Editing HEAVY OBJECT:EX Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 13===

The hellish night passed and the morning sun rose into the sky.

The Legitimacy Kingdom finally sent out the White Flag signal, but the Norn had no reason to care. They had already done a complete search of the maintenance base zone and the White Flag would not stop them from searching the surrounding area.

The Faith Organization were the absolute winners, so they were relaxed. Even though they were continuing to search for a full 24 hours, not all of the soldiers were active the entire time. They were divided into three shifts, so they did not have to work more than eight hours and a lot of them found chances to take a break during that time as well.

They all knew the truth.

There was nothing a single individual could do if they were thrown out into that vast wasteland. Escaping the island was only a dream. With no support, a human without claws and fur would dry up in only a few days. And even if she did not, she would be caught by the Faith Organization search program. Either way, this was the end for Skuld.

“…”

More time passed.

Evening fell.

The girl in a Faith Organization uniform stared at the distant line of military trucks as they left.

She threw aside her chemical warfare mask and fell to her knees in exhaustion.

She had escaped their search.

But in exchange, the boy who had abandoned his own safe zone had been captured by them and was being taken back for interrogation.

“Heh heh…”

It was all too much, so a weak laugh escaped her lips.

She had no idea why she was laughing, so she punched her own face as hard as she could.

And then…

“So you were safe…”

Major Frolaytia Capistrano arrived with a few bodyguards. Skuld slowly looked back while still kneeling on the ground and she asked a question while ignoring affiliation and rank.

“What are we going to do now?”

“We have two main options. The first is to use the transportation unit to withdraw by sea. The second is to pretend to do that but actually bring in plenty of supplies, repair the Baby Magnum as quickly as possible, and send it back out there. The top brass chose the withdrawal 8 to 2. We’ve already destroyed the ‘flower garden’ infected by foreign pollen which was the entire reason we came here, so they see no reason to lose any more lives.”

“…”

“Although their real reason is because they want to bring back as many prizes as they can. Skuld, you are a Faith Organization Pilot Elite, so your body is filled with classified information. It would be very valuable indeed if we could bring you back along with the Dvergr work robots that form the Trinity Style.”

The Legitimacy Kingdom was going to withdraw.

They had never even considered a rescue of the POW taken back to the Faith Organization base zone.

For one thing, there would be no POW mentioned in the official announcement. After all, Quenser was a student and not a soldier. In war, unofficial cooperators were not counted among the dead. In other words, no one would be blamed if they gave up on rescuing him.

But Frolaytia had more to say.

“…I think this is an excellent opportunity.”

“?”

“The Baby Magnum was badly damaged. It will take a week for the transportation fleet to arrive and repairs to be made. Even if we withdraw, it will take time. That means The Faith Organization will have nothing to fear and will grow lax. …We might just be able to sneak some people into their maintenance base.”

Skuld did not understand what she was being told.

She first looked to Frolaytia and then to the bodyguards.

Not one of them was smiling.

“Hey, Skuld. I don’t know how the Faith Organization does things, but in the Legitimacy Kingdom military, there’s one thing they make sure to beat into our heads during training. Yes, I’d always thought it was a nice thing to say but ultimately meaningless, but I have it to thank for my decision to head back at the very last moment during that Alaskan hell. Do you know what it is?”

Frolaytia looked Skuld right in the eye.

And she took a breath.

“No matter what, the Legitimacy Kingdom never abandons a comrade in arms!!”

Her voice felt like a slap to the face.

Or perhaps it hit Skuld in what could be called her soul.

Meanwhile, Frolaytia continued speaking.

“Whether we withdraw or continue on, we ''will'' rescue Quenser. And we will use whatever we can to do so. I’ve already heard Heivia’s report. Since you were hiding from them with a Faith Organization uniform, I assume that boy was the one who gave you that safe zone.”

“…”

“Even if you were from enemy nations, this means a professional soldier survived in exchange for a civilian’s life. To be blunt, you are worth less than a dung beetle now. You are the ball of dung it rolls around. But we are kind and we will give you the chance to regain the value of a dung beetle. …Help us, Skuld. You must know the layout of their base zone better than anyone.”

Frolaytia did not ask for a handshake.

She did not even wait for agreement.

She simply clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned her back with her bodyguards. They all left.

Just one soldier remained to the end.

It was Heivia Winchell who had changed back into Legitimacy Kingdom equipment.

“Don’t blame yourself so much, little lady.”

The frivolous boy spoke while pointing his thumb at his own chest.

“There’s nothing to worry about. You’ve got the cavalry with you this time.”

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