Глава 10

That's why I had to hold you so tight.

At least we landed safely.;......;I thought you'd be more dependable.

Closure, can you see what's going on inside?

I can see everything no problem, Amiya. Even the fur in your ears...

*Cough*, why is your drone so close?! I-It's too loud!

Besides... Why can I hear you speaking through it? Why aren't we using the comms?

The comms could be bugged! I mean, you said Sarkaz commander's a real smart cookie!

Not my Cloclo-1651 though. It's running an all-new security system. That's right. The one I was installing on the whole ship before we left...

Cloclo-1651?

Uh... Rockrock...? You don't mind, right? I kind of took some inspiration from your drones...

It's okay. I like the name... It's cute.

Awesome!

Cloclo-... uh, some number... start scanning! Our target—Heidi Thomson!

Target... The target's not far off. The target... Crap! Sarkaz troops! Enemies closing in!

Everyone, be careful. Get ready to fight!

What are you people doing here?

Watch out!

Are you... rebels? Like a finfish caught in a net... Haha!

Miss Amiya, there are a dozen Sarkaz behind him!

Rock-17—

Let me do it.

Black lines—You're the Cautus!

Warrior.

I will ask you this. Are you willing to surrender?

Surrender...? Cautus, what kind of joke is that?! Just watching you wield this power makes me sick to my stomach!

I'll never let you touch my emotions!

You've seen Arts like this before?

Don't make me laugh! All the Sarkaz here have seen it before!

I'd like to kill you myself... but before that, I have to tell the general...

Uh, someone attacked him from behind? A crossbow bolt... Where from?

Rock-17, aim!

Hello, my Self-Salvation Corps friends, and also... my Rhodes Island friends whom I haven't met.

Good evening, everyone.

Lady... Heidi?

That's right. We meet at last, Miss Amiya.

I don't have time to explain. Doctor... You're the Doctor, right? You're exactly as Kal'tsit described.

Is that a compliment?;......;A nice description, I hope.

Yes... even your reaction is about what I expected. Doctor, have you thought through how we'll make it out of here?

Over here! They're here! Come—

Urghh—

Quiet down, Sarkaz. I won't let you draw the other fighters here that quickly.

Thanks, Benny. Where are the others?

Milady, we've taken the factory on the south side.

The methods you taught us are working really well... Even the frailest weavers are managing to fight off the Sarkaz guards.

Everyone's using the tools and machines they're familiar with, after all.

These factories are ours, Benny. The Sarkaz can't control everything here as easily as they thought.

Lady Heidi... I never expected you to be such a formidable fighter.

Miss Amiya...

Please, call me Amiya. Just like Dr. Kal'tsit does.

Okay, Amiya.

Kal'tsit taught me a lot of things...

And yes, that includes fighting.

Too bad I wasn't her best student.

I was never able to help her with much.

But I will do my absolute best to help Rhodes Island in this battle, just as I fought alongside the Self-Salvation Corps.

Another team of Sarkaz soldiers is coming our way.

Right, I don't want to be a killjoy... but things are pretty tense right now. There's not just one team... Uh, it looks like all the Sarkaz fighters in the factory are coming our way.

They know they lost the building.

Right, Doctor. We did our best, but this bought us very little time.

That's why I need you to think of a way to get out of this right now...

A friend of ours should be here soon.;He's waiting on the east side already.

A friend...?

And 'he...?'

Is it just a single man? Or a whole team?

Doctor, the Sarkaz soldiers that Manfred trained are very hard to deal with. They could be hiding anywhere... We mustn't let our guard down.

Everyone, I... I'm seeing something really strange! It's way too weird! The Sarkaz up ahead are fighting... Uh, I mean, they're fighting other Sarkaz.

Wait, are those... Sarkaz mercs?

It's the strange mercenaries... One of them seemed to have lent us a hand this afternoon, too.

Sarkaz mercenaries?

No, we can't trust them! They're the ones who took Bill this afternoon... *cough*! I...

Rockrock, calm down. You're still wounded.

I'm fine, but I can't say that about Bill!

Captain, help me out... They need to understand.

Lady Heidi, you said the Sarkaz mercenaries helped you. Could you be more specific about that?

It was like they were sending me a signal...

But I wasn't entirely sure...

What kind of signal?

All these Victorian soldiers... Should we kill them?

Bloody Dublinn! I'll...

Captain, why aren't you attacking?

Horn! Why are you stopping me? Have you forgotten how many of our brothers and sisters died at their hands?

Before she casts her Originium Arts, the Dublinn Caster always raises her hands.

It was those hands and that staff that took Cello's life... as well as the lives of many other Victorian soldiers.

Horn puts her hand on the crossbow she hid up in her sleeve.

If Mandragora shows any signs of lifting even a single finger, she will immediately pull the trigger.

Or perhaps... she could just pull the trigger now. That doesn't seem like a bad choice either.

She can tell from her opponent's eyes that she is thinking the exact same thing.

What's going on? The southern zone's blown up? You mean, the entire wall? It could only be done from the inside... Dammit!

Hurry, let's back them up—

Is this the signal for us to evacuate?

Uh... The Doctor never told me anything... but since the Sarkaz are gone, I guess our mission is over?

You two should go on ahead.

Who's there?

You're with Rhodes Island...

I'm taking over from here.

Captain, the Sarkaz evacuated! This is the perfect opportunity! Should we head inside or...?

Let's go.

Horn does not take her hand off her crossbow. Her glare closely follows Mandragora as she leaves.

A single bolt. From this distance, that's all it would take. All she has to do is pull the trigger, and her opponent's chest would be torn open, splattering blood everywhere, just like what happened to Cello.

Having retrofitted this crossbow herself, Horn knows its limits very well, but they're so close to each other. With the two of them now within a hair's distance...