Ch.246The Man with a Sinister Plan (2)

# Chapter 246: A Man Making Sinister Plans (2)

The problem at hand was none other than the Prosnack fleet stationed near Ethernia.

It concerned the 60,000-strong fleet that the Emperor, who had been driving us crazy without any benefit to us, had mobilized with the goal of normalizing Ethernia.

Why was this becoming a problem…

“Weeeeey.”

“Deu-ttya-ttya… deu-ttya-i…”

“I’m going to be a master of fleet battles!”

“Why the hell are those guys acting like that?”

For some unknown reason, the Prosnack elite fleet of 60,000 ships, which had been on standby near Ethernia, seemed to have lost their minds.

They had broken away from their position and were now scattered chaotically throughout the neighboring regions.

If I at least knew why this was happening, I wouldn’t feel so frustrated…

[Fleet radio silence protocol continues to be maintained; no response to communications from Prosnack homeland leadership]

As I could see from the reports of infiltration agents inside Prosnack displayed on my terminal…

The reason why the Prosnack fleet was maintaining such a state remained a mystery.

Including the Holy Sevelli Empire where I was currently located, questions abounded within ISTO.

“Until recently, they maintained their fleet formation, but now they’ve disbanded even that and are spreading in all directions.”

“Hmm.”

Moreover, apart from these infiltration reports, hadn’t similar information come up in my recent communication with Samiya, who had returned to the Prosnack homeland?

————————————-

“I just don’t understand. Even with radio silence, it should have naturally been lifted by now without them realizing it.”

“Hmm?”

“Not responding even to emergency communication protocols from the capital—it’s unheard of.”

————————————–

‘Hmm.’

When Lady Maria heard my concerns, she fell into thought for a moment.

Eventually, as if having realized something, she nodded and spoke.

“I see. This must be related to mental domination, one of the abilities possible through psionic powers.”

“Mental domination, you say?”

Hearing those words, I recalled the mental domination wave that had spread not only through the Prosnack fleet but also widely among civilians.

‘Come to think of it, when the mental domination wave was suddenly disrupted and lifted, the Prosnack people were left in a dazed state, unable to do anything.’

Wondering if the Prosnack fleet near Ethernia was in the same condition, I posed the question.

Lady Maria replied:

“To be precise… it may look similar, but strictly speaking, it’s somewhat different.”

“…?”

Her words seemed like a strange play on words, and I wasn’t sure how to respond.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“Well… the mental domination placed on those fleets appears to have not yet been lifted.”

“…!”

Hearing this, I was shocked at the implication that the damn Emperor was still exerting influence over the fleet.

According to Lady Maria, this meant the Prosnack fleet could potentially run wild according to the Emperor’s plans at any moment.

‘Holy fucking shit.’

But regardless of my thoughts, Lady Maria continued her explanation:

“The problem is that while the mental domination hasn’t been lifted, the person responsible doesn’t seem to be issuing any additional commands.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s simple. That Emperor fellow has apparently deemed the fleet no longer useful and abandoned it without giving further orders.”

“…!”

“He should have either layered additional commands or properly terminated the mental domination… but since he didn’t, they’re wandering around like half-broken puppets.”

“So that means…”

“Given that the person who imposed the mental domination is no longer present, the domination state will likely wear off before long.”

Fortunately, according to Lady Maria, there was no danger of the bastard Emperor taking control of the Prosnack fleet again.

I nodded, feeling a sense of relief that there was no need to worry about the fleet.

‘So if we just leave them alone, Samiya will naturally take control of the fleet as time passes.’

Thanks to this, I realized there wasn’t any immediate problem.

With enough time, Samiya could take over the fleet without any additional measures.

‘Is this… the power of increased probability of positive events?’

Feeling relieved, I thought I should proceed with my plan based on acquiring the Prosnack fleet without losses.

However, Lady Maria, a master of psionic abilities, shook her head and waved her hands dismissively as she spoke:

“Child, I wish things would work out as you think… but there’s a reason why the Prosnack fleet is behaving this way.”

“Pardon?”

And with her next words, I couldn’t hide my shock:

“If we leave them be for much longer, their brains will turn to mush, and they’ll collectively become brain-dead vegetables.”

“…What?”

“It may have already begun. Those scattered all around might already be in that state.”

To hear that what was once the galaxy’s strongest fleet would soon become a mass production facility for dementia patients if we waited a bit longer…

Faced with such an absurd revelation, I felt an emotion that was difficult to put into words.

And right after hearing Lady Maria’s words—

-Ding!♬

[Time Pause]

[Event: Prosnack Fleet Mass Brain Death Crisis]

[The Prosnack fleet, essential to your monster utilization plan, is in danger of falling into a collective brain-dead state.]

[If you don’t take specific action regarding the Prosnack fleet soon, the galaxy’s strongest elite fleet will become fleet battle masters overnight!]

[Option 1: By any means necessary, the fleet must be preserved. (Linked event progression, random positive event occurrence)]

[Option 2: Perhaps taking over a fleet of deu-ttya-i wouldn’t be so bad…? (Linked event progression, increased probability of random event occurrence)]

‘Tsk.’

Faced with such blatant options appearing, I had to go through another period of agonizing deliberation.

Of course, even accounting for the time pause, my deliberation didn’t last very long.

After about an hour of contemplation, the answer I came up with was quite simple.

‘Obviously option 1. What use would I have for a brain-dead deu-ttya-i fleet?’

[Option 1: By any means necessary, the fleet must be preserved. (Linked event progression, random positive event occurrence)] <Selected>

I did wonder why I spent an hour deliberating on such a simple answer.

But what does it matter either way?

Having organized my thoughts, I ended the time pause and told Lady Maria that we needed to discuss this matter in earnest.

[Time Pause End]

“Holy Saint, could you possibly speak directly with their representative about this matter?”

“Representative… you mean the young child who succeeded the little one who used to lead Prosnack.”

Treating Samiya, who was about the same age as Artraia, like a newborn.

Hearing Lady Maria’s words, I was once again reminded of the vast difference between her appearance and actual age.

‘Lady Maria’s age is… clearly much greater than she appears…’

While I was unconsciously harboring such thoughts—

-Crunch…!

“Krubrb!”

“Hohohohoho, child? What were you saying about my age?”

As the price for completely forgetting that Lady Maria was riding on my shoulders…

-Crunch!

“W-wait…”

I immediately found my head being squeezed from both sides by Lady Maria’s thighs.

————————————–

“So that’s why you have those marks on your head…?”

“That’s exactly it, Artraia.”

I narrowly escaped the crisis of having my head squashed into a peanut shape by the terrifying muscle strength of the Ether Dragon.

But as a consequence, at the hastily arranged trilateral meeting between Sevelli-Prosnack-Ethernia…

I had to explain to Artraia not only about my flattened hair but also about the deep red marks prominently displayed on both sides of my face.