Those who remain and those who stand at the front line

Time rewinds just slightly, a few days after Shinosuke and Marks were reinstated and deployed.

In the office located within the Casshimura Company's dock, members of the Casshimura Company, including Milena, had gathered.

Shinosuke and Marks departed without saying much, but there's no doubt they've taken up their military duties and gone to the battlefield. They set sail with extraordinary resolve. Now, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on what we, left behind, should do.

All eyes turned to one another in silence after Milena spoke.

"...You know, there's nothing we can do about Shinosuke and the others, right...?"

You're right. Now that Shinosuke has taken up military duties, there's nothing we can do. Bringing back the retired Shinosuke and Yatagarasu specifically is quite an unusual situation. We don't know where or what kind of mission they're on. Even if we did, there'd be no room for us to intervene. We'd only get in the way of Shinosuke and the military, causing more harm than good—and putting Shinosuke himself in danger.

Ash confirms Andy's opinion.

"I-I know that already... What I'm trying to say is, how do we protect this guild from here on out?"

Seyra stares at Milena with a sideways glance.

(Milena-san, your words are different from yesterday...)

Last night, Milena had been fired up, insisting she'd get a new escort ship and head to support Shinosuke.

She had even gone so far as to say she’d acquire a heavy cruiser-class vessel and retrofit it with destroyer equipment to register it as a destroyer, just for that purpose.

Even just hearing it, Seira could easily see how impractical the idea was, but convincing her on her own proved difficult.

So she had been counting on everyone else’s judgment—and it paid off, causing Milena’s ambitious plan to fall apart from the very beginning.

Ash, though not part of the military, carried considerable weight with her background in coast guard service.

In fact, Milena held naval command certification but lacked escort operation certification, making it impossible for her to operate an escort vessel alone.

Therefore, cooperation from either Andy or Ash—both of whom held command qualifications for escort vessels—was essential. But with both of them clearly opposed, the plan was already impossible to carry out.

Since Andy is operating the Holybell and Ash is commanding the Fukuki, acquiring a new escort vessel is simply unrealistic.

Thus, Milena gracefully shifted course.

"Even though the Shinnosuke-sama are absent, we cannot allow the guild's operations to come to a halt. Therefore, we intend to continue taking on all kinds of work as before."

With Shinosuke absent, it goes without saying that Millena will serve as the acting representative of the Kashimura Company, a role she has accepted upon request from Andy and the others.

Though Millena tends to lose control when emotional, she remains a pragmatic thinker when composed.

Furthermore, if Ash and the others act as sound advisors and serve as a check on Millena, the company will have no issues.

As a result, with Shinosuke and Marks absent, the Kasimura Corporation's basic policy became primarily undertaking missions in the direction of the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, accompanied by the Fubuki and Holy Bell II.

【Front Line】

Returning to the front line.

The Holy Rimurian Empire's military forces were gradually losing their territory and combat effectiveness due to the offensive by the Akneria Second Fleet and the mysterious activities of an unknown electronic battleship.

Yet, despite the increasingly dire situation, remarkably, the morale of the frontline soldiers showed no sign of waning.

In recent times, even under overwhelming odds and seemingly hopeless circumstances, the Imperial forces on the front lines refused to surrender or retreat, fighting with the determination to stand until their very last ship. This relentless resistance was precisely what had been causing accumulating casualties among the Akneria forces.

And now, a large-scale battle was about to begin between the Sacred Rimuria Imperial Fleet and the Rimuria Galactic Federation Fleet.

The Sacred Rimuria Imperial Fleet's 2nd Fleet, consisting of 800 warships, along with the last remaining shield fleet of 80 ships, deployed and faced off against the Akneria Fleet's 700 warships ahead.

On the bridge of the second fleet flagship of the Holy Rimurian Empire, Major General Isaac watched the enemy fleet's response on the monitor.

"Which fleet is this?"

"Identification signals from the Sixth Fleet have been confirmed. It appears to be either the main Ninth Fleet or a composite force of auxiliary squadrons."

"I see. A formidable opponent."

Isaac's expression grew grim as he prepared for the decisive battle.

Isaac was a seasoned admiral, and facing the enemy before him would not be particularly difficult, with sufficient chances of victory.

Even accounting for the presence of that electronic battleship, the opponent was not one who could not be defeated.

But the problem was not that.

The Second Fleet was the last mobile fleet on the front line of the Holy Rimorian Empire.

The Empire still has around two thousand ships remaining, but these fleets are scattered across the retained territories, tasked with base defense and unable to maneuver as flexibly as the frontline fleets.

Moreover, nearly half of those two thousand—about nine hundred ships—comprise the First Fleet, which serves as the imperial guard, protecting the emperor and the capital planet.

In short, if the Second Fleet were to suffer defeat, the Empire would lose its mobile fleet entirely.

Even if we don’t suffer defeat, sustaining some level of damage would result in the same outcome.

"This is the battle that decides the fate of the Empire. We simply cannot afford to lose."

"There is no such thing as a battle we can afford to lose, but this one especially cannot end in defeat....Then, Admiral. Shall we proceed with the plan as scheduled?"

"...Yes."

Isaac stood up from the command chair.

"Advance the decoy fleet as planned. As the decoy fleet moves forward, have the main force fall back. Then deploy reconnaissance vessels, patrol ships, and electronic warfare ships into the space between the decoy fleet and the main force to detect and swiftly destroy any enemy electronic warfare ship lurking among them. Once the hidden threat has been eliminated, open hostilities against the enemy fleet ahead!"

The decisive battle that would determine the fate of this war had begun.