Piiii---!
At the morning reveille, Yan opened his eyes.
Irritated voices of Penal Corps members who had only just arrived at dawn after the mission were heard.
"Yan! Yan Verkut! Where are you!"
At the company commander's bellowing voice, the quietly lying Yan's face scrunched.
What now this time.
He wished he could rest on days without combat.
"Corporal Yan Verkut. Present."
"You bastard!"
The company commander who spoke grabbed Yan by the collar. His trembling hand looked terribly uneasy.
"Hey. What did you do to the Commander?"
"...I didn't catch that?"
"You heard me right, you bastard! What did you do to make the Imperial Knight Commander summon you personally!"
What was he talking about?
Commander-was he referring to that blond nobleman he had met yesterday?
"We only spoke briefly on the battlefield."
He said that to the company commander whose face looked ready to explode.
The matter of the colossus was top secret. He could not tell even his squadmates.
"No, what could you have talked about for the Knight Commander to summon a Penal Corps member...! No, forget it."
The hand gripping his collar let go.
Realizing his own temper had flared, the company commander caught his breath.
The coat he had forced the buttons closed on swelled as if it would burst. A soldier on the front lines would find it hard to eat that well, Yan thought, as the company commander carefully spoke again.
"You didn't say anything unnecessary, did you?"
"I'm not sure what you mean..."
"Don't play dumb, you-! No, I mean, ahem."
The company commander kept clearing his throat.
Yan noticed his attitude had become more cautious than before.
"That, about the supplies I skimmed before... or a few pieces of equipment missing..."
"It wasn't just a few, was it? You diverted several hundred pieces of gear..."
"Shut your mouth, bastard!"
Among the thousand-man company, fewer than two hundred had gas masks.
Even if they were Penal Corps members, they were still issued minimal combat gear.
So where had the rest of the missing equipment disappeared to?
Looking at the commander's bloated figure, Yan sighed quietly.
'A frontline soldier eating this well...'
Swallowing the words he barely kept from saying, Yan answered quietly.
"I simply received orders."
"R-right? Then you didn't say anything about me... wait, what? You received orders?"
"Yes. He delivered them personally."
Hearing that, the company commander's face turned pale.
"Why would the Knight Commander personally deliver orders to youuuuu!!!"
"...Ah, come to think of it."
Knights who piloted colossus were commissioned as second lieutenants and promoted quickly.
The Commander overseeing such knights would hold at least the rank of major.
Far too high a rank to personally hand orders to a mere corporal like himself.
"I've spent five years on this front and this is the first time! And this new Knight Commander fellow...!"
The company commander looked exhausted. Seeing several empty barracks, it seemed the Penal Corps had also been called for construction duty.
"Fine, if you didn't say anything it's not my problem. Take this."
The company commander handed Yan a bundle.
Yan quietly accepted it and checked the contents, his expression turning puzzled. Inside were a clean new combat uniform and an Imperial Army noncom dress uniform.
"...What is this?"
"What do you mean what is it, it's the dress uniform! You're meeting the Knight Commander-did you plan to go in those shabby fatigues!?"
A dress uniform for the Penal Corps.
He couldn't imagine what the other noncoms would say seeing this.
"Report to headquarters in two hours. That's what they said. Don't give me any lip!"
"Understood."
"Your tongue's slick as oil. You insufferable brat!"
The company commander spewed curses and left.
A summons from the Knight Commander would of course exempt him from duty, effectively giving him two hours of free time.
Yan took out the headquarters-stamped dress uniform and began changing.
Black fabric unlike the brown fatigues, with red trim here and there.
After checking his appearance, Yan looked puzzled at the emptiness he felt on his shoulder.
"There's no brand...?"
***
"Corporal Yan Verkut reporting. Summoned by the Knight Commander."
"Ah, I've been informed. This way."
When he spoke to the soldier guarding the tent, the entrance opened immediately.
"Loyalty. Corporal Yan Verkut. You summoned me."
"Mm. Thank you for your efforts in battle. Sorry for the sudden summons."
"It's nothing."
If you're sorry, don't call me.
Thinking so quietly, Yan grasped the Commander's outstretched hand.
"We never properly introduced. Knight Commander Lieutenant Colonel Cain Lorenz. Please sit."
'A lieutenant colonel-he looks about my age.'
A high-ranking officer who had climbed the elite track.
Someone living in a world different from his own.
"You returned from the battlefield and immediately had another mission and a summons-I truly feel bad."
"I'm used to it. No need to worry."
"I appreciate the words at least."
Better than when he first saw his face, but Yan still looked clearly exhausted.
A soldier who fought should rest at least three days, but not on this front.
Especially in the Penal Corps.
"There's something I must order, and something I personally want to ask, but before that..."
"Please speak."
Seeing Yan standing at attention, Cain gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"Did you like the gift? A personal reward from me."
The newly issued dress uniform and combat fatigues, naturally bore no Penal Corps brand that should have been there.
The new uniform stamped by headquarters had his name engraved.
Yan's eyes deepened.
"You served ten years in the Penal Corps, built a record of distinguished service, and protected the dig team in this battle. I can't restore your original rank, but this much is within my discretion."
"Thank you for your consideration."
"It's too early for thanks. I didn't promote you to regular noncom without reason."
Cain immediately lowered his stance.
Looking at Yan who didn't move from attention, Cain observed him carefully.
"That colossus back then. Was it you who moved it?"
"Yes."
He had no particular reason to hide it.
"How you entered the machine that killed two knights, how you were able to move it... I have no way to know."
"One of the dig team members told me to get inside."
"And you gambled with your life?"
"I judged there was no other way."
At Yan's immediate response, Cain seemed lost in thought.
However, it did not take long before his mouth opened again.
"I said I promoted you to regular noncom for a reason. It was to make you an offer. Do you know what it is?"
At Cain's casual question, Yan's mouth opened at once.
"Am I to pilot that frame?"
***
In the maintenance yard behind headquarters, colossi were undergoing repairs. In addition to the seven existing colossi, armor plates were being hastily attached to newly brought-in frames.
"How is the progress?"
When Cain, who had brought Yan here, asked, the site supervisor ran over to report the situation.
"The knights assigned to pilot have arrived, but we've still only attached thirty percent of the armor plating."
"Basic weapons operation is enough. Hurry it up."
"Understood."
After answering, the supervisor rushed off, and Cain led Yan to an empty corner of the maintenance yard.
What lay there was an ashen beast.
The heterogenous colossus knelt just as it had appeared in the ruins.
"We couldn't remove the armor or examine the internal structure, so we had no choice but to leave it like this."
As Cain spoke, a knight approached.
"Commander Cain! You've come!"
"Ah, Sir Randel. Good morning."
The knight called Randel was a young man with brown hair.
Neat attire and a clean face, yet somehow he gave off a despicable impression.
He was the knight who had dragged Yan from the colossus and pressed his throat.
"And the person accompanying you is...."
"Ah, this is Staff Sergeant Yan Verkut. A veteran noncom, so I brought him along."
"Eh? Yan, from the Penal Corps...!"
Randel said, looking at Yan.
"Loyalty. Staff Sergeant Yan Verkut."
Yan quietly saluted him, but his eyes were displeased.
"Heh, bringing a Penal Corpsman all the way here, even if you are the Commander...."
"This man is no longer Penal Corps. Sir Randel."
"Eh? What do you mean...."
As Randel voiced his doubt, Yan's shoulder came into view.
"A brand...?"
"I promoted him to regular noncom with my authority. I believe he can move this colossus."
At those words, Randel's face turned pale.
"Preposterous! A non-knight piloting a colossus! And I can't even feel mana from him...."
"The Elf Royal Guard is nearly upon us. We have no time to quibble over status."
"Even so...."
Trailing off, Randel quietly glared at Yan.
'What is he.'
It was the look of a man whose lover had been stolen.
'Who do you think you are to sit beside the Commander!'
His eyes seemed to say.
'So that's why he came looking for the Commander so early in the morning.'
Even among knights who manipulated mana and colossi, they were still people in an organization.
There would be those who sought to ingratiate themselves with the high-ranking Commander.
The knight called Randel before them was surely one of them.
"Is anyone willing to ride with him? If this frame really moves, we'll need someone to observe."
Seemingly oblivious to Randel, Cain shouted to the people in the maintenance yard.
But no one stepped forward readily.
Rumors had already spread that two knights had become corpses inside. He called several more times, but still no answer.
"I'll do it."
A small voice spoke up.
At the delicate voice rarely heard on the battlefield, Cain turned his gaze.
The speaker was a small-statured woman.
Doll-like with hair and eyes so pale they seemed bleached.
"You are...?"
Cain expressed his doubt.
Her pristine appearance was unimaginable for the front lines.
A woman who seemed from another world.
"Oh!"
While Cain questioned, Randel approached her loudly.
His refined demeanor carrying a smile.
"Oh! To think such a delicate woman would be in this dusty battlefield. But this is a dangerous place. I'll have someone escort you...."
As he approached her, the woman did not even glance at him.
"I'm Ren from the excavation team. I'll go in."
Ignoring Randel who had come close, Ren spoke.
Randel's brow twitched, perhaps wounded pride, and he opened his mouth.
"Haha, I didn't know you were from the excavation team. But lady, that colossus...."
As he spoke, moving closer to her.
Yan quietly blocked his path, the very man who had loaded him into the colossus.
"What."
Randel lowered his voice threateningly.
Yet Yan's expression, like Ren before him, showed no change.
"He's the one who told me to board the colossus."
"Hm, her?"
"Yes. I'm sure."
At that, Randel growled and stepped back. Having revealed the connection, he couldn't act up before the Commander.
"Then I leave it to you. Go into the colossus with him and check its condition. If possible, try to activate it."
"Understood."
As they spoke, the mechanics Cain called rushed over to set up a ladder.
When preparations were complete, Yan and Ren walked toward the colossus.
Yan's voice opened quietly, too low for others to hear.
"Who are you."
The honorific from their first meeting had long vanished.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Really? Then next question. Can I move this thing again?"
"Yes. More precisely, it'll only obey your commands now."
"What do you mean."
"I'll explain once we're inside. Keep quiet for now."
As they spoke, they reached the cockpit.
As if waiting, the cockpit hatch opened on its own, startling the mechanics who stepped back.
"Ho. Welcoming its master in person?"
Cain watched the two with interest.
Randel could only watch them with a face full of dissatisfaction.
"Power! We have power!"
"All personnel, withdraw! Do not move yet!"
With a drive sound clearly different from the mana core's, light swirled in the colossus's eyes. As the mechanics hurriedly cleared the area, the ashen colossus rose.
"No way-it's really moving! Sir Cain...!"
"Enough."
"Pardon?"
As the ashen giant slowly extended its legs and stood, a smile spread across Cain's face. It was a triumphant smile, as though a ray of light had pierced a hopeless battlefield.
"Sir Randel."
"Y-yes!"
Randel answered in haste, startled by the Commander's direct address.
Without even glancing at Randel, Cain spoke with conviction. Before them, the ancient colossus stood tall against the morning sun.
"Tell them to hurry the colossus maintenance. This front-we can win it."