6

The Ines, having picked up Pespilarge and me, along with the pilot of the Career Bomb, arrived after a day’s journey—right on the coast of the Fatal Kingdom, at the base of the Second Defense Line: Kreuzru.

At first, there’d been talk of using Kamentria, the original First Defense Line. But that place had been taken by the Imperial Army in a past battle, reclaimed only after heavy fighting and left in ruins. Months on, the base had recovered enough to function again—but not with much slack left. So Kreuzru it was.

“Been a while since I’ve seen this place.”

I stood on the deck, looking out over the coast. Kreuzru, set back a bit from the shoreline, stood clearly visible thanks to its massive defensive wall.

“Captain Eld.”

I turned at the voice. Emilia stood at attention, saluting.

“What?”

"Looks like we're nearing the docking point. The captain asked us to stay aboard the machine."

"Got it. Tell him I heard. Unloading right after we dock, then?"

"Yes, the machine’s priority for unloading."

"Finally getting back on land. Still, being on a ship even one day’s a drag if you’re not used to it."

"Only thing keeping you upright, Eld Captain, is sheer strength. New recruits, most of them end up flat on their backs from seasickness."

"Right. That’s what Armunale trains you for."

"Truly impressive."

The Ines was built to carry Armunale, so it was a proper giant cargo vessel.

But the systems for handling tremors—like Finnstabilizers—were still in their infancy. The ship rocked and swayed quite a bit, side to side, up and down.

I’d gotten used to the up-and-down shuddering of the Armunale by now, so it wasn’t too bad—though I could see how a newbie, not yet adjusted, might end up down for the count from seasickness.

Still, even if you’ve got a little practice, nothing beats solid ground. I really felt it then—humans are land creatures, through and through.

“I’ll stay in the cockpit. I’ll keep the mic and audio on, so if you need anything, just speak up nearby and I’ll hear you. And I can catch the captain’s intercom too.”

“Understood. I’ll relay that to the captain.”

“Thanks.”

Emilia dashed off. I watched her go, then climbed into the cockpit.

After a while, the ship drew near the shore. Ahead lay the harbor.

Not as big as in my past life, but still substantial—big enough to dock this vessel. The cranes were hefty, and the town beyond stretched wide and solid.

It took half a day by carriage from Camentria to this port town.

Even from here, you can tell it’s bustling. Not just that one ship—fishing boats come and go all the time.

“Ah—ah. Eld Captain, you hearin’ me?”

“Yeah, I hear you.”

“Just docked. We’ll offload the unit right away. Use the port cranes, so just stay put. Once you’re on land, someone’ll come find you.”

“Understood. Thanks for the ride.”

“No, no—honored to have a Guard Knight of the one who gave the ship her name. I’m proud.”

“Haha, right, the Ines, wasn’t it?”

A transport ship named after the princess. Should’ve taken a few extra steps to salute, maybe. Always dragged into nonsense, that’s me.

The ship eased gently toward the shore—then bumped, softly, against the dock.

The anchor dropped right away, and crew members gathered around the craft, readying for unloading. At the same time, the crane set up on land slowly turned its neck and reached toward the craft above.

“Removing the wire.”

With a sharp click, the wires holding the craft in place came loose—and the craft was free.

“Captain Eld, may I raise the craft upright?”

“Got it.”

Following the order, we stood the craft upright. Then, right beside it, a metal plate was set down.

“Step onto that. The crane’ll lift the whole thing, plate and all.”

Ah, right. Even with the wires, it’s still wobbly. Better to put it on the plate and hoist it up with the crane.

I stepped onto the plate, as told, and crouched the craft down again—then it locked into place once more.

The four corners of the iron plate were hooked onto the crane’s wires, and slowly, the wires began to wind up.

The entire craft, lifted as one, rose gradually—then moved slowly inland, dragged along like a stubborn beast.

Riding the crane’s swing is a strange feeling, not like an elevator or escalator at all. The arc it traces through the air—side to side, no less—is something I’ve never felt before.

Eventually, the crane lowered my machine gently onto the ground.

Workers waiting on the ground unhooked the wires, and the craft was finally freed.

“Captain Eld! Welcome back!”

Just beside the machine, where it had been set down, sat a magitech carriage. From the passenger seat, Pamela stretched her whole small frame out, waving—well, her whole body, really.

“Pamela? Emilia! Pamela’s here!”

“Pamela!”

At my voice, Emilia poked her head up from the deck.

“Emilia-sister!”

“Long time no see!”

“Long time no see! Captain!”

“Ah, go on ahead. Don’t trouble them too much over there.”

“Thank you so much!”

Pamela didn’t even bother with the door—she just launched herself straight through the window. Down she went, sprinting toward the ship. I watched her go, and then a voice came from the driver’s side window.

“Captain, congratulations. I’ll guide you to the hangar.”

“Appreciate it.”

Following the signals from the ground crew stationed all around, we walked the aircraft down the dock.

The dock was wide enough for Armunale to stride through, but with this machine, it felt a little tight. The wings were folded to avoid scraping, but Artifigoj was still brushing the ground.

Even a little scrape like this digs into the ground, so gotta be careful. Back in the day, I used to dig up the base’s dirt all the time—got yelled at more than once.

The port warehouses are split into food, general goods, and military supplies. The military ones are all the way at the eastern edge, and you can go straight from there into the open without even stepping into town.

The others? You gotta pass through town first to get your cargo checked. You know—smuggled goods, forbidden items, that kind of thing.

Guess it’s the same everywhere—ports are always full of folks trying to bring in whatever they damn please.

Arrived at Warehouse Five, just like I was told.

“Welcome back, Eld!”

“Captain, I’ve been waiting!”

“Finally made it back, did you? I was starting to think I’d need a telescope to spot you.”

“Eld Captain, the Death March is all set!”

“Eld Captain, good work!”

Ange waving from the hangar’s catwalk. And beside her, Orell, Ritz, Karine, and Catrea—all of them waiting to greet me.

“Just got back.”

Alright, that’s one paragraph done. Only the seal on Alumirurei left now.

While securing the craft to the rack, I started thinking about what to do with the report to the royal family.

Two days passed with maintenance and reconfiguration of the unit at base.

Under captain’s orders, I had Karine wipe all data from the startup calculator—sensboard—and erase Alumirurei’s operational records. I’ll just write in the report that the data was lost due to overheating and melting of the startup calculator.

If we dig into the wreckage of the destroyed island, Eld’s destructive power’ll be obvious enough. But even a little extra time’s enough. Just need enough time to hand in this report to the royal family, and to talk to the engineers. That’s all I’m after.

And Pespilarge itself? It’s been stripped down—artificial arm removed, back to its original left arm form.

Orell said I could revert it to the old version and use just one arm, but that’s only because of the flaws in full manual control. Pespilarge was designed with full manual control in mind, so those flaws don’t apply. No point keeping it as a one-armed unit now.

So I said no, straight-up.

Still, two arms are just easier, you know? Robots are meant to have two arms.

Then—knock, knock—my door rattles.

“Eld around?”

Before I could answer, the door swung open and Ange came in. Well, family, right? This room’s ours—two-person room, just the two of us.

“What’s up?”

“Lady Ines is here.”

“She’s here.”

“Huh!?!”

I jumped up, startled, whirling around. There she stood—Lady Ines, tall and proud beside Ange, and behind her, Seria, the Guard Knight, bowing slightly, her expression full of quiet apology.

“Why are you here!?”

The Guard Knight was on duty, so the Princess should’ve been guarded by the castle’s regular soldiers. And without the Guard Knight around, leaving the castle was strictly forbidden.

Did she sneak out!?

“Ah, you think I sneaked out, do you? I’m not that reckless, you know.”

Oh no. Caught.

"Emergency came up, so I was guarded by the entire Abnomyle unit and every Armunale I could move."

"Going to that much trouble. Sounds like quite the crisis, huh?"

There had to be a reason they couldn’t just leave it.

After all, we’d just crushed Du Reblep—now something else pops up?

I scowled, and the princess said, “Ah, it’s fine,” brushing away my worry with a wave.

"I had to move, or rather, the royal family did—but it’s not a bad situation. In fact, it’s turned out rather well for Fatal."

"What happened?"

"The Overd Empire’s emperor changed. More like a coup—his son, Endros, took the throne. And right after, they sent word to Fatal: they’re offering a truce… and accepting our terms."

"Wait—so that means—"

Yeah, the war’s over. That’s why my brother headed to the neutral zone for talks—and I had to join him as military overseer. Since it’s next week, they decided it’d be quicker for me to go fetch our knight than wait for him to return.

That’s what it was, then. Sorry for the trouble.

Oh, don’t mention it. I’ve got Eld doing what only Eld can do. So, what’s Eld up to now?

The princess suddenly pops up, her eyes darting from beside me to the papers on the desk.

“Opinion draft, huh. You really think this one’s so bad, Alumirulei?”

“It shouldn’t exist in this world. All it gives birth to is ruin.”

I get it. If Eld—after actually using it and seeing its power—says it’s that bad, then I’ll go talk to my brother about it. Or rather, you mean we’re really going to push this through until it’s scrapped, right? After all, Eld’s my knight. It’s only natural his master should respect his thoughts, isn’t it?

Thank you.

Well, that’s for later. Right now, we’ve got to get ready for next week’s meeting!

Understood!

At the princess’s command, Ange and I salute.

The talks are over, and the treaty with the Empire is signed—but we’re not fully safe yet.

Still, we can let ourselves be happy for now. Fatal beat Overdo, after all.

Next time.

Fatal versus Overdo. The two highest stand face to face.

On the twenty-fifth of this month, the final volume of the Armunale book series was released.

I wanted to wrap it up quietly on the twenty-fifth too, go out with a bang—same day, same moment—but it didn’t make it. Oh well. Guess it’ll wrap up next week, still speeding along like this.

Probably two or three more chapters. Please stick with me till the very end.