ALL NOVEL Plans gone awry are probably an unpleasant experience for anyone. Perfectionists, who love everything to go smoothly and detest situations that are out of their control, would find it especially vexing.
Fortunately, I am not a perfectionist.
…Well, at least I think I’m not.
So, the discomfort I’m feeling is likely just because it looks like my ordinary plans are about to fall apart.
[Miss Mika? We’ve received a report that a woman resembling you has appeared among the forces dispatched to the High Cathedral and has thrown down the gauntlet!]
“…Mika?”
I never thought the real Mika would be the one to derail our plans.
Sure, she might dislike Gematria, and I can understand why she would want to attack that side.
But to the extent of obstructing the destruction of the sanctuary?
[No, if you say that it confuses things! Mika is you!]
“That’s not right, Aco-chan. Strictly speaking, the real Mika is that kid… Ah, but that’s not the important part right now.”
I can’t believe Mika would intentionally try to hinder us.
If you ask me whether there’s a problem, I don’t exactly think it’s a non-issue, but…?
Still, from my perspective, having seen what she’s been through, I don’t think she’d act with a mindset of ‘since our world is doomed, yours should be too.’
So maybe it’s an unavoidable circumstance caused by color? Yeah, that sounds about right…
I really hope it’s something like that.
“So what’s the situation over there? Should we halt the operation for now?”
[Um… excluding the head, the other members have engaged in combat with the guardians to destroy the sanctuary as planned. I’m not sure about the details, but given the situation, it seems there weren’t many choices.]
“Wait, wait. Excluding Hina-chan? Does that mean…”
[Yes. It means the head and that doppelgänger are currently in combat.]
“…”
Let’s gloss over the audacity of treating the real one as a doppelgänger. Honestly, to the kids tied to the relationship I created, Mika is something I must be.
“If Hina-chan is taken out of the equation… is there going to be a problem in terms of power?”
The High Cathedral of the Union. The guardians protecting the sanctuary there are identified as Jeronimus and Ambrosius. There’s a reason why they have a force invested there that seems excessive compared to other sanctuaries.
According to observed data, that place is the toughest of them all.
Sure, taking down Perorozira was stronger than we anticipated, but still, it’s unlikely to match the difficulty of the High Cathedral’s sanctuary.
The data from the past full-scale battle against Jeronimus doesn’t lie. They could only defeat him after adding Hina’s support and using the adult card.
So, the ones dispatched were the two irregular powerhouses, Hina and Tsurugi, along with the combinations of Sisterhood, Justice Realization Department, and Student Council. It’s a lineup that could take down a standard full-scale battle boss in a flash.
But now, Hina is out. I can’t be sure how strong a Mika colored by emotions is, but the two are fundamentally of equal strength.
However, Mika has actually experienced war in her Kivotos and has fought against Hina countless times in that world. So, in terms of experience, she definitely has the upper hand.
No matter how positively I think about it, I feel it’s a bit challenging for their fight to end in Hina’s victory.
And even if Hina does win, it’s uncertain whether she’ll be able to contribute to the full-scale battle. If it comes to that, we’d be fighting in the full-scale battle with a significant loss of power based on our original assumptions…
[…Ah. By the way, there was also a report that the doppelgänger directly dispatched a being recorded as Ambrosius. So, as long as the head doesn’t suffer an overwhelming defeat, it might somehow be possible…?]
“…Huh? Mika?”
What in the world does that mean? Mika has assisted in the full-scale battle, and now she’s brawling with Hina?
…Why? For what reason?
As I pondered the reason for a while, my eyes widened in realization.
The reason she helped with the full-scale battle is likely our Mika’s true nature—she’s actually a nice princess despite her surface showing coldness!
And the reason she’s now fighting Hina is simply that she hates Gehenna that much…?
Hmm. I’m sure the latter is a certainty, but the former doesn’t quite feel right. I’m not entirely sure about that. Even if I’m clouded in infatuation towards Mika, the undeniable truth remains.
“For now, it seems what they are thinking is important. If one side falls apart, the others will probably follow suit… Yeah, I’ll leave that part to you guys.”
[Huh?]
“It’s up to you to assess the odds on that side as objectively as possible and decide whether to halt the operation for reorganization or continue! Yeah, I totally trust our headquarters.”
[Trust is… a bit heavy in many ways, you know…?]
Aco’s voice coming through the communication sounded strangely lacking in confidence. A twinge of anxiety was seeping through.
I wondered if she was worrying about Hina. Having seen Hina longer than me, maybe she could trust her a little more.
With that thought, I decided to intentionally poke a bit of fun.
“Oh, come on, aren’t you one of Kivotos’s best talents unable to do this?”
[No, that’s… ]
“Phew… Disappointing. I had quite a high opinion of Aco-chan——”
[Wait, wait! I can’t just let that slide?! What do you mean by that, anyway? You’re always comparing me to Hanako!]
As soon as I scratched the surface, Aco shifted into her annoying girl mode, and I awkwardly scratched my cheek.
…Have I really been like that?
But it’s fine. Everyone seeks recognition from others.
“Well, Hanako-chan’s intellect is around 10 Mika—”
[Puhuh?!]
“—so I think it’s pretty impressive just to be able to compare to that, right?”
[…What kind of bizarre unit is that? I can’t wrap my head around it!]
“Hmm? It’s just as it sounds.”
Here, ‘Mika’ refers to myself. So, Hanako’s intellect is about me times ten… or so.
Of course, just because I’m multiplied by ten doesn’t mean I could outsmart Hanako.
“In that sense, Aco-chan is probably about 8 or 9 Mikas?”
[Ah… Your self-evaluation is unreasonably low. Don’t you think there’s some standard?]
“Eh. It’s just a difference between ‘a’ and ‘o,’ isn’t it? So think of it as me not underestimating you, but overestimating those around you☆”
[…Tsk. I understand for now. I’ll gather as much information about the High Cathedral as I can and check their intentions before contacting you again.]
“Wait a moment. Did you just click your tongue? Aco-chan, what does that mean…”
Cut.
“…”
Aco unilaterally cut off the communication, but my mood wasn’t that bad. In fact, my lips were starting to curl into a smile.
Naturally, in my head, Aco was bashfully turning red after receiving that compliment. Even if she tried to act all nonchalant and cut off the call, one can’t hide a voice’s subtle tremble!
“Fufufu…”
Well, that’s that. The sudden situation at the High Cathedral is not drastically related to us.
I hope Hina does not get hurt, and of course, I wish for victory.
However, aside from that, we are still in a situation where we have not yet resumed the full-scale battle.
This is due to the considerable damage we’ve inflicted on Perorozira thus far. Therefore, instead of jumping into action as soon as we hear a news of another sanctuary’s destruction, we’d act only after hearing it.
If we delay like this, we might miss the time we have to restore the sanctuaries. However, I think we have a few more chances to try again even if things get tangled. Once a lot of data piles up, adjusting the timing will become easier as well.
The best would obviously be to take this chance and succeed in the operation.
*
Not long ago, Rion received an extraordinary request from Nagisa, the Student Council President of Trinity, and Seiya.
It was a remarkable request. However, for a student from Millennium, a place considered the cradle of intellect, a task requiring skill is always welcomed.
Of course, the name Millennium doesn’t mean it’s all-powerful. Even the most talented students of Millennium have realms of impossibility.
The nameless priests of ancient times. And the techniques from the era of forgotten gods fall into that realm of impossibility.
The request Rion received was teetering on the border of impossibility.
To restore Mika’s memories, a rather sudden request.
The T-party requested that Mika… that is, they asked to restore the memories of Mika prior to her inhabiting this body.
The fact that it was deemed essential to thwart the invasion of color was enough to pique Rion’s interest.
The moment she received the request, Rion’s exceptional brain immediately conjured a hypothesis.
Deep Dive.
What if they could use a device that allows them to enter the deep consciousness of a specific subject?
However, they couldn’t execute that plan right away. After all, the Deep Dive device wasn’t intended for the user to enter their own deep consciousness.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even a device made for use on a person.
Hence, modifications were necessary, leading Rion to request assistance from Himari.
Dealing with the invasion of color while simultaneously advancing this project was a bit too much for her to handle on her own.
A profound understanding of the technology of both the nameless priests and the forgotten gods, Rion surpassed the current Kivotos’s technological prowess. And Himari, a self-proclaimed genius who’s written her name in Millennium history but constantly undermines her own reputation.
This collaboration between the two geniuses. In the end, they managed to successfully modify the Deep Dive device to some extent within a limited time.
To be usable on humans.
To allow the user to enter their deep consciousness.
And, to prepare for the scenario where the user might not want to escape from their deep consciousness, they even made it possible for another person to accompany them.
“…In theory, it’s perfect. Only in theory, though.”
“Yeah. Normally, we should take our time with testing this item, but… the situation won’t allow for that.”
“Still, we can’t just use the device on Mika-chan without any testing…”
“Seems like we have no choice but to go that way.”
The two girls’ thoughts aligned.
It looks like they would indeed need to test this themselves.