Author Note: h.e.l.lo, This is Nyun! Since I wrote the synopsis of Chapter 2 in the previous chapter, I think those who have forgotten the story can refresh their mind by reading it.
—- Arakawa Kouki Point of View —-
After leaving the sick bay, I sat down on a chair and close my eyes to collect my thoughts. Someone knocked on the door. I said “Come In” to the person who is at the other side of the door.
“Excuse me”
The person who entered the room was Claire-san with a clouded expression. What happened? Kon who was rounded on my lap looks alternately at Claire-san and me with an uneasy expression.
“Claire-san, what’s wrong?”
“Yes, Although this information is not yet certain, we receive report that Capus Kingdom and Rikuru Nation have begun using ‘Ghoul’ in the battlefield. Currently, we are checking the accuracy of this and Miki-san wants to talk with you about this matter”
“I understand, I’ll show my face to mother in a while”
After saying so, I close my eyes again and start thinking on my own but it seems there isn’t any sign of Claire-san leaving the room. I open my eyes again and tilt my head a little and asked “Do you need anything else?”
“Ano~ I’m sorry but… I think it would be best if you go as soon as possible”
“Lieutenant Colonel Claire! Didn’t I say I understood? If it’s really urgent, my mom will contact me directly via my terminal. Will you please leave me alone because I want to think”
“I-I’m terribly sorry! I will excuse myself”
I unintentionally said some strong words, Claire-san left the room in a hurry. While listening to the footsteps of Claire-san who is moving away, I cover my face with both of my hands and sighed.
What on earth did I just do? Just because I have things to think about doesn’t mean I can be mean to Claire-san, I have to properly apologize to her later…
“Na, Kon”
“Kon?”
When I asked Kon who is in a round position on my lap, Kon replied to me as if saying “What’s wrong?”. Kon is someone who will not tell others what I am worried about so I began to honestly talk to Kon about what I am thinking.
“We protected Joachim-san right? It makes me wonder. I wonder if we really need to continue this war… I heard from Joachim-san’s wife and a knight from Merkava how the Union treat the demi-humans… and when I hear that, I wonder if there really is a meaning for this war”
I looked down towards Kon and Kon urge me to continue by looking at me with a serious expression.
“If our ‘Multi-Race Alliance’ won this war, then as a victor, how are we going to treat the people that are defeated? At that time, I believe the victor will treat the defeated Union as inferior and in worst case, as slave. Then, isn’t the current situation a lot better? Right now, only a small number of races are being oppressed however if we end this war as a victor that number will increase tenfold. Then…”
“Isn’t it better to stop the war right now?”… When I was about to say that, Kon wrote a sentence with magic in front of my eyes.
“Didn’t Master partic.i.p.ate in this war to stop that chain? That is the reason you cooperate with the demons and elves”
Yes, but I was naive. I was too naive. Resentment due to being suppressed for hundreds of years is cannot be easily forgotten. Some people like Joachim-san welcomes a Cat Sith as his wife but most people would recognize non-human as a lower race while non-human race will also see the human race as a lower race.
The reason that we are socializing with demons and elves equally is because we visit this world from ‘another world’. We are no ordinary ‘human’ for Victoria-san. I said these to Kon and Kon created letters again.
“Well then, would you like to give up now? Mom said that we can return to Hakone Base and Noah will take care of the rest but this world will not be the world that master wanted if they take care of it”
“THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO! You also heard the story from the Merkava Knights and Joachim-san’s wife didn’t you? It might have been acceptable if we perform complete segregation of state for each race
However, the Union is trying to use ‘Ghouls’… If Claire-san said was true then they are already putting it to practice. Do you think the other races will accept those humans who commit such folly!?”
I was shouting my acc.u.mulated grief to Kon. Kon slowly fly up to the height of my face and using her tail… Kon hit me with a powerful blow.
“Calm down! Certainly master may be a young student but here in another world, master is the General who commanded the northern army of Noah. Have some self confidence”
“That hurts, you d.a.m.n lizard! In the first place, I do not want to become a general rather I didn’t want to partic.i.p.ate in the war itself! Mom who does not listen to me thrust all of this troublesome thing to me. Why do they expect that I am here to save this world? They should just do it on their own”
“So why did you not contact mom when you are leading the army? You could talk as much as you want using your personal terminal. Even mail should have been good. Isn’t that because master thought that things would work out somehow? If you really hated it, there are so many possible ways of saying it. It is too late to whine about it now”
d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n! I know all of it. All that Kon is saying it true… but it was too unexpected that the people of this world would be so stupid. Why are they so persistent on rejecting us, why can’t they just work with us? They are so stupid…
Kon is gently stroking my back as I began to cry because I was not able to stop my tears from overflowing for some reason. After a while, I lift my face and saw Kon who is now flying tilt her head.
“Did you calm down?”
“Yes, sorry. Thank you”
Kon was satisfied on my reply. The words of Kon disappeared and it seems Kon was thinking about something as Kon sway her tail. After a little while, Kon asked me by creating a new set of words.
“What is master going to do? No, that question is wrong. What kind of world does master want this to be?”
“I want to make this a world a place where everyone smile, atleast a world where people protect those who are important to them”
Others may laugh on this naive idea, but I would like to see such world. I think that it will surely be a happy world. A world where everyone hold hands and smile.
“Then let’s make that world. You don’t have the leisure to stop and lock yourself in your room”
“No, Didn’t you listen to what I said? It would be impossible anymore, the Union and the Alliance can’t─”
When I was trying to explain again the current situation, Kon created new words again which make me stop and smile.
“Why is it impossible? You mom is said to be the greatest genius in the world and your dad leads the strongest combat troops. We have the princesses of the elves and Victoria, the Demon Lord. We also have Marvelous and Ririn of the Dragon Race. How will it become impossible if all of them respect you?
Master always accomplish those which was said to be impossible, the mother’s theory that prove the existence of parallel world, opening the door of the lunar ruins. Even if you say that they are done accidentally, you are the only one who did it in the whole world
You say that it was coincidence but it really doesn’t matter if you did it by chance, we can just achieve good result again by coincidence”
I think Kon’s idea doesn’t make any sense however it makes me feel that it is possible to make the Alliance and Union Reconcile.
So what I ought to do now is to think specifically of ways on how to deal with the Ghouls. Based on their name and nature, it should be the ‘zombie’ that I saw on movies before I was reincarnated however if we make a mistake even just a little, it will be irreparable.
“Yosh, Let’s discuss with mom on how to deal with the Ghoul! I have some idea. Thank you Kon. Thanks to you, I feel better”
“Kon”
Kon reply in a happy tone. Kon ride on her usual spot which is my shoulder and wrap the tail around my neck to hold herself in place. I stroke Kon’s head and realize that recently Kon is somewhat heavy, Kon must be growing. Kon use her tail to create some words as if Kon just remembered something.
“By the way, I’ve been thinking for a while but you keep on referring to me as ‘Lizard’ or ‘d.a.m.n Lizard’ but… I’m biologically a female. Given that I was just recently born, you could at least call me a Lizard Girl or something similar”
“Wa, is that a joke?”
“Ha? I am an elegant lady no matter how you look at it. Look carefully on this exquisite white scales. Even if you touch it, the texture are the best”
Up until now, I always take a bath with Kon, but another person should take a bath with Kon next time… Mom or Claire-san should be good. While escaping from the surprising reality, I began to walk towards the CIC where my mom is supposed to be waiting.
(TN: Sorry guys. I guess this is not a surprise now. LoL since I stop using ‘it’ or repeating the name of ‘Kon’ few chapters ago. I already gave the hint. It’s because the sentence/grammar become ridiculous if I keep on doing it. Especially on the chapter where Kon summoned the Dragon Race. Yah, you can just blame me for not being surprised. Well, I guess there’s already a hint on the Hot Spring Chapter)
—- Arakawa Miki Point of View —-
While looking at the surrounding area using a map for the next strategy in the CIC of Alice, Claire-san who had a pale face came inside the room. She seemed to have returned by herself, although I told her earlier to pick up Kouki. Did something happen? I ask a question to Claire-san with that in mind.
“What’s wrong? You look quite pale”
“N-no, Kakka… Kouki-kun yelled at me. Since I have never seen him with such scary expression, so I was a little…”
Kouki yelled at Claire-san? Did she say something that offend him? No, Kouki is not someone who will shout because of that.
Kouki had a mild personality and is not the type who express his strong emotions. You can call him reserved or introverted. This is the reason why he cannot refuse the requests of his friends but it may change as he gain further life experiences.
But what exactly happened to Kouki? Shuichi-san who was using the terminal beside me was curious and asked Claire-san.
“Claire, what did you say to Kouki? He is not a guy who will yell at someone without any reason”
“I just told him that Miki-san is calling him. Normally, he would follow me immediately but he just said I understood and sat on his chair without moving so I told him that it would be best if he meet Miki-san as soon as possible─”
“And he yelled at you?”
Claire-san replied “Yes”at Shuichi-san’s words while looking down. It really is weird, after all he will not yell to someone just because of that.
“Claire-san, how was he during that time? Did you notice anything different from usual?”
In my question, Claire-san have an expression that it is seems to be the case and immediately said her answer.
“The main lights are off in the room and he is only using the light on his desk. In addition to that, Kouki-kun usually watch doc.u.mentary or read books during his free time but this time, he is just sitting on the chair and thinking about something”
“That is… strange. I’ve never seen him like that, I wonder what’s wrong with Kouki”
Shuichi-san is right, the room prepared for Kouki is at the center of the ship and do not have any windows. While in such a room, he was thinking without lights and yell at Claire-san who disturbs him. I really wonder what happened to him. While I was thinking as I cross my arms, Captain Dylan spoke to us from the area where the CIC personnel are stationed and was 1 step lower from us.
“Please forgive me for interrupting my superior’s conversation, but would it be fine?”
“Do you have an idea?”
In the words of Captain Dylan, Shuichi-san replied while lighting a cigarette.
“Yes, it was five hours ago that Kouki captured the capital and returned to Alice. At that time, there is nothing unusual on Kouki-kun’s att.i.tude, is that correct?”
I certainly saw Kouki who returned at that time and didn’t see anything abnormal. Shuichi-san and Claire-san was the same. They nodded and encouraged the captain to continue.
“If that is the case, then I can only think of one thing. Around 3 hours ago, Kouki-kun spoke with the wife of Sir Joachim and a knight from Merkava. It was not unusual that he will talk to Sir Joachim’s wife because she was from a beast race that Kouki-kun is particularly interested but it was somewhat strange that he discuss something with the knights from Merkava” (TN: Raw was Joachim-kyo)
He discuss something with the knights from the kingdom? After that he started acting strange… No Way─!?
“Claire-san, please contact Ca.s.sis-ojo who is resting in another room, find the knight that Kouki spoke with and immediately bring him here! If the knight is in charge of something, you can issue a formal summon. Hurry!”
If my speculation is correct, I will have to confirm the fact even if I am to use my authority. In the worst case, we will need to forcibly send Kouki to Hakone base. I certainly think that it is the best thing for both Kouki and this world.
After around 10 minutes, a knight from Merkava Kingdom arrived and entered the CIC. Behind him is Ca.s.sis-ojo who accompanied him with anxious expression.
“I heard from Colonel Claire that you have some questions for me, may I know what it is?”
“I heard you spoke with Kouki-kun around three hours ago, Please tell me what you said to him at that time”
The knight stand firmly and said the worst answer that I had antic.i.p.ated.
“Yes, I told him the general common sense in this world that Noah calls G-88. The rights and treatment of demi-humans, especially the story about my brethren who was treated as slave”
“Y-You! It has been instructed to never let this kind of content be heard my Kouki-sama! It was in the first part of the treaty that tied the Kingdom and Noah. Your act is a clear violation of our treaty!”
Ca.s.sis-ojo said with a voice which is close to a scream. On the other hand, the knight made an excuse on his fatal failure by saying “I was not informed about that” with blue face.
Merkava Kingdom doesn’t have a solid information management system like us… There will be times when such problems like delays or failure in communication and instruction would occur but I did not expect that it will happen like this. Especially right now─
“Claire-san, please contact the hangar and disable the processing system of Kouki’s powersuit, ‘Satanachia’. It will be useless if you do it via the system, if it is that boy, he will be able to release it and reboot it. Physically remove the main thrusters and the maneuvering unit as well”
“Roger”
“Shuichi-san, would it be bad if I ask your subordinates to be on standby while fully armed? At worst, Kouki might use a normal powersuit and a.s.sault the Union”
“Understood but how many men do we need? We only have 10 soldiers who are in guard duty within the ship that we can dispatched immediately”
“If Kouki were to seriously attempt an escape, I would like to have one power suit brigade and three infantry divisions. Shuichi-san should prepare about that much”
A crew in CIC who is responsible for the radar said “Such exaggeration” in a small voice but he can only say that because he did not saw what I have seen.
It was when Hakone Base began its full-scale operation, around the time when it became possible for the practice ground to be used. Kouki was watching the exercise with me. Kouki ended up testing a normal type ma.s.s produced power suit used by ordinary military troops.
I remember his happy facial expression which was being sent from the internal camera of the suit. I was watching him with a smile with the other officials who was present but we were shocked after few seconds.
That child was performing a “Three-Dimensional Maneuver” with the suit which is only equipped with jump thrusters. He was doing a triangle jump in the air by jumping of the buildings and using the thrusters to accelerate and push himself. I show the video to Shuichi-san and he said “Do not show this video to anyone. If you show such a thing, the confidence and pride of majority in our powersuit pilots is will be destroyed”
As a wife, I understand Shuichi-san’s excellence the most. If Shuichi-san thinks highly of Kouki then there is the possibility the we will have a hard time to seize him…
“Fufufufu, What should we do now?”
I laugh on our situation. My naive idea such as “Kouki is a good child, so I’m sure he will listen if I talk to him” disappears. Whatever I do I can only think, even if he is a gentle child, he is not someone who can forgive the human beings of this world.
When I look at the desk, I saw the cigarettes that Shuichi-san left behind. I stop smoking for a long time ever since I was pregnant with Kouki, but now I want to smoke inexorably─ coincidentally, the brand that he is using is the same as what I like. I stretched out to the cigarette pack and found out that there are still few of cigarettes left. I put one in my mouth and lit it.
“That’s strange, it doesn’t taste good. I wonder if the taste was always like this”
I understand that all the people around me are in trouble on how to respond. By the way, only Shuichi-san knows that I used to smoke. It is only natural that they got baffled when I suddenly smoke a cigarette.
I felt the comfortable nicotine effect that I had not felt for a long while. When the cigarette was half as it was, the door opened abruptly and Kouki with a swollen eye came in. I wonder if he cried? While thinking of that, I stood up from my chair and Kouki walks towards me with a determined face.
“What took you so long?”
He just lightly nod in my question. Kouki go over to the desk where he can see the face of everyone and opened his mouth.
“Mom… I have a favor to ask, I want you to lend me your power”
“Nani?” (TN: Nani = What)
The atmosphere became heavy… n.o.body speaks, only the sound of the installed device. Everyone was waiting for the next words of Kouki. My son, in front of me with conviction on his eyes say something.
“I want to rescue everyone from the areas threatened by the Ghouls. Please lend me the power to rescue all races, regardless if they belong to the Union or Alliance. Continuing the war is meaningless. We should reduce the damage”
Everyone in the room who heard the words of Kouki had a smile on their face. It seems my child matured more than I thought. Even if I know that it is a foolish idea, I accepted and decided to aim for better future.
“Of course, we will cooperate. Leave it to your mom, do you have a plan?”
“There is, but mom! You smell like cigarettes. Dad is enough to smoke cigarettes”
While having a disgusted face, I was shock on the figure of Kouki who is going away from me. This room is too small to do a military conference, we also need to call the other members.
“Claire-san, we will hold a military conference in meeting room A in 10 minutes. Please contact all the relevant department. I will go brush my teeth”
While looking at everyone moving after my instructions, I grabbed the cigarette box of Shuichi-san that caused Kouki to dislike me and threw it into the trash can. I will not be in time for the meeting unless I hurry to brush my teeth. I decided to move quickly to the bathroom.