While they had gathered the information they needed and everyone had safely returned to room 106, Kiriha's gloomy expression remained the same. Koutarou understood Kiriha's feelings, there were mountains of doubts.
“...Why didn't Tayuma try killing us?”
That was the biggest doubt in Koutarou's mind.
If more of the weapons produced in the factory had been sent at Koutarou and the others in the control room, they might have been killed as they had been trapped. But for some reason Tayuma hadn't done so and Koutarou couldn't understand why.
That was where Kiriha answered his doubts, having thought about it hard, she had already found the reason.
“He probably planned on killing the intruders at first. That was why he placed a trap by the control room.”
The information the intruders would want is gathered in the control room, and a trap was placed around the room with only one entrance. Kiriha believed that the original plan was to kill the intruders on the spot.
“But on the way, they noticed that the intruders were us and changed their policy.”
“What kind of policy would that be?”
“I can think of two reasons. The first is that Tayuma and the others want to learn of our abilities.”
If the intruders had been the Sun Rangers, they would have been wiped out. But it had been Kiriha and the others that came. That's why Tayuma changed his policy.
To Tayuma, Koutarou and the others were unknown enemies that had given him a hard time in the past, and there was a high chance that they would appear during the battle with the surface dwellers. With only a portion of them arriving at the control room, it would be better to find out about their abilities rather than trying to use force.
For that they threw a standard combat unit at Koutarou and the others. From the data taken on that, they would send in a force that would definitely win next time. That's why Tayuma had left full of confidence. There was no reason why they had to be defeated there.
“It should also be to give the People of the Earth information about the earthquake weapon.”
The other reason was believed to leak the knowledge of the earthquake weapon to the People of the Earth.
If the conservative faction left the earthquake weapon be, they would lose their home and be forced up to the surface and dragged into a battle. That said, even if they found out about it, there was no guarantee that the People of the Earth would believe it. There, decisive evidence was given to them through a definite route. The most definite route would be through the Kurano family leading the People of the Earth. If someone from that family were to find evidence in the enemy base it would become very convincing. In other words, Kiriha was being used as a messenger to deliver this information to the conservative faction.
This could be considered a highly efficient method. In fact, having seen the information around the earthquake weapon with her own eyes, she was now moving to take measures against it. It was only a question of time before all of the conservative faction did the same.
“Damnit, so we're all moving in accordance to Tayuma's... no Maguz's plans...”
Koutarou grinded his teeth in mortification. Their opponent was always one step ahead of them. With that in mind, the chances are that it would stay that way in the future as well.
“So Kiriha, what will you do?”
Theia directed a severe glance, rarely seen in room 106 these days, at Kiriha. As she thought of what would happen next, she couldn't help but show the expression of a princess. Theia believed that battle was no longer anything that could be avoided.
“...I can't find one... a way to settle things without anyone getting hurt...”
But Kiriha still hadn't reached a conclusion. She could see several choices in front of her, but regardless of her choice, there would be casualties. That's why she didn't choose something she could see, but desperately sought after a different choice.
“There might be a choice where nobody gets hurt. But there's no time to find it. Kiriha, you need to take action right away.”
“I know... but...”
Kiriha bit her lip in frustration. In truth she actually knew that as well. In fact she had spoken to her father, Daiha, about the coming battle just the other day. Even though she knew, she couldn't accept that choice when faced with it.
Kiriha's actions were always based on kindness. Intelligent as she was, she always tried to stay on step ahead of others and made sure that problems never happened. Whether it was in politics or in private, she always strived for a conclusion where no one was hurt.