“162. Welcome, everyone. 163. I’m the commander of this place Sam Solomon. 164. Although it’s for a short period of time, there’s many things for you to learn here. 165. absorb various things by all means, I want you to put them to use ”
Commander Sam is speaking while going on squatting, no one has any words to return. I mean, I don’t know what to respond with. More than that, I don’t know what to do!
Look! Even Leon that’s usually go around being cool, his expression is so twitched that you can tell at a glance! As Baptiste, he’s suppressing his laughter while holding his belly, Layla is looking at the commander with cold cut terminated eyes[TN: It must be talking about this: (@[email protected])?]. Those eyes are saying “c.r.a.p”. Although it’s more or less like this, it’s because he’s the most important person among the knights of Jakarta!
“Just as he introduced himself, Commander Sam Solomon is one who has the authority on all aluminares in Jakarta.
basically, he’s the one that decide on each aluminare squad’s mobilisation, it’s destination, it’s strategy and things like that”
In other words, when the aluminare squads from the Imperial City , Fortran and various places are dispatched, it’s due to the king’s and the General Commander’s orders. From there, more details such as how to deploy the troops and other such detailed strategies are determined by every base commander.
In other words, this old man. Contrary to his muscular appearance, he sould be pretty good at strategic command. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have been appointed as commander of a front-line base going through skirmishes with Obardo.
“Commander Sam, from now on, along with the students, we’re under your care”
“Hmm, 170. I already planned to do an inspection tour of the base from tomorrow on. 171. As I’m required in this base I can’t accompany you outside of this base however I can send you a guide. 172. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask that person. 173 ”
“Thank you very much. If you’ll excuse us…”
As the Professor concluded, when we were leaving the room behind, Commander Sam suddenly stopped squatting.
“Hmm, to all the present students. I expect to meet you as a knight”
“…………Yes! ”
When you are told such a thing, what if I don’t want to see him once I became a knight?
At a glance, one can that he’s a ridiculous person however, I feel that there’s something that charm people hiding behind those words. I wonder what is it. Is this the so-called charismatic guy.
As we left the headquarters facility, we head toward the hostel we planned to stay at today. That’s 4-storey building not that far from the headquarters.
In addition to us, normally it’s used by knights and the maintenance personnel, they came looking at us with nostalgia in their eyes every time we pa.s.s each other. I think they surely came here and went to other bases from the Academy in a similar way.
In the hostel’s ground floor, we stopped our feet.
“Well, as for the rooms division…”
The Professor looks at Layla while saying so. As Layla couldn’t understand why she’s being looked at, she was puzzled. Recently,
isn’t she starting to forget that she’s a woman from being surrounded by men only?
“Layla, depending on your wish, it is also possible for you to be alone in one room”
Hearing the Professor’s words, she finally understands the reason why she’s been looked at.
“If it’s about that, I am fine. Please treat me the same as other people without minding my gender. Even if I ever got a.s.saulted, I can turn the table on them all”
“I see. What a pitiable lot…”
As the Professor sigh, boos flew from the students.
I guess even the Professor knew about Layla’s physical ability and sword skill. In these 2 years, increasingly polishing her movements, her sword muscle became atrocious! Dare to even try to sneak in at night, your son will be cut in an instant!
“Well, if you say so, I’ll put you in a four-person room. Originally we rented our own room and only 2 four-persons rooms”
Well of course. We were moving as group, we should also be lodged as a group.
Wait, doesn’t that mean that if Layla had wished for a single person room, the remaining six people would have been pushed into a four-persons room! ?
“The 1st group is 2001, the 2nd group is 2002. Tomorrow Let’s meet here. After everyone has taken their breakfast, we’ll go observe this base”
“”Roger””
“You’re dismissed for today. You’re free to go out as long it is in the environs of the hostel however do not cause any trouble. Dismissed”
“Thank you very much! ”
Concludes with the same words at the end of lessons, the group activity ends here.
“Well, for now I’ll to the room”
“Oh Well”
“I’ll immediately go to the red district”
“Weren’t you told not to just now? That you’re free to go out as long it’s around the hostel. You have yet to get the pa.s.sage pa.s.s. There’s no way for you to get out of the base.”
“No way…”
While dragging him by slightly gripping the nape of the neck, We head toward our a.s.signed room.
Time promptly pa.s.s by until the next morning.
We got our breakfast at the base’s cafeteria it was quite tasty. In the form of an all-you-can-eat buffet, it compares favorably with the academy in taste. As the body is a soldier’s capital so it’s important for the meal to be delicious.
And out of the dining room, we head toward today’s first destination the hanger No 1. So that we van meet the one that will be our guide.
When you go in front of the hangar, a slender men was standing at the entrance of the place. When the man found us, he comes closer of his own accord. I guess he’s our guide.
“Nice to meet you, Academy’s students. I am Arnold Riot,I serve as the Vice-Commander of Jakarta’s headquarters. Today, because I will be everyone’s guide, I’m looking forward to work with everyone”
He’s a very courteous person. He’s the exact opposite of that commander. That person, even when he was introducing himself he didn’t stop doing squats.
After each one of us lightly introduced ourselves, everyone entered into the first hanger.
In there, two aluminare’s have been stored.
“The aluminares in here are in the middle of their maintenance. Those are the 21st squad and the 26th squad”
These two, with their armors removed, their internal mechanism is in an exposed state.
“These two machines came back after finishing their patrolling mission in the Buffer Zone. The period was roughly one month. Their job consisted of making rounds in the Buffer Zone in addition to contacting the villages there in order to check if there’s any anomaly. The majority of the troops that are a.s.signed to this base are doing these kind of missions. Although this time’s mission ended without any battle, these days Obardo has been doing quite a lot of stirring so the chance of conflict is also quite large. It’ll be mostly declared a draw due to injuries and come back”
A draw… Well, it’s because the worst that could happen would be having your machine taken away. I guess each side would be cautious of its surrounding.
“in spite of being attacked, this side doesn’t attack. From time to time, there have been complaints from the people about that. However, we’ve never marched to Obardo with the aluminare squads. Do you understand the reason why? Baptiste-kun ”
“Because we’re on our own… As for the empire Obardo, the number of aluminares it possesses is large. I think?”
Currently, the number of aluminares operating in Fatale Kingdom is a total of 36. It has increased to about three machines from two years ago.
According to the story I heard from the Professor, it looks like the machine I handed over played an active role in it.
The Obardo Empire, The Fatale Kingdom, each side knows how many aluminares the other side possesses. By freely making use of the intelligence department and the reconnaissance department the can possibly tell the general location of that machine.
However, my machine which was discovered by accident in the mountains away from Obardo,the Obardo empire do know of its existence. However, if it entered into a city, it’ll be a matter of time before its information is transmitted to the empire.
So, Commander Sam who knew that they have obtained a new machine, proposed a blitzkrieg. It was to put into the front-line the repaired machine faster than the transmission of the information about the machine to the enemy. It seemed to be just a rush job where they built the exterior with spare parts and crammed a generator into it.
The General Commander approved this strategy, the empire became the be deprived of 2 machines due to the a.s.sault of an unknown machine.
However, even if they were successful capturing 2 aluminares, it doesn;t change the fact that the empire still has many more machines in their possession.
The machines owned by the empire, just the one the kingdom know of, are currently 45 machines. If you couldn’t capture them, it would have been 47 machines.
Certainly, with just this much difference in the number of machines, it is difficult to attack. But, the machines that are actually moving should be fewer since there’s the defense of the empire’s capital, other countries and the national border. Therefore, there’s no way for all the machines to fight against Fatale, there’s many ways to fight.
But, Baptiste’s answer is half correct and half wrong.
“if this was a test, you’d get… 60 points? Then, can I hear Leon-kun’s answer?”
“Yes, if each other is carried out an invasion war, the villages near the border of Fatale kingdom will be devastated. There are no human resources in Jakarta. For example, it’s like two beasts were fighting each other while biting at each other. If that happens, even if you destroyed the empire, you can’t say you’ve won because of the enormous damage”
“Yeah, with this answer I’d raise your points up to more than 90 points”
War is not only about clashing each other’s aluminares. Each has its own victory condition, in order to achieve it, it will lead to some sacrifices.
If each side starts an invasion war, its defense becomes lax, the caught empire’s aluminares by the current Buffer Zone are going to be marching towards the Imperial City.
If that happens, the towns on the way will be burned, I can tell that there will be many casualties. Still, the king being the king might have the resolve to sacrifice his people by starting an invasion war. However, luckily the king of Fatale is the type that cherishes the people. Therefore, like right now, he’s adopting the strategy of expelling the ones that are attacking.
Well actually, even it appears this way, it doesn’t mean that it’ll end the war. It might take some time, as I promised to Lune-San, it’s a win once you’ve taken all of the enemy’s machines.
No, it is not necessary to take them all. If I reduce them to half their current numbers, Because of the strategic difference, next time Obardo will have to fight a defensive war.
Although it will take time, it’s far better than both sides causing uncountable casualties.
“While it may be true, we’re not just defending. I’ll show them After this but, we’re doing best everyday in reinforcing the machines by doing such things as the development of new weapons, the construction of even more efficient Sense boards, generators with improved fuel consumption and so on. Therefore we’re also stocking up on information from various places. Even the manual control that you guys thought about, it’s currently in the experimental phase to find out whether or not the knights can use it. However, I seems quite difficult ”
Ohhh, If can manually control it you’ll certainly become stronger but you’ll sacrifice many things. After all, if the left arm is too busy it becomes unusable.
Layla, Baptiste and Leon had some dissatisfaction about something like that, It seems that with their creative ingenuity they wondered whether or not they can do some manual control by operating it with their feet. It doesn’t seem like it went well.
Look, when I first rode into a machine it originally didn’t have a left-arm, I ended up experiencing my first battle, even as it is, I feel like I’m getting better. After three years, I even started direct combat training, without a single loss until now. Thinking about something like what if I lost!
“So let’s try walking on the catwalk. It’s your first time seeing machines in a hanger, right? Also in the hangar, there are various useful functions”
Arnold Vice-Commander advances his foot to the hangar’s stairs while saying so. We went further into the hanger while following him.
Overlooking the machines from the catwalk gave me a fresh mood.
I guess my impressions from visiting the hanger was about this much? Although the many opportunities to look out from the same point of view as the machine by riding its shoulder however, there were almost no opportunities to look at the machine itself, I was a little happy. But, that’s it. ‘Cause there’s no way we’d get to ride one.
As aspiring mechanics, the hangar’s tool may look like gems that will cause them to drip drools, but even if a crane is shown to us aspiring pilots it’s quite lacking. Well, I could pilot that I’d happy even so I’d be unsatisfied.
Anyway we promptly continue the inspection looking around the strategy meeting place in the Headquarters, the training room and the first-aid facilities.
Basically as they’re installed near the Headquarters, it seems that lesser its importance is the further away from the Headquarters it’s installed. Such as the garage of the magic car had been isolated in a corner of the base.
“Now, are you all unsatified with the places we’ve visited until now?”
Vice-Commander Arnold says so with a smile as if he was trying to through our feelings.
“Well, children are aiming to become a pilot, since there are too many of them that love piloting aluminares. the children that just want to be involved with aluminares, even if they aspired to become pilots, they end up being admitted into the mechanic and sense board departments. that way, it’s far less life threatening and it’s above all easy ”
Indeed, except for the special case, such as Layla, the members in here in no small numbers are here because they love piloting aluminares.
Rather than taht, if you don’t love it, it’s just a rigorous training to the the extent that you can’t keep up. The whole body’s muscles are twitching and cramping from fatigue, fresh wounds are unceasing. Among such, you have to also continue studying in order to maintain your performance. Whether or not you exclude self-training, you have seven days of proper rest in a year.
Indeed, you can’t keep up just because you want to be involved with aluminares.
“Even for guys like you, I think you’ll enjoy it a little if it’s the following facilities”
Vice-Commander Arnold pointed at one building while saying so. It is a building that has about the same size as a hangar.
“The next tour location is, the new technology research building. As I said before, this is the place where we can build aluminares new weapons, construct sense boards and think ”
I see. Unlike the facilities until now, such things like as the construction of a new weapons and sense boards, things that we’ll use.
Where the latest technology is concerned, I want to see it by all means. I mean, I want to experience it, if possible.
After all, the fact that it’s in development now means, once we becomes pilots, after a few years by the time we become the main pilots there is a possibility that the things developed in here will be released.
Except for me, for some reason the other members expressions suddenly changed from the dull atmosphere to a firm one. Looking at the situation, Vice-commander smiled wryly.
When we were approaching the research building, the number of soldiers visibly increased. They are only dealing with state-of-the-art technologies, the security seem a notch higher than elsewhere.
Following the Vice-Commander Arnold, we enter the ground floor. In there, there’s just a pa.s.sage leading to the back.
Where the Vice-Commander told us to wait for a while and brought papers from the next room.
“Sign in here. It’s a pledge to promise that you won’t speak about the information you saw in here to others ”
As each one of us is receiving the paper, we roughly skimmed through its contents. Legally speaking, I should be reading up to the corners but, I’m not the type to read every single terms and things like that.
The contents I skimmed over is mostly just like what the Vice-Commander described.
That we’ll not talk about what we saw and heard in the research building. It’s prohibited to write any information on a note.
Well, the content is totally natural.
So, in case of a breach, it’s punishable from imprisonment to in the worst case death penalty.
The ban on any discussion about the research building outside is pretty strict. After we return to the hostel’s rooms, we can’t discuss about this and that. Earnestly thinking by myself, I can’t stop myself from feeling depressed…
Well, it can’t be helped. If you are trying to protect confidential information in this world, you will have to do this much.
Each one filled in their signatures, handing it over to the Vice-Commander.
The Vice-Commander confirmed that all papers were gathered, returning those papers to the next room and guided us back of the pa.s.sage.
Pa.s.sing through the pa.s.sage by opening the door. Then, following the pa.s.sage, there were hangars in a grid patterned network on either sides.
No, to be exact,that’s wrong. Those aren’t hangars for securing aluminares, it doesn’t even have any machines. However, just the parts taken from the arms and the legs have been fixed with weapons.
“Here is the new weapons research facility. What we’re studying now are firearms that does not use any magic. It’s a research on guns, so to speak. You can see that the hand has something, right?”
The Vice-Commander was Pointing at the firearm fixed onto the aluminare’s arm. It certainly holds a huge cylindrical object. It might be better to fix it into the arm itself.
That… isn’t that possibly a cannon?
“That is an enlarged gun. When we enlarged it, it became quite misshapen but, its function is still the same”
“Why are you trying to use such an outdated thing like a gun at this time?”
The one being puzzled is Baptiste.
In this world, some kind of heavy weapons normally exist. The reason why I was using the bow in the village was simply because gunpowder was expensive. A bow was mostly sufficient.
But, the value of heavy weapons in this world is a lot lower compared to the previous world. After all, there’s such a convenient thing as magic. If you actually used magic, you’ll have seen that magic is definitely more convenient. No equipment, no maintenance, with no replenishment the degree of freedom is higher. Well of course you’ll use magic.
Because of that, there are few people who study them, recently it’s finally at a point where arquebus-type bullet have been devised. If we at least use such a thing, although firing magic is faster, it’ll be part of this world. I greatly approve this.
It seems like cannons were used as a countermeasure against aluminares when they first appeared, when an accidental encounter turned into an important battle similar to now, both enemies and allies stopped using them because it takes too much time in carrying and preliminary preparation.
Currently, those are heavy and inconvenient weapons, they may be useful if installed on the castles walls. It’s to that point. Baptiste’s opinion, might be naturally as an inhabitant of this world.
However, Baptiste! If you’ve been aiming to become a pilot even as a joke, you should at least immediately understand the meaning of adding a heavy weapon!
Why do you think the aluminare you’re fight with has a sword hanging on its waist!
Leon was also shaking his head while saying “Oh, dear!”.
“Baptiste… When aluminares are fighting, what should they really pay attention to?”
“Well, it’s the remaining High Magia Liquid amount?”
If you do know that, notice it!
“Yes. Aluminares entirelly move with High Magia Liquid. Of coourse, the High Magia Liquid is also cunsumed by magic. So, it consumption increases, there are many situations where you’re unable to use any magic. Then, how would you use the heavy weapon?”
“I see! Even if the remaining fuel is low, you can still use firearms!”
“It’s as Leon-kun says. If this all goes to the practical use phase, we will be able to fight in a way while curbing the consumption of High Magia Liquid. If that happens, we will be able to successfully increase the range of action of aluminares, above all it’ll keep the national treasury afloat ”
Well, the consumption of High Magia Liquid when an aluminare unleashes a magic attack, seems to roughly cost several hundreds of thousand yen worth. Some things can reach several millions…
However the Shock Burst from the training machines, because one shot is several thousand yen, if you change that ball of money with gunpowder, I’m sure that the minister of finance will be overjoyed.
“As I said, the practical phase is still far away. When we enlarged it, it became heavier then we thought, you also can’t aim unless you fixed it on the arm. Then there’s also the bullet problem, the problems are piling up. Well, let’s go to the next one ”
I guess the required research has been delayed. If I’m not mistaken, on earth, there should have been arquebuses from the 9th century to the 15th century. Still, if needed, precisely because it has been emphasized, it has undergone an explosive evolution in a very short period of time. Do this mean that if the demand for guns in this world increases in the future, it’ll inevitably undergo a rapid evolution similar to my previous world. Perhaps if they included magic into it they might get a newer type of gun.
Then surely, the way aluminares fight each other until now will come to change.
“Now, let’s go”
I, while looking at the gun barrel held by the mechanical arm, am seeing a vision of aluminares exchanging gunfire, which put a smile on my lips.