Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 6

by Takehaya

  Ruth had been quiet up until this point, but she was right. It had now been eight months since she first arrived on Earth, and in that time, she’d started to get a grasp of Earth’s history.

  “That’s correct. By invading without the support of the local people, a rebellion is only inevitable. And you can imagine how that would go.”

  In the end, the locals cooperated with the Allied forces and regained their freedom by repelling the German army. The moral of the story in this case was that attempts to dominate the domestic population against their will bred resistance.

  “So there’s a limit to how long you can keep things under control with force alone.”

  “Yes. Especially for a minority like us, it wouldn’t be easy to maintain rule through power. It’s just not practical.”

  “And that’s why you were helping clean up the city?”

  “That’s right. If we don’t become familiar with the locals and get closer with them, we’ll never be able to invade in the way we intend. We have nothing to fall back on, so we have to make sure this succeeds.”

  The People of the Earth were unable to put a halt to their emigration problem and subsequent decline in population. Their solution to that was coming to the surface and spreading their influence there instead. Accordingly, Kiriha was proceeding with what they thought was the safest and surest way to invade.

  “What we fear the most is that you surface dwellers will label us a dangerous group, like terrorists or guerillas. That would make the invasion impossible and ultimately mean that we would be forced to face our ruin underground. I just can’t let that happen.”

  If the People of the Earth earned a reputation as terrorists or guerillas, it would stick with them in the mind of the public for several decades whether it was true or not. During that time, the People of the Earth would only decline even further. That was why it seemed like the best approach to ingratiate themselves with the surface dwellers before making their move.

  “Hmm, so there’s more than one kind of invasion...”

  “We’ve spent time carefully examining the history of the surface, so we’ve had a great deal to consider.”

  In reality, anti-government guerilla forces that do things like create hospitals, schools, or wells for the populace are extremely difficult to deal with. Because the locals cover for them, they’re near impossible to completely wipe out. With that knowledge, Kiriha had decided against the use of force, and instead focused on making peaceful contact with the locals. The volunteer job with the neighborhood association was the first step to that.

  “Well, that’s troublesome.”

  Finally understanding what she meant, Koutarou let out a heavy sigh. Even though he knew what was going on now, he was still somewhat perplexed.

  “What’s so troublesome?”

  Kiriha cheerfully smiled. She already knew what Koutarou was thinking about.

  “Even though your invasion has already begun, I can’t stop you. You’re not doing anything bad after all.”

  “Koutarou, that’s what a true invasion is. If you could tell it was an invasion at first glance and immediately think of a way to stop it, that would be child’s play.”

  And with those words, Kiriha lifted her tea cup, drained its remaining contents, and nodded approvingly as she presented the empty cup to Ruth.

  “Excuse me, Ruth, but may I have another cup?”

  “Yes, right away.”

  At Kiriha’s request, Ruth immediately poured her more tea. Koutarou watched the two of them and continued to think to himself.

  If Kiriha asked me to hand over the room now, what would I say?

  Eight months ago, Koutarou had emphatically refused her demands, but what would happen if she asked him again now? Koutarou didn’t have the confidence that he could refuse her as confidently as he had before.

  Beneath Corona House was the secret base Kiriha had built for herself. The tatami mat closest to the entrance of the inner room in Koutarou’s apartment lifted up to reveal a tunnel that led to the underground lair. The tunnel had been completely paved with concrete, and there was no trace of soil in sight. There were lights at regular intervals illuminating the tunnel. It was so well made it wouldn’t have been difficult to mistake it for an underground shopping center.

  The hour was now late as it neared midnight, and Kiriha was passing through the tunnel on the way to her base to retire for the night. The clack of Kiriha’s shoes echoed throughout the tunnel rather jarringly. If there was any fault to be found with the tunnel, it was the ominous sound of Kiriha’s footsteps.

  The tunnel itself was roughly fifty meters long. After turning a couple of corners and descending two sets of stairs, Kiriha arrived at the entrance of her base, a metallic door. She opened it in an accustomed manner and entered.

  Inside was a clean and orderly room. It was roughly three times the size of Koutarou’s apartment and had three doors: one that led to room 106, one that led to Kiriha’s underground hometown, and one that led to her bedroom. The other things in the room included a station used for maintenance on her haniwas, an armory, and several computers. Once Kiriha stepped inside, the two haniwas accompanying her headed straight for the maintenance station.

  “Ho! Goodnight, ho!”

  “Ho, ho! See you tomorrow, Nee-san!”

  Out of everything in the room, the maintenance station took up the most space. Although it was only used for servicing the two small haniwas, the bulky machine was fully automated. It was where they slept in addition to receiving repairs and upgrades. The haniwas bounced over to it, pressed a switch to open a hatch, and hopped right in.

  “Goodnight, Karama, Korama.”

  After watching the tempered glass hatch shut, Kiriha walked over to the computers, passing by the armory on the way. The armory contained weapons for Kiriha as well as various attachments for the haniwas. The last time Kiriha went into it was when she fought against Theia the day they met. In order to break through Theia’s powerful barrier, she’d had to equip the haniwas with spiritual energy weaponry.

  But since that incident, Kiriha hadn’t gone into the armory even once. Although she appeared to be the one most intent on invading, she was actually the most pacifistic of the residents of room 106. Possibly even more so than Koutarou. And so she walked by the armory without so much as glancing at it.

  Apart from monitoring the base and controlling the maintenance station, the computers in the room could be used to communicate with her hometown and beyond. Before going to bed, Kiriha’s last job for the day was to confirm that there were no abnormalities with the machinery or otherwise.

  “Hmm, a message.”

  When she looked at the monitor, Kiriha saw the notification. She touched it and opened up the message.

  “From the chief, I see.”

  It was indeed a message from the chief—her father. Despite their familial relationship, ever since Kiriha was selected as the commander for the surface invasion, she’d started addressing him as the chief. Kiriha read through the message, which requested for her to contact him directly with a status report.

  “Heh...”

  Kiriha cracked a small smile. Whenever her father wanted to see his daughter’s face, he would send a message along those lines. After Kiriha’s mother passed away ten years ago, her father raised her on his own. It left them with a lasting bond. They were close enough that Kiriha knew he was worried about her. Still smiling a little, she opened a program on the computer to call him.

  “Is that you, Kiriha?!”

  It only took a few seconds for the call to connect before a middle-aged man’s face appeared on the screen. Although he was sporting a beard and had a dignified appearance, his eyes were sparkling like an excited child’s. This was Kiriha’s father, Clan Chief Kurano Daiha.

  “It has been a while, Chief.”

  Kiriha revealed a mischievous and happy smile. One she rarely showed the residents of room 106.

  Based on how quickly he’d answered
, Kiriha suspected that he had been waiting for her call.

  “Again with the chief bit... You can just call me father, you know. It’s just the two of us right now.”

  “But I was contacted for a status report. This isn’t a personal conversation.”

  Kiriha continued smirking while stifling her laughter. It was a side of her she only revealed to those she truly trusted. And although Kiriha was clearly enjoying herself, Daiha gave her an exaggerated frown after being teased like that.

  “You know, you look more and more like her every time I see you, but lately you’ve even started to take after her too, you meanie...”

  “Then let’s get the official part over with.”

  “All right, all right.”

  Daiha stopped pouting like a child. He corrected his posture and put on a serious expression. His piercing gaze gave him the impression of a man of strong will. That was how he presented himself as the chief of the People of the Earth. Following suit, Kiriha put on a more serious expression herself. Right now, they were chief and subordinate rather than father and daughter.

  “So what’s your status?”

  “Plan A is progressing smoothly, and stage one is complete. We’ve moved on to stage two and are building up trust with the surface dwellers.”

  Kiriha had come up with a two-fold strategy for their surface invasion. Plan B involved Kiriha overseeing problematic room 106 directly, but Plan A was complex enough that it had been divided up into several stages. The first was simply securing a base of sorts. In order for the People of the Earth to come to the surface, they needed somewhere to stay. After selling off the rare metal they had been hoarding, they bought up a good deal of real estate in the city. And once that was done, stage two was initiated.

  The second stage was developing a rapport with the surface dwellers. To that end, Kiriha and the other underground dwellers had begun participating in civic events and were volunteering around the city. Really, they were trying to demonstrate that they were good neighbors. This was the trickiest part of Kiriha’s plan. It wasn’t something that could accomplished overnight, and a single misstep could compromise the entire plan. They had to proceed with utmost care, and that’s exactly what Kiriha had been doing when Koutarou and the others found her in front of city hall.

  “And what kind of response are you seeing from the surface dwellers?”

  “Great, for the most part. Those that have found employment in local industries seem to have had a significant influence.”

  Infiltrating local businesses was also a part of the second stage of Plan A. Other underground dwellers had gotten jobs in enterprises like local agriculture, fishing, and welfare. Once they assimilated themselves into the industries and became a key part of the workforce, they would at least have something to fall back on if all else failed.

  “I see. So things are progressing smoothly.”

  “Yes. At this rate, we’ll have this entire region under our influence within a decade.”

  The third stage would involve advancing up the social hierarchy of political and financial circles. Without the right kind of influence, they would have trouble acquiring any real power. They needed to integrate into the region even more, but Kiriha remained optimistic. She was definitely getting a good response so far. Without any major debacles, it seemed like the People of the Earth would be able to survive on the surface after all. That’s what Kiriha had begun feeling as of late. Perhaps it was living with Koutarou that had gotten her to start thinking that way.

  “And what about Plan B?”

  “That’s proceeding smoothly as well. Rather, that’s what I’d like to say, but it’s up and down as usual.”

  “It seems to be a rather complex ordeal.”

  “Yes. There are several other factions targeting the location.”

  Plan B concerned occupying Corona House room 106. If the People of the Earth were able to gain control of room 106, they would be able to rebuild their ancestral altar. Since the altar also served as an efficient way to gather spiritual energy, they would be able to mass produce spiritual energy weapons like Karama and Korama once it was built.

  “That said, with Plan A on track, I don’t believe there is any reason to worry about the delays in Plan B.”

  In the end, Plan B was only a failsafe. It was a backup in case Plan A fell through or a surface army attacked them first. Because of that, since Plan A was proceeding without a hitch, there was no need to rush Plan B. Moreover, hurrying Plan B might actually damage their chances of succeeding with Plan A.

  “I am of the same opinion. However, Kiriha, the radical faction has been stirring lately.”

  “As we feared, they’re acting on their own?”

  “Yes.”

  Daiha nodded with a frown. Kiriha’s expression was equally stern.

  The People of the Earth were not of a united front in regards to the surface invasion. There were several clans that held power, and they didn’t all agree on how the matter should be handled. Among the clans, there was a radical faction that favored a swift, forceful takeover of the surface. Kiriha’s methods were much too naive for their tastes.

  “If we can’t keep them in line, Plan A may all be for naught. In that case—”

  “Plan B would be a necessity.”

  “That’s right. We’ll try to keep the radical faction in check for now, but you should keep an eye out for yourself. There might be those that would target you directly.”

  “I understand.”

  Kiriha nodded at Daiha. She now understood why he was so anxious to get in contact with her. He wasn’t just a doting father that wanted to see his daughter’s face. He was genuinely worried about her safety.

  So in the worst case scenario, I might need to defeat them myself...

  The faces of the residents of room 106 popped into Kiriha’s head. Sanae, Theia, Ruth, Yurika, and Koutarou all. If the radical faction caused a scene, the People of the Earth would need to reconstruct the altar as soon as possible to prepare for battle. With their inferior numbers, it would be a losing fight without a large amount of spiritual energy weapons, and that might mean the time could come that Koutarou and the other invaders needed to be taken out of the picture.

  But could I do it...?

  They had spent a lot of precious time together over the past eight months. And that troubled Kiriha. She couldn’t imagine pointing a weapon at Koutarou and the others now.

  “Kiriha.”

  When he said her name, Daiha’s expression loosened up. He was no longer the chief, but a concerned father.

  “Yes, father?”

  Sensing that, Kiriha responded accordingly.

  “Won’t you come back and take a groom?”

  “A groom? You’re asking me to get married?”

  “Yes. If you do, our influence will grow, and that includes over the radical faction. You’ll be safe, and you won’t have to fight against anyone you don’t want to.”

  Daiha’s idea was simple. He wanted to put the reigns on the radical faction through a political marriage. It didn’t really matter who she married; as long as they had influence, Kiriha’s influence would also grow, and that would in turn detract from the radical presence. But that was just a front. First and foremost, Daiha didn’t want his daughter in any danger.

  “I... can’t.”

  Though she understood her father’s feelings, Kiriha shook her head.

  “You’ve become just as stubborn as your mother was. She refused the same thing.”

  “That’s not... Father, if I leave the surface now, I won’t be able to do anything about the radical faction. We need to avoid that no matter what.”

  Even if she were to take a groom, it wouldn’t resolve the situation right away. They would still need to lay the right groundwork and adjust the schedule for the invasion. Especially if her marriage was a political one. And knowing their tactics, the radical faction might make a move while Kiriha was away. There would be no point in marrying if the radic
al faction used it as a chance to cause a scene.

  “I see. So even if you were to marry, we would still need an immediate answer for dealing with the radical faction...”

  “I believe so.”

  Once Daiha came around, Kiriha let out a small sigh of relief. She took out a single card from her pocket. It was an aging card with a worn metallic sheen, but it was special to her. It was the other reason Kiriha didn’t want to marry. Before she could fulfill her heart’s desire that the card represented, she knew getting married wasn’t an option for her.

  Dawn, 7 AM.

  Sunday mornings in room 106 started, as always, with Ruth. Though the days were starting later with the season, the sun began shining into the apartment by 7 AM. However, the winter sunlight wasn’t enough to warm up the chilly room. Today, it was even cold enough for Ruth to see her breath when she arrived.

  “Satomi-sama is...”

  The first thing Ruth did was look around for Koutarou. Since his sleeping habits were quite literally all over the place, he would often end up sleeping next to the wall with the gate leading to Blue Knight. Consequently, it wasn’t unusual for Ruth and Theia to step on him as they entered the room.

  “Ah, good, he’s sleeping over there.”

  Ruth had learned the hard way to poke her head through the gate first. Only after confirming where Koutarou was sleeping did she actually enter, careful not to make a sound. She knew it would take a lot to actually wake up Koutarou, but Ruth always did her best to be polite and considerate.

  “You’re going to catch a cold sleeping like that, Satomi-sama...”

  Koutarou always laid out his futon in the center of the room, but right now he was asleep in front of the wardrobe without so much as a blanket. He was lying on his back in just his pajamas. After entering the room safely, Ruth considered it her second job to cover Koutarou with a quilt.

  “Eeek!”

  But when she walked over to him, she nearly screamed.

  “...I’ll never get used to seeing that...”