Chapter 27: The Battle of [Wings]

“Are you ready?”

“Umm, yes. Well, mostly.”

Having heard the explanation of [Windia] from the pseudo-personality ‘Skuld’, I was called out by the Principal who was outside. As I channeled magic power and activated the machine, the round, transparent outer walls were gradually painted with scenery. The scene that jumped before my eyes was a nostalgic world of silver. A snowy field… no, the ground is frozen. A ‘Tundra’…?! Just like with the seniors earlier, rows of Cavalry units were lined up in front. Like in Zelda-senpai’s case, these weren’t ordinary Cavalry units. The soles of their feet looked like spikes, and their joints had something like warmers attached. Cold climate specifications, I guess?

“Skuld, how many enemies?”

『Yes. Exactly fifty units, Lady Nero. That is half the number Lady Sharon and Lady Zeldigard faced.』

Half, huh. Well, I am a first-year and F-Rank, after all. They probably set this number thinking I couldn’t perform like the seniors. It ticks me off just a little. Just a little. In that case, showing them what I can do here wouldn’t be bad. This is a test to see the machine’s movements. I’ll go wild to my heart’s content.

“[Windia], let’s go!”

I pulled the throttle lever attached to the control stick as hard as I could, opened the rear thrusters fully, and dashed across the tundra. No, I’m not dashing. I’m thrusting through the air. It’s ridiculously fast! As expected of a new model! The Spell Caster in my right hand pierced the chest of the leading Cavalry unit. First one down! A Cavalry unit swung down the axe in its hand. I caught it with the shield in my left hand and fired a shot with the Spell Caster. While doing so, I used the leg verniers to strafe sideways while aiming and firing repeatedly. Huh?! Too fast, my aim is off! But I’m gradually getting used to this speed. I can understand the opponent’s movements too. Maybe because no humans are piloting them, their movements are easy to read. Alright, I’ll annihilate every last one of them!

◇　◇　◇

“As always, her adaptability is incredible…”

Watching [Windia] rampage on the large screen, Quun let out an exasperated voice mixed with a wry smile.

“Eh…? She’s a first-year, right? Why is she so used to riding a Frame Gear?”

Kou looked at [Windia] moving all over the screen with a face that said he couldn’t believe it. He had assumed they were checking how much potential an inexperienced pilot could draw out from [Windia].

“That child has exceptionally high magic perception and adaptability. That means she can immediately flow adapted magic power into any machine. In other words, she’s very good at ‘synchronizing’. You know how there are some knights who can manipulate weapons they’ve never used before as if they were their own limbs? She controls Frame Gears with that kind of sense. Well, that’s why she’s prone to magic depletion, which is dangerous, though.”

Listening to Quun’s explanation, Kou returned his gaze to the screen. [Windia] showed movements that were free in all directions, taking down Cavalry units one after another. Kou couldn’t take his eyes off movements that looked like a fierce dance to music.

“Hmm. Compatibility with Skuld seems good as well-desu.”

“She’s a girl who likes to take care of others, so she might be a perfect match for Nero.”

“She is the youngest, after all-desu. Perhaps she wants to act like a big sister, just like Urd and Verdandi.”

The three pseudo-personalities created by the Doctors were raised as three sisters. One might wonder if there’s a hierarchy of sisters among pseudo-personalities, but in fact, Urd and Verdandi do view the youngest, Skuld, as someone to protect. Quun is the third of eight sisters, but remembering how she used to act bossy toward her younger sisters, she found it a little funny.

“Ah.”

At the small voice Sharon raised, Quun returned her gaze to the screen. On the large screen, [Windia] had dropped its Spell Caster due to the impact of receiving an axe blow. It moved to pick it up, but was obstructed by other Cavalry units and forced to leave the spot.

“She lost her weapon.”

“Does [Windia] have spare weapons?”

“Technically, there are head vulcan cannons and two small knives in the arms-desu.”

Rosetta answered Kou’s question without taking her eyes off the screen.

“With knives, unless she aims for vital points extremely accurately, taking them down might be difficult…”

Keel groaned with his arms crossed. Frame Gears have weak points too. Broadly speaking, the cockpit and head; more specifically, the joints and such. The cockpit goes without saying, but the head has many sensors, and if crushed, numerous functions fall silent. The main camera is also in the head, but even if broken, surrounding situations can be grasped to some extent from sub-cameras in various parts, so visibility isn’t that big of an issue. To defeat a Frame Gear with a single short-bladed knife, one must target the cockpit directly or thrust the knife into joints like elbows or knees. Therefore, those looking up at the screen watched with anxiety and expectation, wondering if she could perform such precise movements…

“””Eh?”””

What was displayed on the screen was [Windia] switching the shield from its left hand to hold it with both hands and swinging it down on a Cavalry unit’s cranium. The Cavalry unit, struck by a fierce blow as if swatted by a fly swatter, collapsed onto the ice. Then, [Windia] snatched the axe from the fallen Cavalry unit’s hand, swung it down to defeat another Cavalry unit coming at her, and then snatched another axe. Discarding the shield and holding axes in both hands, [Windia] plunged into close-quarters combat with the Cavalry units. It was a rampage as if to say she was a Berserker.

“If you don’t have a weapon, steal one, huh. To be able to make that judgment instantly, she must have survived quite a few dangerous situations.”

“I hear she’s a Green Rank adventurer at that age. I think she has more guts than a half-baked knight.”

Quun replied to Zelda, who let out an impressed voice. Swinging axes in both hands, [Windia] went around destroying the heads of Cavalry units like a head-hunting knight. Utilizing its speed, it repeated hit-and-run tactics on the ice. Before anyone knew it, [Windia] had annihilated the Cavalry units.

“Even though the difficulty was lowered, I didn’t expect her to annihilate them almost unscathed.”

“In the first place, [Windia] is a specialized evasion type-desu. If you don’t get hit, you can eventually annihilate them-desu.”

Rosetta said that, but it’s easier said than done. Everyone here understood just how difficult that actually was.

“The compatibility must have been extremely good-desu. As expected of… oops.”

Quun held up a hand to stop Rosetta’s words. Her eyes signaled that now was not the time to speak of that.

“Principal. Would combat between new models also be necessary as data?”

“Zel-chan?”

Sharon looked surprised at Zelda, who suddenly proposed such a thing. At those words, Quun grinned with a mischievous smile inherited from her mother.

◇　◇　◇

“Phew… Managed somehow…”

『Good work.』

Man, I wondered what to do when I dropped the Magic Gun. This machine only has knives and vulcans as spares. But then I looked and thought, “Hey, there’s a guy holding a nice weapon right in front of me.” Surprisingly, this axe was easy to use. Personally, I’d prefer something a bit shorter, though.

“Well, I annihilated them, so it’s fine. I wanted to move it a bit more, though…”

『Confirmed additional mission. Please wait a moment.』

“Eh?”

Additional mission? What’s that? A refill of Cavalry units? Is it that? Reflecting on the fact that I had half the number compared to Sharon-senpai and Zelda-senpai, they added more? Did they realize my true ability? While I was imagining such convenient things and feeling a bit good about myself, a single Frame Gear appeared in front of me. Huh? Not a Cavalry unit? Wait, that is… The silhouette of [Swordia] I saw just moments ago floated up in the cold air. Zelda-senpai…?

『There is a request for a [Duel] from Lady Zeldigard. Do you accept?』

“Eh?!”

I almost lifted off my seat at Skuld’s words. A request for a [Duel]?! From Rank 1?! I don’t understand the meaning at all, but getting to fight the strongest person in the ‘Academy’… I don’t know if I’ll even get one chance like this before graduation. In that case, there’s no way I can just let this chance slip by…! Since we aren’t betting stars, let me go all out.

“Skuld, accept the duel.”

『Understood. Accepting the duel.』

Simultaneously, a countdown until the match start appeared on the monitor. Along with it, the opponent’s Frame Gear, [Swordia]’s basic spec data. Huh? No leg swords? No greatsword on the back either?

『She has removed several pieces of equipment. It seems she has also lowered the output to 70%. It appears she does not intend to use the [Floating Swords] ‘Fragarach’ either.』

“Hah…?”

Oh my, oh my? Does this mean she’s going easy on me? Am I being underestimated? Sure, from the perspective of an S-Rank Rank 1, I’m just an F-Rank first-year who just enrolled, right? Maybe it’s not worth getting serious. But you see… being constantly underestimated doesn’t suit my nature. I have my pride too. I won’t be satisfied unless I at least strike back a little, even if I can’t win. To borrow Master’s words, it’s ‘a cornered mouse bites the cat to pieces.’

“Let’s do this. I’ll score a giant killing against the Rank 1.”

『Understood. I will provide all data necessary to win. Leave the support to me.』

“Mm, I’m counting on you.”

Now, let the second stage begin.