The Temporary Bulletin Board

The situation on the bulletin board I glanced at while preparing for battle was an absolute mess. The fan board had exploded so hard they rolled out a temporary one, yet even that was flipping through pages at blinding speed in the brief moment I looked. Naturally, the content was pure garbage. Even after filtering out everything except the chants praising Ruwina, it was still this bad. People call the internet a sea of information, but this board suffered from terminal marine pollution. As expected, this was no place to visit for actual intel. I had only succeeded in wasting my time.

I turned my eyes forward and stared at the approaching enemies. Roughly twenty Aind-class Aindiums, all identical as if stamped out by a machine. Even including us, the enemy held roughly double our fighting strength.

“Luna. Should we jump in too?”

“Give me a moment. I need to think.”

Rendel and I had two paths available. We could actively join the fight and show off our abilities, or we could simply observe Line and her subordinates in combat. It would let us gauge the capabilities of our allies, and since we had not yet received official permission to enter the war, there was no reason for us to help. Still, I could not simply watch Line’s side suffer losses.

“Senior. How many can you take down?”

“As long as I’m not too late, three or more?”

“Let’s aim for five between the two of us.”

“Roger.”

The White Fang slid across the ground as smoothly as if it were skating. Despite clearly using acceleration abilities, the movement looked like nothing more than the machine’s natural agility thanks to perfect control. While admiring Rendel’s growth, I too shot forward in a hovering state toward the enemy. Hovering technology was nothing special once you attached the right external parts, so showing this much was fine. The Limpid Fairy was currently carrying a heavy load, so various modules were stuck all over it. They could easily be mistaken for external parts.

In that case.

I loaded a round into the sniper rifle with a solid click and analyzed the information the fairies had gathered. The enemy Aindiums were primarily armed with rifles and carried secondary weapons. Some also carried high-destructive-power armaments such as grenades or rockets.

“Senior, I’ll share the priority targets that need to be eliminated quickly.”

“Thanks. First one’s mine!”

Rendel’s White Fang had already slipped past Line’s troops. It dodged the pouring bullets with ease and closed right in on the enemy’s face. A heavy swing. The Aindium whose rifle arm was severed whole became the White Fang’s shield. The enemies fired without hesitation even if it meant hitting their own. Their monotonous shooting patterns made me wonder if these were zombie Aindiums.

In the Aindium series, close-combat units held considerable weight. A pilot who knew how to use their weapons properly could output far more destructive power than standard firearms, and because the bullets themselves were so large, supply was difficult. Prolonged ranged firefights quickly exhausted ammunition and shells. There were magic-based firearms that did not use physical bullets, but they consumed batteries as consumables and had relatively lower power, which created its own problems.

The real issue arose in situations like this, when multiple enemies focused fire with rifles. Close-combat units that needed to approach their targets were usually shredded by concentrated fire before they could close the distance. That was why they usually carried shields, yet even then they became targets for high-firepower weapons. No matter how strong you were, charging forward in modern warfare while relying on armor was essentially the same thing. Thanks to defensive barriers and durability it was certainly better than that, but still.

In that sense, Rendel was the ideal close-combat pilot. He could close distance rapidly with his special acceleration ability, possessed the means to neutralize enemies from range, and could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dodge aimed shots with his outstanding dynamic vision and reaction speed before cutting them down in a single strike. After being defeated by him hundreds of times in the virtual training room, I realized that an average pilot would have no idea how to even counter that. Besides, in a real battlefield, losing once meant it was over.

Rendel began clearing enemies from the outer edge to avoid crossing Line’s line of fire. I also sniped the head off one idiot who had been standing still and shooting. By the time we had taken down five Aindiums, Line’s unit was still engaged in combat. Line’s Ardent was dismantling the enemy formation from the opposite side of Rendel, but the rest seemed stuck in a shooting match and could not suppress them quickly.

After destroying the lower half of one with a sniper shot, I unconsciously looked up at the sky. What was that? Something sparkling was flying toward us…

I immediately switched on the external speaker the moment I saw the word “missile” on the board and shouted a warning loud enough to shake the entire battlefield.

“Missile! Take cover!”

Line’s troops, who had only just noticed the missiles flying in from high altitude, stopped shooting and retreated. Rendel also withdrew safely, but suddenly the remaining enemy Aindiums all charged toward Line’s Ardent at once. They threw their bodies forward to grab its legs even if it meant being sliced by the burning greatsword. The ones we had knocked down earlier even staggered back to their feet and rushed in. The sight of enemies crawling across the ground even without limbs was truly like zombies.

Line’s Ardent could not pull back in time and became trapped inside a tomb built of piled Aindiums. Just as her subordinates belatedly tried to run over to rescue her, Rendel, who had noticed the anomaly, turned around and used a body check to blast the stacked enemies off the Ardent.

“Everyone get back! I can save her!”

The Limpid Fairy’s wings spread and it began low-altitude flight instead of hovering. Good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing I brought the anchor module. I fired the anchors I had prepared the moment the missiles appeared, aiming them at the Ardent and the White Fang. Rendel caught one and hooked the other onto a protruding part of the Ardent’s shoulder armor.

“Pull!”

I slammed the flight button and stepped on the pedal with all my strength. The Limpid Fairy’s engine roared as it lifted off, carrying two machines more than one and a half times its size. Ka-boom—! We managed to escape the battlefield faster than the missiles could land. A barrage of dozens of missiles, not just one, exploded while incinerating the enemies we had defeated. If the area had been a civilian residential zone instead of wasteland, the damage would have been catastrophic.

That evening, after a modest dinner, my private meeting with Line began. Rendel and I were granted an audience with her without any escorts present.

“Thank you for today, Ruwina.”

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Line offered her thanks with a gentle smile, but her expression quickly hardened as she glared at me.

“Still, I never expected Sir Jade to send you. I told him to keep you safe, not to throw you into an operation.”

“Sister. You saw it yourself today. I can do this.”

“Yes, I heard your grades were excellent, but your skills exceeded even my expectations, and the performance of your machine was outstanding. Even so, I cannot allow you to be placed in danger.”

“……”

I understood Line’s words with my head. She simply did not want to send her precious little sister onto the battlefield. But if she had truly wanted to keep Ruwina as an ignorant princess, she would have sent her to some noble girls’ academy instead of an Aindium military academy. She must have considered the possibility that something might happen to her, and perhaps even situations like this.

“Sister. No, Your Majesty. I am not a doll.”

“…What did you say?”

“I am Ruwina Edelstia. The princess of this nation and the younger sister of the next queen.”

I placed a hand over my heart and took one step forward.

“As a member of the royal family, I have a duty to end the tragedy that has befallen this country as quickly as possible.”

“Ruwina.”

A staring contest like a battle of wills began between Line and me. It lasted roughly a minute until my eyes grew dry and I rubbed them.

“Um. May I say something?”

Rendel, who had been listening to the sisters’ conversation, interjected at the perfect moment. Line slowly nodded.

“I was just about to speak with you as well. Rendel, the one who fought me to a near draw in last year’s finals.”

“It was not a draw.”

Rendel made a bitter expression that was rare for him. Then he turned to me with a natural smile.

“But I have grown much stronger over the past ten months. Through my interactions with Luna… with Ruwina, I have learned a great deal.”

Line also smiled as she looked at me. I wondered why the vein on her forehead was throbbing.

“It seems our little sister is quite indebted to you. I will believe that the two of you purely burned with academic passion.”

“Of course. We were always completely absorbed in training.”

Except that one time you tried to drag me off somewhere to play.

When Rendel answered with a straight face, Line nodded in satisfaction.

“So, Rendel. What is it you wish to say?”

“Luna is the ace pilot of the first-years. She is in no way inferior to active-duty Aindium pilots. Moreover, her personal machine, the Limpid Fairy, is a masterpiece left behind by Dr. Carol, the father of Aindiums, which has undergone modern remodeling.”

“A masterpiece?”

Line shot up from her seat in shock. The lantern on the creaking wooden table flickered unsteadily.

“Yes. The Limpid is Dr. Carol’s masterpiece, and several Aindium supporter AIs called ‘fairies’ that we found in his laboratory came with it.”

The fairies 1, 2, and 3 popped out in order and greeted Line. Kids, you call me by name but speak politely to her?

I had never sent a letter about the Limpid Fairy or the fairies. Headmaster Jade had also kept quiet about it to avoid worrying Line, so this was the first she was hearing of it. It was natural for her to be shocked. After I gave a rough explanation of how I had found the Limpid, Line closed her eyes and began to think seriously.

The information about Regent Ainel’s conspiracy had been handed to her immediately after today’s battle. Once analyzed, its authenticity would be confirmed, and the front lines might expand even further. Depending on Line’s decision, the civil war could be prolonged or shortened.

“Rendel.”

“Yes.”

Line slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at him. Rendel did not avoid her gaze.

“If you fight alongside Ruwina, how much can you accomplish?”

“Do you mean in field battles like today?”

“That as well. Overall.”

Rendel rested a hand on his chin, thought for a moment, then spoke.

“May I ask which is the most important battlefield in this war?”

“Here. The Third Coastal Fortress.”

Line pointed to a spot on the map on the table. Ruwina’s knowledge recalled the massive steel walls located there.

“Do you have information on that location?”

“We have the blueprints. We cannot grasp the internal situation, however.”

“Hmm. In that case, would it not be possible to capture it?”

“Hah. You must be joking.”

Line let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd. But Rendel began explaining with confidence.

“Your Majesty, what if you had support from a Nimust-class that can fly at high altitudes while carrying two Aind-class Aindiums at once, that can also snipe from hiding, and that possesses weapons capable of destroying part of the fortress if necessary?”

Rendel lavished praise on the Limpid until my face grew hot, then pointed at the Third Coastal Fortress on the map.

“Even then, do you believe you could not capture that fortress, Your Majesty?”

“……”

Line would not say she could not do it, if only out of pride. From the description alone, it really did sound possible. In narrow spaces such as inside a structure, close-combat units displayed their true worth. Especially if they possessed acceleration abilities like Rendel. With the Limpid’s support, a small number of people could destroy the fortress’s key facilities and escape.

Line seemed to have finished thinking. She opened her eyes halfway and let out a short sigh.

“Hoo… Rendel.”

“Yes.”

“…I entrust Ruwina to you.”

“Understood. I will protect her even if it costs my life.”

Rendel performed a knight’s salute, thumping a fist to his chest.