A Brief Respite
Kou returned to Fortress Area P336 and spent a few days resting. However, he found himself getting busy performing maintenance on Unit 5 and practicing his bricolage skills, so those days seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, he was set to go shopping with Aimer, Nyanta, and Blue, who had already met up at noon. This was to make up for the time when he went shopping with Aki alone.
Fuyuki was temporarily taking charge on behalf of Kou, so he didn’t have any worries.
He found himself out on a promenade at night.
Various stalls have been set up, and many mercenaries of different races – from humans to Familiars – were enjoying a brief respite.
It was Kou’s first time in this place, but apparently, it was suggested that he take breaks like this on a set rotation schedule.
Today, it looked like they were going to participate in Blue’s radio show.
He found the ones he was looking for and headed towards them.
It was Voy, Aimer who was seated on top of Voy’s lap, and Nyanta.
「Sorry for the wait.」
「We went ahead and enjoyed ourselves ahead of you!」
Voy was holding a mug and drinking honey juice.
「It’s rare for you to come to places like this, Kou.」
「Right. But it’s fun.」
「Yeah.」
Kou asked for some food from the Familiar who came over to take his order, then he proceeded to chat with the rest.
「How much longer will it take to finish Unit 5’s overhaul?」
「I’m done with maintenance work. I’ve also prepared additional armor and weapons to convert it to the flight spec.」
「But the ones in the front lines requested for Kou’s machine to be converted into the ground combat spec though.」
Aimer muttered softly.
Although it mostly served as a way to restrain Kou from charging ahead on his own and force him to act together with the rest of his unit, it was popular among the front-line troops as a way to imitate Unit 5’s looks.
It definitely wasn’t because Kou was bad at coordinating with the tank and Lanius units.
「The Ground Combat Spec isn’t bad. But I just can’t get used to the railgun. It eats up way too much energy.」
Nyanta nodded repeatedly. As expected, live ammunition suited Kou much more. Although she had considered developing ground combat-use artillery for Kou, she respected his desire to move around freely on the battlefield.
「Twin reactors sure are a luxury.」
「It’s easier to fight with the AK2 now. You and Aki made some adjustments to it, right, Nyanta?」
「You don’t have to praise us that much y’know?」
「That’s really how I feel.」
「Oh, how embarrassing, nyaa–」
Kou’s words were definitely genuine. Instead of using up energy to fire the railgun, he’d rather use it to enhance his machine’s mobility.
「Everyone’s afraid of you acting recklessly and charging ahead on your own again, so please keep that in mind.」
「Yeah.」
Although she said “everyone”, it was actually what Aimer wanted herself.
「I’ve also handed our newly developed rifle to Voy already.」
「I’m looking forward to trying it out.」
「That thing’s pretty amazing. Even I was shocked silly.」
Since Voy had given his stamp of approval, its performance should definitely be top-of-the-line.
「I’m looking forward to it even more now.」
Kou knew that they had been developing a new rifle model. Now, it’s finally time to put it to the test.
「It’s kinda rough that Aki’s stuck on house-sitting duty while we’re having dinner outside eh?」
「Aki monopolized Kou and Aimer last time nyaa. So this is only natural.」
「I’ll check on her later.」
「Good to hear. Drawing the worst lot really hurts y’know?」
Blue was beckoning in the distance.
She wasn’t calling for Kou. Instead, she was calling for Nyanta.
「I’m gonna be the guest today nyaa. The guest commentator nyaa.」
「That’s quite a major role. I’ll listen to the broadcast from here. Do your best!」
「I will nyaa!」
Nyanta headed toward Blue’s direction in high spirits.
「What are you going to ride on the way back, Aimer? Nyanta’s Epona?」
「Un.」
「Should I tag along?」
「It’s fine. You stay here Kou, and protect Asia.」
「Got it.」
Kou then watched Blue’s public radio broadcast.
「Today, we have ourselves a special guest. It’s our resident weapon customization specialist, Nyanta-san!」
「Hello. My name is Nyanta. Nice to meet you all.」
Nyanta was wearing glasses and transformed herself to an intelligent-looking beauty.
「I-It’s a cat in sheep’s clothing.」
「Don’t give her game away, Kou.」
Aimer couldn’t help but giggle.
「That sure is an unusual name though.」
「Actually, I’m a Therianthrope from the Interplanetary War era. My name is something granted to me by our Big Boss, so I treasure it very much……」
A commotion rose up from among the audience in the venue. However, nobody was laughing. Instead, they all appeared to be jealous.
「Uh, can I go somewhere else to get some fresh air?」
It was quite embarrassing for Kou.
「No.」
Aimer pulled Kou’s sleeve and forced him to sit back down.
「Just give up resisting for today. It’s Nyanta’s big day after all.」
Voy chuckled in a mean-spirited manner.
「Indeed. The enemy’s Aberration Silhouettes have obtained the ability to launch instantaneous firepower in exchange for combat endurance. Moreover, they aren’t particularly good at dealing with tanks, so it would be best to deal with them using tank units.」
Accompanied by the program’s BGM, they broadcasted details about the recent combat situation of Metal Iris on the front lines and other useful info.
The current enemy weapon to be most wary about was the Aberration Silhouette.
Actually, Kou already knew. This side of Nyanta was closest to her true personality.
She used the cutesy “nyaa” at the end of her sentences whenever Kou was present in order to ease his anxiety when he felt alone after being sent to the distant future.
「Aimer, do you want to eat something?」
「I want to eat parfait.」
「I see. Okay. I’ll order the same thing then.」
「Un!」
Aimer looked quite happy. Kou raised his hand and ordered two parfaits from the racoon-type Familiar who was working as a waiter.
「I can’t have myself continue to keep relying on Aimer.」
Kou muttered under his breath. The one who caused this girl to stand on the front lines was undoubtedly him.
「Relying on me? You’re relying on me, Kou?」
Aimer acted surprised.
「Yeah. You haven’t noticed?」
「I’m the one who keeps being protected after all.」
Voy gently patted Aimer’s head and explained.
「This is what Kou’s trying to say, Aimer. He doesn’t want you to serve as a commander on the battlefield, let alone stay on the front lines. If he can help it, he probably wants you to stay within the Silhouette Base.」
「But–」
「Now, now. We understand that you want to be with us, Aimer. And besides, Kou does need you out there. And since Kou realizes that, he’s loathing himself for not being able to do any better. And I get that as well.」
Voy himself nearly lost it when the Astraea first launched. He wanted to take Aimer’s place if he could. That’s why he understood Kou’s feelings on the matter.
「It’s just as Voy said. But if I took over commanding the troops, we’d probably suffer more damage. I’m not good at that sort of stuff, unlike you, Aimer. But even so, that responsibility still shouldn’t have been placed on your shoulders.」
Kou knew. Aimer’s heart felt pained whenever she issued commands to the troops.
She was currently serving as an admiral. Many Familiars, Therianthropes, Nereids, and humans have perished under her command. This wasn’t something a young girl like her should be burdened with.
「Kou, it’s fine to rely on me more, you know?」
After getting to know Kou’s feelings, power surged from within the young girl’s heart. Also– Just as Master said, she should have at least eight more years before she could vie for the position of Kou’s partner. No, perhaps it was only seven years……
「I don’t think it’s good to rely on you more than we already have. Honestly, I want you to stay somewhere safe, but I also want you by my side. So much so that I’ve considered having you ride in the back seat of Unit 5. But there’s no place as dangerous as Unit 5’s cockpit after all.」
She was the precious girl entrusted to Kou by Master. Even though Master was supposed to be inhabiting Aimer’s consciousness, she hadn’t shown up at all recently. It was unclear when she’d disappear, and perhaps she already had. That’s why Aimer was someone Kou felt he had to protect at all costs.
He had no intention of having another person inside Unit 5’s cockpit, but he felt he would be fine with Aimer.
When Aimer heard that Kou considered having her ride in the back seat of Unit 5’s cockpit, she received a surprise that almost made her heart stop.
This was certainly the greatest proof of Kou’s trust in her. The only one to have had the privilege to ride on Unit 5’s back seat to date was Asia.
「I’ll get on! That’s what I want to say, but you’ll probably be troubled if I insist. I’ll get on if there’s a need to do so. Until then, I’ll do what I can together with Astraea.」
「Thank you, Aimer. I’m sorry for being such an unreliable big brother.」
「Kou-oniichan…… Can I call you that from time to time?」
「Sure.」
Aimer’s cheeks turned red after hearing Kou’s unexpected agreement. It made her happy. However, calling him that often posed a risk of being regarded as a mere little sister figure. She wanted to avoid that at all costs. She wanted to become part of Kou’s family in a different sense. That’s why she decided to only call him “oniichan” sparingly.
She wondered who was currently the closest girl to Kou. Asia was a special case, but she was an AI. So, it must be Blue after all. Aki and Nyanta were on the same level of closeness, but she felt they were being treated more like family.
As for her, she wasn’t even regarded as someone of the opposite sex. She only needed to wait six more years.
Kou watched Aimer who was lost in thought with a smile.
He wanted to quickly overcome their current situation and end the war on Planet Asia.
However, he still couldn’t see the path to ending it.
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