The plasma cannon wand split into four segments, each aiming a blue energy beam toward the wand’s core, which quickly expanded into a massive two-meter-long barrel. A mechanical hum accompanied the heat dissipators whirring around it, emitting wisps of smoke as they cooled the weapon.

The Crown Prince would never forget this moment. Kaisha, who usually displayed nothing but hysteria, stood proudly, her expression vacant and strangely serene, as though she had transformed into a legendary warrior. Energy fragments drifted around her like cherry blossom petals in a fiery inferno.

Their target was obliterated—completely erased. The ground where the shot had struck was molten, the metal scorched. A massive hole now punctured the sky, clouds split by the force of the blast, leaving a clear trajectory in its wake.

*Gulp.*

The Crown Prince swallowed hard, unaware of the passage of time, caught up in the raw power displayed.

*Never…* he thought.

He vowed to never cross her. And especially, *never to mock her as a spinster.*

From this moment on, the idea of experiencing a direct hit from “dragon breath” firsthand was a nightmare he’d rather avoid.

---

“What… is this?”

Kaisha, meanwhile, stood in a daze, the sheer power of her weapon leaving her in shock. The wand—no, cannon—was already disintegrating into ash. Still, her attention was elsewhere, focused on the fact that the enemy had activated a defensive shield, only to be obliterated regardless.

[(MagicIsJustAnAid): What… exactly are you?]

She typed, reluctant to say it out loud with the Crown Prince nearby, as she didn’t want him to think she’d lost her mind.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *What?*

[(MagicIsJustAnAid): Were all the things you said… true?]

[Admin’s Message:]
- *I’ve never lied.*

His tone was playful as ever, yet she felt no urge to laugh.

*Unbelievable…*

As much as she had initially thought him a fraud, she couldn’t deny that someone capable of creating a weapon like this couldn’t possibly be a simple liar. She remembered all the offhand comments he’d made about destroying planets in the community—what if it were all real?

Trembling, she glanced at the hacking chip included in her package. The device emitted a faint blue glow between its seams.

*This is no ordinary device.*

Kaisha recalled the Admin’s instructions and threw the hacking chip onto the massive machinery in the lab. Despite her shock, she hadn’t forgotten her mission.

---

As the hack activated, the structure’s blue light began pulsing, emitting a subtle vibration as it morphed. Kaisha’s scientific curiosity itched, but she held back, prioritizing her objective of understanding what this device was truly meant to do.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Hm?*

[(MagicIsJustAnAid): Is there… something about it? What exactly is this?]

The Admin went silent for a while, as if deliberating.

Just as she was about to prompt him again, his message arrived.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *It’s a block of Ether. Primitive, but definitely Ether.*

“What…?”

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Toss this in there too.*

Just then, another device materialized, falling gently into her hand, similar in design to the hacking chip. She followed his instructions without hesitation.

As it made contact, she watched the device go to work, its structure flickering and transforming under the influence.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *This setup is way too inefficient. It’s like using fire when you could have fusion energy.*

[(MagicIsJustAnAid): What… does that mean?]

The Admin didn’t respond immediately, seeming preoccupied with his own musings.

Finally, he explained a bit.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *It’s like breaking a $100 planet for $5 worth of resources. Whatever “mana contamination” you mentioned might be connected to this thing’s effect too. Planets drained of Ether don’t just face physical disasters.*

“!!”

She struggled to absorb what he was saying.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Basically, that guy was siphoning your planet dry, triggering mana contamination in the process.*

“What does that mean?” she muttered aloud, forgetting the Crown Prince was there.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *The guy’s dead, but his species might respond soon.*

“What?”

The rapid pace of revelations was overwhelming.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *His biological signal was likely transmitted somewhere.*

She understood, finally realizing what the Admin was hinting at.

“So killing him was a mistake after all!” she exclaimed.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Nah, don’t worry. I already intercepted the transmission.*

“What did you send instead…?”

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Summed up, it says: ‘Planet abundant with Ether, native resistance fierce, send reinforcements. End of message.’*

What?!

The absurdity of the situation struck her.

Her initial plan, her motive for the mission, had been to prevent further mana contamination and stave off an invasion from his species. Yet now it seemed her efforts had achieved the exact opposite.

She felt a wave of dizziness and a sudden longing for the comfort of her massage chair. The fact that even in this mess, she could think about that chair made her cringe.

[Admin’s Message:]
- *It’s fine! After all, we have Magical Girl Kaisha☆ on our side!*

Her head spun. A planetary invasion was incoming, and he was making jokes?

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Relax, I’ve got a helper lined up for you too. Gonna be a fun experiment.*

“What… kind of helper?”

[Admin’s Message:]
- *Well, it’s a bit large, but it should work just fine.*

The Admin was clearly insane. Or perhaps insanely powerful. She wasn’t sure which one was more terrifying.

Just then, murmurs from outside began to reach her ears, snapping her back to reality.

She glanced down at herself.

*... This is bad.*

---

On the Debra homeworld, high-tech spires stretched into the sky, including the towering central command post responsible for planetary defense and full control over their expeditionary fleets.

In the top floor of this command tower, a high-ranking Debran officer read a report, his black pupils narrowing.

“This is the third suitable planet?”

“Yes, sir. It’s a remarkable find.”

They had been preparing to establish a forward base on the first world, which had minimal resources but promising strategic value. The second was now under “purification” to wipe out the local civilization and turn the planet into a resource hub.

But this third planet… its Ether reserves were apparently beyond measure.

Ether, the power source that had enabled the Debrans to dominate their galaxy, was invaluable. While the support request in the report was curious, the officer had no reason to doubt it.

After all, a Debran couldn’t falsify a report even if they tried; only a Debran could initiate interstellar communication in the first place.

“A primitive species resisting?” The officer chuckled. “Unlikely.”

Based on the bio-signal, it appeared their scout had sent his last transmission and perished. But his death was more than a simple loss; it was an insult to Debra itself.

“Ready the fleet.”

“Sir?”

“This is Ether. We do not leave Ether unprotected.”

“So… we’re launching a full assault?”

“Prepare for total mobilization.”

“Yes, sir!”

And so, sixty percent of Debra’s space fleet mobilized, with 24,000 warships setting course for Kaisha’s planet, an offensive beyond anything Kaisha and the Crown Prince could have anticipated.

To the Debrans, Ether was worth more than life itself.