Chapter 124 – And What Is Wrong With That!

Seldia Vigilante Corps Headquarters -- the vast, state-of-the-art simulator room.

Gathered here, besides Letaria, Milea, Grain, and Priscilla, were members of the Vigilante Corps, along with two soldiers who were Priscilla's own companions.

"Sergeant Adelina Kurie! It's a pleasure to work with you all today!"

The one who gave this energetic greeting was a girl with a dark-brown ponytail swaying behind her and bright blue eyes shining wide. She looked to be around the same age as Letaria. Small in build, but every inch of her seemed to radiate a brisk, spirited energy.

And then--

"...Lieutenant Ranses Coleman. Lieutenant Priscilla invited me along, so I'm intruding on your time today. Nice to meet you all."

A man raised one hand, his tone breezy and detached. Black-haired, lean but with a well-trained, muscular build, a faint shadow of stubble on his chin, narrow black eyes glinting beneath. He carried an air about him that was somehow hard to pin down -- someone you couldn't quite afford to let your guard down around.

"These two are the current members of my unit. Less my subordinates, really, than companions who happen to serve under my command."

Priscilla introduced the two of them.

"I've heard you're all quite strong! I have a feeling this will be a little different from a mock battle back home -- I'm really looking forward to it!"

Beneath Adelina's cheerful words, one could make out a faintly challenging undertone -- something like, "let's see just how much an autonomous district's vigilante corps can really do."

"Sergeant, do be careful how you speak, won't you?"

Priscilla said it with a broad, beaming smile as she drove the warning home, but an overwhelming sense of pressure lurked just behind it.

"Y-yes ma'am! I know, I know, Priscilla...!"

Adelina's spine snapped straight at once, her reaction one of open fright. And yet, deep in her eyes, a thick trace of confidence still lingered.

"Well, it seems we can't afford to lose either, then."

Grain answered with a small chuckle -- an easy, mature response, brimming with composure.

-- And yet, as she watched the whole exchange unfold, Letaria sensed something sharply.

From the Vigilante Corps members gathered around them, a quiet but unmistakable rivalry and pride were burning fiercely toward these three from the homeland military.

"For this mock battle, I was thinking we could set it up as the three of us against a total of four on your side -- three from the Vigilante Corps, plus Miss Letaria -- a 'three versus four' match. What do you think?"

Priscilla put the proposal to Grain.

Grain, showing no particular concern, asked back flatly.

"That's fine by me... but are you sure that's the right numbers?"

"Yes... it's a little unconventional, I know, but there's also the difference in specs, since we'll be piloting specialized military machines..."

Priscilla wore a faintly apologetic, wry smile. And yet her whole bearing was filled with a clear pride and an unshakable composure.

"...Come on, are they seriously handing us a handicap right from the start?"

"Homeland military or not, that's underestimating the Corps a bit too much..."

From the Vigilante Corps members standing by, unconcealed murmurs of discontent leaked out.

Utterly unbothered by the stirred-up reaction around him, Grain nodded, calm and unshaken.

"Understood. Then let's go ahead and treat this as us receiving instruction from the homeland military."

◆◆◆

A short window of preparation before the mock battle began.

In front of the simulation-setup terminal, the Vigilante Corps members had gathered and were talking in hushed voices.

"Hold on, Captain, are you really all right with this?! We're being blatantly looked down on!"

Rajel pressed in on Grain, looking like he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Easy now. There's no denying the machines have a clear spec disadvantage. And besides... those three really are elite, in the literal sense of the word."

Grain calmed the group down with perfect composure.

"What does the young lady think about these conditions?"

Aland turned the question to Letaria.

Letaria laughed lightly. "And what is wrong with that? Whatever the numbers may be, all I need do is beat every last one of them down together!"

Letaria's usual haughty, supremely confident words.

Her stance was so utterly unwavering that the Corps members all wore a wry smile, half impressed and half exasperated.

"Now then, as for the Vigilante Corps' deployment members..."

As Grain said this and swept his gaze around the group, every pair of eyes among the members instantly converged on three particular people.

"Well, myself, Ethan, and Merry."

"Wha--?! Me too?!"

Named among them, Merry's eyes went wide with surprise, and a bewildered exclamation slipped out.

"If it's pure piloting skill alone, there are others who could match you, but at long range no one here surpasses you. And besides, you're the vice-captain."

"...The other vice-captain is the doctor... but, understood."

At Grain's earnest words, Merry nodded.

"Ethan, you've got no objections either, I take it?"

Asked directly, Ethan frowned, his expression somewhat pained, as though he'd been caught out. He said nothing aloud, but it was a silent agreement all the same.

"Um, Grain."

Milea, who had been working at the terminal, spoke up quietly.

"What is it?"

"About your current machine, Riese... it's a bit of a problem to load its raw machine data straight into the simulator as-is."

The Riese that Grain currently piloted was the latest prototype, lent to him in strict secrecy by Syn-Fibra's head office. Milea was worried about carelessly exposing its classified performance data in front of the homeland military.

"Hm... shall we field the data from my old machine, Shuel, then?"

"No, I'd honestly rather not, but... this could also serve as a performance verification for the machine. Let's compromise -- I'll use Riese's data with the output 'slightly detuned.' I'll get approval from head office myself afterward."

"That'd be a big help. --All right, then. Shall we go give those reliable guests of ours a bit of a surprise?"

Grain wore a fearless smile, while Letaria, her eyes burning with fighting spirit, made her way toward the simulator capsule.

The mock battle where Seldia Vigilante Corps' pride would collide with the homeland military's resolve was now about to begin.