Chapter 68

The time goes back a little before Keita's motivation kicked in.

"…Stand by, huh."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Due to the unexpected and severe incident where demons intruded during their match, the members of Class A, whose thoughts and movements were paralyzed, received a rather perplexing order from Shizuka: "You are to stand by in the waiting room in case of an emergency. However, you are forbidden to board your machines."

"There won't be anything we can do even if something happens in this situation."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Fiftygawa Shoko, who accurately grasped the reality and muttered somewhat dismissively that "there's nothing we can do," and Tago Nana, who responded with a lackluster agreement, were both light-hearted. If there were someone with a rigid mindset here, they might scold the two for being too relaxed, given the appearance of demons.

However, even such a person could not deny Shoko's opinion that "Shizuka won't order them to mobilize even if something happens."

After all, the military school has more capable personnel than them, and the military is not so senile as to send students who haven't undergone proper joint training into battle.

Thus, the stand-by order from Shizuka to them essentially meant "don't do anything unnecessary and just watch quietly." The fact that they, who were treated as reserve forces in form, were not allowed to board their machines was, of course, a measure to prevent immature and impulsive individuals from doing something unnecessary.

Wouldn't they be safer without boarding the machines in case of an emergency?

It's better than having inexperienced individuals operate mass-destruction weapons if the waiting room were to be exposed to danger.

In fact, if some rich kid were to board a machine in this situation, they would either try to escape out of fear of the demons or recklessly intervene in the battle. If that were the case, this waiting room would likely be in a hellish state by now.

Since they successfully prevented such a desperate future, Shizuka's decision to order them to stand by was correct.

"I understand that, but still…"

"It's strange, isn't it?"

It was precisely because Shoko and Nana correctly understood all these circumstances that they were now tilting their heads while watching the monitor displaying Keita, who was currently fighting the demons.

"Why is he holding back?"

"Why do you think?"

Of course, this was the first time Shoko and Nana had seen Keita actually fight in a mass-produced model, and they themselves had no experience in battles against monsters or demons. If Shizuka were to say, "Simulators and real combat are different," they would have no choice but to accept it.

"Stop dodging!"

"Indeed, that artillery is a threat! If I get hit, I won't be just fine! But, such attacks only work on slow, large units or mindless medium ones!"

"Like this!"

"With machine guns!"

By comparing Keita's actions and words with those of the demons, it seemed that Keita was somehow dodging the demons' attacks, and the shots he fired during the openings he created were all deflected by the demons.

Thus, if you only look at this part, there was no sign of either side holding back.

However, while they didn't know the demons' abilities and intentions, they did know the combat methods required of the mass-produced model and Keita's character.

Given this, it was strange that he didn't take the opportunity to attack when the demons were standing still in conversation, and it was also strange that he kept trying to maintain distance from the demons who were challenging him to close combat.

Certainly, the mass-produced model was developed primarily for medium- and long-range attacks, and it was equipped with weapons designed for that purpose.

But it wasn't incapable of close combat.

Therefore, it was impossible for his attack methods to be limited to shooting, and it was also strange that he only fired when the enemy could defend.

His mobility was clearly being held back.

Of course, there was a possibility that Keita was not yet accustomed to the mass-produced model. However, there were too many things that couldn't be explained by that alone.

Thus, the conclusion they reached was that "Keita was intentionally holding back." However, they couldn't understand why he would hold back in a serious, life-or-death battle.

"Reasons to hold back against demons, huh. Any ideas?"

"Well, he's not a coexistence advocate, is he?"

"Even if he were, he wouldn't do anything to put his sister at a disadvantage here."

"Right."

At least, the Keita they knew would not do anything that would make his sister suspicious or bullied. Therefore, even if Keita himself were a coexistence advocate or had received some request from the coexistence advocates in Far Eastern Russia, he wouldn't act in a way that would obviously favor the demons in such a public setting.

On the contrary, he would likely take the lead in eliminating the demons to gain the trust of those around him.

It was a rather delicate trust, but their imagination was not wrong.

If the situation were as described above, Keita would be the type to eliminate demons without hesitation to protect their lives.

In reality, the reason he didn't eliminate them at the start was because it was forbidden, and he was letting the enemy defend or dodge to gauge their capabilities and character. He was also holding back his power to make the enemy let their guard down. In other words, he was looking for a sure opportunity to kill the enemy. However, because Shoko and Nana were normal people, they couldn't conceive of someone who would do such things in a life-or-death battle, so they didn't realize Keita's true intentions.

"But, I get that he's confident."

"Right."

"So, we just have to watch quietly, right?"

"Right. We should consider it a valuable experience."

Whether he was holding back because he didn't need to go all out or because he had some other plan, at least Keita was confident. He was confident enough to fight the demons even while holding back. In other words, he would win.

With this certainty, the atmosphere between Shoko and Nana became even more relaxed.

However, they could think this way because they understood a part of Keita's character and abilities.

"…Is that so?"

"But to me, it looks like he's being pushed back."

The ones who questioned the conclusion reached by Shoko and Nana were Hashimoto Natsuki and Aya Mariri, who had been silently watching the monitor next to them.

—By the way, the male students were watching the match on a monitor set up a bit away from the female students, and Mutou Saori and Fujita Issei, who had been interrupted during their match, were waiting in the hangar with their machines, so they were not present.

(They're making a fuss over there. …Probably just that rich kid acting up. It's none of my business.)

"Hasn't he never fought in a mass-produced model before? It's surprising that he can move like that, but…"

"On the contrary, the fact that he can move so well in an unfamiliar machine makes it impossible to think he's holding back."

Natsuki and Mariri, of course, knew about the mass-produced model. In fact, they had participated in the activation test held in their hometown during the summer, so they understood very well that the mass-produced model's operability was extremely difficult.

That's why they thought Keita wasn't holding back, but the information they based their assumptions on was completely different from Shoko's.

(Since it doesn't matter what these two are thinking, it's just annoying to have them make a fuss nearby.)

Ignoring the commotion from the male students, Shoko decided to give a simple explanation to the two who had never fought against Keita.

"First, he can move the mass-produced model. And he does it better than anyone in the National Defense Army."

"Right."

There is no one who can move the mass-produced model better than Keita. In other words, Keita is currently the best pilot of the mass-produced model in the world. This is not a biased or exaggerated statement but a pure fact.

However, just because it's a fact doesn't mean it solves anything.

"That's true. I don't doubt that."

"Even the best, Lieutenant Kashiwazaki, could only manage two or three jumps. Compared to that, the fact that he can dodge and shoot like that shows he's the best."

"Right."

Of course, Natsuki and Mariri had no intention of belittling the National Defense Army's pilots. They were simply accepting the facts as facts.

Therefore, the issue they were concerned with was not whether Keita was the best at handling the mass-produced model. It was whether Keita could defeat the demons.

(They seem unusually anxious. Why… Oh, right. There are demons right there. No wonder they're anxious.)

Shoko had always thought that they would eventually have to fight. However, if asked if she thought it would be now, the answer would be a definite no.

Nevertheless, they had the leisure to watch the monitor calmly—though Shoko and Nana were quite anxious until they were certain Keita was holding back—because they knew of an even more unreasonable existence than the demons.

(Well, that's fine. But lately, I feel like I'm being seen as unconventional because of him. This might be a good opportunity to show that the one who's strange is him, not me.)

While Shoko was aware that her evaluation was becoming somewhat skewed, she thought about how Nana would likely comment, "It's not just a little late," and decided to show the two, who were still looking anxiously at the monitor, the basis for her belief that Keita would defeat the demons—i.e., the reason she thought he was holding back.

However, this attempt was not carried out.

"Interesting. I get it now."

It was a low, emotionless voice that came from the monitor.

"Hmm."

"Oh!"

"Perfect timing if you're planning to end it."

"!"

"This is…!"

A clear difference that anyone, even non-fighters, could recognize.

"I'll show the former humans, who have lost their humanity by being consumed by something, what it means to be human."

It was not just fighting spirit.

It was pure killing intent.

"Finally getting serious, huh?"

"Seems so."

"…Know what it means to hunt humans."

(He's clearly switched gears! This is the real Keita!)

Not only Shoko and Nana, but even Natsuki and Mariri, who didn't know Keita, understood that this was the real Keita. They were certain that Keita would definitely win.

"This is Kawanaga. The target has gone silent."

And the certainty they held became a fact just a few minutes later. Thank you for reading.