“Takemikazuchi? What are you talking about?”
“Eh!? Ah, I’m sorry! It’s nothing.”
Tanaka-san looked at Kenyya suspiciously, but Kenyya hurriedly corrected himself. He had unintentionally blurted out the name from his previous world, but he wondered if it was the same name in this world too.
“…Well, whatever. This unit doesn’t have a name yet, or rather, we haven’t even finished the operational checks. So, I thought of getting an excellent Ace-Class Pilot, but it’s not easy to find a pilot of that level.”
“At the very least, it needs to be someone who can handle it as well as a Holy Knight, like Reina. This Special Unit has specs that can’t be handled by anyone less.”
According to Tanaka-san and Zeke, they had tried to create a high-spec Special Unit by incorporating all the latest technology. As a result, it had become a very touchy machine that was difficult to even stand in due to its excessive speed.
It was like a character in a fighting game whose win rate increased in proportion to the player’s skill.
It was incredibly weak if you couldn’t control it, but it became stronger than a normal unit as you got better at it.
In his previous world, it was a unit that was too touchy, and it was the default to carry OR feed, dragging the team down. The biggest reason for that was the elimination of all long-range weapons.
The fact that it was a too-manly unit that fought only with swords in both hands was also one of the reasons.
“We haven’t finished the adjustments yet, but would you like to try moving it a little? I’m not even sure if you can stand.”
“Really!?”
“Of course.”
And so, Kenyya boarded the white KOG.
“The cockpit… hasn’t changed.”
The controls were basically the same.
“Okay, let’s try standing and walking! Don’t push yourself too hard!”
(Just being able to stand would be a blessing. Even Zeke-san had a little trouble standing.)
“Yes!”
(Somehow, I’m happy. To be able to ride you again…)
And then Kenyya activated it.
A mechanical activation sound echoed, and the white giant stood up.
(Yeah, as expected of Takemikazuchi. The reaction speed is amazing.)
The KOG was sitting in a seiza-like position.
The act of standing is something a person can do without thinking, but it’s not the same for a KOG.
Imagine how you stand up from a seiza position.
First, you put your right foot—or left foot—forward.
You put your weight on one foot, shift your weight, and then stand up while supporting yourself with your hands. If you were to explain it in detail, there would be even more steps.
The KOG has a high degree of freedom in its controls.
That’s why it can’t stand up with just one button, and even standing requires you to correctly perform the current process.
That’s why there is such a huge gap between Ace-Class and trainee pilots.
And this Takemikazuchi has an abnormally strong response from the control stick.
It’s like playing a game with a mouse set to maximum sensitivity. If you could handle it perfectly, you could move very quickly, but the difficulty would skyrocket.
That’s why even simple operations were difficult.
“It stood up?… On the first try?… That’s ridiculous.”
“Hmm, I thought he would struggle at first, but…”
Kenyya’s voice could be heard in the open chat, surprising the two.
“Is it okay if I try walking?”
“…Eh? Ah, yes. That’s fine, but…”
The white giant took a step in front of Tanaka-san.
Smoothly, just like a human.
(Not only can he stand, but he can walk… so easily.)
“Zeke-san. What exactly is he…?”
“I don’t know either. But I told you at the beginning, didn’t I? That he’s stronger than me.”
…
“Well then, I’m counting on you from now on, Kenyya-kun.”
“Yes! Please call me anytime! I want to operate it!”
That day, he finished his test pilot duties after trying out some simple operations.
It seemed he had met Tanaka-san’s expectations, and he was hired as a test pilot.
Kenyya went back to the dorm after they disbanded.
“Takemikazuchi… I wonder if there’s any way I can make you my unit.”
However, even though he had been hired as a test pilot, he wouldn’t be able to get that unit.
After all, Kenyya was a Second-Class citizen, a lower-class citizen in the Empire.
“Even so, what should I do now… Infiltrate the Empire? Haha, I’d be killed in a second.”
Kenyya lay on the sofa, thinking about his future plans.
Kenyya wanted to stop the world invasion, but he didn’t even know the cause, and for now, the Emperor was ill, so the invasion had stopped.
Would it start again if the next Emperor was decided?
Also, for Kaguya’s sake, he wanted to try and take back Japan if possible.
But he was just a pilot who was good at KOG.
There was only so much he could do.
“But I want to help.”
He wanted to protect Kaguya; that was his only thought at first.
But now, he also wanted to save the oppressed Japanese people, including Isshin-san.
Was it hypocrisy? Maybe.
He wasn’t from this world, and even though he was Japanese, he had no acquaintances and hadn’t experienced war.
Yet, he still remembered the feeling of the child’s hand in his.
And the tears of the girl who had lost her parents.
“But all I can do is KOG.”
He didn’t have any political power, nor was he good at strategy.
The knowledge from his previous world was also meaningless.
Kenyya was just an ordinary person.
There was only one thing Kenyya could do in this world.
He was strong in KOG, that was all.
“What can I do, I wonder?”
He raised his hand towards the ceiling as if trying to grasp the sky.
He didn’t know how to live in the unseen tomorrow, no matter how much he thought about it.
With those thoughts, he decided to go to bed.
But Kenyya had not yet truly understood the meaning of this world, the true meaning of fighting.
After that, Kenyya was a test pilot for Takemikazuchi at school.
After school, he practiced with Kaguya and the others.
And at the Amaterasu headquarters, he spent his days training by operating the actual KOG unit, a life immersed in KOG.
While having fun playing family with Azusa and the other children.
◇A few days later
“They’ve come…”
A phone rang for Zeke.
It was a call to inform him of the arrival of an important person, and he knew who it was.
…
“There are still resistance fighters? They should just be killed or enslaved.”
As the sun rose, a woman descended from an airship.
Golden hair, a beautiful woman who was worthy of being called a princess.
“Ymir-sama… We have been waiting for you.”
Zeke bowed his head in greeting.
Many soldiers of the Aasgard Empire bowed their heads in greeting around him.
There were many guards, including KOGs.
“Now that I’m here, you can rest assured. I’ll suppress the rebels in this area.”
“Are you going to sortie!?”
“Yeah, those pigs who can’t even become Second-Class, let alone Third-Class.”
She smiled at Zeke.
But there was not a trace of dignity on her face.
She was supposed to be beautiful, but an ugly face was visible.
“It’s a massacre, right? Oh, I have to leave some young males behind. For my enjoyment.”
The princess licked her lips.
Her beautiful face was distorted hideously, a princess who killed people as if she were killing insects.
She was a psychopath known as the Torture Princess, and it was said that it was better to die than to be captured by her.
Aasgard Ymir.
She was one of the rulers of this world.