27 The Time of Choice 3

"Who are you talking about returning to a guardian? Without me, the Laitera Project—"

"Ah, well, I know it's kind of a mess after asking like that, but... sorry, no."

"What?"

Mio's expression becomes unreadable.

Whether Jin would be pleased or saddened, he would not know.

Certainly not the kind of face a teenage girl should wear. Anyone seeing it would surely lose interest in her.

"Things have changed. I'm sorry, but I can't grant Mio-chan's wish."

"Wait."

She raises her palm, pressing her fingers to her forehead.

The gesture is precisely that of someone enduring a headache from hearing something foolish.

Who could look at her now and doubt her humanity?

"Chi-obaasan... Chi wants to erase the past—about how your sister died, and about Rei-san's death."

"Yeah. But that's fine now. You can just call me Chi-obaasan."

"Why would it be like that?"

Mio tilts her head, a question mark hovering in the air.

Yes, that’s probably how it is, Chi thinks.

Even Chi herself doubts she’d have believed her past self—if that self had claimed, “Your sister decided to give up.”

After all, everything flipped the moment she read the diary.

"Listen, Mio. You might think you took away your sister’s place—but you didn’t."

"It’s not wrong. Perhaps the order was reversed. But it’s better that I’m here than Ryou. Jin would be happier with Ryou."

With someone like me—something that isn’t even human. Chi reads the meaning hidden beneath the words with perfect clarity.

None of this was Mio’s intention.

And yet, if Mio could change it herself, she would choose the path that brings happiness to the one she loves most.

Don’t interfere. Chi’s decision to give up is her own. But don’t interfere with me.

No, I’ll allow it.

Why? My wish and Chi’s are the same. Why suddenly say that?

A natural question.

Must be conveyed. Her sister’s decision. Its meaning.

Pulling out the tablet containing her sister’s diary. Attempting to show it.

“Mio-chan. You are—”

The rest could not form words.

A faint wind sound. A burst-like noise.

Hot blood dripping before Mio’s eyes.

“Huh?”

“Guh…”

Bleeding from the shoulder. Unable to endure the shock, Chi’s mouth tightened shut.

Dropping the tablet. Something strikes like a follow-up attack. The tablet shatters completely.

Chi thinks— I’ve failed.

It should have been hidden, like when a failure occurs. But it’s too late now.

"Regrettable, Lieutenant Kusunoki. I had thought it merely a momentary lapse."

"Corporal, sir"

Chi glares over his shoulder at his superior, holding a familiar-looking rifle wreathed in residual light.

You're quite early. And that gun— you've got quite the fine piece there.

There was still time before Chi's escape would be revealed. Or perhaps Chi herself was placing greater importance on the possibility of betrayal than she realized.

And that gun. Seeing a lethal anti-personnel weapon aboard a refugee convoy where such combat was prohibited—this was the first time. The Taser I seized now feels utterly unreliable.

I came by to speak with you briefly, but there was no guard posted, so... truly disappointing.

Chi smiled wryly at the answer.

In short, you came to see if I’d cooled my head. Treachery—Grace never considered that possibility.

Yet even now, the reason Chi’s downfall was inevitable was that she had come to visit loyal subordinates.

“You understand, Kusano Chi. Your actions are dismantling the Laitera Project from its foundation. Without her, the project collapses—especially at this stage.”

“Precisely my intention, Lieutenant. Yes. This entire plan is fundamentally flawed.”

Even as he spoke with provocation, Chi’s gaze remained fixed on Grace’s hand.

Assuming, the mechanism is the same as the Ether Rifle—projectiles of ether, fired through a chamber.

But it cannot escape its nature as a firearm: the trigger must be pulled, the bullet discharged. A cyborg’s dynamic vision could track the moment of trigger pull.

The problem remains: the opponent is also a cyborg.

The trajectory cannot be predicted even if the firing moment is missed.

At this range, it is impossible to assume one’s own burst speed surpasses the opponent’s aiming capability.

Must narrow down where the shot will come from. Cannot afford to leave it open.

“Hm?”

“Sending information favorable to oneself in the past to alter events. Naturally, some people prefer things as they were before the change. Using this technology within human society is undeniably dangerous.”

“You knew that well enough to join.”

“Indeed. I had a wish I needed to fulfill, even if it meant trampling others.”

And that wish has already been lost. More precisely, it is understood now that fulfilling it would mean nothing.

Even if achieved, it would inevitably revert. By no one other than my sister’s hand. That certainty remained.

Rei will make this choice, again and again.

“Mio-chan. You—”

No warning.

A single shot aimed directly at Chi’s forehead—no hesitation.

Grace understood it too.

The information Chi was about to speak was one that invalidated all her previous wishes.

If Mio heard it, the possibility of withdrawing cooperation with the Laitera Project could not be ruled out.

Therefore, she would not speak.

Even a subordinate she had served with for ten years would be killed.

Once the Laitera Project succeeded, that death could be erased entirely.

Chi knew this as well.

She expected a single shot, aimed to eliminate any unnecessary speech.

Targeting the head or torso. But the torso was covered by a jacket taken from a guard.

Originally designed to reduce voltage for Taser rifles, it was thick enough to provide significant defense.

Still, if penetrated, Mio would be behind it.

That risk would be avoided at all costs.

So the head. Once that was understood, it could be avoided.

The smell of burnt hair fills the air.

Withdrawing the stolen Taser rifle.

Realizing she had avoided the shot, Grace attempts to aim the weapon at Chi once more.

"Stop!"

Seeing her close friend about to be killed before her eyes, Mio reacts instantly.

Grace hesitates for a moment at Mio's voice.

Did she consider killing Chi now, to see if Mio would still refuse cooperation?

Or did the brief interruption by a third party stir the faint hesitation she had harbored within herself?

The reason remains unclear, but the motion stutters for an instant.

Chi seizes the opening.

Firing the Taser. The terminal latches onto the Ether pistol.

High voltage shatters the pistol and disables Grace’s right hand.

"Ugh!"

Chi is injured as well, but the pain can be masked for several minutes by suppressing sensation.

Grace had demonstrated superior ability across multiple domains—but not by a margin that rendered Chi's defense negligible.

Attacking aggressively from the numb, useless right side.

"Over here!"

The sound of many footsteps. Reinforcements. Both Chi and Grace were distracted by it at the same moment.

Yet the difference lay in the accumulation of prior actions. The slightest moment of distraction.

Chi’s repeated attempts to break Grace’s defense—now finally faltered.

At the precise moment Grace’s reaction capacity reached saturation, the second Taser shot.

This time, the prong pierced her thigh. The current forced Grace to kneel.

"Kusano…!"

No time for a final remark—her jaw is struck, consciousness severed.

Still, she will recover soon enough. Cyborgs are resilient.

"Come here..."

A fragment of vision shows Mio being led away.

More infantry approaching from beyond the corridor.

Among them, cybernetic soldiers specialized in ground combat. The Cybernetic Infantry. A backwater unit, but formidable when needed.

No chance of victory.

"Mio-chan!"

Whether the voice reached her is uncertain.

Attempting to breach that person's barrier? Impossible. Even if that were possible, the Cybernetic Infantry would never be broken through.

Time's up.

Regretting not having a smoother way to move her, but it's too late.

There is only one option left.

To leave Mio behind is unbearable, but Jin must reach the Third Fleet.

The contents of her sister's diary must be delivered to Shōgō Jin.

With a wrenching pull at the back of his mind, Chi begins to run.

Sirens echo through the ship.

The hangar will seal if we don’t hurry.

It’s the only exit for Chi.

Yet alarms outside ASID combat scenarios are rare—almost nonexistent outside training.

The response is clearly sluggish.

That lack of readiness works in Chi’s favor.

He barely slips into the hangar moments before lockdown. The maintenance crew hesitates, flipping through manuals, unsure how to react—understandable, given the situation.

Pain suppression reaches its limit. Chi’s shoulder burns as if pressed against a hot iron.

“Lieutenant Kusaki? What’s the alarm about… wait—your shoulder! You’re injured!”

The familiar technician rushes over, concern etched in her face.

Chi thinks, *He’s really a good guy.* And still, he presses the taser against her nose.

*Really,* he thinks, *I’m the worst kind of person.*

"This is it. Corporal. If you don't want the unit rolling across the floor, stay still."

The mechanic, pitiful and without resistance, nodded silently and raised both hands in response to Chi’s blunt threat.