The Second Coupling
The battle ended safely.
After touching down in the hangar and stepping out of his cockpit, Netoru cast a brief glance at Karen’s Paladin mech.
Although she had fought rather dangerously, Karen’s Paladin mech remained largely intact.
Aside from a few minor scratches, it hadn’t sustained any major damage. Therefore, Karen shouldn’t have too much trouble with the tuning process later.
"Let's try sticking to this method for a while."
Replaying today's battle in his mind, Netoru let out a soft chuckle. He never imagined he would end up fighting in such a way.
Originally, Netoru's combat style wasn't the type to overexert himself while drawing the enemy's attention. He relied far more on his own individual strength than on teamwork. You could say he had a selfish personality, trusting only himself rather than relying on others.
However, in this battle, Netoru deliberately changed his fighting style, a stark contrast to how he normally operated.
He did it so that the rhythm would feel familiar to Karen.
This was also one of the many methods used to increase their coupling wavelength.
He wasn't entirely sure if it had actually worked, but... if it made her think of her previous coupling partner, then Netoru's intentions had hit the mark perfectly.
2.
Upon returning to the base, Karen sought out Asuna, the maintenance chief. It was to check the readings of their coupling wavelength from today's battle.
Just how much had it gone up?
It must have recorded a much better number than during their first coupling, at the very least.
Karen was absolutely certain the numbers had increased.
They had to have, because her physical condition felt incomparably better than when they had first coupled.
Of course, "better" was relative; the fact that coupling with Netoru was highly unstable remained unchanged.
Still, the fact that coupling was even possible in such a state proved Netoru's uniqueness. Coupling when their wavelengths didn't match in the first place was, frankly, an absurd concept.
"Karen. The coupling wavelength records you've been waiting for are out."
Before long, Asuna approached, waving a piece of paper with the results. Since Karen had requested this prior to their sortie, the processing was handled quickly.
At Asuna's words, Karen's eyes lit up.
"How is it? Did the wavelength synchronization rate go up a lot?"
"Well... It definitely went up compared to before, but the numbers are still far too low for a proper coupling."
"Hey, at least it went up, right?"
It had gone up, anyway. That was enough for her. Karen took the paper from Asuna with a smile on her lips.
‘...Hmm.’
Checking the paper, the coupling numbers were indeed still scraping the bottom of the barrel, just as Asuna had said. Compared to other pilots, it was a dismal figure. But that was fine.
19.6936%
Because the numbers had definitely gone up significantly compared to before.
Furthermore, the graph charting the changes in their coupling wavelength synchronization rate was displaying a rather meaningful pattern.
The synchronization rate of a coupling wavelength is never constant.
It fluctuates the most during battle, primarily because coupling partners often experience misalignments in their thoughts and emotions.
For example, if the male pilot wants to move aggressively but the female pilot wants to be defensive, this distortion grows even larger.
Because of this, the synchronization rate repeatedly rises and falls by the minute. However, according to the graph drawn on the paper, Karen and Netoru's synchronization rate had been drawing a continuous upward curve.
"..."
What was particularly impressive was that it hit absolute rock bottom during the sortie, but peaked right in the middle of combat.
This was probably the reading from when Netoru acted as bait and drew the enemy's attention. Netoru's actions were reckless, but the spike meant that, deep down, Karen was entirely agreeing with his judgment.
"It's fascinating. You slapped him across the face about half a month ago, but it seems you two actually sync well in the heat of battle?"
"Haha... I guess so?"
Karen offered an awkward smile at Asuna's remark as they looked over the paper together.
Honestly, Karen found it a bit fascinating herself.
Her only thought had been to just somehow participate in the battle, but their teamwork was incomparably better than during their first coupling. It made all her pre-sortie worries feel somewhat pointless.
‘...If things keep going this well, I might be able to fight without any major issues until Natsuo returns.’
If the numbers keep improving like this, the physical burden on Karen's body will lessen. Then, as long as she doesn't overdo it, she can continue participating in battles.
The only problem was who would act as Netoru's coupling partner once Natsuo finally returned.
‘Hmm... I'll think about that when the time comes.’
He was a guy who could couple with anyone, anyway. If a new pilot transferred in midway, they could just try swapping partners then.
...Or so Karen was thinking.
────!
Suddenly, alongside a harsh, numbing sensation washing over her entire body, Karen's legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
"...Ugh?"
Karen clutched her forehead, letting out a pained groan.
Her vision blurred, and her head was spinning. The sensation in her limbs was gradually fading, bringing about a terrible bout of nausea.
"...Karen!?"
"I-I'm fine..."
"No, you're obviously not fine! You're dripping with a cold sweat!"
"Haha..."
Karen offered a bitter smile at Asuna's scolding. Clenching her fists and biting her lip, anyone could tell she was desperately trying to suppress the pain.
Watching Karen with a complicated gaze, Asuna bit her own lip.
"...You. Don't tell me you were just pretending to be okay this whole time?"
"..."
Karen didn't say anything.
More accurately, she couldn't.
Because, in truth, even Karen herself couldn't tell. Had she been pretending to be okay?
Chewing on her lip in thought, Karen finally spoke.
"...Still, it's a lot better than during the first coupling."
Fortunately, the dizziness soon began to fade. Pressing her hands against the floor, Karen slowly pushed herself up. At that moment, a single scene flashed through her mind.
‘...So that really was the problem?’
To save Ferua and Kyoko, she had pushed the Paladin mech's output to its absolute maximum for a split second. The physical recoil from that maneuver was by no means light.
But that wasn't Netoru's fault.
He had simply answered Karen's call, and it was a necessary action. If anything, it was a massive relief that they managed to save two people with only this much overexertion.
"Karen. Go straight to the infirmary."
"Okay."
Under Asuna's fierce glare, Karen gave a small nod.
And just then.
"Thank you so much for today!"
"We survived thanks to you!"
Turning her head, she saw Ferua and Kyoko chattering away excitedly around Netoru.
Praising his incredible skills, thanking him for saving them, saying they hoped he'd be their platoon leader next time... and so on.
A bright, innocent laughter typical of children flowed from them.
Watching Ferua and Kyoko like that, Karen smiled softly and headed toward the infirmary.
If it was to secure that outcome, then enduring this much pain was absolutely fine.
3.
"Thank you so much for today!"
"We survived thanks to you, Netoru!"
The moment he stepped down from his Paladin mech, a young boy and girl approached him amicably.
It was Ferua and Kyoko.
Netoru examined their complexions. Looking at their healthy color, it didn't seem like they had sustained any major injuries. Despite bickering so much during the battle, it seemed they actually worked surprisingly well together.
Staring blankly at the two who were looking up at him with almost burdeningly sparkling eyes, Netoru asked:
"How many years have you two been coupling?"
"...Hmm. It hasn't even been a year yet. It'll be about 10 months soon, I think?"
"10 months... You're both 15 years old, right?"
"Yes, that's right!" they answered in unison.
"..."
Netoru unconsciously frowned.
He had already heard the stories, but confirming it directly from their own mouths caused a sudden surge of deep irritation to well up in his chest.
Throwing kids who were just barely hitting puberty onto the battlefield.
The higher-ups were truly out of their damn minds.
It essentially meant that both of them had been tossed onto the front lines the moment the military institution finished constructing their mana nervous systems.
Originally, the mana nervous system was a secret technique for elite knights to reach the realm of superhumans. However, in the current era, it had been repurposed into a biological mechanism meant solely for operating Paladin mechs.
Naturally, no matter how the purpose had changed, a mana nervous system was not something that could be constructed easily.
It was a brutal process that elite knights had to invest at least ten years into just to reach that superhuman tier.
If that was the case for actual knights—the so-called human weapons of the battlefield—then how incredible could the rushed mana nervous systems built inside the bodies of commoner kids actually be?
‘...The real problem, however, is that this unit is mostly made up of these kinds of brats.’
Netoru barely suppressed a sigh.
As far as Netoru knew, there were only two pilots in the entire unit who were over the age of twenty.
Chandler and Seres.
These two were the longest-surviving veterans of the 393rd Unit, as well as the oldest.
And the rest of the unit members were entirely teenagers.
Effectively, the average age of the unit was well under twenty.
‘It makes no damn sense.’
Come to think of it, the fact that a guy named Natsuo and Karen were acting as the aces of the unit was ridiculous in itself.
To think that a 19-year-old boy and girl were evaluated as the absolute highest combat power in the entire unit...
Of course, setting the guy named Natsuo aside, Karen's talent really was that exceptional. There was a reason Netoru coveted her, just as much as he did her beauty.
But even so, was this truly normal?
Looking at this reality, it wasn't hard to understand why Karen tried to push her broken body to sortie. Even a 19-year-old girl—who in a normal world would have only just taken off her high school uniform—probably couldn't find her younger, inexperienced unit members to be very reliable.
And, funnily enough...
Perhaps it was due to this incredibly low average age of the unit.
Thanks to that, Netoru hadn't been able to lay a finger on a woman since arriving at the 393rd Unit. He hadn't been starved for a woman for an entire month for nothing.
Kids who still had their baby fuzz weren't to his tastes, and on top of that, the only proper adult women in the unit were Commander Rien, Maintenance Chief Asuna, and Seres.
Rien was the commander, someone he couldn't easily mess with.
Asuna, too, held a position that made her someone Netoru couldn't treat carelessly.
And finally, he had gotten completely on Seres's bad side from day one.
‘...Tch.’
Recalling Seres, Netoru furrowed his brow.
In many ways, she was a woman who had become his nemesis. Seres played a massive role in dragging Netoru's reputation through the mud the moment he arrived at the unit.
Because of the unit's generally low average age, Seres couldn't help but stand out remarkably on the very first day Netoru transferred in.
As expected of the unit's oldest member, Seres possessed a mature figure, and her ripe feminine charm was truly overwhelming, even compared to adult women from other units.
Long purple hair cascading down to her waist, soft eyes, and a small beauty mark under her right eye... She was an accommodating-looking beauty with slightly drooping corners to her eyes.
Perhaps it was due to Seres's uniquely gentle, innocent appearance.
He had approached her carelessly and ended up getting utterly burned. More accurately, it would be right to say he had been tested and played by her.
Ruminating on that bitter memory, Netoru slowly lifted his head.
Right on cue, he saw Seres walking by with her coupling partner at a calm, relaxed pace.
"Great work today, everyone."
"Yes! Great work to you too, Seres!"
"Seres! Want to go wash up together right now?"
Alongside her beautiful S-shaped figure distinctly outlined by the tight pilot suit, her long purple hair, which reached past her hips, swayed softly.
The way she warmly greeted the unit members as she passed by was benevolent, almost like a kindergarten teacher who adored children.
However, one shouldn't be fooled by that facade.
Unlike her gentle appearance, she was a sly, manipulative, fox-like bitch.
And the coupling partner walking right beside her was a 17-year-old boy.