162: Border Region • Siltrilich System

"The origin of the drug capsule has been identified. It's from the Siltrilich System."

First to finish the investigation was Mebokshi.

"Siltrilich?"

"I've never heard of it."

Yet the name of this star system was unfamiliar to me, and Joharis showed no sign of recognition either—clearly not a system he knew.

"The Siltrilich System... another troublesome-sounding name has surfaced."

"Yes. I think it's the worst possible name conceivable. But since it was among the documents held by the old-fashioned rifle race's organizers, there's no doubt about it."

Vilijanira seems to know about it.

Yet her troubled expression suggests it's no ordinary star system.

"Miss Vee, are we really going to dive into the Siltrilich System? If so, I'll need to plot a flight plan... wait, what's this... this system...?"

"Joharis. We absolutely can't head toward the Siltrilich System. It wouldn't make sense if only we were going."

I had no room to investigate the Siltrilich System—my hands were full tracking down fragments of the Mass Conversion mod, recording them, and documenting their contents while applying the specific conversion rules.

But by the time Joharis fell silent, I knew the situation had escalated to a whole new level of trouble.

Still, an explanation would be nice.

"Vee. What's going on here?"

Let me explain. Currently, within the empire's territory, the Siltrilichi system is an extremely remote and isolated star system. To be precise, there is only one other system connected to it via a guide beacon, and even using a faster-than-light vessel capable of the quickest interstellar travel, it still takes nearly a week to reach it.

I see.

It seems the Siltrilich system is located in such a remote region that it makes the Flaretanbo system look like a well-connected hub by comparison.

According to Vilijanira, even with faster-than-light travel, a slow-moving cargo ship would still take about two to three weeks to reach it.

"And between the Siltrilich system and other star systems, there are numerous space pirates and cosmic monsters roaming around, making it significantly more dangerous than regular interstellar routes."

"Hmm, so if we're heading there, we'll definitely need at least the capability to handle space pirates, right?"

Seems the region is so remote that even basic law enforcement is practically nonexistent.

"Since this location is so remote, it's impossible to wait for approval from the central authority every time, and we can't afford to have clumsy interference. That's why the NemoPhira ducal family has been entrusted with governance. In practical terms, on-site, they hold authority equal to, or even greater than, that of the imperial family."

"In other words, unlike other star systems, the power Vee wields doesn't apply here."

"That's exactly right."

Their authority on-site is more than sufficient.

Given this situation, it seems increasingly likely that the imperial family's authority won't hold sway on-site.

To put it bluntly,

"Ultimately, the Siltrilich System is becoming more like a different country—over half of it already is. And considering that a cosmic monster-like entity has taken root there, connected to both the 'Black Root' and the Gigarok Pirate Clan... what does that imply?"

"Yeah, you're right. It's definitely beyond our capability to handle alone."

"Such a foolhardy move—like a summer insect flying straight into fire."

"That's exactly what it means. The Vee-sama will undoubtedly be lost."

This situation is serious enough to consider the possibility that the entire star system is being used as a pawn by the shadowy mastermind.

Yeah, I can't see it any other way.

With only one entrance and exit, it's extremely easy to defend. Traveling there takes over a month each way, making disappearances easy to occur—and even if someone goes missing, there's no reason to suspect foul play. Anyone who tries to interfere half-heartedly gets silenced by power.

That's the situation.

You probably understand by now, but I think we can safely assume the Siltrilich System is already under the control of the幕后 force. If there's a space monster-like entity with abilities similar to Inakaini, it could easily brainwash all the humans in the system, making everything appear perfectly normal on the surface.

And if there are other space monster-like entities, any ordinary rebellion would be instantly crushed. They're not the kind of threat that could be dealt with by just a single battleship.

"If the Duke of Nemophila is merely being kept under control, that would be preferable. As long as the Duke himself is already dead and the mastermind has taken his place, that's a reasonable assumption to make, according to the memo."

"Yeah, like a puppet of mine. Given how far this mod has gone and their criminal history, that kind of thing isn't exactly surprising."

In other words, if we're going to act, we should assume the entire star system is already black—completely under enemy control.

"Ah... Still, I've heard that the Siltrilich System originally began as a base for colonizing other star systems, and that colonization efforts failed due to countless space monsters and space pirates... But now, it's starting to seem suspicious."

"You could say that. Now that things have come to this, it's hard to believe the supplies sent for colonization weren't ending up in the hands of those behind the scenes—being used for criminal activities instead..."

"To be honest, it's almost certainly true—this situation."

Hmm, if an entire star system turns against us, this is no longer something we can handle on our own.

We should just be straightforward with His Imperial Majesty and ask for assistance.

We'll definitely need at least a fleet's worth of forces to deal with this.

"For now, I'll relay everything we've discussed to Seiryō Corporation."

"I'm counting on you. I'll also transmit this information through the private channel of the Vanilla Genroot family. Given that the other party is the NemoPhila ducal family, I can't be sure how trustworthy their intelligence unit truly is."

And what's most terrifying in this current situation is the possibility that our newfound insights won't reach anyone else—and that we ourselves will be crushed without a trace.

So, both I and Vilijaniara have decided to use methods we normally wouldn't resort to, in order to deliver this information.