Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 13 - Chapter 4

Ground Battle

Saturday, May 22nd

The three days Clan had asked the military to wait was used for various preparations back at Earth. That included performing emergency repairs for Blue Knight, securing a shelter on the surface, moving the civilians that Theia had with her to the Hazy Moon, and much more.

After repeated information gatherings and multiple discussions, Kiriha decided on everyone’s deployment as follows.

First, Theia, Ruth, and Koutarou would be placed aboard the Blue Knight. That was to keep Elfaria and Theia separated so they couldn’t be attacked at the same time. In the worst case scenario, Theia and Ruth would have to leave Earth. Koutarou had been placed on Blue Knight so he could respond to trouble no matter where it appeared. If the girls ran into trouble on the surface, he would descend and support them. And if the enemy attacked from space, then he would stay on the ship to control it. Since getting off the ship was easier than boarding it from Earth, Kiriha decided he would start on Blue Knight to be prepared for either event.

Clan took the Hazy Moon and the civilians and moved away from the expected battlefield. She would find a place to hide and use her ship’s stealth mode, so there was no fear of her getting dragged into the conflict. Essentially, Clan’s role was to protect the civilians and stay on standby to assist Koutarou and the others in the event of an emergency.

The remaining six girls would protect Elfaria on the surface. Kiriha’s subordinates had been called to assist with that. But since Kiriha and her subordinates were from the conservative faction of the People of the Earth, there weren’t that many among them who were skilled in combat. She’d also had to leave people behind to keep the radical faction in check. Because of that, Kiriha had only been able to gather about a dozen people in the short time she had. So with the other girls and her subordinates, they had about twenty people all said and done. Kiriha expected they’d be going up against a force as large as fifty. So though the girls were exceptionally strong, it was hard to tell if they would be able to protect Elfaria under these circumstances.

The battlefield Kiriha had chosen was a small mountain on the outskirts of Kisshouharukaze City. That was to keep any fighting from affecting the city, and allow them to set traps beforehand. Kiriha wanted to stay as far away from civilization as possible, but moving too far away meant increasing the risk that their enemies would send a larger force after them. Kiriha had spent most of her time trying to determine the right place for the battle—somewhere far away enough that the city would be spared any damage, but close enough that their enemies would still be wary of being discovered. The nearby mountain was what she’d decided on.

Ruth’s tense voice filled the bridge of the Blue Knight, now filled with vacant seats.

“Your Highness, Satomi-sama, I’ve received reports that the deployment on the ground has proceeded as planned.”

“So we somehow made it in time...”

After glancing at Ruth, who was sitting in the operator’s seat, Theia leaned back in the captain’s chair and let out a small sigh of relief. She’d been concerned about being able to finish all the necessary preparations in time, so hearing that everything was complete was good news. Now all that was left was to wait for the enemy.

“We’re fortunate our opponent is Elexis.”

Looking at the monitor displaying the status on the ground, Koutarou made sure the last preparations were complete himself before sitting down in a nearby seat and turning to look at Theia.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“He’s considering what happens after this battle, so he won’t attack until quite some time after Clan has left. If our opponents were just knights and soldiers, they might have rushed in already.”

Koutarou saw Elexis as a calm, calculating man. That’s what his experiences back in past Forthorthe had taught him also. And since Elexis looked very similar to Dextro, a man who had given him a lot of trouble, he naturally became more cautious around him.

“That’s what we’re up against, the kind of opponent he is. So, Theia, don’t get too obsessed with the battle in front of you. Against him, we need to be concerned about a lot more than the immediate victory.”

“...”

Theia’s eyes opened wide in surprise upon hearing those words. But it wasn’t because she didn’t understand what he was saying. In fact, it was quite the opposite. What he said made perfect sense. Koutarou was speaking just like a knight, or even a commander.

“What’s wrong, Theia?”

“N-Nothing... It’s just, you’re so calm... I...”

As far as Theia knew, Koutarou might have some experience fighting, but he shouldn’t have any experience with war. This should be his first taste of it. Yet Koutarou was as calm as any veteran.

Oh crap... Well, I guess it’s not like I can hide it at times like this...

That was when Koutarou realized that his behavior was indeed very unusual for a high school student. But he couldn’t simply go back to being a normal high school boy after what he’d been through, so he decided to try and cover it up instead.

“After fighting so many times, even I’ve started thinking about that kind of stuff, you know.”

“...That’s fair. Sorry for suggesting otherwise. Don’t pay me any mind.”

Fortunately for Koutarou, Theia didn’t say anything more. She had too much else to worry about right now other than Koutarou’s behavior.

“Your Highness, Satomi-sama, there’s movement on the surface!”

And with Ruth’s report, Theia put it out of her mind altogether. She grew tense, and so did Koutarou.

“What happened?”

“We’ve lost connection with two of the scouting drones patrolling the outside of the operation area.”

“If it’s two, that means it wasn’t an accident or a wild animal! Theia, they’re here!”

“Yes!”

The next moment, the previously quiet bridge became rather noisy. All kinds of data popped up on the monitors and an alarm rang out as the AI reported additional information.

“Just before the connection with the scouts was lost, they detected a weak spacequake! It seems the forces on the ground are receiving support from the fleet in orbit!”

By “support,” Ruth meant in the same fashion that Theia and Ruth used Blue Knight. Elexis had summoned a weapon to destroy the unmanned scouts.

“So that’s how you’re doing it, Elexis!”

“What do you mean?”

“Elexis is planning on attacking from the surface and from space at the same time!”

“I see... Then if we don’t help, the ground forces will be wiped out!”

Following Koutarou’s lead, Theia picked up on Elexis’s plan.

Blue Knight had currently reduced its power output and was pretending to be an asteroid orbiting the planet. That made finding it difficult. So Elexis had chosen to lure it out. By summoning weapons and destroying the two scouting drones, he was sending them a message. He was saying that his three ships would support the forces on the surface, meaning that if Blue Knight didn’t come out, Koutarou and the others would be in trouble. While they might have a chance against just ground forces alone, they wouldn’t stand a chance against ground forces and the aid of three spaceships. So in order to protect Elfaria, Theia and the others would have to reveal themselves.

“Ruth-san, where is the enemy fleet?!”

“It’s currently being calculated!”

Ruth busily moved her hands along the operator’s panel. She was trying to locate the enemy fleet by tracking the signal that was sent as weapons were transferred.

When sending weapons back and forth, a message using gravitational waves was required. Using the data from the two scouting drones before they were destroyed and the data Blue Knight could gather, Ruth was trying to narrow down the signal’s origin. While she didn’t know what weapon had been transferred, she did know the strength and direction of the gravitational waves used. From there, she would be able to calculate the source location.

“I’ve found it! The three ships are all on the far side of the moon!”

Ruth displayed her results in hologram form. As soon as she did, even Koutarou could understand Elexis’s intentions.

“I see. By hiding there, they can fight without holding back!”

The moon rotated around Earth. Because of that, it was impossible to observe what was happening on the far side of the planet’s only natural satellite. And that was where the fleet of three ships had taken up positions. From there, they could fight to their heart’s content without being discovered by the people of Earth. The only potential problem was being detected by satellite, but because Earth had so few satellites capable of observing the far side of the moon, it wasn’t hard to selectively block them out with Forthorthian technology. Ultimately, Elexis was calling Blue Knight to the far side of the moon so that they could fight freely.

“Blue Knight! Release camouflage! Set the generator output to the maximum! Enter a lunar orbit using a short warp!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Upon hearing Ruth’s report, Theia ordered Blue Knight to relocate. It was obvious that this was a trap, yet they had no choice but to waltz right into it.

“Theia, bring out my armor! I’ll control Blue Knight’s body!”

Koutarou’s armor was originally a device meant to control the ship. The ship could be set to replicate the wearer’s motions, so the ship could be controlled simply by wearing the armor and moving accordingly. While Blue Knight was a warship, it was made in the shape of a person, making it possible to change the direction of its weapons and boosters. That was a characteristic unique to Blue Knight.

“Wait, Koutarou! You should head for the surface!”

However, Theia shook her head at Koutarou’s offer. In a three on one fight, it would be hard to win without making use of Blue Knight’s directional mobility and flexibility, but despite knowing that, Theia wanted Koutarou to help the people on the ground.

“What do you mean?! You two will―”

“Listen! Even for Blue Knight, it will take some time to reach the far side of the moon! And I don’t want our people on the ground annihilated before then! So you head for the surface right away!”

By bending space-time to move, also called warping, it was possible to reach the far side of the moon in an instant. But since they would end up getting shot down immediately if they dropped out of warp in the middle of the three ships, they would need to warp to a nearby location instead. That meant after they reached the vicinity of the area via warp, they would need to use normal means to go the rest of the way, which would take some time. But if their people on the surface were annihilated during that time, there would be no point in even going. That was why Theia wanted Koutarou to head down to Earth immediately.

“...I understand. Be careful, Theia.”

Koutarou suppressed his worry and decided to obey her instructions.

“I know. I won’t try to push for a win. I’m just going to run around while jamming their communications.”

Theia made it sound like she was going to stay on the move, but that would be difficult to pull off in reality. Koutarou knew it was dangerous as well. However, both he and Theia well aware that it was necessary, so they didn’t discuss the matter any further.

“Ruth-san, I’ll leave Theia to― Wait, I guess don’t need to tell you that.”

“No, but I shall carve your words into my heart.”

As Ruth said that, the floor of the bridge parted and a blue set of armor standing upright rose up from below. After putting it on, Koutarou would head for the surface.

“Koutarou... Before you go, say something to us.”

“Something? Like what?”

Koutarou replied to Theia while sliding into the armor that had just opened for him. The armor closed automatically and started making adjustments. The armor’s motors started up, and changed the position of the joints to take the load of its weight off of Koutarou. This was the usual startup process.

“Anything that will raise our morale.”

“You make it sound so easy, but that’s the hardest part.”

“Just say something.”

Theia knew that this might be the last time they ever saw each other. That’s why she at least wanted to hear one final sentiment from his lips. She didn’t care if the words themselves were pointless. What she needed to hear was the feeling behind them.

“Theia, once this is over, I’ll play games with you for as long as you like.”

“...Now that you’ve said that, I’ll hold you to your word. Understood?”

Theia got to hear exactly what she wanted. And the feelings behind those words brought tears to her eyes. But Theia held them back and answered with a smile.

“Yeah. And Ruth-san...”

“Yes?”

“Please think of something you’d like. Once this battle is over, I’ll listen to any request you have.”

“Anything?”

“Yes.”

“...I understand. I have a very special request, so I’ll pick that one.”

Tears formed in Ruth’s eyes as well. But knowing she couldn’t show weakness before a battle, she wiped them away and braced herself.

“That’s unfair. Why do I get games, while Ruth gets anything she wants? You’re too kind to just her. I demand you correct this disparity.”

“Who do you think you are?”

Koutarou smirked as he headed for the bridge’s exit in his armor. He would use a small lifeboat to head down to Earth on his own. The readied pod was waiting just outside of the bridge.

“I’m your princess! Treat me with more care!”

“Then you already know why.”

“I don’t.”

“Stupid.”

After stepping off the bridge, Koutarou turned around to face Theia and Ruth one last time.

“Theia, you have the right to request anything from me whenever you please.”

“That...”

Theia was struck by Koutarou’s words, and her expression went blank. She was so overcome with surprise that she completely forgot what she was about to say. But Theia only remained motionless for an instant. Seeing that the sliding doors leading out of the bridge were about to close, she desperately called out to Koutarou, who was about to disappear behind them.

“Then you better come back to me!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

With those words, the door closed and separated Koutarou from them.

“Isn’t that great, Your Highness?”

After the door shut, Ruth smiled at Theia. Theia, however, slumped her slender shoulders.

“...I should have said something more encouraging...”

Theia had seen Koutarou off with a selfish wish. She regretted it.

“Heehee... But Your Highness, you can just tell him that when you meet again.”

“That’s true... If we see each other again, I’ll do just that.”

Theia flashed a small smile and narrowed her determined eyes. Since she was about to jump headlong into a trap of her own volition, chances were high that she would never get that chance.

But thanks to those few words, Theia had found a reason to win no matter what. She would fight her hardest to make sure she could see Koutarou again. To say something more worthy of his princess.

That resolve filled Theia’s small chest and drove her forward.

As Koutarou began re-entry into the atmosphere on the lifeboat, the battle on the ground between Kiriha’s group and the coup d’etat army was about to commence. That information was sent to Harumi, who was with Elfaria.

“Harumi, the battle is about to start. Sadly, this is as much as I can help.”

Clan, who had given Harumi the news, positioned her smaller ship, the Cradle, in the sky above the battlefield to observe it. But regardless of how well the Cradle was able to conceal its appearance, chances were high that once the battle started, the enemies would move in and be able to detect it at such short range. Before that happened, Clan would cut off her communications and move to higher elevation.

“Thank you very much, Clan-san. I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be praying for your victory.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

After Harumi thanked her for a second time, Clan ended the call. Once Harumi did the same from her own bracelet, she turned to Elfaria.

“Your Majesty Elfaria, it seems the battle is about to start.”

“I see...”

Elfaria looked out the window. Harumi and Elfaria were inside a small cottage in the mountains. Because the cottage was in the middle of a thick forest, all that could be seen through the window was a dim forest. But Harumi knew that Elfaria wasn’t looking at the trees. She was looking through them towards Kiriha and the others, far, far away on the other side of the woods. She was worried for her distant allies.

“To think I would make people completely unrelated to me fight in my stead...”

Elfaria rued the situation she found herself in. Because she had advocated the disarmament of the army, she’d ended up forcing people she didn’t even know to fight for her. Worse yet, that included several young girls. Though she had little other recourse right now, Elfaria wasn’t happy about it.

“Your Majesty, please don’t say something so sad. We might not be connected to Forthorthe, but we certainly are to Theiamillis-san. She is a very wonderful girl and our precious friend. And Your Majesty is Theiamillis-san’s mother. That’s why we all decided to stake our lives on this. Your Majesty is important to us too.”

“Harumi... but...”

“Is it that Your Majesty can’t accept that we are Theiamillis-san’s friends?”

Well aware that she was addressing to the empress of a galactic nation, Harumi spoke her mind without flinching.

If I knew more about modern Forthorthe and its circumstances, I might not have been able to say this...

Everything Harumi know about Forthorthe was about Forthorthe of the past. She’d learned as much as she could while doing research for the plays. She’d memorized every detail of that setting and any other information she could get her hands on, but she had no knowledge of present-day Forthorthe. Because of that, she thought of Elfaria as Theia’s mother rather than an empress, which made it much easier for her to speak her mind. Harumi knew that what she was saying was quite bold, and couldn’t help but be amused at herself.

“Harumi, you...”

Despite the serious discussion, Harumi had a gentle and happy smile. Seeing Harumi like that, Elfaria’s impression of her changed.

The conviction in her words... Her dignified behavior and elegant gestures... She is far too well made for a common girl... She really is...

Harumi was a timid girl, but in times of crisis, something deep inside of her would surface. It was noble and beautiful, and, Elfaria thought, very becoming of a princess.

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me... I’m sorry.”

Misinterpreting Elfaria struggle for words as something negative, Harumi apologized and lowered her head. She began to regret overstepping her bounds.

“That’s not true, Harumi. I was just moved thinking about what great friends Theia has made here.”

Elfaria smiled at Harumi. There were no lies in her words. She really felt like Theia had been blessed with wonderful friends. So great, in fact, that Elfaria started worrying for a different reason. They were complex feelings of a mother who wanted her daughter to be happy.

“Really? Hearing you say that makes me happy.”

“That’s why I hope everyone will be all right...”

“It will be okay. I’m sure that everyone will return safely.”

“...You’re strong, Harumi.”

“I’m a girl, after all... Weren’t you the same in the past, Your Majesty?”

“That’s true... Then I too shall believe in those strong feelings of the past and wait patiently.”

“Good.”

But that was as long as the two could smile. After hearing the boom of an explosion in the distance, they knew the battle had finally begun.

A blinding light appeared in the corner of the monitor Clan was staring at. The image then shifted; the camera positioned the light in the center of the screen and zoomed in. What was being displayed now was the aftermath of an explosion, a cloud of dust kicked up into the air. It was a sign of the first strike, and proof some sort of weapon had been used.

“It’s finally started...”

Clan was sitting on the bridge of the Hazy Moon, hastily operating a panel and giving orders to the Cradle, which was currently positioned above the battlefield. While she couldn’t actively help anymore, she still wanted to observe what was happening in case of the worst possible outcome. Clan activated all of the Cradle’s sensors and attempted to confirm the situation. Data sent from the Cradle was processed and appeared as images on the monitor, one after the other.

“Your Majesty...”

“Princess, be safe...”

Each time an image appeared, the whispering voices on the bridge increased. Clan wasn’t the only one on the Hazy Moon. The civilians that had helped Theia and Elfaria escape were on the ship too. They feared for the safety of their beloved royals, and some pleaded with Clan to be present on the bridge under the condition that they didn’t get in her way. Clan approved, and as a result, a dozen or so men and women were worriedly looking at the monitor with her.

Honestly, I’m envious, Theiamillis-san...

The past Clan most likely would have chased them off the bridge. But now, not only did she let them stay, but she also felt envious of Theia. If she were in the position Theia was now, would the citizens be this worried for her? Clan didn’t have the confidence to say yes, and that proved that she was lacking the qualities of a princess. It made her realize once more how foolish she’d been.

“There’s no need to worry, everyone. Theiamillis-san and the others are strong. And in the worst case scenario, the Hazy Moon will come to the rescue. So you can continue watching at ease.”

But Clan was now much different than she once had been. How the citizens felt about her would gradually come to change.

“Princess Clariossa... We are grateful for your consideration.”

“B-But of course. You are all citizens of Forthorthe, and I am your princess.”

And a glimpse of that change could already be seen. The people bowing to Clan proved that much. But since Clan was so unused to dealing with others, it slipped by her unnoticed.

The explosion in question had occurred a short distance away from where the scouting drones had been destroyed. The enemy was getting closer to where Elfaria and Harumi were hiding, and the explosion was a trap that had been placed beforehand being triggered.

“As I expected, it seems they can’t detect the traps. But it seems they’re aware that Elfaria-dono is hiding in this region... I can’t make light of my foes.”

Forthorthe used advanced sensors, which Kiriha had suspected would be easy to fool with mundane bombs. After some careful consideration, Kiriha decided to use talismans charged with explosion magic cast on them as a trigger for the main explosive, dynamite. It was a completely nonmetal bomb. As the enemy approached, the explosion magic would activate, which would in turn set off the dynamite. It was a highly efficient and powerful bomb that couldn’t be detected by Forthorthian sensors.

On top of that, the bombs served as indicators of where the enemy was located. And thanks to the explosion they’d heard, Kiriha was able to tell that the enemy was getting closer. Reacting accordingly, she and the others hurried in the direction of the explosion and set up a defensive formation.

“I can’t make anyone out yet...”

Shizuka was staring into the forest, squinting her eyes. She had the best eyesight out of anyone in the group, but in the forest at night, she still couldn’t spot any approaching enemies.

“What about you, Sanae-chan?”

“Hmm, they’re still too far off to see clearly, but I can feel a cloud of hostility.”

Sanae could sense the auras of their enemies on the other side of the forest. Because the forest itself had a thick aura to it, she couldn’t clearly see through it and detect individual people. There was no mistaking, however, the mass of approaching hostility.

“How does it look?”

“There’s one big cloud in the front. And there’s a smaller cloud to its right. There might be more, but I can’t tell from this distance.”

“Which means that, at a minimum, there’s a main force and a detachment... Sanae, keep using your spirit sight and let me know if there are any changes.”

“Okay!”

Based on all the information she had, Kiriha made adjustments to her plan. Since the enemy had split up into at least two groups, she had to account for that now.

“Yurika.”

“What is it?”

“Take three of my subordinates with you and stop the detachment moving to our right. I don’t intend to let them just do as they please.”

“Me?!”

Yurika’s eyes shot wide open. She had just assumed that she would be following someone’s orders, so being given soldiers to command and a mission to carry out was completely unexpected.

“Yes. There’s no one else with as varied a power as yours. You’re the only one I can ask.”

In terms of offensive power or overall fighting capabilities, Theia and Shizuka were in a league of their own. But the only one who had the versatility to adapt to any situation was a magician like Yurika. It made her an excellent candidate for handling operations on her own.”

“I-I don’t have any confidence...”

“Kiriha-san, this is too much for Yurika. Should I go instead?”

“M-Maki-chan’s right! She’s much better at attacking than me!”

Darkness Rainbow specialized in frowned upon uses of magic. In other words, something like a surprise attack would be right up their alley. Maki herself had experience with that kind of thing, which was why she offered to take Yurika’s place.

“No, I’ll need you to confuse the enemy’s main force. Yurika will have to go.”

“No waaay...”

However, Kiriha was set on using Yurika to handle the detachment. Since Maki specialized in mind manipulation magic, she would be vital for dealing with the larger force. Moreover, because of her specialization, she was less adaptable than Yurika. In Kiriha’s mind, Yurika was the only one fit for the job.

“You can do it, Yurika!”

“Sanae-chan, please don’t make it sound so easy...”

“You only need to drive them away, so go give it your all.”

“But they’re coming to kill us, regardless of what we’re trying to do!”

“So are you just gonna sit here and do nothing? Once Koutarou shows up, he’ll be really angry...”

“Uh... I-I’ll do my best...”

Since Yurika was a coward, she had been reluctant at first. But once she realized a fate worse than death awaited her if she didn’t comply, she took three underground soldiers with her and vanished into the woods.

“Without Koutarou, Yurika sure is useless, isn’t she?”

“I wonder if Yurika-chan will be okay...”

“Maybe I really should have gone instead...”

“We can’t afford any second-guessing. The enemy coming our way won’t be easy to handle either. Shizuka, Sanae, get up front. Maki, come with me.”

Each of the five girls from Corona House were given three subordinates from the underground to back them up. As a result, five squads were formed. As the commander, Kiriha would make use of them to produce the most favorable results. Currently, Yurika’s squad was deployed to handle the enemy’s detachment. Next, Shizuka who was skilled in close-quarters combat, and Sanae who was capable of strengthening others and short-range attacks, were sent to the front to attack the enemy’s main force. Maki and Kiriha would take up positions in the rear, and were in charge of long-range attacks and distractions using magic.

I just hope Theia-dono’s absence won’t affect us too much...

Though she had plenty to worry about, Kiriha wasn’t in a situation where she could afford to complain. They had to win no matter what. If they didn’t, the future they all desired would never come.

A young man wearing a white suit was standing in the middle of the forest at night. That alone was a bizarre sight, but what made it even more bizarre were the men in black combat uniforms surrounding him.

“Elexis-sama, the vanguard has come in contact with the enemy. The battle has begun.”

“Despite that, it’s been awfully quiet since the first explosion.”

“Neither side must want to be found by the people of this planet.”

“I guess I’m the only one who wants to stand out, then.”

Listening to the report from his subordinate, Elexis smiled wryly as he looked at himself. His pure white suit stood out, especially in the dark of night. He was easy to spot, even from a fair distance away.

“The weapons our enemies are using are even more covert than ours.”

“So they’re not weapons from Princess Theiamillis... which means there can’t be that many of them. Somewhere between twenty and thirty, I would wager.”

Being a fair distance away from the city, there was no fear that the relatively silent laser and beam weapons that Elexis’s forces used would attract any attention from unwanted bystanders. So if his enemies were using even more covert weapons than that, it seemed a frank declaration that they didn’t have the firepower to match. Elexis thought it was fair to assume he had them outnumbered.

“However, sir, there are several powerful people amongst them. We have already taken some damage.”

“Mmm, that’s more like it...”

Hearing that there were several powerful people in the enemy force, Elexis flashed a breezy smile.

“Is there a boy using a knight’s sword among those powerful enemies?”

“I have received no such reports.”

“I see...”

Not getting the answer he’d hoped for, Elexis’s shoulders drooped. He looked like a child that had been stood up by a friend for a playdate. It was so drastically different from his normal energetic and spirited behavior that the soldiers around him were a bit confused.

“What should we do, sir?”

“I’ll leave it to you. Since we have the numerical advantage, we’ll probably be fine if we just hold back and corner them using the you-know-what.”

Elexis gave instructions as if he was bored. Since his friend hadn’t appeared, he would proceed according to plan. It would all be boring from there, and Elexis saw no need for further instruction in that regard.

“Understood.”

“But if a boy with a knight’s sword appears, don’t carelessly attack. Report to me instead. I’ll face him myself.”

“Is he that dangerous?”

“That boy is like a living joke.”

“I’ll take that to heart... Let’s go, men! Don’t let the vanguard have all the fun!”

With the commander in the lead, the men in black combat uniforms moved out, leaving Elexis and a few soldiers acting as his bodyguards behind.

“Hurry up, Koutarou-kun. I’m getting tired of waiting.”

Elexis looked up into the sky. The stars were twinkling brightly, but the star he was looking for was nowhere to be found. The blue shooting star he wished for was still far away.

Yurika’s ambush had been a success. Since she was a magician, it was easy for her to sneak up on the Forthorthian soldiers without being detected. Her opening attack was equally splendid, and she knocked three soldiers unconscious with one go.

“Kyah! Kyah! Kyah!”

The problem came after that. The three soldiers she’d knocked out had seven companions, who spread out and opened fire after being attacked. Beam upon beam came raining down on Yurika.

“Nooooo! S-Save me, Satomi-san!”

The weapons the coup d’etat army were using were far more powerful than the weaponry available on Earth. And with superior numbers, they unleashed a counteroffensive beyond imagination. With it all directed at her, Yurika quickly retreated. Fortunately, thanks to the covering fire from the three underground dwellers, Yurika was able to dive into a trench before all of her defensive spells were broken through.

“I-I thought I was going to die...”

Still lying in the trench, Yurika let out a sigh of relief. Of the five layers of defensive spells she’d cast beforehand, only one remained. If the trench had been even a little further away, she might not have made it.

“Yurika-sama, the enemy is falling back.”

“R-Really?!”

Hearing the good news from one of the underground dwellers, Yurika poked her head out of the trench. And just like she’d been told, she could see the enemy falling back, dragging the three unconscious soldiers with them.

“I hope they just leave after that...”

“The chances of that would be quite low.”

“I was afraid of that...”

Tears formed in Yurika’s eyes as she clutched her staff. She was desperately suppressing her urge to run away in fear. Yurika had heard that there would be up to fifty soldiers, so there was no way they would retreat after losing only three.

“And it looks like their teamwork is excellent...”

On top of that, the enemies hadn’t pushed forward. Instead, after driving Yurika away, they fell back with their unconscious companions. That proved how cautious they were and how much they trusted each other. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that their next attack would be far more dangerous now that they had an inkling of what they were up against.

“Yurika, fight! Yurika, fight! Yurika, fight!”

Yurika encouraged herself and cast a few more spells in preparation for the next attack. The truth was that she was terrified, and she would run away in a heartbeat if her conscience would allow it. But if she escaped, her precious friends would be hurt, or maybe even killed. The thought that she might wake up all alone in room 106 tomorrow morning scared her more than anything. She would rather stand her ground and fight here than let that happen.

“Yurika-sama, the enemy is coming!”

“This time we’ll use everything we’ve got! After that, we’ll fall back to the next trench!”

Mustering her courage, Yurika gave directions to her three subordinates wearing the face of a magical girl. One year ago, Yurika had wished she was the only occupant of room 106, but now that was the last thing she wanted.

“This is Yurika! Kiriha-san, can you hear me?! The surprise attack was a success and three people have been defeated! From here on, we’ll be fighting for real!”

After shouting into her microphone, Yurika pointed the tip of her staff towards the approaching enemy soldiers and started her incantation.

“Poison Cloud! Effective Area: Maximize!”

Yurika cast a spell that created a large poisonous cloud. Though the poison wasn’t fatal, it was particularly effective for weakening a group of people all at once. Yurika wasn’t a big fan of the spell because she felt that it wasn’t very magical girl-like, but she absolutely needed it for this battle. She had to stop the soldiers here no matter what, using any means necessary.

As Yurika’s battle on the right flank began, Kiriha and the others back in the center got their first visual on the enemy. Since Kiriha and the others were hiding in trenches like Yurika was, the enemy soldiers didn’t advance right away, but began taking cover behind trees and rocks.

“Kiriha, they’re about to start shooting.”

With the soldiers closing in, though still a fair distance away, the effect from the forest’s aura had lessened enough that Sanae could now clearly sense the enemy’s intention to attack.

“...So it begins. Maki, detonate the first through fifth.”

“Roger that. Transmitting the first through fifth detonation codes.”

Maki confirmed her order and concentrated on her staff. Seconds later, several of the bombs connected to Maki’s magic detonated.

The single muffled boom Maki heard after told her that the five bombs had exploded at the same time. The explosives weren’t designed to be lethal. Kiriha wagered that since her opponents were professionals, they would find any other bombs placed in strategic locations even without a means to detect them. So instead, Kiriha had planted these explosives to destroy the trees and rocks that the soldiers would use for cover. It would make them harder to find, and lower the amount of explosives used overall.

Having their cover literally blown, the soldiers were momentarily stunned. As they stood there, bright lights that had been placed beforehand activated and shone on the surprised men. With the enemy exposed, lit up, and blinded by the light, Kiriha didn’t miss her chance to attack.

“Begin the attack! Fire!”

“Sanae-chan God Arrow!”

“Multiple Mind Blast! Target Option: Sidewinder!”

“Spiritual Energy Armament safety released! Target acquired, ho!”

“Commencing fire, ho!”

At Kiriha’s command, everyone in charge of ranged attacks opened fire as one.

Sanae was using a bow and arrow created from her own spiritual energy, Maki used her magic, and the haniwas and underground dwellers used spiritual energy weapons. Each attack was mystical. Since the soldiers had cutting-edge Forthorthian technology protecting them, simple physical attacks wouldn’t have much of an effect. But they were wholly unequipped to deal with magic and spiritual energy.

That’s why they’d all chosen to use nonlethal attacks. Maki used her mind manipulation magic, and everyone else had spiritual energy weapons, which had almost no effect on the body. Instead, they directly attacked the soul and deprived their opponents of their freedom, which was something both the girls of room 106 and Kiriha’s subordinates from the conservative faction were grateful for. Knowing that their opponents wouldn’t die when shot, everyone could open fire without any hesitation. And because they attacked full-force, the preemptive strike worked as planned.

“Uwah!”

“Agh!”

The coup d’etat soldiers collapsed one after another. Including Kiriha, about a dozen people were attacking from a distance. Under their fire, seven of the coup d’etat soldiers collapsed to the ground. Kiriha estimated there to be fourteen soldiers in the front, which meant that the first attack had cut their numbers in half.

“Don’t flinch! Fire back! Destroy the lights!”

But the coup d’etat soldiers didn’t take the attack lying down. As expected from professionals, they quickly dropped to the ground to make themselves harder to hit and returned fire. Their first targets were the searchlights blinding them.

The coup d’etat army was equipped with large beam rifles. Their accuracy was spot on, and they had a lot of power to them. The lights didn’t stand a chance. They were destroyed in an instant, and the surrounding are went dark once more, making it harder for Kiriha and the others to aim.

“And now it’s my turn!”

But the moment the lights went down, Shizuka leaped out at the enemy. While the soldiers were blinded by the light, she’d snuck up on them and had been waiting for her time to strike. She jumped right into the group of soldiers, swinging her arms and legs around in a flurry. She swept away her enemies like a small tornado.

“Uwah!”

“Ugh!”

And with Shizuka’s ambush, several more men fell.

“What’s going on?!”

“An enemy snuck up on us!”

“Whoops!”

Shizuka looked like she was about to continue her attack, but stopped short and jumped into a nearby bush to escape. She didn’t have much time to attack before her enemies would strike back. After the lights were destroyed, the soldiers would be practically blind for a few seconds until their eyes adjusted to the darkness. And Shizuka knew she had to retreat before then.

The soldiers that had come around first fired beams into the bush after her.

“Oh, how scary!”

However, since Shizuka had already escaped further into the woods, the beams only scorched the bush and the ground.

“Now, Kiriha-san!”

Shizuka shouted into the headset microphone hanging by her cheek. Not a moment later, a dazzling light appeared behind her. It was a flash that Maki had created using magic. Almost all of the coup d’etat army’s vanguard were caught up in the flash. As a result, just as they had readjusted to the darkness, they were blinded again. Not even their night vision goggles could help them.

Shizuka hadn’t jumped into the enemy’s midst just to take out a few soldiers. The goal was to gather all eyes on her so that the second flash would be as effective as possible. The flash also lit up the soldiers for Kiriha and the others, allowing them to fire upon them once more.

“Say, Kiriha... Are you always thinking about vicious things like this?” Sanae asked, firing one arrow after another from her bow.

Several enemies easily fell prey to Kiriha’s plan. Though they had special powers like magic and spiritual energy on their side, Sanae was still amazed at what Kiriha could do with all of it.

“No, only when I have to.”

Kiriha answered nonchalantly as she fired her spiritual energy rifle. In total, they’d taken out fifteen soldiers now. It was as good as they could have hoped for with a preemptive strike.

“Good to know. Oh, and Kiriha...”

“Hmm?”

“Could you teach me some mischievous tricks I could pull on Koutarou later?”

“Very well.”

“All right!”

“I’m back!”

Shizuka emerged from the underbrush, slightly out of breath but with no serious injuries. She had a few scratches here and there from her attack and subsequent retreat, but overall, she was practically unharmed.

“Aika-san, how does it look?”

“Um, it looks like everything went according to your plan, Kiriha-san. In total, fifteen people have been knocked out.”

“It’s a great success. This is thanks to Yurika doing her best over there, too. I’ll have to thank her properly later.”

If it weren’t for Yurika’s efforts, they might not have achieved this level of success. If the enemy’s detachment had flanked them as intended, then they wouldn’t be in any position to attack.

Hearing the news that was better than what she expected, Shizuka smiled. Maki and Sanae did the same, and they all let out sighs of relief. Only Kiriha still had a serious expression on her face.

“A message from Yurika.”

Kiriha touched her earphone. When she did, everyone could hear Yurika’s voice through their own headsets. She sounded desperate, and was practically screaming.

“Th-This is bad! A bunch of robots just appeared out of nowhere! Just like when Theia-chan summons her guns! Kyaaaaaaaah!”

As the message deteriorated into actual screaming, communication with Yurika was cut off.

“Yurika-chan?!”

“Yurika! Hey, Yurika!”

Shizuka and Sanae called out to Yurika in panic over their microphones, but no reply came.

“The main show starts here. DKI will show us how serious they are.”

Kiriha continued trying to contact Yurika as she looked in the direction of the enemy with a sharp glance. A strange spectacle was developing far beyond what she could see. Machines in the shape of people were appearing from a black hole in the air. They were as tall and bulky as full-grown men. Since they could use the same weapons and protection that people could, they didn’t require any special equipment, which made it very easy to field them.

They were Dragon Knight Industry’s human shaped, all purpose robots, Motor Knights. They were mechanical knights sent to Earth from the three ships in space.

As Kiriha and the others were facing off against a new threat, danger loomed for Harumi and Elfaria in their mountain cottage. Moments after the battle had started, the enemy sent out small observation devices to look for Elfaria and Theia.

What is this strange feeling...?

Thanks to her heightened senses after her awakening, Harumi could sense the incoming observation devices. She didn’t know what it was, however, and only felt vaguely anxious.

“Is something the matter, Harumi?”

“Your Majesty... All of a sudden, I started feeling restless... I feel like we’re in danger somehow... even though I have no reason to say that...”

Harumi tilted her head from side to side as she explained what she was feeling to Elfaria. She was confused as to why anxiety would creep over her in such a strange fashion for no apparent reason. She had only recently awakened as a magician, so she didn’t yet know that her magical powers could affect her.

Is she just imagining it? Or is this the Silver Princess’s powers?

Since Elfaria had her suspicions about Harumi, she immediately began thinking along those lines. And in order to confirm her suspicions, she came up with a proposal for Harumi.

“Harumi, you can use magic, can’t you?”

“Yes, though I only learned to do so just recently...”

“Why not use a spell to search the surrounding area, then? If you’re just imagining things, then this should help you feel better, but if danger really is approaching, it would good for us to know.”

“You’re certainly right there... Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

Harumi agreed to Elfaria’s idea and decided to try using her magic.

What should I use...?

Harumi had a wide repertoire of spells available to her, and she had to find one suitable for scanning the area. While Yurika or Maki would know what they needed to use right away, a beginner like Harumi had a tough time figuring it out.

“What’s the matter?”

Seeing Harumi’s hesitation, Elfaria called out to her. Harumi blushed a little, but answered honestly.

“I... um... was just wondering what spell I should use...”

“That’s a good question... Since the enemy is from Forthorthe, it might be a good idea to look for metal. The gear the soldiers use is largely metallic.”

Weapons, armor, communication devices, cars, planes, and even spaceships. Pretty much all modern technology contains metal in one way or another. As civilizations develops, so does its use of metal. The two are inextricably related. That’s why Elfaria thought scanning the area for metal should reveal any enemies.

“Metal, I see... I’ll give it a try!”

Harumi knew a spell that could detect metal. More precisely, it was a spell to locate rocks, but it could be narrowed down to minerals, and then expanded to include refined metals. Harumi clasped her hands in front of her chest and closed her eyes to focus. She then called for Signaltin’s power and chanted a spell in Ancient Forthorthian.

“Gather, spirits of earth. Kneel before me and reveal your name. Speak, Lineage of Earth!”

Harumi flawlessly recited her incantation as if it were a song. Since it was in an archaic language, not even Elfaria, who was also an archeologist, could pronounce it that well. But Harumi spoke it as if she had been taught the language since birth.

The ritual language of Ancient Forthorthe... Could she have such perfect mastery of it just from having memories of it?

Elfaria had heard from Clan that Harumi had the Silver Princess’s memories. However, Elfaria didn’t think that was all there was to it. She couldn’t shake the suspicion that there was something else, something surpassing human intellect, hidden within Harumi.

“...All right.”

As Elfaria was contemplating that, Harumi completed her spell. In her mind, she could sense the presence of all kinds of metal around her. The framework of the cottage, the nails holding down the floorboards, the cables running inside of the walls. The TV, a mass of spun wires on the inside, appeared like metallic cotton candy.

“What is this, I wonder? Something is... flying?”

As Harumi’s extraordinary senses expanded beyond the cottage, she detected something strange. A clump of metal the size of a volleyball was moving around a hundred or so meters away. Over the rest of the mountain, a flying piece of metal stood out like a sore thumb.

“It’s not just one... There’s two... No, three?”

“Did you find something?”

“Yes. I don’t know what it is, but there are three lumps of metal about this size flying around.”

Knowing that comparing them to volleyballs wouldn’t make sense to Elfaria, Harumi held up her hands to indicate their size.

“Those are most likely scouting drones. They must be searching for me and Theia.”

“Oh no! They’ll find us at this rate!”

Even as they were talking, the three drones were approaching Harumi and Elfaria’s cottage. At this rate, they’d soon find the cottage and scan the inside.

“Let’s escape right away!”

“That’s impossible. The scouting drones use sound, heat, optics, and radar to find their targets. If we exit the building, we’ll be found right away.”

The only reason they hadn’t been found yet was because the cottage was preventing the scouts from seeing and hearing them. But if they went outside, there would be nothing shielding them from detection. Just like Harumi had quickly spotted the scouts, Harumi and Elfaria would stand out in the largely quiet and desolate forest.

“It’s safer to stay hidden like this.”

“But if those things come inside...”

If Elfaria fell into enemy hands, the efforts of the girls who were fighting even now would go to waste. Harumi racked her brain, trying to think of a way to protect Elfaria.

If we leave this cottage, we’ll be found right away... But if we stay here, they’ll eventually show up... And if we destroy the machines, the enemy will show up to investigate... That means we’ll just have to wait it out inside the cottage, but... would that work against alien technology?

The drones would show up soon. And before they did, Harumi would need to think of a way to keep Elfaria hidden. To Harumi, who had lived a completely normal life up until now, this was an incredibly difficult problem to solve.

One drone detected the cottage as it was surveying its assigned area. Determining that the cottage was a high priority target for investigation, it hailed the other drones in the vicinity. Since it was obvious buildings were prime locations for people to hide, the drones were programmed to prioritize their search around buildings if they came across any. Once the three scouts converged, their roles were split up. One would stay outside to survey the entire building while the other two would head inside.

The two drones used lasers to cut open the wooden wall and entered without a sound. Inside they found signs of people, including a boiler that was still hot. Since it was alien culture to them, it took some time for the scouts to determine what it was and what it signified, but it was clear evidence that people had been here. And based on the circumstances, the chances of it being their target was high. The drones then began to examine the building in more detail.

“Ahahaha!”

Suddenly, a woman’s laughter could be heard from a different room. Since the scouts had been given the order to find two women, one of them entered the hallway in response to the voice. Passing through a door and entering the hallway, the drone detected more sound from two rooms over. It was several men and women talking.

Hearing a woman’s laughter and voice among them, the drone’s AI prioritized investigating the source and moved towards the room in question. Once at the door, the drone confirmed that there were people on the other side through the use of its heat sensors. But it couldn’t get any more details than that, so it extended a cable from its body and squeezed it through the gap under the door.

“That looks so great. I’d love to visit a place like that...”

Inside the room were two women with black hair. One was a girl in her teens, and the other was a woman who looked to be in her forties. It was only the two of them in there room. They were sitting on a sofa and looking at an ancient video device, a TV. The other voices had come from the video device, which the girl and woman were watching intently. They were each holding a mug with steam rising from it.

Observing this, the drone put all of the information it had together and came up with a logical explanation.

First it connected the heat from the boiler to the contents of the mugs. They were drinking something that required hot water. Next was the laughter from before. It belonged to the girl and woman who were happily watching the TV. Finally, there was the talking, which had come from the video device.

Discerning a logical explanation for everything, the drone lost interest in the two women. They were local residents, relaxing and watching their video device. That was the AI’s conclusion. There was the possibility they were in disguise, but not only did their hair color not match, facial analysis had indicated they were completely different people.

The drone didn’t have the time to bother with local residents. After retracting its cable, it began searching other rooms. There were no signs of other people in the cottage, and there were no signs anyone had run away, so the scouts determined that their targets were not present. Upon reaching that conclusion, the two drones began to retreat back the way they’d come. They’d exit through the hole in the wall, and continue their search elsewhere.

However, as the drones passed by the room with the women, an alarm rang out from the two drones all of a sudden. They had been operating covertly until now, but after the alarm, they gave up all attempts to be stealthy.

Hearing that alarm, the two women inside of the room jumped up in surprise. Startled by the sudden sound, they stared at the door. The next moment, one of the drones crashed through the door and entered the room. Surprised by the strange metal machines, both women looked terrified.

But in the next moment, the drones flew through the room and right out of the glass window, fleeing the cottage. After joining up with the drone on the outside, all three flew off into the distance.

“What just...”

The girl with black hair looked out the window. There she saw the starry sky, and a particularly large blue meteor streaking through it.

“A meteor...?”

It was obviously artificial. The blue light it was emitting was not caused by friction within the atmosphere, but was a sign of the energy protecting it. Its long tail trailing behind it, the meteor was headed straight for the forest. And the scouts followed after it.

“Satomi-kun has descended...”

The girl, Harumi, realized what the meteor was almost right away. And why the drones had left. They had detected Koutarou descending from Blue Knight, and prioritized him over surveying the area. It also meant that Harumi and Elfaria had successfully managed to deceive the drones.

“W-We’re saved... I thought it was all over when they came into the room...”

Harumi felt all the tension drain from her body and sat down on the spot. However, her heart was still beating rapidly, and it would be some time yet before she calmed down.

“Your plan worked, Harumi.”

The older woman approached Harumi.

“Your Majesty...”

As Harumi looked up at the woman with black hair, her outline temporarily blurred as her appearance transformed. The woman standing before her now wore an expensive looking dress and a crown on her head. It was Empress Elfaria, one of the two women the drones were looking for.

“I was surprised when you said I had to hide because the scouts were coming, but your plan was a complete success.”

“I’m glad it went well.”

Seeing Elfaria’s calm smile, Harumi was finally able to smile herself. And remembering what she had done, she was relieved that they had survived the crisis.

Upon realizing that the scouts were approaching, Harumi’s first thought was to hide somewhere in the cottage. But she soon gave up on that idea. The scouts were using advanced Forthorthian science. She didn’t think she could completely fool all of their sensors. For instance, if they had heat sensors, they wouldn’t be able to hide at all. And in order to make the cottage look empty, they wouldn’t just need to hide, they’d need to cover any trace that they’d been there. Doing that in such a short amount of time would be difficult, even with the help of magic. So Harumi had come up with the bold plan of not hiding at all.

Harumi used magic to make Elfaria look like her own mother. She didn’t do anything more than that. She’d just hoped that a simple magical disguise would be enough to fool the drones into thinking it wasn’t Elfaria.

Using that plan, they wouldn’t need to cover their tracks. And it was certainly easier to change Elfaria than it was the whole cottage. But on the other hand, there was the risk that the drones might still discover it was Elfaria somehow. For all Harumi knew, aliens had a different body temperature, so they drones might be able to tell it was her just by their heat signatures. All in all, Harumi’s plan was a big gamble.

But fortunately, the drones didn’t gather data that detailed. They were pressed for time and didn’t want to be discovered by local residents. And then Koutarou showed up, which changed their priorities completely. Thanks to that, the drones had easily given up on Harumi and Elfaria and left the cottage.

So even though Harumi’s plan had been a gamble, it was the reason Elfaria was safe. Like Elfaria had said, it was a big success.

“I still can’t believe it went this well...”

“Lots of things are like that. No matter how hard something might look, when you give it a try, you just might find it to be surprisingly easy.”

However, Harumi still didn’t feel like she had come out on top. Since she had lived like a normal girl up until now, she couldn’t imagine herself pulling of a stunt like that. It was like something out of a movie or a play. It must have been dumb luck.

“Thank you, Harumi. You were a big help.”

“Ah, n-no, not at all!”

All Harumi could feel right now was relief that the ordeal had ended safely, and embarrassment from being praised by a friend’s mother.

Like Kiriha had expected, once the humanoid robot soldiers appeared, the coup d’etat army gained the upper hand in the battle. The robotic weapons called Motor Knights had even more agility and power than humans, and they were also a lot tougher. Because of that, the coup d’etat army used the robots to replace their fallen allies and attacked Kiriha and the others once more.

In total, fifteen robots had appeared. They replaced the soldiers Kiriha and the others had defeated one for one. But thanks to the robots’ power, the army’s overall strength was greater now than it had ever been. They were big and strong enough that they were using the largest handheld weapons the coup d’etat army had, and it didn’t hold them back one bit. Their movements were still agile, and they could take quite a few hits. What was even more problematic was that the robots didn’t have souls, meaning that spiritual energy weapons would only deal about as much damage as normal weapons against them. Usually those kinds of opponents were defeated by overwhelming them, but Kiriha and the others lacked the numbers to do that. To them, these were very troublesome opponents indeed.

Of course, the robots had their own weaknesses. They stood out too much to be used in urban areas, and their decision-making wasn’t as trustworthy as a human’s. But in a simple firefight, that wasn’t a problem. And that being the exact scenario, the robots closed in on Kiriha and the others with steady steps, using wireless communication to coordinate perfectly.

“Wh-What’s up with these things?!” Shizuka, who was fighting in the front lines, shouted out.

The robots were tough, but even they were no match for Shizuka in close combat. If it were one at a time, she could defeat them all easily. But when they worked in groups, it was quite a different story.

“Th-This is just cheating! What am I supposed to do?!”

Forming a high-speed network to exchange information, it was possible for the robots to coordinate their attacks perfectly. Their coordination surpassed what humans were capable of, and worked even in close-quarters combat where such coordination was ordinarily impossible. In other words, it was even possible for several robots to work together and unleash a combination flurry of punches.

As Shizuka was fighting against one robot, a second one would jump in and attack. A combination of three punches would suddenly turn into four. And they would defend each other the same way. Many blows Shizuka thought were surefire hits would be blocked by another robot jumping in the way.

With that, even a martial arts expert like Shizuka was stumped. It was like she was going up against human-sized war gods. She was only still standing because Sanae had heightened her physical abilities, but it was the most she could do right now just to block the incoming enemy attacks. And worse yet, her opponents didn’t get tired. It was obvious she’d be outmatched before long.

“You can do it, Shizuka! Show your guts!”

Sanae cheered Shizuka on while providing covering fire. She wasn’t using a bow and arrow anymore, but her Poltergeist powers like she had in the past. Since the robots didn’t have souls, attacks using pure spiritual energy against them had little effect. There wasn’t much else she could do other than use her supernatural power to hurl nearby objects at them.

But as expected, Sanae was having problems too. There weren’t that many objects lying around that made good weapons. There were plenty of rocks, but the robots didn’t so much as flinch when hit by them. Larger rocks would do some damage, but the robots could swiftly dodge them. And because they were robots, Sanae couldn’t use her abilities to read their movements. They were tough opponents even for a psychic like her.

“Thunder Lance! Modifier: High Concentration, Armor Piercing!”

Out of the group, only Maki was able to do any real damage. Since she was a magician, she could adapt her way of fighting by changing what spells she used. Maki concentrated her power to forcibly break through the robots’ defenses and shoot electricity through their internal workings.

But realizing that Maki was a threat, the coup d’etat army wasn’t about to stand by as she hammered them over and over. The human soldiers that had arrived at the battlefield as backup made her their priority target. Because of that, she had to deal with the onslaught of bullets and shells coming her way, and was unable to attack freely. Knowing that Maki was the only real threat, it wasn’t that hard to single her out.

“As I suspect, not having Theia-dono and Ruth hurts.”

Kiriha bit her lips as she used her haniwas to protect Maki. She knew that if Theia and Ruth had been there, they’d be able to launch a much more powerful offensive. They could summon weapons from Blue Knight, or bombard the battlefield with lasers directly from space, which should be able to take out a large number of the robots. But right now, Theia and Blue Knight were headed towards the far side of the moon in order to deal with the three ships hiding there. Since those ships were the ones sending the robots in, stopping them was just as important.

But Theia’s absence didn’t just impact their offensive capabilities. Her strong willpower and her leadership abilities were sorely missed too. Kiriha had some talent as a commander herself, but she was aware that she wasn’t as good as Theia. Kiriha’s specialty was formulating plans, while Theia would take them to the front line and execute them. That was how things had always been until now. Theia was their shining beacon, and without her, they didn’t know who to turn to.

“Everyone, hurry! Get to Kiriha-san and the others! Quickly!”

That was when Yurika’s three subordinates jumped out of a bush to the right. Yurika had sent the underground dwellers ahead of her while she stayed back to buy them some time to escape. Her squad had been dealing with the coup d’etat army’s detachment force up until now. And since it had been just the four of them against a squad twice their size, they’d all come away from the fight worse for wear.

All three subordinates were seriously injured, and no longer capable of fighting them. One of them taken a hit so grievous it may yet be mortal. The other two were carrying her towards Kiriha and the others.

And the one protecting them was Yurika. She’d taken the least amount of damage, but she was still covered in bruises and burns. She wasn’t in good shape herself, but as long as she had something to protect, she would never fall back. Between slinging spells at the robots and using her barriers to block their attacks, she desperately fought to buy time for the subordinates who had been protecting her until now to escape.

“Nijino Yurika, that’s enough, hurry and get over here!”

Thanks to Yurika’s efforts, all three subordinates managed to safely reach Kiriha and the others. They collapsed into a trench, and seeing that, Kiriha called Yurika over.

“O-Okay!”

“Yurika-chan, hurry up, ho!”

“We don’t have much time, ho!”

“Thank you, Karama-chan, Korama-chan!”

Yurika retreated as the haniwas covered for her. And before long, she was able to reach Kiriha and the others herself. Between ragged breaths, she asked Kiriha a question.

“Kiriha-san, how is it going here?! Is everyone okay?!”

“It’s hard to say that we’re okay. It might be better to fall back before we take any more damage.”

Kiriha and the others had prepared several defensive positions around the cottage where Harumi and Elfaria were hiding. One of them had now almost been completely overrun by the enemy, so it was about time to fall back to the next.

“Wait, Kiriha-san! If we retreat from here, the detachment to our right will be completely freed up! Sakuraba-san will be in danger!”

Maki objected to falling back. Since they’d made prepared defensive positions, they could make use of more traps if they fell back to another one. However, it would also give their enemies a chance to regroup. And since they’d also be moving closer to Harumi and Elfaria, it could be a dangerous move.

“I know! That’s why we’ll contact those two and have them―”

That was when a laser fired from one of the enemy robots pierced through Kiriha’s shoulder. As Kiriha was distracted with planning their next move, she’d taken her eyes off the battle entirely and left herself wide open, which, unfortunately, had coincided with one of the robots firing.

“Ugh...!”

Kiriha’s face contorted from the pain as she fell to one knee. The wound had been instantly cauterized by the laser, so there was no blood, but she had lost the ability to move her right arm and dropped her rifle.

“We’re running, everyone! Yurika, use that bad guy magic or something!”

The moment Kiriha was hit, Sanae decided on a retreat. She felt everyone’s morale drop the instant their leader, Kiriha, was wounded. Though they might still be in as much danger while falling back, it wouldn’t get them instantly killed like standing still would. That was what Sanae’s intuition told her, and in a rare display of leadership, she led the retreat.

“Kiriha, can you stand?!”

“I’m okay... Only my arm is hurt.”

Sanae gathered spiritual energy into her palm and placed it over Kiriha’s wound to ease the pain, and once Shizuka got back, the two of them worked together to stand Kiriha up. Immediately after that, a sinister looking fog rolled over the battlefield. It was a combination of poison and acid clouds that Yurika had summoned. The enemies shrouded in it took slow, constant damage from it and had their view of the battlefield obscured. With that, the enemy soldiers’ attack was interrupted, but the robots were equipped with heat sensors and continued attacking regardless.

“Then how about this?! Fire Wall!”

Maki created a wall of flame between them and the poison cloud. The robots couldn’t detect any human heat signatures over the blazing heat of the fire, so even they stopped attacking for the moment. At last, everyone a chance to escape.

“Now, everyone! Hurry up and go!”

Maki signaled her allies, and once they had all moved out, she retreated as well. That was when the unthinkable happened. In the center of Maki and her escaping allies, a massive explosion went off without warning.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

The girls all screamed. The shockwave created by the blast sent them flying. Most of them were knocked out as they hit the ground. The only one still conscious was Maki, who’d been bringing up the rear and was farthest away from the explosion.

“Wh-What just...”

Maki endured the pain and tried to get up, but the shockwave had disoriented her and she was unable to move as she pleased. The only thing she could really move was her head. She turned to look in the direction of the enemy behind her. There she saw several robots, who had apparently walked right through the poison and the fire to give chase.

I see... They’re all disposable... I was too naive...

If their opponents had been human, Maki and the others would have been able to escape without a problem. For normal humans, pushing through the flames and acid fog would have been nothing short of suicidal.

But robots were different. They didn’t hesitate to put themselves in harm’s way, and their commander didn’t care about machine casualties. Their singular goal was to eliminate Maki and the others. Without regard for anything else, they pushed forward. And unfortunately, Maki and the others hadn’t accounted for such superhuman opponents in any of their strategies.

Will we die here...?

Maki couldn’t move anymore. As she realized her death was imminent, strength left her body. But even staring down the end, she felt no fear. She knew that the scary part wasn’t death, but solitude. And since she was with her friends, she wasn’t scared.

Satomi-kun... I’m sorry...

Her only regret was Koutarou. She felt deep regret about leaving him alone, but there was nothing she could do with her body unable to move.

I wish I could see you... one more time... before I died...

With that, Maki’s consciousness began fading away. Tension left her, and a wave of fatigue washed over her in its place. The pain wore away at her remaining consciousness.

A blue light...? Is that... Satomi-kun...?

Just as she was about to pass out, Maki spotted a blue light. In the center of that blue light was a boy wearing blue armor. Seeing that, Maki smiled and lost consciousness. It didn’t matter to her whether it was an illusion or the real deal.

Most of the anger the boy called Satomi Koutarou felt was usually directed at his own powerlessness. He was a simple, expressive boy, so it often looked like he was angry when he was frustrated or annoyed, but it was quite rare for him to openly display genuine anger.

But right now, he was unmistakably incensed. And it wasn’t some half-assed anger, either. The rage he felt now was about as fierce as when Alaia and Charl had been kidnapped.

“Why can’t you just leave us be...? We just want to be close to one another...”

Koutarou’s was squeezing Signaltin’s hilt in his hand. The metal of his gauntlet screeched as it clenched tightly around it. It was as if the screams in Koutarou’s mind were leaking out.

After descending on the lifeboat, Koutarou used the coordinates he had gotten from Clan to head towards the battlefield. Upon arriving, he saw his twenty comrades lying on the ground, all unable to move. Most of them were seriously injured and would die if left untreated. And amongst those twenty injured people were five girls that were very important to him: Kiriha, Sanae, Yurika, Maki, and Shizuka. Each of them were struggling with their own solitude and sought the warmth of others. They were his friends that supported each other to live. Koutarou couldn’t stand to lose even one of them, no matter what. He wouldn’t be able to take it if they weren’t all smiling together. And now they all laid collapsed on the ground with life-threatening injuries. No, Koutarou wouldn’t stand for this. And he would never forgive those responsible.

“...I’m glad you’re machines.”

Koutarou readied his sword. In front of him were fifteen robots. It didn’t matter how strong they were. He would destroy every last one of them. He had to save his companions as quickly as possible.

“Because I don’t think I could hold back right now...”

Koutarou was angry. If he could project the fire in his eyes, the robots would surely all have melted in an instant. That was just how intense his fury was.

More people gathered on the bridge of the Hazy Moon to watch the fight unfold through the monitor. Since they were the ones who’d helped Theia and Elfaria escape, they were well aware of what this battle meant. That’s why sobbing broke out when the girls collapsed. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before their beloved empress fell into the hands of the coup d’etat army.

“Who is that knight...?”

“I’m not sure... but sure he does look eccentric...”

However, when a lone knight appeared on the screen, the onlookers began whispering.

The knight was wielding a traditional knight’s sword and wearing knight’s armor. It was a very classic look that most of them had only ever seen on TV and in movies in this day and age. What stood out the most, however, was the knight’s youth and the color of his armor.

The knight was quite clearly an adolescent, still young enough to be called a child. He was just about princess Theiamillis’s age. And the armor he was wearing was an unmistakable vivid blue color. It was a color rarely used by knights anymore. After it was used by a legendary knight once in the past, people had avoided using it out of respect and homage. Besides, no one wanted to be compared to...

“It’s the Blue Knight! It has to be! Look at that armor!”

A young boy who was watching the monitor alongside the adults gave voice to what was on everyone’s minds. If the armor was blue, it had to be the Blue Knight.

“The empress and princess are in trouble, so he came to save them!”

“Child, even if you call him the Blue Knight, he can’t be the Blue Knight. He’s only wearing blue armor because he thinks he’s special. He’ll only end up losing.”

To the people of Forthorthe, the Blue Knight was a national hero and a cultural icon. The Blue Knight was a legendary hero from two thousand years ago that was still respected even to this day. But legends were only legends. There was no way the person on the monitor was the real Blue Knight. It was just some knight in blue armor. And since most knights avoided the color blue out of deference, this boy must be quite the show-off. That wasn’t just the opinion of the person who had spoken to the young boy, but the opinion of all the adults on the bridge.

“No way! That’s the Blue Knight!”

However, this young boy believed that if the empress and princess were in trouble, the Blue Knight would appear. And after he defeated the bad guys, everyone would be happy. He was this boy’s hero, after all—a legendary hero.

“He’ll definitely win! There’s no way the Blue Knight would lose to some robots that haven’t even sworn any oaths!”

And just as the boy declared that with all his might, the knight in question unsheathed his sword and made his move. He was far too fast to be observed, however, so to the people watching through the monitor, it looked as though he’d disappeared. The next moment, he reappeared in a different place after swinging his sword. Three robots exploded in quick succession. They were the robots that should have been in the way of the knight.

“What?! Did that knight do that?!”

“There’s no one else there! It has to be!”

“Those are the latest model robotic soldiers, right?! And he destroyed three of them just like that?!”

The people on the bridge were all shocked. They had been watching the fight all this time, so they knew just how strong those robots were. Yet the knight in blue armor had destroyed three of them in one fell swoop. It was an unbelievable spectacle.

“See?! I told you! He’ll win! He’s the Blue Knight!”

Feeling like his claims had been validated, the boy rejoiced and turned back to the monitor. It was more important for him to cheer on the Blue Knight than to talk with the adults.

“You can do it, Blue Knight! Beat down those bad guys!”

As if the boy’s cheers reached him, the knight swung his sword once more. Another robot was destroyed. The sword’s sharpness was terrific as it cut the robot and its weapon in two.

“Could it be...”

At first, everyone had rejected what the boy was saying. But for each robot was destroyed, they all started to change their minds. The knight and his fighting were so striking that everyone began to see him as that knight.

The legendary hero and his trademark armor. The Blue Knight, Layous Fatra Veltlion.

“Fly! Fly, Blue Knight!”

However, at this point, there was only one who truly believed it from the bottom of his heart.