“What’s with that reaction? Do you know something?”
Did I? Maybe. But it couldn’t be… At least, I doubted it. Or rather, I hoped not. But if it wasn’t, there was only one other possibility…
“Maybe it’s…mana? Like demonic energy?”
“Mana?”
“Right. I don’t know the proper term, but it’s the kind of power used by large and mid-sized monsters. Since we’ve defeated a bunch of them, it would make sense that the mech or the magicite core inside it might have absorbed some of that power. Maybe it’s getting released the same way monsters fire their cannons?”
That makes sense, right? Please tell me that makes sense!
“Huh… Well, I can’t say for sure. But you’ve defeated more of them than anyone else I know, so it sounds plausible.”
All right!
“We’ll need to verify it later, but for now, let’s assume that’s what it is. Now, about the flying—”
I had a bad feeling about this. I would have to shut this down fast.
“Those were jumps. Yeah. The mana discharge just extended my airtime and helped me change direction… You thought I was flying? Ha-ha-ha. Good one. The unit doesn’t even have a flight module. You don’t call what a sugar glider does flying, do you? So no, it wasn’t flight. If anything, it was hopping. Or leaping. All right? Leaping, not flying. There’s a big difference.”
“…Why are you trying so hard to sell this?”
Because it was important, okay?
“If someone up top hears we can fly, they’ll try some ridiculous test like making us drop from a kilometer in altitude to see what happens. That’s not good for any of us. You wouldn’t want your mech wrecked in some stupid experiment, would you?”
“Ah. I get you.”
Exactly. Putting the military brass aside, there were people out there who would love to see Mogami fail. We couldn’t afford to give them anything that could lead to unreasonable demands or worse…
“Besides, I don’t even know how I did it. I don’t know how long I can sustain it or how much weight it supports. If I run out of mana halfway through some drop test, that would be a death sentence. I don’t want to die like that. Would you go skydiving without a parachute?”
“O-of course not.”
“Right? So it was a jump. Just report it that way until we’ve done our own testing first.”
“G-got it,” Mogami replied hesitantly. “It was jumping. Definitely not flying.”
“Exactly. Please make sure everyone else is on the same page.”
“Don’t worry. I get it.”
If the others divulged too much, Mogami’s cover story would fall apart. But they would be the ones losing their own test equipment if something went wrong, so I was sure they’d keep it under wraps.
And if someone did leak it? We could always toss them out of a plane without a parachute. Or maybe shoot them out of a cannon. Either way was fine by me.
Anyway, that was something we would deal with if and when we had to.
“Cease fire! Kusanagi squad, engage! Let’s finish this! Yatsufusa and Yoichi squads, hold the perimeter! Don’t let your guards down!”
“Roger!”
“…Looks like it’s almost over.”
“Yeah.”
As expected of the elite Second Division. It sounded like we wouldn’t have any last-minute disasters due to carelessness or overconfidence.
The maintenance and reloading work might have ended up being unnecessary, but that was only because we had stayed alert. After all, it would have been a mistake to relax while the battle was still raging.
If someone complained, I would just tell them it was a valuable opportunity to gain experience doing field maintenance. That would probably work, right?
Gripes from the engineers aside, it looked like my job during this mission was done.
All that was left was to head home and…
“Ah…”
Crap. I’d forgotten something important.
“What’s wrong? You look pale. Did you spot an enemy?”
Mogami scanned the area in a panic, probably thinking I had seen a threat, but everything was fine. There were no enemies. I’d just remembered something.
“…I almost forgot to buy a souvenir for my sister.”
I’d failed to get her anything the last time I was on assignment in Kyushu, and although she hadn’t been mad, she had pouted at me for a little while. That time, I’d been flustered from being so suddenly thrown onto a plane—but this time, I had no excuse.
As her older brother, I couldn’t repeat the same mistake.
“…Huh? You’re making that face over souvenirs? I thought something serious had happened.”
There was a time when I would have shouted, “What’s wrong with buying something for my sister? She’s waiting for me at home!” But not today.
“Tell you what—go and get whatever you want! I’ll cover it!”
…What?
“Whatever I want? That’s what you said, right?”
I’d heard that. He couldn’t take it back now.
“…Within reason.”
“Hmm.”
“Hey, what’s with that grin? Don’t get anything weird, okay?!”
“Ha-ha. Wouldn’t dream of it.”
There was no point buying something outrageous just to get scolded.
…But yeah, I ended up buying a lot.
I did feel a little guilty when I realized it was going to cost tens of thousands of yen, but Mogami didn’t seem to mind. He was the president of his company. Rich people were amazing.
At first, I’d thought this mission was going to ruin my summer break. You want me to go on an expedition? During summer? And leave my sister behind? Are you trying to kill me? But in the end, I’d only worked about ten minutes and scored enough gifts for people back home to fill a whole suitcase. I would say I came out ahead—hit the jackpot, even. They could call me up again anytime.
When I said as much on the plane ride home, Mogami made a face and muttered, “Eat it all, okay?” before handing me his own gift. What was that about?
In any event, I had more important things to focus on.
“Welcome back, Keita!”
“I’m home! And this time, I brought something for you!”
“Yay! I love you!”
“Ha-ha! I know what you’re up to.”
There I was, catching my little sister mid-pounce as she beamed up at me.
Even if that smile was just for the souvenirs, if protecting it meant fighting ten more years, I would gladly do it.
Yeah. I’d better keep giving it my all.
And that was how, in the shining summer of my first year of high school, I reaffirmed my resolve to go on fighting.