Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume11 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 14===

Dry gunfire echoed across the icy land.

However, the enemy had the upper hand. The three guys were crammed in behind the suitcase-sized cover and unable to move, plus Heivia was the only one who could return fire. There were not that many Information Alliance frogmen, but they still worked together to corner their enemies.

Heivia realized the situation was not going to improve, so he made a suggestion.

“Hey, let’s let Kevin escape. If we drop him and the Armadillo into the water, he can escape with the boat.”

“If we don’t keep moving, the Princess will lose! Then the entire battalion will be wiped out!!”

“That’s why we’ll stay here! Quenser, pull out those bombs you love so much. I’ll throw a smoke grenade to block their vision, so let’s stack up the blocks of ice to create a new shield. You can blow up a nearby mountain to get the ice. I don’t see how we can fight back otherwise.”

“It’s risky, but it’s looking like our only option.”

Quenser gulped and agreed, but middle-aged Kevin looked nervous.

“W-wait. You’re going to build yourself a pyramid in the middle of all those bullets? Even with the smoke blocking their vision, they’re still going to be firing. You’ll be killed if you’re hit!!”

“You don’t need to worry. On my signal, fall back with the Armadillo. You meet up with the rest of the battalion!!”

“But why just me!?”

“Shut up! I don’t want to protect a greasy old man, but you’ve got a wife and kid, right? You promised to take them to an amusement park when you take leave next, right!? If I let you die here, they’d hate me forever. I’m not about to let that happen!!”

“Say hi to Marie and Wells for us. Have enough fun for us all.”

It was not that Quenser and Heivia were used to this.

The two idiots’ faces were covered in unpleasant sweat.

But they stuck with it.

They stared at the Information Alliance frogmen who had come from who-knows-where, but Kevin’s face crumbled as he looked at those two.

And he made a confession.

“It was…”

“Hm? What!? I can’t hear you over the gunfire, Kevin! And just get going already!!”

“It was all a lie!!”

Kevin shouted over the deadly din this time.

“I made up the marriage!! I was ashamed of not being married at my age, so whenever anyone asked about it, I said I was. And as I kept lying, it got more and more detailed. Next thing I knew, it was like this. I don’t have anything. You’d be wasting your deaths if you covered for me! So let’s think of something else!! Something that doesn’t require risking your lives for someone who’ll spend his leave going to strip clubs alone and eating cup noodles in his tiny apartment!!”

“…”

“…”

It was a lovely confession.

All expression vanished from the two idiot’s faces.

They removed their assault rifle, backpack of Hand Axe plastic explosive, and other equipment. Then they equipped it all on Kevin instead. In no time at all, he had evolved into a snowman-like Full Weapon Kevin. It even looked like he would have trouble moving with all that on.

“Eh? Eh? Wait. What is this?”

“It’s simple. Your job is simple: Run, kill, and come back. It’s the standard job for a Legitimacy Kingdom soldier living off of the people’s taxes.”

“Wait a second! I forced myself to make that confession because I didn’t want to lose anyone! I wanted us to find a solution where everyone survives!!”

“Don’t worry. This is the best option.”

Quenser and Heivia both placed a hand on Kevin’s shoulders, brought their smiling faces in close, and spoke in unison.

“It’ll be fine. There’s no way a guy like you would die.”