Kays Translations

Chapter 52: The Conference Against the Divine Soldiers Part 2

A bad sign, Lute mutters…

No real harm has been done, and it is not clear at this point whether it is a clear threat or not.

Still, only the presence of something stirring at my feet was clear, and that made me feel uncomfortable.

"The fact that the activation took place on the same day as the survey, does that mean they know we're on the move?"

"I'm almost certain of that."

"Really?....Then I must be the one who did it....."

He let out a sigh naturally. It was because he knew the reason why the Divine Soldiers became active.

When Lute first discovered the divine soldiers, he left his men in charge of monitoring them. The reason for this was that he could not stand the possibility of them doing something so outrageous while they were away from his sight. Even though the possibility was low, he had them deployed just in case, but it seemed to have backfired.

“...... I still shouldn't have let them do something outside their field of expertise. Sorry Colonel Landvald. I made a bad move."

"No. Your Excellency's concerns are valid. It is also our fault for not detecting the sleeper agents in hiding."

Nothing would have happened without the report. Landwald said so and apologized to Lute.

"Above all, the way they were moving was strange. Even for us, it was unexpected.."

“Unexpected, huh?”

“Yes, it's a way of moving. Quite simply, it's a way of moving with a specific purpose."

"Hmm……?"

Liselotte tilted her head at Landvald's affirmation. Liselotte understands the importance of information, but as a novice in the field of intelligence warfare, she is not quite sure what to make of it.

Lute, however, was different. In addition to his innate quick thinking, he was sensitive to signs of violence because he had been on the battlefield, even if only for a short time.

"...I see. Normally there's no point in moving."

"Yes. That's right."

"What does this mean?"

"It's a simple story. To change your movements after being suspected, it means they're doing something they're guilty of."

When they are detected, if there is no problem, there is no need to change their movements. They should be operating as they always have.

But the opponent became more active. That says it all.

“Aren’t espionage activities a criminal act?”

"No. If it's just information gathering, there's no problem. On the surface, this is a weak reason for us to invoke our authority, but on the other hand, it is too strong a reason for us to deal with them in secret."

"...Is that what you mean? Even though they could get away with it if they stood their ground, they purposely changed their movements. That inevitably means that the other party is doing something that is sufficient for us to invoke our power of coercion."

"I'm sorry. If I may add, I'm wondering if they think we've found some kind of evidence. They might also regard that as an unexpected situation. That's why they’re so busy."

Information gathering. For example, gathering gossip or recording the facts that are happening in the field would not be a reason for the empire to move.

Because they have not broken the law. If the nobility and military of the empire harm innocent people of other countries through force, it becomes a matter of credibility of the empire in the international community.

At the very least, the legal countries that are hostile to the empire will be vocal in their criticism, involving countries on their own side.

Those who wore such strong armor were taking action while being lightly watched by the nobles' private soldiers.

In other words, proof that armor does not function as armor. It is nothing but a reason for doing something that is a crime.

"Specific objectives. Colonel Landvald is under the impression that they are in the midst of an operation that is, after all, predicated on illegal activity?"

"Yes. At first I thought it was just a kind of information gathering. After all, your Excellency the Grand Duke is in town."

"Gathering information on a new demi-god. It's a natural idea."

Without warning, a superpower has been added to the hostile nation. It is a kind of inevitability that intelligence agents come to Sandelica in search of detailed information in order to plan countermeasures.

And one more point. There was also the thought that people do not usually play tricks in the lap of demi-gods. This is because demi-god wizards basically have no common sense and are unlikely to be overthrown by an unreasonable force, such as most of the underground operations.

But what if that's not the case? The divine soldiers are moving about mysteriously with some kind of purpose. As far as I am concerned, it is clear that there is a sinister plot afoot.

"It really hurts that I don't know the purpose of this fiasco. It's a kind of an event that they're trying to do even if they have to skip over the investigation they've been doing. I guess that's how important it is....."

“It can’t be helped no matter how much you lament about what you don’t understand. Let's just accept that we will be on the short end of the stick. We have to take action on that basis."

"Haaah...what a terrible day."

Lute was also puzzled by the difficulty of the situation. The reality of the situation was so cruel that it was a complete turnaround from his vacation.

“Colonel Landvald. I would like to ask first what your experts think."

"Ha. The first important thing to consider would be what stage of the process the other party was at when they became aware of the surveillance. Depending on that, the meaning of the action will change."

"What do you mean?"

"If it was the end of the objective. This activation would be a pretentious run to the end of the objective. If it is in the middle phase, there is a possibility of diversion. If it is in the early stages, it may be that they are trying to gather information on your Excellency the Grand Duke as a minimum achievement with a view to withdrawing."

“I see. But you can't be sure about any of them, can you?"

“Yes. Therefore, we will proceed with the most urgent assumption, namely, that the opponent's operation is nearing its end.”

The aim of the divine soldiers is unknown. However, if we assume that they are working with priority over gathering information on new demi-gods, it is clear that it is a highly important subject for the Republic State.

Then it must be destroyed for sure. That's why we have to set it as an unpredictable situation, and we have to keep in mind to respond quickly.

“What we need here is justification for our actions. In short, we need evidence of illegal activity."

"We don't have enough evidence to exercise authority. It's highly likely that the other party is likely to be mistaken...."

“Is it still difficult for me to conclude that they are divine soldiers and restrain them?”

“It will be difficult. The Triston Trading Company is an organization of a third country, the Kingdom of Zeon. It would be a bad idea to mention the name of the divine soldiers.”

“I wonder if the backlash will be mutual."

Even if they move under the name mentioned by Lute, if the Pope declares that there are no divine soldiers in the Triston Trading Company, and if the Kingdom of Zeon follows up by claiming the divine soldiers to be its own people, the whole thing will be undone.

And there will be protests and pursuit from the Republic state, the Kingdom of Zeon, and other vassal states.

Therefore, this move should not be taken.

"I wonder how easy it would be if this was against citizens of the empire..."

While complaining, Lute remembered the siblings.

Because those two were imperial citizens, their power as imperial aristocrats extended to them. Therefore, he could summon them with the ease of dealing with pets, and even if they had committed no crime, he could dispose of them with impunity at the tip of his tongue.

However, this is not the case when they are from other countries. When a country is under a different power, even one belonging to a hostile nation, a reason is needed to invoke the aristocracy's authority.

The world of politics is indeed a messy one, since it takes a good deal of preparation to dispose of someone, even if they are an intelligence agent.

"Better yet, should I bind them with suitable charges?"

"It's a delicate point. It is likely to be resisted as an unjust restraint more than that, not to mention later on. It's not a measure you want to take against a divine soldier who is comparable to a tactical-class magician."

"And it would be difficult to detain all of them at once with that method. Even if we could detain some of them, it would be very troublesome if the rest of the agents incited the people.”

In response to Lute's proposal, Landvald, as a military man. Liselotte showed her disapproval as a feudal lord.

"I still think it would be difficult to make a public move under the current circumstances. It will take time to prepare a suitable pretense. It is urgent, but I think it would be safer to handle the matter in secret."

“Assassination. It's easy, and it can be made to look like natural death, but ....I'm afraid of what we're going to have to take away. The agent who would be in the upper echelons is unknown, isn't he? If he's a divine soldier, we can identify him by his divine authority, but if he's not, we're in over our heads."

“And with the assassination, we don't have a name to look inside the Trading Company. If there is any information left inside, it is painful to know that we will not be able to find out what it is.”

Assassination is not the best move. It would be an effective obstruction because it would reduce the number of personnel, but Lute and Landvald agreed that it was one step too far.

"Assassination is not preferable......"

“No, it's not a bad move. It is a safe move, as Liselotte said. It's easily feasible and has a certain effect.”

“I'd like to make one more move. If we can prepare a structure that allows access to the inside of the Trading Company...."

In the current situation, it can't be helped that they don't know the other party's purpose. However, even after Lute and the others move, it's not good if they do without any knowledge.

Eliminating spies is important, but it is just as important to secure information, with the objective at the top of the list.

"Nuu..."

"Hmm..."

"Hmm..."

The voices of the three parties echoed in thought. Because of the difficult situation, a good idea that seems to be a masterpiece does not come to mind.

"... no way. I can't think of anything but petty harassment."

Eventually, Lute spoke up. He decided that this was impossible and spoon-fed it to him.

No matter how you look at it, good ideas don't come together. So I gave up. And I made a decision.

"Let's go with assassination. Give up on information."

"...Please tell us the reason for your decision."

"It's a matter of priorities. Securing information is important, but the most important thing is to prevent ongoing plots. This was the single most important factor in my decision."

"You mean a certainty of obstruction rather than the best?"

"Yeah. As long as we're behind, high hopes can't save our foothold. Then let's conclude that it's much better than holding a crappy event. The achievement of having prevented it will lead to the next one."

Lute decided that the focus should be on minimizing damage.

On top of that, establishing a track record of being able to prevent unnecessary schemes, and becoming a deterrent against the next scheme would be enough.

"At least that's what I thought. Of course, if you have any objections or opinions, I'll listen."

"No. I'm taking certainty based on my priorities. Then this is also one of the correct answers."

"I have no objections. I was the one who proposed the assassination in the first place. There should be no objections."

Both Landvald and Liselotte nodded in agreement.

This decided the policy. Early resolution by assassination. Then, we would settle the matter at once.

"What time should we go? Colonel Landvald, do you have any preparations?"

"Planning, selection of personnel, deployment, and so on. No matter how fast it is, it will take at least half a day."

"...If it's half a day from this time, it's a little bit of a bad time. Then we'll do it tomorrow night. It's an urgent situation, but at the same time we can't afford to make any mistakes. Then we should have some leeway."

"Ha. Then we will strengthen the surveillance of the target. If anything happens, we will be ready to respond immediately."

"Oh. Please."

The countermeasures against the divine soldiers are steadily taking shape. There is no such thing as compromise. There is only one thing. Only the will to protect the nation.

In order to eliminate the enemies of the empire, Lute, Liselotte, and Landvald will show no mercy.

On top of that, the ice demi-god laughs.

"──Now then. I've decided on the form of assassination. I'd like to add a little harassment to the mix that I just thought of, what do you think?"

Preparations for the hunt are underway.

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