----Shuichi Arakawa Point of View


　The moment I went under the black gate, I felt an indescribable sensation. If I were to compare it to the feeling of being submerged in 'slushy water', I'd say it's a sensation that is hard to describe.　It's like the time I was immersed in the rotten, murky water when we did a sweeping mission deep in the Amazon, and it was similar.
　But it was only a moment before my vision opened up and a grassy field jumped in front of me. It seems that this is definitely an isolated island surrounded by sheer cliffs, just as Ozaki had explained.

'Has it become a habitat for bird-like creatures?

　I can catch a glimpse of a large bird resting its wings in the grassland I can see through the suit's camera. At the same time, after checking for sufficient oxygen levels and toxic substances to fill the air, I open the cockpit of my suit and take a breath of air outside.

'Delicious ... and clear.'

　I take out the cigarette I have in my breast pocket and light it. As I waited for my subordinate to arrive, the space behind me began to distort and a blotchy shadow slowly appeared. It's not pleasant to watch the suit come out of the distorted space with a 'slimy' feeling, as if there is a time lag between it and the earth as explained in advance.
　But.........if it takes such a long time for a subordinate who was supposed to have jumped in right after me to appear, it will be tomorrow when the last one, Gongju, transitions to this world. Looking at my subordinate, who had already finished his third cigarette but had only shifted to the upper half of his body, I was once again aware of the 'wall of the other world'.




''It's been three hours since the start of the gate raid, and the number of people who have transitioned is 20.......''

　Lewis, who came right after me, is sitting in the grass with his suit undone, blabbing away. If it hadn't been for Kunugi's advice before the transition, 'If it's going to take a long time, you should send supplies and such in two teams,' I would have wasted an entire day. As I was thinking about that, I realized that the truck and the suit holding onto it had started the transition.

'Louis, what's that truck carrying?'

I think it's called 'supplies for the base'.

　Okay, then, let's get to work on setting up the outpost. I'm going to spread out around the area and say, 'Let's grill some chicken! I gather my men who are chasing after the bird and give them the order to start preparing to set up the base. As these well-trained soldiers, they quickly reapply their suits and begin surveying the area, while their arms are used to plan the layout of the base.
　From the reports of my men, who have been exploring the perimeter of the island while chasing birds, it has been determined that the island is an oval shape with a circumference of about 40 kilometers. Most of it is grassland with only a few short, wooded areas to the south. Assuming the island itself to be a natural fortress, they decided it would be better to build a base in the center of the island due to the problem of the enemy.

'Louis, we're going to build an outpost in the middle of the island. It will be a square of 600 meters in length and width. The perimeter is to be surrounded by a reinforced barrier and the anti-aircraft position is to be in the center of the base. The gates we bring in will be positioned to the north.

What about surveillance?

"Send them in pairs, east, west, north, south, and west of the island, with sniper rifles and floodlights. Don't let them open fire without permission, okay?　Tell them to clear out if they see anything.

　Along with Lewis, who sent my instructions over the terminal, I'll help unload the supplies from the truck that finally completed the transition. After setting up the base, we need to launch the satellites and assemble the reconnaissance aircraft, and then we need to figure out how to position the tanks.
　As I was unloading my gear, I noticed that the number of people in the base was increasing rapidly. When I was wondering about it, Louis called out to me.

His son gave the order over there, 'Hold onto the truck and rush to the gate because going apart would be a waste of time.'

　I see, if our safety is guaranteed to some extent, that's good too. That's what I should have instructed you to do right from the start. Thanks to the subordinates who are shifting in one after another, the work is progressing quickly and the defensive wall of the base has already been completed.
　The report has come in that the coat of the observation satellite has already been assembled according to the instructions, and preparations are underway for its launch. But everything is going too smoothly, in my experience, at a time like this, something is supposed to be very troublesome. As I was thinking about this, as I expected, an urgent call from the surveillance team came through.

"This is the east side surveillance team. This is the east surveillance team, we have a large flying object approaching from bearing 0-9-3. Altitude 80, distance 2500, slow speed.

Surveillance, do you think the creature has any intelligence?

"Unknown. But I don't think a creature like the rotten flesh bird has any intelligence.

　Lewis checked the surveillance team's report to see if he 'has the intelligence', but the response was 'probably not'. What do we do?　It will reach the skies above this island in about ten minutes, albeit at a low speed, not much time. I check to see if the creature is aware of us.

"It seems to have noticed us.

　If he's aware of it, then contact is inevitable. Should we just use a projector to send out a light signal and see what happens?　 I'll ask Lewis for his opinion and get his approval before I send a transmission and then inform my men of my decision.

'Send a light signal. If they continue to approach, I'll fire two warning shots at the target at a distance of 900. If it continues to approach further I am authorized to shoot it down at a distance of 300.

Yes, sir.

　After that communication, I stop sending it to focus on my men. You can see that the subordinates have heard our story and are gathering around to watch the situation with bated breath. That's right, my troop mates are committing their first 'battle' on another world. I have no intention of scolding those who are stopping the work. And then the communication comes in again.

"Target shot down!

Copy that. We'll send out replacement units.

　Apparently, my first contact with the otherworldly creature ended in disappointment. I turned to the command post that had just been set up to hear a battle report from my returning subordinates.




''So the 80mm anti-material rifle you used was effective, right?

'Yes, it was more than powerful enough. Perhaps even the 20 millimeter an infantryman carries could be shot down.

　As explained by this guy, the image recovered from the suit showed a monster bird falling to the surface of the sea with a single blow. The basic structure of the creature is not much different from that of the earth, and there is no doubt that the monster bird that was hit by a bullet to the head lost its fighting ability by itself.
　However, when Miki analyzed the images of the time when Kouki transferred to another world, there were reports that the creatures of that world were using something like a bullet-proof wall called a 'magic barrier'. Does the barrier not exist in this G-88?

Was there any indication that you were inhibited by anything when you opened fire?

Inhibition?　I don't know what you mean but yes, I think there was a momentary lag before it landed on the target. It was like it went through something.

　After all, it's better to think that 'some kind of barrier' is developing in this world as well. Miki said, 'Even though it's magic, it's probably a lump of energy, so it should be able to be nullified by colliding with an energy that exceeds it. In this case, the energy of the rifle bullet was probably more powerful than the barrier energy that the monster bird was deploying.
　I came to that conclusion and made my subordinates back down.

"Captain, we'll launch the observation satellite. "Captain, we'll launch the observation satellite, and we've assembled the VSTOL that we brought in.

Oh. Get the observation device ready for test flights. We're going to put a heavy lift on the pilot, but I hope that's okay.

　I instruct Luis as he walks into the room, then I light a cigarette and inhale the purple smoke. I understand that the number of cigarettes has increased recently, but I can't stop myself. The only thing left to do is to wait for the information to be gathered, since the base and barracks have been set up?　I don't know what to do next in terms of priorities.
　If this was the case, I should have rushed Ellis into the gate earlier. As I was feeling that regret, Ellis entered the room with a knock on the door.

''Ellis Dauntless, I have arrived.

'I've been waiting for you!　I've finished the whole thing for now, but what else do you think I need to do?

　When I call out to her, Ellis pushes her glasses up with her fingers before continuing to speak with a severely unhappy look on her face.

'One way?　From what I've seen before I came to this room, it appeared that the only thing you had finished was setting up the base.　What about making the hours of work?　How are the barracks assigned?　How long have you been eating and using PX?　Recreational facilities ... especially a shower room?　You seem to have accumulated a lot of cigarette butts in your ashtray, what the hell have you been doing?

　I forgot──, the biggest difference between Ellis and Claire was whether or not they were 'venomous' or not. You'll be able to find a lot of people who will be able to help you. And because the content is so correct that it cannot be excused, the person being told can only endure while listening to the sound of his or her heart breaking.

''I'm sorry, I'm going to leave it all up to you to run the facility.

I think it would be better for you, Captain, if you would use your combat skills. As a start, I'll release the birds captured by Fool A and B, if that's alright with you.　They're making a big deal about 'grilling', but I don't want to eat it.

　I don't want to eat that either, so I give my permission. Ellis complained even more and began operating the terminal at high speed and sending instructions to his subordinates. If you let him operate this kind of facility, Ellis will show a more competent side than Claire, just dismiss the fact that the rules will be very strict.
　For some reason, Ellis sent an email to my terminal as well, although I'm supposed to be the captain, instructing me to do the job, so I silently lifted my weight.




　I took a break, and as I was taking my dinner at the mealtime Ellis had set up, I received a message on my terminal saying 'please come to the command center immediately', so I headed to the command center with my plate in hand. When I entered, a subordinate who hadn't taken off his flight gear was waiting for me with a salute, so I saluted him.

'Captain, your manners are bad, you'll have to wait 20 seconds and eat all that dinner.'

　I eat my food as fast as I can so as not to make Ellis, whose brow is wrinkled, any more angry. It seems twenty seconds have passed in the middle of the meal, and Ellis starts to explain.

The pilot of the observation plane has returned from collecting information. Based on the data we analyzed and his own testimony, we were unable to identify any man-made buildings or cities within a 400 kilometer radius. The first artifact is a building 520 km south, which appears to be a "lighthouse", which suggests that at least some of the creatures on this world are capable of navigation. Based on that, we have no problem assuming that they have reasonable science and technology.

　So you're not what we would call a 'caveman' on earth?　When I finally finish eating, I ask a question and everyone in the room nods their heads. Then Cote brings out a mobile screen and begins to explain in detail.

'This is footage from the observation satellite we launched. The satellite is currently stationary almost directly above this base. We've analyzed the image that was sent to us and it shows that this world is properly cosmic and probably conforms to the laws of physics on Earth. There are never any turtles lifting the earth.

　I see, isn't this an interesting world where the waters of the ocean are falling into an abyss from the edge of the world, just like in the mythology? Where do you think we'll be at?　I prompt Court to explain.

'The point we are at is here, the island in the upper left corner of the continent you see in the center. We named it 'Noah Island' for convenience. The satellite imagery shows a large city 920 kilometers south of Noah Island, and given the size of the cities scattered around it, it's probably the capital?

　It's only about 1,000 kilometers away from the national capital, but the level of civilization seems to be quite low when you say that there are no aircraft and other things flying in a scramble. I want more information.... I asked Ellis if he had any, and he replied, 'The vice captain is analyzing the images.
　After waiting for Lewis or sending my man, who was still in his flight suit, to get a bite to eat, I crossed my arms and waited for him to arrive.

'I'm sorry, I was having trouble coordinating the satellite, we just got a video transmission from the satellite, please take a look.'

　Everyone looks at the image Lewis has projected on the screen and is amazed.

''Is this........a carriage?''

"Yes, it's not a horse but an armadillo-like creature pulling it, but I think it's a carriage. And the lights are torches, not electricity, and some of them are mysterious luminescent spheres, which I suspect are 'magic', as she explained. And one more thing I've already analyzed - this planet is about four and a half times the size of Earth.

　Okay, let's sum it up.......this world, G-88, is a similar environment to the world where Earth is located. However, for some reason the gravity is almost identical to that of Earth, even though it is about 4.5 times larger. In addition, the creatures that live there are different from those on Earth, and their level of civilization is at a medieval level. It's possible to destroy protozoa with the weapons we've brought in, and the closest artifacts are 520 kilometers south.
　I think, holding my eyebrows together, what do you want me to do?　Miki smiled and said something like 'please be flexible', but I didn't expect this to happen.
　I was expecting action from the other side because I thought that even if there was civilization, it was at best at the 19th century level. I would ask my men for their opinion, 'What should we do now?

'Why don't you try to make contact with the nation that you were able to confirm after your son's arrival?　And if we're challenged by force, I think we just have to withdraw.

I agree with Ellis. "I agree with Ellis," he said, "and in case of a worst-case scenario, let's have an aircraft equipped with gravity-defying bombs in the sky as direct support. I think it would be safer if your son were to abandon us and take off at high speed, just in case.

　I knew it was going to happen. Before Gong-Ju, who was scheduled to arrive the next morning, arrived, I began to work with my subordinates on the detailed procedures for contacting the nation.





　The next morning, I waited for Gong-Ju's arrival, somewhat dazed from having slept only three hours. But it was true that an hour on Earth is a day here. The last subordinate who had just arrived was quite surprised to see the base that had been completed.
　According to his experience, only 50 minutes had passed since I rushed into the gate. As I remembered my subordinate's words, the space in front of me began to distort, and the 8th generation machine that Gongju wore started to feel 'slimy'.......no!　His appearance is extremely fast. Seeing Gong-Ju shifting at an alarming rate, an idea comes to mind and warns his subordinates.

'Evacuate from the gate!　All those who don't get there in time, take a blasting stance vs.　That guy is rushing into the gate at the speed of sound.

　A few seconds after I warned him, he finished his transition and flew up into the sky with a thumping shockwave, accelerating rapidly. I shouted at him with my terminal while catching his appearance at the edge of my vision.

You're an idiot!　Who's rushing into the gate at the speed of sound?　If you're not careful, people will die.

'I'm sorry but it was my mom's instructions. She told me to give you the papers as soon as possible.

　But that doesn't mean we can forgive the act of not confirming the situation on our side. I'm going to scold her later and see the documents. I'm not going to be able to get a good look at the documents that were handed to me after bumping my fist against the landed Kunugi. There is...

''I think it's time to start a full-scale investigation. If you need to negotiate something after the investigation, please withdraw and contact me. Please do not negotiate a treaty without permission, even if you make the mistake of doing so.
　P.S.- If you take the liberty of overpowering an unknown civilization by force, I will divorce you.

It said. I'm not that cerebral!　More importantly, what happens to Gongju's custody if we get divorced or something?　As I was thinking about this, Koki, who came peeking at the documents beside me, opened his mouth.

''If we get divorced, I'll go to my mom's side.

　I heard my subordinates chuckle when they heard Gongju's words, and Ellis said 'it's a reasonable decision' and patted his head. With the scene somewhat mortified, I tell him what I'm going to do.

I'm going to go out to reconnoitre the area where the artifacts we've identified from the satellite are located. We'll contact the nation if we can, there will be 30 people with us, all of whom will be armed. We'll be in a circle formation during the trip, so you'll stay in the center of it, and if anything happens to you, which I don't feel comfortable telling you as a non-military person, you'll be on your own and in a fast breakaway. That's an order.

Yes, sir.

　He smiled and ran off with a smile as I told Conju, who was glancing at the bird while I explained to him, 'You can do whatever you want until you're ready. After arranging for the guards to put on their coats, I decided to head towards the barracks to get ready for the sortie.
　

'We will now head to the continent, 520km south. Our main objective is to make contact with the nations on the continental coast!　However, if this is not possible, we have to pull out after gathering some information. First of all, the landing procedure is to approach the coast with the transport plane, and then descend from the sky. Once we land, we'll use our optical camouflage to hide ourselves.
　After that, the suit will cruise at the speed of the suit to the first target, the "fort". According to the information from the satellite, this fort doubles as a checkpoint, so we will negotiate with the government officials here and try to contact them.

　I give my men time to digest the information they've been given, and then I explain the following.

'Next are the rules of battle. Basically, we don't allow firing except in self-defense, and we don't allow the use of chemical weapons, so keep that in mind. Jonathan!　Take off the tear gas firing device on your suit. The formation you're moving in is a circle formation, I'll place a Gong Tree in the center, protect it at all costs!　Everything else is basically at your discretion.
　I've gone on and on about this, but if you feel the need to do something, shoot me. If you feel like you're in trouble, run. I'll take full responsibility.

Captain, it's business as usual then.

"I don't want to have to explain to you guys the tactical action radius and specific tactics!　I gave that up in the beginning.

　As far as I can tell, explaining it to guys who use their wild instincts to avoid bullets from snipers is a slippery slope. The best results will be produced if they are moved at their own discretion. Once I had made that decision, as I had been doing up until now, I ordered everyone to board the transport plane.




A short time after we boarded the transport, the pilot sent a message to the soldiers' room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving at the drop zone shortly. I would appreciate it if you could take a few things with you when you disembark, and I would appreciate it if you could pay for yesterday's poker loss as soon as possible.

　I listen to the pilot's voice communicating with me while pretending to be a flight attendant in a back-up voice, and I give my subordinates instructions while holding my brows.

'When the ramp turns green, jump out of the front row!　Don't ponder, show him how cool he is.

Well, I'm gonna do a nice rolling descent into... Nuh-uh!

　I kick the subordinate who said something stupid off the descent port and I start preparing to descend as well. I've explained to Gouki to follow me while flying normally at the very end, so there's no problem. After confirming that all of my men have descended, I too will jump down to the ground. During the descent, Kunugi sends out a message as he flies around me, matching my speed.

'Your troops are full of interesting people, aren't they?

''Gongju, for God's sake, don't be such an idiot, okay?　That's all I worry about.

　I replied as I looked at the beach where my men were gathered. As I landed on the beach with Gongju, my men came running up to me to report back to me.

'A reconnaissance team is advancing five kilometres to the south, checking for safety.

　It seems they're already doing what they think is best for themselves before I give them instructions. It's good to leave it to the individual's judgment, after all. I decided to use my free time to set up a collection point and establish communication with the direct support aircraft waiting in the sky.
　When I looked at Gongju, I saw that he was about to go somewhere to chase after the rabbit-like creature that was nearby, so I decided to send Cote and Jonathan out to monitor it. As I finished these tasks, I received a transmission from the scouting team.

'This is the reconnaissance team, we have found a group fighting 12 kilometers south. We're monitoring it now.

　You're in a bit of a pickle all of a sudden. Some kind of burglar?　That seems to be the case in this medieval level world, I send a communication to my subordinates, 'Let me know the current situation in detail.

"There's a princess who looks like she has money, and there are about 100 people dressed as knights who are supposedly guarding the carriage, and they're fighting a ridiculously large worm.

　It's a bit of an about-face, but it's really easy to understand. The bottom line is that a person who is thought to be a nobleman or royalty is being attacked by a monster. If we rescue them, it could be a foothold in the goal of 'making contact with the state'.
　I tell the scouting team to stay where they are because I'm going to check on them all, and then I give instructions to my men on the beach.

'The scouting party has found a person they believe to be a nobleman or royalty being attacked. We'll rescue him if we can!　After activating optical camouflage, we'll start moving.

　While moving in a circle formation with Gongju in the center, I went to the place where the reconnaissance team was waiting, and I could see a battle going on in front of me. There were about three decapitated worms, and the group that seemed to be a knightly group seemed to have suffered a reasonable amount of damage. As I continued to observe, Gongju opened his mouth.

''Ooh, it's an elf!　I guess the enemy is the usual 'Sandworm' guy?

Do you even know what that thing is?

　Gongju's statement seemed to shock his subordinates as well, ''What's an elf?'' And 'Is a worm the name of that monster?' And so on. How does Gongju know about otherworldly creatures?　
　Well, we'll get to that later, but the question is whether we can destroy it with the firepower we have now. I'm going to ask him about that too.

'Elves are a common name for the 'ear-longers' like those people who are being attacked. I think those worms are sand worms or some other creature of that nature, but I think they are just very durable and can be managed with a rifle. Also, I don't think they're intelligent, for sure.

　It is true that the worms do not move in a way that is intelligent, and it can be seen that they are fighting more like insects. 　Even though he only experienced the battlefield twice, when he rescued Alice and this time, I take my hat off to his calmness. Painfully aware of my son's awesomeness and my own inexperience in not being able to keep my cool, I send instructions to my subordinates.

'First squad, aim for the worm with your rifles!　You can keep popping them until they stop working. Second and third squads, full perimeter defense. Fire!

　Along with my orders, they started firing the rifles equipped by the 10 suits belonging to the 1st squadron........





----Adrienne Viewpoint ---....


　On our way back from inspecting the important port city of Huron, we encountered the Giant Sandworm, a disaster-class sandworm with an A-class designation, and only 120 members of the platinum knights who doubled as bodyguards were able to counter the disaster-class sandworm. No matter how elite the Platinum Knights are said to be, there is no way they can counter with that many people, and they were in a desperate battle from the very beginning of the encounter.

''Princess!　Please run away and leave us alone!　I won't have this place anymore.

No, you can't use auxiliary magic. If I leave, my magic will wear off and you'll be too weak to fight.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good deal more than I'd like. I'm not going to be able to get a good look at them, but I'm not going to be able to get a good look at them.
　But that doesn't mean I can't break out of this situation, and I can only watch one more knight run out of power to protect me.
　It was then that I saw a large hole in the side of the sandworm. Then I noticed a series of thunderous sounds that sounded like a continuous thunderclap coming from a distance.

''Opening a hole in a sandworm.......even an SSS-ranked adventurer shouldn't be able to do that. What the hell does it mean?''

I don't know, but it might be possible for a demon. Please hide behind me.

　If it's the demon race, they wouldn't be rescuing humans in the first place, and the knights have stopped moving as well, looking confused. And then the sandworms that made us suffer so much, the sandworms were stunned and exhausted, and laid their bodies on the ground.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends.　As I was thinking about this in a daze, one of the knights raised his voice.

'There's something on the hill!

　When the knight looked towards the direction he was pointing at, his eyes caught sight of an unseen creature that suddenly emerged from space. The number of them continued to increase gradually and finally stopped where the thirtieth and most significant creature appeared. As I looked at it, I saw one of them walking slowly towards us. Immediately, the knights re-formed their formation to shield me, but there were not even 50 people who could move.
　A creature that defeated the Sandworm would be able to obliterate it with a swing of an arm. Once the creature stops midway between us and the group, it puts its weapon-like object on the ground and spins around on the spot to show its back, then walks forward with its hands held high. It's a procedure that soldiers do when they surrender, they are probably saying that they have no intention of attacking us.

'Ladies and gentlemen, please do not attack that creature. It appears that they intend to communicate with us.

　When I told them that, they didn't put away their weapons, but they seemed to let down their guard somewhat. It's a very good idea to have a good time with them.
　The creature walks so slowly that it's frustrating for me, and then stops 20 melts in front of us. Then, after pointing to the torso, I dropped to my knees and saw that the spot I pointed to opened upward. A man with scars all over his face came down from inside of it and walked towards us, that thing seems to be something like the armor worn by knights. As I was judging that, the man spoke out.

[The words, do you understand?]

　I don't know what he's saying, so I push the knights forward and then tell them with a gesture that I won't 'attack' and then carefully use 'translation magic' so that they can see me. Then I speak the words slowly.

''Do you understand?''

Yeah, I can do that.

　Good, the translation magic seems to have worked. And although his face is horrible, he seems to be able to have a rational conversation, I will first say thank you for your help.

I'm going to be able to say thank you for saving me from a dangerous place this time.

'Never mind that, more importantly, I've determined that your daughter is a person of high status... no?'

　What does that mean?　Could it be that he or she was helping for a reward? If that's the case, that's fine, of course I was going to pay for this time from the beginning, but I don't like the person who asks for money so bluntly. I replied to the man with some sarcasm and irony.

''That's right, I'm the fourth princess of the 'Holy Merkava Kingdom' and my name is Adrienne.

　Wouldn't daring to call yourself a princess make men shrivel up and change their attitudes?　I tried to speak up, forgetting my gratitude for the help I received, but the shallow idea made me feel self-hatred.
　The man in front of me is demanding fair compensation for his abilities, and what have I done to deserve it?

It's just right. We, 'Noah', would like to establish diplomatic relations with your country.

　How in the world can we do this?　As I chewed on the man's suggestion, I had to fight to keep my head in my hands.