10

“How’s it look, think you can fix it?”

Under Kansas’s orders, Rizet had stepped back from the cockpit, checking the condition of the unit with her mechanic.

Of course, the mechanic was female, wearing a work uniform that left her chest boldly exposed. Ever since she’d started, she’d been holding the attention of the male mechanics around her like nails in a board.

“What kind of attack could leave it like this, anyway?”

The female mechanic pulled her body out from the hole in the machine’s belly, shouting her protest toward the cockpit.

“The hole’s small, sure—but look at the inside! It’s all melted and gooey! And now it’s hardened, stuck all over the place!”

Eld’s magic had turned Rizet’s machine—small as the hole was, right where it’d been hit—into a mess of melted guts. The heat had spread fast, cooked most of the inner parts to slag.

And now the molten iron, copper wires, bits of magic circuitry—stuck to other parts like sticky glue, messing up everything else too.

The female mechanic had never seen a machine in such a state. Not in her whole life.

“Like a fire-element spell, I reckon. No time to dodge, no time to react.”

“Never heard of such a thing!”

“Doesn’t matter now. Can you fix it? Or not?”

“Impossible!”

She said it flat.

“Need way more tools than we’ve got. Gotta take it apart proper in the storage bay, swap out the parts, or it’ll never work right again.”

“After walking this far, you’re still complaining?”

“If you’re keen on wrestling with the lag every time you move, fine by me.”

She pouted, her lips poking out.

“Damn it, I’m supposed to be saving you, not getting my hands dirty like this!”

Rizet slammed the console in frustration, her anger at her own helplessness spilling out. The impact jolted the screen—zooming it sharply toward the front line.

At that moment—

The monitor flared, swallowed in light.

“What the—?”

A heartbeat later, a tremor rocked the whole frame, so violent it felt like the machine was being torn apart.

The mechanics outside were all knocked flat, tumbling across the ground.

Only the female technician, who’d been checking the damage, managed to catch hold of a nearby pipe and keep from falling off the机体.

“W-What’s going on!? Captain!?”

I don’t know, do I?

Still, Rizet was fiddling with the monitor, hunting down the source of the shock.

It didn’t take long.

“That’s…”

On the screen, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

“Found it. Front line’s got a mushroom cloud. Generator probably blew.”

“Whoa, that’s gotta be Armunale-sized.”

“Still… feels too powerful. Wait—no way!?”

A cold knot twisted in Rizet’s gut.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shut up! Get back— I’m standing up!”

“Eeeh, that’s so unfair…”

Still muttering, the woman obeyed and climbed down from the machine. Rizet confirmed she’d cleared the platform, then raised the机体.

The higher vantage made it easy to spot the mushroom cloud again.

That place—

"Can't be wrong—this is the spot you were fighting, isn't it? Who won, I wonder?"

Checking the monitor, scanning the surroundings. Dust swirls up, visibility’s terrible.

Still, Rizet frantically searched for Kansas’s machine.

"Where are you, where the hell are you, Your Grace?"

Then she spotted it—the shadow of Armunale, collapsed on the monitor.

"There! Wait—no, that’s not—"

The machine’s features were unmistakable, even through the screen.

One arm missing. Undeniably a one-armed model. And beside it, another fallen machine—Kingdom’s crest visible.

"Impossible… so that explosion was…?"

Rizet realized her hands were shaking.

She instinctively gripped her own arm, but the tremble wouldn’t stop.

"Captain! It looks like the imperial forces are pulling back! What do we do now!?"

“Cough… Give the order to gather the supplies. We’re falling back with the unit.”

Yeah, yeah!

She dashed off toward the other members, her steps quick and light.

Watching it, Rizet let out the anger rising inside her in a deep breath.

Easy enough to let the anger boil over right here. But charge in blind like that? Already see the enemy’s machine slamming into us. That’s the kingdom’s ace we’re facing. Someone’ll come running to save us—just like always.

So what the hell am I supposed to do now? Rizett forced her heart to calm down, her mind racing.

I’m the captain, after all. Even if it’s just pleasure, I can’t just ditch my subordinates like that.

"Phew—sure as stars, sure as stars, I’ll have my revenge."

Rizet glared at the one-armed unit on the monitor, then slowly backed the machine up.

◇

I wake to the sting of my cheek being slapped—papapa.

"Damn it, I—"

You alright? You remember who you are? Where you are?

I'm Eld. Am I in the pilot's seat?

Looks like he’s alright, then.

Batis, peering down at my face, let out a breath, relief softening his expression.

Was I out cold?

I run my fingers over the ache in my bones, remembering the fight just now—how it felt, how it left me.

Thanks to the belt, my body’s not too bad—just aches all over. Might be like I’ve been whipped, but nothing’s going to happen right away.

How’s the battle going?

Tried to hook up the monitor, but the damn thing’s so wrecked the camera’s not showing anything. Could be all the external cams are fried.

I asked Batis, and he leaned forward from the pilot’s seat, starting to check around him.

"From the unit’s perspective, we’re pushing pretty deep. Can see the enemy pulling back. Should pull out soon, if this keeps up."

"Is that so."

"Seems taking down Kansas really boosted morale."

"Good thing we put in the effort."

My fight with Kansas happened not too far from the front lines. So even if the rear units didn’t see it, the front-line troops must’ve witnessed the explosion firsthand. That’s when morale dropped—and the kingdom’s forces hit hard with a full-scale assault.

Now the front’s pushed deep into imperial territory. The battlefield’s a good ways off from here. No risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

"For now, our fight’s over. The recovery team’s probably moving already. Let’s just wait for them."

"Yeah. But we did wreck it good. Wonder how long it’ll take to fix..."

Artifigoth completely destroyed—armor in tatters, internal damage pretty bad. Frame’ll probably need replacing.

Might be faster just swapping it out. Could trade it for the one we picked up in this fight. Even a regular machine’d be usable if Karine’s got her hands on the physical simulator—senses board, right?—and messes with it a bit.

"Anyway, we’re just waiting here."

"Yeah, sorry—gotta rest a minute. Wake me when the rescue crew gets here."

After that kind of fight, mind and body both shattered. Honestly, my eyelids feel like they’re gonna shut on their own any second.

"Got it."

"Thanks."

Handing it over to Batis, I sank back into sleep.

Next thing I knew—felt a faint tremble in my body.

My face tilted up, and there was Batis at the cockpit’s entrance. Must’ve jolted the机身 when he climbed in—felt a little shudder through the frame.

“O-oh, you’re awake?”

“Yeah. How long was I out?”

“About twenty minutes. Barely slept at all. Anyway—got a ride coming.”

“Huh.”

Unbuckling the belt, I stood and stepped out of the seat.

Cold air brushed my cheeks—woke me right up.

Combat was nearly over. Imperial forces were pulling back toward base. Cheers rang from the front lines.

And there—two Abnomyle and one Armunale came speeding this way.

From the markings, that Armunale had to be Alexandria’s.

“Captain Eld, you alright?”

"Yeah, took a beating, but I’m fine. Just… get the mech recovered, okay?"

"Understood. You two, start gathering the parts."

'Got it!'

The Abnomyle units followed Alexandria’s orders, beginning to collect the scattered wreckage scattered around.

I climbed back into the machine, started up the generator.

The monitor lit up—still black. So the camera’s definitely fried.

"Captain, you think you can stand?"

"Not a chance. Sorry—send a carrier, would you?"

"Then it’s fine. I’ve already arranged it."

I’d been about to call for a cargo golem, but apparently they’d already taken care of it.

"Then it’s settled. I’ll have the parts collected—especially the physical processor, the senseboard, inside the Artifigoj. Leave no fragment behind."

"Understood."

"I can still move around a bit, so I’ll help out."

Batis had taken a less severe beating than my frame—managed to stand on his own.

Now he’ll search for parts with Elekxia. But the explosion from Kansas’s mech scattered them all over the area. Looks like it’ll be a long haul.

Then a magi-carriage approached from the kingdom’s front lines—one Batis had arranged.

"Looks like you really went all out this time."

Peering out from the carriage’s window was Ritz.

"Yeah, well..."

I gave a wry smile as I greeted them.

The carrier came to a stop right beside the机体, and as the door opened, familiar faces started spilling out one by one.

Ritz, Blois, Orell, Carine, Pamila, Catarea—everyone.

And last of all, Ange stepped down.

“Eld-kun!”

Ange shot forward, flaring her jet boots in a flash, straight toward me.

I caught her mid-air.

“Hey, Ange’s here too, huh?”

“Of course I am! Supporting my squad’s my job, after all! Eld-kun, get to the carrier quick—gotta check you over for injuries.”

“Got it. Then I’ll leave the rest to you, okay!?”

“Sure thing. Leave it to us. Captain, just relax over there.”

“Understood. I’ll leave it in your hands.”

With that, I handed things over to the team and stepped down from the machine with Ange, slipping into the carrier.

The space was about the size of a small van—no seats except for the driver and passenger, all flat and smooth.

Ange immediately laid me down and started checking my pulse.

“Any pain anywhere?”

“Right leg’s a bit sore. Not bad enough to be broken, though. Probably just internal bleeding.”

“Let me see.”

She rolled up my pant leg and began feeling along my leg.

“Hmm. No fractures. No bleeding either. Might just be a bruise. I’ll put some ointment on it, just in case.”

“Yeah.”

From the first-aid kit, Ange pulled out what she needed and quickly smeared the ointment on my leg, wrapping it in bandages.

At first, the ointment felt cool—like a sudden chill—but then it warmed up, seeping into my skin.

“This ointment has pain relief in it, so the ache should fade right away. But don’t forget—it’s not healing the bruise itself, so be careful.”

“Got it.”

After finishing the full-body checkup, I pulled my clothes back on, and Ange let out a long, slow breath. Then she threw her arms around me.

“Thank goodness. I was so worried you’d come back safe today, Eld.”

“Of course I did. I’m not planning to die without you, Ange.”

I’d made my choice long ago—no battlefield death. I’d die in bed, that’s what I’d promised. That’s why I married Ange. I’d never leave her alone, not in a million years.

I gently stroked the top of her head, her hair soft under my fingers.

“Yeah… I believed you. But I was still scared. That explosion—saw it even from behind.”

Her arms tightened around me. She pressed her body into mine, as if to make sure I was real.

“Sorry I scared you.”

I tighten my grip in response.

Our eyes meet, naturally. Then Ange slowly shuts her eyes.

I lean in slowly, my heart leaping at the knock—tap, tap, tap.

“Ow!?!”

“Kyaa!?”

Ange startles too, jerking away from me as if shoved.

“Both of you, I get you’re wound up after battle—but could you pick a better time and place? I’m the one reporting, and I’m already squirming.”

Ange’s face burns crimson, steam practically rising from her head as she glares at Carine.

I force a dry smile, clearing my throat with deliberate exaggeration, shifting gears.

“So, what’s the report?”

“All loading’s wrapped up. And the Kingdom Army’s moving forward to Camentria.”

“Anything from Her Highness?”

“She says she’ll come out once we reach Camentria.”

“Out of her mind.”

My机体—being a Guard Knight—got torn to pieces in this battle. Not something that can be fixed on the spot, and right now, Her Highness might as well be without a Guard Knight. Going to the front like this? Absolutely ridiculous.

“I’ll report to Her Highness myself—no need to bother her with it.”

“Please. Out of all of us, she’s the only one who can speak to Lady Ines.”

She’s probably buzzing with excitement after today’s victory. And if anyone’s gonna grab her by the scruff and pull her back, it’s probably me.

Still, asking the base commander to do it? That’d be pushing it.

“Understood. Anything else?”

"Your machine, dear. It's not something that can be patched up with a quick fix—participating in the assault on Camentria is out of the question."

"Ah, I knew that already. Can't be helped, really."

"True. Though we do have a plan, just not one you'd want to hear."

She looks away, just slightly.

Well, I get why she'd look away—makes sense, really.

"Building it from spare parts, is it?"

"Oh? You noticed?"

"Well, with all those bits scattered around, how could I not?"

Typically, recovered parts from our side get inspected at base. If they're sound, they're repurposed as spares for other machines. Enemy parts get melted down and recast into armor for our own machines.

What Carine’s saying is skip the inspection and retuning altogether—just slap together a machine from spare parts.

Easy enough to do, if you’re reckless. But actually doing it? That’s a proper gamble.

You see, using enemy parts straight out means our own machines might see them as foes. Could go wrong in a heartbeat.

“Leave the call to the captain. I’ll get things ready, just in case.”

“Though the answer’s already clear, really. Let’s talk it over with Her Highness first.”

“Guess that’s about it for now. Oh, right—sensors are all recovered, by the way.”

“Good to hear the last bit went smoothly.”

If everything’s back, then none of it got into enemy hands.

Pulling that off in the middle of that explosion? That’s not luck. That’s a miracle.

“Too bad… it wasn’t the final one, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Lady Ines, you’re already out of the base, so do your best and wait here, okay?”

“That brat!”

“Well then, I’m going back to tweaking the physics processor—sensboard, I mean.”

Leaving that bombshell behind, Caline went back to work.

Left standing there was Ange, face bright red and frozen in place, and me, clutching my head, trying to figure out how to stop a stubborn mule—quite the sight, really.