CH 65

A/N: I have received permission from the editor to announce the book version.

Under the postscript, I put it on the ranking tag.

Thank you very much.

Fortress Kerviel, left behind by Hart, was undergoing renovations in the Diete system.

It all started with the lack of interstellar communication capabilities that prevented them from grasping the Second Diete Star System Battle.

Fortress Kerviel is 90 kilometers long, with 74 kilometers of interior space under an 8-kilometer thick composite fluid metal layer.

It can physically hold 9 million crafts in 42 decks if packed with Salamanders alone, even a single fleet, including battleships, can hold 150.

In fact, only one-tenth of the total space can be used for stationing ships. Considering the loading and unloading, an additional quarter of the capacity is reasonable for operational purposes.

In other words, for Salamanders, 9.42 million crafts. For fleets, 3.7 fleets. Based on this calculation, it was decided to add a stationed fleet since 9 million crafts were used in the delay operation against the enemy, but the lack of a fleet had interfered with communications with each star system.

A Salamander is 150 meters long, 75 meters wide, 50 meters high, and 562,500 cubic meters in volume.

The auxiliary ship is 600 meters long, 200 meters wide, 150 meters high, and 18 million cubic meters in volume.

There is a 32-fold difference in volume, but if the number of Salamander crafts is limited from 9.42 million to 9 million crafts, the room left by 420,000 Salamanders can accommodate about 13,000 auxiliary ships.

If auxiliary ships can be accommodated, not only would reconnaissance ships be preferable, but also craft ships that can be used to repair fortresses and remodel celestial bodies, like with the moon Fraga.

In addition, the volume of a destroyer is eight times that of an auxiliary ship, but if the number auxiliary ships are reduced to about 4,000, the number of destroyers capable of relaying interstellar communication that can be accommodated is about 500 per fleet.

“Renovate Fortress Kerviel to accommodate destroyers and auxiliary ships. I want 500 destroyers, 1000 escort ships, 2000 reconnaissance ships, 2000 transport ships, and 4000 craft ships.”

As for whether there are enough personnel to operate that many ships, if it is limited to the captains who operate the magic engines, they can be available if C-class spirit crystals are given.

The captains of the auxiliary ship use the Knight class that operated the old fighter crafts.

In the past, 2,000 fighter crafts were deployed in a fleet. The 9,000 Auxiliary Ship Captains are equivalent to 4.5 fleets, but considering the success and importance of Fortress Kerviel, if Hart deems it necessary, the request will pass.

Also, the captains of the destroyers are the former auxiliary ship captains with C-class crystals. There are 500 auxiliary ships deployed in one fleet, and the Commander-in-Chief can easily pull the auxiliary ships of one fleet to Fortress Kerviel.

For personnel except Captains, only a maximum number of military Android soldiers is required.

As for the rest of the personnel, those who had been assigned to the systemic forces of the former Coalition territories, and were now retreating to their home countries, they would be reassigned to Fortress Kerviel.

“The size of the fleet will be 9,500 ships, but the number of personnel will be 975,000, which is not double the 500,000 per fleet. There will be no more than light cruisers, and they will only be used to support the fortresses, so one fleet commander will be fine. Is there anything else you need, Philine?”

After hearing Hart’s mutter, Philine groaned, unlike the Lady of a Marquis, for the first time in a long time.

Philine is the successor to the Marquis of Carneus family, which has a population of 800 million, and her ability to manage her subordinates to such an extent was expected, but these things should come in stages. She should first be assigned to Fleet Commander or at least Division Commander.

In response to Hart’s actions, Philine predicted that Colette would be Deputy Commander-in-Chief and herself the Commander of the Stationed Fleet, overseeing multiple fleets, in anticipation of future promotions.

Now, even if a newly appointed Lieutenant General having command of more than one fleet is unsuitable, the rank will soon come to fruition.

Anyone who had a B-class spirit was a suitable Operating Assistant to Fortress Kerviel. Philine and the others were chosen because of the lack of the essential number of crystals, but that is a choice that has nothing to do with their own abilities. Philine herself thought.

It was the current situation of the Commander of the stationed fleet that was desperately trying to fulfill their role while being aware of this.

Eventually, Hart’s murmuring became a reality, and fleet formation and fortress renovation were put into action.

During the renovation, the composite fluid metal layer worn by Fortress Kerviel was first removed.

Then, the main body of the 74 kilometer fortress was exposed, and the urban construction facilities of the Diete Star system, which had been used for about half a year for the reconstruction of Diros, and the military building facilities, which had been owned by Capital planet, were all thrown in, after which the facilities for the stationed fleet were assembled.

When you input the conditions, the unmanned construction facilities will automatically build it.

In a zero-gravity space, it was a simple matter of mass-producing and assembling the same structure, and the stationed fleet facilities were built in the blink of an eye by the unmanned facilities.

Finally, the exterior walls are covered again with a composite fluid metal layer, and the renovated Fortress Kerviel is completed.

“It was finished without the Fortress Commander being present.”

After witnessing the completion, Philine exclaimed in dismay.

It was true that Fortress Kerviel would be better off with auxiliary ships for various missions in addition to Salamanders.

Normally, every mission should not be assigned to a single fortress, but Fortress Kerviel was no longer considered a “single fortress”.

To assist in the mission of Fortress Kerviel, which is even considered a strategic fortress, Philine has incorporated a fleet of 9,500 ships under her control.

In between the trial operations of the assigned fleet, Philine had time for interstellar communication with her grandfather, Marquis Bastian Carneus, who was rounding up Salamander pilots in his province.

[I’m glad to hear you’re in good health, and that your relationship with Duke Son remains unchanged.]

“Yes, I’m glad grandfather is also doing well.”

Nodding, the Marquis spoke with a grim expression, his brow creased.

[The death of Theodor, who was on the Capital planet, has made you the next successor. You intended to be free for 100 years, but you will become a Marquis in only 20 years.]

The Marquis of Carneus family was supposed to be passed from Philine’s grandfather, the current Marquis, to her father, the next generation, and then to Philine, the generation after.

However, with the death of her father in the Second Battle of the Diete Star System, they were forced to skip her father and Philine became the next generation successor.

Philine’s parents, who are based in the Apollo System, were on the Capital planet to spend time with her brother Horst, who was a second year student in the High School of the Academy of Magic.

The Marquis of Carneus ruled the Apollo System, and the next Marquis interacted with aristocrats from other systems on the Capital planet. The trend that had continued for many generations had been going well, but then war, an event that hadn’t happened until the previous generation, struck with the misfortune of the next Marquis being killed in battle.

[Your succession of the family name has been finalized, but you need some insurance if you are to enter the battlefield. Since you graduated from the Military Academy a year ago, there are no military restrictions on having children. What do you have in mind for your plan?]

“…… Erh.”

From Philine’s mouth, a groan that was unlike the Lady of the Marquis was uttered for the first time in a long time.

In the event that a cadet gets pregnant with the consent of the person in question, he/she will be expelled from the Academy according to the rules. Since there was no way she could choose to be expelled, it was natural to postpone the genetic donor matter until graduation.

Having graduated when the war with the Coalition ended, and after returning home, she received an unofficial announcement that she would be the Third Director of Instruction at the Instructional Bureau of the Military Staff Office, and after doing some work, she served in the war against Tenka, and was finally able to return from the frontline and take a breather.

Philine is convinced that Hart will not break his promise, but now, when Yuna lost her parents, ascended to the throne as Queen, and Hart needed to support her, it was bad timing.

The Marquis showed understanding when Philine explained the situation, but he did not back down.

[In the Second Diete Star System Battle, more than 90% of the aristocrats who participated in the defense were killed. There were too many deaths, especially of male aristocrats. Aristocrats, who were left with only children who would lose their eligibility for inheritance if they lost their magic power in childbirth, are seeking the genes of men with high magic power. There seems to be a troubling movement on the Capital planet now.]

“What do you mean?”

[There is a flow of systematic gene donation requests to the Duke of Son. Various tests received after immobilizing his magic power confirmed that there was no problem in inheriting the magic power from his sperm to have children. It’s just a matter of sperm, so can he provide it?]

“The original gene donation should have included the cooperation of magic power inheritance. With mere artificial insemination, wouldn’t the average drop to 0.45 times?”

Philine remarked upon the conventional wisdom, but the Marquis silently showed the figures as evidence rather than theory.

Magic Power Value of children born between Hart and a 17,280 woman (Marquis-grade).

First child 0.45 times = 16,086.

Magic Power Value of children born between Hart and a 13,310 (Count-grade) woman.

First child 0.45 times = 14,747.

Second child 0.45 times = 14,297.

Magic Power Value of children born between Count-grade couple.

First child 0.9 times = 11,979.

Second child 0.9 times = 11,081.

Magic Power Value of children born between Hart and a 10,000 magic (Viscount-grade) woman.

First child 0.45 times = 13,629.

Second child 0.45 times = 13,292.

Magic Power Value of children born between Viscount-grade couple.

First child 0.9 times = 9000.

Second child 0.9 times = 8325.

When Philine saw the figures the Marquis had presented, her mind went blank.

Even without Hart’s help in the magic power inheritance, the magic power of the Viscount family has become Count-grade in the next generation.

The magic of the Count does not seem to reach the Marquis-grade, but on the contrary, it increased by 1.1 times, and it originally decreased by 0.9 times on average even if efforts were made to inherit the magical power.

The magic of the Marquis has diminished but can be improved. A Marquis family would have more means of making contact, so if the Marquis family could get a little cooperation from Hart, and if it were raised by about 0.7 times, it would reach Duke-grade close to Royal-grade.

[If I was the head of the Viscount family and had a daughter with a magic power value of about 10,000, I would instruct her to take over the head and take advantage of this flow. The magic power of the Viscount family will be secured regardless of whether the child is male or female. If two children are born, in exchange for sending one to another house, a spouse with the same level of magic power will be welcomed by the other house, and even after that, the same hand can continue to maintain high magic power.]

“Who in the world came up with this?”

[On the surface, it was put in motion by Marquis Draghi and Marquis Jerome of the Artemis Star System, but it is something that anyone can come up with originally. His Majesty the former Sovereign had put a restraint on concubines and mistresses, because it would interfere with the marriage diplomacy, but His Majesty the former Sovereign was killed in action and the restraint was weakened.]

Convinced, Philine decided to pass the information she received from her grandfather to Hart and Yuna. In view of Yuna’s position of losing her parents, being enthroned as the Queen and far from getting married, it is clear that bringing up such a matter would upset her emotions.

It was Philine’s judgment that it would be better to inform her in advance and prepare her mind so she may consider how to respond in advance.

[It seems that this proposal was about to be made at the recent Lords’ Conference. The two Marquis, who were going to make a joint proposal, lost their enthusiasm in the face of the matter at the conference. I’m sorry the information was late.]

“Not at all, I can’t ask my family to participate in a genetic donation program when we’ve already discussed it. And grandfather, that matter is a military secret.”

[I understand.]

The Marquis, who had been warned by Philine, held his tongue.

“But the information will be released very soon.”

[What was that?]

“I communicated at this time because I wanted to show grandfather a live relay. I’ve only seen small-scale experiments, but I’ve heard that the practical applications will be on a much larger scale.”

The Marquis, who sensed what was going to happen from the way Philine said it, swallowed raw spit when he saw Philine shift her body on the communication screen and show him a live image of an empty space.

[You don’t say, was it today?]

“Yes, we plan to connect the Diete System and the planet Diros in a straight line, and we plan to deploy in space corresponding to the revolution of 300 million kilometers from there. A radius of 100 million kilometers from the surrounding space is closed off by the Royal Army. The scheduled deployment time is in about 2 minutes.”

The Marquis looked at the footage sent from Philine with wide eyes.

He saw the brilliance of the vast number of scattered stars illuminate the world of emptiness in the corner of the cosmos.

However, in a point of space that had been just that, a new small glow of light was born. It gradually swelled, creating a huge vortex of light in outer space.

The deep vortex that appeared on the calm, wave-free surface of the water, as if it was pulling the water into itself, exploded in scale.

The live footage was from Fortress Kerviel, and as the vortex expanded, the footage was pulled back to fit the whole picture, instead showing a scale at the edge of the footage.

The vortex shown expanded explosively from 10 kilometers in diameter, twice the size of a battleship, and finally stopped expanding around 2000 kilometers in diameter, which is 20 times larger than Fortress Kerviel.

From the center of the colossal vortex that suddenly occurred, a small black light eventually invaded.

After the appearance of a cruiser that was miniscule compared to the vortex that was 3,300 meters long, countless small dots of light followed from behind.

When the flood of light that overflowed in thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands was magnified, they were the Salamander fighter crafts of the Royal Army.

Behind the shining floods, the massive fortresses of the Marquis of Audran, the Marquis of Sharett, and the Count of Girard, who ruled the Athena System, and the Monarchy fleet deployed in the system invaded the Dieté System one after another.

The forces that had entered directly into the system, which should have been impossible to warp to due to the swirl of Magic Elements, eventually sent a communication to the Diete System.

[This is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, Colonel General Amakawa. As of today, the 150-light-year distance between Diros, the Capital planet of the Deite system, and Aegis, the inhabited planet of the Athena system, is less than a day each way. This concludes the transmission of proof of affiliation.]