86—Eighty-Six

CHAPTER 2

CITADEL OF THE SWANS

The United Kingdom’s southern front’s Revich Observation Base. The very picture of an impregnable fortress. Built atop rocky mountains, it was surrounded on all sides by precipitous cliffs with elevations ranging from a hundred meters at the lowest to three hundred meters at the highest, with diamond-shaped peaks to the north and south. The characteristically snow-white rock surface was now transparent and sharp, with the snow and sleet covering the incline making it thicker, and near the peak of the rock walls were palisades made of layers of reinforced concrete and armored boards. Another hundred meters away from the northern peak was another large mountain, which served as the fulcrum of a thick, reinforced canopy dome carved out of the rock face covering the peak, like a swan spreading its wings.

The only gate into the base and the road leading up to it was on an incline to the northwest, built over a winding, meandering steep slope filled with twists and turns. Overlooking the ascending road in the shape of an animal’s entrails were the multiple menacing muzzles of gun turrets.

“It was originally one of our border fortresses, but right now we’re using it as an impact-observation position.”

There were holes dotting the canopy covering the summit, which stood like a pair of decaying wings. Trailing the pillars of sunlight that
shone down during twilight on snowy days, Vika led Lena and her group. It was a wondrous sight, formed by the glaciers’ whittling down the mountains.

Following in his footsteps, Lena looked around the surface sector of the citadel base. This fortress would serve as the Strike Package’s base for the operation in the Dragon Corpse mountain range. As it had originally been a fortress, barrier walls separated its interior into smaller sectors. A spiral staircase running counterclockwise led up to the castle keep built against the northern mountain. The castle keeps, which served as observation towers nowadays, were partially built into the mountain’s interior, giving a panoramic view of the battlefield surrounding the fortress.

At the end of the gentle slope and currently out of sight were the United Kingdom military’s artillery formation to the north and the contested zones to the south. To the east and west were the United Kingdom’s armored encampments. The country’s final shield, the northern mountain range, had been reduced to a Legion haunt by now.

In addition to the canopy blocking out the sunlight, the thick, high partition walls separating the base into sectors gave the surface sector a dark, suffocating feel. Shin squinted as he looked around, perhaps wondering how this place would fare should battle break out here.

“Impact observation?”

“This base is on the highest spot around here. Like all old bases, it isn’t equipped to launch air strikes, but thankfully the Legion don’t employ aerial combat, meaning even this old base is still usable depending on the situation.”

While the Legion employed antiair forces, they didn’t have an air force of their own. Legion capable of flight weren’t loaded with weapons and, based on past precedents, didn’t use long-distance missiles, either. That seemed to be another restriction placed on them. So the United Kingdom took advantage of this weakness.

Snow gently flitted down from what should have been a late spring’s sky.

They climbed the stairway leading up to the observation tower’s third floor, which, for some reason, was a narrow spiral staircase, and after crossing three blast hatches to the underground residential sector, they were greeted by a shrill voice.

“Welcome back, Your Highness.”

“Yes, hello, Ludmila.”

A tall girl with almost unusually vibrant, flame-like red hair greeted Vika. She was followed by a group of girls who, like her, were clad in dark-red uniforms. The United Kingdom’s uniforms were collared violet-and-black outfits. The dark-crimson uniforms, on the other hand, were exclusively worn by the Sirins.

In other words, all the girls in attendance were not human. Their heads were adorned with hair of various shades of blue, green, and pink, with a degree of glossy transparency that no amount of dye could produce. Violet-colored quasi-nerve crystals, which were in charge of Para-RAID functionality and thought suppression, were embedded deep in their foreheads. These crystals were connected to the very cores of their artificial brains.

Lena blinked as she looked around. Vika’s ingenuity truly did border on the supernatural, since it could produce girls that looked indistinguishable from human beings. But did that power truly come without any costs? The thought concerned her. But setting that aside…

“They’re…all women.”

“Making them men would just feel disgusting.”

Even Vika noticed the cold gaze Lena directed his way.

“I’m joking, of course. At least, half joking… When we first revealed them, the front lines were still occupied primarily by men, so we made them female as a means to differentiate them. At this point, the situation doesn’t allow us to be picky, and since we have women and girls serving as soldiers as well, having the Sirin’s hair colors be drastically different from the average human’s ended up being a useful idea in hindsight.”

Was it really necessary to have them look human in the first place
…?

But as that thought crossed Lena’s mind, she was overcome with shame. Just because they were mechanical, because their “human brains” amounted to nothing more than replicas, she’d treated something with a personality of its own—even if only an artificial one—like a machine.

She also likely had trouble coming to grips with the
necessity
that they resemble humans, who were harder to manage and worse at attitude control. Lena imagined what it would be like if she were to wake up one day and find she had become a huge, disgusting insect. Her mental state would probably escalate far beyond simple confusion and despair. Having six legs, wings on her back, compound eyes, and feelers for sensory organs. It would be a sensation that was entirely unlike being human, and the human mind wouldn’t be able to endure the shock for long before going completely mad.

…Rei had likely been the same. That young man who had so loved his little brother but had reunited with him after becoming a Legion and tried to take his life. He may well have felt the same thing. The instincts of his Dinosauria body—of a Legion that was far too different from a human being—had likely tormented him. To have his desire to see his younger brother again twisted into murderous intent…

She wanted to ask Vika for his opinion on the matter, but it wasn’t something she could bring up in front of Shin. Even if she were to omit certain names, Shin was clever and would eventually realize what she was talking about… And even if he wouldn’t, she felt as if she shouldn’t speak of it.

Just as she peeked in his direction, Shin began talking.

“…Are the only things distinguishing them from humans their uniforms, hair colors, and the quasi-nerve crystals on their foreheads?”

“If you mean in terms of aid on the battlefield, the type of unit they pilot is fundamentally different, so that’s another source of distinction. Worse, anyone who would try to treat their wounds would realize soon enough. They’re almost entirely mechanical, and heavy enough for one to tell. The master data for their brain structures is stored in the production plant, and their combat records are regularly being backed up, so even if they’re abandoned on the battlefield, it’s fine… Also…”

Vika smirked arrogantly.

“…I wouldn’t underestimate them if I was you, Reaper. These girls were made for battle. They won’t easily lose to humans in that setting.”

“—Oh, Shin. Raiden and Frederica, too. You were transported today. Saying ‘welcome back’ sounds…a little off, but still, it’s been a while.”

Theo waved at them from where he sat at the corner of one of the long tables filling the room, and Anju and Kurena, who were sitting opposite him, turned around. They were in the Revich Citadel Base’s third cafeteria, which was currently full of people, some clad in the Federacy’s steel-blue uniforms and others in the United Kingdom’s violet and black.

The citadel base’s functions were all concentrated in the subterranean level built into the mountain’s bedrock, and its multiple cafeterias were all set up in the underground residential sector. The well-lit ceiling was very high, but the lack of windows made the rectangular space feel oppressive. An azure sky was artistically depicted across the ceiling’s surface, and the walls were painted with fields of sunflowers the artist so clearly longed for. The whole thing reminded Shin of a prison.

After each of them loaded their trays with food, Shin, Raiden, and Frederica sat down, and Kurena tilted her head inquisitively.

“I heard Colonel Wenzel and, um, Annette, was it…? The technical major chick. Anyway, I heard those two are staying behind in the capital, but what about Lena?”

“She’s eating with the United Kingdom’s commanding officers and staff officers.”

“She is a commanding officer, after all. She’s gotta play the role when it comes to social gatherings and stuff.”

“Oh yeah… Looking back, it was like that when she’d just come to the Federacy.”

As she spoke, Anju reached for several small jars in the center of the table, which contained jam, honey, and other such condiments to smear on bread. She shrugged and recommended the berry jam.

It seemed it was true that the United Kingdom was at the end of its rope. While it wasn’t as bad as the Eighty-Sixth Sector, more than half the food on their trays was the bland-tasting synthetic food from the production plants. If their means of food production were devastated…then indeed, they wouldn’t survive the coming winter.

As Shin silently ate his meat seasoned with sour cream and his mashed potatoes, he could hear voices from the other tables despite not really trying to listen to them. The forces of this base were, putting the Strike Package’s Processors aside, mostly Sirins, but it wasn’t entirely unmanned. The Sirin’s Handlers were there, of course, as were the infantry who served as the base’s defense forces, the maintenance crew, announcement teams, and a gunner squad in charge of operating the base’s fixed artillery cannons.

As per the United Kingdom’s law that stated the Viola were the only ones who faced forced conscription, the majority of the soldiers had violet eyes. As Raiden regarded them, he furrowed his brow.

“In the capital, they said the only difference between civilians and serfs was their duties, but…it looks like that ain’t the case, once you get to the bottom of things.”

While there was no difference in the menus they were being offered, the Violas didn’t sit at the same tables as people of different colors and ethnic groups. The serf soldiers’ rank insignia indicated they were only normal recruits and noncommissioned officers, and even among fellow civilians, there was a difference in rank and visible antagonism between the Iola and the Taaffe.

Viola soldiers would look and speak to others with noticeable coldness. “Not only serfs but now foreign soldiers are stepping onto our battlefields. Deplorable. Our brave fatherland is shamed.” So they said, despite the foreign officers being of noble birth in the Republic and the Federacy.

Theo turned his face away from them but stole apathetic glances at them out of the corner of his eye.

“Unlike the Republic, all the classy races are the ones that enlist… It’s kinda weird.”

“…? ’Tis the same in the Federacy, is it not? In Giad, the nobles fight just the same. Most of the current officers are former nobles, no?”

In ancient times, military service had gone hand in hand with the right to vote. Only those who fought had the right to make political decisions. Only those who fought could stand above the workers of the land. During that period, military service was seen not as a duty but as a privilege of sorts.

“I mean, yeah, but that’s not what I was trying to say… It’s like, in the Federacy you have the right to choose, but in the United Kingdom, it’s like in the Republic. The color you were born decides your position in society and your duties… But those positions are reversed here. It’s weird.”

“………”

Maybe that’s why
, Shin suddenly thought.
The color and ethnic group you’re born into cement your place in the world—the duties you have to fulfill are decided the moment you’re born. It’s this kind of country that would come up with the idea of repurposing corpses for battle and would approve of using mechanical dolls meant for war. The civilians are the ones who fight, after all, and so their remains are also offered up for the war effort.

Just then, a pink-haired girl who looked to be in her early teens approached the United Kingdom’s soldiers’ table. She reported something, her face expressionless in a way that didn’t quite match her youthful features. Not returning the smile of the Handler who spoke to her, she turned around and walked off…

Sirins didn’t eat. So as not to needlessly waste energy packs, they were typically stored in a unique hangar except for when they were out on operations or training.

“…You hear about the Sirins?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Oh, be careful, though. Their Handlers don’t like hearing people talk about them like they’re objects. They kind of cherish them like they’re their lovers or little sisters or something.”

“I guess Handlers really treasure their drones in this country, huh.”

Kurena spat those words out with disgust… Shin couldn’t blame her. Even in a despotic monarchy that didn’t place value on equality or freedom, Handlers treated those mechanical girls like human beings.
Meanwhile, the Republic, which had equality and freedom etched upon its very flag, not only treated the Eighty-Six as inhuman but couldn’t even be bothered to lead them.

This was one brand of irony only they, the Eighty-Six, could understand.

Not even Lena could.

Human beings had a way of treating other people like objects or animals while, at the same time, cherishing objects and livestock as if they were people. Not even she could understand that all-too-ironic, fundamentally human cruelty.

When Vika came out, he saw Lena and drooped his shoulders.

“It’s almost time for lights-out… Visiting a man’s room this late at night leaves you a bit too vulnerable, Milizé. You should have Nouzen at your side when you’re out and about like this.”

“I have something to ask you… Something I don’t want others, specifically Captain Nouzen, to hear about. Could we perhaps speak in private?”

This was why she’d chosen to come now, after Shin had retired to his lodging. Ignoring her, Vika headed to his own room. It seemed he wore glasses when writing and reading. He spoke as he removed his rather simply designed spectacles.

“Lerche, call anyone over, so long as it isn’t Nouzen… Yes, Iida will do. Call her over. Oh, and you there, make sure the door doesn’t close until Lerche comes back.”

“Yes, sir.”

“By your will, Your Highness.”

“Vika…!”

Still consciously ignoring Lena’s protests, Vika had a passing soldier hold the door as Lerche hurried off. After quite a while, Shiden showed up, after apparently having taken a hurried shower, accompanied by Lerche. Glancing at her, Vika made a dubious face.

“………Sorry. I didn’t intend to interrupt… Or so I should say, but what were you doing?”

Despite being in the presence of a prince, Shiden turned her face away in utter displeasure.

“What I do in my free time’s none of your business… Shit, you’re not even listening, are you?”

“No, I’m not. Act as Milizé’s guard dog for a bit. You may be a woman, but you’re stronger than I am, if nothing else.”

“Well, listen to you, prince. A fistfight is one thing, but where’d those calluses on your hands come from?”

“Hunting is a popular pastime in this country.”

“Whoa, scary, scary. Guess I better mind my p’s and q’s so you don’t end up treating me like wild game, huh?”

Shiden raised both hands in a joking manner and, as requested, plunked down on a five-person sofa like a lazy hound. In contrast, Lena sat down politely, and Vika sat opposite them. They were separated by a low table. Lerche set white porcelain teacups and a tray inlaid with mother-of-pearl and loaded with sweets on the table before moving to the back of the room. Then Vika spoke.

“Well? If this is something you don’t want Nouzen to hear, it’s about
that
, right…? Why me, then? I’m not knowledgeable about that.”

“No, you’re probably…the most knowledgeable out of everyone I know when it comes to this topic.”

Something that was lost to the Republic and hidden behind a thick wall of military confidentiality in the Federacy.

“Extrasensory abilities.”

Vika’s expression suddenly turned blank.

“Captain Nouzen’s ability to hear the voices of the Legion. Aide Rosenfort’s ability to see the past and present of her acquaintances. These abilities offer great tactical advantages… But don’t they harm those who possess them?”

That included Vika, the Idinarohks’ Esper. As such, she wasn’t sure whether asking him was a good idea.

“Oh… So that’s what you wanted to know. I can see why those without extrasensory powers might think so.”

Vika crossed his legs, ever aloof.

“As a principle, the answer to your question is no. Supernatural abilities have always been necessary for leaders to guide the masses. This has been true since time immemorial—since the era when those of noble blood were truly kings. For an Esper, their extrasensory ability is as natural as their other five senses. Does a living being capable of sight damage its body simply by seeing? The same idea applies here. There is no price to pay, so to speak.”

“But what about cases like Captain Nouzen, where his ability changed from what it could initially do?”

“Is that what happened? Well, I see. I did think it was an odd way for the Maika bloodline’s ability to manifest.”

Lena directed a puzzled expression at him, so Vika explained that was Shin’s mother’s clan. Apparently, it was included in the personnel file Vika had received.

“Such an example is rare, indeed… But if he sleeps for too long at times, it’s likely because he’s subconsciously stabilizing his balance of strain and rest. If he said he’s feeling unwell, it would be another story, but I don’t think there’s much cause for worry right now.”

“That…might be true, but…”

Vika tilted his head slightly, like a large snake eyeing some unfamiliar small animal. Without a trace of warmth or emotion.

“Let me ask a question, then. If I were to tell you it does have an adverse effect on him, what would you do?”

Lena blinked, seemingly taken by surprise.

“Huh?”

“To begin with, if you’re asking about that, why didn’t you bring Nouzen with you? If you think it might have a negative influence on him, it’s all the more reason for him to be present for this conversation.”

“…Yes, but…”

He was one of the Eighty-Six—his raison d’être was to never flee in the face of death.

“…Captain Nouzen would likely…still refuse to leave the battlefield.”

Vika blinked once, over a long moment.

“Are you implying…that he’s a pitiful Eighty-Six who’s been
irreparably broken by war and rendered incapable of proper judgment? And you, a normal, good-natured human being, have the right to make that judgment call for him?”

Lena raised her face in a stiff gesture. She’d likely looked up at him with such a pale, hard expression. Vika’s lips twisted with a giggle, but something in his violet eyes wasn’t jovial in the slightest.

“Truly, you are arrogant. Like the goddess of white snow herself.”

The snow goddess that enveloped the United Kingdom for half of every year. A beautiful, merciless, arrogant goddess who never spared an idle thought for the concerns of people…

“Yes, you really are unblemished, virginal snow incarnate. But does that give you the right to claim any other color is filth? Sure enough, Nouzen, much like that guard dog over there and the Eighty-Six as a whole, is critically lacking in a way.”

As Lena reflexively looked her way, Shiden sipped her tea with great apathy. Lena somehow knew that even though she’d just been called lesser, she hadn’t been fazed in the slightest.

“That’s… I mean, yes, but…”

The sudden surge of emotion that welled up made Lena’s hands, which rested on her lap, clench into fists. It felt as if something had squeezed her heart, and she felt dizzy. As if she was being gagged with a sticky lump of emotion that was making it impossible to breathe.

She finally realized why she’d asked Vika about something like this.

“I feel like if we were to leave Captain Nouzen—leave Shin—alone, he’d grind himself into nothing…”

And that terrified her.

“When the Sheepdogs were introduced, he slept for days on end. And he’d always say ‘I’ll get used to it soon.’ And sure enough, the physician gave him the okay to return to service. But if the strain becomes any greater…”

Only Shin can truly hear the voices of the dead. I can’t help him shoulder his burden. I can’t share his pain. So if the strain gets any worse, this time he might really crumble into dust, without anyone noticing. And that…terrifies me. It makes me anxious. I want to do something before it comes to that.

“…Even so…”

Vika’s voice was quiet.

“Worrying over this all on your own won’t help anyone. If it bothers you, you should try speaking to him about it. And if you’re anxious about that…bring him with you next time you come to me. I’ll help however I can.”

“…Yes.”

Vika then leaned his back against the sofa he was sitting on and cocked his head.

“But do you really have the leisure to be worried about people other than yourself? What with your motherland and its love of white, despite its flag being as multicolored as it is.”

“…So you know.”

“Of course I know. Do you have any idea how many soldiers I had to pacify to have your presence here accepted…? The Republic may be unrelated to the Legion’s development, but it is the most hated, loathed country in this current state of affairs. There isn’t a country out there that doesn’t see the Republic as a devilish killer of kin, and that’s a mark of Cain you will carry with you no matter where you take your battles. The stigma of a slothful country that, despite having been given a chance to atone through service to the Strike Package, sent only a mere handful of officers… I truly don’t think you’re in a position to worry for someone else’s well-being.”

“………”

“With regards to the RAID Device, I’ve looked over the research materials Henrietta Penrose provided us. Including the results of the human experimentation done on the Eighty-Six… If the strain becomes too great, it can damage the user’s brain and influence their mind. And even knowing this, don’t you think Resonating with a brigade-size force is a bit too much?”

“It’s not quite a brigade-size force. I’m only Resonating with the squad captains.”

“Still, that’s quite a few people at once. Since they only know how to fight in small groups, the Strike Package is divided into an unusual arrangement of squadrons. In the United Kingdom, we don’t let anyone
Resonate with that many people during operations. I doubt the Federacy allows it, much less the Republic.”

He then said that he was an exception, a cold gaze in his Imperial violet eyes—the mark of the genius pedigree that had been passed down for a millennium. The violet eyes of the Idinarohk line, members of which were capable of offhandedly producing inventions that revolutionized the world.

“The Para-RAID is a technology that reproduces an extrasensory power in those who lack it. If I use the example I brought up earlier, it’s like a device that forcibly gives humans the power to see ultraviolet rays. If anything was to have adverse effects on its user, it would be the Para-RAID.”

“That’s… But still, I’m a commander. So I don’t have a choice…”

She had to use it if she was to fight alongside the Eighty-Six.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Vika gave a grand, resigned sigh.

“You freely give your grace to others like a saint, even as you’re tormented by the possibility of it being needless concern. But when it comes to yourself, you’re so dismissive. Truly, you’re beyond saving… Lerche.”

“As you command. Yet…even as you say that, your kindness knows no bounds, Your Highness.”

“Shut up and stay out of this, you seven-year-old.”

Chuckling all the while, Lerche passed through a door deeper in the room—which appeared to lead to a bedroom—and came back with something in her hands. Upon receiving it, Vika tossed it at Lena, who couldn’t catch it in time and juggled it awkwardly in her hands. Shiden, who was watching from the side, reached out and caught it easily.

“The Thought-Support Device, Cicada. It was developed for Sirin Handlers and to ease the strain of the Sensory Resonance.”

The Cicadoidea’s Wings—Cicada.

Contrary to what its name implied, it was a choker-like device adorned with silver threads tinged with light purple that formed a delicate lace pattern. At its center was a light-violet quasi-nerve crystal, which upon closer inspection appeared to be finely spun out of the silver threads that seemed to extend from it.

“Unfortunately, it’s not formally approved for use in the United Kingdom military, but it’s confirmed that it’s safe. The only reason it wasn’t put into use was because the soldiers were opposed to it.”

Opposed to it?

“Do you use it, too, Vika?”

“No?”

There was an odd pause.

“Er… This
is
a device to lighten the Para-RAID’s strain, right?”

“It is, but it’s no good for me, and even less so for the other Handlers.”

“Why?”

Vika replied with utter seriousness, “What would having a man wear this achieve?”

“Um…”

Lena didn’t follow.

Vika took the Cicada from Lena’s hands, connected it to an information terminal, typed something into it (his previously removed spectacles were now back on his face), and after removing his spectacles again, tossed it back at her.

“I’ve reformatted it, so you can try it on in the anteroom over there. It should also have reset the measurements… Don’t worry, there are no surveillance cameras in there.”

“Oh… Er, thank you very much.”

“It should go off on its own once you connect it to your neck… Oh, and…”

As the anteroom door closed, Vika turned away.

“…there’s a, um, a trick to putting it on. Well… Good luck, I suppose.”

The anteroom Lena entered, as well as the rest of the underground base, was built to be soundproof, meaning no voices could get in or out. Yet, despite this…

“Huh… Ah, ahhhhhhhhhhh?!”

…Lena’s scream pierced the silence of the commander’s room, as it had slightly exceeded the soundproofing.

Ignoring that yelp, Shiden helped herself to another cup of tea, which she sipped noisily. She’d learned it was considered a rude habit since coming to the Federacy, but she didn’t care enough to fix it. Staying in the same posture, she moved only her eyes in the direction of her former master.

After Lena had entered the anteroom, Vika had told Shiden about the Cicada and its use.

“…Just making sure, but it isn’t dangerous, right?”

Vika stood facing the wall opposite the anteroom, plugging his ears, so Shiden was forced to write her question down on a piece of paper at the table’s corner.

“Yeah. We’ve done more than enough animal experiments and practical tests. The only reason it’s not officially used is because it was unpopular with the soldiers, as I mentioned earlier.”

“Well… I can kinda imagine why.”

Just hearing about it gave Shiden a pretty bad opinion of it. As Vika kept his ears plugged despite being in the middle of a conversation, Lerche tilted her head quizzically.

“Incidentally, Your Highness, why are you adopting such a peculiar stance?”

“Can’t you tell? Listen, I don’t want to get myself killed.”

“I…see.”

“If that headless Reaper finds out about this, my head will roll, too.”

“How horrid.”

Lerche’s Emeraud eyes widened.

“In that case, Sir Reaper is enamored with Lady Bloody Reina! How unexpected…”

Vika and Shiden simultaneously whacked Lerche over her golden-haired head and then together shook the pain from their hands. Lerche’s skull was metallic, after all. It hurt quite a bit.

“Holy shit… Is your brain rusty or something, you idiot?”

“You shout that here and now, of all places and times? Forget that—it took you this long to notice, you seven-year-old?”

“M-my shame knows no bounds…”

Thankfully, none of this screeching reached Lena’s ears.

The Processors had been appointed a section in the base’s residential block. Given that space underground was limited, the rooms were meant for four people each. Shin was sitting on the top bunk of his bed, his eyes fixed on the novel he was reading, when he suddenly lifted his head at the sound of a voice from afar.

It was different from the Legion’s cries. A distant voice from somewhere…

“…Did you just hear someone scream?”

Somehow, he felt as if it was Lena’s voice. Having been asked, Raiden peeked out from the lower bunk and shook his head.

“…No?”

After a while, Lena left the anteroom with her face bright red and her uniform in disarray. If Vika hadn’t been the prince, she’d probably have slapped him across the cheek. Vika seemed to have been aware of that fact, but he spoke with a smile charged with noticeably false cheerfulness.

“I’m glad I could be of service, Your Majesty.”

“………!”

Whoa, thank God Shin isn’t here right now.
So Shiden thought to herself as Lena glared daggers at the prince. Pushing the Cicada into Vika’s extended hands, she turned on her heels in indignation.

“I’m leaving, Vika.”

“Yes, good night.”

Lena walked down the hallway, her embarrassment and anger audible in her footsteps, but as the indignant annoyance subsided, she was instead flooded with lingering regret and self-loathing.

Are you implying…that he’s a pitiful Eighty-Six who’s been irreparably broken by war and rendered incapable of proper judgment?

Again. I did it again.

“…Shiden, am I…?”

She asked this without turning around, but Shiden raised an eyebrow behind her.

“Am I a…an arrogant person?”

Shiden scoffed with disinterest.

“You’re just noticing this now?”

Lena jerked in surprise, but Shiden continued, paying her reaction no mind. As if she was simply giving her opinion.

“I live the way I want to. And that holds true for that prince and for Shin, too. So you can do whatever you want, too… Sometimes you just gotta butt heads with someone. If it happens, it happens.”

“…But…”

Butting heads with someone… Not understanding him is… I…

The Revich Citadel Base’s eighth hangar. The Strike Package and the United Kingdom’s personnel stood in a well-organized formation in the largest hangar in the base, built in the lowest underground sector. A group of Juggernauts waited on standby in the shadow of the catwalks.

“—I believe this is my first time meeting most of the Federacy’s soldiers. I am Viktor Idinarohk, commander of the United Kingdom’s southern front forces. Ranks are pointless, so you don’t need to remember mine. It’ll change before long anyway. I won’t be in direct command of you, but, well, you can think of me as one of your superior officers.”

The odd atmosphere that fell over the Eighty-Six was likely a question along the lines of
Who is this?
Several of their gazes traveled between Vika and Lena, who stood silently beside the projected operation map. The deputy director of the United Kingdom military narrowed his eyes in displeasure, as if feeling the whole thing was disrespectful, but Vika simply sneaked a look in Lena’s direction and shrugged.

This boy truly was both a member of this northern country’s royal family and the commander of its southern front. Even when faced with over a thousand members of personnel, he didn’t lose his composure.
Incidentally, Vika was also the supervising commander for the Sirins, and while he was subordinate to Lena if following the chain of command, he still held absolute authority over this base.

“The coming operation will be a collaborative effort between the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package and the southern front’s 1st Armored Corps. Our objective lies seventy kilometers south of the base, in the Legion’s territories—the complete suppression of a Legion production site located in the Dragon Corpse mountain range’s Dragon Fang Mountain.”

It was a simple map, meant for providing information for corps-size forces, which presented the deployed United Kingdom forces and the opposing Legion force. The production base was marked with a red icon for emphasis. Compared to other confirmed Legion positions, it was one of the deeper and largest-scale ones. Since the southern Dragon Corpse mountain range stood as a natural defense along the United Kingdom–Federacy and United Kingdom–Republic borders, it was likely one of the Legion’s headquarters for the anti–United Kingdom front.

“The Strike Package will lead the main attack, and the 1st Armored Corps will serve as backup. To be exact, the 1st Armored Corps will attack the Legion position as a diversion, drawing out and keeping the Legion’s frontline and reserve forces in check. The Strike Package will take advantage of the resulting gap in their defenses to infiltrate and seize control of the Dragon Fang Mountain production site.”

In accordance with the explanation, the United Kingdom military’s armored unit’s icon moved diagonally, detouring around the front squadron to advance on different positions. As the Legion’s rear reserve forces moved, an advance route from the citadel base to the Dragon Fang Mountain production site appeared over the map.

However, the most important detail—the map of the production base’s interior—wasn’t presented. This position had been constructed by the Legion after the area had become part of their territories. The human side couldn’t have a map of it. There had been a few attempts at scouting it out, but they only just barely informed the United Kingdom that a production base had been carved into the Dragon Fang Mountain.

“In addition, we will be prioritizing the capture of said base’s commander unit, identifier: the Merciless Queen. It’s an Ameise from the earliest production batch… Or, well, I suppose that’s not as visibly discernable, but it’s a white Ameise… While it’s still only in the realm of speculation, there is a possibility said unit may be capable of providing humankind with information on the Legion. This information may or may not be a crucial component in ending the war. Therefore, we must capture it. Damaging it to some extent is acceptable, but leave its central processor intact… Any questions?”

“In other words, we rush through the gap in the Legion after they take the bait, somehow beat the enemy, steal their ant queen, and then come back… Seriously, looks like any country we go to, everyone comes up with fucked-up ideas.”

Unlike the Eighty-Sixth Sector, where most of the time they’d dealt with interceptions, an invasion operation required significant preparations. Since they would need to deceive the enemy into thinking the Dragon Fang Mountain capture operation was an all-out attack, they would need to create the impression they were scouting ahead to get a handle on the enemy’s firepower. As Theo grumbled, Shin, who was concentrated on that task, lifted his gaze.

The Spearhead squadron marched through a snowy conifer forest, weaving between the trees in a tight wedge formation. Theo’s statement was not made to the whole squadron but was transmitted via Para-RAID to only Shin, Raiden, Kurena, and Anju.

Since the United Kingdom’s front lines were in a mountainous region, both their military and the Legion held their positions between opposing mountains, with the valleys and plains between them serving as the contested zone. This area was no exception, and the Eighty-Six were currently advancing down a path that was different from the one they would take during the operation three days from now. They’d descended down gentle slopes earlier and were currently scaling up a sudden precarious cliff face.