Ch.120

"──Aaa, th-th-thank you so much!!"

"──Ah... Yeah... I get it, so just stay quiet and wrap yourself up."

Moore, who had thrown the overcoat of the cold weather combat suit he had discarded after shaking off Jackal, who was chattering his teeth, took off the shirt he was wearing. The outside temperature was below freezing. If she didn't change quickly, hypothermia and frostbite were inevitable.

As Jackal jumped into the broken ice, leaving behind his cumbersome backpack, helmet, body armor, and overcoat, Moore quickly dropped them on the spot to assist in the rescue. However, he was now feeling the piercing cold, like being stabbed with a knife, as he belatedly pulled her up underwater.

Wringing out his shirt, cutting off the moisture, Moore meticulously wiped off the water droplets on his upper body with a towel taken from his backpack.

"...Wait for 3 minutes."

"──Roger."

"Eh!? W-wait... again!?"

"Oh, well then, Master. I'll help─"

"Have some modesty! Commander too!!"

Rapi, who recognized the flow, nodded, and blushing Anis made a sharp turn on the spot. Although Neon was about to step forward to help him, she was forcibly made to turn her back by the adjacent Anis.

──It's not necessary to be so considerate.

Moore took off his boots, loosened his belt, and while lowering the pants and underwear of the combat suit, he noticed that two pairs of eyes were on him. However, since he didn't mind being seen, he quickly finished changing.

"──Oh... Darling, you're... different from what I imagined..."

A strangely caressing voice leaked out, but it was best not to mind.

Soon, he wrapped himself in the cold weather combat suit brought as a spare, tied the bootlaces securely, and started putting on the body armor and backpack.

"Why did you help?"

"Do I need a reason to help?"

As Crow, holding the assault rifle dropped in the snow, quickly inspected it, he asked Moore. In response, Moore tried to counter with a question to silence him, but perhaps realizing that he was not the type to be silenced by that, he let out a sigh.

"...I'm probably the only one who can swim in this group. Fortunately, I have enough strength to carry Nike. Losing her, Jackal, here, would drastically reduce our fighting power. So, I judged that it's better to help even if it involves a bit of recklessness. Satisfied now?"

"Th-th-thank you so much... for saving me!!"

"...Enough with the thanks. It's better to move a bit."

If they didn't move, they would get even colder; Nike may not know that. Moore pulled out a handgun from the holstered leg holster, blew into the barrel to remove water droplets, and quickly finished the detailed inspection.

"Jackal, there's nothing to be moved about. ──This is nothing more than a reward and punishment. Although he uses you as a shield when the battle starts, he hypocritically shows you meaningless kindness when it's safe. It's a hypocritical kindness that he uses to cover up his cruelty."

"...Am I the only one who thinks that giving candy is quite life-threatening?."

He had jumped into ice-cold water, risking a heart abnormality. Well, in the end, nothing serious happened.

"──It's too much for venting anger, you know. Can't you just say thank you sincerely?"

"──Right. If you treat someone badly, you complain, and if you treat them kindly, you still complain. Either way, if you're going to complain, isn't it better to treat them badly?"

"...Well, it's not like I did it expecting thanks or repayment... and that kind of treatment is not my style..." 

While thinking that he hadn't yet rotten to that extent, he put on sunglasses and wore the headset and helmet.

"──Even if the Commander says that... probably, all you do is complain about everything."

"You guys, on the other hand, can you really live so sweetly? Thinking that just because this Commander treated you a little kindly, you've become comrades─ well, you can call it comrades when everyone is struggling to the point of death."

"...I see. ...Indeed."

Hearing Crow's words, he unintentionally let out a bitter smile. Taking a soft pack from the pouch on the body armor and biting one, Anis offered an electronic lighter.

Expressing his thanks, he felt the warmth spreading throughout his body through his trachea and lungs as he was lit, and he exhaled a sigh of relief along with purple smoke.

"When we return to the Ark, someone becomes a talking scrap metal, and someone becomes a hero adored by everyone for the achievements that scrap metal has made. ──If that's what you call comrades, then I guess the Supreme Commander of Ark and I are good buddies too."

Unfortunately, he had no memory of being adored as Crow described. However, if it meant being noticed by Elysion's CEO and vice-commander, and being given some flexibility, then it might be true.

Nevertheless, near him, where purple smoke lingered, hazel and leaf-green eyes were glaring at Crow.

Considering what to do next, just as he began to worry, his disciple, looking up at him, spoke.

"──Master, shall I take your jacket?"

"...Don't shoot stray bullets at Jackal. I don't mind. ──Let's move forward soon."

"...Understood."

He lightly tapped Neon's dropped shoulders with his left hand, then prompted her in an exotic manner to take the lead.

As they resumed marching for a while, mainly Neon made several attempts to retaliate against Crow.

"----Shin KICK!!"

Approaching from behind, she tried to kick him in the shins, but Crow used the submachine gun he carried to block the blow, and Moore sighed as he observed Neon's pained expression.

"Using a gun for defense is cowardly!"

"For villains, cowardice is a virtue."

"...Please remember, I will really get revenge...! Because not giving up is the virtue of a hero...!"

"──Did Laplace also join in?"

"──Who knows?... Huh?"

While continuing to walk through what seemed like an endless snowy field, Moore suddenly felt a faint vibration at his feet. It came from beneath the thick ice formed by accumulated snow at his feet.

An earthquake? No, something else.

"──Everyone, stop."

Capturing the vibration sensed directly below, Rapi, who also felt it in the squad, conveyed that information to Exotic.

While Neon, who was picking a fight with Crow, and Anis, as well as the members of Exotic, sensed it, Moore removed the safety device from the assault rifle he held with his fingertips.

"──High-class energy reaction. C-could this be Rapture?"

"Yeah, Nikke, you're very perceptive."

"Well... thanks for the compliment."

"...We don't have an operator, so it's inevitable that reconnaissance is delayed..."

Gradually, the vibrations increased. No, rather── they were getting closer.

Ignoring the exchange between Viper and Anis, Moore, holding an assault rifle with the safety unlocked, prepared himself. The thick ice beneath the barrel cracked as he aimed the muzzle ahead── revealing the ground.

"──Encounter!"

The moment Rapi declared the start of the engagement, a Rapture, likely a Lord-class, emerged from the shattered ice.

Fortunately, it wasn't a Tyrant-class, but the difference in level still meant trouble.

Breaking through the thick ice, attacks concentrated on the emerging enemy unit.

Gunshots pounded the armor, bullets hitting it repeatedly, while grenades and shells were subsequently launched, impacting the target.

Engulfed in the smoke from the exploding grenades and shells, the machine tilted significantly, eventually collapsing onto the snowy field with a ground-shaking impact. The final shots echoed intensely.

"──Hold your fire!!"

His command was quickly followed by the cessation of gunfire from everyone. It was not a cease-fire but rather a "wait." Depending on the situation, there might be a need for further attacks.

At the location about 50 meters away, where the fallen Road-class enemy unit lay, the nuclear red light had disappeared. It was defeated.

"...Haa, haa... is it over?"

"──────!"

Jackal, relieved by having successfully avoided the surprise attack, inadvertently muttered a single phrase. Reacting quickly, the women of Counter's showed their response to that forbidden word.

"Jackal. After the battle, 'it's over,' means──"

"──Commander!!"

Rapi called out his name. It was a shout with a nuance of warning.

Instantly, a chill ran down his spine.

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──Kill.

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A voice with a familiar tone that he was accustomed to hearing in his mind, short and instructive.

Turning around on the spot, he aimed the muzzle of the assault rifle. A Rapture caught in the optical sight's reticle. Pulling the trigger quickly, he fired three short bursts, and at that moment──a beam was emitted from the enemy unit.

A flash of light grazed near his cheek, and just as he felt the heat, Moore was pushed down onto the snowy field from behind.

"──!?"

"──... Fuu..."

In a posture where the backpack had pushed him down, someone emitted a sigh that seemed like a relief.

However, his gaze remained fixed on the enemy unit that appeared in front. One of the three shots from the short burst must have hit the core. He confirmed the machine losing power, collapsing onto the snowy field.

"...This can't be true..."

The voice was not quite familiar──perhaps due to the short duration of their acquaintance.

Nevertheless, after spending several hours together, Moore could clearly identify whose voice it was.

"...Thanks for covering me. Are you okay?"

"...No, I'm not. ...What are you doing?"

"Can't you see?... Sorry, but step aside."

She──Crow pushed him away, and then Moore stood up. Rearming his assault rifle, he looked around through the optical sight. Several Raptures, which had hidden during the battle with the Lord-class, appeared opportunistically. Their silhouettes were visible.

"──We're going to sweep them! Squad, follow me!!"

"──Hey, where are you going?"

Just as he was about to take command of the squad to engage the newly appeared enemy units, Crow grabbed his arm forcefully, stopping him.

"Is that the Commander's job?"

"At least for me, it is."

"No."

Crow forcefully pulled Moore's arm. Taking advantage of the recoil, she stepped in front of him, gripping the submachine gun she had been hanging.

"What you should do as a commander is──as a lapdog of the Central Government, monitor whether Nikke engages in actions contrary to the interests of humanity. As a lapdog, act accordingly. Don't overstep your bounds, don't pretend to stand in the same position as us, and stop pretending to care about us.──Hypocrite."

Leaving behind a disdainful tone, Crow charged into the enemy units for the sweep. Seeing her back, he let out a sigh.

"Jeez... why does she always speak in such a hateful manner...!"

"Leave it for later, Anis.──Sweep them! Rapi! Take Neon and go to the right!"

"Roger!"

Gunshots echoed once again across the snowy field. Leaving some echoes, the gunfire disappeared one by one into the accumulated snow, as if melting away.

When the snowy field regained its silence, the wreckage of multiple enemy units appeared.

Confirming the absence of other enemy units in the vicinity, Lapin approached Moore, who was inspecting his remaining ammunition after removing the magazine.

"──Clear. We've taken care of all the Raptures that emerged from under the ice."

"──Understood. Everyone, well done. Let's head back."

Recognizing that all three members who gathered had no casualties, Moore turned on his heels to return to their original positions.

With a slightly tense tone, hearing that, Lapin quickened her pace a little, moving to his side when she reached him.

"──Commander. Forget what Crow said earlier. Outlaws are originally like that."

Looking up at his profile, a head taller, Rapi continued speaking.

"...Since birth, they've been broken... because of that, they believe others should be broken too. So, they always go around poking at others' weaknesses, whether with words or force."

"...I see. But... what she said isn't entirely wrong. On the surface, here, I'm the weakest existence. If it weren't for you all, I would have died long ago. I can't do anything on my own."

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──"Hypocrite."

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A small murmur, with someone's presence right by his side, tickled Rapi's sense of hearing. The sigh that leaked out with a tinge of regret seemed to imply that they were contemplating the meaning of those words.

"...Well... because the surface is our battlefield..."

On the opposite side of Moore, Anis and Neon nestled in. Although in normal circumstances, he should have urged them to maintain distance and spacing in case of an unexpected attack, at this moment, he decided to let them do as they pleased.

Looking down at Anis through his sunglasses, Moore saw her flaxen eyes looking up at him.

"...Of course, the surface might be a battlefield for you, Commander-sama, but... the real battlefield for you is down here."

Anis casually pointed downwards at the snowy field. More precisely──toward the distant fortress, humanity's last stronghold.

"Arl is a nest of vipers where every slander and conspiracy boils over."

"...Wasn't it rats?"

Recalling a metaphor Anis used when they traveled on the surface to analyze the pistol bullets given by Snow White, Moore teased her with a wry smile.

"That doesn't matter now!... Anyway, Commander-sama is trying his best to protect us, right...? Even in the Forward Operating Base(Outpost), you care about us, don't you...?"

"...I'm your Commander. I won't shy away from a bit of strain and recklessness. And... it's not just that. Even in the Forward Operating Base, you are always looking out for us, right?"

Not just that. Being an effective squad leader also involves putting in the effort to ensure that you all receive humane treatment, not just as weapons and assets.

Suddenly, memories flooded into Anis's mind, the words spun in Moore's deep voice.

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"──Efforts to treat you not as mere tools, possessions, or resources, but as individuals with humane consideration, are something I can undertake as well."

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Her heart──warmed up.

"...He said things like that, and there's no one else who cares for us more than he does."

His words were probably true. Without any mixed feelings, Moore as an individual had come this far based on those words. He had come, unchanged, for better or for worse.

His existence, if taken one step wrong, could be considered that of a suicidal person or a madman. At least, it would be a philosophy that directly opposed the current policy of Ark. Or an ideal.

Originally, she should have urged him to abandon that path.

However──Anis, who was aware of herself feeling inexplicably favorable towards his existence, jumped forward to him. She looked up at Moore, who had just come to a stop, directly in the eyes.

"So... no matter what that outlaw says, don't mind it, okay...!? Stand proud and stay true to your path, okay!?"

"Yes, Master. I'll also unleash my firepower and stay true to my path by your side!"

──Well, that's a bit...

An encouragement that didn't quite fit the situation, Anis couldn't help but look at Neon, but from a position one head higher, she caught a faint sigh escaping.

A relieved sigh, with a tinge of a smile.

When she looked up again, the corners of his mouth had loosened slightly.

"...Thank you."

"I-I just said something obvious... well... come on, let's go already?"

Anis, who reached both hands towards his left hand, urged him to move forward. In response to the firm but gentle strength──Moore lightly shrugged his shoulders.

At the same time, the backpacks strapped to their backs were lightly tapped from both sides.

-----

Q: Are there any routes like "Darkening √"?

A: Well, there have been many of those so far. I've managed to avoid them each time.

Q: What if Crow and Captain Moore teamed up?

A: Well, that would probably be the beginning of a catastrophe for humanity and Ark, wouldn't it? (I don't know though.)