17 Terminus's Home Planet 2

'Have the matters been settled?'

The Black Knight, now known as Edelweiss, had apparently been conversing with her kin on this planet during the course of their discussion.

Their exchange sounded like rapidly screeching electronic tones—unintelligible to Jin and the others.

The communication was made possible through Shirley’s translation device and the data they had gathered themselves.

'Edelweiss, your speech is stiff.'

'Shirley. What do you mean by stiff? Speech has no inherent strength.'

'Ah... I mean, a more casual way of speaking. A little less formal.'

'You surprise me—you can loosen your speech so easily.'

It sounded like sarcasm, yet she seemed genuinely impressed.

She nodded repeatedly while murmuring, 'Your technology is not to be underestimated.'

……I was just thinking how oddly stiff their speech patterns are.

They’re rooted in electronic code, after all. There’s no room for extra emotion or metaphor in that.

Somewhat understandable. Somewhat not.

‘Teach me how to speak more casually later, Shirley. No—wait, is this your group’s proprietary technique?’

‘Not exactly… no, I’m not sure I could teach it myself.’

‘Even someone as wise as you would struggle to instruct others in this?’

Honestly, Jin hadn’t held a favorable impression of the Black Knight.

It had nearly killed him. The humanoid ASID had cost the convoy many lives.

Yet now, here, away from the battlefield, watching Shirley exchange banter with the Edelweiss—

he felt they might just manage to get by.

He’d nearly forgotten entirely due to Shirley’s utterly aberrant appearance. But the reason Jin and the others were here was two-fold.

Rescue of the *Gai Volc* and negotiations with the humanoid ASID.

"We, the people of Terminus, wish to negotiate with you."

The group claiming to be the people of Terminus appeared to be, in a broad sense, an ASID as well.

Yet, according to them:

"Are you equating yourselves with that?"

They pointed at a dog and a human, suggesting that ASID was merely a crude categorization at the mammalian level.

They seemed even to be at odds with standard ASID.

Currently, a delegation of multiple Ravens—deployed from a Lombardia-class vessel that had landed near *Gai Volc*—was attempting negotiations with the people of Terminus.

Among them were Kou and Yuria, and Jin.

He questioned why he had been selected.

The guard might be easier to understand—but there are no humans on this envoy besides pilots. No guards at all.

"Still, glad you showed up, Instructor."

"What do you mean, Lieutenant Sasamori?"

"Actually, in Terminus’s value system, strength determines leadership."

Kou’s expression is one of genuine relief. He even adds, as if it’s an afterthought, that it’s good Jin came.

When asked for clarification, Yuria offers a wry explanation.

Strength as a criterion makes sense.

ASID’s Queen types are, by nature, the strongest.

"That’s why I’ve been sent to negotiate with them, even though I’m not the captain."

"Hm."

Indeed. Kou’s skill, as seen now, has sharpened further.

If he’s this capable, no one could reasonably dispute his status as the strongest in the assault frame unit stationed here.

"But since the Instructor arrived, I'm out of the picture!"

"Hey, wait."

Jin instinctively interjects, sensing the reason behind the sudden sense of release.

"You didn't call me just for this, did you?"

"Of course not."

Yet Kou's eyes flicker.

Jin understands. He had been pushed aside.

The others understand too. Power determines worth. Combat effectiveness selected him.

『A formidable opponent who stole my gaze. No less worthy to stand before the Queen.』

In other words, even Kou had failed to meet that standard. A strict criterion.

"Is that so… I was wondering, why haven’t you fixed those eyes?"

Both had sustained severe injuries in their first clash.

When they met again, every wound had healed—except the eyes. They remained unchanged.

It had been on his mind, but he thought he’d never be able to ask—so he let it go. Now, brought up again, it surfaced in memory.

Edelweiss answers Jin’s question as if it were nothing.

‘I intended to heal it only when the matter was settled.’

‘…I see.’

A kind of prayer, perhaps.

Jin understands that sentiment.

Yet that implies the outcome hinges on negotiation—possibly even a fight after negotiation succeeds.

‘Do not misunderstand. I have no desire to fight now.’

‘That’s good.’

That is Jin’s unfiltered, honest sentiment.

Their third battle at Melce had favored Jin.

But eight years have passed since then. He sensed Edelweiss had grown stronger still.

Honestly, he would not dare face her alone. That has always been true.

‘…Our queen’s reign shall endure long.’

With those words, the delegation and Edelweiss leading them entered what appeared to be a settlement area.

This is...

An alien civilization, first seen.

Yes, civilization.

He had assumed they, who called themselves the Terminans, lived like other ASID factions—nesting in burrow-like dens.

But what stood before them was a cityscape.

Perhaps because flight through the sky was possible.

A three-dimensional urban structure. Impossible for humans to replicate, and even if they could, life within it would be unsustainable.

Iron pillars, woven together like a net, intertwined, with structures resembling buildings arranged at their intersections.

Looking upward, the skyline tapered gradually into spires, culminating in a single, disproportionately large structure at a distant peak.

‘Under the wings of our queen, we have enjoyed prosperity. This city is its symbol.’

A city born not of humans.

Jin felt awe at the history glimpsed there.

At the same time, he thought how much the commander would have rejoiced to see this—and his mood sank.

Maintaining such a massive structure would require advanced technology.

"Amazing. I’d want to explore it all."

A small Terminus, resembling the one previously pampered by Shirley, existed nearby.

A larger Terminus stood with its forehead pressed against another’s, engaged in quiet conversation.

Observing them press something resembling ingots against their foreheads and absorb them, Jin asked Edelweiss.

"What was that just now?"

"Feeding. Strictly speaking, it’s not the same as your sustenance… but in terms of what’s necessary for bodily maintenance, it’s similar."

"Huh. So that’s what it is."

Apparently, the Terminus named Tiki, who had carried rocks to Gei Bolc, had believed Gei Bolc to be an ASID near death.

They had secretly brought minerals, hoping to ease even a minor wound.

It felt like feeding stray dogs.

And what Jin sensed was that this species, too, possessed a kind of understanding he could recognize—meaning there was, at the very least, room for negotiation.

Considering their civilization and rational nature, Jin found himself wondering why they had attacked the Third Fleet eight years prior.

He had already foreseen it, though. The moment Mio was identified as an ASID, the reason became apparent.

‘Those beasts don’t know… but the people of Terminus live roughly two hundred years.’

Edelweiss spoke, emphasizing how different they were from the ASID Jin usually fought.

Given the planet’s orbital period, their timekeeping differed entirely from the fleet’s standard—no longer aligned with the old human homeworld cycle.

Yet this number, two hundred years, had been calculated according to that very fleet’s measurement.

The queen has escaped her yoke... yet it is still approximately five hundred years. The current queen has already surpassed three hundred and fifty years of age.

When the queen weakens, succession becomes inevitable.

About nine years ago. The queen gave birth to her successor.

Jin exhaled again, as expected. The number matched what he had heard.

But eight years ago, the heir was abducted by an unworthy one. We attacked your nest in an attempt to retrieve the heir. Without the heir, our only future is death.

If the queen type vanishes, all ASIDs in the swarm cease operation.

This logic persists even on Therminas.

One point remains unclear: the successor queen appears to inherit the entire parent swarm.

Yet eight years ago, due to the heir’s strong insistence, we chose to observe you.

That was the unnatural reason for our withdrawal.

Nothing more than that.

That day, the reason Terminus attacked the convoy—and withdrew—was all because of—.

‘To the strongest. I have entrusted my child to you.’

It was for Mio.

In other words, Mio’s true family was the people of Terminus.

And the ones she will meet from now on are her true parents.

‘What could a foster parent possibly say to a biological one…’

There were things he wanted to say if they met.

But now, Jin let out a wry smile, as if to say it wouldn’t be possible to speak them anyway.