Around the time when the formation of the Nirvana Alliance’s military organization seemed to be progressing, messages were sent from the Elysian Empire and the Raddle Axis Union. As expected, the contents were not friendly.

“Let’s see, the gist of the Elysian Empire’s stance is this: they’ll crush us while they still can because a large-scale alliance could pose a threat to the Empire. A direct declaration of war—how very typical of them. On the other hand, the Raddle Axis Union is indirect, which is quite interesting.”

I immediately threw a question at Jean after his words.
“Indirect? What are they saying?”

“Well, they sent a long-winded, 10-page document, basically saying if we make even the slightest move, they’ll retaliate with their full force.”
“10 pages? That’s insane.”
“Yeah, either way, we can’t coexist peacefully with the Raddle Axis Union. Besides, we’ve already created enough of a conflict with Princess Yukiha and the hero matter.”

“Right, we’ll have to rescue Yukiha and reclaim the hero, no matter how forceful we have to be, so a clash is unavoidable.”
“Exactly. The next step is minimizing the scale of the battle. If the Raddle Axis Union and the Nirvana Alliance clash head-on, it’ll turn into a massive war.”

Despite all this, it seems Jean has already devised a plan to rescue both Yukiha and the two heroes, and has been pushing various departments to prepare. The most important of these preparations has been intelligence gathering. They’ve been utilizing the Alice Abbey network to the fullest, so Sister Muji has been busier than ever. And this intelligence gathering bore fruit, as they obtained information about a large battle between the Elysian Empire and the Raddle Axis Union. It was quite fascinating, and Jean was eagerly reading the report.

“It seems like the heroes were involved in this battle,” Jean said.
“How do you know that?”

There hadn’t been an official announcement, so I asked Jean why he thought that.
“Two riders have achieved monstrous results in battle. The only people I know capable of pulling off such feats are…”
“You know one of them? I had no idea someone that amazing was one of your acquaintances.”
“You’re so dense, I’m talking about you.”
“Me?!!”

“I don’t know about heroes, but if it’s about Yūta having the strength of a hero, I believe it.”
Aryuna jumped into the conversation, confidently agreeing with Jean.
“Ah, Nanami believes it too! I trust Yūta’s strength much more than some long-forgotten person from the past!”

Even Nanami joined in, making the conversation veer off track. But Emina, ever serious, quickly brought it back to the main topic.
“Right now, it’s better to focus on the battle between the Elysian Empire and the Raddle Axis Union, rather than talking about Yūta and the heroes. The fact that the Elysian Empire was defeated and had to retreat is already big news.”

“What? The Elysian Empire lost? Even with the hero, that’s incredible!”
Dad, who had a history with the Elysian Empire, eagerly latched onto the news. Likewise, Kiyone, with her own grudge, strongly agreed with Dad and pressed for more details about the report.