“Commander Ma’am. <The Reflector> has begun moving.”
“...Hm?”
It was during their usual tea party.
Immediately after <Ringo> had silently served the sweets, she abruptly made that report.
“<The Reflector> has begun moving. <Kakitsubata> and <Iris> have started responding. Carrier <Myrkvids> and battleship <Blazablik> have shifted to combat posture. A combat airspace has been established. Airborne carriers <Eurytos> and <Clytius>, and aerial escort ships <Chronos>, <Theia>, <Rhea>, <Themis>, <Mnemosyne>, and <Phoebe> have begun moving.”
“It’s an all-out battle, then...!”
<The Reflector>, which they had been monitoring, had finally begun to move. All of <The Tree> shifted into combat posture at once.
Naturally, that information was also relayed to Duke Amajio Silverhead, who was online.
『...Hey, hey, the monster’s started moving, has it!』
“Ah, Amajio.”
Amajio had sent a call through the activated tactical data link.
Because <The Reflector> was highly likely to have a major effect on the northern states, Amajio had been given ample information as well.
『I caught a glimpse of something about anti-threat-organism warheads going into operation, but can those things deal with this one?』
“Hmm... hard to say?”
“An accurate combat-power assessment has not been possible. Its abilities are also unknown. We have no choice but to try striking it.”
Long-range footage capturing <The Reflector> began streaming over the data link.
In the center of the image, an enormous body that looked like nothing but a rocky mountain was slowly rising.
『Big Sister! Asahi will head over there too!』
And Asahi, sensing the presence of a major event, apparently intended to connect to a doll-machine communicator stored inside <The Tree>. Since she was currently staying in Telek Port City, she seemed to have given up on joining them with her main body.
“Will there be movement within a few hours?”
“Depending on its final movement speed, the full-scale response will likely begin tomorrow or later. I expect today will be spent observing the situation.”
『Unless that great big lump moves at some ridiculous speed, yeah. At most, it’ll be twenty or thirty kilometers an hour. Though there’s also the question of where it’s trying to go...』
“Hmm...”
<The Reflector>, now standing, slowly extended its long neck.
The movement seemed almost as if it were searching for something.
Several minutes passed like that.
Then <The Reflector> slowly began moving away from where it stood.
Its direction was—
“Information acquired from local observation units. It is oriented toward fortress <Gladiolus>. Displaying estimated movement position. It does not appear that it will make contact with any confirmed <Fenrir> territory, but continued close observation is necessary.”
“Ugh... Seriously...?”
In truth, they had considered the possibility.
Ever since the <Magic Stone> for barrier generation had been brought into fortress <Gladiolus>, <The Reflector> had shown signs of activity.
If so, it was natural to think <The Reflector> had awakened in connection with that activation.
Of course, there was still the possibility that the timing had merely overlapped, and that it was pure coincidence.
『That’s the fortress with that magic barrier attached, right? Hmm. Can it detect something like that?』
“I wonder. The mana-concentration waves I showed you before seem to spread over a fairly slow span, but it wouldn’t be strange if something different from those was being emitted...”
Eve answered Amajio’s question with a shake of her head.
They had learned that when some kind of magical phenomenon occurred, the mana concentration spread variations of density into the surroundings, like ripples across the surface of water.
However, that movement of mana was extremely slow, and the speed at which it spread was very low. Observation had shown that the influence spread only a few kilometers per day.
By simple calculation, the mana ripple generated by the activation of the magic barrier would need several years to reach <The Reflector>.
And yet, as things stood, <The Reflector> had begun to move.
In that case, it would be correct to assume that some phenomenon separate from the density variations of a mana ripple had occurred.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s heading straight for <Gladiolus>, does it? Its course looks a little off.”
In the footage, <The Reflector> had begun moving by working its six legs. Its currently observed movement speed was around twenty kilometers an hour.
And if its current movement path were extended in a straight line, its destination would be slightly north of <Gladiolus>, roughly forty kilometers away from it.
“At present, it is impossible to say. Given the distance, the most likely prediction is that an error has occurred in its movement direction. For a coincidence, however, its destination is too close to <Gladiolus>.”
“That’s true...”
If <The Reflector> was aiming for <Gladiolus> and that deviation had occurred, then its detection performance—or perhaps its sense of direction—could not be judged perfectly accurate.
That said, if it was this accurate from a distance of a thousand kilometers, it was more than precise enough.
『That thing can probably move faster, right?』
“Affirmative. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Thirty to forty kilometers an hour is believed to be its normal movement speed, so its current state is presumed to be a slow start.”
The last time <The Reflector> had moved was when it walked in order to prey on the <Wyvern> it had shot down. It had been walking slowly then as well, but even so, it had been faster than it was now.
And then, at that moment, an energetic fox-girl came flying in.
“Boom! Big Sister! Asahi is here!”
Before the automatic door had fully opened, Asahi slipped her body through the gap and ran straight toward Eve.
The body Asahi was currently using was lightweight and weak for an android. It was the polar opposite of her main body.
Because of that, even when Asahi ran over with strength appropriate to her appearance and dove straight at Eve, it did not turn into an accident.
“Ooof! Well, well, well, well, this girl really has learned some naughty games!”
“Ueheheheheh.”
As Eve caught Asahi and vigorously ruffled her, she glanced over at <Ringo>.
<Ringo> understood exactly what that meant and began preparing the sweets Asahi preferred.
In contrast to that peaceful atmosphere inside <The Tree>, the Strategic AIs conducting countermeasure calculations at the front were in utter chaos.
Of course, simply sitting back and watching would be a problem. They needed to draft an operation to stop it.
A-class Strategic AI <Kakitsubata>, located closest to the site, gathered and analyzed local information.
And the one using those results to draft the operation was A-class Strategic AI <Iris>.
At present, <Iris> had the largest amount of combat strength within <The Tree> under direct control.
And her sister unit <Kakitsubata> was serving in a support role.
The two of them exchanged vast amounts of information through the undersea cable as they assembled interception proposals.
Combat forces inside the Prava Divine Kingdom, as well as the carrier and battleship deployed at sea.
In addition, two airborne carriers that had been flying through the surrounding region.
And beyond those, combat forces that could be transported in from other regions.
If those forces were committed, how much offensive power could they produce?
Alternatively, what level of force attrition could be expected?
To be honest, there were far too many unknowns about <The Reflector>, so no proper prediction could be made.
How could they raise their maximum instantaneous firepower as high as possible, and how could they minimize losses on <The Tree>’s side?
With those premises in mind, <Iris> prepared multiple plans, then transmitted the compiled information toward <The Tree> for final calculation.
