Hey, This Bastard... I'm Not a Lunatic, Right? (4)

The super-heavy cruiser Valkyrie.

Elia had collapsed the moment she arrived here and was rushed straight into the operating room. When Karina saw the battered state of Elia's body, she asked Erica with a look of shock.

“W-what is this…? What happened?”

“It’s an order. I brought her anyway. But…”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A face full of barely contained fury.

“-I hope you never give me such orders again, Commodore.”

When Erica recalled Elia’s final appearance, her heart ached with unbearable pain. The image of Elia screaming someone’s name until her tears ran dry mixed every emotion in her head into a chaotic storm.

“Dead.”

“Dead again.”

“When will I be able to follow them?”

What Elia had shown her was an extreme despair that felt like the end of the world. Yet here she was, forced to obey the Commodore’s command the moment she finally understood it. Was this the tragedy born from orders themselves, or karma for never noticing her despair until now?

“Captain! Captain Elia! Let go! I’m coming too!”

“Rora, calm down! As the vice-captain, where are you planning to run off to when you leave this ship?!”

“I’m coming too, I mean it—I’m coming too! Captain!”

Rora had watched Elia being carried on a stretcher toward the Valkyrie, sobbing until she fainted. The atmosphere inside the ship had frozen solid; it was as if the very air had turned to ice.

“Special Operations Officer Erica, I entrust you with the Captain.”

“…Yeah. Tell Rora I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

Even the promise she had made not to let a single hair on Elia’s body be harmed had failed. Erica boarded the transport to the Valkyrie with a heavy heart. The bitter taste of failure hit her for the first time. Pain stabbed through her insides, jolting her back to reality.

“Since the order is complete, can I go now?”

“Wait a moment. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I need a situation report.”

They stared at each other in silence. Karina had forced a blank expression, but Erica noticed her eyes trembling faintly.

“And Special Operations Officer Erica, I am—”

“-I know. It’s just that I’m angry at myself. Don’t mind it.”

Commodore Karina and I have known each other for thirty years. I already knew she wouldn’t have wanted this outcome. Erica was simply furious at her own helplessness in being able to suppress Elia in that way. She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck once.

“Hmph. Good. Then let’s head to the office first.”

While Karina stood stiffly in the hangar corridor, her aide approached.

“Special Operations Officer Erica! It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah, long time. How have you been?”

“It’s been good, thanks to you.”

The aide who saluted Erica immediately reported to Karina.

“Commodore, Captain Elia has been transferred to Operating Room 01.”

“Thank you. What’s her condition?”

“Doctor Rin is examining her.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Rin personally?”

“Yes. She arrived on the transport exactly seventeen minutes ago.”

Doctor Rin Esmeralda.

The captain of the medical ship Archaea, which was docked right beside the Valkyrie. It was unexpected that she had come all the way here, but as an authority in the medical field, Rin’s presence brought a measure of relief.

“Very good. Report to me immediately the moment she wakes up.”

“Yes, Commodore.”

ⴕ

Operating Room 01, super-heavy cruiser Valkyrie.

Doctor Rin Esmeralda slipped the surgical apron over her head, then pulled on the germ-proof gloves. She stared at the Sigma parasite that had firmly embedded itself near Elia’s heart on the operating table and bit her lip.

Elia.

Surprisingly, the operating room held no other medical staff besides herself.

Why again in this state…

She first removed the two suppression grenades lodged in Elia’s shoulders and lower abdomen.

She said she woke up again? She must have been close to losing consciousness.

Two Leepke suppression grenades.

Only about five thousand blood vessels damaged by the mana wave.

The hand inside the glove felt damp with sweat.

Total damaged blood vessels: 4932. 4813 reconnected.

Rin sutured every severed major blood vessel in the impact area. This was ultra-precise magical surgery that demanded absolute concentration. Elia’s operation had no precedent. Normally, reconnecting the major vessels would allow the remaining capillaries to heal on their own, but Elia’s body—where the Sigma parasite was constantly trying to erode her—was different.

The erosion speed of the Sigma parasite is too fast.

Her eyes scanned the remaining blood vessels at lightning speed. The longer time passed, the more disadvantageous the fight became. The Sigma parasite had the trait of preferentially eroding damaged blood vessels and mana veins. Even as she thought this, some unsutured vessels had already turned black.

Steady. Concentrate. Perform the surgery calmly.

She shook her head.

She shouldn’t be thinking such useless thoughts.

I am the only one who can save this child.

The moment Rin heard that Elia’s condition had worsened, she rushed to the Valkyrie in a single step. The fact that she herself was infected was already classified as grade 1 secret, and more importantly, no one else could treat Elia.

Give up the remaining 119 blood vessels. Supply mana to the heart.

After making her decision, she connected a mana supply line near Elia’s left chest. The mana projection showed that Elia’s heart had melted by about thirty percent due to mana explosion, making it unrecognizable. Even with her skill in the highest-level magic surgery in Aegis, treatment would have been impossible. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the Sigma parasite was partially regenerating her shattered heart with dark mutated cells.

These suppression grenades… all missed the vital points.

Thankfully, the shooter had used precise aim to avoid the vital areas. Otherwise, Elia might have been eroded by most of her blood vessels by now.

It’s a blessing. Really.

Rin looked at Elia’s face again. She was firmly restrained to the operating table to prevent relapse. Dozens of special mana supply lines stretched from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ceiling down to the area around her left chest.

This was the video from when she was suppressed, right?

After double-checking the mana level in the control line, she played the video received from the Valkyrie. Scenes of Elia moving at impossible speeds even during mana explosion, and scenes of her shedding tears of blood while fighting alongside her allies flashed by. In the final moment when Elia was hit by the second Leepke grenade and flew away, Rin closed her eyes.

“Please don’t push yourself too hard.”

She murmured quietly to Elia, then sat down and began operating the computer.

…What I can do for her.

She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then entered a forty-eight-digit password. A similar screen floated into the air.

Please don’t suffer even a little more.

“This should be fine for now.”

Rin soaked a towel in warm water, wrung it out, and carefully wiped every corner of Elia’s body. Endless shallow and deep scars covered her entire form. Her chest was completely scorched black.

“…I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Elia.”

The only survivor of Sector 09.

Fifteen years ago, when the rumor spread that a unique survivor existed in Sector 09, high-ranking Aegis officials whispered in secret that the one who had swallowed hell was real.

The one who swallowed hell.

It was none other than Elia Edelvine, her alias. Rin still could not forget the final day of Sector 09. Those events came to her every day in nightmares, tormenting her. Even though she had only watched from Sector 10, the pain she felt was already unbearable—so how much pain had the one who was actually there endured?

“I only hope you are at peace.”

Rin’s eyes welled with tears. How many people’s despair had Elia carried and survived in that living hell? How much sadness did this tiny body hold? Who could even imagine it? Thanks to her sacrifice, Sectors 08 and 10 adjacent to Sector 09 had survived the Unknowns’ horrific biohazard.

“Eriniess-nim, I hate you.”

Rin denied the existence of the goddess of mercy Eriniess.

If a true god existed—

She would never abandon her child like this.

Wounded flesh, broken heart, shattered mind.

But her sacrifice received no reward.

Perhaps never.

“How much more… how much more do you have to wound this child…”

Don’t cry.

You can’t cry yet.

But against her will, thick tears fell drop by drop. She covered her mouth to stop herself from sobbing, yet the cries still escaped. Eventually she could hold back no longer and pulled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the lying Elia into her arms. It was cold. Too cold. The tears came faster.

“Elia, please forgive me, forgive me.”

Her voice came out in a choked, painful whisper as she spoke one word at a time. She cried for a long time in Elia’s sleeping embrace.

“-No matter what, I’ll find a way to save her.”

The eyes that had held the last tear now shone with resolute will.

She was determined to save her at any cost.

That was the promise she had made to Eve.

ⴕ

Two hours later.

After removing all the mana control lines connected to Elia, Rin took out the new underwear and uniform she had prepared in advance. She dressed Elia in the custom-made clothes with familiar skill, then neatly tied the tie of the uniform. Only then could she finally wipe away the tear stains from her own face.

“Please wait just a little longer, Elia.”

Rin renewed her resolve. She wanted to wake her immediately, but not yet. Not yet could she face Elia’s eyes. She stroked Elia’s cheek while she slept, then stepped out of the operating room.

“Doctor! Is the surgery complete?”

“Yes. I’ll return to Archaea now.”

“Commodore is looking for you, but…”

Commodore’s order?

But there was no time to waste here.

“Please excuse me. My next surgery is urgent.”

“Ah, I see. If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”

“And there are instructions. Please follow them exactly.”

As soon as she heard the word “instructions,” the waiting officer immediately opened her notebook.

“Until Captain Elia regains consciousness, entry into and lighting of the operating room will be strictly prohibited. Operating Room 01 contains devices to monitor the patient’s vital signs, so when she wakes up, it will automatically send the signal. Please check the status afterward. Although her limbs are currently restrained to the operating table, once she regains consciousness, release the restraints so she can rest immediately. Bring someone familiar with the situation to explain and enter the operating room. When lighting, please gradually increase the intensity so the patient doesn’t become too tense. If there is no such need but additional medical support is required, please call me directly. Currently, I am the only one who can treat her.”

Rin spoke in a rapid, machine-gun-like stream. The officer, diligently taking notes, paused for a moment and asked about the final instruction.

“Directly call…?”

“Please contact the captain’s room of the medical ship Archaea directly.”

“I will remember.”

The task she had to complete now was clear.

She hurriedly boarded the transport to Archaea.