3

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Seemed like a nice atmosphere, didn't it?"

"Ah, well, yeah. It's nice when someone fancies you."

"Such a bother."

Still saying that, Ritz runs a hand through my hair—rough, familiar. Ritz, a knight too, must still have feelings for women, even if she hides them.

"So, where do I go now?"

"Ah, that. Eld wants you to pilot that machine."

There, ahead of us, sits Armunale—missing one arm. My machine, patched up after emergency repairs. Or… not mine anymore. Feels a little lonely, that.

But why me? Why that machine?

"Can I really operate it?"

I’m not an official pilot. Not even a member of the Armunale unit. It’s a problem, isn’t it—me, someone like me, taking Armunale off somewhere?

You’d think it’d be different from just fiddling with some backwater farm machine, wouldn’t you?

“Yeah, well, that’s how it should be. But right now, the only one in our squad who can actually handle the Armunale proper is the squad leader.”

“Wait—aren’t you all supposed to have learned the basics?”

At the academy, every single one of us was supposed to study basic Armunale piloting, no matter the specialty. That’s what the textbooks said.

“Yeah, well, that’s how it should be. But we’re terrible at piloting. Can’t even get it to move right. So everyone picked something else—mechanics, scouts, that sort of thing. So we’re not even good at making it walk properly.”

“Huh… so that’s how it is.”

“That’s why you’re riding it. Squad leader’s orders.”

“Understood. If I can fly the Armunale, I’m not gonna complain.”

Thought I wouldn’t be riding it again for a while. Guess I’ll savor this last time.

I leap onto the cockpit of the Armunale with a burst from my aeroslasher, slide in, and power up in a flash.

Ah, still feels different with a proper mechanic’s touch. Just starting it up—whole thing hums under my palms like it’s alive.

No trouble at all, even when I shove it hard.

“Starting up.”

I call out to Ritz and the others nearby, then kick the Armunale to life.

The captain, having confirmed it, speaks.

“Eld, stay right behind me.”

“Understood.”

He steps forward, and I follow close behind. Behind me, the carriage rolls on—Ritz at the reins. Inside, the captured thieves, the second lieutenant, and Karine sit tight.

Benoit, the scout, rides ahead on horseback, checking the surroundings. That’s about the standard routine for Armunale.

If it were just Armunale moving on its own, we could reach the nearest town in a day. But with the carriage along, we’ve got to match its pace—so it takes about three days.

In that time, me and the captain are stuck riding Armunale the whole way. Surprisingly, it’s more tiring than it looks.

This thing doesn’t have any fancy auto-pilot, unfortunately. Sure, the controls are simplified—just one button, one lever—but making it walk? That means keeping your foot on the pedal nonstop.

And even then, you’ve got to keep a steady speed. Otherwise, it’s dangerous. So your legs stay tense the whole time.

But I’m not some soft city boy. I’ve been running through the woods since I was eight. I know how to handle this kind of thing.

Night three. I’d handed the thieves over to the town guard, exhaled into the quiet of the inn, and then got praised for it—caught off guard, a little.

“Was it really that impressive?”

“New recruits don’t usually last three days. Even with training, it’s not the same as muscles built up over years. Most just tense up from nerves, waste energy.”

“Muscle soreness from marching—almost like a rite of passage for rookies.”

“So that’s why we can trust you. We’re confident in you.”

“So you put me in Armunale just to check if I’d last? But that machine—feels a lot easier to handle than when I used it before?”

关节嘎吱作响，神经像破布一样，上次用的时候可没这么顺溜——可现在踏板滑得跟油似的，平衡感也拿捏得刚刚好。根本感觉不到自己少了一只手臂。

I pointed that out, and Caline sniffed.

“Naturally. I updated the mobility calculation device—sense board—with the latest data. It’s not even the same thing as the old info.”

“Ah, so the mobility calculation device affects it too.”

So after decades, the machine’s programming gets simplified, easier to handle. Still, just changing the OS makes such a difference.

“Still, Eld, what you’re doing is impressive enough. Be proud of yourself.”

“Thank you.”

“Now then, we’re moving first thing tomorrow morning. Rest up well, everyone. That’s all. Dismissed.”

Under the captain’s command, we all headed back to the rooms assigned to us.

We resumed moving first thing the next morning, and five more days passed. After passing through a few villages and towns, we finally reached our destination—Fortran.

A fortress city, ringed by massive walls that looked at least twice the height of Armunale.

No surprise there. This place housed the main strongholds of the Fatal Kingdom related to Armunale.

Here you had the Armunale maintenance factory, the production plant for concentrated magical fluid (Hyimagia Liquid), various component workshops, and the training academy (Academy) for those aiming to become knights—all critical facilities. If this town were to fall, the Fatal Kingdom itself might face collapse. In a way, it was like a second capital.

When the town came into view, the captain gave orders to Bouvier, who’d just finished his scouting duty and was riding at the same pace as the carriage.

“Bouvier.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Go ahead and ask the maintenance crew to get ready for the Armunale. We’ve got one more unit than planned. They’ll be flustered if we just show up unannounced.”

“Understood.”

Bouvier kicked his horse into a gallop. In no time, he was a speck the size of a grain of rice, vanishing into the town.

“Should I just keep flying in like this? I’m technically a stranger, after all.”

Entering the town meant a quick check. Nothing fancy—just a glance at your face to see if you’re on the wanted list, then a quick peek inside your pack. That’s all.

Soldiers and merchants get travel permits stamped by the crown ahead of time—no need for this kind of check. But me? I’m still just a civilian. Technically, I should be getting searched every time I step into town.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Bnois already told them. We’re vouching for you.”

“Understood.”

As we draw closer, the wall’s size hits you hard.

Twenty-five meters high—over three times the height of Armunale—and it curves like a bow, bent back. The sheer scale is staggering. Makes you wonder how they even managed to build something like that.

The captain stops the machine right in front of the gate, and I do the same. Then someone runs up to the foot of the captain’s unit.

“Good work. We’ve heard the situation from Bnois. Two spots are open in the third storage bay—please park there.”

“Got it.”

Armunale’s coming in—sound the alert!

The soldier at my feet shouted, turning back toward the gate. Then, from somewhere in the town, the chime of bells rang out—lingoong, lingoong, lingoong.

“What’s that sound?”

“That’s the signal. When the Armunale moves through town, we ring this. Warns the folk. These things are big—step wrong, and you’re flat as a pancake.”

“Ah. I see.”

In the old world, or in the shows, those hangars were always off in some separate place. But here, the whole town’s a base. Can’t split it up.

“Once we’re in, keep your eyes open. People’ll dodge, sure—but kids? They’ll pop out like jack-in-the-boxes. Zero chance they won’t.”

“Understood.”

I wiped the sweat off my palms on my sleeve, then gripped the lever again.

We eased our way into the town slowly.

“Ooooh!”

Crossing through the gate, catching sight of the town’s layout—my breath just kind of slipped out.

The place, hidden behind its outer walls, had grown quite a bit. Not like the kind of city from my old life, though—no, this was a tidy little town with stone buildings lined up neat as soldiers.

Four- and five-story buildings weren’t rare at all—here, they’d vanish completely under Armunale’s shadow.

“Pretty impressive, huh? Even in the kingdom, only the capital or this place is this developed.”

“Why’re you puffing out your chest like that?”

“’Cause I’m from around here. Know all the good spots.”

Wonder what kind of good spots, exactly…

“Huh. What kind of spots?”

Karine looked just as skeptical, cheeks flushed, glaring at Ritz like she’d caught her in a lie. Kinda innocent, actually.

“We’ll talk about that later,”

I mumbled something vague and followed the队长, stepping forward.

A little farther on, the path turned, and we emerged onto a wide thoroughfare. Looks like a main road running north to south through town. The gates split east and west—those roads are broad enough for Armunale stalls lined up side by side, but this one’s easily twice that width.

On either side of the road, stalls and little shops huddled in tight clusters, like they were squished between the buildings. And from the shadows between them, children’s eyes sparkled as they stared at the Armunale.

“This road’s usually a marketplace,” the队长 said. “Food stalls gather here, and some places even turn into open-air plazas at night. If you can’t decide what to eat, just come here. That’s the vibe.”

“Ah, I see.”

You don’t just use a road this wide for walking. Those stalls at the edge? They’re meant to be lined up right down the middle—forming a proper, bustling market street, full of noise and smells.

So I’m supposed to scoot to the edge and wait till the Armunale passes through, huh?

“Should be seeing your school soon.”

“Where?”

“Left side. Should come into view past the next passage.”

I nudge the machine forward, heart thumping, eyes scanning left. And then—right after crossing the passage—a massive building looms into view.

A bit distant, maybe, but unmistakable: that wide dome roof.

The building’s clearly a dormitory, curving gently outward, hugging the outer wall.

“That’s the National Fortran Training Academy. The space between the dorms and the outer wall’s the grounds.”

So the whole field’s covered by that giant dome roof, is it?

“Fully weatherproof, then.”

"Yeah, soldiers gotta build their bodies up first. Can't be thinking about skipping drills just 'cause it's raining. That kind of thinking don’t fly. Though, we do still train outside in the rain sometimes, I’ll admit."

"Even if that’s not the point—thinking like that’d get you weeded out in the selection process, no question."

"Damn right."

"Leave the town tour for later. We’re nearing the third storage bay."

"Sorry."

"Got it."

Back to piloting, focused again under the captain’s watch.

As we drew closer to the southern edge of town, the scenery shifted—subtly, but unmistakably.

Up till now, it’d been just regular homes and streets. But here, it looked more like an industrial zone. Same height—three, four, five stories—but fewer windows, and some buildings had whole ground floors made of solid doors instead of glass.

A little further on, we spotted a soldier waving a flag right in the middle of the road. Next to him stood a massive warehouse-like building, open all the way up to the fifth floor.

“Been waiting for you. I’ll guide you—just follow my instructions.”

“Please.”

“Thank you.”

We followed the flag into the warehouse.

Inside, it looked like a dedicated maintenance hangar for Armunale. A corridor ran along the inner walls, and people were scurrying back and forth in a hurry.

The outer walls were stone, but the inside was solidly reinforced with iron. Every corridor was made of iron. For some reason, it felt like I’d slipped back into the old world—like a plane hangar, only not quite.

“Captain Bodwan, head to Hangar Two. The one-armed one, please go to Hangar Three.”

“Eld, you know the layout, right? Take your time. If turning around inside the hangar’s tough, just back in. No problem.”

Still talking, the captain slid into the hangar marked with a two, turning around with practiced ease. The passage that had jutted out from the wall like a diving platform instantly reshaped into a专用 ramp leading straight to the cockpit’s entry point.

Ah, so that’s how they usually board and disembark. No need to climb the whole thing with magic every time—nice.

“Fine.”

I moved the same way to Hangar Three, turned around inside, and adjusted my stance with a little shuffle, since I’d shifted a bit off the platform. Then, just as I was supposed to, I dropped the generator.

“Phew.”

Guess no matter how you slice it, parking’s always a pain. I let out a small sigh, relaxing a little.

The hatch opened. Outside, the captain was already waiting.

"Good one. First-timers usually bump into something or scrape a bit."

"Then don’t let them, please. The techs were probably sweating bullets."

"Isn’t that the fun part? Come on, follow me."

He chuckled, walking down the corridor. I followed close behind, and the techs immediately started inspecting our machine from every angle.

Well, it’s an old one—plenty to check, probably. Might even have some historical value.

"Um, where are we going now?"

"Got to explain the situation to the higher-ups—include you, too. Head to the Armunale squadron’s commander."

True enough. We were sent out after spotting a hostile Armunale, and now we’re bringing back a rogue Armunale and one kid we picked up along the way.

When I followed the captain and stepped out to the hangar, Monsieur Blois was waiting right in front. We got into the jeep—

“Automobile?”

“Close, but it’s a magi-vehicle. Eld, you hop in the back.”

He opened the passenger door like he’d done it a hundred times, then climbed in.

Magi-vehicle, huh. So it runs on concentrated mana fluid—Hyimagia Liquid, then? If that’s the case, it should be one fancy, high-end piece of gear.

“Probably just what you’re worrying about right now is unnecessary. I’ll explain while we’re moving. For now, please get in.”

“Ah, yes.”

I sat down in the back seat, just as Blois said. The three-seater back seat felt quite spacious with only one person in it.

By the way, Lieutenant, Ritz, and Karine are checking over the captain’s Armunale with the mechanics. Makes sense—they’re mechanics by trade, after all.

“Benoit, hand it over.”

“Should we do it at the command post?”

“Yeah.”

With Benoit at the wheel, the mana carriage slid smoothly into motion.