Chapter 77

Two weeks before Susa-Jo got enraged after the footage was transmitted.

“Please continue to request donations of ships!”

After cheerfully shouting that, I slightly raise my right hand.

“Cut. That’s good… I’ve completed saving it. What shall we do with the footage?”

That’s the inquiry from the young male crewmember.

After a brief moment of consideration, I reply to him.

“I think it would be best to send it via the vessel, so please store it right here.”

“Understood. Just in case, shall I also back up the video onto a data chip?”

Such a meticulous question.

Indeed, it would be bothersome to reshoot, so I nod in agreement with the crewmember’s suggestion.

“Yes, please.”

“Understood.”

A salute directed towards me.

After acknowledging it, Nisia, who has been waiting behind, approaches me.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

After finishing the filming, we turn our backs to the vessel.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Sure!”

After getting off the ship, we head to the Obelisk where Ryuje and Freya are.

“Are you here?”

“Thanks for all your hard work.”

Freya and Ryuje greet us.

Freya approaches and pokes my cheek a couple of times.

“Did we capture good footage?”

“Yes.”

“But, do you think these aliens will react to something like this?”

Freya tilts her head with a slightly worried tone.

“They definitely will.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I was confident.

Originally, frustration tends to strike more intensely when you’ve been winning and then lose once or twice in jest, rather than when you keep losing and are teased. Add to that, these guys treat us not as humans but as livestock, so the impact will be multiplied a few times.

There’s nothing more infuriating than taunting someone you’ve been condescendingly ignoring.

“Then, we should choose a battlefield.”

“Battlefield? Wouldn’t it be fine to lure the enemy here and fight?”

Freya says this while spreading her arms.

She probably means defending this forward base.

Indeed, from what I’ve seen before, the power of this forward base is remarkable, but I shake my head.

“Hmm, that is an option, but considering a battle against Megabase, wouldn’t it be a bit risky to use the forward base as the battlefield?”

“Hmm, is that so…?”

Freya contemplates my words for a moment.

After a brief deliberation, she refocuses her gaze on me.

“But, even if we just use the ships we’ve seized, we can’t take on all of them, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. We do need support.”

One escort vessel, three cruisers, and one battleship.

Even with this significant enhancement in firepower, it’s naturally insufficient to face the entire Third Interstellar Expedition Fleet, which will be extremely vengeful, regardless of the damage they’ve incurred.

They still retain the scale of their fleet’s strength.

“So, Edu, what’s your plan with these cute cheeks of yours? Huh?”

Freya playfully pokes my cheek.

“Surely, someone as cautious as you wouldn’t provoke them without any preparations, right?”

Ryuje, chiming in, stares intently at me.

“Ah, so you’ve guessed?”

Grinning, I look at both of them.

“Actually, I have one plan—it’s about a pretty big friend who’s going to help us.”

“A friend?”

“Yes.”

Games usually have various kinds of events.

There are trigger-type events activated upon meeting certain conditions, always-open simple events, story-form events that continue in sequence, and sudden surprise events that occur out of the blue.

All these elements gather to form one game, and the same applies to AOE.

What I plan to use this time is one of these events, specifically a trigger-type event.

It’s straightforward to activate, and if properly guided, it can deal significant damage to them.

“So, should we go on a reconnaissance mission together?”

“Reconnaissance?”

“Yes, this is something we need to look for ourselves. By the way, do we have any good flying equipment that’s fast and allows us to observe the surroundings?”

We do have seized vessels, but to use them just for terrain reconnaissance seems a bit extravagant.

“Hmm, flying equipment—”

Freya muses after hearing my words.

She then slaps her hands together.

“Oh, that should work. Shall we head there now?”

After saying that, Freya hoists me onto her back.

“Yes.”

“How about you, Nisia?”

“Ah, Banetta-san called me…”

“Alright, then let’s go together another time.”

“Okay!”

Nisia gives a respectful bow to Ryuje and Freya.

“Well, Edu, I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, good work.”

She departs from the room.

Freya’s gaze shifts to Ryuje.

“President, what are you doing, still lying around?”

“Hmm? Should I be going too?”

Ryuje, seeming startled, questions her.

However, Freya tilts her head as if to ask what sort of nonsense he’s saying.

“Yes, you should definitely come along.”

“No, finding something doesn’t necessarily require me, does it?”

A reasonable counter.

But Freya merely narrows her eyes.

“Are you trying to sneak out by yourself?”

“No, it’s not about being sneaky or anything…”

“Come on, we’re not kids. Why are you acting like this?”

“Urgh…”

Ryuje, with his wrist caught by Freya, is dragged away helplessly.

The place Freya leads us to is a large arsenal located on one side of the forward base.

“Uh? Commander-in-Chief!”

People immediately salute her upon noticing.

Their attire isn’t that of regular infantry but rather a plain blue garment with streaks of rust and grease, indicating they are non-combat personnel, probably maintenance crew.

As these thoughts cross my mind, a man steps forward from the group.

A rough beard, a stubborn-looking face, slightly short but with a stout build, exuding an atmosphere akin to a dwarf.

“Commander-in-Chief, you’re here?”

He has a straightforward and brusque manner of speaking, but neither Freya nor the people around him seem surprised by his actions, indicating they’re accustomed to it.

“Uh-huh, thanks to all for your hard work. How’s the development progressing?”

“It’s advancing bit by bit. We’ve also recently learned several new technologies and plan to apply them.”

After saying that, the bearded man points behind him.

Piled-up alien weapons and equipment, and in a corner, a tripod’s silhouette is visible.

“That’s good. You’re still very reliable.”

“Just doing my job.”

He says that and slightly moves his head to acknowledge Ryuje and me.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Ah, we need to take a brief look around, so I’ve come to pick up some gear that’s good enough for that.”

“Ah, understood. Feel free to take what you need.”

He says this, turns around briskly, and returns to his spot.

Rather than being rude, he seems to act exactly as he looks—open and straightforward.

“So, Commander-in-Chief, which craft would you like?”

After the bearded man retreats, a young maintenance soldier naturally steps forward and asks Freya.

“Oh, you know that thing, the one that transforms and flies, didn’t you show it to me the other day? Can we use that?”

“Ah, you mean the Albatross.”

His words make my eyes widen.

Albatross? He just said Albatross?!

“Woohoo!”

“Hmph. Edu, excited?”

“Yeees!”

My pronunciation slips again.

Freya stretches out her hand and squeezes my cheeks.

“Are the three of you planning to ride together?”

“Yeah, won’t it work?”

“Hmm—”

The maintenance soldier examines our figures for a moment, then nods.

“The other two seem small enough to be able to ride together. However, please be careful with aggressive maneuvers.”

“Understood.”

“Then, this way. Please follow me.”

As we follow the maintenance soldier, another arsenal appears.

It’s much smaller than the previous one.

But inside, there rested a dream.

“Wooow!!”

The sleek body stretched long, with forward canards jutting out on both sides, creating a smooth curve. The tear-shaped cockpit is located in the front, with a pair of sharp canard fins on either side. The combination of black and red coloring is both heavy and adds a stylish charm. The overall design resembles a fighter jet, although some blunt parts are a bit far from aerodynamic design.

Of course, that’s only natural—it’s not an ordinary fighter.

VWFT-01 Albatross.

Variable-Wing Walker Fighter Type 01 Albatross.

As its name suggests, it’s a walker weapon that can transform into a fighter—a crazy-awesome robot.

Although the durability and reliability of a variable combat weapon may drop, who cares? The dream is here!

“XVWFT-01 Albatross. It’s the prototype variable-wing walker fighter, Type 1. It utilizes a powerful engine and advanced design for high maneuverability.”

“Yeah, can I borrow it for a bit?”

“Sure, here’s the authorization release key and helmets.”

The maintenance soldier hands over something similar to a car key and three pilot helmets placed in the corner of the arsenal to Freya.

“I’ll leave then. I’ll contact the control tower.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Okay!”

The maintenance soldier salutes and takes his leave.

Freya, who now has the pilot helmets dangling from her wrist, slightly jiggles the key she received from the maintenance crew.

The sound of clinking echoes.

“Shall we board now?”

“Yeah!”

“Then let’s do it this way.”

First, Freya gently sets me down on the ground, then lifts me up in her arms.

This is the posture known as the “princess carry,” but now the anticipation of riding the Albatross outweighs any embarrassment.

Freya sits in the cockpit first and places me on her lap.

“President, please come aboard.”

“Wait, wasn’t this a one-person vehicle?”

“Aww, it’s fine. Hurry up.”

“…Sigh.”

Ryuje exhales deeply, approaching the Albatross with a slight struggle due to his short stature, only to be effortlessly carried by Freya, who then places him between Ryuje and me.

Freya then wraps her arms tightly around both of us.

“Uh-heh.”

“…Just out of curiosity, you didn’t just need to embrace my and Edu’s bodies for this, right?”

“Of course not! What do you take me for?”

Freya raises her voice.

But the corners of her mouth won’t go down.

“…Sigh, I don’t care about anything else right now. Let’s just do the job.”

“Okay, so shall we put on the helmets?”

Freya takes out one of the helmets she received earlier from around her wrist and places it on each of our heads.

As if accustomed, Freya efficiently ensures we’re all set with minimal fuss, and the canopy that was open closes.

The completely sealed cockpit.

“Then, it might get noisy, so shall we talk through the equipment from here on?”

“How should we do that?”

“Press this.”

Freya takes Ryuje’s hand and shows him the location of the button.

“Ah, can you hear me?”

[Ah, can you hear me?]

Ryuze’s voice rings in our ears.

Maybe because the noise is still low, the voice echoes twice, making my ears tickle.

“Yes, I can hear you.”

“Seems like it’s working.”

[Seems like it’s working.]

“Then, I’ll activate Edu’s now.”

“Yes.”

After finishing all the preparations, Freya firmly grasps the control stick.

The heart of the dormant Albatross awakens, and vibrations spread through our bodies.

The aircraft slowly moves out of the arsenal.

The sunlight from the forward base shines through the canopy, illuminating us.

Oh, ohh!

“Then, please be careful not to bite your tongues.”

[Then, please be careful not to bite your tongues.]

“Quit worrying.”

[Quit worrying.]

Ryuje answers broadly, but his noticeably shortened sentences betray his discomfort with riding such equipment.

I can’t help but smirk.

Now that I think about it, Ryuje wasn’t really a fan of being on such gear, was he?

“I’ll be careful!”

“Okay.”

[Okay.]

The Albatross is now in front of the runway.

At that moment, a communication comes through from the control tower.

[Albatross, Albatross. Do you copy? This is the control tower. Please respond if you hear.]

“This is Albatross, we copy.”

[This is Albatross, we copy.]

[Albatross, reconnaissance flight approved. Proceed to Runway 6.]

“This is Albatross, acknowledged.”

[This is Albatross, acknowledged.]

Freya maneuvers as instructed by the control tower.

Our Albatross stops on the runway clearly marked with the number 6.

[Albatross, 6 runway entry confirmed. You are cleared for takeoff.]

“This is Albatross, acknowledged.”

[This is Albatross, acknowledged.]

After replying, Freya lightly taps on our helmets.

“Then, we’re about to take off. Please keep your mouths closed tightly.”

[Then, we’re about to take off. Please keep your mouths closed tightly.]

We close our mouths as per her warning.

The intense noise erupting from the engines. The craft shakes lightly and a tingling vibration runs through us.

With a slight vibration, the Albatross slowly begins to move forward.

The speed picks up instantly, and the Albatross with us onboard traverses the runway in an instant.

Oh-oh-oh?!

The main body slowly lifts.

The next moment, we were floating in the sky.

‘Wow!’

[Hmph, how’s it? Fun, right?]

“Yes!”

The swiftly passing scenery and the speed never experienced before makes my heart pound wildly.

[Then, where to, my lady?]

Freya’s playful tone asking the question.

“Hmm-”

I send a map with a few places I marked to Freya beforehand.

“Here’s a map with the spots we need to check.”

[Got it. Then, let’s take them one by one in order?]

“Yes, please do.”

…

The Sealed City.

The Salt Plains.

The Burning Desert.

The Graves of Giants.

The Howling Quarry.

These five locations are one of the areas within AOE and are where the event I’m looking for usually takes place.

[How’s it, Edu? This isn’t it either, right?]

Above the Graves of Giants.

Through Freya’s slowed Albatross window, I overlook the vast ancient battlefield with the help of Ryuze.

The traces of bitter battles remain intact on the vast wasteland.

But even there, I don’t see what I’m looking for.

“Yes, it’s not here either.”

[Understood, then let’s head to the last spot?]

“Yes.”

Already having missed the mark in four places.

If it’s not here this time, we’ll have to wander aimlessly over the land looking for the event.

That does sound a bit exhausting…

I’m lost in that thought when a warm hand taps me lightly on the shoulder.

Small, but warm—it’s Ryuze.

“President?”

[Edu, don’t worry too much. Things won’t always go as planned, will they?]

“That is true, but…”

[And, we do have one place left, don’t we? There’s no need to worry before we’ve been there.]

“Hmm, that is true.”

[Is that so?]

“Yes.”

Encouraged by Ryuze’s words, I compose myself.

And after quite some time has passed, the Albatross arrives at the final location.

[We’re here, Edu.]

“Yes, I’ll check. President?”

[Alright, hmm…]

Ryuje lifts me up.

And before my eyes, lies what I’ve been so desperately searching for.

“Ah.”

Abandoned mining heavy equipment and empty containers.

But what I’m looking at are the countless holes scattered throughout the mines.

They resemble holes punctured by a needle into the ground, deep and dark tunnels.

It’s certain.

These are definitely the traces of the one I’ve been looking for.

[Why, Edu? Have you found it?]

“Yes, I’ve found it.”

Smiling, I reply to Freya.

“Then, let’s prepare to welcome the alien bastards.”