Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 22 - Chapter 2

Meanwhile, Elsewhere

Saturday, November 20th

For everyone else still aboard Ohime, the plan was seriously jeopardized when the Imperial Army detected them as they began their descent to Alaia. Thanks to that, their stealthy reentry was rushed and they were attacked by imperial forces as soon as they reached the other side of Alaia’s atmosphere and slowed down.

“Emergency alert, ho! We’ve detected four fighters approaching, ho!”

“They’re fighters that scrambled from a nearby base, ho! The other nearby bases have probably launched fighters as well, so there will be more of them soon, ho!”

“Everyone, grab on to something! Things are going to get a little rough!”

No sooner than she said those words, Kiriha set the engines to maximum thrust and twisted the control stick to the side. They’d be easy pickings for the fighters if they flew in a straight path. In order to avoid that, they’d need to take evasive maneuvers.

“Changing the spiritual energy field to combat mode, ho! Deploying the active distortion field, ho! Engaging the interception system and commencing jamming, ho! Help us out, Maki-chan, ho!”

“Right! Greater Mirage!”

While Kiriha was trying to fly the ship out of harm’s way, the haniwas activated its various defenses. Spiritual energy barriers and Forthorthian ones, jamming to get in the way of enemy guidance systems, and machine guns to shoot down any missiles that still managed to get close. Maki even cast a spell to create an illusory Ohime as a decoy. With everything she had in her court, Ohime wouldn’t go down easily—not even against four fighters.

“Sanae, I’ll leave the offense to you!”

“Roger that! Galaxy Sanae-chan Buster charged to 120 percent!”

“The name’s different from before, ho!”

“It’s the same thing to my soul, so watch out! Here we gooooo!”

As Sanae shouted out, four beams flew out from Ohime’s cannons. They were a mix of the energy from Ohime’s spiritual energy generator and Sanae’s own spiritual energy, which had a special benefit. Because they were partly Sanae’s energy, she could control them at will—a power she put to full use. The beams she fired cut a beautiful arc in the air, steering right for the enemy fighters.

“Wh-What?!”

“Impossible!”

The incredible sight took the fighter pilots by surprise. Beams reflecting off of something would be one thing, but seeing beams curve seemingly on their own midair was unbelievable. Completely caught off guard by it, the pilots followed their instincts and banked to the sides to avoid the beams.

“Don’t worry! I’m not going to hit you—yet!”

Sanae hummed gleefully to herself as she sent the beams chasing after the fighters. In her hands, the beams behaved more like missiles than beams, but they were immune to the standard defenses against physical projectiles. Growing irritated at being kept on the run, however, the pilots decided to take action.

“Kiriha, it looks they’re fed up! They’re going to start shooting!”

“Got it! Just keep it up!”

“Roger that!”

Each of the four fighters launched two missiles. But because they were fired under duress, three immediately flew astray. That left only five chasing after Ohime, and Kiriha was ready and waiting for them thanks to Sanae’s warning.

“Now then... I wonder what they’re using to track us.”

Kiriha swiftly ran one hand over an operations panel and fired off a few flares while reducing the output of the thrusters and turning the ship to the side.

“So it was optics after all.”

The missiles flew right past the flares and continued chasing after Ohime. That told Kiriha they were relying on visual data. The flares had been a test to see if they were thermal, and Kiriha knew they couldn’t be radar-based with the active missile jamming up. Moreover, if they were targeting spiritual energy, they’d be chasing Sanae’s beams rather than Ohime.

“Maki, can you make it look like the ship blew up?”

“Yes, I’ve done things like that before.”

“Then please give us a grand show.”

“Okay, leave it to me.”

“Clan-dono―”

“I’m already on it.”

“Heh, then I’m counting on you two.”

Ohime continued to flee the missiles for a time, but in the end was unable to shake them off. One struck a direct hit and exploded with a loud boom on impact. The rest followed suit, obliterating Ohime’s frame and detonating its generator. The resultant explosion was so grand that it could easily be seen for kilometers.

“Sanae, how’s it going over there?”

“Pretty good. Looks like they think they got us.”

“Good.”

Of course, the Ohime everyone saw blow up was Maki’s decoy. When Clan activated her cloaking device to make the real Ohime invisible, Maki manipulated her illusion so that it would appear to explode.

“But we still need to get out of here post haste. They’ll figure it out soon enough.”

Kiriha and the other girls couldn’t afford to let their guard down just yet. Clan’s cloaking device was meant for personal use and not large objects. Its effect wouldn’t last long like this, and the instant it wore off, the ship would be visible again. But even before then, the Imperial Army might realize they’d been duped if they went to investigate the wreckage of the ship and discovered there was none.

“Don’t worry. Let’s hide out there for a while.”

Fortunately, Kiriha’s plan had taken all this into consideration. She pointed at a large, nearby lake with a confident smile.

Strictly speaking, Ohime wasn’t a spaceship so much as it was auxiliary gear for the haniwas. It was made to make use of the combat data they’d accumulated, and it was made to go anywhere the haniwas could. That meant that in addition to air and space, it could just as easily maneuver underground and underwater. Of course, that flexibility came at the cost of combat outfitting, meaning Ohime was considerably weaker than other crafts of comparable size—especially those specifically designed for combat. So knowing that they were up against four fighters with more on the way, Kiriha chose to escape rather than stand her ground.

“How is it looking?”

Elfaria, who had been in the residential quarter up until now, poked her head into the cockpit when Ohime finally came to a stop. As expected, she could barely sit still while Theia was missing.

“How are Yurika-chan and the others?”

Right by Elfaria’s side was Nana, who was deeply concerned about Yurika, her pupil and friend.

“Well, we managed to shake our pursuers and are currently hiding out underwater. Sadly, however, we haven’t heard anything from Theia-dono and the others yet.”

The original plan was to lay low in the lake after descending to the surface disguised as a shard of ice. Even if the army arrived to investigate, they would never imagine that Ohime was hiding underwater. They would just wait quietly until the army left, and then proceed from there.

While they had been detected just before their descent, the enemy still didn’t know that Ohime had underwater capabilities. The quick-thinking Kiriha had simply adapted the plan, using Maki’s illusion to throw off the enemy long enough to reach the water.

“I see... I just hope they’re safe...”

The look on Elfaria’s face was a mix of both relief and disappointment. The other girls knew exactly how she felt... They too were anxious about their missing friends.

“I just wish there was a way to confirm that the three of them are okay.”

Nana looked up as she mumbled to herself. The ceiling of the ship was immediately overhead, but she was looking up past that... beyond the lake to somewhere far away.

“Sadly... if we use our comms now, the army will locate us immediately.”

Contacting the missing trio wouldn’t be that hard. They had a rough idea of where Koutarou and the others had landed, so they could just use a high-powered radio or gravitational waves if they wanted to. The problem was that, if they did, the army would know it. That meant that if they wanted to confirm the group’s safety, they’d have to find a way to contact them that wasn’t so readily detectable. While everyone was racking their brains to come up with a potential solution, the cockpit fell silent for a moment. That was when Harumi shyly raised her hand.

“Um, can I say something?”

When she did, all eyes in the room fell on her. Normally, that would be enough to overwhelm her a little, but this was an emergency. Bolstered by strong emotion, Harumi continued...

“I can sense Satomi-kun’s presence through Signaltin, and I’m certain that he’s safe.”

She was constantly connected to Signaltin through a faint flow of mana. Thanks to that, she could magically tell the state of the sword without any special effort. And currently, Signaltin had used up a lot of mana during the reentry but was keeping up its usual defenses. That was proof Koutarou was alive and well.

“Are you sure, Harumi-san?!”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Satomi-kun is safe, so the other two should be as well.”

Since Signaltin hadn’t been used to cast any healing spells, Harumi was quite sure that Theia and Yurika were safe as well. As long as they weren’t killed instantly on impact, that is.

“I see... Then we can rest easy for now.”

After hearing Harumi’s report, Elfaria seemed to relax a little. The atmosphere in the cockpit quickly followed suit. Knowing their loved ones were safe went a long way to lightening everyone’s mood.

“If that’s the case, Sakuraba-senpai, can’t you use Satomi-kun’s sword to talk to him?”

And with the tension easing up, it became easier to think clearly. Connecting a few dots, Shizuka realized that Harumi should be able to use her connection with Signaltin to contact Koutarou.

“It is possible... but I feel like I shouldn’t.”

Harumi, however, shook her head impatiently in response to the idea. If she could, she’d love nothing more than to speak with Koutarou herself. But there was something holding her back.

“Why is that?”

“Shizuka, if the mana flowing between Signaltin and here gets stronger, it will reveal our positions to Darkness Rainbow. With that man involved, we need to consider the possibility they’re here.”

When Kiriha said “that man,” she meant Elexis. Since the fighters they’d encountered before reentry had been equipped with spiritual energy radars, she was sure he was involved somehow. That meant chances were high that Darkness Rainbow—who had escaped Folsaria with him—was lurking somewhere in the shadows too.

“Aika-san, do you think Darkness Rainbow will show up?”

“Maybe not the leaders, but certainly someone or something that can detect mana.”

Just the latent mana flowing between Harumi and Signaltin wasn’t enough to trigger any alarms. But if that mana increased to the point it was obvious magic was actively being used, someone would inevitably come looking. The same went for radio and gravitational waves.

“Should I go?”

With radio, gravitational waves, and magic all shelved, their only remaining option was spiritual energy. Sanae figured that using astral projection would be the fastest way to find Koutarou, Theia, and Yurika.

“No, let’s save that for our last resort. Your spiritual energy is too powerful.”

However, Kiriha shook her head at Sanae’s suggestion. Since the enemy had gotten their hands on spiritual energy sensors, there was a chance they could detect Sanae if she went flying around in her astral form.

“Then what do we do, Kiriha?! We can’t do anything like this!”

“We’ll start by getting a move on. We won’t be able to do anything with the army so close.”

Kiriha had chosen this lake in particular because of its size. It was large enough that they could move a considerable distance underwater, and hopefully emerge far enough away to fly under the enemy’s radar. While she too was worried about Koutarou and the others, she knew the first thing they needed to do was escape immediate danger.

Back in the vicinity of Earth, the Imperial Army of Forthorthe had lost to Empress Elfaria and her supporters. But Elfaria’s victory wasn’t won with superior equipment or firepower—it was won with clever strategy.

Vandarion’s goal in dispatching soldiers to Earth wasn’t just to capture Elfaria. He was hoping she would fight back, killing Forthorthian soldiers in the process. He could then use that as ammunition to damage her image and reduce her support. But things hadn’t gone Vandarion’s way; in the end, there hadn’t been a single casualty on either side. Elfaria had fought nobly by choosing to not fight at all, which only made her look better in the public eye.

Of course, Vandarion tried to keep a tight reign on the story of what had happened, but it was too monumental to keep under wraps. People were talking, and information spread via word of mouth like a wildfire too fast to put out. Moreover, the nation of Forthorthe celebrated free speech, so there was little Vandarion could do to inhibit the way information spread on an individual level.

As a result, the public soon knew that Elfaria had been absolutely victorious and that Vandarion had been made an absolute fool of. That was the final straw in convincing the prideful Vandarion to reconsider an alliance. That alone was bad enough as it was, but having to pay his respects to a young upstart like Elexis was downright infuriating.

Vandarion’s anger was something Elexis had anticipated when he leaked strategic information—in fact, he’d counted on it—but it left him a little uncertain as to how Vandarion would respond to meeting him in person. That was the big question for Elexis when Vandarion summoned him for a conference, and the potential answers made him somewhat nervous.

“Thank you for coming, Elexis-kun.”

In stark contrast to Elexis’s fears, however, Vandarion welcomed him into a lavish salon with a smile. Standing beside him was his aide, Granado, who also welcomed Elexis with a calm smile. It seemed they were the only two men in the salon waiting to receive him, which Elexis took as a sign of trust. Perhaps they’d really get somewhere with this conference after all.

“It’s an honor to have you welcome me personally, Lord Vandarion.”

Elexis bowed from the doorway. Though he kept a smile on his face, he was still rather nervous. This conference with Vandarion would affect his future for better or worse, so he’d have to stay on his toes the entire time.

“I wanted to personally thank you for the favor you did us in informing us of the true capabilities of Elfaria’s faction.”

“Your thanks is reward enough for me.”

Elexis laughed like a young hotshot of a businessman, all the while carefully observing Vandarion.

This man’s even scarier than I imagined...

Before their meeting today, Elexis held Vandarion in rather high regard. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he feared him. And if Vandarion wasn’t stupid, he’d likely seen right through Elexis’s leak. He probably knew good and well that he’d more or less been strong-armed into an alliance with Elexis, but he was doing an extraordinary job of keeping his cool. That told Elexis he had a strong handle on his emotions and was capable of tabulating losses and gains in a near cold-hearted fashion.

While things are going smoothly so far, I can’t count on it staying that way... There’s no telling what’ll happen if I let my guard down.

Elexis was interested in an alliance with Vandarion to further his own goals. But after actually meeting Vandarion in person, he began to realize he might be the one getting used in this alliance if he didn’t play his cards right. With that thought in the back of his mind, Elexis steeled himself and put on his best poker face.

“Come and have a seat, Elexis-kun. If you stand all the way over there, we won’t be able to talk properly. Granado’s even gone out of his way to prepare tea for us.”

“Certainly... If you insist.”

Acquiescing, Elexis walked toward the seat Vandarion indicated. His feet sunk into the plush carpet with every step, but the lavishness of the salon was the last thing on Elexis’s mind right now.

This is where the real game begins...

Vandarion and Granado acting so friendly was purely superficial. In truth, Elexis didn’t even see it as pleasantry. He was keenly aware that he was basically walking into the open jaws of a wild beast primed and ready to kill. He’d have to tread lightly and be ready for anything from here on out.

While Elexis and Vandarion were in the midst of their negotiations, subordinates from both sides were having a logistics meeting. It was understood that no matter who “won” or “lost” in the negotiations going on between Elexis and Vandarion, they would be walking away from their conference today with some kind of an agreement for an alliance. In preparation for that, their subordinates were establishing contact networks, lines of communications, emergency protocols, and so forth.

But mixed in with the DKI employees on Elexis’s side were the girls of Darkness Rainbow, who were seeing to a special mission of their own. With magic on their side, they had a special advantage when it came to espionage. They could change their appearances on a whim and easily infiltrate places that would be inaccessible to anyone else. Between that and being able to remote eavesdrop, hypnotize people, and even directly read minds, they were easily able to shut down the information gathering operation Vandarion’s men were trying to run behind the scenes while simultaneously gathering information themselves.

“So, how were Vandarion and Granado?”

Maya, who had been leading Darkness Rainbow on their counterintelligence and reconnaissance mission, welcomed Elexis when he returned from his meeting. Though she’d just been on an operation that would have cost her her life if she’d been caught, you’d never know it based on the smile on her face. She looked like she’d just come back from a girls’ night out.

“Terrifying, honestly. If I’d shown even the slightest weakness, I’m sure they would’ve eaten me right up.”

“They must really be something to make you say that.”

Elexis, on the other hand, looked exhausted. The moment he saw Maya’s smiling face, the exhaustion and tension he’d been burying rose to the surface. He’d only been talking with Vandarion and Granado, but he felt like he’d been running the gauntlet. But now that he was alone with Maya in the waiting room that had been assigned to him, he felt like he could finally take a breath.

“I managed to strike a deal for mutual cooperation, but... I get chills imagining if all of you hadn’t been here. I really am a lucky man.”

Elexis and Vandarion’s talk had ended on a peaceful note. They agreed to work together on friendly terms as equal allies—as partners. This would undoubtedly boost his reputation as a shrewd businessman, but Elexis was actually quite wary of what working with Vandarion would really mean. The peaceful conference and mutually beneficial terms of their agreement were still just pleasantries. If Elexis didn’t keep his wits about him, he knew he would end up being taken advantage of. That paranoia made it especially reassuring to have Darkness Rainbow on his side. Thanks to their magic, for example, even right here in the middle of one of Vandarion’s bases, he had no reason to worry about being eavesdropped on.

“You’re really talking them up here, El.”

“That’s just my honest impression. When you meet them, I’m sure you’ll understand.”

“Where’d your backbone go? You were prepared to deal with them on your own before you met me, weren’t you?”

“Right now, I’m thanking the stars that never had to happen.”

Elexis hadn’t said anything to flatter or be polite; he was quite serious. He genuinely needed Maya and Darkness Rainbow in order to play on the same field with Vandarion. So though Maya hadn’t met Vandarion herself, she started to pick up on just how terrifying of a man he must really be based on Elexis’s reaction to him.

“I wasn’t quite sure before hearing you say all that, but now I don’t think there’s any doubt... So let me tell you something, El.”

“What’s up?”

Seeing the smile disappear from Maya’s face, Elexis raised an eyebrow and refocused his attention. If she was getting serious, he knew he needed to be too. Satisfied that he’d picked up on that, Maya continued.

“Vandarion’s planning on taking out Elfaria and her faction by wiping out the entire planet of Alaia.”

“What?!”

Elexis was absolutely taken aback. He knew that Vandarion and Granado were to be feared, but he didn’t think they’d go that far.

“We found plans for it on their computers and some of their subordinates were thinking about it. I thought it was only a possibility at first, but after hearing what you said about those men, I think it’s more likely a reality.”

Maya’s expression was stern. She hadn’t expected them to go that far either. But after hearing Elexis’s firsthand account of what they were like, Maya realized they wouldn’t hesitate to go through with it.

“What a stupid thing to do...”

“There’s no beauty to their methods. They’re inconsistent and off kilter.”

Elexis and Maya didn’t hesitate to use twisted means to further their own goals either, but there were lines even they didn’t cross. Elexis was trying to create a better society, so he believed in keeping civilian casualties to a minimum. Maya wanted the people of Folsaria to return to Forthorthe with dignity, so she had no interest in turning the empire into a barren wasteland.

“So in the end, they’re no different than Tayuma...”

“They’re a little different, I’d say. They’re beholden to no moral code, and that makes them all the more dangerous.”

Elexis and Maya were both interested in a home. They wanted to fix the nation, to build it up. Destroying it was out of the question. They simply couldn’t accept Vandarion’s way of thinking. But the seeds of evil are tenacious when they take root...