14 True First Encounter

"Actually, there's something I've been wondering about since a moment ago."

Jin was on his way to pick up Mio.

The conclusion formed, and Jin suddenly spoke as if recalling something.

"Second Lieutenant Sasamori, Second Lieutenant Nastin. How did the two of you get here?"

The numbers didn't add up.

When the details were sorted, it seemed these two had arrived at the Third Fleet alongside their squad prior to the beacon transmission.

Jin believed the timing was correct, as May had confirmed it without doubt.

That raised the question: how had the two reached this location, given the Third Fleet’s current position remained unknown?

Of course, they might have calculated it by chance, just as Jin and the others had.

But that was beside the point.

"Besides, where's your flagship? Even if a Rosario-class or Lombardia-class vessel were nearby, we'd have noticed immediately..."

An assault frame cannot perform an overlight independently; the presence of a flagship is mandatory.

To Jin, this was a natural question, not one that should cause concern.

Kou answers hesitantly.

"Uh, we, that time we landed... it was the Gay Volck."

"Then that makes it even more impossible. Missing something that large is inconceivable."

To miss something that size implies serious issues with vision or attention.

If one had truly missed it, they should seriously consider retiring as a pilot.

"...Actually, I wanted to ask about the technician who was aboard that thing."

"Oh, Captain. Byron Staff Sergeant is fine. Uh... well, he's, uh... kind of feverish. But, uh... totally energetic."

"Feverish?"

"Please don't worry, Instructor."

From the tone, it was clear he was unharmed.

If he understood that, Jin had no further need to press the matter.

Returning to the conversation.

"How did you get here? Did another ship join you?"

"No, that's not it..."

"We were rescued."

Yuria offered the answer to the stumped Kou.

Still, the concise reply only prompted Jin to question further.

"By whom?"

"Um..."

She seemed willing to answer, but uncertain how.

The two exchanged glances, silently aligning their thoughts—yet no conclusion emerged, no matter how long they waited.

Frustrated, Jin suddenly recalled something and hastily looked up.

The scene remained unchanged from ten minutes prior—humanoid ASIDs locked in mutual scrutiny.

"No, wait. You shouldn't be here at all! Get back up now!"

"Ah..."

"Valid point, Captain. But the need doesn't exist... or rather..."

"That's impossible. There's still a humanoid unit present. One machine, even—"

Why could he remain so composed?

Jin was about to press further. He fell silent, staring at the figure descending from above.

Instead, he called out its name.

"Black Knight!"

The one-eyed humanoid ASID from three previous engagements.

Still clad in obsidian armor, its long sword as useless to Jin as a deadweight.

It landed close, radiating oppressive presence.

Strange was the fact that two Ravens followed behind.

Not the appearance of units chasing down a vessel they'd breached, but rather accompanying them—like escorts.

Before the unease could settle, Kou's voice, slightly incredulous, broke in.

"Coming early. We haven't even finished our briefing."

"Private Sasamori?"

"Ah, well... um, please don't be startled. This one here—"

『I have been listening. The speech does not conclude.』

A female voice echoing across the surrounding area.

It was synthesized, electronically generated.

Precise, rigid words spoken with unyielding clarity.

From the Black Knight, its single eye fixed upon them.

"……………………What?"

"Wait. Did that thing just speak? Did it hit its head during the crash…?"

"No, I heard it too. Something about the conversation not ending… or some such."

Jin and May, and Sho—none could immediately identify what the voice had been. They froze, unable to process.

The rescue team, previously frantic, now stood utterly still, mouths agape.

"So you all come, and naturally, you freeze in shock."

"I asked you to explain first before arriving."

『Human speech is circuitous. More pressing—where is the hero of this human swarm?』

While the three remain frozen, Kou and Yuria exchange words without urgency.

Only then does Jin seem to thaw.

With stiff movements, he compares the two, finally managing to speak.

“Lieutenant Sasamori. Lieutenant Nastin. What exactly is this…?”

“Ah, introduce you to the Instructor. This guy’s the one who got us all the way to the fleet. We call him Edelweiss.”

“And probably the pilot of the Third Fleet—whom Edelweiss believes to be the strongest.”

Edelweiss.

The name Kou uses refers to the imposing unit known throughout the fleet as the Black Knight.

Hardly a name that suits a flower.

Now, Edelweiss lowers its body, one eye fixed on Jin at close range.

‘So. This is the guardian of that one.’

A flicker of anger. A spark of curiosity.

From the single remaining camera eye, Jin perceived a flicker of light and a subtle presence.

"…Explain. Both of you."

They had fought extensively, but a physical confrontation was never possible.

Information was required—few words, direct.

"It could take a long time… or not."

"We—more precisely, 'Gay Volke'—were carried by Overlight to their homeworld…"

"We were rescued by Edelweiss and the inhabitants of that planet."

◆ ◆ ◆

Three days had passed since reclaiming the Third Fleet.

Jin’s fracture had been forcibly healed using medical nanomachines.

The doctors had frowned—natural healing would have been preferable.

But… in this situation, being immobilized was not an option.

"Ah. Humans devise intriguing notions."

"Well, you’ll find a way, even alone."

Rather, it's you who seem ridiculous, darting about alone like that.

...No, the absurdity lies in the current situation.

A Lombardia-class battleship.

Beyond Raven and Leopard, only one other presence occupied its hangar.

Certainly not a Griffon, exclusive to the Second Fleet.

The Black Knight—also known as Edelweiss.

Leaning against the hangar with a posture resembling human relaxation, she was engaged in discussion with Coe and Yuria on the catwalk.

Apparently, during the month Jin and the others spent repairing the vessel, they had developed this level of familiarity—understandable, given the circumstances.

Understandable, yet Jin could not help but reflect that they had only begun communicating so freely out of necessity.

"Ah, Captain. Is the discussion concluded?"

"Essentially. We'll be departing shortly."

"Understood. I shall relay the movement to my forces."

Judging everything within these three days is dangerous—but the cluster of humanoid ASIDs were all calm.

The Defense Fleet had been watching them all along, yet their silence was so profound it felt almost unworthy of scrutiny.

Edelweiss.

That name still felt foreign to Jin, but her command—she being an ASID, and nearly all ASIDs being female—reached even the lowest ranks.

"Can we trust you with the guidance, Edelweiss?"

『Your "overlight" duration is uncertain. This sector is somewhat large, but my forces can traverse it.』

Once, they had clashed with blades drawn, ready to kill. Now they speak as equals.

Jin feels dissonance—yet the dissonance is only that.

Compared to how other humans still tremble and hesitate to approach, this composure could be called calm.

Not that he was surprised. Jin had foreseen it all along.

The moment he formulated the hypothesis that Mio was an ASID.

Naturally, her kind must exist.

If they existed, they could only be that flock he had once seen.

Thus, when he actually saw and spoke with her, he was startled—yet it was not surprising that Edelweiss possessed human-like cognition, just as Mio did.

Rather, the realization clarified why fighting humanoid ASIDs had become such a burden.

Still, mutual resentment remained. It was not exclusive to the parties involved.

Eight years prior, countless lives had been lost during the attack.

Human soldiers from the Defense Force, ASIDs under Edelweiss’s command—equally.

But now that communication was possible, and negotiation feasible, sitting at the table was unavoidable.

The Fleet Charter stipulates it clearly: forbidding the invasion of communities of sentient life.

“How long will it take?”

About an hour, roughly.

— Won’t take long. Welcome. O brave stranger from beyond.

Jin’s destination.

It is the homeworld of the first sentient lifeform humanity encountered.