Far to the west of Mahalig, the royal capital of the former Mercana Principality...
There lay a gentle slope rising gradually toward the west.
To the east stood the Black Wood Forest, to the south sprawled wetlands, to the north stretched a barren wasteland, and to the west rose rocky crags.
It was in such a secluded spot that the Revolutionary Party had established its headquarters.
The reason it had avoided detection from the air was that it was situated far off the standard flight routes coming from the Lauren Continent.
Within this base, modest fields had been cultivated in an attempt at self-sufficiency... but the scale was simply too small to make it feasible.
"Hey! Put your back into it!"
"..."
The laborers toiling in the fields were brainwashed civilians—about ten people in all, mostly farmers abducted from rural regions.
However, increasing the number of mouths to feed without adequate supplies was a terrible misstep that only worsened their food shortages.
The soil in this area was fundamentally ill-suited for farming.
Yet, because the Revolutionary Party executives knew nothing about agriculture, they simply forced their captives to work aimlessly.
Had the farmers retained their free will, they could have offered useful advice, such as "Crops won't grow in this soil," or "It would be better to plant something else here."
Instead, viewed merely as slave labor, they had been reduced to mindless puppets stripped of their will, trapping the camp in a vicious cycle.
"...And that appears to be the situation," Deus Ex Machina explained to Tomax Bartman, presenting the findings as a report from scouts he had dispatched.
"What a dreadful state of affairs."
Judging by the circumstances, both men surmised that once the laborers were no longer useful, they would simply be thrown away, and their faces twisted in disgust.
"Rescuing them will have to be part of the plan."
"That certainly makes formulating a strategy rather difficult..."
Maquina and Tomax presumed that if the enemy caught wind of an assault, they would almost certainly use the farmers as human shields.
In terms of priority, rescuing the villagers who appeared to have been enslaved came first.
Next was securing the executives inside the hideout.
Then came the suppression of the hideout itself.
Lastly, they would recover the stolen food supplies.
As for those who had been brainwashed and exploited, even if some managed to flee in the worst-case scenario, they could be gathered up later.
Regardless of their approach, the primary concern remained Brainwashing Magic.
The vast majority of the World Security Guard were human. The mere thought of what would happen if they were brainwashed was chilling.
"Therefore, with Jin's assistance, we are currently developing a magi-device that casts Wecken. At the same time, we are producing equipment to shield humans from brainwashing."
The official stance was to present both developments as Maquina's work.
Maquina would take the spotlight while Jin kept a low profile—whether things would actually go that smoothly was another matter entirely.
"Both should arrive by tomorrow."
"That is most reassuring."
Once the gear was in hand, they could carry out the operation to seize the Revolutionary Party's hideout immediately.
Thanks to Maquina repairing the Warp Gate at Port Nadef, east-southeast of Mahalig, personnel and supplies could now travel from Avalon to the Pandor Continent with virtually no delay—a massive tactical advantage.
"...By the way, Maquina-dono, is it true that your base lies on the far side of the Celuroa Kingdom?"
Following Maquina's assurance that the equipment would arrive the next day, Tomax Bartman voiced his curiosity.
"I heard you mentioned something along those lines to Non the other day."
"Yes, that is correct....Right around here."
Maquina pointed to a spot on the world map mounted on the wall.
"I see, I see. Right here, then?"
It was the sea extending southwest from the mouth of the Border River, the great waterway marking the boundary between the Shouro Empire and the Celuroa Kingdom.
Describing it as due south of Lake Wasu in the southern reaches of the Shouro Empire, and at roughly the same latitude as the southern tip of the Celuroa Kingdom, gave a clear idea of its approximate location.
"Once this turmoil settles down, I am considering inviting several key dignitaries."
"That... is somewhere I would dearly love to visit....However, for the moment..."
"Indeed. We must focus on dealing with the Revolutionary Party."
Meanwhile, on Hourai Island.
Laojun was making a request of Elsa.
"A magi-device that unleashes Wecken?"
"Yes, Elsa-sama."
"Kufu, sounds like you've been handed another troublesome task, haven't you?"
Listening beside her, Saki let out a quiet chuckle.
"Yes, Saki-sama. It appears the group calling itself the Revolutionary Party has enslaved farmers and is working them ruthlessly."
"Is that right...? Well, we certainly can't overlook that."
"Indeed. That is why Deus Ex Machina has taken action."
Elsa nodded firmly.
"Mm. I'll prepare it right away."
Elsa was exceptionally skilled not only in the medical arts, but in magi-craft as well.
Using high-grade magi-crystals, she quickly completed the Weckener.
"Splendid work as always, Elsa."
Watching her finish, Saki clapped admiringly.
"Hey, tell me something. I seem to recall Jin making a magi-device before... er, right, the Hypno Canceller. Why aren't we using that one?"
The Hypno Canceller was potent enough to break even the Domination wielded by Markitus.
The Domination employed by Golbart (Guillermo) Marukitasu—who carried the blood of the Northern People, then referred to as the demon race—operated on an entirely different level from basic spells like Hypno or Seduce. A standard Stun spell could not properly dispel it.
For that reason, Jin had created a dedicated device to counter it, but that design was frankly overkill. Its effects were too immense and its capabilities far too advanced to safely leave under Avalon's management.
Currently, that Hypno Canceller was possessed solely by Hourai Island and Elena of Nostalgia.
Thus, Elsa had developed a device pitched at an appropriate level for Avalon to manage safely.
"With this, Avalon's technicians should be able to produce it as well... probably."
While there were likely fewer than ten technicians capable of replicating it, it remained fully reproducible in principle.
Furthermore, the materials required had been kept strictly to standard-grade components.
"If we send this alongside the anti-brainwashing hats Rai-nii is mass-producing, that should suffice."
Indeed, Reinhard was currently in the midst of mass-producing the anti-brainwashing gear.
Fabricating one hundred helmet sets and one hundred under-helmet caps took a bit of time, even for someone of Reinhard's caliber.
Nevertheless, as a master craftsman, he completed the required quota in roughly an hour.
"Oho, so this is the Hypno Canceller Elsa built? Fascinating."
Having freed up his hands, Reinhard examined Elsa's handiwork in admiration.
"It's quite straightforward... It only needs to dispel Hypno and Seduce, after all."
While those spells could technically be broken with a Stun enchantment, the process inflicted physical shock and pain that often induced unconsciousness. Elsa had formulated Wecken specifically to avoid that drawback.
"I think I'll deliver them to Avalon using the Taube... No, Konron 3."
"Elsa-sama, Konron 3 is currently deployed on Planet Hehl."
"Ah."
Elsa had completely forgotten.
"What should we do, then?"
Elsa looked over at Reinhard.
"Don't look at me..."
"Kufu, a smaller airship really would have come in handy for situations like this."
There was no use longing for what was unavailable, but Laojun chimed in:
"Konron 2 is currently available."