Chapter 254.1. Menou Fen

-???’s POV-
Menou Fen, the head of the Agate family who was piloting the new type of magic weapon, Queen Ant, was so consumed by anger that he felt like he was on the brink of madness. 
The hand gripping the lever trembled, his face contorted, and his bloodshot eyes stared at the enemies on the monitor. He bit his lip so hard that blood flowed from it, yet he hardly noticed.
The reason for his intense rage was that he felt as though all the struggles he had endured since becoming the head of the family had been reduced to nothing. 
No, they had indeed become nothing. 
The efforts and ambitions he had put into turning the Puppy Dog Company he inherited into the best in Japan, and the world had simply evaporated like bubbles.
One of the reasons he had decided to come here was the betrayal by the branch family. 
Just thinking about that moment made his gut churn.
“You mean to tell me you’ve let go of our shares?! You sold them to the Takano County?!”
It was during a meeting that was called to gather all members of the family to prevent a takeover by the alliance formed by the Takano family. 
The branch members came with uneasy, or already determined expressions to report their betrayal.
“Well, we’re not shameless enough to go that far. We sold them to a completely unrelated company, not Takano County. However… even if we were to continue holding Dog Puppy Company’s shares, there’s no future in it. That’s what we thought.”
“Yes, yes. The stock prices are rising due to the buying spree, but once this commotion settles, the company will be divided, and its major divisions will be sold off… That’s what we thought.”
“We also had to protect the family… We had no choice but to sell. It was a painful decision. At least being honest about it shows our sincerity.”
They all apologized, but in essence, they had only felt the crisis like rats and fled.
“You fools! Technology advances rapidly. Even if we’re losing now, we could easily recover. The alliance formed by the Takano family is held together by a fragile bond that will crumble easily. We could reclaim the shares quickly if we went to a power like the Aguuni Dukedom. His Majesty the Emperor probably understood that much.”
Trembling with anger, Menou Fen stared at the foolish rats.
“It’s a scheme to restrain Menou Marquisate’s power. Yes, it’s a crisis, but it wouldn’t have been so urgent to the point of not considering it in the future… But you all… let go of the shares!”
That was the acquisition drama to control the power of Kanna Dukedom. It was nothing more than each family holding less than 10% of shares. In the present, Kanna Dukedom would suffer from losing their support, but for Menou Marquisate, looking towards the future and taking action would have posed little problem.
His Majesty the Emperor probably didn’t want to see Menou Marquisate weaken to the point where the power balance would dramatically shift.
That’s why he opted for such a roundabout strategy as allying.
Understanding the current situation precisely, Menou Fen had gathered the branch members to convey his intention in advance.
He gets outmaneuvered. Takano County held those shares they let go behind the scenes.
Takano County, greedy to increase its influence, would undoubtedly seize the opportunity. 
Why hadn’t we been so wary until now? Why hadn’t we thought to take action and crush them when Takano County tried to go beyond the shipping business…?
As if completely unaware, we let it slide as if it didn’t concern us and allowed the rise to happen.
At this juncture, Menou Fen realized.
With these indirect strategies, Menou Marquisate was now on the brink of destruction.
He had no choice but to make one final comeback move.
To be the catalyst for Menou Marquisate’s rise, the central figure.
He had decided to personally assassinate Takano Miu.
Even if it meant sacrificing his own daughter.
Menou Fen, piloting the large-scale magic war machine Queen Ant, recalled recent events and tightened his grip on the lever.
In the dim cockpit, lights from various instruments blinked, and he swallowed hard as he looked at Takano Miu on the 240-degree monitor.
“I’ll kill you, brat. With the power of this Queen Ant and the synergy of my secret magic-man unit!”
His hand trembled slightly, but he pretended not to notice and defiantly declared. 
“Synergy of Magic-Man Unit? Ah, that’s why you came in person. I’ve never heard of it, but it’s an ability to unlock the potential of magical war machines, right?”
“Exactly! The Queen Ant I’m piloting is the world’s strongest magic war machine and demonstrates combat abilities from a different dimension. Your fate ends here!”
Takano Miu, who had easily seen through Menou Marquisate’s secret magic Synergy of Magic-Man Unit, turned a bored gaze toward him. 
There was no turmoil over being found out. It should be easy to deduce from the name, and it was a self-enhancing magic that she couldn’t counter even if she knew about it.
No, not self-enhancing magic. It was the strongest support magic that significantly boosted the capabilities of controlled magical tools.
Therefore, the young girl facing him should die. Fen’s reasoning had reached that conclusion. Yet for some reason, his hand didn’t move to launch an attack.
In the rational part of his mind, he understood that he felt fear in front of this emotionally inexperienced young girl.
“Ymir… is she… human?”
Fen cut off the microphone and carefully asked Ymir, who was sitting in the rear seat of the two-seater cockpit, making sure his voice didn’t tremble.
“…Likely human. Not a deity or something similar. I’ve only encountered such a being once before.”
“Then… doesn’t she feel pain? She seemed fine appearing in that state?”
“I’ve never heard of such rumors.”
“She… she appeared with a charred body! It was like a walking piece of charcoal! Are all recovery magicians like that!”
As if masking fear with anger, he shouted.
Charcoal, she was just a charcoal. Because her clothes and magic armor looked brand new, Takano Miu’s charred body appeared particularly strange in Fen’s field of view.