“If the civilians of the alliance aren’t evacuated or if they haven’t gotten out of the evacuation area after a given time limit, I’ll detonate the weapon to protect the coalition,” I said. “Victoria, you need to be ready for that, too.”
Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but she had no words. She probably expected me to say something naïve like always.
The idea that I might have to kill ten million people made my palms sweat with fear, and my legs had been trembling uncontrollably for some time already. But I couldn’t turn my back on this war.
Without meaning to, I looked in the direction of Kon, who was sitting on Macho Man’s head, and I saw her looking right back at me.
Don’t worry, Kon... I listened to what you said. I won’t run from my responsibilities anymore. I’ll take on the worst tasks myself.
“Very well. You have the cooperation of the Ursna Empire,” she said at last. “If my subjects protest, I shall deal with that as it happens.”
Victoria finished speaking, sat down, and began to discuss something with the maid beside her.
It was my mom who had the power to make final decisions for Noa. And I could leave Kon to oversee Marvelus and the others. The remaining problem was the Merkava Kingdom, which was controlled by Princess Cassis.
Isn’t there a way to get her cooperation? Feeling stuck, I looked to my mom for help.
Mom had been silent until now, and when I looked at her, she stood up and spoke to Princess Cassis.
“Princess Cassis, I realize that the heaviest burden will fall on the kingdom. Your concerns are well-founded: providing us with space for refugees also means maintaining public order and distributing supplies. But please think of the advantages. If this operation is successful, the kingdom will hold a great amount of political influence on this continent despite being such a small nation. Whatever happens, you’ll have saved the continent from crisis. Provide Noa with the space we need to tackle this crisis, and we’ll never forget the kingdom’s brave decision to stand with us.”
I’m not surprised the head of the three witches of Noa is talking Princess Cassis into it so skillfully, but I wonder if now is really the time to make that kind of promise, I thought. Well, I guess she’ll make it work. This is my mom, after all.
“Do you mean it?” the princess asked.
“Yes. As long as you uphold the ideals of the coalition, the kingdom will always have Noa’s full support.”
“Very well. The Merkava Kingdom will cooperate with Noa.”
Mom nodded to me, and I faced the attendees once again so I could give my orders as the special major general.
“The operation will commence in eleven hours. Your instructions will be constantly updated, so please remember to check them periodically. Meeting adjourned.”
I breathed a sigh as I watched everyone leaving the room. Macho Man then walked over to me with Kon still sitting on his head. He placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair.
“Dad... that hurts,” I complained. “What do you want?”
“I was just thinking that you’re becoming a good man. You sure you’re ready for this?”
It was rare for him to praise me so directly, so I nodded silently, feeling a little embarrassed. Kon then climbed into her usual position on my shoulder and grabbed on to my neck.
Macho Man grinned at the sight of the two of us. “We’ll be gearing up to head out as soon as we’re done checking our equipment. I don’t think we’ll meet again until this operation is over. Leave the second stage to me. I’ll make sure it succeeds.”
“Okay. If you mess up, the whole operation will fail. Make it work, no matter what.”
Macho Man said, “Got it,” and left the conference room together with Cote.
All that remained for me to do was load the missile onto the Satanachia and remain on standby. Though I’d have to visit Noa Island so I could pick up the missile.
I turned to Mom, wondering if my suit was finished being inspected and refueled. “Mom, is my suit ready to go? I want to fetch the missile from Noa Island.”
Mom turned around and checked something on her terminal before answering. “Yes, it’ll be ready to leave in a moment. Once the thrusters and piloting unit have been reinstalled, it’ll be ready to go at any time.”
Reinstalled? Why would they take it apart for an inspection? I guess my suit is such an important part of this operation that they had to inspect it extra carefully...
“All right. I’m off to Noa Island,” I said. “I’ll be back after I’ve picked up the missile.”
Then I left the room and headed to the hangar.