I was hosting an imoni party with the local folks.
I might be a lord, but I'm also the son of a farmer.
From the Imperial Capital Suburbs, no less.
I found I could talk quite naturally with the farmers living near this planet's capital city.
"Oh my, you're quite handy for a foreigner, aren't you?"
"Well, I'm in the Marines, you see."
Watching this, Rikochi looked on in exasperation as she stood guard.
"He's completely blended in with the circle of local aunties..."
I finished the cooking and stepped away to let someone else take over.
Next, the local children joined the group.
They seemed to be catching locust-like creatures.
Their coloring was close to red.
I'm not exactly fond of them.
The kids caught the locusts and tossed them into mesh baskets one after another.
Getting a bit curious, I decided to strike up a conversation.
"What are you guys up to?"
"Helping out at home. We're catching pests from the fields."
"Huh."
"We dry them, turn them into powder, and spread it on the fields with decomposing bacteria."
"Heh, that's impressive."
Once the harvest was over, they would spread the locust powder along with the bacteria. This increased the nitrogen and soil microbes, allowing the land to recover its nutrients while it lay fallow. Then, just before planting season, they would burn the weed-choked fields to supply potassium. Phosphorus was apparently extracted from the sewage system. It was a complete fertilization cycle.
Claire's planet didn't use the slash-and-burn process, but it was similar. (On her estate, they were strict about waste sorting; organic waste was treated with microbes, while other combustible trash was incinerated and the ash used as fertilizer.)
I really couldn't underestimate the Chronos Nation.
They caught stink bugs and leaf beetles too, tossing them into the baskets with a flick of the wrist! They left the praying mantises alone. They caught caterpillars and tossed them in too!
Rikochi looked even more exasperated seeing me like that.
"Before I knew it, he'd joined the circle of local children..."
"Want to join us, Rikochi?"
"Absolutely not!"
I figured she'd say that. They were bugs, after all.
Once the work was done, I gave the children some imoni. The local men were already drinking and singing. I started baking baby castella for the local kids. Bringing the iron griddle was definitely the right call. I even had juice for them.
"Make sure you say thank you to the soldier!" their mothers scolded. It was a heartwarming sight.
"Thank you, big brother!"
"Sure thing, sure thing."
It was a pleasant exchange with the locals, but the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong, Leo-kun?"
"Something's not right."
"This is Riko. Code: Jester has been triggered. His Excellency the Brigadier General has stated that 'something is wrong.' All units, move to maximum alert level immediately."
It seemed my intuition had already been integrated into official military protocols. Hmm, what was it? An Anomaly Discovery Type, maybe? There—look beyond the horizon over there. Even though it was a clear day, it looked dark... and it was getting closer!?
"Rikochi! Look at that!"
As I pointed, Rikochi began barking orders.
"This is Riko. Reconnaissance Squad, anomaly spotted on the horizon. Investigate immediately."
A reply came back instantly.
"This is the Reconnaissance Squad! Some kind of swarm is approaching!"
"This is Riko! All units, evacuate the area! Prioritize the residents!"
"Leo-kun, let's go!"
I shut off the heat for the baby castella and started to move. I didn't even get to save any for myself...
The aunties put out the imoni fires and began to flee. Mr. Berger and Kachiya came running up to us.
"What happened?"
"Some kind of swarm is heading straight for us."
"Was a trap laid for us...?"
Ghouls... no, I had a feeling this was something slightly more intelligent.
"You two, get to safety! I'm going to fight!"
I stripped off my military dress uniform and changed into my combat suit... I grabbed the crumpled uniform and tossed it aside... Alright!
Rikochi was already in her Full Armor Rikochi state, so she was ready. The two of us boarded our exclusive machines. Then, Raven-kun and the others arrived, wearing twisted headbands and work clothes. I'd had them transporting the hotcake mix earlier. They'd been enjoying the party with the locals, too. It seemed they'd let their guard down, thinking that if Rikochi was there, everything would be fine. Our trust in Rikochi was absolute. Because she was Rikochi, after all.
"We're coming with you! Just wait for us!"
"Ah, right. Sorry."
"Leo-kun! I'm switching to the flamethrower!"
"Got it. As for my gear... I'll go with the thermite grenade launcher. Raven-kun! The mission is to buy time until the residents are clear! Use nanomachines to purge the alcohol from your systems immediately!"
"Understood!"
Poor guys. My knights had been singing karaoke at the imoni party just moments ago... Ah... I see. So that's how it was. With the way they were so close-knit in these farming villages, I could see why the Taikyoku Nation or Latarnia would find them "difficult." If you turned them down, they'd treat you like a cold outsider. I was used to this level of social distance, though.
But to the local commoners, we were the "Soldiers"—the good kind who were friendly, joined in the drinking, and came to their gatherings. We'd even help clean out the drainage ditches if asked. In other words, we were perfectly compatible.
A message came in from Raven-kun.
"Alcohol decomposition complete. All units, deploying!"
"Move out!"
Rikochi was on her own. The knights from her territory had all been the former Duke's mistresses. It seemed the previous Duke had a thing for beauties in uniform. He had damn good taste... I was genuinely impressed. But because they'd staged a rebellion, they'd all been arrested and fired! So now, Rikochi had no knights of her own. It was sad.
Knights are great to have. After I'd kept dragging them along at my own pace, they'd even started helping me bake baby castella.
So there was Rikochi, deployed in her Usapyon, standing alone with a flamethrower. Man, let's stop with the melancholy imagery.
"This is the Reconnaissance Unit! It's locusts! A locust swarm is coming!"
"Reconnaissance Unit! Fall back! Don't you dare die out there!"
Things had taken a terrifying turn. A pitch-black mass was closing in. The sky was actually growing dark. An absurd number of them were approaching.
Claire's machine, which had been overseeing the entire operation, arrived as well.
"Leo! My machine might not be suited for this! So I brought a bolt thrower!"
"Ah! Wait a second!"
"I brought yours, too, Leo!"
I'd completely forgotten. A bolt thrower should be effective against them. And so, our fighting retreat began.
Why does something always ruin things just when I'm starting to socialize?! And more importantly, my poor baby castellas... I won't forgive this! I will never forgive anyone who steals my food!
"You bastards! I'm gonna kill you!"
"Leo-kun is so mad he doesn't even seem human..."
"Leo only gets this angry over girls and food, after all..."
I was absolutely livid.