5

I marched right through the midst of the fleeing mass-produced units, having captured the commander deep within the enemy ranks, and made my way back to base with no hesitation.

I’d love to dash after them, really I would—those things are sprinting for their lives—but if I did, I’d probably crush the commander writhing in my grip. So I grit my teeth and hold back.

“Eld Captain!”

“Captain, are you okay!?”

By the time I reach the front of the base, Azura and Bonne come bolting over, flustered.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What’s wrong?”

“No, his head’s destroyed.”

“Oh, right, that’s true.”

I’d sacrificed the head to seize the chance. Can’t say I mind—those camera eyes aren’t much use anyway. Honestly, twenty-four-panel monitor’s the real MVP.

“Caught us a commander-type figure from this invasion, just like you asked.”

“Seriously?!”

“Yep, this one here.”

I open the palm of the machine, revealing a stout old man. He’s squirming in my grip, his fancy clothes wrinkled beyond repair.

“Did you two make it out okay? Fuel looked pretty tight back there.”

“Nowhere near full. Safety lock kicked in—had no choice but to turn back.”

“Same here. Would’ve liked to wipe out the ones who ran, but—”

“Yeah, seems the base crew’s handling that. Let’s get our own repairs sorted, quick as we can.”

I glance over. Every magical vehicle at the base is loaded up with cannons, chasing down the fleeing mass-produced units. And the cavalry’s spread out, cutting off the escape routes of the scattered models.

If they’re going to run back home, fine—but if they hole up somewhere and start stealing, that’ll be a headache later. Even if they’re hollow, they’ve got cannons and can swing swords. To regular soldiers, that’s more than enough to be scary.

We can’t let something like that hide inside the country.

“Indeed.”

“Shall we make a grand return, then?”

As I pass through the base gate behind the two machines, the soldiers still inside give me a cheer.

I hand the old man over to a soldier and head toward the hangar.

“Bonne’s machine—first! Azura’s—second! Eld’s—third hangar, please!”

Once we’ve parked according to instructions, the mechanics swarm over the machines like they’ve been waiting for this moment all along.

As soon as I stepped down from the machine, Ange came running over.

“Eld! Eld! Eld!”

Calling my name over and over, she threw herself at me, pressing her face into my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her, gently stroking her head.

“Kept my promise—came back safe and sound.”

“Yeah, yeah! Yeah!”

Nodding happily, repeatedly, she just wouldn’t let go.

I gave up, resigned to just waiting it out. I turned to Orell, standing nearby.

“Alright now?”

“Yeah, well… she’s not letting go.”

“Can’t blame her. Been clutching that pendant tight all this time, poor thing.”

“Was that so?”

Hearing from Orell how Ange had been at the base, I went back to stroking her hair.

“Would’ve loved to leave the two of us alone—but first, I need to hear about what comes next.”

"Yeah, that’s right."

We’d captured the enemy commander and driven their forces to near-ruin—close enough to call it a standstill.

But that didn’t fix everything.

While we’d been waiting for the enemy’s advance, intelligence trickled in from other outposts. All of them were under the same massive assault.

Back when we got the news, the front-line bases still looked like they could hold. Now? No telling.

We’d love to send reinforcements to the others as soon as we can—but there’s a snag.

We’re the Second Princess’s personal guard.

She gave the order herself to hold the line here. But now that it’s over, we should’ve already retreated to the rear—back to guarding her, as we’re meant to.

"First things first—I’d like to get in touch with Lady Ines as fast as possible. Either way, this thing’s gotta do one more job, so make sure you polish it up nice and clean."

"Is that so? Still, you’ve gone and made quite a mess of it. Seems like fixing it’s the easy part—making it look good again’s the real chore."

Orell runs a hand through his hair, looking up at the machine.

Yeah, my mech might look like the head’s been squashed flat, but in actuality, it’s not that badly damaged.

Most attacks were dodged or deflected—thanks to the magic shield, the surface only got a few scratches.

But the grime… that was a different story.

Not dirt, not sand, not even wounds.

No, this was oil.

When destroying enemy machines, the Armunale uses hydraulically powered joints—spewing out a torrent of oil. The mass-production models had the same drive system, so my own machine was drenched in what could only be called the blood of a hundred destroyed units, soaked in oil from every angle.

This wasn’t something you could just leave alone. Oil causes rust, and if it seeps into joint gaps or between bolts, it can spark accidents—no telling when.

So, before any sortie, it’s essential to scrub it all off thoroughly.

“I’ve cleaned many machines before, but never one that *dripped* oil like this.”

Just as Orell said—my machine was slick from head to toe, oil oozing down the armor’s surface, one drop after another.

The enemy machine—Artifigoj—had crushed itself into a puddle of oil underneath.

More like a lake than a puddle, really. Might as well have just dropped it in a pond.

I know the mess all too well, so I just chuckle and answer.

“Sorry about that. I’ve used up all the armaments. Need a refill.”

“Used up all that?!”

Twelve swords. Three harmonica pistols. Eighteen rounds. And that’s not counting the spare tank of concentrated mana fluid—Hyimagia Liquid—adding up to about double the usual fuel.

Oh man, if I had to calculate the cost… I’d probably keel over from shock! Feels like I’d drown in paperwork. Wonder if I’ll even get paid this year…

“Yeah, I needed it. Just get the repairs done as fast as you can, okay? Once that’s done, I’ll be out again.”

Still got the nerve to come out?

The stragglers who fled are being chased by the scout unit right now. If we don’t stop them, the village and the town might get hit.

Mmm… true enough, but the captain needs a rest. Can’t keep fighting forever—body’ll give out.

No, I’m pretty amped up after the fight—feeling all jittery and keyed. If I can, I’d rather just knock it out now while the mood’s right.

But...

“Captain Eld, that’s our job.”

"Captain Eld, you take proper rest now."

When Orell hesitated, a voice came from behind.

Still clinging to me, I turned only my head—and there were Azura and Bonne, the squad leaders.

"Is it the two of you, then?"

"Just got the unit prepped—can hit the field right away. Left the whole Armunale mess to Eld, so this is our patch now. Gotta clean up our own mess, right?"

"Exactly. And if Eld gets any more heroic, we’ll be left wondering what we even did."

Hmm. Yeah, their machines do seem ready faster. But they’re probably just as tired as I am.

"You two look worn out, too. Sharing the load’d make it easier."

"Chasing that paper puppet? No problem. Just like taking down a spell-powered wagon with a cannon."

"Exactly, Bonne’s right. Sure, we can’t let our guard down—but facing Armunale? That’s like comparing sky to dirt."

Looks like the pair are all fired up.

Orell’s giving us the stink eye too, so I suppose I’ll just play nice and take advantage of the two of you for now.

“Understood. Then I’ll leave the weaklings to you.”

“You stay put and rest. I’ll have the machine ship-shape by tomorrow. Ange, I’m counting on you to look after the captain.”

“Yes! Eld-kun, let’s go.”

“Yeah. Then I’ll be off ahead of you.”

Giving a quick bow to everyone, I let Ange tug me back to my room.

Wrapped in warmth on the bed, I jolted awake to the sound of pounding on the door—thump, thump, thump.

“Captain Eld! Captain Eld!”

A young woman’s voice. Probably Pamela.

I threw on some clothes and yanked the door open. There she was, right as rain.

Pamela flushed for a second at the sight of me, then snapped into serious mode.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Oh, you’re awake? Sorry about that. It’s not an emergency, but it’s something only the captain can sort out, so I thought I’d wake you.”

“Only I can fix it?”

I tilted my head, and then—footsteps, loud and bustling, came from down the hall.

That sound made a cold knot twist in my gut.

“Not… really.”

I peered out into the corridor. There she was—

“Why, you’re here! Showing up in such a daring pose—oh, you were aiming for me all along, weren’t you?”

“Why are you here?! Lady Ines!”

My last dregs of sleep vanished in an instant. I snapped at the last person I should’ve seen here.

You can’t just stay in the back and expect to be safe! So I thought—where’s the safest place for me? And the answer? Staying right beside my knight. That’s where I’m safest!

Spitting out a line that’d make a pink smoke plume shoot up behind me, I arch my chest out.

Seeing that figure, I let my shoulders slump down.

There’s no way that’d happen. I mean, how’d you even get away with that kind of thing?

“Fufu”

"Hey, what’s with that laugh?"

I’m not letting some sidekick get ahead of me, no way.

You’re saying that just by staying quiet, huh!

That’s why I practiced with the magic carriage!

You're kidding me. The rear base should be in a full panic by now. Honestly, teaching someone how to drive a magic carriage so casually was a mistake! We completely underestimated Ines-sama’s initiative.

"Pamila!"

Yes!

"Tell the messenger to hurry and inform Ines-sama that she’s coming here right away! The base where she was避難ing must be in chaos by now!"

"Understood!"

Pamila dashes off with a whoosh. Almost instantly, Ange appears from behind me, fully dressed.

"Eld-kun, what’s going on? Wait—Ines-sama!?"

Ange blinks, stunned, staring at Ines standing there.

"Ah, Ange, you’re here too! Perfect. I need to discuss matters going forward—gather everyone in the conference room, please."

"Y-yes, of course!"

No one can refuse a command from Ines-sama.

Ange darts out of the room, hurrying down the corridor.

"About the future… Ines-sama, you’ll be heading back to the rear soon. This time, we’ll be going with you."

I keep thinking about the forward bases on the other blocks, but now that Ines-sama’s here, her safety has to come first.

I know the two of them are handling the mass-production model sweeps, but until we’re certain every last one’s been brought down, Armunale has to stay on guard. It’s too risky otherwise.

“What are you talking about? I’m not going back.”

“Ines-sama, we’re not in a position to joke right now—”

This isn’t a joke. Me and my knights are heading south from this base to support the front lines across the region. Latest reports say Jakarta’s still holding—so securing it’s our first priority. The blocks past Delta are in real trouble, so we might have to fall back to the Second Line. But we’ve got to hold Jakarta before that happens. Jakarta can’t withstand attacks from two directions at once. By the time we’ve locked it down, the other blocks should be reinforced and holding the Second Line too. The Empire can’t maintain huge swaths of land all at once. They’ll be stuck in a stalemate. And that’s when we’ll hit them—our Jakarta forces will strike from the flank. We’ll abandon the buffer zone if we have to. But we’re getting that first line back, at minimum.

I find myself wondering, staring right at her, if this really is the same old jokester princess I know.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. I may be minor, but I’m still royalty. I have a duty to protect this nation and its people."

"...Understood. I’d wanted to send reinforcements to Jakarta anyway. But you’re staying behind, Princess Ines. That’s non-negotiable."

"But—!"

"You just said it yourself. You’re royalty. I can’t risk your life when I’m the one guarding you. If you insist on coming south yourself, then I’ll tie you up and drag you back myself."

Then I’d be useless as backup.

For a few seconds, I held her gaze. And then she gave in.

Understood. I’ll leave the reinforcement for Jakarta to Eld—I’ll fall back and move to the second-line town on Jakarta’s side. You handle the communication from there.”

“I’d prefer if you returned to the capital, if possible.”

“I have my reasons here.”

Seems she’s not budging on that point. Maybe she only gave in earlier because this place was non-negotiable.

“Got it.”

I nod, and Lady Ines smiles, pleased.

“Then let’s head to the conference room. I can’t plan anything without knowing your situation.”

“Copy that.”

I quickly straighten my clothes and follow Ines toward the meeting hall.