Rude Awakening

Perhaps it was because I had moved my body directly after so long and spent a day in an unfamiliar wilderness. I must have fallen asleep without realizing it. The place I woke up in was the dimly lit cockpit of Limpi. I was lying in the reclined pilot seat, covered with a blanket. I vaguely remembered having some kind of conversation with Rendel before falling asleep… but the details were hazy. Checking Limpi’s screen, it was just past five in the morning. Maybe Senior Yvette or Line would come to rescue us today? We really needed to head back to school soon. How many days were left until the semester started again?

“What day is it today?”

Oh, so the opening ceremony was on the 30th. “Hah!” Even assuming we were currently in the capital of Karmanu, five days would be tight to return to school with both Limpi and White Fang. And Rendel and I were stranded on a foreign archipelago far from the mainland. What if we couldn’t make it back before the semester started? If both of us missed school at the same time, strange rumors would definitely spread. More than they already had. The board kids making a fuss was something I could just endure since it didn’t cause real problems, but rumors in reality were different. People’s gazes toward Rendel and me were already suspicious enough with all the accumulated misunderstandings. This wasn’t the time to hesitate. If rescue didn’t come or seemed unlikely, we had no choice but to escape on our own.

The summer dawn arrived before six. Once the surroundings brightened enough, I immediately called for Rendel.

“Senior!”

「…Yeah. You up?」

“If we leave now, won’t we be late for school?”

「Hmm. Maybe?」

“This isn’t a ‘maybe’ situation! Being late returning to school is a huge problem.”

「Huge problem? Why?」

“Well, because… we’re military academy cadets. Skipping without permission comes with serious penalties, right?”

「Dunno. Plenty of people were active like us during break, so it should be fine. Some are probably still near the border. Senior Yvette’s probably active too.」

“Senior Yvette is a third-year.”

Third-year pilots at the academy were practically above the law. Many seniors even worked at units instead of attending school. 「Don’t worry so much. They wouldn’t expel us, would they?」 Rendel sounded completely relaxed, as if he had some kind of assurance. Come to think of it, Rendel never really gave off the image of someone who strictly followed school rules. What should I do? Should I just say it outright—“If we’re late together, everyone will definitely misunderstand”? Unable to decide, I ate breakfast, then lunch while growing more anxious. At least the crab and conch dishes were delicious. By the time the sun was high in the sky, we had wasted half a precious day. Had Senior Yvette not found the scouting machine Rendel left behind? Or was there some issue on Line’s side, or maybe Senior Yvette ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had already returned…

“Huh? What is it?”

[There’s a battle happening nearby. So enemy combat ships and Aindiums have been deployed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in large numbers. We should probably lay low for a while.]

“No way…”

Was it Senior Yvette or Line? Rendel must have heard the news too, because he sent a transmission.

「Luna. You heard?」

“Yes. It looks like the rescue team has arrived.”

「What do you want to do? Our machines haven’t been maintained, so I’m a bit worried.」

“Senior, since when do you care about things like that?”

I could almost picture Rendel smiling at my words.

「Never have.」

“Me neither. Everyone, prepare for combat.”

[Got it!]

As I started Limpi’s engine and let it warm up, the sound of shelling echoed from afar. White Fang, which had been kneeling and crouched, slowly rose, its head peeking over the cliff and asserting its presence. Why-aaaang. A faint siren could be heard in the distance. It must be coming from the naval base dozens of kilometers away. This was quite the serious attack. They weren’t charging in just to find us, were they?

“Senior, any communications coming through?”

「Wait a sec. Ah, ah. Senior Yvette?」

「Chik- This is Kelpie 1. How’ve you juniors been? We’re here to rescue you.」

“Senior Yvette!”

Even though we’d only been apart for two days, Senior Yvette’s voice sounded incredibly welcome.

「I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?」

「Huh? Interrupt what?」

「Well, you know—」

“No! Not at all! Let’s rendezvous right away.”

「Hmm? Hehe. Understood. I’ll send you the rendezvous point.」

The rendezvous point Senior Yvette sent was right in front of Karimis Island—the largest island in the Karamis Islands and home to the naval base. I guess this counted as forced combat participation?

“Senior, I’m taking off.”

「Got it.」

After lifting Limpi slightly and lowering the anchor, Rendel naturally grabbed it with both of White Fang’s hands. Since grabbing only one side would throw off the balance and make flight difficult, when moving a single unit we had to hold both anchors like this.

“Pfft.”

「Luna?」

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

I accidentally laughed while checking the board. Since we didn’t know what might happen during the battle, I couldn’t exactly ignore it. I just had to hope the board friends would post only the important stuff at the right time. Trying not to look at White Fang too much because the swing image kept coming to mind, I took off.

“Hah.”

From high up on a clear day, the endless sea and the scattered islands floating on it were truly a magnificent sight. Ruining that view were several warships and multiple Aindiums. The naval forces of both sides were about to clash head-on.

「Your sister’s side has overwhelmingly superior forces?」

“Seems that way. They probably brought in troops legally.”

Rubens had likely seized the naval base with nobles backing him, but any soldier with sense wouldn’t have joined the rebels. So the forces he could mobilize were quite limited. It was the same reason most soldiers at the start of the civil war declared neutrality, took leave, or voluntarily deployed near the border. If you picked a side and lost, you’d die a dog’s death—like that Rubens-side warship currently being hit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by shells. The offensive was so merciless I wondered if we’d even get a chance to step in. Among the allied ships was a famous vessel that even Ruwina’s memories recognized as the flagship of the Karmanu navy. I didn’t know its name since Ruwina had little interest in military matters. The enemies who spotted our flagship panicked and either surrendered or were shelled, while ships trying to flee had their mobility crippled by the Kelpie team and were left circling in place. Since they were fellow countrymen, they seemed to want to minimize casualties—explosive shells were exchanged sparingly. That didn’t mean there were no victims, though.

「Kelpie team, regroup.」

When Senior Yvette, who had been casually hunting ships, gave a sharp order, the seniors quickly gathered. They looked like shadows beneath the sea, but their speed made them easy to mistake for whales. Once assembled, the Kelpie team launched a surprise attack on one large ship before surfacing. It was a massive battleship that had been under concentrated fire but appeared undamaged.

「Corsair team, over here.」

Still circling in the air, I quickly dove toward the battleship where the seniors were. Alarms blared from the ship, and the sailors on deck were in a panic—either rushing inside or jumping into the sea. 「I’ll get off first.」 As we reached the deck, Rendel released the anchor and landed. With a thud, the ship rocked, but the fact that it didn’t tilt much showed just how large and heavy it was.

[Luna. Be careful. There’s an unusual reaction coming from the ship.]

Before the second fairy, who was in charge of scanning, could finish speaking, Senior Yvette transmitted a warning.

「Everyone be careful. There’s something inside.」

If both the fairy and Senior were warning me at the same time, there really must be something. I hovered just above the sea a short distance from the ship and loaded my bullets.

Bang! One side of the deck exploded outward as if bursting, and several Aindiums came flying out. Rendel began engaging them with the dual swords he had already drawn, while Senior Yvette and the rest of the Kelpie team dealt with the enemies using harpoons and guns. As the Aindiums tangled in combat on the battleship, another warship approached from near the naval base. Larger than the one we were on, it ignored us and turned to engage Line’s fleet instead. If we let it go, the damage would be severe.

“Senior. If it looks like you might fall into the sea, send a signal.”

「Got it. But where are you going?」

“There’s another battleship over there. I’m going to try and stop it.”

「Alone? That’s dangerous.」

“It’s fine. I’ll shoot from a distance.”

「Ah!」

When I mentioned changing the barrel, Rendel let out a short exclamation of surprise. I raised Limpi’s altitude significantly, moving as far from the sea as possible.

When I focused on piloting, the fairies would read out important information displayed on the screen. After a few seconds, the sniper rifle transformed into a rail cannon with an Ellydium barrel.

“Entering firing sequence.”

As I held down the trigger, the fairies—who had learned about the new weapon from the previous test firing—automatically prepared everything.

Weeeeng— Limpi’s engine hummed as the twenty-second charge finished.

“Fire.”

The magic power that had been reflecting and accumulating inside the barrel pushed the round forward, and a projectile much larger than a regular sniper round shot out at several times the speed. It took only one second to reach the enemy battleship several kilometers away. With a single shot, it destroyed the bow deck of a warship that could normally withstand shelling.

“Whoa—!”

Limpi, having fired the rail cannon with its absurd destructive power, was sent soaring upward from the recoil. Though we were still far from the height where the magic magnetic field would activate, I frantically mashed the descent button just in case. The battleship with its bow destroyed continued moving while spewing black smoke. It was a shame the rail cannon couldn’t be reloaded in midair and was essentially single-use. Well, with that kind of damage, someone else would handle it. I turned back toward the original battleship where the Aindium battle was raging, intending to help the seniors.