19 Betrayal 1
Chi thought it was strange.
The Second Fleet, having withdrawn from the Third Fleet's orbital zone.
Mio's main body.
The decision to complete her final adjustments first, based on the prediction that the Third Fleet's remaining vessels would not move immediately.
These two factors, along with the performative purpose of maintaining the illusion of protecting the Third Fleet.
What was unforeseen was the attack by only three surviving vessels.
Even more unexpected was the activation of a humanoid ASID.
Despite superior strength, falling behind was a regrettable outcome.
Still, the Laitera Project remained unaffected.
Enough time had been gained to complete Mio's final adjustments.
Mio herself, the reactor of the colossal entity 'Stalt,' and Harold.
As long as these three remained intact, the Laitera Project would proceed without disruption.
In fact, the Laitera—resembling a time-leap machine designed by Harold—remains intact, having crushed a single residential module of a Lombardia-class vessel.
The plan proceeds smoothly.
In about a month, Laitera will be complete, and altering the past will become possible.
Chi believes victory lies with them then.
Everything is proceeding as intended.
The day to reunite with her sister draws near.
...Why did Mio fight against Higashi Jin?
That is what troubles her.
If Jin knew of the plan, she expected him to support it wholeheartedly.
He would welcome the return of the Order. He could not possibly oppose it.
Not even to the point of fighting his own daughter.
That assumption has been overturned.
Had he been spoken to harshly?
It lingers.
Mio is essential to the plan.
Introducing uncertainty here risks collapse.
...Perhaps it’s best to verify.
The fleet is en route. It is scheduled to stop at the Second Fleet once. After that, I was told it would move to a location free of interference.
Pilots are idle unless on duty.
For now, Chi is overseeing Mio, as they are connected by circumstance.
Conversation should be easy enough.
He nodded to the guard on patrol and proceeded to Mio’s quarters.
“Hey, Mio-chan.”
“Chi-san…”
Chi thought again at her expression.
Red-rimmed eyes.
No one would mistake Mio for an ASID seeing her like this.
In truth, Chi had never doubted her—never once.
No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say he still cannot fully believe it.
Especially not when seeing her in this state.
“Is there something you need?”
He hesitates slightly at the question.
Mio is cooperating with the Laitera Project in her current state… yet
Chi does not know what she seeks.
Only Harold had heard her wish.
"No, we'll reach the Second Fleet soon. This is your first time out, isn't it? Anyplace you'd like to go?"
After hesitating, he offered that question—neither helpful nor harmful, merely a prompt.
Mio wore an expression of mild confusion.
"I suppose it's my first time... but can I really go outside like this?"
Her glance flickered toward the sentry beyond the door.
Escape. Capture. Assault.
Personnel stationed there to eliminate those possibilities.
Yet, how could she even consider going out so casually, given such alertness?
"Freedom of movement will be limited, of course. But I suppose I can arrange for an escort—outings are possible."
Chi thought he might manage to squeeze that much through, at least.
In a month, it would all be forgotten anyway.
Still, during the time leading up to it, it was important to make sure Mio cooperated willingly with the plan—this was the line of reasoning he intended to use.
"I’d like to go somewhere… maybe visit Chi’s family home."
"My family home? That’s… well…"
Going there would be easy enough.
The issue lay beyond that. Meeting Chi’s mother—the same woman who was also Rei’s mother.
Mio couldn’t possibly just want to see the inside of the house.
How would one explain such a meeting to someone else? Especially to a mother.
"...Say she’s an illegitimate child? No… that won’t work. Absolutely not."
Setting aside the practical obstacles to such a plan.
"Why my family home?"
That was it.
Mio resembled Rei closely, but there was no blood relation.
Jin had said as much, and the official test results had confirmed it.
They were unrelated.
"...I want to apologize… to you too, Chi."
"To me?"
Apologizing—expressing gratitude for cooperation with this plan—was something he could do, but the reverse had never crossed his mind.
"What... are you—"
"I told Jin the same thing—"
◆ ◆ ◆
"What kind of thing..."
After hearing Mio's words, he managed to keep his composure and left the scene.
Back in his quarters, Chi groaned aloud.
"What kind of thing..."
Possibly her sister's reincarnation.
What strange biology did ASID possess?
And to Chi, there was no material with which to deny Mio's words.
There is no problem. He told himself.
The future he had envisioned—merely a modification of the present—had collapsed.
Only Mio remained missing from it.
A child with no prior connection to his sister. No basis for comparison.
Above all, Chi prioritized his sister. He wished to fulfill her wish. To see Rei again. That was the sole reason he had come this far.
He had done things in the shadows too.
He knew the previous capture operation would cause civilian casualties.
There are other instances as well.
All of them for the sake of seeing his sister again.
And he believed, once the Laitera Project succeeded, those sacrifices would have been unnecessary.
"So, Jin fought against Mio."
It made sense.
If there was anything Jin prioritized over orders, it would surely be Mio herself.
"If my sister returns, Mio will disappear."
If Mio’s words are true, that is how it must be.
Mio would not exist if the order had not been canceled.
Mio called it atonement.
She said she must restore the place meant for the person who should have been there.
That was no inconvenience to Chi.
It was not an inconvenience.
"Why am I trembling so much...?"
He did not know.
No— even that is a lie.
Eliminating a familiar person—someone he cared for, in some measure—was necessary.
He became aware of hesitation growing within himself upon hearing that.
"Why...?"
The realization struck Chi like a shock.
Yet once born, such a thought did not vanish easily.
He shifted his focus slightly and headed toward the storage bay.
The row of griffons stood in formation.
Seeing them, Chi recalled the day he first boarded this machine.
The day he was assigned to Harold’s cybernetic squad.
Yes. That day, he had abandoned his mortal body to reclaim his sister.
He had sworn to do whatever it took to save her.
No alternative had been chosen.
The oath contained no falsehood.
"Second Lieutenant Kusano. Perfect timing."
"What is it?"
As he stared at his beloved machine, a familiar technician called out to him.
"Additional options have been installed. Please adjust the unit."
"Additional options…?"
"Yes. An overlight unit designed for the Gryphon. Now the assault frame can perform long-range overlight independently."
The technician grinned with pride. Chi returned a forced smile.
It had been scheduled for installation quite some time ago, as far as Chi remembered.
Chi had doubted there would ever be a need to perform overlight with the assault frame alone.
Technically impressive, no doubt—but to Chi, the actual user, it was dead weight.
He adjusted the unit as instructed, making minute corrections.
Apparently, Chi had been the first to arrive at the wobbly storage bay.
Perhaps the plan was to start with whoever had been caught, since the whole fleet would need to be handled anyway.
Too many other matters to consider, yet the timing was unfortunate. A faint regret stirred.
"…Ah."
At that moment, one thought surfaced in Chi's mind.
It is something that would break the Laitera Project.
Something that negates everything about oneself.
"...What nonsense..."
To simply take Mio and flee.
There is no way such a path could be chosen.
To choose that would be to erase everything that came before.
Such a choice is impossible.
To abandon the path meant to save the order is unthinkable.
Yet to abandon Mio is equally unbearable.
Chi agonizes over what to do.
"Perhaps I should speak with her once more."
After all, Mio’s words might have been based on a misunderstanding.
It is a matter from before birth. How could she be so certain?
It is not too late to verify that first.
—The fact that Chi is already hesitating, already contemplating this, is unmistakable.