Observation Tower
───KABOOOM! The thunderous explosion of an artillery shell detonated roughly 500 meters away, its deafening roar ripping through the air with raw force. That was the battlefield where Chandler's 1st Squad was locked in combat. Had someone taken a hit? They had been on standby, ready to provide agile support at a moment's notice.
──Point 195, clear!
Chandler's crisp, resounding voice signaled the end of the fight. At the sound, Netoru let go of the control stick for a moment and leaned back against his seat in the cockpit. As the tension drained from his body and he closed his eyes briefly, a wave of languid fatigue washed over him. Probably a sign of exhaustion. It hadn't been a particularly dangerous battle, but with Bugs swarming in and out every day lately, even Netoru couldn't avoid wearing down. Thanks to that, the number of couplings with Karen was already pushing into double digits.
If only they'd all come at once. The thought slipped into his mind unbidden. For Netoru, dealing with them in one big push was far less hassle than these daily annoying sorties.
Is this some kind of strategy? At this point, it wasn't an unreasonable conclusion. Of course, that would require the Bugs to have some commander-level intelligent entity... But as far as Netoru knew, no such strategically savvy specimens had shown up yet. Still, "what if" was always a possibility. Despite years of nonstop fighting, humanity still knew next to nothing about the Bugs' ecology or thought processes. They remained enigmas.
Besides, even if Netoru had a glimpse of the future, his knowledge was severely limited. So in reality, he had no choice but to rely on his own skills rather than some vague foreknowledge. When faced with unknown enemies, all he could do was trust his abilities and push through.
"Haa... Is that it for today?"
As the battle wrapped up, Karen seemed to unwind too, sitting up in her cockpit and stretching her arms. Her back arched gracefully, laced fingers reaching for the canopy overhead. After wriggling around a bit, she connected the voice channel to the rest of 5th Squad and said, "Everyone, good work out there."
──Yes! Good work, ma'am!
Netoru let out a hollow chuckle as he listened to the squad members' replies. A bunch of chicks, still. You'd think he'd be used to it by now, but their youthful voices grated on him. Probably because deep down, he didn't fully trust them. To Netoru, 5th Squad weren't so much comrades as dead weight. For instance—the kids might not even realize it, but he'd been babysitting them the whole battle. Take today's fight: that Kanzaki guy fought like a total lunatic, making Netoru wonder what the hell they were teaching at the academy these days. He'd heard they were skimping on basics and shoving rookies straight to the front lines, but seeing it firsthand just left him sighing.
Are they finally hitting the limit on pilot recruitment?
The kingdom's foundations were already crumbling. Hell, maybe rotten to the core. At least, when Netoru first awoke in this world, things hadn't been this dire. Good lord—a unit with more kids than adults. In that sense, the 393rd Unit in the 39th Sector was a real eye-opener for him. He'd never seen a base crawling with so many minors. At first, watching teenagers casually milling about, he'd wondered how the hell a unit like this even existed. Every previous unit he'd been in had been staffed entirely by adult men and women. Of course, those had been key strategic zones, elite hotspots, so naturally they'd been filled with seasoned pilots—experienced adults, every one. Talent meant nothing without age-earned experience.
Flip that around, and the 39th Sector—staffed with these green, low-average-age pilots—was basically a dumping ground.
As his thoughts reached that point...
...Her 19th birthday's coming up soon, huh.
Like he'd just noticed something novel, Netoru glanced up at Karen perched atop the cockpit. When they'd first met and she'd said she was 19, he'd assumed adult. But a minor who hadn't hit her birthday yet? Pilots under 19—those whose birthdays hadn't passed—were forbidden from sexual intercourse. Something about forming normal coupling wavelengths during adolescence.
"Karen."
"What?"
She turned at the sound of her name, thick black hair swaying by her shoulders, dark eyes flickering with curiosity. Such a babyface. And yet, she'd survived remarkably long in this clusterfuck of a unit.
"You're about to turn adult, right?"
"...What the hell, out of nowhere."
Maybe caught off guard by the random comment, Karen frowned as she twisted back to look. Netoru just grinned at her and shrugged.
"Anyway, congrats."
"My birthday hasn't even happened yet?"
With that, she whipped her head away and resumed her position atop the cockpit. Netoru smirked, admiring her childish backside. About a minute passed like that when a comm from Commander Rien came in.
"Yes. We're good to go."
Karen answered Rien's question. She seemed in high spirits today.
"Yes."
The Holy Knight's cockpit had a magic-built system interface for pilots, but data like terrain maps or enemy positions had to be linked directly by the commander. For that, commanders gathered and processed info from the place commonly called Aegis... Anyway.
This is it.
A few inputs, and a screen materialized in midair, displaying terrain data. Inside, a yellow light blinked at the presumed target point.
"Commander. Is that yellow light the observation tower?"
The observation tower was an artifact-cum-facility that aided in monitoring Bug movements. Scattered at regular intervals across the 393rd Unit's observation zone—one of them had gone dark. So their next mission was to check its status. With all Bugs cleared from the observation area...
This was basically a light stroll.
2. All observation towers sat at the edge of the 39th Sector. Makes sense for Bug-spotting outposts. That meant a good distance to cover, turning this trivial task into a major pain in the ass.
No matter the army, these petty chores always fell to the lowest-ranking grunts. And so it was for Netoru's 5th Squad—the youngest, least experienced bunch in the unit. They headed out in a "might as well do some coupling training" mood. Netoru was the responsible party... and had been dragged along.
...What a hassle.
The sun beat down fiercely. Safe inside the Holy Knight, he wasn't baking alive, but staring at the sun-scorched earth still made breathing feel heavy. Netoru pondered as he maneuvered the Knight. Do I really have time for this crap?
In any other unit, it wouldn't even cross his mind. They'd send some other sucker. But since his coupling partner Karen insisted on going, here he was, roped in. Plus, in today's fight, 5th Squad had barely done more than tag along in support... The squad with the least stamina drain was the obvious pick for potential surprises.
"Netoru, you know what?"
"What?"
In the midst of their endless trek to the target, amid the lukewarm silence, Karen—uncharacteristically—spoke first.
"My body's in weirdly good shape today."
"Yeah, I noticed."
Which was why they'd taken this annoying mission instead of heading back to base like the others. The girl who'd been gasping on every sortie.
Normally, they'd have no choice but to return. "...Maybe the coupling circulation method's actually working?"
"Who knows."
Probably not. Sure, Karen's efforts played a part. But her peak condition today was purely thanks to Netoru. She didn't realize it, but he'd fought the Bugs at reduced output— like sparring with sandbags on his wrists. And yet here she was, blissfully clueless, chatting away.
Put differently: Netoru could handle Bugs at lower power without breaking a sweat, meaning he was getting intimately attuned to piloting through her body. Ultimately, that's why he bothered—managing her condition. With skirmishes dragging on for days, he had to watch her stamina. Couldn't have her collapsing mid-fight like their first coupling, leaving the Holy Knight dead in the water.
...Time to crank the output up soon?
Oblivious to his efforts, Karen muttered resolutely to herself. Netoru figured he'd clue her in later and checked their position for now. The map showed the target dead ahead after all their trudging.
Almost there.
And so, five Holy Knights—including Netoru's—closed in on the objective. Leading was Karen's pristine white machine, followed by a motley assortment of varied models trailing leisurely. No tension in their movements. Picnic vibes, straight up.
The linked voice channel buzzed with casual chatter. Netoru didn't bother reining them in—too entertaining.
That was Pera and Kanzaki from 5th Squad. Their coupling partners, Kyoko and Jane, chimed in now and then too.
"......"
Of course, Karen was listening to every word.
Netoru blurted his honest take. "Karen, the squad really loves you."
"...Shut up."
Face flushed beet red, she ducked her head. Too embarrassed to look up.