9

“Scout report. Enemy Armunale and Abnomyle forces are stationed in the buffer zone. Estimated numbers: five Armunale units, and over a hundred twenty Abnomyle units, at minimum.”

“Figured they’d show up.”

I nod inside the tent set up in the woods, listening to the messenger’s report.

“But don’t you think that’s fewer than we expected?”

Denis, the squad leader, mutters while looking down at the buffer zone map. Besides him, the commanders of each unit and Ward, the soldier squad leader in charge of overall command, are gathered. Of course, the princess is staying behind at the second defensive line—Fockleki. Too risky out here. And with the possibility of Avilabomb falling near Leitaki, better safe than sorry.

Two months since the magic rail parade in Leitaki.

The tracks stretch smoothly eastward, nearing the forested region now. Sure as hell, the empire’s not sitting still—so we’ve deployed our forces too, keeping them on their toes. But they seem to want a fight in the buffer zone, setting up camp just east of it, right before the river. Well, troops are already across, stationed on our side, so we’re ready to move anytime.

Still, the number of Abnomyle is a bit lower than I’d expected before the attack.

"Yeah. I figured there’d be around two hundred. Maybe they’re underestimating us..."

"Or maybe they’re focusing more on quality than quantity—upgrading with Armunale instead?"

"Five confirmed—just that. If there are mercenaries and command-level types in the rear, maybe ten total. That’s a solid number."

Hard to say for sure, but ten Armunale showing up? That’s a proper battlefield. Could easily be a full-scale clash, if things go sideways.

Should I be happy they’re taking us seriously—or sad about it? …Nah. Sad’s probably the right call.

“Any chance they’ll attack?”

Ask Warden, who knows the drill. He studies the map, thinks a moment, then answers.

“We’ll be fine as long as we’re here. The enemy’ll struggle to attack from the forest—get too close, and they’ll be picking off the trees with arrows, not the other way around. I know they’d come out to build a fort, so they’ll be watching that buffer zone like a hawk. They’ll strike there, for sure.”

“Huh.”

That’s our weak spot, right there. Gotta push back the enemy in the buffer zone somehow—can’t build the fort without it.

But think about it the other way: all they need to do is keep us from building. And our rear’s got that magic rail line stretching back this far. If they hit that, we’re in trouble.

Cut off supply lines, and the whole plan falls apart.

So long as we don’t move, they won’t either. But that doesn’t mean they won’t set traps.

"What kind of trap would they set, do you reckon?"

"Standard fare’s a pitfall. With the weight of something like Armunale or Abnomule, even dropping a few meters unexpectedly could wreck the frame. If the knees go, we’re done—can’t run."

"So we’d rather lure them into the woods and fight there, right?"

The closer we get to their camp, the higher the risk of traps. So fighting where we know there aren’t any—like near the woods—would be best. Though, if they’re kind enough to come play along, that’d save us the trouble.

"Also, when moving infantry, we usually watch the ground real close. But with Abnomule—how’s that different? No need to worry about water attacks, but what if the footing gets muddy?"

"Slippery, sure—but not that big a deal, is it?"

"No, Armunale’s a bit trickier. Even the balancers seem to be of questionable quality."

"Then we’ll need to keep that in mind. The river’s nearby—water’s no shortage."

Besides, the construction machinery can be replaced by Armunale. Not much hassle either.

"Getting in’s getting harder by the minute."

Hearing Ward’s take, Dennis grimaced.

Yeah, I’m with him on that. We’re outnumbered by Armunale, and we’re the ones launching the attack. Everything’s stacked against us, really.

Winning under these conditions? That’s asking a lot. But the princess has already thought up a few tricks.

"Seems Lady Ines expected this state of affairs. She said she’d requested Avilabomb use at the capital and reinforcements for the other fronts. As for the Avilabomb, she wants it used as a signal to begin the attack."

"So we’re finally going to use that thing."

We don’t know how much damage it’ll do—might be enough to throw them off balance. If so, we’ll have to charge through the opening, fast and hard.

"I’ve heard that too. Scheduled for launch at dawn the day after tomorrow. So, just in case, we’ll be on standby for sortie starting tomorrow. I know it’s tense, but I’m counting on all of you."

‘Understood.’

We answered the ward commander’s words with a salute.

◇

Two weeks before Eld’s group went into hiding in the forest.

In the Armunale hangar of the capital city, two figures stood silhouetted—Orell and Karine.

“Finished… already.”

“Finished… yes.”

Dark circles pressed deep beneath their eyes. Orell’s carefully trimmed beard and Karine’s sleek, glossy hair were both frayed and worn to shreds, nothing left but tattered remnants.

They looked up at one Armunale.

An Armunale made for Eld—only Eld could handle it properly.

“Just need to run the startup test now.”

“Can’t really do that here, can we? But they’re saying the fighting’ll start any day now. No time to move the generator and fine-tune it, I’d wager.”

This unit’s an Armunale. That means we’ve got to use an Armunale-specific Schprem Generator. But in wartime, most generators are out on the front lines—any that’ve come back are already in use by some other unit.

There was no way we’d have the luxury of setting up a generator just for testing this machine.

“Got the physics processor—senseboard—running on an Abnomyle Sefia Generator, sure. But—”

“Can’t hand it over if we don’t know how well it’ll mesh with this unit.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing.”

Eld’s machine’s circuits are practically a different beast from the old ones. Just because the senseboard’s working doesn’t mean we’re safe.

If the physical simulator—senseboard—isn’t syncing right, pushing a button might do nothing at all, or the machine might just act all wonky, like it’s decided to play dumb.

Can’t hand over a machine like that to the Armunale unit’s chief mechanic.

“Hmm… anyone got a spare, by chance?”

“Mmm, let’s wander around and ask, then.”

With heads a little foggy, they go ahead and do something they’d never normally do.

Out of the hangar, into another one where a different machine’s being worked on.

Just as they arrive, the maintenance crew’s mid-job.

“Excuse me—Orell from the First Armunale Battalion. Got a bit of a favor to ask.”

“Yes, what is it?”

They explain the situation to the other unit’s leader, to the head mechanic—plain as day.

“Just need to borrow the generator, even if only for a bit.”

"Surely that’s impossible. What if it messes with the generator somehow?"

"Uh-huh, I’m confident it won’t make a dent."

"Impossible, plain and simple."

"Ah, guess I’ll try someone else then."

Dismissed with a grunt, they headed off to another storage bay.

But there, too, they were turned down without ceremony. Back at their own hangar, Orell and the others stood staring up at their machine again, silent.

"What’re we supposed to do now?"

"Maybe we should ask the king? But getting an audience’ll take ages, won’t it?"

Even if they asked now, actually seeing the king wouldn’t happen for a good week. If they waited that long, the battle might already be over—or worse, already lost.

"Still, we’ve no other choice, I suppose."

Just as they were about to settle on that, the hangar suddenly erupted into noise.

And then, one Armunale slid into the hangar.

Not badly damaged, not really—though grime and scratches showed here and there, and it was clear this was a unit returning for maintenance.

“Huh. Might as well check there one last time. If not, then the Queen’s the only one left.”

“Mm-hm.”

From the locked-down craft stepped Watts, captain of the Fifteenth Armunale Squadron.

“Hurry up with the repairs! Ines-sama’s given the order! We’ll be out the second it’s done!”

‘Yes!’

Watts moved down the catwalk, barking orders as he went.

Orell and Karine called out to him.

“Sorry—got a sec? I’m Orell from the First Armunale Division.”

“Huh. What is it?”

Can I borrow the generator from your machine for a bit? We’re putting together the captain’s unit right now, but since the captain’s out front, we can’t run the tests yet.

Watts listened to Orell, then looked up at Eld’s machine parked beside him.

And took a half-step back, eyes wide.

“Ah… that’s the new model?”

“Aye, the masterpiece we poured everything into.”

“If that’s the case, I’d love to lend you the generator—but I can’t.”

Watts gave Orell a nod, a flicker of understanding, then shook his head.

“We’ve got to head back to Gamma Block soon, push through the buffer zone into Delta. No room for lending out generators.”

“Pushing into Delta? So… the fighting’s starting?”

“Yeah.”

"Getting worse by the minute. The machine you're riding now’s just a patchwork mess—won’t hold up in real fighting, I reckon."

Watts was already turning to leave, looking a little sheepish, when a new figure appeared.

"Captain Watts."

"Leon? What is it?"

It was Leon, stepping forward.

He came straight to the three of them and saluted.

"Requesting temporary detachment from the unit."

"What’s this about? You’ve got to get back to the front line."

"If it’s Eld’s machine, then it has to be delivered. Eld’s practically the kingdom’s main weapon. If his sword stays broken, the defense in Delta might collapse—no telling what’ll happen."

"But what difference does it make if you’re the one leaving?"

“I heard from a mechanic there’s one generator undergoing overhaul. I’m thinking of asking the Queen if we can borrow it.”

“Hmm.”

In all the battles across the Delta and Epsilon blocks, countless generators had been damaged, stolen, or recovered.

Leon had just picked up, from a mechanic, that one of the more severely damaged units was currently being repaired.

“The generator’s original unit’s already out on the field with another generator installed, so there shouldn’t be any issue. If I use a noble’s privilege, I can see the Queen right away.”

“…Understood. I’ll allow a temporary departure.”

“Thank you.”

“Really sure about this? For your squad leader?”

“He’s got a lot of debts I owe him. Time to pay up.”

“Ah, then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

Leon didn’t waste a second.

He went straight from the hangar to the Armunale unit’s command center, then sent an urgent request for an audience with King Darius.

The next day, the request was granted—a private meeting in the royal office.

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

“Hmph. You said it was urgent. And when you mention it’s tied to Ines’s current operation? Well, I’d be a fool not to listen. So what’s on your mind?”

Leon explained that Eld—the Guard Knight of Ines—had finished his unit, but couldn’t activate it without a generator.

And that the current version of Eld’s machine was just a dummy—useless in battle.

The king listened. Then nodded, as if seeing it for the first time.

“Hmm. Ines’s Guard Knight unable to fight at full strength? That’s a problem.”

The front’s been leaning our way lately, sure. But that’s only because Ines’s Guard Knight’s leading the charge, and Eld running wild wherever he goes. We all knew, from the reports and Ines’s letters, that without them, we’d be stuck in a stalemate again.

“So, I’d like to lend the generator currently under overhaul to Eld’s unit in the First Armunale Division.”

“Ah, makes sense. More useful than forming a new unit, wouldn’t you say?”

Normally, getting a new generator would mean raising a fresh squad, training them from scratch. But right now, with war raging, keeping ready forces on hand matters more than anything.

Besides, we’re already doing something like this. No reason to say no.

“Fine. I’ll authorize the loan of the generator to First Division Eld’s unit.”

"Thank you. I plan to be away from the fifteenth unit for a while and assist Eld’s unit directly. If anything comes up, I’ll handle it myself."

Even if the generator is loaned out, operating the machine at a basic level will be impossible without a pilot. So Leon intends to help with that too.

"Understood."

"Then I’ll be on my way."

Leon exits the office. Darius immediately pulls out the authorization document for the generator loan.

"What number was the generator we had on hand?"

He searches through the Armunale-related records for the generator’s serial number.

And his eyes widen slightly at the number he finds.

"Number thirty-four. Hmm… maybe this is fate."

Darius, who’s been gradually stepping into national affairs over the past few years, smiles wider upon recognizing the significance of the number.

Generator number thirty-four.

That was the one Eld discovered. The very machine that led Eld to become a knight.

The real fighting starts next time.