Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 42 - Chapter 1

In the Moment

Tuesday, October 11th

Koutarou had brought very little with him to Forthorthe. Everything he had fit inside his rather large sports bag, with the exception of his bat. And to go with that bat, he’d naturally packed a ball and glove too. Kenji had done the same (although he had much more luggage with him to begin with), so they could play catch whenever they had time.

“Here it comes,” called Koutarou.

“Bring it,” replied Kenji.

The ball hit Kenji’s glove with a sharp, firm sound. Koutarou’s throw had appeared to be a gentle one, but it packed quite a punch. Koutarou was now in his final year of high school and more muscular than ever before, so when it came to playing ball, he could throw even faster and harder than when he’d been on the team in middle school.

“Nice throw,” Kenji said, tossing the ball back.

It landed squarely in Koutarou’s glove. While Kenji’s strength was nothing like Koutarou’s, his dexterity was exceptional. The ball had gone precisely where he’d intended it. But upon catching it, Koutarou furrowed his brow.

“Mackenzie, you’ve gotten rusty, haven’t you?”

Koutarou felt Kenji’s throw was weak. Kenji had excellent control of the ball, but his speed and impact were nothing like they’d once been. Confronted with this, Kenji put a hand on his wrist and grimaced.

“Hey, I’m a drama club member now. I’m not a musclehead like you, man.”

From Kenji’s point of view, Koutarou was the outlier for staying so active and athletic after quitting baseball. Now that Kenji was in the drama club, all he felt compelled to do was maintain his figure.

“That’s not a nice thing to say. I’ll show you I’m more than just muscle, Kenji.”

“By all means!”

“Here it comes!”

Koutarou’s next ball arced slightly to the left before descending. It was a tricky throw, but with Kenji’s experience, he was able to catch it. He’d played catcher for their middle school baseball team, and he knew every pitch in Koutarou’s repertoire.

As this was unfolding, a camera on the sidelines recorded Kenji and Koutarou’s game. Standing behind it were Matsudaira Kotori and Nalfa Laren, who were filming for their next video.

“This is part of a training regimen for a sport on Earth called baseball. Kou-niisan and my brother played it together in middle school,” Kotori explained.

“And here are the rules...” Nalfa continued.

This particular video would be part of the “Matsudaira Kotori’s Forthorthe Diary” series, which borrowed the concept of the travelogue Nalfa had filmed on Earth to showcase Kotori’s experiences in Forthorthe. The girls’ roles were accordingly reversed this time, with Kotori on camera and Nalfa doing most of the filming. Beyond that, however, the style, editing, and broadcasting were all largely the same.

“Nalfa-chan... are you sure this is okay?” Kotori asked hesitantly between takes.

“It’s fine!” Nalfa assured her. “Have a little more confidence, Kotori.”

“But is anyone really going to be interested in a normal Japanese girl like me...?”

Kotori was still uneasy about the project. The stiff expression on her face betrayed her doubts. She couldn’t imagine any great demand for videos starring her. In her mind she was just an unremarkable, average high school girl.

“Forthorthians want to know what normal is like. We’re curious about Earthlings.”

“I mean, you already know, don’t you, Nal-chan?”

“Yes, but please teach everyone else too.”

“Really...?”

“Besides, you’re the only one who could give us that kind of exposition on Koutarou-sama.”

“I guess that makes more sense.”

Kotori flashed a smile. She had no confidence in her own worth, but she was more than assured of Koutarou’s. In truth, Kotori loved him. She was far more at ease talking about him than herself. And as soon as Nalfa saw the smile return to Kotori’s lips, she turned the camera on her friend again.

“So let’s get right into it—tell us more about Layous-sama’s baseball career,” Nalfa encouraged her. During filming, Nalfa always referred to Koutarou as “Layous-sama” to avoid any confusion.

“Kou-niisan was first introduced to baseball before elementary school. He would avidly watch it on TV.” Despite Kotori’s shyness, she was now talking with a bright grin on her face. “He didn’t actually start playing until he was in school. He then joined a local team with my brother. Back then, body size was a big deal, so Kou-niisan didn’t become a regular until toward the end of elementary school... but after that, he was always part of their games. He and my brother were often the battery.”

While Koutarou was a hero to the people of Forthorthe, he was a close childhood friend to Kotori. As long as people wanted to hear about her experiences with him, she was happy to talk.

“What is a ‘battery’?” Nalfa asked.

“Ah, you know how we talked about pitchers and catchers in the rules earlier? Those two positions together are called a battery. The catcher faces the opposing players, so they have something of a tactical role, which allows the pitcher to focus on throwing the ball.”

“I see. So your brother would determine how Layous-sama should attack?”

“Yes, I think that’s the idea.”

“Then Mackenzie-sama was like Layous-sama’s lead strategist. Thank you for the valuable information.”

“Ahaha, it was nothing that grand.”

“Oh? It looks like they’re up to something now...”

“Based on those faces, they’re up to no good.”

Filming was going well so far. Nalfa’s intuition told her that the series would be great from the very first video. Introducing the culture of Earth while also covering the Blue Knight’s past was an inimitable combo feature. Nalfa was confident that Kotori’s Forthorthe Diary would be a success.

Kenji noticed something after tossing a few balls with Koutarou. Not feeling the need to be delicate, he decided to ask Koutarou about it directly.

“Kou, you look like you’re having a little trouble throwing. What’s wrong?”

Kenji had noticed a change in Koutarou’s pitching stance. Right now, Koutarou had taken a curiously proper form, contrary to the dynamic one he’d used before. It would have made sense if Koutarou were focusing on control and precision, but Kenji didn’t see the need for that right now. He knew there had to be something else behind it.

“I’m surprised you could tell,” Koutarou replied.

“Of course I could tell. How many of your pitches do you think I’ve caught in my life?”

“Wahahaha, yeah, I guess you’re right. I think it looks like I’m struggling because I’m suppressing my spiritual energy.”

“Your spiritual energy? Are you trying to say you could put that into the ball somehow?”

“Yeah, something like that. I’m trying not to extend my spiritual energy from my body, but keeping it in check is tricky.”

“Literally being able to put your soul into your throw is a helluva technique...”

Koutarou’s spiritual energy wasn’t constrained by his physical body, but rather his conception of his physical form, which was more malleable and included anything he saw as an extension of his body. If he threw a serious pitch, he’d naturally pour spiritual energy into it, which would make fastballs fly faster than normal and curveballs curve even more. This was second nature, so practically anything Koutarou did had the power of spiritual energy behind it. Actively trying to turn that off meant willfully limiting his idea of his body and where his spiritual energy could go, which made throwing like he usually did difficult. There was often talk of “spirit” in sports, but Koutarou took that to a whole new level.

“Hmm... I’m curious about something, Kou.”

“What is it?”

“You can use a bunch of powers other than spiritual energy, right?”

“Yeah, like magic and the armor I’m still borrowing from Theia.”

“So why not try using all of those to pitch? I think I’d be able to tell how strong you’ve truly become if it’s through baseball.”

Kenji had no knowledge of battle. He’d been in a few fights here and there, but he’d never picked up martial arts or the like. He had no real way of appreciating the change that had come over Koutarou, so he was hoping that could be made clear to him through a familiar game like baseball. He and Koutarou had been playing together for most of their lives, so if something was different now, he was sure he’d be able to see it for himself.

“That sounds interesting... All right, let’s give it a try,” Koutarou replied eagerly. This would be a good chance to see for himself how he’d changed since the spring of his first year in high school.

That was when Shizuka appeared.

“What are you two talking about?” she asked. She’d been exercising nearby and only overheard the boys saying they’d give something a try, but she could see the mischief written on their faces.

“Hi, Kasagi-san,” said Kenji. “I want to see how much Kou’s powered up, so he’s going to put everything he has into a pitch.”

“Huh, that does sound interesting.”

“I am curious about this as well. Allow us to observe.”

Alunaya was perched on Shizuka’s shoulder in stuffed animal form. After everyone had explained the circumstances to Kenji, Alunaya became comfortable appearing around him from time to time. Thanks to that, Kenji had gotten used to his unusual presence.

“I want to see how much Kou-niisan has grown too.”

“This is a huge scoop, Kotori!”

Sensing something was up, the two-girl film crew had inched closer as well. They were keenly interested in the development at hand.

Beyond pure physical strength, Koutarou had spiritual energy, magic, and technology at his disposal. He intended to use them all to throw a pitch, but there was an issue with his armor in particular. It simply couldn’t keep up.

“Well, are you up to the job?” Koutarou asked.

“Your Excellency, please throw another three pitches to assist with calibration,” the AI responded.

“You got it. Here it comes, Landlord-san!”

“Ready and waiting, Satomi-kun!”

Koutarou’s body was already enhanced with spiritual energy and magic, granting him superhuman reflexes and speed. Although his armor was aware of how he usually moved, Koutarou had never worn it while playing baseball. The AI had blared one alert message at him after another, so Koutarou was now in the process of making adjustments to fix the various problems.

“Hey, that constrained feeling I was getting earlier is gone now!” he remarked.

“So are you ready?” Shizuka asked.

“Synchronization at 99.9 percent. There are still variables concerning control. Please be especially careful with reckless curveballs, Your Excellency.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just going to throw it straight, so I’m counting on you.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

Fortunately, the necessary adjustments were easy enough to make by Koutarou tossing a few practice pitches to Shizuka. Kenji intentionally wasn’t participating—or even watching. He wanted Koutarou’s full-force pitch to be a surprise, so Kotori and Nalfa were using the downtime to interview him. Lots of Forthorthians, Nalfa included, were dying to know more about Koutarou’s childhood friend.

“...But Nii-san was so stubborn about going.”

“I got the game-winning hit, didn’t I?!”

“And I would have praised you too—if you hadn’t collapsed the next day. You really worried Kou-niisan. I swear, you can be so stupid...”

“Ahahaha, it sounds like you really love baseball too, Mackenzie-sama!” Nalfa chimed in from behind the camera.

“It’s all we had as kids.”

“Okay, Mackenzie! We’re ready now!” Koutarou called.

“Ah, finally...”

Kenji tossed his left fist smack into the middle of the mitt on his right hand with a fearless smile as he approached Koutarou. Kenji had traded in his glove for a catcher’s mitt, presuming that a standard glove wouldn’t be enough to catch a serious pitch from Koutarou. It would also make it easier for him to compare it to Koutarou’s past pitches.

“You’re really getting into this if you need to calibrate your armor just to toss a ball, huh?” Kenji asked.

“I’ve never thrown a ball in armor, so there was no data,” Koutarou explained.

“I guess that makes sense. So, how much stronger are you now?”

“As strong as I am when I fight normally. That’s what you want to test, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. There’s no point in pulling out all the stops for something you can’t replicate or even maintain for a decent period of time.” Kenji couldn’t see any merit in bringing out a nuke to demonstrate firepower. He wanted to see what Koutarou’s new normal was—just adjusted for baseball. “Okay, let’s do this, Kou.”

“Don’t keel over in surprise, Mackenzie.”

“Talking a mighty big game there, pal! I’m looking forward to this.”

Kenji shoved the ball into Koutarou’s hand. Grinning, both boys turned away from each other and walked toward their positions. They seemed just like two kids about to get themselves into trouble.

“Do your worst, Kou.”

When Kenji reached his mark, he crouched down, lightly smacking his mitt. And just like that, the playful mood was gone. He fixed a sharp stare on Koutarou.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that look on your mug, Mackenzie.”

“Right back at you, man.”

Koutarou looked the same—he was exceptionally serious, albeit in a different way than the seriousness that overtook him in battle. It was also different from when he played sports with his friends. This was the face of a player determined to represent his team.

Shizuka stood there speechless, captivated by Koutarou. She’d never seen him this way, and the sight of it had her heart pounding. She looked on, forgetting herself.

“Here it comes!” Koutarou called, winding up his throw.

He was putting everything he had into this pitch and didn’t need to worry about opposing players stealing bases, so Koutarou was willing to sacrifice form for speed. He stepped forward with his left foot, shifting his center of gravity forward, and swung his right arm with the weight of his entire body behind it. As the ball in his hand reached its maximum potential energy, he released it. Kinetic energy from Koutarou’s lower half—stabilized by the weight of the armor—traveled up to his moving right arm, which gave the ball formidable momentum and a fearsome spin.

Are you kidding me?!

Kenji couldn’t see Koutarou’s right hand when he threw the pitch. It was moving far too fast for normal human eyes to detect. Because of that, Kenji couldn’t tell when Koutarou released the ball. Under ordinary circumstances, it would have been uncatchable.

What the hell?! What kind of a crazy pitch is that, man?!

However, Kenji knew Koutarou’s pitching better than anyone. He predicted the ball’s path and positioned his mitt accordingly. Based on the form Koutarou was using, Kenji knew Koutarou’s straight pitches tended to land slightly low and on the inside. He had to shut out all thoughts aside from that. This wasn’t the kind of ball he could catch by overthinking it.

“Whoaaaaa!”

The ball met Kenji’s mitt with an audible impact. It had flown just where he’d thought it would... but the force of the throw was too much for him. It sent Kenji flying backward.

“Owowowow...”

Kenji ended up flat on his back, staring up at the blue Forthorthian sky. He’d managed to catch the ball, although it had knocked the wind out of him and his wrist was stinging. Still, now he understood.

I see... So this is the kind of world Kou’s been living in.

That one pitch was all Kenji needed to understand how grueling a path Koutarou had set down two thousand years ago. Kenji had seen Koutarou fight before, but this was his first taste of Koutarou’s strength. Only now did he truly understand it.

“Nice catch, Mackenzie.”

Koutarou’s smiling face entered Kenji’s vista of the blue sky. And when Kenji saw that the smile on his face hadn’t changed in the past two thousand years, he came to understand something else important too.

Those girls really are protecting Kou’s heart. They’re the reason he’s been able to stay himself despite the path he’s on... No wonder he can’t pick just one of them. Jeez, and you have the gall to rib me about my trouble with women...

Koutarou wasn’t a fighter by nature, and he’d managed to become a hero without losing himself. Kenji could easily imagine now everything the girls had done for Koutarou while he wasn’t looking. A bitter smile crossed his lips.

“I didn’t so much catch it as just put my mitt in the way...”

“You’ve got some real skill, man. You really should’ve continued with baseball,” said Koutarou as he extended his right hand to his friend. He was shocked and thrilled that Kenji had managed to catch his full-power pitch.

“My childhood friend went and became a hero, so there was no way that was going to happen,” replied Kenji, taking hold of Koutarou’s hand and getting back on his feet.

“Then why don’t you become a hero too? I’m sure you can pull it off faster than I did.”

“Don’t make it sound so easy... Do you not realize what you’ve pulled off?”

The boys exchanged smiles—the special kind shared between childhood friends. This was just another episode between them, but it helped Kenji understand what Koutarou had been through on a deeper level. Though at the same time, Kenji felt that Koutarou hadn’t truly changed, and that was a relief.

With the pitch behind them, Koutarou and Kenji were now shooting the breeze. The serious atmosphere from before was gone, having given way to chipper chatter about baseball.

“Still, Kou, I can’t believe you’re throwing balls like something out of a manga...”

“Yeah, well, you went flying like something out of a manga too.”

“That was your fault!”

“My bad, hahaha!”

Meanwhile, Kotori and Nalfa were bursting with excitement. They were totally caught up in the moment after witnessing Koutarou’s incredible pitch and Kenji’s incredible catch.

“Did you get that?! Nal-chan, tell me you caught that!”

“I did! We just filmed something amazing!”

Kotori enthusiastically shook Nalfa by the shoulders as she was watching the replay of the footage with sparkling eyes. The two demure girls were acting nothing like their usual selves.

“Show me too, Nal-chan! I couldn’t see Kou-niisan’s pitch!”

“Me neither! But don’t worry! I caught it on camera!”

“Great job!”

Right now, the girls were acting more like young children with a new toy. Their faces lit up as they rewatched their footage.

In stark contrast, Shizuka looked somewhat displeased as she watched Koutarou and Kenji. She felt like she was being left out.

“Hmm...”

“Shizuka, I think it’d be difficult to get between those two,” Alunaya whispered in a cheery tone from where he was seated on Shizuka’s shoulder. He understood the manly bond between Koutarou and Kenji, as he’d felt a similar brotherhood with his fellow dragons.

“I-It’s not like I’m trying to get between them. I just...”

“Just what?”

“It’s a shame that Satomi-kun doesn’t act like that around us too.”

Shizuka couldn’t recall a time Koutarou had treated any of the girls the same chummy way he did Kenji. He only acted that way around his childhood friend. It made Shizuka feel a little lonely.

“Don’t worry, Shizuka-san!” Kotori chimed in. She was normally more reserved, but she was still swept up in the moment.

“Huh?”

“He may seem different right now, but this is basically how Kou-niisan is with all of you,” Kotori explained. She didn’t share Shizuka’s concerns; she knew there was no need to worry.

“What do you mean, Kotori-chan?” Shizuka asked, tilting her head in puzzlement.

“Heehee, Kou-niisan’s a guy, so he just acts differently around girls, you know?”

In a reversal of the norm, Kotori was the one consoling Shizuka. Shizuka was stalwart by nature, but she was just a normal teenage girl at heart when it came to Koutarou. Meanwhile, though Kotori was ordinarily shy, she was an excellent source of advice about Koutarou.

“Yeah... You’re right,” Shizuka admitted.

“So even though he looks different right now, he’s just unguarded around Nii-san because he trusts him,” Kotori explained further.

“That’s not how I saw it...”

Kotori was saying Koutarou was the same around Kenji and the girls, even if it came off differently. But Shizuka wasn’t convinced. She continued to watch Koutarou with a mystified look.

“Sure, Kou-niisan only makes that face when he’s with my brother, so I can understand why you might feel a little jealous. But when Kou-niisan is with you or the other girls, he makes faces he wouldn’t around my brother too. He only lets his guard down like that around you.”

As Kenji’s little sister and Koutarou’s fellow childhood friend, Kotori knew the way Koutarou acted around the Matsudaira siblings was special. She’d once been concerned about it herself. In fact, she was concerned about it all the way up until Koutarou entered middle school and she got to see him interact with girls more, at which point she finally came to realize that was simply how he was. So she understood perfectly well how hard it would be for Shizuka to get her head around it herself.

“R-Really?” Shizuka was beginning to take to the idea, if hesitantly. It gave her hope, which brightened her expression a little.

Seeing that, Kotori nodded. “Really. Truth be told, Nal-chan isn’t sure how to get between them either. So you’re in the same boat, Shizuka-san.”

“K-Kotori!” Nalfa exclaimed, bewildered by suddenly getting caught in the cross fire. Kotori was right, of course, but Nalfa didn’t exactly want to be outed like that. She was beyond flustered.

“I see, I see... Okay.” Shizuka nodded repeatedly in relief and slapped her cheeks a few times. She was then back to her usual self.

“Shizuka-san?” Kotori wondered what she was up to.

“I’m going in there. If you’re right, I’d sure feel silly just watching from the sidelines.”

If Koutarou really felt the same way about Shizuka and the other girls, there was no need for her to be so timid. It would be much better to enjoy the moment with Koutarou.

“Oho! So you plan to steal the Blue Knight from Mackenzie? That’s the spirit!” Alunaya, still perched atop Shizuka’s shoulder, nodded with an approving look.

His comment put a sour look on Shizuka’s face and had her puffing out her cheeks. “You’re wrong! You don’t know anything, Uncle!”

“On the path to rulership, you must conquer everything.”

“That doesn’t apply to anyone but you! I’m no emperor—just a normal girl!”

“Truly? Well, sorry for being a natural-born leader.”

“Jeez...”

Shizuka walked over to Koutarou and Kenji while bickering with Alunaya.

Goodness. She should know better since the legendary Fire Dragon Emperor treats her like she’s special too... Oh, Shizuka-san.

Kotori watched Shizuka go with a bittersweet smile. She saw Shizuka as a heroine in her own right, but when it came to romance, she was just a normal girl. The disparity was equally curious and charming.

“Heya, Satomi-kun, Mackenzie-kun! Can I try too?” Shizuka called out as she approached the boys.

“Indeed, this looks amusing. Let us join in as well.”

“You catch her pitch, Kou. I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”

“All right. I’ll maximize my defenses and catch whatever you’ve got, Landlord-san.”

After solving Shizuka’s problem for now, Kotori focused on solving another. Namely Nalfa, who was also staring at Shizuka and the boys.

“Nal-chan, that’s the kind of confidence you need!”

“...I-I’ll try.”

“You’re not going to try! You’re going to do it! Now!”

“K-Kotori, don’t push me! I’m still not prepared!”

“Oooh, Kou-niisan! Nal-chan wants to try batting too!”

Kotori knew Koutarou well, so she knew that there was no point in Nalfa holding back. She may have felt differently about pushing her friend forward not long ago, but now Kotori had complete faith that Koutarou would catch Nalfa if she dove right in. That was why, contrary to the panicked Nalfa, Kotori was beaming.

Shizuka’s dynamic first pitch shot straight into Koutarou’s mitt. She’d assumed her half-dragon form that she used in battle, so even with the power of his armor, spiritual energy, and magic, Koutarou still slid back a full meter behind the force of the ball.

“Ouch!”

“Are you okay, Satomi-kun?!”

“I-I’m fine, but that smarts!”

The impact and ensuing pain made Koutarou shake his left hand and run around in a circle. Shizuka dashed over and was relieved to find that he was truly okay.

“The Blue Knight sure looks like he’s having fun...” Crimson muttered, collapsed over a desk as she watched the footage of Koutarou and the others. She was checking out Nalfa’s video to kill time. It was a few days old by now, but it had only just hit the reaches of deep space yesterday. Even with Forthorthe’s latest technology, the transmission of information across the universe wasn’t instant.

“I’m not doing it, Crimson,” said Green.

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“I’m still not doing it.”

“Come on. Cut me a little slack, Green.”

Watching Nalfa’s video had gotten Crimson in the mood to play baseball, but Green shut the idea down before Crimson could even get it out. Now bored and pouting, Crimson slumped over her desk again.

“If you’d like, I’ll play with you,” Nana offered as she entered the room.

“Really?!” Crimson’s expression brightened instantly.

“What Satomi-san and the others are doing looks fun.”

“You really are a good guy, Nana! I’ve always known that about you!” Crimson jumped up, grabbed hold of Nana’s small hand, and shook it vigorously. She was genuinely excited at the prospect of something to end her dire boredom.

“You are so simple... You’ve always said you didn’t like her and that she has a nasty personality,” Green muttered.

This development had her in a sour mood. In truth, she’d wanted to play along with Crimson too, but she knew her forte was brainpower. Her athletic abilities were horrible, so she was feeling a little spiteful that Nana could so easily do what she couldn’t.

“But playtime will have to wait until we’re done with work,” said Nana.

“Did you find them?” A fearless grin crossed Crimson’s lips and a sharp look flashed in her eyes. The prospect of a fight delighted her more than anything.

“Yes. The intel led us straight to them. Do you see that mountain in front of us? There’s a cave in the middle of it that they’re turning into a base,” Nana explained.

“And what’d your boss say?” Crimson asked.

“We’re going in,” replied Nana.

“I love your boss!”

“The commander agrees with the call, and she’d personally like your support,” Nana continued.

“That’s just what I like to hear! The princess can count on me!” Crimson practically cheered. Her eyes were sparkling and her heart was pounding now that she knew battle was nigh.

“She’s just buttering you up, Crimson,” Green warned.

“I wouldn’t dare,” said Nana. “The commander thinks quite highly of Crimson.”

“I wonder about that. You really do have a nasty personality after all.”

“Oh my.”

Crimson and the court magicians had joined Nana and Nefilforan’s unit in deep space in pursuit of Ralgwin, and they were now preparing to raid a base they’d discovered.

The court magicians and Nefilforan’s unit were all seasoned veterans, so capturing a base was quick work for them. The initial charge was always the deadliest part of the assault, but with the assistance of magic, they could keep casualties to a minimum. The team had just demonstrated that with a near perfect operation, yet Nefilforan looked unhappy.

“Another bust, huh? Even if it was just a supply depot, we should’ve been able to find more information on other locations there...”

The goal of capturing the mountain base wasn’t just to strike a blow to the enemy, but also to obtain intelligence. In the vastness of space, there were countless places Ralgwin and his forces could hide. Information concerning their whereabouts would be key to tracking them down. And since outposts, depots, and other bases communicated with one another, the Forthorthians had hoped to uncover more of the enemy’s network by capturing location after location. They’d gotten as far as the mountain base they’d just captured, but the trail went cold there.

“It seems they’ve taken past blunders to heart and they’re being much more cautious with critical intelligence,” observed Nana. She was serving as Nefilforan’s adjutant and suspected that Ralgwin was now taking measures to defend himself against the kind of information warfare he’d just been a victim to in their last battle.

“Naturally, the enemy won’t take that kind of defeat lying down. This speaks volumes to the size of the force we’re up against, however,” remarked Nefilforan.

If Ralgwin only had a small army at his disposal, he wouldn’t need to take such pains to hide his network. Such precaution was only necessary with a considerable system of bases. This led Nefilforan to believe that Ralgwin’s remaining army was much larger than she’d previously suspected.

“Nana-chin, I’ve finished looking over the place with my magic,” Orange—formerly Dark Orange—reported via the tactical support terminal on Nana’s arm. Following the capture of the mountain base, she and the other court magicians had been assigned to investigate the facility and report back.

“Orange, don’t call me that during a mission,” Nana replied with a furrowed brow.

Lately, Orange had affectionately taken to using a nickname for Nana. It was proof that they’d come to see each other as allies, but Nana didn’t care for it in a work setting. It was distracting. Little did she know the soldiers in the unit had already taken to calling her “Nana-chin” too. Orange’s influence was spreading right under her nose.

“More importantly, listen to this, Nana-chin! They were stocking up on magic weapons and bullets here too, but they’ve been kept in a dormant state so that we can’t track any traces of magic.”

“Did Green find anything?” Nana asked. Green excelled in divination and could even use her magic to forecast the future, so she was a critical part of such investigations.

“I didn’t really get it, but she told me to report that they’re rolling the dice.”

“Got it. Thanks, Orange.”

Unfortunately, Green had come up empty-handed too. Grevanas was likely taking steps to thwart the magical girls. Not only had the enemy kept their magic weapons dormant, they’d also used magic to cover their tracks. Moreover, they were incorporating an element of randomness in their plans to muddle Green’s clairvoyance. Given the uncertainty of the future, Green’s future forecast spell was akin to reading probability based on many factors. Throwing in a random variable made it all the harder to predict. The magical girls’ investigation had thus been stymied.

“Okay, that’s all for now, Nana-chin!”

“Jeez, not on an open comms channel, Orange... Commander, their magic didn’t turn up anything either,” Nana reported back.

“Heehee,” Nefilforan giggled.

“Not you too!”

“Sorry... Now, back to the matter at hand, I suspect the enemy is preparing for a large operation. This would be overkill for anything smaller.”

Nefilforan had no proof, but she felt Ralgwin was planning something big. The part that bothered her the most was the weapons he’d been stockpiling. Moving them to the front lines was one thing, but he had no reason to amass them at supply depots elsewhere. They were too valuable simply to leave lying around unused, and he’d gone to great lengths to conceal them. Nefilforan could only assume that Ralgwin had something in mind for them.

“I’ll contact Kiriha-san,” said Nana.

“Please do. You have my permission to share all of our intelligence, but make sure the connection is encrypted.”

“Understood!”

As soon as Nana heard Nefilforan’s fear, she ran straight to the communications officer. It was nothing more than a hunch at this point, but Nana wanted to alert Kiriha and Elfaria as soon as possible. She, too, sensed something was afoot.

“I hope I’m just overthinking this...” Nefilforan mused, crossing her arms.

Nefilforan’s unit had been taking base after base recently, but the result was always the same: they had nothing to show for it. Nefilforan desperately wanted to be wrong about what it all meant, but she couldn’t shake the terrible feeling that had seized her.