Vol 3 Chapter 4 (1/2)
I, Mononobe Mitsuki, have a secret
It happened two years prior during the Kraken battle
Confronted with an increase to two Krakens, standing there blankly in shock, I heard a voice
—Don't worry, Mitsuki
It was the voice of my best friend who had just turned into a monster
Reflected inof an o tentacles of silver shi+noer existed in this world But I heard her voice
—Calm down, draw your bow, aim
I felt as though in a drea a scene that I did not wish to ad had halted
In that kind of state, I did as the voice instructed While I was drawing on
I even had an illusion as though the heat fro into the arrow I had nocked
—Okay, shoot! Kill it Mitsuki!
”Ah”
The voice escapedemotions
”Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
I screa the arrow I shot at the monster that had robbed me of my best friend
Using its tentacles to cover its purple eyeball, the Kraken took on a secure defensive stance
However,itself into the Kraken's eyeball inside
Then a blinding flash of light erupted between the tentacles, expanding With a giant explosion, the Kraken's core was destroyed Originally blotting out the sky in the area, the tentacles instantly went limp and fell onto the sea
Watching that scene, I finally came to my senses
”This was ?”
I murmured blankly to myself in disbelief
”Miyako?”
What was the voice just now? I yelled at the air, but the voice did not answer Even if I perked up my ears to listen, my ears could not hear my best friend's pleasant voice
Finally, I looked down at the writhingthat used to be my best friend
”Was it Miyako!? Did Miyako—”
Did her consciousness re out until my throat hurt
The Kraken's eyeball turned in my direction while the silver tentacles extended with astounding speed
”What are you doing!?”
Just before the attack struck, Haruka-san knockedme
The voice was my hallucination after all? A miracle of that sort could not possibly happen
”—Mononobe Mitsuki! Shoot again!”
”Huh?”
”If it's the attack you used just now, it should be capable of defeatin the re Kraken Only you can do it—So hurry!”
”But That is Miyako, right?”
I asked in a tre voice
Even if it no longer had a consciousness, even if it no longer called to entle voice, even if it was just a monster, it used to be Miyako
My best friend, Haruaka-san's younger sister, but I had to—
”No time to hesitate! If you don't hurry and kill it, soht turn into a Kraken too!”
”But But!”
”This is an order! By my will, not yours! I will take full responsibility!”
Tears fell from Haruka-san's eyes
Then my memories turned blurry
I re with tearful eyes, screa the arrow
However, what I was thinking back then, what feelings were in h they were behind fog
It was probably my mind's defensive mechanism to maintain my sanity
Once everything ended, sohtly
I lost consciousness without seeing that person's face, so even now, I had no idea who it was
For no particular reason, I thought it should be Haruka-san but I had no concrete proof
However, the boso ered clearly in my memories
After waking up in Midgard's infir
I explained everything in as much detail as I could possibly recall, but there was one fact that I could not bring up
—The fact that I had heard Miyako's voice, it was so up no matter what
It was very likelylike that was revealed, it would surely turn into an inspiring story
Everyone would probably spread the rumor like this—Miyako must have entrusted her power to her best friend, Mitsuki, to allow herself to be killed after turning into a Kraken
I could not tolerate iven
I wanted to be condemned I wanted to suffer
However, everyone at Midgard was very kind Save me
Only one person illing to be angry at me
The only person to denounce hwalker
Part 2
'—I never expected you to call me on your own, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe I don't suppose you wish to return to ht?'
The e narrowed his slender eyes and spoke He was Loki Jotunhei officer back in NIFL, the est ”killer”
”Iard”
'Oh, then what business do you have with me? I am a very busy man'
Major Loki hurried aze
”You proht? As for when that happened, I don't quite remember”
I spoke suggestively Major Loki's eyebrow htly
It was back when the Leviathan incident had ended, Major Loki had pros smoothly
Of course, I was lying when I said I could not reard Hence, with shi+noe, I could not bring up that conversation
'Speaking of which, I definitely did promise you Then what? Have you finally decided what you want?'
After I heard Major Loki's question, I nodded affirmatively
”Yes—Please give me Mistilteinn”
Upon hearing ht
'Oh You are referring to the weapon developed by NIFL for taking down Basilisk?'
”That's right, although I don't think it's a mass produced weapon, there should be a prototype If it's still usable, can you give it to me?”
'Mistilteinn is supposed to be ineffective against Basilisk Why do you want so like that?'
Major Loki stared at me from the screen and asked me
”I don't think there's anything wrong with Mistilteinn's design concept If you hand that weapon over for us to use, I ht be able to find a solution”
'You see that weapon, why not negotiate directly with those in charge of the Mistilteinn operation?'
”It would turn into a situation of Midgard requesting for NIFL's aid, whichyou this as a personal favor, Major Loki”
I aze and answered
'Haha—How cautious But considering precedents, it's understandable that you may have concerns of that sort In other words, all you want is for e for NIFL to voluntarily offer Mistilteinn to your side, right?'
”Yes, is it feasible?”
'Having said that I would prepare any reward no uarantee success'
”That's good enough Thank you very much”
I bowed and thanked him
I did not know for sure whether Mistilteinn had a prototype to begin with, hence I did not raiseit would be relatively eous
'You're really working hard, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe Do you have things that wish to protect that much?'
””
I responded with silence to this sarcastic question Because for so this question would be extreerous
'—Whatever, if things go smoothly, NIFL should have a response today If they don't ive up Goodbye'
Major Loki smiled at the end and the call disconnected
Listening to our conversation froazed suspiciously at me
”Mononobe Yuu, what exactly are you”
”Sorry for doing things ather everyone? I'll explain then”
I apologized to shi+nomiya-sensei and asked her
Although it was unknohether Mistilteinn would be given to us, I had things to tell everyone
Basilisk could very well have an opening to exploit
This was the only solution I had discovered during our failed operation
Part 3
”I believe that NIFL's plan of attack was the ainst Basilisk”
In front of everyone gathered in the conference roo line
”What Mistilteinn lacked was a h 'Catastrophe' Conversely, as long as we reinforce it on this point, Mistilteinn will beco Basilisk”
After I spoke in a strong tone of voice, Lisa immediately interjected
”Hold it right there, Mononobe Yuu Although thateven ive up precisely because they concluded that no ah?”
Lisa was right If sih, NIFL should have mass produced Mistilteinn and deployed the bombs consecutively NIFL did not do that because the amount of mithril required was beyond what could be achieved in practice
”That's right assu Basilisk could fire its third eye's beam repeatedly, then it would easily eliminate a mithril shi+eld no matter how thick it was But I believe that Basilisk has a limit”
”What do you mean by that?”
”Including the NIFL operation, Basilisk has fired bea, I asked someone to check and in all cases, the beam lasted approxi our operation, it would clearly be advantageous for Basilisk to fire consecutive beams but it did not do so”
Hearing ht her hand to the side of her mouth and murmurmed:
”—Indeed, that did bother me Is there soe of the third eye?”
”Norht? If there's no risk, then it would use it asto hide it”
”Risk Nii-san, you seem to have some kind of hypothesis”
Staring at ed me to explain
”I guess There is a lienerate each tiht that Basilisk can shoot out—or perhaps the aht have a limit too”
”It is possible Come to think of it, this could explain why Basilisk cannot fire in succession Perhaps the beath cannot be adjusted”
”Right, the third eye probably cannotthe total auessing that's the kind of trump card it is”
After listening to the explanation so far, Iris asked me:
”Then after the third eye attacks, Basilisk is in a vulnerable state? Then it can be defeated easily?”
”—Things would be a breeze if that were so, but what I just said only applies to the third eye alone It's best to assuular pair of eyes to attack nored to intercept your rain of mithril shards, didn't it?”
”Oh right Then what do we do?”
Iris cocked her head and asked
”That's exactly e need Mistilteinn That weapon was designed to withstand nor more mithril to its shi+eld, to allow it to survive the five seconds of exposure to the third eye's beam, it should be possible to strike Basilisk in theory”
I explained the possibility I had pictured in my mind
”I essentially understood what you are trying to convey, Nii-san In other words, the insufficient ht?”
Mitsuki asked
”You got it I believe this is the most practical plan”
”It still is not coh to call practical Also, it does not take in account the abnor abilities displayed by Basilisk this ti”
Saying that, Mitsuki turned her gaze to shi+nomiya-sensei
”—I agree Although the situation would changeon whether NIFL hands Mistilteinn over, ill devise a new battle plan based on this direction”
Hearing shi+noreement then announced to everyone:
”Then we shall adjourn for the ti Please rest properly until you are notified of the operation, everyone”
Despite saying that, Mitsuki did not see to start discussing with shi+nomiya-sensei
However, she looked more cheerful than just now Cos probably felt a lot easier when there was room to work hard despite difficulties
—I really hope she won't force herself too much
Looking at the side of Mitsuki's face, I worried for her But it was several hours later when I finally came to understand that Mitsuki's unease was far worse than I iined
Part 4
The elderly man with a scar on his forehead—Major-General Dylan on the screen—sently at Tia
'This is Uncle's gift to you, so please accept it'
That evening—Mistelteinn's handover went surprisingly smoothly
Apparently, Major-General Dylan had gone great lengths with outstanding initiative, even providing as a bonus gift a transport aircraft capable of taking Mistilteinn high into the sky
”Thank you, Uncle!”
Tia s Tia's response, Major-General Dylan grinned, unable to close his hed
'Ahem—There are no more backup Mistilteinns, this is the last one I hope you will use it well If NIFL's weapon could contribute towards Basilisk's defeat, it would redeem our honor a little'
Major-General Dylan resumed a serious expression then disconnected after he finished talking
Although I had no idea what exactly Major Loki had done, I got the sense that Major-General Dylan had handed Mistilteinn to us without any strings attached despite knowing clearly that my side wanted the weapon
It was probably thanks to Tia
”You helped a lot, Tia”
”Eh? But Tia didn't do anything?”
Tia widened her eyes in surprise but as soon as I stroked her head, she instantly closed her eyes partially in pleasure
Thus, ere off to what could be considered a s afterwards
”Are you serious in what you said just now?”
Lisa's angry voice resounded inside the conference roo all sorts of data, Mitsuki took on Lisa's gaze without evading at all
”Yes, of course I aether with Mistilteinn”
This was equally unbelievable forblankly at Mitsuki
”Why are you doing this? It is far too reckless!”
Lisa slammed the table and suddenly stood up
”If you do not understand, I shall explain again According to calculations, it is possible to reinforce the mithril to withstand the third eye's bea the original descent control systeether with Mistilteinn to apply trajectory corrections”
”That is not what I a why do you need to take on this task alone, Mitsuki-san!”
”Since the plan is for a unfounded hypothesis, it is possible that our predictions are wrong In the event of failure, certain death presuerous job onto others”
””
Lisa gnashed her teeth and approached Mitsuki angrily and rapidly
Smack—A crisp sound was heard Lisa had slapped Mitsuki in the face
”Why are you always like this I will not approve of this!”
”It does not ation Squad's captain”
Despite the red lared at Lisa squarely
”Wait”
Firill interrupted
”If soo, I'll do it”
”What—N-No way! This is so I must do!”
”Wrong, considering the event of failure, I'm more suitable than you, Mitsuki You are both the student council president and the Dragon Subjugation Squad captain, but I'm just an ordinary student”
Firill shook her head and refuted Mitsuki's claim
”If that's the case, letting ht?”
Ariella stood up slowly and smiled mischievously at Mitsuki
”Mm!”
Ren stood up as well as though saying it was the same for her
”Oh, me too!”
Looking at her classot up
”Iris-san, you cannot even fly You have no way of controlling Mistilteinn at all, do you!?”
Mitsuki frantically pointed it out but Iris refuted her while showing a serious expression:
”That's definitely true, but I can't let anyone go alone! No ht be able to help in some way!”
—As expected of Iris
She conored the necessary requirement However, what Iris said was correct in a certain sense
”Although I won't be able to control Mistilteinn either, I volunteer myself to be part of the descent team Precisely because it's a plan based on a hypothesis, that's e have to anticipate all kinds of situations and think of countermeasures Iris and I will definitely come in handy, you know?”
I stood up from my seat and said to Mitsuki
”That is”
Mitsuki was speechless In the previous operation, it was thanks to Iris and my abilities that ere able to keep out of harm's way, hence she could not find any words to refute us
”You do say sos on occasion, Mononobe Yuu”
Seeing allup, Lisa showed a smile on the corners of her lips
”Mitsuki-san, I have made my decision”
”By decision What have you decided? Lisa-san, you do not have the authority to decide on the plan, you know?”
Seeing Mitsuki's wary gaze, Lisa smiled wryly and replied:
”No, what I have decided is the o”
”What—Why are you bringing that up now”
Probably unprepared to hear this, Mitsuki reacted very aardly to the unexpected words
”Naturally, because it is related to the current situation What I demand of you, Mitsuki-san—”
Pointing her finger at Mitsuki, Lisa told her in an acute tone of voice:
”Including me, I want you to make full use of all manpower that had just volunteered for the operation, and come up with a perfect plan that could handle all unexpected situations! Further as you accoive you, Mitsuki-san!”
”How on earth The risk is too great with everyone together—”
”I will not force you If you cannot think of a new plan, then have soree, shi+nomiya-sensei?”
shi+nomiya-sensei had her arms crossed before her chest, a troubled expression on her face But after hearing Lisa's question, she nodded gravely
”Since there are other volunteers, as the commander, I have no choice but to make such a decision The captain has other responsibilities However, if there is no better plan, I cannot allow multiple people to be part of the descent”
shi+noical Mitsuki looked like she had no counterarguments She bit her lip and lowered her head
”Understood? Mitsuki-san? If you don't want a classmate to head towards death alone—If you truly wish to protect your family to the very end, rack your brain as hard as you can Find a path that will allow everyone to return alive”
Lisa's de all her comrades' lives, it would probably be easier to face Basilisk alone
Lisa had said that she would come up with a very difficult condition To Mitsuki, there was probably no harsher demand than this
However, Mitsuki was cornered
She clenched her fist and replied in a tre voice:
”I will try Give me some time”
After saying that, Mitsuki rapidly left the conference roo silhouette of her back—
Part 5
Our transport shi+p retreated back to behind Midgard's first defensive line Here, weMistilteinn
There was nothing for , so I spent time in my cabin, restless and uneasy
—Will Mitsuki be fine?
Lying on the bed, I worried about er sister I had already lost count of how ed to suppress the urge every time
I would only get in her way if I went There was nothing I could help out with
Just as I was persuading myself, I heard a knock at my door
”Who is it?”
I frowned and went to the door Opening it, I found Mitsuki standing there with a haggard face
”Nii-san—May I talk to you for a while?”
”Y-Yeah”
I nodded and invited Mitsuki into my cabin
Sitting on the inner bed, Mitsuki sighed deeply
”Hoo This is really not going well”
”It's really hard to coht?”
I sat down on the outer bed, facing Mitsuki, and asked her hesitantly
”No, the new plan is already drafted It is just that even so, I still petitioned everyone one by one, hoping they could withdraw fro”
”The plan is already drafted huh? As expected of you, Mitsuki But by this point, no one ithdraw, right?”
I recognized Mitsuki's excellence again and replied to her
”Right I already visited Firill-san and the others in their cabins, but no one agreed”
”—So you caet it out of the way, I've no intention of backing out of this operation, okay?”
I guessed Mitsuki's intention in visiting lared resentfully at me
”I was hoping that you of all people would listen to my request at least, Nii-san”
”Don't ask for the i to descend alone, Mitsuki, I'll have to stop you nowith you”
Hearing me assert that, Mitsuki exhaled helplessly
”You are so willful, Nii-san”
”You're in no position to criticize me on that”
I retorted sarcastically
”No helping it, I understand—I will protect you, Nii-san”
Mitsuki stood up from the bed then approached with an expression of resolve on her face, hugging me from the front
”M-Mitsuki?”
Feeling Mitsuki's body warrew flustered
”I absolutely will not allow you to die, Nii-san”
However, upon hearing Mitsuki's quiet whispering into my brain calmed down Mitsuki had probably vowed the same for the others
However—This alone was not enough
I wrapped ht hug
”Kyah!? N-Nii-san?”
”I think you probably know By everyone surviving, that includes you too, Mitsuki, so I will protect you”
”W-Wrong! I will be the one to protect you, Nii-san!”
”No, I will protect you”
We argued like that but of course, there was no end to it
”Good grief, do whatever you wish, Nii-san This is uncomfortable Could you release me?”
Having decided it was pointless to argue any further, she pushed against my chest Perhaps because it was hard to breathe, her face was especially red
”Sorry, I used too much force”
I apologized and released her With her face red, Mitsuki shook her head slightly then turned her back to me
”Yes, it hurt a little A er after all”
Mitsuki looked back with a wry smile For so my heart rate accelerate
Or perhaps it was because her using the word ”man” strayed a bit from a brother-sister relationshi+p
”I will take more care next time”
”Next tiain?”
”No, that's not what I meant—”
I hastily tried to explain but Mitsuki interrupted hed
”Fufu, I understand It was just a joke So, Nii-san, let us getI will summon the others next”
Saying that, Mitsuki extended her hand to h all her troubles had been swept away
This was probably resilience arising fro one could not acquire fros
That was the earnest gaze of sooal was to return alive—
Part 6
The next day at 7am, ere in the sky at an altitude of 15000 m