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“Sakuraba-san! This is it!” Maki cried.
“Yes, I’m starting the measuring instrument!” Harumi replied.
A glowing red point appeared near the magic circle at around the height of the girls’ waists. It was a mana reaction. If the mana circle was the center of Alaia, the red dot was the location where mana had been used. Feeding that information into the measuring instrument and comparing it to a map of space would allow them to determine an accurate location.
“Nefilforan-san!” Harumi called.
“What is the matter?”
“We detected something! I am sending the data over to you!”
From that point, the Nefilforan Unit, or intelligence department, would take over. A stealth ship would be sent to the revealed location to pursue Grevanas. That way, they might be able to find Maxfern’s base. Even if they didn’t find it, they would still learn a lot.
Once everyone had safely returned to the royal palace, Koutarou received an explanation from Kiriha. The shock left his mouth wide open.
“So you were shot down on purpose to get information from the enemy?!”
Koutarou knew that the girls had been acting as decoys based on Clan’s message but had believed they’d unexpectedly been shot down in the process. That was why he had gotten angry with them for doing something so dangerous. But according to Kiriha’s explanation, being shot down was part of the plan. Not even he had expected that.
“More accurately, we wanted to get the enemy to communicate more,” Kiriha said. “Even smaller forces will contact their commanders when something unexpected happens. They will get a response too. So by maintaining a state where we stay just out of reach, the volume of communication would increase, which would be monitored.”
The original goal had been to increase the volume of communications to narrow down the location of the enemy fleet and stronghold. Of course, that might not have been possible from increasing the number of messages alone, but fortunately the information they gained from their last battle had come in handy. They knew that Grevanas was gathering special materials for magic and spiritual energy technology, so they could narrow down their active region somewhat by reaching out to the logistics industry. Therefore, the region they surveyed wasn’t all that large, relatively speaking.
“No matter how good their camouflage, they weren’t able to hide everything. Even more so when motivated by a chance for revenge. Thanks to that, it went much better than expected,” Kiriha explained.
“Veltlion, the intelligence department is currently pursuing Maxfern’s battleship,” Clan announced.
“You found him?!” Koutarou exclaimed. “Right! They were close enough for communication and transfer gates!”
Kiriha had merely aimed to locate the ship of someone who was high in rank, but Maxfern was more eager than expected, so they’d managed to find his battleship. A stealth ship was currently following it.
“By the way, it was thanks to Harumi-sama and the others,” Ruth added.
“They were involved too? So that’s why that exercise was suddenly decided on,” Koutarou said.
“I’m sorry, Satomi-kun,” Harumi apologized. “The fewer people who knew, the better.” She didn’t like hiding things, but if people were told, their actions would change, which might have allowed the enemy to catch on. She’d had to stay quiet about it.
“But it was worth the risk, Satomi-kun. Now we should be able to shorten this battle,” Maki added with a determined look. She didn’t doubt her decision in the slightest.
“I guess so...” Koutarou had no choice but to agree. With the information Kiriha and the others had risked their lives to get, the strain on the citizens would be limited. In hindsight, it was the right course of action, so he couldn’t blame them for their choices.
“Anyway, don’t ever do something like that in secret again, okay?” Koutarou had been truly shocked when he was told that the girls had been shot down. He’d believed that they were still alive but had been anxious until he could see for himself. He never wanted to experience the same thing again.
“That won’t be a problem,” Kiriha said with a smile. “They aren’t foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice.”
Maxfern was no idiot, so the girls had only had a single chance. Once Maxfern’s and Grevanas’s knowledge of magic, spiritual energy technology, and science deepened, they wouldn’t fall for Kiriha’s ploy again. The trap they had sprung was the first and only time it would work, which was why Kiriha didn’t plan to do it again.
“Hmm...”
Even though he’d heard what Kiriha had to say, Koutarou was still worried. He believed in the girls—they could be fully trusted—but they had a tendency to jump into danger. That was what bothered him.
Seeing that, Ruth smiled. “It’s okay. You don’t have to worry, Master. If Satomi Koutarou-sama rather than the Blue Knight wishes it, we will obey.”
Ruth vouched for her words. Even if he wasn’t the Blue Knight or the captain of their band of knights, as long as Satomi Koutarou wanted it, the girls would live up to his wishes. Ruth might have been the one to say it, but all of the girls agreed.
“That’s...” Koutarou faltered. In other words, the girls were telling him to tell them to always stay at his side. When he realized that, he recalled what Kiriha had said. “A proposal?” and indeed, it was something like that. Koutarou reflexively looked over at her, and she gave him a graceful smile that she hid behind a fan.
“Then maybe I will do it once more...” Frighteningly enough, Kiriha threatened that she would do it again if he didn’t show with his attitude that he agreed.
“Don’t you dare! Don’t ever do something dangerous without me knowing again!” Koutarou exclaimed. While he knew it was practically a threat, he didn’t want the girls to do something dangerous in secret again. He never wanted to repeat that experience.
“Ahahaha, well if you insist, I suppose we have no choice.” Theia let out a refined laugh and answered as a representative of the girls. “We are all fine women. We have the capacity to respect your wishes.”
She and the others looked happy. Much of that joy lay in Koutarou leading an ordinary life. They were all sick of what was happening as well.
At the same time, Maxfern and Grevanas realized that they had been caught in a trap. They’d felt that something was off when fighting, but that suspicion didn’t turn into conviction until after they retreated and grouped up with the Gray Knight. When they linked up, the Gray Knight noticed a stealth ship following them.
“It looks like they pulled one over you, Maxfern,” the Gray Knight said. “They dragged the fight out on purpose to find you.”
“To think we would lead them all the way here...” Grevanas said.
“Dammit! You’re saying I fell for the Blue Knight’s plan?!” Maxfern slammed his fist into his desk.
They had already repelled the intelligence department’s stealth ship. Or rather, once they’d learned they had been detected, they’d retreated. Since the ship wasn’t built for fighting, it was a reasonable decision. Moreover, it had already accomplished most of its mission. The enemy hadn’t gotten all the way to their stronghold, but once they started investigating the area, they would find it eventually. It was only a matter of time.
“How utterly vexing. It would seem that the time of operating in the shadows has come to an end,” Maxfern said.
“That would be for the best,” Grevanas answered. “That was our original intention anyway.”
They’d been planning to go on a major offensive after the assassination plan anyway. Once they launched their offensive, their bases and various strongholds would naturally be exposed. The time left before that happened would differ, but it would happen eventually.
“In large-scale battles there will be mass deaths, so Forthorthe will be weakened whether they win or lose. And it will turn the public sentiment away from Elfaria,” Grevanas continued.
Attackers had the advantage in choosing where they attacked, while defenders didn’t have that luxury. With such a vast territory, the Imperial Army would be spread thin. On top of that, if they failed to defend and people died, the public sentiment would turn away from them. The defenders always faced such risks. Maxfern and Grevanas might have ended up on the back foot due to the trap, but they could still win.
“There is just one case that will cause problems,” the Gray Knight calmly pointed out.
There was indeed a very tricky problem hidden in plain sight when it came to Maxfern and Grevanas going on the offensive. The Gray Knight thought it would be risky to put the plan into action before taking measures against it.
“That’s right.” Maxfern was aware of the issue. “It is the problem of the Blue Knight attacking before we can go on the offensive. It will all hinge on whether we can avoid that.”
The Forthorthe Liberation Army would need time to gather their forces before they could go on the offensive. But it was no easy task to get a large organization to move as one. If they didn’t, they would be individually destroyed, so some time was necessary. It would be a problem if the Blue Knight led an attack on their headquarters with a small unit before then. It would be easy for the Imperial Army to allocate enough forces to launch a surprise attack on their base.
“Then I will go,” the Gray Knight said. “It’s about time I see the Blue Knight anyway.” The Gray Knight also wanted a large-scale battle. Since that might not happen if the Blue Knight and the others weren’t stalled, he would lend Maxfern a hand without hesitation.
“How reliable, Gray One,” Maxfern said with a smile. The knight had given him the answer he had hoped for.
The Gray Knight had nothing to say in response. He had no expectations of Maxfern, aside from him becoming a trigger for a large battle.
“Haha, no matter. Now then, war is coming, Blue Knight! And Empress Elfaria! Enjoy the sight of the lands being burned again!”
Despite the lack of response, Maxfern showed no sign of anger. His expectations for the future were more important. With the Gray Knight’s powers, he could stop the Blue Knight, which would allow him and Grevanas to attack as planned, and the problem of being discovered wouldn’t matter for much longer. Before long, the Imperial Palace would become Maxfern’s new base. He was convinced of that.