----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 me──Victoria-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.