Side: Olive Melt, Flame Princess Knight

"Mist, we managed to secure His Majesty's permission, but what do you genuinely think of the situation?"

After the audience, my sister and I were discussing our future plans at our residence in the imperial capital.

"Which matter are you referring to, Onee-sama? Do you mean the truth surrounding Marley-sama, or our upcoming operational deployment?"

"Both. But right now, I want to hear your thoughts on our next move."

Much like myself, Mist possessed magnificent orange hair and a striking physical beauty that comfortably rivaled my own.

Mist has beautiful orange hair just like mine, and her beauty rivals my own. She can wield a magic sword just as well, but the biggest difference is that she’s far better at using her head.

That's why I usually come up with ideas based on Mist's analysis of the situation, and then Mist refines the details before we put them into action.

"Next steps, hm...? Yes, you're right, Onee-sama. In the end, both topics are connected. Your intuition truly is remarkable."

"Only because I have you by my side to anchor it, Mist. So, what is your assessment?"

"Very well. Regarding the incident that triggered this entire situation—where Marley-sama's direct aide, Jessica, was allegedly slain by an Orc—I am entirely convinced that the report was a fabrication."

"So you think so too, Mist?"

"Yes. There's no way that Jessica, Marley-sama's aide, would lose to something as insignificant as an orc."

"Indeed. Even when we use the power of our magic swords, she was still a woman capable of putting up a proper fight. Even if she was caught off guard, an orc shouldn't have been able to kill her."

"Honestly, if she hadn't belonged to Marley-sama, I would have tried to recruit her myself. But setting Jessica's abilities aside, I think the story we heard from the soldiers is the truth."

"So you've reached the same conclusion."

"Yes. Although it sounded absurd, I believe the story that Marley-sama was defeated and captured by a mercenary band of around 150 people is true."

Indeed.

It was precisely because we had covertly secured this piece of intelligence beforehand that we chose to deliberately interrupt Marley's imperial audience. We had questioned soldiers ourselves, but the report that Marley had been defeated simply didn't make sense.

However, when we actually provoked her in the audience chamber, something felt off... Her response was perfectly reasonable, but there was something unnatural about her report.

Because if Jessica had truly died in battle, Marley should have shown more emotional reaction. No matter how much of a noble and magic sword user she is, no one can remain completely unmoved by the death of a comrade—especially one who died due to their commander’s carelessness.

And yet she never once requested permission to personally deal with the orcs... If an orc had truly taken the life of her subordinate and tarnished her reputation, she should have been far more invested.

Because she failed to do so, we deduced that the scenario extracted from the soldiers—that she was soundly defeated by a mercenary band—held the highest probability of truth.

The finer details, however, were for Mist to figure out.

"While the specific finer points remain entirely unverified, I highly suspect that as a condition for her safe release from captivity, the mercenary band strictly prohibited Marley-sama from initiating any further contact with them. If we operate under that assumption, her decision to conceal the truth becomes entirely logical."

"Why do you think so?"

"Think about it, Onee-sama. Have you ever once encountered or read reports of a local mercenary band capable of delivering a total defeat to a magic sword wielder of Marley-sama's caliber?"

"No, never."

"Neither have I. Therefore, perhaps the mercenary group wished to avoid becoming our enemy, so they silenced Marley-sama before releasing her. Alternatively, perhaps there never was a mercenary group at all, and she was defeated by the demi-humans..."

"Hmm, I don’t think the latter is possible. There would be no reason to hide that. Or rather, if she had been captured, she'd be a corpse."

"My thoughts exactly. Which leaves us with the absolute reality that an exceptionally powerful mercenary band capable of neutralizing Marley-sama does indeed exist in that region."

"Should we adjust our stance to initiate direct hostilities with this mercenary band, then?"

"No. Judging by the operational parameters under which they permitted Marley-sama to walk away, they clearly harbor no immediate desire to lock horns with the Empire. Therefore, if we manage to successfully absorb them into our hierarchy, we will secure a massive influx of elite military strength. And even if negotiations break down and we are forced into a direct combat scenario..."

"We already possess a perfect understanding of their reliance on surprise attack tactics, and we have nearly twice the number of troops Marley had. We can simply crush them under a single, overwhelming wave."

"Exactly, Onee-sama."

"In that case, rather than wasting time with preliminary diplomatic overtures, let us launch an immediate offensive, break their lines, and systematically integrate the surviving mercenaries directly into our subordinate units. Initiating contact via diplomacy from the very beginning would only cause them to underestimate our authority."

"A splendid approach. By establishing a clear, undeniable disparity in raw power right from the onset, they will have no choice but to submissively fall in line with our directives. You are as brilliant as ever, Onee-sama!!"

"Only because your analytical mind is always working behind the scenes to pave the way, Mist."

"I shall initiate our immediate mobilization preparations for the expedition... Though there is one thing that concerns me...."

"Oh? What might that be?"

"The soldiers reported that nearly all one hundred and fifty members of the mercenary company were goblins, and that Marley-sama herself was defeated by goblins."

"That is obviously impossible. According to the reports, the enemy won because they struck the headquarters. That part must be misinformation. Any mercenary company might keep a few goblins—or even several dozen—as disposable front-line troops. Since the soldiers lost, perhaps the goblins they saw simply left a stronger impression on them."

"...You're probably right. I can't imagine any scenario where Marley-sama, a fellow magic-sword wielder, would lose to goblins."

"Speaking of goblins, I briefly considered whether they might be the Blood-Bath Mercenaries."

"That is logistically impossible. Our intelligence confirms that particular organization is currently under active contract deep within the territory of a nation far beyond our opposing borders."

"Exactly. That's why I concluded the reports of large numbers of goblins must be false."

"Thank you, Onee-sama. That completely eliminates my lingering concerns. As long as we maintain high vigilance against potential surprise attacks and systematically eliminate the opposing force, the outcome is guaranteed. It is no different from any of our historical campaigns."

"Indeed. In warfare, mastering the fundamentals is what matters most. Come, let us win this battle and climb even higher."

"Yes. We'll rise higher still and give the people of our territory even better lives."

I reaffirmed our goal with Mist and began preparing for the expedition.

* * *

Side: Yuki

I was carrying out my standard mana tracking research alongside Zargis as usual when an entirely separate operational report was brought to my attention.

"Yuki-san, we have confirmed a distinct shift in the Jilva Empire's military deployments."

Ria, who had been systematically organizing our research documents as she always did, suddenly dropped the update out of nowhere.

"What happened? ...Actually, we're hearing similar rumors on our side too."

We had sent scouts—or rather, doppelgangers—to the city of Feil that we'd visited before in order to gather intelligence.

Among the information they brought back were rumors that the Jilva Empire had mobilized troops against the local demi-humans.

"Yes. The rumors have been around for a while, but this time we've confirmed them."

"Heh. From what source?"

"Directly from Marley-san."

"Oh? To think she'd go out of her way to send word."

"She probably had an opportunity. There was also a letter for Jessica-san. It seems Marley-san’s army passed through Feil on their way back to the war with the Holy Kingdom."

"What the? The Princess stopped by the town? She didn't bother dropping by our side to say hello."

Under the current wartime climate, frontline hub cities experience an incredibly high volume of military traffic, which explained why her brief presence went entirely unnoticed by our network.

Feil, having been forcibly seized from the Holy Kingdom, served as a massive logistical bottleneck for supply transport, troop replenishments, and rear-guard deployments, causing the streets to constantly overflow with imperial soldiers.

"Well, Yuki-san mostly gathers information behind the scenes, so you probably didn’t have a chance to meet Marley-san, right?"

"Indeed. Yuki spent most of his time around taverns gathering intelligence, so it's only natural that your paths didn't happen to cross. Furthermore, it's not like Princess-sama could safely initiate direct contact with you under the current circumstances anyway. On paper, she is officially credited with successfully neutralizing both the demi-humans and the Orc threat; if she were seen meeting with you and looking entirely overwhelmed, it would severely jeopardize her political standing."

Jessica chimed in from the side, offering her own assessment.

For the past month or so, Jessica has been working as my aide alongside Ria. Her real-world knowledge of this continent’s information and warfare has been incredibly valuable.

Of course, she’s also been going to Weed and studying things that completely shatter her previous common sense. By now, she'd surpassed the Princess in ability and had even received a sword from Narjia-san that was stronger than those knockoff magic swords.

The expression on her face when she received it had been priceless.

"Are you currently thinking about something incredibly rude?"

"I am. I was remembering the look on your face when you got that sword."

"Ah, yes. Jessica-san burst into tears, didn't she? Wasn't it something like, 'Can a prisoner really be allowed to receive a sword like this?’"

"Please stop bringing that up! Of course I reacted that way! That sword was incredible!"

"Still, its performance is lower than mine."

"Obviously!! How am I supposed to react if you hand me a sword equal to, or even better than, a Hero's weapon!?"

"Just live normally. Like I do."

"As if I could!! M-More importantly, which army is moving?"

Tch, she changed the subject.

Though, under standard circumstances, discovering that a foreign military force was actively marching toward your position would usually be classified as a massive crisis.

"It's exactly the scenario you predicted, Jessica-san." said Ria. "It's Olimar and the Pikmin. Their numbers are roughly double what we faced last time. Officially, they're being dispatched to oversee defensive containment and conduct reconnaissance regarding the Orc threat."

"Like I said, their names are Olive and Mist..."

"Officially? Meaning they have another objective?"

"Yes. According to the breakdown Marley-san provided, it appears a distorted version of the truth managed to leak through the ranks, and their true goal is to forcibly bring our mercenary group under their control."

"Where exactly did they get the 'real information' from?"

I know you can't build a door over people's mouths, but the story of 150 defeating the Princess's 2,500 should have spread too...

"Probably, they've conveniently interpreted it as a surprise attack." Jessica explained. "Unless they experience it themselves, accurately judging your military strength is impossible. And as I mentioned before, Olive and Mist are extremely ambitious. If they defeat the opponent Princess-sama failed against, their standing will rise. And they likely believe they'll gain your forces as well."

"I see. We completely obliterated their front lines in plain view, but they've chosen to entirely tune out any data that conflicts with their worldview. Or rather, only picking up the information that fits their understanding."

"So, what will you do?"

Come to think of it, it was about time we conducted a deeper analysis of the magic swords.

Since they're generously delivering themselves right to our doorstep, should I just opt for a total extermination...? No, I wanted the information they possessed.

If those swords are indeed manufactured from dungeon cores as a raw material—or perhaps are dungeon cores themselves—I have a terrible feeling that forcibly taking them from active magic sword wielders might trigger some highly problematic variables.

Which meant I needed to capture both Olive and Mist alive.

"Alright. We're going to systematically capture Olive and Mist and utilize them as live subjects for our ongoing mana research. Therefore, we'll be replicating the exact same strategic framework we used for the Princess..."

I activated the Call and summoned the hero of the previous battle.

"I'm here-ssu. What's up, boss?"

"Steve, roughly two months from now, a pair of magic sword wielders identical to the Princess will be arriving at our position, commanding a force of approximately 5,000 imperial soldiers."

"Huh? Another battle-ssu? But something like that can be left to the local commanders and the demi-humans, right? I’m already tired of dealing with those hot-blooded idiots-ssu."

"An excellent point. Alright, it's decided: effective immediately, Steve, you are formally assigned to command the demi-human forces and repel the magic sword wielders."

"Whaaat!?"

"More precisely, it’s the perfect chance to discipline those hot-headed idiots."

"Ah, you mean have them charge in recklessly, then save them when they're in a pinch, and drill into them that our word is absolute-ssu?"

"Yeah. I'm leaving those adjustments to you."

"Yeah, yeah. Repelling them won't be a problem."

Ah.

I'd accidentally said "repel".

I needed to correct that.

"Ah, my bad. Not 'repel', but 'capture'. Thanks."

"Don't be ridiculous-ssu!! We’re still in the middle of expanding the village and increasing capacity!! We only have about 500 combat-capable personnel right now-ssu!!"

"Wow, that's a lot. Still, they're only outnumbered about ten to one. Do your best. Worst case, I'll personally handle the magic-sword wielders."

"...Really?"

"Yep. I never lie."

"What's with that suspicious tone-ssu...?"

"Anyway, you'll have to handle the budget negotiations yourself. We're busy with mana research."

"Eeeehhhhh!!? You didn't lie, but you dumped the worst part on me-ssu! Do you know what war budgeting means!? I have to negotiate directly with Seraria-neesan, get approval from Eris-neesan in accounting, and place supply orders through Ratz-neesan! That's paperwork hell-ssu!!"

"I mean, if you prefer, you're more than welcome to fund the entire military campaign straight out of your own personal salary?"

"My cheap wages won't cover that-ssu!! Or rather, if you just talked to them yourself, Boss, it'd be approved instantly-ssu!!"

"Not really. I still have to submit paperwork and get things approved properly. Though my wives do tend to correct small mistakes automatically."

Well, they are my wives, after all.

"Damn it... fine, I'll do it-ssu! I already know that if I refuse, you're just going to drag me in as a test subject for your mana research anyway, right?"

"Oh, you know me so well. We were actually about to start a study on how long monsters can function with zero magical energy. I was thinking of using you as the test subject—"

"—I've got work to do-ssu! Excuse me!"

Tch.

He ran away.

"...I think I'm beginning to understand what Steve meant during that battle."

Jessica stared sadly at the door through which Steve had fled.

I wonder what they talked about?