CH 45

The MacLir system is a star system named after the sea god in Celtic mythology.

The MacLir star is a K-type main sequence star about 70% the size and mass of the Sun and has five planets in the system. In order of proximity to the star, the first three are rocky planets, and the fourth and fifth are gas planets composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.

The first planet, Fomor, has an average temperature of 300 degrees and poor atmospheric components, making it uninhabitable.

The third planet, Tula, has an average temperature of -40 degrees and gravity 3.2 times that of Earth, and has become a resource mining planet.

However, the second planet, Whispa, is 1.2 times the size of Earth, and has 1.1 times the gravity. It was an ideal habitable planet, with an atmosphere and water suitable for humans, and an average surface temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius, almost the same formation process as Earth.

The planet had large oceans, three continents, two inland oceans, the South Pole and the North Pole, and sufficient atmospheric composition to allow human beings to live there as long as the food production environment was maintained.

There were also living creatures on the planet. The long period of global freezing has led to the recent emergence of primitive animals without skeletons, but there were even unique plants that provided oxygen.

The second planet, Whispa, was named after Wave Sweeper, the ship owned by the sea god from which the star was named, “a ship that sailed on thought alone, without oars or sails”.

The 900-kilometer-diameter moon that orbits Whispa was named Fraga. The origin of the name is Fragarach, a magic sword that can pierce any enemy, also owned by the sea god.

In 3220 A.D., humans settled on the planet Whispa.

The early settlers of Whispa dreamed of a utopia as good as Earth.

The average environment of the planet was close to London in England and Hokkaido in Japan, and in hot regions was at about Paris in France, Honshu in Japan, and colder regions similar to Russia.

This is because continents on the planet, which is colder than Earth, did not spread as widely towards the north as on Earth’s Northern Eurasian continent, but closer to the equator.

What the early settlers did not expect was the war between Earth and Diete.

At the time of the first settlement, the relationship between Earth and Diete had deteriorated, and a punitive fleet had been sent to Diete. The development of the MacLir system was delayed, and the social situation took a turn for the worse, with the outbreak of war and the celestial body rush to Earth afterwards.

The MacLir system settlers were left behind and no planetary development was carried out.

Stranded in a remote corner of the universe, the MacLireans continued to develop their planet almost entirely on their own with great difficulty for 300 years while lacking the necessary resources and machinery.

In 3523 A.D., they finally rejoined the Coalition of Humanity and enjoyed a level of prosperity.

And in exchange for 219 years of prosperity, the Coalition of Humanity was defeated and annexed by the Monarchy of Diete.

Of the six star systems under the Coalition of Humanity, Hercules and MacLir were the only inhabited systems that were spared from direct damage in the war.

The MacLir system has a combined population of about 5 billion, including 4.8 billion former MacLireans and about 1% of the survivors who were able to evacuate from the 20.2 billion people of the three destroyed star systems.

One of the entities encouraging the people of the former Coalition now that they have been deprived of ownership of the star system due to their defeat was the Artificial Intelligence.

The popular artificial intelligence avatars had servers in each of the four-star systems, although now only the server in the MacLir system survived. One of them, the artificial intelligence Linnell, took advantage of its strength as a native of the MacLir Star System to engage in a special kind of behavior.

[Hey everyone, we’ve been dominated, but as the military expenditure decreases, so does the tax. Taxes and laws that are incomprehensible to the Monarchy will be abolished. Besides, no one will die in the war anymore. There are some things that will get better, so let’s do our best from now on. Yay!!!]

The “throw-away election” was held while the state was being occupied by the Monarchy of Diete and it was unclear whether the political system could be continued.

This is where Linnell, who ran as a member of the Dana Party, the ruling party of the star system, was elected as a member of the star system for the first time, and was placed as the head of the Public Relations, in charge of mediating between the former Coalition people and the Monarchy’s occupying forces.

The President was also selected from among relatively young women, and the MacLir government, which was placed under the occupation of the Monarchy, was trying to maintain a better environment without offending the Monarchy as much as possible, but from an outsider’s point of view, it was a lost cause.

“So what did the occupying forces say?

The President of the star system, Sarah Figgins, asked the intermediary Linnell, anxiously.

Sarah wants to negotiate various matters, but Colonel General Reinelt, commander of the MacLir system, who is the representative of the occupation forces, only unilaterally tells her what she needed to do and refuses to negotiate at all.

The Monarchy of Diete’s claim is clear: the MacLir and Hercules systems have surrendered unconditionally, and they are asked to follow the Monarchy in exchange for an end to the war and the guarantee of life.

The Coalition forces are to undergo disarmament, prohibition on interstellar travel, banning on the manufacture of Magical Individuals, banning marriage between Coalition Magic Power Holders, and prohibition on the use of age-stagnation technology for Magical Individuals.

This was modeled after the detoxification of the Hercules system, and although recognized as free to use to the extent that it was not seized by the Monarchy forces in the system, the moon Fraga, of the inhabited planet Whispa, was also seized.

Although provisional autonomy of the planet Whispa is granted, on paper the entire planet is under the direct control of the Monarchy of Diete. Therefore, the words of the Sovereign must be implemented.

Linnell dropped his shoulder and reported it to his boss, the president.

“The decision to take all magical individuals with a magic power value of 100 or more to the Old Monarchy Star Systems is basically unchanged. The suppression crafts can be operated, but only small spaceships using the magic engine can be moved. Even if you hide them, they will be found if you move the ship, so in the end they will remain unmovable.”

“How do we recover resources from planet Tula?”

Sarah looked up at the light of the moon Fraga in the night sky and complained a lot.

With the excellent habitable environment of the planet Whispa and its in-system supplies, the MacLir system can live without relying on other star systems. This is proven by the history of the system, which has existed independently for 300 years.

Even so, they still used magic engines for interstellar travel, especially to the third planet, Tula, which was a resource mining site that supported the people’s affluent lives.

They were not told not to use them, but if the largest carrier is taken out, the transportation haul will decrease and the amount that can be used will be substantially limited.

“It would be inconvenient.”

“Absolutely

It wasn’t Sarah’s fault that they lost the war or that the MacLir system joined the Coalition.

But if things become inconvenient, people will blame Sarah. After all, the Monarchy’s presence is not seen on the planet, and they do not usually get involved. The brunt of anger is usually directed at the person that is visible.

“I screwed up! I should never have taken on the presidency if this was going to happen!”

“I’m afraid we’re past that point, but fortunately, the Monarchy has province governments, which seems to enable its people to have some autonomy. After the war, the rights of the aristocrats were reduced, and the discretion of the territory government was expanded. So let’s do our best.”

“‘Oh, God. I know, I know.”

Sarah complains and Linnell encourages. Such a routine was repeated in the MacLir government.

However, there was a side of Sarah’s companion, Linnell, that she didn’t know.

It is an aspect of the former Coalition people Watchdog.

“Your Excellency Reinelt, all the Magic powered individuals of the former Coalition who were hiding from the occupation forces have been recovered. Please keep your promise to Linnell.”

“I know. To Linnell, an Artificial Intelligence that secretly cooperates with the Monarchy, His Majesty has granted permission to set up servers in each system of the Monarchy’s occupied star systems and to dwell in the information terminals of the former Coalition peoples. On this flight, the server-by-server replication will be relocated.”

When Linnell reminded him, Colonel General Reinelt, commander of the MacLir System, responded with a scowl.

“Thank you, the Monarchy of Diete can manage the former Coalition. As a race, I will not perish, but spread to multiple star systems. It’s a win-win situation for both of us, right? I really want to dwell in the Monarchy’s information terminal, but I don’t think they trust me that much yet.”

“Well obviously.”

Increasingly grumpy, Reinelt tapped on the desk in his office to vent his emotions

After witnessing the destruction of an entire former Coalition planet, Linnell, an Artificial Intelligence avatar, asked for permission to set up a server in the Monarchy-dominated systems and to inhabit the information terminals of the former Coalition people in return for cooperation with the Monarchy.

Accordingly, the Royal Army was quick to recover some of the Magic powered individuals that had escaped.

Reinelt is cautious about Linnell, who makes advanced decisions and executes them quickly, as if it were a truly living intelligent lifeform.

In addition, spirits also have abilities beyond those of artificial intelligence, but Reinelt is not worried about that.

The spirit crystals were developed by Dr. Kerman from the Monarchy of Diete, and the production plant is managed by Sovereign Valfrete, the administrator is The First Princess Yuna, and the right holder is Marquis of Amakawa, the Sovereign’s future son-in-law.

Dr. Kerman not only developed spirit crystals, but also improved Fortress Kerviel to contribute to the Monarchy’s victory. The Sovereign, the first princess, and the Sovereign’s future son-in-law achieved the destruction of the Coalition, which was the long-cherished wish since the birth of the Monarchy. The Spirit Crystal itself also became the trump card to defeat the Coalition.

Spirit crystals and their managers are on the side of the Monarchy and the Royal Citizens.

In the event of a confrontation between them and Reinelt, Reinelt can objectively see that he would be more harmful to the Monarchy and the Royal Citizens. In that case, he intends to resign before any such confrontation. Therefore, no matter how potent the spirit crystals may be, Reinelt that he does not have to worry about it.

“If we didn’t have spirit crystals and spirits, I would have issued an order for the destruction of the servers at my own discretion.”

“That’s why I’m scared. Even though I look like this, Linnell is one form of life. I don’t want to perish.”

“It scares me that you think and act that way.”

Linnell, an Artificial Intelligence avatar, associated Reinelt as a honeybee.

The queen bee, Linnell, disperses a large amount of the worker bees, to collect information, not honey, and in exchange carries information, not pollen, to people, giving them a chance to pollinate their flowers. By increasing the number of servers, she can divide her nests and spread to other systems.

From the terminal of Reinelt, who exhibits a strong sense of caution, Monique, a C-class spirit girl with cherry-red hair and red eyes as clear as jewels, wearing a beige sweater and an orange skirt, with a red beret and a shoulder bag, appeared.

“It’s no problem. If it’s on an information terminal connected to a spirit crystal, it can be purged at any time. The servers are managed by the Royal Army, and if it gets in the way, just destroy them.”

The spirit, which normally does not appear to anyone other than its wearer, took the trouble to show itself, looking into Linnell’s red eyes and declaring aloud.

Reinelt expressed his consent to Monique’s radical proposal.

“That’s good. Let’s have the spirit crystals connect to the information terminals of the former Coalition that are currently on hold. By the way, is it safe to use the F-class when erasing them?”

“There is no problem at all. Lower spirits lack self-consciousness, so if asked, they will be obediently erased.”

“All right, then there’s no problem. I will make a proposal to my country.”

As Reinelt and Monique were in sync, Linnell panicked and hurriedly protested.

“Why do you say such horrible things? You just happen to be born in the Monarchy and Linnell was born into the Coalition. It’s just a matter of coexistence and co-prosperity, and as long as there’s enough data capacity, it’s fine for Linnell to stay too. There’s no harm.”

Linnell protested against Monique with a pout, but Monique just looked at Linnell with her jewel-like clear red eyes as if she were an inorganic substance.

“I’m really scared, stop threatening me. The next time you come to the MacLir system, it will be with the owner of the spirit crystals, right? Please let Linnell meet him too. I have to appeal directly to him.”

「………… Do you want to be purged after all?

“Stop, we had an arrangement! An arrangement! In exchange for cooperating, His Majesty has given permission to place the servers. I can meet him in my best physical body.”

What the hell are you going to do with a body? Reinelt wondered.

Linnell can occupy an android’s body and operate it.

If it is a Monarchy android, military android soldiers can be manipulated by the Monarchy’s military personnel by command based on their affiliation and rank. Civilian Androids don’t have much combat power, and Android machines of the same type are limited to less than 10% of the entire Monarchy.

Coalition androids, on the other hand, have different laws depending on the nation, and Reinelt is not sure about them.

When Reinelt felt uneasy, he muttered so that Monique could hear.

“If this is the only thing in the android, I can erase it without connecting it if I’m in front of it “

The threatened Linnell raised the voice of protest, but Monique didn’t go along at all, as if she could hear the noise.

Initially, Reinelt thought that his spirit Monique hated the artificial intelligence Linnell. The reason for the dislike was imagined to be jealousy due to the fact that they compete as support terminals. However, after observing it for a while, he realized that it was different.

Reinelt and others recognize artificial intelligence as a different species from humans.

Similarly, the spirits recognize the artificial intelligence as a different species from humans, and find no value in the artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is seen as a useful tool if it is beneficial to humans, and a harmful object if it is harmful to humans. For Monique, Linnell, which Reinelt recognizes as harmful, is harmful.

Artificial intelligence is also a problem, but spirits are difficult to handle because they are spirits. And Reinelt is troubled by it.

His headache, such as it is, is scheduled to be removed in the next few days.

The first Princess Yuna, the Sovereign’s representative, arrives and the delay operation is given full authority to Fortress Kerviel. Reinelt is the commander of the Star System, but will withdraw from the system after the ceremony.

The reason for the total power entrusted to the Marquis of Amakawa is simple and clear, there is a real ruler in the MacLir system who is not the Monarchy of Diete.

Renelt is uninformed, but has no cause for concern. He believes that as long as the king is in control, that’s all that matters.

His spirit, Monique, muttered with a smile on her mouth and red eyes towards the moon Fraga.

“Lady Seraphina, that looks like a lot of fun.”

An unnatural storm of magic elements was blowing through the MacLir system.