The Infiltration Team And Golems
The members of the inspection team were guided to a hot spring inn located in the first district, which would serve as their temporary lodging. In front of the inn called Manyo Pavillion, golems dressed in kimonos stood in a line, sincerely awaiting the arrival of their guests. Initially, the representatives felt a strong sense of resistance, but once they were shown to their rooms and settled in, they were finally able to calm down and observe their surroundings.
The Russian representatives' room. As soon as they entered the room, the escort took out a small radio wave detector from their luggage. This was to check whether there were any listening devices set up in the room. He was inspecting everything from the walls and ceiling to the installed furnishings. Meanwhile, the target of his escort had changed from a suit into a yukata and was preparing tea.
"How is it? Do you find anything suspicious?"
"No, I didn't find anything. It might be that our equipment just couldn't detect it, but.... what it is?"
The escort was holding a small communication device to send a message back to their home country. If possible, he wanted to connect it to the modular terminal here, but the phone in the room had enough impact to shock him.
"It's not a modular terminal. This looks like an old-fashioned rotary phone, doesn't it?"
"Mr. Representative, according to the instruction here, you need to dial 01 to call the front desk, 05 for room service, and 11 for emergency calls."
"What about the communication cable?"
"It's an old model. If we want to use it, we'll need to modify it, but we didn't bring any tools for that."
The idea that Ama no Murakumo used the same communication device terminals like those on Earth had never occurred to them. Still, considering that Misaki looked like a Japanese, they hoped it contained some elements of Earth's technology at least. They had even contemplated bringing in a high-output communication terminal to use, but they never expected to encounter a rotary phone there.
"So, how do we contact our home country? Is GPS communication possible?"
"Yes. I did bring some batteries. However, since there were size restrictions on our luggage, they are not high-capacity. We will need to consider about when to use it."
"Hmm? Then we can just borrow the power outlet here...."
Having said that, he realized that a new problem had arisen. The standard in Russia was 220V with a frequency of 50Hz. If Ama no Murakumo's standard was the same as Japan's, then it would be 100V with a frequency of 50/60Hz. Naturally, if they were to use Russian electronic appliances, a conversion adapter would be necessary. Even though it was a military equipment, there were times when external power sources were required. However, since it was impossible to predict the electrical system of Ama no Murakumo, they thought adapter was unnecessary luggage.
"So we need a conversion adapter, huh.... Do they use japanese standards here?"
"This place is Japanese style, so there's a high possibility."
"If that's the case, there is also a good possibility that this battleship was made in Japan. Now, what should we do?"
While the Russian representative pondering with his arms crossed, his escort dialed the rotary phone to connect to the front desk.
"Yes, this is the front desk."
"I’d like to use Russian electronic appliances, but I didn't bring any conversion adapter. Do you have any I can borrow?"
"Yes, we do. Would one be sufficient?"
"Two, please."
"Understood. We will deliver them to your room shortly, so please wait."
"No, I will go there to fetch them myself."
*beep*
"It seems that we can borrow adapters from the front desk. I will go to fetch them while gathering some information."
"Okay, I leave it to you."
His escort was someone from the Russian Special Operations Forces. He was a veteran soldier who had experienced a variety of missions, from infiltration to assassinations. Leaving him to his own devices, the Russian representative began to devise various strategies to face Ama no Murakumo through diplomacy.
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"These are the conversion adapters from Ama no Murakumo standard to Russian standard."
The Russian escort at the front desk was deep in thought as he looked at the handed-over adapters. It was clearly a type of adapter that converted Japanese standard to Russian standard. This made him even more convinced that Ama no Murakumo was related to Japan.
"This is Japanese standard to Russian standard adapter, right?"
"No, it's Ama no Murakumo standard to Russian standard adapter. Since Ama no Murakumo is running on magical energy, it needs to be converted to Earth standard of electricity. The detailed information is provided in the guidebook available in your room."
"I understand, thank you."
The Russian escort was planning to return to his room after thanking the concierge. However, on the way there, something had caught his attention. In a corner of the lobby, there was a public phone area where the representatives and guards from other countries were lined up waiting their turn. He immediately turned back to the front desk and began asking some questions.
"Can we make international calls from that public phone?"
"You can make calls to anywhere in this planet through Ama no Murakumo control center. However, if you ask whether it’s an international call, I can only say that it’s different."
"What do you mean?"
"We can access all communication satellites in the orbit. From there, we will forward your call to the destination number. I can assure you that there are no countries that we cannot reach."
The concierge had essentially stated that Ama no Murakumo was boldly 'hacking' their communication system. Though this made him dizzy, seeing the representatives lined up at the public phone led him to conclude that there was nothing he could do.
"Can I use Russian rubles?"
"You can use any currency to buy telephone cards here, so please rest assured."
"Then I'll take three."
"Thank you! There are five designs available, which one would you like?"
From the samples presented, he purchased two cards with Magia Ritter picture, and one card with the picture of Ama no Murakumo taken from above. However, since the public phone was crowded, he decided to come back later and returned to his room.
The other countries representatives also experienced similar troubles. Preparing the necessary equipment for information gathering, securing its power supply, means of communication, and countless other needs could be listed indefinitely. However, the front desk was always accommodating, and for outings and other matters, the concierge provided the necessary information with care. The 'hospitality' provided by the golems was so perfect that it almost made them forget their original mission as an inspection team.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Hahaha. Everyone is desperately trying to gather information."
In the lobby of a super bathhouse on another floor, I had asked Octa One to deploy some monitors. The overall surveillance footage was being monitored by Takeda and Chosokabe on the bridge. Meanwhile, I was only watching the footage that caught my attention. There were the Chinese special forces members moving in two four-man cell teams, while investigating the interior of the Manyo Pavilion.
"Hilde, each representative only brought one escort, right? Why are there eight Chinese agents?"
"China seems to have lobbied some countries to replace their escorts with the members of Chinese Special Force Jiaolong."
"Well, we have never said that the escort must be someone from their own country. So, what are they investigating."
"They seem to be focusing on the building's floor plan and facilities. They began their actions after investigating the magic power conversion adapter for the outlet."
Oh, so they’re moving based on that. They have quite a foresight. I would expect no less from China. If they can understand the internal system and reverse the magic formula, they could convert electricity to magic power. I guess they’ve noticed that. Well, whether they can actually do that is, to put it simply, probably impossible.
"Master, if they proceed as is, they will reach the control room where the switchboard is located."
"I guess we need to send someone to stop them. Not a Support, but someone from the Valkyrie unit."
"Understood. I will send Gerlhilde over. Do we eliminate them?"
"No, just give them a warning. If they resist, knock them out and leave them in the hangar. You can put a 'return to start' sign there or something."
To tell the truth, I want to gather some data on how the special forces operate. The Valkyrie and Support units have incredible individual combat capabilities, but when it comes to team fight, I’d like them to gain a bit more practical experience.
"I have received your command, Master. What is the objective?"
"I want the Valkyries to learn group actions and team fight from this battle. You then can teach it to the Support units."
"Understood. This is an imperial command from Master to Gerlhilde. Fight against the Chinese special forces and memorize their movements and battle tactics."
"This is Gerlhilde. I will treat the Chinese special forces as learning targets and lower my combat power accordingly."
"You heard the plan, Gerl. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, as you command!"
Now then, we're ready to take on the Chinese special forces with this. The Russian team seems to be planning to do something, too. Meanwhile, the other countries' representatives and their escorts could be seen walking around outside the inn.
My next schedule is after dinner, so why don't we just relax until then? Oh, maybe I should make some souvenirs. Since they have come all the way to Ama no Murakumo, I should give them something that will serve as a memento.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The basement of the inn. To be precise, it was the underground floor that served as storage for the inn's supplies. Further inside, in front of an area that was off-limits to anyone but authorized personnel, the four members of Jiaolong were examining the wall.
*knock-knock*
"This is Red. Echo sound was detected. It’s probably for passing cables and such. Not a space where human can enter."
"This is White. No echo sound was detected here. The only area currently available for exploration is the blocked door at the end of the front corridor."
"This is Blue. In front of the door, Unknown One was spotted. Do we proceed with elimination?"
"This is Black. Proceed with elimination."
Through tactical bone conduction headset, they communicated as quietly as possible and approached the door at the back. Hiding in the shadows, they erased their presence to the limit, ensuring they wouldn't be noticed by the Unknown One.
"Three people, huh. One person seems to have completely erased their presence. Even with my motion sensors turned off, to be able to erase their presence to that extent is impressive."
In front of the door, Unknown One --- Gerhilde, clapped her hands in delight. In that instant, her arms were restrained, and her head was pressed down from behind. From the front, a soldier could be seen stabbing a knife into her neck and pulling it straight out sideways. Their movements were delicate yet bold, as the three people restrained her body completely, the other one slashed her throat. It was a ctitical strike that also served to silence her. Didn't stop there, the two soldiers on the left and right broke Gerhilde's arms, and as she leaned forward, they destroyed her ankles with a kick. This tactic would have guaranteed success against normal human, but their opponent was Gerlhilde.
"What!?"
Everything went smoothly at first, but forget about breaking Gerhilde's arms, the knife that was aimed at her throat couldn't even scratch her skin.
"A normal human would be dead by now, so it's still impressive. But thanks to that, I found out that your weapon can't penetrate a force shield."
"Hnggh!"
The soldier behind grabbed Gerhilde's head and twisted it with all his might. However, no matter how much force was applied, her head didn’t even budge.
"I'll count to three. I want to see your next move. One, two...."
Unable to eliminate the hostile entity, the mission was deemed a failure and they started to flee the scene. If escape was not possible, their only option was to self-delete. Having carried out numerous missions in the past and achieved many accomplishments, at this moment, they were fully prepared for the complete failure of the mission for the first time. Believing that they could escape as long as they reached the ground floor and blended into the crowd, they kept running without looking back.
"Alright, it's a checkmate. You're the last one. It's quite impressive that you've made it this far. Are you perhaps the captain? Oh well, good night!"
He didn't know what it was, but there was a sound of something coming loose. When he arrived in front of the stairs, Gerhilde was already waiting there with three Jiaolong members laying motionlessly on the floor. The next moment, his vision suddenly went dark.
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"Where am I...?"
When the Jiaolong squad leader regained his consciousness, he saw seven of his comrades nearby. He didn't appear to have any apparent injuries, and stood up to check his condition and equipment.
"Captain, you awake?"
"Yeah, but where are we?"
"That's our plane. It seems we are in the hanger we were guided to after landing."
Upon receiving that report, the captain looked around. Through the entrance, he could see the scenery outside. A beautiful blue sky and the runway leading to it. On each side, Magia Ritter was lined up neatly.
"Why are we still alive? Did they let us go?"
"Because that was the order I've received.... Hello, it's nice to meet you again. My name is Gerhilde. I'm here to attend you on Captain Misaki's order."
Gerlhilde greeted the confused Jiaolong members as she brushed her bright red hair aside.
"Is it a public execution? Or are you going to torture us for information?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm here to guide you back to your lodging. Oh, by the way, I have a message from captain: 'Too bad. You are back to the start!'. Now then, let's get on the bus."
By the time the Jiaolong members noticed, the bus had already been prepared for them.
"What is your captain plotting?"
"I wonder.... Maybe she just wants to see how good the world's strongest special forces units are. Because we won't kill you, feel free to challenge us as many times as you like."
"Then I’ll take you up on that offer. However, we’ll be going all out to kill, but you don't mind that, do you?"
"On the contrary, we welcome it. There are other council members who are also bored and looking for something to do."
Having said that, Gerhilde guided them to the bus. Twenty minutes later, the Jiaolong members arrived at the inn.