I Reincarnated as the Captain of a Battleship in a Robot Anime, but at This Rate, I’m Going to Be Assassinated – Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Content of a Meeting with a Know-It-All Who Doesn’t Know the Field Is Always Filled with Dreams
  “Don’t you think space exploration is ultimately something like a religion, Anferu?”
  
  Anferu, summoned for the first time in forty-eight hours, was always exasperated by the eccentric words of his boss, Fauden.
  
  ‘This old man always says things that don’t make sense.’
  
  He was grateful that he could become a subordinate of the man in front of him and wield power and military force, but as Anferu, he still couldn’t get close to him.
  He understood that Fauden was an excellent politician…… no, a ruthless dictator, but he didn’t understand why he could do such things.
  Whether it’s a dictatorship or a reign of terror, there’s a purpose behind it. Most of the time, it’s a l*st for power, the desire to control, to move countries and people as they please, and to live in luxury.
  Another reason could be a sense of superiority, a sense of omnipotence that is taken for granted because they were born into a family of rulers.
  However, Fauden is different. He eliminates obstacles. Politically, or through assassinations unique to the underworld. If he judges someone to be a hindrance, he kills them without hesitation.
  Anferu was aware that he was being used as a p*wn.
  But he doesn’t know what lies ahead. Fauden says it’s for the sake of Earth, but he felt those words were empty.
  
  “Yes…… religion, is it? Unfortunately, I’m an atheist, you see?”
  “Praying to G*d isn’t the only form of religion.”
  
  A simple desk for the commander of an organization. The office was also devoid of anything unnecessary, with only a single potted plant, a phone for communication, and a monitor for video calls.
  Fauden doesn’t wear brand-name chairs or desks, not even a wristwatch. He only wears the provided military uniform.
  
  “There was a time when space was called the infinite frontier. Without knowing anything about space, without knowing anything about planets, they just recklessly pushed for space development, reached the pinnacle of technology, and succeeded in exploration.”
  “Yes, the terraforming of Mars was successful about three hundred years ago, wasn’t it? The construction of space colonies began in parallel with that.”
  “Next, humanity tried to utilize Venus, but they couldn’t touch that scorching planet and gave up. But that ignited humanity’s ambition. The completion of warp technology was just too convenient. As a result, humanity leaped beyond the solar system, searched for habitable celestial bodies, and now we’ve found 192 planets.”
  “Among them is the Al Minar Resort Sector that you, Commander, created, isn’t there?”
  “……That was a mistake. I was young too.”
  “What do you mean?”
  
  Anferu thought here. Come to think of it, this man’s achievements are often talked about by others, but he never takes the initiative to talk about them himself. He talks about them when asked to give speeches or interviews, but that’s it.
  There’s a big difference between being asked to say something and saying it on your own initiative. Besides, this man is opposed to planetary exploration.
  The person who succeeded in planetary exploration is against it. There’s definitely a sense of incongruity. But he thought it was just a kind of stubbornness peculiar to old people, a rigidity of thought.
  
  “That sector was originally not habitable. We invested a huge budget, built a device to collect light, and forcibly stabilized it.”
  “Thanks to that, the profits exceeded the budget, didn’t they?”
  “Anferu, you must have noticed the trick, haven’t you? Do you think such a huge light-collecting lens device can be maintained just by being there?”
  “……Well, the maintenance costs would also be enormous. For that purpose, the resources of the colony planets……”
  “I think we should destroy it.”
  “……!”
  
  He felt like those words were serious.
  
  “De, destroy…… is it?”
  “Yes. That is a testament to my sin. A symbol of humanity’s arrogance. Because there’s a successful example like that, humanity foolishly dreams. They mistakenly believe that moving forward is a good thing. When that happens, if you look back, what do you think will be left behind?”
  “……”
  “Wasteland. Even if you gain a little, you lose more. Why commit such folly? It’s because Al Minar is shining.”
  “Commander, I understand your reasoning, but if we destroy it…… the Earth’s economy……”
  “It’s the planetary exploration projects that are putting pressure on it!”
  “……!”
  
  It might have been the first time he saw him raise his voice.
  Anferu was involuntarily taken aback by the pressure.
  
  “That big cannon you’re making, Babel or whatever it’s called. How are you going to test it?”
  “We, well, that’s……”
  
  If he got permission, he should be able to say he’d s*oot it anywhere, but Anferu was still overwhelmed by Fauden’s momentum.
  The Babel was only 75% complete. He had received a report that a test firing would be no problem, but firing it once would require several days of readjustment afterward.
  
  “S*oot Al Minar’s light-collecting lens. Destroy it.”
  “Huh?”
  
  He had somehow predicted that it would come to this from the flow of the conversation. However, when he was actually told to do it, Anferu hesitated. He was a man who had destroyed many planets for his orders and his own ambitions, but when it came to Al Minar, he personally wanted to keep that sector because of its usefulness and its status as a resort.
  
  “What’s the matter? Your reply is slow for Colonel Anferu, who has buried many planets.”
  “Oh, no, but I understand your thoughts, Commander, but I think Al Minar’s influence is significant. Besides……”
  “The fact that we’ve destroyed planets has already been exposed. What’s there to hesitate about now? It would be better to come out into the open. We can let all of humanity know our thoughts, our purpose.”
  ‘Is this old man crazy?’
  
  He listened in silence, but Anferu couldn’t understand the madness of the old man in front of him. The way he spoke as if it were a matter of course, the way he looked at him as if to say why aren’t you getting to work, sent a chill down his spine.
  
  “……Then, Commander, before we proceed with the execution, there are a few things I’d like to ask you.”
  “I’ll listen.”
  “Without reservation. First, it’s about your daughter.”
  
  Anferu tried to carefully read Fauden’s expression, but he didn’t flinch.
  
  “There are rumors that I tried to assassinate your daughter, so I want to categorically deny that such a thing ever happened.”
  “I did that.”
  “Eh?”
  
  Fauden confessed readily.
  
  “I said it, didn’t I? Al Minar is a testament to my sin. That child was the first human born in Al Minar. That’s why I had to dispose of her. To sever the ties of worry. Otherwise, they wouldn’t understand my seriousness.”
  
  Anferu was speechless.
  He understood that he himself was a scoundrel. He understood that there were probably children, babies, on the planets he had attacked. But the fact that there was a parent who could lay hands on their own child was an instinctive shock. And he was surprised by the man who could say it without hesitation.
  
  “But she’s alive, they say. Things don’t always go as planned. And she defies me. As if the past is clinging to me.”
  
  Fauden laughed to himself, self-deprecatingly.
  But it was no laughing matter for Anferu. Still, he caught his breath and moved on to the next question.
  
  “I understand your resolve, Commander. Next…… about the manufacturing of Trismegistus. You led that project, Commander. Even I understand that it’s not just a super machine, it’s abnormal.”
  “That thing, huh? It’s the guardian of the planets. I also consider it to be humanity’s watchdog.”
  
  He didn’t quite understand what he meant.
  
  “A machine with the power to destroy a planet on its own. In other words, it can also terraform, prepare a planet. It can do that all by itself. And it multiplies. Spread those multiplied machines throughout space, create the soil of planets, and make them protect it.”
  “……? Commander, that contradicts what you said earlier. I believe you’re against space development.”
  “No matter how much I try to forbid it, those fools will escape the solar system on their own. But what awaits them there is the guardian, Trismegistus. If humanity can completely eradicate it, that will be proof that humanity has ascended to the next stage. In other words, it will be beyond my level to interfere.”
  “I, I don’t understand. Commander, I don’t understand your thoughts at all. What are you trying to do?”
  
  Anferu wondered if he should eliminate this old man right now.
  But somehow, he couldn’t. He felt like his thoughts were being seen through. Even if he tried to s*oot Fauden here, or beat him to death, he felt like it would all be in vain.
  More than that, the madness coming out of Fauden’s mouth dulled Anferu’s thinking. He’s a terrifying man, sewing fear into him.
  
  “So, Anferu, deploy Trismegistus on the moon or Mars and have it deal with the guys who go for planetary exploration. But at the same time, promote planetary exploration itself with the increased number of Trismegistus. But what they’ll do is adjust the soil and gravity. Trismegistus self-proliferates. They’ll collect those resources on various planets, give birth to offspring there, and then travel to the next planet. We won’t use Earth’s resources. It’ll take a long, long time. And we’ll prepare to welcome them. If humanity can destroy Trismegistus, their watchdog, it means they’ve grown.”
  
  Fauden stood up, walked over to Anferu, and patted him on the shoulder.
  
  “I once promoted planetary exploration. I don’t think the act itself is evil. But I think it was too early. Humanity is still a child who can’t leave home alone. Do you think a child can survive in society without any real strength? That’s why we have to supervise them.”
  “Th, then why destroy Al Minar……”
  “No, we have to do it. By destroying it, humanity will understand that the current rush to explore is an illusion. Don’t worry, even if we destroy the light-collecting lens, if Trismegistus evolves, some planets will become habitable. It might not be a resort area anymore, though.”
  
  This time, Fauden patted Anferu on both shoulders.
  
  “I’m the one who showed humanity a dream. Don’t you think it’s also my mission to wake them up?”