Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Editor: Thors Stone

Alan. Its fine already. Dont concern yourself with that promise anymore. We will not be able to turn back anymore after all, and if Alan thinks its alright, then I will just follow your lead. Do you have any other opinions, everyone?

If Alan-sama and Ria-sama believe it is fine, then we do not have any objections as well.

Alright. Like I said, there is no problem with living in the base. Id like to leave for the base as soon as our business in the royal capital is over, but we still dont know what will happen once we conduct the rescue operation. For the time being, lets concentrate on the rescue operation first. I will give you all a detailed overview of the plan tomorrow.

I understand.

Got it.

Right now, everythings still unpredictable. Will we be able to get through the conferment ceremony successfully, will we be able to perform the rescue operation without a hitch, and what was going on with Roberto and the others anyway? In any case, we have no choice but to tackle each of them one by one.

When I was about to finish eating supper, a call from Iris came.

I found a group that is likely to be the advance party.

(Yosh, Ill receive your report in my room. Can you come to my room as well, Selena, Sharon?)

((Understood.))

After Selena and Sharon entered my room, a projection of Iris appeared as well.

Please take a look at these footages.

An entire wall of the room turned into a screen, and dozens of windows popped up within it. They showed footage of the advance party from different angles. It looks like the thousand or so people werent moving in a large unified group but were instead split into several smaller units.

Yeah, these are probably them. Are all of them soldiers?

No. Only about 40% of them are wearing armor and weapons. As for the others, judging from their clothes and the equipment they carry, they should be craftsmen of some sort.

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Craftsmen huh. I guess Roberto is thinking of helping us build a base. Well, theres a limit to what the general-purpose bots can do on their own, so these craftsmen will be quite helpful.

Lieutenant, when will these people arrive at the royal capital?

According to my estimate, they should be arriving here in forty days.

Forty days huh? In any case, theres nothing we can do about them right now. Assign some drones to escort them.

Roger.

Now then, lets discuss the rescue operation next. Tell me everything youve learned about the castle security measures.

This is most likely the best route for infiltrating the underground dungeon.

A transparent cross-section of the castle appeared on screen, and a route leading from where the carriages will be parked to the underground dungeon was displayed in red.

I believe you will not have any problems entering the castle itself if you are dressed as ladies-in-waiting. You would only encounter trouble if you get in contact with castle personnel during the infiltration. There are two guards stationed in front of the hallway leading to the castle dungeon. There are an additional four guards stationed at the entrance to the dungeon itself.

So there are six guards huh. There are a lot less of them than I expected.

I was only able to confirm six guards stationed today. We cannot be sure if the situation will remain the same on the day of the rescue mission.

Yeah, youre right. We have no choice but to check again in the morning before the ceremony and iron out an infiltration strategy then.

I checked out the dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting earlier and I believe it will be difficult to conceal weapons such as swords, laser rifles, or laser guns within them.

Yeah, I suppose. I guess they can only bring electromagnetic bladeknives and magic stones with them huh. Will you be okay with just those?

Theres no problem.

This really cant be called a plan, but just be sure to adapt to whatever situation you guys encounter accordingly and respond flexibly. For the time being, both of you should conduct simulations according to the current info we have on hand. Ill say this now though. If I think its impossible to conduct the operation, I will have no qualms aborting it. Well think of a different approach if that happens, so please keep that in mind.

Roger.

After our preliminary strategy meeting was over, the two girls left my room spiritedly. I quickly organized the data and prepared the relevant material so I can explain the plan to everyone tomorrow and slept early.

The next day, I decided to gather everyone in the dining hall first thing in the morning to explain the outline of the plan.

This is the infiltration route you will take toward the underground dungeon.

Elna stared at the sketch of the castle I drew on a piece of paper.

There will be at least six soldiers assigned to guard the area near the dungeon. You three will need to swiftly dispatch them first.

Understood. There will be no need to worry as long as I have Selena and Sharon with me.

Alan, what about us? Is there anything we can do to help out?

In the case that the operation fails, the three of them will need to escape the castle while fighting off the guards along the way.

In preparation for that possibility, I want you guys to wait on stand-by near the castle gate, but make sure not to raise any undue suspicion. Well also need to prepare a suitably large carriage and some horses.

If the mission is conducted successfully, well move the ones we rescued to our Clan Home in Gantz straight away. In order not to make them stand out, Ill only have one Satellite accompany them as escorts.

For now, prepare for a withdrawal battle just in case things go south, and assemble an extraction team in case the rescue mission succeeds.

Roger!

After the meeting, Adjutant Dalshim and the rest of the party leaders continued to discuss the particulars of the plan among themselves. Everyone else busied themselves preparing as well.

To be clear, the plan cant be called a plan at all due to how much is left to chance. In any case, everything rests on the success or failure of the three main participants. I guess Ill just think up possible countermeasures just in case the mission fails.

Elna, Selena, and Sharon changed to the long apron dresses worn by the ladies-in-waiting working within the palace. I guess they want to practice for the real thing by wearing them.

Now then, Alan. Please accompany me in training today as well.

Okay, sure. Alright then. Lets try close-quarters combat using knives this time. Ill play the part of an enemy swordsman.

We moved to the inns courtyard, and I picked up a wooden sword placed in a corner.

Can a knife wielder really win against a swordsman?

Depending on how you fight, you can certainly snatch a win. Sharon.

I got into a battle stance with the wooden sword while Sharon pulled out her bladeknife, held it in front of one of her forearms, and got into a knife-fighting position favored by the space marines.

Knife-fighting was of a different sort compared to usual Imperial Arts techniques, but judging from her stance, Sharon was probably pretty skilled with it as well.

I probed her with a couple of blows, but Sharon avoided all of them within a hairs breadth. The moment I swung my next blow, Sharon brandished her knife, deflected my wooden sword while stepping further in at the same time, restrained my wrist, and placed the knife next to my neck in a flash.

Fighting the knife-wielding Sharon with the same pattern of sword attacks will just spell your defeat. The only way to counter her was to constantly change the pattern of your attacks and keep your distance.

Amazing! I see. So you really can win against a swordsman even with just a bladeknife. I like it. Sharon, please. Please teach me your knife-fighting techniques.

Of course.

We continued to prepare for the rescue mission the following days until the day of the conferment ceremony finally arrived.

Elnas combat skills grew at a surprisingly fast rate, and no one among the Clan members apart from Sharon, Selena, and I could hold a candle to her.

Ive tried to account for every eventuality I could predict and planned countermeasures accordingly. I did all I could, given the circumstances.

Since Sharon and Selena will both be coming with me, command of the rest of the members was left to Dalshim.

That outfit really suits you, Alan.

Is that so? Well, I admit these clothes really are well-made.

The custom-made clothes I was wearing were a perfect fit for me, unlike ready-made clothes, and they also included a certain amount of imperial flair, so I also thought they looked pretty cool.

Please do be careful, Alan.

I know. Well definitely save them. Alright then. Were off. I leave everyone to you, Dalshim.

Understood. Please leave it to me, Alan-sama.

And so, I, Sharon, Selena, and Elna all boarded the carriage we prepared and headed for the royal castle.