Hoo.
Taking a deep breath.
Click—
I open my eyes after loading a magazine that I usually keep separated from my gun.
[Mock Combat Training, 5 seconds before the highest difficulty begins.]
Huh.
As I exhale shortly, the countdown starts ringing.
[5… 4… 3…]
I raise my gun and tense my body. Normally, this kind of training is meant to engrave the movement in the body rather than the mind, but my situation is different.
The body remembers, but the mind does not. Therefore, there’s a need for a process in which my mind becomes familiar with my body’s memories. I need to retrace my body’s experiences so my mind can synchronize with my body.
[2… 1…]
I do not know the limits of this body’s potential.
I know that ‘Misono Mika’ possesses monstrous strength that ranks among the best in the story, but I have no idea how far that can be pushed. All I really know for sure is that her innate strength and physical abilities are exceptional.
Moreover, I am aware that she possesses a skill that drops meteorites in the game and that I can handle that ability, but I know nothing about its true nature or scale.
[1 Set Start.]
Clank—
Targets pop up all around me. The key to this training is how quickly and accurately I can handle them.
However, if it were just that, it would be no more than a slightly advanced shooting training—not something that qualifies as mock combat training.
Thus, each target is essentially a kind of turret. Once they detect a participating student, they begin firing in various patterns until they are marked as disabled—much like a pitching machine.
Only, they’re much more expensive and actually worth their cost. The maintenance is also substantial, but since this is Trinity, we can afford it.
In summary, the goal of this training is to process those targets as quickly and accurately as possible, and with ‘minimal damage’.
Click— Tu-da-da-da-da—!!
As soon as I see a turret’s muzzle turning toward me, I hit the ground. It’s obviously ridiculous to dodge because of a gun, but predicting the trajectory and performing evasive maneuvers is a different story. Even if I can’t predict the path, as long as I move quickly, the chance of getting hit is significantly reduced.
Since the bullets are non-lethal rubber pellets, even if I got hit a hundred times with this mystical body, I wouldn’t die or get seriously injured. But taking that damage while managing to shoot targets would mean ignoring the ‘minimal damage’ requirement—totally incorrect.
What I want is the most perfect answer. The objective is to perfectly replicate and internalize the answers engrained in Mika’s body. Only then can I realize the image I have in mind.
Thus, I must become the perfect military-trained high school girl.
First, I locate the turret equipped with a sniper rifle and angle my body to conceal behind cover. In the process, I also aim at the target located directly ahead of me on the right and shoot.
Ta-da—!!
For some reason, the sound feels lively as the muzzle spits out bullets. As three rounds land successively slightly off-center from the target, the turret is disabled and comes to a halt.
One down.
In the first set, seven targets or turrets are placed. Aside from the one sniper rifle turret, the types of guns are random. It seems they haven’t randomly chosen another sniper rifle turret.
Oh, and naturally, if all these turrets shot at the students simultaneously, this wouldn’t even count as training. How is that different from being a hunted prey in a drive hunt?
That’s why the training is structured so that a few turrets will fire, and after emptying their magazines, another turret will start firing in sequence.
Ta-rah—!
Except for the sniper rifle turret. That one just shoots whenever it wants. So it’s the most annoying.
There may not be a fixed pattern for the turrets to fire, but a certain flow exists. Breaking that flow is the sniper turret, which naturally becomes the top priority to eliminate.
Naturally, the turrets don’t just remain stationary. In a real scenario, targets mostly move. They are moving targets, at least vertically or horizontally.
However, Mika’s body is fully optimized for combat. Even if I can’t perfectly visualize the strategy in my head, it still showcases nearly perfect combat skills. What that means is that, fundamentally, her body has automatic combat capabilities built-in.
Shuu— Crash!
A small cluster of stars bursting from my fingertips traces a line impossible for a conventional bullet, crushing the target of the sniper turret. Should I call this a mystic-type attack patched with reality?
Anyways, I’ve defined this ability as the capability to create and manipulate small-scale stars or meteorites. If it turns out I can operate it on a larger scale, I can revise its definition then. What matters is getting familiar enough with this ability to use it at my will.
After the sniper turret is rendered inoperative, the difficulty significantly decreases as I tackle the remaining five targets in under 40 seconds.
But it’s not enough. Mika’s answer resides at a much higher level.
[The second set will start in 30 seconds.]
In the second set, the number of targets and turrets increases to 14, and in the final set, it rises to 28. As the number of turrets increases, the odds of a sniper turret appearing naturally increase, making the difficulty skyrocket or more.
[The final score for this mock combat training is 27860 points.]
Somehow, it seems they recognize the number of times a student gets hit to deduct points, meaning a trick of tanking damage while processing targets as quickly as possible won’t work. However, it’s possible that allowing myself to get hit when necessary might lead to higher scores than dodging and wasting time. I should try that in the next training.
…
[The final score for this mock combat training is 28210 points.]
Hmm, the hypothesis held true.
[Mock Combat Training High Score Ranking]
[1. Misono Mika☆ – 29500 points]
…But looking at that seemingly hopeless score, existing solely to crush any semblance of hope left me with another bitter day.
*
The girl, staring blankly at the pink envelope for a long time, finally bit her lip.
[An angel☆ who learned of your situation]
“…This is just ridiculous.”
The girl’s hand stiffened for a moment, gripping tightly. She then ripped open the envelope, checking its contents.
Inside was a neatly folded piece of stationery, and…
“A check card?”
[To the Vice Student Council President of Abydos High School.]
[Hello! Sending a letter to someone for the first time feels a bit awkward, so I thought I’d at least try a simple ice-breaking attempt.
Hmm~ Honestly, doing ice-breaking alone feels a bit strange… You need two hands to clap, right? Still, I’ll give it a shot! Trying something new is always worthwhile.]
“…”
What on earth are you trying to say? The girl skipped over three paragraphs filled with meaningless content before she could finally get to the point.
[Ah, did I ramble too much? Hmm~ But I think we can get to the main point now!
To introduce myself a bit, I’m a student holding a relatively high position at Trinity. What do you think, impressive? By the way, this is the point where you should be surprised, so if there’s someone nearby, just act surprised!
Well, I suspect you don’t have the best feelings about Trinity… but for the duration of this letter, I hope you can set aside your prejudices☆]
“Anything but that, I’m sure this will likely add to the grudges I already have against Trinity.”
The girl furrowed her brows, massaging her throbbing head. Just from the content written here, it was evident that the author of this letter was not your average noise-maker.
[Recently, I learned about the hardships Abydos is experiencing. More specifically, the sum of the debt you owe and interest that must be paid monthly, as well as the existence of thugs employed by someone to put pressure on you guys. I’ll skip the details on how I found out since you probably already know!]
“That’s a given. If they are someone who can access information about other schools in Trinity, they are probably one of the vice-presidents of large clubs.”
[Just for reference, Abydos cannot rely on us to solve your debts and interests. You probably expected as much, but if you did hope, I’m sorry! However, given Abydos’ current state, helping would verge on charity, and no one in Trinity’s upper echelons would easily agree to that.
It might be possible to incorporate Abydos High School into Trinity’s branch with certain conditions, but that’s probably not the method you would prefer, right? You have been trying your best all along to keep Abydos afloat☆]
Support on behalf of Trinity isn’t simple either. There’s no return to match that, which means it remains a charity that gives nothing back! By the way, I’m not sending this letter to ridicule or mock your circumstances, I promise?!]
“This is the type that burdens everyone around them…”
The personality of the writer, clearly expressed throughout certain lines, advertised that she was the kind of person you’d get tired just being around.
[Hmm~ So, Trinity won’t help Abydos. The Student Council doesn’t have a nice enough excuse to help you guys either, entangled with issues regarding private corporations. While it’s true the amount of interest exceeds legal boundaries, that won’t be resolved just because the Student Council intervenes.
So, I decided to personally support you all!]
“…?”
The girl wondered if she had misread something.
It is understandable; no one from other schools had ever stepped up to help Abydos before. Regardless of how significant or minor the gesture, no goodwill ever reached them.
But the sender of this letter was stating she would extend a hand to help. For the first time, someone from another school was willing to assist Abydos.
Had it been an adult, she might have thought of it as a nice lie or a trick. However, the sender was a student, much like herself. Perhaps that’s why, with a look of concentration, the girl decided to reread the letter from the beginning.
It was clear the writing was that of a loud personality, but the thoughts seemed reasonably profound. The attempts to ease the atmosphere here and there were either a reflection of the other’s character or perhaps an intention to lend her consideration—she couldn’t say for sure.
One thing was sure, though: she had no intention of wrapping up on a playful note. The sincerity to truly want to help shone too clearly in the letter.
The girl returned to the original wording.
[So, I decided to personally support you all! It’s a sad thing that neither Trinity, Student Council, nor anyone else is willing to lend their strength to you, right?
You probably noticed when you opened the envelope, but there should be a check card enclosed. There’s some personal money filled into the account connected to it. Oh, this money isn’t for repaying your debts, by the way?
What I want is for you to resolve your supply issues. That way, you guys can breathe a little easier when it comes to paying monthly interests, right? And if it bothers you, you can think of it as a personal debt I owe you. There’s no deadline set, and the interest rate is 0%, and I’ll refuse if you come to pay it back☆
I’m sorry I can’t offer more help. But I have other kids I want to support personally, so it might be difficult for me to provide any larger assistance at this time. Ha-ha, did the ending feel a bit lacking after hyping it up?]
“…”
The girl read the letter through to the very end in silence.
[Hopefully, everyone can be happy.]
That was where the content ended. There wasn’t any space left on the stationery. Since there was no intention to include another sheet or continue writing on the back, it seemed the author meant for it to conclude there.
The girl was never able to find out who sent the letter.
She wished there had been a way to figure it out, but Abydos’ circumstances did not allow such permissions.
“An angel from Trinity’s upper ranks, someone who can access information about other schools.”
What? That’s too broad a range.
The girl, Takamachi Hoshino, sighed and carefully refolded the crumpled letter to return it to the envelope. She then let her tied-up hair down and flopped onto her bed. Her pink hair scattered around her like fallen petals.
She decided not to stubbornly refuse to use the check card. If the other party had explicitly offered to help just them, she might have felt a sense of discomfort about it, but that wasn’t the case.
“No matter what happens, I’ll definitely…”
Without fail, she would find out who it was and scold them for being so foolishly kind. A happy ending for everyone didn’t exist in this world, after all.
Takamachi Hoshino still did not know that the sender wasn’t just a simple fool.
