Chapter 96 – NTO
“Sorry for calling you so late.”
“No. It’s okay.”
It was already before midnight. Time for the commander to go to bed now. Unless it’s extremely urgent, it’s usually better to call tomorrow noon.
Rien, who was sitting at her desk in the office with her back straight, stared at Netoru for a long time before opening her mouth.
“Netoru. How are you feeling?”
“It’s not as bad as you think. Maybe if I take a break for a week, I will be able to sortie again.”
“···1 week.”
Ryan’s eyes widened slightly. She thought about something in that state and asked cautiously.
“Really···. Are you okay with that? Are you not overdoing it? No matter what, one week is…”
“I know my body well. So don’t worry too much.”
“······Is that so.”
A relieved smile came to Lien’s lips.
“Anyway, I’m really glad that you’re okay.”
“So why did you call me?”
“That···. I called because I had something to say about Natsuo and Karen’s coupling. You said you were also at the scene during the day, so you probably have a rough idea of the situation.”
Lien, who was talking to her, held out a piece of paper that was on her desk in her office.
“This is the match rate between Karen and Natsuo as reported by Asuna today. Would you like to take a look first?”
Netoru nodded her head and held the piece of paper Rien held out to her in her hand. Inside, the coupling wavelengths of Karen and Natsuo were recorded. Of course, the waves were quite different from each other.
─70.3434%
…This is the result I made.
That’s why Netoru maintained a calm expression without much surprise. He glanced at the contents once more, then looked at Rien again.
Netoru’s eyes as she looked at Rien contained doubts about why she was showing this to herself all of a sudden.
Did she even understand the meaning of those gazes?
“…Netoru. As you may know, Karen’s original coupling partner is Natsuo. It was originally planned that when Natsuo returns, he will swap again.”
“Yes. I know.”
As Lyn said.
From the beginning, Netoru’s coupling with Karen was temporary. Netoru only temporarily replaced Karen’s coupling partner, Natsuo, before returning.
But Netoru didn’t care. Because I thought Natsuo would never come back anyway.
So, of course, setting the wavelength of Karen’s coupling to yourself,
When Karen officially became an adult, Netoru planned to train her in earnest so that she could handle her own abilities.
By referring to the magical nervous system of other female pilots and Ceres’ magical nervous system that he had studied so far.
Originally, Netoru’s plan was to change the limitations of Karen’s magical nervous system as a pilot from an institution, from the very beginning, and make it closer to that of a knight.
However, in the end, such a plan was not completed. If Natsuo stays nearby, Netoru’s location becomes ambiguous.
The twisted coupling wavelength could be recovered to some extent with the efforts of the coupling partners, given enough time.
Moreover, Netoru already had Ceres as a coupling partner.
So, from the point of view of the commander, it may not be necessary to keep Netoru as Karen’s coupling partner…
I thought.
I guess it was a needless worry.
“… By any chance, Netoru, do you intend to keep Karen as Second?”
“You mean Karen as the second?”
“Yes. Originally, I should have returned as Natsuo’s coupling partner, but he’s currently in a bad state.”
At Rien’s unexpected suggestion, Netoru tilted her head while still looking at her.
Blue eyes and blond hair with heavy fatigue.
I feel it every time, but I wonder if I’m sleeping properly, and my pale skin is the same.
It’s also very sad to see the shadows under the eyes.
As a commander, he must be under a lot of stress because he is carrying a lot of baggage. It was not something a woman in her early twenties could easily handle.
“…Will it be difficult after all?”
When there was no answer, Rien looked up at Netoru and asked a question, which was quite cautious.
It has to be.
Asking Karen to keep seconding her in the presence of Ceres was, in effect, a request for her to fight more than others.
Her body must be overworked, and the risk to her life is multiplied.
Although Netoru had asked for Karen as his second in order to kill the Death Worm the other day, originally, it was not something even a commander could easily ask for.
But···. It was a very welcome proposal for Netoru.
Because I was still thinking about what to do with Natsuo. This will allow her to keep Karen as her coupling partner in the ‘rightful way’.
But before that, I have a question. Netoru put the recording of Karen and Natsuo’s coupling wavelength on her desk and asked Rien.
“Commander. What’s going on? Your expression doesn’t look good from before.”
At Netoru’s calm question, Rien smiled sadly.
“…I might not have as much time as I thought.”
“You mean you don’t have time…?”
“In about a week from now, our unit will be given a mission to explore Elflandia.”
“·······”
Is it a mission to explore Elflandia? After all, you can’t ignore your circumstances forever. I need to find out soon somehow. It is not a good decision to procrastinate.
Besides, the holy cavalry unit could not be stationed in the city as it is now. If one unit is left behind, others have to make up for it.
Anyway, I knew what Rien was thinking.
Maybe she judged by today’s work. For now, she says, she can’t wait for Natsuo to recover. In addition, there was a problem with the coupling with Karen.
In fact, Natsuo’s return is uncertain.
In that respect, the most important thing right now was the strength of the troops that could be moved immediately in a week.
But···. Anyway, 1 week is too fast.
“…It’s unlikely that the unit’s strength will fully recover in just one week, but is that okay? Even if that’s the case with the other members of the unit, it’s hard to believe that Ceres will be able to recover enough to be able to maneuver by then.”
“Surely it is…”
Rien grabbed her forehead as if facing a troubling task. She seems to have a lot of trouble frowning. As her commander, there is no way she doesn’t know the current situation of her unit.
In particular, it was good to rest for a month in order for Ceres, the core power, to fully recover.
“I don’t mind having Karen as my second. However, if Ceres is in a state where he can’t fight properly… I wonder if the meaning of the second is fading.”
“…If Ceres’ body is still in an unstable state, we plan to consider removing her from this mission.”
“…Ceres?”
“To be precise, it’s not just Ceres. All the members of the unit who think the battle will be difficult.”
“·······”
Netoru’s eyebrows twitched slightly at Rien’s words. I was wondering if this might be overdoing it. Of course, the reality is that if you tell me to do it from above, I have no choice but to do it…
After reading Netoru’s expression, Rien smiled bitterly.
“Anyway, the mainstay of this mission is not Unit 393. Our role is purely to explore Elflandia. The main battle will probably be fought by the knights and other units that come to support.”
“…Then I’m at least fortunate.”
Still, it is impossible to completely avoid combat.
I don’t know how many bugs there are inside Elflandia, but in the end, I’ll encounter bugs several times with incomplete power.
“First···. I’d like to refuse with various excuses, but I don’t think there’s much I can do about this mission because there aren’t many commanders.”
“If it’s a search mission, it’s unavoidable.”
When navigating the terrain, the commander’s ability to observe is important.
However, if you leave the area you are in charge of and operate outside the area of observation towers that assist observation,
You will be unable to use the large-scale observation ability you normally displayed.
In that respect, the commander who suffered the most in this mission was the wizard.
2.
Netoru had several more conversations with Rien after that. Because there was a lot to know.
She had a tired face, but Lien kindly answered every question she asked.
It seemed that the members of the unit who were excluded from the mission would remain in the city. It is said that those who can maneuver lightly will remain and help the citizens evacuate.
······Prasion’s life is over.
Such was the judgment of the present higher command. Therefore, a large-scale evacuation plan was currently in place.
In the near future, not only the citizens of Prasion, but also the people of other villages around it will all move to other cities.
Then what would happen to Area 39, that was the problem.
It seemed that it would be judged after examining the situation in Elflandia. If things don’t go well over there, there’s a high probability that Area 39 will be abandoned.
Because you can’t unnecessarily stretch the wires. From the perspective of Netoru, it was the right decision. However, if you give up one by one like that, the ending that will reach the not-so-distant future is obvious.
“Is the time coming soon?”
Netoru made a dark expression as he walked down the hallway. He is left alone with a future he cannot tell others about, so he is bound to feel frustrated.
And especially if it’s an unsolvable problem.
This wasn’t something I could tackle alone. Netoru was not a hero like the beings in fairy tales.
At least when the time comes, all he can do is fight as hard as he can without running away.
Of course, he had no intention of dying with the kingdom as it was.
If he couldn’t stop it no matter how hard he tried, he planned to take care of the people around him and run away to the country where the ‘protagonist’ was located.
But even that is not easy.
Because in order to cross over to another country, you have to break through the land occupied by the bugs. To be honest, either way the situation is bleak.
But you can’t get frustrated and leave everything on your hands. So, solve the problem right in front of your eyes.
Fortunately, the current situation is not so bad. Because Rien’s unexpected cooperation allowed her to have Karen as her second.
So now all that’s left is
“…Is it Ceres?”
Naturally, Netoru didn’t want to leave Ceres in the city on this mission. In a place where you don’t know what will happen, the power of the female knight is absolutely necessary.
However, there is only one week left. No matter how much Netoru helps, it’s difficult to expect Ceres to recover within that period.
In the end, there is only one way to do this.
However, no matter how much they mixed their bodies once, the question is how Ceres will understand this…
That was when I was thinking about it.
“·······”
Suddenly, Netoru stopped walking. It was in front of Natsuo’s hospital room.
The boy is currently staying near the hospital room where Netoru is. Thanks to this, he was in a position where he had no choice but to pass in front of him naturally.
…How do I do this?
The trouble was short-lived.
Netoru, who had been staring at the door, quietly opened it and stepped inside.
