Editing City Series:Volume6e Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

A rebuilt inn had a parking lot bordering the forest behind it.

It was a small parking lot with room for only four cars. It wasn’t even paved. But it was made to be hidden from the front of the inn. Germania and its dome were already visible in the northern sky.

A camouflaging sheet hung from the inn’s roof to cover the parking lot.

The sheet was made to look like a grassy field when viewed from above and it was even set up to work in this fog.

Below the sheet, around 40 people sat holding their weapons.

They all wore the gray uniforms of the AIF.

One man stood in the center of them.

He was a large man with two prosthetic arms.

He had gray hair and only one eye and he currently viewed them all with a few documents in hand.

“That concludes our review of Operation Glossolalia. The biggest change is Hazel using her Tuning to revive Neue Erde and use that to stop Tristan. Our time limit is 3 AM. At that time, the Allies will begin their ley line reversal in earnest and push Neue Erde to its limits. They will also launch their ACBS. That means our job is to stop Tristan by then. If we do, the Allies will not launch their ACBS and we can stop the Wheel of Destiny.” He took a breath. “If we do stop Tristan, this world’s history will connect to a new history at 4:42 AM. The destiny created by the Wheel of Destiny will be replaced by an unseen true history, which will erase the Messiah’s legend and revolutionize the world. So if this goes well, try to get along with them until the change hits.”

They all fell silent, but they did nod with just their eyes.

After that one nod, they all looked up at Pale again.

Undaunted, he looked back at all of them, accepting their gazes equally. He checked his documents before continuing.

“That about covers it. All the company commanders and higher have their new orders, right? We need to split up, so pay careful attention. And use of Moon Ash is forbidden since our enemy will include Hounds. …Corelle?”

“What is it?”

One of the seated soldiers raised her hand. Corelle did not look pleased. Pale looked to her.

“Maybe it’s a little late to be asking this, but can you fly that big old transport ship through the gap in the dome?”

“I can get it through a 30-yard gap if you need me to. I’m more worried about the RB arriving from the border in time. Coolers was part of the main unit, but he was apparently late to arrive.”

“Well, we’ll destroy the roads with just enough left over to use as a runway, so the rest is up to you.”

Corelle crossed her arms, pulled a card from her pocket, and viewed it.

“Looks like you can relax. The card is still Strength. This should work.”

“It should, huh? We’re a boring bunch, aren’t we?”

“You can say that again,” said a male voice. “Only 20% of us managed to get here. And it was questionable if we could get an entire battalion’s worth to begin with.”

That was Berger who sat with his back against the inn wall.

He calmly accepted all the eyes gathered on him and stared at Gelegenheit held up in front of him.

“Just take it easy, everyone. If Hazel dies, we’ll wish we still had the Wheel of Destiny option left. So if that happens, you might as well go on a suicidal rampage of revenge.”

“Your damn pessimism is not what we need right now. Do I need to drown you in the spring out back?” asked Pale.

Berger laughed.

“C’mon, we were all thinking it. In a way, we’re the ones fighting to destroy the current world. Only the Wheel of Destiny is holding our world together and here we are trying to- ow ow ow!”

He yelped in pain and everyone’s eyes focused on the person next to him.

A much brighter color sat by the inn wall there.

The blonde woman in a women’s AIF combat uniform was Hazel.

Her left arm wore a military watch and held a white sword and her right arm was pinching Berger’s left ear.

“Why. Must. You. Be. So. Cynical. About. Everything?”

“Ow ow ow! Hey, hey, hey! Why are you in such a bad mood?”

“Hmph.”

She turned away from him and let go of his ear.

She was comparing his current comments to the “joke” he had told a few hours prior.

…''He can’t open up around other people and he hides behind a wall of cynicism and sarcasm.

She sighed.

…''Our new orders have us on different routes, but he hasn’t said a thing about it.

Berger’s Neue Schwarz was key to their attack on Germania.

He would go east and Pale would go west. Once those diversions were in place, Hazel would be using the elevated railroad to enter Germania from the south. She would rendezvous with the RB-21 there and fly up to the top of Tristan.

The original plan had been to break in by force, but they had been forced to change that after seeing how many people had actually shown up.

…''It’s a shame our plans had to change. And…

She narrowed her eyes and viewed the AIF members lined up in front of her.

“I hate all of you.”

Pale alone tilted his head at that and looked to Corelle.

“What’s with her?”

“Oh, we all spied on her ''afterwards''.”

“After what?”

“You don’t have to tell him!” shouted Hazel, blushing.

Then she noticed Berger had turned the other way and lowered his head. But his shoulders gave him away.

“Why are you laughing, Berger?”

“Because of you, Hazel. You really are – how should I put it? – the most serious person in the world when it comes to yourself.”

“B-but it was my first time and then they did that!”

She raised her voice in protest and everyone else asked a straight-faced question.

“Your first time?”

“Oh.” Her shoulders shrank down and she looked away.

Pale, Corelle, and everyone else stared at her without even blinking.

“Oops,” she muttered under her breath and turned to Berger, hoping for some help.

He still had his back turned and his shoulders shaking.

Realizing he wouldn’t be any help, she faced forward again. Everyone was still staring at her.

Corelle raised her forearm and asked a question on the group’s behalf.

“What is this about, Hazel? Don’t worry. If you anger me, I won’t do anything worse than kill you.”

“B-but, um, uh.”

Hazel’s voice and body shrank down and she clutched Rein König in both hands just in case.

Then she heard a voice speaking from the foggy forest behind all of them.

“Yes, I imagine it was your first time. The rest of you have a lot to learn when it comes to observing people.”

Everyone turned toward the unfamiliar elderly voice coming from the fog obscuring the forest.

They readied their weapons, but they remained seated and showed no killer intent.

“Not bad,” said the voice in the fog as it approached them.

The white curtain of fog parted and an old man appeared. He had a bald head and wore a three-piece suit.

He stopped just outside the forest with his hand in his pockets.

“Most of you won’t know who I am. I am Geheimnis Agency Intelligence Division Chief-”

“Galue Witzmann!” shouted Berger.

A moment later, everyone truly readied to fight.

But a voice stopped them.

It came from Witzmann himself. He spread his empty hands to show them off.

“Calm down, why don’t you? If I was your enemy, you would all be dead by now. Isn’t that right?”

Pale tilted his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Mr. Witzmann? You aren’t making any sense.”

“Maybe not.” Witzmann nodded deeply and pulled an album from his pocket. He flipped through it and showed off a few photos of Hazel. “You see, based on the intelligence division’s superb observation records, that would indeed have been the Messiah’s first time.”

“Not about that.”

“I’m only kidding.” Witzmann put the album away. “Destiny has gone off the rails and taken so many things with it. The Neue Erde has altered many things to oppose the Messiah and swapped out the mechanical gears to fortify her position.” He looked to the others. “You, on the other hand, are at severe disadvantage due to your ignorance. This battle deserves to be fought on equal ground. No one can complain about or resent the result then.”

“So the intelligence division chief himself is going to leak intel to us?” asked Pale.

Witzmann shook his head.

“I never said that.”

He turned toward Hazel and she bowed toward his narrow, smiling eyes.

He nodded back.

“To be cryptic about it, let’s just say I am ensuring this will be a fair fight.”