Chapter 11

"Hey, I heard. You got caught with some weird thing, didn't you?"

"Don't call it that."

I can't deny it.

The moment class ended, she suddenly approached me with a sympathetic look mixed with a mocking tone. She was the one who, after being bitter about losing to me in the entrance exam, had confronted me but then apologized sincerely after the boss exposed my situation. She's the straightforward young lady, Sarasago, or rather, Ijigaya-san.

While other students are unsure about how to approach me—of course, I'm also unsure about how to approach them—this young lady quickly closed the distance.

Apparently, her family's Sixth Division guards the Kinki region and works closely with the Second Division, where I will be assigned. She decided that to work with me, it would be best to establish at least a basic level of communication.

It's a calculated approach, but human relationships are like that. Since I don't mind having a conversation with her, I decided to go along with her plans, and that's how we ended up having casual chats.

By the way, why am I assigned to the Second Division? It's because the personnel officer who handled my enrollment procedures was from the Second Division.

I don't have any complaints about being assigned to the Second Division, as I believe the higher-ups decide our post-graduation placements. However, I would prefer a rear position.

On a different note, she says that due to the affiliations of her classmates, they can't easily have casual conversations. I seem to be a bit different.

Even though I'm under the Second Division, I'm a genuine civilian, so there are no complicated factional barriers. Plus, everyone in the upper ranks wants information about me, so I can have casual conversations without getting complaints. In fact, she says her parents praise her just for chatting with me.

...I don't know what information she's getting from our conversations or what she's sharing, but it's strange how open she is about it. It makes me less wary, which is quite odd.

In her position, we would be competitors, and I've heard they are strictly disciplined at home. It's understandable why they find it tiring to always be on guard.

While I don't mind her sharing information, I don't want her to go overboard. But I can't dampen her enthusiasm when she happily says, "Just talking about you gets my dad to praise me!"

I, an old soul, can tolerate it. That's why I've decided to overlook her leaking information about me. I'd be concerned if she shared too much, but we only have casual conversations, so I should accept her competence in gathering information.

When we first met, she showed me the beauty of the Sarasago flower. But that's irrelevant. Absolutely.

Despite everything, she turned out to be very easy to get along with.

First, she doesn't lie. She's aware that it's not in her nature. When she can't talk about something, she remains silent or deflects, but that's all.

When she confronted me initially, she was trying to gather information about me. She wanted to figure out how to approach me based on my reactions.

After the boss exposed my situation during the HR meeting, she recognized me as a civilian who needed protection. However, since I'm now a military academy student, she decided to treat me as a colleague.

Honestly, I appreciate her maintaining a reasonable distance with me, an outsider.

"Your upper body is standard, and your lower body is beast-type, right? It's undoubtedly a weird thing."

She's straightforward, like this time.

"…I think it could be quite useful if you can handle it?"

"Can you handle it?"

What I said to the maintenance guy, no, the top guy, came back to me.

"I managed to get decent scores in the simulator, but I can't say much since I don't know the difficulty level and it's just a simulator."

"Hmm? At least you didn't crash without even starting, right? You could perform evasive maneuvers and attacks?"

"Sure."

Isn't it unreasonable to claim 'decent scores' if you can't even do that? I was skeptical.

"Don't look so surprised. Such a weird thing. Most people can't even start it, but you did. Not only that, you could perform basic actions like evasion and attack. This is definitely good information. My dad will praise me again!"

"Ah, I see."

Is she perceptive, or am I just naive?

(No, I'm just naive.)

Whether it's usable or not, information about a new model is rare and valuable.

However, the reason she's excited about getting this rare and valuable information is to get praise from her father, which is a bit deflating.

But I can't let my guard down. I'm a student, but I'm also a soldier.

"I have training now."

"Ah, right. I'll go too."

(I can tolerate personal information leaks, but not leaks about the machine.)

I decided to end the conversation with Ijigaya-san and headed to the hangar where the 'weird thing' and the pervert who made it were waiting.

---

Two days later, in late April, a time known as Golden Week in the civilian world.

Unlike the general public, who need to keep the economy running, military personnel, who have been fighting demons for over a hundred years since the Second World War, don't have such a tradition of taking long holidays. Whether it's late April or early May, it's business as usual with a two-day weekend. (In the past, it was a six-day workweek, but it was proven that no breaks led to decreased efficiency, and without spending money, the economy wouldn't function, so the two-day weekend was introduced.)

How are you all doing?

I, Kaita Kawakami, am currently in the seaside of northern Kyushu, far from Tokyo.

I know it's sudden and confusing, but I'm just as confused.

To summarize, yesterday the boss suddenly told me, "You're going to the Iruma Air Base tomorrow." When I got there, maintenance guys were waiting, and before I knew it, I was in Kyushu.

"No way!"

Even if I explain, you won't understand! We don't get long holidays, and even if civilians do, we military cadets, who are destined for the battlefield after graduation, don't. We can't.

Even if we did, everyone would be training. Because if you're not familiar with your machine by the time you hit the battlefield, you'll die, no joke.

And it's not just you. We're officer candidates. We become lieutenants upon graduation, meaning we'll be squad leaders or their assistants. When we die, it means our entire squad is wiped out.

If it's just you, that's one thing, but you're responsible for your subordinates' lives. If someone could enjoy a holiday knowing that, they'd be a social misfit, not a strong-willed person.

The military wouldn't tolerate such people as officer candidates. There's no room for social misfits in the current military. Anyone trying to slack off during a long holiday would be quickly expelled. Besides, it's unthinkable to skip classes while getting paid to attend school.

Admittedly, some students skip non-military-related classes, but as long as they don't fail exams, it's tolerated. The basic mindset is "Training over classes!"

It's not unique to military schools. I've heard that if you enter a private school with a strong sports program, it's similar.

With this policy, you don't need to show up at school every weekday. However, regular exam results and class attendance affect your internal evaluations, so most students don't skip classes.

However, there are times when you can skip classes without affecting your evaluation.

For example, in a school with a strong sports program, if you're officially representing your team in a competition or practice match, it's considered an excused absence, not a skip.

So, here's a question:

Q: In a military school that trains soldiers, what would be equivalent to "going to a competition or practice match"?

A: Going to the battlefield.

That's right.

"That's right. Why me?"

"What's wrong?"

Mr. Saigo looked at me with a puzzled expression, but I was the one who was confused.

"No way. It's strange for a freshman to be sent to the battlefield, right?"

The military academy curriculum does include "field training," but that's for third-year students, specifically A-class students or B-class students with assigned machines. They are the top students who have studied for over two years.

It's not for a freshman who has only been here a month and is still adjusting to a weird machine.

What is the school thinking? I asked, trying to appeal to common sense, but Mr. Saigo smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"I pushed a bit."

"You're the culprit!"

After the first day of simulator training, I reported to my sister and did some research. It turned out that this guy wasn't just a maintenance worker but also the president of Saigo Heavy Industries.

I hadn't heard of the company before, but that's because they had been making tank treads and heavy artillery, not machines. They recently ventured into machine manufacturing, which is why I hadn't heard of them.

However, it's not easy to enter this industry. Large corporations have dominated machine manufacturing and development.

Specifically, standard models were made by companies like Shimizu and Mito, and beast-type models by companies like Kaisaki and Kida. New companies couldn't enter the market.

But world events changed that. The counteroffensive in Asia and the fall of the Korean Peninsula increased the demand for weapons, which couldn't be met by the existing supply.

The military then invited companies with core technologies to enter the market. Several companies, including Saigo Heavy Industries, eagerly raised their hands.

A few years later, the first prototype from Saigo Heavy Industries was completed. Normally, a prototype developed and assembled in such a short time wouldn't be assigned to a military academy student, a golden egg.

However, the destruction of the Third Division two years ago changed that.

The upper echelons, realizing the shortage of forces for homeland defense and expeditionary forces, decided to use the prototype from Saigo Heavy Industries, even if it was just a temporary measure.

I was assigned this machine because, unlike other students with factional ties, I was a civilian, making me a convenient test subject.

No one would complain if I died, and no one would complain if I was given a weird machine. That's why I was chosen.

Saigo Heavy Industries wanted to test the machine in combat as soon as possible. They were eager for formal adoption, and pushing for combat testing was understandable from a business perspective.

The problem was why I had to be involved.

My goal was not to shine on the battlefield. I wanted a safe, non-combat role where I wouldn't be demoted or punished.

Ideally, I wanted to be assigned to the Sixth Division, which oversees the Kinki region, or the Eighth Division, which oversees Shikoku. I didn't want to be on the front lines.

But why did I have to be assigned to the elite Second Division in Kyushu? I had heard from Ijigaya-san, but it still didn't make sense.

Sending students to the front lines is wrong. Use your own pilots!

The Second Division would be annoyed to have a new student from the military academy using a new machine for training!

I argued this point, but I didn't understand the seriousness of the situation yet.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of taking students to the battlefield."

"Huh?"

But I'm here, right?

"You're not a student. At least, not while you're here."

"Huh?"

What is this guy talking about?

"Surprised? Check your student ID. You'll understand."

"Student ID?"

It's a standard form of identification for students, past and present.

In 2056, it's not a physical booklet but a digital record accessible through the smartphone provided by the military academy.

He told me to check it. I didn't understand, but if he said I'd understand, I'd check it.

"Nothing... Huh?"

Half-heartedly checking, I saw my photo, name, and birthdate, followed by my affiliation and rank.

The photo, name, and birthdate were correct. The affiliation and rank were different.

"...Second Division, Special Lieutenant?"

"Congratulations. You're a lieutenant."

"Huh?"

Not just before graduation, but a month after enrollment, I was promoted.

Well, it might not be a promotion in the strict sense, as I'm a Special Lieutenant.

Special treatment means I'm treated as a student (or a warrant officer equivalent) in normal times but as a lieutenant when on special duty.

In other words, a conditional lieutenant. The condition, of course, is...

"You can't be a formal lieutenant without completing officer training. However, by performing as a test pilot here, you'll be commissioned as a lieutenant or a Special Captain upon graduation. Congratulations, Kaita."

A fait accompli. I get it. But why me?

Damn! I underestimated this guy and Saigo Heavy Industries.

Of course, any company entering the military industry would have money and connections. Using them to make a student a Special Lieutenant and send them to the battlefield is possible...

And a Special Lieutenant is still a formal lieutenant. In the military, rank is absolute. I can't use "I'm a student" as an excuse on the battlefield.

"...What test do I need to do here?"

"Good attitude. We'll start with movement and deployment training. Let's retrieve the machine from the hangar and move to the designated location."

"...Understood."

And so, I learned the fear of a wealthy and powerful pervert and ended up training on the battlefield, even if it was in the rear.

By the way, Kaita is mistaken. Normally, even with money and connections, such a breach of protocol is impossible. If it were allowed, other students would try to create similar situations.

This time, it was approved because Kaita is the only current test subject for the Third Savior Project, the machine from Saigo Heavy Industries is a completely new concept, his simulator performance was exceptional, and the military desperately needs combat-ready forces due to the destruction of the Third Division. Many factors had to align for this to happen.