I had been spending some time in the western region.

Today marked the end of that chapter. With one turret capable of firing graviton shells now complete, it was time to inspect other areas.

Early dawn. While emptying my belongings and organizing my lab, Professor Stranov came to see me.

"Travel safely."

She had come to see me off.

I bowed my head respectfully.

"Thank you for everything. Please convey my apologies to the other professors for leaving without saying goodbye."

"I will. They'll understand."

Callis curled the corners of her eyes.

"Professor Rheinland holds a very important and prestigious position, after all."

Callis smiled warmly, her voice trailing off at the end.

"To think that student has grown so much..."

Time is fleeting. Life seems long when you're in it, but when you look back at what has passed, it feels infinitely short and filled with regret.

Knowing this, I struggle desperately. To live a life without regrets.

"Take care."

With an awkward smile, I left Iryuel Academy.

Since the rise of the Order.

I've had to move quietly. If my movements were detected even slightly, assassins from the Order or elsewhere would follow.

Especially during interstellar travel, we always launch several identical ships simultaneously. This prevents anyone from identifying which one I'm on.

Of course, I travel on the same ship as Ireh, Cartesia, and Sonia.

"Sister, would you come over here?"

Ireh, who had been standing by the spaceship window, turned around. She was trying to steady her breathing.

"Oh, why?"

"Just come here."

Ireh walked over slowly. She was trembling slightly, almost imperceptibly. The vibration was milder than a tremor, but clearly visible to my eyes.

I grabbed Ireh's arm and pulled her onto my lap. She yelped and fell into my embrace.

"B-brother?"

"You don't need to be so nervous."

"Ah, um."

A brief moment of silence.

Then Ireh leaned her shoulder against my chest.

"...You noticed."

"How many years have we been together, Sister?"

"Y-yes."

Ireh answered in a small voice.

"There are other people here, and I'm here too. You don't need to be so afraid."

Ireh buried her face in my arms. She took shallow breaths. Her rapid breathing soon calmed down. I felt her soft touch and delicate fragrance.

"When I'm like this... I feel reassured somehow."

"Me too."

We had become indispensable to each other.

"So this is how dependable men are."

"Were you planning to stay single forever?"

"If I hadn't met you."

A faint blush appeared on Ireh's face. Her cherry-like lips opened and closed, filtering out unnecessary breaths and purifying her mind and body.

"Are you embarrassed by what you just said, Sister?"

"N-no?"

"You definitely are."

Ireh hung her head low. I let out a soft laugh at her small gesture.

I wanted to protect Ireh. Me, harboring such emotions—am I really Laplace? What nonsense.

"Here, look at this."

"Research?"

"We should review it together today too."

Time for our regular discussion.

As soon as I showed Ireh the research log, her eyes lit up. And without fail, another lady always came running whenever this happened.

"Youngster."

Slither.

The sound of tentacles dragging across the floor.

Cartesia, moving swiftly like an octopus from the deep sea, attached her suction cups to my back. She quickly wrapped around me and leaned her upper body against mine.

"How dare you start without me?"

"We were just getting started."

"When it comes to research, we must be fair. That's the rule between us, right?"

A strange rule had developed between Cartesia and Ireh.

If Cartesia discussed with me for 10 minutes, I had to discuss with Ireh for 10 minutes too. If Ireh reviewed one paper with me, I had to review one paper with Cartesia as well.

Why, exactly?

I couldn't fully understand it, but since Cartesia insisted that's how it had to be, I went along with it. Trying to understand foreign gods completely would only give me a headache.

As we continued our discussions, we eventually reached the Stellarium planetary system.

As soon as we arrived at the academy, Sonia just raised the corners of her mouth. Then she grabbed her waist and started swaying her hips.

The so-called "Sonia Happy Dance." It was her unique movement that she showed when she was in a very good mood.

"Haven't seen that in a while? Are you that happy?"

"Of course. Once the graviton shells are complete, peace will come to the world, and I'll be able to spend all day rolling around in bed with you, young master."

"Oh my."

I was planning to spend my time rolling around with professors and academic societies.

Of course, spending nights with a beauty like Sonia would be incredibly happy, but the problem was that she wasn't the only one eyeing my evenings.

Three, four, no. Five.

Dealing with five?

I recalled the memory of having all my energy drained and my waist giving out last time. It gave me chills. Now I understand why the term "mandatory defense battle" exists.

"Don't worry. I plan to discuss methods to preserve your stamina with the other wives."

"Like what, for example?"

"Like taking turns, five days each, with two days for recharging..."

"...Let's talk about this later."

"As you wish."

Just as I was about to enter the academy with a sigh.

WHOOSH!

A sound cut through the atmosphere.

Looking up at the sky, I saw a shooting star falling.

"..."

It was an unusual phenomenon. A shooting star in this area at this time. And so clearly visible. With such a loud sound.

No, now that I look at it, is it a meteorite? It seems like a meteorite? Huh? It looks a bit different somehow? Looking closer, rather than a meteorite...

"Huh?"

It seems to be falling toward this planetary system?

WOOOOSH.

The massive object split into thousands of pieces somewhere around the stratosphere. Then it began to scatter in various directions like shotgun pellets.

"Brother!"

Ireh grabbed my arm.

"Those are the Queen's seeds! We absolutely must not get hit!"

Only after hearing those words did I realize several facts.

First. The final war has begun.

Second. The Queen is leading the vanguard.

Third.

"...Seti is in danger."

We're screwed.

***

The all-out attack had begun.

Aurora first bombarded facilities housing various research institutions. She didn't spare any place that could pose even the slightest threat to Darwin's forces.

"Reduce them to ashes. Destroy everything, discard it all."

The Federal Government had no time to react.

Thousands of southern scientists were sacrificed. Even powerful inspectors died instantly. Research facilities built with enormous budgets went up in flames.

The residents of the occupied planets finally realized.

Ah, so this is what foreign gods are.

"Move to avoid the Fron antennas as much as possible. If you're not detected by the antennas, you won't get caught in the traps."

The Queen listened to Sturm's words and put them into action. The result was frustratingly satisfactory. The traps failed to detect the Darwin system's foreign gods.

"So the traps were literally just traps."

The Queen was confident in victory. After taking down research facilities one by one, she focused all her efforts on recovering the foreign gods that had been trapped in the previous great war.

"Y-Your Majesty?"

"Were you captured too, Your Majesty?"

"No, I've come to rescue you."

Aurora ascended to the throne. She looked down at the newly freed foreign gods with cold eyes. For a foreign god of the Darwin system, defeat was a capital crime to be paid with death.

However.

Aurora was in a hurry now. The more forces she had, the greater the possibility of killing Eidel. Her desire for revenge gave birth to understanding.

Aurora spoke.

"I won't speak at length. Will you follow me, or be discarded?"

"W-we will follow you."

"Good!"

The freed Darwin system foreign gods beheld the sight. The noble figure of their Queen. The female body standing at the pinnacle of perfect organisms, who had once oppressed them with fear.

And they felt it. Reverence.

"I will personally command the main force. You will lead separate units to conquer the surrounding planets. If you find imprisoned allies, do not hesitate to make them your comrades. There is someone we must kill."

Aurora regained her charisma as Queen.

The Darwin system continued to divide. Though there were losses in battle, they were quickly replenished.

The Queen cleared the path to the Rheinland planetary system faster than anyone else. She left behind the corpses of elite inspectors, scientists, and engineers.

Finally, two planetary systems came into view.

The Rheinland planetary system.

And the Stellarium planetary system.

The Queen recalled Sturm's order.

- Kill Seti von Rheinland. Cut off their funding.

'Swift and decisive.'

There was a need to be certain.

Aurora spread her arms wide. She scattered her seeds toward both planetary systems simultaneously.

The seeds became monsters, and some parts became incarnate bodies as they fell.

Onto the Rheinland main ship.

And onto the Stellarium planetary system.

When the Queen's fertilized eggs, which had attached like dandelion seeds, began to germinate, the Queen tilted her ear from her throne in the 7th dimensional space.

"Ah, perfect."

Screams could be heard from all directions.

"This level of harmony is worthy of being called a chorus."

Their despair was only beginning.

***

[Breaking news.]

"Huh?"

Seti, who had been frantically multiplying the assets Eidel had left behind, tilted her head. Suddenly, a news window largely obscured the monitor showing stock prices.

"Ah, what now!"

At first, Seti didn't think much of it. She thought those Order bastards had carried out another terrorist attack somewhere.

But that wasn't it.

[Foreign god emergency declared in southern central planetary systems including the Rheinland and Stellarium planetary systems. Darwin system monsters are abnormally rampant. Please evacuate promptly following the guidance of nearby military units.]

Seti's brow furrowed. She grimaced with a nervous smile.

"...Surely they wouldn't come all the way here?"

The Rheinland main ship orbits the Rheinland planetary system at high speed. Being smaller than a planet, the possibility of monsters barging in here was...

THUD.

The ship shook. Seti lost her balance and fell.

THUD, THUD.

Then two, three, four more.

THUD, THUD, THUD.

Something kept crashing into the ship.

WAAAAAAIL!

The siren warning of abnormal opening or unauthorized entry began to sound.

Hearing the sound, Seti quietly got up and monitored the house CCTV. Soon after, she manually closed all doors.

Finally, Seti crawled under the desk and curled up.

There was only one thing left to do.

Tap, tap tap.

'B-brother.'

Tap tap, tap.

'Please come quickly...'