Policy

4th power.

That’s how I would sum up Setsu’s vision in a nutshell.

Today’s independent countries are like bubbles; the three major powers are too strong and they can only dance to their will. Rather, they have tried to survive by dancing aggressively.

The declaration of war by the Federation and the Kingdom was to turn that structure upside down.

The independent nations are perplexed. In their bewilderment, they dangle the bait of naval vessels manufactured by the ruins and put them together.

“That’s a lot of work.”

Kitty said carefree as she sat down next to Settsu. The situation had become a cosmic one, and the Black Silver Glory had too much time on its hands.

“We can’t just run away.”
“It’s fine. You don’t owe the Mars-Camino Kingdom any favors.”
“So, if I tell you to drop everything and run away with me, will you come with me?”

Kitty let Setsu’s words pass with a smile.

“Don’t make fun of your sister by saying things she doesn’t want to hear.”

Settsu laughed as well.

“Have they found out?”
“Of course. Just the other day you said something cool about being actively involved in life.”
“I told you. You can just run away with your head, okay?”

Kitty put her arm around Szeto’s shoulders and pinched his cheek.

“Is this the mouth that talks nonsense?”
“Ouch!”

Fortunately, the cheek was soon released. The shoulder would not let go.

“Do I look like the kind of woman who would run away alone when the boy she picked up and saved is doing well?”
“…… no.”
“I know, I know.”

Kitty was satisfied.

“Now that you’ve convinced me, I’ve been very bored lately. Do you have anything to do, Mr. Wisdom?”
“Hmm. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I was wondering if we could get a group of pirates together?”
“What do you want?”
“What we’re missing is people and ships.”

There are not enough ships and people to board them.

I don’t know how much of a fleet the Federation will mobilize, but I’m sure it will be in the tens of thousands.

Considering the fact that it would attack us within a few months, we would not have enough strength if we had to build it every time.

“The Black Silver Glory is no different, but just by replacing the guns and defensive shields, its combat power can be increased considerably. If I can gather a group of pirates, I think I can build a decent fleet by replacing only the guns and defensive shields.”
“I see. You’re trying to turn me into a mercenary.”
“We provide the ship’s facilities, drinks and entertainment.
“What we offer, as always, is ships and lives.”
“Can you do that for me?”
“Of course. So, what’s my reward?”
“…”

I hadn’t thought about it.

“I’m expensive. After all, I’m a woman with a bounty of 1.2 billion.”
“Um, is there anything you want?”
“I’m not gonna tell you.”

I wonder what it is. Even when she was in the spaceport of the Mars-Camino Kingdom, she didn’t seem to be obsessed with anything.

Settsu was troubled.

I was torn, but I couldn’t figure it out, so I decided to play it off as a surprise.

He kissed the cheek in front of him.

At that time, Count Vaile was in the Imperial Capital.

(What? I had a feeling that he had just done something very bad.)

The Count nodded his head. I used to scold him a lot. Whenever I questioned him, he was usually doing something wrong.

No, this is not the time to be worrying about such things.

The Count returned his attention to the conversation in front of him.

“So, the Federation first?
“Yeah.”

Admiral Alec-Deagusto, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Space Fleet, nodded.

“I thought I was from the Kingdom.”

The Count had come to the imperial capital to report on the fortress himself, because he felt that what he had to report was extremely important.

Initially, the Count had planned to return to the Nueve system as soon as he finished his report. However, he was asked to stay behind to help with the planning of countermeasures, and was forced to accompany him in his deliberations.

But then he found out that the Federation and the Kingdom were making suspicious moves, and when war was finally declared, the Count could no longer leave the Imperial City.

“I’m aware that there are many people who would agree with me. However, the kingdom will not expand its territory drastically if we concentrate on defending it, while the federation is ready to go around annexing independent countries. In the long run, that’s not desirable.”
“You want to fight the Federation while preventing an offensive from the Kingdom? Aren’t there enough ships to do that?”

While the Federation was going around annexing independent countries, they would put all their efforts into defeating the Kingdom and then fight the Federation in return. This is the idea of the faction that wants to attack the kingdom first.

On the contrary, they could not concentrate their forces. There was a possibility that we would lose both the Federation and the Kingdom.

“Admiral Vaile, why do you think I’m calling on you now?”

Here’s DeAugusto’s answer.

“You want me to use the fortress as my ally?
“You guessed right. It’s probably your son who’s handling it.”
“Yes.”

The Count has only revealed this to a few people. Of course, Deergust is among the few who know about it.

“I want to leave 40,000 with you. Will you do it for me?”
“40,000”

The Count cleared his throat.

It is a large army.

But the Federals are expected to mobilize 70,000 to 100,000 ships, and 40,000 won’t be enough to compete.

“You look like you need more.”
“Oh, no.”
“I know. In addition to the 40,000, we have recruited 10,000 from the independent imperialist nations, and that fortress, which Starfleet Command considers to be the equivalent of 10,000 ships.”
“Is it really that important?”
“Intelligence has gone to a lot of trouble to get me the battle logs of the battle against the Mars Camino fleet. I have to admit, I even felt pity for them.”
“I see.”

The Count’s prediction had proven to be correct, and he had mixed feelings about it. Settsu would never be able to escape from the world of Shura. The world would not allow it.

“Sixty thousand worth, conveniently. Please make do with this. We can’t hold the line against the Kingdom any longer.”
“It’s going to be a tough fight.”

DeAugusto nodded slowly.

Even if we get 60,000, we still have a numerical disadvantage.

“We’re going to war with half of humanity. We’re going to go deep into the vault, and that’s it.”
“We’ll do everything we can.”
“You must win. If you don’t, the Empire will fall.”

De Agusto stated the facts in a nutshell.