The Harutari reserve position was exactly that—only a reserve position—and the situation there was quite hectic.
When Shin heard that report, still angry despite felling the Morpho, his annoyance deepened further. The fleeing soldiers refused to return to combat, and units that did return refused to cooperate. The Vargus troops who’d joined the position first didn’t trust the fleeing soldiers here, saying that the bastards who’d left their families to die shouldn’t get any supplies. All their demands were inappropriate in this situation, and Shin was frankly sick of it.
He heard a soldier who’d meaninglessly connected to the emergency frequency utter the word monsters into the radio.
“…If we’re monsters—”
What does that make you, then?
You only show off your weakness, show off your stupidity, and make the situation worse for everyone. You’re nothing but harmful. We’d be better off without you.
His ability spotted another Morpho. It was causing trouble, too. Crushing it would be a good idea.
“All units. We go after our next prey. Follow me.”
Besides, these infantry who only knew how to cuss at everyone wouldn’t follow them anyway. Then let them keep hating. If they could gather in numbers the way the Republic had, it would be one thing, but as a minority, they couldn’t do much. Even their hatred was worth nothing.
You’re all too weak.
“Seriously.”
An impact struck his unguarded flank. It was a complete surprise attack, from a position where neither his radar nor ability spotted any hostiles, and even Shin went flying. Shaking his head and looking around, he spotted the Personal Mark of a wolfman—Raiden’s Wehrwolf. Realizing he’d just been kicked, Shin felt all the blood go to his head.
“What are you—?”
“What are you doing?! What, after coming this far, you’ve started thinking you’re God or something?!”
Raiden had upped the Resonance rate somewhat and shouted at the top of his lungs, which made Shin’s ears ring. With Shin silenced by the sheer intensity of his anger, Raiden carried on:
“Just because people call you a Reaper or a king doesn’t mean you need to let it go to your head. In actuality, you get depressed and back down from every little thing; stop thinking like a coward!”
“You—”
But he recalled the words he’d spoken with his own voice.
—A weak Reaper who can’t fight on his own.
“No one here sees you as a Reaper or an ace anymore. If I had to say, you’re more of a stupid dog that doesn’t listen to what he’s told and never learns but has so much power to spare that it only causes trouble for everyone else! So stop throwing your stupidity around like that, dumbass!”
—You keep showing off your stupidity and causing trouble.
I…I’m doing it, too…
Seeing Shin had frozen up, Raiden suddenly flashed him a strained smile.
“—So a dog like you needs your master to hold your leash at all times. Go on—”
Her voice reached him.
She’d been connected to the Para-RAID for some time now, but he’d been too caught up in anger and outrage to notice it—that one and only silver-bell-like voice.
“—Her Majesty’s awaiting.”
✦ ✦ ✦
She said, with a smile:
“I see you’re listening to me this time, Undertaker. Colonel Vladilena Milizé is resuming her command duties. I’m sorry I made you worry, Shin.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Her RAID Device could have been taken away, and even if it wasn’t, its settings could have been erased or at least had the data tags with the Strike Package’s commanders, captains, and staff officers removed. It was clear that Zashya’s loyalty in delivering it was significant.
The RAID Device itself wouldn’t have been confiscated, as Zashya would have needed it to stay in touch with Vika and his regiment. She insisted on having a spare one when she had multiple spares—Jonas may have picked up on that, but the situation on the front lines being what it was, he did nothing about it. Perhaps he felt that keeping the Strike Package’s Silver Queen idle at a time like this wasn’t an option.
Jonas himself was currently serving as a staff officer for the western front, gathering and scrutinizing information. Meanwhile Annette acted as a contact point for the group that remained in the base, and Zashya assisted in commanding the United Kingdom dispatch regiment.
Lena was still in the fancy room in the barracks of the military HQ, which had been made into an impromptu command post by now.
“I’m sorry I made you worry, Shin. Although, honestly, are you hanging on?” she asked with a giggle.
Shin clearly was hanging by a thread. The Federacy army was falling apart, and he was getting caught up in it.
“…Lena,” he uttered, his voice like that of a child who just got yelled at.
Her words hit him like a splash of cold water, calming him down. Having come to his senses, he realized how abnormal his thoughts had been so far, which was why he felt so scolded and scared. He shamefully asked himself what he was doing, and he was frightened by the prospect of Lena blaming or growing disillusioned with him over it.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
That’s fine, Shin. I wouldn’t get disillusioned with you over that. Because I was wrong, too. I’ve made countless mistakes. I thought I knew reality, that I’ve tasted enough tragedy and cruelty to be smarter than most. And I made mistakes. Many, many mistakes, and I’ll probably stumble the same way going forward, too. I’m the kind of fool who trips over the same hurdles every single time. So even if you failed in a spectacular way, I wouldn’t be one to fault you for it. You realize how much it hurts to fall on your own, so you don’t need me blaming you to feel guilty about it.
“Shin, you were about to make your way to the next Morpho, right?”
She felt him stir slightly. It’s all right, Lena thought, then carried on peacefully. His decision that it needed to be eliminated wasn’t mistaken in and of itself.
“Yes, we do need to remove that enemy if we’re going to ensure a safe retreat. But—do you think you can hunt it down? In your opinion.”
With the current number of troops, enemy distribution, remaining ammunition, and terrain. Did he make that decision after considering all the factors a commander ought to take into account?
Shin closed his eyes for a moment and paused. Lena asked him as squadron leader, and he correctly sensed the implicit trust in that question.
“We can do it.”
“…Colonel Grethe.” Lena requested approval, and her superior officer nodded.
“We’ll support this attack, too. Go on. However, before we do that. Captain.”
“I’m aware. Our top priority is returning to Rüstkammer,” Shin replied, his tone returning to its usual calm sharpness. “But the Morpho is a major obstacle to the 1st Armored Division’s path back to the base, so we will eliminate it. Don’t worry, I’ve calmed down.”