1

I returned the airframe to the hangar and made my way to the commander-in-chief’s office.

I knock on the door and say my name. I’m told to come in.

Excuse me—heard you were here, is that right?

"Ah, how’s the machine’s condition?"

The commander looked up from the paperwork and asked about my machine.

Just wrapped up the trial run a moment ago. Supplies and repairs are needed, but on the system side—everything’s clean.

Is that right? So I can go on a mission anytime, then?

Yes

I gave a firm nod, and the captain pulled a single sheet of paper from the desk and handed it to me.

I let my gaze fall on it.

There it was—“Operational Permit” written right there. Basically, an order meant for us. Without this, we can’t take the unit outside. It’s a loan from Her Majesty, so no use complaining.

"Then, I’ll relay the mission to the Second Princess’s guard unit. Two weeks from now, Her Highness Lady Ines will be visiting the front-line base to offer encouragement. You’ll accompany her and provide security."

"Mission understood. We’ll do everything in our power to carry it out."

"Good. This is Lady Ines’s official first public duty. So, there’s a high chance of mishaps and delays in various places. Keep that in mind while preparing."

If this front-line base visit is Lady Ines’s first official duty, then it’s naturally her first mission for her attendants—her maids and soldiers, too. Of course, that applies to us as well.

So naturally, things won’t go exactly as planned. That’s why we’re to take extra rations and weapons—just in case.

How much stuff do we gotta pack ourselves, I wonder? I’m sure Ines-sama’s personal attendants’ll handle her things, right?

If the princess is moving, a proper guard of infantry’ll be tagging along, but surely they’re not expecting us to prep supplies for the escort soldiers too?

You just take what you need for maintaining the Armunale and your own rations. The guard’s treated as a completely separate unit from the regular troops. They’ll lend us a magitech wagon for hauling gear—so just bring what’ll fit on that.

Magitech wagon for hauling supplies. Looks almost like a two-ton truck. If we’re limited to what fits on that, we won’t be able to carry much in the way of spare parts. Maybe just the tools for maintenance. Fuel—we could manage without extra tanks, I suppose. No, better to bring a spare, just in case.

“Understood. I’ll gather what we need and submit the request by tomorrow.”

“Good. There’ll probably be a flood of supply requests from the infantry units too. The sooner, the better.”

There’s a limit to what we can store in the castle. When we’re moving a big group, we’ll have to rely on merchants for food and supplies. More time’s always better.

“That’s all. Any questions?”

Oh—right. I should’ve asked about the important stuff first.

I imagine we’ll be visiting Jakarta during the motivational mission, so—will we have time to pick up the new gear there? I got a letter from Deputy Commander Arnold: the equipment we requested is ready. He said it’s too sensitive to send, so he wants us to come pick it up in person.

Hmm. New gear pickup, eh. Even if we squeeze it in, it’ll only take a day. Still, is that alright?

A day should be plenty. It’s not like we’re modifying the physical calculators—senseboards—much.

Right, the request was for live-fire gear. Fitting it with Artifigoj would be necessary, but even then, it shouldn’t take more than a full day.

Got it. I’ll make sure we can stay in Jakarta for two nights.

Thank you.

I’m curious about your personal machine, too.

We were talking about a rematch in our personal machines back then, weren’t we? Well, it’ll probably be a while before that happens. Honestly, if we fought like this now, we’d both end up wrecking our machines—and the royal family’d be furious for sure.

“Who won today’s match?”

“Technically, I did. But we were holding back a bit, so if it had been a real fight, the result might’ve been different.”

Me and Remi did our best not to break each other’s machines. If we’d fought for real, though… I think it’d have been something else entirely. A proper smash-up.

“Hm. Doesn’t sound like you’re saying it from the heart, though?”

“I *do* believe I won.”

That part’s not up for debate.

“Kuk. Fair enough. Nobody really likes imagining their own defeat, huh?”

“Exactly. Well, I’ll be getting ready, then. Excuse me.”

"Ah, sorry for holding you back. Go on, keep up the good work."

"Hah."

Saluting, I step out of the office. Well then, better gather the crew who’re prepping at the hangar and check what we need—no, wait, I’ve gotta explain the mission too. Might as well call everyone in at once. Faster that way.

I’m already mapping out the next steps as I hurry toward the hangar.

Two weeks of frantic preparation pass in a blur—before I know it, departure day arrives.

Inside the city gate, the magitech carriage carrying Lady Ines is already lined up, along with her personal maid squad and accompanying infantry, all ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Of course, we’re waiting among them, positioned right at the front of the procession—closest to Lady Ines, as per our duty.

By the time I’d finished checking the formation one last time with the infantry captains and returned to my machine, I noticed a bunch of soldiers looking up at it with interest.

Well, yeah. Left arm’s a whole different thing now. No surprise they’re curious.

For this mission, I’d fitted the left arm with plenty of weaponry and just barely managed to squeeze in a spare tank. Thanks to that spare tank, I can carry nearly twice the usual amount of concentrated mana fluid—Hyimagia Liquid—making this machine perfect for long-distance ops like this one.

Before climbing aboard, I stuck my head out toward the mana vehicles the others were riding in.

As I approached the guard unit’s vehicle, Ange spotted me right away.

“Eld-kun!”

“Hey, you all set over there?”

"Yeah, all the gear’s checked. Nothing’s wrong."

"Good."

"This mission’s my chance to show off my skills, you know? I’ll be doing my best too!"

I’m usually stuck in the back, playing support, but this one’s a tour of the outposts. So Ange’ll be with us the whole time, taking care of the little things around us.

Been acting like a castle maid lately, honestly. Glad this mission lets me use the skills I learned at the academy.

"I’m counting on you. I’ll mostly be in the cockpit, but I’ll eat with everyone else."

"Yep, I’ll show you the ultimate in outdoor cooking!"

While I’m chatting with Ange, the others start gathering around.

"Hey, Eld Captain. Need something?"

"No, just wanted to check in before we hit the road."

Right. Heard you, I reckon. Our setup’s already ready. Bnois and Catrea’ll be up near the front of the line, I’d say.

Well, they’re scouts, aren’t they? So if Bnois is out front, who’s driving?

No one else but Bnois usually handled the magi-vehicle, right? Anyone in our lot able to drive it?

“I can.”

Pamila bounced up, waving her hand.

“You can drive?”

“Studied the controls, I have. You need it for crane operation, too.”

Ah, right. Makes sense.

According to Pamila, since she’s a mechanic, she’s often had to work with cranes and arms—so some folks train up to handle the whole rig, engine and all. Pamila was one of those, it seemed.

"Say, I don’t see Ritz using cranes much."

"I’d rather be holding a wrench. That’s the craftsman in me, I guess."

"Just selfishness, that’s all."

"Is that so?"

A little surprising, that.

"Say, I don’t see Caline around."

"Caline’s asleep inside the magi-vehicle. Slept too hard last night, I reckon… Honestly, what was she doing before departure?"

Caline’s down with a hangover. Seems she went all out last night, figuring she won’t be able to host for a few days.

Well, we did leave the physics simulator—sensboard—till the last minute, so it’s not like she had much to do on the move. Should be fine.

Still, I kinda feel responsible—after all, I did hand out that special bonus two days ago.

Well, they’ve been putting in the work these past couple days—can’t blame ‘em for a little leniency.

The spare tank we’d ordered from the craftsman arrived safely during the prep period and is already fitted to my machine. And I’ve got to say, I gave Karine a proper thank-you for that one.

I give it a light nudge—then the rear of the formation starts stirring up a fuss.

Looks like the princess is here.

“Then I’ll be getting back to my machine. You handle the rear.”

“Leave it to me. Eld’s got this.”

While I’m gone, Orell’s the one in charge—so I hand it over to him and head back to my ride.

“Now then, natural-born princess, huh…”

Scanning the rear with the camera, I catch the princess just stepping out of the castle.

White as snow, all fancy and elegant, walking with a smile so graceful it’s practically the definition of royalty.

She’d be so much cuter if she’d just keep quiet—no, wait, what’s she thinking in there? Maybe it’s scarier when she doesn’t talk?

Anyway, I’m waiting for the princess to arrive.

She walks through the ranks of infantry, smiling, greeting each soldier with a soft word, coming slowly toward me.

“Eld, are you there?”

“Yes, right here. Apologies for the height.”

“No need. We’ll be working together from today onward, so please take care.”

“I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.”

Lady Ines gives a single nod at my reply and steps into the magic carriage.

If I could always respond like that, I’d want to guard her properly—really properly.

“Let’s move out! Open the gates!”

With the commander’s shout, the city gate swings open, and the column begins to stir, slow and steady from the front.

It was the first official duty, so while the streets weren’t packed like during the previous triumphal parade, still, the main road was lined with people—every one of them eager to catch a glimpse of Lady Ines.

Between the crowds, Lady Ines waves from her magitech carriage. The carriage’s built like a regular cart, just remodeled—higher off the ground than usual. That’s why, even seated, the people could see her just fine.

I kept an eye out for suspicious figures as I moved along, but this time, no shady characters showed up like last time.

That shady character never got caught, did he? Honestly, what even was he?

We moved slowly down the main road, heading out past the town. There, the front slowed just a touch.

The formation picked up pace, just a little—nothing fancy, just a step or two faster than a march. Otherwise, the soldiers’d be collapsing from exhaustion.

And so, our first official duty began, watched by a crowd of common folk lining the road.

“That’s the new model, huh?”

In the hangar, a man in a showy, ornate outfit ran a hand over his beard, staring up at the machine.

At his feet, a technician knelt, explaining the details of the machine before him.

“Standard production model Armunale. We call it Abnomule.”

The machine before them was a bit on the small side, awkward in shape—nothing like what you’d expect from an Armunale. The armor was just flat plates slapped on, and the left arm was fitted with a massive cannon, throwing off the whole balance like a broken leg on a dancing bear.

Just the right kind of mass-produced model—cut down to the bone, stripped bare.

The technician went on, a little uneasy.

“Three hundred units are already deployed along the border line. We’re just waiting for Her Majesty’s command.”

“What’s the command structure like?”

The man called Her Majesty turned and asked the knight listening a little way off.

“After we cleared out the domestic spies during the last invasion, we’ve handed over some command to mercenaries. But basically, the chain of command’s built around our domestic Armunale units.”

“Fine, as long as they’re usable. What’s the enemy doing?”

“From spy reports, the Second Princess has set out from the capital. She should reach the mountain front base in about a week.”

Then we’ll do it afterward. Better to kill one royal than none at all. Get the preparations moving—no more screw-ups like last time.

“Hah! Glory to the Empire!”

The knight saluted once, then turned his cloak and left the storage bay.

The man looked up at the machine one more time, eyes narrowing.

“Don’t think you’ll get away with just bickering forever, Fatal.”

A storm called war was slowly approaching the border, drifting in from the Overd Empire.