Apocalypse Dark Elf Style -Magical Tribes Reincarnated in the Modern World

†

　*Swirling around*. Round and around.

　F*ck. I scr*wed up. I made a mistake.

　─She gave up on me.

　No. ‘This can’t be true’, Rensuke continues to cry out in a muffled voice. Even though he know that doing that won’t amount to anything.

　However, he know it. Deep down, he understood.

　The meaning of that question.

　It was her final test.

It’s like asking me the question, “Really, are you prepared to deviate from this world?”

　Up until now, I was frightened and horrified by this deviation, and I lived like a dead man. And in the end, after being unable to bear it, I succumbed to death.

　Such sorts of pretenses are not the way to live.　

Truly, with Sheena.

　She asked me if I was ready to live as a true villain──

　In that moment, I couldn’t answer any of the questions that she asked me.

　What have I done?　What awaits me in the future?

　When I think about it deeply, frustration scorches my heart. This kind of pain that makes me want to die. But I can’t kill myself again. The only thing I know for sure is that if I die, I will never see her again.

　The only thing I could cling to was a convenient misinterpretation.

　This is the same goodbye I had yesterday when I went to school. (Was that the case?). So I’m waiting for her to pick me up. (Will she come?) . I just have to live my life as usual (Really?).

　So the next day, I went to school again.

　The schedule for the day consisted mainly of an off-campus RV exercise which took up the entire morning.

　This was a class in which we had to learn how to cope with various situational and problematic issues that could not be solved only on the campus practice field, in the form of simulation-like tasks. It was also a practical test to see whether or not we could apply what we learned in a more realistic setting.

Whenever RV training was held, a designated person was in charge of maintenance and preparation of the necessary equipment before class. Although the school is small in size, it has a maintenance aviation course. The professional aviation technicians who also teach at the school and the students of the maintenance course make sure that everything is in order before the class. They also do a thorough check before the training, but it is also recommended that the operator himself should have some knowledge of the maintenance of the RV that he is entrusting his life to.

And today was my duty. So I went to school early and changed into my riding gear and headed for the RV storage. Normally, I should have gone to the instructor’s office to get a key, but it seemed that another person on duty had already opened the door ahead of me.

　And then ─ I saw the other person on duty, she told me.

“Are you an idiot?”

　It was Biwatani Yuika. As soon as we met next to a row of RVs, she shrugged her shoulders and told me so while sighing.

　It’s true that going to school was a foolish thing to do, considering the presence of hostile forces. I understood that.

　But the most important thing now was to live a normal life and wait for Sheena’s return, nothing else mattered. If this is foolishness─ then it must be foolishness for Yuika as well.

” You did come to school, too, class president.”

“Well that’s true. However, my purpose is different than for you.”

“I don’t understand what that means.”

　Or rather, it doesn’t matter.

Yuika blinked, this time with a blatant sigh.

“That attitude of yours really is stupid. … but I don’t care about…”

　She said the same thing what was on my mind. Then she turned her gaze away and started to walk away.

“Class President?”

“At least I’m not going to get into a brawl with you in front of the other students. That much is certain.”

　After a delay, I noticed that there was another student on duty coming into the storage room. In other words – does she want to keep her school life, too?

“Thank you.”

　Yuika, who was walking away, stopped for a moment, and without even looking back, left final words that may or may not have reached me.

“It goes without saying but… That reply is the best proof of your stupidity.”

†

　After assembly, roll call, and final inspection at 9:30 a.m. – the first training ground, RV depot.

　During the field training, a total of forty students per class are divided into several training platoons, and each group departs from the school at varying times. As usual, I was assigned the role of captain, and I switched on the communication device within my assigned captain’s RV.

“This is Captain Asakura, commander of the 2nd training platoon. I’d like to request permission for five of my platoon’s knight for take-off.”

『This is your instructor, Hanamura Ichigo. Permission is granted for all knights for take off. After launching, stay in the skies until instructed.』

“Roger.”

　I quickly ran my eyes over the gauges for a final check. All good.

“Asakura, ready for take off.”

　In reply, each of the other members of the team sent in a message that they were ready. The morning was noisy, with people asking for explanations of Sheena’s actions from yesterday, but I could put any questions on hold if I put all my energy into deceiving them, and as expected, no one dragged out the conversation since it was an important exercise.

　And finally.

“… Biwatani here, preparations are complete and ready for launch.”

　An emotionless voice came through. I prepared my mind for mobilization. In a way, I believe her she won’t do anything wrong.

“Good. All knights, initiate charging the EF jet.”

　The original meaning of the word “charge” is a knight’s lunge in a duel. However, when it comes to RVs, the term “charge” refers to the act of using the full power of the RV to propel it forward. In general, the term “thrusting” is used for attacking actions, but the initial movement from a standby state is called “launching”.

　By pulling the lever, the energy fluid (EF) flowing through the energy line changes its concentration slightly. The amount of heat stored in the energy fluid was pumped into the flying mechanism on its waist as the emphasis target. The mechanism began to rotate with a joyous roar, and then it became relentlessly excited.

　The swelling of the sound soon reached its peak, and the indicator lit up green. At that moment, I went through the prescribed operating procedures, and finally triggered the main control valve with great force.

“─Execute aerial knight launch!”

　The EF jets of the flight mechanism shot out a jet of compressed air, violently blowing away the stones at its feet, but the heavy iron knight flew farther than that. It rushed into the sky with an explosive sound.

“……!”

　A few seconds after enduring the instantaneous stress, a unique floating sensation was created, and the latest flight mechanism utilizing the characteristics of the EF demonstrated its capabilities without fail, carrying my RV to the skies. A few seconds later, in a scheduled order, the platoon members also rushed up to the same height.

　The number of RVs hovering in the air, with some distance between them, were six. These were the personnel of this training platoon. Some were concentrating seriously on their training, while others were talking lightly…

“……”

　Biwatani Yuika was also there, silent.

　In a way, she and I were accomplices. We were here, hiding the fact that we were no longer just human beings, hiding the fact that it was irrelevant to be taking classes. It seems to me that our stance were the same. We did not sign a contract, but for the time being, there was no other way to continue school life but to rely on this complicity.

　Of course, it would be a different story if we went outside the school. But it’s not something I can afford to think about right now.

　The current me as of now just needs to keep looking at what’s in front…

I am just trying to look away from something I don’t want to see.

　Currently, the view was a bird’s eye of the scenery. The altimeter shows about two hundred meters. It was a height that I had experienced many times in training, but it still made me faintly nervous and excited.

『This time, the scenario was, <<An initial report of a radiant beast signal was detected in the mountains. An emergency team was dispatched>>. … Okay, anyone who complains now gets a point deduction. The captain should remember that and report back later.』

　Two people actually complained about it jokingly. The instructor’s perception really was sharp.

『The coordinates were around 3827-1456. Begin moving at normal speed immediately.』

After saying roger that, I led the platoon and began to move. The goal was to reach the mountainous area in the northern part of the city.

　It’s said that 80 percent of the Drive Knights stationed were outside the city. Although there are still many unanswered questions about the emergence mechanism of radiant beasts, the general consensus is that they are at least unlikely to suddenly appear in densely populated areas. Naturally, most of the off-campus training was also done in mountainous areas.

　There were many things to be done while on the move. Searching for radiant beasts with a simple radar, checking for civilians in the area of operation, gathering other information─ The angry voice of the instructor monitoring the situation was relentless.

『Yamada, you’re concentrating too much on searching for the enemy, and you’re starting to lag behind the others!　You’re not running away from the enemy, are you, coward!　Don’t wander around and wobble your feet in the search zone! There’s nothing to complain about Asakura and Biwatani─ but I think Asakura’s piloting was a bit shaky. What’s wrong?』

“It might be due to the wind. I’ll be mindful.”

　It was really a subtle thing, but the response of the knight’s body seemed different from usual. There were no abnormalities in the last inspection, so it was probably due to the outside environment. In order to be mindful and deal with it, I regripped the main control valve.