Nightmare of the Deep
The long training camp was finally over. We had returned to the garrison and were scheduled to head back to the academy the next day.
“Ugh. It’s finally done. I just want to go home already.”
“Same here. But exams start next week. You study at all?”
“Nope. Last-minute cramming as usual for me.”
Unlike the cadets chatting as they walked past, the CT Club members gathered in the room carried a noticeably different atmosphere. And the person responsible for that tension was none other than me.
“Is this information reliable?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you obtain it?”
“Well… that is…”
When I mentioned the possibility of an upcoming naval battle, Senior Ran asked for the source. It wasn’t an interrogation; she was genuinely curious. Still, as the de facto club president and primary operator, she had to verify it. If the team stayed on edge over uncertain intel and nothing happened, everyone would lose sleep and simply pile up stress.
Explaining everything about the Countess was tricky. She had singled me out specifically to pass the information secretly, after all. Rendel already knew my true identity, so he had understood when I explained it to him step by step, but…
“Trust what Luna says.”
“Rendel?”
“It’s happened before, hasn’t it? Thanks to Luna, we minimized our losses during the high-ground skirmish.”
Unable to watch any longer, Rendel stepped forward on my behalf, siding with me and trying to persuade Senior Ran. She pondered for a moment, then turned to the rest of the club.
“That’s what she’s telling us. Everyone fine with staying on combat standby until tomorrow?”
“I’m in favor. It’s not over yet.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“No issues on my end.”
“Us neither.”
The pilots, having enjoyed a full day of rest, looked bursting with energy.
“We’ll follow whatever the rest of you decide.”
The first-year operators didn’t seem to mind either. That left the mechanics—the most critical members, whose workload would increase the most. When all eyes turned to them, Neria immediately hid behind Senior Kirie while Marius scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
“Haa…”
Senior Kirie let out a heavy sigh, then fixed me with a sharp glare.
“Luna.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“If there’s no battle, I’m not letting you off easy. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Huu. All right, kids. Let’s move.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Understood.”
The three CT Club mechanics headed for the hangar that housed the members’ Aindiums. Their main task today was implementing waterproofing measures. Since combat was expected at sea, fully converting the units to underwater specifications was impossible on short notice, but they could at least prevent the cockpits from flooding.
The White Fang had already received waterproofing and underwater modifications back in Karmanu, so it would only need a quick inspection. The rest would require tailored solutions depending on each machine’s cockpit layout.
Kirie kept detailed specs for every personal unit in her head, so she would come up with workable methods quickly. I’d help with the heavy lifting afterward as much as I could.
“Are Aindium cockpits normally not waterproofed?”
“Ventilation issues. They rarely need to go underwater. Dedicated underwater models come as fully sealed units from the start.”
Muri, who could talk about Aindiums almost as much as the mechanics themselves, offered the explanation. The others nodded in understanding.
Underwater-type Aindiums featured completely waterproof, pressure-resistant sealed cockpits, but they required specialized air-purification systems that other models lacked. As a result, the cockpits were cramped and visibility was poor, making them difficult to use effectively on land. Underwater, acoustic radar helped compensate for those weaknesses, but the systems simply didn’t function on the surface.
In that sense, Senior Yvette’s combat ability was practically miraculous. She could rampage across land and take on multiple land-type Aindiums simultaneously without issue.
Our waterproofing measures wouldn’t include full air-purification systems. We weren’t planning to remain submerged indefinitely, so temporary sealing would suffice.
“There you all are.”
“Senior! You’re back?”
Just then, the specialist in underwater combat—Senior Yvette—returned to the garrison. Perfect. With her here, we could confidently entrust any underwater battle to her no matter what appeared. If only she could bring along a few other underwater Aindium pilots she knew.
“I have an urgent matter to attend to. See you later. I’ll probably return tomorrow. Bye.”
Before anyone could respond, Senior Yvette delivered her message and slipped back out the door, flashing us a wink right at the end.
“Senior seems busy. Everyone, get some proper rest. The other cadets are still active today, so we should be able to prepare quickly if anything happens.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
As Senior Ran said, plenty of other fighters were available to step in today. But tomorrow—the day we were scheduled to return—everyone would be loading their Aindiums onto trains and transports from dawn. Even if trouble started, preparation would take considerable time.
Our CT Club decided to load our personal machines onto the Aindium transport vehicles first and wait near the sea. If nothing happened by departure time, we would leave normally. If something did, we would stop it.
After roughly outlining the plan, we returned to our quarters.
Fortunately, the day passed without incident. On the final morning of the training camp, pilots and mechanics were busy moving Aindiums from dawn. The sight of hundreds of units being loaded onto trains and transports all at once was truly spectacular.
This was Alitus—a nation that could stand toe-to-toe with both the Empire and the Republic. It was a far cry from Karmanu, my homeland, which had struggled to deploy even a hundred Aindiums during the throne competition.
“The clubs traveling by train include the student council and…”
Senior Ran checked the situation using materials she had acquired from somewhere.
“Senior, here we should reference the examples of Europa and Luden…”
Christine and Jena were helping her analyze the documents, but they kept using specialized terminology that made it difficult for me to follow.
Once the sun was up and breakfast ended, the full-scale departure began in earnest.
“The Aindium transport train leaves at ten, but the cadets from those clubs will depart first on the nine o’clock train.”
“We’ll treat that group as outside our operational scope. I’ll secure the emergency contact network for the clubs traveling by vehicle so we can prepare if anything happens.”
“Thank you, Jena.”
The operators moved busily, coordinating everything. A short while later, the mechanics trudged over with heavy dark circles under their eyes.
“Ughhh… uuuuh…”
“Thank you for your hard work, seniors. Everyone did great.”
“Uuuuh…”
The three mechanics, faces streaked with grease and staggering like zombies, collapsed onto a bench and fell asleep instantly. I had stopped by the previous night to help, but Senior Kirie had shooed me away to get some sleep. Now I understood why.
“All right, let’s move our personal machines. Our vehicle is over there.”
“Roger.”
Operators obtained their driver’s licenses immediately upon entering the academy. They practiced extensively so anyone could take the wheel of a command vehicle safely. As a result, not only second-year Senior Ran but even first-years Christine and Jena were expert drivers.
Although the academy had hired professional drivers for this training camp, today our operators volunteered to handle transportation themselves. We had a separate destination, after all.
“Senior, I found some interesting material.”
“Oh? What is it?”
While we were moving, Christine handed something to Senior Ran. I glanced at the paper as I walked beside them. It looked like an excerpt from a rather old book and featured what appeared to be a tentacled creature and a crayfish.
“Luna mentioned there might be a battle at sea, right? The enemy could be Aindiums, but we can’t rule out monsters. So I looked into it.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
“Exactly!”
Encouraged by Senior Ran’s agreement, Christine launched into an enthusiastic explanation.
“These monsters are known to inhabit the nearby waters. They’re large specimens. Anything smaller wouldn’t constitute a real ‘fight’ against Aindiums.”
“This one looks like it’s from the Hydra family. And this is a crayfish?”
“Yes! The large Hydra-type ‘Terror of the Deep’ and the giant crayfish monster ‘Nightmare of the Deep.’”
“Those names are pretty over-the-top.”
I couldn’t help commenting, and Christine turned to me with sparkling eyes.
“Right? People from Lans City really understand romance.”
“If you say so.”
It was a sentiment I couldn’t quite grasp. Maybe this was how others felt when they tried my cooking…
After retrieving our personal machines from the hangar outside the garrison and loading them onto a large trailer, we headed for the port.
“Yes. It’s not as capable as the Limpid Fairy, but the Black Fairy does have optical camouflage.”
The Limpid Fairy could maintain optical camouflage, fire weapons, and fly simultaneously, but the Black Fairy could only manage low-level optical camouflage and low-altitude flight. Still, that was enough. Our surveillance target was the open sea, after all.
Upon reaching the port, the operators received a communication and began exchanging messages rapidly. I had been preparing to launch but sat back down when told to wait.
Rendel, sensing something was off, asked Senior Ran, “Ran. What’s going on?”
The city definitely felt chaotic. The other cadets might grumble about trouble breaking out on the very last day, but for us it was an opportunity. If things went badly, reinforcements would arrive in force. Provided the disturbance was suppressed first, of course.
“What should we do?”
“Understood. Let me know when it’s time to move.”
Senior Carson and Savian boarded their machines to prepare for immediate deployment while the rest of us waited. Around eleven in the morning—
“That’s a relief.”
“Are they all leaving immediately?”
Senior Ran’s sudden exclamation was followed by every operator raising their voice at once.
Reaction detected at the buoy!
No radar signature. Not an Aindium!
“Luna!”
“On it!”
I immediately boarded the Black Fairy, exited the container, and took to the sky. Distant screams and shouts reached us, followed by a low, vibrating rumble that traveled through the air.
Beneath the sea in front of the port, a massive black shadow shifted. The anchored ships rocked violently and began to capsize.
“Single monster sighted! Type is…”
The fairies maximized the Black Fairy’s visual magnification. A dark, reddish-black carapace glistened under the sun.
“It’s a giant crayfish—the Nightmare of the Deep!”
The moment the words left my mouth, the fifty-meter behemoth I had seen in the illustration earlier broke the surface, seawater cascading from its enormous form.