Chapter 77

After that, the boss, who had recovered from the few seconds of confusion, sighed and said, "How utterly ridiculous. But discipline must be maintained. In this case, Captain Kawakami was right," and acknowledged my actions. He then imposed a five-day toilet cleaning punishment on Fujitani and the other three, instructed Hashimoto and Ayase to become proficient with both the mass-produced model and the enhanced exoskeleton, and decided on a rotation for handling the actual mass-produced model and the simulator. He also wrapped up all the necessary tasks for the battalion's immediate establishment.

They will now have to diligently train with the mass-produced model and the enhanced exoskeleton while also cleaning the toilets.

"Well, that's how it went."

"Hmm."

I returned home and reported the entire sequence of events to my younger sister.

Although it's a bit late, I generally report to my sister whenever something happens. Of course, I don't share information that would violate military regulations, but I usually report most things during dinner.

Why do I share potentially sensitive information with my sister? The life at the military academy is not only a topic of my school life but also directly affects our household finances. It's a topic that can be used in conversations with my sister, who is at a difficult age, without her rejecting it. Moreover, I hope that, as a third party with no direct stake, she might notice something I haven't.

Incidentally, the reason I started sharing school events with my sister is that she wanted to know more about the military academy.

When she first said, "I want to know more about the military academy. Even the details are fine," I was suspicious and wondered, "Why are you so interested in gathering information about the military academy?" But recently, I realized my thinking was too naive.

After all, the school I attend is technically a high school, but it's a military school. Furthermore, instead of paying tuition, I receive a salary, so even as a student, I am treated as a soldier.

Considering this, my sister, a middle school student without parents, has an older brother who could die at any moment as a soldier, and even if he dies, she won't have much financial security. The situation is far from ideal, especially since even the capital, which was thought to be safe, couldn't prevent the invasion of the demon race.

It's only natural for my sister, who is aware of this situation, to feel anxious about her future and to seek self-defense measures. It's also understandable that one of those self-defense measures is to enroll in the military academy to gain a social position. After all, for someone like us with no connections or money, that's the only way to protect ourselves.

I would like to say, "I'll handle the fighting, so you stay back," but in today's Japan, even staying back isn't safe. In fact, there's a risk of being taken hostage, so it's not a bad decision for her to declare her intention to enroll in the military academy early to be under the military's protection.

However, I need to inform her that the military academy has its own set of complications to prevent unexpected issues after she enrolls. That's why I've been teaching her about my school life whenever the opportunity arises.

In this case, I hope she understood that "even if the other person is a classmate, once they become a superior, they must be treated as such" and "even if you do nothing, you might still be punished due to collective responsibility." But did she really get the message?

"Ultimately, it was because Fujitani misunderstood and attacked you, right? And that's why the others were also punished?"

"Yeah, in a nutshell."

If I put it simply.

"Then, what if Fujitani was your superior?"

"Huh? I don't understand your point."

I don't get it either.

"Well, this time it was a subordinate who misunderstood and attacked a superior, right?"

"Yeah."

"What if it was the opposite, and a superior misunderstood and attacked a subordinate?"

"Oh, I see."

If I were a sergeant and Fujitani were a captain, in that case...

"I would have no choice but to endure the attack without retaliating or restraining them."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. After all, at the initial stage, I wouldn't know it was a misunderstanding. Without knowing the reason for the superior's anger, I would have to assume I did something wrong and accept the punishment. If I can understand the reason later, that's fine. If not, I would have to appeal to a higher superior, in my case, a lieutenant colonel."

"Wow."

You can only restrain them if you are the superior. Well, I suppose it might be okay even if you're of the same rank, but I don't want to give her any loopholes, so I'll be strict here.

"Of course, there are cases where a superior doesn't give a reason. In such cases, you either have to accept it or appeal to a higher superior, but most of the time, you just have to accept it."

It's the subordinate's fault for angering the superior. However, there are always exceptions.

"For example, if I misunderstood and attacked them, it would likely turn into a major issue, and I would face serious consequences."

In that case, there would be no distinction between superior and subordinate.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Especially if it were Fujitani. Not only because of her personality, but also because of the power of the division, no one would side with me.

Moreover, the problem is that it would start from a misunderstanding. If it were discovered that I attacked Fujitani and it was a misunderstanding, it would be a huge issue. It might not lead to a purge, but it would certainly be more than just toilet cleaning.

Sexual harassment? My head would roll.

"Wow. The military is tough."

"Yeah. It's enough that you understand that."

Indeed. The surveillance cameras were installed partly to prevent such dangers.

"But, um..."

"Yeah?"

"Originally, why did Saigo only build one prototype? If he had built multiple, enough for everyone, this wouldn't have happened, right? Wouldn't their families or the division pay for it?"

"Ah, that's a good point."

That's where the problem started. While Fujitani and the others understood the simple explanation, my sister, who is neither a soldier, a technician, nor a businessperson, found Saigo's actions unusual. This is a good opportunity to explain.

"First, the Prototype 3 is still a prototype, right?"

"Yeah."

"Prototypes are meant to test and collect data, right?"

"Yeah. But you're riding the Prototype 1, right? Wasn't Prototype 3 built using the data from it to create the mass-produced model?"

"Ah, I see. That's what you think."

"Huh?"

Here's the thing. Knowing that I ride the Prototype 1, you might think that.

"In my case, there are special circumstances."

"Special?"

More like abnormal.

"Yeah. Originally, that machine wasn't for data collection. It was built by Saigo and a group of perverts for perverts."

"Huh?"

Yeah, I know. It's confusing. I don't fully understand the details of its creation, so I'll give a brief explanation, but I'm not sure if you'll understand.

"In other words, the Prototype 1 was just 'the strongest machine we could think of,' and it wasn't even operable until I got in it."

"That's no good."

"Exactly."

In the end, the Prototype 1 was a romantic machine, with data collection as a secondary concern, if at all.

I could accept the romantic aspect because I have memories from my previous life and am not involved in business, but why Saigo, who is also the CEO, would build such a machine is a mystery.

Well, that's the nature of perverts.

Anyway, let's move on.

"So, when Saigo and the others found out I could operate it, they desperately tried to collect data. But the Prototype 1 single-handedly defeated four large and over ten medium-sized demons in its first battle."

"I know that..."

Yeah, I reported the details of the first battle, so I'm glad you remember.

"Because of that, the Prototype 1 rapidly grew and optimized itself."

It grew and optimized faster than Saigo and the others had anticipated.

"Ah, I think I'm starting to understand."

Good. I might stop here, but it's dangerous to have a half-baked understanding, so I'll explain it all.

"The Prototype 1 lost most of its purpose as a prototype. The Prototype 2, which was built from spare parts for the Prototype 1, was also seized by the military. This series of events left Saigo Heavy Industries without a standard machine."

"You mean the only one left is the Prototype 1, which has already grown and optimized itself?"

"Yeah. But even with just one Prototype 1, it's not a viable business for Saigo Heavy Industries."

"True."

Remember, it's still a prototype. Of course, the military would be happy to buy it if it were for sale, but Saigo needs it for data collection, so they can't sell it.

"So, Saigo decided to build a new machine using the data from the Prototype 1, the payment for the Prototype 2, the data from the mass-produced model developed by the military, and the materials from the large demons I defeated."

"That's the Prototype 3?"

"Exactly."

Rumor has it that his wife told him, "No matter how high-performance it is, it's useless if it can't be operated. Consider that when building prototypes. ...There won't be a next time."

Thanks to that, the Prototype 3 prioritizes operability over firepower and armor, making it easier to operate than the Prototype 1.

I'll skip the catalog specs of the unseen machine and get to the main point.

"So, the Prototype 3 uses a lot of materials from large demons."

"Large... Oh, that's why they can't build more? They don't have the materials."

"That's the main reason. Materials from large demons that can be used in machines are extremely rare. No matter how much money you have, you can't just buy them, and they are usually allocated to military factories or zaibatsu companies. This is why Saigo Heavy Industries, a private company, can't get enough materials."

Even having materials from large demons at all is unusual for a private company. The reason Saigo has them is that most of them were obtained by me, riding Saigo Heavy Industries' machines.

When my sister said, "A 2 million yen bonus isn't cheap," this was the answer. I receive not only cash but also extremely rare materials that can't be bought with money.

While having cash is nice, it can be stolen or targeted by bad people, and most importantly, it's useless if I die. As a soldier, there's always a risk of death, but as an older brother, it's my duty to prepare to avoid dying until my sister is an adult.

Incidentally, materials from large demons are prioritized for the Prototype 1, so the materials used in the Prototype 3 are more like leftovers. However, even a small amount of these materials significantly improves the machine's performance.

That's why the Prototype 3 can't be mass-produced due to the lack of necessary materials.

Why not build it without the materials from large demons? The perverts at Saigo Heavy Industries wouldn't compromise.

Building a machine with inferior catalog specs would be pointless, and since the lack of materials is the main reason, there are other reasons for not mass-producing it.

"It's a prototype, so the Fourth and Fifth Divisions might provide the money and materials through negotiations, but the tests aren't complete. If a machine costing over 50 billion yen doesn't work, it would be the worst-case scenario."

Prototypes are scary because of this possibility. The Prototype 1 was like that.

"That's true."

"If we built a 50 billion yen machine that no one can operate, using rare materials, and couldn't explain why, the division's financial officers would be furious. The families of Taguchi, Hashimoto, and Ayase, who moved the division for their daughters, would also suffer. That's why their families won't push for the division or Saigo to build machines for their daughters until Fujitani collects enough data."

Of course, the problems wouldn't be limited to the division. The seller would also face issues.

After all, from another perspective, it would mean, "We built a high-spec machine using rare materials, but no one can operate it, and we sold it to the military for 50 billion yen. We don't know why it can't be operated."

Technically, Saigo Heavy Industries only built what they were asked to and delivered a machine that met the specs, so there shouldn't be legal issues. If questioned, they could say, "It's because your pilot is inexperienced," if they had conducted operational tests beforehand.

But doing this would severely damage Saigo Heavy Industries' reputation, both technically and emotionally. They would likely never do business with the military again, even if they weren't sued.

For a CEO who needs to feed their family and employees, this would be a nightmare, unlike an engineer who is satisfied with building a machine that meets the specs.

Therefore, no matter how much money and materials they are offered, Saigo won't build new machines until they collect enough data from the Prototype 3. His wife would definitely prevent it.

In conclusion, the answer to my sister's initial question, "Why don't they build enough machines for everyone?" is:

"The Prototype 3 exists only for Fujitani because both the demand and supply sides are managing risks."

"Ah, I see."

I summarized it in a Chibi-style, but my sister, who doesn't know the original, accepted it without any comments.

"It was a good meal."

It might not have been the most interesting dinner conversation, but I'm satisfied that I answered my sister's question. I moved to the sink to wash the empty dishes.

"Hmm. So, to get my own machine..."

I didn't hear her whisper as I had already started moving.

A simple explanation.

I'm the one who expands on questions and comments from readers. (Being honest)

Thank you for reading.

P.S.: I've also updated the other world story, Aru.

You can access it from the tag below. Thank you.