“If you’re coming along, old master, that’s worth a hundred men.”“Cut that out. Don’t go calling such a fine man an old master.”Exchanging such banter, the two men rocked gently with the motion of the ship.Their destination was the same as always—the great pure-white warship anchored a short way offshore.The flagship of the Paraiso expeditionary fleet: Panace.“Still, are you sure it’s all right to bring along such a young upstart?”“Ha-ha-ha. Don’t worry about being underestimated by appearances. They themselves look like nothing but girls. If anything, Duke Amagio, you’ll make a fine picture standing next to them.”One of the men was Alban Bleius, Grand Admiral of the Lepuitari Royal Navy. The other was Amagio Silverhead, Grand Duke of Lepuitari and Supreme Marshal of the Technical Bureau.The two men who stood at the very top of the kingdom watched the approaching battleship as they spoke.“I’ve read through the negotiation logs so far, but honestly, I can’t read their intentions.”“Indeed. We, too, have been troubled for that very reason—there’s no visible middle ground. Yet somehow, the minor stipulations fall into place with almost suspicious ease. All our usual diplomacy counts for nothing.”And then, of course, there was the recent blunder by that army colonel—the diplomatic corps was in chaos trying to respond to an unprecedented situation.“That once-proud army—what a sight it’s become.”“Lamentable. Almost none of the personnel from those war days remain, and the upper echelons have been completely replaced. ‘Too pitiful to look at’ fits exactly. Still, I intend to take the opportunity to do some pruning.”“I see. Well, handle it however you like. I’ve no intention of being involved again.”“I know. Though I would like you to stick your nose in when it comes to the ships.”Amagio only shrugged at the admiral’s words. It meant he’d had his fill of political battles.“Well then, there she is.”“I had a look from the harbor yesterday. I understand now what you were all saying.”Out on the sea floated that pure-white fleet.Watching it, Amagio murmured,“Depending on how you measure progress, they’re a hundred years ahead of us at least. Possibly two hundred. And naturally, that’s not something we can close in ten or twenty years. Even if we advance, they’ll advance as well.”“So even in your eyes. Then it truly is folly to oppose them by force…”The hulls were sleek, and no steam was visible as they moved—nor any great mechanical noise.If those ships were made through science alone, their power source must be electrical. This much, the kingdom’s engineers had already suspected. Electric propulsion holds limitless potential—those had been Duke Silverhead’s own words.“Though whether it’s purely science or mixed with magical technology, I can’t say.”“We’re utterly backward where magic is concerned. The Forest Kingdom of Lebresta and those damnable priests won’t yield a word of information.”“If we could secure control of the fuelstone deposits, negotiations might open up in several ways. But I’ve heard about that problem already. Don’t expect me to meddle.”“Understood. If you’ll only lend an ear to my complaints from time to time, that’s plenty.”“I’d rather not even do that…”While they spoke, their ship drew closer to the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Paraiso fleet.“No seams in the hull… it’s metal, clearly, but how did they shape it…? Not a bump or ridge anywhere…”Staring up at the nearby Hedgehog-class hull, Amagio muttered quietly.It was little wonder.Even though it used modular construction, the ship had been built by large-scale universal fabricator-printers that adjusted material placement at the atomic level.Through precisely controlled thermal vibration and electromagnetic interference, the parts were bonded by interatomic forces without altering composition.The appearance and strength were both indistinguishable from a single-piece casting.“Duke Amagio. As you can see, that’s the flagship Panace. It’s over one and a half times the size of our latest-class battleship. That alone is alarming enough, but in live-fire exercises it outstripped us in acceleration, top speed, grouping accuracy, reload time, and shell power—on every front. And I doubt they’ve even shown full power.”“Yeah, I’ve read the reports. If what’s written there is true, we’d be slaughtered before we could even swing back, unless we somehow got into knife-fighting range. It’s good we met them as friends.”Amagio said it with genuine feeling.Then, as always, the gangway was lowered from Panace’s side.At the base of the gangway stood, unusually, a humanoid mechanical communicator.“Welcome aboard the Panace.”The one who came out to greet them was Fia, accompanied by three guards.After quickly tying off the mooring line to the gangway, Alban Bleius and Amagio Silverhead both stepped across.“Thank you for the welcome, Lady Fia. Ah—this is the man I mentioned yesterday, one of our realm’s Four Dukes.”“An honor, Lady Fia Ringo. I am Amagio Silverhead, Hereditary Duke of the Kingdom of Lepuitari. In the navy, I serve as Supreme Marshal of the Technical Bureau.”At that self-introduction, Fia nodded lightly—then stared straight into Amagio’s face.“…? Something wrong?”“…No. Nothing. Before the meeting, let me give you a brief tour. Dry is waiting upstairs.”Clank, clank—their boots rang lightly as Fia and her guards ascended the gangway.Alban Bleius and Amagio Silverhead followed.“—Ugh!?”Amagio jerked backward, his whole body recoiling.“Duke Amagio!?”Alban spun around in alarm. He felt nothing strange himself. The duke had simply halted and stepped back suddenly.“Wh… what… could it be…”Staring up in shock, he looked toward Fia ahead of them.Fia had stopped and was looking down at him.“Amagio-Salmon—protocol direct. Communication mode: personal call. Public key will be delivered later by physical medium. Exchange possible?”“…Ah. Possible. Direct link—can’t do. Common device—ready?”“No issue. Will deliver together. …Sorry for the delay. Let’s proceed up.”“……”The abrupt exchange left Admiral Alban gaping.“Duke Amagio…? Do you—have some prior connection with Paraiso?”“…No. This is our first meeting. Without a doubt.”Amagio shook his head and set his foot back on the steps. This time, he climbed without hesitation.“Alban, it’s fine. This has nothing to do with today’s talks. I’ll explain later. For now, let’s focus on today’s work.”◇◇◇◇“Commander Ma’am. About Amagio Silverhead—the remote scan shows he is not fully organic.”“…Huh? Sorry, could you say that again?”At Ringo’s report, Commander Eve turned around wide-eyed.“Amagio Silverhead. He appears to be an augmented human of some kind. Likely his processing capacity, muscular strength, and durability have been enhanced through scientific means.”“Wait… so—you mean, a cyborg?”“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.”In other words, there might exist in this world another force possessing supertechnology besides The Tree.“We attempted contact through several protocol layers, but his external communications appear disabled—no response. However, we managed to establish a link via a specific handshake. Some personal data exchange succeeded.”“Uh… meaning?”“He is either a transfer individual like us, or someone who has inherited that technology. Whether his core is the same kind of human as you, or an intelligence derived from a brain unit like ours, cannot be determined yet.”For Eve, it was lightning from a clear sky—the possibility that another transferred being existed in this world.And naturally, Ringo felt the threat even more keenly than she did—as an intruding anomaly that could jeopardize Commander Ma’am’s wish for a peaceful life.“So far, we’ve detected no other force employing advanced technology. But the likelihood of hidden activity is now high. Since we haven’t concealed our own, it’s quite possible information has leaked to them.”“Hm… maybe. Tell me, Ringo—do you think this encounter was deliberate? Or accidental?”“Judging from the situation, the probability of coincidence is extremely high. There’s no rational basis for a planned contact.”Eve thought to herself—Ringo’s reactions to unknown phenomena were always extreme.That was precisely why she had to keep the reins tight; left alone, Ringo might very well start conquering the world.“In that case, the other side probably can’t maintain a full organization—or has already ceased activity. If they’re in the same position as us, running out of resources means total shutdown. If The Tree stopped functioning, I’d be left surviving with nothing but my own body. And if they’re in that state…”“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Then we’ll approach peacefully.”“Do that.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.