"—Ugh, again?! The Photon Rifle won't hit anything!"
Inside the simulator's virtual space, the deep-purple machine Arden swept its right-arm rifle through the air again and again—and again, the bolts of light streaked past their targets without mercy.
In Letaria's perception, she could feel where the target would be in a few seconds. But the moment she pulled the trigger, the barrel wavered, just slightly.
In close-quarters combat, her accuracy was formidable. With ranged weapons, the same could not be said.
【MISSION FAILED: HIT RATE 34%】
With that pitiless system chime, the holographic enemy units vanished.
"…That's not good enough, Letaria-san. Your prediction is fine—but the actual technique for landing shots isn't catching up. You're leaning on the FCS to do the work."
Merry's voice came through the comm, faintly exasperated. She was monitoring Letaria's performance from the adjacent simulator pod.
The truth was plain: it was the FCS—the Fire Control System—putting the shots on target, not Letaria herself. Which was another way of saying she was barely above amateur level.
"Long-range attacks simply don't suit me! Magic arrows—cannons, whatever you call them—rushing in and hitting things is a hundred times more efficient!"
Letaria dropped her arm and shook her shoulders irritably inside the cockpit.
"Very Letaria-san of you! Charge straight in, no hesitation—that's the Runaway Lady at her finest!"
"Steshia-san!"
Steshia, watching the monitor outside the pod, burst into cheerful laughter.
Letaria climbed out through the hatch and fixed Merry with a resentful look.
"Besides—I have the Photon Saber. Close the distance and cut them down. That's all it takes, isn't it?"
"…Letaria-san. Close combat is absolutely your strength—but not every enemy is going to let you get close. And there's this."
Merry pulled up a holographic list: standard Makina repair costs, itemized.
The fine print was still somewhat beyond Letaria's reading speed—but the figures listed in the columns were perfectly legible.
"Reckless close-range fighting means taking more hits. And hits mean repair bills."
"…………. …V-very well. I'll practice. Practice, then. I'll practice until I get it right!"
The word "repair costs" drained the defiance out of her in an instant. For all her pride, this particular reality demanded a bow—a reluctant one, but a bow nonetheless.
◆◆◆
Meanwhile, in a room one floor above the training area, Grain and Milea were speaking quietly.
Below, through the window, Letaria and Steshia were causing their usual commotion. The two adults paid it little mind. The air between them was still.
"…There are strange readings in Arden's output systems again."
Milea angled the holographic display from her terminal toward him.
"The moment Letaria puts real force into something—when she genuinely commits—energy is being generated from the machine's black box. I won't pretend otherwise: it unsettles me. There are systems in this machine that I still don't understand."
"If you can't identify it, it's not some hobbyist's modification… Is this related to that company—Escado?"
Grain kept his voice neutral. Somewhere in his thoughts, the chip he had quietly recovered from the wreckage of Arden's original form was still sitting, unmentioned.
The girl who had been present in that abandoned factory. The machine that had been mysteriously modified. Coincidence?
"I'll look into it further. …Anyway—you didn't call me up here just to confirm that, did you."
At Milea's question, Grain shifted his gaze to the window—to the hangar beyond it, where his own machine, Schuelle, sat waiting.
"…Milea. Can you push Schuelle any further? More upgrades."
Milea let out a small, tired sigh.
"Your ability is among the best in the corps. You and Schuelle as you are now could hold your own against veteran pilots from the regular military. Any further load on that machine means the same on your body. It won't hold."
"…I still haven't pulled ahead of the Sergeant Major."
Grain looked down through the window at Letaria, still bickering cheerfully with Steshia below.
"…And now something that doesn't play by the rules has appeared right in front of me. I can't exactly stand back and fold my arms about it. Not as captain."
"…There are rumors that Ethan came out of the training corps. The fact that you've ever beaten him at all is remarkable in itself. As for Letaria—well, she's an exception to every exception."
Milea said it flatly, dismissively. Grain's expression didn't change.
"…If you come across good parts or weapons—route them to me first. Experimental hardware with risks attached is fine. I'll be the test subject."
He turned and left the room.
Milea called after him.
"…You're an odd one. I'll at least verify the minimum safety standards before anything goes to you."
Grain lifted a hand in acknowledgment without looking back.
Milea closed her terminal and looked out the window.