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Suddenly, a little girl appeared. The moment we laid eyes on the girl standing atop the tank’s turret, we felt a sense of déjà vu.

The tiny girl looked oddly familiar.

As I pondered where I had seen her before, 2312 suddenly shouted as if he realized something.

“That girl! She’s similar to Rugilinn’s Iron Fist!”

“Rugilinn’s Iron Fist? Now that you mention it, it does look like her.”

The girl’s appearance resembled the specters we had encountered in the Red Zone.

In other words, she looked like what we had imagined ‘if Rugilinn’s Iron Fist were a person.’

“Doesn’t she look a bit like us too? Except for the hair and outfit, of course!”

The little girl with black hair shared some resemblance with us.

It wasn’t just my thought; Chief Morgan quietly approached and whispered in my ear.

“…Did you have a younger sister?”

“No.”

“If not that, then how do you explain that girl looking similar to you? Just popping out of nowhere and acting all brazen and shameless like that.”

“Are you saying we’re shameless?”

“Absolutely shameless! I’ve been in this hunter business for 20 years, and I’ve never seen someone come out of the main dining hall carrying a huge pile of food while shouting about ’emergency food requisition.'”

Ugh, why did he have to point that out? I hadn’t expected him to hit our weak spot.

Of all things, to cling to our supply issue.

It’s a serious affront to the Violet’s food problem.

“Should I ask Irene to fire that girl?”

“Ugh! That’s not the point! Anyway, this is my first time seeing her.”

“Hey, you there! What are you whispering about? That seems suspicious! Don’t move!”

The girl on the tank shouted sharply.

It seems my conversation with Chief Morgan appeared dubious and unappealing to her.

“Hey! Hunters! Put down your weapons! If you don’t, I’ll consider you hostile!”

Thinking back, she had every right to do so.

After all, there were heavily armed guys in camouflaged coats brandishing huge guns and crossbows, looking like they wanted to devour us.

The Chief tried to talk.

“I told you before, we are from the Helios Frontier Service! I’m Chief Morgan of the Relic Excavation Department. What’s your name and rank?!”

“That’s a lie! Helios? I’ve never heard of such a clan! I don’t know what kind of no-name clan you are, but as far as I know, there’s no clan by that name participating in this third expedition. Reveal your identity! Are you smugglers? Or are you from the Circle Cliff’s gang? Don’t you dare sneak closer!”

“See? Little girl. I’ve been trying to talk since earlier, and that one just keeps babbling. The third expedition, come on, bringing up something from decades before my youth? Time to bring her down.”

“Wait, hold on a second!”

I quickly stopped the Chief and the team.

Hearing the phrase “third expedition” reminded me of when we caught the Fusion Creature a few days ago.

This one needs to be directly inquired about.

“Hey, you keep asking about our affiliation, but where are you from?”

“Huh? Me?”

The little girl immediately answered my question.

“I’m from the proud 07th Armored Division… huh?”

“What? You don’t even know your own affiliation and name?”

She held her head with a confused face. At the same time, a strong static noise flashed through my mind.

“Wait a second! I’ll answer!”

“What is it? Why can’t I remember? Strange. Who was I again…”

Like a phone increasing its volume, her thoughts gradually became clearer.

As if feeling the fading Wi-Fi signal, she turned her head sharply in surprise.

“Someone’s whispering in my head…”

A look of realization passed over her face as she murmured.

“That’s right, yes! I’m Rugilinn’s Iron Fist…”

“Rugilinn’s Iron Fist?”

“Huh? No! That’s not my weird name! What did you do to me!”

“I don’t know!”

Suddenly, the turret shook. As it moved, the Helios team flinched and aimed their weapons.

“Get out of my head right now!”

“Hey, calm down. Just stay still!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the little girl seemed to lose all her energy and sank down.

“Okay, I’ll calm down… Ugh… My head… My body feels weak…”

With those words, the girl instantly fell into a deep sleep.

**

After the situation was bizarrely resolved, the little girl remained in a deep slumber for a while.

If she truly was Rugilinn’s Iron Fist, she should not be exposed to the outside world.

To block the curious eyes of those around us, we draped a massive tent and heightened security.

I discussed her identity with the Chief, and even Irene, who had rushed over from the academy, joined us.

“…A fusion ghoul spoke like a person? That’s truly bizarre. It’s the first time I’ve heard of such an event.”

The Chief exclaimed in astonishment as I explained what occurred after the battle with the Fusion Creature.

Even I found it hard to accept, but it was a plain fact witnessed by my own eyes.

I was sure it would also be recorded completely in Sister Sophie El’s black box.

And then, after defeating it, a girl in military attire who spoke similarly to a ghoul suddenly appeared.

The answer to her identity seemed to boil down to one strong suspicion.

“Though it’s a mere possibility, she’s definitely…”

“Highly likely to be that ghoul?”

Irene, who knew I had absorbed an Apostle, quickly reached the same conclusion as me.

“No matter how many times I think about it, it’s difficult to comprehend. Whether it’s the Apostle or the fusion creature… Speaking of which, that little one from the Special Operations Division? I’m bothered by the mention of the third expedition.”

Now that I think about it, she kept bringing that up.

What on earth did third expedition mean?

Sister Sophie El or Irene seemed to know something, but I couldn’t grasp any of it.

“It was decades before you were even born. The Federation collaborated with several large clans to conduct numerous Red Zone expeditions, you know about that right?”

“Of course!”

I had learned about it in history class at the academy and did enough research while preparing for the Karnak Archipelago expedition to get a rough outline.

“Among them, there was one expedition that had the most disastrous failure, and that was the third expedition. It was so severe that the equipment and vehicles used back then and the people who turned into ghouls often appeared inside dungeons. If my guess is right, that little girl is a specter from that era. Just like this tank.”

Oh, if that’s true, then I need to learn more about her.

“Chief, if she truly is from that time, shouldn’t we be able to figure out her exact affiliation? The super medium tanks are few in number, so it shouldn’t be hard to look into.”

“That’s right. She said her affiliation was the 07th Armored Division. That golden division. It was one of the finest units in the Federation that has now disappeared. Given its high reputation, finding related information shouldn’t be difficult.”

I fell into deep thought. If she was indeed a soldier from that time, then it finally made sense why she reacted as if mistaking me for a monster before she died and what she said then.

“But it’s different from when I absorbed the Apostle. She hasn’t completely turned into our Violet yet.”

“Her hair color is different from ours!”

Other Violets voiced their disagreement.

“But just now, she called herself Rugilinn’s Iron Fist! Our thoughts have undoubtedly influenced her!”

And regardless of her original appearance, she had now turned into a cute girl who didn’t even remember her own name.

It was hard to consider her an identical existence to before.

Before long, I sensed the girl was stirring from her sleep again.

I quickly attempted to communicate through the network.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

“What! I hear a weird noise in my head!”

“It’s me! My name is Violet!”

As I slowly approached with my hands raised, she gave me a wary look while sitting on the main gun turret.

“Why are the awakened ones from the clan so rude? Don’t shoot your mental waves in my head carelessly! If you keep this up, I’ll file a complaint!”

“Okay, just calm down. Take a look at yourself!”

I handed her a mirror. As soon as my words ended, she accepted it docilely like a puppy with its tail tucked in.

“Let’s see…”

Her eyes widened slightly as she reached for something in the air.

When she carefully gazed into the mirror, she jumped up like a frog struck by lightning.

“Whoa! Me! I’ve become a girl! Hyaaaah!”

The sight of the small girl in military attire exclaiming was quite amusing.

If Sister Adela could see her now, she would be thrilled.

“Listen carefully. It’s not the time of the third expedition. This isn’t even a Red Zone.”

“What? Then where am I right now? What year is it?”

I explained the approximate year and location.

Her bright red eyes filled with suspicion as if she couldn’t comprehend.

“…Then where did everyone else go? Why did I turn out like this? Don’t you know why I became a girl?”

“That’s a long explanation! To summarize briefly…”

Ah, this is where I was cut off. Irene, who had been watching from the side, shook her head and poked my waist. She was signaling me not to explain everything.

It would be wise to gloss over this part.

“For now, it’s not important, so I’ll explain slowly later. Anyway, you’re now one of our Violet’s subordinates! So, tell me, what’s your name?”

“Subordinate? What does that mean… Uh, I’m Rugilinn’s Iron Fist.”

“That’s right! You’re Rugilinn’s Iron Fist.”

And I came up with the perfect word to describe her state.

I couldn’t call her a terrifying word like Apostle or Fusion Creature in front of this cute girl.

“You’ve become the fairy of the super medium tank!”

“A fairy?”

“Yup! Do you want to try moving the tank turret?”

The Iron Fist looked puzzled but complied.

The damaged turret rattled and moved slowly.

“Whoa? I really moved the turret!”

“See? That means you’ve become a fairy.”

Rugilinn’s Iron Fist seemed to fall into thought, looking as if she didn’t quite understand.

After a moment, she nodded with a determination to accept it, even if she didn’t fully grasp it.

“Okay, I think I’ve become… a fairy.”

“Exactly! Do you remember the battles you experienced before?”

A fleeting moment of agitation crossed her face as she blinked blankly several times. Her body trembled slightly.

It felt as though a computer was being rebooted.

“Umm, I think I vaguely remember… something.”

“Great!”

Our Violets rushed toward her, cheering and throwing her into the air.

“Waah! What is happening!”

“Welcome to the Violet Brigade!”

“You’re now a part of the Ariel Group!”

We Violets rejoiced at the joining of our new comrade as we checked on her condition.

“How do you feel?”

“…I feel a bit stuffy and fatigued. Maybe it’s because this tank is in such a state. My whole body is starting to ache.”

She attempted to move the chassis while turning the main gun turret equipped with a siege gun and the secondary turret with a machine gun left and right.

The power-deprived black chassis only moved slightly.

A dissatisfied groan escaped from the Iron Fist’s mouth.

“Do you feel the sensations?”

“It seems like it. I think maintenance is required.”

“Leave that to me!”

Tank maintenance could be entrusted to those who were experts in that field.

“Anyway, we sincerely welcome you to the Violet Brigade!”

“Let’s crush and demolish the enemies together!”

As I spoke, Rugilinn’s Iron Fist gave a small smile of relief, grabbing my outstretched hand firmly.

“Okay, let’s trample the monsters together.”

Despite her brave words, the Iron Fist’s face bore an expression of melancholy and solitude.

“Are you hurt?”

“N-not at all. It’s just… I think it’s because the tank’s condition is bad. I’ll be alone…”

She lowered her head and entered the tank.

Could it be that memories of something bad came back? She didn’t seem to be in good spirits.

“We’ll truly recondition you into a magnificent tank!”

Alright, we absolutely must succeed in repairing her for our tank fairy.

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