"This... Leviathan is still a bit over the top," Marshal Ikenroga said. Then he turned to the person seated below him and asked, "There won't be anything else strange, will there?"
The man wore a black robe and hood, and in every respect looked just like a villainous dark wizard from ancient times. Fortunately, he hadn't covered his face. Beneath the hood was the face of a man who looked about thirty-five or thirty-six—young, more or less. His features were regular and his manner refined. If you ignored his attire, he could have passed for a promising young university professor.
This was Lovegu, one of the Grand Astrologers of the Starwatch Pavilion. He looked nearly twenty years younger than his actual age. He also served as the Imperial Army's occult adviser on the Sayed front.
"Strange is a relative term, Marshal," the astrologer said primly, wearing a smile polished by years of courtly etiquette. "But I understand what you mean. The subspace barrier around Sayed is completely quiet."
You could have asked me that, too. Seated below at the same conference table, Her Highness Duchess Gairibean of Xiaming felt a little hurt. She was the new Grand Commander of the Starrealm Knights and a duchess of the royal family, yet now that she was back on a battlefield where she had once fought, she wasn't even the occult adviser. Her authority was on a level with that of Admiral Misaro across the table; she was more like the army's psychic enforcer.
While she was still feeling dejected, Marshal Ikenroga's gaze shifted back to her. "Let me confirm once more: everything is normal, correct?"
The second time you ask, it hurts even more. The duchess sank further into gloom and couldn't help sneaking a glance at her nephew, the young new