“The 805th and 808th Striker Regiments have withdrawn. The offensive at point C707 is a complete failure.”
“Viscountess Kazumiae was shot down. It’s Hokuto Kisei, ma’am.”
“Baroness Masta was also shot down by Hokuto Kisei, ma’am”
“Again!? And two at the same time! How many aristocrats have been shot down by that man now?”
Diaroze held her head as she listened to the headache-inducing reports from her subordinates.
“Including Rosia-sama, he has already shot down 5, ma’am.”
“Forbid every aristocrat from challenging that man alone! It will damage the overall morale.”
It had already been an hour since the Noredian side received the report that the enemy 3rd Fleet had joined the battle. They had been overwhelming the Calencian before their arrival but for a while now, only worrisome reports came through the communication channels.
When they received the news that 3 of the Calencian Zenith had been wreaking havoc on the front line, the aristocrats who served as commanders went out to deal with them but they were all shot down by Kisei. If this continues, they will not be able to maintain the morale of the commoner soldiers.
“Y, Your Highness! Countess Kurtova has just been shot down! It’s Hokuto Kisei again!”
“Damn it, does my army have tofu for strikers!?”
Diaroze looked up at the sky and let out a loud sigh. She then takes a deep breath to calm her mind. If she gets upset now she will end up losing a winning battle. And as a matter of fact, they are still winning the overall battle. That’s why she told herself to not get worked up so much.
“…..Sushi, bring me some sushi. Maguro’s fine.”
“Y, Yes, Your Highness! Right away.”
The chamberlain stood up and quickly left the bridge. She returned after a while with a plate of Maguro Sushi in hand. Diaroze is a fish connoisseur. In order to meet her unusual requests for fish dishes, she always has a group of dedicated chefs on her ship.
“Umu……UMU!”
Diaroze elegantly picked up the sushi and lightly seasoned it with soy sauce before bringing it to her mouth. Her cheeks relaxed a little at the taste that met her standard. Now her mind is being healed.
The super luxurious ingredient was delivered to straight her by a high-speed ship to maintain their freshness from Aomori, Earth. The rice used in the sushi is also organic Koshihikari rice. Let alone commoners, even high-ranking aristocrats are unable to obtain such ingredients. If Schleer was here, she would have already felt tremendous bitterness from the difference in their national power.
“Aneue!”
While she was enjoying her sushi, a communication came in from Valentina. Seeing her little sister’s face on the monitor, Diaroze directed an unpleasant gaze at Valentina.
“……Aneue. What are you eating during a battle?”
However, the unpleasantness is also shared by Valentina as she directed her gaze at Diaroze’s hand.
“Sushi.”
“Eating such a thing in front of your subordinates in the middle of a battle is unseemly, Aneue.”
At least during battle, it is Valentina’s belief that she should partake in the same meal as her subordinates as much as possible. Eating something that is hard to come by like that will only cause uncomfortable feelings to those under their command. Even if it’s against their subordinates, it is still unwise to sow seeds of discord over food.
“I’m supplementing myself with EPA and DHA. They sharpen my mind.”
“……is that so.”
Although she still remains unconvinced, Valentina doesn’t say anything more on the matter. After all, if she lost herself in her sister’s pace, she might lose the chance to address her intended topic.
“By the way, I heard that that man has appeared.”
“Yeah, he’s been doing whatever he wants for a while now.”
Diaroze slowly finished her sushi and replied.
“So that’s the case after all. Aneue, please allow me to deploy. I will definitely stop him for you.”
“No, no. What are you? A fool?”
When Valentina bowed her head and asked for permission to deploy, Diaroze dismissed her request with a wave of her hand.
“No matter how much of a fool you are, you still hold the last seat of the succession line. You are both a symbol of our great empire as well as a powerful war asset. There’s no need to waste you on some Calencian’s wild dog.”
“But!”
“No but! I will feed you some appropriate trashes later so sit back and stay out of this!”
Saying so, Diaroze forcibly cut the communication. Then after finishing her last sushi, she gives orders to her subordinates.
“Pull out all of our units near Hokuto Kisei’s location. Instead, direct our deployed interceptor units to him.”
“Yes…..? Our interceptor units? Please excuse my rudeness, Your Highness. I do not think that our interceptors are capable of dealing with an opponent that even our forward units failed to defeat…….”
A member of her staff raised a point. Currently, the interceptors units that are in charge of defending the fleets consist of second-rates, both in terms of skills and equipment. Pitching them against a monstrously skilled mercenary would spell their inevitable destruction.
“Fool……….Do I have to spell everything out for you?’
“M, My apology, Your Highness!”
With a stern look from Diaroze, the staff immediately apologized.
“It’s stupid to take a strong opponent head-on! Still, the opponent here is still made of flesh and blood. There are limits on both his bullets and endurance. Even with new graduates as his opponent, he will eventually exhaust himself if we keep attacking without giving him any time to rest! We can crush him whenever we want after that!”
“Yes, ma’am! I will immediately send the interceptors.”
To prevent herself from saying something that will cause further disappointment from her superior, the staff hurriedly began contacting the interceptor units.
“Make sure that they don’t go at him all at once. Even as cannon fodders, our troops are still finite after all. Keep the attack in waves to maximize the result while minimizing our loss.”
After ordering her staff so, Diaroze looks at the tactical map displayed on her monitor.
“Hmph, you gave me quite a bit of trouble but……the victory will be mine in the end. I will make you work hard with your body afterward to compensate for all my troubles…….”
As she played with her whip, an excited expression can clearly be seen on Diaroze’s face.