Chapter 192

“Private Han, you’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Yeah, you all have worked hard. Hey, let’s go.”

“Yes sir.”

Having just changed shifts with the next personnel, the soldiers trudged along when a large truck in the shape of a box approached them.

The soldiers showed no reaction.

Then, the truck slowly decelerated and stopped in front of the obelisk.

“Huh?”

Finally, the soldiers reacted.

Since trucks rarely stopped in front of the obelisk, the two soldiers glanced at the truck.

Their eyes paused as they slowly moved toward the holographic license plate attached to the front of the truck.

“…Private Han, isn’t that an official seal?”

“Official seal.”

Special license plates used instead of standard ones on vehicles belonging to high-ranking military officers to display their status.

“Yeah, it’s a seal, but why is it on a truck?”

“That’s what I’m wondering.”

High-ranking individuals didn’t usually ride in trucks known for their poor ride quality.

In short, it was like putting a pearl necklace on a pig.

Based on this common knowledge, the two soldiers stared at the truck suspiciously as the driver’s door opened, and a female humanoid robot—an Automaton—gracefully stepped out.

“Hello, Soldiers.”

“Ah, hello.”

One private responded reflexively.

With a bright smile to him, the automaton then walked over and knocked on the truck’s rear door.

“Mr. Edu, we’ve arrived.”

– Yes, I’m coming out now.

The rear door of the crate on the truck opened, revealing a one-star general stepping out boldly.

“A-”

Finally, comprehension spread across the soldiers’ faces.

With silver stars on her hat and shoulders, and a small girl perched on the back of a matured girl’s back, she stretched.

“Mmm… I slept well. Thank you for your efforts, Miss Mu.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

Mu bowed her head to Edu who was stretching her arms. Then Edu suddenly turned her head when she noticed the gaze directed at her cheeks.

Startled by the young girl’s gaze, the two soldiers immediately saluted.

“Deputy Brigade Commander Edu, good morning!”

“Good morning!”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

Edu received their salute with a small wave of her short arm, and right then, a young soldier who had been looking for cues beside Private Han suddenly shouted loudly.

“Hey, we always support you, Brigadier General!”

An endorsement more fitting for an idol from a fan.

At this statement, Private Han was horrified, and both Edu and the rest of the group blinked in surprise as they stared at him.

A subtle atmosphere settled between them.

Instinctively realizing something was wrong, Private Han opened his mouth just as Edu grinned widely enough to show her teeth and nodded.

“Thank you for the support, and I hope you’ll continue to support me.”

“Yes, yes sir!”

The young soldier saluted again.

Edu and her group received the salute as they walked toward the obelisk.

“Whoa…”

The young soldier stared after Edu and the group as they moved away.

Private Han nudged him in the ribs.

“Hey, are you crazy!? There are things you don’t say to a Brigadier General.”

“But if we’re unable to express gratitude, isn’t this the best way?”

The answer was firm, with set resolve, and it made Private Han slightly tilt his head in confusion.

In any case, thanks to the young soldier’s initiative, everyone had seen the bright smile of the small, beloved girl, and ultimately, as no major issues arose, Private Han unconsciously nodded in agreement.

“That is true, but still, try to hold back a bit next time, okay? You almost made me pee myself.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for.”

The two continued on their way.

“Still, Private Han, why does Deputy Brigade Commander Edu ride such a truck? Shouldn’t someone of her rank take something much better?”

“Hey, can’t you tell just by looking?”

“There’s no way.”

“She’s trying hard in a practical manner instead of showing off uselessly, trying to save even one more person. If not, who would put an official seal on a truck?”

A personal opinion filled with subjective thoughts.

But upon hearing these words, the young soldier’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh… Indeed, that does seem right! Private Han really is remarkable!”

“Isn’t it?”

An elated Private Han.

And thus, yet another baseless but heartwarming story about Edu was created without her knowledge.

…

“Hmm.”

“Edu, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just that I thought I smiled too much.”

On her way to the obelisk, she accidentally met some soldiers. Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be returning to the barracks after completing sentry duty. Even in that situation, they had cheered for her, so without thinking, she gave them a little extra smile as a service.

‘Besides, they both seemed to like it…’

The slight embarrassment exchanged for the happiness of the two soldiers.

She consoled herself that this wasn’t such a bad exchange when she realized her group had already arrived at the door of the main general’s office.

Nisia knocked on the door smartly.

“Director, General Director, we’ve arrived.”

– Nisia? Please come in.

“Yes.”

The door opened, and they went inside.

“Welcome, everyone.”

“You’ve worked hard!”

Ryoju Chancellor and Freya greeted them.

Freya, getting up from her seat, approached and gently patted everyone’s heads with a bright smile.

“You’re back earlier than expected, I see? I assume everything went smoothly?”

“Yes, we inflicted heavy damage on the enemy fleet!”

With her hands on her hips, Edu spoke confidently, causing Freya’s hand to freeze mid-motion.

Ryoju Chancellor, who had been watching from a distance with a gentle smile, also widened his eyes.

“Uh… Edu, what did you just say?”

“I said we inflicted heavy damage on the enemy fleet.”

“….”

Freya turning her head toward the Chancellor, and upon receiving that glance, Chancellor Ryoju let out a small sigh.

“Edu, didn’t you promise not to do any dangerous things this time?”

“Yes, but I didn’t do anything dangerous.”

Since the enemy was successfully lured into a trap and thoroughly beaten, it wasn’t dangerous, dammit.

“…Hmm?”

The Chancellor tilting his head in confusion.

Freya also narrowed her eyes before sighing and then picked up Edu, who was sitting on Seoli’s back, holding her tightly in her arms.

“Edu, I’m not scolding you. However, both myself and the Chancellor feel that you view dangerous situations too lightly, which makes us uneasy and worried.”

“Freya is correct. I want to always trust and support you, yet your actions plunging headlong into great danger seem troubling.”

Their worried expressions and words.

“Hmm…?”

It wasn’t right. Though there had been some risk-taking, it wasn’t as if she was always recklessly rushing in like a moth to a flame.

Glancing subtly at Nisia, who was nearby, Edu saw her shake her head with an awkward smile, subtly denying it.

Following Nisia’s actions, Seoli, who appeared clueless, also shook her head, while Ryong, staring intently at Edu, crossed his small fingers in an X as if to say it wasn’t like that.

Oh? If three people thought so, it seemed like her actions might appear perilous from their perspective.

“Well, though it may sound like an excuse, in my opinion, I moved by relatively safe methods.”

Click.

Freya’s hand resting on her shoulder.

“Edu.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you think that engaging with enemies of superior power, bravely infiltrating their ranks, stealing their ships, or toppling fortresses that countless heroes couldn’t defeat aren’t exactly safe methods?”

Edu was speechless at Freya’s logical explanation.

Upon further reflection, yes, that was true.

To make matters worse, she was academically still not even finished with her first year at the academy and physically looked like a frail, young girl.

Though she moved as rationally as possible based on her knowledge of AOE (Age of Empires), from the perspective of the adults watching over her, it was understandable for them to worry.

And there was another reason why people felt anxious, and Edu could guess what it was.

It was the difference in perception.

The thoughts and experiences accumulated through her long history with AOE, along with the gamer mindset combined with the modern way of thinking, inevitably diverged from those who had lived in this world from the beginning.

“Edu is trying her best for everyone, but we hope you’ll also take care of yourself.”

“That… I’ll try my best.”

“Can you promise that?”

“Hehe…”

With the sense that making a promise would only be futile, Edu evaded the question with a smile as Freya warmly hugged her once again.

Warmth spread throughout her body as she felt her mood soften.

“You’ve worked hard, Edu. It’s such a relief to see you safe.”

“Yes, everyone has worked hard. So, can you please tell us what happened?”

“Of course.”

She recounted the events, from infiltrating the enemy lines, taunting them, and tricking the unsuspecting 8th Main Battle Fleet into a trap before launching an attack.

As they heard the whole story, smiles appeared on the faces of Chancellor Ryoju and Freya, and they nodded.

“Trusting Edu with the Invaders was definitely the right decision!”

“That’s true. Your strategies always take me by surprise.”

“Hehe…”

Her cheeks flushed at the compliments.

“All according to your plan, Edu. But will these aliens follow along according to our expectations?”

“They will have no choice but to act accordingly. We even camouflaged the summoned creatures to look like invaders and deliberately revealed specific capabilities.”

The reason for summoning Galatin, who had a coloring most similar to Invaders after Squite, was entirely to deceive the Ustansha.

Furthermore, we ensured there was no trace of ourselves left in this latest attack.

That is, every clue pointed to the Invaders.

A sly smile involuntarily crept onto her face.

“Hehe, they’re probably having heated discussions based on false information right about now.”

…

“…What about Admiral Yotun and Admiral Gelang’s conditions?”

[Both are safe, but suffered severe injuries. They will need to focus on treatment for some time.]

“Hmm, understood.”

[Yes sir!]

The hologram saluted and disappeared.

A heavy silence filled the meeting room of the Grand Fleet Commanders and the Chief Guard Commander.

After a long pause, the admiral of the 9th Interstellar Navigation Fleet asked,

“So, how do you intend to proceed?”

“Is there even any question? Let’s go wipe out those metal-made native organisms!”

The admiral of the 12th Main Battle Fleet reacted emotionally, but the admiral of the 5th Main Battle Fleet interjected.

“We lack information. We need a better understanding of the situation.”

“Our territory has already been attacked by those metallic beings, right? We must retaliate in kind!”

“It could be either way.”

The cautious response from the admiral of the 5th Main Battle Fleet.

Watching this exchange, the commander of the Royal Guard Fleet, the Chief Guard Commander, slowly opened his eyes.

“Considering all the intel so far, it’s certain that the recent attacks on the 4th Interstellar Navigation Fleet and the 8th Main Battle Fleet were by those machine-made organisms.”

Screens hovering at the center of the meeting room displayed footage of Invader armor formations and a humanoid robot with dark wings that appeared during the recent battle.

“Their capacity to freely summon massive weaponry and then withdraw represents a significant threat.”

“Agreed! So we must destroy them immediately!”

The admiral of the 12th Main Battle Fleet enthusiastically agreed.

“Then, will you delay dealing with the human natives?”

The admiral of the 7th Interstellar Navigation Fleet asked, and the Chief Guard Commander slowly nodded in affirmation.

“Eliminate the more dangerous enemy first. Not to belittle all of you, but it’s undeniable that the Main Battle Fleets have more power compared to the Interstellar Navigation Fleets.”

“…”

“That and, the human group seems to have already taken advantage of our weakened state by employing underhanded tactics. Such tricks wouldn’t work on us, blessed by the Emperor.”

“…”

Silence from the admiral of the 7th Interstellar Navigation Fleet, confident in their certainty.

“So, we will prioritize attacking the machine-based organisms. Does everyone agree?”

“Agreed!”

“Agreed.”

“…”

“Understood.”

“Confirmed.”

…

Deep beneath the surface.

The high-level processing unit leading the Invader invasion moved ceaselessly, directing the front lines.

Though they had lost the valuable asset, Megabase, due to misinformation, the situation wasn’t completely ruined, so K1 continued giving instructions, focusing on each piece of information.

Then, unexpected information began to flow in.

[Info: Allied alien forces attacking.]

[Info: Allied alien fleet appears. Now launching a full-scale assault on our forces.]

[Info: A large number of alien forces appearing across occupied regions.]

The consecutive reports all pointed to the Ustansha Empire attacking them, the Invaders.

[ …??? ]

K1 already knew about the appearance of a new enemy in the planetary orbit.

The question was, why were the aliens specifically targeting them when others remained unscathed?

– What? Why us??

The Invader forces were perplexed, hit unexpectedly without understanding why.

Amidst the confusion, K1 was utterly baffled.