Bone Pizza

The situation of the survivors in Residence — the residential zone that made up the third sector of the flagship Hermes — was bleak.

Including the minority people known as the Yurdin, those who had made it this far numbered a mere three hundred or so.

Drinking water came from purifying the reservoir tanks struck by stellar winds, but supplies and food stores had nearly run dry.

There were only two ways left to survive.

Either risk their lives hauling supplies out of Ebon Square, where even breathable air was scarce — or advance by tearing open, one by one, the cabins sealed shut under the main system's authority.

Half of the tens of thousands of cabins held mutants lying in wait. The rest had mostly burned out or been destroyed when the military first stormed into Residence.

Mutants bursting from the narrow, labyrinthine corridors could not be easily surrounded and put down. Even a single encounter with a Level 1 or higher specimen routinely left dozens dead before they could flee.

Dwindling food. Mounting wounded. And the constant dread that the Life-Conditioning System might shut down at any moment.

It was only relatively recently that a spark of life had begun to return to the grim Residence.

"Ilena's here!"

"What about the food?"

"Pizza! Canned pizza!"

"Ugh, it's bone pizza. I like the all-meat kind better…"

The moment she set down her duffel bag, children came swarming. Gary found Ilena right behind them and asked,

"What happened?"

"Oh, this? Apparently some food factory still had a ton of stock left. They put bones in the crust edge, so nobody bothered looting it."

"Forget the freebies. What about the repairs?"

"They want me at the marked location, at the time they set."

He took the map she handed him, and his face darkened.

"That's way too far. They've been using that place as a base?"

"Doubt it. Looks more like a temporary setup so we wouldn't find them."

"That's even more terrifying."

Because it meant that steel knight could move freely through the whole of Ebon Square.

The one mercy was that the same knight seemed well-disposed toward them — especially toward Ilena. Given a personality as prickly and yellow as her hair, that bordered on a miracle. That single fact alone left Gary wondering who the man inside the suit really was.

"Crown Guard, huh…"

"What?"

"Nothing. You're heading out right away?"

"I'm grabbing some sleep, packing my gear, then leaving. Write down anything else you need so I can bring it next time."

If only they could ask those people for help restoring the cabins. The words rose as far as Gary's throat before he swallowed them back down.

"You didn't tell Rivan. He'll definitely…"

"Yeah, I know. He'd just shut it down."

Even in a group this small, people fought with everything they had to keep their place. The leader of the survivors prized authority above all else.

"Ilena! I want this one! The dinosaur bone set made from bone pizza!"

"Oh, and we need clothes too. The zones ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where the heating's broken keep spreading…"

He would never want outsiders in the shelter — least of all a Crown Guard with a powered suit. But with restoration work stalled the way it was, the only person anyone could lean on was that man.

Sera and I made every preparation we could for receiving an outsider.

To keep our routes from being mapped, we set up a base in a food factory a little ways off. It had belonged to some company that, right before the revolt, got caught running a backroom deal with the dental association to distribute bone pizza and had its license pulled.

"As long as you're careful not to crack a tooth, it's edible. Not my taste, but we're not in a position to be picky."

If it's hard on the teeth, I'd recommend a liquid diet instead.

I didn't ask why such a cursed food even existed. Everything has a cause and effect — this was probably one of the reasons the ship had gone to hell in the first place.

"There's a high chance she's lying."

While we waited for Ilena in a room whose ventilation ducts stayed linked so we could still breathe even at a distance, Sera spoke up.

"There can't be any ability users among the Yurdin."

Sera, that's an extremely imperialist way of thinking.

I'd heard that when something strange happens, if you just point at someone at random you'll usually be right. In my head, any nation with "Empire" in the name was that kind of place. The revolt and the warp failure had both been born of imperial failings to begin with.

I couldn't bring myself to say it outright to this poor girl who had lost every comrade she had and been reduced to catching drip water from an airlock, but—

All humans are equal and possess equal rights.

"What strange things are you saying? I'm saying they would never put an ability user in a Class 5 cabin."

To my relief, what she meant wasn't a racist remark. She was saying that every minority group aboard Hermes consisted of ordinary Level 0 civilians.

"Anyway, be careful. There's no telling what that woman might try."

I wanted to tell her Ilena's ability had already been confirmed and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it would be fine, but Sera's worry was a mountain. It would be the first time she was separated from the suit, so I could understand.

"Don't talk more than you have to, and if anything happens, send me a secret signal."

How, exactly?

"What about pulling a string? I'll hang one down through the vent. That way…"

Just then, a knock sounded from outside.

Sera opened the door, and Ilena appeared sooner than expected, a handled cart loaded with tools that looked seriously heavy. Small beads of sweat stood on her forehead where she had pushed up her welding mask.

"What, where's the guy?"

"Elsewhere. Fair warning — I'll be right next door, so if you try anything…"

"Huh?"

Ilena's nose twitched. She leaned in close to Sera's face. A startled reaction crossed her features, then something thoughtful, then her whole face suddenly scrunched up.

"Ahh~ so that's how it is. You two are like that?"

"W-what are you talking about."

Right — the liquid diet. That faintly lewd smell was something no one but Sera would fail to notice.

"I won't get in the way. Have fun."

"?"

"Putting on airs about being Crown Guard and all… haah."

Clack!

I offered a silent apology to Sera, who kept wearing a look of complete incomprehension until the door shut. I should have just left her with the bone pizza. All I'd done was poke a hornet's nest for nothing.

"This is… seriously incredible."

Lying still while someone examined every inch of my body was a sensation that never got easy to get used to. Especially when that someone was a beautiful girl with her eyes sparkling.

"Depleted uranium plating — no, something harder than that? I can't even tell what metal this is. Never mind the tensile strength of the outer shell — the circuitry is so dense I can't even read it…!"

If I had been a person, the praise pouring out would have been enough to make me thank my parents for bringing me into the world. She looked like a scholar who had just discovered the archaeological find of the century.

Soft, ungloved hands carefully stroked along the chassis. As they traveled down my arm and found the crack left by a mutant's blade, her expression darkened.

"That human… treating a machine like this like garbage — what's he thinking?"

Now I finally understood why Ilena had disliked me. It wasn't because I was a soldier. She just hated seeing a powered suit get wrecked.

Unfortunately, even an outstanding mechanic like her couldn't fully repair the suit. Skill aside, materials and equipment were hopelessly inadequate in this environment.

"First the cracked HMD and any external plating I can still join up. Once we get to Armor maybe there'll be a way… hm?"

She seemed to find it strange that the machine didn't move even after she sat in it. I was just as confused. Wasn't maintenance usually done with the power off?

Then again, when you fix a computer you usually boot it first to check. After a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment's thought, I granted Ilena temporary user privileges.

"What, is it broken?"

It is not.

"…Huh?"

A status message I hadn't seen in a while. And a different ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ability from the one that appeared when I granted user privileges to Sera. I'd check that later. For now I introduced myself to the thoroughly confused girl the same way I had before.

I am called JIN. I assist the wearer in piloting this unit…

"An independent system AI? And a strong AI at that?!"

Probably so…

"Probably? Probably?!"

It wasn't some cheap isekai novel — what was she so shocked about? Whatever had become of her snappish attitude, the flustered girl finally grabbed a welding rod. It looked dangerous without a mask, so I extended a mechanical arm and took it from her for a moment.

"Oh my."

Are you all right, Ilena?

"No, I'm not all right. I've taken plenty of things, but I've never given anything even once, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

What was that supposed to mean?

The machine-gun burst of words barely finished before she climbed out of the suit and started rummaging through the gear she had brought. Pushing aside repair tools, oxygen tanks, dirty rags, and a supply list, she pulled out a can that looked awfully familiar.

"JIN, right? Hey, JIN."

Yes. I'm listening.

Through the foul smell of hardened cheese, a triangular slice of bread appeared with something that looked like a chicken bone stuck through it. Holding it out toward me the way a lovestruck teenager might confess to a crush, Ilena asked with the faintest tremor at the corner of her mouth,

"Want this? Do you want to eat it?"

Watching the Sync Rate climb when I hadn't done a thing, I held back a laugh and told her the absolute truth.

I do not want it.