Chapter 27: Quagmire (2)
Chapter 27: Quagmire (2)
After everyone disembarked from the vehicle, Michelle handed each of them a small slip of paper.
“When a gremlin is completely killed, the symbol drawn on this paper will change color. It automatically counts how many you’ve taken down, so just keep it in your pocket and shoot on sight.”
She pointed to the pocket on her chest, just beneath her name tag.
“If you keep it in here and fasten it shut, you won’t lose it.”
At her words, the other soldiers tucked the slips into their pockets. Michelle continued speaking.
“There are estimated to be around a hundred gremlins, moving in groups of about a dozen. If we employ tracking magic, one hour should be more than enough to wipe them out. Ideally, we’d avoid damaging the surroundings, but if destruction is unavoidable, you won’t be held accountable. The top priority is eliminating the gremlins. The residents have already been evacuated, so there’s no need to worry about civilian casualties. Any questions?”
“Are we working individually?”
“You may act alone or in teams. This isn’t a battle mission, so you’re free to decide. Anything else?”
Silence fell. Michelle added one final note.
“Then let’s meet back here in an hour.”
Ariel walked alongside Joshua, her Flame cradled in her arms. Since Joshua had no real talent for offensive magic, he had offered to handle the tracking if she would take care of the actual killing.
While drawing a magical formula on the paper she’d brought and reciting the incantation, Ariel waited for the spell to activate. In the meantime, Joshua declared confidently,
“I used to see gremlins a lot back where I lived, so I’m pretty good at finding them. I’ll help you take first place today, sis!”
He said it with such a comically serious expression that Ariel responded dryly.
“You really don’t have to go that far.”
“Well, might as well do it right while we’re at it. Hahaha!”
“……”
Honestly, she thought the whole thing was unnecessary, but Ariel chose not to say it aloud.
An hour had passed since Joshua’s confident claim.
As it turned out, he hadn’t been bluffing. Ariel managed to hunt down an overwhelming number of gremlins—far more than most others. Other than Michelle, only Ariel and Joshua had taken down gremlins in the double digits. Of course, that didn’t mean they’d killed the most overall. In fact, comparing their numbers to Michelle’s felt laughable.
Michelle had taken down nearly seventy gremlins within the hour—by herself. Ariel and Joshua’s count was just under twenty, which made the comparison futile.
“Damn, I really wanted to come in first.”
“Yeah, you’re not even close. I’m gonna sleep.”
Inside the vehicle heading back to base, Ariel curtly cut off Joshua’s exaggerated lament and closed her eyes. This mission hadn’t been nearly as exhausting as her first deployment, but it was still a deployment, and the fatigue had added up.
“Alright, sleep well.”
Because of that, she didn’t notice the deepening shadow of unease on Joshua’s face—far darker than it had been when they set out.
Their second deployment ended so peacefully, it felt almost inappropriate to even call it a deployment.
In the early morning, when the soldiers had departed, the sky had been overcast with gray clouds. But by the time they returned to the military base, it had cleared up.
To the mages who had endured biting cold, the bright midday sun felt as warm and comforting as home. After being dismissed and climbing down from the vehicle, the soldiers—relieved of their stiff discipline—momentarily melted into the gentle warmth.
Ariel was no different. As soon as she stepped out, she stretched with all her might, basking in the sunlight that drenched her body. Eyes closed tightly for a second, she opened them again—only to lock eyes with Michelle’s amethyst gaze, which appeared to be directed right at her.
Ariel froze, tense. But almost instantly, Michelle’s gaze shifted skyward, away from her.
‘…Was she not looking at me?’
The moment had been so brief, Ariel wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t a question that particularly needed resolving. Not that she was in a position to ask, even if it did. Ariel simply tilted her head once and turned her attention elsewhere.
She lowered the arm she’d held up toward the sky and looked to the side.
There, Joshua stood with a troubled look on his face, kicking at the ground. His eyes, dull and half-lidded, stared down at nothing. His lips were red and swollen, chewed raw.
It was then that Ariel noticed something she hadn’t seen that morning.
“You okay? Something’s bothering you.”
It was fear.
Ariel grabbed Joshua’s arm. His gaze flicked to her—then quickly turned away, shaken.
“I told you, it’s nothing. Just had a weird dream.”
Of course, no one would believe that, not with a face so clouded and his eyes darting away. Ariel narrowed her eyes.
“A dream? That’s it?”
“But it really was just that.”
“What kind of dream… Wait. Oh.”
As she was about to press further, a thought suddenly came to her.
“Did you… see something? A bad future? Was it a prophetic dream?”
“Hmm…”
Joshua flinched. His shoulder twitched slightly, and his expression turned unreadably vague. After a pause, he finally sighed and replied.
“I don’t know if it was the future or not. I mean, dreams don’t exactly come with labels saying, ‘Hey, I’m a prophecy.’ Honestly, it was probably just a dream… I hope it was.”
It sounded more like muttering to himself than an actual answer. But the desperation in his voice stirred Ariel’s unease and curiosity.
“What kind of dream could shake you up like this?”
“You’re better off not knowing.”
Joshua shook his head, pressing his forehead with one hand.
“If it’s just a nightmare, no problem. But if it’s the future… there’s nothing good in knowing. You can’t change it. Knowing your fate in advance just makes it worse.”
There was resignation in his voice. A hollow laugh escaped between his lips. The smile lingering at the corners of his mouth was pitiful.
His words evoked a complex tangle of emotions in Ariel—doubt, fear, unease.
But she had no idea that all of those uneasy feelings would soon be washed away by something far more shocking.
At that moment, all she felt was pity for Joshua, who seemed destined to suffer like this every time he had a nightmare.
Michelle didn’t move until every member of the Astica deployment team had left. In particular, she had kept her eyes on Ariel. And the moment Ariel disappeared from view, Michelle glared sharply up at the sky.
The clear blue that emerged as the clouds parted filled her vision.
Though there was nothing visible in the sky, Michelle spoke with biting sarcasm, her voice icy.
“Sir Kreutz, what exactly are you doing up there? You can come out now.”
There was no response from the open sky. But Michelle was certain he was there, and she continued sharply.
“If you don’t come out right now, I’ll tell Miss Elias everything.”
That did the trick. Jin revealed himself in front of her. A slight frown twisted his expression.
“What is it?”
His voice was cold, emotionless, and ominous. Michelle felt like she couldn’t breathe for a moment.
But she took a deep breath and steadied herself. She had something to say, and she was going to say it. Arms crossed tightly, eyes wide open, she locked her gaze on him and enunciated every word clearly.
“What do you mean, ‘What is it?’ That’s what I want to ask you. What exactly were you doing, hiding up there and spying on her?”
“That’s none of your concern, Commander.”
Jin’s voice was as chilly as ever, like a winter wind. His displeasure was clear, but Michelle had already committed. She pressed on, come what may.
“None of my concern? Are you seriously saying that? Even if this is within the base, this counts as a crime.”
“You speak as if I posed some kind of threat. I was simply observing from a distance.”
His complete indifference to the word crime made Michelle scoff. The forced defiance in her expression gave way to something more natural. Her brow furrowed.
“Fine. Maybe the law means nothing when it comes to someone like you. But have you thought about how Miss Elias might feel? I’m sure she’d be thrilled to know someone’s secretly following her around.”
“……”
For the first time, a crack appeared in Jin’s mask-like expression. Michelle didn’t miss the slight tremble in his ironclad eyes. At that moment, she knew the balance of power in the conversation had shifted.
Growing more confident, she went on.
“If you’re that worried about her, go talk to her face to face. You have the rank. You have the ability. So why are you acting so pathetically?”
“……”
Jin’s face began to crumble like dry earth. He furrowed his brow and turned his gaze away from her.
Huh?
She’d aimed for that, but seeing him so deflated felt… off. The look didn’t suit the image she had of him. Michelle was briefly taken aback.
After a short silence, Jin finally spoke, hesitantly.
“She doesn’t want me to.”
That, too, didn’t match the man she thought she knew. A strange sound escaped Michelle’s lips, a half-sigh of disbelief.
“You care about that kind of thing?”
“……”
“Oh, come on. Do you… do you really like her that much? It’s just—”
Words poured from Michelle’s mouth like a faucet left wide open. But then she suddenly realized that Jin, who had been looking down, now had his eyes locked sharply onto her face.
His cold, expressionless gaze pierced straight through her. Michelle’s skin crawled. She realized too late that she’d overstepped.
“I’m sorry. That was out of line, I—oh?”
Before she could even finish her apology, Jin vanished.
No explanation. No farewell. He was just gone.
Left standing alone, Michelle’s expression twisted oddly.
The man who claimed he was hiding because Ariel Elias didn’t want to see him… had disappeared without a word, the moment someone else spoke too freely.
“…Hah.”
Michelle let out a small, bitter laugh.
Clearly, that man’s “consideration” only extended to Ariel Elias—and no one else.
