Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 41 - Chapter 3

The Cause of the Uproar

Sunday, September 25th

When it came to tourism, Forthorthe was more than prepared to welcome extraplanetary visitors. They had all kinds of procedures in place, including an advanced decontamination system that rarely kept anyone quarantined. Pets, however, were a different story. Snoozy was the first feline to fly from Earth to Forthorthe, and no one knew if the standard decontamination process was effective on cats. He therefore had to undergo a more rigorous process applied to alien life-forms and wasn’t released until the day after the group’s arrival.

Following the quarantine period and all necessary medical exams, Maki greeted Snoozy cheerfully when she picked him up. “Aren’t you glad that there was nothing to worry about?”

“Meow!” Snoozy responded, similarly in high spirits. Even if they’d only been separated for a day, he’d been lonely and anxious without his master. But there was something else on his mind too.

“You’ll have to wait a little longer for dinner. I’ll feed you once we get back to the others.”

“Meow.”

Maki, an indigo magician who could peer into the hearts of others without having to cast a spell, had correctly intuited that Snoozy was hungry. While he was happy to see her, he was also excited about the prospect of food.

“Can’t you be a little happier to see me?”

“Meow...”

As Maki talked to her cat, she exited the immigration building near the spaceport. Koutarou and the others were already at the palace, which was about twenty minutes away on foot. Maki easily could have called for transportation to shorten the trip, but because she wanted to see the sights, she’d chosen to walk.

As she set off, a mild-looking woman in a Forthorthian-style business suit called out to her. “Um, excuse me!”

“Yes?” Maki replied.

“I represent the press over there.”

“The press?” Maki looked in the direction the woman was pointing and saw a group of people watching on from afar. If the woman was telling the truth, they were all reporters.

“We were hoping you’d agree to a short interview, but please let us know if there’s a better time for you,” the woman continued.

Forthorthian media had long been debated and discussed. Given Forthorthe’s chivalric history, the nation wanted their press to be upstanding and honorable. It was considered standard practice to be respectful with interviewees. That was why the woman wasn’t hounding Maki and why none of the reporters were filming without her permission.

“Why would you want to interview me?” Maki asked. She didn’t particularly mind, but she wasn’t sure why the reporters wanted to talk to her specifically.

“You’re a member of His Excellency’s band, so all of Forthorthe would love to know more about you... as well as that kitten from Earth.”

Footage of the Satomi knights’ treasurer had been broadcast all across Forthorthe, and reporters had been keen to identify Maki. They were curious about both her and her animal companion.

“I can understand your interest in me, but what about Snoozy?” Maki asked.

“You may not be aware, but this cat is featured in videos of His Excellency from Earth every now and again. He’s developed quite a fan base.”

Maki was a Satomi knight, and Snoozy was the kitten the Blue Knight personally adored. Forthorthe was intensely interested in both of them.

In the end, Maki agreed to the interview, which lasted about fifteen minutes. Afterward, the reporters gave her a ride to the palace—another display of their courtesy—so the whole ordeal took no longer than it would have to walk there.

“...And then they brought me here. They apparently had business near the palace too,” Maki finished explaining to everyone.

“At the Fornorn stock exchange, most likely. DKI Medical and related stocks have been the top news story since yesterday,” Ruth responded as she offered Snoozy some chicken jerky. He recognized her as a provider of food, so he began chewing on the jerky without even sniffing it first. Ruth smiled as she watched over him.

“I knew Snoozy would be popular,” Theia said proudly as she wiggled a stick with a toy mouse attached to it. She’d long suspected Snoozy would be a hit.

“To be honest, I didn’t see it coming myself,” Maki replied with an almost apologetic smile. She’d always thought Theia was exaggerating.

“You underestimate Snoozy’s charm,” Theia informed her.

“Meow!”

As he was finishing up his jerky, Snoozy heard Theia say his name. When he looked up, he noticed the toy in her hand. Coming to the conclusion that Theia wanted to play, he pranced right over to the princess.

“This little guy is a natural star.”

Theia swished the stick back and forth as Snoozy approached. When she did, the mouse on the end moved as if it were alive and running around. Snoozy instantly pounced.

“Meow!”

“I think Satomi-kun has a lot to do with Snoozy’s popularity,” confessed Maki.

“Even without Koutarou as a chaperone, Snoozy was born to be a star. Just as I was born to be a ruler,” Theia argued.

“I’m just a chaperone, huh?” Koutarou muttered, laughing under his breath at Theia’s choice of words.

As Theia continued to wiggle the toy, Snoozy scampered up Koutarou’s broad back and finally managed to snatch the mouse.

“More like a stepping stone,” Theia replied.

“I guess that’s all I am to a cat,” Koutarou grumbled.

“Then I’m probably just the person in charge of food,” Maki threw in with a smile.

Cats, Snoozy included, cared not for human ceremony. Koutarou was merely a boy who played with him, and Maki was a provider of meals. All he cared about was their relationship to him.

“I bet he only sees Theia as a runt,” Koutarou laughed.

“...Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“Your self-control is itty-bitty too.”

“Let me show you how terrifying a runt can be!”

With that, Theia leaped at Koutarou like Snoozy going after the mouse toy. The two of them then began trading blows. It was how they always roughhoused, so no one batted an eye. Their brawl, however, brought the conversation about Snoozy and Maki to a natural halt.

“By the way, about DKI Medical...” Kiriha took the opportunity to bring up a new topic. “It looks like there’s another buying frenzy today.”

“So it’s still going strong, is it?” Harumi replied. She was enviously watching Theia tussle with Koutarou, but she was also deeply interested in news pertaining to the PAF, which was an important invention to her personally. “Isn’t that great, Clan-san?”

DKI Medical’s skyrocketing stock prices were a sign of the people’s confidence in the PAF—Clan’s handiwork. Though the bespectacled princess looked a little embarrassed, she smiled at Harumi.

“This couldn’t have happened without you either, Harumi. All of the operational data came from the model you used.”

“I’m honored I could help.”

In a sense, the PAF had been a joint project between them, which meant a lot to Clan. Now that she’d matured, being able to work with someone was a beautiful thing to her. And seeing Harumi smile at what they’d accomplished together was like receiving a medal.

“Hopes for the PAF are the biggest reason for DKI’s soaring stocks, but there’s another reason too,” Ruth said while working on her computer. She pulled up the data for DKI Medical and projected it for the room. “DKI Medical just announced its initial production numbers and—”

“W-Wait, they’re making a billion units?!” Shizuka shouted in astonishment when she saw the number. “That’s, like, a billion billion, right? Isn’t that a few too many zeroes?”

“I thought the same thing at first, but I’ve counted the zeroes over and over and there’s no mistake, Shizuka-sama. They are indeed making a billion units.”

There were nine zeroes in all—in other words, one billion. And that was just for the preliminary run. Reservations already exceeded that by a wide margin, but one billion units was all DKI was capable of producing at the moment. The sheer demand for PAFs was pushing DKI Medical’s stock prices higher and higher by the hour.

“Hey, Theia...”

“Yeah, it sounds like something happened.”

Koutarou and Theia stopped moving after they heard Shizuka yell. Still grappling with one another, they hurried over to see what all the commotion was about. They took one look at the data Ruth was displaying and...

“A billion?! Wh-What gives? Are there really that many people that need them?!” Koutarou gasped, just as astonished as Shizuka. He reflexively gripped Theia tighter in his surprise.

He’d expected to see ten or a hundred thousand at most. In simple terms, the PAF was a new type of prosthetic, so he had a hard time imagining that people who already used them would just go out and buy new ones. With Forthorthe’s technology, artificial limbs were already extremely advanced, after all. And even though Forthorthe’s population was far greater than Earth’s, he’d still never imagined the initial production run would be so massive.

“Indeed, it seems the market for the PAF is much bigger than we anticipated,” Kiriha, who’d finished reading through the information, answered Koutarou. She smiled nervously—the reported numbers had outstripped even her expectations.

“What do you mean?” Koutarou asked.

“The PAF was designed with the wounded and weak in mind, but it has many more applications. The elderly, the military, emergency personnel, miners, deep sea workers, and so on all have a use for it.”

“Ah...”

Just like Nefilforan had immediately decided to adopt the PAF for her unit, other industries had instantly seen its potential. Forthorthe had an aging population and labor shortages, so the PAF could swiftly be employed to lessen the burden. For example, say an elderly farmer needed to attach a trailer. With the help of a PAF, they could easily do it themselves. Portable power-assisted suits had applications for limitless other professions as well, such as assisting police when apprehending criminals and firefighters when entering dangerous areas.

“Not to mention Forthorthe is a superpower that covers half a galaxy. Their colossal population supports a colossal demand,” Kiriha continued.

The Forthorthian Empire hosted a population several times that of Earth. Of course Koutarou—an Earthling—had trouble getting his mind around such an astronomical number.

“What about our competition?!” he shouted. “We made the technology public, so why isn’t someone making a cheaper alternative?!”

That was an anticipated part of the plan. Koutarou had ensured the PAF wouldn’t be proprietary in order to allow other companies to manufacture similar products. He’d also taken steps to subsidize such products for the people who needed them most.

“Not as many companies have jumped on the opportunity as we thought. Mostly, they’re asking for licenses to make our version,” Kiriha reported.

Indeed, their plan to enable competition hadn’t taken off quite like they’d hoped. With the technology available to the public at no cost, Koutarou had envisioned rival companies popping up to produce and sell cheaper alternatives. But for some reason, it seemed everyone wanted the PAF.

“Why would they do that?!” Koutarou continued to clamor. He couldn’t understand why businesses would willingly cut into their own profits by paying the licensing fee for the original instead of just making their own versions.

“In short... everyone wants to be part of your cause,” Theia offered. “First you saved the nation, and now you’re trying to help it heal from the wounds of war.”

Other businesses were simply following in the Blue Knight’s footsteps. They were eschewing money in the name of goodwill. There was something more important at stake. The scars of the coup—both physical and economic—were still apparent on Forthorthe. The whole nation needed to be uplifted. Profit chasing could come after that.

“So I underestimated their patriotism...” Koutarou murmured.

“You’re making a killing,” Kiriha reminded him.

“I’m so jealous,” Yurika whined.

“What’s the point in making any more money?!” he shouted.

Tons of PAFs would be manufactured—and the sale of each one would mean greater gains for DKI, which Koutarou now owned. But since he already possessed unimaginable wealth in Forthorthe, he couldn’t see any merit in making more.

“Ohoho, how foolish!” Theia scolded him. “There’s more than just patriotism at work here! The people love you! Consider this a new chapter in your legend! Many who couldn’t before will now be able to take up arms and fight!”

Many men and women had fought alongside the Blue Knight during the civil war, but they amounted to a small percentage of the population. There were several potential barriers to joining the armed services—including combat skill and age—that could now be overcome or compensated for with the PAF. Meaning there would now be many, many more people ready and willing to fight under the Blue Knight. It would indeed be the start of a new chapter in his story.

“This is part of Her Majesty’s plan, I imagine,” Kiriha said, nodding at Theia’s declaration. She’d suspected that Elfaria might be nudging the public in that direction, even if she hadn’t interfered directly.

“I can imagine my mother doing that... er... Well, either way, I’m sure that she’s happy that the hype has far exceeded expectations.”

The excitement associated with the PAF was growing in tandem with the reconstruction of Blue Knight. But a response like this had surely surpassed even Elfaria’s hopes.

“I’m going to give her a piece of my mind later!” Koutarou shouted.

He understood what Forthorthe was going through. He knew Elfaria wanted to get the economy going again. Still, he felt this was overdoing it. And he decided he was going to tell her so the next time they met.

Koutarou went to see Elfaria before dinner that night. She’d sent a summons for him, but because he had business with her as well, he readily made his way to her office of his own accord.

“I will now take my leave, Your Excellency,” said the female soldier who’d escorted him there. She then bowed and made her exit.

Koutarou made sure to thank her. Even though he outranked the escort, he was raised to be courteous. Once she was outside of the room, she bowed once more before closing the door behind her. Koutarou stared at it for some time.

Elfaria greeted him with a question: “Did something about her catch your eye?” It was the first thing she said, and she sounded stern. She wasn’t pleased Koutarou was ignoring her.

At that, Koutarou turned to face the empress. “Not her specifically... Just that she’s an imperial guard.”

He was smiling, but Elfaria wasn’t sure why. Forgetting her displeasure, she tilted her head and asked, “What of it?”

“Well, I used to be a guard myself. Look,” said Koutarou, pointing to the left side of his breastplate.

Attached to his armor there was a wooden insignia that read “Super Important Bodyguard of Princesses Charl and Alaia.” It was a handmade decoration that Princess Charl had crafted for him personally. It accordingly looked childish, but Charl had presented it with the high honor of asking for his protection during the civil war. As such, Koutarou preferred to wear it for ceremonial occasions. He treasured it alongside Signaltin—a similar gift from Alaia.

“Heehee. You’re still an important guard even now, Layous-sama,” said Elfaria. Now that she understood what had captivated Koutarou, she flashed a bright smile. She had nothing to be upset about.

“Really? I thought I was the commander-in-chief now,” Koutarou laughed.

“That too,” Elfaria replied. “You’ve been both our captain of the imperial guard and commander-in-chief for two thousand years. That hasn’t changed.”

“Hmm, then I suppose I should act like this.” Koutarou wiped the grin off his face and stood bolt upright. He then gave Elfaria a clean salute. “Imperial Guard Captain Layous Fatra Veltlion reporting for duty.”

“Welcome, Lord Veltlion. We have much to discuss,” Elfaria said with a sharp expression.

However, the formal atmosphere didn’t last. They both burst out laughing within seconds.

“Wahahahaha! Yeah, this really doesn’t suit me.”

“It feels so silly to be so serious when it’s just the two of us, heehee.”

Koutarou and Elfaria were right back to their usual friendly banter. They were no normal knight and royal, after all. They had a special relationship, one different even from Koutarou’s close bond with Clan and Theia.

“I’m just a normal civilian at the end of the day. Being stupid suits me more than— Actually, that reminds me! We do need to talk, Elle!” Koutarou informed her, recalling why he’d come to her office in the first place.

“About what?” she asked.

“These stupid ‘festivities’ Forthorthe is in the middle of!”

Koutarou had a complaint or two to register about the hubbub surrounding the unveiling of the PAF and the reconstruction of Blue Knight. The commotion of the two combined had turned into a frenzy that swept the nation.

“Oh, you mean the Grand Blue Knight’s Return Event: Summertime Edition,” Elfaria commented.

“That’s what you’re calling it? Wait, that’s beside the point. Why make such a big deal out of it? I know we wanted to distract the public and kick-start the economy, but isn’t this kinda overkill?”

Koutarou believed the uproar was thanks to Elfaria’s meddling. He suspected she’d intentionally created hype by strategically controlling the release of information and scheduling the press conference just right. And he was correct.

“It’s true that this much might not have been necessary,” Elfaria admitted.

“So what gives?” Koutarou pressed her.

“The rub is that I have no way of gauging the scale of the battle ahead of us. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Elfaria was still smiling, but Koutarou felt a poignance in her expression. This was the face of an empress, and it was a countenance she wore when she or the royal families were faced with great crises.

“You mean settling the score with Ralgwin and the remnants of Vandarion’s faction?” Koutarou asked.

“I do. Our greatest concern is that we don’t have a handle on their numbers. Moreover, any and all preparations we make need to be kept strictly confidential.”

Upon Vandarion’s defeat, most of his forces had surrendered. The rightful Forthorthian government under Elfaria’s restored rule had then routed the majority of their holdouts. But some still remained—and Elfaria had no way of knowing how many. That was the problem.

“Things do get tricky when some of them get away...” Koutarou muttered.

He knew that painful truth all too well after tangling with Ralgwin’s forces several times now. They were a guerrilla force rather than a proper army, so they could regroup quickly if even a few of them escaped. To put a stop to them once and for all, Forthorthe would need to take care of them and their leader in one fell swoop. And to accomplish that, Forthorthe would need to keep its plan of attack a closely guarded secret.

“You’ll need to round them up,” Elfaria explained accordingly.

“And all this commotion is to that end?” Koutarou asked.

“Indeed. We’ll use the sudden boom in transportation and logistics to move the Imperial Army covertly. Ralgwin will be none the wiser. You should be able to move freely as well, Layous-sama. Even if you travel, no one would dream it’s for war.”

Against an enemy of unknown size, Elfaria believed that bigger was better. That was why she’d drummed up so much anticipation and business surrounding the Blue Knight’s return. The commotion made it easy for her to deploy the Imperial Army for a decisive strike.

“So that’s what you were thinking. I was sure that you...” Koutarou shut his mouth midsentence.

“That I what?” Elfaria inquired, giving him a pout and sidelong glance. She looked almost like Theia.

Relenting, Koutarou confessed, “I was sure that you just wanted to enjoy the revelry.”

When she heard Koutarou say that, Elfaria’s pout transformed into a smile. That composure was what set her apart from her daughter. “Heehee, well, I won’t say that wasn’t part of it.”

“Give me a break, Elle...”

“This is your fault, Layous-sama,” Elfaria said, pouting once more.

“Me? How?” he protested.

“You’ve shown me what a true hero is like. In spite of all you’ve accomplished and earned here, you left without a second thought for what that would do to Forthorthe. We didn’t even have a chance to thank you.”

“I didn’t stay because I knew my presence would affect Forthorthe.”

“We want to be affected by you, Layous-sama. Even if it’s for the worse. But your return has been nothing but a boon, so of course the people are excited.”

The people of Forthorthe wanted to thank and celebrate their savior. They wanted to work toward a better future together. But the Blue Knight had denied them that opportunity... Or so everyone had thought until now. The Blue Knight had returned, and now he was trying to save Forthorthe economically. Everyone wanted to be a part of his business.

“Even without my involvement, the result would have been the same,” Elfaria insisted.

It was true she’d cast the first sparks. For example, she hadn’t denied suspicions that the Blue Knight was returning to marry a princess. And that fire had caught, growing larger and larger. In fact, it had become a greater blaze than even she had anticipated. An initial production run of a billion units for the PAF was unbelievable. Nevertheless, she was sure it would have happened eventually—with or without her help.

“I’m not so sure,” Koutarou muttered, unconvinced. He didn’t think he was worth that much.

“That’s not all there is to it, Layous-sama... You refuse to use the salary that Empress Alaia left you, so they’re hoping that funneling money to you this way will help get you to rebuild the country. That’s what they’re after.”

Koutarou couldn’t ignore DKI’s profits the same way he could his legacy wealth. If he refused to do anything with such a staggering sum, Forthorthe’s entire economy would stagnate. That left him no choice but to use the money, and the citizens were already dreaming of new projects like the PAF. As Elfaria said, they had high hopes for him.

“I don’t know anything about business, though,” Koutarou sighed.

He’d just so happened to have the PAF ready to unveil this time—he’d never even considered potential future projects. Still, he couldn’t let DKI’s profit sit around and collect dust when the goal at hand was to rejuvenate the economy. It was unthinkable. Koutarou was stumped.

“That’s quite a weight on your shoulders,” said Elfaria.

“Don’t act like it has nothing to do with you,” Koutarou snapped.

“You can’t always rely on me,” Elfaria replied with a hint of bitterness.

As the empress of a galactic empire, she knew if she and Koutarou acted in concert that their influences would eventually merge, becoming a force capable of turning the entire universe upside down. That was why Koutarou officially kept his distance from her. She understood that... but deep down, she didn’t want to. She longed for the days of twenty years ago, when they were merely a boy and a girl rather than a hero and empress.

“This is different, Elle. Lend me a hand,” Koutarou implored her.

He understood the complexities of the situation, but he also understood this warranted breaking his own personal rules. There was too much at stake. He was sure Kiriha and Clan would be able to come up with a plan eventually, but time was of the essence right now. They needed this boom to set the stage for the coming battle and reinvigorate the economy.

“Oh my...” Elfaria went wide-eyed at Koutarou’s entreaty, but only for a moment. “Of course. I’ll always be on your side, Layous-sama.”

Saying that, Elfaria nodded with a bright smile. It reminded Koutarou of how she’d looked twenty years ago. She’d smiled just the same back then.

“The hitch is that I’m always worried about what your help is going to cost me,” Koutarou muttered, looking away. If he stared at Elfaria any longer, he knew he’d be sucked in.

“You should be,” she said, sounding quite pleased. She seemed to understand why Koutarou had averted his eyes.

“Don’t admit it,” he scolded her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll earn my keep,” she replied.

“Oh yeah? How?”

“Hmm, let’s see... What if I found Ralgwin’s stronghold?”

“Wh-Whaaat?!” Koutarou’s eyes shot wide open as he whipped back around to look at Elfaria.

Her enchanting smile had already been replaced with a mischievous grin. “That’s actually why I summoned you,” she explained.

“You should’ve said so from the start!”

“We only know its location. We still need more information before taking action, so even though I wanted to share this with you today, we’re in no hurry to act,” Elfaria continued calmly.

Following that, there was a sudden knock at the door.

“You may enter,” Elfaria answered.

“Pardon me.” The door opened and Ceilēshu stepped inside. She gracefully bowed to Elfaria and Koutarou. “It has been some time, Layous-sama.”

“It certainly has, Princess Ceilēshu.” Koutarou returned the bow, then looked back and forth between the empress and princess.

Puzzled by this, Elfaria cocked her head. “Is something the matter, Layous-sama?”

“I was just thinking that you and Theia could learn a lot from Princess Ceilēshu. She has this refined aura and she’s always so polite... Nothing like you two.”

“Says the man who always laughs when I act serious!” Elfaria shouted. “You’re just teasing me, aren’t you?!”

“Yeah.”

Ceilēshu giggled at their back-and-forth. She could tell they had a special relationship.

And yet, Layous-sama probably doesn’t understand just what’s making the empress behave in such an un-empresslike fashion...

If Elfaria so desired, she could comport herself with all the dignity required of an empress. She was even more graceful than Ceilēshu. She simply chose not to be. Either she felt the situation didn’t require it—or there was a deeper reason behind it. Koutarou believed it to be the former, but in truth, it was the latter.

“Look, even Princess Ceilēshu is laughing,” Koutarou continued.

“We can finish this later, Layous-sama—at our leisure,” Elfaria insisted.

“Yeah, no thanks,” Koutarou laughed.

Despite the banter, Koutarou, Elfaria, and Ceilēshu all understood the gravity of their meeting. They soon stopped smiling and put on their game faces.

“Three days ago, a large stronghold believed to belong to Ralgwin’s forces was discovered in Ikoran, the fourth planet in the Dalgamaran system,” explained Ceilēshu as she used her computer to bring up a star chart.

On display was a solar system three days’ warp away from Forthorthe. Seven planets orbited its central star. The fourth was habitable, and that was where the supposed base had been discovered.

“They’re just three warps away? That’s surprisingly close,” Koutarou remarked.

It took a royal-class battleship ten warps across as many days to get from Forthorthe to Earth. Compared to that, three days to Dalgamaran wasn’t far at all. To Koutarou, that was no different than a long road trip without using the expressway.

“Three warps?” Elfaria crossed her arms and groaned. “What a clever location.”

“What do you mean?” Koutarou asked.

“The most convenient warp routes see the most traffic, of course, and Ralgwin set up one warp beyond those just for good measure. It made them much harder to find, but it’s still easy for them to detect approaching enemies.”

Given the margin of error in warp travel, large sections of open space were frequently used as way stations of a sort. And since they were well traveled, a base near one would have been all too easy to find. Large stops of that nature could be avoided with shorter, more precise warps—but too many would make it more convenient simply to set up in a remote region of space. A planet three days’ warp away was thus the perfect compromise. It was indeed a clever location.

“It took us quite a while, and it was only thanks to the assistance of the court magicians,” Ceilēshu continued to explain.

She agreed with Elfaria’s assessment. Forthorthe had been searching for Ralgwin ever since Koutarou first reported his appearance on Earth, and they’d only just uncovered his stronghold. The court magicians—formerly Darkness Rainbow—had discovered it between their magic and intelligence they’d gathered from crushing smaller bases.

“If they found it... Your Highness, does that mean there’s magic or spiritual energy involved?” Koutarou asked hesitantly.

“That’s correct. It appears the facility is manufacturing spiritual energy technology. It’s a large refinery,” Ceilēshu answered.

“Ikoran was originally a mining planet, I believe,” Elfaria added. “Considering the timing of all this, I doubt Ralgwin has built a new mine. He probably just found one capable of producing the ores he needed.”

The stronghold in question was massive. It was hard to believe Ralgwin had built it since the coup. The construction itself wouldn’t have been an issue given his resources, but the appearance of a new mine would have undoubtedly gotten unwanted attention. It was safe to assume Ralgwin had taken over an existing one instead.

“The question remains what kind of troops they have in there,” Koutarou muttered.

“That’s still under investigation. We can’t say for sure... but based on the large cannons surrounding the facility, we believe their forces to be considerable,” Ceilēshu reported.

Unless Ralgwin was a fool, he wouldn’t put up heavy artillery to protect an unmanned base. There was presumably a force inside commensurate with its defenses.

“The reverse could also be said,” Elfaria threw in. “Losing this stronghold would be both a huge practical and military setback for Ralgwin.”

“So he has a large force there to defend the base and vice versa,” Koutarou summarized.

A large-scale production facility like this was no doubt a key part of Ralgwin’s plans for the future. He’d likely invested manpower enough to defend it appropriately. Still, the fact remained that Ralgwin’s biggest constraint was a limited supply of troops. If he lost his men and his mine in one fell swoop, it would be a fatal blow indeed.

“If we don’t want them to escape, we’ll need to take them by surprise,” said Koutarou.

Taking Ralgwin and his rebels down for good would require defeating or capturing them all. They couldn’t let remnants wriggle away and regroup again. Taking the stronghold should also yield enough information to weed out any other remaining outposts.

“A swift, stealthy strike would result in the fewest casualties. The majority of the workers present most likely have no idea what’s transpiring,” said Ceilēshu.

Ralgwin surely had critical and classified parts of the facility staffed by his own men, but the rest would be run by local miners and factory workers. Koutarou and company wanted to avoid any collateral damage among them. And aiming straight for the heart of the enemy was the most effective way to ensure that.

“If this is a stealth operation, we need a small, elite team... so Princess Nefilforan and I will do it,” Koutarou volunteered.

“If possible, I would love to keep you out of this, Layous-sama,” Elfaria said apologetically. She wanted to leave the job to the Imperial Army, who’d crushed Ralgwin’s smaller bases previously. But there was a reason that wouldn’t work this time.

“This is their stronghold,” Koutarou reminded her. “The soldiers there will have magic and spiritual energy weaponry. If I don’t go, there are going to be mass casualties.”

If a normal unit crossed paths with spiritual energy weapons or Grevanas’s magic unprepared, it would be a deadly encounter indeed. That was why Koutarou and the rest of the Corona House crew—who were equipped to deal with them—had to step up to the plate. Koutarou knew they were the team for the job. He’d known that all along and didn’t hold it against Elfaria.

“Besides, if we go, then we might be able to learn more,” Koutarou encouraged her. That was another reason he thought they were the right team for the job. Sanae, Yurika, or Clan might be able to uncover new intel.

“We’re in your hands, Layous-sama...”

Though Elfaria had no desire to see Koutarou put in harm’s way, she understood it was unavoidable. She thus fought back the urge to beg him not to go.