Selia, also known as Excelia Kudo Shields. In her previous life, she solved a mathematical problem deemed unsolvable, gaining recognition from global authorities in mathematics and becoming famous overnight. She hadn't particularly wanted the fame; it was merely part of a desire to be praised by her older brother.
Upon reincarnation, she received several perks. Her Idea Site, which grasped phenomena, fused with the instantaneous calculation ability she had acquired in her previous life—an inhuman power to intuitively grasp the answer to any given question. This resulted in the ability to read information existing within the countless strings of numbers online simply by looking at them.
Now, Selia was peeking into USNA data using a tool to visualize the sea of electrons (something she created while in Stars and secretly brought with her during her study abroad to use as her personal device; since no one but Selia could use it, it was treated as her personal property).
(Ah... Big Sis is destroying training facilities in spectacular fashion again...)
Selia was looking at information related to Stars, specifically data regarding apologies for property damage caused by Lina (Angie Sirius). It wasn't uncommon for facilities, equipment, or gear to be broken in a magician unit like Stars, but when it came to First Class magicians—commanders and captains—the degree of damage was immense. In Lina's case, specifically, she often destroyed equipment with enormous power due to a lack of control.
Because of this, Selia often ended up having to listen to the base commander's complaints alongside Lina, and every time, she would punish Lina with submission holds. Even Lina, who trained in martial arts, had never won against Selia, whose physical abilities exceeded those of Olympic medalists.
(Hm? What's this? ...A report on lost weapons scheduled for disposal?)
Then, Selia noticed a strange report within the data. Deciphering it, she found information submitted to the Department of Defense stating that man-portable air-defense missiles using warheads with explosives primarily composed of CL-20 (Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane) had been "lost."
At this, Selia removed the VR (Virtual Reality) HMD (Head-Mounted Display) she was wearing, powered down her tool, closed her eyes, and began calculating within her mind.
(If I recall correctly, that should be the explosive boasting the highest power in my previous life. In this era, it's treated as outdated, but as an explosive for a weapon, the power is sufficient. Is someone in the military involved? Even so, the traces of tampering are just too... clean.)
The only thing not tampered with was the missile disposal record. There was no doubt they were outdated items waiting for disposal. And because Selia, like Yugen, knew the "original work," she naturally grasped where they had gone. But what bothered Selia was that there were almost no unnatural points in the entry/exit logs or authentication systems.
Aside from the disposal record, the security systems of the military facility had been tampered with almost perfectly... This led Selia to a specific suspicion.
(If they were bribed, it would undoubtedly leave a trail immediately. It's highly likely they were removed under the guise of a disposal order. And the only people capable of manipulating the military's security system to this extent would undoubtedly be from the National Science Association, which handles information security including SIGINT for the Pentagon.)
Selia had in mind the personnel handling information systems belonging to the NSA—the USNA National Science Association. The storage facility mandated periodic manual inspections, but based on the information Selia saw, it was highly likely they were stolen during the first manual periodic inspection of the year in January. During this time, the surveillance cameras were paused under the guise of maintenance, and she confirmed they rebooted one hour later. The soldier in charge of inspection at this time also reported "no abnormalities."
Security measures like biometric authentication were likely bypassed or neutralized by some method. The RFID tags on the weapons, which tracked every item, were likely circumvented by treating the items as "disposed" when they were stolen, and it was highly probable the tags were removed from the weapons and then tampered with.
Organizing the information this far, Selia glared, certain that there was someone within the Department of Defense cooperating with the person who handed the missiles to the terrorists. Even if not directly involved, the fact that they tampered with the information regarding the "loss" indirectly made them an accomplice.
(But I'm a naturalized Japanese citizen now. Sorry, but I won't let Gu Jie die in the USNA... I can detach myself like that, but what about Big Sis?)
Her previous life had been Japanese, after all. But in Lina's case, she had her reputation as "Angie Sirius," the Commander-in-Chief of Stars. Speaking of Lina, when she was told that her grandfather, Ken Kudo, had proposed an engagement to the Yotsuba family through Yugen's grandfather, Maiumoto Mitsuya, she had literally fallen off her chair.
To those around them, it likely seemed like an attempt to have Lina, who held affection for Tatsuya, use a honey trap to investigate the Yotsuba family's true nature. But from Selia's perspective, it was a screaming "Absolutely not."
"They don't understand... Those idiots don't understand anything. do they seriously think they can manage this just by suppressing it with force? Do they seriously think they can survive making enemies of that 'Onii-sama' and my Onii-chan?"
Because she had confronted him, because she had actually fought him, Selia felt Yugen's terror in her bones. And it went without saying that she had sworn in her heart never to make an enemy of Tatsuya. Despite this, the stubbornness of the USNA military's General Staff made Selia so irritated she felt like firing a Heavy Metal Burst at the mainland. Realizing she was harboring radical thoughts, she took a deep breath.
"...Onii-chan probably knows already, but I should let him know just in case. The text... If I just type 'Explosion punchlines really are the worst,' he'll understand."
Even if read via Hlidskjalf, some people would wonder where the terrorist element was in that message. This was a communication method that utilized the strength of internet slang, understandable only because Selia and Yugen had lived in the same previous life.
Incidentally, Yugen, who received the email, understood the intent of the text while replying in a way that flowed like ordinary conversation.
(Author's Note)
As for Yugen, he doesn't harbor any personal grudges. It's only when it comes to the Saegusa family entity that it's a different story, so he judges there is no problem prioritizing Mayumi's personal safety.
Regarding the small missiles: honestly, I struggled with how to interpret this. After all, the very idea of taking out weapons of that size depicted in the manga without leaving a trace is strange. A storage base would have not only security but also patrol soldiers and surveillance cameras.
There is a "one-chance" theory of moving them out via underground or rooftop, but transporting many weapons at once via military helicopter would require a large helicopter or VTOL class, and even under the guise of "night training," there are limits.
Thus, I concluded it was most plausible they were stolen during a manual periodic inspection.
If they passed security during inspection, it's highly likely no one would be suspicious. Since Gu Jie possesses the technology to turn humans into generators, it's natural to think he turned soldiers into generators to have them steal the items. However, that raises the high probability that all soldiers at the base were turned into generators.
Colonel Balance received a report with very little information leading to clues. Then information about the accommodation by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President was brought in. One might wonder if someone from the President's Office could facilitate things at a military facility, but noticing the fact that the Lows family has many relatives in the military and politics (in the original work, Kane Lows is related to Benjamin Canopus, and has family ties to USNA Senator Wyatt Curtis), it's highly likely those connections were used... From Canopus's perspective, he's being made to wipe the ass of a relative's scandal.
Most likely, if the order to remove the missiles didn't go through the Joint Chiefs of Staff at all, it's possible it was brought in via the President's Office under the guise of a "removal order accompanying missile disposal." Since Balance later mentions a "government scandal," the involvement of Congress or the President's Office is undoubtedly strong.
Honestly, the USNA President has every right to cry over this case. Rather, it's at a level where he could unleash an "Ora Ora" rush of punches on Kane Lows and be forgiven.
Regarding Selia, since she was treated as a genius in her previous life, I thought this was well within her scope. Note that she understands she can absolutely never win against Yugen. Also known as romantic feelings.
Also, regarding the explosive notation: CL-20 is the substance name for Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane. If we trust the katakana for Cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine, the common name becomes HMX (in Volume 17 of the original work, these two were listed confusingly).
Since both are used as military explosives, this time I matched it to CL-20, which boasts maximum power.
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