05 Edelweiss 1

The day after Chi had drifted ashore.

Information previously obtained by Jin during his meeting with the Seventh had already been relayed through the captain of the Gay Bolck to the administrative body of the Third Fleet.

All that remained was waiting for their deliberations.

Meanwhile, preparations for towing the Gay Bolck proceeded in parallel.

As a Lombardia-class battleship, it was capable of flight within the atmosphere and possessed independent egress capability.

Still, due to payload constraints, multiple vessels would be required to hoist the Gay Bolck back into space.

Repairs had only reached the bare minimum necessary for spaceflight; the remainder could only be addressed through drydock facilities.

If engaging the Second Fleet afterward, a Longinus-class mobile battleship would be essential to counter the enemy’s Trishula.

Jin watched without moving as multiple tether lines were lowered and connected at various points along the hull.

A small figure—perhaps a child of the Terminus people—leapt and bounced, trying to grasp the remaining unconnected lines.

Viewed in isolation, the scene resembled children playing.

Suddenly, the sight brought Mio to mind—her younger self.

"...Can't fight like we used to, can we."

"Who's that?"

A reply to his muttered words. Jin stiffened his shoulders.

Turning, he found someone whose presence was impossible to miss.

"Edelweiss."

"Who can't fight like we used to?"

They had once been enemies, each other's killers.

No reason to reengage immediately, certainly. But Jin had no desire to seek her out, either.

Yet she seemed intent on speaking with him.

She settles into the seat with a gesture oddly human.

“Nothing important. Just realized that since we’ve become beings capable of conversation like this, we can’t fight without hesitation like before.”

‘You’re saying something strange.’

“What’s wrong with that?”

The language of the Terminus people, still rudimentary in vocabulary, tends toward directness.

Only one exception: Seven, who had observed Mio’s memories. The contrast reveals how greedily Mio had absorbed knowledge.

Ah. Why couldn’t I have told her that back then?

No matter how sharp her memory, how superior her calculation.

She was the one who sought to learn.

Talent without that will to learn is worthless, no matter how great.

It was precisely that attitude that held value.

Jin, unaware of the regret he carried, continued.

‘You fought comrades who spoke the same language. It is the same. That is why it seemed unnatural.’

‘That… is.’

It was true.

There was no longer any aversion to fighting the Second Fleet.

No matter who stood in the way before, he intended to scatter them.

But what of the Terminus people?

A clear sense of difficulty in combat emerged.

As Edelweiss said, it was indeed an odd matter.

‘…Even we find it difficult when confronting Hagle.’

‘Is that so?’

That was somewhat unexpected for Jin.

He had assumed it would be like hunting wild beasts.

‘From what we’ve heard, they should have been prepared for the same dread. Yet to be in conflict with them—difficult to bear.’

‘The end that Seventh spoke of? The one that is coming. Does such a thing even exist?’

‘Present. At least a century and a half ago, the Emperor sensed existence from a distant place.’

‘Surprisingly recent, then.’

Of course, when considering cosmic scales.

For humans, it would be several generations past.

‘Thus, we must prepare. Hagre surely prepares for the End as well.’

‘I see…’

‘Is it the same?’

Jin hesitated, unable to answer the abrupt question.

Recalling the conversation, he understood it had returned to the earlier inquiry: why he hesitated not at fighting his kin.

He understood. He accepted.

‘Ah… perhaps.’

Jin’s current priority is Mio’s return.

On that matter, the Second Fleet is undeniably an enemy. The Terminans may be allies. Indeed, mentally, Jin already considers them allies.

That is why the moment the Fleet’s governing body issues a decision contrary to this… is what he fears.

If the Third Fleet issues an order to eliminate the Terminus people and seize this planet—such a reckless, brutal command—then that is what he fears. Not a possibility, but a future that might never come to pass.

"I know you saved Mio. In that sense... yes, perhaps more trustworthy than any human."

That is the point. Jin cannot fully trust the Third Fleet.

If retrieving Mio becomes impossible.

If no other way remains to halt the Laitera Project.

The doubt, the anxiety—whether they would choose to eliminate Mio.

If that happens, then nothing would remain meaningful.

But the Terminus people would never do such a thing.

Therefore, in that sense, they are trustworthy.

‘...What we did that day was because she pleaded with all her strength for us to stop.’

Eight years ago.

When Edelweiss secured Mio, and fought Jin in a final duel.

The reason she did not deliver the killing blow, nor did she abduct Mio as expected.

『I knew immediately where she was. We are all connected through the Emperor.』

Jin listens, attentive to the ecology of the Terminus people—something that would delight Sharon.

『When we tried to reclaim her, we encountered a group we had never seen before at that location. They were unlike us—yet constructed similarly—standing silently to confront us.』

‘Our defense force… how do you see the Assault Frames, then?’

『Nowadays, yes. Quite well-crafted mannequins.』

Pausing briefly, as if searching for the right words, then settling on one that feels right.

With a tone of mild satisfaction, Edelweiss offers her assessment.

A mannequin, perhaps. Or something resembling a human model.

At the very least, she does not regard them as kin.

We considered it a lever, and repeated our reconnaissance. Fortunately, she did not complain of hardship. As when she was with us, her eyes shone with interest in the new.

"...Is that so."

Jin's lips twitch at the third-person description of the girl's state at that time.

A few days prior, she had been deeply sorrowful. She wept, saying she was alone. Thus, we could wait no longer and launched our assault.

"We fought that day."

Mio had forgotten who she was.

Yet now, looking back, Mio likely—

"Knew you were kin, without realizing it. That's why she awaited your arrival. And I took it out on you, in anger."

"What is 'taking it out on someone'?"

"Ah... it's when you direct frustration from one event onto someone not involved."

"I see. Noted."

Jin realized too late—their memory was too good; say something odd, and they’d remember it forever—but then reconsidered. It didn’t matter, really.

Nothing was said that would cause discomfort if asked about.

Probably that's the cause.

I see. But even so, she wished to remain there. To ask not to be bullied by father.

Don’t bully me, Jin said with a wry smile. True, he had been a mess back then.

There is no father figure among us. Yet, I judged that one who could match me in combat would be sufficient to protect that person, and so entrusted that person to them.

...That’s how it is.

At last, the greatest mystery surrounding the event known as the massive assault by the humanoid ASID that day was resolved.

Why did you withdraw suddenly.

It's simple.

Because Mio refused.

That is all.

I couldn't quite believe it. Mio really is the next queen, isn't she.

"We have not yet inherited any authority from Her Majesty, so we hold no direct power. Yet we all revere her, protect her, and cherish her."

"Given how many of you came rushing in at such a critical moment... I understand."

The people of Thelminas are not numerous.

At most, there are fewer than one hundred thousand, judging by what we can see.

The force that attacked the Third Fleet on that day numbered around ten thousand.

If one considers that a tenth of the clan had marched out, one can grasp the extent of their devotion.

"I was born..."

Edelweiss paused, as if searching for words.

"To protect her."

"Huh?"

"To precede her by ten years. To guide her, to guard her, to sustain her reign—this is why I was born."

The words carried a faint, sighing quality.

The tone remained unchanged, the synthetic voice unaltered—but for some reason, Jin felt it.

‘But shortly after your birth, we lost sight of you—taken away to some unknown place.’

The words matched Mio’s vague impression perfectly.

‘Therefore, to you who protected, guided, guarded, and cherished you in that unknown place… yes.’

She fell silent again, searching for the right words.

‘I am grateful to you.’

Jin could not hold back any longer—he laughed.

It was absurd. He must be the first human ever to receive gratitude from another sentient species.

At the same time, he thought:

Even if the upper echelons of the Third Fleet made a foolish choice, he would still search for another path—until the very edge.

He had come to like them so much, the people of Thalminas, that he could not even consider abandoning them.

In truth, the entire clan was something like a fan club for Mio. It was impossible to treat her with indifference.

Jin sought agreement, as if speaking to no one in particular.