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.