LN_Knight's & Magic 1

8/10/2019 LN_Knight's & Magic 1

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Prologue

It is already evening, the glaring sun is slowly setting beyond the horizon, theshadows expand their territory. The roads absorb lots of heat during the day,and are releasing it back into the air now. This will be another night that is toowarm to sleep comfortably.

This is K city K district, a city where the above scene is commonplace.

The city station is surrounded by skyscrapers, hosting a myriad of companies. 'Koftworks' situated on the !th floor is a mid size software maker company.

In the cool air"conditioned office, several men stare silently at their monitor

screens. The atmosphere is intense. They are the employees of K oftworks.#or a mid size company, their daily workload is heavy, but the load today isexceptionally heavy .

$%e have & days left to complete it...$

man sitting at one end of the office mumbles with a hint of despair. (e iscurrently battling with a time bomb ticking towards explosion with every passingsecond, also known as a deadline. )ue to the downturn of the nationaleconomy, the anxious sales team accepted the case grudgingly, even thoughthe demands are unreasonable. *ven during the planning phase, the pro+ectmanaged by him had little room for error. epeated failures made it even moreperilous, the situation can only be described as 'hellish'. nd there are evenmore pressing issues.

$-akai section chief, ato is down (e's not reacting even when we splash himwith water$

$-akai section chief, we won't make it in time if we don't finish the coding today.$

$...-akai"san, Takeda's desk has a resignation letter on it...$

$h"" hut up (ow can we meet the deadline with things like this""$

The man who was pressed into a corner"" section chief -akai received a stringof bad news, finally breaking down. (e hugged his head and rested it on histable.



(e knows there is no time to waste, but he can't finish the task and is short onmanpower... The deadline is looming, but he can't find any solutions, pushing hispsyche to the breaking point.

$-akai"san.$$%hat is it now/$

(e raised his head after hearing someone address him, a man with a gentlesmile appeared before his eyes.

$I have finished the case on my side, and I am ready to assist you.$

$0h... Kurata... re you fine with +oining in/$

The pain on -akai's face was swept away, like a man who saw a ray of light inthe midst of despair.

$I browsed through the specification manual and has gotten the gist of thesituation. 1an you let me handle the progress management/$

$0f... 0f course, I might as well give you my password, you can flip through themanagement folders too. Take care of all that please.$

$*h, -akai"san, I can't manage all that... *rm, the coding parts are holding backthe progress, let me settle this...$

The man speaking with -akai"" Kurata Tsubasa, sat down on the chair preparedby a colleague and started working immediately. (e typed in codes on a texteditor, read the progress reports while flipping through the specification manualas he gave instructions to the colleagues around him.

$*nsure the testing machine is operational, test analyst take this opportunity to

rest. *rm, we will begin intensive testing after 23. #or coding... Tatsu"san, canyou complete 3 modules/ 4es, I will do the other 25. Kiba, there are some weirdparts in the specification manual, please amend it and resume testing.$

(e is 36 years old, considered part of the younger generation within theworkplace, but no one is 7uestioning his instructions. This is because of thetrack records he has built up after +oining this company. fter his recruitment, heinstilled life into the half dead workers who 7uickly carried out his instructions.



Kurata has a uni7ue nickname, since he is on the case, it means the ending ofthe +ob is in sight. (umans are realistic creatures, if they can see the ending,they can endure it no matter how tough it is.

$lright, that should do it. I will start coding.$

$(ey, Kurata, will you be fine/ 25 modules... This is no laughing matter.$

$-akai"san, did you forget/ 8y actual profession is programmer.$

%ith his eyes half closed a fearless smile appeared on Kurata's gentle face.. (eput his fingers on the keyboard, and all 25 fingers started dancing at afrightening speed. (e typed in codes on several text editors that are open on hisscreen, going through the data like a torrent. The mature man sitting oppositehim "" Tatsu, threw himself into his work when he heard the amazing typing

sound.

$s expected of the $last line of defense$ for the company, he has been handlingall the troubling cases so far... I have to keep up.$

*veryone put their heart into their work, the sluggish battle improvesdramatically.

The radio broadcast announced the time. The clock on the wall indicates it is9:29pm "" time to get off work. ccording to company policy, working hours haveended, but Kurata simply stretched his back and rotated his tired shoulders.

(e has been salvaging the case for & days. Today is the dreaded deadline, butthe atmosphere is no longer desperate like it was & days prior. The case wasthought to be hopeless by everyone before, but it was rescued under his experthands.

Thanks to him finishing the program in one day, and the team members testing

and recoding without rest, they managed to barely finish the product before thedeadline. lthough Kurata finished so much work in such a short amount of time,he managed each part perfectly, a miraculous talent beyond comprehension.adly, his skill was outstanding because he was always handed the troublingcases.

fter a series of battles, empty cans of coffee and energy drinks piled up likegravestones on his desk. ;ooking to his sides, he can see the warriors <test



analyst= who finished the hard battle smiling peacefully, collapsing on the bedsmade out of chairs. Kurata has decreased his sleeping hours to the bareminimum, and he feels that it is time to rest up.

$lright, the client acknowledged the receipt of the product %e are done >reat

news everyone, now we can rest easy$Kurata woke from his half asleep state and saw the elated -akai in a victorypose. (e thought about going home to rest, but decided to nap for a while.%hen he was ready to go home, it was already time for the last train.

everal days after the death march, the end of the month is here. peaking ofend of the month, people will think of "" that's right, the gospel of all workingadults, payday.

Kurata turned off the computer and prepared to leave in a hurry. (e was notalone. (is colleagues also started to leave. #ollowing popular trends, companieshave cut down the working hours of office workers. *specially on payday, thecompanies have the obligation to let their staff leave on time. lthough it is anobligation, this rule is often overlooked when things get hectic. ?ut compared tothe hellish time they had +ust a few days before, it is much more relaxed now.

Today is a happy #riday. ome are rushing to meet their family, others aregathering with their friends, getting ready to splurge . There are some who +ust

want to rest at home, everybody is different, but for those getting their salary, theday they look forward to coinciding with the weekend is a happy occasion.

Kurata is the same too. everal colleagues who went through the death marchgathered at his side.

$Kurata, want to get a drink/ 4ou were a big help, the first one is on me.$

-akai made a drinking gesture, with people related to the case such as Tatsuand Kiba standing behind him. Kurata was about to +oin them, but he

remembered his planned schedule and hesitated.

$h"" orry -akai"san, I have an engagement, maybe next time.$

$-akai"san, today is the day, Kurata's hobby...$

$0h... That. 1an't be helped, don't skip out next time.$



$0kay.$

Kurata watched the group leave, and headed toward his destination as well. Theyoung, talented man known as the $last line of defense$, depended on byeveryone in the company, his uni7ue hobby was well known within the company.

0n this weekend, the streets are humid in the summer heat, crowded with officeworkers knocking off work. The way to the station is +ammed with people. fterwalking some distance away, the traffic gets smoother.

$0ver. Time. @ay >et$

man ""which is Kurata yelled in front of the T8. If he did that in front of amanned counter, he would probably be reported to the police for actingsuspiciously.

(is emotion stemmed from the cold figures displayed on the T8 screen. Thecases he handles are usually red alert and dangerous, his efforts are paid off inthe form of overtime pay, so his savings increase steadily.

Kurata can't stop smiling, withdrew some cash and hurried towards hisdestination. (is movements have no hesitation, a sign that he has gone throughthis route many times. building appears in front of him shortly. That is a ma+orelectronics shopping center near the train station. 0n the &rd floor is a huge toys

department"" his goal.

few hours later, a man left the toys department with the music that plays whenthe store is closing.

$s expected of the month end sale. This is great.$

The man carried 3 full bags in each hand, double layered to prevent it fromtearing. (is backpack is also stuffed into a strange shape. (is bags are filled

with plastic models, in other words, he is a 'model nerd'.

$urfacer, paint, tools have been resupplied... the modeling festival shallbegin...$

#or his hectic lifestyle, the shopping spree on payday and the modeling festivalare his biggest +oy. 8aybe the dull and normal lifestyle is taking a toll on him, theamount of models he purchases increase with every year. It finally became a



monthly habit, he is totally addicted.

(e wears his silly smile, walking home with his bags happily. The apartment hestays in is some distance away from the company, the station is between hisresidence and the company. (e needs to make a detour when he visits the

electronics shopping center, but it is not a big deal since he got what he is after.Kurata makes his way past the 7uiet residential zone humming +oyfully. Thetraffic is very light at this hour.

(e heard the sound of an engine breaking the silence, the oncoming headlightsrestricting his vision. The lights from the distance blinded him, and he hurried tothe side of the road. The road is relatively wide, but it will be bad if it breaks thebag. Kurata frowns at the usage of high beams while driving in the residentialarea, but he pays it no mind and continues walking.

The dazzling head lights made his reaction fatally slow. The car is going straightat him with no sign of slowing and shows no intention to avoid him. ?y the timehe realized it , it was too late for him to avoid it.

$(ey, wait...$

The roar of the engine reverberated in his ears, his vision was drowned out bythe lights. (e felt a chill down his back.

(e couldn't get out of the way and collided with the car while hugging his bags. t the moment of impact, he heard his body make a frightening sound. s hisbody flew through the air, the moment before he lost conscious because of theimmense pain, all sorts of emotions flashed through his mind. ?ut he did not seehis life flash before his eyes, or cursed his luck in meeting this accident.

<h, I can't make the models I +ust brought and the series of models that will bereleased next month, such a shame...=

In his mind was the passion he had for the models he can't assemble anymore.

$"" this +ust in.

round 25pm tonight, a man collided with a car in K city district. The victimwas an office worker residing in the area, Kurata Tsubasa<36=. n ambulancewas dispatched after a resident made a report, but they failed to resuscitate thevictim. ccording to the police investigation, the suspect was driving under theinfluence""$



Chapter 1

place he did not belong to, a different world.

This world has no name, the people have not explored it completely. They thinkthe continent they live in encompasses the whole world and one such continentis Aetterlund.

Aetterlund continent is split into the eastern and western region by the ubignemountain range. )ivided by the mountain range, each region has its own uni7ueenvironment. The west is ruled by several countries ruled by humans knowncollectively as the %estern Bnion, the east is the ?ocuse sea of trees ruled bypowerful )emonic creatures "" the nest of )emonic beasts.

The eastern region of Aetterlund is not totally devoid of all humans. There lies asolitary human nation, known as the kingdom of #remmevira. ?ecause thiscountry is on the border of the sea of trees , it is also the first line of defence inthe war against the )emon beasts. To counter the roaming )emon beasts thenation raised an army of knights and to this day maintains it. They take pride intheir role as the shield of humanity and the %estern Bnion, and are known asthe 'nation of knights'.

In the year 1.*. 23C6 the story with this continent as its background begins.

t the base of the mountain ubigne, which reaches up to the clouds , is the1apital of #remmevira, KDnkDnen. If you were from there to travel east for half aday on carriage you will reach a large town. The town is uni7ue, with more thanhalf its space taken up by a single facility. It is a fortified building made withbricks and stones, but doesn't feel intimidating and is not meant for military use.This is the education institute for children, known as ';aihiala pilot academy'.

Knights defend the people against )emon beast attacks. s part of the glorious

nation of knights, they are popular in #remmevira and it is a highly respectedoccupation. s a country prone to attacks due to its geographic location, theyneed the support of a large army . Training knights is a priority for the nation,leading to the expansion of the educational organization for knights, ;aihialapilot academy.

low thud reverberates within the building crafted through stone masonry.



This place has wide flooring made from stone, surrounded by stone walls andseats. This oval shaped training ground is situated in a corner of the academy.

In the centre of the grounds are 3 knights facing off with their swords. They are

both heavily armoured, one with a sword and shield, the other wielding a 3"handed sword. The training ground is used for mock battles, the 3 knights aregoing through all sorts of drills, and the swords they are using are blunted.

The 3 knights took the exercise seriously even though the swords are blunt.They point the sword at each other, carefully gauging the distance. gust ofwind blew the sand into the air. The breath taking stare down ends and both ofthem launch their attack simultaneously, closing their gap in an instance. Theymove into combat range so nimbly it seems unbelievable that they are in fullbattle armour.

?ut there is something off with this scene, the ground is shaking with each stepthey take, emitting a low and heavy thud into the air. -ormal human can't makesuch heavy sounds from their footsteps even if they are in full armour.

The answer lies in their surroundings.

There are people on the audience seats watching the duel of the knights, buttheir figures are much smaller than the knights. -o, the opposite is trueE it is the

knights that are too big. If you compare the size of the knights and the audienceside by side, they are at least C times larger. It is only natural for them to beheavy, and it is not an exaggeration to call them giants.

These giant knights are not humans. They are actually ilhouette Knights,around 25 metres in height with metallic frame known as 'Inner keleton' and'crystal tissue' acting as muscles. #uelled by mana, it is a hybrid robot of magicand machinery, a giant knight. They are weapons made to fight against magicbeasts, the strongest fighting unit of mankind.

short distance away from the battling ilhouette Knights, several figures arewatching the fight, one of them has exceptionally sharp gaze.

(e is one of the battle instructors, In other words, his duty is to instruct the pilotshandling the battling ilhouette Knights. (e took in every single move of thebattling trainees, giving off a serious air.

$It's ... obots...$



cute voice came from behind. The man turned and saw a beautiful ladywalking towards him with a child in her arms. The lady has smooth flowing silver

hair with a hint of purple that reaches her waist. (er hair sways in the wind asshe walks, leaving a bright silver trail behind her. he has gentle blue eyes, palewhite skin and looks very young, between 29 to 35 of age. ?ut she is alreadymarried and has a child.

The demonic instructor whose face is feared by all smiled. @eople who knowhim might be shocked, but it is not a surprise if you are in the warm presence ofthe lady.

$Tina, what brings you here / It's really rare to see you visit the academy.$

$I +ust wanted to let *ru see his father's workplace, so I made a detour for ourstroll.$

$I see. *ru, what do you think about dadFs +ob/$

The man asked the child held by his wife, but was ignored. The child keepswaving his short limbs about, staring intently at the ilhouette Knight sparring onthe training ground.

$*h, he doesn't seem to be listening...$

The man smiles as he pats his & year old son's head. The son inherited hismother's adorable features "" silver hair with a touch of purple, an oval face +ustlike his mother when she was young and a pair of bright blue eyes. (is sharpgaze shows a hint of his paternal heritage.

$ra, *ru, you are paying more attention to the ilhouette Knight than yourfather, +ust like a boy. )o you really like ilhouette Knights so much/$

$I heard that lots of kid dream of being a knight, *ru seems to think so too.$

?oth parent smile as they watch *ru display his curiosity for this boyish interest,he is so cute. The little boy watches the scene excitedly while waving his armsand legs, unfazed with being the centre of attention. (e focuses on the trainingground without blinking, displaying his exceptional concentration . The manrubbed his son's soft hair for a while but gave up after getting no reaction.



$4ou really like it huh. (ow is it/ *ru those are ilhouette Knights, giganticwarriors that defend our kingdom.$

$ilhouette... Knight...$

The child seems to acknowledge the words of the man for the first time,repeating his words with a slur uni7ue to toddlers and falls into deep thought.The man smiles bitterly when he see the child behaving this way, and returns tohis post after conversing with his wife for a while. 0n the training ground, thegigantic knights finish their match and are preparing to leave.

$ight, let's return home. @repare dinner and wait for daddy to come home.$

The lady coaxes the child who kept looking back and is reluctant to go. They are

going home.

$ilhouette Knight...$

The child in her arms watches the gigantic knights on the training ground untilthey are out of sight.

The child referred to as *ru, has the full name of *rnesti *chevarria. (e is theson of 8athias *chevarria, instructor of ;aihiala @ilot cademy, borne by his

wife 1elestina.It has been & years since his birth. This is the age when a child forms his senseof self, a period when they become playful. ?ut *ru is very sensible,understands his parents from an early age and is well behaved. *veryone feelsthat he is a bright kid, but his intelligence came from another source.

*ver since he formed a sense of self, developing his own character, he is awareof memories he has never experienced before "" the memory of a past he livedin another place. place called Gapan, civilization of computers, and the name

Kurata Tsubasa.

theory known as reincarnation.

eincarnation means the spirits of those who have died in this world are reborninto this world over and over again. It is mentioned in ?uddhism, all Gapanesewould have heard about this theory whether they believe in it or not. Kurata



knows about this, but he didn't believe it back then, and didn't expect toexperience it himself. nd he retains his experience from his previous life, asuccessful reincarnation.

?ut himself included, no one knows what happened. The only thing he is sure of

is that he is *rnesti in this world, and was Kurata Tsubasa in the previous world.That's why compared to children around his age, he has a literally 'experienced'mind and a calm and matured analytical ability.

?ecause of the whim of his mother, he visited his father's workplace. The impactof this visit inspired him to devote his 3nd chance at life to this.

%hen the sun starts to set in the west, a lady and a child walk along the streetsof ;aihiala academy.

The boy kept asking about the gigantic knights he saw, and his motheranswered him gently and patiently. ;ooking at her excited son, the mothercheerfully replied:

$4ou really like ilhouette Knights don't you, does *ru want to be a knight in thefuture/$

$Knight... 0kay I want to be a knight$

$ra, such a dependable child. ;et's ask daddy to teach you when you get a littleolder alright/$

$0kay$

-o one knows what will happen because of this dimension travel. ?ut he iscertain that his 3nd life as *rnesti *chevalier is developing beyond his control.

The *chevarria residence is situated near the ;aihiala academy.

part from this family, the people in this nation wake up early. s the sun isrising in the east, the young mother 1elestina got up to prepare breakfast. %henshe is done, the whole family is up and they ate together +ust like usual.

The only child of the family *rnesti got up the latest.

$ilhouette Knight$



*ru seems to have dreamt of something as he kicks off his blanket and leapt upfrom bed. (e is unaware of his mother laughing because of his yell. *ru lookedaround him, realized he is in the bedroom and climbed back into bed.

(e was too excited last night and couldn't sleep. (e is still in a dreamlike state,smiling in his bed.

<Those are robots, and humanoid in shape, gigantic humanoid robots...=

*rnesti "" or rather the Gapanese Kurata Tsubasa shed a tear of +oy in his heartfor this unexpected blessing and can't stop smiling. etaining the memories ofKurata Tsubasa means he inherited similar interest and hobbies from hisprevious life. In *ru's previous life he was Kurata Tsubasa, a heavily addictedrobot nerd.

s a working adult, he spent almost all his income on his hobby, browsingmodelling magazines and games, even searching for visual works at times. (eput in double the effort into his hobby than others, it wouldn't be wrong to saythat he is obsessed. ?ut despite his obsession, he was still an ordinary man. (edidn't have the passion to +oin the self"defence force +ust for the chance tooperate a tank. ?ut the situation is different in this life. That's right, gigantichumanoid robots "" ilhouette Knights actually exist here.

%hen he 'awakened', he was disappointed to find himself in a world with nomodels or computers in this 3nd life. ?ut he is grateful from the bottom of hisheart for this miracle, be it by chance or the will of a mysterious force allowinghim to reincarnate in this world with ilhouette Knights. This is not a +oke,gigantic humanoid weapons 25 metres in height actually exist. #or a robot nerdlike him, seeing the ilhouette Knights has enough impact to change his life. Inother words, he thinks the reason for coming to this world was to pilot thesegigantic robots. (e has no basis for it, but he still believes this strongly.

(e has the resolve, but his tiny body lost to his sleepiness, and he naps for a

while more before breakfast is ready.

It is almost noon, 1elestina and *ru are in 8athias's study room.

The study room is filled with simple but practical wooden furniture that is keptclean and tidy. 8athias is primarily a sword instructor, but he is involved in otherfields too. The shelves in the study room are filled with all sorts of literature,



including picture books for children.

Tina sat on the couch in the room, resting the tinny *ru on her lap, reading thepicture book slowly for him. he spoke clearly and calmly. *ru who was en+oyingthis yesterday listened for a while and started to fidget. (e called out to his

mother:$8om, mom.$

$%hat is it *ru/ 4ou don't like this book/$

Tina tilts her head, but *ru's next words dispelled her confusion.

$I like books... ?ut, I want to know more about ilhouette Knights$

Tina set the book aside and studied *ru's expression. ;ooking at his bright eyesfilled with curiosity and +oy, she can't turn him down.

$ra ara, I see. lthough it is still early for you *ru, if you want to pilot theilhouette Knights, you have to first become a knight.$

$Knight... how do I become a knight/$

*ru has a fixed goal in mind, but he is still a & year old toddler in body. *ven with

the intellect of a grown man, he is still restricted in his actions, including thecrucial part of information gathering . (ow does a toddler, with limited accessobtains information/ (e has to rely on his parents.

$;et's see, you need to read many books and practice swordsmanship. ight, letyour daddy teach you about swords. 4our father teaches swords in the academyanyway. (ow about reading your favourite book where ilhouette Knights makean appearance okay/$

$0kay$

*ru finally focuses back on the book again. Tina rubbed his head, took out abook related to ilhouette Knights and read it to him slowly. *ru listen to thestory simple enough for a child to understand excitedly.

(e imagined himself piloting the gigantic knight, standing before humongousdemon beasts in order to protect everyone. (e made up his mind once again.(e wants to pilot a ilhouette Knight no matter what, the sooner the better. To



achieve this, he wants to use his mature mind set and do all he can within hispower. (e prepared a schedule for the future in his mind, but for now, he listens7uietly to the story.

$)ad, do you have a minute/$8athias *chevarria who is resting in the study room heard the sound behindhim. (e turned around and saw his son *rnesti *chevarria run towards him. *ruwho is 9 years old has a bowl cut, with his hair +ust above his brows. (e hasbright silvery purple hair +ust like his motherE the resemblance to her cuteappearance remains the same. *ven the strict 8athias with his merciless facesmiles often in front of *ru.

$0h, I have time. %hat is it *ru/$

$I want to ask for a favour, dad.$

*ru is young, but he speaks clearly. (is slightly slurred speech when he was & isnow smooth at the age of 9. This child has always been polite to everyone sincehe was young. s his speech grows smoother, this becomes more obvious. ?utthis doesn't feel weird, and actually complement his cute and small appearance.8athias smiles happily as he looks at *ru's pleading face. (is 'doting' towardshis son is getting worse over time.

$)ad, I want to be a knight, please teach me swordsmanship.$

It's finally time. 8athias was troubled, but he didn't show it on his face. (e knewhis son was keen on being a knight when he was really young. There is noproblem with his goal, if he has the motivation, that will be great. ?ut *ru is only9 years old, it is still too early to teach him swordsmanship. If they rush it before*ru's body develops, it will be detrimental to him. lso, *ru looks more similar tohis wife with every passing year, and is smaller in stature than children in hisage group. To be honest, 8athias wonders if his son can handle a sword.

?ut 8athias still faces his son firmly. ince *ru is showing his resolve, he can'tignore this as an instructor or a father. 8athias advises his son not to rush, andstart from building up his physical strength. (e also informs him that aside fromswordsmanship, knowledge of magic will also help him in his 7uest to become aknight, encouraging him to take it up.

$8agic... I understand dad, I will seek your advice on swordsmanship in the



future.

;ooking at the unwavering face of his son, 8athias nods, promising to teach himswordsmanship one day.

$.. That's what happened mom, please teach me magic$

fter making the promise with 8athias, *ru immediately went to Tina and askedher. %hy is he asking his mother/ ?ecause Tina's father, who is *ru'sgrandfather is the current dean of ;aihiala pilot school "" ;auri *chevarria. Tinaaccents gladly, gathering the necessary teaching materials within her means.

"" 8agic.

It goes without saying that in *ru's previous life "" back on earth, magic does notexist, it appears only in stories. 8ost people only heard about magic whenplaying role playing games like dungeons and dragons. ?ut this powerful forceexists in this world, and knights use magic often as support when they fight.

Bnder the guidance of his mother who is doubling as a teacher, *ru readstextbooks related to magic.

#rom the moment *ru decided to pilot a ilhouette Knight, *ru has started

taking action. %hat he has been doing is the basics of the basics, simplylearning to read. #or a & year old, this is a very early start, even the privilegedclass of this country "" the aristocrats won't start so early. ?ecause of this, *rucan handle materials that are 7uite advanced.

It is natural for kids to detest studying, but *ru is not a normal kid. ll his effort isfor the goal of becoming a knight. %hen he thinks about piloting a ilhouetteKnight, studying is no hassle for him, he can even read through all the textbooksfrom cover to cover. ?ecause the contents are stiff, it is better to treat it like agame and en+oy it instead of thinking of it as studying. %ith the fast learning

pace uni7ue to children, *ru learns the contents at an incredible pace.



Tina is not a teacher by profession, but she is managing it smoothly. he is thedaughter of a school dean and wife of an instructor after all. he satisfies thewishes of *ru, teaching him magic patiently.

"" In simple terms, magic in this world refers to the skill in manipulating mana toperform physical phenomenon.

ll living things in this world have the ability to convert the 'ether' in the air intomana, and store a certain amount of it within its body.

$8ana is something like fuel, magic will be used in accordance to the content ofthe magic script to do things in the physical world through a catalyst.$

Tina explains to *ru who is sitting down obediently.

There are 3 types of living beings in the world, divided to those who can usemagic independently and those who can't. The difference lies in the existence of a catalyst within their body. #or beings that can use magic, they have a crystalwithin their body that acts as a catalyst. #or example, the strongest creatureknown as dragon possesses a catalyst, and their dragon breath is created usingthis.

$(umans don't have catalyst inside us, so we are a race that can't use magic.$ince human don't have a crystal catalyst, they can't use magic. #rom the lawsof this world, this is a natural and undeniable fact. ?ut people have learnt a wayto use magic. This is the result of them using their weapon called wisdom. s aliving being of this world, humans can make use of mana and develop scriptsgradually to use magic, and use external catalyst to overcome their weakness.

%ith this breakthrough, humans who were always the weakest in the world,developed gigantic magic powered weapons after years of research " the

ilhouette Knight. This makes the humans one of the most powerful races.

$8om, since the ilhouette Knights are so powerful, and we have such a hugearmy of knights, we can build a bigger country right/$

$8aybe it can be done, but it is difficult.$

ilhouette Knight might be powerful weapons, but it is a tactical weapon that



re7uires large amount of resources to build and maintain. It is practicallyimpossible to prepare the forces capable of dominating the land. (umanity usesthe ubigne mountain range as the border to maintain peace on the west of thecontinent. #remmevira remains behind as a screen to protect their foothold inthe east. The stalemate has been going on for centuries.

$I will leave the details for history class. 4ou will learn about it in more detailwhen you will start schooling.$

Tina is talking about practical application of magic. s mentioned before, magichas to be done through scripts, and the construction and usage of scripts isperformed by a virtual organ in the brain known as 8agius circuit. In this world,all beings that are self"aware have the potential to use it.

$nd *ru, scripts are sigils that perform specific phenomenon. #irst is the

'rchitect'HT;: Kan+i J #undamentalJ sigil that perform basic phenomenon,followed by the 1ontrol sigils that coordinate and use rchitect sigils.$

?y combining rchitect sigils and 1ontrol sigils, the picture created will besomething similar to magic summoning circles on earth.

#or beginners in magic , the part they will stumble on is the construction of thescript. 8ost people can manipulate rchitect sigils immediately, but usingpowerful spells by using more complex scripts re7uires a great amount of

practice. s humans can't use magic naturally, creating high level magicre7uires the accumulation of experience. part from perseverance, this alsore7uires natural talent.

<rchitect sigils that determine the phenomenon and the control sigils thatmaximize its effects. ?oth of them combining by a set of fixed laws... ight, Ihave seen this before, this is +ust like...=

*ru's occupation in his past life "" programmer, helps him in understand this part.In simple terms, the sigils and their interaction in the form of a script follows

similar logic to program coding. The operation of the script by the magius circuitis similar to a virtual computer. ince the magius circuit is in built within thebrain, activating it doesn't take time, which performs better than computers in hisprevious life.

fter *ru grasped the logic behind it, he 'extracted' the architect sigil and controlsigil from the text book and started using his magius circuit "" which is thehuman brain to start coding. %ith such a big amount of codes, even a veteran



programmer won't be able to organize it within their headE they need the help ofsoftware editors. To counter this, *ru uses the magius circuit domain as asoftware editor to plan and compile the scripts.

?ecause he is a beginner, he has no idea how much magic the people in this

world can use. (e didn't think that his ability to easily build and control thecomplicated programming language to be special.

*ru held a tiny wooden wand and focused with his eyes closed.

small crystal was fixed onto the tip of the wand. That is the crystal catalyst, amiraculous item which allows human to use magic. #or humans using magic,they prefer wielding wands with crystal catalyst fixed onto its tip. The wand in*ru's hand made a gentle '@ashu' sound, and a line of fire shot out, leaving ascorched mark on the middle of the target board. (e +ust activated the fire

architect sigil with beginner magic "" '#ire torch'.

$%ow *ru, that's great. lthough it is +ust the architect sigil, but I never imaginedthat you can use magic so fast.$

$?ut mom, the textbook says that this is the basics of the basics, anyone canuse it immediately.$

$It is true that anyone can activate it, but to hit the target so accurately re7uires

practice. *ru has talent for magic.$-o matter how good *ru is in programming, it is useless if he only studies thetheory without putting it in practice. simple target board at the backyard, andTina accompanied *ru for practical training. They practice all types of architectsigils one by one, allowing *ru to get used to the feeling of using magic. ftercasting spells repeatedly, *ru started to feel weird... it felt like energy wasgradually draining from his body. It is like the fatigue you feel after exercise, butdifferent at the same time. This uni7ue experience confused him, but this isnatural when you expend mana. (e pants heavily and breathes in the ether in

the air around him, attempting to replenish his mana.

<... I didn't know it was this tiring. If I used advanced spells, I would haveprobably fainted because of shortness of breath.=

Tina who has been supervising him walked over with a gentle smile and rubbedhis head.



$This is how it feels when you expend mana. If you don't experience it now, it willbe troubling in the future.$

$... I can't catch my breath, it feels painful. 8y mana is empty with +ust a littlemagic use, so depressing.$

$)on't be discouraged. 4ou are still young, lacking mana is normal.$

$%ill I have more mana when I grow up/$

$(mm "" ;et me think. It's a bit different, but +ust think of it as something likestamina. The growth of mana is not solely dependent on your body growth. It willalso get stronger as you train your psyche.$

$I understand. 8om, since that's the case, I will be doing special training to

increase my mana pool$

Tina gave a bitter smile, rubbing the head of the spirited *ru.

$ra, what a hardworking child. )on't be too impatient, going too fast might bebad too.$

*ru reflect on this, and felt that he is being too rash. Tina is right, rushing won'tbe good for him, and he doesnFt want his mother who is accompanying him to

worry .$4es mom. I will take it slow and steady.$

*ru promised his mother with a straight face. Tina nodded and hugged himtightly.

*ru started his special training the following day.

%ith the promise with Tina and the future in mind, he will need to improve hisphysical and magical abilities steadily. 1onstructing script is *ru's strength, hewill find a way if he makes use of his previous life's ability. The rest will dependon the mana he needs to use the magic. (e persists in his routine of +ogging,physical exercise, depleting his mana and recovering it. s he was gooingthrough his fundamental training, he found an interesting magic in the textbook.

(e was looking up physical boost spells. @hysical boost means literally



strengthening the capability of your body, including strength, stamina and speed.*ru's plan was to incorporate this spell in his physical exercise, training bothmind and body at the same time for efficiency.

The spell physical boost is a high spell which is difficult to use. The effects of the

magic is dependent on the script, the simpler the structure, the closer it will be tothe architect sigil and the easier it is to controlE the more targets there are, themore complex and difficult it will be.

The high level complex spell physical boost has the ability of enhancing 'everymuscle fibre', strengthening 'all the bones' to absorb the impact, and theimprovement in durability of the skin. There is a need to control the target of thespell which changes rapidly with every movement. To use the effect, the scriptneeds to be activated constantly. This is why the boosting spell is on a higherlevel than big spectacular spells which do not re7uire constant upkeep to

maintain.

-ormally, *ru would have given up at this stage and would have chosen a morepractical spell. ?ut he knew how to solve the issue because of his uni7ue skills"" programming concept. (e has experience in designing and coding software tohandle multiple variables. That's why he skipped the beginner magic phase, and

+umped straight into the 'modified magic' phase. eviewing the structure of thephysical boost script, *ru compressed the structure to minimize the number ofvariables, creating sub scripts that will automatically extract the status of the

body. fter compiling it, he +ust needs to design the user interface to make iteasier to control so as to lessen the burden.

1omplicated pro+ects like the improvement of scripts is not something that canbe easily done by anyone. ?ut *ru was not aware of this, completing theimprovement shortly, and the patch was a big enhancement. ?ut even so, it isstill a hard to control magic that strains the mind heavily. ?ut with hisextraordinary processing ability, it is not much. -o one realized that a historicalrevolution has occurred, but for *ru, this is +ust a small step in his +ourney.

*verything is ready. *ru holds a wand in his hand, activated the improvedphysical boost spell and begun his daily training regime excitedly. ?ut his highspirited trip ended in tragedy, he didn't even have time to feel moved by hisenhanced physical attributes before collapsing a few hundred metres awaybecause of mana depletion.

s expected of a high spell, the controls are complicated and the mana cost istremendous. *ru felt down because of this basic mistake and returned to his



normal training regime for 7uite a while.

*ven with the efforts he put in, he still needed & years before he could activatehis physical boost magic for a sustainable amount of time. *ru is fuelled by hispassion, moving towards his goal day by day.



Chapter 2

;aihiala pilot academy has a dormitory, restaurants and all sorts of shops. llsorts of ilhouette Knight repair shops are gathered there, including the lodgingof related personnel, forming a large college city. ?ecause ;aihiala pilotacademy is the top academic facility in the nation, the size of the city is not faroff from the capital itself. The city adopted its name from the academy, and isknown as ';aihiala academy city', *rnesti resides in such a place.

The sun sets beyond the walls that surround the city and the night encompassthe academy city. part from a select few, most of the shops have closed for theday, only a handful of people still wander the streets. The whole city falls intosilence. petite figure runs along the path formed by the rooftops of the

building. The figure is dressed in black that is hard to see in the dark, movinglike the wind along the roof.

nd of course, this is the 6 years old *rnesti *chevarria. %ith the passage oftime, his training has evolved from simple +ogging into a round trip along theroofs of the buildings in the city. ccording to *ru, the wide field of vision and theundulating height of the buildings is perfect for training.

(e learned from his failure in using physical boost spell in the past, and furtherimproved it, changing it into a low mana cost magic, emphasizing +ust the legsfor running. (e has gotten used to it, even strenuous movement won't affect thescript, his enhanced legs enable him to sprint at a very fast pace.

s he ran, *ru came to the edge of a line of connected buildingsE the edge isakin to a cliff with the road looming from below. (e took a deep breath,increasing his mana output. %ith the fierce reaction, he accelerated like anarrow fired from a bow, closing the gap to the edge in an instant. The momenthe took his last step and leapt into the airE he activated another spell ""compressing the air in front of him, creating a dense air bullet. This was

originally basic wind magic, air bullet. *ru explodes the air bullet behind him,using the release burst of energy to push him forward.

The instantaneous acceleration threw *ru's body into the air, forming a beautifularch in the sky. (e activated his body strengthening magic in mid"air, and castanother spell +ust before he landed. nother air bullet spell "" but the area ofcompressed air was much larger. (e didn't fire off the air bullet +ust like before,using it as a cushion, landing nicely at the other roof. *ru rolls to reduce the



impact, running off with the same speed as before.

The year is 1.*. 23&.

It has been & years since *ru started his magic training. (e went through it daily

without rest, accumulating a large amount of mana within his petite body.-ormally, a child won't train so intensively in magic at such a young age, so it isnot surprising for *ru to have grown so strong. nd the regime also trains hisphysical attributes which increased dramatically, but it is a pity he can't use fullbody strengthening spells for an extended amount of time. That's why heinvented low mana cost spells targeted at specific body parts, only using his fullstrength when it is necessary. (e has also found a way to use other spells whilemoving at high speed. This training allows *ru's outstanding processing ability toimprove, increasing his mana pool while decreasing the mana expended.

There is a reason why *ru focuses his magic on movement. (e didn't spend allof his time on training, making time to play with other kids his age, probably sohis parents won't worry. ?ut he can't deny that playing like a kid again is fun. *ruslowly realized that his body is smaller than others, but he is not too botheredabout it. ?ut if his growth remains stagnant, *ru's lack of weight might becomehis weak point.

-aturally, *ru plans to continue training his magic, not willing to fail because ofhis lack of abilities. *ven so, his body being so light means he has to put more

consideration with regards to attack power. This is the reason he chose tostrengthen his mobility. The speed will disrupt enemies and increase attackpower as well.

<That's right, +ust like Bshi wakamaru overcoming strength with skills, the wayGapanese likes it. *h, although I didn't have much choice in this.= HT;:L M N J

*ru thought about these menial things as he ran in the dim street in the evening. normal training route, the daily +ogging regime, but something unexpectedhappened.

$*h/ omeone is coming.$ girly voice came from above. stern voicefollowed: O%ho are you/$

$...Is someone there/$ the 7uestions from both parties overlap each other. *ruhas never ran into anyone during his rooftop training before, this was the firsttime he did.



They remained silent for 7uite a while. They met someone at a place that isnormally devoid of people, so it is understandable to be cautious. 0ne of them isdressed in black with his hood up, a suspicious outfit.

*ru observes the other party. The weak starlight made visibility low, but he can

vaguely make out that they are a boy and girl pair about his age. *ru is shorterthan average, while the two of them are relatively tall and thin. t a glance theydon't look younger than *ru, but not much older either.

(e can't make any headway with this silence, so *ru introduced himself.

$*vening, I am *rnesti, in the middle of a stroll. nd you are/$

The two who were wary of this youth in black was stunned by the introduction.*ru can't make out the delicate changes in facial expression, but from the

reflection of the moonlight, he knew the young boy s7uinted eyes.

$I am rchid, this is my younger sister...$

$deltrud... *h, we were watching the stars... that's right.$

*ru looked at the ceiling window behind themE the couple probably came upfrom there. The sudden encounter surprised them, but it was simple acoincidence. *ru decided to continue +ogging.

$I see, sorry to disturb you. I will take my leave...$

$%a... wait, don't go yet. stroll you say/ 0n the roof top wearing this/$

$)on't you think that is strange/$

$(m, that's true.$

*ru can tell they are taken aback from their tone. *ven *ru would have been

suspicious if he was in their shoes.

$I said it was a stroll, but it is closer to being special training. That's why I chosea place that is hard to run on.$

$*h... )o you really need to run on the roof/ That's weird.$

simple matter to *ru was unthinkably strange to them. They look at each other



with skeptical faces and asked while tilting their head.

$...(mmm, forget it. That means we are interrupting your training.$

$@lease don't mind me. %ell, I should be...$

$(ey hey, wait 4ou said this is special training, so you run around this placeevery day/$

deltrud stopped *ru who was ready to go. *ru stumbled a bit and replied $4es$and took off again. The two of them follow *ru with their eyes as *ru disappearsinto the shadows... (is extraordinary speed surprised them, as they watch *ruaccelerates and leapt off the edge of the roof. The large arc of his +ump stunnedthem again.

$... mazing, really amazing %hat is that/ That looks fun$

$%ah, he is really running Incredible, he flew off from the edge of the roof/$

rchid and deltrud were excited after *ru left. They were stargazing out on theroof because of some unhappy events and had an amazing encounter. Their lifechanged drastically because of this encounter.

*ru, rchid and deltrud met again the very next day at the same place. Bnlike

the encounter before, the two of them seemed to be waiting for *ru. *ru gave upany thoughts of avoiding them and greeted:

$*vening. %atching the stars again/$

$4o. -ope, we are here to see you.$

$4up...$

The pair smiled happily, visible even under the faint starlight. *ru wasn't sure of

their intentions, but decided to go along with them. (e can +ust run away ifthings go wrong, and pick another running route in the future.

$*rm, do you have to cover your head/$

rchid pointed out. *ru though it is rude too, so he removed his hood and sat onthe roof like they did. $%hat is this about/$ *ru press them. (e noticed the twoof them stiffened with awkward expressions on their faces.



$*h, your names are rchid and deltrud right/ %hat is it/ %hy the weirdreaction /$

$*h/ 0h, nothing. 4ou... you are a girl/$

$4ou move so fast, I thought you were a boy...$

*ru who takes after his mother has grown even more adorable , and is nowtotally a 'pretty girl'. The silvery purple hair that reached +ust over his chin wascut to the shoulder length, swaying in the wind. The dim moon light fails to hidehis face. In fact, the faint light on his smooth skin gave his face a magical air.The pretty face doesn't match the amazing movements they saw the day before,confusing the pair . *ru looked at the 3 children with slanted eyes and says:

$-o, I look like my mother, but I really am a boy.$

$... -o, there is a limit to how much you take after your mother. re you really aboy/

$It's trueE I have nothing to gain from a lie like this.$

$0h...(ow... how cute, *rnesti...$

deltrud drew closer with her hands for some reason and *ru stepped backwhen he sensed the danger. rchid grabs deltrud's collar and pulled her backimmediately.

$*h... h, my name is hard to articulate, +ust call me *ru.$

$h, you can call me 1hid.$

$I will address you as *ru then I am dy$



fter the round of introductions, *ru was wary of the dy who looked ready topounce on him as he says:

$nd so/ %hat did you want to talk about/$$ight, after you left yesterday, didn't you +ump really high from the roof/ (owdid you do that /$

$h, that...$

$lso, please teach us the techni7ue$

%here did their wariness from yesterday go/ 1hid was chatting with him like old

friends. *ru didn't understand why 1hid was so excited.

$I can show you, but it will take a long time okay/$

$-o worries. If we train with you, we can fly like you did one day right/$

$?ut you might be stuck at a bottleneck before that happens too...$

*ru warned, and started to explain his training in simple terms... the content

about magic. 1hid and dy are 7uite smart, picking up the difficult content at agood pace. ?ecause they understand the content, they frown at the task ahead.

$Isn't that gruelling$

$o *ru is so amazing...$

$)idn't I tell you at the very beginning/$

The stunned duo groans, then lift their heads as if they +ust thought about

something.

$?y the way, why is your magic so powerful/$

$... That is because of compatibility, and I have been training for some years.$

$ome years... (ow old are you/



$*ight.$

$*h/ That's the same as us/$

dy was impressed. 1ompared to the explanation earlier, this was more

stunning. 1hid and dy seem to be twins, both of them are eight years old +ustlike *ru. 1hid was in high spirit after hearing this, dismissing all of his worries.(e has a face that says 'alright, we have to do this' and was fired up. *ru warns1hid who was rearing to go:

$@hysical boost is a high spellE you can't use it without starting from the basics.$

$Then +ust ask magic.$

$...(mm/$

$4ou are strong right/ 4ou know lots of high spells$

$4ou might be cute, but you are so dependable$

*ru's face starts to cramp. This development is beyond his expectation, and hasnothing to do with cuteness. Their re7uest was troublingE he wants to escape ifat all possible. ?ut when he saw 1hid and dy talking enthusiastically about thetraining regime, his conscience did not allow him to ignore them.

$h... This.... *h, I understand. I will... teach both of you magic...$

$>reat, I knew you are a bro$

$%onderful, no wonder you are so cute$

$4ou are overestimating me, and this has nothing to do with being cute/ %ait,like I said, magic cannot be learned immediately. 4ou have to start from thebasics, understand/$

$I know, I know, don't worry. %e will catch up to you in a flash$

(e felt uneasy with 1hid who accepted so readily, but *ru still confirmed thetraining details with them before they parted their ways.

The following day, the twins 1hid and dy visited *ru's home. -ot at night, butduring the day.



?ecause they only met under the moonlight until now , *ru finally saw theirbeautiful black hair and hazel eyes. The brunette twins reminded *ru of Gapanand he felt a sense of kinship with them. 1hid's messy hair was short while

dy's slightly wavy hair reached her shoulders. They really are twins, having

similar built and strong eyes.$%elcome to my humble abode, please come in.$

*ru gave up any resistance and ushered them in. The *chevarria residence wasslightly bigger than their neighbours because of their relations with both thedean and an instructor of ;aihiala pilot school. 1hid and dy looked aroundcuriously as they followed *ru.

*ru's mother 1elestina welcomed them warmly, her son who seldom brought

friends home has two guests with him at the same time. he is a great cook andshows off her prowess, making her guests feel at home with her snacks andbeverages. dy was really delighted, she hit it off well with Tina and was aboutto follow her into the kitchen to make snacks, but was dragged off forcefully by1hid .

fter the disruption, they went into *ru's room to learn basic magic. *ru's roomwas very tidy. There is only a table, a bed and several shelves along the wall.The shelves have textbooks related to magic, along with some storybooks for

display. #or preschool children, this room is too practical. The twins <*specially dy= were planning to snoop around the room, but were stopped by *ru.

fter this episode, the magic lesson finally began. *ru used the magic textbookhe likes as the teaching material, starting from the fundamentals. (e thoughtthat the pair were too confident , but as 6 years old, they will grow tired of it andgive up immediately. ?ut 1hid and dy were surprisingly passionate about theirstudies. %hen they started their architect sigil practical session, they displayedadmirable control, hitting the bullFs eye after some attempts.

*ru remembered their dialogue yesterday, didn't they understand theexplanation about magic immediately/ This means the twins are excellent. *rureflected on underestimating them as he gave feedback to the duo thatcollapsed after depleting their mana.

$%hat you are feeling is mana depletion. ?ecause your mana pool is too small,so you should start by building up your mana capacity through training.$



$(uff huff, this is tiring. o... (ow do we do this special training/$

$)eplete your mana every day. 4our mana pool will grow faster than doingnothing. nd it will be best to do some exercise, you can train your body andmagic at the same time, it's more efficient this way.$

$...0h, that's why you are +ogging on roof tops/$

$4es. I told you it's not simple.$

$That's right, but I still want to do it I +ust need to keep this up every day Isn'tthat 'simple'/$

*ru was surprised. (e turned around to see dy who has caught her breath withboth hands on her hips, looking fearless. *yes filled with determination and

confidence, with a hint of a smile on her face. (e looked at dy, thinkingnonchalantly <he is tall and will become a beauty in the future, but she is hardto handle.=

$... I see, please work on your architect sigils for now. 4ou will be able to dospecial training with me after your mana pool grows.$

$I don't know when we can catch up to you... ?ut it will definitely be sooner thanyou think$

$0f course Gust watch usE we will reach your standard in no time$

*ru's impression of his first Pgood friendsF is improving gradually.

<They are tougher than I thought, I made some interesting friends.=

nd so, *ru's training was +oined by the twins rchid 0lter and deltrud 0lter,his life has gotten livelier .

*ru is not +ust learning magic. %hen he has spare time from his magical andphysical training, he is also learning swordsmanship as promised by his father8athias. This is the standard swordsmanship from the curriculum of ;aihialapilot academy. 1hid and dy also +oined in.

0f the three 1hid is the most talented in the sword . (is body build is great forhis age, which allowed him to surpass *ru in no time. (is stance is proper and



won't lose to anyone in simulation battles.

They practiced the sword along with their magic. #or children of their age, the &of them were incredibly busy. *ru does the necessary training in order toachieve his goal. (e has gotten used to it after such a long time, so he doesnFt

find it intolerable. (e felt that he did not push himself hard enough in hisprevious life, which motivated him to strive on. *ru realized the biggestmotivation for humans comes from their desire.

?ut what about 1hid and dy/ They harbour the same passion as *ru, livingeach day to the fullest. *ru's training has already surpassed the normalstandardsE there is no need to burden normal children with this. If they areaiming to be a knight, there is no need to work so hard. ?ut they nevercomplained about it.

%hat motivates the twins/ *ru can't think of any reason for them to work sohard .

*ven with their busy schedule, they didn't only train. They made time to spendwith their parents or play with other children around their age. %ith the largestacademy in the nation, the children have plenty of playmates.

The kingdom of #remmevira has a problem uni7ue to it , which is the existence

of the )emon beasts. The situation here is different from the west of mount ubigne, the kingdom of #remmevira shares a border with the ?ocuse forestruled by the )emon beasts. )emon beasts often attack , threatening the livesand property of citizens causing the people to live in fear. (ence, the cities of#remmevira have strong walls erected around them , protecting the towns andcitizens.

"" *veryone in #remmevira agrees to the construction of the walls, but theplayful children find life within the walls dull and stifling. To expend their energy,they treat the entire city as their playground, playing around noisily. The sound

of the children's laughter can be heard on the streets every day.

It is no different this day, a group of kids dash along the pavement. ?ut on closer inspection, a child has fallen far behind.

$%hat are you doing... slow tortoise...$

%hen he heard the +eers of the children, the kid who has fallen behind stopped ,



panting, and waved his arms while protesting:

$(uff, huff.... It... It can't be helped %e dwarves can't run that fast$

This protesting child is shorter than the restE he has a strong and stout body

along with short legs, a sturdy albeit slow build .$h... ?atson is slow...$

$%hat did you say/ )amn...$

$low ?atson is angry It will hurt if he gets you... un away...$

The child named ?atson is red from anger, running along with heavy steps, buthe can't compensate for his short stride. The children disperse with a laugh

every time he draws near, leaving the lonesome ?atson behind.

$...Ku, damn...$

(e clenched his fist in frustration. (e is helpless about this, being slow is aracial flaw of dwarves.

)warves... a race originating from the northern mountains.

They live among treacherous, snowy peaks, residing within caves. s time wenton , they started excavating deeper, and became skilled miners . %hile refiningand processing the rich minerals in the northern hills, the dwarves becameexperts with all sorts of mineral resources, advancing their skills in crafting withthem. They are renowned as the 'crafting race'.

?ecause of their environment, the dwarves have evolved over time in order tomove nimbly in narrow caves. Their short but stout stature is their mostprominent physical trait. They are also covered in muscles, having double thearm strength of normal humans. They are rugged in their appearanceE the men

have thick long hair and beards which start growing at the age of ten. ?y theway, their culture emphasizes on how spectacular their beard is and all mentake pride in them.

?ut the isolated dwarves didn't spend their entire history hiding in the north.There are many dwarves who use their skills to set up smith shops all acrossthe land .



The child mentioned +ust now... ?atson Termonen was one of those dwarves.(is parents have a smithy in ;aihiala academy city, the reason being why he isplaying with the local children . The games of children revolve around chasingeach other or hide and seek, especially so for a city surrounded by walls. ?atsondidn't know how tough it is to live in such an enclosed environment with his short

stride . (is was also mocked for his appearance by the kids in theneighbourhood.

The children making fun of ?atson are long gone. ?atson gave up, headinghome in disgust.

$%eird. re you alone/ %here are the others/$

The fuming ?atson heard someone talking to him and saw the trio when heturned his head. The one in the middle is especially short, like a valley between

mountains. It is the trio *rnesti, rchid and deltrud.

$It's *ru. 4ou guys are probably looking down on me for being slow too.$

The three of them were baffled by ?atson's response , but 7uickly understoodthe situation . The dwarves might be slow, but they are strong and powerful. Thismeans ?atson is incredibly strong in a fight. (e won't lose against multipleenemies if it comes to a dogfight. ?atson had an argument with someone andachieved overwhelming victory, which is the reason for the current situation.

s *ru watched ?atson walk away, he felt like pulling some pranks and laughedmischievously:

$h, he was bullied again... lright, let's go after those guys everyone.$

The twins listened to *ru's suggestion and answered indifferently:

$I'm fine with that, but how/ %e are fine, but ?atson can't keep up.$

$ight, that's why we will bring him along. Gust treat it as normal training with?atson as training weights.$

$0h I get it$

$;et's go let's go$

1hid and dy got what *ru was saying and stood on either side of ?atson. They



didn't care how ?atson felt, and grabbed his arms.

$*h/ (ey... (ey %hat are you...$

$%ell, let's start our +ogging exercise for the day$

1hid and dy started moving on *ru's command, ignoring the confused ?atson.They treated ?atson like a cargo and carried him. This techni7ue can only beused after learning 'limited physical boost', allowing them to use strength abovetheir physical limit. ?atson was stunned by their amazing speed, unable toresist.

$They must be at the central s7uare ;et's attack$

$0ra$

$4eah$

$;ike I said, what's happening.../$

;aihiala academy city is roughly divided between the school campus and theurban zone. In the heart of the urban zone there is an open space, known as thecentral s7uare to everyone. It is filled with stalls during the day, and is thegathering point for all the children.

$(ey, will that guy catch up/$

$There is no way, he is too slow...$

$That's rightE it will hurt like hell if you get hit by him$

$elaxE +ust run away if he shows up. (e is slow, you can get away easily.$

It's the kids who made fun of ?atson earlier. The group used some boxes as

stools, biting into fruits they bought from some stall. They are gleeful from theirsuccessful revenge. uddenly, they heard a loud scream from far away.

$hhhhh... %oah...$

$0ut of the way$

$%here are you going 4ou guys better...$



They noticed a familiar voice which surprised them. %asn't that ?atson who was +eered by them/ The one person they want to avoid / The group searched forthe origin of the voice and saw 1hid and dy carrying ?atson by the arms andapproaching fast. They panicked and screamed:

$%oah, what... what are you.../$

$h, found them. -ow, ?atson... launch$

*ru pointed out the target while 1hid and dy threw ?atson with a mischievoussmile without slowing down. %ith a running start and a powerful throw, the shortbut heavy ?atson flew through the sky. The group of children were slow to reactEwatching ?atson arching through the air slack +awed. %hen they realized theyare in the landing point, the kids scrambled to get away in a panic.

$*h %ah, idiot, don't come here$

$%oahhhh, 7uick... hide...$

?ut it was too late to run. They were hit directly by ?atson's rock hard head, theforce smashing the boxes into pieces. They fell all over the place under a cloudof dust. It was so chaotic that the master mind *ru and his friends felt guilty asthey looked at each other.

$...)id we... go too far/$

$4eah... ight on target.$

$(ey... I have an idea. I think we should get out of here.$



$4ou three )on't run$

?atson shrugged off the broken boxes and stood up among the debris. sexpected, the first to recover is the tough ?atson, the rest of the children are stilldown. ?atson was furious, sprinting towards the trio with a speed beyond anydwarves. The moronic three ran immediately.

$>oodbye, see you later $

$hut up, stay where you are$

?y the way, the kids left behind were caught by the adults and lectured for

breaking the boxes.

ome distance away from the central s7uare is a shopping mall away from theresidential area. There was a building double the size of its surroundingbuildings. It emphasized sturdiness more than appearance. This is the smithshop 'Termonen workshop'.

?atson chased *ru and the others all over the streets and finally ended up here.1ompared to *ru and company, ?atson was on the verge of dying of exhaustionafter the chase.

$4ou... 4ou guys... are too fast...$

$Thanks to our daily training.$

$(uff... how did you train to be so good...$

*ru smiles casually. In terms of stamina, ?atson has the edge, but he can't

match up to *ru and his magic.

$h... forget it, I don't care anymore.$

?atson is exhausted, and feels that all of this is +ust silly. (e gave up and laid onthe ground with his limbs spread out, and finally caught his breath after a longwhile. (e gave a contented smile and laughed softly.



$?ut it was fun smashing into them head on.$

$(ey hey, we can do it again if you like it.$

$-o way.$

fter a short while, ?atson stood up calmly and pointed to his house.

$*h, alright. %ant to visit my place/ I'm thirsty.$

8aybe it's because they are near the workshop, they can feel the heat evenfrom the outside. ?atson's craftsmen parents are probably working there.

$0h, I have never been to your place.$

$4eah... 4ou will get hit if you disturb them. )on't be too rowdy.$

The trio entered ?atson's home and saw his father and a few craftsmen workingin silence. ?atson's father has a long beard and a wide body, it is easy to tellthat he is a dwarf. (is punches are no +oke.

0pposite the work tables are the shop front with the finished merchandize ondisplay. ?atson explained about each one of them with pride.

$;ook, all these are made by my dad.$ ll sorts of metallic e7uipment can be seen, from swords, lances, shields andarmour to woks and pots. s expected of a dwarf craftsman, they are madedelicately, every one of them is a master piece made to the perfect size andcolour.

$%oah... 4our place is selling lots of stuff.$

*ru browsed the merchandize curiously while dy followed him. 1hid grew

excited when he saw the weapons such as swords and lances. ?atson wasextremely pleased when they praised his father's work.

$(ey ?at, do you craft things too/$

$h... my dad seldom lets me touch metals, but I can do carpentry. I am a dwarfafter allE even my dad praises my work$



fter hearing dy's whimsical 7uery, ?atson pointed to an item in the corner ofthe shop. There are some simple wooden household items there. It looks plain,but the workmanship is good. ?atson's skill is clear to see. The trio wereimpressed. t this point, something at a corner attracted *ru's attention.

$1an you make 'magic staff'/$$... 8agic staves / I can make that if there are materials for it. I made these toearn some pocket change.$

In order to use magic, humans have to use external 'crystal catalyst' to convertmana into physical phenomenon, and a magic staff is the most commonexample of that. imply put, the crystal catalyst is attached to the end of the staff for ease of use.

8ost staves are made from trees called 'white mist'. ?ecause the wood fromthese trees is an excellent mana conductor, it is a popular magic ingredient. Theplain staff crafted by ?atson is also made from that.

$%hen practising magic, I always felt that...$

*ru's shifted his gaze to the staff on his waist. It was the magic item he hasbeen using since the very beginning. It was shorter than most staves and fitswith his small stature.

$%hat is it/ omething wrong with your staff/$

*ru twirled the short staff wand in his hand and smiled at the confused ?atson:

$)on't you think a magic staff is unwieldy/$

?esides ?atson, 1hid and dy was puzzled by *ru's comment. They havegotten used to using the staff as a tool to use magic and have no complains.They don't get what he means.

*ru thinks it doesn't feel right because of the memories of his previous life.?ecause he remembers the world where science is king, he feels that this isawkward. trictly speaking, magic staves are items that are used to cast spells.

part from 'strengthening' magic, human spells are usually 'shot', releasingpowerful effects. *ru thinks that magic a staff is a type of 'pro+ectile weapon'.

*ru recalls a scene from his past in Gapan... a room filled with models. mong



these collections, he owned an airsoft gun, a realistic looking '%inchester826Q!' rifle which left a deep impression on him. #irearms, especially riflesresemble magic staves. The correlation made him think is there a way toimplement the shape of the rifle onto a magic staff.

$#or example, the knights fight with a sword and staff in each hand...$*ven the knights whose main weapon is swords knew the importance of magic.ight handers hold the long sword with their dominant hand, the staff with theother hand. If a shield is e7uipped on the left hand, they will normally hold thestaff behind the shield.

$I think it is a hassle to hold them separately, that's why I have been thinkingabout combining them.$

$I don't get it... ?ut even if it can be done, how do you want to go about it/$

s he thought , *ru had a stroke of inspiration. >uns and swords... These twosimple terms made him think about bayonets on rifles. It is simply attaching aknife to the tip of a gun barrel, using the rifle as a melee weapon. This concept isbrought to this alternate world by *ru .

$4eah, I +ust thought of an interesting idea.$

*ru smiled gently, making ?atson feel a chill up his back.

;ater, *ru returned home, sat in front of a table and drew the design he had inmind. (is focus surprised 1hid and dy who tagged along.

$%hat is that/ %hat a weird staff.$

That is the first thing dy said after looking at the finished diagram. '?ayonet'... arifle that fires spells with a blade mounted on it, the first 'magic staff' of its kind.

#or dy who has only seen normal magic staves , it is very exotic.

The next day, *ru visited ?atson's home again with the design in hand.

$;ike I mentioned yesterday, can you make a staff like this/$

?atson was at a loss as he stared at the unexpected guest who showed up witha design in hand after +ust one day. (e decided to look at the plan first and



started confirming the details. ?atson made a strange face.

$*ru, what... is this/$

$%inchester ifle.$

$%hat/ I never heard of a staff by that name, and the shape is weird... %hy isthe bottom so wide/ nd what is with this protruding piece here/

$%ell, this is known as the stock...$

ome things can't be explained with +ust a design drawing. *ru answers?atson's 7ueries and explain in detail.

$*h, I will give it a shot.$

?atson didn't really understand, but he took on the +ob anyway. (e promised *ruhe will craft this strange magic staff. *ru was relieved, and felt this is a goodchance to see ?atson's artisan work.

everal days later, *ru visited ?atson's place for the &rd time on ?atson'sinvitation. The uni7ue weapon designed by him was presented in physical form.

The handle resembles the stock of a rifle, thick and slightly bent and there are

no triggers. crystal catalyst is attached to the tip of a part where the sight of agun should be. There are no chambers and magazines as it is not an actual gun.In place of the barrel is a short sword fixed in place. This is the bayonetdesigned in this alternate world... '>un staff'.

$The carpentry is done by me, my dad helped me with the metallic bits.$

$)id he lecture you/ If it is too much trouble, making all of it out of wood wouldhave been fine too.$

%hen *ru visited a few days ago, he heard that ?atson's father was very busy.*ru did not press him either, and +ust asked him to do what he can.

$*h, for some reason he was very interested when I was making it and gave mea hand.$

*ru nodded in agreement. (e thanked ?atson and took 'that' in his hand in ahurry. (e tried out the size, weight and balance, the finished product is no



different from the design. The dwarves are incredible, their skills are trulyastounding .

$lright, I completed it as you asked... it turned out weirdly, what do you plan todo/$

$It will be 7uicker to show you.$

*ru tried wielding the 'staff', and asked ?atson for a place to test out magic. Thetwo of them headed to the yard behind the smith shop. few target boardsmeant to test out swords were erected. *ru aimed at one and slashed at it,casting an intermediate wind spell +ust before it hit... onic blade. (e used thecrystal catalyst on the staff to convert mana into physical phenomenon, emittinga shockwave from the blade, splitting the target cleanly in half. *ru took aim atthe top half that is falling and cast an intermediate fire spell... fireball. It

connected with the target and exploded, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Theincredible performance of the staff made *ru smile, but ?atson was stunned.

$(ow should I put this. This is too weird and out of this world .$

$*h. ;etFs leave it at that. ?atson, you did great eems that using magic in thefuture will be interesting$

$*h, as long as you are happy.$

$?y the way, can you make another one for me/$

$)on't be so shameless with your re7uest.$

*ru got the 3nd bayonet staves he wanted. These two bayonet staves officiallynamed '%inchester' were kept in a sheath made for them and worn on *ru'swaist. *ru kept them with him at all times.

The completion of the gun staff which is suitable for close 7uarters fight and

range combat is the key to enhancing his mobility and firepower, influencing hisfighting style greatly.



Chapter 3

0ne day, *rnesti sat with his arm crossed in the living room at home, thinkingwith a serious face. The reason is the letter spread on the table before him, with

';aihiala pilot academy student prospectus'. t the age of 6.9 years, he receivedan offer letter to enrol into ;aihiala pilot academy.

*ru's family resides in ;aihiala academy city, named after the best educationfacility in #remmevira, ;aihiala pilot academy. The education system is dividedinto & stages, primary school from age Q, middle school from age 23 and highschool from age 29, taking & years for each stage. 8ost students will complete

+ust the first C years of primary school and middle school. (igh school is similarto college on earth, for students who need further specialized education. It iscustomary to recognize all those above 29 as adults. 8ost people start their

career around the age of 26, but depending on circumstances, some will +oin theworkforce at 29.

*ven though ;aihiala academy has the term 'pilotF in its name, not everyoneenrolling has the goal of being a knight or a knight runner. 0ne reason is thesponsorship from the kingdom for primary and middle school education, sochildren from all social standings study here. #remmevira's education systemdiffers from modern compulsory education, a result of the special circumstancesof this nation.

#remmevira is known as the 'kingdom of knights'. It name sounds great, but itactually means that 'battles' occurs fre7uently. There is large number of demonbeast lurking around the nation while ma+ority of the citizens are farmers workingon the vast fields, making them vulnerable to attacks. The threat has alwaysbeen there. In order to secure a steady supply of tax and food, protection of thefarmers became an important policy of the nation. They did not seek to eradicateall demon beasts because there seems to be an infinite amount of them.

The knights exist to protect the citizens, but there are lapses in their defence

with so much ground to cover. The knights are usually deployed after thediscovery of the demon beast, which is a passive strategy. This means thecitizens will be under threat before the knights move in to intercept. Bnder thishistorical background, the farmers at some point hopes to possess skills toprotect themselves, which was fulfilled by the nation in short order. In order toeducate them the minimum level of combat techni7ues and magical knowledge,they set up a ministry and related facilities. In the end, #remmevira is not apeaceful nationE even the farmers need to pick up weapons to defend



themselves.

There are opposition among the aristocrats ruling the country on educating thelowly farmers to fight, but the policy remained in place to keep the nationrunning. #rom the end results, the policy was a success. ?y pushing for a

minimum standard of education among all people, it unifies the citizens and their concept of pride as a nation. The improvement in domestic security is also alucky bonus.

%ith this backstory, a trend of setting up education facilities was started all overthe country. ;aihiala pilot academy took advantage of its geographic locationnear to the capital and enrolled students from peasants to merchants and evennobles. The academy is thus divided into agricultural ma+or, business ma+or andpilot ma+or etc. ll ma+ors include classes on combat techni7ues, but most of itwas tailored to make the student employable. The school holds many different

classes to accommodate the family circumstances of its students. tudentsneed to attend at least & years of class and a certain level of skill proficiency tograduate.

1hid and dy sat beside *ru who was studying the prospectus seriously. Theyalready flipped through the prospectus and are eating the snacks on the table.%hen the snacks are almost gone, *ru is still deep in thought, which surprisesthem.

$(ey, what's troubling you/ 4ou wanted to be a knight correct/ Gust take theknighthood ma+or.$

$*rm, that was my plan... ?ut there is something bothering me.$

$?othering you/ Is it something like 'the knighthood ma+or is too easy'/$

$-o, that's not it... 8y goal from the very beginning was to be a knight runner.$

Knights who are certified to ride on ilhouette Knights are known as knight

runners. *ru's family knew about his ambition, 1hid and dy heard about itseveral times too.

$The number of ilhouette Knights is limited, and only the elites of knighthoodma+or can become pilots. The knighthood ma+or will take C years and is followedby the piloting course. %hen all of that is done and after the deploymentprocess... It will be a long time before I am actually riding a ilhouette Knight.$



It is not easy to be a knight runnerE ilhouette Knight is a 'weapon', somethingcreated to protect the nation. That's why it re7uires years of training before youcan ride in one.

*ru thought about it for a while and faced 8athias.

$#ather, I have a 7uestion, does knighthood ma+or allow the skipping of grades/$

8athias frowns, his son asked something difficult. (e understands *ru's worries,and also knows how tough it will be.

$#rom the efforts you put in and your magical capabilities, that is certainlypossible... but knighthood ma+or is different. -ot only are you tested on yoursword and magic powers, you will also go through ethics lesson, you have never learn about this officially correct/$

This is a blind spot. 8athias continued with a troubled expression:

$ilhouette knight piloting training is the final class before you enter pilot school.tudents usually enroll at age 29... ?ut for you... eh, if you are not tall enough,there won't be a suitable machine for you.$

*veryone looks at *ru, the scene falls into hellish silence. *ru is smaller thanpeers in his age group, which is obvious compared to the 0lter siblings beside

him. ?ut no one thought this part will be important.*ru looks down in utter disappointment. (e will need to wait more years topilot the giant robots of his dreams. (e doesnFt mind waiting, but no one willblame him for thinking the process is taking too long. ?ut not everything will goyour way. *ru wanted to change the mood in the room when he felt a shadowloom over him. (e lifts his head and saw Tina standing before him.

$I'm sorry *ru. ?ecause you look like me, so your height...$

eeing his mother rubbing his head with an apologetic face, *ru open his eyeswide and shake his head.

$That's not it 8other, it doesn't matter I am still young, and this is not the onlyway...$

*ru stops suddenly as he remembered something, surprised by his own wordsand closed his mouth slowly. This inspiration gives birth to a new possibility.



1hid and dy felt that they are looking at *ru's true obsessive nature.

$4ou doing it for real/ *ru...$

$4es I am sure that I will be wasting my time if I carry on this way. etting the

goal of building one myself will be a good hobby, and is more practical thansaving money and buying one right/$

1hid thought either choice is crazy. ?ut he chose silence intelligently. 8athiasglance at the uninterested 1hid and said sternly:

$*ru... I understand how you feel, but it is not as simple as you said.$

$I know, father. ?ut if possible, I want a personal ilhouette Knight, so I am goingto do all I can.$

$I see... alright then. ?ut work hard on your knight lessons too.$

$I will. I want to be a pilot, I won't take it lightly.$

*ru has no hesitation on his face. dy starts patting *ru's head for some reason,moving from being stunned to being impressed.

$%ell, you are really willing to do whatever it takes for your goal.$

$... I am a bit concerned with the way you put it, but there is no reason to give upwhen there are options for me to take.$

$mazing. *ru looks so cute, but is so passionate.$

<?ecause of how I look, normal methods won't work on me.=

*ru looks out of the windowE he can see the facility taking up half the space inthis city... ;aihiala pilot academy.

$%ell... I am looking forward to the day I go to school in ;aihiala.$

8athias and Tina smiled at each otherE they don't want to see their son beingdepressed. *ven though *ru's goal is ridiculous, but if it is *ru, he can definitelystrive towards it wholeheartedly.

$... I don't want to lose, *ru is too amazing.$



$1hid/$

$-oth... -othing. 0kay, let's work hard to be knights$

$4eah$1hid and dy decide to ma+or in knighthood too. The & of them decided on theirgoal within ;aihiala pilot cademy and looks forward to their campus life in thefuture.

1.*. 23!

The season changes and it is spring, the time for ;aihiala pilot academy to

welcome new students.

;aihiala pilot academy doesnFt only take in students from ;aihiala city, but alsofrom the capital, the neighbouring city and all over the nation. Taking intoaccount the possibility of demon beast attack and traffic conditions, most of thestudents leave for academy city early, and new faces can be seen around thedormitory these few days.

In the morning of the entrance ceremony, *rnesti, rchid and deltrud reach the

campus along with ?atson. %ith the dormitory filled with students from foreigncountries, local students usually commute to school from home.

;aihiala academy city is surrounded by a giant city wall, but ;aihiala pilotacademy also has a wall of its own. lthough it is to demarcate the campusgrounds, but with the vast land of the academy, the continuous line of wallsextends to the streets, becoming a well"known landmark.

$-ow that I think about it, I have gotten used to the wall but have never gonein...$

$4ou can go in as much as you like from now on.$

$4ou are right.$

The group walked along the wall and reach the tall school gate shortly. This isthe main entrance into the academy. ?ecause the piloting students will ride onilhouette Knights, the gate is ad+usted to accommodate their height. The door



The ceremony begun in the grand hall filled with tense freshmen.

>randfather of *rnesti... )ean ;auri *chevarria starts off the address, followedby esteemed members of the academy. The ! children who listened to the

speech with their backs straight starts to feel irritated as the event drone on. lthough they displayed patience uncommon for children, they still make abored face at the end of the ceremony. #ortunately, the torment stops beforenoon. %ith the end of the speeches, the entrance ceremony draws to the closeand the freshmen files out of the grand hall.

It is lunch time and the group head for the school canteen. ome people broughtfood thereE others took out their lunch boxes. Bpper class men who are familiarwith the place heads to eateries outside the campus. *veryone settle their lunchin their own way, but the cafeteria remains crowded. In this chaos, a prominent

group sat in a corner of the canteen.

0ne of them is a pretty girl </= with short silvery hair with a hint of purple.

The other two has unkempt black hair and wavy shoulder length black hair, aboy and girl who share a similar feel.

The last is a young dwarf with reddish brown hair.

#rom afar, this group has nothing in common. *ven though the group drewmany curious glances, no one has the courage to approach them.

$The canteen is incredibly crowded.$

$?ut we found a place to sit immediately, which is great.$

$They offered their seats to us immediately... I wonder why/$

*ru chatted with ?atson as he ate his crepe cover in pie crust. It is a mini crepe

in pie crust that is easy to carry, and fits nicely in *ru's small hand. dy looksvery pleased as she watches *ru ate the biscuit in silence.

$ny speeches in the afternoon/ It's too long winded.$

$)oesn't matter, you don't listen to them anyway 1hid. )idn't you fell asleep/$

$;et's eat our lunch first. There are lots of people here, we should finish up and



let others sit too.$

There are empty seats at their table. *ru felt embarrassed that no one else issitting with them. t this moment, a female student ignores all that and walkstowards them.

(er blonde hair sways as she walks in confident strides, causing a smallcommotion among the students. It is rare for her to show up here after all. hesat in the empty chair as if they were planning to meet up.

he is obviously older than *ru and the others, an upper class man. There areno standard uniform in ;aihiala pilot academy, her clothes seems to be lowprofile but well made, with accessories that doesn't affect her movements. *ruguessed she must be from a well off family, either a daughter of wealthymerchants or aristocrats.

There are 3 types of reaction from them: *ru and ?atson looking at the strangerin confusion, while 1hid and dy held their breathe staring at her. Those are notpassionate eyes for a beautiful lady, but bashful eyes. *ru don't understand this,but he is sure the girl has connections with the twins.

The pretty girl who came uninvited smiles as she look at the tense twins, thenfaced *ru and ?atson. (er smile became gentler as she introduced herself.

$(ello my cute friend. 8y name is tefania errati. %hat about you/$*ru was lost for a moment, but he put down his half bitten biscuit, sat properlyand replied:

$I am *rnesti *chevarria, this is ?atson Termonen, as for these two...$

$It's fine, I'm ac7uainted with them. rchid, deltrud, long time no see, I'm gladyou are both healthy.$

tephanie has been smiling gently all this while, 1hid tense up his normallysleepy face and says:

$;ong time no see, tefania onee"sama.$

The stiff tone doesn't sound like something 1hid will say. tefania's facecollapsed, but she regains her smile immediately.



$... ?oth of you are at the age to be schooling in ;aihiala. ince we have theopportunity to study in the same school, why didn't you visit me/$

$tefania onee"sama is in the &rd year of primary school isn't it/ 0h yah, ?altsar oni"sama is studying here too/$

$ight, he is ma+oring in knighthood, 3nd year of primary school, you will havethe chance to meet him soon.$

1ompared to tefania's attitude, the demeanour of the twins is weird. 1hid isstiff in his tone while dy is uncharacteristically 7uiet. eems like they havefamily ties, but it felt unnatural. ?atson routinely switch his gaze from onemember to the next in this awkward atmosphere. *veryone has stopped eating.uddenly, *ru finished his biscuit aggressively, contrary to his small stature. (eignored the surprised stares of others, wiped his mouth and smiled.

$lright, we finished our food. The cafeteria is too cramped, it's not considerateto hog the table, let's go somewhere else. %hat do you think/$

$... i... ight. ?oth of you are in ma+oring in knighthood/ There will be plenty ofchances for us to meet, let's chat slowly next time.$

tefania gives a regrettable expression, pat *ru's head for some reason beforeleaving. The ! baffled children were left behind. ?atson wants to clarify things,

but *ru says that lunch break is over and they should head for the classroom.(e forcefully left his seat and head for the classroom. ?atson wasn't satisfied,but he still went towards the crafting faculty, while the trio move towards theknighthood department in an awkward atmosphere.

There is nothing worth mentioning for the afternoon freshmen welcomeactivities. They are simply briefed on the schedule for the future and thecontents for the lessons tomorrow. fter the orientation, everyone is dismissedand the students prepare to leave.

*ven now, 1hid and dy still seemed troubled. They are not +oking like usual,not focusing and having an awkward air about them. 0n the way home, *ru leadthe way and told them:

$I don't know the details, but don't be depressed. 1lass is starting tomorrow, sotraining is cancelled today, take a break.$



1hid and dy stopped. $*h, *ru.$ 1hid called out with a calm resolve.

$%hat is it/$

$ren't you going to ask/ *rm, ask about her/$

$If you feel the need to share, I will listen.$

The twins sight and the air about them eased. They looked at each other as if toconfirm something. fter a while, 1hid starts:

$*ru, we have something to tell you later.$

$lright, let's go to my room.$

nd so, the trio left campus and head for *ru's place and went to his room. sthis is the place they hold their magic lessons, the two are familiar with it. Theysat on the table and bed as usual, but the difference is that they are keeping7uiet. fter waiting for a while, 1hid begins:

$h... *rm, simply put, our father is an impressive noble.$

fter troubling for so long, these words are too direct. *ru blinked and asked:

$o you are aristocrats/ ?ut you two have not done anything noble like/ ndeven +oined me for training.$

$It's complicated... actually not. 0ur mother is not a noble wife, but a mistress.$

$*h, because mother is laid back. he says she don't mind being a mistresssince she have us.$

$#ather's wife... well, is very +ealous and conscious of others.$

$*ven if she don't like mother, her pride prevents her from feuding with a simplemistress.$

*ven *ru isn't sure how to react, so he +ust nods.

$8other is too obedient, doing everything to appease others. In the end madamdoesn't allow us to live under the same roof as her, making a big scene.$



$nd we were given a place to live, that's why we moved here. The livingexpenses are handled by father.$

$*h, that's how it is... tefania 0nee"sama you met earlier is the daughter ofmadam.$

$Tiffa"nee is alright, but the problem is with the other two brothers. The youngerbrother is very irritating.$

$(e likes to go on a power trip, bullying us because we are scions of a mistress.Gust like 8adam.$

The two of them complained nonstop and ends with a big sigh. Their expressionis all twisted when they mention the brothers, making it easy to imagine all thethings that happened between them.

$This brother you mentioned is in ;aihiala/$

$1orrect. (e is one year older than us, so is in the 3nd year of primary school.$

$I see, I have a feeling that there will be trouble.$

1hid nods strongly. It's not a premonitionE 1hid knows that it will definitelyhappen. The life in the main house flashes in his mind. (e had to bear with

oppression and hardship back then, but he didn't spend too much timereminiscing.

$%e are still grateful to father for funding us. ?ut...$

$If they leave us alone, we won't trouble them too. ?ut they like to mess with us,and can't stand us.$

They probably recalled unpleasant memories, 1hid is gesturing furiously while dy said moodily:

$ince Tiffa"nee knows... That guy will probably come soon. If you are with us,you might get caught up in this too...$

dy was depressed when she said this. (er usual confidence is gone. ?ecauseshe gives off a bubbly impression, so the gap appears wider.

$I got the gist of it. o what's next/$



*ru was standing before them they realized.

$... %hat do you... mean by next/$

$)o you plan to defend, ignore them or attack/$$0h, should be attack... (ey$

1hid unconsciously went along and was shocked. *ru was smiling as usualwhen he was talking about dangerous things. *ven 1hid who knew that *ru wasnot +ust a pretty face backed off.

$%hat is with you all of a sudden/ I am glad you are my friend, you are scary asan enemy.$

$4ou are helping us/ s expected of *ru 4ou are so reliable, but this is ourfamily problem, we can't trouble you.$

$That's right. I have no idea how much I can interfere, but I don't plan to see myfriends so troubled. Gust call me whenever you need, I will be there.$

$... 0kay, we're counting on you$

1hid and dy nods strongly, they are smiling once again. *ru looks at them andthought:

<I didn't expect them to be nobles. Their sister didn't seem to hate them, why isthat/ -o matter what, seems that there will be trouble...=

*ru thought about it from an outsider's view, keeping this matter to heart. eemslike the upcoming school days will be more chaotic than imagined.

fter the tumultuous entrance ceremony, they started their school life the nextday.

There are no scheduled lessons today tooE the briefing took up half the day. Thisis extremely boring for Q years old kids who +ust enrolled. 8ost people paid noheed to the teacher's presentation, the atmosphere screaming 'won't it endalready' was clear for all to see. ?ut one student was excited about some trivialdetails.



<There.. There is such a course...=

That's right, he is *rnesti *chevarria. nd the matter that gave him such a bigimpact/ It is the flimsy piece of paper in his hands. table was drawn neatly on

itE it is the timetable for all classes, probably basic information given out by theschool to freshmen. %hat did he learn from the timetable/

<...There is a... 'ilhouette Knight )esign basics' course.../= ?ut the timetablehe is holding with his trembling hands does not belong to knighthood ma+orprimary school. 4ou can infer from the name that this course is meant forknightsmith students who are aiming to build and maintain ilhouette Knights. Itis catered for students in their 3nd year of middle school <around 2& years old=.

nd this course has nothing to do with *ru who is ma+oring in knighthood ofprimary school.

?ut after reading such tempting words, the out of control speeding train...*rnesti will definitely go for it. (e confirmed the knight faculty time table, and inthe same time slot is one of the important course for knighthood ma+ors...fundamental magic.

<I must attend this course no matter what... this class is in the way...=

uddenly, the teacher on the lectern felt a strange sensation, as if a starving

beast has made its way into the classroom, sending a prickling sensation downhis back. (e shivered, stopped his lecture and look around the room. ?ut he canonly see a bunch of unmotivated kids, there is no famished beast here. Theteacher shook his head and decided to treat it as a false alarm.

(e overlooked the fired up petite student hidden in the crowd.

The knighthood faculty they are studying have two types of courses, beingfundamental knight courses and generic courses. The generic courses are thesame as other faculties, while the knight courses focus on magic knowledge,

mana training and swordsmanship.

-ormally speaking, human magic are classified into elementary, intermediateand advanced according to its power and ease of control.

s most citizens know elementary magic, they are also known as 'commonspells'. (ence, middle and high spells are recognized as real magic. #acultiesaside from knighthood ma+ors will strive to be at the intermediate level. ince



advanced magic is also dependent on the depth of one's mana pool, onlyknighthood ma+ors will learn it. *rnesti knew through experience that increasingmana pool re7uires plenty of effort. (ence, +oining combat related careers suchas knights re7uire lots of effort in mana training. llocating more time on manatraining than other courses is the uni7ue feature of knighthood faculty.

nd so, the day to attend #undamental 8agic class arrives.

This is a memorable first lesson. The lesson was not conducted in theclassroom as the students will be tested to determine their magical abilities anddivided into different groups.

*ru's trio have learned magic before enrolment so their foundations are strong. part from them, there are some who have learned the basics too, so they will

be in a different class from those without any magical training. The newbies willbe in 'general class' while the experienced ones will be 'advanced class'.

dvanced class might sound impressive, but the only difference with generalclass is the experience. egardless, advanced class students are viewed aselites anyway.

This is because the advanced class has kids from noble clans and merchants,able to receive education in sword and magic before enrolment. This meant theyhave a certain standard of wealth. In a way, *rnesti with his family background

in the education field and his disciples rchid and deltrud are exceptions.The chattering express students follow the teacher to the sports arena. Thefastest method to test magic capabilities is for the students to use them. nd tocast destructive spells, they need to move to a specialized training groundsurrounded by walls. The classmates gathered in groups of 3 or &, surveying thestraw man targets wearing old armour, rearing to go.

0n the surface, this is +ust an introductory class. They won't be scrutinizedbecause of their magic abilities at this stage, but it is a chance to show off and

garner fame if they perform better than their peers. lot of the advanced classstudents have confidence in their abilities. *veryone is in high spirit and did their best because of this.

0ne of the students cast a fireball, an intermediate level fire spell. n orangemagical sphere appears from the staff, hitting the target with blazes trailingbehind it. True to its name, the magic explodes in a ball of flames upon impactHT;:Kan+i is explode fire ballJ. The armour retained its shape, but is scorched



black, showing the explosive power of the blast. The students were in an uproarafter witnessing this scene, very few freshmen knows middle spells beforestarting school, and have mastery over the powerful fireball. ?ut fireball is animpressive spell and drains lots of manaE the boy was already at his limits aftercasting it. (e was panting hard, almost to the point of mana exhaustion, but he

still look very pleased.The teacher supervising the exercise held high hopes for this batch. %ith suchmastery of magic upon enrolment, he will be an elite magician if he put in theeffort in school. The teacher tries to not display this thought on his face,continuing to record the results in silence.

$*veryone seems used to fireball, should we do something like that too/$

$ight... h, *ru, what do you want to do/$

rchid fold his arms lazily, standing some distance from the arena that is filledwith excitement. deltrud hugs *ru as usual as she converse with him. herealized *ru was not being himself. *ru always gives off a gentle air, not he hasa stern expression as if he is going to a battlefield. dy tilt her head in confusion,her past experience tells her that *ru will only make such a serious face whenilhouette Knights are involved. ?ut she has no idea how that is related to themagic test that is going on right now.

The test continues. -ext up is finally *ru. (is stature is petite when compared tohis classmates, but his expression is stern like never before, he has a seriousatmosphere about him. *ru spoke when he got into position.

$Teacher, I have a selfish re7uest.$

$(mm/ %hat is it/$

The sudden 7uestion surprised the teacher.

$If the result of the test exceeds the contents of the class by a large margin, canI be exempted from this course/$

$... %hat are you talking about/$

*ru's strange words stunned the teacher. (e frowned deeply when he realizedwhat *ru meant.



$...*rnesti *chevarria/ %hat do you mean/ efusing to attend lessons/ This +oke is not funny...$

$-o, I am very serious. I have another class I want to attend, so it will be a bighelp if I am exempt from this course.$

The teacher was dumbstruck. (e had been a teacher for 7uite some time, buthe had never seen a student who is so overconfident before. It might be okay for a middle schooler, but a freshman in primary school/ The teacher won't allowthis re7uest easily.

$(ow daring of you, I won't accept it so easily. h, right, since you said that, atleast show me advanced magic. Then I will think about it.$

$o it will be dependent on my results/ I heard that very clearly...$

The students around them listen to the conversation and anticipate a goodshow. 8ost of them +ust want to watch the drama, only 1hid and dy knew *ru'sstrength and the inevitable result, and look at each other.

The teacher is also hinting that punishment will follow if *ru fails, anddeliberately made things difficult for *ru. ?ut the teacher is facing a demon whowants to give his whole life for ilhouette Knight designingE *ru will give his allwithout hesitation.

*ru starts to construct magical script in the virtual region in his brain... themagius circuit. (e pushes his amazing calculation abilities, starting hisprocessing se7uence. (e drew out %inchester from his waist, casting spellsalong the wake of his staff... piercing lance. That is a type of compressed firespell, focusing the explosion on impact in one direction, increasing the piercingpower of fireball. nd he did not activate +ust one, there are 25 piercing lanceappearing one after another in the air.

fter completing the deployment of the piercing lances in short order, he took

aim at the target, firing them off simultaneously. The long and thin flamingspears were right on target, the armoured target was hit repeatedly. The narrowinterior of the armour was heated intensely after being pierced on impact, thestraw man were torn apart. There were 25 piercing lances. The armour cannotwithstand the devastation and was melting in a red glow before finally exploding.



$4eah, he can skip this class and attend the ilhouette design module of hisdreams$

$(e was willing to go this far... nyone who gets in his way will be burnt to

ashes...$ dy said as she backed away. 1hid pulled her back with a bitter smile.

$That's wrong. (e is not taking it easy because he has a goal, right/ I will blowthe target away too.$

1hid rotates his shoulders gleeful with anticipation. *ru gave him a warningdespite of what he did:

$)on't mind me, but is it okay for you to stand out/ There is an irritating brotherhere right/ )o you plan to challenge him/$

$%hat are you saying after causing such a stir/ ;ike I said, we will stand out withyou around anyway.$

$I think ... you are spot on, I can't deny that.$

$ight/ I will be right back.$

$Take care... %ork hard$

The training ground have not recovered from the disaster caused by *ru,everyone looked at 1hid with sympathetic eyes when he steps onto the fieldwithout a care in the world. -o one wants to be next, right after *ru'sunbelievable magic display. 1hid knew this, but still enters with his head heldhigh.

<8y tutor is amazingE it will be hard to catch up to him. I have to put on a good

show too=

#or 1hid who studied under *ru, he is used to *ru's shenanigans and knew hecan't match *ru yet. That is why he can't hold back anything.

1hid steady himself, close his eyes and starts to construct a script with hismagius circuit. To be honest, he is more proficient in power type spells andchooses to use one. (e drew up the staff he favoured and held it high, then



pointed it at the target. The mana and script streaming into the crystal catalystmade the red orb glow brightly. (e chose to cast a single shot spell, a middlespell more powerful than piercing lance... #lame strike.

n oval shaped magic sphere flew out with a spectacular trailing blaze, causing

a bigger explosion than fireball. The reverberating sound acted like a signal,drawing the attention of everyone present back to the arena.

$... %ahhh$

1hid fired a 3nd shot, the two overlapping explosion blew the targets away. #orhim, 3 shots was the limit for his mana pool. (e was unsteady on his feet fromfatigue. ?ut he still smiled and passes the baton to the next person... dy.

$4ou are still the same, only going for brute force... 8y turn$

1hid and dy are twins, but their strengths differ widely. Bnlike 1hid who is goodin power, dy specialize in intrinsic control. he carefully constructs her script,held her magic staff with both hands and aim at the target. dazzling lightningappears the next second, piercing the target with the rumble of thunder. hechose the middle spell of the lightning architect sigil... iot parrow.

s depicted with its name HT;: Kan+i is lightning +avelinJ, riot sparrow turnslightning into the form of a +avelin before firing it at the target. ;ightning spells

are powerful, but it is hard for the caster to direct it accurately. Increasing theaccuracy adds additional burden on the caster, along with its difficult controlmade people view it as a higher class of magic compared to others. #rom theaftermath, the trio displayed incredible capability.

They ignores the atmosphere in the arena, high fiving each other in celebration. dy hugs *ru and twirls around while 1hid was so tired he couldn't stand upstraight. 1ompared to the casual trio, the other express students felt uneasy.They were thinking: %hat are we going to do if we take classes with theseincredible three/

s priory mentioned, the express class have many scions of aristocrats andmerchants, a bunch of proud children. Their childishness and immature prideangers easily. ?ut the scene before them is too amazing, shattering their youngpride and competitiveness. They gave up and sigh deeply. *ru and the twinsdidn't care about their depressed school mates. Their school matesF troubles</=are +ust beginning.



That fundamental magic class was seen as a catastrophe. few days later,?atson leads his petite childhood friend and repeated for the hundred and onetime.

$h... it's that way, that's the classroom you want... ?ut, are you really going tostudy there/$

;aihiala pilot academy has many grades and faculty, and needs plenty ofclassrooms and facilities. ?ecause the campus is divided by grades andfaculties, a lot of students will only meet others in the canteen during breaks.

$0f course, how can I miss such an interesting class/ h, here will be farenough, ?atson.$

$4eah...$

?atson see off the youth entering the classroom and remained baffled.

$?ut this is the crafting faculty, and that is a middle school classroom...$

The atmosphere before class begins was casual, some was preparing for thenext lesson, some are working on their assignments, and others are +ustchatting lazily.

$Ruiet please, class is begin... It seems very 7uiet today.$

The teacher said the usual when he enters the room, but he noticed thatsomething is wrong and stopped. The students are usually noisy and rowdybefore class starts. To be craftsmen re7uires a practical attitude. In other words,it is better to try it out practical instead of thinking about it. There is nothingwrong with this line of thought, but that means a lot of them +ust can't sit still.

#or these students, this lecture based class is unpopular. It is rare for his

charges to be 7uiet before the teacher enters. (e might felt moved, but he feltthat something is out of place. The !5 odd years old teacher surveys thestudents in the room and noticed they are staring at the same spot. (e followedtheir sights and saw the culprit for this abnormal situation.

$... %hat are you doing here/$

The teacher asks the student sitting in the middle of the front row who did not



constructing of the ilhouette Knights. It re7uires crafting, magic and alchemy,there are a lot to learn, meaning it is a problem of the amount of studyingmaterials. That is why only people who are going to make ilhouette Knights...Knightsmiths will learn how to design them. Knight runners won't have the timeto learn all this knowledge.

This might be true, but we can't view the boy intruding into the crafting faculty...*rnesti. (e is a robot nerd whose obsession wasn't cured even afterreincarnation. (e read volumes of robot designs and specification, evenmemorizing the name and models of robots. If you teach the methods of craftinga giant robot to this guy, what will happen/ (e will treat the textbook as a bibleand study it religiouslyE preparing for lessons and revising the topic untilperfection, going beyond the scope of the lesson and researching tons ofinformation. (is attitude is great, but his burning passion makes the middleschoolers older than him back away.

$... 1omparing the current military model 1ardatore and the previous generationalodrea...$

s *ru listens to the teacher's explanation, he flips his textbook. (e always satin the middle of the first row, and after a few lessons, that became hispermanent seat.

The elderly teacher scribbles on the black board with the clear sound of chalk,

listing the basic structure of the ilhouette Knights. This includes the 9 maincrucial elements... The 'magius engine' acting as the brain, the 'ether reactor'that serves as the heart, the 'crystal tissue' simulating muscles, 'inner skeleton'reinforcing the structure and 'outer skin' as the armour.

$s everyone knows, these 3 models have similar ether reactorsE the differencein power output lies in the crystal tissues...$

The ilhouette Knights are powered by the mana produced from the etherreactor. The ether reactor converts the ether in the world into mana, simulating

the organic functions of living things in the form of machinery. s long as there isether around it, this device can keep on running. -ormally, the mana producedby the reactor will turn back to ether and spreads into the atmosphere. (ence,there is a need to circulate within the crystal tissues to maintain its form asmana.

1rystal tissues are crystal catalyst that has been modified through alchemy, ableto change its shape under the influence of specific scripts and mana. part of



*mblem graph doesn't construct magic through the use of scripts like themagius circuit of living beings. *mblems are drawn on the exterior of ob+ects,which is used to cast spells... It uses the theory that scripts can be visualized inthe form of a pattern. %hen using emblem graph to cast magic, the mana canbe channelled directly to the ob+ect the emblem is grafted on to activate it. It

appears to be a convenient techni7ue so far, but because drawing the scriptneeds a large physical area, it will run into the problem of the e7uipment beingtoo unwieldy. If you take into the account the difficulty and effort in making them,the emblems are not really marketable for the citizens.

?ut the advantage of using emblem graph is the ability to prepare any spells aslong as there is enough space. 4ou +ust need to provide the power and thespells can be used without much control. imply put, this techni7ue is suitablefor the gigantic ilhouette Knight which is made from the combination of magicalpartsE the only disadvantage is that each emblem can only use one spell. That is

why the army created a variety of silhouette arms to deal with differentsituations. It is common to see ilhouette Knights going into battle with severalarsenals on its back.

The bell from the distance rang when the class reach this point, announcing theend of the lesson.

$ra, time is up so I will stop here. emember to revise today's content...*rnesti, please 'have mercy' on us.$

*rnesti watch the teacher leaving after uttering these words, he is not sure whathe did wrong. (e took notes plenty of notes today as well. ?y the way, hisprogress has already exceeds normal students by months.

fter finishing classes for the day, *rnesti return home and took out his books torevise the content of the day's lesson. lthough he meets up with 1hid and dyfor training occasionally, he will head home and revise </= whenever there areilhouette Knights design classes.

*ru learnt a lot from the class. Thanks to that, he gradually grasps the basics ofilhouette Knight designing. ?ut the more he understands, the more 7uestionshe has for the parts beyond the basics. In the construction of ilhouette Knights,the crucial elements such as crystal tissues, inner skeleton and outer skin aresub+ected to lots of wear and tear. ?ecause of this, the country invested heavilyin the education of engineers and alchemist. This ensures that forts in the frontlines and towns with appropriate facilities can supply the ilhouette Knights withthe necessary parts. lot of crafting faculty students apart from *ru has actual



experience in crafting. ?ut the details about the magius engine and the etherreactor... the heart and soul of ilhouette Knights are classified. The lessoncovers their functions, but their interior structure remains a mystery.

ilhouette Knights is a ma+or military force for the nation, and a problematic

property for normal citizens to possess. Its distribution is controlled by thegovernment and the construction methods of the core parts are national secrets.*ven the kingdom of knights #remmevira is strict about this. ?ut withholding thecrafting methods led to a drip in production efficiency, so it cannot be massproduced, making the value of each ilhouette Knight sky rocket. ilhouetteKnight is treated as expensive tactical weapons because of this.

$...That might be the case, but I am not worried about the magius engine.$

It is already known that the magius engine is used to control the movement of

the whole robot. That means similar scripts can emulate this. imply put, *ruintends to hack into the magius engine. It is an idea *ru came up with becauseof his incredible processing ability and a background in software engineering.?ut he can't do anything when it involves something that is not dependent ontheory, emulating the fundamentals of magic in this world, the heart of magictechnology... the ether reactor.

$?ut... without more clues, I will come to a bottleneck... fter all, 'that world'doesn't have the concept of ether.$

Bguu, *ru frowns and rolls around in bed.

(e understood one thing from classE the ether reactor was made from a specialmineral called 'fairy stones'. ?ut the mining and usage methods are unknown, allinformation regarding fairy stones are kept secret. lthough *ru's goal was tobuild his own ilhouette Knight, but the worst case scenario was to buy an ether reactor. ?ut even so, the price of ether reactors made that plan impractical.

$*h, no use worrying over it. ;et's start researching from what I already know.$

*ru mumbles and return to his desk. The notes he took did not have any blankspace, so he took out another self"study notebook. (e dipped his pen in ink andimmerses himself in preparation, revision, a time to research his hobby. *ru livesan incredibly busy life, but it was a blissful life according to him.

*ru's student life traversing between the knighthoods and crafting faculty



continued for some time.

In the beginning, others were irritated by *ru's unprecedented actions, but theygot used to it with the passage of time. *veryone starts to notice his cutefeatures *ru inherited from his mother. The short *ru who happily listened to the

fundamentals of ilhouette Knight )esign was treated like a mascot, and *ruhave gotten used to being patted on the head as a greeting. nd one day...

$ra, you are...$

*ru finished his crafting classes and was on the way back to knighthood faculty.(e heard a familiar voice. (e looked back and saw a lady with wavy blond hair,nice pair of eye brows and slightly drooping blue eyes that is s7uinting becauseof a smile.

$4ou are *rnesti... right/$

rchid and deltrud's sister... tefania errati said as she walks to his side,bending down with a smile to accommodate *ru's height. *ru replied politelymaking her even happier.

$ra, I remember you are the same grade as rchid right/ %hy are you here/$

*ven though she looks +oyful, she still asked. This is the secondary school

campus, not a place a primary school student like *ru should be visiting. %henshe heard *ru's honest reply that he is attending middle school crafting course,her eyes open wide from shock.

$*h, you are really smart, but why are you rushing to learn this/$

In a way, this is an obvious 7uestion. student will be hard pressed handling thework at their grade level. In the long history of ;aihiala pilot academy, there arevery few such independent students. *ru's answer was very simple and to thepoint.

$?ecause I'm interested.$

$Interest.../ *ven though its school work/ (mm... I see, you are a bit special.$

?ecause there is another class, the two chat as they walk. *ru's action isunpredictable. tefania was surprised sometimes, patted his head sometimesand was always smiling in a great mood.



s class +ust ended, there are lots of commuting students in the corridor, butthey are shocked by the sight of the blonde girl and silver haired boy, giving wayto them. Thanks to this, their +ourney proceeded smoothly, reaching thefreshmen campus of primary school in no time. tefania is in the &rd year of

primary school and needs to go to another campus. s she was leaving *rureluctantly...

$h, *ru... found$

omeone ran over at a high speed, it is deltrud who saw *ru by coincidence.The petite *ru is easily hidden when in a crowd, but with everyone avoiding him,he is readily discovered. deltrud looks gleeful when she was coming over, butstopped when she saw her sister besides *ru.

$h, 0nee... 0nee sama$

$ra, deltrud.$

dy alternate her eyes between the two of them, and seems to be 7uizzing *ruwhat is going on with her eyes. *ru didn't give a direct answer and smileawkwardly. tefania smiled gently as she approach dy. #rom their previousencounter, dy seems to be bad at dealing with her sister of a different mother,but tefania doesn't seem to be bothered.

$)on't be so guarded, I won't bully you.$

$4es...$

eeing dy act so hesitant despite answering obediently, the two of them smiledbitterly.

$?ut why is *ru together with 0nee sama/$

$ra, it's simple... because I like smart and cute kids$

tefania places her hands on her hips and declares confidently. %hat a forcefulway of putting it. dy looks like she is frozen on the spot, convinced by tefania.

s expected of sisters, *ru thought.

$I have my eyes on him the last time we met, and he is the centre of some'topics'. %e chatted +ust now, and I discovered that this child is smart and cute$



tefania gets more excited as she speaks, finally giving in and hugs *ru.

$-ah, *ru wants to be a knight right/ (ow about this/ %ant to protect oneechan as my knight/ I can welcome you with & meals a day and sleeping

together.$$%ait... wait, no *ru is my soft toy$

<%hat is with this family, scary. nd 8iss dy, what do you mean by soft toy/=

The stiff dy who was rooted because of the impact of the confession is yellingnow, snatching *ru back. he might be too tense, even her tone has revertedback to normal. tefania is smiling coldly. ?ecause she is beautiful, this makesher even scarier. *ru saw her close her hands as she said 7uietly: $ra, so that's

how it isS$. *ru decides to pretend he didn't see anything.

$dy, your tone is back to normal.$

dy covers her mouthE her face seems to be saying 'this is bad'. tefaniashakes her head immediately. $It's okay. 4ou don't need to try so hard in school.I am not like ?altsar and be petty about such things.$

$ince 0nee sama... says that...$

$?efore that, dy/ 1an you let go/$

$*h/ h, sorry. 4ou are +ust the right size so I hugged you without thinking...$

*ru breaks free from dy while tefania looks at her longingly.

$4eah... *ru's height is +ust nice for a hug...$

$That's right 0nee sama, and his hair so soft and smooth...$

$deltrud... as expected of my sister$

$0nee sama...$

*ru put some distance between the perverted sisters who are holding hands.There are many places he wants to retort, but tefania seems so happy. 8aybeshe is +ust +oking with *ru as an excuse to be closer to her sister. (e decides to



think of it that way and hope it is true.

The sisters ignore *ru who is averting his gaze, and talks about how much theylove cute things. Their discussion is so passionate that you can see a pink auraaround them. *ru feels like escaping reality, thinking '+ust do what you girls

want'. (e suddenly remembers an important thing.$h, the next lesson is starting.$

The bell signalling the start of the class rings as if on cue. The three of themrush to their classroom in a panic, but unfortunately, they arrived late and werelectured by the teacher.

$0h, isn't that rchid/ It's been a while.$ Gust as *ru and the others are talking

noisily, 1hid and someone else met by coincidence in another place. This is thenumber one person 1hid doesnFt want to meet... The brother of 1hid and dyfrom another mother... ?altsar errati, someone who always picks on them.

?altsar has normal features on a decent face, but his scowling smile is a minuspoint. 1hid frowns on reflex when he saw the irritating face of his brother, butmanaged to keep his composure thanks to his training since young.

$;ong time no see... ?altsar 0ni sama.$

$I heard the rumours, although the contents are idiotic... I heard there is anamazing freshman this year eh/$

?altsar said suddenly. (e is probably trying to find fault since he usually ignoreswhat 1hid says. *ven though 1hid hates that attitude, he doesn't complain.?altsar is taller than 1hid, and seems to be happy about something as he looksdown on 1hid and continues:

$fter asking, didn't that freshmen have some familiar companions.$

$eally/ I have never heard about that...$

It's finally here, 1hid brace himself. ?altsar was more imposing than usual, thereis no way the conversation will become cheerful.

$(ey, is that the attitude you show your brother/ re you a brat that didn't learnmanners/$



$...orry.$

$#orget it. I am generous, and will forgive a brat without manners like you.$

?altsar s7uints his eyes and deepens his smile. creepy smile like a predatorhunting its prey. 1hid works hard in hiding his wariness.

<The actual topic is coming, how should I get away from this.../=

$I heard you guys weaselled into the advanced class. That trash has grown somuch, I will praise you honestly. *h, although you are a bastard child, we are stillfamily. It will be shameful to not do only this much... That's right, I said 'only thismuch'. #reshmen brats won't know much anything right/ ?ut I heard a rumourthat made me concerned. (ow boring, if that was true...$

?altsar s7uint his eyes further, 1hid felt a sense of uneasiness went down hisspine.

$I heard you guys made 7uite a scene/ (ey, that's not true, is it/$

?altsar's smile vanished without warning as he draws near menacinglyEspeaking in a low voice so no one can else can hear them:

$)on't you think you are acting out of line for a mere child of a mistress/ (uh/ bastard child/ The rumours are probably lies, I don't know what trickery youused, but wouldn't it mislead everyone.$

$-o, they did not misunderstand. 0ni sama, we...$

$*nough, shut up.$

The smile on ?altsar's mouth has turned into a frown. eeing ?altsar gettingemotional, 1hid was tense and ready for anything. ?ut unexpectedly, ?altsar

says without emotions:

$rchid, what are you scheming/$

$%hat... scheming/$

$1asting middle spells easily after enrolment, planning a route to be a nobleknight/ Is that the extent of your ambition/ re you planning to bring that title to



'my house' as a visiting gift/$

?altsar asked with his poker face.

$-ope, I told you beforeE we don't want to pester the main family. 8y ambition to

be a knight is for my mother and our future livelihood.$$...lright, as a gentle elder, I will believe my foolish brother.$

$I am very... grateful.$

?altsar resumes his cold smile, pat 1hid on the shoulder and left. 1hid who wasleft alone sighs deeply.

<(e didn't plan to do anything to me here, but he won't let us off so easily. If he is

+ust picking on me, I can endure it. I hope he don't cause any stupid commotion.=

?ut the looming sense of trouble lingers within 1hid, contrary to what hethought.



Chapter 4

This short chapter ends the school arc.

pring of 1.*. 23C.

It has been 3 years since *rnesti and the others enrolled in ;aihiala pilotacademy. Their lifestyle remained the same. #irst of all, *rnesti *chevarria...

$lright, this year we will be working on 'ilhouette Knight )esign and pplication'... h, you are here...$

)uring this period when the school welcomes new students and a new

academic year begins, the teacher who came into the classroom glance at theshort student occupying the center seat of the front row. s a third year primaryschool student, *ru has gained fame for attending the craftsmen faculty'scourses.

$The knighthood faculty's teacher have surrendered.$

$4es, I am happy to meet teachers who are so understanding.$

(e slightly tilt his heads and smile. (e looks really cute, but with his backgroundin bullying the teachers to accommodate his schedule, the scene is not warmingat all. fter promoting to the next academic grade, *ru uses his abilities todestroy the classes that got in his way of the courses he wants to attend. Theknighthood teachers are depressed over this, the craftsmen faculty has given in.The teacher sigh deeply and focus on his lesson. If you ignore his shenanigans,*ru is a bright and passionate student, so the teachers gave him more leeway.

-ext is the twins rchid and deltrud.

This is the training grounds of the knighthood faculty. 1lass is in session sothere shouldn't be anyone here. The boy and girl in the field is rchid and

deltrud, who have followed *ru's lead to go beyond the scope of the lessonsand conduct personal training. #or these 3 years, magic classes were used bythem for special training. *ru is not here because he is attending some otherclass.

$0kay, I will be going all out next.$



?ecause these two learned magic from *ru who thought about things differently,this sort of training is normal for them. ?ut simple things to them... using magicand swords simultaneously in training, are not taught in primary school. If a thirdparty is around, she will probably doubt her common sense.

$eally... I can't stand you guys, what did *ru teach you...$That's how tefania who was watching felt.

$(mm... it was magic and sword right/$

%atching the twins tilt their head and answer at the same time, tefania canonly smile bitterly. This is not a style you can learn +ust by 'learning magic'.

$%ith your standards, I am not sure if I can win.$

$eally/ To win against the top student of knighthood faculty who is also thestudent president can't be that easy/$

tefania has reasons to be worried. -ormal students will learn using magic andsword during battles in secondary school. If someone start doing so fromprimary school, how far can they grow/ The answer is right before her.

he was the top in her faculty in results, daughter of a 8ar7uis and with her

excellent personality, she was elected as the student council president. ?ut after seeing the capability of her siblings of a different mother, tefania was stillshocked. The twins were too used to *ru's standard, so their benchmark isdifferent from normal people. tefania thought about righting their mindset inorder to avoid trouble in the future.

There are only the three of them in the training ground. They focus on trainingand distract themselves with chit chat, not paying attention to their surroundings.They didn't notice the shadow lurking behind the thin wall near the traininggrounds entrance.

%hile class is in session, the sound of footsteps echo in the empty dormitory,the students are away.

The person walking was agitated, his pace fast and he reached his desiredroom shortly, which is his room. (e unlock the door with trembling hands andrush in as if he was chased. #or a dormitory, this personal room was spacious.This was arranged by the school with safety considerations in mind. ristocrats



staying in dorms will be assigned personal rooms.

The male student stood by the door listlessly for a while. (e can't hold in hisagitation anymore and kicked the furniture in the room, the sound reverberatingloudly within the room.

$%hat is... that... how could it be... damn, damn damn$

The male student... ?altsar errati cursed, feeling extremely frustrated. (e isupset because he witness the training session of his sisters and siblings from adifferent mother.

?altsar is a 2st year student in middle school of the knighthood faculty, and has +ust started using magic and sword at the same time. (e was troubled by thedifficult training, but his siblings were doing them with ease. It is clear their

abilities are far ahead of him. #or the proud ?altsar, he can't stand a bastardchild being stronger than him. This thought files him with rage, and he realizethe existence of 1hid and dy are threats for his goal.

?altsar's goal is related to his 'family'.

(is family... The '8ar7uis errati family', is one of notable aristocrats in#remmevira kingdom. Their territory is not large, not it occupy a place that is flatand filled with farmland. It is situated to the east of the kingdom near to the

?ocuse sea of forest and suffers fre7uent attacks by demon beasts. In order tofend them off, the mar7uis commands one of the top band of knights within thecountry... the 'ed hino Knights'. It is a critical place that borders the frontlines.

s a result, this land prospered economically, with merchants passing throughthis main economic artery constantly.

8ar7uis errati ruling this land has & children. The eldest rtos is the heir of themar7uis, receiving an education befitting a noble and is starting to help hisfather in managing the territory. The eldest daughter tefania is studying in the3nd year of middle school in ;aihiala pilot academy, while the 3nd son ?altsar is

in the 2st year.

$If this carries on... If that brat show up at the main family...$

The titles of nobility are basically inherited by the eldest son, the other childrenwill not get any land or property. They need to forge their own path forward,most of them becoming knights or bureaucrats. ?altsar chose knight withouthesitation since the errati mar7uis clan is in command of the famous ed



hino knights. In the Kingdom of knights, protecting the people from demonbeast attacks is the noblesse oblige of the aristocrats, it is natural for him to setthis as his goal.

$If those bastards comes into contacts with the ed hino Knights... maybe...$

The entire kingdom including the errati counties have no pretty vast amongstits knights. The knights are expected to be ready to fight the demon beast in amoment's notice, and is very demanding in terms of ability for those aspiring tobe commanders. ?eing strong in combat skills doesn't guarantee the rights to bea leader of the knights, but the stronger someone is, the more respect they willgarner in a military organization.

?altsar imagines himself leading the order of knights with his brother. (e hasnever doubted that future until the rise of the twins. This cast a shadow in his

heart. *ven though they are children of a mistress, their capabilities are strongand with ties to the mar7uis by bloodline, they might seize the advantage andrealize their dream before ?altsar. (is entitled position being stripped by hisbastard younger siblings is a nightmare for ?altsar.

$That's right... I have to get rid of them.$

(e reflects on why he have let the situation deteriorate so much, and theconclusion is that he was too careless, and think of them as bastards who won't

ever match him. ?ecause of his foolish overconfidence, he ignored that incidentduring their first days at school. (e realized he was wrong, the situation ispressing and every second counts. (e have to work fast to dispose of them, butthe twins are strong, it is unwise to challenge them head on. (e need tosuppress their strength, a safe and efficient way.

?altsar raise his head, his worries all gone.

(e is not a dumb. (is willingness to sacrifice others allow him to come up withdespicable and effective methods. The usual cold smile he wears widens, his

ugly feelings was stronger than before.

0ne day after class, ?atson Termonen walk along the corridor with heavy steps,preparing to head for the next classroom. (e looked around and discovered afamiliar figure. (e noticed that person because she is a childhood friend.

$Is that dy/ %ho is she... with/$



s he was wondering what dy was doing that, ?atson felt suspicious. notbecause dy is not alone, but because she was with a student he didn't know.#rom far, her face looks stiff.

$hould I alert them/$?atson was not being over reacting because dy was with a stranger, but herexpression looks weird which worries ?atson. he might be in trouble, so?atson decides to express his spirit of consideration.

fter making up his mind, ?atson turned around and search for his petite friendwho was probably in a classroom nearby.

$?altsar 0ni sama, what's wrong/$

deltrud clench her fist, her eyes searching around her, her slightly fiercedemeanor was stronger now.

?altsar stood before her with his usual smile. That is still bearable. lthough itupsets people who looks at him, dy has gotten used to it. The problem with thepeople around them. There are & of them behind ?altsar, ! behind dy. 8alestudents she did not know blocks her way after ?altsar gives a signal, they areprobably his lackeys.

dy was stopped by ?altsar in the corridor, and brought to a deserted area. lthough she is not close with ?altsar, they are still family and let down herguard. dy thought she will be brought to a 7uiet place so others won't hear himpicking on her. he was surrounded when she realize it. #rom the atmosphereand their unfriendly gaze, this is probably not a 'happy chat'.

$These are my friends. -othing much, they are here to help me teachdisobedient brats what are manners eh/$

?altsar's companions smiles 7uietly.

$I learned about manners in class, there is no need to trouble everyone.$

$The teacher is not enough to teach brats of a mistress. 4our brother is teachingyou personally, shouldn't you be lowering your head and beg for your lesson/$

hand stuck out from behind ?altsar.



$That's right, be a good girl and...$

The nameless lackey was careless... he thought they have the overwhelmingadvantage with their numbers, and the target was a girl younger than them. dy

+udge that there is no need to argue anymore, pulling out her gun staff before hefinished. he straight away used limited physical boost and elbow the lackey inthe stomach before he can react.

$4ou are noisy$

he has to break through the encirclement to get away. he dropped oneopponent and took the chance to run with her enhanced leg power. ?ecause ofher sudden retaliation, the encirclement was full of holes. Gust as she wasgetting out...

$park )art.$

arrow of lightning lands on dy's back with this calm voice. he can't evenscream, a hoarse sound escape from the her mouth as the air was pushed outof her lungs. It is not lethal, but the direct lightning hit numbs her body. dy tripsand fell.

<Bguu I screwed up... can't, conscious... fading...=

Incredibly, she remembers the smug expression on ?altsar as she blacks out.(e was not haughty like usual, but was wearing a foreboding smile.

ometime after dy blacked out.

1hid had no idea what happened, +ust a bit concerned that dy didn't returnwhen class begun. %hen he was thinking about ditching class to search for her,he met an unexpected guest.

$0h/ 4ou were in class... that saved me the trouble.$

?altsar appeared before him. 1hid was shocked, he maintained his distancefrom ?altsar during his time in the main family, and ?altsar has always choseinconspicuous places when talking to him. ?ut they are conversing in a publicplace right now and 1hid was unsure how to address him.



$(uh/ %hat a +oke (a The gossips are fake/ eally, to be exposed so easily%here did that attitude of yours go/ (ah$

If eyes can kill, 1hid would have murdered ?altsar with his gaze by now. ?altsardidn't mind and continued with a laugh:

$(ey hey hey, wanting to stand out even if you have to lie, what a naughty boy.1orrecting the error of +uniors is the senior's +ob right/ 0kay, it's about time tobegin.$

?altsar lift his sword and staff while 1hid 7uietly attach his >andiva to hiswooden sword. %hat follows is not a duel anymore, but an execution.

$%hat's with you/ uch a spoilsport. 4ou can't use magic and subpar withswordsmanship/$

?altsar taunts as they sparred. 1hid was enraged and wanted to counter attack,but ?altsar flashes the hair pin from time to time to warn him.

bout &5 minutes into the fight, everyone can see the battle is lopsided. 1hidwas slow and was the only one taking hits. (e tried countering a few times, buthis strength is lacking. The pitiful state of the rumored student disappoints thecrowd. $umors are +ust rumors$, $%here did the misunderstanding start$. $Theending will be the arrogant +unior facing reality$, $uch a boring fight$... There

are even some who left impatiently.?ut some of the students felt uneasy. 1hid was hit directly a lot of time, but hekept up his stance. (e didn't take damage/ ?altsar who is en+oying theoverwhelming advantage notices it and took pleasure in tormenting 1hid.

ince he can't defeat ?altsar, 1hid has to tank the attack. (e is not sure howlong he can endure. *ven so, he is still waiting for the chance to counter attack.(e don't know whether if there is still a chance, but he cling on to this hope.1hid's most trustworthy friend is not here. (e definitely know about this

commotion after such a big uproar, and his absence means he is on the move.

<I leave it to you my friend... 4ou are my only hope=



$... %ill that be fine/ ;et me say this first, if he harms dy, I won't forgive himeven if he is your brother.$

*ru's eyes are usually matured, but a dangerous gleam shines over them. 1hidand dy are his best friends in this world, if someone brought a group to harm

them, he doesn't plan to hold back. tefania watch him seethe in anger anddroops her beautiful eye brows.

$... @lease restrain from killing him.$

$4ou are pretty cool about this.$

$It's fine if ?altsar moved alone. %ell, that's not really good... ?ut I can stop him.?ut it's not the same this time, I can't overlook this as the student councilpresident or his sister.$

tefania says softly as she tightens her hug slowly. *ru can't imagine herexpression and simply ask:

$1an you tell me where have dy been brought to/$

;aihiala pilot academy has a large campus and part of it are not in use. dy and?altsar's lackeys are in one of the empty classrooms.

The group sat dy on a chair, tied her legs down and her hands behind her. It isabout an hour since dy was knocked out by ?altsar and she has not woke upyet. The ! lackeys who surrounded her was arguing about something.

$1heh ;ittle brat, she hit me$

$(ey, she's still sleeping, calm down.$

They left so many people to guard dy who is unconscious to prevent her frommaking a scene when she wakes. The noisy boy was the one who took an

elbow from dy, who +ust regained consciousness.

$%hy/ he is out and tied down, there's no need to be afraid.$

$ays the guy who got knocked down.$

$Bguu I was careless$



(e grabs dy's hair and lift her head, clenching his fist with a violent smile.

$;ook at this brat, getting cocky because I didn't go all out. he is going to get itnow$

The other lackeys thinks he was going too far. (e didn't fall because he washolding back, he was knocked out in an instant because he was too careless. nd if he punch her and dy wakes up, things will get messy. Their goal is torestrain her for a short time, it will be better if she keeps sleeping. Gust asanother lackey was about to stop him...

$(ello... nyone here.... 0h, there is.$

t this moment, a shadow appears from the back of the classroom. The groupnaively think that no one will come, so their reaction is slower than the intruder.

%hen they realize the situation, they saw a silver bullet shooting out from aweird magic staff towards their face.

The intruder... *rnesti knew his 'hunch was right' when he saw the lackeys, orrather deltrud who was tied to the chair. ll that is left is to get rid of the enemy.(e drew %inchester without hesitation and cast a wind middle spell to his leftand right... ero damned. The pro+ectile hit the two at the back of the roomdirectly and they were blasted away before they can scream. *ru didn't wait forthem to land before activating physical boost to enhance agility and strike at the

boy that is about to punch dy. The boy panicked and attempts to block, but hecan't match *ru whose speed has been enhanced. *ru cast a sonic boom withhis staff while running, which blows the boy away.

eeing & of his companions flying in an instant, the remaining lackey gave upunderstanding the situation. egrettably, his opponent is not gentle enough to letthis chance slip by. The lackey raise his staff unconsciously, but it was broken inhalf. The other %inchester swing back horizontally... That was the last thing heremembered.

fter instantly knocking out the ! lackeys like a whirlwind, *ru checked to makesure they are really down, then ran to dy. (e cut the ropes on her and checkfor in+uries. dy seems to be fine and her breathing is normal, so she is probablyunconscious. *ru was relief after confirming that dy was safe and proceed totie up the lackeys who were knocked out. #ortunately they prepared ropes...although it was not meant to be used on themselves. fter making sure theycan't move, he look towards the direction of the arena.



$rchid, are you stalling for time/$

$...$

$I thought so. 4ou think 'that' will come if you wait/ I can only tell you it is all in

vain, 'that' is tied up securely.$?altsar can hear 1hid grinding his teeth, it stirs a murky +oy within him.

$%ell, I'm growing tired of this. It's regrettable but let's end it, shall we/$

?altsar flashes dy's hairpin and lift his wooden sword. 1hid tenses his face. Tobe honest, he is not in good shape, contrary to how he looks. lthough he isusing 'some method' to minimize damage, but it is still accumulating. It will behard to gauge whether 1hid can endure an all out attack. ?ut ?altsar has been

sending out a strong message, 'do not dodge'. ?altsar probably wants to finishthis for real, his next strike will be at full power. 1hid is not confident he canwithstand this unscathed.

The two of them put in more strength into their stance than before. Thespectators that are still around can feel that this will be the final attack and heldtheir breath. s ?altsar was planning to launch his attack and charge in,someone intrude into the arena at the same time.

The figure leapt over the heads of the crowd and reach the front row. The arc ofhis +ump is huge and he is moving fast despite carrying a girl in his arms. (isfootfall was silent as if he was stepping on a soft surface. The eyes of theaudience naturally falls on this petite figure.

The figure is *ru who is carrying dy. ?altsar cast a sideway glance over andmade a twisted face when he realize who they are. dy should be tied up, andhe even posted guards. )id he overcome these obstacles and break dy out/%hat are his guards doing/ 8ore importantly, who is this silver haired kid/?altsar's head is full of 7uestions, but no one is giving him answers.

*ru put dy down. he has regained consciousness on their way here andstood up by herself. The first thing she did is glare at ?altsar, then she turned to1hid, sliding her thumb across her neck with a violent smile. 1hid relaxes hisbody when he see dy is safe and has the urge to smile. (e nods andcomplains to *ru who is standing behind her:

$o slow.$



$orry, there are too many rooms.$

$That so. -ah, never mind.$

1hid smile and raise his wooden sword. -othing is holding him back, the time tocounter attack is here.

?altsar wants to scream. (e knows that this is the worst case scenario. ?utwhen he thinks about it, the damage he inflicted on 1hid remains, even thoughhe lost the trump card of dy as a hostage. (e should take the chance andstrike fast at full power. ?altsar put his thoughts into action and slashes at 1hid.

?ut 1hid displayed his outstanding agility. (is sluggish movements earlierseems to be an act. (e step forward lightly, parrying the attack and bumping

?altsar back with a shoulder tackle to keep their distant.

1hid has expended considerable amount of mana after dragging the fight solong. ?ut he went through tough training under *ru since he was young andhave enough gas left in the tank for a final attack.

$I will take back everything you owed me in one hit$

1hid yelled loudly and activated physical boost he learned from *ru. wild

surge of energy flow through his body and he sprint forward with enough powerto almost crack the floor. ?efore ?altsar can scramble and get up, 1hid's swordhave hit his stomach. The air in his lungs was pushed out and the hoarse sound'hyaa' escape from ?altsar's mouth as he got launch into the air. 1hid follow upwith a series of air combo before he falls to the ground, ?altsar's body wastwisted unnaturally. ?efore ?altsar's body lost speed and starts to tumble, 1hidfollows up with a roundhouse kick as a finishing move. ?altsar's body crumplesinto a ball and rolls away, before stopping in a heap several meters away.

The referee came to his senses after 1hid took a deep breath and ran to

?altsar, finding him sprawl out like a piece of rag, his eyes white and foaming atthe mouth. The result is obvious and the referee raise one hand and announced1hid's victory to the crowd.

The unexpected ending made the battle before looks like a lie. The audiencecan't keep up with the rapid development.

lthough 1hid was as formidable as rumored, far beyond the capabilities of



$I see. 4ou managed to pull off a dangerous skill there.$

$I can do it because I don't need to think about anything else... nd it workedbecause he was so stupid. If he concentrate his attacks on my soft spots, I won't

be able to hold out for so long.$$In other words, this guy lost because he was too cocky.$

s *ru nods, the crowds starts to disperse.

$I will settle the loose ends. dy, can you please take 1hid to the infirmary/$

$I understand. 1hid, can you stand/$

$I'm fine, my in+uries are mostly bruises, +ust let me take it slow.$

*ru sees the twins off, watching 1hid staggering figure as he and dy heads tothe infirmary. 0nly tefania is left in the arena.

$Is this okay/ 4our brother is badly in+ured.$

$... (e is, but his actions warrantees this punishment.$

tefania looks refreshed and shakes her head.$That child... (e resembles mother that way... bout time he learns his lesson.$

$It must be hard on you...$

*ru feels conflicted when he thinks about 1hid and dy's family troubles. ?ut heshook his head and change his mood.

$1an I leave the clean up to you/$

$0kay, I have to explain to my family anyway.$

*ru bows to tefania who nods in agreement and left. In the end, some of theaudience was interested in this commotion and discuss the relations between1hid and the errati family.



few days after the duel.

The disgraced ?altsar was warned sternly by the school and his family, and hewas grounded at home after some deliberation. To reform him, ?altsar was sentto the ed hino Knights for training, the place of his dreams. It's hard to say if

this is a good or bad thing. ?ut it is great for *ru and co who have one less issueto worry about.

0ne day after school has peacefully ended, dy spotted *ru who was reading inthe campus garden. (is is a prominent person, but it is not easy to spot hispetite figure. ?ut his head of silver head an easy landmark to spot when thereare less people around. (e sat under the shade of a tree, reading a thick bookas usual. he don't even need to ask, it was a textbook on silhouette knights.

dy walked to (is side, but *ru didn't seem to notice. %hen he is engrossed in

a book, *ru will be totally absorbed and not pay attention to his surroundings. dy sat down beside him, staring at his profile intensely. (is blue eyes with longlashes are gazing down at the book, his hair flows down along his face, shiningbrightly in the sun. (is lips are tightly shut, reflecting his intense passion.

<*ru is cute as usual...=

dy giggled 'hehe' happily and is preparing to pounce on him as usual but shewas stopped by an image in her mind. The memories from the dueling incident.

%hen *ru rescued dy who was kidnapped by ?altsar, he princess carried tothe arena and to the middle of the crowd. he didn't pay any heed to this as hermind was filled with anger. %hen dy thinks back, she discovered that it was apretty embarrassing scene. -ot +ust embarrassing, when she remember the +oyof being rescued by *ru and how it feels in his arms, dy blushes from +ustbeing next to *ru.

<(ya, I thought about that again...=

dy was glad that *ru didn't notice her feelings. (er complicated feelings makesher hesitant on hugging *ru like before. dy was unhappy with how she is actingand forcefully hugged *ru. *ru calmly greeted dy who pounced on himsuddenly and closed his book.

It might be strange, but *ru has been treated like a 'soft toy' by many otherssince young and is used to being hugged. nd dy was the one who started the'hugging trend', so it was no surprise for *ru. ?ut he noticed that dy wasn't her



usual self and tilt his head.



dy was troubled by her unexpected actions. Bsually, she will stroke his hairwhile chatting with him. ?ut when she hugged him this time, she can feel herheart drumming intensely, she can't do anything else. dy buries her head into

*ru's hair to hide her blushing expression from him.<%ah... %hy does it turn out this way 0h no, I can't lift my head.=

dy was too nervous and forgot that she can +ust let go. *ru was a bit surprisedby her reaction, and decided to keep reading his book since she is not moving.

<It feels like I am an idiot, give me some reaction=

In a way, this nonsensical anger calms her mind, dy pokes *ru's cheek angrily.

$(ey, please don't poke someone else's cheek.$

$...o cute$

dy regains her normal demeanor. *ru feels more comfortable to hug thanusual, and she starts to caresses his head. The two of them didn't realize, butthe few students in the garden was en+oying the sight of the pretty black hair girland silver hair girl</= playing around. That's how their daily life is, every day is

peaceful.



Chapter 5

In the past, humans only ruled half of Aetterlund continent, with the eastern land

beyond the ubigne mountain range being uncharted grounds, dominated bydemon beasts.

%ith the silhouette knights as their main forces, humanity pushed the demonbeast back and ventured into the east beyond the ubigne mountains. Thehumans was doing well in the beginning but their invasion grounded to a halt.The east of ubigne is covered by the ?ocuse sea of forest, with demon beaststhat can take on hundreds of silhouette knights lurking inside. uffering hugelosses, retreated out of the forest.

There are vast plains of land at the foot of ubigne mountain which is suitablefor agricultural use after developing it. To protect this piece of land, they expandtheir territory to the edge of the forest and formed a country. This is the storybehind the founding of #remmevira kingdom. There are still demon beastwandering in the ?ocuse forest, and might appear on a whim. To keep thedemon beast away, walls are erected along the borders and fortresses are setup at the place where the demon beast shows up fre7uently... The entrance tothe ?ocuse forest known as the 'rabidly road' <demon beast highway=. 1astlewalls are then erected between such fortresses. s it is physically impossible to

cover the whole borders with siege walls, it cannot deter demon beast thatapproaches from places not covered by siege walls. The siege walls areeffective against titanic demon beast, and thanks to the nation's defensiveefforts, the kingdom remains relatively safe.

This happened during a certain 7uiet night.

?alguerie stronghold is one of the fortresses lying between the forest and theborders of #remmevira Kingdom. It is 7uite far from 'rabidly road', even visitsfrom mid size demon beast are rare, an outpost guarded by 25 silhouette

knights.

That night, the guards on duty felt there is something wrong with the unusualsilence in the ?ocuse forest. The stars sparkles brightly in the night sky, thereare usually a couple of howls from demon beast on a night like this. ?ut it isunnaturally 7uiet tonight, they can't even feel the presence of the animals, as ifthey have all evacuated. lthough it is unnatural, there are no indication ofanything happening. lthough they are baffled, they continued to do their



rounds.

The silence did not last long. They can hear the sounds of trees being crushedin the distance. It is obvious that something is approaching... )emon beasts.The guards raised the alarm without hesitation.

$%hat the hell, a demon beast so late at night/$

$(ere is far off from the rabidly road, what is it doing so far in the countryside/$

The knights in the fortress gets ready when the alarm horn sounded. Theoutpost was a hive of activity as they muster with haste. The sounds of treesbeing crushed all this while, the crisis is looming. The knight runners on duty

+umped into their silhouette knights. The silhouette knights deployed at thisfortress are the standard '1ardatore' model of #remmevira. The ether reactor

was forcefully started from a dormant state, it's hum reverberates around it.

The silhouette knights checks through its start up procedures and e7uipmentspeedily and gathers at the gate of the fortress. t this time, the thing that havebeen crushing trees weird howls appears. The demon beast was like a smallmoving mountain, covered in uneven shell of rocks like a porcupine. head and! limbs protrude from the sides, so the shape resembles a tortoise. Gust that thistortoise is 65 meters long and 95 meters tall.

The guard on duty on the wall has only seen a 'emperor tortoise' in books... atype of demon beast known as 'behemoth'. It's features are its toughness andendurance. %ith its reputation of being a walking citadel, it is a difficult enemy tohandle. To put it simply, the behemoth's biggest strength is 'strengthening'. Ituses overwhelming mana output to maintain its strengthening spell, and supporta physically impossible body structure. It also enables it to move with an agilitycontrary to its appearance, and hardening every part of its body from shell toskeleton, possessing incredible toughness. It is said that a behemoth mainlyuses body slam to attack, and can shatter siege walls. It's 'heart' that isproportionally with its large body can generate mana e7uivalent to over 255

silhouette knights. %ith its endless endurance, the defense of the behemoth isalmost impossible to break through. This is a behemoth, a fortress like demonbeast with incredibly high defense.

$)emon beast identified... It is a 'emperor tortoise'... behemoth$

?efore the pilots can process the guards screaming report, behemoth slammedinto the walls of the stronghold. It's intentions are unknown as the behemoth



fatigue cause the 1ardatore to miss the chance to evade and get smashed by atail attack. 0ne by one, the knights falls to the demon beast.

?ut the 9 silhouette knights managed to buy a few hours of time that are moreprecious than gold while facing off a battalion level demon beast, it is only right

to see this as the victory of their iron will.The one who held on to the very end is the veteran captain. The machine is fullof countless scratches, the right hand was blown away by the swipe of thebehemoth's tail. The crystal tissue are in tatters due to damage as well as wearand tear, the mana reserves are on its last legs, he can't even run away.

$... The rookies have escaped... This fucking turtle, next up won't be a half assgroup like us, but a standard order of knights. @repare to be history.$

ince he can't escape, the captain commands the damaged machine to run. (enever thought he will survive, in+ecting his remaining mana into his commandilhouette knight and charge at the behemoth recklessly. ?ut the best it can dois stagger forward in awkward steps. (e tightens the grip of the sword in the leftarm and throw the whole weight of the machine in a stab at the face of thebehemoth.

8aybe the demon beast knows the concept of respect.

?ehemoth lock on to the last enemy blocking its path, opens its mouth and tooka deep breath. This is a never seen before attack. fter a beat, +ust before thesword of the command silhouette knight reach the behemoth, a tornado breathpowered by magic spew from the behemoth's mouth. The fierce wind uprootsthe trees. The command silhouette knight took a direct hit and was blown faraway, the crystal shards and pieces of armor rains over the forest.

?ehemoth growl. The s7uad launch many attacks in their stalling tactic, and withthe command silhouette knight's last blow, a faint crack was left on thebehemoth's face, lightly scratching the eye ball. If the damage of the command

silhouette knight wasn't so severe, it might have hit the eye ball. ?ehemothsurveys the areas for a while, and starts advancing after making sure those in itsway are gone. Its footfall is heavy and its eyes bears no sign of emotion.

The largest demon beast calamity since the founding of #remmevira started7uietly. %hat is its goal/ The answer lies in the road the demon beast is headingdown, the largest city of central #remmevira... Gantunen.



for real world application. 0rganization hiring piloting faculty alumni commentsthat the fresh graduates have the ability to work on the frontlines immediately.

0n the training ground of ;aihiala pilot academy, a mock battle betweenilhouette Knights is ongoing.

In the middle of the building made from stone, a red machine is engaged inbattle with a white machine. They have blunt sword used for training spar n theirhands, battling fiercely. The machine provided by the school has reinforcedarmour around the pilot seats, a design which focus on the safety of the pilots.?ut a ilhouette Knight going all out is still very dangerous, so the e7uipment isnerfed to restrict its damage. tandard e7uipment is only used in practicaltraining battles against demon beast.

There are no empty seats on the wall surrounding the arenaE all sorts of people

are watching the duelling ilhouette Knights from the spectating seats. Trainingwith only brawls is not real trainingE the analysis of the fight is indispensable.There are people recording the battle logs, studying the skills of the pilots...some are allocating maintenance spare parts as the damage piles onE some ofthem are observing the effects of the magic arsenal.

8ost of the people present are high school students, but there is a small figurethat is out of place here. -ot only is the person short, he also has a cute facethat is easily mistaken for a girl. That person is *rnesti. ?ecause his stature is

small, he is occupying the front seat so his vision won't be obscured by others,staring at the ilhouette Knights intensely.

(e skipped the knighthood faculty classes he is supposed to attend, overcomingall obstacles to earn the right to be exempted. (e is unorthodox in his actions,but is strangely law abiding in some areas.

In the beginning, *ru uses his cute appearance and mascot like feel to gainentry. (e was planning to watch 7uietly from the side, but he is now observingthe battles and repairs up close, finding more places he can chip in. #rom the

way he can easily keep up with the conversations of his seniors, his preparationin the last & years did not go to waste.

>etting practical first hand experience and knowledge outside the classroommade *ru extremely happy. part from greedily taking part in all sorts of workprocesses, he is very interested in the training battles. The ilhouette knights ""giant robots fighting before his eyes draws out indescribable emotions withinhim. The giant machines that emulate a knight in armour bash at each other with



iron limbs wielding mammoth swords, even shooting powerful pro+ectile spells.*ru observes the training battles with passionate eyes, not missing any singlemovement.

ide tracking a bit, there was a rumor that a guy was almost pulled into a twisted

world after seeing the pretty boy who can be mistaken for a girl blushing whilewatching the ilhouette Knights with longing eyes.

$*h, seems like )i will lose again.$

@iloting faculty student... (elvi Uberg mumbles as she records the battle logs, abreeze blowing across the arena messes her short and curly hair.

The situation of the battle before them is clear, the red knight is struggling. Itdual wielding blades and on the offensive, but it didn't break through the white

knight's defense.

$(mm, what do you think about this battle, *ru/$

(elvi who has been glancing at the data in her hands asked *ru who was sittingobediently besides her. Their vision remains fixed on the arena at all times.

$The speed of >Vell's sword is slower than before. I think that is the reason hemissed the opportunity to score points off attacks.$

$... I see. -ow that you mentioned it, his attacks seem too casual. I thought thecondition of the knight runner is not too good. %hat went wrong/$

$The movement of the right arm seems sluggish. I think it is because the +ointsor crystal tissues have been replaced.$

(elvi browses through the documents in her hand and confirms themaintenance report of the red machine named >Vell. The record states: due tosigns of stress and fatigue in the crystal tissues of the right arm, it has been

replaced this morning. The movement probably seems rigid because the partsare not aligned. he found the reason behind the sluggish actions of >Vell, butshe can't tell that that the condition of the right arm is bad. (elvi moans *ru'spassion and attention to detail when watching training battles is better thanthose actively engaged in it. he found it amazing and wonders where hispassion stems from. The white machine fighting >Vell in the arena, *arl1umber, fended off the attack and stab at the >Vell's chest. The horn sounded,signalling the end of the battle. The instructor +udged that the spar has been won



)ietrich left in angry strides after uttering these words with a sour face. Thepeople in the work shop have gotten used to this and simply shrug. *ru who waswatching from the side"lines made a perplexed face and (elvi pat his head for

some reason. The school bell rang, announcing the end of class and to startpreparing for the next lesson. *ru was unhappy that the fun time is over, but stillbowed to (elvi and rush backed to the knighthood faculty.

$#ield trip/$

*ru have no idea what his classmates in middle school is talking about, thereseems to be some events. (e must have missed something if the whole class istalking about it. @robably because he is spending so much time in pilot school.

$I'm sorry, I have no idea. 1an you tell me what this is about/$

*ru said with a troubled expression. (is classmates look at each other for aninstant, and all of them started explaining at the same time. 8aybe they en+oytalking to *ru, or they felt excited when speaking with *ru. It re7uirestremendous patience to summarize the +umbled contents, but it can be filtereddown to these main points:

" In order to accumulate practical experience in fighting demon beast, all & grade

year of knighthood middle school will be participating in a field trip." The destination will be the region of Gantunen, the forested hill home to smalldemon beast." The first years will be focusing on the basics of camping and wildernesssurvival skills." #or safety, pilot school will be sending several ilhouette Knights as escorts.

$I see, it will be conducted 3 weeks from now.$

$(ey, did you only found out about it today/$

$That's what I thought. 4ou keep goingSS to high school right/ 4ou didn'tcomeSS back much anyway.$

*ru tilt his head perplex. 1hid seems shocked, but dy looks unhappy. *ru hasbeen reporting to piloting faculty during class and after class, the time he spenttraining with 1hid and dy have been dwindling.



$Take care of yourself""$

?atson from craftsman faculty is not participating in the field trip. The knighthoodtrio walks towards the carriage after ?atson bid them farewell in a nonchalanttone.

$*ru *ru, this way$

$)on't rushE the carriage won't leave without us.$

The destination of the field trip is a place called '1lo7uet's #orest'. That place iscovered in forest and is slightly elevated, filled with demon beasts that arerelatively weak. 1arriages are used for the long trip after considering the powerlevel of the demon beast. 1lo7uet's forest is a suitable place that meets there7uirement of the field trip. ccording to the planned route, they will swing by

Gantunen for resupply before heading into 1lo7uet's forest which is nearby.

fter all the students are seated, the carriages set off one by one. The longcaravan of carriages advance steadily on the road.

The 25 ilhouette Knight escorts are spread out along the convoy. They arepiloted by the high schoolers from the academy. The dark red and pure whitemachine, >Vell and *arl 1umber are here too.

The ilhouette Knights used by the academy are donated from the military. fter the long years of maintenance by the students with free reign, their shape hasbecome uni7ue and interesting. ome have meaningless and complicatedpatterns engraved on its armour, others have eerily big accessories added ontoits head, and there are armours that are pieced together in a weird pattern. Themachines have been customized deeply, giving a 'that's too exaggerated' kind of feeling. The exoskeleton comes in all sorts of colours, having an elegant airabout it instead of being fierce and mean.

There are many knighthood ma+ors participating in the field trip. lthough middle

school is full of kids, they are still candidates striving to be knights, so thereshouldn't be any problem if they meet normal demon beast attacks. *ven if thisis a field trip, they can't be spooked by small demon beasts. %ithin the Kingdomof #remmevira, mid"sized demon beast about a dozen meters still lurks in theforest and mountain regions, and they might run into them on the road. Theilhouette Knights are the insurance against unexpected attacks.

$I thought we will have a chance to fight demon beasts, but it turns out to be a



$h, so you guys are here.$

dy pokes her head out from within the carriage.

$4ou woke up/$

$4eah, you guys are gone when I got up.$

dy made her way to *ru's side as she speaks, and lay on his thigh, getting inposition to sleep.

$The sun is so warm, it feels better sleeping here.$

$leeping is fine, but why are you using my lap as your pillow/$

$It's feels nicer this way.$

s *ru was at a loss, dy has begun her +ourney into dream land. *ru can't doanything about her and started reading, looking out at the scenery occasionally.1hid ponders about stuff for a while, but thinks itFs too bothersome and gave up,using a luggage as a pillow to nap.

Their leisurely +ourney continues at this pace. fter rocking for & days on thehorse drawn carriage, the group from ;aihiala pilot academy finally arrives at the

largest city of central #remmevira "" Gantunen.

There is a reason why Gantunen ranks amongst the top cities in the kingdom. Itlies along the route that leads to the west of #remmevira and beyond the

ubigne mountain range. It is also the transit point for supplies leading to thefrontline fortress to the east of #remmevira. s an important transport hub, itsdefences are second only to the capital, surrounded by siege walls and moats.0n top of that, there is a large band of knights e7uivalent to a company <255ilhouette Knights= garrisoned here. -o matter how crucial this city is, this is too

much military forces for one city. ?ut they are stationed here because ofGantunen's strategic location, allowing them to reinforce front line cities 7uickly.

nd in practice, about &5 percent of the forces will receive patrol and escortmissions outside the city.

?y the time the convoy from ;aihiala pilot academy arrived at Gantunen, it isalready past noon.



The city wall surrounding Gantunen is colossal in scale. ?ecause of theexistence of demon beast, traveling long distance is difficult, so this is first timeseeing another big city other than ;aihiala for many of the students. *veryone iscurious about this city and this is the most anticipated part for many of them.

$%hat an amazing wall, what are they defending against/$$The enemy they have in mind is demon beast... or rather, the demon beastduring the nation's founding. There are many more vicious demon beasts duringthat era.$

$0h... That's why it is so massive.$

The students were elated when they saw the gate leading into the city. ?ut thecarriage did not pass through the gates, but are gathered in the open space in

front of it.

$%ait, aren't we going into Gantunen/$

$They already told us that the stop at Gantunen is only to resupply.$

lthough the group can disembark and rest outside the carriage, but they willneed to move out once the goods have been loaded. The students who thoughtthey can get a reprieve from the dull +ourney start to complain, the twins stare at

the gargantuan gate and nags.$8an, this is boring. It won't do any harm letting us in for a while$

$That's right, I want to go shopping.$

$%ait, that's not why...$

$)on't you want to take a look/$

$I am interested, but going on a tour with such a large group of students can turninto a horrible mess.$

s they spoke, *ru looks to the side. It was probably arranged before time, themerchants came out of the gate with the goods which are then loaded up thecarriage.

The short break was over and it was time to go. The carriage left with the



insists on nagging about it.

$I don't want to hear his complains, so I decided to change the mood and seethese guys.$

The two of them raise their head to look at 'them'. The campfire lit up the giantknight in white armour "" ilhouette Knight *arl 1umber. It was not customizedand retained its original shape. Its simple design has no special features andhas a gentle feel about it. %ith the top pilot *dgar controlling it, the two partnersare known as the strongest in pilot school.



In *ru's team tent, 1hid is shaking his head while lying down. lthough he is notvery affected, 1hid still felt a bit uneasy and can't sleep.

<I thought I was braver than this, seems like I am 7uite tense too.=

The dim camp fire shines in, giving the dark tent an unsettling atmosphere. 1hidsuddenly wondered if *ru sleeping besides him was uneasy like him and calledout softly:

$(ey *ru, I want to ask... *h.$

*ru is fast asleep. *ru was not totally unmoved, but he was a warrior on thefront line of hell in his previous life too. (e understands the importance of resteven if he doesnFt want too, and gained the ability to be able to sleep under anycircumstances.

<... lthough I have known from the beginning, but he is too strong andcarefree.=

fter hearing 1hid, dy who can't sleep turns and stare at *ru's sleeping face.

$*h, how cunning.$

1hid doesnFt know what she means by cunning. dy shifted over and pulls *ru

into her arms, hugging him like a pillow. *ru woke after being hugged this way.(e realizes it is dy, pats her head and falls asleep. 8aybe dy felt safebecause of this and her breathing turns smooth after a moment. ;ooking at thetwo of them, 1hid felt foolish for not being able to sleep.

<Isn't it stupid for me to be tense alone/=

That's it, he decided to not worry anymore. fter a while, he enters dream land.

The next morning, the students start getting up sometime after dawn.

lot of student didn't get enough sleep. In the sleepy atmosphere, *ru's groupwas refreshed. There are always students who can't sleep when campingEexperiencing this tension is one of the ob+ectives of this field trip. The instructorsdidn't push the weaker 2st years, so their +ob content is rather relaxed. fter thestudents finished the simple breakfast made from preserved food, they gatheredby their grade year under the commands of the teachers.



Chapter 7

physical phenomenon forms out of thin air with a screech and fly towards the'taccato ;izard'. The spell 'ero ipper' slices through the taccato ;izard'sneck, killing it before it can scream.

$ lizard is heading this way Wanguard, ready your shields$

The group follows the clear command of the lady, students lightly e7uipped withwands and bows retreat to the rear, replaced by students in heavy armor. Theyform a row and form a wall with their shield to fend off the 'swarming demonbeasts'. The beasts that survived the onslaught of magic and arrows pounce on

the student in the front row with a fierce collision. The students used their shieldto repel the claws and fangs of the demon beast and counter attack with theirswords, taking down a large number of beasts.

?ut the demon beast use their superior numbers to bypass the iron wall defenseand to their back. The lightly armored students standing by behind thevanguards will attack when they see any beast slip past the defenses. -odemon beast make it through this formation.

The middle school students who split into groups when they enters 1lo7uet's

forest has now gathered and formed into a single unit, positioning themselvesinto a formation that focus on defense. The surge of demon beast charge atthem from the depth of the forest. The students took on the waves of demonbeast courageously.

They put down one demon beast after another, but the torrent of demon beast is +ust one the tip of the iceberg. ome beast slips through the defenses from theedge of the formation and file towards the forest entrance.

$If this goes on, the 2st year at the forest entrance will be attacked... %e haveto warn them$

The female student in command realized the danger and wants to warn thegroup behind them, but they have another impending crisis.

$%atch out 8acehead 0gre is coming at us$



The student who saw the 0gre screams. They were warding off small sizedenemies like taccato ;izard and aber cats, which is manageable despite their troubling numbers. ?ut 8acehead 0gre is a different ball game. imilar to itsname, 8acehead 0gre is a &m tall giant ape with a head full of short and thickhorns. HT;: Kan+i J needle head apeJ. It re7uires the team work of several

students to fight on par with one of them. They can't take on this enemy whileengaging the horde of small demon beasts.

$... 3nd file aim for the ape's leg It will be bad if they draw near$

everal staff sticks out from the student acting as the defense wall, casting allsorts of spells. They used fire, wind and lightning magic to battle the demonbeasts.

%e need to turn back time a few hours to understand why the situation is so

dire.

8orning, the middle school students from higher grade years head into1lo7uet's forest in teams with high spirits. They kept their guard up, advancingdeep into the forest with no resistance and realize that something was wrong.normally, they would have met with several demon beast attack this deep intothe forest, but there have been nothing so far. There was no news of the demonbeast disappearing from 1lo7uet's forest.

The groups hesitantly loiter around the forest, attempting to reach other teamsfor news. ?ut all the groups reports the absence of demon beast encounters,with no sign of cats or lizards. #inding no trace of the things that should be thereis a abnormal sign, so the crowd decides to report back to the teachers after ashort discussion.

s they were preparing to leave, the demon beast starts to emerge from left andright. It is a bit of a hassle, but they still raise their arms to destroy the demonbeasts.

2, 3"" 9"" 25""

%hen the demon beast number in the dozens, the expression on everyonechanges. eeing the state the forest is in, they understands that this is anotherabnormal event, differing from the one they experienced +ust now.

?ut thankfully they were all gathered so they have strength in numbers, a silver



lining of this gloomy situation. %ith their years of experience in knighthoodcombat training, the students formed ranks with a formation made for largegroups. This is the result of the students who aspire to +oin a band of knights,displaying the fruits of their hard work. nd thus, their group clashes head onwith the swarm of demon beast and brings us to the present moment.

This is the 25th 8acehead 0gre they have defeated.

The tactic of prioritizing range attack is working. They +udge that staying put willwear them down, so they retreated towards the forest entrance slowly.

It was fortunate that the student council president tefania errati is present.%hen they split into team activities, she assigned task and suitable e7uipmentto each group. It was the same for their combined formation, everyone has theirrole to play. lthough they are a pick up group, things are going well. The

problem is the lack of a commander. It is great +ust following their given task, butif they don't act when there is an opportunity, they will miss the chance to takeadvantage of a situation and waste their resources.

Bnder these circumstances, no one ob+ects when the student council presidentwho is in her senior year step up as the commander. he has the nominal titleas well as the grades and was trusted by everyone. *ven if this is a pick upgroup cobbled together on a whim, her instructions was clear and led the groupthrough difficult situation very well. Their retreat was orderly and casualties was

low, but""<... This is bad. The number of demon beast is a problem, but why are they soadamant about charging us... (ow much longer can we hold them/=

tefania appears calm when she commands, but she was frantic inside. Theystill have lots of stamina and mana, but they will be overwhelmed if this keepsup.

<%e didn't intercept all the demon beast, I hope the children behind us are

safe...=

The situation is deteriorating, but they still fought on.

The 2st year training at the outer edge of the forest was attacked while thehigher grade years student was battling.



In the beginning the students near to the forest screams. several taccatolizards pounce on the students and bit them. Their attack are not fatal, but it isdangerous if a bunch of them strikes together. The instructors rescued themimmediately, attacking the demon beast that was targeting the students.

#rom the end result, the instructors' action made the situation worse, but theyare not at fault. It will be fine if it was +ust a few demon beast, but the demonbeasts start to emerge en masse. The teachers missed the chance to fall backand have to keep fighting. They are holding up well, but the students behindthem fell into a panic with the emergence of more demon beasts. The instructorswho are supposed to maintain order can't draw back and give the students theproper instructions.

The students recklessly wave their staff and cast spells. The blindly cast magicdid not threaten the beasts, almost hitting allies instead. ome drew their

swords without thinking about others that are near them, causing further panic.1ompared to the higher grade students who was prepared and e7uipped forbattle, and has plenty of practical experience, the 2st year was not ready for afight.

$...ero )amned, 1anister shot$

uddenly, someone leap over the panicking 2st years students. ilver hairsshine brightly under the sun, this image burns deeply into the eyes of the

confused students. That person flip in mid air, aimed for the ground and shot outseveral air bullets. 1anister shot meant casting several spells at the same timelike a shotgun.

The air bullet hits the ground with the sound of explosion. The compressed airbullet s7ueezes the face of the beasts together before blasting the demonbeasts and the ground away.

The merciless magic destroyed a large amount of demon beast through carpetbombing. Two more students moves in from the left and right. 0ne of them

charge into the demon beast crowd with a big bastard sword in hand. (e usesphysical boost to swing his giant sword, slicing the demon beasts in half. (euses the momentum to turn his body, drawing another weapon from his waistand point it at the surviving beast.

$Too naive onic boom$

This weapon"" gun staff >andiva produce a vacuum from its tip, forming a air



current rushing towards the demon beasts, hitting those that were outside swordrange. Their body twist unnaturally and was blown away.

girl showed up beside him, holding two bayonet staff pointed at differentbeasts.

$iot parrow$

;ightning fell, accompanied by the sound of thunder the next second, hitting thegathered demon beast. he didn't even look at the beast that is spasming indeath, attaching the gun staff onto the sword in her sheath. he holds thecompound swords in both hands, slashing at every demon beast that camewithin range. *ven a thin sword can cut demon beasts in half if it is strengthenedby magic.

The & students attacked like a storm, reducing the number of beast drastically.The pressure from the approaching swarm lessens, giving everyone a chance tocatch their breath. The students stopped moving not because of the chaos, butfrom the shock of seeing the one sided massacre.

$)raw your staff.$

The short student who leapt over the crowd stood in front of them and issued anorder. The young tender voice that sounds as pleasant as a bird has an air of

authority in it, making everyone follow his instructions.$*veryone gather up, form into tight ranks. Teacher$

The dumbfounded instructors finally came to their senses.

$@lease take command and keep the initiative. @lease retreat, the & of us willsupport the others.$

The teachers starts giving out instructions in a hurry. The students form a tight

formation and strengthen their defenses. #or 2st year students with inferiorcombat abilities to fight demon beast, they will need to concentrate theirfirepower. lthough it is still a bit flimsy, but the teacher commanding them canhandle it.

*rnesti stares at the demon beast rushing out of the forest and slowly raises his%inchester. 1hid and dy stood beside him like his guards. 1hid lean thebastard sword on his shoulder with one hand and grabs a >andiva with the



otherE dy rest the tip of her dual sword in her hands on the ground. Their eyesare full of determination when they see the swarm of demon beast before them.

$(ey, isn't these numbers a bit too much. 0h well, we can wreck havoc if moreof them comes$

$(mmp"" I won't hold back$

*ru reign in the spirited twins.

$It's fine if the both of you want to fight, but don't forget about the rest of thestudent body.$

$*h""/ They can take care of themselves... probably...$

dy wants to protest, but stopped midway. ?ecause *ru is staring at her with astern face.

$4ou don't need to stay here if you +ust want to wreck havoc.$

$Bguu, I... I get it I will help them$

1hid raise his hands in surrender.

$#ortunately, this is still the entrance of the forest, we can get back to thecampsite if we retreat. If we link up with the ilhouette Knights there, things willlighten up. ?efore that...$

*ru cast a ero )amned as he speaks. The demon beast that wanted to attackwhile they were talking was sent flying.

$%e need to protect them.$

*ru made up his mind, lift %inchester and shot out a string of spells.

%hile the middle schoolers is in the forest, the high school knight runners wererelieved from their duty and starts their training. ince they cannot increase thestress on the machines since the ilhouette Knights have to be conserved forescort duties, so their training centered on man to man spars.

*dgar is in the midst of sword swinging practice when noises that shouldn'tappear from the forest.



$(ey, isn't the forest rather noisy/$

$(mm/$

The moment he brought it up, the students around him perk up their ears.ounds of tremors that wasn't here before came from the direction of the forest,and they knew what it was.

$That sound of explosion... magic/$

$omething is up... *xercise cut @ilots prepare to sortie. The situation in theforest seems to be bad, scout it out$

The group in the camp moved hurriedly. The knightsmiths working on the

ilhouette Knights withdraw to let the pilots mount on. They skipped theinitialization check and let the machine stand up, drowning the surrounding withthe sound of the churning ether reactor. ?ut they can't send all the machinesout, so 9 ilhouette Knights were dispatched into the forest.

$(ey, look at that...$

The scale of the crisis was beyond their imagination. warms of demon beastwas charging at them before they enter the forest, the numbers was more than

they have ever seen. The beasts shrieks as they charge in all directions.$%hat... %hat is happening/$

$The demon beast are going out of control/ re the brats in trouble/$

They drew their swords and advance into the forest. They linked up with the firstyears in no time. The 2st years has successfully retreated with *ru's 7uickthinking.

The 2st years bundles together, retreating slowly as they cast magic to restrictthe demon beasts' movements. The beast that rushes at the formation will berepelled by magic. *dgar move in to support them, piloting *arl 1umber as ashield in front of them. The tense first years breathe a sigh of relief when theysaw the ilhouette Knights appears and dispose of the demon beasts. Thestrongest combat unit of humanity "" the ilhouette Knights are trusted by thepopulace. *specially at the scene of a demon beasts raid, their power to matcha hundred demon beast provides a great sense of security.



They retreated to the campsite, setting up fences around the area to fortify theirdefenses.

%ith the ilhouette Knights taking charge of defense, the instructors and the

high school knight runners begin to discuss their plan of action. There areenough defense to protect the 2st years, so that isn't an issue. Their main worrylies with the higher year students who delved deep into the forest.

$)o you know the routes taken by the 3nd and &rd years/$

$That is hard to say. ?ecause this was meant to be a practical session, the areaof operation is the whole forest, and there is no guarantee they will stay in theassigned location.$

The instructors reviewed the action plan of each higher year student and groanswith a serious expression. They wants to rescue them, but with the limitednumber of ilhouette Knights, they won't know where to start. 1lo7uet's forestwas vast, running around like a headless chicken will be counter intuitive. ?utthey don't have time to hesitate too. t this point, *rnesti stick his head out fromthe instructor's side.

$%here are the places in the forest that can gather people easily/$

$(mm/ That... if they want to rendezvous, it should be nearby.$The teacher was surprised by *ru's sudden 7uestion, but still answered him. It ismeaningless for a 2st year to discuss this with them, but with his spectacularperformance earlier, no one felt out of place with *ru's intrusion.

$%ith the scale of the demon beast horde, won't the seniors group up to resist/That's why I think we should look for places where large group of people cangather.$

$(mm... 4ou have a point.$

$The ilhouette Knights can't move smoothly in heavily forested areas. Takingour combat assets into consideration, we should start our search from openspaces, right/$

The map sprawled out on the table was marked with red lines showing the routeof advancement. To reach the designated areas, they have to cut through the



$... %ell well, bringing *rnesti along was the right choice.$

*dgar who is riding inside *arl 1umber mumbles to himself as he drives the

demon beast off.They followed *ru's suggestion and search places with wide open spaces. Theydiscovered the higher year students shortly after advancing in that direction.This is because the students are bunched together and ready to retreat. ?utthey are in a crisis when *dgar found them, the 8acehead 0gres was about tobreak through the formation. They can take down the demon beast easily withthe ilhouette Knight's power, but they are too far away. They will also hit thestudents if they use ilhouette arms.

#rustrated with his inability to help despite having the strength to do so, *dgargrind his teeth with regret. t this moment, *rnesti who is in the hand of *arl1umber charged ahead. The 0gres fell easily before the rampaging *ru, making*dgar sigh. (is performance is shameful when compared to *ru.

%ith the ilhouette Knights who made it in the nick of time as escorts, thestudents continue to retreat. There are many in+uries, but no one was lost andeverybody made it back to the camp site in one piece.

This happened slightly after the ;aihiala pilot cademy student body leftGantunen for 1lo7uet's forest.

ilhouette Knight passed by the convoy and arrive at the eastern gate ofGantunen. This is probably urgent as the exhausted knight runner approach theknight after reaching the gate. The knights was stunned by the sudden turn ofevents, but their face turned pale after receiving the report of the pilot andhastily inform their commander.

$Is... this true/$

1ommander of Gantunen garrison knights "" @hilip (allhagen's expressionchanged after hearing the report from his subordinate. The vice commander>ottfried (yvDrinen who was also in the commander's office wasexpressionless, but his face is white. This shows the impact this report gavethem.



eeing @hilip face twist with worry, >ottfried can only nod in silence.

ll the knights on duty is already there when @hilip enter the war council room. ll of them wears anxious faces because of the impending crisis.

The knights outside the city receives recall order, so they have to assess thesituation before all the knights return. map was prepared, and the possibleadvancement route of behemoth was highlighted. The knight runner who sentthe warning doesn't know the current position of behemoth either, so they haveto use factors such as terrain and the mobility of behemoth to predict itsadvancement route and estimate its rough position. They will also need todecide where they will fight the behemoth.

$#rom the direction it is heading and the terrain around stronghold ?arkley, themost possible route is around d'iguebelle mountain, through the forest at the

foot of the mountain.$

$That is right beside Gantunen... its current estimated position/$

The knight who was asked pointed to the map.

$I think it has pass through 1repel plains and about to enter 1lo7uet's forest.$

$1lo7uet's forest... Bguu, that's nearer than I thought. If we are going to

intercept, we will need to do it somewhere nearer to Gantunen...$ knight behind him suddenly shouts.

$)id you say 1lo7uet's forest.../$

$%hat/ %hat is wrong with 1lo7uet's forest/$

-o one wants to listen to bad news, but they need to keep tabs on elements thatcould affect them. ?efore the watchful eyes of everyone, the knight announce

with a pale face:

$... ;aihiala academy is conducting a field trip there right now$

$%ha.../$

ll the knights present are speechless. -ot only Gantunen, even citizens whoare the assets of the nation, as well as the children are in danger. There are



knights in the room who have relative studying in ;aihiala knighthood schoolright now. ome of the knights approached @hilip frantically.

$%e need to go to 1lo7uet's forest$

$%e have to save the children$@hilip was troubled with the piling troubles, but he did not consider it too long.

nother mission takes priority.

$...end out messengers, but the company will stay put until we have gatheredenough forces.$

$1ommander re you forsaking them/$

$-onsense$

@hilip roar at the knights who are pestering him, his voice filled with anguish.

$I want to help them too, but with our current forces, we will need to giveeverything to take down behemoth... I am not optimistic about the comingbattle. triking now without mustering the whole company will +ust be wastingour numbers, we might even be wiped out by behemoth. )on't be mistaken 0ur ob+ective is to defeat behemoth, defend Gantunen and safeguard the entire

#remmevira kingdom$The rowdy knights 7uiet down. They also understand they have no say in this.

$... %hat we can do now is to have faith in their luck and wits...$

They looked into the darkness in the direction of 1lo7uet's forest.

The entrance of 1lo7uet's forest, ;aihiala Knighthood school camp site.

fter the upper years student in middle school retreated successfully, a simplefence was erected alongside the ilhouette Knights, forming a simple line ofdefense.

8ost demon beast emerging from the forest is about 2m in height, the largestbeing &m tall. Their combat capability is insignificant compared to the 25m tallilhouette Knights. They swats away clusters of beast with a single sword



swing. ?ut there are a few that sneak past because of the large different in size.They swarm towards the fence, and are held off by the students who move in tofill the gap.

#rom the demon beast's view point, the ilhouette Knight who seems to be

flaunting its existence is intimidating. Bnwilling to face them, the beasts flank theilhouette Knights, attacking the base camp from either side. The middleschoolers in the higher years suffered many casualties, so this is a favorablesituation for the knighthood students who are lacking in manpower.

fter the sun sets beyond the mountains, the attack came to an end. Thestudents who are alert even with the absence of enemies instinctively felt thatthe battle was over and takes a breather.

$Is the demon beast stampede over/...$

tefania errati who felt fatigue from the depth of her heart was relieved. hewas leading the able bodied student body to the very end. They met up with theteachers back at the base camp, but they +udged that it will be easier fortefania who has been commanding from the very beginning to carry on. ?utpart of it was because her sense of responsibility.

$1hid, dy... *ru.$%ith the situation calming down, she greets the resting students and survey thecamp site. he call out to the familiar faces loudly when she came across them.

$h, 0nee sama... are you okay/ I heard the student body was in trouble$

tefania shakes her head.

$s you can see, I am doing well. *nough about me, you guys were reckless out

there.$

tefania's looks amazed as she spoke. The students who +ust retreated back tocamp were riddled with wounds and fatigue, so their combat capabilities wereminimal. They will struggle to handle the demon beast that sneak pass theilhouette Knights in this state. ?ut thanks to *ru buying them for them, theymanaged to recover and make it through.



$%e were the only ones who can still fight, so we went a little overboard.$

$I think the & of you were as effective as a platoon, this is not going 'a littleoverboard'... (ai, never mind. 8ore importantly... *ru$

tefania approach *ru who was standing behind the two of them and hugs him.he didn't care *ru who was surprised and couldn't resist, rubbing her face onthat silky smooth head of hair.

$hSS this healingXSS I can keep fighting if *ru is here.$

<tefania enpai... 1an't be helped. I will give her some service for her hardwork. If my sacrifice can improve her mood, it is nothing.=

tefania happily play his hair and poke his cheeks, but *ru did not resist,

allowing her to toy with him. dy seems angry but didn't stop her.

tefania en+oyed herself with the cuddling for a long while. uddenly anawkward voice call her from behind.

$*h... tudent 1ouncil @resident...$

The student is looking for her, but was surprised with how creepy tefania issmiling. This is expected as tefania was leading the student body coolly earlier,

but is now hugging a +unior with a lewd smile.$%hat is it/$

$The teacher is asking for you to discuss our next move.$

$I understand. orry you three. ;et's chat later, it will +ust take a little while.$

It is too late to cover up, but tefania doesn't seem to mind, changing to councilpresident mode immediately. The three of them waved at her with an amazed

expression as tefania leaves.

<lright, we tide over the dangerous period, but what's next/=

?ut made it through the stampede of demon beasts, but *ru don't think thingsare over yet. (e looked back at 1lo7uet's forest, which seems to be growingdarker as if it wants to mask itself from *ru's sight.



*ven *ru is not sure what is lurking deep within the forest.

$nd so, we are moving out tomorrow/$

The instructors are unable to come to a consensus for the next course of action.This is understandable as they have not grasped the whole situation at hand. nyway, they have informed everyone of this course of action over dinner. *ruand the others drink the soup made from common vegetables and the food theybrought along while they confirm the circumstances.

$1orrect, we have many wounded but no one is in danger of dying, the worse is +ust fractures. There are many who have depleted their mana and is exhausted.The teachers feel it is dangerous to move with our lack of fighting power.$

$(ai, isn't it dangerous to rest here/$

$The horses will also be affected by the dark. The instructors decided that beingattacked while moving tiredly on the carriage is too risky, it is better to wait forday break while taking advantage of the base camp's defenses. I think we won'tbe attacked by demon beasts in such numbers any time soon.$

$0h"" what an optimistic view.$

$-ot really, all the options are like a gamble, this is simply choosing the safestoption. If something do come in the middle of the night, it will be easier for theilhouette Knight to defend if we stay put.$

%hat they can do now is to rest well, detect danger early and react to thesituation. In the end, they have to depend on themselves. fter dinner, they tryto relax and shake off their tense emotions, putting their hopes in making it toGantunen in the morning.

?ut they missed an important thing"" %hat created the stampede/

They didn't notice that the demon beast heading their way was desperate, as ifsomething was chasing them to the west.

They only regret missing this detail during the twilight hours +ust before dawn.

The red sun rises slowly over the mountain range. The students who took the



students with spells, herding them towards the carriage like hunting guides.They are still far from being calm, but the group is stable enough to understandinstructions. They run towards the carriage in order to escape from behemoth.

The middle schoolers are not the only one awed by the behemoth, it was the

same for the high school knigt runners. ?ecause they are in possession of thepower of the ilhouette Knights, behemoth is a bigger threat to them. %ith theresponsibility that comes with this power, they can't run awayE even if they wantto fight, the enemy is too strong.

$)on't stop 8ove""$

1aught in a dilemma because of an enemy out of their league, the first to snapout of it is *dgar. ?e it fight or flight, remaining still before behemoth is as goodas suicide.

The knight runners finally recognize the behemoth is preparing to charge andtries to evade in a panic. The momentum of the beast is incomparable toanything in this world. *ven a ilhouette Knight won't stand a chance in its face.The pilots break out in cold sweat, losing the will to fight. %hat can they do tobattle this terrifying demon beast/

?ut one man, *dgar, suppress his fear when he realize the advancement routeof the behemoth coincides with the carriages the middle schoolers are using to

flee and says with resolve:$I will distract the behemoth *veryone, please lend me your strength$

$(uh/ *dgar )o you know what you are saying/ That is a behemoth It willsend all of us flying with a kick$

$I know ?ut our +uniors will be wiped out if we let it rampage. -o, not +ust that. Itwill assault Gantunen if it heads down the same way as the carriages$

(elvi who snapped at *dgar knows too. There is nowhere to run even if theyescape from here, it will +ust lead to more collateral damage. he grit her teethwith enough force to splinter it.

$%e have no choice but to go through with it...$

$%e are knights. %e learn swordsmanship and piloting in order to protect ourkingdomE how can we run without a fight$



?ecause of the number of people, only about half of them have evacuateddespite the carriages being dispatched one by one.

<There are still a lot of people left... we need more time, we can only depend onour seniors now...=

*ru stands at the end of the line, looking at the fight between behemoth and theilhouette Knight with a grim expression. Bsing spells beyond human capability"" overed spells ared negated by the invulnerable armor shell, leaving no traceof in+ury. ?efore the colossal beast, even the crystallization of humantechnology, the ilhouette Knights are insignificant. The *ru being +ust oneperson is even more powerless.

(is face is serious. The situation of the high school pilots are overwhelmingbad... -o, it is hopeless, their attacks does no damage at all. Their tactic

revolves around retreating, disrupting it with deft movements. The ilhouetteKnights will fall with +ust a single hit because of the difference in mass. If the pilotcontinue to accumulate fatigue and stress "" it is hard to think of a good ending.

<I will evacuate everyone, so don't die senpai...=

-o matter how fast a ilhouette Knight is, there is no guarantee it can get out ofthe way of a behemoth charging with a full head of steam. (ence, the other

Knights will concentrate their attack on the behemoth to divert the behemoth'sattention if it locks on to their comrades. Their attack did not hurt the behemoth,but it was frustrated with the annoyance.

$(ahaha Is that it, this thing is big, but can't do anything to us$

)ietrich shouts. In order to overcome the intimidating aura stemming from thegigantic body of the beast, he have to convince himself that he has the upperhand. It was meant to motivate himself, but because the tactic to stall for time isworking too well, they are taking things lightly. 1ould it be this is a slow and

dumb beast that is all bark but no bite/ In actual fact, it will take +ust one hit toshatter a ilhouette Knight, but toying with the behemoth this way has dulledtheir sense of +udgment.

#or a short time, they seems to be successful in their bid to drag out the battle.the behemoth that is chasing after the escaping ilhouette Knights slowed downsuddenly. The pilots watches the behemoth's changes, as it took a huge breathwith a lung capacities appropriate for its colossal size, sucking in an illogical



amount of air.

The next second, a fierce breath of tornado shot out from its mouth. This is aranged magic attack. The pilots who assumed the behemoth can only chargeand attack physically were caught off guard by the sudden pro+ectile spell.

tornado went ahead in a straight line, the turbulence from the current engulfed amachine that didn't get away in time. The ilhouette Knight can't resist theraging air currents which twist its armor and s7uash its crystal tissue.

The 25m tall mass of steel "" the ilhouette Knight flew into the sky and fellheavily to the ground. The impact shatters the limbs which has the leastdurability which breaks off from the torso. ?ecause the ilhouette Knights arehumanoid shaped, its tattered image burns deep into the heart of the pilots.

$(ya Bgu... %ah$

)ietrich saw the whole process clearly. (is classmate who have been with himthrough high school "" and his ilhouette Knight was destroyed, making himscream as if his throat was spasming.

The next moment, another machine disappeared before )ietrich's eyes with aloud bang. (e didn't understand what happened, but he gets it when he shift hisgaze.

?ehemoth struck with its tail. The moment that machine stopped, it was hit bythe tail which was swinging with inertia, flying out in a twisted lump. )ietrich issafe because of luck "" his position was slightly out of range. (e would havebeen swept by the tail if he was a couple of steps forward.

Two ilhouette Knights was easily shattered like some pottery in a blink of aneye. The pilot realized how wrong they are to think they can hold behemoth offsomehow. ?ehemoth turn its head towards the surviving ilhouette Knights as ifit was flaunting how easily it can destroy the ilhouette Knights. The perpetratorof the entire incident is targeting them next.

$%wwwaaaaahhhh$

$0ooorrrraaaaa$

The two sound coincides with each other. The former was )ietrich screaming inhorror because of the demon beastE the latter was *dgar shout to overcome thefear in his heart to steel himself.



<)amn (ow can I be so careless ?ehemoth is a battalion level demon beast... Iknew it was a monster that can be handled by the handful of us=

*dgar can't forgive himself for the loss of his comrade's life because he

underestimate the enemy. (is anger is stronger than his fear, pushing him on.$*veryone avoid facing it head on -o matter what, evasion takes priority Gust abit more, everyone please hang on$

They have engaged the behemoth, everyone will wipe out if they turn and runsuddenly. fter hearing *dgar's spirited voice, the other knight runners respondto him even though they are shivering from fear. ll of them use everything theyhave got to dodge the behemoth's attack. ight now, they can only put their lifeon the line and keep pestering the behemoth.

Bnder the rampage of the behemoth's magic, the high school pilots forced into adire situation.

*ru and the others safely evacuated the middle schoolers, and he hopped ontothe last carriage himself. (e watched the battle from the carriage speeding awayfrom behemoth. The high schoolers are at a severe disadvantage with the magicattack of the behemoth, killing off any chance of them running away even if *ru

and the rest have gone away. The conversation he had with *dgar flashedacross his mind. *ven if his message won't reach them, the only thing he can donow is to give his support.

t this moment, a red shadow appeared in the corner of *ru's eye. (e turn hishead in a hurry and was shocked after identifying it. The red shadow was theilhouette Knight, >Vell.

1ould it be... s he thinks, he turn his head ahead and see the battle still ragingon between the behemoth and the other ilhouette Knights. This mean >Vell is

abandoning the other students and escaping by himself. *ru +ump off thecarriage when he understand this. *veryone was stunned by his action andcouldn't stop him. (e run after >Vell with the speed of a bullet.

red ilhouette Knight was running in the bright forest under the sunny sky.

The 7uiet forest extends all around it, there are nothing in the surrounding. ?ut



)ietrich who was tormented by his own thoughts heard sound that drew nearerfrom the distance and came to his senses. That is the screeching sound ofcompressed air, which is followed by the sound of metal rubbing on metal. (isvision ahead was suddenly widened and he can't react because of how sudden

things are happening.The chest plate armor of ilhouette Knights are connected by compressed airfor ease of entry into the cockpit. ?ut it is opened suddenly, although he didn'tactivate the control for the hatch, and has no reason to do so. To open the hatchfrom the outside, you have to manipulate a complicated set of levers and haveto be careful of not dismantling the armor by accident. #rom this situation,someone is opening the hatch from the outside by lever.

figure +umped up to the open hatch which confirm his deduction. petite body

with a head of silvery purple hair. That figure is *rnesti who smiles casually at)ietrich and says:

$I finally caught up with you enpai.$

*ru said with a simple tone as if he has simply forgotten to bring something. *rutilts his head and continued:

$I will go straight to the point enpai, did you ran away/$

#or *ru, this 7uestion was meant to be a confirmation, but )ietrich trembledwhen he heard *ru. The sudden appearance of his +unior asking so bluntlymade him hysterical.

$... h, d... damn... right unning... what's wrong with that Gust missing oneman won't change the tide of battle %hy do I have to die in vain/ The chivalrycode doesn't tell us to abandon our lives$

)ietrich repeats his thoughts, not caring how broken his logic was. (e is not

answering *ru, but trying to convince himself. *ru nods with his usual peacefulsmile and said to the agitated )ietrich:

$That's great.$

$... %hat/$

)ietrich didn't expect such a reaction and lift up his head tongue tied. >reat/



%hat did he say to make *ru so happy/

$?ecause this is sufficient reason for me to borrow >Vell from you.$

%hen )ietrich realize what he meant, *ru has drawn his %inchester. This is the

last scene he remember while he was still conscious. fter falling )ietrich with a single air bullet, *ru made a pleased expression andnod his head with satisfaction. lthough he can sympathize with )ietrich'ssituation, *ru is still angry.

*ru perk himself up and scan the cockpit. ilhouette Knights are 25m tall giants,but the cockpit was tight and messy with all sorts of gears. 8ost prominent is theseat in the center, the control stick to the side and the pedals under the seat.The knight runner controls the ilhouette Knight by holding the control sticks

and stepping on the pedals. *ru recalls the functions of the pilot seat and theactivation procedure.

fter *ru undo the harness and was preparing to drag the unconscious )ietrichout, he thought of something.

$If I leave him here knocked out, won't he die if wild beast attack him/$

lthough he was angry at )ietrich for running away by himself, *ru was not

willing to kill him. fter contemplating for a while, *ru saw some space behindthe seat. The cockpit of ilhouette Knights will usually have blankets, food, firstaid kit for emergency supplies, enough for a few days of solo travel if they lostcontact with their team. These items are stuffed behind their seat so they won'tinterfere with their piloting.

$*h, it's a bit of a waste, but I can make space here.$

*ru randomly pulled out some of the items and threw them out. fter confirmingthere is enough space, he s7ueeze the unconscious )ietrich in there. lthough

this position is uncomfortable for humans, but *ru wasn't bothered.

fter 'settling' )ietrich, *ru turns towards the seat. Bnfortunately, the size isdesigned for high schoolers. *ru won't be able to reach the control stick andpedals with his stature. The seat does not have the convenient function of beingad+ustable like the cars back on earth.

*ru already anticipated this, he came with a plan in mind. (e slash at the



and symbols are different, but being in the flow of data is nostalgic, and he smilegently.

$lright, time to let you see the power of a professional programmer.$

(e begin analyzing the core of the magic scripts at a fast pace, starting bycomparing what he have learned so far with the scripts within the magiusengine.

$tarting pattern analysis... imilar scripts detected, physical boost, mplifier...$

8ost of the script in the magius engine is similar to the script he knew. *ruidentify them one at a time, using the script to understand its purpose. The moresimilarity there is, the faster he can grasp the internal workings.

$The base is physical boost/ 1rystal tissue is the emulation of muscle tissues.To move them, the theory is the same...$

Bsing rchitect sigils, he dissect each scripts. *ach part forms complicatedpatterns and are interconnected, the magic program is expanding to the limit ofhis conscious.

$The control of the crystal tissue... placement, the connection between eachmodules, output control, this is the mana output of the ether reactor...$

>Vell which was kneeling on one knee in standby mode trembles slightly. Itsfingers move, its eyes begin to focus and see the surroundings clearly.

$To activate... I will need to connect my physical boost with the movement scriptof the ilhouette Knight. It needs to be converted to accommodate theilhouette Knight, using the default output control parameters to move...$

The mana produced by the ether reactor execute the script issued by the pilot,broadcast out to the entire ilhouette Knight through the ilver -erves. The

ilhouette Knight loyally obeys the command, using the mana stored in thecrystal tissue to contract and expand. The machine vibrates, standing up slowlylike a new"born deer.

$0peration parameter conversion complete, activation start... d+usting outputvalues, mana reserves ade7uate. 0kay, take one step...$

>Vell's gigantic body balanced itself awkwardly, taking one heavy step after



immersing himself in the happiness of piloting a ilhouette Knight.

>Vell ferries *ru who is forgetting about his original ob+ective as well as thefoaming and unconscious )ietrich towards the battlefield at an amazing pace.



Chapter 8

The trees in the plain increase in number gradually until its density matches thatof a forest.

road paved with stones extends to the east in this forestE this is the biggestroad in #remmevira kingdom that leads to the east "" '*ast #remmevirahighway'. #rom KDnkDnen to Gantunen is the '%est #remmevira highway' andfrom Gantunen to the kingdom's border is the *ast #remmevira highway. Thesetwo highways are built with cobble stones, a historical route that was paved forthe ease of transport when constructing the fortress at the front lines. It nowshoulders the duty of intra"kingdom transportE its active use matches itsreputation as the leading traffic +unction.

The road that are used fre7uently by caravans with ilhouette Knight escorts isdesolated. It might be due to the demon beasts stampede or the rumorsspreading among merchants about the sightings of a gargantuan demon beast.

There is a tense silence on this road, which was broken suddenly.

The sounds of hooves from dozens of carriage reverberate in the air as theyferries the ;aihiala pilot academy students who are escaping. The high schoolknight runners are risking their life to cover the evacuation, so the carriages was

running at full speed. ?ut this is too taxing on the horses, so the pace now isslower than normal. *ven so, they are already halfway to Gantunen.

The exhausted students sat in the carriage. They weren't chased by any demonbeast during this period. They have calmed down after some time, but theuneasiness in their chest lingers.

$%hat happened to *ru""/$

%ith this solemn atmosphere, 1hid and dy sat on the last carriage, looking

behind them blankly. *ru +umped off the carriage and entered the forest whenthey were escaping from 1lo7uet's forest. It happened so suddenly that they losttrack of him before they can even try to stop *ru.

$... (ey, could it be...$

1hid mumbles as if he had thought of something. dy tilt her head 7uestioningly.



armor are decorated with the #remmevira Kingdom flag and the Gantunen citycrest, displaying the pride they have in protecting this land.

The ;aihiala students are not uneasy anymore. -o matter how mighty thedemon beast is, the band of knights will defeat it. They have faith in the power

and credibility of the knights. sense of relief spreads among the knights who discovered the carriage at thesame time. lthough they have set off as soon as possible, but they havealready prepared themselves mentally to the possibility of the entire ;aihialastudent body being massacred. #rom the looks of things, most of them made itout safely, and have brought with them valuable information about the currentlocation of behemoth.

$I see... the high school knight runners...$

It includes information on why the ;aihiala students can evacuate safely. lot ofthe knights are graduates of ;aihiala pilot academy, and are moved by thehonorable actions of their +uniors and steel themselves.

$@lease rest assure. In order to protect our kingdom, and not let their sacrificebe in vain, we will crush the enemy.$

The Gantunen knights engrave this determination within their heart, their morale

grows stronger than before. The band of knights learned that the ;aihialastudents met the behemoth less than half a day ago, so their meeting with thebehemoth is at hand. The tension of the knights grow sky high with each stepthey take.

red ilhouette Knight is sprinting wildly in the lush forest. Its speed isincredible, double that of a normal ilhouette Knight.



?ecause *ru is controlling with magic scripts, he is now in sync with the magiusengine. (is thoughts is converted into scripts that is transmitted to the entiremachine body without any lag. The crystal tissue of the ilhouette Knight is

being moved, its reaction speed is better than organic muscles, executingcommands without delays. >Vell's now has double the reaction speed andmovement speed of a standard ilhouette Knight.

>Vell maintains its peak performance as it run, and hears the sound of howls infront. It was a mix of lightning explosion and raging winds. (e will engagebehemoth in a few minutes. *ru's expression twist with +oy, showingunrestrained happiness as he begins his first battle in a ilhouette Knight.

%ith a dull thud of metal on metal, the steel giant was knocked into the sky. It

flew under the tremendous force and hit the ground hard, tumbling a few rounds.-o one can spare the effort to confirm the safety of the pilot, but from the way itlands, the caved in torso and the smashed arms, the pilot can't be unharmed.

$)amn$

The high school knight runners kept on fighting after the middle schoolersevacuated. It's not that they didn't want to run, they don't have the luxury ofshowing their back to behemoth. The battle has raged on for some time,

compared to the fatigue showing on the pilot's faces, the behemoth live up to itsname of being a fortress, showing no signs of slowing down. There is also anoverwhelming difference in strength between them, the discrepancies inendurance is surfacing with each passing second.

#acing pressure that the knights at the borders failed to withstand, the highschool pilot's machine fell one by one, there are only & left.

?ehemoth's tail swing towards *arl 1umber whose pilot *dgar was distracted byhis comrade's demise. *dgar instinctively felt that he can't dodge the tail

bending like a whip and push the stance of *arl 1umber as low as possiblewhile swinging the shield on his left arm, parrying the blow. n incredibletechni7ue only *dgar who is the elite in high school can pull off with the help of*arl 1umber's excellent performance. ?ut the shield was knocked away from hishand with +ust the tail's glancing blow. *arl 1umber cautiously steady its stanceand pull away from behemoth.

<I lost my shield This is bad, the situation is desperate=



*ven so, *arl 1umber's damage is slight, the other two machine's mana pooland damage is at their limit and might expire any second now. *dgar can't shakeoff the foreboding sense of doom that flashed across his mind. (is team couldn'thold on much longer and might be wiped out in 9 minutes...

?ehemoth didn't let up its attack, shooting out tornado breath again. The ragingwind has a large area of effect, they could be pulled in if they don't get furtheraway.

$@lease... Trandorches, move$

(elvi realized that the tornado breath was aimed at her and scream like abanshee as she tries to get away. Trandorches s7ueeze out its last ounce ofstrength despite the accumulated fatigue and damage, but lost its balance

because of the fierce air current.

$(elvi "" )amn it, make it in time$

*dgar roars, commanding *arl 1umber to charge at behemoth who is in turnclosing in on (elvi in order to distract it. (e hang on to a glimmer of hope andfires his ilhouette rms, r7uebus. (is full power attack bounce harmlessly offthe armored shell while behemoth is still locked onto the ilhouette Knightbefore it. The running behemoth accelerates, closing in on Trandorches that is

struggling to stand.Gust as (elvi and even *dgar was prepared for the next victim to appear""

$h hahahaha (ue hahaha #ound it "" I am here$

red ilhouette Knight intrudes into the battle field with arrogant laughter. Thefirst thing he saw in the forest is behemoth that is about to run over the robotlying on the ground.

>Vell increase its speed instantly, rushing to behemoth's left flank like a scarletbullet. It draws its sword on the way and lunge without thinking "" concentratinghis power at a single point, aiming at one of the few weak points of the demonbeast known as a fortress, which is its eyes.

>Vell not only move at a speed beyond normal machines, and it is accurate andprecise.



?efore >Vell's blade reach behemoth, it noticed the red figure "" because of that,it turns its head on reflex. The distance is too close to avoid, >Vell's swordaccurately caught up with the eyeball on behemoth's turned head. The swordlooks as if it was drawn in, stabbing at the eyeball and colliding with the shell.

This is a pure coincidence.The shell that should be protecting the behemoth's eyes have a slit. That was acrack a certain knight inflicted with the cost of his life half a month ago.

If behemoth didn't move and took the hit, this blow will probably be deflected bythe shell covering it. ?ut because it turned its head, the sword coincidentallypierce in from the gap.

>Vell used double the speed of a ilhouette Knight and attack with a stab that

focuses its entire metallic body weight. The sword screeches and sparks flewbecause of the friction as it penetrates the pupil of the giant beast. *ru thoughthis concentrated fatal attack will reach till the hilt, but it snapped in two loudlyand shatters.

The surprise attack took out that eye, but it didn't reach into the skull. The swordcan't withstand the impact of their collision and fractures.

*ru let go of the sword when he realized it broke and leap into the air to avoid

hitting the behemoth head on. >Vell slip pass the behemoth's charge with itsmassive body, spinning in mid air, followed by 3 back somersaults when it lands,pulling away from the behemoth before stopping.

The behemoth let out an angry howl that was never heard before. ?lood spraysout profusely from its left eye socket, something it has never experiencedpermeate its body. The defense of the behemoth is top class among demonbeast, and doesn't suffer in+uries even when attacked. The pain of its eyes beingpierced and losing half its field of vision is a setback it has seldom experienced.

?ehemoth's remaining right eye is bloodshot as it searches for the accursedenemy that took its left eye. It lost interest in everything else, the only thing thatmatters is the red figure he last saw with its left eye.

The high school knight runners forgot they are still in a battle field as they stareat the scene before them dumbfounded. They can't keep up with thedevelopment. They thought >Vell abandoned them, but it is back with amazingspeed, and broke through the invulnerable shell of behemoth and blinded it.



"" @iloting robots and fighting massive enemies.

The dream of every robot nerd. Is there anyone who doesn't wish for this/ (ehas no intention of backing down, to move away from his happiness. )riven bythe elation of his body, his chosen action is""

$1ome on, I'm going ahead$

>Vell bend slightly and run at behemoth while kicking up earth with each step.

The close the gap in an instant. The moment before impact, >Vell disappearsfrom behemoth's vision. behemoth which lost an eye didn't noticed, charging at>Vell's old position. >Vell +umped a second before they collide, kicked off thebehemoth's uneven armored shell and +ump over it. #or the blinded behemothwith limited field of vision, catching >Vell is mission impossible. *ru somersault

in mid air deftly as he thinks.

$h, ah ah, amazing shell with no gaps and weak points, invincible armor It istoo tough, even slashing at it with a running start won't help, magic attack isuseless too. lright, +ust use one of the clichY in destroying massive weapons$

*ru mumbles nonsensically with heightened emotions, bending his kneessmoothly to lessen the landing impact and draw >Vell's spare sword.

$The weak point of massive guys are usually legs and +oints. ;et's start there$>Vell use his running momentum and stab with terrifying accuracy at the back of the kneecaps, aiming for the gap between the shells. This attack hit the musclesbehind the shell, but it felt tougher than imagined. *ru notice it and pulls out thesword, retreating from behemoth.

$(mm "" it didn't go in 0ther than the shell, is the rest of the body this toughtoo/$

*ru didn't expect the behemoth's physical boost to raise the endurance ofinternal tissues. To support its massive weight, behemoth have to focus onstrengthening its four limbs, which is obvious and a nightmare for its foe.

?ehemoth was agitated by the in+ury to its hind leg and turned around. *ven aslight glaze from the limbs of the turning behemoth will be enough to destroy>Vell. *ru pulls further back and run out of the behemoth's sight again as hereview his previous attack.



$I didn't harm the +oints +ust now, but it is more effective than hacking at theshell.$

(ehe "" *ru is wearing a happy cute smile for some reason. (e still stand a

chance, but the execution is difficult, and need tenacity and patience.$eems like this will be a long fight... *h, I'm fine with that, I don't really hatethat.$

*ru is smiling casually in the face of the raging beast and advanced with the redrobot. The battle is +ust beginning.

<Bg... (mmmm.../=

'(e' finally wakes.

(e sees a dark space in front. s his dull conscious clears, he feels a pain fromhis uncomfortable body posture.

$Bguu... here... here is...$

(e tries to resume a normal position in the cramped space and groans, but a

special pressure pins him to the wall in front.(e let out a muffled scream, the pressure clears his mind. %hat he felt wasinertia "" familiar sensation for all knight runners. ?ut the inertia he felt wasstronger than he remembered. This must be the pilot seat of the ilhouetteKnight. %hen he thought about this "" )ietrich 1unitz recalls the last image fromhis memory. That's right, a short +unior appear before him, and""

(e hastily assume a normal position and lift his head from the back of the seat.The first thing he saw was the looming behemoth that filled the entire holo

monitor.

$>yaaaaahhhh/$

4ou can't blame him for screaming like a chicken slaughtered chicken. (e sawthe close up of the ferocious beast straight after waking up. The sudden screamsurprised *rnesti and he almost lost control.



$0h no (a$

fter recovering from a tripping position, >Vell slides to the left of the chargingbehemoth, evading it safely. *ru pulled away from the behemoth and glancebehind before the behemoth gets ready to charge.

$*h "" good morning senpai. %e are in a life and death situation, so please keep7uiet.$

)ietrich +aws drop after listening to his calm tone that contradicts its contents.The words sound logical, but he don't understand why is he back here when heshould have ran far away, his head is full of 7uestions.

$4ou... you re... you insane/ -o, before that, why are you fighting/$

(e have loads of 7uestions to ask, but has to shut his mouth as >Vell starts torun.

?ehemoth's furious face fills the whole holo monitor. The giant beast is emittinga much more murderous air compared to his prior escape. This is beyond theextent of chasing obstacles away, but raging killing intent. >Vell is moving at aspeed that is faster than anything the knight runner )ietrich has experienced,dodging the massive beast's attack by a hair's breadth. fter seeing severalscene of imminent death, )ietrich didn't care about appearance and is on the

verge of tears. (e suppress his voice and grit his teeth, enduring it with a pitifulface. (e knows if he said anything that distracts *ru, >Vell might really be donein.

<%hat... is this/ %hat's happening/ Is this my punishment for running offalone/=



lthough he didn't know, the other machines are either destroyed or fallen back,there is only >Vell battling alone here. It is ironic that the situation is the

opposite of what happened when he fled. If *ru who is piloting the machinefights on, )ietrich can't escape again.

<eems like I am fated to stay here... %hy did he bring me along/ (e wants meto see the fight till the very end/ (e wants the man... who abandoned hiscomrades to watch/=

*ru can't leave him behind even if he wants to "" )ietrich won't be able to guessthe truth. The titanic beast didn't care about )ietrich's feeling and the battlebetween the two rages on.

?ehemoth uses its devastating strength to shatters the earth, its tornado breathuproots the trees. glancing blow from these will be enough to kill, but >Vellthat is piloted by the petite youth is evading them happily and is even counterattacking the limbs of the beast.

)ietrich lost his cool when he woke up, but has gathered himself now andperplexed by another issue. Bnbelievably, the young pilot is a match with thegiant beast, although he is on the defensive. ?ecause )ietrich was the pilot of

>Vell, he understands how amazing this is. The performance of this machine isaverage, the training robot in ;aihiala pilot academy are 3nd rate e7uipmentanyway. This is clear since the other ilhouette Knights piloted by highschoolers can't match the beast.

The problem lies with this pilot. )ietrich also knows this short 2st years thatshows up at pilot school occasionally. (e would have never believed this smallyouth have such outstanding piloting skills. ?ut since he is taking the beast onright now, )ietrich have to give in.

<Too amazing, no, that is an inade7uate description. This is 'strange'... ?ut if I...If we want to survive, I have let him battle on...=

)ietrich fell into the chasm of despair once, but he saw hope in the scene beforehim. sense of longing grows in the feeble youth who lost to himself.

In )ietrich's eyes, >Vell and *ru is fighting a steady battle. ?ut in reality, theyare not doing that well. There are two big and pressing issues.



escaping will fall=

)ietrich anxiety rises as he can only watch. s a knight runners, )ietrich knowsilhouette Knights can't fight for long. (e chose a time when *ru has evaded anattack and asked:

$(ey... (ey, *rnesti, you have not been countering for a while, what's wrong/$

*ru was slightly surprised when the )ietrich who has been 7uiet suddenlyspoke. ?ut *ru explained the situation.

$?ehemoth is too hard, the sword is tattered. The attacks are not damaging it.$

)ietrich stole a glance at the sword through the holo monitor, the blade istwisted badly and is totally blunt. )ietrich moans.

<-eed to think... find a weapon... we made it so far, we can't die now=

(e searched frantically from the scene displayed on the holo monitor forsomething that can be used as a weapon. *rnesti is piloting >Vell, but there arethings )ietrich can do as well. )ietrich is finally back on the battle field by hisown will, his state of mind has changed drastically without him noticing, and hisparticipation yield great results. *ru is also scanning the surroundings as hefights, but he has to dodge behemoth's charges, so he can't focus too much on

the surroundings. That's why )ietrich is the one who noticed 'that'. (e shoutedloudly when he discover it:

$?esides the fallen ilhouette Knight Take its weapon$

*ru took +ust a second to look at the spot )ietrich pointed at and saw ailhouette Knight that has broken down. *ru comprehends )ietrich's intention,accelerating after evading behemoth with a low posture almost hugging theground. *ru charge forward and pick up a sword from the fallen robot. ince thehigh school pilots mainly used ilhouette rms to attack, there is almost no

damage on the sword. n invincible smile returns to *ru's face.

$Thank you senpai. I have been troubled because of my weapons.$

$-o... -o need for thanks, +ust carry on fighting the behemoth$

*ru faced the behemoth immediately and reevaluate its status. Its legs arebleeding after numerous slashes, meaning the damage it took is not trivial.



$0kay, mana pool is less than 95Z. If I don't take down a leg, it will probablycatch up if we escape.$

>Vell raise its new sword and begin its counter attack. ?ehemoth is massive,

but is bad with intrinsic movements, so it's natural enemy is >Vell which usesspeed and precision as its weapons.

?ehemoth uses its endless stamina to rampage. lthough it has been attackingnonstop, it has yet to land a single hit. >Vell on the other hand is dealingdamage consistently to the giant beast. The wounds on behemoth's leg issignificant. )ripping water can hollow a stone. %ith its eyes and limbs bleeding,even the fortress demon beast behemoth is slowing down.

)ietrich was the one to notice again.

*ru heard a shout from behind and scan the surrounding 7uickly and saw manyilhouette Knights. (e won't miss that even if it is +ust a glance. These are'1ardatores' that are synonymous to ilhouette Knights in #remmevira Kingdom.They are spread out, surrounding >Vell and behemoth in layers. fter seeingtheir machine model and the flying flags, they understand their identity.

$1ardatore/ h, ahhh... that flag... it's Gantunen garrison knightseinforcement is here to rescue us$

<They are here... sooner than I expected, I thought it will take a bit longer beforeI can escape and rendezvous with everyone.=

*ru 7uickly thought about his next course of action. >Vell can still fight, but themana pool is below &5Z, it is at a critical +uncture. ince the 1alvary is here,there is no point in buying time and let the knights take over and retreat. Thefirepower of >Vell alone is not enough, the forces here should do. (e was +uststalling for time when facing the giant beast +ust now, but the time to 'defeat' ithas arrived.

The gargantuan beast is not concerned with the situation around it, stubbornlychasing >Vell. *ru dodges easily, luring behemoth to turn its back to the knights.(e then slip past the left side of the behemoth where it is blinded and dashtowards the formation of the knights. The band of knights probably understand>Vell's intentions and aimed with their ilhouette rms.



The giant beast only have an eye for the detestable red figure, and is finallybeing led to the stage of the final battle.

short time before the knights arrived at the battle field.

everal ilhouette Knights travels deftly in the forest instead of the stonepavement of #remmevira's highway. They are the scouts of the Gantunengarrison knights, their mission is reconnaissance the status of the behemothbefore the main party arrives.

fter bashing into the forest from the highway, they found the density of theforest to be very high. 1ompared to using carriages and traveling by thehighway, the team travels much faster by cutting through the forest. ?ehemoth ismuch closer to the highway than the position reported by the students, so the

scouts completed their mission and report back in no time.

$Is that so/ This is right ahead of us... behemoth not taking the highway is asilver lining.$

@hilip (allhagen comments after listening to the scouting report. (e wasprepared to fight the behemoth on the highway if the situation calls for it, but thatwasn't necessary. ?ut his face turns stiff as he listen to the next report.

$%e have linked up with & of the training robots, there is still one more engagedin battle...$

The high schooler's ilhouette Knights retreated from battle because of >Vell'sintrusion made it to the highway and is being protected by the garrison knights.Trandorches and another machine was critically damaged, and is sent to themaintenance crew at the back for ma+or overhaul. The remaining *arl 1umbersuffers minor damage and +oin the fighting ranks after receiving simple repairs.

The robot still in battle was >Vell. %hen the scouts saw the scarlet knight, it was

attacking with fearsome might. The scouts did not know how to report this, sothey +ust gave the position of the beast and the fact that a machine wasengaging it.

@hilip and >ottfried plans the operation based on the gathered intelligence andrelays the orders to all units. Their plan is as follows: They will spread out bys7uad level <Q machines= around the target in a semicircle. #rom the intelligenceof the students who fought it, it is +udged that close 7uarter combat with the giant



beast is very dangerous, so they will be using ilhouette rms and attacking inwaves from a distance to damage the behemoth.

They have also drawn up contingencies for the behemoth's charging andtornado breaths. They are expecting casualties, so the worse scenario will be

the targeted s7uad will act as bait and stop behemoth's movement while theothers move in for the kill. The knights move into the forest with the resolve torisk death in battle.

The howl of the mammoth beast makes the forest tremble.

s the knights move into position, the beast keeps turning in circles at the samespot, rampaging painfully. The knights were confused by this and weredumbfounded when they saw the reason. They see a red ilhouette Knightmoving at incredible speed as the giant beast chases it with blood gushing out

of an eye and howls with anger.

$%hat, what is that...$

The beast can shatter the ilhouette Knight with one blow, but the scarletmachine is using its superior speed to toy with it. *ven the commander with hiselite skills doubts whether he can match that speed. *veryone was impressedand sighs at this display. They understand that the giant beast is staying in placebecause it is persistently chasing the scarlet machine. It was too focus on the

enemy before it and lost track of its surroundings.This is a great chance for the knights.

uddenly, the red robot notices the knights and stops. In the next instance, itlures the behemoth to turn its back to the knights and slip past the flank of thebeast towards the knights. @hilip grasped its intention and commands his entireforce:

$carlet Knight... Thank you )on't let this chance slip away *veryone, ready

your culverin HT;:kan+i is pear of flameJ$

eceiving the command from @hilip who have lifted his sword, the 1ardatoresreadies its magic armament 'culverin'. Their ob+ective is to attack in unison withmagic, using their numbers to overwhelm the enemy.

The red machine did not slow down, slipping to the back of the formation. @hilipswing his sword down as it pass through the last ranks.



$ll units, fire$

The knights anticipated this signal and shot out flames on cue at the behemothwith their culverins. The high pitch sound reverberates as fire trails flash through

the sky towards the center of the semi circle, raining down at the mountain sizedmonster.

1ountless flaming lance pierce at the behemoth who was engrossed with thescarlet knight. The overed spell flaming lance explodes in columns of flames likea lotus within the forest. The tongues of flame engulf the entire beast, the fire isso big that they can't see what is happening. *ven so, the knights did not slowdown their persistent attack.

>Vell who made it past the knights stopped at the rear of the formation to rest

his machine and recover its mana pool. The machine appears to be fatigue after making through a fierce battle, the ether reactor churns noisily as it runs at fullspeed.

$... That's great %ell done (ow, how's that/ )amn demon beast, this is thepower of the garrison knights (ahaha$

*ru frowns when he heard the maniacal laughter of )ietrich behind him. *rudidn't relax as he watches the hellish flame before him. The culverins kept up its

attack and the scale of the fire is increasing gradually, determined to burneverything inside it. *ven the behemoth which took pride in its defenses won'tbe able to escape unscathed from this attack.

<?ut it is not an opponent that can be dealt with so simply...=

It is impossible for the situation to go as *ru hoped and the space that is burningis changing. The fire that is burning fiercely is swirling in the form of a whirlpool.-o, it is not +ust the flame that are swirling, but the air current about it is suckingthe flames in, turning it into a tornado of fire. The knights sense that something

was wrong and adopt an defensive stance, but kept up their attack.

The tornado flame finally evolved. The next second, it turns into a slitheringburning snake and whips at the knights.

$%hat, what is that$

The burning snake spits at the knights as it struggles, the flame that was shot



out by the knights was dispersed into the surroundings. #ortunately, the knightskept their distance when they attack, so the tornado breath was not fatal.

lthough they knew about the existence of the tornado breath, they didn't expectbehemoth to use it inside that fiery pit, stunning the knight and disrupting theirformation.

%ith the formation falling apart, the attack from the culverins slowed down.?ehemoth realized this and kick at the remaining fire and leap out of the fire pit.

fter its shell was baked in hellish flames that can melt steel, it is burning hotand several wounds can be seen on the giant beast. The in+uries on its limbsustained from >Vell's slashes are burnt badly after the baptism by fire. 0n thewhole, the colossal beast suffered serious damage.

The movement of the behemoth has also slowed significantly, but it is still knownas an extraordinary tough beast with absurd endurance. The charge of the beast

was enough to make the knights who are reforming scatter. ?ehemoth'smassive body is in the middle of the reforming group. The movement of theknights are slow because they are in the midst of forming ranks, making thingsworse. number of machines was knocked away during the giant beast'sadvance, the robots that fell down was mercilessly trampled into lumps of +unk.

ome of them tried to engage the behemoth. The shell that was weakened bythe heat can be sliced by the sword, but the blade twist and shatters before itreaches the interior. *ven wounded, the close 7uarter battle between the beast

and the ilhouette Knights are hopelessly one sided, a s7uad of knights areforced into a corner.

lthough the knights are prepared to sacrifice their life, they are unable to attackthe position that will hit their allies. The occasional magic attack stops and their'ace' shows itself.

$7uad 3, ! and 6, ready the 'hammer'$

@hillips in his command machine 'ordwort' swings his sword, his instruction

gives a sense of purpose to the battle. The knights was prepared to die in thisbattle, and with the battle turning into a melee fight, they restrains the beast'smovement and show their ace in the hole.

The ilhouette Knights carrying a massive weapon and starts running to eitherflanks of the behemoth. They are moving the 'hard crust bunker' that re7uires !ilhouette Knights to use "" simply put, it is +ust a giant lump of steel in theshape of a stake.



s shown from its name, the battering ram that needs ! ilhouette Knights tomove can easily destroy a siege wall, the ace they prepared for the demonbeast with the reputation of a fortress.

The battering ram is a powerful weapon, but it has the weakness of being 'slowand heavy'. It is a type of weapon that changes mass into destructive force, so itre7uires ! ilhouette Knights to wield. It is also big in size, so it is a hassle todeploy or withdraw with it. To hit the demon beast, they need to seal itsmovement. That is the reason why the knights are deploying their ace with whenthe giant beast stopped its advance.

The problems with the battering ram have been briefed to all knight units,including the s7uad that are engaging the behemoth. They knew they can't lastfor long but they refuse to back down, facing the behemoth to stop its

movements.

The 1ardatores that are charging with the battering ram can see this sceneclearly. The knight runners in their seats grip their control stick so tightly that itcreaks. They step on their pedal with all their might, wanting to crash into thebehemoth immediately. This is the battle where they are ready to sacrifice theirlives. *ven so, their wrath towards the enemy that is massacring their alliesburns on. The battering ram s7uad roars as they charge in respond to thesacrifice of their allies.

The air intake valve plays a high pitch screech, the 1ardatore charge at theirmaximum speed. s they close in with the beast, they are covered in theshadow of the mountain liked beast. The first battering ram reach thebehemoth's side. This is not a precision weapon, so they used their momentumto aim at the biggest target which is the flank and rams it in.

The weight that re7uires ! ilhouette to move has amazing destructive power.The shell being cooked by flames causing it to soften might play a part. Thebattering ram pierce cleanly through the shell of the behemoth into its stomach.

The stake seems to shake in that moment, the behemoth's colossal body startsto move and it howls painfully, louder than when it lost its eye. It's howl to thesky makes the ground trembles, massive amount of blood gush out from itsstomach wound.

$>reat The hard crust bunker is effective Bse this chance to attack and kill it$



1heers erupts among the knights. They know the battering ram is difficult to use,but its power can hurt a battalion level demon beast. There are 3 more teamswith battering rams and they are closing in on the giant beast. The beast is stillwrithing in pain, not noticing their advance. The 3 teams are aiming for the headand the other flank respectively. If they hit these two places, it will be fatal even

for a fortress demon beast. 8ost of the knights are convinced of their victoryE thebattering ram team that are shouldering the entire army's hope is right before itstarget.

The moaning and dazed behemoth suddenly looks downwards. ll the knightsand *ru doesn't know what this means and was perplexed. The team that ischarging with the battering ram didn't notice""

The behemoth shoots a tornado breath at the ground. The fierce wind this closeto the ground digs up the earth, and the flying debris in this confined space

explodes. The battering ram team was unable to evade this, the team aiming forthe head was hit by flying boulders and smashed into smithereens.

mazingly, behemoth use its stomach to withstand the explosion and the impactof the tornado and 'stood up' with this momentum. ll the knights that wasmaintaining the encirclement of the behemoth stared at the graphic on their holomonitor in awe. The 65m long behemoth have incredible weight, and its forelegis completely off the ground as it stands. This bizarre situation made everyone'sreaction slower by a beat.

$0h no )anger, get away$

The team aiming for the stomach knew something was awry before @hilipshouted and attempts to dodge. ?ut they are carrying the heavy battering ramwith them and has been charging at full speed. *ven if they want to retreat, theycan't stop their accelerating machine in time.

?ehemoth's massive body fell with the pull of gravity right on top of them. Thedestructive force of the gargantuan demon beast's weight is beyond that of the

battering ram. It caused a small earth7uake when it lands, shattering the groundand shooting debris like a shotgun to the surroundings. The dust flew sky high,covering the beast's entire body.

The battering ram team that didn't get away in time was decimated, the ram wasflatten and the ilhouette Knights was beyond recognition.

This attack was too rash, and the behemoth who used it was hurt too. 8ore



blood flows out from its gaping wound, and several cracks appears on its shell.It is not obvious, but the attack that penetrates its physical boast in+ured some of its internal organs, the behemoth is also desperate.

?ut the knights casualty was more severe. Including the s7uad that was

attacked in the beginning, they have lost !5Z of their forces, the flying boulderscaused medium damage another 35Z. nd losing their ace seriously hurt theknights' morale. The attack they placed their hopes on was negated, this impacttheir psyche deeply. nxiety higher than before seizes the knights.

The culverin held by the 1ardatore are shaking, the movement of the knightrunners was unconsciously transmitted to the machine. -ot only the giantbeast's power, even its existence brings pressure that corrodes their heart.

$...$

>Vell watches the string of attack from the rear of the knights, )ietrich wastrembling inside the machine. *ven the special attack that sacrifices part of theknights was negated in front of the beast's strength, can they really take itdown/ The generous amount of fighting spirit in his heart recedes instantly. Thedamage to the behemoth is significant, but seeing the power he have absolutefaith in failing shakes his heart. )ietrich can't make collected +udgment. Thething that returns )ietrich back to normal is the angry growl from the seat in front

of him.$... unforgivable...$

)ietrich can only see the silver hair of *rnesti sitting in the seat, but he canunderstand the abnormal atmosphere emitting from *ru's body.

$4ou dare to destroy robots before my eyes$

$*h/$

$The only thing permitted to destroy robots... are other robots...$

$*h eh/$

*ru mumbles reasons unfathomable to )ietrich as he stands >Vell up. lthoughhe has a faint smile, his blue eyes differs from its usual shine, burning like adevil. s if it is channeling *ru's wrath, >Vell's air intake valve screech louder,



the mana flows through all the crystal tissue in the body, the body encased inarmor is full of power.

8ana pool is over 95Z, the sword in its hand is serviceable and the machine isundamaged.

The scarlet knight took a step forward, *ru who has become a vengeful spiritreturns to battle. The red ilhouette Knight charge at the giant beast, the cry ofdespair from *ru's passenger can be heard along the way.

The ;and *mperor emerge slowly from the thick dust. )espite its body beingcovered in wounds, it can still move, displaying it's amazing endurance.?attalion level demon beast is impressive.

0n closer observation, it is on its last legs. ?ut the knights with their devastated

morale lost their will to fight when they see the behemoth is still moving. Theyshoot their culverin in response, but their scattered efforts are ineffective. It can'teven break through the weakened shell. The encirclement of the knights thatwas sealing the behemoth's movement also fell apart.

1ommander @hilip felt a strong sense of danger from the sight before him. (ehas issued numerous orders, but it is not easy to build up lost morale and he isgrowing anxious. uddenly, a scarlet wind pierce through the looseencirclement.

The red ilhouette Knight was prominent among the earth colored 1ardatores. Itmake a beeline for the behemoth before anyone could react.

$That is impossible we are doomed it can't be done the knights are here there isno escape ahhhhh/$

*ru who is piloting >Vell didn't even look at the knights and )ietrich'snonsensical scream didn't reach their ears. *ru's deep blue eyes lock on to thebehemoth.

;eaving the knights out of his mind, *ru closes in on behemoth. *ven thoughthe behemoth is heavily wounded, it howl when the red figure in its memoryappears. It ignores the gushing blood and tattered shell and move its limbs.

The gap between them disappears.

The speedier >Vell has the advantage. %ith suffering many cracks and fractures



from the previous fight, the behemoth's defense is full of breeches. The scarletmachine turns into a whirlwind, slashing repeatedly at behemoth with its speed.The sword cuts accurately through a fissure, causing sparks and screechingnoise as the shell cracks and fell to the ground.

$word attacks are effective This mean the enemy is at its limit$>Vell glides around and slash, turns back and pounce at the behemoth again,turning his evasive tactics to offense. These two have traded their position.

The knights was shocked by the scene before them. In their eyes, >Vell is amachine piloted by a ;aihiala pilot academy student. student younger than theknights are standing up to the giant beast without fear and attacking it. t aglance, it seems like foolish bravery, but that is why it has a motivational effectthat fire up the hearts of the knights.

$ll units, assume encircle formation #orm new ranks enew the attack$

The knights felt shame from losing heart before the demon beast's might andmove with renewed conviction. The units with restored morale form up 7uicklyand encircles the behemoth. *ach s7uad took note of the scarlet machine'sposition and started magic attack support, restraining behemoth's movementand damaging it.

The sword of the scarlet knight peel off the shell of the beast, the culverin piercethe behemoth's legs. The attack of the giant beast is sealed and it becomes astatic target board.

The table has been turned and behemoth is on the verge of defeat. This bolstersthe morale of the knights and >Vell moves freely. The colossal beast finallyreach its limit, its shell is dropping off from the damages and its blood turns theground into marsh. nyone can tell the beast has lost its ability to resist.

?ut an unexpected ending page was flipped.

sudden pressure assaults *ru and )ietrich out of nowhere. s >Vell wasturning its body to evade, the strength in one leg disappears and it leans heavilyto one side. strong force push the scarlet knight to the ground and >Vell's redarmor was twisted and peels off, scattering in mid air.

$%hat happened/$



*ru continue to control >Vell in a panic, rolling backwards and kicking off theground with all its might. >Vell finally steadies its posture with one knee on theground.

$The behemoth didn't hit us, so why are we hurt...$

*ru shift the machine's head to scan the status of the legs, finding the +oints stiffand sees shards of crystal tissue falling out from the gaps in the armor.

*ru finally understands the situation after seeing this, this was not caused byattacks. *ru made intrinsic control possible with his full control piloting. ?ut hishigh output demand made >Vell breaks under the heavy burden.

This long battle has also exceeded the operation time of a normal ilhouetteKnight, which adds to the stress, damaging the legs which took the brunt of the

burden. ;iving beings will be alerted through pain stimulus. ?ut ilhouetteKnights are robots without the function of reporting feedback on abnormality.4ou will only know when it exceeds the limit and suffers damage.

*ru frowns deeply. >Vell holds the advantage because its excellent mobility. ?utit can't fight on with its legs busted. *ru can only abandon the machine and runfor it.

There is not much time left for him to worry about this. ?ehemoth is rushing at

the hated red machine as usual.The culverins fired by the knights rain down on behemoth as they try to save thescarlet machine that suddenly kneeled down, but it didn't stop the giant beast.?ehemoth's remaining right eye is bloodshot and full of hate, an angry howlcame from its mouth. The shattered shell and flowing blood didn't faze it, thedemon beast charge with the conviction to decimate everything. Its speed ismuch slower, but it is a death sentence for the immobile >Vell.

<To break down at this timing... It's a pity, but I have to escape.=

%ith his capabilities, *ru can get out of the giant beast's range once heabandons the machine.

<That's right, if... it is +ust me.=

*ru can do it, but )ietrich behind him can't. *ru release the harness and stare atbehemoth on the holo monitor. There is no time left, the charge will shatter



>Vell. *ru's thinking speed reached its peak.

<It is not good for my conscience to leave senpai here... ?ut it is not easy tosurvive this.=

(e desperately go through all sorts of possibility. %hat *rnesti can do, what)ietrich can do and what >Vell can do.

<... There is a way, but it is a gamble. There is only one chance, the chips areour lives... ?ut to die with a robot is an acceptable way to go out with a bang.=

That's the best a robot nerd can hope for. *ru has no hesitation in choosing thisinsane option. To risk his life and fight the giant beast.

$enpai, can you hear me/$

*ru's calmness doesn't match the situation before them. %ill )ietrich sitting atthe back listen/ (e is already in despair over their fate, mumbling as he pants.(e is not acting normal.

$If you hear me, please switch with me and take over the control.$

*ru tone is the same, but the strange aura in his voice made )ietrich trembles infear.

*ru ignores him, pulling %inchester and the silver nerves to the front, almosthitting the holo monitor. ;eaving the empty seat.

$It's hopeless %hat can I do by piloting...$

$It doesn't matter. it on the chair now if you want to live.$

)ietrich reacts to the words 'if you want to live'. (e is on the verge of breakingdown, but he still slides into the seat.

$hit... hit %hat are we doing %hat can we do/$

$I will only say this once, so listen carefully. #irst...$

@art of the silver nerve was pulled along with the %inchester, but several ofthem is still connected to the control stick. It can still be operated normally. 0ncehe confirms )ietrich is holding the control stick, *ru release his control from the



magius engine's domain.

?ehemoth is right in front of them. It is critically wounded with nowhere to run,but its massive body is still imposing, filling their entire field of vision. *ru takes adeep breath and stares at the figure in the holo monitor and concentrates.

(e push his uni7ue skill 'the processing speed that can fully control a ilhouetteKnight' to the limit and program a large scale script. It's an overed spell in scale,similar to those used by ilhouette Knights but larger.

(e has a bigger mana pool than others as he has trained nonstop sincechildhood. ?ut that is the standard for humans, not enough to execute tacticallevel spells. *ven if he can process and construct the script, he can't use tacticallevel magic. ?ut he is sitting on a large supply of mana right now. That's right,mana from >Vell.

ilhouette Knight can't construct magic alone. *ru don't have the mana fortactical level spells. ?ut they can cover its others weakness and *ru is executingthis never seen before plan.

$SSS...S...$

)ietrich scream without realizing it. #ear made him stiff, but )ietrich believes theyoung boy before him and acts.

*ru focus on processing. 1reating a large strong spell to the limit.

?ehemoth's head is like a protruding boulder, closing in on >Vell to smash it.Their distance is close enough to make out the details on the behemoth's skin.

*verything that follows happens in an instant.

>Vell extends its arms as if to hug behemoth and creates an air bullet but didnot fire it out, constructing an air bag. *ru uses the magic he con+ured to

decelerate when moving at high speed, 'air suspension' and enlarge it to tacticallevel.

The air cushion he made collides with the impact of the demon beast's charge.The compressed air was s7ueezed even tighter from the collision. force that isstill tremendous after hitting the air bag pushes at >Vell. The pressure deformsthe armor and blow away crystal shards.



$-ow Gump back""$

*ru opens his eyes and shout. (e heard an reaction from )ietrich. )ietrich didn'tthink about the content of the instruction and react on reflex "" extending his legsand push down hard on the pedal. >Vell's leg is broken and can't walk, but the

crystal tissue that are still working executes the command faithfully and expendsall its energy.

?ehemoth has broken through the air cushion and is about to pierce the scarletknight "" >Vell leaps back recklessly at this moment. The crystal tissue in thelegs snap completely, but it complete its task.

$It's not over (ang on (ard skin$

*ru's operation is not over, he cast armor hardening spell on >Vell's front armor.

t this moment, behemoth's head touch >Vell and the hit lands.

%eakening the impact with air cushion, minimizing the force by +umping backand defending with hardening magic. *ven with this, it didn't negate the force ofthe blow as the armor dents and pieces surrounding it breaks and flies off. Theholo monitor in front of the pilot seat shatters, making *ru gasp.

$It is not enough after doing all this...$

ll his effort was negated, making him think about giving up. ?ut a smallblessing aided him "" The training machine used by ;aihiala pilot academy placeits priority on pilot safety, so the torso armor are made thicker. The front armorreinforced by *ru's magic stays true to this priority, denting heavily but stillwithstood the behemoth's strike, protecting its passenger completely.

nyone would think the red machine is lost, but >Vell looks like it is hugging thehead of behemoth, still retaining its humanoid shape. ?ehemoth was baffled bythe knight that didn't fall apart from its charge. The attack still carries on,behemoth advance and push >Vell along.

$... If we make it through.$

The time to strike back is here.

*ru grabs the control stick and move >Vell's body. (e only moves the robot'sright wrist and lift it up and punch at behemoth's head. -o matter how weak theshell is, the body of the giant beast will not be damaged by bare hands. ?ut the



arm is not aiming for the shell, but the left eye socket.

broken half of a sword is stuck in there. *ru grabs the broken sword andactivate all the remaining mana in >Vell's crystal tissue. (e overrides all safetylimiters, emptying all mana reserves, using all his processing power to construct

the largest spell.$1heckmate$

fter uttering this phrase softly, the largest scale lightning the world has everseen channel through >Vell's arm into the broken sword, striking the behemoth'shead directly.

?ehemoth is a living being and has a brain in its head. The lightning through theeye socket is conducted through the optical nerves and the blood vessels,

hitting the brain directly. The large current ravage the brain of the behemoth,frying the interior components. *ven the giant beast can't take it when its brainwhich is the control hub of living things burns.

The ;and *mperor finally took its last breath.

The electric current continues to burn the nerves, making the behemoth spasmand +erk. That flings off >Vell that was hugging the head onto the ground. >Vellhas exhaust its mana pool, so it can't even harden its structure, breaking into

pieces on impact with the ground."" The giant beast collapse to the ground slowly.

)eath comes to the powerful beast that rampaged. The ending was brutal andsudden, everyone was silent. %hen they comprehend the demon beast will notmove again, +oy spread among the knights in waves. It didn't take long for themto cheer in victory.

$... It was dangerous till the very end, any mistake and we will turn into minced

meat.$

The decimated >Vell was in a pitiful state. The limbs have fallen off, the innerskeleton is breaking apart with the connection magic gone. *very piece of armor is battered and there is only bits of red paint left. The pilot seat was also shakenup, but *ru cast air suspension with his own mana to absorb the impact safely.)ietrich was almost crushed to death from the pilot seat's reaction force, but thatwas better than becoming minced meat for real.



Chapter 9

The sound of timber cracking can be heard repeatedly. The source is themountain of mass"" the carcass of the ;and *mperor.

%hen the behemoth dies, the mana supply powering the physical boost magicstops. The massive body over 65m in length can't withstand its own weight andcollapse on itself. The shell armor that suffered countless cracks in the course of battle crumbles, the struts holding the body up crumbles one by one, the heightfalls slowly. The lower half of the body that supports the heavier weigh is inshambles.

The Gantunen garrison knights cheers as the giant beast crumbles further,shooting their ilhouette rms into the air with pride.

?ut the knights suffered serious casualties. That's why the ones who surviveshave to sing their victory song loudly as a tribute for those who fell in battle.

ome distance from the knights, & ilhouette Knight is advancing. mong theband of 1ardatore knights, these & have a different appearance and stands outfrom the crowd.

0ne is the command ilhouette knight 'ordwort' piloted by the commander@hilip. 1ompared to the 1ardatores that focus on practicality, it has a prominent

regal appearance and is covered in plate armor.?esides him is the vice commander's '1ardiaria', a 1ardatore that has beenreinforced.

?ehind them is the training machine from ;aihiala pilot academy, '*arl 1umber'.It's appearance is crude, but it is covered in pure white armor, giving it a differentaesthetic compared to 1ardatores.

They walk pass the behemoth that is still crumbling and approach their target.

The closer they get, the clearer the pieces with red paint is.

"" cattered around here is the remains of the ilhouette Knight >Vell.

The first thing @hilip who is leading the way saw was >Vell's right arm. It'sskeletal structure has broken and it is bent out of shape. The trio glance at it andcontinue without a word, finally reaching their main ob+ective. The torso withoutits head and limbs, the armor is in shambles, the crystal tissue has been utterly



destroyed. The armor protecting the chest cavity has caved in, the whole torso ismisshapen. The strong frontal armor is a twisted lump, showing how strong theimpact is.

<I did thought it will be like this... #rom the looks of things, the knight runner

inside... It's hopeless...=-o one made a sound, thinking about the same thing. They had some hope, butif the impact shatters the torso, it is impossible for the pilot to survive.

@hilip and >ottfried stares silently at the holo monitor. The scarlet knight from;aihiala pilot academy fought the behemoth to the last moment to protect its

+uniors. 1ompared to the knights who was on the verge of collapse, it was onthe very front lines. It battles the giant beast like a burning torch of courage,taking down the behemoth with its life. @hilip wonders what the pilot is like/ The

pilot should be a student, his future is immeasurable. The skills to take down abehemoth, the virtuous attitude to risk his life for others and the indomitablespirit to overcome the odds. (e possess the & characteristics a knight shouldhave. @hilip have not converse with him before, but @hilip gives a silent prayerfor the hero who sacrificed himself honorably.

*arl 1umber moved ahead and kneels beside >Vell.

*arl 1umber's front armor opens with the sound of compressed air +etting out.

*dgar stands on the armor, silently looking at the remains for a while beforesaying$

$)i... I am late, but I still want to apologize... back then, I thought you abandonedus and escaped.$

Bnlike his calm tone, *dgar's expression was twisted with regret.

$I lost all respect for you at that moment... ?ut I empathize with you too. Thescenario was too dire then, I told myself ')i won't work with us in this situation'.

?ut... 4ou came back.$

*dgar clenched fist are trembling.

$nd so... orry )ietrich. I don't know why you are hiding your real strength.*ven so, you sacrificed yourself to save us...$

*dgar's monologue was interrupted by an explosion. hortly after, >Vell's chest



armor flew into the sky before him.

The chest armor arc through the sky and rolls loudly when it lands.

The & robots follows the movement of the chest armor that blasted off and

looked back at the remains by their feet. short figure climbs out from thecockpit as they watch in awe.

$The front armor can't open because it is bent out of shape. That took someeffort to get out... *h/ %hat's wrong everyone/$

$... (uh/$

Gantunen was under high alert because the deployment of the entire garrison

knights, but the gates are fully open to welcome the return of the knights. Thevictorious garrison knights returns in an orderly fashion, advancing slowly on themain street.

-ews of the behemoth's invasion has spread throughout the whole kingdom withthe deployment of the knights. The citizens who were trembling from fear cheerwith reckless abandon for those who returned safely. Their excitement matchesthat of winning a war, and in reality, defeating behemoth successfully has morevalue than winning a war.

omething followed the advance of the parade and the crowd was silencedwhen it enters the gate. That was the head of the demon beast which is muchlarger than a ilhouette Knight. carriage ferries the intimidating head, even thecitizens that didn't saw it move knows it's threat. The silence spreads, andexplode in cheers twice as loud.

*veryone is singing the exploit of the knights, deepening their respect for theirguardian garrison knights. Gantunen's parade reached its climax at this point.

ome distance away from main street, a 7uiet cafe is isolated from the bustle ofthe city. 8ost of the citizens is gathered around main street, leaving the cafeempty. There are +ust a few youths patronizing the shop, there are peoplerelated to this incident: *dgar, tefania, rchid, deltrud and *rnesti.

$eally 4ou are too reckless...$

*dgar sigh and lowers the teacup in his hand. (e is saying this on behalf of



everyone present. (e can't help himself from commenting after hearing *rucasually describe his actions during the ;and *mperor incident.

$This makes me sympathized the 'victim' who was dragged in, )i...$

fter hacking into the magius engine, *ru exerts full control over the machineand fought. Gust listening to this is enough to make anyone with common sensefaint after screaming. The more detailed *ru's explanation, the more troubled*dgar gets. tefania eyes are wide open and her surprise is evident. 1hid and

dy are stunned, but accepts it since it is *ru. The twins look at each about andsays:

$ee, he hi+ack a ilhouette Knight as expected.$

$4ou two, what do you mean by 'expected'/ lthough you are right.$

*ru looks unhappy, but avert his eyes guiltily when the twins glares back.

part from *ru, *dgar is the only one with experience piloting ilhouetteKnights. That's why he was shocked after listening to *ru, but was convinced.#rom what he remembers, >Vell's performance was not that outstanding. If *rudidn't hack in, it wouldn't have been that powerful. ?ut even with the facts rightbefore him, *dgar +ust shakes his head. (e suddenly thought of something.

$*rnesti, if )i didn't ran, what did you plan to do/$$-othing. I +ust went with the flow back then, I would probably have boarded thecarriage and escaped.$

*dgar's face sours. %hat would have happened if >Vell didn't +oin the fray/*dgar won't be sitting here in that case, and the knight's casualty will probablydouble. -ot only that, the behemoth might not be defeated. %ithout 7uestion, amedal of honor should be awarded to the petite youth in front of *dgar, butrewarding his outstanding performance is an issue because of *ru's position.

*dgar bit his lips and goes into the main topic.

$%e... the surviving high school pilots, will be going to KDnkDnen for an awardsceremony.$

*dgar feels conflicted even though he is talking about such a glorious event.

$The Gantunen garrison knights will send representatives as well, probably ir



(allhagen and a few others. This involves a battalion level demon beastinvasion, a story that worthy to be spread within the nation, no, to all nations.They say there will be a grand ceremony.$

$4ou are right, congratulations... but you seems unhappy about it.$

$The existence of the scarlet knight would be covered up for this incident... Thismeans *rnesti's achievements will not be stated.$

tefania wears an apologetic expression and looks at the tea besides her hand.1hid and dy understands the meaning of these words after a while and glaresat *dgar. 0nly *ru seems unaffected and nods.

$I see. If I was a member of the knights or an official high schooler, therewouldn't be any problems.$

$(ey, things will be serious if *ru wasn't there %hy can't he receivecommendations/$

1hid stands up in protest. tefania stops him with a look, sighs and explains:

$1alm down. If a normal knight performs so outstandingly, they will be promotedor commended. #or high schoolers, they will be enlisted as an official knight...?ut we can't promote *ru this way.$

$%hy/ *ru is obviously stronger than those run of the mill knights/$

$?eing a knight means he have to +oin a band of knights. (e can be a memberwith his exceptional power, but there are few who is willing to work with a 23year old. %orking under an organization means *ru can't be willful in hisactions.$

$%e can work something out if he is an adult... If they pass over the knights andgrant honors to a 23 year old, the knights will look bad. The honor of the knights

are the honor of the kingdom, no one wants that to happen.$

*ru tilts his head and ask with a smile:

$I understand. enpais are here to convince me/$

The expression of *dgar and tefania tensed. *ru didn't say much about theirexpression and continues:



$;et's forget about this incident. I am satisfied with piloting an actual ilhouetteKnight. Instead of asking shamelessly for rewards, doing nothing is much morerelaxing. ?esides, I was the one who butted in without permission. I don't wantto be manipulated by others because of this incident.$

tefania nods her head in agreement.

$That won't happen, I guarantee in the name of the errati family.$

$That's right, I will remind ir (allhagen.$

*ru nods after receiving their promises. Bnlike *ru, 1hid and dy is unable toaccept this, asking with a moan:

$*ru, Is this really okay/$

$4ah, *ru's dream is to be a knight and pilot ilhouette Knights correct/ re yougiving in now/$

$This is an exceptional case, I don't plan to demand for any rewards.$

eeing *ru consoling the unhappy twins, *dgar and tefania breathe a sigh ofrelief. >Vell and behemoth was both destroyed in the battle, a testament to the

desperate situation *ru was in. -ot giving any reward to *ru doesn't sit well withthem either. 0n the flip side, they understand the order of knights won't be ableto handle *ru's exceptional case well. They volunteered to convince *ru of theknights' dilemma in order to avoid using official orders to pressure *ru. Theyneed not worry about *ru protesting violently, but the content of their speech isfilled with illogical things, so they are prepared for the talks to stall. They feelgrateful over *ru's generous disposition.

<@hew, that was close. I barge ahead without thinking too much, there will betons of trouble if I made the knights lose face. >iving me a way to re+ect

commendation cordially is a big help...=

*ru who appears to be drinking tea calmly is breaking out in cold sweat. To behonest, he was troubled over how to settle things on his ends. It is hard for *ruto do anything from his position. The other party proposing a peaceful resolutionmade *ru relieved.

<I did have a great time piloting. I even get to see the magius engine's script,



that is enough for a reward. nd the knights owe me a favor too. ?eing tooforceful will blow matters up, +ust let them bask in the glory. lso... it will be goodif I can build a close relationship with the knights and the people present.=

*ru finish his tea happily as he thinks about how to resolve the matter.

The atmosphere was peaceful after ending the tense topic. The sound of cheerswas ongoing all this while. They chat casually in the mean time.

"" (is conscious recovers slowly. (is first thing he feels is a 7uestion.

<%hat... %hat happened/ That time... the demon beast...=

(e felt a sharp pain next from all over his body, stimulating his mind and waking

him up.

$*h... Bguu...$

)ietrich groans from the pain of his protesting body and open his eyes. The firstthing he sees is a wooden ceiling. (e turn his head and observes a white drape.(e was still confused, but he understands the situation before him. (e is wardedin a hospital like facility"" which means he is safe.

<... This means, the battle was won.../=(e shivered when he remembers the giant beast. #rom the situation at thattime, it is impossible to save him without getting rid of the beast. )ietrich deducefrom this that the battle ended somehow, and was a success since he is alive.

$ra, you woke/$

)ietrich relaxed after deducing the crisis ended, and more importantly, he issafe. s he lies down groggily, a voice came from his side.

$This is Gantunen pilot's infirmary. 4ou have lost conscious for over a day afterthe battle.$

)ietrich turns his head with his eyes wide open. It's not because of the contentof the speech, but the person who is saying it""

$)on't worry, you have many bruises, but no serious in+uries. 4ou are young and



will heal up in no time$

(is white clothes is almost bursting from his muscular body, and his hair wascrew cut. (is feet was shoulder width apart but his knees was clamped together.(e is speaking in a feminine way despite having a deep voice"" This is a man.

scream erupt suddenly and fills the entire infirmary.

convoy comprising of carriages and ilhouette Knights are travelling along thegravel road leading from Gantunen to the capital "" #remmevira highway.

Inside the carriage are students from ;aihiala pilot academy's Knighthoodfaculty. The ilhouette Knights are escorts from Gantunen garrison knights. Theknights are heading towards the capital for the award ceremony, and is acting as

escorts since they are heading the same way.

There is a person sitting on the top of one carriage. That person is basking inthe sun, watching the long convoy line under the warm sun. t the end of theline is a wagon filled with recovered ilhouette parts. The machine that waswrecked by the behemoth are turned into +unk, but the most valuable torsoretrieved. The damage are assessed, if the magius engine and ether reactorknown as the heart is fine, it will be easier to repair. t worse, they can place theheart into a new body.

Gantunen garrison knight's wreckage have been sent to Gantunen, the ones hereare the ;aihiala pilot academy's robots.

The boy on top of the carriage, *rnesti looks towards the back with a blankexpression. There must be parts from the scarlet ilhouette Knight on the wagontoo, but it is covered by canvas so *ru can't tell where it is. The last scene of thefight with behemoth while piloting >Vell flash across his mind. (e feels the bumpof the carriage as he reminisces.

<The action I took was a gamble largely dependent on luck. In order to avoidthis, I need a machine that won't fall apart even when operating at full power...and this problem should not be entrusted to others lightly.=

ight now, *ru is the only one who can make a robot break down in such a shorttime, so he is the only one who wants to resolve it. (e will create his personalmachine one day. (e need to plan for the arrival of that day.



$*ru, are you brooding over here/$

s he was feeling troubled over many things, someone approach him frombehind and hugs him. There is only one person who will do that in *ru's mind.(e turns to look at dy behind him.

$4eah, I am thinking about how to resolve the weakness in the previous battle.$

$%hy"" are you thinking about this again$

dy looks displeased as she leans forward. dy is taller than *ru, so *ru iss7uashed when dy leans in with her body weight. *ru protest as his bodybends forward uncomfortably.

$I know, but I have to think it over when I have time, or it will be a problem in the

future.$

The pressure behind him relaxes slightly, allowing *ru to breath. dy stopsmoving and her displeasure fades, replaced by a troubled expression.

$... *ru, you really... I hope you can promise me one thing.$

$%hat promise/$

$)on't go by yourself, take us with you$$That's a bit...$

*ru can't see dy's face, but he can feel her sincerity from her voice. *ru didn'tturn back and looks ahead, thinking about dy's re7uest. (e has been settingilhouette Knights as his goals, and working towards that means...

$%e might not be able to help, but...$

$)on't say that... it depends on the situation.$

$eally/ I can't pilot a ilhouette Knight. (ow about telling us what you plan todo$

t this point, *ru can't re+ect her.

$I understand... I will do my best. ?ut it is an emergency, it will have to wait.$



$(mmp That's a cunning way to put it *ven though we can't do much, but threeheads are better than one$

$(aha, that's right, & of us is... &/$

dy's casual words made *ru think. In his heart is a famous story, andinspiration strikes.

$& is better than 2... & arrows compared to 2 arrow. 0ne arrow is easy to break,but it is hard to break if there are three. ight, it is fragile and easy to breakbecause it is separated. That hurts... %ut arf yu dooin/$

dy pulls both of *ru's cheek as he was spacing out.

$@ay attention when talking to others, that was rude. (mmp$

$That hurts... 4ou are absolutely right, that was ill mannered of me.$

dy looks are *ru nursing his cheeks painfully and thought of a good idea. heapproach *ru from the side with a smile. *ru has a foreboding feeling looking at

dy's smile.

$ight, I know a way Teach me how to pilot ilhouette Knights$

$%ah"" to use this method$

*ru groans and smiles awkwardly at dy and wonders how did things come tothis.

The roasted beef on the center of the table gives off a delicious aroma.

The cramped place around it is full of dishes. *ru's mother"" 1elestina

*chevarria is pouring soup into a huge bowl. ?esides her is the mother of thetwins Ilmatar 0lter <Ilma= who arranges the freshly baked pie. The extravagantdishes made the two happy as they lay out the plates.

$Is it time for your dy to learn to cook/$

$(oho, it's about time. That child is always messing around with 1hid.$



The finished the preparation nimbly as they chat and call their family to havedinner. The 3 families gathered shortly after and ate happily.

This is the *chevarria residence. The *chevarrias and the 0lters are togetherfor a party to celebrate the safe return of their child. The parents planned to

welcome them back after the field trip all along. ?ut the children were involved inan unprecedented demon beast invasion instead.

The faces of every parents turned green when they received the news, includingthis 3 family. Ilma only family are the twins, her anxiety is indescribable. hecan't stay alone in that state, so the *chevarrias took her in for the time being.-ow, both the children and their parents have deepen their friendship.

#ortunately, the crisis was over and the children returned safely, all the familiesare busy and relieved.

$To be frank, it's great that everyone is safe.$

Ilma watch the kids finish off the dishes and sigh. Tears well up in her eyes andfell as she relaxes. Ilma 7uickly cover her face.

$%e made you worry. s you can see, we are not hurt... This is a miracle.$

$That's great, the most important thing is that you are safe. 4our appetite is

good, as if nothing ever happened.$$-omnomnom$

$-orn-orn-orn$

$wallow your food before talking...$

1hid and dy continues to stuff their face despite their mother's instruction. Theywere eating tasteless preserved food while traveling, so they are focusing on the

delicacy before them.

$%e heard that it was really dangerous, but you all seems fine. %hat did *rudo/$

$4es. ?ehemoth and I beat each other up.$

$1ough 1ough, cough.$



8athias choked on his food when he hears the conversation between themother and child.

$ra, wasn't the demon beast really big/ re you okay/ )id you give it a good

beating/$$I borrowed a ilhouette Knight from a senpai so I'm okay. It was ratherdangerous, but I beat it up really well and won.$

$ra ara, you can borrow ilhouette Knights/ That's wonderful *ru. ?ut don't betoo reckless. It's not something you can borrow anytime you want right/$

$That's right. ;uckily we have that ' good senpai' who aided me.$

8athias force himself to look away from the two of them, the others casuallyignore their conversation. In some way, this family was really disciplined.

0nly *ru's grandfather refrained from speaking during dinner, watchingeverything. fter finishing, he called out to *ru.

$*ru, I want you to accompany me to someplace, alright/$

$0kay grandpa. %here are we going/$

$*rm, we are going to...$

#remmevira Kingdom capital, KDnkDnen.

;ocated at the foot of mount ubigne, it served as a front line fortress in thepast. The highway on either side are made with robust stones, a legacy from itsdays as a fortress. everal layers of walls are erected with the capital at itsheart. 0nly the outer most siege wall has defensive functions, the rest are used

for zonal segregation. It's existence is a testament of the history of this city andnation.

In the center of the capital lies '1astle hreiber'.

The castle has traces of its days as a fortress, ancient and ma+estic. *ven now,the tough appearance of the fortress commands respect. It reputation as the'kingdom of knights' are presented harmoniously, allowing all visitors feel the



pride of the city.

In the heart of castle hreiber is an audience hall for the king to receive hisguest.

It is a vast space with a high ceiling, enough for ilhouette Knights to entercomfortably. *legant drapes are hung on all the walls in fixed interval of thepillars. red carpet is rolled out in the center, and at its end is the throne for theking. n amazingly big seat is situated behind the throne, with a ilhouetteKnight sitting on it.

That is the personal ilhouette Knight of the King "" known as the king's knight'aids 0f Walor'. It's appearance is more elegant than any machine within#remmevira. cape with the same pattern of the national flag covers itsshoulders, displaying the ma+esty of a knight standing at the very peak.

1ardiarias piloted by the royal guards are positioned to the side of the hall withaids of Walor right at the center, a powerful and intimidating scene.

ometimes, the hall will be cramped with soldiers and ilhouette Knights, butthere are only a few people here today.

middle aged man was sitting on the throne before aids of Walor, the 25th kingof #remmevira Kingdom, mbrosius Tahvo #remmevira. In front of him are8ar7uis Goachim errati and Gantunen garrison knight's commander @hilip

(allhagen. ccording to customs, they have to address the king while kneelingon one knee with their heads down. fter the king grants him permission, @hilipsraise his head to report.

$That concludes the report of the battle with behemoth.$

King mbrosius acknowledge with a grunt and nod after listening to the detailedreport from @hilip. (e is holding a concise report in his hand and is browsing itas he listens.

$nd the carcass of behemoth/$

$4our ma+esty, it's impossible for the garbage collectors to harvest a colossalbeast like behemoth, I have dispatch the ilhouette Knights to assist. It shouldbe completed in the next few days.$

$I want to use its carcass to offset our losses. ?ut our casualties are light,considering the opponent is a battalion level demon beast.$



knowledgeable and courageous. (is eti7uette are fine and his peers likes him.8ore importantly, he was always on the front line during the battle with thebehemoth...$

mbrosius stopped @hilip's words with a wave.

$)on't worry, I am not planning to do anything to him. It might be fine now, butyou says he is +ust 23 years of age. (aving amazing power at such a tenderage... ince he is +ust a 23 years old boy, he might grow wild with hisexceptional strength. That's my worry.$

mbrosius is right to be worried. -o matter how talented or pure in character,people can change with the passage of time. *specially a 23 years old who ismoving into a rebellious and emotional age. If he grows arrogant because of histalent, it will harm him in the end.

?ut inside *rnesti is a soul with !5 years of experience, so normal conventionsdon't apply to him. ?ut that is beyond their imagination, so they are worried that*ru will stray from the right path in the future.

$If that's the case, what should we do.$

$ince he doesn't chase mindlessly after glory, he might become a greatknight... %e need to guide him. It might be unnecessary since ;auri is there.

(mm, alright... rrange for *rnesti to meet me.$

fter mbrosius issues his orders, Goachim and @hilip bows and acknowledge.

LN_Knight's & Magic 1

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