"Okay, let's go with offensive defense!" (Mitsuha)
"Offensive defense? What is that, that's..."
I was the one who suggested this when deciding our future operational course of action, but... Yep, the young ladies don't know such words...
Apparently, there was no direct military term in this country that corresponded to that term. I had talked with many military personnel—including high-ranking officers—so I should have a complete mastery of this country's military terminology. The fact that it was not in their vocabulary probably means that there was no word with that meaning in the first place.
Of course, there were the words "offensive" and "defensive," but I was talking while sticking them together. Since there was no corresponding word, I did not use the Japanese term kouseibogyo[1].
"Well, the meaning is a bit off, but instead of concentrating solely on defense, if an enemy attacks something you are defending, you should actively attack and tear them to shreds, or beat up the enemy before they reach the place you think will be the battlefield... well, I guess you could say that 'the best defense is a good offense'..." (Mitsuha)
I don't know much about it, so I could be wrong. But, regardless of what it means on Earth, in this world that's what the word means, so it's fine. Who decided that? ...It's me!!
"There is a theory that the best thing to do when it comes to strange rumors is to ignore them, but that's only when the people involved are an unspecified number of people and you can't fight back. If the opponent is within a specific range and can be localized, it's obviously quicker to counterattack and crush the opponent, right? Especially when they aren't expecting a counterattack and are letting their guard down..." (Mitsuha)
My comrades in arms (the girls from Society) smiled broadly at my words. Everyone had become so strong. Before I knew it, they would look like veterans rather than recruits. Well, high society is a battlefield. All the noble ladies are veteran warriors.
"So, Dorothy-sama, did you hear it from Richelle-sama? And at that time, Ethredia-sama and Schitry-sama were also there..."
"Yeah……"
The members of Society once again working hard to gather information in order to fill in the gaps in the correlation chart that showed the route the rumors were spreading and to determine their source.
And…….
"Big sister, the analysis is complete. Every time a new rumor spreads, it always starts with the same few people spreading it around, via their friends, acquaintances, and places they frequent. And they all have something in common..." (Sabine)
Ooh! Atta-Sabi!! As expected, Sabine-chan was unable to gather information herself in the New Continent (here), so she acted as an analyst and command center here on the second floor of my store. After analyzing the gathered information, she would give instructions such as, "Next, please confirm from whom you heard this story," and had others gather the necessary information while she concentrated on analyzing it. Of course, it was also Sabine-chan's responsibility to assign the members most appropriate to her instructions.
...Nowadays, no one treats Sabine-chan as just a mascot. All the members are aware of Sabine-chan's overwhelming abilities, and so they recognize her as a full-fledged ...no, a worthy member of Society, with abilities that are beyond those of a full-fledged member. She's not just my extra, someone who followed me around with her older sister (me).... Of course, it wasn't an official membership that was approved at a meeting, but no one cared about that anymore. In effect, she's treated as a member.
Today, it's just me and Sabine-chan here. The members of Society were daughters of noble families, so they couldn't just go out on their own, and they couldn't come to my store (like this) by themselves. Basically, I only met them at tea parties or at parties.
And Colette-chan, was in my mansion in her training to become my vassal. Sabine-chan was supposed to have a princess education, but it seemed she finished it easily and had plenty of free time. ...Damn, what a genius!! It's helpful because it's useful, but...
"...So, um, what do you think they have in common?" (Mitsuha)
This room was empty and had no furniture, but there was a large round table and chairs placed inside, and on top of the table were relationship charts, various documents, and documents with the collected information written on them. I put both hands on the table and leaned forward toward Sabine-chan and asked that.
"Keidith de Kurvarich, the third son of the Count Kurvarich, and his entourage." (Sabine)
"Ahh.... But that's not a common point but the answer, right?" (Mitsuha)
When I pointed that out...
"Well, it's not the answer yet. We only know the source of the rumor, but we don't know if there are other masterminds or what their motives are. That means we're still far from uncovering the whole picture of the incident. Besides, no matter how much we understand the background, the case won't be solved unless we restore Mileisha-chan's honor." (Sabine)
"...Y-You're right..." (Mitsuha)
Unlike me, who got carried away because I had found a small clue, she kept his eyes on the big picture and didn't lose sight of what she needed to do and her ultimate goal. That's why she was my little, sly adviser, "Little Black Adviser." ...Atta-Sabi!!
"So, even if we know the enemy's active forces, we can't do anything about it directly. There's no way the guards would take action just because a noble's child was speaking ill of someone, and no guard or nobleman superior would want to get involved in a troublesome incident like the daughter of a noble from another country. If the Count's son falls in love with her, it will be the end, and there will be no guards or lower-ranking nobles who want to catch the Count's eye either." (Sabine)
...Indeed, what Sabine-chan said was true. Besides, as a noble from another country, I could not directly interfere and I could not allow the members of Society to be openly involved in such matters. The only time we could get everyone to help us was in the information war. Sabine-chan must knew that too.
"...Then what should we do..." (Mitsuha)
Sabine-chan smiled brightly at my murmur.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It's an automatic reflection system!" (Sabine)
Automatic reflection system? What do you mean...? That's it! A piece of equipment used by a certain giant robot that reflects attacks fired by the enemy back at the enemy. ...Then my eyes met with Sabine-chan, and our voices harmonized.
"Calamity, action!" (Mitsu-Sabi)
Come to think of it, we watched that DVD together too. I explained that the robot was a giant golem... I guess Sabine-chan, who has no knowledge of special effects technology, thinks that the civilization of my home country is far superior to that of Japan...
Anyway, well, I saw what Sabine-chan was trying to say. If the other side used an attack that made it difficult to counterattack head-on, then we should do the same. If this was the case, then it fell under the category of "information warfare," and so we would ask for the continued cooperation of the members of Society. Hmm, maybe I should announce an impromptu tea party...
Author's Note
The 10th volume of the novel "Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement" is scheduled to be published on January 31st.
Thank you very much! (^^)/
Translation Note
[1] attack as a form of defense; attacking (active) defense https://jpdb.io/vocabulary/2044980/%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A6%E3%82%BB%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9C%E3%82%A6%E3%82%AE%E3%83%A7?lang=english
I just found an alternative for "Sasu-Sabi" (which is an abbreviation from "Sasuga Sabine-chan" or "As expected of Sabine-chan"): Atta-Sabi