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HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Chapter 1

2016-11-25T00:05:45Z

184.71.60.230: /* Day 1 */

==Day 1==

===Part 1===

Morning came early for the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion.

Even so, Quenser was not pleased as he rubbed his sleepy eyes in the triple bunk bed he was crammed into and glanced over at the glow-in-the-dark hands of the clock.

“You’re kidding, right? It’s not even four yet.”

It was an oppressively hot August night. He had been woken by the vibration of his wristwatch that was synced with his handheld device, so he sluggishly put his usual military uniform over his sweat-soaked shirt and boxers. To his displeasure, he realized he had been bitten all over by mosquitos and scratched at his arms and legs.

He had been received an urgent summons, so he did not have time to brush his hair or wash his face. He descended the ladder and stepped out into the hall while making sure not to wake the other soldiers in the dark barracks. His face and body were uncomfortably sticky.

His handheld device provided details on the summons.

It was from Frolaytia Capistrano.

He left the normal soldiers’ barracks and hurried to the special barracks for officers. He was acting on orders, but he was still blinded by the bright light of a patrolling soldier’s military flashlight.

And that soldier turned out to be his awful friend Heivia.

“Huh? What are you doing out this late?”

“Heivia? You didn’t have patrol duty tonight, did you?”

“…”

“…”

The two of them exchanged a glance that transformed into a wholehearted look of dread.

Waiting for them in the special barracks was a busty, silver-haired, and highly-educated(?) girl. Despite the late hour, that commanding officer of theirs wore her uniform impeccably.

“When do you sleep?” complained Quenser when he peeked inside her private room which was decorated by her love of the Island Nation.

“I’m more surprised that a battlefield student was sleeping the night away. The lights are still on in the Object maintenance bay, you know?”

Frolaytia tossed him a cylindrical bottle of wet tissues and he wiped off his oily face.

“Could I go observe their work now?”

“Absolutely not.” Their busty commander bluntly rejected the idea. “I called you two here for a reason. And sorry, but I want you to focus on this mission.”

“I don’t think I’m going to have much luck focusing on anything that isn’t peeping on the women’s bath or sneaking a late-night date with a sexually frustrated commander.”

“Do you remember former Councilor Flide?”

“You’re just going to ignore my great sexual harassment joke!? Please stop continuing the conversation like that. Especially when it means bringing up such a super pain-in-the-ass of a guy,” complained Quenser. “Frolaytia, you forgot the part where you tell us there’s no turning back after we hear this and then give us the choice to leave or stay. You’re just dragging us into this without a choice!!”

“That sly old man has nothing to do with this, so calm down. Do you remember the Pilot Elite he raised like a protégé? The one for the Exact Javelin.”

The two idiots exchanged a glance and gave their answers.

“Oh, you mean that one that rose up from its underground base to say hello?”

“No, you moron. It’s the one we fought on some test grounds overflowing with nature.”

“I think you’re getting confused with something else.”

“Hey, I’m dependent on my phone’s address book to make any calls. I doubt I could memorize an eleven digit number. Exact Javelin? It kind of rings a bell, but I can’t quite place it…”

“But I do remember there being a 12-year-old little girl Elite with a blonde braid.”

“But I do remember there being a 12-year-old little girl Elite with a blonde braid.”

“Well, at least I know how awful you two are,” said Frolaytia as she wrote this off as a lost cause.

The two idiots continued tilting their heads, but she got on with the conversation while spinning around her beloved kiseru.

“This is a request from the top brass sitting around in their safe countries. They have finished questioning that 12-year-old Pilot Elite named Catherine Blueangel. Based on the request from her case officer, she wants to retire and return to a normal life instead of living in a military facility while waiting for her ‘next’ Object to be completed…''if'' one ever is. We have no objection there, but this girl was separated from the military as a whole as a part of that pig Flide’s personal troops. There are some legitimate concerns whether or not she can really live a normal life.”

“Isn’t this a job for a school counselor?”

“She is going through the Civilian Acclimation Assistance System. Before she is left with the nonresistance group Archaic Smile, she must have her claws and fangs filed down. As someone who is halfway between military and civilian and as the battlefield student who took part in the operation to destroy the Exact Javelin and rescue Catherine, you would be best for the job, Quenser. And Heivia, you’re only the second best option since you’re an official soldier. Do you understand the situation now?”

Seeing the blatant disgust on the two idiots’ faces, Frolaytia gave a large nod.

“Catherine will accompany you to low-danger battlefields in order to gradually shift her thought processes from those of a battlefield country to those of a safe country. Once her small hands no longer need a gun in them, we can feel comfortable passing her off to a normal school or tutor. We’ll chuck her into a safe country and call it a day. And it won’t take that long. It should be a month or two at most.”

“That explains it,” muttered Heivia.

They were not in a filthy battlefield country like normal. This was still a military mission, but they had received the kind of warm welcome the 37th was usually never lucky enough to receive.

“But I don’t see why you had to wake us up at four in the morning to tell us that.”

“Catherine was the one who requested you two. And she seems to be accustomed to an entirely different time zone. Since the VIP arrived at the maintenance base zone before the newspapers were even delivered, we had to get started early.”

“What?”

Just as Quenser voiced his confusion, a modest knock came at the door.

The two idiots had a bad feeling about this and hesitantly turned around. The door cracked opened, but instead of stepping inside, a 12-year-old poked half her head inside and peered up at the people in the room.

Then the tiny demon nervously spoke.

“Big…brother…?”

===Part 2===

“It’s August! Summer is in full swing!! This is the season for Monica, the idol reporter who can both dance and sing in a dazzling bikini!! Umm, according to an announcement by the major sightseeing group Resort & Dolce, their affiliated private resorts are 47% busier than average for this time of year. The heat wave caused by this abnormal weather pattern is sitting over a wide section of the world, so the sightseeing business is booming across the board.”

They sat below the scorching sun.

This was the south side of Second Venice. Major Frolaytia Capistrano, the busty silver-haired officer, had changed into a swimsuit and was lying in a beach chair as a cheerful swimsuit idol’s voice came from a nearby waterproof pool TV.

“Ahh,” sighed the busty commander. “Bikinis really are in this year.”

Splashing and the shrill cries of young female soldiers could be heard not far away. The refreshing low-humidity breeze carried a hint of chlorine because this was an outdoor pool, not the ocean.

Villas for the rich were apparently well-equipped with palm trees and hibiscus flowers.

Several beach chairs were lined up along the poolside and the one next to Frolaytia’s was occupied by the delinquent noble named Heivia Winchell.

“Should we really be doing this?” he lazily asked.

“If you don’t like it, you can change back into your sweaty uniform and get back to work.”

“…That’s the problem with this busty commander. She can be so inhumanly cruel.”

“Can’t you tell I’m doing my best to relax here? I’m not going to play along just because you ‘felt like saying it’. I know you have zero intention of getting back to your mission. Did you ditch Catherine Blueangel the first chance you got? She’s a 12-year-old girl, you know?”

“Boo. I mean, yeah, I did, but a student like Quenser can handle something like this. And Catherine wants to attend a safe country school, right?”

“You’re worse than scum. You’re smegma.”

“What did I say about the inhuman cruelty!?”

Heivia really seemed about to cry, but Frolaytia had no interest in that and rolled away from the idiot. She grabbed a toxically blue drink from the side table, took a sip through the straw, and spotted a female soldier (in a frilly pink swimsuit) approaching her.

“M-Major Capistrano! May I have permission to speak!?”

“You already are speaking. What is it, Myonri?”

“The evacuation of Second Venice’s villa district is complete. The people have been distributed between the concert halls, soccer fields, and indoor winter sports facilities and all 128,501 people on the island have been accounted for.”

“It’s possible the harbor companies hired some undocumented porters to cut down on labor costs. Don’t forget to search the empty city. Nothing good will come of only using those drones that are all the rage these days.”

“Um, I know what you mean, but on what basis should we perform this second search?”

“Water consumption. You can fool the documentation, but you can’t fool the meter. And if you check the water department, it doesn’t violate the individual’s privacy. Focus the search to the areas where the documented number of workers doesn’t fit the water consumption. And don’t forget to check for water dispensers that use bottles.”

Myonri bowed, walked away, and began giving instructions over the radio.

Frolaytia sat up in her beach chair, raised her arms, and bent her back. This pushed out and accentuated her large chest all the more.

“Now, it’s about time to get back to work.”

The wind was a little too strong to be called a Mediterranean resort breeze.

They were in a midair park located 150 meters from the ground.

The roof a modern ultra-high-rise building had been turned into a large villa. And this one was not the only one. Either due to limited land or as a status symbol, all of the countless buildings had white marble mansions built on their roofs.

They all had pools and tennis courts, but no one was there to use them.

The city was entirely abandoned.

As Myonri had mentioned, the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion was leading a large scale evacuation.

Frolaytia had been enjoying a brief break at one of the open locations, but now she spoke while staring up into the clear blue sky.

“An outdated satellite drop weapon, hm?”

She looked like she could see a venomous snake’s eyes glaring back at her from within a bush.

“Now, then. It’s time for the world’s largest fireworks show.”

===Part 3===

“Should I go with this one or this one…?” asked a voice as clear as a bell.

Quenser wore casual clothing and watched the girl’s back as he tried to keep the boredom from his face.

He was with Catherine Blueangel.

She was a 12-year-old girl with her long blonde hair tied in a waist-length braid. And she wore a blue special suit that showed off her juvenile bodylines as clearly as the Princess’s did hers. Second Venice was known as one of the world’s largest resort cities and she had made a certain request as soon as she had arrived here with Quenser.

“I want to buy some clothes! Or a swimsuit!!”

(Why couldn’t she have been at least three years older? Whyyy!?)

It was disappointing, but he could not fast-forward or rewind time. Idiot #1 did his best to motivate himself by deciding he would train her now to become a wonderful beauty in the future. As an advertisement for an official tie-in, the G-cup Oh Ho Ho idol was winking and pressing her breasts together on the store’s flat-screen monitor. The contrast was incredible.

Catherine turned around, causing her long braid to sway, and showed Quenser the two products she held in her hands.

“Big brother, should I go with the bikini or the one-piece?”

“Catherine, they have a swimsuit known as a monokini for greedy people like you. It looks like a one-piece from the front and a bikini from behind, so it provides the same enjoyment as a naked apron.”

“Ehhh? I see.”

It was not that she was disturbed by how seriously he took his answer.

“It’s not fun if you just give the answer. I read in a book that the fun is in trying on a bunch of clothes and trying to figure out what you like best!”

“Oh, so is it like taking your time eating instant noodles so they fill you up more?”

“…How insensitive do you have to be to use a comparison like that in front of a girl?”

Catherine decided to try them both on and disappeared behind the fitting room’s curtain with both swimsuits in hand.

This mall on the south side had soft lighting, cool air conditioning, and music playing from the store speakers, but there were no other customers and no employees. For the operation to intercept the satellite drop weapon, the normal citizens had already been evacuated to sturdy facilities such as theatres and stadiums.

Quenser sighed and a transmission reached his earpiece.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself…”

“Princess?”

“You may not have had a choice since these were your orders, but keep in mind that you are being paid with everyone’s taxes, Quenser. Hmph.”

The Princess seemed to be in a bad mood.

However, she needed to do a perfect job.

There was of course a good reason for the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion to be enjoying themselves in this world-class luxury resort (and spy’s paradise).

“…The satellite drop weapon?”

“Yes.”

That was a bombing weapon that was placed on standby in satellite orbit and would damage an enemy nation by changing its orbit to drop down toward earth when needed.

The one causing problems now was a Legitimacy Kingdom one known as the Supernova.

The model was loaded with a thermobaric warhead that would turn a 1.2 kilometer radius into ashes and the satellite itself was designed for stealth. It normally remained on standby in orbit, so its boosters did not provide much of a heat source. That made it a powerful but difficult to track weapon.

“I wish this was some kind of joke,” complained Quenser Barbotage.

Most of the large shopping mall was covered in glass, so he could see the outside bay area from the swimsuit section. Second Venice was a giant artificial island that moved as it pleased through the Mediterranean Sea and it was currently “moored” at Malta to resupply. The protruding south side of the megafloat was attached to the natural island. The coasts almost looked like mirror images with their rows of high-rose buildings and a fifty meter mass was located near those coasts.

It was the 1st Generation Object known as the Baby Magnum.

It had a spherical main body, an upside-down Y-shaped static electricity propulsion device, and seven main cannons supported by the seven arms attached to its back. Those main cannons could switch between laser beams, low-stability plasma cannons, and other varieties like a microscope swapping out its lens.

Seeing it through a layer of glass made it look like something happening on TV.

But saying that would only piss off the Princess more, so he held his tongue.

“I really wish they’d done their job managing that thing up there. That bomb was supposed to have been abandoned more than twenty years ago, so why is it about to fall down on us now? And it’s going to fall on an Information Alliance villa region? If this causes any damage, it’ll start a war…”

“It can’t be helped,” said the Princess. “Disarming bombs is part of the military’s job.”

Quenser heard humming from beyond the fitting room curtain. Catherine’s little butt must have been bumping into the curtain because it would sometimes nearly flutter open.

“And despite the impressive-sounding specs, Frolaytia said this won’t be a very difficult mission.”

“Yeah. A satellite drop weapon gives us a lot more opportunities to intercept than a ballistic missile. Plus you’ve got a Generation One, Princess. You have the means to deal with normal weaponry instead of just other Objects. You’ve got a ton of anti-air lasers, so this shouldn’t be hard at all. I mean, your Object was developed to handle an MIRV that breaks apart in midair and scatters twenty or thirty nuclear warheads.”

“H-heh. It’s not that impressive. Heh heh.”

The Princess must have enjoyed having her Object’s specs complimented because it sounded like she had grown imaginary dog ears and an imaginary dog tail.

While looking at the buildings, sea, and sky out the window, Quenser continued with clear annoyance in his voice.

“And I’m not too happy with Frolaytia either. More than half of this is cleaning up after her.”

“You mean that game of musical chairs?”

“This place is called Second Venice, right? And it was originally an Information Alliance luxury resort. But then 37th comes in, accidentally scares off the Object of the group protecting this area of sea, and then takes over Malta as a supply base.”

“But we couldn’t take over Second Venice because it’s a safe country.”

“I think that just put more of a burden on the people defending it. And on top of that, this is where the Supernova is going to fall. That thing was abandoned by the Legitimacy Kingdom and now we’re the only ones that can defend against it since the Information Alliance military withdrew. The timing couldn’t be worse! Why do we have to risk our lives to protect the bulldogs of an enemy nation!? Is this all I’m going to get to do this summer!?”

“Are you that eager to get to the next battlefield, Quenser?”

“Why are enemy nations and battlefields the only options for my summer!? And when I’m standing in a world-class resort no less!!”

Then another transmission reached the radio.

It was from Frolaytia.

[[Image:HO_v12_029.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s about time for the shooting star to arrive. The fireworks show will begin shortly. Princess, remain on standby in your cockpit.”

“Understood.”

“Done!” shouted a high-pitched voice before the fitting room curtain burst open.

“Heh heh. Bikinis are in this year, aren’t they?”

“I know. Anything but a bikini isn’t even an option. One-pieces are too kiddy.”

For some reason, the Princess agreed with her.

Catherine Blueangel had apparently chosen the black bikini. The student viewed her with the look of a classy gentleman walking through a quiet art museum.

(Yes, her taste shows promise for the future. Now I just have to hope she develops all the right curves.)

Frolaytia interrupted Art Appraiser Quenser.

“And Quenser, you need to regroup with Heivia and get to work.”

“Will we be taking Catherine’s little hand and guiding her to a shelter?”

It was unlikely, but there was a chance they would fail to shoot down the satellite drop weapon. And if it was shot down too low to the ground, the nearby windows could still shatter and create a downpour of glass shards.

Quenser focused on the conversation in his earpiece and used his empty hand to gesture Catherine over.

But…

“Unfortunately, we discovered someone on the list who was not evacuated. His name is Faires Appetizer. He seems to be an Information Alliance astronomer, but the point is we can’t find the old man. Search the city before the fireworks show begins. Looking at the situation, you have less than twenty minutes.”

“Oh, goddammit! We’re stuck working to the very, very end!?”

“The site isn’t far. It’s in the south side where we are. We fortunately, picked up his smartphone’s GPS signal, so you can use that. If you don’t collect him soon, you’ll be caught in the middle of the fireworks show. Even if the Princess intercepts the Supernova itself, the shockwave could shatter all the windows in the buildings. If you don’t want shards of glass pouring down on you, then get this over with and find a building basement to shelter in. That is all.”

“That is all!? What about Catherine!?”

“Take her with you. Think of this as a form of recreation. You aren’t her guardian and when it comes to pure combat technique, she’s a hundred times more powerful than you thanks to the various measures taken to artificially strengthen her.”

“…A hundred times?”

“I’m not exaggerating. And I’m hanging up.”

The transmission ended.

Quenser sighed and the 12-year-old girl placed her hands on her bikini-wearing hips after listening in to the conversation.

“That’s right. A hundred times. Nee hee.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. …Princess, talk to you later.”

“Understood. Don’t do anything reckless, Quenser.”

As a Pilot Elite, Catherine seemed to have quite a lot of money. She operated the card reader to pay for the swimsuit with electronic money. Being able to pay without a cashier present was convenient.

“Here, big brother, give me a stamp!”

“Yes, yes.”

Catherine held out a waterproof case and Quenser pulled out something like a cardboard bingo card and made a round stamp on one corner. This was her quota for a normal life. Once she completed everything on the card, she levelled up to the next stage. This was effectively the first and last hurdle and she only had a simple interview afterwards. The process was known as the Civilian Acclimation Assistance System. It sounded strict, but it was actually made so hopeful participants could efficiently be given the go-ahead on moving to a safe country. It worked differently than the exams for an elite university or an international certification where failing was the standard outcome.

“Heh heh heh.”

“Hm? You’re in a good mood, Catherine.”

“You don’t get it? A girl’s swimsuit has a special meaning!”

Catherine stuffed her special suit inside the waterproof paper bag to a trendy store that would likely act as a status symbol itself. She then walked with Quenser through the large mall while still in her bikini. People must have dropped things during the confusion of the evacuation because bouquets of flowers and bead accessories were lying on the floor. Of course, they were all products with an egregious mark up to rip off ignorant tourists. Those tourist traps were apparently found in malls as well as along the roads near the airport.

After leaving the air conditioned building, they found Heivia in his uniform that had to be torture in the sweltering sun.

“Took you long enough.”

“What’s with the camo pants? Second Venice is all about operas and musicals, so there’s no place for a street dancer here. Yo yo.”

“Dammit, just you watch. Ahh, I shouldn’t have left her with you just because she’s outside my strike zone. All I did was enjoy the view of that busty commander in her bikini, and this is what I get. I’m right back into my uniform. Anyway, your bomb-filled backpack is in the sidecar.”

However, that awful friend of a noble was not on a motorcycle.

He was on a water scooter floating in a seawater canal. He must have been planning on picking up Quenser and Catherine to begin with because something like a motorcycle sidecar was attached.

“Let’s go nab that old astronomer and get to shelter. I can’t stand seeing all this luxury. It’s pointless if I can’t visit here on my time off!!”

The water scooter had two open spots: behind Heivia and the sidecar.

(Well, Heivia’s a pervert, so I guess I’ll sit behind him so Catherine can have the sidecar.)

With that in mind, Quenser stepped from the edge of the canal and toward the back seat of the water scooter.

Then he heard an odd voice behind him.

“On you go!”

“Wait, Catherine? Dwabh!?”

Just as he started shifting his center of gravity, she kicked him in the back. He flipped over, missed his target, and rolled into the sidecar.

And it did not end there.

The small 12-year-old in a black bikini hopped on top of his lap. She ignored the confused student and opened up the sidecar’s dashboard.

“ ‘Use a map to give someone directions.’ …There it is. That’s another stamp!!”

“Check inside the dashboard if you like, but don’t lift your hips like that, Catherine. Your butt is in a pretty dangerous spot there. And it’s only covered by a black bikini.”

“Oh, whoops. How indecent of me. A lady needs to sit properly, doesn’t she?”

“I’m not sure nestling down on my lap like that is better. Your butt just likes to cause trouble, doesn’t it?”

“You really are completely indiscriminate now, aren’t you?” commented Heivia while holding the handlebars.

“I don’t like being blamed when I’m the one under attack here. And I don’t know why she’s so fond of me either. Hey, Catherine, why am I the only one you call ‘big brother’?”

“Hm? Because you’re big brother!”

She had plenty of energy, but her answer was not very helpful. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking and they could not wait around. Heivia twisted the handlebar grip, opened the throttle, and sent the water scooter racing along the canal that reflected the bright sun.

The scenery around them was an endless spider web of various-sized canals and countless bridges passing by overhead. A boat loaded with containers or an empty aquatic bus would occasionally pass them by, but they must have been unmanned.

To complete the task on her quota card, Catherine pointed out the way and Heivia steered them through the many canals. As usual, Quenser was nothing more than ballast as the young girl sat on his lap.

“It’s amazing how there really isn’t a single road in this city.”

“Second Venice is all about reminding you of the good old days. If you were making a city of slopes and stairs, adding an elevator would ruin it, right? They dug a bunch of grooves along the surface of the pizza and let the seawater fill them. This kind of ‘comfortable inconvenience’ is something you see in the hospitality industry as well as tourist sites. If everything is too perfect, people get tired of it pretty quickly. It’s the same as a popular restaurant intentionally reducing the number of seats so a line forms out front or like increasing the difficulty level in a video game.”

Their maintenance base zone was made from more than one hundred giant wheeled vehicles, so it was poorly suited for Second Venice where canals were the only form of travel. The base was deployed on nearby Malta.

They passed through the gap between high-rise buildings and squeezed past an aquatic bus as they continued on their way to the astronomer.

“Didn’t they say the land here is twenty times as expensive as in London? That’s why these tall buildings are all crammed in so tight.”

“The construction companies are the ones making the real money. They use fancy words like artificial island and megafloat, but it’s really a bunch of giant boxes made of aluminum. They’ve just marked up the price like crazy. It’s worse than the diamond or gold markets.”

“Yeah, the winners tend to win big. …Catherine, don’t squirm like that. Try to keep in mind what your little butt is sitting on.”

“Nn,” was all the braid girl said, but she seemed to be in a bad mood.

But not because she was focused on reading the map. She was having trouble breaking into the two idiots’ conversation.

“But it’s a hell of a coincidence that this is where the Supernova is falling, so I believe it’s partially a form of divine punishment. God is watching and the commoner’s prayers are reaching him.”

“Aren’t you a super-spoiled noble?”

Quenser sat in the egg-shaped sidecar with Catherine on his lap. Like a human seatbelt, he naturally ended up wrapping his arms around her slender body to take a look at his handheld device.

It showed a map of Second Venice’s south side. But unlike Catherine’s paper map, it was zoomed in and their target was displayed as a dot.

“An astronomer, huh? …Why did that old man run off?”

“How should I know? Rumors spread pretty easily during disasters. Maybe he’s afraid the Legitimacy Kingdom has an ulterior motive for rounding all the tourists up in one spot. Maybe he thinks we’ll ransack the city while everyone’s away or slaughter everyone on the indoor ski slope. Putting unseen worries into concrete words is a stereotypical way of dealing with that anxiety.”

“A disaster?”

“You didn’t know, Quenser? Natural disasters aren’t the only kind. Our military receives funding for retrieval of unexploded ordnance as disaster relief.”

“So we bury the ordnance and then get paid to dig it back up?”

As they chatted, Heivia stopped the water scooter on the side of the canal.

“He’d probably notice if we drove any closer.” Heivia reached toward the sidecar. “Little bikini devil? There’s a pair of binoculars in the dashboard.”

“I can see without them. The package is 120 meters ahead.”

But since she could not share that information, Quenser reached below the girl’s arms and pulled out the binoculars. This required leaning forward, so he could not help but stick his nose toward the nape of her neck.

“Big brother, that tickles.”

“Hmm, so they have a feminine scent to their hair even at this age.”

“I get it, so just let me do my job!!” tearfully shouted Heivia.

Quenser handed him the binoculars.

“Oh, there he is. That old man must be Faires Appetizer. But something isn’t right.”

“What is it?”

“He’s at the harbor, but there aren’t any boats. He’s holding his hands in the air. And there are several men and women around him. The one behind him is holding out something long and narrow. What is it? An assault rifle?”

Swimsuit Catherine added her own information from Quenser’s lap.

“There is a boat. Check the water’s surface more carefully. You can see a glimpse of a sunken yacht’s mast.”

Quenser was a complete amateur and had no way of checking on the situation, but he could tell this sounded like a pain in the ass. The old man had ignored the need to evacuate despite the risk and now someone had the kind of high-firepower gun unlikely to be found in the hands of anyone respectable.

“Who are they?”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as they aren’t amateurs.”

“We’re about 120 meters away, but do you think you can take them out with your rifle, Heivia?”

“I could shoot them easily enough, but don’t forget what I just said.” Heivia gave an annoyed shrug. “We have to check to make sure they aren’t amateurs. Simply put, we have to say ‘stop’ and ‘put your hands up’. We can’t shoot unless they show intent to resist. This isn’t a battlefield country after all.”

“Even though they have a hostage?”

“Waste time doing that and they’ll shoot the old man,” said Catherine.

“Yeah.”

Quenser’s awful friend grinned.

And then he pointed up at the sweltering sun.

“I know a bit of a trick we can use. Care to try it, student?”

===Part 4===

The Princess sat in the cockpit of the Baby Magnum which had naval floats equipped. The transmissions from Frolaytia and the Legitimacy Kingdom were not the only ones she was picking up.

There were some from their enemies in the Information Alliance.

“Oh ho ho. That Supernova thing will be falling soon. This should be a good chance to see what you can do.”

“I know that.”

“Yes, I can see a Legitimacy Kingdom Object take responsibility for a Legitimacy Kingdom satellite drop weapon. Pu hu hu! You have become the guardian deities of Second Venice, an Information Alliance luxury resort, haven’t you?”

“Again, I know that!!”

“I’d really like for you to get this over with. Oh ho ho. Unlike some filthy Elites I could mention, I am quite busy. Right at this moment, I am in the middle of the final planning meeting for an online concert. I will show you that a truly exciting Second Venice vacation involves a passionate musical performance in a swimsuit. Ho ho ho. Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!!”

The angry Princess considered switching off her radio, but she just barely managed to resist.

(I could easily handle this ballistic weapon on my own.)

She pouted her lips, but more than one hundred thousand lives (even if they were from an enemy nation) rested on her shoulders. The more air defense weapons and anti-air lasers they had, the better.

She sighed and spoke to the other Elite.

“A Generation One will have better missile defense capabilities. I will take the lead role, so try not to get in my way.”

“Oh ho ho. Not to worry. I will leave this odd job to you.”

With a quiet beeping, new information was added to the monitor.

“Princess, the Supernova has begun reentry. As we suspected, it isn’t looking like it will burn up on the way. We are beginning the countdown based on the expected descent route. 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25…”

She did not wait.

A moment later, both the Baby Magnum and the Rush filled the entire sky with a spider web of blinding light.

===Part 5===

The entire sky was wrapped in flashes as bright as welding light.

Laser light itself could not be seen by the human eye. This light was the accumulated energy being released in every direction when the laser light struck the surface of the Supernova satellite drop weapon as it reentered the atmosphere.

And on the south side, Heivia used that exact timing to drive the water scooter full speed ahead while yelling.

“Attention suspicious people!! Put your guns down and your hands in the air!! You appear to have a hostage, so if you resist, we will follow the Legitimacy Kingdom peace preservation manual by opening fire!!”

“There’s no way they can hear you during this explosion…”

“That’s fine. If they did hear us, they’d probably actually shoot back.”

“You’re setting it up so we warned them, but they ‘just so happened’ not to hear it? You monster.”

As Heivia drove the water scooter with sidecar, they managed to arrive near the harbor in question while staying hidden behind an unmanned transportation boat loaded with containers. Heivia operated the throttle with one hand, and…

“I can’t fire my assault rifle with just one hand. Hey, student, I’ll give you the assault rifle, so you shoot.”

It was Catherine whose eyebrows twitched, not Quenser.

“Aim carefully and you can’t miss. This will start the second we move out from behind this boat. It’s shoot or be shot. That’s all there is to it.”

“Please no! I’ll probably end up shooting you right in the ass!”

“If you’re wearing casual clothes and you can’t even shoot, why did you even come along!?”

“I’m just a spectator!! Why couldn’t you figure that out!? You’re stupid ''and'' incompetent!!”

Heivia did not seem to hear Quenser’s complaints. His mind apparently filtered out all verbal abuse that did not come from a cute girl. He pulled out the large handgun that he kept as a sidearm and tossed the assault rifle to the sidecar.

Then something unexpected happened.

As the firearm flew through the air, two hands not belonging to Quenser grabbed it.

They belonged to Catherine Blueangel, the little black bikini devil.

“Oh, damn!”

“Hee hee hee. Since you can’t do it, I’ll help out☆”

Before they could say anything, Catherine hopped from the sidecar to the back seat of the water scooter. Then she built up her momentum and climbed up onto the unmanned transportation boat.

“Catherine!”

“If I let you two go in without a real plan, you’ll just get killed. I’ll attack from a different angle, so let’s finish them off with some crossfire, okay? Big brother, make sure to give me my stamp for giving directions afterwards. Adieu.”

They did not have time to go after her.

Quenser ducked down as the gunfire started.

“Now she’s done it!”

“That kid’s got a light trigger finger!! I can see why they didn’t think an elegant safe country tutor could handle her. They’d get their hand bit!!”

With multiple enemies, Catherine on her own would get caught in some crossfire, so Heivia sent the water scooter out from behind the boat they were using for cover. He prepared to fire toward the harbor with his large handgun.

But then he came to a stop because he could not believe his eyes.

“Wh-what!?”

Catherine Blueangel was there.

She was not firing the assault rifle toward the harbor from the top of the boat. She ran along the deck, made a large leap, landed directly on the harbor, and continued firing at point-blank range.

It looked like a dance.

Her young body was too light to fully suppress the assault rifle’s recoil. Instead, she actually let the explosive force of the gunpowder swing her around. She spun around and around to the left, to the right, vertically, and horizontally. She pulled off some acrobatic movements that would have normally been impossible. She was exposed to multiple guns, but she never once crossed even one line of fire. Each time she swung her arms, raised her legs, or bent her torso, the flying bullets whizzed right past her but never even grazed her.

“What happened to that crossfire idea, you damn hornet? You’ve run out there on your own!!”

Her movements were so unconventional that Heivia could not even provide covering fire.

And before he could figure out what to do, it was all over.

The armed men and women had been wiped out.

Only the gray-haired old man remained and had collapsed into a sitting position.

“Ah, ahh, ahhhh…”

The black bikini girl used one hand to casually aim the assault rifle at the back of the old man’s head. And she asked an innocent question.

“Umm, am I supposed to shoot him or not?”

“Stop, Catherine!! He’s the package we’re supposed to protect!!”

“Nn,” was all Catherine said as she lifted the assault rifle up and away from the old man. As if he had suddenly realize something frightening, the old man tried to crawl away, but she did not hesitate to slam the rifle’s stock against the back of his head.

“Oops.”

Catherine seemed to hug the rifle to her body.

No. She was quickly holding a certain piece of cloth in place.

“Biiiig broooother, my top came untied.”

“Oh, honestly. Why would you start a gunfight in a bikini!?”

“Uuh… Could you retie it for me?”

She held the top with her hands and turned her small, bared back toward Quenser who sighed and grabbed the fluttering strings.

“Your fingers tickle.”

“Don’t move, Catherine. I’ll tie you a nice bow.”

Heivia looked at the old man who had been knocked out by the blow to the head, at the corpses littering the area, and at Catherine who was defenselessly showing off her dazzling back as if she were asking someone to apply sun oil. Finally, he summed it all up.

“What a dangerous girl.”

“But we should have a chance to give some course corrections. We could make her into a class rep type that looks good in glasses or we could make her into a track girl with a dazzling brown tan. What matters is that we at least make her into something hot.”

Before they could say anything more, the blue sky was covered by another flash of light that could not be good for their health.

Quenser looked up in confusion.

“Wait a second… Wasn’t there only one Supernova dropping down toward here?”

“Then what-…”

Heivia trailed off when he seemed to realize something.

Quenser had finished tying the bow, so Catherine could move again and she collected the mysterious old man who had been tossed aside like a garbage bag.

“Then what dropped down to create that second flash…?”

===Part 6===

After changing from her swimsuit into her uniform and boarding the antenna-covered mission command patrol boat stopped at the base of the high-rise building, Frolaytia listened to the report with a look of displeasure.

“What do you mean!? That isn’t what we were told!!”

“N-no, but it seems there was more than just the one Supernova. Um, 15, 20, 40, 80…you’re kidding. The number’s still growing…!?”

“It can’t possibly be in the triple digits. Don’t fall for this deception! The Supernovas are scattering chaff or flares to prevent anyone from shooting them down. There weren’t that many satellite drop weapons left!!”

“But that means…”

Even the operators in the same patrol boat gave Frolaytia anxious looks.

“Right. These aren’t old abandoned weapons that just so happened to fall. Their systems are up and running and some idiot intentionally dropped them down on this trajectory!”

The screen displayed all sorts of information on the Supernovas. They would scatter chaff or flares to break any targeting locks. They would fire their boosters at random to move around like living creatures. They would hide behind another Supernova to use that one as a shield. They had several strategies for escaping an Object’s anti-air lasers.

They were old weapons that had been abandoned more than two decades ago.

Just like performing a cyber attack on a computer with no updates at all, anyone could hijack them. But…

“What idiot is borrowing them for some cheap plot?”

Frolaytia clenched her teeth.

No matter who did this or why, the Supernovas were loaded with thermobaric warheads capable of turning everything within 1.2 kilometers into ash. What if the Princess missed just one? If it landed on a domed stadium or soccer field being used as a shelter, tens of thousands of lives would be burned away in an instant.

And now dozens of those Supernovas were descending at once.

===Part 7===

The Princess also clenched her teeth.

“…Ksshh… Tch. There’s a drop in my accuracy…ksshh!”

“I think the Supernova fragments are functioning like chaff.”

“How are you managing?”

“I am still fine.”

“Oh ho ho. Yes, I should probably leave this type of job to the First Generation.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

They had not been coordinating their actions. They had simply been aiming for the same target with multiple laser beams to increase the density of their barrage. So even if the Information Alliance’s Rush began to malfunction, it would not create a hole right away. The Princess had not been relying on her to that extent.

She could still do this.

Everything was fine.

The Baby Magnum was designed to intercept a MIRV that broke apart at high altitude and scattered dozens of small nuclear warheads, so its anti-air defenses were more than enough.

However…

That was when something else happened.

“…?”

The Princess was overcome by a sense that something was wrong.

===Part 8===

“It’s all over…”

The old man was muttering something as Quenser held onto him.

He repeated the same thing over and over again.

“We’re done for. It wouldn’t take that trajectory. There’s only one explanation…”

“What are you on about?”

“It’s a little soon to get all apocalyptic, old man. Our Princess will blow away the Supernovas. You shouldn’t make those meaningful sounding comments. All those books explaining Nostradamus became nothing but laughing stocks once the new millennium began. Of course, those people are just like the ones who write diet books; no matter how many times they fail, they’ll always look for new material.”

“Should I make him talk?” asked Catherine with a tilt of the head.

Quenser held out his empty hand to stop her. She may have just wanted to show off, but he had to stop her from hurting or harming the old man. And this would not get her any stamps for her quota sheet.

“No, not that.”

Faires Appetizer’s shoulders shook as he cut in.

He looked to the two idiots and continued his confession.

“That puny manmade model doesn’t matter.”

“?”

“You don’t know?”

He actually looked shocked.

One of the Information Alliance’s leading astronomers revealed a piece of trivia.

“Today we will receive an astronomy show that occurs only once every 500 years. This is the day the Appetizer Asteroid passes closest to earth.”

===Part 9===

“This is not good…”

Frolaytia gulped inside the mission command patrol boat.

She wanted to believe the report was in error, but praying would not change reality.

“Princess!! There’s another problem making a descent along with the Supernova! It’s a 500 meter mass. It’s almost certainly the Appetizer Asteroid!!”

“…What? No one told me about that!”

“I only just learned about it. I want to punch that Appetizer old man who so casually announced the predicted trajectory of approach, but we have to respond to the situation as it is. We’ve left the safe track we all thought we were on. At this rate, it’ll fall right on Second Venice!!”

“But Frolaytia…”

“We have to do it. It’s 500 meters, so if it hits, we can’t avoid a new ice age. This problem is no longer isolated to the resort island.”

“My anti-air lasers can’t completely destroy an asteroid. And when it breaks apart in midair, a shockwave will pummel the area!”

“…”

On occasion, a giant scorch mark with a radius of several dozen to a hundred kilometers would be found in the empty mountains or desert. However, that was not caused by a UFO crashing or an out-of-place artifact. It came from the explosion caused by a meteor or asteroid breaking apart in midair before striking the surface.

If the same thing happened here, it would cause great damage to Second Venice and Malta.

At 500 meters, even the smaller fragments were a serious threat. They could create craters across the artificial island and even knock over the high-rise buildings.

But…

“If we let it hit, the entire earth will fall into an ice age.”

“Kh.”

“So do it, Princess!! The responsibility falls on me. Focus on that asteroid!!”

===Part 10===

In that instant, the Information Alliance’s Second Generation Rush calmly passed the baton even though it was meant to protect Second Venice. Was the Elite leaving this to the Legitimacy Kingdom First Generation because she was not used to this sort of ballistic interception, or was she refusing to take responsibility for any actions not in her manual?

The Princess clenched her teeth.

Her goggles read the movements of her eyes and targeted the giant mass.

Her fingertip touched the protrusion on the surface of the lever she held.

She breathed in and out.

She made up her mind.

Blinding light surrounded the Appetizer Asteroid and it was broken into six blocks in midair.

===Part 11===

They had no idea what had happened.

“Owwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

Quenser and Heivia dove into a nearby building as a violent gust of wind blew gray dust toward them. The building seemed to be a bank that specialized in the foreign accounts the wealthy tended to use. Quenser realized he no longer held onto Faires Appetizer, but now was not the time to worry about that. All of the glass in the city shattered and a downpour of transparent blades poured down toward them.

“Are you okay?”

Catherine Blueangel alone did not seem particular bothered.

That little bikini devil’s specs were on an entirely different level, but they did not have time to comment on that.

“Cough! Cough!!”

“Dammit… What was that!?”

They heard the deep, unpleasant sound of something bending. Quenser got up using the small hand Catherine held out to him and then he looked to the ceiling. Large cracks were running through it and they were spreading.

“Oh, no. Oh, no! Is the building going to collapse!?”

“Idiot! Don’t just run outside! It’s more dangerous out there!!”

Quenser immediately tried to run, but Heivia grabbed his arm and pulled him back just as an adjacent building collapsed. Gray dust spread like cotton candy and entered their building thanks to the broken glass.

“What? Cough. I don’t have any survival training. What’s the right thing to do!?”

“I don’t know either, dammit. Frolaytia! Hey, busty commander! Tell us what happened!!”

Beyond the thick curtain of dust, Heivia shouted angrily into his radio, but no one replied. Was the dust reflecting the signal like chaff, or were the people on the other end in no state to reply?

“Oh, good. My stamp card is safe.”

Catherine peeked inside the bag that held her special suit and gave a cheerfully out-of-place comment, so Quenser grabbed her small hand and started to move.

“Hm? Wait, big brother. I think my bikini is about to come undone again.”

“Which knot!?”

“The one on my left hip.”

They broke through the dusty air as he took care of that.

They wanted to see what had happened.

[[Image:HO_v12_056.jpg|thumb]]

They reached the elevator button, but it did not react. They climbed a few floors on the nearby stairs and entered an office full of computers that looked set up for investing. They approached the window whose reinforced glass had been broken by the shockwave and secured a view of the city.

“Wow,” said small Catherine.

It looked like the end of the world.

Several of the tidy-looking high-rise buildings had been knocked over and the giant villas on the rooftops had been slammed to the ground. One building falling must have affected those around it because the ordered cityscape had been crudely stained like an arrangement of dominos that had failed to topple properly. The residents and tourists had been evacuated, but they could still see fires here and there. There had likely been electrical or gas trouble. The resort island’s blue skies and sea breeze were surrounded by the color gray and simply breathing in the air made them want to go get a health checkup.

“The whole place is messed up. But there’s a pattern to the collapsed buildings. It’s like there are a few different craters.”

“Did the Princess fail to intercept the Supernova?”

“That thing was thermobaric and would’ve turned the entire city to ashes.”

“Then…”

Quenser and Heivia exchanged a glance.

“Don’t tell me that old man was right.”

“Did an asteroid really hit!? You’ve gotta be kidding me!!”

Quenser cut across the floor so he could see the ocean. His radio was useless, but he still wanted to see the Baby Magnum with his own eyes.

But…

“Hey, look…”

“What is it, Quen-…what the hell is that!!!??”

Only Heivia’s yell rang through the air.

The broken window gave them a view of the coast through the buildings. The Baby Magnum should have reigned supreme beyond that.

But its spherical main body had been badly torn apart.

The Object looked like an empty box of chocolates after it was stepped on.

This was medium to heavy damage. There was no chance it could move properly now.

“The Princess fought to the end.” Quenser blankly stated his guess as to what had happened. “But it wasn’t enough. She didn’t make it in time. The asteroid broke into a few different pieces in midair and fell on the city. And one of those hit the Baby Magnum!!”

“That’s a big deal, but what do we do now? They aren’t going to blame us for failing to stop the asteroid, are they!? I don’t want to spend the rest of my summer doing construction work to restore an enemy nation’s resort island. And all of these villas have to have been expensive!!”

The two idiots exchanged a glance, but blonde braided Catherine was innocently – if not cruelly – unfazed.

“What are you going to do, big brother?”

“If that was the last explosion, we don’t have to worry about any more glass shards raining down on us, right?”

“But entire buildings could collapse after a delay. Wouldn’t it be best to stay here until things settle down?”

“You have a point. …But what if this bank itself falls over?”

Silence fell.

Heivia scratched at his dusty bangs before answering.

“I guess that’s not an option. Let’s get back to the maintenance base zone.”

“Is that fine with you, Catherine? Do you want to get back to Malta?”

Quenser and Heivia cautiously stepped out into the gray city. Catherine seemed to be enjoying herself as she followed them, or maybe she was giving the boys an appraising look.

The oppressive sun was entirely gone now. A thick gray curtain covered everything instead. But this was not a normal raincloud. It was all the soot and dust produced when the asteroid had exploded in midair. Closer to the ground, dust rapidly expanded like dirty cotton candy near the collapsed buildings. All glass had been shattered, the buildings were tilted, and devices the size of vending machines – transformers for the underground power lines – were bent and emitting sparks. Thick cables dangled down onto the ground and even into the spider web of canals.

“Looks like we should give up on using a water scooter.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to find one. Did they sink or were they washed away by the waves caused by the shockwave? Dammit.”

Luckily, most of the people had been evacuated to theatres and stadiums. The entire area was covered with glass, but they did not see any bloody people groaning in pain. If the place had been as busy as it normally was, they would have seen a true hell.

That was when they heard a low rumbling.

Quenser looked up and grimaced.

“Wait, really…?”

He felt something cold on his nose.

The next thing he knew, rain was pouring down on them.

“Damn. That was originally water vapor and dust, so can it really make rainclouds? And the broken transformers are sending sparks everywhere!!”

This was not over yet.

Traveling had been easy enough when using a water scooter in the canals, but it took much longer once they had to walk through the ruined city on foot. And that was true even from the south side, which was closest to Malta.

Heivia wiped sweat from his brow and groaned.

“What the hell? The raindrops are dirty…”

“They’ve got the asteroid’s dust in them. It would be best not to let any get in your mouth, Catherine.”

“I won’t do that.”

Large raindrops poured down. It was a truly unnatural downpour produced by clouds of dust. It sounded like radio static and the three of them could only drag their heavy bodies along like zombies.

“We can’t get through here with the building collapsed…”

“Big brother, the way is clear over there.”

“We can’t use that because of the broken transformer. See how the area is soaked with rainwater? We don’t know how far the electricity is getting, so it would be best not to approach.”

“Hey, the building collapsed, but there’s still a way through in the center. We can’t just sit around. It would be faster to cut through.”

They walked down that path to return to the maintenance base.

Each step felt like a gamble. It was like betting the chips of their lives on information of dubious accuracy. They took each step slowly and cautiously, so when a bridge was out, it could take an hour to find another way across.

By the time they were close to the maintenance base zone, it was already growing dark. They had known this was a midsummer resort, but the constant barrage of raindrops had a way of sapping their strength. It felt like they had soaked inside a hot bath until the heat had permeated the core of their bodies.

And as they made that nerve-racking journey, something changed.

“Wh-what…?”

Quenser looked around while dragging along his uniform that was heavy with water.

“There’s a ton of people here. I thought they were all evacuated.”

“Don’t ask me, dammit. Don’t tell me this wave of people is-…yeah, I was right. They’re headed for our base, aren’t they?”

A lot of them had nothing but the shirt on their back. Some were young women in rain-soaked swimsuits or bunny suits and some were macho men in thin armor made from light aluminum or something. Normally, those people would probably ask a tourist to take a commemorative photo with them and then charge an outrageous fee. The people in berets and carrying art sets did the same thing after painting someone’s portrait. Some people were holding their surfboards up to keep out the rain and others were using several café parasols to create a hemispherical tent.

Perhaps because this was a world-class seaside luxury resort, a lot of people were carrying expensive cameras.

“This is Monica, the idol reporter who can both dance and sing! It’s fine, it’s fine. I can review the five-star hotel in my bikini later! And how many times are you going to wake me up to try to scare me!? I’m getting awful tired of it!! An asteroid hit? Let’s document that! We can figure out whether or not we can sell it to a communications company later!! Um, we are in front of the Legitimacy Kingdom maintenance base zone and…”

“!!!”

“Hm? What is it, Quenser?”

“Oh, nothing,” said the student as he ducked his head down. He had apparently spotted someone in the crowd who he wanted to avoid.

Also, some in the crowd were using their portrait art sets in an odd way.

“Hey, some of them are holding up signs.”

Once the little black bikini devil pointed it out, Quenser and Heivia finally noticed. The crowd grew denser as they drew closer to the base and that was due to more than confusion over the sudden disaster. There was definite anger there and it was focused on a single issue.

“What’s going to happen to us now!?”

“S-Second Venice is a manmade island. Without food and water, we’ll wither away!!”

“The military needs to take responsibility and protect us! I have a baby to look after!!”

Heivia looked puzzled.

“Tch. What? They’ve started protesting?”

“But Heivia, it’s true that food and water are a serious issue. How many people are there here on Second Venice?”

“Myonri said nearly 130,000.”

“Our unit can’t feed that many.”

“Are you serious about that? First off, our battalion has 1000 people. We keep enough supplies to feed us all for 30 days. And that’s assuming three meals a day. Put up with some hunger and limit ourselves to one meal a day and that number triples. That alone gives us enough for 90,000. And don’t forget that the Rush’s Oh Ho Ho has her unit stationed here.” Heivia sounded exasperated. “Besides, this isn’t a desert on the moon. It’s a Mediterranean resort. The Legitimacy Kingdom and Faith Organization’s home countries are right there. Surviving on our own might be tough, but transport ships can reach us in a matter of hours. No matter how long it takes to recover, we’ll have plenty of supplies if we can last a day or two. We might actually head back fatter than we arrived.”

“Is that…how it works?”

“It is. Not to mention that Second Venice is known as a spy’s paradise because the wealthy of all four world powers can relax here and forget all about war. No one’s going to abandon this place. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to do some favors to make some debts. Hand over our tasteless soap-like rations now and we might get gold bars the same size in return.”

Heivia was entirely carefree.

And once they started listening, they could hear a voice answering the shouting crowd. A familiar voice was amplified by a handheld megaphone.

“Don’t push! Please don’t push! We have food enough for everybody, so please wait your turn!”

“Myonri got the short end of the stick again, did she?”

Quenser relaxed when he heard that awful friend’s voice.

But then he heard the unique dry sound of bursting gunpowder.

A fireworks-like smell mixed with a rusty flavor.

The crowd ground to a halt like a malfunctioning machine and then it tried to scatter in every direction. But that caused them to run into each other, knock each other over, and trip each other up.

Meanwhile, a high-pitched voice came from beyond the human curtain. The scream passed over everyone’s heads and could have been a male or female voice.

Whoever it belonged to, it said the following:

“Like I said!! Hurry up and hand over the foooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!”

''Oh, no,'' thought Quenser.

The discomfort of the pouring rain vanished from his mind. This was no time for that, so his brain automatically narrowed down his information to the absolute essentials.

He could sense an invisible pressure approaching through the gaps in the crowd.

He felt someone's eyes on him.

A large and enraged man in a tank top had tears and snot covering his face as he aimed their way with a gun that was clearly not a civilian model. It looked like the fusion of a semi-auto grenade launcher and a close-range handgun. And he did not seem to care how many other people were around.

“This is really bad…!!”

===Part 12===

The Baby Magnum had grown terribly misshapen thanks to the direct hit from a piece of the Appetizer Asteroid, but the Princess remained in the cockpit. The reactor and the system’s core were still functioning. Even if she could not pull off any high-speed combat, she would still make for a decent threat as a stationary gun platform. It was not yet time for her to leave the Object.

And as she took a short rest, some dangerous thoughts entered her mind.

(Just when I began to intercept the Appetizer Asteroid…)

She looked down from the sky and saw the Rush calmly leaving.

The Princess glared at the Object.

(She fired a jamming signal my way?)

Various suspicions filled her heart as a new war began.

Under the extreme environment of this disaster, international law and war treaties no longer applied.

A truly hopeless war was beginning.

===External Document – A Will Written in Advance===

They asked me if I wanted my name to go down in history.

Currently, almost 36,000 asteroids have been observed and registered by astronomers. They are named after the Greek gods, after the discoverer, or after a product like a sports drink or a search engine.

Naming it the Appetizer Asteroid was a form of legacy right there.

But that achievement did not stand out and was unknown to the general public. Someone with unique interests would have to search again and again before seeing that legacy.

But the number of asteroids which have entered the atmosphere and hit the earth is much lower. Ones that did not break up in the atmosphere and retained their shape can be counted on your fingers.

It would be a top ten achievement.

No one could help but see the bright light of that legacy.

All they asked me to do was overlook it. Just like any astronomer would, I carefully observed the asteroid I had discovered and named after myself. No one observed it more obsessively than me. So I noticed something was wrong almost immediately. They just wanted me to overlook it.

I still have my doubts.

I don’t think I will ever rid myself of those doubts.

I don’t know what exactly they are trying to do. How can an amateur guess at what the military is after? But if the Appetizer Asteroid hits the surface, it will cause incredible damage. Enough to change this age of clean wars ruled by Objects.

I don’t know what kind of legacy this will be.

Perhaps this is how researchers feel when a strange parasite or killer virus is named after them.

This legacy will undoubtedly leave my name in history.

But I will always have my doubts. Even if mankind is covered in a layer of ice and snow, I will forever wander that white and hellish wasteland as a ghost.

<noinclude>{{HEAVYOBJECT Nav|prev=HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Prologue|next=HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Chapter 2}}</noinclude>

HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Chapter 1

2016-11-25T00:04:58Z

184.71.60.230: /* Day 1 */ Removed double post

==Day 1==

===Part 1===

Morning came early for the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion.

Even so, Quenser was not pleased as he rubbed his sleepy eyes in the triple bunk bed he was crammed into and glanced over at the glow-in-the-dark hands of the clock.

“You’re kidding, right? It’s not even four yet.”

It was an oppressively hot August night. He had been woken by the vibration of his wristwatch that was synced with his handheld device, so he sluggishly put his usual military uniform over his sweat-soaked shirt and boxers. To his displeasure, he realized he had been bitten all over by mosquitos and scratched at his arms and legs.

He had been received an urgent summons, so he did not have time to brush his hair or wash his face. He descended the ladder and stepped out into the hall while making sure not to wake the other soldiers in the dark barracks. His face and body were uncomfortably sticky.

His handheld device provided details on the summons.

It was from Frolaytia Capistrano.

He left the normal soldiers’ barracks and hurried to the special barracks for officers. He was acting on orders, but he was still blinded by the bright light of a patrolling soldier’s military flashlight.

And that soldier turned out to be his awful friend Heivia.

“Huh? What are you doing out this late?”

“Heivia? You didn’t have patrol duty tonight, did you?”

“…”

“…”

The two of them exchanged a glance that transformed into a wholehearted look of dread.

Waiting for them in the special barracks was a busty, silver-haired, and highly-educated(?) girl. Despite the late hour, that commanding officer of theirs wore her uniform impeccably.

“When do you sleep?” complained Quenser when he peeked inside her private room which was decorated by her love of the Island Nation.

“I’m more surprised that a battlefield student was sleeping the night away. The lights are still on in the Object maintenance bay, you know?”

Frolaytia tossed him a cylindrical bottle of wet tissues and he wiped off his oily face.

“Could I go observe their work now?”

“Absolutely not.” Their busty commander bluntly rejected the idea. “I called you two here for a reason. And sorry, but I want you to focus on this mission.”

“I don’t think I’m going to have much luck focusing on anything that isn’t peeping on the women’s bath or sneaking a late-night date with a sexually frustrated commander.”

“Do you remember former Councilor Flide?”

“You’re just going to ignore my great sexual harassment joke!? Please stop continuing the conversation like that. Especially when it means bringing up such a super pain-in-the-ass of a guy,” complained Quenser. “Frolaytia, you forgot the part where you tell us there’s no turning back after we hear this and then give us the choice to leave or stay. You’re just dragging us into this without a choice!!”

“That sly old man has nothing to do with this, so calm down. Do you remember the Pilot Elite he raised like a protégé? The one for the Exact Javelin.”

The two idiots exchanged a glance and gave their answers.

“Oh, you mean that one that rose up from its underground base to say hello?”

“No, you moron. It’s the one we fought on some test grounds overflowing with nature.”

“I think you’re getting confused with something else.”

“Hey, I’m dependent on my phone’s address book to make any calls. I doubt I could memorize an eleven digit number. Exact Javelin? It kind of rings a bell, but I can’t quite place it…”

“But I do remember there being a 12-year-old little girl Elite with a blonde braid.”

“Well, at least I know how awful you two are,” said Frolaytia as she wrote this off as a lost cause.

The two idiots continued tilting their heads, but she got on with the conversation while spinning around her beloved kiseru.

“This is a request from the top brass sitting around in their safe countries. They have finished questioning that 12-year-old Pilot Elite named Catherine Blueangel. Based on the request from her case officer, she wants to retire and return to a normal life instead of living in a military facility while waiting for her ‘next’ Object to be completed…''if'' one ever is. We have no objection there, but this girl was separated from the military as a whole as a part of that pig Flide’s personal troops. There are some legitimate concerns whether or not she can really live a normal life.”

“Isn’t this a job for a school counselor?”

“She is going through the Civilian Acclimation Assistance System. Before she is left with the nonresistance group Archaic Smile, she must have her claws and fangs filed down. As someone who is halfway between military and civilian and as the battlefield student who took part in the operation to destroy the Exact Javelin and rescue Catherine, you would be best for the job, Quenser. And Heivia, you’re only the second best option since you’re an official soldier. Do you understand the situation now?”

Seeing the blatant disgust on the two idiots’ faces, Frolaytia gave a large nod.

“Catherine will accompany you to low-danger battlefields in order to gradually shift her thought processes from those of a battlefield country to those of a safe country. Once her small hands no longer need a gun in them, we can feel comfortable passing her off to a normal school or tutor. We’ll chuck her into a safe country and call it a day. And it won’t take that long. It should be a month or two at most.”

“That explains it,” muttered Heivia.

They were not in a filthy battlefield country like normal. This was still a military mission, but they had received the kind of warm welcome the 37th was usually never lucky enough to receive.

“But I don’t see why you had to wake us up at four in the morning to tell us that.”

“Catherine was the one who requested you two. And she seems to be accustomed to an entirely different time zone. Since the VIP arrived at the maintenance base zone before the newspapers were even delivered, we had to get started early.”

“What?”

Just as Quenser voiced his confusion, a modest knock came at the door.

The two idiots had a bad feeling about this and hesitantly turned around. The door cracked opened, but instead of stepping inside, a 12-year-old poked half her head inside and peered up at the people in the room.

Then the tiny demon nervously spoke.

“Big…brother…?”

===Part 2===

“It’s August! Summer is in full swing!! This is the season for Monica, the idol reporter who can both dance and sing in a dazzling bikini!! Umm, according to an announcement by the major sightseeing group Resort & Dolce, their affiliated private resorts are 47% busier than average for this time of year. The heat wave caused by this abnormal weather pattern is sitting over a wide section of the world, so the sightseeing business is booming across the board.”

They sat below the scorching sun.

This was the south side of Second Venice. Major Frolaytia Capistrano, the busty silver-haired officer, had changed into a swimsuit and was lying in a beach chair as a cheerful swimsuit idol’s voice came from a nearby waterproof pool TV.

“Ahh,” sighed the busty commander. “Bikinis really are in this year.”

Splashing and the shrill cries of young female soldiers could be heard not far away. The refreshing low-humidity breeze carried a hint of chlorine because this was an outdoor pool, not the ocean.

Villas for the rich were apparently well-equipped with palm trees and hibiscus flowers.

Several beach chairs were lined up along the poolside and the one next to Frolaytia’s was occupied by the delinquent noble named Heivia Winchell.

“Should we really be doing this?” he lazily asked.

“If you don’t like it, you can change back into your sweaty uniform and get back to work.”

“…That’s the problem with this busty commander. She can be so inhumanly cruel.”

“Can’t you tell I’m doing my best to relax here? I’m not going to play along just because you ‘felt like saying it’. I know you have zero intention of getting back to your mission. Did you ditch Catherine Blueangel the first chance you got? She’s a 12-year-old girl, you know?”

“Boo. I mean, yeah, I did, but a student like Quenser can handle something like this. And Catherine wants to attend a safe country school, right?”

“You’re worse than scum. You’re smegma.”

“What did I say about the inhuman cruelty!?”

Heivia really seemed about to cry, but Frolaytia had no interest in that and rolled away from the idiot. She grabbed a toxically blue drink from the side table, took a sip through the straw, and spotted a female soldier (in a frilly pink swimsuit) approaching her.

“M-Major Capistrano! May I have permission to speak!?”

“You already are speaking. What is it, Myonri?”

“The evacuation of Second Venice’s villa district is complete. The people have been distributed between the concert halls, soccer fields, and indoor winter sports facilities and all 128,501 people on the island have been accounted for.”

“It’s possible the harbor companies hired some undocumented porters to cut down on labor costs. Don’t forget to search the empty city. Nothing good will come of only using those drones that are all the rage these days.”

“Um, I know what you mean, but on what basis should we perform this second search?”

“Water consumption. You can fool the documentation, but you can’t fool the meter. And if you check the water department, it doesn’t violate the individual’s privacy. Focus the search to the areas where the documented number of workers doesn’t fit the water consumption. And don’t forget to check for water dispensers that use bottles.”

Myonri bowed, walked away, and began giving instructions over the radio.

Frolaytia sat up in her beach chair, raised her arms, and bent her back. This pushed out and accentuated her large chest all the more.

“Now, it’s about time to get back to work.”

The wind was a little too strong to be called a Mediterranean resort breeze.

They were in a midair park located 150 meters from the ground.

The roof a modern ultra-high-rise building had been turned into a large villa. And this one was not the only one. Either due to limited land or as a status symbol, all of the countless buildings had white marble mansions built on their roofs.

They all had pools and tennis courts, but no one was there to use them.

The city was entirely abandoned.

As Myonri had mentioned, the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion was leading a large scale evacuation.

Frolaytia had been enjoying a brief break at one of the open locations, but now she spoke while staring up into the clear blue sky.

“An outdated satellite drop weapon, hm?”

She looked like she could see a venomous snake’s eyes glaring back at her from within a bush.

“Now, then. It’s time for the world’s largest fireworks show.”

===Part 3===

“Should I go with this one or this one…?” asked a voice as clear as a bell.

Quenser wore casual clothing and watched the girl’s back as he tried to keep the boredom from his face.

He was with Catherine Blueangel.

She was a 12-year-old girl with her long blonde hair tied in a waist-length braid. And she wore a blue special suit that showed off her juvenile bodylines as clearly as the Princess’s did hers. Second Venice was known as one of the world’s largest resort cities and she had made a certain request as soon as she had arrived here with Quenser.

“I want to buy some clothes! Or a swimsuit!!”

(Why couldn’t she have been at least three years older? Whyyy!?)

It was disappointing, but he could not fast-forward or rewind time. Idiot #1 did his best to motivate himself by deciding he would train her now to become a wonderful beauty in the future. As an advertisement for an official tie-in, the G-cup Oh Ho Ho idol was winking and pressing her breasts together on the store’s flat-screen monitor. The contrast was incredible.

Catherine turned around, causing her long braid to sway, and showed Quenser the two products she held in her hands.

“Big brother, should I go with the bikini or the one-piece?”

“Catherine, they have a swimsuit known as a monokini for greedy people like you. It looks like a one-piece from the front and a bikini from behind, so it provides the same enjoyment as a naked apron.”

“Ehhh? I see.”

It was not that she was disturbed by how seriously he took his answer.

“It’s not fun if you just give the answer. I read in a book that the fun is in trying on a bunch of clothes and trying to figure out what you like best!”

“Oh, so is it like taking your time eating instant noodles so they fill you up more?”

“…How insensitive do you have to be to use a comparison like that in front of a girl?”

Catherine decided to try them both on and disappeared behind the fitting room’s curtain with both swimsuits in hand.

This mall on the south side had soft lighting, cool air conditioning, and music playing from the store speakers, but there were no other customers and no employees. For the operation to intercept the satellite drop weapon, the normal citizens had already been evacuated to sturdy facilities such as theatres and stadiums.

Quenser sighed and a transmission reached his earpiece.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself…”

“Princess?”

“You may not have had a choice since these were your orders, but keep in mind that you are being paid with everyone’s taxes, Quenser. Hmph.”

The Princess seemed to be in a bad mood.

However, she needed to do a perfect job.

There was of course a good reason for the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion to be enjoying themselves in this world-class luxury resort (and spy’s paradise).

“…The satellite drop weapon?”

“Yes.”

That was a bombing weapon that was placed on standby in satellite orbit and would damage an enemy nation by changing its orbit to drop down toward earth when needed.

The one causing problems now was a Legitimacy Kingdom one known as the Supernova.

The model was loaded with a thermobaric warhead that would turn a 1.2 kilometer radius into ashes and the satellite itself was designed for stealth. It normally remained on standby in orbit, so its boosters did not provide much of a heat source. That made it a powerful but difficult to track weapon.

“I wish this was some kind of joke,” complained Quenser Barbotage.

Most of the large shopping mall was covered in glass, so he could see the outside bay area from the swimsuit section. Second Venice was a giant artificial island that moved as it pleased through the Mediterranean Sea and it was currently “moored” at Malta to resupply. The protruding south side of the megafloat was attached to the natural island. The coasts almost looked like mirror images with their rows of high-rose buildings and a fifty meter mass was located near those coasts.

It was the 1st Generation Object known as the Baby Magnum.

It had a spherical main body, an upside-down Y-shaped static electricity propulsion device, and seven main cannons supported by the seven arms attached to its back. Those main cannons could switch between laser beams, low-stability plasma cannons, and other varieties like a microscope swapping out its lens.

Seeing it through a layer of glass made it look like something happening on TV.

But saying that would only piss off the Princess more, so he held his tongue.

“I really wish they’d done their job managing that thing up there. That bomb was supposed to have been abandoned more than twenty years ago, so why is it about to fall down on us now? And it’s going to fall on an Information Alliance villa region? If this causes any damage, it’ll start a war…”

“It can’t be helped,” said the Princess. “Disarming bombs is part of the military’s job.”

Quenser heard humming from beyond the fitting room curtain. Catherine’s little butt must have been bumping into the curtain because it would sometimes nearly flutter open.

“And despite the impressive-sounding specs, Frolaytia said this won’t be a very difficult mission.”

“Yeah. A satellite drop weapon gives us a lot more opportunities to intercept than a ballistic missile. Plus you’ve got a Generation One, Princess. You have the means to deal with normal weaponry instead of just other Objects. You’ve got a ton of anti-air lasers, so this shouldn’t be hard at all. I mean, your Object was developed to handle an MIRV that breaks apart in midair and scatters twenty or thirty nuclear warheads.”

“H-heh. It’s not that impressive. Heh heh.”

The Princess must have enjoyed having her Object’s specs complimented because it sounded like she had grown imaginary dog ears and an imaginary dog tail.

While looking at the buildings, sea, and sky out the window, Quenser continued with clear annoyance in his voice.

“And I’m not too happy with Frolaytia either. More than half of this is cleaning up after her.”

“You mean that game of musical chairs?”

“This place is called Second Venice, right? And it was originally an Information Alliance luxury resort. But then 37th comes in, accidentally scares off the Object of the group protecting this area of sea, and then takes over Malta as a supply base.”

“But we couldn’t take over Second Venice because it’s a safe country.”

“I think that just put more of a burden on the people defending it. And on top of that, this is where the Supernova is going to fall. That thing was abandoned by the Legitimacy Kingdom and now we’re the only ones that can defend against it since the Information Alliance military withdrew. The timing couldn’t be worse! Why do we have to risk our lives to protect the bulldogs of an enemy nation!? Is this all I’m going to get to do this summer!?”

“Are you that eager to get to the next battlefield, Quenser?”

“Why are enemy nations and battlefields the only options for my summer!? And when I’m standing in a world-class resort no less!!”

Then another transmission reached the radio.

It was from Frolaytia.

[[Image:HO_v12_029.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s about time for the shooting star to arrive. The fireworks show will begin shortly. Princess, remain on standby in your cockpit.”

“Understood.”

“Done!” shouted a high-pitched voice before the fitting room curtain burst open.

“Heh heh. Bikinis are in this year, aren’t they?”

“I know. Anything but a bikini isn’t even an option. One-pieces are too kiddy.”

For some reason, the Princess agreed with her.

Catherine Blueangel had apparently chosen the black bikini. The student viewed her with the look of a classy gentleman walking through a quiet art museum.

(Yes, her taste shows promise for the future. Now I just have to hope she develops all the right curves.)

Frolaytia interrupted Art Appraiser Quenser.

“And Quenser, you need to regroup with Heivia and get to work.”

“Will we be taking Catherine’s little hand and guiding her to a shelter?”

It was unlikely, but there was a chance they would fail to shoot down the satellite drop weapon. And if it was shot down too low to the ground, the nearby windows could still shatter and create a downpour of glass shards.

Quenser focused on the conversation in his earpiece and used his empty hand to gesture Catherine over.

But…

“Unfortunately, we discovered someone on the list who was not evacuated. His name is Faires Appetizer. He seems to be an Information Alliance astronomer, but the point is we can’t find the old man. Search the city before the fireworks show begins. Looking at the situation, you have less than twenty minutes.”

“Oh, goddammit! We’re stuck working to the very, very end!?”

“The site isn’t far. It’s in the south side where we are. We fortunately, picked up his smartphone’s GPS signal, so you can use that. If you don’t collect him soon, you’ll be caught in the middle of the fireworks show. Even if the Princess intercepts the Supernova itself, the shockwave could shatter all the windows in the buildings. If you don’t want shards of glass pouring down on you, then get this over with and find a building basement to shelter in. That is all.”

“That is all!? What about Catherine!?”

“Take her with you. Think of this as a form of recreation. You aren’t her guardian and when it comes to pure combat technique, she’s a hundred times more powerful than you thanks to the various measures taken to artificially strengthen her.”

“…A hundred times?”

“I’m not exaggerating. And I’m hanging up.”

The transmission ended.

Quenser sighed and the 12-year-old girl placed her hands on her bikini-wearing hips after listening in to the conversation.

“That’s right. A hundred times. Nee hee.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. …Princess, talk to you later.”

“Understood. Don’t do anything reckless, Quenser.”

As a Pilot Elite, Catherine seemed to have quite a lot of money. She operated the card reader to pay for the swimsuit with electronic money. Being able to pay without a cashier present was convenient.

“Here, big brother, give me a stamp!”

“Yes, yes.”

Catherine held out a waterproof case and Quenser pulled out something like a cardboard bingo card and made a round stamp on one corner. This was her quota for a normal life. Once she completed everything on the card, she levelled up to the next stage. This was effectively the first and last hurdle and she only had a simple interview afterwards. The process was known as the Civilian Acclimation Assistance System. It sounded strict, but it was actually made so hopeful participants could efficiently be given the go-ahead on moving to a safe country. It worked differently than the exams for an elite university or an international certification where failing was the standard outcome.

“Heh heh heh.”

“Hm? You’re in a good mood, Catherine.”

“You don’t get it? A girl’s swimsuit has a special meaning!”

Catherine stuffed her special suit inside the waterproof paper bag to a trendy store that would likely act as a status symbol itself. She then walked with Quenser through the large mall while still in her bikini. People must have dropped things during the confusion of the evacuation because bouquets of flowers and bead accessories were lying on the floor. Of course, they were all products with an egregious mark up to rip off ignorant tourists. Those tourist traps were apparently found in malls as well as along the roads near the airport.

After leaving the air conditioned building, they found Heivia in his uniform that had to be torture in the sweltering sun.

“Took you long enough.”

“What’s with the camo pants? Second Venice is all about operas and musicals, so there’s no place for a street dancer here. Yo yo.”

“Dammit, just you watch. Ahh, I shouldn’t have left her with you just because she’s outside my strike zone. All I did was enjoy the view of that busty commander in her bikini, and this is what I get. I’m right back into my uniform. Anyway, your bomb-filled backpack is in the sidecar.”

However, that awful friend of a noble was not on a motorcycle.

He was on a water scooter floating in a seawater canal. He must have been planning on picking up Quenser and Catherine to begin with because something like a motorcycle sidecar was attached.

“Let’s go nab that old astronomer and get to shelter. I can’t stand seeing all this luxury. It’s pointless if I can’t visit here on my time off!!”

The water scooter had two open spots: behind Heivia and the sidecar.

(Well, Heivia’s a pervert, so I guess I’ll sit behind him so Catherine can have the sidecar.)

With that in mind, Quenser stepped from the edge of the canal and toward the back seat of the water scooter.

Then he heard an odd voice behind him.

“On you go!”

“Wait, Catherine? Dwabh!?”

Just as he started shifting his center of gravity, she kicked him in the back. He flipped over, missed his target, and rolled into the sidecar.

And it did not end there.

The small 12-year-old in a black bikini hopped on top of his lap. She ignored the confused student and opened up the sidecar’s dashboard.

“ ‘Use a map to give someone directions.’ …There it is. That’s another stamp!!”

“Check inside the dashboard if you like, but don’t lift your hips like that, Catherine. Your butt is in a pretty dangerous spot there. And it’s only covered by a black bikini.”

“Oh, whoops. How indecent of me. A lady needs to sit properly, doesn’t she?”

“I’m not sure nestling down on my lap like that is better. Your butt just likes to cause trouble, doesn’t it?”

“You really are completely indiscriminate now, aren’t you?” commented Heivia while holding the handlebars.

“I don’t like being blamed when I’m the one under attack here. And I don’t know why she’s so fond of me either. Hey, Catherine, why am I the only one you call ‘big brother’?”

“Hm? Because you’re big brother!”

She had plenty of energy, but her answer was not very helpful. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking and they could not wait around. Heivia twisted the handlebar grip, opened the throttle, and sent the water scooter racing along the canal that reflected the bright sun.

The scenery around them was an endless spider web of various-sized canals and countless bridges passing by overhead. A boat loaded with containers or an empty aquatic bus would occasionally pass them by, but they must have been unmanned.

To complete the task on her quota card, Catherine pointed out the way and Heivia steered them through the many canals. As usual, Quenser was nothing more than ballast as the young girl sat on his lap.

“It’s amazing how there really isn’t a single road in this city.”

“Second Venice is all about reminding you of the good old days. If you were making a city of slopes and stairs, adding an elevator would ruin it, right? They dug a bunch of grooves along the surface of the pizza and let the seawater fill them. This kind of ‘comfortable inconvenience’ is something you see in the hospitality industry as well as tourist sites. If everything is too perfect, people get tired of it pretty quickly. It’s the same as a popular restaurant intentionally reducing the number of seats so a line forms out front or like increasing the difficulty level in a video game.”

Their maintenance base zone was made from more than one hundred giant wheeled vehicles, so it was poorly suited for Second Venice where canals were the only form of travel. The base was deployed on nearby Malta.

They passed through the gap between high-rise buildings and squeezed past an aquatic bus as they continued on their way to the astronomer.

“Didn’t they say the land here is twenty times as expensive as in London? That’s why these tall buildings are all crammed in so tight.”

“The construction companies are the ones making the real money. They use fancy words like artificial island and megafloat, but it’s really a bunch of giant boxes made of aluminum. They’ve just marked up the price like crazy. It’s worse than the diamond or gold markets.”

“Yeah, the winners tend to win big. …Catherine, don’t squirm like that. Try to keep in mind what your little butt is sitting on.”

“Nn,” was all the braid girl said, but she seemed to be in a bad mood.

But not because she was focused on reading the map. She was having trouble breaking into the two idiots’ conversation.

“But it’s a hell of a coincidence that this is where the Supernova is falling, so I believe it’s partially a form of divine punishment. God is watching and the commoner’s prayers are reaching him.”

“Aren’t you a super-spoiled noble?”

Quenser sat in the egg-shaped sidecar with Catherine on his lap. Like a human seatbelt, he naturally ended up wrapping his arms around her slender body to take a look at his handheld device.

It showed a map of Second Venice’s south side. But unlike Catherine’s paper map, it was zoomed in and their target was displayed as a dot.

“An astronomer, huh? …Why did that old man run off?”

“How should I know? Rumors spread pretty easily during disasters. Maybe he’s afraid the Legitimacy Kingdom has an ulterior motive for rounding all the tourists up in one spot. Maybe he thinks we’ll ransack the city while everyone’s away or slaughter everyone on the indoor ski slope. Putting unseen worries into concrete words is a stereotypical way of dealing with that anxiety.”

“A disaster?”

“You didn’t know, Quenser? Natural disasters aren’t the only kind. Our military receives funding for retrieval of unexploded ordnance as disaster relief.”

“So we bury the ordnance and then get paid to dig it back up?”

As they chatted, Heivia stopped the water scooter on the side of the canal.

“He’d probably notice if we drove any closer.” Heivia reached toward the sidecar. “Little bikini devil? There’s a pair of binoculars in the dashboard.”

“I can see without them. The package is 120 meters ahead.”

But since she could not share that information, Quenser reached below the girl’s arms and pulled out the binoculars. This required leaning forward, so he could not help but stick his nose toward the nape of her neck.

“Big brother, that tickles.”

“Hmm, so they have a feminine scent to their hair even at this age.”

“I get it, so just let me do my job!!” tearfully shouted Heivia.

Quenser handed him the binoculars.

“Oh, there he is. That old man must be Faires Appetizer. But something isn’t right.”

“What is it?”

“He’s at the harbor, but there aren’t any boats. He’s holding his hands in the air. And there are several men and women around him. The one behind him is holding out something long and narrow. What is it? An assault rifle?”

Swimsuit Catherine added her own information from Quenser’s lap.

“There is a boat. Check the water’s surface more carefully. You can see a glimpse of a sunken yacht’s mast.”

Quenser was a complete amateur and had no way of checking on the situation, but he could tell this sounded like a pain in the ass. The old man had ignored the need to evacuate despite the risk and now someone had the kind of high-firepower gun unlikely to be found in the hands of anyone respectable.

“Who are they?”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as they aren’t amateurs.”

“We’re about 120 meters away, but do you think you can take them out with your rifle, Heivia?”

“I could shoot them easily enough, but don’t forget what I just said.” Heivia gave an annoyed shrug. “We have to check to make sure they aren’t amateurs. Simply put, we have to say ‘stop’ and ‘put your hands up’. We can’t shoot unless they show intent to resist. This isn’t a battlefield country after all.”

“Even though they have a hostage?”

“Waste time doing that and they’ll shoot the old man,” said Catherine.

“Yeah.”

Quenser’s awful friend grinned.

And then he pointed up at the sweltering sun.

“I know a bit of a trick we can use. Care to try it, student?”

===Part 4===

The Princess sat in the cockpit of the Baby Magnum which had naval floats equipped. The transmissions from Frolaytia and the Legitimacy Kingdom were not the only ones she was picking up.

There were some from their enemies in the Information Alliance.

“Oh ho ho. That Supernova thing will be falling soon. This should be a good chance to see what you can do.”

“I know that.”

“Yes, I can see a Legitimacy Kingdom Object take responsibility for a Legitimacy Kingdom satellite drop weapon. Pu hu hu! You have become the guardian deities of Second Venice, an Information Alliance luxury resort, haven’t you?”

“Again, I know that!!”

“I’d really like for you to get this over with. Oh ho ho. Unlike some filthy Elites I could mention, I am quite busy. Right at this moment, I am in the middle of the final planning meeting for an online concert. I will show you that a truly exciting Second Venice vacation involves a passionate musical performance in a swimsuit. Ho ho ho. Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!!”

The angry Princess considered switching off her radio, but she just barely managed to resist.

(I could easily handle this ballistic weapon on my own.)

She pouted her lips, but more than one hundred thousand lives (even if they were from an enemy nation) rested on her shoulders. The more air defense weapons and anti-air lasers they had, the better.

She sighed and spoke to the other Elite.

“A Generation One will have better missile defense capabilities. I will take the lead role, so try not to get in my way.”

“Oh ho ho. Not to worry. I will leave this odd job to you.”

With a quiet beeping, new information was added to the monitor.

“Princess, the Supernova has begun reentry. As we suspected, it isn’t looking like it will burn up on the way. We are beginning the countdown based on the expected descent route. 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25…”

She did not wait.

A moment later, both the Baby Magnum and the Rush filled the entire sky with a spider web of blinding light.

===Part 5===

The entire sky was wrapped in flashes as bright as welding light.

Laser light itself could not be seen by the human eye. This light was the accumulated energy being released in every direction when the laser light struck the surface of the Supernova satellite drop weapon as it reentered the atmosphere.

And on the south side, Heivia used that exact timing to drive the water scooter full speed ahead while yelling.

“Attention suspicious people!! Put your guns down and your hands in the air!! You appear to have a hostage, so if you resist, we will follow the Legitimacy Kingdom peace preservation manual by opening fire!!”

“There’s no way they can hear you during this explosion…”

“That’s fine. If they did hear us, they’d probably actually shoot back.”

“You’re setting it up so we warned them, but they ‘just so happened’ not to hear it? You monster.”

As Heivia drove the water scooter with sidecar, they managed to arrive near the harbor in question while staying hidden behind an unmanned transportation boat loaded with containers. Heivia operated the throttle with one hand, and…

“I can’t fire my assault rifle with just one hand. Hey, student, I’ll give you the assault rifle, so you shoot.”

It was Catherine whose eyebrows twitched, not Quenser.

“Aim carefully and you can’t miss. This will start the second we move out from behind this boat. It’s shoot or be shot. That’s all there is to it.”

“Please no! I’ll probably end up shooting you right in the ass!”

“If you’re wearing casual clothes and you can’t even shoot, why did you even come along!?”

“I’m just a spectator!! Why couldn’t you figure that out!? You’re stupid ''and'' incompetent!!”

Heivia did not seem to hear Quenser’s complaints. His mind apparently filtered out all verbal abuse that did not come from a cute girl. He pulled out the large handgun that he kept as a sidearm and tossed the assault rifle to the sidecar.

Then something unexpected happened.

As the firearm flew through the air, two hands not belonging to Quenser grabbed it.

They belonged to Catherine Blueangel, the little black bikini devil.

“Oh, damn!”

“Hee hee hee. Since you can’t do it, I’ll help out☆”

Before they could say anything, Catherine hopped from the sidecar to the back seat of the water scooter. Then she built up her momentum and climbed up onto the unmanned transportation boat.

“Catherine!”

“If I let you two go in without a real plan, you’ll just get killed. I’ll attack from a different angle, so let’s finish them off with some crossfire, okay? Big brother, make sure to give me my stamp for giving directions afterwards. Adieu.”

They did not have time to go after her.

Quenser ducked down as the gunfire started.

“Now she’s done it!”

“That kid’s got a light trigger finger!! I can see why they didn’t think an elegant safe country tutor could handle her. They’d get their hand bit!!”

With multiple enemies, Catherine on her own would get caught in some crossfire, so Heivia sent the water scooter out from behind the boat they were using for cover. He prepared to fire toward the harbor with his large handgun.

But then he came to a stop because he could not believe his eyes.

“Wh-what!?”

Catherine Blueangel was there.

She was not firing the assault rifle toward the harbor from the top of the boat. She ran along the deck, made a large leap, landed directly on the harbor, and continued firing at point-blank range.

It looked like a dance.

Her young body was too light to fully suppress the assault rifle’s recoil. Instead, she actually let the explosive force of the gunpowder swing her around. She spun around and around to the left, to the right, vertically, and horizontally. She pulled off some acrobatic movements that would have normally been impossible. She was exposed to multiple guns, but she never once crossed even one line of fire. Each time she swung her arms, raised her legs, or bent her torso, the flying bullets whizzed right past her but never even grazed her.

“What happened to that crossfire idea, you damn hornet? You’ve run out there on your own!!”

Her movements were so unconventional that Heivia could not even provide covering fire.

And before he could figure out what to do, it was all over.

The armed men and women had been wiped out.

Only the gray-haired old man remained and had collapsed into a sitting position.

“Ah, ahh, ahhhh…”

The black bikini girl used one hand to casually aim the assault rifle at the back of the old man’s head. And she asked an innocent question.

“Umm, am I supposed to shoot him or not?”

“Stop, Catherine!! He’s the package we’re supposed to protect!!”

“Nn,” was all Catherine said as she lifted the assault rifle up and away from the old man. As if he had suddenly realize something frightening, the old man tried to crawl away, but she did not hesitate to slam the rifle’s stock against the back of his head.

“Oops.”

Catherine seemed to hug the rifle to her body.

No. She was quickly holding a certain piece of cloth in place.

“Biiiig broooother, my top came untied.”

“Oh, honestly. Why would you start a gunfight in a bikini!?”

“Uuh… Could you retie it for me?”

She held the top with her hands and turned her small, bared back toward Quenser who sighed and grabbed the fluttering strings.

“Your fingers tickle.”

“Don’t move, Catherine. I’ll tie you a nice bow.”

Heivia looked at the old man who had been knocked out by the blow to the head, at the corpses littering the area, and at Catherine who was defenselessly showing off her dazzling back as if she were asking someone to apply sun oil. Finally, he summed it all up.

“What a dangerous girl.”

“But we should have a chance to give some course corrections. We could make her into a class rep type that looks good in glasses or we could make her into a track girl with a dazzling brown tan. What matters is that we at least make her into something hot.”

Before they could say anything more, the blue sky was covered by another flash of light that could not be good for their health.

Quenser looked up in confusion.

“Wait a second… Wasn’t there only one Supernova dropping down toward here?”

“Then what-…”

Heivia trailed off when he seemed to realize something.

Quenser had finished tying the bow, so Catherine could move again and she collected the mysterious old man who had been tossed aside like a garbage bag.

“Then what dropped down to create that second flash…?”

===Part 6===

After changing from her swimsuit into her uniform and boarding the antenna-covered mission command patrol boat stopped at the base of the high-rise building, Frolaytia listened to the report with a look of displeasure.

“What do you mean!? That isn’t what we were told!!”

“N-no, but it seems there was more than just the one Supernova. Um, 15, 20, 40, 80…you’re kidding. The number’s still growing…!?”

“It can’t possibly be in the triple digits. Don’t fall for this deception! The Supernovas are scattering chaff or flares to prevent anyone from shooting them down. There weren’t that many satellite drop weapons left!!”

“But that means…”

Even the operators in the same patrol boat gave Frolaytia anxious looks.

“Right. These aren’t old abandoned weapons that just so happened to fall. Their systems are up and running and some idiot intentionally dropped them down on this trajectory!”

The screen displayed all sorts of information on the Supernovas. They would scatter chaff or flares to break any targeting locks. They would fire their boosters at random to move around like living creatures. They would hide behind another Supernova to use that one as a shield. They had several strategies for escaping an Object’s anti-air lasers.

They were old weapons that had been abandoned more than two decades ago.

Just like performing a cyber attack on a computer with no updates at all, anyone could hijack them. But…

“What idiot is borrowing them for some cheap plot?”

Frolaytia clenched her teeth.

No matter who did this or why, the Supernovas were loaded with thermobaric warheads capable of turning everything within 1.2 kilometers into ash. What if the Princess missed just one? If it landed on a domed stadium or soccer field being used as a shelter, tens of thousands of lives would be burned away in an instant.

And now dozens of those Supernovas were descending at once.

===Part 7===

The Princess also clenched her teeth.

“…Ksshh… Tch. There’s a drop in my accuracy…ksshh!”

“I think the Supernova fragments are functioning like chaff.”

“How are you managing?”

“I am still fine.”

“Oh ho ho. Yes, I should probably leave this type of job to the First Generation.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

They had not been coordinating their actions. They had simply been aiming for the same target with multiple laser beams to increase the density of their barrage. So even if the Information Alliance’s Rush began to malfunction, it would not create a hole right away. The Princess had not been relying on her to that extent.

She could still do this.

Everything was fine.

The Baby Magnum was designed to intercept a MIRV that broke apart at high altitude and scattered dozens of small nuclear warheads, so its anti-air defenses were more than enough.

However…

That was when something else happened.

“…?”

The Princess was overcome by a sense that something was wrong.

===Part 8===

“It’s all over…”

The old man was muttering something as Quenser held onto him.

He repeated the same thing over and over again.

“We’re done for. It wouldn’t take that trajectory. There’s only one explanation…”

“What are you on about?”

“It’s a little soon to get all apocalyptic, old man. Our Princess will blow away the Supernovas. You shouldn’t make those meaningful sounding comments. All those books explaining Nostradamus became nothing but laughing stocks once the new millennium began. Of course, those people are just like the ones who write diet books; no matter how many times they fail, they’ll always look for new material.”

“Should I make him talk?” asked Catherine with a tilt of the head.

Quenser held out his empty hand to stop her. She may have just wanted to show off, but he had to stop her from hurting or harming the old man. And this would not get her any stamps for her quota sheet.

“No, not that.”

Faires Appetizer’s shoulders shook as he cut in.

He looked to the two idiots and continued his confession.

“That puny manmade model doesn’t matter.”

“?”

“You don’t know?”

He actually looked shocked.

One of the Information Alliance’s leading astronomers revealed a piece of trivia.

“Today we will receive an astronomy show that occurs only once every 500 years. This is the day the Appetizer Asteroid passes closest to earth.”

===Part 9===

“This is not good…”

Frolaytia gulped inside the mission command patrol boat.

She wanted to believe the report was in error, but praying would not change reality.

“Princess!! There’s another problem making a descent along with the Supernova! It’s a 500 meter mass. It’s almost certainly the Appetizer Asteroid!!”

“…What? No one told me about that!”

“I only just learned about it. I want to punch that Appetizer old man who so casually announced the predicted trajectory of approach, but we have to respond to the situation as it is. We’ve left the safe track we all thought we were on. At this rate, it’ll fall right on Second Venice!!”

“But Frolaytia…”

“We have to do it. It’s 500 meters, so if it hits, we can’t avoid a new ice age. This problem is no longer isolated to the resort island.”

“My anti-air lasers can’t completely destroy an asteroid. And when it breaks apart in midair, a shockwave will pummel the area!”

“…”

On occasion, a giant scorch mark with a radius of several dozen to a hundred kilometers would be found in the empty mountains or desert. However, that was not caused by a UFO crashing or an out-of-place artifact. It came from the explosion caused by a meteor or asteroid breaking apart in midair before striking the surface.

If the same thing happened here, it would cause great damage to Second Venice and Malta.

At 500 meters, even the smaller fragments were a serious threat. They could create craters across the artificial island and even knock over the high-rise buildings.

But…

“If we let it hit, the entire earth will fall into an ice age.”

“Kh.”

“So do it, Princess!! The responsibility falls on me. Focus on that asteroid!!”

===Part 10===

In that instant, the Information Alliance’s Second Generation Rush calmly passed the baton even though it was meant to protect Second Venice. Was the Elite leaving this to the Legitimacy Kingdom First Generation because she was not used to this sort of ballistic interception, or was she refusing to take responsibility for any actions not in her manual?

The Princess clenched her teeth.

Her goggles read the movements of her eyes and targeted the giant mass.

Her fingertip touched the protrusion on the surface of the lever she held.

She breathed in and out.

She made up her mind.

Blinding light surrounded the Appetizer Asteroid and it was broken into six blocks in midair.

===Part 11===

They had no idea what had happened.

“Owwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

Quenser and Heivia dove into a nearby building as a violent gust of wind blew gray dust toward them. The building seemed to be a bank that specialized in the foreign accounts the wealthy tended to use. Quenser realized he no longer held onto Faires Appetizer, but now was not the time to worry about that. All of the glass in the city shattered and a downpour of transparent blades poured down toward them.

“Are you okay?”

Catherine Blueangel alone did not seem particular bothered.

That little bikini devil’s specs were on an entirely different level, but they did not have time to comment on that.

“Cough! Cough!!”

“Dammit… What was that!?”

They heard the deep, unpleasant sound of something bending. Quenser got up using the small hand Catherine held out to him and then he looked to the ceiling. Large cracks were running through it and they were spreading.

“Oh, no. Oh, no! Is the building going to collapse!?”

“Idiot! Don’t just run outside! It’s more dangerous out there!!”

Quenser immediately tried to run, but Heivia grabbed his arm and pulled him back just as an adjacent building collapsed. Gray dust spread like cotton candy and entered their building thanks to the broken glass.

“What? Cough. I don’t have any survival training. What’s the right thing to do!?”

“I don’t know either, dammit. Frolaytia! Hey, busty commander! Tell us what happened!!”

Beyond the thick curtain of dust, Heivia shouted angrily into his radio, but no one replied. Was the dust reflecting the signal like chaff, or were the people on the other end in no state to reply?

“Oh, good. My stamp card is safe.”

Catherine peeked inside the bag that held her special suit and gave a cheerfully out-of-place comment, so Quenser grabbed her small hand and started to move.

“Hm? Wait, big brother. I think my bikini is about to come undone again.”

“Which knot!?”

“The one on my left hip.”

They broke through the dusty air as he took care of that.

They wanted to see what had happened.

[[Image:HO_v12_056.jpg|thumb]]

They reached the elevator button, but it did not react. They climbed a few floors on the nearby stairs and entered an office full of computers that looked set up for investing. They approached the window whose reinforced glass had been broken by the shockwave and secured a view of the city.

“Wow,” said small Catherine.

It looked like the end of the world.

Several of the tidy-looking high-rise buildings had been knocked over and the giant villas on the rooftops had been slammed to the ground. One building falling must have affected those around it because the ordered cityscape had been crudely stained like an arrangement of dominos that had failed to topple properly. The residents and tourists had been evacuated, but they could still see fires here and there. There had likely been electrical or gas trouble. The resort island’s blue skies and sea breeze were surrounded by the color gray and simply breathing in the air made them want to go get a health checkup.

“The whole place is messed up. But there’s a pattern to the collapsed buildings. It’s like there are a few different craters.”

“Did the Princess fail to intercept the Supernova?”

“That thing was thermobaric and would’ve turned the entire city to ashes.”

“Then…”

Quenser and Heivia exchanged a glance.

“Don’t tell me that old man was right.”

“Did an asteroid really hit!? You’ve gotta be kidding me!!”

Quenser cut across the floor so he could see the ocean. His radio was useless, but he still wanted to see the Baby Magnum with his own eyes.

But…

“Hey, look…”

“What is it, Quen-…what the hell is that!!!??”

Only Heivia’s yell rang through the air.

The broken window gave them a view of the coast through the buildings. The Baby Magnum should have reigned supreme beyond that.

But its spherical main body had been badly torn apart.

The Object looked like an empty box of chocolates after it was stepped on.

This was medium to heavy damage. There was no chance it could move properly now.

“The Princess fought to the end.” Quenser blankly stated his guess as to what had happened. “But it wasn’t enough. She didn’t make it in time. The asteroid broke into a few different pieces in midair and fell on the city. And one of those hit the Baby Magnum!!”

“That’s a big deal, but what do we do now? They aren’t going to blame us for failing to stop the asteroid, are they!? I don’t want to spend the rest of my summer doing construction work to restore an enemy nation’s resort island. And all of these villas have to have been expensive!!”

The two idiots exchanged a glance, but blonde braided Catherine was innocently – if not cruelly – unfazed.

“What are you going to do, big brother?”

“If that was the last explosion, we don’t have to worry about any more glass shards raining down on us, right?”

“But entire buildings could collapse after a delay. Wouldn’t it be best to stay here until things settle down?”

“You have a point. …But what if this bank itself falls over?”

Silence fell.

Heivia scratched at his dusty bangs before answering.

“I guess that’s not an option. Let’s get back to the maintenance base zone.”

“Is that fine with you, Catherine? Do you want to get back to Malta?”

Quenser and Heivia cautiously stepped out into the gray city. Catherine seemed to be enjoying herself as she followed them, or maybe she was giving the boys an appraising look.

The oppressive sun was entirely gone now. A thick gray curtain covered everything instead. But this was not a normal raincloud. It was all the soot and dust produced when the asteroid had exploded in midair. Closer to the ground, dust rapidly expanded like dirty cotton candy near the collapsed buildings. All glass had been shattered, the buildings were tilted, and devices the size of vending machines – transformers for the underground power lines – were bent and emitting sparks. Thick cables dangled down onto the ground and even into the spider web of canals.

“Looks like we should give up on using a water scooter.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to find one. Did they sink or were they washed away by the waves caused by the shockwave? Dammit.”

Luckily, most of the people had been evacuated to theatres and stadiums. The entire area was covered with glass, but they did not see any bloody people groaning in pain. If the place had been as busy as it normally was, they would have seen a true hell.

That was when they heard a low rumbling.

Quenser looked up and grimaced.

“Wait, really…?”

He felt something cold on his nose.

The next thing he knew, rain was pouring down on them.

“Damn. That was originally water vapor and dust, so can it really make rainclouds? And the broken transformers are sending sparks everywhere!!”

This was not over yet.

Traveling had been easy enough when using a water scooter in the canals, but it took much longer once they had to walk through the ruined city on foot. And that was true even from the south side, which was closest to Malta.

Heivia wiped sweat from his brow and groaned.

“What the hell? The raindrops are dirty…”

“They’ve got the asteroid’s dust in them. It would be best not to let any get in your mouth, Catherine.”

“I won’t do that.”

Large raindrops poured down. It was a truly unnatural downpour produced by clouds of dust. It sounded like radio static and the three of them could only drag their heavy bodies along like zombies.

“We can’t get through here with the building collapsed…”

“Big brother, the way is clear over there.”

“We can’t use that because of the broken transformer. See how the area is soaked with rainwater? We don’t know how far the electricity is getting, so it would be best not to approach.”

“Hey, the building collapsed, but there’s still a way through in the center. We can’t just sit around. It would be faster to cut through.”

They walked down that path to return to the maintenance base.

Each step felt like a gamble. It was like betting the chips of their lives on information of dubious accuracy. They took each step slowly and cautiously, so when a bridge was out, it could take an hour to find another way across.

By the time they were close to the maintenance base zone, it was already growing dark. They had known this was a midsummer resort, but the constant barrage of raindrops had a way of sapping their strength. It felt like they had soaked inside a hot bath until the heat had permeated the core of their bodies.

And as they made that nerve-racking journey, something changed.

“Wh-what…?”

Quenser looked around while dragging along his uniform that was heavy with water.

“There’s a ton of people here. I thought they were all evacuated.”

“Don’t ask me, dammit. Don’t tell me this wave of people is-…yeah, I was right. They’re headed for our base, aren’t they?”

A lot of them had nothing but the shirt on their back. Some were young women in rain-soaked swimsuits or bunny suits and some were macho men in thin armor made from light aluminum or something. Normally, those people would probably ask a tourist to take a commemorative photo with them and then charge an outrageous fee. The people in berets and carrying art sets did the same thing after painting someone’s portrait. Some people were holding their surfboards up to keep out the rain and others were using several café parasols to create a hemispherical tent.

Perhaps because this was a world-class seaside luxury resort, a lot of people were carrying expensive cameras.

“This is Monica, the idol reporter who can both dance and sing! It’s fine, it’s fine. I can review the five-star hotel in my bikini later! And how many times are you going to wake me up to try to scare me!? I’m getting awful tired of it!! An asteroid hit? Let’s document that! We can figure out whether or not we can sell it to a communications company later!! Um, we are in front of the Legitimacy Kingdom maintenance base zone and…”

“!!!”

“Hm? What is it, Quenser?”

“Oh, nothing,” said the student as he ducked his head down. He had apparently spotted someone in the crowd who he wanted to avoid.

Also, some in the crowd were using their portrait art sets in an odd way.

“Hey, some of them are holding up signs.”

Once the little black bikini devil pointed it out, Quenser and Heivia finally noticed. The crowd grew denser as they drew closer to the base and that was due to more than confusion over the sudden disaster. There was definite anger there and it was focused on a single issue.

“What’s going to happen to us now!?”

“S-Second Venice is a manmade island. Without food and water, we’ll wither away!!”

“The military needs to take responsibility and protect us! I have a baby to look after!!”

Heivia looked puzzled.

“Tch. What? They’ve started protesting?”

“But Heivia, it’s true that food and water are a serious issue. How many people are there here on Second Venice?”

“Myonri said nearly 130,000.”

“Our unit can’t feed that many.”

“Are you serious about that? First off, our battalion has 1000 people. We keep enough supplies to feed us all for 30 days. And that’s assuming three meals a day. Put up with some hunger and limit ourselves to one meal a day and that number triples. That alone gives us enough for 90,000. And don’t forget that the Rush’s Oh Ho Ho has her unit stationed here.” Heivia sounded exasperated. “Besides, this isn’t a desert on the moon. It’s a Mediterranean resort. The Legitimacy Kingdom and Faith Organization’s home countries are right there. Surviving on our own might be tough, but transport ships can reach us in a matter of hours. No matter how long it takes to recover, we’ll have plenty of supplies if we can last a day or two. We might actually head back fatter than we arrived.”

“Is that…how it works?”

“It is. Not to mention that Second Venice is known as a spy’s paradise because the wealthy of all four world powers can relax here and forget all about war. No one’s going to abandon this place. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to do some favors to make some debts. Hand over our tasteless soap-like rations now and we might get gold bars the same size in return.”

Heivia was entirely carefree.

And once they started listening, they could hear a voice answering the shouting crowd. A familiar voice was amplified by a handheld megaphone.

“Don’t push! Please don’t push! We have food enough for everybody, so please wait your turn!”

“Myonri got the short end of the stick again, did she?”

Quenser relaxed when he heard that awful friend’s voice.

But then he heard the unique dry sound of bursting gunpowder.

A fireworks-like smell mixed with a rusty flavor.

The crowd ground to a halt like a malfunctioning machine and then it tried to scatter in every direction. But that caused them to run into each other, knock each other over, and trip each other up.

Meanwhile, a high-pitched voice came from beyond the human curtain. The scream passed over everyone’s heads and could have been a male or female voice.

Whoever it belonged to, it said the following:

“Like I said!! Hurry up and hand over the foooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!”

''Oh, no,'' thought Quenser.

The discomfort of the pouring rain vanished from his mind. This was no time for that, so his brain automatically narrowed down his information to the absolute essentials.

He could sense an invisible pressure approaching through the gaps in the crowd.

He felt someone's eyes on him.

A large and enraged man in a tank top had tears and snot covering his face as he aimed their way with a gun that was clearly not a civilian model. It looked like the fusion of a semi-auto grenade launcher and a close-range handgun. And he did not seem to care how many other people were around.

“This is really bad…!!”

===Part 12===

The Baby Magnum had grown terribly misshapen thanks to the direct hit from a piece of the Appetizer Asteroid, but the Princess remained in the cockpit. The reactor and the system’s core were still functioning. Even if she could not pull off any high-speed combat, she would still make for a decent threat as a stationary gun platform. It was not yet time for her to leave the Object.

And as she took a short rest, some dangerous thoughts entered her mind.

(Just when I began to intercept the Appetizer Asteroid…)

She looked down from the sky and saw the Rush calmly leaving.

The Princess glared at the Object.

(She fired a jamming signal my way?)

Various suspicions filled her heart as a new war began.

Under the extreme environment of this disaster, international law and war treaties no longer applied.

A truly hopeless war was beginning.

===External Document – A Will Written in Advance===

They asked me if I wanted my name to go down in history.

Currently, almost 36,000 asteroids have been observed and registered by astronomers. They are named after the Greek gods, after the discoverer, or after a product like a sports drink or a search engine.

Naming it the Appetizer Asteroid was a form of legacy right there.

But that achievement did not stand out and was unknown to the general public. Someone with unique interests would have to search again and again before seeing that legacy.

But the number of asteroids which have entered the atmosphere and hit the earth is much lower. Ones that did not break up in the atmosphere and retained their shape can be counted on your fingers.

It would be a top ten achievement.

No one could help but see the bright light of that legacy.

All they asked me to do was overlook it. Just like any astronomer would, I carefully observed the asteroid I had discovered and named after myself. No one observed it more obsessively than me. So I noticed something was wrong almost immediately. They just wanted me to overlook it.

I still have my doubts.

I don’t think I will ever rid myself of those doubts.

I don’t know what exactly they are trying to do. How can an amateur guess at what the military is after? But if the Appetizer Asteroid hits the surface, it will cause incredible damage. Enough to change this age of clean wars ruled by Objects.

I don’t know what kind of legacy this will be.

Perhaps this is how researchers feel when a strange parasite or killer virus is named after them.

This legacy will undoubtedly leave my name in history.

But I will always have my doubts. Even if mankind is covered in a layer of ice and snow, I will forever wander that white and hellish wasteland as a ghost.

<noinclude>{{HEAVYOBJECT Nav|prev=HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Prologue|next=HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Chapter 2}}</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume1 Chapter 1

2014-11-05T21:23:20Z

184.71.60.230: Tes should be Yes

[[Image:OnC_v01_0032-0033.png|thumb]]
''It was probably at that moment

''When that which had been stopped

''Began moving once more

—''To me, trying to find or soothe oneself is nothing more than an illusion.

==Chapter 1: Sayama’s Beginning==
[[Image:OnC_v01_0035.png|thumb]]
''The privilege of those who know themselves

''Is being able to restrict oneself

''There is no more relying on others

Below the blue sky were two rows of blossoming cherry trees.

The road between those two rows led to a cement wall surrounding a large area of land. The stone gatepost at the opening to the west was inscribed with the words “Takaakita Academy”.

The schedule posted on the gate read “spring break” and the gate itself sat open with no one to pass through.

Once one passed through the gate, the central road continued with the cherry trees on either side.

These trees were in full bloom as well. Continuing further led to a half hectare general sports ground to the right and a martial arts facility as large as a great hall to the left.

Continuing straight on led not to a school building but to a faculty building.

The school buildings were lined up in all four compass points with the faculty building at the center. This was all one school, but other than the six general school buildings, it was broken down by specialization. To provide a proper environment, some of the school buildings were surrounded by rows of trees, but others had a research plant equipped with a silo or an asphalt course for test driving.

The buildings built very nearby those school buildings were the student dormitories.

This school took up the area that would cover three-fourths of a city. It had a few shopping districts, farms, and factories on the grounds and a lot of the city’s people lived inside it.

And every facility within possessed a certain mark.

It was the mark of IAI, the Izumo Aviation Institute. IAI supported this academy city.

However, the academy was nearly deserted during spring break.

This was even true for the western general school buildings nearest the main gate.

A single figure could be seen at the 2nd year general education building just north of the faculty building.

A boy stood on the 2nd story landing of the emergency staircase.

Despite it being spring break, the boy wore his school uniform, blazer and all, and the buttons of his shirt were buttoned all the way up to the collar.

His hair was slicked back and a single stripe of white could be seen on either side. Below that hair were sharp eyes and a sharp face.

He was looking up into the sky.

Floating in the blue sky were thin white clouds and the shadow of an airplane making a wide curve through the air.

“So the American soldiers at Yokota are not taking a break either. They also prefer high places like me. And they too do not return home even when they have the chance,” he said.

He swung up his left arm and the sleeve slid down. A white scar could be seen on his left fist and he wore a woman’s ring on the middle finger. A silver wristwatch was also revealed on his left wrist. The hands pointed to 2:30 PM.

He pulled a single piece of paper from his pocket.

“Sayama Mikoto-sama. To complete the transfer of rights left with us by your grandfather, the late Sayama Kaoru-shi, we ask that you visit the Okutama IAI General Tokyo Facility on March 30 at 6 PM.”

It was an invitation. That simple text was followed by an IAI map and the name of the one inviting Sayama.

“IAI section chief, Ooshiro Kazuo, hm?”

…''The old man, hm?

When Sayama’s grandfather had died, that elderly man had been the first to come rushing over for the funeral. The tall, gray-haired man always wore a white coat at IAI. The two of them would speak every once in a while and the man seemed to enjoy it when Sayama called him “old man”.

But as Sayama looked at the invitation, he muttered, “My grandfather was a corporate blackmailer, so what rights could he have had at IAI?”

He turned around to find the emergency exit and the wall. The aluminum door was polished, but the wall was dirty with sand and dust. Out of sudden curiosity, he approached the wall and touched it. The sand came off and stuck to his finger.

“Hm…”

Just as he wiped off his finger, the emergency exit moved a bit.

A young woman in personal clothes poked her head out through the slight opening. As the bangs of her short brown hair waved, her blue eyes turned in the direction Sayama had been not long before. “Huh?” she said and tilted her head.

Sayama said, “Over here, Ooki-sensei. You must have a lot of free time to be at school during spring break.”

Hearing that, the woman named Ooki frowned and turned around.

“I was sleeping and-…wait, the same goes for you. Are you trying to fully enjoy your youth by staring into the sky in a place like this? Also, Sayama-kun.”

“What is it? If you have a question, then out with it.”

“Okay, my first question: Why do you speak like that to your teacher?”

“That is my acting style. You lose as soon as you question it, Ooki-sensei. Now, any other questions?”

“Okay, my second question: If I punch a student during spring break does it count as school violence?”

“It does not matter as long as no one finds out. So who are you planning to punch? This must be quite a troublemaker if they can anger you.”

“And my final question: …Have you ever looked in a mirror?”

“I use one for a good long time every day. You really do like asking such obvious questions.”

“I was an idiot to try asking questions to someone filled with such originality. In fact, are you sure that acting style is okay?”

In response to that annoyed comment, Sayama removed his hand from the wall and swiped it forcefully through the air. The cloth of the sleeve let out a noise.

“Do not worry. I act this way to everyone. I intend to head down that path in the future, after all. It may be selfish of me, but I do not want people to say I suddenly started acting full of myself when I grow up. …This may give you some trouble though.”

Ooki’s neck relaxed and she gave a bitter smile at that last line.

“You should probably say that last part to the other teachers as well. Oh, but it seems I will be your homeroom teacher next year as well.”

“So you managed to get one of the best students in your class. Excellent work for a newcomer teacher with little authority.”

“Would you sympathize with me if I told you the other teachers were forcing the excellent but overly individual students on me?”

Sayama placed a hand on Ooki’s shoulder and nodded with a completely serious expression.

“If you seek sympathy, it is all over for you, Ooki-sensei. Although you may be almost there already.”

“Sorry, this is irritating me, so it would be nice if you would stop.” Ooki walked out onto the emergency staircase with her eyes half closed. She scratched at her head and said, “Talking with you really exhausts me. You take everything so seriously.”

Sayama gave a slight smile at that.

“Seriously? I-…”

“You don’t? But you were elected vice president in the student council election and your grades are excellent.”

“True,” said Sayama with a nod. He folded his arms and thought for a bit. Three seconds later, “I have never once gotten serious. …I just can’t make myself want to.”

“…Eh?”

Sayama ignored Ooki’s questioning voice and shrugged.

“Then again, everything I run across in school ends before I even have a chance to get serious. I was once scolded by my grandfather. He told me not to settle for being the ruler of a small place.”

“I see,” said Ooki with a nod. She leaned up against the emergency staircase landing’s railing. “Your grandfather was an amazing person. Compared to him, I can see where you are coming from.”

“Yes. Compared to my grandfather who would give Japan’s economy a nice smack from the shadows, the vice president of this academy city is nothing.”

“It’s more than nothing.”

“But it is true I have never actually tested myself. During the race for vice president, my opponent grew so desperate by the end that he even danced around naked in an attempt to gain more popularity. He was simply no match for me.”

“Were you the one that fired a bottle rocket at his butt while he was performing that nude dance?”

“No, that was Izumo while he was crushing everyone else in the presidential race. He even used a metal pipe as a gun barrel to increase his accuracy. Not something you would expect of a third year.”

“In that case, I won’t ask who blew up the stage afterwards…”

“That would be for the best. Are you gradually learning how to get along in life, Ooki-sensei?”

“Yes, yes. But I’m starting to get worried about being the next advisor for the student council…” Ooki frowned and sighed before continuing. “Is school really that boring to you?”

Sayama stopped moving when he heard that.

He turned his gaze to meet that of Ooki’s blue eyes.

After a short pause, he gave a small shake of the head.

“I have no complaints with the school. It is true the student council election and the tests are all such small things that I do not need to grow serious about. However, that does not mean school is boring. It is only natural to feel that school is a small place. And I think that school has its own unique things to enjoy.”

“What a complicated child…”

After falling silent for a short while, Ooki bent her back over the railing she was leaning against and looked up into the sky.

Meanwhile, Sayama glanced at his watch. It was 2:50.

“Ooki-sensei, I think I should get back to my dorm soon.”

“Are you leaving soon?”

“Yes. After changing into a suit, I need to receive something similar to my grandfather’s will.”

Sayama opened the emergency exit. Ooki frantically got up from the railing and charged through the open door. Sayama also entered the school building as he closed the door.

Sayama walked through the hallway alongside Ooki. The last school newspaper of the year was attached to the classroom-side wall. The First PR Club put out the paper weekly. It generally carried articles related to IAI and this issue contained the school’s employment rate to IAI as well as a few other pieces of news.

Ooki stopped as she looked over at an article at her eyelevel which was one level below Sayama’s.

“They have detected an extrasolar star system with a high probability of being habitable. …That’s amazing!”

“It’s only been discovered. Just looking at this article will tell you how difficult a problem anything further would be.”

Sayama pointed at another article. The article’s photograph showed a giant pile of machinery lying collapsed on a large area of asphalt.

“According to this, they created an 8-meter-tall bipedal robot and it failed spectacularly. The joints were made too weak so its knees broke just from walking. …No matter what we may discover, it means nothing if we do not have the technology to use it.”

“Hm. So it’s the same as spotting a good-looking girl but not knowing how to talk to her.”

“I am glad you are so wise. Is that something you told yourself as an excuse?”

“Well, last Christmas, some of my friends and I…wait, no.”

When Ooki said that, Sayama realized she was looking up at his face.

''Why is she staring?'' he wondered.

“Is it that rare to see me smile?”

“No, it’s not that it’s rare. It’s interesting.”

Ooki began walking once more. Sayama followed.

Ooki asked, “Can I ask you about your grandfather?”

“Of course,” replied Sayama.

He had nothing to hide.

And so he spoke. He talked about a lot as they walked.

He told her how his grandfather had left the war during World War 2 and had begun researching something.

“And it seems the Izumo Aviation Institute was involved at the time. After the war, he used the connections and discoveries he had made as a base to set out into the financial world and become a corporate blackmailer.”

“A corporate blackmailer, hm?”

“He did a lot of pretty horrible things. …Every time he was in the newspaper, he would give the following line.”

Ooki nodded and cut in.

“ ‘The surname Sayama indicates a villain’, right? I saw it once in a weekly magazine.”

“That’s right. My grandfather was a villain through and through. When he saw some giant opponent as an enemy or evil, he would fight them by becoming an even greater evil. And…that is also why I do not want to grow serious about anything.”

“That is?”

“I am inexperienced. ‘The surname Sayama indicates a villain.’ My grandfather always told me my abilities were meant to perform necessary evils. However, I lost him when all he had taught me was how to do it.”

“So… You don’t know when the evil you perform is truly necessary?”

“Yes. I do not want to die, so there may be times when I will get serious. However, growing serious when I cannot tell if it is truly necessary is a frightening thing.”

As he spoke, Sayama suddenly brought his right hand to the left side of his chest.

As he brought his hand inside his coat and held his chest, Ooki spoke without turning toward him.

“It sounds like you have it tough in your own way.”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Then can I ask you about your father?”

“Why?”

“I never asked last year despite being your homeroom teacher, and…” The ends of her eyebrows lowered. “I think this is part of a teacher’s job.”

Sayama nodded as he lightly held the left side of his chest. After taking a breath, he spoke.

“There is nothing to worry about. It is a simple issue. More importantly, how much do you know, Ooki-sensei? I am curious.”

Ooki glanced upwards and folded her arms.

“Your father was adopted by your grandfather and he entered IAI at the same time as your mother. However, he was killed in the great Kansai earthquake at the end of 95. Your mother, um, well, brought you with her and-…”

Ooki trailed off and Sayama smiled bitterly.

“Before I tell you not to worry about it, I need to correct some of that. My father died as a secondary casualty of the earthquake when he was sent by IAI for earthquake relief.”

Sayama took a breath. He held up his empty left hand. That scarred left fist had a women’s ring on the middle finger. The pearl decoration glittered a bit in the dimly lit hallway.

Ooki turned to look at it as she walked.

However, Sayama also looked at the ring instead of looking at her.

“Go where those precious to you are waiting, hm?”

As his words deepened, Sayama felt as if something was moving within the left side of his chest.

It was pain.

And it felt like his chest was creaking.

It was coming.

And then Sayama saw Ooki looking up at him with her face completely pale.

“Sayama-kun. A-are you okay?”

He tried to answer “yes”, but he realized he was not breathing. When his body bent forward, he realized someone had suddenly started to support his chest.

Ooki had caught him from below.

“Ah…”

When he heard Ooki say that, all of his body’s senses returned.

He first felt exhaustion. He then felt he could breathe again and sweat poured from his back and legs.

He brought strength to his legs to stand up, but Ooki was still lightly holding her arms out toward him.

“A-are you okay?”

“I am fine.”

“Really? Okay? You are okay?”

“I am okay, but that is not correct English.” His body was now obviously returning to normal. He nodded and said, “I am fine, so do not worry. It seems I get stress-induced anginas from this topic.”

“Then why did you agree to talk about it?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to know? You truly are a horrible teacher if you forgot that.”

“Oh, but , um…”

As Ooki began frantically waving her hands in denial, Sayama smiled again.

“What are you trying to deny? Think about it. I am free to say what I want. And you are free to support me when I fall. I would say you performed the better deed here. Don’t you agree? But let me say one thing.” Sayama removed his right hand from his chest. “My mother would often tell me she hoped I could do something one day. I have to wonder if she ever did anything. And now the child raised hearing that has no idea what he can do. And so I must ask: what should I do?”

“I see… So you do not know what you can do.” Ooki nodded and her shoulders drooped. She looked up at Sayama and earnestly said, “I finally understand why you are so extreme about everything.”

“I cannot overlook that. Who are you calling extreme?”

“What? You didn’t hear me? I said it quite clearly. Is that a nose on the side of your head?”

Sayama’s left hand gave a lightning-fast flick against the forehead that had asked that question so seriously.

“Eeee,” groaned Ooki as she crouched down.

Sayama brought a hand to his chin and said, “Some teachers can say truly horrible things about their students.”

In the end, Sayama did not leave his dorm until past four.

It had taken time to put on the three-piece suit he had inherited from his grandfather and to prepare the seal and digital recording device needed for official records. He wrote down his time of departure at the dorm’s reception desk and left.

The sun was still in the sky.

He walked through the gravel clearing located between the general school buildings and the dorm. It normally functioned as a faculty parking lot. He was headed toward the main gate.

As he cut behind the second year general school building as a shortcut, he heard baby birds singing in the trees.

As he listened, Sayama heard two sounds other than the chirping of the birds.

The first was organ music coming from the music room on the second story of the school building.

“Silent Night…”

He recalled occasionally hearing it on the weekends. However, this was the first time he had been able to determine exactly where it was coming from. He wondered who was playing it, but it was so perfectly played that he assumed it was not a student.

And as the organ music played, another sound could be heard approaching.

It was the sound of a motorcycle engine. Specifically, the low tone of a 4-stroke.

As he heard that noise coming from the direction of the main gate, Sayama muttered, “Izumo and Kazami.”

He then walked out to the asphalt road west of the school building.

He looked out toward the faculty building, the vast sports ground, and the martial arts facility. He spotted two people riding a motorcycle appearing out from the side of the faculty building. Despite the large amount of exhaust, the black touring motorcycle moved smoothly along the road.

Aboard the motorcycle were a well-built young man wearing a thin brown coat and a girl with semi-short hair and carrying a black rucksack. The back bared by the girl’s white sleeveless top pointed in Sayama’s direction.

The two were chatting while riding the motorcycle.

Suddenly, the young man noticed Sayama. A friendly smile appeared on his fairly long face.

“Hey,” he said with a raised hand.

He then stopped the motorcycle next to Sayama.

The young man was over 180 cm tall and broad-shouldered, so he supported the weight of the heavy motorcycle with his leg.

The girl swayed gently and rested up against the young man’s back.

The young man smiled with the girl leaning up against him.

He looked up and said, “Where do you think you’re going, Sayama you idiot? To go spew insults at someone?”

Sayama brought a hand to his forehead and sighed.

With a troubled tone of voice, he said, “Izumo, unlike you, my brain is working properly. And I have never spewed insults at anyone, you sick bastard.”

“Sure, sure. Thanks for keeping up your acting style even during spring break.”

[[Image:OnC_v01_0051.png|thumb]]

“No need to thank me. But should the three top members of the student council really be having this sort of conversation?”

The young man, Izumo, smiled bitterly at that.

“Of course not,” he agreed.

The girl leaning on his back turned their way.

“Sayama, you’re going to IAI, right?”

“Yes, I am. Kazami, Izumo. What about you two?”

“I was just headed back to the dorm to have some fun with Chisato…kh!”

As he spoke, Izumo’s head twisted upwards. The girl named Kazami had grabbed at Izumo’s head and jaw from behind. A delicate sound came from Izumo’s neck and he gently fell backwards.

“Kaku, that is not what he asked. Sayama wanted to know where we had been.”

Izumo’s head came to rest on top of Kazami’s thighs and he stopped moving.

“There, there,” said Kazami as she stroked his head. She then showed Sayama the black rucksack next to her and smiled.

“We went into the city. We bought some clothes, new music, and other stuff for the All Holiday Festival. Being on the edge of Tokyo really makes you forget all about culture.”

“…I see. But you two are third years and you live together, right?”

The girl, Kazami, thought for a bit looking troubled, but then spoke.

“Well, that’s how it turned out. Now, when I try to mingle with the others, they’re overly cautious about how they treat me. My role in the dorm has become that of an older sister. An underclassman even apologized just for passing by me in the hall.”

“Your face seems to be turning to cement.”

Kazami turned her head down, said “Oh, sorry”, and relaxed her shoulders. She casually clapped a hand against Izumo who was lying motionless on her thighs.

“Don’t turn into an idiot like him, okay? He abuses his authority as the son of IAI.”

“It seems to me you are enjoying that abuse quite a lot.”

“I know that, and that’s why it angers me so much. He needs to at least take his student council job seriously.” Kazami raised her head to look Sayama in the eye. “Oh, right. Sayama, I was thinking of having our first student council job for the term in the 2nd year school building’s Kinugasa Library. Do you have time? The three of us can make some plans for the All Holiday Festival and Invitation Festival in the spring.”

“I have to head out today and I do not know how late I will be back.”

“We’re leaving for the city again tomorrow afternoon, so how about 9 AM tomorrow in the Kinugasa Library?”

“I can do that,” agreed Sayama. He glanced over at the school building next to them. “The Kinugasa Library, hm?”

On the western side of the second year general school building’s ground floor, an area four classroom’s length across was sticking out. It stuck out about the width of a classroom. Inside this space was an area equal to eight classrooms.

A look in the windows would show the backs of wooden panels. These thick wooden panels created the silhouettes of bookshelves.

The room was a library.

Almost the entire eight classroom space was filled with books and the hallway and basement had been used for extra book storage. That was the Kinugasa Library.

As Sayama glanced toward the library’s window, he heard Kazami speaking.

“The library created by the school’s founder isn’t a bad place for our first job, right? The librarian, old man Siegfried, may be unsociable, but he does put out tea. We used that place a fair bit during the election, so I was thinking we could continue to use it as our base.”

“This year’s treasurer certainly is different.”

“I think the president and vice president will be quite different as well. But what do you think? Are upperclassmen like us suitable for someone as prideful as you?”

“I think that statement alone shows you can compete with me when it comes to pride. …But at the very least, there is no one in this school who is better suited. Izumo Kaku, the son of IAI which supports this city of Akigawa, and Kazami Chisato, the girl who shares a room with him, are true problem children.”

“…”

“There is no way you two are ignorant of what the world says about you. I respect you for your ability to continue acting like this regardless.”

Hearing that, Kazami showed off her teeth slightly and looked down at Izumo who lay on her legs.

“Well, it doesn’t matter what people say. Kaku may cause problems, but he is not a bad person.”

“The same goes for you, Kazami.”

“Then what about you, Mr. Family of Villains?” Kazami raised her head to look at Sayama. She glanced up and down his suit. “You look good enough, but you make things difficult.”

“In what way?”

“I’m having difficulty imagining who would stand next to you. I can’t imagine someone to balance out your idiocy like Kaku is for me.”

“There is no one out there with enough power to handle me on an equal footing.”

“That isn’t what I mean.” Kazami gave a troubled smile. She lightly waved her hand front and back. “I’m talking about balance. Equals can only stand on the same side of the scales, right? You need a counterbalance.”

Sayama thought on the meaning of Kazami’s words.

And, “Someone like that would either be an opposing force or a hindrance.”

“So am I an opposing force or hindrance to Kaku?”

That question was spoken with a small smile. Sayama relaxed his shoulders.

“I do not know the answer to that, so I cannot argue about it with someone like you who does know the answer.”

“Oh, how honest.”

“I am an honest person, Kazami. It is just that, for some odd reason, I seem to end up in trouble for it from time to time. Is this what they mean when they say an honest man will look a fool? Yes, our ancestors said some excellent things.”

“Okay, sure. If that’s how you want to view it in your personal universe, I won’t stop you.”

Sayama smiled bitterly at that. He exchanged a glance with Kazami and spoke.

“Fine, then. I will admit relationships like yours and Izumo’s exist. However, I am doubtful the same could happen to me. I also think it is a problem to even think about placing someone like that next to me.”

“A problem?”

“The surname Sayama indicates a villain. What do you put next to evil?”

Kazami had no answer to that. She only let her shoulders droop and sighed.

“You really are a complicated person.”

“Ooki-sensei said the same thing earlier.”

“Everyone thinks it. We also wonder when exactly you will get serious about something.”

“I have never done it, so I couldn’t say. …And if I did, I am so inexperienced I would likely be afraid of myself.”

“…You really are complicated, Sayama.”

“You do not need to repeat yourself,” said Sayama with a smile before lightly tapping Izumo’s back where he lay unmoving as if asleep. “You’re awake, right? Hurry on back and dive headfirst into your unrestrained lifestyle.”

“Eh?” muttered Kazami as she looked down.

Izumo opened his eyes.

“Hey.”

“No, not ‘hey’. If you came to, why didn’t you get up?”

“You smell really good, Chisato.”

Izumo’s eyes bent upwards happily as Kazami blushed.

“Ha,” laughed Sayama before patting Kazami on the shoulder, turning his back, and walking off.

He continued toward the main gate.

As he did, he noticed a new figure.

Someone was walking down the stairs from the second floor of the 2nd year general school building.

It was a tall elderly man. He wore a black vest, black trousers, and black gloves. He was bald and had a beard.

“Siegfried Zonburg, the librarian.”

Sayama had spoken with him a few times during his student council work. The man used only the bare minimum of words.

“You do not often see him outside of the Kinugasa Library,” he muttered before continuing on.

He looked around once more and saw nothing but the scenery of the school near the peak of spring.

“Such a peaceful place…”

Behind him, he heard repeated sounds of flesh being struck followed by screams from Izumo.

The sun was setting in the west.

Below that setting sun, even a forest surrounded by mountains had light passing through it like wind.

The forest was primarily made up of cedars. A single figure was fallen in front of one of those trees.

The figure was sitting on the ground.

This middle-aged man sat such that the sun shined on him from the side. His close-cropped hair was wet with something so it reflected the sun. The liquid wetting his hair dripped down his forehead and dyed the left half of his face a dark color.

His clothes resembled a white and black military uniform. However, the left shoulder and left leg of that uniform had split open and something dark could be seen flowing out as he breathed erratically.

He stretched out his left hand and scratched at the ground. With the blood in his eyes, he might as well have been blind. His left hand wandered across the ground.

Eventually, he managed to pick something up from between the rocks and fallen leaves.

It was a long gun made of metal. The side was engraved with something written in German.

He embraced the gun tightly and took a deep breath. He stuck a finger into the pouch on his right hip.

“This is Tsuurin Daiichi. My current location is in the mountains near Point 3 between Okutama and Shiromaru. I succeeded in preventing the single enemy from escaping. I successfully read the enemy’s string vibration and sent it in. Currently…everyone but me has been taken out. Please hurry.”

A staticky voice replied from near his throat. It was a female voice.

“Testament. The special division is on their way. We will send aid for you as well, so withdraw.”

“Yes. …Or so I’d like to say. Unfortunately, my leg was taken out. And my healing tools and spells were destroyed along with it. I only have my favorite weapon left to rely on. …When I asked you to hurry, I meant the special division, not aid for me.” He took a deep breath while sweating profusely. “The enemy is from a faction of 1st-Gear’s revolutionary army. Yes, a werewolf from the second royal palace faction. He likely came for negotiations with the pacifist faction. He must have had a 1st-Gear philosopher’s stone because he turned into a wolf in this real world.”

“Do not speak. The concept space will be deployed in another five minutes.”

“Ha ha. Make it so a silver bullet will work. Also, young girl…or is it young lady? Anyway, you don’t think this is our fault, do you?”

He was met with silence. He cast his eyes down before continuing.

“Fine. It was our mistake for deciding to go. In the standard division, we have the right to choose…right?”

Once again, he received only silence. Yet he did not stop.

“What unit are you from? Even in the special division, not many units have women in them. But I think there was one put together recently. A unit filled with beautiful UCAT-raised girls and women. I think it was the IAI-…”

He stopped speaking. His eyes opened wide and he stood up by using the tree behind him as a support.

“Hey, when I get back, meet me with flowers. It’ll be a triumphant return. What’s in bloom this time of year?”

“Testament. I think Primula modesta and the like are.”

“No, you’re supposed to say you are.”

He laughed and removed his right hand from the pouch. He moved the long gun from his left hand to his right. He bit the strap, used the stock and grip in his right hand to create three points of support, and faced forward.

He heard wind ahead of him.

A large shadow could be seen in the setting sun shining on the mountain. It was slowly approaching while swaying back and forth.

There was no sign. He simply followed the sound of the wind and squeezed the trigger.

A gunshot travelled across the forest along with the light of the setting sun.

Sayama opened his eyes aboard a train running through the mountains on the way to Okutama.

He had dozed off due to the setting sun shining on his seated back. And he had woken up due to…

“The train has stopped?”

He glanced around the train. The only passengers besides himself were two people seated a short distance away.

One was a white-haired man wearing a black suit. The other was a white-haired girl wearing black clothes and seated next to him. They may have been father and daughter and they were looking outside the opposite window.

Sayama followed their gaze out the window.

There he found the mountains of Okutama. They were all formed from round shapes and no small hills could be seen.

“So we are around the second tunnel near Shiromaru. Only one more stop to Okutama.”

He was familiar with the terrain here. He continued speaking while looking out at those similar-looking mountains.

“This is thanks to Hiba-sensei forcing me to run through these mountains.”

…''If I had not learned the land, I would not have been found until spring.

Sayama nodded and looked down at his left hand. His skin was white around the bones of his fist as if something had scattered across it. His eyes turned toward the ring on the middle finger of that scarred fist.

“It was also around here that we got out of the car when my mother took me with her back then…” he muttered.

According to his watch, it was 5:30 PM. He was to be at IAI at 6:00 PM.

When he calculated the time, his heart seemed to stiffen. He stood up, raised his suit collar to fix it with a snapping noise, and approached the two other passengers. The white-haired man raised his head. The man was wearing sunglasses, but Sayama could tell the man was looking at him. Sayama gave a quick bow.

“Excuse me. Why is the train stopped?”

“It received a stop signal. Once it is released, it will return to Shiromaru.”

The man’s tone had a bit of amusement mixed in and Sayama realized he was younger than he looked. Sayama had initially assumed he was elderly, but a closer look showed he was only just entering middle age.

The girl next to him wore the black dress and white apron of a maid. She was not the man’s daughter.

…''I had heard the ownership of a lot of the mountains around here stretches way back.

Sayama noticed the girl was holding a staff. It was a metal cane that could be attached to the wrist. It was clearly too long for her to use. However, Sayama ended his investigation of them here. He needed to know something else.

“Why is this train returning?”

“Maybe there was an accident.”

“I see,” nodded Sayama, realizing the man must not know the details either.

Suddenly, the girl sitting next to the man looked up at Sayama. With her eyebrows lying flat and no discernible expression on her face, her black eyes that were almost purple peered deep into Sayama’s eyes.

She took a breath and then opened her mouth.

“My apologies,” she said in a low, fairly mature voice.

“Think nothing of it,” said Sayama before turning his back on the two of them.

He opened the opposite window and heard the same voice as before from behind him.

“Are you getting out?”

“I cannot go back. Also, someone is waiting for me.”

“You are being hasty. The train might soon continue forward. Once you regret a decision, it is too late to turn back.”

“I do not know what god of advice you are, but let me tell you something. A decision can lead to joy just as easily as it can regret. I appreciate your concern, but I know this land. And is there anything truly dangerous in this world?”

“True… That is very true. There is no danger in this world,” said the man before closing his mouth in a smile below the sunglasses.

As soon as the man spread his legs out from the seat, Sayama stuck his legs out the window and jumped out.

He landed on the gravel supporting the railroad. He ran out into the open air and onto the mountainside bathed in the light of the setting sun.

“…”

Sayama did not turn back toward the train up the slope from him. He continued through the forest spreading out before him.

He trampled the underbrush as he headed down the mountain.

After only a few breaths, he sank into the shadows produced by the forest. The setting sun coming from the side and the branches of the trees drew a grid of shadows across him. This light and air were familiar to him.

“It’s been two years since I stopped coming to Okutama. I suppose the Hiba Dojo is still around.”

As he muttered that comment, he heard a metallic noise from behind him.

A whistle sounded and the train began to move. He heard it move up toward Shiromaru. The sound of the receding wheels told Sayama he had made the right decision.

“Good,” he said with a nod as he quickened his pace.

Shiromaru Station was an unmanned train station.

When the train came to a stop, the few passengers disinterestedly exited onto the long, narrow platform.

A short distance away from those bored individuals were the two people Sayama had spoken to just before.

The white-haired man held the cane in one hand as he stood next to a card-only payphone located in the shadow of a private home outside the station.

The girl dressed as a maid stood in front of him holding the receiver for the green telephone.

She pulled a bundle of telephone cards from her apron like it was a deck of playing cards.

She quickly lined the cards up in front of the green phone and turned toward the man.

“Itaru-sama. Why do you not carry a cell phone?”

“Because I am a coward, Sf. Remember that. If the phone rang, it would probably give me a heart attack.”

“How about I carry it for you?”

“No. You have not acquired the skill to take messages. If you cannot always answer as if I am gone even when I am with you, there is no point in you having a cell phone. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I understand that possessing one would be meaningless on a fundamental level.”

The girl called Sf stopped lining up the cards while looking at him. She was lining up the well-used cards in order of number of uses. The punch holes showing the number of uses lined up perfectly without the slightest deviation.

Sf casually picked up one card with few uses left and slid it into the green phone.

She used her right fingers to instantly dial a number.

A few seconds later, “This is Sf. Registration Number 9609812B. Connect me to extension #0013.”

Sf then handed the receiver to the man next to her. He took it and spoke.

“This is Ooshiro Itaru. Has Team Leviathan left yet, Sibyl? …I see. I just met an interesting idiot. Something stupid is about to happen. A world of stupid false good and false evil is about to unfold. …You don’t understand? No, someone like you or Sf that has not woken up wouldn’t.”

As Itaru spoke, Sf inserted a new card into the green telephone. When the small sound of connection indicating three minutes had been added came from the receiver, Itaru nodded to Sf. He continued speaking as he saw Sf nod back.

“Sf confirmed this idiot’s string vibration. I’ll have Sf give it to you, so add this idiot’s vibration to the string vibration of the concept space. It’s the usual type, so this change should be easy and the outside will be visible, right? Drag him in from reality. …What? You want to know who this idiot is? You’ll know soon enough.”

Hearing that, Sf asked, “Itaru-sama, is it really okay to get him involved like this?”

“That brat has ignorantly decided that this world is a safe place. We need to teach him a lesson and a first-hand lesson would be best. From now on, he is sure to be overturned again and again. From here on out, he will deny all things because all things exist. He will deny joy because he knows joy. And…Yes, that will continue until the world is satisfied.”

Itaru gave a small smile and handed Sf the receiver.

“Sf, tell them his string vibration. And then we will teach him what reality truly is.”

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