027. Last Mission (2)
027. Last Mission (2)
"What happened?"
"That is what I would like to ask you."
I asked, and Alicia replied.
Judging by her reaction, she was in much the same situation as us. She had simply been hit with the message out of the blue, with no context whatsoever.
The message stated that the issuance of new missions to Krädel would be halted for the next month.
In other words, Laika and I would be unable to carry out any missions for the coming month.
It wasn't entirely out of the question.
As stated in the reason field, mission issuance was occasionally halted for unit reorganization or operational area restructuring, though it was rare.
However, in such cases, there were invariably prior consultations with the commander in charge.
Suspending missions for a month meant being unable to earn money for a month. So they would offer some form of compensation—such as increasing the mission allowance for the previous or following month—until both sides could reach a reasonable arrangement.
And if there was some reason missions absolutely couldn't be suspended, they would even postpone the suspension period.
We were exactly such a case.
At present, we had no missions contracted.
And in that situation, mission issuance had been halted. Meaning we could not receive any new missions.
The problem was Laika. If she couldn't receive and clear a new mission, she would automatically be disposed of a week later for 'failure to meet requirements.'
The higher-ups couldn't have been unaware of that fact.
"Why on earth... Alicia, was there no prior consultation message?"
"I have checked for the third time, and there is none. We also urgently requested an adjustment to the period, but it was rejected within three seconds."
Alicia turned the monitor toward me as she spoke.
Displayed clearly on it were the words, [Request Rejected - Commanding Authority: Western Front Integrated Commander].
The halt in mission issuance could be seen as some kind of error.
But even if that were the case, the outright rejection of the adjustment request did not look like a mistake.
It was clearly a deliberate, malicious penalty imposed on Krädel.
......But why?
No matter how ignored and neglected Krädel was by the military, something like this didn't simply happen for no reason.
Because indifference and malice were different things.
There had to be a reason the military's indifference had turned into malice.
I spent a moment going through the messages we'd received, hoping something might point me toward an answer.
There was something that caught my eye.
"......Western Front Integrated Commander Reassignment Notice?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, the integrated commander changed as of this morning...."
"To whom?"
"Lieutenant General Shin Juhyeok."
Huh? I'd heard that name somewhere.
......Ah.
"Oh dear."
"Someone you know?"
He was someone I knew through someone else.
"He's the father of my instructor from the Academy."
"Then is that not a favorable connection?"
"It might have been if I hadn't assaulted that instructor."
"Good heavens."
Alicia sighed and then asked.
"Why on earth did you hit her?"
Because that woman had refused to rescue Sion and spewed abuse about biodroids existing to die in place of humans, and about making a fuss over a defective product.
But rehashing that past now seemed meaningless.
Nor did I have the time for it.
I thought for a moment. How could I break out of this situation?
The first thing that came to mind was this.
"If I went there right now, got on my knees, and begged, would that solve the problem?"
"I doubt it. The missions for roughly the next week have already been transferred to other bases, so even if he forgave us now, I don't think it would help."
I see.
Then, the next idea.
"Is there any way to receive mission performance points other than by carrying out missions?"
"No. They're called Mission Performance Points for a reason."
That wouldn't work either.
Ideas like hiding Laika away for a month or filing a separate administrative appeal also turned out to be unrealistic for one reason or another.
Because this was Krädel, biodroids were objects, and this world was at war.
We didn't have the power to rewrite the circumstances and environment we'd been handed.
It was the moment I realized that.
Then I felt something touch my fingertips.
It was Laika. She had wordlessly taken hold of my hand.
My gaze followed her hand up to Laika's face, where despair had settled.
The despair of no longer being able to live the future she had only just begun to dream of. Emptiness.
And then, it suddenly dawned on me.
"......Ah."
Then, completely out of nowhere, an idea came to me.
Perhaps.
Perhaps I might be able to save this girl.
"Alicia, could you pull up the list of missions we've contracted?"
"The list, you say?"
"Yeah. You can do it."
"Of course I can, but... of course there shouldn't be anything there."
Alicia murmured as if baffled.
Either way, I wanted to see the page with the list on it.
Maybe it was because I kept staring stubbornly at the monitor. Alicia moved the mouse and brought up the page I'd asked for.
[Contracted Mission Roster]
There are no incomplete missions contracted within the past year.
The content of the page was exactly as she had said.
There were no missions that had been contracted and switched to in-progress status.
Everyone, myself included, knew that fact. We had known it, which was why this whole mess had happened.
Conversely, if there had been even one mission already contracted, it would not have mattered whether the higher-ups forbade new mission issuance or not.
Because we could have simply carried out the mission we had already received, and that would have been enough to fill the missing points.
But I had another reason for asking Alicia to show me that page.
"Extend the search period. Go back farther than one year."
"......Excuse me?"
Alicia did so.
Then the contents of the empty page changed.
[Contracted Mission Roster]
1. ★★★★☆ Ice Shell Hive Reconnaissance Mission (In Progress) (Contracted 488 days ago)
Just as I thought.
"......Eh."
Laika, who was clinging right beside me and looking at the monitor, flinched.
Alicia, meanwhile, looked completely bewildered.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"It's the last mission Laika received with her first commander."
They had accepted it, but never completed it.
Because the commander had died during the operation and Laika had withdrawn alone.
That mission, left in an uncompleted state, was transferred along with Laika to her next assigned unit.
But the next commander also returned Laika without completing the mission.
Laika was again transferred with the mission to the next unit... and this repeated ten times, leaving Laika where she is now, at Krädel.
The mission Laika had failed to complete was still assigned to Krädel as well.
And the mission that had been passed along with her was a four-star mission in an active battle zone.
Coincidentally, it carried the 5 performance points we needed.
In other words, if we could just carry out this mission, Laika would be exempted from disposal without any issue.
"But is it actually possible to carry out this mission? Ice Shell isn't a hive Laika can handle with her strength alone."
I wholeheartedly agreed.
Even a year ago, the Ice Shell was a place Laika could not conquer. And since then, the climate of the Ice Shell had worsened. That meant the Lord Legion which brought about the extreme weather had become more powerful.
Under those circumstances, I'd guess it would take three or four biodroids around Laika's level to subjugate the Legions at Ice Shell.
But that aside.
But the mission Laika failed was never about subjugating the enemy in the first place.
All we had to do was infiltrate the hive, snatch the data pack, and slip back out.
No, in fact, we wouldn't even need to risk infiltrating the hive.
Because the data pack was already secured.
"Isn't that right, Laika?"
"......Yeah."
Laika answered quietly.
Nevertheless, Laika explained to Alicia, who still wore an uncomprehending face.
"On the day we carried out the operation in the Ice Shell, Seo Se-rin and I succeeded in securing the data pack."
But immediately afterward, a Frost Phantom that sensed something was wrong appeared and ambushed them.
Laika triggered her first rampage and gained an initial opportunity to flee, but Seo Se-rin could not endure her injuries and collapsed somewhere in the forest.
The Legions were still in pursuit.
Realizing there was no hope of survival, Seo Se-rin ordered Laika to 'go back by yourself if you have to.'
Laika held out for a long time and only began retreating after Seo Se-rin died, but she failed to bring the data pack with her.
Therefore, the target of the mission—the data pack—was currently...
"...So you're saying it should still be beside Seo Se-rin's remains."
"Exactly. Which means we only have to find her remains."
I answered on Laika's behalf.
As Alicia had worried, entering the center of the hive to secure the data pack might be an excessively dangerous mission.
But if it was just about locating Seo Se-rin's remains, it was possible for us as well.
"Well, it's worth a try. We don't have any other options anyway."
Alicia accepted that, albeit reluctantly.
With that, our goal was decided.
"Find Laika's first commander Seo Se-rin's remains, and recover the lost data pack."
By doing so, complete the mission that had remained in a failed state for a year.
By completing it even now, permanently erase Laika's name from the disposal list.
Such a plan, both coincidental and inevitable, was established.
***
We secured detailed terrain data and adjusted the schedule.
From here to the civilian control zone in the 3rd Theater closest to Ice Shell was about four hours by train.
From there, reaching where we estimated Seo Se-rin's remains to be based on Laika's memories would take...
Probably at least a two-day, one-night march.
Considering the possibility of getting lost or the location being off, departing now would not be too early.
However, setting off recklessly without preparations was indeed unwise.
Because the Legions in the Ice Shell region were far more powerful than the ones Laika had faced so far.
We'd also have to bring separate gear for camping overnight.
Above all else, Laika needed time to prepare herself mentally.
After considering various factors and adjusting back and forth, we set the departure time for tomorrow afternoon.
"Will that time be alright?"
"......Huh?"
Laika reacted two beats late.
Another three beats later, Laika nodded with a face that was very clearly not fine at all.
"......Yeah. Maybe it will be."
Did she really think I'd just go, 'Ah, I see, you're fine,' and leave it at that after an answer like that?
"Is it because you're worried?"
At my words, Laika did not answer for a moment.
Instead of answering, she crept over and sat on my lap.
Then she lay down with her belly—softer than usual—resting on my thigh.
Having thus avoided my gaze, only then did she answer.
"......Yeah."
"In what way?"
"Several things."
I suppose so.
I stroked Laika's head.
At that, Laika let out a warm Huu— of breath and continued.
"First, I'm worried whether I'll be able to pull it off. It's a mission I failed before."
"You've become much stronger than back then."
At that time, she had not even properly known what kind of concept her body was built around.
But now she clearly knew.
She hadn't merely learned what direction her body was built around; she'd grown stronger in a way that matched it.
She had also replaced parts, so even in terms of simple stats, she was much stronger than before.
"So, Laika knows it's just a groundless worry. She knows there's no other way. And... she knows that maybe, finally, this is an opportunity to recover that person's remains. I know it all, but even though I know it... I'm just scared. That I might lose my commander again."
Laika said that, and after a long pause, added.
"If I lose my commander too, Laika can't live anymore. I'll just die. I'll cry and cry for about three days until my body dries up and then kill myself."
"Do something about that habit of thinking that way."
"I can't. Laika was made this way and born this way."
I mostly agreed with that.
So I had no choice but to give Laika the kind of answer that suited the way she'd been made and born.
"Don't worry. I'm never going to die and leave you behind."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
I held out my pinky finger to Laika.
Laika held out her pinky, which was less than half the size of my pinky, and linked it.
Not stopping there, she went ahead and completely interlocked our fingers.
With that, the promise was established.
Laika looked down at our interlocked hands for a moment, then, as if having made up her mind, spoke again.
"...There's something Laika wants to ask you, even for the sake of that promise."
"What is it?"
Honestly, I had a guess.
Still, I asked just in case I was wrong... but my hunch turned out to be right.
"For this mission at least, I want to fight with the new equipment."
Hmm.
As I said earlier, she couldn't equip Last Bloom right now because she fell short of its required stats.
There was no way to meet those required stats by tomorrow, the day we set for the mission departure.
No—in theory, even if she spent the entire week we had left, it might still not be enough.
Laika must have known that fact as well.
Laika simply wanted to fight with the new equipment, even if she had to pester her Commander into letting her.
That equipment was a gift she'd only finally received after more than a year.
If she could head to Ice Shell carrying it, she'd surely be able to muster that much more courage.
......And it was the same even aside from that psychological aspect.
Last Bloom was an A-rank weapon that also possessed an outstanding unique skill.
If only she could use it, it would be an immense help in terms of actual combat power as well.
And maybe, in doing so, it could save even one life we'd otherwise have to put on the line.
And so.
I fully understood its use and importance as well.
So right after that, I took Seo Se-rin's gift and visited the manufactory.
I went there and tried the 'Isn't there any way?' gambit on Sumire.
And to give the conclusion first: equipping the new gear was possible.
It was possible, but....
The condition was a little absurd.
No, more than that, how should I put it....
It was indecent.