6

The fighting’s over, and I’m back in the hangar, sliding the craft into its cradle and dropping the generator. The moment I do, a wave of exhaustion crashes over me—full body, deep down.

“Phew… wiped out.”

Leaning back into the seat, I just… slump. Stare at the darkened monitor.

That fight with the two of them—managed to get in a little payback, I guess. But inside, I don’t feel like I fought well at all.

Every sword move was blocked by Rézette. Every shot from Pellfryzzi was deflected.

Magic? Completely nullified. No way to hit Kansas, not one real opening.

Keep fighting like that, and I’ll hit my limit soon enough.

But I can’t think of a single way to break through it.

“Now what?”

The quickest thing to think of was developing new weapons. But that was something I didn’t really want to push forward with.

The more weapons improve, the worse the war gets.

Just one Sefia Generator finished, and look at the battlefield—changed already. Add to that me tossing out modern knowledge, inventing new weapons one after another, and the war’ll turn even more hellish. That bomb—Avila Bomb—already did that kind of damage. If we’re always playing catch-up, the kingdom might not survive at all.

That’s why I take it slow when building new weapons. I only make things I’m the only one who can use—and I’ve got a plan ready for if the enemy ever gets their hands on them.

That’s what I’ve been thinking—upgrading myself. Watching how Layla, Rezett, and Volts move, I can feel there’s still something missing in me. But this isn’t something you can do on the side.

I keep thinking that getting better at the technical and tactical stuff—there’s really no way around it but to keep fighting, keep getting hit, keep learning.

And then, at the end of it all, what comes to mind isn’t some grand plan. It’s the others.

I fight alone most days, sure—but if I’d had someone by my side like Kansas and Rezett did for me, if I’d been able to link up with another, I could’ve beaten those two just as easily.

Right now, the first names that pop up for a partner? Batis and Elekseia, without a doubt. I know how they move. They know how I move. We’d fit together—like cogs in a well-worn machine.

But… can I really gather up all the Armunale like that? Just take it all, and bind it to them?

Even in the last fight, just one Armunale among the Abnomyle units was enough to overwhelm them like that. That kind of压制 power—useful on the battlefield, too. Should we really go to the trouble of crushing it? The balance here is tricky.

If we’re thinking strategically, we’d need to talk it over—princess, Abnomyle unit commander, base commander, everyone involved.

“Gotta decide soon.”

We don’t know when they’ll strike again. We need to have a conclusion, including our response, settled within a day or two.

I gathered my thoughts, stood up from the cockpit seat—then, without even touching the lever, the pilot hatch suddenly snapped open.

“Eld-kun!? Are you okay!?”

“Ange?”

I looked out, startled. Ange was there, eyes brimming, leaping into the cockpit and throwing her arms around me.

“What’s up with that sudden panic?”

“Thank goodness. Eld— I was worried. You went into the hangar and didn’t come out at all. I thought maybe you’d gotten hurt and couldn’t climb back down.”

“Is that what it was? Sorry about that. I’m fine. No injuries, I swear.”

“So why didn’t you come out?”

“Just… thinking. A lot’s been on my mind since the last fight.”

“Ah. Good… I’m glad.”

Ange let out a slow breath. I pulled her close, running my fingers gently through her hair.

“Feels like it’s been ages since you last did this. It really calms me down.”

“Is that so?”

She nuzzled her face into my chest, smiling. I smiled back, kept rubbing her head.

Then—clack-clack—someone banged on the hatch.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to do some maintenance. You mind coming down?”

It was Carine, looking down from the ladder with that exasperated expression.

"Sorry. I’m coming down right away. Ange."

"Yessir."

Ange let go of my back, slipping out of the pilot’s seat.

I followed right behind, stepping onto the ladder.

As soon as I was down, Carine slipped into the cockpit in my place.

"Was the senseboard running smooth?"

"Yep. Flawless. No discomfort at all."

"Good. The enchanted senseboard’s about half done. If you need it, come ahead. I’ll finish it all in one go."

"Got it."

Carine said that and was already lost in adjusting the senseboard.

When Ange and I stepped down from the hangar, Orell came over.

"Hey, Captain. That was one hell of a fight, huh?"

"Two against one? Yeah, it was rough."

“Still, your gear’s not looking any less, is it?”

Orell tilts his head, puzzled.

Yeah, I fired off the whole load using Totari Te Ipiraion—yet every slot in Artifigouge’s still full of swords.

That’s what’s bugging him, isn’t it?

I chuckle.

“Those swords in Artifigouge—aren’t they just standard-issue from the kingdom?”

“Precisely.”

“So I figured—why bother with paperwork and supply requests? Just scoop up whatever’s lying around on the battlefield, and bam, ready to go!”

That’s exactly it.

My machine eats fuel, eats ammo, eats spare parts—just walking off the battlefield means I’m buried under paperwork every single time. So even if I win a fight, the joy gets crushed under the weight of it all. That’s why I figured I should just fix things right after the battle.

And the easiest fix? Just scoop up whatever sword’s lying around.

Sure, if the blade’s cracked, I gotta swap it out—means paperwork. But even then, it’s way less than before. Tiny changes add up, you know?

I say this all with a grin, and Orell scratches his head hard, lets out a long sigh.

“Huh. So I’d better check it all out, then.”

“Please.”

“Got it. You two—full inspection on all gear! Get the tools ready!”

‘Uwaaah!’

"Then I'll report back to Her Highness."

"Right, from here on out it's our job—mechanics' battle. Leave it to us."

"Please do."

Handing things over to Orell, we headed for the command center.

Waiting for me there were the Princess, the base commander, and Jade, who’d been leading the Abnomyle unit this time.

Ange had split off to make tea, so she’d be coming later.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Good work, my knight. I’ve heard the report from Jade, but I wanted to hear it from Eld too. You said the Eight Generals showed up? What was his name?"

"Yes, he called himself Kansas."

"Eight Generals—Kansas… Rank six in the Eight Generals. A troublesome opponent, that one."

Seems Her Highness had some info on Kansas after all.

"How did he strike you, Eld?"

"Can handle a one-on-one just fine. Problem is, Rizet of Pleasure’s backing Kansas up—gotta deal with that somehow, or taking him down’ll be tough."

I said it out loud, sharing what I’d been thinking in the cockpit with everyone here.

"Ah, so what’s your take on this, Jade?"

"True, if Armunale’s leading the charge like this time, it’s a real boost for the unit. But letting their Armunale run free? That’s a mess. We’re up against Abnomule vs. Abnomule, so there’s plenty of ways to fight. But if they’ve got Armunale on their side, we’re in trouble—won’t be able to hold our own without one of our own."

"Pretty much the opposite of today’s battle. How many Armunale can we deploy to the front line right now?"

"Seven, counting Eld’s squad. Some are still on perimeter duty."

Seven units… if we’re taking down the base, that’s a bit tight, isn’t it?

I hear seven, and I run the numbers in my head—what if we commit every last one in the next fight?

Me and Batis or Elekshia pinning down Kansas and Rezett, five others handling the flanks. No—wait, we need to protect Jade’s unit, so really only four left.

Depends on how many they’ve got, but if they throw everything at us, it’ll be tough. Can’t imagine they’ve got fewer than four Armunale.

Which means we’ll have to rely on tactics. But who knows how to use the Abnomule unit in a proper tactical way? Nobody does.

I’ve studied piloting back in my old life—plenty of it—but never anything about coordinated maneuvers. Not a clue.

I glance over at Jade, and she’s frowning too.

"Princess, is it possible to replenish the Armunale? I think we’ve got a few generators on hand."

Me and Batis, and Elekxia—picked up a few generators during the raid on Kreuzl. If we can deploy those machines, we might just shift the tide a little.

But the Princess just frowned and shook her head.

"Production’s not keeping up. They’ve dedicated the factories to mass-producing Abnomyle, and with the war going on nonstop, every spare part gets used up fixing machines. Not enough people, either. Can’t just form new units on a whim."

"Ah. I see."

Then replenishment’s not worth counting on. So it comes down to—

"Whether I can take down Kansas or not."

Take down a foe with the name and fame of an Eight General Knight, and their line’s bound to break apart. Best of all, once I’ve cleared the way—and one more Armunale’s in the fray—we’ll push through that front for sure.

So the war’s fate hinges on how fast I can bring down Kansas, from the very first clash.

“Jade.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Whatever comes, hold the unit together. Even if it’s brutal. Until Eld and the others finish their foe.”

“Understood.”

“Eld.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Take down the Eight General Knight as fast as you can. That’s my order.”

“As my lady commands.”

The mechanics who saw Kansas’s机 returning to base were all stunned. No surprise there. The Eight General Knight’s机—untouched by a single scratch through every battle—was now leaking fuel, its tank shattered.

But then, seeing Kansas step out of the cockpit unharmed, they all exhaled.

“Sorry to put you through the trouble,” he said, “but get it back to full shape by tomorrow. The enemy won’t wait long.”

“Understood. You’ll see just how strong our imperial mechanics are!”

“Count on it.”

He clapped a mechanic on the shoulder and kept walking toward the hangar. Ahead, Rizet was already out of her cockpit. Her face was set in clear anger.

“Your Highness… I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold the line till the very end.”

"I was at fault too. Let my guard down at the very end, against that opponent."

"Still, it was my mistake. So next time, I’ll stop that thing—perfectly."

"Then I’ll have to study the one-armed thing’s movements. Come along, I’ll show you the data we gathered from it."

"Ah."

Rizett followed Kansas into a room. It was the office assigned to Kansas. Since they’d only just arrived at the base, the room was still bare and stark.

"Alright, Rizett. What do you make of that movement?"

"Unnatural. Power, speed, reaction—none of it matches the existing Armunale."

"Hmm. But the reason’s already clear. This."

Kansas pulled out a manual control manual delivered by a spy.

Rizett let out a dry, stunned laugh when she saw it.

“Hah, what’s this? Can’t be human, if they can do something like that.”

“Same here. But the opponent actually pulled off that control—and showed us the power firsthand. We’ve got to find a way to counter it.”

“Anything click for you, sir? Honestly, I was too busy just keeping up with that thing. I noticed the power and speed ramping up—but that’s all.”

“Hmm. I didn’t catch much either. But I did find the key.”

“What is it?”

“Look closer at that knight’s movements. Only one arm was actually moving.”

Rizett tilted her head at Kansas’s words.

If you knew the full manual, that’d seem obvious.

But Kansas had zeroed in on it.

“Think back. Was the left arm of that machine really moving at all?”

She paused. Then, slowly, she replayed the battle in her mind—every detail, every twitch.

And then it hit me.

“No… it was moving. Got hit by that iron pillar. That kind of motion—couldn’t be just shaking the body.”

“Right. So the enemy’s controlling it fully manually… and can still move the left arm.”

“…That’s not good, is it?”

Only one arm to work with—that was Eld’s weakness, and Rezett had always thought of it as a fatal flaw.

“Wait a second. Here’s the first question: when the left arm moved, the right stayed completely still. So the enemy can only move one arm at a time. If we know that, we should be able to exploit the opening.”

“Meaning… we wait for the moment the left arm strikes?”

“Exactly. That’s the one moment the right arm’s defenseless. Even that thing—can’t fight with just an iron pillar.”

The one part of Eld’s movements that Rizet was really struggling with—was his right arm. The swordplay was strong, fast, hard to block. But if there was a moment when that arm couldn’t move at all—

“Huh. I see.”

Rizet licked her lips, just slightly. Her expression twisted into something sharp, almost feral.

“I’ll focus on his left leg. That way, I know he’ll instinctively raise his left arm to defend.”

“Got it. I’ll take that opening—slice off his right arm. Make him one-armed. Then no arms at all.”

“Count on it.”

“Leave it to me. But still—don’t you think we need to work on our coordination more?”

“Huh? I suppose that’d make my magic easier to land. But when would we find time for that kind of training?”

“Why not just get closer? Real close. Feel each other’s rhythm in the heat of it?”

Rizet hooked a finger into the neckline of her dress and slowly pulled it down, a wicked grin on her face.

Her chest, just barely contained, drew Kanza’s gaze like a magnet.

“Fought like that, didn’t we? You’re all worked up, aren’t you? Me too—got a little damp. Don’t worry, this is just training to sync our rhythms.”

“M—mnn…”

Reaching up, Rizet brushed her fingers along Kanza’s throat, then leaned in—pressing her lips to his, soft and sure.