The command center, on the verge of battle, was a hive of activity. Alongside their usual war preparations, they now had to handle the threat posed by hostile entities that had advanced to the Alchemic Steel Refinery. Even in the dead of night, the entire base buzzed like a hornet’s nest that had been kicked by a bear.

One of their biggest headaches was the escaped workers. Those I had released caused enough chaos to stretch their resources thin. Seeing unidentified workers brazenly wandering around the operational area drove the signal officers and staff to their wits’ end. They would have preferred to kill them all, but there were too many, and among them were irreplaceable refinery workers.

In the midst of all this, a military automatron arrived at the entrance. Soldiers demanded the passphrase, and a girl with soft pink hair, clad in a female officer’s uniform, replied and stepped down from the automatron.

She was dressed in a stiff uniform that looked as awkward as her posture. She wore the epaulets indicating her rank and medals on her chest, but none of it seemed to fit. Her round, gentle features and soft pink hair clashed with the rigid military attire, creating a surreal impression. She saluted with exaggerated stiffness.

“L-Loyalty! I am Lieutenant Natalia of the Public Safety Division, here on a classified mission!”

Her stammered speech and awkward salute made her seem like a child trying her hardest to mimic an adult. The guards, feeling a slight twinge of guilt, wondered if they should detain her. Yet, faced with the emblems of her rank, they could not muster the will.

“The Public Safety Division, huh… You do have the Alchemic Seal, don’t you?”

“Yes, here it is.”

“Check. Confirmed. Lieutenant, don’t mind this too much—these procedures are necessary under semi-martial law…”

The first reason they relented was her affiliation with the Public Safety Division, a unit said to have the power to topple stars from the sky.

“And you’re not here to pry into any absolute secrets… It’s just a procedural necessity in this situation. Where are you headed, and who are those with you?”

“These are workers who have had contact with the hostile entity. Director Jiekhrund ordered them to be transferred to the Public Safety Division for further interrogation.”

“Director Jiekhrund, you say…?”

The second reason was her connection to the Grandiomor royal family. The officer looked at her face and felt no sense of suspicion or danger. Suspicion arises from unfamiliarity, and the authority of royalty erases such doubts.

Though the royal power was not the strongest, it had survived the longest, reaching into subtle moments like these.

“Sorry for the delay. Pass through. Next! Hey! Stop! State your affiliation before entering!”

And so, we passed through without incident. The princess, halfway through bowing, hurriedly switched to a salute and clumsily climbed back into the automatron. The soldiers parted to let us through, and the vehicle crept toward the base interior. The princess, now seated, placed a hand on her chest, exhaling in relief.

“Well done! That was perfect!”

Drenched in sweat, the princess took off her cap, letting out a long sigh.

“Phew… I thought my heart would explode…”

“To deceive a strict officer like that, not bad at all! I’ll be counting on you again!”

“No… I can’t do this again. I only managed it because they didn’t suspect me…”

“Well, you did have the Public Safety Division’s Alchemic Seal that Hilde left behind, and your innate ability helped too.”

And there was also the passphrase I’d gleaned from reading minds. There was nothing for them to catch onto procedurally. But that wasn’t all there was to it.

“It’s not over yet, though. The command center’s consent likely played a part in us getting through.”

“The command center’s consent? Are you saying they let us pass on purpose?”

“Yes. If the signal corps had alerted the entire base about the hostile entity approaching, giving out descriptions of our appearance to all officers, we’d have been caught one way or another.”

With Tir and the regressor involved, the response wouldn’t have been so subdued. They were too well-known, and the Military State would have been on high alert, taking preemptive measures.

But we were different. While Historia was powerful, her abilities were still just that of an individual. Moreover, she was a loyal officer of the Military State until recently. If the command center knew about what happened at Hamelin, they’d understand that she wasn’t here out of hatred for the Military State but simply following Siahti and me.

I didn’t know their exact plan, but I knew the Military State’s principles well enough. They were rational. This wasn’t a war between nations but a minor insurrection. With Historia defecting and Hilde gone, they were weaker than ever.

So if they didn’t have a reason to meet us, we could always create one. I instructed everyone to keep quiet as we navigated the deserted roads.

“We’re heading in the right direction, but stay alert. This is the Military State’s command center. Generals walk these paths like it’s nothing. Be cautious; even the Six Great Generals could pop up any moment…”

『Monitoring complete. Efficiency at 97.4%.』

“Speak of the devil… thinking he’s some kind of tiger…”

A glowing mass of light gathered in the darkness. The halo outshone the command center’s dim floodlights, coalescing into the shape of a human. It looked like a shadow made of light.

A helmet pressed low, a body of undiscernible size, and a long, slender sword of light.

Angel Eméder. The guardian of the Military State. And possibly… the embodiment of the command center itself.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Historia reacted first, positioning herself to shield us should Eméder attack. But he didn’t point his luminous blade at us. Instead, he stared, as if appraising us.

A black mouth opened in his glowing face.

『I will guide you. Follow.』

Without further explanation, he began gliding across the ground. He seemed to assume we would follow.

But angels don’t understand human minds. We were raised not to follow strangers. Ignoring his guidance, Historia, sword drawn, challenged him.

“Guide us? Where to?”

Eméder halted, his body creaking as if caught off guard. The pale angel turned to convey his intentions.

『Did you not come here to negotiate?』

“It’s not exactly negotiation… more like a talk?”

『I accept. However, this body lacks sufficient means of communication. Therefore…』

His speech was curt and functional, conveying only information. He was less a being and more a tool—like a signaler.

“So you’re here to take us to the negotiation site? Efficient. Lead the way.”

『Acknowledged. Follow.』

Eméder turned and moved onward. For a creature often regarded as a monster, one that wielded a blade without hesitation, he was now guiding us as if it were the most natural thing. This peaceful encounter with an angel felt surreal. The princess, Siahti, and Historia exchanged uncertain glances.

Except for one creature.

“Nyaa…”

A gleam in his eye, Nabi watched Eméder’s back with predatory intent. This fool’s going to ruin the talks before they even start. I shouldn’t restrain him… or wait, maybe I should.

“Aji, grab him! Hold him down tight!”

“Woof!”

“Nyaaak!”

Not yet, it’s not time. I’d brought them along in case we needed to defend ourselves. Stuffing a wriggling Nabi into the backseat, we followed the angel in our automatron.

Eméder moved with surprising speed and agility, gliding across the ground like inertia didn’t exist. If we took our eyes off him for even a moment, he’d disappear from sight.

We rushed past an armory filled with ammunition, took a right near a storage container piled high with rations, and skirted the outskirts of the engineer corps’ equipment cache, keeping pace with the angel. His sacred aura among the steel and concrete felt like two mismatched paintings.

“…Something’s strange.”

The princess looked around, muttering.

“Why… why isn’t anyone here at the command center?”

It felt like we’d been following Eméder for half a day, but it had only been about ten minutes. Yet this was the command center, the Military State’s heart, teeming with officers.

But there wasn’t even a pebble to trip over—someone had meticulously cleared our path.

“It seems the command center wants to meet us privately, without prying eyes. Listen. Beyond this point, you can hear the soldiers working noisily.”

“But why? There are so few of us. Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to swarm us?”

“Not necessarily. Right now, the Military State is on the verge of negotiating with terrorists. Showing rank-and-file soldiers a humbling negotiation could lower morale.”

Though the Military State was rational, they weren’t inclined to trust anyone completely. Hence, the officers and generals were being kept out of the loop.

The princess voiced a new question.

“How could they clear only our path so precisely?”

“It must be the signalers.”

Historia replied.

“Soldiers obey the command center without question, and the signalers relay the orders. They’re probably guiding any approaching soldiers away from our path.”

“Ah, yes. The signalers… But if they’re so integral, does that mean they are the command center?”

“Just as priests relay a god’s word, but the god remains silent.”

“But the command center isn’t a god. Couldn’t someone control or deceive the signalers? Why doesn’t anyone suspect that?”

A sharp question, but Historia had an answer.

“The signalers don’t. Or rather, they can’t. They don’t exist.”

“What? But they do exist…”

“No one’s ever seen them. Occasionally, someone escorts them, but no one knows what they do or where they are. If they never appear, how could they harbor desires?”

The princess’s question had touched on a hidden truth. Signalers were not mere mortals—they had become as remote and isolated as gods, using golems to communicate from a place beyond this world.

“Do you mean no one knows what the signalers do? Not even the Six Great Generals?”

The princess’s question left Historia silent for a moment.

“Yes… not even me.”

Suddenly, a sense of dissatisfaction seemed to overtake her, and she turned away, retreating into herself.

‘I don’t know anything. I pledged loyalty to the Military State to help my friends, but I don’t truly understand my friends or the state. Am I just a tool being used…?’

Once part of the command center, Historia watched the passing scenery with disillusionment.

In uncomfortable silence, the automatron rolled on.

『We have arrived.』

Finally, Eméder stood beneath a vast wall. A smooth surface without seams, windows, or even vents. More like a box than a building.

I’d seen this shape before—like a steel box that Tantalos had unearthed. But this one was many times larger.

Eméder raised his sword and thrust it into the wall with precise grace. Historia observed him closely.

‘So, there was a seam… a tiny one, barely visible. He slipped the blade in without a millimeter’s error.’

It had been my imagination that there were no seams. The blade had found an almost invisible gap. It looked like he was cutting through solid steel, but Historia, with her sharp eyes, discerned the tiny opening.

Thanks to her, I understood it too. Phew, that was close—I’d have embarrassed myself by acting like I knew.

“He’s slicing through the wall! Like cutting through tofu!”

Oh dear, here’s someone else lacking observational skills. Tsk, tsk. Let me enlighten you.

“There’s a tiny gap in the wall. He’s slipping the blade through it.”

“A gap? I think I see it…”

The only reason to insert a blade there is to open a door. Historia hadn’t seen past the gap, but I’d robbed enough safes to guess at the structure.

“That narrow slit could only be pried open by something like light. There’s probably a lock inside. He’s using the light blade to unlock it.”

Sure enough, Eméder lifted his blade, and with a metallic clink, something clicked open. A sliver of light escaped from the thin line in the wall.

With a slow creak, the wall split open. Gears turned, and the rectangular door slid back into the wall. Eméder stood still, his task complete, as lifeless as an ancient guardian.

Right. Eméder was the key. Only a being that wields a blade of light could unlock this door, leading to a windowless room that could only be entered through him.

“And no one else uses a blade of light, do they? Only Eméder, the angel of the Military State, can open this door. What does that tell you?”

“That whoever controls Eméder… must be inside?”

Precisely. The princess was worth asking questions of.

Eméder spoke, his voice a resounding note.

『Enter.』

“All of us?”

『It doesn’t matter.』

He positioned himself like a gate, opening a path for us. I ushered Nabi and Aji inside first, while they wrestled each other.

Following them, I entered the Military State’s deepest secret, opening itself to me.

Through the narrow entrance, I found myself in a bizarre space.

A vast round table was piled high with papers, and the walls were lined with torn pages from books, covered in tiny writing. The room was filled with documents bearing Military State secrets.

The value of the space lay in those details. A person with the right knowledge could glean unimaginable insights.

And the entities preserving that value were…

『Call to all units. Request for resupply adjustment due to Alchemic Steel Refinery destruction.』

『Stock quantity: 89,400 units. Estimated maintenance period: 38 days before depletion.』

『Production increase requirement: 3,200 units. Current fulfillment probability: 0.72%.』

『Value assessment needed. Agenda to be discussed.』

Numerous communication golems, whirring about, busily reading and transcribing information. Each golem, no bigger than a human palm, flitted about, recording data. Some scribbled with deft fingers, others typed away at miniature typewriters, and still others shouted into megaphones. Despite their lack of human form, they had a whimsical, storybook quality.

Seeing the golems, Nabi tried to lunge at them, but Aji held him back. Yes, even a beast needs a guardian—two creatures are always necessary: one to create chaos, and one to restore order.

While they wrestled on the ground, I spotted a series of steel doors along the wall. The spacing was tight—reaching out, I could touch from one door to the next. There were twenty-six of them.

Clearly, these doors weren’t often used. They were blocked by piles of papers in front of each one.

I glanced at the nameplate above the doors, reading the words inscribed:

『Inner Circle Command Center Communication Module I.』