"Lady Elena! You're safe!!"
"Waaah, thank goodneeess...!"
Just as Elena had anticipated, she was able to reunite with Edda Eema and Lauria Matsuta at the Nostalgia branch located in Tosa, a city in southern Mitsuho.
Both were immensely relieved—so much so that Lauria burst into tears.
"I'm sorry for worrying you two."
Elena disclosed that although she could not reveal the method, she had been rescued by Magi Craft Meister Jin Nidou-dono.
She explained that the condition of her rescue was keeping the method secret from others, so neither Edda nor Lauria pressed the matter any further.
The following day, on the 22nd, Elena and her party returned to headquarters.
A strategy meeting was promptly convened.
Starting with a report on their visit to the Jagus Principality, Elena recounted the sham fight with the Jagus Golem, the tour of the laboratory, and her subsequent confinement in the Tower.
"What an outrageous act! Lady Elena, were you harmed in any way?"
Wattes Schretzer, the military affairs staff officer, showed intense indignation.
"No, I am fine. If I were to get serious, opponents like them would be crushed in a single blow."
Elena replied using phrasing she rarely employed, attempting to soothe Wattes's anger even slightly.
"If you say so, then that is well, but..."
"More importantly, I want to consider how we can turn this situation to our advantage."
Wattes reacted visibly to Elena's words.
"To our advantage... you say?"
"Yes."
Elena nodded and laid out her objective.
"For the time being, I will not appear in public. In other words, Nostalgia will act as though I am still being held hostage."
She then explained that while pretending to accede to their demands, they would carry out covert counter-operations.
"However, um... what about the safety of the person who took Lady Elena's place?"
Edda asked with a concerned expression.
"There is no need to worry about that. The double is an automata created by Jin-sama, after all."
"I see. In that case, does that mean we can execute a bolder strategy on our end?"
Wattes pondered for a moment.
Turning to the technical specialists, Edda and Lauria, he said,
"I believe there is much we will need the technical department to handle,"
and began explaining what he had in mind.
Naturally, Laojun was also monitoring the meeting with Elena's permission.
Furthermore, if magi-devices beyond the capabilities of Edda and Lauria became necessary, it intended to prepare them itself.
And if even Laojun could not manage them, it planned to ask Jin for assistance.
(...However, they might be sufficient on their own.)
Wattes Schretzer's strategy seemed to have been devised with an accurate assessment of their own capabilities.
(Still, this serves as good reference. It seems Wattes is a first-rate strategist.)
Wanting to study Wattes's talent for tactical planning, Laojun traced his thought processes.
"First, everyone involved must maintain the facade that Lady Elena is being held hostage. This is our prerequisite."
Wattes looked around at the assembled executives.
"On that basis, we will hear the Jagus Principality's demands....We can anticipate with fairly high probability that they will demand magi-stones, magi-crystals, and golems."
No one raised an objection.
"Besides those, there is also a possibility they will demand magi-devices."
This deduction was based on reports from those who had observed the Jagus Principality firsthand.
"The magi-stones can be delivered as they are. As for the magi-crystals, we will rig them."
Wattes had already consulted the technical team in advance.
"It will only be a very slight modification. When we direct a specific mana frequency at it from our end, it will trigger a structural collapse."
Through this, any magi-device or golem utilizing these magi-crystals could be neutralized at a moment's notice, Wattes explained.
"Next are the magi-devices; we will apply the exact same modification to them."
This meant every magi-device supplied by Nostalgia could be rendered useless at their discretion.
"The mana key used for this will be Lady Elena's mana."
Since the mechanism would not react to any magic pattern other than Elena's, there was no risk of discovery even under inspection.
Thanks to this safeguard, there would be no need to fear the items delivered to the Jagus Principality.
"...That is the strategy I have devised."
Wattes bowed slightly toward Elena.
"If there are any questions or suggestions for improvement, please voice them."
His words were directed to the entire room.
"That is a fine plan, Wattes."
Elena offered her praise.
"I am honored, Lady Elena."
Wattes returned the bow with a pleased expression.
Elena then added:
"If possible, could we add an eavesdropping function to the magi-devices?"
To this, Edda replied,
"Lady Elena, that is impossible with our current level of technology....Unless it does not matter if it is discovered."
Wattes grimaced as well.
"Lady Elena, I considered that as well and consulted the technical team, but it appears to be quite difficult..."
"...I see. That is unfortunate."
Elena gave up on the idea, acknowledging that what could not be done could not be helped.
(Though Jin-sama would probably be able to manage it...)
(In that case, there should be no problem if we modify the magi-crystals ourselves and supply them to Nostalgia.)
On Hourai Island, Laojun was already devising a scheme to bring Elena's idea to fruition.
(If we have the Mini-Smiths process them, they can apply a treatment that even Nostalgia's technicians will never detect.)
By applying this treatment, they would be able to eavesdrop on any conversations near the magi-devices or golems incorporating those magi-crystals.
If a device were installed in a conference room within the Royal Palace, they could listen in on every council meeting.
(The Jagus Principality still holds many secrets, so a multi-faceted investigation will be vital.)
Laojun issued instructions to the Mini-Smiths and had them engrave the eavesdropping magi-sequence.
Because the formula occupied an area no larger than a poppy seed on a cherry-sized magi-crystal, visual discovery was practically impossible.
On top of that, carving it into magi-crystals that contained tiny natural inclusions lowered the probability of discovery even further.
Furthermore, because the intercepted audio would be transmitted not to Hourai Island, but directly to the Watcher in satellite orbit, there was virtually no danger of the transmission path being traced.
After the meeting concluded and Elena was alone in her room, she contacted Laojun via her built-in manacam.
"...Therefore, the modified magi-crystals will be provided directly from Hourai Island. "
"Understood. I will leave it in your capable hands."
Concluding the transmission, Elena murmured to herself.
"Just how effective this strategy of turning the enemy's schemes against them will be... is something we will not know until we put it into practice."
Nostalgia's counterattack was about to quietly begin.