Chapter 96

Ark No. 3, Hope.

In the center of the important administrative district of Central stood a uniquely shaped building.

Reminiscent of a canned pineapple, a circular band and a proudly towering purple spire at its center.

All the surfaces of the building, made entirely of glass windows, concealed a discreet conversation taking place within.

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Seated in a darkened room, conversing via hologram, was Grojai, a middle-aged man. Grojai, a councilman of Ark No. 3 who did not have the best relationship with Edu, continued to propose something to the distant councilmen he was speaking to.

“Regardless of how things have turned out, it’s a fact that they failed to defend Ark No. 6, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

“Which is why we need to use this to our advantage, creating public pressure. It’s only logical, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

“Hmm…”

“Um.”

The various voices from the other side conveyed unspoken worry and unease.

“Still, are you planning to act on this right now? Perhaps we should give it more time?”

Another councilman suggesting an alternative.

Seeing the feeble response, Grojai intensified his tone.

“That is unacceptable. If not now, there won’t be another chance.”

“But wouldn’t this come with very high risk if things don’t go smoothly? We had an unfortunate incident the last time, didn’t we?”

Another councilman, with a mocking tone, pointed out a problem.

Recalling the unpleasant past event, Grojai remembered the humiliation. A small mistake had spiraled into a ruined plan after a lot of work, leading to days of doubt from others. Deep-seated anger bubbled up within him.

And then an image popped into his mind, that of a mere child.

Yes, it all started when things got complicated after associating with that brat.

An unpleasant kid, indeed!

Grojai muttered aloud as he thought, maintaining a composed tone.

“Last time was just a mishap. You don’t need to worry unnecessarily.”

“Is that so?”

An extremely flippant response.

Angry at this attitude, Grojai snapped.

“Do you not trust me? Who put you in those seats?”

“Ahaha, of course not!”

Only then did the councilman become polite after Grojai’s intimidating stance.

“Anyway, that concludes the discussion. Any other opinions?”

No response.

“Good. I will soon conduct a press conference, so I leave the appropriate response to you.”

“Understood.”

“Alright.”

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

The hologram disappeared, leaving the room silent.

“Hmph, incompetent fools.”

Muttering to himself, Grojai fumed.

“This time, we must seize the ark…”

Greed and desire glimmered in his polished eyes.

With a chilling smile, Grojai tapped the panel set aside on his desk.

“Councilman, did you need something?”

“Contact all media outlets. Inform them that this councilman, Grojai, has a crucial announcement for the ark.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

“Hmph.”

The communication cut off.

Relaxing, Grojai gathered his thoughts.

But after some time passed, there was still no sign of any contact.

“…???”

Reaching for the panel again, Grojai was interrupted.

“Councilman.”

“Yes, how long will preparations take?”

Grojai asked confidently.

But the secretary faltered, failing to provide an immediate answer.

Finally, Grojai caught on.

“What? Is there an issue?”

“Well…most of the media personnel are at an explanatory session hosted by the Academy. It seems difficult to prepare for the press conference immediately.”

Grojai’s eyes widened.

“What did you say? An explanatory session?”

…

The large auditorium of the Academy.

Instead of the usual bustling students, there were other people milling about.

Camera crews adjusting lighting angles, reporters dressed impeccably holding mics with their respective media logos, the whole scene was set for the day’s announcement.

At the back of the platform,

“Oh wow…”

Looking through the curtain, Nisia’s eyes sparkled as she gazed around.

“Edu, so many people came.”

“…Yeah.”

“Why are you so quiet, Edu?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Then, a soft touch on my shoulder.

“The President?”

“Please do not worry too much. This is also for your benefit. Just be yourself, there’s no need for complication.”

“I understand, but…”

Itchy sensation.

As I fidgeted under small fingers, Bungbungi and Hands observed my expression.

“…I, well, appearing before so many people still makes me quite embarrassed.”

“You’ve done well before, right?”

Ryuje, with a smile, patted my head.

“That was slightly different. The last time I hit Gorge, I was completely furious, and the other time I gave a speech, it was more about navigating through circumstances I didn’t fully understand.”

“Don’t worry. This time, you can just stand in the background.”

“That’s true. I’ll be there too.”

Freya, poking my cheek gently with her fingertip before massaging it with both hands.

“Ugh, but you’re really going to present it as my achievement?”

“Yes, it’s not entirely incorrect, is it?”

“No, that’s quite an overstatement…”

Attempting to contradict, but Freya continued to stare at me with honest eyes.

“It’s fine. Both of us, involved as we are, see it that way, no? Don’t you agree, President?”

“Freya is right. No matter how you look at it, Edu, your contribution was the biggest, was it not?”

“Ugh…”

The unwavering attitudes of Freya and Ryuje.

Turning my gaze to Nisia for a different perspective.

“Is this acceptable for you, Nisia?”

“Yes, I merely helped a little.”

Nisia smiled brightly.

She’s like a protagonist without any greed.

Knowing no counterarguments would be accepted, I resigned myself to the reality.

“Alright…”

As I gave in, Freya stopped her massage of my cheek and gently patted my head.

The warmth passing through my hair.

“Shall we begin then, President?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Ryuje and Freya stepping up to the stage.

Looking at their backs, I recalled everything that had led up to this moment.

It started last evening.

A proposal from Ryuje as we returned from the forward base.

“Edu, I require your assistance for something, can you help?”

“Me? My help?”

“Yes.”

Though initially curious about what this might be, it didn’t take long to decide.

Having received so much help from Ryuje already.

“Of course.”

“Alright, will that be fine?”

“Yes, please let me know.”

And thus, we found ourselves on another stage because of that.

…Deciding from now on to listen clearly to what tasks entail before agreeing, I took a deep breath.

“Hoo.”

The cool air calmed my mind.

“Still, Edu, why are we making this announcement?”

“Ah, Nisia might not know this, but the government and the academy, or rather the military, are at odds.”

The final sanctuary of humanity, the ark.

There existed within it two groups.

The military, guarding humanity with force, and the government, preserving society and humanity itself.

Though these groups were meant to complement each other, what was once a symbiotic relationship began to crumble.

The failing military.

The achieving government.

It might well have been inevitable for the government to betray and degenerate alongside privileged classes.

“So we need to take the lead before the opposition does, to create a situation beneficial for us.”

“Beneficial?”

“Yes, we need to create public support. Propaganda is easy to create but hard to counteract after it spreads.”

Originally known as the famous quote about propaganda attributed to a villain on Earth, though it turns out the person never said such a thing.

Thus, the narrative established first makes opposition more difficult.

“I see, Edu knows quite a lot.”

“Just trivia.”

In the midst of conversation, responses rippled through the stage, accompanied by successive camera shutters.

Freya’s voice resonating through the auditorium.

“Hello, citizens of the Ark. I am Freya Agria, general of the Ground Reclamation Force.”

She bowed deeply.

“I am here today because I have a fact I must share with all of you.”

A brief silence followed.

When the flashes dimmed, Freya continued.

“Two mornings ago, Ark No. 6 was attacked by invading enemies.”

Turning to the other side, Diana, Ryuje’s assistant, manipulated the equipment.

Behind Freya and Ryuje, a holographic screen appeared.

It displayed devastating images of the ravaged Ark No. 6.

Burnt buildings and melted asphalt.

Everywhere, remnants of catastrophic destruction depicted the terrible moments.

Sighs and short cries rose from the reporters.

After sufficient silence, Freya spoke again.

“No matter how sudden the enemy attack, our failure to protect the ark and citizens’ safety leaves us with nothing to say.”

Freya bowed her head 90 degrees.

Ryuje bowed in the same manner beside her.

Camera shutters and flashes burst forth once again.

Then came a raised hand in the crowd.

“Could you please tell us what happened specifically?”

“Of course. This was a deliberate and planned ambush. If you look at the screen…”

Freya provided a short and straightforward explanation of the events and flow around Ark No. 6 with the help of video.

The more details were revealed, the more fear and terror emerged on people’s faces.

“Thus concludes the overview of the incident.”

When Freya finished, the murmuring grew louder.

“Monsters like these could appear as well…”

“Isn’t this place dangerous too?”

Voices of worry and concern emerged among the reporters.

I, on the other hand, was amazed by Freya’s expertise.

‘Hid all the hopeful information and narrated skillfully.’

By dividing information, she shaped the atmosphere to resonate throughout the space.

As in the darkest part of the morning comes the brightest light.

“But it’s not all bad news.”

At Freya’s words, everyone’s attention turned to her.

Her hand pointing to the screen.

The holographic screen transitioned, displaying the massive Daenslief creature with an extended body and a large turreted structure.

Running towards it was a black knight — Colossus.

An epic battle began.

“Ohh!”

The crowd sighed in awe as they saw the black knight boldly face his superior foe like a knight in a movie.

“Guh.”

“Hmph….”

A gasp of suspense during a moment of peril could be heard.

Many crises.

Yet, the black knight, who refused to give up until the end, finally felled the massive enemy.

The screen filled with a massive explosion.

“Ooooh-!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd, faces illuminated with hope.

However, my face was growing increasingly red.

“Aaah.”

“Edu? What’s wrong?”

“…I’m embarrassed.”

While hearing commendations for the things I did made me feel a little bashful before, this was on another level.

People watching my actions and reacting in various ways.

This feeling, surely like the time when I was a child and relatives gathered to tell me I was incredibly cute while I just breathed.

“Embarrassed? Why?”

Nisia tilting her head in confusion.

“It’s just something like that.”

Explaining this and then hearing Freya’s voice again.

“In this manner, we have overcome and addressed the threats intruding into the ark.”

The screen transitioned again.

It now displayed the people rescued from Ark No. 6 and the images of the Ark during investigation.

Finally, reporters seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“The good news doesn’t end there.”

The screen showed the image of the forward base.

“Huh?”

“That’s-”

A scene stunning enough to make people involuntarily exclaim.

Above the forward base, a gathering of alien fleets, and the crashed ships lighting up and rising into the air were also displayed.

“Commander, aren’t those alien fleets?”

“You’re correct. They were, until recently.”

Freya nodding her head.

“But not anymore. Thanks to the cleverness of a small hero, those ships are now ours.”

“Wait, so our army has triumphed against the extraterrestrials?”

“Exactly.”

After a brief pause, she declared in a loud voice.

“From this day forth, the Third Interstellar Fleet of Earth no longer exists!”

“Oooohh!!”

The crowd responded with loud cheers.

Applause erupted, and the dark atmosphere disappeared completely.

“And this young hero, you also saw them earlier.”

“???”

Confused faces turned to Freya.

Then, a quick-witted person raised their hand.

“Could it be, that small hero was the one piloting the weapon we saw before?”

“That’s correct.”

Nodding to the awaited question.

“Oooohh-”

The crowd’s eyes lit up upon hearing Freya’s reply.

A sufficiently ripe atmosphere.

Freya’s gaze turned toward me.

“I’d like to introduce you all to this hero on this occasion. Edu?”

Her calling voice.

“Uggg.”

Though nervous and embarrassed, what could I do?

“Then, I’ll go for a bit, Nisia. Let’s go, Bungbungi.”

“Pip. ⎝(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )rbrace;”

“Alright, see you later!”

…

In the council chamber, an unpleasant sound echoed.

Grojai stared intently at the live broadcast screen with eyes ready to pop out.

His face, biting his nails anxiously, was terribly twisted.

“…it no longer exists!”

“Oooohh!!”

The atmosphere was shifting positively.

Already, this was enough to irritate Grojai, but then the sight of the little girl climbing the podium made his eyes widen.

Long silver hair with a tiny build.

It was certain, the girl Grojai had seen before being dragged by that Gorge fellow.

Not again! Not that kid again!?

Bang!

The shock ran through his fingertips.

Simultaneously, Grojai felt overwhelming helplessness.

It’s too late. We’ve been outmaneuvered. Criticizing them now would only invite scornful replies.

In the realization that another chance had been lost, Grojai erupted into uncontrollable laughter before succumbing to fiery anger.

“Damn it! Damnitall!!”

Bang! Bang!

Grojai losing control and repeatedly hitting the table.

Even that seemed not to ease his frustration as he abruptly rose from his chair and started throwing anything he could grab in all directions.

“UUUUAAAHHHH!!”

Roaring like an animal.

In total madness, Grojai carelessly moved and tripped over something he had thrown.

“Ugh?!”

Losing his balance, Grojai fell.

Bang!

A loud noise brought the secretary running into the room.

The stern-looking woman’s eyes widened.

“Councilman?!”

She approached Grojai who was foaming at the mouth.

…

Unable to contain his anger and flailing around, Grojai was eventually carried off to the hospital in a pitiful state.