Ch.256Sacrifice (1)

Ireh had been feeling strange lately.

She had always thought physical intimacy between men and women was disgusting.

‘How.’

How could a man and woman kiss each other? And how could a woman let herself be touched by a man and still smile as if she enjoyed it?

She couldn’t understand it.

But.

Those thoughts gradually crumbled as she watched Eidel.

‘Rustila, Zernya.’

The two women who had been rivals were kissing Eidel. And they did it every time they met, as casually as eating.

The three of them were constantly being lovey-dovey.

The problem was that Ireh had absolutely no tolerance for romantic skinship.

Today was no different. She had been deeply contemplating foreign intelligence and coin supply issues when consecutive kissing scenes right before her eyes left her mind blank.

And on top of that.

‘Now even Sonia…’

Even the android seemed to harbor feelings for Eidel. Rubbing against him, pressing her cheek against his. Honestly, Ireh was quite shocked by it.

Even a robot was falling for him.

Was Eidel really that popular with women?

‘He is handsome. And it feels comfortable being around him.’

But that was it. Ireh didn’t really understand what romantic feelings were. Most men she had encountered were beasts.

What came to mind were memories from her impoverished days. Ireh had been poor and grew up on a frontier planet. She lost her parents when she was young.

The frontier had poor security. It was a place where any remotely pretty woman would be kidnapped and subjected to unspeakable things. Ireh had grown accustomed to seeing such vulgar scenes from a young age.

It was horrifying.

But what about now?

The men she had met while traveling with Eidel…

‘Professor Feynman.’

He was kept in line by his wife.

‘Welton, Mathers, and those boys were always decent to begin with…’

Ireh realized her perception of men was gradually improving. There were bad men in the world, but there were many good ones too.

“Sigh.”

Ireh sat in a corner chair and moistened her throat with cold water. She organized her thoughts. Physical intimacy between men and women was natural. Believing that would prevent unnecessary thoughts.

As she was trying to compose herself, she met Eidel.

“So this is where you were.”

“Oh, yes.”

Eidel sat down beside Ireh. They exchanged a few words. For some reason, it felt comfortable.

Then Eidel brought something up.

“Please become my graduate student.”

“W-what?”

“I need your help to create the graviton bomb. You probably need a doctoral degree too. So I’d like you to research with me in my lab.”

She was startled by the unexpected proposal.

Of course, she had been prepared to pursue a doctorate. But she hadn’t thought about necessarily getting it from Eidel’s lab.

Men made her uncomfortable to begin with.

…Was that really true?

Anyway, Ireh had been thinking of studying under Professor Kallis Stranov. Because she was a woman. And because she would still be in a position to contact Eidel anytime.

“If you join my lab, I’ll take full responsibility for you from start to finish.”

“From start to finish…?”

“Yes, from writing your dissertation to graduation, everything.”

Ireh calmed her startled heart. She had almost fallen into strange fantasies.

Think wholesome thoughts, wholesome.

“You haven’t even received your doctoral degree yet. Maybe we should have this conversation after you become a professor.”

“Tsk, you’re right. I got ahead of myself. I’m sorry.”

Eidel immediately backed off. Ireh felt relieved inside.

She was still only in her second year of college. She had about another year of grace period left.

It would be better to end this war first, and then make up her mind depending on the situation.

***

I got rejected.

[“Fancy words only diminish credibility. For humans or any species, only silence and action make one appear more substantial.”]

I was too hasty. Now I couldn’t bring up the same topic again until I was appointed as a professor.

Think positively. It meant Ireh was considering various factors in choosing a lab.

[“Let’s focus on the current situation. The Darwin forces seem to be starting to fall behind.”]

I also confirmed that Rustila was fine. It was time to get back to my work.

I sought out people who had died or been injured in this battle and their families. As the head of the Rheinland family, I conveyed words of comfort.

Next, I attended the test operation of the Aether Belt restoration equipment. After the observation, I exchanged opinions with the engineers. I listened to their difficulties and resolved them.

Most importantly.

[Rheinland, come to our lab right now! We finally made it!]

“Really?”

At the news from the Hueritia mother and daughter, I ran out of the office barefoot. They had completed an improved trap that could contain even the strongest and largest Darwin aliens.

“…It’s bigger than I expected.”

“We need to catch that ‘Queen’ or whatever the leader alien is. This size is manageable.”

“If this really works, Mother, you’ll go down in history for your achievement.”

Angela replied with a sad smile.

“I don’t need recognition. What I’m doing is atonement.”

“…Have you tested it?”

“The test results are good. I’m not sure how useful it will be in an actual situation though.”

“Good. Let’s make 100 of these and load them onto the recovery ships.”

Mezulen exclaimed in surprise.

“That will cost a fortune!”

I replied.

“Better than peace being shattered.”

I contacted the head of Stranov.

“Please don’t worry about the cost. Rheinland will take responsibility for as much of the expenses incurred during the manufacturing process as possible.”

[Won’t your family go bankrupt at this rate?]

“Isn’t that better than all ten major families going bankrupt?”

[That’s the right answer.]

The head of Stranov laughed heartily and readily agreed. He said Stronum would bear the full cost of producing the traps.

Rustila and Naiere returned to the front line after treatment. I always sent Ireh along with Rustila when she was fighting. At the very least, I made sure they could exchange information via radio.

Two months had passed. The season had changed in the Pastel planetary system. It was full summer.

Today, Ireh returned victorious from battle and reported.

“Since Shamplawi last time, only weak ones have been showing up. Phosphorus, Alcaheda, Bidium, Rotococo, Bamehot—none of these guys have shown their faces.”

“Have there been reports of attacks on other planetary systems?”

“No. If there had been, we would have at least heard about major damage to that system.”

I rested my chin on my hand, deep in thought.

“The Queen likes quick decisive battles, doesn’t she? Why is she dragging this out for so long?”

“It’s because of you. With you, the head of the Rheinland family, continuously holding the front line, the army’s morale isn’t dropping. Everyone still has hope.”

“…That’s not it. If she wants to capture me, she could just bring all those avatars here.”

If truly powerful avatars came in droves, victory couldn’t be guaranteed. If I were the Queen, I would have concentrated my forces here.

The Queen is strangely cautious right now.

“The Queen is probably deliberating as much as we are uncertain. She sent Shamplawi but still couldn’t capture you.”

“Hmm.”

“There’s no use discussing this further. There are too many variables. I’ve done countless regressions, but there were differences in the details each time. Not everything can be exactly the same every time.”

I nodded at Ireh’s words.

“Just as Zernya changed because of my influence, the Queen has become cautious because of me… That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Exactly.”

What an arrogant notion. That a mortal human could change an alien’s behavior pattern.

Just then, a soldier in a power suit rushed in.

“Research Director, we have an emergency. Seilen has fallen.”

“What?”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

“The Seilen planetary system has been breached?”

“Yes, the plant has already been established. The planet is completely contaminated, and we had no choice but to abandon it.”

“What happened to the Commander-in-Chief there?”

“Lord Baekyanggung… said he couldn’t disappoint the family head and died defending the front line until the end.”

Bang!

The desk cried out. My arm had moved without my knowledge. My hand bones felt like they were about to break.

“…One of the 12 Palaces died?”

I felt dizzy.

The plan was falling apart.

None of them were supposed to die until we fought the Laplace forces.

“Well… the avatars that invaded Seilen weren’t just one or two…”

“Do you have photos of them?”

“We have some data remaining. Here…”

As soon as I received the data, I showed it to Ireh. Her expression hardened.

“Alcaheda, Bidium, Rotococo, Bamehot…”

She murmured. These were the names of the powerful avatars we had just been discussing. All of them were elites a level above Shamplawi.

The soldier continued.

“The high command sees this as a typical breakthrough and hammer-and-anvil tactic. At this rate, not only will we be ambushed from the rear, but the family head’s home is in danger.”

The Rheinland planetary system.

Currently, Seti and her company were there.

It wasn’t my safety that was at issue now, but protecting my little sister.