38: Three Perspectives, Three Views

"But if the trespassers discovered and apprehended by Keraaby weren't aware of Keraaby's existence, that would be quite a curious situation, wouldn't it?"

"A curious situation? What's so strange about it, Vee?"

"It's the fact that those trespassers didn't know about Keraaby's existence."

Let's return to the matter of the illegal intruders.

I didn't find anything particularly strange about it, but it seemed Vilijanira thought otherwise.

"Note. How deep is the information on Keraaby?"

"Any intelligence unit with even modest knowledge could easily access this information, even through illicit organizations and methods. Ordinary civilians might accidentally come across it too. In other words, it's just display information meant to warn outsiders: 'Don't even think about coming in, given the security measures in place.'"

"Hm? Ah, I see. So it's deliberately half-exposed, then. Meaning the real security...?"

"That is information the notes should not know."

"Ah, I see."

It seemed Keraaby was, in effect, a gatekeeper—or perhaps more accurately, akin to a guard dog, given his nature. Beyond him, the main security force was waiting in ambush.

Since details about that main defense are not meant for outsiders like us, I'll refrain from asking any further.

"Still, I see your point. It's strange, really. I don't know how they managed it, but they had the technology to attempt illegal entry onto the planet. Yet they didn't even bother to prepare for Kelebi, despite knowing full well their presence could be detected with just a bit of prior investigation."

"That's exactly it. If someone's breaking into a planet, they must have a proper motive. And if they have a goal, surely they'd conduct thorough prior investigation from their own perspective. Yet they didn't even notice Kelebi... Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?"

The real issue is how careless these intruders are.

Whether their goal was simply the act of breaking in, or they intended to do something on the planet... either way, their lack of preparation is appalling.

"Hmm, let's consider the perpetrator's motive or possibilities. Maybe they weren't breaking in at all—perhaps they just lost a tag, and we're the ones assuming it was illegal entry. I didn't actually witness the moment of intrusion."

"Frankly, they might not have had much technical skill or a specific goal—more likely, they're acting out of mischief."

Or perhaps the decoy or capturing them outright could be the actual goal... In any case, let's relay the information to the intelligence unit. We only happened to witness it by chance, and we don't think the local authorities would take this situation lightly, but we should still do what we can.

Yeah

Yes, that's right.

Well, we weren't on the scene, we don't have any connection with the people responsible for maintaining planetary security, and honestly, it's just something I observed from afar on my own.

We can't do more than raise a warning—shouldn't even go beyond that.

Still, in any case, those who got caught are bound to look foolish...

"By the way, what about the threat Vee's eyes detected? Has this new information changed anything?"

If anything, it's getting stronger.

"So that's why you're the decoy..."

Given Vee-sama's precision in targeting, a decoy seems plausible...

It seems that, following this incident, Vilijaniira perceived the threat not as diminished, but rather as having increased in likelihood.

Vilijanira's face, as she delivered that truth, bore an unmistakable air of weariness.

Hmm, I knew it was coming, but still, a mod that even the person themselves can't fully control feels like a heavy burden.

Still, if the person has no intention of stopping it, then unless it's an emergency, I can't just step in and stop it myself.

"Anyway, no matter what happens, I'll protect Vee—just stay calm. I've got the strength for that."

In that case, what I should say is something that eases their mind just a little.

To be honest, the kind of force capable of dealing with me would have to be at least on the scale of an imperial fleet.

Even if it's just about escaping, that level of threat would still be manageable.

So you can rest assured—those kinds of criminals, space pirates, or terrorists aren't anywhere near strong enough to handle me.

"Sat… thank you."

"Ha, leave it to me."

Still, what really worries me is attacks from poison or electronic devices.

As for the first, I basically perform the poison test myself by eating and drinking first, and in any case, imperial nobles typically come standard with poison resistance or poison detection mods.

As for the second, since there's Memoqsi, a machine intelligence, present, ordinary foes wouldn't stand a chance against her.

In other words, while Vilijanira's defenses may seem thin at first glance, they're actually quite solid.

"Madam Vee. I'll see to the necessary arrangements so we can receive further updates on this matter. We should have clarity within a few days."

"Thank you for the memo. I appreciate it."

"Yes, of course."

With that, we'll leave this matter at that for now.

There's no point in overthinking things that won't change—sometimes, the best choice is to simply not think about them at all.

"Rather than focus on that, let's take a look at other areas of Planet Glorgrobeta 1. Take this region just as the sun is rising—where the sunrise blends with ripened wheat fields, creating, if I may say so, a golden sea."

"Fufu, you're absolutely right."

"Lord Sata... no, never mind."

With that, I decided to shift my attention to something else.

Though I inwardly considered it a failure to have revealed a scene visible only from my main body's perspective on the planet, I'll count it a success since I managed to change Vilijanira's thoughts—yes, I'll just go with that.

"By the way, from Sata's viewpoint, what do you see? I can see a single tomato glowing brightly, reflecting the light of the star, its surface completely red."

"Ah, yeah. That's impossible. I can't see it. I can see groups of Kélabi or their nests being carried around, but individual ones? Not at all."

"Of course, the things we each see are completely different—Memo, Lady Vee, Lord Sata... It's peculiar, but maybe that's part of the charm."

After that, we quietly enjoyed observing Planet Grogrobeta 1, and the day passed without a single incident.

Besides, since we were already here, we decided to try the mead made from Keraaby's honey.

It was sweet, with only a mild bitterness from the alcohol, and quite delicious.

I'm not usually fond of alcohol, but this was really good, hmm.

09/28 Spelling correction