New Weapons
The CT Club's dedicated empty lot that we'd been frequenting for the past few days. The massive pile of Earthworm shells had been completely melted down, yielding chunks of Ellydium. Weapons forged from that material now awaited us beneath a large canvas tent. Since manufacturing them inside the school would draw too much attention, they'd been assembled in the makeshift workshop here. Most of the work involved simply replacing select components of existing weapons with Ellydium, so the process had been quick.
“Alright, shall we take a look?” When Kirié pulled back the tent flap, those of us who had been ready to cheer instead found ourselves staring in confusion, question marks practically floating above our heads.
“You definitely said weapons, right?” Carson, who paid far more attention to armaments than Rendel because he lacked any unique abilities of his own, spoke first.
What lay before us were three objects that looked unmistakably like shields—no matter how you squinted at them. Beside them sat two other items whose purpose was impossible to guess. Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Kirié waggled a finger and began explaining.
“Ellydium is a tricky metal to work with. It blocks and reflects the very magic that moves Aindiums and powers weapons and systems.”
At Kirié's signal, Neria, seated in her mechanic suit, lifted one of the shields. Though the suit was only slightly larger than powered armor, the shield looked enormous in its grasp—yet it could still be propped upright on the ground. Across from her, Marius activated what appeared to be a mounted machine gun. After a brief warm-up, bullets poured forth at high speed. The projectiles, composed purely of magic with no physical force, struck the shield and scattered without so much as a tremor.
“That's why it's difficult to apply to weapons or components, but when used as armor like this, it delivers excellent efficiency.”
Kirié's words were essentially correct. In the original story, there had never been any precedent for forging weapons from Ellydium, and even when she crafted Rendel's sword in this work, it had sparked some controversy. Opinions ranged from “If a mere cadet can make one, why hasn't the Empire done so?” to “Is there even any reason to make weapons out of Ellydium in the first place?” I agreed with most of those points, but I had wondered whether the production team had some reason for making Rendel's sword from Ellydium. And sure enough, confirming that Ellydium had been used in the Limpy's high-output engine proved that our efforts to secure the Earthworms had not been in vain. If we'd only been able to make a single weapon, it would have felt unfair.
The amount of Ellydium we'd obtained far exceeded expectations—enough that disposal itself had become a problem. Handing it over to someone else felt wasteful, yet we had no practical way to use it all ourselves. And we certainly couldn't turn Ellydium into bullets. In the end, we decided to replace every component we could with Ellydium and store the remainder securely for emergencies.
“Then what are those? They don't look like shields.” Muri pointed at the two oddly shaped items—only two of them existed.
“Ah, those? They're for you and Yui.”
“Figures.” With her sharp eye, Muri had already deduced they were meant for the two Vivald-class units in the CT Club.
“You'll see how they work once you try them.”
We had brought our personal machines, and Kirié distributed the items one by one. Carson, Mikhail, and Savian each received a shield. Shields were common enough that dedicated combat techniques existed for them, and they were the most straightforward pieces to produce. What Muri and Yui received resembled shoulder guards meant to be worn over the shoulders.
「How do you use these?」
“See the button that opens the shoulder hatch? Press it.”
When the lids of the shoulder-mounted cannons on the two Vivald-class units opened, the shoulder guards rose upward, unfurling translucent visors behind them.
“Ran. Could you activate the radar for a moment?”
“Got it.”
Ran and the other operators who had entered the makeshift facility at the edge of the lot emerged shortly afterward with the results.
“We're having trouble locking onto Trooper 01 and Shineberry. It's like several jammers are active right nearby.”
“It's a bit different from jammers—their presence itself drops to the level of ordinary animals.”
To think they couldn't detect Vivald-class units right in front of them. The radar here was portable but state-of-the-art; under normal conditions, it could pick up the massive signatures of Vivald-class units from several kilometers away. Having confirmed the performance, Kirié wore a triumphant smile.
“I heard the Empire has something similar. I combined it with Master's metal-fiberization technique and a few other things.”
「Ooh.」
Even the usually expressionless Muri let out a sound of admiration. She climbed out of Trooper 01 and dashed over to Kirié, grabbing both her hands and shaking them vigorously up and down.
“You're really amazing.”
“Heh-heh.”
Kirié tilted her chin up, basking in the praise. Amid the commotion, one person looked visibly anxious.
“Kirié. What about mine?”
It was Rendel, the protagonist, who—like me—had received nothing. As a warrior, he naturally wanted a good weapon. Kirié raised a hand in a “wait a moment” gesture toward Rendel, then addressed the club members.
“Sorry, everyone, but I'm going to make custom weapons specifically for Rendel and Luna.”
“We understand. It's because the materials came from what they brought back.”
At Carson's words, Kirié shook her head.
“No. That's not the issue. The two of them use techniques and weapons that no one else can. Because of Ellydium's properties, right now we can only make weapons for them.”
“Properties?”
“Yeah. Like I said earlier, Ellydium blocks magic, and weapons require magic. So there's a conflict, but it needs a more detailed explanation. Anyone want to listen?”
True to the CT Club being a gathering of top students, every hand went up. I, too, only knew that Ellydium blocked magic and wanted to understand the principle in detail, so I stayed to listen.
“Pure Ellydium is said to block magic. So what does ‘block’ actually mean here?”
A brief silence fell after Kirié's question. One of the first-year operators, known for her quick thinking, raised her hand.
“Senior, I don't quite understand the intent of the question.”
“Jenna. I think the senior is asking what happens to magic that touches Ellydium.”
At Christine's words—another first-year operator—Kirié nodded.
“That's right. What do you think, Christine?”
“Well, the magic probably doesn't vanish. If magic collapse occurred, it would release enormous energy. So it must either be absorbed or reflected, right?”
“Correct. Ellydium with over 99% purity absorbs half and reflects half. The absorbed magic flows along the surface, loses its will and direction, and disperses into the atmosphere.”
In the Aindium world, magic possesses will and direction. In simple terms, if someone fired magic straight ahead with the intent to harm another, that became magic.
“So suppose we make a sword from Ellydium. Normally, an Aindium sword has a core of metal that conducts magic well. When magic is channeled through the hilt, it spreads to the tip, and the stronger the force, the more it radiates outward.”
At Kirié's explanation, Rendel and Mikhail nodded in understanding. The rest of us pilots, who had never infused magic into an Aindium sword, simply looked as though such things existed.
“But what happens if we mix in Ellydium?”
“The magic itself won't be able to dwell in the sword.”
“Exactly. If Ellydium is used as the core, that is.”
Kirié signaled to the back. Neria and Marius's mechanic suits brought forward two long objects wrapped in cloth. When one was unwrapped, a long sword exceeding six meters in length appeared. Ah, that was Rendel's new sword from the original story.
“The core of this sword is a silver-steel alloy that conducts magic well and is durable. We've incorporated an alloy that minimizes Ellydium's absorption property while maximizing reflection along the spine.”
“So what does that do?”
“Try it yourself.”
At Kirié's words, Rendel sprinted straight for White Fang. Watching the machine pick up the sword, Mikhail spoke anxiously.
“Senior. May I try it as well?”
“Sure. After Rendel uses it, you can try too. That way you'll understand the difference.”
While Mikhail ran toward his own Aindium, Kirié contacted Rendel to explain how to use the sword.
“Rendel. Your old sword was double-edged, right?”
「I've tried single-edged too.」
Rendel had originally used something like a longsword, but in the original story he had adapted to this new blade in no time. When he channeled magic into the sword, a blue aura gathered along the blade.
「Hmm.」
“How is it?”
「Is the output a bit lower?」
“Probably. With a double-edged blade it's more stable, so there are several ways to increase output, but since this is single-edged and has Ellydium, I had to adjust it a little.”
「If the output is lower, is there any point in making a weapon from Ellydium?」
“You don't use a shield, do you?”
「…….」
“Just kidding. Didn't you learn a new technique last time? Want to try it? Point the blade toward the empty lot over there.”
Rendel looked slightly displeased but obediently followed Kirié's instructions. The blue aura on White Fang's sword vanished, and a moment later—
Vwoom—
Suddenly the sword vibrated. White Fang gripped it with both hands. Then the blue aura that had formed on the blade shot forward and struck the ground with tremendous force.
“Whoa. You pulled it off on the first try.”
「This is….」
Many were astonished at the sight of Rendel unleashing sword energy. I was surprised too. That sword had simply been presented as something Kirié had made for him, and I had arrived here before seeing it properly used.
“You really created something incredible.”
“Hearing praise from you feels a bit weird.”
“Why? I was just genuinely impressed.”
“You're protesting because you want to see your weapon right now, aren't you?”
“Ah, no I'm not?”
My voice rose involuntarily, hitting the mark. Kirié smirked, left Mikhail swinging the sword this way and that, and revealed another item.
“Mikhail. You can't use that technique yet. That's enough—come here. Now, this is Luna's weapon.”
When Neria unwrapped it, a round rod appeared. The others tilted their heads in confusion, but I immediately sprinted toward Limpy.
“Neria!”
「Here!」
What Neria handed me was a new barrel for the sniper rifle. Unlike the original, it was considerably thicker and longer.
「We upgraded the sniper system the other day. Switch to mode four and you should be able to mount it.」
Following Kirié's instructions, I changed the mode. The rifle's body opened and expanded; when I attached the new barrel, it locked into place with a solid click.
“This isn't a sniper rifle anymore—it's turned into a cannon.”
「Half right. Here, the ammunition.」
The round Marius held was unusually long and pointed, resembling artillery shell.
「Luna. Climb high and fire toward the eastern open sea. We've already gotten permission.」
“Huh? We needed permission just to fire once?”
What kind of weapon was this?
「Everyone, put on ear protection.」
The slightly ominous message came faintly through the comms. If ear protection was necessary, the sound must truly be as loud as artillery fire. I'd be fine, right? Limpy had excellent soundproofing.
Around the time Limpy's altitude exceeded five hundred meters, the signal came that preparations were complete.
「Luna. Hold the trigger down until charging finishes, then release.」
“Understood.”
I aimed the scope at the empty sea and pressed the trigger firmly.
Vweeeng—
Limpy's engine noise sounded unusually loud. The machine trembled slightly, as though output had become unstable. The engine quickly ramped up its RPMs and stabilized again; a message appeared on the main screen indicating charging was complete.
Charging took about twenty seconds. Time to fire.
“Firing. Three. Two. One.”
When I released the trigger—
BOOM!!
The sound was so tremendous I wondered if the gun itself had exploded, and the recoil sent Limpy sliding backward. By the time I steadied the shaking machine and looked at the target area, all that remained was a water column slowly subsiding.
「A-amazing!」
Led by Ran, the club members erupted in excited reactions.
*
After finishing the weapon tests, we returned to the clubroom and held a reflection session—though in truth it was mostly Kirié's lecture.
“Earlier, Rendel's sword converted the force that channels magic inward into a powerful outward repulsion. Luna's gun works similarly.”
“It keeps repelling the magic to amplify it, then releases it all at once, right?”
“Correct, Jenna. Though the structure this time is quite different.”
Kirié sketched a “ㄷ” shape on the whiteboard.
“The Ellydium in Rendel's sword was placed on one side so the magic would retain directionality, whereas in Luna's gun the Ellydium is arranged in a ‘ㄷ’ shape. So…”
She scribbled lines inside the ㄷ shape, drew a straight line out through the open end, and added an arrow at the tip.
“It keeps repelling the magic like this, gathers it inside, then releases it all outward at once. Normally, magic above a certain threshold would scatter, right? This method greatly raises that limit.”
“And the result is this.”
Ran displayed a water column dozens of meters tall—when she had taken the photo was anyone's guess.
“You're truly amazing. To create such incredible weapons so quickly.”
I was genuinely impressed. No wonder Kirié, unlike maintenance crew from other series, had no field experience yet was repeatedly highlighted for her excellence in weapon research. She had made my sniper rifle, but I never expected her to prepare Ellydium weapons this fast.
“Please make something similar for us too.”
“Only if you can also carry a sniper rifle, secure safe altitude, and have sufficient engine output.”
At Kirié's reply, Savian pouted. Mikhail, for his part, looked glum because using Rendel's sword would only change a double-edged blade into a single-edged one. Kirié scratched her cheek and spoke as though granting a favor.
“For the others, I'll replace your engines first. Weapons come after.”
“Huh, you'll really make them for us?”
“Yeah. We have plenty of materials.”
“Senior…!”
Leaving Savian and Kirié to their touching moment, Rendel and I exchanged glances.
‘After the club disbands, the lounge?’
‘Call.’
Signals carrying roughly that nuance passed between us.
Now then, time to plan the summer vacation with the protagonist. Instead of the warm beach from the original story, we would be spending the break on a scorching battlefield where bullets flew.