026. Last Mission (1)
026. Last Mission (1)
Additional Record.
Hello.
This record was written in case Laika ever has another Commander after me, to be shown to that person.
Why am I suddenly writing something like this... Well, the thought crossed my mind just now, right before we set out on the reconnaissance mission to Ice Shell.
Isn't it true that someone like me could be killed in action at any time?
It may seem like stating the obvious.
But what I want to address is what will happen to Laika if I die.
Because if I disappear, Laika will surely fall into terrible despair.
She might be so devastated and shocked that her entire personality changes.
Like, the quick and lively Laika of now might turn into a laid-back slacker... (No, that's probably too much of a stretch.)
Whatever the case, I can't rule out the possibility that Laika might be wounded beyond recovery and go astray.
That's when a good idea occurred to me.
So that Laika can adapt well to her next Commander and continue working as an excellent biodroid, just like now.
So that she can forget me and continue living happily.
What if I left a few requests concerning Laika for her next Commander?
That is why.
So I'm really going to leave them!!! My requests!!!
...That was the plan.
But now that I'm actually trying to write, the words aren't coming out well.
Mmm.
How should I start?
To start with.
Maybe it's best to begin with an apology.
I'm sorry, Laika's next Commander.
I was a terrible Commander.
This isn't false humility.
Nor is it excessive self-deprecation.
Caring for Laika over this past year has made me keenly aware of my shortcomings.
For instance, I didn't even know how to equip Laika with gear that suited her.
I didn't know how to read the intent behind a parts configuration, nor how to design an appropriate training program.
So much so that I only realized just a few days ago that Laika's body was set up for the Rampage skill.
Even so, despite having such an inexperienced and inadequate Commander, Laika really did her best to follow my lead.
Looking back, it almost feels like Laika took care of me over this past year, rather than the other way around.
So.
If you, the Commander who takes over Laika, ever think that Laika is a lousy biodroid, that is absolutely not true.
Laika is a remarkable child with immense potential.
Above all, she is a kind and motivated child who wants to take the initiative and head to the battlefield.
So please, even if Laika seems a little twisted or discouraged, don't write her off.
Give Laika a chance to turn herself around—a chance to become the wonderful girl she used to be.
I sincerely ask this of you.
...It wouldn't be polite to only ask for favors, would it?
Actually, there is a gift I want to pass on to Laika through you, Commander.
They're a piece of equipment and a core she can use once her Rampage level rises past a certain point.
To be honest, I didn't buy them; they're a perk given to Commanders who make it through a full year. (I also only learned that Laika was set up around Rampage after receiving these items.)
The reason I'm leaving these as a gift instead of using them myself is that I've given up on strengthening Laika primarily around Rampage.
I looked into it and found that the setup is unsuited to inexperienced Commanders like me and may also be bad for Laika's health, so I plan to gradually change her over to a different setup.
Of course, I've kept all this a secret from Laika.
Because if I told her it was a Rampage setup, she would insist on developing that path blindly.
Laika is wonderful in every other respect, but she has a bad habit of neglecting her own body. (Please be sure to keep this in mind when working with her as well.)
Anyway, this is my decision.
If you, her next Commander, decide that developing Laika around Rampage would be appropriate, I will respect that decision,
And I'm leaving this gift with that possibility in mind.
I've rambled on long enough. The gift has been left in Locker No. 12 at Exit 3 of Metropolis Centum City Station.
Please use it with careful consideration.
...Oh, and one more thing.
This is also something I only learned recently, but apparently biodroids count the moment they're first assigned a mission as their birthday, rather than their date of manufacture.
That means Laika, who was assigned to me on my birthday, has the same birthday as me.
So these gifts, sent now just ahead of Laika's first anniversary of receiving a mission, are also the first birthday gifts I'm giving her.
...Well, I'll be giving her something else separately too, but anyway.
Laika. Happy birthday.
Even if I'm gone in the distant future, always be happy.
I hope you can live a little more at ease, even if only a little.
Left by Commander Seo Se-rin.
***
I retrieved the gift Seo Se-rin had left behind from the storage locker.
The gift was exactly as described in the letter. One piece of equipment and one core.
The equipment was a shield shaped like a set of open flower petals.
The exterior alone was beautiful, but what was even more impressive was its performance.
[Last Bloom]
Grade: A-Rank
Required Stats:
Phase Sensitivity A, Shield Operation B, Strength B+, 「Skill: Rampage」 Level 5
Unique Skill: 「Shape Shift - Full Bloom」
Each time the shield blocks an enemy attack, a portion of the damage taken is stored in the core at the center of the shield as 'phase energy.'
The accumulated energy fills the cherry blossom pattern on the shield's surface with a pinkish glow. Once it reaches 100%, the skill can be activated.
When the skill is activated, the shield transforms into a massive phase greatsword.
This greatsword can deliver a single, powerful strike imbued with the soul.
After the attack ends, the greatsword immediately reverts to its shield form, all accumulated energy is expended, and the gauge returns to 0.
As you can see, it was an incredibly good piece of equipment.
At the same time, it held tremendous meaning for Laika.
So I wanted to have her equip it right away, but...
"Laika can't use it."
"Eu-e-e?"
Laika let out a resentful-sounding whine.
But nothing was going to change just because she complained to me. The cause of the problem wasn't me, but Laika herself.
To be precise, the issue was Laika's stats.
One of Laika's stats—Strength—fell short of the value this equipment required.
"...So that means I can't use it? I can even hold it up, see?"
As if showing off, Laika started doing dumbbell presses with Last Bloom.
But being able to do dumbbell presses with it and being able to use it as phase-powered equipment were completely different things.
I could lift that shield right now too, but that didn't mean I could pick it up and fight Legions with it.
"Can't we give it a try?"
"Can't."
I thought I'd mentioned this before, but Legions exist on a completely different phase from humans, so the two can't interfere with each other.
In other words, even if I picked that up and swung it at a Legion, I couldn't scratch it.
It would only bounce off with a Teong~, like smacking a steel plate with a block of soft tofu.
It was the same for Laika right now.
If she didn't meet the required stats, the weapon and her body wouldn't synchronize their phases, so she couldn't damage a Legion with it.
The unique skill, which could be called the equipment's identity, would also naturally be impossible to activate.
"If you understand, train hard and raise your Strength, which is currently at B-Rank, up to the required B+."
"Ueng...."
Laika was disappointed.
It wasn't that raising it by half a rank was incredibly difficult. Even about ten days of focused training could close a gap of that size.
But by the time those ten days passed, we would already be beyond the evaluation deadline for exempting her from disposal.
Even so, Laika apparently wanted to use Seo Se-rin's equipment on her final mission.
With that little bit of romance dashed, Laika was disappointed.
"...Well, it's enough just to avoid disposal, isn't it?"
"I guess so."
With that, Laika asked another question.
"Then what about the core we got with it?"
"I'm not sure."
I didn't really know about the enclosed core either.
For starters, my knowledge of cores wasn't that extensive.
And it wasn't just me. Most Commanders would be in the same boat.
Cores were special parts that were harder to replace than other components and could only be manufactured by a small number of major producers.
There wasn't much point in studying cores that intensely when Commanders would never need to make one themselves.
Of course, a Production Specialist Type biodroid would be a different story.
"As for the core, let's head back to base and ask Sumire."
"Okay."
Having concluded that, we boarded the train heading back together.
On the way back, we talked about just about everything.
For instance, the story of the day we first met.
The day, not long after that, when we made the fish tank together.
Stories of the days we carried out missions together.
Stories about this very moment.
"Thanks, Commander. For making it possible for me to receive the gift, even now."
Stories about a distant, unknowable future.
"Someday, for sure... before it's too late... let's go repay her."
With that sort of feeling, we spoke whatever came to mind, our hearts open, without putting up any walls between us.
Before we knew it, we'd become that close.
But still, was it a bad thing for a man and a woman to get too close?
I'd noticed that Laika was still wearing her dress and straw hat, and we were talking about how everyone at the base might be surprised if she went back like that.
Near the end of that conversation, Laika said, 'Should I change before we go?' and I replied, 'No, it's cute. Just keep it on.'
Then, without any context—or any awareness of what she was saying—Laika suddenly said this.
"...I like you."
......Huh?
What did you just say?
I looked down at Laika with that kind of expression on my face.
Laika's face was so red it could have been a tomato.
"...Eh, e-e, eht... Euhet?!"
When our eyes met, Laika twisted her whole body in embarrassment.
No, rather than embarrassment... she looked flustered.
Of course, the one who really should have been flustered was me. I had just been told out of the blue that she liked me, hadn't I?
Providing an explanation and dealing with the aftermath was fundamentally Laika's job.
Even so, I was the Commander. She was shy. And on top of that, I was the man.
So I took responsibility and tried to smooth over Laika's slip of the tongue.
"You were talking about the date, right?"
"U, uhh...?"
"That you liked it."
Silence settled over the train car.
Laika's voice pierced that silence.
"Ri, ri-ri-right... I was trying to say... that I liked the date... but so-so-something... just came out wrong..."
"That was it, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah...."
As if convincing herself, Laika nodded.
Nod. Nod nod. Nod nod nod——
Then, she stopped.
"...B-But besides that."
"Hm?"
"No, not just that... Actually... Com, Commander, you too...."
Laika started to say something.
She'd started to say it, but.
That was exactly when the PDA in my pocket sounded with an incoming alert.
It wasn't the tone for a regular message.
It wasn't the tone for a normal message, but the shrill Ppibibibibi— of an emergency alert.
I had no choice but to ask Laika to give me a moment and check my PDA first.
Exactly five seconds later, I told Laika.
"Laika, let's continue this later."
"Eu-e-e...?"
Laika looked baffled—or perhaps aggrieved.
Instead of explaining at length, I showed her my PDA screen.
The message on the screen read as follows.
[Urgent Dispatch]
Recipient: Forward Base Krädel
Sender: Western Front Integrated Command
Contents: Effective today, all new mission assignments to Forward Base Krädel are temporarily suspended for one month.
Reason: Unit reorganization and operational zone readjustment.