I was finally starting to get used to atmospheric entry.
The same went for boarding training and drop training on military vessels, but it really wasn’t the sort of thing one should have to do repeatedly. Usually, those drills only happened once a year—though for boarding training, first-years went for two days and one night, second-years for sixty days, and third-years were gone until they reached Planet Sanctuary and back.
In fact, we had shooting practice in the off-campus schoolyard twice a week, which was far more frequent. In short, these were skills you were supposed to learn properly after joining the military.
Aren't we amazing for learning this in actual combat?
Seriously, could everyone please stop acting like this was only natural for us? I wasn’t the protagonist here!
A Jester was, by definition, a dilettante. They were the kind of character where you had to tolerate one slot being wasted until the mid-game, only for them to become an absolute god in the late-game. I was only fighting because I’d become desperate!
Wait, where did the Zork first appear again?
It was Planet Sanctuary… our destination for boarding training. If I recalled correctly, the final battle of the game was supposed to be a duel with the Queen Zork, who had come to destroy the Alpha Star—the sun. The matter of Planet Sanctuary ended without ever being resolved.
...I decided to stop worrying about it.
In truth, I had other business in the Duke Mistral Territory. Near Planet Mistral, there were several frontier planets, and one of them was Frontier Planet 35. As the name implied, it was a world currently under development. Ownership of such planets varied; some belonged to the Empire, others to nearby aristocrats.
Frontier Planet 35 was owned by House Mistral. Aside from the fact that their mansion was a literal garbage house, the Mistral family was generally excellent. Naturally, they spared no effort in developing their surrounding worlds. They weren’t like the idiots of a certain Marquis House who squandered the money meant for planetary development and terraforming just to secure their status in the central government.
Look at that, Father! This is what an excellent noble looks like!
...Now, it was my turn.
According to the Empire’s planetary classification, Planet 35 was a natural agricultural world. Surveys must have found fertile soil and bacteria perfectly suited for farming. I was jealous. Natural produce was a luxury item! I suppose it was still better than most Baron or Viscount territories, which were often just giant rocks impossible to terraform. There was no limit to how much better or worse your lot could be in this galaxy.
Anyway, as for Planet 35, that was where the protagonist lived. In the game, they were conscripted, defeated the Zork, and eventually entered the Officer Academy. Once the tutorial ended, the game basically said: “Do whatever you want—become a merchant, a politician, or a soldier.”
I intended to make them an ally before the state could conscript them. I’d become a "Utility Pole Advice Big Brother" and leave all the fighting to them. After that, I’d live a legendary, erotic life with my wife and Melissa. I’d occasionally tease Kevin and devote myself to a slow life on Planet Kamishiro.
Yes, that sounded perfect. Though, that was a conversation for after I rescued everyone’s families.
"Setting verniers to maximum speed!"
While I was daydreaming, we suddenly accelerated.
"Wh-What!?"
A beam of light whizzed past the hull.
"Huh? They actually shot at us?! W-Wife! What's going on!?"
Furthermore, these weren't the frail, pathetic air defense systems of House Kamishiro. That shot just now had been "for real," intended to kill.
"I called out to them, but there was no response," Veronica replied. "They must have been ordered to kill without question."
The atmosphere here was completely different from the group of idiots back on Planet Kamishiro.
"Claire!"
Vwoom!
"Whoa!"
"Leo, we're going to enter like this without slowing down. Please dodge with guts!"
Claire just said "with guts"! That was the kind of command that usually ended with someone getting shot down!
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaagh!" I sobbed.
Finally, a wave of highly murderous beams descended upon us. Had the one from before just been a warning?!
"Dodge, Lord Groom! I know you can do it!"
"I can't!"
I twisted the machine's waist to dodge a beam aimed straight for my abdomen. Another was immediately aimed at my head, so I tilted the neck to evade it. Because I took such an impossible posture, the Jester was suddenly caught by gravity.
"Atmospheric entry starting! There's an error in the attitude control! Wait, uwaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
We fell in a violent tailspin. However, perhaps because we were falling irregularly at such high speed, the beams couldn't track us.
"St-Starting reverse thrust! Guergh!"
Stomach acid surged up my throat. I was going to die. I was seriously going to die! My head was already spinning.
"We've left the range of the anti-air defense system! Attitude control!"
Claire corrected the machine's balance. I desperately fought the controls to bleed off speed.
"Speed in safety zone! Detaching verniers!"
Landing!
Everything before my eyes started to go dark. A black circle with glowing green edges began to grow larger in my vision. Ah, I was right on the verge of blacking out!
A small impact, a heavy thud, traveled through the frame. It was a perfect landing.
I hurriedly sucked in air. It was G-LOC—the phenomenon where a pilot suddenly faints because blood pools in the lower body and stops reaching the brain.
"C-Claire! Are you okay!?"
There was no answer. I scrambled out of the pilot's seat and yanked open the door to the secondary cockpit. Claire had fainted. I pulled her outside, laid out a sleeping bag, and rested her on top of it.
"Wife! Claire fainted!"
"The Imperial Guard will arrive shortly! Stand by as you are!"
I stood guard with my gun in hand. If the Duke Army found us first, we would have no choice but to surrender.
"U-Ugh..."
About a minute passed before Claire finally stirred.
"Why, Leo... Oh, I see... I lost consciousness, didn't I?"
"Want some water?" I handed her a bottle.
"...Thank you."
It seemed we had been spared from further fire for the moment.
"Can you stand?"
"The world is shaking... but I'll probably be okay."
She tried to get up, so I lent her a hand. Her knees were shaking like a newborn fawn.
"How pathetic," she whispered. "Even though I had the second-highest grades in the class..."
"No, we could have died if things had gone even slightly wrong. It's not pathetic at all!"
I really thought my wife's plan was a bit too hardcore. The Imperial Guard veterans would probably handle it while laughing, but still. I definitely needed to increase my physical strength. Muscle was power. A Jester would die instantly without a resilient body. This time, I had truly learned my lesson.
Strength is power!
After waiting for a while, the machines of the Imperial Guard veterans came into view. Finally, the Guard had been refitted with Shield and Greatsword Equipment.
With this, we could somehow... is what I wanted to say, but we were at a distinct disadvantage against the Duke Army. An unpleasant three-way deadlock had formed: the Zork were strong against the Duke Army, we were strong against the Zork, and the Duke Army was strong against us.
The students' custom machines arrived shortly after. This time, there were enough machines for everyone.
Now, let the operation begin.