Vol 4 Chapter 12 (1/2)

“Oh Gods Oh apostles who hold apart the heavens and the earth I offer you this prayer My flesh I offer to beco of sacrificial flame

Emroy, God of War

Hardy, God of the Underworld

Deldort, God of Covenants

Palapan, God of Vengeance”

As Delilah recited her prayer, she faced the small altar on her desk

She went to one knee, before the candle that represented the Gods The tips of her long rabbit ears were nearly touching the ground

She earing her battle dress

Her beautiful face was daubed in cae makeup, and she held a coal-blackened shortsword

“Deliver me from fear, from mercy, from love, from confusion This body shall, with this sword, at this tie be anointed in the red of fresh blood I swear upon e nor be destroyed”

This was the prayer of the Warrior Bunnies

Once, the Warrior Bunnies had a sdom in the northern plains of the continent

According to the records, they were cruel and fierce, passionate and lustful However, those were huainst them Still, the records existed for a reason Within their doht each other constantly After that, they would eneration, and this vivid impression was imprinted in the minds of historians

In this society, their pure-blooded queen had absolute authority over the tribes, as well as e of nobles which existed to support the queen However, that just represented their position and pedigree, unlike the Eh familial lines This was because Warrior Bunnies had no concept of a family There were far too few males born to support a proper family line The Warrior Bunnies were an extremely fertile race, but they produced very few males Thus, the males were rare, and because they were rare, all the pure-blooded offspring born to the males of a tribe would immediately become backup candidates for the queen

Because there were so few males in each tribe, the other females would breed with the males of other species to obtain their seed and their offspring And because they had no concept of husband and wife, they would live hoever they liked, and leave once they were bored They did all these things happily And so, each tribe could function as a family Delilah herself had been raised by the woe

However, their country had been destroyed by the treachery of their queen

The Empire attacked them

It was not aIndeed, the Empire’s objective was not territory or wealth, but the Warrior Bunnies themselves They started a war in order to capture the beautiful Warrior Bunnies so they could sell and use them as slaves

The Warrior Bunnies resisted the Eer than any individual I of the war, they toyed with the Iht However, that was all they could do

The Imperial Army was superior in nu refined the art of organizing and using doms were completely overwhelmed by the Imperial counterattacks Their battle lines were constantly penetrated, until their offensive lost momentum and stalled Under suppression from all sides, they were finally defeated

The last of the Warrior Bunnies who could still resist were killed off after they were toyed with The ones who ran out of strength and surrendered were degraded by the Imperial soldiers and then their ears were cut in half in lieu of a slave brand After that, they were sold as slaves in the etables

Of course, not everyone was captured A few of theed to escape However, these escapees had a harder life than the slaves

They abandoned their homes and scattered to the four winds to evade capture by the I froth They stole and sold their bodies just to obtain the food they needed to survive Some of them chose to cut their ears and surrender rather than live such a miserable life

When they made that decision, nobody stopped them

Their resolve avering Rather than lead a ht as well becoinally easier life

Therefore, those who re ones who refused to forsake their honor and dignity, even in the face of death They were kept going by their resenth hatred and honor

And then, they met the previous master of House Formal, Colt

nobody knehether it was a hobby or because he was open-reed, “It should have been a hobby” That was because he preferred Deirls

In truth, there were several Catgirls and Medusas who had received his affections However, when asked about the Count, they would all s As such, the truth was shrouded behind mystery

Later on, when Myui was old enough to inherit the House, she heard fro and the foolish things he said However, Myui could not disclose these words After all, she had to protect her father’s reputation, so she could not casually repeat them

Fro He had not abused his position and power to take advantage of theh he was fond of Demihumans, he respected their free will and was quite open-ood opinion of him

In any case, House Forathered the Warrior Bunnies, Cat People, Harpies, Medusas, and various other De oppression into its territories and protected the the sale of them As a result, within the dohts

What the Warrior Bunnies received from the Count was a patch of hard land that was difficult to farm However, this was the only place they could live in peace They built small houses and eventually a settlement, and called their people over They treated this place as a second home

In addition, the Count would so volunteers as his maids Because of this, their lives slowly took a turn for the better

They decided as a group that they would do anything to repay that kindness, no matter the cost

Therefore, in accordance with the orders from House Formal, she made her final decision

Delilah stopped thinking and abandoned her doubts She gripped the shortsword that she had been provided to finish her mission

Yanagida watched Itary expression After a while, he shrugged and said, “Cheh, I can’t do anything with hi his mind back to its daily work mode

The people of Arnus Town returned to their jobs The PX girls went back to PX, while the head cook and the waitresses returned to the canteen, while the Dwarf foremen went back to their construction sites

Yanagida headed back to his office, to deal with the extra work Itaiven him

He reported Itaaki, whose face isted in frustration, and then the folder he showed him made the Major even more annoyed

“In other words, ‘Lieutenant Itaround resources froency, he handed his coeant Major Kuwabara and proceeded to the Elbe Kingdouidance of said local resident’ Is that right?”

“Indeed Fro, the brass ordered Itami to use his connections to collect infors This action was taken in accordance with this directive”

“Ah, forget it, since it concerns underground resources like oil and diamonds, we can’t do much about it”

“M, ‘Find it, find it, haven’t you found it yet?’ All the recon tea around the clock because of the I or whatnot, despite this being an extremely important objective”

“It’s fine as an objective, but the probleh that we have to divert resources from or abandon our efforts in the Imperial Capital?”

“Yes The situation around japan is turning gri, America, the EU, China, Russia, and various countries froion, if we don’t accurately pinpoint the locations of these resources, our country will lose the advantage This is a vitally iy and we absolutely have to get around to doing it That’s why I felt Itami’s decision was a correct one

“Still, isn’t it dangerous to go alone? I’ve also heard that Dragons were sighted there”

“That fellow’s prepared himself for it”

“Is that so Prepared himself for it…”

As Major Higaki said that, he closed his eyes and then reached out to the chop on it

“All right We’ll take it as that”

Yanagida kept the docu Just then, Major Higaki suddenly spoke to Yanagida

“I’ve always been wondering, what exactly is that guy thinking about?”

Yanagida swiveled in a textbook 180 degree turn, and then he answered

“Froht of him as an idiot Now, my suspicions are fully confirmed”

Major Higaki looked outside the , and then he spoke like he was talking to himself

“Why then, how can that guy be so stupid?”

Yanagida ignored Higaki’s question

“The rules and regulations exist to be followed However, if one blindly follows the rules, someday, humanity as a species will be supplanted by AI-equipped machines”

“What’s this? Some kind of sci-fi stuff?”

“No I believe it will be a problem for us in the near future”

“Is that so If that’s the case, what is the value of a human life? What is its purpose?”

“The value of humanity lies in their abilities to escape the bounds of rules and regulations At certain tiulations must be broken When they are broken, ill be able to see the value of humanity”

Higaki sighed loud enough for Yanagida to hear

“That girl Yao prostrated herself beforeAnd she was such a beautiful girl When I heard her cry, my heart ached At that time, I was confused But I did not act I could not act I have a family to feed, and my subordinates have their own families I could not take action casually”

“Major, that’s quite normal”

“If that guy did what you said and showed the value of humanity… I’d be quite jealous of him”

After Higaki said that, he turned the back of his spinning chair to Yanagida

Yanagida continued speaking to his back

“Major That’s just because your time has not come yet”

Yanagida continued his work

“All right, the next one is…”

After a quick jog, he reached the JGSDF Special Region Expeditionary Force Headquarters — Operation Staff Unit’s 2nd Branch

The e of the 2nd Branch was Colonel Ience operations in the Special Region

While most of his subordinates were unifore of a few suits froency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police In a sense, 2nd Branch was the final destination of people from many other units

And then, they would be deployed according to their specialties to gather inforion, perform data analysis and evaluations, or determine the direction of future operations And Col I they did

“Chief Imazu, I have some documents for you to chop”

Iida presented to him They were post facto docuality of Itaaki’s chop was already on those documents All Imazu needed to do was chop it himself

I them

“Yanagida This ht concern natural resources, but don’t you think it’s a bit too hasty? It feels like it’s being rushed”

“Currently, the re recon teams have all been sent to the Imperial Capital to carry out 2nd Branch’s operations Under these conditions, we do not have the luxury of doing as we please”

“Then think of so While we can ask scholars like Kato-sensei or Lelei-chan about inforhts, we still need to have boots on the ground to perforations While the talks are i on you”

In truth, there was a very lie and carry out investigations, as In order to ensure there were sufficient people for activities in the I ress had been made

Norida would make adjustments based on each branch’s wishes, and in order to allow the operating units to successfully coht have to deny certain requests However, he simply could not think of a solution for the current situation Therefore, in the end, he had to adapt to the situation and try to buy himself some reaction time

“Well, when you think about it, don’t you think Itami’s actions are a solution for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it A JSDF officer hires three to four locals, and then travels all over the place doing reconnaissance Won’t that solve the manpower problem? Pick one or two people froh people for six resource prospecting teams Plus, a recon team should be able to do fine with just one or two people”

Indeed, this line of thought was not a bad one

Resource prospecting basicallythe location of an ore vein If they met enemies, they could just run away In that way, one would only need a couple of troops per team

Granted, it was erous to operate with fewer members, but they could use trusted locals to make up the shortfall in nuuides In other words, just like what Ita

Thewas that they needed to ensure the tea happened If they could use the SFGp and the West Brigade, it would be a great idea

“Please consider the idea There’s no need for you to decide immediately, but I hope you can think about it”

Yanagida was thinking about the resource prospecting platoons as he left 2nd Branch

The bugle for the flag-lowering rang out

The sun was setting in the west The co and other as over Each unit returned to their barracks and reported to their co on their weapons in preparation to return them to the armory After that, they ate, bathed, washed their clothes and polished their boots After that, they tidied their rooms and their personal equipment, and otherwise passed the time

Naturally the personnel on evening and night duties were not part of their nus, they had to draw arms and ammunition from the armory

Yanagida was one of these people whose as still not done at this late hour

He still had to show his documents to the most powerful man in the JSDF, explain them to him, and then politely ask him to put his chop on them

“I see, so Lieutenant Itadouide hi Is that it?”

In the face of Hazahtened his back, and silently nodded

The stern atida uncomfortable This was because the leaders of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Combat Groups, as well as the four pilots from the JASDF were all in the same room as him

In particular, Col Kaun (co hi to juida was under so much stress that he could not speak Their hostility was very clearly directed at him

What did I do toup No ht now, he was a mere First Lieutenant

Yanagida gritted his teeth, and replied to Hazama, “Yes, that is exactly it!”

“What the hell is that fellow thinking?”

“Ita in accordance with our ic Direction: Resource Investigation’!”

“I know that I’ about the official reason Do you knohat I mean?”

“I do not know Whether official or unofficial, Itami moved out to scout for resources!”

Yanagida’s caues looked like they had been soaked in water Perhaps if one squeezed them, they could fill a cup or tith his sweat

“Is that so That’s it, then”

Haza at After he sat back onto this chair, he asked the commanders for their opinions

“Gentlemen What do you think?”

Kengun replied, “We will do as the General commands”

“Us too, we’re ready to move out at any time”

After Lieutenant Colonel Kamikoda replied, Ltc Kurihama, Ltc Nishi+moto and Maj Mizuhara thrust their chests out in support

“Good Very good”

Hazama stood up

“Leaving China aside, ancient China had a lot of people and stories we should respect For instance, Shen Baoxu He was aand Autumn Period of ancient China When the country of Chu was on the verge of destruction by the Wu ardo said, ‘The destruction of Chu is your problem Why then, should I sacrifice the soldiers of Qin for you?’ After that, Shen Baoxu wept in the courtyard of the Qin palace for seven days while begging for help The Qin king was moved and sent out his army as reinforcements What do you think?”

Ltc Kamikoda of the JASDF replied first

“I think it was foolish to send the Qin army to die for another nation Only an idiot would do that”

“Indeed However, we have an idiot like that in our midst”

Ltc Kurihama exhaled, and spoke

“He may be an idiot, but he is still a japanese citizen We can’t leave hi out there”

“Exactly Gentlemen, do not let that idiot die Colonel Kamo!”

“Sir!”

Ka his chest forward

“Order 1st Combat Group to stand to Then, select appropriate troops to provide reinforceations Next, Lieutenant Colonel Kamikoda!”

“Sir!”

“I wish to request air support Prepare for all eencies that could happen, for exaerous Beast”

“Understood!”

The commanders each departed the General’s office

Although he sort of understood what had just happened in front of hiida was still stiff Then, he nervously asked a question of Hazama

“That… I thought we decided not to take action because it would involve us crossing the border of the Elbe Kingdom? Why did you decide to move our forces out?”

Yanagida was operating on the assumption that Ita to send out their troops fro, Yao would not have needed to drive Tuka to her wits’ end

Hazaida

“Well, it doesn’tto turn on hie of the Special Region?”

“Mm I can carry on a simple conversation”

“Then, I need you to head down to the treatment center I want you to meet someone Your mission is to listen to his terms, and then relay ours”

“I understand But, ill I be ?”

As Hazahed loudly, and then he took off his sweat-soaked coat before answering him