The Kularia system had three populated planets. However, two of them were uninhabitable, requiring spacesuits to survive on the surface. They were planets for large-scale mining and agriculture. The mining planet was rich in minerals but didn’t have an atmosphere, which was pretty common in space. The large-scale agriculture planet was a little more complicated. Farming required a lot of water, but the planet had its own unique ecosystem. Its atmosphere was not suitable for humans to breathe, requiring spacesuits. For the same reason, the work itself was done in large encapsulated greenhouses. The crops brought over from Forthorthe weren’t a good match for the planet’s atmosphere.
The third planet, Urashidau, didn’t require a spacesuit. Thanks to that, it had a considerable population, with cities all over the place. The Imperial Army had their fortress in a very old city, and the Blue Knight was headed for that.
“Any sign of the Gray Knight?” Koutarou asked.
“It looks like he went past the big city. He may even be in the sea, but I can’t tell from this distance. Sorry,” Sanae apologized.
“It can’t be helped. I guess he’ll attack again sometime after hiding his tracks,” Koutarou replied.
They wanted to go help the fortress under attack, but the problem was the Gray Knight, who could ambush them from behind. The Gray Knight and his battleship had disappeared instead of heading for Urashidau. The planet was rich in people and nature and had a vast sea. It was also rich in spiritual energy, and the Gray Knight had blended in with it, rendering Sanae unable to pursue him with her Spirit Vision.
“If we go down to the surface and ignore him, we’re definitely going to have a hard time,” Koutarou said.
“Indeed,” Kiriha agreed with a nod. “We will end up in a pincer attack as well.”
The Imperial Army’s fortress was under attack by the Liberation Army’s ground forces, so they would naturally end up being pincered by the Blue Knight. However, with the Gray Knight behind them, they would end up in the same position in turn. Since both sides would be pincered, the outcome would be hard to predict. They had to assume the worst possible outcome, but Clan had a suggestion.
“In that case, Sanae should remain in orbit aboard the Blue Knight.”
The Blue Knight had a device that amplified Sanae’s psychic powers, so if they left her there to observe, she should be able to discover the Gray Knight before he could ambush them. It wasn’t a flawless plan, but it was necessary.
“Which one is going to stay?” Sanae asked while looking up at Sanae-nee.
There were two Sanaes, so one would stay while the other went with Koutarou. Since there was only one device, there was no reason for both of them to be there.
“I will stay,” Sanae-nee answered without hesitation.
The answer surprised Sanae, and her eyes opened wide. Though Sanae-nee might have been from another universe, she was still the same person, so Sanae had been sure that Sanae-nee would hate being left behind. After all, that was how she herself felt.
“Are you sure?!” Sanae asked.
“He was my enemy to begin with...” Sanae-nee answered.
“Right...”
Sanae-nee and the Gray Knight had been enemies before coming to this universe, so it was only natural for her to volunteer to keep watch.
Forthorthe’s science was advanced, but even then the landing craft shook a little when descending through the atmosphere. The irregular shaking caused by contact with the atmosphere couldn’t be perfectly controlled. A battleship was so big that the inertia would keep it from shaking much in the first place, so the shaking could be completely eliminated, but that wasn’t possible with the smaller mass of a landing craft. It was a technological limit.
“This shaking is making me anxious,” Shizuka said over the comms. She wasn’t very good in situations when tension lasted for a long period of time, so she didn’t like the landing craft shaking either.
“Hang in there,” Koutarou answered. “You’re the keystone this time, Landlord-san.”
“You owe me one. Jeez...”
With Koutarou’s encouragement, she fired herself up. Imperial Army soldiers were fighting below them even now, so she couldn’t afford to whine.
“Ugh, Satomi-saaan...” Another person was fighting the shaking sensation: Yurika. The ever-considerate Ruth always had medicine for motion sickness ready, but Yurika had forgotten to take it.
“Don’t throw up! Whatever you do, don’t throw up in here!” Koutarou said. He was in the same craft with her, so it would be a disaster for him if she threw up. It might even have an effect on the battle, so it was a small but serious bind.
“Yurika-chan, you can heal that yourself, can’t you?” Nana said, saving Koutarou from the disaster. She was with Shizuka, accompanying them because of her talent.
“Oh, yeah! Cure Disease!” Yurika chanted her spell. Nana had reminded her that she was a magician, prompting her to quickly heal her illness.
The spell worked just as hoped, and Yurika’s motion sickness was resolved, allowing Koutarou to breathe out a sigh of relief.
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