Chapter 2: Armed Gear Achilles

“I’m lost…”

You’ve got to be kidding me…

I was trying to find the registrar’s office, or whatever it’s called, to finish my enrollment, but now I’m totally lost…

Aargh, if I’d known this would happen, I would’ve taken a picture of the campus map I saw earlier!
I’d try to go back to where the map was, but I don’t even know how to get there… Ugh! This place is too big!
Kuuh… I should have just secretly followed that stuck-up noble girl…I tried looking on my smartphone’s map, but it doesn’t show the location of the stupid registrar’s office… I guess I have no choice but to ask someone.
But I haven’t seen a single person… Is it a holiday today? I got through the security system at the main gate with my student ID, but there weren’t any guards or anything there, either.
I’ve been wandering around the campus for a while, but there isn’t a single soul in sight. Huh? Could it be that classes are in session? No, it’s spring break right now, so there shouldn’t be any classes.
I can understand there being no students because of spring break, but there should at least be someone here, like a teacher or an office worker…!
Just as I was muttering complaints, something went hopping down the hallway in front of me.

Huh? What was that? I hurried around the corner and saw something silver, about waist-high, walking on two legs. It noticed me and spun around to face me. A round face, round ears, tiny hands and feet, big round eyes, and a ribbon on its neck. It’s a golem. A clockwork magic doll. Is this… a bear… golem? The bear-shaped golem tilted its head, as if to say, ‘What’s wrong?’ Uguu, it’s so cute. If this is a golem, it should be able to understand human speech.

“Um, hey there. I’m a new student, and I got lost… Do you know where the registrar’s office is?”

The bear golem just tilted its head again. Apparently, it doesn’t know.

“Hmm… Okay, then can you take me to where someone is?”

When I said that, this time it gave a firm nod and started hopping down the hallway again. It stopped, looked back, and waved its arm, as if to say ‘c’mon, c’mon.’ I guess it wants me to follow?

We walked down the quiet, clacking hallway and went through a covered walkway that led outside, heading toward an open courtyard.

“Huh, is that…”

In the wide, open courtyard, surrounded by school buildings, sat a large, squat suit of armor decorated in white and gold, crouched as if sitting.

The front of the heavily armored… armor… was wide open, revealing a pilot’s seat inside.

That’s an [Armed Gear]. It’s a bipedal, humanoid magical machine used for labor. They’re said to have evolved from armed golems; they’re like smaller Frame Gears.

Just as expected of a machinist academy, they just have things like this lying around.
I suddenly noticed someone standing on the far side of it, hidden from my view, working on it.

“Mmm… The magic power from the Spirit Reactor just won’t stabilize… It’s way too unstable. At this rate, no one will be able to move it unless they have an extremely high magic sensitivity…”

I heard her muttering something. I stopped, wondering if she might be a dangerous person, but the bear golem hopped right past me and went up to her.

“Maybe I should lower the output… Oh? Parla, what is it?”

As the bear golem tugged on her clothes, the person working on the Armed Gear popped her head out to look.
She looked about fifteen or sixteen. She had long white hair tied up in pigtails and golden eyes. She was wearing a black, goth-loli-style dress, and it suited her well.
What surprised me were the butterfly-like wings on her back. They were translucent and glowing faintly, sometimes visible and sometimes not.

“A fairy…”

They’re a rare race said to live in the Great Sea of Trees, far south of here. I’d heard stories, but this is the first time I’ve seen one. She must be an upperclassman at this school. She noticed me standing there dumbstruck and walked over.

“Oh my, are you perhaps a new student?”

“Ah, yes! I’m enrolling this year! I’m Nero Silhoueska, from The Kingdom of Elfrau!”

“Silhoueska?”

Huh? Did I say something wrong? The fairy upperclassman looked a little surprised.

“Um, is something…?”

“No, it’s just a rare family name, so I was curious. Are you from an Elfrau noble family?”

“No, I’m just a commoner. My grandma used to say we were originally nobles in The Refreese Imperium, but who knows if that’s true. In Elfrau, commoners are allowed to use family names too.”

Most commoners don’t have family names, but it’s common for descendants of fallen nobles to keep using theirs. You know, holding onto the desperate wish of ‘Restoring our house someday!’ In my case, I don’t even know the origin, so there’s nothing to restore. I just use the name because we always have.

“Refreese… hmm.”

“Um… is something wrong?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. So? Why is a new student all the way out here?”

“Ah! R-Right! I need to get to the registrar’s office, but I got lost…!”

“Oh, I see. All right, I’ll show you the way. I just need to finish adjusting this, so can you wait just a minute?”

“Yes!”

With that, the upperclassman went back to tinkering with the Armed Gear.
Here at the Babylon Machinist Girls’ Academy, they also have classes on unit maintenance. Apparently, you have to properly understand the mechanics and structure of the unit you pilot. I heard that every year, there are a few students who enroll aiming to become ‘Troopers,’ but get drawn into the magical engineering side and become ‘Meisters’ instead. In fact, some people enroll specifically to become Frame Gear Meisters from the very beginning. It makes sense; it’s the fastest path.
This upperclassman is probably one of those types.

“This is an Armed Gear, right?”

“That’s right. It’s the new ‘Achilles’ model, currently in development. I messed up the adjustments a bit, so it’s become rather difficult to move.”

“In development…” Wow, that’s amazing. She’s just a student, and she can build something like this.

“You’re amazing, Senpai…”

“Senpai? …Ah, right. ‘Senpai,’ huh.”

The fairy upperclassman was giggling as if something was funny. Huh? She is my upperclassman, right? There’s no way we’re in the same grade, right? Still, it’s a beautiful machine. The Armed Gears I saw back in Elfrau looked much more rugged.
Well, those were construction models, so that’s probably why.  This unit is white with gold decorations here and there. It looks like a custom model for a noble.

“What is it?”

“Ah, no. I was just thinking it’s a beautiful machine… And, well, there’s something strange about the armor…”

“Oh my, you have good taste to recognize this unit’s quality. The Achilles has magical engravings applied to its armor at a level that’s invisible to the naked eye. You shouldn’t be able to notice it unless you have very strong magic-sensing abilities…”

Stopping mid-sentence, the upperclassman put a hand to her chin and struck a thinking pose.

“Hey, would you like to try getting in?”

“Huh?”

“Just to sit inside, that’s all. You’ll have to pilot an Armed Gear in your classes eventually anyway. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to get a feel for it now.”

Now that she mentions it, I am a little curious. I’ve seen an Armed Gear several times, but I’ve never actually ridden in one. I’m sure I’ll pilot one in class, but a first-year will probably only get to use some old piece of junk they don’t care about breaking. While I was mulling it over, the upperclassman whispered a devilish temptation.

“I’ll even let you move it… just a little.”

“I’ll do it!”

Damn it. I couldn’t resist the temptation… Still, this is my first time in an Armed Gear. I can’t help but feel excited.

“Put your foot on the step right there… yes, just like that.”

I did as she said and sat down in the Achilles’s pilot seat. The seat is soft and surprisingly comfortable. I’m starting to really think this is a noble’s custom unit…

“Use the lever next to the seat to adjust the height. Those are the foot pedals down there. Press them alternately to walk. The direction you point your feet determines the direction you walk.”

Following her instructions, I looked at my feet. There were foot pedals shaped like sandals that you slip your feet into. When I put my feet in and moved them left and right, the Achilles’s ankles moved the same way. I see. So this is how you make it walk. After that, she quickly explained how to move the arms, and then finally closed the Achilles’s front hatch. Whoa, it’s dark. The only light comes from the cracks in the armor…I think I understand why they call Armed Gears ‘iron coffins.’

“Okay, I’m starting it up. Don’t worry, I can shut it down from out here if anything happens.”

“O-Okay!”

“Spirit Reactor, activate.”

I heard a loud CLANK! from the Achilles’s back, as if something had been disengaged, and then a low whirrrrr… sound started up. Lights slowly flickered to life on the instrument panel in front of me. The monitor on the main screen lit up, showing the view from the external camera. Amazing! Initiating magical synchronization.

“Whoa, it talked!?”

As I was reacting in surprise to the sudden voice, I felt something warm flow into my back. And then it was gone just as quickly.

“Alright, try to move it while slowly channeling your magic.”

The upperclassman’s voice came through the cockpit speakers. Uh, um… like this? I pressed down on the right foot pedal. Huh? What is this? It’s so heavy!

“Nngh…!”

Just as she’d said, I channeled my magic and stomped down with all my might. The Achilles took one heavy step forward with its right foot. THUD! Next, I stomped down hard on the left pedal, making it move its left foot forward. It’s so heavy! This feels like pedaling a bicycle up an incredibly steep hill…!

“Heh, heheh… This is an unexpected find.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. Can you move the arms?”

I stopped walking and tried moving the arms the same way I did the legs. I can move them, but… these are heavy, too. It feels like I’m trying to move my arms while holding heavy iron dumbbells. You really need muscle to move an Armed Gear… As I kept moving it, thud-thud, it felt like I was getting used to it, and it gradually started to feel lighter. Maybe the power reactor is warmed up now, so the output increased? I tried running a little. Hey, it can run pretty fast. Jump! Whoa, I can jump higher than I can on my own!

“What…!? You’re already adapting to it? No way, that’s… that’s way too fast…!”

“Huh? Did you say something?”

“That’s enough! I’m shutting it down!”

I was just starting to have fun, but she forced a shutdown. With a psshh of compressed air, the Achilles’s front hatch opened, and the cool outside air flowed in. I guess it was surprisingly hot and humid inside.
I used the steps to climb down from the Achilles into the courtyard.

“Are you feeling okay? Do you feel strange anywhere…”

“I’m fine! Nothing’s… huh?”

The moment I answered her, the scene in front of me spun around, my vision went dark, and I felt my body tipping over sideways. Oh, I’m falling, I thought, as if it were happening to someone else, and then I lost consciousness right there.