"LORD WRAITH!!! I BEG OF YOU, PLEASE EXTEND YOUR DIVINE SALVATION TO MY KINGDOM!!!"
"...Right."
Staring down at the adult male humanoid who had just executed a flawless, high-speed sliding flat bow directly in front of my toes, I blinked. Based on the Tactician's continuous introductory framing, the distinctly premium quality of the man's textile gear, and above all else, the highly ornate golden crown that had been shining atop his head until the kinetic impact of his bow violently ejected it to roll across the soil—this was undeniably the sovereign ruler.
Beside me, Dele's optical sensors instantly locked onto the shiny object, her eyes sparkling with immense curiosity. Hey, young lady, stop alternating your gaze between that crown and my face. Just because it rolled into the dirt doesn't automatically mean it's unassigned garbage waiting for disposal, okay? It explicitly belongs to the gentleman lying on the ground. Please stop weaponizing your ultimate puppy-dog eye array to demand a procurement sequence.
...Wait, do you seriously crave a shiny accessory that intensely? Now that I review the historical files, back when we initially entered the town of Plaque, Dele was highly fixated on the localized decorative ornaments jewelry merchants were displaying. Fine, I suppose it can't be helped. The moment this deployment wraps up, Mama will explicitly coordinate a resource run to secure a variety of shiny pieces for you, so exert some self-restraint for now. Alternatively, I can simply present you with one of the decorative components I routinely wear on my own chassis. We can go foraging for premium materials together later, deal? Understand? Good girl, magnificent.
While comforting my child and indulging in a minor layer of domestic reality evasion was pleasant, leaving the absolute sovereign of a foreign superpower locked in a flat bow configuration directly at my feet was fundamentally an unacceptable diplomatic violation.
"Um... King of Nagan... I assume? It would be an immense logistical help to my processing queue if you could smoothly elevate your cranial profile."
"Ah! My deepest, most profound apologies for the breach of protocol! My designation is Georold! Georold Tektor Protyca Nagan! It was an absolute institutional failure on my part to neglect broadcasting my formal titles prior to initiating the petition!"
"Ah, yes. Thank you for the highly detailed identification sequence. As you may already be aware, my designation is Wraith."
"Then let us execute the sequence properly from the baseline once more... I BEG OF YOU, PLEASE EXTEND YOUR DIVINE SALVATION TO MY KINGDOM!!!"
Despite having temporarily elevated his head to deliver his identity data, the absolute second he finalized his speech, he violently whipped his upper torso downward to slam his forehead straight into the dirt a second time. Wow... Is his internal processor operating entirely without safety parameters? Should I summon a medical platform... or perhaps an elite cleric from the local Church infrastructure? The kinetic force he channeled into that impact suggests a non-zero probability of acute cranial bleeding.
Dele remained completely hyper-fixated on the rolled crown, while Lucia and the senior Hide cabinet ministers were visibly short-circuiting, their expressions caught in a chaotic loop of panic as they struggled to calculate a proper diplomatic response to a foreign monarch groveling in the dirt.
Wait, don't tell me this man intends to maintain this exact physical loop until I explicitly input an affirmative confirmation to his request?
"I—I completely comprehend the situation. I accept your petition, so please, raise your head, okay?"
"YOU WILL TRULY NORMALIZE OUR DEPLOYMENT PARAMETERS AND ACCEPT THE MISSION?!"
"I'll accept it, I'll accept it, I promise. So let's smoothly elevate your cranial profile, alright? A sovereign ruler is structurally forbidden from dropping their head quite so casually before external entities."
Stationed atop my left knee, Lucia nodded her head in continuous, rhythmic agreement. While her emotional benchmarks were still actively catching up to her baseline training, her raw capacity for absolute statecraft was remarkably high; even an amateur analyst like myself could easily deduce that much from her posture. When factoring in the socio-political data from my previous life, the central authority node of a sovereign state is never authorized to casually debase their profile in public. A king fundamentally embodies the state itself; unless surrounded exclusively by absolute, tight-lipped loyalists or individuals possessing full strategic comprehension...
(...Oh, wow.)
While maintaining a superficial facial expression that projected 'This is profoundly awkward, so please stand up,' I casually shifted my optical sensors to track the Tactician's silhouette. Standing within the perimeter, the Tactician was actively mimicking a look of panicked disorientation that perfectly matched the expressions of the surrounding ministers. However, when evaluating his baseline behavioral blueprint—specifically remembering how he had intentionally engineered our initial encounter to maximize psychological terror—I knew with absolute certainty that this man's facial micro-expressions achieved maximum rigidity precisely when his internal systems were completely calm. While he might be processing a minor layer of chaotic variables, he thoroughly understood the exact geopolitical leverage this public bowing display was manufacturing. In point of fact, it was highly probable that he had explicitly authored this exact script.
The current perimeter was occupied exclusively by the Hide cabinet, Lucia, myself, and the immediate ostrich flock. Even when executing a casual scanning array across the field, the only Nagan nationals present within the immediate tracking zone were the King and the Tactician. Surrounded entirely by foreign Hide dignitaries, even if the King executed a total flat bow, the natural line of sight was so heavily obscured by architectural blind spots and dense ostrich bodies that the only platforms capable of clearly recording the raw visual data were entities possessing absurd optical resolution—specifically, us ostriches.
(In short, provided the King's personal consent was locked in, this strategy represents an 'absolute, un-rejectable checkmate' against my faction.)
By maintaining a continuous loop of physical groveling until an affirmative confirmation was logged, my faction was structurally left with zero choice but to accept the contract. In the first place, my internal system was already highly motivated to execute a total purge against this "Necromancer" entity who had casually designated me as a "thief." Furthermore, as Lucia had correctly noted during the prior session, provided the Tactician engineered a high-yield logistical solution to bypass the massive geographic distance bottleneck, I had zero baseline objections to deploying my fleet.
However, executing the mission under these parameters completely stripped Nagan of the master steering wheel.
For Nagan's long-term geopolitical ledger, the absolute highest-yield process was establishing an explicit historical narrative: 'The Sovereign King directly petitioned the Supreme Fleet Commander,' 'Lord Wraith formally accepted the royal contract,' and 'The Capital was successfully reclaimed under Nagan's supreme authority.' Provided that sequence was officially logged as historical truth, they could comfortably inject an infinite layer of diplomatic spin when broadcasting the data to neighboring superpowers. Furthermore, if the deployment was explicitly coded as a direct operational contract with the 'Kingdom of Nagan' rather than a neighborly favor for the 'Kingdom of Hide,' I would be systematically bound to respect their institutional parameters to a certain degree.
(To put it in crude terms, this is a highly sophisticated, temporary attempt to swap out my operational leash.)
Given my baseline personality matrix, being subjected to a continuous loop of high-profile public groveling induces an immense layer of psychological friction. In short, I cannot decline. ...Hey, Tactician? We are going to have an exceptionally long, deeply fascinating private data exchange behind the school building after this council wraps up. Or perhaps the rooftop. Dealer's choice.
"Therefore, I formally accept the contract. Please smoothly elevate your profile, alright?"
"Is this truth?! Is this absolute, unmitigated, historical truth?!"
"Yes, truth, total truth."
"OHHHH!!! THIS GEOROLD EXTENDS A LAYER OF GRATITUDE THAT TRANSCENDS THE ABSOLUTE BOUNDS OF HUMAN COMPREHENSIONNN!!!"
The exact microsecond my affirmative input was logged, the man abruptly snapped his posture upright and began weeping at a deafening decibel level. What on earth is wrong with this middle-aged humanoid?
"It is an absolute truth that thanks to the flawless strategic calculations of my grand Tactician, our civilian population incurred zero casualties during the initial breach! Yet it remains an unmitigated stain on my personal governance that due to my utter lack of administrative foresight, an immense multitude of my beloved subjects are currently experiencing severe, systemic deprivation! When my processing queue analyzes my total failure to protect their baseline quality of life, my internal systems completely reject sleep protocols! WOAHHHH!!!!"
"...Wow."
"Mama, the human is leaking fluid from his optical arrays."
"He certainly is, isn't he?"
Bypassing Dele's analytical report, I stared at the weeping middle-aged man, completely at a loss regarding how to logistically process his current behavioral state. Massive torrents of moisture were cascading down his face like twin waterfalls, yet through the chaotic acoustic noise of his shouting, his deep, unadulterated concern for his civilian population was vividly translatable. This was officially the first time my optical sensors had ever recorded a mature adult crying while generating that specific caliber of sonic roar.
...Wait, don't tell me the system expects me to deploy a calming matrix to soothe this man? Hey, Tactician, initiate an emergency management array immediately. Stop staring at me with that deeply moved, starstruck expression that says 'Oh, Your Majesty...!' He is your direct corporate superior, is he not? Do not abandon your administrative duties on an active channel.
"Um... Lord Georold? If your system requires a physical wiping medium, would you care to utilize this? It is a handkerchief."
"Oh, Lord Lucia! Your tactical generosity is profoundly appreciated! ZUUUBIBIII—っ!"
Unable to endure the tragic scene any longer, Lucia kindly extended her personal handkerchief to the weeping monarch, only for the middle-aged man to aggressively blow his nose directly into the fine fabric with a wet, thunderous echo. When he attempted to initiate a return sequence to hand the material back, Lucia smoothly executed an absolute, maximum-velocity 'No, thank you' gesture. 'Please accept it as a permanent asset reallocation,' she stated. Magnificent, Lucia. Mama is incredibly proud to see that your system has integrated such an elegant layer of interpersonal kindness.
As I observed the domestic exchange unfold, a cold, analytical layer of my cognitive processing unit remained entirely detached.
With a fraction of a second of logical computation, it was blindingly obvious that this entire theatrical performance was not operating at one hundred percent raw, unadulterated sincerity. While the probability that the King of Nagan naturally possessed a highly emotional personality matrix was non-zero, the behavioral delivery was simply far too "convenient." If an individual successfully maintains the supreme seat of a sovereign nation, they inherently comprehend the absolute systemic weight, consequences, and tactical applications of their personal conduct. To an outside observer, he projected the image of a simple, bumbling, deeply endearing middle-aged man, but...
(Well, in the grand scheme of things, that variable has absolute zero connection to my parameters.)
A short while ago, I would have forced my severely limited cognitive processors to execute infinite, agonizing deduction loops to unravel their hidden political agendas, but I have officially deleted that operational requirement from my code.
As it currently stands on the board, our ostrich flock, the Kingdom of Hide, and the Kingdom of Nagan share zero hostile vectors. In point of fact, we are formally locked into a combined strategic alliance network engineered to facilitate mutual reinforcement. Furthermore, given the reality that our presence controls the ultimate agricultural breadbasket and untamed frontier known as the Beast Kingdom, pairing our terrifying combat output with the extreme advantages of geographic proximity means neither nation can mathematically afford to select a hostile trajectory against us.
(And above all else, I possess the absolute capacity to cleanly excise anything outside of my "Family." One could say my code was explicitly compiled from day one with the total, unmitigated readiness to discard the rest of the world.)
The entities I am structurally bound to protect are not abstract national concepts or geopolitical borders; they are my precious, adorable, irreplaceable children. While a significant portion of the current flock technically predates my operational launch, if they choose to address me as "Mother," my system will return absolute, unconditional love. The family unit overrides every alternative parameter on the board. That is the foundational law of the ostrich, and that is my chosen methodology of existence. The exact millisecond an external actor transitions into a confirmed hostile status or inflicts even a microscopic scratch on one of my companions, our system will initiate a maximum-yield consumption array that refuses to terminate until the threat has been thoroughly digested. In short, the spectrum of actions the "opposition" can safely execute against us is exceptionally narrow.
(If the Tactician is operating at his verified processing limits, he will comfortably deduce that selecting a hostile vector is a zero-yield play.)
Provided the opposing side harbors zero intent to trigger a hostile flag, our fleet will comfortably tolerate their existence. Whatever intricate political webs they wish to spin in the background are entirely disconnected from my concerns. If they choose to become an enemy, we will systematically step forward to flatten their infrastructure and erase their signature from the map. If they remain neutral, we will leave them to their own devices. If they transition into genuine allies, we will maintain a standardized, mutually beneficial relationship.
(I am, first and foremost, the Supreme Commander of this Flock.)
"Now then. It appears the King of Nagan has successfully stabilized his internal emotional parameters... Tactician, considering you explicitly marched all the way out to this field, I assume your system has already prepared a comprehensive logistical solution? My processing queue has an absolute distaste for 'wasted' temporal units. Please initiate the tactical brief immediately."
"Yes—naturally, Lord Wraith. Then, with your permission, I shall formally initiate the strategic presentation. Come, Your Majesty, please occupy a seat within the circle."
◇◆◇◆◇
"Now, allow me to formally lay out our operational blueprint."
With the King of Nagan finally throttling his vocal output and settling into a stable configuration... well, given our open-air coordinates, his seating platform was strictly the raw soil rather than a premium administrative chair, but the exact microsecond his chassis was safely anchored to the ground, the Tactician smoothly initiated his vocal delivery.
"To begin, we shall directly address the primary logistical bottleneck: the extreme transit duration and the associated long-term exposure risks of the reclamation march."
"...If I recall the baseline data correctly, a standard deployment round-trip requires a temporal investment of approximately two full months, correct?"
Functioning as the central communications node for our side, I broadcasted the query, prompting the Tactician to lock his optical sensors onto my silhouette and deliver a firm, crisp nod of confirmation.
Synthesizing the stream of data he systematically laid out, it was abundantly clear that from Nagan's institutional perspective, allowing the capital reclamation timeline to stretch was an absolute, high-risk variable. Thanks to the highly complex information warfare campaign the Tactician was actively running behind the scenes, the international intelligence channels had been thoroughly scrambled, successfully masking the factual reality that Nagan's seat of government had suffered total structural collapse. However, every decentralized deception array possesses a hard operational expiration date, and local rumors are evolutionary vectors that propagate across borders at terrifying velocities. While completely severing the communications of every single merchant operating within the regional trade routes was technically mathematically possible, the required financial capital and bureaucratic manpower were completely disproportionate to the actual strategic yield.
"Out of curiosity, what specific narrative parameters did you inject to achieve total intelligence disorientation across the borders?"
"We systematically fed two contradictory high-grade data streams into the international espionage hubs. Option A: 'The Grand Tactician alongside the supreme ostrich fleet are actively executing a massive troop deployment along the sovereign border!' and Option B: 'The Tactician has successfully subverted the Necromancer's internal security network, converting the entity into a high-value asset, while the late Beast King has miraculously undergone a successful biological resurrection within his native territory!' The global intelligence nodes have already verified the physical termination of the Beast King, but certain fast-processing factions had already intercepted partial files regarding our recent anti-undead deployment, necessitating a complex layer of counter-misinformation."
While the leaked files were currently bottle-necked within the processing queues of regional regional intelligence directors, it was a mathematical certainty that the raw data would eventually permeate upward to their respective home governments. To counteract this, he had intentionally injected these hyper-volatile operational wildcards into the matrix.
"---An elegant deployment. Faced with data of that caliber, neighboring superpowers will instinctively reallocate their defensive divisions to lock down their primary state borders."
"Their local scout assets will exhaust one hundred percent of their operational capacity hunting for a ghost army that fundamentally does not exist."
"And precisely because our actual operational blueprint contains zero trace of a border invasion, the enemy command centers will lapse into severe cognitive panic, completely blinding them to the reality unfolding within the deep interior of Nagan's capital."
Functioning as a highly efficient explanatory echo chamber to reinforce the Tactician's data, the Hide ministers rapidly synthesized the logic aloud. Interestingly, just before the session initiated, the elderly Prime Minister had covertly transmitted a specialized piece of advice to my queue: 'While Queen Lucia possesses an extraordinary layer of baseline intellect, her biological chassis is still deeply locked in her developmental phase, leaving her with certain institutional knowledge gaps regarding global macro-economics and military logistics. Consequently, during high-level councils, the senior ministers will frequently enunciate basic structural concepts under the guise of an open floor debate to ensure her system seamlessly absorbs the data without violating royal decorum; please feel free to let those exchanges pass through your buffer.'
(Oh, wow. That is an incredibly sophisticated piece of bureaucratic optimization.)
"While the hostile intelligence analysts will inevitably decipher the factual fraudulence of the data feeds given a sufficient timeline, the array guarantees a vital window of strategic breathing room. Our objective is to completely finalize the capital reclamation before that clock hits zero. This brings us face-to-face with our absolute greatest hurdle: the physical transit duration..."
Reaching into the interior lining of his robes, the Tactician smoothly retrieved a tightly rolled parchment.
"Behold: the complete architectural blueprints for a high-grade Magic Array. In actual point of fact, my network successfully secured this asset only very recently..."
Unfurling the document across the center of the circle to ensure total visibility for all participants, he revealed an intricate, highly geometric tapestry composed of multiple overlapping concentric circles and complex runic sigils. ...What on earth is this? My visual processors cannot parse the data. Given its classification as a "Magic Array," it presumably manifests a functional output once a sufficient volume of mana is injected into the conduits, but seeing as my personal instructor has strictly restricted my curriculum to the absolute, foundational basics of micro-mana manipulation... Wait, should I execute a high-speed retrieval run to bring Amelia-san into this council?
The exact microsecond I prepared to shift my knee platforms to deposit my children onto the soil and stand up, a sharp, highly elevated exclamation cut through the air from one of the Hide dignitaries.
"TH—THIS IS!"
"What?! Have your systems successfully identified the blueprint, Minister of Magic?!"
"Y—Yes, absolutely! Based on the precise runic flow and spatial coordinates embedded in the geometry, this design document outlines an authentic, high-grade 'Teleportation' Magic Array! TH—This is utterly preposterous... I have never in my entire career recorded a spatial matrix engineered with this level of flawless, hyper-streamlined efficiency...!"
"Mama, that specific humanoid is the executive platform tasked with managing our kingdom's magical infrastructure. His primary key performance indicators center around research and development, alongside international magical legal frameworks."
"Ah, I see. Thank you for the data injection, Lucia."
Despite receiving the background file from Lucia, the abstract magnificence of the blueprint remained completely unquantifiable to my processing unit. However, if an elite platform explicitly handpicked by her to run the nation's entire magical R&D sector was currently undergoing a total systemic freakout, the asset was undeniably an extraordinary piece of technology. ...Though to my personal optical sensors, it still looked exactly like a highly complex collection of generic doodles.
"G—Grand Tactician. Through what specific procurement vector did your network secure an asset of this caliber...?"
"It represents a flawless, literal transcription of a physical installation constructed by the ultimate architect of our capital's downfall—the supreme criminal known as the 'Necromancer'."
"...Huh."
"Our scout divisions successfully uncovered the physical installation within the urban perimeter. Based on our preliminary forensic reconstruction, the hostile vanguard utilized this exact spatial gateway to execute a zero-warning, instantaneous planetfall raid directly into the heart of our sovereign palace. Consequently, my current strategic directive is to reverse-engineer their own tactical asset and unleash it directly back at their teeth. ...Ah, please reassure your internal security subroutines; while our magical divisions have not achieved a one hundred percent comprehensive decryption of every single localized variable, the core mechanical architecture has been entirely solved. Our blueprint aims to utilize this gateway to instantly transmit Lord Wraith's entire fleet directly to an extraction zone positioned just outside the capital walls—specifically, the high-security staging base where our Red Knight divisions are currently organizing the reclamation vanguard."
...Right, that makes perfect logical sense. Provided the spatial 'Teleportation' array functions as intended, the entire temporal bottleneck associated with physical geography is completely deleted from the board. While this marks the absolute first instance of my processing unit recording the terminology since my deployment to this world, assessing the raw structural meaning of the words alongside the sheer shock painted across the humanoids' faces suggests the process consumes near-zero time. Utilizing this asset completely vaporizes the time constraints that were threatening our operational security. The entire logistical nightmare of agricultural market fluctuations disappears instantly. It is an exceptionally convenient tool.
"---However, Grand Tactician. An array engineered to execute spatial displacement at this scale—especially across long-distance geographic baselines—will inherently demand an absolutely astronomical, near-impossible volume of raw mana to initiate ignition."
"Indeed, standard spatial magic operating across macro-distances requires a terrifying reservoir of energy. If my historical files serve me correctly, executing the displacement of a single, standard humanoid platform under conventional frameworks requires the combined, continuous mana venting of over a dozen elite magi working in perfect synchronization."
"Precisely! And Lord Wraith's fleet does not consist of a single platform—their collective vanguard comprises nearly three hundred high-mass avian combat units!"
"The equation is far more severe than that. Our own Hide military detachments must lock into the vanguard to support the offensive, and now that the temporal bottleneck has been deleted, the Beast Kingdom divisions will undoubtedly demand immediate authorization to deploy their own heavy legions."
"Provided we execute instantaneous round-trip displacement, our logistical exposure regarding supply lines drops to zero, but the core energy bottleneck remains absolute."
"Where on earth can a conventional nation state possibly procure a reservoir of raw mana massive enough to fuel the displacement of an entire multinational army...?"
"......Hm?"
Every single optical sensor in the open-air council room smoothly executed a synchronized rotation, locking their focus directly onto my face.
"And that brings us to the core of the request, Lord Wraith! We humbly petition your platform to handle the system ignition!"
Ah~, right. So that was the ultimate punchline of his script.
"...Hey, Tactician. Allow me to inject a quick diagnostic query into the channel."
"Yes, naturally, Lord Wraith. Please proceed."
"That specific Magic Array blueprint... does the ignition process require a highly refined, delicate layer of precision mana control?"
"Ah—yes, indeed. I believe a relatively high threshold of micro-dexterity is technically mandated to safely navigate the runic channels... wait—っ!"
Yep, there it is. The structural flaw in his assumption.
"Then I must report a severe compatibility error. My internal mana reservoir is simply far too massive, okay? At my current specs, executing delicate micro-throttling is an absolute mechanical impossibility for my system. If the mission parameters require me to utilize raw, unbridled horsepower to violently obliterate a hostile target through sheer kinetic output, I can execute the command flawlessly. But attempting to feed my energy into a highly intricate, delicate circuitry system is completely outside my current operational parameters..."
My deepest, most profound apologies, gentlemen~. I have zero data regarding what the physical outcome would look like, but if I were to casually dump my raw mana directly into that delicate runic layout, the array would either instantly suffer a catastrophic thermal explosion on the spot, or the spatial translation parameters would violently malfunction mid-transit. Having your entire army end up permanently 'embedded inside a solid stone wall' is a suboptimal deployment, is it not? Depending on how your internal graphics engine interprets spatial clipping, if the code simply displaces the stone to make room for your body, you might safely dig yourself out. But if the array executes a literal molecular fusion that binds your organic tissue directly to the granite matrix at a cellular level, it's an instantaneous, unmitigated party wipe.
"If we formally petition Amelia-san to function as an intermediate transformation node, she could technically intercept my raw mana, convert the frequency into a stable, highly regulated stream, and smoothly inject it into the array conduits... but based on our preliminary training data, that process drains her physical stamina metrics at an absolute, near-fatal velocity. Attempting to execute an instantaneous, mass-displacement of our entire combined army to trigger an immediate, high-speed siege assault and secure an instant victory... is mathematically unfeasible under that framework."
"I—I see. So that is the current technological limitation..."
...Well, knowing this man's cognitive capabilities, this exchange was nothing more than a standardized baseline verification. He had undoubtedly initialized this topic with a complete, intimate understanding of my systemic limitations, meaning this exact negative confirmation—and the corresponding secondary contingency plan—were already fully mapped out inside his internal processor. Yet, he still possessed the sheer theatrical talent to manifest such a deeply disappointed, tragic facial expression on command.
Fascinating. I'll simply refrain from calling out his acting on an active channel.
Throughout our entire return journey from the Beast Kingdom, I had dedicated one hundred percent of my available downtime to executing high-intensity precision training under Amelia-san's strict supervision. Seeing as we were running these drills out in completely open, featureless outdoor fields with zero physical cover, there was absolute zero statistical probability that the Tactician—who was actively traveling within our immediate logistics train—had failed to closely analyze my output parameters. I detect zero trace of specialized, high-tier mana signatures radiating from his physical chassis, and I have never once recorded his profile utilizing magic on the field. Yet, even for a non-caster platform, possessing a profound, comprehensive database of advanced magical theory and technological constraints was entirely within expectations for Nagan's premier mind. A basic analytical deduction.
"U—Understood. However, given that alternative strategic vectors remain locked behind the geography bottleneck, our primary directive shall be to initiate an immediate architectural overhaul of this Magic Array. Our magical engineering divisions shall optimize the runic layouts with the explicit goal of manufacturing a reinforced matrix capable of withstanding the volatile parameters of Lord Wraith's raw mana. In the event that objective proves technically impossible, we shall humbly request Amelia-san's specialized intervention to handle the translation, though we deeply regret the physical toll it will exact. ...When factoring in the mandatory rest and recovery cycles for our frontline troops, I shall aim to finalize the updated array configuration within a maximum window of three days."
With an elegant display of conversational control, he smoothly salvaged the ambient morale of the room, which had briefly tanked due to my system incompatibility, and seamlessly transitioned the council toward the next strategic agenda item. Reaching back into his robes, he retrieved a series of stylized military tokens and began arranging them across the soil, preparing to deliver a comprehensive tactical brief detailing the exact structural methodology for reclaiming the capital city.
Ah, but before he locks the floor, I must establish a private synchronization link with Lucia.
"Lucia."
"Ah—yes, Mama. Has your system registered an anomaly?"
"This is merely a predictive simulation, but: it is highly probable that that man intends to continuously run research cycles on that Magic Array until he successfully refines the technology into a standardized, universally deployable utility asset. Specifically, an array that can be comfortably operated by baseline, individual humanoid platforms."
"......っ!"
While calculating the exact historical timeline required to finalize that R&D track was impossible, the moment 'Teleportation' magic transitions into a freely deployable, decentralized utility asset, the entire global paradigm undergoes an absolute, irreversible structural revolution. An actor could casually transport high-value black-ops divisions into the absolute interior of any high-security sovereign facility to extract premium data streams with zero warning, or execute absolute, un-counterable decapitation strikes against central leadership nodes. Hell, the probability of them attempting a covert abduction array to snatch one of my precious chicks away from the flock would skyrocket to a non-zero percentage. Based on the data the Minister of Magic just broadcasted, the technology is currently nowhere near achieving that level of autonomous mobility, but dismissing the ultimate evolutionary potential of the asset was a severe analytical error.
If a baseline platform like myself could comfortably compute those terrifying future variables, it was a mathematical certainty that Lucia—whose raw, native cognitive capacity comfortably scaled past my own limits—had already fully processed the systemic threat.
"My internal processors are actively analyzing the long-term variables, but you must ensure your own systems are continuously monitoring the situation as well, alright?"
"...Understood, Mama."
I gently stroked her hair, smoothing away the microscopic layer of tension that had briefly clouded her facial expression to restore her internal security parameters. If the Tactician was deploying this asset on the active board, the reality that my faction would automatically initiate a high-level threat assessment matrix was undeniably an expected variable within his primary calculations. Yet, the fact that he deliberately chose to display the blueprint suggested the existence of a secondary, hidden strategic intent. ...Provided that ultimate intent does not transition into an active hazard against my family, I will allow the simulation to run.
(If it crosses that line... well, you know the protocol.)
As these thoughts finalized, I shifted my attention to deploy an identical maternal praise sequence on Dele to ensure her internal jealousy parameters didn't spike, intending to stroke her head with my alternate wing... only for my feathers to slice cleanly through empty air. Huh? Where did Dele go?
"Shiny! Give it to Dele!"
"M—My word! You are referring to this royal crown?! But this asset functions as the absolute, sacred symbol of Nagan's sovereign authority! Regardless of how intensely I respect the supreme status of the ostrich fleet, this is a non-transferable item that I am structurally forbidden from surrendering!"
"Eeeh~! Cheapskate! Super stingy-pants cheapskate~!"
"Wait—! Dele, terminate that action sequence immediately!!!"
〇 Current Technical Documentation: Teleportation Magic Arrays
Under contemporary global parameters, conventional spatial displacement magic is classified as an ultra-advanced, heavily restricted spell tier that has completely failed to achieve widespread social integration. Due to an absolute lack of cost-to-benefit efficiency, the global directory of active, verified users is astonishingly sparse. The mechanical execution requires a physical transition from a designated anchor array to a corresponding receiving array; however, the baseline safety metrics are notoriously abysmal, the maximum geographic displacement range is heavily restricted, and the power equation is so fundamentally broken that transferring a solitary, standard humanoid platform consumes the entire combined mana reservoirs of over a dozen elite magi—rendering the technology a deeply flawed, incomplete archetype. (Interestingly, according to ancient historical lore and mythological databases, the supreme sovereign of the demon race—the True Demon King—possessed the capacity to freely displace entire legions numbering in the tens of thousands across macro-spatial boundaries with a casual wave of a single arm.)
The specialized magic array independently engineered by the Necromancer bypasses these conventional power limits by utilizing high-density undead thralls to function as localized, biological mana batteries, forging a high-stabilization bridge between twin arrays. Provided an external system continuously injects a sufficient volume of raw fuel, the matrix facilitates instantaneous, macro-distance spatial transit with an extraordinary layer of operational safety. While its absolute mana consumption metrics are significantly higher than primitive models, the structural modifications have successfully elevated the safety parameters to a tier where the statistical probability of a user experiencing a localized spatial truncation—otherwise known as 'stuck inside a solid wall' or 'clinical termination within a structural column'—has been reduced to absolute zero. Provided the energy bottleneck is solved, the mass transport of heavy military divisions is entirely achievable.
The modified proxy array synthesized by the Tactician (which was utilized by the Red Knight and the royal body doubles during their emergency evacuation) represents a stripped-down, reverse-engineered variant based on the Necromancer's captured research files. This specific configuration is heavily hardcoded to facilitate transit exclusively to a pre-established staging base hidden outside the urban sector; however, its runtime requirements are significantly lighter, allowing it to be triggered from almost any indoor location within the capital with minimal preparation. While the operational cost remains exceptionally high due to its reliance on high-purity, premium-grade Magic Crystals to simulate the energy grid, it eliminates the need for massive ritual circles. Additionally, while the Nagan vanguard fortunately incurred zero casualties during the emergency activation, the long-term safety metrics and structural stability of this specific variant remain highly questioned by modern magical academies.
The specific iteration the Tactician presented to Wraith's council during this session is the authentic, high-yield blueprint captured directly from the Necromancer's inner sanctum. Furthermore, as Wraith correctly deduced, the strategic utility of spatial displacement magic is so immense that if a nation state successfully refines the technology into a standardized, universally deployable utility asset, the entire global geopolitical paradigm will undergo a total, cataclysmic reset. Historically, a myriad of brilliant minds and elite research institutions have attempted to execute that exact technological evolution, yet the vast majority of those projects collapsed into unmitigated failure. Unless a specialized, black-swan tier technological breakthrough manifests within the core theory, the threshold remains an impossible wall... though the board is always subject to change.