Time is more precious than gold.

After escaping the planet Librina, Fubuki met up with Tsukikage and the shield ship at the scheduled point.

"Shin nosuke, we're on schedule. Tsukikage has Ash on board, so they're prioritizing passengers with pre-existing conditions or injuries. There are three people with severe symptoms, but they're not in urgent condition."

"Hey, Shinosuke, long time no see. We're tagging along too....Actually, other ships are doing the same, so we're looking at a pretty sizable convoy."

Andy and the others had received word from Akneria itself that the plan had been adjusted, and numerous ships carrying evacuees were now heading toward Akneria together.

"It's barely enough. Let's get moving, no matter what."

The large fleet, including Fubuki, Tsukikage, and the shield ships, accelerated toward Akneria.

For safety along the route, the fleet maintained a coordinated pace within the Rimlria Empire's territory, but once they entered international space, they split into several groups based on individual ship speed and rushed forward.

Each ship pushed forward at maximum possible speed, with the faster vessels—including Fubuki—reaching the exclusive economic zone just before the borders of the Acneria Galactic Federation.

Incidentally, Tsukikage and the shield ships were part of the following group.

There, they were met by a fleet of the Acneria Galactic Federation's space forces and coastal defense patrols.

This is the escort vessel Fubuki, affiliated with the Acneria Galactic Federation's Salius Stellar Province Free Merchant Fleet. In accordance with international spaceflight law and distress rescue regulations, we request the acceptance of refugees currently being housed by your deployed space fleet and coastal patrol fleet.

Sion, responsible for communications and air traffic control, makes a request to the fleet.

The plan was to hand over the refugees here and immediately return to pick up those who couldn't be accommodated previously.

After transferring the refugees to a coast guard patrol vessel, Shinnosuke and the others quickly returned toward the planet Librina.

Upon arriving at Librina's port once more, Shinnosuke and the others now accommodated the remaining Rimlian citizens who hadn't been taken in last time, as well as nationals from other countries whose ships had failed to arrive in time.

Shinnosuke double-checks the contents and personnel listed on the detention roster handed to him by the foreign affairs officer.

"Of the people being brought aboard this vessel this time, there are 13 from Akneria, 8 from the Kingdom of Sallet, and 58 others. There are no legal issues with this arrangement, correct?"

"Yes. Right now, it's a period of political transition, so there are no clear prohibitive regulations in place. While it's certainly not legitimate, it's not technically illegal either. Therefore, we've conveniently interpreted it as legal, since it's not illegal. Also, we may have made errors in the administrative procedures due to being busy, but we don't have time to verify everything."

"Understood. So, in the end, will the deportation of the targeted individuals be completed in time?"

"This Relina is fine, but some of the nearby colonies won't make it in time. We'd ideally need to send a fast ship there at least one more time, but we're already at the limit of our timeframe."

Shin nosuke looks at Seira standing beside him.

"How about it, Seira, can we make it in time?"

Seira, prompted by Shin nosuke, glances up from her terminal where she's calculating the route, then nods affirmatively.

"If we follow the previous route and return from the exclusive economic space, we won't make it in time. But according to Shinnosuke's plan, if we rely on Fukubuki and a few ships with their speed, it might barely work... Even though the calculations say it's impossible, I still think it's worth a try."

"Alright. Then let's do it."

A few ships accompanying Fukubuki immediately set sail from Librina and rushed toward the target zone.

Fukubuki headed into the international space beyond the Rimria Empire's territory.

Waiting there were Tsukikage and the fleet, including the shield ship, returning after handing over the refugees.

In the international space around Rimria—where naval forces and coast guard fleets cannot operate—this time, the slower escort vessels would take over the refugees, allowing the faster Fukubuki and her group to head once again toward the Rimria-controlled colonies.

"Andy, this time we're bringing along people from the former Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth as well, not just those from Akneria and Sallet. There might be errors in names or other details due to bureaucratic oversights by the foreign affairs staff, but don't worry about it."

"Understood. I'm not familiar with such procedures, so I'll hand them over directly to the Space Force or Coast Guard."

This time, the individuals detained aboard Fubuki include Acneria, citizens of the Seralet Kingdom, as well as certain high-ranking officials and their families from the former Damura Star Union Kingdom.

When the Damura Star Union Kingdom was defeated, most of its government officials were captured by the Empire, but due to the chaos following the war, certain lower-priority officials have yet to be apprehended by the Empire.

Seizing the chaos, they plan to flee the country—no, rather, to be accepted abroad by Akneria and other allied nations.

While there's a risk of further escalating tensions with the Empire, these are low-priority officials, and the Empire itself would be embarrassed by such a high-profile escape. Thus, they can't openly address it—this is the basis of their calculated plan.

"Alright, it might be risky, but let's do it one more time!"

In exchange for handing over the refugees to Tsukikage, Ash and Meeties were boarded onto Fubuki, while Shinnosuke and the others headed toward the Rimlia Galactic Empire territory for the third time.

This is the final stage.