the static of the wireless. Time after time, time after time after time, he’d heard those words. You monster. “…Yeah.” That’s fitting, thought Shin as he looked up at the siege route. The single most grotesque siege route ever made, formed from the wreckage of the Legion, the Alkonosts, and those mechanical dolls made in the shape of girls. He’d had to tread over it and attack, because if he hadn’t, everyone would have died. He’d had to trample over those girls to ensure that no one else would die. And the same was true for everyone and everywhere else. The Republic trampled over the Eighty-Six, the United Kingdom over the Sirins, and the Federacy over the child soldiers, Vargus, and Mascots. And even those being trampled went on to step over someone else’s death in turn to survive in this world. In which case, if this was what they had to do to survive… …humans were all monsters. Each and every one of them. The faint shimmer of the snow reflected off the 88 mm turret of the Juggernaut sitting atop the siege route, and for the first time, Shin could see that glow only as completely and utterly vile. “…Shin!” As Shin stood still, a voice reached his ears. He couldn’t hear the sound of any footsteps. Those were swallowed up by the snow that piled over the marks of battle, and only her silver-bell-like voice reached him. Tripping over the unfamiliar snowy route, Lena ran up to him, clinging to his body in her rush. His thick flight suit didn’t conduct any heat, so he couldn’t feel her warmth through it. Page 233 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
“You’ll get yourself dirty touching me.” “What are you saying…?!” She’d likely rushed out in a panic. Lena’s uniform was disheveled, as if she’d run out halfway through changing clothes, and she wasn’t wearing her jacket over her blouse. Just a coat. She’d likely dropped her military cap somewhere, and amazingly enough, she was running over the snowy ground in her pumps, of all things. “What in the world are you thinking, coming out here on your own? There could still be Legion around here…!” “There’s nothing here… You already know that.” She gave no reply. In place of any words, her fingers gripped him even more tightly. As if to say Shin might disappear the moment she let go. He’d attempted to utter a why, but his voice wouldn’t come out. She should have seen how the siege route made up of the Sirins came to be. And she should have realized the Strike Package had to climb over this to attack. So why did she approach them, without any fear? Why stay by the Eighty-Six, who were whittled down by the battlefield to the extent that normal humans could see them only as monsters at this point? To begin with, she knew what the battlefield was all about. She’d maintained that defensive line for two long months during the large-scale offensive on the battlefield of the Republic, which had made no preparations to fight out of the belief the war would end soon, with only the faint hope that aid may at some point come. She repeated retreat after retreat even as she was gradually backed against the wall. Even Shin, accustomed as he was to war, couldn’t imagine how utterly despairing maintaining that hopeless defensive line must have been, but Lena knew it all too well. She knew that Republic Alba citizens were being slaughtered by the tens of millions… Her brethren and compatriots… She knew the battlefield was a place of wanton death, with no room to hope for the dignity or the sanctity of life. She knew the vileness and baseness people were capable of when cornered. So why? How? How could she not give up on this world? How could she believe in a value that was even emptier than a fairy tale, that the world was a beautiful place…? Page 234 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Lena had said the Eighty-Six gave up on the world out of kindness. That loathing it would be easier than giving up on it. That letting go of their pride would have been that much simpler. In which case, how…? How could she carry an ideal so saccharine that no one could even bear to hear it anymore…? Why? he wondered. Why do you persist? Why do you keep going while clinging to that wish? Letting go of it would make it all so much easier, so how can you keep on wishing for it? No answer came to mind. And Shin didn’t know Lena well enough to even come up with any clues to deduce it. Two years ago, he’d bidden her farewell as he’d left for the Special Reconnaissance mission, and he’d met her again only a few months ago. He didn’t know what battles she’d fought through. He didn’t know what she’d felt, what she’d lamented, what she’d valued, what wish she’d fought for. What desire it was that spurred her to keep fighting. He’d never even thought to ask. He’d never considered that he wanted to know. He believed he’d achieved something by reuniting with her, but…once he’d met her, he’d made no attempt to understand her. For the first time, he realized: I know absolutely nothing about her. Page 235 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
AFTERWORD Pilot suits are righteous! Hello everyone, this is Asato Asato. Volume 2? What are you talking about? Whatever—girls in pilot suits are justice. If you were to ask me what’s so great about them, I’d be inclined to say it’s the idea of armament + girl. Simply splendid. And they’re not revealing, but they’re still somehow sexy. It’s cute. Really, really cute. Boys in pilot suits are…well… It’s not off-limits or anything, but, you know… That’s not what makes boys sexy. Or rather, they look sexier when they’re dressed really snappily. You know, like in uniform. And, also, uh, when they’re in uniform. Now, then. Thank you, as always. I bring you 86—Eighty-Six, Volume 5: Death, Be Not Proud. The title is a nod to the John Donne poem by the same name. I sincerely thank you all for waiting for so long. It’s the pilot suit episode! Her Majesty in a pilot suit! I did it! And no quips about that not being a pilot suit! Feast your eyes!!! • The battlefield this time: The concept this time was a XXXXX battle done with just polypedal weapons (blotted out for spoiler purposes). It was pretty hard without access to heavy artillery, mortars, or aerial bombing… By the way, the battlefield that served as inspiration actually exists (sort of), barring a few fictional elements thrown into the mix, but I’ll have to blot it out for spoiler purposes (omitted). I put a few allusions to it in the Page 236 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
text itself, though, so anyone who’s interested is free to research it. They’re some pretty impressive war ruins. • Dilatant liquid: Put simply, it’s like custard cream. There’s actual footage of custard cream squished between two panes of glass stopping a bullet, but… Custard cream, really…? Also, some advertisements! If you go to Dengeki Bunko’s home page, you can access the novel-uploading site Kakuyomu, where I’m publishing additional chapters called Fragmental Neoteny. They detail Shin’s backstory in the Eighty-Sixth Sector. The main concept is the story of a losing battle where a young Shin’s eyes gradually grow hollow and dead, so feel free to check it out if you’d like! It requires no registration and can be viewed for free! Lastly, some acknowledgments. To Kiyose and Tsuchiya, the editors in charge of me, who’ve been showing great concern for my remaining hit points. To Shirabii, I’m sorry for adding all these new characters in new uniforms. To I-IV, for answering my unreasonable demands for polypedal units fighting in a snowy environment. To Yoshihara, Volume 1 of the manga adaptation is finally published! And to you, who picked up this book. Thank you so, so much, as always. Our main pair has kind of done a complete one-eighty after how lighthearted Volume 4 was, but the upcoming Volume 6 will conclude the United Kingdom arc, so they might patch things up……… I hope………… (Ugh…) In any case, I hope that for even a short moment, I could take you to that battlefield cloaked beneath a white veil, and to his and her sides as they face the divide between them, and the presence of death they should have long grown accustomed to. Music playing while writing this afterword: “Eve of the Future” by Ali Page 237 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Project Page 238 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
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