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367 – Close Encounter of the Third Kind

 

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Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

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Soldiers were first and foremost trained to obey the orders of their superiors. Well, that was only natural, of course. For example, if the soldiers were ordered to defend Point A, but they instead gave up all resistance and retreated on the spot, it could lead to ruining an entire operation.

It’s even easier to understand if you think about it in terms of video games. If your character doesn’t jump when you press the jump button, doesn’t attack when you press the attack button, and uses debuff magic even though you clearly ticked the recovery magic command, the game would basically be unplayable.

In other words, it’s a must for soldiers to be able to carry out the commands of their superiors without a hitch, or they’d just be garbage. They must serve as an organized and well-oiled machine out on the battlefield. Basically, they need to be the perfect pawns. And right now, that very same quality is being required of me, a mercenary.

“This is why I really don’t like being hired by the military……”

I inwardly complained as I made full use of my ninja power armor’s mobility and rushed to the front line that was 3 kilometers away. I jumped over craggy rock formations, kicking up gravel in the process, and passed by imperial soldiers accompanied by medium-sized combat bots.

“Captain, what’s the situation on the front line?”

『I suppose you can say it’s currently a stalemate. We haven’t observed any further movements from the subject.』

“In other words, it isn’t showing any intention to interfere with the withdrawal of the soldiers huh.”

『Or perhaps, it’s simply observing our actions first. We still have no idea where that thing’s sensory organs are located.』

For the time being, the seemingly sentient pyramid remained quiet after that first outburst. Unfortunately, it was difficult for a human like me to actually decipher the thoughts of that pyramid. Too difficult.

“I wonder if this means it doesn’t really have an overly hostile attitude toward us……”

By the way, the effect of the mental shockwave emitted by the tetrahedral pyramid on the Krishna which Elma was currently piloting, and Black Lotus which was under Mei’s control seemed to be very minimal. Capt. Serena and the other soldiers stationed 3 kilometers away from the source of the shockwave were only brought to their knees but didn’t pass out completely, so it seemed that the further away one was, the lesser the effect.

“In any case, I have no choice but to get in contact with that thing huh.”

After jumping over a small reddish-hued hill, I finally saw what seemed to be ruins buried in dust, the temporary imperial outpost being defended by combat bots and an energy shield, and the huge tetrahedral pyramid sitting just beyond it. Un, it really was pretty big. It was about the same size as a Titan-class combat bot. In other words, it was around 10 meters or so.

“Huh……?”

The moment I saw it, the thing also picked up on my presence. I don’t know why I felt this way, but I was sure it was the case for some reason. I sighed inwardly at my becoming more and more of a superhuman and moved toward the imperial encampment.

“How efficient.”

As expected, the encampment was completely empty. The soldiers who passed out after getting hit by the shockwave were all evacuated by combat bots. All that’s left were bots that solely specialized in combat and weren’t suited to transporting soldiers such as the Titan-class. I was currently the only human inside the place.

Now, as per Capt. Serena’s orders, I need to try and establish communication with the tetrahedral pyramid using the psionic communication device while enduring its presence.

She did say the combat bots were ready to deploy in case of an emergency, so I should make sure I’d be able to retreat smoothly if things go south.

Eh? Was it really okay to retreat in the face of the enemy? I have no obligation of dying in battle for the imperial military after all, and I only agreed to do this because Capt. Serena promised I could use the combat bots as decoys and escape in case of danger. I would have firmly refused to come to the front line no matter what if I wasn’t promised at least that much.

As a mercenary, it was necessary to respond to a client’s orders as much as possible, but the client was also obligated to minimize the threat to a mercenary’s life as much as possible. In other words, it was against the rules to purposely send mercenaries into highly lethal situations as sacrificial pawns. I fought for the right to retreat at my discretion using that rule as a shield. Long live this world’s ‘advanced’ human rights policy and the Mercenary Guild.

“I’ve arrived at the site.”

『Well, that was fast. Please begin trying to establish contact immediately.』

“Roger that.”

I linked up with the psionic communication device that was left inside the camp and started operating it. Well, it wasn’t that difficult to operate it. I just needed to connect my power armor to the psionic communicator using a standard port and speak normally. The psionic communicator automatically reads and translates the mental waves released when one speaks, and then transmits them telepathically. And when it picks up a telepathic response from another party, the psionic communicator translates the content and displays it on the inbuilt holo-display.

Quite simple and easy. No problems whatsoever. Well, that should be the case if anyone other than me was using it.

“Ah…”

After I connected my armor to the communicator’s port, I remembered something crucial. The psionic communicator primarily uses spirit silver components in order to read the thoughts of the user.

A loud hiss echoed out, and the connection port popped off. I quickly pulled out the connector cord the moment I remembered that little detail, but it was already too late.

『What was that sound? What happened?』

I heard Capt. Serena’s voice from the combat bot that was standing beside me. Oh, so she was monitoring the situation remotely huh?

“I didn’t do anything weird to it, but it looks like it broke.”

『Are you freaking kidding me!?』

“I’m not. I didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”

Of course, I didn’t mention the fact that I completely forgot how spirit silver and I had the worst compatibility.

“Well, at least the reception function’s still working fine…… Do you want me to try and communicate with it using body language?”

『Can you make use of your usual devil’s luck to somehow awaken the ability to communicate telepathically or make the subject speak our language?』

“Don’t demand something so unreasonable……”

I wouldn’t have as much of a hard time if I could consciously control those kinds of surprise developments y’know.

“Hmm. Hey, Pyramid-san. We want to have a dialogue with you, but are you willing?”

I tried calling out to the tetrahedral pyramid from within the camp for the heck of it. When I did so, the small floating tetrahedron that separated from the main body suddenly pointed its tip toward me. Huh? An attack? I put my guard up, but what came wasn’t an attack but a powerful mental wave instead.

【Affirmative.】

I couldn’t help but furrow my brows when that mental wave pierced through the depths of my mind.

“That’s great. But your voice is a bit too loud. I’m fine, but the others won’t be able to take it. Can you please decrease the output of your telepathy a bit?”

【Acknowledged.】

The mental wave’s strength this time around was more acceptable. Or rather, I was actually able to have a normal conversation with it. Was it capable of hearing my voice?

【Negative. Method learned from those who appear to be your comrades.】

“Are you saying you extracted the necessary information to communicate with us from the imperial soldiers that fainted earlier?”

【Affirmative.】

“In other words, you’re able to read my thoughts directly and don’t require physical speech for communication. That’s convenient right now, but humans basically don’t find it pleasant for someone else to read their minds without consent. You might find the concept difficult to comprehend, but I suggest that you refrain from doing so in the future.”

【In consideration.】

Now then, thankfully, it looks like the pyramid was willing to accommodate me to some extent. I have a strong feeling that this was gonna be a pretty difficult dialogue, but for now, contact was established relatively peacefully. It would be great if the upcoming negotiations go smoothly as well.

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