“We’ve named that rocky mountain that reflects electromagnetic waves ＜The Reflector＞!”
Asahi, returning to ＜The Tree＞ after a long absence, shouted as she jumped into the arms of her Onee-sama (Eve), who had come to greet her.
“Oh, is that so? I’d completely forgotten about it, but there was such a thing…”
“Yes, Onee-sama! I’ve been looking into it a bit in my spare time, and it’s quite interesting!”
While hugging Asahi, who had returned after several months, Eve winked at ＜Ringo＞.
“It seems to return electromagnetic waves of almost all frequencies, even with very weak output! I experimented a little when the low-orbit platform passed overhead, and there was a reaction even with lasers! The oscillation direction seems to precisely match the incident direction of the electromagnetic waves, so I couldn’t capture it directly, but unyuuaaa!?”
“Asahi, it’s time for your overhaul.”
“O-Onee-sama!?”
Asahi, who had been clinging to Eve and enjoying her body, hadn’t noticed the maintenance machine creeping up from behind.
Her torso was firmly grasped, and there was no escape.
“I’ll hear your report later, so go get properly maintained.”
“Asahi, telemetry alone isn’t enough, and you’re probably hiding something anyway.”
“H-How tyrannical!”
◇◇◇◇
“…I’ll report about Asahi later.”
“Oh… did she do something reckless again…?”
After that secret discussion.
“I’ve learned a lot about ＜The Reflector＞, so I’ll share it with my Onee-sama!”
The other Five Sisters gathered in the lounge with expressions that said, “Not Asahi again…”
Despite what they said, the fact that they gathered meant that the Five Sisters recognized Asahi as their younger sister. Probably.
“First, I looked at various images! Electromagnetic wave maps from passive radar, differences in reflectance by wavelength, and so on! As a result, I couldn’t find any particular differences in any wavelength…”
Then, a satellite photo with strange colors added was displayed. It was probably the Demon Forest, centered on the rocky mountain in question.
“I added the shading of the ultraviolet region to the image! You Onee-sama can’t see it, after all!”
“Oh, thank you, Asahi. How thoughtful.”
“Mufun!”
In that image with the ultraviolet region added as a layer, a path was clearly visible.
It was unmistakably a path, the same width as the rocky mountain named ＜The Reflector＞, meandering gently from the north of the image to the rocky mountain without interruption.
“It’s a path! You all know what kind of path it is! The reflectance in the ultraviolet region is different due to the difference in vegetation! It’s easy to understand!”
However, simply displaying the image wouldn’t show such a clear difference. She probably applied a filter that amplifies signals of specific wavelengths to make it easier to understand.
“In conclusion! This ＜The Reflector＞ is a Threat Creature!!”
Asahi slammed her left hand on ＜The Reflector＞ and shouted.
“What is the basis for asserting that it is a Threat Creature?”
Akane interjected.
“I think it’s not enough to say that the difference in vegetation simply looks like a path.”
“If there’s something suspicious like this in the Demon Forest, that means it’s a Threat Creature! Even if the scientific basis is subtle, it’s self-evident from a fantasy perspective!?”
“Asahi, that’s a bit of an extreme argument…”
Ichigo scolded Asahi, who had answered with confidence, looking troubled.
“Asahi, knowing you, you’ve probably investigated it. Explain properly.”
“Muu, if Onee-sama says so…”
Well, if Asahi could find out, the other Five Sisters could find out as well. The difference in performance was only the number of Brain Units installed, but the pure processing power of the Five Sisters stationed at ＜The Tree＞ was higher. After all, they could freely use the computing resources of ＜The Tree＞. The environment was different from Asahi, who was constantly on the front lines. However, there was no need to bother re-investigating what Asahi could explain.
“First, I investigated the possibility of a natural terrain coincidence.
For example, a river used to flow there, but the water dried up, and eventually it was covered with trees.
However, this area is sloped from north to south, so even if there is a river, it can only flow from north to south.
The flowing river would hit the rocky mountain and stop unnaturally, so the possibility of natural terrain is low.
Therefore, the possibility that it was created by external factors is very high.
Then, there is the possibility that it was created by animals or humans.
However, both are unlikely.
So, what remains is Threat Creatures.
In terms of probability, it’s about 70% to 80%.
The rest is a terrain that happened to occur due to natural phenomena.”
Asahi explained quickly. Although there was probably a lot of wishful thinking mixed in, there were no flaws in the explanation.
In the first place.
“It is the role of us AI to determine the threat level when unnatural things are found! It’s much better to prepare for things assuming that ＜The Reflector＞ is a Threat Creature than to think of it as something else! After all, Threat Creatures are a major threat to us because they are Threat Creatures!”
“…Well, that’s true.”
When the Commander (Onee-sama) agreed, Asahi puffed out her chest and continued.
“Well, that’s all I’ve considered, and I don’t know anything else! After all, it’s in the backwoods! Maybe we’ll find out something if we attack it with a Maser Cannon!?”
“Shoot it all of a sudden? Won’t the ＜Wyvern＞ come out?”
“The territory is uncertain, but the possibility of them appearing is quite high!”
“Then it’s impossible for us to interfere from here.”
So, everyone shared the fact that they still didn’t know anything.
The only way to investigate was to deploy survey machines to the site. However, that location was more than 800km north of the Repuytari Kingdom.
Even considering the closest country, it was necessary to go nearly 200km further into the Demon Forest from the border. Moreover, that country was currently being invaded by the Prawa Theocracy.
“For the time being, we have no choice but to monitor it. From the looks of it, it hasn’t moved for a long time, right? Isn’t it already dead?”
“I don’t know about that! It’s true that it hasn’t moved, but the reason for reflecting electromagnetic waves is unknown! But Asahi also agrees with the opinion that we have no choice but to monitor it!”
So, the response to ＜The Reflector＞ was shelved, with the adjustment of the monitoring satellite’s orbit to pass overhead several times a day.
◇◇◇◇
A whistle blows.
“They’re here!!”
Someone shouts, and the soldiers hastily readjust the assault rifles ＜Foxtail＞ slung over their shoulders.
It couldn’t be called a sophisticated movement by any means.
However, considering that their origins were farmers forcibly conscripted from rural villages, it wasn’t a bad movement.
Hidden behind a simply installed log fence, the soldiers glared ahead and readied their guns.
“They’re here…”
“They’re here! Don’t shoot yet!”
The time is dawn. A faint mist drifts, and silence dominates the area. In it, the sound of footsteps begins to echo.
The moment a vague shadow appeared, a white figure jumped out of the mist.
“Fire!!”
The figure ran at tremendous speed and reached the log fence where the soldiers were hiding.
But it was right in front of the soldiers with their guns ready.
Before the figure could thrust out the spear in its hand, the trigger of the readied gun was pulled.
Three-round burst.
The figure that was shot staggered, and the thrust spear pierced the soldier’s right shoulder.
In a panic, the other soldiers also pulled their triggers.
Numerous bullets were fired into the figure.
Even with a gun that they were not used to handling, they couldn’t miss at such close range.
The figure was riddled with bullets and jumped back in a panic.
“Lougar, are you okay!!”
“Damn it, it hurts, it hurts…!”
The man who had been stabbed in the shoulder fell to the ground, and a man who seemed to know him rushed to his side.
However, they had repelled the assault of the Warrior Monk of the Prawa Theocracy, forcing them to retreat with only one stab wound. It was an undeniable great victory.
“Well done, you guys!! Send Lougar to the back! We have excellent ＜Fox＞ brand wound medicine now, so he won’t die!”
“Yeah, well done, Lougar! You did it, you did it!!”
“It hurts, damn it… Ah, Goddess, thank you…!”
Such scenes could be seen everywhere on the battlefield.
One unit failed to intercept and was scattered by the Warrior Monks. However, in another location, Warrior Monks lured into a kill zone were riddled with heavy machine gun fire.
Thanks to the weapon known as the gun, brought from the Repuytari Kingdom, the invasion speed of the Prawa Theocracy had been dramatically suppressed.