Chapter 83: Caster

When Rudo takes a rebellious attitude, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck makes him behave.

Apparently, since that is where a mother dog bites when carrying her puppies, he reflexively goes limp. Rudo dangling there, looking blank as he licks his nose with a little flick of his tongue, is rather cute.

This does not have much to do with that, but the Centipede is not equipped with a mechanism for recovering wounded soldiers.

“…”

And so, like a puppy, I was being dragged along by Yuri, my mother dog, with her gripping the armor at the back of my neck.

“…”

What was I supposed to make of this method of transport?

My left leg was broken, so I could not walk. Since I could not walk, I was grateful that Yuri was carrying me. But could she not have just had a Monoz carry me? Yuri’s Monoz, Nitamago, whom I had met before, had turned into a Monoc, so I wanted that one to carry me instead. I did not want her grabbing me by the scruff of the neck like a puppy.

Then my eyes met Rudo’s. Rudo, who often got carried the same way by me.

“…”

For some reason, he had a triumphant look on his face.

…Why?

“Yuri…”

“By chance, I had been hired to guard a nearby area. Then your employer sent out an SOS. So I came.”

“No, I am grateful for that, but…”

I was not trying to ask, Why are you here?

What I wanted to complain about was the way she was carrying me.

“So. Why did you walk?”

“Because it was my job.”

“Idiot. I taught you not to walk.”

“Please don’t ask the impossible. Of course, I walk.”

Because I’m human.

“Before you are human, you are a sniper, Touji. This is why you lose the ability to walk… What happened to that leg?”

“It got blown off quite some time ago.”

“You didn’t regenerate it?”

“They couldn’t culture the cells.”

“…You should have stayed by my side.”

“Master bought me, so it couldn’t be helped. Besides, children are meant to leave the nest, my mother.”

As I was dragged along, I tried saying that.

It did not look cool at all.

---

The night in the wasteland was cold.

My breath came out in white clouds, and even so, the inside of the tent was filled with heat.

Part of the reason was that the Monoz served as heat sources, but there were simply a lot of people. Alongside the colleagues hired by His Excellency, there were also mercenaries who had gathered after receiving the SOS, like Yuri.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for gathering here!”

For some reason, the one who raised his voice in the middle of all that was the Operations Staff Officer.

Those of us who had worked with him until now, myself included, had plenty we wanted to say, but we decided to keep quiet.

Surely even he would not misjudge this situation.

The enemy’s scale was large. Before, it had only been Light Cavalry, but now Ants, which were Assault troops, Grasshoppers, which were Heavy Cavalry, and Wasps, which were Snipers, had also appeared. The fact that it was a mixed force meant there was a force large enough to operate them behind it.

From the start, this was Insectum territory.

Even as a security force, a unit led by His Excellency, who was not a professional soldier, had no place here.

Therefore, we would retreat.

That was all. That was all there was to it. At most, we would decide the order of withdrawal and which supplies to leave behind.

“We will form a resistance force!”

“…”

All of us sighed together.

This guy was hopeless. Truly hopeless. Even so, as the one who had handled reconnaissance, I raised my hand.

“I believe I informed you of the enemy’s scale?”

“That reconnaissance is not accurate!”

“What do you mean by that?”

I spoke to the Operations Staff Officer while taking care not to let emotion enter my voice.

“It is impossible! Do you know where this is? This may be a defensive line, but it is a battlefield used for earning prestige. A battalion coming to a place like this? I will say it again. Such a thing is impossible!”

“Yes.”

As the Operations Staff Officer finished speaking, I clapped my hands together.

“Withdrawal. Shinzo, my leg is like this. I’m counting on you. Yuri, thank you for this time. You saved me.”

I cut the conversation off there. I slung an arm around Shinzo’s shoulder and operated my terminal. I issued withdrawal orders to the Monoz that were still intact: Ox Unit, Dragon Unit, Horse Unit, Sheep Unit, and Dog Unit. Since we still had the leader, Dog Unit, the transport soldier, Ox Unit, and Sheep Unit, which could support it, packing up should be done quickly.

Of course, I was not the only one who made that judgment.

A unit to cover the withdrawal was formed. The discussion settled on prioritizing the escape of the wounded, like me. Then requests came in along the lines of, We’ll send you out like that, so hand over Shinzo! Apparently, being assigned to the withdrawal-covering unit would come with extra pay, so I sold him off. Good luck.

The discussion moved forward. It moved forward, then came together.

Leaving the stunned Operations Staff Officer behind.

We no longer had any intention of listening to his orders. But then,

“Those who withdraw will not be paid.”

An unexpected betrayal occurred. The one who spoke was Sergeant.

As everyone’s eyes gathered on him, Sergeant cleared his throat lightly and looked around at us.

“If you act on your own, I will sue you for breach of contract. Hm? You lot seem to be misunderstanding something. Your employer is Haruka-sama. I will not allow you to make decisions on your own.”

And with that, he emphasized the presence of His Excellency at his side.

---

The withdrawal-covering unit was reorganized into a resistance unit.

Although I was wounded, I could still snipe, so I was not permitted to withdraw. Had I earned His Excellency’s trust to some extent? In the operations headquarters tent, they prepared a chair for me.

By now, you probably understand.

His Excellency had accepted the Operations Staff Officer’s opinion. …No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say he had been swept along by it.

It was not proof, exactly, but his eyes kept flicking toward me, as if seeking my opinion.

“…”

I looked down at my feet. Sheep Unit, a jack of all trades and master of none, was waiting there.

The fact that the Rat Unit and Rabbit Unit, who could handle information processing, had become cores was quietly painful. Even so, when I considered how to play the cards I had, this was the only option. I would have to play those cards in coordination with the other Monoz attached to the front-line unit.

I looked at the clock.

An hour had passed since the unit went out. If the battle lines mixed together, it would be bad. This was the limit.

I drew in a deep breath and, as I let it out, gripped the bone necklace. Pain. My head cleared. Go.

“I advise withdrawal.”

“You again with that!? Do you not understand the situation? We have already made contact with the enemy. It is too late to withdraw now! Enough already!”

“We have made contact. Even so, it has not yet become a melee. We can still act,” I said patiently, but without looking at the Operations Staff Officer.

He was a myna bird.

He merely sounded as if he were speaking words.

He did not understand their meaning. He was only saying words he knew.

There was no point in speaking with him.

So I looked at His Excellency. I spoke to His Excellency. I wove my words to change the policy of the one who employed us.

“Your Excellency, we should withdraw.”

“…But they said the enemy’s scale is not that large.”

“That is a conclusion drawn from past assumptions by someone who has not seen the field. You should have seen it yourself.”

“But I cannot judge whether that was many or…”

“The Insectum basically move Ants. At most, Grasshoppers may be present as well. The fact that they are operating a mixed force to that extent means there is appropriate backup behind it. And if there is backup, that means there is a large force behind them of a scale appropriate to provide it.”

“But…”

“Even if you withdraw to headquarters, your record will not be damaged. If this continues, we will lose. Please order a withdrawal.”

Please.

I bowed my head.

Even now, we were barely in time.

I could no longer go along with an idiot’s hobby, nor with Sergeant’s His Excellency raising game.

I raised my head. His Excellency was,

“…We will not withdraw.”

“I see.”

“How unfortunate,” I said, then placed the Sheep Unit on the table. Communication.

“Hound to all hands. Bad news. I failed to persuade him. So, that being the case, I know it’s hopeless, but I’d like each of you to do your best and resist. However, I am bored here at headquarters. After all, I have nothing to say about the plan our esteemed Operations Staff Officer came up with. So that’s how it is. Gentlemen, keep me entertained. Tell me your situation through the Monoz I sent with you. Let me hear your death throes. Let me hear your screams. Let me hear the battlefield. Respond. Over.”

After saying my piece, I leaned my weight back into the chair.

As I did, I did not forget to turn on the Sheep Unit’s speaker and set the volume to maximum.

His Excellency’s gaze was wandering. His complexion was bad too. And before His Excellency’s eyes—

Damn it! Shit, you damn bugs! Dieeeee! Medic! Medic! Shit, my arm, my arrrrm! I’ll do it! I’ll do it! Uwaaaaaah!

—gunfire rang out. Screams rang out. Death cries rang out.

There were those who lost arms. Those who lost legs. Those who lost their lives.

His Excellency’s body began to tremble.

He must have seen the world that lay beyond those sounds.

The myna bird told me, “It’s too loud, stop it!” I ignored him.

Three minutes passed.

“…Is this advantageous?”

“What do you think?” I answered.

“It sounds like we are being pushed back. It feels like we are fighting a losing battle.”

“That is correct.”

“Can we still do something?”

“Easily, Your Excellency.”

“Please.”

That one word from His Excellency pushed against my back. I straightened my posture.

“Leave it to me, Your Excellency. Snake Unit, deploy the map. Dog Unit, compile the information and send it over.”

I consciously gripped the bone necklace. Pain sharpened my thoughts.

“…No helping it. This will be a fighting retreat. I’ll take comman…!”

The myna bird came closer. Saying something, he leaned in to peer at the monitor on the Sheep Unit’s back. Noisy. In the way. I shoved an automatic pistol into his mouth.

“Sit down and shut up, Caster. You’re in the way.”