Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM Chapter5 (section)

===Part 6===

The Zeus Mountains’ Frontline Command Garrison was really just a name. It was more of a luxurious villa made to be dismantled and moved to the battlefield in pieces.

“I am detecting explosions on the Hades Plains instead of the bottom layer. This is highly unusual,” reported Mind, a young blond butler.

Lavender, a female knight in intricate silver armor, curled up on the sofa with her arms hugging her knees.

She hung her head and muttered to herself.

“No, no, no. Now we’re going to lose and I’ll be captured and they’ll definitely make me their slave. Please no. Wait. I’ll do anything. I’ll do any job, so just don’t use my body for fertilizer in your field after I die. If you’re going to kill me, at least give me a dignified and painless execution. Don’t make a public show out of it either. Please, my parents will be watching…”

“Milady, this is a minor problem. Viewing the big picture, our victory is still all but assured.”

Lavender’s head immediately shot up.

Her face shined bright.

“Yes, of course I will win this!! Ah ha ha ha ha ha! Those rebel fools deserve no rights. Why even bother counting them as they march to their own doom? We can just count the scorched heads blown from their bodies after the dust has settled. Hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“Of course, even minor problems can lead to complete disaster in war.”

“No, no, no, no…”

Lavender was said to be the local lord’s right hand and was feared by the people, but she was usually like this. She could only hold her head high when she had an absolute advantage in battle. Even though the true mettle of a commander was seen in their ability to turn around a losing situation and even though the difference in power was so great here that even a bored old retiree could command a force to victory.

But that aside…

“Are you sure this was a good idea?” asked Mind. “I know it was necessary for victory, but the Poseidon Lakes contain a village known for its fulgurites. The carpet bombing will kill the villagers as well.”

“H-hmph! The rebels have taken the village for themselves, so its destruction is unavoidable. Those villagers only have themselves to blame for just handing their village over to those wretched rebels in the first place! Heh!!”

She really was a carefree knight when she was winning.

Mind sighed.

(But if any of the villagers survive, they could easily become ''true insurrectionists''. To prevent that, we must slaughter every last one of them, including the old, the infirm, the women, and the children.)

His mistress likely had not thought through what her decision would mean and she would probably blanch if he did tell her.

So the butler kept those thoughts to himself.

Lavender was never outstanding in anything she did.

But that was no reason for her butler’s affection for her to waver. He accepted that she was in fact second-rate and then did whatever it took to prevent the great gears of society from tearing her apart.

The world of Celesaqphere was endlessly cruel.

Mind had sworn he would protect Lavender from that world no matter what. So he did not limit himself to elf slaves. He would use anyone he could as a card in his deck. If he made sure someone else always paid the price for his mistress’s second-rate decisions, Lavender could live the life of a first-rate leader.

He was prepared to deceive his mistress until she died of old age with a smile on her face.

He was willing to go to hell as long as she was bound for heaven.

(Ideally, I can blame this on a rival whose skill outmatches hers so I can get her promoted and defeat her enemies at the same time. What a pain.)

Just then, Mind heard a dull explosion rising from below.

Lavender hugged her knees up on the sofa, her shoulders shaking.

“Wh-what just happened? I’m still winning, aren’t I?”

“It would appear some insurgents have made it to the Hades Plains. The barracks there appear to have been destroyed. I do not know what kind of magic they are using, but a mere two insurgents are tearing the place apart.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Heh heh, eh heh heh. Why can’t we all just get along? Because we can’t, that’s why. Oh, I just know they’re going to strip me naked and march me around the public square with a collar around my neck…”

She was holding her head and wallowing in pessimism again.

This knight’s mood was influenced far too much by the changing situation.

“Didn’t you leave some weapons in the Zeus Mountains for just such an occurrence?”

“Oh, yeah! Which means I can win!! Hah, and the Zeus Mountains are 200m above the Hades Plains. Ah ha ha ha ha!! Sending troops down that distance is one thing, but sending an attack back up is another thing altogether. Now we just need to drop bombs from here to blow those insurgents to smithereens! I’m so smart!!”

(Of course, this will mean our bombs deliver the finishing blow to our own defeated soldiers down on the Hades Plains. If any of them survive, they will hold quite a grudge.)

But it was a butler’s duty to obey his mistress’s command.

The Zeus Mountains’ Frontline Command Garrison was in fact a luxurious villa, but there was no one there who could handle explosives other than the knight and her butler. The rest were chefs, sommeliers, and the like. So Lavender and Mind walked to the edge of the floating land, pounded a stake into the ground, and attached lifelines to their hips.

“Where are the insurgents!?”

“I seriously doubt they are staying in one place. With everything going on, anyone still on their feet and moving nimbly about will be the enemy.”

On that direction, Lavender looked down again.

A Warrior Woman was swiftly moving around (with a Dancer in tow) in search of cover. She left a brick wall still standing among the wreckage of the griffin stable and appeared to be rushing toward anotherlarge piece of cover.

There were a few crossbow-like ballistae left.

One of them changed direction. And for some reason, it was tilted as far up as it would go, aiming toward the upper layer.

The ever-calm butler shouted in a rare panic.

“That is not good. Get down, milady!!”