《I Got Reincarnated And Mistaken As A Genius?》 2-I received an illustration. Please see the update at 21:25 on April 27th. This is a replacement for the main character and skinhead from "Higurunomichi Ginjo-sama"!It''s cool - the main character is crisp and indescribable. When I see the protagonist in the picture I want to complain about him going out with Alice. I wish handsome guys were destroyed......... And you wrote a new image of the author''s favorite skinhead!This skinhead - this skinhead - definitely has the dignity to eliminate a few people. It''s not good. And more!He even wrote the illustrations for the heroes and heroines & con. Shingo and Koki have a nice smile on their faces!You can see that they are very close. Shingo''s name hasn''t been mentioned yet, but he will be active at a later date. I think the heroines are kind of mature and beautiful. I personally like Megmin, I think she''s very... very pretty! Con is a complete dragon. If he makes a serious noise with such a cute face, he''s going to be like, ''Glaaaa! You know what I mean?I can understand why the gap made me squirm. I''d really like to thank "Higurunomichi Ginjo-sama" for finishing 5 copies at once this time!Thank you so much for making my poorly written work come alive. These are the illustrations of Alice by Yuri. She''s so cute!A slightly large white coat is the author''s favorite. And I can''t tell you how annoyed he looks. I think it''s a wonderful piece of work. My friend who checked it out with me was amazed!He said. I got permission from Yuuri-sama, so from now on, I''m going to use this image of Alice-chan. When you read the story, please imagine such a cute little Alice when you read it. Thank you so much, Yuri-sama! They are the two heroines of Miruporun''s work. Aikawa is on the left and Alice is on the right. They are so cute!The furi-furi on the skirt is one of the author''s favorite things. Also, is the sleeve part folded back? It''s a nice accent, isn''t it? Unfortunately, the illustrations in this one don''t conform to the actual image because Miuporun has told me that they''re only fan art, so they won''t conform to the actual image, but it''s nice to see that there are images like this! Thank you, Miuporun. 3-Birth of Prologue A very warm space surrounded by pure white light, pleasant and fluffy and very restful. That''s where I was..... The feeling of slumber and slumbering was so good that my brain felt like it was going to melt, but then I remembered something. ''Yes, I had an accident. It''s been a long time since I got a holiday from the company I was working for, a long time since I got a consecutive holiday for the first time in eight months (I cried to my boss and threatened to kill myself and stand by his bedside every night if he didn''t give me a holiday), so I went out for a touring trip to rest my mind. Then he had an accident. All I can remember is the last moment when I slipped and ran into a guardrail at night in a mountain pass in the light rain. The reason for the accident was because we had to get to the next town tonight to end the holiday, and we were forced to go touring at night in bad weather, just because we couldn''t finish during the holidays. Aren''t we stupid already? That was the reason why I was so flabbergasted, I thought to myself. The question here is, am I really dead, or am I in a vegetative state........ ''I can speak........'' My voice disappeared into the white space as I muttered casually. Isn''t the fact that you can hear your voice mean you''re not dead? So you''re in a vegetative state? No, then you wouldn''t be able to think in the first place, would you? I remember someone telling me that I was in a vegetative state because I couldn''t think and couldn''t even breathe spontaneously and my brain waves were flat. I could be wrong, but.... Then where is this place? Calm me down. Be super calm. I don''t care if I''m dead or in a vegetative state, I''m still me... So don''t worry about it... hmm?Hmm? Hmm? Who''s me? Hi - it''s me. It''s been a while since then, but I''ve given up thinking about it. I mean, I have the moment of the accident and all the related memories, but I don''t have any other memories!I can''t remember my name, my face, my family''s name, or my lover''s name. As for my girlfriend, I vaguely remember her being in the computer, but common sense tells me it''s a confusion of memory because there''s no way someone could be in the computer. However, I can remember everything except for the information that identifies the individual. For example, from basic math like 1+1=2 to higher math like you learn in college. For some reason, I was a little surprised that I couldn''t remember English very well but the Russian language came out smoothly. Other than that, I had a lot of knowledge from general knowledge to a very specialized field. It seems that I was a researcher or something close to it. Well, maybe it doesn''t matter now..... However, normally I would feel sad if I forgot my name and family, but I don''t feel sad because my emotional range is smaller. Maybe that''s why I don''t feel extreme anxiety, so I can relax and mope around in this warm and comfortable space every day. ''Shit!Again! When you are in a stupor, your surroundings suddenly start to shake. After a while, I found out that this space shakes irregularly. At first it was so slight that you couldn''t tell if it was shaking or not, but recently it''s been bad. It''s a good thing that the frequency is increasing. Is the collapse of this space imminent? I utter a creepy thought to myself. No, I don''t want to leave this place.... I don''t want to leave this place, I don''t want to be anywhere else!And finally, it''s over.... What a blink of an eye.... The other is that my two contradictory feelings of "it didn''t take me long" and "this is the end. Well. Well, it was a great vacation for an accident that was self-inflicted, wasn''t it... The moment I said that, the white space suddenly became even whiter, and I was enveloped in a light that made it impossible to keep my eyes open. The end.......... Then my vision popped. ''Congratulations!He''s a healthy boy. It was a start! 4-Status check ''Congratulations!He''s a healthy boy. The moment my vision popped, I felt like that was what was said. Huh?What?I check my surroundings, somewhat distraught.... The shadowless lights above my head, the green linoleum floor. A woman in an operating gown........ Hospital, is that an operating room too?Was I still in a vegetative state? Did I wake up for the first time since the accident?Why am I being lifted?Is this woman skilled enough to wait up for a grown man? No.........no way....... I imagined the worst thing that could happen to me. That should take a lot of weight off, but no way...!It''s been a while!Baba!Why are you bashing people''s asses? I''m going to hit you, man! Sir, he''s not raising his voice! A woman (middle-aged by the sound of her voice) who looks like a nurse keeps slapping my ass. I don''t have the taste for screaming with joy at the hands of an old lady!A woman who seemed to be a female doctor next to me was also staring at me and giving me instructions. What the hell!What the hell is wrong with you?I''m busy with the situation! Finally, this time the female doctor started beating my ass. Oh, I''m going to wake up. No, calm down, me, I''m super calm. I''m not, I''m not. Meanwhile, my ass is being spanked. Okay, okay.............................. ''Oh my God! Oh my God! I know what I''m talking about! So unscientific, the possibility that even in that slumbering space it was impossible to reach a conclusion. It was so ridiculous that I thought it would only happen in novels. It''s like I''m reincarnated. "Here, Mom. Pick him up. The female doctor handed me over to a woman I thought was my mother. Hey!Careful with it!Like touching a newborn baby bird!Don''t put that much effort into it! It''s okay! Hmmm ... is this ... or is this my mother?She''s not extraordinarily pretty, but she''s not ugly either, she''s just a normal woman. But she just has a kind face. It''s also true that I''m going to be her child, so there''s no woman who will hold my child and look like a demon. Hm?What''s with the look of confusion on your face?Oh, right, you''re just worried that I won''t respond to anything. I don''t know what to do, I''m not really sure what to do in a situation like this. Well, let''s just laugh about it... Squeal, squeal. Oh, you''re laughing! Mom, you''re laughing at me!Okay, I guess I was right. But what do I do now? I understand that there''s nothing I can do even if I think about it, but I''m mentally an adult, so I can''t help thinking about it. Anyway, my ass is sore and I''m tired from crying, so I''ll just go to sleep. Next time you wake up, I''ll take a closer look at the surroundings.... ''''~~~~~~~~~'''' Suddenly, I woke up to hear a voice. It was somewhat warm and pleasant. This is what it felt like to be in a slumber, oh yeah!That was in my mom''s tummy.........I see. I have this space all to myself. Hm?I can still hear the voices, and when I open my eyes, I see my mom hugging me, smiling, and singing a song. Is this ... is this ... German?The pronunciation is bad, but I can hear it. It''s probably a lullaby, or something close to it. I wonder if I knew the song to begin with, or if I learned it for me to be born.... I can''t thank him, and I can''t clap for him. Let''s just laugh here for now. ''Kya-kya-kya-kya'' Okay!He laughed with glee!What do you think?Mom''s face looks happy. Okay, for now, I''ll make it a policy to smile when I have a problem. If you can make people smile, most things will be OK! ...should! I was dozing off while listening to my mom sing for a while when I heard a knock at the door. If you''re going to put a newborn baby and her mother in a private room, it must be a lot of work. It''s a good idea to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. It''s not a matter of having money in this world, but if you have it, it''s better to have it. And who is this old man?It''s touching me in a very sensual way, but it hurts. It hurts. Ow....are you stupid?You don''t have the power to do that to a newborn baby.Mom''s mad at me. Hey don''t be so small. I don''t know how much of a shock it is that your mother got mad at you. From the sounds of it, you sound like your father. He came in a while ago, but I wasn''t sleeping. I''m sorry, Dad. It was all I could do, so I rubbed my face against his tie as a service since he was holding me. Oh, he looks happy to see me and hugs me. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch, Mom!Help me! ''Oh my God!Oh, geez! I cried a little painfully. The hapless old man is pissed at his mom again. Bastard! Next time I''ll stay up a bit longer..... -----Miki Arakawa''s Point of View------ Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I was anxious. It wasn''t about being a mother, it was about being able to give birth safely. I had never been able to get pregnant in the first place. Probably until about 30 years ago, it would have been impossible, but with today''s medical technology, it was not. I talked with my husband, Shuichi, many times. He told me that he didn''t want a child, that he just wanted me to be there for him. I was so happy that I cried, but I still wanted the fruit of our love. As a result of being selfish and receiving the most advanced medical treatment, Shuichi-san gave me life. I was so happy. I missed him so much, and as my belly grew, I patted my belly several times a day. Today, this baby was finally being born. The moment I endured the pain of labor and Gongju was born, I was frozen. I froze. Sir, he''s not raising his voice! Takigawa-san, the nurse, desperately slapped Gongju''s buttocks, but Gongju didn''t raise his voice. I could feel the air in the operating room tense up with a pinch. ''''Doctor! Please. Please help the child Gongju! Did you hear me correctly?I''m sure he''s not voicing it well due to anxiety and fear of losing Gongju.I screamed for the first time when the doctor slapped my buttocks as he hugged Gongju. I felt faint with relief and exhaustion, but I couldn''t do that until I held my child in my arms. ''Yes, mom. Pick him up. What, these eyes are not the eyes of a child........ It''s as if the eyes have a black round hole in them. It''s as if they were observing an experimental subject, emotionless eyes. A sickening feeling that gripped the back of my mind filled me up. The moment I lost my fear and almost threw Gongju away. ''''Kyah, Kyah!'''' Gongju laughed. A laugh, as if he was innocently acknowledging me as his mother. I huffed, and at the same time, I felt self-loathing. What feelings I had for this child just a few moments ago. I felt uncomfortable about my beloved child, who had been born so hard and was still trying so hard to live. I smiled awkwardly and smiled at him, and perhaps he felt it, but he fell asleep in my arms. It was at this time that I made up my mind. Even if this world denied him, I would continue to protect him. As a mother, I will never let my child be sad. She sang a song as she hugged him as he slept. It''s a lullaby with tender lyrics that I learned in desperation for my child. Gongju''s breathing in my arms changed.......apparently he woke up. Was his voice too loud?So I looked into his face. Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak. Like, more singing!It was as if he laughed, even though it was impossible for him to understand the German words to a newborn baby... and I sang with all my heart and soul. 5-Historical differences Hi, I''m Koki. A lot of things have happened since then, I''m already 15 years old. Too much time has passed?No, I''ve discovered the fact that such a thing feels trivial!I''ve been gathering information for 10 years, since I was about 5 years old, when I was rather able to act on my own volition. First of all, don''t be surprised if the Japanese time on the third planet of our solar system, where I currently live, is..... It''s January 4, 2102, 10:59 AM. I was born almost 90 years in the future, me, before the Japan I was living in and before I was reincarnated. That doesn''t mean cars are flying and there''s no such thing as personal teleportation technology. Some military power suits (I was so excited and excited when I first saw them on TV that I asked my mom if I was a robot?Hey, is this a robot? (I''ve been asking a lot of questions about this) and at least some laser weapons that can be barely carried by individuals. But how can there be such a difference in civilization in just 90 years?When I was alive in 2010, the progress of civilization had come to a halt to some extent. There was even a scholar who officially announced that it would only continue to decline slowly. I was about three years old, I think.I had this question. So my mom and I were going through the library to pick out some picture books for the library, and I was secretly rummaging through the history books. I think my mom found out about it halfway through, but she thought I was interested in the pictures in the history books. She often keeps e-books with beautiful landscapes and castles on my personal device. That''s very kind of you, My Mother!I don''t need much, but.... Now, the details are different from the medieval period, but let''s start with the places that are definitely off from the world I was in, in that order. 1935 World War II broke out - The war started four years earlier than the historical facts, but it ended in a year and a half. The reason for this was that the United States, Russia, Germany, and Japan succeeded in building nuclear weapons at about the same time. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and occupied Hawaii in the early stages of the war, but bombers from the Aleutian Islands had put Japan within range of nuclear weapons. Although the war was a virtual defeat, the U.S. Army never landed in Japan on the condition that Japan would withdraw completely from Hawaii. In addition, national sovereignty and the vast majority of lives were protected because there was no unconditional surrender, even though the military was reduced and the constitution was redrafted. Of course, no nuclear weapons have been used against Japan. The nations of the world would use their abundance of national power and production capacity for technological advancement by avoiding a war that would have become bogged down in a quagmire with no clear winner in the end. In 1950, Apollo 3 successfully landed on the moon - mankind reached the moon more than 20 years earlier. By the way, 70 percent of commercial airplane companies use jet airliners in ''48. 1951 Cuban Missile Crisis - As in history, the United States and Russia came close to nuclear war, but the Pope was forced to resign, and a mood of war-weariness grew throughout the world, not just in the United States and Russia, and an all-out war was averted at the last minute. 1970: World Security Treaty Conference - In an unhistorically unrelated incident, all nuclear-weapon states (including, of course, Japan) limit the number of nuclear weapons they can possess, referring to the Cuban crisis. All countries are limited to 23 weapons. 1976 Tragedy in Europe - another not-so-historic event, an epidemic in the French countryside rages around the world; in 1976 the world''s population of 9.1 billion had plummeted to 4.7 billion by the time the WHO declares the situation under control in 1984. 1990: The Miracle at Versailles: The nations, exhausted by the tragedy in Europe, made a major decision. The permanent abandonment of all nuclear weapons and an 80 per cent reduction of all national military forces and the creation of a UN standing army. Many people say that this is a victory for peace, but many people also believe that it was the result of the conclusion of each country that the personnel in the national armed forces should be returned to the civilian population to restore the country''s strength, if at all. By the way, the tragedy of Europe and the miracle of Versailles will definitely be on the test. I learned it too. Now, who''s going to come out of the woodwork? You think I''m taking any kind of shit about something that''s not related to me?It''s actually quite relevant!Because it has to do with the textbook stuff I''m about to write about... Why? So can we skip ahead a little bit? Mother''s Formula, 2091 (a formula that completely overturned quantum science published by Miki Arakawa in 1991) This world is only one of many time points. It is a mathematical formula that completely proves that there are other worlds at other time points. Miki Arakawa, who single-handedly constructed and published this frighteningly difficult equation, was called the "Mother of New Quantum Science" by the world. Sorry ... that was based on my doodles! ----Miki Arakawa, early summer 2090 Viewpoint I couldn''t help but smile, relieved to see Gongju growing up so well. Thinking back, he was a very strange child. He never cried at night, and he would call out to me immediately when his diaper was dirty. He seems to understand before I tell him that he shouldn''t. He is very smart and very cute. I didn''t have any parenting neurosis. Lately, Koki has been watching TV and newspapers a lot. It is impossible for him to understand what is on TV or what is written in the newspaper, but he has a serious expression on his face. His mature demeanor was so strange that he couldn''t help but get into mischief. I took the remote control of the TV and switched it to the satellite Internet broadcast. Still, Kouki was looking at me with a happy glint in his eye, so I chuckled again and went to take in the laundry. ''Oh!''Whoa! At that moment, I heard Conju''s voice from the living room. A normally quiet kid screaming loudly! I took down the laundry and hurried to the living room, where I saw Gongju clapping his hands loudly as he watched the TV. He''s not usually the kind of kid who reacts like this... Surprised, I turned to the TV screen and saw a new power suit on the news that was going to be deployed to the Ground Self-Defense Force this year. ''Oka-tah, oka-tah! Dare, dummy? A lo-o-o-o? At the same time as I was surprised, I felt that he was a boy, too. I still don''t know what she''s talking about, but I''m sure she''s saying something about wanting you to buy her something. "Ko-chan, you can''t buy that thing at our house. When I said that, for some reason, Gongju had a delicate look on his face, but eventually he fell asleep. I gently lifted him up and carried him gently to the next room. ---- Early summer of 2090, Kouki Arakawa Oh no, oh no... What to do.... The mother in front of me has a devilish look on her face. ''Woooooooooo!Oka-tah, scary, eeeeeeeeee. I was crying and wondering again why this had happened. It probably started about two months ago when I was taken to the library for the first time. In this day and age, most of the books in the library are now available as e-books. It''s easy to imagine it''s like choosing a DVD at a rental shop or something like that, but the only thing that wasn''t available as an e-book was a history-related book. I was reading the book downstairs on the floor, but my mom was running towards me at a ridiculous speed and had a tremendously worried look on her face, telling me I shouldn''t go away on my own. To tell the truth, I don''t have to worry about it at all in these times, because I can tell where she is with my personal terminal and I need a nanochip for personal identification to get in and out of the library. Well, I can''t talk about my feelings, so I apologize. Oh, sorry. Mom smiled gently and patted me on the head. Suddenly she found a history book in my hand, a book on the architecture of old castles, I think it was at the time, and asked me with her eyes if I had any questions. (What?You don''t like this grimy castle?Gross.... gross... gross, even for my child. And you''re going to rent it? I''m the one who''s going to have to carry this on my back to get home. I think that''s what it''s about. I don''t see any smile in her eyes. When I turned my head down to think about giving up, my mother brought my book, which is as thick as a dictionary, to the counter along with the e-book I''d selected. I''m sure she thinks I''m being a creep, but she''s kind. After that, she took me to the library every day. It became a routine for me to borrow the picture book of my choice and a book on history that I chose. One day, she chose a picture book, and among the books she had chosen was a simple math problem. It was so interesting that after I solved them all, I wrote the problems in my drawing book and solved them myself. And I was doing it again today until I was scolded by my mother, who has a devil''s face, just now......... Well, is it time to go?I''ve got to stop crying and find out why she''s mad at me. I''m eating in this house and if I displease her, the worst thing that could happen is that she might leave me.... I quietly looked at my mom''s face and saw her panicked and flustered. Seeing this as an opportunity, I hugged my mom and she gently patted me. But.........why was she so angry? ----Early Summer of 2090 Miki Arakawa Point of View Today I think I''m going to go to the library for the first time with Gongju. She''s smart enough to be able to handle a quiet place like that. We walked slowly through the city, holding Gongju in our arms. When I was a child, gasoline-powered cars still ran, but now they are electric-powered cars. There is almost no chance of a traffic accident. Unless, of course, you run out into the roadway, but this kid wouldn''t do anything so stupid. When we entered the library, I went to choose a picture book with Koki sitting on a chair. What kind of animals and stories does the child like?I saw a Japanese wolf at the zoo on TV the other day and he was so excited that I thought I should make a story about a wolf.Thinking about this, I suddenly realized that more than half an hour had passed. I rushed to the chair where he was supposed to be, but he wasn''t there. I panicked. ''Don''t worry, she can''t go out without my identification chip yet.'' I understand that in my head. But if I didn''t say it out loud, I couldn''t help myself with my anxiety. When I searched for the location of Koki''s device on my personal wristwatch-type device that I usually wear, it was listed as F-2. There were only old paper books there, and there should be hardly any people there now.... No way!A pervert? I ran to the place where Gongju was. But I soon found Gongju, and to my surprise, this kid was reading a book on fort architecture with a serious look on his face, covered in dust. I am sure that he would not understand it. Perhaps he was interested in the castle that happened to catch his eye. I decided to scold him for leaving on his own to hide my anxiety. I scolded him for disappearing on his own to hide my anxiety. Oh, sorry. He apologized, looking like he was going to cry. In fact, it''s not her fault, even though it''s my fault for leaving such a small child alone for such a long time in the first place. Moreover, he scolded Gongju, who was quietly reading a book in the library. Probably this clever kid understood that too and apologized honestly, even understanding my feelings. That''s why I couldn''t speak to him, I just stroked him. Am I smiling well now? I looked into Gongju''s face and he looked away. That''s right, I didn''t do anything wrong, but my mother got mad at me for it, maybe even teasing her a little. It''s a good idea to take the book with you to the counter, as well as the book that showed interest to you, as you can''t help but feel uncomfortable. It was the least I could do to make amends with him. When I was about to move him to the next room to take a nap, I saw a piece of paper in his hand. I knew that he had been working very hard to write something on his drawing book recently. But ... this ... this ... this ... I know what this is. And I understand that this is a hell of a lot of trouble if it''s true. So it''s just a matter of ... The Proof Formula of Quantum Science. I couldn''t help but grab Gongju and ask him. What did you do with this?Did you come up with that on your own?Did someone tell you that?Did it say that in the book?Or was it on TV?And Gongju cried as if he was frightened. I did it again, and although it wasn''t his fault, I questioned him in a harsh tone of voice. I wondered what I should do, but Gong-Ju didn''t stop crying, and this time I felt a vague fear that he would hate me completely. I was just looking around and wondering if he''d hate me completely, when he suddenly hugged me. As Gong-Ju buried his face in my chest, I regained my composure and gently patted him while Gong-Ju once again asked me what I did with this formula. And I had to do my best to hold back the panic again. The child cried out and said, "Boku ka-ta! ''Boku ka-ta!'' I wrote it. That''s how this little boy, my little boy, discovered the formula that scholars around the world are desperately searching for. Before I married Shuichi, I studied quantum science in a university lab, and that is how I was able to recognize this child''s formula. It''s no coincidence that such a young child discovered the formula. You can''t derive this formula by accident. Probably, if this is made public, Gongju will be famous. But is that all there is to it?Solving this difficult problem at such a young age is like a demon.......... Thinking up to this point, he remembered the moment when Gongju was born. He remembered the eyes of that time, wasn''t this child a normal child?For a moment, the thought came to me and was replaced by fear. But I immediately remembered my vow from that time. ''''Even if this world denies Gong-Ju, I will continue to protect him. Yes, I am a mother. I don''t care if this child is the devil, still, Gongju is my only son. From then on, I acted fast, I wrote and published a paper as a formula that I constructed myself so that Gongju''s formula could be leaked out. In the future, when this kid grows up, he might be angry that his feats were stolen from him. At that time, I''ll be honest and apologize for being jealous of my son I''m sorry for being an ugly mother I''ll apologize from the bottom of my heart. But I still want to protect Gongju. If this boy is a demon I''m going to be a demon king. 6-just now And, well, there''s a lot going on. You needed a history lesson, right?But my mom is amazing. She took a hint from my doodles to complete a new theory, she created a new nuclear fusion reactor based on my drawings of a power suit, she even designed a new type of airplane, and she''s too versatile in many fields. I think it''s time to hear people talk about the mother of creation, not the mother of new quantum science. But the most amazing thing about her is that even though she does all these things, she''s basically at home.... My dad doesn''t stay home because of that, but the other day he said he was going to Africa and left the house. You should try to stay home and learn from your mother. You know what she said the other day? You don''t spend much time at home, do you? You just laughed at me when I said that.You''ll get a divorce sooner or later. Well, I didn''t see you at home today either. She said she had some kind of important meeting or something, but I was sleepy and didn''t really listen to her, so I''m sorry, mom. You''re bored, though. We''ve always had a family promise that someone has to be at home because we don''t know when dad is coming home. To be honest, it''s a pain in the ass, but I have to be home whenever my mom is away.... Well, I don''t have any friends, so I don''t mind. I don''t mind. I''m going to cry. I finished cleaning the house, so maybe I should weed the garden from time to time. It''s a big area, so if we don''t do it little by little, it will grow quickly. Once, I saw on the internet that there was some kind of easy-to-make herbicide that you could make at home, and when I tried it, not only did all the weeds die, but all the weeds in the garden died, and I had to pull them out by hand. Mom called Dad and a contractor had to replace the soil in the garden. Wasn''t that the first time your father got mad at you? ''I know what you''re capable of, so don''t do this kind of thing in a residential area! Or so he said. That goldmasher, when he comes home when mom''s not around, I''ll feed him a meal of laxatives with a vengeance. Now, I have a big yard. And it is huge. It''s as big as you''d like to imagine the garden of an old samurai residence. The house is big, too, of course, because my mother makes a lot of money. She has more than 200 patents and has been getting so much demand from various research institutes that they are begging her to let them write her name on the list. I don''t blame them for that. By the way, my father''s income is not very good, according to my mom ''Your father doesn''t make any money, but he does work for the United Nations to help people. Apparently.......... My son was even touched by that kindness already!It''s really a waste of that macho and my mom. Anyway, it''s a macho thing, and even though it''s called the United Nations, it''s still a subcontractor who''s transporting packages for a subcontractor, right?He said he was going to Africa, and that would be useful for the meat wall of a VIP employee. Oh, I digress, I think I''ll just go weed the garden. Yeah!Let''s try out the work power suit I made with my mom the other day, these days these work power suits are being used in homes. Of course, this is your mother''s all-purpose suit. It''s a great thing to be able to cook and do all sorts of small tasks while wearing it, and I''m sure Mom made it as a prototype so that anyone can eventually be able to move the power suit. Hmmm, the fit is perfect!Well, weeds, are you ready? ''Beep!Beep! As I was pleasantly weeding, I received a transmission from my personal terminal. Oh, it''s from my mom.... Hey, Kou-chan. What are you doing now? For some reason, he asked me that in a slightly troubled voice. I honestly replied that I was weeding the garden. ''Uh ... yeah. You can stay inside and watch TV instead of weeding. There''s supposed to be a nature documentary on today that you like to watch, Kou-chan. Seriously?The nature of this world is different from the world I was in, where extinct animals still live. I love these animals, and perhaps it''s because of the difference in environment that there are creatures I''ve never seen before. I loved the documentaries that featured such creatures, and since I was a child I often watched them. That''s the kindest thing I''ve ever seen, and I''m proud of her!After I thanked him, I turned off the transmission and was about to enter the house when my eyes fell upon a corner of the garden. There''s a rare bird.... The moment I tried to get closer to observe it, it flew away. I shrugged my head and went into the house. ----Lewis Coleman Viewpoint ----. Was it about four years ago that I was assigned to escort and monitor the captain''s son, or rather we were assigned to escort and monitor the captain''s son?The notch was an incident caused by his son. He sprayed his garden with a poisonous mixture of defoliants simply because he didn''t like the weeds in his garden. Moreover, he had made it by using an over-the-counter chemical that could be bought at a home improvement store. When Mrs. Yamanouchi saw this, she immediately sent a message to the captain. The captain had a team with anti-chemical weapons equipment ready to go as soon as possible. We laughed at the idea that we could find a better excuse for the exercise. When we went to the site in a truck disguised as a private contractor, hell was in front of us. And yet, his son looked as if he had been caught in a mischief. Can you understand that?This young child had created a weapon that could have destroyed a city if he wanted to and used it. The case was presented by the captain to the upper echelons of the United Nations and was probably brushed aside by a highly political decision. But we had been given the task of guarding your son and monitoring him to make sure that this would never happen again. Such a son is now in the garden. It seems that he''s going to be weeding, after the incident, the captain told him to do simple physical labor without using any chemicals, and that''s what he''s doing today. I thought so......... I wanted to think.......... Your son came out of the warehouse with a power suit attached. If it''s just a power suit, it''s fine, if it''s a power suit for work, it''s widely used in ordinary homes. But that thing.... A 6th generation military suit.... I was unconsciously dizzy. A weapon that can destroy a mainstream tank by simply hitting it from the front, a survivability that protects its occupants even if it is hit by a missile, and a weapon that can fight a single combat division on its own. It''s not something you''d use to weed out your garden. Why do we have those things in our homes in the first place?No, this house may not be an ordinary household, but that thing is the kind of thing you would keep in a laboratory. I sent a communication to the captain........ I can''t handle this anymore. ''Captain it''s me. He calls out to the captain in a voice that is no longer strong. There is noise for a while, but eventually you hear the captain''s voice. ''Oh?What''s going on? It''s not like you''re going to be in the field. Your son is weeding the garden, sir. In a power suit. The captain laughed and said, "What does it matter?He replied that he was not a good father. After that, he starts bragging about his son, but he won''t be able to remain a nice-looking idiot father after hearing this.... "Your son is wearing a military suit, a 6th generation prototype suit, to be precise. The captain stopped laughing in an instant and cut off the communication, saying he would send it to his wife. Finally, he instructed me that if your son was going to be in town, he was to stretch himself and stop him. What on earth do you want me to do?How can I do it in the flesh against a man who could lightly destroy a tank?As I was desperately trying to figure out how to do this, your son deactivated his suit. Apparently, his wife had sent word to your son. As it was, he was about to enter the house furtively and stopped. And then..... He stared at us. I felt my heart stop beating in fear. He may normally play the good boy who listens to his mother, but no doubt his son is the kind of person who would use a weapon in his own garden without confusion. How would you answer if such a person could stop you from doing what you do?Am I going to be killed........ No, but my current appearance is using optical camouflage so that it is not visible to the naked eye. There''s no way they could have found out.......there''s no way they could have known that I had contacted the captain in the first place. But are you sure you can do this?Isn''t that military suit equipped with a function to intercept communications? No, no way.... My mind was racing with thoughts of what would be best. Then your son stepped in! They will kill you..... I gave up on the idea. But nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes and saw his son, and I shrugged my head and was about to enter the house. I had survived, not even on the battlefield, and the thought was swirling around in my chest. Perhaps his son wanted to scare me just a little. But I was cruelly frightened. He must have gone through so many trials and tribulations as a member of the UN Special Forces.... His son must have thought that this is the extent of his career. But that doesn''t matter, for now, he looked at the clear sky, enjoying the feeling of being alive and angry. 7-Decide ----Miki Arakawa Point of View I sighed after I sent a message to Gong-Ju to stop using his military suit to weed the garden. This is not about Gong-Ju''s outrageous behavior, or even some of it, but mainly about the upcoming meeting. In conclusion, my act of protecting Gong-Ju was a failure. I never dreamed that she would use a weapon in her home. Thanks to the swift action of Shuichi-san and his subordinates at the time of the incident, we didn''t cause much damage, but one wrong move and we would have lost a large number of lives. In the end, Shuichi-san confided Conju''s secret to the upper management as a confidential informant. His madness at that time was a sight to behold........ That would be true, because all of the new theories, weapon systems, and medicines I''ve announced so far were created by a young child. At the time, the contents were never brought to light to avoid social confusion. But the fact is, which country would own a talented person named Gongju?This was the reason for the almost armed conflict on the issue of And today''s call from the United Nations......... Perhaps Gong-Ju''s fate has been decided, we don''t know what will happen yet. But maybe the world will consider Gong-Ju dangerous and eliminate him. If such a decision is made, I will counter it with all the power I have, and Shuichi-san has promised me that he will do the same. Some of Shuichi-san''s subordinates - and as a mother, I really don''t like it - will try to protect Gongju from the mainly female members of the squad. Probably Shuichi-san''s unit will be armed uprising, but I will still protect my son. With that decision in mind, I opened the door to the conference room. ---- President of the United States William O''Dowd Viewpoint........................... A woman walks into the conference room. She walks straight ahead with a confident and proud walk to the witness stand, probably understanding what kind of content this meeting is about to decide. So this is "Miki Arakawa"..... The woman who had held the reins and controlled the famed Child of the Devil, Kouki Arakawa. A woman who holds the reins of nearly every prominent research institution and has created the most important military secrets of every country. Miki Arakawa, the Demon King.... How many scholars who believe in her will be moved by her just by her voice? Also, her husband Shuichi Arakawa is no ordinary man; he and his men are monsters who have successfully carried out covert operations that never come to light and have brought down a nation with one unit, even a small one. Even for a power as big as the United States, how much damage could be done if they made an enemy of the Arakawa family? I spoke to Miss Arakawa in as cheerful a voice as I could muster with my inner anxiety and the pain in my stomach that seemed to be coming back at any moment. ''I''m glad you''re here, Miss Arakawa. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit us. She only raised one eyebrow and gave a slight bow. No, there''s something more to it!Are you sure?This is where your son''s future depends on it.I think you can be a little more affectionate. I mean, I''m scared, but don''t look at me like I''m looking at a bug like that!Oh, I think I''m going to throw up. The pressure of the people and the world is making me want to throw up. I mean, the Russian Prime Minister has a serious face, but his legs are shaking under his desk, right? The Chinese president has been drinking a lot of water for a while now.Otherwise, by the end of this meeting, I''ll have a pit in my stomach. Huh? Why is everyone looking away? No, settle down. What can I do for you? Yuck!She looks pissed off and is rushing to speak I''m pleased to inform you that we''ve found a way to deal with your son. Ah, it''s over........ The lady''s face is like a real demon king. My beloved daughter Mary, Papa is not going to be able to return home. He''ll be spending the night here in the Far East, and you''ll have to listen to your mother and do everything she asks of you. But first, may I have a word with you? I''m not sure if he''s going to kill me now, I haven''t finished thinking about the letter I''m going to give to my daughter, but if I interrupt here, I won''t even be allowed to write the letter, so I urge him to go ahead. ''''Thank you, I''d like to talk about the possibilities first. If you are serious about developing technology, you can build a permanent engine using the kind of thing you have in your kitchen, or you can use what you can buy in the supermarket to create something far more powerful than my fusion reactor. Hmmm, that''s probably true. What''s great about him is that he can take something that already exists and improve on it. Normally, I would laugh at him, but he could really do it. ''''So what would Gongju do if he felt abandoned by the world? No. We''re abandoning him?What are you saying.... We''ve reached the point where the world''s technology might stagnate without him, and we''re abandoning him for something so precious? "If you all make the wrong decision and try to eliminate Gongju. Yeah, right!Oh no, she''s mistaken about something!I predicted that we would be in big trouble if we didn''t do something about it, so I interrupted the lady''s words with a serious voice. ---- Arakawa Miki Viewpoint---- "If you all make the wrong decision and try to eliminate Gongju. Just as I was about to make up my mind and say my next words, the President interrupted me with his hand. ''I have a daughter who is seven years old. Her name is Mary, and she''s very pretty and I''m very proud of her. All of a sudden he said that. What does it have to do with our current situation?I''ll hush up and urge you on. ''But last month we found out that he had childhood cancer. Our family was in despair.... We hated God, wondering how our sweet Mary could have gotten this disease. It''s not an uncommon situation, it can happen in every family. But if Gong-Ju were to fall ill with such a disease, would I be able to keep my cool? ''But Mary made a full recovery four days later. It just so happened that a new medical pod was deployed at the nearest hospital. Speaking of which, I hear that anti-cancer medical pods are beginning to be deployed in the private sector. Perhaps the President''s daughter was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to use the soles, but right now it''s about Gongju''s procedure and not Mary''s. I was about to interrupt her with annoyance, and I shushed her.... ''The name of that medical pod is ''Type-ARAKAWA''. Madam.........it was invented by your son. Some people call your son a demon, I don''t deny that, but in my family he is an angel. But in my family he is definitely an angel, and all the people in the world live with his creation in one way or another, we can''t get rid of him now. But this is an ugly human way of thinking, and it may be annoying to him as an angel. I felt like I had a glimmer of hope. Wouldn''t the world accept Gongju instead of abandoning him?And that is replaced by the following words of conviction. ''Then I will read out the decision. The president read the document, returning to his role as a facilitator of the meeting instead of his father''s expression. The member states of the United Nations prohibit any interference in the affairs of the Arakawa Koki as a nation, and they respect the will of the individual and will not interfere with any nation, no matter which country they belong to. It also states that it will respect the will of the individual and will not interfere with any country to which he or she may belong. However, since Arakawa Kohki is considered to have ethical problems, we will enroll the students in the International Institute of Science and Technology in Japan from higher education to develop their ethical awareness as scientists and researchers. աΚsʷˤdʤҪskФ줿٤ƤιB˹󤷤sϡ饫sȤ 210214ա饫sհk ϡ礬ܤ줿ӛ٤դä 8-Preparation for admission Depression...... The other day, my mom suddenly told me that I was going to change my career path. Why do I have to go to the tech school?My secondary school teacher introduced me to a school that I could easily get into, and I was going to go there at random, go to school at random, come home, internet and TV. I was looking forward to my blissful high school life, why do I have to go to a school that attracts geniuses from all over the world, not just Japan!I mean, you can''t, I told my mom, how am I going to get into a place like that? We''ve already decided to admit Kou-chan, remember? What did they return? Huh? I haven''t even taken the exam, and it''s impossible for me to do it with my academic ability to begin with.... I can speak a few foreign languages, and even that''s only enough to get you through one year of special high school.Did you just put your name on it and force your way into the school? This isn''t good. I''m afraid the academy is going to have a hard time with it, and if they''re expecting me to do this, I''ll betray those expectations at the last minute.... And what the hell. You''ve put up with a lot of things in the past, from now on, you don''t have to put up with anything, you can do whatever you want. I can''t help it if you say something so meaningful!I wouldn''t want to go to an academy if I didn''t have to put up with it. From Macho. ''You''re lucky to go to a school where you can do what you love. Your dad will be rooting for you. What a text message I got. No, die already, macho, what''s with the ''I understand'' vibe you''re giving off? You don''t understand anything, I''m going to downgrade you to gorilla!And to top it all off, what''s on the list of things you''ll need in the school''s brochure!I can still understand a personal device with a capacity of 280 peta or more. No, even this one costs over 800,000 yen, but the next problem is the personal power suit. Are you crazy?A power suit costs over 4 million a piece........ It''s not the kind of thing you buy a child, it''s just like a car, no matter how popular it is. I''ve left all the preparations to my mom, but is she okay with it........ She''s slightly off in some ways, so she wouldn''t buy something weird, would she? .......... No, I''ll just make sure. ''Yes, what is required for Kou-chan''s admission?It''s all there already, see? Apparently, my mom already has it ready to go. When I went with her to check the storage room, there was a selection of things that were not just a little bit, but grandly misaligned with the values of the owner of the value system. First of all, here!It''s the new personal device from Lewin. Uh, yeah. I know. Isn''t that the one that just came out this month?A ''quantum computing type'' personal device with a capacity of 500peta or more, and one that was announced, not released. Isn''t it going to be five years before it''s flowing to the private sector? I''m glad I like the new stuff, but.... ''Now this!It''s a power suit from Quartet Heavy Industries. The quartet of companies that make powersuits have the top market share of any company that makes powersuits, and their quality is rated as truly the best in the world. Ready? They say it''s the best in the world, and what I have in front of me right now is probably the highest level of civilian power suit in the world. How much does it cost..... I''m too scared to ask. Probably, or rather, I''m sure it''s over a billion. All I can do is smile bitterly as my face is drawn up. ''''Ka, mom, thank you!Can we go to dinner now? I''m hungry. In conclusion, I decided to escape reality for now. After dinner, I happened to find an article about the school when I was operating my terminal. It is an article about the institute that I will be attending from now on and I don''t want to go there if at all possible. I decided to read it because I wanted to understand the internal situation of the school, and while reading it, a sentence caught my attention. The school with many handsome and beautiful girls is No.1" and "The annual school festival, a beautiful girl contest! I don''t know. I can''t go to this school without my mother''s help, and I can''t ask the teachers to find another school for me. Let''s give up and go to the school. If you don''t mind, I''ll just give up and go to the academy.I really can''t help it!Let''s go to the academy! ----Dean Kaoru Yamamoto Viewpoint Depression...... The other day I received a direct order from the Prime Minister of Japan. He wants to admit a young boy to the academy, and without an exam. It''s probably some politician from another country who wanted to enroll his own child in the academy anyway. That''s what I thought, and I adamantly refused. I am the person who hates this kind of power to deal with, and it''s no exaggeration to say that this is why I am entrusted with the academy. When I was about to tell him that I would not bow down to power and that the institute would be impartial, the prime minister said This is not a decision of Japan alone, but an official decision of the United Nations, and you do not have the right to veto it. You do not have the right to veto it. If you refuse to do so, you can be removed from office, I''m sorry, but please understand. What the hell is this all about?There hadn''t been a situation like this since the founding of the academy. At the very least, I tried to ask him why. The person in charge will give you the documents in person tomorrow. You can ask him then. With that, the communication was cut off. Documents in this day and age?Not data?My doubts were resolved the next day. I wondered why such a person, who claimed to be from the United Nations Intelligence Service and who appeared to be a spy, would come to me, even after reading the document I was given. The name on the form was Arakawa Koki, the son of the mother of New Quantum Science. The son of that genius, but that was no reason for the United Nations to act. Reading further, I found something outrageous in the book. Age 4: Constructed and completed the theory of his mother''s formula. Age 5 Designed a new fusion reactor. Age 6 Succeeds in designing a next-generation power suit. At the same time, improves the satellite orbital gun. Age 7: Begins work on a medical pod. At the same time, developed a new variable-wing fighter. Age 10: Succeeded in building a new medical pod. In June of the same year, he conducts chemical weapons spraying tests in his yard and is dispatched to the United Nations. Age 11 Improved fifth-generation mainline tank, bringing it up to a quasi-sixth generation. In March of the same year, administers a test dose of bactericide in a public swimming pool. Dispatches Ground Self-Defense Force. Age 12: In February, a cruise missile disguised as a firework is launched from the coast. A submarine of the Maritime Self-Defense Force intercepted the missile and successfully intercepted it. In August of the same year, a test launch of an improved cruise missile was conducted and intercepted by the Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces, but failed. The missile self-destructs 40 km off the coast. Age 13 In January, July and November, a rocket disguised as a firework was launched into satellite orbit at night from his yard; in November, the target was lost despite the full force of the United Nations Space Force in pursuit. 14 years old. Developed an anti-cancer medical pod. Tested and deployed in a small number of civilian populations. Age 15 In January, he tested the activation of a 6th generation power suit for the military in his yard. If this is all true, then this man, Koki Arakawa, has been using his mother as a cover for his activities. The person in charge claims that this is all highly classified information, and if he leaks it to the outside world, he will be punished accordingly. No doubt I will be killed. But do we really need to educate people who are capable of all this? When I posed the question. ''There is no particular need for technical training. What we are looking for is an education in his ethics, and I''ll leave the methods to the dean. I see..... Indeed, according to the information, they seem to act on their interests without thinking about the consequences for now. I wonder why he fired the missile twice in the first place when he was 12 years old. And what did you launch when you were 13 years old? I''d like to ask him. After I send my supervisor home, I''m left alone to ponder his educational methods. But my head, excited by a glimpse of the other side of the world, couldn''t come up with a good idea. ''I''ll put him in a special class........'' In conclusion, I decided to escape from reality for now. ---- Miki Arakawa Point of View---- My mind is clear. I''ve finally made it this far!From now on, I want you to study as much as you like and make as much as you want to make. It is true that we did a little bit of unethical behavior, but he will understand that as soon as he makes friends, he will understand that. So far we''ve pressured the school to deliberately prevent Gongju from making friends. It was to protect him from kidnapping and unnecessary interference, but we inevitably made him feel lonely. But from now on, you don''t have to feel that way, you can finally let her be free, thanks to which I got into a feverish rush to get the necessary items for the academy. The new personal devices, top quality power suits, even the bags and shoes are all first class brands. I''m sure he was pleased with the personal device, but he wasn''t happy with the power suit... Even though it''s a custom-made suit that costs more than three billion dollars, it''s only for civilian use. Probably Gongju wanted to wear the 6th generation military suit he had developed a while back, but that''s not something to be worn at school, so he''ll have to put up with it. This is a good place to learn common sense. 9-Entrance ceremony I stayed in front of the vanity for quite a bit longer than usual after I ate breakfast. After all, people do make a great first impression!After brushing your teeth and brushing your hair so that it doesn''t look filthy, you go back to your room and put on your brand new school uniform and go back to the vanity mirror to check it again. Okay, there''s no problem. He''s a clean and nice young man from all angles........ ''''Mom, how is he?'''' When I asked her that, Mom smiled more kindly than usual and said it looked great on her. I checked my watch and figured out that there was still time, and then I went to watch the horoscope on TV. Ko-chan, the car is about to come to pick you up, so why don''t you go out the front door and get ready? What a thing to be told. I hadn''t heard anything like that, so I asked my mom about it, and apparently the problem is that he''s my mom''s son... or the son of the "Mother of New Quantum Science". Ah, that. I don''t want to get into that kind of trouble. I didn''t want to get into that kind of trouble, so I waited for the car to pick me up. "....what is this? When I saw the car that was coming to pick me up, I couldn''t help but want to make a U-turn into the house. In front of me was a black car that looked needlessly intimidating. There was a large van in between the front and back. Just as I was about to hold my head up, my mom came out from inside the house. Okay, Mom, I''m gonna go. And then he got in a black car and went quickly. A large van following it......... What''s left is a normal sedan-type car, thank goodness!I''m so relieved!That car that looked like it was going to be driven by those intimidating and scary people was either going to be picked up by my mom or I was wondering what I would do if I had to go to school at the academy with that thing....... It''s you, isn''t it?Come on, let''s go to the academy. Out of the remaining car was a skinheaded old man in a black suit and black tie. I shivered in silence until we reached the academy. ''''Uh, 1-S....1-S....'''' I''m lost, or rather too big!How much money is this academy spending on this? I''m not sure why people look away from me when I ask them, but I can''t ask them. This reminds me of my secondary school days, you know...my eyes are getting hot. While I was wandering around thinking about this, I heard footsteps running up behind me, and when I turned around, a beautiful woman was right in front of me, out of breath. I was desperately trying to hold the bottom of my nose, which was about to stretch, and never had the chance to get to know the beauty!I tried to tighten my expression as much as possible so that I wouldn''t get caught thinking about things like that, and I tried to ask where my classroom was. ''''I''m sorry, Arakawa-kun. It was a mistake on our part, and the person who was going to show you around couldn''t get there in time. Since he spoke to me first, I just nodded my head, missing the right moment to reply. This is not good. In this case, I''ll be thought to be a commie. When I glanced at the beautiful woman, she was swimming her eyes. Woooooooooooooooooooo. Can''t this guy talk properly? That''s what they''re thinking. I need to calm down and get some breathing room. I asked in a relaxed voice I understand your situation. In the meantime, what should I do? Would you be willing to show me around? Okay, perfect. After admitting that he understands the situation at the academy, he''s going to ask a beautiful woman to show him around. It may seem like a ghetto plan, but for now, we''ve got to get to know this beautiful woman in front of us!When I asked her how she was doing, she seemed to be thinking about something, but when I turned to her, she said she would show me around with a smile. The smile of a beautiful woman is soothing in itself! I followed behind him in silence for a while and stopped in front of the dean''s office. I was expecting him to say hello to the Dean, but he entered the room without knocking and turned around in front of the desk at the far end of the room, turned to me and said with a smile, "Welcome to the Institute of International Technology. ''Welcome to the International Institute of Technology, Mr. Arakawa,'' he said with a smile, ''I''m the head of the institute, Kaoru Yamamoto. I''m the head of the institute, Kaori Yamamoto. ----Member of the Guard detail, viewpoint... Now we are in a tense situation. Right now, the house is surrounded by a 32-man Ground Self-Defense Force Special Ranger unit and a 20-man security detail of us. "This is Skinhead. Package is about to be shipped out of the house. Stay alert. My identifying name, Skinhead, comes from my hair, of course. Well, it doesn''t matter.... It''s a problem if you get too tense, so you have to relax a little, thinking about irrelevant things. Our mission is to protect Arakawa Kouki. Moreover, we have to repeat this every morning on the first day of school for three years until we graduate from the academy.We know from the materials we were given that the target of our escort is a person who is needed in Japan, and he is also violent and lacks any sense of ethics.... The method of protection we will use this time is a simple decoy. First of all, as a decoy, her mother, Miki Arakawa, will be the first to start with the escort vehicle, which her mother volunteered to take on the role. After that, the main missionary, Arakawa Kouki, left alone in one car to go another route. Even though the main mission is to protect only one vehicle, there are stealth attack aircraft of the Air Self-Defense Force waiting in the sky while circling in the sky. Since this type of aircraft is a ground assault aircraft, it can protect a relatively large area, and in addition, disguised armored vehicles are deployed in various places along the route it takes. This is Special One, decoy shipment confirmed. Miki Arakawa started as planned, this one too, to secure the real mission. ''''It''s Kouki-kun, right?Come on, let''s go to the academy. When I spoke to him, he silently got into the car. Normally, he would have reacted in some way when he saw someone who looked like me, but he was silent. On the contrary, she doesn''t like the idea of getting into a car with men on both sides of her. He''s doing poorly to show he''s irritated. I don''t want him to be in a bad mood. From tomorrow, I''ll ask the Intelligence Department to send a female member of the team with some skill.......... ----Point of View ---- Kaoru Yamamoto How did this happen?I was running around inside the academy, holding back my screams. When the security team reported Arakawa''s arrival, the person in charge didn''t seem to realize the gravity of the matter, only told him where they were headed and left him behind. When the report came to me, he was no longer there. The UN had contacted me personally to ask me to treat him respectfully, but he had done something outrageous. Moreover, the security team has informed me that he is in a bad mood today. If this is not done well, he might even spray poison gas on the academy to get revenge!When I finally found him and ran over to talk to him, I knew it was too late for me. The moment he turned around and checked me out, his eyes changed with anger, his eyes were like You''re not even gonna send for me? Nonsense. That''s what he seemed to be saying.... I will. ''I''m sorry, Arakawa-kun. It was an error on our part, and the person who was going to show you around wasn''t able to get there in time. I apologized to him, but he just nodded and didn''t respond in any significant way. I was desperately trying to figure out my next move. I understand your situation. In the meantime, what should I do? Would you be willing to show me around? He came to me saying this, and to be honest I''m afraid to refuse. I can''t be alone with him, but the way he says it doesn''t allow for refusal.... Besides, if he is in a good mood any longer, he will definitely send a cruise missile of his own making to my house tonight. I had no choice but to smile and agree. In the end, I returned to my room with no good plan in mind. I turned around and smiled as best I could and said, "I''m burnt out if this happens. "Welcome to the International Institute of Technology, Arakawa Kouki. I am the head of the institute, Kaori Yamamoto. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Welcome to IIT, Kouki Arakawa. I''m the head of the institute, Kaoru Yamamoto. The beautiful woman in front of me, or rather the headmaster, said so. Eh, what should I do?You mean I''m the one who got the Dean to show me around?You''re definitely angry, why should I bother dealing with these students! And I''m pretty sure I''m thinking.... Okay, let''s laugh anyway. It''s a strategy I''ve been cultivating since I was a little girl, laughing at my innermost secrets and pushing them around! Thank you, Headmaster. It''s my pleasure to introduce myself once again, this time as Katsuki Arakawa. Thank you for your support over the next three years. That''s it!I said, smiling lightly. Don''t worry, people can usually get away with it if they smile, they always have, and they always will! Thinking that, I looked at the headmaster........ If I were to compare it to a blind date, I''d say, "Can you jokingly tell me your e-mail address?And when I said, ''What?'' It''s almost like the air we breathe when someone gives us a look like "I''m sorry, I don''t know what to do". The dean and I, both silent and looking for the other''s way out.... After a while, as if to break the frozen space, the headmaster speaks up and says, "Yes, that''s right. You''re right. I had a question I wanted to ask you, Kouki-kun, but do you mind? At least I was saved. If the air had gone on like this for a long time, I probably would have gone home in tears. ''What is it?'' This is where you earn points by telling them honestly what they want to know! A lot of my beautiful friends are beautiful, and they''re dealing with the dean you''re about to take care of, if you don''t get them to like you a little bit. I need you to tell me a little about yourself. Me?Oh, no, I''m sorry. You mean me, okay? Whew!When the beautiful dean of the school asked me to get to know you, I was so surprised that I answered her question outright!No, no, no, don''t give me that dirty look, I''m a gentleman. Always be a gentleman, little brother, and keep your face tight. "That''s okay, that''s okay. The dean of the school spoke to me in a panic. How could I not like it!It''s more of a reward. What is it?What do you want to know about me?When I asked the question while holding back my breath, the headmaster showed some thought as he asked me a question. You set off fireworks from the beach when you were 12 years old. What did you want to do with it? Hmm ... 12 years old?I don''t know if I did that, or rather, how does he know that he doesn''t even remember that? Oh well. Let''s just remember for now... Fireworks, fireworks.... Ah! The thing!I remember one time when Macho was at home, he showed me some fireworks that he used to assemble for work. As I listened to him halfheartedly, I thought that he would use it to scare away wild animals in Africa and the Amazon, since he was going to work in the savage areas, but it seemed that the high altitude of the firecrackers made them easy to be spotted. After hearing that, I launched it on the beach and it flew at about 80 meters high. I thought that if it flew at this height, it would be found, so I asked my mother for advice, but she suggested increasing the speed and lowering the altitude. I sketched the shape of a firework and its flying form and gave it to him, and he made a new firework for me in about six months. My mother, a genius, had made a new firework that flew at 1200 km/h and avoided obstacles automatically at an altitude of less than 2 meters. When I set off the fireworks on the beach again, they disappeared over the horizon in a frenzy Come to think of it, I was impressed by the lights that I thought were fighter jets flying around that night. When I told him that, the headmaster nodded in admiration. Okay, you were interested in my son''s mirror-like concern for my father, who as far as I''m concerned, Macho, who is not a good human being, to take off his skin and ask his mother to do it for him! That''s a high point. ''So, when you were thirteen years old, you launched it from your yard? Well, it all started when a lady in Macho''s office said she wanted to look at the earth, and since Macho has always helped her, I talked to my mom and got her to improve the rocket fireworks she had made before. Then I put a small satellite made by my mom, and flew it. The lady was so pleased with the image of the blue earth that came back later from the satellite that she said, "I can see so many details! How excited you were, you did your best, that''s all. By the way, besides those satellites, I set off a couple of other things that were rocket fireworks without telling my mom, but I''m not telling her that.... "Can you tell me what else you launched besides the satellites? No, not that one!I can never teach you......... I will never teach you, no matter how much you make your eyes water at the thought of hearing that!I had to divert my interest somehow. Just then, I heard a knock at the door. ''''Headmaster, it''s time for the entrance ceremony to begin. A glamorous blonde sister came in just in time to call the headmaster........ ---- Kaoru Yamamoto Viewpoint---- Welcome to IIT, Kouki Arakawa. I''m the head of the institute, Kaoru Yamamoto. When I said that, he laughed at me as if I was chuckling. Thank you, Headmaster. It''s my pleasure to introduce myself once again, this time as Katsuki Arakawa. Thank you for your support over the next three years. The expression on his face and the air in the room was obvious. I know how much I know. Do you not understand that? Stupid woman.... He appeals to me. I had to break this silent space somehow. I thought of a solution desperately, and after I did it, I regretted it. I regret it. I had something I wanted to ask you. What am I saying? I can''t think straight and can''t understand what I''m saying. He has an expression in his eyes that isn''t smiling, and asks me to continue.... As if obeying the devil''s whisper, I uttered my next words. ''I need you to tell me a little about yourself.'' After I say it, I gasp. What did I just say!I said perhaps the most unwise words to the young man in front of me, and when I looked at him, he gave me a stern look of affirmation. Shouldn''t we stop here?The thought of this has crossed my mind. But already my inquisitive mind as a researcher has swelled up inside of me, and I can no longer control it. Child of the Devil..... I remembered again that this young man was called that. If I hear any more stories, I won''t be able to back out and I''ll be one of the cogs in the wheel that hides this young man''s true form. But that''s okay, I''m more interested in the facts. ''You were twelve years old when you set off fireworks from the beach. What did you want to do with that thing? When I asked him that, he told me with a smile. He was consulted about the shortcomings of his father''s cruise missile, and when he tried to test it out, it seemed to be very impractical for his level. So he designed an improved version and asked his mother to build one... The resulting missile seems to have surpassed the performance of the previous one. He seems to think that the desperate interceptions made by the Self-Defense Forces with their prestige were nothing more than a child making a noise. The proof of this is. The lights of the fighters were impressive that day. What a statement. I suppose it''s a sign of confidence that he can''t do anything about the swarm of May flies. As a researcher, I just nodded in admiration of his absolute confidence in what he had created. I also ask him about the rocket he launched when he was 13 years old. It seems that the rocket I launched from my garden was a spy satellite. If a colleague of his father''s, who wanted a spy satellite, it must have been someone in the United Nations military intelligence service. That person ''looks very detailed and good! I don''t need to think about the performance of existing satellites to know that they are far out of line. But when I asked him about it, he immediately said it was a secret. He seems to be in a bit of a panic, and he says in a whisper that it would be the end of the world if they found out about that thing. A person of his caliber is in a hurry, and you have to send him into space to hide it.... Only one idea occurred to me. Viral weapon. There''s no doubt about it. He dumped a virus into space that was highly contagious or lethal, or probably both, but he dumped a virus that was unmanageable on Earth. I almost cried, he would even create something that humans couldn''t manage with impunity........ Can this be managed by ethical education alone? I looked at him with that thought. Dean, it''s time for the entrance ceremony to begin. Roberta Scarlett, who was to teach his class, entered the room. ----Roberta''s point of view---- As I guide them, I look at the young man walking next to me. It''s a very strange person, most men would stare at my chest, but this guy doesn''t act like he''s interested in me. On the contrary, he is walking as if he has no interest in me. I was a little confused because I had never seen this happen before, but I didn''t expect him to say, "You don''t look at my breasts? There''s no way you can say that. The headmaster has told me that this young man will be in my class, but I don''t really know what he''s like yet. I was hoping that I would be able to understand him a little better during this time, but I didn''t know how to talk to him and ended up in the hall. I showed him to his seat and went to my seat. Can I really teach a student like him for a year like this?I''m not worried......... 10-Hysteric and his first friend ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint My sister showed me to my seat in the hall. Her boobs were huge, though. If I glanced at them, they would have been noticed, so I walked diagonally behind her, and struggled to keep my breasts in the edge of my field of vision. When you walk like this, it looks like you''re right next to her and looking forward to her, so if you want to get a sneak peek of her breasts, try it out. I won''t be responsible if they find out, though.... It''s time for the ceremony to begin, and I''m about to start my life at the school, but there aren''t many people around. It''s a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you''re looking for in a good deal of people. There are about 40 people in the other classes, why is that? And there are only three men. One of them said earlier, ''Huh!Hoo-hee! And laughing......... That guy is not good. I think he''s some kind of person on the other side that I can''t get involved with anymore. The other thing that stands out to me is the long haired girl sitting in the front row, I can only see her profile from here, but I think she''s pretty cute. The rest is kind of normal.... It''s not like we''re in a video game world or anything, so there''s no girl with pink hair, nor is there a girl with a tail and animal ears. Well, this is how it is in reality... If I''m going to reincarnate anyway, I''m going to use cheats in another world and make a harem! I wanted to do that.... Oh, I guess this is another world, or maybe it''s a different world, but it''s a different history than my world. While I was thinking about such a trivial matter, the host of the event, an old man Next, the freshman representative will speak. Freshman representative, special class Aikawa Emi. I said. I''m not sure if there''s a special class or not in the world-renowned academy, but when I was strangely interested, the girl with long hair that I noticed earlier stood up from her seat. Eh........... She got up from her seat? Special class is here! Why, hey, hey, hey!Why do I belong to a special class? As I was fumbling around by myself, I saw Aikawa-san on the stage. Ah, I knew she was cute. Nope!Not so. For now, when this is over, let''s go to the headmaster and at least get him to change it to a general class, and this is clearly not a class I want to be in. Hm?Aikawa-san''s looking at me. Why is he looking at me?Yeah, I mean, I''m staring at it. What did I do? Oh no..... It''s too unreasonable. I want to go home. ----Emi Aikawa Viewpoint I was introduced by the Vice President and I went up to the podium. As I was looking at the students while giving my speech, my eye was caught by a certain male student. Arakawa Kouki''..... The son of the genius ''Arakawa Miki'', he has entered this academy without an exam. All the other students have taken exams and entered the school with legitimate qualifications, but he didn''t do that, he''s only here because his parents are geniuses. It''s true that he''s Arakawa Miki''s son, so maybe he has some academic ability. But what if he doesn''t?I can''t stand the idea of a mere mortal being in this academy, or in a special class for that matter!If he didn''t have any special talents, I''d kick him out of this academy immediately!When the entrance ceremony is over, I''ll talk to him and nail him to the wall. When I thought that, I couldn''t help but glare at him.... ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ----... The Commencement Ceremony is over and I walk into my classroom and take my seat. Good! There was a seating chart on the wall properly.... The only thing that bothers me is that ''Huh! He said he was next to Saito-kun, which means he took out his device from his bag and read the book as soon as he sat down, so there''s no problem. There''s one person in the class. There are no delinquents in this academy, so you won''t be bullied. When I was out of it, a voice I heard somewhere suddenly spoke to me. "Arakawa-kun, do you have a minute? When I turned my head, I saw Aikawa-san. I don''t know, I was staring at him earlier, but I haven''t done anything yet.I mean, I''ve always wanted to make some kind of acquaintance, but that''s okay! You wanted to see me? When I answered that, he began to talk like a rage. Arakawa-kun, you may be special because you are Arakawa Miki''s son, but this is the International Technical Institute, and it''s a special class. Do you know what that means? We''re all very special here!You have to understand, you''re not the only one who''s good at this. And you haven''t even taken an exam yet, have you? It''s been talked about, no! Good!I don''t want to hear your excuses. All the other students are here to make sure they take their exams!Are you sure you''re capable of getting in here?The first exam is next week, so you need to get into the 10th place on that test, and if you don''t, you''ll be out of this academy with honor. Bye. Eeeeee... What''s wrong with this guy, he can talk on his own and leave you all alone? I''ve never seen a real hysteric before. Aikawa-san and her mother are geniuses. It''s impossible for me to be in the top 10 at this academy.... What am I going to do, will I have to quit the academy? How insecure I thought I''d be. I don''t know about that!There''s no way the average student can decide on the same student''s progress in the first place. Why do I even have to be told this after I got stared at....... No matter how mild-mannered I am, you''ll be pissed off in the end! I''m not going to tell him, but... I''m a gentleman, you know. It''s not that I''m afraid of Aikawa-san''s swordsmanship, it''s that he''s a gentleman! While I was thinking to myself in agony, homeroom was over and it was time to dismiss. Well, it''s the first day of school, so it''s over before noon, or I''m too tired to go home right away, but I''ll just go to the cafeteria and have a bite to eat. This is when you have a chance to make friends. Who should I invite? I was just accused by Aikawa-san, so I wonder if there is anyone who would like to have dinner with me. Looking forward we all look away. Looking to the right everyone looks away...................... I look behind I see nothing but a locker and a wall. I look to my left I make eye contact with Saito. Saito-kun is staring at Koch! ----Shingo Saito''s Viewpoint Arakawa-kun is kind.... He even eats lunch with me. I didn''t know what to talk about, so I told him some trivia about animals that I picked up from a giant bulletin board I''m always looking at on my personal computer. I thought I''d end up being ridiculed like I''ve always been, and I didn''t think he''d be interested. ''Seriously!Really, pigeons get confused and stuck when you turn them upward! He was biting off more than I could chew. I got carried away and told him everything else. You''re lying!How do you know all the polar bears are left-handed? What an interesting response. When I was ready to leave after dinner, Arakawa asked me for my email address and mobile phone number. I was so happy that I gave it to him, and he told me to call him if I ran into any problems as he got in his car and left. I had been bullied all my life, but now I had a friend for the first time.... I''m so glad I didn''t want to be bullied, so I worked so hard to come to this school where there are no punks! Aikawa-san or some other weird girl was bothering Arakawa-kun, but I''m sure she''s the exception. But if they''re too conspicuous, I''ll expose them on the board. I''ll just send him the URL of a place where I can teach Arakawa a lot of interesting trivia by email. ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint Wow, you were so nice, Saito!You''re going to tell me a lot of stuff I don''t know. I''m sorry I judged you like a weirdo at first, but we should have dinner together tomorrow. I''ll go home and talk to my mom, and she''ll tell you. It''s nice to have a friend. He smiled and said. Well, I guess I''m the first one to make friends. Before I went to bed at night, I received an email from Saito-kun with about 20 URLs of websites with lots of trivia on them. I almost fell asleep looking at them and remembered.... Oh, I forgot to ask them to change my class. Oh, well.......you''re here, Saito-kun. 11-Coffee, power suit and Alice Today, there is only a physical measurement and an explanation of the lessons we will be learning. I''m told that I''ll be studying at the institute as a full-fledged student from next week.... I was told to use the extra time from the class time and body measurement that''s finished early in the explanation to interact with other students. ''Huh!Hoo-hee! There''s Saito-kun in front of me. I don''t hate it, you know?It''s just, two guys drinking coffee in a sunny seat in the school cafeteria. I''d love to talk to the shadowy girl over there, but I can''t do that without Saito-kun, male friendships are hard!And Macho said that he''s only as hard as his muscles. "So, didn''t military power suits have an escape mechanism until they became the current type? Saito-kun asked excitedly. I was explaining to him the concept of the new power suit that my mother had developed. It seems that you love the military, so when I told him about my mother''s new power suit, he couldn''t help but bite into it.Back to the power suit, as Saito said, the military model did not have an escape mechanism.... My mom saw a man jumping out of the back of the suit in the picture I drew. What''s this? He asked me if it was an escape mechanism, and I told him it was. E....................... I froze. Mom, who rebooted after a while, laughed and told me I didn''t need that stuff. She explained to me that the way they operate on the battlefield in the first place is mainly in single-engine enemy line penetration operations, so if I escaped, I would be captured or killed immediately. No, no!There''s no way that''s possible. You need an escape mechanism, I desperately tried to explain the need to my mom. One, the cost of training the crew. 2. The stress relief from the sense of security that comes from being able to escape. 3. the usefulness of the information that would be brought back to us even if we escaped. There are many other factors, but these are the three main ones. Even after hearing that, I still insist on abandoning the power suit, which makes me a bit of a pain in the ass. Why don''t you put a power suit on underneath your power suit? And the moment I said it, a bit thrown back Oh.................... With those words, Mom didn''t come out of her room for half a day. Finally, she came out and said, Kochan, how about this!The new power suit that was shown to me was a reinforced exoskeleton that I had to put on before I could put on the big book suit. In order to escape, the upper half of the suit would be manually pried open from the inside to escape. Honestly, it''s lame........ Can''t you just take off all the parts in a flash? She said that and went back to her room in a daze. A few hours later, when I started to worry about dinner, she came out again and showed me another blueprint and explained it to me ''Well, then!When escaping, all the parts are ignited with gunpowder to purge the joints. Even the flying parts are used in the attack and then the system can be used to escape. That''s it!It''s like this!I complimented Mom on how cool and innovative it was, and she seemed happy to start preparing dinner. At that time, I suggested that we manufacture each part so that we could replace broken parts immediately, but in the end, we didn''t have dinner until midnight. The result was the "Prototype 6th Generation ARAKAWA", commonly known as the Arakawa Model. All of the power suits currently being developed around the world are based on this Arakawa model. Did you come up with the concept for this new power suit, Arakawa? You can''t just sit back and ask me about it, but that''s not true. It''s not that much of an advice... or even a piece of advice, but your mother could have come up with that much on her own, and more importantly, she was the one who made it up. Is that so? That''s right, Saito-kun. I can''t live with my mom if I''m going to claim credit for something like that, and I can''t keep up with her mentally in the first place. You know what?He''s the kind of person who can single-handedly build a fusion reactor in his house. When I said that, Saito-kun agreed, to a point. More importantly, isn''t that the third piece of cake?You were told you''re overweight by your body measurement, so weigh yourself........ ----Shingo Saito''s Viewpoint... I was surprised to hear that Arakawa was teaching me about power suits. I had assumed that Arakawa''s mother was making the power suit, but it seems that he was thinking about it. I''m talking about it in a casual way. I wonder if Arakawa understands?Improving survival and manufacturing each part of a suit is a completely different concept from what we used to do. For example, if a suit is wrecked, it used to take weeks to repair it, but now all you have to do is replace the parts and it''s done in a few hours. I''m known as a military otaku, so I understand what this means. Unlike other suits, Arakawa''s model suit could be used to carry bazookas, machine guns, etc., so a single suit could be used in place of various other types of suits. And yet Arakawa-kun is not proud of his accomplishments. I didn''t do anything to it because she made it. How humble he is. I''m sure Arakawa is trying to be modest with me, which I can''t do anything about... I''m very happy to hear that. I''m very happy to see that you''re not being sarcastic. So I''m going to go with you, too. Is that right? I replied. I can''t blame him for being a little bitter!Because it was really great. I ate my third piece of cake, smiling. ----Alice Alford Viewpoint ----. Arakawa-kun and Saito-kun are sitting near me.... Apparently, they have now moved from talking about miscellaneous topics to talking about power suits. I want to join in......... I''ve always been too shadowy to make many friends, I''ve had some, but those friends were also too shadowy to be left behind, often forgotten by the teacher during off-campus classes. Oh, the orange juice you''re drinking is so salty.... That''s why I was trying my best to make friends today, when I just entered the academy, to make my presence felt, but when I noticed, I was alone as usual. I''m doing my best too. But the students at the institute were too individualistic, in a good way, and the level was too high for me. I can''t let this go on!With that in mind, I was listening to their conversation, but I couldn''t find the right moment to talk to them, they were talking about a power suit that even now I don''t really understand. The only thing I can talk about is the contents of pharmacology, which is my area of expertise... In the meantime, it seems that the conversation has come to an end, and Saito-kun has started eating his cake. It''s not a bad idea to have a conversation with them. ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ----. Hey, do you have a minute? The next thing I knew, there was a very pretty girl in front of me. Huh?Who. I asked the girl, suppressing the tension that was building up. Saito-kun''s like, "Huh-hihih! I''m so excited about this........wait a minute. Calm down for a minute. "I''m Alice. I''m in your class do you remember me? Wasn''t there ever a girl this cute?I don''t remember. Saito-kun also said, ''''Huh? No, it''s okay, I''m... not very good at it. What''d she say? Sorry, Alice!I didn''t mean to do that. Come on, Saito-kun, apologize too! Desperately apologizing, Alice said this Um, please be my friend! There it is!That''s it!I waited. Thank goodness, I was thinking that my time at the academy would end with me being friends with just Saito-kun. When I was about to reply, Alice nodded her head and said, "No? I''m not sure if it''s a good idea.Saito-kun. Huh? Sight!I will never forgive you! Arakawa-kun, do you think you could do the same? Oh, I''m sorry, Saito-kun. I forgive you.... I''m really sorry for getting all hot and bothered by myself. ----Alice Alford''s POV... ''Heh, so you specialize in pharmacy, Alice? Arakawa-kun asked me with interest. I haven''t accomplished much in spite of what I specialize in, and I''m sure that Arakawa''s mother and Saito are doing much better than I am. In particular, Saito was featured in an electronics magazine last month, and when I told him that ''Seriously?Saito, you''re in that magazine?Why didn''t you tell me? That''s because your mother is on the cover of that magazine, Arakawa-kun. I''m too embarrassed to brag because I''m only on the last page for a few minutes. The two of us are flirting with each other while saying that.... My ideal image of a friend was right in front of me, I''d like to do something like that too. By the way, Arakawa-kun''s mother was also active in the pharmaceutical field. Are you still doing research at home? When I asked him that question, Arakawa-kun taught me many things. He would study in his room at home and forget to prepare dinner. Suddenly injecting himself with a medicine, saying it was safe for his body. That he often came to me for advice. ....what? What did you just say? So, you see, Mom, it''s your body. No, no, no!And then! Are you coming to me for advice? How could I possibly advise that genius?I wonder if Arakawa-kun is also a pharmacology specialist.... When I asked him about it, he said No, I''m not much of a pharmacologist. What an answer. Well, you just asked me for a moment because you''re family. When I was about to conclude that, Saito-kun said something I couldn''t believe my ears. ''You said you weren''t a specialist in that, but you also developed a new power suit, didn''t you? That''s what I''m talking about! What Arakawa-kun is talking about, but I can''t hear him.... Even if it''s not my field of expertise, I have a talent that surpasses Arakawa Miki, who is said to be a genius. I could sense that he wanted to tell me that. Come to think of it, when I was back in my home country, the adults at the research institute said that Miki Arakawa''s research was merely the work of his son, Koki Arakawa, and that he was only presenting it instead. He is the true genius, or rather, the devil''s child. At the time, I thought that a child of my age would never be able to do such a thing, but looking at the reactions of Arakawa and Saito, it was probably true. I looked at Arakawa-kun in awe, unlike earlier. ----Surveillance Team Intelligence Officer''s Point of View---- My job is to analyze the information sent to Koki Arakawa''s personal terminal and report it to the higher-ups. I''m obliged to submit all information, but since I once had him launch a new spy satellite for my exclusive use, I have to exclude information that a boy of my age would search for. Well, let''s just say he has a pretty special hobby.... What an old man with blonde hair, rabbit ears and net tights! Well, today''s mail is... Hmm, an email from my friend Shingo Saito. It''s trivia about animals, or I''ll send it to my terminal as well. There''s nothing else of note here, so let''s move on to my internet browsing history. Hmm, what''s this, "Laxative making course you can make yourself! You spend a lot of time on this page, where did you jump from this page?''How to mix drugs that won''t be discovered, so your drug-hating child won''t have to worry about it'', ''How to treat your father'', ''The perfect crime manual - how to bury a dead body''............. ''Captain, it''s me.'' I found myself sending a communication to the captain........ ''''Oh? What''s going on? You still sound like a nohawk, but I don''t think you understand that this man is in a very dangerous situation right now. ''I''m going to ask you to shut down all the sites I''m about to teach you. Criminality is not an issue except in one case, so I''ll just freeze the servers. He listened to my verbal instructions as if they were troublesome, but around the time I said ''how to treat your father'', he sounded the same as he did when he was commanding in the field. Perhaps the captain''s life is safe for the time being........ Next, let''s check the inside information, this is like a diary. That''s odd, it wasn''t there last time I looked, but it was updated 2 days ago. I see it''s been moved from another terminal. I''ll have to check that one later. The content ... it''s been around for a long time, does it contain anything about me? Hmm. ''I met a sister who said she was working with Macho today. She said she wanted to see the earth from space. I''m going to talk to my mom about it. Oh, you''re the big sister.... She''s a good judge of character. I talked to my mom, and she said she can help me improve my rocket launcher. Do you think your sister will be pleased? Yeah, that was great, Kouki-kun. "The launch was successful!Your sister saw the images coming from the satellite and they look great! What a thing to say, but your sister''s joyful smile was the most beautiful thing I''ve ever seen.'' Cute!He''s so cute!You make me want to eat your sister. I was in a good mood and gently added the contents of the hidden file "study folder" at his bookmarks, the school swimsuit under the bunny girl. 12-Exams and english ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Today, you have your first exam at the institute. Depending on how well you do in this exam, the number of lecture hours will change. It''s a good idea to take the first exam of the year and the subjects with the highest scores will be excluded from the curriculum, for example, Saito''s specialty is electronics, so he''ll probably be exempt from PC and math. For example, Saito-kun will be exempt from computer-related and math-related subjects because electronics is his field of expertise, while Alice is exempt from chemistry, English, German and other language courses because pharmacy is his field of expertise. I mean, I don''t think I''ll be able to keep up with the classes at the Academy. What should I do, give up gracefully?No, I''ve made some friends now, so I''ll do my best. We''ve been texting with Alice almost every night lately, and I don''t want to quit the institute now. I don''t want to quit the school now. After that, I studied hard. It doesn''t matter if it was on the weekends or not, I even pulled out my old textbooks and studied!And the first day of the test is upon us. .......... I can''t even read the test questions!!!! Huh?Why is the question even written in English?I don''t know what to do when I''m asked a math problem in English like that!It''s not even about bilingualism, you idiot! It''s the international standard language, but the places that use it are more like this... Oh, that''s right, it''s the International Institute of Technology. That''s right, it''s basically English. But then, why don''t you usually use English? It''s okay to use English in class explanations. I don''t want you to use it, but.... I watch the test in front of me as I think about this. I look at the test in front of me, thinking about this. ...no, the name. I probably found a place to write my name, but I don''t really know if it''s right. No, I can usually tell, can''t I?I can string together a few simple words, but when you go to a pink site for adults, you''re suddenly thrown into a place that''s written in English!It''s hard to know what to do in a situation like that, isn''t it?Go!That''s what I''m doing now. But I can''t rush back to the browser, I can''t do it after so much trouble. Let''s get a clean slate....I decided that. I sip my lunch ramen in the school cafeteria. It''s a good idea to be able to have pasta in front of you, or you can hear the onomatopoeia of "mokyuu, mokyuu, mokyuu. It''s a good idea to eat more elegantly in front of the lady, as Saito-kun next to her is devouring katsudon like a starving animal.I looked back and saw Alice. What''s going on? You look like you''ve been thinking about something. What did he ask me? I can''t answer honestly and can only fool myself appropriately. Alice can speak English normally, so that''s fine, but I can''t do it!Inwardly, as I looked at Alice with teary eyes, I wondered, does Saito-kun speak English? So I asked him about it. ''You''re making fun of me too much!As expected, you need to be able to speak English at least to get into the academy. Saito-kun and Alice are looking at Koch with a ''what are you talking about?'' look on their faces. ----The homeroom teacher, Roberta''s point of view ----. It''s happening again, I thought as the test began. Also, Arakawa-kun crossed his arms in front of the blank test and made a difficult face. This test is to check basic knowledge and is not particularly difficult. But I left my answer sheet without even writing my name. I wondered if I was sick, and when I approached him, Arakawa slowly opened his eyes and said, "You''re not feeling well. .... Whew!He stared at me with a sharp look in his eyes. It was as if those eyes were Get away from me. I was too scared to look at Arakawa during the entire test period, as he seemed to be saying so. After the end of the test, I reported this to the headmaster, who then rushed to make a phone call. And then he turned to me and said I''ll talk to Arakawa-kun, and you''ll take care of all this. That''s what I was told. I''m his homeroom teacher, for one thing.... I''m losing my confidence more and more. ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ----. During the afternoon test, I was trying to think of an excuse but couldn''t come up with one.... And on the way, Roberta teacher came to check on me, I think it was because she didn''t write the answers and kept quiet, but the moment she saw my face, she went back to her teary eyes, as if in trouble. That''s right - it''s a test and I can''t handle a student crossing his arms instead of writing his answers. I can quit the academy, it''s not the right school for me to begin with. But I feel bad for my mom for expecting me to be admitted to the school. While I was wandering around the academy thinking about this, before I knew it, I was at the teacher''s tower. Let''s go home..., I''ll go home and tell my mom honestly. When I was about to go back with that thought 1-S, Arakawa Koju-kun. Come to the dean''s office as soon as possible. The broadcast came on. I''m not sure if this is it, but I knocked on the headmaster''s office right in front of me with a feeling of resignation. When I entered the room, the head of the school, who looked somewhat surprised, immediately Sit there. He offered me a chair. I was looking at the headmaster sitting across from me and wondering how to start a conversation, but in the end, I stopped embellishing and said honestly ''I''m going to quit the academy. I don''t think I deserve to be here. When he said that, the headmaster''s expression clearly distorted........ That''s probably true, no matter how much he''s the son of a world-renowned genius, he had to admit me, who clearly had no talent or ability, to the academy. It''s not quite a stain on the academy, but it would have hurt the dignity of the academy in its own way. It''s not a problem that can be apologized for, but let''s bow and leave for now. Just when I thought that, the headmaster said I''m sorry, Arakawa-kun!It''s because I didn''t properly explain it to the head of the high school. He suddenly bows his head. I''m so startled that I freeze, and he continues to explain to me. You didn''t have to take the test in the first place. It was a mistake, and they didn''t contact me, and I''m going to have the person in charge fired immediately, so please, just forget this ever happened. What do you mean I don''t have to take the test? I mean, what''s the point of getting rid of it? I don''t need it, but that''s just misleading. As a scholarship student, you are free to take whatever class you want, just make sure you take the ethics class. That''s the only thing the school wants. I see. So the only reason I got into this academy was because I was treated as a special student, regardless of my grade number! That''s right, there''s no way you can enter the International Technical Institute because of your mother''s word. It was something I could understand if I calmed down, so why didn''t I come up with such a simple reason? I think that we have to attend the ethics class to do something like ''Let''s stop doing bad things together''. Oh, that''s a relief. Now I don''t have to worry about my mother, and I can see Alice every day. As for you, Saito-kun........well, it''s okay. Yeah, I don''t need to get rid of the person in charge or anything like that! Everyone makes mistakes, and next time, just be careful. When he said that, the headmaster looked relieved. Thank you. He gave me his best smile. ----The Dean of the school, Kaoru Yamamoto Viewpoint---- When I heard about the test from Arakawa-kun''s homeroom teacher, Roberta-sensei, I almost swooned. He had that ''Arakawa Koki'' take the Academy''s test! He didn''t seem to get the information properly despite me telling him it wasn''t necessary.... Moreover, according to Roberta-sensei, he was cross-armed and unhappy with a blank answer sheet. He said he was so scared of being stared at that he couldn''t do anything else. After complaining to the person in charge over an internal line, I asked Roberta-sensei to step back and use the secret line prepared for the institute since Arakawa-kun entered the school to contact him. ''''This is Yamamoto, there''s an emergency situation. Are you ready over there? The conversation was with an operator from the Self-Defense Force General Staff. ''Three units currently in readiness are available for immediate deployment. The orders are being issued at the same time as this line is being used, and we have eight minutes until the advance party arrives. About 200 fully armed soldiers - not a reassuring number by any means, but I have to believe we can handle it. I''ll leave you to it. Please take care of it. I said and cut off the communication. The only thing left to do is to find a way to calm Arakawa-kun down somehow... 1-S, Arakawa Koju-kun. Come to the dean''s office as soon as possible. You''re a little early! He doesn''t want me to come over yet. Prepare yourself. Knock, knock. Arakawa-kun, how come you''re here so quickly too! You need to be calm and collected. He''s not going to hit some kind of trigger button. It''s important that we talk this through. Sit there. I suggested a chair to him and he took a seat quietly. What shall we do? When I couldn''t get him to talk to me, he talked to me. ''I''m going to quit the academy. I don''t think I deserve to be here. His expression was stern, as if he was going to shoot me to death. He must be thinking, ''How can I stay at such a low level? But that''s not the case. Arakawa, who has made numerous new discoveries and technological developments since he was a child, is just an anomaly, and that test was just for the general public. I want to scream it out, but if I said that, I would die for sure. On the contrary, the academy itself might be blown up. I couldn''t stop my face from distorting in despair as I thought about that. At that moment, text information flowed into my contact-type display. ''The advance team has arrived, evacuation of students.......complete. In addition, students will be notified of the evacuation drill and notification.'''' Now we can finally get into real negotiations! I began to talk to Arakawa with that in mind. I''m sorry, Arakawa-kun! It''s because I didn''t properly explain it to the head of the high school. He apparently has an ear for listening. That I don''t have to take the test, as I continue. That I don''t have to be tested, and that I don''t have to get rid of the person responsible. I asked him to just forget this ever happened. He thought about it for a while, and then he seemed to agree to everything. And finally, to my surprise, he told me that there was no need to get rid of the person in charge. I was genuinely grateful to him for this matter, because the person in charge is a veteran who has been teaching in this school for many years. Thank you. I was able to thank him. (Viewpoint ---- Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ----) When I came out of the president''s office, I found that an unannounced evacuation drill had been conducted, which meant that Alice and Saito had already gone home for the day. I thought I''d better go home too, so I got in the car to pick them up as usual. Welcome home, Kunugi-kun. There was a skinhead from some time ago.... I tried to get out of the car, but there were already double skinheads sitting on either side of me. I mean, there are more skinheads out there!What?You''re going to self-propagate. It''s been all women lately, so I was caught off guard. And yesterday, when I tried to look at my favorite files on my personal device, there was a strange data growth on it... a horror!But I think I''ve seen that woman in a swimsuit somewhere before. I went home shivering again while escaping reality. 13-Workplace tour ----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View Tartan!Tataan!Dad, Dad..... I listened to the gunfire that was subsiding in the command vehicle with the red lights dimly lit. It''s probably time to finish taking control of all the facilities, and I take out a cigarette from my battle suit pocket to light it up for a smoke. ''Huh....'' As I watched the rising purple smoke, I was reminded of the reason why I had come here today. It all started with the Treaty of Arakawa, which came into effect in January of this year. This treaty was a period of preparation for the countries of the world to get out of the way of the Arakawa Kokyi and allow them to live freely in their own countries. This is a fact, no matter what else is going on. You can''t help but rejoice like Miki, although Miki was honestly happy, but I couldn''t help but be happy like her. As a result, as expected, rebel groups opposed to the treaty decided to use force against Kunugi in various places. "I won''t let you lay a finger on him, though. I say out loud as I chew on my cigarette filter. The people who are controlling them now are the largest of the rebel groups. I''ve been told that a cult that certifies Koki as a "child of the devil" is funding it, and it seems that some of the followers of this group are in important positions in the government, and information about Koki has been leaked from them. If you''re able to shut them down, you''ll be safe for a while and you might even be able to spend more time at home. Just as I was thinking this, a subordinate came into the command vehicle. ''Reporting, sir. Team A has taken control of the building now, and Teams C and D are sweeping the rest of the enemy. That''s what Ellis, the information officer, reported to me. Hmmm.........as expected, things are going well. But what''s the B team doing? Ellis, how''s your B team doing? When I asked that question, Ellis began to operate the information terminal on her arm. And without looking at me, she said in a dumbfounded voice ''My name is Claire. Elise is my twin sister. He said. An indescribably subtle air flows in the command car........ Well, Claire, I''ll remember that the one that Kouki misses is Claire and the one that doesn''t is Ellis. ''''So Claire, what is the current position of Team B?'''' Team B is currently searching the underground passageway they found in the building. They are continuing onward while disarming the traps that were set up. Well, I think the commander of B Squad was Lewis I think he can handle it, but I have a bad feeling about this guy. Do we have a backup? I want some of the men from C squad and F squad, which is guarding the command vehicle, to go after B squad. I''ll get it for you in a minute. We''ll just have to see how it goes for now, but I can''t shake the feeling of unease that I''m feeling. I had just taken four more cigarettes when I received a message from Team B. "This is Team B! This is Team B!We have multiple contacts in the underground passageway, engaging. Heavy casualties.We need reinforcements. d*mn it!A bad feeling is usually right... What to do?Should we retreat immediately or send more reinforcements? We don''t have time to wonder, then we have to do both. "Retreat Squad B immediately. Then tell every other team to leave a minimum number of men and send them to reinforce Team B. Beside me, Claire is sorting through the information with a calm expression on her face. I have to calm down too........ The commander can''t go out into the field, he can only watch with his fingers in his mouth, even if his subordinates are in danger. The desire to punch the display in the face is driven by emotion, but I just hold it down. Now you wait, and as you cross your arms, hoping that the situation will improve, a communication comes in. This is Team A. We have retrieved Team B, which is in retreat. We''re going to reorganize our forces and reinforcements, and then we''re going to regain control of the area. Okay, the unnecessary losses have been contained. All we have to do now is clean up the rest of the enemy.... But why are we resisting to this point in this situation?The situation itself should be in our favor, and they have no choice but to surrender. What is it?Then a message came in that solved my question. "This is Team A!We''ve found a missile silo at the end of the aisle and it''s getting ready to launch! A missile?This is it!You''ve been resisting for this. I don''t know where they''re going to shoot it, but we must stop it! Stop the launch at all costs. And if you can, take control of the control room and get the information back. I yell at him and sit back in my chair and close my eyes please work it out. I pray to a god I don''t normally believe in. We''ve taken control of the control room and the information is being transmitted to my terminal. We are analyzing the target now. Claire will report back to me in a clerical manner. The only thing left to do is to suppress the missile itself, but it seems to be working. I''m waiting for the report with some relief.... "Failed to stop the launch!I repeat, launch interdiction failed!The missile is now firing its rocket booster. Intelligence analysis complete. Ballistic missile type. The target is Japan''s National Institute for Science of the Next Generation. The worst reports are coming in at the same time. "Next Generation Science Laboratory"?That''s where Miki and Kouki should be going today. I rush out of the command vehicle. What I saw in my eyes was a missile flying through the sky, tearing up the sky.... ----Kouki Arakawa Point of View All right, everybody ready? When you get inside, you have to listen to what the attendant says. In response to Mom''s voice, "Yes!" "Huh! I hear a voice saying, "You know what? This weekend I was at the Next Generation Science Institute with my mother. Saito told me why. Hey, Arakawa-kun, I really want to see a power suit in development. That was one word. Because of the commotion on the exam, I didn''t think much about it at the time and gave it a cheap shot, but I was pretty worried about what I would do later. In the end, I decided to talk to my mom as usual and ask her to do something about it, and surprisingly, she gave me permission easily. Mom says ''You promised your friend, didn''t you? Well, it''s no wonder then. What can you say, but is it just a simple "I can''t help it"?Well, I''m grateful, so that''s good.... When I told Saito-kun about the approval, he seemed excited and happy. I invited Alice and she said she wanted to go with me, so that''s how this tour of the workplace came about. "Leave your personal computer here, please. The security guard smiled at me. Ah, so it''s a matter of confidentiality or something. I''m convinced that I''m alone, and sure enough, the security guard said For security reasons, we''re asking everyone to do this. I told him. I have no particular reason to refuse, so I''m going to obey him honestly.... Mom didn''t remove it, as she treats her staff. "You''re Yuuki-kun? The security guard spoke to me when I handed him the terminal. ''Yes,'' I reply, and he compliments me, compliments me. Apparently my mom has been telling all kinds of people that she''s proud of me, and as I''m listening, feeling embarrassed, a man in a white coat comes out from the back of the room. ''Welcome everyone. My name is Ozaki, and I''m going to be your guide. Mr. Ozaki, or someone who seems to be kind. Please take care of me for the rest of the day. As we all said that, we entered the laboratory. The first thing that caught my eye as I entered was the state-of-the-art machinery..... It''s indeed a place called the ''Next Generation Science Laboratory'', not only Saito-kun, but even Alice is getting excited. When I was being introduced to the department, a man who looked like he was a researcher came out from the back. [This is not a place for children. What are you doing here?] Oh, oh, oh!It''s Russian!This is my chance to show Alice that I''m a little bit better. I thought so and replied while trying to keep my accent to a minimum. [Sorry, we are students of the Technical Academy who came to visit. My mother, Arakawa, works there, so she allowed me to do so] Then he looked a little surprised, and then gave me a probing look. So, you''re Kouki, then? I''m surprised you can understand Russian. My name is Nikolai, nice to meet you] Alright, we''re able to communicate properly. I glanced sideways at Alice and she was looking at me with admiration. Saito-kun.........was looking at some kind of production line. Hey, show some interest in this area!Nikolai has let down his guard and is going to introduce me to his research. Hmm, it seems that he is researching a new drug for an incurable disease. Alice is listening intently while Ozaki-san translates for her. But, Saito, what are you looking at so intently?Curious, I stand next to it and check it out. Ah, that''s a part of a power suit. I''ve seen something like this in the things my mom brought home. I remembered that while I was looking at it, Nikolai-san said But I didn''t know you could speak the language of my country. Lady Arakawa bragged about it, but I thought she was just being a family man, and I''m impressed that you are actually fluent in the language as well.] I learned it in a past life. There was no way I could say that, so all I could do was laugh at myself. Then Mom was called in by another researcher, who wanted to confirm the results of her research. She turned to us and said I''ll leave you guys to it. Follow Ozaki-san and Nikolai-san''s instructions and observe. As he said that, he headed off to another location. Furthermore, he toured other departments.... There was a department that was doing research on artificial organs, the Aircraft Development Department, and in an interesting place, even developing new metals. The Weapons Development Department showed me a limited amount of new weapons, and the person in charge, who was pleased with Saito''s bite, allowed me to install a prototype power suit on him, and he is now running around the testing grounds in good spirits. "Huhhh..... Saito-kun, whose tension is at max, is creepy to say the least. Oh well, the battery is dead. With a slightly tired look on his face, the researcher went to collect Saito-kun. We decided to have lunch before looking around the next section, and we all went to the cafeteria. ''I don''t know, this lab?'' Mr. Ozaki asked over lunch. ''It''s very interesting. I''m particularly interested in the pharmaceutical research department. This is the kind of place I want to work in the future. When Nikolai-san heard this, he laughed with a good mood and said that he would welcome the opportunity to work with such a beautiful girl. ''I found the weapons department interesting!I was thrilled to be able to put my military suit on for the first time. Saito-kun, who was eating a pork bowl, looked very happy. Come to think of it, I''ve never seen Saito-kun looking so happy before, I''m really glad I came here today. ''''How are you doing, Kunugi-kun?Where was the fun in that? I''m in the New Metals Development Department. I''m in the development department for new metals, and it''s interesting to me that we''re developing new metals, especially those with high Morse hardness. Ozaki-san asked me, and when I answered, for some reason everyone had a subtle look on their face. You don''t have to say it out loud, you''re thinking, ''Wow, that''s really subtle. You''re thinking, ''Wow, subtle........you''re pushing a delicate department that I don''t really know how to say,'' or something like that. No, it''s great!This is a department that makes metals that don''t even exist on earth. What''s wrong with that.... They don''t know anything about romance, do they? Hmm?The people in the seats over there have a twinkle in their eyes as they look at Koch. Ah!The guys from Metal Development we met earlier. They''re fine!I understand the greatness of your research, please keep up the good work. Well, let''s get going. After confirming that we had finished eating, Ozaki-san said this and continued to show us around. We''re here to study the global environment," he said. The person in charge of the project changes to Mr. Ozaki and explains to us. How did living things evolve?Are you trying to unravel such a mystery? Just as I was about to ask a question, someone came into the room with a bang on the door. ''It''s an emergency,'' The skinhead said that at the opening. Why is this guy here?He started talking about erasing those questions. "A ballistic missile has been fired from an Eastern European country. The target is the Next Generation Science Institute here. Huh? Oh, what. Why are there missiles raining down here?Alice and the other humans in the room are turning blue in the face. I almost panic too, but I ask the skinhead a question. ''What do you want me to do?'' Unfortunately, our attempts to intercept it from its orbit have failed. We can''t move out of the damage radius even if we were to evacuate the area, so we''re going to have to go underground, which is where we''ll have to be. I''m going to express my despairing opinion... Even if we go underground, the whole lab will eventually blow up. What am I going to do? I don''t know what I''m going to do, for real. All right, calm down. In times like this, I''ll ask my mom for help. I''m sure that genius will figure it out.I was about to call my mom for help when I realized. Now, you don''t have a device! I forgot to deposit it when I went in here. Oh no, I''m seriously stuffed. As I was thinking about it, I saw a stationary terminal at the end of the room. Let''s use it to send a message to Mom, I thought as I ran to the terminal. Fortunately, the power was still on. The display was showing some numbers, but it was an emergency now. No one will complain even if the research content disappears, I''ll just do whatever I can to get it to the communication screen.... But no matter how much I manipulate it, it won''t go back to the desktop screen!CtrlF?I thought this was just a normal device. The more I got impatient, the more incomprehensible the numbers were listed on the screen, and then all of a sudden, after the word ''Error'' appeared, the device stopped working. It''s over..... I''m going to die here, that''s what my skinhead said when I thought about it. We have confirmation of ballistic missile destruction. Huh!What''s happening? People are cheering around me, Alice was hugging me like this. Her tits are soft.... That''s not what I mean, what''s going on now!Why is Nikolai [Holy crap, how did you get this far in such a short time?] What an interest. Saito-kun and Ozaki-san, too. Arakawa-kun, you''re a genius after all... it''s amazing. As expected, Ms. Arakawa is proud of you. I''m really impressed with your brains. No, I think you got me confused with someone else.I was just fiddling with my device at random, trying to get in touch with my mom. Huh?I''m not being humble, because I''m serious. So just tell me what''s going on right now, someone tell me what''s going on!!!What the hell, why am I so confused about this? ----Ozaki''s Viewpoint... When it turned out that a direct hit from a ballistic missile was inevitable, Kouki-kun ran up to the control terminal of the drone that was placed in the corner of the room. What are you going to do with that thing?I was about to take Gongju-kun to the basement, knowing it was useless, when I was stopped by a security skinhead. ''Looks like he has an idea,'' That''s what he insisted I should be watching for. I understood what he was doing with his frantic face on the large screen on the wall connected to the terminal. ''They''re rerouting the drones?'' No way, what would be the point of doing that? Are you planning to hit a measuring drone less than five meters away from a missile falling from outside the atmosphere?It''s impossible ..., it''s impossible. However, the one in front of me is the son of that "Arakawa Miki". If he can accurately predict and calculate the predicted trajectory and speed of the missile''s fall using the phrase "missile launched from an Eastern European country," it might be possible. But in reality, it would be absolutely impossible without advanced missile defense technology. There was a near-zero chance that he could do it with his own brain alone and succeed. I followed the light spot of the drone on the screen with my eyes as if in prayer.... Then suddenly the light disappeared. ''Ballistic missile destruction confirmed.'' I didn''t understand for a while when I heard those words. He must be joking, he had drawn a near-zero possibility. He sent a drone crashing into a missile falling at more than 20 times the speed of sound........ He''d managed to do by himself what humanity could barely do by relying on machines. Genius is the word that best describes him. He says it was an accident, but that''s one of his virtues. Even Miki Arakawa admits to being a genius, but what kind of accomplishments will he achieve in the future? My interest in him never ceases. ----Shuichi Arakawa''s Viewpoint We have confirmation of the destruction of a ballistic missile. Apparently, your son used a rough move to crash the drone. Claire''s report is reassuring. However, I''ve always thought that Gongju''s guy is always flashy, but what he does is always flashy. How can you shoot down a ballistic missile with a drone? d*mn it!I''ve let my son clean up his own ass, but I still have some work to do. Is everything under control? Yes, we''re preparing to move the prisoners now. I''m going to make you regret messing with my son....... I''ll definitely find out who the ringleader is and I''ll follow him to the ends of hell, so be prepared. I will help you. As I was saying this, Claire blurted out. ''I''m a member of the Arakawa family,'' continued Claire with a laugh. ''I won''t take my son as my son-in-law if you say that. I said and walked out of the command vehicle, leaving Claire with a red face. As I was staring at the beautiful sky, I heard the sound of Claire causing the shooting iron behind me........ 14-Alices research ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint "What to do with my research project... A while after being almost blown away by a ballistic missile, the three of us were eating at the academy''s cafeteria as usual when Alice said this to me. ''''I''ve decided,'''' Saito-kun, who was devouring the parent-child bowl, wasted no time in answering Alice. Come to think of it, your teacher said something like that to me the other day. As I recall, I thought we were supposed to do one study per person and report back periodically. I''m not involved, but.... I wanted to do the research on the new metals I saw at the institute before, but I don''t have enough money or equipment to do that thing. In the first place, when I talked to the head of the institute about the research, he gave me a desperate look and said, ''No need! I was told. But Alice''s research, or You were good at pharmacology and stuff, right? Then have at it. For some reason, when I say that, she stares at me gingerly. No, I feel weird when she stares at me like that. Anyway, I look away, not knowing what to do. Can you help me? How could I refuse him if he looked at me like I was a little animal!It''s going to be okay. I''ll help you, and you''ll do your best to help me, too. When I said that, Alice had a happy look on her face and was writing her research on a printout.For some reason, Saito was trembling with tears in his eyes as he said, ''It''s time for my research,'' but I''m sure he was happy to be able to help Alice. In fact, when she thanked me, she was so happy she was stretching the bridge of her nose. After school, we decided to go to Alice''s lab to discuss what we were actually going to do. ''I''m going to try to make some improvements to the antibiotics and stuff for now,'' Hmm, improvement of what we have now..... That would be surprisingly easy to do. But how do we determine how well it works?Even if I had a cold, it''s not my mother, and there''s no way I''d be giving myself an injection of a new drug so easily. I''m sure Saito-kun would be willing to be the test subject if I asked him.... Don''t tell me you''re going to try it yourself?No, you don''t!I ask a question about that part. ''What about the subjects and stuff?Isn''t that too much to ask for, Saito-kun? ''Huh? How come I''m supposed to do it........ I''ll do my best for Alice, but... Alice said, ''''Oh........'''' and froze. And Saito-kun, no matter how much you try to make a good impression and increase your points, I don''t think it''s a good idea to put your body on the line. ''''If it''s Arakawa-kun''s mother or something, can''t we try the samples in the specialized lab? Hmmm, Mom. If I ask her, she''ll do something about it........ I mean, I can''t try it with Saito-kun, I don''t want to lose my friend. I replied, ''''I don''t mind that,'''' and Alice looked happy and pleased when I replied, ''''That''s fine. It''s nice to have a pretty girl happy, after all. What a thought. What was waiting for me was a nightmare........ From that day onwards, every day after school, it was good that I was going to be doing new research in Alice''s lab. However, there was one thing I didn''t expect. ''Saito-kun, what are we going to do next with this?'' I''m sure they''ll measure the concentration on the paper there. Huh?Oh my God, it''s burned. I''m not a fan of that. We want to complain about it, but when she says "I''m sorry" with her moist eyes, I can''t say anything strongly enough, so today, instead of her hands and feet, I desperately do what she tells me to do. In fact, Alice herself is working very hard, so we proceed with our work in silence, wanting to show her how good she is. Arakawa-kun.... Saito-kun came toward me with a serious look on his face. I had a bad feeling about this, but I just had to ask him what was wrong. I made a mistake. I doubled the dose. What to do.... If we had to start over, we''d have to start all over again, which would be incredibly complicated, but we can handle twice as much. Saito-kun, nothing happened. You know what?I''m just tired. I said with a straight face, and Saito went back to his work, repeating my words as if to himself. Now, I''m going to start the separation process. If we can get this far, we''ll be done for the day. Arakawa-kun, Arakawa-kun! I think I hear a voice calling me, and I wake up with a start. Apparently I''ve been asleep for a bit... and when I look at the clock, I realize that it''s been over 20 minutes. Not good, very bad. I looked at the stationary separator in a panic, and I was almost despairing when I saw that there was an object sitting there that I didn''t understand. As I was despairing over the futility of my work, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turn around and see Saito-kun with a straight face. Nothing happened. Fine, nothing happened. He appeals to me like a spell. Well nothing else has happened, I continue to work while repeating those words. I''m not sure if it''s a good idea, but I''m sure it''s not a bad idea. ''Sorry!I found something that doesn''t work here, so I made some chemicals to mix over there. By the way, is the one I asked you to make ready? When I handed her the medicine that had become a different object from the one she was in charge of at first, Alice hugged it carefully and said ''Thank you so much. Now we can finally make a prototype! He was happy to hear that. Apart from Alice, who was getting excited, we watched the mixing process, unable to hide our inevitable guilt. ''''Saito-kun, do you think that will work?'''' I don''t think so. Still, I couldn''t bring myself to mention it now, so it was decided to keep this matter a secret as a promise between men. Alice, who was in a good mood after completing the medicine, told me Give this to Arakawa-kun''s mother and tell her to try a sample of anything she wants. And while bringing back the ampoule that was entrusted to me, I was struck with an inexplicable feeling of weakness. ---- Arakawa Miki Viewpoint---- I had come to the virus laboratory with the ampoule that Gongju had given me last night. Gongju explained to me that it was an antiviral drug that he and his friends at the institute had made together. At any rate, he told me to try it against a sample, but I don''t know what sample to try it against. It can''t be a normal sample because it''s that girl. I decided to start using it in the Safety Level 3 class for starters. But to no avail. I think about it for a while and use it on a level 4 class sample. "Neither smallpox nor Ebola virus... Which sample of the product should I use to get the best results?I''d like to go all out and check from the level 1 class, but unfortunately, there''s no such amount in this ampoule. Is this a failure?You could call it a failure with equipment that is at the level of the academy, but the last time I met Gongju''s friends, they were all very good kids. And then a thought occurred to me. And at the same time, I was excited, if my idea was right, the textbook would be rewritten. ''Miss Arakawa, it''s dangerous!That thing is not something that humans can handle! The researchers working in this lab tried to stop me, but I wasn''t going to listen to them. I enter a special quarantine room on the eighth basement floor, protected by a special two-meter-thick door that will incinerate the entire human being inside if I''m not careful. I then carefully removed the sample and used the contents of the ampoule. ''''I didn''t expect.......that it would really work. I can''t believe what''s happening in front of me right now. I''ve checked multiple times with all the few remaining contents and the results are all the same. The only virus I tried and got the effect of the ampoule was the virus that caused the ''European Tragedy'' which is the only one on the planet with a level 5 class designation. ----Alice Alford''s perspective---- We''re in big trouble!It turns out that the drug we made is effective against that ''European tragedy''. That''s why my lab at the institute has been closed since yesterday. But there was a good thing. My father, who is usually quiet and strict, but who I respected as the beginning of my studies in pharmacy, was very complimentary. As he held me in his arms. You''ve done well. I''m so proud of you. He said. My father''s grandfather died in The Tragedy of Europe, I believe. He had told me once that he had become a researcher because of it, and I was worried that he had taken away my father''s research, so I asked him a question. ''What are you saying? You''ve done what I couldn''t, and you should be proud. I was so happy and happy that I couldn''t help but cry in my father''s chest. I thanked Mr. Arakawa and Mr. Saito for their help. I really didn''t do anything! And they both try to give me credit for the achievement. I can''t do that!For some reason, they are smiling bitterly and not looking at me when I say that. In the end, I could only repay my merit by at least announcing their names as co-researchers.... I wonder if the day will come when I can repay them for their kindness?I would help them in whatever way I could at that time, I decided. In 2102, the WHO announced in an official statement the cure for The Tragedy of Europe. The three developers were Alice Alford, Shingo Saito and Kouki Arakawa, all of whom were enrolled in the International Institute of Science and Technology. 15-Saito-kuns research (reading attention, Mr. Goki will appear) Hey, you''re going to help me with my research. This is the story of a week of nightmares that began with one word. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Hey, you''re going to help me with my research. Saito-kun, who was devouring a ten-don in the school cafeteria, said that to me and Alice. To be honest, I thought it was a hassle, but I couldn''t say that I helped Alice and Saito didn''t help. Alice herself is quite enthusiastic about it, probably because she helped me, so I decided to ask her what she''s going to do, and that''s what I''m going to do. "Well, I want to make a simple work robot with AI. Hmm, a work robot... Since it''s Saito-kun, he''s probably going to use a military-type power suit or something, so I asked him. I asked Saito, "What type of shape should it be?Humanoid or tank? No, it''s a cockroach. Wait, what did you say?I thought I heard a few words I didn''t want to hear, but I probably misheard them. Alice also stops with a drawn-out face as she sips her tea, I ask her again. ''What did you say?'' So it''s a cockroach. I don''t want you to smile at me like that. Why are you a cockroach in the first place!That''s where the tanks and other impossible things are, and I''m the one who''s always saying, ''Mom!It''s the part where you ask ''please''. Why are you wasting your time today on a creature that''s full of reality? See, Alice is already looking a little teary-eyed. "It''s a work robot, which I think is reasonable... This isn''t about being rational or anything.Why do I have to use such a creepy creature as a model? When I said this, Saito-kun, who is usually a quiet man, snapped at me. ''''Huh?Is that disgusting?What''s the matter with you, creepy!Cockroaches are amazing creatures; perfect shapes that have barely changed in 300 million years, the ability to survive and adapt to any environment. And they''re also one of the most agile of all insects, you know?Some species can not only glide but also fly, and they can be active for more than 50 days without even taking water. They can learn fast, and if you put poisonous food in the same place, they won''t eat it, and they''ll develop tolerance to the effects of drugs very quickly. It''s perfect!It''s truly the ultimate creature. Plus...... With Saito-kun''s eyes fixed on the ground as he speaks passionately, Alice comes over to talk to me while pulling my clothes on the side. ''''What''s wrong with you, Saito-kun?'''' No, I don''t know if you''d ask me that. It''s true that my first impression was that he was a strange person, but lately I''ve thought that was a misunderstanding. But looking at this situation, he must have been a strange person after all....... Insulting the cockroach must have hurt something inside Saito-kun.I told Alice that, and she nodded in agreement. ''Are you two listening?I''m in a good place right now. We''ve been talking about the wonders of cockroaches and their biology for more than five minutes and it''s still not enough.... I mean, I think the nickname should be ''Cockroach'' now, Saito-kun. I get it already, the shape is fine as a cockroach, but as for the samples, me and Alice will never go out and catch them. With that said. Yeah, it''s okay. I''ll ''keep'' it. Isn''t it obvious?Saito-kun said with a look on his face as if to say. Nothing is okay and Alice is already half crying. ''''Come with me after school today, I''ll choose which kind to model at my house. Saito-kun smiled and invited me to join him. I could only nod, too afraid to say I didn''t want to because I was uncomfortable. rustling.......... Kata!Crunching..... The first thing that caught my eye as I entered Saito''s room was the breeding case that covered the entire wall, and the indescribable sound. Alice didn''t come in from the entrance of the room, but was watching him. ''''How many animals are in here? There are eight species now, about 80 in all. When I asked, Saito-kun answered happily. Then he pulls them out of their cases one by one and explains to me what they are. I couldn''t tell them apart, but he seemed to have given each species a name. I didn''t want to look at it too much, so I said it was fine to just call him that. I said, "Yes, I thought so too. I think the most popular cockroach is ''Habanero''. Saito, you know what to do!And then he encourages my opinion. Hey Alice, stop looking at me like that, even me, like ''I like cockroaches! I don''t like these creatures! The next day, we started working on the robot in Saito''s lab, but on the first day, the German cockroach Angel-tan, which we had brought in as a sample, escaped from the robot and flew into Alice''s face, and we almost lost our precious sample. After that, because we were so concerned about the appearance of the robot, it was not the cockroach-shaped work robot we had originally planned, but a real cockroach of one meter in length. The first time we moved the real thing, the level of realism was such that I was cowed, Alice ran away from the lab as fast as she could, and Saito did the same thing to me. And now we were running into a problem. ''What do we do about the AI setup Arakawa-kun''s mom gave us?'' Saito looked at the program screen with a troubled expression on his face. Hmm, since this is such a realistic robot, I''d like to make the content itself more realistic as well.... When I said that, all three of them typed in what they wanted on the screen. And finally, Saito finishes by entering the "Slippery Slope" deactivation program, just in case something goes wrong. ----Chabane, the work robot, point of view The watashi is a robot created by the masters. The content of what was programmed into him in order of priority One, stay away from one of the masters, Lady Alice. Also, he will not attack humans. 2Clean the academy. If you decide to do something else that is useful to humans, do it. 3Do not multiply yourself more than necessary. 4Avoid being seen by others. 5. Return to the laboratory regularly. These are the five items. The first thing I did was to take up residence in the sewers underneath the academy. Then, I will focus on getting more friends to clean up the large school. The number of companions is increased while collecting the necessary parts from the disposal site, and when the number exceeds 400, they all jump out of the manhole at night and start cleaning the academy. On the way, he realized that the cleaning efficiency was not good enough as it is now, so he evolved himself. After living like that for a while, one day while collecting the trash, he encountered someone other than the master!The human looked at me and then left as if nothing had happened, but wasn''t he surprised?However, it''s time for me to run out of things to clean the academy. That''s right, let''s make that flower bed Master Kunugi-sama mentioned before. Apparently, people feel more at ease when they see flowers.... I decided to work hard to collect the parts to make more flowerbeds. ----A Viewpoint by Kaoru Yamamoto, the Dean of the school This place is clean too... Recently, I was pleased to see that every inch of the school has been cleaned up. I always nag my students about the importance of cleaning, but I never get a good response. However, they may have finally noticed that there is not a single piece of dust in any of the places in the school. Furthermore, when I came to the back of the research tower, where there is usually a lot of littering, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. In front of me, there was a cockroach walking on two legs with a garbage bag around its neck. A cockroach of about one meter in length was walking and stuffing garbage into the bag. I must have been tired to see that thing. That day I slept soundly and decided to get rid of my daily fatigue. The next day, when I went to work, I saw impossible things again. I found flowers and planters made from recycled garbage all over the school. They were politely placed so as not to be obnoxious, and the institute looked like a scene in a movie. Had someone called a contractor?I checked and no one said they had done anything like that. The staff meeting eventually concluded that it was a student prank, but I wondered if the students could have gone as far as to cover the outside wall of the clock tower in the center of the building.As I was thinking about this, I looked out the window and saw the usual bipedal cockroach walking around holding a planter. I must still be tired.... 16-Hello from space (viewing attention Gokis comes out) Thirty-six thousand kilometres from the ground.......and floating in space. On the side of the cylindrical sol, the words ''Do not open the package'' were written in black magic marker. And there was a machine in the shape of a fish that approached it. The machine flew around the thing as if in thought, but then stopped after a while, and then, as if it had decided, it gently extended its arm. Slowly, frustratingly, the moment I grabbed the soles.... The moment I grabbed it slowly and frustratingly slowly.......it flew away from the arm as if it had come to life. The rest of the machine is looking in the direction of the sled''s flight, as if troubled. The blue earth was reflected in the lens. ----(Viewpoint ---- Miki Arakawa) I''m leading the development of the Outer Space Exploration and Attached International Space Station at the request of the United Nations. The plan is to set up a space station in the Asteroid Belt, which is located outside of Mars, and use it as a base to fly unmanned exploration vehicles into outer space. But there are too many challenges. First, there is the problem of long-term station stays. The stresses that human beings undergo in an enclosed space are extraordinary, and the same problems are being experienced by the United Nations Space Force, which is operating on a trial basis. Maybe I should ask Koki. I muttered something like that, but that boy is enjoying his studies and youth with his friends at the institute. I shouldn''t be bothered with this kind of thing. And there''s one more problem ... a problem that''s bothering me. "An asteroid that could be on a collision course with the Earth.... We have calculated the asteroid''s orbit, and there is an 82 percent chance of collision avoidance. If there are no external factors involved, there is no problem at all, but I have to submit a concrete plan to deal with this issue as well. In addition, there are many other things to do, such as the specific plan for a manned exploration on Mars after the station''s completion and the design of the research vessel. I''m sure some of his friends will be coming over today. Among them is a girl named Emi Aikawa, who was admitted to the academy after her thesis on space development was approved, according to a report on surveying his friends. ''''I can''t even come up with a good idea on my own, after all ... and I don''t have a choice, do I? I let out those words as an excuse and began to prepare tea to welcome Kouki''s friend. ---- Arakawa Kouki Viewpoint---- My friends are coming to my room to visit. I can understand that Saito-kun and Alice are there........but why is Aikawa-san even there!Lately, Saito-kun and I have been getting along so well. Where is that Aikawa-san who was telling me that I need to get 10th place on the test, I don''t know any girl who''s leaning against Saito-kun and squinting at him!I''m jealous, chick. In the end, when Aikawa-san found out that the test was ''I didn''t have to take it,'' she was furious again, but Saito-kun, you know. Arakawa-kun hit a ballistic missile with an observation plane, can you make such a calculation, Aikawa-san? That''s the one thing I said to Aikawa-san, so it''s not clear to me. That was a coincidence, but if you''re impressed, you''re about to fall in love with me, so why are you in love with Saito!I was mumbling and Alice gave me an earful. Saito-kun saved Aikawa-san from being tangled up in the streets. Well, Saito-kun has a lot of energy, doesn''t he? Then it makes sense that Aikawa-san''s attitude is justified, he''s the prince on a white horse who saved you from being attacked by the delinquents. When I say so. I heard you used the robot... Oh, that makes sense. If I use that thing, any delinquent will run away as fast as I can. Thinking that, I looked at Saito-kun and Aikawa-san and saw that Saito-kun had been given a knee pillow. When I think about it, I try to act on it. I''m glad you could make it out here today. Mom came into the room as she said this. When I was about to complain to my mom, thinking that it was just a good moment, the tension of the other members, except for me, was rising tremendously. I''m not sure if it''s a good idea for you to be a part of this, but if you''re a student at the academy, "Genius, Arakawa Miki" is someone you''d rather meet than a bad idol, right? It''s a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. I guess it was one of the dreams of all of us to have contact with the mother of a great researcher after all, but I didn''t feel comfortable interrupting her, so I kept myself small in the corner of the room. ''Auntie, I need to talk to you all about something. Mom said that and talked to everyone about her research. I think a genius like your mother could solve this problem without consulting with the academy students, but she must be providing a service that actually touches the geniuses, after all, she is kind. As I stared at the exchange with that in mind, it seems to be a consultation about the space station. Alice offers to solve the stress relief with chemicals, and Saito-kun suggests using robots to perform dangerous tasks remotely. Mom listened intently to all the suggestions, taking notes, but it was Aikawa-san who was surprised. ''I think we should make the environment inside the station more Earth-like. As for the advantages... I was lightly surprised to see him explaining things based on his very professional opinion. Is Aikawa-san''s specialty in matters of space?I''ll ask Saito. ''Huh?That''s right, Emi, you specialize in space environment. I knew it. Saito, you call Aikawa-san "Emi-chan". We''re close. When I said this with a bit of coldness, Saito-kun went silent as he turned bright red. I''d like to get to know Alice a little better, I thought, and it seems that things have settled down. Mom has been exchanging addresses on her personal terminal, saying she wants to hear everyone''s opinions on a regular basis from now on.... I don''t mind, that''s private, right?As I was thinking about this, a skinhead came in, almost busting through the door. ''It''s an emergency,'' It''s usually an emergency when you come in!Hey! Two hours after the skinhead broke in, we were at the "Japan Space Development Agency" mega-float off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. We had flown up here in a helicopter prepared by the skinheads, but unfortunately, all the members in my room were forced to work together under the guise of security protection. Aikawa-san was the only one who asked, ''Is this a mega-float?''Great!'' What a joyous occasion, but the others look anxious or even Saito-kun is feeling like he''s going to throw up from motion sickness. What''s the situation?I have a duty to keep these children safe. In some cases, I may contact my husband and take over this float. Mom is complaining to the head of the facility with a scary look on her face that I''ve never seen before. Well, that guy would swim in the ocean and come here, but he''d be seized by the guards for coming. In the midst of all this, the warden, who seems to be on the verge of throwing up in a different way than Saito-kun, begins to explain. The Russian space force found the rocket that Convoy flew into space. However, in disobedience to the agreement, the Russian military failed in their attempt to seize the rocket, and it is now flying back to Earth. Ah!That thing..... That thing is coming back?If that happened, my life would be choked up, my life that I''ve been building up would seriously end. I listened to the warden''s story with a shudder, but as he continued, I saw hope. ''Upon receiving the report, the United Nations immediately issued a sortie order to the UN Space Force. The fleet is assembling in satellite orbit to intercept the rockets. Okay!Good, just blow it up. When I think about it. What does that have to do with us?Does the warden have the authority to lock these children up? No, sir, so... the United Nations has asked that the creator of the interceptor be a part of the interceptor operation. ''Then I''ll be fine on my own?These kids will be going home soon. Mom, don''t torment the warden, who''s apparently under a lot of pressure from various sources. And I want to see how it works. I''m going to tell her of my intention to join you. The other members also agreed to stay here of their own volition, so when she heard that, she reluctantly acknowledged the director''s point of view, saying ''it can''t be helped''. But the word ''agreement'' was mentioned earlier, what is it?I was curious, so I whispered to my mom and asked her about it. Don''t worry about it. And he returned with a smile that wasn''t smiling in his eyes. This is a bad one to worry about, Macho had run into my mom before with this kind of smile, but I don''t want to remember the consequences of that. The warden informed the fleet commander of our participation right away, but the commander didn''t Even if they hit you, I''d stop the rocket. He expressed his determination, such as. No, you don''t have to go that far. In the worst case scenario, I''ll be fine as long as I bear the shame..., no matter how much of it was in space, it will burn up when it leaves the atmosphere, and if it does fall, it will undoubtedly fall into the ocean or the desert. Falling into a city should be less than a tenth of a degree, there is no need to risk your life, and if they are to be blamed, it''s the Russians who did the unnecessary. Then we will carry out Operation Pandora, a rocket interceptor operation. Please let there be hope in the end. The warden said something like that. Wait, aren''t you seriously mistaken?That thing isn''t that dangerous. What do you think we should do when they say, "If they fail to intercept us, the Earth is lost"?I can''t tell you about it now because it''s become so important. The contents of that thing are ''SM erotic books that I had trouble getting rid of''........ ----Starfleet Commander Jeff Auld''s Point of View I can see the blue earth from the bridge......... On that planet is my granddaughter, Mary, and this mission can never fail. In the first place, if the Russian idiots hadn''t violated the Arakawa Agreement, this incident would not have happened. If only the greedy Russians hadn''t touched the Arakawa relics.... While I was gritting my teeth, I received a message from William O''Dowd, the president of the United States and my son. "Commander, Operation Pandora is now in effect. The fate of the Earth rests with you, and I urge you to complete your mission. And you''re going to help me complete my mission, and that includes Mary, please, Dad. I answer William''s communication with a salute. Silly boy I know that you don''t need to tell me that. The rocket will never reach the earth, and the Intelligence Bureau is reporting that the rocket is probably a virus weapon. He must shoot it down in space at all costs. At the same time as making up his mind, he confirms the status of its deployment to the intelligence officer. ''''Currently, three destroyers are deployed in the zenith direction and two carriers with navigational aircraft on either side of the main ship. ''Good. Hold your positions until further notice. Have the carrier in immediate launch configuration. So far we''re right on schedule, good work for your first real fight. All we have to do now is wait for the radar to catch it, or else the crew will have a tough time doing nothing, but for God''s sake, brace yourselves and stand by. "Radar is on!We''ve supplemented our targets. About twenty minutes later, the officer in charge suddenly raised his voice. It''s finally here, I sit back in my seat and give the order. "The remaining ships are to launch immediately and shoot down the targets. Remaining ships, be ready to fire a barrage of bullets in case you fail to shoot down the target. All the navigational aircraft are advancing towards their targets under my orders. I''m checking the battle situation on the central screen, but apparently it''s not working due to the rocket''s ability to evade. I try to give another order, but the officer in charge We are currently experiencing a magnetic storm from the sun and have been unable to contact them. We''ve lost contact with our fellow ships and with Earth. He reported that. Is it still too early for mankind to conduct an organized military operation in space.... But if we give up now, the rocket will reach the earth, and I look at the screen, pondering the best action to take now. No, time is passing with nothing in mind. Just then, I noticed a destroyer behind this ship begin to move forward. What the hell are they doing!I''m not giving you instructions. The situation just sucks, but don''t do anything more than that!The report came just as I turned to the officer in charge. "I''m picking up a luminescence signal from the destroyer Orto. "Targeted to target, space forces, glory to me." That''s all I can say. Nonsense!You''re gonna blow yourself up!I had him send out a luminescent signal to stop it, but Orto went without any hesitation. I know it''s the only way, but it doesn''t have to be at the expense of you guys. I should have done it myself, Moya moves his eyes to the screen to watch Orto, who is not within visual range. But I couldn''t believe my eyes. A huge, mysterious object had crashed into the rocket!A collision with an object of this size, the rocket would have blown up without a trace.... Both the aircraft that had been deployed and the Orto that was heading towards it were doing their best to evade the collision. But what was that thing?I''ll ask the officer in charge. End of analysis. That object is an asteroid. And it''s a ...........We''re taking an impact course to Earth! It looks like I''m at the edge of despair. There was no way to stop the asteroid in the current space force, and even if I tried to hit it with all my ships, it would have no effect.... I sent out a luminescent signal to all the troops, urging them to retreat, in order to enable communication with Earth. Shingo Saito''s Viewpoint ---- Shingo Saito''s Viewpoint ----. As soon as the intercept mission began, I lost contact with the fleet. I didn''t understand what was going on, but Emi kindly told me that it was because of a magnetic storm. Emi told me that the strong magnetism could prevent communication and in rare cases cause satellite failure. While I was listening to her story, she asked me what was in the rocket. Mr. Singh, what''s really in that thing? When I told her that I didn''t know what was in it, Emi said, ''I see, but I hope it works,'' and took my hand in hers. As I squeezed her hand back with a throbbing heart, I thought to myself, while others say it''s laden with "virus weapons" or "high-powered bombs," I don''t think the gentleman, Arakawa, would do such a thing. I think it''s probably loaded with diary entries that he doesn''t want people to see, or something like that. While I was thinking about this, a member of the observation team started to move around and was saying something to Arakawa''s mother. I was curious, so I asked her about it. There''s an asteroid on a different course and it''s coming closer to Earth. If it doesn''t, it''s going to hit. What''s that saying? What are we going to do?Even I don''t know much about space, but I understand the danger we''re in. You don''t have the manpower to go to an asteroid now and destroy it or change its course, and you don''t have the equipment to do it.When I say that, Arakawa''s mother gives me a confused look. ''Probably because of the collision between the two asteroids, but you''re right, Saito, there''s nothing to do. According to my calculations, either they won''t collide or they''re a long way off. Either way, we can''t do anything about it now, at least we need a robot that can do what it was programmed to do on its own... well, a thousand of them would have been enough to do it. That said, Arakawa-kun''s mother was busy, so she left. Emi talks to me as she pulls on her clothes I think they can handle it, don''t they? Emi seemed to think the same thing I did. But if I did that, Chabane and her friends would die. After much deliberation, I didn''t have a better idea, so I said to everyone present We''ll have plenty of robots that can handle themselves. Arakawa''s mother and the development team responded to my words and asked me for details. I explained that Chabane is equipped with an advanced AI that can think and act on its own to some extent. It''s self-propagating, so it should be able to reach the necessary number. After that, everyone acted immediately.... I even asked the Self-Defense Force and the United Nations Army to prepare missile boosters to attach to the Chabaneans and explosives to place on the asteroid to change its course. I was the one who was going to go get my boy, Chabane. I can get here on my own. I rolled my eyes and laughed. Three hours later, we''re on a mega-float rocket launch pad. And what I see is a sky full of chubanes. I thought I told you not to multiply them unnecessarily, but I wonder how many there are now?Just as I was thinking this, one of the chubanes alighted one after another and walked in front of me. "Master, we''ve been waiting for you. The assembly is complete, including the additional breeding. ''Huh?Did you guys ever learn to speak? I asked Chabane, who suddenly started to speak, and he answered with confidence. ''Of course!We were created by a master genius.If I can''t speak, I will sully the Master''s name. Chabane hugged me and said that. I''m going to have to say something awful to Chavanel, who hugs me so happily, I''m going to have to say something awful. "Go to the asteroid and change course, but you can''t come back.As I looked down, holding back tears that were threatening to well up, Chabane said We intercepted a transmission on our way here. I understand the situation, Master.......we were created for your benefit. So, at times like this, you should just laugh it off. I couldn''t hold back the tears anymore. I''m sorry!I''m really sorry, but there''s no way I can rely on you guys. As I cried, Chabane just patted me on the head. I ignite the boosters, starting with the ready Chavanel and the others, and go up into space. The last remaining original Chavanel turned to me. This, please. It contains a copy of our AI and its evolutionary history. As long as it''s here, we can make another Watusi. Then he hands me the memory. You can''t make the same Chabane with this stuff, and I''m sure Chabane knows that. I''m sure that''s what he''s trying to say to keep me from crying.Don''t ever cry!I''m going to leave you with a smile on my face. I say goodbye with a smile on my face as I hold back tears Goodbye, Mr. Chavanel... Yes, sir. Off you go, Master. I couldn''t look away from the sky, even after Chabane disappeared as she said this and took off. Emi hugged me and I finally couldn''t take it anymore and cried. They''ll take care of it," she said as she comforted me, and Emi cried as well. The communication with the United Nations Space Force was restored and the message was ''What is that object flying toward the asteroid from the Earth? It is. What should I do in reply? Respond with, ''Our friends are on their way to resolving the situation.'' Arakawa-kun''s mother gives instructions to the person conducting the communication. A friend.........indeed, Chabane was my dear ''friend''......... He''s gone into space now, but he''ll always be my friend. We went back inside the float and waited for the results and then the report came in. The report came in. "We have confirmed explosions both outside and inside the asteroid. We have confirmed explosions both inside and outside the asteroid, we are leaving the collision course! Chavanel and her friends did a great job, thank you so much. I''m crying again, not with sadness, but with gratitude. Hundreds of years later, humanity is fully engaged in space exploration, and on a planet, they discover an intelligent life form that has already been forgotten. The life form is a very friendly ''machine race'' that has already been forgotten, that uses the earth language, Japanese, and calls human beings ''masters''. 17-Arakawa particles "Serious incident, research block E-2 is now closed. All personnel must evacuate immediately. I repeat, all personnel must evacuate immediately. As the inorganic mechanical voice announces a warning, I''m trying to wrap my head around how this could have happened. I can see my mom screaming from the other side of the block.... Enough of this, she wants us to evacuate quickly!Don''t worry about anything because I''ll punch in the program to shut this thing down. I didn''t do anything I shouldn''t have done in the first place, and that''s how it happened. I''ll take the blame. I''m going to turn to my mom, who''s still screaming about something without evacuating the house. Thank you for raising me, I opened my mouth as wide as possible to get the message across and said. Eventually, my vision suddenly disappears........... ----Kouki Arakawa''s point of view.......................... Today, I''m taking a break from school to come to the Spatial Particle Research Facility, where my mother works as the main researcher. My mother asked me to help her observe the new particles. I''d be of no use to her even if I were there, but I couldn''t say no to her when she smiled and said "please" to me... or maybe I couldn''t because if I said no, I''d end up following in the footsteps of Macho. ''''Kunuki-kun, over here.'''' The people at the facility will show you around. Hm, but there''s a lot of stuff in there, that''s a personal heavy particle rifle, right?Why is that thing here? As I''m thinking about this, I''m looking sideways, and the person showing me around notices my gaze and explains to me. He says, "We use those to study the particles. It may be completely unrelated, but you never know where you''ll find a clue. While explaining this, he further informed me that there was an armory in the E-2 block where my mom was waiting for me, where everything from military suits to prototype gravity decay bullets were stored. If Saito-kun heard this, he''d get all excited and weird... as he walked along, he seemed to have arrived at his destination. ''Gongju''s here too, then we''ll start the experiment in five minutes. Mom greets me with her eyes, and then she herself begins to furtively prepare for the experiment. Hey....I''m really out of place here, aren''t I? The researchers around me are also looking at me and whispering to each other, mostly saying something like ''why the hell is the brat here? When I look at them, they look away from me as fast as they can, and I''m starting to cry a bit. I move to the desk in the corner of the room so that I don''t get in the way.......rather, I move to the desk in the corner of the room so that I don''t get in the eyes of the other researchers and sit quietly. And honestly, I try not to show my feelings, such as, "I want to go home early and laze around at home," while watching the experiment. Then, the experiment begins. After Mom declares, an alarm goes off in the room and the machine goes off. But nothing happens.... Once again Mom operates the machine, but nothing happens, and a subtle air fills the room. And then the researchers all go bah!And then he turned to me, making a noise. What do you think? He asked me. I don''t understand the research, and I don''t know the purpose of it. I asked my mom what kind of reaction would be a success, and apparently it would only glow for a moment. Mom said that if the particles are observed as theoretically possible, a tunnel to another space will connect and the machine will momentarily fly into another space around that machine. At that time, the particles would collapse and release their heat, and so they would glow for a moment. Hmmm........I have no idea. But there''s no way I can say that when people are expecting this much, so I''ll just say something like that. Let''s darken the observation area so that we don''t miss even the slightest glow. And please increase the power of the machine a little more. The experiment is conducted again, with my input, but still nothing happens. Well, of course it does. If the experiment succeeds with what I had in mind, then Mom alone will succeed in the first place. I''ve been spending my free time watching the researchers begin their meeting in disappointment, picking up the particle structure model on my desk and reassembling it, but ''''Gongju, that''s........ I see!That''s what I thought. Suddenly, my mom raised her voice as she looked at the model I was holding in my hand. Wait, I have a bad feeling about this........ This is that, the same feeling I had when I knocked down a ballistic missile before, when I was ''somehow misunderstood''. I hurriedly tried to make an excuse to my mom, but she said, ''Don''t worry!He doesn''t listen to me, saying ''I know everything you want to say, Kou-chan. ''Mom you don''t understand anything. I whisper to him, but he doesn''t listen. There''s no way I can stop Mom in her serious mode of giving instructions at a furious pace, and I can only watch in silence. Eventually, when she finished her preparations and conducted the experiment again I''ve got a visual on this. Everyone in the room cheered. I was peering at it from a distance, but I noticed something. The light seems to be getting stronger... The others must have noticed, and they rush to stop the machine, but apparently it''s not working. Then, as if sensing an abnormality, an alarm goes off. A serious accident has occurred. Researcher, please evacuate immediately. I repeat... The people in the room are all running for the exit at once, and my mom is being evacuated by the other researchers, who are grabbing my arm. I, on the other hand, can''t keep up with the suddenness of the situation, and I''m lightly sitting up and unable to move. Can someone please... I thought about asking someone to carry me, but my voice just faded away in the void. I mean, this is when the skinheads come into play!Where the hell is he? And then the bulkhead in front of me closed completely. ---- Miki Arakawa Viewpoint---- Today, I was in a good mood this morning because Conju is coming to help me with my research. Partly because I''m usually proud of myself, but also because when Gongju came to the lab, my subordinates around me were That''s her son? Last time I heard, they made a cure for The Tragedy of Europe. I can hear him whispering about what he''s doing. The person in question is sitting in a desk chair in the corner of the room, watching, probably planning to take his time and watch. This experiment is designed to prove that there is in fact another dimension using the formula that Gongju constructed. It has been decided that the particle that is supposed to be observed will be named the ''Arakawa Particle''. I had actually wanted to name it "Kouki Particle" after the builder, but it was rejected because of its incredibly bad punctuation. Then let the experiment begin. Everything is ready to go, I declare that and hit the start switch. But nothing happens........I try again, but still nothing happens. ''What do we do now?'' A subordinate says something like that. I was so troubled that I blurted out, wondering what Gongju was thinking. At that moment, everyone at once turns back to Gongju. As they stared at him, Gong-Ju was dumbfounded. Darken the observing area so that you don''t miss the slightest glow. Then turn up the power on the machine a little more. And they gave me their opinion. I took his opinion and ran the experiment again, but he didn''t respond. I gathered my subordinates and held a meeting, but in the end I had no choice but to conclude that the experiment had failed. I looked at Gong-Ju and saw that he was doing something with the particle model. And the quick reassembly of the soles shocked me.... My assumption of particle bonding is different! Perhaps Gongju knew from the beginning that the experiment would fail?But if I dictate to them from the beginning, I will hurt our pride. I believe that he decided to do so and showed us the ''solution'' only now, after the experiment had failed. I input the coupling model that Gong-Ju had made and performed the experiment three times. ''Confirmation of the luminescence phenomenon!'' When the report was made known, I rejoiced!Gongju''s formula was not wrong. But he soon realized that there was something unusual about the situation, and rather than the luminescence not stopping at all, it was gradually spreading. We have a major accident. Research Block E-2 is now closed. RESEARCH BLOCK E-2 is now closed. I repeat... Then the emergency alert was issued. I evacuated with my subordinates, but Gong-Ju wasn''t there. ''Where''s Gongju!Did the boy evacuate? At the same time as I was yelling, I saw that Gongju was still on the other side of the block. He''s smiling bitterly, as if a chotty problem has arisen... why don''t you evacuate if this isn''t the case!Then I saw Gongju pick up the emergency stop manual that was left by the ''particle converter''. ''''Did you stay behind to shut it down?'''' I couldn''t help but scream. While we were evacuating the building, prioritizing our own safety, that girl was the only one thinking about shutting down the machine. We forced Gong-Ju to do the job that should have been done by the staff, and everyone must have realized that, and they are now trying to gouge open the bulkhead to do it themselves. However, once the bulkhead is closed, it cannot be opened without following the regular procedure. In the midst of all this, I saw Kouki turning to me and crunching his mouth in my direction Soda te kre a re. ''Thank you for raising me,'' he probably said something like that.... I hit the bulkhead, not even noticing the bleeding palms of my hands. ''Goki!Gongju! It could be the last goodbye, a nightmarish thought comes to mind. He looks back at me with a satisfied expression on his face, probably having finished entering the stop program.... Gongju disappeared from before his eyes along with the research block. On May 20, 2102, a serious accident occurred at the Spatial Particle Research Facility. The researchers and civilian staff were not injured, but Dr. Koki Arakawa, son of PI Miki Arakawa, was involved in the accident and has not been heard from since. In addition, since many prototype military equipment was stored in the lost research block E-2, the search for the missing person and the missing equipment is also underway. 18-Transition ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint When I woke up, I looked around and saw a messy room and a broken particle converter. I''m pretty sure I hit the shutdown program. I don''t know who to tell, but I''m talking to myself. Did you succeed in stopping it?No, I thought to myself, "Well, if that''s the case, someone should be here soon to help us. I thought about it for a while, but I couldn''t decide, so I decided to check out the outside. "My God, the bulkhead won''t open. I tried my best to gouge it open in front of the closed bulkhead, but there was no sign of it opening at all. I sit down in front of the bulkhead and think about how to do it... the person who led me to it told me that the power suit and other items are stored somewhere in this block, as I recall. I searched around to find the storage room and found the power suit behind a reinforced door that was about to break off. "What the hell, this isn''t a storage room, it''s an armory! What I saw when I entered was a number of military weapons lined up in a cramped space. Moreover, all of the items are accompanied by instructions, perhaps because they are used by amateur researchers. After looking through the items, I put on the prototype exo-atmospheric suit with "angel paint on its chest" written on it, probably because it flies around in space to withstand a fire on the other side of the bulkhead, and gouged open the bulkhead. And then I saw it. It was the remnants of something and the countless ''robots'' that seemed to be surrounding us. I was about to panic for a moment, but it''s not like I was reincarnated after dying once. I calmly concentrate on understanding the situation. 1 I don''t know where I am.......since neither the suit''s GPS nor the terminal''s location data function. 3 Did he reincarnate again? So everything is unknown after all. Oh no I''m too anxious, I think I''m going to pee my pants and I want to go home. As I was thinking about this, only one plane from the group of robots in front of me flew close to me, and suddenly I''d like you to tell me your affiliation. He spoke to me in Japanese, "Are we in Japan? Are we in Japan? When I wasn''t sure if I was in Japan or not, I turned up the audio output so that it would echo around me. "All hands, disarm!Show respect to the Savior. I began to speak. At the same time, the robots around me made what I thought was a simultaneous salute to me. Hey, wait a minute, Savior-sama, are you talking about me? "Excuse me, Savior, would you please come with me? I couldn''t read the situation and could only speak one word, ''Okay''... ----Nina Ackroyd, Viewpoint... The Ackroyd Imperial Kingdom, where I was born, is at war with the Demon King''s army. Two years ago, my father, His Majesty the King, declared a general mobilization of the nation and risked everything in the kingdom to end the war against the Demon King. Since then, there have been several large scale battles and skirmishes, and despite a great number of deaths, the siege of the Demon King''s Castle has finally been successfully completed today. But what awaited us, the soldiers of the Imperial Army, who thought we could win this battle, was a desperate one. The demons bubbling up from the Demon King''s Castle, demons that we didn''t even want to count. We are barely besieging them at the edge, and yet they still had so much strength left in them.... Isn''t it impossible for us to fight them anymore? The morale dropped to its lowest point, and even before the decisive battle, the only thing that could be imagined was the future of defeat, and yet it happened. Suddenly, the area around the Demon King''s Castle began to distort and was surrounded by an intense blue-white light. I instantly closed my eyes, just as I had done when I looked directly into the sun. And the next time I opened my eyes, what I saw in the reflection was It was the wreckage of the Demon King''s Castle that had been completely blown to pieces. The demons that were overflowing have disappeared without a trace, and the only thing that is said to be robust is the corpse of the old dragon species, the prototype of which is barely recognizable. And at the center of it all, an unknowable ''building'' like object appeared. ''''Your Highness, what shall we do? A soldier who also doubles as my Kingsguard asks me, how could I possibly know that! I''d like to yell at him, but I''m the supreme commander here, so I can''t do that. "We''ll surround the area with all our forces and see what happens. "We will surround you with all our forces and see what happens. Do not make any sudden moves. I can only buy myself time by giving those instructions. What was that thing in the first place?I thought it was an ally, but if they have weapons with that much power, they should have approached us from the start to ingratiate themselves with our country. Then they are a new enemy? It''s a nightmare. Yes, it''s a nightmare, fighting an opponent who can blow up the Demon King''s Castle and kill a dragon species with a single blow is a laughing matter. There''s no way a human would be a match for such an opponent.... ''We''ve got movement! There seems to be something coming out of the inside. A subordinate''s report makes me come to my senses, there is indeed a figure coming out of the building. But it''s quite large, and although it''s estimated, isn''t it twice as large as the "magical armor" we use?Nanika came out and stood there without attacking me. What do you want to do? There''s only one opponent. We can make an all-out attack now. I''ll check it out myself, and then we can start the attack. If anything goes wrong, you''re going to destroy me. ''''Well, it''s not going to be possible,'''' he said. We won''t be able to defeat that thing, and probably our allies will disappear in an instant. I arrived in front of Nanika while I was biting my lip and thinking about that. I''m sure that this word refers to the exact appearance of this Nanika right now, standing there in her natural state while surrounded by so many troops. "I would like to know your affiliation. When I asked him that, he turned his head slightly towards me. It seems to have intelligence........unless it''s only as intelligent as an animal like an orc or goblin, but if it can talk, it might be able to solve the problem peacefully. I was able to look at Nanika with some relief and calmness, and then I realized In the ''Angelic Emblem'' painted on Nanika''s chest. At the same time, I understood that this Nanika was the savior that the gods had brought down to earth for humans. Yes, that''s it, there should be no disrespect to this person. I speak up carefully, choosing my words carefully. ''Pardon me, Saviour, but would you please come with me? When I said that, he quietly gave me permission to say, ''Okay. I immediately instructed my subordinates to inform the imperial capital of the end of the Demon King''s War and the appearance of the savior. Then His Majesty the King issued an imperial edict inviting me to the castle to personally thank him for his service and for me to lead him there. And now I was in the middle of guiding the Savior to the Imperial Capital, and I regretted why I didn''t take off my magical armor and greet him in person, even though it would have been rude. ---- Arakawa Kouki''s point of view---- There were enough people cheering to fill the passage in front of me. That''s probably true, the two-year-long Demon King''s War has ended, even if the cause is a complete coincidence....... Oh no, my stomach hurts. On the way here, Nina, the princess who was riding that robotic thing, told me a lot of things. She explained in detail about the desperate war of extinction they were fighting and what this world is all about. It seems that after my reincarnation, I tripped to another world. It seems that the place where I appeared was inside the Demon King''s castle, and the aftermath blew up not only the castle, but all the demons as well....... Even if I explain it to you... It was an accident. I wasn''t aiming for anything. ''Of course, if the Saviour gets serious, there won''t even be any wreckage left, right? Instead of not understanding me at all, they are interpreting me in a diagonal direction. Or rather, it was a dangerous place, if the place where it appeared was 500 meters off, it would have blown up the imperial army. If that had happened, I would have been killed by the Demon King''s army within an hour of tripping, the Demon King''s battle after tripping would have been impossible even in a novel. In the meantime, the carriage carrying me is steadily approaching the castle where the king is waiting for me. When I saw the gate of the castle, I noticed someone kneeling on the ground. "Welcome to my country, Savior. I am Ulfric Ackroyd, your king. Why is the king on his knees waiting for me?You won''t stop the Kingsguard!The high road for a guy like this would be the scene where he looks at me like I''m a stinker and says, ''I don''t need a savior. It''s not where you''d be in awe of me by mistake! I''m Koki Arakawa. Thank you for having me. I return the greeting as calmly as possible. I never say what I''m thinking about, if I did, they might say, ''Hey, you can''t behead me. I would like to thank you first, please come to the throne room. We can discuss the gift at dinner. With that said, he leads me into the castle, and somehow it was not planned that I ended up sitting on the throne in the throne room. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a lot of people who have a great deal of experience in this field. If there are this many of them, there must be at least one person who understands what I''m talking about, right?So I interrupt and interrupt the conversation. a?Gentlemen, please listen to me. I am..... I explain desperately. That I came to this world by accident while experimenting with connecting spaces, that I think my mother and friends on the other side are worried about me, and that I want to return home quickly if possible. I explained these things to them as comprehensibly as possible... and I saw that most of the people who were there were shedding tears. It seems that they were sympathetic to my situation, even the man who looked like a strong warrior was in tears as he looked towards me. I was feeling glad that I had convinced them, when Nina There is a way for the Saviour to return! He told me the details. Apparently, there''s a secret technique in this country called the ''Rite of Summoning the Brave'' that allows me to return to my home world if I strongly desire to do so. Magic is awesome! By the way, the reason I''m able to talk like this now is because I''m constantly invoking my translation magic. This is the way the world is usually thought of as "Science is supreme! I''m sure you''d fall over if you showed it to your mother.Nina-san and others seem to be kind and I wonder if I can bring home a souvenir. ''It''s the Krugitos salad. The food served at the dinner was very good. I can''t even embellish the words, it''s so good!What''s this?The name sounds like food unique to another world, but it tastes like nothing I''ve ever had before. I ate the food served for dinner because I had been told that the ceremony to return home in the morning, and I no longer had to worry about the food served to me. At that moment, the king speaks out with a mysterious look on his face. ''Actually, I have a favor to ask of you, Saviour. I''m in a good mood, and I urge him to continue, saying that I''ll make it happen if I can. I mean, I guess I''m still fixed on ''Savior-sama'' to call me.... Could you please leave some of your savior''s power in this world to help us deal with another demonic disaster? Hmmm, I don''t mind because it helps people. I replied after preamble that it might not work for me. ''''Then I''ll leave you with the instructions, the gravity decay bullets, the suit I used, and 20 laser guns. ''Thank you, thank you so much! Okay, okay!Since you''re sending me home, this much is acceptable. But I was also thinking about what I could get as a souvenir. Then, the king gave me a dragon scale, a specimen of the national treasure Geisel butterfly, and the armor of the imperial knights. Nina also gave me the Silver Wolf''s Lapel, and I returned to my room with a happy feeling. The next day, I was getting ready to return to the room where Nina-san would be conducting the ceremony. While the mages were putting their magic power into the room, I asked the last question that I had wondered about until the end. ''''Wouldn''t the war have ended early if they had summoned the brave men from the beginning?'''' ''''If the heroes don''t have the ability to defeat the Demon King, it will be in vain. 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Speaking of which, when will Arakawa-kun''s ''research building'' be completed? Hey, I don''t know anything about that. In the first place, I''m supposed to just take an ethics class in this academy, I don''t need to have a lab. That''s what I''m thinking. ''Rumor has it there''s a lab in the basement as well, right?It bothers me too. Even Alice asked me. What''s going on without my knowledge?I felt uneasy, so I checked with Saito-kun. Saito-kun, what is my research building? I don''t know anything about that. ''Huh?I believe a summary was sent to everyone''s devices before, but I believe it''s a building under construction behind Lab 2 so that Arakawa-kun can be safe even if he does some dangerous research. I have no idea. I hurriedly operated my own device, but I couldn''t find the reception history of such a thing.... I asked Saito-kun to forward the same thing to me, and it had something written on it that made my head hurt. A communication from the academy to the students currently enrolled in the school. We are currently building a new research building behind the Special Advanced Research Building in the Academy. There is also the possibility of possibly storing hazardous materials, so internal information will not be released for confidentiality purposes. Therefore, if you approach the building under construction without permission, you may be detained by the security guards, so we ask for your cooperation. In addition, Mr. Arakawa, who is enrolled in the school, will use the building after it is completed. Huh?What''s the matter with me, how special am I?Speaking of which, I heard a rumor about a skinhead wandering around a building under construction, but could that guy be involved?No, more importantly, why is this happening without notifying the person in question........ I think about it desperately, but I can''t find an answer. I think we should consult with the headmaster for now, I''ve come to the conclusion that we should I''m sorry, I''m just going to the headmaster''s office. He probably won''t be back today, so you can go ahead and go. I told everyone and then hurried to the dean''s office. When I enter the dean''s office, he''s looking at me with a frightened look on his face for some reason. I don''t remember doing anything, but I just smile and ask him a question. What''s that all about in my lab?I hadn''t heard anything about it. ''What?I sent the contents to the terminal at Arakawa-kun''s house. I even received a reply. Then he shows me a printout. I''m sure it was written to me, but I don''t recall seeing or writing a reply. Something was wrong, I thought, and when I checked the address of the replyer, it said ''M-arakawa''... Hey!Mom, what the hell are you doing?Don''t reply to that message that was sent to my son!I can''t help it, I''ll complain to my mom about this when I get home and the rest is ''special treatment''. It doesn''t make me happy to do that, and it only makes the other students feel bad. I''d complain to the headmaster, but ''You don''t need to worry about that. There''s a special budget in place, and most importantly, I don''t want you to do dangerous research in the presence of other students. That''s what I was told back. I don''t do dangerous research....why do you think I''m so misunderstood, do you think I''m an abusive person? No, I can''t say anything else, it will only break my heart. I gave up early and decided to go home to see my mother, the culprit. Welcome home, Kou-chan. When I come home, my mother greets me with a smile, and I usually reply in a conciliatory manner, but that''s not the case today. "Mom, this is the thing. Why are you replying to the one that was addressed to me? Saying that, I show them the paper the dean gave me. ''''Because, Kou-chan, you don''t know what you need for research or safety standards. I don''t know for sure, but I don''t know if we need an isolation lab that''s 30 meters underground, and besides this, it has a radiation room and even a decompression room. You don''t need a lab building with a basement three stories above ground in the first place!I tell my mom a little angrily, and she replies with more anger than that. ''What are you talking about!This level of safety is normal. Ko-chan, a researcher has to think about the safety of other people. When conducting virus research, it''s not just a matter of "I''ve been vaccinated, so it''s safe", but it''s also a matter of shutting down the entire building in case of an accident!That''s why your mother asked for a building that would meet the regulations. Why are we talking about the premise that I''m going to research something so dangerous!It''s crazy. I mean, that''s what you said, and your mother was studying in her room, and that''s not okay. "She''s got a lead frame over her room, you know?If there''s a problem, they''re supposed to lock up the whole person inside. Really!I''ve lived in this house for about 15 years and I''ve never heard of that before!d*mn, it''s frustrating to end up in a situation where I was supposed to be complaining, but I''m subtly lacking in common sense.... I want to fight back at least in some way, I thought like a child and thought about what to say. And one thing that Mom couldn''t say back to me came to mind. ``σǡҤȤ{ҤޤǤϤʤǤ磿lȤǤ↖}뤷 ١٤FäԤȡ˄٤Fäĸ󤬰˷Ƥ롣 ͡Ҫʤ⤷ʤǤͤ󡢤줬о˲ޤͣȤ¤ϡꥹ󡻤ҹоrȤ˥`ʹϲ֤˼{ҤǤ뤫⤷ʤ͡ޤɤƤҪʤäԤΤʤ顢񤫤ǤeΙCĤ뤷Ƥ餦ɡ ꤷUޤǤĸϡȤȿڴ𤨤¤ޤ󡣤ǤΤǤ餽Τޤޤˤ¤ ϤԤäƺ΄IͨŤͤȤĸֹ뤿򤹤뤷oä Ȥ¤äƤʤǃWΣˤʤäƤ衹 եҥҡĴʤ͡ աѧԺѧʳΥƩ`֥ǔپ޳դ©餷ƤԒ„ƤپϤĤΘ˰ľ⤷Ƥ롢HѤƤ褫äʤȤߤ߸ФƤȤ¤˼ پWHѤ͡ 󡢥ܥϤ˼äƤ衹 դࡢͬ褦˿Ƥʤ餭äȴɷ˼Ϥ줿鲻УˤʤꤽBäƤƤߤ뤫 㤵줫äƺǤW¤⹦Ǥ餵 եңΣ Փ裡षϤä礯ԤäΤФÒ줱ʤäꥹȸϤ¤ˤʤäپȤǰǺӺϤäۤ ġʤƹ䤬ՎäƤ顢ѧԺLоΥƥ``ɤɤƤ褦mޤƤդäơ 쎤Ф鰳˥`ɤƶɤƤ롣ᤫȫTҊФʤȿƤȡ礦r˥ꥹന 񤫤WоҊФʤᤫ饻ƥ``ɤBäդäơ ԤനmɤƤ줿ꥹaäƤ롣ư귵 ˽⥢ꥹ Ԥʤ¤⤬|Û줿褦˥Хʤ ӷꥹ󡻤ʤ˽پ֤ߤˡꥹäƺǡ ¤Цʤ顺ꥹȺ֤ҤˤƤ줿 оʤΣत ꥹ@Ƥ褦@Ƥ롣ʤ襳ϡǰФäѧоͬ餤तڤ3ؤ˱o졢ڲҪʲݤȫƾWĤȾ}ΥФʤҳʤƥˤʤäƤ롣1ˤʹФ󤾡˼鷺ڤˤ 㤢ΥЩ`ʹʤ ᤬Ǥ磿ȤФ˰ԤäƤ롣⤽ʡΥЩ`„mɤƤʤ餽줬һжϤ„Ƥߤ褦Ȥ 㡢˽3Aʹ͡ꥹ2AǤ ˽aƷȤʹBɤaƷ郎뷽͡پһΣꓤ٤ʤ1Aΰ¤Ǥ˼ ŮꇤǤʹä벿ݤʼƤȰ¡ˤʤΤη뤬ٹĿݤ餵롣 ᡢWϵ¤Фʤ o衢ܥ_ΤԤäƤ{_Ͻ~„Ƥʤ裿 ʤʤ뤾ᡢ¤֤äƤ롣ԤΤϡһw1AʹȤ¤ο̤ ܥɡΣ_Ҥ֤äĤʤɡ Ƥޤä˷ʤB뤷ʤΡ_ΤϰˤϟoY֤ᕺƛQޤäݤθ 3AϤˤͨO䡭ന󤬵 2AaƷvSΙCġꥹ 1A¤ӹѧO䡭᤬ ¤ˤxоҡ O䡢ЁҤ䥷``Ȥιв֤ȫTǵ뤳ȤˤʤäԤϤˤ䤫Է֤оҤʹäƤƄӤʂ򤷤ƤϤɤ뤯ʤʤ It''s because I ended up being quarantined to some unintelligible place like 30 meters underground or something. As I was fiddling with the idea of going to Shingo''s place after all, Alice said with an embarrassed look on her face ''''If you''re underground, Conju-kun, we can be alone without anyone disturbing us. Not surprisingly, I think we could go underground! ----Miki Arakawa Point of View Yes, yes, I understand. I''ll take care of that, then. I cut off the communication, a little tiredly, the person I was talking to until now is Gongju''s security officer. In case something happens to Gongju, there will always be a security team on standby inside the ''secret room'' in the walls of the research building in case something happens to him. In addition to security, if that girl gets lost in blood and tries to create an ''extremely dangerous object'', they will stop her, or in the event of an ''accident'', they will immediately rescue and guide her to evacuate. Well I forgot one more thing, I remembered the equipment that the guards need and sent the communication again. ''''I''m sorry, I forgot to tell you another piece of equipment we need. Please make sure you have enough ''CBRNE Protective Clothing'' for the number of people, if you don''t have enough, I''ll get it for you. I hear a reluctant voice on the other end of the comm, but I yell at the person in charge, irritated. ''You don''t seem to understand the importance of this. Okay?That boy even used chemical weapons in his own garden in the past, do you people dare to enter Gongju''s lab without protective clothing? As I said this, the person in charge seemed to finally understand and hurriedly cut off the communication, saying he would prepare for it. The only thing left to do is the dean........ Mr. Yamamoto?I''m Miki Arakawa, and my son is always there for me. When I send the communication, the dean replies as if a little flustered. ''''As I recall, you have a close relationship with the Self-Defense Force, correct?No......yes. I don''t mean to blame you. Apparently, you''re mistakenly thinking I''m angry about the request to dispatch the self-defense force to Gongju, and while I have some anger about that, that''s not what I''m here for. But I hope you''ll see more thorns in my words... ''''Can''t you ask that self-defense force''s defense unit to perform ''heat attack treatment at all costs'' in the event of an accident in Gongju''s research building? I ask, adding that of course, it''s only after Gongju and his friends get out safely. They seemed to be thinking about it for a while, but then they realized what it meant and said they would call up their own security forces. Okay, now they should be able to deal with whatever Gongju makes. As long as she doesn''t make a nuclear weapon, we''ll be fine.......but will she really not make one, won''t she think, ''I''m annoyed and I''m going to make a nuclear weapon because I''m annoyed'' at some point?No, I think I''m overthinking it, and there''s no way I''m going to violate an international treaty to make it. Hello, Shuichi-san?You know, in case Gongju makes a nuclear weapon.... My sleep is going to be less today. 21-Prototype 8th generation machine and disaster relief (with illustrations) ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint "Developing a power suit? When I said that, Shingo and Aikawa-san nodded. When I woke up in the morning and arrived at my research building in the academy as usual, I couldn''t understand it if you told me all of a sudden, I asked Alice for help while troubled and she told me with a bitter smile. ''''Both of you have to say it properly from the beginning, or else you won''t understand Gongju-kun. I''ve learned from what Alice told me that the two of them have explained to me, and it seems that the new model is a combination of the advantages of the "6th Generation Suit" that my mother developed, the "suit for outside the atmosphere" that I wore during the last transfer to another world, and the "civilian suit made by Quartet Corporation" that I use personally. They''re going to build it up... ''Can you do that?'' We might be able to reconfigure a suit that was developed by a research institute and a private company to begin with, but the suit my mom made is a piece of mysterious technology. When I ask questions about that as well... Yeah, I think I''ll be fine. I''m good at engineering. I just need the blueprints for the sixth generation. Okay, the point is, you said to me, ''Please! You want me to play "mother," right? I decided to hand over the blueprints to them, thinking that they wouldn''t misuse them even if I handed them over. I tell Shingo to wait a bit and email my mom to send the blueprints of the Arakawa Model to my personal computer. I''ve attached the blueprint as requested by Kou-chan. I''ve attached the blueprints as you requested, so please don''t make the mistake of modifying them to fight with another country''s military. Are you the kind of person who would do that? Stop looking at me like that. I don''t have a history of doing that, nor do I plan to!I erase the extra text and forward it to Shingo. ''''Huh!Now we can get into the real work. As I looked at a delighted Shingo, I promised myself, ''I''ll have a serious talk with my mom one of these days. After several days of comparing the three types of suits, we found that the 6th generation suits were superior in maneuverability, the exo-atmospheric suits were superior in durability, and the ones made by Quartet were superior in fit. We decided to create a power suit that had all of these qualities. The original Arakawa model uses a control system that converts electrical signals in the brain to move the suit. Shingo muttered in disgust. Just as Shingo said, what a surprise to find out that the suit that Mom had made was being used for the main maneuvering by converting the signals in the brain. In other words, the actual maneuvering action that the wearer performed was only an aid. Once I used this suit to pick weeds in the garden, but Shingo and Alice said, ''To begin with, power suits are not suited for such detailed work. The suit that you made is designed to only accept signals from ''me'' in my brain; to put it simply, it was a super high performance suit made just for me. "So it can be used for small tasks like weeding the garden? Even Aikawa-san says with a dumbfounded look. But then, ordinary people can''t wear it, can they?I asked Shingo. ''Yeah, so could you ask Gongju''s mom how to build the main control module and trace the signal?'' It was returned to me. I sent Mom a text message again and it came back a short while later and we all looked at my device. I''ve attached the blueprint as requested by Kou-chan. It''s not just a matter of time before you''ll be able to get your hands on it. The system used in your mother''s suit does indeed trace the signals in your brain. But it is the result of years of deciphering by your mother. Since the information doesn''t accumulate immediately, I''ve also attached a program to protect the information from being erased when you remove the control module of the suit you brought to the institute. Please type it in and then remove it and use it. Also, I''m having a hamburger for dinner tonight. Well, hamburgers ... let''s get home. That''s not what I''m talking about!Why are you decoding my brain signals without my permission?I don''t know when I''ve done that. I''m a little scared for my mom.The other members were also making ''wow...'' kind of faces. In the midst of this delicate atmosphere, we decided on the concrete work to be done in the future. Firstly, the exterior is to be made extremely durable, because this is a prototype, a one-off machine, so we can ignore the cost. Next, we decided to minimize the burden on the wearer, as we did for the quartet. In the end, the company decided to port a module from the sixth-generation machine to make it easier to operate. We''re aiming for the 7th generation model!Kunugi-kun, let''s do our best. Alice laughs next to me and cheers me on. No, Alice works hard with me too........ Hmm, but if you have the ability to increase your durability and apply it outside the atmosphere, you can fly, right?I think about it and ask everyone. ''Hey, let''s add thrusters and flight capability anyway.'' When I said that, everyone froze, but did I say anything weird?I think it''s cool........ ----Alice Alford''s point of view---- Hey, why don''t we just add thrusters and flight capabilities? When I was deciding on my plans for the future, Kouki-kun suddenly said something like that. The ability to fly?I wonder if he''s aware of what he''s talking about, and even I, who''s not familiar with power suits, can understand the impossibility of it. There are so many things that need to be solved, like attitude control and fuel issues, and he can''t even understand that? Mm, it''s impossible, Goki. How in the world are you going to control your posture? As expected, Saito-kun replies to my question on behalf of me, but Kuniki-kun replies as if nothing is wrong. ''You''re tracing my brain signals, right?Then I think we can build in some aerodynamic drag and an auxiliary function to calculate airborne attitude control, and the control module will do the rest automatically. I see, originally the power suit had the ability to automatically control its attitude if it was about to fall. 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What is that kid thinking, going to wear this thing, I''m getting called out again, even though the last time I was petty about the ''state of progress in ethics education'' from the UN. Shall I call him back now?However, it''s not good if Arakawa-kun, who was offended by such a thing, riots in the academy. I''m not sure if the academy will be lost if such a weapon is used when it''s usually untouchable, or perhaps I''ll die before that. ''''I''ll contact the Marine Self-Defense Force that is conducting the rescue. So will Mr. Alford and the others participate in the rescue? Aikawa-san is a rabbit, but I would love to have the performance of the power suit Saito-kun is using. Besides, Alice-san''s knowledge of pharmacology is needed to treat the wounded, I look at the students as if hoping they''ll agree. ''''Of course I''m in,'''' Alright, we''ll deal with Arakawa-kun''s problem later, but for now, our priority is to save lives. I told him to wait in front of the main gate and resumed the communication I had just made. ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint... It''s good that I jumped out of the academy in style to show Alice that I''m a good person, but I''m beginning to regret it now. I''m not sure if it''s because I broke through the speed of sound in human form or not, but the vibrations are bad, and the powerful anti-intoxication medication I asked Alice to make for me didn''t have much effect, and I feel like I''m going to vomit. And most importantly..... ''Scary!Fast, too fast! When we went out to sea, the sea was stormy due to the typhoon as the information sent to us. We were flying in such a situation where there was almost no visibility, but it was terrifying. We were currently flying at a high speed of 1360 km in dim light. The vibrations and fear made me feel like I was about to reunite with the food I had eaten for lunch, but I couldn''t. "Ah, I see it. That''s it. A self-defense rescue ship came into view, desperately trying to get closer to the cruise ship in the storm. But I can only see one ship, could there be no others?I scanned the area with my radar, but it seemed to be only the two ships that had caused the collision and the Self Defense Force. I approached the ship of the Self Defense Force to inform them that I was here to rescue them. "I''m Arakawa Yoshiki from the International Institute of Technology. Please give me instructions. Thank you very much. We are unable to approach due to the storm. There are no injuries on board at this time, and there are no reports of flooding. However, we do have dozens of casualties on the cruise ships, and dozens of people are seriously injured. As a matter of priority, would you be willing to move the seriously injured from the cruise ship to our ship? Copy that, sir. We''re moving into action. From now on, let us use this frequency as our exclusive channel for all future communications. After announcing this, I moved towards the cruise ship, but there are quite a few people on deck waiting for me, I tried to move the wounded to avoid impacting them, but there are too many.... I''m not going to be able to catch up with them if I don''t, so I send a message to the self-defense forces. There''s a limit to what we can do with just one plane. Where are the other rescue vessels at this time? We''re moving at full speed, but the weather is making it extremely difficult to descend to the surface. But the weather conditions are making it extremely difficult, and impossible for us to descend to the surface of the ocean with the same level of aircraft. I know you''re trying your best to do a little bit of everything, but it''s more like this. I keep thinking about this as I go through the transfer process, but there are still too many people on board. The worst-case scenario for not being able to make it in time goes through my head, so I think of a solution and ask a question. "With regard to the aircraft, for example, if it can land, will you be able to conduct a quick rescue operation? It is possible. Satisfied with the self-defense force''s immediate response, I make a decision, there must have been an island nearby when I scanned it with radar earlier.... We will tow the cruise ship to that island''s cove. I remember Shingo''s words, "Don''t max out the power, you can expect quite a bit of power, but it will break or at worst blow up with your suit," but it will be fine. I''m sure he''s a genius and a great guy, and he''s my ''best friend'', and there''s no way that best friend would make a power suit that would kill me, I tell the Self Defense Force with absolute confidence. I tell my self-defense forces, "We''re going to tow a passenger boat to a nearby island cove, land a rescue team at that location. What?What did you say? I think I misheard you, I''m sorry, please repeat that again. That''s why I''m pulling the boat to the cove!Stop screwing around and get ready to go!People''s lives are at stake. I shouted at him and said, ''Rhiyi, I understand! The cheerful reply came back to me. Okay, now we just need to get the same communication to the passenger ship to let the passengers know........ I grab the ship''s anchor and fire up the thrusters as fast as I can...50 percent, 55, 60, 75...the power gradually increases, but the ship doesn''t move. After the 80 mark, the ship starts to vibrate more and more, but it still won''t move. 90 percent and I hit 100, as expected, and the memory shakes out, but the passenger ship doesn''t move at all. I fire up my spare thrusters and scream Yeah! I wondered if my wishes had been answered, and that''s when the cruise ship began to move, albeit slowly. I towed the cruise ship to the cove at once if it moves inertia afterwards if it moves even a little, I towed the cruise ship to the cove at once. I was going to the sandy beach of the cove, but I think it is inevitable that the passenger boat was in the form of a full ride up to the island of the momentum than expected. Well, on the contrary, this way will be easier to rescue. I was relieved to hear that, when suddenly my suit''s alarm went off. I''m going to be able to purge my entire body and escape from the building because that''s what was displayed on the main screen. While falling from the sky with only a reinforced skeleton, I dive into the sea, muttering to myself, ''Can rescue come soon? ----Captain''s Point of View of the Maritime Self-Defense Force Disaster Rescue Ship We have an object coming in fast from the mainland! We were heading to the scene of the rescue in bad weather when the communications officer suddenly reported to us. Isn''t this an air force rescue helicopter?When I ask him that, he denies it. "No response to friendly identification signal, sir. We are unable to respond to friendly fire signals, and rescue helicopters cannot fly above the speed of sound. Then what is it?If it''s from the mainland, there''s no way it''s an attack of any kind, and as I was thinking that, another communications officer read out a report from headquarters. "Incoming call from the Maritime Self-Defense Force General Staff Headquarters. "A power suit from the International Institute of Science and Technology is currently flying toward you. Cooperate and assist. What did you just say?In flight? It''s impossible for them to come this far away, over 800 kilometers away. Most of the time, the intellectuals in the General Staff Headquarters, who don''t understand the scene, were spouted off by academics who wanted to look good. As I was thinking this, a power suit flew in front of me with a tremendous roar. That power suit is really floating. One person on the bridge speaks out in surprise, probably all of them thinking the same thing. And then a transmission comes in from the suit in front of me. I''m Koki Arakawa from the International Institute of Science and Technology, and I''m here to help. Please advise. Arakawa Kouki.........I knew from the news that the son of that genius had been admitted to the academy, but I thought it was just his parents'' fault. But what''s the result?The son has developed a talent that surpasses his mother''s, and has developed what is known as a ''flying power suit''. What do you think we should do, sir? A voice from the person in charge brought me back to myself. The priority now is to save lives, the person in charge told Arakawa as I hurriedly gave him instructions. As we all watched the operation, I noticed that the suit moved like a human being. It''s a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. But what was that movement all about?I''m going to see if one of my people can identify him. "Let me guess, if I may? Hmm, this subordinate was the wearer of this ship''s power suit. He said, "We believe that it is probably using the ''brain signal conversion type control module'' that is installed in the 6th generation aircraft as an experiment. But that''s only for the 7th generation, which will be developed in the next generation, and if you take flying into account, that suit would fall under the 8th generation. On a technical level, that''s more than 30 years away. An 8th generation plane?Nonsense!Did a mere child develop such a thing? It''s a monster, that kid named Arakawa Koki must be a true monster. Just as I was thinking this, we received another transmission. We''re running low on one. Are the other ships still in the air? We''re moving at full speed, but the weather is making it extremely difficult to descend to the surface. But the weather conditions are making it extremely difficult, and impossible for us to descend to the surface of the ocean with the same level of aircraft. The person in charge responded immediately. If we could do it, we wouldn''t put our children in danger, and we take pride in being a professional marine rescue team. But now we can only rely on one child, and we are painfully aware of our helplessness to the point of gnashing our teeth when we receive three communications. ''Regarding the aircraft, for example, is it possible to conduct a quick rescue operation if it can land?'' It is possible. Unlike earlier, the aviation officer responds immediately. He''s a very responsible guy, and he''s enthusiastic about the fact that he might be able to be of some use even if he''s not in charge. But where is the place to land an aircraft on a cruise ship?What are you doing? "We''re going to tow a boat to a nearby island cove, where you''ll land a rescue team. Arakawa told me what I thought was impossible. What are you talking about?A power suit is going to tow a cruise ship that has a drainage capacity of more than 200,000 tons, I was listening to the communication in disbelief, and the officer in charge would have done the same, as expected. Then the officer in charge, who had been communicating with me in a mild manner, shouted back. ''That''s why I said I''m going to pull the cruise ship to the cove!Stop screwing around and get ready to go!People''s lives are at stake. The officer in charge hurriedly replies to his words. He then turns to all the aircraft flying overhead and gives them instructions, but they don''t take it up at all, saying, ''There''s no way we can tow it to that island, and it''s impossible because we haven''t gotten permission from above. The officer in charge, who had been listening to it in silence, replies in a thunderous voice: "Shut up! ''''Don''t be silly!That kid is doing the rescue all by himself. Isn''t it a shame that we, the adults, as professionals, are just going to sit back and watch in silence at a time like that!If they don''t understand that, they should turn back to the base now and quit! Having been told that, the pilots began to fly in unison, directing their routes to the island as if they understood what they really needed to do. ''Captain, I''m sorry. I got emotional. That''s all right, man. You''re just representing the wishes of your crew, and if there are any consequences for you later, I''ll take them. When I say that, he looks at me with some confusion. What''s with those eyes?I may be a hard man to deal with, but I''m sure you understand the reasoning behind this... don''t look at me like I''m some kind of rare animal! He looked at the power suit Arakawa was moving to escape his gaze. He was just about to ignite the thrusters, clutching the anchor. But it''s not moving........on the contrary, I can see smoke blowing from the suit. Stop fooling around, if you put any more load on it, the suit will explode!I grab the microphone to send a transmission, but the voice I hear stops me from moving. ''Queer!!!!! I could hear a shout from the line that was still connected, and that''s when I realized that the cruise ship had started to move, albeit slowly. They''re really towing it........I almost laugh at the joy of success and the lack of any sense of reality. Then I look at the suit that accomplished that feat and I''m at a loss for words. I saw the angel in my eyes. I could see it clearly in the rain and poor visibility as it frantically towed the cruise ship, even igniting its spare thrusters. The flames erupting from the thrusters shine like angel wings, and not long ago I thought that suit was like a ''demon'', but I want to punch myself in the face for that. The angels successfully towed the cruise ship to the island''s cove with gradual acceleration. Everyone on the bridge cheered, this would allow for a smooth rescue operation!With that thought, the bridge froze as he tried to send a communication of thanks to Arakawa, but the bridge froze. After purging everything and escaping, it falls to the surface of the sea, I see it and send instructions to my men in a hurry. ''Rush to the drop point ASAP!Don''t let that kid die, he''s the greatest asset of this rescue mission. And if you do, we''ll be treated as ''incompetents'' forever!Hurry. The child who saved the majority of lives for us... Now it''s our turn to save them..... ----Point of View ---- Kaoru Yamamoto A few days after the accident happened, I was called out of the United Nations. I was expecting to be nitpicked again, or so I thought, but I had to be surprised by something completely different. ''Oh no, I''m really impressed with the educational skills of the dean of the school, as expected. The President of the United States in the video communication praises me. The Russian prime minister says, ''You''re absolutely right,'' but I don''t understand. But I don''t understand.So I ask the question. Again, your modesty. That ''Kouki Arakawa'' putting himself in danger to save lives is the result of the Dean''s ethical training! From what I''ve heard, he did his duty to the end, even though the power suit he was wearing caught on fire. I''m glad to hear that he survived unscathed and didn''t do any serious damage to the world. I''m sorry to say that this is a very exciting time for me, but I had planned to educate him on ethics, but due to his attendance and other reasons, I hadn''t done it yet, not even ''once''. However, there was no way I could say that in this atmosphere, so I decided to just go along with it. Of course!I am confident in his skills as an educator. I will continue to focus on his ethics education. When I say this, ''Great! I can hear them discussing things like ''I have to consider a bonus to reward the head of the academy for this''....... I don''t know what they''re mistaking for the current situation, but I just want to go home, drink and sleep. From then on, I stood in silence until the meeting was over, trying to escape reality. On June 18, 2102, a collision occurred between a large passenger ship and a tanker full of chemicals in the Pacific Ocean. However, thanks to the efforts of the 8th Generation Prototype Power Suit, which was worn by Arakawa Yoshiki, who arrived at the scene as quickly as possible, 560 people were injured, but the accident was miraculously resolved with no fatalities. The British military recovered the parts purged during the escape, but as all data was reset the moment the "control module" was removed, it ended up wasting 300 million pounds of recovery costs. 22-Quiet story-new family (with illustrations) ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint I''m home, Mom. In the evening, as usual, when I came back from the academy, my mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Hmm, by the smell of it, it must be stew today.... I go into my room and change my clothes, and then I go back out to my mom''s place. Mom, I''m hungry. Just sit back and wait for me to get it done... con, con! When I urge him to eat dinner, he urges me to take a seat and wait for him, so I sit down quietly, wait for a while, and then eat the food brought on the table with my mom. Since I entered the academy, we talk about what happened at the academy and what impressed me the most that day, and we listen to my mother''s research as we eat. ''Oh my God, did that happen? "Con. Yeah, Shingo was being held by Aikawa-san again today. After finishing my meal and taking a bath, I went into my room to find a message from Alice. It''s unusual at this time of the day, I thought as I called back. ''I''m sorry, Kuniki-kun, but it''s about tomorrow,'' What''s going on? Con..... Apparently, I''m going to be working on some chemicals in my research building tomorrow, so they want me to contact Alice''s personal terminal beforehand before entering the second floor. Come to think of it, when Shingo went upstairs without permission to pick up the medicine, the wind blew the powder of the drug Alice was working on away and caused a lot of trouble. I remember that and advise him to tell the other members. ''Yeah, all right. By the way.... what''s that ''con'' squeal-like sound I keep hearing? ''Oh, this?Something about coming home and seeing a dragon. I was looking at the ''dragon'' in front of me again as I answered that, I could see Alice exclaiming over the terminal. It''s okay Alice, I didn''t know how to react when I saw this guy when I got home, so I just went through it. When I was thinking about that, Alice cut off the communication while saying ''You look kind of tired, so get some rest quickly. Well, that''s usually how I would react. But still, what the hell is this guy?Is this a magical creature of your mother''s creation... ''Hey,'' "Con? The fact that there''s a response means you understand the language, tilting your head, ''What?'' And so I observe the dragon waiting for my words. I poke this guy''s face with my finger for now. Con!Concon. Apparently he doesn''t like it. It''s desperately trying to bite my fingertips, but it doesn''t hurt at all, and it''s only about 20 cm long. It looks like a small version of a dragon in a fantasy world, and it even has wings in front of it. Suddenly, I had an idea! Hey, can you fly? Con..... I''m flapping my wings like I can''t, but it''s not pretty. So now that''s the next one. Can you breathe fire and ice? Corn..... Apparently they can''t tell you anything, aren''t they dragons?I''ll ask you questions about that too, and you''ll answer them with your heart. No, if you can''t fly and can''t spit, you''re just a lizard!Wait a minute ... a lizard that understands words. "You''d sell it, wouldn''t you? Co-con? I''m kidding about the sale, but we need to find out what this thing is all about. Without a doubt, Mom is the reason why this mysterious creature is in the house, at this time of day, she should be in her room studying it. Thinking so, I go to your room and knock, but there is no answer, is it in the basement reference room?Once again, I went to the basement and my mom was drawing a magic circle on the floor and doing something. Huh?What what?Don''t tell me my mom summoned you? When I call out to him, he turns around while putting away a book that looks like it has black magic in it. ''Kou-chan!What''s going on? What''s going on? And that''s what I want to hear, Mom. I thought you were a genius scientist, but you don''t know what you''re doing behind the scenes, and when I say that in a distant way, you deny it in a hurry. ''No, I''m not!Even my mom didn''t expect a dragon baby to hatch out of nowhere. I was working in the lab and out of the ''scales'' you gave me before, the baby came out of nowhere.It''s understandable that you''d be upset and want to try and see if the magic really exists. I don''t understand it at all, but what do you mean it was hatched from scales? I was briefed that they were the scales of a legendary old dragon when I was given them.... Did my mother clone me?So I''ll ask him. ''I put it on my mom''s desk at work after she gave it to me, and then all of a sudden it cracked at work and this kid came out of it. As he said this, he looked at me, holding the dragon that had come by his feet. 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As I looked at Aikawa-san with a look of ''Oh, you''re tired?'', she hurriedly denied it. ''''Nah, it''s not!Because I don''t believe in ghosts. I''m just trying to figure out the rumors of the Seven Wonders of the Academy. And it''s only June!That kind of event is for cackling and cackling and getting excited in August or in the heat of summer, and if I''m wrong, it''s not the kind of thing that I''d seriously tackle at this time of year, either. I think it''s fine with me. While Alice, who somehow seems to be the most opposed to the idea, is enthusiastically agreeing to it, I look at Shingo from the side, but he is shaking his head as if he has given up. This is the flow of being accompanied by........I feel like I''m being influenced by my surroundings a lot lately, and to be honest, it''s a bother, so I want to decline, and the moment I was about to say ''I''m not going to be able to'' to Alice, I decided that No?Kunugi-kun. I was pushed to the edge by her moist eyes. It''s not fair, there''s no way I could say no, and in the end, I ended up going along with her without a fight, just like I always do. So, Aikawa-san, what''s that rumor about? I''m sure the rumor is just a big deal anyway, if you listen to the content, you can pretty much guess what it is... I thought so and asked Aikawa-san about the content of the rumor. Then, as if he was trying to scare me, he starts talking in a lower voice than usual The first one is about the cherry blossoms that never die. The second is the basement of the medical research building. The second is the basement of the medical research building, where a man''s screams can be heard every night. The third is the mystery of the storeroom. In the evenings, a thin human shape is said to peep out of the slightly open window in the athletic department''s storeroom in the secondary school. Hmm, if it''s a rumor so far, it''s predictable. After I asked Aikawa-san a few questions, I got a satisfactory answer, which prompted me to continue. The fourth is a dancing figure. The fifth is the keeper of the clock tower. If you''re in the tower when the clock strikes 21:00, you''ll incur the wrath of the watchman. The sixth one is the disappearance of the main gate. The seventh one is... Aikawa-san was silenced by the seventh rumor, and we said, ''Hurry up and continue! But as he looked around at all the members, Aikawa-san said, "I don''t know. ''I don''t know,'' Everyone crumbled the moment they heard those words, and when it came to Con, I could see him biting Aikawa-san''s leg as if he was angry. If you don''t know, then that''s the Six Wonders!I''m gonna complain about it. I don''t know what the seventh is, so that in itself is a mystery! And I''m upside down. Well, now that we know what the rumors are and the general truth, it''s just a matter of explaining them one by one. I''ve already figured out what to do, but what should we do?Maybe I should go to the actual place and explain it to you. When I said that, we were all going to go check out the truth. It''s a hassle, but it can''t be helped, we''ll just take that thing and that thing and we should have that tool too. As I was making the calculations for the tools I was bringing, Aikawa-san approached Shingo and whispered something to him. ''Shin-kun, I''m scared, so let''s hold hands. Huh? After all, you guys just want to make out, don''t you!f*ck you!I''m so jealous!I don''t say it, but I glare at Shingo with eyes that could kill him. Perhaps Alice noticed that, she laughed and said ''We''ll hold hands too'', such an Alice is cute after all....... ''''Well then, since there''s a time-sensitive reason, we''ll go from the second medical research building first. When I say this, it''s partly because it''s still bright, but everyone follows me without any fear. It''s a good idea to have a morgue in the basement, but if I had to guess, that''s definitely the case. "Aikawa-san, I heard earlier that the place we''re going to go to now is basically closed to faculty and staff, isn''t it? Yeah, that''s supposed to be up to the students. I feel a little bit of mischief in my heart and tell Shingo to open the door, but he''s afraid or reluctant to do so. I whispered to him. Then he made up his mind. ''Huh!I''ll open it. He opened the door briskly as he said it. What I saw was a mah-jongg table. I threw a small fist-pumping pose at the sight of what I had imagined, but both Shingo, who opened the door, and Alice, who was standing next to me, looked puzzled, so I decided to explain. In the research building of the "School of Special Higher Education", where no faculty members come, the only thing men get together to do at night is to play mah-jongg. And if no one comes to see you because of a psychic story, even better, the screams must have been made by the person who lost. When Alice heard my explanation, she was dumbfounded, ''Nah. Rumors are just like that, she affirmed it with a laugh when I said that. Well, next time........what time is it now?The place we''re headed to changes depending on the time. As I was thinking this, I was trying to look at the time on my terminal, when Shingo sensed this. It''s 4:30 p.m. He told me. That''s my best friend!As I was staring at him with respect, Aikawa-san Singh, you always wear your watch the other way around. I said as if I were looking at something rare. Well, even Shingo changes it depending on his mood, and I change the arm I wear on the device depending on the day. We''ve come to the third floor terrace of the gymnasium, which is used by the sports club at the edge of the school. You can see the back side of the storeroom just fine from here, and as I watched with the binoculars I brought with me, I noticed the window slowly open a little. ''I knew it,'' When I exclaimed that, Aikawa-san took the binoculars from me and looked at the storeroom, then shouted angrily, "You''re smoking! ''Isn''t that a cigarette? They are at an age when they want to be a bit of a jerk, so it''s not hard to understand how they feel, but it''s a bad place to be. I thought I should be careful because of the danger of fire, but Aikawa-san was the first to send a text message to the life guidance teacher''s terminal. The teacher came running into the storeroom and jumped into the storeroom, that''s a battery of stuff. ''It''s dangerous in that place and you shouldn''t be breaking the law. I''m not sure if Aikawa-san''s anger has subsided or not, but I decided to lead everyone to the next location while I watched Shingo appease her. The place I arrived at is the institute''s Botanical Research Institute, and as I recall the cherry blossoms in the courtyard are under its jurisdiction. Alice is nodding to herself, looking predictable, but I urge her to ask the researcher about the cherry blossoms in the courtyard. ''Oh, the cherry blossoms in the courtyard?That''s a cherry tree we bred and it blooms for a long time. It''s imperfect, and when they do fall off, they fall off overnight, so that''s an improvement. When asked by Alice, the researcher man answered really simply. I could feel everyone''s tension dropping as the mysteries of the Seven Wonders were easily solved. I mean, frankly, it''s so predictable that I want to leave!As I recall, there''s a documentary about my favorite animal that''s airing today at 6pm, and I want to go home and watch it right now. Can''t we just break up now?So I''ll ask him. Do you want to keep going?I''m sure the truth of all the other rumors goes something like this. I want to know everything anyway! Con! Con! Not only with Aikawa-san, but unexpectedly, ''Con'' suggested that we continue. Shingo and Alice seem to want to continue with the inertia of ''we''ve come this far,'' and I almost sigh, but we move on to the next place. You can find a place where you can see the chemical research building from the second floor of this building, we all went to the place and were looking at the chemical research building when Kon noticed something and started crying. ''Are people dancing?'' Alice noticed a figure in a room at the end of the drug lab building. I find the room as well, but I''m getting tired of being so predictable again. That''s the kind of thing you always see in my lab building. ''It''s ventilation. You always do that in the lab before Alice leaves, don''t you?He''s fanning himself with a fan or something to keep the smell and stuff out, unlike Alice, who looks like she''s dancing because her movements look stupid. ''When the people are gone'' is also the reason they do it when they go home, so the humans are none other than that guy. ''I wonder if I''m acting that weird from the outside too...'' I heard Alice whisper drearily, but I didn''t care and headed for the fifth clock tower. ''Well, it''s 6:50 p.m. right now, so that''s just fine. When I say that, Shingo gives me a strange look and asks me a question. ''Gongju, wasn''t the time in question 9pm?'' I didn''t answer the question with a smile, but instead filled the glass I brought with me with water and then went into the clock tower and left it there. Then I turned to the others and explained You''d better cover your ears because the clock tower bell will be ringing in three minutes. Conn, you''d better curl up in my bag for once. With that, they all covered their ears and Con hurriedly went into my bag and curled up. That''s when a loud bell rings to announce the time, and it''s stupidly annoying!At first I thought about going inside, but I knew it was a good idea to just let the glass in.... When the bell stops, I open the door to the clock tower and show them the glass I put inside. ''''Con!'''' I can see that Con is terribly surprised, well, it''s more difficult to ask this newborn guy to understand the reason for the ''broken glass''. The other members don''t seem to understand much either, so I''ll explain briefly. ''It''s the sound vibrations, that''s what the Watchman''s rage is all about. Didn''t the cups on the table blow up when Con roared in the research building earlier?Just like the thing. If a person heard the bell ringing properly in here, I think they''d fall over with a concussion, and it''s the same principle with acoustic grenades and stuff like that. When I tell him that, he nods his head in agreement. Alright, we''ll end with just the mystery of the main gate! When I arrived at the main gate, I figured out a place and had everyone waiting. I think it''s probably safe there, but I''m not sure, if I fail, I''ll have to wait for the car to arrive again. While I was thinking about that, a car came from inside the academy!Hmmm, just in time for a car to come from the side of the road. I raise my voice so that everyone waiting can hear me. ''It''s only for a second, so watch closely! And the car''s headlights are stacked around me.... Did it work?I looked at everyone anxiously and said, ''It''s gone! He''s making a lot of noise, and apparently he''s succeeded. Shingo comes running up to me after the car has passed, and closes in on me. ''Huh!''What was that?What happened? It''s an evaporation phenomenon, also known as glare. If you''re in the middle of a car''s headlights at night, you can lose sight of them, one of the most dangerous phenomena that can cause a car accident. Maybe at this moment, if you turn next to the main gate and go completely out of sight, you could mistakenly think you''re really gone. I explained a little better, and he nodded in admiration. In the end, all the rumors are just stories that have gotten bigger. Whenever there''s something a little strange, it spreads quickly, and I can understand that it''s fun, but I don''t want you to get involved. At that time another car comes out of the academy and stops in front of me and talks to me with its window down. You''re not going to be able to find out what''s going on.You''re not Arakawa. What are you doing here, you''re supposed to be driving to and from school, right? It was the headmaster who peeked out the window to ask me, and when I explained what I had just done, he laughed and complained bitterly. ''''Yes, but it''s late, go home. Saito-kun, Aikawa-san and Alford-san are all there, right?Everyone''s gone home and it''s time for dinner. As we watched the headmaster leave, we each went home. I was eating dinner back home when my personal terminal started beeping. It''s a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family. I''m sorry, Kouki!I left on my way home, but have you figured out all the Seven Wonders? That''s what Shingo''s email said. What does it say?You would''ve stayed with me to the end, I reply, but I freeze when I get a text back right away. What are you talking about?I left right after I found the mah-jongg table because I had to run an errand, and Emi and Alice also informed me that they left with me after they figured out the cherry blossoms in the courtyard.I heard that Gongju headed to the drug research building by himself to continue because he was curious about it, but isn''t that right?'''' Who was I with today? ---Kaoru Yamamoto''s Point of View I held back a laugh as I drove. That Arakawa-kun also had a childlike side to him, I didn''t expect him to tell me with a straight face that he was solving the seven wonders. He was mistaken, but there is a rumor about the seventh wonder. When I first arrived at the academy, a student told me that it was the ''copy mirror rumor''. The rumor was that if you walked in front of a mirror somewhere in the academy, you would be tricked by Nanika, who would imitate someone you knew. It''s the kind of rumor that would make any child happy.... ''''Nevertheless...'''' A few words come out of my mouth. ''''By the way, Arakawa-kun was ''alone'' in front of the main gate, but where were the others?'''' Did I come in and scare people into hiding?With that in mind, I kept driving towards home. 24-Optical camouflage ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint There''s something I''ve been thinking about all these years. In the world I reincarnated in, military technology has made great strides. There are even things like power suits and space armies, so why don''t we make them? Just in time for today, neither Alice nor Aikawa-san will be coming to the research building as their lectures are held outside the academy. I talk to Shingo, who is preparing a trick for Conn while feeding him tomatoes, with a serious expression on his face. Shingo, I have something to discuss with you. It''s very important. When I speak to him in an unusual manner, Shingo straightens his posture and urges me to continue. ''Shingo, I think I''m going to make an ''optical camouflage'' When I said that, Shingo asked me why. It''s not only that, but it''s also that I need to report to the headmaster if the reason is too dangerous. You can justify the true reason right here and now, but will that really keep me from regretting my decision? I''m sure there will come a time when I will regret tricking my best friend into creating optical camouflage by hiding the truth. I decided that in my heart, I looked Shingo squarely in the eye and clearly stated my purpose. "I want to look in Alice''s shower. The moment Shingo hears my words, he tries to say something with a surprised look on his face, but he restrains it with his hand. There''s more to my words, I really need Shingo to hear that too. ''You know that there is a shower room here in my research building. And this is also the research building that Aikawa-san uses. I look at Shingo as he speaks, and it seems that he listens. I bring my tea to my mouth to calm down and continue talking. If Aikawa-san were to use the shower, would you be able to wait quietly for him?And you''re thinking, "I need a peek. But if you only peek, you''re afraid of being discovered, and that''s where the optical camouflage comes in. If you refuse to help for ethical reasons after hearing all this, I don''t blame you. But if you can, please keep this story to yourself, because I''m going to start working on it by myself. After speaking at once, I look at Shingo while putting the cup of tea back on the desk. There was the figure of his best friend with the face of a Han........no, a ''comrade''. ''''Fuhi! Of course we''re going to cooperate. With Shingo''s powerful words, our "Optical Camouflage Development Project" was underway. ----Miki Arakawa''s point of view Emergency report. As I was compiling a report on my research in my room, the person in charge of security for Conju and Shuichi''s subordinate, the person in charge of information who was investigating information on Conju''s personal terminal and other information, sent me a communication. Did that girl do something again?As I was thinking about this, the information officer began to explain. ''Since the other day, we have observed an extreme increase in the usage of Gongju-kun''s personal terminal. We''ve determined the cause and found it in a protected folder, and we''re transferring it to you. The file sent to my terminal was named "The Secret Project". I no longer had a bad feeling about it, but I checked the contents. Optical Camouflage Development Project: The goal is to develop an optical camouflage that can be used by individuals. The minimum achievable capability is silent, waterproof and more than 30 minutes of operation. As an additional objective, we aim to mount it on a power suit for outdoor use. Is my son going to start a war with some country?The same is true of the 8th generation plane she built the other day, and the AI-equipped work robot she was helping to create can only be considered a furious preparation for war if you think about it calmly. Aside from a large country like the United States of America, a small country could afford to let that one girl fall with ease. I instructed the two of them with the worst possible expectations in mind. ''''I will discuss this matter with the higher-ups and my husband before making a decision. Until then, please keep it under surveillance only, if you provoke Gongju inappropriately, your lives will be in danger. After cutting off the communication with that, I immediately call up Shuichi''s personal terminal and send a transmission. "What is he trying to do? I forwarded the file to Shuichi, who was immediately connected, and when I consulted him, he looked puzzled and had his head in his hands. In the end, we concluded that she was ready, so there was no way she would immediately do something dangerous, and we decided to continue the strict monitoring. A few days later, I received an urgent message from the special team that was monitoring him. ''We have conducted a test run of the optical camouflage prototype that Gongju and his friend had built and it was a success. It responded to the infrared detector, but to the naked eye, it completely disappeared and then went completely invisible for the next twenty minutes. Okay. Anything else to report? When I asked him that, it seemed that he had also made a few prototype reconnaissance models of small insect-type robots equipped with optical camouflage that could turn invisible for a few minutes. It''s a problem, we can''t protect them any longer if they are so clearly preparing for war. Who are they planning to declare war on?Just as I am about to enter that poor nation''s identification process, a heart-grabbing report comes in. ''It''s urgent! Kouki-kun has decided to put the reconnaissance type into action in the academy. We''ve already started using it now. I didn''t make it in time........I don''t know what that kid is going to make the scouting type do, but the academy is going to be hell. I give instructions while biting down on the regret of why I didn''t understand my child''s feelings more. ''Please relay my son''s appearance over here, once we know what we''re doing, we can do something about it. Oh, and please ask the Self-Defense Force to be dispatched, and tell them to send their students to evacuate. The figure and voice of Kunki comes into my terminal. ''''Roberta-sensei was the advisor of the swimming club, right? ''Huh, yes. I think it''s the locker room at this time of day, and I can get in through the ventilation fan if you''re the first one, Mr. Cockatoo. I can see him controlling the terminal as he says this. And. We''re in! How''s it going?Can you see my tits? Don''t panic. They''ll crush you if they see you. He''s just a worm on the outside. I found myself getting excited. What does this mean, isn''t it a weapons test?I''m confused and he''s talking excitedly about ''Dr. Roberta''s big one'' and so on. No doubt, this is my stupid son and his friend who are seriously trying to master the act of voyeurism. I feel dizzy, but I send a message to the surveillance team. ''That''s enough, please withdraw. Oh, and please give the self-defense forces a false alarm and notification. After cutting off the communication with that, I seriously wondered for a while whether I should be happy with my son''s healthy growth or scold him for his peeping behavior. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint There''s something I''ve been thinking about since last night, I don''t understand why Mom said that, but I have to admit it as fact. To be honest, it''s frustrating, but I don''t remember any loss by listening to my mother''s opinion, so I reluctantly talk to Shingo, who is preparing a trick while feeding Kon a banana with a serious look on his face. ''Shingo, I have something to discuss with you. It''s very important. When I speak to him in an unusual manner, Shingo also straightens his posture and urges me to continue. ''My mom found out about the peeps,'' ''What?Why not? I don''t know!I''d love to hear it. Last night we were eating dinner as usual when suddenly she said, ''Ko-chan, I understand you''re interested, but no peeking. If Alice finds out, she''ll reject you.I told him with a smile, ''I''m sure''. Where did you get the information, I''m very scared.... I was honest with her, and she looked at me thoughtfully. Huhhi, so what do you do with the finished optical camouflage? You can install it in my power suit and then use it for Shingo''s next research presentation. It''s not like I''m going to be of any use to you even if I have a report on my research. I''ll give it to my comrades generously and make sure that the next time something happens, we''ll be able to cooperate smoothly.... When I was thinking somewhat calculatively, Shingo asked me to lower my voice, and What are you going to do with that ''picture'' of Dr. Roberta that you took? Of course it''s going to be heavily protected and stored on the device!When I say that. The face of my comrade was there, smiling and giving me a thumbs up. 25-Raid In the dimly lit space, several people were talking in hushed voices. Wearing a unique white vestments, the atmosphere of a secret society that was popular in Europe over two hundred years ago filled the place as if it were a secret society. ''So, how''s the devil?'' I''m doing research at the International Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. Everyone present looks bitterly at the picture of "Arakawa Koki" on the candle-lit desk, and a person who seems to be in the upper echelon asks in a croaky voice: "What is the plan to kidnap the devil? ''What''s going on with the devil''s kidnapping plan?'' After a few people answered the question, ''All things considered,'' the owner of the croaky voice nodded gravely and raised his voice. ''The time has come!On the altar of my God, I dedicate the living blood of the devil to the altar of my God! The light comes on in the room in response to that... and in the space where my field of vision expands, I see hundreds of power suits in operation, waiting. ----Kouki Arakawa Point of View Today, we''re going to have a practical lecture on the use of power suits, but as usual, I won''t be attending. I wanted to put on the new suit that we rebuilt after I broke it down before, but the headmaster said, ''Arakawa-kun, you don''t have to participate, you''d rather stay in the research building! I had to stay home with Conn because he told me to. What did I do?I was going to show the girls in my class a good thing..., but when I was thinking about that, Alice spoke to me as if she was troubled. I''ve been thinking about this for a while now, but I''ve found out that some parts of my suit have deteriorated during maintenance. Would you mind lending me your personal suit? Oh, I don''t mind, but I don''t know if it was reassembled after it was taken apart before, I''ll ask Shingo. "Hey, Shingo, when you made the new model before, you took my personal suit apart, is that thing fixed? ''Huh?The one from the quartet, right?I''m going to fix it up and leave it in storage. If it''s fixed, it''s okay. I decided that and gave Alice permission to ''take it with you,'' and she happily headed to the warehouse. I helped my best friend put on his suit, as Shingo was going to be at the lecture place soon. But what was the original purpose of Shingo''s suit, which is burly?I asked the question as I fixed the thick additional armor on the back. ''This suit is a second generation military suit. It was bought after it was sold off to the civilians when it got old, a model that was originally used for explosive ordnance disposal and such. It''s a suit for dangerous work, it doesn''t seem to have any mobility at all, but it certainly looks sturdy. When the installation is complete and we have finished checking each part for any abnormalities, Shingo turns around and speaks to us through an external speaker. You should be able to see the lecture area from this building, so go up to the roof and take a look. He told me at a ridiculously high volume due to a volume control error, and then left with heavy footsteps that sounded like Zsin Zsin. I picked up the con that was tipping over at the current volume and then went up the stairs to head up to the roof. As I got up to the rooftop and looked around, I spotted a corner where a group of power suits had gathered. I can see my suit mixed in with one of them, and I''m pretty sure it''s that one. But I can recognize Alice and Shingo, but which one is Aikawa-san?I''ve been looking through the binoculars I had brought with me, but Aikawa-san is not among those wearing the type that show their faces. You can find a lot of people who have a lot more than just a handful of people in your area. As I continue to listen to the situation, this time Shingo grabs up Aikawa-san and hands her over to Alice. ''Sounds like fun!d*mn it! I shouted and swung the con around and was bitten by an irritated con. I held up my binoculars and looked in the direction of the sound and saw a power suit jumping in the direction of the city. Jumping in areas outside the city was supposed to be forbidden, and what was that number?There''s over 30 of them just in sight. Ta-ta-ta!Boom, boom, boom! ''Huh!You hear the gunshots, or are you in a fight? I''ve been to a self-defense facility with my mom, so I understood that the sounds I''d heard sporadically earlier were gunshots. In this world of Japan, just like before reincarnation, it''s basically forbidden for individuals to own firearms, and the fact that we can hear gunshots in such a situation means that a bank robbery or some other violent crime has occurred?I felt my excitement rapidly cool down as I looked at the power suit that was even closer, excited like an onlooker. ''Sun paint on his shoulders, isn''t that the self-defense force? A self-defense force firing on an urban area with a large number of civilians is either terrorism or war. No way, we''ve been at peace with another country until today, and then they don''t just suddenly declare war on us, what''s more likely is that a terrorist attack has occurred. Does the academy realize that there''s a battle going on in this close proximity?When I looked in the direction where everyone is, the guards of the academy were in the middle of guiding the evacuation. I''m sure you''ll be able to see the suits of the self-defense forces being shot down as I look out of the academy again, and they''re getting quite close to the academy. I''d better take shelter in the basement, too, and when I stood up, a power suit jumped onto the roof. I noticed the ''UN'' painted on its shoulder and shouted out. ''UN forces?Why is it here? As I stood there, startled, I heard a familiar female voice over the external speakers. ''''Gongju-kun, I will leave this place at once. 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Today seems to be the day in my life when the most ''shocking report'' comes in. But that report can''t exist, all of Gongju''s friendships must have been investigated, reports of people who don''t exist will immediately come up in the first place... I said that back to Lewis, but he calmly denied it. ''''No, without a doubt she has appeared out of the blue. Alice Alford, a Canadian citizen, was recommended by the Canadian government for her expertise in advanced medical care and was admitted to the academy after taking an examination. She has recently developed an effective treatment for the Tragedy of Europe, and is a true resourceful young woman, but she has no history of being a teenager. As for Clare, the only information on her is her birth address, which was not found in the Canadian government''s main terminal, although it was hacked into. Louis is looking at my expression with difficulty, I don''t think he''s going to care about my complexion. I nod at him to encourage him to continue. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about this. But it''s already closed down because of a fire that destroyed its functions, and the time of the fire coincides with Mr. Alford''s appearance in official documents. Also, I found the records of that genetic research lab in old UN intelligence records. They didn''t have any details, but the research being done was called ''Project Alice''. I understand why Lewis was looking at me in the face, because if I''m right, if I''m right, the lab was doing research that it was ethically forbidden to do. But I still don''t know, maybe I''m not, but I can''t just throw it away. ''Louis, make a formal request to the Canadian government to explain the situation. If they''re reluctant to do so, you can put our names out there, and if it''s something to do with Gongju, we''ve been given sole discretion by the top brass. But it''s a very sensitive matter, and I won''t allow you to grieve for my son or hurt my potential future daughter, so resolve it in secret. After giving those instructions, I crossed my arms and collected my thoughts. If Alice is involved in this case, it''s going to be quite troublesome. Do we have to change the rescue plan we had originally planned? Sir, we''ve got the identity of the terrorist group. It''s that cult you were talking about. Lewis, who was in contact with another department, reported to me. Funds, personnel, equipment, etc. are no longer at a level that one religion can do anything about. As I''m making plans for the future in my head, Lewis tells me his opinion. I think there is a high possibility that Alford-san is involved in this case. But it''s also possible that I''m completely off the mark. I''m not targeting Mr. Alford, but rather ''Shingo Saito'' who saved the earth from an asteroid by an AI robot and ''Emi Aikawa'' who is well known for her space technology development are also friends of his son. There is a possibility that they may have targeted their friends for some reason. From my point of view, I think we should protect them both until we have more information or when the situation changes. That''s right, since we can''t throw away all the possibilities, we should do the best we can now. After giving orders to Lewis and his subordinates to protect Saito-kun and Emi-chan as soon as possible, I began to think again. ---- Intelligence Officer Claire''s point of view ----. I didn''t feel alive the entire time I was retreating from the academy to the Self-Defense Force base with Kouki-kun in my arms. In the first place, my specialty was intelligence analysis, not the main focus of actually putting on a power suit to fight in battle, how could this happen just today! Moreover, the skinhead who was originally responsible for my role was participating in the defense of the academy, so he wasn''t accompanying me in this retreat. That bald man''s mission was to protect Gongju-kun, right!The bald man should be sent to the base while we are defending ourselves. While we were mumbling about such things, the self-defense base came into view. Perhaps because a state of emergency has been declared, I can see quite a few power suits in operation and tanks deployed around it. And then a communication arrives from the base''s operator: "This is the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force. It''s the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force. We have been told of your affiliation, and if you approach without permission, we will shoot you down. I finally lose patience with the person who sends me the stupid communication and shout back. ''This is the United Nations!You''ve already been notified by your government!I''m also giving you an identification signal, and if you lock up, I''ll fight back immediately. If you understand, open the gate and we''ll drive through on this. After declaring that, without slowing down, as we approached the gate, it was opened to the side as if in a hurry, and we ran into the base, sewing up the gap between the two. I''ve been shaken up at that speed, I thought I wouldn''t be able to walk properly, but surprisingly, I''m walking with a surprisingly firm gait. I took off my suit and rushed up to him, and even though his face was blue, he seemed to remember me. Oh, you''re Rocket''s sister. I thought she sounded familiar. Yeah, I know, it''s a lot of motion sickness, isn''t it?I''ll give you some medicine and you can rest in the officer''s quarters. When I say this, he weakly shakes his head, but only his eyes are full of firm intentions as he refutes me. ''I''m worried about Alice, could you get in touch with my mother to see if she can lend me some communication equipment?'' I''m sorry, I can''t allow such a thing to happen to you, but I''m going to call the top of the room for now and fool myself into thinking that I''m going to call the top of the room and urge you to rest in the private room. He looked like he was thinking about it for a while, but he managed to promise me that he would take his medicine and rest. After sending him to his private room and closing the door, I remembered the report I had sent him this morning. If your lover finds out that Alice Alford is an ''artificially created human being'', will you still be able to continue to love her, Koki-kun? A few hours later, I was in visual communication in a communications room that uses a secret line provided by the JDF. The captain is on the screen, and next to him are the upper echelons of the United Nations and the heads of state, with Miki Arakawa on the screen next to him. I could feel my heart racing with nervousness in front of the members who were truly running the world. ''So, what''s the situation over there?'' The captain will ask you a question on behalf of the captain, and you''re almost at a loss for words, but you calmly reply. ''Currently, our key target, Kouki-kun, is perfectly protected. Also, our friends Shingo Saito and Emi Aikawa arrived about two hours ago, they are also under tight protection. When I finished my report, he nodded his head in satisfaction and said, ''Good job. Vice Captain Lewis, who was standing next to the captain, explained as he took over. The United Nations Special Operations Division has determined that this series of terrorist acts is a plan to abduct Alice Alford, disguised as the abduction of Mr. Arakawa, for more details, please refer to the report that you have. It is presumed that the main purpose of the plot was to abduct Ms. Alford, with the secondary goal of abducting and assassinating Mr. Arakawa. . We believe that the organization behind the cult may be connected to the Genetics Research Institute, but we do not know at this time what that is, but we have received a commitment from the Canadian government to inspect the closed lab and provide information on this matter. I knew it had something to do with that girl, and if so, my guesses, which I''ve been thinking about since I got here, were correct?But the explanation goes on. It goes on to say, "In order to expose all the facts, we must resolve this incident as quickly as possible. We are currently organizing a rescue team led by the United Nations standing force, but due to the scale of the terrorist organization, it may be more appropriate to call it a ''rescue force''.We have also confirmed that after the terrorist organization pulled out of Japan, it moved its entire force to an uninhabited island in Southeast Asia. We are trying to find a solution to this problem as well, as it is extremely difficult to approach the island because it is surrounded by the sea with good visibility. My speculation turned to conviction when I heard that explanation. I wonder if he noticed the change in my expression the captain urges me to speak up if I have an opinion, as an intelligence analyst I speak up with my own analysis of the information so far. First of all, I will conclude that there is only one power suit in the world that can be approached effortlessly. You have all forgotten that there is only one power suit in the world that can be approached effortlessly.It can travel 3200 kilometers by itself, break the speed of sound, even re-enter the earth from outer space, and is equipped with optical camouflage as if it were built just for this purpose. When I say this, everyone on the screen starts to buzz. I guess this is one of the reasons why you are called ''Son of the Devil''. The first thing that comes to mind is to ask yourself, "Why did you rush to the scene of an accident at sea with a prototype that was supposed to be dangerous?I''m assuming that saving lives was the primary goal, but this was probably a field test for the prototype, in fact he''s been firing his thrusters as hard as he can. Secondly, why did he develop optical camouflage for the trivial reason of ''peeking''?We can only assume that this was a desperate measure because they needed to hurry up development but couldn''t come up with an excuse for their surroundings. We haven''t engaged in any such foolishness since we actually finished the development and put it in the suit, and most importantly, I think it proves my point that we''re building the same suit again, even though we''re dumping the test suit overboard. When I finished saying all that, I heard the people on the screen shouting things like ''That''s ridiculous'', ''Is he a real devil?'', ''How far ahead of time does he see? In the midst of all this, Miki Arakawa, who had remained silent, spoke up. ''''So you''re saying that you predicted that your son would be in this situation, yet you neglected it? No!That''s not what I''m trying to say!Please don''t look at me like I''m looking at such a bug, I desperately try to explain myself in a cold sweat. ''''That''s not the case, perhaps Gongju-kun was planning to fix everything by himself. This is something that is deeply related to his girlfriend, Alford-san, who was on the agenda earlier. From here on out, it''s a complete speculation on my part, with no evidence to support it.... I believe that Conju learned the secret of Mr. Alford''s birth from his own network. It''s true that we''re looking into the records of his correspondence, but it''s impossible to say whether we can grasp everything. And when he found out his girlfriend''s secret, he chose to protect her instead of rejecting her. He was going to take care of everything in secret so that he wouldn''t hurt the one he loved. When I first saw this information, I wondered, ''''Can Gongju-kun still continue to love her even if he finds out that she is an artificially created person?'''' But when I thought about his actions as an explanation, I realized that my thoughts were terrible and ugly. I don''t think that such a thing was important to you, Gongju. I''m not going to be able to tell you what to do, but I''m going to be able to tell you that the size of the organization is far greater than I ever imagined. Everyone listens in silence to my speculation. And then the President of the United States lets slip a few words. ''Are we wasting our time on meetings where our children are determined to fight alone? With those words, the meeting began to progress rapidly. The first thing that was decided was to ask for help from Kouki-kun as a decoy for the rescue operation, because he was the only one who could move the key 8th generation aircraft. It''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you can do with it, but you have to give it up. Secondly, the United Nations is sending in 20 percent of its forces for this operation, and major nations other than Japan, which is still in turmoil, are providing significant numbers of troops to reinforce the operation. And as for the details of the operation, Miki Arakawa proposed an unthinkable method. ----Kouki Arakawa''s point of view After taking some pills in my room and sleeping for a while, I was able to think things through with a cool head. When Alice was taken away, I was in such a hurry that I didn''t think twice about it, but she was wearing "my power suit". It''s the same suit that Mom personally ordered from the Ruin Company, and I knew it wasn''t an ordinary suit, but the specs I read when we were building the new model said this. "The power suit you ordered is a modified version of the highest level of protection for key personnel. The thing is... that suit cannot be opened from the outside unless you punch in the 30+ digit password, and if you put it in emergency mode, you can stay in it for 2 days. There''s also food and water underneath the seat so you don''t have to worry about anything. Alice, who laughed at the specs with me, knows this, so she''s probably locked up in emergency mode by now. It''s not just a matter of time before you open it, but also a matter of time before you open it. It''s a good idea to have a rescue team come for you immediately if you''re asleep inside. "I''d be hungry if I didn''t have to worry about it... I was about to leave the room and act to get something to bless me with food, but the sister who carried me to this base at the right time comes into the room. "Kunki, let''s move to the ''Japan Space Development Agency'' mega-float. And you must be hungry.I''ve got some sandwiches for you to eat on the move. Really, this beautiful sister is too smart to be left as a macho subordinate, she should just quit her job and come to my mom''s place... I''m pushed into the chopper and start moving around with these thoughts. As you eat the sandwiches they gave you on the plane, you say something you''ve been wondering about ''Why did they take me out of the academy alone?Is it because he''s your mother''s son? I don''t like being treated special because of this. It makes me feel bad for everyone that I''m the only one escaping from a dangerous place, and the fact that Alice, who was wearing my suit, was kidnapped should mean that the criminals are after ''me''. I want to ask you about that. When I asked that question, the sister told me as if to admonish me. You will be able to find out what is going on in the world," she said, "but we have also protected Kunugi''s friends Saito and Aikawa-san, although they are treated as special. You have created a cure for the tragedy in Europe, and you are obligated to receive special treatment in any country in the world, so please be aware of the results you have produced. Aikawa-san is a good friend of ours, so it was decided to make a special exception and protect her because she was in danger of being targeted in this attack. Secondly, I honestly don''t know about the kidnapping of Mr. Alford, but I don''t know.......it could be that they were targeting Conju-kun or they could have been targeting her herself from the beginning, but either way, it''s something that should be investigated by the investigative team once the case is solved and it''s out of my jurisdiction. After he told me that, we were both silent. I needed time to think about what was just said, and my sister kept working on the terminal at hand, and after an hour or so I could see the mega-float out the window, what was he going to do when he got to this place?I''ve finally gotten to this point where I''ve come up with a fundamental question. Before I could even ask that question, my sister gave me instructions. When you get off the plane, I want you to go to the central control room right away, where your mother will be waiting for you. Ah yes. When I entered the control room where I could hear voices buzzing around me, it was instantly quiet around me, I felt uncomfortable, but I headed to my mom''s place. She noticed me approaching and opened her mouth when she looked at me. ''Gongju, I don''t have much time, so I''ll just get right to the point. I need your help with Alice''s rescue mission. Huh!Why would I do that?I''ll do anything I can do, but is there anything a mere student can do? It''s a good thing that you''re able to have a good idea of what you''re doing. I''ll explain it to you, so listen carefully, and I''ll ask you all your questions later, so for now, get the contents in your head. I know I''ve said it a million times, but we really don''t have much time, so you need to concentrate. Mom said and projected the images on the large screen. As a result of the investigation, we found out that Alice was taken to an uninhabited island in Southeast Asia, which is also the home of the terrorist group. There is currently a joint operation with the United Nations and major international forces to retake the island. But there''s a problem... the island is surrounded by clear water, so any approaching the island would be instantly detected, making it impossible to launch an invasion from the sea, and the airspace is equally impossible with the radar network in place. And worst of all, there''s a low pressure system approaching the area, which means a major storm is going to hit in nine hours and won''t pass for about three days. That means the power suit that Alice is wearing will be neutralized, so far so good? If I chewed up Mom''s explanation and understood it, if we don''t rescue Alice in nine hours, we''re in trouble... I nodded and urged her to go on. ''But there''s one solution. I''m going to use the new power suit that Gongju developed to forcefully enter the island alone and scatter smoke bombs and electronic jammers that block the radar network throughout the island. In the meantime, a recuperation team descends from the sky to rescue Alice and then quickly retreat. You wanted me to help you because I''m the only one who can move this thing and I''m the only one who can move it. Then I will explain the procedure. You will board a ballistic missile with a special space attached to the warhead, which is scheduled to be launched in an hour and a half from now. When it reaches satellite orbit, it will separate from the warhead and begin re-entry 30 kilometers before the target island. Don''t worry, your mother will do the calculations at this point from the ground, and don''t forget to activate the optical camouflage at 10,000 meters above the ground. Then start flying independently from 2,000 meters, approaching the island, flying below 15 meters in altitude to avoid the radar network. As soon as it arrives at the island, it goes up to an altitude of 40 meters, then disperses the missiles it brings to the area at random.... When it''s done, we''ll rapidly leave and have a ship ready to pick you up on the other side of the island. Any more questions? Questions?No, I''m not!I have a lot to say. Will it succeed in the first place?And if it doesn''t work?What if the storm reaches us ahead of schedule?I can''t stop thinking about it, but if you say ''I''m the only one who can do it,'' there''s only one answer. And it''s to save Alice, I turn to my mom and reply. ''None.'' That''s a great answer, you''re very proud of your son. Now, go get dressed and go through the boarding process in detail. After a detailed briefing, I was immediately strapped into my power suit and shoved into the missile. As I waited nervously, I heard an announcement announcing the launch. "Launch, 50 seconds........49, 48, 47 Honestly, I''m scared, frankly, my legs are shaking because I could die. "30, 29, 28, 27 But if I don''t go, it will be impossible to save Alice, and I don''t want to miss her smile, that''s not something I want to see. Ten seconds to nine, eight, seven. I think I can hear that voice of Alice''s saying to me, ''I love you''. ''Five seconds ago ... four, three, two, one, fire.'' ''d*mn it!I''m coming for you, Alice!I''ll get you out of there, I promise. That''s what I said out loud, and I took off into space. 27-Rescued ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Earlier, I could feel the violent vibrations, but now I can only hear the slight mechanical sounds my power suit makes. If the explanation is correct, the warhead itself should be pointing towards the target now, but will it be OK?My anxiety swelled and at the same time, I received a communication from Mom. ''Goki, can you hear me?It''s transmitting fine over here, so I''m sure it''s fine. Oh yeah I forgot my suit is only a prototype so it doesn''t have any way to send communications from satellite orbit to Earth, it only receives audio one way or the other while it''s here. ''It''s time to separate from the warhead. Keep an eye on the suit to make sure it''s not leaking impact and oxygen. White smoke came into view along with a slight vibration, probably from the oxygen left inside the warhead being released into space. Airtight, no problem, although it''s not a problem. ''Why are you spinning? It wasn''t my fault for yelling at him, normally in a situation like this you would be looking at the earth and thinking, ''It''s beautiful...'' and getting sentimental about it!The suit is spinning, albeit slowly, so I can''t look at the Earth calmly. ''You may wonder why it''s spinning, but that''s just so it doesn''t get pulled down by gravity, you know?And it flies straighter that way. You''ll have to wait until next time to see the earth. You''re right, Mom, you read my thoughts perfectly. Even though I''m going to give up on earth watching, I decide to take out the tube of juice I brought with me and drink it while letting it float. As I get excited about the juice floating in front of me, the communication comes in again. ''Ten minutes before re-entry. I''m probably playing with the juice I had with me, but it''s time to brace yourself, we''re going to get suit attitude control until we reach an altitude of 15,000 meters in two minutes. Isn''t that what the security cameras are for?I drink all the juice I''ve been keeping afloat and switch my mind from escaping reality. From here, any small mistake can lead to death..., my heart beats fast again, but I take a deep breath and tell myself to stay calm. The screen in the center of the control panel shows the picture we all took before. I look at Alice at the edge of the picture, trying to get as much distance from Chabane as I can from him as I can, and then fasten my seat belt back on. ''Re-entry begins, you won''t be able to send any transmissions once you enter the atmosphere. If anything unforeseen happens from now on, do what you think is best for Gongju. With that, the communication from Mom was cut off. And gradually the earth grows larger, and when I think about it, I''ve never heard of a power suit re-entering the atmosphere by itself. It''s going to be okay, right?It''s a suit that we all made together, Shingo adjusted it, and Mom did the finishing touches, so I want to believe that it shouldn''t break so easily. Thinking about that, the vibration gets stronger. ''''Ugh........'''' I clenched my teeth and endured the vibrations and the G''s that held me back. Then the vibrations stop abruptly, I open my eyes and look at my instruments and see that the altitude is 11,000. I reached out and turned on the optical camouflage switch, but I''m not sure if it really works, I''ll have to ask Shingo to devise a way to check this when I return. In the first place, will the optical camouflage made for the purpose of peeking in is useful for military purposes? Beep!Beep! As we continue our descent, an alarm sounds to warn us of our 2,000th altitude, I activate my thrusters to reduce our descent speed and try to fly below 15 meters like my mother told me to do. Is it time to send out a friendly identification signal or will the troops surrounding the island attack us?Even if you can''t see them, they can easily be captured by infrared or heat-seeking missiles. Well, the premise is that if you don''t know which direction to shoot in, they won''t hit you. ''What''s this?'' The moment I gave the identification signal, there was a mysterious signal flying towards me. Couldn''t they have found out?I break out in a cold sweat, but it''s something different, I''ve analyzed it with the device that was on board when it was rammed down the megafloat and found that it''s emanating from a communication band used by the UN forces. I think it''s some kind of positional information, but I don''t know, for now it''s a signal from a friend, so let''s allow it... I decide that and press the switch to allow communication. The moment I press the switch, the signal stops for a moment, but the sender must have realized that I gave my permission, and a huge amount of data is sent to me. But unfortunately, you can''t use it effectively even if you send me that kind of thing, Shingo would be able to understand the contents of the communication, but I''ll just watch it at random. But there is one thing that even I can use effectively. "It''s like this thing is a guided wave, or it''s being sent from a submarine. Apparently, the submarine units deployed around the island are showing a relatively safe course. This is seriously gratifying, I replied ''thank you'' on the same frequency band and then followed the guidance radio waves to approach the island. When it reaches the airspace over the island, it disperses the missiles it''s been carrying at random as planned. But it is shot back from the ground at an unfashionable level, the sound is audible even if you can''t see it, and the whole area around me is under anti-aircraft fire. It''s impossible!I can''t!I can''t! He fires a smoke screen and jamming rounds while desperately trying to escape, but he really can''t go any further. I''m dying!It''s not a job for students to do in the first place!See, a towed bullet just went past my side of the slippery slope again. That''s enough I want to withdraw. Just as I''m half-heartedly calculating my escape, I suddenly get a transmission. This is the drop zone. We''ve confirmed the jamming effect on the entire island. We are now ready to begin a full-scale retake of the island! I saw a brave voice and a large transport plane flying overhead. Apparently it''s a transmission aimed at all frequencies, okay, let''s go home!I open my thrusters to full throttle and pull off the island. As I drop to the limit of altitude and make my way through the jungle and see the sea, I receive a transmission. You''ve done a great job, Congratulations, you''ve done a great job!You can get out of here now. I''ll send you information on the point where the ship will be waiting to pick you up, and you can head that way. Excuse me, we''re off the island and on the water!The guy from the descent team from earlier sent me a transmission, but I''m already on the water... they wouldn''t know if we pulled out a little early. As I thought about it, I looked at the recovery point they sent me and almost crashed. ''You''re on the other side!'' The recovery point was indicated on the opposite side of the island from the direction I was heading. I made that decision and lowered my altitude to the very edge, flying 3 meters from the sea level and looking at the island, I could see the people of the descent unit fighting. It seems that they are doing their best, but I could see that they are being pushed quite a bit, and unlike me, they don''t have optical camouflage on board, so it seems that quite a few of them have been shot down during their descent. ''..........................'' Can we just pull out of there?I''m the only one with my back to the island while everyone else is working hard to save Alice, but there''s nothing I can do to turn back. I can''t shoot a rifle, I''m not armed, and at best I''m a decoy. But I remember what my mother said before the communication was cut off. ''If something unforeseen happens, do what you think is best for Gongju.'' The best we can hope for at this point is to get the drop zone safely to the surface. Then my plan of action is to send a signal to the submarine that just sent me a radio signal. "This is Arakawa, do you read me? I wasn''t sure if I would be able to understand him in Japanese, but contrary to my expectations, he replied in Japanese. "This is the operator of the UN submarine Tolstoy. How can I help you? ''I''m going to turn back to the island now and do a decoy, could you please contact the drop team? When I told them that, Tolstoy''s side told me to wait a bit, and I let my suit hover on the spot and waited for their response, but in the meantime, a fierce battle was going on in front of me. The time is ticking away, and I finally get a response, but it''s not what I wanted. I''ve contacted the top brass, but they can''t give you permission. Please move out of the building. No, no!What are you talking about, like a government office, your people are fighting!Get on with it. I was about to yell at him, but was shushed by the continued communication. I''m sure you''re aware that I mistakenly sent your position and suggestion to the descent unit earlier. It was immediately cancelled, but the descent unit replied, ''Acknowledged''. Apparently it was a flexible official, if they made a mistake, I can''t help it... I reply with a laugh. Understood, I''m sorry, but we''re going to pull out. But being hit by a bullet has compromised our GPS and we may be on an ''erroneous'' course to enter the island, so please be careful not to fire a shot. After saying this, I fully opened my thrusters and flew back to the island. After landing on the island, I re-activated my optical camouflage and moved slowly while lowering the power to the limit so as not to be detected by sound, and invaded the anti-aircraft gun position that was firing into the sky. ''Hello.'' I deactivate my camouflage in the middle of the camp and wave my hand while shouting over the external speaker, and the anti-aircraft guns stop completely, startled by my sudden appearance. Then the infantry desperately fire at me with their rifles, but when I realize that it doesn''t work at all, the anti-aircraft guns are pointed at me.Good!As planned, his full consciousness is turned towards me. I immediately reactivate my camouflage and flee as fast as I can, meandering away, and as I run away, I start shooting into the sky again, this time from the opposite direction. ''Oui-yah!'' As I appear with a wave of my hand, feeling like I''ve completely licked my opponent, I see the enemy soldier''s face turning red through the camera. He''s shooting at me again, so I head straight for another position, and I''m satisfied to see that he''s not shooting above me because he''s looking back and warning me. As I continued to do that in several places, I found that the descent team was able to get down safely. ''I think we''re safe now, the anti-aircraft guns are fully alerted to me, and it''s time to go. This time I was about to fly towards the recovery point when I found "My Power Suit" on the truck. ----Alice Alford Viewpoint---- After being pushed into the transport plane by the people with weapons, I immediately turned the suit''s function to ''emergency mode'' and decided to lock myself in. This suit, ordered by Kouki''s mother, is a fortress in which every effort is made to protect her son. After a few hours of flying, this time I could tell by the sound that I was being put in the car. I switch back to main mode for a moment to look outside. ''I can see the jungle ... and it''s 38 degrees outside?We''re in the tropics. I put it back into emergency mode again and hold my knees. Will anyone who can help me know where I am?I remember what my father said to me as I tried to hold back the tears. ''Alice, you''re special, maybe there will be times in the future when you''re in danger. But when that happens, you need to stay calm and wait for help to come to you, okay?Don''t worry about it, because there will always be Dad and the people who care about you and Alice, and they''ll pick you up. At the time, I never thought it would be like this, but now that I''m in this situation, I''m almost overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. When I casually touched the device on my left hand side, the photo we took together appeared on my desktop. I''m not very fond of Chabane, so I''m stuck at the edge of the picture. I''m not a fan of Chabane, but I regret now that I did a bad thing to her, and that''s why I''m in the picture with Saito, holding Chabane''s touch and laughing, while Megumin is holding Saito''s clothes and smiling. ''''Will we see everyone again?'''' I can''t help but feel weak in my mouth. That''s when I heard the sound of banging from outside, trying to break the exterior!He seemed to be banging on it hard a few times, but I couldn''t hear it with the sound of smoke. I think it was tear gas that was sprayed to prevent the intrusion, but I cried out in fear. ''''Huh.......I''m scared, Gouki-kun. With a gasp, I looked at the terminal and saw that nearly two hours had passed. Apparently he was tired of crying and had fallen asleep, but why did he wake up?As you wonder, you hear a sound in the distance. It''s definitely the same one you heard at the academy, and this is the sound of an explosion. Is help coming?I''m looking at the situation under my breath when I hear the sound of something flying around at high speed and a series of explosions. ''Should I activate the suit?'' I reconsidered trying to press the start button, if it wasn''t helping, I would be wasting my battery. It''s probably best to stay quiet for now, I decide, and as I stand there listening to the explosion, I see the car start to move. We can''t let this happen!I knew that this sound was the sound of help coming, and that''s why I''m trying to move in a hurry. I press the start button on my suit to fix it in main mode and then desperately try to manipulate it to get up, but it seems to be fixed and I can''t move. And then suddenly everything turns off... The battery must be dead. It seems that the current scrambling has used up the last remaining batteries. I''m holding my knees again and squatting, the suit that protects me is now powerless. ''''I wish I could have met you at the end, Gongju-kun.......'''' As I was preparing to say those words out loud, I heard a voice from outside. I''m sure you''ll be in there because I saw you moving earlier, right?Come on out. Did I mishear you?I think I''m sure I''m hearing Gongju-kun''s voice right now, but I think it''s just my imagination. Even if help came, he wouldn''t be there, and it''s an auditory hallucination that arose from my desire to see him for the last time... I think so, but the voice still continues to be heard. ''Arleigh Sue, ha!It''s getting worse, I''m going to die for real!Please, come out and get in here. When I unlocked my suit and stepped outside, I saw Gongju-kun opening the hatch and beckoning me out. ''Quick!The truck driver freaked out and ran away, but he might come back, so I''m getting in my suit and running. As I dizzyingly approached Kunugi-kun, he grabbed me by the hand of my suit and pushed me into the cockpit, then placed me on his lap and patted me on the head. Good night, you did a great job. Now let''s go home. He says this with a laugh and then starts sending a transmission somewhere. ''Tolstoy, can you hear me?Alice has been rescued. We will now head to the collection point, but we have one more person and our thrusters don''t have enough fuel. Can you collect it there? ''This is Tolstoy, Roger that. We''ll be waiting for you at the surface. Gouki, who is communicating with a crisp expression, is really cool. It''s a good idea to have a reward of this magnitude, because I was also enduring it by myself, although I had a troubled expression when I unintentionally hugged him. I''m going to ask the question I''ve been wondering about since a while ago while holding on tightly to Koki-kun. ''''How did you get here?'''' ''Remember the mega-float we went to last time?That''s where we saw Mr. Chavanel off. It''s where we rocketed out of there into space and then reentered Earth and flew to the island. I feel like I said something plainly awesome.... Space?In other words, are you saying that you flew tens of thousands of kilometers, even though you borrowed the power of a rocket to save me? The person himself has an expression on his face that it''s not a big deal, but does he realize that he has done something outrageous? I''m sure it''s not... I whispered and I said, ''What did you say?'' I smile and shake my head at Gongju-kun who asks me, "What do you think? I love him, and no matter how great he does, he is neither proud nor aware of it. You''ll be able to see that it''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you''re doing. The "great thing" for you is probably much more than that, it''s the kind of achievement that would be considered a new discovery for mankind. And the day will surely come when he will accomplish such a feat.... Will I be next to you at that time?No, I''m pretty sure he''s right next to me!As I was making this decision, I saw a submarine surfacing at sea. It seems to be flying towards it, so that must be the ''Tolstoy'', and it slowly lands. ''Welcome to the Tolstoy!It''s an honor to welcome our heroes. When the person who came out on deck, who I assumed to be the captain of the ship, called out to me with the most respectful salute, Kouki-kun smiled bitterly, ''''I''m not a hero. I chuckle at that face, you see, I''m not aware of it after all....... ---- Miki Arakawa''s point of view---- Half a day after the successful rescue, I was at home with Shuichi, who hadn''t yet returned to his home, and I was on video communication with him. Was he quite busy?I can see that his face is matted, but I want to know the truth this time. Shuichi-san opens his mouth as if it were heavy........ Sorry Miki, I had no idea. What does that mean?The island is completely overrun by UN forces. You can find plenty of evidence if you look for it," I questioned, my voice tightening. First of all, it was that religious archbishop who planned this," I say, my voice rising. "First of all, it was the Archbishop of our religion who planned this, but he escaped, because he was able to get through the siege so easily. It can''t be true!There are over a hundred ships and satellites watching the island, how could they possibly escape? Yes, it''s impossible, but the reality is that they are on the run. There is no doubt in my mind that one of the countries involved in the mission leaked the information to us. And with the right equipment, there''s not a religious group that could fit in. Can you believe it?We even had a nuclear weapon that was banned by the treaty. What''s going on?Wasn''t it Gongju who was the target? Or was Alice-chan the target? ''''I interrogated the survivors, and they seemed to believe that Gongju was in the captured suit. There''s no doubt that the end-believers were trying to assassinate Gong-Ju. But, you see, when we went through the archbishop''s room, we found some documents that we couldn''t take out. That''s where he breaks off his words and puts on a professional military look. ''There was a picture of Kouki and Alice in the document. Perhaps, but I think it could have been either Gongju or Alice-chan who was in the suit. If the country is involved, the investigation should be difficult. I''d ask questions about that, even more so if it''s a big country. The goal is to capture the Archbishop, who has escaped, and when we catch him, everything will become clear. The only thing left to do is to find out which country leaked the information, but that''s in the hands of my man Claire, who will eventually find out what happened. More importantly, though, Alice-chan. Besides, I don''t want to go out of my way to make things difficult and hurt the girl who might become my wife. Then that''s good. We''ll continue to find out more about Project Alice, but I only know her from pictures and information, but she''s a good girl, right?It''s a good job for Koki........well, Miki is more beautiful than me. By the way, is Conju still making fun of me as ''macho''? I don''t deny that Shuichi-san is certainly brainy and macho, but I think it''s also the reason why people make fun of him for not mentioning that he''s a member of the United Nations special forces. "No, sooner or later, when you''re watching TV or a movie and you see the Special Forces on TV or in a movie and you''re saying something like, ''Cool,'' and that''s when you say, ''Actually, Dad...'' and that''s the first time I''ve ever been a member of the Special Forces... ... Now that I''ve heard all I need to know, I''m going to cut off the communication with the excited "Stupid Macho". From now on, we''ll increase the number of guards we have, and we''ll guard Alice as well, the rest is.... I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten all about Conn while I was executing the things I had to put in place before Gongju came back. 28-Lets dig a hot spring! 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No, as expected, I don''t think so, and in the end, Shingo and I decided to ask Claire, aka ''Rocket Man'', who had helped us during the previous debacle, to make a decision. We wrote our opinions to the address she had given us before and sent it to her, and within 10 minutes we received a reply. ''It''s all rejected, I don''t think you should show them a building like that, they''ll definitely be drawn away, so I don''t think you should. It should be a gentler, warmer looking log house.'' With a crane call from Claire, we decided to order a log house from an importer. As for the rest of the land, we decided to buy it from her as a tatemae, since there are legal formalities involved. I suggested to Shingo that he could work on the project on his day off, but he gave me a different answer than I expected. It''s a good idea to have a good idea of what to do. You''re not going to be able to find any particular thing to do at the school. We each sent a text to our girlfriends, ''I''m going to study insect biology for about three weeks,'' and three days later we were ready to go, and three days later we were off to the mountains of Hakone. From the town at the foot of the mountain, we flew to the land I had purchased in my power suit. Of course, I''m carrying Shingo, who is also wearing the suit, and I''m carrying as much equipment as I can carry while I''m at it. But really, we''re in the middle of the mountains, and all you can see around us is a forest. Well this is more convenient. It''s almost time for us to land. We''ll make room and gain altitude. Shingo, who was looking at the map, sends me a transmission. I follow his voice and ascend to 200 meters above the ground, I drop the dynamite that Shingo is holding in his hand, saying, "I''ll drop it then. The dynamite, which is set to work at 5 meters above the ground, works as expected, blowing away the forest within 10 meters of the surrounding area and creating a landing point. After landing at the newly created point, the ship took no time to rest before dynamite was set on the entire area around it and it fell back into the sky. ''''Huh!Huh-heehee. Every time Shingo presses the blasting switch with a strange smile, the forest is blown away and a rapidly open land is created. Hey Shingo you''re going to use that blown up tree later, so don''t shatter it too much. ''An excavator is right here?'' Yeah, just hold her steady. I''ll take control from here. After the land was reclaimed, we set up a large excavator and started digging out the water vein of the hot spring. I asked a geologist from the New Metal Development Department of the Institute of Next Generation Science to estimate the general location of the water vein. When the anchor was sufficiently submerged in the ground, today''s work was done. All we have to do now is leave it alone and hope that the hot springs are blowing out tomorrow morning. Once again holding Shingo in my arms, I soared into the sky and started flying towards the town at the foot of the mountain where I had booked an inn. ---- Miki Arakawa Viewpoint---- I had come to the state executive branch to arrange the land for Gongju and Saito-kun. Gongju seemed to think that as long as he owned the land, he wouldn''t have any problems, but in reality, there were other complicated procedures to go through. I have to take over the various procedures, such as permission to use the hot spring water and building permits. ''I thought I knew everything, but I guess I''m just a kid. As a mother, she is very happy that Gongju, who normally solves everything herself, comes to ask for a favor on a personal matter. Maybe that''s why I forgot to make an appointment with the person in charge and ended up coming to the executive branch all of a sudden. ''My name is Miki Arakawa and I would like to meet the person in charge of land-related matters. I understand that I can''t see him even if he comes unexpectedly, so I mention the name of "Arakawa" and ask him to come in somewhat forcefully. As expected, I was immediately granted a meeting with the person in charge and entered the room, but for some reason I saw a sweating and frightened person in charge. You are going to stage a coup d''etat!Then you should go to the Cabinet Office or the Self-Defense Force Headquarters, not here! What am I wrong about?I am here to consult with you about the land and the interests involved in it for Gongju. I will explain the matter to you. ''I understand!I''ll grant you everything, just save your life! He handed me a settlement stamp, saying "Let''s go! He said, "I''m going to blow you up and force you to permit me to do this.It''s true that I gave the name "Arakawa" to force the meeting, but if I didn''t, not only me, but also Kunugi and Saito-kun would be misunderstood. I spent the next two hours politely explaining to them to clear up any misunderstandings, and then I had them sign all the documents and leave the reception room. And when I stood at the exit of the executive branch, I finally understood why the person in charge was so frightened. ''It was because of this, wasn''t it?'' I couldn''t help but speak, and what I saw in my eyes was the sight of a security force that had been greatly augmented since the last incident. Even though it was painted with UN affiliation, with 200 fully armed soldiers, 15 tanks and armored vehicles, and a combat helicopter flying overhead, one might be mistaken. ''That''s a bit much,'' While thinking about this, I sent a text message to Kouki saying, ''Everything is fine. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint I got it! Baboon, you made it. It''s been a little over two weeks since we started digging for the hot springs and we''ve finally completed something we''re happy with. To begin with, the reason why it took longer than planned is that the hot springs did not come out of the first place we dug, and we had to dig three more places after that. After the hot spring gushed out, they built a wall made of blown-out wood around it, passed a pipe through the ground, and then connected a pipe that was extended from another underground water vein to make the hot water just the right amount. After that, we had to build a log house in an unobstructed area after laying down the rocks to make a bathtub, but I don''t want to talk about the difficulty of that work, so I won''t mention it. I don''t want to remember how hard it was, so I''ll spare you the trouble, but if I were to add a word of support, it would be ''It was not a job for two people. The rest is just beds and other necessities of life. Do you have to carry it back and forth?'' No, Claire said she''s working with her business associates to bring everything in by helicopter. We''ll go back to the institute and pick up Alice and Aikawa-san. I didn''t tell Shingo, but the night before last, Claire-san sent me a text message the night before last saying, ''''If you have Gongju-kun and the others prepare the things you need for life, there''s a possibility of a demonic boundary, so I''ll do it on my end. What the hell is a demonic state of affairs!It''s not going to happen. I was going to buy a bed with a canopy or something.... I was complaining, and then Shingo said to me. Kunugi, I''m ready. He said, so he took off for the academy as an adult. ''''What?Hot springs? I contacted the two of them beforehand to prepare for the overnight stay and wait for them in the research building, so all I had to do was tell them what to do. I watched with a grin as Shingo shyly told Aikawa-san about his gift. ''Yeah, I just remembered that Emi said before that she liked hot springs, so I was making one with Koki. We said we were studying insects, but really, we''ve been digging hot springs all along. So.........would you accept it as a birthday present? My Japanese is a little suspect due to my nervousness, but I''m sure the meaning of "I dug the hot spring for you, so let''s go now" was understood, and Aikawa-san happily hugged Shingo. It''s a good thing that I also feel that my efforts were worth it when I see Shingo who looks equally happy. I was sullenly thinking about that when Alice What will I get for my time? He asked me with a smile, but I honestly didn''t think anything of it, so I could only say ''secret''. I put Alice in my suit and forced Aikawa-san into Shingo''s suit and flew back to the hot spring, after the daily necessities had already been brought into the log cabin. I found a letter on the table and read it. I''ve brought in the items that my sister Ellis and all the other female colleagues have selected for you. I''m sure I paid for it out of your cash, so don''t worry about it. After I finished reading, I looked around and saw that there were indeed dishes and tables full of ''femininity''... isn''t that too fancy?That''s what I was thinking about. Megumi!This is cute. It''s true, Singh, you guys have good taste. So I decided to tear the letter up into little pieces and take credit for it for us. I spoke to Shingo with my eyes as well and he nodded coyly, just as long as he didn''t find out!If they don''t find out.Now, the only thing left to do is to introduce you to the bathrooms, but I think you''re going to want to get them to actually take a bath and when I say so... I will, Alice and I will come in, but please don''t look in. Aikawa-san said to me in embarrassment. ''Of course I wouldn''t do that,'' I replied, ''but I''ve already planned it with Shingo!For the millionth time, it''s okay if they don''t find out!As I''m thinking these insolent thoughts, Alice looks me in the eye and blurts out a few words. ''''That''s right. If you''re going to peek at me, it''s a rabbit''s nest, but if Gongju peeks at Megumi, I''ll have to crush her! Huh?Where are you going to crush it!Aikawa-san says the same thing as she is driven by the fear of the pain in her lower abdomen area. ''''Right. If Shin-kun looks at Alice-chan instead of me, I''ll have to crush him.'''' "Huh? Shingo sounded frightened, and the two of them disappeared into the open-air bath with those words as a souvenir, but we couldn''t move from there. Wasn''t Aris such a scary boy? I tried desperately to remember, but I couldn''t get an answer, but a thought came to me... ''If you''re going to peek at me, anyway,'' said Alice, ''that might be...'' When Shingo remembers what Aikawa-san said to him, they look at each other and both of them are full of smiles. There will be a lot of fun things to do this summer vacation. 29-Her feelings and Kons ability ----Emi Aikawa Viewpoint When I opened the door to the open-air bath, I saw the biggest bath I''ve ever seen. Without a doubt, it was twice as big as the large bath I had seen at the hotel I stayed at in Noboribetsu Onsen, Hokkaido, where I was taken a long time ago. ''Wow, it''s huge!Megumi. Alice-chan is innocently happy about it, but it''s not at that level of spaciousness. I wonder how much effort it took to make this thing........will Shin-kun receive it? What did he say, but it''s impossible not to take it when you see this. Let''s go in. I said that and followed Alice''s example of getting into the hot water after pouring the bath water over her, so I get into the bath too. The temperature of the water is just right and I can''t help but let out a voice. ''''Funyu.'''' Hahaha, Megumi looks like a cat! Alice hears my voice and teases me, but I move to the back of the bathtub without paying attention to her. ''Wait, Megumi,'' I can hear them chasing me from behind, but I don''t stop. In this place where there is no one else in the public, I can make one of my dreams of swimming in the bathtub come true!I moved to the center and then took a big breath and dove into the hot water all at once. When I was out of breath and looked out of the hot water, I was a little surprised to see Alice coming at me, doing a high speed butterfly. ''It''s awful, I can''t believe you''re swimming away without me. ''Sorry, I just got a little too happy. But why did you chase me while ''butterflying''?You could have just swam normally. I can''t do anything but butterfly. When I asked her about it, Alice answered swiftly and puffily. But if he can''t swim any other way than the butterfly, do you think he''ll be able to chase after Arakawa at high speed, making full use of the butterfly swimming technique when you go to the beach with him?That''s probably ... no, it''s definitely a horror story. Maybe we should teach them how to swim in other ways.I thought about that and asked Alice about it. Really?Then I want to learn to crawl. No, Alice, what I''m trying to say is more like this - how to swim so you can cackle and woof when you go to the beach with your boyfriend. After teaching her how to swim for a while, we sat down on the edge of the tub to cool off. ''''You should have brought Con with you. Oh but would he be surprised if I put him in hot water? What do you think?I''ve certainly never read about dragons soaking in hot springs in fiction, but surprisingly, I can imagine an image of that boy would happily float around puka puka. Just as I was thinking about that, all of a sudden. Shubba!Shubba! I heard the sound of a small rocket in flight. I looked around and saw the rocket flying away from the front door area towards my surroundings. What was it doing?Faster than I could utter a question, Alice was asking Arakawa-kun in a loud voice. ''''Kunki-kun, what are you doing?'''' "I''m firing a rocket to avoid vermin. "The next time I shoot, I''ll shoot off some fireworks made by Shingo, so keep an eye out for them. Hearing Arakawa-kun''s reply from a distance, I have a hard time understanding, so why not ''firecrackers'' then?I don''t understand why you should bother to make it a rocket. Well, perhaps if you ask Mr. Singh, he''ll say, ''Huh!I can see the inexplicable answer of ''Isn''t that romantic?'' or something like that. Hugh ... poof! As I was imagining Shin-kun, the fireworks suddenly began to light up the sky. 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The rock I was resting my back on was hit by a ''rocket-propelled grenade''. As expected, it''s probably a coincidence, I said. But that''s a dud. I point out in a shaky voice. I''m horrified to realize this, and I wonder how it''s possible that a randomly fired rocket could have accidentally landed in our path and accidentally gone undetected?There''s no way that''s possible. He was probably aiming to shoot at us, but he only fired a warning shot at us the first time. You should be grateful to the head of the academy for the ethics education, I have to write a report on ''great effect of ethics education'' when I return. I''ll order my subordinates to refrain from making any more inappropriate comments and think about it. I don''t know how effective the vermin avoidance was, but that rocket-propelled grenade seemed to have an effect on the vermin that tried to peek at the woman. ---- Dean of the school, Kaori Yamamoto''s point of view---- As I''m in my office, sorting through papers, I look up when I hear a scratching at the door. Could it be that boy has come?I got up and opened the door to find a small dragon at my feet. ''Con!'' As I held Kong-chan, who was staring at me with an expression that looked as if she wanted to say ''hello'', I took the tomatoes out of the fridge, which have always been there since the day she first arrived. As I watched her mugging and eating happily, I remembered the first time I met this little dragon. That must have been the night of the day the academy was attacked.... I was busy contacting all the parties involved when I received the report that the academy had been destroyed and one student had been taken away. I was busy getting in touch with the various parties involved. I was hoping for the safe return of the student when my eye was caught by Arakawa''s pet entering through the open doorway. As I recall, he told me it was a "new species of lizard", and I wanted to get rid of it because I''m not a fan of reptiles, but since it was Arakawa-kun''s pet, I couldn''t provoke it and injure it, so I could only watch. The lizard stared at me as it trotted along, then jumped on the desk, touched a nearby red ink pad with its hand and rubbed its hand on a blank piece of paper. ''Please feed me,'' It was badly written, but no doubt the lizard in front of me wrote Japanese on the paper. I was surprised and asked, ''What are you?When I ask, ''Can you understand words in the habit of lizards?'' he writes more words on the paper. ''I am a dragon. I am not a lizard. Please feed me.'' Dragon this lizard called himself a dragon. Normally this would be a laughing matter, but it''s annoying that Arakawa-kun wouldn''t feel any differently about having a dragon as a pet. But when it comes to food, there''s nothing to feed them in this situation, so if it''s anything at all, it might be convenient to ask the dragon. I like yasai, but I don''t care what it is. But I don''t mind anything.'' If it''s veggies, there''s probably some leftover salad I bought for lunch... I handed him the salad and he started eating it happily. The poor thing must have been quite hungry, and she was eating intently. When he finished eating, he wrote out some words on a piece of paper again, so I looked at it. ''Thank you. My name is Con.'''' Yes, you say "Conn. I found myself smiling as I stroked Conn. A lot of terrible things happened today it would be nice to have some healing at least at the end. As I continued to stroke it while thinking that, Kon touched a paperweight on the desk and then wrote the words on the paper again. ''''Is this tetsudo?'''' Yes, that''s an iron paperweight. As I replied, Kon''s wings began to glow, and the moment a purple flash of light shone.......the iron paperweight became a shining ''pure gold'' paperweight. ''''Orei. I''m coming back.'''' After writing that, Conn walked out of the room, trotting out the same way he came. ''Conn, Conn?'' I''m suddenly brought back to reality when I notice Conn''s whimpering. He seems to have finished the tomatoes I gave him, and is using my fountain pen to write on a piece of paper. ''Thank you for the feast. It was delicious.'''' You seem to have picked up a lot of letters. When I praise her for that, she proudly puffs her chest out. The sight of her is so cute that I can''t help but stroke it, and then Kong-chan writes more letters. ''''Thank you, but since it''s not always a trick with money, let''s make it something else this time, shall we?What precious metals and stones are valuable?'' Seeing that made me feel dizzy for the first time about Kong. Does she understand the value of what she is doing?Well, I''ll tell you about it later, but... Now I''ve decided to have a big blue diamond made. 30-Lunar base Did you guys forget anything? All the usual members of the team respond to Mom''s question. I don''t care if I forgot something or not, I can''t wait to get out of these f*cking hot clothes. Should I have stayed behind with Con?In the midst of light regret, Mom''s voice rang out loudly. ''Good. Then let''s head for the moon!Get into the shuttle. Mom was beckoning me to the entrance of the Shuttle to the Moon in a light tone of voice, as if she were going to a convenience store. As I watched with a sideways glance, I remembered why I had to put on a space suit and board this shuttle. ----Kouki Arakawa Point of View After the ladies came out of the bath, Shingo and I set up the barbecue set up in front of the front door and prepared to grill the meat. As we were skewering the vegetables and meat, Alice and Aikawa-san came out the front door, changing into their sweats. ''I''m hungry, Koki-kun,'' With a wry smile on her face at Alice''s words, Aikawa-san asked me about my ''summer vacation plans'' as she and Shingo split up to cook the meat. ''''Hey, Arakawa-kun and Shin-kun, what are you going to do for your summer vacation?'''' I''m having trouble answering that question with a straight face because I haven''t made up my mind. When I said that to Aikawa-san, he sighed as if he was looking at raw garbage. No, because that''s how it should be!You know, a student''s summer vacation is supposed to be about going to bed in the morning and getting up in the evening!I asked Shingo for his consent. Gouki, I don''t think that''s possible. He sighed in a dumbfounded way. I''d like to ask Alice about it, but I have no doubt she''ll give me the same opinion, so I''ll weigh myself. As I was roasting the meat, almost crying over the lack of allies, Shingo came to me as if he remembered. I''ve been told that the International Research Station will be built on the moon during the summer vacation. I heard that the academy is cooperating with you. Oh, you plan to do that? As I was listening to him as he removed the vegetables from the spit and ate only the meat, Aikawa-san continued the conversation. ''As I recall, wasn''t Arakawa-kun''s mother in charge of the construction and investigation?It''s awesome. Sorry, but I don''t know. The scope of what my mom does on a regular basis is so broad to begin with that I can''t keep track of what she''s doing right now. Should I ask her when I get home?Just as I was thinking about this, I heard an email ringing from the terminal on my arm. I forgot to mention that your mother is going to the moon next week to build the ''International Research Station''. I would like to take Alice and the others with me, so please listen to my plans for the next two weeks. It wasn''t my fault when I checked the text, I seriously suspected the existence of a wiretap or a surveillance camera. When I showed everyone the email, which was so perfectly timed, they all agreed to join. I continued to eat my meat in silence, feeling that something more troublesome was about to happen. Then we hurriedly prepared for the event and are now. As I sat in the seat of the shuttle, I adjusted the cooling system of my life-supported spacesuit to lower the internal temperature. There, I remember the last time I was sent into space in a rocket and it shook like crazy, and I ask my mom how it''s going to be this time. It was a ballistic missile, and it was not designed to carry a person, so it shook. This time, like an airplane, it takes off from the runway and flies leisurely into the stratosphere, then leaves the atmosphere with a booster. Then we''ll get a big booster and fuel from the working ship in orbit to reaccelerate the spacecraft, and we''ll accelerate to 120,000 kilometers per hour and head for the surface of the moon. Aikawa-san, a space specialist sitting across the aisle, said, ''We''re going to break through the third space speed! I know he''s surprised to hear me say that, but I don''t know much about that, so I can only think of it as something amazing. But it''s only about 400,000 kilometers to the moon, so it''s going to take about 4 hours to get there.... I''m not telling you that I was a little bit nervous because I was expecting my mother to say something like, ''We''re going to warp through space. ''We will be taking off soon. Please take your seats and use your belts for safety. As I was eating the biscuits Alice gave me, an announcement was made. As I sat quietly, buckling my belt as instructed, I remembered that in the world before I was reincarnated in this world, there was a gossip that there was a ''secret alien base'' on the ''dark side of the moon'', and I asked my mother about it. ''Hm?The dark side of the moon?There are the remains of Nanika, yes. The life forms aren''t there already, though. You have one!And can you say that normally?That kind of thing is a top secret and a civilian secret.... "Kou-chan, you''re not a ''civilian'' when you''re here right now, okay? "Gongju-kun, didn''t you sign the ''security clearance document'' before you got on the shuttle? Alice is talking to me with a look on her face as if she''s not sure what she''s talking about now, but I don''t remember signing any such documents. Well, I''m pretty sure my mother wrote and submitted the paperwork for me behind the scenes, too. With a faint vibration, I realized that the shuttle I''m on has started to take off. The shuttle is designed to leave the atmosphere, so it has no windows, so you can''t see what''s going on outside. "Congratulations, Congratulations, I''m free, let''s play a game on the terminal. Shingo sent me an application to join the card game from his personal terminal, and I give him permission. I was somewhat impressed by the fact that even though the world has changed, it''s still the same for me to pass the time with playing cards when I''m bored, and when I operated my own terminal, I noticed something that bothered me. "Hey, isn''t that one person too many? The four people displayed in the lobby of the game screen, me, Alice, Shingo, and Aikawa-san, as well as a fifth person, ''Miichan'', were displayed. Who''s that?"Miichan. It''s your mother! I overhear Mom confidently declare with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face, and I propose a kick vote for ''Miichan'' for all of us. My proposal appears at the top of the terminal, but it''s rejected by a vote of 1 in favor and 3 against. Everyone but me feels like they''re welcoming my mom........ Don''t be a good old man and don''t come to the children''s game!And I''m playing a simple millionaire with no stair bindings, etc., and my mom is too strong... there''s no way I''m going to be a millionaire all six times I''ve played it!Why are you so strong? ''Arakawa-san, why are you so strong?'' Aikawa-san seemed to be wondering about it too, and asked her mother fearfully. ''Emi, you don''t have to be so awed. You can call me Miki-san!It''s not that I''m strong, it''s simply that I ''memorize the cards on the field''. I know which cards are in everyone''s hand, so I play the most efficient card in the hand. Don''t consume your genius brain on a mere game!You can use it somewhere else!I mean, if you can do that, you ain''t going to win a game of cards!Everyone else seems to have figured that out, and a desperate look appears on their faces. ''We''ll be docking with the working ship in five minutes. The announcement comes in at just the right time. I''m glad the game didn''t turn out to be one-sided... I buckled up again and sat back in my seat, thinking about it. I stood there for about 20 minutes after I felt the light impact of the docking with the workboat, and then an older man came into the cabin. ''Ladies and gentlemen, I''m Daniel Ware, the captain of this shuttle. Apparently, he looks like a captain. He''s dressed in the United Nations military uniform I saw before, and he looks like an ''air force officer'' from an old war movie I saw. As I was thinking about this, Daniel-san continued with his explanation, "I want to be a good-looking person like that in the future. ''It is a great honor to meet such distinguished people as you and to be able to guide me to the moon. And I can assure you that we will have a safe journey in space with complete safety regulations. However, the next leg of your journey will be very fast, so you will have to turn on your respective life support systems and put your helmets on. Ah, yes, yes. The point is, ''You''re going to sit quietly in your space suit because you don''t know what''s going to happen next, right? I''m worried about the captain''s "stomach" as I continue to listen to his explanation. ----I continued to listen to the explanation while worrying about my ''stomach''. I had come to the conference room, as usual, to conduct today''s flight briefing. When I entered the room, I noticed a woman wearing the rank insignia of ''Major General'' in addition to the flight control officer who was supposed to be there, and I saluted her. Why is the general attending the briefing?Such a question comes to mind, but we can''t ask it, so we are silent, and the Major General opens his mouth. ''Commander Ware, you may be seated. I sat down in the pipe chair as instructed. While I was waiting to be handed the flight data, which would normally be given to me immediately, the major general began to explain, showing the images on the screen. "Commander, the personnel you are carrying to the moon today are not ''normal'' personnel. I want you to take a look at this first. I found myself watching the images on the screen and my mouth dropped open until my jaw almost fell off. It was understandable that ''Arakawa Miki'' was on the list of people scheduled to board, she was the leader of the construction and lunar survey of the lunar base. It wasn''t that much of a surprise, since they were going to get her to the surface of the moon eventually, but the other four were important. Even in the United Nations Space Force, there are many people who think of him as a hero. Of course, I am one of them. Alice Alford, the girl who succeeded in developing a drug to combat the European Tragedy Virus, the worst enemy of mankind, and whose reputation is revered by many doctors, is rumored to have been rejected by the World Health Organization when they offered her the position of Chief Scientist. I have read some of her papers, and I saw a talent for leading the next generation of space development. And displayed at the end........the ''Kouki Arakawa'' in question. He succeeded in developing the ''8th Generation Power Suit'' personally. I''ve heard of rescuing cruise ships and even heard rumors that he was able to stop a direct hit from a missile by crashing an observation plane into a ballistic missile. And last month, in order to rescue his kidnapped lover, he single-handedly re-entered the Earth from outside the atmosphere, forcing his way onto an island where the enemy was waiting for him, and held out as a decoy until the main force arrived. In the end, despite being a non-combatant, I single-handedly ''covered'' the descent unit, which is said to be elite even in the United Nations, and after crushing all of the enemy''s anti-aircraft positions, I rescued my girlfriend by myself and withdrew from the island as if nothing had happened. Other than that, I''m not qualified to view the information, but there seems to be ''something'' going on, and the rest of the world is treating him with an unusual degree of nervousness. I want to resign and go home now................................no?If I''m not good at carrying people more important than a head of state, a mission like this is too heavy for me. If I''m flying with five of these big men on board, it''s good to be out of the atmosphere, but what kind of security will I have on Earth?He allows me to ask questions, so I ask him about that. I''ll ask him about that. Fortunately, there are no windows on the shuttle, so once it begins its flight, the UN aircraft will be on full-time security duty. At any given time, more than forty planes will be encircling the shuttle until it reaches the stratosphere and will act as shields in the event of an attack. On the ground, the regular security forces will be removed today and another unit will be assigned to guard the shuttle. ''I remember that the security team at the shuttle depot was staffed by professionally trained special forces. Is it safe to remove them? No matter how much it is for security purposes, it is useless when a non-specialized ranger is sent to you. When I hinted at this, the major general replied with a grin. The unit that will be on guard duty is a unit belonging to the United Nations Special Operations Group. The official name of that unit was not ''disclosed'' to me and I have no right to know it. I see, I can see why you''re worried. There''s only one unit that even the major general class doesn''t know about... it''s the ''ghost unit'' that''s rumored to have brought down the nation with one unit. I''ve only heard rumors about it, so I thought it was a story made up by the PR department to boost the will to fight, but it looks like it''s really real. "Commander, your mission on today''s flight is to get these five VIPs to the moon safely and quickly. I''ve also been informed by your superiors that you will be giving ''Kouki Arakawa'' special attention. How do you get ''special consideration'' to put them on a military plane?There are no beautiful flight attendants on board, no drinks or extravagant in-flight meals to be served. Tell me what to do, really! As for the method of ''consideration'', you will have to figure out and implement it yourself, Lieutenant Colonel. Then, Commander, I wish you well on your mission. The Major General strode out of the room, letting my questions fall into place. This is all going to be on me if there''s a problem. I''ll call my wife before I leave I have to tell her that even if I don''t come back, I''ll still have a happy life with my child who will be born next month. After docking with the work ship to install the additional boosters in orbit, I headed to my stateroom without watching the work. I was desperately trying to think of ways to ''take care'' after the Rear Admiral left, but in the end, the only thing that came to mind was to go out in person and explain what I would have to do in an announcement. I fixed the wrinkles in my uniform in the washroom provided and put my hat back on before opening the door to the guest room. ''Good to meet you all, I''m Daniel Ware, the captain of this shuttle. When I greet them, I can see that they are all paying attention to me. Lady Arakawa please stop giving me that price-taking look. Feeling my stomach ache, I looked sideways at my true love, Mr. Kouki, and saw that he was looking at me as if he had a favorable look in his eyes. Good!Apparently, it''s a success. He goes on. ''It is a great honour to meet such a distinguished person as you and to be able to guide you to the surface of the Moon as I do. I am honoured to be able to meet your illustrious colleagues and take you to the Moon, and I can assure you that your journey will be safe and in perfect safety. However, the next leg of your journey will be very fast, so you will have to turn on your respective life support systems and put your helmets on. If my head hits a bulkhead during acceleration, my head will be on a stick. At best I''d be demoted, at worst I''d be left for the backcountry or court-martialed after.... No, let''s not. Thinking about bad things weighs me down, and right now I have to think about this flight. I continue with my explanation anyway. We''ve been using the gravity generator to replicate the same gravity on Earth in the shuttle, but when we accelerate toward the surface of the moon, we''ll turn it off. Therefore, please put your food and drinks in the special container attached to your seat. In case of an emergency, the cabin module will be separated to prioritize your safety. In that case, a rescue ship will be dispatched from Earth and you will be rescued within three hours. He glanced at Mr. Kouki during the explanation, but he was doing as he was instructed, tightening his belt, putting the cookies and drinks in place, and checking the life support system. Since he was receiving special treatment from the United Nations and other countries, he was inwardly impatient to see what kind of selfishness he would receive, but he was a good, honest boy. The expression on his face seems to be kind, and he doesn''t look like someone who would run into an armed force alone. I finished explaining to him and decided to return to the cockpit. ''''Thank you for your help, Commander.'''' The captain, who is serving as a co-captain, gives me a word of thanks. I was checking my equipment as I responded appropriately, when the captain asked me a question. ''What was Kouki-kun like?'' You''re a weird guy to ask. When I told him the impression I got, he was listening to me with a strange look on his face. I was curious and asked him why he was making such a face, but he refused to answer. When I questioned him further, he prefaced his statement by saying, ''I don''t believe it either, but...'' and then began to speak. I have a friend who is in the Navy, and he is friends with a guy from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. I heard from the Self-Defense Force that Kouki once launched a ''cruise missile'' that he had made himself when he was a child. The second time he couldn''t intercept the missile in time, and the missile itself blew itself up. No way..... She wouldn''t be the kind of girl who would do such a thing. I laughed at him, saying it was just gossip, but he froze when he heard the rest of the Captain''s story. ''I heard that they launched a rocket a few years ago and the Space Force tracked it down, but it lost its target. I wasn''t in the Space Force at the time, but I''m sure the Lieutenant-Colonel would know about it. As I recall, there was a time when I was still a major, and all the departments of the Space Force were called for emergency dispatch. I had thought that some country had launched a satellite without prior notice, but was that the case? I replied to the Captain, ''Well, I don''t know,'' but I can''t hide the fact that my hands are shaking. I still look like I''m carrying a hell of a customer. ''The additional booster has been inspected and installed. We are ready to launch.'''' I get a call from the work ship and make an announcement to the cabin, ready to accelerate. I see the Captain beside me trying to press the ignition button on the booster, so I rush to grab his hand and tell him to change the procedure. ''Captain, the first step is to turn the engines on the shuttle itself to maximum power. Ignite the boosters then, and then we''ll gradually accelerate. We won''t use rapid acceleration this time, the safety of our guests comes first. ...is that right? Yes. The captain, who has figured out what I''m trying to say, silently follows my instructions. The Captain''s hands begin to tremble too, but I can''t laugh at that, because I''m pretty sure that if I end up injuring one of the passengers, I''ll be ''killed''. By whom?He gradually accelerated the shuttle and activated the booster, daring not to think about it. All at once, the G''s on my body, but the function of my space suit worked and the burden on my body was minimal. In addition, because it is not the usual rapid acceleration from zero, the extra burden is small, and the cabin is also supposed to be pressed when there is a problem, the button that tells you of an abnormality is not pressed, so there is probably no problem. All we have to do now is to hope that we will arrive there safely. This is the lunar base control tower. We''ve got you in sight. Please follow the guidance signal to land. It''s currently -170 degrees centigrade and clear. After about four hours of flying, we received a transmission from the lunar base. The female controller is making a joke about ''temperature and weather'' as if it were a normal airliner flying over the earth, but unfortunately, Koch doesn''t have that luxury. We''re devoting our entire attention to carefully landing the shuttle!Please don''t make that disruptive comment! Captain, pull down the wheel. Yes, sir. I land the shuttle more gently than usual and shut off the engines. All that was left was for the lunar base personnel to bring a mobile vehicle and dock it in the shuttle''s doorway. Our work was done here. Sighing a sigh of relief, I offer to buy the captain sitting next to me a drink at the base''s PX, but he looks like he''s about to cry as he tells me. "Commander it''s us on the way back, When I join the base, I''ll write my resignation.... I''ve made up my mind to do so. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint After the shuttle landed, we were brought to the interior of the lunar base in a mobile vehicle. What I saw was the main hall, which was so large it was hard to believe it was a base that was still under construction. As I was looking around in surprise, my mother clapped her hands to get everyone''s attention. Okay, I''ll explain the cards we''re about to hand out. This card serves as a security card for the base, and you won''t be able to go anywhere without it. Please wear it around your neck when you sleep. Also, you four will all have top-level security cards, which means you''ll have access to virtually anywhere on the base. But you''re not to go into dangerous places without permission, and you''re not to go outside the base to the moon without permission. I''m trusting you all and giving you this level of permission, so make sure you keep it to yourself. I don''t think any of these members would do anything stupid like that. Probably all of them would say ''I want to go here, I want to go there'' to the people who work on base before they go. "It''s where we''re all going to sleep for two weeks, but for security reasons, we''re all going to have to share a private room in the same compartment. I don''t think you''ll have any problems, but in terms of water, try to conserve as much water as possible, considering the amount you''ve brought in and the performance of your circulatory system. Most importantly, a roll call will be taken at 7:00 am and 7:00 pm, so be in the cafeteria before then. The rest, well... if you have any questions, you can ask them then. You''re just throwing me off at the end!Well, there''s no need to answer all the questions here and now. I think there are some questions that will come to mind when things settle down, and we decided to head to the room we were assigned to, guided by our mother. After putting our luggage in the room, we moved to the dining room and decided on our future plans. Aikawa-san will probably go with the lunar surface research team, and Shingo will go check out the new work equipment. Alice will probably go to another research facility that is studying bacteria and viruses in space. ''Do you have plans for where you''re going, Conju-kun?'' Alice asked me what I was doing. I think I''m going to go see the ruins on the other side. When I said that, I got a look from all of them as if I knew it. Because it''s romantic!I don''t think I''ll ever get to see with my own eyes the legacy left by an unknown, intelligent life form. I''m going to ask my mom to take me there, even if I have to push her a bit. "Huh, so we''re all separated for a couple of days from tomorrow. Shingo concluded with that, and the day was dismissed. The next day, after the morning roll call was over, I asked my mom if I could go to the "ruins". I thought she would be reluctant to go, but I was surprised to find out that it was granted surprisingly easily, and then she told me with a laugh. ''I knew you would definitely want to go to the ruins,'' she said. I''ve already made preparations for you. That''s my mom, you''re a great mom, you''ve anticipated what your son is going to say and you''re ready for it. I smiled and thanked her, ''Thank you,'' but Mom explained to me with a straight face. To tell the truth," she says, "the survey of the ruins is hardly finished. It''s not that there were actually any aliens in there, and we weren''t able to get in there in the first place. There was some kind of writing on the entrance, but there was no research going on, and I tried to blow it up and get in, but I didn''t get a scratch on it. Please let me know if you know what you found out in the field. If my mother, a genius, couldn''t see it, I wouldn''t know it when I saw it. But I thought it would be good if I could be of some help, so I returned it to Mom and said ''Leave it to me''. As I waited in the lobby after changing into my reinforced skeletal equipment as instructed, I noticed that my mother, who had changed into the same equipment, and a stern man who was clearly a soldier came with her from behind. As soon as that old man saw me, he said. "C''est agrable de vous rencontrer He spoke to me. I have no idea what he''s saying, but I think it''s nuanced French. I''m frozen, and the old man seems to notice and makes a gesture with his finger to press the switch around my neck. What''s that?I explore the neck of my exoskeleton with my hand and find a switch in the same place, so I press it. ''Is the automatic translator working?Do you understand a word I say? Oh!Oh, wow!You can hear a synthesized voice in your ear a little later than the old man speaks. It seems that the microphone built into the exoskeleton is picking up the voice and the machine is automatically translating it and playing it back. ''''I can hear you!I was kind of surprised. Ha-ha-ha, the first person to use this feature is going to be surprised. Your mother invented this feature, remember? Seriously?Mom is awesome. I look at Mom and see her looking at me, smiling gently as usual, and my eyes meet hers. I feel somewhat embarrassed and look away, and the old man continues to talk. I heard that you want to go to the ruins on the moon. I''ll show you around, so take your time and look around! I smiled at the slightly excited old man who shook my hand as he said so, and my thoughts turned to the ruins I hadn''t yet seen.... 31-Lunar Ruins ----Lunar base guard Cedric, viewpoint Would you put this on first? When I handed him the power suit for lunar exploration, Kouki took a glance at it, as if to check the equipment, and then began to put it on. Perhaps he was examining the suit to see if it was practical to protect his own life, and since she gave me detailed information about Kouki, I can predict what he will think. ''My son is uncompromising about everything. It''s a virtue, but at the same time it''s a weakness.'''' I remember her looking me in the eye as she handed me the documents and told me this seriously. At first I thought he was just a child, but that thought was blown away when I saw the documents. The materials, which are normally not suitable for viewing at the level of information I possess, contained everything he had done and developed up to now. People give Mr. Kouki a lot of credit for his genius, and I really think they''re right. The construction of new theories, the development of new technology, military talent, ''I can do anything''...that''s the kind of person Kouki-kun was. The world''s technology has evolved by leaps and bounds in the last ten years, but it''s all just the result of one boy in front of me. ''''Is this all right?'''' When I was skipping consciousness, Kouki-kun finished putting on the suit and called out to me. "Kouki, I know you have some kind of personal terminal on your arm. You can use it to see if the suit is currently in working order. You can control it with your hand or from inside the suit, so please check it. Well, if the green light is correct, there''s no problem. ''Yeah, if it''s green, you''ll be fine. Once you''re on the moon, even the slightest thing can be fatal, so let me know when it turns yellow. If it''s red, make sure you discard the suit and only wear an exoskeleton. All right, I''ve explained everything you need to know. She''s wearing it with no problem, so that''s the equipment we''ll be taking with us, assuming you''re not worried. If we were to go to the ruins, we would carry a weapon for self-defense, but have you ever fired a gun before, Kouki?The safest thing to do is to let him or her have it, but if you are an amateur, it''s dangerous. While I was pondering this, the lady sent a transmission on a confidential line saying, ''I''ll leave all the escorting to you. Who in the world is this person?How do you know what I''m thinking?I got a little scared, so I replied with an affectionate smile. "Kouki-kun, if you don''t have anything in particular that you need, we''ll leave, is that okay? ''Yes!I''m looking forward to it. When I told him we were leaving, he gave me a smile befitting his age. I''m sure I''m not the only one who thinks that this mission on the moon with nothing on it is not so bad. An hour into the shuttle ride, Kouki, who had been sitting quietly until then, suddenly started operating the terminal. I heard he was looking for information, but I guess he couldn''t find it, so he sends me a message. "Um, where do you see the amount of oxygen left in the tank? On your exoskeleton''s right arm, you have a time and a percentage marked, that''s how long you can be active with the remaining oxygen and how much you have left. It has a circulatory system, so you can be active for 30 hours, but I''m not sure of the exact amount of time you can be active for, since it varies from person to person. d*mn it I should have told you in the beginning. Normally, I would have been disappointed as I would have come to some basic training on earth. The poor guy must have been worried, I''ll apologize and ask him if he has any other questions. ''Do you have any archaeological data on the site?'' I''m sorry, but there is no such thing. In the first place, there is only a symbolic script written on it that would make all the great scholars from the earth nod their heads in agreement. The only thing that''s left is a doorway to the site where the letters are written. It''s not just a matter of time before you''ll be able to get your hands on a new one. I''ll be arriving soon. The pilot sends us a message and we begin to prepare to go outside. The shuttle is supposed to land after a security team descends to check the safety of the area, just in case. Watching the three men descend from the hatch, I send a message to Kouki on an open channel. From now on, Kouki, I''m going to lock the communication on this frequency. "Kouki-kun, we''ll fix the communication on this frequency from now on. I understand. They seemed to be having trouble changing the frequency, but they changed it properly. A few minutes later we received a ''no problem'' call from our subordinates who descended, so the shuttle lands. After the shuttle has come to a complete stop, we all disembarked from the shuttle and arrived in front of the ruins in question, where an attentive subordinate illuminated the letters of the ruins with a portable light. Kouki-kun was silent for a while as he watched the letters, but then he blurted out a few words. ''Stand on the edge and push against the wall?No, you''re not going to hit me with this. Kochan!You can read! She sounds surprised, and I''m surprised too. It''s not possible to decipher in such a short period of time the letters that were said to be a mystery for 150 years after mankind confirmed the remains of this site?Then he turns back to Kouki or us and tells everyone present. ''What do we do?Do you want me to open it? I seem to be unintentionally witnessing a new step for humanity. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint After getting out of the shuttle, we came to the front of the ruins, surrounded by males. It''s too dark to see!But then one of the people around me turned on the lights so I could see better. I''ll buy something from the store when I get back to the base to thank him for his kindness. Now, the "symbolic script" in question, as I looked at it, I almost laughed as I expected. It is certainly impossible for a scholarly teacher or an archaeologist to read This is a ''picture''. I''ve been thinking about this since I was taught in the shuttle that it was a ''symbolic letter'', but if there was a life form with advanced technology that was capable of interstellar navigation and building ruins on another planet, a lower class creature... that is, when it comes to teaching humanity about its existence, ''letters'' What would we use? If I were you, I wouldn''t use it. I would teach it with ''pictures'' that a certain level of civilization would understand. And the ultimate reason why you can''t read is the way you decipher it. Normal ... well, normal for the earth, but the letters are basically read left to right or right to left. There are some types that are read from top to bottom, but they definitely don''t read diagonally from the bottom and then in the middle of the text in a different direction, as is the case with this ruin. The scholars on earth call mankind the ''top of the ecosystem'' and think they are omniscient and omnipotent, but from the point of view of the organisms that built these ruins, they are just like ''amoebas''. I think it''s because you have such a fixed mindset that you can''t change the way you think about reading it. It''s not like I can read it because I have no common sense or anything!It''s not. "Stand on the edge and push against the wall?No, you''re not going to hit me with this. Kochan!You can read! I said it out loud as I was decoding it, and my mom perked up. Wait, I''m decoding. After taking a little time to figure out how to open it I ask them all. ''What do we do now?Do you want me to open it? As for me, I''d like to open it now and charge inside. Maybe, but it''s proof of its own existence, so it''s not likely to harm another species. When you think about it calmly, it''s hard to believe that an intelligent life form with a level of intelligence that can leave behind civilization will attack without a clear purpose, because if they do, there''s a chance that they will fight back if their race has the means to fight back or has evolved. While I was waiting for my mother and man to make a decision with a pounding heart, my mother asked me in a serious voice. "Ko-chan, what do you think? Do you think it''s safe? I speak my opinion that I''ve just considered. Mom seems to agree, but the old man looks uneasy. ''Wouldn''t it be better to turn back when you feel you''re in danger? Mom suggests a concession to Ossan. Hearing this, Ossan seems to have decided to open the door and gives instructions to his subordinate. While my subordinate is holding a gun at the ready in case of an emergency, I begin the operation of opening the door.... I stand on the far right side and tap the bottom left three times, then stand on the opposite side and do the same thing, this time. Then the picture lit up blue and the door opened diagonally to the upper right. As I entered the interior while holding back the laughter that was somehow bubbling up, a passage that I assumed was a corridor spread out before me. A similar picture was written on the wall. ''''Well, it looks like we''re going straight ahead. Maybe, but it says, ''We don''t intend to attack''. Kouki, do you understand all those details? The old man, who was looking around jitterily, asks me a question. The creature that was operating the door in the picture on the entrance threw away something like a weapon and beckoned to another creature, so I think it''s correct. I responded to the old man in an appropriate manner and proceeded to the back of the room. This time, the creature that was being beckoned to is holding a weapon, and it looks like another creature is stopping it. ''When you open this door, it says, ''Open this door, you''ll be surprised, but don''t use the weapon blindly.'' Tell your men not to shoot blindly.'' Okay, all right. This one will surprise you!If it wasn''t for the warning signs, I might have sat up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the old man''s men try to point a gun at me, but my mom kicked him and stopped him. ''Didn''t you listen to your son?'' He says to that squad member in a scary voice. I''m grateful that you stopped firing, but this is your first contact with the aliens, so don''t put Earth to shame!I was about to hold my head in my hands when the woman spoke up for the first time. ''How do you do, Earthlings?'' A woman greeted me in a crystal clear voice. Hmm?Wait, that''s not a synthesized sound!Is this man speaking in Japanese now?He seemed to understand that I was surprised, and continued to say more with a chuckle. ''''It was you who opened the door to the entrance, Arakawa Koki-kun. You became the owner of this place at that point, it''s only natural to speak in the language the owner uses. No, I opened it, but I don''t want to be the owner of it. I mean, how the hell do you know my name!To go further, how can you speak Japanese!I wanted to make more of a gesture or something like that, because it''s an encounter with the unknown. Well, it''s useful, so it''s good. ''I can speak Japanese because I have been gathering information about Earth for some time now. And if you wish, you can speak to me in the language of our species, but it will take me a while to understand. Hey I''m not saying it now, how did you know what I was going to say? Did you read my mind? No, I can''t read the mind, which is a volatile thing. I can only read the most superficial details of your thoughts. All right, I know this is great, but please stop. Humanity is a living organism that uses language as its sound, and what you''re doing right now is not acceptable to humanity. I''m going to use the word. Why don''t you take off that suit before I explain in detail?This place is set up to be earth shaped. I''m about to deactivate my suit like the woman told me to, when Mom stops me. Mom says it''s ''dangerous'', but this woman has promised to speak to humanity in a verbal manner. Shouldn''t we be respectful, then?I said that, and after thinking for a moment, Mom said, ''She''ll disarm it first. This time the security man said, ''No, I''ll go first for safety''. I got bothered by this, so I took the suit off by myself and took off my exoskeleton helmet as well. I took a deep breath in, and the woman looked at me with a surprised look on her face as she spoke out. That''s true for some, but not for most. But most of them aren''t. I replied and she nodded at me, smiling gently. Somehow this woman has a similar vibe to my mom, so maybe that''s why I trusted her. After checking out the members of the team who had deactivated their suits after me, I thought about what I was going to ask them about. When I talked to my mom about the content, she said ''just ask whatever you want'', so I decided to check who the woman in front of me was first. Then I''ll hear the woman tell me ... the tremendously long journey and sad story of a race that existed in a certain galaxy. 32-Record of a race As of 2102, the most distant celestial body known to mankind is named MACS0647-JD. It is 32.2 billion light years away from the Earth, and even with space telescopes, we can barely catch a glimpse of it. Beyond that, in a galaxy 128 billion light years away from the earth, there is a star with a similar environment to the earth, and indeed, intelligent life exists. Eighty-two billion years after the birth of carbon-based organisms, which we will call "Adam" for convenience, Adam and his people stepped out into the "outer universe" through a process of trial and error. They discovered new materials and new celestial bodies, and continued to search for "intelligent life forms" like themselves while fighting against unknown threats. Their goal was to preserve their species and give life to a civilization that had begun to decline. Then, 2800 years after they began their search, Adam and his people discovered the possibility of an intelligent life form being born on a third planet in a stellar system 128 billion light years away from their planet. When they visited the planet, no intelligent life had yet been born on that planet, but believing that it would be born soon, they decided to leave a structure on the back side of the planet''s satellite to prove their existence. I also showed them how to open the entrance to the building with a picture instead of a letter, so that when they reached the satellite on their own, they would be able to easily understand it. You are not alone. You are not alone, you have friends in a galaxy far, far away. That''s what Adam and his people tried to tell him.......maybe they were ''alone'' themselves. They hadn''t been able to find a creature of the same level for nearly three thousand years after their departure. After the structure was completed, Adam and his people wondered further. This system has just been formed and is full of asteroids and rocky bodies. If one of them were to hit the third planet... Feeling as if they were protecting their unseen child, they decided to change the satellite''s orbit. They "moved" the satellite to shield the third planet and then stabilized its orbit, thickening the crust on its backside to withstand a direct hit from a meteorite. In order to stop asteroids and meteorites from flying towards the stars, they built a control base on the sixth planet, the second largest satellite of what would later be named Saturn, and manipulated gravity so that meteorites flying around the sixth planet would form a ring. And finally, Adam and his friends left, leaving behind an "administrator" of the artificial life forms in the building. ----Viewpoint ---- Kouki Arakawa I listen to the woman in front of me who called herself ''Eve'' and I think. I can understand why the moon is taking a convenient orbit for the earth, and I can understand why the moon never shows its back side. There''s no doubt that Eve is the ''administrator'' from what I''ve heard so far, but then, will Adam and his friends come back to communicate with the earth one day?Then we need to let the Earth know and think about how to respond. Of course, the United Nations and others will probably take the initiative in communicating with them, but I''ll ask them about it. ''No, that''s not going to happen.'' What''s the point, if you''ve set up the planet so well, why don''t you interact with it?Eve continues with a sad look on her face......... ''The Adam people perished about 600 million years ago. Seriously I don''t understand how a species capable of traveling over 100 billion light years can be destroyed. What the hell happened?Has there been a major war? Why did it perish? I''ll explain it all to you now. But when you''ve said all that, there are two things I need you to do for me. I urged him to continue, promising to grant his wish if it was something I could do. Then Eve tells us the history of the Adamites, which we can''t believe. On their way back to Adam''s planet from Earth, the outer space exploration fleet received a transmission sent by Adam hundreds of years ago. ''The star is showing signs of a supernova explosion. The message instructed them to abort their return to their home planet and rejoin the migration fleet at the appointed point, and so they altered their course to that point. It was a tremendous scientific feat to be able to deploy an immigrant ship capable of interstellar navigation. Moreover, from what I''ve heard, it''s a ship with urban capabilities that can operate for a thousand years. When the exploration fleet arrived at the point, they searched for a ship that belonged to a compatriot that was supposed to be waiting for them at the location. But in the place where tens of thousands of ships were supposed to be assembled, there was only one battered immigrant ship. Inside that ship, there were few survivors. The barely surviving space log recorded that the star had caused a supernova explosion earlier than predicted and they were unable to escape in time. Luckily, there seemed to be other immigrant ships that escaped the impact of the explosion, but because of their rapid construction, they were able to "navigate through another dimension" ... to explain it in simple terms to the people of Earth, it''s called "short-distance warp". It is said that the ship could not survive during that other-dimensional navigation and fell off and became lost. How did the crew of the exploration fleet feel after losing their home and their people?A tragedy that happened just as I was about to proudly tell you about the Earth I finally discovered. I can''t imagine. The research fleet that harbored the survivors of the immigrant ship decided to turn back to Earth, and after being reduced to about 40,000 people, the Adam people chose to make Earth their new home. In order to coexist with the earthlings who might be born in the future, they decided to build a base on Mars, which was close to Earth. In the past, when you''ve surveyed Mars with drones, you''ve found evidence of water, right?That''s the remnants of the water that Adam and his people carried from Earth. The terraforming plan for Mars looked like it would work, but here''s when trouble strikes again for Adam and his people. They should have just taken over the Earth as it is, but they went to the trouble of terraforming Mars to try to live on it? "Adam and his people have confirmed that a ''high-dimensional passage'' has occurred in the outer reaches of the solar system. To put it simply, this high-dimensional passage is like a ''moving black hole''. We had already confirmed its existence, but the probability of actually encountering it was supposed to be extremely small. And when it occurs so close to a planet where there is a possibility of life, the odds of it happening are almost incalculable. Adam and the others desperately tried to find a breakthrough, and if their calculations were correct, it was possible to blow up the interstellar ship they were using by making it run out of power near the corridor and blow itself up. But where should they go?Mars can''t be lived on because it hasn''t finished terraforming, and if it settles on Earth, it could destroy the ecosystem and prevent the birth of life. We had to make the ultimate two choices. After being taught this much, anyone can predict the cause of their demise. I''m sure you''ll find that the number of our species is decreasing and civilization itself continues to decline. And a new species that has not yet been born, but has a high probability of being born. When the two were weighed in the balance, they chose the ''future'' of the new species. And they left me, the administrator, a message for the life forms that would eventually come here, and they followed their compatriots. But please don''t look at me in such a gloomy way. Rather, I think they were proud of being able to protect the earth, and you, the people of the earth, arrived here. Their deaths were meaningful. It''s only because of their help that we''re living on Earth now, right? I think they were a truly admirable race, it is impossible for human beings to choose the future of another species instead of us. And what would be the content of the "message" from such great predecessors?I checked with both my mom and the old man in my eyes to see if I was allowed to take it, and they nodded at me. I open my mouth for the first time since we started talking. 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I never imagined that I would have to make first contact with an alien on the moon, so I had to discuss it with Shuichi-san.... The words ''Connecting'' appeared on the screen for a while, but eventually a slightly tired-looking Shuichi-san appeared on the screen. ''''Is that Miki?''''What''s going on? "Gongju has released the lunar ruins. Inside the ruins, we''ve successfully encountered and communicated with a life form that claims to be of extraterrestrial origin that died out 600 million years ago. When I only scratched out the requirements and spoke, Shuichi pressed his eyebrows together as he lit a cigarette. I wonder if the number of cigarettes has increased again?I called out to him, concerned. No, whose fault is that? He returned it. I don''t want you to blame others for your lack of providence like that. When I complained further, Shuichi-san looked troubled and asked me why I had sent the communication after controlling it with my hand. ''''Before that, is this line safe?'''' Don''t worry, Claire is always checking on you, so you can rest assured. Claire.........as I recall, she''s a member of the intelligence team. I''m sure she''s a very capable person because Shuichi-san, who is strict about managing his subordinates'' abilities, even said ''don''t worry about it''. After being convinced, he continued his story. ''''We''re going to keep a lid on the information that we released the ruins and the inside information. You don''t have to worry about it because the troops who accompanied you are members of my faction, but the problem is that the ''Oparts'' and ''ownership of the ruins'' seized inside the ruins are under Gongju''s control. Please confirm the details in the data I will send you now. While I send the data and wait for Shuichi-san to finish reading it, I gather my thoughts on the current situation. There is no real problem with the ownership of the remains, it has already collapsed and sunk deep underground, so even if it is discovered, it can be pushed through as having collapsed due to an ''accident''. The problem is with the O-Parts, which I brought back with me in case the ruins were to be dug up, but the items I brought back are the ones that could upset the balance of the world in the future. It''s too early for humanity to have "dimensional observers" or "blueprints for new spaceships". The woman who called herself Eve was right, and there is going to be a massive war. And with the activation command for those items in his hands, it''s easy to predict that the competition for that child will be fierce. I''m not going to be the only one who can do that. When I had thought that far, Shuichi, who had finished reading the book, called out to me. ''Surely this is a bit of a bad idea. If you''re going to give it to only you and the researchers who belong to your faction, I think it''s okay, but I''m sure the majority of people will be out to make money or utilize it for military purposes. ''Yes, and then there''s the matter of Gongju. I can''t stand to have that boy''s peace disturbed. ''But it''s Miki, you have an idea anyway, don''t you?'' I told Shuichi about a certain plan I had been thinking about for a while. And when I finished telling him everything, ''Are you serious?'' He asked me if I was serious and feasible, to which I replied that I was ''serious and feasible''. Shuichi-san seemed to be thinking about it for a while, but he said he had to consult with his subordinate, so he would call back after a while and cut the communication. ----Viewpoint ---- Shuichi Arakawa After finishing the communication from Miki, I asked Claire to summon everyone, including the off-duty guys, to gather at ''Hakone Base'' in two hours. Then Claire and I went to look around the base. Even though it is still in the middle of construction, the vast geo-fronted base, which stretches 800 meters underground, is overwhelmingly powerful to see. The first level covers an area of about 15 kilometers, so it''s hard to believe it''s really underground. It wouldn''t have been possible without the small room-temperature fusion reactor that Mrs. Yamanouchi developed. That was also designed by Koki, though. With a bitter smile, I tell Claire and she stares at me with a surprised look on her face. Come to think of it, that was classified information, I order him to ''forget what I just said'' and go to look at another location. After going around a few places, I arrive at the weapons storage area and find that a group of researchers, who I assume are Miki''s subordinates, are conducting operational tests of the power suit. As I watch a suit with flight thrusters attached as a test flight suit is flying around but soon falls to the ground, one of the researchers calls out to me. "Arakawa-san, I''m sorry I didn''t recognize you sooner. Don''t worry about it, by the way. 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It''s me. But I just couldn''t leave that one behind!We were both dying after all, but you''re lucky to be alive. As I was making these excuses, this time Court raised his hand. ''When I was detained for the murder of a prisoner of war, some idiot burst into the international courtroom with a gun to the killer''s head. That''s me, too. Sure, Coat''s face is covered in scars and looks like a killer, but he''s really a kind-hearted guy, and I know he secretly keeps stray cats on this base as well, and I was shocked when I saw a big guy over two meters tall bottle-feeding a kitten. ''Captain, do you notice what you just said yourself?The captain ''knows'' all the names of all of us subordinates, and there is no superior officer other than the captain who has memorized all 1,200 full names and 9-digit identification numbers. I can see my face redden at Claire''s words. Because we''re the ''family'' that shared the battlefield, that much is obvious!When I say that, the entire conference room erupts in laughter. Why am I being such a laughingstock!She glances at Claire and she replies with a smile that is unusually clear and recognizable. ''It''s because we''re family that I''m going with the captain. So please tell me what you''re proposing and when you''ll be discharged from the army, because we need to move our living quarters to this base. So.........you didn''t have to worry about it in the first place. It seems I still didn''t trust my subordinate. This time, while holding back the embarrassment that made my face blush, I tell my subordinates the details of the proposal I received from Miki. The subordinates who heard the contents of my words, this time they demanded a detailed explanation, with a shocked expression on their faces. ----Kouki Arakawa''s point of view Shin-kun, Arakawa-kun is torturing you. Gongju, I think that''s a bit harsh, as expected. Kouki-kun, you''re the worst... ''You must be jealous!'' said Aikawa-san about the fact that it was the ruins of the moon. And when I told him in a bit of a sarcastic tone, he booed me loudly. No, I didn''t expect to be crying that seriously, so I''m honestly impatient. Shingo looked at me coldly and Alice looked at me like I was looking at garbage, so I do my best to regret it. ''I''m sorry, I''m really sorry!Look, please forgive me if I show you a video of the inside of the ruins. When I show the footage I hadn''t yet erased on the terminal in the room, Aikawa-san, who instantly improved his mood, interrupts me with an explanation as we all look at the footage. This is the entrance that I was able to open somehow. This is the entrance I was able to open somehow, it''s a pretty simple puzzle made of simple pictures. When I added to the video of solving the puzzle at the entrance, Aikawa-san hurriedly stopped it as he was taking notes as if he was interested in it. I''m sorry Mr. Aikawa," he said, "I''ll explain further on in the video, but this remains will be dismissed as ''never happened''. The reason is that it is too early for human beings. So please do not take notes and just enjoy the images. When I told them that, they tore up the note and threw it away as if they were satisfied with it. I''m really glad that they are understanding friends, I can''t tell the Earth about this space that is a mass of over-technology. Unfortunately, I can only show you this footage because I asked my mother for ''permission'' to show it to you, and it will be erased when I''m done. It''s a pleasure to meet you, Earthlings. ''Huh?Are you human? No wonder Shingo is surprised, I thought so too at first. When I told him it wasn''t a human but an ''artificial life form'', Shingo, who specializes in engineering, leaned forward and asked me what it was ''like''. When I told him it felt as close to human as possible, he said he was really disappointed that he couldn''t leave detailed data. Well, it''s true that if an AI like Eve''s is perfected, it will really change the history of humanity. What can I say, it had almost perfect personality formation... ''Chabane-kun'' was also perfected to some extent, but not at this level. "On their way back to Earth to Adam, an extraspace exploration fleet... ''Hey, from this description, you''ve lived on the ship for generations, haven''t you?How did they deal with genetic anomalies and diseases? Alice asks me questions, but I don''t know. Mom also brought back some documents or something like that, so I guess I can ask her later on.When I told him that, he backed off, though he seemed disappointed. To be honest, I didn''t have any technical knowledge of the subject, so I doubt I''d understand, but I''m sure my mother could get a general idea. "As we become less and less in number as a species, civilization itself will continue to decline... .... We enter the scene in question and everyone shuts down. I can see that Aikawa-san has already begun to cry. I can''t tell the public about "the Adam people" who sacrificed their lives for humanity, but at least we should keep them in our hearts. And if I can someday make it public, I''d like to set up a monument to them on the moon or something. "Frankly speaking, I don''t think we need it anymore! ''Arakawa-kun, just to make sure we''re on the same page again, Eve is an Adamite, right?You''re the last survivor of the species that protected humanity. ''Yeah. I know it doesn''t look very much like that in this video, but it''s definitely Adamite. Aikawa-san asks me with a puzzled look at Eve''s leopard-like behavior that she showed the moment she cancelled her authority. It''s okay, it was the same for both of us. I was looking at the ceiling at that moment, trying to escape reality. The image remained unchanged for a while, but eventually we see my mom holding various objects in her hands. It''s about time for Eve to leave. Hmm ... wait!Oh no, if I don''t do this, that thing will flow, I try to press the stop button in a hurry, but I can''t do it in time. It''s my way of thanking you for relieving me of my authority! Bye bye then!'''' I heard the sound of the Stelens bottle Alice was holding depressed as it made a noise. I was too scared to look at Alice. Moreover, Alice was holding a bottle for space use, a level of bottle that would not dent unless more than 100 kilograms of pressure was applied. I could hear Shingo and Aikawa-san saying, ''Heeee,'' but how much was it dented?Fearfully, I peered at Alice''s hand. ''You''re crushing it! I couldn''t help but gasp, but the bottle Alice was holding was deformed in her hand, gnarled and deformed. This is no good it''s over, I''m probably going to die here. I scraped through the barrage of bullets when I went to rescue Alice, but an even greater sense of despair hit me than that time. ''Ah, Alice. You know what? I can''t help but think that the bottle looks like "my neck", but I start to desperately make excuses. It was an accident," "I''m not human to begin with," "I wasn''t happy," and other painful excuses, but Alice doesn''t answer with her head down. I''m sure she thinks my excuses are over, and she looks at me with a completely steady gaze and asks me, "Is that all you have to say? ''''Is that all you have left to say?'''' Wait for me!I panicked and tried to ask Shingo for help, but he wouldn''t look at me, and Aikawa-san pretended to be asleep. Is he stuck?I was just starting to think about saying one last prayer when I heard a knock on the room. The Savior is coming!When I dashed to open the door of my room with that thought, my mom was standing there with a serious expression on her face. 34-Ark plan ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint As my mom stands at the door with a serious expression on her face, I think frantically. What did I do to make her angry?I''m sure he hasn''t done anything special lately. The last thing he did was to put Tabasco in Macho''s whiskey collection, but I''m sure he hasn''t found out yet. ''Looks like they''re all here just in time. I need to talk to you. Is it a good time? As he said that, I let Mom in the room after I gave everyone a look. Mom sits in a chair and touches Alice''s twisted bottle with her hand, ''How did you do that?'' He asked. With an indescribable look on their faces, all of them were silent, and then they cleared their throats with a cohon and began to speak. "Before we get to the important stuff, I wonder how much everyone is aware of what ''we''ve been doing'' first. What are you talking about?What we''ve been doing isn''t much of a stretch," he said. You can look at the faces of the other members and see a questioning expression on their faces. ''''It seems that being with Gongju has numbed your senses. Hey, Mom!What does that mean? You''re making it sound like I''m the root of all evil!It''s true that Shingo and I did a lot of research together, but what we ended up with was just my mother''s second-hand work or a coincidence. Why does this lead to such a heavy atmosphere? You don''t seem to realize it, so I''ll explain. Alice, you''ve invented a cure for the worst virus in human history. Shingo, you''ve developed an advanced AI and a new kind of power suit. Aikawa, you''ve created a new concept in space exploration, even if it''s only a paper. And this station is based on that paper, by the way. And for the first time in my life, I am telling you that the paper I presented, ''Mother''s Formula'', is a formula that you derived on your own when you were three years old. What? Everyone''s surprised voices overlap. Wait!That''s just because the prank writing happened to be that formula by accident, and it wasn''t my idea, and I desperately wanted to explain it to him, but he interrupted me with a gentle look that said, ''I don''t have to hide it anymore. Don''t give me those kind eyes!Really, that thing is a misunderstanding. How much more do I have to explain to you to make you understand? My mother''s explanation continued, brushing aside all my feelings. I''m sure you''ll find that 80% of my published research is original to Gong-Ju. I was a scapegoat to prevent Gong-Ju from becoming more famous than he needed to be. By the way, Gong-Ju is feared by the leaders of the world as the "Son of the Devil", and that''s just as well, isn''t it? The development of military technology in the last 10 years has been mostly done by Gong-Ju. Kunugi-kun, great......... Arakawa-kun, you really are a genius. Alice and Aikawa-san look at me with a twinkle in their eyes, but they''re all wrong. Don''t make it sound like I developed all the advice just to make the conversation more interesting! We don''t have a lot of catching up to do, man. Ever since I was reincarnated, I''ve been wondering why the people of this world don''t listen to me at the most important time. Is it some kind of curse? ''I belong to a neutral international organization called the Institute now, but do you know what happens when I graduate?It''s definitely going to be a battle for Gong-Ju. The worst thing that could happen is a war, because it''s a definite thing that will lead to the development of your country if you take in Gong-Ju. And that''s the same for everyone. What do you mean?Why would Alice and the others be involved in that? I stop holding my head in my hands and start listening intently to my mom. ''We''ve all accomplished a world-changing level of feats in our student status. When you graduate, you''ll probably be under house arrest in your respective countries under the guise of ''protection''. Mom, this is way over the top. I pouted, and Mom replied without changing her expression at all, ''Sweet. ''Sweet, if they can''t protect you, they''ll try to detain you, even if they have to make up some random crime. In fact, there have been such moves against Gong-Ju in the past, although each time it was handled by your mother and father. Unfortunately, the bargaining between nations ... that''s what politics is all about. What are we going to do then?It''s not something that we, as normal people, can do anything about when it comes to that scale. I''m not going to sit back and wait for them to come to me.Don''t we all? When I told Mom, she grinned and gave me an evil grin. This expression is the same as the one that comes up when you ''punish'' a macho. ''Gongju, please don''t play down your mother too much. I''m sure you''ll be able to handle one or two major powers if I wanted to, but the problem is when the whole world sees you and your friends as enemies of humanity. That''s exactly what we''re going to have to talk about, and that''s what the ''Ark Project'' is all about. It''s getting to be a bit of a mess, but is it safe to leave it to my mom?I rubbed my aching stomach and urged Mom to continue the conversation. ---- Miki Arakawa Viewpoint---- The ark plan - and it was originally an evacuation plan for the safety of just our family. The original plan was to evacuate to an uninhabited island or manned station in the event of a problem, but the plan itself was scaled up after new technology was developed and money became available. Eventually, the observation of the Arakawa Particle was a success, and the plan was carried out ahead of schedule. The "Other-Dimensional Migration Project" - that was the basic concept of the Ark Project. The details of the plan are to find another world where humans can live in case of an emergency, and to create an environment to relocate our families and about 20,000 people who will accompany us. The Hakone Base, which is still under construction, is a front for this plan, and after it is completed, it will serve as a fortress to protect the "Gate" that leads to the other world. Another secondary goal is to find a place for Kong-chan to eventually move to. It would be difficult to find a world that is as similar to human beings as possible, yet less civilized, but this is where the "dimensional monitor" brought back from the ruins of the moon will come in handy. By using the observation device, it was possible to search for other worlds on a more realistic level. Moreover, Eve had given me an instruction manual in English, so I was able to use it right away. When I explained this much to everyone, I could see the astonished expressions on their faces. It''s true that it''s like a fairy tale, but for the sake of safety, it''s inevitable.... In the midst of all this, Shingo-kun is the first to recover and ask me a question. ''If you go to another world, what do you do if the protozoa living there attack you?'' ''We''ll try to resolve the issue as amicably as possible if we''re intelligent and can talk our way out of it. Since we are not invaders, we are considering establishing a base on an island or peninsula and surrounding it with a high defense wall as a last resort. However, if we have settled in an uncharted territory and it is attacked, we will use force to eliminate it. Shingo, who was silent as if he were weighing my answer, was replaced by Aikawa-san, who raised his hand. ''''What about supplies and other necessities of life?'''' We''ve started stockpiling supplies that will last at least five years. We will continue to stockpile more, and later on we will bring in a production plant and other large facilities. When Aikawa-san nodded her head in agreement, Alice now asked her a question. ''Can you come back to this world?'' Of course. If everything is a hassle, and you can continue to live your life as usual after graduation, just think of it as an ''oddball cottage''. Alice said, ''''I guess it''s good then,'''' and fell silent like everyone else. By the way, Gongju didn''t interrupt me at all, what''s going on?When I asked him, ''Do you have any questions?'' he looked up and asked the question with an unusually serious expression on his face. ''What are the specifics of the troops and weapons you are deploying, and what are the political discussions on the other side of the world?'' After all, as we discussed with Shuichi-san, it''s better to make Gongju the representative in the other world. It''s because we can fill in for the parts that are lacking. I answer the question while rejoicing in my son''s growth. The reason why there are 12,000 pure combatants and the rest are scientists and technical staff, more than half of whom are combatants is because they are prepared to deal with any kind of dangerous situation. We''ll be bringing in enough power suits for combat, dozens of work suits, 130 aircraft, and 200 tanks and armored vehicles. In addition, technical vehicles will be brought in on an as-needed basis. The specifics of the armament are left to the discretion of the military, but they''ll be bringing in commensurate weapons. Don''t worry, don''t worry, they''re definitely professionals, as the political discussions will be handled by the intelligence and public affairs people. Gongju said, ''Then it''s good,'' and seemed to sink into a sea of his own thoughts. I looked over at all the children''s faces before continuing to speak in as gentle a voice as possible. ''What I''ve just described is only after we''ve had an emergency. But it''s too late to prepare for it after that happens, so we just need to take precautions now. During the summer vacation, I''ll be asking everyone at Hakone base to help me out, but you must be lighthearted enough to make a ''secret base''. Perhaps it was worth the effort to explain in a gentle voice so that they wouldn''t feel uneasy, but the smiles came back on everyone''s faces. I renewed my determination to keep them smiling. ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ----. Another world... I pour out a few words while looking at the ceiling in my room. They are all good people when they were sent to another world by accident before, but you don''t know what will happen in the next world you go to. To be honest, there''s a big part of me that''s anxious, but I can understand why we have to dismiss it as something that''s necessary for Alice and the others'' safety. Well, as far as the number of soldiers who are going to be going together with their jitters is concerned, there are quite a few people who will be going with them, so at least they''ll be safe for now. As I was thinking about this, I received an email on my terminal. I''ll be returning to Earth tomorrow to reschedule. You can return to your home afterwards. After that, I will visit everyone''s homes on a day that is convenient for you, and explain to their families what we are going to do. Please just be prepared to have the people at the Hakone base gather at a later date.'' It was an email that Mom had sent to all the members at once. Apparently Mom is seriously planning to establish a base in another world, it''s getting to be a full-blown outrageous thing. I fell asleep before I knew it, feeling the ''bad feeling'' I had felt before summer vacation had come true. On July 27, 2102, the upper echelons of the United Nations were in a state of turmoil. Shuichi Arakawa, the captain of the Arakawa Corps, who had accomplished many difficult missions, suddenly applied for his discharge. At the same time, the 351 members of the Arakawa Corps also applied for discharge from the military, which temporarily frightened the higher-ups, who feared a military coup was about to break out, but since it was a legitimate procedure, they reluctantly approved it. The next day, he resigned from all the research institutes to which Miki Arakawa belonged and established the giant conglomerate Noah. The members of the Arakawa Corps, who had already been discharged from the military, registered with the PMC (Private Military Company) division, one of Noah''s military industrial divisions. From then on, they will work as Noah''s exclusive mercenaries. In addition, more than half of the employees of the Next Generation Science Laboratory and the Spatial Particle Research Facility in Japan have been transferred to Noah. With this opportunity, scientists and engineers who were thought to be from the Arakawa Faction transferred to Noah one after another, and countries tried to control them, but almost all of them were already under Noah''s protection. Furthermore, information to push the countries around the world went around the world - and at the press conference that gathered the world''s mass media, 4 people, Kouki Arakawa, Shingo Saito, Alice Alford and Megumi Aikawa officially announced that they belonged to Noah of their own "free will". The countries were unable to take any action against this movement, which was expected to lead to state intervention, and had no choice but to sit on the sidelines and watch. After this day, the world begins to move rapidly... 35-Forced reconnaissance team, sortie! ----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View We walk through the interior of the Hakone base, which is still under construction, toward Miki''s room. A large elevator will take you down the almost-completed first level, and you will pass the second level where the accumulation area and weapons storage area are located in the same way. At the third level, he transferred to an elevator that only a limited number of people were allowed to use, and when he reached the fourth level, he finally made it to the compartment where Miki was. ''''Thanks for your help,'''' Oh. My men from the fourth level are on guard duty. It''s not the United Nations military uniform that I was accustomed to wearing until recently, but a special PMC department uniform provided by Noah, and on the chest of that uniform, you can see the unit insignia in the shape of a feather written ''T.M.N.'' shining. The subordinates think it looks good, but he is afraid to tell them the meaning of the original unit name Miki invented, "Team.Muscle of Noa" (the brainiacs of Noa), because they might revolt. At the moment, I''ve told my subordinates that the meaning of TMN is ''Team.Mercenary of Noa'', which Claire had created after puzzling over the meaning of the name. I think ''Mercenary of Noa'' is a pretty good sense. ''''Miki, we''re coming in. It''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you''re looking for when you''re in the market. I''m sure you''ll be able to find the best way to get the best out of your own personal life. ''''Oh, you''re here?'''' Oh, he''s been here for half an hour. I just want to ask you something, all right? When Miki finally notices us, I ask her about something I saw in Africa a few days ago while putting out my cigarette. Before I left the United Nations, a nuclear submarine called ''Tolstoy'' went missing while sailing off the coast of Antarctica. The high command sent out a search party, but they couldn''t find anything and eventually concluded that the submarine sank in an accident. But ... the last time I went to a Noa-owned naval port in Africa to buy supplies, I saw the same type of Tolstoy''s ship painted with ''Noa'' instead of ''UN'', what was that about? ''Oh, that''s Tolstoy. It seems to be the ship we had a partnership on when Gongju rescued Alice, and when I started up Noah, he applied for asylum, so I accepted. Why is a UN ship applying for asylum for a corporation?And that model is a state-of-the-art ship, don''t accept that kind of thing. I lit a new cigarette while holding my brows. Does that mean that the accident of the new plane, which is currently being announced as a "mysterious crash," had something to do with Miki?I ask, hoping he''ll deny it. ''You mean the aircraft with the drop assault force on board?He defected to our home too. I can''t imagine what it must have been like.We''re going to hastily create an unmanned same-type aircraft and make it look like it crashed. No, you''re crazy!They''re the elite. Unlike a nameless ghost squad like us, they get a decent reputation out in the open, so why would they bother coming here to pretend to be dead? When I shouted at her, Miki told me why with a kind face and a distant gaze. ''''It''s all because of Koki. The Tolstoy''s crew and the members of the raiding party were all saved by Gongju when they went to rescue Alice. They were willing to give up everything they had in their lives to join us just to repay him. One other UN Space Force destroyer defected to protect Shingo-kun, and he wanted to thank you, Chabane, for that example. "Well it''s not nice to say this, but can you trust me? It''s okay. I didn''t want to use it too much, but I''ve used the device Eve gave me to read the surface consciousness to judge it, so you don''t have to worry about it. Then it''s okay. However, Gouki is amazing, is this what "charisma" is all about, to easily win over a person you''ve only been involved with for a short time?Miki must feel the same way, and she says to me while drinking coffee, ''She has grown up too, hasn''t she? I can''t say that Miki and I are not very ordinary people, and even though we are, it seems that Kouki has grown up to be a fine human being. That''s why I can''t allow them to destroy that peace of mind. When you are thinking about such things, Miki continues to talk as if she remembered. ''''Yes, I forgot, but there''s a reason why I called Shuichi-san. If you include the new defectors and the number of people who originally agreed with us, there are more than 100,000 of them. Right now we have bases all over the country and the Hakone base to house them, but in the not-too-distant future we will reach the limit. That would be true, food, etc. is not a problem, but places to live are limited. We can''t keep them crammed into a small room forever, especially for someone who is supposed to be dead to the world, it would be a tight squeeze. ''So I want you to go and reconnoitre the world that we in the tech department have discovered using the dimensional observers around the clock. We''ll leave the equipment and combat rules up to Shuichi-san and his military department, so you''ll have to be flexible. All right, should I go to tech to get the details? Yeah, that''s right. I stop to leave Miki''s room, feeling the elation of my first mission in a long time, and I stop to leave Miki''s room. It''s good to have asylum applications and collaborators coming in from various places. But what''s going on with the information restrictions?I don''t care if they find out that we''re planning to move to another world, it won''t be long before they do. It''s not a big deal if the government tells civilians that we are moving to another world. The government will lose its credibility if the government finds out about it, but if the official government agencies find out about the world to which it has moved, it will be a total loss of credibility. I question Miki about that area. It''s okay, we haven''t talked about moving to another world until after you officially join Noah. Besides, the reason for buying the equipment is also explained as technology diversion purposes, and the amount is officially explained as being for use by the PMC department. It''s a good thing I''ve never had any personal military use in this area, because I''m pretty trustworthy, right? The essential information control is handled by Claire from the public relations department. I''ve never thought of Claire as anything more than a competent secretary, but she''s a surprisingly great person. It''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you''re doing. I was convinced by the answer and decided to go to the technical department. Miki explained to me that she wanted me to do a forced reconnaissance of another world, so I had come to the tech department with the B squad that Lewis belongs to. ''Welcome to the Military Department, I''m Chief Scientist Ozaki. First, I would like to explain the world we have discovered, please look at this one. A technician named Ozaki displayed a large screen with some pictures and a graph with Nanika''s numbers on it. He began to explain it, indicating it with his pointer. ''These pictures were taken by the reconnaissance aircraft we sent earlier. As you can see, you can see that the vegetation is very similar to the Earth''s environment, and the data collected shows that the substances in the air are almost identical to those on Earth. From these two pieces of data, we have determined that humans can live there, but we can''t say for sure without a detailed investigation. Technicians like us should go there, but we don''t know what kind of danger there is, so we''d like to ask you, the professionals, to conduct a field survey. I''ll put such a question to you. As you say, we thought about using a reconnaissance plane, but the other world we discovered-we''ll call it ''G-88''-doesn''t have the same time flow as on Earth. An hour here is about a day out there, so we decided that an unmanned drone would be less flexible. I see. So, in the middle of setting up a reconnaissance plane for retrieval in the event of a crash, they''re going to be gone for a day or more? So they''re not going to use it because there''s a good chance the G-88s'' indigenous life might find trace of us. But it''s also useful, because if we send the equipment to them, it will be fully assembled on the other side while they''re setting up their new equipment. So it''s quite convenient in that respect. "What I''d like to ask for is a reconnaissance mission for a few days and a satellite launch. We have less than half a day in our time, but we''ll do what we can to help. We''ve already set your emergence point on an uninhabited island that we''ve confirmed is empty in the vicinity, so we can bring large amounts of supplies with us as well. All right. Let me have a little consultation with my men and we''ll decide what supplies to take with us. Ozaki said, ''Yes, sir. He bailed and left after saying, ''Please call me on an extension when you get it together. If this were the United Nations, we would be able to decide what supplies to take with us while being ridiculed by the researchers who despise us as ''warlords'', but Ozaki has left everything to us. We want to succeed in order to repay that trust. All right, boys!We''re going to show the smartest scholarly teacher what we''re awesome at. What do you think we should take with us other than food?Don''t be shy. When my men heard me call out to them, they broke their well-behaved postures and sat down in their comfortable positions and exchanged ideas. We''ve decided on the weapons and ammunition, and we want to take the medical supplies with us. It''s a different world. I''d like to take a big arsenal with me because of what''s out there. Can''t you take a tank and an airplane? Hey, you said it was deserted, right?If that''s the case, wouldn''t it be faster to build a simple outpost? As I watch my subordinates discussing this and that, I think to myself, "This isn''t right. These guys in this kind of situation don''t care about rank, they just exchange pure opinions. This will increase the unity among the members and at the same time lead to a shared awareness, which will ultimately improve the survival rate. After letting them do what they want for a while, Lewis, who had compiled the opinions, came to report to me. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about this. It''s handwritten, but please check it. Oh. I''ll look over the document Louis gave me.... "Full of weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies" ... what do you mean "full of"?I think it was Cote who suggested this. He''s a bit of a slacker in some weird places, so I''ll have to fix the exact numbers later. The number of tanks and aircraft allowed, installed missile launchers and anti-aircraft guns. We''ll need supplies for the construction of a simple base, and for future activities, even if it''s a bit of a stretch. It''s true that if they don''t meet the conditions, they''ll need to cover their tracks when they leave, but that''s short-sightedness indeed. I''ll have to consult with Ozaki about this too. My son is not a commodity!Why do you keep writing at the end like you need Gong-Ju? Hey, Louis!Stop treating my son like supplies, even if it''s a joke. I''ll laugh it off, but if it''s Miki, you''ll be seriously pissed, okay? ''I''m sorry for the way I wrote it, but I wasn''t kidding. I seriously thought you needed your son. Huh?Why is it necessary, I wouldn''t take Gongju with me if I could. Partly because it''s dangerous, but also because an armed soldier would be too bad for education. I tell Lewis that, but he says it back with a serious look on his face. ''No, I heard that your son even understood the language of the unknown race that created the ruins on the moon. I''m sure that advanced knowledge will be useful on another world as well. Could you please help me? If he agrees. And if you put your heart and soul mate''s safety first, I''ll give you permission. When I reluctantly gave my permission, Lewis said ''I''ll be a shield in case of an emergency,'' so I think my personal safety is safe. I showed Ozaki, who came back to the room a little later, the handwritten documents, and he said simply, ''I understand, I''ll prepare everything. Those words surprised not only me, but everyone who was there. Ozaki asked, ''''Is something wrong?'''' He asked me what it was, but I decided to ask the opposite question as to why I gave them permission so easily. ''You are all mercenaries belonging to Noah now, but until recently, you were regular soldiers belonging to the United Nations. I don''t think such people would be willing to engage in mindless combat and the slaughter of protozoa, so we just decided that the supplies described here were ''really necessary''. Ozaki comes to us laughing and says so, and we shush him. It is true that we have fought for peace. But even so, there were many times when we were scorned as "murderers", but Ozaki trusted us unconditionally and promised to give us supplies. Perhaps we are being praised, we all salute to Ozaki while holding back the grin on our faces and replying with a salute. ''''I promise that Noah''s group, the mercenary squad ''T.M.N.'' will do our best to accomplish our mission! I haven''t saluted with such a passionate heart since I joined the United Nations.... While thinking about this, I decided to head to his room to ask him to accompany me. "Congratulations, Congratulations, let''s go in? Okay. When he entered the room, Gongju seemed to be watching an animal documentary by himself. Didn''t she and her friends come over today?I ask the question, wondering why the member who is always with me isn''t there. Alice and the others have gone home with an escort, they''re getting ready to move their lives here. I think Conn is at the headmaster''s, he seems to prefer the headmaster''s place to mine these days. Oh, I see...just in time for the move, then it''s just as well since he won''t be back for a couple of days. Besides, that dragon Kong will be back at the entrance of Hakone base before you know it, so don''t worry. As I sat down next to him and was trying to figure out how to get him to accompany me to another world, he opened his mouth without looking away from the TV. I''m not sure what to expect, but I''m sure you''ll be able to do something for me. "Oh, oh. I''m going on a reconnaissance mission to another world with my men, and I''d like you to come with me. Of course, I''ll make sure you''re safe. My son''s instincts made me nervous for a moment, but when I asked him to do a favor, he thought for a moment and then said, ''Do you have any strange creatures or something?'' He asked. Come to think of it, this guy has always liked nature''s creatures. I wasn''t able to go with him because of work, but when he was very young, Miki told me that when he was still young, I took him to the zoo because he was so happy to see it on TV and he was so happy to see it. As I recall, he wouldn''t move from in front of the cage of "Japanese Wolves". Afterwards, I remember Miki laughed and told me that she had bought a stuffed Japanese wolf that was about the same size as the one she had at the time, and that she had hugged it with great care. ''It''s another world, so I guess he''s there?'' When I said that, Gongju readily agreed to go, ''Then I''ll go,'' so I let Lewis know on the terminal that I got permission to go. And when I told him that I was ready to go to the weapons storage area now, he stood up and complained to me with a bitter smile. It''s a good idea to have a little more planning, Dad. What if I have to do something from now on? I''m sorry son that''s what my mom has always told me. I replied as usual, ''I''ll be careful from now on,'' while pulling on Gongju''s arm and heading to the storage area. When I came to the weapons storage area, I found that my subordinates who were going to the other world this time were gathered at the gate in front of the entrance. It''s a good thing that you can''t get away from the fact that you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you can''t get to the point where you need to. It''s a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. It seems that he knows that he is protecting a stray cat and is talking to the coat with a smile. I''m glad that Koki is the kind of person who doesn''t judge people by their looks, I thought to myself as I looked at my son. ''You guys, I''m going to pick out a weapon and a power suit to take with me now!But since Gongju will be wearing the ''8th generation machine'' that''s placed here, you can choose one other than that one. When I tell my subordinates, for some reason Gongju calls out to me with a surprised look on his face. ''My dad was really a special forces captain. Mom told me that I thought I was just a macho. ''''Gongju-kun, the captain is really a great guy, you know?You should respect him more. Ellis laughs at Gongju''s words and rushes in. Well, since Claire isn''t here, Ellis is supposed to manage the information of the scouting team this time, she''ll be treated as a quasi-combatant and will be armed at least once. It seems that she came here to choose her own armament. You''re about to introduce her to Gongju, ''It''s Claire''s twin sister you miss,'' when you''re surprised by Gongju''s words as she looks at Ellis. ''''You''re Claire''s sister?'''' Hey!Gongju, can you tell Claire and Eris apart? You can''t tell the difference between me and the people I''m usually with, and yet you recognized it all at once?When I was waiting for Gongju to speak, I got an answer that described the two of us in a tremendously ''precise'' way. ''''Yes. The crisp, beautiful, beautiful woman is Claire and the squishy, cute, pretty woman is Ellis. ''Captain!My room in the other world is fine with you, Kunugi-kun. No, I will not allow that to happen. I''m sure I''ll do something bad for sure. Even so, the way Gongju expresses herself is easy to understand, it''s strange because when you look at Ellis while thinking she''s a pretty type of beauty, she really looks like that. My subordinates also said, ''Wow!He''s excited to say, ''I can really tell them apart. Well, we can''t stay like this forever. I have to get ready to pick up a weapon and get ready to go to another world....... You guys!I''m going to open the gate now, but don''t run and don''t rush, and pick up your weapons. You will behave yourself, you understand? If I don''t warn you first, I''ll definitely nail you for running around like a kid in a toy store. After making sure we were neatly aligned, I opened the gate, but the moment it opened, the idiots ran off as fast as they could. ''Awesome!The suit here is an advanced production version of the sixth generation aircraft! "Hey, you, I spotted that flamethrower before you did!Don''t touch it! ''Where''s the 80mm objective rifle?I want to take that with me. I pressed my eyebrows together with a sigh, he won''t listen to me anymore when it comes to this. With a feeling of resignation, I urge Gouki, who is next to me, to choose a weapon as well, and he tilts his head and asks me a question. ''''I''m not trained and I''ve never shot one, okay?'''' It''s okay. I''ve shoved a fire control system into your suit''s control module, so you can fire at the reticle that appears on the display and it will hit you. I won''t be carrying personal small arms, though. When I taught him that, Gongju also joined the ranks of his subordinates while running at a terrific pace. So he''s the type of person who gets excited when you make him choose a weapon. I''m tempted to smoke, but since this is a strictly fireproof place, I decide to choose a weapon. I''ll just use a 20mm rifle, a grenade launcher and a shield for protection. I''m going to use small, solid equipment, because my men who like big things will be carrying a lot of them. I''ve been thinking about the use of the weapons while looking at them, and that''s when Kouki called out to me. ''''Dad, I want this and that. ''Hmm?Which.........you know what this is....... Do you understand what it is? The ones chosen by the smiling face are the "Prototype 180mm Electromagnetic Projection Gun" and the "Gunpowder Pile Bunker". It is a monster weapon that fires 180 millimeter bullets at 6.9 kilometers per second, although the electromagnetic projectile is limited to the suit''s kneeling position, and most targets will be obliterated if you throw such a thing into it. The Pile Bunker is extremely powerful in ultra-short range combat. I''ve never used it, but it should easily penetrate 3 meters of reinforced metal. If I were to mount these equipment on an eighth generation aircraft dedicated to the tree, then... let''s stop thinking about it. It''s not good for your mental health. "For God''s sake, just call out to me when you shoot, and don''t just shoot without thinking, okay? I know. I''m not sure if you really know what you''re doing, but I can''t blame you because it was chosen by Gongju. I''m not going to be able to say that I''m not going to be able to get it right. The only thing left to do is to prepare the necessary vehicles and then head to the "gate" that has been set up on the fifth level, the lowest level. I decided to ask Ellis to reserve the use of a large elevator for bringing in supplies. I make all the preparations and line up in front of the gate. Behind me is a pitch black space, and if I pass through it, I can reach another world. As expected, my subordinates seem to be a little afraid of the strange object they are seeing for the first time, so Ellis urges them to give a light speech to boost their morale. Well, I dismiss this as a kind of ritual and begin my speech as best I can to encourage my men. ''Gentlemen, from now on, we are sailing into an unknown world. I do not have the words to tell you what difficulties and enemies will be waiting for us there. But!We''ve accomplished a lot of difficult missions, but nothing is impossible for us!Believe in the comrades in arms next to you, and believe in the people who support you. If you do, you will come out of this alive. We will not leave our families behind!We will not betray our families!You ready?We''re all going home. Forcible reconnaissance team, go! Yes, sir! After looking at the faces of my strong men who had regained their courage, I was the first to go through the gate. At 10:30 a.m. on August 1, 2102, 93 members of the T.M.N., a mercenary unit belonging to Noah''s mercenary team, sortie into G-88, the Earth side designation. The weapons brought in were 93 power suits, 3 tanks, 4 aircraft, 3 anti-aircraft guns, 30 cruise missiles, 2 gravity disintegrator rounds, outpost setup supplies, and 12 special vehicles, all heavily armed. Extra ... "The Adventures of Kong Are you going home, Kongchan? CON! Con gets off the lap of the Dean of the school, Kaori Yamamoto, and starts trotting towards the exit. He then jumps to the doorknob to open the door, as if he''s used to it, and once he''s in the hallway, he jumps to close the door in the same way. From behind the door. Come back. As if in response to the headmaster''s words, I headed for the main gate, flicking my tail. When I arrived at the main gate, I sat on top of a nearby vending machine and watched the cars driving down the road intently. As I waited for about 20 minutes, a large truck stopped in front of me and a middle-aged driver came out from inside and called out to Kon. ''Yo, lizard boy!Do you want a ride today? Cone, cone. Kon squealed in reply to those words, and jumped into the truck through the passenger door that the driver had opened and headed for Hakone. ''''If you''re a Han, you''ll have a drink~'''' Conn. A few hours later, as the truck approached the Hakone area, the driver sang an enka song while Conn showed off his pride and joy as he sang. "This is it, you''ll have to take care of the rest yourself. CON! After sucking on a card that the headmaster had made for me to wear around my neck as a communication card and showing it to the driver, Con gets out of the truck. He walks for about 15 minutes, and when he comes to the front of the post office, he sits on the seat of a delivery bike and waits patiently. A postman came out and noticed him and called out to him. He says, "Oh, it''s Mr. Lizard. Do you want a ride today? "Con. We climbed into the bag the postman held out to us and went out on the delivery course together, only our faces outside, and after about four visits together, we squealed around a bend in the pass and were dropped off. ''See you later!'' Slightly dispirited, Con climbs up onto a nearby rock, as usual, and waits patiently here as he watches the postman drive away before he can show his card. He notices a truck painted ''Noa'' coming up the pass, which has varied somewhat in time, but was surprisingly early today, and jumps on the back of the truck, which has slowed down on the bend, at just the right moment. ''Conn, Conn,'' When the truck arrived at the Hakone base, he jumped off the truck while it was being checked at the entrance and walked to the entrance where civilians were entering and exiting the base. At the entrance, he repeatedly threw himself at the intercom a few times. Conn, you''re back. The security guards will let you in as you say, "I''m going to go in," and you''ll go in. After entering, you will find a suitable human being, raise your voice, and the guard will take you to the front of your owner''s room, which will allow you to move relatively quickly. When he comes to the front of his master''s room, he enters the room of his own accord, curls up on his own bed next to the bed, and sleeps. This is one of the adventures that Con does every day. 36-Forced reconnaissance team, move forward! ----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View The moment I went under the black gate, I felt an indescribable sensation. If I were to compare it to the feeling of being submerged in ''slushy water'', I''d say it''s a sensation that is hard to describe.It''s like the time I was immersed in the rotten, murky water when we did a sweeping mission deep in the Amazon, and it was similar. But it was only a moment before my vision opened up and a grassy field jumped in front of me. It seems that this is definitely an isolated island surrounded by sheer cliffs, just as Ozaki had explained. ''Has it become a habitat for bird-like creatures? I can catch a glimpse of a large bird resting its wings in the grassland I can see through the suit''s camera. At the same time, after checking for sufficient oxygen levels and toxic substances to fill the air, I open the cockpit of my suit and take a breath of air outside. ''Delicious ... and clear.'' I take out the cigarette I have in my breast pocket and light it. As I waited for my subordinate to arrive, the space behind me began to distort and a blotchy shadow slowly appeared. It''s not pleasant to watch the suit come out of the distorted space with a ''slimy'' feeling, as if there is a time lag between it and the earth as explained in advance. But.........if it takes such a long time for a subordinate who was supposed to have jumped in right after me to appear, it will be tomorrow when the last one, Gongju, transitions to this world. Looking at my subordinate, who had already finished his third cigarette but had only shifted to the upper half of his body, I was once again aware of the ''wall of the other world''. ''''It''s been three hours since the start of the gate raid, and the number of people who have transitioned is 20.......'''' Lewis, who came right after me, is sitting in the grass with his suit undone, blabbing away. If it hadn''t been for Kunugi''s advice before the transition, ''If it''s going to take a long time, you should send supplies and such in two teams,'' I would have wasted an entire day. As I was thinking about that, I realized that the truck and the suit holding onto it had started the transition. ''Louis, what''s that truck carrying?'' I think it''s called ''supplies for the base''. Okay, then, let''s get to work on setting up the outpost. I''m going to spread out around the area and say, ''Let''s grill some chicken! I gather my men who are chasing after the bird and give them the order to start preparing to set up the base. As these well-trained soldiers, they quickly reapply their suits and begin surveying the area, while their arms are used to plan the layout of the base. From the reports of my men, who have been exploring the perimeter of the island while chasing birds, it has been determined that the island is an oval shape with a circumference of about 40 kilometers. Most of it is grassland with only a few short, wooded areas to the south. Assuming the island itself to be a natural fortress, they decided it would be better to build a base in the center of the island due to the problem of the enemy. ''Louis, we''re going to build an outpost in the middle of the island. It will be a square of 600 meters in length and width. The perimeter is to be surrounded by a reinforced barrier and the anti-aircraft position is to be in the center of the base. The gates we bring in will be positioned to the north. What about surveillance? "Send them in pairs, east, west, north, south, and west of the island, with sniper rifles and floodlights. Don''t let them open fire without permission, okay?Tell them to clear out if they see anything. Along with Lewis, who sent my instructions over the terminal, I''ll help unload the supplies from the truck that finally completed the transition. After setting up the base, we need to launch the satellites and assemble the reconnaissance aircraft, and then we need to figure out how to position the tanks. As I was unloading my gear, I noticed that the number of people in the base was increasing rapidly. When I was wondering about it, Louis called out to me. His son gave the order over there, ''Hold onto the truck and rush to the gate because going apart would be a waste of time.'' I see, if our safety is guaranteed to some extent, that''s good too. That''s what I should have instructed you to do right from the start. Thanks to the subordinates who are shifting in one after another, the work is progressing quickly and the defensive wall of the base has already been completed. The report has come in that the coat of the observation satellite has already been assembled according to the instructions, and preparations are underway for its launch. But everything is going too smoothly, in my experience, at a time like this, something is supposed to be very troublesome. As I was thinking about this, as I expected, an urgent call from the surveillance team came through. "This is the east side surveillance team. This is the east surveillance team, we have a large flying object approaching from bearing 0-9-3. Altitude 80, distance 2500, slow speed. Surveillance, do you think the creature has any intelligence? "Unknown. But I don''t think a creature like the rotten flesh bird has any intelligence. Lewis checked the surveillance team''s report to see if he ''has the intelligence'', but the response was ''probably not''. What do we do?It will reach the skies above this island in about ten minutes, albeit at a low speed, not much time. I check to see if the creature is aware of us. "It seems to have noticed us. If he''s aware of it, then contact is inevitable. Should we just use a projector to send out a light signal and see what happens? I''ll ask Lewis for his opinion and get his approval before I send a transmission and then inform my men of my decision. ''Send a light signal. If they continue to approach, I''ll fire two warning shots at the target at a distance of 900. If it continues to approach further I am authorized to shoot it down at a distance of 300. Yes, sir. After that communication, I stop sending it to focus on my men. You can see that the subordinates have heard our story and are gathering around to watch the situation with bated breath. That''s right, my troop mates are committing their first ''battle'' on another world. I have no intention of scolding those who are stopping the work. And then the communication comes in again. "Target shot down! Copy that. We''ll send out replacement units. Apparently, my first contact with the otherworldly creature ended in disappointment. I turned to the command post that had just been set up to hear a battle report from my returning subordinates. ''''So the 80mm anti-material rifle you used was effective, right? ''Yes, it was more than powerful enough. Perhaps even the 20 millimeter an infantryman carries could be shot down. As explained by this guy, the image recovered from the suit showed a monster bird falling to the surface of the sea with a single blow. The basic structure of the creature is not much different from that of the earth, and there is no doubt that the monster bird that was hit by a bullet to the head lost its fighting ability by itself. However, when Miki analyzed the images of the time when Kouki transferred to another world, there were reports that the creatures of that world were using something like a bullet-proof wall called a ''magic barrier''. Does the barrier not exist in this G-88? Was there any indication that you were inhibited by anything when you opened fire? Inhibition?I don''t know what you mean but yes, I think there was a momentary lag before it landed on the target. It was like it went through something. After all, it''s better to think that ''some kind of barrier'' is developing in this world as well. Miki said, ''Even though it''s magic, it''s probably a lump of energy, so it should be able to be nullified by colliding with an energy that exceeds it. In this case, the energy of the rifle bullet was probably more powerful than the barrier energy that the monster bird was deploying. I came to that conclusion and made my subordinates back down. "Captain, we''ll launch the observation satellite. "Captain, we''ll launch the observation satellite, and we''ve assembled the VSTOL that we brought in. Oh. Get the observation device ready for test flights. We''re going to put a heavy lift on the pilot, but I hope that''s okay. I instruct Luis as he walks into the room, then I light a cigarette and inhale the purple smoke. I understand that the number of cigarettes has increased recently, but I can''t stop myself. The only thing left to do is to wait for the information to be gathered, since the base and barracks have been set up?I don''t know what to do next in terms of priorities. If this was the case, I should have rushed Ellis into the gate earlier. As I was feeling that regret, Ellis entered the room with a knock on the door. ''''Ellis Dauntless, I have arrived. ''I''ve been waiting for you!I''ve finished the whole thing for now, but what else do you think I need to do? When I call out to her, Ellis pushes her glasses up with her fingers before continuing to speak with a severely unhappy look on her face. ''One way?From what I''ve seen before I came to this room, it appeared that the only thing you had finished was setting up the base.What about making the hours of work?How are the barracks assigned?How long have you been eating and using PX?Recreational facilities ... especially a shower room?You seem to have accumulated a lot of cigarette butts in your ashtray, what the hell have you been doing? I forgot, the biggest difference between Ellis and Claire was whether or not they were ''venomous'' or not. You''ll be able to find a lot of people who will be able to help you. And because the content is so correct that it cannot be excused, the person being told can only endure while listening to the sound of his or her heart breaking. ''''I''m sorry, I''m going to leave it all up to you to run the facility. I think it would be better for you, Captain, if you would use your combat skills. As a start, I''ll release the birds captured by Fool A and B, if that''s alright with you.They''re making a big deal about ''grilling'', but I don''t want to eat it. I don''t want to eat that either, so I give my permission. Ellis complained even more and began operating the terminal at high speed and sending instructions to his subordinates. If you let him operate this kind of facility, Ellis will show a more competent side than Claire, just dismiss the fact that the rules will be very strict. For some reason, Ellis sent an email to my terminal as well, although I''m supposed to be the captain, instructing me to do the job, so I silently lifted my weight. I took a break, and as I was taking my dinner at the mealtime Ellis had set up, I received a message on my terminal saying ''please come to the command center immediately'', so I headed to the command center with my plate in hand. When I entered, a subordinate who hadn''t taken off his flight gear was waiting for me with a salute, so I saluted him. ''Captain, your manners are bad, you''ll have to wait 20 seconds and eat all that dinner.'' I eat my food as fast as I can so as not to make Ellis, whose brow is wrinkled, any more angry. It seems twenty seconds have passed in the middle of the meal, and Ellis starts to explain. The pilot of the observation plane has returned from collecting information. Based on the data we analyzed and his own testimony, we were unable to identify any man-made buildings or cities within a 400 kilometer radius. The first artifact is a building 520 km south, which appears to be a "lighthouse", which suggests that at least some of the creatures on this world are capable of navigation. Based on that, we have no problem assuming that they have reasonable science and technology. So you''re not what we would call a ''caveman'' on earth?When I finally finish eating, I ask a question and everyone in the room nods their heads. Then Cote brings out a mobile screen and begins to explain in detail. ''This is footage from the observation satellite we launched. The satellite is currently stationary almost directly above this base. We''ve analyzed the image that was sent to us and it shows that this world is properly cosmic and probably conforms to the laws of physics on Earth. There are never any turtles lifting the earth. I see, isn''t this an interesting world where the waters of the ocean are falling into an abyss from the edge of the world, just like in the mythology? Where do you think we''ll be at?I prompt Court to explain. ''The point we are at is here, the island in the upper left corner of the continent you see in the center. We named it ''Noah Island'' for convenience. The satellite imagery shows a large city 920 kilometers south of Noah Island, and given the size of the cities scattered around it, it''s probably the capital? It''s only about 1,000 kilometers away from the national capital, but the level of civilization seems to be quite low when you say that there are no aircraft and other things flying in a scramble. I want more information.... I asked Ellis if he had any, and he replied, ''The vice captain is analyzing the images. After waiting for Lewis or sending my man, who was still in his flight suit, to get a bite to eat, I crossed my arms and waited for him to arrive. ''I''m sorry, I was having trouble coordinating the satellite, we just got a video transmission from the satellite, please take a look.'' Everyone looks at the image Lewis has projected on the screen and is amazed. ''''Is this........a carriage?'''' "Yes, it''s not a horse but an armadillo-like creature pulling it, but I think it''s a carriage. And the lights are torches, not electricity, and some of them are mysterious luminescent spheres, which I suspect are ''magic'', as she explained. And one more thing I''ve already analyzed - this planet is about four and a half times the size of Earth. Okay, let''s sum it up.......this world, G-88, is a similar environment to the world where Earth is located. However, for some reason the gravity is almost identical to that of Earth, even though it is about 4.5 times larger. In addition, the creatures that live there are different from those on Earth, and their level of civilization is at a medieval level. It''s possible to destroy protozoa with the weapons we''ve brought in, and the closest artifacts are 520 kilometers south. I think, holding my eyebrows together, what do you want me to do?Miki smiled and said something like ''please be flexible'', but I didn''t expect this to happen. I was expecting action from the other side because I thought that even if there was civilization, it was at best at the 19th century level. I would ask my men for their opinion, ''What should we do now? ''Why don''t you try to make contact with the nation that you were able to confirm after your son''s arrival?And if we''re challenged by force, I think we just have to withdraw. I agree with Ellis. "I agree with Ellis," he said, "and in case of a worst-case scenario, let''s have an aircraft equipped with gravity-defying bombs in the sky as direct support. I think it would be safer if your son were to abandon us and take off at high speed, just in case. I knew it was going to happen. Before Gong-Ju, who was scheduled to arrive the next morning, arrived, I began to work with my subordinates on the detailed procedures for contacting the nation. The next morning, I waited for Gong-Ju''s arrival, somewhat dazed from having slept only three hours. But it was true that an hour on Earth is a day here. The last subordinate who had just arrived was quite surprised to see the base that had been completed. According to his experience, only 50 minutes had passed since I rushed into the gate. As I remembered my subordinate''s words, the space in front of me began to distort, and the 8th generation machine that Gongju wore started to feel ''slimy''.......no!His appearance is extremely fast. Seeing Gong-Ju shifting at an alarming rate, an idea comes to mind and warns his subordinates. ''Evacuate from the gate!All those who don''t get there in time, take a blasting stance vs.That guy is rushing into the gate at the speed of sound. A few seconds after I warned him, he finished his transition and flew up into the sky with a thumping shockwave, accelerating rapidly. I shouted at him with my terminal while catching his appearance at the edge of my vision. You''re an idiot!Who''s rushing into the gate at the speed of sound?If you''re not careful, people will die. ''I''m sorry but it was my mom''s instructions. She told me to give you the papers as soon as possible. But that doesn''t mean we can forgive the act of not confirming the situation on our side. I''m going to scold her later and see the documents. I''m not going to be able to get a good look at the documents that were handed to me after bumping my fist against the landed Kunugi. There is... ''''I think it''s time to start a full-scale investigation. If you need to negotiate something after the investigation, please withdraw and contact me. Please do not negotiate a treaty without permission, even if you make the mistake of doing so. P.S.- If you take the liberty of overpowering an unknown civilization by force, I will divorce you. It said. I''m not that cerebral!More importantly, what happens to Gongju''s custody if we get divorced or something?As I was thinking about this, Koki, who came peeking at the documents beside me, opened his mouth. ''''If we get divorced, I''ll go to my mom''s side. I heard my subordinates chuckle when they heard Gongju''s words, and Ellis said ''it''s a reasonable decision'' and patted his head. With the scene somewhat mortified, I tell him what I''m going to do. I''m going to go out to reconnoitre the area where the artifacts we''ve identified from the satellite are located. We''ll contact the nation if we can, there will be 30 people with us, all of whom will be armed. We''ll be in a circle formation during the trip, so you''ll stay in the center of it, and if anything happens to you, which I don''t feel comfortable telling you as a non-military person, you''ll be on your own and in a fast breakaway. That''s an order. Yes, sir. He smiled and ran off with a smile as I told Conju, who was glancing at the bird while I explained to him, ''You can do whatever you want until you''re ready. After arranging for the guards to put on their coats, I decided to head towards the barracks to get ready for the sortie. ''We will now head to the continent, 520km south. Our main objective is to make contact with the nations on the continental coast!However, if this is not possible, we have to pull out after gathering some information. First of all, the landing procedure is to approach the coast with the transport plane, and then descend from the sky. Once we land, we''ll use our optical camouflage to hide ourselves. After that, the suit will cruise at the speed of the suit to the first target, the "fort". According to the information from the satellite, this fort doubles as a checkpoint, so we will negotiate with the government officials here and try to contact them. I give my men time to digest the information they''ve been given, and then I explain the following. ''Next are the rules of battle. Basically, we don''t allow firing except in self-defense, and we don''t allow the use of chemical weapons, so keep that in mind. Jonathan!Take off the tear gas firing device on your suit. The formation you''re moving in is a circle formation, I''ll place a Gong Tree in the center, protect it at all costs!Everything else is basically at your discretion. I''ve gone on and on about this, but if you feel the need to do something, shoot me. If you feel like you''re in trouble, run. I''ll take full responsibility. Captain, it''s business as usual then. "I don''t want to have to explain to you guys the tactical action radius and specific tactics!I gave that up in the beginning. As far as I can tell, explaining it to guys who use their wild instincts to avoid bullets from snipers is a slippery slope. The best results will be produced if they are moved at their own discretion. Once I had made that decision, as I had been doing up until now, I ordered everyone to board the transport plane. A short time after we boarded the transport, the pilot sent a message to the soldiers'' room. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving at the drop zone shortly. I would appreciate it if you could take a few things with you when you disembark, and I would appreciate it if you could pay for yesterday''s poker loss as soon as possible. I listen to the pilot''s voice communicating with me while pretending to be a flight attendant in a back-up voice, and I give my subordinates instructions while holding my brows. ''When the ramp turns green, jump out of the front row!Don''t ponder, show him how cool he is. Well, I''m gonna do a nice rolling descent into... Nuh-uh! I kick the subordinate who said something stupid off the descent port and I start preparing to descend as well. I''ve explained to Gouki to follow me while flying normally at the very end, so there''s no problem. After confirming that all of my men have descended, I too will jump down to the ground. During the descent, Kunugi sends out a message as he flies around me, matching my speed. ''Your troops are full of interesting people, aren''t they? ''''Gongju, for God''s sake, don''t be such an idiot, okay?That''s all I worry about. I replied as I looked at the beach where my men were gathered. As I landed on the beach with Gongju, my men came running up to me to report back to me. ''A reconnaissance team is advancing five kilometres to the south, checking for safety. It seems they''re already doing what they think is best for themselves before I give them instructions. It''s good to leave it to the individual''s judgment, after all. I decided to use my free time to set up a collection point and establish communication with the direct support aircraft waiting in the sky. When I looked at Gongju, I saw that he was about to go somewhere to chase after the rabbit-like creature that was nearby, so I decided to send Cote and Jonathan out to monitor it. As I finished these tasks, I received a transmission from the scouting team. ''This is the reconnaissance team, we have found a group fighting 12 kilometers south. We''re monitoring it now. You''re in a bit of a pickle all of a sudden. Some kind of burglar?That seems to be the case in this medieval level world, I send a communication to my subordinates, ''Let me know the current situation in detail. "There''s a princess who looks like she has money, and there are about 100 people dressed as knights who are supposedly guarding the carriage, and they''re fighting a ridiculously large worm. It''s a bit of an about-face, but it''s really easy to understand. The bottom line is that a person who is thought to be a nobleman or royalty is being attacked by a monster. If we rescue them, it could be a foothold in the goal of ''making contact with the state''. I tell the scouting team to stay where they are because I''m going to check on them all, and then I give instructions to my men on the beach. ''The scouting party has found a person they believe to be a nobleman or royalty being attacked. We''ll rescue him if we can!After activating optical camouflage, we''ll start moving. While moving in a circle formation with Gongju in the center, I went to the place where the reconnaissance team was waiting, and I could see a battle going on in front of me. There were about three decapitated worms, and the group that seemed to be a knightly group seemed to have suffered a reasonable amount of damage. As I continued to observe, Gongju opened his mouth. ''''Ooh, it''s an elf!I guess the enemy is the usual ''Sandworm'' guy? Do you even know what that thing is? Gongju''s statement seemed to shock his subordinates as well, ''''What''s an elf?'''' And ''Is a worm the name of that monster?'' And so on. How does Gongju know about otherworldly creatures? Well, we''ll get to that later, but the question is whether we can destroy it with the firepower we have now. I''m going to ask him about that too. ''Elves are a common name for the ''ear-longers'' like those people who are being attacked. I think those worms are sand worms or some other creature of that nature, but I think they are just very durable and can be managed with a rifle. Also, I don''t think they''re intelligent, for sure. It is true that the worms do not move in a way that is intelligent, and it can be seen that they are fighting more like insects. Even though he only experienced the battlefield twice, when he rescued Alice and this time, I take my hat off to his calmness. Painfully aware of my son''s awesomeness and my own inexperience in not being able to keep my cool, I send instructions to my subordinates. ''First squad, aim for the worm with your rifles!You can keep popping them until they stop working. Second and third squads, full perimeter defense. Fire! Along with my orders, they started firing the rifles equipped by the 10 suits belonging to the 1st squadron........ ----Adrienne Viewpoint ---.... On our way back from inspecting the important port city of Huron, we encountered the Giant Sandworm, a disaster-class sandworm with an A-class designation, and only 120 members of the platinum knights who doubled as bodyguards were able to counter the disaster-class sandworm. No matter how elite the Platinum Knights are said to be, there is no way they can counter with that many people, and they were in a desperate battle from the very beginning of the encounter. ''''Princess!Please run away and leave us alone!I won''t have this place anymore. No, you can''t use auxiliary magic. If I leave, my magic will wear off and you''ll be too weak to fight. I''m not going to be able to get a good deal more than I''d like. I''m not going to be able to get a good look at them, but I''m not going to be able to get a good look at them. But that doesn''t mean I can''t break out of this situation, and I can only watch one more knight run out of power to protect me. It was then that I saw a large hole in the side of the sandworm. Then I noticed a series of thunderous sounds that sounded like a continuous thunderclap coming from a distance. ''''Opening a hole in a sandworm.......even an SSS-ranked adventurer shouldn''t be able to do that. What the hell does it mean?'''' I don''t know, but it might be possible for a demon. Please hide behind me. If it''s the demon race, they wouldn''t be rescuing humans in the first place, and the knights have stopped moving as well, looking confused. And then the sandworms that made us suffer so much, the sandworms were stunned and exhausted, and laid their bodies on the ground. It''s a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends.As I was thinking about this in a daze, one of the knights raised his voice. ''There''s something on the hill! When the knight looked towards the direction he was pointing at, his eyes caught sight of an unseen creature that suddenly emerged from space. The number of them continued to increase gradually and finally stopped where the thirtieth and most significant creature appeared. As I looked at it, I saw one of them walking slowly towards us. Immediately, the knights re-formed their formation to shield me, but there were not even 50 people who could move. A creature that defeated the Sandworm would be able to obliterate it with a swing of an arm. Once the creature stops midway between us and the group, it puts its weapon-like object on the ground and spins around on the spot to show its back, then walks forward with its hands held high. It''s a procedure that soldiers do when they surrender, they are probably saying that they have no intention of attacking us. ''Ladies and gentlemen, please do not attack that creature. It appears that they intend to communicate with us. When I told them that, they didn''t put away their weapons, but they seemed to let down their guard somewhat. It''s a very good idea to have a good time with them. The creature walks so slowly that it''s frustrating for me, and then stops 20 melts in front of us. Then, after pointing to the torso, I dropped to my knees and saw that the spot I pointed to opened upward. A man with scars all over his face came down from inside of it and walked towards us, that thing seems to be something like the armor worn by knights. As I was judging that, the man spoke out. [The words, do you understand?] I don''t know what he''s saying, so I push the knights forward and then tell them with a gesture that I won''t ''attack'' and then carefully use ''translation magic'' so that they can see me. Then I speak the words slowly. ''''Do you understand?'''' Yeah, I can do that. Good, the translation magic seems to have worked. And although his face is horrible, he seems to be able to have a rational conversation, I will first say thank you for your help. I''m going to be able to say thank you for saving me from a dangerous place this time. ''Never mind that, more importantly, I''ve determined that your daughter is a person of high status... no?'' What does that mean?Could it be that he or she was helping for a reward? If that''s the case, that''s fine, of course I was going to pay for this time from the beginning, but I don''t like the person who asks for money so bluntly. I replied to the man with some sarcasm and irony. ''''That''s right, I''m the fourth princess of the ''Holy Merkava Kingdom'' and my name is Adrienne. Wouldn''t daring to call yourself a princess make men shrivel up and change their attitudes?I tried to speak up, forgetting my gratitude for the help I received, but the shallow idea made me feel self-hatred. The man in front of me is demanding fair compensation for his abilities, and what have I done to deserve it? It''s just right. We, ''Noah'', would like to establish diplomatic relations with your country. How in the world can we do this?As I chewed on the man''s suggestion, I had to fight to keep my head in my hands. 37-Forced reconnaissance team, contact me! ----Adrienne''s point of view... As I struggled to understand what was proposed by the man in front of me who called himself ''Noah'', the man suddenly made a gesture of holding his hand to his ear and began to speak alone. ''Yes, yes. We''ve made contact, and we''re about to get into specifics. Eh?Your son?I understand. The man turned and looked at his group of friends, then cowered his shoulders and started to speak to me. ''''Before we get into specifics, I want to treat the wounded over there. Can you use recovery magic or something like that?In the meantime, I''ve got some medical supplies ready to go. Our treatment!Are they going to help the soldiers of a country they don''t know? It is understandable that they want to sell their gratitude to you since they are going to discuss diplomatic relations with you, but don''t they think that they will be able to reduce their soldiers as much as possible in case they break down and have to go to war? Before that, this man just said the word ''medicine''. It''s not a magic potion, it''s a medicine, and we can''t afford to use it on other countries'' soldiers.No, there are too few things to judge. You may be able to make an accurate decision with a little information, but as the fourth princess, I was raised freely with little political education, so I''m not capable of making such a high level judgment. However, I can''t just abandon the soldiers who are suffering. It''s a good idea to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. If you don''t mind, could you share some painkillers and such with me? Yes, sir. I''ll get on it. Can I have my guys over there waiting? Yes, sir. In the end I decided to take the suggestion from the people of Noah, and if I was wrong in this decision, I wanted to save the suffering soldiers. As the man put his hands to his ears again and spoke a couple of words, I saw the armor waiting on the hilltop moving towards us. However, I could see that the largest armor didn''t move, but had other armor protecting it on either side. Is the commander on alert?As I was thinking this, another man came out of the armor that arrived one by one and approached me. ''''Nice to meet you, Your Highness, I''m Shuichi, who is in command of this unit. In lieu of immediate attention, I''d like you to put away your weapons for the knights? As I recall, my soldiers are in the process of drawing their swords, I impatiently ask them to put away their weapons. While some of them are really reluctant to put their weapons away, most of them seem to be feeling good about the way they are treating their comrades, and immediately put their weapons away. The commander, who introduced himself as Shuichi, saw them and began to speak, holding his ear to the ground. I''m sure you''ll be able to find some sort of magic tool to talk to at a distance. ''Kouki, it''s secured. You can come over here now. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a great deal more to say about it. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out what''s going on in the world and what''s going on in the world. The armor approaching you while flying leisurely through the air from the top of the hill looks like a ''devil'' from its color and size. ''''Demon........'''' When I muttered that while looking at the armor, I felt a tense air flow through the place. Noah''s team, which had been tending to the wounded with strong faces and gentle smiles just a few minutes ago, was staring at me. The smiles had disappeared from all of their faces, and I could tell that even my soldiers were getting scared at the sight. When I came here, I finally realized that my statement was a tremendous gaffe. The commanding officer warns me in a low voice as I am desperately looking for words of excuse. ''Your Highness, let''s forget what you just said. But ... don''t make the mistake of saying ''devil'' in front of that suit. I shake my head, wobbling my head as my bones come off. If I said ''demon'' to a person of that royal family, they might kill me in a rage. And they are the kind of people who can defeat Sandworm with impunity, so it''s impossible to say that even if they were to talk about it. While I was thinking about this, a suit-clad royal flew in front of me and I heard a voice from inside. It''s nice to meet you. Araka-, as you call it, Kouki Arakawa. "My name is Adrienne de Merkava, fourth princess of the ''Holy Merkava Kingdom''. I even picked my skirt as gracefully as possible and greeted him, but the fact that he has a surname means that he''s a royal...at least a famous nobleman, and there seems to be no mistaking it. After all, when I was praising myself that I was not wrong in my earlier decision, the leader of the platinum knight group unintentionally said something that almost made me faint. ''''Isn''t it rude to address Your Highness with such an armor on! You''re the one who''s rude!Please, please, please, please understand the current situation. These people are from a large country that can easily slaughter a demon designated as a Class A disaster and use its medicines on people from other countries with great fanfare. They are too different in rank from the kingdoms on this continent, which are treated as small and medium-sized countries, and to say that they are disrespectful to the royalty of these large countries is a national disgraceful statement. I was terrified that I might have drawn the ire of the people of Noah, but the suit easily fell to its knees and opened its body parts. ''Excuse me, my name is Kouki Arakawa, again. Huh.... Mmm.... The appearance of the boy who came out from inside was met with a combination of surprise from me and the leader of the group. The boy who called himself Kouki-sama introduced himself again in front of us, then bent his right hand at a right angle and made a gesture of placing his fingertips on his forehead. The graceful yet somehow elegant gesture caught my attention, and then my eyes were drawn to the clothes he was wearing. The clothes are spotless, and are the whitest dress I''ve ever seen, with gold and black decorations on the shoulders. And on the chest is a patch with "feathers and words" written on it that seems to be the national flag, and the buttons also shine like they are made of gold. It is satisfactory even if it is said to be made by the gods instead of people. I can''t imagine how much money was spent on this one piece of clothing alone, and Kouki-sama, without noticing our surprise, put on a hat made of the same material before asking us questions. ''How are the knights doing?'' Huh?Oh, yes!She says the painkillers they gave her seem to be working and she can stand and walk. ''I see, but the painkiller I gave you is called morphine, and you can''t use it very regularly. When you return, please show it to your specialist for treatment. Doctor?Treatment?In Kouki-sama''s country, is there a system where even ordinary soldiers are shown to doctors, not just the canonical physicians who report directly to the royal family? In the kingdom, if an ordinary soldier is injured, they are either tended to by their fellow soldiers or by a healer dispatched from the church to take care of them. For this reason, the survival rate for those who are seriously injured is not very high. There are a few doctors in the northern empire, but even so, the survival rate is not high. If the country were to take care of an injured soldier, it would cost an enormous amount of money, but is Kouki-sama''s country big enough to bear even that? ''''If it''s alright with you, shall I call our medical unit? Kouki-sama''s words almost caused me to scream in surprise for an unknown number of times. It''s still too different from the kingdom to have a specialized medical team in existence!We can''t do the people of Noah''s people any more favors here; shouldn''t we return to the fort at once? Besides, the kingdom''s strongest Black Gold Knights stationed at the fort should be able to deal with anything that happens. In fact, I''ll have to contact the royal capital to discuss diplomatic relations. With that in mind, I''m going to bring the conversation to Noah''s people to come to the fort as naturally as possible. ''''When you return to the fort, please do me a favor. And also the suggestion I made earlier will be acceptable once I return to the fort?I have to get in touch with His Majesty and.... Yes, sir. We''d like that, too. Relieved at the commander''s words of approval to come to the fort, I told him to put the injured man on the carriage and I climbed astride the vacant horse. ---- Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint ----. As we are moving towards the fort, we receive a visual communication from my dad. ''Why do we even need to call in the medical team, let alone treat the knights?Why don''t we just let them do their own thing over there? ''I think if we make a good impression here, we''ll be in a better position to negotiate, don''t you think?And I don''t want to leave anyone suffering from it. It may be a familiar sight to my father, who was a soldier, but I can''t leave the people who are bleeding and suffering. And since they were knights who defended their master without regard for their own lives, I think their bravery should be celebrated. I''m sure that''s not the case with my dad, but after all, it''s a feeling that is hard to understand for someone who has served in the military. But more importantly.... I don''t know what to say," he said, "but I''m sorry to say that it''s a little late to say this, but this is the clothes you were given before you left.... I''m sorry, after all this time, but what is this?Why do I have to wear a military uniform? Besides, the way we greet each other is a salute, and if I thought we were all wearing the same clothes, my dad and the others would be in camouflage. Isn''t it cool, dumbass?It''s an official TMN uniform, based on the U.S. Navy''s "dress white" uniform. Incidentally, it''s only allowed to be worn above the rank of commander, right?The rank insignia is properly attached, and you and Alice and the others are treated as ''Special Affairs Major Generals''! "Major General is an a**h*le!What are you thinking about?I mean, Dad, there are only a little over three hundred of us, but a major general is an inflated rank. I can''t do this anymore, I''ve been calling him "Dad" for a while now, but I think "Macho" is still good. But I think "macho" is still good.As I was secretly thinking about this, Macho said something even more stupid. ''What are you talking about?Noah currently has 100,000 men and 80,000 military personnel, you won''t be handing over the actual command of the battle, but you will be commanding a force the size of a brigade in principle. Well........you''ll do well, so maybe I''ll give you an ''independent mixed brigade'' in the future. What are you guys talking about, when did you get that many people? When Mom told me about it, she said, ''That''s about 20,000 people,'' but that''s an excessive increase. And Macho said, ''I''m a military joint administrator and my position in TMN is Commander-in-Chief! What a boast, but don''t let the Commander-in-Chief come to a different world. Just sit back in your chair on Earth and stomp around, although that would make me angry. But recently I found out why Claire-san was coming to lecture me on how to ''salute'', was it to push the Major General. I''d thought it was because I was annoyed at the sloppiness of my jokingly showing my dad a salute. ''I want to ask you something too, how do you know about ''elves'' and ''sandworms''?'' That''s right, the world I reincarnated in didn''t have what is commonly referred to as ''subculture culture'', especially ''otaku culture''. When I first met Shingo, he asked me, ''Don''t you watch anime or something? When I asked, ''Huh?I was shocked when he returned it to me and said, ''I don''t watch those kids'' shows. There were hardly any comics or anything like that, and that''s why I''ve been drawing in my spare time since I was a kid. In such a situation, elves and dragons only come up when some people who like things talk about trivial things like ''mythology'', so the recognition of elves and dragons is quite low. Or maybe there''s no such thing as elves or sandworms in Mythology either. What to do?If I said "I learned it in a previous life" it would send me to the hospital and I couldn''t think of a good excuse. I can''t think of a good excuse. I''m going to have to push my buttons like you did. "Dad, don''t worry about it. It''s okay.Don''t worry about it. Oh, yeah. I remember what happened before I died, smiling at the macho who answered immediately, as if he had caught a glimpse of his mother behind my smile. I still can''t remember what it was about me, but I remember ''it was fun'' as strongly as ever. I don''t know what I enjoyed doing in the past, but I''m sure I was living a happy life. As I was immersed in sentimentality, a macho saw my expression on the still-unbroken communication and called out to me with a kind face. ''If you don''t want to tell me how you know, that''s fine. Just be respectful of that knowledge, okay?That''s probably the only precious thing you have, so don''t be such a chick and put your chest out. Yes. Unusually - the macho who said something really unusual and fatherly to me, I changed my mind by imagining the inside of the fort that I could see and changed my mind, thinking that I would stop ''gorimatcho'' for the time being. Once we stopped at the entrance of the fort, it seemed that the princess was asking what kind of group of knights had seen us. As I recall, she was the fourth princess of the Mel-something kingdom and called herself Adrienne, and I thought that since she was someone of a certain status, she would let us pass easily, but apparently not. ''''That''s why, Princess!We will not be able to enter the fort unless we disarm these men who call themselves Noah. That''s what I''m asking you to do, sir. It''s impossible. We are in a stable state, but you know that we are in a time of war.Especially one who wears that kind of demon-like armor, trust......................Mug. Mr. Adrienne it''s been a long time, so can it be Addie, or what''s up with Addie holding her hand over the knight''s mouth like she''s in a hurry for some reason?I think the demon thing is my suit, but Shingo and I designed the exterior of this suit and I think it''s cool. It''s a very good-looking suit with the thrusters adjusted based on the model of the Satanakia, based on the knowledge of my previous life. But I''m not sure I''m getting anywhere. "Dad, why don''t you take off the suit?You''re bringing small arms and stuff anyway. ''That''s fast. I''ll go through with it, but if you have to enter the fort in the flesh, never leave Court and Jonathan''s side. They''re stronger than I am in indoor combat, so they''ll be safe by my side. And maybe I''ll put on a one-liner and you''ll be the one to shut up. I can''t imagine Mr. Jonathan being a mature, scholarly guy, but I think Mr. Cote, with his face covered in scars, is absolutely strong. I remember him saying with a laugh once, ''I ran into a grizzly when I used to go fishing, and I''m glad I had a knife. He''s the kind of guy who''d challenge a bear with a knife and come back, so if he''s equipped with a gun, he''ll be able to handle an elven knight attacking him. ''Apparently there''s a dispute about the suit, so the person going inside will deactivate the suit. Is that okay with you? Adie apologizes to Macho, who opens the cockpit of his suit and smiles at the knight and tells him so with a smile. ''I''m sorry, thank you,'' ''What are you talking about, you have to be totally disarmed! A knight yells at you from behind Mr. Addie, who bows his head, but are you okay?It''s true that even though we are all an armed group, we are still a ''delegation'' that came to talk to each other in order to have diplomatic relations. Aren''t diplomacy and the like considered important in this world?As I was wondering, Macho said to the knight in a low voice. ''I see your point. So you''re saying that you reject us, the advance party?We will now return to the main unit and report that we have made contact with them, but the knights who were present refused to go along with them, so we turned back. We are not concerned with what kind of ''decision'' the main unit will make against your country at a later date. I see, so this is what you mean by one-acting. I wouldn''t say it''s gunboat diplomacy, but it''s pretty strong, I won''t actually resolve it by force since my mom nailed me, but from the knight''s point of view, ''''I''ll go home then, but it''s okay if we get into a war later, right?'''' It was equivalent to being told. I can see the knight''s face turning pale in a flash. In such a situation, you are in a situation where you might have more enemies because of yourself, I would definitely let it slip. Furthermore, Macho tells you a word of warning. ''Prepare to move out!We will turn back to Noah Island. Then, Your Highness, I''m afraid we''ll have to go. The squad members who said that and pretended to start withdrawing the macho''s intentions also pretended to start withdrawing, so I ignited my thrusters and floated up too. At that time, the knight who had remained pale and silent made a painful decision and opened his mouth. I want the rest of you to wait outside, we also need to protect the princess''s body - please understand. It was nothing, this knight was just as desperate to protect Mr. Addie as the knight who fought the sandworm. I walked into the fort with some guilt. Once inside the fort, I obeyed meekly as I was told to deactivate my suit in some sort of central square. When I deactivate it, Cort and Jonathan with their bullpup-style assault rifles quickly run up to my side and secure me. It''s a little embarrassing to feel like I''m an important person when I''m treated like this, but I can''t help it since I''m being ordered to do so by Macho. ''We will be armed by the four of us, and those in white uniforms will not be armed as they are our escort targets. That''s the maximum concession we can make, what do you think? Thank you for your concern. I want to apologize again for my earlier behavior. As the knight spoke to me with a somewhat softened attitude, I also relaxed my expression and countered with a ''mutual agreement''. Adi-san led me into the fort building, and it was a place that was full of a sense of fantasy. A knight holding a spear like a battle hook can be seen standing at key points in the corridor, but is that thing useful in practice?From what I know, it should have been closer to a ceremonial weapon. As I walked around looking at various places, I was told, ''Please wait here,'' and was shown into a luxurious room. ''''Please wait here as I will be in touch with the royal capital. Your maid will prepare tea for you in a moment, so please make yourself comfortable. ''All right. But I''d like to periodically send out one of my men outside to worry about them if we''re too late, will you allow me to do so? ''Yes, you can tell the knight in the back Cloviens, who will be in the back then. I will escort you outside. After saying that, Adie-san left the room. That knight who was wary of us is called Mr. Cloviens, or maybe it''s Mr. Cloviens, and when I looked at him, he was frozen with his arms crossed like a stone statue. Like Macho, he is muscular, but Mr. Cloviens is somehow better looking. After glancing at him, I had some free time, so I asked Macho a question about something that had been bothering him before he came here. ''Hey, wasn''t there a village when we got here?Why are there so many of them scattered around, wouldn''t it be more efficient in terms of transportation and business to put them together a bit more? Macho answered my question with a grin. You''ve noticed. That''s not a village, it''s a well-disguised but well-disguised position disguised as a village. Probably, but they are just like disposable bogeymen used for delaying operations, and there were a lot of guards in spite of the fact that it was a village. I think it has something to do with the ''wartime system'' you mentioned earlier. "Gosh. As I listen to Macho''s explanation, I hear Mr. Cloviens cough from behind me. I guess he doesn''t feel good when he speaks openly about the information he wants to keep secret about his country. The atmosphere has become so delicate that I kept my mouth shut for a while, and with a knock on the door, a maid with a wagon full of tea has entered the room. As I watched with admiration as a real maid was making tea, ''six tea cups'' on a trench were brought in. Why six guests?I was looking at it, unsure of the reason, when Mr. Croviens came to the table. ''Which one?'' Then I''ll need this. At Mr. Cloviens'' words, Macho hands him a randomly selected cup from the top of the trench. Oh, right, poisoned!I see that by drinking from the cup we chose at random, you are appealing to the people that there is no poison in it. The last thing Cloviens said was ''please relax'' and went back to his original place. What''s great, is this kind of thing common in official manners? As I''m looking at my dad with respect, he suddenly gives orders to Cort and Jonathan, who were standing right behind me. ''Court!Jonathan!Keep your finger off the trigger. 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What was the name of that fifth member of the squad who was further behind Cote and Jonathan, who was completely in the air? 38-Political work team, get ready for negotiations! ----Adrienne''s point of view... After Noah''s people left, I called Cloviens, the leader of the ''Black Gold Knights'', to his room in the fort. Cloviens entered the room with a stern look on his face, and I told him to sit down in a chair before asking him a question. ''''What do you think about the people of Noah?'''' I wouldn''t want to see you again if I could. That word makes me wonder. Normally, he would have given a brave answer, but today he seems so passive. It''s not like you. What is wrong with you? For three reasons. He said, then stood up and checked to make sure no one was listening outside the door before he spoke. ''One, they are probably all highly educated. I don''t feel that they are a small, barbaric country in terms of their appearance, their manners, and the way they are received. They are definitely people of a big country. At first I thought that ''a royal boy who has never been outside is accompanying a delegation on a sightseeing tour...'' but... Isn''t it? There is certainly no mistake in judging them to be royalty from their clothing, but there shouldn''t have been any particular element of threat. It doesn''t seem like they are trained, nor do I get the impression that their magic power is extremely high. It''s more like a ''coward'' who lets the guards who protect him come into contact with us as if they were pawns, while he himself is on a safe hilltop. ''That boy''s gaze was on the guards. This wasn''t a mistake on my part, and from the fact that he saw through our ''scaled defensive formation'', I can assume that he has an extremely high level of military education. ''They found out about the camp?Oh no... why. I don''t know, sir. But he does know how many guards are guarding the village. I heard it directly from the commanding officer who accompanied the royal family. How could they have spotted it, when the course back to the fort was through the perimeter instead of through the village, just in case they had to return to the fort?In a cold sweat, Cloviens explains further why. ''Secondly, though, is their medical technology. During the battle with Sandworm, three knights of the Platinum Knights had their legs amputated. The bleeding was stopped when they were brought in, so the priests sent to the fort were put straight to bed. But when the medical team of Noah arrived, they took one look at the knights and asked ''Where is the torn leg? He said something like a joke. The medical unit that was given the leg they were recovering was said to have set up a transparent tent-like object on the spot and after putting the knight to sleep with chemicals they used a small knife to cut open the knight''s leg. I am indignant as I feel my blood boil at the thought of the scene. To further humiliate a knight who has been wounded for fighting bravely is no better than a barbaric country!I yelled at him and Cloviens controlled it with his hand before continuing. ''Here''s the thing. After cutting the leg open, they took their time sewing the shredded leg onto the knight. A knight who was present asked, ''What happens if you do that?'' but the medical unit ignored him and continued to work. When they finished, the stitched leg was filled with blood and the fingertips moved slightly. They also told him that when they were withdrawing, they told him to tell the knight when he woke up that ''it won''t be the same as it was before, but if he trained, he could stand and walk on his own feet again.'' It should be difficult even for the legendary great magic to regenerate a torn leg. Don''t tell me they can also ''reanimate the dead''?I asked Cloviens half in jest. ''My people asked the question as a joke, as did the princess. They smiled and replied vaguely, ''If the heart stops for five minutes or so, maybe an AED could help,'' but I''m guessing that they slurred their words because ''it''s possible, but it falls under military secrecy.'' I''m getting dizzy... Cloviens says something like, ''Me too,'' but if it''s true, we''ll have to negotiate with a ridiculous country. It can be predicted that they will definitely impose unequal conditions on us, but will some of the idiot nobles in the kingdom be convinced at that time? If they couldn''t........it would be a war at worst, but would the kingdom really win? ''''Can we win against Noah?'''' Cloviens bites his lip in response to my question before answering. ''That''s the third reason. The medical unit has suddenly appeared in front of the fort, from this we can assume that Noah can deploy his forces at will. And the biggest problem is that unlike the Demon King''s transposition force, Noah''s transposition cannot be detected by us. And we don''t even know how far away it is. At worst, it might be possible for him to transfer to the center of the royal capital. If it becomes a war, the kingdom''s victory is doomed. It''s no longer funny. Even if you allow just one soldier to invade the royal capital, Noah''s soldiers can expect enormous damage since they can defeat the A-class demons. The next delegation will be here in 30 days - we must consult with His Majesty and his sisters and take effective measures to deal with them. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint After arriving at Noah Island, we went straight through the gate and transitioned to the Earth side. After feeling something like jelly, my vision dawns and I see the space in front of me where we all gathered a few hours ago. I deactivate my suit and then run to the lab where my mother is. ''Mom!Mom!Open a little. I knocked on the door of the lab, and a sleepy-faced mother came out of her room. ''Ko-chan, what''s wrong?'' You see, we''ve got a meeting with the kingdom side on the other side of the world. And it''s in thirty days, so thirty hours later. I''m in too much of a hurry to give a proper explanation, but as I''m desperately trying to tell her what it is, my mom opens her mouth, putting her finger to her chin. ''Hmmm, hmmm. I see, you''ve successfully made contact with the other world country and a date for the meeting has been set. So, we''re supposed to have the meeting in 30 days, but our time in this world is 30 hours later, so you''re in a hurry to get back, right? That''s a genius!You know better from my explanation of my inability to grasp the point. I was impressed and said, ''Oh yeah! Mom tilts her head and asks me a question. ''But why are you in such a hurry to get home?There''s no point in rushing around in another world. Shaving an hour off over there will only give you a few minutes over here. And because my dad said to hurry up! If you ask me, yes, it didn''t mean much when I came back with all my might. I''m just embarrassed to admit it honestly, so I''ll put the blame on Macho. ''Oh, your father said that. I didn''t understand it either!It''s more about the talks. Although we, the advance team, have succeeded in contacting the kingdom, we haven''t decided who will participate in the talks. You can continue to leave it to Macho and the others, but I have a feeling that leaving it to the martial arts special forces will not be a good idea as far as I''m concerned. When I pointed this out to Mom, she smiled like she would when she was punishing Dad. ''Of course, your mothers will do the negotiating. Your mom, Claire and Ellis, to be exact. I have a bad feeling about this. According to Cort, who has recently become a good friend of mine, all the ''three witches'' who shouldn''t be offended at the Hakone base are going to be there. I don''t know about Claire and Ellis, but it''s true that if you piss off your mother, you''re in trouble. I''ve never pissed them off, but I remember Macho taking a spanking from Mom before and rolling around like a rag in the corner of the room. I was three or four years old at the time, and I made up my mind at the time that I wouldn''t let my mother get angry. "Do you want to join us, Kou-chan? ''No!I''ll be waiting for you on Noah''s Island, and I want to see the birds. I don''t want to see my mom in a serious debate - I''m probably going to throw up after the trauma of that time. I think I''ll be taken to another world anyway, so I''ll just go to Noah''s Island and watch some rare animals. While I was thinking about this, my mom asked me a question. ''How did you feel about the language and stuff?I don''t know if I got through to you. I used some kind of translation spell. I wasn''t doing anything stupid. "Magic... but without knowing the actual language, we can''t verify that the translation magic is really correct. I could learn it myself, but it would take time... When I told her about the translation magic, my mom shut up while mumbling to herself. It seems that she wants to verify whether what the otherworldly person is actually saying and what is translated by translation magic is the same. Moreover, he''s talking about learning it by himself or something plainly awesome, but he''s probably in a tight time frame, and he''s thinking about whether there''s no other way to do it. There''s no one else who can do that but you...yes. There is a first-rate blonde sister, Roberta-sensei, who is a first-rate linguist. Aikawa-san once said, ''There''s no one who can match Miss Roberta''s speed in learning a language,'' so I tried teaching her Russian, and she''s a monster who mastered it in 20 minutes. And yet, he was a mysterious teacher who taught a subject called ''Music'', which is a basic education subject. I tell my mom about it. ''Is that teacher a good one?'' Yeah. Fake class. He seemed to agree with my words and said, ''I''ll ask for your help. Unusually, my opinion was helpful, so as I was feeling better, Claire''s voice broadcasted over the entire base. ''''I''ll let you know. Miss Arakawa, please come to the front of the fifth level gate as soon as possible. The gate is about to malfunction due to the brainiacs coming back from another world. There''s no doubt about it, the machos have started to return from Noah''s Island all at once. And since they didn''t consider the time lag with Koch, the speed at which they appeared and the speed at which they left in front of the gate didn''t seem to mesh, causing a huge congestion. Mom, with an expression on her face that looks like veins are going to float in her temples, says to me, ''Just stay in your room for a while and take it easy,'' as she tries to leave, and I hurriedly ask her to do something for me. ''Wait!I got into a battle with a sand worm in another world. The worm was big and a bit scary, so I want to bring something to protect myself other than my suit. ''''After all that caution, your father did battle in a situation where Gongju was present. I''ll squeeze you in later but what do you want to take with you? I know the fort was surrounded by grasslands, maybe most of the kingdom is in a similar environment. Then it''s a thing!I''m going to use the Han Chinese romantic weapon that I asked my mother to put to practical use before, it''s big, thickly armored, strong and safe. "I want that thing. I want to take that tank that she made for me! Are you serious?Well, if you need me to do it, then I''ll do it. Okay, I''ll make the necessary arrangements, but I only finished the second boat. After nodding at her words, Mom headed for the gate with a somewhat dumbfounded expression on her face. I''m going to force my mom to get on that thing since it''s safe to ride it anyway. I started walking towards the residential area to have a meal while imagining what I had never seen in person. ---Miki Arakawa Viewpoint---- Before going to the gate, I borrow a ''bulldozer'' from the construction department and take the elevator down to the fifth level. As the doors open, I see dozens of powersuits massed in a group in front of the gate ahead of me, so I put all my strength into my right foot and blow the gas pedal as hard as I can. As it is, I lower the bulldozer basket to the ground and plunge into the group of powersuits and pull them to the wall in one go. I don''t know what the impact did to the inside of the suit, but it''s not going to kill me, so I should be fine, and right now the gate is more important than those brainiacs. I think it''s the right thing to do. I think the cleanup will come last, so let''s leave the cleanup to Ellis, she''s the one who has to take the reins of the brain muscles. As I get off the bulldozer, Claire approaches me with a smile. I chuckle at her words, then tighten my expression and give her instructions. ''Claire-san, we are moving our plan to Phase 2. Tell all Noah-owned bases to ''enter the other world with the disposable gate''. We have a large amount of food and simple barracks prepared, especially at the Russian base, tell them to make sure they are sent to the other world. What is the size and nature of the men, forces and supplies to be transferred? Was I wrong to say that?Claire-san asks me a question with a bit of a grumpy look on her face. "All of them - all but the Hakone base will be closed within 78 hours. After the raid, each base should try to destroy any evidence and then arrange for gate operators to be sent to Hakone Base. If the intelligence agencies of each country have been alerted to the situation and it is impossible to escape, we will attempt to rescue them. Large weapons, such as the Tolstoy and Space Destroyer, will be transferred to the other side as soon as they are ready. We expect to be able to transfer within twelve hours on our own time, so please inform your respective crews as well. I''m not sure I understand the situation on the other side, sir? That''s not to worry. The fact that the reconnaissance team made contact with a nation of another world means that they were able to do so because the island to which they were transferred is safe. The size of the island must also be large enough, since Koki says he''s going to take the thing with him. The only thing left to do is to take advantage of the time difference with Earth and build a base over there while supplies are being sent. We''ve also prepared simple living quarters in case it takes a while, so there''s no problem. As I explained, Claire agreed and began sending instructions to each base. In the middle of that, she asks me a question while operating the terminal. ''''What is that ''thing'' that you insist on taking with you, Conju-kun?'''' It would be better to show her, after all, that thing''s second ship has her name on it. I decided to do so and told Claire to follow me, and then I took the elevator to the special tech area. Claire-san is restless and squirming as she rides the elevator, which is normally only open to technical personnel with special permission. She must be nervous because this is the first area she''s visiting, and I try to speak to her in as gentle a voice as possible. ''Will she be nervous?'' Yes, I''ve never visited this area because it''s guarded by the squad that reports directly to the commander. Even within the unit, there''s a confidentiality agreement, so I''m even more nervous because there''s no chance of getting any information. Apparently, Shuichi-san hadn''t even explained this area to her, his second-in-command. Since the area is set up quite far away from the risk of accidents, it will still take some time to arrive, I decided to explain to her the thing that is being built down the road. I gave him the ''Creation Program'' that allows him to design a weapon at will. Then a while later, ''Done!'' I was astonished when I saw the creation file you brought to me. What did you design? It''s a ''super tank'' weighing about 35,000 tons, 290 meters long, 50 meters wide, and 30 meters high. ''Huh!There''s no way you can run a tank like that. It will sink to the ground. That''s what I thought at first too. I laughed at how unfeasible it was, no matter how much Gong-Ju, but that girl started talking about the plan with a serious expression on her face. In the New Metal Development Department of the Next Generation Science Laboratory, one of my workplaces, where Kunju had visited before, they were developing new lightweight metals. The department was so small with only 13 researchers that even I, who worked there, had forgotten the existence of the department, and had produced only modest results, which would take 10 years to develop new metals. However, Gong-Ju proposed to me that I should strongly support the department. Although I thought it was useless, I was glad that he had told me his will, and I paid the research expenses from my personal assets to the department that had no possibility to increase the regular expenses. A week later - and they succeeded in developing a new metal without a hitch - after getting more than 20 times their annual expenses, they were motivated to get their hands on it. Apparently, they were just not able to experiment because they were ridiculed and didn''t get enough money, and they were already one step closer to completion. With only a little time and explanation, Gongju saw through it and pushed the development department to get the lightweight metal he wanted. Incidentally........they also transferred to Noah, but they joined Noah for ''Conju''s sake'', which is unusual for a technical staff member. They said that they wanted to thank him, but it''s all probably because of Conju''s humanity. When I told her this much, Claire-san asked with a shocked expression. ''''Then you have completed it?'''' Yes, we built it in a much stronger form than it was originally intended, thanks to the new metal. The elevator arrived in the area and the doors opened. I found Claire-san gasping next to me when she saw the huge object sitting on the large dock. ''''The one in front of me is the super-sized multi-turret tank that Conju invented. It''s the first ship of the ''Alice type land battleship'', Alice. Weighing approximately 7500 tons, 311 meters in length, 55 meters in width and 28 meters in height, it is capable of being half-submerged by snorkeling, equipped with two 26-centimeter triple-barreled guns and 40 "VLS" missile vertical launch systems at the rear. Other four 20mm machine guns for anti-personnel and anti-aircraft use are arranged like hedgehogs, and the ship can carry 30 power suits in addition to its normal crew. I stopped thinking about it any further when I tried to estimate its performance and the results on the terminal showed that it could easily destroy a single division of the land-based self-defense force. ''''Claire-san, I''m sorry to be surprised but the name of the second ship is ''Claire'', right?Gongju apparently named it after a woman he knows. As I recall, he said something like ''it''s good luck to name a ship after a woman''. ''Wow, is that for me?Why again? You''ll have to ask him about that. In the first place, you can agree to name the first ship after Alice, but isn''t the second ship usually named after me! At this rate, the third ship will be Ellis or Roberta or something like that....... I forgot, why don''t you enlist the help of a teacher named Roberta at the academy from Gongju?He had been advised to do so. Remembering that, I asked Claire-san about it, and she asked back with a subtle expression. ''Roberta from the academy?Are you talking about Roberta Scarlett? Maybe so, but do you know? When I ask him, he gives me a look that says, ''I know,'' and bites down on a bitter bug. What''s going on?Even if something has happened between the two of you in the past, I need you to ask for help now. When I tell her that, Claire-san nods and then asks me a question. ''''I''m sure you''ll be able to cooperate. But.........it will cost you a little bit of money, is that alright with you? No problem. I''ll consider it a necessary expense. Claire-san hears my reply and then starts communicating on her own device. Does she say that it costs money, or does she ask for money in exchange? That''s all well and good, but the question is whether you''re going to do the job for the price you''re paying. As I was looking at him, the communication seemed to be connected and he began to speak. ''Robby?It''s Claire. Have you been asleep?It''s noon now, get up. Roberta seemed to be asleep. Even though it''s summer vacation, it''s a little unsettling that a teacher is sleeping at this time of the week. ''I need your help with my work. ''Wait!Don''t cut it out, how about that cake from the French bakery you mentioned before?I''ll give it to you down the hall. And I''ll get the wine. Huh?All right, I''ll put some meat on it. I''ll send someone out to pick you up now and you can get ready. Apparently, he''s the one who asks for food, not money. Wouldn''t that be a pretty thing to do?I tell Claire with a smile as I finish my communication, and she replies with a disgusted look on her face. ''Robby will eat, it''s already eaten; five servings in one meal is the norm, you know?And yet, it''s the enemy of women to ''not get fat''! When Roberta-san arrives at Hakone Base, I''ll do a thorough and thorough inspection as much as time permits. After making up my mind to do so, I returned to my room with Claire-san to finish the remaining miscellaneous work. ----Adrienne Viewpoint---- Ever since Noah''s people returned, a royal meeting had been held every day in the kingdom in the presence of His Majesty. The first problem was whether to refuse or seek a compromise when confronted with ''disadvantageous conditions''. Even if I explained Noah''s armed forces, the leading nobles said, ''''There''s no way we can easily defeat the Class A designation! They refused to listen to him, saying, "I''ve never heard of this country. Furthermore, some radical aristocrats even went so far as to say, "We''ve never heard of this country, so of course it''s a small country. It''s not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you''ll be able to get your hands on some of them. In the midst of all this, a single word from Lady Cassis decided the policy of the kingdom. It''s true that defeating an A-class demon is unthinkable. But I also can''t imagine my sister speaking in ramblings. What do you think?I''m sure you''ll agree with me that it''s a good idea to take your opinions into account and gather all the troops that the kingdom can currently move at once into a fort with ''ceremonial equipment''. That way, we can excuse Noah as the ''best treat,'' and if we show a good number of them, they will be intimidated if we are really a small country. Obviously, this is a stopgap response, but it is also true that there is no other way. After that, in order to prepare for the attack of the Demon King''s army, it was decided to gather ''8,000 people'' extracted from various places to the fort, leaving a minimum amount of troops. And now, looking down at the plaza from the top floor of the fort, I see that the last of the knights gathered from all over have just entered the fort. Led by the strongest Black Gold Knights, the Platinum Knights, the Knights of St. Rose, the Knights of the Holy Rose, the Knights of the Great Eagle, and other knights representing the kingdom are lining up and waiting for Noah''s arrival, but my anxiety doesn''t disappear. As I was thinking about this with a sinking feeling, I saw the armor I saw before named Suit appear in front of the fort, so I hurriedly headed to the square. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the future. You will be able to see that you are not the only one. I would like to tell you how many delegations we have here, if that is alright with you? You!That was rude!Get on your knees. I stop myself from glaring at the knight of the Order of the Great Eagle, who suddenly has a high-handed attitude. ''Yes, twenty-three thousand men are on their way here as an advance party. A further 32,000 will arrive as the main force with a half-day delay, our personnel will be 55,000, thank you. I managed to stomp out of my mind and almost fell over. Obviously not with the peace diplomacy numbers!I can see that the knight who was breathing next to me is also turning blue. Normally, even if you say the country''s war potential, the number that can be put in at one time is about half to 80% of the total, since there is security maintenance and border security, etc. Calculating on Noah''s side, the maximum number is nearly 100,000. It''s impossible ... there''s no way the kingdom can win. I could only smile affectionately at the messenger, feeling the premonition that the kingdom would disappear in the near future. 39-Political work team, negotiate! ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Suit is coming back from bearing 0-0-1, going to the fort. All right, land in hatch number two. Sailors, get ready to land. In the dim blue lights of the land battleship Alice''s Combat Command Center (CIC), the captain of the ship is giving instructions to the operator''s words. As I recall, that captain was the captain of the Tolstoy, right? Why is he commanding a land battleship?As I was vaguely thinking about this, the captain stood up from his seat and walked over to ''me'' and spoke to me with a salute. ''Sir, the scouts have returned. Alice will be departing in an hour as scheduled, if that''s alright? It''s all yours. As I look at the captain, who salutes my words and walks back, Claire now speaks to me. ''Sir, there is still time. Would you like a drink? Well, I''ll take it. I rest my head on the back of my chair as I watch Claire''s back as she leaves with a smile and a ''I''ll get ready''. Below me, about 30 CIC personnel are busily moving about, but no one complains to me for not doing any work. As I was feeling terribly uncomfortable, Claire came back with a cup of coffee. ''It''s hot, please be careful,'' The coffee that was handed to me, the mellow aroma of coffee was relaxing. Checking the time on the terminal on my arm, I found out that it has already been four hours since we left Noah Island, so it''s time to get into this situation. ''''Claire-san, do you have a moment?'''' Yes, what can I do for you? "Why do I have to sit in the admiral''s seat, sir? Claire-san replies while tilting her head as if she had been asked something strange. ''''Gongju-kun.......no, my apologies. His Excellency Major General Special Affairs is ''General''. ''No, that''s fine here. And I''m sorry to ask you a strange question, but you need to get back to work. At my words, Claire-san began to operate her communication device to contact ''second ship Claire''. But that''s not what I meant. That''s not what I meant!What I''m trying to say is, why am I sitting in the admiral''s seat on the first ship and serving as commander-in-chief of 25,000 advance troops?That''s what I''m complaining about!And isn''t it strange that no one is questioning that? I''m about to say, ''All the troops, all the way to the fort! And if I tell you, you''ll obey!Let''s stop ... if we start thinking about it any more, we''ll never stop. Let''s watch the documentary I''ve been recording on Earth about the ecology of the sea turtles until I get a call from the second ship that my mom and the others are aboard. It''s not an escape from reality..., I said to myself, and then began to play the footage on my device. ''Sir, sir?'' While I was watching the scene of the sea turtles returning to the sea, Claire-san came to talk to me. Apparently quite some time had passed, I turned to Claire-san while drinking a cup of cold coffee and she gave me a report on the current situation. ''Currently, the second ship has passed the scheduled point. This means that the first ship has received a message to ''commence the scheduled operation''. As of the present time, the first ship, Alice, has departed. I would like to proceed to the Merkava Kingdom Fort, if that is alright? Yes, sir. With my approval, Claire-san recites to the captain as is. I don''t understand these instructions very well, because I basically only have three choices: ''Yes, no, and leave it to me''. I''ll take care of Claire-san....Oh, right!Mr. Claire, who plays second in command, is on this ship to fill in for me as a decorator, and I finally understand why I''m sitting in the admiral''s seat. Then if I give you wrong instructions, don''t expect Claire-san to correct or disagree with me, next time you ask me something, I''ll feel comfortable speaking up. As I was thinking about this, I saw the captain of the ship getting ready to launch. ''Preparing to launch!Engines disengaged. Engines up. Reactor is at 35 percent power and holding steady. Deployed bodyguard suits we''re locked in, fixed anchors we''ve retrieved and can launch. All right, Alice, you can go. Whoa!It''s cool, it''s like walking into an anime I saw in a previous life. I was leaning forward in excitement when the captain spoke to me, showing me his stopwatch. "Sir, we have 98 seconds from full engine shutdown to launch. What do you think? I think it''s wonderful. You''re all very well trained. I''m not sure about the speed, but since the captain of the ship says it with a smile, it must be a speed that should be praised. When I looked at Claire-san with a goofy compliment anyway, I saw her nodding with a smile, good, good.......................it seems to be a correct answer. And it looks like Claire-san''s idea earlier of ''filling in for me'' isn''t wrong either. I asked for another cup of coffee while being satisfied that my instincts were clear. ''Report!The Royal Guard is deployed in front of the fort. They number about 8,000, expand. As I sat there drinking coffee for about an hour, a CIC officer reported to me. I was almost surprised by the content, but I regained my composure when I saw the enlarged image.It''s true that there are a lot of them, but the knights who are deployed are all wearing shiny, polished armor and fluttering the flag of the knights and the kingdom. Probably the honor guard who were waiting for our arrival, I''m ashamed of myself for thinking that they were going to start a war, even for a moment. ''''My lord, what shall we do?'''' Ms. Claire is going to ask me questions, but I know what I''m doing!The old me would be like, ''What do I do now? I''m about to cringe, but this time I''ve done some prep work. Since Mom told me to ''relax in my room'', I''ve been doing proper research on how to return the other honor guard in the event of a diplomatic ritual. Since Macho was using Earth''s manners inside the fort to treat Cloviens-san as an equal, I think the manners of other Earths will be adapted as well. Once all guns are emptied, it should be necessary to show that there is ''no intention to engage'', I will convey my thoughts to Claire-san. ''Claire-san, fire four straight main guns into the air. You can use blanks as your ammunition type, you have blanks ready, right? Alice has two 26cm 3-guns on board, so it''s 24 rounds in a straight four-round series, so that''s three more rounds, but that''s fine for more. ''Ha, yes. ''Blanks are fine, Captain!The main gun''s four main fires straight into the sky. Bullet type is blank. Hmm, Claire-san didn''t particularly object to it either, so it seems her decision was correct. I''m in a good mood because I was able to show off my cleverness to the beautiful woman, and I decided to watch the CIC people work with a smiling face. ----Alice type land battleship captain Dylan''s point of view---- Fifteen days after the ex-Torstoy''s crew gathered on Noah Island, I was notified by the personnel department that I would be inaugurated as the captain of the "Alice," the first land battleship of the "Alice type land battleship," which I am now aboard. At first, I only thought of it as a huge tank with a big name, such as a land battleship, but when I heard that it was Kouki''s idea, I secretly had high hopes for it.When I first saw the Alice, whose huge body had been transferred not to Noah''s Island, but to the newly created frontline base on the continent... I was astonished. Almost as large as the flagship of the Strategic Carrier Strike Group, the Alice was exactly what one would call a land-based battleship. I went to appeal directly to Noah''s president, Ms. Arakawa, but she laughed and denied it, claiming that I was too big of an appointment to be the captain of the Alice, a mere submarine pilot. ''The first ship will be manned by Kouki. You will need to be very careful in your handling of the ship, but I believe that only Captain Dylan and all of the captain''s men who commanded the most advanced attack nuclear submarine can do that. I''ve discussed this with my husband and we''ve decided it''s the best possible appointment, and I ask for your patience. She bowed to me and I choked on my words. With the development of missile defense technology and the total abandonment of nuclear weapons on Earth, offensive nuclear submarines have become irrelevant, and for this reason, many countries are only aware that it is better to have them than not. As a result, many countries are only aware that it is better to have them than not to have them. No matter how sensitive our skills are in the depths of the sea, where we have no visibility, we will never be appreciated, and the general opinion is that submarines are considered to be weapons of the weak. She bowed to me and asked me to become the captain, and even gave me the honor of having Kunugi aboard the submarine. I was grateful for her attitude. I will serve as captain with all my heart and soul, sir. He didn''t have any other way to answer other than to reply, "I''m going to leave it to you. And today, for the first time, we set out on a mission with Kunugi-kun aboard, but no matter what I asked, Kunugi-kun - His Excellency only responded by saying, "I''ll leave it to you. Normally, my subordinates and I would oppose such an attitude, saying ''I don''t have the will to do it'', but since I have worked together with His Excellency in rescue operations, I don''t feel that kind of emotion. I trust that he will give his own orders when necessary, just as he did before. ''Captain!The first ship, Alice, departed at the present time. Proceed to the fortress of the kingdom of Merkava. As I was thinking about that while doing my normal work, His Excellency''s second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Clare, gave me instructions. Following those instructions, I get ready for Alice''s launch. As I was measuring the time to launch with my stopwatch, it was a good 98 seconds to completion. I was over 120 seconds the first time around, so this number is a satisfactory speed. As it is, I take the stopwatch to His Excellency without resetting it and report that it was ''98 seconds''. ''I think it''s excellent. You are all very well trained. His Excellency laughed and was pleased with the numbers we gave him, and uttered a compliment. Even the CIC personnel loosened their mouths happily at those words, it was worth the rigorous training to not be embarrassed!I looked at His Excellency asking for more coffee and then decided to return to my command. After moving on for about an hour without incident, the fort came into view ahead. The scouting officer zooms in on the camera and reports back to me with a change in color as he looks at the fort. ''Report!The Royal Guard is deployed in front of the fort. They number about 8,000, expand. As I hurriedly checked the enlarged image, I saw that the knights on the kingdom''s side were deployed in a formation. I had studied ancient history out of curiosity when I was young, but I''m sure that formation was a Roman-style formation, ''Legio''? It seems that the kingdom side has already begun to prepare for battle. It would be better to retreat and report to the following troops once, I decided that and was about to give my opinion to His Excellency when my subordinate stopped me. I was about to give my opinion to His Excellency when my subordinate stopped me. Mmm, I''m in trouble. If we retreat here, we will have succumbed to the pressure of the kingdom''s side, but if we go out honestly, we may be attacked. Shall we leave it to your Excellency''s discretion?With that in mind, I tried to watch His Excellency sitting in the Admiral''s seat, and was given instructions surprisingly quickly to the Commander. ''Mr. Clare, fire the main gun straight into the air, four rounds of blanks. Blank ammunition is fine, you have the blanks ready, don''t you? "Aye, aye. Blanks are right, sir!The main gun''s four main fires straight into the sky. Bullet type is blank. That''s ridiculous!Are you suggesting we fire a warning shot?To fire a warning shot in front of the Knights who have already completed their deployment, if it''s not good enough, there''s a possibility of an immediate open battle with the kingdom''s side. Are they aware of such a situation?I froze, trying to get confirmation again if I was really allowed to shoot. It is not a good idea to stop, because it is not an order to put "grenades" directly at the knights, although the lieutenant colonel is also puzzled by the order to fire warning shots, but he does not seem to have any intention of stopping, because it is not an order to put "grenades" directly at the knights. I raise my voice and order the firing commander. ''''Four main cannons in a straight line, ready to fire!Bullets, blanks. "Hull anchor ejection ... secure!Confirmed that the accompanying vehicle is out of the danger zone. Target set at 40 degrees above port side. Ready to fire. Shoot! Boom!Boom! When you start firing, a tremendous impact shakes the ship''s body, even though it is an empty shell. The relatively light weight of the Aris type is relatively light in spite of its size, and the recoil will lift it up unless the anchors that hold it in place are shot into the ground and the bombardment begins. Therefore, firing between marches is not possible, but the 40 VLSs mounted on the rear of the ship make up for this shortcoming. There are other ''secret weapons'' on board in case both the main gun and the VLS become unusable, but they won''t be in play this time. Positive fire complete, the front of the fort will be on the main screen again. The image shown on the screen showed the Knights of the kingdom side that had been deployed were retreating in a total collapse. When I was satisfied with the sight, I saw that only the black armor-clad knights were perched at the front of the fort, and I admired their courage and placed the danger level of the black knights in my mind at the same time. ''''My lord, what shall we do next?'''' When I ask him this, his lordship gives me the same smile as before and commands me. ''Send the accompanying power suit over there and ask permission to enter the fort. How would you like to explain the firing of the main gun? We need an excuse on the part of the kingdom for the warning shots, but are they going to push it through as gunboat diplomacy?Well, it''s the other side that put pressure on me first, so I feel like that''s fine....... As I waited for His Excellency''s response, he opened his mouth with a nimble smile. ''''In my name, he said, ''Your honor guard was very brilliant. Please tell them that I have sent you a celebratory gun in return.'' While issuing instructions to my subordinates - - I imagined what kind of life the young and talented Major General of Special Affairs would lead in the future. ----Adrienne''s Point of View`` After the messenger left, without hearing me and Cloviens stopping them, the stupid nobles said they were going to set up camp in front of the fort. Desperately, ''''Please don''t provoke them! I tell them that, but other than the Platinum and Black Gold Knights, they have never seen Noah, so they just call us ''cowards''. His Majesty reluctantly allowed us to deploy in front of the fort, as it was likely to cause a fight between the knights before Noah''s visit. Before I left the fort, Cloviens walked up to me and whispered in my ear. ''We will hold Noah back if we have to, and in the meantime, the princesses and His Majesty will have to leave the fort. We can''t win without a doubt, but please consider it your last will and testament and flee to King''s Landing. A short while after seeing off Cloviens, who went off with such a grief-stricken resolve, Monomi, who had been monitoring the front with a distant magic tool, raised her voice. ''''From the front of the fort.......ya, the mountains are approaching! Mountains?What does that mean?As I was thinking about it, I saw a large nanika coming toward the fort. And around it, a small iron box-like object is moving around it as if it were not being towed by a horse or a ground dragon but accompanied by a small iron box. ''''What the hell is that thing?'''' As I mentioned it, the general, Auguste, explained in a trembling voice. ''''In the Northern Empire, there is a weapon named ''Cannon'' that flies round iron bullets far away. I''ve seen the real thing once myself, and that mountain and the one attached to the iron box looks a lot like a cannon. But the size is incomparable..... What will happen to the Order if that thing is used? You''d be pulverized by a single blow. After all, he should have stopped the Knights'' sortie even if he had to take a stand. If Noah perceived the deployed Knights as enemies instead of honor guard, the kingdom would be destroyed!I was just about to turn my body around to get the Knights back inside the fort, when Auguste held me back. ''''Princess!I''m sorry, but please be patient. There''s movement in the mountains. The moment Auguste said that, doh!Boom!and a sound that seemed to be many times louder than a thunderstorm rang out. When I looked at the mountain from within Auguste''s arms as the sound rang out to the point that my body was shaking, I saw that the entire mountain was engulfed in flames with each sound. The figure looked to my eyes like a mountain god roaring in anger at the sight of the Knights. ''''We made the wrong decision........ We should have gone completely underhanded.'''' Sister Cassis let the words slip out in frustration. It''s not that she didn''t trust me, but I didn''t think that Noah was preparing such an overwhelming force. I think Noah has no intention of doing diplomacy from the start, probably today or tomorrow he will launch an all-out invasion against the kingdom. It''s not yet a direct attack, but I can''t help but sigh as I look at the knights who have fallen into a total collapse and are retreating to the fort. You will be able to get a good deal more information about the company. ''''Nanika is coming at us from around the mountain and the box! I huffed at the words of the thing and looked at Noah and saw about 10 soldiers in suits heading towards the Black Gold Knights. Is this where we''re going to see the knights slaughtered from?As I pictured the scene, unlike my imagination, Noah''s side stopped at the front of the Knights and made the ''surrender signal'' that was shown last time, then slowly made contact with the Knights. ''''I wonder if he''s giving them a document to start the war?'''' Sister Cassis is watching over the knights with a strange look on her face, but a little while later one of the knights started running towards the fort. Considering the danger at the moment, I decided to ask His Majesty to stay inside the fort, so it was just me and Sister Cassis heading to the square. At the same time as we come to the square, the messenger soldiers also arrive and report to us. ''''I''m reporting, Noah''s side is requesting permission to enter the fort. Permission?Not Noah''s entry into the castle? Sister Cassis asks the messenger soldier back with a heartfelt question. I agree with you, is this different from a surrender order or an order to leave? Yes, ''permission''. Also, that attack you just mentioned, it wasn''t an attack, it was a ritual ''celebration gun'' in return for our honor guard. To summarize Noah''s side of the argument simply, ''I''ll let you off the hook for what you just did, so just get in the fort. The next time we''ll attack you directly. It is better to give your permission immediately because the possibility to negotiate is seen at the moment, the better to give your permission to the Cassis sister, she seems to have come to the same conclusion and sent instructions to the messenger soldiers. ''''Permission granted, please tell them, ''I''ll be waiting for you to prepare tea. What is the maximum number of men allowed in the fort? Are these messenger soldiers stupid?Do you really think we can give orders in this situation? Just before I was about to raise my voice, Sister Cassis calmly replied. ''''Tell them that they can bring as many as they want while armed. The messenger soldier returned to the front line to deliver our instructions with a look of disapproval. This is good, if we don''t buy at least some time, the kingdom will disappear without a way to make it happen. I returned with Sister Cassis to call His Majesty to greet Noah''s people in the square. About half an hour later, Noah appeared at the front of the fort and told me there were a total of 200 people, and Kouki-sama came down from inside the armor that resembles the example demon camped in the center of the fort to greet me. ''It''s been a long time, Adrienne-san. Some of you are meeting for the first time, so let me introduce myself again. My name is Kouki Arakawa, nice to meet you. "Holy Merkava, this is King Carlos. My name is Cassis, also the first princess. I''m surprised that even His Majesty used honorific language, let alone Sister Cassis. After all, His Majesty himself must be aware that his existence is in danger, and he is treating her with the utmost respect. I was about to usher him in when we were done greeting each other, ''Tea is ready,'' but Kouki-sama stopped me. ''Please wait. I''m sorry, but the advance party is looking tired. If you don''t mind, I''d like to let the people waiting outside the fort rest freely, is that alright? That''s right, sir. You''re free to go as you please. You can find a lot of people who have a lot of experience in this field, but you can''t find a lot of people who have a lot of experience in this field. But since we gave our permission, we can''t complain. And since the cannon of the mountain is pointing firmly in our direction, it is not a situation that we can complain about any more. You will be able to get a good deal more information about the company and its products. "Koki-sama, what is that mountain-like thing? His Majesty asks Kouki-sama while drinking the tea the maid has brewed. He offered the escorting guards a cup of tea as well, but they politely declined. ''''Mountain?Oh, that''s a battleship that runs on land. Understand that it''s an automatic ship with a big cannon on board. I was surprised by a worm I encountered the other day, and I brought it to you because it scared me a little. Hahahaha. Don''t lie to me!What''s ''a little scary'' in the habit of killing the Class A designation for a second? Only dragons and Fenrir are monsters that are higher than the Sandworm. There''s no way those kinds of things can just appear with impunity! In case you''re wondering, that thing is named ''Alice,'' after my girlfriend. Isn''t that cool? ''Well, that''s just the right name for a graceful and divine figure!I''m sure Lady Alice has a beautiful figure. I can see His Majesty''s eyes are swimming as he has trouble answering. I mean, I can''t believe the sense of naming your own lover on a weapon, I would reject such a lover at all costs. As it is, His Majesty asks a few questions, but seeing Kouki-sama''s somewhat off-kilter answers back makes me seriously want to return to the castle. When I thought the barren exchange would continue, the woman who was waiting beside me was giving Kouki-sama an earful of something. She nodded a couple of times at that and spoke to us with a serious expression on her face. The main unit has arrived earlier than planned. As soon as possible, our negotiators will arrive, and we would like to start discussing the establishment of diplomatic relations. It was supposed to be tomorrow, but now it looks like we''ll have to fight a war without weapons for the survival of the kingdom... ----Cassis Viewpoint As they were preparing to receive Noah''s diplomats in the round table room in the fort, His Majesty, Father, spoke to them. ''Cassis, I leave the negotiations to you. Negotiate with what you think is best for the kingdom, and if the name of Merkava remains, at worst, I don''t mind if it''s a genus. I''m counting on you. Yes, sir. Your father is not an incompetent king, but he''s not an effective one either. In normal times, he would have ended his life as a mediocre king. With the encouragement of my father, who looks older than his actual age due to such an environment, I am determined to make Noah recognize the sovereignty of the kingdom, at the very least. ''Also, please take care of the Council of the Confederacy. Yes, sir. I had forgotten that I had to get a commitment for Noah to attend that headache-inducing meeting, and I was desperately trying to compose myself to be overwhelmed by the responsibility of two major tasks when a Noah''s diplomat entered the room, accompanied by his security guard, just as I was finishing setting up the conference room. ''How do you do, I''m Noah''s representative, Miki Arakawa. Arakawa!Considering her appearance, it seems to be the mother of the boy who called himself Kouki, but could it be that the queen herself went to negotiate with him?That would explain the unusual number of soldiers. Noah''s side continues to introduce itself as your father and I are surprised. ''I''m Clare Dauntless, the political negotiator. I''m Ellis Dauntless as well. I am his secretary, Roberta Scarlett. This one also introduces himself and looks at the four diplomats. They are dressed in the skirt style of the boy''s military uniform, the color is not white, but black, the opposite. It''s a good idea to have a large bag with the negotiator and the guard behind him, but what on earth is in that bag? Considering the difference in national power, the kingdom side doesn''t carry out any inspection of belongings against Noah. If there are weapons and other items in them, that''s all we have to do. ''''I have one request. Please do not use translation magic on Roberta here, she needs to learn the language you all use for later. I understand. As I excluded the designated woman from the scope of my translation magic, the woman who identified herself as Elise began to interpret at the same time. But could they learn a different language from us that easily?I was just about to break off the negotiations with my doubts when Miki broke off the negotiations. ''First of all, please look here. This paper is a map we made, but are you sure that the island and part of the continent marked in red is the territory of the Merkava Kingdom? I''m sure of it. I almost sat back looking at the elaborate map as if the ground was cut out of the sky. ''This mark is where we currently have an outpost. Since the current situation is that we are illegally occupying the territory of the Merkava Kingdom, we would like to pay ''reparations'' for this matter first. Miki snaps her fingers, and the guards behind her open a large bag and take out its contents. A huge gold nugget was placed on the desk with a loud thumping sound. Furthermore, when the negotiator turned over the bag he was carrying on the desk, a large amount of diamonds, sapphires, rubies and other jewelry came out from inside. From their brilliance, it was possible to understand from a distance that they were the highest quality products of high purity. "The gold bars weigh 10 kilos in the unit we use. As compensation, we will give you 500 kilos which translates into 50 bars of gold, with no strings attached. If the gold has no value in the Kingdom, then I will give you the other 500 kilos of jewelry. Take your pick, whichever you prefer. I have no idea what the hell they''re thinking. You think that if you give it to us now, it''s because you can collect it later?She laughed and spoke to me as I looked at Miki quizzically as I looked at her. ''''I apologize for the excessive amount of force we brought with us. I don''t want you to misunderstand, but we don''t want to use force to make your country a vassal state, nor do we want to impose an unequal treaty on you. We want only one thing, and that is to establish diplomatic relations on an equal footing. I''m sorry, but I don''t trust you. ''I know, sir. Well let''s start with our origins. It''s going to be a little long, but please stay with me. I was shocked by the history of "Noah" that she began to share with me after she said so up front. I was surprised to learn that "Noah" is not a country, but a guild of sorts. And to my surprise, Noah had moved to this world from another world. In the world where Noah and his friends lived, a major war had ended more than 150 years ago and the world was largely at peace. Fifteen years ago, a child was born into that world. This is the boy in the white military uniform that was born, and it wasn''t long after he was born that his extraordinary brain blossomed. At just three years old, he surprised his mother by completing a theory of advanced magical equations and accelerated the world''s development for more than fifty years using his own mind alone. The world that had benefited so much from his achievements eventually turned its back on him and began to view him as a danger to itself. He is a kind-hearted boy who loves nature and animals, but the world has mistreated him, calling him the "devil''s child". But some good adults have decided to stand up to repay the debt of gratitude they''ve received from him, and they can''t go directly to war with him because it would hurt his heart. So why not ... escape from the very world that hates him?He seriously thought about such a fairy tale thing and put it into action. The truth seems to be that he was looking for another world to settle in while gathering other humans who adored him along the way, and ended up in our world. It''s too grandiose to feel real, but considering the weapons and clothing Noah is using, he''s probably telling the truth. ''So you really want diplomatic relations on an equal footing? Yes, but I would like to warn you about one thing. In regards to my son, Gongju, please do not ''unnecessarily stimulate'' him. As a mother, I am ashamed to say this, but my son has some ethical problems due to the world''s oppression of him. We''ve made improvements in ethics education recently, but please, please help me out. I''d like to correct that, I think that Kouki-kun is responsible for about 30% of the reason why Noah''s people can no longer stay in the other world. I thought about that for a moment, but then I pulled myself together and resumed the discussion with Noah to make a formal treaty. ---- Miki Arakawa''s point of view---- I sat down in the admiral''s seat in the admiral''s seat after returning to the second ship of the Alice type land battleship, Claire. When I was loath to wear a uniform that I usually only wear white, which I''m not used to wearing, Shuichi-san called out to me. ''''Good job. How did the negotiations go? So-so. We''re too different from each other''s cultures to take the time to work out the details, but in the meantime, we''ve signed the document. We have a limited concession of Noah''s Island and the continent, while the other side has the protection of national sovereignty, so there was no problem with the signing. It just turned out to be a huge hassle. What? "Attendance at the Allied Conference. Shuichi suppressed his eyebrows and said, ''''What''s that?'''' He said. From what I''ve heard from the kingdom side, this continent is organizing a five-nation coalition army to prepare for the attack of the Demon King''s army. It''s not an exaggeration to say that the Merkava Kingdom, which is the weakest among them in terms of national strength, is almost at the mercy of the four countries. In such a situation, they bowed to me and said, ''Please!I couldn''t refuse, since I saw Princess Cassis half-heartedly asking me to join the meeting. Honestly, I don''t want to go to such a troublesome place, so ''''Isn''t there some way to give me a reason to refuse?'''' I asked Shuichi for advice, but my beloved husband said the thing that annoyed me the most. ''If I didn''t go when I promised, Kouki would say, "I hate my mother for not keeping her word! I''m going to say it. That''s a real problem, I can''t live with myself if that girl doesn''t like me. ''Oh, by the way, I had dinner with Gouki a while ago, and he said, ''Mom''s so good at her job and so cool, I''m going to borrow her name for the third ship and make it Miki.'' I still think we should be at the confederate conference for the sake of our friends!If you think about it, you might have to get involved with other countries as well, so it would be better to have a face-to-face meeting once. When I was weighing up the troublesome aspects of the job in my mind, Shuichi-san asked me a question. "By the way, where is this meeting of the Allied Nations, where is it going to be held? He said it would be held in the royal castle of the kingdom. He said he has a ''magic tool'' in the conference room that allows him to talk to distant places. It''s like a video communication device. Leaving Shuichi-san silent after that, I think of something else. The first thing that comes to mind is ''Roberta''..... Since coming to Noah''s Island, all she did was basically eat something, but after the meeting ended earlier, she suddenly began speaking the language used in the kingdom fluently. She said, ''It''s easy once you learn the words,'' but ordinary people can''t do it, just like Gongju said, the speed of language acquisition was monster class. But I really don''t want to consume 15 servings of food for a soldier to eat in a day, the people in the cooking team aboard Claire are always screaming at her in the mess hall. The next thing I think about is the ''Demon King''s Army'', why don''t they launch an all-out assault against one country while possessing more forces than a five-nation coalition army can handle?It''s as if they don''t really want to go to war, which makes me wonder about the move. It doesn''t make sense to me that the kingdom side is also deliberately building a cleverly hidden defensive position, is there something going on between the two countries?While I was vaguely thinking about this, the night had gone by before I knew it. Two days later, we arrived at the royal capital slowly at the speed of the kingdom''s movement, and were immediately ushered into the royal castle. The castle was decorated without being obnoxious, and the furnishings were pleasingly subdued. I was expecting to take a break in a salon or something, but unexpectedly, I was immediately shown into a conference room. Inside the room, the guide, Princess Cassis, explains the situation to me with her eyes downcast. ''''I''m sorry, the Allies are already waiting for you in their respective chambers. Well, I''m sorry, I know you''re tired, but please... I see, it''s being urged on me to meet the newcomer as soon as possible, I smiled and told him ''no problem'' and then sat down on a chair in the conference hall. There is also the mentality of the kingdom, and we want to avoid needless conflict as much as possible. As I was waiting for the meeting to begin while remembering this, I noticed the reflection of four men, albeit somewhat blurred, in the mirror in front of me. Apparently this is the magic tool for the meeting, so I greet them with as gentle a smile as possible. ''Nice to meet you all, I''m Noah''s representative, Miki Arakawa. How can there be a woman in a meeting of national importance?You know what the bottom line is. As I listened to the second man from the right quickly become sarcastic, the voice of Princess Cassis explained through the earphones in his ears, ''''I''m a representative of the Duchy of Raguire. Next, the man on the first right caught my attention as he shouted at me as if spit was about to fly out of his mouth. ''''The small country style!Stand up and say hello. What kind of criteria do they use to determine that we are a small country?When I bail out with a laugh at the funny standard, my face turns red and I continue to yell at him. Apparently, this man seems to be a representative of the ''Lickle Church Country''. ''''Well, well, I can''t understand it when I preach manners to a barbarian.Hahahaha.'''' The man on the left, who himself is hairy and looks like an ape human being, was explained to me as the representative of the "Linkdorp Empire" located in the north, the type of man I personally do not accept physiologically. Finally, the white-haired old man, who was looking at us without saying a word, was explained as the representative of the ''Capus Kingdom''. Alright, let''s change the policy. It''s probably useless to ask these idiots to have a high level political conversation like Princess Cassis, I ask them bluntly. ''You mentioned the Council of the Confederacy, but do you also want diplomatic relations with us, Noah? At my words, the place is momentarily quieted down, but as expected, the representative of the Rikur nation shouts at me with a swordsword that makes me worry that my blood vessels will be cut. ''''Don''t be silly!I said we''ll protect you from the Demon King!Know your place, you fool. ''''No need, it''s already been proven that we can easily defeat a Class A demon with our skills. Besides, we have no intention of fighting with the Demon King''s side, we''d rather negotiate peace. When I said that to the representative of the Lycurgical Kingdom who misunderstood something, the representative of the Capps Kingdom who had been silent until then was the first to speak. I understand the policy of Noah''s side. So, it is acceptable to determine that the Merkava Kingdom, which is a sub-human nation that has formed an alliance with Noah, will leave our union? The last mystery that I had wondered about was solved by the words of the Capps Kingdom representative. As I had heard from Gongju, the race that makes up the Merkava Kingdom is the Elf race, the explanation teaches that they are closer to the demon race and spirits than humans. That''s why, perhaps out of a sense of belonging, they don''t have the intention of fighting the Demon King''s side in earnest, and have taken the roundabout way of ''delay tactics''. But what is the kingdom going to do?Depending on the reply, we need to prepare ourselves as well. As I was looking for Princess Kassis'' exit, she appeared in front of the magic tool with a dignified attitude and clearly declared her country''s policy. ''''We, the Holy Merkava Kingdom, will walk together with Noah, who for the first time since the founding of the country has entered into ''equal diplomatic relations''. If Noah decides not to belong to the Union, I declare that the Kingdom will also leave the Union. ''Sub-humanity betrays humans!I won''t let you get away with it! The four nations are shouting abuse at the kingdoms that have made their policies clear, but we need to state Noah''s future plans to the confederacy to protect the kingdoms that have declared themselves to walk with us. I erase the smile that had been on my face and declare to the representatives of the nations. ''''I''m sorry, but Noah refuses to join the confederation. Also, the Kingdom''s side and us, Noah, have already signed a contract for the establishment of diplomatic relations. If even one of you uses economic sanctions or military force against the Kingdom, based on the ''Security Treaty'', we, Noah, will immediately declare war on the four countries...and will launch a thorough retaliatory attack. The representatives of the four nations, enraged by my declaration, cut off their magic tools one by one and disappeared, but the only representative of the Capus Kingdom who remained until the end stared at me and said, ''Remember that. At the sight of him, I lost my patience and for the first time in a long time, I seriously shouted back at him. ''''We''ll always be your opponent. We are Noah!We will do everything in our power to eliminate anyone who stands in our way! Looking in the mirror, which was cut off at the same time I finished saying it with a clear mind, I began to make plans in my mind for the future. 40-Meetings and adventures ----Miki Arakawa Point of View In Noah Island, which began full-scale operations about a month after the Merkava Kingdom left the Union, a meeting is being held today where all departments are meeting for the first time. After reading the reports from each department that were sent to the attendees in my room beforehand, I checked the time and went to the conference room. On the way to the conference room, I met Shuichi-san with the Dauntless sisters from the corridor of the building where the military department has been set up. ''''Oh, are Miki going now too?'''' Yes, I do. Shuichi-san seems to be concerned about something while asking me a question. He''s scurrying around, and I ask him, ''What''s wrong?'' I ask. ''Is Gongju not here?I thought that guy was supposed to be in the meeting too. I sent them back to Earth. I''m sure that Alice and the others are arriving at Hakone Base today after they''ve moved out. In case you''ve forgotten, it''s only been 3 days since we arrived on G-88.If you let Gongju stay over here too long, he''ll feel uncomfortable over there. It''s a growing season. Okay, so what does that really mean? As expected of a husband, he is very perceptive, and when Shuichi immediately asked her back, she smiled and told him how she really felt. ''''Since the main purpose of this meeting is about the war with the ''Coalition of the Four Nations'', we shouldn''t show you the information that the intelligence service has been collecting. What do you think they would do if they showed Gong-Ju the footage of the sub-race being abused? It''s going to destroy that country for sure... I nod my head in agreement with Shuichi''s words, but I disagree. If I had stopped him from wanting to go out of Noah''s Island until now, but if I showed him images like that, I think that Conju would seriously attack the human species, not just the country that is abusing him by overlaying it on his position on Earth, saying ''I don''t want humans in this world. I don''t want that child to do that. It''s enough to get rid of the people who are doing the abuse, because it''s only a few people who are doing it. And I have an idea on how to do that, just in case. First, I''ll have to listen to the results of each department at the meeting to be held afterwards before I make my proposal and I''m sure it will be approved. Thinking about this, I opened the door to the conference room. It seems that everyone has gathered, so I would like to hold the first debriefing session. After the debriefing, we will continue with the ''Coalition Against Four Countries'' strategy meeting. In this meeting, Roberta is wearing Noah''s uniform and serving as the facilitator. Normally, one of Shuichi''s subordinates, the Dauntless sisters, would be the facilitator, but this time she declined to be the facilitator because she will be attending the meeting as a member of the military department. I listened to the meeting while operating the terminal at hand as Roberta-san proceeded. ''''First, let''s start with the Technical Department and the Magic Research Group, please. This is the magic research group. The research group has focused on the ''magic'' that exists on G-88 since we arrived on Noah Island. With the help of the magical knights of the Merkava Kingdom, our friendly nation, we have completed the initial analysis of the magic. Please see here. A man from the research team operated a large screen to display photos and figures. But they seemed to have finished their analysis, and although the technical department was under my jurisdiction, they seemed to be working tirelessly on their own work, even though they hadn''t been seen much lately. The picture taken with the electron microscope shows the ''magic power'' that forms the core of magic. I''ve named it the ''magic molecule'' for convenience, and I''ve taken this molecule into my body and activated the magic. With the permission of the group members, a detailed examination revealed an organ that does not exist on Earth, located on the underside of the liver. We speculate that this organ is activating magic by converting magic molecules, but unfortunately, the details are unknown. Also, from what we''ve learned by culturing the organ, this organ disintegrates if it stores a large amount of magic molecules. Because of this, organisms that have a low tolerance for it cannot operate in areas where there is a high concentration of magic power, but it is harmless to people on earth that have no organs to begin with. Furthermore... I see........we can''t use magic without organs, but at the same time, we can work normally in places that are filled with a high concentration of magic power. I''m sure the analysis of the organs will proceed if they can actually be tested on humans, but there are ethical issues, so the analysis is limited to the early stages for the time being. Thank you very much. Next to the Engineering Department, Weapons Development Team, please. I am the Weapons Development Team, and I am pleased to give you the latest information that you have not included in your packet. The construction of ''Miki,'' the third land battleship of the Alice type, which Miki requested for development, has been completed, and with this, all construction of the Alice type will cease. Next, we began production of the "Magical Protection Suit," which we had been developing jointly with the Magic Research Group. These protective suits will be provided free of charge to the Merkava Kingdom for deployment to the Order, and will be introduced into battle. As for the protective clothing, it''s essential equipment for the kingdom''s knights to take tactical actions in areas with high density of magic, so let''s have them use the production lines for other supplies to increase production as soon as possible. ''''Other than that, the secret weapon development team has finished developing all the weapons. When they are dismantled, they will be reassembled into their own specialized development teams. All that''s left is... Hmm, that means they can now use those things. While I was thinking about the plan, after the explanation of several departments, the Medical Department, which usually does not appear in the public eye, began to explain. I''m from the medical department," he said, "We''ve finished producing the anti-aging drug we were developing, so please come to each department to get your inoculations. This drug is designed to release the T-particles in the human body when they go through the gate - but I won''t go into that because it would take too long to explain. Simply put, it fixes the rate of aging in the human body at the Earth''s time, so I''ll leave the benefits to you to consider. That''s all. Everyone in the conference hall is stunned by the Medical Department''s dismissal after explaining that they really didn''t want to do it, but the Medical Department led by her must have stayed up all night for about five days to make the suppressant............it''s not fair to blame them. The suppressant will be inoculated to all of Noah''s employees, but if they decide to marry a civilian and lead a normal life, I intend to inoculate them with the release agent as well. ''''Then finally, Political Department and Supervisory Team, please. We have spoken with the Kingdom and have received permission to use the Merkava flag and royal coat of arms, both on the territory of the Kingdom and in other countries. We will also be responsible for maintaining the security of some areas, and after consultation with the Kingdom, we will establish five new bases in the Kingdom''s territory. And in conjunction with the Knights... The debriefing has been going on for three hours now, and it looks like there are still more reports from each department. I decided to take a break from imagining Kouki, who was probably having dinner with Alice and her friends back on Earth. ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ----. When I went under the gate with Conn, it was just about noon on Earth. I wandered around the base looking for Alice, only to hear some unfortunate news from a skinhead I met on the way. ''Alice and the others would have gone out shopping with a squad of guards,'' As I look away from the departing skinhead, I think about how I''m going to kill this suddenly free time. Maybe take a nap?I''ve watched all the documentaries I''ve recorded, and I can''t be bothered to find a new series now. ''Hey Con, what do we do?'' "Corn. I call out to Kon, who is holding it in his arms, but he himself seems unable to come up with a good idea and is wagging his tail listlessly. I''m going to go back to Noah Island and do some target practice, which is what I''ve been into lately, and I was about to go back to the gate when I remembered Kon''s talent hanging on my arm. I''m sure this guy can create "minerals" with his mysterious power, maybe he can create that legendary mineral too?I dash back to my room and fish through the pile of books. ''Not this one, not this one ... there it is!Here. He opens the tattered, now rare paperback book, made over 80 years ago, and shows it to Conn. ''Con, can you make ''Orihalcon''?'' I pointed to one of them and asked him, somewhat excitedly. Con came up to me in a ''let me take a closer look'' kind of way, and he sat down in front of the book and seemed to be thinking about it, flapping his tail. Eventually, he took out a piece of paper and a pen from among the communication tools hanging around his neck and began to write letters. ''''Hmmm, probably magic steel, but it''s impossible to make on Earth; G-88 would be able to use the minerals in the high magic region to make it work.'''' Can you make it over there? I want ... an orichalcon!I''m hoping we can somehow collect the orichalcon and get the kingdom''s blacksmiths to make a sword for us!I''m grinning and thinking about it, and Con starts purring hard at my feet. ''No!Absolutely not. There are a lot of dangerous demons in the high-density demonic power region. I won''t let you go there because it''s dangerous, I''ll tell your mother.'''' Con pecked at my leg with his tail while showing me his intentions on a piece of paper in his mouth. It''s okay, you can fly off in my suit, collect the minerals and come back in a flash. I''ve recently learned how to use a shotgun through target practice, and I can get out of my suit during the recovery process. When I tell Kon about it, he starts writing frantically on a piece of paper. ''No!''Why does the master act without thinking about the consequences!As far as I''m concerned, it''s an absolute disaster, and I''m against it. d*mn you ... for a pet habit, you''re looking at me surprisingly well. If we don''t get Kon into our group somehow, we won''t be able to get him to convert the minerals he''s retrieved into Orihalcon. What can we do?As I thought about it, I remembered that Con had made my mom a gold nugget in exchange for tomatoes on Noah Island. ''Con, how about three boxes of pesticide-free tomatoes and a box of cabbage?I''ll even add the finest apples from Aomori. Kong? Conn thought about it, his tail lolling, but eventually he slowly wrote the words on the paper. ''''It''s only this time, but I have a condition. Let''s go with as much heavy equipment as possible so that we can take care of whatever happens.'''' I''ll be fine with heavy equipment, my suit is originally a high-powered piece of equipment, and the security officer at the armory today is Mr. Court, so I''m sure he''ll be accommodating. I walked lightly through the gate to Noah Island again. "Mr. Cort, I''d like your permission to lend me a gun and take my suit''s armament out of the armory. Do you have the necessary paperwork? I smiled and asked Mr. Cote in front of the vault to show me the permit documents. I present the permit that Macho gave me last time to train to shoot, and Cote types the number of the document into the terminal for confirmation. ''One gas pressure shotgun and 30 rounds of training ammunition, as usual. Can you pick them up yourself? ''Well, it''s not on my permit, but I''d like to borrow some live ammunition and suit equipment as well. I''d like to go to King''s Landing for a little while but I''m not sure I''ll be able to make it on the road. When I say this, Mr. Cote frowns and replies, "We''re allowed to carry live ammunition when we leave Noah Island, but do we have permission to leave the island? "We''re allowed to carry live ammunition when we leave Noah''s Island, but do we have permission to leave the island in the first place? There''s no such thing!Basically, my mom wouldn''t let me leave the island unless it was necessary, so I never got permission to go out, I asked her many times, but for some reason she never let me go even once. I think it''s harassment for not naming the land battleship ''Miki'' until the absolute end. So this time I''m going to lie, albeit painfully, for the sake of Orihalcon. ''There''s one, but my mom is in a meeting and there''s a delay in issuing the permit. You can check now if you''d like but would you dare to communicate with my mom during the meeting? I don''t have the courage to do that. Okay, I''ll unlock the suit''s armament and live ammunition vault, so feel free to take it with you. Don''t forget to enter the armaments you take out into the terminal where you put them. Somehow I managed to get through Mr. Court, I went into the vault and rummaged through the armaments I was going to take with me. After spending about 30 minutes in the vault selecting equipment, I went to the air traffic controller where my suit is stored to ask him to prepare my suit for launch. ''Excuse me, this is Arakawa Koki, please give me permission to launch my suit. I''ve got permission to go out, but I don''t have a permit... I tell the air traffic controller the same thing I told Mr. Court and ask for permission to launch the suit. I show Con the plan I''ve come up with while I change into the enhanced exoskeleton with elvish translation capabilities that Roberta has completed in the changing room. ''Con, is that okay?First, we''ll actually head in the direction of King''s Landing. When we''re 100 kilometers away from Noah Island, we''ll rise to an altitude of 20,000 meters at once and start flying at a high altitude to conserve fuel. From there, fly in the direction where you feel strong magic power and aim to collect the stone containing magic power. Once you recover it, I''ll follow the same procedure to come back and rebuild it into an orichalcon before handing it over to the blacksmith in the royal capital!Oh, I''ll pay for it in gold, and you''ll have to take care of the conversion of ordinary stones. CON! Conn is ''Leave it to me!'' He replies with a thumping chest. Satisfied with that answer, I put on my own suit that I have prepared and wait for permission to leave. I''ve just finished retrieving my suit, which has just returned from security, when it seems that my turn has come around, and I receive a message from the air traffic controller: "This is air traffic control. This is Air Traffic Control. Identification number OF-7-001, suit wearer Arakawa Yoshiki. Confirmation complete, prepare to launch procedure emergency stop!We have received an order from base commander, Miki Arakawa, to stop the launch. All wearers are requested to deactivate their suits and report to the control center as soon as possible. I''ve been found out, I''m pretty sure my mom found out. Maybe Mr. Coats and his people wondered about it and got confirmation, but unfortunately I''m already fully equipped and in my suit.... And my suit can fly faster than the speed of sound, so the aircraft I''m bringing to Noah''s Island can''t track me. That''s too bad, Mom!My son is a rebel!I give the comm back to air traffic control. ''This is OF-7-001, we can''t hear you very well, but we''ve got a green light and we''re launching. Thank you for your guidance. I reopened the door when I found out I''d been found out and started flying in the direction Con had indicated, instead of taking a course towards the royal capital from the start. 41-North Continent ----Miki Arakawa Point of View Well, that''s why Noah''s strategy for the Capps Kingdom is... The debriefing is over and the strategy meeting is in session, and I''m listening to the military department''s briefing when Claire walks up to me and speaks to me in a whisper. ''''Excuse me. Have you given your son permission to leave Noah Island? No, I didn''t give you permission to do that. What is Miss Claire saying?There''s no way I''d give permission for Gongju to go out without having to check. As I looked at her while thinking about this, I could see Claire''s complexion change every time she communicated with me via the communicator in my ear. Seeing her complexion, I had a bad feeling about something. Your son is currently waiting at the ''suit depot'' after explaining to those around him that he has received permission to leave from Ms. Clare. I''m issuing an emergency stop order in her name to the control center, is that alright? Yeah, yeah. Please. What was that girl thinking about going out of Noah Island to spout ''lies''?It''s not like I gave him any trouble on Noah Island, and he was reluctant to allow me to train with him, even though he was actually against it. There was never a time before that he didn''t listen to me, so why all of a sudden....... As I was desperately thinking about the cause of Gongju''s actions, Claire-san reported to me in a tone of voice that sounded as if she was going to scream. ''''There''s an emergency!Gongju-kun ignored the air traffic controller''s instructions and ignited his thrusters without permission and took off. We are currently on a course towards another continent, not towards the Kingdom! Send a messaging message to Noah''s island and tell him to turn back immediately!If you can''t, use the remote control from here to force a landing! Impossible!Since Gongju''s suit has been cut off from all communications, he currently has no effective means of communication.Remote control is also not installed in the eighth generation planes in consideration of electronic warfare, it is a complete stand-alone system. Oh, my God!I bite my nails as I ponder the fact that the technology I had on board to protect my son has completely backfired. Fortunately, the fact that they haven''t blocked the positional information device on the suit suggests that they haven''t caused the worst thing that could happen, a ''mutiny''. If it''s not a rebellion, then ''where are you planning to go and what are you doing? is the problem. Deciding that we can''t solve anything here, I declare the meeting to be adjourned. ''The strategy meeting is adjourned. My son has left Noah Island without permission, and all personnel in the Military and Technical Departments and in charge of communications will do their best to start tracking Gongju. Satisfied with the sight of the staff running towards my department all at once at my word, I myself ran towards the command center set up in the basement. When I arrived at the command center, a staff member who was tracking Kunugi with a satellite found me and reported on my current situation. ''Gongju is currently flying at an altitude of 18,000 meters at a cruising speed. We''ve changed course several times, but for now he''s flying north toward the continent. So we''re not headed for a densely populated area? The staff member replies ''yes'' to my question. What is there in the northern continent?I can''t decide if there''s something that Gongju wants or if it''s a deceptive action to keep us from realizing our true purpose. I ask the official analyzing the information from the satellite what is in the northern continent. ''''Almost all of the northern continent is a high-concentration magic power region. There shouldn''t be any place in particular that Gongju-kun would be interested in, but...'''' Is this still a deceptive act?As I was puzzled by my son''s behavior, which I had no idea of the purpose of at all, Shuichi-san speaks to me with a stern look on his face as he shows me a piece of paper with printed materials. ''''It''s an inventory of the personal armaments and weapons that Conju took out and mounted on his suit. That idiot, he took a hell of a lot of stuff with him. I almost choked as I read the inventory handed to me. Gongju himself is equipped with a single shotgun and only 50 rounds of ammunition, but the problem is the suit. The prototype 180mm electromagnetic projectile gun and pile bunker are basic equipment, so the reason for taking it with you is understandable, but the missile warhead loaded on the missile launcher mounted on the back part was a ridiculous substitute. The buzz in the command center instantly quiets down at my words. It''s really crazy to take an imaginary weapon that even the Adamite Eve I met at the lunar ruins had positioned as the final weapon. Based on the materials recovered from the ruins and Gongju''s explanation, it was my mistake of negligently managing to find and bring an imaginary number bomb that had been prototyped only one time as a test. Theoretically, when that weapon detonated, a small black hole would be capable of completely annihilating the surrounding two thousand kilometers. Didn''t they plan to head to the northern continent where there was nothing to test it out? What do we do, Miki?Gongju might be able to easily shake it off, but I can tell my men to go after it. Shuichi''s words made me think that that might be a good idea, but if that action was countered by Kouki by activating his optical camouflage and cutting off his suit''s location information, it would be completely impossible to track him, so I shouldn''t adopt that method just yet. ''They''re lowering the altitude of the suit!We are 300 kilometers inland of the northern continent at an altitude of 8,000 meters. Further descending, 4,000/3500, 2,000.......what?It disappeared from the satellite at approximately 1200 meters! ''Did you activate the optical camouflage?You''re not going to crash, are you? Unknown!But we have not seen any optical camouflage in use. The suit''s positional data is still intact. We''re trying to determine why it''s gone. I could only watch the positional information and biological reaction of Kouki''s suit on the screen, hoping that the analysis of the cause would be completed soon. ----Kouki Arakawa''s point of view ----. As we flew in the direction that Kong indicated, we spotted a huge octopus-like creature swimming in the ocean, so we zoomed in on the camera. As I watched excitedly as the creature moved slowly through the ocean, I saw an even bigger whale-like creature attacking the octopus, trying to prey on it. ''Awesome!''Hey Con, look at that, there''s an octopus and a whale fighting. Conn. Conn. Kon is also very excited and has been flapping his tail violently since a while ago. I wanted to lower the altitude to get a closer look at the whales, but the air resistance would consume extra fuel, so I gave up this time. When I couldn''t see the whales anymore, I noticed that the communication device started blinking, probably my mother on Noah Island was sending me a message. If I returned the message now, she would surely tell me to come back, so I pretended I hadn''t noticed, and asked Kon, who was drinking water from a tube on his lap. We''ll be entering the northern continent soon, but you have the right direction, don''t you?Where do you sense strong magic coming from? CON! Con uses his tail dexterously to point at a single point on the radar with a peck. But if we hand over the Orihalcon to the blacksmith at the King''s Capital, the return from the King''s Capital will be a normal walking trip, not a flight. And you''ll need to refuel at Noah''s outpost on the way, but oh well!As long as you get the Orihalcon, even if you get angry and get suspended on Earth, you can get Mr. Cort or someone else to go get it for you. ''Alright, we''ll lower our altitude over the target. I''ll deactivate the weapon''s safety in a little while and you''re going to hang on to me. I stroked the con that clung to the neck of the reinforced exoskeleton with my words and then began to gradually lower the altitude. At an altitude of 8,000 meters, I felt a strange sensation as I deactivated my weapon''s safety device and prepared for an unexpected battle, while I was lowering my altitude further. ''Hey, didn''t that just seem odd?'' Con..... I checked the current altitude with the altimeter and it said 1000 meters. It''s a good idea to check the current altitude on the altimeter to see if it''s 1000 meters, but was it just my imagination?I''d like to re-climb and check it out, but I''m worried about the amount of fuel left.... Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with my body or my suit, so I kept lowering the altitude, and when I was flying slowly toward the target at around 200 meters, I saw what looked like a garden in front of me. I''m sure that the garden is the destination, as Kong is barking furiously, indicating its direction with his tail. ''Alright, alright. I''m going over there, be quiet!It''s noisy when it''s ringing in your ear. I ignore the sluggish Con and let the suit land in the garden. I turned off the engine and looked around, but there didn''t seem to be any problems, as I prepared to descend while loading the shotgun next to the seat, Con showed me with a piece of paper in his mouth. ''Never take off your reinforced exoskeleton. And please keep your gun in a state where it can be fired at all times with the safety deactivated, and when you shoot, aim at the torso calmly as you were taught in training. Since the master has no shooting talent, you can''t aim at his head. Shut up, I''m not going to write a quick note about what people care about. At first Macho taught me how to shoot a rifle, but I was devastatingly untalented and eventually he suggested I use a shotgun that would hit when I shot it anyway. How the hell does he know that when he wasn''t even there in the habit of being there, Con''s bastard. I nodded silently and opened the cockpit of my suit after loading the first round into the chamber of the shotgun, which was already loaded. ''Can you convert any of the rocks around here into orichalcons? Conn..., conn!Knock knock! I go outside and ask Kon which stone is good for me, but it seems that I can''t use the one I have, and he points to a stone lying over there with his tail, so I move around and collect other unseen stones as well. What are you doing here? As I was retrieving the stone I was instructed to retrieve, I suddenly heard a voice behind me and turned around in surprise, holding a gun. When I check the direction of the voice, a beautiful sister with two horns from her forehead is about to approach me, observing me from a distance. She''s dressed properly and she''s showing signs of alertness, so she''s probably intelligent. Once I lowered my gun and activated the translator on the exoskeleton to speak to her. ''Hello.'' [Ho, you speak Elvish. You''re an elf?] Oh no I don''t understand what your sister is talking about at all, or rather I''m a little scared, so I re-position my gun. If the sister is still coming at me, I''ll fire a warning shot and then run away as fast as I can!As I was trying to time my escape in my mind, Kon, who had been taking a bite out of a stone to gauge its strength, let out a roar for the first time in a long time. ''Graaaaah! Okay, okay. I guess I''ll just have to do as you say and use translation magic!That is why you will not roar like that. Suddenly the sister started speaking words I could understand. She said something about translation magic, so she must have used the same magic as Addie. I''m relieved to be able to discuss it at the moment, and I decide to ask the sister who she is. ''Is she a concubine?I am a... Graaaaah!Garu ''Hee!All right, you don''t come any closer!Hey!Elf boy, do something about that white dragon. He is crying out to ''devour'' his mistress. He asks me to do so, so I grab Conn, who''s threatening next to me, and toss him into the cockpit of his suit. I check on Conn, who has been sucked into the cockpit with a parabolic line, and then I ask him again. ''I''m sorry, again, who is your sister?'' My name is Victoria, proud last survivor of the Roar. Roa........I think Roa was a high level spirit. That means that the sister in front of meVictoria-san must be quite an amazing person, right?When I''m impressed by the fact that I''ve gotten to know a really otherworldly-looking race of people, unlike the elven race, Victoria-san points at me and asks me a question. ''By the way, how did you get into your mistress'' garden?I don''t know why you, an elf, live on this continent without a care in the world, normally you would have died from the magic of this continent. Where shall I begin?Victoria seems to think I''m an elf to begin with, and it''s hard to explain. As I was racking my brain, Con emerged from the cockpit and started barking a little less loudly than before. ''Graa, grrrrrr...'' Hm?Hmm, you''re right. It''s certainly not appropriate to have guests here. Let me show you to the castle. Victoria seemed to be able to have a normal conversation with Con and told her to follow me, as if Con had told her something, and then she started walking with her back to me. I asked her what on earth she said as I held her in my arms, and she wrote down some words on a piece of paper and showed them to me. ''Since you seem to understand what I said, I requested that tea be prepared. I requested the kind that the elf can drink, so master can drink it too.'' What the hell is wrong with you?You''d lose everything if you pissed them off after a nice encounter. I nailed Con to stop making strange demands and then started to follow Victoria''s back. When I entered the castle, there was a cathedral-like space. The ceiling was fitted with painted stained glass windows and the story progressed as we entered the castle. As I followed Victoria, I was led to a terrace with a view of the garden. ''Sit down. I''ll have the maid bring you some tea now. As I waited, a maid with cold air around my body brought me tea. What is it?Is this person a member of the Ice Spirit Race or a similar race?As I watched the maid silently make a cup of tea and leave, Victoria resumed her questioning. ''So, to continue what I was saying earlier, how did you get into the garden, Lord? We''ve been flying through the air. ''No!Stop giving me such subtle looks!I''ll explain it all to you. I''m not an elf to begin with. We are not... While drinking a cup of tea that tasted like raspberries, I explained to Victoria about the process of coming to the garden. I told her that I wasn''t originally a resident of this world, that I had moved to another world because I was losing my place in my original world, that I had established diplomatic relations with the Merkava Kingdom, that I had escaped from Noah''s Island because I wanted Orichalcong, and in the process, I digressed and told her about Earth. When I told her about all of this, she laughed, sometimes angrily, and sometimes angrily, as I told her all of this, she listened to me. She listened to me, laughing and sometimes angrily. Then are otherworldly people like you guys not prejudiced against demons? For me personally, I''m open to any species as long as they can communicate in some way, even if they don''t speak to each other, and don''t act hostile. I''m going to tell Victoria-san, who asked me a question with a serious look on her face, what my values are. It''s a good thing that you can manage most of the time if you can talk to each other, though I''m not going to spare you a creature that can''t communicate with you at all. After hearing my words, Victoria clapped her hands and instructed the maid who would be waiting in the hallway. "Go get Ilya, Glenara and Akator. It looks like someone called someone under me, I think they''re going to make sure I really don''t have a ''prejudice'' against demons in terms of the story. I mean, this is my big chance to meet a demon that isn''t human-shaped!My hands almost tremble with excitement, but I desperately hide it with a cup of tea. As I''m waiting for them to arrive, glancing at the entrance to the room, there''s a knock at the door, and three people enter the room, a woman with a spider on her lower body, a bipedal cow, and a mantis that looks perfect, and they greet me. ''What do you think of these men?'' ''Ilya-san, you''re an Alkeny tribe, can you walk on the ceiling or something, after all!Glenara looks strong and powerful. I don''t know what species you are, Akator-san, but your kama is so cool, let me touch that! As I get excited by one and crowd the three of them, Ilya-san and Glenara-san look at me with surprised expressions. The only expression on Akator-san''s face is that of an insect, so I don''t understand - but I don''t think he doesn''t mind, as he fearlessly offers me his sickle. After enjoying the sickle, I ask Ilya''s permission to touch the spider''s legs. The sensation was fluffy and very pleasant, so I''m even more excited and excited, and then I hear a dumbfounded Victoria-san''s voice and come to my senses. ''That''s enough, I see that you''re not prejudiced at all. I''m sorry, too. I just got carried away. Victoria laughed and nodded at my apology, then seemed to shut her eyes and began to think about something, and then froze as it was for a while before slowly opening her mouth and letting the words slip out. ''My last question is, will the otherworldly people accept not only you, but other humans as well as the concubines?'' ''Yes, I think it will be fine. At least our leader''s mother will accept it with a smile. Victoria, who nodded widely while folding her arms at my words, looked into my eyes and gave me an answer that was far above my expectations. ''''I declare in the name of ''Demon King'' Victoria!We, the Ursna Empire, establish diplomatic relations with otherworldly people. I was almost crying with fear as I imagined being scolded by Noah''s "Demon King" mother for invading the Demon King''s territory without permission, rather than the fact that Victoria was the Demon King herself. ---- Miki Arakawa''s point of view---- It''s been three hours since Conju''s suit disappeared and the suit has been stationary for two hours and forty minutes now without moving. I can''t wait any longer, I make a final decision and order Shuichi-san as Noah''s command. ''''The situation is already out of the control of the technical department. As of the present time, all command authority has been transferred to the Military Department, and from now on, I will leave everything to the Military Department to decide. Yes, sir. We''re gonna get this stuff back safe and sound. I got a message from Kunugi!This is a ... level A emergency transmission. With my heart breaking at the words of the staff member in charge of communications, I grab the microphone and yell at Kouki. ''Kouki!What the hell are you doing?Where are you now? On the screen, Gongju looks like he''s about to cry as he becomes soggy and sloppy. Was he that scared?That''s why I didn''t want to let Gongju out but I hope he learned some lessons at all. I asked again in a gentle voice to comfort the frightened Gongju, and my son finally started to talk about the current situation. ''''Don''t be angry, I''m on the northern continent right now. I know. Don''t worry, I''ll send someone to get you in a minute. When I instructed Shuichi to go to pick up Kunugi as soon as possible with my eyes, he looked at my face as if he was stammering about something. For now, I''ll scold you about this matter later, but for now, I''m grateful that you''re safe and thankful that you''ve been able to stay safe and say, ''Is there anything else? I ask him. ''''Don''t ever get mad at me. I made contact with the Emperor of the Ursna Empire on the northern continent and met with ''Demon King Victoria'' as a representative of Noah. As a result, the Ursna Empire has accepted to establish diplomatic relations with Noah. Shuichi supports me as I feel dizzy and feel like I''m about to collapse. What did my son just say?Demon King?Diplomatic?In other words, you''ve invaded the Demon King''s territory alone and negotiated with the Demon King himself. I was surprised to the point of feeling dizzy, but Claire-san and the other staff members whispered to each other with eyes like dead fishes, ''''Normally it would be impossible, but it''s possible for your son to do it. "That''s enough, Kou-chan. I appreciate your flair, but where is the Ursna Empire?I don''t see it on the satellite, so I''m assuming it''s underground. The thing is, though, are you getting a fix on my location now?If you''re doing this, I''d like you to zoom out the satellite''s cameras and adjust them to show a 300-kilometer perimeter. As soon as I ordered the staff member who is running the satellite to follow my instructions, the camera immediately captured an image of the 300-kilometer area around Gong-Ju''s location. After confirming this, I report to Gong-Ju that the adjustment is complete. Are you ready?Oh, then, Victoria, please. The moment Gongju asked the Demon King to do something on the other side of the screen, everyone who was packed into the command center let out a groan. Parts of the northern continent that had only shown a sooty mountain range and a narrow river in the image from the satellite began to blur with noise, and the mountain range and river disappeared. And gradually, the true appearance of the vast Ursna Empire with its huge castles and lush green land became apparent. ''''No way..., electronic jamming?Electronic jamming on this scale isn''t even possible on Earth! I''m sure you''ll be able to find it. It''s not. The mages of the Ursna Empire cast "super wide area and perception prevention magic" on thousands of people. It''s a good thing that they didn''t want to fight a war, so they kept their location a secret using magic. It''s not just a matter of greatness, in other words, our state-of-the-art observation equipment has been defeated by "magic". The technological power that completely hid the Imperial territory from the new observation satellites that were capable of analyzing even the detailed data of the underground fortresses was enough to instill the need for us to rethink the phenomenon of magic that we had been thinking about from the ground up. As I was in a cold sweat over the magical technology of the empire, Gongju delivered a thudding blow to me. ''''So, Victoria-san wants to go to Noah''s Island.......so.......come and get me?'''' I spent half a day in a meeting to come up with a way to negotiate with the Demon King''s side, and I began to prepare to receive the Demon King, feeling misplaced anger at Gongju for ruining it with just one word. 42-Multiracial Alliance ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint When I returned to Noah Island with Victoria, I received a big fist bump from Macho for escaping from the island without permission and invading the Demon King''s territory. As I was squatting down while holding my head, I was ordered to enter the brig for three days as punishment for this incident, but considering the results of my negotiations with Victoria, I was only given one day''s house arrest. This guy is only about 40 centimeters tall and yet he seems unconcerned about taking a bite out of a melon with its skin. "Kong? Noticing me staring at myself, Con writes the words on a piece of paper and shows it to me. ''I won''t give it to you?'' No! There''s no such thing as a piece of your food. I''m not, what I''m concerned about is how you can eat something as massive as you are and be okay with it, that''s crazy!That melon is as big as your torso. Hey, Con, where''s all the food you ate? When you eat it, it is immediately converted into magical power and absorbed. That''s why I don''t defecate. Kon, who can now write with his tail without using his hands, explains while eating a melon. In other words, the more food he eats, the more magic power he gains, and if he keeps feeding himself, he can increase his magic power indefinitely, which means he can collect as much "gold" and "jewelry" as he wants. Can''t I ask my mother to distribute them through a secret channel?If this works, my allowance may increase. ''''You look like you''re thinking about something bad, but even I have a full stomach, so ''infinite magic'' is impossible. Kon is writing letters while looking at me with a sideways glance. I''m not thinking about that. I''m not thinking about that, lizard boy! ''Con!Con!Gru..... It''s a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. You can''t even fly and breathe fire, so what''s the point of being a dragon, you can''t show your dignity like Victoria or wear cold air like a maid of the ice spirit tribe. When he heard my words, he put down the melon he was holding carefully and wrote some words with his tail flapping on the floor in anger. I''m sure the king was clearly frightened when I barked at him, right?That''s because I''m the superior species.Okay?I''m a dragon, but I''m not a dragon race, I''m a god race Ancient Dragon. In fact, an ordinary black dragon or dimensional dragon class would not be able to smelt precious metals without an equivalent exchange! It''s an absolute lie. Ancient dragons were supposed to be the smartest race, there''s no way a Kon who can only write but can''t speak could be such a high species. I''m sure you''re not the only one who can''t speak," he said, "so why can''t you speak? I''m not going to be the only one who can do that. At the moment I said this, Con began to pee his tail and wings, which had been standing up uncharacteristically, and began to write the words. ''When I was born........your mother had already perished. There were no other people of the same species around, and as a young dragon, I went into a long dormant state to protect myself from the enemies around me. I thought that in order to come back from this state of dormancy, it would require an enormous amount of magical power, and I had hoped that my friends would find me someday and pour their magical power into me. But in reality, I was picked up by the master and woke up in another world. That''s right, I forgot to mention that I didn''t know it was dormant, and I brought Con to Earth, a different world. In a world where there is no magic, of course there is no creature that can teach Kon magic, and there is no creature that can understand the language of dragons, so Kon had to learn to write on his own. Once again, it''s all my fault, isn''t it? As I''m crunching my mouth as I lose the words to say to Kon, he writes more letters to show me. ''''I don''t regret it, Master, Mother, Alice, and everyone else will raise you kindly. So it''s fine as it is, it''s fine as it is!But don''t forget that I''m a great dragon.'' After I finished writing, Con started to take a melon bite again, and he seemed to have regained his earlier energy. Somewhat embarrassed, I said ''thank you'' in a voice just in time for Con to hear me, and the great dragon in front of me replied with a fluffy tail. Since I was under house arrest, I was going to spend the day without touching my device or the books I was bringing in, but I didn''t expect time to go so slowly if I didn''t have anything to do. I had too much free time on my hands, so I laid down on my bed and was just lying there in a daze when I noticed Con, who had finished eating, jumped up on his stomach and curled up. As I stroked his head with my right hand while staring at the ceiling, I noticed that the number of people walking down the hallway had increased dramatically. You can also hear the sound of helicopter rotors spinning in the distance, not just one or two, but dozens of planes waiting to take off. What''s going on? Con..... As we looked at each other, I heard the sound of my room being unlocked and Claire-san, out of breath, came in with a scared look on her face. ''''Kunki-kun, your house arrest has been lifted. What''s going on? "An hour ago, the ''United People''s Army'' with the Capus Kingdom as its leader declared war on the Merkava Kingdom. Noah is going to participate in the war on the side of the Merkava Kingdom based on the security treaty, I''m sure Miki-san can give you the details, so hurry up and get ready. I don''t understand why I have to get ready for this, but I put on the white military uniform Claire provided me with and left the room as she told me. I decided to follow Claire with Con as she hung on to my arm while lowering a card with ''Noa'' written on it from her neck. When I entered the command center in the basement, my mother, Macho Cassis, Adrienne and Victoria were seated at a table looking at me as they waited for me. ''''Gongju, come over here quickly,'''' When I sat down in an empty seat following my mother''s words, she explained the current situation to me while I was under house arrest. I''m sure you''ve heard a brief explanation from Claire-san, but the Capus Kingdom has declared war on the Merkava Kingdom. In response to that, the allied nations of Laguire, Lycurgical Kingdom and the Linkdoble Empire have also declared war on the Merkava Kingdom, with the goal of defeating the sub-race as the ''United Race Army''. Are you nuts?Do you really think you can exterminate the sub-humans in this world with just four countries, and the coalition itself will collapse as our troops and supplies run out in the process? When I questioned her on this point, Mom would answer with a clear face, "No, it''s not just the four countries. ''No, it''s not just the four nations. It''s a 12-nation alliance, to be exact, since they''ve annexed the small states and city-states scattered around the perimeter to build up their forces. Isn''t that tasteless!What''s the matter with you?I''m sure that the maximum strength of Noah''s army was 80,000 at best, and even if we mobilized the kingdom''s standing army, we''d still be able to gather 100,000 or so. Yo. What about the perimeter?If it becomes an endurance fight, you''re sure to lose. Defense line?What are you talking about?We have to attack from our side. That''s why even Gongju asked Victoria-san to ''lend us the Imperial Army''. I didn''t say anything about that!I just asked, ''Please help Noah to live in this world,'' because I didn''t say anything belligerent like that. I tried to explain to her that she was mistaken about something, but sooner than that, Mom started to tell me the rest of her explanation. You''re not going to be able to get your hands on any of these things," she said, "so we took this situation very seriously and decided to cancel the peace talks and create a military alliance. From now on, Noah, the Kingdom of Merkava and the Ursna Empire will be fighting against the United Tribesmen''s Army as the Multicultural Alliance. The only thing that matters is the fact that you don''t want to do that in the first place, that''s why you''ve moved to another world, and that''s the end of the world. I don''t mean to say "I''m ready to kill you" or anything like that, but I don''t want to go to war if it can be settled through discussion, wouldn''t it be better to have one more peace negotiation session with the allied forces? Mom, I don''t want to kill each other. ''Don''t worry we''ll have a war, but we won''t kill each other, I''ve thought out a proper way to do it. You have to cooperate with me for that. Mom smiled as she said that and gently stroked my head.... ----Victoria''s Viewpoint ''Don''t worry we''ll have a war, but we won''t kill each other, I''ve thought out a proper way to do it. You have to cooperate with me for that. Miki-sama pats him on the head and asks how you plan to defeat the Allied forces without killing each other.It''s not like he''s going to surrender, but I learned from the meeting earlier that Miki-dono is indeed the mother of Kouki, and she''s quite a schemer. I''ll ask her one question. I''m sorry, Miki-dono, but I have no idea how to solve this problem without killing each other. In response to Mistress''s question, Mister Miki began to explain, projecting the image onto a large mirror-shaped magic tool. ''We are considering using a modified version of the BZ gas, ''Incapacitating Gas''. The plan is to inhale the gas and force the comatose to be temporarily restrained and disarmed. Also, for the unavoidable hand-to-hand combat, please use the "stun sword" provided by Noah, the stun sword has the effect of stunting the attacker by sending high voltage electric current. If you are unable to subdue the attacker with these weapons, you may use a lethal weapon, but if you do, please contact Noah''s emergency response team, which is deployed nearby. We will do everything possible to - no - no - we will end this war with absolutely no loss of life. It''s true that if otherworldly technology and sub-humans like the mistresses joined forces, they might be able to end the war without causing any deaths. But........why do such troublesome things have to be done?From the point of view of the mistresses, who have been persecuted for so long, humans are an existence that can be destroyed. The otherworldly Noah''s people would not have any feelings for the humans of this world either. The princesses of the kingdom do not seem to agree with the mistresses'' proposal of ''destroying the union'', but they do not seem to have any particular intention of opposing it either, and they are waiting for Miki-dono''s decision. ''''My question is, why were the sub-human race all persecuted?'''' Suddenly, the humans attacked. When we fought back, they gradually overpowered us and turned us into slaves. The past comes back to me when I reply to Kouki, who asked me a question instead of Miki-dono, who was thinking in silence. It''s not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you''ll be able to get your hands on a new one. I''m thinking of doing just that for the empire alone, depending on Miki-dono''s response," he said, tilting his head and asking again. ''''Did the humans really attack you for ''no reason''?Didn''t the bloodsucking race suck human blood?Are the fairy folk taking human children?Didn''t the spirit tribe get into mischief with the humans? What do you mean by that? If you can''t fight them alone, then defending yourself in a group is a normal decision for an intelligent creature. If you destroy them, you''ll think ''maybe it''s our turn'' and people from another continent will fight you, so you''ll fight again and continue until one of you is destroyed?Don''t you have the courage to put an end to that kind of futile and ridiculous behavior and take it one step further? Hearing Kouki''s words, the mistresses realized. This boy from another world must be a messenger sent by God to guide sub-humans like the mistresses. Thousands of years later, in an age where Noah''s existence is a myth, historians who would normally not change their minds have come to the same opinion on one thing: "This world is going through a dark period. There was a time in this world called the Dark Ages, when sub-humans were persecuted, but there were brave men who ended the Dark Ages.... Saints Adrienne, Kassis the Wise, Victoria the Demon King, Miki the otherworldly witch, and Kouki the Demon God, who is hardly mentioned in any of the remaining literature despite being the greatest contributor. There is no doubt that these five brave men established the brightest period of light that is still going on today.'''' 43-The day when the genie hatches ----Miki Arakawa Point of View After confirming Victoria-san and the princesses who agreed with Gongju''s words about stopping the barren battle, I explain the strategy that the alliance army will follow. ''''As I mentioned earlier, the alliance army basically does not conduct defensive battles. If the enemy is advancing on us, we will do our best to push them back and pursue them. The kingdom is completely besieged with the sea to the west, the Linkdoble Empire to the north, and the Duchy of Largile to the east, with no place to escape. To the south, the desert area is spread out, making it virtually impossible to deploy an army. Normally it would be a hopeless location, but with the current situation with us and the Ursna Empire on our side, it''s even quite an advantageous location. I explain the planned route for the allied forces'' advance on the screen while displaying images from the satellite. ''''Please look at this. The red convex mark is the Allied forces and the blue convex mark is the Alliance forces. According to reports from the Intelligence Bureau, the Allied Forces are expected to attack from the north and east at the same time. Therefore, the allied forces will be divided into three main armies and deploy a three-front operation. Hmm, isn''t this a two-front operation, north and east? Victoria, who was staring at the screen, asks me a question with a strange look on her face. The only battlefields on the level of this world''s civilization are the ''land'', where the knights are the main battlefield, and the ''sky'', where a small number of dragon riders, using dragons and the like, fight to secure air superiority. But with our technology, the ''sea'' will also be the main battlefield. Yes, a three-pronged strategy. Noah''s main force will aim to capture the Linkdoble Empire to the north of the sea. But in order to do so, we''re going to need the kingdom to hold off the enemy''s main forces. We''ll push back the Allied forces with everything we can, but we''re too few in number. Princess Cassis tells me while looking down. I tell Princess Cassis what I had discussed with Shuichi-san beforehand. ''''Don''t worry about it, we will lend the kingdom all the Alice type land battleships owned by Noah. We will come under your command, so you may use them up. ''What?But how do you expect the people of Noah to fight when you lend us your main weapon? "I think you''ve misunderstood, but land-based battleships are not our primary weapon. Rather, they are a propaganda weapon to show off our technological prowess. I can''t help but laugh when I see Princess Cassis and Princess Adrienne, who are in raptures at my words. There are still other weapons that my proud son, Gongju, has ordered from us, rather they are the ones that will be the powerful weapons that will be Noah''s mainstay. Leaving the hardened princesses alone, I explain the general strategy to Victoria-san as well. ''''Victoria-san, I will have the Ursna Empire take over the eastern front. The expected strength of the Duchy of Raguire advancing from the east is 250,000 troops. A quarter of a million, and no matter how many humans we''re dealing with, if there are that many of them it will be a bit tough. I would like to ask the mistresses to help Noah. "All right, the Ursna Empire is on loan to the ''Orto'' flying destroyer and a brigade of power suits. You will use them to break through the lines. Victoria looked doubtful about O Roto, but it would be quicker to show her the real thing than to explain it. It was originally a ''space destroyer'', but it was made possible to fly in the atmosphere by applying the technology of gravity-disintegrating bombs, but when I showed the completed O RTO to Koki, he looked disappointed. ''It''s not a flying battleship. I was imagining a floating Fuso or Yamashiro. But it''s technically impossible to float a ship of that size. What''s the point of flying a ship designed by the Navy over 200 years ago in the first place?I thought about this for a moment, but I quickly regained my composure and opened my mouth, looking at the faces of the people present. I''m sure it will be a very difficult battle, but if we accomplish this, this world will surely change. Let''s seize the future with our power. After confirming that everyone nodded vigorously to my words, the three countries signed a declaration of war against the "Federation of Tribes" in their joint names. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint After Victoria and the princesses returned to their respective countries, I was sitting at the table in the conference room, not knowing what to do, when my mother spoke to me. You are going to march in from the sea, but I want you to wear the 8th generation aircraft. You are going to be able to use the same incapacitating gas on the battlefield as you did when you rescued Alice. ''No, that''s fine but from Noah''s Island, even my suit has a limited range, right? It''s true that my suit can travel a long distance with a range of 3,200 kilometers, but if you load the missiles to the limit, it can only travel about half that distance. Does your mother understand that properly? ''It''s okay. I''ve finished the power suit mothership you asked for before, so you''re free to move about. Oh!You seriously built that thing, the flying battleship wasn''t what I imagined, but I hope the carrier is as I imagined it to be. All that''s left to do is to have the device I worked so hard on to raise the "roar" to be attached to the suit, but is that already done?I sent the data to Shingo and he raved about it, so I want it installed as soon as possible. ''''Mom, have you installed the bellowing device I asked you to? When I said that, my mom pulled a smile from her face and replied, "Yes. ''Yeah, yeah. It''s all over, but do you really want to use that device?Maybe a different voice would be better. No!I''m not going to allow that to happen, my suit motif is the demon Satanakia, so I won''t allow any other voice than that one. I don''t know how long it took me to create that voice!It''s the best of the best, so there''s no reason to change it now. ''No, I want the thing. And I''m sure the feathers and tail I made from the data I found in the lunar ruins are almost finished developing by now... It''s been refurbished, too, but is it really necessary to look like that?You won''t regret it? When I say it''s okay, I can hear my mother whispering, ''Did I raise him wrong?'' I think she has a problem with not understanding the romance of the Han Dynasty. My new suit is said to be called an ''improved 8th generation aircraft'' by the engineering department, which is in charge of maintenance. The first is that the thrusters, which were previously bare, were covered with armor that resembles 6 pairs of wings for durability. Secondly, the balancer was changed from a leg weight to a long tail attached to her waist, allowing her to move at high speed on all fours on land. The third was changing the color of the fuselage from black to white and gold. Incidentally, I decided to give my suit a unique name, ''Satanakia'', and I had my call sign changed from OF-7-001 to ''Goetia'' to match that improvement. ''Miki-san, we''re ready to go out,'' When I was feeling pleased with myself as I imagined my new suit, Claire reported to my mom that I was ready to go. I''ve got a quick response team ready to go, even if it''s a sudden battle, Noah is very quick to prepare for it," she said, speaking to me without changing her expression. The suit of Kouki-kun has been loaded up as well. I''ve already received a letter of resignation to assume command of the Northern Area Army in Miki-san''s name, so please move to the planned gathering point as soon as possible. Wait, I''m not going to be in charge again!That''s why it''s funny!That kind of thing should be done by a professional soldier, because Noah''s got a bunch of ex-UNC elites in there, so there''s no way I''m going to do it! I was assigned to a field office... Then you take care of me, Kochan!Your mother and father will be in charge of Noah''s troops, who will be working with the Kingdom and the Empire respectively, so meet me at the rendezvous point beyond the front lines. Also, the feathers and tail you put on Satanakia are highly over-specified, even on our world. I''m sorry, but when the war is over, all data will be destroyed and all equipment will be destroyed, and I''m sure you''re smart enough to understand that, Kou-chan. As I watched my mother leave the conference room with Ellis-san after saying something briefly important, I seriously decided to return to Earth when this war was over. Three days later, the Northern Army under my command, which had advanced 2,600 kilometers north of Noah Island to the sea, was just waiting to receive its last supply of supplies and receive permission to enter the territorial waters of the Linkdoble Empire. I''m not going to be able to get a hold of you. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about this," he said. At the same time, the main force of the Ursna Empire, which discovered a reconnaissance unit of the Duchy of Largile that attempted to invade the kingdom''s territory from the east, launched an all-out attack, and they are currently in pursuit of it after crossing the border. Victoria is looking very belligerent.Will they be properly aligned?I''m getting a little uneasy. ''''Due to the above circumstances, the command has authorized our invasion of the Linkdoble Empire. ''''We have received orders to ''fall the port city on Imperial territory.'''''' All right, you must act now. I''ll leave the details up to Miss Claire and the captain. Use the judgment you think is best. The two of them happily respond to my orders. Well, that''s right, our survival rate will increase dramatically if we''re in command of ourselves, rather than a young guy like me who doesn''t know anything about anything. I understand that it''s completely decorative, but it''s a bit hurtful when it''s shown so openly on your face, so please stop it.... Thinking about this, I asked a nearby female crew member for another cup of coffee before sitting deeper into my seat and meditating. ''We have a flying object approaching from bearing 3-1-1!Number ... 40. I was teasing and playing with Conn over a cup of coffee when the person in charge of the radar suddenly reported at the top of his lungs. An enemy strike force?But there''s no way for the Linkdoble Empire to know that we''re in these waters. When I was looking at the situation to see how to respond, the captain was giving orders to launch the interceptor, but Claire-san waited for him to give the order. ''We''ve checked with the command center. Those approaching are forty dragonriders belonging to the Ursna Empire who were sent as reinforcements, and their captain is Viscount Akator of the Mantis tribe. Mr. Akator!That praying mantis guy was able to reinforce us!And forty mantises fighting on a dragon, that''s pretty cool to imagine. ''Captain, would you mind if I asked you to drop 20 of your men off on the main ship and the rest on the second Mermaid?I would like to see Mr. Akator. Yes, sir. Guidance Officer!Land twenty men, including Viscount Akator, on this ship. The rest of you, unload on the Mermaid. I realized the strength of the commander''s authority as I was easily given permission to land the ship, but more importantly, it''s Akator-san now. When I talked to Claire-san about wanting to meet Akator-san on deck, for some reason she said ''I''ll go with you'', so the two of us moved down the road to the deck. I decided to ask her why she was following me while we were walking. ''Claire-san, Akator-san is an ally, right?I don''t think there''s any particular danger of meeting alone. No, sir. I am concerned about your bad habits, sir, because you are not prejudiced against sub-humans, and you treat people of all races fairly, don''t you?I personally am not a fan of the centipedes in the Underground Corps of Engineers, but His Excellency''s willingness to eat with those centipedes should be emulated by the entire staff of Noah. But, What do you mean by "but"?I''m not supposed to be behaving that way these days. I even left the orichalcon in the care of Mr. Cort! ''But you do have ''direct'' contact with the sub-humans when you''re excited, don''t you?It''s a good thing that the Mantis tribe, for example, when they touched Illya of the Arceny tribe, they touched her spidered leg. Fortunately, Ilya-sama understood that His Excellency had no ulterior motive, but at worst, he would be accused of ''s*xual harassment''. Seriously, I''ll get down on my knees the next time I see Illya-san. I mean, I now understand why the other subhuman female soldiers were trying to avoid me, I''m sure that among the soldiers belonging to the Ursna Empire, they''re whispering that ''Noah''s special forces major general is a pervert''. When I stepped out on the deck, overwhelmed by these thoughts, the dragonriders had just arrived in the sky. ''It really is a mantis riding a dragon, isn''t it? Claire-san is surprised, but I was also speechless when I saw the bizarre scene. Normally when you think of a dragon rider, you think of a black or silver knight riding a dragon bravely, but the dragon riders in front of me are insects riding on the back of a dragon. My fantasy image of the dragonriders collapses soundly, but I think it''s good because it''s so cool. As I watched, the dragons slowly circled around and landed on the deck, the first dragon rider to descend was definitely Akator, who I met at the Demon King''s Castle, as he was wearing a gorgeous sword at his waist. I ran up to Akator-san who I hadn''t seen in a while and spoke to him. It''s good to see you, Akator. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a great deal more to say about it. I learned from Claire''s words earlier, and I decided to ask her permission before touching it properly. I''m sure you''ll be able to find the best way to make sure that you''re getting the most out of your time with us. "Tick........tick......tick......tick.... ''Mr. Akator, I''m sorry, but I don''t know the language of the Mantis people, may I ask you to use your translation magic?'' Akator-san responded to my words by stepping back and making a magic circle appear in the air. I''ve never seen this kind of magic before, so I was excited to see what it was going to be, and as I watched, the magic circle emitted a strong green light and enveloped Akator, and even the people on the deck were watching the scene with surprised expressions on their faces to see what was going to happen. But the people who were there were even more surprised by the sight they saw when the light subsided. ''''I''m sure this will get the word across, how about that?'''' The ''woman'' who speaks the language of the human in front of me was wearing a beautiful dark green dress and holding a gorgeous sword at her waist. I was confused, but I finally managed to get the words out of my mouth and ask the woman a question. ''''Ah ... uh ... are you Akator-san?'''' ''Yes, this is Mindane Akator. I don''t think we''ve been properly introduced. "By order of Her Majesty Victoria, 40 members of the Ursna Imperial Guard, the Dragonriders, have come to reinforce Major General Ursna''s army. Akator is not a name, it''s a last name!I''ve been touching Akator-san''s body armor just now, and now it''s on her chest. It''s a good thing that you''re not the only one who''s been playing with a woman''s breasts incessantly, then there''s only one thing that I should do now. I''m sorry, Akator-san, I''m so sorry! I decided to get down on my knees and apologize for my rudeness as I rubbed my head against the deck at her feet. ----Akator''s Point of View---- ''I''m sorry, Mr. Akator, I''m so sorry! He froze in surprise as Kouki-san started to apologize while rubbing his head on the ground as soon as he greeted her, and the woman next to him explains the situation to him. ''''Even though His Excellency didn''t know, he is apologizing for touching Akator-sama''s chest. Normally he is a very bright and intelligent man, but he becomes a bit of a freak when he comes into contact with unusual species. From the looks of it, he didn''t even know that Master Akator was a woman. With that in mind, will you please forgive me this time? I see, Kouki-san doesn''t seem to know that we don''t particularly care if we are touched by the human race. ''''Don''t worry about it, we Mantis race don''t feel aversion to being touched by the human race. Just be careful, other races can be bothered by it. Kouki-san stood up, her eyes watering at my words, and she bowed her head even more apologetically and asked me a question. ''You were a woman, weren''t you, Akator? I was sure you were a man, are there many female soldiers in the Imperial Army? ''No, it''s not that, but insectoid species are basically stronger in females. So the other races have a higher percentage of males. Kouki-san nodded as if he understood my explanation, but honestly, for me, I''m more concerned about this ship than such trivial things. Before His Majesty ordered me to set out as a reinforcement for the Noah''s people, there was an explanation.......but I didn''t expect to see a ship like this really floating at sea from above, I thought my heart would stop. My subordinates were curious about it, touching the deck and walls, so let''s ask them a question. "Rear Admiral, this ship is an ''ice'' hull, isn''t it? ''''That''s right. The name of this ship is the ''Iceberg-type Power Suit Carrier Siren'', and the ship you see over there in a slightly different shape is the ''Iceberg-type Battleship Carrier Mermaid''. It''s a new ship built by Noah''s engineering department who took my joke seriously, it''s pretty big, isn''t it?The unit we use is 700 meters long. When I suddenly looked to the side and found my subordinate checking the strength of the ice with his sickle, I hurriedly went to stop him, and Kouki-san, who was watching it with a laugh, said something like a joke. "It''s getting cold in here, let''s go inside. It''s almost lunchtime, and why don''t the rest of the Mantis come inside and have a meal? ''Do sub-humans like us and the human race share a meal together?'' ''Yes, who cares about that in Noah?It''s just that some people aren''t subspecies, they simply don''t like insects, so please don''t get too close to those people. We still didn''t trust the humans in a corner of our minds, but it seems that it''s really safe to trust the people of Noah, the otherworldly people. I said to Kouki-san in gratitude, ''I''ll be happy to join you,'' and then decided to put up my subordinate who was scraping the ice despite the fact that I warned him earlier. ''''Oh, so I''m not being treated like a pervert?'''' "Yes, the reason everyone stays away from the Major General is because you''re what they call a demon. As I was drinking after-dinner tea with Kouki-san, I asked, ''''Don''t the female soldiers of the Imperial Army hate you?'''' I was consulted, apparently they think it was because of me and Ilya touching their bodies, but that''s not true. When I explained that most female soldiers are afraid to talk to Her Majesty the Demon God, who is higher than Her Majesty Victoria, they denied it with a puzzled face for some reason. ''''I''m not a demon god or anything like that. And I''m an Ancient Dragon. Saying that, Kouki-san grabbed up Master Kong who was eating fruit on the table, but that''s not what I''m talking about. In our sub-human race, there is a fairy tale from the ancient times - no, there is a legend. When the devil appears from the time gap, the world will come to an end. The world will be reborn after the demon is sublimated into a demon god that governs rebirth. Isn''t this lore about the people of Noah today?I heard that the time progresses differently between the other world and our world as evidence of this. And above all, I think ''demon'' refers to the armor that Kouki-san wears. As I was about to explain this to her, Claire, who gave me her name earlier, came into the room and spoke to Kouki-san. ''Sir, it''s only an hour left until the start of the operation. Please get ready. Sure. Well, I don''t think you can have all the reinforcements, but would you please allow Mr. Akator to enter the CIC?Since you''ve gone out of your way to reinforce us, I think we''d better be sincere in our response. ''Yes, I received prior permission from the captain, as I''m sure you would say. I have been given permission for all the Mantis, except Mr. Akator, to use the commander''s recreation room, so you may rest there. As I was moving after Claire-san, who said that and was showing me around, only Kouki-san headed for another passage on the way, I wondered, and I decided to ask her a question. ''Is the Major General going to watch the game in another room?'' ''No, Your Excellency, you will launch at the start of the operation. The Northern Army - or rather, the strongest power suit in Noah''s arsenal - Your Excellency is our main force. I don''t understand the common sense of the other world that the commander himself is going to go into battle, but I have a feeling that he will come back somehow unscathed, so I can''t say anything. While I was walking around thinking about this, I arrived in front of a room with a sturdy iron door. On both sides of the door are soldiers with rifles and weapons that they were taught on Noah''s island, so you can see at a glance that this is a very important room. ''''Master Akator, this is the room that manages all the battles, called the CIC. I''m sorry, sir, but once you''re inside, I ask that you never touch the equipment. I understand. As I entered the open door and saw several people working agilely in the bright blue-lit room, I was at a loss as to where I should be, when a man in a black military uniform spoke to me with a smile. ''This is Captain Carter of the Siren, I welcome reinforcements from the Ursna Empire. Please take a seat over here. After thanking me, I sat down at the recommended seat and Carter gave me a clear explanation of the room''s facilities and plans for the future. The round screen over there is a large screen, which works like a magic tool for seeing at a distance, and the round screen on the right is the radar, a tool that can capture an opponent on the horizon if conditions are right. The right side of the screen is the radar, and depending on the conditions, it can be used to capture an opponent over the horizon. After this, in about forty-five minutes or so, we will have the Gulf City in the Linkdoble Empire territory in our attack range. As soon as we enter the attack zone, the power suit "Satanakia" worn by your Excellency will ram into what is presumed to be the enemy''s defense facility, and after spraying incapacitating gas, the power suit squad that follows will take control of the city. This time we won''t use the ship''s main guns as we are attacking a city with a large number of civilian residents, even though it''s an enemy country. According to Carter-san''s explanation, he''s planning to control the city with the least amount of damage possible. As I sat down to admire Noah''s attitude of being careful not to hurt his opponents everywhere, Claire-san prepared a drink and brought it to me. As I drank it and watched the people moving around and waited for the time to start the operation, I saw Kouki-san''s figure on the screen and started a conversation with Claire-san. ''Can you hear me? "Sir, that''s an atmospheric descent armoured capsule. It has the highest level of heat and shock resistance, so it''s the perfect piece of equipment to use when you''re going into enemy territory. You don''t want to fly into battle because it''s cool, do you?No matter how much genius you have for piloting, Sir, I cannot allow it because it is dangerous. "...yes. I replied after a long pause, but did the Major General want to fly away?As an expert in flying over enemy lines without thinking about it, I am against flying as a Dragon Rider. I was having trouble judging Kouki''s character, wondering if he was really as bright as Claire says he is, when Carter started giving out loud instructions. ''180 seconds to the planned attack point, prepare for Satanakia injection! We''re ready. Stand by for injection impact. On my count, please. 160, 159, 158... All I can do now is to pray for the safe return of Kouki-san and the rest of the Noah''s soldiers who will follow him. As I prayed as if I were seeing off the subordinates I had fought with for many years on the battlefield, the time had finally come. ''Five, four, three, two, Satanakia injection! The moment Carter said this, the image on the screen changed to show the Gulf City of the Linkdoble Empire, and a large object was seen flying towards it. The screen magnifies the object that fell on the shore and shows what looks like an "egg" on the screen, but is that what they call a capsule? There should be a Mr. Kouki inside, but there''s no movement... The people in the room started to panic when they heard Kouki''s voice. The capsule''s opening/closing device is broken and won''t open, what should I do? ''Force them out. If it''s His Excellency''s Satanakia, you can hit it and it will break. Claire''s reply to Kouki sounds a little tired, but doesn''t he have the tension of being on the battlefield? In a somewhat fluent voice, Kouki-san replied, ''I understand,'' and then Gun!Go!I heard the sound of a capsule punching, and as if to match the sound, the egg on the screen cracked and I saw a hand coming out of the inside. Eventually an arm ... head ... upper body ... and gradually the shape of the demon came out of the egg, and finally when the lower body with a long tail came out of the egg, the demon on the screen complained about being pushed in and He raised his voice as if to shout. ''Googie gaaaaaaa! Hearing that completely out of tune voice, I was convinced. That roar must be the demon god hatched from the egg telling all the creatures in this world that it was the end of the world. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint As I struggled to get out of the armored capsule, I accidentally pressed the button that emitted a roar. As soon as I pressed the button, a voice that sounded like a violin mis-tuned came out of Satanakia''s external speakers, but I was supposed to use it to descend from the sky in style, so I can only regret it. Satanakia''s descent!I was going to do something like that, but you ruined it. I grabbed his tail and brought it down on my lap to take it out on Kong, who was unfaithfully trying to take it out on the shock of escaping from the shock of escaping, and I let out a cute little ''cocoo...'' sound and turned my eyes around so I could gently pet him and think about the plans for the future. Do you want to let Claire-san know that you have escaped from the capsule without shaking the Kong on your lap for now? I''ve successfully escaped from the capsule. We will now take control of the enemy facility... ''What''s the matter, sir?What''s the emergency? I''m not going to be able to hear Claire-san shouting something on the other side of the speaker, but I can''t hear her, at the same time as communicating, I looked at the beach with an external camera to see what''s going on at the same time, but all the knights of the empire that seemed to be trying to surround me that landed on the beach have fallen to the ground. No way........did they hit the knights when they escaped?If you hit a flesh-and-blood human with a power suit, you''re definitely going to die, I feel cold sweat break out on my back as I bring the suit closer to the knightly person and gently scan for biological signs. ''He''s breathing........ His heart seems to be beating too, is he just passing out? I was relieved and looked around to see that the knight who hadn''t fainted was about to run away astride a creature like a horse. Just in time to hear what happened to that knight. I''m not sure how long they''ve been attacking me, so what the hell is going on?He chased the fleeing knight at high speed while using a four-legged gait and grabbed him with his right hand to talk to him. ''''Um, what the hell is going on?This country is at war with our allies, so why hasn''t it attacked us? [Let me go!Please, I have a wife and kids to look after!Don''t eat me] I don''t use translation magic, so I have no idea what the knight is talking about. I''m sure Akator-san in the Sirens can translate it for you, I used the communicator to talk to Akator-san who is supposed to be in the CIC and he immediately told me what the knight was talking about. I''m afraid to tell you, but the demon has been spooked. I''m sorry to say this, but if a demon is chasing you at high speed, you''d think that anyone would be eaten. At those words, I hurriedly took my hand away and the knight crawled away as if he had lost his back. Are you that afraid of my suit? While I was thinking about this, Claire-san continues to send me a communication. ''''Your Excellency, we have confirmed the opening of the main gate of the fort and the white flag. I''ve decided that the city''s succession capability has been lost, so please leave the rest to the following forces and return to the Sirens. Thank you for your efforts.'''' No, I haven''t done anything to say ''thank you'' yet!Why is the captain also impressed with ''Your Excellency''? The practice of saying in front of the mirror in a fierce battle, ''Leave it to me and move forward,'' in a cool manner to the trailing troops, was all in vain! d*mn it, let''s go home and go to bed unfaithfully. I decided to go straight to my room instead of stopping at the CIC after I returned to the Sirens, and then I hugged him and ignited the thrusters so that the con on my lap wouldn''t shake. In the evening of this day.......the imperial leadership, who had received information that ''Asti'', the Gulf city of the impregnable Linkdoble Empire, had fallen in just a few minutes, had initially been too ridiculous to believe any of that information. However, when some of the anti-war faction dispatched their own investigation team, a report from the defense garrison that had withdrawn from Asti convinced them that the information was true. At this point in time, the experts were slightly concerned about the future of the war, but they hadn''t yet imagined that they would hear the desperate reports of the "defeat of the Allied Forces" from various sources late at night. 44-Merkava Front ----Miki Arakawa Point of View While a small-scale skirmish continues along the border, Ellis-san, who has been appointed as my personal second in command aboard the Alice, reports the information on the advance of the ''Northern Sector Army'' led by Gongju. I''ve got to admit, I''m not sure if it''s a good idea, but I think it''s a good idea. We have successfully captured it. ''You''re done with it!That''s pretty fast. No matter how much they led a fleet with an aircraft carrier and a battleship to forcefully attack it, it was indeed too soon. You don''t mean they used live ammunition, do you?I urged Ellis-san to continue his report with a touch of unease and found that Gongju had used a genius method to take over Asti. ''His Excellency Major General Special Affairs sailed from the Sirens using a special capsule for atmospheric descent. He used the bellowing device after a forced landing on the coast, but because of the bellowing inside the capsule at this time, the reverberating sound became a directional sound wave and hit the semi-encircled Knights. It is said that all the Knights of the Empire were knocked out by the impact of the acoustic grenade. Victoria-san called Gongju a demon god, but even for me, as a mother, I''m afraid that boy is going to hump the human frame lately. Lately, ''''Mother!Sometimes I wonder what I''ll do if someone says ''look, I''ve learned to use magic'' or something like that.Well, if that happens, I''m sure I''ll have to learn magic and insist that ''my son is a person of my blood'' - but right now, I''m more worried about the progress of the Merkava front than such trivial matters. ''''Ellis-san, what''s the situation on the front line?If we don''t break through here soon, Gongju will be isolated in Imperial territory. Currently, the two knightly orders of the Merkava Kingdom are being deployed to the front. We believe that the enemy is trying to preserve their main force by placing sub-human infantry units on the front lines. So it''s a stalemate, no casualties on either side, but it''s a lack of decisive action, and the problem is that the game hasn''t changed much. Is it time to go on the offensive? What''s the ammunition loss rate on a land-based battleship? ''At the end of the sixteenth bombardment just now, all of our ships are below fifty percent. The heaviest wear and tear is on the second ship, the Clare, with 32 percent remaining. Every time a call for artillery support came in, Claire was conducting a support attack, so I don''t blame her, but Claire, who would be useless in the distance, should be allowed to get resupplied in the rear for once. Biting my nails as I make my decision, I give instructions to Ellis-san. ''Order Claire to get resupplied in the rear, and don''t forget to tell the captains of each ship to have the suits on Claire dispersed and redeployed to Alice and Miki before they go back. Also, I''ll be ejecting the ''Panjandrum'' and you''ll alert the kingdom side. Yes, sir. I sit back in my chair and re-cross my legs, but remembering something important, I hurriedly call out after Miss Ellis, who is about to go to the communications officer. ''Could I have a cup of tea, please?No sugar and a little milk. Yes, please hold. After looking away from Ellis-san, who smiled back at me, I began to think of a plan to break the war situation as I stared at the information on the screen. ''Miki-san, Princess Cassis and General Auguste have asked Alice for permission to board the ship to discuss the war situation. "If the captain will allow it, you''ll take me to the CIC. As I was drinking tea and planning the general plan, the kingdom side offered me a ''consultation''. Probably, they didn''t come to consult, but rather to scream that it was impossible to maintain the front line any longer, but they must have the kingdom''s knights to hold out for another ten minutes or so, by all means. As I was trying to figure out how to tell them that, Princess Cassis and General Auguste, who were wearing armor and looking tired, entered the CIC. ''''Miki-san, I apologize for my unexpected visit. ''No, I''m fine. But more importantly, the Knights are at their limit, aren''t they? Princess Cassis answers my question with a face like she''s about to cry. ''''Yes......... Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Noah''s people, no deaths have occurred, but four knightly orders have already been destroyed, and the rest of the knightly orders are doing their best to prevent the enemy''s attack once more. If the Black Gold Knights had been here, they could have held out a little longer...'''' "They have been entrusted with another mission of great importance, and that is unavoidable. But I''d like to thank you, on behalf of Noah, for holding up so well. When I bowed my head, the princess hurriedly shouted, ''''Please raise your head,'''' but I have to tell the knights of the kingdom that are about to be destroyed to ''''endure a little more,'''' so I must show my sincerity. I raise my lowered head and look into the princess''s eyes as I tell her the plan I just came up with. ''''Soon, the Imperial offensive will reach its breaking point. I plan to take advantage of the momentary gap between the offensive and defensive positions to rush the land battleships into the enemy''s ranks and overwhelm the enemy''s main battlefield at once, but in order to do so, I need the Royal Knights to overcome the enemy''s onslaught just once more. Can you please help us? I understand. I will order the Order to hold out for as long as it takes. Having received permission from Princess Cassis, who nodded vigorously while contacting the Knights with her magic tool, I give orders to all the troops under my command. ''''All units are notified!The land battleships are prepared to move into enemy lines. Power suit squadrons, head to support the withdrawal of the Royal Knights. Sir, we''ve just received a transmission from Claire, Number 2. They''ve resupplied and are returning to the front lines. The report of just the right time made me smile, if all the ships are lined up in a horizontal line to squeeze the front of the imperial army, there will be a gap somewhere. If you shoot the remaining panjandrum through the gap and spray neutralization gas, it will open up a route of attack to the enemy''s front line, and if you use mobile infantry equipped with Noah''s reinforced exoskeleton to suppress it, you can break through this front line. With this in mind, I was somewhat relieved to see the layout of each unit on the screen, when I felt a slight change. I''m sorry, sir, but the information is still very confusing. We''re waiting to hear from the tank corps directly. It was hard to imagine that a tank squadron with high firepower and strong armor would easily retreat. The only possibility is an airborne ground attack, but according to preliminary information, the imperial forces on this front should not have any dragonriders deployed. Even if they did come with reinforcements, they would be able to catch them on Alice''s radar, so what the hell is going on here? Emergency message from the tank!"Large enemy weapon in front of right flank, urgently requesting immediate reinforcements. The big one?It''s unlikely that the Imperial Army has the technical capability to do this, but as a matter of fact, the tank corps is in retreat. I''ve decided that we need to see the actual large weapon to be able to take effective countermeasures, and I''ve ordered the screen to show the right wing. "I''ll switch to live feed from the tank that is serving as Lord. You can''t mean... I can see that Ellis-san, who switched images, is exclaiming when she sees the giant humanoid Nanika on the screen. ''''Giant Golem!How could a human being run it like that... no way! Princess Cassis, do you know what that thing is? When I crowded in on Princess Cassis and asked her a question, she explained about the giants with a blue face. It''s a giant golem, one of the weapons used in ancient times for sieges, but it uses an enormous amount of magic to activate it. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about this in the future. But it''s up and coming at us now. Can you guess how it was activated?And is there a person on that thing? Princess Cassis raised her eyebrows and thought frantically, but after a while she seemed to have come to one conclusion, and with a face that looked like she''d bitten down on a bitter bug, she told me what she''d guessed. ''There are no people on board, the Giant Golem is an automatic doll. These words made me want to use an imaginary bomb to obliterate the main camp of the Imperial Army right now, but I bit my lip and held back the urge, shouting at the captain as I gave the order. ''''Captain!You are permitted to use live ammunition. Now blow up that blinding giant. "With all due respect, sir, with the type of ammunition we have on board this ship, we''ll be able to do a fair amount of damage to those around us, if that''s alright? ''What about the heavily armed power suit squadron?'' ''We have just assisted in the withdrawal of the Royal Knights. We could abandon them and let them come to you, but that might cause the Knights'' damage rate to exceed acceptable levels. Oh, my God! Gunning, I kick up the admiral''s seat with the toe of the heel I''m wearing, and if I don''t, the right wing unit will be destroyed. Should I use live ammunition, even at the risk of commensurate damage?But in that case, there would undoubtedly be deaths, so even if we could achieve a tactical victory, it would be the equivalent of a strategic defeat. ''''Miki-san, the line of retreat of the right wing troops is the breaking point. No more.'''' ''''Miki-san, if you don''t stop the Giant Golem as soon as possible, the lives of the Empire''s sorcerers are in danger. Ellis-san and Princess Kassis urge me to make a decision. ''''E.........e.......noise......badly......do you hear that? ?It''s communicating in one direction on all frequency bands due to heavy noise. This is ''Ground Raider Odin'' and has been sent to your rescue by the order of His Excellency, Major General. All units requiring backup firepower will use infrared strobes to alert you to their targets, and until further notice, we will attack the giants below. It looks like Gongju saved me again. I sipped my tea while looking at the screen showing Odin''s slow descent from the sky to the ground. ----Captain Odin''s point of view Major, are we still on standby today? Lucas, the gunner, is blubbering with a cigarette in his mouth over a shell. It''s hard to judge whether it''s gutsy or simply stupid to smoke in a place where fire is strictly prohibited, but since he''s a good marksman, I''m not going to remove him from the team for now. Oh, and be ready to scramble off at any time while you wait. Oh, and get out of there!If you accidentally trigger a bomb, you''ll be blown up into space. Hey. Well, who cares if it''s a crazy place?We''re always on standby for food. It''s not like we had a chance to do this when we were on earth, but even in another world, it''s still not worth it. I should have aimed to become a suit wearer too. It''s somewhat understandable why Lucas is blubbering like he''s not going to get laid. There are several types of weapons on Earth that have been retired because they no longer need to be deployed, but there are only two types of weapons that would cause problems if they were completely retired. The first is the Missile Attack Nuclear Submarine, which is deployed in a small number of countries simply because it''s better to have it than not, now that missile defense technology has been developed. The second is the strategic bombers we use. In today''s military balance, where power suits can shoot down aircraft if they want to, the bombers are treated as a disappointing weapon rather than a nuclear submarine, because they are slower than fighter jets and have a larger surface area to hit than a nuclear submarine, which is better to have than not. I understand Lucas''s sadness at being assigned to a bomber squadron, even though he joined the Air Force, but he needs a little more motivation. ''Hey Lucas, what''s up with John?'' I wonder why John, who usually smokes with Lucas, isn''t there, so I ask him where he is. Oh, he went to the lavatory about half an hour ago with a magazine. Miss Link is over there getting her nails done. I mean, no matter how much work you say you don''t have, you have too much freedom!Tolstoy''s captain and crew in similar circumstances have gone through rigorous training and are now commanding a land-based battleship, you guys should learn a little more from them. As I was thinking about this, the main communication terminal installed in the cabin suddenly rang and displayed a light to let me know that a communication had come in from outside the base. It''s probably just the ground troops chilling out as usual anyway..., I thought as I merrily pressed the comm button to answer it. This is Captain Odin, this is Major Martin. What''s your division? The ''Huh?'' that they were supposed to continue after this.''You''re not a pizza delivery service?'' As I twisted my head around to think about how to respond to the line, the woman on the screen replied with a frown. I am Lieutenant Colonel Claire Dauntless, second-in-command to His Excellency Arakawa Koki, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army. His Excellency wanted to speak to you personally, so we communicated with you, but you are quite arrogant. Are you kidding me?Speaking of Arakawa Koki, isn''t he Shuichi''s only son? He''s supposed to be commanding Noah''s main force and taking control of the Linkdoble Empire right now, so why is he sending a message to a lowly colonel like me!No, I''ll have to apologize first, or I''ll be court-martialed. ''I''m sorry!The wait has been prolonged, sir, and we''ve grown slack. "I would normally instruct you on how to talk to your superiors, but that''s fine. I''ll be on the line with you, but please don''t be rude if you make a mistake. With that, Commander Claire exited the screen, and this time a gentle-looking boy appeared on the screen. We joined Noah out of respect for Shuichi-san, so I''ve never seen his face like the others in the unit, but since he looks like Miki-san, there''s no doubt that this is the boy. I''m Major Martin Achenbach, Captain Odin!It''s a pleasure to meet you, my lord. ''''I''m Katsuki Arakawa. There''s no need to be so fearful, please make yourself comfortable. ''Please make yourself comfortable,'' he says, so I decide to assume an upright, immovable position. I''ll make a note in my mind to definitely punch him out later as Lucas is whispering behind me, ''Please sit down and cross your legs. ''I''m pretty sure it''s a new type of ground assault aircraft that the Major will be commanding, right?'' Yes, I have a ground assault craft, Odin, under my command. You''ll be able to see that it''s a very good thing that you''re able to do. As I recall, he designed Odin himself, but did he just want to find out what kind of people were using the plane he designed?As I was pondering these questions, the boy on the screen gave me a ridiculous order with a smiling expression on his face. ''''Using the authority I have, I''m giving orders to Major Martin. The ground assault aircraft Odin is to sortie immediately and cover the kingdom''s relief forces that are fighting in the direction of the Merkava Kingdom. The Ursna''s Dragonriders have informed us that a large siege weapon is expected to appear in the direction of the kingdom. Why would you give us such a big role in... I can''t help but huff and puff after I say it. I''m sure that if you ask your superiors, or even the commander-in-chief, this time you will be instructed by Commander Claire, but I don''t understand why she would entrust us with such an important role. I''m sure that if you use your authority, you can launch a full-scale sortie of the power suits and fighter squadrons standing by at Noah''s Island. I''ve been waiting for an answer, and he smiled back at me. It''s a great idea to have a super-sized ground assault plane turn the enemy''s siege weapons into a beehive of romance!And I''m sure the Major has grown tired of waiting around.I can understand the feeling, as I was also canned on the island before this. Please go and relieve yourself of your sorrows.'' I was stunned by Kouki''s words, but I was able to understand his true intentions immediately. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a lot of good reasons to go for this mission. Lucas noticed this and started checking his equipment as quickly as possible, and John and Link, who had been listening in on the exchange, ran to the hangar to get everyone''s flight equipment. After confirming the actions of my subordinates with a sideways glance, I once again stand up straight and salute while replying to Kunugi, "I''m sure you will succeed in your rescue mission. ''''We will definitely succeed in the rescue mission and destroy the expected enemy''s large siege weapons! I don''t know if you are satisfied with this response, but after nodding twice, he bowed his head to me, a lowly major, and cut off the communication, saying, "I look forward to working with you. It''s a good thing that you''re able to get a good idea of what''s going on in your life. "Major, we''ll be arriving in combat airspace in a few minutes, ''Tell me in exact time, not ''soon''! The operator''s link has given a lazy report, and while chiding it, he tries to communicate with the ground troops, but since a while ago, the communication is not working well, and it seems that the main terminal is temporarily down because it can no longer process the information, as it seems to be processing a large amount of communication at once. To be exact, it will take about two minutes, and also the command center on Noah''s island has informed us that they are currently unable to communicate with the upper ground forces at all. What do we do now? I don''t want you to ask me what I''m going to do, precision bombing isn''t our mission to begin with, and we can''t decide which ones to attack without a request from the ground forces. Shall we hold in the air until we can make contact with them?Just when I started to think about this, Lucas, the shooter, reports to me in a raised voice. The ''large siege weapon'' that was predicted to appear is in sight. It''s kind of troublesome, so let''s just shoot it now. Anyway, we''ll be instructed to beat up that big thing afterwards, so it''s okay. ''Wait!It''s not good enough to fire a shot with friendly forces around. I can''t get permission to shoot, and Lucas is complaining and looking at the target scope, but he can''t do anything in this situation. If we involve our friends in the shooting, it will cause trouble for Kouki, who trusted us and sent us off. If we can somehow inform the ground troops of our intentions, we can start firing.........................Just use what you were taught when you were still in the officer''s school. "Linc, I want you to take control of all frequency bands in this war zone. I don''t care if it''s a one-way communication, we''ll let the ground troops know our intentions. Link immediately takes control of Odin''s information system, which also functions as an air traffic control system, and gives me a thumbs-up with his finger. I check it and then speak into the headset''s microphone. ''Do you read me?This is Odin. You''re buzzing with noise do you hear that?It''s communicating in one direction on all frequency bands due to heavy noise. This is ''Ground Raider Odin'' and we''ve been sent to your rescue by the order of the Special Marshal Major General. All units requiring backup attacks will use infrared strobes to alert you to their targets, and we will attack the giants below us until further notice. That''s it, all that''s left to do is keep the enemy infantry off the giants'' feet. We''ll use soft-iron bullets, which have relatively low killing power, to destroy the siege weapons, but even so, a direct hit on a human will result in a fatal wound. The question of how to draw the infantry away is already figured out, I grinned and ordered my co-pilot, John. "Reduce flight altitude and fly around the siege weapon. The Imperials will be stunned when the 100-meter-long Odin snatches and flies five meters off the ground. Yes, sir!You have a nice arm. Once it made a wide turn over the battlefield, it lowered its nose and accelerated as it plunged towards the ground. But it doesn''t end there, we are the ''elite'' among strategic bombers, and this is the Odin, designed by the genius Gongju-kun and developed by Noah. "Link, Lucas, I hope you''ve got your belt on," he said.Let''s do a somersault! ''Major, I''ve been thinking about this for a while now, but let me make it clear once. You''re an idiot, aren''t you!There''s no way a bomber can fly a juggling act. Ignoring Lucas''s words, I raise Odin''s nose in one fluid motion, rising at a right angle and then somersaulting to see the tank squadron on the ground upside down. I turned on the microphone in the headset that extends to my mouth and then shouted at the tank corps instead of my subordinates, who kept getting made fun of as representatives of Odin. ''You tank corps bastards, take a good look at that!The pizzeria you''ve made such a fool of yourselves, I''m going to beat the hell out of that big fat thing! Odin''s plane is back in normal flight, but the juggling act has scattered a lot of things in the cabin, but no one cares about it, they''re all intent on beating up the tank''s retreating opponent. ''Lucas, use the Gatling gun to destroy the enemy''s siege weapons. Don''t be stingy with them, okay?We won''t be back for a while anyway, so use all 20 gates we''re equipped with and smash them to pieces. Yes, sir. At my command, Lucas looks through the target scope and begins to aim and prepare to fire. This Odin is equipped with 20 Gatling guns of 36mm caliber in addition to 120mm guns and missile launchers, it is true that the power is small compared to the high-powered heavy artillery that tank guns and power suits are equipped with. However, there is the greatest advantage that they do not have. The tank cannon fires six or even eight rounds a minute, even with the automatic reloader, which is the most it can do, but the Gatling gun can fire 3,900 rounds a minute. What happens if you deploy a solid magical barrier that bounces off a tank gun, but lands in the same spot in succession?We''ll find out soon enough. Open fire! The 36mm bullets attacked the siege weapon, leaving behind Gatling''s distinctive vaunting sound. For the first three seconds, a purple luminescence could be seen at the point of impact, but after five seconds, it landed without any resistance and a rain of bullets could be seen gouging out the shoulder of the human shape. Legs!Aim for the legs and stop moving. Let him roll over and then take his time cooking. The upper half of the giant''s body is already torn to shreds because it didn''t stop firing at my instruction and moved its sights to its feet. When its legs have been torn to pieces and it falls onto its face, bullets rain down from the skies, firing evenly from head to toe, and the original form is no longer recognizable... then the ground troops contacted me. It''s Miyuki Arakawa, the commander of the rescue force. I''d like to thank you for rescuing me from a dangerous place this time. But could you stop firing soon?Both Princess Cassis and Alice''s CIC personnel next to her look drawn out. If you do too much, it will damage Noah''s reputation and interfere with future negotiations, so please stop right there.'''' I became calm at those words and ordered Lucas, who was still firing, to stop firing, and then replied to Miki-san, who is also Noah''s commander. ''''Understood. We''ve destroyed the siege weapon, but do we need any other supportive attacks? No, it''s not necessary. You''ve given us time to regain our footing, and most importantly, as soon as the Titans are down, the Imperial Army will lose the will to fight and will begin to retreat. You can retreat now and return to Noah Island, but first, I''d like to see you fly over the Northern Command if you have enough fuel to spare. For the sake of fighting spirit and because my son, who I just got in touch with, wanted to see Odin, could you please do me a favor? ''Yes, sir!From this point on, Odin will fly on a course to the north and then make an exhibition flight over the northern sector forces. At the same time as I saluted, he saw the screen go off and instructed John to head north. As I recall, Kouki said that the one dispatched by the Ursna Empire was the Dragon Rider, and as a fellow skywalker, I can''t wait to see how he reacts to this aircraft. ----Viewpoint ---- Miki Arakawa I was inwardly relieved to see that Odin had flown off to the north. I was relieved to see that Odin had gone north. If you keep attacking the enemy with such a thieving attitude like that, Princess Kassis next to me and the Ursna Empire''s generals listening to the transmissions will have a strange misunderstanding of what you are doing. Since it was Koki who created such a ridiculous airplane, let''s have her take care of Odin''s crew... When I was thinking about such an escape from responsibility, Ellis-san spoke to me. ''''Miki-san, it''s Odin, but how can he fly with such a huge body?That was about 100 meters long, wasn''t it? ''''I don''t know, I made a mock-up of the prototype as designed by Kunugi in the Creation Program and it floated, so I ordered the engineering department to create it. By the way, if you move even the slightest bit of one of the 12 engines, it will stop flying. Mr. Ellis'' eyes widen at my explanation and he closes in on me. ''Isn''t that a problem?Please make sure to check with Conju-kun exactly why you can fly! "Because she''s like, ''It''s a coincidence!Just saying ''I just happened to fly, and I didn''t think I''d ever be able to get one of those things to float'' is not enough to get me off on a tangent.I guess I''m a rebel. When I spilled my worries as a mother, Ellis-san shuts down, I''m sure she''s sympathetic to my inability to get along with her son. I made up my mind to have a proper discussion with Kunugi after this war was over, and then I gave the order to have the high-speed suit unit deployed to pursue the enemy. 45-Ursuna Front ----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View ''Captain, this is not good. Our leftist sisters in Arceny have been breached. Back him up with a machine gun!It''s the enemy''s territorial dragon force that''s attacking us, isn''t it?I don''t care if you use soft-iron bullets instead of rubber bullets, as long as it doesn''t kill you anyway. The battle between the Ursna Empire and the Duchy of Raguire that began before noon was initially in Ursna''s favor. However, when we attacked after crossing the border into the reconnaissance unit, the main Ursna unit was captured by the enemy''s main force and attacked from high ground, which resulted in a devastating situation. Our power suit squad succeeded in rescuing the main unit at the last minute, but there was no time to properly regroup, and there was no choice but to retreat while continuing to delay and defend. ''''Captain........this won''t get us anywhere. I think it would be better to retreat completely once and regroup. The second in command, Lewis, makes a dirt-stained frown on his face and tells us what to do, but unfortunately, we don''t have the luxury of time for that right now. It''s a good idea for Noah''s group, but what about Ursna''s guys?I don''t think they can keep up with the speed of our retreat, and if we start a full retreat with the left wing broken through now, it will be a total collapse... get out of the way! The soldier of the Duchy Army, who had been in front of him by pushing Lewis to hit him, is incapacitated by a single volley of rifle shots. The soldier who is hit by the barrage of rubber stun rounds is stunned by the impact of the bullets and the high-voltage electric current generated when the warhead is crushed, so he doesn''t have to worry about getting up for the time being. I think it''s impossible for him to act in combat because he was hit by a barrage of bullets from close range when he got up, but let''s just think of him as lucky that he''s not killed. "Luis, I''m abandoning this line of defense. We will slowly retreat to the third line of trenches built by the Centipede tribe of the Corps of Engineers, where we will set up a claymore to stop the enemy''s advance as much as possible. It''s a filthy but effective trap. Yes, sir. After seeing Lewis start to work, I communicate with the destroyer Orto flying overhead to check the current situation. ''Orto, do you read me?The right wing retreats to the third line. What about the guys in Ursna? "Currently, the Imperial Army has no organized defensive battle going on as the left flank has been breached. We are continuing to fire supportive fire, but it seems to me that it is only a matter of time before the left flank collapses completely. d*mn it!We''re the only ones who can keep the battle going in a decent way. If we burned down the enemy''s front line with napalm bullets from Orto, it would buy Ursna time to retreat.......but I didn''t think it would be this difficult to fight without killing. I light the cigarette in my mouth with the lighter I got as a birthday present from Gongju and inhale deeply before making my decision. ''Orto, I''ll take full responsibility. Drop teargas on the left flank and the central position, we don''t have an organized defense anyway, so I''ll stop the enemy''s advance with every ally. Copy that ... 30 seconds to change the ammunition. After cutting the communication with Orto, he now opens the line to his subordinates scattered across the battlefield and yells into the microphone. ''All of you, drop your reinforced exoskeleton visors!There''s going to be indiscriminate tear gas bombs coming from Orto. While listening to the replies from my subordinates, I lowered the visor of my exoskeleton and laid down on the ground in preparation for the landing of the tear gas shells, and when I looked up at the sky, I saw Orto turning and aiming his main gun towards me. The next moment Orto''s main gun is engulfed in flames and the battlefield is covered in white smoke with the sound of the tear gas explosion as it lands. ''Excuse me while I eat. We''ve finished identifying the wounded.'' Oh. After receiving air support for the tear gas from Ortol, we just piston-transported the Ursna''s guys to the rear to reorganize our troops, with both troops in confusion. Perhaps confused by the power of the tear gas, the Principality Army also temporarily withdrew from the battlefield, and coincidentally, a ceasefire had been in effect since the evening. We used that ceasefire state effectively to rest and check on the wounded, but it seems that the whole check is over. I check the information displayed on the terminal Lewis gave me. It''s better that no one was killed. It''s just lucky that no one died. On the screen, more than 80,000 of the 150,000 Ursna Imperial Army were listed as seriously wounded. If the lightly wounded are included, the number exceeds 100,000.......it''s no exaggeration to say that the Ursna Imperial Army has already been wiped out. With a little over forty thousand left and five hundred of us Noah''s reinforcements, it''s a hopeless situation to defeat and break through the more than two hundred thousand principality troops. Do you have any good news for us? I ask him a question as I hand back the terminal, and Lewis answers it while lighting a cigarette. ''Your son''s fleet has taken Asti in five minutes without blood. The rest of Miki''s troops have defeated the Linkdoble Imperial Army and are on the march. I''m not a novice when it comes to fighting, so I guess we''re the professionals and we''re stuck with it. I tossed the cold can of beef stew I''d finished eating and asked a question to my subordinates, who were eating their food with tired faces. It''s going to be dark soon.For a little over 40,000, you can come up with a plan to destroy 200,000 enemies and march on. We''ll just use nuclear weapons to blow them up. In this world where there is no treaty, ask Miki-san to make one quickly and quickly, and then send it off with a zip. Everyone agrees, laughing at Jonathan''s joke. I laugh at one point and then correct my question and ask the idiots again. All right, all right, I''ll change it. I''ll change the content, a little over 40,000 is a magical idea that will allow you to defeat 200,000 enemies ''without killing'' and march in. When I correct them and ask questions, my subordinates who had been laughing until then are silent and the only sound of chewing is the sound of food being eaten echoing through the tent. In the past, when we fought in Afghanistan, a series of small mistakes nearly destroyed our troops because of the situation we found ourselves in. As I was trying to think of a better way to boost these guys'' morale, the entrance to the tent suddenly rolled up and a group of beauties walked in. ''''Yes!It''s the Transportation Corps of the Faerie Tribe. We''re too weak to participate in the war, but you can trust us with a warm meal!Would you like some soup? Ooh! The idiots who had been eating their food while lying on their faces in silence wasted energy the moment they saw the faerie tribe, taking out their plates and cups to get a warm meal and standing in line. I forgot, these guys are basically simple. They''re the kind of guys who would rush into the enemy''s camp just to be cheered on by a beautiful woman. As I watched the idiots while lighting a cigarette, I felt foolish for thinking seriously about how to boost morale until a moment ago, when I noticed Coat peeking out from the entrance of the tent. Cort looked around inside and nodded in satisfaction before pulling his face back and hurriedly calling out as he turned to leave. ''Cote wait, could it be that you called the faerie tribe?'' ''''Yes. Not only the faerie tribe, but I''ve also asked the beautiful tribe of the Ursna army to go around the tents of each unit. The morale is low, so let''s have the beautiful sisters revitalize it around here. By the way, Her Majesty Victoria has told me ''no touching'', so please let me protect it. After saying that, Court walked away, ''I''ll go check on the other tents. Normally it''s my role to take care of those places, but it doesn''t work out so well without Claire. When I returned to the tent with that thought in mind, my subordinates, who had changed from earlier, were exchanging ideas with each other. The first thing that comes to mind is to have the Ursna forces attack the main body of the enemy from the flank while we deploy to the front and attack the enemy. It''s impossible. The principality, they understand we''re not going to kill them, they''re going to be crushed by sea. "Then how about a night raid?After dark, our modern equipment is better than theirs. If we can take down the enemy''s main camp with a few men, the rest will be a matter of course. Hmm....a night attack. We can use night vision to bypass the enemy and enter the main camp, but we don''t have the mobility to do so. If we use the suit, the enemy will hear us, and we''ll need the help of Ursna''s men. While working out the details with my subordinates who proposed the night attack, I took out from my pocket the list of Ursna''s race composition given to me by Victoria. ----Claire''s Point of View on board the Siren In the Siren''s CIC, where the battle had ended, only the personnel on duty were performing their vigilance duties in the minimal light. I glanced at the watch on my wrist and saw that the time pointed to 19:00. It''s already nightfall, and both the Northern Army to which I belong and the Kingdom Relief Army under Miki-san''s command have already ended the large-scale battle. In such a situation, the special power suit brigade dispatched to the Ursna Empire - the unit I originally belong to - is still fighting with the Principality''s army and is in an inferior position. ''''Command, can you hear me?What''s the status of the Ghost Squad''s war effort? The fighting has now come to a temporary halt. The latest reports indicate that Ursna''s forces have been wiped out, and that the Ghost Squad alone will attempt to defeat the Principality''s forces. His chest tightened at the information. Will my troop mates be able to get through the Duchy''s army safely?I''m not sure if they are able to manage information and maintain the morale of the troops without me and Ellis before that. I''ve been listening to the radio transmissions of the Ursna Front without permission while worrying about such things, but for the last two hours there has been no radio communication at all. Perhaps they are taking a break or reorganizing their units, but.......I feel lonely that the friends I''ve always fought with are now fighting away from me. It''s not that I''m unhappy with the current situation of being assigned to the Sirens, but I hope you''ll see more sighs leaking out. ''Con!'' What? I''m sorting through the information on the Ursna Front sent to me by the command center on my terminal when I suddenly turn around in surprise when Kon-chan calls out behind me. After confirming that I''ve turned around, Kong-chan shows me a communication card she carries around her neck and writes some words on it. ''Are you worried about your fathers?'' Yes, I worry about my troopers fighting far away from home. In response to my reply, Kong-chan thinks for a while, wagging her cute tail, and then shows me the letters again, writing them down. ''I have an idea. You have a mobile device for me that your mother made before, can you use it to send me to the Ursna front? What the hell are they going to do about it?To be honest, I don''t think it would change the war situation even if Kong-chan went to the rescue. But somewhere in my heart, I have the hope that she will be able to do something about it. After staring at Kong-chan''s face, I decide to use the mobile device exclusively for her with the authority given to me. ''I''ve given orders from the terminal to prepare the mobile device. You''re going to help everyone in the squad, right? Conn stretched out her chest as best she could with her small body before she took the paper in her mouth and hugged me. The paper she handed me had a smiling description on it. ''Leave it to me!I show Master what a great guy I am. People usually say that master is the only one who is great, but I''m a great dragon too! I began to walk towards the Siren''s stern, where the mobile device was at the ready as I gently stroked Kon''s head, trying desperately to keep up with her small body. ''How are you doing, Con?I''m sure you''re getting good oxygen, but aren''t you suffering? CON! I put Kong inside the mobile device, put a special helmet on her face and then check whether she can breathe properly or not, she replied with a wagging tail, there seems to be no problem in the feeling of Kong. Even though it is a mobile device, the mechanism of the device itself is not much different from that of a cruise missile, there is simply a space for Kong-chan to get into the center of the warhead that is filled with oxygen cylinders. There is no concept of landing, and after the missile disintegrates by the release device at 100 meters above the target, Kong-chan falls to the ground without a parachute. This is the method adopted by Gong-chan himself, who asked for extreme simplification of the device, saying, "From about 1,000 meters, it''s a little painful, but I don''t mind if it falls to the ground. ''''Kon-chan, will you give this to the captain?It''s my idea of a troop reassignment chart, but I think it might be useful. Conn. Conn. I pat Kong-chan, who hugs the paper I gave her carefully and squeezes it to her chest, before closing the lid and securing the bolt. As I operate the launcher a little further away, I start a countdown so that Kong-chan inside the missile can predict the impact of the launch through the earpiece microphone attached to her ear. ''Five seconds to launch, four, three, two, one, launch! The mobile device accelerated in seconds to a maximum speed of Mach 12, which no human being could withstand, and immediately disappeared from my sight and flew over the horizon. After confirming that the missile was flying smoothly on my terminal, I sent a message to the captain fighting in the Ursna field. ''Captain, do you read me?This is Claire. Conn is currently on his way there as a reinforcement, and I''ve also given him a troop reassignment list for your help. While communicating with the captain, I wished to the "three moons" floating in the night sky that those little cute dragons on the missiles would save my troopers... ---- Shuichi Arakawa''s Point of View ----. You want the Ants and the Arcenies? Yes, sir. The cooperation of those two species is essential to the success of the night raid. We had come to the Ursna Army''s main tent, where Her Majesty Victoria was located, to request cooperation after we had worked out the details of the night raid operation. The centaur soldier who was guarding the tent was surprised by our sudden visit, but he quickly led us into the tent so we could have our strategy meeting without wasting time. I don''t mind, but what is the purpose of this?Noah will be far better equipped and his troops far more skilled than the concubines. ''No, you all have special skills that we do not have. First of all, we would like to have the Ants carry us on their backs to the enemy lines, but are there any species of Ants that have a stronger bite and thicker body armor than us? Hmm, you mean the Fire Death Ant. They''re few and far between, but they''re here on this battlefield. I think it''s comparable. ''Now, then, the Alkeny, are there any races among the Alkeny that spin a strong yarn?We need your help in tangling our enemies in a thread to neutralize them. If we''re right, as we''ve imagined, their bodies are speckled with yellow and black... So it''s Queen Alkeny then, with only two men on the battlefield, right? No problem. Okay!It seems that the Dame Spider is also subhumanized. They''re the kind of species that build large webs on Earth where even birds are entangled in strings and preyed upon, and they''ll easily neutralize at least one platoon of the enemy. I told Her Majesty Victoria that the operation would begin in two hours and asked her to gather the Ants and the Arcenies near where Noah had set up his tent before I left the main Ursna tent. As I was operating my arm terminal to gather my men and explain the details of the operation, I received a transmission from Claire for the first time in a long time. ''Captain, can you hear me?This is Claire. Conn is currently on his way to you as a reinforcement, and I''ve given him a troop redeployment list for your help. Wait, what did Claire just say?Why is Con coming? ''Claire, how does Con get here?Before that, though, that guy is smart, but he''ll only be able to use magic to turn stone into metal. You''re useless. ''''Kon-chan told me to leave it to you because he had an idea, so I ejected it from the Sirens with a mobile missile. Besides, it''s your pet, Conn-chan?I''m sure she can handle it.'' Since that Gongju is carefully nurturing it, maybe it has some special skills other than metal refining. I''m not sure if I''m going to be able to get the best out of it, but I don''t want to lose my confidence as a professional if I have to worry about even a small dragon. ''''A missile will be arriving over you in a few minutes. Conn-chan will descend directly to the ground from the sky, so please collect it. Yes, sir. I checked the expected point of arrival of the missile that Claire had sent to the terminal and headed off to collect the con with A and B, two idiots I hadn''t seen lately who had been picking on Imperial soldiers in their spare time. As we waited at the point where we were supposed to reach, we saw a fireball coming towards us from the west. I''m sure that''s the missile Conn is riding on, I activated my night vision goggles and watched the sky above me as the missile disintegrated right above me and Conn flew out from inside. "Orai ... orai ... orai ... orai ... orai ... Another minute ago? Muttering to myself, I try to grab Kong as if I were catching a baseball fly. Through the night vision goggles, Kon seems to have seen me and is flying towards me in a straight line, using the small wings on his back to cut through the wind. He curled up in my arms and dropped down with a thud, looking around with a scurrying look, and then let out a cry. ''Kong!'' It''s like ''Long time no see!'' I couldn''t help but smile at the sound of his voice. Kon handed me a piece of paper that he seemed to be writing on inside the missile and then jumped down to the ground and started to look at the sky, so I tried to read the content of the writing with some doubt in my mind. ''I''m here for reinforcements. I have an idea, can you leave it to me?And on the back of this piece of paper, you''ll find the troop reassignment chart that Claire has come up with.'' Con''s idea, well, even if you let him do something, it won''t be worse than the current situation, which is the worst situation. When I said ''I''ll leave it to you'' to Conn, who judged that and was still looking at the sky, Conn replied with a wagging tail. As I sat there and looked at the rearrangement chart that Claire had come up with for a while, Con suddenly roared loudly into the sky. ''Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!'' The sound of his voice startles me and I stand up, and Con trots over to me, wagging his tail in satisfaction, and comes up to me before pulling the card out of his neck and showing me how to suck on it. ''Please hug me,'' When I hugged him as the card said, he stopped moving while staring at the northern sky, I looked at the northern sky as well as Kon, but there was nothing but stars twinkling there. A minute passed and there was no change in the sky, five minutes passed and there was no change in the sky. 10 minutes passed and I was trying to talk to Kon in my arms when I was lost for words because of the change in the sky. A nanika similar to the ''magic circle'' used by Ursna''s people appeared in the northern sky. "Captain........what is that? Stupid A will ask me questions, but I won''t know what to do if you ask me a question like that!Con in his arms is happily wagging his tail furiously. What the hell is going on with that thing?As I was thinking about this, the magic circle increased in number and filled the northern sky. ''''Something is coming out of the magic circle. ''''A dragon?Captain, a dragon is emerging from the magic circle. Seriously?Are all the dragons coming out of that one? How is that even possible with all the ranting and raving from the idiot B?The number of magic circles in my field of vision has already exceeded several hundred. A black dragon emerged from the largest magic circle among them, flying leisurely through the air to us and landing in front of us. The black dragon bows its head to the ground and assumes a posture as if in submission before addressing Kong in his arms. ''I am honoured to be here as you see fit. We are honored to be here, and by your command, all of our dragons have come to this land. Con!Cone, cone, cone. Conn? ''Ha!You are too good to be true. I''m afraid, then it''s fine if you want to lend our help to the Alliance. The black dragon that had been talking to Kong raised his head and spoke to me, looking at me. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make it work. What do you want me to do? While the dragons in front of me were talking to me, I could see from the sky that countless other dragons were landing in our vicinity. As I froze, unable to keep up with such an unusual development, Kon dexterously picked up a newly written piece of paper with his tail and showed it to me. ''Come on, it''s time to fight back! I looked at the paper and huffed to myself. After gently nudging Kon, who was gradually becoming more and more like Gongju in terms of the scale of his work, I informed my subordinates over the radio that the start time of the night attack operation would be moved up. ---- Duchy of Raguire soldier Viewpoint---- As I was eating, I noticed that the noise around the tent suddenly became noisy and asked the archers running nearby what was going on. What''s the matter with you?Why are you in such a hurry? "Idiot!Didn''t you ever see the sky in the north?The dragon hordes have metastasized. A dragon?Those lizards must live in the northern continent and other places with strong magic where humans cannot enter. There''s no way they would migrate to a place like this, they were probably just mistaken for dragons when a sub-dragon flying dragon species migrated. After snickering at such a stupid archer''s guy, I was about to return to the tent to continue eating dinner when a "dragon" fell from the sky. "Gulululul, The dragon in front of me snaps its throat menacingly as it looks at me, then slams its tail to the ground. With that single swing, the ground caved in and my armor, which I had taken off and placed there, crumpled and rolled to my feet. ''''Uhhhh!'''' They''ll kill you if you don''t let them!Feeling in danger, I run as fast as I can while running towards the direction where the main force of the knights have pitched their tents. Desperately running, I climbed over the fence of the heavy-armored knights'' encampment and entered, and in the middle of the fallen knights was ''Despair'' reigning in the middle of the fallen knights. ''Are you also going to challenge me?It''s a bit of a pain in the ass to take it easy so you don''t kill him. Oh, no, I don''t know why the Marvelous is here. There is only one black dragon in this world. It is a triple-S rated dragon, the Black High King Marvelous, which reigns supreme over all dragons. Even the brave men and women were unable to defeat the dragon in the past, but now the white dragon fell in front of me while I was stunned, feeling a lukewarm feeling between my legs. It''s a good thing that the humans over there are overwhelmed. You''ve done a great job," he said. By the way, what''s that dirty human you''re peeing on? I don''t know. I thought he was a brave man who challenged me, but he just glanced at me and pissed himself. The knight who fainted there was much fiercer than the one who fainted. The white dragon that calls Marvelous "you" is definitely his twin, the White Queen Rylin. She is a double S-rated dragon, and literature is replete with accounts of nations destroyed by her wrath. I was prepared to die while feeling the overwhelming difference in power, when Marvelous spoke to me with a trash-looking gaze. I''m not going to let you get away with this, human. We, the Dragon People, will assist the Alliance. Quickly!If you mess around, I''ll eat you alive. Heeeee? I started running as if rushed by Marvelous, and after picking up the guy from the archers who was shitting and sitting down as well on the way, I caught the fleeing horse and ran away as fast as I could towards the front line fort where the defenders were stationed. In the middle of the night, the leaders of the Linkdoble Empire and the Duchy of Largile, who were feeling a sense of despair after hearing the information of the ''defeat of the Allied Forces'', were thrown into confusion when they heard the information that two soldiers of Largile''s army had informed them. The next morning, the news that the Dragon Clan, led by the Black High King Marvelous and the White Queen Lirin, had officially declared themselves hostile to the allied forces was sent from the mouths of the castle workers to the civilians in the castle, making it impossible for both countries to ignore the citizens'' calls for an early ceasefire. In the meantime, the Capus Kingdom and the Lycurgus Kingdom, which are insisting on an all-out war, finally begin to move towards the overthrow of the allied forces. 46-Deity Ancient Dragon ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint After capturing the Gulf City of Asti, we marched eastward across the territory of the Linkdoble Empire. We were awaiting the arrival of my mother and Macho 100 kilometers before the planned rendezvous point, the imperial capital Trieta. ''''Claire-san, when will the Merkava and Ursna armies arrive?'''' Merkava''s troops are scheduled to arrive in five hours, and Ursna''s army will join them in seven hours. Based on the rate of attrition of our troops to date, the Alliance is expected to capture Trieta with 120,000 troops. 120,000 is mostly Noah''s main focus!Aside from the Merkava Kingdom Army, whose original numbers are small, why is Victoria''s Ursna Army so low? As I was thinking about this, I was organizing the information Claire-san gave me with the terminal on my arm when Akator-san came into the room I was in with food in both hands. ''I borrowed the kitchen from the innkeeper and made lunch. I made it with ingredients we brought from the ship, so it''s safe. I''m sorry to bother you. I''ll take it. We''ve disembarked from an iceberg carrier and marched ashore, unlike my mother and her family who deploy land-based battleships, we basically use the lodgings in occupied villages and towns as a simple command base. Of course we try to negotiate with the innkeeper every time we try to get him to let us use it by paying him properly, but for some reason he always refuses to let us use it, saying ''No charge''. It is really doubtful that we are refused because we are not behaving roughly, but rather behaving like a gentleman. ''It''s delicious. ''You''re a good cook, Akator-san, aren''t you?'' Thank you. While I was enjoying the delicious meal made by Akator-san, Claire-san, who was operating the terminal, tells me the new information she seems to have received from the command center. ''''Your Excellency, a group of dragon tribesmen who are fighting together with the Ursna army will be flying into this city as an advance party. Would you like to meet them? ''Yes!I''d love to meet you. I have yet to see a decent dragon other than a Kong, so I''m excited. The flying dragon that Akator and his team rode on is also a dragon, but I heard that it is a creature similar to a bird called a sub-long. It''s true that they don''t seem to understand human language like Kong does, so I was disappointed, but according to Akator, the dragons are a race that understands human language, so I''ve always wanted to meet them. ''Do they fly into the city?'' ''No, sir. We have information that Lady Marvelous and Lady Lyrin are flying in, and we are requesting that they land outside of the city to avoid any confusion. So it will fly to the grassland on the west side of the city? It will take some time to get there by car, I''d rather see them flying in the sky anyway, so let''s move early.... I came to that conclusion and stuffed my lunch into my mouth at once. ''''Your Excellency, the suit out on reconnaissance has seen a dragon coming towards us. I''m sure we''ll be able to see it over here soon. At Claire''s words, I looked at the sky with my eyes like plates. As I moved my head around, I noticed a huge creature flying in the eastern sky, and I''m pretty sure it''s the dragon tribe that''s coming towards me. Eventually, the dragon approached until it could be clearly seen, circled in the sky and then slowly landed in front of me. ''Grrrrrr. The roaring black dragon isn''t intimidating and is pretty cool.... it''s cool, but it''s all ruined by the presence of Con sitting a bit above its head. ''Hey Con, what the hell are you doing?'' ''Graaaaah!How dare you talk to Master Kong, boy? For some reason, the black dragon snapped out of it while bellowing at my statement and took a step forward, and I saw that the power-suit squad of guards saw what was happening and took off their safeties with their guns at once to protect me. Wait, why is this situation like a one-off! What did I say to you that was so bad?As I was trying to figure out how to pull this off in a cold sweat, Kon on top of the dragon''s head started pettling with his tail as if to say something to me. ''Kong, Kong,'' ''Yes, huh!This boy-this boy-is he the Lord of Kong? CON! The black dragon is startled, but as if to ignore it, Kon flaps from the top of his head and uses his small wings to fly into my chest. ...................It flew!It''s flying now! You can fly now? In response to my question, Kong made a blue ball of light appear at the tip of his tail and tossed the ball into the air. The blue ball floated wobbly in the air, but it immediately popped and words appeared. The Marvelous Marvelous taught me how to fly and the White Dragon Lirin over there taught me how to use this magic!And that''s not all.'' Con floats up to my face level with a flap from his arms and adjusts his usual ''con'' sound, squinting his eyes and trying his best to keep up with his normal ''con''. ''Con, cocue.... Kocue, ''Koki''. Did you just call my name?I was surprised and delighted to see him floating silently in the air, and when I gently hugged him and patted his head, he tilted his head and looked at me. When he realizes that I don''t have a reaction, he desperately cries out, "Coiki, coiki, coiki," but I don''t know what to say to him, so I can only pet him. The black dragon, Marvelous, who was looking at me like that, opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded. He said, "Boy, Master Kong is too young to speak human language. Still, he has practiced changing the pitch of his cry to somehow call the name of his master. You have some words to say to Master Kong. I looked around and saw that not only Marvelous-san was looking at me, but also Claire and the people in the escort suits were looking at me. Well, that''s right, Con did his best, then I have to put it into words and tell this guy. I''m sure he''ll get it. Thank you. CON! At my words, Con energetically waved his tail with a single swipe of his tail and then clung to my neck, which was his usual position - he clung to my neck. ''So Con''s mother was originally a dragon in this world?'' "Ah, the magic power I sense from Master Kong is very similar to that of Master Lean. Otherwise, there is no way our entire clan would have obeyed a call from our superior race, Master Kong. After the commotion in the meadow, we returned to the inn after receiving Con''s words of ''I want to eat a meal'', and we listened to Marvelous-san, who had taken a humanoid form and was eating a meal just like Con. I was surprised to see that Marvelous-san and Lilin-san, who had thoughtfully taken humanoid form before entering the city, were truly beautiful and handsome in appearance... but now Con''s identity was more important. ''''But apparently Con was born in another world. Because of the lack of friends in that world, it was dormant and I happened to bring it back with me. Yes, Master Kong told me that much directly. I''m not sure, but first, does the boy know anything about Master Kong''s race? Speaking of Kong''s race, it''s the God Race Ancient Dragon. I only know about them from my biased knowledge of my previous life, but they must have been a legendary class of top-tier species that reigned supreme over all dragons, though it doesn''t look like that at all. When I told him what I knew, Marvelous wiped his mouth with a napkin and continued his story. You will find a lot of people who have been in the industry for a long time. No, I don''t know. A trait?It seems that being smart is a trait, but the dragon tribe in general is supposed to have high intelligence and high magic power. I''m sure that Kon''s special skill of alchemy is not the trait that Marvelous-san says it is. I took a sip of the coffee that Claire had brewed for me and waited for Marvelous''s next words. The first is the ability to cross dimensions. There''s no need to explain this one the boys are also coming to this world from another world, the only difference is whether they use magic or Kagakugijutsu to make that move. Second, and this is important. Ancient dragons can relate to other species. And I''ve heard that Master Lean was very beautiful in his human form. It''s just that my point is... "There is no doubt that this is exactly what the boy imagined, and the proof of this is that when I was a young boy, there was a rumor that circulated among the Dragon People. The rumor was that Master Lean had fathered a child with a ''human'' man. When the elder dragons heard the rumor, they went to Master Lean to find out the truth, for if it was true, they wanted to protect the weak, half-human baby dragons from being born to their clan. But Master Lean thought that we would harm the baby dragon. Now, boy, if you were in that position what would you do if you were a boy? Of course they would run away to protect their children, if they could cross the dimensions, they could escape to another world like we are now and no other dragons would be able to follow them. Perhaps Conn''s mother thought the same way and fled to the world where the Ackroyd Empire is located. I''m sure you''ve come to the same conclusion as I have. As I said before, I can''t be sure. But the most satisfying conclusion is to assume that Master Kong, who emits similar magic to Master Lean, is a child born to him in another world. ''Then why wasn''t Con''s mother there when this guy was born?If you were able to get to the world where the Ackroyd Empire is located, then you''ve safely crossed the dimension, right? Mr. Marvelous put his hand to his chin and thought silently for a while before answering my question. ''Normally, when two dragons have children, it takes about eight hundred years for an egg to be born. After that, it will take another 200 years for the egg to hatch and it will take another 1,000 years for it to hatch. This is why the population of our species is decreasing - but that''s not the point now. I''m just guessing, but when you have a weak human as a father, doesn''t it take a while for them to grow up in an egg?It''s hard to say, since it''s never been done before, but I can''t rule out the possibility that it could take thousands of years. It''s unlikely that the powerful Ancient Dragon would be defeated by the humans of that world, which means it''s most likely that the mother couldn''t see Conn hatch from an egg in her lifetime. For that matter, what kind of life did Lean and her husband, the man who crossed the dimension, spend afterwards?It''s a tragedy that happened because of a minor misunderstanding, but I''d like to believe that the two people who escaped to another world ended up happy for the rest of their lives. ----Marvelous Point of View---- You''re sure that''s a good idea? As we were resting in a room at the inn addressed to us after we had finished our meal, my wife Lyrin, who had been silent and hadn''t said a word since we dropped Master Con off, spoke to me. ''What do you mean?'' That boy..., Kouki, is it? You must have noticed a small amount of "magic" in Kouki''s body, right?And that magic power is just like the magic power flowing through Master Kong, why didn''t you tell me that? That''s the thing, or maybe that was just because Master Kong was always nearby and his magic power was transferred. It''s not that unusual, it''s just the same principle as if you put an iron near a magnetic object, the iron will also have magnetic force. I have no idea why Liling would ask me such a serious question. Are you trying to say that the boy has something to do with Master Lean? "Are you trying to tell me that the boy is Master Lean''s blood? No, you''re not. I think it''s the other way around - I think it''s the father. That''s not possible!What a foolish thing to say, it is true that every being with a soul ''reincarnates'' into another being after death. But it can be reincarnated into another world, or into a plant like a plant. Do you know how unlikely it is that you will be able to reincarnate as a human and meet Master Kong again?Lyrin refutes my opinion without changing his expression. ''''You''re right, but not zero. If that one seriously consumes all the magic and life and uses such magic, he can at least twist the logic. Impossible!Impossible!It''s not possible!If you really made such a thing happen, it''s not a tiny thing like magic, it''s only a divine ''miracle''. I''m sure you''ll find it odd.The fact that Master Lean was destroyed before Master Kong was born, the fact that Master Kong is unusually fond of Kouki, who is supposed to be human, and the fact that he talks to us about a girl named Alice as if she were his mother. Considering all of that, it''s natural to think that those who love each other have met again across time and worlds. ''''Then Lean-sama used himself as a catalyst to successfully use magic on a tremendous scale........ Hahahahaha!I only caught a glimpse of Him when I was a child, but I never thought He would really be elevated to God for that reason alone. Rylin says something else, but I don''t hear it. Not to rule the world, not to gain infinite power, but just to be able to clearly see the legendary dragon that has risen to the level of a god, for the sake of the humans he loves and his beloved child. I simply shut my eyes, trying to recall from my memory the image of the legendary dragon that had risen to the level of a god for the sake of the people I loved and my beloved child. 47-The fall of the imperial capital ----Miki Arakawa Point of View Miki-san, we''re almost to the rendezvous point. Ursna''s troops are arriving ahead of schedule. Yeah. We''re the last ones standing. As I put down my teacup of tea that I was about to drink, I looked at the city of the planned point projected on the screen and saw that Ursna''s army and Noah''s main unit had set up tents and were stationed at the outer edge of the city. However, there were still not enough Ursna troops. As reports had reached us, the fact that the main force was almost surrounded and annihilated in the first battle may have had an effect. I''d like you to move your ships closer to the tents that Noah''s main force is setting up. We''ll hold a strategy meeting there, and then we''ll begin our attack on the imperial capital. Yes, sir. As I stopped the ship near the tent and prepared for tea, Shuichi-san and Her Majesty Victoria entered Alice''s CIC. The timing was just right as there were some things I wanted to ask Her Majesty. ''''Shuichi-san, thank you for your hard work. It looks like you had quite a hard time on that front over there. ''''Yeah, we''d be in pretty bad shape if the dragon tribe hadn''t come to reinforce us. There is no damage to my immediate squadron, but the Ursna army led by His Majesty is wiped out. As soon as the capture of the imperial capital is completed, the Ursna army will withdraw from the war zone. I''m sorry, my dear. His Majesty apologizes as he bows his head, but it can''t be helped. Even if we fall back, we still have enough strength to maintain security, so let''s hope for cooperation in that direction. The Ursna army has defeated 250,000 enemies. We were able to create a pretty favorable situation strategically, so that''s enough for me. More importantly, is Your Majesty familiar with the word ''ghoul''? ''Ghouls?I know, but that doesn''t mean anything. His Majesty''s complexion changes at my words. Last night, an intelligence officer infiltrating the Allied Forces informed me that the Capps Kingdom and the Lycurgical Kingdom are jointly researching a weapon named ''Ghoul'', but is it a weapon that should be so alarming? I''ve heard from my subordinates lurking in the allied forces that the allied forces intend to put the ghouls on the battlefield. However, since we have no information on this ghoul weapon, would you please tell us? The ghouls are not weapons or weapons, they are a plague caused by a curse. They want to destroy their own country? Hearing His Majesty''s painful explanation, the inside of the CIC would freeze up. First of all, a ''ghoul'' is a type of monster, there''s no doubt about it, but it has no intelligence or anything else, it simply eats food. But....................the "food" is the problem. When a ghoul bites you, you become a ghoul in the same way - in other words, you become ''infected''. "Is there a cure? It''s not there. Either kill them all, or hide until the ghouls are wiped out by starvation. Listening to Her Majesty''s explanation, I am filled with anger at the stupidity of the Allied forces. There are nations in our world that have deployed biological weapons, but no one is stupid enough to use things that have no established cure. If a single ghoul were to be unleashed, the damage would be ratcheted up.......and this continent, which is now in turmoil during wartime, would have no spare capacity left to systematically deploy a containment operation. ''''What would I say if I let Gongju hear this kind of story.......'''' What about me? Suddenly I heard a voice from behind me and turned around in surprise to see Gongju with Cong on top of his head, staring at me while tilting his head. Mazu..., if this girl had heard everything that was just said, she would try to kill the leaders of the allied forces with all her might, and I wonder if the CIC personnel had arrived at the same idea as me, in a different way than they had before. He froze and looked at her to see what was going on. ''Kou-chan, how long have you been asking?'' From the beginning. More importantly, you know, um, what I''m going to do. I signaled Shuichi-san with my eyes as he began to think while bringing the index finger of his right hand under his chin. Shuichi-san accurately caught my intentions and came around behind Kouki so that he could seize him at any time. This way, if Kouki says, ''I''m going to kill you and you need to get your power suit ready,'' all we have to do is keep him under house arrest in his room until we get everything sorted out. As I was thinking about this, Gongju operated his terminal to check something before he opened his mouth. ''Victoria-san, a ghoul''s weakness is good in the head, right? You are well aware that the only weakness of a ghoul is its head. ''Claire, please bring me a map of the area around the Capps Kingdom. Preferably a satellite image. Yes, sir. For some reason, Shuichi and I watched as he began to give instructions with a look of familiarity, while Shuichi and I looked at him with an astonished expression, and he asked me a question with a serious face as well. "Mom, can you make a thermonuclear weapon right away? We can''t, we don''t even have the material to go back to Hakone base because the treaty says it''s forbidden. "Seriously? The high road to biohazard and other pandemic-type stuff is to burn it down with a nuke... but it''s tough? What on earth is my son talking about, the high road?Nuclear?No, more than that, I''m wondering how he knows that the weakness of a ghoul is its ''head''. Come to think of it, this kid knew a lot about giant worms and elves, what kind of method would allow him to know so much information about other worlds in such detail? You didn''t bring back relics from the lunar ruins that I didn''t grasp, did you?As I questioned my son''s words and actions, I saw Mr. Clare bring out a satellite photo and spread it out on his desk. ''Sir, here you are. Here''s the satellite picture you requested. Thank you. Also, I''ve sent the data to your devices for your confirmation. When I checked my device at the words of Kunugi, I was sure I had received an email, so I opened it to check the contents. I''m not going to be able to say that the strategies, tactics, weapons, etc. that are effective against ghouls are described in detail with explanations as I read the contents, and it was no exaggeration to say that the solution is exactly what it is. It wasn''t an exaggeration, but........the title of the file There was a problem. ''Kochan. I''m not going to ask you how you were able to describe it in such detail when you didn''t do any experiments or exercises, because I''ll fool you anyway. But........what do you mean by the file name ''What if my mom made a zombie virus - Part 3''! I understand well what kind of eyes she usually looks at me through this case. I''ll talk to Alice at least once, and I''m sure she''ll be able to correct the image of me that she has of me ----Kouki Arakawa''s Point of View ''Kochan. I''m not going to ask you how you were able to describe it in so much detail when you didn''t do any experiments or exercises, because I''m going to misrepresent it anyway. But........what do you mean by the file name ''What if my mom made a zombie virus - part 3''! Whatever you''re saying, that''s what I''m saying. Mom would have created a "zombie virus" at some point. And this kind of thing is bound to cause an outbreak for sure. I just jokingly made the emergency manual to be useful in such a situation. What''s this ''zombie'' thing you''re talking about, Koki?Some kind of code name. Macho, who was quietly reading the data, asks me a question, but I don''t think my brain can understand the concept of a zombie, so I''ll just tell him something appropriately like that. ''That''s right. A virus that can mutate its body and has an explosive infectious power is called the ''zombie virus'' and the creature infected by that virus is called a ''zombie''. ''Of course there is. There are up to 27 parts in all, and they''re designed for a variety of situations. Claire-san is looking at me, speechless. Hmph, I haven''t wasted my time since my reincarnation either. I''m not quite as good as my mother, who is a genius, or her awesome military machismo, but I''ve used the knowledge from my previous life to prepare for this kind of situation. Looking back, this is the first time I''ve been able to properly serve my mom, isn''t it? By the way, I think it''s a fool''s errand to lock yourself away in a supermarket etc. when you''re trying to survive against zombies. The best place is probably the home improvement store, where you''ll find all the tools and tools you need for hiding, and you can survive eating cup noodles and, worst of all, dog food. That''s pretty detailed, though, isn''t it? "I understand that ''do not go to check alone even if you hear a strange sound'', but what''s this ''use of a helicopter is prohibited in case of escape'' thing? We''re going down. Macho is puzzled by my reply, but the helicopter we use to escape will definitely crash. Even if there is no clear reason, the helicopter will crash for some reason due to unexplained engine trouble, so it is prohibited to use it. It also says "Be extremely careful when entering the underground passage" and "One of the squad members must be rear-guarded", but I''ll ask the macho guys who actually follow the manual to confirm the details. For now, the priority is to capture the imperial capital a hundred kilometers away, because as long as it''s there, there''s no other way to move. But we can take our time setting up anti-zombie measures later, and for now, let''s just capture the imperial capital. ''''Crunchy, Kou-chan.......the Imperial Army has a defensive formation that could be called ironclad, right?It''s not that easy. ''''Don''t worry, if my plan works, we can quickly neutralize the imperial capital without anyone getting hurt. For that reason, I need everyone''s cooperation, you know... Despite Mom''s doubts, I tell everyone in the CIC about the plan I came up with last night. At first, they listen in stunned amazement, but as I tell them the details, a smile appears on their faces. I''m sure you''re really a hell of a guy," he said, "but if you succeed, it will be quite interesting. But it will be quite interesting if you succeed. Well, then, I''m going to change my dress. We have to get one for Rilynn as well. Macho, the chief of Noah''s military department, and Victoria, one of the parties involved, have given their approval for the operation to be officially adopted. Every single member of the Alliance will be watching my every move, and I won''t be ashamed to do so. I asked Claire for coffee to get my strength up, and then I decided to go to the restroom and leave it there so I wouldn''t leak it during the mission. ---- Imperial Knights of the Kingsguard, Joachim, Viewpoint---- In the evening, with the allied forces closing in on the imperial capital, we were waiting for the enemy outside the robust gates. The soldiers around us who don''t know the details of the situation are optimistic, saying that we are dealing with a dwarf sub-race, but I can''t shake the feeling that I have a bad feeling.As I touched the scarf around my neck that my wife gave me before I left for battle, I was calming myself down when I saw a huge object approaching from ahead. ''Archers!Get ready. The archers deploying in the rear in response to my orders are ready to fire their arrows at any moment. As I feel my throat sticking up in tension, the huge object comes to a halt, leaving the castle gate open far enough away. Are they going to attack us? As I muttered to myself, I saw a black and white dragon swooping down from the sky. There was no doubt........that dragon was Marvelous and Lyrin, after all, the rumor that they were cooperating with the Alliance was true!Will we be able to survive against a legendary monster that not even the brave men of the past could defeat? Looking next to me, I see that even the optimistic soldiers are pale after being shown the reality. But something is wrong, the dragon, which is supposed to have an absolute advantage, is not attacking. They''re afraid of us? My deputy asks me a question, but that would never happen. As I was pondering the dragon''s mysterious behavior, I saw two people coming out of a huge object and walking leisurely toward me. And as if to match their pace, the dragon also begins to move slowly. ''''Attention all forces!Don''t ever attack, there''s something wrong with you. I observe the two people coming towards me with instructions again, one is a beautiful woman dressed glamorously, but the other is different. No, it''s abnormal when there is a beautiful woman on the battlefield... The other one is dressed in a military uniform, but is clearly a boy. A young boy, 16.7, is coming towards you with a beautiful woman and a dragon in tow. The boy opens his mouth as he leisurely walks up to us in the front row, about 10 mels away, as if he were taking a walk. You are a well-dressed knight. Are you the commander of this motley crew? I''m overwhelmed by the intimidation of the boy who points at me and asks me a question, but I fight back, my voice almost trembling. ''Yes, I am. Who are you?The Alliance. ''Graaaaaaaaah!You, how dare you talk to His Majesty the Demon God! The Marvelous Marvelous, which hadn''t let out a single roar in response to my reply, is furious and attacks me. When the soldiers under my command saw the sight of it, they decided on their own to fire their bows at once, but this time, with a single swing of his tail, a strong magical barrier appeared and all the arrows bounced back. As I looked at the Marvelous looming in front of me in despair and fear, a quiet voice, devoid of any emotion, emanated from the boy''s mouth. ''Stop it, Marvelous,'' ''But sir!"Insult to the King... "Marvelous, I said, ''Don''t do it,'' and there will be no second time. The boy''s ''command'' has Marvelous hanging his head and his chin on the ground. I almost fainted at the sight of that fierce, multi-nation-destroying monster submitting to the boy. Are you kidding me?The boy in front of me who has Marvelous in tow.... The Devil. The moment I spilled those words while looking at the boy with a smirk, Marvelous is about to attack me again with angry flames burning in his eyes. But when he raised his head from the ground, the boy swung his left arm with a light motion. That''s all - that''s all - just like that, Marvelous disappeared from my sight in an instant. As I was confused, not knowing what had happened, I heard a distant thump and the sound of something heavy falling. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw Marvelous lying there, not twitching. ''Scum, I told you there would be no second time. Lyrin, is that dead? But they''re still a higher-ranked species, so they''re not likely to die. Anyway, Your Majesty, how''s your hand?You didn''t have to hand it down yourself, I would have done it. Before you know it, a humanized Lyrin is rubbing the boy''s hand with a worried look on his face, but you don''t think it was this boy who blew up Marvelous!A single blow to a legendary dragon?When I was stunned, unable to follow what happened in front of me, the boy smiled and said his ''request'' as if nothing had happened. ''I would like to speak to the king of your country. If you refuse, then I will launch an all-out assault on the imperial capital at that point, but an urban war involving your people would be disastrous, wouldn''t it? That''s lowlife!You''re going to hold my people hostage!But the boy said clearly, ''The King,'' not Lord Dorne, but His Majesty the King. Are you aware of the realities of our country?I check with the boy one more time to make sure it''s His Majesty. ''You''re sure it''s His Majesty, not Lord Dorne? Yes, I need to speak to the king. I watched the boy who was still smiling and answering my questions. Watching him with absolute confidence, I couldn''t help but feel a faint hope that he might change this country. After the sun went down completely, the subordinates who had been running to the castle as a message returned to the front line to confirm His Majesty''s intentions. It''s too dark to see well, but he has a bright face, so the result was probably good. The subordinate saluted as he came right up to me and then began to speak. ''''Commander!His Majesty will see you now. Well, how is Sir Dorne? He''s with me. The discussion is likely to be sullied when Lord Dorne is with me, but the boy who was conversing with me for a while while while the messenger was running to the castle - I think His Majesty the Demon God will manage to get the conversation going. I talk to the Demon God who is drinking tea with the beautiful woman who is escorting him on the dragonized Lyrin. ''''Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Karl''s Majesty is coming to see you. Okay. Lilyn, put me down. At the same time as the Demon God descends to the ground, Lyrin also humanizes again and snuggles up next to him. After confirming their appearance, I called for a carriage to carry the three of them to the castle, and along with the carriage, the knights under Sir Dorne''s direct control also walked up to me. What the hell do they want?As they watched warily, one of them stepped forward and opened his mouth. ''''The only ones heading to the castle are the Alliance forces. His Majesty''s Demon God and the White Queen aside, the attendants should wait here. Don''t worry, we''ll ''properly'' protect you. The grin on the knight''s face is so contemptible that he almost pulls out his sword from his waistband, after all, they are just as they say they are, dirty mercenaries who are nothing more than knights!These guys.........it''s guys like this that have ruined the empire. Looking at their faces that say they don''t care about the fate of the empire makes me sick, I''ll cut them down right here!But just as he was about to draw the sword at his waist, the Demon God asked the mercenaries in a chillingly low voice. ''''Are you going to guard us properly?'''' ''''Yes, Your Majesty the Demon God. Please leave it to us, we''ll let the chaperones have some fun. The demon god seemed to be thinking about the mercenary''s answer as he said, ''Hm,'' but you don''t think he''s really going to leave you behind?As far as I''m concerned, it''s definitely not going to be a good idea if I do that. I''m about to call out to him to change his mind when I notice the chuckle the demon god gives me. "Victoria, I hear you''re going to be entertained, so you''ll stay behind. And while you''re at it, introduce yourself. After the demon god said that, the beautiful woman replied, ''''I understand,'''' and with a lustrous smile, she began to introduce herself to the mercenaries. The Emperor of the Ursna Empire, Victoria Roar Ursna, the good human being. I hear that you enjoy your mistress''s company, but what can you do for us? Oh, we''re going to... The foolish mercenaries are confused, but I''ve been caught off guard as well, when I think about it calmly, the boy who calls himself a "demon god" would never bring an ordinary valet. But there is no way they would expect the demon emperor to be treated as a valet. When I was desperately pondering how to resolve this unimaginable situation in my mind, Lirin came to my rescue. ''''Your Majesty, I think it would be better to take Victoria along with you. That person knows a lot about human society, so I thought we might need to discuss it.'''' "If Rylin says so, so be it. Joachim, is that all right with you? Yes, that''s fine. My soldiers apologize. The Demon God ordered Victoria to ''get in the carriage'' and got in himself and crossed his legs. I got in and sat down on the seat, but I could see the demon god, Lirin, and even Victoria giggling and laughing. It''s a good thing that you can''t get away with it. I''m sure you''ll be able to find the best way to get the best out of it. It''s too dark to see well, but it''s a good town. I don''t want a city like this to be burned in the fires of war. I think about the purpose of the Demon God himself coming all the way to the front line when he said that he wished from the bottom of his heart. It''s not too early to say that the empire doesn''t have enough strength to defeat the multispecies alliance army. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us. It''s a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. I don''t know about the soldiers at the end, but the empire, which has been closed off to all supply routes by the allied forces, will be powerless to continue to be besieged even if they can''t mount an offensive. Of course, the Demon God should know that, but if that''s the case, why has he appeared in front of us at this stage? If the Demon God is going to change the empire as I expected, then.... ''''Commander, we''ve arrived!'''' The voice of the guru made me huff and puff, I seemed to have been thinking for a long time. As I dismounted from the carriage ahead of him and checked the safety of the surroundings and the knights to greet him, I spotted Clemens, the deputy commander, in front of the castle gate, so I approached and spoke to him, being careful not to make any unnatural movements. ''''Clemens, how are the preparations going?'''' ''Ha!It''s perfectly in order, sir. ''''Well, there''s going to be a crucial meeting that will determine the future of the Empire. Be sure to keep your guard up. Pretending to tap Clemens on the shoulder as he responds to my words with a salute, I pull my face closer and whisper in a whisper so that only he can hear me. ''Get ready for an example,'' When I returned to the carriage after confirming Clemens'' small nod, the demon gods were already getting out of the carriage and stretching it wide. I was impressed by the courage to show such a defenseless appearance in front of the enemy''s headquarters, I told the demon gods that I was ready to go inside the castle. When I was walking inside the castle, the demon gods stopped walking and looked at the courtyard. Was there something that caught my attention?When I was recalling the memories of the castle, which I rarely visit these days, the demon god asked me while pointing to a tree in the courtyard. What is that bird resting on that tree?The kind I''ve never seen before, but... I''m sure that the bird that inhabits the eastern continent is perched on the tip of the pointing finger, I''m sure that the bird is a rare species that was given away by the duchy on the queen''s birthday. When I tell the story, the demon goddess muttered to herself and began to walk again, but her eyes flickered to the bird. Are they interested in pet animals?Despite these doubts, he continued to lead the way and arrived at the room where the discussion was to take place. ''''This is the room where His Majesty is waiting for you. Okay. The Demon God dashes into the room at the same time as I open the door. When I followed behind him, I saw His Majesty Karl, a blue-faced man, and a grumpy-looking Sir Dorne sitting on chairs. I tried to introduce the two to the demon god, but he immediately sat down on the open couch, crossed his legs and began to relax. When you see the demon god behaving in such a way, Sir Dorne''s face turns bright red and he begins to shout angrily. "I didn''t give you permission to sit down!In the first place, it''s quite generous for a subhuman to come to the battlefield with a woman, isn''t it? ''I didn''t come here to thank my subjects, so you don''t need my permission. Or did you expect me to bow down to the Empire?If that''s the case, they''re pretty stupid. As for the margin of surplus, we have more than enough compared to a small country that is about to lose the war. You are fooling the Empire! The Demon God, who was looking at Sir Dorne, who was spitting and winding up, asked His Majesty Karl with a loud sigh. ''''Was it His Majesty Karl?I said I wanted to talk to you, but I never said I wanted to talk to this hairy monster. He''s an eyesore, so you''ll have to do something about it. "My apologies for the lack of decorum on the part of my liege, but Lord Dorne is... But Lord Dorne, being the most loyal servant in the empire, I would like to take his opinion on the matter, and so, well... His Majesty Karl is answering the Demon God''s question while looking down. ''''Demon God, please notice me!I''m sure you''ll be able to see that the person who is in control of the empire now is Lord Dorne who is right in front of you, we can''t go against Lord Dorne as he has the Queen and Prince''s Highness imprisoned and is holding the seal of state. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make the most of your time in the city. ''''I see... I understand most of it. Now, Sir Dorne, I will once again convey the Alliance''s demands: one, that the Linkdoble Empire sign the ceasefire agreement prepared by the Alliance; two, that all non-criminal slaves be freed immediately; three, that all sub-race in the empire be recognized as full imperial subjects; four, that the Alliance troops be stationed in five major cities, including the imperial capital. Admit it. That''s all, and if you do not accept it, we will launch a general strike tomorrow morning. That''s ridiculous!With that content, it''s effectively unconditional surrender!What in the world is the demon god thinking to confront us with this ridiculous content? Is it still different from what I expected, and is its purpose to simply overrun other countries?His Majesty Karl''s face turned white to the point that he almost swooned over the blue at the Demon God''s request that was announced so matter-of-factly, and even Lord Dorne''s mouth crinkled and seemed to be speechless. ''''Your Majesty, why don''t you tell me not only what you demand, but also what you''ll get in return?These humans are blue-faced. Yeah, I guess so. Lyrin chuckles and suggests to the demon god, but what''s the quid pro quo for offering such a condition?As far as I''m concerned, it''s not a good thing... I started listening to the Demon God''s ''quid pro quo'' with a feeling of resignation, but as I listened to the details of the content, I was even more shocked than I was when I was confronted with the demand just now. In return for accepting their demands, the Alliance will allow the royal family to continue to exist. The Alliance will also pay for the funds to cure the social turmoil that occurs when the slaves are freed. The funds paid will be used to pay for the reduction in the labor force resulting from the emancipation of laboring slaves, for example, if the former slaves are to be employed by paying them a fair wage. Furthermore, if the allied troops stationed there break the law, they will be punished by imperial law - in other words, ''extraterritoriality'' will not apply. His Majesty''s eyes sparkle with a face that has regained its vitality at the conditions that could be called unbeatable. If the royal family survives, the empire will have a chance to rebuild, and if extraterritoriality isn''t allowed, we can excuse ourselves from saying that we haven''t ''completely lost'' to friendly countries. I spoke to His Majesty about how he should accept the proposal of an alliance, but Lord Dorne opposed it outright. ''''Must!The Empire can still fight, we must stand together with the subaltern until the end!Joachim, aren''t you a proud human being? ''Lord Dorne!Let''s face it, the Empire no longer has the power left to fight the Alliance!Do you intend to ruin the empire, Sir? Furious at my advice, Sir Dorne left the room, saying he was going to gather his troops. If that happens, the future of the empire, the lives of my subjects and everything I have to protect will be lost. After hesitating for just a few moments while stroking the scarf given to me by my wife, I decided to give the order to the Kingsguard with the pendant shaped magic tool on my chest. I''m going to carry out the plan I have in mind for you. Hurry up and get everything done before the main force deployed in front of the gate comes back. Copy that. Satisfied with the powerful response from my subordinates coming from the magic tool, I approach His Majesty, who is disconcerted by the situation and unable to swallow it. ''''Joachim, what the hell is going on here?What''s the plan?Why has the castle suddenly become so noisy? I''m sorry, Your Majesty, but this is what is necessary to restore the empire to normalcy and protect its subjects and the royal family. I''m not going to be able to say that I''m sorry in my heart, and then I draw my sword from my waistband and point it at His Majesty Karl. ''''Please sit down, Your Majesty. This is a ''coup d''tat''. Unable to face His Majesty''s despairing expression at my declaration, I just silently turned my back to His Majesty and locked the door so that no one could enter the room. As I sat in the chair that Lord Dorne was sitting on, listening to the reports from my subordinates, the plan seemed to be progressing smoothly. ''''Commander, we''ve succeeded in capturing the main nobles.'''' All right, take him hostage in the castle and lock him up. Don''t hurt him at all. It seems our first objective was successful. If we keep the nobles under house arrest in the castle, we won''t be able to do anything even if the main force returns from the front lines, rather, we will add to the chaos since there is no commander of the various factions to give orders to. The only thing left to do now is to secure the custody of the queens who are being held captive, but will that work?As I wait with my arms folded while lighting my cigar, I receive the long-awaited report. ''We have rescued the Queen and His Highness!She''s tired, but she''s okay. You''ve done well. Now take me back to my room. As I removed the lock on the door and waited for my men to fetch the queens, I heard a clattering sound of running from the end of the corridor and a subordinate with a cloth covering his face jumped into the room. ''I have brought the queens. And I''m sorry to say that we failed to capture Lord Dorne. However, we found the seal of state in your room, and we will give it to the Commander. I''m sorry you missed it, but that''s okay. You guys go back to your posts. I took out the documents prepared for punishing the "scheming vassals" and stamped the seal of state and settled one after another. The queen spoke to me with doubts about my appearance, but I ignored all of them and continued to work, and after processing all of the documents, I asked the demon god, who was sitting on the couch in an imposing manner after the series of disturbances began, for one last check. ''The decision-making process in this country currently rests with me, but even if I sign the surrender document, you will still abide by the conditions I just mentioned, right? Of course, the surrender papers will be recognized as the will of the Empire, not by an individual. It doesn''t matter who wrote it, as long as the seal of state is stamped on it. Okay. Give me your papers. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make your life easier," he said. ''Joachim, will you betray the empire?You were the only one I trusted to be loyal to the Empire, no matter what... Because I''m loyal to you, my queen, that''s why I''ve chosen this path. All for the sake of the empire and the royal family I will gladly become a rebel for that reason, I abandoned all emotions and stamped the national seal on the surrender document and thrust the document back to the Demon God. "We have received it. At this time, the Alliance''s military operations against the Linkdoble Empire are suspended. By the way, what is the position of the escaped Lord Dorne now?Can we treat them as imperial aristocrats, or do we treat them as traitors? ''Lord Dorne is arranged as a treacherous and wicked vassal, and I hope you will treat him as such. The demon god nodded ''hmm'' at my words, then stood up and walked to the window and began to look out. ''''It will be dawn soon. If you ask me, it''s already that time of day, and the sky is getting lighter and lighter. Thinking back on it, it''s been a very short time since the demon god visited the imperial capital, and it will be the last time I will see the sunrise. The only thing I regret is that I''ve missed Lord Dorne, but I''ll leave the rest to His Majesty Karl and Clemens. I''m going to use my magic tool to give my men one last command, but the demon gods control it with their hands. If Lord Dorne were to flee from the Imperial City, where do you think he would flee from? ''''It''s probably the least guarded area to the north. We''ve made arrangements with them, but we think they''ve already fled from the imperial capital, and it''s a shame, but they''ll be able to escape to the Churchland. Yeah, but do you think you could get away with it? When I looked towards the direction that the demon god pointed at, I saw nothing at first, but as the sun rose, I saw countless banners on the northern grasslands, dominated by the wind. Where the hell are these troops?The main troops of the alliance army are deployed in front of the imperial capital, and to begin with, the north side of the empire is a high magic area, an environment where even the demon race cannot survive. Are you saying that they marched through such a place and approached the royal capital? I''ve been observing the mysterious troops that are slowly approaching, but when I clearly saw the type of flag being raised, I screamed out in surprise. ''''The Merkava Kingdom Army?Silly, and that military flag is the flag of the ''Black Gold Knights''. ''''Just as you risked your life to protect the future of the Empire, the Black Gold Knights risked their lives to run through the northern mountains. As a result, the empire surrendered before a general attack, so it would have been in vain, but the Black Gold Knights reported that they captured a nobleman who was believed to have escaped from the imperial capital. Rejoice, from the description, they are sure it is Sir Dorne. I see, so there are no more regrets now. Feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders, I give my men orders with my magic tool. "Finish the plan, take care of the rest as planned. It''s been a pleasure fighting for you, Lord Commander. I set the sword at my waist on the table, then took the flask I always carried with me from my pocket and took a sip. As I stroked my scarf, savoring the pleasant sensation of the strong liquor burning my throat, I heard the sound of several people''s footsteps running down the corridor. Apparently, my subordinates have come.......I want to praise my subordinates for showing quick actions as per their usual training, but I can''t do that anymore either. Eventually the door was vigorously opened and a group of fully-armed knights of the Kingsguard under Clemens entered the room. ''''Adversary Joachim!As you can see, I have regained control of the Kingsguard, your plan has failed. All hands!Now, we will punish the traitors and you will take heart. Clemens.........why do you look like you''re crying? I''m sure it has been decided in the past, but when the coup d''etat is successful, after eliminating all the scoundrels, the Konoe Guard will execute it with me alone as the ringleader. You can save your face by punishing the shame of the konoe, so that the participants of the coup would not see your face, but it would be meaningless. Clemens, whose face is still twisted to the point where he looks like he''s about to cry, asks me a question while pointing his sword at me. ''''Do you have any last words?'''' No. When I gazed at the faces of the excellent knights that I had prepared and raised with care, and then gave a small nod, not Clemens but somehow the Demon God raised his voice as if in a panic. ''''I definitely don''t want to end up like this!Mr. Lewis, Mr. Jonathan, you''re on, plan C, please. The moment the demon god shouted that, space suddenly distorted and two blacked-out humans appeared and pointed what appeared to be weapons at their subordinates. ''''Don''t move!We are the Alliance''s special forces. Based on the ceasefire treaty, the imperial capital is currently under the control of the Alliance forces. Violation of this is considered ''willing to take over'', all of you must lay down your weapons. I don''t understand how the two men showed up, but if the war starts up again here, it will be useless. I signaled my men to drop their weapons and then turned to the demon god to explain the situation, but before I could, the two men spoke to me. ''''I''m sorry, please bear with me.'''' Pang, not understanding that word!My body was blown away and slammed into the wall at the same time as I heard the sound of a pop. I was unable to move due to the pain and the impact of the slamming, and as I was squatting down, one of the blackout victims came up to me and put his hand on my neck. The black one, who kept his hand on my neck for a few seconds, eventually spoke to the demon god while shaking his head. ''''Your Excellency, unfortunately, we have shot and killed one Imperial soldier who did not follow the recommendation to disarm. Well, I''m very sorry, but it had to be done. Your Majesty Karl, a tragic incident occurred at the very end, but we''ll let it slide this time. However, the weapon used in the shooting was classified as a top secret weapon even by the Alliance, so I''m sorry, but we will take Joachim''s body back with us. What is the Demon God trying to do? More importantly, isn''t the way he speaks strange?He was so intimidating a moment ago, and now he''s smiling and talking in an age-appropriate way, which one is the real one? I was groaning in confusion and pain, when a blackout came up to me and crouched down in front of me, recognizing my voice. ''We don''t want the dead man to talk. I''m going to give you some painkillers to help you sleep for a while. Saying that, the blackout stabbed something in my thigh. I was looking blankly at the demon god and the confused Clemens as I felt the pain rapidly recede, and then I lost consciousness... ---- Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint---- Hmmm... no. Joachim, who is lying on the bed in front of me, raises his voice, it seems that the anesthesia he was given at the castle is about to be released. As I watched him, Joachim opened his eyes firmly, looked around and then turned to me and asked me a question. ''What is this place?'' I''m aboard the land battleship Alice, flagship of the Multispecies Alliance. This is the central infirmary, or, to put it simply, the place to treat injuries. ''Rikkujosenkan?What is it? I could go into more detail, but there is something more important than that. Soon after Joachim passed out, we left the Imperial Capital, but on the way there we decided to stop at Joachim''s house to rescue his family. However, I was mortified to see his wife, who was found on the second floor after rushing into the house with Lewis and Jonathan in the lead. ''Mr. Joachim, we were on our way back from the castle to rescue your wife, and we found her on the second floor...'' Is something wrong with my wife? ''Well, your wife was a Ket Shih!When I saw them for the first time, I was surprised and froze. After all, do your wife''s ears perk up when she''s in a good mood and flop when she''s sad? What?I don''t like it, but.......eh, is that all? That''s all that matters to me, and it''s all that matters to me. That''s a real nekomimi!At first she was quite alarmed at our sudden entry, and her Nekomimi was twitching with alarm, but when I showed her Joachim, whom Rilynn was carrying and told her why, she followed me quietly. Incidentally, when I tried to give my wife some of the "matrimony" that Court-san, who has a cat, shared with me after I returned to Alice, my mother seriously stopped me. I thought she would be pleased, but it seemed to be unexpectedly dangerous and she told me that I shouldn''t give it to her without a second thought, so I hurriedly returned it to her husband. ''What will happen to the empire now? As I explained at the castle, it will be under the control of the Alliance for a while. After that, it will be gradually taken away from our control in stages, but beyond that, we do not know what will happen. It will be up to the people of the Empire to decide whether they will take a new step forward or return to their original Empire. Okay. Joachim closes his eyes and thinks about something. I wonder what the future holds for the empire I risked my life to protect, and the sight of him makes me want to encourage Joachim, so I think desperately about whether I can tell him something that will support him. As I was thinking about it for a while, I remembered an incident that had been buried in the depths of my memory, and I decided to tell him the story. ''Long ago, an island nation went to war against the world. It fought to the end with all its strength, but it was defeated by the seemingly infinite amount of troops and new weapons of the enemy. It is said that more than three million people died in that disastrous war, which used up every last drop of national strength. When the enemy invaded the country after the war, we were at the end of our lives. What happened to the country after that? In the more than 60 years since the end of World War II, the country has grown to the level of a major power, carrying on the thoughts of the fallen who swore never to repeat the mistakes of the past and who died in order to protect their country. In particular, its technological capabilities are nothing short of amazing. Could the Empire do the same? I can. If we all work together, hand in hand, I''m sure the Empire can be reborn. After finishing listening to my story, Joachim-san nodded his head repeatedly while staring at the ceiling, it seems that he has found some hope. It''s all right, Joachim-san.......the empire will be reborn, of course we''ll be there to help, so don''t worry so much. I was about to leave the infirmary when I remembered the message His Majesty Karl had asked me to give him. ''Yes, His Majesty Karl has a message for you. What did you say? He asked me to tell him ''thank you.'' I don''t know what meaning is contained in the word ''thank you''. But the Commander of the Kingsguard who had been in charge of His Majesty Karl''s guards for a long time must have understood the meaning contained in those words, and with a stern face crumpled up, Joachim-san was crying. ''''Ugh your majesty I was happy to serve you. I decided to quietly leave the infirmary this time in order to leave Joachim, who was crying manically on the bed, alone... 48-Interim report (Synopsis of Chapter 2) ----Claire D''Aundreth Viewpoint... I read the report I''m about to write from the day file using an installed terminal in my room aboard the Claire ship. This is a top-secret document that is never revealed to the public, and is only allowed to be viewed by a limited number of executives within the giant conglomerate to which I belong, Noah. "Well, where did I put it all together? While talking to myself, I compared my memories with what was actually written. Yes, I''m sure I''ve written up to the point where I opened the gate to the other world. While sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee, I decided to type in the rest of the story. On the first day of August in the first year of the other world''s calendar, an advance team of 93 Forced Scouting Team members advanced to G-88. After about three hours of reconnaissance on the gate exit side, they come into contact with and engage an unknown life form, which they shoot down. This life form was later identified as a bird-like demon gargoyle. On August 2, the advance team began reconnaissance of a location where they believed intelligent life forms were living, which they had confirmed from satellite information. While on the move, the team discovers a group of people being attacked by the Sandworm, and successfully engages the worm, defeats it, and rescues it. From the information on the battle with the gargoyles and sandworms, it was determined that the weapons used by the advance team were an effective countermeasure against the monsters. The rescued group claimed to be the fourth princess of the Sacred Merkava Kingdom, Princess Adrienne, who was returning to the capital after an inspection, and her knightly guards, and the reconnaissance team thought that they were telling the truth from their appearance and equipment, so they proposed establishing diplomatic relations. In order to decide the details of the meeting, they moved to a fort owned by the Merkava Kingdom, but on the way, Major General Arakawa discovered the disguised position in the kingdom and informed Hakone Base of the most important information. After the meeting in the fort, it was decided to have a formal meeting with the Merkava Kingdom in 30 days. Upon receiving the news, the Political Action Department at Hakone Base makes preparations, and after 26 hours, they advance to the gate to G-88. On September 2, the Political Action Department negotiates with the Merkava delegation. On the same day, diplomatic relations were established, but the Kingdom of Merkava was warned of economic and military sanctions by the five-nation alliance to which it belonged, consisting of the Holy Merkava Kingdom, the Duchy of Laguirre, the Likkle Kingdom, the Empire of Linkdoble, and the Kingdom of Capus. On October 4, Major General Arakawa left Noah Island armed and headed for the northern continent on his own. About four hours later, Major General Arakawa sends an urgent level A transmission from the northern continent, requesting the conclusion of negotiations with the Ursna Empire and the acceptance of Noah as an ally. Noah readily agrees to accept the request and welcomes the Imperial delegation to Noah''s island. For more information, see the attached information of the magic research group. The next day at 13:00, the United Tribesmen''s Army, with the Capus Kingdom as its leader, declared war on the Merkava Kingdom. The leaders of Noah, the Holy Merkava Kingdom, and the Ursna Empire decide to form a military alliance, forming the League of Pluralities. At 3 p.m. on the same day, the Multispecies Alliance declared war on the United Tribes of Man through the Merkava Kingdom, and Noah issued a first-class war regime for all his troops. At 1:00 p.m. on October 8, the Alliance''s 1st Northern Axis Force Assault Brigade, led by Brigadier General Arakawa, successfully attacks and bloodlessly occupies the Gulf City of Asti in the territory of the Linkdoble Empire. At 3:00 p.m. on the same day, the Merkava Relief Army, led by Senior General Miki Arakawa, engages the main Allied forces on the borders of the Kingdom. At one point, they are on the verge of defeat, but they are able to break through with the help of Odin, a super-massive ground assailant sent in at the request of the Special Forces Major General. At 17:00 on the same day, the Ursna Imperial Rescue Force, led by Commander Shuichi Arakawa, temporarily retreats from the battlefield due to the onslaught of the Allied Forces that had been going on since early morning. They attempted to rebuild their forces, but the total destruction of the Ursna forces made organized military action virtually impossible. At 19:00 on the same day, the Dragon Conn is sent to assist the Ursna''s rescue forces, and requests the assistance of all the Dragon Tribes in G-88. The Marvelous''s 2,000 dragon tribe members accept the request and move to the Ursna front to support the Ursna rescue mission. As a result, the Ursna Empire''s rescue forces succeed in breaking through the front line. On October 10, the three armies, which had been advancing by different routes, meet up 100 km before Trieta, the imperial capital of the Linkdoble Empire, and place Trieta under siege. In order to minimize civilian casualties before the next day''s general strike, a surprise plan is proposed and adopted by the Special Affairs Major-General (Information Management Level SS is required to view the operation). The next day at 04:00, the operation is over. The target, Trieta, is occupied bloodlessly. Furthermore, based on the information obtained by the Intelligence Bureau prior to the start of the operation, the Allied Forces have requested the use of the code name "Ghoul" in battle... As I clattered on the keyboard, I noticed a voice communication ringing from the terminal on my arm. The screen showed that it was Miki-san and others communicating, so I hurriedly pressed the terminal''s answer button. ''Yes, this is Claire,'' ''It''s me. I''m sorry, but I want to discuss a plan of action regarding the ghouls, so could you get Gongju to come over here?Tell them to come to the CIC. I understand. He stretches wide after cutting off the communication and sips his cold coffee. Apparently, it will be tonight before I write the rest of this document. I decided to lightly check my appearance in the mirror provided before heading to Kouki-kun''s room. 49-The path to the end of the war ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint I''m sitting in my chair in my room, meditating while sitting in my chair to collect my thoughts after I leave the infirmary, when there''s a knock on the door. I said ''Come in'' and allowed the person who would be in front of the door to enter while sitting in the chair. ''Excuse me,'' It was Claire who came into the room, her expression cloudy. What''s going on?Con, who had been curled up in my lap, was also looking at me and Claire-san in turn with a somewhat uneasy expression. ''''Claire-san, what''s wrong?'''' ''''Yes, although it is uncertain, we have received information that the Capus Kingdom and the Rikru Church State have decided to put the ''Ghoul'' into actual combat. At the moment, the Intelligence Department is working hard to confirm the accuracy of the information, but Miki-san would like to talk to you about this matter. All right. I''ll be at my mom''s later. After saying that, I close my eyes again and start thinking in my own world, but I don''t feel that Claire-san is leaving the room. She opens her eyes and tilts her head slightly while just looking at me, ''''What is it?'''' He asks, "What do you mean? ''Um, I''m sorry but I''d like to ask you to do this as soon as possible. Commander Claire!Didn''t I say I understand?If it''s really urgent, my mom will contact me directly to my device. Could you leave me alone to think? I''m sorry, too!Excuse me. At my strong words, which came out unintentionally, Claire-san left the room as if in a hurry. I sighed, covering my face with my hands as I listened to Claire''s footsteps walking away down the corridor. What the hell are you doing?I took it out on Claire-san just because I couldn''t get my thoughts together. I''ll have to make a proper apology later........ ''''Hey, Con,'''' "Con? I turned to Conn, who was curled up in my lap, and asked him as if he were talking to himself, and Conn said, ''What''s wrong?'' He replied to me. This guy wouldn''t tell a stranger what was bothering me, so I started to honestly tell Con what I was thinking right now. ''You''ve protected Mr. Joachim, haven''t you?Then I wondered. Do we really need to continue this war? I heard from Joachim''s wife and the soldiers of Merkava how the countries in the Union treated the sub-humans...I don''t like the term itself, but I heard how they treated the people of the other races. The more I listen to that story, the less I understand what this war is all about. I broke off the conversation and looked at Conn, who looked at me seriously and gestured for me to continue. I''m going to tell you a story," he said, "about how we, the ''Multispecies Alliance'', won this war. How do you think we, the victors, would treat the vanquished ''United Racemen''?At best, it would be an inferior citizen, and at worst, a slave. So wouldn''t it be better to keep things the way they are? Nowadays, we can only suppress some of the other races that are still few in number. But after the war, there will be dozens of times more human races suppressed than now, then... ''Didn''t your master join this war to stop the chain of events?That''s why he collaborated with the demons and elves. You''re right, but I was naive, I was too naive. Resentment that has been suppressed for hundreds of years cannot be forgotten so easily. There are some humans, like Joachim, who take the Ket Shih tribe as their wives, but most humans perceive the non-human race as a lower race. And the non-human races see humans as a lower class. The reason we are able to get along with demons and elves as equals is probably because we came to this world from the ''other world''. From Victoria''s point of view, we are not purely ''human''. When I tell Con that, the letters come up again. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that you have to give up here?If you tell Mother, you can return to Hakone Base, and the remaining Noahs will take care of the rest of your problems. But the world after it''s solved may not be the world that Master wanted. ''What am I supposed to do then?You heard the stories from your wife and the Merkava soldiers with you!If things were the way they are now, we could tolerate each other if we made a complete separation of the two sides. Do you think the other races will forgive a human who has committed such a foolish act! As I yelled and screamed out my pent up exasperation, Con slowly floated up to the height of my face... and hit me hard on the side with his tail. ''Chill out!It''s true that your master may still be a young student, but this is a different world and he''s currently a member of Noah''s army and a general, commanding the Northern Sector Army. Be self-aware.'''' Ouch, you lizard!I didn''t want to be a general in the first place. I rather didn''t want to be in the war itself!It''s my mother''s refusal to listen to me that got me into all this trouble I had to get into!So why are you acting like you''re going to save this world and you''re going to do that on your own without my knowledge? ''''Then why didn''t you contact your mother directly when you led the army in the field?We could have talked as much as we wanted using our personal devices. You could have emailed him. If you didn''t do that, isn''t it because you thought your master could handle it?If you really didn''t want to, there were plenty of ways to do it, and now you''re going to stop whining about it!'' Shit, shit, shit, shit!I know that better than anyone else. I mean, Con is right about everything he says but I just didn''t expect people from this world to be this stupid. Why do they go to the extent of strangling themselves and trying to exclude us, why can''t we just go along with it? Why can''t we just get along? For some reason, I couldn''t hold back the tears that were pouring out of me and began to cry pettishly, but Kon, unlike earlier, gently patted me down. When I looked up after crying for a while, I saw Con leaning his head back and letting the words come to life. ''''Have you calmed down?'''' Oh, I''m sorry. Thank you. It''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do. It''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do.No, this question doesn''t convey the meaning of the question. ''What kind of world do you want this world to be, Master?'' ''I want to make the world a place where everyone can laugh. I want to make it a world where we can at least protect one important thing. You may laugh at me for smelling like a brat, but I want to see that world. A world where people would laugh and hold hands - that would be a happy world. ''Then let''s create such a world. We don''t have time to stop and stay in our rooms here.'''' ''No. Is that why you''ve been listening to me?I don''t think it''s going to happen. The alliance and the coalition are decidedly... When I tried to open my mouth to explain the current situation again, Con came up with a sentence that I could only laugh at. ''Why can''t you?There is your mother, who is the greatest genius in history, and your father, who leads the most powerful army in the world. There''s also Victoria the Demon King and the elven princesses who lead the demon race, and Marvelous and Lyrin, the chiefs of the dragon race, who are the most powerful people in this world. And do you think there is anything impossible to achieve with a master that all of them look up to? In fact, what you said was impossible, you have easily accomplished, using my mother''s mathematical formula to prove a parallel world and liberate the remains of the moon you have done it when everyone else in the world said it was impossible. You say it was an accident, but I don''t care if it was an accident, as long as it was an accident. I think what Kon is saying is an absurd opinion. But when this guy says so, I''m beginning to think that we can reconcile the alliance and the coalition. Then what I need to do now is to think of a specific way to deal with the ghouls, and given their name and biology, they are undoubtedly the "zombies" that have been used in movies in the world before they were reincarnated. We need to figure out how to deal with these ghouls, and I''m pretty sure they''re the ones that were in the movies before they reincarnated. "Okay, let''s go talk to my mom and dad about dealing with the ghouls!To some extent I have an idea, though. Thanks Con, you''ve changed my mind. CON! At my words, Con let out a happy purr and climbed onto my shoulder, his usual stationary position, and wrapped his tail around my neck to hold himself in place. When I was about to leave the room, patting Kon''s head, which has recently become a little heavier due to its growth spurt, Kon dexterously used his tail to make a magical character appear as if he had remembered. ''Speaking of which, I''ve been meaning to tell you for a while now that I''m called a lizard or a lizard bastard... I''m a female by biology. Considering that I''ve only been born a short time ago, I''m properly a girl, so please make me a lizard girl at least.'' Hey, that''s a joke, right? "What?For all intents and purposes, I am a magnificent little lady. Look at those fine-grained white scales!It feels great on the skin, too. With such a light escape from reality, I started walking towards the CIC where my mother was supposed to be waiting for me. ----Arakawa Miki''s Point of View---- As I was looking at the map of the area in Alice''s CIC and planning my next strategy, a blue-faced Claire-san came back into the room. I had asked her to call for Gongju earlier, but it looks like she came back alone. What''s going on?I ask Claire a question with that question in mind. ''What''s wrong?You look very pale, though. ''No, no. I''ve never seen that scary expression on his face before, so that made me feel a little. Gongju yelled at Claire-san?Did she say something to him that upset him?No, that doesn''t mean that Gongju would ever yell at such a thing. It''s not only that, but it''s also the type of person who doesn''t strongly express his or her emotions to begin with. At best, it can be said to be reserved, and at worst, it can be said to be an introverted character. That''s why he can''t turn down a friend''s request, but he''ll figure it out with future life experience. But what happened to him?Shuichi-san, who was operating the terminal next to her, also seemed to be wondering and asked Claire. ''Claire you, what did you say to Kouki?He''s not the kind of guy who yells at you for no reason. I just told her that Miki-san wanted me to come over. It''s just that she usually follows you right away, but just now, she just sat in her chair and said she understood, and wouldn''t move. So I added a few more words to ask him to go to Miki-san''s place as soon as possible, and then... So you got yelled at. To Shuichi''s words, Claire-san replies with a small ''''Yes........'''' while looking down. It''s strange, after all, there is no way Conju would yell at such a thing. The actuality of that time, Claire-san, what was it like for Conju?Did you notice anything unusual about it? Claire seemed to have an idea of what my question was about and gave me a quick answer. I didn''t turn on any lights in the room because of the indirect lighting on my desk. Besides, in his spare time, he usually spends his time watching books or documentaries that he''s saved up, but he just seemed to be sitting in his chair, thinking about something. That''s...strange. No, that''s not even close to the level of weirdness. What happened to that guy, Connie? Shuichi-san is right, the room that Conju prepared on Alice''s ship is in the central part of the ship, so it has no windows. It''s not normal to think in such a room with no light on and yell at Claire-san for interrupting you. What in the world happened to Gongju?As I crossed my arms and thought about it, Captain Dylan spoke to me from where it was lowered a level and packed with CIC personnel. "Please excuse me for interrupting a superior''s conversation, but may I have a word? But may I have a word with you? What''s going on? Shuichi replies to Captain Dylan''s words as he lights a cigarette. ''''Yes, sir. It was five hours ago that Kouki-kun returned to Alice after capturing the imperial capital. At that time, there was nothing unusual in Conju-kun''s words and actions, so far so good? Indeed, at that time, I saw the returning Kouki as well, but I didn''t see anything unusual. Shuichi-san and Claire-san must be the same, nodding and urging the captain to go ahead. ''Then I have one thing in mind. Gongju-kun had an interview with both Sir Joachim''s wife and the Mercava Knight about three hours ago. I didn''t think it was particularly questionable since his wife is of the beast race, a race that Gongju-kun is particularly interested in, but I remembered that there was something somewhat tricky about the meeting with the soldiers of the Merkava Kingdom. A meeting with the kingdom''s soldiers?What happened after that......... Don''t tell me--! Miss Claire, I want you to contact Princess Cassis, who is waiting in another room, and find the soldier who had an interview with Gong-Ju and bring him to me at once!If the soldier says he''s on some kind of mission, you can give him the order to report to me. Hurry up! If my prediction is correct, then I must use some forcefulness to confirm the facts. If the worst happens, the only way is to force Gongju back to the Hakone base. That would surely be the best thing for her and for this world. About ten minutes later, perhaps, a knight wearing the armor of the Merkava Kingdom entered the CIC, out of breath. He was accompanied by Princess Cassis, who had a worried look on her face, behind him. ''''I heard from Commander Claire that you have some questions for me, what is it?'''' ''I understand you had a meeting with Gongju three hours ago. Can you tell me what you discussed at that time? To my question, the knight remained upright and brief. Then he gave the worst answer I had expected. ''''Ha, the common sense of this world that Noah''s people call G-88. And related to it is the way we, the sub-race, are treated, rights, etc. I was specifically talking about our people being treated as slaves. Hey, you!You were instructed never to let its contents fall on the ears of Lady Kouki!It''s one of the highest written treaties of alliance between the kingdom and Noah. What you have done is a clear violation of the treaty! Princess Cassis accuses the knight in a voice that resembles a scream. In response, the knight says, ''''I didn''t hear any such instructions,'''' and makes excuses for his unintentional and fatal mistake, turning blue in the face. In the Merkava Kingdom, which doesn''t employ a solid information management system like ours, problems like this........., delays and non-delivery of instructions can occur in extreme cases, but even so, I didn''t expect it to happen with such important details. More importantly, now. I''m going to be able to say that I''m not going to be able to do anything about it. You can''t do that through program-related or system-related procedures, she can easily deactivate it and activate it. Tell her to physically lower the main thrusters and control unit. Yes, sir. ''''Shuichi-san, I''m sorry, but can you have your men fully armed and ready to stand by?Worst case scenario, Gongju could charge into the Allied forces with a normal type. All right. But what about the numbers?The only people available immediately are the ten land combatants in charge of the ship''s security. ''''If I''m serious about taking down the fleeing Gongju, I''ll need one power suit brigade and three infantry divisions. Shuichi-san, you should be prepared to hope for that much. The crew member in charge of the radar at the CIC says in a whisper, ''It''s not that big of a deal,'' but he can say that because he''s never seen that thing. As I recall, that was right after the Hakone base became fully operational, when the suits were allowed to use the field training area. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about this in the future. I remember that he was in a very good mood and had a happy expression on his face as the camera inside the suit sent to him. I and the other officials who were there watched the test, smiling as we watched the footage, but after a few seconds, we froze. She had performed the "Three-Dimensional Maneuver" with a suit that was only equipped with thrusters for jumping. In the manner of a triangle jump, she rose into the air from a building in the hall and used her jump thrusters to accelerate further, moving at an unbelievably high speed. When I showed the video to Shuichi, he said, ''Don''t let anyone see this video. I''ll break the confidence and pride of most of the wearers if you show them these things,'''' he warned. As his wife, I am the most aware of Mr. Shuichi''s excellence. The possibility of seizing Gong-Ju, which makes Shuichi-san say that much, has come up. ''''Huh-uh, what should I do? The situation is too much for me to laugh about. I''m sure he''ll understand if you talk to him because he''s a good listener,'''' such sweet thoughts come and go. You can''t imagine that the gentle child would ever forgive the humanity of this world. When I looked at the desk, I found the cigarette that Shuichi-san was smoking. I''ve been stopping smoking ever since I was pregnant with Koki, but now I can''t help but feel the urge to smoke it - the brand is coincidentally the same brand I liked to smoke, by chance. Gently reaching out and fishing through the packages of cigarettes, I found that there were still a few more in there, so I put one in my mouth and lit it up. Strange, it doesn''t taste that good. I don''t know if it tasted like that. I can see that everyone around me is having trouble figuring out how to react to my soliloquy. Come to think of it, the only person who knew I was smoking was Shuichi-san, it''s only natural that he would be confused if I suddenly started smoking. I thought about such a nonsense while feeling the pleasant intoxication of nicotine that I hadn''t felt in a long time. When I had reduced the cigarette to ashes about halfway through, the door suddenly opened and a slightly swollen-eyed Kouki entered the room. Was he crying?With that thought, I frowned at the cigarette and got up from my seat, and Gongju walked towards me with a look of determination on his face. ''''You''re late,'''' They only nodded lightly at my question. When he came to the desk where everyone was gathered, he looked at everyone''s faces and then opened his mouth. ''''Mother I have a favor to ask you. I need your help.'''' What? The air is heavy..... No one spoke, only the driving sound of the machines that were set up. As everyone waited for Gongju''s words, my child in front of me said with a look of firm conviction in his eyes. ''''We want to rescue civilians from the area where the ghoul threat is imminent. We need your help in rescuing all species, whether it is a multi-species alliance or a federation of races. There''s no point in fighting any more wars, let''s do as little damage as possible. Everyone in the room smiles on their faces at Gongju''s words, it seems that this child has grown up more than I thought he would. Even though he knows about the folly of humanity, he accepts it and tries to aim for a better future. ''''Of course, I''ll help you!Leave it to your mothers. So do you have a clear plan? I do, and I''m a little closer to my mom. I have one, and it''s a little too close to my mom!Also, stay away from the smoky smell of cigarettes, my dad is enough to make me smell smoke. I was mildly shocked by the sight of Gongju leaving me while making a terribly unpleasant face, and my thoughts wandered. It''s true that this room is too small to hold a strategy meeting, and besides, I''ll have to call the other members. ''''Claire-san, we''re having a strategy meeting in conference room A in ten minutes, so please contact the relevant departments. I''ll go rinse my mouth off. With a sideways glance at everyone moving at my direction, I grabbed the box of cigarettes that contained the contents of Shuichi-san''s, which had caused Conju to hate me, and threw it into the trash can. Now, I had to hurry up and brush my teeth or I wouldn''t be able to make it to the meeting, I decided to hurry to the restroom in a short run. 50-For the future ----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View As I entered the conference room and sat down at my seat, I noticed a card on the desk that said ''No Smoking''. Apparently, Miki gave him instructions, but did he not like being told to stay away from Kouki so much? Well, whatever it was, since it said no smoking, I couldn''t smoke, so I took a piece of nicotine-laden gum out of my pocket and threw it in my mouth. ''Captain, do you think we''re up for it?'' Louis, who''s sitting next to me, asks me a question, but there''s no way I know about that. "I don''t know. Just make sure your direct reports are ready to go at all times. Yes, sir. At my instruction, Lewis took out his personal terminal and began sending instructions to his subordinates. I looked around handlessly as I watched it with a sideways glance, and I saw Miki and Kouki discussing a matter next to the screen. Every time Kouki asked her something, Miki''s beautiful, ageless face contorted as she struggled to operate the terminal. Further back, he could see Claire and Ellis setting up a large number of displays. Perhaps that thing is for the people in charge of the other departments on Noah Island to participate in video communication. ''''Con!'''' A sudden squeal startled me and I looked down and noticed Con looking up at me at my feet. ''What''s up?''Oh, you''re holding her? In response to my question, Con nods coyly and reaches out with his little hands. When I pulled Kon into my arms, she giggled at the sight of him, then dexterously slipped out of my hands and climbed onto my head. Moreover, he holds his body firmly in place with his hands so that he won''t be shaken off. It''s a good thing that you''re not going to be able to see him or her well from your place, so he or she came to me?Realizing that it was better not to notice, I somewhat sadly popped a second piece of nicotine gum into my mouth before closing my eyes to pass the time. It''s been a long time since we''ve been able to set up our equipment, but we''re going to be having a ''strategy meeting with the ghouls'' now. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. When I heard Claire''s voice and opened my eyes, the lights in the conference room had already been dimmed and Gongju was waiting next to the podium. It looks like the meeting is about to begin in earnest, so let''s straighten up our posture and sit back in our chairs. ''''Well then, Major General Arakawa, who prepared the ghouls'' materials that have been distributed to all of you terminals, will explain our future policy. He took over from Claire, the facilitator, and went up on the stage. He looked around at the attendees with a slightly nervous look on his face before opening his mouth. ''I''m Arakawa Gongju. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their hard work from the start of the war on October 5th to the Imperial Capital War this morning. Although there were many serious and lightly injured, there have been no fatalities among the allied forces yet. This is due in part to your high level of training, but I believe this is the result of all races working together in unison. I look forward to even more unity in the future. After separating his words, Gongju took a sip of water from the glass on his desk before continuing his story. The Multispecies Alliance has been making great progress up to this point. If we continue our march, we can overthrow the major powers and satellite countries of the Alliance and bring almost half of this continent under Alliance control. Last night, at the same time that we began our attack on the imperial capital, the allied forces began to deploy the "Ghoul," a biological weapon, as their trump card against the allied forces. Currently, the ghouls have begun to run amok as I had predicted, causing extensive damage in the outlying areas of the ''Rikurkyo Kingdom'' and the royal capital of the ''Caps Kingdom''. Gongju was right, as far as the images sent by the Intelligence Department are concerned, it''s hard to believe that the Allied Forces have the ghouls under control. That thing is like a swarm of flesh-eating locusts....... ''Noah has modern weapons, and it''s not impossible for him to march in while destroying the ghouls. Cities that have been destroyed by the ghouls will be much easier to take than to eliminate and capture the Coalition''s garrison forces. It would be much easier to occupy a city that had been destroyed by a ghoul than it would be to eliminate the Allied garrison, because they would have to shoot everything that moved. And later historians will say that this continent was protected from the ghouls in exchange for the humans. But is that really what we want? Is it really OK to let ourselves prosper at the expense of the innocent and the people we might be able to help? Isn''t that just like the current coalition? I don''t want to be like the Coalition, I don''t want to be like the Coalition. In times like these, let''s prove that the Alliance is not like the Coalition. Let''s all stand up to the threat of the ghouls!Let''s cross the line and join hands! I would like to recommend that we conduct a large-scale evacuation of Operation Future. As soon as he finished saying it on the stage, I could feel a vibration coming from my terminal, signaling an incoming email. Looking around, it seems that not only me, but everyone in the conference room received an incoming email, some of the people didn''t turn off the sound, or maybe the ringing sound was echoing. When I opened the email, I found a file with a summary of Operation Future''s strategy, so I took a look at it. But when I read the first line, I couldn''t help but shout out. ''Nonsense..., a plan to evacuate 10 million people?And that''s impossible to do in just 24 hours! Lewis, sitting next to me, is also frozen in surprise. What the hell is he thinking?While the conference room was buzzing, Claire, who had quickly regained her composure, raised her voice in an attempt to calm the surroundings. ''Silence!Silence, please. Major General, please continue your story. At the sound of Claire''s voice, they all look at the podium again, focusing on Gongju. The operation is divided into three phases. The first phase is the evacuation of civilians from areas where the ghoul is expected to hit. Based on satellite and intelligence information, we estimate that there are between six and ten million civilians living in these areas. These civilians will be transferred to a safe zone with the full force of the Alliance, and when 50 percent of the civilians have been removed, the operation will enter the second phase. In the second phase, we will detain the leaders of the governments of the Rikurian States, the Kingdom of Capus, and the Duchy of Raguirre. The detained leaders will be brought to trial after the ceasefire in countries that are not involved in this war, so never kill them. At this point, we estimate that 90 percent of the civilians should have been successfully evacuated, but regardless of the success of the evacuation, after confirming the return of the detained troops, we will move to the third stage. In the third phase, we will use imaginary weapons to completely wipe out approximately 2,000 kilometers of the area, including the ghoulee-generating area. The operation will take 24 hours and in those 24 hours we will change the world. Do you have any questions? Do you have any questions? You''re not even close!Where the hell do I start asking? I read through more material to sort out the information in my mind. But the more I read, the more dissatisfied I become with the details of the operation. The food, medicine, and residential facilities to be used for the refugees will be released from Noah''s stockpile of supplies, the place of refuge will be within the Merkava Kingdom territory, and the security maintenance of the Ursna Empire''s standing army. It''s too much of a joke, this is like... "Kouki-sama!Doesn''t this make it sound as if we, the Alliance, have lost! What I was thinking inwardly, Princess Kassis speaks for me. The princess is staring at Gongju with her shoulders trembling with anger, but the person in question smiles back at her with a thin smile that reminds me of Miki when she''s angry. ''Are you unhappy?'' ''Nothing to complain about, the people will riot if you publish this content! Then rein it in. Princess Cassis, you''re royalty, aren''t you?You will complete your self-imposed duties. ..... Unable to say anything back, the princess sat down in her chair again, biting her lip. It''s tasteless, it''s true that what Gongju is saying is the right thing to do, the very ideals of the alliance. As a father, I''m happy that my son has grown up like that, and if it weren''t for this situation, I would hug him and pat him on the head. But you have to think about the feelings of those around you. You''re not going to attract anyone by being so bossy. You''re a smart guy, you know that, don''t you?Besides, why doesn''t Miki also stop Gongju? I''ve been wondering about Miki''s behavior, and now Her Majesty Victoria has spoken. ''''But this is too much,'''' she said. Can''t you give the Coalition a little more punishment for trampling on the mistresses? Then it''s just the same thing as before.It is true that if we punish people, we may have peace for a while after the war, but it will surely happen again. It will be our children and grandchildren''s generation that will fight then.Would you want your children to do that, Victoria?Will you let the next generation inherit this foolish conflict? No, I didn''t mean it, Mistress. "Victoria, I said earlier that I was going to use an ''imaginary weapon'', but that missile uses a special launcher. My Satanakia is the only one in the world equipped with that launcher. Lord, that''s what it means. ''If civilians in the coalition do not respond to the evacuation, or if the evacuation does not take place in time after the time limit has passed, we will activate our weapons to protect the alliance........ Victoria, you should be prepared to do the same. I couldn''t help but cover my face with my hands at Kouki''s words. I see, that''s why Miki didn''t stop Kouki. It''s not just Miki, no one here can stop his son. This guy is facing this operation with the determination to kill 10 million people.... ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint ''If civilians in the coalition do not respond to the evacuation, or if the evacuation does not take place in time after the time limit has passed, we will activate our weapons to protect the alliance........ Victoria, you should be prepared to do the same. As I say this, Victoria is frozen and her mouth is crunching. I guess she thought I was going to say something sweet again, like I always do; my palms are damp with the fear that I might kill ten million people, and my legs haven''t stopped shaking since earlier. But I''m not going to look away from this war anymore. I look at Conn, who is sitting on top of Macho''s head, and he looks back at me firmly. It''s okay Con, I''m not going to run away from my duties and obligations as you asked. If you''re willing to help me with this mission, I''ll take on the hardest role of all. ''''All right, my concubines, the Ursna Empire will cooperate with you. "All right, concubines, the Ursna Empire will cooperate with you, and if any of my men try to run away, I will restrain them. Victoria-san said a few words and then sat down in her chair to exchange words with the maid who was waiting next to her. Mom has the final say on Noah, and Marvelous-san and the others will leave it to Con to deal with, but the problem is the Merkava Kingdom led by Princess Cassis. I''d like to get your help, but is that too much to ask?I was troubled, I signaled to my mother with my eyes to ''help me''. Then she stood up and spoke to Princess Cassis. I''m sure this is the most difficult for the kingdom to bear. You are right to be concerned about the security and logistics involved in providing the place. But think of the benefits. If this strategy succeeds, the Kingdom will have a strong political voice on this continent despite its weakness. You have saved the continent from a crisis in any way possible. And we, Noah, will not forget the wisdom of the kingdom that has walked with us in this crisis by taking the initiative to provide a place for us. As expected of the first of Noah''s three major witches, you''re very good at flattery. Of course, it''s my mom, so I guess it''s finite execution, but is it okay to make such a statement here?Well, I''m sure you''re going to make sure it''s okay, because it''s my mom. That''s true, isn''t it? ''Yes. Noah will always walk next to the kingdom as long as it does not violate the principles of the alliance. I understand. The kingdom of Merkava is willing to cooperate with Noah. After confirming that Mom nodded towards me, I looked forward again and gave ''orders'' as a special duty major general. ''''The operation will begin in eleven hours, instructions information will be constantly updated, so please do not neglect to check it. Then you are dismissed. As I stand up and take a breath, watching the back of the person leaving the room, Macho walks towards me with Con on his head. And then just like that, he strokes my head around silently. ''Dad it hurts. I mean, what? ''No, I just thought you''d become a fine man. You''ve made up your mind, haven''t you? I nodded silently, embarrassed by Macho''s rare in-your-face praise, and Con flew over to my shoulder and hugged me as usual. Seeing us, Macho grinned, took some gum out of his pocket and put it in his mouth before saying, "We''re going to check our equipment and make sure it''s ready. We''re going to go over our equipment and prepare for our mission. The next time we meet will be after the mission is over, but leave the second phase to me. We''ll make sure we pull it off. Yes, please. If you guys miss, this mission is going to fail. I don''t care what it takes. Macho only returned my words with a single word, ''Oh,'' and walked out of the conference room with Cort-san. All that''s left is to load the missiles on the Satanakia and wait, but I''ll have to go to Noah Island to get the main body. I should ask my mom if she''s finished inspecting and refueling the missile. "Mom, will my suit be ready to go soon?I think I''m going to try to get a missile to Noah Island. Mom, who had been talking to Claire, turns back at the sound of my voice and checks something on the terminal before answering. Yes, we''ll be out of here soon. The thrusters and control units are loaded up and ready to fly. Loaded?Did you take it apart and inspect it? No, my suit is very important to this mission, so we''ll need to do a thorough inspection. Then I''m going to Noah''s Island. I''m going to Noah''s Island, I''ll load the missile and then I''ll come back to you. I said that to my mom and then started walking towards the hangar. It''s been an hour and twenty minutes since we took off from the land battleship Alice, and the sun is about to set. Come to think of it, I hadn''t slept a wink since I attacked the imperial capital last night with Lyrin-san and the others, so I''ll take a little nap when we get to Noah Island....... As I was rubbing my sleepy eyes with my right hand while thinking about that, Kon, who was sitting on my shoulder, let out a fierce cry while indicating the monitor with his tail. ''Con!Kon-Kon-Kon. What''s up?What did you find? Once the suit is hovering, it stops and the main camera zooms in on the direction that Con indicated. A human-like figure appears on the monitor, but you can''t see it well due to the darkness of the area. I switch the camera to night vision mode with the panel at hand. ''It looks like a person. The one behind it is not good!Ghouls!We''re already here, aren''t we? In the enlarged image, I can clearly see a man with a child in his arms desperately running away from the ghoul. I immediately deactivate the safety on my weapon and try to snipe the ghoul, but before I can do so, Kon brings up the letters. "Master, those people are coming towards us, but there are ghouls ahead of us too! Shit!Any more of this and the ghouls up ahead will see us. What should we do?You want to shoot me right now?No, no, a bullet through a ghoul could cause damage to those people. It would be best if we could give them some sort of warning. Oh, yeah!There was a roaring device. I remembered the device that I had used once inexplicably and forgot about it, and I pressed the button on the device and shot my rifle into the sky as if to hit it. ''Gyaaaaaaaaah! A roar like a completely sound-crazed violin echoes through the evening darkness. Furthermore, the muzzle flashes produced by the rifle firing would reflect my image from the other side. Don''t come over here!There''s a scary Satanachia over here, go away. As I watched the monitor as I prayed, they apparently decided that a ''monster'' more than a ghoul behind them was ahead of them and changed the direction of their progress. Good. Now we can shoot without worry. I let out a sigh as I land and hold my rifle up. The moment I activated the firing system with an unfamiliar hand and caught the ghoul in the reticle and was about to pull the trigger.......I felt uncomfortable and removed my finger from the trigger. ''''What''s wrong?'''' I ignore the words of Con''s question and I think with my head on full alert. Why does the ghoul in front of me ''stop''?You were chasing a human at full speed earlier, why would you suddenly stop moving? Think about it, what happened before it stopped. "...roared and fired a gun. If it''s reacting to the light of the gun, it should cause some kind of reaction with a magical explosion. If it''s not the light, then the cause is the satanakian cry that comes from using the roaring device. If that''s the case, wouldn''t it be possible to control the ghouls? Hey, Con!Use my personal device to access the Intelligence Community databank. From there, find the footage with the ghoul''s ''voice'' in it and extract that voice. Cone! Kon followed the instructions and began to use his tail to operate the terminal. While looking at that figure with a sideways glance, I retrieve the sound used for the roaring device from Satanakia''s information system. If the coincidence coincides with the coincidence, and then the coincidence again, Satanakia''s roar and the voice of the ghoul will be. ''''Master!It''s done. This is the voice data.'' The data given to the suit by Conn is loaded into the main terminal and the voices of Satanakia and the ghouls are displayed as wavelength data. Alright!As I expected, the two graphs are almost identical. Moreover, Con''s guy also extracted the voices that ghouls make when they find other creatures in a short period of time, breaking them down into different types. As expected of an Ancient Dragon, he is very capable. Con, you''ve done a great job. Thanks to you, the work will be done in a short time. He stroked Conn''s head and entered newly programmed basic sounds such as ''assemble, advance, retreat, and scatter'' into the bellowing device, which he could predict from the video. I''m so glad I learned some simple programming skills from Shingo! When I return to Hakone base, I''ll buy him all the food he wants. Thinking about this in a corner of my mind, I frantically completed the program and installed it. Okay, let''s do an experiment. I''m going to experiment. I switched on the device, let out a squeal, and the ghoul did exactly what I imagined it would do. Now all that''s left to do is analyze it so I can give you more detailed instructions, but first I have to contact my mother. I control the terminal next to the monitor and send a transmission to Alice''s CIC. ''Alice, do you read me?This is Colsain Goetia and this is Koki Arakawa. I am sending you a transmission from Satanakia. I''m sorry, please relay this to Miki Arakawa''s personal terminal. Copy that. Please hold. As I waited for a while after receiving a reply from Alice''s correspondent, I heard my mother''s voice mixed in with some noise. ''''It''s your mother, what''s going on?'''' ''Well, you know, I''ve got the ghouls under control. I''m sorry, could you wait a minute? Yes. I reply and my mom forgets to put it on hold and runs somewhere else. I listen to the sound of flapping and running down the hallway, and eventually I hear a loud bang opening the door and hear Mom talking to someone. ''My son can now control the ghouls,'' Huh? I''ll need a reconnaissance satellite ready in five minutes so we can get the facts straight. What? Mom, five minutes is absurd, at least give them a little more time. I''m sure it''s the tech guys you''re talking to. I''ll get something for you next time, if I have to go along with your recklessness. While I was standing by, thinking of the crew members who were supposed to be changing the angle of the satellite with tearful faces, I heard my mother''s instructions. ''Do you hear me?I''m watching Kou-chan now on the satellite feed. For now, lower the ghoul and then call it closer again.'''' When I moved the ghoul as instructed, Mom was silent for a while, looking like she was thinking about something, but eventually she let out a loud sigh and asked a question. "Is there a limit to how many you can control?And aren''t you in any danger, Kochan? There''s no limit to their numbers. Maybe they consider Satanakia, the loudest of all, to be the leader of the pack, so as long as they can hear us, we can control them. There''s no danger, the ghouls can''t break through the power suit''s armor. Well, all right. As the chief executive of Noah, I give you an order. Operation Future''s mission has been changed and Major General Arakawa, using his special suit Satanakia, is to bring all ghouls on this continent under control. We''ll instruct you on their travel routes and fuel and food supply locations.'' Yes, sir. When I replied, Mom said ''hello'' and cut off the communication. We''re going to fix the mission, which is just a messy time allotment, so Alice is going to be as busy as a battlefield from now on. As she thought of Alice''s CIC, which was in confusion with Conn in her arms, she was notified on the monitor that data was being sent from the satellite. When the panel was manipulated to display the information, it showed Satanakia''s travel route. ''Let''s move forward towards the western city first, shall we? Alright!Let''s go to the con. "Corn. With a smile on my face at the energetic Con''s reply, I let Satanakia walk westward. A beeping electronic sound woke me up, and I was lightly surprised to see the dimly lit cockpit of Satanakia in my vision. Come to think of it, I was taking a nap at the fifth supply station, and when I looked down, Con was also curled up on my lap, asleep. I''m hungry..., let''s get something to eat. Hey Con, wake up, let''s get some food! He wakes the curled up con up and makes a big chipping motion before bringing up the letters. ''I''d prefer a can of green peas.'' Wow, another weird choice, I fish out the food bags dropped from the transporter at the second supply station and take out the cans of canned food and a can of cooked rice for myself that Con desired and open the lid before handing them to Con. I use my fork to eat the rice myself as I watch Con gobble up the cans and stick his head into the cans. Sure enough, it''s cold. ''I want hot food.'' "I''d love to have your mother''s stew. Con doesn''t turn around to look at me as I talk to myself and let the letters float away. The stew is good, but my mom''s curry is good too. Thinking about this, I was about to eat the chocolate bar for dessert, when Kon, who had finished his portion, jumped up and snatched the chocolate bar from my hand. ''Hey, hey, that''s my bar. You ladies don''t take food from people. The self-proclaimed little lady on my lap ignores my words and grabs the chocolate with her little hands and bites into it. It can''t be helped, I only have one piece of chocolate, but I''ll give it to this guy. I can''t even bring myself to take it back from Con, who is eating it with his eyes narrowed and looking delicious, so I give up and drink water from the pack with the straw. ''You want some too?I mean, could I use a straw? Conn nodded in response to the question and dexterously dipped his mouth into the straw to drink water, but his mouth and palms are stained with chocolate. You can''t take care of him at all, so I decided to take out a wet wipe from the bag and wipe his mouth and hands. Don''t move, I''ll wipe them. You''re a girl, right?Watch your appearance. Guru... Instead of a ''grue'' when he''s threatening, Con looks pleasantly surprised as he lets out a snarl, much like the snarl a cat makes when it''s spoiled. Come to think of it, this process was often done by Alice, who was very sweet to Conn. Remembering Alice wiping Con''s mouth while laughing, he decides it''s time to get ready to look outside on Satanakia''s main monitor. ''Alright, let''s get real. Let''s turn on the main monitor. I activated the monitor while trying to avoid imagining the scene outside as much as possible, and I saw a scene that made me want to go and punch Noah''s development department with all my might, with the camera quality turned up to the extreme. The countless ghouls surrounding me........it was nighttime before I took a nap, so it didn''t show up this nicely, but now that the sun is up, I can clearly see the ghouls that are stopped around me. ''''........How many of these are there?'''' I''ve used the linked satellites and I''ve counted them, and they''re about 30,000. There are so many of them!Well, the only thing left to do is to move to the uninhabited zone and activate the imaginary weapons, so there won''t be any more of them. The missiles that were dropped in the resupply before we took a nap are already loaded into the Satanakia''s missile launchers, so shall we start heading north as instructed? ''Con, we''re heading for the last point. After announcing to Conn, we turned our course to the north with a squeal of ''advance'' and moved for about two hours, Conn, who was operating the terminal, wagged his tail in a good mood and brought up the letters. ''Your father''s troops have returned!I heard that they succeeded in capturing the leadership team. The operation is almost a success, Master! Well, you guys did it. Good, because this is the end of the war. A lot of people have been hurt and a lot of misfortune has happened, but from now on... While I was talking, my eyes were caught by the ''mysterious army'' on the monitor and I stopped talking without thinking. A flag with a balance and a wolf symbol written on a white background and a plain red flag unfurled in front of me. What the hell is that thing?I wonder and send a transmission to Alice''s CIC. ''Alice, can you hear me?As I''m sure you can see over there, there is an army in front of me. What is that thing? "We are currently working on the details. Please wait. It seems that Claire is in charge of responding to me from Alice. When I apologized for yelling at her before Alice flew away from me and asked her to continue to be my personal second-in-command, she smiled and forgave me. I''m sure he''s properly following through on that promise this time as well. I''ve got confirmation, those troops are the regular army of the Connett Commonwealth. The red flag is a warning flag, meaning that if you get close enough to them, they will attack you, so please do not get any closer and change your route. Right now, your position is on the border between the Rikru Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Connett. ''Mr Clare, has the Commonwealth made any statements in response to this ghoul damage?And where are the troops deployed nearer to which side of the border line? ''No, there is no Connett Commonwealth country named in the list of countries that have made a statement or offered assistance. As for where they are deployed, strictly speaking, they are Lycurian territory. Well, that''s good, maybe it''s a national power that can''t help, or maybe it was a domestic problem. But at the last minute, they crossed the border into a neighboring country and then attacked us ''when we get close''?That''s a lot of room to joke around. If you don''t want to get involved, then you should just shut up in your own country, you scum!I reply to Claire with anger. ''We won''t be changing our route. We''ll continue forward and change course at our planned location. "Sir?You can''t do that. No, I understand. But in the worst case scenario, let the other side fire the first shot. Please don''t attack from our side, even if you''re on the wrong side. Yes, sir. I guess they were taking my intentions into consideration, and Claire-san just told me to never attack from us and cut off the communication. Of course we don''t intend to attack, but we need to let the Federation know what our actions might cause. I advanced the Satanakia to the front of the Federation and brought it to a halt 500 meters before the Federation. The 30,000 ghouls we''ve brought to this point stand silently behind us. They stared at each other as time slowly passed, but after about 20 minutes, the red flag was lowered. ''''Yes, you''re right in that decision. Now go back to your own country. I muttered to myself as I spat, and Con hugged my arm with a worried look on his face. It''s okay, I won''t do anything more........ I smiled gently to convey that to him and then let out a ''forward'' squeal and hurried to the planned activation point of the missile. When we arrived at the planned activation point, we were working together to carry out the final task. The ghouls are densely packed, so the range of explosions is minimal and we''ll be fine. As I finish my own work while winding the cord directly connected to the missile warhead, I speak to Kon. ''Con!I''m done, the minimum blast radius is about three kilometers and 120 seconds to activate. Are you finished configuring the breakaway boosters? I''m done. You can leave at any time. I look over at the ghouls again, satisfied with the letters that Con is floating around. These ghouls are the victims of this war. I''ll never forget this scene, and I''ll make sure to pass this on to future generations so that such a tragedy will never happen again. For the sake of the future, where everyone can live with a smile on their face. Kong we''re getting out of here. As I belted my body in place and ignited the boosters, the Satanakia began to take off, accelerating rapidly. As I watched the images from the rear camera after enduring the tremendous shock and G as it broke through the speed of sound, I saw the missile''s warhead detonate and a black ball of light was born. Perhaps that was the small black hole my mother was talking about. I closed my eyes and prayed for the souls of the ghouls as I watched it grow larger and larger, swallowing the surroundings. ----Miyuki Arakawa Point of View He watched from the satellite as Gongju led the ghouls to the activation point. How does that boy feel now?Even though it''s a coincidence, with a large number of ghouls under his control, he must be feeling the tragedy of this war firsthand. When I was concerned for his heart, Shuichi, who had just returned from a mission, spoke to me. It''s a great sight. I''m sure you''ll find that the power suit you''re using is also very useful. Although I''m muddling through my words, this scene certainly looks like ''a figure of a demon marching with its subordinates'', to say the least. The other members must feel the same way.......they all stare at the screen with a bitter smile. ''Yes, I have the same content in my head as Shuichi-san is thinking. But I''m more worried about the fact that she''s watching the ghoul up close, even if it''s a coincidence. I hope it doesn''t leave a bad effect. ''''Miki, do you really think he could ''accidentally'' control the ''accidental'' ghoul?'''''' What do you mean? I don''t understand what Shuichi-san is talking about. If it was anything other than coincidence that could be controlled, Kouki would have said so all along. She''s not the kind of girl who can just sit back and watch a casualty come out of thin air! I yelled that at Shuichi-san with the momentum of grabbing him, but he countered with a serious expression. ''Do you seriously believe that he didn''t do anything to counteract the ghoul''s biology and weaknesses when he knew about it?Why did Gongju rush you to install the bellowing device before this war started in the first place?I thought you were expecting this situation right now. No, it''s not true. It''s not possible. ''When we were talking in the conference room, Gongju was shaking. At the time, I thought he was afraid to sacrifice ten million, but he was really angry, wasn''t he? He refused to move on forever, to us, to this world. If we hadn''t tried to move on in that place... if we had tried to hope for prosperity on our own, he would have used the ghouls to destroy this world. It''s impossible, it''s never going to be that stupid. But it might be possible for Gongju, who is no one else. If that''s the case, when on earth did he start preparing for it?Before the war started or when you first visited this world?Or when they opened up the lunar ruins?Don''t tell me that she can really see the future? I don''t know. What is it that she sees? You know, I don''t know. But whatever view you''re looking at, you''re still our precious son, right? Yeah, I know. That''s right, no matter how much others fear you, Gongju is our precious son. Even if no one else can understand him, only we will understand him. As I was making a new resolve inwardly, Claire-san reported to me while operating the terminal. ''''The Coalition has approached me to surrender through the Merkava Kingdom. What are our terms for surrender? No, sir. Unconditional surrender. I understand. Please accept that. After receiving my instructions, Claire-san is operating the terminal and flying instructions to various places. It looks like this war is finally over, and I feel like I''m getting old all at once because of how busy I''ve been lately. I look back at the screen and see that the imaginary weapon has detonated and a black hole has been created. It seems that it worked properly as per the theory, and Gongju is safely out of the danger zone. That''s right!I''ll make that girl''s favorite stew for a change, I''m sure she''ll be happy to see me since she''s coming home tired. I decide to ignore all of the Politburo crew members who were desperately trying to stop me from saying ''I have work to do'' and head to Alice''s kitchen. Even I, who is called a "workaholic", needs to relax once in a while or I''ll collapse. 51-gift ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint "All users of the Transference Gates please keep moving forward in an orderly fashion. Listening to the synthesized voice of the announcement, I stand in line in front of the gate to return to Hakone Base. It''s been three days since the interspecies war ended, and when I wake up this morning, I find an email from my mother, who''s been busy dealing with the aftermath of the war, telling me to return to the Hakone base. The email said that she would not be able to protect me because most of the security forces would be dispatched to Noah''s Island for the cleanup and consultation with other countries. Well, there''s no problem at all because I can see Alice and Shingo after a long time, but... but even so, the line is too long! "I can''t see the gate entrance at all... Con..... The con on my shoulder also replies to my muttered words in a dreary voice. As I recall, they''ve been working on transferring a large manufacturing plant to this side since yesterday, so that''s probably why the gate is so crowded like an idiot. As I wonder how much longer it will take me to get under the gate, I turn around to hear the sound of a motorcycle blasting from behind me with the gas pedal fully open. ''I wonder if that''s Mr. Cote?'' Just in time. Since we''re running on the supply route, we should have a priority permit to return to the Earth side, and I''ll be treated as a "supply". I''ve got an idea, and I half step out of the line and wave my hand so that Cort can see me. As I waved my hand, Mr. Cote noticed me and came up to me and stopped the bike. Hi, Yuki," he said, "are you coming back to earth? Are you coming back to earth too? Yes, but the line is so crowded I don''t know when I''ll be able to get through the gate. Mr. Court, you have a permit for riding a motorcycle, right?If you''d like, you can carry me as well as supplies. At my suggestion, Mr. Cote rubs his chin with his hand and thinks about it, but after a little while he asks me a question. ''Good, but have you ever ridden on the back of a motorcycle, Koki?If you''ve never been in one, it''s dangerous, so I''m going to give you a little... That''s okay. I can handle it. It''s all right, Mr. Cort!I can ride with ease. I''ve been killed in a motorcycle accident in a previous life, so I can''t afford a tandem. All right, you can sit back there. As I thanked Mr. Court for squeezing into the front and vacating the seat in the back, I stepped onto the bike and the bike started to slow down from earlier. Come to think of it, Macho''s direct squad is supposed to be on guard duty, why is Mr. Cote going back to earth? ''Don''t you have a job, Mr. Court?As I recall, my dad''s unit is in charge of security, right? I''m the liaison to Hakone base. I''ll have some urgently needed military supplies sent over from Earth as soon as possible. So that''s why. I''ve always had the impression that Claire and Ellis were in charge of that kind of work, but we all share the responsibility for that kind of work. I was enjoying the bike for the first time in a long time, when Cort continued. ''Besides, I wanted to give Victoria something from Earth as a gift, so I ran for it myself. Is that Victoria? Is that Victoria? ''Yes. I''m going out with her. ........is that so? Mr. Court sounds happy and tells me that he and Victoria are dating, but it''s consensual indeed, right?It''s not like she was forced to do it, right? But I can''t imagine her being able to have a girlfriend by decent means with a face like a murderer, Cort-san. When I was thinking about such things inwardly, Court-san asked me a question in a sad voice, unlike earlier. ''''After all, Kouki-kun also thinks I forced you to make a pass at Victoria, right? No, it''s not!Mr. Cote is a good man. I believe in him. ''No, it''s fine. I''ve asked the captain many times, ''We''re in agreement, right?'' And he asked me, "What do you think? I''m used to it. Even that muscle-brained macho is worried about me, so I guess everyone I talked to came to the same conclusion. But Court-san is kind enough to raise kittens, and that''s probably what attracted Victoria to him. There''s one thing that I can help you with - there''s one thing I can do for you. Mr. Cort, as a token of my appreciation for giving you a ride on my bike, I''d like to share a little piece of useful information with you. Hmm?What? ''Before, Victoria asked me about the brand of perfume that Noah''s female officers wear. As I recall, the quality of cosmetics, including perfumes, is much higher on Earth. So I''m sure she''d be happy to give you some cosmetics as a gift. "Ho, that''s good to know. Well, I''m going to try perfume this time. After that, I go under the gate and emerge from the exit of the Hakone base while talking about presents with Court-san. It''s the first time I''ve been on Earth in months, but it''s a strange feeling considering it''s only been a few days since I left Alice and the others.As I get off the bike and head toward the aisle while thanking Court-san, I''m yelled at from behind. ''''Koki-kun!I forgot to mention that I''ve completed the Sword of Orihalcon. It''s stored in the armory on Noah''s Island now, so you can take it when you''re free. I completely forgot about it, but come to think of it, I had asked the blacksmith in the royal capital to create it. Well, I don''t mind next time, but for now, I want to see Alice''s face. I replied to Court-san with a smile, ''I understand,'' and then decided to head quickly to Alice''s room. I lightly dressed myself in front of Alice''s private room and pressed the intercom, and then I heard a voice saying ''yes'' from inside the room. As I waited, the door opened and Alice peeked out. "Alice, it''s been a while... Cone! Before I can say hello to Alice, Con jumps up from my shoulder and dives into Alice''s chest. You lizard bastard!I want to dive, and I''m with you. I mean, at least let me say hello!I glare at Conn with some resentment in my eyes, but I feel worse for being angry when he shows me how his whole body is expressing his joy at seeing Alice. ''Wow, I can now fly Con,'' Con!Concon. ''Haha, good for you. I''m glad they told me. Cone, cone, cone. Conconcert. Oh, and they have friends out there? Seeing Alice talking to Kon with a gentle expression, as if she were a spoiled child, soothes my war-torn heart. But it''s time for me to talk to Alice too. Huh!I don''t suppose the guy at the con is floating letters now, do you?Why is Alice able to talk to Conn normally! ''Wait a minute. How does Alice know what Con is saying? Kong? Even Kong, who was supposed to be talking to me, was startled by my words and made a strange noise. Did you make some kind of new type of translator?When I was thinking about this, Alice gave me a far more outrageous answer than I expected. ''''What?I can understand it through gestures and such. And Conn has a lot of facial expressions........can''t you see that, Conn? I don''t understand, no matter how expressive they are, they''re not that different from lizards. Or rather, the Alice who understands is just crazy, and I''m a normal person.Thinking this inwardly, I looked at Conn and he was also tilting his head while looking at me. It''s a good thing that you''re able to get a good idea of what''s going on in the air between the two of you, or perhaps you''ve sensed the delicate atmosphere between the two of you. ''Let''s go into the room for now. I''ve heard from the skinhead, but I''d like to hear more about the other world in detail.'''' I chuckle at Alice, who beckons me in as she says it, and we enter the room, which is furnished with girlish decor, and we drink tea and talk about the months we lived in the other world. Alice listens with a twinkle in her eye as I do my best to blur the talk of direct war and ghouls and tell her about the coolness of life in the Ursna Empire and the knights of the Merkava Kingdom. After about three hours of talking, with occasional breaks, I suddenly noticed that Alice had a serious look on her face and stopped talking for a moment to think about something. ''Alice, what''s wrong?'' ''Well...'' Yes. "I want to go to another world too!I''d like to ride that white dragon you were talking about earlier, Mr. Lilynn. No, because it wasn''t me who rode Mr. Liling, it was Con!In the first place, there''s no way you can say ''please put me on your back'' to a dragon that falls under royalty or something like that among the dragon race. It''s Alice''s request, so I want to do something about it, but sometimes it''s impossible. When I was thinking about how to convince Alice to give up while also trying to convince her to give up, Con, who was eating a tomato on the table, brought up the letters. ''''Rilyn would give you a ride if I asked her to. She''s a gentle dragon, you know.'''' Really? Surely Con would give them a ride if he told them, but they shouldn''t bother him too much, right? ''Con, I hate to tell you this, but I think you''re bothering Mr. Liling. ''''Don''t worry, basically the Dragon Tribe has a lot of spare time in the village. Besides, I have a question for Rylin as well. Hmm, that''s good, then. It''s been three hours since we got back, so it''s been three days on Noah''s island, so we can go now. If you want to dive the gate from the earth, you can just grab the manufacturing plant we''re carrying it into and go, the rest is just for Alice''s convenience. If it''s okay with you, I''m going to go over there and ask Rilin-san to help you. Really?I''m not busy, so I''ll be there soon!I had too much time on my hands, so I was even going to take a walk outside the base if you didn''t show up. Yeah, that''s why I was wearing my ''camo''. At my words, Alice said, ''Yes! She replied cheerfully, but I couldn''t ask her because I was pretty sure those clothes were her room clothes. Without letting it show on my face that I was about to subtly misunderstand Alice''s taste, I held her hand as I opened the door to my room. When I ducked under the gate and returned to Noah''s Island, most of the people who had been queuing up three hours ago had disappeared. It seems that the transfer of the large components has been completed and the gate is ready to be used at about the same speed as usual. When I looked at Kong, I saw that he had somehow magically created a green-colored sphere and was holding it with both hands. What are you doing? I''ll get Lirin. Con floats the letters so that me and Alice can see them, and then tosses the ball up into the sky. At first it floated wobbly and unreliably, but when it floated up to about 10 meters high, it was sucked into the sky with a rapid acceleration. Oh, by the way, I need to text my mom that I''m going out on a scenic flight with Lyrin-san on the terminal, or I''ll be scared when she finds out. I remembered what happened when I went to the northern continent to get the orichalcon, and I manipulated the terminal on my arm to create an email. ''''Speaking of which, why did Joachim-san take the Ket Shih tribe''s beastman as his wife?As I recall, in Joachim''s country, there was a lot of discrimination. That''s what I was thinking, and that''s what I heard. When I replied while operating the terminal, Alice cutely asked me, ''Tell me more about it...'' so I smiled and told her the story that I learned from his wife, ''Meena'', while smiling. I heard that Joachim-san, who was training when he was young, was injured in the forest and went missing. He was starving and injured and was about to die when ''Meena'' happened to pass by and saved him. How dare you try to help me? You don''t get along with the humans, do you? But I didn''t feel good about abandoning him to die. So I was about to get involved, and I was about to pour the potion I had in my mouth and leave, and then........................and then a demon appeared in front of Meena-san. Alice listens as I speak with a sense of realism, hugging Conn. It was the same when we talked in the room, but maybe she likes to talk about these things? I heard that Meenya-san was too terrified to run away, but when she heard a noise behind her, she came to her senses and turned around and saw Joachim, who was battered but recovered enough to stand up with his medication, drawing his sword. ''So?What''s going to happen to you two? Joachim stepped in front of Meena and fought the demon while protecting her, and although he struggled, he somehow defeated the demon. He said this is how they met. Wow, Joachim, you''re really good-looking, aren''t you? Well, I''m sure it was adapted from the story his wife told him. The story that follows is one in which Joachim single-handedly defeats a horde of demons that are attacking the Ket Shi village. It seems that he overcame a crisis like a fairy tale heroic tale and got married while taking a number of twists and turns... but that coupled with the fact that the information he received was a "katsuobushi" (dried bonito flakes), he doesn''t have much credibility in my book. I am hesitant to tell the truth to Alice, who is excitedly pondering the encounter between Joachim and Meena, so I was thinking inwardly that I should keep quiet about the information fee when I saw a magic circle appear in the sky. ''''Beautiful ..., is it magic?'''' Yes, I don''t have access to it yet, but that is the transference magic used by the Dragon People. Alice''s question brings the letters to life as Con proudly wags his tail. I haven''t seen magic in a long time either, but I''m still overwhelmed by the huge magic circle floating in the sky. I''m sure you''ll be able to find the right one for you. ''It''s been a while, Kon-sama, Kouki-kun. Sorry for the delay. Cone, cone, cone. Conconcone? No, that''s not true. So you want me to take Master Kong, Kouki and Alice and walk around the area? I have no idea what Con is talking about, but it seems he''s asking for a ride with us. As I watched the conversation between Kong and Lilin-san for a while, it seems that the negotiations were concluded and Lilin-san put her beautiful wings on the ground and said, ''Please ride on my back. ''''Thank you, Lirin-san. Then I''ll let you ride. ''Thank you for listening to my ego, Mr. Liling,'' CON! Alice and I thanked Lilin-san for her help and then got on her back, but for some reason Con was relaxed on her back like a big man. I''ll have to make Con learn to be ''reserved'' and ''modest'' sooner or later... Alice is also poking Con''s cheek and warning him not to be too bossy. ''''That will make you float. Lirin-san told us and then flapped his wings to the sky. I looked at Alice, who was sitting beside me with Noah Island getting smaller and smaller by the minute, and saw that she was smiling with the happiest face I''d ever seen. ''Good for you, Alice, it''s the dragon''s back you''ve been wishing for. ''Yes!Great, fast and expensive. Seeing Alice in a huff makes even me smile. Speaking of which, Con also said he had something he wanted to ask Lilin-san, but what happened to that?Curious, I turn to Con, who is sitting on top of Mr. Liling''s head, and ask him a question. ''Con, are you done with your errands?You said you wanted to ask Mr. Lillin something. ''It''s over. It didn''t work out in the end, though. Con looks somewhat lonely as he walks towards me with the letters floating around, even Alice has stopped humming and is looking at Con with concern. What the hell is wrong with you?I don''t often see the normally energetic Con slumping. ''What''s the matter with you?If you have a problem, you can talk to me about it. Do you want me to come along for the ride? ''The box that Marvelous gave me won''t open. It was in the house where my mother lived in this world, but it''s enchanted and no one can open it. It''s a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. It''s a very good idea to have a good idea of what you''re looking for, but if you look at it carefully, you''ll see that the entire box is engraved with detailed decorations. I''m not sure if this is the same function as the magician who uses the magician''s magician, but if it is, it must be very complicated. It''s a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. Con! What''s going on?Are you okay! Alice hurriedly called out to Kon, who suddenly let out a squeal while shedding tears, but Kon was trembling with big tears in his arms as he held the box with polo tears streaming down his face. When I was about to take Kon away from the box, I heard the faint sound of music. ''''Conju-kun, don''t you hear something?'''' Yes. That''s a music box. I followed the faint sound of the music box and found that the sound was coming from the box Con was holding. Does this song have some memories for Conn?I decide to listen to it in as gentle a voice as possible while patting Con''s head. ''Do you know this song?'' It''s a lullaby of the dragon tribe. And the magic I can feel from the box is similar to mine, so I think it must be my mother''s magic. Right, this music box must have been made by Con''s mother. His mother had been destroyed before he was born, so this was the first time he felt the warmth of a parent.When I said to Kon, who was hugging the music box, ''Thank goodness you''re taking good care of it,'' she still had tears streaming down her face, but she sounded happy, ''Kon! And then he rang loudly - and loudly. 52-The turning point of the times ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Three days after returning from another world... and while I was watching the documentary I''d saved up in my room in my spare time, Con, who had been curled up next to me, looked up sluggishly. ''What''s up?'' As I looked towards the door of the room Con was staring at while calling out to him, I heard Shingo''s voice as the intercom sounded. ''Gongju, are you there?'' Yeah, I''m here. You can come in if you want. When I answered, Shingo was rustling something outside the door, but eventually he opened the door with his foot and walked into the room. Shingo''s hands were blocked by a bag containing a large amount of snacks he had bought at PX. ''What''s wrong with those snacks?I mean, aren''t you with Aikawa-san today? Emi-chan and Alice are going to the Space Development Agency''s research facility together. She said something about a research paper. Shingo, who explains why he''s not with Aikawa-san while sitting down, promptly rips open a bag of chocolates and hands it to Kon, who came by for sweets. So Shingo''s guy is too busy to come to me by himself? In other words, Shingo came to me because he was left behind by his beloved Aikawa-san. If you''re so bored, why don''t you go to another world for a while? ''Huh!That''s not true. I''m sure you''re not the only one who has done this. And I don''t want to go to another world, I''m going to die from the pain of not being able to connect to the internet. But once again, when I think about my current situation, I really have a lot of time on my hands. In my memory before my reincarnation, there were many things to pass the time, such as home video games, anime, manga and movies. I''ve lost all my memories of myself, but I probably used these items with my friends in my free time. ''But we don''t have them in this world, do we? ''Huh?What did you say? No, it''s nothing. Shingo reacts to my soliloquy, but I cover it up appropriately.... If you said to your best friend in front of you, "Shingo, I died and reincarnated once," you would definitely be considered a crazy person. To begin with, the "otaku-type" things called "subculture" and "media culture" are not widespread in this world, in fact, they don''t even exist. The first time I found out about it was when I was still small and I noticed that there was hardly any anime on TV except for educational programs. At that time, TV broadcasts had already been switched to satellite broadcasts, so each family could choose what they wanted to watch and receive. I didn''t think I was getting any anime because of my mom''s education policy or something, but one day I picked up the remote control that was on the table and looked at how many programs were registered. As a result, I found out to my surprise that out of nearly 600 internet broadcasts, all but a dozen adult programs were registered. Why they registered such a huge number of programs was questionable, but there was something else that bothered me more than that: there were very few programs registered in the categories of music, movies and dramas, even though there were nearly 600 internet broadcasts. And even those few programs were not broadcast 24 hours a day, but were suspended from 2am until 7am the next morning.When I learned of this fact, I realized how out of whack this world was and asked my mother if she knew the names of all the famous composers, performers, movie directors and cartoonists I knew. She seemed quite surprised at my frantic expression - but then she said, with a troubled look on her face, "I''m sorry. ''I''m sorry. I don''t know those people, are they famous?'' Mom said she didn''t know the person who was listed in the textbook. If she didn''t know him, he probably didn''t exist, because she was supposed to have a hundred times better memory than an ordinary person. Then I thought about how that happened, and I put together a hypothesis of my own. There are three important pieces to it. First, in our world, it was World War II, which began in 1935... a war that would have been bogged down in history and the victor would have been unknown, but it ended in a year and a half. But the people of that time were fortunate enough to avoid a tragic war in a short period of time and were able to see the "hope for tomorrow" on their own without relying on movies and musicals. The second is probably due to the tragedy of Europe, a disease that killed about half of the world''s population and buried many people and their ancestors forever who would have made it big in the future. In fact, a famous man who was to become a best-selling author around the time of the European tragedy was confirmed to have died in the process. And third, and I think this is the biggest reason why......... The pace of development of science and technology and the technology associated with it was abnormally fast. Taking the example of cinematography, even if a revolutionary technique or equipment is developed, why would we bother replacing the equipment to shoot a movie if a new technology is developed in less than a year or so, or even six months at the earliest?Normally you wouldn''t do that. And as technology is being replaced at a breakneck pace, only those who are very curious are getting involved in media culture. But isn''t it possible to develop media culture rapidly now?There are two reasons for this - the first is because my mother, Miki Arakawa, a rare genius and my mother, who appeared like a meteor in 2091 and continues to create technological innovations. Thanks to my mother, the technology on Earth has blown up and advanced for nearly 100 years. Even for her, the technology on earth can only advance slowly.................I think. Then I think that even if you create a new video game console, a video work using special filming techniques, or an animation, you will still be able to enjoy a certain level of quality for a certain period of time. And the second reason why I think I can do it now is because of me. Before my reincarnation, Japan had created a subculture culture that it could be proud of in the world!If you''ve got me and my mother, who is a genius technician, and Shingo, who is probably into that kind of thing, it should be easy to fill this world with subculture culture. You know, Shingo. Have you ever seen an opera or something like that? Hmm?Oh, there is one, but I guess it wasn''t very interesting. So, if the lines from the opera were in Japanese and the music wasn''t hard classical, but more cheerful, would you watch it? ''Well, it''s not like theater, is it?If what you''re saying and what I''m imagining matches what you''re saying, I''ll probably watch it. I see, people are interested in musicals, right? Hmm.........so you''re not going to go with opera-like comedy, but girl''s opera?Well, I''ll have to ask other people later to spoon feed me this area. You know that story I told you about Joachim the other day? What if you could relive that story for yourself using a device or a video camera? ''Huh!I want to try that! Well, I think they''d enjoy it in an RPG, or even a complete role-playing game that uses VR technology. In fact, with the current level of technology, I think it''s more efficient to miniaturize and use VR equipment, if you can use it well, you can enjoy fantasy and action, and above all, you can enjoy "psychic horror games" which are difficult to express. As for production time, if we set up a dedicated department on Noah''s Island to research it, we can greatly reduce the time, and the technology can be managed with a group of engineers led by Mom. The safety of the equipment and the impact on the mind should be handled by a macho who has an iron heart that won''t falter at the slightest external stimulus. Okay, last question. It''s a good idea to have a cute deformed girl who uses magic to defeat an evil organization or a group of good-looking soldiers who are trying to prevent a terrorist attack in the future. ''Yes!I think I''ll definitely watch it. It''s kind of nice, that kind of thing is a dream come true. That''s right, Shingo, you have a dream. Subculture culture is what makes the dream of becoming a ''hero'' come true, something you can''t do yourself or something a man has at least once imagined. It''s true that this world is currently a very happy world with no more major wars and incurable diseases, that''s why I want to see extraordinary dreams.We have the technology and the human resources... the only thing we lack is money. If I''m going to start something new, I want to use the money I have to take the first step without the sponsors complaining about it. I currently have about $400 million at my disposal, which is the remainder of the $500 million I received as a reward for developing a cure for the European tragedy when Shingo and I dug a hot spring. Subtracting the cost of purchasing the thing I''m arranging for Alice''s birthday present from this, the remainder is a little over 150 million, which might be enough to fund the first phase of the project, but if I wanted to, I''d need a little more. I should gather a group of people who are willing to walk together, so I ask Shingo, who is already eating the fourth bag of chocolate candy, a serious question with a serious expression. ''''Shingo, how much is left of the bounty?'''' It''s only $300 million and change. Oh, it wasn''t a waste of money!I installed a new piece of equipment at my own expense in my new research room at the research building in Koki. There are only three of them in the world and it cost me a lot of money. Well, I''ve got 400 million, but I''m spending it on Alice''s birthday present, so I''ve got a little over $150 million to spend in real terms. ''Huh, huh!Eh... wait a minute!What''s a gift that costs nearly 24.6 billion yen in Japanese yen? It''s a secret. But I see, you''ve got 300 million. That means I should be able to get 100 million yen from Shingo and the rest of my money, which is about 25 billion yen, which should be enough to hire Noah''s engineer for my personal business and pay for all the other expenses. As I thought, now is the time to put the plan into action!And I''m sure that Shingo will walk with me toward my stupid dream. So I ask him. I ask him, "Shingo, would you like to join me in creating a new era, a new culture? Would you like to create a new era...a new culture with me? ''''Heh..., what is Gongju saying?'''' At my words, Shingo''s mouth dropped open and he froze. I grinned at his completely predictable behavior and opened the lid of the carbonated beverage on the table in preparation for the long explanation I was about to give to Shingo.... On August 12, 2102, Arakawa Kouki, called ''the greatest genius of all time'', ''the son of the devil'' and ''the monster of knowledge'' by the governments of the world and some scientists and soldiers, decides for the first time of his own volition to step onto the public stage in a clear way. The founder of the Special Media Entertainment Division, which would later account for 40% of the total sales of the giant conglomerate Noah, is called "The Father of the New Age", "The Kirin Child of Media", and ... "The Master of the Anime Industry". No one could have predicted it yet at this time. 53-The first step is three people ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint When I try to explain as clearly as possible the ''subculture culture'' that was popular in Japan before my reincarnation while drinking an open-covered soda, Shingo asks me a question with a difficult look on his face. ''But you know, anime is only for kids, right?You can''t ask me to spread that out of the blue. ''Yeah, I know that. So I think the first step is to start by selling character drawings, or maybe a poster-like picture. ''''Picture''''...but if you don''t know the image, no one can draw it. Don''t tell me you''re going to draw it? That''s right, I''ll paint it. What I want to ask you to do is to auction the paintings on the internet. I want you to invest in me, because if it sells, we''ll go into full swing. Shingo is right, the first picture has to be drawn by me, otherwise the people around me won''t be able to get the image across, so I have to do my best to make it happen. The problem is what to draw on. If it''s just paper, it''s boring, and if you use a canvas, you''ll have to water it down.You''ll have to do that, and we don''t have special tools for that. An easily obtainable and rare material at Hakone base would be the front armor of the power suit. There''s some scrap metal lying around in the scrap yard, and if you paint on it and spray some coating solution on top of it, you can easily make a very durable poster. ''Huh!I understand. Then I''ll see how they react at the auction and then decide if I want to invest. ''That''s fine. Well, let''s just try and paint a picture for now and go pick up the front armor of the suit as a canvas!And while I''m at it, I need to borrow some paint and armor processing tools. ''What..., you''re going to draw on the suit''s armour?You won''t be offended by that? Don''t worry, it''s all scrap and it''s better to start off with some flashy material to get people to notice. Hey, Con, let''s go! As I was preparing to leave the room, I heard the sound of the intercom while answering Shingo''s question with a worried look on his face and holding Kon, who came trotting out of the room with a half-eaten piece of chocolate in his mouth. It''s early enough for Alice and the others to get home, and Macho and my mom are on Noah Island. There is no one else who would come to my room, but who the hell is that?I opened the door, questioning inwardly and answering, and found a stern-faced, skinheaded man standing in the doorway. ''''Ah, it''s been a while. What''s going on? Mr. Skinhead, who hasn''t seen my face in a while, answers my question with a wry smile. I''ve got nothing to do with this, though. It''s a good thing I''m on patrol, because she asks me to check on you occasionally. By the way, were you going out somewhere? As we were getting ready to put on our jackets and go outside, a questioning skinhead saw us and asked us a question, but we wondered if we should be honest and say we were going to the scrap yard. It''s more like, ''Why are we going to the scrap yard?'' It''s just a hassle to explain the reason when asked.......but I have a feeling it''s going to be a hassle when I don''t tell you and you find out later. While I was thinking about this, Shingo took the liberty of answering the skinhead''s question. ''''Huh!I was just thinking of going to the scrap yard on the third level. I heard that Gongju is going to use the front armor of the suit to draw, so I''m going to collect it. Haha, using an armor plate to draw a picture is very typical of you, Connolly. But what kind of painting are you going to draw? ''Oh, I''ll explain that to you as we walk. It''s pretty long if I explain it from the beginning, and it''s faster if you actually see what I''ve drawn. Well, then I''d like to join you. I can''t help it, it''s a hassle, but I''ll have to head to the scrap yard to explain to Mr. Skinhead. On a positive note, it''s probably better to have someone who plays the role of a guardian to help you borrow the tools. I was somewhat disgusted that I had to reiterate the explanation I gave to Shingo as I re-carried Con and walked out of the room.... As I walked down the corridor, I opened my mouth with a frown as I frowned that I was teaching Mr. Skinhead not only about anime and manga, but also the concept of subculture culture, a concept that is not found in this world. ''''Hey, is this the kind of thing you''re talking about, Koki-kun?'''' As he said this, he showed me his personal device, but I looked at the image on the desktop and was immensely disappointed. To my mind, it was a somewhat old........1980s style Lolibunny Girl character image on the desktop in the original world. I didn''t think it was just me who didn''t know about it, but is this kind of thing surprisingly widespread?I hurriedly asked Mr. Skinhead a question with such a question in mind. ''What''s wrong with this?Are there any social networking sites that specialize in this kind of thing? No, that''s.... Well, I drew that one. Huh? Wait, wait, wait!You think the guy in front of you who''s sure to eliminate some of the people in his way drew this?That''s definitely not true.In fact, skinhead-san is probably a category of person who isn''t interested in this kind of thing, isn''t he? As Shingo and I looked on with dumbfounded faces, the old man began to speak, waving his hands in front of his face as if in a panic. ''''Wait!I don''t know what you guys are confused about, but by no means do I have a taste for girls, or even little girls, for that matter!No, well, it''s not that I don''t like it, but I don''t mean that in a weird way either, I just like it in a ''pretty'' way. ''I understand, please calm down!''A little girl!'' in the hallway. If you talk so loudly, you''re just a trespasser. ''Oh, I''m sorry. I got a bit flustered out of character. Anyway, I''ll explain it to you, Shingo-kun, will you stop looking at me like you''re looking at a criminal like that? Indeed, when I look at Shingo, he''s looking at the old man with eyes that seem to be completely looking at a criminal. Moreover, his hands are operating the terminal.........isn''t that screen the emergency notification screen that goes directly to the security department''s line! Hey!Shingo, let''s just listen to the story for now. You can call the police first. ''Huh?Sorry. It was some kind of reflexive thing, I thought it was bad. At my words, Shingo came to his senses with a huff and dissuaded me from reporting it to the security department. Okay, so let''s get back on track and listen to the old man''s excuse... or explanation. I look him in the eye and urge him to continue. I was originally in the Russian army," he says, "and my last military record was in the special forces under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I was first in the air force. I was in the air force, and I was in the nose painting department, where pilots would draw their own personal markings on fighter planes and so on. That''s how I learned to draw. I see why you can draw, but why do you have a picture of a ''little girl'' on your desktop? Yeah?Well, in the military, there is and always has been a high percentage of men, and the paintwork itself was often ordered from beautiful, s*xy women. But I prefer the pretty girls to the s*xy ones, so I still have a little girl as my personal mark. I mean, isn''t that just your hobby after all?I''m not denying it, but don''t you think it''s still a good idea to call security?I was lost in judgment as I looked at the man who spoke passionately about his hobby while looking like a complete gentleman, when Shingo spoke up as if he was dumbfounded. ''People''s hobbies are different, so it''s hard for me to say, but if you can draw, why don''t you ask for help with Conju''s work? Hmm, if you put it that way, that''s true, too. The pictures I have in mind and the ones drawn by males are somewhat different, so that''s an indicator of which one is more popular with the people of this world. And since he seems to like to draw and paint, and has an understanding of subculture culture, he might be a good friend to you. So I decided to repeat the words I said to Shingo in the room to add him to my group. ----Skinhead''s point of view... I operate my personal terminal at hand while watching Kouki and Shingo-kun fishing for scraps of their power suits at some distance. The email from the lady that arrived early this morning stated, ''It''s about time my son did something, so please keep a close watch on him,'' but I didn''t think he would actually take action. Should I praise her for being able to foresee her son''s actions, or should I admonish her for being able to easily foresee the actions of her son because he is always behaving like his father, Shuichi-san, who is always causing problems, or should I admonish her for being able to foresee his actions so easily.........it''s hard to decide. ''''But I never expected you to say ''Let''s create a new culture together with me''. I''m going to be 35 this year, and maybe I''m baked out of my mind that the words of a boy who''s barely lived half his life will make my heart burn. I don''t have much talent........I don''t have the military prowess of Shuichi-san and the Ghost Squad members, nor am I as smart as Ms. Schwarzenegger and the other researchers. But I''m more skilled militarily than most people, but even so, I should be able to count from the bottom of the list at Hakone base. I''ve been thinking that I''m going to be buried by the majority of people and then grow old and forgotten... or so I thought. However, Kouki showed me a dream. Skinhead''s talent for drawing is the talent I need the most right now!Would you like to try something new with me?If you fail, it won''t change anything, but if you succeed, your name will go down in history. If you''re a man, why don''t you dream big?'' It was very dazzling to see Gouki-kun showing an age-appropriate, unblemished smile as he said that. A big dream........when did I stop dreaming?I had given up a lot of things when I joined the army, or maybe even before that. Will I be allowed to have one last big dream? As I was asking myself these questions inwardly, Kouki, who had found a good-sized armor plate, came up to me. Skinhead!I found some unpainted armor that looks just right. It''s a nice size, so let''s paint directly onto this one!Take your thoughts and feelings to date and paint whatever picture you want, however you want. The armored plate that was handed to me with a smile by Kouki-kun was a prototype armor whose surface was painted white beforehand. It''s true that there''s no need to paint it white, but I don''t know what to draw when I''m told I can draw whatever I want. I froze for a while, trying to ask him what kind of painting I should do. The one he was drawing on his armor plate was a pretty, black-haired girl dressed in a kimono, Japan''s original national costume, with fox ears drawn on top of her head. ''''What a ... pretty girl,'''' ''Thank you. ''You can draw whatever you want, skinhead?There are only people here who like this sort of thing, so don''t be shy and draw with your full hobby. It''s your hobby... then I''ll draw that thing I''ve been thinking about for a while!I''m going to draw that ano picture I''ve been warming up to ever since I learned to use the full size of the armor plate to draw, while imitating Kunki-kun''s painting touch!I''m sure I can draw a better picture than any other I''ve drawn in the past. As I continued to draw on my armor plate, I suddenly felt the presence of someone and lifted my head. I''ve been concentrating on it for a while now. I''ve finished drawing mine, but how about you, skinhead? Congratulations, you''re going to be the first to ask me that question with a laugh, has it been that long already?I checked the time on my personal terminal and to my surprise, three hours had passed since I started to draw. I''m sorry. I''m sorry, it took me longer than I thought it would, but I''ll finish it now. This.........this.... I can only say that this is a great painting. ''Oh, I never imagined I''d be able to paint at such a high level. The two people who saw my painting praised it, but I felt somewhat embarrassed and covered it with my hand. Seeing me in such a state, Kunugi asked me a question with a bitter smile. As I explained earlier, we''re going to put the painting up for auction, but what do you want to title it?Well, I can only imagine one appropriate title. Well, how about "Moonlight Girl"? When I tell the two boys, who can be said to be new to each other, the title of my best work, they say, ''We think it''s the best name ever. I looked at the painting again, feeling my face flush with age, but I still thought it was the best work I had ever done. I think it''s the best work I''ve ever done, and I think it might sell for a high price. If....if this painting sells, I''ll have a big dream for the last time in my life. Kunugi, Shingo and I will do something big that will leave our names in this world. I made up my mind as I stared at the girl smiling in the moonlight from the painting. 54-Skinheads past and culture creation started! ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint Well, now that I''ve finished drawing Skinhead''s picture, let''s have lunch. I thought so and called out to Shingo, who was taking pictures to be used for the auction. Shingo, it''s almost time to go, why don''t we have lunch? ''Huhhi, it''s that time already? Yeah, let''s go get lunch. Would you like to join us, skinhead? Shingo invites Mr. Skinhead to come with him while operating his personal terminal, but will he really come with him?I''ve asked him out once before, but I felt like he was somehow avoiding eating with me, so I haven''t asked him out since then, but how about this time? Hm, then let''s eat together. Since it''s a good time, let''s treat him to something!You can order whatever you want. Oh!I''m not going to try to avoid it this time. After all, I feel like I''ve been recognized as one of them, so my response has become kinder. Come to think of it, I have an image of Mr. Skinhead always wrinkling his brows, but today he only has a normal, or rather gentle face. Could it be that you can tell me Skinhead-san''s ''name'' now, too?I ask the question, feigning casualness, thinking so. ''Well, let''s go to the cafeteria. And Mr. Skinhead, that''s kind of a code name, isn''t it?What''s your real name? My name?It''s a good thing that you''ve forgotten about it........but it''s still a matter of Mr. Kunugi and he''s likely to look it up on his own. If you let her get involved in too many weird things, she''ll get angry with you, so I''m in trouble. ''If it''s something you don''t want to do or can''t say, there''s no need to force yourself. I''m sorry for asking such a strange question. I hurriedly apologized to Skinhead-san, who crossed his arms and started to give me his usual difficult look, but he just kept on thinking for a bit and nodded a few times, as if he had decided on something, before opening his mouth. ''''You know your father''s.......Shuichi-san''s former job, right? Yes, sir. Shuichi-san used to be a top-secret unit of the United Nations Army, but my homeland, Russia, has a unit like that too. Does that mean he was in the same ridiculously high level of special forces as Macho?In other words, skinhead-san is an excellent soldier who is able to fully endure a real battle just like Claire-san and Court-san. I was about to ask him what kind of work he was doing while giving him a respectful look, but before I could, Shingo opened his mouth. I''m not sure if it''s inside.Is it outside? ''Well, Shingo-kun, you know a lot about these things. It''s ''outside''. Shingo must have understood the meaning of ''outside'' that Skinhead-san answered. He looked back at me and spoke to me in a tone that didn''t allow for questions. ''''Gongju, let''s end this conversation here. If we go any further, it will be too long and the cafeteria will be crowded, and it''s not something you ask about the past of someone who was in the special forces. ''Hahaha, I''m sorry to have made you feel uncomfortable. Let''s stop this discussion here, thanks to Shingo''s thoughtfulness. Good!Then I''ll return the tools I used, and you guys can go to the dining room first to get a place. Mr. Skinhead said to us and walked quickly to the supply room with his tool case. Did I do something wrong?The military people I''ve met so far, or rather, the special forces people directly under Macho, were the kind of people who bragged about their exploits, so I figured that Skinhead-san was the same... but... no. I''ll ask Shingo about that. ''Hey, did I do something bad?The skinheaded old man, he looked sad for a moment. ''Hmm, I don''t know.Maybe he thought we''d hate him. What do you mean? Hey, why don''t you come on down to the cafeteria and I''ll walk you through it? With that, I followed Shingo as he walked away, holding Conn in his arms. I''ve been working on the personal terminal on my arm as we lined up next to each other, and eventually found the information I wanted and sent the data towards me. You''ll be able to find a lot more than just a handful of things to do, but also a lot more than just a handful of things to do. Well, Russian Foreign Ministry Special Forces?.... foreign operations ... intelligence ... special measures ... this is... ''''Well I thought it was just a gossip, but because of what happened to Gongju''s father, it''s probably real. After all this time, I could understand why Shingo stopped talking there. It seems that Mr. Skinhead was an assassin...or for lack of a better word, an assassin, more like an ''agent'' than a soldier. Certainly, in that case, it''s no wonder he "forgot" his name, he''s probably more of a non-existent person. But why is such an incredibly talented person, in a way, a good luck charm for us?Wondering, I ask Shingo. I''m completely imagining it, but to defeat a sniper - a sniper - you need a counter-sniper. Similarly, if we are targeted by an assassin or something, wouldn''t skinheads be the ones to deal with that?Well, that''s fine, but what about Gongju? What do you mean by that? ''It''s my attitude towards Mr. Skinhead. Maybe he cares? ''It won''t change anything. How can I despise someone who put their body on the line for the country in the past and now puts their body on the line for us? ''Huh!Yeah, I know. Oh, thank goodness it''s the same for me!Besides, we''re comrades now. Shingo said reassuringly, stopping his blank expression when he was explaining to me and discussing with Conn what to have for lunch with his usual smile. As I look at him with a sideways glance, I remember a novel I saw in a previous life. I''m sure it was about a lone assassin who discovers the terrorists behind the attacks, even as he makes enemies around the world. In my world, it''s common and overused, but in my world it''s a new story. If this plan works, I''d like to create a story with a protagonist who is active in the other side of the world, such as Macho and skinheads. Is it selfish of me to want to let the world know about the activities of those who work in dangerous jobs, or those who take part in protecting peace at all costs? ----Miki Arakawa Point of View When I went under the transition gate from Noah Island, that unique slippery feeling enveloped my entire body. Shuichi-san and Kouki said that they were ''already used to it,'' but I couldn''t get used to it at all, and every time I felt an unspeakable feeling of disgust. ''Huh, I''m tired, and I''m as sick as ever.'' I was waiting for Ellis-san in front of the gate while blurting to myself, and after a few minutes she came trotting towards me. Her complexion ... her right eyebrow is angled up, so it looks like something mildly wrong is going on. I''m prepared to listen to her report while preparing my personal terminal for my own use, so that I can determine that and deal with it immediately. Thank you for your hard work. As soon as I can, I have three reports about your son. ''All right, with that look on your face, the level of secrecy shouldn''t be a problem, should it?Please report back as you head to the Oval Office. As I say this, Ellis-san walks next to me and starts to report on the terminal as he walks next to me. ''''Yes, the first case first. Kouki-kun confiscated the front armor plate of the 6th generation aircraft from the scrap yard with his escort Anton, explaining to those around him that he''s been ''creating a new culture'' since this morning. I drew a ''picture of a girl'' on the surface of the armor plate and sold it at auction on the Internet. The content of the story makes me feel dizzy right away. Sixth generation armor would be a big problem if it wasn''t for Gongju. But still, they drew a picture and put it on display?It''s too obvious to be a cover story. Is its purpose to demonstrate Noah''s technical information?Or is it a warning to other countries?It''s a tough call. The second case. The two armoured plates sold immediately for $150,000, the maximum amount available. The buyers were cleverly disguised as a fictitious company of United States intelligence and a British state-owned company. Well, that''s to be expected. The main power suits used by the major nations of the United Nations are at best 5th generation...and I''m sure they''d love to have the 6th generation machines that we use. It is true that the armor plate has used some new technology, but the main improvements in the 6th generation are in the indirect drive train and internal control units, so there is no need to worry about dramatic improvements after acquiring a single armor plate. I still wonder if Gongju exhibited it for the purpose of venting from other countries? ''''The third case. After confirming that the item sold in the auction was sold immediately, Congratulations,'' he said, ''I''m going to start my plan,'' and made several requests and requests to her. First of all, the establishment and purchase of a dedicated satellite network line for Noah and the acquisition of general broadcasting rights. Acquisition of advertising rights for newspapers, e-books and paper magazines. Purchase of part of the old Internet and radio broadcasting lines. Purchase of movie broadcasting rights and rental of Noah''s public relations department. Furthermore... Hey, wait a minute!What does he have to say about the costs and personnel for that? ''Yes, sir. It seems that he''s going to throw in the full amount of the bounty he got for developing a special medicine for the ''European Tragedy Virus'' a while ago. This is just my personal opinion, but it seems that Gongju-kun is serious about it. If this is the case, I foolishly think it is better to actively cooperate with him so that we can monitor him to some extent. That said, what the hell are you thinking, asking for the right to broadcast and transmit almost all media?It''s easy to say no and pressure her not to get what she wants, but if there are no legal issues, she''ll get it eventually. At that time, if she finds out that we refused to cooperate, she will never listen to our opinions. If that''s the case, then maybe we should help her. But I don''t understand how the display of the armor plate and the control of the media are connected. The propaganda-like information warfare is already being conducted by the public relations departmentperhaps the pictures are more meaningful. ''Ellis-san, did you see the picture that Gongju drew?What was it like? ''No matter what you say.......I dare to point out that it was a touch of painting that I hadn''t seen before. Would you like to see it? When I opened the image that Ellis-san forwarded to me on my device, I found that it was certainly not a picture that was broadcast on an educational program like I''ve seen before, but a girl dressed somewhat sensationally. If that''s the case, let''s bet on her talent here, what on earth she''s planning to do. If it''s going to be dangerous, then we can stop it then, and I give instructions to Ellis-san while thinking about such things inwardly. ''''I understand, please grant all the details that Gongju has requested. Understood, then please take a look at this document. I received a plan from Kunugi-kun to ensure that the plan will be implemented smoothly when she gives the go-ahead. When I used the terminal again to look at the materials sent to me, I found a wide variety of plans, some with fairly detailed instructions and others that seemed to be still in the planning stages. What caught my attention was the advertising for the cosmetics division, or more specifically, the instructions for changing the commercials that were being broadcast on the Internet and video replay sites. The plan called for the cooperation of the women of the Merkava Kingdom in the G-88 world to use magic to transform themselves into ''princesses'' the moment they use the cosmetics and ''become so beautiful! It was written that they would be asked to do it. It certainly has a strong visual impact... but will it have any sympathy?No, there''s more to it than that... Mr. Ellis, I''m revising some of the instructions I gave you earlier. If the plan is this clear-cut, I''ll have Noah establish a new department. It will be called ''Special Media and Entertainment Division'' and will be headed by Arakawa Kouki. Please contact all departments at Noah and provide a full backup system. I understand. "Also, this plan says that it should take about five days to complete the commercial, considering we''re going to be on Noah''s Island by the time it''s due to be replaced, but it should be done within two days. This is a good time to do it, and we''ll see how long it takes to get it done if all the departments work together as best they can. I understand. I''ll coordinate with other departments as soon as possible. I''m sorry. As I stare at Ellis-san, who stomps off to deliver my instructions, I open the door to the office, thinking about the next task I need to do. First, I have to have a smoke with a cup of strong tea and then show up at the engineering department.......and then I have to go to the weapons department as well. After thinking that far, I couldn''t hold back the laughter that suddenly began to rise, and I chuckled to myself. ''''Hmph, they might be happy to have the armor of a 6th generation plane, but that''s a shame. It''s a shame really, we''re already developing the next generation of aircraft for a new era. The development plan, which is stored in a terminal and is strictly encrypted, contains information on the development of the 10th generation machine - commonly known as the "0" model. It will be several years before the completion of this machine, which will completely overturn the concept of power suits, but Noah''s technology is nearly eighty years ahead of even this world standard. You should make the mistake of thinking that you might be able to catch up with them. I''ll use any method I can to protect those kids'' happiness. I reaffirmed my resolve as I stared at the pot, which began to boil with a churning sound. ----William O''Dowd, President of the United States I heard a knock on the room, so I stopped my office once and looked at the clock, the hands were pointing at 16:00. It''s that time already... I rubbed my stiff shoulders as I heard another knock on my shoulder and hurriedly answered it. ''Come in.'' Excuse me. A pale man with glasses came into the room, a technical lieutenant general in the army, I believe. When I motioned for him to sit down in the chair, he refused, ''No need,'' and then began his report, holding a piece of paper in his hand in front of me. I am pleased to inform you that I have completed my investigation of the Noah''s armor plate. In conclusion, it is an armored plate that can be mass-produced immediately in our country, and there was no significant improvement found. The problem is that we have not been able to obtain the suit itself, so it is unknown to what extent the suit will be able to demonstrate its capabilities. Hmm, papier-mache. Have you seen the TV lately?No, it doesn''t have to be on TV, have you ever watched an online video site? I haven''t seen it lately, but so what? I was desperate to shout at the lieutenant general who told me this with a sober face, but I turned on the screen on my desk so that he could see it, and then I played back the Noah''s "cosmetic commercials" that began to be broadcast yesterday. I''ve been looking at the commercial, which has a total of five different types, and while I was looking at it, the color of the lieutenant general''s face became even worse, and when I finished watching it, he was so pale that he looked as if he was about to collapse. Is this CG? ''Common sense would dictate that, yes, there''s no way in real life that a woman using cosmetics could be transformed into a princess. But, Mr. President, sir!I can''t believe I could make this, this level of footage... No wonder the lieutenant general said so. The biggest movie production company in our country has replied that there is no evidence of using CG even after having it appraised. In other words, the level of Noah, who started the film production recently, is much higher than the level of our proud company. The "weapons" that Noah specializes in are papier-mach?Is this lieutenant general incompetent? ''''Can you still say he''s uptight after seeing this? No, but there''s a huge difference in technology between images and weapons... ''You idiot!Are you saying that Noah''s "weapon of choice" is papier-mach?I''d love to know what kind of thinking would give you that kind of optimism. You see, the day after this commercial aired, which is to say, as of noon today, Noah''s products disappeared from cosmetics stores around the world. You can imagine the impact this commercial has had on the way it was received.In addition, I just received a direct voice call from Noah''s Miki Arakawa. ''From the Demon King........what did he say? "The thing we got is an incomplete armor plate, so they''re going to send us a new armor plate through ''legitimate channels'' at a later date. And he also said, ''It''s only a favor, so there''s no need to thank him. I''d like to ask you, is our country''s intelligence organization as good as that of a company?No, I''ll tell you what''s more important... why did you mess with Noah after all the warnings I gave you?That''s not a normal company!The attitude of the point of contact set up between you and Noah has already hardened because of this matter, please, and please do not do anything to provoke the other side any further! Finally losing patience, he yelled at the lieutenant general and he apologized repeatedly as he left the room. Utterly!If you really wanted the armored plate, you could have gone through the proper procedures and Noah would have provided it to you. But because they tried to get the plate in secret, it angered the Demon King, and even the plan to invite Kouki and the others to receive state guest status as excellent researchers was thwarted!Both his wife and daughter, Mary, wanted to see him.... And to top it all off, it was almost impossible to get involved in Noah''s satellite network broadcast, which I had been informed would soon go on the air. How in the world are we going to regain Noah''s trust, we are going to discuss it at tonight''s cabinet meeting, and I can''t help but wonder if we''ll come up with any good ideas... 55-The day before the broadcast and Mr. Skinheads request ---Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint My head was in my hands as I sat at the office desk for the head of the "Special Media and Entertainment Division" set up on the third basement floor of Hakone Base. When I looked up, I saw that each of them were busy with their own partitions, each having a meeting with their respective responsibilities. How did this happen... As I''m mumbling to myself muttering to myself and drinking cold coffee, Claire-san, who has been appointed as my personal deputy here as well, brings a large amount of electronic memory in front of me. I''d like to ask you to confirm the final confirmation of the animation that is scheduled to be broadcast from tomorrow that arrived from Noah Island as well as the commercial that will be broadcast at the same time. Just so you know, I''ve given the same thing to Shingo-kun, the deputy director, and the skinhead who are currently on Noah Island. I thank Claire for reporting back to me with a smile on her face, but I''d rather not have you helping me with my work here!Claire-san is a registered employee of Noah''s PMC department, right?It''s a good thing you''re in the wrong field. Well, if she wasn''t there, I''d be busy as hell and I''d have to coordinate with all the other departments and I''d be dead. After confirming that the picture I''d drawn with Mr. Skinhead had sold well, I decided on a cultural creation plan that I''d submitted, and my mother immediately adopted it, leading the necessary personnel and equipment to Noah''s Island. Due to the acquisition of broadcasting rights, the actual broadcast was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. However, as a result of repeating all five types of commercials between the programs for which we had acquired the rights... the next day, Noah''s products disappeared from all cosmetic stores around the world. Perhaps because of this, my mother built a special facility on Noah Island for the purpose of filming and production at a rapid pace, and within five days after the first commercial aired, the satellite network 452 - commonly known as the Noah Channel - will begin broadcasting the animation tomorrow. The entire staff of Noah, including Claire, is just too good to be true. It''s only been a week since the day I drew that picture, how did you make it in time? Yes, this time it was about the establishment of a new department, so Noah''s entire staff backed it up with everything they had, so we made it happen. So please keep in mind that we can''t always produce this fast, so please keep that in mind. Also, tomorrow''s episode of "Magical Girl Alice" will be broadcasted as planned, with Alice playing the main character and Aikawa-san voicing her rival. By the way, the two of you haven''t finished recording the final episode yet, so we''re planning to come back here in two days, including sightseeing afterwards. Okay. Hmmm, well, it was indeed impossible to start a new business in one week, but from now on, I''ll schedule at least two weeks as a production period. More importantly, Alice and the others are in a good mood and are helping me with the production of the animation, but are they getting paid for their part-time work?I''m sure my mother is very thorough, but I''ll send her a confirmation email later. I also asked Macho and the others to help me out with the game and the visuals I asked them to use for the VR device. I''m going to ask my dad for some help with the VR device. Yes, first of all, please be aware that although the department head had envisioned adult content, a different department will be taking over the development of both the male and female versions of the game. This has been notified by Miki-san. Oh, that''s to be expected. I''d rather not be asked to provide content guidance to me. How about a horror game instead?I was so confident, but... ........15 of the 46 members of Noah''s PMC squad, who were participating in the beta test, have suffered transient loss of consciousness seizures. Three of them have developed a mild fear of the dark. Disorientation?I don''t know if there was any technical difficulty, but I''m pretty sure my mom used the beta machine with safety standards in mind. ''I beg your pardon I guess I didn''t say it right, 15 out of 46 people fainted from too much fear. Three of them are afraid to go to the bathroom at night. Huh?It''s a joke that a brawny ex-UNC special forces member freaked out and passed out. It''s true that VR is a device that sends the sensation of being in a place directly into your brain, but even so, not being able to go to the bathroom at night is a child''s game. Why did I pass out when there were other things to enjoy? All the tricks and surprises I''d worked out without sleeping for a night were for naught. Then the game is over..., didn''t anyone manage to solve the mystery and escape? I''m the only escapee. With all due respect, let''s be clear, there is no such thing!The beginning is still good, but the nurse with a broken leg you encounter in the west ward in the middle of the game is cowardly!Almost everyone dropped out at that point where they were coming at you while silently pushing a wheelchair at high speed. Plus, stop the random event in the basement where you go to get the keys, where the lights in the hallway are flashing and the ghost of the doctor is gradually approaching you at the same time!And then there''s the event where we put the last chart back in the right place, but there''s no way I can understand that, how many times have I had to do it again? ''''No, what I''m saying is that you''ve played it to the end, you''re enjoying it. Okay, I''ll consider implementing a remedy based on the change in difficulty and reduced description. I''m glad to hear that you''re enjoying the game, Claire. But I guess I should say that the difficulty level was too difficult for people in this world who have never experienced a game before. I didn''t set up save points or anything like that because I wanted it to be more realistic, but I''ll adjust the save and enemy positions on the lower difficulty levels. The other thing I need to check is.... I''m not going to be able to do that. What the hell? I operated my personal terminal, which echoes the ringtones from earlier, and opened the mail screen while shouting. Since the screen showed ''Skinhead-san'', I thought it was a report of my return from Noah''s Island, but when I opened the email, it only said one word: ''I need your help''. I don''t understand what that means, but it''s not a normal situation for a calm and collected skinhead, who is more reliable than macho, to ask for my help. What the hell happened?While thinking that inwardly, I sent a reply for the time being and then called out to Claire-san. I''m going to have a meeting to discuss the original drawings for the new anime since skinhead-san has returned. If you have any questions, please contact me at the terminal. I understand. Looking at Claire''s back as she bowed to me and then stepped back, I got up from my seat for the first time in half a day to head to the warehouse where I was meeting with skinhead-san.... ---- Skinhead''s point of view-----. Meet me in storage room H-52 in 20 minutes. I waited patiently for Kouki-kun to come into the room while I stared at the terminal labeled as such. I''m sure he''ll take care of it," and "I shouldn''t get involved," two conflicting feelings are swirling around in my mind. But with my current helplessness, there''s no other way but to rely on him.... As I was biting my nails in the dimly lit warehouse, I heard footsteps approaching my room, and at the same time, Kouki-kun entered the room. ''''Sorry to keep you waiting. What on earth is going on?'''' ''Oh, oh.... No, I mean, It''s a good time to be in a good mood, and Miki''s gentle smile is very similar to his. I couldn''t help but look down and mumble my words as I felt my disappointment with that expression along with a sense of relief. It''s a good thing that you''re able to do that," he said in a gentle voice again, as if he was concerned about me. You''ll be able to find a lot more than a few of them. What''s going on? I''m going to need your help. ''Good, I''ll help you as much as I can. Tell me more about it. "One of my former superiors back home got caught. Somehow I managed to get in touch with some of my old associates to get the details, and it seems that he''s been charged with selling out classified information to other countries. But that man would never do that!He must be falsely accused, or... Or? All I can think of is that someone set me up. When I finish speaking, he seems to be thinking about something while tilting his head. The way he ponders while squinting his eyes is a common gesture of Kong-kun who is always with him, but it seems that his owner''s habits have been transferred to him. I''ve been thinking about such a trivial matter while trying to get rid of my inner anxiety, when Kunugi spoke up. ''''I''ve determined that Skinhead-san''s previous job was as a secret agent belonging to the Russian Foreign Ministry, am I correct? That''s for sure. I was a combat soldier, a foreign agent. ''Another reason you asked for help from me and not my mom or dad is that you don''t want to make this thing too big, is that correct? ''Oh, I''m sure Miki-san and Shuichi-san will be able to help us, but it''s going to be quite a political pressure that will make it important or a massive rescue mission. If that happens, other agents hiding in other countries might be in trouble. I know the job is not very well connected laterally, but even so, I don''t want to cause any more trouble than necessary to my former comrades who let me know about this, even though the situation is dangerous enough. I''m very aware that my thoughts are selfish, but I still want to rescue that person. I''ve been praying and looking at him, he seemed to be thinking for a while while tilting his head again, but suddenly he seemed to think of something and started operating the terminal on his arm. He was working on the screen at a furious pace, but it seemed to be over and he looked up with a grin. ''Mr. Skinhead, I''ll be heading to Russia from the airport in the academy city in two hours. I''ll be back in the morning so you don''t need to change your clothes, let''s head to the airport right away. No, no!Wait a minute!It''s too sudden to follow such an atmosphere of ''let''s go shopping for a while there''. More importantly, what can I do if I suddenly go to Russia?And I''m not going to take him to a place where I can''t guarantee his safety either. It''s not necessary for me to act on my own, I just want to borrow the help of the information network and accompanying organization that I used when I found out the identity of Alice. I hurriedly tell Kuniki-kun about it, but he explains it to me with a reassuring smile, just like Shuichi-san does when he gives orders on the battlefield or in training. ''There seems to be some misunderstanding about the information network you speak of, Skinhead-san, but that''s okay. Claire said that when Alice was kidnapped before, she said it. As for me...well, to be precise, other countries are ''obligated'' to give me special treatment as the researcher who developed the drug that works for the tragedy in Europe. Therefore, I don''t think I will be suddenly taken into custody when I enter Russia, and I don''t think my ''bodyguard'', Mr. Skinhead, will be detained either. But that doesn''t mean... Well, it''s a privilege we don''t like to use very often, but let''s make this one count. And I don''t mean to sound like a prince, but I''m offering you free broadcast rights to Noah''s channel in Russia in exchange for a superior officer. What are you talking about?It''s like making a fortune, you know?You don''t give it away for free. There''s no way Gongju-kun wouldn''t know about the results of the cosmetic commercial he''s been airing for a while now, but it seems he''s willing to offer it for free in exchange. What the hell is he thinking?It''s true that the person in charge of the special media department is Kouki-kun, but there''s no way he can make a decision on this level of content without checking with Miki-san. ''''I hope they think that way too. Skinhead, the commercial is just a ''side effect''. The main purpose of the commercial is the anime and its related development products. By the time they notice it, though, it will be too late. Congratulations, Congratulations, what the hell do you mean by that? ''I could tell you, but no one in this world can understand it right now. It''s more than that!I have to be back here by tomorrow evening no matter what, and I have to watch ''Magical Girl Alice'', so let''s go quickly. Gongju-kun is beckoning me to the entrance of the warehouse while rushing me, but what does he mean when he just said, ''No one in this world can understand it right now''?He spoke as if he wasn''t from this world, but.......is it my imagination? No, more than that, if you''re going to help me and that person, you have to show me the proper courtesy. Thinking about that, I opened my mouth while looking into the eyes of Kouki-kun. It''s Anton. Yes? You''ve heard my name before, right?My real name is Anton Bortkiewicz. I was formerly a member of the Foreign Intelligence Service''s Foreign Special Operations Unit ''Chernobog''. I''m glad, I''m sure I''ll be able to get along with him well in the future. Feeling some relief, I decided to go to the airport with him. 56-Bargaining and tightrope walking ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint As I sat in my seat on the plane, I drank a cup of coffee and looked at the news of the day in the paper version of the newspaper, which is rare these days. I''ve been so busy lately that it''s been a long time since I''ve had this kind of relaxing time. It would be best if I didn''t see a Russian air force fighter jet outside the window and a strong-looking man sitting in front of me. As I was thinking about this, I heard the in-flight announcement. We are about to land at the Moscow Regional Air Force Base, where we are making a temporary landing. We will take off about 15 minutes after some passengers have disembarked. As I was reading more newspapers while listening to the announcement, the man in front of me coughed up a cough, so I reluctantly decided to fold the newspaper and put my seatbelt back on. But that''s what I thought.......how could these guys get on this flight when we had only two hours to board the plane after arranging airplane tickets for Mr. Skinhead, or rather Mr. Anton and me on our personal terminals? Moreover, as soon as the plane took off and entered Russian airspace, they even flew in a fighter jet to politely escort us. Thanks to this, Mr. Anton didn''t drink the coffee that his beautiful sister brought him, and he was tense the whole time. I''ve been silent for a long time," he said, "but you said in your announcement that you were going to disembark, isn''t that us?Does the Russian government give civilians a touristic guide? I hadn''t paid any attention to the fact that these guys had been sitting there since takeoff, but when I suddenly spoke to them in Russian, the guys in front of me were so upset that even a layman like me could understand. Hahaha!Good grief. You intimidated me for over four hours all the way from Japan so I wouldn''t get to enjoy my first ever pure air travel experience. Besides, I usually live in Hakone Base.I live in a den full of murderous-looking courtesans and witch mothers, so your tough looks are nothing to me. "We are your bodyguards. "We are your bodyguards, and we''ll be waiting on the ground for our superiors to explain to you what happens next. Explain?I''m going through the proper channels to enter your country, so why am I being detained after being dropped off at an airbase instead of my original destination? You can''t hold me here!We are simply trying to take every precaution to ensure your safety, because it would be a world-wide disaster if anything were to happen to you. Well, that''s fine. Just remember, one false move and it''s a diplomatic issue. I told them once and for all that it''s a ''diplomatic issue'' and then ignored the upset men and women. Anton, who is sitting next to me, is also silent, as I have explained to him beforehand that I would imitate Mom and Claire in any negotiations, so he has to be forceful. According to my mom, it''s more advantageous to take the lead in negotiations. So I spent four hours of the flight thinking that I would use the word ''diplomatic problem'' to shut down the other party''s movement. This way, Ossan and his men can''t force us to go anywhere without an explanation.......maybe. But I''m hungry. We were in a hurry, so we didn''t eat lunch, and at this rate, it looks like we won''t be able to eat dinner either, so let''s make a distant demand, shall we?We''re going to drop you off at a different airport for your convenience, so we can at least feed you. Mr. Anton, I''m very hungry. Speaking of which, I heard that herring is famous in Russia, but how do you usually eat it? Hmm?Oh, it''s a soup called marinade or woo-ha. It''s pretty good. Well, I''d like to try it. While conversing with them, I looked at the males and they were discussing in a whisper, ''Prepare dinner'' in a sneaky voice. Alright, it looks like we''ll be able to get a meal when we get down to the ground. The problem is the possibility of poison being mixed into the meal, but there''s no need to kill me, and Mr. Anton is nominally my bodyguard, so he shouldn''t be able to turn it off. I''m sure that if you do that, it will be a diplomatic issue for sure, and from what I found out in the car and what Mr. Anton told me, there''s no need to worry about radioactive materials like polonium, which is used for assassination, because that incident never happened in this world. I''ve seen Claire-san pick and eat my food in the Merkava Kingdom, but I think that was not a tasting but a ''poisoning'', which makes me think about how much she''s indebted to me after all this time. ''''Kunki-kun, it looks like we''re going to land. Mr. Anton informs me while pointing at the distant fighters. Okay, so I''ll do my best for the sake of my precious colleagues who took the trouble to rely on me. I drank the rest of the coffee in my paper cup, imagining my bosses on the ground waiting for me, and regained my spirits. When I landed on the ground, there was a relatively warm wind blowing. It is often misunderstood that Russia is not a place of extreme cold all year round, but the average temperature in Moscow is 22 degrees Celsius in the summer, and even in Siberia it warms up to about 20 degrees Celsius during the short summer months. The current temperature on the terminal on my wrist says 24 degrees Celsius, so it''s a little higher than average today. As I was breathing in a breath of fresh air, a man who got off the plane with me started talking to me. The car is waiting for you, please come this way. As we walked to the hangar in the corner of the base as prompted, we saw a large four-wheel drive vehicle, the same color as the black luxury car, parked in the corner. Ossan approached the luxury car and opened the back seat door and urged us with his eyes to get in. There was no option to not get in the car after coming this far. Inside, an elderly man in a suit and an old man in a dark blue military uniform were sitting in the car and greeted me as soon as I took my seat. ''How do you do, Mr. Arakawa, I''m Lieutenant Colonel Yakov Tarkovsky of the Intelligence Bureau. Next to me is Yuri Pamfilova from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How do you do, Lieutenant Colonel, I am Koki Arakawa. As you may know, my companion, Anton Bortkiewicz, is a former member of your top-secret service. While introducing himself, he looked at the situation with a light jab called Mr. Anton. The lieutenant colonel''s expression was clouded for a moment, but Yuri didn''t take any action. It''s not easy to do something like that like your mother did, and since I don''t have the dignity or anything like that, it doesn''t work out so well. I''m not sure what you want to do today. The Lieutenant Colonel asks me about the purpose of my visit as if he hadn''t heard about Mr. Anton''s background. First of all, it''s the first obstacle, Claire said, ''If you want to take your time negotiating, it''s an ostensible matter,'' and ''If you want to achieve your goal quickly, be direct''. This time our objective is to rescue Mr. Anton''s boss, we don''t have much time to spare, so we''ll go straight to the point. ''We need you to hand over Mr. Anton''s former boss who is being held over there. With all due respect, I don''t know what you''re talking about. And what does it have to do with Mr. Arakawa if he is in fact the person in custody?All due respect, but that would be interfering in the internal affairs of the company, even for you. This is the time to stop groping each other about interfering in domestic affairs. In fact, you would have a problem if other countries knew that I was being held in this car. The moment I said the word ''restrained'', Yuri-san twitched her eyebrows with a twitch. Well, I suppose so........it''s up to me to decide if this situation is a restraint or not. You can deport them, saying, "There is no such person, so please go away," but I would be troubled if I made a fuss later saying, "I was detained on Russian soil! But if I later complain that I''ve been detained on Russian soil, they will be in trouble. "Assuming that the person is really in custody, our country is a country governed by the rule of law, and that person has committed some kind of crime," said Mr. Arakawa. Mr. Arakawa, no, Noah, are you suggesting that we release the offender? You''re going to bring up the name ''Noah'' here. Are you trying to test how far I''m serious, or are you trying to see if your mother''s intentions are in play?I don''t know what they''re up to, but I can''t keep my mouth shut. Think, what would you like me to say to you to keep things civil? No way. I didn''t say that. I just heard that he was taken into custody this morning. Is it possible that there could have been some kind of mistake or miscommunication that led to that?In that case, even if it''s a mistake, it''s hard to do the job you''ve been doing until now because you''ve been locked up. So I''m just trying to be a scout to say, ''If you want to join us, come to us. Oh, I see. I see. ''Yes, sir. And since it''s a special job, we thought we needed the permission of people like Lieutenant Colonel and Yuri-san in order to extract them, so we decided to visit them. Of course, since we''re pulling out excellent people we''re also preparing a certain amount of ''compensation''. What do you think?As far as the lieutenant colonel''s reaction is concerned, I think we''ve got a problem-free answer, but as usual, I''m worried that Yuri-san is silent. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us. A simple text was displayed on the screen and it said, ''That thing was found in the same place as you predicted. Alright, now we can move on to full-scale negotiations. I nodded briefly to Mr. Anton and then decided to talk to the Commander. "Commander, if you don''t mind, I''d like you to confirm that the person in question is indeed in custody and has indeed committed some sort of criminal act... I understand. Normally I would refuse to do so, but when it''s Arakawa''s request, I can''t say no. I''ll have her check it out as soon as possible, but it may take some time. In the meantime, would you like to have something to eat while you''re here? ''That''s a delightful invitation. I''m embarrassed to say that I haven''t had lunch due to work commitments, but I''d love to join you. What do you mean, "We can''t refuse Mr. Arakawa''s request, can we? Considering the way they''ve been acting since we talked about compensation, I''m sure these guys had an idea of who Anton''s bosses were from the beginning!I''d like to point it out to them, but doing so would have wasted all of our hard-earned bargaining time. After all this time, I understand why my mother looks like an ogre after the negotiations are over. I usually thought it was because she was tired of talking about difficult things, but she was simply irritated. I''m sure you''re not going to be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us. ''Speaking of which, I''m sure you''ve seen our country''s most advanced aircraft that were on escort duty, what is your opinion as an expert?Did you feel anything about it? The Commander asked me a question in the car as we started to move to where we were going to eat. I''m not sure if that was the most advanced one........the Noah''s fighters that were doing flight tests on Noah''s island before seemed to have much better maneuverability and attack power, but they were so ridiculous that even to my eyes they looked like science fiction UFOs, so I guess I shouldn''t compare them. I''m not an expert, but, well... it appeared to be a manned aircraft, but can''t it be an unmanned aircraft?For example, if you can control it from the ground, it would reduce the stress on the pilot on some dangerous missions. And if the target is worth the cost, it can be attacked with a body hit even after all the weapons are used up. I think we should make the most of the advantages of aircraft, which, unlike power suits, do not require precision control. Did you mean to hit him? Can''t be too much of a surprise, right? I''m not asking for a manned plane.I''m saying treat them as expensive missiles because they are drones. It''s not likely to happen in this day and age in a battle between aircraft, then it would be more efficient to make fighter jets ''missile carrying machines''. In fact, most of the fighters on Noah are unmanned, and within four or five years, all of the power suits except for a few high-spec aircraft for commanders will be unmanned. As for my mom, if I jokingly tell her the specs of the main character''s plane from the robot anime I saw in a previous life, she''s serious about building one, but it''s impossible. We''ve arrived. I''ve been smelling like a mad scientist lately, and while I''ve been in a cold sweat over my mom''s new weapon development, it appears that we''ve arrived at our destination. From what I can see through the smoked glass, it''s an underground parking garage?Several civilian cars also stopped. A group of old men, presumably from the escort car, opened the car doors and led us to the elevator. ''You guys are done here,'' The lieutenant colonel keeps the old man from getting on the elevator with us. Hm, you''re going to stop intimidating him to get the best price possible? It''s a good decision, but I''m the type of person who holds a grudge, so there''s no point in stopping me now. I''ve been paying attention to the movements of the commander, thinking inwardly about how to return the favor, and I was pressing the button for the 30th floor. ''''The original room is on the 83rd floor, but for security reasons, those above the 80th floor are only allowed to go up through the security room on the 30th floor. I see, so it''s safe, and at the same time, it''s preventing us from escaping on our own. In fact, even at the Hakone base, you have to go through another elevator to get to the basement floor where my mother is, so the idea is the same everywhere, isn''t it? As the Commander said, we transferred once on the 30th floor and went up to the 83rd floor to find a corridor with an interior reminiscent of a luxury hotel. ''This way, sir. We''ve prepared a top-of-the-line suite for you, and I hope you''ll like it. ''I''m honoured that you''re willing to set up a place like this for me, despite my unexpected visit. As I was moving down the corridor, enjoying the feel of the soft carpet coming through my feet, a beautiful employee came out of the room in the direction of my progress, pushing her cargo. It seems that the beautiful woman was just going to walk past us, bidding us goodbye, but when she pulled up by the wall, she lost the balance of her cargo and dropped the items she was carrying. Anton saw it and ran over to help him pick it up. ''You okay, boy?'' ''''I''m sorry, sir!It''s okay, I''ll take care of it right away. But it would be a shame if your clothes got dirty. The beautiful woman is hurriedly stopping Mr. Anton from helping her pick him up and is desperately trying to get him to stand. Then she stands up and pays off Mr. Anton''s jacket with her hand to clean it, which I noticed. While the lieutenant colonel and Mr. Yuri were glaring at the useless employee, the moment the beautiful woman turned her back and hid her hands from them exactly, she slipped a small handgun into the inside pocket of Mr. Anton''s jacket. ''''I beg your pardon,'''' The fact that she handed the gun to us, unarmed, means she''s on our side. The beautiful woman, who seems to have done her business, quickly picked up the fallen object, thanked him and left, but neither she nor Anton changed a single expression as they handed it over with natural movements. It was like watching a spy movie. This is what a skilled operative is capable of, I was more worried that they didn''t notice me by my expression. I walked down the corridor in a daze, and at the end of the room, the Commander stopped and opened the door for me. ''''Come in. Please sit down and wait while I bring you your food in a moment. I walked in the room as I was told and sat down in the chair at the large table that had been prepared for me, and the Commander sat in front of me, and Yuri sat in front of Mr. Anton. Now what do we do? It''s no use keeping quiet until the food arrives, but I''m not sure we should be the ones to start talking to them. As I was inwardly thinking about the best way to talk to him, surprisingly, the Commander spoke to me while looking at his personal terminal. I''m still investigating the details, Arakawa-san, but it seems that the detention of the person in question was caused by a runaway. It seems that they may have been detained without any solid evidence. Well, that''s good to hear. For our part, we''d like to think that the person who came to scout us is not the kind of person who would commit a crime. Yeah, I know, I know. The point is, the price I''m offering is that it''s not even close to being there. It''s time to present the price... The only two things I can offer the Commander are "Noah''s Broadcast Rights" and "that thing" that Mr. Anton''s old friends investigated immediately... which one should we choose? Which one should we choose? Commander, if you''re innocent, if he agrees to be a scout... As I speak to the Lieutenant Colonel, a knock sounds in the room, signaling that the meal has been brought in at the wrong time. The lieutenant colonel rises from his chair with a reply and unlocks the door, letting the employee in. A man dressed as a boy brings the food and dishes to the table we are sitting at, but there is a subtle smudge on the blade of the knife placed in front of me. If you look closely, the writing is so thin that only I can see it at close range. ''Asylum seekers, 18.'' You''re not a real employee either?No, wait, that''s a bit strange indeed. Mr. Anton said that in the old workplace, there were few horizontal connections, and I think that''s true. If an agent is caught in another country, that''s the last thing you want, so from the standpoint of blocking information, it''s better to have no horizontal connections. But in spite of that, the fact that the beautiful woman and the boy in front of her are contacting us who came to save their former boss, I can only think that something unusual is happening.... Think about it, what in the world is going on in this country?Was there a huge political incident or a troublesome power struggle that had broken out? As I was trying to figure out the answer to this question with my brain, which is even worse than my mother''s, the lieutenant colonel smiled at me and spoke to Anton and I. He said, "Now, Mr. Arakawa, please eat your dinner. ''''Now, Mr. Arakawa, please enjoy your meal. It''s been a long time since Assistant Lieutenant Anton has tasted the homeland. Well, Mr. Anton was an assistant second lieutenant - I don''t know the details, but the ranks in the Russian army must have been subtle and complicated and cumbersome. After thanking the lieutenant colonel, I was about to cut up the food with the main trout to erase the letters on the knife, when Anton-san stopped me with a somewhat panicked voice. ''''Gouki-kun!I''ll go first........ Don''t worry, Ensign, there''s no need to worry!In fact, the terminal on your arm is equipped with a device that measures the concentration of pollution in the air, albeit a simple one, but it hasn''t responded to anything. The irony is that the function I use when I''m holed up in the lab will come in handy in a place like this. It''s not polite to ask for dinner, Mr. Anton. Besides, there is no advantage for the Commander and his men to do anything to me. But..... It''s really okay. Look how good it tastes. I know my manners will be bad, but to reassure Mr. Anton, I put a big chunk in my mouth, chewed it slowly and swallowed it. Oh, I''ve got an idea!The timing is just right, so let''s get even with the old guys from earlier. I can''t wait to see how the Commander and Yuri will react, I''m sure they''ll be surprised. Besides, if we were to mix it in with the food, the poison would be readily detectable in the regular toxins we use. If I had to use polonium, it would be polonium, but as a researcher, it''s possible that I have some sort of countermeasure in place, which is also unlikely. Polo? I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to get the most out of this one. I knew there was a similar plan in this world as well. I inwardly confirm that my little harassment was successful. ''Lieutenant Colonel, please don''t stare at him with such a scary look on your face. How could he, as an assistant lieutenant, know about the polonium?And the way it''s done and used is under the control of a much higher level of management. I''m surprised that you, the Commander, knew about it. You seem to have a very high level of access to information. ''''Ha!I certainly have a higher authority than usual in exceptional cases.... Really?How upset were you to admit that easily? More than half of what I said was bluffing.Rather, in terms of what he just said, this guy''s rank is not ''Lieutenant Colonel'', but a higher rank. It seems to be a word of harassment to us, but he seems to have made a good impression. So, let me take the lead in the negotiations while I''m at it. Well, putting the polonium thing aside, to continue what I was saying earlier... if he is proven innocent and agrees to be a scout, I''d like to take them all back if that''s what he wants, as well as his ''subordinates''. ...all of them? Yes, sir. Of course, we''re going to extract the best and brightest from you, so we''ll give your country something useful in return. It''s not what I had planned, but the boy is probably one of my ex-boss''s subordinates or something, so I help him out while he''s here. The reason for this is that it''s the first time I''ve been relied upon by a stranger in earnest, and it''s a secret I''ll never share with anyone. And hopefully I''ll have some highly skilled operatives on my side who just happen to see me in person. It would be easy to ignore them, but too tempting to ignore them. I see," he said, "that our country is suffering from the loss of a lot of good people, and we need to avoid leaking our military secrets if something goes wrong. However, depending on the content of the information Mr. Arakawa has provided to us, there is a possibility that we may be able to get permission to do so on a ''special'' basis. I see. A ''special measure''. I''d appreciate it if you would. Once the words were cut off, I drank a spoonful of the seafood soup "UHA" that had reached a good temperature. In my imagination, it seemed to have the unique smell of fish, but in reality, the soup was clear and beautiful in color, and tasted great. Above all, it is filled with a lot of ingredients so my growing belly is filled with it. As I chewed on the fish in it, the commander, who seemed to be desperate to hear what I was offering, urged me to continue with his eyes. Calm down a little bit, that''s going to get you on your feet when you''re dealing with someone like your mother, isn''t it?I can''t think straight yet either, so just wait a little longer. So, what''s the offer? As I swallowed the fish and switched my mouth with water, the Commander finally couldn''t take it anymore and asked me a question. "North latitude 71 degrees 39 minutes, east longitude 111 degrees 11 minutes........ Yes? There is a large diamond mine in your territory at 7139''N and 11111''E. It is not suitable for use as a gemstone for appreciation, but the hardness of the diamonds mined is nearly twice as great as usual, making it ideal for industrial use. It is not suitable for use as a gemstone for appreciation, but the diamonds mined are nearly twice as hard as normal, making them ideal for industrial use. What the hell are you saying, Arakawa-san?A diamond mine? Here''s what I have to show you. A few hours ago, Anton''s friends went in to investigate the geology. There are diamonds in the rocks that are relatively shallow, so it looks like it could be mined in an open pit mine. The commander grabbed the micro-memory that was offered to him and snatched it and inserted it into his terminal with an excited look. Yuri, who is sitting next to me, doesn''t seem to have the same composure as he did a moment ago, but instead leans forward and begins to pay attention to his device. The material I handed him contains a brief survey of the ''Popigai Crater'' as it was called in my previous life. In the world before my death, it was said to be the largest crater on the Eurasian continent, but in my world, a much smaller one may have collided with it, and the existence of a huge crater is not known from satellite photos. That''s probably why it remained undiscovered without any geological survey. In the car on the way to the airport, I asked Anton if he could investigate it, and just as I expected, a vein of diamond was found. In fact, considering the anomalies of this reincarnated world, there was no collision in the first place, and the possibility that the vein was created in order to be consistent with another world cannot be denied. As I was thinking about this, Yuri, who had recovered in a surprisingly short time, opened his mouth for the first time. If this material is genuine, then you could have found what is in our country''s territory by yourself in the not too distant future. I think we would have little to gain if that was offered in exchange. I understand that. We''re also investigating other countries'' geology without permission, and we''re attacking the line of scrutiny to get them to hand over a sudden influx of asylum seekers. The information I gave you is just a hand to get the two of you and your superiors upset and confused, and it''s the real price to pay for what I''m about to give you. I understand, of course, that what is written in that document is only an appetizer in the culinary sense of the word. What I''m paying for is Noah''s ''free broadcast rights'' in Russia. Looking at the expressions on the faces of the Commander and Yuri, who this time opened their big mouths and stopped moving, I lifted the glass of water with a big smile on my face.... 57-decision ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint The sound of clinking and knives scraping the dishes echoed through the room. After I presented my free broadcast rights, the Commander and Yuri-san hurriedly left the room, saying, ''I''ll go talk to my superiors about it. Perhaps they couldn''t handle it with the authority given to them for content they hadn''t expected. I didn''t feel my stomach growling even after they left, so I continued to eat, but it''s hard to breathe because Mr. Anton has been silent the whole time. Are you angry about something?I spoke to him with such anticipation. ''It''s delicious, Mr. Anton. If possible, I''d like some cold green tea instead of water.'' "........I''m jealous of you, Gongju. How can you be so relaxed in this situation?And don''t be too reckless, if something happens to you, what should I tell Miki-san? You''re still upset that you ate your dinner without the poisoning you just saw. I''ve already explained to you what I was talking about, but I don''t know how worried you are. I have a more important question for you, Mr. Anton. Tapping my finger on my personal terminal so he can see me, I open the chat screen and send him an invitation from my registered address. ''You''ll have to excuse me here, as there''s a possibility of eavesdropping. The program itself was created by Noah''s tech department, so it''s safe, but please scramble the screen because I''m worried about the cameras.'''' What the hell is wrong with you? "Is the woman in the maid''s outfit on our side? I confirm that Mr. Anton has entered the chat room, noticing his intentions, and I ask him a question that''s been bothering me all along. Depending on the answer, this could mean major changes to the negotiations after the Commander returns, but I suppose that can''t be helped. As soon as Mr. Anton sees the sentence I wrote, he frowns slightly and answers briefly. ''You noticed that,'' he says. That''s right, the code name is Sasha. ''One more thing. What about the boy who carried the knife with the letters on it? ''I don''t know. In fact, I''ve just learned that such a thing has happened. Hmm, is the beautiful maid I passed in the corridor a good agent on my side? If that''s the case, that boy is probably a member of the Chernobog, but it makes me wonder why he''s asking me for help in defecting. Maybe I should ask Mr. Anton if he has any idea why they would want to ask for asylum. ''Boy, he has asked for 18 asylum seekers. I''m wondering if you have any idea why Sasha might have contacted you for this purpose.No matter how small it is, ''''It''s been three years since I left Chernobog, and I can''t think of anything. I''m sure intelligence services like Miki-san and Claire could be on to something. I thought you had to be related to Mom to get the information. We can make inquiries but I''m pretty sure she''s pissed off that I came all the way to Russia without asking. And I think Claire is furious with me for abandoning her job. She has a beautiful face that looks good in those glasses and doesn''t have any expression on her face, "Do you want to die? I''m confident I''d shit myself if they said anything. I don''t want to rely on them because I don''t want to incur the wrath of those scary witches. But the dilemma of not being able to move forward if you don''t rely on them is swirling around inside me, but if I''m not careful about it, my brain muscle macho will tell me, "Don''t worry, man!Take action! You can''t help it. It''s no use. Let''s contact your mother directly and get information from her. When I made a hard decision, I met eyes with Anton-san, who had a surprising look on his face. The connection status icon on the top left corner of the terminal has disappeared since the Commander left. I don''t know if it''s to isolate us and keep us from getting unnecessary information, or if it''s simply a normal diplomatic thing to do, but either way, it''s useless. You may not have realized it, but I''ve been unable to get in touch with the outside world since a while ago. It''s possible that we''re getting electronic interference. ''It''s no problem, my device is the next generation of Ruin''s quantum terminal. And it''s been magically modified by my mother, you know?This level of electronic jamming is out of the question... right, Mom? While answering Anton''s questions, I spoke to the camera attached to the terminal. If I''m right, my mother should have returned from Noah Island when she heard from Claire that I was headed to Russia. After that, I think she''s been picking up external sounds from the microphone for voice communication and grabbing every single thing about us. When did you notice it?And as for the wiretap device, I''ve taken electronic countermeasures from this device, so you won''t have to worry about it. Yeah!I knew you were spying on us after all. At the same time as Mom replied, the control of the terminal was taken away from the other side and the figure of Noah''s great demon king, Arakawa Miki, appeared on the screen. And as expected, his expression was in the form of a prajna, but I didn''t want this one to be right. It''s because my overprotective mother didn''t contact me when she arrived in Russia. By the way ... what about you, Claire? "A large transport belonging to Noah picked you up an hour ago. They''re waiting out of airspace until you call. I think you might want to run for your own good, despite the look on your face.She''s taking out a tranquilizer gun to capture the beast. Mom, who saw the change in my expression, will give me some advice, but I''d rather stop Ms. Clare than talk like that. You''re not a macho person and you''ll die if you get shot with a tranquilizer gun.Worst-case scenario, we''ll have Mr. Anton as a shield. In the meantime, let''s just stick to the plan and ask him if he''s learned anything about the situation in Russia. We''re not going anywhere. For that matter, I''m sure you''ve been listening to me, but have you heard anything about the situation on Russian soil over there? ''I''m afraid we don''t have anything. It''s partly because they''ve been quiet lately, but the intelligence community has been focused on the United States and the European Union. Seriously, I''m completely out of my depth. But there''s definitely something going on, and if I could only figure out the clues to it, I could figure it out.... So, what''s the plan? Yeah? ''''Mom, I don''t understand what Gongju is thinking about going to Russia to negotiate like that. But since it''s you, there must be some reason for it, right?If you tell me that, your mother can take over the negotiations.'' I''m sorry, but there''s no such thing as a good reason.I was just happy to be asked by Anton, and I wanted to create a good sales channel for my anime goods in Russia. Suddenly I was in trouble, but since I was the one who initiated the negotiations, I needed to take responsibility for the end. You don''t have to. And since I have my own little agenda, I have to take responsibility for my own actions. I''d like to ask your mother to accept the asylum seekers and arrange for the worst-case scenario to escape. ''''Huh, you''ve become a grown-up all of a sudden, haven''t you? All right, let me take care of the formalities, but don''t forget that there are a lot of people who care about you. But don''t forget that there are a lot of people who care about you.There''s no shame in turning to others when you think you can''t.'' Okay. I''ll remember that. At the same time as I reply, my mom''s slightly sad face disappears and the control of the device returns. It''s time to get away from your parents, as expected, right?Don''t look at me like that. In exchange, I''ll do something filial when I return home, so please forgive me this time. While thinking about this inwardly, I decided to put the past situation in my mind once again... ----Yakov Tarkovsky''s Viewpoint... I turned back to my suite one floor below, leaving Arakawa in his room while I ate my meal, and looked at Yuri Pamfilova, Director of Foreign Intelligence, who sat across the table from me. The director has been silent for a while now and repeatedly brings a bottle of water to his mouth with a blue face. I can''t keep silent any longer and talk to him. "Mr. Secretary, what can I do for you? At the same time I called out to him, the Secretary stopped drinking water and took a cigar case out of his suit''s inside pocket and held it out to me. After thanking him, he pulls out one of his fine cigars and lights it, and the Secretary finally opens his mouth gravely. ''''Well you''re a monster. I don''t need to ask ''who'' to understand that Arakawa Kouki is enjoying the meal I''ve prepared for him in the room above us by now. A kid who had just entered the Academy of Technology was not only aware of the highest level of secrecy in our country, but he also knew the exact location of a diamond mine that we didn''t even know existed. The only thing I can think of anymore is fear. Do you have any idea why people knew about polonium? I don''t know. The information is on paper to prevent leakage. Unless they got into the vault, there''s no way for Arakawa to know about it. But I knew... It''s a good thing that he or she knows something that no one else is supposed to know, and that''s what stopped me and the Commissioner from moving forward, and we were inadvertently taken advantage of by that inexperienced child. It''s not that I was optimistic, but still, I can''t deny that I had a thought in the back of my mind that this is just a child. It''s not a good idea, but it''s a good idea. I''m not sure if Arakawa has caught the case. No way. We didn''t even know about it until this morning.And I''m sure Arakawa knows that... After saying that much, my words have become buttocks. That monster would know that, but he would ''pretend not to know'' and set up a negotiation without a care in the world. If you think about it calmly, it was abnormal from the beginning, it was too much in our favor to offer the location of the diamond mine and Noah''s broadcasting rights for free for the former superior officer of Assistant Lieutenant Anton. Didn''t he know all this from the beginning, waiting for us to be honest with him?The latest reports indicate that Arakawa Kouki''s mental state has improved significantly with ethics training. "Then is the bargain he just made his own ''warning'' about ''tell me what you know and I won''t harm you''? ''I suppose, when a girl named Alice Alford was kidnapped before, Arakawa had a small amount of her secrets from his own network. It was analyzed by the UN lieutenant colonel during the rescue conference, and perhaps from that little bit of information he found evidence of our involvement. ''If that''s the case, you''re in big trouble.He is the one who tried to single-handedly destroy a terrorist group for Alice Alford. No matter how much his sense of ethics has improved, he now even has a powerful military force called Noah. They''ll kill us all.... And Arakawa is not the only enemy; if the incident comes to light, the Russian Federation will be criticized by the entire world. If this happens, not only will it lose its voice as a great power, but if the Arakawa family puts pressure on it, it could even be expelled from the UN. On top of that, the nations of the federation, which are quiet at the moment, would come up for air and cause a major disruption. And where will that confusion end up? World War III..... You seem to have come to the same conclusion. Have you?Now you understand why I was drinking water in a cold sweat. ''But could that really happen?Causing the endangerment of humanity for one little girl. We don''t need to make the worst of it, we only need to make our country look bad. After the release of Alice Alford''s information, Arakawa can hold a press conference and say, ''I still love her. That''s all it takes for Arakawa to become a knight defending a weak girl and we become an evil empire. Wasn''t that what the all-too-obvious media seizure was all about these days? Indeed, it all makes sense if you think about it that way. Noah''s commercials have the impact of creating a social phenomenon. If Noah were to make a TV show to criticize our country and defend Arakawa''s point of view, the whole world would be on his side in no time. Ahhhhh, I knew that kid was a monster. How far into the future can he expect to go, and how minuscule a possibility does he act? You see, we will provide Kouki Arakawa with all the information we have on ''Project Alice''. We need to prove that it has nothing to do with the New World cult. You''re going to go back to headquarters and gather all the pertinent data as soon as possible. I''ll get right on it! I salute the Secretary and then run out of the room and head for the elevator. I have to get back before Arakawa gets numb to waiting and takes action. Come to think of it, I remember that he was very fond of animals. As I recall, in Japanese, he was a Russian Deathman, a rare animal that we are proud of, and I''ll order a video with information on the breeding of "Vief Holly". As long as I can show it to you, I think I can manage a couple of hours. With that in mind, I ordered my subordinates to retrieve the images with my large personal terminal attached to my waist, and pressed the button repeatedly to summon the elevator, which was not coming up. 58-Alice plan ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint I''ve been thinking about the situation for about two hours since I finished communicating with my mom, trying to gather my wits, but eventually I realized that I couldn''t do anything without seeing how they came out, so I decided to watch the footage of the Russian Deathman breeding that was given to me quietly. I wasn''t interested in this guy, but I still thought it would help pass the time and watched it, but it''s almost time for the date to change. Mr. Anton, it''s time to get sleepy. Won''t the Commander and his men be coming back today? ''Hmm, I don''t know.If you''re not coming, I''m sure they''ll call you, but... Apparently, Mr. Anton isn''t so sure about this either. To tell the truth, I want to sleep, but I can''t greet the Commander and others in bed. I was wondering what I should do and took out lemon juice and soda from the mini-bar provided in the room, and was making lemon soda when I heard a knock at the door. As soon as I heard the knock on the door, Anton thrusts his hand into his inside pocket and opens it cautiously. ''Sorry I''m late, Mr Arakawa,'' It was the Lieutenant Colonel and Yuri-san who came in. However, the lieutenant colonel''s uniform was wrinkled and Yuri had loosened his tie and looked tired. Did they see my proposal as that much of a problem? As I was looking at the Lieutenant Colonel inwardly in a cold sweat, he cleared his throat and then asked me a question in a sticky tone of voice. ''Let me ask you point-blank. Arakawa-san, to what extent did you know that you were aware of this proposal? Oh, shit, this is over. Probably upper management or some kind of political or financial advisor, but they''ve noticed that the other sales are more profitable than simple broadcast profits. What to do, is it far better to split the profits through discussion than to pretend to be ignorant and let them take the best part away? ''''I knew about it to some extent from the beginning. However, it''s only a prediction, so I''d like to settle future matters through discussion. Thank you. ''So let''s start at the beginning, and we''ll decide what to do with you once we''ve explained everything. Also, my real identity is not in the Intelligence Bureau, but in the Ministry of the Interior. Likewise, Yuri Pamfilova''s real identity is not in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but in the Foreign Intelligence Service. The Home Office?Why is the Ministry of the Interior coming out here? It''s just to decide on the allocation of sales rights.So how is it that a lieutenant colonel, who is in charge of maintaining the country''s security, is in charge of this situation? The fact that Anton-san next to me has a surprised look on his face means that a department I don''t know about wasn''t newly established within the Ministry of the Interior, and I seriously can''t keep up with the changes in the situation. Then, let me first explain the ''Alice Plan'' that caused all of this. Please take a look at this document. For some reason, there was a picture of Alice printed on the paper handed to me, and when I turned the page, I saw that it was written in Russian as ''Genetic Improvement Project''. What is this?I don''t know what you''re getting at, but I don''t know about this plan. I don''t know what the hell you''re talking about, but I don''t know where the sales are. As I stood up, I hurriedly tried to tell the Commander that I didn''t know, but as if to stop me from doing so, the terminal on my arm rang out a voice transmission alert. ''Yes sir.....'' "Kou-chan, I want you to calm down and listen to your mother. Call off the meeting and send them home immediately. From this point forward, you don''t need to know. I see........even I, an idiot, can understand what''s happening in Russia now. When Alice was kidnapped a long time ago, Macho was talking about "Alice''s Plan" in secret with Mom, and it seems to be the cause of the current commotion. I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about this, but I''m sure you''ll be able to find out more about the contents of the plan as well. And if it has something to do with Alice herself, I''d like to know even more. ''Did your mother know anything about Project Alice? No, I''m still investigating. I don''t want to hear it, but you need to do it now! No, and like I said, I''ll take full responsibility for this one. Don''t tell my mother. I couldn''t help but be honest and say ''I'', but it''s okay anyway. Mom was still saying something on the other end of the terminal, but she ended the call unilaterally from our side. At the same time, the ice from the lemon and soda on the table melts and the sound of clinking echoes in the room where no one is talking. There''s no point in staying silent like this, I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to let the commander continue the conversation. ''Hmmm, my apologies. Now please continue.'''' Are you sure?Well, I mean, Arakawa-san...I heard Miki-san say something about it. That''s fine. I''ll take responsibility for this case, and it has nothing to do with my mother. I''m not the kind of kid who hides behind your mother''s skirt forever. Once I decide to do something, I''m going to finish it. I will help Mr. Anton''s bosses, get the Chernobog''s men out of the country, get the information on the Alice plan, and create a sales channel for Noah in Russia before I return home. If this happens, I''ll reopen the door and be my mom in a state of having a meeting with the military uniform version of Claire!We''ll see who''s a better negotiator. While thinking about this in my mind, I re-crossed my legs and smiled Claire''s smile, which Macho named "The Witch''s Smile".... ---- Yakov Tarkovsky''s point of view---- The mood of the Arakawa in front of me has changed. Instead of the child who was smiling an age-appropriate smile like he used to have before, he wore the atmosphere of an interrogator with a long career. I scolded myself for almost screaming if I wasn''t careful and started explaining "Alice''s Plan" to Arakawa. If you say it''s good for you, I''ll continue. It all started with the Nanomachine Genetic Modification Project, which was successfully tested in 2051. This was an experiment to artificially mutate transposons ... mobile genes in the human genome and chromosomes. Of course, as you may know, this experiment had the ultimate goal of mutating the human body - in other words, ''artificial evolution'' - but it was frozen for ''ethical reasons'' before we could confirm the results. Arakawa listens to the explanation in silence as he holds the glass to his mouth. As a researcher, he would know this much as a matter of course, but here''s the thing... In spite of the United Nations resolution of ''55, which officially banned this type of experiment worldwide, we have continued to conduct this research in secret. Our ultimate goal was to create a soldier with a strong body, but the research was so difficult to carry out that at one point there was even a suggestion that we should abandon the project itself. But then the Intelligence Bureau came across information that the Canadian government was doing the same kind of research. We contacted the Canadian government after we had confirmed the facts, and immediately proposed a joint research project. ''I see, that''s the beginning of the ''genetic improvement project'' described in this document...'' As you may have guessed, we will provide full funding for the research while Canada will provide the location, researchers and equipment. I will provide you with a separate document that will explain this in detail. As I explained earlier, our goal was to create a soldier. However, this was on one condition: that we would use drugs and nano-machines to modify the body after birth, and simply put, it was an attempt to make the existing soldiers stronger. But the Canadians wanted to change the genes ''from the start'' - that''s what Project Alice was all about. The acquired mutations in the human body are insignificant. The basic idea behind the "Alice Project" is to create a more powerful individual by manipulating the genetic information from the start. Normally, I would like to explain it to Arakawa, but since it concerns Alice Alford, I have to speak softly. If I were to call his lover a ''special individual'', I would definitely not be able to see the dawn of tomorrow. I''ll spare you the details of our nation''s enhanced soldier program since it involves state secrets, but I have no problem judging that the Alice plan has achieved a certain level of success. On the basis of that, there is actually ... well ... Alice-san. ''''Hmm. So Alice is a successful example of what this document calls a special individual, the ''Evolution Sisters''? Ugh!You call yourself a special individual? Put yourself in my shoes for a moment!For a while now, the Secretary and I have been wondering when you''re going to get angry!Even if it''s to avert a potential threat to the homeland, it''s still too heavy a responsibility to explain to Arakawa Kouki, who is now a global threat. After getting permission from him to read the material, I lit a cigarette and was spitting out smoke when he suddenly looked up and I couldn''t help but brace myself. What the hell is this? Alice didn''t tell me you have a sister or sister. "The reason they call themselves the Sisters is that it was easier to genetically engineer the female form during the experimental stages. There are no male-types, and there have been no successful cases except for Alice. I don''t know what to say exactly, but... What is it? When I looked at the director with my eyes, he must have understood what I was trying to say, and he twisted his head with a reluctant look on his face. It''s really a good idea to have a good idea of what you''re talking about when you talk about "soul" and "reincarnation" to a researcher.I hope he only laughs at me for being a liar, but there''s a chance he''ll be offended that I''m not fooling around when I''m talking about something serious. However, if Arakawa Kouki really does have a devilish mind, I think he might understand the theory the researcher was talking about. I''ll take a gamble here.... To be precise, the only one who succeeded was Alice-san. The other experimental subjects did not show any biological reactions. So, you think Alice just happened to be successful? ''No, not really. This is a hypothesis formulated by a researcher who participated in the study, and it probably has elements of the occult, but... do you believe in the existence of the ''soul'', Arakawa-san? Oh, the soul... Well, that''s how I would react, when I first heard this hypothesis, I also thought he was crazy. The reality is that he was already mad at that point in time... Otherwise, he wouldn''t have created such an incomprehensible cult as ''New World''. When I was thinking about this, Arakawa replied with a slightly troubled look on his face. ''''I believe in it to a certain extent,'''' I see. Well, let''s continue. A researcher made a hypothesis that a vessel called ''man'', for example, can only contain a soul the size of a human being, and he said that if it is an insect, it may be the size of an insect, and if it is a dog, it may be the size of a dog. If it''s an insect, it may be the size of an insect, and if it''s a dog, it may be the size of a dog, and so on. So... what kind of soul can be placed in a vessel shaped like a human being with more power and brain than a human being? Yeah, that''s not what I meant! I don''t mind, and I don''t think he would mind that much. But didn''t the researcher say that?''Reincarnation'' - for example, the possibility of a soul jumping through space and time from another dimension, past or future, to settle in a vessel... You''re kidding, right?You understand this hypothesis just from the explanation you just gave!It''s a good thing that you''re not the only one, because it''s a good thing that you''re not the only one. It''s a good idea to have a good time with them. I can''t prove it, but I think my hypothesis is correct. The researcher is undoubtedly a ''genius'' on the same level as my mother, I just want to know how in the world he arrived at that conclusion. Oh, come on!So you think she was right about everything she said?What have I done? It was a woman. Where is that man now, Commander, what''s going on? Arakawa notices something wrong with me and calls out to me with concern. What do I look like now?If he''s right, if his hypothesis is correct, then I''m ultimately responsible for giving birth to the cult of "New World". Why didn''t you believe in her at that time?Why did I, along with everyone else, treat Sandra like a lunatic? If I hadn''t done that, if only I, who was her lover, had believed in her, this might not have happened. ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint The Lieutenant Colonel put his head in his hands as he put on a blue face. What the hell is wrong with you?Did I say something strange? I''ve been talking to you for a while now and you haven''t responded, but I need to know where the researcher who solved the mystery of your reincarnation is right now. I''m not saying I want to go back to the world before I died after all this time, but I want to do something about the subtle amnesia that I''m experiencing, where I''m forgetting only the things that pertain to me.And as for the soul in Alice - well, you have some idea of that. The only creatures with more power and brains than people are creatures from other worlds, dragons and spirits. I''m more worried about the Commander who is about to collapse in front of me right now. ''''Commander, Commander!Are you okay?I''m starting to get seriously worried myself. Oh, oh, I''m sorry, that''s okay. It was about the researcher, wasn''t it? Yes, if you could, I''d like to talk to you. That''s impossible. She....Dr. Sandra Zelenskaya is missing. And she is the head of the New World cult that attacked Ms. Arakawa and Alice and has been causing terrorism not only in Japan but around the world. The words of the lieutenant colonel, who had a face like he''d chewed up a bitter worm, helped me understand all the pieces of each that I hadn''t been able to sort out until now. I see, the matter of the ''nuclear weapons'' mentioned in the documents I saw when I entered Macho''s room to play a prank on him, the cult funds that my mom was talking to Claire about, and the mystery of possessing new weapons such as the VSTOL aircraft that I saw at the academy when Alice was kidnapped. And the reason why the members of Chernobog have asked for asylum.... Apparently, I''m involved in a huge conspiracy that I thought was only in movies and novels from my past life. I''m sure Mom is listening in anyway, so let''s settle all the questions here. It will ensure the safety of my dear Alice. "Commander, can I remind you that you and your men are in possession of a nuclear weapon, which is prohibited by treaty. Yes. The money the New World is using came from a secret Russian source, didn''t it? Yes. You conspired to prevent a Chernobog member who had information that could be used against you from leaking, didn''t you? Yes. She left the institution because of her discrediting and heretical view of Dr. Sandra, who developed a new theory, didn''t she? Yes. From now on, will you cooperate with me to the extent that it is not detrimental to the national interest? ''I will cooperate!So please allow me to go any further.......please. Then let''s keep this conversation private. What? Not only the Commander, but even Yuri-san is surprised at my words, rolling her eyes. I can understand that if this story becomes public, it won''t be at a level where the heads of the two of them will be physically blown off or anything like that. In that case, it''s time to ingratiate yourself with our allies and get them to help us. I don''t know why Dr. Sandra set up this new world religion, but if Alice is in danger, I''ll do everything in my power to thwart his plans. In order to do that, we need information... but for now, we''ll take back Mr. Anton''s former boss and Chernobog as we had planned, and we''ll leave Noah''s eyes and ears in Russia, just like in the movies and other theories. "As a condition for our secret dealings with you, I''m giving you Mr. Anton''s former boss and Chernobog. In exchange, your country will be granted free broadcasting rights, which are expected to be of enormous benefit, and the establishment of a ''diplomatic window'' with Noah. Are you sure you want to be treated so unfairly? That''s fine, and I''ve already come up with an excuse for other countries to look to you for support. It will probably take a few days before I can hand you a formal letter, but I''m sure you''ll need time to get back to your superiors, so it''s just as well. All right, then, we will release Captain Yuliya, who is being held as a sign of our trust, immediately. I will see to it that the rest of the team is informed of this decision as soon as possible. Alright, now we just need to call Claire and have her pick us up and then get my mom to draw up the paperwork. Also, we should talk to Macho about getting Alice, Shingo and the others to provide more protection, right? Oh yeah, I need to talk to some other bosses of Mr. Anton''s, like Captain Yuliya or something like that. I mean, I''m running out of time, can we watch tomorrow''s cartoon?I''d better call Con and ask her to schedule a recording. While thinking about this inwardly, I decided to operate the terminal on my arm and contact Claire-san.... 59-escape ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint I control the terminal and select Claire Dauntless'' name from the registered address and press the call button. I''m sure she''s waiting on the edge of the airspace while snapping out of it, but how should I explain? ''''.........Yes. It''s Claire.'''' As I was thinking about the content of the argument, I heard a voice. Apparently, Claire-san has responded quite sooner than I expected. She has a tremendously unhappy expression, but her gaze is looking at me with concern. Okay, if this is the case, she should apologize with all her might, shaking like a fawn, and then she''ll forgive me. At least I don''t have to worry about getting shot with a tranquilizer gun. ''Miss Claire, I''m sorry for your concern. I promise not to do anything like this in the future. ''''Totally..... You are just like the captain in that way, you can''t get angry if you are apologized to like that. Well, I''m sure Miki-san will be stern with me when she returns, so I won''t say anything. Thank goodness - unlike my mom, Claire-san is too scary because unlike her, when she gets angry, she has a blank expression on her face and is in the process of thoroughly breaking the other person''s heart. ''However, Anton!Except for you. All right?Your job is to protect children, including Gongju-kun, from assassination. So how do you propose to take them to a dangerous place by yourself?Take charge of your duties!In the first place... ''Claire, our voices are being heard on the Russian side, so please leave it at that for now. I certainly don''t think we can unload an armed Noah''s aircraft on a civilian airfield. When I looked at the face of the lieutenant colonel while saying that to Claire-san, he nodded widely. As I thought, the lieutenant colonel, or rather the Russian side, had been worried about that area, but couldn''t say it out loud? I''ll be entering Russian airspace at the current time. The estimated time of arrival is in approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, so........what?One moment, please. Claire, who appears on the terminal, is asking something into the headset she wears in her ear. Besides, the cabin''s normal lighting seems to have been switched to a faint red light, but what is going on?Mr. Anton, who had retreated out of camera range, was also staring at the screen, wrinkling his brows. ''''Gongju-kun, I''m sorry, but I can''t go over there.'''' ...Yes? "We are currently flying at an altitude of 13,000 meters and we have been captured by Unknown. We are currently at an altitude of 13,000 meters and have been captured by Unknown. We are not responding to our transmissions, nor is there any response to the IFF. We have confirmed that Unknown has just fired AAM and is now taking evasive action, but it will probably be shot down. Therefore, I ask you and Anton to escape from Russia by yourselves. As all means are acceptable, Anton will escort Mr. Kunugi back to Noah''s HQ and Hakone base with all his might. End of transmission. What do you mean?Does this mean that the transport Claire is on was attacked?Why would they do that? Because we just had a discussion and the Russians agreed to my proposal. There''s no need to attack...? Mr. Anton!There is an attack on this room... It was quicker to be grabbed by Mr. Anton''s thick arms and hidden behind that big back than it was for me to talk to him. It''s going to be a mess to rely on, but frankly, what can you do with just that little pistol in your hand?As I was thinking about this, Mr. Anton spoke to the Commander in a low voice, probably accompanied by the click of the safety release. ''As I''m sure you could hear, the transport that came for us was attacked. I understand that there is no point in you acting in such a manner, but we would like to eliminate the possibility of such an action.... Is the Russian government involved in the current situation? Calm down, Assistant Lieutenant. We''ve just received official orders from the government to protect Arakawa and send him back to Japan. That means we had nothing to do with it. This is probably the work of the New World. I mean, how far have those guys from the New World penetrated?I don''t know anything about this place except for the government, and I''d rather not know what the hell I''m doing here. I don''t know if they''re here to kill me or to get information out of me. I think we should get out of this room for now, and find someplace safe to... As I was thinking about my future plans in my head, the lights in the room suddenly went out and the room became dark. ''''Mr. Anton, is there a power outage?'''' ''No, there''s no way a building on this level doesn''t switch to reserve power, the lights have been artificially dimmed. Mr. Kunugi, although the curtains are up, you must stay away from the windows you are in danger of being shot at. Lieutenant Colonel!What''s the defense capability of this hotel? "The 30th floor security room is packed with Home Office Special Forces. There are five power suit squads deployed in the basement and the main entrance, so I don''t think they''ll be able to get through that easily. I''m sure it''s possible to hold out for as long as it takes for the rescue to arrive, but I''m more concerned about my personal device, which has stopped responding at all since a while ago. I can''t press any button and the screen remains black and I can''t hear the faint drive sound that I would hear in sleep mode. All I can think of is that it''s completely disabled.The green light that indicates that the device on your device and the one on your hip is off as well, so it''s safe to assume that it''s shutting down. "Mr. Anton, this is not good. Probably won''t be able to function with the personal firearms and power suits of the Special Forces downstairs. What''s going on? The malfunctioning of Mom''s hacked terminals, as well as those belonging to Mr. Anton and the commander, and the fact that they disabled my terminal, which is marked as a countermeasure against the ECM, makes me think this is more than just jamming. It''s probably an EMP attack and the personal identification devices that are required to be installed on all firearms used by the regular military may have been destroyed. Likewise, it is very likely that the power suits have been neutralized as well. Noah also remembers my mom''s head in the sand because the equipment for anti-EMPs is being installed at Macho''s suggestion, but it''s stupidly expensive. That''s what even a single company''s private army with state-of-the-art equipment would be doing, but it wouldn''t be deployed to a Russian military unit specializing in domestic security that wasn''t even elite. So we''re going to have to get out of here with one small, old-fashioned automatic pistol that hasn''t changed in nearly 200 years. What are we going to do? You''ll be getting out of here by yourself. You speak Russian, so you don''t mind if I don''t go with you?Listen, when you get out of the hotel, you go to the apartment on this note by yourself. There''s a forged passport and some cash that I asked my friend to keep in case you need it. When you get them... Wait a minute!I can''t do it alone!And what about Mr. Anton? ''''Kunugi-kun!We don''t have time for this, so shut up and listen.... When we get it, we''ll take the train to the Finnish border. Never head east, it''s Finland on the other side, okay?And you definitely use cash when buying tickets. If you use credit, the enemy will definitely catch you. When you arrive in Finland, head to the second address on your note. It''s Noah''s safe house and you can ask for help from there. Are we clear?You can take this pistol with you, too, and make sure you get away with it. As he says this, Mr. Anton hands me a handgun. I shoved the big, heavy gun in my hand between my belts and hid it with my jacket, and Mr. Anton opened his mouth as if to admonish me, patting me on the head. ''Don''t worry, Conor, you also trained in anti-urban shooting on Noah Island, right?This time we don''t have to fight, we just have to run, so there''s plenty of room. Okay. But how are we going to get out of the hotel in the first place? You''re not going to tell me to run out of the dust chute.......we''re on the 83rd floor and I''ll be dead before I can escape. While I was thinking about this, the commander crawled over and spoke to me. There is a large river running behind this hotel, the water is around 15 meters deep, so even a power suit in inactivity should be able to absorb the impact. You have to manually attach the emergency suit on this floor and jump into the river. It''s an Arakawa-type suit, so the suit can be purged with explosive ignition. There are no semiconductors in the ignition, so it should be usable in an EMP environment. I will help you install it, if you''d like. As the Lieutenant Colonel led me out into the corridor, carefully opening the door and checking out the outside, he removed a decorated painting and lowered a lever that was hidden behind it. The lever, which was probably a deliberately outdated device to increase its reliability, activated normally and the wall lifted up, revealing the power suit in front of him. ''''It''s a ''Russian 5th generation aircraft, Mirasi. Normally, I would like you to install it in an operational state, but that''s not going to happen this time. Next time, please install it in working condition and be amazed at its performance. The Commander laughs and says something that could be taken as both a joke and a sarcastic commentary on the situation, but the power suit called Mirasi, which means mirage in Russian, is a heavy duty machine that, if it is operational, is powerful enough to defeat the enemy with ease. When the cockpit part is forced open with the special tool on the side, I climb in and put on the belt while Yuri and Anton are holding it down. I put on the helmet that has a built-in HUD, and thumbs up the helmet as per the normal installation procedure. ''''Arakawa-san, after a ten second count, we will force eject you from the hotel. Probably, but be prepared for impact as it will land on your back side!I''m ashamed to say that I don''t know how many New World collaborators we have in our country. Please consider all official agencies as potential enemies and, as I''m sure the Assistant Lieutenant has explained to you, please try to escape somehow.... Please be safe. Yes, sir!Therefore, Commander, Yuri and Mr. Anton, please surrender at your own risk. ...for the count!Ten, nine, eight, seven. Do you hear me?You hear me, sir? Three, two, one, eject! Without a response to my words, I heard an explosion and after experiencing a momentary feeling of levitation, I found myself falling from my back towards the ground at a furious speed. To be honest, I''m so scared I''m about to cry, but I''m more worried about Anton-san, Claire-san and the others and can''t do it. 60-The Eve of the Counterattack ----Miki Arakawa Point of View At the Central Command Center at Hakone Base, the team searching for Lieutenant Colonel Claire Dauntless and 25 others aboard the downed XC-03 transport plane, and the team searching for Conju, who has disappeared on Russian soil, are working busily. Eighteen hours after the hotel chosen by the Russians as their meeting place was attacked by the terrorist organization New World, there is no word on the whereabouts of Ensign Anton Bortkiewicz, who was working with Conju as a bodyguard, nor is Conju himself known to be missing. I''m sure he was instructed by his lieutenant to somehow escape from the hotel and head for the Finnish border after he had escaped from the hotel, but there is no indication that he entered the Finnish border, let alone Noah''s safe house. ''''We''re stuck in all directions...'''' While sitting in the command chair, I couldn''t help but talk to myself. If Gongju was detained by the New World, then some kind of statement should be sent to Noah from the New World side. If it''s still not there after 18 hours, that means he''s succeeded in hiding... or he''s already dead When I was expecting such a worst-case scenario in my mind because of the lack of progress, Shuichi-san, who had come next to me, spoke to me before I knew it. ''''Miki, we found out about the weapons used by the enemy from the Russian military unit that is surrounding the Liabisi Hotel. Tell me more. We can''t send our own troops out there without knowing what they''re equipped to do. We''ve identified a new, unknown power suit, believed to be the sixth generation, and heavy infantry using an enhanced exoskeleton with optical camouflage, as well as an assault-type VSTOL similar to ours. In addition, they may have a directional EMP device. Are you kidding me? Even I couldn''t help but doubt my husband''s words. The fact that it''s an unknown power suit means that it uses something that was developed by the company itself, and it can''t possibly be mass-produced enough to be distributed to all soldiers. Moreover, even Noah has not yet been able to put a directional EMP device into actual battle as a prototype. If all of Shuichi''s reports are true, then the New World has the same level of technology and funding as Noah. That''s pretty bad. What have we learned about Dr. Sandra Zelenskaya? ''Oh, that''s also the data sent by the Home Office. Don''t be surprised?This is a top secret document of the Ministry of Public Security that would normally never come out, they seem to be in a hurry to get it out. It looks like they want to curry favor with us somehow. When I received the document Shuichi had handed me, cursing the Russian government''s poor handiwork with irony, I looked it over and finally understood the meaning of the phrase ''a genius on the same level as my mother'' that Conju had mentioned in the middle of our meeting. Born on March 15, 2060, two years older than me, he graduated from Moscow State University at the age of 12 with a doctorate in mechanical engineering, robotics, artificial life and quantum physics. He published his original theory of reincarnation of life, "Reincarnation of the Soul" and was expelled from the society and had all his registrations struck off, but in 2088 he became the head of the top-secret "Alice Project", and from then on he worked in the background. The document that was sent along with it... The formula attached to this document is like the proof formula for the new quantum, it''s a little different from the way Gong-Ju''s approach works, but it''s probably just a detour and should lead to the same answer. I''m working on a design for a new power suit using artificial muscles and a new power reactor. Shuichi-san can you believe it?This is the same basic idea as the zero-suit we''re working on right now. Are you kidding me?That means no way. Yes, ''a genius on par with my mother''?That''s not even a laughing matter. Dr. Tcherenskaya is definitely a real ''genius'' on the same level as Gongju. What kind of a joke is it that two geniuses exist in the same time period who can move history? Wouldn''t this world be different if her........if there were people around Dr. Zelenskaya who were at the level to understand her? A genius who was treated like a madman and forced out of the academy without anyone''s approval, and created a terrorist group called the New World, perhaps to take revenge for it. If one of the cogs had been different, her current form might have been the future of Kouki as it was. ''Miki-san, this is the hotline from Russian President Shumsky. As I was sinking into a whirlwind of thoughts, my deputy, Ellis-san, reported to me with a hard expression on her face. She must be mentally distressed because she, too, is unsure of her sister Claire''s safety, but even though I told her to rest in her room, she said she would carry out her duties while trusting that her sister is safe and stayed here. ''''Show on this screen, please. As I responded, a pale, elderly man appeared on the terminal on my desk. I don''t get invited to the United Nations very often these days, so I don''t get a chance to talk to him directly, but I''m pretty sure that the man on the terminal is President Shumsky himself. It''s good to see you, ma''am. Good to see you, Mr. President. The past 18 hours must have been a hellfire for him. The unrelenting calls from other countries for Conway''s safety, the demands for inspections in violation of the Arakawa Treaty, and the ongoing terrorist attacks in his own capital, his political career is over. When this is over, he will call for his resignation. "It is with great distress that we regret that your son was involved in the terrorist attack while touring our country. We have the hotel under complete siege, and our priority is to control the terrorist group and ensure the safety of the hostages. We are also conducting a parallel campaign to clean out the terrorist group''s strongholds in the country... I don''t need your help. All we require is a visual confirmation of Gongju''s safety and the whereabouts of Commander Claire Dauntless and the rest of the transport crew. Defcon 2 has already been issued by the EU coalition, the United States Marine Corps, the Inter Pacific Fleet and the 6th Division of the United Nations standing army under the Treaty of Arakawa. You know that I have the final say on military action under the Arakawa Treaty, but unless your country shows good faith, I will have to make a difficult decision. ''.........Miss Arakawa, there is nothing more we can do. We have sent our naval forces to the spot where the plane was shot down, so I''m sure we will be able to provide you with some information in a few hours. But there''s nothing we can do to help you find out where your son is. Are you sure they haven''t heard anything from you? ''None. Mr. President said there was nothing to be done about it, but have you also examined all the surveillance footage in the city? ''Of course. His footsteps are completely cut off as he jumps from the hotel into the river in his power suit, where he enters an alleyway 150 meters away.'' That''s impossible. It''s true that he''s smart, but he''s not the kind of person who can break through to the enemy like a trained soldier, much less be able to completely erase all traces of himself like a seasoned intelligence officer. I''m just a helpless 15-year-old kid without access to my personal device, my only lifeline. What do you think you''re doing? ''Excuse me while I talk to you, but I''ve just received a call from the UN department in charge of widespread organized crime. They say it''s urgent. I''ll be right out. Madam President, please keep me apprised of any further developments and I''ll keep my countries informed of any further military action on my part. I don''t want the rescue operation to be the trigger for a war. "Okay. I look forward to working with you. Once the communication was lost, a red-haired woman in a UN employee''s uniform appeared on the screen of the terminal, which went dark. The woman, who looked very nervous, hurriedly put the material in her hand on the desk to greet me, as if she was confirming that I was in the picture. Well, it''s nice to meet you. My name is Stavinger of the Wide-Range Crime and Arms Smuggling Task Force. Hi, I''m Arakawa. I understand you have an urgent requirement? ''Yes, sir. We''ve been following the money trail of a Russian club, an arms dealer, Vladimir Stolyarov, for some time now, and we''ve been collecting information on his clients to present to the international court as evidence. We''ve been collecting information on his clients from there, in order to prepare a dossier for submission to the International Court of Justice as evidence. And in the middle of that process - oh, about an hour ago - I caught wind of an arms deal that was going on for an absurd amount of money. So I ran the customer''s information through the credit card numbers, and it was Kouki Arakawa''s personal account. Gongju''s account has been set up in an international bank. In order to transfer more than a million dollars of credit from there at once, a special machine authentication is required. Yes. So, these are the information on Mr. Kouki''s weapon purchases that my colleague hacked into Storiarov''s terminal, and I can send you the information, if you need it. "Send it to me at once!And your name is Staubinger, is it not?At a later date, I will send a note to the United Nations through legitimate channels to thank you for your cooperation in my name and Noah''s name. ''''Oh, thank you very much. Now, if you''ll excuse me. Thank God, thank God. We don''t know the details yet, but for the time being, we''re alive and well. It seems that they managed to completely disappear by whatever means, but what do you mean by contacting an arms dealer?If you want to protect yourself, you can get a lot of cash from a dealer. While I was thinking about this, the material sent by Mr. Staubinger was transferred to my personal terminal. It seems that the same thing was sent to Shuichi, and he was curious to check it right away, but his complexion immediately changed and he shouted loudly. He''s an idiot!Are you trying to start a citywide battle?Miki is in trouble, that guy of yours bought out old-fashioned equipment for use against EMPs. Moreover, it''s an entire platoon''s worth of equipment, and it even has an anti-tank gun with no guidance system. IEDs!He''s expecting a guerrilla warfare scenario with improvised explosive devices. Surprised by Shuichi''s words, I hurriedly displayed the data on my terminal and found exactly the equipment that would allow for a little urban warfare. Thirty old-style automatic rifles and five light machine guns used by the Russians, a troop transport vehicle manufactured more than a century ago in anticipation of nuclear war, an attack helicopter using vacuum tubes instead of semiconductors, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, a backpack flamethrower using gelled gasoline, shells for howitzers, unenhanced Combat helmets that have long since fallen into disuse because of their skeletal structure. It''s an antique piece of equipment that would be laughable to anyone involved in modern military affairs. "Shuichi-san, is it possible to defeat a power suit with the equipment listed in this document? It''s impossible, but I can at least disable it. If you use a flamethrower to attack the engine''s heat vent, the thermal runaway will trigger the limiter, and a modified anti-tank mine stacked with stabbing explosives will destroy the fragile joints. This isn''t just Gouki''s idea, unless he''s experienced in boggy, irregular combat, he wouldn''t think of it. I don''t want to fight an opponent who would carry out such a method by mistake. There is only one platoon''s worth of warfare strength that has experience in bogus irregular combat like siding with Gongju in Russia today - the Foreign Intelligence Agency''s Foreign Special Operations Unit "Chernobog". The Chernobog Combat Team "Siyelp", which is called the strongest local warfare unit, of which even Claire was unable to find out the truth of its existence, and Ensign Anton did not provide us with any information until the end. If that unit, which means "sickle" in Russian, is on your side, there is nothing more reassuring than this. Okay, then Noah''s policy has been decided. Probably, Kourtney is going to hold out for guerrilla warfare until our rescue team arrives, with the Sierpc, which is well-equipped, as the main force. Then I''ll have to find out where she is from the site of the credit card transaction as soon as possible and.... Miki-san!There''s a transmission from Kouki-kun. It''s a normal line. Put me on a secure line right now! Well, he says that''s not necessary, so he asked me to connect you to my mother. What the hell are you doing?If we use our normal lines, which would expose our location to the new world, why don''t we just send it to a secure line?While suppressing my impatience, I looked at the image that was passed through the terminal and saw a slightly tired-looking Gongju on the screen. For a brief moment, I was relieved, but then I got nervous again when I saw the person I was with. Probably all of the command staff watching this image on the main screen would have the same feeling. ''''Gongju!You''re safe. And who are those armed people?Don''t tell me you''re not a member of the New World. ''Oh, sure, they''re all wearing balaclavas, so they might look like an old generation terrorist group.'' It doesn''t look ''maybe'', it just looks like it. All of them wearing old-school camouflage uniforms and helmets with balaclavas and automatic weapons hanging from their helmets look like the early 2000s anti-government guerrillas we''ve seen in documentary footage. In addition, Gongju''s appearance is like a hostage? These are Mr. Anton''s former colleagues from the Chernobog Combat Team, well, some of them are also from the operative unit. Now they are helping me, and they are here in the old Moscow city center. Hey, Kochan!This is a direct line. You do realize there''s a chance the New World could be listening in! "I don''t mind, that''s rather the purpose of it. I don''t mind, but that''s what it''s for. After calling out to the soldier next to her, who she assumed was a woman, Conju displayed a map on her screen and pointed to that one point, and her previous gentle and warm atmosphere changed drastically. I''ve seen this expression before, as I recall, when Alice-chan was kidnapped, she was in a corner of the mega-float listening to the details of the operation. Yes, it''s the expression she shows when she makes up her mind. "I''d like to inform New World Chief Dr. Sandra Zelenskaya, who is watching this footage, that you are the one who failed to catch me at the hotel. I''d like to remind you that missing me at the hotel was a very painful mistake, wasn''t it?But I''m going to give you a chance. I''m in Old Moscow City, and I don''t know if you want to catch me or kill me, but if you want to do something about me, come here. But I don''t think it''s worth my time to waste my time on stupid researchers who believe in reincarnation, or souls, or some such occultism. So, instead of waiting here, I want you to bring me the three people your men are holding in the hotel - Anton Bortkiewicz, Yakov Tarkovsky and Yuri Pamfilova. If those three are already dead, then you don''t want to talk to me about this, and I''m getting out of here. If they''re still alive, get them out of here near Beketo Pond in Old Town. The time between the moment I let you go and the moment I leave is your allotted time to get to me. You''ve got two hours to respond, and the way you''re going to do it you''re going to have to come up with your own way of getting through to me, even if you''re stupid enough to do that.That''s it.'' I''m not sure I''m going to be able to say anything else, but I''m not going to be able to say anything else. In fact, that''s probably all he really wanted to do. I was stunned for a while as I stared at the darkened screen, but then I came to my senses and gave instructions to my subordinates in the command center. There''s definitely something behind that boy''s attitude, and for the time being, I need to mobilize all of Noah''s resources to find out the exact location of the spot where he''s currently at and make plans to send a rescue team. We also need to coordinate with the other countries that are signatories to the Arakawa Treaty, and we need to get the Russian side to cooperate with our statement. As usual, she is a reckless child, but I buried myself in my work, believing that she will get the best results this time as well. 61-Encounter ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint --- 18 hours ago I couldn''t hear the sounds around me at the same time as the impact, but it seems I was able to jump into the river from the 82nd floor safely. Even a non-Noah suit seems to be able to absorb the impact of a non-operational suit, even if it''s a military model. The question is what to do now........do I put the gun you gave me in my belt? If you go out there with your suit purged as it is, I think a Russian-made pistol can be shot with a lightly drained handgun. If you can''t shoot, you''re in trouble. After that, I remembered what Macho taught me about how to run away in the city and did it. As I recall, you don''t draw your gun in a place where there are a lot of civilians. If you do, the civilians will be surprised and make a scene, and if you do, you will be discovered by your pursuers. After that, we should try not to act as if we''re in the wrong place... right?The pursuer will look out for anyone who is moving suspiciously. Don''t worry, we''ll find a way out of this. If we don''t get to a safe place and call for a rescue team, we''re going to die, me and Mr. Anton. Okay, let''s go!I scold myself and then activate my suit''s emergency purge device, and the hatch pops outward with such force that water comes pouring in! The water is cold, even in August. Holding my breath, I wait for the water to stop flowing in and step out of my suit. Looking up, I could see the light of the city of Moscow shining dimly on the water. As I recall, the lieutenant colonel said the water was 15 meters deep, so I think I''ll be able to get to the surface while I''m still breathing. I swam desperately to the surface of the water, flapping my legs, but my clothes were heavy with water, and I finally came to the surface and lightly drowned, swimming to the channel leading to the river and grabbing the ladder to land. ''Ha, ha, I thought I was going to die. I don''t want to do this again. As I climbed up the ladder to the sidewalk, holding my sore nose from the water, I noticed a woman in her fifties looking at me suspiciously. I immediately laughed and tried to explain myself in Russian to avoid my accent. I got drunk and fell into the river. It''s cold at night, isn''t it? When the old lady heard my words, she spoke to me with a suspicious look on her face and a puzzled look on her face. I heard a loud sound of something falling into the river, so I came to see how you are doing, but you will die if you enter the river while you are drunk.And you''re not a kid yet, you should go home and go to bed. I apologized to the old lady who spoke to me in a somewhat motherly tone, then waved goodbye and looked around the city at midnight. The last time I checked the time was a little after 1 a.m., so it''s about 2 a.m. now? Moscow seems to be a good place to escape in the night when there is not many people around. I went to the address on the note Anton had given me, got some money and new clothes, and then got a taxi to a crowded place. Then I''ll head to the train station and buy a ticket with cash, and while I''m waiting for the traffic light to turn green in front of the crosswalk, a man who walked next to me while operating a personal terminal lined up next to me. When the light turned green and I was crossing the street, the man opened his mouth as if he were talking to himself while operating his terminal. Don''t look at me. Turn left at the end of the crossing, then turn right and walk straight ahead for 20 meters, then take the third alley on the right. With that much said, the man hurriedly crossed the road and turned right away from me. Is the man on my side now?If you were from the New World, you''d have me right here and now. I can''t decide if I''m a former colleague of Mr. Anton''s, but I think there''s a saying in the macho mindset that says to take the side of the locals. I have little choice right now........so let''s take a gamble here. I turned left as instructed and walked 20 meters before turning right, but it was a corner that had a pretty bad, if not slum-like, atmosphere. ''''I guess this was a bad idea...'''' I stepped straight into the third alleyway as instructed, looking like I had plenty of time to hide my inner anxiety, and when I entered the third alleyway as instructed, there were a few women standing there dressed in an awkward manner. The woman who was smoking a cigarette leaning against the door in the middle of the alleyway sees me and opens the door she was leaning against with her back and indicates with her chin to go in. The woman with a cigarette in her mouth walks in with me as I silently enter the building, as if the gesture had been followed by a woman with a cigarette in her mouth. The boss is waiting for you in the last room. What have you done?They''re going to kill me. You''ve just antagonized the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world. Huh, what are you wearing?It''s ridiculous. We walked down the hallway with a woman sarcastically rubbing her cigarette, which she had smoked to the root, against the wall and putting it out. When we came to the farthest room, the door opened as if in response to our conversation, and a skinhead like Anton came out from inside, pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to the woman. ''Svetlana, thank you for your service. You can go up now for the day and forget about this. It''s better for you. Then the skinhead who chased Svetlana away looked at me and smiled and spoke to me. You look quite wet," he said, "I''ll get you some new clothes right away. I''m sure you''ll be able to find some new clothes immediately, and then you''ll be able to meet with the boss.... I''ll come here first. It seems to be completely on our side, but because of his extremely polite way of speaking and his awkward smile, which he would normally never give, I decided to follow his instructions while holding back the laughter that was oddly bubbling up, thanking him with a smile. ----Yuliya Point of View Captain, Arakawa has arrived. He''s in a separate room now to change. There you are. Twenty-six minutes since we escaped the hotel, which is a good amount of time. I look at my subordinate, who reports back to me, and ask him about his condition. ''What''s his status?Are you wounded or extremely agitated? No, not at all. ''No, not at all. It seems perfectly normal. In fact, he laughed at me, so he probably has some idea of what we who helped him are like. It''s as they say. It''s only 15 ... or is it 16 because I had a birthday?I don''t know how a child of that caliber can regain a normal mental state less than 30 minutes after being the target of a terrorist attack and narrowly escaping. It''s true that he''s a monster, but I don''t blame him. So all that''s left to do now is to get him out of here and get asylum in Japan. I''m sure Miki, who has a lot of power in the Japanese government, won''t be able to complain if she''s traded for Arakawa. Are the escape planes ready? They''re already at a top-secret airfield outside the city limits, ready to take off as soon as we arrive. They''re ready for takeoff as soon as we arrive, and once we''re in Japanese airspace, the planes will be there to protect us... but... What? ''Are you sure you want to blow up the Moscow District radar base on the way out?The people at the base are our allies. I''m still... "It was the Fatherland that betrayed us in the first place. They conspired to kill us with impunity!Then the Fatherland must pay the price. I understand that I would have to kill my allies, too. But it''s the only way to get out of here without being distracted by the New World side that is supposed to have infiltrated the upper echelons of government. And despite our failure, it is true that the homeland tried to kill us in order to survive. In that case, we won''t complain if they sacrifice our country to survive this time. As I was thinking to myself as I chewed on the cigar in my mouth, I heard a knock on the door and Arakawa came into the room. ''Excuse me,'' Arakawa, dressed in a hastily procured black suit, is wearing a leather holster on his hip, probably given to him by my men. Looking at the gun handle, it looks like the small pistol we use for infiltration, but had another squad already made contact with it? Welcome. Do you know who we are? Mr. Anton''s former colleague you are Chernobog. And you''re Captain Yuliya, aren''t you? This guy.... This guy..... did he see me like this and think it was a woman?It''s true that I''ve grown my hair out, but I''m not surprised to see a body that can hardly be called ''human''. I participated as a specimen in the Enhanced Soldier Project, and due to the side effects of the side effects, my flesh and blood is only 18 percent of my body combined. The rest is a machine made of iron and lubricant........ "You.........aren''t afraid of me? No, no, no, I stand corrected. I''m not scared, but I''m a little surprised. Okay, well, that''s fine. I''ll tell you what we''re going to do, you''ll be picked up in fifteen minutes, and you''ll take a ride to the airfield outside the city and board a transport plane. We''ll fly to Hockadoo and then make a hard landing at Wakkanai Airport. We can assume that the Japanese self-defense forces will probably be dispatched to the city in an emergency, but we will only hand you over to them when our asylum is accepted. Well, to put it bluntly, you''re a hostage, but don''t feel bad about it. How many asylum seekers? Fourteen. Arakawa tilts his head curiously at my words. I don''t know what the hell he''s thinking, but it''s almost time to get picked up. I''m about to order that I''m not going to ask any questions or allow any changes to be made in this matter when he opens his mouth. ''It''s funny. The numbers don''t add up, do they?I was told by the officer in the hotel, dressed as a hotel boy, that 18 of your men would like to defect. But the captain said there were fourteen, but were there any casualties? It seems that another group has been in contact with him at the hotel as well. It seems they were the ones who handed him the gun, but unfortunately, we''re divided and can''t communicate with each other. There is an option of going to the designated assembly point to collect the remaining subordinates, but if we move around too aggressively, we might get caught again, which is currently safe. I''m sorry to say it, but we''ll have to apply this rule to those who are left behind. I''ll come back for you if we can get out of here. That''s for another team. "That''s a separate team. I''m sorry, but we don''t have time to pick up any of my men who are hiding in the city. ''I''m in trouble. I''ve been asked by Mr. Anton to help everyone as best I can, including the Captain, and I personally find it hard to escape without leaving Mr. Anton in the hotel. I''m sorry, but I can''t do that. I have an important mission to get the people I can help now to Japan safely. If you want to help Anton and his men, call Noah''s Quick Reaction Force when you get back. ''I see. By the way, looking at the Captain''s body, I think he''s more of a combatant than an agent... Yes, we have a top-secret, but we have a combat unit called ''Swierp''. In fact, it''s mainly a combat unit, and the fact that it''s an operative unit is just a front. Are we done?I won''t take any more questions, and if you resist, you''ll be forcibly restrained and dragged away. Shut up and follow me. Slightly irritated, he approached to grab Arakawa''s arm, and he pulled out a pistol from the holster on his waist surprisingly quickly and loaded the first round and put his finger on the trigger. The Japanese shouldn''t have the opportunity to touch a gun, except for a few special professions, but did you receive self-defense training in Noah?But I don''t think an amateur firing a small infiltration gun would hit him, and at this distance you can step into his pocket before he even gets his gun up.... The deaf child needs to be punished. As I was working on the timing, Arakawa twitched!With that, he stepped out on his right foot, but stopped shoving it into his pocket in a hurry and yelled out unintentionally. ''''You idiot!If our people gave it to you, it''s got real bullets in it! After all, you can''t move like this, can you? It''s a good thing I''m not the only one who can''t move, because if I try to hold it down, my head will be blown off. What did you think, Arakawa is laughing and talking as he presses the gun to his own head. Has he lost his mind?No, her eyes are calmly looking at me. d*mn, it''s hard to move in this situation... ''Captain, please listen to me for ten minutes. If you are not happy with what I have to say then give up and get on the transport with me. All right, but first, you need to put your gun down. Now you could blow your own head off at the sound of a sudden noise. All right. But you can''t hit me at the same time you put me down, can you?I''m poorer than the Captain thinks I am, and if he hits me with that body, I''ll be like tomato ketchup in an instant. My mother would never accept asylum if that happened. This guy took advantage of the fact that we needed this guy himself the most in exchange. I checked the clock while suppressing my inner anger and it read exactly 2:40am. If you''re willing to go that far, I''ll listen to you for 10 minutes, and if we get out of here before 3:00 a.m., we''ll be fine. "You have 10 minutes. Talk. ''Yes, sir. As a prerequisite, I will tell my mother that if I die and the captains survive, I will tell her that if I die and the captains survive, I will defect to Japan or, at worst, I will accept them in Noah. By the way, I will make her keep this promise. Secondly, I will never betray the captain and his men, I will never lie to them, and I will stay with them until the end of my days, no matter what. With that in mind, please listen to the rest of the story. Hmm, that''s how they all betrayed us. Our comrades in arms, our country, even the people we are supposed to protect.... "I will use me as bait to lure the new world to Moscow, where we will destroy it. But to do this, I need the full cooperation of the captains. Using yourself as bait?What the hell is he talking about and what''s in his eyes?Pure eyes, like they''re being sucked in. I''ve never seen a person with such eyes before.... On this day, two people who should never have met had an encounter. One was a boy who was called a genius and walked proudly in the surface world. The other is a woman who leads a unit that works behind the scenes in the underworld. Their exploits were indeed a mystery to history for more than 200 years until the Dauntless sisters left their memoirs in the archives of Noah, which were later discovered. In this book, I would like to introduce a passage from their memoirs. ''There is only one thing we can know. Although Gongju rarely talked about Yuliya and his men, there was an absolute trust between them. They''re neither friends nor lovers. If I had to describe it, I''d say they''re comrades in arms. What is Noah?" by Krijus Saito and Merkava Some excerpts from 62-Cooperation ----Hiroki Arakawa Viewpoint I will use me as bait to lure the new world to Moscow, where we can eliminate it. But I''m going to need the full cooperation of my lieutenants. The captain is looking at me with a quizzical expression at my words. But he doesn''t seem to have any intention of stopping the conversation. ''''First step, we will somehow procure weapons, ammunition, and other things to provide some resistance. I would like to ask the captain and his team to do this, but you guys are a top secret unit, aren''t you?Then the supply of weapons is not being purchased through official government channels, but through black market channels from arms dealers. ''''Well, I have an idea. I''m sure they''ll provide you with what you want if you''re willing to pay for it. It''s true that it''s impossible to get a power suit for the military, which is regulated by international treaties, but... I knew it. I''ve seen it in movies and novels before I died, and it''s not exactly a lie that most of the big name arms dealers are connected to government agencies. When the problem of weapons is gone, the next step is... ''''The second step, once we decide on a place to prepare weapons and resist, we will thoroughly agitate the New World side. Probably, the New World Church''s Dr. Sandra won''t care about my incitement. But what do you think the people under his control and the sponsors who support him behind the scenes will think?Sponsors like them are probably attached to the doctor not out of faith, but in return for something. Then let''s exploit their weaknesses. Maybe, no, they''ll be angry and come to kill me for sure. The zealots will definitely come out for the Dr., who is synonymous with God, and the sponsors will definitely come out to see what the Dr. is capable of after a series of failures. If this were Noah, a legitimate organization, they would still be able to keep him in check, but not the New World side, which would be held together only by the charisma of the Doctor. The debt you owe me for trying to hurt people I care about, like Alice and Anton-san, will be paid back!Even if you don''t want to come out, I''ll definitely drag you out. ''Hmm, so you''re going to restrain their actions? Have you decided on a point of resistance? We''re expecting a massive urban warfare, so we''re considering the old Moscow city limits. About 40 years ago the Russian capital was moved to a new city 20 km east of the old Moscow city center. The government is short of money, so if the old city is left in the name of preserving history, people won''t complain even if it was destroyed in a battle...I think. Moreover, since the area is supposed to be restricted for crime control reasons, there should be no civilian casualties even if a battle occurs, and if an armed group suddenly rushes in in large numbers, decent people would run away. I''m sure we can use the subway and sewer systems to create a pseudo-strategy there. That''s what you are. No, I haven''t thought about it at all, Captain. I''m just trying to keep unrelated civilians out of harm''s way, and I''m going to leave the tactics and such to you, Captain. Well, for now, he''s misunderstood for the better and is willing to listen to me, so let''s not get into it. Rather, I just thought, unlike the macho, the captains seem to be good at guerrilla warfare, so they seem to agree with this plan. ''Third step, we''re going to ask the Russian government for help. For two reasons, one, President Shumsky will be out of office after this incident if we don''t do something about it. That would nullify the contract we signed with Noah, and it would be a hindrance to future developments. The other is for the sake of the captains. For us? ''Yes, if you go into exile without saying a word, the captains will be perceived in Russia as traitors who have betrayed their country. Even if that is not true. Certainly some in the upper echelons know that Siyelp is innocent, but others don''t. Then let''s leave at the end as the saving hero who saved Russia from a terrorist organization. All this time we have been fighting in the underworld, let''s leave the country with such aplomb that the top brass will regret betraying the captain and his men, at least when we leave the country. Hero........what exactly do you plan to do? Okay!We''re almost at the 10-minute mark and it looks like they''re on board. It''s only a matter of time before Mr. Anton and all the other Sierpcans are on their way out of Russia. Just think back to when I was speaking on behalf of Noah in the G-88 world... ----Captain Yuliya''s Viewpoint... Arakawa finished his explanation. It''s true that given this guy''s influence and his mother''s power, if everything goes as expected, both the motherland and us can go our respective ways as heroes. But the question inevitably remains.... ''Arakawa, why would you go so far?What in the world does that mean for you? ''Yes, it''s self-satisfaction. I''m left with the self-satisfaction of having lived up to that trust because they asked for it. That''s enough for me. I''m supposed to believe in all that nonsense? ''Then you''ll sign up?I promise the captains exile to Japan and ''tomorrow I can do whatever I want''. In exchange, the captains will become mercenaries until the new world is destroyed. Tomorrow...... Are you saying that you will give us what we want most for the price of what we''ve always wanted, what we''ve never been able to obtain even if we''ve always wanted it? I''m sure he''s thinking about it, too, as he quietly shifts his gaze to Yoshif, who is standing in the corner of the room, folding his arms. I''d like to hear the opinions of the other subordinates, shall we call the guys waiting in the next room? You!Come in. At my command, the door opens and my subordinates, who have been waiting in the next room, come in, and Arakawa, seeing them, has a surprised look on his face for the first time since he came here. I finally see this guy''s age-appropriate expression and question my subordinates while in a slightly good mood. ''''You''ve heard the story. What do you guys think? ''Isn''t it good?Even if I defected to Japan, I might be erased anyway. If that''s the case, I think we should trust Arakawa with our last hope. ''I agree with you. He''s the last hope we have left before we can''t trust him. Well, I''ll take my chances with Arakawa. I don''t trust him but if it''s in the form of a contract, I''ll give him a certain amount of respect as a client. ''Iosef!We''re moving into Old Moscow City!Akim, take two of your men and go collect the ones stranded in the city. And the rest of you, make a list of all the equipment you''ll need. Following my orders, I turn to Arakawa, catching my subordinates hurrying out of the corner of my eye as they leave. When Arakawa noticed my gaze, he smiled and nodded his head. The equipment will be purchased from Vladimir Strirov, an arms dealer I''m familiar with. Do you have the money? If you want to use dollars, we have cash. But you''ll need a special machine to pay. All right. I''ll get it for you ASAP, but we don''t have the money, so you''ll have to pay for it. Also, we''ll work out the rough details of the plan and we''ll handle the actual fighting. What you need to do is prepare yourself but are you ready? Yes! Hmm, you brat who doesn''t even know the battlefield. If you don''t run away like the pigs in the upper echelons of the army that you claimed to be in command of when battle broke out, I''ll trust you. No, if you don''t run away, I''ll work for you. Please don''t disappoint me.... ----Kouki Arakawa''s Viewpoint I''m stationed with the Captain in the administration building at the old Moscow Station site in the old city. All I''ve done so far is punch in the password on the terminal and transfer the money as I''m told. I wondered what was going to happen, but about three hours later, while I was collecting the remaining personnel, the skinhead known as Mr. Yoshif brought a large number of weapons from somewhere into the station premises. As I recall, I looked at the list for a moment when I was paying, and I remember that in addition to personal firearms, there were also combat helicopters and even a troop transport vehicle. The enemy''s New World side would definitely be using power suits, but could they deal with weapons like that? I''d like to ask you where you found all these weapons, no matter how old generation, but I can''t see the captain. "Arakawa, we''re ready to go. The only thing left to do is to contact Noah. I was waiting alone, drinking the pirozhki and harassment-level sweet Russian tea that was handed to me when everyone else was gone, when the Captain suddenly came into the room and threw a new device at me and said something like that. I see, so he''s not going to let me know the details until I apply for asylum with my mother. Then I''d better send a message to Noah on a regular line first. "Okay. Sending you a transmission. I take control of the terminal and contact Noah''s normal line. The operator in charge answers right away, but he''s in a hurry to see me, I''m sorry, but I don''t have time... I go through the questions and ask my mom to get in touch with me. I could hear them arguing on the other side of the screen for a while, but then my mother appeared with a tired expression and spoke to me. I''m so glad you''re okay.You''re okay. And who are those armed people?You''re not a member of the New World, are you?'' ''Oh, sure, they''re all wearing balaclavas, so they might look like an old generation terrorist group. The captains are dressed like Afghan guerrillas from the 2000s, so they are the enemy. I answer my mom in a confident tone to take away as much of the anxiety as possible. These are Anton''s former colleagues from the Chernobog Combat Team, well, some of them are also from the Operation Group. Now they are cooperating with me and are stationed here in the old Moscow city center. "Hey, Kou-chan!This is a standard line. You do realize there''s a possibility that this line is being intercepted by the New World, right? I''m well aware of that. I''ve been expecting that, so just relax. I''m sure you''re not the only one who is in a serious panic, but if you don''t start talking about it, you won''t be able to keep up with the flow of the conversation. I ask the captain, who is standing with his arms folded next to me, to show me the map, and then I stare at the screen with an annoyed tone of voice as best I can. ''I tell you, Dr. Sandra Zelenskaya, the New World Church Lord, who is watching this video. It was quite a painful mistake to miss me at the hotel, wasn''t it?But I''m going to give you a chance. I''m in Old Moscow City, and I don''t know if you want to catch me or kill me, but if you want to do something about me, come here. But I don''t think it''s worth my time to waste it on some dumb researcher who believes in reincarnation, souls, and all that occult stuff. So, instead of waiting here, you''ll bring me the three men your men are holding in the hotel - Anton Bortkiewicz, Yakov Tarkovsky, and Yuri Pamfilova - who are already dead. If those three are already dead, then you don''t want to talk to me about this, because I''m going to leave this place right now. If they''re still alive, get them out of here near Beketo Pond in Old Town. The time between the moment I let you go and the moment I leave is your allotted time to get to me. You''ve got two hours to respond, and the way you''re going to do it you''re going to have to come up with your own way of getting through to me, even if you''re stupid enough to do that.That''s all. After saying only what I wanted to say, I cut off the communication and sent a plan of action to my mother''s personal address, hoping she''d notice. I''m going to ask for the captain''s asylum, and I''m also going to ask the Russians to help me, and I''m going to ask the Russians to do what I want them to do. The only question now is when Dr. Sandra will respond, but I''ll have to consult with the Captain about that... 63-Trust and start of operations ----Kouki Arakawa''s Point of View I checked the time on the terminal the Captain gave me and it read 21:00. I''m in the semi-basemented administration building, so I don''t know what''s going on outside, but it''s probably already dark outside. It was about an hour ago that I made a statement to the New World, so there should be some kind of action in another hour... ''I''m sleepy.'' I rubbed my eyes while talking to myself. When I thought about it, I remembered that I hadn''t slept in about two days because of my animation job and what Mr. Anton asked me to do. Maybe burly soldiers like Macho and the Captain are used to it from training, but it''s hard enough for a poor civilian like me. As I was thinking about lying down for a bit, the captain entered the room with such force that I was worried the door would twist. ''''What''s the matter?'''' We just received word from the New World.Get a satellite netcast on any device, anywhere. They''ve hijacked the entire Russian broadcast network! Seriously..........you geniuses do some pretty spectacular things. It''s a terrorist organization, so why don''t you try to be a little more relaxed?I can''t believe they did something like my mother to hijack the broadcast line.... When I operated my terminal while thinking about this in my completely drowsy head, I found that the image of the man whose face was hidden, though it was indeed a little rough, was being broadcast on all channels. It''s not as if Dr. Sandra doesn''t appear in the images that are presumably recorded, but is there a purpose for this or did she just happen to not appear this time? ''I repeat. We, the New World, will release Anton Bortkiewicz, Yakov Tarkovsky, and Yuri Pamfilova to the Russian forces surrounding the hotel in 30 minutes. At the same time as we liberate them, we and our comrades remaining in the hotel will begin to move towards the old Moscow city. We are acting in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and if this action is interfered with, we will immediately launch an indiscriminate attack. I repeat... I see, they''re going to release Anton and his men on the spot and attack them as soon as they get to the old city. And if it''s being broadcast in all of Russia, the Russian government can''t attack the people on the move. I''m betting that when I''m standing in the balance, my own people, and I''m not the only non-combatant civilian in the room, I''m the only one who cares. "Captain, in the hotel... We''ve already got one of our informants staked out near the hotel. He''ll contact us as soon as he''s released. My... Our deployment is already complete. "We''re already in place. We''re using the subway and sewer systems as you expected. They''ll serve as trenches, and we should be able to hold out for the five hours or so of defensive combat we''ve got planned. Can I at least hear the end of the conversation?I know I''m probably expecting the Captain to be worried about me, but checking is important. All right, I''ll get some weapons and at least try to protect myself. If the temporary headquarters using the administration building we are occupying falls, we will lose, but in that case, we''ll need to at least blow our heads off. With that in mind, I was about to leave the room to get my weapon when the Captain spoke to me in a very cold voice. "Where do you think you''re going? I thought I''d get my own weapon. It''s only good for a shotgun, but it''s better than a man who can''t carry a weapon, right?Plus, we''ll need it if it happens. "Hello? I hate to assume, but that''s what happens when this place falls. I''m not going to get caught after you all die in battle, so I''ll take care of it myself. The Captain is silent at my words. Could it be that this man thought I was going to escape?Or perhaps all of the Sieropers think so. So it makes sense if he didn''t give them the details of the operation or the deployment. You''ve got to be kidding me!Sure, my country may have betrayed me, but I''m on your side!Can''t you see that we''re not going to get through this without all of us working together? Okay, I''ll complain. It''s true that the captain looks a bit scary, but I feel like if I don''t say this, I''ll be in trouble later on... ---- Yoshif Point of View----. Where do you think you''re going? The conversations between the Captain and Arakawa came through the radios in our ears. For those of us who don''t believe in Arakawa, the Captain has arranged for all conversations to be heard over internal unit communications. Hopefully this will help us to understand how he really feels. ''I thought I''d go get my own weapon. I can only use a shotgun, but it''s better than a man who can''t carry a weapon, right?And you''ll need it if you need it. "Hello? "I hate to break it to you, but this is what happens when this place falls. I''m not going to get caught after you all die in battle, so I''ll take care of it myself. Are you going to take care of this yourself or are you going to take your own life?Even the Captain seems surprised that he''s gone silent. Is Arakawa seriously planning to share our fate?Why?How could you do that to us when you just met us?I don''t get it. ''Captain, come on!I understand that the people of the Swierop can''t trust me. But I''m not going to run away, so at least share some information with me!Once again, if we don''t all work together, we will be wiped out.'' You''re the one who needs to be lulled into a false sense of security!You''re the one who came out of nowhere, and I''m supposed to trust you!And there''s no guarantee that you''ll actually get asylum if you make it through this, no guarantee that things will go according to plan!What do you expect me to trust in that situation!'' The captain is shouting back at Arakawa''s words, "I can understand Arakawa''s point, but his reasons for action are beyond our understanding. I can certainly understand Arakawa''s point, but his reasons for action are beyond our understanding. The captain said the same thing at the briefing he gave two hours ago. As I was thinking about this, I heard a sound as if something was being kicked away, and instead of the warmth in his voice, Arakawa''s voice, which is clearly laced with anger, came through the radio. ''Guaranteed, guaranteed, shut up!Enough, you promised not to lie to me. Then let''s be honest, I''ve fought in interspecies extinction wars before in Noah, so this isn''t my first battle!That''s why I''m not going to be scared to run away. The only reason I''m here to help you is because Mr. Anton asked me to, and I''m just trying to be nice to him!But the thing is, I really do want to help you guys. So please please I can''t explain it well because I''m an idiot like my mom, but please believe me I want to help you. This whole thing will really be for nothing if we don''t do it.'' Arakawa''s voice became tearful and inaudible at the end. Come to think of it, when was the last time I was worried and cried?I think my mother was crying when she came to see me off at the station before I joined the army. I can no longer remember what my mother said as she kissed me on the cheek. I looked over next to her and saw Ivan, the machine gunner assigned to my squad, crying. ''Are you crying?'' ''Yes, I grew up in an orphanage and became a soldier to eat. Arakawa''s words reminded me of the sisters at the orphanage who were kind to me. She also cried when I joined the army, saying she was sorry she couldn''t make me go to school. I don''t know why, but Arakawa had a falling out with the sisters... I looked at the faces of the other squad members as I tapped Ivan on the shoulder and they all had similar expressions on their faces. Maybe we can trust Arakawa..............................Maybe we can fight for him like we have been. I''ll send a message to the Captain, I don''t know about the rest of the squad, but I''ll trust Arakawa and fight for him. As I was about to press the switch on the transmitter, someone interrupted me. ''This is the second squad. Captain, we trust Arakawa. The same is true of the Third Division. This is the Outpost Snipers. We believe in you, sir. I looked over the faces of all of them again to see if the rest of them were thinking the same thing. My subordinates are tired, but their morale is up and they are nodding at me with a peculiar look on their faces. I don''t know why my mother said that when I saw their faces, I remembered what she said. I''m sure you''ll be able to find some kind of friend for me," she said, crying, as she joined the army to pay back the debt my father had left behind. Many years have passed since then, and it seems that I''ve been able to meet such a friend after all these years. ''Captain, this is the first squad. We believe in Arakawa. After sending the transmission, two clicks came over the radio, which as usual meant ''Roger''. The rest was up to the Captain, but come to think of it, he did say one thing that bothered me. ''I once participated in an extinction war on Noah,'' he said, ''what does that mean?At least as far as I know, there hasn''t been a large scale war in the last few years. If that''s the case, is it something like the transfer to another world that happened during the research of the particle that was sent to me a while back?But that thing should have been back in about three days. As I was thinking this inwardly while holding a cigarette out of my pocket, the Captain''s voice came over the radio again. I''m sure you''ll be able to hear our conversation, Arakawa, everyone in the unit can hear it. We didn''t trust you, but now that you''ve said it, they all believe you. I apologize again on behalf of Swierp. I''m sorry.'''' "Ta, Captain?Put your head up!I''m sorry on my part. I got hot and I got emotional.'' Don''t tell me that "that" captain bowed out!You''ve got to be kidding me, why didn''t I offer him a command post!I would have loved to see such a situation with my own eyes. Ivan''s guy also blurted out with a tearful face, ''I should have stayed in the command center. As if to tighten the momentarily slackened air in the unit, the Captain''s shouting voice could be heard. ''''All hands, lean in!We are changing our operational objectives. The first target is Arakawa.........hmm. Arakawa is hard to pronounce. We''re changing Arakawa''s code name, the new code is ''Volca''. Volka the mother river that runs through Russia. Indeed, Arakawa is like a mother figure to all of us, a most fitting name for him. Our primary goal is to get Volka out of the war zone first. Got it?At all costs, we''ll send Volka back to Japan, even if it means being the last soldier and blowing ourselves up!The second goal we''ll all make it back alive. If we can defect to Noah, he''ll let us do whatever we want. It''s a mess, the first and second goals are contradictory to begin with. But that might be a good thing, too, because it means we''re all going to leave together to defend Volca to the death. It''s simple and easy to understand, and a lot better than the previous plan that the pigs in the upper echelons set up, which was so inscrutable that it didn''t even give us a hope of survival. This is the comm unit. Hostages free in front of hotel!I think they''re all OK. Huh, it looks like Anton''s idiot is safe. Well, thanks to the kindness of Volka, any normal pig would have abandoned you and run back to Japan. Well, it looks like our fight for survival is about to begin. I turn up the volume on my radio and pay attention to the voice of the comm operator. The New World, which had been occupying the hotel, is on the move. I also see six aircraft on the simple radar, but I believe these are the transport VSTOLs that were reported. And what?This reaction is not good!The enemy has already surrounded the old city with a large number of power suits. The radio that''s supposed to be an EMP attack has been cut off, which means they''ve used a high-powered jamming signal or a new weapon. But it''s too easy. It''s true that the enemy may be powerful, but if they were expecting us to panic at this level, they''re probably only as intelligent as a single-celled organism. In fact, it''s rare that the radio has ever worked until the end of a battlefield. No, it''s doubtful that such a thing ever happened in the first place. It''s more than that..., I call out to Ivan, who is wrapping the tape around the grenade to prevent it from going off, to confirm what I''m worried about. ''Ivan, do you think Volka knows the name of our official unit?'' I''m not sure.I don''t think he knows about the quicksand. If they knew, they''d feel a little more comfortable leaving the battle to you. I suppose, after all, you don''t know about Volca. Our official unit name is the "Prototype Artificial Reinforcement Force Sierrep", the strongest special forces born of the "Reinforced Soldier Project", a genetically enhanced soldier project, and the "Alice Project", a project for artificial evolution. In this day and age, there is no other unit that can even anticipate nuclear warfare except us. The shrapnel has already started landing and vibrating on the subway campus, and I grin at myself. New World, you may be trying to crush the helpless worm, but let me tell you what exactly you''ve turned on the enemy.... 64-Subway Defense Battle (2016 06 01 revised) ----Kouki Arakawa''s Point of View The attack from the New World has begun, and the area around the old Moscow station where I am located is filled with the impact and sound of enemy artillery shells landing. If the report from the communications team earlier is correct, there should be quite a few suits deployed in the vicinity, but will this place last?No, but how can you fight a defensive battle when you can''t contact each unit before that?Perhaps this concern was evident on his face, but Captain Yuliya spoke to him in a somewhat amused tone of voice. ''Volka, you probably learned the methods of modern warfare from your father, Colonel?'' ''Well yes. Even the battle I participated in not long ago, I experienced modern warfare using power suits as the mainstay. ''Hmm. So, do you know how the world was at war before you were born, i.e., 150 years ago, when there were no power suits? Should we talk about the world 150 years ago, meaning the world before I died, or should we talk about 150 years ago in ''this world'', based on which standard? Well, it doesn''t make much difference either way when you don''t have a suit, so I''ll talk about it based on the world before I died.... I believe it was in the form of overwhelming air power to take control of the airspace, and then air-supported ground forces taking over key targets. ''Hmm, around 70 points. To be exact, it involves all troops, including naval forces, but we''ll leave that for now. Now the next question, how do you think a country with an overwhelming power gap with an enemy country fought a defensive battle? I don''t understand what in the world the Captain is trying to say. An overwhelming national power differential?The only way to do that is to conduct guerrilla warfare like we''re doing now. What I want to know is not about tactics or strategy, but how to get in touch with the other teams... Wait....?There are other things that didn''t exist 150 years ago. For example, my personal device........this was not the world I lived in. In that era, mobile phones were used in place of terminals - that''s right!That''s what it means. "Phone line.... ''A hundred points this time. After all, geniuses are somewhat unusual, they don''t usually come up with the word ''telephone'' in today''s conversation. I''m rather surprised that you, as a researcher, know the telephone, a relic of the past. I don''t know exactly how long it''s been since there have been no phone lines used, either. From what I''ve seen in my mom''s room before, all commercial voice communications should have been migrated to a satellite network around 2020, with very few emergency lines left. About eighty years later, surely it would be unusual for someone my age to know a telephone, as the Captain says. I was originally going to ask you a few questions, but I hope you came up with some answers. The current situation is that our communications team is trying to communicate with other units using the telephone lines that surround the old Moscow city. The situation is going as expected, so don''t look so worried. I have more to ask you than that. What is it? ''I was referring to your earlier statement. What is this interspecies war you participated in with Noah? I can''t tell you all the details without my mother''s permission, but I''ll start with the founding of Noah... I explain to the Captain what Noah really is. I also tell him, while slurring my words, that they were originally looking for a place to take refuge but have grown in scale, and that the Hakone base is not Noah''s headquarters, but actually a fortress to protect the gate that leads to the other world. Well, there won''t be a problem since I''ll know about this area even if I don''t want to once I officially join Noah. When I went further into the subject of interactions with non-human species and alliances with other species in the other world G-88, the captain listened to my words with a difficult look on his face. As usual, ignoring the shells landing near the administration building, the conversation helped me calm my mind, which helped me regain my composure under the unusual circumstances. Perhaps the captain is trying to calm me down with his questions and conversations. I''m the one who is being saved.... ----Yuliya Viewpoint......... It''s hard to believe... As soon as I finished listening to Arakawa, I couldn''t help but let the words slip out of my mouth as if I were talking to myself. The boy in front of me is smiling gently without any unpleasant expression of displeasure even as he hears my words. Probably, everything I just said is true. If he were to lie, he would say something a little more sane, and above all, Arakawa''s current calmness proves it. A person who has not experienced battlefield can''t talk calmly under the circumstances of shrapnel raining down around him, then everything this boy says is the truth. Captain, we''re online. As I was meditating and thinking, one of my subordinates had just set up a nostalgic shaped phone on his desk. Oh no, I have to concentrate on the battle at hand now.... I pulled myself together and gave orders to the communications team to report the current status of the squad. First and second squads, no enemy sightings. Standing by. Outpost sniper team is on the line. Enemy power suit squadron in sight, moving into attack position. The snipers are about to engage the enemy and if we can only distract them from here, we can move on to the next mission. But what about the 3rd Squad?Why didn''t we hear from them? Let me know what''s going on with the third squad! Hold on, we just got through. The 3rd squad is engaging the enemy''s power suits!Due to the size of the platoon, we are in a disguised withdrawal to blast point 1-3 as planned. You''re an idiot and you''re fast on your heels and that''s where you''re going to end up. We can''t destroy your power suits with conventional explosives, but we can do a lot of things, including blowing up the subway and crushing them with rubble to crush them out of action. In the meantime, we need to remove as many enemy troops as possible before this strategy is discovered by the enemy, or we will be destitute. At this point, my other orders are to prepare the helicopters. ''Get the choppers ready!Look, you want to position them so that they look like a tiger cub, okay?You''re not going to use it anyway, so disguise it to look like tasty bait. And of course, keep plenty of explosives around it. Yes, sir! Okay, okay somehow the battlefield is still under control, now it''s just a matter of when to send Arakawa out. Speaking of which, he''s gone quiet all of a sudden, what''s up with that?I craned my neck to look for it in question, and I caught sight of him looking intently at a pamphlet that I thought had been dropped on the station''s premises. ''What''s up?'' ...Operation High Jump, the German Third Reich... No, no way. What do you mean by that? Arakawa turned at my question and asked with a panicked look on his face. ''Captain, has the United States of ''this world'' sent troops to Antarctica since the 1940s?Officially or unofficially, it doesn''t matter! Antarctica?Hmm, if I remember correctly, they sent it in ''48 and ''51; I remember the ''51 one was unofficial. How big? I don''t know much about it. But the records said it was a large force, including many aircraft carriers. What''s wrong with that? ''Wait a minute, I haven''t sorted myself out yet. I have one more question.... Your mother is probably going to ask for a UN force to rescue me, and I''m sure other countries will join in to ingratiate themselves to Noah, and in that case the main force will be... The United States Army. Arakawa seems to be meditating and thinking desperately about something as I answer. In the meantime, I''m getting word from the units under my command every minute. I''m sure the situation is in our favor, but if we are fighting so well against the power suits, it should be right there in the tactical textbooks. Captain, we can''t retreat. We will probably.... no, we will definitely be killed. What... what do you mean? Without hesitation, the genius in front of me, who asked me a question while unintentionally glaring at me, began to tell me the reason without hesitation. And I was finally reminded of the reason why this guy in front of me was called a ''monster''. 65-Reincarnated ----Isao Koki Viewpoint... What do you mean? The captain stares at me with a demonic look on his face. I feel even more frightened because of the mechanization of my right eye, but that''s not what I''m looking for right now. Now, how do I explain it........ You wouldn''t believe me if I told you that I have memories of my past life, and most of what I''m thinking about now is speculation. But considering the size of this new world and all that, I''m probably right. Well, for now, let''s talk to the Captain and sort it out. ''Captain, did you know that Germany had a large submarine force in place during World War II? I know. But the war ended so soon that most of it was never used. What''s that got to do with it? Germany tried to establish a base for its submarine force on the Antarctic continent. But it got out to the Allied Forces during the early stages of the war, and the United States became the main force behind the planned invasion of the submarine base. It was called Operation High Jump. The Captain took a sip of water from his bottle and nodded, urging me to continue the conversation. ''But as the Captain said earlier, the war itself ended prematurely, so this operation never took place. It''s also rumored that the submarine base was never built. But yet, after the war, the United States sent troops... In a world without the Cold War, there would have been no need for cold-weather training in the Antarctic, unlike the world I was in. Even if they had to do it for some reason, there was no need to go to Antarctica to pay for it. Are you saying they seized the base? ''I don''t know about that. Either they seized it, or they took over the construction that was in progress.... Either way, I think the base is there. And I''m convinced that''s where the New World is based. How can you say that? "Do you think there are many places that my mother and Noah and my father''s UN couldn''t find, even with all their resources, that they couldn''t find?We need a place that can hold at least as many people as Noah, an underground facility deep enough to be undetectable by reconnaissance satellites, and a place that can accommodate a submarine strike force, a specialty of the New World... So the United States is part of the New World? I don''t know, but I think it''s pretty high up in the trenches. The United States is not the only country to have an observation base there, so it''s hard to know if the United States is the only traitor. At the very least, if we could clarify the purpose of the new world, we might have a better idea. I don''t know what this new world is all about. If you want to kill me, you''re going to have to take a shot at me from long range. Even if Alice and the others are the objective, they''ll kidnap you halfway and make you rescue them. Even now, they''re still half-heartedly attacking me with half-hearted forces. I can''t do anything about it.......maybe this isn''t a problem my brain can handle in the first place. I''m starting to feel like I should have gotten up the nerve and left it to my mother. I''m not sure if it''s because I''m suddenly exhausted from the past, but I felt dizzy and sat down on a nearby pipe chair and the captain asked me while lighting a cigar. You said ''the United States of this world'' in the previous question. What did you mean by that? I made a mistake..., I haven''t slept for two days and I don''t know what I''m doing now. Well, since we''re surrounded by the new world, including the United States military, it''s hopelessly impossible to find a way out of this situation, so there''s no problem in telling people about my amazing life for the last time. "Captain, have you ever seen Dr. Sandra''s paper? Hm?You mean that ''soul reincarnation theory'' or some other eyebrow-raising thing? ''Yes, it is. Eyebrow-raising or not, that theory is real. I can''t prove it, but I have proof. The Captain looks at me quizzically. But eventually his expression fades into astonishment and the cigar in his hand drops to the ground with a plop. It seems that he noticed it. "I..... No, I''m not going to pretend to be something I''m not in front of my companion Captain who is fighting with me anymore. I, Arakawa Koki, am a ''reincarnation'' from a different world than this world, in other words, a different world. The Captain, who had frozen for a few seconds at my words, suddenly started laughing loudly. I still couldn''t believe it, could I?I told the truth, but with the Captain''s appearance, I said, ''Are you kidding me?'' I''m confident I''d pee my pants if I was stuffed with it while being shouted at. ''Kukkuk, hahahaha!I see, I see. I see why they call you a monster. You''ve created the same theory as Sandra in another world, and you''ve implemented it yourself. And you were born to Miki Arakawa, the most brilliant scientist in this world. You were a genius at best, but if you learned a completely different system of science from another genius in this world, you''d be a monster. No, no, Captain... ''That''s fine, you don''t have to say any more. From the look on your face, I''m guessing it was something you wanted to keep hidden, right?And that''s a secret I haven''t even told my parents. I promise you, on my honor, I will not tell anyone about this. What should I do, the captain has misunderstood something by himself and has been convinced while nodding his head with an unhmmm. If I said ''No, I was or rather, I''m still an ordinary person'' after all this time, that would be shouted at, but I feel like it''s better to tell the truth. As I was desperately thinking about what to do inside, I thought I heard a clatter. I looked at the Captain and saw him disappear from his smile and take his gun from his holster and stare at the vents in the tracks. ''''Enemy...?'''' I don''t know, stay back. I moved to hide behind the jittery Captain''s back and looked over my shoulder at the vents and heard a voice from inside. ''I''m coming down now, please don''t shoot. I heard a terrible English accent in Russian. But this voice sounded familiar. With a thud, a Boston bag was thrown down to the ground first, followed by a woman who was quite dirty from coming through an old vent. And when I saw the woman''s face, I yelled out, "Claire-san! ''Miss Claire? ''Yes, that''s right. It''s a good thing that you''re a good friend of mine. Because of you, I''ve been swimming and exploring caves. Please let me go home quickly and take a shower. Claire-san, whom I hadn''t seen in two days, appeared in front of me wearing Noah''s battle dress, which was different from her usual suit, with a smile on her face like usual. 66-Claire ----Claire''s point of view----48 hours ago "We''re running out of time, so I''m going to explain to you in a nutshell, and if you don''t understand, you can ask Anton. We are currently at an altitude of 13,000 meters and have been captured by Unknown. We are not responding to our transmissions, nor is there any response to the IFF. We have confirmed that Unknown has just fired AAM and is now taking evasive action, but it will probably be shot down. Therefore, I ask you and Anton to escape from Russia by yourselves. As all means are acceptable, Anton will escort Mr. Kunugi back to Noah''s HQ and Hakone base with all his might. Over and out. After a quick and to the point communication was cut off, he hurried to the cockpit as the alert went off. ''What''s the situation?'' They''re taking evasive action. We have anti-missile defenses, but the attack is coming from beyond the horizon and will be difficult to counter with the defensive equipment we have on board. "Emergency drop!Prepare for emergency landing at sea. That is if I''m still alive.... I inwardly blurted to myself, and then still worked my head to survive. Even if I succeed in making an emergency landing, the next thing that will come at me is probably... We''ve got more Unknown!Ten o''clock, and there are five, twelve, fifteen of them!d*mn it!A stealthy plane?From Unknown, a high speed flying object has separated!It appears to be a missile! Take us out of here! I can''t do it!There''s no way we can make it in time, sir. The missile is coming! I gulped my eyes. But the shock you had imagined didn''t come, and you open your eyes to feel the deafening alert that still rings out. I speak to the pilot, squeezing my voice out of my tense throat. ''Did it come off?'' No, the missile is passing very close to the aircraft, heading for a missile fired by Unknown in the rear... We have friendlies and allies responding. The aircraft in front of us belongs to the Russian Defense Space Force. Sir, our rear missiles have been shot down, and the Unknown is pulling out rapidly. Could he help you?Why would a Russian military plane help us? And the Defense Space Force is not the kind of unit that flies around here. What the hell is going on.... "Space plane, coming right at you, sir. With a start, I looked out of the window and saw the latest model of Russian military plane that I had seen only in documents flying. Moreover, no national flag or troop identification insignia was painted anywhere on the plane. It was just a pitch black fuselage there. I see........that''s how it is. That plane it''s not the Russian Defense Space Force that''s trying to help us, in fact it''s not the Russian Defense Space Force that''s trying to help us. So the next time they''ll be sending us a message, it will be on the frequency of the Strategic Rocket Forces. I think the Strategic Rocket Forces will be the next to send us a message on their frequency. Huh.... Ah, here they are!We have a transmission from the Strategic Rocket Army. This is... That''s the recovery point at sea.I''m decommissioning the aircraft!Each crew member will begin preparing for evacuation. If I''m right, you and the others should be in a very dangerous situation. If we don''t rescue them as soon as possible, they''ll be killed by the rescue team. ----Claire Viewpoint --- 4 hours ago My men and I have been under house arrest in a room on the ship ever since we were rescued by a Russian Navy power-suited mothership, which had apparently erased its identification markings in a hurry, while we were enjoying a dip in the ocean, abandoning our aircraft. Judging from the size of the room and just the quality of the goods, it''s a room for high-level officers, so it can be said to be a high treatment. ''''Excuse me....'''' At the sound of a knock at the door of the locked room, a man wearing a military uniform with no rank insignia or anything else on it entered the room. He sat down on a chair in front of me and held out a file in his hand. I''d like to ask you a few questions before I accept. What is it? The man threw the file down on the desk and looked at me with a somewhat nervous look on his face. ''Well, it''s more of a confirmation than a question. Fluent English without an accent, aircraft and power suit carriers without identification, and military uniforms without rank insignia, you are the Russian domestic military........ Commonly known as the top-secret unit of the Interior Ministry''s military, right? .......... Given your size, are you a member of the National Guard? .......... The man remains mute, but in this case you can take that as an affirmation. I''ve got a file on my desk, and as I look through it, I can see information that I couldn''t get to because of my house arrest, and it''s clearly described. The man''s personal terminal is prompted by his eyes to replay the recorded memory that was included with it. I don''t want to use my own device to play this kind of thing that I don''t know what''s in it.... ''Go ahead,'' He plugs the memory into the terminal he was handed and begins to play it back. Inside were the details of the Alice Plan and the records of the Chernobog Combat Team with which Conju-kun is working, as well as detailed data on its members. I would love to take this memory home with me........ ''''May I take this?'''' Go ahead. I''ve also prepared a map of the underground tunnels that Mr. Arakawa is currently holed up in, where government officials in the former Moscow city limits had prepared an escape route, as well as any anti-EMP power suits and combat gear we think you may need. That''s very generous of you. What do you want? It''s a world-famous rescue. "I can''t believe they even lied to the president about shooting down our plane and the goal was to rescue an important person. This time the man had a clear and troubled expression on his face, looked up at the ceiling and began to speak with a sigh. ''The purpose is to preserve the nation. Currently, our country is facing a serious crisis. Terrorists who call themselves the New World have infiltrated the upper echelons of the government, and there have already been arrests of government officials, including several high-ranking military officials. Moreover, if the information known to Mr. Arakawa leaked to the outside world, a renegade state would emerge from the countries that make up the Federation. When it comes to using force to quell them... ''The United Nations will intervene......... And that U.N. has an immeasurable amount of influence over Yuki-kun''s mother, Miki-san. ''Yes. In that case, World War III would break out, the worst nightmare of the Russian Federation versus the entire world.... Even if Mr. Arakawa manages to escape on his own, I believe there will be desperate measures to retaliate. Indeed, from reading this file, the reason why the New World was able to escape through the siege when Alice-chan was kidnapped was because of the Russian Navy''s cooperation. When he learns of this, Gongju-kun will definitely take retaliatory measures, as the man says he will. If he were to use Noah''s satellite network to broadcast propaganda to identify Russia as an enemy nation, he would begin to manipulate the public mind in any way he could. Moreover, if you look at the effect of the sales of cosmetics, it would be akin to brainwashing I understand. Then again, what are your objectives and demands? Our objective is the rescue and safe return of Mr. Arakawa. Our only request is that you hand over all materials and personnel related to Project Alice and the New World, and that you take no retaliatory action in exchange for relinquishing command of the National Guard to Noah only if it involves the New World. Okay, I accept your terms. The man finally loosened his expression at my words. Well then, we should think of a way out of this with reference to the data.... We can get to the subway station where you are, if we go through the underground passageway and blow up the passageway on the way to the subway station, we can meet up through the vent. The problem is what happens after that. If we''re going to escape with all of Chernobog, we''ll need to enlist the help of the National Guard, and as soon as we get to them, we''ll need to contact Miki and get the captain and his men to help us. 67-Misunderstanding ----Viewpoint... As Claire introduces herself and listens to how she got here, she reaffirms the situation that is currently happening. It seems that the New World is not only feeding into the upper echelons of Russia and the United States, but also the upper echelons of other countries. But.........why would anyone take the risk of cooperating with such an organization?What the hell is the quid pro quo? ''Miss Claire, what do your collaborators receive in return?'' It''s money and anti-aging medicine. That means... Yes, the New World is developing a drug similar to the one that Noah and I created to live in the G-88. Though their purpose is different. It is true that the instructions say that the drug has the effect of stopping the time inside the body. But it only suppresses the time inside your body, it doesn''t make you "immortal". In fact, it''s worse than that because I have to use the drug for a long time. As I was thinking about this, Claire stopped operating her device and looked at me while she spoke with a serious look on her face. I''m sure you''ll find that the technological and scientific capabilities and personnel of the New World are probably on par with Noah''s. And they don''t have the naivety and familiarity that we have with them "The battle will not end until you Noah or the New World is destroyed... The Captain took over Claire-san''s words. But Claire, who smiled thinly at the Captain''s words, corrected him. ''Captain Yuliya, you''re on Noah''s side too, aren''t you?I wish you''d say ''we''. Well, I guess we can''t lose. So what do we do now?Currently, my men are deploying a delay operation to get Arakawa out of the country. But apparently the scheduled rescue team has an assassin from the New World. ''I know that, sir. I''d like to change our strategy and move through the underground passage I''ve been going through while moving northward and breaking through the siege. In order to do that, we''ll have to have them retreat from all points once... but without knowing what''s going on on the ground, we won''t be able to get the timing right. While the captain and Claire-san were having a strategy meeting, I suddenly had a question about what I just explained. Claire-san has been on the move for a long time and has yet to inform the rescue and search teams that she is safe. So, the new world doesn''t know that Claire-san is still alive? "Miss Claire, do you think the New World knows you''re alive? ''Well, I don''t think he knows yet. I''ll contact you before we escape, though, so you''ll know. Captain, what do you have in your arsenal of equipment that could be used... I knew you didn''t know. So if I die here what will the new world think of me if I let them think I''m dead?I think they want to kill me, so I think they''re going to show their tails when I give them what they want. As long as we''re clear on what we''re doing, we can figure out a way to deal with it or I''m sure my mom will figure it out. ''''Captain, is there a well-equipped and safe place somewhere, even if it''s far away?'''' Mm-hmm. There''s a secret base in Chelyabinsk in the Urals. It''s owned by our allies in the National Guard, so it should be safe. "Commander, I''m sorry, but I don''t mind if my men die in battle, but I won''t tolerate the death of a dog... For that, I''d still like to disrupt the world, even if it''s just for travel time.... I guess it''s best that I''m the one who dies here. Normally, I''m always misunderstood, but around this time, I''m going to aim and mislead the world. ''''Do you have a minute?I have an idea. After making sure the two of them stopped arguing and turned to me, I shook my absent head and discussed what seemed like a strange idea. We don''t have a clear objective for the new world at the moment. So in order to clarify their true purpose, I think we should let them achieve their current goal for now. I propose that we assume that everyone here, including me, was killed in the battle and retreat to Chelyabinsk. ''''I see, Gongju-kun, so you''re going to see how the new world works after we die to find out what the other party wants?'''' Yes, sir. ''But how do you expect us to determine that he died in combat?We don''t even have time to prepare a body to disguise it. Didn''t you just stop the enemy by blowing up a subway station?We will use it to ignite all the remaining explosives during the next offensive and bring the whole area down. The rescue team will dig up this area and identify the body, although they will assume that I am almost certainly dead. And the Russian government will mobilize all nearby firefighters, police and military forces to dig this place up to return my body to Japan... or rather to my mother. ''''Hou, you''re going to limit their movements along with stalling for time........ And before the search begins, the Russians and their rescue team start fighting with the New World, adding to the confusion. You, you have a cute face and you''re thinking about something really egregious.... You''re a child of the devil, as you say. ''I''ll take that as a compliment. How''s that? As far as I''m concerned, it''s the best thing to do, but it''s Mr. Clare and the captain and others who will actually make the decision and act on it. It''s doable. I think I can do it. One question. Claire-san has a serious look on her face. I know I know ..., I know. I''m worried about the same thing, but I have to believe it now. ''''It''s about Miki-san. Would you be able to keep your cool if you found out that Conju-kun is dead? I''m sure my mother will assume I''m still alive until she sees the body and tests my DNA. I''m sure she''ll assume I''m still alive until she sees my body, because she waited until after the Arakawa particle explosion to believe I was alive. ''All right. Let''s allow for a certain amount of uncertainty. Then, Captain, we will begin the operation at the next offensive. I''ll contact my men as soon as possible and ask them to be ready. Yes, sir. As I stare at the two of them as they hurriedly work out the details of their plan, I think about everyone else.... I''m sure my genius mother will see through my intentions and act on them. I''m sure Macho will also calmly prepare us to go out at any time. What about Shingo and Aikawa-san?I wonder if he''ll be worried about me. And Alice, I''m sure he''s going to cry.... 68-The 10th generation machine "Type 0" ----Miki Viewpoint... You need to get some sleep, don''t you? Shuichi-san said this to me when he came into the room and was not in bed. Seventy-two hours have already passed since the remains of the subway in which Kouki was holed up collapsed. The limit of survival.... It would be difficult to live without food and water for more than 72 hours. Three days after the collapse, the survival rate will drop to less than 6 percent. But just because it drops doesn''t mean it will drop to zero.......she''ll be alive. He''ll be fine. More importantly, what have you found out? There are reports coming in from the engineering department that they''ve finished analyzing the suit the New World was using. The suit they were wearing is a 6th generation machine, and the suit they believe the commander was wearing is almost as good as an 8th generation machine. Well that''s why there was so much damage. Oh. An elite power suit squadron of the UN''s standing army that went to the rescue was destroyed in just eight minutes. In the end, we shot down 65 of the New World suits and 241 of ours were damaged. It''s almost funny that we''re not even in the race. But if the experiment I''m working on with Alice is successful, it won''t matter what the difference in suit performance is. For that reason, we have to get the data together as soon as possible. We''re going to conduct the Type-0 activation test at 1:00 pm on Noah Island. We''ve ordered all non-affiliated personnel to vacate the island, so if anything goes wrong, you take care of the rest. But the system is imperfect, isn''t it too dangerous?Besides, it''s not Alice''s fault that Gongju is in this situation. Why in the world did you tell the kids about the Alice plan, anyway!You''re out of your mind! ''''Sooner or later the girls will find out. Then it''s better to know now than later, when they find out and feel left out of the loop. You can''t stop the activation experiment now because Alice-chan insisted on it. I feel responsible for it. "Gongju will hate you..., he was trying to protect Alice''s secret to stop what we are trying to do now. And yet........ I know that. But if Gong-Ju had escaped from that place alive, the Type 0 suit would be absolutely necessary. And the children believe that he''s still alive. That''s why we have to shorten the development period, which will take several years, and no matter what method we use, we''ll finish it in one more day. Pushing aside Shuichi-san, who still has an unconvinced look on his face, and stepping out into the corridor, I unintentionally bite down in frustration at my inadequacy. Feeling the taste of blood spreading in my mouth, I felt my mood eased somewhat... ----Alice Viewpoint---- Kong, you okay?You''re gonna be okay. "Cue He smiled at Conn in the display and nodded to let Miki know he was ready to go. ''Start the test. Get the converter up and running! Initiating transducer. Entering Type 0 suit operating condition. That''s good. The antimatter reactor that was originally supposed to be installed in the reactor didn''t make it, so we hurriedly installed the magic converter that we were developing separately, and I heard from Miki that it uses Kon''s magic power as fuel, but it seems to have worked properly. I''m sure I''ll be able to be of some use to everyone!When I was relieved, Miki was looking at me with a sad look on her face. I wonder if she still cares about it after all? I''ll be fine! ''I''m sorry.... You can hold a grudge. It''s what I said. I''m not a normal person but I don''t mind it. It''s just that I need to get the suit working as soon as possible. Thank you. As I explained earlier, we will now physically connect to your Type-0 suit. Not to mention the fire control system, motion control system, and the entire system, including data communications, will be processed by your brain. Not so much a living computer as a living organism. It sounds kind of cool, doesn''t it? I could see that Miki''s eyes became like a dead fish with my words. I''m sorry about that. We''re going to use the device we brought back from the lunar ruins to help your brain function, but at worst... I''m fine!The data we measured yesterday showed that my brain completely outperformed the processing power of a person, right? We have plenty of room. That''s so cool, I''ll have to brag to Megumin after the experiment is successful. Besides, the fact that I''m better than you in terms of brain processing capacity alone means that I have the makings of a genius, right?In other words, if I work hard, I can become a person like Miki-san, so I have to make sure I succeed and learn a lot of things from her. I''m off then. After saying this to Miki, I entered the special capsule built behind the control unit with the help of a researcher. I put on a helmet that is large enough to completely cover not only my head but also my face, and after a moment of composure, I speak into the built-in microphone and say, "I''m ready. ''I''m ready, sir.'' Okay, we''re going to jab your brain with an extremely thin needle to inject the nanomachines. Don''t move. I understand. I braced myself, thinking about what to do if it hurt, but it didn''t hurt at all. Instead, I felt a cold sensation for a moment, and then my vision suddenly opened up... Wow!I can see everything behind me! ''Alice, calm down!Now you''re sharing your senses with the suit''s external camera. I''m going to shift the power from low power mode to normal mode now.'' Okay, got it. Five seconds to transition, four, three, four, three, two, one, normal mode, full activation of the zero-suit! I don''t feel anything in particular, is it okay?Anxiously, I stared at Miki-san in the control center and saw a red circle appear in the middle of my vision. What is this?As I stared at it, I noticed one of the researchers next to Miki-san was pulling and shaking. The red circles increase as I move my perspective to that direction. At that moment, the person who was trembling twitched in a jolt. ''''Alice-chan, it''s hard to say this, but.......'''' What is it? Fire control system is active. It''s locking us up. Whew!Wait, how do you do this?Well, I think I kind of understand it, but it doesn''t work. As my mind became impatient, a message log of ''System Optimization Complete'' appeared at the edge of my field of vision, and at that moment I suddenly ''understood'' how to use it. I hurriedly unlocked it the way I''d just learned to, and while I was at it, I turned off the fire control system for a while. ''I''m sorry,'' It''s okay, I know you''re new to this. I''ve already optimized the system and I''m ready to... wait a minute. Miki suddenly cut off the communication and shouted something into the extension phone. And while looking at me, she showed me her ''usual smile'' for the first time since Conju went missing. ''Alice, we found Gongju!He''s in Chelyabinsk, they said he''s safe and well.'''' Yes!I''m so glad, I''m so glad. I knew you were safe!Believe me, I was right to have my suit ready to go at any time. Just as my emotions were about to explode with joy, a message log appeared at the edge of my vision. ''''Explosion recognized, do you want the reactor to go out of control?'''' ... Ew, I can''t stand this suit. 69-Return ----Viewpoint... Suddenly, I woke up. When I checked the time on my watch, it read 05:18. As I lay awake on my cot for a while, a man who was sleeping on the bed next to me called out to me, "Volka, are you awake? Volca, are you awake?I mean, how did you get up? After almost three days and all-nighters, you only need five hours of sleep? I''m hungry.... And I''m busy again today. Sure. Why don''t we get a quick bite to eat and then go get a uniform? The man said and got up from the bed and put on his boots. I mean, what did he say his name was?I remember hearing it before I went to bed, but I can''t remember. As I recall, Johan ... no. That''s right!It''s Mr. Iosif!He introduced himself as Yoshif-san of the heavy weapons squad. ''Mr. Yoshif, have you finished evacuating people in the vicinity?'' Yeah, I finished breaking off from a 50-kilometer perimeter last night. But it''s for real? Yes, sir. Considering what happened to Miss Claire and the rescue team, I''m sure it''s true. Mr. Iosif still looked incredulous as he rubbed his beard. After that, they both walked in silence down the narrow passageway and arrived at the dining room. After receiving the meal from the troopers on cooking duty, they sat down at an empty seat and began to eat. ''Well, I hear you''re accepting the Major General''s uniform. ''''Yes, but I haven''t had any proper training or education, so there''s only a problem. Even though he''s a special forces major general, that''s the rank he held at Noah. They don''t have proper training for this kind of thing. This is a unit designed for nuclear warfare in this day and age. At my words, Yoshif-san rushes in with a huge smile. But Yoshif and his team are envisioning an all-out nuclear war using strategic nuclear weapons. That''s why we are where we are today. I''m sorry for saying that we should get out of Russia with great foresight. In the end, this is what we are doing, sneaking around in fear of the enemy. Don''t worry about it. Didn''t the guy from the National Guard show you his new uniform?I was.........happy. I didn''t think I''d ever get to wear a proper uniform. I see, so Yoshif-san and the others weren''t even given a uniform. It sounds good if you call it a top secret unit, but from the top brass, it was probably just a good unit that could handle irregular combat. ''''Alright!Now that we''ve eaten, I''m going to get a uniform. You''re going to show up at the Captain''s place. I understand. Perhaps to get rid of the pungent smell, Yoshif-san left while making a very energetic voice. I had been watching his back for a while, and I also got up from my seat and headed to the place where the Captain was. On the way, I ran into Claire-san, who had already changed into a new uniform. Good morning. Claire-san. Good morning, sir. We''ll begin operations as planned in 15 minutes and send a transmission to Hakone base. Yes, sir. The success of this mission depends on your information officer, Miss Claire. Good luck. I''ll take care of it. Claire''s confident smile made me feel a little more at ease. When we arrive at our destination, I see the Captain giving instructions while holding an unlit cigar in his mouth. ''Good morning, sir. Captain. Good morning. We''re ready to go here, it took a while to set up, but we''re ready to intercept all communications from Hakone base. Does it have a level AAA transmission? "Yes, Commander Claire has hacked into Noah''s main computer, but only temporarily. It''s only possible for a short period of time until the next communications band change. Then we''d better get started now, because if we wait too long, there''s a chance that Mr. Ellis and his people might come to the same conclusion that we did, and change the channel. If that happens, everything will be for naught. I understand. It''s a little early, but we''re going to start our operation at this time. Please send a message to Noah. On my orders, the Captain''s men will begin to act en masse. It''s Security who will let them know I''m okay, and that''s where it starts. ''We''ve sent you a transmission, sir. Noah''s traffic is increasing. Claire has connected her device to the computer and is analyzing the data. One minute has passed since I let them know I''m safe, and it''s time to contact Macho and his rapid response team.... I''m sure the tech department where Mom and the others are located will be contacted next, but we''ll see what happens. I''m not sure what will happen next. It''s probably a transmission addressed to Arakawa Miki. Hmm, it took him a little over 2 minutes to reach Mom, that was pretty quick. The next step is for her to send a message back and then send an urgent message to all the departments. We found it!I''m not following normal communication protocol. This is ... you''re kidding me. What''s going on? ''Gongju-kun and the Captain''s hunch was right, there''s someone in Noah''s office that''s leaking information to the New World. He''s also using A-class communications, and there''s a spy in the security department. It''s no wonder they''re aware of every move we make. I didn''t think they''d have a mole in the security office. But how did you get in here?The staff is supposed to have a device found in the lunar ruins that can read the surface consciousness to determine if there are any spies. Well, I''ll leave that to Macho and the others. ''Claire, call my dad and tell him to shut down security. The only people allowed to carry weapons in Noah are the Security and Military Departments, so Alice and your mother and others are in danger. Yes, sir. Well, now that the spies have sent a transmission, I wonder what''s going on at the Chelyabinsk base.... I asked the person in charge to show me the base with images from a reconnaissance satellite, and that was the moment when the tanks positioned to protect the perimeter of the base were engulfed in a flash of light. ''''Where is it coming from?'''' The ground assault from the air force stationed 120 kilometers east. You do that a lot. There''s no one around. ''Yes. But this proves that there are no spies among us or the state maintenance forces. Even as they were having a fluent conversation, the base was being fiercely attacked. If I was there, I would have died........ When I was thinking about that, Claire-san called out to me. ''''Conju-kun, we are approaching the defensive line of the academy city. The anti-submarine patrol network has been strengthened due to the New World''s attack, so it''s about time we surfaced or we''ll be sunk. I understand. Now, Captain, I''ll leave you in charge. This escape is going to be the perfect irony for the new world that loves submarines, so I''ll ask nicely. The Captain nodded widely, then put on his brand new Russian Navy coat and grabbed the microphone for the ship''s broadcast and gave the order. ''All hands prepare for emergency surfacing!The ship will now surface in Japanese waters off Gakushu City. After surfacing, we will be escorted by the Maritime Self Defense Force. We are the crew of the Russian Navy''s nuclear-powered submarine Maria Fyodorovna. Don''t forget that we will be exiled to Noah as the heroes who rescued and delivered Arakawa. I know, I know, I know, but if the Japanese government takes them into custody, we''ll get them back in a heartbeat. I have no intention of sending the captain and his men back to Russia or handing them over to the Japanese government. They won''t complain too much because they have a track record of sending me back to Russia in such a critical situation. Anyway, I''m glad you''re finally back in Japan, I feel like we''ve been away for a long time even though it''s only been 4 days. I think I''ll be busy talking to Mom to find out what''s going on, but for now, I want to eat her food and take a bath... 70-Hakone base after a long absence ----Viewpoint... Okay, you can look through this too. There''s a pile of papers in front of me. My personal terminal is out of order and I can''t send or receive data, so my mom takes the trouble to print them out and pile them up in front of me. On the other desk, I see Macho doing the same thing, looking at me and smiling. Those muscle groups are enjoying themselves..... And here''s the complaint from the Urban Defense Force. Oh, my God!I forgot to mention that the Department of Homeland Security has requested that we hand over the submarine you came aboard. Well, Mom... I have a mountain of reports from the VR technology department that were stopped during the period when Gong-chan was away, so please take care of them. As for the rest, well.... Oh my God, my mom''s mad at me. She''s so completely angry that I can''t help it. I look away from Mom''s smile, only my eyes aren''t smiling, and I look at Alice in the corner of the room for help, but when our eyes meet, she turns her face away from me with a pui. Even Con, who is being held in my arms, is hiding his face with his tail. The Captain and Mr. Anton, who are standing behind me, are still standing upright and immobile and have turned into statues, so it is useless to ask for help. ''I''m sorry...'' With a word from me, Mom stopped piling up the papers and slowly turned around. ''I can''t hear you, your voice is so quiet, what did you say?'' ''I''m sorry for acting on my own!Please, please help me! Help!You went to Russia on your own and did something dangerous and said you''d take care of it yourself even if your mom stopped you from doing it?And after blowing up another country''s former capital, you commandeer a nuclear submarine that was in secret storage and return home? Yes..... Well, that''s good. If you learn from this, you will never take another step without permission. Do you understand? Yes, sir. Apparently, they finally forgive me. Mom took off her lab coat and sat down in a chair, crossed her legs and stared at the captain behind me. She remained silent for a while, but then suddenly opened her mouth. ''Captain Yuliya, I heard about your meeting with the Russian government through Gongju''s terminal, is it true about the polonium? My name is Captain Yuliya Altamonova, former member of the Russian Federation Navy. My old unit number is... Captain, it''s fine to pretend that you''re under my command since there are no more maritime self-defense forces, please stop provoking your mother. See, your mother is staring at me again with eyes that have completely lost their light.... ''Captain, you can have your mother''s questions answered. Please answer them all. True, it was a top secret. It was never actually used, but if it was, it was up to my unit to operate it. ''''I see..... How did Gong-chan know about such secrets? Now it''s a question, or rather a choke point, for me. How should I answer it?I might as well tell Mom what I told the Captain. But considering the fact that Noah had a spy, it''s possible that he''s bugging this room.... ''I''ve heard rumors that they''re planning to do that. Rumors. Well, good, Gong-chan, you should go now. My sermon is over, so now it''s your turn to be scolded by Alice and the others. Alice and Con looked happy at those words, but I almost felt my heart stop for a moment. I''m going to get this out of the Captain, my mouth is dry from the tension and my tongue almost sticks to my throat, but I sit up so my mom doesn''t find out. When I looked at the Captain''s face as I left the room, he was still expressionless, but I thought his mouth smiled a little bit. If he looks like that, he''ll probably be fine, and I don''t think he''ll say anything related to the secret. ---- Miki Viewpoint---. After I couldn''t hear Gongju leave the room and walk down the hallway, I spoke to the Captain again. ''''There is a section where that boy can see a certain amount of the future. And it''s not just one certain future, but multiple futures that diverge depending on his actions. "Hmm, that''s interesting. ''Yes, but here''s the fun part. That boy seems to be able to see the past........or maybe it''s more accurate to say that he knows. It''s almost as if she''s experiencing something similar... The Captain seemed to be upset for a moment. Apparently, this man knows something about Gongju''s roots. ''I believe Gongju explained to me that we are based in another world. In fact, even in that world, that boy acted like he knew the best solution. Even in another world? ''Yes, sir. Prepare, act, and get results. At first I thought you were a real genius, based on my parent''s favouritism, but this just made me realize what I''m talking about. It''s unusual, why did he escape from the building and then flee in the direction you guys were staking out?How did you know about the polonium rumors?Why are things always going so well for that girl? At my words, the Captain looks down and seems to be thinking about something. I love Gongju with all my heart, and I will help her with whatever she does as long as she doesn''t stray from the path of humanity. But she won''t tell us anything. And that''s what''s so frustrating. When I told the Captain about this, she finally opened her mouth heavily. I have a pact with Arakawa. Therefore, I cannot tell you what he has told me, but I will not deny your speculation. Am I right if I don''t deny it?If they were experiencing a similar world, which world would that be? ''''...What did Arakawa say was the purpose of inter-species warfare in another world?'''' ''What?At least she said she wanted everyone to be able to laugh. ''Suppose, hypothetically, that your guess is correct. In that case, would this world today be a ''world where everyone can live with a smile''? I huff at those words. To change the past all by myself... I''ve been thinking about it based on what I''ve heard from Arakawa and what I''ve heard from you. If he hadn''t acted, would we be able to find the new world?What would have happened if I hadn''t found out? "She''s going to revise history. But he keeps screwing up and starting over... That''s why she will continue to act optimally unless something unexpected happens. The polonium, which is not supposed to be known, must have been experienced by him. Now I can understand the emotionless look he showed me when he was born. How much did he suffer?I wonder how much ''death'' you have to go through to get eyes like that.... 71-Multiracial Alliance Army again ----Shuichi''s point of view... From the watchtower of the Fifth Training Area on G-88, I watch my men training on the ground. The terrain, which is overwhelmingly unfavorable to the attackers, is still making it difficult to coordinate between units. ''B Company!Move on!There''s a C Company stuck up your ass! They grab their radios and shout at Company B, but they are unable to advance as they are under heavy suppressive fire from the enemy in front of them, who are hiding. Company A, which is making a detour attack, is also stranded by a small number of enemy power-suit troops who have come around the flank as well. ''Commander, we have a weather report from the carrier Siren, which is patrolling offshore. A low pressure system is developing, and visibility is rapidly closing in. It''s difficult to dispatch any more landing parties or support the landing... When I checked the weather radar on Ellis''s report, I couldn''t see the landing site anymore. The number of people who were able to land in 4 hours at the start of the operation is about 600 - but it''s still the limit of the landing craft alone. We have no choice but to retreat and bet on the second landing operation. Training is over. Half of the attackers currently on land are assumed to have been killed in the retreat. Tell your units to regroup with that in mind. Yes, sir. When the end of the training was announced over the radio, the blizzard that had been brewing suddenly stopped and the sunshine came in from the sky. As expected of the high-ranking Ursna Empire, it''s unbelievable to us that 200 people can gather together and to some extent change the weather conditions of a fifty kilometer radius. But that''s why we''re able to train for the invasion of the Antarctic Continent. ''''Captain, wouldn''t it be better to adopt the strategy that you used and modified in the past, Gongju-kun? The training is over, so Ellis, who has called out to me as a captain instead of a commander, said that while keeping his face down. It''s true that the plan that Gongju drew up for the polar operations is probably the one with the highest success rate. However, there is only one problem. This is a plan to force a raid by an elite force against the enemy headquarters. It has a high success rate, because it''s a plan to use intercontinental ballistic missiles to penetrate the enemy''s headquarters from outside the atmosphere. But in order to do it, you''d have to ''fly'' it. It''s... The only person who can fly with an external part for flying in a power suit is Koki. We can only float for short periods of time at best, and I don''t know how much training it takes to learn how to fly. And according to Miki, how much experience did Gongju have to gain to master it.... ''''We''ll resume training in two hours. Until then... There was a knock at the door. Who is it?There''s no way we''re going to get visitors to this training ground over 1,800 kilometers from Noah Island. Enter. When I allowed them to enter, two beautiful women entered the room along with Noah''s guards, and I was surprised to see them. ''''Your Highness Adrienne!And even Her Majesty Victoria......... I beg your pardon!I just thought it was your subordinate, so... Don''t mind me. It''s been a long time, Mr. Shuichi. It''s been a long time. They greeted me with a smile, not caring about my disrespect. But what the hell do they want?The treatment of the high-ranking surgeons of the Ursna Empire who are on loan to His Majesty Victoria is treating them as officers. I''m sure they are not working with disrespect to the knights of the Merkava Kingdom who are in charge of a few people as spectator tubes. I was wondering why he came all the way to this place to see me, when His Majesty Victoria opened her mouth. ''The other day, Miki-dono informed me of Noah''s situation. And also about your son, Kouki," she said. Afterwards, the mistresses of the Ursna Empire and the kingdom of Merkava held a secret meeting with Noah. "The subject of our meeting is a volunteer army to be sent to Noah''s side. In other words, we are planning to send a Multicultural Alliance soldier to your world, Mr. Shuichi. It''s a nice offer for the Empire and the Kingdom to jointly send troops to us. However, borrowing their civilization-level troops would not only not work for the New World side, but would only result in their immediate destruction. I know what you''re thinking by looking at your face. You don''t think that our soldiers are of any use, do you? No, that''s not true. But if we''re going to fight in this world, we''re going to have to take the equipment we''re using against us. Yes, I know. If you stand in front of the rifle you use, you will be easily shot down. I''m sure the missiles will crush you if you hide in the basement. If you try a sneak attack, you will only be reappeared in front of your power suits. If you know what you''re doing, why are you trying to send your troops. These two are not the kind of dark men who wear out their own soldiers for nothing. I''m sure they have an idea. ''We won''t fight, instead we will harass you thoroughly. If the enemy is hiding, we''ll change the terrain. If the weather is against us, we''ll change it. If we can''t beat the power suit, we will cast a spell on the human spirit inside it. You may be savages in your eyes, but you can learn from your predecessors. You have defended our empire and our kingdom. Now it''s our turn to help you. And don''t worry about the magic. As long as we fill the jewels that Master Kong creates with magic, we can use magic in your world. I was wrong about these women... or rather the people who live in the G-88 world. I thought they couldn''t compete with our technology forever. But guess what?If the described tactics are taken, they could easily defeat us rather than fight us off, depending on the circumstances. The changes in terrain and environment are nothing short of terrifying. The map and the tactics will be completely different. "I understand. Then I will formally request the Empire and the Kingdom to send a volunteer army. I''ll take care of it. Leave it to him. Also, I forgot to mention that the demons have sent some troops to fight in the frigid waters, and one of them has come forward. What''s that? I have a bad feeling about this. This is so, like this is a harbinger of something terrible that Gongju''s idiot will do. ''''It''s the Kraken tribe. I''m sure he''ll be participating this time, although he didn''t participate in the last war because his main battlefield was on land. What did we say in the last mock trial? Are you talking about the nuclear submarine? ''Oh!That''s right, we defeated that nuclear submarine, Tolstoy," he said. He says the Kraken can''t use torpedoes as a blunt weapon. Tolstoy''s torpedo was a supercavitation torpedo based on the improved Russian-made ZS-115-Gloom, right? What kind of creature is a torpedo approaching at an underwater propulsion speed of 200 knots and more than 370 kilometers per hour - what kind of creature is blunt-footed? 72-Biological weapon ----Miki Viewpoint... Miki-san, it''s time to go. Mr. Ellis whispered in a whisper as he placed his tea on the table. I nod at that and signal with my eyes to the staff waiting at the desk to my right. The words ''Connecting'' appear on the screen in front of me, but it''s only for a few moments, and soon a pale complexioned man appears on the screen. ''Long time no see. President Shumsky.'''' Long time no see. Ms. Arakawa. It had been about a week since Kunugi had returned to the Hakone base, so it would be about a week since he had been there. The president of the Russian Federation, who was as pale as ever, replied in a tired voice. I''m sorry for all the trouble I''ve caused you with Captain Yulia and the submarine you''ve been holding in secret. "No, it''s outrageous. In spite of your son''s incident, we are indebted to you for your generous help in providing us with free satellite Internet access and a diamond mine. The President conveyed his thanks with a troubled look on his face. That''s probably true, because even I tried to pretend that the contract that Gongju had signed with the Russian side didn''t exist because of the failure to protect him. But Gongju himself told me to keep that contract. ''I''ll definitely make a profit!I won''t lose money!'' There must be some reason why he has told the Politburo with certainty that he has been able to do so. I wonder if he''s succeeded in the world we''ve been living in for so long. "By the way, I think today''s meeting will be about... Yes, we have a proposal for an invasion of Antarctica, the home of the New World. Okay. We''re happy to help. Thank you. Now, please take a look at this document. Control the terminal and introduce the reinforcements from the G-88 world. Well, I''ve come up with a ''convincing'' excuse, so it shouldn''t be a problem, right? ''This is ... excuse me, is this image a squid? Yeah, it''s a genetic predator of the squid. Officially known as the G-88 series Type-Kraken. It was developed by Noah''s weapons development department but we''re friendly countries, so let''s not hide anything. It''s a biological weapon developed by my son. This is a weapon? ''Yes. The creature is 185 meters long, or over 200 meters if its tentacles are included. It travels at an estimated speed of 480 knots in the water and its body is covered in a special mucus that makes it impossible to detect sonar and thermal signatures. It is also very docile, as you can see in the other image. As I explain, I display an image of Kunugi playing with the Kraken tribe, or as I recall, the creature we called ''Mu-san''. I was there too, and Mu-san was very friendly, grabbing up Gongju and Shingo-kun with his tentacles and moving at high speed on the water. I would probably throw up if I moved at such a speed. "Next, I''m going to show you the G-88 series Type-Dragon. This is a biological weapon that combines the genes of a dinosaur and a monitor lizard. It is 30 meters long, and part of its body has been mechanized so that it can release plasma fire from its mouth. Incidentally, it can fly and has a maximum speed of Mach 6.7, and is also very docile. With a smirk, I display a picture of Alice and Aikawa-san riding on Rilin-san''s back. As a white dragon, she is a woman full of obedience or depth, but it can''t be helped since she can''t say that she called in creatures from another world as reinforcements. ''''Did you create all of these creatures, Kouki-kun? Yes. The dragons in particular have extremely hard outer skins, so the only way to disable them is to use electromagnetic projectiles with calibers of 200 millimeters or more, or to saturate them with armor-piercing bullets for anti-power suits. You are a monster. This is the same series of biological weapons, Type-Alkeny. This is the land-based biological weapon of the same series, Type-Alkenny. As you may have guessed at first glance, this is a creature that is a cross between a human gene and a spider gene. It''s a top secret, but since it uses my genes, it can speak human language and some Japanese. When the President heard that it was a human gene, he was mortified. But there''s no other way to introduce all of you upper-body female Alkeny people.... Fortunately, it would be rude to say that I am not ashamed to call my genes my own, as all the humanoid parts of the Arkeny tribe are beautiful. If it were true, I would have liked to have had a completely spider-type race like the Queen Alkeny race to come as well, but I''m not good at cold places, so I guess it can''t be helped. ''''Excuse me but........there are other creatures like this?'''' Yes, of course. I''ve used three types of human genes, including a snake, a centipede, a praying mantis and a bear... ''''No more........I''ll check with the document.So what should we do...'''' "I want half of the National Guard assembled in Vladivostok. As soon as they are assembled, the Kraken will land on the beach with mobile containers. After that, they''ll stay off the coast of Vladivostok. "That''s in the territorial waters of my country... No, I understand. We''ll contact you as soon as we''re done. Thank you very much. Now.... I''ll make sure the call is disconnected and have a cup of tea. I''ll have to contact the headmaster of the technical school for what I need to do later. It seems that Mr. Yamamoto, who teaches ethics education, is being nagged by the United Nations for his recklessness. Worst case scenario, if he gets fired, I''ll hire him at Noah..., yeah!I have to make that thing that Kunugi asked me to make, and I wonder if I''ll have time to sleep.... 73-Licoris ----Viewpoint... I''m tired... Con..... In the morning''s joint training with the Multispecies Alliance Army, we somehow managed to clear the hell out of the hell of scraping through the anti-aircraft fire that Noah''s ground troops were seriously firing up, but I was seriously tired. I was languishing in the lounge for generals on Noah''s island with Conn, without eating, when Shingo peeked at me. ''''Huh!'''' Hey, what''s going on?It''s unusual for Shingo to come over here dressed like that. Shingo was wearing a special brigadier general''s uniform that was provided for one reason or another. But this guy wasn''t for fighting, though, this was a rank given to him to get in and out of the institute. ''Yeah, I''m here to see the Type 0 suit!You know, it''s kind of super-secret, so I knew it existed, but I couldn''t see it in person. And since they dropped the classified class today, I figured I''d come take a look. I see. My best friend in front of me is saying some plausible things, but this guy wouldn''t come to G-88 where there''s no internet connection for that reason. Today, Aikawa-san is supposed to be attending a meeting on the G-88 side of the space development strategy, but did he come with that?It''s not..... That''s the reason for this creepy behavior like glancing upwards at me. ''''Shingo, I think Alice and Aikawa-san would be cute, but frankly, that expression is creepy. That''s what it is, right?You want ''Satanakia''. Ew!Oh, yeah, yeah. What language..... But I''m pretty sure they''re going to take the flying unit down. If you want to fly, you''ll have to put the prototype we built before you. And I''m pretty sure they''re going to drop off the fire control unit that you guys loaded on board. With all the armaments we have on board, of course. No matter how much my mom says she''s being nice to me, she wouldn''t give me the 8th generation "Satanakia" with military level equipment. However, I''m not so sure about just a frame, so I''m sure they''ll at least put armor from the 6th generation, which is two generations old. Even that is state-of-the-art equipment considering the balance of the world. Are you sure? Yeah, I have a Type-0 suit. Just come up with a name for your Type 0 suit. ''Why not name it after a demon like Satanakia? I was thinking of naming her after a demon, but since Alice is with me this time, I''d like to name her something else. However, I was at a loss for a good idea. In Russia, for example, the name of a natural phenomenon is named after a mirage, a storm, or a lightning bolt, while in Japan, power suits are named after mountains such as Fuji, Tsurugi, and Hito. By the way, our Noahs are all identified by numbers, which is extremely tasteless. I see. Then what are the names of the Japanese monsters? ''Yamata no Orochi or Kagutsuchi?It''s a nice look, but it doesn''t look good on Alice. And you don''t want to be Con, do you?You''re a girl too. His tail moved lazily to the side as he spoke to Conn, who was dexterously drinking vegetable juice from a straw on the table. Apparently, he doesn''t like this. ''Oh, so what''s your angel''s name?Alice and Conn could be named after angels too, right? ''Maybe!Should we try attacking the goddess type or something? I''m sure they''ll have a bad look at you. I''m afraid they will look at you unfavorably. Con floated the letters with magic and advised me. It''s true that some of the spirit races that were planning to participate in the competition had that kind of lore in their ancestors. ''Speaking of which, what about Alice?Why don''t you ask him about it? "Alice got a call from her mother after her pre-morning training. She''s going to spend the afternoon in the medical wing to see what the device does to her brain. And by the way, you can name it whatever you want. Well, I guess I can''t ask Meg now that she''s working. Meg!Did this guy just say "Megumi" about Aikawa-san?f*ck you!I was too busy to get along with Alice, but this guy is treating her well....... You seem to be getting along pretty well, a**h*le. Speaking of which, what are Shingo and the others up to these days? ''Huh?I think I just heard Gong-Ju cuss out something outrageous right now.... For a while now, Meg has been busy working on the manned platform project to launch the G-88 into orbit. It''s a bit of a stretch on the Earth side, but between you and me, I hear they''re busy planning a birth in space and all that. Hey, that''s... Yes, they''re going to do the same kind of experiments that would be done on the Earth side, but they''ve made a proper agreement with the researcher and his wife. But the researcher and his wife and the researcher''s wife have agreed to be the test subjects, and they also have people who can use healing magic just in case they need it. I''ve been working on the maintenance of the people from Chernobog who were brought here by Koki. ''I see... some of them have mechanized parts of it. Yeah. They''re in violation of the treaty on the Earth side, so they have to do it on our side. There are too many people who want to be free to do all sorts of things because the notion of a treaty is gone, and the last time I was asked to put a chainsaw in my arm, I had a hard time. Those people are also free in a different way than the macho group........ Last time I remember there was a group of people who caused problems within the Merkava Kingdom and were half killed by the captain. When I told Shingo about it, he was afraid to ask me what I had done. A while ago," he said, "there was a swarm of demons at the place where Noah is in charge of security. An urgent fast horse came from the nearby village where they appeared, and the members of Chernobog heard about it and set out on a mission... Huhhi, aren''t you supposed to be on the road? ''That wasn''t a dispatch, they went out in an armoured personnel carrier with a 20mm machine gun!So when I got to the village, I was like, ''Hi!We''re here to help, you mooks, back off!'' I heard that he eradicated the demons while saying, "I don''t know, But I don''t know if that''s too much, but they''re good people. The problem is what happened afterwards. He should have gone home after finishing his work, but he was drinking in a transport truck to a nearby inn town. They didn''t do it for self-defense, but with a heavy combat weapon loaded with live ammunition. There''s a bio-recognition device that prevents anyone other than the registered person from operating a gun, but even then, it''s a big problem. The reason why the recognition system was adopted is because some of the macho troops made a surgeon from the Ursna Empire shoot a gun without permission, I believe. I think that was also a stupid reason to have a beautiful surgeon ask them to shoot a couple of rounds or something like that. Well, but I hear those people are very popular. They can do whatever they want with the materials after hunting demons, but after they cash them in and use them for drinking money, they pack them in a bag and throw them into an orphanage or church. They don''t think they''re aware of it, though... Surely they wouldn''t find out about it on Earth, but this is G-88 and Noah is the only one who uses synthetic fiber backpacks for military purposes. If they had a backpack full of gold and silver coins, much less the copper coins they received from the store as change, they would have known who was doing it. That''s why the captain allowed himself to be killed and entered the brig for five days.... While I was thinking about these shy troopers, I suddenly came up with a good name. "Hey Shingo, how about ''licorice''? Huh?What? It''s a formula 0 name! ''I think it might be a good idea!It''s flashy and beautiful to look at, and I think the sinister image is a good thing for a combat power suit from the enemy''s point of view. What about Kong? Con!Cue! Apparently, Con liked it too. It''s true that I like the look of it, but that''s not the only reason I chose the name licorice. If someone asks me why I chose it, I''ll tell them that in the language of cluster amaryllis, "You''re the only one I think of," and that I chose it for Alice. But the other reason is that higanbana has another flower language, ''reincarnation'' - and I''m sure it''s the same for me. I think this meaning is more appropriate for me. 74-Private army ----Hiroki Arakawa Viewpoint Hey, Arakawa. After leaving Shingo, who had gone to see Aikawa-san''s place, I was walking aimlessly through the base when I was suddenly approached by a voice. When I turned towards the direction of the voice, a woman with a strangely unhappy face was looking at me. I''m sure the woman is a PX clerk selling flowers to Noah''s staff, judging by the large cases of flowers lined up around her. But I don''t have any idea who calls me by my surname, ''Arakawa''.... ''''Um, who are you?'''' Humph, it''s me. It''s Yuliya. Yuliya?Don''t tell me it''s not the Captain, no matter how you look at it, even his body frame is different....... By and large, more than half of that man''s face was mechanized, and even his body made a faint mechanical drive sound every time he moved. But the way he folded his arms in a grumpy manner, he didn''t even resemble the Captain. ''''Is that you, Captain?'''' I''m telling you it is. Well, okay, I''m going to close up shop for the day, so come along for a bit. We need to talk about our plans. As soon as he said that, the Captain began to clean up the store. As it is not such a large store to begin with, the Captain finished cleaning up in no time at all, and after closing the shutters, he put a Russian scarf called a platoon on his head and looked back at me. ''What are you dumbfounded about?'' ''Oh, no.... Why do you run a flower shop? Because you told me to let you live free. Come to think of it, I remember saying something like that. As I recall, when we temporarily handed over Captain and the rest of the Chernobog to the Maritime Self-Defense Force, I said, ''From now on, you''re free to live!'' I said. But I didn''t mean for them to defect to Noah, I just meant for them to go wherever they wanted. These people could have disappeared for the rest of their lives in the chaos. ''So I''m free to live my life. No, I should say ''we''. By the way, being a florist is a profession I admired as a child. ''Okay. So what did you think of trying it? ''It''s pretty good stuff. At least it''s a lot better than getting a shitty job from a bunch of pigs. Now, we can''t stand here and talk for too long, so let''s move on. I hurriedly chase after the captain as he began to walk without waiting for my reply. I followed the Captain, who was walking at a fairly fast pace, at a short run behind him, and we arrived at the newly added living quarters that had recently been added. When we entered, we found the man who had been with us when we escaped from Russia servicing weapons and playing with an apple he had placed on top of his head, throwing a knife. ''This is our own private living quarters. We have our own anti-intelligence equipment, so we can talk freely. Thank you for that. But what''s more secretive than that? Really?I''m sure if you hit it, you''ll find a lot of them. The place where the Captain had stopped was apparently a private room. When I entered the room as prompted, I was surprised to notice that there were surprisingly many small items on the floor. The room was like a prison cell in the image I had in my mind, but.... Most of my men were surprised when they entered my room. But even I have general sensibilities. I don''t like to live in a room like a prison. You just sit here and wait, and I''ll make you some tea. Could it be that the Captain is surprisingly homely?I don''t think the sofa I''m sitting on now is a cheap one either. It''s more like a nice hotel room. As I waited, thinking about such a rude thing, a nice smelling tea was placed in front of me. Drink. Okay, I''ll start by telling you what''s been bothering you. You want to know about my new body, don''t you? Yes, sir. ''This body is a complete machine, not the half-baked biological machine we''ve been used to. They say it was originally intended as a test model for robotics, but I''ve implanted a brain in it. Brain implants, are you kidding me?Because such technology was still in the theoretical stage. ''Captain, isn''t that technology not even Noah''s idea of practical use? Yeah, that''s why I took the test. We have a .006% chance of success. It''s a success. The medical department was happy to see that I was able to advance the study by 30 years. ''What are you thinking......... That''s almost a probability of success, isn''t it? ''Humph, I''ll tell you why in due time. Here''s the thing, Miki invited me to join Noah''s PMC division [TMN]. ''That''s good to hear!It''s an elite unit, for one thing. Probably unlike the army we''ve been in, we''ll be treated accordingly. If it''s Macho''s direct unit, they won''t give you stupid orders to die in vain. And since TMN''s unit is also a UN special forces unit, I think the captains will find it easy to get to know each other. The most important thing you want to talk to me about is probably to introduce me to Claire and the others. Of course, I''d be happy to help you with that, but the only thing I can think of is to have a meal with you and get you to open up. What are you talking about?Of course I said no. We, Chernobog, are now under your command. ..............yes? We have recovered all the remaining troops left behind in various parts of the country in negotiations with the Russians. The Chernobog, formally known as the ''Prototype Artificial Reinforcement Force Sierpc,'' 213 men, will now be yours. I don''t mean... "Tomorrow, Earth-side time, Miki will officially notify the United Nations. Rejoice, even Miki can''t make Noah''s soldiers free due to the council system with the military, but you can do as you please with us, the strongest private army in the world. You''re the strongest private army group, so to speak. .......... Of course, we will be participating in the Antarctic invasion under your command. And now, Herr Commander, I know that we have a treaty with nations and corporations that prohibit them from possessing nuclear weapons. Therefore, we are not part of either, and our possession of tactical nuclear weapons is a violation of the treaty. The Captain says something boisterous, but I pretend not to hear it. I don''t even hear that he wants chemical weapons, which are banned by the treaty, in addition to nuclear weapons. In fact, I don''t even want chernobog. Is it just my imagination that I have a feeling that something is definitely going to go wrong?Or rather, this was the important thing to talk about - or.... 75-War begins ----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint It was ten minutes to midnight on the clock on the wall, and the air was tense in the underground command center at the Hakone base. But it couldn''t be helped; in ten minutes, Noah would be launching his first military operation on official record. The target was the Antarctic and New World Headquarters base. Working with the Russian Federation Army and the Merkava-Ursna Volunteer Force, we will raid this one. Mom has notified the United Nations three days ago of her intention to impose armed sanctions against the New World. And a propaganda broadcast on the Noah channel................ ''Oh, tmo,'' ''You again!Are you cheating? ''Oh?You''re just weak. What the f*ck did you say? Again......... The members of Chernobog''s squad, who have recently learned to play mahjong to pass the time, get into a fight after every game. To be honest, I don''t have the courage to stop their fights, as more than half of them have turned into non-human-looking people due to recent modifications. I mean, don''t they understand that they''ve been sequestered here next door because they were playing mahjong in the operations center?He let out a sigh and called out to the Captain, who was quietly crossing his arms next to him. ''Can''t you do anything about it, Captain?'' Commander, I think it''s necessary to relax. But, well, maybe I''m a little too relaxed... The captain looked at his troopers, who were exchanging blows with each other as if to think for a moment, and then he drew his gun from his holster and retracted the slide, and quietly, without a hint of anger, counted the numbers. ''Five, four, three, two, two...'' When the troops saw the figure, they hurriedly saluted and put away the sparrow table. Well, maybe at 0, the captain was going to shoot them seriously. If it''s them now, at least a pistol bullet would not be fatal unless they get hit in the head. ''Thank you, sir. I suppose I don''t need to ask, but how is the main force ready to go? It''s done. But since we''re participating in the landing operation, it''s up to the navy. Are you sure Noah''s fleet is capable of beating the New World''s submarine force? ''I know it''s going to be a tough fight. It will depend on how hard the Kraken do their best while Noah''s fleet is on the bait. At the start of the operation, Noah''s fleet will enter the sea area that is thought to be the defense line of the new world. At that time, the predicted attack from the enemy submarines will be eliminated with the Kraken, and after seizing control of the sea, a simple transition gate will be deployed for us ground troops to land. "And one more thing........what about the matter we talked about the other day? That''s okay too. [We] are your unit. After we break into the enemy facility, we''ll sabotage Noah by casually spreading false information. But will you really do it? Yes, that''s why it''s an imaginary weapon. But are you sure that''s the price you''re willing to pay for my company? Mm. It''s good enough. The last time I was called into the Captain''s office, I asked him for a favor. He looked unhappy about it, but he promised to cooperate. And in return, the price that was demanded of me as commander of Chernobog was.... Did any of the members of the squad make a good man out of G-88? ''There seems to be a few, but I''d rather be the one to marry. When this battle is over, I will be with Anton. What? He''s a good man. I''d like to have a date with a man I liked. Well, that solved the mystery of why Mr. Anton had risked his life for Captain Yuliya. And maybe if things continue as they are, the Captain will die for sure. He will definitely die. Before the sortie, [I''ll get married after this battle] is synonymous with [I''ll die in this battle]. The flags are all over the place. The question is how to get around it......... ''''Captain, please give strict orders to Anton-san to never leave the Hakone base until the end of the operation. No matter what happens, absolutely. If necessary, I will issue a written order to the commanding officer. In the worst case, you may lock me up in a brig. I understand. But why? I ignore the captain who asks me questions with a curious look on his face and I think about it desperately. At any rate, I think I can avoid a situation where I''ll die defending Mr. Anton, who was caught up in some kind of situation. I mean, normally, Anton-san and the Captain would be the opposite!The hero is the one who dies defending the heroine, so why would the heroine go to the battlefield?Anyway, what''s the cause of the hero getting shot and surviving?There''s a heroine''s prayer to resurrect her or something, but I''m going to dismiss it since Mr. Anton isn''t a resident of the G-88 world.... And then there''s the amulet? ''Captain, Mr. Anton smoked a cigarette, didn''t he?Borrow an oil lighter and put it in your breast pocket. Also, I order you to wear a proper bulletproof suit over it. ''....I see. In the future you''ve repeatedly experienced, I''m now, I''m dreaming of marrying Anton [dying]? No, I''m sorry if I''m misunderstanding you, but I''m not. But right now, that idea is more convenient..... Let''s put on a plausible and serious face here. I''ll make sure it doesn''t happen. So please follow the instructions. Yes, sir. I''m gonna go check on Anton for a few things and be right back. I looked at my watch as I watched the Captain turn on his heel and leave the room, it was twenty seconds before midnight. The main screen in the command center showed the Noah''s fleet sailing at sea. The other screens showed images and radar from the bridge of each ship. On the flagship, along with Macho, the Merkava and Ursna sorcerers were also on board, holding the jewels that Conn had created that were filled with magical power. Don''t worry, I''m sure things will go smoothly and on schedule. When I took a deep breath once and looked up again, the clock showed midnight. 76-Combined fleet ----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View It''s time. Lewis, who had been staring at the hands of the clock, announced in a quiet voice. Claire, who was the original second-in-command, went to Kouki''s place, and Ellis, who is in charge of information, is serving as Miki''s second-in-command, so these days, Lewis is exclusively next to her. It''s a good thing that we''ve known each other for quite some time. When was the first time we worked together on a mission.... I grab the microphone for the ship''s internal broadcast while vaguely thinking about such trivial matters. "As of this hour, we are entering the enemy''s defense line, and we look forward to the efforts of all personnel. I tell him one word and then turn the microphone back on and light a cigarette. If it was Ellis next to me, I would have said, ''Is that all?'' even if I was sarcastic, but Lewis is looking straight out of the bridge without saying a word. As I stared at the back of it, I could feel the ship I was on rapidly increase its speed through the vibration. In the original outline of the operation, the flagship of the four-nation coalition navy consisting of Noah, Russia, Merkava and Ursna was scheduled to use the Russian Navy''s ''Pyotr-class nuclear missile cruiser''. However, with Conn''s help, the Merkava-Ursna and Merkava-Ursna magicians from both countries were able to use enough magic in their own world, and as a result, the flagship was to be the "Mermaid," a modified iceberg-type battleship carrier. This ship is able to withstand missiles and laser attacks that the technical department has warned us the enemy is likely to possess. And most importantly.... "Propulsion is a squid... ''Captain, Miki is going to be mad at you again. They''re not squid, they''re Kraken. It''s only because of their cooperation that we can do 80 knots with this huge body. I know. The Mermaid is nearly 700 meters long and can reach speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour, thanks to them. But don''t you feel uneasy when you don''t hear the engines or anything like this? ''Well, I can see that. The quietness of it makes it possible to neutralize torpedoes from enemy submarines, except by wired methods. Thank goodness. If you''re wired that way, if they find you approaching, they''ll catch you with their tentacles and eat you instead of a snack... Yeah, to be honest, I really didn''t want to make an enemy of you. I was surprised that the Kraken wanted to buy the torpedoes as a luxury item after the live-fire exercise on G-88. From Miki''s point of view, it would have been hard to stop laughing because in exchange for the torpedoes, he was able to get an enormous amount of rare metals from the G-88''s seabed. ''''We''ve just received word from the ship carrying the transference gate. We''ve started shifting the Dragon Race, and the shifting dragons will be flying patrols over the fleet. At the same time the operator on the bridge informed them, a magic circle floated over the ship advancing on the port side and five dragons flew out of it. So far, there are no effective weapons to shoot down the flying higher level dragons. The only exception to this is by pulling out an idiot who, just for fun, conducted a dock fight with a power suit with a flying unit attached to it, hitting the dragon in the face with a pile bunker and knocking it out. That only worked because it was just for fun, but if it was a serious dragon, it would fly around at nearly Mach 5 and shoot plasmaized flames that could melt the armor of the power suit. ''''Lewis, how can a dragon be incapacitated?'''' Didn''t you shoot it down in the last exercise? ''Fool, that was just a game of tag. It''s just a case of a seriously hostile dragon. Well..... The anti-aircraft guns we''re developing now that take advantage of our imaginary weapons... "Torpedoes are running! Oh, shit, a stationary torpedo!I looked at Louis and waited for the operator to give me the next piece of information. ...running noise, they''ve stopped. Apparently, they preyed on your favorite torpedoes. But why did they head out with two of them?Originally, we were going to use one to deal with the torpedoes. I''ll have the Ursna surgeon contact the Kraken or, I believe, 18 and 3. ''We''ve got a submarine screw sound!They seem to be leaving quickly!Kraken number three is in pursuit. Oh, no.......right? What''s going on? The estimated travel speed of the third Kraken is over 240 knots! Four hundred kilos? It''s true that the Gloom torpedoes are called blunt-legged, so it''s not surprising that they could have that kind of speed if they were serious.... Even during the exercises, the maximum speed should have been 210 knots. Even so, 240 knots is too fast. "Shuichi-sama, Kraken has informed me that the sea around here is cold and light, so you can swim fast. As I pondered the reason for the increased speed, the Ursna surgeon spoke to me. ''I understand that you are cold, but what do you mean by "light"?'' ''''Yes. I think it''s probably about the concentration of magic power. In this world, there is very little magic power, so the magic power of nature does not interfere with your own magic power. ''I see, it''s the same as having no friction...'' It appears that the enemy submarine''s destruction was detected and only the screw shaft was destroyed as planned. Okay, that''s one ship stuck for starters. The Kraken did a good job, it''s easier to sink a ship than to sink it, but disabling it with it''s communications function disabled will leave it terrified and confused, not knowing what''s going on. And you can''t even imagine getting your screw shaft snapped off by a giant squid. Kraken 18 also captured an enemy submarine and appears to have broken the screw shaft. ''Good, good, good!If we can clear the submarines in this area... Anti-aircraft radar is responding, high speed airborne craft approaching the fleet. It appears to be a cruise missile! How many? Thirty! Air defense ready!The Dragon People are here to intercept. After attacking from under the sea, the next step is to attack from the air? To say it''s a theoretically sound method of attack is an understatement, but would an opponent who is so much of a genius that Miki and Kouki would take such a method of attack?This is like a drill from the book. Dragon, we are about to reach our intercept position. Captain, there''s something wrong. It''s just a drill. Louis seems to be on the same page as me. But that doesn''t mean we can''t make other moves, and we can''t change the operation itself. The main unit is already waiting in front of the transference gate at the Hakone base to land. ''Cruise missiles reaccelerating!The Dragon Squad has broken through!They''re gaining more altitude, and they''ll be over the fleet in 60 seconds. "Each ship, as soon as your missiles are in range, begin firing. A two-stage accelerated cruise missile. Well, the explosives it carries are probably small, so as long as it doesn''t hit a fatal spot, it won''t cause any problems. I''d rather be on the lookout for submarine attacks aimed at disrupting the impact, let''s tell the operators. ''In the meantime, tell each ship to be on the lookout for another attack from an enemy submarine. Yes, sir. Thirty seconds to cruise missile arrival!We''ve got a missile that''s split!Numerous small objects are falling from high altitude. The number is unmeasurable! Cluster munitions?On a ship?I don''t care if it''s 100 years old or not, you can''t bombard a current military vessel with cluster munitions. What the hell do you think you''re trying to do? Three, two, one, now! It wasn''t a cluster bullet that fell at the same time as the operator''s count, it was this.... "We''ve received word from Aram, Miroslav and Onisim that their detection systems have been disabled, and the same word from Kalinin. Our ship''s detection system is out of commission! ''It''s just a jamming bullet. Switch the submarine detection system to audible and reboot the anti-aircraft radar as well. We''ve already anticipated this, we''re expecting an EMP attack, we can handle this much. It''s more than that... Sir, I''m picking up a submarine screw. Number unknown. Mr. Shuichi, Kraken is on the line. I can''t see them, but they''ve seen the submarine wake. There are more than forty of them, but they are all leaving the fleet. What do we do now? Are you withdrawing from the idea of moving away?More importantly, the fact that you can''t see them seems to indicate that they are using stealth camouflage. But the mole in the cell.... "Please tell the Kraken not to pursue them. For the time being, maintain the status quo, and if the other party retreats, then you can keep it. Lewis, I need to get in touch with Miki at Hakone Base. I understand. Yes, sir. At least if there''s no damage to the fleet, it''s not a problem right now. But I can''t even consider what they''re thinking. The right thing to do here would be to get advice from Miki and Kouki.... 77-Sandra Zelenskaya ----Sandra Czerenskaya Viewpoint... On the screen in front of me, I can see images from the small camera that was mixed in with the jamming rounds I just dropped. Noah''s side hadn''t expected them to throw in a flying creature like that. Probably the reason why the early warning submarine deployed on the absolute defense line was sunk was because of the use of a similar creature. "What the hell was that creature? Darya, who had been looking anxious ever since the battle began, murmured as if to herself. ''Dragons ..., imaginary creatures from old myths. Well, they exist right in front of me now.'''' You think Noah developed this? What do you think?I don''t think Miki, who pretends to be a pacifist, is going to play with life. Most likely it''s Koki, but from the reports from the infiltrating ''stalker'', he''s supposed to be friendly to non-human creatures. If that''s the case.......then that thing was there all along. What do you mean? ''Parallel universes, other worlds, alternate universes, all sorts of things to call them, but I think we brought them from a different place than where we exist. You were working on the Arakawa particle not long ago, weren''t you?I thought we just succeeded in transferring to another world, but it makes more sense to think that we''ve reached a level where we can come and go at will. For now, we''ll give up the naval battle and hit the landing force with all our forces. Yes, sir. To be honest, it''s a bit of a bad idea. With our advantage lost, we may not be able to win the Antarctic Fortress alone, though we won''t lose. If we cause more damage than we can tolerate, our future plans will be in jeopardy. Better yet, use a weapon of mass destruction... No, it''s not. If we use them as it is, we will lose our leverage on the United States. How about we cut off the troops we have on loan from the European Union? The EU will complain, but they need me to buy the drugs anyway, so I can''t push back. The most important thing is that I have to protect the people who are with me. ''Darya, I need all the senior staff on the ground to be housed. And I''m sorry to change my instructions, but the EU and the mercenaries will be enough to hit the landing force. As soon as the defending forces on the ground are out of combat, we''ll throw in some biological weapons too. I understand. And our man on this side of the border in the United States, well, what did the army lieutenant general say?Oh yes, that was Oliver. I need to get in touch with Lieutenant General Oliver. Yes, sir. Seriously, since I''m giving you that much money, you should be at least a little useful. As I was sitting on a chair and lighting a cigarette, a grumpy-looking Lieutenant General Oliver appeared on the terminal at hand. ''What are your requirements?Even though the line is encrypted, if they know I''m in contact with you, that''s a big deal. It''s been a while. How have you been? "Didn''t you hear me?What are your requirements? Well, you''re impatient. The requirements are controlled by your engineering department, and I''d like to borrow your attack satellite, The Peacemaker. What? ''Didn''t you hear that?I''m asking you to lend me your ''Peacemaker''. The lieutenant general is red in the face, peeling his eyes. This is why I hate military people. The next words are ''What are you thinking!'' anyway. But he would yell at them. ''What are you thinking?!'' Victory. What else can I think about in the present situation?Or are you so lowly that you can''t act without putting every thought out of your mouth? "You''re saying that your words are... I know. Look, General, if we lose here, your relationship with me becomes public knowledge. You wouldn''t want that to happen, would you?That''s why I''m asking for your help to ensure a complete victory. We''re not asking you to activate the satellite with the Lieutenant General''s code. I''m just asking you not to enter the emergency stop code for a few minutes between activation and attack because we''re going to hack it from our side. "You''re right, that could work. But you see... Thank you for your cooperation. If an emergency stop code is entered during use, we will release this conversation to the world. So long. "Wait a minute!Doctor!"Ha... She nodded to the staff member who was looking at us after cutting off the goofy and noisy communication and she began hacking into the satellite. The Peacemaker, an attack satellite that uses rocket engines to launch a five-ton uranium spear at targets on Earth, should be able to inflict lethal damage on that insanely large ship, which is believed to be the flagship of Noah''s fleet. However, by my calculations, the Peacemaker isn''t as powerful as the United States touts, but it can still handle at least one ship. Code analysis complete. Target is Noah''s flagship. Target is the Noah''s flagship. Fire immediately upon target acquisition. Roger that. ...and we''re going to fire. After all, it''s best to keep the conversation lean, and I hope Lieutenant General Oliver follows her example. Now, how much damage can we do?It would be nice to get wrecked, though. Time to land in three, two, one, now. The moment the bullet landed, I was speechless.... It was as if a thin purple dome had been formed to cover the flagship, and it prevented the attack from the Peacemaker intact. ''A high-powered energy barrier!Are you kidding me?It''s a lump of uranium hitting us at 12,000 kilometers, Mach 9.5!How much energy did you use?Hurry up and launch the next round, you can''t use that thing twice. Copy that. We''re firing. He leaned forward and stared at the screen. I''m not kidding, I didn''t even expect to be able to use a high-powered energy barrier like that. How the hell does Noah''s technology work if he''s already deployed something like that in actual combat? Time to impact in three, two, one, now. In the meantime, all external links to the satellite have been shut down. There will be no further satellite attacks. ''........Oh no, you''re lying, it''s unfolding again! The scene on the screen is the same as before. It''s useless to attack anymore, we''ll have to find another way now that the line is cut off.... But still, what kind of magic can you use to gain that much energy output? If you eliminate common sense, the most likely possibility is otherworldly matter?We should have our reconnaissance satellites scanning the perimeter of Noah''s fleet. If the instrument fails, I should be right. But it''s interesting, the blending of magic and science. But you''re not the only ones who''ve used unobserved materials. 78-Fleeting chat Miki, your perspective... I didn''t expect you to use the Peacemaker. The Peacemaker is a fully functioning offensive satellite - the pride of the United States of America''s defense strategy satellite - but in reality, it''s a complete attack satellite. Perhaps they were hacked out of control, but the fact that they fired two shots in quick succession suggests that someone in the United States has been working with them to gain launch control. It was probably a technical lieutenant-general in the army who had been challenging us in the past. I''m going to have to poke around the US government at a later date. But even so, the Ursna Empire''s defense system was also at a laughable level. I didn''t think that they would be able to protect their ship unharmed from a direct hit from the Peacemaker, I shudder to think that if we had been in an all-out war with the Ursna Empire at that time. I shuddered and Ellis-san, who was equally pale as I shuddered, opened her mouth as she checked her terminal. ''''The Ursna surgeon has contacted me. He has begun to rebuild the activated lily shield, and since it is currently filling up with magic power, it will take about 30 minutes to reuse it. We''re lucky that it only took two attacks from the Peacemaker. ''''The Peacemaker''s control seems to have been restored to normal, so if we can use that defensive system again in just half an hour, it''s not a problem. ........And even so, I knew that the programmed calculations showed that destroying the lily shield was impossible with the weapons we have on Earth, but I didn''t think it would go this far. ''I agree. It''s no wonder that the medium used to deploy the technique is considered a national treasure. Even though the situation in the G-88 world is stable, I can''t help but bow to Her Majesty Victoria for lending her flagship a shield of lilies, the cornerstone of its defense, to carry. The screen in front of me shows the Noah''s fleet that has recovered from the jamming attack. There doesn''t seem to be any damage that draws your attention, and it continues to sail with ease, forming a circular formation around the flagship Mermaid as usual. As I was watching the situation, I received a communication from Shuichi who seemed unusually impatient. ''''Can you hear me?A jamming attack has temporarily paralyzed communications. While we were recovering, we heard a horrible sound, but what the hell happened?Are you assessing the situation there? Of course. Almost as soon as the jamming rounds landed, the US Peacemaker was hacked and taken over. It looks like a spear made of uranium, ejected from the Peacemaker, rammed into the Mermaid at an estimated speed of 12,000 kilometers. But thanks to the activation of the Ursna Empire''s pride of land defense magic, the Lilies'' Shield, it seems to be unharmed. In the meantime, I''ll send the information from here to your main terminal. I stifled a laugh at the back of my throat while answering Shuichi''s question. I wonder which is the real ''defense'', the ''Peacemaker'' that the United States of America announced to the world a few years ago as part of its homeland defense strategy - the ''Peacemaker'' - or the Ursna Empire''s homeland defense magic, the ''Lily Shield'' - I wonder which is the real ''defense''? It''s not a good idea. By the way, what do you think we should do in the future?We believe that the submarine force''s withdrawal is a trap, but at the same time, it''s also an opportunity. We want to continue our assault on the ice shelf connected to the Antarctic base and secure the bridgehead. They won''t be able to use an attack satellite like that near their base, either.'''' ''I''ll leave the operation to you. This is not a normal military operation since we''re using the Transference Gate, and in extreme cases, the main force can be preserved intact until the gate is opened, no matter what happens. We can handle a certain amount of change in strategy, so do what the Military Department thinks is best. Then we''ll continue our assault on the ice shelf as planned. However, there are strange movements in the vicinity of the enemy''s Antarctic base. If we fail to secure Hashitouho, we will abort the mission and retreat to the attack point. After announcing this, Shuichi-san saluted and disappeared from the screen and Noah''s fleet was shown again. He sipped his tea, which had cooled and blown off its aroma, before asking Ellis-san a question. ''Is the main fleet ready?'' The first landing force is already in front of the gate. After the 1st Landing Force secures the bridgehead, the Merkava and Ursna troops, escorted by TMN''s direct units and Russian state maintenance troops, will be the main force, followed by the Merkava and Ursna troops, including Conju and Chernobog. This unit also includes Gongju-kun and Chernobog. In addition, a second reserve force is ready to be deployed at any time. How are Alice and Kon doing? We''re waiting for him inside the Type-0 suit. From the vitals I can see she''s asleep. It''s understandable. We''re both exhausted from the final adjustments and the subsequent tests, so we''d better let them sleep it off until the last minute. I really don''t want to let them go, but for some reason, the three of us, including Gongju, insisted on going to Antarctica and asking Dr. Sandra about something. She said she would definitely tell us the reason why when she returned, but I wonder if she will also tell us the secrets she is hiding.Well, let''s not expect much there, shall we? You can let Alice and the others sleep. The question is... That''s what''s going on with you and Chernobog? Yeah, what have we got? ''Nothing is clear. We have our own security system in place at the Chernobog compound. In addition, all the information terminals are physically blocked off from the outside world and cannot be accessed from the outside. In addition, the Chernobog side has never been able to penetrate into the dormitories as they have always been detected. They work in shifts and are on full alert for any intrusion from the outside. I hurriedly held back a sigh that almost escaped me at Ellis-san''s report. She''s doing a great job. Shuichi-san has also allocated personnel who have experience in special operations missions in the United Nations military to help us, but no matter how we try, we still haven''t been able to break through the security of the Chernobog side. Of course, we can be bullish about the possibility of hostility. However, Captain Yulia provided her own brain-burdened Alice''s brain as a test subject for the extremely dangerous experiment of "transplanting a whole brain", the purpose of which was to collect medical data, with a 0.006 percent chance of success. In addition, in the G-88 world, he has also taken the initiative in searching dangerous areas and dispatching people in case of emergencies. In other words, what is he doing with Gongju inside the quarters?They are extremely friendly and trustworthy troops, except that they are "I don''t blame them. But still, what are they going to do with the prototype we seized? Excuse me, sir, but what are the prototypes you seized? Didn''t you receive the information we sent to the Military Department?I''m talking about the X-55 testing machine developed by the engineering department. Ellis-san has a strange look on her face at my words. It''s not just that she''s seconded to me, a member of the Supreme Executive Branch, but her original affiliation is with the Military Division. That''s why I thought that when you send information to the Military Division, it is automatically sent to her as well, but is that not the case? ''I''m sorry, sir. Well, I believe the captain has briefed you on the military department''s wartime regulations.... From Shuichi?Come to think of it, when was the last time I had a conversation with that person, other than the communication we had earlier? I think he was there about a week ago when I had dinner with the members of Kouki and Alice, including Kon-chan, about a week ago.... No, I don''t think he was there..... ''According to the military department''s regulations, at the same time as the transition to a wartime regime, personnel seconded to each department will not report any information above Class 2 in order to prevent security breaches. Perhaps that prototype is designated as Class 2 or higher. Ellis-san, who read my troubled expression, casually tells me the wartime regulations. Come to think of it, I think I was told something like that, but I didn''t expect it to be applied to Ellis-san, who has been seconded to the Executive Office. This is a complete lack of confirmation on my part. It''s good that I realized this before it became irreversible. ''I believe the X-55 was indeed classified as Class 2 or higher. I wasn''t sure. So what do you know about the X-55? No, I don''t know. This looks like one of the newer models developed by the engineering department. It''s a high-altitude stealth test plane. It''s a high-altitude stealth test aircraft, capable of flying above the Kerman Line. By the way, since Mr. Ellis''s last name is Dauntless, I wonder if he was originally from the Air Force?She and other members of the TMN''s direct service force, whose records have been expunged prior to joining the UN forces, are not available to me to judge. ''I''m sorry. I''m from the Army Intelligence Corps, so I don''t know much about the air. ''No problem. ''The way I explain it is that normal aircraft fly in what''s called the troposphere, from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand meters in altitude. The upper limit of altitude for the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that Mr. Ellis had flown in was, at most, a little over twenty-five thousand meters. Above that, in a 50,000 meter zone is called the stratosphere, have you ever heard of the stratosphere? Yes, sir. Above that, within an altitude of 85,000 meters, is what we call the mesosphere. The Carman Line is the line of 100,000 meters above that, which is 100 kilometers from the ground. ...Well, does that mean outer space? Well, it depends on how you define it, but from the Kerman Line up, it''s definitely outer space. And the X-55 is a stealth aircraft that will fly at an altitude of 130,000 meters, using rocket engines at speeds of up to 10,000 kilometers per hour, over Mach 8. Is it undetectable to reconnaissance satellites and space debris radar? It''s a stealthy aircraft, so debris radar can''t detect it. It''s nearly impossible to detect, due to the optical camouflage it has deployed, even from a satellite. There is only one major drawback. I stopped at the bottom to remember the fact that there''s an explanation for a production that would normally be fun. Yes that thing has a tremendous flaw......... I don''t know why Ellis-san, who saw my face as if I had bitten down on a bitter worm, turned blue and asked me a question. ''''Could it be that the crew has been fatally damaged beyond recovery? ''What?No, it''s not!I don''t make such a defective plane. The problem is that the aircraft is too special to be fitted with landing gear, which means that once it takes off, you have to eject the crew mid-flight and crash them when they run out of fuel. And the X-55 is very, very expensive!To put it simply, it''s about the same price as the full-featured 8th generation power suit that Gongju was using and a dozen of them. Well, if we mass-produce it, the cost will come down, but since there was no other use for it other than to collect experimental data, we only made one machine. That''s right......... As a result of the relentless efforts to enhance its performance, the X-55 became a disposable stealth aircraft so expensive that it was worth 12 times more than the Satanakia, which was dedicated to Gongju and accounted for about 3 percent of Noah''s annual budget. "Dozen?Darth!I''m glad the finance department gave you the green light. "With the exception of the military department''s personnel, we are basically researchers who have risen to the rank of researchers, so we''re willing to spare no expense in our quest for new things.... However, because of the rush to complete the refurbished Alice model amphibious battleship, which was almost a rebuild of the Alice model land battleship, the engineering department''s budget is tight, not just this year, but until the year after next. That''s when Kouki handed over Noah''s satellite network broadcasting rights to the Russians for free, and he also refused the diamond mining rights offered by them. Honestly, if the New Metal Development Department hadn''t been transferred from the Next Generation Science Institute, we would have been in a big trouble. And what bothers me even more is that its metal development department is apparently cooperating quite well with Gongju and Chernobog. Some of the Chernobog crew is already using bodies made of the new hard metal. As a matter of fact, every department is desperate to compete for surplus items to be converted into cash, but Gongju''s place has been given priority for surplus items. Isn''t it rather a regular production item in the name of surplus?But the products for sale seem to have been delivered on time, and there has been no deterioration in quality, nor has there been any dressing down of the purchased materials. I''m not sure where she gets the materials for the so-called surplus goods she is holding in her hands from.... Perhaps it was in her voice that she was thinking about such a mysterious alchemy method that Gongju and the others were using, but Ellis-san opened her mouth while holding out a new cup of tea. ''''This is a rumor, but I''ve heard that the dragon race is acting strangely in the G-88 world. Acting strangely? A large flying object has been detected on a simple anti-aircraft radar in the Merkava Empire. As there were no dragons or aircraft flying in the vicinity on the schedule, a demon alert was issued and a scramble plane from the nearby air base was sent to intercept them. However, when they arrived in the airspace, they found a group of dragons were transporting a container with the markings and codes of Noah on it. We were told that the pilot of the interceptor had visually checked the code and then returned to the base. ''Actions not on the schedule......... It may depend on the weather, but by the way, which department is using the code you described? Don''t tell me it''s the metals development department? ''That''s the medical department''s container that was delayed in transit due to bad weather, they said. And one other thing, and this one I''ve also checked, do you remember the Linkdoble Empire? Yeah, that dumbass Dorne was about to take over the country. ''''Yes. In that port of the Linkdoble Empire, a Noah''s C-type transport ship was full of large containers and was at anchor for about two days. I''ve checked it out because it was not on a normal transport route, but there was a demon alarm and it was evacuated. Incidentally, that alarm was a false alarm. What''s the container''s code? The goods requested by the G-88 World Political Affairs Department for the needy, including food and medicine, are uneventful. There are no problems with the contents, such as food, medicine, etc. The number of containers transported is 32, and the requested amount has been delivered on time. However, a C-type transport ship should be able to hold 35 containers if it is fully loaded. "So, you''re saying that you loaded three additional containers while docked at the port of Linkdoble, and when they arrived, those containers disappeared somewhere? ''It would. However, the captain said that when they were loaded onto the ship, they were loaded differently than usual because of the unbalanced nature of the thirty-two pieces, and that''s why they looked fully loaded. There''s certainly nothing wrong with each one of them, delays in transportation and evacuations due to false alarms are a common occurrence in G-88. And since both the Medical Department and the Political Department, which have their headquarters in G-88, have completely separate budgets, there''s no point in cooperating with the Metal Development Department. But this is a strange feeling... It kept haunting me until Ellis-san informed me that the fleet had arrived at the ice shelf. 79-To the South Pole You''re not the only one. ''''Gong, your fathers have arrived at the ice shelf. Get ready for the real battle to begin. Yes, sir. I tucked the book I had been reading over and over again, "What If Mom Made the Zombie Virus - Part 1" into the pocket on my reinforced hull, answering Mom''s voice from my personal terminal on my arm. I made this book myself a long time ago, but this time I have printed it out and distributed it to all the members of Chernobog, just in case of an emergency. Of course, it''s best not to use the knowledge in this book, but you''d better be wary of Dr. Sandra, who is a real genius and has the same thought process as your mother. ''''Do you really think, Lord Commander, that there will be a monster like the one described in Solet?'''' ''Yes. It''s doubtful that they''ll actually use it, but the zombies they''ve been manufacturing might escape in the aftermath of the attack. And the enemy''s Antarctic base is supposedly a combination of our Hakone base and the G-88 base. I think we should take precautions. When I answered the question from Yoshif, who leads the heavy weapons squad, with some exaggeration, Yoshif, with a mysterious look on his face, took out the large shotgun he was carrying on his back and double-checked that it was firmly loaded. I thought about preparing my own personal firearm, but I decided against it because the moment my Type-0 suit was shot down in the first place, I was dead in the water. No matter how I tried to fight in the flesh, if it''s impossible, it''s impossible...so let''s just give up gracefully and wait for rescue. The Captain is...........just in time. I was worried about the Captain, who had gone to Mr. Anton''s place and hadn''t come back in time, along with the skinhead, when the Captain, firmly dressed in his reinforced exoskeleton, comes into the room. ''Sorry I''m late,'' ''No, it''s no problem. I just got a call from my mom. Dad and the others have just arrived at the ice shelf and the battle is about to begin. We will now suit up and wait at the gate and wait for the simple gate to deploy over there. Yes, sir. Now, let''s follow the procedure. Please. While the Captain led the Chernobog folks to put on their own suits, I walked alone down another corridor to the maintenance area where a dedicated Type 0 suit was waiting for me. In the meantime, I activated my terminal and called Claire-san, who responded with a subtly unhappy look on her face. ''''........Yes.'''' Um..., why are you angry? ''Can''t you see it when you put your hand on your chest?You''re probably planning to proceed on your own without me again!Didn''t I promise you that the last time I went to Russia to pick you up?I''m not going to shut up and act like a jerk again.'' ''You''re wrong!I didn''t do anything without telling Claire. I mean, I explained to you beforehand the procedure for attacking the base, didn''t I?Claire-san is in the X-55, waiting in the air. That''s why I went out of my way to get Major Martin, who was Odin''s captain, to be assigned over here. "I''m aware of that, but still... Claire is silent. Even if it''s too familiar to not trust me, I''ve really told her the whole plan for this one time. I mean, is that what it is?As I recall, the serious Mr. Clare and the subtly unserious Air Force people at Major Martin''s place didn''t get along. But as expected, they had to be patient and get along for once, or we might die. No, the people in Chernobog are going to survive with room to spare, but I''m going to die. ''I repeat, Claire-san, I''m not hiding anything from you. And what I''ve asked Claire to do is really important. "Yes, sir. I''ll trust you, so please be safe. Of course. I''ll see you later.......and I almost forgot. Please take off when you''re ready. I was at the waiting area by the time I cut off Claire''s transmission after hastily adding the X-55''s take-off clearance. The Type 0 suit waiting for my arrival in a kneeling position is a two-seater, and if you include Conn, it''s a three-seater, so it''s twice as big as a normal suit. However, the extra fuel and power supply equipment is originally needed for that amount of fuel, but this time the Kon is the alternative to fuel, so the mobility of the weight is not compromised. "I think it''s more efficient to keep the Kong on board rather than wasting it on a science fictional anti-matter reactor or something. Umu.... Cu..... Muttering to myself, I walked inside the suit and woke up to find Alice and Conn, who must have been asleep. I can''t make out Alice''s expression in her full-face helmet, but she probably looks vaguely post-nap like I''ve seen her before. Con scratches her face dexterously with her tail and then yawns loudly. You should be a little more embarrassed than to claim to be a girl yourself.... ''Alice, are you awake?'' Ummm, yeah. I''m fine. What about Kong? CON! All right, I''ll stand by at the gate now. Alice, I want you to fully activate your suit. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make it work. It seems that Alice is lowering the burden on the brain that actually processes information to the extreme by making the brain think it is operating a keyboard. He said ''I like it because it''s cool and tickles my fancy,'' but that''s called a chuunibunya, Alice. Then checking for operating system updates. Partially approving Gongju''s EEG control........ All fire control systems and communication systems handled by me. Requesting data link to satellite........., error. Requesting datalink from spare circuit error, hacking circuit 25 successful connection. Wait!I just heard some really disturbing words? Requesting permission to use all armaments you are cleared. Terminate engine power limiters and fully activate Type 0 suits. When I moved the activated suit and stood up, I felt as if I had stood up by myself. That''s how comfortable this Type 0 feels to operate. Rather than operating it, it''s more of an image of me becoming the same size as the suit. When I was thinking about the fact that we''ve switched to full brainwave control, Alice gave me some additional information as she held a pack of orange juice in her mouth. I''m not going to be able to tell you what to do," she says, "but I''m only allowing you to move and fly, and that''s what I''m allowing you to control. Basically, I control the communications and fire control systems and such, but what about the attitude control assist and shooting control? I just want the firing controls. You don''t want me to move like that when Alice fires. Yes. Well, yes. Now I gave it to you. Thank you. Now let''s go to the gate. The machos will be working hard to set up a simple gate by now, and there are people from the Ursna Empire, so it won''t take much time. I decided to hurry to the gate while listening to the choo-choo sound of Alice drinking packaged juice. Yuliya Viewpoint. Captain, we''re all concerned. Do you really think that the monster will appear as Arakawa predicted? As I was putting on my suit, one of my men asked me a question with a serious look on his face. ''You mean that zombie or some other monster?Hmm, I would have laughed it off originally, but that guy knew that there would be ghouls in G-88 as well. You''d better be prepared for a similar creature to come out this time, too. Okay. But it''s a crisis management procedure to prepare for a mass outbreak of an infectious biological weapon in a completely closed environment? This is, for all intents and purposes, an Antarctic base, isn''t it? Instead of answering, I light a cigarette with the oil lighter I got from Anton. Well, I guess so. The title is a joke of a name, but the response procedure is so sophisticated that it would take dozens or hundreds of attempts to write it. In particular, the fact that he described in great detail the unforeseen circumstances that might have crept into the tiny gaps in our consciousness that we would normally not have a problem with, is an honest point of praise. ''''It''s going to be a tough fight...'''' Yes. That''s why you put Commander Claire on airborne, just in case, right? Well. At worst, I''m going to have them ram an X-55 filled with explosives into the Antarctic base. In theory, it''s more powerful than the Peacemaker, but Arakawa doesn''t like it. I''ve heard that Dr. Sandra has some questions for you. That''s another thing I don''t expect you to give me a straight answer. "How to get back to the world you came from or not. I''m sure he''s already figured that out. It''s probably something to do with that girl you''ve fallen in love with so much. Alice Alford. -Sandra''s a b*tc*!If you''re going to mess around with it, why would you create an artificial life form when you could at least leave it to the soldiers? You can''t kill me?At least until Arakawa finishes asking questions. And if you''re going to deal with it, turn it off where Alice isn''t looking. That girl is too kind. When we met Alice Alford at the Hakone base, that girl did not frighten us......... She wasn''t even surprised like Arakawa was......... She just bowed her head and thanked us, ''Thank you for rescuing me, Conju-kun''............. And then the next words came out as he touched my metal reinforced face with his finger and asked, ''Doesn''t it hurt? It was. I told him there was no need to worry about such things, and that every Chernobog soldier has had some pain since he became a reinforced soldier, but he misunderstood what I was saying and brought me painkillers. There was no way such a pill would work on us. ''Yes, I know. She''s too kind. Yoshif, who was standing beside me at some point, replies while holding back a laugh. Perhaps this guy is also remembering that time. At that time I thought that Alice''s behavior was beautiful, smiling gently at us, offering us medicine that most people would only find repulsive. For some reason it seemed to come easily to us, even though it would have been a spiteful sentiment when we were in the military. ''Yes, so we will protect her. Definitely a top priority. Arakawa fights with us, but Alice Alford does not. Don''t forget that. Yes, sir!Well, speaking of rumors, here''s Arakawa. I looked out of Iosif''s line of sight and saw that the Type 0 suit had just arrived in front of the gate. I also fumbled with my foot for a cigarette before putting the suit on completely and connecting it to the data link in the unit. I was wondering why I was connected to the satellite on a different line than normal when, as I remembered, Yoshif opened his mouth. ''Speaking of which, what happened to Anton? Yeah?Yeah, I let him sleep and then I tied him to the bed. What? ''So I put him to sleep with an anesthetic and then tied him to the bed. For the time being ... well, I don''t think he''ll be awake for at least two whole days. As I check the data link, ignoring Yoshif, who is frozen in place with a twitching face, it seems that Miki has given me permission to go into battle. In front of the dimly lit gate, each of us formed a formation with Arakawa at the center, holding our guns at the ready. Now, wait for me, Dr. Sandra. We''ll be coming to you soon, Dr. Sandra. 80-Magic vs science You''re not the only one. As I passed through the gate, which had an oddly slippery sensation as usual, I saw the silver world reflected in front of me. Without being moved by my first visit to the South Pole, I approach the command vehicle where Macho will be staying. "I don''t feel so good... Yeah?It''s something I''ve gotten used to, but come to think of it, I think my mom said it was really weird to go under the gate too. I can''t get used to it!It''s never going to be this creepy. Well, we don''t dive that often, Alice, so we''ll have to be patient. When you look at the 1st unit while being escorted around by the people of Chernobog, there is no sign of any battles occurring and they seem to be advancing jitterily after securing Hashigamiho. The main force will be arriving soon, so there''s no hurry. I''m sure you''ll be able to find it. It''s right next to the command vehicle. As per the communication from the Captain, next to the vehicle ahead, a macho power suit is staring at the troops advancing with its arms crossed while being protected by a power suit holding up a large shield. It''s a very bad mood in terms of that gesture, if he wasn''t wearing the suit he would be frowning and sucking on a cigarette. "Dad, "Oh?''Oh, you''re here. Are you with Alice and Con? Sure. So how''s it going? ''I have no idea.......no attack-like attacks. The only thing I got hit with was a torpedo and a peacemaker to the head before I got here. The main force is coming with you guys, so the platoon is just moving forward to do a power reconnaissance first. Hmmm, isn''t it an attack to have a peacemaker shoved into your muscles up to your brain? I''ll talk to my mom later and have her examine my brain. But still, there was no attack after we landed... Strange, isn''t it?For all intents and purposes. ''That''s weird, for all intents and purposes. I''m not sure if they are soldiers, or zombies like you were talking about, or biological weapons like that. It''s not like they have no defensive capabilities, so for now, always check the data link. Yes, sir. At the same time as I replied, Alice, who was listening to the conversation, displayed the map and the constantly updated troop deployment status on the monitor. The first unit power suits have already been deployed at the entrance to the ravine beyond the ice shelf, and the Ursna Empire''s volunteer army is about to begin transitioning from the gate? Shall I head to the ravine too?The predicted location of the enemy''s base is beneath the crevasse at the end of the canyon. We''ve barely managed to supplement the heat source with a high-sensitivity reconnaissance satellite, but that''s not always the entrance, that''s the problem. "Dad, I''m heading up the canyon. We''ll check it out and follow the scouts. Yes, sir. Take care of yourself, okay? ''I don''t think it''s that much of a problem, since the Captain is here too. Now, Captain, please. "Yes, sir, commander. The powersuits are headed straight for the canyon!''The infantry will stay on the spot and guard Ursna and Merkava. After giving the order, the Captain signals the Chernobog people with some hand signs to start moving forward in formation with me at the back of the line. As I''m walking to keep up with the team in front of me, Alice begins to light up the map on the edge of the monitor. ''Alice, what are you doing?'' You know, there''s something weird about this light thing... Is that funny? ''Hmmm, I can''t really say. The on-board instruments on the suit show nothing unusual, but I think it''s more on the margin of error. I don''t know what to call it, it''s kind of a blur. You''re feeling weird and bewildered. I don''t think it''s just my imagination that I''ve got a bad feeling about this. I''m going to tell the Captain, just in case, but if there''s no problem, that''s the best thing to do. Captain, Alice is complaining of a strange feeling. It''s not a problem on the data, but I''ll send you the location data as well, just to make sure. ''''This is - there are too many of them to be a simple discomfort. Pause. Iosef!Scout out the nearest point F-6 in your unit. At the Captain''s orders, the three power suits immediately leave the formation and begin to move. Probably the suit with the rather rugged equipment on its back at the front is Yoshif-san. He said that he belongs to the heavy weapons squadron, but I doubt that romantic equipment like the Gatling gun fixed to the arm is really practical. ''Eh, these figures......... No!Kunju-kun, stop Yoshif-san and the others! Captain! I can hear you!Iosef!Evacuate from your position! Surprised by Alice''s sudden shouting, the Captain, who was listening to us when we called out to him, immediately gives instructions to Yoshif-san. But the moment the captain shouts, Yoshif-san''s suit fumes and stops acting. What the hell is going on?I was about to question Alice behind me, wondering, when a deafening alarm went off inside my suit. ''This is Type 0 suit, Alice Alford. All friendlies are urgently notified and a high energy alert has been issued. The enemy is using a ''charged particle cannon''. ''Nonsense!A beam weapon with the power to destroy a power suit?We can''t compete with our current equipment. Alice''s words startled the Captain. That''s just as well, we Noah thought that the beam weapons on the New World side that we had envisioned were at a level that would barely be able to destroy a target if they attacked a vehicle or ship as a target. Even at that level, Noah has still only completed a prototype model. In fact, even though it was a ramming attack, it shot down a power suit that had been fortified with anti-laser damping paint and a new armored version in a single blow. The New World side''s technology is no longer on par with Noah''s, but several years ahead of him. But now is not the time to be stunned, beam weapons are only supposed to be able to move in a straight line, so as long as you can get out of that line, you''ll be fine. ''Alice, calculate where the enemy''s lasers can''t hit us from the point of light!If they haven''t shot before, that means they probably haven''t been able to get an angle of fire. Once you''re not in range of a shot, they''ll shoot you in turn. All right!Give me 10 seconds. Captain, we''ve found a safe zone. We need to evacuate and regain our position. Yes, sir!Go ahead, I''ll pull the idiot who''s crawling over there.'' As I turned around while moving at full speed towards the point Alice had designated, I saw Yoshif-san''s power suit slowly coming towards us. Thank goodness it wasn''t completely destroyed, and it still seems to be able to act on its own. But I can see that the suit''s armor is melting as it snatches the torso part. With that kind of power, a direct hit would be an instant death..... I''m sorry.......... Yeah? ''I''m sorry, I should have seen the danger earlier. Perhaps the discomfort I felt earlier was due to the compression of electrons. Even if it doesn''t appear on the data, when the brain processes it, the slightest disturbance will cause discomfort... No, it wasn''t Alice''s fault. She was fine on the data, and it''s just fine that she thought it was funny. But........Mr. Iosif......... ''What''s the matter with you, Alice, we''re used to this sort of thing every day. But thank you!If the warning had been a moment later, it would have evaporated with the suit by now.'' Mr. Iosef!Your armor is melting, but are you okay inside? "Don''t worry, commander, my flank is a bit burnt, but I don''t have a problem with the way I''m acting. We''ll abandon our suits and continue the fight with only our reinforced exoskeleton. Yeah, normally if your sides get burnt a bit, it''s a disaster, Yoshif. But as long as I zoom in on the suit''s camera and see what''s going on, it really doesn''t look like a problem. He immediately purges his own power suit as he said, and climbs into the suit next to him to hold himself in place. I mean, their country has traditionally preferred to move directly on top of the tank, or tank straddling, since they were still in the Soviet army, but they still do it. I heard it was called "tank descent" in the old days, but should we call it "suit descent" when you look at the fact that they went to the trouble of welding a handle to the power suit? I''ve been told by Miki at the Hakone base that all the light spots marked by Alice are enemy beam weapons. It seems that all of the light spots marked by Alice are the enemy''s beam weapons, the torchicas. The satellite confirms that they are not swivel turrets, but fixed turrets. So I guess you''re safe as long as you''re here. ''Oh, and given the fact that we weren''t shot at while Iosif was crawling, we don''t think we can get much of a firing angle. But they are still an overwhelming threat, in fact, the troops in the frontline canyon and we are completely isolated. For the time being, there is no hope of rescue from the main unit.......If the main force of the enemy springs up at this point, each one will be destroyed for sure. Did he invite you in? Looks like it. I don''t know if this beam is this high-powered, even for an Alice type land battleship, but it''s not good. Even if we ask for air support from the dragon tribe, I don''t know if it can withstand that thing... Should I be the bait?But there''s no way you can avoid a beam weapon. To begin with, how much range does it have, and we don''t know how long it will take to fire again, so we can''t act rashly. "Congratulations, Congratulations! I can hear you, Dad. "Well, the Ursna Army, or rather, the Ursna Alchemist and his sorcerer, are on their way to rescue you. Huh? What the hell were you thinking, Macho, stop it!It wouldn''t help if a flesh-and-blood human came in without a power suit or even a reinforced exoskeleton. And it''s two people in terms of nuance, right?Even if that many people showed up now, they''d be vaporized by the beam! "I know exactly what you''re thinking, so just listen to me for a second. You see, this alchemist, when my mother explained to me the principle of the charged particle cannon, I understood it. I''m sorry, Dad. I don''t know what you''re talking about. ''Oh, I feel the same way. But my mom talked to the alchemist and decided it was okay. Yes why did my mom allow it too? Did she say what she was going to do with it? ''[So you''re just going to have to stop the dusty blob-like stuff flying at high speed? Now he''s floating a lot of water and heading that way. Awesome, that''s water as big as the flagship Mermaid. It''s true that the power of the beam would diminish in the blink of an eye in water, so it can be neutralized, but....... But.....Hey, wait a minute, Mermaid is about 700 meters long!It''s possible to carry such a large amount of water.... ''''There''s at least one genius in every world that''s really bad, I didn''t think I''d understand it with such a simple explanation. Also, when the alchemist arrives there, I''m sorry, take the troops in the ravine and retreat here for a while. Since they''re in the way, [I''ll clear the ravine] yeah.'''' Can you do that? The people of the G-88 world, by the way, the only thing they didn''t know when they first met us is how to effectively deal with Noah and I. But now they know how to deal with us and how to attack us effectively. Now they know how to deal with us and how to attack us effectively. I''m really glad I''m an Alliance member. ''What do I do? I think I''ve woken up a pretty bad group of people. "Haha, I''m afraid so. Oh, I almost forgot, Her Majesty Victoria and Prince Adrienne have a message for you. What? "[Don''t lick the magic] The communication from Macho is cut off, ignoring me, who is stunned by the message from the two of them. At the same time, Yoshif-san points his finger at me and starts laughing hysterically. When I looked at the tip of his finger, I saw a huge wall made of water coming towards me while receiving the beam attack without a care in the world. 81-Record of a certain mercenary A mercenary with no name. God d*mn it......what the hell happened to him? It''s just my luck that I was recommended to the matchmaker because the money was good. It was certainly good at first. It was a surprise to me that we arrived in Antarctica, blindfolded, with our equipment in a transport plane, but we were able to enjoy a good meal and pay a lot of money. The money could only be spent in this facility, which the underground moles call their Antarctic base, but even so, I was able to get everything I needed, and the latest equipment, supported by the EU and US government officials, was unbelievably well distributed to the migratory mercenaries. But that doesn''t mean it''s not worth it. Well, I''ll fight for the salary I''m getting, but... Hey, you!If you have time to complain, go defend the front gate!They''re going to get through. A regular army officer from the EU is yelling at me, but he''s completely pale. That''s probably true, too, because I''m a mercenary, but he''s in the regular army, and that''s on paper, and he''s on unauthorized separation. If we lose here or get caught, we''ll be court-martialed. We''ll be tried for war crimes if we''re caught too. What''s up, buddy? Oh?I don''t know, jerk. I mean, who the hell are you, don''t call me your partner without permission, I''ll kill you. When I asked the man running next to me on the way to the gate, he poisoned me with a disgusted look on his face. It''s just a matter of time before you''ll be able to get your hands on some of those monsters. But still, I envy Noah''s guys. My master, the New World, is an illegal armed group, while these guys are a legitimate armed group recognized by the United Nations, so what''s the difference between them and a legitimate armed group? They use physical methods and creatures that dim-witted mercenaries can''t understand at all, and they fight with weapons. ''Buddy, I hear that installed beam turrets are not very effective? ''Shit, that''s why I''m not your partner.... Yeah, the beam weapon has been completely neutralized by a big wall of water. And that ice-covered canyon we were using as a barrier is gone. What?It''s not like I''ve melted........ I don''t know. But seriously, Noah is marching through what used to be a flat field canyon, using a wall of water to get there. The word from headquarters is that there''s a stupid giant centipede and a spider-woman behind the water. I''ve seen a video of a giant centipede, one that was maybe five meters across, you know? Oh, but you could kill them with an armor-piercing round. I''m very optimistic, but I don''t think that centipede is going to be able to kill it so easily, even if you use armor piercing bullets. I''m not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I think it is. Maybe its armor is thicker than the power suit. And a spider woman?Since when did Noah become a surprise zoo, including that flying dinosaur mogul? ''Mercenaries!There''s a centipede on the gate!They''re breaking in. A power suit belonging to the EU yells at us. Are the regular army guys suffering from a disease that will kill them if they don''t yell at us on the battlefield?There is nothing more annoying. Well, let''s get to work, shall we? Unlock the safety. Here they come! Welcome. Muttering to the centipede that peeked out of his face, he took the first shot. How is the taste of the 20mm railgun, which is directly connected to the cooling system of the reinforced exoskeleton? After confirming the green light for the next round to be loaded, I immediately fired a second shot........ Well, how was the effect? I imagined it would work, but it''s not going to work. Whoa buddy!You''re too forward. My partner, who was attacking the centipede while wielding a regular 7.62mm military rifle, was hooked up with a wire hook on his arm and dragged back towards us. A moment later, a mysterious liquid poured down on the spot where my partner was, and smoke rose from the floor. ''I see, so you used the liquid secreted from that mouth to make a hole in the gate. The black hull, by the way, says that a direct hit from a 20mm railgun won''t damage it. I''m sorry, buddy. Thank you. Don''t worry about it. More importantly, buddy, can you shoot that tank over there? Oh. Shoot that thing. I''d blow your hair out with my big one. I instruct my partner to shoot at the liquid nitrogen tank next to the gate, which is used for emergency cooling of the power suit. The liquid nitrogen gushes out of the tank, which my partner aimed and shot at, and freezes the giant centipede''s outer skin. Hmm, it seems that the hull becomes brittle when cooled to the extreme. It seems to be effective, but the energy barrier prevented it from happening. "Oh come on, Noah is using an energy barrier that''s not only capable of ships, but even personal cell phones? Yeah. I mean, we''re lousy at infantry, just like you and me. You''re not well armed. Should I run? You can run away, but it''s not in your nature to run away without doing your paycheck''s worth of work. If you can''t get the centipede, then the spider girl is right behind her, you can''t get the lower half of her body, but you can shoot her with a weirdly s*xy humanoid upper body. Hey, there''s something on the spider girl''s back. ''Buddy, all you talked about earlier was the centipede and the spider girl, didn''t you?Why is there a big praying mantis on the back of a spider girl? I don''t know!Most of them are Noah''s biological weapons too. I mean, that praying mantis is looking at us! "Seriously though, give me a break. Oh?That suit... I was distracted by the appearance of the mantis monster, but before I knew it, I could see the Type 0 suit Arakawa Kouki is wearing on the other side of the gate, which had melted and expanded to a considerable size. The distance is about 1,800 meters, a comfortable distance for a power suit, but a delicate distance for a reinforced exoskeleton without a fire control assist. I''m going to shoot the Type-0, buddy. I''ll fire two shots and he''ll run away, so just take care of my ass. I''m on it. A power suit vs. mantis battle has begun up ahead, but I don''t care. I don''t care that the rifles the suits are equipped with are easily torn apart by the mantis'' scythe. I look through the scope and aim at the weakest point of all the power suits'' joints.... When I took a deep breath and slowly put some force on the trigger, the 0-type suit looked back at me. ''''Did it notice you?At this distance with no radio contact?But it''s too late. A mere 1,800 meters away. However, the warhead that should have landed as soon as it was fired on was ducked by the Type 0 that showed its impossible mobility. But in that stance, the next time it will definitely hit.... At the same time as firing the last bullet, the railgun is purged and like a de-rabbit, it runs backwards. ''Buddy!Did you hit that last one? .......... Hey, what the hell are you waiting for? He played it. What? I played it off with the knife I had in my arm. Hahaha, stepping on the fact that you couldn''t duck and flicking it with a knife. Did you calculate the best angle from the sniper''s location in that split second by calculating the impact point and bullet speed, there''s no way you bothered to load up a program like that, so did you use your own brain to calculate it?What kind of calculation speed do you have in mind? A knife that can play a railgun, eh? I wish you''d make me one of those. You''re over there!You''re an idiot, aren''t you?There''s no way someone could do something like that monster. ''It doesn''t matter if you blabber on about it, because you''re actually there. More importantly, this hierarchy is no better. We''ll go down one level and fight moderately and surrender. The Antarctic base is a deep underground facility. From the surface to the tenth floor, it''s an upper level defense by mercenaries like us, but from the tenth floor down, it''s guarded by elite soldiers from the EU and the United States. In other words, we''re abandoned stones.... I don''t know how deep it is, but those moles in the deepest part of the building aren''t protected by strong protective doors like the new world''s top brass, so it''s useless to fight them out. I don''t plan on dying for nothing, and after I surrender, hopefully we''ll be able to escape in the chaos. But in that case, what will you do with your partner? "What the hell, you just shut up and stared at me all of a sudden. ''No, I had a plan to get away after I surrendered, but I can''t have my partner. You can''t say that in front of him!I mean, what makes you think you can get away with it, you bastard? Yeah, that''s it. Here''s the thing. When I take off the helmet of the reinforced exoskeleton to show him, my partner looks terribly surprised. Well, that''s as it should be, most mercenaries are surprised when they see my face. "You''re an Asian..... No, you''re Japanese? Hey, I''m Japanese. Nice to meet you again, buddy. Normally, Japanese people don''t become mercenaries, but I''ve been in the mercenary business for a long time, and I''ve only seen Japanese people once. I''ve been in the mercenary business for a long time, and I''ve only seen a Japanese once. However, that Japanese was a crazy man with no formal military training, just an arrogant military geek with a rifle. I''m not sure why a Japanese person would be a mercenary. And you, looking at the way you just fought, weren''t you an excellent soldier in your own right? It was a long story. I got fired from the U.S. Army, and I''m out of the U.S. Army. Fired, who were you with? ''Don''t you know that a mercenary''s past is delicate?Well, that''s okay. Before I was fired, I was in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, 1st Airborne, affiliated with the Central Readiness Group. ".........oh, you!Formerly a paratrooper ranger, eh? Yes. I am, Ranger. ''How can such an elite be a mercenary?You can find a new job as much as you want. No, it''s a dishonorable discharge. I pick up the rifle that had fallen into the aisle, while taunting my partner who was ranting next to me. It looks fine, I take out the magazine and check it, it''s fully loaded too. Why did I throw this away?I''ll take it, though, because I''m thankful I''m not armed with a purged railgun. "Hey, buddy. I have a question for you too, where were you before you became a mercenary? SAS. "Oh, British Army Special Air Service, that means you''re a John Bull. Where''s your walking stick?You''ve forgotten. "Shut up, you dishonorably discharged. ''Yes, yes, I''m sorry. Why did you quit? "Well I need money. My wife''s sick. It''s hard to know how far it goes, but it always comes down to money. But, even if it''s a lie, it''s not a good idea to cut her off and escape by yourself. I''ve got to take this guy and run away with him somehow, though I think Noah had her. Well, let''s try a little harder. I have to surrender and escape. 82-Inside Arakawa, Koki... The demon tribe runs through the snowfield as far as the eye can see. The centipedes, whose hardness of skin is stronger than the armor of their main power suits, are in the lead, and countless demons are about to attach themselves to the front gate of the Antarctic base, the home base of the new world. The raiding force included the Arakne tribe, and on their backs, the Mantis knights led by Mr. Akator were riding and escorting the human reinforced infantry accompanying the Centipede tribe. ''''It''s a complete monster movie, this...'''' The overwhelmingly massive wave attack on a holed-up human base, it''s just like your favorite movie from the pre-mortem world. The biggest difference is the fact that the monsters communicate with each other in the same way as the humans and use sophisticated tactics, which makes the enemies feel desperate. I''m going to be able to tell you what to do. The second squad of volunteers from G-88 has arrived at Hakone base, and they''ll be transferring to the South Pole using a simple gate in 10 minutes. Will there be more? It''s a good thing that I''m not the only one who''s interested in this, because I''ve found out through my exploration magic that the relatively shallow part of the enemy base can be moved by a power suit height. I''ve heard that they are going to attempt to force their way through by means of tribes that have armor much more robust than the suit. So you still don''t know what''s going on at Hakone Base, what we call the "mid-level" or below? "Hmm, there''s so much electronic interference that the reconnaissance satellites are useless. I''ve heard that the probe magic is too deep for us to grasp the situation. However, since the Merkava survey team will be joining the raiding party, we may be able to use magic inside the base. Isn''t the quintessential magic that versatile........ No, even now it''s active enough to be useful, so this kind of thinking would be rude. Rather, carrying a mass of water the size of a Mermaid-class or making a canyon disappear by changing the environment is something that would normally be impossible. When this is over, I should ask my mother to formally thank you both for your help. Alice, are you all right?Are you sick by any chance? I''m fine... The weak voice startles me and I turn around to see Alice raising the visor of her helmet and wiping the cold sweat off her face as she looks blue. Unintentionally, she goes to press the switch on her communicator to contact the Captain, but she sees an empty container of packed juice lying at Alice''s feet. You''re an idiot, aren''t you?You''ve had too much to drink!I would yell at Shingo that even though I''m thirsty, there''s a limit to the amount of juice in four 320 ml packs, but I can''t say that to Alice. ''''I think you''ve had too much to drink. It was good... It was good, that''s good. Well, if I''m nervous, I''m thirsty too. But that doesn''t mean I can''t go to the bathroom at this stage. The reinforced exoskeleton for the power suits we''re equipped with is equipped with a function that allows us to use the toilet. I''ve used it a few times myself, and probably Claire and Ellis have used it as well. However, it''s not fair to ask an old Alice to just do it, is it? The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it''s not very good, but there''s a medicine for when the exoskeleton thing is at its limit, do you want it?They say they force it to break down and expel it out of your body as sweat, but they say it gets pretty sweaty and choppy. ...drink. "I''ve got a med pack at my feet, so you''ll have to take control of my suit. ''Yeah...'' Apparently, there''s not a moment to lose. Let''s see, I''m pretty sure the blue one is a painkiller and the red one is a hemostatic agent, so the white one is the one. As I was handing the container labeled "decomposing agent" to Alice, I received a message from the Captain. ''Sir, the Centipede tribe has begun their invasion of the gate!As soon as the dissolved entry point is large enough, we''ll be there.'' Yes, sir!The timing is up to you. As I handed the pills to the captain, Alice grabbed the container with a trembling hand, picked up a colored pill from inside that she instinctively knew she shouldn''t put in her mouth and swallowed it down. The label that I read when I took it out of the medical pack said that it would begin to disintegrate soon, so in a few minutes, Alice''s condition will be fine. Hmm..... That sigh is a sigh of decomposition that has begun to decompose!No, I don''t mind either way, but it bothers me a lot. Alice may have heard the voice in my slightly perverted mind, but when our eyes met, she turned her head away. I''m sorry.Wait, brainwave control means it''s processing my thoughts and actions........ Could it be that Alice can partially read my thoughts?Alice trembles as she thinks about it in a daze. Hey!I knew it was what I was thinking... "Congratulations, Congratulations!Missile alert!He just shot me! Sniper!Alice, put the controls back on me!And anything else, deploy the armament! Alice regained control of the suit as instructed, but due to our mutual panic, we took over control in a delicate position. Maybe it was because of the snow, but the power suit''s feet slipped and it was hard to hold on. Alice ignites the attitude control thrusters to assist me, but I''d rather just fall down and then regain my posture once I''m down. ''I got my knife out anyway.'' The knife stored in his arm is deployed. Nice call, Alice!A program built into the suit''s operating system automatically starts controlling your posture, forcing you to hold a knife at the ready and move into melee combat mode. Normally this function is turned off due to the intense stress on the suit, but in this state, it stabilizes your posture more accurately than a human would. But just as I thought that, my suit was blown back with a horrendous crash sound. I''m not going to be able to get it right.Alice!Con!Are you hurt?! I''ll be fine. "Cu. Looks like we''re both okay. In fact, I''m in a bit of trouble for hitting my head, even through my helmet when it blew up. I rubbed my aching head and examined the damage. The head, torso, arms and legs are all green. Armed and unarmed except for the knife? Cu, con con. Cue. Conn liked that knife, and now he''s pissed off. "This knife was given to me by a man from the dragon tribe, right? The pattern was beautiful, too... Maybe I shouldn''t have installed it in the car after all. Con!Kong Kong Kong. Kyu Kyu. "You don''t want to hang it up in the mechanic''s office because it was given to you as a good luck charm, but it actually took a bullet for you. Because, I still have no idea what I''m talking about, and yet, as usual, Alice is still having a normal conversation with Con? Well, it certainly worked as a good luck charm, as Con pointed out. I''d rather have this knife shattered, what in the world was it shot at?I asked the technician, and he told me this is a very hard knife made of an unknown material. Commander, are you okay? ''Captain, this one is fine. Didn''t the Captain get attacked? ''Good, my liver was chilled when it blew up behind me. This one came under fire from a missile launcher carried by an infantryman. By the way, that knife........judging from the bullet holes, it was fired from a railgun. After being shot by that thing, you ducked and then flicked it on the spur of the moment, it''s beyond amazing! Yeah, well... The Captain has misunderstood something, but if I explain that part, I''ll have to go through the details from where Alice wanted to go to the bathroom. Ah!I just remembered something incredibly important, the Alice guy can read my thoughts, but I didn''t tell him. In fact, the fact that it wasn''t mentioned in the frequently updated instructions for the use of the Type-0 suit means that I don''t think they even reported it to the medical department. I mean, they''ve been instructed to report it if something happens, so why would they report it? "That''s a crappy response, or is it just a piece of cake for the commander-in-chief? "Now, the entrance to the building is large enough that we''ve confirmed the withdrawal of the enemy''s defense force... We''re going in. Yes, sir. When I looked at the gate, I saw that Chernobog''s lead team was already in the process of securing it. Following the captain''s suit, I too, with my rifle at the ready, move to the rear of the line. After making sure that the communication is firmly cut off, I ask Alice the question I had earlier. ''Alice, can you read my thoughts?Oh, I''m not mad at you. Maybe it''s something, but it''s not the energy supply from the power supply facility at the base, it''s the energy from Kon''s magic that fully activates the suit, and yet, despite the presence of Kunki-kun, I''m still in control for a bit. It''s also very subtle... I think it''s because of the device Miki-san got at the ruins on the moon. I read in the archives that the Adamites read the surface consciousness and talked to each other. ''I''m pretty sure Eve said something like that too. So, that''s why I''m happy to know a little bit about what you''re thinking, but.... But? You know, you''re thinking about something weird while you''re looking at me, and I''m wondering if you''re in the bathroom or.... Cu-cons? ''Yeah, I''m a little touched now that I understand Con''s words for the first time. Is that squeal for real?That''s what you mean. That''s a mistake, I didn''t mean it that way. I was worried about Alice''s health. Without a doubt, this mistake must be solved. And if I don''t make sure that no one finds out that I''ve been suspected like this one, I''ll die in society. Really, what do I do........how can I correct this misunderstanding without causing Alice to be embarrassed in a gentle manner?I wonder if there''s a device to erase the other person''s memories among the useful items Mom scavenged from the lunar ruins.... 83-Suggestion Arakawa, Koki... The gate to the middle... In front of me is a huge gate that is heavily locked and sealed off. The Centipedes and Noah''s army of engineers managed to pry open the entrance to the upper gate and raid the interior, but after breaking through five levels, the invading force was stranded in front of the huge gate in a vast space. I''ve been told that it''s almost the same material as the high-strength metal used in Noah, according to the Corps of Engineers. It''s impossible to break through the gate by blowing it up. There''s no other way but to melt it down steadily for now. The captain on the comm screen announces grimly. The Chernobog team members have already begun to take a temporary rest, smoking and chewing on the rations they have brought with them, while Noah''s troops and Ursna Merkava''s volunteer army have been keeping a vigilant eye on the area without loosening their guard at all, but they look quite appropriate. It''s a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you''re looking for. It''s a good idea to have a look at it, Yeah?That''s ..., that''s how we''re positioned now, right? That''s right. So, if you superimpose each of Chernobog''s suit positions on this map on top of each of his visual field information... ''What?Could this be all perimeter surveillance?! And furthermore, if you set us at the center and show the space in a straight line from there, that''s what happens. Surrounded? If you get shot, it seems like it''s always going to hit another suit before it gets to us. For now, there seems to be no danger in the present situation, so let''s just take a step forward. No, but I have a bad feeling about this... But I''m curious about it.... "Hohoooo! Eventually I lose patience and shift the suit''s position a bit. Then the suit holding a large shield with a flashy skull paint job seems to have moved to borrow fire from the next suit. The location of the move is still in a straight line with me. Apparently, it''s completely my shield, just as Alice expected. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the city. I can''t take care of you that well. Yes, Captain. I''m sorry. It seems that my actions were easily discovered. It''s not a good idea to piss off the captain any more, so I''ll just be quiet. The centipede tribe is still trying to melt the gate, but there''s no sign of progress. It is true that some of it is melting, but from the information we received from the data link, it seems to be at least 8 meters thick. ''It''s going to take quite a while, isn''t it, Captain? Yeah, I just got off the phone with the commander of the unit that''s working on it, and he estimates it will take at least another 15 hours. It''s not just the suits that the commander wears, but also the batteries of our suits that we wear. Besides, if you take too much time, their defense capabilities will also... What''s going on? "No, wait a minute. The communication from the Captain is abruptly cut off, and at the same time, the movement of the Chernobog''s men changes. I''m going to have to say that I''m not going to be the only one who is going to be able to do this, but I''m also going to be the one who is going to be pushed by the other suits. "Commander-dono, is Alice free? Yeah, I''m not doing anything right now. I''m just checking the datalink periodically. Do you want me to take over the communications? "Please. Turning back and nodding, Alice made a motion with her keyboard in the empty space before answering the Captain. ''I''ve taken over the comm, Alice Alford. In case you''re wondering, I''m currently switching to a confidential line. I''m sorry. Thank you. Can you hack into the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force''s main terminal and steal their data? You could, but what data would you like me to steal? Sato Taro, former member of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, Central Readiness Force and 1st Airborne Division. Dishonorably discharged, but I need more information. Give me a minute. Yes, sir. Quickly, the Captain asked Alice to do something bad, and Alice usually agreed, but isn''t that quite a problematic act?If they find out you hacked into a government agency and stole their data, they''ll take down Noah!I think it would be better to ask Claire or Ellis or someone else to provide information through legitimate channels. Alice, I don''t think this is a good idea. Well, I think it''s going to be okay. Miki-san says that the Japanese Information Defense Force is trying to interfere with Noah''s main terminal, and that they have been removing data from it once in a while. The last time they took out the data, so I don''t think it''s a problem for us. I heard that there is some kind of agreement. While saying that, Alice is moving her fingertips at a furious pace. Well, I guess it''s okay because Alice, who is a cautious person compared to my mom, says so....... It''s an act that''s likely to destroy my stomach per Ellis-san again. ''''There it is!Let''s see, Taro Sato''s rank is Major, and he was a paratrooper sent overseas to the Alaska conflict six years ago. Apparently, he was court-martialed for violence against POWs during a battle with Russian troops. Convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison - but something''s wrong with that. Has the detail been expunged?I mean, we don''t have any information about his past, either.Also, there doesn''t seem to be anyone else in the prison where he''s incarcerated. And there''s something wrong with his unit, there''s no such thing as the 12th Supply Company in the 1st Airborne. I wonder if this is false information. I knew it. The captain who heard the contents of the material read out by Alice is nodding widely. I mean, this Sato guy is like.... Satou communicated to me, he is at this base. And he knows about us Chernobog. So, is this the guy from your previous example that you got from the captain? Ah, the most powerful trump card the Japanese are rumored to have hidden away. It''s probably a top-secret unit [Sakura]. Satou''s name is probably an alias too. A dishonorable discharge from the military is also suspicious. And where is this Mr. Sato in this base? "We''re right underneath you, sir. It''s going to be too much trouble, so make sure the other units don''t notice. "You and your partner have a conditional request to surrender. I look down at my feet as the Captain told me to, and I see a figure underneath the wire mesh floor, thin with oil and dust, looking up at me and waving a hand smiling. It''s the same person as the mugshot of Major Sato Taro attached to the data Alice stole, which is still displayed out of the corner of my eye. I''m sure the call on my personal device, which has been ringing since the moment I noticed it, is from this person. For now, let''s connect the device to the suit and try to answer it. Yes..... "No!Nice to meet you, Arakawa-kun. I''d like to surrender, but I was wondering if I could have a word with my old man... He disconnects the line at a second''s notice. No!This guy seems to be just as troublesome as Macho. It''s right to ask the Captain to pull the communication here. When I was about to give the Captain Sato''s number, the terminal''s ring tone rang again. ''Yes.........'' Isn''t that a little harsh?You don''t have to cut it off out of the blue. Can you listen to your old man for a moment?'''' ''Okay but I have a question first. First of all, what is your real name? That and the unit you served in the self-defense force and the reason for your discharge. Furthermore, how do you know about Chernobog? His name is Taro Sato, a former member of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, the supply unit of the 1st Airborne Corps of the Central Readiness Group. He was discharged for beating up a POW and diverting supplies to a supply unit. I know Chernobog because he was accidentally engaged during the Alaskan conflict. I found out about it after the battle, though, when it was explained to me. You see that big shield suit with the skull on it there?I''d seen the same personal markings as that skull, so it just clicked for me.'' Major Sato, who replied slurringly as if reading a memo, is so suspicious that one can only sigh. Anyway, let''s check with the Captain as well. ''''Captain, is it true about the Alaskan conflict?'''' It''s all true. We were sent as a force reconnaissance unit. We actually raided a land-based self-defense supply depot, but after the raid was completed, we were counterattacked by elite troops and withdrew. The shield bearer Andrei there was shot at at that time, but the estimated enemy firing point was more than 3,500 meters away. There''s no way a soldier from a rear support unit could successfully snipe at 3500 meters. They''re definitely infiltrating the Antarctic base for some reason. So we better get on board. "Yes, sir, ma''am. I accept your surrender. So when does the unit that''s supposed to get you out of here arrive?With Noah''s fleet surrounding us, I''m guessing it''s by air. ''''No, no, Arakawa-kun, I think you''ve misunderstood something. ''''Ojisan is just a mercenary now. There''s no troops coming to cover our escape, you know?So I suppose we''d prefer to blend in with your forces and disappear quietly. In exchange, we''ll provide you with a way to bypass the gate in front of you, access to the mid-tier sector, and information on the disposition of your troops on the New World side. And if you listen to one more request, I have an additional gift for you........'''' ''I can handle that much, but what are the additional gifts?'' ''I can provide you with proof that part of the United States and the French government are in cahoots with the New World. In return, I''d like to take my old man''s partner''s wife, who is sick, into Noah''s hospital.There''s a new hospital in a resort in Italy. I''d like to be in there, at your expense, of course. If that''s true, I''ll arrange as many as I can, but I didn''t know there was a hospital in Italy. I mean, Major Sato knows everything..... How did he get my personal terminal number? It''s not good to talk to Claire-san around here, as expected. It would be troublesome if my mom found out about this plan....... I think we should hold off on answering the question and ask Ellis, who is waiting in the sky, to link up with her first.