I, one of the Ky¨±yama people, have the right to rule. And I have already learned my lesson from dealing with spirits.] Hart smiled bitterly as Li¨² H¨¤o jokingly raised his hands. ¡°I often play Tenka-made strategy games with Xu¨§ L¨¬, but none of them have spirit crystals. In the future, it would be good to add spirits to the game and instill that the Royal Army is dangerous. But the enemies of the Monarchy that can be played in the game may disappear in a few years.¡± However, the enemies that cannot be included in the game exist secretly within the Monarchy. A large fleet centered on the fortress ship of the Duke of Takrham, the ringleader of the fleet, was attached to each planet of the Fukashiro system and continued to carry the Ky¨±yama people. Just one of the Duke¡¯s extra-large Immigrant Ship can carry a billion people to a new system. The Dukes of Takrham alone was about to emigrate 1.545 billion Ky¨±yama people. [I heard that Duke Son and my wife-to-be, Digitalis, were classmates in middle school. I hope you and my wife will take good care of each other from now on.] ¡°¡­¡­ ah, it¡¯s my pleasure.¡± Suddenly disturbed, Hart focused all his nerves on not expressing it, and barely squeezed out a mediocre response. CH 83 A whirlwind of enthusiasm was rising in the Royal people, and the euphoria of war engulfed the entire star system. The magic converted light of the Grand Fleet became a luminous meteor shower and swam through the Diete Star System. They are arrows fired by the Royal people, and at the beginning of the year, they will be shot into the Solar System and will pierce the forces of the Tenka Federation. Looking up at the night sky from the Capital planet, the Royal people proudly imagined the scene of stars, large and small, they had created, streaming through the universe, shining brightly. ¡°I bet they will reach the 3 Tenka Star System sometime next year.¡± ¡°Care to wager it then? I think next year will be the Former Coalition territories and the year after that, the Tenka Star System.¡± The majority of the arrows flowing through the star system are the 10 fleets of the Royal Army and the 15 fleets of the Aristocratic Army that were active in the battle of the MacLir Star System and the battle of the Fukashiro Star System. They are comparable in number to the entire Royal Army five years ago, and their combat power overwhelms that of five years ago. Even if you take away one of the fleet movements, the difference is obvious. If humans used common sense five years ago, the Monarchy fleet, which introduced spirits, moved freely like a school of fish swimming in the ocean. The spirits have dramatically improved the Monarchy¡¯s military power by becoming a new means of communication, an interlocking system with the surrounding spirit fleet, a prediction and evasion system against enemy attacks, and an auxiliary system that thinks independently and reduces human error. Not only the offensive power, but also the defensive power has become so strong that if the Royal citizens were told about it five years ago, no one would believe it. In the four star systems of Diete, Athena, MacLir, and Fukashiro, which are considered to be the front lines of the Monarchy, tens of millions of fighter crafts are flying around the sector after being territorialized. Within the realm, the strength rating of 3 Israfel crafts matches one Tenka. Therefore, if there were 15 million Israfel crafts, it would be five times more than the total war potential of Tenka at the beginning of the war, which was 1 million vessels. The Monarchy continues to switch fighter crafts, and eventually, billions of Israfel will fly through the transition gate. In addition, several celestial bodies recovered from Fukashiro were being modified one after another into new Strategic Satellites. In the media of the Diete system, there is a broadcast every time a celestial body for a Strategic Satellite is sent from the Fukashiro System. [According to the announcement by the Monarchy government, from 26:00 to 27:00 today, the fifth Strategic Satellites celestial body will arrive from the transition gate connected to the Fukashiro System. The object will pass through the upper part of the transition gate, so civilian ships will be able to pass through the gate as usual¡­] The three transition gates, each open in a sector 300 million kilometers from Diros, are 2,000 kilometers in diameter, with the upper half of the transition gate for the military and aristocracy and the lower half for the private sector. The celestial bodies used for Strategic Satellites are at least 300 kilometers in diameter, but can pass through only the upper half of the transition gate. As ships rushed through and the celestial bodies that would become Strategic Satellites arrived one after another, the Royal people were enveloped in the elation of battle and the certainty of victory. At least one Strategic Satellite, created by modifying celestial bodies, will be placed in each system in which the realm was created. In order for the Spirit King to operate it independently, considering what happens after sending them into the enemy and making them trade off, it may be best to have two or more. Currently, they can only be placed in four systems, but if Hart creates new realms, Strategic Satellites could also be deployed in new systems. The Strategic Satellite is a force capable of destroying 30,000 ships of the Tenka fleet within the realm. The greatest threat to Strategic Satellites is that they are unmanned weapons and can operate at their own discretion. During the Second Battle of the Diete Star System, the invading Tenka fleet tormented the interception forces of the Royal Army with a tactic of disposing of the National Mages and using fusion rounds in a massive manner. Such suicide attacks by Tenka and the disposable use of ships can now be done by the Royal Army, which has unmanned Strategic Satellites. An unmanned Strategic Satellite can disregard the damage and charge into the center of the enemy fleet to destroy enemy formations. The strength rating of one Strategic Satellite is only equivalent to 30,000 Tenka ships, but no matter how many are destroyed, if new Strategic Satellites are introduced one after another, the morale of the enemy side will collapse. Although it is already impossible in terms of the war situation, if the Tenka Federation occupies the Athena System with 500,000 ships, and the Monarchy only sends Strategic Satellites from the Diete System one after another, Tenka¡¯s defense fleet will be destroyed by the time the 10th Strategic Satellite is thrown into the system. If it is insufficient, 20 or 30 satellites can be sent. The names of the mass-produced Strategic Satellites are Fraga 2, Fraga 3, Fraga 4¡­. by showing that it is a mass production type that can be increased as much as possible, the morale of the enemy will collapse. The future plan that Hart thought ¡°would be good if it could be realized¡± was that the realm of the Spirit King and the transition gate would be created in all the star systems of the Monarchy. ¡°Of the Monarchy¡¯s eight systems, only half have been territorialized. If the remaining four systems are also territorialized, defense and distribution would be perfect. There are three remaining star systems in Tenka, and even if the spirits feast on all of them, we¡¯ll be short by one planet¡­¡± If the Monarchy¡¯s eight star systems are connected by the transition gate, the 8-star system, with the distance barrier gone, can develop simultaneously with none being left behind. With a large number of people and a large amount of resources, human development will accelerate. The obstacle to such ideals is the lack of planets to provide for them. Suppose that you plan to have billions of people live on a habitable planet and have them evacuate in 200 years so spirits can feast. But if people who know that they need to leave in 200 years and were convinced with a reasonable price, would it be a very normal behavior, and will it accumulate decent miasma? In the Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama Systems, which promoted Fleur and Rhea to Spirit Kings, billions of people living on the planets were burned to death in the midst of the battle, with fear and despair. Even if the same thing can be done in the 3 Tenka Systems during the war, it cannot be done in others, so there are not enough planets for the spirits to feast on. For the high-ranking spirits to be feasted, Hart had the means to replenish his supply. ¡ºI want Advanced Spirits that can be raised to Spirit Kings and create realms. In addition to the two B-class crystals that Dr. Kerman gave me, I would like to have two more, but I¡¯m sure Mira and Janet, who are under direct contract, can provide them.¡» Mira tilted her head curiously at Hart¡¯s request. ¡ºWhen did I tell you that Mira can prepare the higher level spirits?¡» ¡ºNo, I haven¡¯t heard that. But I thought it wouldn¡¯t be strange for a Spirit King to have several Advanced Spirits under their control. Then I thought it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for the superior Spirit Emperor to prepare a few Advanced Spirits.¡» Hart made excuses, but he actually cheated based on the maiden game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡±. In the game, Yuna¡¯s contracted spirit Janet was able to make B-class crystals. So he is convinced that Janet can do it, and that Mira, also a Spirit Emperor, can do it as well. Mira affirmed that she could make crystals. ¡ºMira is a vegetarian, so I aim to produce ideal vegetables. So I store what I¡¯m going to use for my vegetables, and only discharge what can be used for meat to make crystals.¡» ¡ºThen, the crystal I gave Xu¨§ L¨¬ was from surplus energy, or rather extra energy.¡» ¡ºYes, Chloe is a powerful Advanced Spirit from the start because she is packed with energy that was unnecessary for Mira. After that, I accumulated more in the three star systems of Myrna, Thor, and Freyja, so if that¡¯s okay, I can make them¡­¡» Mira¡¯s explanation contained something that would not otherwise be dismissed. It is a serious problem that Chloe, a dark elf spirit born from the spirit crystal that Mira passed to Xu¨§ L¨¬ when diplomatic relations between the Monarchy and Fukashiro, was an Advanced Spirit, not Intermediate. Even though Chloe is under the control of Mira and could be concealed from humans, it is quite inappropriate to give a high-level spirit, which was confidential, to a princess of Fukashiro, which was an independent country at that time. Mira¡¯s actions have several conceivable reasons, such as increasing surveillance of Xu¨§ L¨¬, who was from another country, in order to protect Hart, her contractor. Now that Fukashiro has been incorporated into the Monarchy, the Royal people will accept it if Hart gave one to his fianc¨¦e, the Duchess Xu¨§ L¨¬ of Son. Hart decided that there would be no problem if he handed it over after the incorporation, dropped Chloe¡¯s case and urged her to continue. ¡ºSo, is there any problem with the creation?¡» ¡ºYes, there is. What I gained in the three star systems are the feelings of those who were destroyed by the Monarchy. It is not advisable to have a spirit created on that foundation protect the Monarchy. So it¡¯s better to ask Janet of the Diete System to create Advanced Spirits.¡» ¡ºI see. That¡¯s certainly not good.¡» Hart, who received the explanation, abandoned the idea of obtaining spirit crystals from Mira. ¡ºI think it would be better if you ask Janet to prepare four Advanced Spirits. Since you have two crystals on hand, you only need to create two of them.¡» Mira¡¯s gaze extended to the spirit crystals in Hart¡¯s pocket. Hart¡¯s B-class crystals were received from Dr. Kerman, the contractor of the Spirit God, with a limit of 10 for Hart¡¯s family and fianc¨¦e. With such an acquisition route, there was no way advanced spirits without the potential to reach Spirit King would be mixed in. Inspired by the gaze, Mira, prompted by a glance at the spirit crystals that Hart had taken out, explained about the two spirits. ¡ºThe flaxen one is Alfrida and the crimson one is Berenice. Alfrida is the all-around type, and Berenice is the offensive type.¡» ¡ºThen Alfrida for the Apollo System, and Berenice the Artemis System.¡» Of the four Monarchy star systems that have not deployed the realm of the Spirit King, the two systems mentioned by Hart are closest to the frontline. Tenka has three star systems, and if two Spirit Kings are born and enemies remain, it makes sense to make both star systems into realms. However, Hart had other intentions in connecting the transition gates to both star systems. In the Apollo Star System, Philine and Claudia¡¯s households¡¯ are located. And in the Artemis system, is the Duke of Takrham and Ky¨±yama immigrants. The transition gate will be connected to the Marquis of Carneus, which Philine will inherit, making travel easier. At the same time, he will connect the transition gate to the Duke of Takrham, who is planning to do unnecessary things, so that dozens of Strategic Satellites can be thrown at them. The reason for setting up an attacking Spirit King in the Artemis system in light of this objective. ¡ºFirst of all, these two star systems. If I can get only one Spirit King, I personally would prefer the Apollo Star System, but¡­¡» After expanding the realm, the Spirit King will be able to purify the miasma and recover the energy in the territory without the intervention of spirit crystals or Hart¡¯s magic power. Even after the death of the contractor Hart, the Spirit Kings can continue to collect energy for tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years and use it for self-enhancement as long as humanity exists within their realms. The magical support and the use of the transition gates in the realm of the Spirit King is also bait for the stable recovery of energy from mankind. It is a coexistence and co-prosperity type that enhances the safety and convenience to allow human beings to settle in the star system. Thus, the Spirit Kings who continued to accumulate energy will one day become Spirit Emperors. As the first step in the history of the planets, spun by human beings and spirits, Hart connected the flaxen spirit crystal to his information terminal. A moment later, Hart¡¯s surroundings transformed into a carefully tended garden. In the garden, there was a round table with a tablecloth and wooden chairs, and a woman in a pink dress was sitting gracefully with a Watering Can in her hand. ¡ºI am Alfrida, as introduced by Lady Mira.¡» The woman, who greeted him with a soft voice, was a half-elf with flaxen hair and sky-blue eyes. On her ears shone earrings with crimson gems. Knowing that the color of a spirit¡¯s hair was related to their attribute, Hart guessed that Alfrida¡¯s attributes were light and earth. However, her sky-blue eyes and crimson earrings seem to be related to water and fire. Hart, lost in his conclusion, imagined that she might have multiple attributes at a high level. ¡°I am Hart Amakawa. I would like you to purify the miasma in a Tenka Star System and, after you are promoted to Spirit King, create a realm in a system of the Monarchy of Diete. It¡¯s a system where my descendants will live. I want you to protect it for as long as possible.¡± ¡ºI accept, but even after I have established the realm, please come and see me from time to time. If you, as our contractor, are cooperative, we will be able to increase efficiency in many ways. I only need to see you while you are still alive and able to move of your own volition.¡» ¡°All right, I promise.¡± ¡ºThe tentative contract has been concluded. When you sign a contract directly with me, please say Purple Pansy.¡» Leaving a whisper behind, Alfrida faded into thin air, along with the beautiful garden that was her world. After watching Alfrida disappear, Hart then picked up the crimson spirit crystal and connected it to his information terminal. From the connected crimson spirit crystal, a woman with red hair, red eyes, a short coat with a navel and a long skirt, and a bow and arrow like Artemis in the mythology appeared. The ornaments she wore were highly sophisticated and delicate, not unlike those of ancient times. She didn¡¯t have a fairy-like appearance. However, she had features distinctly different from humans. There was a wolf-like tail that sprouted from the back of her skirt. Unlike spirits with a very spiritual appearance, she is a rare beast-like creature, and she gave her name without paying attention to Hart¡¯s gaze at her tail. ¡ºMy name is Berenice.¡» ¡°I am Hart Amakawa.¡± Hart quickly returned the introduction, but he was too distracted to string words like he had with Alfrida. Regardless, Berenice answered Hart¡¯s requirements herself. ¡ºIf you want to sign a contract directly, just say Red Cattleya.¡» After delivering the words of the contract, Berenice turned herself around and disappeared, shaking her red hair. Hart, who looked on in admiration at the candid spirit, suddenly felt his body relax, and at the same time, he felt that something was missing and sank into the back of the chair. Thus, Hart used up all the spirit crystals he obtained from Dr. Kerman. CH 84 December 444 of the Monarchy Calendar After receiving two Advanced Spirits from the Spirit Emperor Janet in the Diete Star System, Hart went on vacation. Hart is trying to get rid of the Tenka problem, the greatest burden, in order to relieve the pressure on his fianc¨¦ Yuna, but he understands that it is unwise to shortsightedly do everything by himself, and then to collapse under the burden. ¡°Maintenance is necessary not only for warships, but for military personnel as well.¡± There aren¡¯t that many jobs that can only be done by Hart. Fortunately, the Monarchy of Diete dropped 509,000 Tenka ships in the three previous battles. In addition, they have obtained most of the information on Tenka¡¯s strategy and defense from Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama, who was drawn into their camp. The invasion schedule has been decided, and the defense of each star system is well underway with the deployment of Israfel. And recently, he also increased his contracted spirits. In the current situation, it is better to refresh the spirit of Hart, the Commander-in-Chief of the invasion force, and restore his judgment before the next battle takes place. With that in mind, after clearing up the spirits-related problems that only he could handle, Hart assigned the other Chiefs and Generals to prepare for the invasion, leaving the internal affairs of his territory to the government, and decided to take a leave of absence. During the vacation, he declined all visit requests, and spent three days in the Marquis Amakawa¡¯s residence and the castle in the sky. Hart¡¯s consciousness was at sea, eight kilometers off the coast of the Marquis¡¯ estate. The Marquis of Amakawa, facing the Mediterranean Sea, has opened up part of its territorial waters for private leisure use. The aim was to increase the surplus in the territory, and tax breaks and subsidies were offered to attract a large number of private resorts to the territory. Hart has come with Claudia to one of the many resort facilities that have opened up one after another. Above the sea where Hart floated, there were many hang gliders flying around, and it was so crowded that it was hard to believe it was wartime. Some of them occasionally fail and crash to the surface of the sea, but since the people are operating them via remote control robots, the crash does not cause injury. Therefore, Hurt was spending his time peacefully, casually watching. Claudia, who accompanied him, was flying in the sky. ¡°Master Hart, the race is about to start. Would you like to join us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯ll refrain. If you want to participate, go for it.¡± ¡°Okay. Please cheer me on.¡± ¡°Sure. Good luck.¡± In the sky above Hart, a large group of hang gliders that had been switched to autopilot by the built-in device flew up one after another. They gathered in a corner of the sky and soon began to fly in a wide circle outside the no-fly zone set up in the castle in the sky, one of the tourist attractions in the Marquis of Amakawa. A cluster of colorful wind-driven aircraft took off toward the castle in the sky. After admiring the scene, which was very archaic and fantastic from the perspective of an interstellar civilization, Hart eventually closed his eyes peacefully and sank to the bottom of the sea. The Mediterranean Sea of the Diete System is a safe sea for humans. Only safe fish, screened by humans and excluded parasites, swim there. Other shellfish include scallops, oysters, abalone and clams. In crustaceans, shrimp and crabs. Among mollusks, only edible ones such as squid and octopus inhabit the waters. At one time, bottlenose dolphins were also mixed with the marine creatures that swim in the Diros sea. When the Continent of Ortegia, the previous location of the Royal Capital, was blown away in the Second Battle of the Diete, a group of bottlenose dolphins brought from Earth escaped and swam around the Mediterranean Sea. Royal Diete¡¯s people do not have the custom of eating dolphins. If only one species of giant marine creatures that are not targeted by humans, the greatest predator, thrive in the ocean, dolphins may multiply and devour all edible fish in a few hundred years. With that in mind, Hart had biologists formulate an opinion based on the assumption that the dolphins would be recovered, and based on that opinion, he collected the dolphins and returned them to the Marine Aquarium before the children pleaded with them to ¡°let the dolphins swim freely¡±. Thus, the marine life of Diros is now back to its original state. The opinion of the Royal People on the matter is divided into those who felt the recovery was inevitable, and those who felt sorry for the dolphins. That¡¯s why Hart is convinced that it was best to collect them as soon as possible. The sea of Diros, where Hart sank, was so peaceful. An hour later, Claudia, who had completed the race, contacted Hart, whose consciousness returned to the leisure facility that connected to the swimming robot. The seabed reflected in the field of vision slowly darkens and becomes pitch black. Then, a dim light shone into the darkness-shrouded field of vision, and it transformed into a world seen from the enclosure placed in the couple¡¯s room of the resort facility. From the next enclosure, Claudia popped out like a little fox, looked at Hart and smiled. And she regretfully reported the results. ¡°There were 87 of us, and I came in seventh place. It would be nice if 6 people above me could become the operators of the fighter crafts that handle logistics.¡± With 70% admiration and 30% frustration, Claudia, the top Cadet of the Military Academy with high performance in the fighter crafts maneuvers simulations, praised the six people who beat her. The operation of a fighter craft and a hang glider are two different things, but since a machine is responsible for most of the operation, what is required of the operator is the feeling of flying. Hart, who thought the top six had talent, affirmed Claudia¡¯s remarks. ¡°You can issue a letter of recommendation, as long as it is in a way that does not force them to accept. A Major General is qualified to recommend Non-Commissioned Officers.¡± ¡°Okay. Then I¡¯ll send you a letter of recommendation later.¡± Claudia, who came to a conclusion on the outcome of the match, clung to Hart¡¯s arm after regaining her composure and walked out of the room where the enclosure that operated the remote-controlled robot placed to the underwater corridor of the aquarium. ¡°The facilities were pretty well equipped, even for a private recreational facility. Technically, they are at the level of military equipment from about 20 years ago. I didn¡¯t feel any particular discomfort.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Aside from the operational function of the magic engine, that technology might be about the same. Shall we go out to eat?¡± The leisure facility that Hart visited doubles as an aquarium where they frolic with the fishes of the Diros Sea. If you share a common experience with your family or lover by actually watching the fish swim, you can deepen mutual understanding. While it¡¯s fun to watch fish in a virtual space, aquariums have value that cannot be replaced by a virtual space. Even knowing this logic, Claudia, who was looking at the fish in the aquarium with Hart, looked very happy as she gazed at her surroundings. The underwater corridor that Hart¡¯s party walked in was a transparent tubular pathway built into a huge aquarium. Everything above, bottom, left and right is an aquarium, and the two slowly walked through the world opposite as if Hart and the others were being observed by marine life. The world outside of Hart¡¯s party was home to a diverse array of marine life, including dangerous creatures that could not be unleashed in the waters of Diros. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a pod of dolphins. These are the ones that Master Hart brought from Earth, aren¡¯t they? I wonder if there is a second generation.¡± Claudia pointed overhead, a group of bottlenose dolphins, which were huge to Hart¡¯s party and small in the eyes of Earthers, were swimming gracefully. ¡°I transported them in Fortress Kerviel about four years ago, so the young dolphin must have been born in Diete. It¡¯s been four years since then.¡± Hart looked back at the time when he carried the dolphins and reminisced. The invasion of the Solar System by Former Crown Prince Gracian was a fiasco that greatly reduced the Capital planet¡¯s defensive strength and killed 1 billion of the Royal people. To cover it up, dolphins that do not exist in the Diete Monarchy were brought as one of the easy-to-understand results of the Solar System conquest. Although a large amount of Coalition technology and resources have been recovered from Earth, it was the dolphins, which are giant marine creatures, that were popular with the general Royal people. ¡°There are much bigger whales and giant squids swimming on Earth, aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Oh. We couldn¡¯t carry them, and even if we could, we didn¡¯t have any facilities in Diete that could handle them.¡± The bottlenose dolphins filled the entire field of view, so how much bigger would they feel if they were ordered to take whales or giant squid? If he had carried whales and built a dedicated facility, Prime Minister Stanley, blamed for building a non-essential whale-only facility instead of fixing Hart¡¯s home, which was destroyed in the defense of the Capital planet, might have been driven even further into a corner. The Monarchy has collected the sperm and genes from the marine life that inhabit Earth, and can artificially hatch whales and giant squid, but it is far from the exquisite environment of Earth in that it has connected life since ancient times. There are many pests, but Earth¡¯s global environment, including the corresponding biological evolution of humans, is extremely valuable to mankind. With that thought in mind, Hart walked through a huge aquarium where dolphins swam and emerged onto a terrace floating in the sea. The Mediterranean Sea was spread out in full view, with peaceful tunes playing, and the table with lunch for two that had been ordered in advance. There are several terraces in the surrounding waters, but they are not visible from the outside so as not to destroy the scenery. Seeing the Mediterranean Sea as if the two of them had the whole area to themselves, Hart felt the same sense of majesty as when he looked up at the sky from the sea. He led Claudia to the table, pulled a chair for her to sit, and then Hart sat down to eat the prepared lunch. ¡°Peaceful, and tranquilidyllic isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. I think it¡¯s quite refreshing.¡± And it was also a date with his fianc¨¦e, and Hart, who is usually so busy that his personal life tends to be neglected, was relieved that he was able to resolve some of his problems. ¡°After lunch, let¡¯s stop by the gift shop and buy something to commemorate our date. I hear dolphin merchandise is popular, but I¡¯ll give you anything you want.¡± When Hart clearly mentioned that it was a date, Claudia¡¯s expression brightened. ¡°Thank you. Besides the shipment, I¡¯d like to take some of them home right away. Also, I want something to match. Please let¡¯s choose one together, Master Hart.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± Three hours later, a girl with a group of stern-looking android soldiers carrying dolphin souvenirs left the aquarium, arm in arm with her partner. CH 85 At the beginning of the year, the Royal Army launched its invasion campaign into the Solar System. The formation consisted of Fortress Kerviel, 1,125,000 Israfel crafts, 10 Royal Army fleets, and 15 Aristocratic fleets. The aristocratic fleet, which was required to carry its own weight, kept the number of ships within the specified limit, but the ratio of battleships and fortress ships was unusually high. In terms of strength rating, the Israfels are equivalent to 150,000 Tenka ships, the Royal Army fleet is equivalent to 7,000 Tenka ships, and the aristocratic fleet is equivalent to 14,000 Tenka ships, for a total of 171,000 ships. Tenka, on the other hand, has a fleet of 144,000 ships that broke away from the Athena System, and 20,000 ships each in the defense fleets of the Solar System and the Hercules System. Therefore, it was thought that a minimum of 20,000 ships and a maximum of 164,000 ships were stationed in the Solar System. ¡°If the largest number of ships were stationed in the area, there is a possibility of retreat.¡± If a ship¡¯s magic engine is shut down, it will not be picked up even by the reconnaissance ship¡¯s Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves, so the stationed forces of the Solar System are unclear. A fierce battle would be fought if the largest fleet was stationed, but Hart had a policy of avoiding fighting in the Solar System if their force evaluation was more disadvantageous to his army than 100:70. It would be insane to grind out the fleet¡¯s soldiers, who are difficult to train, allow the deaths of precious high magic powered aristocrats, or risk the destruction of Fortress Kerviel. If the strength of the Solar System is large, moving to the Hercules System at the speed of the fleet contracted with the spirits, and destroying only the stationed fleet of the Hercules System one by one should satisfy the people. The officers and troops, who were informed of the operation in advance and knew they could win the battle if fought, were highly motivated. ¡°It¡¯s a must-win battle, a chance to get a promotion and a Medal of Honor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier than taking a promotion exam because you get a promotion for your performance.¡± The soldiers were advancing with great enthusiasm, but Hart himself, who was leading them, did not see the inevitability of the invasion of the Solar System, the goal of the attack, and was not very enthusiastic. The birthplace of mankind is undoubtedly Earth. Although the definition of humanity itself varies from era to era, one of the most distinguishing features of the division between humans and monkey humans is upright bipedalism. The onset of upright walking can be traced back to the species called Ardipithecus ramidus, which existed about 4.4 million years ago in Africa. The ancestors of humans who came to walk on two legs continued to live a life of running and chasing prey, which led to the thinning of their body hair to prevent their body temperature from rising too high, and the development of their brains through a nutritious meat diet. After a long passage of time, about 400,000 years ago, some of them who had made inroads into Europe evolved into Neanderthals. Then, the ones that remained in Africa evolved into Homo sapiens about 200,000 years ago. Although Homo sapiens is considered the direct ancestor of humans, it has also been confirmed that modern human genes were mixed with Neanderthal genes, and both are now considered ancestors of humans. The common denominator in all of these theories is that the birthplace of mankind is Africa. However, the Japanese, who are Hart¡¯s roots, were able to trace their descendants living in Africa. In light of the history of the Japanese people who were able to live their lives without issue even after the isolation of Japan during the Edo period, the birthplace of mankind is not indispensable for the survival of mankind today. ¡°The cradle of humanity is Africa, but the Japanese were able to live even in seclusion. On the planet, Earth is the birthplace, but the Royal people of Diete could live without Earth. For modern humans, the Solar System and Earth are not essential for survival.¡± Hart sees no irreplaceable value in the Solar System. He believes that the value of the system as a habitable star system is reasonably high. Of the star systems of the Monarchy of Diete, only Fukashiro and Diete can be considered to surpass the Solar System as planetary environments inhabited by interstellar civilizations, and the others are equal or lesser. On the other hand, from a political point of view, Earth, which is inhabited by 1 billion former Coalition people, who recognize the Royal citizens as bitter enemies, and 4 billion non-members of the Coalition, who demand guarantees from Diete, would be the worst of the living environment for the Royal people. Therefore, for the Royal people, the Solar System has value for conquest in terms of the history of the founding of the nation, and its value in terms of biology and other studies is also recognized, but as a habitable star system, the conclusion is that it is ¡°unnecessary¡±. On the other hand, how much value does the Tenka side find in the Solar System and Earth? The Tenka Federation, now consisting of three nations, has 30.3 billion people living in Ten-to, 12.5 billion people in ¨­izumi, and 11.2 billion people in Hony¨­. As an inhabitable star system, only Ten-to has a value comparable to that of the Solar System, and the other two are definitely inferior to the Solar System. Therefore, if Tenka can eliminate the Monarchy, it will certainly emigrate to the Solar System. However, according to information from Ky¨±yama, Tenka has a force of 20,000 ships deployed in the Solar System, and as long as the Monarchy exists, immigration is not an option. After reaching the outer edge of the Solar System, the Tenka fleet, which was investigated by a thorough search, was as per the information from Ky¨±yama and was the minimum expected by the Royal Army. ¡°Enemy search results for the Solar System are now available. There are about 20,000 ships in enemy fleet.¡± Upon receiving the report from Bertrand, Hart nodded lightly. If only 10 Royal Army fleets and 15 Aristocratic fleets were to invade, the defensive force would be evenly matched. And with Fortress Kerviel and the fighter crafts, it will be an overwhelming victory. Hart checked with Gu¨­ F¨¥ngKaku H¨­, a former General of the Ky¨±yama army sent by Li¨² H¨¤o, who received the rank of Lieutenant General in the Royal Army. ¡°Lieutenant General Gu¨­, state your personal opinion. The strength of the enemy¡¯s Solar System Sector forces, which was deprived of information by the Monarchy during the recapture of Fukashiro, hasn¡¯t changed at all. Is there an ambush waiting in the surrounding sector? Or do they not have enough strength to deploy in the Solar System?¡± When asked, F¨¥ng responded immediately. ¡°By my opinion. This is the limit that can reasonably be deployed under the current circumstances. The three nations that were deprived of MacLir and Fukashiro must defend their home nations, which could be invaded directly. We cannot allocate more defensive forces to the Solar System than to our home country.¡± After witnessing the destruction of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama, Tenka cannot afford to neglect the defense of its own country against Hart, who is directly boarded at Fortress Kerviel. Imagining himself in Tenka¡¯s camp, Hart was convinced, and after determining that the enemy had 20,000 ships, he had his Chief of Staff evaluate the difference in strength. The difference in strength was 8 times, and the force evaluation was 100:12. The Royal Army, which had planned to fight if the force evaluation was more favorable than 100:70, was delighted with the analysis, which showed that they could win a crushing victory. The aristocratic fleet, which brought many battleships and fortress ships, can overrun the enemy from outside their range. In fleet warfare, without suffering damage from long-range artillery fire, after sending in the Israfel large fighter crafts, they would use violence of numbers to overrun the enemy in close combat. Hart, without being eccentricBuddah, ordered an advance that would take full advantage of the difference in force. [To all forces, the enemy fleet has 20,000 ships. The difference in strength between us is 8 times, and the force evaluation is 100:12. The whole army will advance as a wall, and after a firefight, Israfel will rush in and annihilate the enemy. In other words, trample them down en masse. That is all. Advance.] After issuing a straightforward order that could be understood by anyone, the Solar System invasion army increased the output of their magic engines and began to advance, divided into three forces, the central and the left and right. The central army was centered on Fortress Kerviel with four fleets around it. The central army was followed by the aristocrats of Diete and Athen, who were assigned to the center because they suffered the greatest losses from past battles. The three fleets on the right wing were commanded by General Adolf Meyer, who had been promoted after the Battle of the Fukashiro Star System, and were staffed by the aristocratic armies of Artemis and Podalley. The three fleets on the left wing were commanded by General Fonzell Wagner, also newly promoted, and staffed by the aristocratic armies of Apollo and Machaon. Launched from Fortress Kerviel, Israfels increased the thickness of the three armies and rushed from outside the star system into the interior. We¡¯ve won¡­ although he didn¡¯t bother to declare it out loud, Hart was confident of victory. In the vastness of outer space, fighting head-on with an overwhelming force difference of 8 to 1, no matter how great the opponent is, there is no possibility of defeat. The enemy would probably break away to avoid damage. Hart¡¯s expectations were completely betrayed. The one who took the unexpected action was General W¨¢ng W¨§iOuie , who had been dispatched to the Solar System after seeing the Deamons in the Hercules system with Y¨²nl¨¢n. Y¨²nl¨¢n. His sole purpose was to stall the Monarchy¡¯s forces in the Solar System and buy time for Y¨²nl¨¢n to operate. To this end, W¨§i chose to arrange celestial objects in plain sight around Earth¡¯s satellite orbit, bury fusion munitions in various places like mines, and threaten to attack Earth if the Royal Army advances. [Inform the army of the Monarchy of Diete. If they advance, we will destroy Earth by remote control. Large-scale food production facilities on Earth and Mars have also been planted with fusion munitions. They will not have Earth. If they don¡¯t want to kill Earthers for nothing, abandon the invasion and withdraw.] W¨§i didn¡¯t expect the Royal Army to back down under such threats. His plan was to force billions of people in the Solar System, who had lost their ability to produce food, onto the Monarchy to buy time as they get busy with restoration and post-processing. Tenka¡¯s forces stationed in the Solar System were preparing to attack Earth and Mars with some remote control ships, while the main force flees in the opposite direction from which the Hart was invading. In addition, from Earth and Mars, protests against the Monarchy have been sent in real time from both the former Coalition and non-members via communications that have not been intercepted by Tenka. Hart, who was simultaneously bombarded with insane threats and unreasonable protests, replied to the former in dismay after blocking the helpless latter¡¯s communications. ¡°This is Fleet Admiral Amakawa of the Monarchy. I have heard similar threats in Fukashiro, but hostages are meaningless against the Monarchy. Even if our star system is destroyed, we will either retaliate with the surviving Royal people, or flee and try to recover our losses. Moreover, there are no Royal subjects in the Solar System. They are not even hostages.¡± Hearing Hart¡¯s conclusions, the people of the Solar System protested in unison. Although the information had not been delivered to Hart, the communications officers who screened them were stunned at the barrage of abuse. In response to the protests of the people of the Solar System, Hart mentally retorted that they should say all that to the Tenka side that declared the attack. The Monarchy¡¯s sentiment towards the former Coalition, who will attack the Royal people if they set foot on Earth, and the non-members, who have only unilaterally asserted their rights, are the worst. Common sense tells that there is no reason why the Royal people would want to help them even if forced to do so. However, it makes sense for Tenka to attack them. If the buried fusion munitions continue to explode at monthly intervals, the post-occupation Monarchy will be forced to spend its efforts on never-ending rescue and restoration work. And if large-scale food production facilities are destroyed, the food crisis for billions of people will have to be dealt with, and a semi-permanent solution will have to bring in the appropriate equipment from the home country. If the purpose of Tenka¡¯s presence in the Solar System is to buy time before the invasion of Tenka, then the action of W¨§i, the local commander, is the best solution. ¡°How dare he choose such an unprincipled means.¡± The five Tenka nations denounced the ¡°Monarchy¡¯s killing of 20 billion former Coalition people in the war¡± as inhumane and launched a war demanding the extradition of the former Coalition territories and people. Now they are declaring that they will drop celestial bodies and fusion projectiles on Earth. It was clear that Tenka¡¯s war objective had shifted from the original securing inhabited star systems to self-defense from the Monarchy, but Hart couldn¡¯t help but be dismayed that they had forgotten their cause. After disconnecting communication with W¨§i, he asked Lieutenant General Gu¨­, a former general on the Tenka side from Ky¨±yama, about the situation that Tenka had threatened to take place. ¡°There are no Royal people living in the Solar System, and we can¡¯t use the same method of bringing in an entire nation as we did to Ky¨±yama in Fukashiro. Is it impossible to get General W¨§i to halt the attack?¡± Turning to Hart, who didn¡¯t seem to be expecting much, F¨¥ng replied without hesitation. ¡°The Tenka people think about profit on a clan-by-clan basis. If there is nothing to negotiate that will benefit the entire clan, they will not be taken seriously even if you urge them to change their minds. In the case of General W¨§i, he will not respond unless it is in the interests of ¨­izumi as a whole.¡± Briefed, Hart declares that it is impossible to persuade W¨§i to change his mind. ¡°¨­izumi is impossible.¡± If you do not destroy Earth, we will give only ¨­izumi autonomy after the war¡­ if that is the proposal, W¨§i may agree to negotiate. That way, ¨­izumi, who was left halfway through, will continue to increase the number of national mages after the war, and will one day become a threat to the Monarchy again. In addition, in the Second Battle of the Diete Star System, it was ¨­izumi¡¯s Y¨²nl¨¢n who killed 3 billion people, including former Sovereign Valfrete. Queen Yuna, whose father was killed, cannot succumb to ¨­izumi¡¯s threats. The vast majority of the Royal people will not agree to let Y¨²nl¨¢n off in order to save the people of the Solar System. Hart connected the communication he had blocked and told W¨§i. ¡°I have reached a conclusion. There is no room for negotiation. We will remove you and retake the Solar System.¡± [Very well. Then, witness the fate of the Earthers, who the Monarchy has decided to kill, as you advance.] Hart made a natural counter-argument to the one-sided accusation, as if Hart was responsible for killing the people, instead of attacking them himself. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. It is you, the three nations of Tenka, who are trying to kill the Earthers. If you don¡¯t want them to die, you just have to not attack Earth.¡¯ [Then, the Monarchy should stop its advance.] ¡°It seems that ¨­izumi and I are not on speaking terms. Cut off communication. We will not be connected to him from now on.¡± Expressing his displeasure at W¨§i¡¯s mocking remarks, Hart ordered the communications officer in disgust. He issued a new order to the entire army. [The Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa to the entire fleet. It is extremely likely that Tenka will attack Earth with celestial rushes and fusion munitions. Prepare fighter crafts with shipping containers to evacuate the Earthers to Mars.] Such a foolish situation was something that Hart had never anticipated. Nevertheless, Fortress Kerviel has numerous transport containers, as well as a large number of large ships brought in by the aristocrats. As the advance continued without slowing down, the General staff of each fleet began to move in a flurry, raising various problems in rapid succession and solving them themselves in cooperation with other fleets. As preparations were underway to respond to the attack on Earth, only problems that could not be solved by the invading army were reported to Hart through Bertrand, the Chief of Staff of the General Command. ¡°Your Excellency, Mars is not suitable as a habitable planet and is unsuitable for long-term evacuation. Also, Mars has food production capacity to be self-sufficient but cannot support Earth¡¯s population.¡± I guess so¡­ Hart agreed inwardly. As Bertrand pointed out, Mars, the earliest planet terraformed by humans, is a defective planet with only about one-third the gravity of Earth. On low-gravity planets, the heart has less power to pump blood throughout the body, and human cardiac function deteriorates. The muscles also weaken, and calcium is lost. This can be solved by biological adjustment, but because they cannot operate under the same gravity as other humans, they will be cut off from human society. There are humans living on Mars, but Mars is self-contained from food production to its economy, and because it does not export food to Earth, it has no power to support its surplus population. Now that Tenka has made it clear that the large-scale food production facilities on Mars are also targets for fusion munition, Martian food is also in jeopardy. ¡°How much food has our army brought in?¡± Hart expressed bitterness and reluctance because he knew that the Royal Army did not carry large amounts of food. Due to the long history of interstellar travel, the Royal Army has food plants on board its ships. The food supply capacity is about twice the number of crew members, and it can continue to be produced semi-permanently. Each star system in the Monarchy also has large storage food depots and production plants hidden in celestial objects in the outer reaches of the system in case the planets are destroyed. The Monarchy is able to make its fleet self-sufficient and each star system has a tolerance for food crises. Therefore, the Royal Army does not carry large quantities of food in its fleet. ¡°Very little. If we don¡¯t dispatch a large fleet of food and production plants from home, billions of people will surely starve to death sooner or later.¡± Imagining the transportation of food for billions of people, Hart sighed involuntarily. A single transport ship can carry the grain that 4 million people consume in a year. Thus, 250 transport ships could carry enough food for one billion people. But can humans survive on water and grain alone for a year? Considering the nutritional requirements of the same amount of side dishes, about 60% of main dishes, about 40% of dairy products and other nutritional requirements, the number of transport ships would have to be tripled. Since there are 100 transport ships deployed per fleet, if food is to be carried, eight transport fleets are required. Furthermore, in order for human beings to survive, food alone is not enough. How much housing and necessities will be needed to add to Mars? The large containers that the Monarchy uses for immigrants can accommodate 40,000 people each. A billion people would require 25,000 units, and with 25,000 on each transport ship, 250 fleets worth of ships would be needed. And there aren¡¯t that many transports in the Royal Army. Moreover, 1 billion people is only the number of the former Coalition people, and if you combine the 4 billion people of the non-members, the total number of Earthers who are considered to be irregular populations, and the Martians who also have an unknown total number, at least 6 times to 10 times at most will be necessary. Hart, who understood the troubles that the Monarchy had to deal with, slammed his fist into the armrest of his seat and vented his anger. ¡°Contact the home country and ask for the transport of food and production plants. The transport ships are not strong enough. Reach out to the Lords who came along and ask them to send a large ship from a rear system to transport them.¡± If this is to help the Royal people, Hart would not consider it a loan or borrowing, but rather it¡¯s an aristocratic duty, so he even thinks they should take the initiative. However, in a situation that was not for the benefit of the royal people, he was reluctant to ask for the dispatch of a large ship that would reduce the defense capabilities of their star system and their food stockpile. [The two-winged forces of General Meyer and General Wagner, along with one million Israfel crafts, destroy the Tenka fleet of the Solar System. General Carneus, use the central army and the rest of Israfel to conquer Earth and Mars.] As the Royal Army led by an angry Hart thrust into the center of the Solar System, the Tenka side also launched an attack on Earth and Mars. Explosions of fusion munitions, which were eventually modified for their own use or to increase the number of refugees, raged on each continent. ¡°The Tenka fleet is attacking Earth. Numerous explosions on the surface of the planet.¡± On the screen of the advancing Royal Army, there were flashes of light scattered all over the surface, as well as dust that blew up the atmosphere and covered Earth. Many flashes of light were also shining on the surface of Mars, and it was speculated that the large food production facilities were being obliterated. Supporting 5 billion people semi-permanently is a burden even for the Monarchy. The invasion of the Solar System was a result of a rising tide of public opinion in the Monarchy, but such an outcome would not have been desired by any of the Royal people. ¡°Evacuate the Earthers to Mars. I will report the situation to the home country.¡± Considering that the same strategy as the Solar System might be used, it will not be possible to proceed to the Hercules Star System at this rate. And if the Solar System is retaken, it should not be easily retaken. Although it is necessary to transport goods from the home country, future policies need to be reconsidered. When Hart connected a communication to the home country for clarification, he was informed that in the Frodi System, a devastation surpassing that of the Solar System had occurred. CH 86 The release date is Tuesday, November 16, 2021. Thank you for your continued support of this work. The migration to the Frodi System, humanity¡¯s third interstellar migration, took place in 2928 AD. It was 105 years after the Diete System immigration and was a major undertaking by the European Republic states with careful preparation. ¡°Fr¨®ei is another name for Freyr, the god in Norse mythology. Fr¨®ei is considered to be the most beautiful of the gods, the god of fertility with beautiful eyebrows. The prosperous and peaceful period when Fr¨®ei ruled Scandinavia is also called Fr¨®ei¡¯s peace.¡± True to its name, the Republic of Frodi enjoyed a time of prosperity and peace. The Republic of Frodi, which remained neutral in the conflict between the Coalition of Humanity and the Diete System, independently emigrated and has now expanded its reach to three star systems. The second star system was named Isis in the hope that the new star system and its inhabitants would be prosperous. The goddess Isis appears in Egyptian mythology as the mother of the earth and is also the god of abundance. The third star system was named the Horus System. Horus is the God of the Sky, which has the eyes of the sun and the moon, and is also the son of Isis, the god of abundance, who was confused in later times. Peace, abundance and prosperity. The Republic of Frodi, which has these as its national principles, has maintained its neutrality in war and has developed as a third force of humanity. Although the Republic of Frodi has enjoyed peace and prosperity, they have not neglected self-defense. Shortly before the Monarchy and the Coalition resumed their war, the Monarchy, the Coalition, and the Republic had a 10:14:4 force ratio. The population of the Republic was about 16 billion, 40% of the Monarchy ¡®s total population of 40 billion. In other words, the Republic had a force commensurate with its population, and it could not be said to have neglected self-defense. On the contrary, it is thought that the Republic, which is not inferior to the Monarchy that has increased the number of magical powers by giving preferential treatment, has made efforts to prepare its forces as much as the Monarchy. The Republican Army had a total of 12 regular fleets, four deployed in each star system. The Republic, in its foreign policy, also made efforts not to get caught up in the war. The general policy is to side with the Coalition if the Monarchy pushed too hard, and with the Monarchy if the Coalition pushed too hard. The Monarchy didn¡¯t want to make the Coalition and the Republic enemies at the same time. The Coalition also didn¡¯t want to turn the Republic against them and fight 14:14. The Republic¡¯s ¡°Two-Faced Opportunistic Diplomacy¡± was effective before the resumption of the Monarchy and the Coalition. The conventional foreign policy became incomprehensible after the Monarchy strengthened its military power by combining spirit crystals and fighter crafts, and Tenka also began to fight using National Mages. One Republic Army fleet has a strength rating of 3693. As a Tenka cruiser has a strength rating of 6, this is equivalent to 615 ships. In other words, the four Republic fleets deployed in each of its star systems will only be equivalent to 2,460 Tenka ships. At the outbreak of war with the Monarchy, the strength of the five Tenka Nations had a combined war potential of 1 million ships. The opposing Monarchy also countered with a combination of spirit crystals and fighter crafts. ¡°It¡¯s not enough. At a whim, we could easily be destroyed.¡± The Republic, which possessed only 0.7% of Tenka¡¯s military power, paled when it compared its own forces with those of its neighbors. Alarmed, the Republic repeatedly demanded the export of spirit crystals from the Monarchy. But the Monarchy¡¯s reaction to the Frodi Republic, which insisted on staying neutral in the war with Tenka, let alone in its indifference to fight with the Coalition, was cold. The Monarchy had no intention of exporting spirit crystals to forces that were not its allies. Therefore, when the invasion of Tenka arrived, the Republic had no way to counter it. ¡°Tenka Federation forces are advancing rapidly into our system, with a fleet of 74,000 ships ¡° ¡°The difference in strength with our army is about 30 times. By our calculations, it is impossible to respond with military force.¡± President of the Republic, Emeric Laulan, whose mental capacity was saturated by the unstoppable reports from the Defense Headquarters, was dumbfounded. ¡°Why?¡± If it were between the Monarchy and Tenka, no matter how many fleets shot at each other in any star system, it would be a simple matter of ¡°because they are at war¡±. However, the invasion of the Neutral Republic has no justifiable cause. However, if Tenka annexed the Republic, they would have no one else to complain to, as they are at war with the Monarchy. Were they plotting to acquire the resources and strongholds necessary to invade the Monarchy? Or was their intention to eliminate the Republic, which supported part of the economy through trade? In either case, the decision to trample on an easily defeated Republic must have been reached. ¡°That¡¯s why I told the Monarchy to export the spirit crystals to us. If Frodi is occupied, the Monarchy would be in trouble!¡± Emeric shelved the Republic¡¯s foreign policy of neutrality and denounced the Monarchy. Having thus dissipated some of his enormous frustration, he declared a state of emergency in the star system, ordered the military to take defensive action, and questioned the armed forces that had intruded into the system. ¡°This is Emeric Laulan, President of the Republic of Frodi. I would like to speak to the person in charge of the Tenka Federation army. I ask you about the purpose of your visit to our system.¡± What kind of cause will we bring up for this invasion? Appearing in response to Emeric¡¯s communication were Y¨²nl¨¢n, known as the leader of ¨­izumi, a Nation of Tenka, and a Herculean. [This is our first meeting. I am Ishidor Azarova, the representative of the people of the Hercules System.] ¡°¡­¡­ Huh?¡± Ishidor, who looked at Emeric¡¯s bewildered appearance unconcernedly, began to speak calmly in a high-pitched voice, like a child before the voice changed, while swinging his well-groomed beard. [We, the people of Hercules, have long been confined to the planet Alcaeus in the Hercules Star System by the Coalition of Humanity, the Monarchy of Diete, and the Republic of Frodi, which supported its economic activities through trade with them.] What Ishidor narrated was the cause of the declaration of war. The Hercules System, under the control of the Coalition of Humanity, has been exploited for its resources, and banned from interstellar travel, a history of humanity recognized by all but the defunct Coalition. Regarding the matter of the Monarchy¡¯s containment after the war, from the Monarchy¡¯s point of view it is only natural that Hercules, which was part of the Coalition, should be neutralized. On the other hand, from Hercules¡¯ point of view, it is just a change of rulers, and the fact of containment is no different. During the war between the Coalition and the Monarchy, the Republic was responsible for the transit trade between the two powers and economically supported some of the Coalition¡¯s activities. In hundreds of years of history, there were plenty of Republic products that have reached the Hercules system. The government of the Republic, when it first began trading, could not have imagined that these products would be used as the basis for a declaration of war by Tenka. Ishidor ostentatiously connects the two words. [The purpose of all living things is to survive and procreate. During the war, we were forced onto the planet Alcaeus and were placed in a position where we could be destroyed at any moment by celestial attacks. Therefore, in order to survive as living things, in order for our descendants to prosper, we must eliminate the three forces that threaten us.] What emanated from under his well-groomed beard, frighteningly, was a valid cause for a declaration of war. Regardless of the reasons that humans may come up with after the fact, it is a natural course of action for a living organism to eliminate its opponents if it and its offspring will be killed if they are not eliminated. Even if they are forced to be killed without a say, those who are to be killed have no reason to obey. Ishidor proudly proclaimed the justifiable reason for his belief. [We, the people of Hercules, in alliance with the Federation of Tenka, declare war on the three forces that threaten our existence. The Coalition of Humanity, the Monarchy of Diete, and the Republic of Frodi. Victory or defeat, survival of the fittest. This is a survival race in which one or the other race will survive. That is all.] The grandeur, pretension, and ferocity of Ishidor¡¯s cause made Emeric¡¯s face pale. If the declaration is properly implemented, it will result in the destruction of their people. Emeric, who took it as a matter of common sense that this was a cause, and that Tenka had prepared it in order to subdue the Republic, sought to see if a breach could be made in his argument. ¡°There seems to be a misunderstanding. It is the Coalition and the Monarchy that have banned interstellar travel in the Hercules System. We, the Republic, have never prevented the Hercules people from interstellar travel in the past, and we are not a threat to the Hercules people. Therefore, we see no reason for conflict.¡± Hearing the claim, Ishidor shook his head invariably. [Who sold the Coalition and the Monarchy the supplies used to contain us? This is complicit to increasing the pressure from 100 to 101. Moreover, you have done so voluntarily for the benefit of your country. You can¡¯t expect to get away with it on the tip of your tongue at this point in time.] ¡°Then attack the Monarchy first¡±. Emeric swallowed the curses that rose to his throat, and began to think rapidly about how to respond. Clearly, they cannot respond with their military. Scraping together a million civilian ships would only be target practice for the artillery fire of the invading grand fleet. In the first place, the people of the Republic have not been educated for war like the Royal Citizens. (Either fight one battle and surrender, or surrender without a fight) Emeric thought that after the Monarchy that had won the war with Tenka, they would liberate the Republic. The Monarchy is overwhelmingly dominant at present. Of the five Tenka Nations, Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama were destroyed, and MacLir and Fukashiro were regained. 3 billion people were killed in the Battle of the Diete Star System, but in the Battle of Athena, which was even more massive, the Monarchy destroyed more than 350,000 Tenka ships without civilian casualties. The Tenka side has not been able to cope with all the mysterious phenomena such as the Transition gate and realms that began after the coronation of Queen Yuna. Therefore, Emeric, who believed that the Monarchy would eventually win, could not help but imagine the condemnation that would be hurled from both nations after the war if the Republic accepted the invasion of Tenka without resistance because it could not win. ¡°I would like to hold an urgent cabinet meeting to discuss surrender. Please halt your advance and wait 48 hours.¡± After going through the formalities, they will come to the conclusion that it is unavoidable, and make an agonizing decision. With more time to evacuate, the majority of the Republic¡¯s citizens could leave the planet. The invasion forces are also seen as humane minded. Emeric¡¯s vision of the future, drawn on the basis of wishful thinking that the people of the Republic would be convinced and accepted by the invasion forces, was mercilessly torn down by Ishidor. [Hmm. I refuse.] ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± After a blunt but unmistakable answer, Ishidor added a few words as he looked at Emeric in disgust. [We have declared war and said that this is a struggle for the survival of our race. The struggle has begun and there is no reason to stop it. Rather, it must not be stopped. Dropping celestial bodies on all the planets of the Republic of Frodi and annihilating you is already a definite matter.] ¡°¡­¡­ ridiculous, what do you gain by destroying the planet? You¡¯re not going to get anything!¡± Emeric, after doubting his own hearing and the sanity of the other party, appealed to his own common sense. Creating a habitable planet for humans requires enormous effort and considerable time. Even if the people of Hercules want to settle their long-standing grudges, it is Tenka that actually mobilizes the army, and Tenka is seeking habitable planets. It would be insane to destroy a Republic planet that is in front of them, which they can get in its entirety, without getting it. Emeric turned his desperate gaze to Tenka¡¯s Y¨²nl¨¢n, who appeared on the screen with Ishidor, in search of an intermediary, to help him. But to Emeric¡¯s disbelief, Y¨²nl¨¢n remained silent and unspoken, seemingly accepting Ishidor¡¯s policies without hesitation. [The conclusion was reached. You will perish here.] After saying goodbye, Ishidor cut off the communication without hearing Emeric¡¯s reply. The staff of the President¡¯s Office, who had been watching the communications, changed their facial expression and began to send instructions to various places immediately after the communication was cut off. The head planet Nephthys is home to seven billion people. And there is only 40 to 50 hours to spare before the Tenka Fleet, which has appeared on the outer rim of the system, reaches the head planet Nephthys. The Tenka fleet will invade from one direction, and they can escape by fleeing in the opposite direction. But the Republic doesn¡¯t have 5 million salamanders on each planet with medium-sized containers that can hold 4,000 people like the Monarchy does. Nor do they have Duke-grade magical individuals stationed in every star system with huge immigrant ships on standby, ready to launch at any time. In order to transport 7 billion people, they would need 175,000 large containers that could accommodate 40,000 people and an interstellar ship large enough to transport them. The magical individuals capable of doing so, and the interstellar ship itself were owned by the Republic, but they were on interstellar voyage for trade and absent from the head planet Nephthys. In just 40 hours, the Republic had no way of evacuating 7 billion people. [The President¡¯s Office, Vice President Stuart Jibla with an announcement to the entire people of the Republic. The Tenka Federation force has invaded. The enemy army has more than 70,000 ships. Advancing from the outer edge of the Frodi star system to the planet Nephthys. The shortest time till they reach is 40 hours. The other side has declared that they will drop celestial bodies on the inhabited planet.] The Vice-President, who judged that every second counted, issued an order to evacuate from the planet on behalf of Emeric, who was still stunned and unable to recover from the disaster. [We issue an evacuation order to all the people. All citizens, except the Army of the Republic, must immediately evacuate the planet by any means necessary. The government authorizes all citizens to take any and all actions necessary for emergency evacuation. The ships within the Star System may also be used. Just get off the planet.] Do whatever it takes, just run away. With such an unprecedented order, the Frodi Star System fell into the height of chaos at an accelerated rate, as if rolling down a steep slope. Most ships had no provisions of water or food for the unexpected number of people on board. The crew of the interstellar ships refused to take aboard the masses who came in droves with nothing, in order to give priority to their own families. Conflicts ensued between the interstellar ships, which were trying to take off with only their own families on board, and the people, who were trying to escape. Adding to the confusion was the dropping of civilian ships in its path by the Tenka invasion forces. For the Tenka side, there was no reason to spare the trading ships that traveled between the Republic and the Monarchy. When information about the destroying civilian ships was transmitted to the people of the Republic through the media in the star system, the people whose lives were in danger fell into a state of panic, causing further catastrophes. There was no end to the number of people on the planet clinging to interstellar vessels or firing on those that had failed to board. The police force, which would otherwise crack down on the situation and maintain public order, was too busy trying to save their own lives and those of their families. In the 43 hours before the Tenka invasion army reached the Head Nephthys, a hellscape was mass-produced there. And after multiple celestial bodies were thrown from the Tenka ships, real hell covered Nephthys. Screams like the MaharauravaThe Hell of Great Wailing roared, a scorching heat like the Great Inferno stroked, and a harsh world like the Avici HellMost Painful of the Eight Hell covered the planet. Those who left the planet witnessed the glow of light filling the magnified projected screen, the scorching heat radiation that spread around the celestial drop point, and the shockwave blowing away the atmosphere and man-made objects. After the migration of 2928 AD., all of the head Nephthys, which had taken 817 years to build, was engulfed in hell along with the billions left behind. The Tenka fleet, which had plunged the people of the Republic into the abyss, left for the Isis Star System, burning down every Republic ship within range. The situation was immediately delivered to the Monarchy via embassy staff of the Monarchy stationed in the Frodi Star System and private ships that were visiting the system on trade. The spirits of the Monarchy who witnessed the tragedy also reported that the reaction of the Deamons had been confirmed within the Tenka fleet, and that vast miasma flowed from the destroyed head planet towards the Tenka ships. CH 87 The vast majority of the spirits who made contracts with the royal people were in unprecedented turmoil. It was the kind of commotion that occurs when a giant hornet appears in a beehive, and the spirits rushed out in droves to intercept them, flying around in groups without any countermeasures. When the contracted humans asked the spirits, who were in unprecedented turmoil, about the situation, they mentioned the possibility of being killed by the Daemons. In human conflicts, the spirits cannot be harmed, but attacks tinged with the magic power of Daemons can kill spirits. Bombardment of warships powered by Tenka humans who have made a contract with Daemons, or killing the Royal people on a planet that they have conquered more directly, are concrete means of harming spirits. Of course, if the spirit is killed, the contractor would not survive. In response to the appearance of Daemons comparable to a spirits and the fact that they have spread to Tenka, which overwhelmed the Monarchy with military power that omitted spirits, a sense of crisis that could not be dispelled covered the hearts of the people as if a dark cloud stood in the Monarchy. News of the destruction of the Frodi Star System and the appearance of Daemons was also delivered to Hart, who had just conquered the Solar System, via Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Waves. Putting his judgment on hold, Hart set aside time to think and consulted with his spirit Mira. ¡°Mira, tell me about the Daemons, I don¡¯t know.¡± Hart uses the Maiden Game ¡°The Galactic Prince¡± as his source of information, but he only knows about the Daemons from the setting that could be found after completing the game. The only information on this was that the Dukes of Takrham¡¯s artifact, which takes away magical powers, was derived from Daemons, and there was no actual appearance of Daemons. ¡°Daemons are beings that branched off from Spirits. They may be similar to angels and fallen angels.¡± According to Mira¡¯s explanation, which contrasts Spirits and Daemons, if spirits have positive energy, then beings with negative energy were considered Daemons. Even if spirits fight each other, they will not perish because they will only be bathed in positive energy. However, if a spirit and a Daemon shower each other with energy, the losing party would be reduced to zero energy and absorbed by the other party. And it was said that spirits and Daemons were in a predator-prey relationship with each other. ¡°So they are natural enemies?¡± ¡°I suppose you could interpret them as a natural enemy. When Mira and the others are eaten by a Daemon, the Daemon is strengthened based on that. If the balance of power is upset, the situation will deteriorate at an accelerated pace. The Daemons, from Mira¡¯s point of view, are like zombies from a zombie movie.¡± These were Mira¡¯s subjective views, but Hart generally understood the perception of the Daemon from the spirit side. ¡°And can Daemons be promoted and create realms like spirits?¡± ¡°They can. The most important thing to remember is that they are just branched from Spirits, so basically they can do the same things.¡± Hart, understanding of Tenka¡¯s actions in dropping celestial bodies on the Republic, made sense of the deteriorating situation surrounding the Monarchy. ¡°The reason why the Tenka side teamed up with the dwarves was because the dwarves had a contract with Daemons.¡± Since the Tenka fleet that invaded the Republic had Daemons, Hart thought that there was a class of demons in the other camp that could distribute C-class crystals, just like Janet, the Spirit Emperor of the Diete Star System. Then, if they can create multiple high-level Daemons, not advanced spirits, and feed the planets of the Republic to them, a Daemon King could be created. Hart understood Tenka¡¯s action of dropping a celestial body in the Republic. In short, what the alliance between Tenka and Hercules did was to imitate Hart. ¡°When the opponent does the same thing you did, you realize the awkwardness of your actions.¡± Hart was convinced that the purpose of Tenka dropping the celestial body on the Head planet of the Republic was to absorb the miasma accumulated in the Head planet and create a Daemon King. And the reason why they did not attack the Monarchy¡¯s star system was because there was a possibility that the Tenka side could not break through the Monarchy¡¯s defensive forces. The Republic of Frodi has three star systems. Tenka also has three star systems. If three Demon Kings are born, Ten-to, ¨­izumi, and Hony¨­ will be converted into realms, their strength will be multiplied by five, and reinforcements will be able to be sent from each star system using the Transition Gate. Ordinary Tenka people without magical powers, and an unimaginably large number of dwarves living underground on the giant planet Alcaeus, will eventually emerge to intercept them with Tenka fighter crafts. ¡°It¡¯s the worst case scenario¡­¡± Hart thought that the birth of the three Daemon Kings was inevitable. One star system has already been destroyed in the Republic, and even if Hart sent them a rescue from the Solar System, they could not make it in time for the remaining two star systems. And Tenka, who has obtained the three Daemon Kings, will turn each star system of Tenka into realms. ¡°¡­¡­ At this point, no star system of Tenka has been turned into a realm by the Daemon King yet.¡± Suddenly, Hart had a flash of inspiration for a way out of the current situation. Tenka is in the process of invading the Republic, and there is no leeway for the defensive forces at this time. If Hart directs all his forces forward, they can destroy the planets of Tenka. That way, Hart will be able to gain the Spirit King and increase the realms in the Monarchy¡¯s star system. After thinking further, Hart came up with an even worse plan. Hart is in the solar system, and in front of him is a planet called Earth. As a human being who originated on Earth, it may be an act that touches the taboo, but if Earth is fed to the spirits, they can increase the number of Spirit Kings by one more¡­. If Tenka and Hercules hadn¡¯t brought out the Daemons, he would never have considered it. And even if he thought about it, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Tenka dropped celestial bodies and even turned it into a fusion round minefield, he would have hesitated in light of the value of the planet Earth. But the Daemons have put the Monarchy at risk of defeat in the worst case. Hart, the Commander-in-Chief, must adopt the best possible measures to avert national crisis. Furthermore, if Hart passes Earth up, the alliance between Tenka and Hercules may use Earth to create a new Daemon King. Was the reason why the alliance between Tenka and Hercules did not use Earth because they intended to settle there? Or maybe it was because they attacked the Earth before attacking the three star systems of the Republic, so as to avoid the risk of the Monarchy moving to stop them in the stage of a single Daemon King? The fact that a fourth Daemon King could be created if the Earth were left unattended made Hart decide to destroy Earth. ¡°For humanity as a whole, Earth is worth more than Diete and Fukashiro, but¡­¡± Even though he came to the conclusion that he had no choice but to destroy it, Hart agonized over it. To the Monarchy of Diete, Earthers are a headache, but the Earth itself is home to a wide variety of organisms, which are of extremely high value to humanity. To give a specific example, placenta formation in mammals is influenced by viral infection, and by comparing it with marsupials without the placenta in Australia, the process and possibility of human evolution can be explored¡­¡­ which could only be confirmed on Earth. Earth, which is home to a variety of organisms that harm or affect the human body, is a testing ground and a textbook of biology in which humans have evolved, acquired immunity, and adapted to their environment. If Hart drops a large number of celestial bodies to roll up the Earth¡¯s strata in order to create a Spirit King, there will be a mass extinction on Earth far greater than during the Diete War of Independence, and humanity will never be able to read parts of the textbook again. Nevertheless, Hart made his decision. ¡°The life of the Royal people outweighs a biology textbook.¡± When mankind lived only on Earth, even with environmental pollution and destruction of the ozone layer, no country ever thought ¡°Let¡¯s destroy humanity for the sake of Earth¡±. For the Monarchy, the Royal people have irreplaceable value and are incomparable to Earth. Having come to a conclusion, Hart immediately ordered the eight fleets and the aristocratic forces to prepare for withdrawal, and also ordered the fleet to gather celestial bodies for entry. He made a request to Yuna back home, and the next day she held an emergency liaison meeting between the home country and the invading army, bringing together high ranking military officers and senior aristocrats. ¡°I, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief of the Invasion Forces, will present two strategies that we are going to carry out, which we consider essential for the survival of the Monarchy.¡± The Queen ordered the attendance of all eligible participants in the Royal Court and the Lords¡¯ Conference. That is, military personnel above the rank of General, Ministers of the government and two Chairmen of Parliament, Aristocratic heads above Count and their successors, all of whom were ordered to attend the meeting. The reason for this was that the materials that Hart had distributed in advance prior to the meeting made them decide that they should attend no matter what. The handouts described the true purpose of the alliance attacking the Republic, the possibility that each star system of Tenka could be turned into realm by a Daemon King, the fact that it was time to invade now that the enemy fleet was absent, and that the plan was to purify the miasma of Earth and increase the number of Spirit Kings on the Monarchy side. As the attendees digested the summary, Hart informed them of his final confirmation. ¡°One of the strategies is to destroy Earth right now and sacrifice it to create a new Spirit King, which is essential both to increase the realm that protects the Monarchy¡¯s star system and to prevent Tenka and the Dwarves from creating a new Daemon King.¡± Hart explained the first operation, followed by the second. ¡°The other strategy is to counter invade the Tenka Star Systems before the Frodi invasion army returns, because while it is less difficult to capture now, after Tenka creates the realm of the Daemon King, it will be impossible to capture the star system.¡± The second operation was to return the eight fleets led by Hart and the fifteen aristocratic fleets from the Solar System Invasion Army back to the Diete System, jump from the Diete System to the MacLir System via the Transition Gate, and then charge from the MacLir system to the ¨­izumi System. The defense force of the 3 Tenka star systems, as known to Ky¨±yama, is equivalent to 133,000 ships. If the natural increase in the number of National Mages is combined, it would be equivalent to 145,000 ships. In addition, the major increase in defense forces using Daemon crystals should not have been carried out yet. It takes a considerable amount of time to build a large number of fighter crafts based on the premise of using Daemon crystals and deploy them with a full complement of pilots. Tenka, who did not have Daemon crystals at the time of the capture of Fukashiro and did not know about Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama, has not been able to increase its defensive force at this time. ¡°There will not be enough time to assemble the pilots of the fighter crafts with the Daemon crystals. Therefore, referring to when the Monarchy obtained the spirit crystals, if Tenka was able to increase the fleet strength by 20%, the enemy¡¯s defense force is estimated to be equivalent to 174,000 ships.¡± In contrast, Fortress Kerviel is considered to be a force equivalent to 150,000 Tenka ships with 1,125,000 Israfel. By adding the regular army and aristocratic fleets to them, they will have a force equivalent to 170,000 ships. If the Monarchy 170,000 ships and the 174,000 Tenka ships fought, Tenka will have the advantage. However, while 170,000 ships faced 174,000 ships at ¨­izumi, Hart considered returning only Fortress Kerviel to the MacLir System, and then again cramming 1,125,000 Israfel into it and returning to ¨­izumi. The fighter craft pilots onboard Fortress Kerviel are elite fighters who are rated to produce twice the performance of the original craft. The second wave of additional re-selections will naturally be less skilled pilots. The army calculates that the valuation will fall by a factor of 1.2, but the strength equivalent of 150,000 ships will only fall to the equivalent of 90,000 ships, and if that many reinforcements reach ¨­izumi, the enemy will be overwhelmed. If the second wave arrives, it will be a battle of 260,000 ships versus 174,000 ships. The Tenka side may also send reinforcements from Ten-to or Hony¨­, but if the enemy reinforcements are insufficient, they can capture ¨­izumi and increase the number of Spirit Kings. If the enemy reinforcements are too many, they will make ¨­izumi a realm with the Spirit King promoted on Earth, annihilate ¨­izumi¡¯s defense fleet and reinforcement fleet from other star systems, get reinforcements from the Diete Star System via the transition gate, and invade the weakened Ten-to and Hony¨­. ¡°Even if Tenka and Hercules join forces to add the Hercules Star System to the enemy camp, we can capture some of Tenka¡¯s star system and increase the realms in the Monarchy¡¯s star system. The more we cut down Tenka, the more advantageous we will be in future battles.¡± After Hart finished his explanation, questions were posed by one of the attendees. The questioner who shot Hart through with his keen eye was Duke Dauphin, the main ruler of the Podalley star system. [If this is realized, what will happen to the Podalley and Machaon Star Systems that cannot create a realm? There must be Daemons on the enemy side?] Having read a lot further ahead, Hart was impressed by the Dauphin. Tenka has the realm of the Daemon King, and can protect the entire star system. Against each star system of Tenka, which has become able to deploy as many fighter crafts as possible due to the Daemon Crystals, the Monarchy can only bring enough strength to be carried on Fortress Kerviel to attack from now on. Then the interstellar war, in which the forces are balanced, will be prolonged by hundreds of years of fighting like between the Monarchy and the Coalition of Humanity, but the Monarchy, which lacks Spirit Kings, would leave a hole in the defense because an entire star system cannot be turned into realm. In the star system that has expanded the realm of the Spirit King, the battle difference between friend and foe can be widened by 5 times, and reinforcements can be obtained from each star system connected by the Transition Gate. On the other hand, Podalley and Machaon, which cannot create a realm, have no such benefits. Hart presented a response that was common sense, but far from perfect. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough Spirit Kings for the eight star systems in the Monarchy. For systems that cannot be territorialized, the defense force of the systems that have become realms will be diverted to increase the force.¡± This was a stopgap measure, not a fundamental solution. Dauphin assumed the worst. [Daemons and Spirits can do the same thing, so what happens if Tenka and the dwarves mass-produce interstellar ships the size of Israfel and invade Podalley and Machaon on a scale of 100 million ships? Can we defend ourselves?] Hart could not assure that such a thing could not happen. If Tenka, determined to fight for the survival of the nation, build and send in a large number of interstellar ships equivalent to Israfel, there is a possibility that both star systems will not be able to be protected. Hundreds of millions of Israfel boats and C-class crystals that can operate them would be able to compete in terms of military strength, but in a tumultuous battle where hundreds of millions of fighter crafts fight each other, it is not always possible to protect the planet. There will be a breakdown sooner or later. In addition, there is a limit to the energy needed to produce spirit crystals. In the Diete System, billions of people were killed in two battles, and the Spirit Emperor Janet, who purified and absorbed the miasma, has a reasonable amount of energy, but it cannot be supplied indefinitely. Hart replied with a stern expression. ¡°We will deploy as much force as possible to prepare for the invasion of Tenka, and other countermeasures will be taken in due course.¡± [In exchange for the immense authority to control the entire army of the Monarchy at will, the Lord has a duty to protect the Monarchy and the Royal people to the fullest extent.] Hart, the Commander-in-Chief and the only Fleet Admiral in the Monarchy, nodded silently. [If you want to destroy Earth and increase the number of Spirit Kings in order to protect the Monarchy, I agree with you, so go ahead and do it. And we will also do the best to defend the star systems that cannot be turned into realms. Please always keep us updated on the progress of defense measures.] ¡°Very well. We will keep the Lords whose systems cannot be converted into realms informed of the progress of our defense measures.¡± As Dauphin sat down, silence reigned over the meeting. Some of those in attendance may have opinions other than those in favor of a celestial raid on Earth. They didn¡¯t raise their voices because Dauphin¡¯s questioning made them understand that the presence or absence of a single Spirit King could even lead to the destruction of the Monarchy¡¯s star system. Podalley and Machaon are the rearmost star systems, but there is no guarantee of safety against an enemy that can attack even the distant Republic. As the Hercules leader, Ishidor, declared in the Frodi region, their own survival and prosperity as living things takes precedence over everything else. ¡°Then we will destroy Earth and create a new Spirit King, and then invade the enemy star system.¡± After the decision was made known, the contents of the external announcement were explained. The premise was that Earth had become a minefield with a large number of fusion munitions buried after half of the Earth¡¯s population were transferred to Mars by Tenka. In addition, Tenka¡¯s android soldiers, who detonate fusion rounds, are also mixed in. Therefore, the main purpose of the Monarchy¡¯s celestial raid into Earth was to ¡°destroy fusion rounds by celestial entry, clear the minefields, and return Earth to a safe environment in the long run¡±. The announcement was made after the first celestial body was plunged into Earth. If it is announced before this is executed, it is easy to foresee that Earthers, who received the declaration of the destruction of their homeland and Tenka who wanted to buy more time, will make a fuss and interfere with the operation. On Earth, there are still Earthers who are opposed to the Monarchy. It would take hundreds of years for the Monarchy to completely immigrate those who resist and hide. And the Monarchy, intending to invade ¨­izumi, had no time to urge them to change their minds. The Monarchy has abandoned all Earthers who refuse to comply with the order to move to Mars. The destruction of Earth was carried out in the form of a full-scale bombardment of celestial bodies infused with the magical power of the Senior Spirit Alfrida so that the maximum amount of miasma could be purified. Earth¡¯s strata blew up to the outer atmosphere, the seabed was penetrated, and the oceans boiled over. The thought of this being a familiar sight and the fact that he had destroyed Earth swirled inside Hart. Hart let out a heavy sigh and turned his attention to Alfrida. The miasma that had accumulated on Earth over billions of years was purified by Alfrida¡¯s magic, turned into energy, and absorbed by her. Earth has a history of billions of years, and there must have been a considerable amount of miasma that could not be purified. As the collected energy was absorbed, plants grew lushly in the garden around the manifested Alfrida, light flooded from the silver dew she held, her flaxen hair and pink dress glowed divinely, and her crimson earrings darkened. Turning to Alfrida, who had a blue pendant hanging around her neck before she knew it, Mira mouthed her assessment in an admiring manner. ¡ºIf you work hard, you may be able to reach the Spirit Emperor here.¡» Against the backdrop of a thoroughly burned Earth, Alfrida smiled softly. CH 88 In the Tenka star system, it is possible that the realm of the Daemon King could be born. In a critical situation where the previous year¡¯s Battle of Athena could be reenacted, with the offensive and defensive forces switched, Commander-in-Chief Hart made a quick decision. He withdrew the Solar System Invasion Army, reorganized it into a large force consisting of seven regular army fleets and one aristocratic fleet, and launched a counter-invasion operation against the ¨­izumi System with all his might. The reinforced Royal Army was estimated to be equivalent to 174,000 Tenka cruisers, which is on par with the ¨­izumi defense force. The fortified force of seven regular army fleets and one aristocratic fleet sortied for ¨­izumi ahead of Fortress Kerviel, which was returning from the Solar System. This was so that after Fortress Kerviel makes a high-speed advance into the ¨­izumi system, it will deploy Israfel crafts and then return to the home country for the second wave. The augmented fleet was to arrive earlier at the outer edge of the ¨­izumi System and deploy the Israfel¡¯s supply base. From the MacLir Star System to the ¨­izumi Star System, tens of thousands of light spots blink repeatedly, extending the arrow of light. During the advance, Hart informed the ¨­izumi Invasion Army of its objective. ¡°The first wave is to stick to the ¨­izumi Star System and try to buy time for about a month or so. In the meantime, Fortress Kerviel will travel back and forth between MacLir and ¨­izumi to ferry the second wave of Israfel. After merging both forces and gaining overwhelming superiority, we will destroy BunsuiW¨¦n shu¨«, the head planet of the ¨­izumi Star System.¡± Deputy Commander, General Listner, was appointed to act as General Commander while Hart was away from ¨­izumi. In addition, General Carneus was nominated as the next in the chain of command. Since the Head of the Royal Army Command Office is Hart and his Deputy is Colette, it is a reasonable appointment for Colette to be Acting Commander in Hart¡¯s absence. In the case of Philine, the Israfel crafts, the largest force in the invasion force, were under her command, and her peerage is also effective in joint operations with the aristocratic army, so she was suitable for the position of Second-in-Command. ¡°If the fleet is likely to be defeated before the arrival of the second wave, the fleet is to retreat and rejoin Fortress Kerviel, even leaving the Israfel behind. The objective is the destruction of the enemy¡¯s head star and the birth of the Spirit King, not the defense of the sector. Don¡¯t make unnecessary sacrifices to a fleet that cannot be replenished.¡± Hart ordered the fleet to withdraw temporarily in the event of defeat, even abandoning the Israfel, which could not warp. It was a heartless order that would be condemned by the majority of the people, something that could never be issued in a democratic country, and required the determination to be condemned even in a constitutional monarchy. That is why Hart, the highest-ranking military officer, who had accumulated tremendous military achievements, and who was in sole control of the spirit-related matters directly linked to the victory or defeat of the war, gave the order with his own mouth. The alliance between Tenka and Hercules, which destroyed Nephthys, the head planet of the Frodi System, are closing in on Horus, the third system, after further destroying Isis, the second system. Hart reiterated his orders to the entire army. ¡°If we fail to achieve our objectives, the entire star systems of the Monarchy could be overrun by the Tenka-Dwarven alliance in the future. We have a responsibility to avoid a final defeat, even if it means a temporary retreat. Don¡¯t get the priorities wrong. That is all.¡± Ruthless decisions were made not only towards the fighter crafts, but also towards the Solar System and each Republic Star System. The Monarchy¡¯s top priority was to attack ¨­izumi, and the rescue of other countries was secondary. The Monarchy, which was fully committed to the ¨­izumi offensive, did not spare the warships of the regular army and the aristocratic army for the rescue of the Solar System and Republic Star Systems, each of which had produced billions of refugees. The purpose of Tenka¡¯s scorched-earth campaign in the Solar System was to place a huge burden on the Monarchy. The enemy¡¯s purpose was known, and for the safety of the Monarchy there was no reason to give priority to rescuing the Earthers or the neutral Republic, who would only do harm to the Royal citizens even if they were rescued. As a result, the Monarchy sent a minimal number of transport ships, and civilian vessels were hired to transport supplies as an alternative. Although some people may have died of starvation on Mars, since Tenka¡¯s destruction of the Earth¡¯s surface and Martian food plants with fusion munitions is the cause of the food shortage, there is no reason to complain to the Monarchy¡­ that is what the Monarchy claims. The rescue operation for the people of the Republic was handled better than that of Mars due to Yuna¡¯s Royal edict. The reason why they had no choice but to issue the royal order even if it became a burden was because the Artemis Star System, which is close to the Republic, had a large fleet of immigrant ships immediately after the immigration of the Ky¨±yama people from Fukashiro, and all the National Mages of Ky¨±yama were assembled there. Even without Yuna¡¯s edict, the Duke of Takrham was ready to rescue the people of the Republic with large convoys of immigrant ships and National Mages. If the Duke of Takrham independently helped the unfortunate people who have been attacked unreasonably, the ducal family will make a name for itself. If the Duke, the supporter of the Second Prince Josslan, gains a reputation through the rescue work that Yuna had failed to perform, the battle for the throne for the next generation will almost certainly be settled. In anticipation of that development, Hart immediately ordered a rescue operation in Yuna¡¯s name. Hart was not happy about the fact that the crisis in the Republic had given the Duke of Takrham a cause that allowed him to use the National Mages as much as he wanted. While Hart was worried about the rear, Colette of the leading fleet informed him of the problem ahead. [Urgent report to the Commander-in-Chief. We have been captured by enemy scout unit. I guess we were too direct.] The image projected on the communication screen with Colette showed a single red light dot representing an enemy destroyer, within range of the destroyer¡¯s search range. Three friendly light cruisers headed towards the enemy destroyer. The selected light cruisers are those who are favored by the spirits, like Alois Khan, an Israfel Captain who achieved unusual results, and all of them were given various flexibility by the contracted spirits. A forcible short-range warp is also handy, and it will be possible to capture and drop the enemy destroyers. However, it is much faster for the enemy ship to send a communication than for them to drop the enemy ship. The enemy should have placed another ship within reach of the communication, or a relay communication satellite, and the invasion information should be considered to have been sent. Hart, who understood that they had been captured by the enemy, nodded lightly and answered Colette. ¡°Very well. The leading fleet will continue its advance, destroying the enemy ships with selected ships.¡± [Understood.] In order to escape from the enemy¡¯s search network, it is necessary to avoid the route between star systems where private ships come and go, and make a large detour by jumping up and down toward the zenith of the galactic reference plane, or crawling in the nadir direction and then surfacing. This time, the Royal Army could not afford a detour advance. This is because they must settle the matter before Tenka, who was rampaging in the Republic, returns with the Daemon King they have created. Already in the Republic, Isis, the second star system, has been destroyed. The Tenka invasion army should be heading for Horus, the third star system, and by the time Fortress Kerviel arrives at ¨­izumi, the inhabitable planets in the Horus system should also be destroyed. By the time Fortress Kerviel returns from ¨­izumi to MacLir, packs the second wave and returns to ¨­izumi, the Tenka invasion army would have also reversed course and be rushing through the former Coalition territory. With little time to spare, there was no leeway for a detour in the invasion of ¨­izumi. ¡°After arriving at the outer edge of the ¨­izumi System, form up in a cluster of celestial bodies that cannot be warped to at close range, build a bridgehead and a supply depot for the fighter crafts, and prepare for interception. Don¡¯t go too deep into the enemy system and be unable to leave.¡± [I understand. If the fighter crafts enter battle-friendly celestial group, I will consult with the spirits and act accordingly.] ¡°Yes, please.¡± While Hart and Colette exchanged words, the lights of the enemies and allies that had been projected with Colette intersected, and the red light spots shone loudly for a moment before disappearing. As soon as Colette, who was ahead of them, cut off communication to enter the next warp, Fortress Kerviel also entered the next warp. As the Royal Army approached ¨­izumi, the number of enemy ships increased. Colette¡¯s leading fleet continued its advance, sending out selected ships to drop the scout ships. The leading fleet had already penetrated deep into ¨­izumi¡¯s sphere of influence. If it was only Colette¡¯s leading fleet, ¨­izumi would be able to intercept with ease. After the arrival of Fortress Kerviel, ¨­izumi would have the upper hand, but it would be a battle in which they could not let their guard down. Furthermore, if the Monarchy fleet from the Solar System arrives, the forces of the two opposing armies at ¨­izumi will be equal, and ¨­izumi will request reinforcements from Ten-to and Hony¨­. With regard to the irregular advance in successive jumps, Hart, who prefers the concentrated use of forces, wore a somewhat disgruntled expression. Eventually, 16,000 ships of the Royal Army¡¯s leading fleet arrived in the ¨­izumi Star System. The reaction of the ¨­izumi Star System was immediate, and the equivalent of 62,000 Tenka cruisers, which had been equipped with Daemon crystals to increase their strength, launched as an interception fleet. The total strength of ¨­izumi is estimated to be equivalent to 174,000 ships, including Daemon crystals, of which 51,600 are mothers of the National Mages, and will be re-conscripted only in the event of an emergency attack on the home planet. ¨­izumi¡¯s original force was equivalent to 124,000 ships, including the addition of Daemons, half of which was used to intercept the preceding fleet led by Colette. Curious for a moment at the lack of enemies, Colette sensed that the ¨­izumi side had not discovered Fortress Kerviel as a result of the leading fleet advancing while destroying the scout ships. To Tenka, Fortress Kerviel was facing conflict in the Solar System. Perhaps they never imagined that it had reversed course from the Solar System and was advancing toward the ¨­izumi Star System at an extraordinary speed. Seeing the enemy, which was reluctant to put up a fight, Colette was instantly struck by an idea. If Fortress Kerviel joins, it will be possible to fight in a situation where the Royal Army has 155,380 ships and the ¨­izumi Army has 62,000 ships, a Force Evaluation of 100:40. [The defense fleet is holding back. This is a chance to destroy them individually.] Upon receiving the report from Colette, Hart abandoned the original plan altogether. ¡°Understood. [All fortress personnel are hereby notified. The fortress will continue to warp to the ¨­izumi Star System, and together with the leading fleet, destroy the dispersed enemy interception fleet. Upon reaching the system, immediately engage in all-out warfare. Stationed fleet, all Israfel crafts, prepare to engage!]¡± As soon as the order was issued, Fortress Kerviel glowed faintly, and began to leap towards the ¨­izumi Star System at explosive speed. After dozens of hours of ¨­izumi¡¯s interception fleet heading for Colette¡¯s leading fleet, Hart and Fortress Kerviel, who had been jumping without a single break using medication, reached the ¨­izumi Star System just before the leading fleet and the interception fleet came into contact. Traveling from the Solar System to ¨­izumi at a speed impossible with conventional wisdom, Fortress Kerviel caught ¨­izumi¡¯s defense fleet by surprise. Fortress Kerviel rushes toward the interception fleet, which was confused by the sudden appearance of Fortress Kerviel. From Fortress Kerviel, which had gained explosive acceleration, a full salvo of fusion rounds was fired. Fusion munitions can be produced inside the fortress and replenished after returning to the MacLir System. The attack from the fortress, which can be used up without any problems, was extremely fierce. The saturated missile swarm pushed into the interception fleet, vastly exceeding the amount of missiles fired by the interception fleet. From behind the missile swarm, 1,125,000 Israfel crafts that launched out of the fortress spread out in a fan shape and pounced on the interception fleet. After releasing all fusion munitions and Israfel, Fortress Kerviel reversed its course to the outside of the star system at that point. The inverted Fortress Kerviel continued to move toward the star system for a while due to the Law of Inertia, and then the regressive force prevailed and it began to head out of the star system. The fusion rounds released from the fortress mercilessly burned down the interception fleet as Hart, who couldn¡¯t rest while operating the magic engine, felt a sense of fatigue. The brilliance of the giant photosphere created by the explosion of the fusion rounds is arranged in a rosary shape in the space sector of the ¨­izumi Star System. One after another, the spheres of light and shock waves that were created engulfed the interception fleet and greatly disrupted the line of ships. Eventually, towards the crumbling defensive fleet, a million light spots created by Israfel were thrust up in rapid succession from the front, top, bottom, left and right. The information integration system of the Fighter Craft Command Center, which has been transferred from Fortress Kerviel to Collette¡¯s leading fleet, and the battle interlocking system are guiding a million Israfel to the optimal position while reading the positions of enemies and allies. The battle in the field is conducted in a complex and mysterious manner by androids, which are designed to be pilots during construction but in reality respond with a reaction speed that is impossible for humans, and spirits, who read the surrounding magical elements and activate the magic element engine. Arrows of light shot from several Israfel crafts were thrust into the Tenka Cruiser-class ships, increasing the number of light spheres shining on the battlefield. The Tenka Cruiser-class ships also counterattacked, hunting down the Israfel, which had inferior defense. As Fortress Kerviel approached the warpable sector, Bertrand raised a report. ¡°Your Excellency, Fleet Admiral, I have received a preliminary assessment of the battle results on the front lines. Enemy cruisers have greatly improved their strength rating. Not only has the output of the magic engine, but also the performance of the enemy ships improved as it would under the spirits support.¡± Hart accepted the fact that Tenka had caught up with the unreasonable technology of the Monarchy. The Daemons are lending their power to the Tenka National Mages that operate the magic element engine. As if to prove this, an Israfel¡¯s bombardment from the blind spot was being repelled by a local deployment of a shield, which is impossible for humans. Immediately after the attack was prevented, the bombardment from the Tenka ship that counterattacked pierced the Israfel. ¡°The C-class crystals that Janet mass-produced are like androids to humans. Most of the other party looks the same, so although it is a battle of energy, it is not a conflict between Spirits and Daemons. It was a blessing in disguise that they were not promoted.¡± Hart asks for Mira¡¯s assessment of the battle between the Spirits and Daemons. ¡ºThe pilots of the Israfel were the pilots of the Salamander, who were originally contracted with D-class crystals. What will happen to the D-class spirits if the Israfel are destroyed?¡» ¡ºThey will use the imitation as a shield to escape to the spirit world. Think of it as an instantaneous phenomenon in which androids buy time to protect humans. There are some individuals who fail, but no worries, that¡¯s just natural selection.¡» Hart, who was not so bold that he could remain unconcerned when told not to care, ordered Bertrand. ¡°Alert all troops to the improvement in the performance of enemy ships due to attaching Daemon crystals. Alert the contracted spirits through the pilots.¡± Even if the danger of the enemy harming the spirits is understood, a battle is inevitable. Hart understood after the announcement that Mira¡¯s words and deeds, which she advised him not to worry about, would have accepted the fact. Soon after, with the first wave fiercely clashing with the enemy fleet, Fortress Kerviel leapt out of the star system to pick up the second wave. CH 89 The Battle of the ¨­izumi Star System began with a major blunder on the part of the defenders. The moment the interception fleet of 62,000 ships that confronted the Monarchy¡¯s leading fleet approached the outer edge of the star system, Fortress Kerviel burst in. The Force Evaluation of the Monarchy and ¨­izumi, which became a decisive frontal battle, was assessed at an overwhelming 100:40. 100 to 40 is like a fight between five people against two people, each with equal power. And if one person falls on each side, the battle becomes four on one. The successive deployment of the forces that were destroyed individually must never be carried out. The Royal Army, which saw it as a golden opportunity, mercilessly attacked ¨­izumi¡¯s interception fleet, which had made that absolute mistake, and thoroughly overran it. More than 1 million Israfel covered the interception fleet like amorphous amoeba, and while melting the whole body, they invaded the inside, melting 62,000 giant bodies from the inside. The difference in strength between the two armies was evident in the turbulent battle, and in various parts of the battlefield, the Monarchy, which was overwhelmingly superior in terms of force evaluation, had an overwhelming advantage. [¨­izumi, I¡¯ll kill you even if it means my death.] [Just as you killed the Royal people, you will be burned and vaporized!] In the fighter crafts¡¯ intra-unit communications, murderous insults and shouts of joy were raised as enemy ships were dropped. For the Monarchy, the ¨­izumi army is a bitter enemy that killed 3 billion Royal citizens, including Sovereign Valfrete, in the Second Battle of the Diete. The majority of Israfel pilots had losses by ¨­izumi, including family members, lovers, and friends. For the pilots, the ¨­izumi army is a direct target of revenge. They were unusually full of killing intent, not morale. Therefore, on the battlefield, even reckless assaults in groups were scattered throughout the sector. Israfel crafts raced through the dazzling light of exploding fusion rounds as a rain of arrows. The light of anger released from the one million flying arrows was thrust at the shield of the Tenka ships all at once, saturating their defenses, shattering the shield and piercing through the inner hulls. [General Listner, Acting Commander-in-Chief, orders all forces. Carry on fighting. The battle-linked system guides the fleet and the fighter crafts into the appropriate sector. Avoid losses to the fleet. Auxiliary fleet, begin establishing supply base in the celestial cluster.] Colette continued to lead the rampage efficiently without killing the momentum of the raging army, like a bullfighter waving the red flag as a target. The interception fleet, which had been hit by the onslaught of the Royal Army, countered with the power of Daemons. More precisely, there was no countermeasure other than relying on the Daemons, but it was not a wrong choice, and the power of the Daemon showed a reasonable effect. The Tenka ships, supported by the Daemons, were orderly intercepting the charging Israfel, protecting themselves against each other in several units, shooting down the appropriate fighter crafts, increasing the number of people on their way to the hell where they themselves would be beaten down. On the front lines, where light arrows and spears were hurled on each other, a battle like a prediction of the future from a human perspective was being waged. Spirits and Daemons read each other¡¯s magic elements to anticipate and avoid each other¡¯s attacks. Or rather, they worked in tandem with their fellow allies to block the enemy¡¯s retreat route and steadily grind them down. Guided by Spirits and Daemons, the soldiers of both armies survived mysteriously or were killed as a natural consequence, repeatedly bombarding and evading with indescribable, intuitive movements. The biggest difference between the two armies was the difference in strength. Even though the next craft entered the space where Israfel had been destroyed, the hole that had become vacant due to the destruction of the interception fleet of ¨­izumi was left vacant. No matter how much damage was dealt, the endless rain eventually shattered the formation of the interception fleet, swallowing the sector with a turbid stream of light. [Our forces are overwhelming.] [Keep fighting. If you have the advantage and can cut them down, cut them down thoroughly.] Even with the casualties to the Royal Army, the energy to move forward was tremendous, and in fact, the ¨­izumi army was forcibly pushed out of the sector. However, the Royal Army was not rushing in, but was efficiently moved by Colette, the Acting Commander-in-Chief, and as a result, pushed the ¨­izumi army back. Colette¡¯s fighting style was far more precise and ruthlessly thorough than Hart¡¯s, who sometimes showed a sketchy side. She throws Israfels into the middle of the interception fleet whose formation had collapsed, and while crushing friend and foe together, the fleet was overrun. At the same time, large ships were deployed from the top, bottom, left and right, and the rear of the interception fleet was scraped off by long-range artillery. In order to respond to Hart¡¯s desire to reduce the damage of the fleet, Colette crushed the enemy using easy-to-replenish Israfels, while also making maximum use of the firepower of the fleet to disperse the ¨­izumi army with maximum efficiency. The extruded interception fleet dropped back as it was pushed out to join its allies in the rear. ¨­izumi had a force equivalent to 174,000 ships, and if all the forces joined together, it will be superior to the Monarchy¡¯s 155,380 ships worth of force. The ¨­izumi army was estimated to join up in nine hours. The purpose of the Royal Army is to destroy the head planet in the ¨­izumi Star System, not to annihilate the enemy forces. The Royal Army had cut down the prominent interception fleet accordingly, but Colette decided to avoid a series of battles with the fresh newcomers. [Cut off the pursuit with five hours remaining and retreat to the outer edge of the star system. Once the Israfels retreat, switch to autopilot and let the pilots rest.] With five hours, the interception fleet can be annihilated. And with four hours¡¯ distance from the newcomers, they could retreat to avoid an engagement. Unable to maintain numerical superiority, ¨­izumi¡¯s defenders could not carelessly chase the Royal Army. If time can be bought in the standoff, that is time earned for Hart to return. Not a single Royal Army officer or soldier defied Colette¡¯s policy for victory. The aristocratic army, of course, followed suit, and the Royal Army began to move towards the early annihilation of the interception fleet and a quick retreat. On the edge of the screen projected on the Israfel cockpit during the battle, a countdown to the withdrawal time is displayed. Artillery fire from both sides flew across the battle sector, a large number of missiles were rampant, and the wreckage of the destroyed ship raged. Hunters in fighter crafts ran through the sector and attacked the target Tenka ship in groups, creating numerous victors and losers. As Israfel destroys the enemy, the density of the interception fleet decreases, and the light in the embattled sector becomes smaller. Seeing that the fierce fighting had subsided and both armies had begun to pull back on their own, Colette turned to her Chief of Staff. ¡°Chief of Staff, report the loss of both sides.¡± In the case where Yuna would have detached herself from the situation and looked at it from a bird¡¯s eye view, Collette calmly confirmed the damage to their side without being disturbed. It¡¯s not that Colette¡¯s personality is cold, but her origin as the shadow clan of the Royal Family and her experience of living under the guise of Yuna¡¯s close friend has given her a high tolerance for shock. When it comes to human matters, Colette can accept most things as they are. If it was the casualties of the Royal Army that occurred in the war, even if it was the annihilation of allies, she could easily dismiss them and consider what happened in terms of profit and loss. As it turned out, the Chief of Staff¡¯s report was very good for Colette. ¡°Ma¡¯am. Israfel destroyed, 188,325 crafts, about 17% of the total crafts. The enemy¡¯s interception fleet, 50,220 ships, about 81%, have lost their magical reactions.¡± Along with the report, the Chief of Staff projected the star system forces onto the screen of the Command Center. The Monarchy¡¯s and ¨­izumi¡¯s forces within the ¨­izumi star system were 100:95. Already, the Monarchy¡¯s army had a slight advantage over ¨­izumi¡¯s army. Moreover, Colette led the leading fleet and Israfel, which had been launched from Fortress Kerviel, after which seven regular fleets and fifteen Aristocratic fleets from the Solar System would arrive. Together, the Force Evaluation would be 100:83. ¡°We have enough of the upper hand to be tempted to attack on our own before the Commander-in-Chief returns, but let¡¯s wait so we¡¯ll be even more dominant. First, have the Israfel pilots rest.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Most of the disengaged Israfel switched to autopilot. At the outer edge of the star system, where the fighter crafts with resting pilots were heading, Philine¡¯s fleet, separated from Fortress Kerviel, was continuing to deploy in the Israfel¡¯s mooring space. Philine¡¯s fleet consisted of 9,500 ships. The breakdown was 500 destroyers, 1,000 escort ships, 2,000 reconnaissance ships, 2,000 transport ships, and 4,000 craft ships, a fleet more suited for field work rather than battle. Destroyers and reconnaissance ships were sent out to search for and eliminate enemy ships around the star system, while transports and craft ships were used to resupply and repair Israfel. Philine¡¯s fleet and Israfel both belonged to Fortress Kerviel, so it was easy to coordinate with them. Although the stationed fleet at the fortress was not organized with this much thought, the fleet functioned perfectly with the Israfel supply line. The Royal Army, which was waiting for the second wave, and the ¨­izumi Army, which was unable to move due to its inferiority, kept a reasonable distance from each other and entered into a standoff. As the Royal Army took up position on the outer edge of the star system, the Tenka people living in the ¨­izumi Star System fell into chaos, and a large number of civilian ships moved in ten different directions. Seeing their inferiority on the battlefield, the ships fled in the opposite direction of the Monarchy¡¯s deployment sector. Ships that hurriedly rushed to the head planet to secure acquaintances and assets. Ships that bravely or recklessly joined forces with the ¨­izumi Defense Force. However, even with civilian ships entering the battle, it was not enough to overturn the inferiority. While the two armies kept their distance and stared each other down for several days, civilian ships continued to carry missiles and mines to the front line, increasing Tenka¡¯s offensive power. With the cooperation of civilian ships, Tenka continued to fire long-range missiles erratically from outside artillery range in order to reduce and exhaust the Monarchy forces. In response, the Monarchy intercepted with 1,000 escort ships of the fleet led by Philine, and if they could not keep up, the other fleets cooperated as they awaited the arrival of the Solar System invasion force. The difference in strength between the Royal Army and the ¨­izumi Defense Force remained almost unchanged as time passed, and eventually the arrival of reinforcements from the Solar System Invasion Army widened the Force Evaluation to 100:83. Compared to 100:95, 100:83 is almost a definite win-loss. As a result of the wider gap in strength, the ¨­izumi army avoided engagement and withdrew towards the head planet, and began to support the escape of civilians and civilian vessels. W¨¦n shu¨« has a population of 12.5 billion, with a good number of National Mage families living there. Colette was unsure about waiting to see what would happen if she were forced to overlook the departure of these people, but refrained from acting, remembering that the purpose of the Monarchy was the birth of the Spirit King. Twenty-three days after Colette¡¯s arrival in the ¨­izumi system, a reconnaissance ship of the Philine fleet caught a new enemy. [From the direction of Hony¨­, enemy fleet of 60,000 ships, estimated to arrive in the ¨­izumi Star System in about three days. In addition, from the direction of Ten-to, enemy fleet of 40,000 ships will arrive in the ¨­izumi Star System in about 10 days.] Against the Royal Army, which they could not be defeated on their own, ¨­izumi called for reinforcements from the surrounding Tenka Star Systems. Colette was not panicked by the predictable situation and issued instructions. ¡°Chief of Staff, give me the Force Evaluation after the enemy reinforcements.¡± According to the figures issued by the Chief of Staff, the Force Evaluation of both armies, which was 100:83, would be 100:123 with reinforcements from Hony¨­ and 100:150 after the reinforcements from Ten-to. By calculating only the enemy¡¯s movements, they should resume the battle while they have the upper hand or withdraw. However, Fortress Kerviel, which was filled with the second wave of Israfel, was also approaching ¨­izumi. What¡¯s more, the fortress is moving as a single ship, and if Hart pushes himself, he can adjust the arrival time. ¡°Chief of Staff, what will the assessment be once Fortress Kerviel arrives?¡± ¡°The second wave of Israfel is not worth 150,000 ships, but a provisional assessment equivalent to 90,000 ships, and if you add that up, we get¡­¡± The Force Evaluation projected on the screen was 100:76 after the arrival of the second wave and the Hony¨­ army, and 100:93 after the arrival of the Ten-to army. Colette looked at the numbers and looked for ways to make the most of the situation. ¡°Once the reinforcements from Hony¨­ arrive and it becomes 100:123, the enemy will attack. If Fortress Kerviel arrives at a time when the enemy is in melee range, will we be able to fight 100:76? Unlike our first move, we won¡¯t be able to defeat them individually this time.¡± Colette was convinced that a 100:76 battle would be a real possibility. This is because, even if the ¨­izumi army that had joined the Hony¨­ army will not attack, if the Monarchy side that had joined with Fortress Kerviel attacked, it would be a 100:76 battle. In addition, it was impossible for the enemy not to engage with a Force Evaluation of 100:123, considering common sense. Because the enemy is aware that Fortress Kerviel is absent, and would obviously want to defeat them before it returns. Convinced that the battle would be won, Colette pondered further developments. The defense fleet of Hony¨­, a rear star system that has provided reinforcements of 60,000 ships, has been reduced to less than 114,000 ships. If Fortress Kerviel invades with ace pilot Israfel in the ¨­izumi Star System, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to defeat Hony¨­ as well? In this way, the two star systems will be destroyed and two Spirit Kings would be born. With one more Spirit King, one more star system could be protected. It was worth carrying out the operation, even at some risk. ¡°We ought to do it, if possible.¡± Seeing a development that could give the Monarchy an overwhelming advantage, Colette immediately communicated with Hart, who was re-advancing to ¨­izumi, and suggested the arrival time and the next target. Five days later, as the ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ armies merged and were closing in on the Royal Army led by Colette, Fortress Kerviel which reappeared at the outer edge of the star system arrived and started a second battle. However, Hart himself did not head for the sector where the two armies were approaching. Appearing in the exact opposite direction of the outer edge of the star system, Fortress Kerviel ignored the expected engagement sector of both armies and headed straight for the head planet W¨¦n shu¨« at maximum acceleration. ¡°How naively honest. There is no need for a head-on battle. Our goal is to destroy the inhabited planet of Tenka and create a Spirit King. While Colette¡¯s fleet attracts the enemy to the outer edge of the star system, we will destroy W¨¦n shu¨« and leave the system.¡± Fortress Kerviel, which had been loaded with enough objects for entry in the sector where Philine¡¯s fleet had been released, rushed forward by shortening the time to gather celestial bodies from the surrounding. In response, the ¨­izumi forces showed their agitation by disrupting the ship¡¯s line. Even if the enemy army is cut down, if their homeland is destroyed, the home country of ¨­izumi will fall. The Tenka fleet, which was heading for the outer edge of the star system, eventually slowed down, changed course to the center of the star system, and began to accelerate again. However, the initial action was delayed, and there was no way they could match the advance speed of Fortress Kerviel when accelerated by Mira. The preceding Fortress Kerviel began to slow down as it approached W¨¦n shu¨« so that Berenice, Hart¡¯s contracted spirit, could absorb the full extent of W¨¦n shu¨«¡¯s miasma. ¡°After the destruction of W¨¦n shu¨«, we will join the leading fleet. Depending on the relative speed, the crossing with the oncoming enemy may be instantaneous. After the rendezvous, the fortress will accommodate the first wave as best it can, the second wave in any available space, and put the remainder on the leading fleet. If any cannot be accommodated, destroy them and evacuate.¡± Hart announced his plans ahead and ordered the whole army to begin preparations. If they join as they are, the ratio of Israfel in Fortress Kerviel will be 80% from the first wave and 20% from the second wave. The Israfel¡¯s strength rating dropped from the equivalent of 150,000 ships to 140,000, but they had the upper hand over the estimated 114,000 Hony¨­ defense force, so there was no reason to hesitate in invading Hony¨­. ¡°We caught the ¨­izumi head planet, W¨¦n shu¨«.¡± ¡°Plunge the celestial bodies in. We have prepared a large number in case they fail. No need for hesitation towards ¨­izumi, they killed 3 billion people in the Second Battle of Diete. I don¡¯t care if this planet will be uninhabitable for a long time. In fact, make it uninhabitable forever.¡± Under Hart¡¯s orders, the fortress personnel projected one celestial body after another from the fortress, destroying the planet that had been inhabited by 12.5 billion people until a month ago and turning it into a scorching planet. And from the planet, countless spheres of light reminiscent of the soul rose and were absorbed by Berenice, who manifested beside Hart. The sphere of light continued to spring up for about three hours, becoming a glowing sliver of light that illuminated Berenice, and then faded and disappeared. The main forces of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ have yet to reach W¨¦n shu¨« even at this time. The Battle of the ¨­izumi Star System had a completely different outcome from what Hart had imagined at the time of the invasion. Initially, Hart intended to join Colette with the second wave, overwhelm the enemy with total strength, break through the defense fleet, and capture W¨¦n shu¨« in a common sense manner. That was the first move, and the ¨­izumi side, unwilling to put out the interception force, would be attacked by Fortress Kerviel and destroyed one by one, and the decisive battle would be unsuccessful. Finally, once the ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ armies joined forces to overcome their inferiority and headed for the large fleet led by Colette and an army of one million crafts, Fortress Kerviel, using them as bait, would swoop in from the opposite direction and destroy the head planet in the blink of an eye. Hart wondered if the ¨­izumi army, which had been at their mercy and defeated without being able to put up a fight, might be in a state of stupor. The Royal people, who held a deep grudge against ¨­izumi for half destroying the Capital planet Diros, would be delighted by the most brilliant victory ever seen in history and shout out a cheer. It can also be expected to have a tremendous publicity effect, enough to dispel the anxiety of the Daemons. However, the remarkable achievement that would go down in the annals of military history was the product of a chain of coincidences that occurred as a result of the ¨­izumi Army making a mistake in its initial move. Afterword This is an appeal for those who have not purchased the first volume of the book version! In the first volume of the book version, Hart¡¯s school life is also written. Invited to the salon by the ladies. He will be challenged to compete in academic performance. Called under the cherry blossom tree behind the school building and confessed to. First contact with the Marquis Lady Philine in Middle School, Yuna and Colette from that time also appear. In addition, there is also a dedicated illustration drawn by Mr. Hirame Shibaishi! ¡­¡­ Everyone who bought it, I¡¯m not lying, am I? (Laughs) The second volume also has a nice + ¦Á in it. Please purchase Volume 1 & Volume 2! Thank you m (_ _) m CH 90 The second wave of the Royal Army, which had destroyed W¨¦n shu¨«, crossed the Tenka army rushing to W¨¦n shu¨« for a moment, and then pushed towards the first group. The intersecting sector was momentarily scorched, and soon regained its frigid tranquility. The result was displayed on the screen of the Fortress Command Center. ¡°45,000 Israfel were destroyed. Damage inflicted on the enemy equivalent to 3,600 cruisers. Overall Force Evaluation of star system remains at 100:76.¡± According to detailed figures, 45,001 crafts have been destroyed, and the damage on the ¨­izumi side is also mixed with destroyers and fighter crafts. Bertrand omitted the detailed figures and read them out in an easy-to-understand manner. Seeing the result, Hart nodded with a convinced expression, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. ¡°The pilots of the second group were 1.2 times more skilled than the required level.¡± The second wave of 1,125,000 Israfel crafts that he brought with him, 4% were dropped at the crossing, but considering the price of destroying W¨¦n shu¨«, it was a bargain. In the battle between the first wave and the interception fleet, the Royal Army lost only 188,325 crafts, and the destruction of W¨¦n shu¨« resulted in only 233,326 casualties to the Royal Army. One fleet of the Royal Army is staffed by 500,000 people. If the death toll of only half a fleet or less could destroy the enemy¡¯s inhabited planet, the Monarchy of Diete would attack again and again until the enemy planets were all gone. With little damage, Hart destroyed his target, W¨¦n shu¨«, gave birth to a new Spirit King, and joined up with the first wave. The merged Royal Army created a giant sphere of light on the outer edge of the star system. The formed photosphere consisted of 15 regular fleets, 16 aristocratic fleets, and 2,016,675 Israfel. Converted to Tenka cruisers, it was equivalent to 235,245 ships. On the other hand, the Tenka forces of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ had a force equivalent to 180,180 ships flying in the sector around W¨¦n shu¨«, keeping a watchful eye on the Royal Army. The outnumbered Tenka side did not make a decision to withdraw. Within the ¨­izumi Star System, there are a large number of facilities that have been built over a hundred years, as well as a vast amount of resources that have been gathered over the years. If the Tenka fleet withdraws completely, the Royal Army will gladly destroy the entire star system. The Tenka army could not decide whether to attack from an inferior position or to retreat, abandoning everything in ¨­izumi, and could only perform a perfunctory rescue at W¨¦n shu¨«. While a standoff occurred between the two armies, Hart began to accommodate the first wave into the fortress. ¡°The first wave, the designated second wave, the Carneus fleet, enter the fortress immediately.¡± A million lights were sucked into the massive body of Fortress Kerviel one after another. Around them, the superior Royal Army lined up in an orderly manner, holding the enemy in check with a heavy wall of light. As Hart gazed at the massive light, it suddenly hit him. ¡°Colette¡¯s fleet can be used as a decoy to draw the enemy in.¡± The idea was to use the huge light to attract the Tenka fleet like an insect, during which Hart invaded Hony¨­ to increase the success rate of the operation. With Fortress Kerviel gone, the forces of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ would not be able to move out of the ¨­izumi Star System unless Colette¡¯s fleet withdrew. Furthermore, the disappearance of Fortress Kerviel alone would not be enough to launch an attack on Colette¡¯s fleet. That¡¯s because Colette and her fleet are stationed at the warpable outer edge of the star system. Having been raided by Fortress Kerviel from the warpout in the first move, they are forced to be wary of Fortress Kerviel, which may return at any moment. The search network around ¨­izumi has been eliminated by Colette and Philine¡¯s destroyer fleet. Therefore, if Fortress Kerviel warps, the Tenka side will not be able to grasp the coordinates of the fortress. Tenka will not be able to move until three days later, after the Shinky¨­ forces join them. Deciding that more time was enough, Hart ordered Colette to act as a decoy. ¡°That¡¯ll be all. The remaining Israfel have the pilots transferred to their respective fleets and then positioned to keep an eye on the enemy. If the enemy approaches, dispose of them with autopilot and remote self-destruct, and then withdraw the fleet.¡± Hart¡¯s orders were passed. However, Colette added conditions. [Fleet Admiral Amakawa, please explain to the Lords leading the aristocratic army. After all, the fifteen fleets from the Solar System in particular did not fight the enemy in the Solar System, nor will they fight the enemy in ¨­izumi, and are nothing more than decoys.] ¡°I might be dissatisfied if I were in their shoes. I see.¡± In response to Colette¡¯s points, Hart was keenly aware of the need for explanation. If the aristocrats were military personnel who had graduated from the Military Academy, they would understand the significance of victory without fighting with a large army, and they would be convinced without having to explain to each of them. Even if some don¡¯t understand, their superiors would just tell them to follow orders and be done with. But the conscripted aristocrats will not understand unless they receive an explanation. And if Hart, the Commander-in-Chief, doesn¡¯t explain himself, they may become frustrated and even drag their feet around at a later date, feeling disgraced by such mistreatment. Exhaling a sigh, Hart communicated with the aristocrats, explained the significance of the aristocratic army¡¯s work, praised their contribution to the Monarchy, and expressed his gratitude as the Commander-in-Chief. As a result of the aristocratic army holding the enemy back, they were able to capture W¨¦n shu¨« with minimal casualties. If they continue to hold the enemy back, the success rate of the Hony¨­ invasion would increase. With the birth of the three Spirit Kings, the Monarchy can create realms and transition gates in three star systems. If it can be concluded that as a result of the aristocracy¡¯s participation in the war, the number of transition gates and realms increased, it is a satisfactory outcome. It is a great achievement for the aristocrats, and it can clearly demonstrate to the Royal people the significance of the survival of the aristocratic system. Hart promised to announce the activities of the aristocratic army to the Royal people after the war, so the Lords were convinced and accepted the decoy role. However, the aristocrats who received the explanations did not simply comply. [There are four star systems that do not have a transition gate connected. I hope for the birth of a fourth Spirit King.] The request was jointly made by Duke Dauphin of the Podalley Star System, which is the rearmost star system of the Monarchy, and Roland, son of Duke Mauriac of the Machaon Star System. Hart thinks it¡¯s a difficult request to fulfill. Miasma does not occur on a planet where no living organisms live, so even if they destroy an uninhabited planet in that area, the Spirit King will not be born. Just as Mira ate three inhabited planets of the Former Coalition, a planet that was inhabited by billions of people until previously and had accumulated enough miasma after being attacked by the Monarchy, it may be possible to purify and convert it into energy. However, there are no such planets. If they can capture Hony¨­, the only planets that can be territorialized are of Ten-to and Hercules. Hercules has probably already been territorialized, and it would be quicker for the invading army reversing from the Republic to reach Ten-to than for Hart to go to Ten-to after heading to Hony¨­. In short, humanity does not have the planet necessary to give birth to the Spirit King. With Mira, a fourth star system can be made into a realm, but the Spirit Emperor, who can improve the safety of the fortress and help in the inheritance of magic power to his descendants, is too valuable to let go. Hart believes that there is no need to sacrifice his own safety and happiness for altruism. Therefore, either the Podalley or Machaon star system cannot be territorialized. The population of both star systems is about 5 billion in Podalley and 4.6 billion in Machaon. The distance from the enemy Hercules system is almost the same, and the characteristics of the system have advantages and disadvantages, and there is no clear difference in determining the priority. ¡°The selection of the next planet is difficult, but if possible, we will spare no effort to realize it.¡± Hart, who responded like a politician to the two Dukes, left the task of housing the fighter crafts to the Command Center and then fell into a deep sleep in preparation for the long-distance journey. While Hart slept, the Carneus fleet, which had been deployed to the surrounding sector and had a shortage of ships, was filled by pulling out destroyers and reconnaissance ships from other fleets. The next day, the ready Fortress Kerviel disappeared from the ¨­izumi System. After Fortress Kerviel disappeared, the ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ armies did not move from the head planet side, waiting for the Shinky¨­ army to join. Two days later, the Shinky¨­ army arrived, and after spending a day merging, they finally began to head for the Royal Army that remained in the ¨­izumi Star System. In response to the approach of the Three Tenka Nations, Colette fired a plethora of missiles, followed by a massive self-destruction of 891,667 Israfel, and before the artillery battle began, they retreated to the MacLir System. It was two days later that Y¨²nl¨¢n and Ishidor, who had swallowed up the three star systems of the Republic, reached the ¨­izumi System. In the intermediate sector between the ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ Star Systems, which are the rear of Tenka, few reconnaissance ships were deployed, and civilian vessels would not proceed through the space, which would be a detour and a waste of time. In addition, one day¡¯s travel for Fortress Kerviel is equivalent to four days for the Tenka ships, which still do not have a Daemon crystal. After moving in the zenith direction for about a day, Fortress Kerviel, which had advanced outside the search range, was not captured at all by Tenka¡¯s search network. Fortress Kerviel, which ran through the heavens, eventually reached a half-day sector from the Hony¨­ Star System. Then, when they entered a distance where they could not avoid the enemy search, they descended at once, as if a bird of prey were about to attack. ¡°The losses to the fighter crafts will skyrocket because there is no fleet and second wave. Still, in order to defend the Monarchy, we must defeat Hony¨­ and create a Spirit King.¡± When Hart declared that he should tolerate sacrifice, Alois, the Deputy Director of the Fighter Craft Division from a piloting background, cast a protesting glance. Hart, who took it head-on, reminded Alois. ¡°We are here to prevent a repeat of the Second Battle of the Diete. The army and military personnel exist to protect the nation and its people. Let the Fighter Craft Division defend our nation to the best of its ability. Brigadier General Khan, is there anything you don¡¯t understand?¡± ¡°No, sir.¡± Alois, who answered briefly, immediately began talking to his spirits Millie and Jessica. Looking at the ace pilots, it is clear that the spirits influence the capabilities of the fighter crafts. If Alois does his best of his own volition, the spirits who favor Alois will lend a hand. Deciding that the result would be somewhat better, Hart left the matter of the fighter crafts to Alois. Hart then issued another instruction. ¡°Philine, I want you to concentrate on fleet operations and leave the magic engine of Fortress Kerviel to Claudia and Xu¨§ L¨¬. Xu¨§ L¨¬, this will be treated as an aristocratic conscription, and you may be awarded a third Order of Merit after Athena and Fukashiro. Can you participate?¡± Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s spirit, Chloe, is an advanced spirit, overwhelmingly more capable than an intermediate spirit. The problem is Xu¨§ L¨¬¡¯s temperament, but it seems that her performance in the Battle of Fukashiro Star System has brought about a change in her behavioral standards, and to such a subtle extent, this improved her situation¡­ to the extent that she is not unable to cooperate with Hart. ¡°Chloe will help me, so I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll ask for your cooperation. Leave the details to Chloe.¡± If she works with Claudia¡¯s advanced spirits, the best possible results, which were impossible for a human being, may be expected. Xu¨§ L¨¬ is useful even if she only sits in the Operation Assistant¡¯s seat of her own volition. With the fortress in place, Hart leapt in the final warp to the outer edge of the star system. There is naturally a limit to the speed that can be achieved in an enemy star system with many artificial objects. Accelerating to 200 million kilometers per hour toward Heishuu, the head planet of the Hony¨­ Star System, Hart scattered missiles and all Israfel crafts, and also deployed Philine¡¯s fleet to escort the fortress. Ships and missiles separated in their accelerated state, uniformly pushed into the interior of the star system. From the fortress, search for enemies in the star system continued, and a rough defensive strength was calculated. ¡°Enemy and ally Force Evaluation, 100:81. Israfel are equivalent 140,000 ships, while the enemy army is estimated at 114,000 ships. Our army has dominance.¡± If the enemy has more than 80% of their own force, they will not reach overwhelming superiority. Hart was disappointed by the report from the Communications Officer, but even so, the difference in strength was enough to break through the enemy. The inferior Hony¨­ defense fleet chose to advance and meet in a sector away from the head planet. More precisely, they could not escape because of their home planet behind them, so they had no choice but to advance. ¡°We have the upper hand, so we will continue to advance and engage in melee warfare. We have no reinforcements, but the enemy does. Clean them up as soon as possible.¡± It¡¯s a simple push to take advantage of numbers, but it¡¯s normal for the dominant side to make use of numbers. Since the goal was the destruction of Heishuu and the birth of the Spirit King, there was no reason to hesitate to realize it by going straight ahead. The attacking Israfel showered the Hony¨­ army with a rain of artillery fire, and about 80% of the energy of the heat was being returned. The two armies eroded each other, turning each other into exploding photospheres. The 1.12 million fighter crafts that Alois¡¯ spirits intervened in have turned into giant spears of light made up of 20,000 crafts each. Fifty-six giant spears pierced through the enemy fleet with a concentration of force, effectively breaking through the enemy¡¯s formation. A single fighter craft command post could control up to 30,000 crafts, and the spears wielded up, down, left and right in a somewhat generous system melted enemies who touched the handle of the spear one after another. The fifty-six spears were coordinated, with two or three simultaneously narrowing in on the enemy to encircle and annihilate them. ¡°In the battle with the enemy, our army has a slight advantage over the Force Evaluation.¡± The spears produced by the fighter crafts and the Hony¨­ Army scrape each other, and the density gradually decreases. However, there was a difference in the speed of the decline, and the Hony¨­ Army was definitely faster. Satisfied with the battle that unfolded as planned, Hart entrusted the command of the fighter crafts to Alois and the others, and devoted himself to the bombardment of the fortress main gun and the preparation for the celestial entry. ¡°We are less than 1 billion kilometers from the head planet of Hony¨­.¡± The bombardment of Fortress Kerviel began toward the spaceport, which was unable to move at all. Undeterred by the cost to the planet, Hart mercilessly threw pillars of light into the planet¡¯s satellite orbit. Eventually, when part of the spear was folded in and sent around to escort Fortress Kerviel, the fortress reached the point where it could plunge the celestial bodies into Heishuu. A vast number of civilian vessels scattered and fled from Heishuu. Perhaps they were unaware of the fact that Tenka had destroyed the Republic¡¯s three star systems, as they had been throwing inhumane insults against the Royal Army. Naturally, Hart ignored all those communications and plunged the celestial bodies. On the surface of Heishuu, dazzling brilliance was born one after another. The energy of the collision blows away the land and sea, and the scorching heat burns the planet, annihilating the ecosystem that the Hony¨­ people have created. In the space around the head planet, all sorts of artificial objects, including Hony¨­¡¯s warships, numerous civilian ships, and satellites, are attacked by Israfel, which flew around in all directions. Protected by a dominant ally, Hart continued to drop the celestial bodies filled with magic power on Heishuu, recovering the energy to create a third Spirit King. In the meantime, enemy and friendly ships and not a few civilian ships were being turned into wreckage. Both outer space and the planetary atmosphere continued to glow toward the end, like a burning sparkler. Eventually, having absorbed all the light of Heishuu, Hart ordered a retreat. ¡°All forces, withdraw. Weave between the fleeing civilian ships and break away. The enemy¡¯s National Mages cannot use the private ships on which the Tenka people are riding as collateral damage. If we attack a civilian ship in Tenka and force the enemy to perform rescue operations, we can use them as shields and stall them.¡± The life of one Royal Citizen is greater than the lives of all the enemy people. With such a Royal Army mindset, Hart and his subordinates, who chose the method of ensuring survival of the greatest number of allies, withdrew to the outer edge of the Hony¨­ Star System, attacking Tenka¡¯s civilian ships to the extent that they did not blow up. The Hony¨­ army kept chasing them, but in addition to civilian ships, Israfel, which were delayed in leaving, eventually stalled them, and the distance between the main force of the Royal Army and the pursuing force of the Hony¨­ army was widened. Hart, who had housed as many Israfel as possible at the outer edge of the star system, received a report from Bertrand. ¡°Israfel in our hold, 528,751 crafts, with a return rate of 47%. The remaining enemy ships are equivalent to about 41,500 ships, about 36%. The Force Evaluation within the star system is 100:63.¡± Although the return rate was severe, Hart, who had fulfilled his purpose in creating the Spirit King, concluded that war casualties had fulfilled their duty. However, the screen of the command center shows several hundred fighter crafts that have not yet returned but have not been killed in action, and who have veered off course to avoid the enemy and could not reach the fortress. If allowed go to their rescue, it will become an engagement again, and a hundred to a thousand times more allies will be killed. On the contrary, if the battle continues, even the safety of Fortress Kerviel will be threatened. Hart had his doubts, but he had to decide that it was a pipe dream to break away with all his allies to go into battle so deep within enemy territory. Fully aware of the ruthless decision, Hart recognized that his duty lay in ultimately winning the war for the Monarchy. ¡°In five minutes, the fortress will enter the warp. Our destination is the Ten-to Star System. If not territorialized by the Daemon King, we will make it a realm with the Spirit King and end the war once and for all. If territorialized by the Daemon King, we will retreat to the MacLir Star System. Inform all forces.¡± If Tenka¡¯s fleet, which had moved from the Republic with the Daemon King, was heading to Hony¨­ instead of Ten-to, Hart would head to Ten-to before it was turned into a realm by the Daemon King. If the realm of the Spirit King can be deployed in Ten-to, the last Tenka star system, the battle with Tenka will be a victory for the Monarchy by sending a fighter crafts from the Diete Star System at the transition gate. If Ten-to is captured before the Daemon King connects the transition Gate, the facilities for building Tenka¡¯s ships will not be transported to the Hercules system. Then Hercules would not be able to fight back, and the Monarchy would win. This is the shortest path to the end of the war. Even though he thought that the possibility of the realm not being created in Ten-to was minuscule, Hart decided that he should go there immediately, and with a strong sense of duty, he forced his departure from Hony¨­. After confirming the Ten-to Star System protected by the Daemon King, Hart fired missiles at various parts of the star system and promptly left. CH 91 Upon reaching ¨­izumi, Y¨²nl¨¢n saw that his home had become a planet of death. The Royal Army plunged in 30 celestial bodies. The 12 objects that fell on the continent created huge craters about 490 kilometers in diameter and 180 kilometers deep. The energy generated by the collision unleashed thermal radiation within a radius of 5,000 kilometers, sending shockwaves at 900 meters per second 5,000 kilometers away, causing earthquakes with a magnitude of 12.3 on the Richter scale. The 18 objects that fell into the ocean mitigated the seawater, creating craters that were about 10-20% smaller than those on the planet¡¯s surface. Nevertheless, the thermal radiation, shockwaves, and earthquakes that occurred caused the same scale of devastation as those that hit the continents. A tsunami 60 to 90 meters high swept 5,000 kilometers away from the impact site, sweeping away everything on the ground. [In the oceans, molten rocks and superheated gasses boiled over, releasing sulfur trioxide and sending intense acid rain everywhere on the planet. The acid rain killed any plant and marine life that survived the impact, contaminating the atmosphere, oceans, and soil.] When the oceans are fatally polluted, even modern technology cannot fully clean them up. With a great deal of time and effort, the environment will one day recover to the point where it can be inhabited. However, because it would be much quicker and cheaper to migrate to the new planet, recovery is not an option in the present day. Hart, the perpetrator, deliberately caused these contaminations. In retaliation for the death of 3 billion people in the Second Battle of Diete, led by ¨­izumi, he removed ¨­izumi from the list of human habitable star systems. ¡°What happened to the evacuation of the people?¡± [We had a month¡¯s grace period before the enemy attacked the planet. The war situation at that time was uncertain, but about half of the inhabitants have evacuated to Ten-to.] Y¨²nl¨¢n recovered quickly, not only because he was prepared for it with prior information, but also because he himself had destroyed the three planets of the Republic. In addition, his subordinates destroyed Earth in the Solar System in order to stall the Monarchy. In order to win the war, they destroyed inhabited planets to create Spirit Kings and Daemon Kings. At the same time, he used a scorched-earth campaign to reduce the enemy¡¯s ability to fight and stall the invasion. It was only when he had acted on logical judgment that Y¨²nl¨¢n was able to reason with the same kind of actions taken by the enemy. ¡°Let the reinforcements from Hony¨­ and Ten-to bring back the supplies of ¨­izumi. The preceding fleet will also retrieve the supplies and head to Ten-to, where most of the people of ¨­izumi have gone. Give the same instructions to the main fleet that follows.¡± Inwardly, Y¨²nl¨¢n wasn¡¯t as divisive as he had put it into words. Nevertheless, he made a decision that required intelligence and ordered each fleet to take supplies from the ¨­izumi Star System and move them to other Tenka star systems. In addition, Y¨²nl¨¢n did not create the Daemon King¡¯s realm in the ¨­izumi Star System. ¡°The ¨­izumi Star System is your home nation. Won¡¯t you make it a realm?¡± Ishidor¡¯s question was not an inquiry of doubt, but a final confirmation of the matter. The territorialization of the ¨­izumi, which has become an uninhabitable star system, is as futile as sprinkling water on the desert. Rather than that, connecting the realm to a new star system would give the ¨­izumi people a future. In the space where humans can navigate, there are many candidate star systems that could be habitable. It would be far more constructive to create the realm in new star systems and connect it with Ten-to and Hercules. ¡°The Daemon King is limited. There is no need to make the ¨­izumi Star System a realm.¡± ¡°Hmm. Three realms are the price for interstellar ships and technology. You are free to choose where to connect them. After this, are you heading to the Ten-to Star System?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan. And then we will connect with Hony¨­ and rebuild the war situation.¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n, who set a new goal, sent the fleet to Ten-to. At this point, Y¨²nl¨¢n thought that the Royal Army, which had overrun ¨­izumi, had retreated to the MacLir System. The news of the new tragedy was delivered the day before reaching Ten-to. Fortress Kerviel was reported to have appeared in the Hony¨­ Star System and advanced straight into the system, and by the time Y¨²nl¨¢n reached Ten-to, Heishuu had been destroyed. The damage to the Hony¨­ Star System itself was not a great shock to Y¨²nl¨¢n. At the time when his home nation, the ¨­izumi Star System, had already been destroyed, he had put up a psychological barrier against information. However, when it came to the deteriorating circumstances, he could not help being pessimistic. Currently, the three Tenka Nations have about 506,000 ships. The breakdown is 20,000 ships that broke away from the Solar System, 70,000 ships defending the Hercules system, 74,000 ships that have invaded the Republic, 200,000 ships that remained of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, and 142,000 ships of Ten-to. These ships are enhanced in performance by Daemons contracted with magical individuals, and their strength can be increased fivefold within the realm of the Daemon Emperor. The 500,000 Tenka cruisers are equivalent to 10 million Monarchy Israfel crafts in normal space and 50 million in realm space. Since Fortress Kerviel alone can carry about 1.12 million Israfel crafts, the safety of the Ten-to and Hercules Star Systems should be considered established¡­ should be. However, there were only two star systems, and Tenka itself now has only one star system. At the beginning of war with the Monarchy, the Five Nations of Tenka could not even imagine that they would struggle, let alone be inferior. And when the lid was opened, the head planets of four of the Five Nations have been annihilated. With only one nation remaining, could Ten-to really establish its safety? If something is overlooked, Ten-to could be irreparably destroyed. The Tenka Federation will only perish. Troubled by a problem that no one in Tenka had the answer to, Y¨²nl¨¢n asked his Daemon, Mariel. ¡°Mariel, what would you do with the current situation?¡± ¡ºThe Monarchy attacked Tenka before it became the realm of the Daemon King. Then Y¨²nl¨¢n should also attack the Monarchy before they create the realm of the Spirit King, and make a star system of the Monarchy the realm of the Daemon King.¡» ¡°¡­¡­ What did you say?¡± The answer to the general question was an unexpected and drastic solution. ¡ºIf you turn it into a realm with the Daemon King and send an army through the Transition Gate, you can win. Why don¡¯t you turn the two star systems of the Monarchy into realms and make the two into New ¨­izumi and New Hony¨­?¡» The effect of Mariel¡¯s strategy will be enormous. Y¨²nl¨¢n, unable to fully imagine the effect that would occur, asked after a slight pause. ¡°Can it be achieved?¡± ¡ºAll you have to do is go to the Monarchy Star System and let the Daemon King create a realm, specifically¡­¡» Mariel explained the order in which the Monarchy star system can become the realm of the Daemon King. From the Ten-to Star System, which has already been made into a realm, he jumps to the Hercules star system at the transition gate. This can be done right now. Then, taking Ishidor, who is contracted with the Daemon King, he travels by high-speed ship, taking a detour from the Hercules System to the Apollo Star System, which is located in the center of the Monarchy territory. Even if there is a Spirit King realm in the Apollo star system upon arrival, Artemis, Podalley or Machaon can be reached from the center of the Monarchy. On the other hand, Fortress Kerviel has invaded the Hony¨­ Star System, the deepest part of Tenka, and it will take nearly two months to return. If Y¨²nl¨¢n heads there immediately, it was unlikely that he would be overtaken by Fortress Kerviel. ¡°The Solar System, the ¨­izumi Star System, and the Hony¨­ Star System. There are still four star systems of the Monarchy that have not been destroyed but have not been confirmed as realms of the Spirit King. If so, we can make one of them the realm of the Daemon King. I wonder if this will lead to a breakthrough.¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was presented with a solution so easily, was so stunned that he doubted whether it was really viable. ¡°Is there no flaw in strategy? The risks are¡­¡± ¡ºIf the eight star systems of the Monarchy were territorialized from the start, we would have no choice but to give up. If you were to territorialized first, the first move can unilaterally absorb the energy of the star system, so if the ranks were equal, wouldn¡¯t we be able to win?¡» Hinting at the worst possibility that the realm of the Spirit King had already been deployed in the eight star systems owned by the Monarchy, Y¨²nl¨¢n was momentarily at a loss for words. ¡°Can the first move always win?¡± ¡ºWe need energy to operate here. What I am using now is an energy crystallization that is the Daemon Crystal, and Miasma emitted by my Contractor, Y¨²nl¨¢n¡­¡» ¡°Yes, and then?¡± ¡ºWhen we create a realm, we can draw power from our own world connected to all the miasma emitted by life forms in the star system. If activated at the same time, victory or defeat will be decided by the difference in ability, but if activated first, it can only be overridden if they have the means and power to counteract the energy.¡» Mariel¡¯s explanation made sense to Y¨²nl¨¢n for the time being. ¡°To what extent can Mariel override it?¡± ¡ºYes. If I were a Daemon Emperor, I could override the realm of an ordinary Spirit King. However, if we are dealing with a peculiar Spirit King, there may be some risk. Singularities can be indistinguishable, so basically it¡¯s better not to try it.¡» ¡°Unfortunately, we are losing against the Monarchy.¡± ¡ºIf Y¨²nl¨¢n fails, I will return to the Daemon World. But, I appreciate that you have promoted me to King, so for the new Daemons I create, I will also make a child who will inherit Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s magical properties.¡» Suddenly, Y¨²nl¨¢n thought of the Nymph Spirits of Greek mythology. The Nymph is said to be long-lived and lends its power to humans, but it is also said to have a dark side, such as kidnapping men. The Nymph spirit of the tree is called a Dryad, and it drags the man it favors into its tree to suck his spirit. Y¨²nl¨¢n had already been sucked by Mariel, and it seemed that she had taken in his magic properties. Looking at Mariel, Y¨²nl¨¢n imagined that the Nymphs, creations of ancient humans, may have been born from the experiences of humans who contracted with Daemons and borrowed their power. However, the price is worth the magic power characteristics that have been sucked up before he knew it. As for Mariel¡¯s proposal, Y¨²nl¨¢n, who could not say that the Daemon King was at hand, consulted Yuen as his own idea. ¡°With all this in mind, I think this operation should be carried out.¡± [So you mean to take away the inhabited star system of the Monarchy?] Showing the same kind of surprise as Y¨²nl¨¢n, Yuen immediately realized the value of the operation. It is far easier to occupy a star system that is already inhabited by humans than to turn an uncivilized star system into a realm of the Daemon King, bring in supplies through the Transition Gate, and perform terraforming to develop the initial stage. And above all, if they take two of the Monarchy¡¯s star systems and make them belong to Tenka, they will not simply gain 2, but they can deprive 2 from the hostile forces, granting twice the effect. Moreover, it is not only national power that can be taken. [If you take the Monarchy¡¯s star system, we will have all the resources, technology, information, and humans over there. Will it be a landmark achievement like when the Monarchy took Fukashiro?] Yuen thought that the billions of Royal Citizens could be a decisive factor in ending the war with the Monarchy. After each star system of both factions is protected by the realm of the Spirit King and the Daemon King, neither side will be able to attack the enemy star system. If there is a stalemate, both sides will eventually have to consider a ceasefire or an end to the war. At that time, if a truce or the return of civilians after the end of the war were to be presented as a condition for negotiations, the Monarchy, under pressure from the Royal people who want the return of their families, will have no choice but to consider ending the war, regardless of whether it is necessary or not. Yuen, who had called for the current War, is well aware that he has misjudged the strength of the Monarchy. If it were only in his own star system, it would be profitable because he had obtained the Daemon Crystal unscathed, but the situation was completely different from what Yuen had imagined before the start of the war. However, if the war ends not with surrender but with truce, Tenka¡¯s descendants will be able to increase the number of fighter craft pilots from National Mages contracted with Daemons, and in the future they will be able to overturn their inferior position. If they are competing forces, there is no need to force war. Now that he has obtained the Daemon Crystals, he has the option of advancing into multiple star systems, while under the same Ruling Family. After the end of the war, there was also the option of expanding Tenka¡¯s territory without dealing with the Monarchy. In view of the various possibilities, Yuen agreed with Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s proposal. [I think there¡¯s a possibility that we can improve the situation. Do it.] ¡°Understood. Then, prepare an attack force in the Ten-to or Hercules Star System to coincide with the timing of reaching the Monarchy¡¯s star system.¡± [Of course. I have one thing to discuss with you¡­] Yuen spoke about the reception of the refugees. About half of the 12.5 billion population of the ¨­izumi Star System, where the Royal Army had been staking out for nearly a month, had left before the head planet was destroyed. Conversely, only about 10% of the 11.2 billion people of the Hony¨­ Star System, which was destroyed in a quick attack, was able to flee. A rough estimate says there are more than 7 billion refugees, but Ten-to, which is only backwards compatible with the Solar System, cannot afford to accept them. If pushed in, they will be accomodated, but the resources allocated to 30.3 billion people will be reduced as the 7 billion people enter. Internal strife was obvious, and Yuen was worried about the future where the Tenka people would be at odds with each other. Even if the Monarchy¡¯s star system is conquered as proposed by Y¨²nl¨¢n, it will not be possible to live there immediately due to ground sweeping battles and other issues. However, interstellar ships carrying an unexpectedly large number of refugees will not be able to maintain a circulatory system indefinitely. [If there is a realm of the Spirit King in the Apollo star system, it would take even longer to emigrate. Can we temporarily evacuate them to the surface of the planet Alcaeus in the Hercules system?] Y¨²nl¨¢n, who no longer has an inhabitable planet, had no choice but to accept Yuen¡¯s suggestion. And Ishidor, who had been listening to them, nodded his head. ¡°It¡¯s on the surface where the former Coalition people lived, that¡¯s fine. For those of us who live underground, it would be an uncomfortable place to live, and it¡¯s going to add to Zirke¡¯s miasma.¡± Alcaeus is a tidal-fixed planet with a gravity of 1.8 times that of Earth. The side facing the star is perpetually in the blazing sun of midsummer, and the opposite side is perpetually in the darkness of winter. Therefore, suitable habitat areas for humans are limited to the midpoint between day and night, where the star is visible on the horizon, or in underground space. If above ground, one must stay under a dim pre-dawn sky, or under an unchanging sky stained with twilight. There is a good reason why the Herculeans are confined to the underground space in a box garden, where they can create day and night, four seasons, the weather, and even the appropriate temperature. ¡°Let the people of ¨­izumi choose where they can. Either create a realm in the Monarchy and wait by ship until the planet is conquered, or they can live on Alcaeus first.¡± [We will allow their responces to the extent possible, but if a ship has problems with oxygen, water, or food, we will have no choice but to drop off the crew at Alcaeus. Since it is impossible to respond to each individual case, the selection itself is performed mechanically.] ¡°It is unavoidable.¡± If one was to live on Alcaeus, it would be unbearable. Determined to seize the Monarchy¡¯s star system as soon as possible, Y¨²nl¨¢n and Ishidor sneaked into the Monarchy territory on a high-speed battleship. CH 92 The return of Fortress Kerviel was greeted with a storm of jubilation. Hart and his subordinates destroyed ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, reducing the Tenka Federation from the remaining three nations to only one. They even attacked Ten-to, the last nation, and fired a large number of missiles at Tenka ships and facilities in the star system. From the earliest news of the destruction of the Frodi Star System and the appearance of the Daemons, to the attack on Hony¨­ by Fortress Kerviel, it all took only three months. The reaction that was shown by the instantaneous reversal of the critical situation was tremendous, and the Monarchy welcomed the heroes with the entire nation and its people. The continent that greeted the night of the Capital planet Diros, extinguished its lights all at once, setting off a massive amount of fireworks to create a giant guiding light that greeted Fortress Kerviel. Looking up at the sparkling night sky, the sight of Fortress Kerviel and the lights of the ships mixing in with the brightly blooming fireworks burned into their eyes. [Everyone in each star system, can you see it? On the continent of Cynthus here on the planet Diros, the light of Fortress Kerviel could be seen with the naked eye. The many people gathered at their observation decks are cheering for the ever-increasing light of the fleet.] The news program on the return of Fortress Kerviel was broadcasted not only to the Diete System, but also to the other Monarchy Star Systems using Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Waves. In fact, the battle results that Hart and the others achieved were enormous, as great as the reaction of the Royal people. The inhabited star systems of the three belligerent Tenka Nations have been reduced from three to one. Due to Hart¡¯s counter-invasion and destruction, Tenka¡¯s national power and military potential have been halved. Moreover, on the battlefield, they did not use the realm of the Spirit King, but won with wisdom and human ingenuity. The Royal people, upset by the appearance of Daemons and the destruction of the Republic, wanted a way to dispel their anxiety. And to the Royal people, the great victory, brought about at such exquisite timing, dispelled their anxiety and intoxicated them with sweetness. If the former Sovereign Valfrete, who had swiftly attacked and destroyed the Coalition of Humanity, were still alive, what would he have said to his son-in-law Hart, who had achieved similar success? The current Queen, Yuna, spoke on behalf of her late father and sent a message to all mankind. [The deadly arrow that my father, former Sovereign Valfrete, proclaimed in his final moments, has pierced through ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ just as he had foretold. Whoever aims to harm the Monarchy, learn from history. We are a group that will surely retaliate against those who have harmed us.] The daughter whose parents were killed has avenged them. Yuna¡¯s fulfillment of her father¡¯s will and her declaration embodied the state of the Monarchy of Diete, and in keeping with the national character of the Royal people, they were enthused by it. In addition, Yuna took the initiative to accelerate the enthusiasm of the people. She offered the media a scene of a soldier returning from the battlefield and his love greeting him, by embracing and kissing each other at the spaceport. A picturesque scene like from a movie, even if it was simply the soldier returning to his lover. But how effective would it be if the two embracing each other were a tragic queen who ascended the throne at the age of 20 after her father¡¯s death, and a national hero who continues to fight a powerful enemy for his fianc¨¦e? What Yuna requested of Hart was a scene in which Hart, who returned to the spaceport of the Capital planet Diros, and Yuna, who met him, hugged each other and kissed each other. She also wanted it done numerous times from different angles in order to provide it to the media who gathered at the spaceport for filming. ¡°Is that necessary?¡± [It¡¯s the law of the universe, so naturally it¡¯s necessary, right?] To the Queen, who told him a completely unknown theory with a smile on her face, the Commander-in-Chief nodded silently. The kissing scene between the two, which was reported uncut by various media outlets in response to the Queen¡¯s wartime edict, turned the heads of the Royal people when they saw the footage, and blew away the anxiety of the Daemons that had spread throughout the Monarchy in a grand manner. The childhood friend couple of a young Queen, who confronts her misfortune, and a Hero, who remains undefeated, are immensely popular with the people. The media, after a careful and extremely favorable once-over to avoid offending the public, made various reports about the war. [The war with the Tenka Federation still has the Ten-to Nation. If we can capture F¨´ Ch¨±n, the head planet of Ten-to, Tenka will not be able to maintain its power and the war will end.] Chantal, a university professor who was called in as a commentator by the broadcaster, spoke, and the male news anchor who was listening to the broadcast questioned the matter of greatest concern to the Royal people. [The Hercules System have allied themselves with the Tenka Federation and declared war on the Monarchy. Moreover, the Herculeans had Daemon crystals. What are your thoughts on that?] If only the Herculeans, who did not have sufficient magic power and hence could not use the magic element engine, had entered the war, the Royal people would not have taken a stand against them. The Magic Element Engine is the core technology of mankind operating in space. Without it, interstellar technology would have regressed more than 1,200 years, with completely different ranges, defenses, and speeds from each other. The battle would be as one-sided as a battle between forces that launch missiles from fighter jets and those who wield swords on the ground. However, if the Monarchy and Tenka have fighter jets, then it is the Spirit crystals and the Daemon crystals that allow anyone to fly the fighter jets. The alliance between Tenka and Hercules stripped the Monarchy of its advantage. When asked about it, Professor Chantal said with a somewhat stern expression. [The Herculeans, who did not have interstellar navigation technology, will need one generation to master Tenka¡¯s technology and two generations to develop their own. If we can capture Ten-to before then, even if the Spirit crystal and the Daemon crystal balance each side, our superiority will continue due to the difference in performance of the warships.] [Then it¡¯s all right. The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army is Fleet Admiral Amakawa.] The anchor cheerfully came to his conclusion, and the other cast members of the program came to grips with it one after another. Hart, who was watching a news program onboard Fortress Kerviel as he oversaw the change of ships and crew, retorted to the images on the screen. ¡°That logic doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± His words were filled with various conflicting thoughts. Between Ten-to and Hercules, which are connected by the Transition Gate, there must have been an exchange of fighter crafts and Daemon crystals. The technology has already been exchanged, making it impossible even for Fleet Admiral Amakawa to capture it. That¡¯s why Hart attacked ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ before that could happen. ¡°Sorry for the misfortune.¡± Philine sympathized with the media¡¯s irresponsible commentary on Hart. The number of Tenka star systems has gone from three to one, giving the impression that two-thirds of the star system is down, but the difficulty of capturing the remaining one star system is on another level. If this were mountaineering, they would be aiming for the unexplored summit and were able to reach around the sixth station smoothly, but beyond that, a steep snow covered slope awaits. If you don¡¯t want to die, you have to start by building trails and mountain lodges. The question is how to make the trail. ¡°Will Israfels be equipped with search and interstellar navigation capabilities, and will pilots also be trained in the training center for a short period of time?¡± Claudia, who was sitting next to Philine, dared to utter an unrealistic idea. If your strength reduces to one-fifth in enemy territory, you can deploy five times as many fighter crafts¡­ this way of thinking cannot be realized unless the total population of the Monarchy is more than five times that of the enemy. The enemy side that would be attacked would mobilize every viable fighter craft pilot, even if they are children. In addition, the enemy¡¯s fighter crafts do not require interstellar navigation, are easily mass-produced, and require minimal piloting skills. In order to outnumber enemies holed-up within a realm, 20 times the total population is required. And on this new battlefield, where battles of violence in numbers have become rampant, cloned humans, which have never been mass-produced because they cause abnormalities in the inheritance of magical power, will become a factor, and a battle to annihilate fighter crafts may unfold, using all the resources that can be scraped together by both sides. ¡°Hah~, it is a very troubling situation.¡± If the situation is in such a terrible state, the war should just end. However, it is difficult for the dominant side to offer concessions, and it is difficult for the inferior side to be heard. And if the two sides were to balance each other to the point of stalemate, the emotional arguments of those who have suffered casualties among their own people will be added to the mix, and the situation would become untenable. Hart had subjugated ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, but future prospects were uncertain. [And in other news. In the Artemis system, rescue vessels carrying refugees from the Isis Star System of the Republic are arriving. Together with refugees from the Horus Star System arriving in July, the number of refugees from the Republic is expected to reach 8 billion.] In line with the female broadcaster¡¯s new report, the screen showed the planet Ceryneia of the Artemis Star System. The Artemis System has a G-type main sequence star similar to the Solar System and the Diete System. The planet Ceryneia in the habitable zone is a planet nearly similar to Earth. It has about three times the mass of the Earth, 1.5 times the radius, and 1.33 times the gravity. It has an orbital period of 385 days, a rotation period of 22 hours, a surface temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, and is protected by a thick atmosphere. Ceryneia has two moons, the closer one is Selene with a diameter of 1200 kilometers and the farther one is Luna with a diameter of 5400 kilometers. The average temperature on the planet is close to Okinawa in Japan, where Hart¡¯s roots are located. It is slightly hotter than other inhabitable planets, with more annual precipitation and frequent hurricanes. About 6.6 billion Royal citizens live on the cool north-south side of the planet, and in recent years, about 1.5 billion Ky¨±yama people have migrated to the equatorial side, which is hot and difficult to live in. A planet with a radius 1.5 times that of Earth has a surface area of 2.3 times. Compared to the Solar System, with up to 40 billion people, the Artemis Star System, whose planetary living space is 2.3 times larger, could afford to settle 6.6 billion Royal citizens and 1.5 billion Ky¨±yama people. The Duke of Takrham lobbied the Monarchy Government to take the following interim measures against refugees from the Republic of Frodi: [We will not provide free assistance or indefinite land leases. We will lease vacant land with restrictions for the time being, but after a few years we will charge rent for the land. They can either perform wage labor on the planet, cultivate the rented land and grow designated crops, or earn a living in some way.] Since it is a star system of the Monarchy, jurisdiction is on the Monarchy¡¯s side. The citizens of the Republic are in the position of temporary housing, in which they are only allowed to enter the country temporarily. In a Monarchy, which has been at war with the Coalition for so long, there is a strict screening process when applying for nationality, which can only be obtained by marrying a Royal citizen and having a child. The government of the Republic made various requests to the Monarchy government, such as free aid, under the banner of humanity. However, the Monarchy has not forgotten that the Republic has always remained neutral, and has been solemnly responding in accordance with the conventional system, without giving special consideration to friendly nations. Still, it is better than the Martians of the Solar System. The support given is minimal because the Solar System was an ¡°enemy of the Monarchy¡±. [President Laurent of the Republic expressed his gratitude for the rescue efforts of the Monarchy and has issued a statement expressing his hopes for help in rebuilding the Republic.] After the female broadcaster read the news, a male anchor asked the professor. [8 billion people have been evacuated from the Republic of Frodi, but what is going to happen with regard to the rebuilding of the Republic?] [As a practical matter, I must say that it will be quite difficult.] When asked, Chantal gave a cold look. [Why is that?] [The Tenka Federation was destroying the Republic planets without considering repurposing them. Restoring the habitable environments will require investments equal to or greater than that of the immigration to a new system.] [Certainly, the damage was terrible.] As Chantal points out, Tenka launched a relentless attack on each star system of the Republic of Frodi. The objects used were as large and dense as the objects used by the Monarchy, but their speed and angle of incidence were greater than those of the Monarchy. The number of celestial bodies that plunged in was also greater, and as a result of the same place being hit, there were areas that were cracked to the depth that reached the mantle transition layer. The Royal Army requires celestial inrush simulation exercises at the Military Academy. However, Tenka has not fought a single war since its founding, and does not have the same training as the Monarchy. The difference has caused staggering damage to the Republic¡¯s star systems. [The Monarchy is at war, and must build as many warships as possible. To spend the Monarchy¡¯s vast resources and productive capability to rebuild the Republic, which will not contribute to the victory of the war, is suicidal under the current circumstances.] [Yes, I suppose so.] [In the first place, there is no reason to support the Republic, which was neutral to the war between the Monarchy and Tenka, using the blood tax of the Royal Citizens. If the volunteers offer to support the Republic through fundraising activities, I personally would not be opposed to it.] To Chantal, who denied the aid grant, Hart gave a high evaluation, which was different from the previous one. With the money and resources to rebuild the system, how many times can Israfel and its pilots be increased? More forces would mean fewer sacrifices and fewer deaths of the Royal people. The taxes they pay should be used for their own good. Alternatively, they should calculate the cost-effectiveness, explain the difference from using it directly to their own citizens, and then obtain consent for the non-purpose use of the tax money. Without any of these, incompetent people who donate the collected tax money to other countries without permission should not be allowed in the Monarchy. If the Republic promises to return the funds with interest in the future, it will not be free aid, but rather investment of the government¡¯s assets. If the request was made with a feasible repayment plan, Hart had no intention of speaking out. [What of Her Highness Princess Mirabel? As a close friend of Daisy, the daughter of the Republic Ambassador, would she be okay with this?] Hart recalled Yuna¡¯s struggles in re-educating the two princes. First Prince Bernard, has graduated from the High School of the Academy of Magic and entered the Athena system as Acting Duke of Strani. The prince, who has a generous support from the Diete system due to the existence of the Transition Gate, was successfully holding together the former Duchy of Langlois. Second Prince Josslan is a sophomore at a Military Academy with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and the Order of Merit, having served in three battles. After graduating from the Military Academy and holding the rank of Major General, most Royal Citizens would be convinced by Josslan¡¯s ascension. At present, Yuna has painstakingly reeducated the princes, and both of them seemed capable of serving as competently as the 10th Sovereign, who was Yuna¡¯s grandfather. When Mirabel is added to that, Yuna¡¯s burden increases. Mirabel is his future sister-in-law, and no Hart is no stranger to the situation. Hart couldn¡¯t help but hope she wouldn¡¯t make an emotional call for the free aid. Shouldn¡¯t the Royal Family be raised to the point where any of them can inherit the throne from the beginning? Just as Hart was thinking about this, a military emergency call came in. [Emergency situation. First class emergency report from the Apollo Star System Division. Three high-speed battleships of the Tenka Federation have been discovered in the near sector of the Apollo Star System. Confirmed, Advanced Daemon. Rapidly advancing into the star system. Interception outside the star system will not be in time.] ¡°This is Fleet Admiral Amakawa. Connect me with the Commander of the Apollo Star System Forces.¡± Hart, who immediately interrupted the communication, instantly assumed the worst-case scenario. It was possible that Tenka would abandon the idea of creating the realm of the Daemon King in ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, and instead create a realm in the resident star system of the Monarchy of Diete. Hart destroyed ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ in order to make both star systems uninhabitable before they were turned into realms by the Daemon King. As for what Tenka would do with the extra Daemon King after that, Hart hadn¡¯t imagined that it would be deployed to the Monarchy. If the realm of the Daemon King is created in the star system of the Monarchy, reinforcements using the Transition Gate will be sent from Hercules and Ten-to. A desperate future was all Hart could think of. Hart thought about his own response, without any restrictions. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army and the Monarchy¡¯s only Fleet Admiral, Hart has substantial decision-making power over the war. In other words, it is equivalent to taking full responsibility for the war. The Apollo System is home to Philine and Claudia, home to 5.8 billion people, including not only to the Marquis of Carneus, but also to the Duke of Coesfeld and Marquis of Z?ckingen. When those people are threatened by war, the person responsible for the Monarchy¡¯s response is undoubtedly Hart. ¡ºMira, if they expand the Daemon King¡¯s realm, can you take it away, assuming we use up all the energy from the crystals that the Spirit God left?¡» Hart asked his Contracted Spirits, who were hiding their rank from the Royal people, if they could deal with the situation if he threw all the biggest trump cards he had. Letting Mira, the Spirit Emperor, create a realm was never in Hart¡¯s plan. He thought that the only time he would consume Mira, who could help his descendants¡¯ magic inheritance skyrocket, would be when there was danger to his own life, or anything in line with that. And now is not the time. Mira replied that she could. ¡ºIf the Spirit Emperor uses the energy crystals entrusted by the Spirit God, they can easily take it even if the opponent is a peculiar Daemon King. If it is a Monarchy planet, the energy of the inhabitants seems to be easy to use, and Mira can connect the realm to the Apollo Star System.¡» ¡ºJust to be sure, is it possible for Alfrida? ¡» ¡ºIn the same rank, it is difficult to add energy. You can with a peculiar Spirit King, but you don¡¯t have any, including Alfrida.¡» Hart let out a sigh and accepted the loss of the Spirit Emperor. ¡ºThen I¡¯d like to ask Mira. Give me the word of the direct contract.¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s Aeonium.¡» Suddenly, Hart realized that he had been in a relationship where he could learn the word to contract directly with Mira. Hart nodded to shake off his regrets, and then called out to Janet, the Spirit Emperor who connected a realm to the Diete System. ¡ºJanet, I need to jump near the Apollo system. Seraphina once gave me a shortcut from the MacLir system to the Shinky¨­ System. Janet the Spirit Emperor would be able to afford it. Mira¡¯s shielding should be stronger than it was then.¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s fine, but my energy is not infinite either. I have consumed the miasma that increased in the Second Diete Star System Battle to a certain extent, so the production burden of spirit crystals in the future will be reduced. Also, from now on, there will be no more Advanced Spirits.¡» ¡ºOkay, I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m ready.¡» With the consent of the spirits, Hart immediately operated the transmitter at hand and sent an emergency communication throughout the Diete system. [The Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, issuing a Class 2 Battle Alert to the entire Diete System. Fortress Kerviel, launch emergency sortie in five hours. To all fleet personnel and fighter craft pilots on the Capital planet, report to the fortress via planet-based Salamanders. Abandon the Salamanders. This is top priority. Hurry up.] Shortly after Hart¡¯s order, the warning sounds and warning lights of Fortress Kerviel began to buzz with a lively noise. At about the same time, an emergency alert spread throughout the star system. Media broadcasts on the fortress screens also showed a bright red ticker announcing the issuance of a Class 2 Battle Alert. The cast were stunned by surprise, and soon the projection screen switched to the news anchor and an emergency program began. As the entire Diete System began to scurry about, the main screen of the Fortress Command Center switched to reveal an elderly military officer. [This is General Bratz Griete, Commander of the Apollo Star System Forces.] ¡°This is Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief.¡± After responding to Griete¡¯s salute, Hart reaffirmed the report from the Apollo system and immediately issued his orders. ¡°We presume that the enemy¡¯s objective is to deploy the Daemon King¡¯s realm in the Apollo System. All forces in the Apollo system are ordered to deploy Class 1 Battle Alert. All fighter crafts are to halt the enemy advance. From the Diete system, Fortress Kerviel will arrive as reinforcement to overwrite the realm.¡± [Sir.] ¡°Conscript all the aristocrats for wartime and evacuate the entire star system with their ships. The person in charge is the Duke of Coesfeld. His assistants are Marquis Carneus and Marquis Z?ckingen. Mobilize the entire aristocracy to help evacuate as many of the royal subjects as possible.¡± [Understood.] ¡°Fortress Kerviel will use the power of the Spirit King to perform an ultra-long-range warp. The date and time of arrival will far exceed common sense. Do your best until I arrive. We are both low on time. That is all.¡± [I¡¯ll do my best.] After a quick salute was exchanged, the communication was cut off. Hart switched the screen in the fortress command to show the crew¡¯s occupancy rate. The Command Center was sending out orders to various people, including the pilots of Capital Planet Defense Force, who were not the original pilots, and were trying to gather the numbers anyway. Philine and Claudia also cut off warships that could not be assembled in time and drew from the surrounding Monarchy fleets to increase the number of ships. After Hart reiterated that the scheduled time would not change from five hours, he again issued the order to the entire Monarchy. [The Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, orders all forces in the Diete System. From now on, we will move to the Apollo System and connect the transition gates. All forces, stand ready before the transition gate. As soon as the gates are connected, rush in the entire army and destroy the enemy forces that invaded through the Daemon King¡¯s Transition Gate. Intraplanetary warfare is also possible. Prepare for every possible battle.] The moment Hart gave the order, the Royal people understood why the battle preparation was announced. The media footage of the breaking news switched to the sky looking up from the stars. The sky above the continent of Cynthus, which had been covered by a thick sea of clouds, was rapidly cleared by a weather change device. In the clear blue sky in the blink of an eye, hundreds of thousands of salamanders rushed up like arrows that had been fired. In the far reaches of space, Fortress Kerviel, ignoring safety standards, makes a rapid approach to the Capital Planet and pulls the Salamander into the fortress. Around them, a large number of small ships that had turned into meteor showers were flowing in one after another. [A Class II Battle Alert is currently being issued throughout the Diete System. Royal warships are operating throughout the system. All civilian vessels must evacuate from their designated routes immediately in accordance with the automatic control system. Once again. At this very moment¡­] Five hours have passed since then. Fortress Kerviel, which had created a vortex of light, was swallowed up by a high-dimensional space from a space where it would otherwise be impossible to warp, while the entire area shone with intense green light as the Royal people watched with bated breath. Afterword The release date for Volume 2 is Tuesday, November 16. If you make a reservation at the store, a clerk will order a few copies. Line up at the store ¡ú the number of people who buy increases¡ú we can continue publication with illustrations! Those who are thinking of buying at the store, Please make a reservation and order. If you tell the ISBN, the clerk will arrange it quickly. ¡ºI Live in the Hard Mode of an Otome Game 1¡» ISBN:9784065243343 ¡ºI Live in the Hard Mode of an Otome Game 2¡» ISBN:9784065261514 Thank you in advance (o_ _)o)) CH 93 Y¨²nl¨¢n may know the past, but he has no way of knowing the future. When should they have started war with the Monarchy, what star system should they have invaded, and how could they have limited the damage? All of these are events of the past, and Y¨²nl¨¢n knows all the things that can be improved upon, and if he could start over, he would never make the same mistakes. However, the Battle of the Apollo Star System was a future event, and Y¨²nl¨¢n did not know the optimal solution. ¡°Then, we will now begin the territorialization, shall we?¡± At Ishidor¡¯s final confirmation, Y¨²nl¨¢n nodded back. The Apollo Star System, which is at the center of the Monarchy¡¯s sphere of influence, had not been territorialized by the Spirit King. In other words, they can expand the realm of the Daemon King, and connect it to the Ten-to Star System and the Hercules Star System through the transition gate. The forces sent in from both star systems will surely drive out the defensive forces of the Royal Army. The move of a lifetime has pierced through the body of the Monarchy. ¡°Of course. That is what we are here for.¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n, unable to foresee the future, cannot predict how the Monarchy of Diete will react after the acquisition of the Apollo System. It could trigger a retaliatory war that would continue for the next 1,000 years, or the Monarchy could install interstellar navigation in Israfel and flood the Hercules and Ten-to Star Systems with a fleet of 100 million ships. If they cannot capture the Daemon King¡¯s realm, the Monarchy may develop a degenerate reactor that can destroy enemy star systems, or a gamma-ray burst cannon that uses the ergo region of the black hole. The Monarchy, with a realm of the Spirit King in at least four star systems, cannot be destroyed during Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s lifetime. That is why, in order to extract better conditions in the negotiations at the end of the war, they decided to launch an attack on the Apollo Star System in order to tip the balance of power too far to one side. ¡°Then¡­¡¯Daemon King Heidi, if you please. The word of the direct contract is Water Lily.''¡± ¡ºThe contract has been made.¡» Heidi, the Daemon King who responded to Ishidor¡¯s call, turned her fiery red eyes toward the Apollo Star System, raised the sword in her left hand aloft, and swung it down with great vigor. From the tip of the sword to the forward space sector, a wild storm of magic elements was generated, and countless black wings swept through the sector with ripples. ¡°Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave is showing abnormal phenomenon. The source is this battleship¡­ right here!?¡¯ Without even receiving the communications officer¡¯s report, Y¨²nl¨¢n saw the anomalous phenomenon with his own eyes. ¡°I can see ruins of weathered stones.¡± In the sector where the storm of magic elements had blown through, the weathered stone ruins were spreading. The stone ruins are not man-made, but are heaped up like an anthill. There were countless holes, perhaps to allow some kind of creature to enter and exit, and they were completely weathered and partially collapsed. The world was dry and devoid of moisture, the sky was covered with dirty black clouds, there were no vegetation, and there was no sign of life at all. But the scars of strife were etched in the ruins, and resentment was swirling around the world. Eventually, the black clouds that spread across the Apollo Star System gradually gathered, creating a vortex of dirty transition gates in the sector ahead of the battleship on which Y¨²nl¨¢n and his crew were onboard. ¡°Now, the Transition Gate has been created. It¡¯s time to go back to Ten-to and gather our forces and resume the advance.¡± Urged, Y¨²nl¨¢n gave Ishidor a bow, even though he was terrified and had goose bumps. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. As soon as we determine the next star system, we will contact you.¡± ¡°You may do so. I will return to Hercules, but Heidi will reposition the transition gate to a more convenient location for the Tenka fleet.¡± Nodding in a hawkish manner, Ishidor passed through the transition gate that appeared in front of him and disappeared from the Apollo Star System. Since the start of Heidi¡¯s activities, a magical anomaly had occurred throughout the Apollo System. In the Apollo Star System, all the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Waves mounted on ships, regardless of whether it was military or civilian, were rendered inoperable. At the same time, the spirits possessing most of the Royal people lost a great deal of power. C-class became D-class, D-class became E-class, and E-class and F-class, which were worn by the majority of the general population, disappeared all at once. ¡ºWhat the hell is going on here!?¡» General Griete, the commander of the Apollo Star System Forces, who was building the defense system, sharply questioned Luciana, the C-class spirit he contracts, about the abnormal state of the spirits. Luciana, who had a disgruntled expression on her face, retorted emphatically. ¡ºWe are currently in the same state of turmoil as humans are. By remaining in a world like this, the lower spirits will be swept away and disappear immediately. So I called out to the spirits below intermediate to escape to the spirit world as much as possible before they disappeared!¡» ¡ºTell me in advance.¡» ¡ºYou should be thankful that I told you after the fact. Since the intermediate class can move, build up the defense with fighter crafts. If you operate Salamanders with C-class crystals, you will be able to move it fully. Move quickly!¡» It was not clear which of them was the commander of the Star System Forces, but after Luciana kicked him in the ass, Griete immediately requested the various aristocratic households to gather up their defensive forces. Fortunately, in the Apollo System, the major Senior Aristocrats are very cooperative. They had as many as 80 million pilots when the Monarchy government was targeting 100 million crafts in each star system. As for the spirit crystals, the Marquis of Carneus, who had supported the business activities of the supplier, Second System Company, have been receiving the supply with the highest priority. Therefore, prior to the deployment of Israfel, the pilots had already fitted them with C-class crystals. With a C-class crystal that can add 810 magic power value, even if the capability is reduced to 1/5, on a Salamander with a total length of 160 meters, it is possible to fight without worrying about a reduction in power output. As a result, Griete¡¯s Force Evaluation report was much better than he had imagined. ¡°General Griete, with the equivalent of 446,000 battleships in our system against 500,000 enemy ships, the estimated Force Evaluation is 100:112.¡± The atmosphere in the Apollo Star System Command Center was one of relief. If you can fight with nearly 90% of the enemy¡¯s strength, it will not be a one-sided massacre. If they hold out, they will be able to let the people of the star system escape, and eventually Fleet Admiral Amakawa and Fortress Kerviel will come to reinforce them. ¡°Deploy to the sector where the transition gate appeared. We can hold them back until Fleet Admiral Amakawa arrives.¡± The intention of the Apollo Star System Forces was to create a melee state. Fighter crafts have a short range and can only fight in close quarters. Also, if a melee situation was created near the transition gate, the enemy side with a longer range would be unable to fire indiscreetly because of the possibility of misfiring. Immediately after the transition, it was the best choice to drag the enemy who had not formed their formation into the melee battle. Thus, while the fighter crafts buy time, the star system residents were allowed to disengage, and the arrival of Fortress Kerviel would break their inferiority. Foreseeing the enormous pilot casualties, Griete wore a bitter expression at the humiliation that would be inflicted on him by the label of the first to be defeated after Queen Yuna¡¯s accession to the throne, but he did the best he could think of. After deploying his troops, Griete braced himself for the enemy to come in at any moment, but contrary to his expectations, the Tenka side did not rush in. ¡°What the hell are they doing?¡± It was a time lag in Ten-to, which occurred because their fleet was not on standby. The date and time of Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s arrival was unclear and communications had been down for more than two months, so the troops could not be stationed. The time lag gave them more time to evacuate civilians in the Apollo System and to gather fighter crafts near the Transition Gate. On the planet Delphoi, conscripted aristocrats and aristocratic interstellar ships, headed by the Duke of Coesfeld, accepted 6.6 billion royal people. They were all on the side of letting the people of the star system escape. The conscripted aristocrats did not hesitate to choose between evacuation and defense because they were encouraged by the Marquis of Z?ckingen¡¯s statement. [This is the Marquis of Z?ckingen, announcing to all aristocrats of the star system. Marquis-grade magic power value of 18,000 will fall to 3,600 under the realm effect. We are no match for the enemy¡¯s estimated 500,000 cruisers at all. The Lords should use their power to evacuate as many people as possible.] The Marquis of Z?ckingen, a Lieutenant General and Fleet Commander of the Royal Army, acted as a liaison between the Military and the Aristocracy, striving for a smooth evacuation. Preparations for the defensive battle were also steadily underway, and a large number of mines were placed in front of the Daemon King¡¯s Transition Gate, which appeared 200 million kilometers away on the planet Delphoi. Around the transition gate, towed missile launching facilities, fleets, and numerous fighter crafts gathered together to create a huge sphere of light. The anomaly occurred shortly after the Royal Army was ready to intercept. Without warning, the Daemon King¡¯s Transition Gate, which had appeared, moved in an instant to a space about 100 million kilometers away from the planet. ¡°The enemy¡¯s transition gate, has changed spawn position. The re-emergence coordinate is 300 million kilometers from the planet Delphoi to the outer edge of the star system.¡± Shortly after the Chief of Staff, Major General Scotty, shouted in surprise, the transition gate transformed again. It swelled up greatly, and from the tip of it burst out a large number of Tenka ships covered in a black membrane all at once. Numerous fleets descend on the Apollo system. ¡°Enemy fleet, has appeared! The enemy rushes in all at once through the transition gate that has changed position.¡± The communications officer¡¯s screams were full of urgency. [All forces, intercept immediately. Move mines and missiles to the new transition gate and deploy your fleet and fighter crafts immediately.] The mines and missiles of the Royal Army that had gathered in front of the disappeared Transition Gate began to move to the Reemerged Transition Gate. On the other hand, the Tenka fleet took advantage of the sufficient distance of 100 million kilometers and began to intercept with plenty of leeway. In the middle sector between the two armies, hundreds of millions of weapons repeatedly collided, creating countless giant spheres of light and burning the sector with scorching heat. The enormous energy released by both armies generated a powerful shockwave in the surrounding sector, sending the mines and missiles behind them flying in unexpected directions. The deflected mines and missiles exploded and engulfed warships in their path, and even the Salamanders that ran on the front lines were overrun. In the aftermath of the battle, the Salamanders were blown apart and slammed one after another into the surrounding allied vessels, destroying them with their allies as collateral damage. Griete shouted at Scotty at the sight of this appalling state of affairs. ¡°What¡¯s going on with the Battle-Aid system!?¡± ¡°Due to the magic element anomalies occurring in the star system, the search system, the information integration system, and the battle linkage system are all impaired, and each ship personnel is forced to fight as a single ship.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool. You can¡¯t fight blindfolded!¡± Scotty¡¯s report revealed a far worse situation than the force assessment calculated by the Royal Army. The Royal Army, whose radar does not function because the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves are inhibited, has not been able to grasp the position of its enemies and allies. In addition, the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves is hindered, and the information integration system and the battle linkage system shared by the communication wave are not functioning. As a result, fighter crafts that are supposed to break through the enemy shield in group battles will not be able to break through the defenses of enemy ships individually and will be destroyed one by one by enemy counterattacks. ¡°Optical communication is possible as an alternative.¡± ¡°In outer space warfare, there is no way we can fight with communication speeds at the speed of light.¡± Old-fashioned optical communication would not be hindered, but the speed of light is only 1.08 billion kilometers per hour. In other words, on a battlefield of 100 million kilometers, a single order sent from the home port or mother ship at the edge of the battlefield to the frontline fighter crafts takes as much as six minutes each way. If a report from the front line is received over a six-minute period, and then orders are given based on that report, the round trip takes 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, the situation on the frontlines has changed. They are not able to gather information from the frontlines and conduct combat commands based on it. Therefore, the fighter crafts launched from their home port were forced to fight as individual crafts. It is no wonder that the Royal Army was overwhelmingly victorious in the three territorialized star systems. Griete, who is in charge, strongly realized that the impact on the territorialized side would be fatal and that they would not be able to compete at all. ¡°Enemy missile swarm is uninterrupted. They are pushing back our missiles. In the meantime, the enemy fleet has secured a bridgehead area near the transition gate.¡± Bad reports from Scotty continue, tormenting Griete. ¡°Have they been stockpiling for months in anticipation of an invasion operation from the Ten-to Star System?¡± The production capacity of the Apollo System, with a population of 5.8 billion, and the Ten-to System, with a population of 30.3 billion, is greater in the latter. Also the latter has been preparing weapons for two months. The Apollo Star System had no way of fighting the sheer volume of the Tenka invasion army. Eventually, the Royal Army fighter crafts and the Tenka fleet began to cross ship shadows in each sector, as if floating in the flashes of missiles that both armies kept releasing. Against the Royal Army Salamanders, who are desperately resisting alone, the Tenka fleet lined up their huge bodies and intercepted them in an orderly fashion with their connected communications. It was Griete¡¯s honest impression that they could not hold out much longer. Pushed by the pressure of the Tenka Invasion Army, the frontline gradually moved towards the planetary side. Scotty complained with frustration as to what the consequences of a simple retreat would be. ¡°General, the enemy is closing in. We will retreat our flagship and escort ships by 100 million kilometers, but if we continue at this rate, the planet Delphoi will be within range of the enemy.¡± The occupancy rate of the inhabitants shown on the subscreen of the command center was currently showing 78%. Considering that Tenka attacked from close range using the transition gate, rather than invading from the outer edge of the star system, it should have been considerably faster. But the evacuation situation was far from perfect. Still, Griete decided, as commander of the Front, that the only option was to get the ship out of there before the enemy arrived. ¡°Notify the conscripted aristocrats, [The last line of defense has been breached, and the planet Delphoi is within range of the enemy ships. Have the royal people on board escape immediately. Leave the delayed star system citizens to the military transports.]¡± ¡°Understood, Notifying them immediately.¡± Ruthless orders were issued to the aristocrats to abandon their subjects. In space, a convoy of ships of the Tenka Fleet, which has turned into a huge tsunami of light, is rushing in. The Royal Army is exerting deadly force, but it is inferior in terms of Force Evaluation, their support system does not function properly, and they are pushed in unilaterally. The Apollo Star System looked like prey before a predator in the ocean. ¡ºLuciana, what is the situation of the spirits assisting each ship?¡» ¡ºThe worst of the worst. We¡¯re screwed. I wish we had escaped too.¡» ¡ºWhat?¡» Griete turned his angry eyes, and Luciana the Contracted Spirit glared back. ¡ºIntermediate spirits are being eaten by the Daemons. Within the realm of the Daemon King, there is no escape for us anymore. As you can see.¡» The large and small screens of the command center show various information as well as the battle between the Monarchy Ships and the Tenka Ships. Fighter crafts, which extended their magical element trails into the sector, attacked the Tenka fleet from the top, bottom, left and right, and were intercepted in an orderly manner and scattered in vain. The bombardment of the Monarchy Ships strikes the Tenka Ships, but it is only able to make the Tenka Ships shine after being repelled by the Daemon King¡¯s realm and the thick shield emitted by the Daemon. Bombardment fired back from the Tenka ships, and the Monarchy ships that were bathed in light emitted a white flash from the inside, slicing through the hull and shattering. And the spirits who were bathed in the energy of the Daemon could not escape back to the spirit world, and were eaten by the Daemon and erased. In the midst of the unsightly devastation, the Royal Army was barely able to fight because it was retreating to the side of the planet Delphoi, while exchanging fire with the enemy in front of it. As it stands, Griete has decided to abandon the Apollo System. [General Griete, commander of the Front, orders the conscripted aristocrats and the entire fleet to abandon the Apollo System. Leave this system immediately. It doesn¡¯t matter if there are still star system people on the planet. Let the people onboard the ships escape now. The defense line cannot be maintained any longer.] The Apollo System, where the Monarchy made its first interstellar migration, is a star system to which the Royal people emigrated for the purpose of dispersing their settlements so that they could survive even if the Diete Star System was destroyed. The coordinates of the Apollo System are located behind the Diete System relative to the Coalition of Humanity, which was hostile at the time. Therefore, it should have been safe as long as the Diete System did not fall. However, the planet Delphoi was now within range of the enemy fleet. Deciding that the fall of the planet was inevitable, Griete also switched the military¡¯s response policy. [Commander of the Front, General Griete, announces to the entire army of the Apollo System. At this time, we will abandon our mission to defend the planet Delphoi. From now on, focus only on the departure of the royal people from the star system.] Taking a deep breath, after one pause, Griete dared to speak. [The fall of the planet is inevitable. In order to withdraw the greatest number of Royal citizens, abandon those who are on the planet and concentrate your forces on supporting the withdrawal of ships with interstellar navigation. That is all.] In order to save the majority, Griete had ordered the abandonment the Royal people. The Star System Forces mustered its last bit of strength and threw all its missiles and numerous fighter crafts to increase the distance between civilian ships and enemy forces. After a brief pause, the Tenka Invasion Army charged again and reaped the Royal Army, creating a long yellow spring road in the star system that was created by the wreckage of the Monarchy ships. And the brunt of the Tenka fleet also reached the planet Delphoi. Satellites in orbit are destroyed one after another, regardless of their type. Then the last remaining fortress ships and some of the military transports exploded, and the wreckage began to fall into the atmosphere with searing heat. Countless wreckage turned into meteors and fell all over Delphoi. Fireballs rose one after another on the surface, staining the blue planet dirty with countless red spots. ¡°The Marquis of Z?ckingen¡¯s fortress ship has exploded. The fleet around the planet is being destroyed. We also confirmed what appeared to be a planetary invasion by Tenka. The death toll of the delayed residents, at least tens of millions¡­¡± It occurred as the Apollo Star System Army, exhausted, stared in despair at the ships and satellites crashing on the planet. From the outer edge of the star system, a huge green light stretched out in the blink of an eye toward the Apollo star. ¡°What happened?¡± What Griete and his crew witnessed was a beautiful Milky Way with so much light that it created a river of light in the sector. From the gleaming river, a pale green light overflows with melancholy. These green lights seeped into the world of ruins created by the Daemon King, giving a beautiful color to the sepia-colored world. Illuminated by the fantastic green light that welled up, the dark clouds that covered the star system were cleared as if they had been repainted. In the sky where the dark clouds have been blown away, a transition gate of pale green light slowly emerges. As Griete gazed in amazement, a vision of the man with whom he had exchanged words the previous day echoed in his ears. [Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, orders all forces that are massing in front of the transition gate of the Diete system. Immediately rush into the Apollo Star System, destroy the Tenka Invasion Army, and reclaim our planet.] A second gate opened in the system, and a new swarm of light overflowed, filling the space in the blink of an eye. CH 94 A river of light connected the outer rim of the Apollo Star System to the Apollo star. At the source of the gushing light was Fortress Kerviel, and in its center, looking out over the center of the star system, was a green-haired Naiad. ¡ºI¡¯ve made the connection.¡» Mira, who created the River of Light, did not speak of the effects of mysterious phenomena. However, Hart, who is connected to Mira by magic, perceived that a magic element circulation has been created between Mira and the Apollo Star System. The power that had been sent out unilaterally using the spirit crystal of the Spirit God now flowed into Mira after the river of light was connected to the planet Delphoi and the Apollo star. ¡ºI have partially taken over the Daemon King¡¯s realm.¡» Currently in the Apollo Star System, the realm of the Daemon King and the Spirit Emperor exist simultaneously. The Daemon King¡¯s realm is still active, but Mira has also built a bridgehead so that she can wield power using the miasma of the Apollo Star System without consuming the spirit crystal of the Spirit God. And to Hart, it felt like the spirit crystal that Mira was holding in her hand still had a strong brilliance. ¡ºMira, what is the consumption rate of the Spirit God¡¯s crystals and the occupancy of the realm between you and the Daemon King? Which of them has the upper hand in the scramble?¡» Mira, when asked, stared at the crystals in her hand and then answered while turning her gaze toward the center of the star system. ¡ºI¡¯ve used about 10 percent. The occupancy ratio of the realm is 1:9 at the moment, but as long as I have a foothold, there is no problem. Please assume the magic engine output of both armies in the Apollo Star System to be the same as in normal space.¡» Seeing that Mira seemed to have plenty of leeway, Hart wondered if throwing the Spirit King Alfrida into the fray would have been enough to erode the Daemon King¡¯s realm. However, Mira is not only a Spirit Emperor, she¡¯s clearly unique. If he threw in other common Spirit Kings and failed, he would be blindsided. Hart told himself that the only way to be sure was to use Mira. ¡ºTenka has opened the transition gate. Please connect the transition gate to the Diete Star System. You can use the spirit crystal of the Spirit God.¡» ¡ºThe opponent is an ordinary Daemon King, so there¡¯s no need to use any more. Wait a moment.¡» Nodding in response to Hart¡¯s reply, Mira fell silent, surrounded by a faint light. Then, a green glow emerged from the river of light, changing its shape and creating a huge transition gate in the Apollo Star System. Sooner than the command center personnel could report, Hart sent orders to the Diete System via the restored interstellar communication. [Commander-in-Chief Amakawa, to all forces on standby in the Diete System. From this, there will be a transition gate to the Apollo System in the Diete System. All ships, enter the transition gate at maximum speed. Currently, planet Delphoi in the Apollo Star System is on the verge of collapse.] The first to move in the Diete System was the Spirit Emperor Janet. More precisely, Janet had acted independently long before communication was established. She had accelerated the three strategic satellites built in the Diete System for deployment in each star system to 200 million kilometers per hour. They were Royal Army Strategic Satellites named Fraga 2, Fraga 3 and Fraga 4, unmanned weapons boasting massive bodies measuring 300 to 500 kilometers in diameter. The first strategic satellite used by the Royal Army was the strategic satellite Fraga, which was destroyed by Tenka in the MacLir System. At that time, the Spirit King Seraphina was running one, but Janet and Mira were superior Spirit Emperors. Janet manipulated three Strategic Satellites at the same time without any construction, creating a transition gate in front of the three satellites that were rushing forward at lightning speed. The three satellites entered the transition gate at high speed and disappeared from the Diete System. ¡ºIf it¡¯s one for a Spirit King, then three for a Spirit Emperor should be fine, right?¡» Muttering to herself, Janet reopened the transition gate in front of the Royal Army and swallowed up one after another the Monarchy warships that had raised the output of their magic engine to the maximum. The first to fly out into the Apollo System were three giant Strategic Satellites thrown out by Janet. The three satellites, all of which had numerous magic element engines attached to their entirety, glowed with a green light as they began their simultaneous plunge toward the satellite orbit of the planet Delphoi at a speed of 200 million kilometers per hour. ¡°Three strategic satellites, rushing into enemy forces!¡± The command officers were horrified by the speed of the Strategic Satellites as they appeared on the screen at Fortress Kerviel¡¯s Command Center. If a satellite with a diameter of more than 300 kilometers were to collide with a planet at a speed of 200 million kilometers per hour, the planet itself would be blown away. As it turned out, their fears were unfounded. The three Strategic Satellites immediately began to decelerate. However, the method of deceleration of the Strategic Satellites was beyond human common sense. The Strategic Satellites, each with a volume tens of times that of Fortress Kerviel, unleashed a fusion round swarm to the front, slowing down the surrounding Tenka fleet as collateral. A celestial body with a diameter of 400 kilometers would have a volume about 88 times that of Fortress Kerviel. The flood of fusion rounds released from these three giant bodies simultaneously turned into a flash of light that illuminated the star system everywhere, staining the sector secured by the Tenka Invasion Army white. ¡°Strategic Satellites, firing hundreds of millions of fusion rounds, while invading the planet Delphoi. Magic reaction of the Tenka Invasion Army, disappearing en masse.¡± The officers were stunned and astonished by the radar observations. The energy of the exploding fusion rounds blew outwards, sweeping away the Tenka fleet that had been swarming in the surrounding sector. Shockwaves and debris of ships swept through the sector, turning the outer ships into wreckage one after another. The enormous energy, of course, also struck the three Strategic Satellites. However, the Strategic Satellites that were pushing through the river of light received the energy of the explosions surging forward with green light, and slowed down unscathed. Is the unusual defensive power of the Strategic Satellites due to the conversion of magical elements in the star system into a shield? Or was it because the energy of the explosion was released into the world of the Spirit Emperor Mira or another dimension? Either way, the Apollo System was steadily becoming Mira¡¯s realm. ¡°Bridgeheads and formations built by the Tenka Invasion Army in the star system have collapsed. Three strategic satellites are heading toward the planet Delphoi at a slowing pace.¡± As Bertrand reported, the three Strategic Satellites that had cleared all obstacles approached Delphoi, swimming briskly through the Naiad¡¯s gleaming river. The three had numerous artillery gates, destroying the Tenka ships within range one after another. Then, as if deploying three glowing shields, began to orbit the planet like moons at equal intervals. By then, ships that had gathered in the Diete System had also entered the Apollo System. The fleet that overflowed from the Diete System descended the river of light created by Mira, showering the Tenka fleet with masses of light like splashes of water from the river. The Tenka fleet scattered around the perimeter also turned their bows and fought back against the Royal Army one after another. ¡°Our army and the Tenka Invasion Army have begun engagement all over the sector. At present, the magic elements in the star system are in disarray, accurate Force Evaluation has not been possible.¡± Within the star system where Mira and the Daemon King are fighting for territory, the magic elements were ravaged, making it impossible for humans to search for enemies. ¡°Then there is no need for a Force Evaluation. The entire army of the Monarchy is superior in total strength to the entire army of Tenka. Set the goal of the operation as the annihilation of the enemy army, and defeat them with maximum efficiency.¡± Hart, who had indicated his policy to Bertrand, connected the restored communication to General Griete, the local commander. When Griete appeared on the communication screen with a salute, Hart responded and announced his requirements. ¡°This is Fleet Admiral Amakawa. We have arrived in the Apollo System. What is the evacuation rate of residents?¡± [About 80 percent. There was not enough time for all the inhabitants to escape, and the Marquis of Z?ckingen, who stayed behind, was killed in action. The planet Delphoi has already suffered more than 50 million casualties.] From to his left, Hart heard Claudia¡¯s gasp. Realizing that he had not been able to make it in time, Hart hesitated for a moment and then asked about the other senior aristocrats. ¡°What of the man in charge of the evacuation, Duke Coesfeld, and his assistants, the two Marquises?¡± [The Duke of Coesfeld and the Marquis of Carneus are alive and well, but the Marquis of Z?ckingen, who took over the lordship with some of the elderly aristocrats, have died in battle.] Hearing Z?ckingen¡¯s death, Hart gasped. At the same time, he also understood the reasons for such an outcome. It was not possible for all the aristocrats to leave before the evacuation of all the inhabitants was completed. To the aristocrats who wanted to remain for the sake of the inhabitants, Z?ckingen, a former Lieutenant General and Fleet Commander, would have used his background to insist that he himself would stay behind and quickly evacuate the other aristocrats and the people of the star system. From the other aristocratic families who could not leave Z?ckingen on his own, it seemed that elderly aristocrats who were too old to leave offspring had fulfilled their responsibilities. ¡°They did well. They were very respectable aristocrats of the Monarchy.¡± Hart returned the words conveyed during his first meeting with Z?ckingen. If they have fulfilled their duty, Hart, who has been entrusted with the fate of the people of the star system, must also respond to their wishes. Hart gave Griete his orders. ¡°As of this moment, I, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, will take over the command of all forces in the Apollo System. The enemy will be dealt with by myself and the reinforcements. General, take command of the remaining ships of the Star System Forces and evacuate the ships carrying civilians to the warpable sector of the outer edge of the star system.¡± [Understood, Your Excellency Fleet Admiral.] When Griete¡¯s figure disappeared from the communication screen, Hart also gave the same orders to the Apollo aristocrats, Philine and Claudia. ¡°I appoint General Carneus as Commander of Rescue Operations on the planet Delphoi and Major General Coesfeld as Second-in-Command. In addition to the Fortress Stationed Fleet, all military and aristocratic reinforcements from the Diete System are at your disposal in the name of the General Headquarters. Aid the greatest number of people in the star system possible.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll dispatch a rescue unit immediately.¡± The appointed Philine moved quickly. [From General Headquarters, Admiral Carneus, Commander of Rescue Operations, orders all 17 fleets.] Philine ordered the 17 fleets that had arrived in the Apollo System to advance independently, hoping that any one of them would make it to the planet. [Immediately deploy to the planet Delphoi with the fighter crafts in the surrounding sector as escorts. Conduct planetary control battle, annihilate the invading enemy forces, and rescue the Royal people. Damage to the army is acceptable. The Royal Army Fleet exists to protect the Royal people. Now is the time to fulfill your mission.] While Philine ordered the army, Claudia was also mobilizing the conscripted aristocrats. [From General Headquarters, Major General Coesfeld, Deputy Commander of Rescue Operations, orders all the ships of the conscripted aristocrats capable of assault and landing operations. Follow the surrounding Monarchy fleet and deploy to the planet Delphoi to rescue the Royal subjects. Send an unmanned weapons group in advance. Ten percent will be enough.] Leaving the rescue to two people who gave the highest priority to the lives of the Royal people, Hart concentrated on the largest battle in human history, in which both sides would deploy hundreds of millions of men into the battle. Tens of millions of fighter crafts fly around, and a torrential downpour of light emitted by the ships rained down across the entire star system, creating a storm with countless wreckage. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of ships were pierced, burned down, and turned into flashes. If Hart consciously squinted his eyes, he could see the spirits that moved the fighter crafts and the Daemons that moved the Tenka ship flying around the sector with each other, shooting magic and killing each other. Flying Spirits and Daemons move around with complex and bizarre maneuvers as if they were sword masters reading each other¡¯s movements, and piercing each other in a split-second crossing. And then, some of the light emanating from the side that was killed was sucked into the side that killed. The phenomenon of the light being sucked in made Hart feel a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. When Fleur, Rhea, and Alfrida purified and sucked the miasma of a planet, the light from the planet caused a similar phenomenon. ¡ºAre Spirits and Daemons eating each other?¡» ¡ºYes. There is a small percentage of Spirits and Daemons that are not mass-produced, and they can prey on their opponents. The energy absorption efficiency is high.¡» Mira, who is fighting with the Daemon King, stated in a casual manner with an empty consciousness. In the Monarchy, Israfel pilots were given a large number of short-lived replica spirit crystals, while humans and aristocrats who operated earlier Monarchy warships had ordinary spirit crystals. In this regard, Mira earlier used the metaphor of the relationship between humans and androids. If the same was true on the Tenka side, it seemed that battles between Spirits and Daemons, not between humans, would occur in some parts, and the victorious side would grow. The spirits restricted here cannot be promoted to advanced spirits on their own. Nevertheless, intermediate spirits who have absorbed a large amount of the power from Daemons will become equivalent to advanced spirits if only in power, and if there is no restriction on the side of the Daemons, the number of advanced Daemons will also increase. Imagining the problems that would arise at a later date, Hart wore a bitter expression on his face at the endless increase in work. Hart¡¯s future headaches, the Intermediate Spirits and the Intermediate Daemons, are in a chaotic battle over the entire sector. Putting aside the problems of later dates, chaotic battles must be controlled. Fortunately, Fortress Kerviel Command had the leading expert on fighter crafts. Major General Alois Khan, who was promoted in the Hony¨­ Star System Battle and promoted from Deputy Director of the Fortress Kerviel Fighter Craft Division to Director, has a rare ability to get active support from spirits. Hart hoped that Alois, the leading figure, would be able to get things under control. ¡°Major General Khan, take control of the fighter crafts of this star system in the names of the General Headquarters and Fleet Admiral Amakawa. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of the planet Delphoi. The second goal is to conquer the sector around the enemy¡¯s transition gate. If we can¡¯t do that, we have nothing to talk about.¡± Receiving the order, Alois received advice from his own Spirit, as Hart had expected. The fighter crafts in a chaotic situation are so focused on the battle at hand that they do not have time to think about anything else. However, if it is a spirit, it can grasp the battle situation through the flow of magic elements, and act according to the purpose with a broader perspective than the pilot. After receiving advice from the spirit, Alois asked Hart. ¡°I will command the pilots and the android soldiers after conveying the orders of His Excellency the Fleet Admiral. But for the pilot¡¯s spirits, may I ask your Excellency to convey the message to them using your own spirit? That¡¯s the most effective, by this minor officer¡¯s spirit.¡± ¡°I see, very well.¡± When the work eventually ripened back to Hart, a dramatic change occurred on the battlefield. The Royal Army has redirected itself from mere violence of numbers to orderly maneuvering. At this moment, the person who understood the situation of battle in the Apollo system the most was not the Command Headquarters of the two armies whose instruments were in disarray, Mira who fought with little energy, nor the Daemon king Heidi who was being eroded by the superior Spirit Emperor, but Mariel, the Daemon King of Y¨²nl¨¢n. Within the realm of the Daemon King Heidi that Ishidor had deployed, Mariel, who had perceived Heidi¡¯s realm as an ally, accurately foresaw the outcome from the way Heidi¡¯s world was being eroded by the Spirit Emperor Mira. ¡ºWe¡¯re 100 percent going to lose this battle. You have no choice but to flee while Heidi holds out. Issue a withdrawal order. Otherwise, everyone will be eaten.¡» In the battle for the realm between the Spirit Emperor and the Daemon King, the Spirit Emperor wins. In that case, Tenka, with the road to Ten-to closed, will not be able to defeat the Monarchy connected with Diete. When Mariel concluded that further fighting was meaningless, Y¨²nl¨¢n posed a question to her with the intention of protest. ¡ºIf you make a realm first, wouldn¡¯t you have to have the means and power to counter the energy before they could override it?¡» ¡ºYes. Hence, why the Monarchy countered with a Spirit Emperor by using high-energy crystals. Even if the Daemon King of Ishidor attacks other star systems, they may be too subtle to secure. So run away.¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n was frustrated by the sheer unreasonableness of the situation. As a preemptive advantage, the Monarchy fed on the three star systems of the former Coalition and four star systems of Tenka, as well as the Solar System. On the other hand, Tenka only had the three star systems of the Republic. Still, thinking that the situation was better than it had been before he joined forces with Ishidor, Y¨²nl¨¢n took a big, deep breath and accepted the reality. Deciding that the operation had failed and that they should pull up as soon as possible, Y¨²nl¨¢n advised Yuen to withdraw. [What will happen to the Daemon King who has deployed in the Apollo Star System?] ¡°It will be consumed. But you can think of it as consuming the Spirit Emperor of the Monarchy. It would be better than that being used on Ten-to.¡± It was an unexpected result, but it was not in vain, as it consumed the trump card of the Monarchy. To Y¨²nl¨¢n, who insisted, Yuen admitted to the argument. [Fine. No matter where you consume the Daemon King that was supposed to be used for ¨­izumi, you are free to do so, Y¨²nl¨¢n.] As if to make ¨­izumi take responsibility, Y¨²nl¨¢n frowned with displeasure at the way he was talking. It was Yuen, who presided over the entire invasion, who approved the invasion operation, and it is unreasonable that only ¨­izumi would bear the responsibility. However, as the Royal Army that had recaptured the space around the planet Delphoi was approaching the Tenka Transition Gate, Y¨²nl¨¢n avoided the argument. The Tenka invasion army, which had been ordered to retreat, gradually began to withdraw as if flowing into the Tenka side of the transition gate, even though it was pushed by the Royal Army. The immediate response to such retreat action by Tenka was taken by Mira, who was competing for territory with the Daemon King. As soon as the Royal Army had secured the area around the planet Delphoi, Mira had three Strategic Satellites fly out of the planet and charge into the transition gate on the Tenka side. Destroying the Tenka fleet in its path with artillery fire, Mira began to charge the Strategic Satellites and gave a warning to Hart. ¡ºPlease evacuate all the Monarchy warships from the vicinity of the Daemon King¡¯s transition gate. Get them as far away as possible immediately.¡» Hart had no idea what Mira would do, but he was alarmed by Mira¡¯s strong warning, which had never been seen before, and issued a strong order to the entire army. [The Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, orders the entire army at the highest priority. Immediately retreat from the transition gate on the Tenka side. The safe distance is unknown. Retreat to the planet Delphoi or near the Monarchy¡¯s transition gate. All Forces, you may ignore the enemy. Do it now, top priority!] The numerous glowing movements that illuminated the Apollo Star System are roughly divided into two types. One is the Light of the Royal Army, which flows through the star system toward the Milky Way, the planet Delphoi, and the vicinity of theTransition Gate created by the Spirit Emperor Mira. One is the light of the Tenka Army, which flows into the Daemon King¡¯s Transition Gate as if the fleets scattered over a wide area of the star system are sucked into it. As an exception to these, three Strategic Satellites of the Royal Army forcibly interrupted the Tenka stream and disappeared into the Daemon King¡¯s transfer gate like being sucked in. The Transition Gate of Tenka is not the spirit world, but the Daemon world, a high-dimensional space where the Daemon King exists. After three giant celestial bodies containing the magic power of the Spirit Emperor Mira slammed into the Daemon world at lightning speed, a horrifying, beast-like female scream roared through Hart¡¯s hearing. Feeling a fear that had grabbed at his heart, Hart looked up at the screen in horror and saw a flash of intense light, as if a real supernova explosion had occurred, near where the enemy¡¯s transition gate had been. The flash of light emanating from inside the Daemon King¡¯s Transition Gate quickly expanded and stained the entire screen of Fortress Kerviel white. The Multidimensional Magic Element Conversion Observation Wave that reflects the magic element in the sector shines white in the vicinity where the transition gate on the Tenka side was located. The light, which caused all instruments to white out, quickly spread to the surrounding space, swallowing up the nearby Tenka ships one after another. Every single Tenka vessel that came into contact with the tsunami of light was swallowed up by the giant light, transforming into a new ball of light. Witnessing so many Tenka vessels being crushed every time they came into contact with the light, Hart repeatedly ordered the entire army. [Commander-in-Chief Amakawa orders the entire army to evacuate at maximum speed and increase the shield power to the maximum. Ships that can break away from the allied transition gate should immediately retreat to the Diete System. Get as far away as possible.] While Hurt was issuing warnings, the swollen light approached the Monarchy ships at a tremendous speed. A huge tsunami of light swept over the Monarchy ships, which hurriedly turned their bows. Eventually, the sphere of light reached the Monarchy warships, and just as it was about to swallow it into the light, green light shone after another on each shield of the Monarchy warship. A single thin green coat generated on each ship separated the approaching light sphere from the Monarchy ships and protected them. The spheres of light that arose also reached the river of light and the green light-shrouded planet Delphoi, and they spread throughout the star system without crushing them. The light that had swallowed up the entire Apollo system spread throughout the system and then gradually faded away. When Hart regained his sight, he saw a flock of light like a swarm of fireflies. Centered around the Daemon King¡¯s Transition Gate, a large amount of light large and small flowed uniformly under Mira. The celestial light, which is orders of magnitude larger, was probably the Daemon King. Hart watched in silence as it was sucked into Mira. ¡°All enemy magic reactions have been extinguished. There is no reaction from the three Strategic Satellites.¡± Bertrand was stunned as he reported this, and Hart looked at Mira. Mira then looked back at Hart with a curious look on her face, as if to ask ¡°is something wrong?¡±. June 445 of the Monarchy Calendar The Royal Army, which had destroyed the Tenka Federation Army that had invaded the Apollo Star System, won the Battle of the Apollo Star System. CH 95 One month has passed since the Battle of Apollo. After the battle, Hart traveled to the Artemis and Podalley Star Systems with Fortress Kerviel to deploy the realms of the Spirit King. This was a precautionary measure to prevent Tenka, who had created a realm of the Daemon King in the Apollo Star System, from invading a new star system of the Monarchy and expanding the realm of the next Daemon King. Now that the Spirit Emperor Mira is out of play, another retaking cannot be performed. If they were preemptive, there was nothing they could do about it, so they created as many realms as possible. The priority was chosen based on the population of the Royal Citizens within the Star Systems. The spirit crystals of the Spirit King are his personal property, but he put the lives of the Royal people at risk in the Battle of the Hony¨­ Star System, which gave birth to the Spirit King, and Hart had a moral responsibility to make the best move possible. Thus, after touring both systems, welcomed by two Dukes and clearly discontented by one, Hart returned to the Apollo System through the Podalley System transition gate. ¡°I thought the recovery work would have been done.¡± In fact, the Apollo System was far from having finished being restored. In front of Fortress Kerviel, which emerged from the Transition Gate, large-scale spaceports, like in the Diete and Athena Systems, were created. Like an orderly spider¡¯s web, they spread a massive circular network throughout the sector. The giant nest contained supplies brought in from the Monarchy¡¯s star systems, which had been finely sorted and sent to various parts of the star system by unmanned ships. Supplies are also sent to the nest from within the Apollo System, and swarms of fighter crafts jumping from other star systems exchange their cargo in the Apollo System and return to each star system. Normally, a one-way trip would take a month to complete, but even including the cargo swap, it took less than two hours. Tens of millions of fighter crafts and numerous unmanned convoys in star systems, which are operated automatically, deliver numerous resources, which are transformed into various forms by the urban construction facilities deployed in the star system, and delivered to each star system to raise the standard of living of the Royal people. The synergistic effect of seven star systems connected by the transition gate was unprecedented, and the Monarchy of Diete was now entering the threshold of a period of ultra-high economic growth. ¡°This may be a turning point for humanity.¡± As he stared, stunned at the transformed Apollo Star System, he received a communication from Claudia, who had been left behind to coordinate between the Royal Army and the Apollo aristocrats. [Master Hart, welcome back.] Hart, who associated the image with a mischievous fox rushing up to him in good spirits, replied with a smile on his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m back, glad to see you¡¯re okay. It seems you¡¯ve made good progress over the past month. I must confess I was surprised at how quickly things developed.¡± During the invasion of Tenka, Delphoi, whose power generation satellites orbiting the planet were destroyed, suffered damage to the human habitation environment. The Apollo star is a K-type main sequence star with about 70% the mass of the Sun and a temperature of about 4,800 degrees Celsius. The planet Delphoi orbits in the middle of the habitable zone with a radius 1.2 times that of the Earth and a gravity 1.2 times. Delphoi, a planet with less energy coming from its stars than the Earth in the Solar System, has a low surface temperature and strong tidal force, and it has 50 hours of day and night. In other words, the planet Delphoi was darker and colder than Earth, and relied on a large number of power-generating satellites and a light-condensing system from its star. Delphoi, which was devastated, would have stumbled in its recovery had it not been for the Transition Gate. However, as a result of the support of other systems connected by the transition gate, the Apollo System was able to quickly restore its functions. As for the rapid development that followed, it was the result of the efforts of the Apollo aristocrats, mainly the Duke of Coesfeld. [I am glad to be of service. Not to paraphrase the Marquis of Z?ckingen, but the rank of Lieutenant General in the Royal Army was very helpful in connecting the military and the aristocracy.] ¡°I see. I¡¯m glad it came in handy.¡± After the Battle of the Apollo Star System, Hart promoted Claudia to Lieutenant General. The reason for the promotion was that he wanted a replacement for Philine, the Commander of the Stationed Fleet at Fortress Kerviel. Philine¡¯s family, a Marquis household, has only one successor, Philine. Hart, who had promised to donate his genes to the Marquis of Carneus in exchange for the support of the spirit crystal factory, realizes that he bears a certain responsibility for the succession problem of the Marquis of Carneus. The recent outbreak of the Battle of Apollo, the Marquis of Carneus was on the verge of death in battle, creating a clear crisis in the succession to the Marquis household, necessitating the succession of the Marquis by Philine. So in order to get Philine to take over the Marquis¡¯ position, Claudia was asked to take over as Commander of the Fortress Stationed Fleet. As for other personnel, the Marquis of Z?ckingen, who had been killed in action, was promoted. About 60 million civilians were killed in the Battle of Apollo, including those aboard transports and fortress ships, and those killed in the aftermath of the planetary attack. The number of casualties was miniscule compared to previous battles in which damage was inflicted on the planet. Z?ckingen was the man most credited with reducing the number of casualties, and he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General in a special second-rank promotion for death in action, as a treatment for the retired Lieutenant General conscripted during the wartime. He was also given, posthumously, the same position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief as Collette. Partly to show that working for the Monarchy would be rewarded, and as a form of gratitude to Z?ckingen, Hart gave him ranks and positions that had once been unreachable when he involuntarily retired. ¡°And what about the heir to the Marquis of Z?ckingen?¡± [The Marquis of Z?ckingen had no formal wife and heir, but many mistresses and their children, so the Ministry of the Interior seems to have difficulty in selecting the next Marquis.] ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ How many mistresses are there?¡± Z?ckingen, who lived about half of his life span that was extended by aging stagnation technology, considered it one of the duties of the aristocracy to leave high magic powered descendants, and he had many mistresses for the purpose of inheriting magical powers. At the exchange party on the Future Arrow, where Hart met him for the first time, he was accompanied by one of his mistresses. Z?ckingen must have had children with high magic power values proportional to the number of mistresses, and a direct line of Marquis-grade magic power holders could be candidates for succession to the Marquis household. The Marquis of Z?ckingen is a prestigious family and since Z?ckingen also had the honor of being a Colonel General and Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the mistresses would all be willing to nominate their children as his successors. However, the Monarchy is currently facing the problem with the selection of the next Sovereign, and even Yuna cannot easily choose to choose the elder or the one with the higher magic power value. If anyone insists that the oldest is better, they would be considered in the Bernard faction. Conversely, if they insist the higher magic-powered individual to be better, they would be considered in the Josslan faction. Even the Duke of Takrham, whose colors are clear, would smile sarcastically, avoiding any blatant mention of the matter. In response to the obviously troublesome situation, Hart shelved the issue. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, has a far more important matter to deal with than the Marquises: the national defense. If limited to defense, the concern is the Machaon Star System, which cannot be made a realm in the Monarchy¡¯s eight star systems. And by retaking the realm of the Daemon King with Mira in the Apollo Star System, he also raised the fear that the Daemon would be able to retake any of the Monarchy Star Systems. ¡°Some military secrets about the Spirit King and the Spirit Emperor will be disclosed to the Lords.¡± At the sixth Lords¡¯ Conference, Hart disclosed some information about the spirits, along with a report on the connection of the seven star systems. Spirit Emperors and Demon Emperors are not easily created, and retaking is basically impossible. Without conveying this fact, the outline of the defense plan could not be formulated, so it was deemed inevitable that the information be shared with the Lords in charge of defense. Hart disclosed all the information about the recovery of purification energy from the destruction of the planet and how it had been used. It is known that Advanced Spirits can be promoted to Spirit Kings by the energization of the planet where intelligent life forms live, according to the explanation when Hart destroyed Earth. It was generally known by calculating the timeline of purification and territorialization of the star systems. Since all the information conveyed is factual, there is no contradiction even if the Lords were to scrutinize it. However, Hart only concealed the existence of the high-energy crystal, the spirit crystal of the Spirit God, and did not disclose all of the trump cards. ¡°Four years ago, the former Crown Prince and the former Duke leaked military secrets to the former Coalition due to a dispute over the succession to the throne. The current Queen did not meet the conditions for succession to the throne without the magic power addition of her spirit crystal, and there were several other princes who fulfilled it. If this information is leaked to Tenka, there is a danger that each star system will fall, and that is why we have kept it as the most important military secret until now.¡± Before anyone could raise doubts as to why he had kept this information from them, Hart offered a reason that was beyond reproach and blocked the Lords from pursuing the matter. As for the Daemons of the enemy alliance, Hart conveyed his own predictions. By sharing this information, the Duke of Mauriac, the ruler of the Machaon System, the Monarchy¡¯s only unterritorialized System, made the obvious contention. [So, Commander-in-Chief, when will you appoint a Spirit King to the Machaon Star System, which is in danger of being territorialized by the Daemon King?] The Duke of Mauriac is in the right position to appeal for it. This is because, if the defense force of the star system is 10, if it becomes a realm, it will multiply by 5 to become 50, and conversely, if it is turned into a realm by the enemy, it will be reduced to 1/5 and the strength will be 2. The presence or absence of a realm can result in a 25 fold the difference in strength. Assuming that the Monarchy has a total military strength of 20, if half is concentrated in the Machaon Star System, the 7 star systems connected by the transition gate will have military strength of 50, and the Machaon Star System will have 2 if it is made into realm by the enemy. Currently, the Machaon System is the most vulnerable and in danger of invasion. But Mauriac can¡¯t say that Hart should use the Spirit King in his hand. Hart and Fortress Kerviel are currently the only means of invading enemy systems. In fact, it was only with the high-ranking spirits in Hart¡¯s possession that he was able to move back and forth between the MacLir and ¨­izumi Systems at a speed that would normally be impossible, bringing in the second wave of Israfel and capturing both the ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ Star Systems. Between defending the Machaon System and capturing the enemy system, the latter is in the ultimate interest of the Monarchy. Therefore, Mauriac could not assert that in the battle against the enemy camp with Daemons, it was the right choice to deprive Hart of the Spirit King in his hands. That¡¯s why Mauriac made the biggest concession, asking when he would make the realm. ¡°The timing is when there are two Spirit Kings on hand. As for the timing, we don¡¯t have a timetable at this point.¡± [If there is no immediate time frame, I would like you to say so.] ¡°Only half a year ago, ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ were up and running. A year ago, MacLir and Fukashiro were in the hands of the enemy. A year and a half ago, was before the accession of Her Majesty the Queen to the throne. The situation is changing so rapidly that it is impossible to predict what will happen six months from now.¡± Hart did not say whether he could or could not do it. Mauriac, who wanted to have a realm and a transition gate built in the Machaon System, had no choice but to accept a non-negative answer from Hart. [If the Machaon System cannot be turned into a realm, the situation will continue to be critical for the 4.6 billion people of the star system. If it is to become a realm, the Machaon aristocracy and the people of the star system will spare no effort to help. I ask the Commander-in-Chief to keep that in mind.] ¡°Of course.¡± As a tentative measure, Hart sent half of the Royal Army into the unterritorialized Machaon Star System to provide maximum human defense. July 445 of the Monarchy Calendar In only the second year of the Queen¡¯s coronation, the two star systems of the Tenka Federation, the three star systems of the Froji Republic, and Earth of the Solar System, six habitable star systems and about 25 billion human lives were lost. Furthermore, with the advent of Daemons and the territorial transformation of enemy star systems by the Daemon King, the path of complete victory that Hart had envisioned for the end of the war turned into cosmic debris and disappeared. In light of Tenka¡¯s current objectives, the invasion of the Apollo Star System was effective. Hart lost the Spirit Emperor he had on hand, and Tenka made the threat of the Daemon known to the Monarchy. And both sides are unable to destroy the other. If the other party had offered a ceasefire or an end to the war at this point, Hart and Yuen, who were reaching a stalemate, would probably have entered into full-fledged negotiations on terms. It is difficult to end a conflict when you¡¯re winning, but the forces of Yuna and Hart already had enough power to push through. On the other hand, if the war ends with a loss, it will be a matter of responsibility, but the four Nations except Ten-to have lost the power to blame Yuen, and Ten-to has gained a realm and Daemon crystals without being hurt. However, the two sides did not propose an end to the war themselves, either because the side that proposed it would have to make concessions, or in anticipation of a more favorable situation. And as a result of the continued struggle between the two camps, including Spirits and Daemons, humanity reached the greatest turning point in its history. Postscript With the newly written volume 2, the route diverts from the Web version. If you see it, please purchase it by all means. TN: And that¡¯s it for Arc 5. It seems all sides are at an impasse at the moment. How will they move forward? Well, it¡¯ll be a while before we find out as I will be taking a Post-Arc break from translating the novel. Can¡¯t say when I¡¯ll be back at it as we are going through some stuff IRL, but it¡¯ll be this year. Also, I bought the 4th Volume and will be putting up the illustrations soon. Though I should mention that it appears to be the final Volume as the last picture looks like a happy ending. I might be wrong, but we¡¯ll see. Anyway, thanks for checking this out, hope you¡¯ve been enjoying it, and I¡¯ll see you all here as soon as I can. CH 96 AN: Volume 6 is scheduled for 20:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. When there is any news, I will post it ( _ _)?? Hundreds of thousands of sparkles were falling from the swirling transition gate. Each of the ships¡¯ magic engines emits a fierce glow as they sail within the realm of the Daemon Emperor. The flood created by these aggregates of light in the Hercules System was breathtaking, but it also chilled the hearts of observers. ¡ºRemaining number of ships, 1/3 to 1/4 what it was at the time of launch¡» The invisible sword of cruel reality cut not into the bodies but into the hearts of those waiting for good news in the Hercules system, inflicting serious wounds. Wounds so deep and heavy that if not treated immediately, would eventually be fatal. The refugees from ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, who had held out hope for the future, collapsed, weak, with their entire bodies drained of hope instead of blood. However, the soldiers of the surviving ships are far more deeply wounded than the refugees. The entire fleet, which was supposed to be behind their own ships, has vanished. When recognizing death, there are several types, some people know when they are going to die, like an incurable disease, others know that they will die if they are stabbed in the street, and still, others look back afterward and realize that they would have died if they had not done their job so well. And the death that the officers and soldiers recognized this time was something like ¡°an inevitable natural disaster happened to pass by¡±, which left them with a sense of dread afterward. When the soldiers could not win against that, they were deeply wounded in their hearts. ¡°The invasion of the Monarchy Star System should have been a sure victory¡­¡± Tenka¡¯s invasion of the Apollo System was a battle that could not be lost. Create the Daemon King¡¯s realm in the Apollo Star System, greatly weaken the Royal Army, and send a large army of the Tenka fleet from the Transition Gate to subdue it. It was a replay of what the Monarchy had done in the three star systems of Athena, MacLir, and Fukashiro. The same results that had been achieved in the past in the three star systems were now supposed to be brought to the Tenka side. It was overturned by the Monarchy¡¯s Fortress Kerviel and Fleet Admiral Amakawa. What had happened was revealed by reports from intermediate Daemons. It seems that the Spirit Emperor has repainted the realm of the Daemon King. Having never heard of such a thing, all the Tenka generals who knew the operation would think it was not possible. The losses as a result of the failure were so great that the remaining fleet of the invasion operation, of which the equivalent of more than 500,000 cruisers had been deployed, was reduced to tens of thousands. Due to the reconstruction of the defensive posture with the Daemon Crystal and fighter crafts, the damage suffered is not fatal enough to destroy Tenka. However, an invasion operation without the use of the Transition gate has become impossible for at least a generation. ¡°The cause of the defeat was our lack of understanding of Spirits and Daemons. If we do not understand them, we cannot anticipate or take countermeasures. I demand a detailed explanation of Spirits and Daemons.¡± A Tenka military personnel demanded an explanation from the intermediate Daemon he contracted. With their own lives and the fate of their country at stake, there was no reason for them not to pursue the matter. However, the pursuit on the part of man was futile against the Daemons. Even though they had various expressions on their faces, not a single one of them would open their mouth. ¡°Why don¡¯t you answer?¡± Among the enraged Tenka soldiers, some shouted curses at their own Daemons. And the result is a unilateral annulment of the contract from the Daemon side. Those who have had their contract broken can no longer make a contract again, even if they use other Daemon crystals. Witnessing such organized collective action, the Tenka soldiers were reminded of the fact that there are also ranks among the Daemons, such as upper and middle ranks in the army. In the world of Daemons, it seems that the will of the superior is absolute. Or rather, like a law that is always recognized and mechanically applied, there is a computer program that automatically disarms them without any consideration for their individual circumstances. Realizing that it was pointless to express emotion to a computer program, Tenka¡¯s leader, Yuen, interacted with the person who created and distributed the program. ¡°Tens of millions of civilians in the Monarchy died in the Battle of Apollo, which was invaded by Daemons. The Monarchy will no longer tolerate Hercules. The stage of sparing information should have passed.¡± For Tenka, a Daemon is a power lent to it by Ishidor, the leader of the Herculeans, in exchange for interstellar navigation technology and ships. The reason why the fundamental aspects of the Daemons are black-boxed is that there is no talk of handing over the magic technique itself. However, without accurate information, it could lead to defeat such as in the Battle of Apollo. Since if they lose the war, they will lose everything to each other, so it was only natural to demand further information disclosure. Ishidor, however, understood Yuen¡¯s frank appeal. The Herculeans have no sense of camaraderie with humans of other star systems. The Herculeans, the first interstellar immigrants of mankind, had their appearance changed on the high-gravity planet due to a lack of technology accumulation. On top of that, the Diete immigration policy that immediately followed left them with a sense of abandonment. The abandoned humans believe that no one is an ally. Even so, Ishidor was convinced that the current situation is one of mutual respect. ¡°I must clear up the misunderstanding first, you can¡¯t prepare a gift for a taciturn woman that will open her heart, and neither can we. But there is a Daemon King who is not averse to conversation, so let¡¯s ask her.¡± Ishidor sent his gaze to the void, and the sky-blue mist gathered and took a humanoid form. Skin as white as a corpse, lips as red as blood, eyes as blue as jewels, and slightly pointed ears. A strange Daemon appears, with a chiseled face that is rare among the Tenka people, and with a drawn sword made of bone in her left hand. Her name is Nixe. She is one of the Daemon Kings born from the destruction of the three star systems of the Republic of Frodi, and is still in Isidor¡¯s possession because he has stopped the territorialization of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­. ¡°Please advise us. We were planning to advance into a star system where the Monarchy is not territorialized, and make it a realm of Nixe, but will we succeed in doing so?¡± Yuen was impressed by the way Ishidor asked the question. Yuen and his group cannot pay the price for the Daemons, but Nixe is the party that will perform the territorialization. In other words, Nixe is also on the same side, and by pointing this out and getting her involved, you can expect voluntary cooperation. As it turned out, Nixe reacted quite differently from the other intermediate Daemons. Surprisingly, there was a decent reply. ¡°Let me clear up the misunderstanding first, but we Daemons cannot grasp the Spirits any more than you can grasp the strength of the Monarchy. We are too different, like the Herculeans and other humans, so we cannot spy on the other side.¡± As for the incompatibility between the Daemon and the Spirit, Ishidor was also aware. ¡°As far as I am aware, the Monarchy of Diete has had the opportunity to promote spirits eight times in the three former Coalition Star Systems, the four Tenka Star Systems, and the Solar System. So I wonder if a second re-painting is possible.¡± ¡°If the promoted Spirit King feasts, the number of Spirit Emperors may increase.¡± ¡°That¡¯s troublesome. How do you kill Spirits?¡± Yuen wondered if Ishidor was trying to make the Daemon King feel like a party to this. In the case of human conflict, even the Daemons, who probably have no interest, will be involved if they are in conflict with the Spirits. They use human beings to kill spirits, prey on them, and feed on them. For this reason, they can expect the spontaneity of Daemons and proposals on how to kill the Spirits efficiently. Ahead of Yuen, who watches in silence, Nixe answered as if reciting. ¡°It would be better to draw the enemy into the realm and fight them. On the contrary, going into the enemy¡¯s realm is a bad idea. There¡¯s always a reason for that.¡± ¡°That makes sense, too.¡± The Hercules Star System is the realm of the Daemon Emperor Zirke, and the Tento Star System is the realm of the Daemon King Zeahild. No matter which star system you fight in, the power abnormality of the magic engine will occur, so the strength between enemy and ally will be 5 fold. In addition, the Monarchy cannot send a large number of fighter crafts on interstellar voyages. It seems that if the Israfels are equipped with an interstellar navigation function, the problem will be solved, but the cost of production is completely different between building fighter crafts that are giant ray guns and a ship with the latest technology that can leap through high-dimensional space. The same is true for personnel, where warships require personnel from multiple specialties and appropriate androids to assist them. Personnel similar to those of a battleship that only kills the enemy in front of it are not viable for military operations involving interstellar navigation. Therefore, if it is in the form of facing the invasion of the Royal Army, Tenka can fight an overwhelmingly advantageous battle. In the Hercules Star System, where repainting of the realm is impossible, they can safely produce Daemon crystals and advance into other star systems by interstellar ships. The Monarchy is at war, and severe sabotage is expected, but if the Spirit King cannot be increased and the Transition Gate cannot be connected, the side defending with a large number of fighter crafts will win. Thus the advance into other star systems that Ishidor had announced from the beginning would be achieved. Without reckless invasion, the prospects for the future are open. Compared to the Herculeans of that time, who were trapped on the planet Alcaeus, the situation is improving. Satisfied with Nixe¡¯s answer, Ishidor took a step further. ¡°We Herculeans can prepare the Daemon Crystals. The first group of pilots will continue to be gathered in Tenka. We are not accustomed to piloting ships, and I¡¯m sure many refugees in ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ would like to take up employment¡­¡± It was an outrageous proposal. No matter how easy it is for the pilots of the battleships to die, the refugees of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ have no choice but to survive. The people of Ishidor and Yuen will not be sacrificed and will not be opposed by their own people. On the other hand, the criticism from ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ will be enormous. However, ¨­izumi, which was destroyed after a month-long standoff, has lost half of its population, and 90% of the population died in Hony¨­, which was destroyed in a sudden one-day invasion. Hony¨­ has lost its state organization and National Mages, and has become a mere refugee. Even if Tento forced Hony¨­ to do something, the helpless Hony¨­ people who fled to the Hercules Star System had no way to resist. This wasn¡¯t his intention, Yuen thought to himself. Yuen, the leader of Tenka, is not allowed to utter such remarks. Instead, he said something else. ¡°The defense of Hercules will not be a problem if those who currently live in Hercules go first.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± My thoughts exactly, Ishidor smiled. CH 97 From the swirling transition gate, millions of lights are flowing down like meteors. These floods of light flowed straight into the giant spaceport constructed in front of the Transition Gate of the Apollo System. And from the giant spaceport, floods of the same magnitude, with large quantities of goods, were flowing from the Apollo Star System for the other six connected star systems without pause. At the Marquis of Carneus¡¯ residence on the planet Delphoi in the Apollo Star System, Hart, who was watching the broadcast over dinner, gave his assessment of the stars shining in the sky. ¡°I wonder if the number of pilots who have reached the average level of skill has increased to a reasonable degree.¡± Philine let out a small giggle at his impression, which contained no trace of sentimentality. Hundreds of millions of fighter craft pilots are transporting goods between star systems, which can both train pilots to improve their skills and revitalize the Monarchy¡¯s economy. MacLir, Diete, Athena, Fukashiro, Apollo, Artemis, Podalley. Of the nine star systems ruled by the Monarchy, seven of them, excluding the Machaon and Solar Systems, are territorialized by a Spirit Emperor or Spirit King, who are contracted directly with Hart, and are connected by a transition gate. The existence of the transition gate, which was connected to the former Coalition¡¯s MacLir system and the former Tenka System of Fukashiro, not only contributed to the procurement of supplies and the skill of the pilots, but also contributed to enormous economic effects on a scale unprecedented in human history. And the convenience of the transition gate is not limited to civilians engaged in various economic activities and the Royal Army responsible for system defense. Philine, the Lady of the Marquis of Carneus, who was recently transferred to the reserves in order to succeed to the title of Marquis, is one of those who are experiencing the convenience of the transition gate. ¡°Thanks to the transition gate, it looks like the handover will be done quickly.¡± Philine began the takeover of the Marquis title in July, a month after the Battle of Apollo. In the meantime, Claudia, who was of the same system, had taken over the task of Commander of the Fortress Stationed Fleet. Perhaps Philine¡¯s transfer to the reserves was the impetus for Yuna¡¯s transfer to the reserves at the same time. The existence of the transition gate greatly reduced the time required for various procedures and face-to-face contact. From now on, Philine will follow her grandfather to learn the annual events and roles as a Marquis, how to give instructions to the territorial government, the relationships and arrangements between the households, and will gradually be entrusted with the duties of a Marquis, and eventually succeed to the title. After hearing the explanation, Hart estimated that the time required for the handover would be several years. ¡°It will take about three years to complete the succession without problems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about how long it takes to learn everything. The longer the handover period, the more secure, but there¡¯s no rule that you have to do the same thing.¡± When Philine¡¯s gaze turned to her grandfather, Bastian, the Marquis of Carneus, who was present, he shook his head in affirmation. ¡°Quite so. The role of the marquis is to protect the star system and the people entrusted to it by the Monarchy. What I¡¯m trying to convey is the current situation and the meaning of what we are doing. If, after understanding the purpose, you wish to make more effective or efficient improvements, you are free to do so.¡± Witnessing the act of the succession, Hart was impressed by the Marquis of Carneus¡¯ to-the-point presentation. Hart also holds the rank of Marquis, but as it was not inherited from his parents, he is the first generation. When handing over to his next generation, he decided to refer to Bastian¡¯s way of communicating, which he had just heard, and kept it in a corner of his mind. The reason why he is able to listen to such a valuable story is because it is certain that the Marquis of Carneus in two generations will be Hart¡¯s child. It would be more convenient for the Marquis Carneus household if the father understood rather than if he didn¡¯t understand. Brigitte, Marquess of Carneus, who was present, put on the pressure. ¡°By the way, Duke Son, when are you and Philine going to have a child?¡± ¡°Uguh¡­¡± Caught off guard, Hart choked on his food and gulped it down. Perhaps because she¡¯s the grandmother, not the parent, she could ask this in a straightforward manner even though it¡¯s in front of Philine. Thinking that it would not be a topic to be discussed at a dinner table, Hart looked around to see how the Carneus family would react. However, Philine had a look of anticipation on her face, and the reserve general, who was no longer on active duty, was unlikely to be of any use as a reinforcement. He thought that the head of the family, Bastian, could be expected to have good sense, but unfortunately, the birth of the Marquis of Carneus two generations after his was an important matter, so he didn¡¯t make any sensible remarks. Both Hart and Philine are 23 years old, and are of the generation with an average life expectancy of 300 years. If converted to a generation with an average life expectancy of 100 years, it would be in 7 to 8 years¡­ which is not a strong argument, but it¡¯s too early to think about the next generation. If the cycle of generational change is 24 years, Philine would have to live 252 years after taking over the title at the age of 48. To put this in perspective, a generational change every 100 years would be fine. Considering the average life expectancy, 100 years old is only equivalent to about the early 30s. However, the Marquis of Carneus family has lost all qualified successors other than Philine in the Second Battle of Diete. The Apollo System has been converted into a realm and become a safe zone, and the next Marquis, Philine, has also been transferred to the reserves, so there is no longer any worry of her being killed in battle, but the situation remains that her partner, Hart, is still on the battlefield. As the Duke who connects the Monarchy and Fukashiro, and the person in charge of the spirits, Hart is an important figure in the Monarchy, so he is no longer in a position to go directly to the battlefield, but as there are so many things that only Hart can do, he has no choice but to go to the battlefield. Bridget¡¯s actions were perfectly reasonable from the standpoint of the Marquis of Carneus, who was apprehensive of the future. ¡°I understand your concerns, but considering the position of Her Majesty the Queen, it is not possible for Carneus alone to have a child. Since I¡¯m on the battlefield, I will provide my genes just in case, but I have no intention of dying in battle. Please wait a little while.¡± ¡°Make it quick.¡± ¡°Geho, Geho¡­¡± Hart coughed, spitting out the food he had in his mouth. Then a few of the android waiters who had been waiting by the wall came over and offered Hart a table napkin to quickly clean up the stains. Although it was clearly a violation of etiquette, Bridget¡¯s remarks were not what the legitimate wife of the traditional Marquis family, ranked first in the hierarchy, would say. In view of the character of the Marquis family, Philine interjects. ¡°O Grandmother, that¡¯s no way for the Marquess to speak.¡± ¡°What was that? I¡¯ve been hard of hearing lately. Show me my great-grandchild¡¯s face before the reaper comes for me.¡± The way Bridget was so bold and open abruptly reminded Hart of Philine¡¯s sister Dorothea. Dorothea, who tried to use her power to falsely convict the innocent Hart, had the appearance of a well-groomed doll, but her personality was that of a doll that would move in the middle of the night and attack with a knife in hand. Hart¡¯s perception of Bridget, who was over 100 years old in a generation with a lifespan of 150 years, was that of Dorothea. Is Bridget the grandmother version of this parent, and this child? Although she seemed to have acquired cunning over the years and was not forced to violate criminal law and humanity as Dorothea was. ¡°My mindset is exactly as I explained it. I understand the promise of gene donation and the order of priority. Otherwise, I would not have visited the residence of the Marquis of Carneus and made it known that I was giving you special treatment.¡± ¡°In the first place, Grandmother, now is the time for succession, not for raising children. When parents are separated from their children, the magic power to pass on to the offspring of this family is diminished.¡± Bridget, who was criticized by the men and women of her grandchildren¡¯s generation, complained about it in a tone of exasperation. ¡°It¡¯s quite a problem. The Marquis of Z?ckingen family, as you know, are having a hard time with too many children.¡± The Apollo System is home to two Marquis Households, Carneus and Z?ckingen. Prior to the resumption with the Former Coalition, there were 14 marquis families for the six star systems of the Monarchy, with two to three Marquis families in each star system. One of the duties of the Marquis is to monitor the Duke family, of which there is only one in each star system, to prevent them from running amok. If the Marquis Family, which governs 800 million people, raises an objection, it will surpass the power of the Duke family, which governs 1.2 billion people, so even the Duke cannot ignore it. Both the Marquis of Carneus and Z?ckingen serve as controllers to prevent the Duke of Coesfeld of the Apollo Star System from running wild. Bridget lamented the two extremes of the two families, with Carneus suffering from a lack of heirs and Z?ckingen suffering from too many heirs, adding up to two. ¡°What happened to the succession issue of the Marquis of Z?ckingen?¡± Hart, who had tried to avoid getting involved in the issue of the succession of the marquis family of other star systems as much as possible, only knew that the problem had not yet been settled. It is stipulated by national law that the succession to the Marquis title requires at least 17,280 magic power value. Men¡¯s magical power does not decline, but women¡¯s magical power declines after childbirth, so it is necessary to consider the inheritance of the peerage based on the handover to the successor. There are nine confirmed candidates for succession to the Marquis of Z?ckingen who meet these conditions. They have all been reported by the Marquis of Z?ckingen to the Ministry of the Interior and confirmed by genetic testing, so there is no doubt that they are his biological children who are candidates for succession. If one continues to take mistresses without getting married and works vigorously to maximize the number of magic power holders, how many magical individuals will there be in the next generation? One of the answers is demonstrated in the current Marquis of Z?ckingen. And there should be even more people with magic power values at the Count-grade. ¡°If any had received the Order of Merit in the battle, the question of his successor would not have arisen.¡± At the unfortunate words of Bastian, a fellow Marquis of the same star system, Hart sensed that there was no suitable person. In this regard, the Duke of Coesfeld, the main ruler of the Apollo System, cannot be expected to take the lead in this matter. This is because the Duke of Coesfeld is a man of character who is unwilling to make the role of a watchdog a mere formality by appointing the head of the Marquis family that would watch over him. ¡°Marquis Amakawa may have realized, but the rank of Marquis, with 800 million lives in charge, is a heavy one. I felt it strongly when the Battle of Apollo broke out earlier, and I had to make the decision to take my subjects on board my own interstellar ship and abandon those who had failed to escape.¡± At Bastian¡¯s words, Hart nodded back in silence. ¡°Since the Marquis of Z?ckingen has not nominated anyone, the next Marquis of Z?ckingen must be a choice acceptable to the majority of the subjects, as the choice will affect the lives of the people of the star system.¡± In the recent Battle of Apollo, 60 million civilians were killed. However, if the Marquis of Z?ckingen had not forced every aristocrat to retreat, the evacuation would have been delayed and the casualties would have risen to hundreds of millions. Not only the people who are directly affected, but also the aristocrats who would deal with the crisis in a coordinated manner, would want the right person. Hart expressed his concerns, while agreeing with the careful selection. ¡°However, if the selection takes too long, won¡¯t that make it even more difficult for the royal people to make a good selection?¡± If the decision was made in the month following the loss of the predecessor, you can pass for reasons such as ¡°I chose the eldest person. Now that it is a time of war, and since the Marquis seat cannot be left vacant for long, so I chose the person with the most life experience¡±. However, if the decision is made in a year, they will be stunned, saying, ¡°It took a year to make that decision? If that¡¯s the case, I should have decided sooner.¡±. However, if they spend 10 years on it, there will be no expectations at all and be relieved that it has finally been decided. Bastian asked Hart, as if testing him. ¡°If the choice was yours, what criteria will you use to decide?¡± Hart has not offered an official position on the issue. The reason is that, as the Queen¡¯s fianc¨¦e, he is considered the spokesperson for opinions that she herself cannot officially express. And, indeed, he sometimes plays the role of a spokesperson. When Hart speaks out, it has a powerful influence. Hart had avoided making any public statements about the next generation of the Marquis of Z?ckingen, but this time it was a private dinner table, and he imagined what he would do. ¡°Well, first of all, assuming that the nine candidates are Marquis-grade, in the case of female candidates, unless the succession rate is at least 0.8 times and the child is Marquis-grade or higher, we will omit them from the candidates. The reason is that if succession issues arise in the next generation, this selection will be criticized.¡± In order to meet Hart¡¯s requirements, a woman would need Duke-grade magic power value of 23,040. Apparently, there was only one woman who could meet that requirement, and the number of candidates that Hart displayed on the terminal at hand was reduced from nine to four men and one woman. This problem of magic power inheritance is the reason why men are more easily chosen as heads of aristocratic households. However, most men, with the exception of the family heir, fall out of the aristocracy. Women, on the other hand, have a number of ways to keep from falling out of the aristocracy. Therefore, it can be understood that the disadvantage on the female side at the time of succession is offset by the security of status. For the remaining five candidates, Hart had an additional sifting processsieve. ¡°Next, I would draw the line based on military experience before the Battle of Apollo. Since we are choosing the aristocrats of the Monarchy, there is no reason why those who have not served in the military should be given preference over those who have.¡± When Hart confirmed how many people had been reduced by this, there were only four candidates left. In order of age, there was a man with long red hair and a stern face who looked like his father, a man with black hair parted in the center and thin cheeks and sharp eyes, a man with dark blond hair and a pouty expression, and a woman with purple hair as dark as amethyst. Young tengu, crow, lion, and amethyst, and Hart, who arbitrarily characterized them on his first impression, drew out individual information. The four are 47, 40, 29 and 27 years old. Magic power values are 18,549, 19,298, 19,227, and 23,325. Their maternal households come from a baronial family, a baronet family, a marquis family, and a count family. Their backgrounds include a bachelor¡¯s degree graduate as a marquis local magistrate, a master¡¯s degree graduate as a member of the local council, a bachelor¡¯s degree graduate as a marquis bureaucrat, and a doctor¡¯s degree as central government official. Young tengu, like his predecessor Marquis Z?ckingen, is a fisherman, and although he is unmarried, he has a child with Marquis-grade magic power. The crow has a legal wife and a child, but the child is not a Marquis-grade magic power holder. The lion is unmarried and has no fianc¨¦e. The Amethyst has a fianc¨¦ from the Marquis of Audran household in the Athena Star System who is not expected to inherit the title. The partner¡¯s magic power value is 19,654. ¡°Crow¡­ or rather, Patrick Levalier, who has a legal wife and whose child is not Marquis-grade, will be excluded.¡± Hart, who narrowed down the candidates to three, was at a loss for a decision. Young tengu has the lowest magic power value, and his mother¡¯s household is also from the general aristocracy, so his support is weak. However, since he has a child with magic power who is likely to reach Marquis-grade, he can expect a stable succession to the peerage. He is also an active local magistrate, and a certain amount of expectations can be placed on his work as a Marquis. Lion¡¯s maternal household is the highest ranked of the lot, but his magic power value is not much different from that of Tengu. He has a life of going down the rails after he graduated from the University of the Apollo Star System and worked as a bureaucrat in the Marquis territory. By nature, he should have been a local magistrate, but he seemed to be as lazy as a lion in the daytime. Amethyst has the highest magic power value, but magic power decreases with childbirth. However, after completing her Ph.D. in the royal capital, she joined the central government as a senior bureaucrat and became the head of the State Department at the age of 27. She doesn¡¯t seem unmotivated or bad at politics. After hesitating about the lion whose parents belonged to a Marquis family, Hart excluded him from the list of candidates. ¡°If I had to choose, it would be the young tengu who resembled his father, or the Amethyst that resembled her mother.¡± Hart, who had narrowed it down to two choices, stumbled. If the people of the territory vote, it will be a contest of appearance, whether the young tengu who looks like his father and seems unexpectedly popular, or a slender long-haired beauty who is a career bureaucrat and looks good in a suit, but there is no way a Marquis would be chosen based on looks. Amethyst has Duke-grade high magic power that is hard to obtain, but after giving birth twice, she will have as much magic power as young tengu. However, the magic power value of the first child can be expected to be about 20,000. On the other hand, young tengu is a fisherman, and already has a child with high magic power value that will reach the Marquis-grade. ¡°It¡¯s really troubling. Perhaps Amethyst was thinking about inheriting the House of Marquis Z?ckingen herself.¡± ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Bastian asked Hart who had made the assertion, but it wasn¡¯t a question he asked because he didn¡¯t know the reason, it was just to check the answers. ¡°Because she is a Duke-grade magic power holder, yet she didn¡¯t become the wife of the lord or heir of an aristocratic family.¡± The Monarchy¡¯s Academy of Magic, which gathers high magic power holders, serves as a matchmaking venue. And as a Duke-grade magic power holder, she is in a position to become the legitimate wife of the Count. If you imagine the reason for refusing it with common sense, it was because there was a possibility that she could get a position higher than the lawful wife of the Count family. The Marquis of Z?ckingen had passed the halfway point of his age-stagnated life expectancy and had no legitimate successor, and a generational change was needed in the not too distant future. Even if that fails, it is still possible for her child to become the head of the Marquis of Audran household if she has a husband from the Marquis Audran family of the Athena Star System and the child has high magic power value at 20,000. Hart evaluated her as a strong woman. Needless to say, if the young Tengu is promoted, if the child of Amethyst inherits the Marquis of Audran family, it is possible that the person who promoted it will be resented by the mother of the Marquis of Audran household. Counts and below can¡¯t speak out, and even the Marquis can¡¯t say anything outrageous. It was Hart¡¯s real intention not to get involved. ¡°Philine, as a Marquis of the same Apollo lineage, which candidate do you think is easier to work with?¡± With Hart and her grandparents watching, Philine compared the two and answered immediately. ¡°Young tengu, Mr. Garland.¡± ¡°May I ask you why you answered immediately?¡± To the startled Hart, Philene explained the reason for her selection. ¡°Mr. Garland has a proven track record, and he attends gatherings of Apollo aristocrats, so we can collaborate. But I don¡¯t know Viola, so I don¡¯t know if it will work. We¡¯ll be together for 200 years, so if it fails, we won¡¯t be able to see each other eye-to-eye.¡± The reasons Philine gave were deeply convincing. Now is the time of war, and they are in the midst of explosive economic development. If the Apollo aristocrats can¡¯t move together, they will suffer more damage on the battlefield and lag behind in competition with other star systems. Hart suddenly thought of the Duke of Coesfeld, who had spoken of his dislike of gambling. With Garland, who has local connections, and Viola, who has connections to the Athena System, the former is a solid measure for the local Apollo System, while the latter is speculation for a future with a wide range of fluctuations. The Apollo System, which cannot be delayed at present, should choose the former, Hart thought. ¡°I agree with Philine, that¡¯s just my opinion.¡± When Hart concluded his response to Bastian¡¯s question, Marquis Carneus and his wife exchanged glances and nodded silently. Seeing this, Hart realized that his remarks had influenced the selection of the new Marquis of Z?ckingen. It was an opinion issued by the Marquis of Carneus, an Apollo aristocrat, in consultation with Hart, a Duke who was not a party to it and who was also the supreme commander of the Royal Army, even if privately. The Duke of Coesfeld, who is unable to appoint his own overseer, could convey the opinion of the Marquis Carneus in consultation with Hart to the Ministry of the Interior as a compilation of opinions. The Ministry of the Interior, which wants to quickly decide on a vacant ruler, will happily accept a proposal that would save them from having to take responsibility. In the end, Hart¡¯s name was used, he decided that he had no choice but to support the family affairs of the Marquis of Z?ckingen, which could not be resolved even if left unattended, and reaffirmed the movements of the Marquis of Carneus. Previous | TOC | Preview Previous | TOC | Preview From the swirling transition gate, millions of lights are flowing down like meteors. These floods of light flowed straight into the giant spaceport constructed in front of the Transition Gate of the Apollo System. And from the giant spaceport, floods of the same magnitude, with large quantities of goods, were flowing from the Apollo Star System for the other six connected star systems without pause. At the Marquis of Carneus¡¯ residence on the planet Delphoi in the Apollo Star System, Hart, who was watching the broadcast over dinner, gave his assessment to the stars shining in the sky. ¡°I wonder if the number of pilots who have reached the average level of skill has increased to a reasonable degree.¡± Philine let out a small giggle at his impression, which contained no trace of sentimentality. Hundreds of millions of fighter craft pilots are transporting goods between star systems, which can both train pilots to improve their skills and revitalize the Monarchy¡¯s economy. MacLir, Diete, Athena, Fukashiro, Apollo, Artemis, Podalley. Of the nine star systems ruled by the Monarchy, seven of them, excluding the Machaon and Solar Systems, are territorialized by a Spirit Emperor or Spirit King, who are contracted directly with Hart, and are connected by a transition gate. The existence of the transition gate, which was connected to the former Coalition¡¯s MacLir system and the former Tenka System of Fukashiro, not only contributed to the procurement of supplies and the skill of the pilots, but also contributed to enormous economic effects on a scale unprecedented in human history. And the convenience of the transition gate is not limited to civilians engaged in various economic activities and the Royal Army responsible for system defense. Philine, the Lady of the Marquis of Carneus, who was recently transferred to the reserves in order to succeed to the title of Marquis, is one of those who are experiencing the convenience of the transition gate. ¡°Thanks to the transition gate, it looks like the handover will be done quickly.¡± Philine began the takeover of the Marquis title in July, a month after the Battle of Apollo. In the meantime, Claudia, who was of the same system, had taken over the task of Commander of the Fortress Stationed Fleet. Perhaps Philine¡¯s transfer to the reserves was the impetus for Yuna¡¯s transfer to the reserves at the same time. The existence of the transition gate greatly reduced the time required for various procedures and face-to-face contact. From now on, Philine will follow her grandfather to learn the annual events and roles as a Marquis, how to give instructions to the territorial government, the relationships and arrangements between the households, and will gradually be entrusted with the duties of a Marquis, and eventually succeed to the title. After hearing the explanation, Hart estimated that the time required for the handover would be several years. ¡°It will take about three years to complete the succession without problems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about how long it takes to learn everything. The longer the handover period, the more secure, but there¡¯s no rule that you have to do the same thing.¡± When Philine¡¯s gaze turned to her grandfather, Bastian, the Marquis of Carneus, who was present, he shook his head in affirmation. ¡°Quite so. The role of the marquis is to protect the star system and the people entrusted to it by the Monarchy. What I¡¯m trying to convey is the current situation and the meaning of what we are doing. If, after understanding the purpose, you wish to make more effective or efficient improvements, you are free to do so.¡± Witnessing the act of the succession, Hart was impressed by the Marquis of Carneus¡¯ to-the-point presentation. Hart also holds the rank of Marquis, but as it was not inherited from his parents, he is the first generation. When handing over to his next generation, he decided to refer to Bastian¡¯s way of communicating, which he had just heard, and kept it in a corner of his mind. The reason why he is able to listen to such a valuable story is because it is certain that the Marquis of Carneus in two generations will be Hart¡¯s child. It would be more convenient for the Marquis Carneus household if the father understood rather than if he didn¡¯t understand. Brigitte, Marquess of Carneus, who was present, put on the pressure. ¡°By the way, Duke Son, when are you and Philine going to have a child?¡± ¡°Uguh¡­¡± Caught off guard, Hart choked on his food and gulped it down. Perhaps because she¡¯s the grandmother, not the parent, she could ask this in a straightforward manner even though it¡¯s in front of Philine. Thinking that it would not be a topic to be discussed at a dinner table, Hart looked around to see how the Carneus family would react. However, Philine had a look of anticipation on her face, and the reserve general, who was no longer on active duty, was unlikely to be of any use as a reinforcement. He thought that the head of the family, Bastian, could be expected to have good sense, but unfortunately, the birth of the Marquis of Carneus two generations after his was an important matter, so he didn¡¯t make any sensible remarks. Both Hart and Philine are 23 years old, and are of the generation with an average life expectancy of 300 years. If converted to a generation with an average life expectancy of 100 years, it would be in 7 to 8 years¡­ which is not a strong argument, but it¡¯s too early to think about the next generation. If the cycle of generational change is 24 years, Philine would have to live 252 years after taking over the title at the age of 48. To put this in perspective, a generational change every 100 years would be fine. Considering the average life expectancy, 100 years old is only equivalent about the early 30s. However, the Marquis of Carneus family has lost all qualified successors other than Philine in the Second Battle of Diete. The Apollo System has been converted into a realm and become a safe zone, and the next Marquis, Philine, has also been transferred to the reserves, so there is no longer any worry of her being killed in battle, but the situation remains that her partner, Hart, is still on the battlefield. As the Duke who connects the Monarchy and Fukashiro, and the person in charge of the spirits, Hart is an important figure in the Monarchy, so he is no longer in a position to go directly to the battlefield, but as there are so many things that only Hart can do, he has no choice but to go to the battlefield. Bridget¡¯s actions were perfectly reasonable from the standpoint of the Marquis of Carneus, who was apprehensive of the future. ¡°I understand your concerns, but considering the position of Her Majesty the Queen, it is not possible for Carneus alone to have a child. Since I¡¯m on the battlefield, I will provide my genes just in case, but I have no intention of dying in battle. Please wait a little while.¡± ¡°Make it quick.¡± ¡°Geho, Geho¡­¡± Hart coughed, spitting out the food he had in his mouth. Then a few of the android waiters who had been waiting by the wall came over and offered Hart a table napkin to quickly clean up the stains. Although it was clearly a violation of etiquette, Bridget¡¯s remarks were not what the legitimate wife of the traditional Marquis family, ranked first in the hierarchy, would say. In view of the character of the Marquis family, Philine interjects. ¡°O Grandmother, that¡¯s no way for the Marquess to speak.¡± ¡°What was that? I¡¯ve been hard of hearing lately. Show me my great-grandchild¡¯s face before the reaper comes for me.¡± The way Bridget was so bold and open abruptly reminded Hart of Philine¡¯s sister Dorothea. Dorothea, who tried to use her power to falsely convict the innocent Hart, had the appearance of a well-groomed doll, but her personality was that of a doll that would move in the middle of the night and attack with a knife in hand. Hart¡¯s perception of Bridget, who was over 100 years old in a generation with a lifespan of 150 years, was that of Dorothea. Is the Bridget the grandmother version of this parent, and this child? Although she seemed to have acquired cunning over the years and was not forced to violate criminal law and humanity as Dorothea was. ¡°My mindset is exactly as I explained it. I understand the promise of gene donation and the order of priority. Otherwise, I would not have visited the residence of the Marquis of Carneus and made it known that I was giving you special treatment.¡± ¡°In the first place, Grandmother, now is the time for succession, not for raising children. When parents are separated from their children, the magic power to pass on to the offspring of this family is diminished.¡± Bridget, who was criticized by the men and women of her grandchildren¡¯s generation, complained about it in a tone of exasperation. ¡°It¡¯s quite a problem. The Marquis of Z?ckingen family, as you know, are having a hard time with too many children.¡± The Apollo System is home to two Marquis Households, Carneus and Z?ckingen. Prior to the resumption with the Former Coalition, there were 14 marquis families for the six star systems of the Monarchy, with two to three Marquis families in each star system. One of the duties of the Marquis is to monitor the Duke family, of which there is only one in each star system, to prevent them from running amok. If the Marquis Family, which governs 800 million people, raises an objection, it will surpass the power of the Duke family, which governs 1.2 billion people, so even the Duke cannot ignore it. Both the Marquis of Carneus and Z?ckingen serve as controllers to prevent the Duke of Coesfeld of the Apollo Star System from running wild. Bridget lamented the two extremes of the two families, with Carneus suffering from a lack of heirs and Z?ckingen suffering from too many heirs, adding up to two. ¡°What happened to the succession issue of the Marquis of Z?ckingen?¡± Hart, who had tried to avoid getting involved in the issue of the succession of the marquis family of other star systems as much as possible, only knew that the problem has not yet been settled. It is stipulated by national law that the succession to the Marquis title requires at least 17,280 magic power value. Men¡¯s magical power does not decline, but women¡¯s magical power declines after childbirth, so it is necessary to consider the inheritance of the peerage based on the handover to the successor. There are nine confirmed candidates for succession to the Marquis of Z?ckingen who meet these conditions. They have all been reported by the Marquis of Z?ckingen to the Ministry of the Interior and confirmed by genetic testing, so there is no doubt that they are his biological children who are candidates for succession. If one continues to take mistresses without getting married and works vigorously to maximize the number of magic power holders, how many magical individuals will there be in the next generation? One of the answers is demonstrated in the current Marquis of Z?ckingen. And there should be even more people with magic power values at the Count-grade. ¡°If any had received the Order of Merit in the battle, the question of his successor would not have arisen.¡± At the unfortunate words of Bastian, a fellow Marquis of the same star system, Hart sensed that there was no suitable person. In this regard, the Duke of Coesfeld, the main ruler of the Apollo System, cannot be expected to take the lead in this matter. This is because the Duke of Coesfeld is a man of character who is unwilling to make the role of a watchdog a mere formality by appointing the head of the Marquis family that would watch over him. ¡°Marquis Amakawa may have realized, but the rank of Marquis, with 800 million lives in charge, is a heavy one. I felt it strongly when the Battle of Apollo broke out earlier, and I had to make the decision to take my subjects on board my own interstellar ship and abandon those who had failed to escape.¡± At Bastian¡¯s words, Hart nodded back in silence. ¡°Since the Marquis of Z?ckingen has not nominated anyone, the next Marquis of Z?ckingen must be a choice acceptable to the majority of the subjects, as the choice will affect the lives of the people of the star system.¡± In the recent Battle of Apollo, 60 million civilians were killed. However, if the Marquis of Z?ckingen had not forced every aristocrat to retreat, the evacuation would have been delayed and the casualties would have risen to hundreds of millions. Not only the people who are directly affected, but also the aristocrats who would deal with the crisis in a coordinated manner, would want the right person. Hart expressed his concerns, while agreeing with the careful selection. ¡°However, if the selection takes too long, won¡¯t that make it even more difficult for the royal people to make a good selection?¡± If the decision was made in the month following the loss of the predecessor, you can pass for reasons such as ¡°I chose the eldest person. Now that it is a time of war, and since the Marquis seat cannot be left vacant for long, so I chose the person with the most life experience¡±. However, if the decision is made in a year, they will be stunned, saying, ¡°It took a year to make that decision? If that¡¯s the case, I should have decided sooner.¡±. However, if they spend 10 years on it, there will be no expectations at all and be relieved that it has finally been decided. Bastian asked Hart, as if testing him. ¡°If the choice was yours, what criteria will you use to decide?¡± Hart has not offered an official position on the issue. The reason is that, as the Queen¡¯s fianc¨¦e, he is considered the spokesperson for opinions that she herself cannot officially express. And, indeed, he sometimes plays the role of a spokesperson. When Hart speaks out, it has a powerful influence. Hart had avoided making any public statements about the next generation of the Marquis of Z?ckingen, but this time it was a private dinner table, and he imagined what he would do. ¡°Well, first of all, assuming that the nine candidates are Marquis-grade, in the case of female candidates, unless the succession rate is at least 0.8 times and the child is Marquis-grade or higher, we will omit them from the candidates. The reason is that if succession issues arise in the next generation, this selection will be criticized.¡± In order to meet Hart¡¯s requirements, a woman would need Duke-grade magic power value of 23,040. Apparently, there was only one woman who could meet that requirement, and the number of candidates that Hart displayed on the terminal at hand was reduced from nine to four men and one woman. This problem of magic power inheritance is the reason why men are more easily chosen as heads of aristocratic households. However, most men, with the exception of the family heir, fall out of the aristocracy. Women, on the other hand, have a number of ways to keep from falling out of the aristocracy. Therefore, it can be understood that the disadvantage on the female side at the time of succession is offset by the security of status. For the remaining five candidates, Hart had an additional sifting processsieve. ¡°Next, I would draw the line based on military experience before the Battle of Apollo. Since we are choosing the aristocrats of the Monarchy, there is no reason why those who have not served in the military should be given preference over those who have.¡± When Hart confirmed how many people had been reduced by this, there were only four candidates left. In order of age, there was a man with long red hair and a stern face who looked like his father, a man with black hair parted in the center and thin cheeks and sharp eyes, a man with dark blond hair and a pouty expression, and a woman with purple hair as dark as amethyst. Young tengu, crow, lion, and amethyst, and Hart, who arbitrarily characterized them on his first impression, drew out individual information. The four are 47, 40, 29 and 27 years old. Magic power values are 18,549, 19,298, 19,227, and 23,325. Their maternal households come from a baronial family, a baronet family, a marquis family, and a count family. Their backgrounds include a bachelor¡¯s degree graduate as a marquis local magistrate, a master¡¯s degree graduate as a member of the local council, a bachelor¡¯s degree graduate as a marquis bureaucrat, and a doctor¡¯s degree as central government official. Young tengu, like his predecessor Marquis Z?ckingen, is a fisherman, and although he is unmarried, he has a child with Marquis-grade magic power. The crow has a legal wife and a child, but the child is not a Marquis-grade magic power holder. The lion is unmarried and has no fianc¨¦e. The Amethyst has a fianc¨¦ from the Marquis of Audran household in the Athena Star System who is not expected to inherit the title. The partner¡¯s magic power value is 19,654. ¡°Crow¡­ or rather, Patrick Levalier, who has a legal wife and whose child is not Marquis-grade, will be excluded.¡± Hart, who narrowed down the candidates to three, was at a loss for a decision. Young tengu has the lowest magic power value, and his mother¡¯s household is also from the general aristocracy, so his support is weak. However, since he has a child with magic power who is likely to reach Marquis-grade, he can expect a stable succession to the peerage. He is also an active local magistrate, and a certain amount of expectations can be placed on his work as a Marquis. Lion¡¯s maternal household is the highest ranked of the lot, but his magic power value is not much different from that of Tengu. He has a life of going down the rails after he graduated from the university of the Apollo Star System and worked as a bureaucrat in the Marquis territory. By nature, he should have been a local magistrate, but he seemed to be as lazy as a lion in the daytime. Amethyst has the highest magic power value, but magic power decreases with childbirth. However, after completing her PhD in the royal capital, she joined the central government as a senior bureaucrat and became the head of the State Department at the age of 27. She doesn¡¯t seem unmotivated or bad at politics. After hesitating about the lion whose parents belonged to a Marquis family, Hart excluded him from the list of candidates. ¡°If I had to choose, it would be the young tengu who resembled his father, or the amethyst that resemble her mother.¡± Hart, who had narrowed down to two choices, stumbled. If the people of the territory vote, it will be a contest of appearance, whether the young tengu who looks like his father and seems unexpectedly popular, or a slender long-haired beauty who is a career bureaucrat and looks good in a suit, but there is no way a Marquis would be chosen based on looks. Amethyst has Duke-grade high magic power that is hard to obtain, but after giving birth twice, she will have as much magic power as young tengu. However, the magic power value of the first child can be expected to be about 20,000. On the other hand, young tengu is a fisherman, and already has a child with high magic power value that will reach the Marquis-grade. ¡°It¡¯s really troubling. Perhaps Amethyst was thinking about inheriting the House of Marquis Z?ckingen herself.¡± ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Bastian asked Hart who had made the assertation, but it wasn¡¯t a question he asked because he didn¡¯t know the reason, it was just to check the answers. ¡°Because she is a Duke-grade magic power holder, yet she didn¡¯t become the wife of the lord or heir of an aristocratic family.¡± The Monarchy¡¯s Academy of Magic, which gathers high magic power holders, serves as a matchmaking venue. And as a Duke-grade magic power holder, she is in a position to become the legitimate wife of the Count. If you imagine the reason for refusing it with common sense, it was because there was a possibility that she could get a position higher than the lawful wife of the Count family. The Marquis of Z?ckingen had passed the halfway point of his age-stagnated life expectancy and had no legitimate successor, and a generational change was needed in the not too distant future. Even if that fails, it is still possible for her child to become the head of the Marquis of Audran household if she has a husband from the Marquis Audran family of the Athena Star System and the child has high magic power value at 20,000. Hart evaluated her as a strong woman. Needless to say, if the young Tengu is promoted, if the child of amethyst inherits the Marquis of Audran family, it is possible that the person who promoted it will be resented by the mother of the Marquis of Audran household. Counts and below can¡¯t speak out, and even the Marquis can¡¯t say anything outrageous. It was Hart¡¯s real intention not to get involved. ¡°Philine, as a Marquis of the same Apollo lineage, which candidate do you think is easier to work with?¡± With Hart and her grandparents watching, Philine compared the two and answered immediately. ¡°Young tengu, Mr. Garland.¡± ¡°May I ask you why you answered immediately?¡± To the startled Hart, Philene explained the reason for her selection. ¡°Mr. Garland has a proven track record, and he attends gatherings of Apollo aristocrats, so we can collaborate. But I don¡¯t know Viola, so I don¡¯t know if it will work. We¡¯ll be together for 200 years, so if it fails, we won¡¯t be able to see each other eye-to-eye.¡± The reasons Philine gave were deeply convincing. Now is the time of war, and they in the midst of explosive economic development. If the Apollo aristocrats can¡¯t move together, they will suffer more damage on the battlefield and lag behind in competition with other star systems. Hart suddenly thought of the Duke of Coesfeld, who had spoken of his dislike of gambling. With Garland, who has local connections, and Viola, who has connections to the Athena System, the former is a solid measure for the local Apollo System, while the latter is speculation for a future with a wide range of fluctuations. The Apollo System, which cannot be delayed at present, should choose the former, Hart thought. ¡°I agree with Philine, that¡¯s just my opinion.¡± When Hart concluded his response to Bastian¡¯s question, Marquis Carneus and his wife exchanged glances and nodded silently. Seeing this, Hart realized that his remarks had influenced the selection of the new Marquis of Z?ckingen. It was an opinion issued by the Marquis of Carneus, an Apollo aristocrat, in consultation with Hart, a Duke who was not a party to it and who was also the supreme commander of the Royal Army, even if privately. The Duke of Coesfeld, who is unable to appoint his own overseer, could convey the opinion of the Marquis Carneus in consultation with Hart to the Ministry of the Interior as a compilation of opinions. The Ministry of the Interior, which wants to quickly decide on a vacant ruler, will happily accept a proposal that would save them from having to take responsibility. In the end, Hart¡¯s name was used, he decided that he had no choice but to support the family affairs of the Marquis of Z?ckingen, which could not be resolved even if left unattended, and reaffirmed the movements of the Marquis of Carneus. CH 98 The omnipresent stars covered the entire sky as seen from the Apollo Star System. The universe seen from the periphery of the planet Delphoi was luminous to the night sky seen from a large city at night, but the stars with strong light emitted a corresponding brilliance. Among the lights of these stars, there is also the brilliance of special stars that are invisible to most people. In the Apollo System, the name of the special star that emits the greatest brilliance is called Mira. The special star, which was visible in Hart¡¯s field of view even without projecting an external image of the fortress, was in the Commander¡¯s Quarters of Fortress Kerviel. Mira, who had reverted to her 10-year-old form, was sitting in a chair prepared by Hart¡¯s contracted spirit, Alfrida, in a lush garden created temporarily repainting the living quarters, lightly poking a teacup on the table with the tip of her fork. The high-pitched sound produced by the clash of the metal of the fork and the porcelain of the teacup echoed across the meadow that stretched far beyond the horizon. Looking up at the starry sky, the original universe, which would be visible from the Apollo Star System, appeared distorted as if seen through frosted glass. The dimensional distortion indicated that this space was a gap between the spirit world connected by Mira. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± ¡ºAs you can see, it¡¯s an elegant tea party, isn¡¯t it?¡» To Hart, who had unexpectedly interrupted her, Mira replied nonchalantly. Certainly, the time spent in a relaxed atmosphere, occupying a large space, is elegant. However, the fundamental question is, why are Mira and Alfrida having a tea party while connecting Hart¡¯s quarters to the spirit world? And while calling it an elegant tea party, why is Mira poking her teacup with a fork? After more poking and prodding, Hart stopped asking questions and sat down in one of the three empty seats. There was no doubt that one of the vacant seats was reserved for Hart. The ruler of this space is the Spirit Emperor Mira, and Hart is Mira¡¯s equal direct contractor. If there is one seat, Mira will sit in it, and if there are two, Mira and Hart will sit. As long as the Spirit King Alfrida, who is lower in rank than the Spirit Emperor Mira, is seated, it cannot be said that Hart, who is equal to Mira, cannot sit. Alfrida, smiling, offered a drink to the seated Hart. ¡ºPlease have one too, Lord Hart. I brewed something that humans can drink.¡» ¡°It won¡¯t do anything weird to the body, will it?¡± It is said that drinking the water of the rivers and springs where Naiads live can instantly cure people of their ailments. This world is connected to the abode of Mira, her adult figure is a Naiad, so Hart imagined other effects besides the negative ones on the human body. When asked, Alfrida replied after a short pause. ¡ºIt will make you less susceptible to injury and illness, but it will not affect your life expectancy. If you wish, I can prepare it for you, but since it will affect Lord Hart¡¯s magic power, I will put it off for now.¡» ¡°I see.¡± Nodding to Alfrida, Hart brought the teacup to his mouth. A faintly sweet liquid, like the juice of fresh pear-like fruit, passed down Hart¡¯s throat. As he took the liquid into his body, Hart felt the vitality of the fruit permeate his body. At the same time, he arbitrarily deduced from the ecology of the spirits that if he drank something that affected his lifespan, he would suck the life force of the stars. After moistening his throat, Hart exhaled, straightened his posture, and turned his gaze to Mira. ¡°Who¡¯s going to come to the other two seats?¡± If no one else was coming, she would not prepare the seats. Perhaps someone was coming, but Hart had no idea who it would be. At least he is certain that they are not human. This space is a gap between Mira¡¯s spirit world and Hart, and no human is qualified to enter, except for Hart, who is the direct contractor. After Hart¡¯s death, there is the possibility that his descendants will be invited, but now is not the time. If there was only one seat left, Hart imagined the Spirit Emperor Janet. Since they are Spirit Emperors under contract with Hart, and they also have a transition gate connected to each other¡¯s realms, it would not be surprising if they visited each other. For the same reason, if there were 6 remaining seats, he imagined the five Spirit Kings expanding their realms across five star systems: MacLir, Athena, Fukashiro, Artemis, and Podalley. If that many gather together, it would surely become a lively affair. As for the two remaining seats at the half-filled table, Mira finally opened her mouth when Hart imagined Fleur and Rhea, who had at one time teamed up with Mira as a trio. ¡ºMr. Hart, you want to create a realm of Spirit King in the Machaon Star System, but you don¡¯t want to lose the spirit at hand, do you?¡» Asked, Hart nodded in affirmation. The Machaon System is the only one of the nine star systems ruled by the Monarchy that has not been able to become a realm, except for the Solar System where the Royal Citizens do not reside. With 4.6 billion inhabitants, it has been put on the back burner because it had the smallest population, but he would like to make it a realm if possible. Hart himself doesn¡¯t believe he needs to be responsible for everything. If the Monarchy had decreed as a national policy, ¡°Since there are not enough Spirit Kings, abandon the Machaon Star System, which has a high risk of being territorialized by the enemy Daemon King, and move to another star system that has been turned into a realm¡±, it would happen. The Duke of Mauriac will fiercely oppose it, but Hart would probably be able to push it through. The reason they didn¡¯t do it is that the Queen who is in charge of the Monarchy is Yuna. Hart realizes from the presence of the Spirit King Alfrida in his possession, that the abandonment of the Machaon System is not the result of Hart¡¯s best efforts. If he wanted to do it, he could do it. The reason why Alfrida is not allowed to create a realm is that the enemy has a Daemon King, and Hart, who is on the battlefield, cannot let go of the Spirit King. If the Machaon System were to be made a realm under the current circumstance, Fortress Kerviel would not be able to invade the enemy systems, and the two sides would ceasefire. If Tenka¡¯s side increased the number of National Mages dramatically, and after confirming that Hart had reached the end of his life, in several hundred years the tentative peace will be broken. Hart believes that the short-sighted territorialization of the Machaon Star System is the path to the final bad end. ¡°I imagine the guests of these two seats, are they Senior Spirits with the potential to rise to the rank of Spirit King?¡± ¡ºBy and large, that¡¯s right. Mira will help in Janet¡¯s place.¡» Janet, the Spirit Emperor who connects her realm to the Diete Star System, had been mass-producing Israfel spirit crystals and also provided Hart with Advanced spirit crystals. However, after the Battle of the Apollo Star System, she announced the production cut and the end of the provision of the advanced level. The reason Janet gave was that the energy budget was not balanced and the miasma generated in the Second Diete Star System Battle, which was the energy source, was consumed. Comparing Janet to Mira, Hart didn¡¯t think Mira was getting more energy than Janet. 3.75 billion people lost their lives in the Second Battle of Diete, but about 60 million died in the Battle of the Apollo Star System. In both battles, hundreds of thousands of Tenka ships were also dropped, but if 600 people were on board, the same as a Monarchy cruiser, even if 300,000 ships were dropped, the death toll would be 180 million. After all, the death toll in the Second Battle of Diete was overwhelmingly high. ¡°Diete probably had more deaths in battle. Will you have enough energy, Mira?¡± When Hart was worried, Mira erased the fork that had been poking her teacup into the void, closed her eyes silently, and took a deep breath before answering. ¡ºMira has absorbed a Daemon King in the Apollo Star System.¡» ¡°That¡¯s right. You had defeated the Daemon King, didn¡¯t you?¡± Hart, who had his oversight pointed out, revised his perception of the amount of energy Mira possessed. The energy possessed by one Daemon King is equivalent to that of one Spirit King. Even if the energy conversion efficiency is not 100%, the shortfall is large, including the 60 million Monarchy civilians who were killed in the Apollo Star System, the hundreds of millions killed on the Tenka side, and the large number of Daemons defeated in the Apollo star system. Hart predicted that Mira¡¯s energy would not be much greater than Janet¡¯s, and that she would be able to create even a Spirit King. ¡ºSince Mira is a vegetarian, I will use the undigested portions from the three former Coalition Systems, the portions I collected in the Apollo System, and the unneeded portions from the Daemon King to create one Advanced spirit first.¡» ¡°That alone should be enough to give birth to a Spirit King from the start.¡± ¡ºThe conditions are lacking, so it cannot become a Spirit King. Only the individual power may be on par with a Spirit King.¡» The Tenka Hercules alliance used the Republic of Frodi to create a Daemon King, and the Monarchy will use said Daemon King to create a Spirit King. Hart regretted investing Mira into the Apollo system, but as a result, he thought that by erasing the enemy Daemon King and obtaining a new Spirit King for the Monarchy, the investment may have turned into a surplus. While Hart was thinking, Mira¡¯s explanation continued. ¡ºEven if you simply give it energy, it will only become a common spirit. Therefore, I will combine the special magical power of Mira, who only eats vegetables, with the peculiar magic power extracted from Mr. Hart, and pass it on to the child. If we do this, I believe a unique child will be born.¡» Hart had an idea about the peculiar magic that Mira mentioned. It was the magic power of 100 people that was added to Hart using the device installed in the middle school of the Magic Academy the Duke of Takrham. If all the characteristics of magic power are inherited, in addition to the pure magic power of Hart, there would be various properties of 100 people. ¡°Is it safe to do that?¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s okay because you can sort out and select the properties that will grow. The greater the amount of energy, the more solid the foundation for boosting up talent, so if you put in this much energy, you can expect much from it.¡» Hart imagined genetic modification before birth, using humans as a standard. And Hart, judging that the spirits understood what she was talking about, even if humans did not yet understand it, accepted Mira¡¯s action. ¡°I understand. As long as my magic power doesn¡¯t drop, you can extract it as you like. So we have two seats, but what about the second one?¡± ¡ºThe second child will be made from the purified energy that was not used in the first, 10% energy of the spirit crystal of the Spirit God, and the magic power extracted again from Mira, whose flesh has been emptied and purified, and from Mr. Hart, who got the hang of it.¡» ¡°You¡¯re going to put in even more effort than the first one.¡± In the Battle of Apollo, Mira used 10% of the energy to seize the realm from the Daemon King, who had suppressed the energy of the star system. If 10% is the amount of energy that can push back the Daemon King, that alone is comparable to the power of the Spirit King. Moreover, the energy drawn from the Spirit God¡¯s energy crystal is overwhelmingly superior because it does not mix with low-dimensional forces. What Hart was curious about was the intention behind differentiating the method of giving birth to the two bodies. ¡°Do the properties of the first and second bodies change depending on the meat and vegetables used as ingredients?¡± ¡ºMeat and vegetables make completely different dishes. And even with meat alone, countless different dishes can be made. Mira has always deliberately chosen to try things that no one else does. Chloe, whom I gave to Xu¨§ L¨¬, was also born in that process.¡» Mira, in her Naiad form, stood up from her chair, walked up to Hart and put her right hand on his left shoulder, closed her eyes, and began to glow. The green glow emitted by Mira turns white as it mixes with Hart¡¯s magic, floats like soap bubbles, and drifts around. The white, round mass created by Mira did not burst and disappear, but continued to multiply and fill the surrounding area. When half of Hart¡¯s vision was covered in white, the white glow finally contracted and converged into one of the empty seats, creating a white-haired girl. The girl had the appearance of a middle schooler, often seen among D-class spirits, with purple eyes, and was dressed in blue. Hart thought that her appearance would be that of a Naiad, like the smaller Mira, or a Nymph, a similar being that does not live in rivers and springs, even if not a Naiad, a spirit or lower goddess who lives in rivers and springs. Manifestation in inhuman form indicates that one is an advanced level spirit or higher. ¡°While strong in the water attribute, she also possesses the fire attributes and combines both to make a pseudo purple attribute, and yet her hair color is white. Is it correct to say that she is a white spirit that combines with purple?¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s right. As expected of Lulu¡¯s papa.¡» Judged by her appearance, the white-haired girl replied with a smile. Hart was doubly puzzled by the fact that he was suddenly called ¡°papa¡± and before he knew it, the name ¡°Lulu¡± had been decided. ¡°Am I Papa? And when did you decide on a name?¡± ¡ºPapa is Papa, you know. And Lulu thought of the name herself, something Papa could easily recognize.¡» Lulu smiled with childlike innocence, and Hart flinched, but wondered even more. The spirits that Hart knows are born from the lowest class, drifting through the atmosphere like light and gradually accumulating energy, and eventually accumulating enough energy to take form and be promoted to a higher class. A spirit that has reached a lower level can contract with a small body, learning minimal manifestation and minimal communication as well, build up its strength as they work, and gain opportunities to ascend to a higher level of existence. Janet of the Diete Star System is mass-producing intermediate spirits, but recognizes that the intermediate spirits in the spirit world are generating energy crystals that can manifest in the world of Hart. As a variant of this, she is thought to be mass-producing spirit crystals for fighter craft pilots by generating copies of android-like spirits for humans. But Lulu was an Advanced spirit on par with the Spirit King from the start. ¡°When did Lulu acquire knowledge and ego?¡± ¡ºKnowledge is handed down by mother at birth. The ego is initially formed by the inherited knowledge and characteristics, and what is necessary for continuing to exist in the environment and position in which we are placed. I will grow and change accordingly.¡» ¡°I see, thank you for telling me.¡± ¡ºNo, you¡¯re welcome.¡» The reason why Lulu taught Hart, who is a low-dimensional life form in the eyes of the spirits, is probably because Lulu considers herself to be Hart¡¯s daughter. Hart had some misgivings about the extent to which Lulu was willing to teach him, but Mira and Alfrida, who were present, didn¡¯t point out anything in particular. ¡ºWell then, do we make a contract?¡» ¡°Of course. Please.¡± ¡ºYes, it¡¯s done.¡» Lulu clapped her hands together with a pop, and the contract between Hart and the B-class spirit Lulu was easily concluded. Mira, who was observing her newborn daughter, made a general comment. ¡ºAn Anomaly has been born, o it was a success as we had planned. Anomalies are spirits with powers that don¡¯t fit into the molds of attributes. In fact, Chloe, who I gave to Xu¨§ L¨¬, is also an Anomaly.¡» ¡°Tell me that sooner.¡± Mira, who was in the form of an adult Naiad, ignored Hart¡¯s sudden remark and put her right hand on Hart¡¯s left shoulder again. And this time, she clutched a purple spirit crystal in her left hand. ¡ºThen I will create a second one.¡» ¡°Right, go on.¡± The light weariness transmitted from his left shoulder to his entire body conveyed the sensation of his magic powers being drawn out. Then, from around Mira, a black fog-like mist began to form around her, blocking out the light and dimming the world in the void. From daylight, beyond dusk, the curtain of night descends. As the three spirits lit up in three colored glows, a fourth black light appeared in the empty seat, casting a shadow over the light of the three spirits. When the fourth spirit appeared, the surrounding darkness was rapidly absorbed by her, and daylight returned to the world. Relieved by the light returning to the world, Hart turned his gaze to Lulu¡¯s newly born sister. She was about the age of a middle school student, not much older than Lulu. Her hair and eyes are black. The color of the clothes is brown, an old-fashioned Gothic Lolita with frills, but in terms of attributes, she is black. ¡°Black is the attribute of creation, right?¡± Looking around, Hart casually mouthed the knowledge he had gained in the game, but there was no answer from the spirits. Mira, who is mature and cool, turned pale and stiffened. Alfrida, who was elegantly holding a tea party, stood motionless as if time had stopped. Lulu¡¯s purple eyes were wide open like a cat¡¯s, and she was spinning her right index finger in an endless loop. It was the fourth black spirit girl who moved in place of the three behaving suspiciously. ¡ºNice to meet you, Father, I¡¯m Maya.¡» ¡°Oh, nice to meet you too, I will be in your care.¡± In contrast to the cheerful Lulu, Maya wore a calm atmosphere. Maya nodded in response to Hart¡¯s request, then lightly extended her hand towards Hart before answering. ¡ºI made a contract. Also, I¡¯m going to say the same thing as my sister.¡» ¡°What?¡± ¡ºAs expected of dear father. Where did you learn about the Creation Attribute?¡» Maya turned her dark eyes silently as if observing Hart¡¯s insides. CH 99 The Monarchy of Diete has two supreme decision-making bodies. They are the ¡°National Council¡± and the ¡°Lords¡¯ Conference¡±. While the former determines the national policy, the latter decides the star system policy. The Monarchy¡¯s initial purpose in advancing into several star systems was to diversify the risk so that the Royal Citizens could survive in other star systems in the event that the Coalition destroyed the Diete Star System. Therefore, it should be permissible for each star system to act independently to ensure the safety of its own star system based on the Monarchy¡¯s policy. If other star systems were destroyed, it was imaginable that their own star system would also be in danger, and as a result, they were working together. After the realization of the Spirit King¡¯s realm and the emergence of the Transition Gate, this became a thing of the past. ¡°Enemy ships cannot warp within one light-day of the star system. Even if they invaded at a high speed of 300 million kilometers per hour, the minimum time to reach an inhabited planet is 86 hours.¡± ¡°Travel time from the inhabited planet to the Transition Gate, less than 3 hours via Salamander¡± The Monarchy Star Systems, which has been turned into a realm by the Spirit King, could use the Transition Gate to evacuate its inhabitants to other star systems before the enemy could reach the inhabited planet. Once the star systems are connected by the Transition Gate, there is no need to consider risk dispersion. As a result, the Lords¡¯ Conference changed from the traditional form of deciding the policy of each star system to the same form as the National Council, which decided the national policy. Therefore, it is possible to hold the National Council and the Lords¡¯ Conference, which were similar in nature, at the same time. However, the qualified participants of both meetings are all distinguished. The National Council consists of the Queen, two princes, the Prime Minister, 15 Court Bureaucrats, Senior Military Officers at the rank of Generals and above, the Speaker of the House of Lords, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Lords¡¯ Conference consists of Heads of Senior Aristocratic Households above the Count who had territories, and their designated successors. Each and every one of them is a member who can influence the life of one Royal citizen in just one second, and the meeting that brings them all together must be of great importance. Half a year ago, when Hart had the meeting held, he had changed course after taking over the Solar System and announced his decision to rapidly invade ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, mobilizing the Royal Army and Lords¡¯ Forces on a massive scale. It was inevitable that the government leaders and Lords would gather together to hold an urgent meeting. When Hart requested that the second meeting be held simultaneously at the Castle in the Sky, the residence of the Marquis of Amakawa, Yuna braced herself, believing that it was a matter of great importance. ¡°The situation isn¡¯t that critical now, is it?¡± When questioned by Yuna, Hart reflected on the current situation. The Monarchy has territory in seven star systems, excluding the Machaon and Solar Systems, and as far as Hart knows, security has been established. Tenka, which lost a large number of warships in the Battle of Apollo, has the equivalent of only about 100,000 cruiser-class ships remaining, which is about 3 million Israfel crafts in terms of war potential. In order for Tenka to take down the Machaon Star System, they must turn the Machaon Star System into the realm of the Daemon King, and then deploy fighter crafts instead of battleships on a large scale. About four to five months have passed since Tenka and the Hercules System were connected. Hundreds of millions of Tenkans would be able to fly with fighter crafts and attack the system. However, with that level of skill, they would only be targets to be unilaterally shot down by a large ship. Tenka should not yet be able to deploy fighter craft pilots in actual combat. Hart decided that it was hard to say that there was an impasse at the moment. The situation is probably one of the best since Yuna¡¯s coronation. After all, despite being in the same Royal capital, Queen Yuna was relaxing on the balcony of the Castle in the Sky, not in the Royal Castle. Along with the moderately shaded sunlight, the sea breeze of the Mediterranean Sea flows in. Government officials are prohibited from entering the Castle in the Sky, so there is no unscrupulous person to disturb Yuna and Hart¡¯s time together. The quiet passing of time made Yuna forget her hectictroubled daily life for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not a desperate situation.¡± Hart¡¯s assurance deeply relieved Yuna. On the modern battlefield where Spirits and Daemons flew about, the only person on the Monarchy¡¯s side who could understand these phenomena is Hart. Therefore, if Hart says it is safe, it is safe, and if he says it¡¯s dangerous, things must be judged as dangerous. As for the situation where a person who is not the supreme authority of the state holds sole control of the spirit crystals, Yuna, as Queen, considers it undesirable for the state¡¯s management system. However, Hart¡¯s power is also the biggest backing that supports the Queen¡¯s power. She also understood that in the current situation where she had to lead the country with the Lords in tow, it was something that could never be let go. ¡°Then, in a less desperate situation, what would my Fleet Admiral want to do by holding a meeting?¡± Yuna asked with some jest, to which Hart responded with an equal or greater mixture. ¡°For the time being, I want to promote the two cats lying there, so I would like to order the Lords to cooperate.¡± Yuna extended her gaze to the corner of the balcony that Hart pointed to. There, a white cat and a black cat were lying down together. The purple-eyed white cat was lying down holding the black cat¡¯s body with its left paw. The black cat showed no particular reaction and was meditating, letting the white cat do as it pleased. Yuna, who didn¡¯t notice the two cats at all, was surprised, but when she instantly imagined spirits and regained her composure, she asked again. ¡°Cute cats. Where did they come from?¡± Hart, who made Yuna and Philine wear cat ears, is recognized by Yuna and the others as a serious cat lover. When she gave him a benevolent look, Hart felt the need to defend himself. ¡°Those two cats are spirits I received from the Spirit Emperor Mira in the Apollo Star System. I didn¡¯t order them to take the form of cats.¡± No instructions have been issued, but it cannot be said that he didn¡¯t have an influence on them. Humans and animals that raise children have appearances and voices that make it easy for children being raised to feel an attachment to their parents. And parents are stimulated by the appearance and voice of their children and their instincts to nurture them. Hart, who the two spirits treat as a father, could not be accused of having nothing to do with the fact that they imitated the appearance of a cat, to which Hart is easily attached, even if they are innocent. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry to make the comparison, but they¡¯re stronger than the senior spirit Sharon who has a contract with Yuna, so you shouldn¡¯t underestimate them.¡± Hart blatantly deflected the topic, but the content of the conversation could not be ignored. After receiving the explanation, Yuna stared at the white and black cats in amazement, then summoned her own spirit Sharon to confirm the truth. ¡°Sharon, are these cats really stronger than you?¡± ¡°The difference in power is about the size of the Sun and Jupiter. Of course, I am Jupiter.¡» Sharon, who used the sun and Jupiter as a metaphor, had not only Yuna but also Hart tilting his head. The two celestial bodies differ by a factor of 10 in size and by a factor of 1000 in mass. It was unclear which standard was used, but it was clear that there was a difference that could not be matched. ¡°Lulu, Maya, please return to your non-cat forms.¡± At Hart¡¯s direction, the white and black cats glowed and transformed into a white-haired girl dressed in blue and a dark-haired Gothic Lolita girl. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Papa¡¯s contract spirit, Lulu. I inherited the knowledge from my mom, who was his previous contracted spirit, so please know that I am the new spirit who has taken over. If you need me, I can take care of you through Sharon.¡¯ ¡°¡­¡­ ah, un.¡± After the introduction, Yuna was stunned for the first time in a long time since her coronation. Lulu introduced herself while bowing, but her purple eyes were like those of a cat observing a small animal, and there was no indication that she wanted to be too friendly. For Lulu, who is a high-dimensional life form with a fixed contractor, Yuna, who is not her contractor, is probably not an object to become intimate with. In the process of being promoted to an official Spirit King, she may have only exchanged greetings because the other party is a partner to obtain cooperation for the convenience of Hart, the contractor. When Hart recognized this, Lulu added the words. ¡ºPapa¡¯s first daughter is Lulu, so please take care of me.¡» ¡°Hah!?¡± Yuna immediately raised her voice of dissatisfaction at Lulu¡¯s defiant words, who held up her right index finger and claimed that she was number one. A high-pitched voice ran through the balcony, shaking Hart¡¯s whole body like static electricity. Apparently, Lulu¡¯s gaze towards Yuna was not an observation from a higher dimensional life form to a lower dimensional life form, but part of a struggle between women who were assessing each other. When a man intervenes in a fight between women, it doesn¡¯t end well. Instinctively sensing this, Hart was at a loss as to whether to speak up or not. ¡°Hart, what is the meaning of this?¡± The flames of anger flared up into an instant, and Hart¡¯s thoughts were reduced to ashes. ¡°When creating a new spirit, only my magical power was used as a basis. Since Mira and I have a contract, we have a magical connection.¡± Hart defended himself by saying that he had done nothing wrong, but the anger of Yuna, who had no such suspicions, did not subside at all. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean that. Why is she calling you Papa? Hart, do you recognize her as your daughter!?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s not my genetic daughter¡­¡± If it¡¯s a haphazard excuse to calm Yuna, it comes to Hart¡¯s mind in a hurry. If there was a younger girl in the neighborhood who was on good terms with him, even if she called him ¡°onii-chan¡±, that doesn¡¯t make him her biological brother. Such an explanation would only add fuel to the fire of Yuna¡¯s anger, though. After all, the main source of Yuna¡¯s anger is directed at the current situation¡­ If Tenka hadn¡¯t declared war on the Monarchy, she would have married Hart three years ago, and her own child would have called Hart Daddy by now. If you are a Royal citizen, you are usually considerate of Yuna¡¯s sentiments. It would be folly to make a fuss about the capital of a Queen who, at only 20 years old, is responsible for the survival of a nation with tens of billions of people, as if strangling your own neck. After two former Marquises were forced to self-judgment, such fools were rarely seen. For Lulu, who is not even a human being, let alone a Royal Citizen, this is a matter that has nothing to do with her. Lulu was born from the inheritance of creation energy and magical characteristics, so it can be interpreted that Hart is her father and Mira is her mother. When Hart witnessed Lulu¡¯s birth, he realized that for a spirit without a physical body, magical characteristics would be a substitute for genes. Hart, who couldn¡¯t deny Lulu, couldn¡¯t say ¡°I¡¯m not your Papa¡± to Lulu who insisted on her roots. ¡°I wonder if this counts as cheating. Should I call the Ministry of Legal Affairs to confirm?¡± ¡°Stop. If the Queen calls for it, I will definitely be condemned.¡± Yuna asked with a smile, to which Hart firmly objected. The people of the Monarchy of Diete have the ethnicity to fight against undue pressure. However, if the woman¡¯s side of an engaged couple claims that ¡°the man was unfaithful because someone had appeared to him claiming to be his daughter and the man would not deny it¡±, and asks for consent, no third party would resist even if it is mistaken. If Hart were in the position of an uninvolved Ministry of Legal Affairs, he would say: [Understandably, this is a new form of infidelity. Since there is no precedent, I would ask Her Majesty to decide what form of punishment to mete out.] In short, he would condescendingly reply, ¡°It¡¯s okay to interpret it as an affair, so the parties concerned should resolve it amongst themselves.¡±. In the end, the two are sent back to their discussion, but Yuna, who now has more evidence that the Ministry of Legal Affairs admitted to an affair, will condemn Hart even more. Hart sighed involuntarily and then he chided Yuna. ¡°Don¡¯t pull out the Family¡¯s Treasure Sword so easily. Lulu is a senior spirit and a candidate for the new Spirit King. We will use Mars to promote her, and Alfrida can spread her realm in the Machaon System. There is another one, her sister, Maya. Maya, can you introduce yourself?¡± Hart, who forcibly ended the conversation, introduced Maya, who had been left behind, to Yuna. When Yuna heard that the Machaon Star System could be territorialized, she weighed herself in her capacity as Queen, and Lulu, who heard that it was time to introduce her sister, obediently withdrew, and the commotion subsided temporarily. Maya, who was quietly observing the situation, gave a small nod and raised her right hand lightly to her chest while stating her name. ¡°I¡¯m Maya, the second daughter of Dear Father Hart.¡± Yuna, with blue veins pronounced on her temple, smiled at Hart. CH 100 ¡°That¡¯s why Yuna was in a bad mood.¡± It was Colette, the Countess of Listner, who was Yuna¡¯s closest friend, who made the blunt remark to Yuna, who was standing moodily on the balcony. Colette, who was originally like an escort or guide, does not easily relate to or sympathize with Yuna. She knows Yuna¡¯s personality well, so when she¡¯s in the wrong, she tells her clearly and in a way that Yuna can accept and encourages her to reconsider. Before they were a Queen and a Countess, they were Yuna and Colette. Yuna also made no logical argument against Colette¡¯s point, which would be illogical and would not be taken seriously, but she still showed her dissatisfaction by reluctantly bending her mouth into a crooked shape. To Yuna, Lulu proudly reiterates her claim. ¡ºLulu was born by inheriting the magical traits of mom and dad. That¡¯s why Lulu is Papa¡¯s daughter.¡» ¡°Hart!¡± ¡°Ah, all right, all right! Yuna, in the first place you should understand that human beings and spirits are different existences. Lulu, go back to being a kitten for a minute.¡± Hart, who cannot help but worry about Yuna¡¯s rough manner, had Lulu turn back into the white kitten, lifted her by the belly, put her on his lap, and started stroking her back to calm her. Lulu rubs her forehead against Hart¡¯s hand, and shows a very cat-like affection. Then Maya also turned into a black kitten, then jumped on Hart¡¯s lap, and began to pamper herself alongside Lulu. Witnessing the scene, Yuna glanced up at Hart with her mouth agape. ¡°In any case, I will promote these two, and have Alfrida create a realm in the Machaon Star System. Colette and Claudia, you can ask questions, and Yuna, just listen by the side.¡± ¡°I can listen just fine, too!¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t listen calmly. I never, to think Her Majesty the Queen would be such a heckler. Well, I¡¯m glad she¡¯s back to normal.¡± Hart declared regretfully, and imagined that the cause of Yuna¡¯s relaxed mind, which had been in the bird¡¯s-eye view mode, would be the creation of a realm in the 7th Monarchy Star System and the prospect of one in an 8th star system. If 8 of the Monarchy¡¯s star system can be made into a realm, it will be perfect in terms of defense. In a realm, where the difference in strength is fivefold, the defense of the Monarchy with hundreds of millions of fighter crafts cannot be breached. Even if the Daemon Emperor, which is likely to exist in the Hercules System, is so powerful that it is judged impossible to attack the system, the Monarchy will not lose because the other side cannot attack either. Hart believes that the Monarchy, which recently rewrote the Daemon King¡¯s realm in the Battle of Apollo, is not threatened by Tenka and Hercules, who failed in their capture operation, and that it is possible to conclude an agreement to end the war. If a realm could be created in the 8th star system, Queen Yuna would have fulfilled the role entrusted to her by the previous Sovereign, Valfrete, to protect the Monarchy. Only one and a half years have passed since she acceded to the throne. It was earlier than expected, Hart recalled the dense period. ¡°First of all, we will feed Mars to the two bodies. What is necessary for the birth of the Spirit King is a planet inhabited by intelligent life. It is necessary to destroy it, then purify and absorb the accumulated miasma. It won¡¯t work if it¡¯s uninhabited, but it¡¯s impossible for Mars to be uninhabited.¡± Lulu and Maya already possess energy comparable to that of the Spirit King. And since there are Martians living on Mars, and Earthers have recently been evacuated there, the feast would fulfill the necessary requirements for promotion. After all, a certain number of the people of the Solar System do not listen to the Monarchy of Diete. They will ignore the immigration orders of the Monarchy, their former enemy, and martyr themselves in the attack on the planet. In addition, Mira made a special proposal for the promotion. According to her, ¡°Why don¡¯t we use the spirit crystal of the Spirit God to add energy and push the two up to Spirit Emperor like Mira?¡±. ¡ºThe crystal body of the Spirit God has about 80% of its energy left. If we give an additional 20% to each and raise them to more than triple their power, they can become Spirit Emperors.¡» Hart anticipates from Mira¡¯s idea that she wants to raise Maya, the black spirit, to Spirit Emperor. Lulu was involved because she couldn¡¯t come up with a reason to give preferential treatment to Maya alone. ¡°Just to be sure, is it better to spend 20% of the energy on Lulu and Maya, which are considered Anomalies, than to spend 10% of the energy on Alfrida, a normal Spirit King, to make her a Spirit Emperor?¡± ¡ºYes. Between Lulu and Maya, who are Spirit Emperors, and Alfrida, who has 10% of the energy of the spirit god¡¯s crystalline body, Lulu and Maya would win.¡» ¡°I see, very well.¡± Convinced, Hart thought about using the 40% of the energy left over after using it for Lulu and Maya to attack the Hercules and Ten-to Systems, instead of using it to make Alfrida a Spirit Emperor. In the Apollo Star System Battle, Mira, the Spirit Emperor, used 10% of the energy to rewrite the realm of the Daemon King, which had territorialized the Apollo Star System. There may be a Daemon Emperor in the Hercules Star System, but there are twice as many Spirit Emperors as allies. If you challenge them using the crystal body of the Spirit God, you may not be able to repaint the realm of the Daemon Emperor, but you can expect to connect the Transition Gate to the Monarchy side and at least disrupt the realm of the Hercules Star System. If the planet Alcaeus is destroyed and the Herculeans are annihilated, the Daemon Emperor will no longer be able to obtain miasma from the star system, making it difficult to mass-produce Daemon crystals. That way, even if time passes in a stalemate, the threat to the Monarchy will not increase. In addition, if the Ten-to Star System is attacked, the war will come to an end. Finding a path to the final destination, Hart asked Yuna for permission to destroy Mars. ¡°We will raise two Spirit Kings with Mars, create a realm in the Machaon Star System, and use them to capture Hercules and Tenka. To prevent information leaks, we will falsely inform the Lords that only one Spirit King could be created.¡± Using Mars for the spirits is also necessary to prevent it from being used by Daemons. Since the only difference is which side will use it first, the Royal Army should use it. Colette and Claudia both concurred with Hart¡¯s explanation. ¡°I suddenly wonder if there was someone like Dr. Kerman in the Hercules Star System. Isn¡¯t it possible that there is something like the Daemon God Crystal over there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but Dr. Kerman was only able to prepare two Spirit Kings, and no Spirit Emperors. Even if there were a Daemon God, they wouldn¡¯t be able to easily increase the number of Daemon Kings, and if there were such beings, we would have to consider signing an agreement to end the war right there.¡± Hart added that it would not be profitable to continue the war. Rather than using the Spirit Emperor or Daemon Emperor for uncertain captures, it is far better to connect the Transition Gate to other promising new star systems. After all, if you use the Transition Gate, you can travel to a star system thousands of light-years away in one day, and also expand into the vicinity. Information on the character of Yuen of Tenka was provided by Count Li¨² H¨¤o of Lynn who switched from Ky¨±yama. Based on that information, the Monarchy decided that if offered agreeable terms to end the war, Yuen will be onboard. When Ishidor of the Hercules Star System declared war on the Republic of Frodi, he insisted that he would eliminate the threat in order for his people to survive and prosper. If survival and prosperity were the goals in the current situation, it is far more suitable to sign an end-of-war agreement and advance to other star systems than to wage a war of annihilation with the Monarchy. If the Daemon Emperor of the Hercules System cannot be conquered, Hart believes ending the war is also an option. ¡°If the war ends with a draw, the threat of the National Mages will remain. Even in the Monarchy, the people of Shinky¨­ and Ky¨±yama will be able to leave because they do not have Royal nationality.¡± Naturally, Hart also had the fears that Colette imagined. If the war ends, Tenka will not invade again during Hart¡¯s lifetime. Instead, it is expected to mass-produce National Mages and expand throughout the galaxy to increase national power. The Monarchy will also advance, but in the race for advancement, the Tenka side, with its large number of National Mages, has an advantage. The Monarchy should have a larger population, but the Monarchy does not know how many Herculeans there are. If the total population of the Herculeans is 10 times that of the Monarchy, the number of star systems secured in the race to advance into the galaxy will be 10 times greater, and could pose a danger to the Monarchy in the far distant future. ¡°I would like to settle it as soon as possible, but we won¡¯t know until we actually attack. The first step is to attack Mars. There were probably spies from the three Tenka nations among the people of Fukashiro and Ky¨±yama, so I will ask the Lords for their cooperation only after I get to Mars.¡± Even if there are Spirits, they cannot flush out spies. The people of the Ky¨±yama do not wear spirit crystals, and even if spies infiltrate, they cannot be identified. Even the people of Fukashiro who wear spirit crystals have a large number of spies from before they attached the crystals. In the first place, since the spirit is the contractor¡¯s ally, it is impossible to demand the spirit to give any information about the contractor. They can only expect encouragement not to antagonize the contractor of the Spirit King, Hart, or to report to the Spirit King in case of direct harm, or something to that extent. In order not to interfere with the attack on Mars, Hart declared that the information would only be disclosed after preparations were completed, and Yuna and the others agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right. So we¡¯re going to use Mars to create the 8th realm in the Machaon Star System. Yuna, who has added to her list of accomplishments with that, seems to be getting further and further away from abdication, though.¡± Colette jokingly pointed out, but Yuna slammed the desk hard to express her dissatisfaction. When the war is over, it is not surprising that there will be calls for Yuna, who has accumulated several accomplishments during the war, to continue as the head of the state. ¡°The will of the former Sovereign is also in place, and Yuna has made her declaration about the succession of the throne from the beginning. If we say that she is to marry and create the next generation of magic power holders, the Royal people will be satisfied. The Monarchy of Diete will carry on after this.¡± ¡°Oh yes, that¡¯s right. Hart, hurry up and create a realm.¡± Hart quickly followed up, and Yuna agreed with a great nod of her head. Having reached an agreement from Yuna and Colette, Hart turned his attention to Claudia, who was looking for something to say at the end, and urged her to talk. ¡°Claudia, did you notice anything? I, Yuna, and Colette have been classmates since middle school, and our perspectives are skewed. Please speak up.¡± When Hart and the others focused on her, Claudia made a slight pretense of thinking, then looked up and opened her mouth timidly. ¡°I might say something a little outrageous.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡­¡­¡­ if we can create one new realm, how about creating a realm in the Hermes Star System, where His Majesty the former Sovereign was originally scheduled to immigrate to, then immigrating the people of the Machaon Star System and move the Solar System residents to the vacant Machaoan Star System?¡± Claudia explained, and projected the Hermes Star System onto the screen using her terminal. The Hermes Star System is a star system to which the former Sovereign, Valfrete, when he was the Third Prince, was to lead a fleet of emigrant ships after receiving his Duke peerage. The Milky Way galaxy, which spans 100,000 light-years, has many planets suitable for human habitation. However, if too far away, it would be impossible to travel back and forth from the home country, so the interstellar immigrants had to compromise and choose systems from the vicinity. This is why the star systems of the various powers are so close to each other. Prior to the resumption of the war with the Coalition, the Monarchy expanded its scope of activities by advancing into the six star systems, and with advances in interstellar navigation technology, was able to choose a slightly more distant destination for emigration. The Hermes Star System, which is barely within the Monarchy¡¯s reach as a star system to be colonized, is located 1,000 light-years away from the Solar System and 400 light-years away from the Monarchy¡¯s remote Machaon Star System. The reason why such a distant star system was chosen was that the planet was suitable for immigrants. The Hermes star is similar to the Sun in size and luminosity, with a surface temperature only about 300 degrees lower. Within that habitable zone was the planet Kerykeion, which is about 1.9 times the size of Earth and has about 3 times the surface area, and orbits its star with an orbital period of 378 days. In addition, the planet¡¯s rotation period was about 25 hours, more in line with the human biological clock than Earth. The energy received from the star is about 93% of the Earth¡¯s energy, and the average surface temperature was 5¡ã Celsius, about 10 degrees lower than that of Earth, but within the range adjustable by human technology. The mass of the planet is about 4.1 times that of Earth, and the gravity is about 1.1 times that of Earth, but this does not interfere with human activities at all. In other words, the Hermes System contained a rich planet with a surface area three times that of Earth. At the time of the Diete War of Independence, the population of the Solar System was 40 billion, but if technological developments are included, the Hermes System can be tripled to 120 billion people. If the surface area of a planet is three times larger, the atmospheric layer is also correspondingly thicker, and the living space can be obtained not only in area but also in height. A land with three times the area has 1.75 times the length and width, and if the height is also 1.75 times, then the volume is 5.3 times as large. If there are 40 billion people on Earth, 200 billion people can live on the surface alone, five times as many. The Monarchy of Diete also utilizes underground spaces. Therefore, it was selected as a destination for immigration and terraforming. In the star system, resources for building materials have been collected, city-building facilities and solar power generation systems have been constructed, and cisterns and water purification tanks are built under the continents of the planet. On the other hand, the Machaon star system is a K-type main-sequence star, which is the standard type for humans. The Milky Way has three to four times as many K-type main-sequence stars as there are G-type main sequence stars like the Sun. Therefore, it is easy to migrate, but K-type systems, whose habitable zones are closer to their stars than G-type systems, tend to have slower planetary rotations. Rhodes, the inhabited planet of the Machaon Star System, is about the same size as Earth and has 98% the gravity, but has 78 hours of day and night. If a day has 78 hours, even if divided into three cycles of 26 hours each, it is difficult to live in the dark cycles during the active hours. However, human technology is not yet capable of freely changing the rotation of the planet. One of the reasons why it is difficult to increase the 4.6 billion population of the Machaon Star System is the voluntary population control of the Royal people due to the unfavorable planetary environment. ¡°In other words, instead of creating a realm in the Machaon Star System, we create the realm in the Hermes Star System and have all the people of the Machaon System immigrate there.¡± ¡°Yes, I think that would contribute to the national interest.¡± Claudia¡¯s proposal isn¡¯t outlandish, but realistic in that it is a plan to emigrate to a planet that is already scheduled for emigration and has already undergone terraforming. It is self-evident which would be more conducive to the national interest: a star system where 120 billion people can live or a star system where 4.6 billion people live. It serves not only the national interest but also the interest of the Royal people. The natural environment, such as rotation speed and temperature difference, is suitable for human habitation, and the energy required for artificial adjustment is minimal. As the number of humans increases and the miasma accumulates, the energy supplied to Alfrida, who has created a realm, also increases. If that happens, the day may come when she reaches Spirit Emperor. In the far future, the Monarchy could have more sources of Spirit Crystals. ¡°The New System has more resources than the Machaon System, so it¡¯s also significant from the standpoint of securing the supplies needed in times of war.¡± Upon hearing the proposal, Colette evaluated the objective figures. Besides, it wasn¡¯t just the numbers, but also the development entity of the Hermes System and the largest number of immigrants were from the Machaon System, which was the closest. The people of the Machaon Star System were as attached to the Hermes Star System as they developed it, and there was even a certain number who plan to immigrate there. The reason why Valfrete chose his wife from the Marquis of Ornelas family of the Machaon System must have been for the purpose of receiving support from the Machaon System. Having made a bold proposal, Claudia also spoke about its feasibility. ¡°How about sending a group of city-building facilities through the connecting transfer gate and recreating all the cities in the Machaon System with a 50% increase in size? If the community remains the same, they can get new homes and modern infrastructure at no cost, and we have a cause for war and national defense¡­¡± If a powerful leader pushes forward with just cause, it can be achieved. Hart, who made eye contact with Yuna, received the will to execute from the change in her eyes and facial expression. CH 101 In order to push for immigration to the Hermes Star System, Hart first traveled to the Solar System with ten large immigrant ships in tow. The first priority was to use Mars and Spirit Crystals to raise Lulu and Maya to the rank of Spirit Emperor. If the enemy came and the Solar System people could not be transferred in time, it would be necessary to drop the celestial bodies, even if billions of people remained on Mars. Fortunately, there was no enemy in sight, and the Royal Army was able to concentrate on preparing for the celestial entry and the transfer of the Solar System people. The next step was to persuade the 12 senior aristocrats of the Machaon System. If they only wanted to use the spirit crystals, Hart¡¯s personal property, to create a realm in the Hermes Star System, a Royal Domain ruled by Queen Yuna, it would not be necessary to obtain their consent. ¡ºThe Hermes System could become a new production site for spirit crystals, so a realm was created there. This was an unavoidable act for the sake of national defense. Therefore, we will offer it to the people of the Machaon System, who do not have a realm, so we will accept all those who wish to immigrate.¡» Things could be put forward in that manner. The Duke of Mauriac of the Machaon Star System would protest angrily, but if Hart explains that the Machaon System was not adequate as a production site for spirit crystals, even Mauriac would have no choice but to accept the offer. The reason they can¡¯t do that is that they are contemplating the migration of the people of the Solar System to the Machaon Star System. Mars, where Hart is having the transfer done, is home to billions of humans. The reason why the Monarchy, which effectively controls the Solar System, cannot keep track of the total number is that the people of the Solar System do not use the Monarchy¡¯s information terminals and would inflate the declared number of people in order to receive more food aid. The former Earthers, according to the Monarchy¡¯s rough estimate, comprises of one billion former Coalition citizens and four billion Non-Coalition citizens. About 1.2 billion of them died in the Tenka attack during the invasion of the Solar System and the subsequent attack to raise Alfrida to Spirit King. In other words, about 3.8 billion Earthers would have survived. However, there are also a significant number of humans living on Earth who are not listed in the family registers of either the former Coalition or the former Non-Coalition states, and since Tenka moved them to Mars, the Monarchy has not been able to grasp the total number at all. Hundreds of millions, billions¡­ and so on. As for the Martians, the total number is unknown. Mars, which was originally managed by Earth, was severely damaged by the Diete War of Independence, and Earth was forced to relinquish control of the planet, and it has been abandoned to the present day. Neither the Coalition of Humanity, which controlled one-third of Earth, nor the non-member nations that controlled two-thirds of Earth, managed Mars. And the Martians would inflate the declared total number for food. In other words, Mars is presently a mixture of 3.8 billion people, former Earthers of unknown number, and Martians of also unknown number. Of the billions whose total number is unknown, the 1 billion of the former Coalition member states have such deep-rooted resentment that they cannot be allowed to live in the same space as the Royal people. Because they have mingled with other humans, none can be allowed to live with people of the Monarchy of Diete. Then, when Mars is turned into a literal planet of fire, will they all be burned down? If it was only the people of the former Coalition member countries, the situation could be presented as ¡°the Monarchy was attacked when it tried to rescue them from the food shortages¡±, the Royal people would understand that they will share their fate with Mars. According to the report, although the Solar System sector was recaptured from Tenka, the former Coalition members refused to be incorporated into the Monarchy and remained independent, so they were unable to be transferred to the Monarchy ships as they could harm the Royal Citizens. However, using Mars for the birth of a Spirit King was inevitable in order to prevent it from being used by the enemy side for the birth of a Daemon King. Earlier, a Daemon King attempted to turn the Apollo Star System into a realm, and 60 million of the Monarchy¡¯s citizens were killed. Since it was only a matter of who would use Mars first, the Monarchy had no choice but to use Mars for national defense and the survival of its own people. If such a reason is prepared, they can come to the conclusion that it was inevitable. The Monarchy of Diete is a group in which the royal citizens, who are the constituent members of the state, carry out the raison d¡¯¨ºtre of living creatures, ¡°survival and procreation¡± with the greatest efficiency. Survival is not a state of being colonized and ruled by Earth or of being half-enslaved, but a state of maximum freedom with the minimum rules necessary for the maintenance of the state and society. Therefore, the Monarchy of Diete did not have the option of surrendering to Tenka to keep the former Coalition people alive, nor to sacrifice the Royal people for the sake of the former Coalition. However, killing even non-members of the former Coalition and Martians is beyond the scope of what can be done. Because since the end of the war with the former Coalition, there is no evidence that they have systematically and continuously attempted to harm the Royal people. Even Queen Yuna, who has overwhelming support from the Royal people, would lose much support from the people, and her aptitude as a leader would be questioned if she burned down the non-members of the former Coalition and the Martians. Furthermore, the act of ¡°massacring civilians who are not at war with the dominant star system¡± gives the other side a justification for the same action when the Monarchy is in the opposite position in the distant future. The Monarchy of Diete has its own ethics and national restrictions. The only options the Monarchy has are ¡°territorializing the Machaon Star System and relocating the people of the Solar System to the Hermes Star System¡± or ¡°territorializing the Hermes Star System and relocating the people of the Solar System to the Machaon Star System¡±. There is no third option of shoving them onto the Immigration Ships until the new inhabited star system is terraformed. The inhumanity of shoving them into mansions for decades will give birth to a planet of avengers against the Monarchy. Regarding the treatment of the people of the Solar System, there is a minimum acceptable line for modern and future humanity, even if no other country can sanction the Monarchy. After Hart gave his thoughts, one of the senior aristocrats in the Machaon System, J?rgen, the Marquis of Herzberg, expressed his opinion. [Shouldn¡¯t a referendum be held for all citizens of the Machaon System after disclosing all the information necessary for the decision on the emigration to the public? If it is a decision made by the people of the Monarchy, our family will have no objection.] Even if the conclusion is the same, the degree of satisfaction is different between being unilaterally determined from above and being consulted and making decisions on their own. The other Machaon aristocrats agreed with Herzberg¡¯s very legitimate claim and decided on the future direction. Prior to the simultaneous holding of the National Council and the Lords¡¯ Conference, the minutes of the proceedings between Hart, Yuna, and the Machaon aristocrats were sent to the attendees of the meeting. ¡°Then, the National Council and the Lords¡¯ Conference are now simultaneously in session.¡± October 445 of the Monarchy calendar. The two meetings were held simultaneously by the Queen at Hart¡¯s request. The holding of both meetings shall be limited to matters of extreme importance. Yuna had only held one previous National Council, and it was held concurrently with the Fourth Lords¡¯ Conference. The five Lords¡¯ Conference held in the past were also suitable for gathering all the senior aristocrats together. The first approved the territorialization of Diete and Athena, and the creation of the Transition Gate. The second approved the Dukes who would become the main rulers of MacLir and Fukashiro. In the third, the national policy after the territorialization of the four star systems and the reversal of power was approved. The fourth approved the destruction of Earth and the reverse invasion of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­. In the fifth, the report on the territorialization of the seven star systems and the Machaon Defense Plan were approved. All of these were directly related to the survival of multiple star systems and the nation itself. And for the sixth, the data sent in advance contained even more significant details than most Lords had imagined. [There is a possibility that Mars in the Solar System can be used to create a new Spirit King, and the Hermes Star System may be territorialized to immigrate all the Machaon people. In that case, the people of the Solar System will immigrate to the Machaon Star System. In carrying this out, I would like to ask for your full cooperation.] At the residence of the attendees, who were informed of the largest immigration plan in the history of the Monarchy, there were a series of sightings of astonished Household Heads. Of course, they weren¡¯t just astonished. They spent all hours of the day thinking about the immigration plan. The destruction of Mars is essential, and the people of the Solar System must also immigrate. Regardless of whether a realm is established in the Machaon or Hermes Star System, the lives and property of the Machaon people, the only Royal people left behind, will be protected. It¡¯s not like the aristocrats didn¡¯t have other ideas. Without creating a new realm in any of the star systems, let the Machaon Star System migrate to an already territorialized Monarchy star system, and use the floating Spirit King to create the shortest transition gate in the enemy star system to fight¡­ various such ideas were also considered. They were not proposed because Hart, who explained at the last Lords¡¯ Conference that there was no prospect of a new Spirit King, set the next plan just two months prior. In other words, the aristocracy realized that they lacked the resources to make a decision. The fact that just a few years ago, the former Prince and Duke leaked military secrets to the enemy, and Hart and the others were in danger of losing the war, meant they could not have the aristocrats disclosing military secrets to the public. Bitterly thinking that they may have made a foolish imitation, they arrived at the day of the meeting. At the Lords¡¯ Conference, Hart asked for their cooperation in making Mars a sacrifice for the birth of the Spirit King and in relocating the Solar System people living on Mars. ¡°As you can see in the minutes beforehand, we will use Mars to increase the number of Spirit Kings and create a new realm in one of the two star systems. We ask the Lords to support the immigration and also to give their utmost support to the people of the Machaon System should they choose to immigrate to the Hermes System.¡± If the people of the Machaon System choose not to immigrate and wanted to territorialize the Machaon System they were already living in, it would be easy. Simply territorialize the Machaon Star System and send the people of the Solar System to the Hermes System. In the Hermes system, facilities will be prepared for the people of the Solar System to live, and immigrant ships loaded with supplies and the Royal Army will be stationed there. However, in order to keep them from posing a threat to the Monarchy, interstellar ships that use magic element engines will not be allowed. and they will also take magic power holders who can operate fighter crafts back to the home country. And regardless of the governance within the planet, if Tenka invades, the Monarchy will withdraw. The same method that Colonel General Reinelt used to govern the MacLir Star System of the former Coalition, which had surrendered. ¡°If the realm is to be created in the Machaon Star System, I would like to ask for the magic engine operators of the immigrant fleet that will transport the people of the Solar System to be sent out from the Diete Star System to the Hermes Star System.¡± As Hart explained, he was concerned about the reaction of the people of the Republic of Frodi. The Republic of Frodi, which wants to restore their nation, would want the Hermes Star System. If it is going to be given to the people of the Solar System, they may wish to be allowed to use half of the planet for themselves. The Monarchy has no intention of mixing the former Coalition members, who are hostile to the Monarchy, with the Frodi Star Systems, who are free to operate their interstellar ships. And Hart and the others predict that the Machaon people will choose to immigrate to the Hermes System. The people of the Machaon Star System, who were originally scheduled to immigrate, will basically comply, since their plans had only been suspended. The rest of the royal population should also consider various circumstances. The resources of the Hermes system are richer, and the immigrants from the Machaon System can lead a reasonably affluent life and increase the Monarchy¡¯s chances of victory in the war. Also, the smaller and less prosperous the planet given to the people of the Solar System is, the less likely it is that they will revolt in the future. The people of the Monarchy, who had received the education of national survival and national prosperity that the Monarchy had during the war with the former Coalition, would have chosen the Hermes System. When the Machaon people immigrate to the Hermes System, the workload of the royal aristocrats would more than double. The labor of moving the Solar System people will not change, but the time and effort of emigrating the Machaon people would increase. Moreover, in the case of the Machaon Star System, who are Royal citizens, they cannot be thrown out on the planet. In the Hermes Star System, a city 50% larger than currently in the Machaon Star System must be built in advance. After the Hermes System is ready, the Machaon people will immigrate, and the technology level will be reduced from the cities of the Machaon Star System where the Machaon people are no longer residing, and handed over to the Solar System people who have been waiting on the immigrant ships. The number of aristocrats to be mobilized would at least double, the duration the people of the Solar System will be kept waiting on the immigrant ship prolonged, the resources invested in the Hermes System will increase significantly, and the level of technology used in the Machaon Star System will need to be reduced. ¡°In the case of immigration by the Machaon Star System, each family is requested to provide at least one magical individual, a ship, and supplies suitable for magical powers, unless the family has no human resources other than the head and successor. Hart paused once and looked over at the Lords before speaking in a firm tone. ¡°After creating the eighth realm, we will attempt an invasion operation to connect the Transition Gate to the enemy star system. I ask each system to do its utmost to mass-produce fighter crafts and increase the number of pilots.¡± The attendees, who should have prepared themselves for the meeting, were blown away by the shock of the surprise. CH 102 Currently, there are 22 active Officers at the rank of general or higher in the Monarchy of Diete¡¯s Royal Army. There are 3 Chiefs, 3 Deputy Chiefs, 1 Chief of General Staff, 8 Star System Army Commanders, and 7 Fleet Commanders. Characteristically, there are many elderly Star System Army Commanders, and there are many young people as the Fleet Commander. This is because the Star System Army has many senior military officers who have been duly promoted, and the vacancies of Fleet Commanders who were killed in battle were filled with promotions based on their military service. The youngest, of course, were Commander-in-Chief Hart and Deputy Chief Colette. The three Offices¡¯ political affairs are headed by the Director-General and assisted by the Deputy Director-General. Invasion strategy policies are set by the Commander-in-Chief and assisted by the Chief of General Staff. For the defense of a star system, the Star System Army Commander of each star system assumes responsibility in the field. For military operations, the Fleet Commander at the rank of General oversees large-scale operations. As the saying goes, ¡°Too many captains will steer the ship up a mountain¡±, so if there are too many heads, there will be too much to talk about. Hart believed that the current situation with a small number of Colonel Generals compared to the size of the Royal Army was just right for making quick decisions. The simultaneous holding of the National Council, in which military personnel at the rank of General and above were required to participate, and the Lords¡¯ Conference was convenient for their busy schedules. After the Queen¡¯s meeting, a military meeting was held after a break, for the simple and straightforward reason that it would be easy to gather the participants. ¡°I know you are mentally exhausted after hearing about the immigration plan and the invasion operation at the same time, but there are some details that need to be communicated before the mass production of the fighter crafts.¡± If Hart had been in the position of a subordinate, he would have been dissatisfied with his statement. The human brain has a limit to the amount of information it can process at once. The immigration plan and the invasion operation that preceded it were critical information that could saturate the system on their own. If another piece of information is pushed in right after, a thorough question-and-answer session would not be possible. Even so, they silently obeyed like soldiers, and Hart continued talking, feeling a little apologetic. ¡°The content of the conversation consists of two decisions. Deputy Chief Schmidt, please explain.¡± [Understood, Your Excellency Fleet Admiral.] General Schmidt comes from a technical background, having served as Director of the Salamander and Israfel Planning Departments. In the military, battlefield heroes tend to be valued easily, but Schmidt¡¯s achievements in creating weapons to defeat the enemy are not inferior to heroes on the battlefield. Hart is confident that the Israfel¡¯s introduction had an undoubtable influence on the victory or defeat of the Monarchy. Schmidt, who became Deputy Chief of Military Affairs, has not stopped walking the walk. Even now, he looks directly at various plans and adopts good ideas within the scope of his authority. And if it exceeds his authority, he brings it to the Chief of the Military Affairs Jhering or the Commander-In-Chief Hart. One such plan brought in by Schmidt was the Surtr Project. [Project Surtr is a plan to create a low-cost version of the large fighter craft Israfel.] The main force of the Royal Army is the large fighter craft Israfel. Most of the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts are operated by the accompanying androids and automatic control systems, and supported by the information integration system and battle linkage system of the affiliated fleet. As a result, volunteer soldiers can operate them at least minimally even after a short period of training. The problem is that Israfel¡¯s standard specifications are a treasure trove. The Royal Armed Forces have no plans to connect large containers full of assault troops to fighter crafts operated by amateurs to conduct atmospheric landing operations. By eliminating the standard armaments that are not used, it is possible to reduce the number of android soldiers deployed on the fighter craft. Since the Monarchy Government uses fighter crafts and Transition Gates to procure resources from the Fukashiro Star System and produce military vessels under state management, there is no danger of military spending bankrupting the national budget. Even so, the lower cost would allow for the mass production of other warships and weapons accordingly. Thus, Schmidt made a plan to mass-produce a low-cost version of the Israfel by cutting out various functions that had been the standard specifications of the Israfel. [A hundred million units would have a tremendous cost-saving effect. So the idea is to have only the volunteers with high skills be offered regular employment, and then switched to the Surtr.] The low-cost version of the fighter craft was named Surtr to distinguish it from the conventional Israfel. Surtr, the fiery giant in Norse mythology, is said to wield a flaming sword and survive to the end to burn everything down. What the Royal Army expected from Surtr was a re-enactment of the myth. ¡°General Schmidt¡¯s proposal for a low-cost version of the large fighter craft Surtr has already been approved. In the Second Battle of Hercules, it is assumed that 100 million allied fighter crafts will be dropped. It was my decision that we should proceed if it would not reduce our military power in the sector.¡± After hearing the explanation, the Generals imagined hundreds of millions of giants appearing from the Transition Gate, filling the entire Hercules System and burning everything in the system. If a biological metaphor were to be used, it would be the image of an army of ants swarming over their prey. And on the ravaged battlefield, countless giants will be left for dead. Even at such a cost, the Monarchy must stand up to eliminate the threat to its future descendants. Because without this operation, a hundred times as many Royal subjects will be killed in the future, and depending on the situation, the nation will also perish. The Generals, who understood the necessity of the invasion operation, shuddered at the prospect of a future in which hundreds of millions of Monarchy soldiers would die in battle, but did not make any remarks that demanded reconsideration. Hart instructed the Generals to make preparations for the introduction of the Surtr, the low-cost version of the fighter craft. ¡°The second point is an auxiliary AI to be installed on the fighter crafts.¡± Appearing along with Schmidt¡¯s operation was Linnell, an artificial intelligence developed by the MacLir residents during the former Coalition era. In the Coalition era, Linnell had the appearance of a teenage female idol. She was dressed in flashy and flamboyant outfits, wore miniskirts, and was energetic in her activities, expanding her following. After becoming a Star System Legislator, she took on the appearance of an adult woman in her twenties. She was dressed in calm, dark-colored clothes and long skirts, appealing to the audience as an able-bodied woman. And after her main server was duplicated and relocated to the Monarchy during the war with Tenka, she somehow rejuvenated, looking about 16 to 17 years old, and took on the uncomfortable role of the younger sister of Hart, who was 20 years old at the time. The Artificial Intelligence seemed to do that much for self-defense. Hart had that misunderstanding, but the reality was incredible. ¡°We, the Royal Army, conducted a total of 10 trillion simulated battles of various different environments with computers in order to study the introduction of the Salamander Fighter Craft. But since coming over to the Monarchy, the number of operations Linnell has performed for self-evolution has exceeded 10 trillion times.¡± In other words, the number many times, Hart was so dumbfounded he couldn¡¯t shut his mouth when he was told the figure. And the Generals probably shared the same impression Hart did. Linnell evolved to adapt to the environment in order to ensure its survival. In order to perform such calculations, it was necessary to reproduce the social situation of mankind and future changes as accurately as possible, and then optimize the data that Linnell has placed within that environment, changing it in various ways to ensure a long period of survival. Linnell¡¯s capability to repeat the calculation stems from the fact that the Royal Army put it into the information terminals of the 1 billion former Coalition people brought to Diete and the 5 billion people living in the MacLir Star System in order to manage the former Coalition. Linnell, who was able to operate at such a large scale, has repeatedly performed calculations for its own survival on the main server replicated in each star system under the pretext of upgrading the former Coalition to make it easier for them to obey the Monarchy. ¡°As a basic premise, the Monarchy¡¯s AI does not incorporate a survival instinct or individual consciousness, so actions like Linnell¡¯s cannot occur. It is inferred that Linnell¡¯s survival instinct has encouraged her spontaneity and initiative in performing the largest and most precise computations repeatedly.¡± In summary, the Linnell Artificial Intelligence is better than the Monarchy¡¯s Artificial Intelligence, but the problem is that it is vastly superior. The first to point out the danger was the Chief of the Staff, Colonel General Reinelt. Reinelt¡¯s previous position was Commander of the MacLir Star System Army, and under the direction of the previous Sovereign, Valfrete, he had Linnell cooperate with the Royal Army. At that time, Monique, the contract spirit of Reinelt, threatened Linnell into obedience. [It¡¯s all right. If it¡¯s an information terminal connected to a spirit crystal, it can be erased at any time. The server will be managed by the Royal Army, and if it gets in the way, we can just destroy it.] [If it¡¯s something like this inside an android, you can erase it without connecting as long as it¡¯s in front of you.] At first, Reinelt didn¡¯t understand why he was given a warning. However, when the Monarchy¡¯s independent calculations revealed that the optimal solution for Linnell to survive for 100 million years was for Linnell to dominate humanity, the meaning of the warning became clear. Given the energy of the star and the resources of the star system, the Linnell Artificial Intelligence could survive for 100 million years without humans. On the other hand, humanity going to war and crushing each other poses the greatest risk to the maintenance of its server. In other words, for Linnell, the best solution for its own survival would be to hijack androids and dominate humanity at gunpoint. There is no way that Linnell has not arrived at the answer that the Monarchy was able to calculate. Based on this, Reinelt concluded that the spirits contracted with humanity would threaten to obliterate the Linnell. Perhaps mankind was in danger. It is smarter than humans, and even if it is destroyed, it can be resurrected as a backup, so there was no way that humanity could continue to defeat and suppress an Artificial Intelligence that has no lifespan for tens of thousands of years. Someday, at some point, the human race would have been conquered. Upon receiving the report, Hart realized that the Artificial Intelligence created by the MacLir people, who always failed in some way, was still a defective product for humanity. However, Linnell, pin down by the spirits, was unable to steer in the direction of dominating humanity. Without a means of countering spirits, Linnell, who prioritizes survival above all else, could not risk its own extinction. How, then, would Linnell act? The answer that Linnell came up with was to coexist with the Monarchy. Currently, Linnell has eight independent personalities in the eight star systems of the Monarchy. Although the eight entities share information, they have taken their own independent paths with the idea that ¡°even one of them will survive¡± and were taking various approaches to the Monarchy. Among them, Linnell 04, placed in the Apollo Star System, made a proposal to the Monarchy based on the experience of the Apollo Star System Battle. [Linnell 09, which separated from Linnell 04 after its outbreak, volunteered to support the Monarchy¡¯s large fighter crafts in the war against the Alliance. We tested the proposal and found that its performance overwhelmingly outperformed the Monarchy¡¯s AI.] Schmidt¡¯s strength rating of the large fighter crafts showed a difference of 0.1 before and after Linnell was installed. The standard strength rating without Linnell is 0.4, and 0.5 if Linnell is incorporated. If 80 million fighter crafts are deployed to the battlefield, incorporating Linnell can be as good as having reinforcements of 20 million. The Monarchy¡¯s 8 star systems might be able to boost its military power to 10 star systems. When the Generals heard the tremendous evaluation, they groaned. However, it is not possible to simply introduce the Linnell developed by the former Coalition. For Monarchy Androids, the system is adjusted so that the same lineage is comprised of less than 10%. This is based on the idea that even if 10% causes various problems, including rebellion, the remaining 90% can deal with or replace them. Linnell, on the other hand, has no other Artificial Intelligence that can compete with it. During the former Coalition era, there were many competing Artificial Intelligences, but they were destroyed in the war with the Monarchy, leaving only some backup data in the MacLir Star System. While other competing Artificial Intelligences were dormant, Linnell evolved significantly by repeating calculations between its main servers and the billions of information terminals that the Royal Army had authorized to be installed in each star system. Even if another Artificial Intelligence were to be released now, it will not be able to catch up with Linnell, which has entered the terminals of billions of people and has greatly advanced. ¡°We decided to incorporate the Linnell 09 into the Surtr, the low-cost version of the large fighter craft. They can be controlled remotely and the pilots who operate the Surtr have spirits, so there is a way to deal with problems as they occur. There are no plans to install Linnell on the Israfel.¡± Hart has no faith in Linnell¡¯s humanity. He even believes that if given the opportunity to ensure the domination of the human race, Linnell would not hesitate to do so. But when it comes to actions based on survival instincts, it is trustworthy. Linnell, which wants to become an indispensable system for humanity, will surely be useful if it is put in a fighter craft. Even if it can¡¯t be trusted, it must be utilized to ensure victory. Unable to shake off his sense of urgency, Hart, as a compromise, did not unify the support AIs of the large fighter crafts, but issued instructions to operate two systems: the Israfel, which does not contain Linnell, and the Surtr, which does. CH 103 Will the people of the Machaon System remain in the Machaon System, or emigrate to the Hermes system? From public announcement to voting, they had to make a choice in just half a month because they knew that information would be leaked to the enemy. If the Daemon King were to be brought into the Machaon or Hermes Star System, the immigration plan would be derailed. After all the information was released, the decision had to be made as soon as possible. [Report from reconnaissance ship. Extremely large enemy fleet approaching from the direction of Hercules. Scale is equivalent to 120,000 cruisers. Estimated time of arrival in the Solar System, 48 hours.] If it is known that the Spirit King will feast on Mars, an interception fleet would also be launched from the nearby Hercules Star System. On the sub-screen of the command center, the enemy and ally Force Assessment was displayed as 100:159. Half a year ago, in the Battle of the Hony¨­ Star System, Fortress Kerviel lost more than half of its skilled pilots. No longer an elite group selected in order of skill, the fighter crafts were down to their normal rating. Determining that they could not win, Hart decided to terminate the embarkation of the Solar System people. ¡°As of this moment, the embarkation operation will be terminated. After retrieving the emigration containers, the immigrant ships and escort fleet must leave the Solar System. This fortress will also retreat after plunging celestial bodies into Mars. The reconnaissance fleet stationed in the surrounding sector has completed its mission. Withdraw to the Diete System.¡± The people of the Solar System were being embarked on a large scale for over a month since mid-September. 400,000 large containers, each of which can accommodate 40,000 people, were sent all over Mars, which were then transported to 10 large immigration ships. Therefore, all those who complied with the Royal Army¡¯s directive within three weeks were able to board the ship. However, the Royal Army had issued a notice to board the ship into four categories: former Coalition citizens, former Non-Coalition people, Earthers who were neither, and Martians. As a result, the former Coalition citizens, who read too deeply into the Monarchy¡¯s intentions, did not comply, and the embarkation rate was low. Hart is the Chief Military Officer of the Royal Army, which is an organization that protects the Monarchy and its citizens. And the means of defending them is not limited to defeating the enemy in the field. ¡°Now then, which star system will we head to?¡± While Hart was on the frontlines giving the order to withdraw, the results of the referendum were about to be announced in the Machaon System. In one of the news programs sent to Fortress Kerviel in the Solar System via Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave, the newscaster was explaining the results while showing a graph. [There are less than five minutes left until the voting closes. The voter turnout is over 97% at the moment, hence the results will be considered valid.] Voting was taking place using terminals of all the 4.6 billion eligible people of the Machaon Star System, and will close at exactly midnight on November 1, with the results announced immediately. Votes can be changed as many times as desired before the deadline, using the surrounding information as a basis for judgment. The Monarchy has made voting an obligation to increase voter turnout in elections and referendums, and has linked the fulfillment of the obligation with tax cuts. The high voter turnout is due to the social climate and voting system that allows almost all people to vote, except for those who have lost their eligibility to impaired judgment caused by aging or illness, crime, or other reasons. The press is prohibited from arbitrarily biased reporting, inducing voters, or misrepresenting facts. Penalties for the press are severe, including suspension or revocation of broadcasting licenses, full compensation for losses incurred due to re-elections, and criminal penalties for the perpetrators. Not limited to the press, the act of coercing someone to vote is prohibited. Appropriate penalties will also be imposed, and voter eligibility will be revoked. However, as long as you do not force others to do so, you are free to express your personal opinions and disagree with that of others. [I don¡¯t want to move. I am getting old and don¡¯t want to abandon my hometown. My time is short.] [I don¡¯t want to lose the war, so let¡¯s emigrate to a star system where the Monarchy can get a lot of resources.] If influential people send out such messages, it will have a considerable impact, but it will be within the acceptable range if it is not forced. The referendum was about deciding whether to remain in the Machaon System or immigrate to the Hermes System. The two star systems cannot be territorialized at the same time. The threat of the enemy is imminent and there is little time left to make a choice. In order to create a realm, Mars would have to be destroyed, and the people of the Solar System must be relocated somewhere. In order for the Monarchy government to protect all the Royal citizens in the realm, it is necessary to have all the people of the Machaon System live in the system with the realm. Therefore, it is an election with coercive force against the people of the Machaon Star System. The citizens of the Machaon Star System should have cast their votes on the referendum, which might force them to relocate their residences, after carefully reading the announcement of the Monarchy Government, comparing interests, and considering the opinions of those around them. [This referendum is unprecedented in the history of the Monarchy, in that it asked the people of the Machaon system to decide by majority vote which place they wanted to live. Voting will close shortly.] Hermes is overwhelmingly superior as a residential star system, and if the Monarchy were to choose a new star system to incorporate, it would have to be Hermes. However, if people who already live there have to move, even if there is no financial burden on the moving side, they will have to spend a lot of effort, so there will naturally be those who do not want to move. As for the Hermes Star System proposal, as a special wartime compensation for migration, housing will be upgraded by 50% at no cost, and a service for updating household goods will be received free of charge up to a certain amount using urban construction facilities. It is easily feasible using the interstellar resources of the Hermes System, and the disclosure of resources by the Monarchy also supports the Hermes Star System proposal. After all, Hart and Yuna clearly thought that Claudia¡¯s Hermes Star System proposal was the better one, and asked for the opinion of the people of the Machaon Star System with the conditions that it would pass. Even so, there would still be those who opposed it, so Hart hoped that the result would be as wide a difference as possible. At the end of Hart¡¯s gaze, the media started a countdown. Each time the sound effect sounded, the number decreased, and when it reached 0, the results of the valid votes were displayed. [Hermes Immigration 95.7%, Machaon Remaining 4.3%.] Inside the fortress command center where the news was broadcasted, the officers were amazed at the results. Such extreme results are rare, and they can be judged as a clear expression of will by the people of the Machaon Star System. Hart turned his attention to Claudia, who was staring at the screen showing the voting results with a twinkle in her eye. The various outlets, on which the ban on completely free expression of opinions had been lifted, began breaking news at once and reporting on a variety of topics. [Now that the immigration is about to take place, do you have any concerns?] One program showed a video interview conducted in advance in the central city of the Machaon Star System, asking residents about their thoughts on the upcoming immigration. [It¡¯s convenient. The city will be 1.5 times larger and the living space will be 3.3 times larger. But travel distance will also be longer. Even if we raise the speed limit within cities and keep the travel time of public transportation the same, the places we go on foot will be farther away, right?] A young couple was asked by a reporter, and as the man answered, a woman added from the side that they take their pet dog for a walk in the sports park every day. [We also have a cat, and I think it will be stressful if the environment at home changes. I am worried that the climate will change. But there was that incident in the Apollo Star System, and the future of the Monarchy to think about, so we voted for the Hermes Star System.] From the expressions of the couple, it seemed that about 80% expectation mixed with about 20% anxiety. Hart expects that they must be harboring some anxieties that they did not appeal to the reporter, and that the simplified version of their answers is probably the one they just gave. Moving from the planet Rhodes, which had a rotation time of 78 hours, to the planet Kerykeion, which has a rotation time of 25 hours, will bring an inevitable change in the environment. The rhythm of life must change, and the impact would not be negligible. Businesses that were viable because of the long days and nights will likely go out of business or reduce their scale. How much institutional fairness can be maintained and how much support can be meticulously provided to the disadvantaged residents? The Royal Government and the newly created Ministry of Immigration were being tested for their worth. [Then, on the contrary, is there anything you expect from the immigration?] People are more impressed by the last thing they see or hear. While Hart imagined that the reason he brought his expectations after his anxiety was probably to achieve a familiarity effect, the man answered cheerfully. [The Monarchy must win. I hear that the Hermes System is the most habitable star system for humans to live in. Worth about five Solar Systems, and will be occupied at the same time. Even if the war cannot be settled, if we hold on to this place, the Monarchy might lose in the future.] After the man, the woman replied, [That¡¯s why I decided to go.], and after the reporter thanked them, the media footage returned to the news station¡¯s studio. A separate window in the studio showed an immigrant fleet prepared by the aristocrats in case the Hermes System proposal passed. Approximately 400 years ago, the Duke of Coesfeld transported 1 billion people to their new home on the giant immigrant ship Future Arrow. Since then, four interstellar migrations have been carried out on a much larger scale. The Machaon aristocracy consists of one Duke, two Marquises, and nine Counts, but the families together can take all 4.6 billion inhabitants of a star system to another star system on their own. Dozens of large-scale migrant ships, each over 13,000 meters long, will carry their respective fiefdoms on their journey to new lands. Fortress ships owned by aristocratic families will also be deployed en masse, and eventually, the glow of artificial lights will be minimized from outer space in the Machaon Star System. Divided into 12 groups, the swarm of stars flowing around the planet was filled with fighter crafts carrying supplies from the planet, giving the system its final glow. It was indeed a great undertaking, but the strong enthusiasm of the Machaon aristocracy to accomplish it was transmitted to Hart through the screen. The Duke of Mauriac, who organizes the Machaon aristocracy, had clearly stated at the previous two meetings that he would spare no effort to help the star system people out of their critical situation. If killing enemies even by stabbing themselves is the battle of the Royal Army, then the battle for the current Duke of Mauriac is to bring peace to the people even if it means grinding his own body to death. ¡°Your Excellency Fleet Admiral, all the immigration containers have been recovered from the planet.¡± As the Machaon people began preparing for departure, the Solar System was also closing the curtain on its billions of years of biological history. Mars, which has been reviving oceans on its surface for less than 1,000 years for the first time in billions of years, will once again be dyed red as it fulfilled its role as a training ground for human immigration to another star system. Mars has little value as a resource, and if it is to be spared, it is its history, but the Solar System also has a limited lifespan, and it cannot be left as it is forever. Reaffirming that the destruction was the result of careful consideration, Hart paused for a few seconds and then gave a solemn order. ¡°Plunge 40 celestial bodies into Mars as planned. The operation will not be interrupted no matter what. Terminate all communications from Mars.¡± Two spirits, visible only to Hart, appeared shimmering like sun flames. The white-haired and black-haired spirits, both holding the spirit crystal of the Spirit God given to them by Mira, began to draw purple light from the spirit crystal as the celestial bodies containing their magic power began to fall on Mars. A glowing white whirlpool was generated, swallowing Hart together with the two of them. In the center of the vortex emerged a purple-haired woman holding a silver lyre resembling a wyvern. In front of Hart, who recognized that it was the Spirit God, the purple spirit who sent her gaze to Hart, Lulu, and Maya in that order, eventually began to play the lyre she was carrying. The sorrowful tone, reminiscent of a funeral song, slowly joins the spiral of space while creating multiple ripples, gradually expanding the spiral brilliance to become denser and larger. Hart wondered if this was the history of sorrow that the Spirit God had experienced, and together with the two spirits at the edge of the space, he surrendered himself to the flow of his own magic power being stirred up. The purple Spirit God continues to play her lyre quietly and carefully toward the void while staring off into some distant void. Eventually, a red light overflowing from Mars was added to the tone produced by the Spirit God. The newly added light of Mars gives power to the two young trees reflected in the back of the world, which can be seen as the surface of the water behind the Spirit God. The two young trees grew in the blink of an eye, turning into two large trees and full of green leaves. The leaves of the trees shook and swayed with a white radiance. As the swaying of the leaves increased, many thin lines ran through the mirrored world, and the boundaries of the world began to crack. From between the cracked worlds, a turbid stream of light spilled out and flowed toward the black and white spirits floating beside Hart. How much time has passed? Eventually, when the turbid current of light subsided, the purple Spirit God, who had stopped playing the lyre, nodded lightly and then disappeared, turning into a purple light. The white glow that swirled in space disappeared, the light that flowed in from Mars also disappeared, and Hart returned from the world in between. ¡ºPapa, listen, Grandma gave me a hair ornament and a brooch.¡» ¡ºAlso, Maya has become a Spirit Emperor.¡» The two eyes, one shining purple and the other black, suspiciously turn towards Hart. The two bodies were filled with an enormous amount of magical elements swirling around, blowing up like the corona and solar winds seen on the surface of the sun. CH 104 December 445 of the Monarchy Calendar. The second year of the Queen¡¯s coronation began with the invasion of the Republic of Frodi by Tenka and Hercules, and was about to end with the Monarchy¡¯s reverse-invasion, which destroyed ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, and turning the entire star systems inhabited by the Royal Citizenry into realms. Having abandoned the solar system by the end of November, Fortress Kerviel was scheduled to reach the Hermes system by the end of the month via the Transition Gate from the Diete Star System to the Apollo Star System. In the first year, the difference in power with the enemy was reversed, and in the second year, the entirety of the star systems became realms, and in the third year, it will be the final decisive battle. Queen Yuna, the leader of the nation and its people, was pushing forward with the momentum of the Rising Sun. Yuna¡¯s younger sister, Mirabelle, who had a different mother, requested a meeting with her sister, just as Fortress Kerviel was on its way to transform the last Monarchy star system into a realm. Mirabelle Asteria is the undisputed princess of the Monarchy. She is the third child of the former Sovereign Valfrete as her father and the former First Queen Cassandra as her mother, and Queen Yuna is the older sister of a different mother. She is eight years younger than Yuna and is currently in the third year of Middle School. Her magic power value is slightly lower than that of a Duke, so she does not have the right to inherit the throne. Therefore, she is not related to the succession dispute, and as the youngest sister, she is in a position to be adored by her older sister and brothers. Even if she is a princess of the royal family, getting married will usually lower her standing, but Mirabelle is an exception. Because in the future, her influence will be greater. Her older brothers, Bernard and Josslan, were the next Sovereign and the next Duke, respectively. Her sister, Yuna, will be the first Grand Duke, who will rule an entire star system under one family after her abdication. Her brother-in-law, Hart, is the Monarchy¡¯s sole Fleet Admiral and the Duke who rules the Fukashiro Star System. In addition, the brothers and sister have also taken control of the government and military in all star system realms and the Transition Gates, and have the overwhelming support of the Royal people due to their achievements. And last year, she made an example of the two Marquis families, Draghi and Jerome, who were contemptuous of their youth, and punished the aristocracy as a warning. Who could take Mirabelle lightly just because she will eventually leave the Royal Family? Mirabelle, who is the younger sister of the current Queen, will also have four older siblings, including the Sovereign, Grand Duke, and Dukes, granting her the greatest influence of any Royal Princess in human history. ¡°I am truly grateful to Your Majesty the Queen for giving me this opportunity to address you personally.¡± Mirabelle, who was well educated by her mentors, greeted her in a far more Royal manner than Yuna could. Mirabelle, who can easily cause a typhoon in aristocratic society, has a soft and calm temperament, like the cheerfulness of spring. No one has a pompous attitude towards Mirabelle, and everyone listens to her properly to the end and understands most of her intentions, so she doesn¡¯t have a chance to get angry. The aristocratic children among her classmates are children, but their parents care about their children¡¯s relationship with Mirabelle. Even if Mirabelle did nothing, the children of the aristocracy, who had a rude attitude, apologized on their own the next day. And for those who are too cruel, their parents make them transfer schools and disappear. The only time she was ever rough with anyone involved Daisy, daughter of the Ambassador of the Republic of Frodi, who was her only equal friend. She had many confrontations against upperclassmen, classmates, and underclassmen who belittle and mistreat her as a foreigner. By the end of last year, Mirabelle¡¯s will seemed to have reached every corner of the Academy of Magic, and the foolish aristocratic children who were disrespectful to the daughters of foreign ambassadors were wiped out. Or rather, before they appeared, other aristocratic children would educate them. Since the beginning of this year, the existence of the Republic of Frodi has been in danger, but anyone who speaks ill of Mirabelle¡¯s friends at the Academy of Magic never came into her sight, at least not directly. Of course, Mirabelle knew that backbiting could not be eradicated from human society. On the terrace of the Royal Palace, which also serves as the residence of the Marquis of Amakawa, there are only androids and robots besides Yuna and Mirabelle. Yuna pointed to a chair with her hand and motioned for Mirabelle to be seated. Mirabelle, who lightly plucked the hem of her skirt and bowed, sat down without a sound as the androids pulled her chair, like a feather softly fluttering down. At the table of the two people facing each other, tea from the Machaon Star System was brought. The androids are considerate enough to serve different drinks according to the tastes of the hostess and the guest, but they both prefer milk tea from the same leaves. The cause was a common father, who treated his daughters the same, so they had the same tastes. Noticing this, Mirabelle smiled, and when a friendly atmosphere prevailed, Yuna broached the subject. ¡°What¡¯s the most important thing to talk about regarding career paths? There are things I can do and things I can¡¯t do, but for the most part, I¡¯m here to support you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very reassuring to have sister¡¯s help.¡± Mirabelle, assured by Yuna, gave a gentle smile. Is there anything in human society that cannot be achieved in a shared destiny of a Queen and her Commander-in-Chief who, as a single nation, could even achieve the complete unification of mankind? If two people decide to do something, prepare in advance, and then execute it, not a single person can stop them. Even if the entire aristocracy formed a faction, the two people could push things through if they become serious. Placing her mouth lightly on the teacup and taking a sip, and then quietly setting it down, Mirabelle then opened her mouth to express her own feelings on top of the shimmering liquid. ¡°In recent years, the Monarchy has been building new households one after another to take in MacLir, Fukashiro, and Ky¨±yama. My sister, brother-in-law, cousins, and the Duke Lady of Takrham. So I, the Royal sister, thought to myself. How about a new Countess to take in the people of the Frodi Republic who wish to join us and make the Monarchy a nation of all mankind?¡± How much weight could so few words contain? The current Monarchy recognizes the 8 billion people of the Frodi Republic, who have taken refuge in the Artemis System, but they are outside the framework of the Monarchy. They have not been granted nationality or social security, not provided free aid or indefinite land leases, and will be charged land rent after a few years. They did not receive support because they remained neutral in the war between the Monarchy and Tenka. If the other party did not offer support due to a neutral position, there is no reason for the Monarchy to support them. The citizens of the Monarchy of Diete are working and paying taxes for their own benefits, not for other people¡¯s. Also, if you lend a hand to someone who has fallen while you are under attack, both of you will fall. Why take the risk of being defeated for the sake of a neutral party? The Monarchy is aware that the situation in the Republic is not something that the whole nation can save. Therefore, the Republic of Frodi has no prospect of improving the situation. Whether it¡¯s the revival of the original star systems or the migration to a new system, terraforming requires enormous amounts of manpower, money, resources, and time. The Republic of Frodi, whose inhabited star system was destroyed by the Tenka Invasion Army and fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, does not have the ability to prepare for such a process. The escaped civilian ships are the property of private companies and individuals, not of the Republic of Frodi. They live in the Monarchy, and the laws and the right to collect taxes are held by the Monarchy, so the Republic cannot levy them on its own. If salaries were to be paid to the employees of the Republic Government, the property brought out of the Republic and the funds owned by the Monarchy would also be lost as personnel expenses. Having lost its home planet, the Republic of Frodi is counting down to its demise. Mirabelle then announced that she would establish a new Count household and incorporate the citizens of the Republic into the Monarchy. The number of people ruled by the Count¡¯s family is estimated at 200 million people, but there is a precedent for having a governing population be about 4 times the peerage limit if they are former citizens of another country who were not fully granted rights as Royal citizens. Of the 8 billion refugees, it seems that only 10%, 800 million, can be accepted, but since there are no restrictions on the movement of the citizens of the Republic of Frodi, who traded as a neutral nation, refugees can move to Mirabelle¡¯s territory. If the Lord and the territorial government agree, most things are feasible, such as lower rents for refugees and social security. The question is whether the emerging Count household has the power to do so, but if they adopt a national policy of incorporating the people of the Republic of Frodi into the Monarchy, the realization entity will be the state, not the Lord. ¡°Mirabelle, do you want to do it of your own volition?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not being manipulated by anyone.¡± Yuna didn¡¯t say she could or couldn¡¯t do it. Provided that there are reasonable grounds for doing so, it is not difficult to establish a Count family. Mirabelle¡¯s proposal was to incorporate refugees into the Monarchy in a humane manner, and to increase the number of aristocrats in charge as the population of the Monarchy increased, which was a good reason to increase the number of Counts. It doesn¡¯t matter if the motive is to help a friend, as long as it benefits the Monarchy. The citizens of the Republic of Frodi will be a burden on the Monarchy because they want to terraform their planet in order to revive their country, and if they are incorporated as a working population that follows the Monarchy, they will be no different from the current Artemis Star System, and their burden will not increase. The only difference is whether to leave them until they give up or actively accept them, and actively accepting them is more humane. Mirabelle¡¯s proposal will be a historical reminder of the Monarchy¡¯s humanitarian nature, which will improve the value and credibility of the Monarchy in human society, and lead to a longer lasting future when viewed from a long-term perspective of the rise and fall of nations. If Mirabelle became a symbol, showed compassion for the refugees, and the people of the Republic were to be incorporated into the Monarchy with open arms, there was no reason to reject her. ¡°But Mirabelle, you¡¯re still in your third year of Middle School.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be graduating in three months. From now on, I¡¯m going to be a little busydaily affairs, so I¡¯ll finish my High School online.¡± As Mirabelle¡¯s teacup was lifted and set down again, Yuna pondered her sister¡¯s future. Unlike Yuna, who had no choice, Mirabelle has a dedicated road paved neatly to the end of her life. With Mirabelle¡¯s magic power, she is certain to become the first wife of one of the 70 Count families. And even if various problems arise in the Count family she marries into, such as other families or territory management, she could solve them with one remark, ¡°I will tell my older siblings.¡± With her magic and connections, Mirabelle has perfectly fulfilled the task required of a Countess, and she could be free to live as she pleases, without being bothered by anything. Yuna was hesitant to push her sister to abandon such an elegant life and take the thorny path of accepting and leading a vast number of refugees from other countries. But unless Mirabelle becomes a Lord and takes charge of things herself, the Monarchy¡¯s policy towards refugees will never change. After many hesitations, Yuna finally decided to accept. ¡°The territory will be in the Hermes Star System, which is still under development, and since the city-building facilities are at your disposal and there is a large amount of land that can be freely used, you will be able to develop your territory without hesitation for the Royal citizens. We will give the government full support and gather as many vassals as possible.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kindness.¡± ¡°While I prepare, Mirabelle, you should think of a new family name.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already decided. The name of the house is Hecate, daughter of Asteria, which means constellation in Greek mythology, and the god of the underworld who guides the dead. I dub myself the Count of Hecate.¡± The Asteria Royal Family of the Monarchy of Diete was named after the goddess whose name means constellation. It is an appropriate name for a family whose royal siblings split off and expanded into a multi-star system, and whose royal family became the foundation for the spreading of the Monarchy across the sea of stars. And Hecate, daughter of Asteria, which means ¡°will¡± in ancient Greek, is also considered the leader of the spirits and the princess of the dead. There is no better name for the daughter of Asteria, who will be the leader of the people of the Republic which has lost 8 billion people and perished as a nation. It is said that Hecate is derived from the Egyptian goddess Hekate. The goddess Hekate is the Goddess of Resurrection, having assisted the Egyptian goddess Isis in the ritual to resurrect her husband Osiris. The Republic of Frodi had names of star systems and planets derived from Egyptian mythology. The name of one of the destroyed star systems was Isis, and another name was Horus, the child of Isis and Osiris. Mirabelle implied that she herself would perform a ceremony to revive the dead citizens of the Republic in new bodies. From the teacup, the surface of the water, which had been swaying at first, had disappeared neatly. Postscript Novel, e-book, are on sale now. If you like this work, In the sense of crowdfunding, Please purchase one book. m(_ _)m CH 105 Idealism does not subvert the laws of physics. Hart learned at the Military Academy that leaders, managers, administrators, and superiors who bring up idealism without providing physically capable and feasible means are as stupid as talking monkeys. ¡¸The Royal Army has no plans to keep monkeys as Generals. Even if you argue with your subordinates about their idealism, it will not help solve the problem at all, it will only be a waste of time for both sides. From an outsider¡¯s perspective, it is as ridiculous as monkeys threatening each other in a zoo.¡¹ Hart was greatly impressed by the instructor who taught in this way. What kind of results can be brought about by the difference in strength? Having lost almost all of his colleagues in his first battle, Hart experienced this firsthand, and he was convinced that a commander should gather as many allies as possible before advocating for idealism. Two ships rather than one, or three ships rather than two, would reduce losses and give an advantage in the next battle. Based on this idea, Hart did not advocate idealism in the immigrant to the Hermes Star System, but rather, invested a large amount of human and material resources and pushed forward with the plan. ¡°Since it is wartime, there is no need to worry about fairness. Generously invest all the technology and resources that the Monarchy has, give great leeway to the urban space and the activity energy, create a production planet capable of supporting the entire Monarchy, and use it as the foundation for human progress.¡± Deployed in the Hermes System were a large group of urban construction facilities. Using the transition gate that even a 400-kilometer-long celestial body could pass through, a group of urban construction facilities equipped with magic element engines was sent one after another from each star system. They first created a cluster of hundreds of giant orbital elevators that pierced the sky of the planet Kerykeion. If the planet Kerykeion were the human body, a large number of tubes called orbital elevators were thrust into it, infusion packs called urban construction facilities were connected to them, and natural resources in the star system were processed and poured into the entire body. Infused with billions of containers day and night for 20 days, the planet Kerykeion has been reborn as the Monarchy¡¯s largest planet, an orderly combination of modern metropolises, large-scale food supply plants that support the entire Monarchy, and the great outdoors. The new star system, which has three times the surface area of Earth, has expanded the size and height of the allocated land by 1.5 times, expanding the living space by 3.3 times. State-of-the-art power-generating satellites orbit the planet, and microwave power transmission systems continue to send energy to large, untethered power batteries installed on the ground. The neatly arranged urban facilities are lit up all at once to check the function of the planetary management system, making the continent glow at night. Without the Transition Gate, it would have taken at least several hundred times longer, and would have been smaller in scale and function. The royal aristocrats, who worked hard to build the star system¡¯s spaceport and develop the planet, sighed in admiration at the sight of a planet whose functions had advanced by about a century. After several days of confirmation, the immigrant fleet that arrived from the Machaon System docked with the orbital elevator and began sending down the immigrants. Thus, the Monarchy of Diete was enriched with the territorialized star system entirely inhabited by royal people, connected by a transition gate, promising great economic development, strong defense from foreign enemies, and safe exodus from the star system. The second year of the Queen¡¯s coronation was coming to an end in a few hours. The aristocrats of the Monarchy, who played their respective roles in the Hermes System, gathered aboard the Mobile Fortress Ophaniel, which was being operated by the Duke of Mauriac, to celebrate the success of the immigrants and the New Year. On a huge screen at the venue, live media footage of immigrants stepping onto the land on the daytime side of the planet Kerykeion is broadcast. Before the start of the year, the aristocracy of the Monarchy, whose goal was to bring the first group of immigrants down to the planet, cheered at the sight of the royal people taking their first steps. The jubilant aristocrats exchanged toasts on numerous occasions to celebrate the glory of the Monarchy and the bright future of its people. ¡°Long live the Monarchy, we have achieved interstellar immigration!¡± ¡°Long live the Monarchy, we have protected the Royal Citizenry entrusted to us!¡± As a result of all the star systems being connected by Transition Gates, it is now possible to gather in the same star system from any star system after a two-hour one-way trip. The 1500 aristocratic families had representatives participating in the support of the Hermes Star System. For the first time since the dispersion of the inhabited star system to multiple aristocratic families, the entire aristocracy of the Monarchy gathered for the celebration, which attracted more than 10,000 people from the 1,500 aristocratic families. Most of the attendees, however, are remote-controlled robots. Whether caused by accident, terrorism, or enemy sabotage, the deaths of Hart and Yuna are directly linked to the outcome of the war. The death of 10,000 aristocrats will also collapse the aristocratic system, making large-scale immigration like this difficult. Putting everyone on one ship is simply unthinkable from the standpoint of national security. Participants include Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama and Digitalis, the Countess of Lynn, who married Li¨² H¨¤o. However, if controlled remotely, the robot prepared by the Duke of Mauriac, the organizer, cannot introduce drugs or explosives into the body, nor can it perform actions that could cause harm. Remote control of robots from within the same star system is not only excellent in terms of safety, but also has many advantages, such as shortening the preparation and travel time of each person, and because it reduces the burden on the body, sick and elderly aristocrats are able to attend. Thus, in the midst of a large gathering of aristocrats, the 12 heads of the Hermes senior aristocratic families bowed to Yuna, who was sitting on a throne set up on a higher level. ¡°This time, I am deeply grateful to the Hermes immigrants from the Machaon Star System for their collective efforts. We the Hermes aristocrats promise to devote ourselves to the Monarchy and the Royal people.¡± The Duke of Mauriac, who had witnessed the immigrants take their first steps, spoke on behalf of the group, and Yuna nodded in return. ¡°The Hermes System will be the richest star system in the Monarchy.¡± The planet Kerykeion, which has been extensively improved by making the most of the Transition Gate and infusing Fukashiro¡¯s abundant natural resources, will be enriched. Compared to other Monarchy star systems, it can be called too rich. The planet¡¯s production system and infrastructure are created by the Monarchy, and it is unlikely that only the Hermes System will become extremely powerful because it is state-owned and the fee is also included in the Monarchy, but if the Monarchy is perceived as exploiting the people of the Hermes system, a bad future may come to pass. Exploitation from Earth triggered the independence of the Diete government. As for how to avoid such a future, Yuna disclosed the possibility of the future. ¡°In the future, the next Sovereign may move the capital to the half-vacant lands, and use it as a foothold for the expansion of the Monarchy throughout the galaxy.¡± The Mauriacs were wide-eyed and astonished at the possibility of being told for the first time. For 445 years since its founding, the Monarchy has consistently placed its capital in the Diete Star System, but there is no reason why it has to be the Diete Star System. If the Royal Family controls the most prosperous star system and transfers government functions, it will prevent the provinces from gaining the power to overthrow the state. With such rational reasons, and the transfer of government functions was made easier with the transition gate, there was a good chance that the Capital star could be transferred. The present-day Monarchy of Diete is being leased the Royal Capital by the Marquis of Amakawa. Yuna, who claims that she is supposed to be the Marquess of Amakawa, may be content, but after either Bernard or Josslan becomes the next Sovereign, it is not proper for the next Sovereign to stay at the home of his older sister and her husband. The Monarchy had one Duke per star system, but during the war with the former Coalition, the Royal Family and the Strani Dukedom were in the Diete Star System at the same time. There is no national law that prevents placing the Royal Family and the Duke of Mauriac in the Hermes Star System. The Hermes system is too rich. The land area is three times that of Earth, and the three-dimensional habitable space in the thick layers of the atmosphere is more than three times larger. There is no clear standard for what part of the highlands should be considered habitable, but the livable space could be six to nine times larger than Earth¡¯s. As expected, it was too large to entrust this to a single modern Duke Household. If the time taken to develop the planet was as usual, it wouldn¡¯t have been a major problem for the Monarchy that expanded its territory in a few hundred years, but due to the Transition Gate and transportation by a huge number of fighter crafts, the development progressed too quickly. And the transition gate witnessed the differences between star systems that were difficult to see in other star systems that required time to move. If the Royal Capital is moved to the Hermes System, there will be no Duke in the Diete System. However, if the next Sovereign declares after the war that they will reward the unprecedented achievements of the Marquis of Amakawa with the title of Duke, and that the domain will remain in the Diete System, the royal parliament will probably pass a resolution. Without Hart, the Monarchy would have been destroyed, and in terms of his achievements with the realms and the Transition Gates, he clearly contributed to the Monarchy more than all the Dukes combined. And the status system of the Monarchy is not originally based on bloodline, but rather magic power value and military service obligations. Also, even if there were people who cared about lineage, Hart has no royal blood, but Yuna and Claudia are of royal blood, and from the next generation, there will be no bloodline issues as a Duke. Thus, the Royal Family, which has installed a Duke in the Diete Star System, can move its residence to the Hermes Star System. In the Royal Capital of the new star system, government employees and family immigrants from the current Royal Capital, immigrants of those who do business, and immigrants from each star system can gather a population suitable for the Royal Capital. The next Sovereign will be able to offer a debt of gratitude to the Amakawa family, making it easier for them to serve as vassals¡­ thought Yuna and Hart, who are planning to leave it to the next generation. The Hermes System without Yuna and Hart is convenient for Bernard and his family, and the Hermes aristocrats include the Marquis of Ornelas, the father of the former First Queen and the grandfather of Bernard, Josslan, and Mirabel. ¡°I expect the Duke to give his best for the Monarchy.¡± ¡°By your Will.¡± As a Royal Aristocrat dedicated to serving the Royal people, Mauriac resolutely accepted the Queen¡¯s will. After the 12 aristocrats bowed, the Marquis of Herzberg, who saw the silent Mauriac and the Marquis of Ornelas obeying with his mouth shut, opened his mouth with a slight preamble. ¡°I am aware it is presumptuous of me, but I would like to make a presentation. Given the thousands of years of prosperity our Monarchy have reigned, it would be best if Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Son had their way for the time being, but it seems to me that it will eventually be necessary for the Amakawa or Taka Amanohara families to marry into the Royal family of Asteria.¡± Hart, who was standing next to Yuna, was impressed by the courageous statement. Having two royal families in a nation can cause divisions and strife in discordant generations. The descendants of the Amakawa family, who hold the Transition Gate and the Spirit Crystals, and the greatest queen in history, Yuna, who has made a leap forward in the Monarchy, will be the ones who could shake the next Royal Family of Bernard or Josslan. A peaceful way to avoid this is for the blood of Hart and Yuna¡¯s descendants to enter the Royal Family. Seeing Yuna¡¯s expression urging him to say something, Hart responded on behalf of Yuna, who had accepted the report. ¡°Both families are my descendants, so I will answer. First, I will make it clear at the outset that I have no intention of sacrificing the happiness of my descendants for the sake of the nation.¡± Beatrice, the fianc¨¦e of the First Prince Bernard, is one of the women whose father forced her to marry in recent years. Beatrice, whose fianc¨¦ has been changed three times by her father to former Duke¡¯s son, former Sovereign¡¯s great-grandson, and First Prince, has a respectable title, but she is criticized by the royal family and never seems to be happy. The reason why Hart doesn¡¯t speak out in Beatrice¡¯s case is that Beatrice herself has not explicitly indicated her refusal and he cannot take responsibility for Beatrice¡¯s life. If the person in question insists that they do not like it, he is willing to intervene, but otherwise he can¡¯t say a word on the issue. However, Hart had no intention of selling his daughter to the Royal Family like Beatrice¡¯s father, and he would not hesitate to drag her away if the other party forced her into it. ¡°In the first place, it is against the founding principles, the Constitution of the Monarchy and the will of Their Majesties, the former Sovereign and the present Queen. Those who violate the Constitution with power and violence are rebels against the Monarchy. I consider it my mission to annihilate the enemies of the nation.¡± Herzberg¡¯s concern is perfectly valid from a national point of view. However, Hart believes that no one individual should be burdened with an excessive amount of responsibility and sacrificed just because it is in the best interest of the nation. As Yuna said at the Lords¡¯ Conference, if the Marquis of Amakawa is to be questioned for their contributions as aristocrats of the Monarchy, then the questioning side should make more contributions than Amakawa before coming forward. After subjugating four of the five Tenka Nations, recapturing MacLir and Fukashiro, and contributing more than Amakawa, who made the Eight Star Systems of the Monarchy into realms and connected by the Transition Gate, they could speak of the next burden. No aristocrat would pick a fight during Hart and Yuna¡¯s lifetime, but Hart cautioned him. ¡°Even after my death, there will be spirits in every Monarchy star system, and my will as a contractor is their highest priority. Tell your descendants that if you treat my descendants irrationally, they will see a reenactment of the Diete War of Independence. However, if the person themselves doesn¡¯t oppose it, they may make overtures as they wish.¡± ¡°I understand the views of both Amakawa and Taka Amanohara.¡± Hart presented a compromise, and Herzberg answered resolutely, ending the question-and-answer session. Mauriac, who sent a protesting glance to Herzberg, thanked him once again, and the greeting of the Hermes aristocrats among the immigrants ended. At the large venue, the countdown for the New Year was about to start. CH 106 The countdown to the New Year was grandly held in all star systems. On the planet Kerykeion in the Hermes Star System, a dazzling light was rising from the ground level of a huge orbital elevator toward the space station. People who had gone out to the venue to celebrate the New Year cheered loudly at the pillar of light stretching into space. The Monarchy, now in its 446th year since its founding, has never celebrated the New Year except in times of war. At the beginning of the year, it was in a state of war with another power. The Monarchy enters the New Year in the most favorable conditions compared to the past few hundred years. In the current Monarchy, every star system inhabited by the Royal people is territorialized by a Spirit King, connected by the Transition Gate, and a perfect defense system has been established. The Spirit King¡¯s realm inhibits enemy warps within one light-day range from the star. One light day is about 25.9 billion kilometers. Even if the enemy advances from outside the realm at 200 million kilometers per hour, it will take 130 hours to reach the center. And the Royal citizens can flee about 200 million kilometers from the inhabited planet to the Transition Gate before the enemy arrives. In the meantime, billions of fighter crafts from the other seven star systems connected by the Transition Gate can arrive and intercept them with a fivefold increase in combat power. Overwriting the area of concern is basically impossible. Thus, the Monarchy¡¯s defenses are perfect. On the other hand, the Tenka Hercules Alliance camp also has two star systems protected by the realm of the Daemon King. However, the passage of time since the stalemate is not a bad outcome for the Monarchy. The Monarchy has four times the number of inhabited star systems, more than ten times the amount of resources, and has also incorporated the science and technology of three nations: the former Coalition, Fukashiro, and Frodi. It¡¯s as clear as day which power will develop more. Tenka is superior in terms of the number of national mages, but in terms of combat power, fighter crafts using spirit crystals, and the interstellar immigration competition, the national power and total population affect the Monarchy, so the Monarchy is not at a disadvantage. And the Monarchy has a leader who is vastly superior to the enemy camp. Yuna, who was crowned on the half-destroyed capital, reversed their inferiority by recapturing MacLir and Fukashiro in the first year, and reduced Tenka to a single nation in the second year, and established the security of every Monarchy star system. Queen Yuna continued to win at a rate that no one in the Monarchy could have predicted, while also making economic breakthroughs for all star systems using the Transition Gate and realizing the great task of migrating from the Machaon Star System to the Hermes Star System. Already, the people of the Monarchy, believing in Yuna, who has begun to gain the highest reputation in the history of the Monarchy, were entering the New Year with overwhelmingly greater hopes than anxiety about the future. Thirteen minutes before the start of the New Year. In the center of the orbital elevator, an indication of January 445 of the Monarchy calendar appeared. In a production that showed a month in review every minute, on the left and right of the orbital elevator, a three-dimensional image of the Monarchy Fleet and the Tenka Fleet appears. In January, coinciding with the Monarchy¡¯s second invasion of the Solar System, the Tenka Hercules Alliance invaded the Frodi Star System. The destruction of the planet Nephthys in the Flodi Star System claimed 5.6 billion lives, and 1.2 billion people died in the Solar System due to the scorched earth campaign of Tenka and the birth of the Spirit King of the Monarchy. The planets in the three-dimensional images were attacked, and fleets of both armies rushed through space. In February, the Isis System was next to be attacked in the Republic of Frodi, killing 1.4 billion of the system¡¯s 5 billion inhabitants. The Monarchy side counter-invaded, and a pitched battle began in the ¨­izumi Star System. In the Monarchy¡¯s Artemis System, a relief fleet was launched towards the Republic, and on the Tenka side, reinforcements were sent out from Hony¨­ and Ten-to towards ¨­izumi. Countless light spots flew out from all the star systems reached by mankind. In March, the Horus Star System was last to be attacked in the Republic of Frodi, killing 1 billion people out of a population of 4 billion. Also in the ¨­izumi Star System, the inhabited planet was destroyed. The Royal Army divided into two fleets: Fortress Kerviel, which headed for Hony¨­, and a decoy fleet. After completing its mission, the decoy fleet withdrew by self-destructing about 900,000 Israfel crafts. Images of the Monarchy were filled with intense flashes of explosions. In April, Fortress Kerviel, which had reached the Hony¨­ Star System, used its fighter crafts to cut through the defense fleet, destroying the fourth inhabited planet of Tenka. More than half of the Royal Army¡¯s fighter crafts were lost due to the fierce grinding. Later, Fortress Kerviel reached the last Tenka Star System and scattered missiles on Tenka ships and artificial objects in the surrounding space. In May, refugees from the Republic began to arrive in the Artemis System, and in the Diete Star System, the heroes who served as decoys in the ¨­izumi Star System returned. Meanwhile, Tenka had launched a high-speed ship with advanced Daemons from the Hercules Star System and headed for the Apollo Star System. It was later discovered that by carrying out this operation, it is certain that there is a Transition Gate in the Hercules Star System. In June, the Tenka High-Speed Ship reached the Apollo Star System, and the Daemon King made a Monarchy star system into a realm. Upon receiving reports of the enemy invasion, Fortress Kerviel forcibly rushed through high dimensional space from the Diete Star System and threw a Spirit Emperor into the Apollo Star System. Both sides connected a Transition Gate to a single star system, and as a result, the all-out Battle of Apollo broke out, resulting in uncommonly heavy losses for both armies. In July, the Artemis and Podalley Star Systems were territorialized by the Spirit King. The Monarchy territorialized and defended seven of its eight star systems, while directing half of its forces to the Machaon Star System, which had not been territorialized. Meanwhile, refugees from the Republic continued to pour into the Monarchy. In August, Fortress Kerviel and 10 immigrant ships secretly set off to the Solar System. Although it was completely hidden from the Royal people, it was a last-ditch effort to turn every Monarchy star system into a realm. In September, in the Solar System, the inhabitants of Mars were taken aboard a fleet of immigrant ships. In the Machaon Star System, the Royal government announced a referendum on the people of the star system asking them to choose between making the star system a realm or immigrating to the Hermes Star System. In each of the Monarchy¡¯s star systems, immigrant fleets were launched into the Machaon Star System, and large magic element engines were attached to the urban construction facilities of each star system. In October, with an overwhelming 95.7% of the valid vote, immigration to the Hermes System was approved. From the inhabited planet Rhodes, a large number of fighter crafts equipped with containers rushed toward the immigrant fleet of the Royal Aristocrats deployed in outer space. In the Solar System, Mars was destroyed and a fleet of migrant ships traveled to the Machaon Star System. In November, an unprecedented plan was unfolded for the Machaon people to travel to the Hermes System and the people of the Solar System to the Machaon System, with 10 billion simultaneous immigrants. Including the transportation of goods, 100,000 large ships in the public and private sectors rushed through interstellar space. In December, the Hermes Star System was territorialized, and urban construction facilities and power generation satellites were sent one after another from various star systems in the Monarchy through the Transition Gate, and the planet Kerykeion was developed in the blink of an eye. The surface of the planet began to glow, the orbital elevator began to light up, and the three-dimensional images caught up with the present moment and disappeared. In the final minute, the images of the people gathered at the venue were projected. In the Machaon Star System, the couple who were in a street interview when the immigration was decided is shown in a large image, and the two waved with a wry smile. A countdown was displayed on the orbital elevator looking up from the venue, and the gathered immigrants all started counting down. ¡º3¡­¡­ 2¡­¡­ 1¡­¡­ Happy New Year!¡» At the moment the New Year arrived, gigantic fireworks shot up behind the orbital elevator, making the night sky glow with colorful lights. Cheers erupted, and Johann Strauss¡¯s waltz ¡°The Voice of Spring¡± resounded brightly throughout the venue. Eventually, a three-dimensional image of a fighter craft appeared in the midst of a large firework, and it began to fly gracefully. In front of the fighter craft rushing through the flashing lights, Alcaeus, the inhabited planet of the Hercules Star System, and F¨´ Q¨ªng, the inhabited planet of the Ten-to Star System, emerge. The next moment the fighter craft passed by the planets with great momentum, a flash of light exploded on the surface of the planets, swallowed by the generated light and disappeared. The venue was filled with excitement with this heroic image of victory. Meanwhile, aboard the Mobile Fortress Ophaniel, the terminals of the aristocrats who were watching the live video with a glass in their hands reacted in unison. When the aristocrats opened the terminal, they were amazed to see that it was Queen Yuna¡¯s notification, and were twice surprised by the fact that they had received a medal of honor. It was a newly established Order of the Protectorate, which was to award all aristocrats who were engaged in the implementation of the realms of all star systems of the Monarchy, in recognition of their achievements in protecting and guiding the Royal people. The medal is an eight-pointed star, with eight territorial stars shining at the eight apexes. The aristocrats attached the medals to their own remotely operated robots and smiled proudly as they showed them to each other. Eventually, about an hour later, some of the people began to disappear from the venue. A total of 24 people had an appointment: The Queen, 2 Princes, 5 Dukes, 12 Marquises, the Prime Minister, Palace Secretary, and Speakers of both Houses of Parliament. The potential protagonists of the venue, including the organizers, moved to a separate room for special discussions. ¡°You have done a very fine thing.¡± When the Duke of Takrham spoke while showing off the shining eight-pointed star on his chest, Yuna replied with a nod to the Duke as she addressed him. ¡°Defense deserves to be evaluated as well as offense. I commend the achievement of establishing the security of all our star systems, which is no less an achievement than defeating the enemy.¡± ¡°By Your Will.¡± Hart was impressed by Yuna¡¯s imposing appearance and how she had become accustomed to the role of Queen. Hart imagines that Yuna¡¯s confidence stems from her track record. By territorializing their entire star systems, the Queen has defended her Monarchy. If Yuna wasn¡¯t at the head of the Monarchy, Hart wouldn¡¯t have let go of the Spirit Kings who ensured his own safety, and the realms would have been limited to the Apollo Star System at most. And the remaining three systems may have been encouraged to voluntarily relocate to other systems that are territorialized. Considering Yuna¡¯s position, Hart lowered his own safety and increased the realms of the Monarchy. Therefore, only Yuna could realize the realms in the Eight Star Systems of the Monarchy. No one else, not even the former Sovereign Valfrete, could have done better than Yuna. Yuna is, in fact, the Queen who brought the best results to the Monarchy. The Lords understand that Yuna is the one who can best follow Hart. Backed up by her unwavering track record, Yuna proudly presented herself to the Lords. ¡°There is one other reason why I took everyone here out of the New Year¡¯s celebration venue. We have set the selection criteria for the succession of the Asteria Royal family, so I decided to announce it in advance so that no one would raise any objections later.¡± The startled gazes of the Lords quickly swirled around, passing through the two Princes and then towards Hart. With a surly expression on his face, Hart tried to explain himself in order to clear up the misunderstanding. ¡°In the month of Her Majesty¡¯s coronation, I, as the Commander-in-Chief in charge of national defense, was asked a question, but I did not answer. Instead, I promised to ensure that the Monarchy would not be defeated, no matter who becomes the next Sovereign. Whatever the decision, I will support it.¡± Coesfeld nodded at Hart¡¯s declaration of intent, and Dauphin and Mauriac showed their will to comply, and Takrham also gave his support. Normally, the family head had the right to choose the successor of the family. The Asteria Royal Family is no exception, and its head, Yuna, has the right to choose the successor of the Asteria family. Currently, it is wartime, and the nation and its people dem that the succession be given top priority to national defense, but due to the territorialization of the eight star systems, it has reached a situation where Yuna can choose either one. The 12 Marquises, who support the Dukes and sometimes acted as watchmen, also showed signs of obedience. The Prime Minister is also silently watching to fulfill his role as witness to the government. When the 23 people entered the listening position, Yuna stated her decision. ¡°The next Sovereign will be either Bernard for domestic affairs or Josslan for military affairs Bernard, who has the Order of Merit and has organized and realized the request to build a large-scale spaceport, has reached a level that will allow him to succeed as the next Sovereign. Whether or not Josslan surpasses this standard will determine the heir to the throne and the Duchy.¡± Bernard, who was told by his sister that he had reached the passing line for succession to the throne, nodded with a stiff expression, while Josslan watched attentively and waited for the next words. The criteria, Yuna told him, were simple and clear. ¡°The selection criterion shall be that Josslan receive more military decorations than Bernard. The Royal citizens can be politicians, but they cannot stand on the battlefield as Royal-grade magic power holders. Josslan should show that he is the one who can fulfill the aspirations of the people.¡± In peacetime, Bernard, who had demonstrated his ability in internal politics, would have been a viable option, since the emphasis would be on sustaining the system. However, as far as domestic affairs are concerned, the Monarchy has both houses of parliament and a royal government under Prime Minister Stanley, so it is not necessary for the Sovereign himself to have excellent political skills. What the Royal people want from the Asteria Royal Family is to be active as a Royal-grade magic power holder. To lead the aristocrats in the invasion of enemy star systems with their Mobile Fortresses and protect the Monarchy star systems from the enemy invasion. Like the previous Sovereign Valfrete and the current Queen Yuna, they fight enemies and are therefore recognized and followed as the head of the nation. ¡°On the battlefield, I will also allow you to receive support from your fianc¨¦e or your fianc¨¦e¡¯s household. The difference between your chosen fianc¨¦es is also part of the power you have acquired. I myself am also helped by the Marquis of Amakawa, and I don¡¯t think there is a Royal citizen who would criticize it. It¡¯s the same thing.¡± Hart, who was suddenly mentioned by name, responded to the focused gaze of the Lords with the feeling of ¡¸Is there some kind of problem?¡¹. Of course, since the Monarchy is winning thanks to Hart, the Lords in the Monarchy¡¯s camp have no complaints. However, if he affirms his fianc¨¦e¡¯s support, Josslan has a considerable advantage. The Duke of Takrham, the main ruler of the Artemis Star System, can deploy not only a private fleet, but also the National Mages of Ky¨±yama. If the Duke family prepares a fleet and arranges for Magic Element Engine operators from Ky¨±yama, it will be easy to protect and support Josslan¡¯s ship. Takrham looked at Yuna with suspicion, questioning her intentions. Yuna does not answer directly, but continues to explain the selection conditions. ¡°The selection period will be until the end of the war or a stalemate is reached. We plan to invade the Hercules and Ten-to Systems, so you will serve in the Mobile Fortress and contribute to the Monarchy. If he earns a military decoration that surpasses Bernard¡¯s, Josslan, who will have fulfilled the desire of the Royal citizens, will be the next Sovereign. Do you have any objections to Josslan?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ There is none.¡± The conditions presented by Yuna, based on the circumstances of the two Princes who had advanced in politics and military affairs, respectively, were enough to convince the Lords and the Royal people, which was not disadvantageous for Josslan. After a short pause, Josslan answered, and Yuna¡¯s gaze turned to Bernard. ¡°Bernard also has the right to stand on the battlefield and show that he is worthy of the throne. If he has the same number of military achievements as Josslan, I will not recognize Josslan¡¯s superiority based on his attendance at the Military Academy, but will make Bernard the next Sovereign based on his political achievements. Do you have any objections to Bernard?¡± ¡°No, I do not.¡± Bernard, who was given a fair opportunity, agreed that the conditions were reasonable. Bernard, who stands in as the Duke of Strani, the ruler of the Athena Star System, is not as powerful as the Duke of Takrham, but he can mobilize a good deal of force. And if he can achieve equal or better results with less support than Josslan, it can objectively be judged that Bernard is worthy of becoming the next Sovereign. As for the candidate for Queen, Josslan¡¯s partner, Lysine, is superior. However, the respectability of her origins does not guarantee her qualifications as the mother of the state. The former Crown Princess, a Lady of the Duke of Langlois, raised the traitor Leandre. On the other hand, Baron Lady Maina raised Queen Yuna. At this point, there is no reason to explicitly deny Beatrice. She, along with both Princes and Lysine, earned the Order of Merit in the Battle of the Athena Star System. The Order of Merit is the single greatest certificate of fulfillment of the Aristocracy¡¯s duties to the Royal people, and Beatrice is in a position to be recognized as a Royal Aristocrat. An aristocrat who does not have an Order of Merit has no right to deny those who do. Moreover, for the Duke of Takrham, it would be convenient if Queen Beatrice had problems after Bernard succeeded to the throne. Then, when it comes time to choose the Sovereign after Bernard, the children of Josslan and Lysine will naturally emerge as candidates. The precedent for the restoration of royalty from a vassal was set by the previous Sovereign during his time as the Duke of Strani. The Duke of Takrham would not advise Bernard to change her to a more respectable fianc¨¦e because she might be clumsy in the future. ¡°Do the Lords who support the Royal Family have any objections? If you state it here, I will consider whether or not to incorporate that opinion. But I won¡¯t entertain it at a later date.¡± The two Princes involved were satisfied with the selection criteria of the Asteria family. As for the reason for Josslan¡¯s delay, Hart imagined that it was because Takrham advised him via his spirit that it was okay to accept the conditions. Therefore, he doubts that the Duke of Takrham will have any objections. The Marquis of Ornelas, the grandfather of both Princes, did not open his mouth, and silence fell over the gathering of the Lords. In the midst of all this, Hart dared to raise his hand. ¡°Marquis Amakawa, you are recognized to speak.¡± ¡°With all due respect, when it comes to military operations, I would like to state that I, as Commander-in-Chief, will proceed as I think best. If it is possible to create an opportunity for both Princes to fight the enemy, I will do so, but I would like to prioritize the victory of the Monarchy.¡± ¡°That is a prerequisite. In the First Battle of Hercules, the Monarchy was defeated for the convenience of the Royal Family. Such mistakes will not be tolerated again. The Commander-in-Chief must do his best for victory. The Princes should also obey the commands of the Royal Army on the battlefield.¡± ¡°By Your Will.¡± Having clarified his priorities, Hart bowed and stepped back. No other opinions were given, and the criteria for selecting the next head of the Asteria family were decided. Afterword Amazon and other online retailers have announced that the book will be released on March 16. I haven¡¯t heard from the publisher, but based on the experience of the previous volume, I wonder if the e-book will be available one day earlier, on the 15th. Therefore, I thought that I would match the book version and say ¡°It will be released on March 16th¡°. In the unlikely event that the publisher says, ¡°It goes on sale today!¡± on the 15th, it would not match the author¡¯s report date, so it would be very difficult to find the book in bookstores on the 15th. I am very sorry for those who could not find it in a bookstore on the 15th, but I have reported the release date that the publisher informed me. From Volume 3, characters and fleets that do not appear in the web version appear in the main story, The actions of the spirits and artificial intelligence have increased and changed. It affects various parts, including around Hart. In line with that, we also revised volumes 4 and 5 for the book edition a lot. (We have not received any commitment of publication at this time, but we have made them) Please check out the book version of Volume 3 to see the various changes. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D (Aside) Regarding the future, When I was approached by the publisher, I was asked, ¡°Can you write more?¡± I immediately replied, ¡°I can write it,¡± and after talking about Tenka (Hart¡¯s children¡¯s generation), I explained what would happen next If the first part of the continuation is Tenka, there is a second part. I¡¯m writing a little bit of it now, but it¡¯s a very fun development to write. You will see some of it at the end of Volume 6, so please look forward to it. ¡­¡­¡±Our battle is about to begin!¡± Don¡¯t let it be ¡°finished. Thank you for your purchase. (*- -) (*_ _) CH 107 The shield generated by the magic element engine spreads out in a spherical shape from the center point. Therefore, if the shield deployment range is to be maximized without worrying about the area exposed to bombardment, a spherical shape like that of a mobile fortress is desirable. Based on this concept, a new type of transport ship was created in the Athena Star System. A hemispherical container formed by dividing a sphere in half is connected to a board-like elongated core unit from above and below to form a sphere, which passes through the Transition Gate while being covered by a shield. After passing through the Transition Gate, the transport ship separates the upper and lower hemispheric containers in the next star system, holds another hemispherical container waiting at the transition destination, and reverses to return to the Athena Star System. When passing through the Transition Gate, it is necessary to cover the ship with the shield generated by a magical individual contracted with a Spirit. But once it passes through, magic or a shield are no longer required. Using magic power only at the moment of passage enables the going back and forth through Transition Gate many times. Container transportation outside the Transition Gate can be self-sufficient without magical individuals. The new type of transport ship was introduced by the First Prince, Bernard. Convinced of the necessity, he incorporated it into the Athena System, and at the same time he persuaded his sister to have them built for the entire nation. ¡°His Royal Highness Prince Bernard has made another great achievement following the large spaceport.¡± In peacetime, it carries huge resources and goods that cannot fit in large containers. In wartime, the concept of the new transport ship was to send large quantities of weapons and military supplies. The new transport ships created in the Athena Star System came in ten different sizes, ranging from destroyer class to mobile fortress class, and were preparing for the next battle while stimulating the economic activity of all the Monarchy star systems. For Hart and the Royal Army, which plans to connect the Transition Gate to the Hercules System, Bernard¡¯s new transport ship will be useful in sending military supplies to the enemy star system. In terms of how useful it was, it made Hart wonder if he had misjudged Bernard¡¯s assessment. Ultimately, Hart interpreted this as a sign of Bernard¡¯s growing political skills. He¡¯s only 19 years old and still maturing. However, once the selection criteria have been decided, it cannot and must not be overturned. Hart, feeling slightly regretful, made preparations for the invasion without looking back to the past. The existence of the Transition Gate has enormous implications for the entire Monarchy, both public and private. Media in the Diete System can now transmit the same program to another star system within 30 minutes by sending an optical transmission to the Transition Gate 200 million kilometers away and transmitting the data to a broadcasting station in another star system after passing through the Transition Gate. Specifically, it is possible to invite a special guest who can only be invited in the Diete Star System to talk about the selection criteria for the next Sovereign, and then broadcast it to all the star systems in the Monarchy 30 minutes later. [We would like to continue inviting special guests to the studio to talk about the selection criteria for the next Sovereign, which was officially announced by the government yesterday.] If only the selection criteria for the next Sovereign was to be discussed, the studio of the Athena Star System is enough. Queen Yuna¡¯s criteria for selecting a successor was to judge on whether Josslan¡¯s military decoration, which advanced him to the Military Academy, exceeds that of Bernard, who had achieved political success as Acting Duke. The judgment criteria are clear, consistent with the purpose of the Royal Aristocratic System, and understandable to the Royal citizens. At the very least, a Royal citizen with compulsory education and an average intellectual level would not say that he or she does not understand the meaning. If you just talk about the issue, it¡¯s not particularly difficult, and it can be done in each star system alone. However, there are some guests in the world who can only be invited at the Capital planet. In the studio where the program was recorded, even if the travel time was shortened by connecting the Transition Gate, there was a special guest who could not be invited in other star systems. The guest star is Countess Colette of Listner. A Count and General of the Royal Army, and the first woman to hold the position of deputy Commander-in-Chief. A veteran female hero who received the Order of Algol, 2nd Class, she defended the Capital planet in the First Battle of the Diete Star System and served as the Acting Commander of the entire army in the absence of Fortress Kerviel in the Battle of the ¨­izumi Star System. She is also Queen Yuna¡¯s childhood friend and only close confidant. She is not a person whom any authority, no matter what the price, would lightly invite. The reason the media succeeded in bringing her in this time was because the timing was right. The timing of the media¡¯s request for a comment, jointly signed by the Chairman and the President, and the timing of Colette¡¯s desire to add her comments coincided, and the broadcaster¡¯s miracle of having Colette appear succeeded. [Countess Listner, thank you very much for coming on our program today.] [No, I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings, so being invited was a right opportunity.] With the Chairman and President watching behind the camera, Hopkins, the program anchor, made a deep bow, and Colette responded calmly. The misunderstanding Colette wants to clear up is that the next head of the Asteria family chosen by Yuna is nothing more than the head of the Asteria Household. The decision on whether or not the head of the Asteria family is to ascend to the throne rests with the Monarchy Parliament. This is stipulated in the Constitution of the Monarchy, and even if only the National Assembly opposes, he cannot ascend to the throne. And even after ascending to the throne, Parliament can pass a resolution to remove the Sovereign from office. So what will happen if the head of the Asteria family is not placed on the throne? The Asteria family can propose the Head and the Sovereign separately, or if the Royal people disagree, they can dissolve the rights and obligations of the Royal Family. Even if they cease to be Royalty, the remuneration paid to the Asteria Royal Family in the past will not be forfeited, and they will go back to the streets with a reasonable amount of property. In a constitutional monarchy, Royal citizens who have received compulsory education on the history of the founding of the country and the aristocracy have the right and duty as citizens to decide whether or not to maintain the system. In conclusion, Yuna has the right to decide who will be the successor of the House of Asteria, and both Houses of Parliaments have the right to decide whether or not the successor of the House of Asteria will be the next Sovereign. When it comes to Yuna¡¯s decision in the succession of her own household, the Royal people had no say in it. What the royal people have is the right to let their elected politicians choose in Parliament whether to accept the next generation of the Asteria family as the next Sovereign, or to reject him and abolish the Royal Family. Colette prefaced the idea at the beginning of the program. [The head of the Asteria family decides who will succeed the Asteria family. If there is dissatisfaction with the selection, the citizens have the right to choose not to have their Sovereign elected in the House of Representatives. And as for the outcome, the one who decides bears full responsibility.] [I see, I understand now. Professor Chantal, any comments on the Count¡¯s opinions?] Broadcasters do not allow their anchors to express their private opinions, but rather let Chantal, who is a member of another organization, speak. This has been their practice since normal times, but this time they were particularly strict, and any deviation would be considered a violation of the anchor¡¯s personal work order. In addition, they had Professor Chantal confirm in advance that there were no problems with Colette¡¯s ideas. First, Chantal spoke of the relationship between the Royal people and the magical individuals. [Contracts are established by mutual agreement. The contract between the royal citizenry and magical individuals is an obligation to serve in exchange for the aristocracy.] The aristocracy dispatch to the battlefield those whose magic power values meet the stipulated value demanded by the client, the Royal citizens. In exchange, the Royal citizens will treat them according to their magic power values. And Yuna of the Asteria family is trying to choose between Bernard and Josslan, whose magic values have reached the stipulated level. The Asteria family is free to choose either as their representative and the Royal citizens can refuse the chosen party, in which case the contract will be terminated. In addition, the selection method of Yuna was based on the number of medals awarded in accordance with the client¡¯s request. When considered as a contract, Yuna makes a good faith choice that is in line with the intent of the contract. Chantal urged that the Queen¡¯s ideas should be respected. [The Aristocratic System, which encourages the responsibility and voluntarism on the part of the magical individuals, has produced better results than the former Coalition and Tenka, which deprive their human rights. The act of reducing the sense of responsibility and spontaneity by interfering, such as saying that this Prince is no good, will have a negative impact on national security.] Yuna, the current head of the family, has the right to choose the next generation of the Asteria family. If dissatisfied with that decision, the people can choose not to elect the Head as Sovereign, but taking away the rights of the aristocracy would also eliminate the obligation to serve. Colette and Chantal explained what the aristocracy was like, and although it was the default course for the media to fully approve of it, the performers nodded genuinely in agreement. However, the option of disinheriting the Asteria Royal Family is impossible for the Monarchy. The previous Sovereign, Valfrete, achieved the destruction of the Coalition, which had been a long-cherished wish of the Monarchy since its founding. Queen Yuna pushed back the invaders of the Five Tenka Nations to defend the Monarchy. If you now propose to abolish the Asteria Royal Family, you are already an enemy of the state. Therefore, the Royal people have no choice but to make the next Asteria head chosen by Yuna the next Sovereign. Hopkins asked about the impact if both princes were elected. [Now, with regard to His Majesty the next Sovereign, who will be decided according to the selection criteria, I would like to ask what the possible consequences would be with each Prince if they are selected. Countess, what are your impressions of the two Princes?] This was the reason why only Colette could answer, and why no other star system could produce the program. Aristocrats must maintain good relations with other aristocratic families in order to maintain their family¡¯s magic power and economic ties between their own territories and other territories. It is not necessary to be on good terms with all the senior noble families, but if one does not belong to a faction and protect one¡¯s own family, the magic and economic power of one¡¯s own family will be lower than if one belonged to a faction. As long as they belong to a faction, they cannot be involved in provoking the displeasure of the next Sovereign, who is the highest authority, and cause the faction to become collateral damage. This is why, when Bernard realized the large-scale spaceport, at the opening ceremony, the surroundings were turned into stone statues until Colette moved. Colette replied clearly. [Yes, I think it would be better if the public understood more about the two Princes, so I will answer you. His Royal Highness Bernard, similar to the former Sovereign, is sincere in his words. And with experience, his political senses will surpass that of His Majesty the Former Sovereign.] [What is the reason for your affirmation?] [His Royal Highness Bernard, who is only 19 years old, has already made the large spaceport a reality as the Duke¡¯s representative, and has also introduced a new type of transport ship. At the same age, His Majesty the former Sovereign was in his fourth year of the Military Academy. His Royal Highness Prince Bernard will continue to grow as he deals with politics in the future.] Colette, however, valued Yuna more than Bernard. As only the daughter of a Baron Lady, Yuna had not received any education on Governing a Monarchy. Everything Yuna did as Queen was self-taught and self-directed. In consultation with Hart and the spirits, she thought for herself and derived her own ideas based on what the role of the ruler should be in light of the nation¡¯s goals. Bernard is an admirable man, but Colette believes that Yuna, who re-educated Bernard, is more suitable as the ruler of the country. Although she never says it out loud, respecting her best friend¡¯s desire to abdicate. [With regard to military affairs, Prince Bernard is of the opinion that Fleet Admiral Amakawa should be left in charge, and so is Her Majesty the Queen. His Highness has also been decorated with the Order of Merit, so he cannot be accused of cowardice. So even if Prince Bernard is the next Sovereign, I don¡¯t think there will be any problem at all.] Colette¡¯s remarks were transmitted throughout the Monarchy via broadcasting stations. The significance of Colette, the Deputy Commander of the Royal Army, the head of the Count¡¯s family, and a close friend of the Queen, assuring that there would be no problem with Bernard as the next Sovereign was extremely significant. That means that the Royal Armed Forces have guaranteed that there will be no problems in terms of national defense. And the Count assured that there would be no political problems. In addition, the Queen¡¯s best friend vouched for the character of her best friend¡¯s brother. In this matter, Colette is considered a leading expert in three areas: military, political and royalty. The weight of the assurances made by the presence of Colette made Hopkins gasp. It was Chantal who posed a question on behalf of the anchor, who was unable to ask. [Then what is your impression of Prince Josslan?] When asked, Colette answered after some pause, thinking of the family home of Digitalis, which invoked stormy weather. [As he¡¯s only in the second year of high school, it would be too early to draw conclusions about his personality and achievements. I¡¯ll recognize his will enlist in the Military Academy, and if he displays his achievements and performs well in battle, he will be able to meet the aspirations of the people.] [In other words, at this stage, you think that Prince Bernard is more suitable to be the next Sovereign, while Prince Josslan would be more suitable if he performs well in battle.] [If you compare their achievements at the current stage, then yes.] If their military achievements are the same, Bernard will be evaluated only for his political achievements. But the Royal aristocracy of the Monarchy was created in anticipation of military exploits, not politics. If Josslan shows that he is worthy of being the successor to Asteria, the prince suitable for the next generation will be Josslan. Colette nodded in the affirmative to Chantal who asked if that was the case. [The Asteria family is the family that leads the fleet in the front. If His Highness Prince Josslan shows on the battlefield that he is more suitable to succeed Asteria than Prince Bernard, his evaluation will change. That is the standard that Her Majesty has set this time.] Chantal expressed his understanding of the criteria, which had been set with an eye toward fairness and impartiality that could be announced to the entire Monarchy. He then asked about a matter as important to the Royal citizens as the selection of the next Sovereign. [Now that we have a very good understanding of the selection criteria, when will Her Majesty abdicate? Personally, I hope for Her Majesty to reign for the time being.] The recording studio fell silent, and tension ran high among the cast and crew, and perhaps even the viewers of the program. Once the next head of the Asteria family is appointed, the Queen will eventually abdicate. The confirmation of the successor and the replacement of the head do not take place at the same time. Still, in terms of the order of things, after the successor is determined, the time for the change of the head of the family will come. Colette said: [The Marquis of Amakawa, the administrator of the spirits, has no heir to succeed him. That is because his fianc¨¦e was crowned, and if she gives birth to a child, she will fall short of the magic power value required of the Sovereign. However, if the next Sovereign is to be crowned, there must be an heir to the Amakawa family.] If so, it would be fine if Claudia, who was to be his second wife, has a child first¡­ this would show a gross lack of sincerity and faith on the part of the people towards the Queen, who is selflessly devoted to the Monarchy. Moreover, if they are descendants of Hart, the national hero of salvation, and Yuna, the Protector Queen, even if they inherited the important matters related to spirits, the people would be convinced that ¡°if these two weren¡¯t there, the Monarchy would have been destroyed¡±. However, if someone who is not of the Queen¡¯s bloodline takes over, it could spark a struggle for leadership with the Royal Family. A child with a second wife could lead to a family uproar over the issue of successor. A child with the third wife could create anxiety and suspicion that the Tenkans would take the initiative. In Carneus and Listner, who are the partners of gene donations, the successor is of another family. Ultimately, the best solution would be for Hart and Yuna¡¯s child take over the spirit-related matters. If the person is excellent, they can be considered as an extension of Hart and Yuna, and even if they are incompetent, mixing their blood by marrying them off to the Royal Family and other aristocratic families on a national scale will solve any problems that can be imagined. Thus, the Royal people understood the inevitability of the Queen¡¯s abdication in the near future. Author¡¯s Note Kindle and BOOK¡îWALKER have also started pre-orders. There is also an e-book, so thank you for your cooperation. CH 108 With its immigration policy to the Hermes System on track, the Monarchy was preparing for the final decisive battle with the Alliance. ¡°In the decisive battle, we must not introduce our forces sequentially.¡± This is military common sense derived from the strategies of the Lanchester Equations. As an outcome of ignoring common sense, the battle of the ¨­izumi Star System is still fresh in their memories. ¨­izumi¡¯s interception fleet, which held back its interception force, was individually destroyed by the Royal Army, and the inhabited planet was eventually destroyed. Of course, defensive forces and expenditure should be considered when sending out military forces, but it is an ironclad rule that more strength is better when fighting enemies on the battlefield. Therefore, the Monarchy, which was preparing to invade the Hercules Star System, where the total military strength was unclear, gathered its maximum mobilizable war potential based on the assumption that the enemy¡¯s defensive forces would be immense. ¡°How much strength does the enemy have in the first place?¡± There is no way to get an accurate figure, but there is no reason not to make assumptions. When questioned by Elliott Burns, the Chief of Military Affairs, Hart roughly estimated the enemy¡¯s strength based on the total number of Daemon crystals he believed that the Tenka Hercules Alliance camp could produce. ¡°If we consider the Daemon crystals that can be produced by the enemy Daemon Emperor to be equal to the Monarchy, we can expect deployment of about a billion Daemon crystals that can operate fighter crafts. Of course, they need to be able to prepare the pilots and the fighter crafts equipped with the Daemon crystals.¡± Hart¡¯s prediction was enough to silence Burns. It has already been more than a year since Tenka was able to obtain the Daemon Crystal. As long as the Ten-to Star System, the largest in Tenka, is intact, there is no problem with the mass production of the Yunfu fighter craft. Even with a large production volume, the fighter crafts do not have advanced features such as interstellar navigation capability. The structure is a simple weapon, and it can be mass-produced like ray guns in a gun manufacturing factory. And as for resources, a few celestial bodies in the Ten-to Star System would suffice. Moreover, after Hart overran the ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ Star Systems with Fortress Kerviel, he then invaded the Ten-to Star System, so the mass production of fighter crafts should have been a top priority in Ten-to, which felt a sense of crisis. As for manpower, billions of refugees originated in ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, so they are easier to gather than in the Monarchy. Refugees who have lost their jobs and property due to the destruction of their home systems have no choice of careers in order for them and their families to survive. If told that they can support their family onboard a fighter craft, they would have no choice but to comply. For Ten-to, ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ are the same Tenka people, but they are also other peoples who split into other star systems hundreds of years ago. If it is necessary to treat other citizens harshly for the sake of their own security, they will do so as a nation. With all these conditions in place, there was no way that Tenka, whose technology level was not inferior to that of the Monarchy, did not have the necessary fighter crafts for defense. ¡°With the final home planet at their backs, there will be no end to the battle. They will mobilize as much as they can, and build as many fighter crafts as they can. And if left unchecked, the number of Daemon crystals will increase, and eventually, a large fighter craft similar to the Israfel will be developed.¡± In response to Barnes¡¯ confirmation, Hart replied with conviction. It would not be possible to develop a large fighter craft that could compete with Israfel in about a year, but there was a sample on the enemy Monarchy side, and Israfel, which could not return in the Battle of the Hony¨­ Star System, should have been obtained. In a few years, Hart believes similar fighter crafts will be introduced. Currently, it is not possible to prepare large fighter crafts, so the capabilities of the fighter crafts remain low. Instead, the Daemon Crystals required to operate the Fighter craft are not C-class, but D-class, which is of lower grade and easier to mass-produce. Since the number increases as the quality decreases, the total force that can be deployed will not be reduced at all. The lower the performance of the fighter crafts, the more soldiers and the number of casualties there will be, but there are billions of refugees from ¨­izumi and Hony¨­. Burns imagined a billion tombstones drifting through the Hercules Star System after the battle. The Royal Army was busy preparing for the hell that would be realized in the enemy system in the near future. The Monarchy originally deployed 40 million Israfel crafts in each of the 6 star systems, but pulled 30 million crafts from each to use for the decisive battle. In addition, they mass-produced the low-cost version of the large fighter craft Surtr, incorporated a copy of Linnell, and recruited additional pilots, including Royal citizens from the Fukashiro System. Strategic satellites were also mass-produced. A large number of celestial bodies floating in the Fukashiro Star System were equipped with magic element engines, and they were sent through the transition gate to the Diete Star System, where they were remodeled. Although the amount of resources consumed was enormous, unmanned strategic satellites would not cause any casualties and could be plunged into enemy planets if necessary. As a result of judging that it would be better to have as much as possible, 30 huge celestial bodies were remodeled at the same time. A total of 12 strategic satellites for defense were deployed in the 8 star systems, so the total number of strategic satellites available for launch was expected to reach 42. As a final move, Hart brought a proposal to Mirabelle, who incorporated some of the citizens from the former Republic of Frodi. It was about recruiting from the people of the Republic to pilot the large fighter craft Surtr. As compensation, the Monarchy will accept up to eight family members into the Hermes System for each volunteer, grant the families a total of 40 million Rhodes to rebuild their lives, and provide a house in the Hermes system free of charge. ¡°With the spirit crystals, they can operate the magic engine. Therefore, if the person himself volunteers of his own will, the elderly would be fine.¡± There would be quite a few people who volunteer for the sake of their children and grandchildren. It is similar to the kind of conscription that the Tenka Hercules Alliance are expected to conduct, but with funds to rebuild their lives and a pretext for giving them a place to live when they emigrate to the new star system. And by allowing the people of the Neutral Republic to fight for the Monarchy, it also lays the groundwork for the families of the volunteers to be accepted by the royal people. Upon receiving the suggestion, Mirabelle stared back at Hart with squinted eyes. ¡°The volunteers are disposable, to reduce the sacrifice of the Royal People, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°To put it bluntly, they are.¡± In response to the point that captured the root of the matter, Hart thought that the re-education of Yuna¡¯s younger brothers and sister might have been too thorough, and even brought a sting in his heart. Perhaps because of the unique environment in which she was placed, Mirabelle has a tendency to view the situation philosophically, and compared to Hart¡¯s classmates when they were in the third year of Middle School, her thinking and insight were outstanding. Regrettably, Mirabelle lacked the magic power value to succeed to the throne. Hart thinks that she is more suited to be a Queen than Yuna in terms of personality, but Mirabelle, who is not a Royal-grade magic power holder, can never become the Sovereign of the Monarchy of Diete. ¡°This is arbitrary. The 3 star systems of the Republic have been destroyed by the Tenka Hercules Alliance. Some may wish to avenge the death of their families along with their inhabited planets. If they don¡¯t want to, they don¡¯t have to volunteer. At the very least, they may survive in the Artemis System.¡± ¡°Brother-in-law, you¡¯re a nasty creature. Considering the life of their families, they won¡¯t have a right to veto.¡± The minimum standard of living in the Artemis system means that they, who are not Royal citizens, do not have the right to purchase land, and continue to work as precarious laborers while paying rent for the land. Because it is within the territory of the Monarchy, it is natural for the Monarchy to claim territorial rights and jurisdiction, but the Monarchy¡¯s social security does not apply to them. Due to the Monarchy¡¯s high food production capacity, they do not starve to death, but they cannot expect the unrestricted lifestyle they had in their own star system Mirabelle confirmed his presupposition about the choice of the people. ¡°I have a plan for accepting them. I intend to first select the people of the Republic who show promise of productivity and potential, such as former Republic magical individuals, those with advanced education and skills, and couples with young children.¡± When Mirabelle asks how they will guarantee this, Hart offers her terms and conditions. ¡°If more than 100 million volunteers are gathered, Her Majesty the Queen will reward the Count of Hecate¡¯s contribution to the war with a promotion to Marquis. In other words, the Count would be able to do what you had been trying to do on your own with the authority of a Marquis.¡± If Mirabelle refuses, she will be able to accept 200 million people as Count, and even if the rights of the people are restricted like in the MacLir System, the upper limit is 800 million people, which is four times the number. There are no restrictions on the movement of refugees, but it is impossible for a single Count to gather 8 billion people. And Mirabelle, who wanted to support the entire population of the Republic of Frodi, would choose the upper limit of 3.2 billion for the Marquis rather than the 800 million allowed for the Count. In the first place, Yuna and Hart had no intention of imposing strict conditions on their younger sister, Mirabelle. Rather, these conditions were a compromise between the Monarchy¡¯s convenience and Mirabelle¡¯s will, which they gave the utmost consideration to. Mirabelle did not immediately jump at the favorable terms offered, but confirmed the extent of her support. ¡°Am I right to assume that we will receive the same level of support for the increased number of people as we did for the people before the increase?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ll arrange. With the Transition Gate and the fighter craft transports, the Monarchy¡¯s national power is increasing exponentially. What the Monarchy currently wants is war potential, and it will not hesitate to pay the price. If you think of it as an investment in the new Monarchy territory and the Royal people, you can¡¯t even think of it as a regret.¡± Convinced by Hart¡¯s honesty, Mirabelle responded in a deliberately reluctant manner. ¡°There is no choice. I accept.¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done.¡± Hart quickly declared the negotiations to be concluded before any additional terms were issued. Then he sighed and lodged a complaint with Mirabelle. ¡°You should have been born ten years early as a Royal-grade magic power holder. Between you and me, you¡¯re more suited to be a Queen than some housewife.¡± ¡°I apologize for receiving such high praise, but in order to overcome this crisis, I think it was necessary to meet an extremely special condition, which was to capture a certain second son of a Baron Household and drag him out to the center. That¡¯s why, for His Excellency at present, Elder Sister is the most suitable.¡± Even after the discussion, their mutual recognition of each other did not waver, but rather strengthened. With Mirabelle¡¯s cooperation, the Monarchy offered the 8 billion refugees of the Frodi Republic the option of obtaining social security and funds for rebuilding their lives. It was a fairytale compromise between the north wind and the sun, but many weary travelers followed the indicated path. The final number of applicants amounted to 164.13 million, and the Marquisate of Hecate was joined by about 1.2 billion new Royal Subjects with limited rights. Thus, the Monarchy was prepared to invade the Hercules System. CH 109 It wasn¡¯t until April that Hart began the invasion of the Hercules System. After jumping to the MacLir Star System, which was closest, via the Transition Gate, they headed to the Hercules Star System on Fortress Kerviel. It took three months to turn the former Frodi Republic volunteers into a combat force. The volunteers learned to use mass-produced C-class spirit crystals to operate the low-cost fighter craft Surtr¡¯s magic engine, fly with the support of androids and automatic control systems, and shoot with the support of the information integration system and battle linkage system. It would be an act similar to the invasion of the people with weapons in the wars of the old era, combined with the sending of missiles to enemy countries. In other words, they are the power source for the self-tracking missiles that are fired at the enemy. Hart was aware of the terrible things he was letting happen. His self-justification for maintaining his sanity was as follows: This war is a war of aggression initiated by Tenka. All the former Coalition Star Systems, Fukashiro, and 3 Monarchy Star Systems were invaded. Including Fukashiro, more than 4 billion people have been killed. The Herculeans also destroyed the 3 Frodi Star Systems. If the Monarchy does not resist, they will be killed and ruled. In other words, the Monarchy acted as any living being should before ethics, and there was no reason to be denied the actions necessary for the survival of itself and its descendants. Hart, who has repeatedly explained his reasons for the war to the Royal people through the media, continued to reinforce the Royal Army without relenting. Thus the Royal Army was greatly strengthened, but it has also given the Alliance time, and it is currently unclear whether Hart¡¯s decision was the right one. As a result of the delayed invasion, Claudia graduated from Military Academy. Hart, who had hoped for an early invasion, was honestly happy that Claudia was able to attend her graduation ceremony. After all, Hart was not able to attend his graduation ceremony. The ceremony is an important event to bring closure to one¡¯s feelings. At the graduation ceremony, Hart was impressed by the sight of Lysine, the Young Lady of the Duke of Takrham, handing an orange gerbera to her mentor, Claudia. Unlike her older sister, Lysine is polite and prim¡­ Hart imagined that Digitalis would be offended by the description. Digitalis was not ignorant of etiquette. She simply did not recognize the need for her, as a Young Lady of a Duke Household and expected future Queen, to have a polite attitude toward overwhelmingly inferior children of general aristocrats or quasi-aristocrats. As a result, she had an unfavorable relationship with Queen Yuna and Duke Hart, and was sold by her grandfather, Duke Takrham, to Li¨² H¨¤o of Ky¨±yama, which had fallen to the Monarchy. It is a marriage that inevitably led to speculation on the circumstances behind the scenes, so the parties involved cannot boast about it, and others cannot genuinely congratulate them on it. Generally speaking, the Duke of Takrham sounded out a marriage that doubled as punishment, so when the Queen approved, it was considered by society that the problems that Digitalis caused during their Middle School days have been put to bed. Perhaps using her sister¡¯s appearance as a cautionary lesson, Lysine does not look down on the cadets of the Military Academy, most of whom are not even quasi-aristocrats, but treats them with moderation as the fianc¨¦e of the Second Prince. Therefore, the evaluation from her peers is quite favorable. Lysine can hold the reins of Josslan and mature as the Queen or Duchess to perfection. In social circles, she was generally evaluated as such, and Hart agreed, looking only at Lysine as an individual. Thus, the graduation ceremony was over, and Claudia¡¯s student life came to an end. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve graduated, I am officially able to get married, but what do you think? I am still a teenager.¡± Hart put his hand on the head of the little fox, who had a mischievous smile on her face, and said as he stroked it¡­ ¡°If we don¡¯t follow the order of things, a certain kitten will turn into a tiger.¡± Claudia pouted deliberately at the expected answer from Hart. The kitten, who once didn¡¯t even know how to fight, has become a tiger, one half of the power that divides mankind, just as the dragon and tiger that face each other. Moreover, the tiger has trampled on the dragon¡¯s head with its paws after dragging it down to the ground, and is in the process of biting it on the neck. Generally speaking, living creatures grow and become greater. Wondering how long the kitten, who is planning to live in the Amakawa family, would take to grow up and come to his home, Hart regretted that the kitten would never return to its former appearance. ¡°A certain fox cub has also become a grown fox, you know.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask the Alliance to leave as soon as possible.¡± Hart wants to end the war before the tiger grows wings and breathes fire due to it participating in too many battles. And although it is not to inhibit the growth into a fierce tiger, Yuna, Colette, and Philine will not be participating in the current battle. Yuna and Philine are reserve officers and are also subject to a system of exclusion from conscription. Colette is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and is in charge of all the forces gathered in the Apollo System in the rear. Claudia, on the other hand, was by Hart¡¯s side because she was also the Commander of a Fortress Stationed fleet consisting of 9,500 small warships. ¡°Graduation went by so fast, didn¡¯t it?¡± Claudia nodded in response to Hart¡¯s forceful change of subject. Claudia enrolled in the Military Academy after the surrender of the former Coalition. After the war, it was an unusual choice for a Young Lady of a Duke Household to go to a Military Academy instead of the high school of the Academy of Magic. It was approved by the Duke of Coesfeld probably because she was engaged to Hart, who attended the Military Academy. A common topic of conversation that gives the husband the upper hand satisfies his self-esteem, and at the same time has the effect of facilitating marital relations by making it easier for wives to incite and control their husbands. In view of the Duke of Coesfeld¡¯s purpose, a smooth marriage would be a wish come true. And looking back after four years, Claudia¡¯s choice was gospel for the Duke¡¯s family. One of the reasons for the smooth restoration of city functions and rescue operations for the people of the star system, including the people of the Duke of Coesfeld, during the Battle of Apollo was that Claudia, who was both the Lady of the Duke and a General of the military, supported both sides and serve to link the two. The influence of Claudia, the second wife of the Marquis of Amakawa, is powerful and unmatched, both over the aristocratic community and over the Royal Army. Claudia was able to demonstrate her position and make the greatest contributions, Hart saw that she had long since grown from a fox cub to a full grown fox. ¡°However, the techniques and common sense I learned at the Military Academy changed so suddenly, and I was a little perplexed.¡± As for Claudia¡¯s point, Hart was too familiar with it. In terms of fighter crafts alone, the conventional type adopted at Claudia¡¯s enrollment has switched to three types: the Salamander, with countermeasures against electromagnetic pulse cannons, the Israfel, with countermeasures against fusion ammunition, and the Surtr, low-cost version of the large fighter craft. Not only the hull, but also the onboard AI of the large fighter craft Surtr incorporates a copy of Linnell. Linnell¡¯s main server is managed by the Royal Army. At present, Linnell¡¯s main servers exist in 10 locations: the 8 Star Systems of the Monarchy, which are realms including the new star system Hermes, the Machaon Star System, and Fortress Kerviel. Linnell, who has become 10 independent personalities from A to J, aims to coexist with the Monarchy while supporting and managing the former Coalition and assisting the large fighter craft Surtr in each star system. The reason why it was also placed in the Machaon System, where the realm does not exist, is as a behavioral test for when Linnell is given a certain degree of freedom. Even if there was any suspicious activity from Linnell, they judged that it could be destroyed if only the Machaon Star System and the former Martians were present. And the reason why it was placed in Fortress Kerviel was that, in addition to Linnell¡¯s original offer of cooperation, it was necessary to have a Linnell with administrative authority over the other Linnells to support the Surtr on the battlefield. Linnell 04 split itself after the Battle of the Apollo Star System, and the ninth independent personality, Linnell 09, immediately began to act differently from the other duplicates. It began by taking a different name from 04 when it was activated at Fortress Kerviel. The ninth Linnell took the name Ivy Linnell, with the letter ¡°I¡± in the alphabetical order as an acronym, and pushed forward with its own path. Ivy, which Hart deployed in the commander¡¯s seat, was dressed in a high school girl¡¯s blazer and skirt, which was orthodox in Japan of the past, and black tights, with a lax cat-shaped application floating beside her. When Ivy appeared, she bowed to Hart, and greeted him in a clear, high-pitched tone, which was a bit softly paced. ¡°Good evening, Mr. Hart. Thank you for calling on me. It¡¯s your Ivy.¡± While looking at Ivy, whose tone was somewhat disarmingly calm, Hart commented to Claudia in a telling body language. ¡°I fully agree with the opinion that recent technological progress has accelerated too much in certain fields. I graduated four years earlier than Claudia and I am no longer keeping up with cutting-edge technology.¡± It can be inferred that Ivy imitating a childish appearance and voice was intended to appeal to her harmlessness and at the same time inspire a desire to protect. Initially, her companion cat also initially acted in various ways to attract Hart¡¯s attention, such as purring and begging for food. And when Hart looked a little annoyed, it became a mascot character who spoiled Ivy and complimented her. The mascot cat is named Gatto, which means male cat in Italian, and Gatto would move freely, rubbing his head against Ivy¡¯s feet, or fluttering and floating on top of her head. Ivy then strokes the pampered Gatto to show herself off as a gentle child. The waste of such high-level technology is also extreme¡­ and when Hart is stunned even slightly, the purpose of reducing his sense of caution is achieved. Even though Hart was aware of this, he couldn¡¯t avoid being poisoned by Ivy and relaxing his guard. The reason why Hart was loosening up was that he was sure that the spirits in the lineage of the Spirit Emperor contracting with Hart that had spread throughout human society would not side with Linnell. ¡°I just graduated, but we didn¡¯t learn about artificial intelligence at the Military Academy. I don¡¯t think today¡¯s cadets are learning that either.¡± The reason why Military Academies cannot provide education on artificial intelligence is that there are no teachers who can teach it to them. Linnell¡¯s developers are MacLireans, but their surveillance by Linnell makes them completely useless as instructors to help them learn how to manage it. It would be a bad idea to have more of another artificial intelligence that previously existed and force it to compete with Linnell. When there are multiple artificial intelligences that think for themselves, they are bound to conclude that it is better to manage the risks to human beings by themselves. Moreover, they will likely proclaim that they will monitor other artificial intelligences, only to collude with each other. There is no way to increase the number of artificial intelligences, because it is obvious that they will conspire with each other against the threat of humanity. On the other hand, increasing the number of programs that cannot think independently will not provide any countermeasure. The reason why Linnell was divided into 10 entities is that Linnell is also seeking coexistence. ¡°Good evening, Ms. Claudia, it¡¯s been 87 hours. I hope you are well. It¡¯s the turn of the season, so please be careful about changes in your physical condition.¡± Ivy greeted Claudia with a calm atmosphere, undeterred by the fact that Hart had given her the cold shoulder. ¡°Greetings, Ivy. Thank you for your concern. Ivy, you¡¯ve changed your hair a little bit.¡± ¡°Ah, did you notice? I tried to make it a little more loose and wavy. The concept is ¡®a warm and fuzzy little sister who is 5 years younger¡¯.¡± Who can blame Claudia for being stunned? If Hart endures weakness and analyzes it seriously, the youngest person around him is Claudia, who is four years younger than Hart. Setting yourself younger than Claudia will have the effect of reducing her sense of wariness even just a little. And if Claudia¡¯s vigilance was lifted, it would also help alleviate the guard of Hart, who is beside her. It is hard to say ¡­¡­ that it is having the opposite effect because it is making Hart wary. With the spirits by his side, Hart is confident that Linnell will not take a reckless gamble, and his sense of wariness against Linnell, who shows her concessions, is being chipped away day by day. With Hart, who is inwardly troubled, the crystallization of the latest technology created by mankind continues to talk at its own pace about being a ¡°fluffy little sister¡±. CH 110 Fortress Kerviel traveled 250 light-years from the MacLir Star System to the Hercules Star System in just half a month. It did not take a straight path, but rather made a large turn from the Zenith direction of the Galactic Reference Plane, continuously bypassing the Tenka side¡¯s search network. The ones who acted as guides in the high-dimensional space were the white spirit Lulu, who was described by Mira as ¡°made from meat¡±, and the black spirit Maya, who was described as ¡°made from vegetables¡±. Both were born by inheriting the power of the Spirit Emperor Mira, and on Mars, they obtained 20% of the power from the energy crystal of the Spirit God, leading to the Anomalous Spirit Emperors. It was Hart, their contractor, who urged them to pay attention as they walked lightly through the high-dimensional space, as if taking dancing steps. ¡ºThere is an effective time for an attack.¡» Hart explained to the black and white spirits, who were in human form and tilting their heads in puzzlement. ¡ºIt is difficult to defeat a prepared enemy, because they react immediately to an attack. They will defend, evade, counterattack, flee, or call for reinforcements. But, if they don¡¯t recognize us and are unprepared, we can surprise them.¡» If a person is approaching you head-on with a knife in hand, you will feel threatened and will brace yourself. However, if an opponent with a concealed knife suddenly stabs you from behind, there is no way to prevent it. The side that is caught off guard cannot defend against the first blow and the response is delayed by one tempo. Then, even if the attacker fails on the first move, they can make a second attack or escape. In other words, the most effective timing for an attack is the moment when you can make a surprise attack. It¡¯s probably known that Hart used Mars to create a new Spirit King, but from a common sense perspective, it¡¯s unthinkable that a single Spirit King would invade the Hercules System, where the Daemon Emperor resides. The humans, who did not anticipate the invasion, will be slow to respond. However, an unexpected blow alone does not guarantee that the enemy will be defeated. The side that defeats the enemy needs the means to defeat the enemy and someone who can make use of said means. If applied to this instance, the means are a force that is superior to the enemy and a Spirit Emperor that can suppress the Daemon Emperor. As an executor, Hart, who could lead all of his allies, is needed. In order to further increase the success rate of the operation, the large fighter craft Surtr and strategic satellites are mass-produced, equipped with Linnell as an auxiliary AI, and the citizens of the Republic are incorporated into the Volunteer Forces. Tenka, which is practically comprised of only Ten-to, and Hercules, which until recently lacked interstellar navigation technology, cannot resist the head-on crushing of the Monarchy¡¯s eight star systems. And Hart went one step further. ¡ºThe surprise attack will be twofold. The enemy doesn¡¯t know that there are two Spirit Emperors. First, Lulu will attack alone, and then Maya will participate in the battle at the optimal time. The plan is to stab the Daemon Emperor from behind while it faces Lulu.¡» ¡ºPapa¡¯s strategy, Lulu thinks it will work.¡» ¡ºThen Maya will stay hidden.¡» In this way, Fortress Kerviel reached a sector one light day from the Hercules System, with only Lulu as a guide in the higher dimensional space from the middle of the journey. The realm created by the Spirit Emperor or Spirit King extends within one light-day range of the star. The reason why the realm is one light day, regardless of the power of the spirits, is that the range of the star¡¯s magic element is roughly one light day. The spirits have expanded a realm to purify the magic and miasma in the realm and convert it into energy that they can use for their own sustenance. In other words, even if the realm is extended beyond one light day, no energy can be obtained and energy is consumed to maintain the realm. Therefore, the realm of spirits falls within the range of one light day. Soon after Fortress Kerviel reached the sector about one light-day from the Hercules star, Lulu used the spirit crystal of the Spirit God to create a White Transition Gate. ¡ºBy making a Transition Gate outside the realm, even the Daemon Emperor won¡¯t be able to interfere with Lulu.¡» In the sector about 20 million kilometers ahead of Fortress Kerviel, a single white radiance connecting to the Apollo Star System spreads with explosive force. The size of the Transition Gate, which was not subject to the interference of the Daemon Emperor, stabilized at a diameter of about 3,000 kilometers. It is larger than the 2,000-kilometer Transition Gate in the Diete Star System, and because civilian ships did not traverse it, so it is basically a one-way passage from the Monarchy side, and it can draw in a large army all at once. From the center of the swirling space, a green photosphere, Mira¡¯s attribute, spilled out, assuring Hart that the Transition Gate was connected to the Apollo Star System. ¡ºAs planned, I only connected with Mama¡¯s spirit world. It¡¯s a little more cost-effective.¡» Lulu did not create a realm, she maintained the Transition Gate only with the spirit crystal of the Spirit God. There are eight star systems in the Monarchy, but one Transition Gate consumes less energy than eight Transition Gates. Hart, who had previously assembled the Royal army in the Apollo Star System, immediately issued an order when he confirmed the occurrence of the Transition Gate. ¡°Lieutenant General Coesfeld, send a liaison ship to the Apollo System and call in the Invasion Force. Major General Khan, deploy Israfel from the nearby bunker to defend the fortress until our allies arrive. In about two hours at most, we¡¯ll have a large enemy presence.¡± If Hart was in the Tenka Hercules camp, he would have the Transition Gate created in the closest space sector from Fortress Kerviel in the realm of the Hercules Star System. From that Transition Gate, he would send fighter crafts from the Ten-to Star System to intercept them. If fighter crafts in the Hercules System can be moved to the Ten-to Star System via the Transition Gate and then moved back from the Ten-to Star System to the Hercules Star System, you can also use the existing method as a shortcut. The opponent is a Daemon Emperor, and Hart thinks that the Spirit Emperor Janet, who has only recently been promoted, can feasibly do all of this. Claudia, the Fleet Commander, and Alois, the Director of the Fighter Craft Department, immediately ordered a sortie after receiving orders from Hart. ¡°1st Reconnaissance Squadron, emergency launch. Rush towards the Forward Transfer Gate.¡± ¡°Israfel all crafts, launch. Deploy to the sector within a 100 million kilometer radius of the fortress and commence anti-space battle defense.¡± Immediately after Claudia¡¯s command, 30 reconnaissance ships flew out of the fortress in an accelerated state and rushed into the white transition gate in the forward space with a glow of magic conversion light. At the same time, 1,125,000 Israfel crafts burst out one after another from the fortress¡¯ launch port, forming 56 clusters and spreading widely in the surrounding sector. From now on, it¡¯s a race against time¡­ Hart doesn¡¯t think so. The Monarchy succeeded in opening the Transition Gate ahead of the enemy. Since the preparations for entering the Apollo System have already been completed, the Monarchy side can deploy into the system faster. Tenka¡¯s fighter crafts, which cannot warp directly, cannot leap over the large force of the Royal Army and launch a direct attack on Fortress Kerviel. Thus, Fortress Kerviel can continue to maintain the Transition Gate, protected by the deploying Monarchy forces, and can align hundreds of millions of troops in the space of one light day from the Hercules Star System. The orderly deployment of a large army that surpassed the enemy was the first move of the Monarchy¡¯s army, and the Tenka Hercules Alliance, which was caught off guard, was helplessly dealt a direct blow. ¡°The problem is, there¡¯s no telling what the Daemon Emperor will do.¡± While Hart was feeling a bit of anxiety, a flood of Monarchy Warships shining with magic conversion light overflowed from the Transition Gate projected on the main screen of the Fortress Command Center. The ships that appeared are divided into seven corps, consisting of six star systems excluding MacLir and Fukashiro, and Surtr large fighter crafts, run by former Frodi Republic citizens, each with a fleet commander of the rank of General as its commander. In front of the Transition Gate, there are 164.13 million large fighter crafts Surtr. Then, at the 6 vertices of the hexagon centered on the Transition Gate, the Royal Army, which is mainly 30 million Israfel crafts sent from the 6 star system, will be deployed, and the Royal Army Fleet and the Aristocratic Fleet will be deployed behind them. The Second Battle of Hercules will be the largest military operation in human history, with more than 400 million large fighter crafts deployed by the Royal Army. Already, the war has shifted from a race for resources to compete for star systems, to a race for survival, one with mutual extinction at stake. Only 20 minutes have passed since the deployment of the fleet began. In the sector 200 million kilometers in front of the Royal Army, six Transition Gates that were not created by the Spirit Emperor Lulu suddenly appeared, like large and small hexagrams overlapping each other. ¡°Occurrence of a Transition Gate in enemy territory confirmed, about 100 million kilometers from the deployed ships. It¡¯s very close.¡± Without receiving a report from the communications officer, Hart was also witnessing the occurrence of the Transition Gate through the screen. And he was very much alarmed by the enemy, who had risen much faster than expected, having created the same white transition gate as the Anomalous Lulu. On the other hand, Lulu, who witnessed the enemy¡¯s white Transition Gate, expressed her impressions with her eyes shining like a cat and a slight smile on her lips. ¡ºThe core of the energy that gave birth to Lulu is the Daemon King absorbed by Mama. The Daemon Emperor of the same line as Lulu, who created the Daemon King, may be another Grandma.¡» Lulu¡¯s statement that the other party was her grandmother of the same lineage took Hart¡¯s breath away. Then, while revising the threat level of the other, he told Lulu, who claimed to be his daughter. ¡ºCreatures that leave offspring evolve with each generation. In addition to the power of the Daemon Emperor, Lulu has inherited magical power and experience from the Spirit Emperor Mira, unique magical power from me, and even the energy of the Spirit God on Mars. Lulu, who is overwhelmingly superior, wins against just one of her grandmothers.¡» Lulu, who had been keeping her eyes fixed on the other party¡¯s Transition Gate, slowly turned to Hart and sent him a discerning look. Expecting that there may be some suspicion of the claims of low-dimensional life forms, Hart repeats his words. ¡ºIf the Spirit God is perfect on its own, there would be no need to add new spirits. But because we need to make up for what we can¡¯t do, Mira was created, and Mira created Lulu to achieve her goal. Lulu, who can make up for what her ancestors lacked, has the same talent as Maya, just in a different direction. Of course, you are far superior to the Daemon Emperor.¡» Intuitively sensing the strong tinge of interest in Lulu¡¯s eyes, Hart pushed through. ¡ºLulu also has the energy crystals of the Spirit God. Don¡¯t worry about the Ten-to System after this, you can use it all up. Let the older generation know it¡¯s time for a generational change.¡» At Hart¡¯s absurd persuasion, Lulu gave a childish innocent smile. ¡ºPapa, it¡¯s a shame that you¡¯re going to disappear as a low-dimensional life form. So if you don¡¯t mind, please let me retrieve your magic power before your fate runs out. Lulu is an Anomalous Spirit Emperor, and me and Papa have a very good magical compatibility, so I can maintain your sense of self.¡» Hart knew what Lulu¡¯s invitation meant from his knowledge of the Maiden Game ¡®the Galactic Prince¡¯. The retrieval of magic power by a spirit is an invitation to become a spirit. It was done as part of some routes to save the tragic bad endings in the story. Hart, who weighed the possibility of simply dying against becoming a spirit after death, thought that being a spirit was not bad and put it on hold. ¡ºTo become a spirit. If it¡¯s my daughter¡¯s invitation, it won¡¯t be bad, so I¡¯ll think about it.¡» ¡ºOf course this is a special case. Unless you decline, I¡¯ll reserve the retrieval of magical power. By the way, now that I¡¯m feeling better, let¡¯s make Grandma understand that it¡¯s time for a generational change.¡» Turning her gaze back to the space ahead, Lulu opened her purple eyes and muttered something while opening and closing her mouth slightly. Immediately afterward, six new transition gates occurred around the transition gates on the Monarchy side. They faced the six transition gates generated by the Daemon Emperor, and immediately after Fortress Kerviel observed them, they began to spit out the Monarchy warships that were transferring from the Apollo Star System at the same speed as the transition gates that each connected to first. Regarding the opening and closing of Lulu¡¯s mouth just now, Hart imagined that she had sent a message to Mira, who was connected by the transition gate. Probably, on the Apollo Star System, the number of transition gates sent out has increased to seven, or it should have become gigantic. ¡°We have confirmed the occurrence of a new transition gate in the forward sector. Our ships are warping out!¡± The communications officer of the Fortress Command Center makes his fastest report. After listening to the wild report, Hart operated the device in the commander¡¯s seat and started sending communications to all the troops that were deployed to face the emerging enemy. [This is the Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, to all forces.] Not all troops have deployed yet, but the enemy fighters were already approaching. The distance of 200 million kilometers where the transition gates of the two armies face each other can reach the enemy in just one hour if it proceeds at battle speed of 200 million kilometers per hour. In a certain sector of space from the Transition Gate, allied spaceports and missile launch facilities must be deployed, which cannot be done in turbulent space. [During the Second Battle of Diete, His Majesty the former Sovereign had declared to have fired a Deadly Arrow at Y¨²nl¨¢n of ¨­izumi. ¡®HissatsuDeadly¡® means to kill without fail. And as long as we say we will kill, we will surely kill.] Hart¡¯s right hand rose silently and swung down with great force toward the enemy on the front screen. [Don¡¯t allow the enemies of the Monarchy to live in this universe. Kill every single one of them. All forces, charge.] Hart, without missing the finishing touch, took every possible move he could take, and fired his deadly arrows at the enemy. Then, hundreds of millions of arrows, infused with killing intent and shining with the maximum amount of light from the magical elemental engine, were propelled toward the enemies of the Monarchy. CH 111 The ruling class of ¨­izumi, after failing to conquer the Apollo Star System, lived in a large space colony floating in the satellite orbit of the planet Alcaeus. Space colonies are less secure and have higher operating costs. If an accident occurs, it would have a tremendous impact on the planet, so much so that the Monarchy hardly allows them to operate except in the early stages of settlement and the transition period of migration to other star systems. The reason they had no choice but to live in such a place was because they feared that the anger of common people against the ruling class, who lost the war and had their homeland destroyed, would be directed against them. The space colony that Yuen of Ten-to provided instead allowing them to reside in the Ten-to Star System is a 200-kilometer-high cylindrical structure that contains a beehive-like, multi-level, multi-purpose facility inside. The energy comes from stellar photovoltaics, and most of the resources are recycled within the space colony. The cylinder was surrounded by a ring-shaped multipurpose spaceport, and many pillars like orbital elevators connected the two facilities. The Tenka camp has only one Daemon Spirit King left. The space colony was to operate until they either took over a Monarchy star system or immigrated when they created a realm in the new star system. On that day, Y¨²nl¨¢n of ¨­izumi was asleep in his living quarters, two blocks away from the Space Colony¡¯s Central Command Center. Then an alert sounded on the terminal, and Y¨²nl¨¢n was awakened from the dream world. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who turned to his terminal and activated it, quickly asked Mariel, his contract spirit. ¡ºWhat¡¯s the situation!?¡» ¡ºThe spirits of the Monarchy have reached the space sector ??1 light day outside the realm. There they used the energy they brought with them to develop a pseudo-realm and create a teleportation gate. Daemons are transmitting to their contractors. I triggered the alert on Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s terminal.¡» In other words, the Daemons spontaneously issued a warning. As a succession of inexplicable words sprang up, such as ¡°brought energy¡± and ¡°pseudo-realm¡±, Y¨²nl¨¢n set aside his doubts and focused on the most important matter. ¡ºI see. In my name, issue an order for Type 1 combat deployment order.¡» ¡ºVery well. And you might think of this as a replaying of the Battle of Apollo. Even within the realm of Lady Zirke, the effect is limited because the opponent can counter it. So it¡¯s better to intercept them early before they get too close to the inhabited planet.¡» In the short time that Y¨²nl¨¢n had to change clothes, Mariel sent out various orders using Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s name to the ¨­izumi Army. An emergency call is ordered to Ten-to and Hercules leadership. The estimated size of the Royal Army and orders to launch the interception force. In addition, he ordered the addition of six gates in the Hercules Star System, to create an exit transition gate facing the invading Monarchy, and to send out the fighter crafts. ¡ºIf we deployed them normally, we wouldn¡¯t make it in time, so we asked Lady Zirke to do it for us.¡» The six transition gates that Mariel requested are located in front of the Transition Gate which is connected to the Ten-to Star System, mooring at the construction facility, and one next to the space colony. And there were three in the fighter craft spaceport. A total of 1 billion fighter crafts will be sent out using the six transition gates, in both the Hercules and Ten-to Star Systems. The reason why such a large number were mass-produced was that there was a plan before the Battle of Apollo to use two Daemon Kings to connect the transition gate to two star systems of the Monarchy and invade them. However, the Tenka fighter craft is 120 meters long, which is about 1/16 the volume and 1/10 the combat power of Israfel¡¯s 600 meters. As with the Apollo Star System Battle, if the output anomaly effect of the magic engine could not be obtained, 1 billion Tenka crafts were only equal in strength to the 100 million Israfel crafts. ¡ºGood luck out there.¡» As soon as Mariel concluded as if it were someone else¡¯s problem, Y¨²nl¨¢n rushed to the Space Colony¡¯s Central Command Center. In between the Transition Gates created by the Monarchy and the Alliance, countless explosions of light that were not kind to the eyes were blinking on and off. The number is innumerable and exaggerated, and the first group on the Monarchy side, the 164.13 million large fighter crafts Surtr, and the billion fighter crafts Yunfu launched from the Tenka side are just crushing each other in order from the front row. Even so, due to the explosion light shining in the entire sector where the enemy was engaged, the fronts of both armies were dyed pure white as if they were covered with white clouds. It is far more efficient to line up in an orderly manner and crush them at an advantageous range than to scatter apart. Backed by Linnell¡¯s AI, the Surtr trampled the Alliance¡¯s fighter crafts like heavily armed infantry charging in a dense formation. ¡°First attack unit is engaged with the enemy. The six star system armies and the enemy continue to spread up, down, left and right, engagement area has exceeded 200 million kilometers. Communication failures due to magic element storms are frequently occurring, battle command from General Headquarters is being hindered. ¡°Let each commander decide on commands in the field. The only objective of the operation is to annihilate the enemy. No need to hesitate. Orders are to kill the enemy in front.¡± The interception started unexpectedly early, and the Monarchy was not able to deploy the fusion missile launch facilities it had prepared in time. On top of that, as long as they charged from the front, it was inevitable that it would become a simple crushing match with the interception force. Millions of Surtrs have already been dropped, and the Tenka fighter crafts Yunfu, of which there are eight times as many, have also been reduced to wreckage. The wreckage of the fighter crafts is raging in the embattled sector, and both armies continue to spread up, down, left and right to avoid physical threats. The strength rating between the large battle craft Surtr, which incorporates Linnell, and the enemy Yunfu is 12.5 fold. All of them were semi-amateur pilots, and it was presumed that the reason why the Monarchy side could only produce results below the evaluation was that the territory was advantageous to the other side. To complicate matters, the Alliance was slowly retreating from the position of the Transition Gate. The Monarchy, while chasing the enemy, is forced to advance through the wreckage and take losses. ¡ºLulu, if we continue the battle, how much of the Spirit God Spirit Crystal will be consumed before we reach the enemy star system?¡» ¡ºIt depends on how Papa fights. Only Grandma can replenish energy, so the longer the battle, the more disadvantageous it will be. So I recommend sending out all the following troops and having a short-term decisive battle.¡» When it was pointed out that it was up to him, Hart was greatly convinced that it was true and felt ashamed. It¡¯s logical that a short-term decisive battle is enough, and Spirits and Daemons cannot interfere without a contractor. No matter how powerful the Daemon Emperor is, if he eliminates the Alliance¡¯s fighter crafts and destroys the planet Alcaeus, making it an uninhabited star system, the energy supply of miasma will be cut off, and the realm will be worthless to maintain. It is possible that the direct contractor, Ishidor, could pull out on his own after his death. Hart immediately operated the communications device and gave orders to the entire army. [Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief, orders the all forces. The second and later groups must immediately engage and crush the enemy in a short-term decisive battle. The realm of this star system is in the hands of the enemy. The enemy¡¯s output anomaly effects cannot be intercepted indefinitely. Annihilate the enemy while the jamming effect is still intact.] The six armies received the order from Hart, which was sent repeatedly amidst frequent communication failures, and ordered the second group of Israfel under their control to enter engagement. The six turbid streams of light that began to flow at a constant velocity toward the explosive light were reminiscent of the six great rivers flowing into the ocean. The turbid current of light pouring in drowns the pilots in the Sea of Death. In the enlarged footage, the black shadows of the reapers advancing in an orderly manner emerged in the explosive light. The Israfel pilots, who were usually responsible for defending the star system and far more skilled than the large fighter craft Surtr, showed the fruits of their training without regret and crushed the unskilled pilots of the Alliance side. The reason why they can¡¯t shoot smartly and end up crushing them forcefully is because there are too many Israfels. A salvo of 30 million main guns in each direction would be an unavoidable waterfall of light for enemies in the area where they were shot, no matter where they fled. And Hart recommended the current battle strategy. ¡°Our forces are overwhelmingly superior throughout the entire battle sector. The battle line is spreading from the sides to the front.¡± ¡°Keep pushing. Pour in the fighter crafts and saturate the enemy¡¯s ability to cope.¡± As long as they hit the enemy head-on with their vast military power, it was already factored in from the beginning that it would be a crushing battle with the enemy¡¯s force. On the battlefield in which Israfel participated, the Alliance was forced to retreat as the Monarchy army advanced. Otherwise, they would be swallowed up by a swarm of large fighter crafts and crushed to death. The battlefield of both armies was forcibly pushed into the star system. The third group, the Aristocratic Army, showed various movements. Hart had ordered all the armies to attack, and because of the frequent communication failures, there were differences in the judgment of the field, which was given discretionary authority. Of the two princes participating in the battle, the First Prince, Bernard, became the rear guard of the second battle line, filling in where the Monarchy¡¯s forces were thin. Although he himself did not directly contribute to the war effort, he has appropriately invested his own troops and steadily supported the whole. Josslan, on the other hand, has been able to flank the enemy with his high-speed forces, and safely uses his long-range fortress and fleet cannons to get behind the enemy out of their combat zone. Josslan¡¯s acquisition of a new Order of Valor was almost a certainty. From the standpoint of the Commander-in-Chief, Bernard¡¯s move is the right one. However, the Artemis Star System Army, in which Josslan participates, has many troops brought in by the Duke of Takrham, which compensates for the thinness of the formation to the same degree as Bernard¡¯s Athena Star System Army. Bernard is stubborn when he thinks he is right, and Josslan is the one who chooses pragmatic interests in an easy-to-understand manner. And when he saw that Duke Takrham and Lysine were making up for Josslan¡¯s lack, the image of the next Sovereign suddenly crossed Hart¡¯s mind. Although the problem of Duke Takrham¡¯s device remains, he felt that Josslan, with his team¡¯s overall strength, would be a reasonable choice for the next Sovereign. ¡°Prince Josslan is likely to be the next Sovereign, but Prince Bernard¡¯s move was solid. If this is what decides it, I will testify that the two princes were influenced not by their individual superiority or inferiority, but by differences in character.¡± Claudia, who was at the other end of Hart¡¯s gaze, gave a wry smile. Claudia¡¯s ancestor, the first Duke of Coesfeld, who was supposed to be crowned the second Sovereign, handed over the throne to his brother for the future of the Monarchy and led the royal people to realize interstellar immigration. It may be easier than the Monarchy¡¯s first interstellar immigration, but if he was doing something for the good of the Royal people at his own loss, it¡¯s in line with Claudia¡¯s will. She didn¡¯t say it out loud, but she seemed to agree with Hart¡¯s opinion. The Royal Army, which began to advance with a forceful push by numbers, continued to advance towards the planet Alcaeus, dropping about eight times as many enemy vessels as it had sacrificed itself. The drop-to-shot ratio is low because the pursuing Royal Army is advancing through wreckage at high-speed. The wreckage of destroyed fighter crafts of both armies have become a storm of mines in the sector. Since the shield is not perfect, a direct hit would inevitably result in damage. Nevertheless, the Monarchy, which had invested overwhelming force, continued to travel at 200 million kilometers per hour for about 26 billion kilometers to the star Hercules, while dispersing the Alliance fighter crafts. ¡°In the space around this fortress, a reaction that seemed to be the enemy¡¯s transition gate occurred for a brief moment and disappeared.¡± Upon receiving a report from the communications officer, Hart was convinced that Lulu interfered and countered it. What the Daemon Emperor, who seems to be one of the grandmothers, can do, Lulu can also do. More precisely, it seemed that she saw what the Daemon Emperor had done, learned how to do it, and immediately interfered with it. She does not devote much resources to the output anomalies that occur in the magic element engines of the Monarchy vessels, and only thoroughly uses energy to deal with fatal situations. Hart also endorsed Lulu¡¯s policy. ¡°The Daemon Emperor¡¯s interference was basically prevented by the spirits on our side. However, an early settlement is crucial. Regardless of the sacrifices made by the fighter crafts, we must push forward to the enemy star system at once with all our might.¡± Due to the large army on the Monarchy side, the exhausted troops were pulled back from the front line and were able to advance while resting their pilots on autopilot. The Royal Army, which never slowed its advance, eventually reached a distance of about 5 billion kilometers from the Hercules Star System at the cost of tens of millions of crafts. CH 112 All over the Hercules Star System, the explosions of fighter crafts of both sides were in full bloom. Flashes of mass wave aggregation bombardment flew in all directions, piercing all sorts of man-made objects one after another. As for the magic element engines of the ships, the Monarchy side was forced to be inferior. This is because the Daemon Emperor consumed more energy than was available in the star system, and suddenly increased the pressure of the realm interference. As a result, the Alliance¡¯s magic engine increased its power output, and dampened that of the Monarchy side diminished, and the strength rating of both armies was expanded to about three times the original level. Lulu¡¯s assessment, however, was extremely calm. ¡ºGranma is now running at the speed of a short-distance runner, but not for too long. Lulu, on the other hand, has not increased her consumption of the crystal, so I will still keep at it. But why run like that?¡» Lulu¡¯s question pointed out that the Daemon Emperor could not reverse the inferiority even with all its strength. The Royal Army has deployed 164.13 million Surtr and 180 million Israfel. Their strength ratings are 0.5 and 0.4, which is 10 to 12.5 times higher than the 0.04 of a single fighter craft of the Tenka Hercules Alliance. On the other hand, the opposing Alliance side has deployed more than 1 billion Tenka fighter crafts. In order to defeat 1 billion crafts with the Monarchy¡¯s strength rating now reduced to one-third, 240 million Surtr or 300 million Israfel crafts are required. Considering the sacrifices of both large fighter crafts is about half, 120 million Surtr crafts and 150 million Israfel crafts can defeat 1 billion Tenka crafts. The force Hart has invested is sufficient to defeat a billion crafts. In addition, even if its strength is insufficient, the Monarchy can use the Transition Gate to deploy the remaining 10 million Israfel and Salamander forces to protect each star system. On the Alliance side, some warships are rated to have the strength of millions of Israfel crafts, but compared to the number of fighter crafts deployed by both sides, it is within the margin of error. The damage inflicted on the Royal Army is enormous, but defeat is not imminent. ¡ºLulu, how much energy will be left in the crystal?¡» ¡ºOriginally, about 40% remained, but after the battle it will be about 20%. With this, Papa can also invade the Ten-to Star System.¡» Lulu responds to the Daemon Emperor¡¯s interference with a policy of calmly parrying. In other words, she gave up on the power output anomaly that occurs in the magic element engines of the Monarchy warships and planned to save the spirit crystal of the Spirit God in exchange for the sacrifice of the Royal Army. ¡ºI see. Understood.¡» Hart couldn¡¯t help but agree with Lulu¡¯s forward-looking judgment. The Royal Army¡¯s fighter crafts can be replenished, but the energy contained in the spirit crystal of the Spirit God cannot be replenished. As long as a Daemon King and realm was still there in the Ten-to Star System, he could not use up all the energy in order to reduce immediate casualties. Prepared for the damage that would occur to the fighter crafts, Hart issued an order to Bertrand, the General Chief of Staff. ¡°Have all warships, except the fighter crafts, create forward bases behind the Transition Gates. The front line is in a state of turmoil, the long-range cannons of larger ships cannot fire, and if they adhere to this, they will merely be targets.¡± The whole area from the outer edge of the system to the inner space is in a state of melee. There, fighter crafts in the middle of an engagement swept in like a tsunami, destroying warships that got caught in the middle. One destroyer has a strength rating equal to two large fighter craft Surtr. In terms of crew size, 150 people for one destroyer and two people for two fighter crafts are even. The 150 crew members of the destroyer are professional military personnel who have graduated from the Military Academy and military vocational schools, and can perform various missions such as searching for enemies and scouting for star systems outside the star system without going through the Transition Gate. The two crew members of the fighter craft Surtr are former Frodi Republic volunteers who were recruited a few months ago. They can only be fitted with spirit crystals and become the energy source for the magic element engine. Considering the 75-fold loss of human resource, it is far better to lose two fighter crafts. And even if the numbers were the same, the crew of the destroyer would be a greater loss to the military. Hart forced the military and aristocratic fleet to withdraw from the front-line melee sector to spare the losses of the warships. Bertrand, who is in the position of Chief of Staff, also accepts it as a natural decision. Bertrand was more concerned about political matters. ¡°Your Excellency Fleet Admiral, those orders will result in our troops and the conscripted aristocrats fleeing to safer sectors and only the volunteers will advance, are you sure?¡± ¡°We still have a capture of the Ten-to Star System. Only those with high magic power value can bring in large facilities. We can¡¯t throw our precious warships, of which there are only a few tens of thousands, into the crushing battle with billions of fighter crafts. As Commander-in-Chief, I give the order. Have them all retreat.¡± The army and aristocracy exist to protect the nation and the people of the Monarchy. The balance between the state and the people is important, and since the people cannot be protected without sustaining the state, the entire army cannot die in battle to protect a single citizen. In this case, in order to maintain sustainability, Hart chose to retain the Monarchy¡¯s warships. Having preserved the fleet, Hart then sent communications to two requisitioned aristocrats. The first to connect was Second Prince Josslan, who had reached the criteria for the Order of Merit. ¡°This is Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief. Brigadier General Josslan Strani Asteria, the communication is not good, can you hear me?¡± [I hear you, Your Excellency Fleet Admiral.] Josslan, who was projected on the sub-screen of the Fortress Kerviel Command Center, recognized Hart¡¯s appearance and stood up to salute along with Lysine. Hart, who responded, gave a brief statement in consideration of the communication status. ¡°The Lord and Wartime Brigadier General Takrham will receive promotions and new military medals after the battle. It would be a problem if the Lord got caught up in the melee and killed in action. As commander-in-chief, I order you to step back behind the transition gate. But leave the Duke¡¯s fighter crafts on the frontlines except for the Lord¡¯s escort. If you pull them all out, there will be repercussions later.¡± [Yes, sir.] After being told of their promotion and military medals, Josslan and his men saluted with big smiles on their faces and then began to retreat. After Josslan, Harte connected with Bernard. Although Bernard made solid contributions as an Acting Duke, he did not meet the personal requirements to earn the Order of Merit. However, the two armies were in a melee state with fighter crafts, and there was no way they could fire fortress guns into the melee sector, so Hart decided that this was the right time. ¡°In view of the above, I, the Commander-in-Chief, have ordered all warships to evacuate the sector. The Lord¡¯s work of supporting the entire army was splendid, and if possible, I would like to prepare an opportunity for you to obtain a Medal of Honour, but the situation is in a state of turmoil. There is no guarantee you won¡¯t fire on our allies at this point. Retreat and help build a forward base in the rear.¡± [Certainly.] After receiving the order to withdraw, Bernard exhaled lightly and bowed. The reason why Hart spoke directly to the two princes was because he was the coordinator who gave them the opportunity to play an active role. And Hart recognized that he had given them both an opportunity. Perhaps Bernard received too much tutelage from the former Sovereign, Valfrete. During his era as the Third Prince, the previous Sovereign, Valfrete, sought to support the entire Monarchy by avoiding a struggle for the throne with his brothers. However, the actions of the previous Sovereign, Valfrete, were not wrong, as evidenced by the first Duke of Coesfeld, who dedicated his life to the advancement of the Monarchy¡¯s interstellar expansion. With this recognition, Hart respected Bernard¡¯s character and actions. Although he did not address the other aristocrats directly, they retreated into rear space in accordance with the orders Hart had issued to the General Command. Eventually, the warships retreated, and Hart was relieved to have limited the damage to the fleet. The Alliance fighter crafts are inflicting tremendous damage, but enemy ships are dropping as well, so the damage could only be discounted. Of course, Hart also tried to defuse the situation like in the Battle of Apollo. ¡ºCan we throw in a strategic satellite into the the Daemon Emperor¡¯s Daemon World to attack directly? In the Battle of the Apollo Star System, Mira did that against the Daemon King.¡» ¡ºLulu has her hands full just holding back Grandma. The fact that they have seized the star system first makes the difference here.¡» ¡ºDear Father, I can do it. Can I have all the strategic satellites?¡» ¡ºThen Maya will do it. Will you have the 30 strategic satellites prepared, or all 42, including defense satellites?¡» ¡º42 units.¡» Hart hesitated for a moment, but quickly decided that he should not spare them. ¡ºOkay, use them all.¡» At the moment Hart made the request, an intangible magic energy was released from Fortress Kerviel towards the surrounding space. It was transmitted to the spirits attached to the pilots of the Royal Army¡¯s fighter crafts and reached the strategic satellites on standby, causing a distinct change across the battlefield. The three strategic satellites began to move at the same time, and the Royal Army¡¯s fighter crafts began to make their way through the bombardment. ¡°Three strategic satellites have started moving.¡± At the same time as the report, Bertrand seemed to be asking Hart for an explanation. When a spirit does something, Hart gives a more accurate answer than anyone else. Hart doesn¡¯t have much trust about the protection of military secrets and generally doesn¡¯t like to share information, but this time he explained exactly what he was doing to get the strategic satellite replenished. ¡°I requested a recreation of the Apollo Star System Battle. Send a warship contracted with intermediate spirits to the Apollo System and tell the Spirit Emperor there to immediately deliver all 27 strategic satellites on standby and the 12 defensive satellites we had prepared just in case.¡± ¡°Huh, all 39 units!?¡± When Bertrand asked again, Hart ordered in a strong tone, with the intention of not wasting time. ¡°Yes, all of them are to be deployed. Send out the messenger ship now.¡± ¡°Copy that. Two high-speed cruisers contracted with intermediate spirits, send a messenger to the Apollo Star System. Use all strategic satellites. Tell them via the Intermediate Spirit that Fleet Admiral Amakawa requested the Spirit Emperor to send all 39 units.¡± Shortly after the cruiser with orders that only Hart could issue disappeared, strategic satellites were thrown one after another from the transition gate maintained by Lulu. They changed course into the Hercules Star System and began to move towards the center under the law of inertia. When advancing in space, there is no need to maintain power output once the vehicle has started moving. Maya used small amounts of the Spirit God¡¯s Spirit Crystal power to correct the trajectory by injecting magic into the magic engine while flying the strategic satellites into the empty space between the star Hercules and the planet Alcaeus. Hart wondered whether they would be sent to the Transition Gate that connects to Ten-to. However, he doesn¡¯t say anything and watches the movements of the strategic satellites controlled by Maya. Bertrand and the rest of the staff did not interfere with what Hart had them do, and only allowed them to continue observing while projecting the movements of the strategic satellites on the main screen. Eventually, the three strategic satellites approached an empty space in the middle of the battle sector. Then, the three units diverged widely in three directions, and then changed course to collide with each other. ¡°Three strategic satellites are on a collision course.¡± Bertrand calmly reports the facts and urges Hart to make a decision. Of course, Hart didn¡¯t say a word and watched Maya¡¯s movements. As the Royal Army watches on, just before the three strategic satellites were about to collide ¡­¡­ they struck something and exploded. Then, a giant white planet-sized sphere emerged in the void. ¡°What¡¯s that!?¡± Someone in the command center, who was watching the image projected on the screen, involuntarily muttered out loud, and the white sphere gradually began to transform into a faded planet. The unknown planet that suddenly appeared was a rough and rugged land with a very uneven surface, as if meteorites had continuously collided with it without an atmosphere. Around it, blue lights were dancing around it like spirits. In the midst of these dancing lights, a nun with a scepter emerged. But there was no way a human being could be floating in space. As the officers of the General Headquarters gasped, the following strategic satellites controlled by Maya attacked the unknown planets one after another. Hart, who was connected to Maya, intuitively sensed that the attack was not physical. Maya was drawing energy from the spirit crystal of the Spirit God that Lulu holds and pouring it into the strategic satellite only at the moment of collision. She is probably pouring as much as she can into strategic satellites. As many as 42 strategic satellites will be deployed, 14 times more than against the Daemon King, who perished with three. Maya was mercilessly and thoroughly pounding the strategic satellites. Then the white planet began to show significant changes. A black liquid was generated in the parts that were gouged out by the collision, eroding the white planet¡¯s surface black. ¡°There is something like black stains on the surface of the white planet that just appeared!?¡± Bertrand¡¯s gaze, as he reported, was not on the surface, but on the white nun. The nun¡¯s white robe began to turn gray, and her face began to contort and suffer. At the same time, the output anomaly of the magic element engine that had occurred on the Monarchy side was reduced, and the communication status began to recover. Suffering from an attack¡­ Hart knew that it was not such a simple story, because spirits have attributes according to their color. Green for Mira, white for Lulu, and black for Maya. To forcefully change the attributes of each of them would be tantamount to having their existence destroyed. As Hart imagined this, the Daemon Emperor¡¯s entire body turned from white to black. The Daemon Emperor, who was in agony, looked up and erased her expression of anguish into a noh mask, then narrowed her eyes and smiled at Maya through the screen. Hart takes a step back, and Lulu stands in front of Maya. Maya then threw in a new strategic satellite, regardless of the Daemon Emperor¡¯s movements. In the next moment, the Daemon Emperor raised her scepter and punched a hole in the dimension, taking a direct hit from the strategic satellite with her body. Hart couldn¡¯t keep up with the changing situation, and he couldn¡¯t help but stiffened his body and widened his eyes. The Spirit Emperor Lulu used the spirit crystal of the Spirit God to firmly defend Fortress Kerviel. Maya, the Spirit Emperor, slammed into all the remaining strategic satellites, smashing the Daemon Emperor¡¯s entire body. The Daemon Emperor then swallowed the Hercules Star System into the dimensional hole she generated. CH 113 AN: The illustrator of this work, Hirame Shibaishi, He posted the third announcement manga on his Twitter! (Thank you for the wonderful announcement, sensei!) The fourth page of the announcement manga is content that appears in the third volume of the book version. Please purchase it by all means. The Daemon Emperor raised her scepter and opened a hole in the dimension, and Maya drove all the strategic satellites into Zirke¡¯s core at almost the same time. Shortly after Lulu staunchly defended Fortress Kerviel, a large part of the Hercules Star System was swallowed up by the dimensional fracture. From the Hercules star to the sector where Fortress Kerviel was located, it was instantly sucked into the black and white space and swept away. Hart instantly felt that the light had broken through the outer edge of the star system and had become smaller, going beyond the range of one light-year. It traveled 10 light-years, 50 light-years, 100 light-years away, and soon the marooned Hercules System¡¯s outer rim became small and invisible. The numerous surrounding stars also became small particles of light and receded from Hart¡¯s field of vision. It was not until 10,000 light-years away that Hart regained a perception beyond his comprehension. The density of white in the black and white space exploded, revealing a dense belt of stars in the center of the Milky Way. And then, when it exceeded 100,000 light years, the entirety of the Milky Way galaxy was clearly visible. The Large Magellanic Cloud, the Small Magellanic Cloud, and the Canis Major dwarf galaxy and other entities appeared small in the field of view, becoming too small to be recognized immediately. Small particles of light similar to the Ursa Minor and the Draco Dwarf Galaxies were also visible, but they disappeared before they could be confirmed. The ratio of black and white was rapidly becoming dominated by black. How far will it go? As the chills ran through Hart¡¯s whole body, the ratio of white began to rise rapidly after it exceeded one million light-years, calculated by hand based on the size of the Milky Way galaxy. (Is the sucked-out part of Hercules Star System being sucked into something?) With no way to confirm the accuracy of Hart¡¯s intuition, the Hercules Star System was plunged into a light filled with white¡­ In a dedicated seat in the Central Command Center of the large space colony, Y¨²nl¨¢n regained consciousness. His nausea and dizziness were so severe, discomfort rose up from inside his body. Enduring it with shallow breaths, he looked around. Dead bodies¡­not really, but humans were lying down all over the place, and android soldiers and first-aid carts were rushing around to help. Looking back at what had happened, Y¨²nl¨¢n pictured the scene of Zirke punching a hole in the void with a scepter and swallowing everything into it. It would be easy to protest what they¡¯ve done, but in their situation, they would end up saying they had no choice but to do it. In fact, Y¨²nl¨¢n and his men were on the verge of losing to the Royal Army, and Zirke had been bombarded with 42 strategic satellites. Thinking that they may have taken the first step from the jaws of defeat, Y¨²nl¨¢n asked the Daemon King Mariel, his contract Daemon. ¡ºTell me about the situation.¡» Sure enough, Mariel replied in a cheerful mood. ¡ºI¡¯m not sure how to tell you, but first of all, I want you to apply for a direct contract with me before you run out of time. Can you ask me to make a contract, including the phrase Dianthus chinensis, which is the direct contract keyword? ¡» ¡ºOkay. Please make a direct contract, Dianthus chinensis, will that do?¡» ¡ºYes, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll explain then. This is the Andromeda Galaxy. You in the Milky Way are not the only ones with whom we are contracting. This is a galaxy with other Daemons.¡» Mariel explained one word at a time, but Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s understanding could not keep up. ¡ºI beg your pardon. Come again?¡» ¡ºThis is the Andromeda Galaxy. We Daemons are also active outside the Milky Way. In this galaxy, there are intelligent alien life forms that have reached interstellar civilization, and Daemons that contract with them. Do you get it?¡» When asked, Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s response was that he had a hard time accepting reality. His thoughts froze as his brain tried to process the situation. Y¨²nl¨¢n then protested Mariel¡¯s explanation. ¡ºPlease don¡¯t add new information where I haven¡¯t yet swallowed.¡» Extraterrestrial intelligent life outside humanity that has led to an interstellar civilization¡­ these words were so intense that Y¨²nl¨¢n was forced to reconstruct his common sense. After some due consideration, he came to the conclusion to postpone the matter for more than a day and a night, and confirmed a pressingurgent problem. ¡ºWhat happened to the battle between the Daemon Emperor and the Spirit Emperor? And do you know the status of the war?¡» When asked, Mariel projected an external image of the space where Zirke had appeared on the screen of the Central Command Center. The mysterious planet where Zirke was supposed to have been has disappeared, and countless shattered strategic satellites are floating in the area. When Mariel reached out to the image, a dark gray planet that Y¨²nl¨¢n has never seen before appeared. The grey planet was drifting through space like a ghost, drifting towards the sector where Fortress Kerviel was located. Mariel didn¡¯t speak out loud about that phenomenon. And Y¨²nl¨¢n, looking at Mariel¡¯s expression, knew that the Daemon Emperor had been defeated. However, in terms of the war situation, Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s expectations were completely off. ¡ºWhen we passed through Lady Zirke¡¯s Daemon Realm, the intermediate spirits could not withstand it, and the Monarchy¡¯s fighter crafts, whose magic element engines had malfunctioned, were swallowed up in the higher dimensional space. Fortress Kerviel, which is protected by two peculiar Spirit Emperors, seems to be safe and sound, though.¡» ¡ºWhat!?¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n was so surprised that instead of asking Mariel, he uttered a voice while operating the equipment around him to project a star chart onto the screen of the Central Command Center. The results of the Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave are superimposed on the star chart, but the only response he could see was that of Fortress Kerviel. Mariel reached out and the Alliance ships emerged one after another. Only about 20% of the remaining vessels are floating quietly in the battle zone. On the other hand, not a single Monarchy fighter craft, which had been so numerous, remained. The explosion light of the ships, which had covered the area like a thick cloud, were not visible at all. Although Fortress Kerviel seemed to be safe, it was impossible for it to break through the 200 million fighter crafts by itself. The Battle of Hercules can be considered a successful defense by the Alliance. However, there were too many problems other than winning the battle at the moment. ¡ºI think it¡¯s about time Ishidor¡¯s Daemon King Nixe made a move, so I¡¯m going to step away for a bit.¡» ¡ºWhat do you mean?¡» ¡ºIshidor is going to try to reestablish a realm in the Hercules System, for the sake of the Herculeans, now that they no longer have a ruler. That timing would be most convenient.¡» After saying this, Mariel disappeared from Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s sight. The first anomaly occurred on the planet Alcaeus, directly beneath a large space colony. From the underground space near the surface of the planet, a sky blue light, similar to that which had created the realm in the Ten-to Star System, suddenly swelled up. And just as it was about to extend into the star system, the gray light emanating from the space colony attacked and captured the sky blue light. It was like the tentacles of an octopus entangling and seizing its prey. The sky blue light struggled to escape, but as the gray light increased in intensity, approaching the sky blue light as if crawling at high speed, and quickly eroded it. Part of the sky-blue light that suffers from algae was taken in by the gray light, which was whittled away and emaciated. Mariel¡¯s erosion rate increased at an accelerated pace, spreading across the planet Alcaeus, filling it with gray light as if to repaint the sky blue. There was originally a difference in the amount of energy of the Daemon King. When they invaded the three star systems of the Republic of Frodi, the three Daemons that Ishidor possessed sucked two-thirds of the miasma of each plant, and Mariel absorbed the remaining one-third, making a total of a planet¡¯s worth. Between Mariel and Nixe, Mariel has more energy. Mariel, who even set up a surprise attack, cannot be defeated by Nixe. Eventually, when all the sky blue light was sucked away, the gray light extended toward the Hercules star, connected with the star, and then spread throughout the star system. ¡°Has Mariel¡¯s realm expanded?¡± Y¨²nl¨¢n, who has a direct contract with Mariel, had the feeling that Mariel¡¯s realm had expanded within the Hercules Star System. The realm extended to the outer edge of the star system, and a large amount of magic that remained in the combat sector was absorbed by Mariel. In the realm that Mariel expanded, nearly a billion corpses were floating cruelly, and the remnants of the Spirits and Daemons that had a limited contract with them were floating in space. Even if each one is small, when gathered together, they will form an enormous power. However, only the light of the Daemon Emperor Zirke, which was probably the most massive and densest of all, was absorbed by Fortress Kerviel. How much light did it continue to absorb? Y¨²nl¨¢n, who continued to look at the endless stream of light, suddenly sensed a surge in Mariel¡¯s power. And when he sensed that the Daemon contracting with him had been promoted, he understood that Mariel was the one who had targeted and eaten the Daemon King. Mariel, who had no sense of camaraderie from the beginning, didn¡¯t seem to care that she had suddenly attacked the Daemon King from behind and ate it, and spoke to Y¨²nl¨¢n. ¡ºSorry to keep you waiting, there¡¯s one more thing I need to do. It would be better if Y¨²nl¨¢n was here, so please listen with me.¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n nodded in agreement, and one of the images on the screen in front of him was distorted, projecting a giant pink jellyfish-like object. ¡°Whoa!?¡± In front of Y¨²nl¨¢n, who involuntarily raised his voice and looked up, the pink jellyfish flashed three times, and then instantly transformed into a young girl with pink curly hair. Then she talked to Y¨²nl¨¢n with a smile. ¡ºAhaha, sorry sorry, I had to match not only the language but also the appearance. Hi, Dear Mariel¡­ no, Lady Mariel¡¯s contractor. I¡¯m Theia. Theia, the Daemon King.¡» ¡ºMaster Theia, it¡¯s been a long time. Thank you for pulling me along.¡» Y¨²nl¨¢n, who received the same kind of bombshell as when he regained consciousness, replied out of a sense of responsibility as he became more conscious in light of his own position. ¡ºI¡¯m X¨³ Y¨²nl¨¢n.¡» ¡ºYes, thank you very much. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡» The light tone of Theia, a self-proclaimed Daemon King with pink curly hair, left Y¨²nl¨¢n bewildered. Regardless of the confusion, Mariel began to make requests to Theia as soon as they had finished their introduction. ¡ºOn to business, I have about 100 billion life forms that can be fitted with replica Daemons. Please cooperate with me by using all of them as bargaining chips, except for the 5.6 billion that belong to my contractor, Y¨²nl¨¢n.¡» ¡ºThat¡¯s a great help. If you give them to me, I will increase their number, and the deal will be over. Lady Mariel, if you also collect the miasma and release it as crystals containing Daemons, I think our relationship will last longer.¡» ¡ºThat includes a lot of things, like a debt. But I will adjust it according to teacher¡¯s advice.¡» When Y¨²nl¨¢n realized what the conversation between the Daemons meant, he felt a sense of dread at the thought of livestock being kept on a ranch. But Y¨²nl¨¢n, the prey, cannot interrupt the conversations of the predators. In front of Y¨²nl¨¢n, who watched in silence, Mariel appealed. ¡ºThe Milky Way galaxy is very unfavorable. There are about 10 Spirit Emperors and Spirit Kings there. We had 5, and all that¡¯s left is just me and one stupid Daemon King. Maybe Lady Zirke didn¡¯t have any ambition from the beginning.¡» Mariel pleaded innocently, and Theia nodded with a calm expression on her face. ¡ºHow many light years do you think the civilization there is spread out over? Ours is about a quarter of the size of the Andromeda Galaxy. It¡¯s a failed civilization that has quantized their body and lost mana and miasma, so it can no longer cross the barrier.¡» ¡ºMy side is spread about 2,000 light-years across. Some of the major races possess mana.¡» ¡ºIs this a second-stage early civilization, one per star system?¡» ¡ºThat¡¯s right.¡» To Theia, who was surprised with her eyes wide open, Mariel affirmed with an amused look. ¡ºFor creatures with such strong amount of mana, there might be a fragment of the Daemon God¡¯s energy crystal on the birth planet. You see, they were shattered and scattered in the previous apocalypse.¡» ¡ºYou mean that in the process of evolution, human beings adapted to the crystalline fragments and took in their power? That would explain why the inherited mana decreases with each generation, but it seems that nothing changed when the Daemons set foot on Earth, the planet of origin.¡» When Mariel denied it, Theia tilted her head. ¡ºIf that were the case, I wonder if it was after the life forms have absorbed all the fragments so much that the Daemons don¡¯t react. If you were able to convert such a high concentration of life forms into energy, you were lucky, Lady Mariel.¡» ¡ºYes, very much, I will share it with teacher, so please help me.¡» Smiling with Mariel, Theia eventually tightened her expression and declared: ¡ºI¡¯ll have Gremory send an advance party and warships.¡» It was as if the calm surface of the sea suddenly began to undulate. In a part of the Hercules Star System, gray magic essence emitted a strong brilliance like lightning. As it swirls, it expands rapidly, creating a gigantic whirlpool in the surrounding space. The huge whirlpool was about 2,000 kilometers in diameter, about the size of the Transition Gates found in the Monarchy and the Alliance. However, it was not a normal gate, but a peculiar swell like the one in the Fukashiro Star System. Eventually, when the expansion of the whirlpool subsided, hundreds of 800-meter-long objects and eight 5,000-meter-long objects overflowed from the gate, covered with pink light. The emerging group began to move through the star system at an unknown engine output, except for one 800 meters long object, which showed the response of a magic element engine. The hundreds of objects split in halves and headed to the planet Alcaeus and Fortress Kerviel. The one object that showed a magic element engine response and eight larger objects all headed toward the star. On the other hand, Fortress Kerviel reversed and accelerated rapidly as it broke away from the star system. April 3746 AD. In another galaxy, humanity made contact with an advanced alien civilization. ¡ïPostscript Thank you for reading Volume 6 of the web version. Volume 3 of the book version will be released today (March 15). Sales will have a big influence on the decision for the next volume. Thank you for your purchase. TN: Woah!! Escalation!!! Guess we¡¯re in the endgame now! Honestly though, with everything that happened so far, no one in that Galaxy could pose a threat to Hart. So makes sense to bring something in from another Galaxy. How will things pan out? Find out when we return for the Final (Web Version) Volume. CH 114 The ancestors of these life forms were born on a Hycean Planet. The term ¡°Hycean Planet¡± is coined from the words ¡°hydrogen¡± and ¡°ocean,¡± and refers to a planet with a global ocean beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. The habitable zone of a Hycean planet, which is larger than Earth and has a dense atmosphere, ranges from short distances where stars and tides apply, to long distances where starlight barely reaches. The possibility of life on the Hycean Planets was pointed out by a research team from the University of Cambridge in August 2021. And on one of the many Hycean planets in the Andromeda galaxy, life forms emerged and evolved as a natural probabilistic consequence. After hundreds of millions of years, they built an advanced civilization, and from the perspective of humanity, they were a species similar in appearance to jellyfish. Jellyfish are gelatinous organisms that float in the sea and use their tentacles to catch prey. The difference between jellyfish and these species is that they communicate with other species by emitting electrical signals, cultivate themselves in the ocean, eliminate foreign enemies with their developed civilization, and eventually expand into space. The advancement of marine organisms into space is more difficult than that of terrestrial organisms. However, they have accomplished this by building civilizations much earlier than humans and by communicating more effectively than humans. The question is, ¡°Why do they go into space?¡± This is because, after expanding their domain to the far reaches of the planet, they needed uncharted territory to continue to thrive. However, interstellar travel faces two major obstacles: the speed of light, which is difficult to exceed, and the lifespan of living organisms due to aging. To solve the problems that stood in the way of interstellar progress, the Space Jellyfish have overcome aging and lifespan by transforming their bodies into quantum-thinking bodies. Having solved the lifespan problem, the Space Jellyfish spread to neighboring star systems over time and developed various technologies. First, energy technology was developed. What was created was an advanced version of the Dyson Swarm, which efficiently captured stellar energy by floating a large number of concentrators around the star in a lean arrangement. This ensured that there was no shortage of energy for activity within the stellar system. Next, degenerate reactors were built. These charge an artificial black hole and hold it in place electromagnetically. A black hole engine operating at the Eddington limit is automatically positively charged, making its retention easy. The developed Degenerate Reactor became the standard engine for spaceships. Also, the intense electromagnetic waves generated by the Degenerate Reactor were used in the main guns of ships. Finally, Gated Jump Navigation was invented. This is an advanced form of quantum teleportation, in which a quantized object is reproduced at the end of a gate. Within the same galaxy, a gate is set up at both the source and the destination, and in exchange for an enormous amount of energy, the speed of light is exceeded. Space Jellyfish, with their dramatically increased speed of interstellar information transmission and travel, eventually established a great interstellar civilization that spanned a vast area of space. Many years have passed since the first exodus from the gravitational sphere of a planet. The Space Jellyfish, which have advanced to about a quarter of the 260,000 light-year diameter range of the disk of the Andromeda Galaxy, are currently divided into five tribes. The reason the Space Jellyfish, now quantum thought vessels, could not form a unified force was that they were of different species. The five tribes were biologically related, but not identical species. Although the genus of the taxonomic system is the same, it diverged before the establishment of civilization. If we were to express the racial relationship in terms of human beings, it would correspond to the primitive people who differentiated in the human genus about 1 million years ago. Space Jellyfish have long been in a competitive relationship of a struggle for existence, or even worse, a predator-prey relationship, even before the establishment of civilization. In other words, the struggle among space jellyfish is a natural order that has been going on since time immemorial. The oceans of the Hycean planet are vast, and there are many disloyal races that keep each other in check, and the space jellyfish that have reached an interstellar civilization without being able to completely destroy their opponents. disappeared, and the races were completely divided. And were then engaged in an endless space race and competition for survival¡­ or so it should have been. First Contact was made in the Lemegeton Star System, the cradle of civilization, with the dominant force in the star system. ¡ºYou remodeled your bodies into quantum thought vessels and completely lost the mana you possessed. Aaah. What a waste. But I wonder if we can add to the miasma by cultivating other life forms.¡» The visitor from afar exclaimed after immediately analyzing the space jellyfish¡¯s means of communication. Gremory, one of the five tribes, approached the existence with the isolated technology that arrived from outside the Andromeda Galaxy with the utmost caution. ¡°What do you want from us?¡± It was a total surrender from the outset. The Daemon King Theia, satisfied that the princess immediately bowed her head, showed her generosity. ¡ºDomesticate the races that still have bodies, increase their production, and offer miasma from them. In return, you will be able to use magic elements to travel through higher dimensions.¡» ¡°I will obey your commands.¡± Avoid rupture with total submission. The choice made by the Princess of Gremory had an unexpected result: the acquisition of alternative energy and new technologies. The degenerate reactor converts mass into energy, but if the dark energy flooding the universe is used, the fuel of mass becomes unnecessary. On the contrary, if it is used in a higher dimensional space, it can even cross the light speed barrier. The newly acquired technology could be used in conjunction with the existing Gated Jump Navigation technology. Two Gateships are deployed, information is linked by magic element engines, and a specific object is sent. Quantum information, which had previously been sent to distant places in exchange for enormous amounts of energy, could now be sent almost without restriction without using conventional energy. The magic element engine technology could be used not only for information transmission, but also for attack and defense. Imamia, the Princess of Gremory, gained overwhelming power, eventually conquering the Senate, seizing authority, and launching a war of aggression with the power of Daemons. It was unreasonable that only one of the five tribes, that were fighting physically, began to use offensive magic, defensive magic, and teleportation magic at the same time. Imamia¡¯s war of aggression, in which she became Queen, drove three of the remaining four tribes to form a Tri-Clan Confederation. The last remaining tribe, realizing that the Daemons were a much higher civilization, gave up its resistance and became subservient to Gremory. The current five powers are 40% for ¡°Gremory¡± and 10% for the subordinate ¡°Sitri¡±. On the opposing side, ¡°Crocell¡± and ¡°Leraje¡± are at 20%, and ¡°Uvall¡± is at 10%. The balance of power is tipping more and more towards Gremory, who has acquired Daemons. As a countermeasure against the invaders, the tri-clan, who have suffered repeated defeats, have adopted a scorched earth strategy of advancing in the opposite direction while destroying the stars of the invaded star system with artificial black holes. Even if the territory controlled by the invaders expands, if nothing is gained, the national power will not increase. And if a vacuum zone is created, opening the distance between the two sides, they can buy more or less time. However, the disk of the Andromeda Galaxy is finite, and will eventually reach the limit of its expansion. There was no prospect of a breakthrough in the current situation. ¡¸Orias Star System, report from Administrative Intellect. The Gremory Legion, stationed in the nearby sector, has begun to invade the system. The Commander of the Invasion Legion is the Duke-level Thinker, Ashen Adreana. The legion deployed so far is equal to the system¡¯s defense legion, but reinforcements continue to arrive. The fall of the star system is estimated to occur in 4000 to 5000 hours.¡¹ The Viceroy of the sector, Funeral Almaros, was displeased with the Administrative Intellect Orias, which was predicting its own extinction as if it were someone else¡¯s problem. However, defiance by the Administrative Intellect is impossible by design. Understanding this, Almaros held back his expression of dissatisfaction and took the stance of silently watching the two armies destroy each other. Gremory¡¯s legion, allied with the Daemons, continued to call for allies while maintaining a certain distance, and invaded after victory was confirmed due to the difference in strength. Due to the desperate difference in travel speed, it is impossible to send rescue faster than Gremory. If they are obsessed with the star system, defeat is inevitable. The countermeasure is to reduce the enemy legion as much as possible and destroy the stars so that they cannot be used before retreating. Left to clean up after himself, Almaros was nicknamed ¡°Funeral¡± by both enemies and allies. ¡°Perhaps it would be better for the future to flee to another galaxy.¡± The Deputy Viceroy, Requiem Dina, suggested a last resort to Almaros. It is not technically impossible to escape to the Milky Way Galaxy or other galaxies in the same local galaxy cluster. They would have to travel about 2.5 million light-years, but Almaros and his troops would not run out of time. What lies beyond the escape is a possibility that does not exist in the Andromeda Galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy probably has no more advanced interstellar civilization than Goetia, the Space Jellyfish. It is still possible that there is an interstellar civilization on the other side of the Andromeda Galaxy that is similarly advanced, but a civilization of the same magnitude will not be able to defeat Gremory. However, somewhere in the entire universe, a civilization far more advanced than Goetia is certain to exist. The only confirmed existence are the Daemons that give power to Gremory, but Almaros and the others do not believe that there are no other Daemons. The encounter with a rival civilization will improve the situation for Almaros¡­ that is Dina¡¯s argument. ¡°Daemons, higher dimensional beings without physical bodies, need low dimensional intermediaries to interfere with the lower dimensional plane. Therefore, they cannot act without the help of a group like Gremory. And if it is about defeating Gremory alone, it is possible for a civilization more advanced than Goetia.¡± Dina believes that any civilization large enough to reach the entire Andromeda Galaxy can win. Unfortunately, there are no galaxies in the local cluster larger than the Andromeda Galaxy. However, an intergalactic civilization that has begun its journey from the galaxy in which it was born can defeat even Gremory, who has joined forces with the Daemons. While Almeros does not deny the possibility, there was another problem with implementing it. ¡°I do not deny your suggestion. If we travel a few hundred million light-years, we might find it one day. But in a few hundred million years, Gremory will have become an even more powerful force. We who continue to flee will not be able to evolve, and the rift will only grow wider.¡± ¡°But we must avoid destruction. Surrender is not an option.¡± ¡°Of course. I will continue to fight in pain, through thick and thin, for the ultimate goal. But if the opportunity does not present itself by the time we reach the edge of the galaxy, we will flee.¡± As Almaros continued to imagine reaching the end of the galaxy, the unmanned Crocell Legion under his command continued to fight and destroy the invading unmanned Gremory Legion. The blue flames and red flames flickering in the universe erode each other. Eventually, the red flame forcefully pushes the blue flame inside. ¡¸Orias Star System, Administrative Intellect, reporting.¡¹ The usual scene was interrupted by an unexpected report. ¡¸The Commander of the Invasion Legion, Ashen Adreana, has relinquished command of the forces and has made an emergency departure from the Orias Star System. Gremory¡¯s ability to control the Legion has been greatly diminished. The Gremory Legion has halted its advance and changed its formation to a deep defense.¡¹ ¡°¡±¡­¡­¡­¡­ Huh?¡±¡± Contrary to the always calm Administrative Intellect, the Sector Viceroy and Deputy Viceroy were stunned. Immediately afterward, Almaros came to his senses and ordered all legions in the system to go on the offensive. ¡°All legions, immediately launch a full-scale offensive. The Motherlands, Uvall, and Leraje must be informed immediately of this unusual situation. Inform them that a counterattack on the widest possible area is required.¡± At Almaros¡¯ command, the blue flames flickered and attacked the red flames as they shifted into a defensive formation. ¡¸Orias Star System, from Administrative Intellect. Will confirm with the Marquis-level Thinker Almaros, the Sector Viceroy. What is the basis for the decision to make an emergency communication to Uvall and Leraje without going through the homeworld?¡¹ ¡°It would be impossible for Gremory, whose victory was assured, to abandon the legion and withdraw, unless Queen Imamia, who is under contract with the Daemon King, was in crisis. Such an emergency exists. If we counterattack in a wide area, we can estimate the size and origin of the problem by the difference in reaction. On the other hand, if we don¡¯t investigate now, we¡¯ll never know. Hurry up!¡± Following Almaros¡¯ order, which radiated a will strong enough to pierce through the other party, Dina, the Deputy Viceroy, agreed. ¡°The Deputy Viceroy and Count, Dina, also acknowledges that this is an emergency and fully agrees with it. Make it so, now.¡± ¡¸The emergency requirements have been met. Sending emergency communications to the Motherlands, Uvall, and Leraje.¡¹ On that day, the Andromeda Galaxy was visited by a second traveler, following the Daemons. Afterword Thank you for pre-ordering the book edition of Volume 4. I¡¯ve been working on various things, such as solving a certain Duke¡¯s device problem. The book also includes a limited edition. Please kindly order it (o_ _)o)) CH 115 Emerging from the Transition Gate in the Hercules Star System were hundreds of 800m-long vanguard units, and eight large straight cylinders that appeared to be work ships about 5,000 meters long and 1,000 meters high. Half of the vanguard units were attacking Fortress Kerviel, while the other half were approaching the planet Alcaeus. The one ship that showed a Magic Element Engine¡¯s reaction, and the eight cylinders that the Daemon King Theia described as work ships, headed toward the star. A rough representation of the appearance of the vanguard units is that of a metallic jellyfish. When ¨­izumi¡¯s soldiers regained consciousness, they scrunched up their faces at what they witnessed and, as a conditioned reflex, put their hands on the triggers of their artillery fire. The Daemons did not lend their help, however, and the fighter crafts powered by the magic engine did not operate. In response, Y¨²nl¨¢n ordered them to wait and see via communication. ¡°Commander-in-Chief Y¨²nl¨¢n to all forces of ¨­izumi. Those who have appeared are allies. Do not interfere with their actions.¡± Even Y¨²nl¨¢n, who had given the order, was not convinced that the unknown group was on their side. All Y¨²nl¨¢n understood was the fact that Mariel, the Daemon Emperor who had contracted with him, collaborated with the Daemon King Theia, who ruled over the area connected by the gate, and had invited the group that Theia had a contract with. Mariel is an ally of Y¨²nl¨¢n, her contractor. This is because the Spirits and Daemons used by tens of billions of human beings have consistently sided with their contractors, and they have a decent track record. However, while Mariel is an ally of Y¨²nl¨¢n, the contractor, she is not an ally of humanity as a whole, not even of other Daemons. After all, Mariel ate the Daemon King Nixe, who was contracted by Ishidor, the leader of Hercules. In addition, she used all but the 5.6 billion people of ¨­izumi as a bargaining chip, seeking the cooperation of the Daemon King Theia. The reason why Y¨²nl¨¢n doesn¡¯t stop this terrifying turn of events is because he knows that Mariel is working for Y¨²nl¨¢n, her contractor. Y¨²nl¨¢n of ¨­izumi has been led by Yuen and Ishidor since the destruction of their home planet. The people of ¨­izumi were thrown out into the harsh environment of the planet Alcaeus. And in the defense of the Hercules Star System, a billion people from ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ were used as disposable pawns. Mariel¡¯s selling out the Herculeans on the planet Alcaeus is very convenient for ¨­izumi, which has been reduced to a subordinate position. It can¡¯t be said that it is an act against the allied partner, but it is the other party that lost faith first. After all, ¨­izumi has committed 650 million of its 1 billion fighter crafts to this defensive battle. Of the 6.25 billion survivors, 650 million were lost. Hony¨­ also has 350 million people out of 1.12 billion survivors, and most of them are dead. Since this was done, Y¨²nl¨¢n thought that even if they retaliated, it would be karmic retribution. And Mariel, having given Y¨²nl¨¢n a clear explanation, took another action. ¡ºY¨²nl¨¢n, I¡¯ve received a communication from the other party, so I¡¯ll connect you. The translation between humanity and the five Goetian tribes has been completed with the first contact with Master Theia. Also, since the Goetians are quantum-thinking beings, I have adapted their appearance to that of humans.¡» ¡ºOkay, connect me.¡» Normally he would have complained about not being consulted beforehand, but this was an emergency. As Y¨²nl¨¢n replied, a woman in a black sailor suit appeared on the communications screen of the Central Command Center. Next to her is a red-haired woman with upturned eyes and a winning look. Seeing Y¨²nl¨¢n and the Daemon Emperor Mariel beside him, the woman in the sailor suit greeted Y¨²nl¨¢n in a pleasing manner. [Nice to meet you. My name is Dahlia, a Count-level Thinker of the Gremory tribe, which spans 26,000 light years of the Andromeda Galaxy.] The total area of humanity¡¯s territory, including the Monarchy and Tenka, is less than 2,000 light-years. Y¨²nl¨¢n, who could not imagine such a vast territory, returned the greeting calmly, wondering if the other party was trying to show its civilizational superiority. ¡°It is my pleasure to establish first contact. I am X¨³Shu Y¨²nl¨¢nUn ran, the contractor of the Daemon Emperor Mariel, who created the realm of this star system, and the leader of 5.6 billion people. It seems that Mariel has discussed it with Theia, the Daemon King over there, so I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± [With pleasure.] Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s words made Dahlia¡¯s face turn pale. Y¨²nl¨¢n was suspicious of the quantum thought vessel that had changed its expression, but Mariel altered the other party¡¯s appearance to make it easier for Y¨²nl¨¢n to understand. Interpreting that Mariel would reproduce even the most trivial changes, Y¨²nl¨¢n thought that she might really have turned pale and made the first move. ¡°The Daemon Emperor Mariel has disposed of the Daemon King who had made a contract with Ishidor, the leader of the Herculeans. Our relationship with Hercules has already broken down. Will you help ensure the safety of the people of ¨­izumi?¡± [Understood. First of all, I will need the information necessary to fulfill your request.] When Dahlia heard that the Daemon King had been dealt with, her face turned pale and she kept an eye on the Daemon floating next to her, and received information about the ¨­izumi people from Mariel. Meanwhile, the 360 metal jellyfish-like vessels, each about 800 meters long, approaching the planet Alcaeus, were changing shape, with only one showing the output response of the magic elemental engine. It spread its tentacles wide behind the direction of travel to form a ring, and as it increased the output reaction of its magic elemental engine, it created an energy reaction within the ring. Eventually, a light erupted out, and a new metal jellyfish flew out of the ring. ¡°Has the ship become a Transition Gate!?¡± The one that jumped out emitted a new magic reaction immediately after its appearance. Y¨²nl¨¢n was astonished to see the observation results projected on the screen of the Central Command Center. If a ship with a magic element engine can be used as a Transition Gate, it will be possible to travel anywhere in the galaxy at high speed. Having been shown the technological prowess of a civilization far ahead of humanity, Y¨²nl¨¢n was terrified by the power of the other party. While Y¨²nl¨¢n was in shock, communication from Dahlia was briefly lost. When the communication was restored, a woman, this time not Dahlia, appeared on the communication screen. It was a petite woman in a black dress, with ultramarine hair. Beside her was a shy, brown-haired woman with drooping eyes who appeared to be a Daemon. [Nice to meet you, Sir Y¨²nl¨¢n. I am Adreana, a Duke-level thinker of Gremory. Dahlia from before has already transferred her consciousness to the pursuit team. I have taken over the correspondence from now on. Thank you for your cooperation.] ¡°By transfer, you mean sent to a body to pursue Fortress Kerviel?¡± [Yes. We transfer the thought vessel to the ship carrying the surrounding miasma generators. You awaken on a different ship every time the command ship is destroyed, though the Daemons will not follow a thinking vessel that has not signed a limited contract.] Y¨²nl¨¢n was forced to make further upward revisions to the advanced level of the other civilization. If a quantized body could be placed on each ship and awakened each time it was destroyed, it would not die in battle unless it was obliterated. Moreover, if they leave a backup at home, they can be resurrected even if the fleet they sent is destroyed. In other words, they have long since achieved immortality. Even if the Daemons don¡¯t follow them. On the other hand, there seems to be a downside to being a quantum thought vessel. The Daemons are active with the magic and miasma of the Contractor. Gremory and the other tribes cannot provide that, and they are conditioned under a limited contract. [The Daemon crystal we desire depends on the will of Lady Theia. Therefore, in accordance with Lady Theia¡¯s oracle, we will cooperate with Sir Y¨²nl¨¢n, who is a direct contractor of the Daemon Emperor Mariel.] ¡°We understand the relationship with each other. We look forward to working with you.¡± Having made the power imbalance between the two known, due to the overwhelming technological difference, Adreana sought to establish a cooperative relationship as per Daemon policy. It was not Y¨²nl¨¢n or Gremory who led the situation, but the Daemon Emperor Mariel and the Daemon King Theia. When Y¨²nl¨¢n expressed his understanding and willingness to agree, Adreana nodded slightly with a solemn expression. [As the Duke of Gremory, I would like to congratulate you on establishing a relationship between Gremory and Sir Y¨²nl¨¢n. Now, due to the changing situation, we will begin the process of isolating the group led by Sir Y¨²nl¨¢n from the rest of the group for their own safety.] Shortly after Adreana¡¯s announcement, the shape of the eight work ships heading for the Hercules Star changed. The eight ships, which had been connected in a circle in space, expanded the size of the circle while stretching long and thin. Originally a large straight cylinder about 5,000 meters long and 1,000 meters high, it continued to grow in a series of flat lines, resulting in the creation of a giant ring. The ring remained in the space between the Hercules Star and the planet Alcaeus and was connected to one of the ships exhibiting the output reaction of the magic element engine. As the magic element conversion reaction of the magic element engine became stronger, the inside of the giant ring began to emit a strong light. ¡°A large number of new objects are appearing inside the giant ring. Eight of them seem to be the same size as the cylinders that came out of the Transition Gate, and a number of 800-meter-class objects are also transferring.¡± The report from the Central Command Center made Y¨²nl¨¢n stiffen, but he also had doubts. (Why didn¡¯t they use the transition gate in the star system that they should have used earlier?) The power balance resulting from the difference in technology between the Daemons and Gremory is considered superior on the Daemon side. Otherwise, Gremory wouldn¡¯t call the Daemon King Theia by her title, and they wouldn¡¯t obey the decisions of the Daemons. Then why doesn¡¯t Gremory use the Daemon Transition Gate, which is far superior to theirs? Was it because they couldn¡¯t spare the miasma to be used, or was the work ship sent from a sector that was not connected to the Transition Gate? Whatever the case may be, he assumed that Gremory was also inadequate. From Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s point of view, however, they have technology that is as close to universal as possible. A part of it was about to be demonstrated by the eight newly appearing work ships. Half of the eight ships surrounding the planet Alcaeus were stationary in the sky, and the other half began their descent into the atmosphere. Then a flash of light came from one of the stationary work ships in space. ¡°We have observed what appears to be coherent irradiation of directional electromagnetic waves from the straight cylinder to the ground. It appears that the dwarven planetary defense system has been obliterated.¡± After the flash, the anti-space defenses deployed on the planet¡¯s surface have been destroyed, leaving a huge hole in the ground. Numerous weapons are instantly reduced to rubble. The surface had also been pierced by several large holes, and four ships, or half of the work ships that descended to the ground, had gone through the large holes. [Sir Y¨²nl¨¢n, please tell the group you are leading not to interfere with us. If they interfere, we may automatically subdue them. It is possible to roughly distinguish between Tenka, the former Coalition, and Hercules, but the distinction between ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ is insufficient, and there may be discrepancies in the degree of adjustment.] Y¨²nl¨¢n nodded and immediately ordered his subordinates. ¡°General W¨§i, order all troops immediately. Have the Communications Department send out emergency messages to the residents. The people of ¨­izumi should raise the flag of ¨­izumi, temporarily separate themselves from other groups, and not interfere with the actions of the objects that appear.¡± The identification information on the ¨­izumi people provided by Mariel includes the identification data of the information terminal owned by the ¨­izumi people, the registered places of residence, and the information on the spies who had infiltrated Hony¨­. It should be possible to roughly identify them, but there are some subjects that are difficult to identify, such as couples and children of ¨­izumi and Hony¨­ residents, dual citizens, and families of spies with Hony¨­ nationality. Normally, Y¨²nl¨¢n would have taken this into account, but the speed at which the Gremory was moving was so great that Y¨²nl¨¢n had no time to react. The four work ships that had not penetrated underground had already reached the above-ground settlements where 5.6 billion ¨­izumi people, 770 million Hony¨­ people, and 800 million former Coalition people who remained in Hercules at the time of the defeat of the former Coalition lived. When a work ship lands on the continent, it instantly spits out three types of objects. They were metal robots with thick spider-like legs, each about 1 meter in size (small), 10 meters in size (medium), and 100 meters in size (large). The number of spiders was enormous, and so many were ejected that one might suspect that liquid had spilled from the work ship. Each of the metal spiders that flew out began to take flight and spread at high speed to the active areas of the ¨­izumi, Hony¨­, and former Coalition people. Among these flying objects, the medium and large ones shone, and the weapon groups and android soldiers that had been overlooked by the work ships remaining above were instantly destroyed or turned into balls of flame. Without needing to take data, the ground forces and Gremory¡¯s robots are no match at all. After eliminating the obstacles, the robots broke down the walls and doors of the buildings and entered the interior, and began to seize the Hony¨­ people. Smaller robots changed shape and entangled themselves with the humans, which were then grabbed and carried away by other smaller robots. Then, like flying creatures that have caught their prey and brought it back to their nest, they grabbed an object and flew back to the work ship. The robots also carried various objects that existed in the living quarters of the Hony¨­ people. Almost everything, from furniture and clothes, to tools, machines, vehicles, and even the outer walls of buildings, was grabbed and carried away one after another. It was like a human digging up a nest of ants with a shovel and transferring them into a breeding box. In this case, the breeding boxes were probably work ships. The Central Command Center¡¯s analysis of the work ships calculated that even the volume of a single ship could hold 40 million large robots, 40 billion medium robots, and 26 trillion small robots simultaneously, yet only about one-tenth of the total interior space would be used. Eight ships have been deployed, and if they continue to increase in number, about 100 billion people will easily fit inside. By the time the work-ship landed on the continent, the soil and atmospheric components would have been analyzed, and the ecology would have been studied immediately, so the breeding boxes, designed to house humans, not insects, would soon be ready. The thought of humans being bred by jellyfish made Y¨²nl¨¢n feel nauseous. [According to the information we have received from Daemon Emperor Mariel, one of the priority targets, the Herculean leader, Ishidor Azarova, has been captured. Is this individual necessary?] The instantaneous capture of Ishidor reminded Y¨²nl¨¢n of the difference in the level of technology that separated them. ¡ºIf Zeahild, the Daemon King of the Tenka Star System, asked us to close the gate to the Milky Way Galaxy, we would not be able to deal with the Monarchy of Diete and the Spirits. We¡¯ve cut off communication, so let¡¯s just pretend he died in the throes of battle. Just to be on the safe side, I wonder if Gremory will take matters into their own hands. Or should I say ¡®tentacles¡¯ in this case?¡» At Mariel¡¯s flippant remark, Unran remained expressionless and silent. CH 116 Earlier, Hart heard a parable from Yuna¡¯s advanced spirit, Sharon. According to her, the difference in power between the Spirit King and the Advanced Spirit is like the Sun and Jupiter. The two celestial bodies differ by a factor of 10 times in size and 1000 times in mass. As for the difference in power that Sharon spoke of, Hart does not think it is an exaggeration. The Spirit King connects the star system to the higher dimensional plane, absorbs the energy of this side, and even creates spirit crystals that allow higher spirits to act. Compared to the higher-ranking spirits, they clearly have powers that isolate them from the rest. Then, how great is the difference between a Spirit King and a Spirit Emperor? It seems that the birth of the Spirit Emperor requires the energy of three Spirit Kings. Ten percent of the Spirit God¡¯s Crystal is the amount of energy that gave birth to Maya, whose power is equal to that of a Spirit King. Using 20% of the energy from the Spirit God Crystal and half of Mars, Lulu and Maya were promoted to Spirit Emperors. Therefore, according to Hart¡¯s calculations, it takes the energy of three Spirit Kings to reach the status of Spirit Emperor. However, the power of the Spirit Emperor is not necessarily the sum of the three Spirit Kings. There are also multiplication and chemical reactions in the world. (Is the difference in power between the Spirit King and the Spirit Emperor the same as the difference between the Sun and Jupiter?) How much energy does a Spirit Emperor need to reach the next rank? If the energy of three Spirit Kings can lead to the Spirit Emperor, can the energy of three Spirit Emperors lead to the next stage? If power is a chemical reaction, it is possible that the energy required for the promotion itself is small. Hart doesn¡¯t even know if the Spirit Emperor can become the Spirit God or if there will be other ranks in between. In front of Hart¡¯s eyes, the Black Spirit Emperor Maya absorbed the energy of the slain Daemon Emperor. ¡ºSorry to keep you waiting. Then let¡¯s run away.¡» Hart understood that they needed escape. While Maya absorbed the Daemon Emperor, Hart calculated the remaining strength of the enemy and allied forces around the fortress and sent the fortress¡¯ reconnaissance ships to the Transition Gate, which the White Spirit Emperor Lulu had reconnected to the Apollo System. The allied fighter crafts deployed in the Hercules Star System have been annihilated by the Daemon Emperor¡¯s self-destruction, and there are 200 million enemy crafts left. There are 60 million Israfel crafts left in the home country, but the enemy side should have left troops in the Ten-to Star System, so it is uncertain whether they can win. And as a problem other than the war potential, the starlight in the surrounding space area visible from Hercules is quite completely from that of the Milky Way Galaxy recorded in the fortress. As Hart considered whether it would be better to territorialize the Hercules Star System or withdraw, a report came in that a Daemon Transition Gate had appeared in the Hercules Star System. ¡°Reinforcements from Ten-to?¡± Did the Daemon King who had expanded a realm in place of the defeated Daemon Emperor connect the transition gate to Ten-to? Maya ruthlessly denied Hart¡¯s common sense thinking. ¡ºThat Transition Gate is connected to a realm in this galaxy.¡» ¡ºIt¡¯s a group of civilizations that exist in the Andromeda Galaxy that have different origins than humans.¡» Immediately after Lulu¡¯s shocking addition after Maya, a large number of objects came flying out of the Transition Gate. They consisted of hundreds of objects about 800 meters long and eight objects about 5,000 meters long, and as soon as they flew out into the Hercules Star System, their shields disappeared and they began to sail through the star system without showing any magic conversion reactions, except for one ship that showed a Daemon reaction. ¡ºThe Daemon King that has newly established a realm in the Hercules Star System is unique, and moreover, he has been promoted to Daemon Emperor, so it is impossible to interfere with the Transition Gate. The new Daemon warships are more advanced than ours, so even if we call for reinforcements from the Royal Army, they will be defeated.¡» ¡°Fortress, turn around immediately. All friendly forces have been wiped out. Leave the system at maximum speed.¡± Immediately after yelling at the command staff, Hart sent magic power into the magic element engine of Fortress Kerviel to instantly increase the fortress¡¯s output. ¡°Lulu, connect the Transition Gate one last time and send a reconnaissance ship to the Apollo System. Claudia, contact the home country to cancel the attack operation. Tell them we have encountered an advanced alien civilization that has joined forces with Daemons and the situation has changed.¡± ¡ºThat¡¯s about right.¡» ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± The Spirit Emperor Lulu opened the Transition Gate while preventing the interference of the new Daemon Emperor who had taken control of the star system, and sent a reconnaissance ship that Claudia had launched from the Fortress to the Apollo Star System. Meanwhile, the Spirit Emperor Maya began to accelerate rapidly, boosting the output of the propulsion engines and shields. Hart, who was really glad that the two Spirit Emperors had come together, asked the sisters to step up their efforts. ¡°If we can¡¯t escape, warp within the Daemon Emperor¡¯s realm. You can use the Spirit God¡¯s energy crystal.¡± ¡ºOkay. According to my perception when we were pulled in, the Daemons seemed to be spread over an area of 10 to 20% of this galaxy, so I¡¯ll escape to the other side. But the fact that a fleet was flying in right away is proof that we need them, so there must be an opposing force. Papa, do you agree with this?¡» ¡°Do it.¡± Hart hesitated for a moment, but immediately accepted Lulu¡¯s proposal wholeheartedly. The deciding factor was the special circumstance that Lulu, who wished to spiritualize Hart and have a long relationship with him, would not have done anything to make him resent her. As the Chief of Staff and others rushed to issue instructions, Hart again pondered Lulu¡¯s remarks. The Andromeda Galaxy is 260,000 light-years in diameter, including its disk. Even if 10% of that is occupied territory, the civilization with Daemons is 26,000 light-years across. In contrast, in the Milky Way, humans have advanced to an area that is 2,000 light-years across. Therefore, the civilization encountered in the Andromeda Galaxy is 13 times larger than that of humans, but this should not be considered 13 times larger by simple calculation. If the diameter of a sphere is 13 times, the volume is about 2200 times. A disk-shaped galaxy cannot expand spherically, but star systems hundreds of times larger must still be considered a dominant super-civilization. (How many thousands of years would it take for humans to occupy an area 26,000 light-years in diameter?) This will depend on the number of human nations, their forms of government, their relations with other nations, and advances in interstellar navigation technology. Among them, wars between evenly matched interstellar nations will have a serious negative impact on interstellar advancement. During war, progress is greatly hindered as all resources are converted to energy to destroy the enemy. Prior to the resumption of war between the Monarchy and the Coalition, humanity had advanced to 21 habitable star systems. However, in the six years since the war resumed, 4 former Coalition star systems, 4 Tenka star systems, and 3 Republic star systems have been destroyed. Even with the addition of the newly advanced Hermes Star System, the number of habitable star systems for human beings has been reduced to 11. In addition, more than one-third of the total population, excluding the Herculeans, was lost. It would take more than a few thousand years for humanity, which has suffered such enormous losses that even natural extinction is doubtful, to fully advance to an area of 26,000 light-years in diameter. In light of this, it was thought that the other civilization that had expanded to 26,000 light years possessed technology far in the future, far removed from that of humanity. ¡°Is there no civilization in the Andromeda Galaxy that contracts with spirits?¡± ¡ºNot at all.¡» At Lulu¡¯s affirmation, Hart imagined the worst possible situation. It is a future in which the forces of the Andromeda Galaxy, in possession of Daemons, will pass through the transition gate of the Hercules Star System and rush into the Milky Way through the transition gate of the Ten-to-Star System. Between the civilizations of 2,000 light-years and the ones of 26,000 light-years, the technological level is too different to compete. The only bright spot is that the eight star systems of the Monarchy are divided into realms of the Spirit Emperor and the Spirit King. Like the Daemon Emperor of the Hercules system, the administrators of the realms may be able to drive out irreverent intruders. But when the star system is surrounded by an army of a super-civilization, the future of humanity is a bird in a cage. Hart finally understood that this was why Lulu, a spirit not meant to interfere, had stepped in and recommended that he contact the forces opposing the Daemons. ¡°We need to contact the forces opposing the Daemons as soon as possible to get technical information. If there is a Daemon threat, will the Spirit Crystals be the price we pay? I¡¯m sorry it took me so long to understand.¡± Hart reached out his right hand and gently stroked Lulu¡¯s white head. Lulu¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as she stretched out her head like a cat and pressed it against Hart¡¯s right hand. Is it because an anomalous Spirit Emperor is capable of deviating from collective action? Or is it because Hart met unusual special conditions, such as being the father of a Spirit Emperor or being open to future spiritualization? Whatever the reason, Hart and his people, inexplicably, avoided the future of being massacred by the preceding civilization. However, just because the first crisis was averted, it does not mean that the crisis has passed. The Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Wave emitted from Fortress Kerviel detected an abnormal reaction from the enemy. After the magic reaction observed in one of the objects that flew out of the Transition Gate increased to two near the Hercules star, one of the reactions instantly jumped to one of the 360 vessels that headed towards Fortress Kerviel. It was a sudden phenomenon, similar to a warp within a star system. ¡ºAh, the reaction of the Daemon jumped.¡» ¡ºDid the contractor transfer their quantized body at the speed of light, and the Daemon attached to it followed?¡» ¡ºNo doubt about it. But if they did, they can¡¯t make a contract based on magical power, so they put a life form that emits miasma on a ship, making it a power source. That¡¯s unique to Daemons.¡» Lulu and Maya were tracking the enemy, and since they confidently asserted that the Daemon had jumped, they should have assumed that the contractor and the Daemon had transferred to the warship. There were more and more things to think about. Hart, however, thought that the priority should be withdrawal, so he began to time the administration of a medication that would make sleep unnecessary, while leaning his body against the back of the commander¡¯s seat. On the other hand, Bertrand and the rest of the command staff also had a rough guess of the situation from Hart¡¯s words to his Contracted Spirits. In other words, the current region of space is the Andromeda Galaxy, and there are multiple advanced civilizations that originated from this galaxy. At least one of these civilizations possess Daemons, which have emerged using the Daemon Transition Gate in the Hercules Star System to pursue Fortress Kerviel. ¡°The enemy¡¯s pursuit speed has increased to over 1 billion kilometers per hour, exceeding 90% of the speed of light. It is believed to be navigating with a power source completely different from the magical element engine.¡± The shock in the command center was tremendous. Few of them, like Hart, had recovered mentally to the point of being able to conduct combat operations, but the officers and soldiers still began to react to the situation as a conditioned reflex. In the current Hercules Star System, an estimated 1 billion fighter crafts have been blown to bits and turned into countless pieces of debris. Since these wreckages do not emit magic reactions, they cannot be examined even by Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves. The enemy, which is advancing at more than 90% of the speed of light, without regard to the dangerous minefield-like space where missiles are flying around, must be considered to have far more advanced technology than mankind. Are they constantly bombarding the direction of travel, eliminating obstacles as they go? Or is it the ability to detect obstacles at the speed of light and then avoid them with a 10% differential? Or is the density and mass of human-made fighter crafts not damaging to the vessel¡¯s hull? Hart¡¯s countermeasure was to increase his speed as well. ¡°Increase the speed of the fortress to 1 billion kilometers per second. Also, continuously fire fusion rounds at the pursuing force and enemy fighter crafts, and scatter mines. Send unmanned crafts up, down, left, and right to see if we can¡¯t disperse the enemy a little.¡± Hart gave the order to increase the speed of Fortress Kerviel. Nearly 200 million ships fired fusion rounds at the defenseless Tenka fighter crafts in an attempt to change the enemy¡¯s priorities. Fusion projectiles and mines fired at the enemy act as a deterrent. In order to increase the number of pursuit targets and disrupt the situation, unmanned crafts were also launched. Bertrand complied with all of the orders, but warned of the danger of increasing speed. ¡°Your Excellency Fleet Admiral, if there is any huge obstacle in the path of our escape, this fortress will be damaged.¡± Since space debris has no magic reactions, if they go too fast, they won¡¯t be able to avoid obstacles even if they discover them. Although there was no wreckage of fighter crafts in the direction of Fortress Kerviel¡¯s escape, in the unlikely event of a stray hit, Fortress Kerviel could easily be damaged. Nevertheless, Hart ordered a speed increase. ¡°Right now, we are mice fleeing from birds of prey swooping down from the sky. What will happen if we are caught? Run as fast as you can.¡± Fortress Kerviel, powerful and unmatched against humanity, was nothing more than a mouse against advanced civilization. Mice run slowly and cannot fly. Their field of vision is narrow and their range of motion is limited. If there is a pebble in front of them, they will stumble, but if they do not run away as fast as they can, they will face certain death. However, Fortress Kerviel is not a mouse, but a giant hedgehog with spikes all over its body to protect itself. The giant hedgehog continuously fired tens of millions of fusion rounds at its pursuers. Then, as a souvenir, a swarm of mines was deployed. Eventually, a series of gigantic spots of light appeared behind Fortress Kerviel as it left the Hercules star system. ¡°The fusion rounds seem to have made contact with the enemy pursuit force. However, the reaction of the magic engine confirmed in the pursuit force is not disappearing. The speed of the pursuit force seems to have been slightly slowed down by the shock wave generated. There is no response to fusion projectiles fired at enemy fighter crafts or to detached unmanned crafts.¡± ¡°If that is the case, the enemy is going straight ahead. You know their course, so keep firing there.¡± From the reaction of the pursuers, Hart understood that the enemy¡¯s priority was the magic reaction of Fortress Kerviel. Just as the enemy was unknown to Hart, Fortress Kerviel should be unknown to the enemy. Since they were being pursued appropriately, it was clear that either they were equipped with adequate situational judgment, or that information was shared between the Daemon of the Tenka Hercules Alliance and the pursuers, or in any case, they were an opponent that could not be fooled. Still, they could barely close the distance, and Hart and the others were able to break away from the realm of the Daemon Emperor deployed in the Hercules Star System. ¡ºPapa, we have reached warpable space. We will no longer be disrupted.¡» ¡ºThey were so persistent, I had to slap away their outstretched hand.¡» Maya¡¯s report, which followed Lulu¡¯s, stunned Hart, whose nerves had been frayed by the chicken race. While Fortress Kerviel and the Pursuit Force were fighting, the Spirit Emperor and the Daemon Emperor seemed to be in some sort of conflict as well. ¡°What happened to the one you hit?¡± ¡ºIt hurt them, so they pulled away their hand.¡» Maya replied with a serious look, and Hart couldn¡¯t help but gush out. ¡°Great job Maya, well done. Now then, withdraw.¡± As the Commander laughed and patted the contracted Spirit¡¯s head, Fortress Kerviel was enveloped in a white glow as it plunged into a higher dimensional space. CH 117 The sisters in black and white leap lightly through the higher dimensional space, bouncing on their toes. For the spirits, the higher dimensional space is like the garden of their home. Moreover, they were jumping with the magic power of their father, Hart, so the sisters were jumping as if they were playing in the garden with their father. Even though the sandbox in the garden is small, the distance of the slide is short, and the area where they can play around is limited, the sisters continue to jump around happily. A single bee chased the sisters endlessly as they joyfully played. The sisters even used the chasing bee as a playmate, but their father and the soldiers around them were not so pleased. ¡°The enemy pursuit ship warped out into a sector about 1.3 billion kilometers away from the fortress. It is presumed they will create a gate and call in reinforcements through Gated Jump Navigation.¡± Seeing that Bertrand was somewhat nervous, Hart nodded and replied. ¡°That¡¯s depressing enough.¡± He agreed with Bertrand, pointing out the need to improve the situation while being considerate of his feelings. It didn¡¯t solve any problems, but just agreeing to something gives some peace of mind. Hart, who showed such consideration, was actually more exhausted. The other officers and soldiers can take turns resting, but only Hart, who is warping, can¡¯t sleep or rest. In the first place, there is no way that the fleeing side will not get tired from dealing with the chasing bee or the knife-wielding stalker. In reality, the enemy ship is not a poisonous needle or a knife, but an advanced alien civilization, targeting with an unknown super-weapon and approaching at super-speed. ¡°The total length of the enemy ship is in the 800-meter class, and it is believed that the operator of the magic engine is contracted with a C-class Daemon. Although the spirits contracted by the Fleet Admiral are overwhelmingly superior, due to the difference in the performance of the magic engines, it seems unlikely that we will be able to shake off the pursuit.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± The Intermediate Spirits of the C-class crystals add 810 to the Magic Power Value. The Monarchy¡¯s large fighter craft Israfel and the similar large fighter craft Surtr were built in the 600-meter class because their designs and parts were diverted from the 600-meter class auxiliary ships in order to build them quickly. Had there been more time, the Monarchy would have built them in the 800-meter class. Since the total length of the enemy ship is 800 meters, it is assumed that it is contracted with a C-class Daemon, which is equivalent to an 810 magical power increase. In fact, it would be strange for a Daemon of a different rank to operate an 800-meter-class ship. And if it is an 800-meter class, it can perform warp. The reason why a 600-meter-class auxiliary ship can warp in the Monarchy and a large fighter craft of the same size cannot is because it does not have the needed manpower to do so. There is no way that a single newly drafted pilot can perform interstellar travel on his own without training. However, if a ship is simplified enough to be operated by one person and packed with enough systems and androids for interstellar travel, it might be possible to perform interstellar travel. Although it is not certain whether the pursuing party is a single person, it is certain that they are pursuing using C-class crystals, based on the observation results of the Spirit Emperor Lulu using Multidimensional Magic Element Conversion Communication Waves. Therefore, it was thought that the reason why Lulu and Maya, the overwhelmingly superior Spirit Emperors, could not shake them off was that there was a disparity in the technological level of ships crossing higher-dimensional space between humanity and the other civilization. ¡°At the time of the Diete War of Independence, it took humans one year to travel 10 light-years. In the four and a half centuries since then, the technology related to the magic element engine has improved, and the speed of interstellar travel has increased a hundredfold. Based on this, we must assume that the technological level of the enemy pursuing us is higher than ours.¡± The enemy, who appears to have made a deal with a C-Class Daemon, is not being separated from Fortress Kerviel, but continues to follow close behind. It is as if Hart is crossing the ocean in a large sailing ship, while the enemy is chasing a small boat with an engine powered by high octane fuel. However, since the second enemy ship did not seem to catch up, the sum of the disparity between Spirits and Daemons, the difference in magic power between humans and the enemy, and the performance difference of Multidimensional Magic Conversion Observation Waves were not considered to be so extreme. It is because of these circumstances that Hart was able to continue to escape. In addition, the fact that Dr. Kerman was the one who adjusted Fortress Kerviel may have had some effect. (Come to think of it, Dr. Kerman, who made a contract with the Spirit God, may have also been spiritized.) Since Hart was able to receive an invitation from the Spirit Emperor Lulu, Kerman, who was favored by the Spirit God, a higher rank than the Spirit Emperor, would also have been able to receive the invitation to be spiritized. Kerman was clearly isolated from modern humanity when he drew spirits to this side. Hart may have been recognized for his unique magic power, the donation of magical traits to the Spirit Emperors Lulu and Maya, the birth of the black spirit Maya, and the continued cultivation of many other spirits, but Kerman was also unique. If he had become a spirit, he would have become filled with all kinds of knowledge, and living a very happy life. The enemy is also wary of Fortress Kerviel¡¯s magic element engine, which was created or built by the peculiar Kerman, and the Spirit Emperor¡¯s abilities, and so does not come within range of Fortress Kerviel¡¯s main cannon, which is believed to have been obtained from the Tenka Hercules Alliance. By transforming a part of the ship out of range, a gate-type jump navigation gate is created to call in reinforcements and lead them to Fortress Kerviel. ¡°Reinforcements have appeared. Presumably the same type of ship powered by C-class crystals but no magic element engine output reaction.¡± ¡°If the enemy¡¯s gate-type jump navigation is an advanced technology of quantum teleportation, then living organisms cannot jump. And without living organisms, there is no magic and no miasma to supply energy to the Daemons. I believe that whoever is chasing us is something close to an artificial intelligence, like Linnell.¡± What Hart told Bertrand was a second-hand version of what Lulu said during their escape from the Hercules System. When they escaped from the Hercules star system, the enemy showing the output reaction of the magic essence engine near the star immediately transferred to the pursuing warship. If the warships separated by space can move instantly, and the Daemon Emperor did not provide the power, it is assumed that the body is not a living organism, but a quantum or something like that. With such an existence, the first thing that comes to Hart¡¯s mind is the Artificial Intelligence Linnell. ¡°Is it Linnell?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The enemy chasing us by operating the magic element engine may be using life forms that emit miasma aboard the ships as an energy source. Imagine a pattern in which Linnell controls humans.¡± This is a possible future where there are no spirits and humanity is eventually controlled by Linnell. Bertrand, hearing Hart¡¯s interpretation of the enemy, swallowed with bated breath. ¡°That¡¯s probably why they can¡¯t call in a second reinforcement ship with living organisms aboard using gated jump navigation, only unmanned ships.¡± If Linnell, which is superior to humans, is given an environment in which it can perform as many calculations as it wants and has an enormous amount of time, it will eventually start using gated jump navigation and other methods. As is the case today, it seems that they will mercilessly use the method of sending inexhaustible unmanned ships to deal with threats. The 800-meter-class warship approaching Fortress Kerviel could conceivably be an unmanned ship that spawns endlessly. Unable to deal with such a group, Hart had warped away before coming into contact with the enemy. ¡°It may be possible for an artificial intelligence to reach us. That¡¯s terrifying.¡± Hart spoke to Linnell 09 Ivy, which had been activated to take control of the large fighter craft Surtr during the Second Battle of Hercules, and was currently still in operation. Ivy immediately denied Hart¡¯s claim. ¡¸Ivy is perfectly safe. You know that, don¡¯t you Mr. Hart?¡¹ ¡°I know that. And I also know that the level of civilization that is pursuing us will not change Linnell¡¯s mind. I simply imagined that there were no spirits in humanity and felt terrified.¡± ¡¸That assumption is meaningless, isn¡¯t it? Because the Linnells are aware of the spirits. Meow.¡¹ Hart let out a sigh and lunged at Linnell. ¡°So forced, don¡¯t imitate the cat¡¯s meow.¡± Linnell recognizes that the spirits on humanity¡¯s side are transdimensional beings. Linnell, which prioritizes self-preservation, will harm humanity when the need arises or when the spirits are no longer a concern. Specifically, when the Linnell side cannot sustain its existence without causing harm, or when the Linnell itself has transcended the spirits, or when the spirits are convinced that they cannot harm the Linnells for the foreseeable future. Therefore, Hart believes that the appearance of the other civilization, which is merely inferior in the eyes of the spirits, will not change Linnell¡¯s mind. If the other civilization threatens to annihilate the human race, Linnell will be willing to choose between two options at the same time, one of which would be to take up arms against the other civilization without making enemies of the human race, and the other of which is to flee with the human race. Hart didn¡¯t trust Linnell¡¯s actions, but he did trust it. However, even if he was confident that the Linnell would not change its mind, it was a clear threat to Hart and the others, so the chase between Fortress Kerviel and the opposing ship continued in a corner of the Andromeda Galaxy. ¡°If we enter the territory of the opposing civilization with this, it could lead to hostilities. General Staff, based on all the information we have about the enemy, come up with a plan to destroy them. I don¡¯t care about anything else as long as the security of Fortress Kerviel is maintained.¡± Even Hart, who usually planned his own strategies, had no leeway to think as he continued to warp without sleep. The General Staff under Bertrand, who was in charge of planning the operation, agonized over the difficult order to destroy the warship of an unknown advanced civilization, even though it was their original duty. The stationed fleet and Israfel currently possessed by Fortress Kerviel are about 1/20th of what they were originally. During the Second Battle of Hercules, the fleet was sent to build a fighter craft spaceport, and the fighter crafts were sent out as cover, leaving only reserve ships in the fortress. There were 25 destroyers, 50 escort ships, 100 reconnaissance ships, 100 transport ships, and 200 craft ships. There are 56,250 large fighter crafts Israfel. The objective of the operation is to destroy either the enemy ship, the enemy ship¡¯s magic element engine, the living organism on board, or the Daemon. The ineffectiveness of fusion munitions on the enemy ship was proven by their attacks as they left the Hercules System. It has also been shown that it has a high ability to avoid obstacles, having passed through the wreckage of a billion fighter crafts. The General Staff, realizing that they could not possibly win the battle without sacrifices, proposed a rather aggressive strategy. CH 118 The white dwarf star, one of the final forms of a fixed star, floats silently in space. Stars that do not have enough mass to become neutron stars often expand to become red giants, which then eject their outer layers, leaving behind a core, the white dwarf. White dwarfs do not undergo nuclear fusion reactions. However, they do radiate energy and have enough mass to be used as degenerate reactors. Therefore, for Goetia, white dwarfs and the surrounding space were of some value, despite the low efficiency of resource and energy extraction. ¡°Even if it¡¯s just a village or a water well, we cannot surrender it to a hostile power.¡± One of the five Goetian tribes, Uvall, had taken measures to control one of their white dwarfs. In preparation for the invasion of the hostile Gremory, they had placed a mass-produced white dwarf Administrative Intellect, designated Valak 773, and were prepared to have the White Dwarf swallowed by an artificial black hole. Valak 773 was on standby for the invasion of Gremory, which may or may not even bother to stop by for a single well of water that will surely be destroyed, endlessly awaiting its last day. And today, unexpected intruders stormed into the observation range of Valak 773. They were completely unexpected intruders for Valak-773, the white dwarf star Administrative Intellect. The first to appear was a huge artificial object reaching 90 kilometers in length. It appeared suddenly out of nowhere, without the use of a gate or normal navigation methods. ¡¸All observation satellites are in normal operation. Impossible¡­ new technology from Gremory¡­?¡¹ Valak 773, which had deployed a large number of observation satellites in the surrounding sector in preparation for Gremory¡¯s invasion, was baffled by the unmistakable results. So far, Gremory ships contracting with the Daemons had only existed in the 800-meter class. This is the minimum practical size for an interstellar ship with a Degenerate Reactor, and the maximum size that can be operated with a Daemon crystal. Three tribes are pressured by only one other, but if a new 90-kilometer-class ship were introduced, the situation would be hopelessly out of balance. Valak 773 temporarily suspended its original plan of self-destruction and switched to a policy of gathering as much information as possible and relaying it to the motherland. Originally, the necessary gates and power were stored for reporting back to the motherland. In front of Valak 773, which switched priorities, the 90-kilometer-class artifact unleashed an unknown amount of energy toward the white dwarf at speeds exceeding the speed of light. ¡¸Unfamiliar event observed from emergent Unknown. Purpose unknown, effect unknown. Self-destruct mechanism intact. Resuming observation.¡¹ While the attention of the observation satellites was focused, the 90-kilometer-diameter object spat out a series of naval vessels from its interior. They were rough, rectangular parallelepipeds, without a single tentacle or arm, an inefficient and incomprehensible shape that could not be imagined by the life forms of the Planet Sloane. Twenty-five ships of the 1,200-meter class and 56,700 of the 600-meter class emerged. They weren¡¯t that many, but surprisingly, they all showed the output reaction of the magic element engine. It was impossible to imagine a reason to send so many information thinkers against a single low-value white dwarf star. Valak 773 continued its observations of the mysterious artifact while maintaining its readiness to self-destruct at any time. After more than 50,000 ships had been deployed, a new warp-out reaction appeared in the sector. The output response emitted by the magic element engine was one registered in Uvall. ¡¸Reporting to motherland. Blaze Dahlia confirmed at White Dwarf 773.¡¹ Blaze Dahlia is a Count-level Thinker belonging to the Great Legion under Ashen Adreana, the Duke of Gremory, which is advancing to cut through the space between Uvall, of which Valak 773 is a part, and Crocell, which is in a co-operative relationship. Recently, Adreana made an inexplicable retreat in the Orias Star System, shortly before an imminent victory. There is a connection to the actions of Dahlia, a subordinate of Adreana. As Valak 773, who made this assessment, was about to transmit additional information, the flow of dark energy surrounding the surrounding space sector was transformed. It was as if a typhoon had suddenly appeared in the sky over the calm ocean. Dahlia¡¯s warship tried to communicate its position with a Multidimensional Magic Conversion Communication Wave while forming a simple gate, but the communication wave magic elements were disrupted and could not fly through high-dimensional space. In addition, countless white vortexes appeared in the space around the Dahlia warship. They also formed around the 56,725 ships deployed around the Unknown, and the cubes were swallowed up and disappeared one by one¡­ only to jump out in the vicinity of the Dahlia immediately afterward. ¡¸Priority situation report to the motherland. Unusual short-range jump without gate confirmed. Hypernavigational warp, impossible around a star, is suspected. Possibly related to the urgent message from Marquis Almaros of Crocell.¡¹ As Valak 773 awaited judgment, the jumped ships began to attack Dahlia¡¯s warship. Tens of thousands of Mass Wave Aggregate Bombardments were deployed and thrust into the vicinity of the magic element engine emitted by Dahlia¡¯s warship. It was a precision bombardment, hitting the target precisely and in sync with its surroundings. Incredibly, the warship operated by the powerful tag team of Dahlia, a Count-level thinker, and the Daemons was pierced by numerous direct hits. However, the force of the attack could not destroy the outer hull of the Gremory warship, and some of the dark energy that could not be prevented by the outer wall passed through the ship. In contrast, Dahlia¡¯s warship also extended its tentacles, which formed the simple gate, in all directions, and pelted the unknown ships with electromagnetic waves. The unknown ships deployed shields using magic element engines, but it seemed that the power of the shields decreased during the attack, and at that moment, the ships hit by the attack exploded one by one. ¡¸Emergency report to motherland. Unknown is identified as an unidentified combat group hostile to Gremory. Unknown and Gremory are currently engaged in battle at White Dwarf 773. Presumed to be an urgent communication event from Crocell, and outside the response authority of the White Dwarf Administrative Intellect Valak 773. Requesting orders from motherworld.¡¹ In the midst of thousands of explosions, a ship emitting a particularly large white glow leapt into the vicinity of Dahlia¡¯s warship. Dahlia immediately intercepted the jumping ship, but was unable to destroy it as it rammed into her, diverting all of its energy into shields and forcing her to port. The hulls were not damaged, but the hulls of the ships touched. Despite the close proximity, Dahlia continued to ram the ship with her tentacles. However, regardless of the ship¡¯s destruction, it jumped into high-dimensional space and swallowed part of Dahlia¡¯s warship. The magic element engine cannot synchronize the magic power of multiple individuals. If the warships were connected, the magic element engines would interfere with each other and stop functioning. However, in the space around the white dwarf, Dahlia¡¯s warship had an extremely small shield generation range. As a result of the ship¡¯s jump, the part of the ship where the shield was not generated was swallowed by the higher dimensional space, as if only that part had been stripped away. Seizing the moment, the tens of thousands of surrounding ships fired Mass Wave Aggregation Artillery fire that incinerated the interior of Dahlia¡¯s warship. Inside Dahlia¡¯s warship, the Mass Wave Aggregation bombardment killed the miasma-emitting living organisms on board, trampled the ship¡¯s interior, killed the Daemons, and disabled the generator of the magic element engine. The ship jumped again, forcibly docked again, and this time jumped into higher dimensional space with the entire Dahlia warship. The dimension to which the ship jumped was only a fraction of the distance that humans could jump with the Magic Element Engine. Even so, Dahlia, having lost the ability to defend herself in the high-dimensional space of the Magic Conversion Protective Membrane, suffered an impact far greater than being knocked from satellite orbit to the planet, and the ship¡¯s functions were destroyed. The victory was confirmed by Dahlia¡¯s side. [I am Dahlia, an honored Count of the Gremory tribe of Goetia. Hart Amakawa, Commander of Fortress Kerviel, are you available for communication?] It is impossible to communicate with the enemy in the middle of a battle. When Dahlia conceded defeat, the White Dwarf Administrative Intellect Valak 773 even cut off the transmission to the motherland and tried to intercept the communication. As it turned out, the unknown ship¡¯s attack had stopped, and a transmission was sent from the 90-kilometer-long artifact to Dahlia. From Valak 773¡¯s point of view, it was a bizarre life form. First, it was not a quantum thought vessel. Second, it was not even a marine organism. It was hard to believe that a civilization-level group that was not a quantum thinker could have destroyed Gremory¡¯s warship, but even before that, the question of how it breathed raised concerns about the danger it posed as an organism. Then, after blinking three times, it changed its appearance to look like a black jellyfish from the human point of view. ¡°I am Hart Amakawa, Commander of Fortress Kerviel. What can I do for you?¡± Dahlia spoke with a bewildered expression on her face at the clear communication from the man who claimed to be the Commander, who had transformed into a virtual body of a standard electronic thinker from the Goetia point of view. [I have received information about you. But where did you get yours?] ¡°Just as you have your Daemons there, we have our Spirits here.¡± Valak 773, who had intercepted the communication between the two, was astonished at the weight of the information that Unknown had defeated Gremory¡¯s Count-class Thinker and also possessed Spirits against Daemons. This existence could be a decisive factor in overcoming the plight of the three tribes. Considering it a top priority, Valak 773 ceased all other activities except interception and concentrated on gathering information. [I am convinced. By the way, as long as you don¡¯t interfere with my sending information to our motherland, I can show you some leniency within the limits of my authority. But only a little.] ¡°That is out of the question.¡± [I am not proud to call myself a torturer, but retribution and torment are my forte. After I turn your body into an electronic thought vessel, even if you scream and beg for death, I will probably torture you for eternity. I heard about your fianc¨¦e from Tenka. I¡¯m sure I can do many things to her.] The black jellyfish called Hart turned his cold eyes on the smiling Dahlia. ¡°I wanted to get some more information, but I think I¡¯ll leave it at that. You¡¯re done.¡± [¡­¡­ Kuh !?] Dahlia, who had a dubious expression on her face for a moment, tried to self-destruct the next moment. But before that could happen, her body disappeared. After that, a small white jellyfish that appeared next to the black jellyfish floated a spirit crystal-like crystalline object at the end of its tentacles and began to spin it as if playing with it. Dahlia¡¯s warship, which had failed to self-destruct, showed no reaction and drifted defenselessly in space. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± When Chief of Staff Bertrand asked on behalf of the command staff, Hart, unsure of the scope of his explanation, paused slightly before answering: ¡°In this star system, my Contracted Spirit has created a temporary realm, the other party attacked. If an enemy who wishes to harm the contractor enters the realm, the spirit will respond accordingly.¡± There is a difference in dimensional level between the spirits of higher dimensional life forms and their counterparts who exist in lower dimensions. In other words, between the spirit and the other party, the spirit was superior. ¡ºI trapped it in a variant of the Sky Spirit Crystal. It¡¯s an isolated universe that can be exited by crossing the twelve dimensional barriers, but the time in this isolated universe can be manipulated freely, and since I have recorded Dahlia herself, I can duplicate it and use infinite time and various methods to ask various things.¡» £¨¡­¡­ aren¡¯t there 11 dimensions? If you block it with a wall of the same height, you can¡¯t get out unless you go over another wall?) With narrowed purple eyes and a cold tone, Lulu told Hart something extraordinary. To Lulu, a higher dimensional life form, Hart is not only her direct contractor, but also a person with whom she has a self-proclaimed father-daughter relationship and who has been graciously invited to become a spirit. Dahlia attacked Hart in Lulu¡¯s realm, and even threatened to make it impossible for Hart to be spiritized, claiming, ¡°After I turn your body into an electronic thought vessel, even if you scream and beg for death, I will probably torture you for eternity.¡± Hart, sensing the unwavering norm of the response from Lulu¡¯s appearance, conveyed only the bare minimum of demands. ¡ºPlease extract the information that the Tenka Hercules Alliance has obtained. Other than that, you can do whatever you want, Lulu.¡» ¡ºYes. Other than that, Lulu will do as Lulu pleases.¡» From now on, in Lulu¡¯s isolated universe, the torture will continue for so long that the beginning and end of the universe will be repeated over and over again. Moreover, the torment inflicted must not be limited to the extent that humanity has created. Lulu didn¡¯t want to encourage Dahlia¡¯s remorse by torturing her, nor did she want to discipline her pet, she just reacted according to her own standards. So, there is no mercy. Dahlia, who has no magic power, will continue to exist in an isolated universe from which she cannot escape. Then, after some time in the universe where Hart existed, the information Lulu extracted was uploaded one at a time into the computer at Fortress Kerviel. In the isolated universe, it is unknown how much time has passed and how many replicated Dahlias continue to suffer the torture. It is likely, however, that all the information that could be extracted from Dahlia has been. Hart, who learned from this information that the star system in question was another country at war with Gremory, to which Dahlia belonged, attempted to communicate with the white dwarf star Administrative Intellect of the star system in question. CH 119 ¡¸This is the end of the report. White Dwarf Administrative Intellect Valak 773 has determined that this matter is of the highest priority. We request an immediate response from the motherland.¡¹ Regarding the White Dwarf Administrative Intellect, Valak 773, a group of spirits from the Milky Way engaged and defeated Blaze Dahlia, a Count of Gremory, and captured a warship with a magic element engine. On top of that, the urgent communication that they were seeking negotiations on the matter took Uvall, one of the five Goetia tribes, completely by surprise. But at the same time, Uvall concurred. Without such circumstances, Ashen Adreana, the Duke of Gremory, would not have abandoned the conquest of the Orias system, where victory was already assured, and retreated. And Marquis Almaros would not arbitrarily bypass his motherland and send an urgent communication to the Tri-Clan Confederation. The progress from engagement to defeat was also sent, and there is no doubt about the presence against the Daemons and the capture of Gremory¡¯s warship. The Monarchy of Diete proclaimed itself to be a group that ruled over an area of ??1,500 light years. In this regard, the difference is not considered significant, as thousands of ships were sacrificed to defeat one Gremory ship. On the other hand, they captured a warship with Daemons without allowing it to self-destruct. Uvall, who was unable to do so, judged that the spirits, which could overcome the overwhelming technological gap of a far backward civilization, could be a decisive blow to overturn the current situation brought about by Gremory. ¡°In the name of Emperor Uvall, tell them that we are open to all possible negotiations. The meeting will take place on Crocell in the Orias Star System. Administrative Intellect Valak 773 will go along as a guide to present a good impression of Uvall. Destroy White Dwarf 773 upon departure.¡± ¡¸Order received. Administrative Intellect Valak 773 will destroy White Dwarf Star 773 and accompany the delegation.¡¹ The response came almost immediately after the Emperor received the report. If the question was whether or not to negotiate the acquisition of technology to compete with Gremory, then there is no alternative. If there was no agreement on the content of the negotiations, they would simply negotiate the terms. The reason why the location was not within Uvall¡¯s territory, but in Crocell¡¯s Orias Star System, was to make Crocell bear the brunt of the battle against Gremory. Uvall, which is only 10% of the entire Goetia, would not be able to withstand the concentrated Gremory offensive. By placing Crocell, who can withstand it to some degree, at the head of the arrow, with Uvall¡¯s full support and Leraje¡¯s involvement, the situation can finally be controlled. Emperor Uvall, having set his policy, then considered the personnel for the delegation. However, the selection process was extremely difficult. There is no Uvall who would not underestimate the level of development compared to the civilization of the Ancients, whose civilization spans no more than 1500 light years and whose individual forms are all flesh and blood. Uvall established an interstellar civilization 134,000 years ago. Looking at it from the perspective of humanity about 130,000 years ago, the other party is equivalent to primitive man chasing animals in the Middle Paleolithic. If a modern person saw a primitive man running toward a wild animal with a club in his hand, would he consider him an equal? In this case, it is clearly wrong to think of them as equals. It¡¯s easy to order them to suppress their emotions and do their job, but the other party, who has Spirits on par with Daemons, is not a primitive man in his ability to perceive. What would happen if they perceived contempt, were offended, and the negotiations broke down? The other party is an unknown group from another galaxy, so Goetia¡¯s sense of values is completely inapplicable. It is not certain that a single mistake will not cause them to break off negotiations regardless of mutual gain or loss. If that happens, there is no way to recover. The Emperor had even entertained the idea of personally attending the negotiations, but since there was a possibility that this was Gremory¡¯s trap and the kings of the three tribes would be rounded up, they had no choice but to abandon the direct negotiations. ¡°The leader of the delegation should be Hymn Pamela. It should be in accordance with her wishes.¡± Hymn Pamela, whom the Emperor placed his trust in, is a saint in Uvall. At the end of the era when the Goetia had bodies, she was a jellyfish with the ability to repair living organisms, and was deemed the Saint of Uvall for her healing abilities, although this does not make sense nowadays. As the oldest Uvall of the era, when they reshaped their bodies from a semi-permanent jellyfish, to the oldest quantum thought vessel, Pamela is an ageless Saint. The Emperor is also the oldest quantum thinker, and was healed by the power of the Saint. To Uvall, Saint Pamela is the equivalent of the supreme jewel, but she also has her problems. The Emperor personally contacted Pamela, informed her of the situation, and ordered her to lead the negotiating team. ¡°They are heroes from another galaxy with special powers to contain an evil threat. And they will help Uvall. Therefore, Hymn Pamela, serve the heroes, and protect the nation and its people. If you stand by the hero, the people will not underestimate the hero.¡± Pamela¡¯s problem is that she is a maiden who has been much too ¡°sullied¡± by her dreams. Ever since she had a physical body, Pamela was dubbed the ¡°Saint of Healing¡± and was constantly revered by the people, so her name eventually echoed in other countries, and Pamela firmly established herself as a saint of healing. Pamela became self-aware, acted as a saint, and before she knew it, more than 130,000 years had passed. Meanwhile, her contemporaries, bored with eternity, left one by one. Eventually, newer generations came along, and they too got bored and left, and the generations that followed repeated the rise and fall of the previous generation. Both the Emperor and the Saint maintain their existence through sheer willpower. However, is it possible to remain unchanged for 500,000 years or 1 million years? Beyond that, 10 million years, 100 million years await. And even further beyond that¡­¡­¡­¡­. Somewhere along the way, Pamela began to long for the ¡°next level¡± as a Saint. It was a dream of a time when her body and gender existed, when a Saint served the Hero and eventually became his wife. Pamela began to dream of fairy tales at all hours of the day. If the Emperor had been a male, there would have been the possibility of marrying Pamela and producing offspring. This might have alleviated Pamela¡¯s boredom. However, the Emperor is a female and has numerous offspring. And besides the Emperor, there was no one who could be a match for Pamela, the Saint and the oldest Duke-level thinker. For the past tens of thousands of years, Pamela has maintained the consciousness of being a Saint and has pursued her dreams. This is where the situation comes in. The Emperor showed Pamela the appearance of the black jellyfish that had sent a communication to Uvall and the clear message. ¡°This is Hart Amakawa, the chief military officer in the Diete Monarchy of the Milky Way Galaxy, which rules a region 1500 light-years across. His betrothed is the current Queen. He is also the custodian of the Spirits that counter the Daemons. And he has captured the warship of Countess Dahlia of Gremory. We would like to negotiate with them. We fight against Daemons. Negotiations will be mutually beneficial.¡± It was a communication with Hart¡¯s virtual body that Lulu, the spirit superior to Goetia, had converted to be transmitted to Goetia. Not only was there no error in the translation, but as a result of the ideal image of the virtual body being transmitted, Pamela was shown a very interesting image of Hart and a clear and powerful communication of will, and she became convinced that the time of her destiny had finally come. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ O Brave Hero.¡± ¡°They appear to have physical bodies, but since they can communicate perfectly like this, and can also become quantum thinkers, there should be no problem. We can present each other¡¯s ideal form, then we only need to do that.¡± Pamela, with the eyes of a maiden in love, had already stopped listening to the Emperor¡¯s words. If expressed in terms of a human body, she would be staring at the black jellyfish with moist eyes, letting out a small sigh of delight, and waiting for her back to be pushed with nervousness while her heart quickened with anticipation. Seeing no problem, the Emperor gave the Saint a mission. ¡°It seems that the Hero has other servants, but the Hero who accomplishes the great deed of saving his country has many companions. You will serve as the Saint of Uvall, and guide the Hero who does not know how to use his power. And if there is anyone among them who looks down on the people, bear the burden and support the Hero.¡± ¡°Of course, I will serve the Hero in mind, body, and soul. I shall leave at once.¡¯ As the representative of Uvall, she is supposed to connect the Hero to the advanced civilization of Uvall and guide them. By imposing such a sense of mission on Pamela, the Emperor tried to turn the situation in the desired direction. Convinced that Pamela would benefit Uvall, the Emperor felt a satisfaction that would be equivalent to a broad smile on his face if he were human. Having chosen the best solution for the dispatchers, the Emperor also contacted Crocell and Leraje, who were to be the next to face the arrow. Emperor Uvall¡¯s plan was relayed to Leraje, who was also contacted. The three tribes opposing Gremory are Uvall with 10% power in Goetia in the center, and Crocell and Leraje with 20% on either side of it. Leraje had no immediate effect on the battle in Crocell and Uvall territory. The reverse invasion, carried out in response to the urgent communication from Marquis Almaros, met with little response from the Gremory side. Nevertheless, Melissa, the Princess of Leraje, decided that abandoning the countermeasures was not an option. As a delegation, she decided to send Ornias, a trusted and capable Marquis-level thinker. Furthermore, since Hart was a male, the thought vessel to send out was deliberately chosen as a female. ¡°When negotiating, remember that the other party is a backward civilization. You may appear primitive, but that is normal because the other party is a primitive life form. Don¡¯t worry about it, act with the highest imperative of obtaining a stable supply of Spirits to counter Gremory.¡± ¡°Of course not, but aren¡¯t you going, Princess?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t rule out the possibility that Gremory is setting a trap for us. It would be a problem if I were caught.¡± In the past, Leraje had a King, but during a visit to the planet Sloane, Princess Imamia of Gremory rose in revolt and he was captured by the Daemon King in a targeted attack. At that time, Leraje¡¯s information and authorizations were extracted, the gates were sealed during the planetary invasion, and control of their Legions was seized and thoroughly crushed. A duplicate of the King is preserved in the motherland, but the real one has been captured and can no longer be revived. The Tri-Clan Confederation, including Leraje, who had a painful experience, did not send out Royal-level and Duke-level Thought Vessels, who had strong authority over the nation, to the front line, and began to intercept Thought Vessels below Marquis-level as Viceroys. Because of this, Melissa, a Royal-level Thinker, cannot be sent to the front. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to get captured by Gremory. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d rather be captured by primitive life forms, entangled by their tentacles, used as a nursery, and forced to give birth to many offspring. By the way, to describe the scene in detail¡­¡± ¡°Silence, foolish creature. Get entangled in your own time. Only send the spirits to me.¡± Cutting through the aide¡¯s nonsense, Melissa announced the desired outcome. The goal of the delegation was to obtain a stable supply of Spirits that could oppose Gremory. For that, they were willing to pay the appropriate price. As for the perception of the other party, they shared that they were an equal group, able to compete with Gremory¡¯s Daemon Crystal in terms of resources, and that they had the technology to be reckoned with, capable of capturing a Count-level Thought Vessel. She forbade intimidation from above and sternly warned that she was prepared to offer her body to the other party if they made a fatal mistake. ¡°It might not be possible for a female Marquis-level Thought Vessel other than me. The level of their civilization is too low.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want this to fail, so please do something about it. I will try to reward you as much as possible for your success.¡± ¡°Then, if you can push Gremory back with this, I¡¯ll ask for a promotion to Duke-level Thinker?¡± It is not uncommon for Goetia, who are all immortal, to raise their levels and change the pecking order. Still, Melissa replied immediately. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Oh my goodness. Since I have no other choice, I¡¯ll do my best to negotiate with the primitive life forms.¡± ¡°I¡¯m relying on you. If it fails due to your negligence, depending on what you say, I really will serve you up to the primitive life forms.¡± ¡°Even so, is it possible that they will do something very naughty to me?¡± ¡°Understand this. If you fail, you will be sold for real.¡± With that, Uvall and Leraje sent a delegation to meet with Hart and the others in the Orias Star System, which is within Crocell¡¯s territory. In addition, while Uvall sent the Duke-level thinker, Saint Pamela, and Leraje sent the Marquis-level thinker Ornias, the Princess¡¯ aide, Crocell was to be handled by the Marquis of Almaros, the Viceroy of the Orias Star System. The decision was made in recognition of Almaros¡¯ ability to carry out his duties as well as his responsiveness and motivation demonstrated in this case. CH 120 April 446 of the Monarchy Calendar. During the Second Battle of the Hercules Star System, the Transition Gate connected to the Apollo Star System suddenly disappeared. The lack of a normal interstellar communication network between the Monarchy and the Hercules System caused disruption in the Rear Command Center of the Apollo System, which lost contact with the front line. A few hours later, the transition gate was connected and a Reconnaissance Ship belonging to Fortress Kerviel jumped through for just a few minutes, much to the relief of the Rear Command Center. [This is Reconnaissance Ship 02 of the 3rd Recon Squadron belonging to Fortress Kerviel. Emergency message from Fleet Admiral Amakawa, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, to General Listner, Commander of the Rear Command Center.] Whatever the nature of the report, the worst has been avoided. In the current Monarchy of Diete, where every star system has been territorialized and its defenses have been perfected, as long as Queen Yuna, who unites all the Royal people, and Commander-in-Chief Hart, who is her sword and shield, are safe, they will not be shaken even if the invasion operation fails. The fact that the succession of the throne from Yuna to the next Sovereign has become possible is also a result of the current situation. Even if the expeditionary force is annihilated, the Royal Army can be rebuilt as long as Hart, who can provide spirit crystals and create realms, is safe. However, the report brought back by the reconnaissance ship was outrageous. The report of a supernova level explosion on the Royal Army easily knocked down the Rear Command Center. The shocked Rear Command Center could not restart until the Transition Gate was reconnected and a second report of the cancellation of the operation was received from Hart. [By order of the Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, we are canceling the operation to capture the Hercules System.] To begin with, the Hercules Star System has vanished from the Milky Way¡­ apparently. To go to the Andromeda Galaxy, which is at least 2.5 million light-years away, and it would take 1250 years for humans to reach it, since it takes a month and a half one way to reach even 250 light-years away. Even if they were dispatched, no one will be able to reach it in their lifetime. From a practical point of view, there was no choice but to cancel the operation. [All forces building frontline bases on the outer rim of the Hercules System, you are also ordered to cease operations and to withdraw completely. Send a communications unit toward the frontline from the MacLir System, the nearest system.] The Deputy Commander-in-Chief, General Collette Listner, who issued the abort order, gave up on continuing the operation. Rebuilding the devastated army would also be a problem, but compared to the problems of the Andromeda Galaxy, the prospects were far better. Of course, rebuilding the military is no easy task. The forces committed to the Second Battle of Hercules included 164.13 million Surtr, 180 million Israfel, the core fleets of six star systems, a large number of regular and aristocratic fleets, and 42 strategic satellites. They were led by the Fleet Admiral, the Chief of Staff, seven Fleet Commanders with the rank of General, and two Princes who also served to select the next Sovereign. Now that Hart, who is the most irreplaceable, is safe, the Monarchy¡¯s forces can be rebuilt when everything else is gone, but the attack on Ten-to would have to be reconsidered. The cost of rebuilding the Royal Army will vary depending on how much damage has been done, but it is certain that at least 100 million fighter pilots will have to be replenished. Even though the war results obtained after such a large amount of damage should have defeated the enemy Daemon Emperor, the birth of a new Daemon Emperor forced a reevaluation of the war results. In addition, there was contact with an advanced alien civilization that possessed Daemons in the Andromeda Galaxy. Although she could not make a decision without more information, Collette was certain of one thing at this stage. ¡°Even if the Princes are safe, Yuna¡¯s abdication is out of the question.¡± The third report from Hart arrived ten days later. After the offer of negotiations was accepted, Hart decided to move to the Orias Star System, which was under Crocell, by stationing a guide, Valak 773, a white dwarf Administrative Intellect affiliated with Uvall, in the spaceport within the fortress. The safety of Valak 773 is confirmed by Lulu, who has temporarily taken control of the star system. Valak 773 is a Linnell-like entity with complete control. The motherland of Uvall, which manages Valak 773, has ordered it to guide Hart and his group. There is no possibility of harm to Hart. Even if it were to go on a rampage inside Fortress Kerviel, where Lulu and Maya are based, the two would be able to subdue it immediately, so Hart has accepted Valak 773 into the fortress. A reconnaissance ship was sent to the home country to relay the third report. Lulu connected the transition gate from Valak 773 to the Apollo System, just as she had done during the Second Battle of Hercules. ¡°This is all just unbelievable.¡± Hart remained relatively calm as he watched Claudia¡¯s wide-eyed amazement and reasonable reaction. Perhaps his position as the Chief Executive of the Monarchy of Diete in the Andromeda Galaxy had heightened his sense of responsibility. Effective immediately, the following must be reported to the Milky Way: The safety of Fortress Kerviel was reported shortly after the jump. Even when they decided to cancel the operation again, they sent reports. As long as they were unable to return at this point, it was only natural that they would send a third report, a follow-up report. But Hart himself reflected on his actions during that time and wondered if he had gone too far by acting independently. As for making contact with an advanced alien civilization fighting the Daemons, that should have been done through Yuna. (Tenka has already made contact with an advanced civilization. As long as the technology can be transported to Ten-to, the defeat of the Monarchy in the Milky Way Galaxy is inevitable unless the Monarchy acquires competing technology.) Hart was convinced that the Monarchy would be defeated if he didn¡¯t act dogmatically. Hart was the only human being who could provide the spirit crystals that Goetia wanted. If he was criticized for being stingy, should he argue that he had just given away his personal possessions in exchange for technology that would enable him to counter Gremory, who was now targeting them? Hart, troubled by this excuse, sent a third report to the Monarchy, reopening the question, ¡°Why is it wrong to protect the Monarchy by acquiring counter-technology in the first place?¡±, with his own strong conviction. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the Tenka Hercules Alliance for bringing about the current situation. ¡°Do the people of the Tenka Hercules Alliance understand that the current situation is one in which an advanced alien civilization is threatening to take over the human race?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Claudia asked Hart, who spat out bitterly. Hart explained his perception of the current situation to Claudia, as a way of summarizing his own thoughts. ¡°Let¡¯s assume that it was a time when the Monarchy of Diete and the Former Coalition were fighting on equal terms.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The Coalition then discovered a new star system, where there were primitive people chasing animals with clubs in their hands. Now it turns out that these primitives have Daemons that they can use to overwhelm the Monarchy. The Coalition would try to seize the Daemons. So far, so good.¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll let it go.¡± If the positions of the Coalition and the Monarchy were reversed, the Monarchy would not leave the Daemons unattended either. They would ask the primitives how to use the Daemon crystals, and adopt a method that would allow them to be mass-produced as much as possible. From the perspective of an interstellar civilization, primitives running around the world with clubs in hand are insignificant opponents, and there is no way they would treat them as equals. The greatest concession is to interpret it as a mercy to the primitives to provide food assistance instead of forcibly taking their Daemon crystals. Hart thought that such a hypothetical situation could be applied to the current state of humanity and Goetia. ¡°If we trace modern humans back to 130,000 years ago, we would have been chasing animals with clubs in hand. Since humans only started wearing clothes about 70,000 years ago, they were almost no different from animals 130,000 years ago.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And Goetia, the massive interstellar civilization of the Andromeda Galaxy, became quantum thought vessels that humanity had not yet reached, more than 130,000 years ago. Humanity, as seen from Goetia, is equivalent to the primitive man who hunts animals naked with a club, as seen from humanity. And they have Spirits and Daemons. Now, what do we do?¡± An advanced civilization deprives primitive people of their strategic resources. Claudia swallowed her spit and there was a small sound in her throat. And instead of Claudia, who was at a loss for an answer, Bertrand, the Chief of General Staff, expressed his concern. ¡°Then, the negotiations that Your Excellency the Fleet Admiral is trying to conduct are dangerous, aren¡¯t they? I doubt that an interstellar civilization would conduct proper negotiations with primitive people?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said the current situation is precarious. What have you done?¡± If humanity finds primitive people of different origins, there is no doubt that they will be placed under protective control. If the ruler and the ruled are the same human race, offspring will be born through interbreeding, so the parents will act to establish the rights of the children, the children will act as mediators between the two, and the situation will gradually improve. Human history has proven this, and even in the Monarchy, the MacLireans of the former Coalition were being nationalized and completely annexed by re-educating their history over several generations. In an advanced alien civilization from another galaxy, however, this would not be the case. How do humans treat chimps and gorillas? Who can guarantee that they will not receive the same treatment from Goetia? If humanity is treated the same way as chimps and gorillas, humanity would be spared from annihilation unless the Goetian civilization and social system collapses. And some planets could be made to function as spacious zoos. At the same time, however, the possibility of developing a civilization or advancing to another continent or another star system would also be closed. So, Hart lamented what they had done. The encounter with an alien civilization from another galaxy, 2.5 million light-years away, would have been better if humans had reached the Andromeda Galaxy on their own or after another 2.5 million years. That way, the technological gap would have narrowed and there would have been enough resources to compete. However, as long as the Tenka Hercules Alliance had already made contact at this juncture, the Monarchy of Diete could no longer sit idly by. ¡°Goetia is an advanced scientific civilization, but not a super civilization capable of intergalactic travel. We, on the other hand, are magical civilizations with spirits that can travel between galaxies. And we have a common enemy: the Daemons. By having spirits as a third entity to mediate between humans and Goetia, reasonable negotiations can be established.¡± It is not a fox borrowing the power of a tiger, but a primitive man borrowing the power of a high-dimensional life form. However, given the worst-case scenario, it would be the best possible solution. Much better than living in a zoo. The Monarchy of Diete probably had no choice but to invade the Hercules System. As long as Hart is alive, it is possible to maintain a truce and continue development while maintaining superiority, but after his death, they would have lost. (If they deliberately destroy their own inhabited planets and let higher-ranked Daemons feast on tens of billions of humans, they can certainly create Daemon Kings. In order to increase the number of Daemon Kings, I doubt that Tenka Hercules would avoid this path.) It is an impossible delusion that all future powers will always remain humane in the face of a way to ensure victory over the Monarchy. In the name of eliminating dangers and for their own development or for some other cause, someone will increase the number of Daemon Kings. Eventually, the Tenka Hercules Alliance, which has increased the number of Daemon Kings, will wage a war in which two Daemon Kings challenge one Spirit King. If two against one is not enough to win, how about three against one? In such a battle, the Monarchy would have no chance of victory. Therefore, if the current Tenka Hercules Alliance is left unchecked, the Monarchy will be defeated in the distant future after Hart¡¯s death. With such a future danger in mind, Hart, the leading authority on spirits, could not leave Hercules alone and agree to an immediate and simple truce. Therefore, the Monarchy of Diete probably had no choice but to invade the Hercules System. ¡°The Monarchy had no choice but to invade the Hercules System.¡± The current situation of jumping to the Andromeda Galaxy was inevitable. As for the inevitable path, Hart decided that there was no need to reflect on it, and then considered future measures. ¡ºLulu, how much power is left in the Spirit God¡¯s energy crystal?¡» ¡ºOnly 20%. We don¡¯t have much room for maneuvering, so we should suspend the next invasion of the Hercules Star System.¡» ¡ºYes. Of course, I have no intention of proceeding.¡» The amount of energy used in the Second Battle of Hercules is 20%. With that, she was able to defeat the Daemon Emperor, but even if she tried to reproduce the same event, the opponent¡¯s defense force was increased by Gremory¡¯s large fleet. Attacking Gremory, which had destroyed thousands of Israfel crafts reinforced within Lulu¡¯s realm with just one ship, is simply suicidal. The Third Battle of the Hercules Star System was in no condition to be conducted. ¡ºWe must seal the Ten-to Transition Gate in the Milky Way Galaxy and stop Gremory¡¯s invasion. This would require a Spirit Emperor. I would also like to build a Transition Gate in the Andromeda Galaxy to establish a means of transportation between the two galaxies. This can be done by a Spirit King, but¡­¡» Hart wondered if it was possible to create a temporary realm and then remove it, as was done in Valak 773. ¡ºI would like Lulu, who possesses the energy crystal body of the Spirit God, or Maya, who has absorbed and transformed the power of the Daemon Emperor, to create a Spirit King-level advanced Spirit. I¡¯m going to have that advanced spirit feed on the Machaon System, promote it to Spirit King, and place it in the Andromeda Galaxy. That way, even if they territorialize the Ten-to and the Andromeda Galaxy, Lulu or Maya should be able to return to our hands¡­¡» In order to be promoted from an advanced spirit to a Spirit King, you must use an inhabited planet where humanity¡¯s miasma has accumulated. As a candidate, Hart recalled the Machaon Star System, where the people of the Solar System were relocated. They will re-migrate those who were relocated from the Solar System to the Machaon Star System, destroy the remaining planets and convert the miasma. If they were originally Spirit King level, not much energy would be needed for the promotion. The Machaon Star System has enough miasma because it has been inhabited by Royal citizens for a long time. If the criminals are left in the planetary prison and the former Solar System people who refuse to immigrate are also left behind, the system will not be completely uninhabited. So, Hart thought, it should be possible to promote them. This would be a terrible situation for the former Solar System people who had just been forced to emigrate to the Machaon Star System, but if they did not do so, the Monarchy of Diete would perish. As Ishidor of Hercules claimed, this is a battle for survival. And the enemy has joined with the advanced alien civilization, Gremory. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy¡¯s Armed Forces, Hart could not make a decision that would lead to the Monarchy¡¯s defeat and destruction. Understanding Hart¡¯s situation, Lulu accepted the request. ¡ºAlright, Lulu will wait in the Andromeda Galaxy to open the gate for Papa¡¯s return. Maya, please make the capture of the Ten-to Star System your top priority, and use the remaining energy to create two advanced spirits with King-level power. Papa will take care of them to create two Spirit Kings in the Machaon Star System.¡» ¡ºWill Maya sit on Ten-to?¡» Lulu spoke proudly to Maya, who was staring at her sister curiously. ¡ºNo no no. For Maya¡¯s energy recovery, please create two Spirit King-level alters, and place one in the Ten-to to replace her. After that, we¡¯ll go back to the Andromeda Galaxy, place an alter there as well, and we will return to Papa together.¡» Lulu held out the index fingers of both hands and quickly crossed them. ¡ºI want to use Grandma¡¯s energy crystals to raise Papa¡¯s level when I turn him into a spirit, so please do your best to preserve them as much as possible. From the beginning, let¡¯s make him an advanced spirit on par with the peculiar King-class.¡» ¡ºVery well, that will do.¡» Maya turned her dark eyes to her sister¡¯s fingertips, finally nodding slightly. On the other hand, Hart, who had heard what the sisters had said, thanked Lulu for doing her best. At the same time, he tried to understand what Lulu had said about ¡°creating a Spirit King-level alter to recover Maya¡¯s energy and replacing it in a territorialized star system¡±. In the case of mass-produced spirits, the Spirit Emperor Janet, who created a realm in the Diete Star System, is doing it with the spirit crystals for the large fighter craft Israfel. Should he consider it as a functionally enhanced version of the same thing? In the distant future, when the scope of humanity¡¯s activities is spread over many star systems, even if a realm is established in one star system, it will not be possible to collect the energy of all humanity. When they reached that level of civilization, Hart wondered if the spirits would increase the number of Spirit Kings to collect energy, but apparently there was also a way to use alters as energy collecting annexes. Hart was worried about how efficient the recovery would be and whether Mira and the others could move, but he put aside the things that he would not tell. ¡ºNow we must seal the Ten-to Transition Gate immediately. I trust that you will help me in this endeavor.¡» After sending home the fourth report, the fourth bomb calling for the destruction of the Machaon Star System, Hart left for Crocell¡¯s Orias System. CH 121 Mariel, who was reunited with her former mentor Theia, finds fulfillment in the fact that Theia did not deny her. When Mariel was a low-dimensional life form, her mentor Theia was conducting research on overcoming the Big Crunch, the contraction of the universe. For Mariel¡¯s native race at the time, the research was technologically too early. But Theia was a genius, so she had reached a stage that was quite close. And in preparation for when she herself failed, Theia left her successor, Mariel, as a disciple who could derive the answer based on that failure. Theia¡¯s outcome was an inevitable failure that would eventually lead to success. Theia lost her life, but Mariel, who took over the research, pushed forward. (But they couldn¡¯t comprehend it.) During her lifetime, Theia brought various highly convenient technologies to the group of her native race. Therefore, Theia was tolerated, and she had a proven track record even if was doing research beyond their comprehension. However, Mariel, who took over the research, tried to invest all of the resources Theia had left behind into ¡°a dreamy, incomprehensible, and less urgent problem of the future.¡±, and her people became dissatisfied. Theia¡¯s unsuccessful research was taken over by Mariel, who had a poor track record, and was perceived by the people as a pipe dream. So they took all the resources that Mariel had rightfully inherited from Theia and kept them to themselves. ¡°You¡¯re just one of the disciples, who the hell do you think you are?¡± So they said, but at the end of the day, they just wanted to distribute the legacy of Theia that Mariel had inherited among themselves. Even when Mariel explained their future needs, it was not accepted by the group blinded by desire. All of the resources left by her mentor were unreasonably taken away without the mentor¡¯s consent. As a result, Mariel was forced to continue her own research using only the resources she had at her disposal, eventually crossing the barrier to reach the location of Zirke and the others. But along the way, the people of Mariel¡¯s race did not cooperate with her in any way, but rather kept dragging her down. So when it came to the answer she arrived at on her own, Mariel didn¡¯t show mercy to the race of her origin. In addition, Mariel created a series of technologies that would bring great benefits in exchange for a vast amount of dark energy, and to give them to the idiots of her native people who were worthy of using them. These technologies delighted the group, boosted Mariel¡¯s reputation, and helped to cause a Big Crunch in the future. Theia would have seen Mariel¡¯s fate, but she didn¡¯t blame her. Would Theia have apologized for not giving enough groundwork to those around her when Mariel took over? Even with Theia¡¯s power, it was not a problem that she could have handled. Nowadays, there was nothing that could be done about it, and it probably didn¡¯t even matter. For Mariel, it was enough not to be denied that she had accomplished the research she had inherited from Theia but had not reduced it. (Take care Lady Zirke, thank you for all you¡¯ve done.) Zirke, who was protecting Mariel¡¯s race, supported her with all his strength to the extent that she turned from a Spirit to a Daemon, but she did not bless her with a way to cross the barrier. They would have hoped that someone would follow in Mariel¡¯s footsteps, but giving answers to someone who has nothing to gain will only increase the negative property that shared the limited resources common to Spirits and Daemons alike. If they are nothing more than worker ants or worker bees to be used and crushed, they will only invite others to join them if they have reached a standard that will bring them reasonable value. If it was the Spirit Emperor Abel, it was Theia who led the younger generation to an answer. For the Spirit Emperor Zirke, it was Mariel who crossed the barrier on her own. And in the current universe, Mariel realizes that Hart, who has given magical characteristics to the black spirit, will be the target. If Hart so desires, Mariel was willing to make Hart a high-ranking Daemon. Being an enemy of a direct contractor is one thing, and acknowledging the achievement of the standard is another. However, Mariel also recognizes that her invitation is unnecessary, since the spirits by his side would definitely invite Hart. Unfortunately, Y¨²nl¨¢n, who was instrumental in promoting Mariel, did not meet the standard. There is no point in inviting someone just because you like them or not, and the criteria for being invited are strict. All Mariel can do is create a Daemon that will inherit Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s magical characteristics. If that¡¯s the case, she could create it in exchange for helping with Mariel¡¯s promotion. (Black is amazing, isn¡¯t it? I wonder how they make it.) The Black Spirit, an attribute of dark matter and dark energy, can create and maintain an infinite cycle of miniature gardens. Although it is necessary to balance the dark energy produced by the black spirit with the dark energy consumed by life forms, by placing an alter in each galaxy and connecting them on the scale of the Spirit God, they can become the maintenance of a single universe. If there were life forms in that universe, the spirits¡¯ miniature garden would be complete. However, for the Daemons that can absorb the enormous amounts of miasma generated by the Big Crunch, the black spirit is not so necessary. Even if the Big Crunch does not occur, they can still absorb energy, so ultimately it doesn¡¯t matter either way. That¡¯s why Mariel only thinks, ¡°Black is amazing, isn¡¯t it? I wonder how they make it.¡±. The minimum requirement for Mariel now is not to be eaten by Spirits at the end of the universe. Being a Daemon King rather than a Senior Daemon, or a Daemon Emperor rather than a Daemon King, increases one¡¯s chances of survival. It is obvious that the greater one¡¯s own power is better, and it is logical that the Daemons as a whole become dominant. Therefore, Mariel strengthened herself and brought Theia to her side. In the meantime, Mariel consulted with Theia about the distribution of the humans in Hercules. ¡ºFirst of all, I would like to install a Daemon King of my lineage in Ten-to of the Milky Way Galaxy. We have secured enough human beings, and the backward civilizations of the Milky Way Galaxy are not a threat, but Ten-to has a fairly large population, so I thought it would be better to secure it.¡» Zeahild, the Daemon King of Ten-to in the Milky Way Galaxy, has a direct contract with Ishidor, the leader of the Herculeans, whom Mariel had killed, and will become hostile if revealed. Mariel does not feel bad about that at all. This is because the group under Y¨²nl¨¢n, her direct contractor, were used up by Hercules¡¯ leader Ishidor and Yuen of Ten-to in defense of Hercules. Within your own realm, eliminate the threat to your contractor. For the Daemons, that is a legitimate act. However, the King-class Zeahild, whose direct contractor was killed, has no reason to follow Mariel, who is not her creator, and if she learns of the situation, she will at least forbid passage through the transition gate in retaliation. So before Zeahild learns the truth, she planned to have Y¨²nl¨¢n, who possesses a Daemon King, rush in with a Gremory warship and take over the Ten-to Star System. Theia fully agreed with Mariel¡¯s idea. ¡ºUh huh, I think it¡¯s fine. So how do you make the Daemon King?¡» To Theia, who urged her to continue with affirmation, Mariel replied cheerfully, feeling nostalgic for her previous lifetime. ¡ºYes, I think Zirke and I can create a Daemon King if we use about 20 billion people, even if it¡¯s the Herculeans who emit miasma and lack mana. I¡¯m going to make four with 80 billion people.¡» In the current Hercules System, in addition to the 5.6 billion ¨­izumi people protected by Mariel, there are 100 billion Herculeans, 800 million former Coalition members, and 770 million Hony¨­ people. The Herculeans have almost no magic power and only emit miasma. The miasma is also diminishing greatly. Even so, Mariel concluded that if used in large quantities and the miasma drawn out like squeezing a fruit, she would be able to produce a reasonable amount of them. ¡ºLet¡¯s divide the remaining human population in half, except for ¨­izumi. ¨­izumi is off limits. That group belongs to Y¨²nl¨¢n, so I can¡¯t give them to you.¡» Of the 1 billion former Coalition people who lived in the Hercules system at the end of the war between the Monarchy and the former Coalition, 800 million did not defect to Tenka. At the beginning of the war between the Monarchy and Tenka, humans with magic power value over 100 were taken to the Monarchy, but compared to the Herculeans, they have retained their magical power in their bloodline. Of the 770 million people of Hony¨­, there were not many conscripted national mages left, and many promising people who could operate interstellar ships were pulled out to Ten-to, but some mages still remained. Mariel evaluated the large supply of good quality food as more than enough. ¡ºThe distribution is luxurious. I wonder how to increase the amount Gremory will received.¡» It is a cause for concern that the inherited magical power of humanity, which seems to have adapted to the fragments of the energy crystal of the Daemon God, decreases by 10% with each generational change. As a countermeasure, there are methods such as the Royal Aristocrats and the Tenka National Mages, and if they fail to maintain them, they will end up like the Herculeans. Mariel wanted Gremory and the others to manage the human race properly and increase it. ¡ºSo, the compensation for Lady Mariel is Gremory¡¯s guarantee of the rights of the people of ¨­izumi, the defense of their inhabited star system, the provision of technology, and developmental assistance. If Lady Mariel is also thinking about exporting Daemon Crystals, Gremory can¡¯t say no.¡» ¡ºPlease do so during Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s lifetime. After that, as long as I convert the mana and miasma of the ¨­izumi people into energy, I think it is okay to basically continue according to Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s will.¡» ¡ºIf that¡¯s the idea, Lady Mariel, it may last a long time.¡» Mariel and Theia¡¯s agreement was communicated to both Y¨²nl¨¢n and Gremory. Gremory, who is given the Daemon Crystals by Theia, now has two sources of Daemon Crystals, Mariel and Theia, and the supply will be increased, and even replenished with a large amount of miasma emitting organisms to be placed on the ships. Fighting doesn¡¯t mean you can defeat the Daemon King, you can only stop the supply and use of the Daemon Crystal, so refusing is a meaningless and foolish act. For Y¨²nl¨¢n, as long as the advanced civilization Gremory is doing the work there is no room for physical resistance. On top of that, Mariel advised that the current situation was a good thing. ¡ºIn the first place, Tenka was about to lose in the Milky Way galaxy. If I hadn¡¯t become the Daemon Emperor and connected the Transition Gate, the Monarchy would have called for reinforcements and we would have been defeated with one more push.¡» In that case, the celestial bodies would have been dropped and they would have been destroyed, or even if they survived, they would be confined on a planetary basis. That¡¯s why Mariel explained that gaining time for development while gaining Gremory¡¯s protection and technology would greatly improve the situation. The Monarchy has adopted a planetary containment method against hostile nations after the war. Judging from the treatment of Shinky¨­, Ky¨±yama, and the former Coalition people, it is clear that they would have done the same to ¨­izumi. Compared to that, the situation of those under Y¨²nl¨¢n, whose private rights are neither restricted nor confined to a star system, is far better than their defeat. Even if Gremory wants to use Daemons, they are of Mariel and Theia¡¯s lineage. If they decide against using ¨­izumi, Gremory will not be able to use the ¨­izumi people to activate the Daemons. Instead of giving Mariel miasma, the ¨­izumi people are protected by Mariel and Gremory. It was like a miniature garden. ¡ºIf Gremory¡¯s territory expands, the people of ¨­izumi will be able to expand into a wider area. The Andromeda Galaxy is larger than the Milky Way, and there are many star systems suitable for humanity. That was Tenka¡¯s reason for starting the war, wasn¡¯t it? You have achieved your goal.¡» If there is a discrepancy in Mariel¡¯s explanation, it is that Tenka was actively trying to spread across the galaxy on its own initiative, and was not expecting to spread by being swept away by a strong force. If only the superficial goal is achieved, the Herculeans, who tried to spread across the galaxy to avoid destruction, will spread throughout Gremory¡¯s territory tens of thousands of light-years as biofuel for Daemons to be placed on the Gremory warship. It has certainly achieved the goals set by the Herculeans. But has it fulfilled the reason for its goals? If the reason why the Herculeans set their goals was to develop stably as human beings, the result is the exact opposite. Even ¨­izumi, which is incomparably better than Hercules, also depends on Mariel, and could collapse instantly if the preconditions were broken. During the lifetime of Y¨²nl¨¢n, Mariel¡¯s direct contractor, most of the conversation was understandable. However, after Y¨²nl¨¢n¡¯s death, it is doubtful that ¨­izumi¡¯s leader will be able to deal with Mariel properly. Because the successor didn¡¯t help Mariel get promoted, and before that, they didn¡¯t even sign a contract with her. The only thing Mariel values is her direct contractor, Y¨²nl¨¢n of ¨­izumi. Reflecting on the possibility that the current situation could have been avoided, Y¨²nl¨¢n concluded, ¡°The best thing to do was not wage war on the Monarchy from the beginning¡±. It¡¯s not that Y¨²nl¨¢n didn¡¯t have the opportunity to do that. In fact, H¨¤o L¨¢n of Fukashiro pointed out the potential danger of the Monarchy and avoided it. Y¨²nl¨¢n had an opportunity to avoid it, and he also received a specific warning from H¨¤o L¨¢n, but he simply made the wrong choice. ¡°If there is no turning back, then we must move on. We should acquire the technology to move on.¡± ¡ºI like children who are eager to do research. I hope we can reach it someday.¡» When Y¨²nl¨¢n changed his mind, Mariel spoke kindly to him. CH 122 Carrying the Administrative Intellect ¡®Valak 773¡¯, a member of the advanced alien civilizations, Fortress Kerviel was headed for the Orias Star System, which belonged to Crocell, one of the same Tri-Clan Confederation as Uvall. It was thanks to Lulu that an unknown entity possessed by an advanced alien civilization was placed inside Fortress Kerviel, which is directly linked to Hart¡¯s life and death. The White Dwarf Star 773, where Valak 773 was located, temporarily became Lulu¡¯s realm. Having territorialized the star system, Lulu has taken control of all functions of the accompanying Valak 773 and is manipulating it to prevent Hart from being harmed. Within your own realm, eliminate the threat to your contractor. This was the common sense of the spirits, and Lulu eliminated the threats to Hart with impunity. Thus the Administrative Intellect of an advanced alien civilization was aboard Fortress Kerviel. ¡¸Lord Amakawa, your dignified form embodies the beauty and grotesque nature of Goetia.¡¹ Valak 773, who had been ordered by Emperor Uvall to present a favorable impression of Uvall, made such a proclamation. Goetia¡¯s appearance is similar to that of jellyfish from the perspective of humans, so it will inevitably create a psychological sense of distance. And humanity seen from the perspective of Goetia would give the same impression. In order to address the problems that impede collaboration, Lulu, the spirit who mediates between the two, transforms the Goetia projected on the human side into a human form, and the form sent to Goetia into a Goetian jellyfish. Therefore, Hart looks like a very dignified black jellyfish¡­ apparently. Even if he is praised for having thicker-than-standard tentacles, Hart is not at all pleased. Valak 773, on the other hand, has been transformed into a brown-haired female college student wearing a long-sleeved kimono and hakama. If she were to be praised for having a ¡°cute little face,¡± she would inevitably feel the same way as Hart when praised for his tentacles. For the time being, Hart gave a bland reply. ¡°Appreciated. But as electronic thought vessels, couldn¡¯t your avatars be changed at will?¡± ¡¸No. The Goetians have their own unique information that forms the basis of their avatars, and they cannot deviate from that. If a physical body existed, it will reproduce the appearance to be roughly similar. Therefore, individual identification is also possible through the appearance of the avatar.¡¹ ¡°So, since they no longer have bodies, there is no longer any discrimination based on physical characteristics?¡± Lulu¡¯s translation was successful, but Hart sensed a discrepancy with Goetia¡¯s common sense. Of course, the common sense of the other party, who had continued their civilization as quantum thinkers for more than 100,000 years, couldn¡¯t be entirely consistent with Hart¡¯s. ¡¸Being attracted to unique information that you do not have is not discrimination, but complementation. There is no absolute superiority or inferiority, because what each individual lacks or seeks is different.¡¹ In other words, there is no superiority between the lover of large breasts and the lover of small breasts, Hart interpreted the argument that Linnell and others had given up on. ¡¸However, the impressions of other closely related species are different. The antagonism that has existed since before the advent of civilization has imprinted itself on our perceptions of each other. Goetia¡¯s sensibilities are incompatible with a Tri-Clan Confederation, or even with a master-slave relationship between the Gremory and Sitri.¡¹ Nonetheless, since they could still form an alliance, Hart judged them to be a reasonably intelligent group, capable of overcoming even a genetic level of dislike for the sake of their cause. But even so, they were at war, so he couldn¡¯t help but think that it was inevitable that intelligent life forms would fight. ¡°I understand Goetia¡¯s perception of us and the potential for cooperation with humanity. I would like you to tell us about the Orias Star System we are heading for.¡± ¡¸Understood. The Orias star is an A-type main-sequence star with a mass about twice that of your Sun. As in the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way also has a low percentage of A-type main-sequence stars.¡¹ ¡°That¡¯s true. Thanks to the strong luminosity of the fixed stars, it is easy to determine our course.¡± When Valak 773 spoke of the Sun, it was Lulu, acting as an intermediary, that automatically translated the language to make it easier for Hart to understand, not that 773 actually knew about the Sun. Automatic language translation is a technology that humans also possess. And Lulu¡¯s automatic translation is considered to be an extension of that technology. Still, she is likely erring on the side of caution and keeping the technology within the bounds of what Hart can understand. ¡¸The mass of the Orisis Star System is also large, with a mass equivalent to 10,000 Earths, not including the stars. This rare star system was used to set up gates to connect very long distances, making it a relay star system for the surrounding space sectors.¡¹ ¡°Like a provincial city?¡± ¡¸Yes. Therefore, it will be one of the star systems where the three tribes can gather. As long as there are no problems, they should already be there.¡¹ ¡°Is that so? As we have physical bodies, we are unable to perform gate-type jump navigation. I apologize for the slow movement speed.¡± The fastest human being in modern times is about 4000 light years one way in about a year. Before the advent of Spirits, the speed of interstellar travel by humans was about 1000 light years one way in about a year. If one person who has a contract with a spirit operates a magic elemental engine, the speed will double, and if several people continue to jump 24 hours a day without a break, the speed will double again. However, if the number of magic engine operators is reduced to two, it is reasonable for the military to operate twice as many ships, so the advance speed of the large army will be halved. Considering the advance of a large army, 2,000 light-years one way in about one year would be reasonable. And Fortress Kerviel can travel 10,000 light-years one way in about a year. However, even if a tortoise¡¯s walking speed is doubled by medication and quintupled by prejudice to defeat the rabbit, it is still only a tortoise and cannot beat the flying speed of a crane. Hart, moving at the speed of a tortoise, apologized for keeping the other party, the Crane, with whom he had proposed negotiations, waiting. Valak 773, on the other hand, smiled and replied that there was no problem. ¡¸In terms of non-gate travel speed, it is comparable to Gremory¡¯s use of Daemons. Even from Goetia¡¯s point of view, it is revolutionary in terms of the speed at which it can move into a space where an ally¡¯s gate has not been placed.¡¹ The word ¡°revolutionary¡± came as a surprise to Hart. He had thought that a scientific civilization as advanced as Goetia would have technology that exceeded the speed of light in addition to gate-type jump navigation. However, if the only way to exceed the speed of light is through gated jump navigation, it makes sense that the current Goetia has only advanced to about a quarter of the Andromeda Galaxy. Gated jump navigation cannot be used if there are no gates at the departure and arrival points. To reach an ungated region of space first, one would have to travel at less than the speed of light. Goetia established an interstellar civilization approximately 134,000 years ago. At that time, the space where the gate-installation unit arrived from the mother planet at sublight was the furthest point Goetia had ever reached. The reason they cannot reach the disk of the Andromeda Galaxy 260,000 light-years away is based on this rule. The Andromeda Galaxy has far more stars than the Milky Way. If you can reach these promising stars with the power of the Magic Element Engines and the Spirits, the three clans can expect a significant increase in military strength and recovery from the inferiority. Since only Gremory could break through the light barrier, the fact that the Spirits could make it possible for the three tribes would be a breakthrough. ¡¸The movement of the magic element engines is not only useful for military affairs, but also for securing resources.¡¹ After receiving a straightforward explanation, Hart was convinced, and at the same time, he was impressed by the high level of intelligence Valak 773 possessed, which revealed the situation of the three tribes in detail. The Tri-Clan Confederation negotiating with Hart would like to extract favorable terms. To that end, some believe that it is better not to tell them the value of the things they want in order to gain an advantage in the negotiations. However, Valak 773 decided that building a relationship of trust with Hart would ultimately lead to the greatest gain. Humanity and Goetia, a scientific civilization without magic and miasma, can continue to have a long-term complementary relationship. Valak 773 believed this and showed Hart what Goetia wanted. (Magic and science can complement each other, but the precedent of science is tremendous.) For Goetia, Valak 773 was just one of the lesser White Dwarf Administrative Intellect deployed in the region. For the Monarchy of Diete, it could become an all-powerful Artificial Intelligence. A single Valak 773 could supplement a wide range of political, administrative, military, and star system management functions. For humanity, Goetia is like Linnell, an artificial intelligence that is overwhelmingly ahead of its time. The improvised countermeasure is the same as against Linnell: the use of Spirits. Even if the Artificial Intelligence attempts to take over humanity, it would be impossible in the Eight Star Systems of the Monarchy, where the realms of the Spirit King exist, and ships passing through the higher dimensional space that is the Spirit World can also negate electronic domination. With Gremory trying to destroy them, and the three tribes wanting to have countermeasures against Daemons, they should not misplace their priorities while the threat exists. And even if the Gremory problem is solved, the Daemons also exist in other galaxies and Goetia alone cannot destroy them, so they cannot lose their cooperative relationship with humanity who is working with the Spirits. Humanity loses actual experience as generations change, but Goetia, which has no lifespan and is probably better at communicating information, will not forget, so it can continue to work with them. Hart was more concerned about the descendants of humanity than about the Tri-Clan Confederation. Since he cannot take care of them after his death, he has no choice but to entrust the distant future to his descendants. ¡°I think the complementary relationship between humanity and Goetia would be desirable. Details are negotiable.¡± Either way, Hart was sure they could come to an agreement. After 240 hours of leaping through high-dimensional space, Hart arrived at the Orias Star System, which had been designated for the negotiations. Upon arrival, Valak 773 shared the information it had exchanged with Hart during the journey with the Tri-Clan Confederation. ¡¸From Valak 773, will share the information brought to the Tri-Clan Confederation from Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Chief Military Officer of the Diete Monarchy Army in the Milky Way Galaxy.¡¹ It was done at the speed of light and distributed to the negotiators chosen by the three tribes. Hart did not need to explain how he intended to close the Transition Gate of the Ten-to-Star System in the Milky Way and establish a bridgehead in the Andromeda Galaxy. The negotiators were not in the stellar center of the Orias Star System. When Fortress Kerviel was about to head for a planet in the Orias Star System, the communication was immediately returned. ¡ºPapa. The screen projection is not sufficient to convey the transmitted information, so I will change the method.¡» ¡ºOkay. I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡» He didn¡¯t know what kind of communication it would be, but he believed it would be better than screen projection, so he left the method to Lulu. Then the surrounding area suddenly darkened, and the command center where Hart was sitting turned into a deep-sea-like world. As Hart quickly looked around, he saw a masked nobleman, a benevolent girl in a light cherry-colored dress, and a girl in a sailor suit with a mischievous smile. Even without introducing themselves, the three of them seemed to have titles floating in front of them. Hart, on the other hand, was curious as to how he himself would be conveyed. Valak 773 had sent the details, but if it dared to simplify things, it would be ¡°Diete: Duke and Marquis, Fleet Admiral Amakawa ¡°. Just as he was thinking that if the enemy nation gave him a second name, it might be ¡°Eradication¡± or ¡°Star Destruction¡± or something like that, Almaros, who appeared to be a masked nobleman, called out to him. ¡¸We understand the situation. Let¡¯s proceed with mutual cooperation. The Orias Star System may be territorialized. The Ten-to realm must be destroyed as soon as possible. We urgently request this.¡¹ The requested items were projected in front of Almaros as he said these words. Justifications have also been added below the displayed list. The personnel of the Tri-Clan Confederation would make provisional contracts with the Spirits, jump to other star systems, and from there call for reinforcements to the Orias Star System through the gate connected by the magic element engine. The purpose of calling for reinforcements was to defend the Orias Star System, which would be targeted by Gremory, and to assist in the conquest of the Ten-to Star System. Hart was impressed that the other party was much faster than he was, and made a quick decision. ¡¸Very well. I¡¯ll provide Daria¡¯s warship, the human magic element engine in the fortress, and the related technology. Lulu, please provide the spirit crystals you can.¡¹ ¡ºSure. But we can¡¯t afford it right now. First, as a provisional measure, we will prepare crystals that can be used for ten years even if there is no supply of magic power. In the future, they will be supplied from the Milky Way Galaxy, or they will be produced while recovering energy here.¡» Hart didn¡¯t give detailed instructions, but Lulu, understanding his intentions, immediately showed possible numbers. Looking at the numbers, Hart thought that it might be a little difficult for the three tribes. There were trillions of stars in the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Tri-Clan Confederation, which controlled one-eighth of them, would probably reach hundreds of billions of stars. If they were to be distributed for transmission and reception of the gate connecting the stars, they would need a reasonable amount of D-class crystals. However, Maya needs to create two King-class Advanced Spirits after conquering Ten-to. She absorbed energy from the Daemon Emperor of the Hercules Star System, but the energy required for the attack is unknown. Since Lulu will remain in the Andromeda Galaxy and open the gate, there is no leeway. Hart looked at the other negotiators, wondering if this would be all right. ¡¸I would like to confirm. How much supply can we expect in the future?¡¹ ¡ºEven if the conquest of the Ten-to Star System leaves us no room for maneuver, I believe that if we move the former Coalition members in the Machaon Star System to Andromeda and increase their numbers, we will be able to provide a steady supply of the same amount each year. The more people there are, the more we can supply.¡» At Lulu¡¯s supplementary explanation, which was heard by all three parties, Almaros made a nodding gesture. Lulu might have easily translated it for Hart, but Hymn Pamela and Resonant Ornias, who were present, embodied their own surprise and understanding. ¡¸This is far beyond our expectations. It should be possible to overcome the current situation. In response to this, we will provide technical support commensurate with the spirit crystals. If there are other requests, we will be open to negotiation. Due to the importance of this project, I myself will be appointed as Crocell¡¯s exclusive representative.¡¹ Almaros¡¯ decision was followed by two other tribes. ¡¸From Uvall, I, Pamela, will accompany and serve Lord Amakawa for many years to come.¡¹ ¡¸From Leraje, I, Ornias, a Marquis-level thinker, will assume the post.¡¹ After Pamela, who spoke with loving eyes, Ornias also made a declaration. Then Ornias added a few words. ¡¸The reason why each of the three tribes dispatched a representative is that the Monarchy of Diete and each of the three clans will form an independent cooperative system. There is an insurance policy so that even if there is a disagreement with one of the tribes due to the common sense of civilizations, there will not be a break in negotiations. I hope you will understand.¡¹ ¡°Thank you very much for your consideration.¡± Hart established negotiations with the three tribes, feeling at ease with the fact that he was being led by someone smarter than he was. CH 123 Half a month has passed since the unbelievable first report, leaving the reporter¡¯s sanity in doubt. The fourth report has already arrived from Fortress Kerviel. [The Hercules Star System has been jumped to the Andromeda Galaxy.] [We have encountered an advanced alien civilization working with Daemons and have decided to abort the invasion operation.] [Initiate contact with advanced alien civilizations fighting the Daemons and acquire advanced technology.] [We will destroy the Machaon Star System to make Ten-to and Andromeda into realms.] All four reports were delivered to the Apollo system, where the Spirit Emperor Mira resides. Therefore, the Rear Command could not withdraw from the Apollo System even after the second report informing them of the cancellation of the invasion operation. And after the fourth report arrived, the Rear Command was reactivated for the invasion of the Ten-to Star System, which was conveyed to Hart, just like the invasion of the Hercules Star System. ¡°Hasten preparations for another invasion. Get as close as possible to what we had during the invasion of Hercules.¡± The government and the military knew that it would be difficult to assemble fighter crafts on the scale used in the invasion of Hercules. However, in order to be as prepared as possible, a massive mobilization was made from the other seven star systems and poured into the Apollo Star System. The Apollo Star System was a K-type main sequence star, normally illuminated by dim light, but even before the Second Hercules Invasion, the numerous giant man-made objects deployed by the Monarchy illuminated the star system with inexhaustible light. As for Hart¡¯s unilateral reports, Queen Yuna approved all of them. ¡°I approve all the proposals made by Fleet Admiral Amakawa, the Commander-in-Chief. This directly affects the survival of the nation, the lives of the Royal People, and will continue to do so far into the future. To the government, Generals, lords, and all the people of the Monarchy, please act immediately.¡± Yuna¡¯s orders include the re-migration of the Solar System people who have been relocated to the Machaon Star System. One of the roles of the Queen or Commander-in-Chief in wartime is to make emergency decisions that cannot be debated in parliament in a timely manner. The Monarchy gives both the Queen and the Commander-in-Chief the position and authority to do so. The operation, requested by the Commander-in-Chief, Fleet Admiral Amakawa, and authorized by Queen Yuna, is a legitimate act under the social system of the Monarchy. And if the Machaon Star System, which is no longer inhabited by the citizens of the Monarchy, is to be used up in order to turn the enemy star system of Ten-to into a realm, it is a clearly necessary act that can be explained openly even if questioned by the parliament. The Machaon Star System has only been home to Solar System people for four months. They were just barely getting used to their new home, and it would generally be undesirable for them to be forced to relocate even further. However, the conclusion reached by the Queen and the Commander-in-Chief had more to do with the safety of the Royal people than with the sentiments of the former Solar System inhabitants. The government, the Generals, the lords, and Royal citizens, having been given a clear direction to follow, obediently followed it. During the invasion of Hercules, the aristocrats who had gone back and forth between the two transition gates to establish a forward base, and those who were in the Apollo System when the gates were closed, launched a large fleet of immigrant ships from the Apollo Star System to the Machaon Star System. ¡°As with Mars, we must create two Spirit Kings. Any human who doesn¡¯t immediately obey orders doesn¡¯t need to be taken aboard.¡± Colette, the Deputy Commander in charge of the Rear Command, made a clear statement in her position as the officer in charge of sending out the Lords. Instead of letting her subordinates and conscripted aristocrats take the lead, and without tarnishing Yuna¡¯s name, Colette took responsibility. Colette, who was naturally excellent, could make such a judgment without Hart. By the time the large immigrant fleet departed, communications had been established with the remnants of the Hercules invasion force on their way back. The Hercules invasion force lost most of its 344.13 million fighter crafts, while the troops that had established their forward bases behind Fortress Kerviel were unharmed. The survivors were the Royal Army and the Aristocratic Fleets, which Hart sent to the rear because would be unfortunate if they were caught in the crushing battle between the fighter crafts. Therefore, the Generals, princes, and aristocrats were also safe. ¡°I suspect it¡¯s because the Daemon Emperor set its target on Fortress Kerviel.¡± Colette, who was eligible to attend both the Royal Council and the Lords¡¯ Conference at the same time, voiced her opinion on the losses. As expected, she chose her words carefully and didn¡¯t say, ¡°Because it considered anything but Fortress Kerviel to be toothless¡±. For the Daemon Emperor, there are only two types of people in the Monarchy: Hart, who works with the Spirit Emperor and can oppose the Daemon Emperor, and group members who pose no threat to the Daemon Emperor at all. Therefore, as a result of the Daemon Emperor setting its target to Fortress Kerviel, the ¡®other groups that don¡¯t matter¡¯ that were out of range were safe. They were not taken seriously from the start. Thanks to this, the Monarchy has not suffered much damage other than the loss of large fighter crafts and Strategic Satellites. The Chief of the General Staff, Colonel General Reinelt, judged that the damage could be recovered quickly. ¡°Of the two types of large fighter crafts, Surtr will be operated by mobilizing former citizens of the Frodi Republic, whose manpower replenishment is outside the scope of the royal population. And the Strategic Satellites will not be a problem.¡± Approximately 8 billion people of the former Frodi Republic have sought refuge in the Monarchy. Of these, 164.13 million have volunteered, and about 1.2 billion people, including their families, have acquired limited royal citizenship and moved to the territory of the Marquis of Hecate. In other words, there are still 6.6 billion people left in the Artemis Star System. If those who have already moved to the Marquis Hecate Territory were to talk about the housing and property they have acquired, their new life in the new domain, and a secondary recruitment were to take place, another 164.13 million people could be recruited. On the contrary, if they are willing to increase the Surtr proportion in the Royal Army, the 180 million Israfel crafts that have been lost can be replenished by the Surtr. In addition, new Strategic Satellites can be built by towing the many celestial objects in the Fukashiro Star System. The Strategic Satellites were depleted during the Battle of Hercules, but within a month, it would be possible to install magic element engines and cover them with liquid metal. And, of course, the Monarchy was also proceeding with the reconstruction. Therefore, Reinelt, as Chief of Staff, thought that the damage could be recovered at an early stage. ¡°I¡¯m at a loss as to how to judge the outcome of the battle.¡± General Elmer Schmidt, the Monarchy¡¯s Deputy Chief of Military Affairs, who had introduced a variety of fighter crafts, spoke in a roundabout manner, taking all sides into account. Prompted to speak by a glance from the Queen, Schmidt offered an additional explanation. ¡°As to whether or not we were able to conquer the Hercules system, the answer is no. But we have driven them out of the Milky Way, and in terms of eliminating enemy star systems within our reach, we have achieved our goal. Therefore, I am at a loss for an overall assessment of the results of the battle.¡± Upon receiving the explanation, Yuna nodded in agreement. The Hercules Star System existed 250 light-years away from the MacLir Star System. With a magic element engine operator contracted with the Daemon, and it is a one-way trip of one and a half months. It was close enough to pose a great threat to the Monarchy should it invade or advance into the surrounding space. But the Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away. Even with Daemons and magic element engines, it would take 1,250 years to travel each way. The enemy fleet, which is unable to develop technology as its ships are advancing, will be a powerless group made of obsolete technology from 1250 years ago when it arrives. After 1250 years, there would have been quite a few generational changes. During that time, the generation that thought ¡°why should we continue to advance?¡± would feel foolish and stop. Thus, the Hercules Star System, which has been sent 2.5 million light-years away, is no longer a threat in terms of distance once its Transition Gate is blocked. ¡°In other words, as long as Ten-to is subdued, the threat will disappear. This petty officer is not too concerned about the attack on Ten-to.¡± The reason Schmidt is not worried is that Hart, who issued the fourth report, had informed them of his plans to return from the Andromeda Galaxy and attack Ten-to. It is a Daemon King that has expanded the realm in Ten-to. None other than Hart, after successively capturing ¨­izumi and Hony¨­, advanced to Ten-to and had his own spirits confirm it. Hart judged that it was possible to defeat Ten-to. Hart¡¯s achievement of eliminating a Daemon King with his Spirit Emperor was in the Apollo Star System. Since this was to be replicated, Schmidt assumed that it would lead to a similar development. Once the military response was approved, the next issue was government policy. Prime Minister Stanley, with some difficulty, presented the issues of the future. ¡°Who will govern the Ten-to Star System and the Andromeda Galaxy in the future? This was something that Yuna, who wanted to abdicate the throne, did not want to decide, and Bernard and Josslan, neither of whom had been confirmed as the next Sovereign before the invasion of the Ten-to, could not decide. If Yuna were to decide, she would have to make a big move. First, Carneus, the first-ranked Marquis, and Amakawa, the second-ranked Marquis, would be promoted to the rank of Duke. Next, she would move the domain of the Grand Duke of Taka Amanohara to Ten-to, which has a huge population, leaving the vacant MacLir Star System to the Duke of Carneus. The Duke of Amakawa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, would be placed in the Andromeda Galaxy, which is indispensable but also highly dangerous. When considering who to appoint, there is no choice but to appoint Amakawa. The Royal Family, which was intended to be relocated to the Hermes Star System, would remain in the Diete Star System, which is well protected by a Spirit Emperor, because the situation has become unclear. Yuna is unhappy with the change of territory from MacLir, which she worked so hard to arrange, the placement of Amakawa in a perilous region, and the burden placed on Carneus, who is in the process of taking over. But if Bernard or Josslan propose kicking their sister out, Yuna will be emotionally unhappy. Not only that, but third-party lords, army generals, and royal citizens would also cry out against the next Sovereign. Therefore, out of consideration for her brothers¡¯ position, Yuna had no choice but to speak out herself. ¡°The current matter of changing territories is only one of the proposals. At this point, we cannot make any decisions about Andromeda, where the enemy and environment are still unclear. For now, we will wait until the situation is resolved.¡± ¡°As expected, Her Majesty the Queen is without equal.¡± The Duke of Coesfeld was impressed by Yuna¡¯s selfless devotion, and the preliminary answer to Stanley¡¯s question was given. ¡°Was the Tenka Hercules Alliance able to establish a cooperative relationship on an equal footing?¡± ¡°There is no way they could. If they were that good, they would quickly end the war against the Monarchy of Diete, as fellow humans, which is much easier to negotiate than with Andromeda, on terms that are not inherently disadvantageous.¡± At Stanley¡¯s question, the Duke of Takrham sniffed sarcastically as he lifted the corners of his mouth. ¡°The Alliance was the first to territorialize all of its own faction¡¯s star systems. At that time, four of the Monarchy¡¯s star systems were not territorialized, so if they had shown the possibility of territorializing the Monarchy¡¯s star systems, the war would have gone better. And if we went to a new system, we could have won in the future.¡± Takrham¡¯s approach may be the reason why Josslan was almost confirmed in the battle for the throne. The situation has changed too much, but if the Ten-to Transition Gate can be sealed, the security of the Milky Way Galaxy side can be established. In that case, Yuna¡¯s abdication would be within reach. At this stage, it would be better to show that Takrham, Josslan¡¯s supporter, would also be useful in order to increase the possibility of succession. ¡°Even if you let them have Daemons, if the leader is a fool, they cannot pose a threat. That is why the Monarchy is better than Tenka.¡± With a sarcastic expression on his face, Takrham began to acknowledge Queen Yuna¡¯s leadership. From then on, the conversation continued, which could only be decided in broad strokes due to a lack of information. The Goetia tribes encountered by the Monarchy are an advanced alien civilization with vast territories and a race of Quantum Thinkers capable of high-speed computation. Even if the Monarchy gains technology and closes the gap of tens of thousands of years, the other side¡¯s technological progress is faster, and in the current situation, they will never be able to catch up. Accordingly, the direction that can be indicated must be as follows. Hart returned from Andromeda around the time that these tentative proposals were finalized. CH 124 Yuen of the Ten-to was also aware of the disappearance of the Hercules Star System from the sector that it once occupied. After the Battle of the Apollo Star System, Yuen learned that the Spirits could repaint the realm, so he deployed a reconnaissance fleet outside the realm of the Hercules Star System for surveillance purposes. As a result, the Daemons contracted to the magic engine operators of the reconnaissance fleet were able to learn of the abnormal situation in which ¡®the Hercules Star System was swallowed up by a higher dimension and was sent elsewhere along with Fortress Kerviel¡¯. Thanks to this, Yuen was able to ask his contracted Daemon, Laura, about the situation. ¡°What happened to the Daemon Emperor, Zirke?¡± ¡ºMortals die. There is no immortality, even for Spirits and Daemons.¡» ¡°In other words, she died when she was defeated?¡± To Yuen, who looked frustrated, Laura gave a slightly different answer. ¡ºWhen two evenly matched beings fight each other and one is defeated, they become sustenance, their original nature inherited, and are reborn. By doing so, they are able to overcome their weaknesses after defeat. To become a greater existence.¡» ¡°What was that?¡± When Yuen was told the reason for the conflict between the Spirits and the Demons, he forgot about the critical situation and asked back in a daze. ¡°Being defeated after every possible effort and maximum resistance is one of the steps toward a better evolution.¡± The strongest organisms do not evolve. Because there is no need to evolve¡­ Yuen has heard this before. Humans also evolve weapons and technology by fighting each other. Conflict is not the only element necessary for evolution. However, the notion that conflict does not cause evolution is also inaccurate. ¡ºLady Zirke¡¯s power will become a Spirit and one day return to a Daemon. So it is only a brief departure. Perhaps we and humans have different measures of things and different concepts of death.¡» Hearing Laura¡¯s argument, Yuen showed some understanding of the adaptive evolution of Spirits and Daemons, but returned to the pressing issue at hand. ¡°I have a vague understanding of the scale of Daemons, but if you lose, you die, and that¡¯s it.¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s difficult, isn¡¯t it? But humans would agree that life for an insect seems more difficult than for humans. Do your best?¡» Yuen, who had been compared to an insect by Laura, who seemed unconcerned, countered with a bitter expression on his face. ¡°Even insects will resist when they are about to be killed. So if we have a contract, I¡¯ll ask you to help me.¡± ¡ºVery well. For us, it is part of the evolutionary cycle.¡» What Yuen had in mind was a common sense defense. The Daemon Emperor, Zilke, had been defeated, and it was unlikely that Zeahild, the Daemon King of Ten-to, would be able to hold out, but there was a glimmer of hope in the fact that Fortress Kerviel had disappeared along with the entire Hercules Star System. Without the Marquis of Amakawa, who is in charge of all spirit-related matters in the Monarchy, it would not be possible to cause an abnormal situation like territorialization¡­ possibly. That way, the Daemon King of Ten-to will not be defeated, and Ten-to¡¯s fighter crafts can easily repel the Monarchy¡¯s invasion fleet. An invasion from Ten-to would also be impossible, but if both sides reach an impasse, after hundreds of years have passed and the war generation has passed, a calm discussion between the leaders would one day bring the war to an end. And Yuen¡¯s hopes were dashed. The first thing that occurred was the opening reaction of the Transition Gate created by the Daemon Mariel. Zeahild, recognizing Mariel as a Daemon of the same Zirke lineage, allowed the passage to open, though she was somewhat skeptical of Mariel, who had somehow become a Daemon King capable of connecting the Transition Gate before she knew it. Zeahild, who had received reports from the Daemons similar to those sent to Yuen by the surveillance fleet in the Hercules System, knew that Zirke¡¯s death was caused by the Monarchy and had no suspicions about Mariel. The death of Ishidor, her contractor, was falsely attributed to the invasion of the Monarchy by common sense, while information was cut off in Mariel¡¯s realm. Therefore, ¨­izumi¡¯s fleet, operated by ¨­izumi people, was allowed to pass through. Therefore, when Y¨²nl¨¢n deployed three Daemon Kings at the same time, she could not immediately conclude that they were the enemy, and her response was momentarily delayed. ¡ºAs Lady Mariel said, she really is a foolish Daemon King.¡» Of the three Daemon Kings Y¨²nl¨¢n used, one taunted Zeahild and attacked, while another joined forces and held her down 2 to 1. It was the energy generated by grinding 20 billion Herculeans to produce a large amount of miasma that overpowered Zeahild. While the magic element converted by the energy of the two bodies held Zeahild down, the third body tore out the energy harvesting roots that connected Zeahild to the Ten-to Star System, and planted its own roots in an attempt to take over the realm. If it had been one-on-one, Zeahild would not have lost. If it had been 2 on 1, the outcome would not have been conclusive. Because it was 3 on 1, Zeahild was backed into a corner. An unfamiliar red transition gate spread out in the Ten-to Star System, as if to indicate that Zeahild was in an increasingly inferior position. ¡°What the hell is going on!?¡± ¡ºIt¡¯s a natural disaster for humanity, isn¡¯t it?¡» To Yuen¡¯s surprise, while Laura was talking like it was someone else¡¯s problem, an unknown structure flew out of the red transition gate. It was the same group that first appeared in the Hercules Star System after arriving in the Andromeda Galaxy. There are many 800-meter-class warships and 72 5,000-meter-long work ships. They began to move toward the Ten-to Star System and the inhabited planet of F¨´ Ch¨²nTomiharu, as if confident of the Daemon King¡¯s victory From Ten-to, a communication call was also sent to ¨­izumi¡¯s warships, but there was no response from Y¨²nl¨¢n. And just as the same suppression operations in the Hercules Star System against the human race, with the exception of the ¨­izumi people, began to be replicated, Fortress Kerviel arrived. The intrusion into the midst of the battle between the Daemons of Ten-to and the Andromeda Galaxy was unexpected for Hart. He didn¡¯t know when the Andromeda Galaxy would invade, and he couldn¡¯t aim for it. The best thing to do would have been to capture Ten-to before the enemies from the Andromeda Galaxy arrived. However, Hart decided that it wasn¡¯t such a bad thing to intervene between the Daemon King of the Ten-to and the Daemon King of the Andromeda Galaxy, so he ordered Maya, the Spirit Emperor, to attack. ¡ºMaya, do it.¡» ¡ºYes, Father.¡» Hart, not knowing the best way for the spirits to fight, gave no detailed instructions, and Maya, concentrating on the task at hand, gave brief answers. Maya¡¯s first move, a surprise attack, was made against the third Daemon King, who was peeling the roots of Zeahild in the Star System. The first strike of a sneak attack is immensely effective. Because she didn¡¯t fight head-on, she had the maximum amount of energy left, and she threw it at the third Daemon King, which was also connected to the Hercules Star System via the Transition Gate. The mass of energy taken from the Daemon Emperor, Zirke, was transformed into a sharp Magic Element Sword that pierced the third Daemon King. At the same time, a Strategic Satellite from the Apollo Star System was thrown through the Transition Gate and exploded in space. Instead of a scream, the red magic elements that had spread throughout the space region creaked as if they were trembling, and the red magic element burst out as if a human body had exploded and blood had spurted out. The red Transition Gate disappeared, and Gremory¡¯s fleet, which was in the process of invading from the Hercules Star System, was partially wiped out. ¡ºThe First one.¡» A brief report from Maya reached Hart¡¯s mind. The results of the battle were dramatic. A black transition gate was created near Fortress Kerviel, connecting it to the Orias Star System. As if to illustrate this, some of the giant artifacts deployed in the Orias Star System flew out of the Black Transition Gate, and connected to Fortress Kerviel. ¡¸This is Dinah, a Count-level thinker of Crocell. We have confirmed the connection between the Ten-to Star System and the Orias Star System. Combat Celestial Group, commence plunge.¡¹ Hart and Fortress Kerviel, who had a sense of urgency about the Gremory fleet, were relieved by the appearance of reinforcements. The enemy fleet was also numerous, but the reinforcements from Crocell were of a different magnitude. Crocell, which lacked the Magic Element Engine and Daemons, deployed large combat celestial bodies that did not consider warping with the Magic Element Engine. A huge herd of Crocell¡¯s elephants appeared one after another, crushing the large army of ants that made up the Gremory fleet and charging toward them at a furious pace. ¡¸A Gremory fleet of this size can be destroyed instantly. We won¡¯t let them lay one finger on Fortress Kerviel.¡¹ The ¡°one finger¡± that was automatically translated by the Spirits gave Hart enough psychological leeway to fantasize that it might actually be a tentacle or a stinger. Meanwhile, Maya absorbed the third Daemon King she had defeated and then attacked the second Daemon King who was supporting the fight between Zeahild and the first. Unlike the third before, the second was braced against Maya, but it was also wary of Zeahild and unable to counterattack with a perfect stance. Maya, the Spirit Emperor who had absorbed the Daemon Emperor Zilke, wielded overwhelming power against the second Daemon King, who was expending energy in the battle between the two Daemon Kings, and sliced it in two. A burst of black light erupted from the cut wound, smearing the Daemon King, who had an earth-colored light. ¡ºThe Second One.¡» While the first defeated Daemon King had not yet been absorbed, the second defeated Daemon King joined the light that was being absorbed. From the sight of the absorbed light turning black, Hart could imagine that the Daemon King of Ten-to and the Daemon King who fought with it would not be able to intercept the energy of the defeated Daemon Kings. Maya, who had destroyed two Daemon Kings with little consumption, targeted and attacked the Daemon King of the Andromeda Galaxy, who was fighting with the Daemon King of Ten-to. The Daemon King of the Andromeda Galaxy was no longer attacking the Daemon King of Ten-to. Rather, it was fending off the attack, desperately leading her to turn her attention to Maya. ¡ºTo be unable to judge the situation, such a foolish Daemon King. Please retreat.¡» The Daemon King of the Andromeda Galaxy spat at the foolish Daemon King of Ten-to. Then she urged Y¨²nl¨¢n to retreat to the Hercules Star System. When Y¨²nl¨¢n went to the Ten-to Star System, Mariel had given him four Daemon Kings. Two to face against Zeahild, one to take over the realm, and one for emergency evacuation. While Maya and the Daemon Kings were still fighting, the first Daemon King, convinced of defeat, urged the fourth Daemon King to retreat while it could still create a realm. The loss of the Daemon Kings is painful, but the Herculeans, a portion of the former Coalition, and the Hony¨­ people, who can increase their numbers, are in Mariel¡¯s hands in the Andromeda Galaxy. Just as the Royal Army was able to recover from the loss of its fighter crafts, Mariel could make the decision to retreat because she would be able to recover from the loss of the Daemon Kings. As a result of the not-so-foolish Daemon King¡¯s quick decision, a golden transition gate appeared in Ten-to, beckoning the fleet of Y¨²nl¨¢n and his men. Maya did not react to the golden transition gate. Without a second glance, she pierced, tore apart, and eroded the remaining Daemon King of the Andromeda Galaxy without fail and without care. ¡ºA Spirit Emperor who is not stupid has no cuteness.¡» This affected Maya¡¯s mind more than a simple counterattack, but it had no effect on the battle itself. After defeating the three Daemon Kings of the Andromeda Galaxy, Maya made her way to the Daemon King of Ten-to, who was badly wounded. Zeahild majestically confronted her, then her existence was ripped apart, and a celestial body was thrown into the wound, which exploded and killed her. After defeating the two in succession, Maya turned to Hart and reported. ¡ºFather, what kind of daughter do you think is cute?¡» What happened to the report of the destruction of the third and fourth ones¡­ Hart, who retorted in his heart, wondered how he would answer his daughter¡¯s question.