Alarms were blaring from every direction.
Footage analysis confirmed that several humanoid fighters had breached our territory. That alone would have been manageable, but just as they seemed to vanish, they reappeared much closer to the Capital Planet.
They were the same units.
‘Projection shows them reaching the Capital Planet in thirty minutes.’
‘For now, broadcast a call to them on all channels.’
‘We shall issue a warning!’
‘A warning... no, let’s go with the Letter of Challenge Operation. Designate a location for them. I’ll be heading out with Massacre Night.’
‘Lord Groom!’
‘Wifey, you stay on standby. Pray for my victory. As for Melissa...’
‘Oh, I’m in!’
‘Claire is exhausted, so she can sit this one out. Summon Rikochi. Also, Katori-sensei, since he’s idle, and... Eddy, I guess, since he has nothing to do with the wrestling? Plus their respective Knights.’
‘Lord Groom, I shall accompany you as well!’
Ren was apparently coming too.
While we prepared, the Fairy made an announcement to the stadium.
‘Attention, people of the Ogre God Nation! A conspiracy to ruin the pro-wrestling tournament is approaching! Any pilots present are invited to join the brawl! We’ll provide the mechs. Rewards will be paid by the Kamishiro Group! Bring your friends and join the fun!♪’
‘Uohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!’
The Ogre God Nation warriors, completely forgetting they were there to watch wrestling, signed up for the fight.
‘We will now provide a live broadcast of a special match: His Majesty Leo Kamishiro Chronos and His Merry Friends versus the terrorists. Pay-per-view tickets are available at the kiosks. Purchase bonus includes a Humanoid Fighter Photobook supervised by His Majesty Leo.’
She was turning this into a business! She was even disposing of the mountain of dead stock left over from when the publisher got over-excited and overprinted! The Fairy... what a terrifying child!
Before launching, I contacted Tatiana.
‘Tatiana, I’m counting on you to look after Shiyun, One-oh-one, and Lou-chan.’
‘Who, me, sir?’
‘You’re the most dependable one here.’
‘Ehehehe... well, if you insist!’
For some reason, she was delighted by the praise.
Now, I figured the chances of the enemy responding to the call for a duel were about fifty-fifty. If the pilots were pragmatic, they would ignore us and strike the planet. If they cared about honor, they would fight us.
Even if they chose the pragmatic route, Wifey’s battleship had Isono, Nakajima, and Claire on board. Plus, our hidden aces—Edge, Alyssa, and Tatiana—were in reserve. They’d just get pummeled either way.
Given the vibe, I suspected they’d choose honor—or at least pretend to—and challenge me to a duel. If they killed me, their mission was effectively over. I could feel that sort of self-importance coming from them. If they weren’t that type, they wouldn’t have made so much noise on their way in.
Wifey boarded the battleship with Tatiana, Shiyun, One-oh-one, and Lou-chan. It was currently the safest place in the world. Isono and the rest stayed behind to guard the venue, while Edge and his team were given discretion to move as they saw fit.
Well, we’d see how it went. It was time to react to the enemy and play it by ear!
‘Incoming correspondence from the enemy! Patching it through!’
A voice speaking Latarnia Language with a thick Lepsitol accent came over the comms.
‘Grand Duke of Chronos. I request a duel.’
Of course! I knew it!
It was exactly as planned. And so, the battle was joined.
The venue was a nearby sector of space. There were about twenty enemy units. The reason they gathered here was simple: they knew I wouldn’t resort to a sneak attack. As proof, we had cameras rolling for a live broadcast.
‘Alright, let’s hear it. What are your claims?’
‘Chronos must cease its invasion! We oppose expansionism!’
‘Okay! Then don’t attack us. In ten years or so, once the Locust Terrorist Attack has become a thing of the past, the Grand Duke of Chronos will probably just hand over power anyway. There, done. Disperse!’
See? A matter that could be settled with a simple talk. Time to head home.
As I turned my back, my unit was kicked square in the rear by Katori-sensei’s machine.
‘Gyah!’
‘Listen, Leo. You know it isn’t going to be that easy, right? You’re a professional soldier. Orders from above are absolute, aren’t they?’
‘Ugh... f-fine...’
My motivation plummeted below fifty percent.
‘Well then, here I go. It’s a pain to deal with everyone at once, so send out a representative. I’ll leave the rest to Katori-sensei and his merry friends.’
‘Then I shall be your opponent.’
Oh boy. I pressed my hand to my forehead. I’d drawn the short straw. It was probably the strongest one.
‘I’m Leo Kamishiro Chronos. And you?’
‘I am Ozma, Combat Captain of Mikoshi Trading Co. I shall face you with Mikoshi Trading Co.’s latest model. Let us have a fair duel!’
He just gave away the secret. The disappearing trick was likely Mikoshi Trading Co.’s technology. He probably said it on purpose—he had a lot of pride.
While I was busy meta-analyzing him, his form vanished. The next instant, he appeared behind me, swinging a katana. I dodged... then he vanished again! This was bad!
The enemy unit reappeared right behind where I had moved to. He slashed at me. I deliberately threw my machine backwards, colliding with him.
Was that an Iron Mountain... something? No! I just closed the distance to ruin his reach! We hit with a heavy thud, but the resistance vanished immediately. He appeared directly in front of me, swinging his sword. I blocked with my own katana! Again, the resistance vanished as I swung at nothing.
The enemy disappeared and reappeared at my side, delivering a kick. The moment it connected, I cut my verniers. In space combat, damage is minimized if you don’t offer stiff resistance. I spun away, decelerating... then he appeared behind me again! But because I was already spinning, I was faster this time. I kicked back.
He blocked it. Wait... he actually blocked it?!
I rushed forward. I tried to grapple, but he vanished. I gave up on slowing down; it was safer to maintain high speed. The enemy appeared in front of me with a gun... I dodged! I dodged pulse rifle fire again and again and again!
My semicircular canals were screaming. The centrifugal force was pushing blood into my limbs and face. My capillaries hadn’t burst yet, but I was close. If my ears started ringing, I’d be in trouble. But I endured.
Losing my sense of direction, I drew my handgun and fired instantly. The handgun was the fastest draw. One shot grazed the enemy... but he vanished.
‘Aha!♪’
A smile crossed my lips. There!
I fired at empty space. An instant later, the enemy machine appeared exactly where I had aimed. My handgun’s beam pierced the enemy’s chest.
‘H-How... for Mikoshi Trading Co.’s state-of-the-art warp to be defeated...’
So it really was a warp. That meant Mikoshi Trading Co.—meaning Lepsitol—possessed safe short-range warp tech. I definitely wanted that.
I set that thought aside to explain the win. ‘You were too precise, sir. You targeted my blind spots with terrifying accuracy. So, I deliberately created a gap to lure you in.’
‘The defeat is mine...’
Phew. I won. I managed to hide it, but the excessive G-force had caused my ears to bleed quite a bit. My own limits as a pilot had been close.
I definitely needed a prediction program for short-range warps.
As soon as my victory was clear, Katori-sensei’s machine fired its verniers to full throttle.
‘Gah-hah-hah-hah! So that’s how it is! Let’s go, you lot! You’ll get even stronger if you take these guys down!’
‘Hyah-hah!’
The pack of barbarians descended upon the remaining enemy units.