Chapter 59: Boy Soldiers

Team Momotaro said they wanted to scout the enemy for this war, so I let them go.

That was a week ago.

I realized it’s pretty frightening for twelve Monoz to drop down to nine, even more so when that’s the ace team.

Still, in day-to-day life, it’s not that big a problem.

Rikan said he wouldn’t be giving me any work during this period, so I behaved like a soldier and rested when I could.

But after a whole week off, I got bored. In this era, there aren’t many amusements I enjoy.

So I wandered around asking, “Got any work?” and that’s when I saw the kids wrapped in centipedes. They’re the children I’m protecting.

They’re sleepers. They’ll need at least some fighting power to survive going forward. That’s why, at the time of the big purchase the other day, I used money from the Leone clan to buy equipment for them.

It seems they’re about to do training for their future.

Twenty-three of them gathered around a large Monoz, checking the terrain around them.

“Hmm.”

Maybe I should go with them.

I’d given them three Monoz each, but that’s not enough.

I formatted and reused the crystals I’d taken during my job exam; judging from the damage to the crystals, about thirty-six could be repurposed, and again I bought bodies with Leone money.

Of course, most of them went to adult units that would actually see combat.

Not having the means is harsh. Even the adults didn’t get enough Monoz.

Well, leaving the bitter reality aside for now, the point is this: is it really okay for guardians to take three Monoz and let children go out into the wasteland? That was what I was thinking.

So I approached them.

“!”

The eldest one noticed me and nudged the others, warning them. Everyone turned and—

“Good morning!”

“Good morning!” “Good morning!”

They greeted me with a salute so perfect it couldn’t have been better.

One deep breath.

That salute alone showed me their lives.

They hadn’t been treated like kids. I could tell. Ah, I understand. It would be nonsense to impose the common sense of my era on sleepers in this age and position.

Still, seeing that flawless salute made me a little sad.

“Good morning. Take it easy.”

At my words, the twenty-three kids answered with movements as tidy and disciplined as professional soldiers.

“Are you going to train?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Is that so… then I’ll come along.”

They seemed pleased by my offer, at least on the surface.

***

If something happens and we need to return quickly, we’ll need a Monoku, so Horse Unit is locked in. I also want to give Rudo some exercise, so he’s coming too. For communications, we’re taking Rat Unit. When I said, “The rest is up to you,” Rabbit Unit rolled over to break in his new body, and Snake Unit came tumbling along too, maybe intending to pair with him.

That left five machines at home: Ox Unit, Tiger Unit, Dragon Unit, Sheep Unit, and Boar Unit. Most of them are the larger models, which meant the house’s top three in firepower stayed behind. For the time being, I appointed Sheep Unit as coordinator. He’s the sort who fits the phrase “jack-of-all-trades,” but in times like these that makes him invaluable.

So I set out on a picnic with twenty-three children, seven Monoz, and one dog in tow.

The content of the training was simple, at least in words.

Read the map, reach the destination.

In short, a skill every soldier must have.

In fact, the older kids already knew how to do it. This time the drill was for the younger ones. Which meant the older group, all carrying matching AKs, served as escorts for the little ones.

It’s not possible when things are busy, but when there’s downtime, maybe I should lend them my Monoz more often.

“Um, Ratchet… sir?”

“Hm?”

Amid all this, a sun-darkened boy who seemed to be the leader spoke up.

He looked about twelve. Around the same age as Souta, whom I’d looked after before, but the impression he gave was very different. His body was built for fighting.

“What is it?”

“No enemy signs in the area. Just like you said, we’ve placed the Monoz ahead and behind to scout.”

“That’s right. With only three, that’s probably the limit. Do you, or rather, do you all, understand your Monoz’ strengths and weaknesses?”

“Monoz have strengths and weaknesses!?”

He blinked rapidly in surprise.

Yes, they do. When Yuri first assigned me a Monoz, learning its personality quirks wasn’t standard practice. Even Shinzō, who’d been thawed from the same company, hadn’t known.

Monoz are capable. Even at things they’re not good at, practice makes them able.

But when they’re doing what they like, they move much better.

Because they’re not just machines. They’re mechanical lifeforms.

“Observe them closely. And when you give them names, think it through. Some Monoz will even shape themselves around the character their names suggest.”

“Really? That happens?”

“It does.”

Right, Snake Unit?

I looked down at the small black sphere rolling at my feet. Snake Unit rolled in a way that said, No idea what you’re talking about.

“One of our three is actually contracted with me. Uh… but I sent him out scouting. I wonder if he can even manage reconnaissance…”

He started fidgeting.

I ruffled his hair roughly to pull his attention back.

“I get how you feel, but this is training, and you’re the leader of this squad, aren’t you? Keep your eyes on your surroundings.”

“Eh? Oh, crap! Right. And, um, please teach me more later!”

With that, he ran back to the youngest group, who were nearly in tears as they tried to make sense of the map with the Monoz.

I compared the map on my terminal with our current position.

We were… a little lost.

***

I hadn’t been aiming for it.

That would be a lie.

I had hoped it might work out, so I set the kids’ destination to intersect the Dog Unit group’s expected return route. I cheated a little using Rat Unit and Rooster Unit, but my plan paid off, and we were able to link up safely with the three Monoz that had finished their expedition and come back.

I received their report.

The Libere clan’s boldness came from having some kind of sponsor. They hadn’t had time to dig deeper, but whatever it was sounded powerful enough to give them confidence.

“We couldn’t get enough solid intel…” the three said, looking down. I offered them words of thanks; the three machines edged closer to me.

After that, my sniping demonstration turned into a lecture.

Like my master had been, like Yuri had been, I’m not cut out for teaching people. As Marry once said, I just can’t teach. Whether it was something I was born with or a side effect of freezing and thawing that tweaked some part of my brain, I have a talent for sniping. I am grateful for it.

I’m very grateful, but because so much of it is instinct—done by feel—I’m not good at putting it into words the way someone who properly learned it can.

Still, the kids were reasonably happy.

A cluster of them wanted to fire the Type-B Model-5 sniper rifle, but it kicks hard, so I picked the bigger kids to let them shoot and taught the rest how to hold a pistol.

A few of the older kids were curious about battlefield movement and tactics and asked questions, but those didn’t turn out to be especially useful.

That’s how I spent most of my day off—enjoying it, in a way.

When the color of the sky began to change, we started back.

Reconnaissance at night is harder. We pulled the kids’ Monoz in and, with Rooster Unit, Dog Unit, and Rabbit Unit on watch, headed back toward the Leone clan settlement.

“—”

I saw tents in flames.

Screams rose and gunshots rang out.

Suddenly, I saw a human man staggering along. I recognized him: one of the Black Heaven knights who had come to visit me before. He was missing his right arm, and his eyes had lost all reason.

Our eyes met.

We were pretty far apart. For a moment, I thought we might be okay. Then he sprang as if a spring had been released and charged straight at us.

Amid the kids’ screams, I raised the sniper rifle from standing and fired. I hit him. His head blew apart. That was it. The momentum didn’t stop.

“Monkey Unit, legs!”

On my command, Monkey Unit detonated. It accelerated. With blades spread like wings it sliced the man’s legs clean off, right at the thighs. He did not stop. He crawled on.

The children’s screams grew even louder.

“Dog Unit, Snake Unit, fire!”

I ordered the two machines. From about fifteen meters out, as the thing crawled, we rained bullets onto it. It was riddled with holes. Its hands were torn away. It did not stop. It kept coming.

I stomped on its torso, pinned it down, tried to halt it. It had no weapons, no hands, no teeth. Still, it flailed and writhed as if its bones would stab me to death. It would not cease.

What is this?

A question popped into my head.

Then, suddenly—

From its wound, maggots crawled out. Squirming, writhing, flat, countless wormlike things spilled forth.

I see. So these are the spawn.

“Rudo, lightning strike.”

A whiteness that drenched the world.

I took it on my back and—

“I see. I’d mistaken who her business partner was.”

I murmured, then clicked my tongue—not a small click.