The Hill Defense Battle - Part 3

Time passed in the blink of an eye. It was already the fourth day since the second-years had begun the Hill Defense Battle. Even as Thursday morning arrived, there was still no sign of an attack. According to my memories, the assault in the original story happened today—at midday, the day before the final Friday when the battle would conclude. Within a few hours, unidentified enemies would swarm out from who-knows-where and strike Allob Island all at once.

I had made quite a few preparations in anticipation of today, but how effective they would prove remained uncertain. If only I knew which faction the enemy belonged to, I could at least formulate some kind of response. Still, since this was an incident the protagonist’s group had resolved in the original story, they would probably win even without my involvement.

Rendel’s mental state was a slight cause for concern, but I had given him some mental care on Saturday. We played together at the arcade, casually dropping bits of information about Line, then lightly scolded him to work harder. I also told him there was no need to rush, and thanks to that, he seemed to have regained his form during this Hill Defense Battle.

The information came from cooperative teachers and had been cross-verified through the bulletin board. Thanks to the CT Club members’ efforts, the outcome of the Hill Defense Battle was shaping up to be decided much faster than in the original story. Rendel’s standout performance had even improved the atmosphere on the bulletin board for the first time in a while.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and boarded the monorail heading toward Fairy’s Hill. Today I had specially packed a lunchbox for Neria and told her to stay holed up in the maintenance practice room, so if anything happened, she would immediately hide in the shelter. Most of my other classmates were off the island, and I knew there had been no civilian casualties in Alitus City in the original story. So the only person I needed to worry about was myself.

The monorail soon reached the hill. The fairies who greeted me were the three crew members of the Limpid Fairy.

“Where are the others?”

“Good. Then let’s get ready.”

Among the forces I could mobilize, the fairies were the most effective at responding to attacks occurring all across the island. The fairies themselves wouldn’t fight directly, but the moment the enemy assault began, the fairies I had assigned to the CT Club seniors would be contacted immediately.

With a soft mechanical hum, the laboratory door opened. I headed straight for the Limpid Fairy’s hangar. The impeccably maintained machine greeted me.

“Heading out right away?”

“Yeah. Please get everything ready.”

“Fuel was topped off yesterday, and I loaded as many rounds as possible for that new weapon.”

“Thanks. You’re the best, Number One.”

“Hehe. This much is easy. Alright everyone, prepare for launch!”

“Okay!”

The Limpid Fairy required significant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠assistance from the fairies, partly because its pilot—me—was still a novice. The main crew member, Number One, stayed right beside me to assist with piloting, while the other fairies helped stabilize output and manage weapons control.

I climbed into the cockpit and gripped the control yoke, which had become fairly familiar by now. The pedals and levers had a subtly different shape from those on an Aind-class Aindium, but thanks to all the practice I had put in with the Black Fairy, it didn’t feel awkward.

The weapon I would be using today was wrapped in white cloth and leaning against the wall right beside me. The time had come to show off the skills I had honed by flying the Black Fairy on weekends and the Limpid Fairy during the week.

After checking the magazine hanging from the weapon’s undercarriage, I lifted it and secured it to my shoulder.

“Hoo…”

With my first real battle against a hostile force now right in front of me, my heart pounded violently and a slight wave of dizziness washed over me from the tension. After steadying myself with a few deep breaths, I switched on the communicator.

“This is Fairy. Launching now.”

「…….」

The silence was as good as confirmation. They were probably too busy preparing on their end to have time to respond.

“Hatch open.”

“Open!”

When the fairy managing the hangar pressed the button, the ceiling above began to brighten. Thanks to Kirié and Neria restoring the hatch mechanism, I no longer had to climb the mountain every time. What a relief.

“Launch path clear.”

“All systems green.”

“Limpid Fairy, launching.”

The moment I pressed the flight button, G-forces several times stronger than gravity slammed into my entire body. Thanks to the high-performance pilot suit I was wearing, I could feel that the strain on my body was far less than the first time.

Enduring the intense pressure that would have been difficult to withstand at the Black Fairy’s ascent speed, I could now see the blue sky, the sea, and the island. There was no need to climb as ridiculously high as last time. The farther I was from the ground, the harder it would be to monitor it.

“How’s the stealth?”

“Perfect. Unless they’re right on top of us, they won’t even realize we’ve launched.”

The Limpid Fairy had several special functions. One of them was an optical camouflage ability on par with the fairies themselves. From even a moderate distance it was nearly impossible to spot, and since we were also high above the ground, the chances of the enemy finding me first were almost zero.

A high-performance radar might be able to detect us, but who would expect an Aindium to be floating in the sky?

The Limpid Fairy’s loiter time was much longer than I had expected. Just like I had done over the past few days, I began surveillance across every corner of the island. Today, however, I examined every nook and cranny even more thoroughly than usual.

In the distance, I could clearly see where the second-year cadets were fighting their Hill Defense Battle. Amid the smoke rising here and there, Aindiums flying white flags lay scattered across the ground. The ones that stood out among them were, of course, the CT Club pilots.

The pure white White Fang and the gray Hussar were pincer-attacking the enemy’s hill from both sides, while Trooper 01 provided long-range bombardment. The opposing Aindiums tried desperately to hold them off, but it was futile.

After instantly overrunning a single hill, the CT Club members began moving back toward their base, apparently to perform maintenance.

Oh, right. This wasn’t the time to be watching the Hill Defense Battle.

I switched the communicator’s channel to the CT Club’s auxiliary line, but no sound came through. That Rendel guy. He had left it on properly until yesterday.

I clicked my tongue once and scanned the island again. There didn’t seem to be any suspicious movement…

In the original story, the exact timing of the attack hadn’t been specified, so I might end up staying up here until the sun went down. Oh well. This must be one of the hardships of being the protagonist.

After my first flight lasting over an hour, I replenished the Limpid Fairy’s fuel and ate an early lunch myself.

“All topped off! And the kids watching the outer perimeter say they’ve detected something suspicious!”

“Really? Let’s go right away.”

I stuffed the half-eaten sandwich into my mouth and hurriedly climbed back into the cockpit. A few seconds after launching from the catapult—

Just as the fairies had said, suspicious movement was detected starting from the outskirts. Not far from where the second-year cadets were engaged in their Hill Defense Battle, a group of Aind-class Aindiums was advancing.

Those bastards. They were the initial attackers who had suppressed the second-years in the original story. There was no way they were second-year cadets. Although they had tried hard to imitate them, their appearance was clearly different from the mass-produced Aind models used by the academy, and there were far too many of them. How could there be a group of over a dozen machines roaming around when they were supposed to be defending several hills?

“Number One, contact the fairies assigned to the seniors. Tell them to open a comm channel.”

“Got it.”

Before long, the channel opened and I could hear the seniors’ strategy meeting.

「So what I’m saying is, how about we strike through A7 next?」

「I’m in favor. What about you, Ran?」

「Hmm. I think it’s better to hold B3 for now. I’ve received information that the opposing team is heading this way. There aren’t many friendly forces nearby to support us.」

「Really? Then let’s hold B3 once and then hit C2 nearby.」

“Before that, you need to take out the ones near E11 first.”

「…Luna?」

「Luna. Sorry, but we’re in the middle of training right now. Can we talk later?」

“Senior Ran, that’s not what I mean. Senior Rendel. Didn’t I tell you on the weekend?”

「…That you’d help us?」

“Yes. Suspicious individuals have appeared near you seniors. If you head to the coordinates I just mentioned, you’ll understand. This is a real situation.”

「What the—huh?」

A faint scream came through the communicator. It was the cry of a second-year cadet who had just been attacked by the unidentified enemies.

This was bad. They were going to get hit before the seniors could arrive. The thought that there might be casualties made my hands move faster. I loaded a round into the weapon.

It was an object nearly the size of a human torso—more like a cannon shell than a bullet.

“Listen to the details from the fairy and move quickly!”

BOOM—!

A shot fired from the Aindium-grade anti-materiel sniper rifle, whose barrel was as thick as a tank’s cannon. Thanks to the weapon-control fairy, I could expect a reasonable degree of accuracy.

A few seconds later, one of the attackers who had been driving a cadet to the brink of death exploded.

「What the hell is going on?」

「An attack? Not from the opposing team?」

While the cadets were panicking, the CT Club members raced toward E11. At first they had been half in doubt about Luna’s sudden call, but soon after, reports confirming the attack came flooding in. The fairies accompanying them also urged them onward.

“It’s dangerous. Those guys are radiating hostile energy all over the place!”

Hearing his accompanying fairy’s words, Rendel bit his lip.

“Ran, you’re at headquarters right now, aren’t you?”

「Yeah.」

“Tell the teachers what’s happening and hide somewhere.”

「I already told them. I’m in front of the nearby shelter. Is there anything else I can do?」

At that moment, a massive shell flew in from above and slammed into the point they were heading toward. Rendel glanced sharply toward the sky above the school. Luna was probably floating somewhere up there.

“Help Luna support us.”

「Understood. So Luna’s deployed too.」

Ran, who was quick to grasp situations, immediately understood just how powerful a reinforcement their junior in the air would be.

「Luna. Where are you right now?」

「I’m above the hill—」

Listening to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠conversation between Ran and Luna, the CT Club’s second-year pilots quickly reached E11.

「S-someone—!」

A cadet’s Aind with its right arm and both legs destroyed lay collapsed on the ground. More than ten Aindiums were gathered in front of it. Beyond them, another machine with its lower half blown off had fallen.

“Carson, I’ll provide covering fire. Go rescue him!”

「Got it!」

Rendel’s White Fang left afterimages as it dashed forward to block the group of Aindiums. A barrage of bullets poured down immediately. Rendel used a large nearby tree as cover to dodge the attack, then prioritized suppressing the enemies aiming at the endangered cadet.

“Ugh.”

He managed to buy time until Carson could rescue the cadet, but there were simply too many enemies. The concentrated fire directed at Rendel shattered the large tree he had been using as cover and pulverized the concrete barriers. Maintaining his acceleration, Rendel circled around the enemies, barely managing to pin them down.

BOOM—!

At that moment, a shell dropped from the sky and obliterated one of the Aindiums. The enemies scattered in shock, and Rendel didn’t miss the opportunity. He charged toward the enemy farthest from the center.

Ratatat—!

While dodging the barrage and using suppressive fire to force the other Aindiums into cover, Rendel drew the sword at his waist. Speed is power. Muttering those words to himself, Rendel sliced through the next enemy’s arm and neck in a single pass the very next instant.

Before the enemy whose upper body had been cut diagonally could even fall, he charged at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠next one.

Clang!

This time, a small Aindium specialized in close combat blocked his path. Seeing how skillfully it handled its sword, it was clear these weren’t just numerous amateurs.

Bang! Bang!

More classmates who had heard the commotion began joining one by one. By the time their numbers surpassed the enemy’s, a long-awaited transmission came through the CT Club channel.

「Artillery ready. Give me coordinates.」

Muri’s nearly monotone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠voice had never sounded so reassuring.

“Northeast side of E11, 150 meters. Anything beyond a 20-meter radius risks friendly fire.”

「Confirmed. Impact in five seconds.」

Rendel hurriedly waved his hand behind him toward his classmates.

“Everyone fall back! Incoming bombardment!”

The classmates who had been slowly encircling the enemies all retreated at once. A chilling sound of air being torn apart followed.

Whiii— BOOM!!

After a single volley swept through, the enemies who had been fighting while surrounded were half-destroyed and sent tumbling across the ground. Since they were training suppression shells, they weren’t powerful enough to breach the thick cockpits, but they rendered most of the enemies combat-ineffective.

Once the situation was over, Rendel wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Phew. Is it over?”

「No, it’s not over yet!」

“Luna?”

「Unidentified enemies appearing all across Allob Island! Everyone, the academy and the city are in danger!」

At Luna and Ran’s urgent cries, Rendel and Carson moved their Aindiums once more. After a brief exchange, they split up, leading the remaining cadets toward the academy and the city respectively.

Rendel, who had sent most of the cadets with Carson toward the city, remained surprisingly calm. One of his traits was that he became colder and more composed in real combat rather than excited.

However, the words Luna had said a few days ago kept echoing in the back of his mind. That there would be a chance for him to shine and that she would help him.

Watching the occasional shells being fired from the sky above Fairy’s Hill, Rendel thought about Luna. A junior who somehow felt both aristocratic and strangely down-to-earth, sloppy in some ways yet full of secrets—what exactly did she know, and how far did that knowledge go?

He vowed to ask her once this incident was over and increased his speed.