Living a Maiden Game in Hard Mode

Chapter 59 – Star System Defense

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Yuna Strani Asteria, the 12th Sovereign.

Yuna, who was born as the Young Lady of a Baron Household, became a Duke Lady at the age of 17 due to the formal marriage of her parents, the First Princess at the age of 19 when her father ascended the throne, and at the age of 21 her father died in battle and she ascended to the throne.

During the war between the ages of 17 and 21, 20 billion people were killed in the Coalition of Humanity, 21.3 billion in the Tenka Federation, and 4.8 billion in the Monarchy of Diete.
and of the 18 human-inhabited planets that existed between the three powers, five, or about 28%, became uninhabitable.

In just four years, a quarter of humanity and its inhabitable planets were lost.

Having lost her parents and grandparents at the same time, Yuna has unwillingly ascended to the throne as queen over 35.3 billion people, and her mental landscape is painted in darkness like the abyss of the universe.
The walls of her isolated mind were so solid that only when Hart’s right hand held Yuna’s left hand did a little light shine through.

The coronation ceremony, tentative policy making, defense system reporting orders, and notifications of the Lords’ meetings were all done by Hart, in coordination with the government, to Yuna, who was steeped in darkness.

Hart believes that what Yuna needs now is time to accept reality and improve her situation.

If Yuna was at the peak of her shock in the period between her parents’ death and when she became a queen, she is now trying to get through the situation from a bird’s-eye view by activating Dark Mode, and there’s an improvement.

He asked Sharon, Yuna’s contracted spirit, to stabilize Yuna’s mind through Mira, but in order to make a drastic improvement, the underlying anxiety must be removed.
Yuna’s fundamental concern is on how to govern the nation as Queen.

In the midst of a war with the very survival of the nation at stake, the fate of 35.3 billion people and their descendants will be determined by the Queen’s leadership.
Even the Sovereign or the Crown Prince would feel uneasy, so it’s only natural that Yuna, who feels strongly about being the daughter of a Baron Lady, would feel more uneasy.

In order for Yuna to become healthy, first the burden of the nation’s helm on her must be eased, then the situation should be turned around to ensure that the Monarchy of Diete will not be defeated, and finally she must abdicate to leave Bernard or Josslan as the next Sovereign.

First of all, there is an urgent need to reduce her burdens.
As the day of the Lords’ meeting was a week away, Hart took Yuna to visit the second spirit crystal factory.

Hart explained to Yuuna as he took her out:

“The Doctor’s souvenir that occurred in the MacLir System is actually the domain that I asked my contracted spirit to create.
I can make two more similar systems.
Let’s make a third one, and we’ll have it protect the Diete system.
Please follow me.”

After digesting the meaning of the words, Yuna expressionlessly asked Hart with clear jewel-like eyes.

Why didn’t he do it before the second Diete System Battle broke out?

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“Only the Spirit King who knows the keyword to enact a direct contract can expand their realm.
Fleur and Rhea, who I have contracted with, were Advance Spirits before we attacked the Shinkyō System, and it was only after returning to the Diete system that taught me the keywords of the contract.
The spirit of the second factory, where we are heading for, could not move according to the contract to assist the first factory.
We can now expand her realm as soon as possible.”

『Sharon, is that true?』

Yuna asked Sharon, the Advanced Spirit she had contracted, not Hart.

When asked, Sharon appeared and answered Yuna with a gentle expression.

『Generally, it is.
Fleur was promoted in the Shinkyō Star System.
Rhea in the Kyūyama Star System.
The Spirit King in the second factory finished her role after the first factory was destroyed.
I don’t know when her keyword was transmitted, but the worlds cannot be connected until after promotion and release.』

『Why didn’t you tell me such an important thing?』

『It is only now that this high-ranking spirit has been qualified to transmit the information on Spirit Kings, and Mr.
Hart would be troubled if I didn’t teach it correctly, so Lady Mira has granted permission.』

Yuna took a sharp breath and exhaled, showing resentment.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Hart?”

“Major General Yuna Strani Asteria, who was only a Fortress Operating Assistant, was not authorized to access confidential information.
I have no intention of concealing it from the Queen.”

Resolutely speaking back, Hart then explained the effect of the Spirit King on creating territory.

Out of the three-stage situation improvement that Hart had conceived, he would enact two steps simultaneously, the first stage, reducing the enormous burden of governing the nation as the Queen, and the second stage, ensuring that the Monarchy will not be defeated.

“Once the Spirit King has established a realm, all spirits below advanced level in the system will come under their control.
They can gather the information on the Royal Citizens, and guide their consciousness with spirits, which will help govern the nation and make correct political decisions.
And, of great military importance, the creation of a second realm will allow us to connect transition gates and travel between star systems in an instant.”

“…… What do you mean?”

Yuna’s indignant questioning suddenly lost power and turned into confusion.

Manipulation via spirits is unfathomable, but it is normal for system administrators to have administrative privileges.
It has been thought that the spirit is a special technology and that no one could touch it since the developer, Dr.
Kerman, was certified dead, but Hart knew how to manage it.
Yuna had her thoughts on that, but she understood.

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But what exactly is it to connect the transition gates and enable travel between star systems in an instant?

When hyper-navigational warps using magic elements were first put into practical use, 10 light-years took one year each way for human interstellar travel.
With the development of technology, it shrunk to about 1,000 light-years a year each way.
Philine’s parents’ home, the Apollo System, is 150 light-years away, which is a voyage of less than two months one-way.

Since the travel speed was doubled with spirit crystals, it now takes less than a month to travel one way.
If two captains keep moving without rest, the speed will double and the destination reached in less than half a month.
When Hart and the others withdrew from the Republic of Frodi, they fled in this manner.

That is the modern interstellar travel as Yuna is aware of.

To the perplexed Yuna, Hart reaffirmed the principle of hyper-navigation warp.

“Hyper navigational warps would cover the ship with a shield and move through the higher dimensional space.
The spirit world is that high-dimensional space.
If the Spirit King of the Diete System opens an entrance to the spirit world and the Spirit King of the MacLir System opens the exit, the same phenomenon as warp will occur.
It’s possible to move in an instant, even if it’s to another galaxy, and even send tens of millions of fighter crafts all at once.”

Hart paused the explanation and waited for Yuna to understand the meaning of the explanation.

The fact that you can increase the number of realms by three means that if you create a realm in the Diete System and another star system, such as the enemy’s stronghold, Ten-to, you can freely send a large number of fighter crafts from the Diete System to the enemy system that has weakened in the realm of the Spirit King at any time.

Moreover, in the territorialized systems, while the performance of the Monarchy warship increases, the enemy army’s magic engine output drops dramatically, making it impossible for them to shield themselves properly.
The difference in strength has widened to five times the original level, with overwhelming results like in the two MacLir Star System Battles.

In addition to its combat power, the moon Fraga in the MacLir System was able to operate its magic engines unmanned, and even destroyed 15,000 Tenka ships.

In the system where the Spirit King has made a territory, that alone would give them an overwhelming advantage.
Hart believes that if tens of millions of fighter crafts are sent there, victory is assured.

Two of the star systems to be territorialized, Diete and Fukashiro, have already been determined, but the remaining one can be freely decided.

If he could freely decide on three more, he could have created territories for Ten-to, Ōizumi, and Honyō, but as expected, he doesn’t have that much on hand.

After creating a realm in Ten-to, you cannot drop celestial bodies with the magic of the newly contracted B-class spirit to promote them.
In that case, Ten-to is the realm of the Spirit King, so another spirit cannot make the energy there its own.
Besides, the Spirit King who had the celestial body dropped into its territory will be angered by the destruction of its energy source.

Therefore, the only way to promote a new Advanced spirit is to steadily attack Ten-to, Ōizumi, and Honyō, and drop celestial bodies when the opportunity arises.

Therefore, with regard to Rhea, Hart’s idea was to have her create a realm in the Athena System, which is the closest to the enemy’s sphere of influence after the Diete system, and to share forces in both systems.

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Even if Yuna couldn’t completely swallow it, she probably understood that it was a matter that could determine the outcome of the war.
She urged Hart to continue the conversation with her gaze.

“In order to win the war, we need to make a contract with Janet at the second factory to increase the realm of the Monarchy.
So follow me as I show you the contract and the development of the territory.”

“Hart.
At the end, my dad said that we should increase our strength, fortify our defenses, and reduce the strength of the Tenka Federation to win, but there’s a better way than that, right?”

“Using the realms and the transition gate, we will take back the MacLir and Fukashiro systems within a year, and split the enemy into Tenka and the former Coalition.
Recapture the former Coalition territory in the second year, chip away the Tenka systems in the third year, and settle everything in the fourth year.
As he’s about to be a first-year cadet at the Military Academy, the goal is to be done by the time Prince Josslan graduates.”

Hart, the Commander-in-Chief of the Monarchy’s Armed Forces, did not consider the goals he had mentioned to be so difficult.

“Hart, who would you prefer to be the next Sovereign, Bernard or Josslan?”

“I know it’s a violation of my vassalage, but honestly, I’m uneasy about both Prince Bernard, who was rebellious against Philine, and Prince Josslan, who is friendly with the Duke of Takrham.
That’s why I’ll make sure that the Monarchy won’t be defeated no matter which one becomes the Sovereign.”

“All right, I want to abdicate as soon as possible, so my two younger brothers will have to grow up quickly.”

If either of them had been nominated as the next Sovereign, would they have done the same?

Hart was afraid that his remarks would decide the next Sovereign and influence the future of the Royal citizens, and his body trembled when he recognized the current situation in which Yuna alone held the authority and responsibility.

It’s not very bearable.

After reaffirming that it should be finished sooner, Hart accompanied Yuna to the second spirit crystal factory.

The second spirit crystal factory is strictly controlled by the Royal Army, but they do not have the authority to reject the Commander-in-Chief and the Queen.

Hart and company stepped into the depths of the factory and caught in sight a mysterious polyhedral spirit crystal that was about the size of a fist with different color depths depending on the surface.

After disarming all security, Hart stood before the spirit crystal and called out.

“Janet, you wouldn’t have signed a direct contract with Dr.
Kerman.
Could you sign a direct contract with me to connect the worlds between Janet’s spirit world and the Diete system?”

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When the call was made, the blue spirit crystal reacted and slowly floated up, revealing a thin woman wrapping it in her hands.

She had sky blue eyes, fair skin, and a single tuft of braided blue hair.
She had a blue ribbon on her hair and a blue corolla.
She wore a blue ethnic dress that showed off her shoulders, and her fingernails were all painted blue.
Her hair is a mixture of blue and white, although it is not uniformly thick.

Her ears, characteristic of the higher spirits, are in the shape of a half-elf.

The woman of a pure blue color, which could never be forgotten once seen, curiously tilted her head.

『I never told you my name.
Where did you learn it?』

Despite the fact that only Hart and Yuna are present, Janet sent the magic message directly to Hart so that he could hear it.

『I know that the resident system is a source of energy, I also know the keyword for a direct contract with Janet.
As you’ve been here for four years, you might have come to like the Diete system.
If you contract directly, you can purify the miasma of this system and absorb it as you please.
Her Majesty the Queen has also agreed to territorialization.』

Janet, who squinted her eyes, answered Hart with a smile on her mouth, though her eyes were not smiling at all.

『Then, give the keyword of the contract that I had decided on.
If you get it wrong, I will never grant a contract again.
If not for Lady Mira, I’d let you know when you’re wrong.』

『Purple Lisianthus.』

『I, haven’t told anyone about that.』

When Hart gave her the right keyword, Janet’s eyes changed from indignation to intense interest.

After confirming the correct answer from Janet’s response, Hart turned his gaze to Mira and pointed to the unshipped spirit crystals.

『Janet, please use the spirit crystals you’ve created for the energy to interfere with this world.
If you fill the system with your magic power first and then purify and absorb the miasma, you can be promoted to Spirit Emperor like Mira.
The Diete system is the foundation of our country, and we need the power of the Spirit Emperor to protect it.』

『I’ll accept you… do you understand what this means? I suppose you do.
Strangely enough.』

With a bitter smile, Janet shattered the spirit crystal that was wrapped in her hands.
At the same time, all the unshipped spirit crystals that existed in the second spirit crystals factory shattered in an instant.

On that day, the mysterious blue luminescent phenomenon that originated from the second spirit crystal factory on the continent of Cynthus quickly spread throughout the Diete system and merged into the sector.