Even on Hourai Island, they heard what the Neo-Magias had proclaimed.
"Hmm..."
"How should I put it... arrogant, or maybe just condescending...?"
"Well, as they say, 'Even a thief has his reasons.' To be sure, if the world were unified under a single autocracy, war would disappear."
Jin spoke, and Reinhard agreed.
"'Even a thief has his reasons,' huh? Haha, what an interesting turn of phrase....Still, I wouldn't want to live in such a suffocating world either."
"Kufu, it would make you wonder what the World Conference was even for, wouldn't it?"
Saki was of the same opinion.
"Still, those ships... They called themselves the Neo-Magias, but..."
A dubious look crossed Jin's face.
"Where is their leadership tier located?"
The Neo-Magias.
The original Magic Federation, which likely served as their foundation, had rejected material civilization in favor of exalting a spiritual magic civilization... Such had been their doctrine.
Then what about the Neo-Magias that had branched off from them?
"We, the Neo-Magias, aim to build a world led by magi!"
"We, the Neo-Magias, shall guide the world!"
"...Aren't they even worse than the Magic Federation?"
Listening in on Hourai Island, Jin muttered to himself.
"Yeah. They're openly declaring world conquest."
Reinhard seemed rather dumbfounded as well.
"Kufu, when they're that brazen about it, it almost becomes comical, doesn't it?"
Saki wore a faint smile of her own.
"They are somewhat out of their minds."
Laojun offered that assessment as well.
"I have confirmed via the Peepers that there are no humans aboard those three vessels."
"There weren't any humans in the ruins to the west of the Pandor Continent either, right? Where on earth are they hiding?"
For now, there was no answer to Jin's question. Laojun was using the Peepers to search for them, but had yet to turn up anything.
"...For the moment, let's keep our eyes on those three ships."
"Right."
"Kufu, I wonder if they'll attack?"
At that very moment, the Hourai Island fleet was closing the distance to the three Neo-Magias ships.
"Shouldn't we have our side issue some sort of declaration soon too?"
Reinhard suggested.
"It is just as Reinhard-san says. My Lord, how shall we proceed?"
"Let's see..."
Jin pondered the wording of their declaration.
"How about something like 'We will not tolerate unjust aggression,' or 'We shall defend the dignity of humanity'?"
"Kufu, that sounds pretty cool."
"Hmm, isn't 'defending the dignity of humanity' a bit too abstract?"
While Saki praised the idea, Reinhard seemed skeptical of the latter half.
"In that case, instead of dignity, maybe freedom, independence, autonomy, or human rights?"
Jin tried pitching another draft.
"Yeah, human rights sounds good."
"Freedom has a nice ring to it."
Reinhard and Saki were each drawn to different words.
"Hmm, then how about... 'Unjust aggression that disregards human rights is utterly intolerable'?"
"Oh, that's good."
"Kufu, isn't that nice?"
This time, it seemed to meet with both Reinhard's and Saki's approval.
"Then let us proceed with that."
With their consensus reached, Laojun transmitted the order to the fleet.
"Neo-Magias, listen well!"
A booming voice rang out across the waters off the coast of the Jagus Principality, speaking in the voice of Deus Ex Machina. It bellowed from the flagship, the battleship Hotaka Kai, amplified by a loudspeaker magi-device.
"We are the Magi Craft Meister and Deus Ex Machina!"
With this, their mutual cooperation was formally declared.
"As far as we are concerned, unjust aggression that disregards human rights is utterly intolerable!"
"...So it truly was the Magi Craft Meister after all... And the other flag belongs to Deus Ex Machina..."
Hearing the declaration, Buena Haiti, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Jagus Principality, nodded repeatedly.
"Excellency, what shall we do?"
Rokou B. Sihalo asked.
"Mmh... For now, we have no choice but to watch quietly and refrain from unnecessary interference."
"Indeed. Frustrating though it is."
Every naval vessel belonging to the Jagus Principality was built of wood; they stood no chance against the Neo-Magias, the Magi Craft Meister, or Deus Ex Machina.
The Minister of Military Affairs suspected that if a battle broke out between the Neo-Magias fleet and the combined forces of the Magi Craft Meister and Deus Ex Machina, merely lingering nearby would put them in grave peril.
And his intuition was right on the mark.
Naturally, the declaration from Hotaka Kai reached the ears of the Neo-Magias as well.
"Insolent fools...!"
"You dare stand in our way, Magi Craft Meister?!"
"Deus Ex Machina, who do you think you are?!"
The automata seethed with indignation.
"Is this not the time to show them our might?"
"I agree....I hear that centuries ago, Markitus pushed his stronghold to the brink of collapse with mere dozens of wooden ships."
"Yes, I have heard of that as well."
That claim held a grain of truth. However, they seemed entirely unaware of the two decisive factors behind it: Jin's absence and the magi-emulator.
"Then could we prevail in a head-on clash?"
"However, just as we have advanced, the other side must have advanced as well. After all, they too possess all-metal vessels. Four of them, no less. On top of that, one is a 250-meter-class ship."
"We will not know unless we try."
"Don't be a fool. 'We tried, but the enemy was too strong, so we lost' is hardly an acceptable report."
"Then what do you propose we do?"
"...Infuriating as it is, we should pull back for now."
"..."
"..."
The entire bridge fell silent.
About a minute later, the silence broke.
"...Very well. Let us retreat."
"It cannot be helped."
"There is no other choice."
A consensus was reached.
"Turn one hundred eighty degrees!"
The order went out, and the three ships came about, charting a course away from the Jagus Principality.