“A mission has come down.”
A mission has been issued from headquarters.
It was something that I, the Commander, and Midori all knew, but we hadn’t directly participated in the operation.
After all, we were just overseeing the operation, and all the actual work was done by the agents.
More specifically, it was 1st Squad and 2nd Squad that would be taking part.
“This operation will take place around Lake Bros. The location of the Krytenium core is probably… here.”
The Commander zoomed in on the map, showing a real image of the lake.
There weren’t any cities or towns around, but there were a few villages not too far away.
That’s why we needed to resolve things as quickly as possible.
“Bros Lake is surrounded by several villages within a few kilometers, so we can’t drag this operation out.”
“If that’s the case, we need a swift resolution.”
“Exactly. That’s why I called 1st and 2nd Squads. One squad could handle it, but the level of contamination could rise in the meantime.”
From the photo of the lake, next came an update on its condition.
The contamination was progressing faster than expected, already nearing a level three status.
If we delayed here, it was obvious that the contaminated entities would swarm the nearby villages.
Thus, headquarters issued the mission, and we immediately called the agents.
While the plan wasn’t perfectly devised, the ultimate goal was to destroy the Krytenium core.
“Hmm.”
“Agni, what’s up?”
“…I might not be able to fight.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that part.”
“Really?”
Agni couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.
After all, wielding a sword engulfed in flames near a lake was bound to be a bit uncomfortable.
If it were a game, there wouldn’t be any reason to think like this.
That’s because Catharsis doesn’t have environmental systems like that.
Fighting in a lake wouldn’t debuff fire attacks, nor would an icy terrain buff them.
Of course, attacking an ice-type enemy with a fire-type character would deal extra damage.
“When we destroy the Krytenium core, we’ll do it like before—by firing the ship’s cannons. This operation’s main focus is dealing with the contaminated entities that emerge from the lake.”
“Commander, does that mean we won’t be going into the lake at all?”
“Good question. Unfortunately, 1st and 2nd Squads lack agents skilled in underwater combat. So for now, it will be that way.”
The Commander answered Mary’s question.
Going into the water seemed quite dangerous.
Most of the contaminated entities emerging from the lake would likely excel in underwater combat, while we did not.
But in the end, our goal was to destroy the Krytenium core.
That task would be handled by the ship; the precise objective of this mission was to deal with the contaminated entities that would attack the nearby villages after the core was destroyed.
“In the end, if we launch a few attacks in front of the lake, the contaminated entities will rush towards you to protect the core, and your job is to take care of them.”
– So if we destroy the core, the lake will be fine too?
“That seems to be the case. Since the lake is already at level three contamination, if we don’t act quickly, even the water will become fully contaminated.”
– Hmm.
Well, the conclusion was that we needed to resolve everything as quickly as possible.
That was why I summoned everyone from the morning.
But since we hadn’t properly established a plan yet, we had to send them off to training and work hard on devising a strategy.
After spending a few very relaxed days, I never expected such a sudden mission would come down.
If only the original work had provided some kind of date label, that would have been great.
*
“What are we going to do?”
“First, we need to deal with the entities coming out of the lake. After all, there aren’t any airborne enemies among the contaminated entities emerging from the lake.”
“Then how about setting up a formation? We have agents who can attack from a distance, so I think it sounds good.”
In the operations command room, all the agents except for the two of us were absent.
Actually, having agents to plan the operation wasn’t that essential.
There weren’t even any agents specialized in that area; it was just the two of us thinking things through.
“It doesn’t sound bad, but… the lake is quite large, can we set up a formation with just two squads?”
“Hmm…”
“I think it might be a bit difficult with just two squads. Even with ten members, we can’t exactly line them all up one by one, can we?”
“Definitely, my thinking was a bit shallow this time. So what if we could make it so that the contaminated entities can only come towards the squads?”
“How?”
“By placing barricade-like objects around, we can funnel them in one direction.”
I put my thinking cap on.
In the original work, the mission was just resolved with a couple of battles against contaminated entities, but reality isn’t that straightforward.
“Hmm… Let’s think a little longer about this. After all, we don’t have a way to set up barricades at the moment.”
“I might be able to figure that out.”
“?”
Of course, I wasn’t actually going to solve it myself, but I thought I could at least come up with an idea.
Technically, it was a slight workaround.
Such methods weren’t in the actual game, but I brought it up because I’d seen something like it in the first mission.
“Why not drop some objects from our ship that could be used as barricades? That should work, right?”
“…”
“In the end, our goal is to reduce the enemies’ movement paths, and if we have the right objects for barricades, there shouldn’t be an issue with deployment and usage.”
I thought it was a pretty decent way to go.
Logically, it was actually a good idea.
Though finding objects to use as barricades might take a little time.
After all, ships aren’t exactly stocked with construction materials.
“What do you think?”
“Well, we have a little time left, so let’s think some more.”
“Then I’ll prepare a bit regarding this matter.”
“Thanks.”
It was a bit brief, but we managed to lay down some groundwork for the operation.
I wasn’t sure how successful it would be, but the Commander sat down for a moment after roughly setting the operation’s foundation.
After all, he’d been talking while standing the whole time.
Since he collected the agents and had been going on with the briefing ever since, it was understandable.
The Commander wasn’t particularly fit, being an average person.
On top of that, he didn’t usually exercise, so standing for so long had to be a bit tough.
Well, had he been working out instead of playing games, that wouldn’t have been easy either.
Seriously… It was complicated to manage things in several ways.
“Commander, do you need something to drink?”
“I’m thirsty, but I just need a short break.”
“Then let’s go to the cafe for a bit. There’s nothing more we can do here anyway.”
In the operations command room, there was really nothing left to do.
After all, it was specialized for commanding operations.
It wasn’t suitable for searching for materials, entering the database, or holding meetings.
If we were going to work, the office would be a better option, and if we were going to chat, the cafe would be much more appropriate.
Sure, there’d be other agents in the cafe, so it wouldn’t be entirely quiet, but at least it was better than being here without any drinks prepared.
*
Though there was a buzz around us, I couldn’t make out what was being said, so I simply stayed quiet.
After all, it was a cafe, and chatting there was expected.
It wouldn’t be unusual for the agents to be more talkative today.
“Commander, is iced Americano enough for you?”
“That should be enough. We’ll have to eat lunch in an hour anyways.”
Indeed.
That was true.
After about two or three hours of briefings and discussions, I’d just come here to quench my thirst and take a brief break.
By now, I could imagine Midori was probably wasting time on her phone in the office, as usual.
We’d just spend a reasonable amount of time before going for lunch.
“By the way, are you not wearing the clothes you bought the other day?”
“Ah… I don’t plan to wear them casually.”
“Well, good thinking.”
Seeing the Commander’s reaction, it seemed he half-understood why I was saying this.
If he didn’t feel that way, he definitely would’ve asked me why I wasn’t wearing them.
“Do you… know why I said that?”
I was curious about why he seemed to know without me having to say anything.
It wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t know, but it was simply because I was just curious.
Really, I was just interested.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a reason to ask in the first place.
“Well, I guess it’s because others saw you…”
“You knew…”
“Well, I saw it that day. Since there were only women on board before, I hadn’t noticed. But it felt a bit strange.”
It seemed he had indeed caught on.
After all, he was the one who had kind of hinted that others noticed my chest.
Honestly, I hadn’t been thinking about it back then, but now I felt a bit grateful.
Of course… I should’ve properly taken care of things that day.
“…Thank you.”
“Why the sudden thanks?”
“I just feel like I’d be in a much tougher spot if you hadn’t said anything that day.”
Knowing his personality, I thought he wouldn’t care, even without me saying anything.
But still, I felt it was important to mention this.
A casual ‘thank you’ after the fact was a little unsatisfactory, and in retrospect, I truly appreciated it.
“Honestly… I never expected anyone to look at my chest, thanks to you, Commander.”
“Well, considering I might’ve waited too long to mention it, I’m not so sure.”
“You don’t need to feel that way. I’m just expressing my gratitude, that’s all.”
By the way, why were the agents around us so talkative?
With voices overlapping continuously, I couldn’t catch what anyone was saying, but it was all pretty noisy.
In the middle of the conversations, it was like, ‘Commander, this girl, that,’ and the chatter kept building.
Honestly, I started to wonder if it’d be better for us to retreat into a room to rest given how chatty everyone was today—though there weren’t any rooms in the ship’s cafe.
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