86 Volume 6

tighten.
But in contrast to Shin’s internal struggle, Marquis Nouzen grew

emotional, his eyes welling up with tears.
“You’ve certainly grown. And you do very much look like them. You

bear the visage of my son, Reisha, and the princess of the Maika clan.”
“Your hair and physique are of the Nouzen bloodline, but your face—it is

like Yuuna’s. As is the color of your eyes,” the old lady appended tenderly.
Shin noted the red shade of her eyes, which hid behind her round glasses.

The crimson eyes of a Pyrope. Shin had heard that Marquis Nouzen’s spouse
—Shin’s grandmother—passed away a long time ago. And since the
Empire’s nobility hated the idea of mixing different bloodlines, she could not
have been a new wife.

Noting the confusion in Shin’s gaze, Marquis Nouzen hummed in
understanding.

“This here is Marquess Gelda Maika… Your mother’s mother. Your
maternal grandmother, as it were. I thought that if you were to meet me, you
should also meet her.”

Marquess Maika smiled and bowed her head respectfully. Marquis
Nouzen gently curled his lips upward.

“Now then, where should we begin? After all, to you, we are just
unfamiliar old people. We may be related to you by blood, but I’m sure
there’s much you wouldn’t want to tell us.”

“For now, well, let us have tea together. Do you like sweets? I’ve brought
some jam, made of strawberries from our greenhouse. Please take some home
with you, as a gift.”

She spoke with a smile, and it took Shin a moment to realize she was
waiting for an answer. He parted his lips, looking for the right words. They
felt so distant to him that he still had to search for what to say every time. But
if he didn’t answer, he wouldn’t be able to truly converse with them.

He may not have felt any emotion toward them yet. They were strangers
he’d only just met for the first time. And despite that…these people knew his
mother and father. They remembered the life he had back when he was still
happy.

“…I personally don’t like sweets very much. But my unit’s mascot and
my superior officer will probably be very happy to have this… Thank you
very much.”

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Marquis Nouzen smiled warmly.
“Right. Then let’s begin with that… I would love to serve you a dinner
best suited to your tastes, but sadly, I don’t know your preferences. My head
chef is standing in the hall at present, at the end of his wits. I ought to give
him even the smallest hint. You will stay for dinner, yes? If it suits you, you
may spend the night here.”
“…No.”
Shin could somehow tell that for how composed his grandfather was when
he said those words, it took the man a great deal of courage to muster them
up. And that made Shin smile all too naturally as he shook his head.
She had lost her family in the large-scale offensive, too. And she had no
home to go back to, either, despite being on leave. So he informed Ernst that
morning that he thought to invite her to come along when they went to bring
Theo and the others home.
He had to go to where she was—where Lena was.
“I’ll head back home for today… There’s someone waiting for me.”

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AFTERWORD

You just can’t help but love auroras!
Hello, everyone, this is Asato Asato. Well, IT’S NOT LIKE I GOT TO

SHOW THE AURORA in the United Kingdom arc. And it takes place at a
snowy battlefield, too! And I didn’t get to show any diamond dust, either.
Actually, I’ve never seen either of them in real life myself…

In the past, they said the aurora was the shine from the Valkyries’ armor.
The Strike Package pilots Reginleifs, which are named after a Valkyrie, so I
really wanted to have them fight under an aurora. But I couldn’t work it into
the story…

Also, this is a bit of a digression, but Shin and his group’s unit during
Volumes 2 and 3 was the Nordlicht squadron, which stands for northern
lights, or aurora. I had it in mind since way back then, and I still couldn’t get
to show it. It’s so frustrating. I’ll do it someday…!

…Or not. Snowy battlefields are too annoying…

But let’s put my whining aside. Thank you, as always! 86—Eighty-Six,
Vol. 6: Darkest Before the Dawn is here for your reading pleasure. This
volume concludes the United Kingdom arc. I’m sorry for taking so long…!

This time as well…or rather, especially this time, Shin loses his way in
the most grandiose manner possible… Shin, you’re supposed to be the
protagonist. Could you please cut it out? Please? (An author’s desperate
attempt to pressure their character.)

• The gates of Hell:
• This volume features a certain passage from canto 3 of Dante’s Divine

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Comedy. It’s originally transcribed from Eriya Taniguchi’s translation of
the book (published by JICC, March 1989). I couldn’t include it directly
in the story, so please allow me to place it here.

• The Thrones:
• I know you all love panjandrums!
• Wait, you don’t know what a panjandrum is? Well, look it up. Actually,

the basis for the Thrones wasn’t the panjandrum but, like Vika mentions
in the book, a medieval defensive weapon used during siege battles. Also,
anti-tank roosters and anti-tank dogs really were things that had been
planned to be implemented. Anyone who’s interested in hearing more
about it is welcome to look it up.

• That entire exchange in the second half of chapter 3:
• Shin seems to have forgotten, despite all the embarrassment it afforded

him, but the Reginleif’s mission recorder registers everything that’s said
in the cockpit… And he has a duty to submit the mission recorder’s data
along with a written report at the end of every mission…
• Rest in peace, Shin.

Lastly, some thanks.
To the editors in charge of me, Kiyose and Tsuchiya. The Phönix’s final

form going from what it was in the end of Volume 4 to its form here is all
thanks to your feedback!

To Shirabii. Thank you for all the stunning illustrations you contributed
this time as well, along with the cover art for Dengeki Bunko Magazine’s
April issue. You gave us Shin and Lena standing side by side, once again…!

To I-IV. I took up your suggestion, and the Reginleif pulled off that trick!
It was in a bit of a different form, but it happened in the climactic battle at the
end!

To Yoshihara. Volume 1 of the manga is approaching its first turning
point. Kaie got an extra chapter, and boy, was she the most adorable little
thing there…!

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And to you readers, who took up this book. Thank you very, very much.
The story’s really taken off since Volume 4. But now, Shin and Lena face the
fact that they’ve only just met and know so little about each other. That
conflict left them confused and worried. But in this volume, this conflict
reaches a turning point. What conclusions will they each come to? Please join
these two as they find out.

Oh, and don’t worry; the series is still going to continue. It’s ongoing, so
please stay with us. Also, Volume 7 is gonna be a lighthearted story, so look
forward to it.

Really, it is! I’m not lying!
In any case, I hope that, for even a short moment, I was able to take you
beyond the gates of hell, to the frigid plains of inferno and the battlefields of
woe. To where his doubts lead him to embark, and where she sees him off,
shivering all the while.
Music playing while writing this afterword: “Lost One’s Weeping” by Neru

feat. Rin Kagamine

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