『……!?』The silver armor reacted sharply to my words.

    As expected, I should have noticed this earlier. Given the events up until now, it was obvious that the silver-armored girl''s physical abilities were identical to Shinra''s.

    Silver Armor... Shinra finally gave up and removed her helmet. Actually, it didn''t seem like she took it off; rather, it vanished with a swoosh, almost like something out of science fiction.

    "How did you know?"

    A beautiful girl with a short bob looked up at me with intense eyes.

    "Because you moved the same way. But more importantly, I want you to understand that I''m not your enemy. Yeah... I mean as an independent judge of course."

    Shinra''s eyes widened slightly, and she reluctantly acknowledged it.

    "I recognize that Mr. Aiba is not my enemy. This will be recorded as an official statement by an independent judge of the Galactic Federation."

    I moved "Diabla" away from her neck, and Shinra staggered slightly as she tried to stand up.

    I supported her and cast a "recovery" spell on her. While I''m not as strong as the high priest from the hero''s party, I can still use pretty powerful healing magic.

    "The damage I received... It''s disappearing? This is a regenerative power stronger than the suit’s recovery system..."

    "It''s the damage I inflicted. Now, there''re no complaints, right?"

    Well, I can''t repair the armor... or the power suit. I hope you can handle that with some mysterious sci-fi device.

    "Now let me ask you, is it correct that you''re a judge... sent by the Galactic Federation? Is it fine to just call you a judge?"

    "To be precise, I am a police officer, prosecutor, judge, and prison guard. I handle all matters related to crime."

    "Oh, there was a character like that in an old movie... Is the Galactic Federation really like that? An organization made up of various aliens?"

    "…It’s something like that. Earth isn''t part of it. It''s merely an observation area."

    So they’re not secretly affiliated with the public or anything? Well, it''s possible they’re in contact with some people in power.

    "So why did you come to this observation area?"

    "To monitor and prevent certain criminals and illegal organizations within the Union from interfering with observation areas. Independent judges have the authority to do so."

    "I see. So I was mistaken for a criminal after all? That’s harsh."

    "I had several suspicions about you, Sensei. And when I found out you were connected to this cruiser, I decided you were the ''illegal.''"

    I guess that’s just how judicial officials are—always so sure of themselves.

    "So, what exactly are you, Sensei? You’re definitely not from this planet. But the technology you use isn’t something we’ve seen before, even in the Galactic Federation."

    "Oh, that... Well..."

    Hadn''t she heard from Aookuji and the others? Maybe they kept their word after all.

    "I know this might be hard to believe, but I was in another world for a while, and I was a hero there. That’s why I’m so strong and can use magic."

    "It’s certainly difficult to believe."

    An immediate response? Wouldn''t it be better to pause for a moment?

    "If we''re talking about the credibility of our stories, I''d say yours is on the same level as the fact that you''re an alien..."

    "Eh?"

    Whoa, the intensity in her gaze just skyrocketed. That’s where you got mad!

    "Well, it’s fine. As for you, Sensei... I’ll treat you as an ''unidentified person.'' But if you’re not involved, that means another ''illegal'' who landed on this cruiser is still out there. We need to track them down."

    "Are ''illegals'' really that dangerous?"

    "These ''illegals'' are far more capable than Earthlings. They’re also more simplistic, so we don’t know what they’ll do. We need to find them quickly."

    "I see. Then it''s this way. Shall we go?"

    "Yes. What...? ...?"

    I led the way to the spot where I found traces of someone entering the mountains.

    Shinra followed me with a suspicious look on her face.

    "Those ''illegals'' entered the mountains from here. If we follow its trail, we should get an idea of where it went."

    "Do you have a tracer, Sensei?"

    "A tracer? What''s that?"

    "It’s a detection system for tracking targets. It picks up minute traces and identifies the route of movement."

    "Oh, so there’s stuff like that too. I’m just using my experience to tell the difference. By the way, are you sure you want to leave the cruiser as it is?"

    "Unfortunately, it’s beyond the capacity of the Lambda Transfer, so I have no choice but to leave it. Cutting off the optical camouflage was a mistake."

    Shinra frowned.

    Even though we’re deep in the mountains, there''s no guarantee it won''t be spotted from the sky. If a spaceship is discovered, it would be a huge problem. S?a??h the N?v?lF?re.?et website on G??gl? to access chapters of n?vels early and in the highest quality.

    "Then I’ll take care of it for now. Just tell me if you need it, but please don''t punish me for it."

    I activated spatial magic. A huge black hole opened above the cruiser, and it was swallowed whole.

    Spatial magic is one of the most useful abilities I have. Throughout my long life as a hero, I’ve lost track of how much loot I’ve stored in alternate dimensions.

    I stowed the cruiser and glanced at Shinra, urging her to move on.

    The usually composed girl with a calm expression now stared at me, wide-eyed in shock.

    "What’s wrong?"

    "What’s wrong? You tell me! What on earth was that just now? It far exceeded the limits of Lambda Transfer."

    "It’s called spatial magic. I just store things in another space. I can take them in and out freely, so don''t worry."

    "…Sensei, could you please refrain from using powers that defy the laws of physics?"

    No, that’s something Shinra has largely ignored.

    She calls it "Lambda Transfer," but it’s just a different name for something that functions like magic... But I won’t say that aloud; she''d probably glare at me again.

    Being a hero was a job where you had to learn to survive.