What Moitz Myas Rohdai, Chancellor of the Mimaka Principality, recounted was this:
"This morning, we received a Large Weckener as a gift from Jin-dono. We set it up and activated it right away."
At this stage, it was still unclear what made the situation an emergency.
"A large one... You mean the kind with an effective radius of ten kilometers?"
"Oh, you are familiar with it? Precisely. Thanks to that, we were able to cover the entire royal capital, centered around the Royal Palace."
"I see."
"...And when we did, as it turned out, as many as ten people had been brainwashed—or rather, placed under hypnotic suggestion."
"What did you say?!"
It was certainly a matter of utmost urgency.
"Most of them had not received instructions to inflict direct harm upon our nation. Instead, their orders were almost entirely to leak information to the Jagus Principality."
"How could that be!"
Even without immediate physical destruction, leaking intelligence was an act of treason capable of shaking the very foundations of a state.
"...How was that information being transmitted to the Jagus Principality?"
Although the Mimaka Principality and the Jagus Principality shared a border at the summit of Nameless Peak, they were, in practical terms, the farthest apart from each other of all the nations.
(No, perhaps that is precisely why they limited themselves to gathering intelligence rather than carrying out direct sabotage...)
Deus Ex Machina (operated by Mentor) weighed that possibility while waiting for the Chancellor's explanation.
"It appears to have been carried out using communication magi-devices."
"Something like a manaphone?"
"We are not well-versed in magi-devices, so we cannot say for certain, but likely so. However, their effective communication range does not seem particularly long."
In other words, there must be relayers, Maquina deduced.
"I see. That certainly calls for swift action."
If the enemy realized their infiltrated spies had been exposed, they would undoubtedly scramble to destroy any evidence, Maquina judged.
"Understood. Let us make our move at once."
"R-Right now?"
"Yes. There is not a moment to lose."
Maquina explained the risk of destroyed evidence to the Chancellor.
"I will ready the Aristotle, so please brief Lord Treyu in the meantime, Your Excellency."
"Understood."
The Chancellor informed Foreign Minister Treyu Nau Yuuki and the others that Maquina would be returning ahead to the royal capital of Quonale, then stepped outside. Maquina was already waiting there.
"Let us take this."
Awaiting them was a blow plane of the same model as Jin's Eagle Unit 1. Squire Rei was at the controls.
"O-Oh! My, it is fast!"
With Rei's visual capabilities, flight was possible even by moonlight and starlight alone. Maquina and his companion reached Quonale in less than thirty minutes.
They touched down in the courtyard of the Ducal Palace.
The guarding ritters gathered to investigate the commotion, but upon recognizing Chancellor Moitz Myas Rohdai and Deus Ex Machina, they saluted and welcomed them inside.
"Thank you for your vigilance. We have urgent business."
With that brief acknowledgment, the Chancellor hurried into the palace alongside Maquina, heading straight for the Duke's office.
Standing guard before the doors was Daiki Yuuma Tatsuta, Commander of the Royal Ritter Order, who promptly let them through.
"...That was fast, Chancellor. Ah, Maquina-dono. Thank you for making the journey on such short notice."
Seeing the two enter, Duke Gaspar de Mimaka inclined his head in greeting.
"Please, have a seat."
As the Chancellor and Maquina took their seats across from the Duke, Sheena Sumiya, serving as both lady's maid and secretary, served them tea.
Once Maquina took a sip, the Duke began to speak.
"I believe you have already heard the outline from the Chancellor, but earlier today, Jin-dono gifted us a Large Weckener. When we activated it, ten individuals who were freed from their brainwashing came forward to turn themselves in."
The defining trait of this brainwashing was that the victims remembered their actions, but had no recollection of who had given them the orders or what the specific instructions had been.
One could roughly deduce the nature of the orders by examining what the victims had actually done, and determining the date and time their strange behavior began would reveal when they had been compromised.
However, the complete absence of any memory regarding who had issued the commands posed a serious hurdle for those attempting to resolve the situation.
"They were leaking intelligence on your country, correct? Do you know what means they used?"
"Yes. We have secured five communication magi-devices. It appears the ten individuals operated in pairs, with each pair sharing one device."
"This is one of them," the Duke said, setting a small box onto the table.
"It is remarkably compact."
"Indeed. A manaphone is considerably larger, is it not? I cannot fathom what kind of mechanism this uses."
"We could dismantle it... No, before that, have you investigated whom or where this connects to?"
"No, not yet."
The Duke explained that making a careless attempt might alert the other party.
"In that case, allow me to assist," Maquina offered.
"Since there are five units, I will start by disassembling and analyzing one of them."
When Maquina added that they could decide on an investigation method based on whatever was uncovered, the others looked on with deep respect and eager anticipation.
"Oh, we would be most grateful."
"To think you can perform such an analysis. As expected of Jin-dono's fellow disciple."
"Allow me, then."
Employing magi-craft, Deus Ex Machina first removed the outer casing, exposing the inner workings.
Continuing the analysis, Maquina noted that the interior components did not appear to be intentionally obscured as a black box.
"Hmm..."
After roughly five minutes of scrutiny, Maquina looked up to find the others leaning forward, watching with keen interest.
"D-Did you discover anything?" Duke Gaspar de Mimaka asked before anyone else.
"Yes....As anticipated, this is undoubtedly a communication device. Due to its compact size, its output is quite low, and its transmission range appears correspondingly short."
There was another reason for its limited reach: the emitted mana waves lacked directivity.
Because the mana waves radiated outward in all directions, the effective range was considerably shorter than it would have been with a focused signal.
The manaphones Jin had distributed to various nations automatically searched for their paired devices and transmitted mana waves directly toward them.
That was one of the reasons their housings were so large—the search mechanism required substantial space.
In contrast, the seized communication magi-devices broadcast mana waves omnidirectionally at all times, making them inefficient and severely limiting their range.
"Moving on, is communication through this device conducted on a fixed schedule? Or can it be initiated at any time?"
Since the victims retained memories of their actions, an immediate answer was readily available.
"At any time, apparently. As for the procedure, this side activates the device and waits, after which a brief signal comes in from the other end," explained Minister of Industry Jintsuo Mihoyasu.
"They deliver their report, and once finished, another short transmission comes through from the other side to terminate the connection. That seems to be the routine."
"I see."
At this point, Maquina proposed a strategy to identify the receiver.
"If we deploy a magi-radar at the exact moment a transmission occurs, we can determine the general direction. If we take readings from two separate locations, we should be able to pinpoint their approximate position."
The intersection of the two directional vectors would pinpoint the target.
At the same time, Maquina wanted to ensure the adversary remained entirely unaware of the discovery.
"In that case, since their brainwashing has been broken, could we not have the individuals who were previously manipulated transmit false information instead?"
"If that is possible, by all means."
Maquina immediately voiced full support for the Chancellor's proposal.
And so, preparations were pushed forward at a breakneck pace through the remainder of the night.