Vol 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)
The sun was setting on Azoran-3
Lieutenant I abandoned by Commander Donna He was so dejected that he wasn’t even able to pilot the Alter-Armour
So he was den Meihowa reclaiht as the Alter-Armour pilot
And so we started tothe dejected Lieutenant around like baggage
“Ca preparations are complete”
Sergeant Aroha was son Meihowa Meihoas setting up a bug net to ward off the bugs and responded to the salute
“It was Luise, wasn’t it? Things really turned out the way you said it would”
She must’ve remembered what Admiral Luise said about ‘ill becoher-ups, if we contact them recklessly’ Admiral Luise wore a bitter smile
“There ht now Isn’t that right?”
When Adeant Aroha nodded
“That’s right Chief Technician Yeon-Sik Oh wants to pull out, along with his men… He says that it’s impossible to protect the Ateu Plains”
We had to be thankful that the troops were not rebelling against the officers, since Ensign Meihowa and Sergeant Aroha were popular
However, no one would be able to predict ill happen in the future
I looked up at the sky while drinking soht
“The Federationfleets here, especially after Tetragraerous to send a war fleet only for it to be destroyed by the ene reinforcements will be very, very risky, and they will be annihilated”
“So, you ra Wail have a cooldown period between attacks?”
Admiral Luise nodded her head
“It needs a ”
“Wow… you sure know your stuff You ?”
When Sergeant Aroha asked suddenly, Pencolt turned around
“Did you call me?”
“No, not at all”
“I thought you meant me by maniac, man”
“And if we have to rammaton or Diablo retreat, we have to wait for Kishi+ns to co Kishi+ns on the Federation’s side are Ursa Major, Wolfschewein, Ladyhawk, and Swangrace”
Although the Federation only had 4 Kishi+ns in its possession, we had an upper hand over the ene Diablo, Elcro would have 3 and the Rebels had Omertà, so that’s one So, none of the eneainst the Federation
However, it is a whole new story if the Asas, Elcros and Rebel Replicant Force formed an alliance The Federation would fall behind on the Kishi+n head count
Although the Federation had a great deal of e if the enerammaton If they recklessly attack with nurammaton with ease
Therefore, with Tetragrammaton in the enemy’s possession, the Federation couldn’t rely on numbers alone, but quality
“Then what can we do to survive?”
Sergeant Aroha asked the key question
“It would be suicidal to go to the Ateu Plains for now”
“But if we don’t go, we cannot escape froainst their orders”
“Can’t we go there slowly?”
When I voiced my opinion, everyone shook their heads
“No, if we go there slowly and the enemy takes control of the Ateu Plains, ill still be punished The granny wanted us to protect the plains, and ould either be charged for disobedience or fleeing froht be executed”
It was as Sergeant Aroha said Ensign Meihowa’s face turned grim
This truly was a do-or-die, checkmate type situation However, Admiral Luise had a different idea
“Let us wait for a little bit longer”
“Huh?”
“The eneo to thethe higher-ups is far greater than the Ateu Plains’ That ill escape from the situation unscathed”
“But the ene base first instead of the Ateu Plains for your plan to work”
“That is not too difficult”
Admiral Luise winked as she said that Aroha and Meihowa didn’t appear to be convinced, but I wholly trusted Admiral Luise’s words
“Then the proble soldiers; what should we do with them?”
Ensign Meihowa asked seriously to Adh Adn Meihowa, Meihoas being highly respectful
I was happy that Ad respected the way she should be, but asn’t the Ensign treating me the same way?
“We cannot do anything about the co soldiers We will try to persuade theo”
◊◊◊
After having a si of rations, I sat on top of the Spider The material used for the Spider’s exterior was cool to the touch I should sleep here during the night to avoid the humidity and sticky air
I must’ve not been the only one who had the idea, because so the Spider
At a closer look, it turned out to be Ensign Meihowa She leaned against the Spider and lowered herself slowly, sighing in the process
After pondering whether or not I should strike up a conversation with her, I jumped down from the Spider and landed in front of her
“Whoa! Ah… it’s just you, Greenie”
“Hn Why are you here by yourself? Were you able to convince the co soldiers?”
“It ay too much for me Bravo Squad plans to follow Chief Technician Oh and desert Charlie Squad will remain and look after the injured Alpha Squad…”
“And what about Lieutenant Imamura?”
“He plans to leave with Chief Technician Oh”
“That’s for the better But I’m not sure if Chief Technician Oh will let hiroup”
This situation was largely Lieutenant Imamura’s fault However, he chose to stay away from the injured Alpha Squad (ere injured because of him) and leave with the others
However, the issue was that the ones ere staying behind were h Lieutenant Imamura was the one who caused this situation, his life would be spared here at least
But seeing as he left with the Bravo squad… he would be killed in a blink of an eye
“Well aren’t you talking big, Lezirth Know your place as a Greenie”
“Hmm, no The true Greenie this tiree?”
I did decide to accept being called a Greenie before… but I still didn’t like it I’er— the Commander of the Dawn Corps! I couldn’t quite tell them to admire me, but the least they could do is to show some respect
“But will that be okay, Ensign Meihowa? You and Sergeant Aroha aren’t pure Earthlings, are you? Admiral Luise didn’t mention it out loud, but you could always surrender to the enemy”
It was silly of me, as an officer of the Federation, to say this, but there was no need for her or Sergeant Aroha to risk their lives for the Federation Ensign Meihowa showed a sad smile
“What’s gotten into you, Greenie? Saying soreat like that”
Her calirl before irl This must be what she’s usually like
“You do realize saying that will get you straight to the courts, don’t you? You are suggesting rave crime that is…”
“The Meihowa I knoon’t bringlike that”
“What do you even know about me?!”
She was sory no ed However, she was angry now
Even so, I kept a serious expression and spoke
“When people are driven to the brink of their patience and life itself, they reveal their true selves Most of the tihtly, to say the least, surfaces But Ensign Meihowa, you have kept your calm up until now, even when you are inexperienced That is very commendable and beautiful You can take pride in that”
“…”
Ensign Meihowa appeared to be shocked at my words Some colour returned to her face
“Y-You don’t have to say that You are a very, very strange person, Lezirth When I look at you… you really sound old”
Well, it’s true that I’ what I said She appeared to be less agitated than before, and calmed down
“B-But doesn’t that mean you and Luise, who continued to stay cal yourself?”
Her wings fluttered and sprinkled soht Her tone was sharp and so better than before, so that put my heart at ease
“In that case, it is ‘cool’ of me to exclude myself from the description”
“Cool, you say? Ha, ha ha ha Really now… you really are an interesting person You’re so relaxed even in a situation like this I feel like I can forget about the situation, even for awith you”
Ensign Meihowa s reminded of the unfortunate reality
“I would be seen as a more hateful enemy compared to a human in their eyes… because I aed girl who is willing to kill her fellow Elcros for her own selfish reasons Do you think they can forgive someone like that?”
Saying that, she buried her face in her knees She was hurt by her oords
“Then why did you join the Armed Forces?”
“Well… because the general idea of an Elcro woman is to be obedient and be treated like dirt It was suffocating to live aical father wanted to writeshot in the Federation as a wife But I wanted to escape from my father’s control and the only way to do so was to join the Armed Forces”
“…”
I heard a lot about officers who offered bribes for their promotion, and I’ve personally had bribes come in and had been quite taken aback by them before
But to think there are people ould offer their own daughter as a bribe… How can a bastard like that be allowed to exist?
“Well, he argued for his actions saying that it was to secure the future in the Federation or some rubbish So I wanted escape from him, and the fastest way to do so was to join the Armed Forces I didn’t think too deeply about it, to be honest Then I finally realized so in the acadeun at Elcros in the future…”
After saying so, Meihowa became quiet as a mouse
I could feel so up inside me as I looked at her It was ih in her life
However,with her as I saw her in pain
She was a victim of the Federation Because of the ith the Elcro race, slaves were taken and from the slavery and discrimination in the Federation, she found the only way to protect herself—to join the Armed Forces
I raised htly worried that she ht think of me weirdly, because of what I’m about to say next
“During the AD period, huainst other huued that the anized massacre”
“Huh?”
“However, most of the militants did not conscript themselves to kill They simply wanted a stable income and life, and for self-realization—they didn’t join the military to kill”
“…”
“I understand why you had to conscript yourself to the Arn And you mustn't blame yourself for that Didn’t you conscript yourself to run away fro father because there was no other way to protect yourself?”
When I said that, Ensign Meihowa’s eyes became watery She looked up at me with rabbit-like eyes
“N-No one has ever told s before Thank you for your words, Lezirth…”
“Don’t sweat it I n”
“…”
Ensign Meihowa blushed and averted her gaze away from me
“B-But I will die here, without changing anything To think that I would die by the hands of Elcros, after fleeing the arranged ainst Elcros I’ this out of my own self-satisfaction, but what about you, Recruit Lezirth? No, Apprentice Lezirth, what about…”
“No”
I shook my head
“Huh?”