3

Every spell let loose would cut down a human life with deadly force. But Armunale? Just a scratch.

Their flames and earth spears leave marks on the armor—nothing more, nothing less.

And the captain’s machine steps forward.

I stepped forward in the instant the enemy's magic faltered—closed the distance in a single breath.

But the other side wasn’t just letting Armunale’s pilot handle things. Facing the队长 closing the distance, she raised her sword in readiness.

Two swords clashing sent a thunderclap straight through my eardrums.

“Ugh…”

My body trembles from the aftermath of battle—heat brushing my cheeks.

Watching the captain fight, I remembered how it felt the first time I’d battled with Armunale.

The thrill of actually flying the machine—mixed with the cold dread of facing real killing intent. Something I’d never felt at the Academy.

"Captain’s pushing hard. If we keep this up—"

The fight’s going Captain’s way. The sudden wipeout of the infantry unit, the chaos it caused—clearly rattling the other pilot.

And Captain’s fighting steady.

Sticking to Academy teachings, defense-first, but never missing a chance to strike back. A counter-style that keeps him safe while slowly chipping away at the enemy.

Exactly the kind of grind that’d drive any foe mad.

Not that the other side has much room to run, right now.

No way out for the enemy but to take down the commander. That’s what’ll make them panic—turn the battlefield in our favor, one step at a time.

The commander’s machine parries the enemy’s blade, then fires magic point-blank at the head.

The fireball engulfs the head—tiny explosion, shatters the enemy’s cockpit.

“Yesss!”

Can’t help it—out comes the shout. Just one camera destroyed, sure. But the fact it’s *broken*? That’s pressure. That’s panic. That’s a crack in their armor.

Then—enemy moves big.

Staggers back, slams magic into the ground. A wall of dust erupts, blinds the view for a heartbeat.

I shield my mouth with my arm, keep my eyes open, and follow the two machines into the trees.

The enemy craft diving straight down—were they running for it? But escaping in a one-on-one? Impossible.

You can’t outrun Armunale by just sidestepping. But turn your back? Then you’ll feel the full force of a high-powered spell slam straight into your spine.

Then there’s another reason why you’re hanging back?

Something waiting down there? But this is a buffer zone. Technically part of the kingdom, yet no fortresses should be built here—none at all.

Then reinforcements? Foot soldiers wouldn’t matter. So if anyone’s coming—it’d have to be…

"Second one, huh!"

Then my job as scout—get that machine spotted fast and let the captain know.

I kick the Active Wings and Aeroslaster to life, tearing through the woods in a burst of speed.

The enemy’s direction hasn’t changed—still straight north. That means they’re almost certainly coming in from the α block. No doubt Bouvier’s already figured that out and moved.

If only I could catch up with him somewhere along the way…

Still thinking that, I push through the woods and step onto the 15-B trail.

“Found it!”

The clearing opens up, and I spot a green machine sprinting straight at me from the north.

Can’t see the ground—too many trees—but judging by the speed, they’ve left the infantry behind. Probably tracking down magical residue from the fight and coming this way.

“How to signal…”

The real problem is how to tell the captain about this.

Getting close to an Armunale during combat? That’s suicide. And to save fuel, they’ve likely shut off the sound-scanning magic.

So I’ll have to find something visible—something flashy—right here.

I glanced around, searching for anything when a voice called from nearby.

“Eld-kun.”

“Benois-san?”

A face peered out from the bushes—sure enough, it was Benois-san.

“What’re you doing here, Eld-kun?”

“I thought reinforcements might be coming, based on the enemy’s movements.”

“Huh. Good call.”

“But how the heck do I get that to the captain?”

“Then I’ve got a signal flare. If I fire it, a red light’ll flare up—should be visible. Problem is, the enemy’s smoke screen makes timing tricky.”

“Ah, I see.”

With the enemy still throwing up smoke as they retreated, even a flare shot from here might get lost in the dust.

The smoke wasn’t just for cover… it was planned for this too? Then again…

“I’ll blow that smoke away—just for a moment. You fire the flare while it’s cleared.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Thanks.”

Got it. I’m going full force, so I’ll step back a bit.

If I cast the spell too close, the flare might get caught in the magic’s wake. Keeping that in mind, I move to the opposite side of the road and start preparing.

“To blow that smoke away all at once…”

A big, strong spell’s the only way to scatter it for good. Otherwise, the enemy’ll just kick up more dust with their magic. So, there’s only one spell that’ll do.

“Alright, here we go.”

I give a quick signal to Bnois on the other side, then begin the incantation.

“Air Blast, Sextuple Installation”

As the chant finishes, I raise my hand—six massive distortions ripple through the space around me.

“OPEN!!”

I slash my hand down, unleashing the release word for the waiting spell. A gale blasts out from the six distortions, whipping up leaves and hurling itself at the队长’s Armunale, sending up a violent storm of dirt around it.

At the same moment, a sharp *pfft* echoes from where Bougnat is, and a red flare shoots into the sky.

“Eld, move—now! Attack’s coming!”

“Huh? Y-yes!”

I was just about to check if the commander’s machine had noticed when I reacted to Bougnat’s shout, leaping back from where I stood.

Right after, massive spikes of earth rained down where I’d been.

Trees get flattened. Broken branches slam into my body.

“Gh—”

I rolled across the ground, gritting my teeth against the pain, the shockwaves from the falling spears knocking me this way and that, and all I could think was—what in the blazes was I doing, regretting it already?

Magic activation. Signal flare launch. Anyone with eyes could see the infantry were the source.

They couldn’t stand against Armunale on their own—but that didn’t mean they were useless.

They could support the fight, like now. Or collapse the ground, get in the way. So why was I the one getting hit first, just like the captain had said?

If they knew where I was, I couldn’t just stand there like a fool.

I kept rolling, tumbling, until my back slammed into the trunk of a tree and finally stopped.

“Gah…”

Something hard hit my back—couldn’t breathe right.

Coughing, I was just getting my breath back when Monsieur Blois came running over.

“Eld, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah. Huh… uh…”

I’m clear-headed. Nothing worse than a few scratches and bruises from the branches. Might bruise a bit, but I can still move.

“Sorry. I slipped up.”

“Just being alive’s the main thing. And you did your part, seems like.”

Looking up, I saw the captain’s machine firing magic at the reinforcements through the gaps in the trees. So our flare really did the trick.

“Good.”

“We’re pulling back now. That’s all we can do. We’d just be in the way from here.”

“But it’s still two to one…”

We managed to call for help. But the odds are still against us.

We’ve gotta draw the reinforcements away, or the captain’s done for…

“No need to worry. Look.”

Benoît pointed ahead, up toward the sky in the direction of Jakarta.

“Green light?”

Floating above us was a green-glowing signal flare.

“Could it be…”

“Our reinforcements. The buffer zone’s wide, but our patrol routes are set up so we can cover each other.”

Ah, right—when you’ve got a big buffer zone and a lot of enemies, you need to be able to back each other up. That’s why Armunale’s patrol routes are so finely mapped, so we can reach trouble fast.

The unit coming this way—probably heard the first flare, the sound of the fight, and came running.

“Then that’s—”

We’ve got the advantage now. That’s what I thought—when suddenly, the Armunale I’d been fighting turned its back and bolted.

Should’ve been the height of stupidity. Just as expected, the commander’s unit crouched low, preparing a powerful spell.

But then it dropped the stance, backing up sharply. Right then, a spike of earth shot up beneath its feet.

“Sniper!?”

“Looks like they’re pulling back. Well, that’s a reasonable call.”

The enemy reinforcements had stopped dead, choosing to fire from afar. And while they did, the other unit we’d been fighting sped away at full throttle.

Watching the commander, I waited to see what he’d do—then he stopped the spell, kept an eye on the incoming unit, and slowly retreated into the woods.

“Bnois, Eld, fall back. We’re rejoining the reinforcements.”

“Not chasing them?”

Even if they’re shooting from afar, unless it’s a specialist unit, the hit rate should be low. Besides, if reinforcements are coming from behind, shouldn’t we push forward now?

“Don’t press the attack. There might be another unit waiting at our retreat point. If so, we’d be the ones trapped. No need to take that risk.”

“Apologies.”

“Don’t worry. New recruits think that way. Just get used to the battlefield. That’s why we’re here.”

“Thank you.”

Until the reinforcements arrived, all we could do was watch the Empire’s Armunale retreat into the woods.

“Bring me a spare cable!”

“Over here! Removing armor—watch your heads!”

“Hydraulic check—no issues. Cylinder pump’s fine!”

Behind me, the maintenance crew were already checking over the队长's machine, patching it up quick as a wink.

“Always…?”

“You’re kidding. Back at the Academy, you were worse than a rag, weren’t you?”

After linking up with the reinforcements and meeting up with the standby team, I was getting my wounds treated by Miss Caline.

The worst part was where I’d hit a branch—internal bleeding, but nothing else. Mostly just scratches, really. A little sting from the antiseptic.

“Still, you were reckless. Charging into a full-blown Armunale battle on your first fight?”

“Charging in? That’s not so impressive. I just kicked up some dust.”

“Even so, it’s impressive! You were targeted by an enemy machine—had a dirt spear drop right on you!”

“Haha, well, yeah, I guess…”

But back then, three years ago, I was chasing after Armunale like it was a game… I got hit with ice spears so hard it felt like they were raining down on me.

Compared to that, getting skewered by a single dirt spear? Honestly, no big deal. Sure, I ended up covered in scratches…

“Alright, that’s it!”

Karine pats my wound through the bandage. My skin was already stinging from the antiseptic—now it’s screaming even louder.

“Ow!? What are you doing!?”

“Celebrating you’re still alive. Pain means you’re not dead, silly.”

“Save that for someone really hurt. This is just a scratch.”

“Then stop whining. Well, I’m off to check the machine’s data.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Karine stands up and walks over to the commander’s machine, where the mechanics are busy repairing it.

I’m tidying up the open first-aid kit when I head over to Orell, who’s barking orders while the mechanics work on the commander’s machine.

Then, just as I’m about to call out, I’m startled from behind.

“Hey, Eld—still lookin’ like you’ve got a nap waiting, huh?”

I turn, and there’s Batis—taller than last year, hair a bit longer.

“Batis! Long time no see! These eyes were like this from the start.”

I bump my fist against his, quick and solid.

“So, the reinforcements were from Batis’s lot, huh?”

“Yeah—our scout spotted trouble while on patrol. Rushed over as fast as we could. Anyway, heard you stopped the enemy’s Armunale with magic?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I did hit the Armunale with magic, sure—but it was aimed at the captain’s unit, not to stop it. Just to kick up dust, that’s all. No way I could’ve actually stopped the thing with magic. Not a chance.

“Wait, what? That’s not right. Word’s been going around the squad. Said this year’s rookies are all freaks.”

“No, no. Can’t be. I mean, I’m not that good. I just kicked up dust so the signal flares’d be visible. What’s this ‘freak’ thing even mean?”

Maybe I did score a bit better than the usual rookies. But I don’t remember doing anything that’d make a fuss like this. Hell, I even messed up during the last fight.

“Didn’t know that? We’re kind of famous now, apparently. The guy who’s better at scouting than scouts—Leon. The one who gets eaten—Batis. The one who lost an arm—Eld, that’s you.”

“First time hearing it… but somehow it clicks.”

Leon’s always pulling something like that—sharp eyes, faster brain. Pulling secrets from a single footprint, guessing where the enemy’ll be next… he’d probably lure them into a trap without breaking a sweat.

And Batis… yeah, he’s probably got a thing for women. Became a proper pilot, and now he’s even more popular than ever… wait, no way.

“Batis, you didn’t by any chance already hit on one of the support maids, did you?”

“Can’t say no when they ask… that’s my rule.”

“Try not to get stabbed by teammates over it…”

Ugh. Not hearing about a fellow recruit dying from a love triangle—no thanks.

and I’m just… well, you know. Chopped off one of the machine’s arms and forced the specs up, like that’s gonna help.

Huh. In a way, that kind of rumor’d be easy to spread.

“So you’re saying this whole thing got blown out of proportion because of that rumor?”

“Looks like it. I’ll explain it to the others myself.”

“Please. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m some real-life Armunale fighter.”

“Fair enough.”

I let out a dry laugh, and suddenly Batis goes dead serious.

That caught me off guard—I tilted my head.

“What’s up?”

“Eld, this is your first real fight, right? And still you’re so calm. Honestly, I expected you to be shaking like a leaf.”

I caught the meaning behind his words, and nodded slowly.

Yeah. I look calm on the outside, sure. But—

“Inside? I’m shaking like a leaf. I’m hiding it, but my hands still won’t stop trembling.”

First time I killed a person. Couldn’t even think about it during the fight—too busy just surviving. But then, while getting my wounds treated, I suddenly remembered it.

After that, I keep trying to stop it, but my hands won’t quit shaking.

I lift my right hand, clench it into a fist—still trembling, like a leaf in the wind.

“You’re asking me that, huh? So Batis, you’ve been in combat too, right? What was it like the first time you killed someone?”

“Same as Eld. Couldn’t stop shaking. Close my eyes, and I can still see the face of the one I killed. One of my squad died too. Spent nights puking in the bushes.”

“How’d you get past it?”

“Past it? I just… cut it loose. Learned to live with it. Maybe even got used to it. Remember that time back at the academy, when they showed us the hospice ward?”

“Yeah.”

That image—never going to fade.

I don’t plan on becoming that kind of person. That’s why I kill enemies to protect myself. Once I thought about it like that, the second time around, it was surprisingly easy. Guess that’s what habit does.

Yeah.

Everyone’s different, I guess. Somehow you just… get through it. Well, I’m off now. If I keep yapping, I’ll probably get scolded again.

Thanks. Felt a little lighter.

I wave back at Batis, his hand raised over his shoulder.

Was it because I finally confessed something I’d hidden? Or because I knew my friends had truly made it through?

My arms had stopped trembling—quietly, without me even noticing.