You're not the only one.


　As I passed through the gate, which had an oddly slippery sensation as usual, I saw the silver world reflected in front of me. Without being moved by my first visit to the South Pole, I approach the command vehicle where Macho will be staying.

"I don't feel so good...

Yeah?　It's something I've gotten used to, but come to think of it, I think my mom said it was really weird to go under the gate too.

I can't get used to it!　It's never going to be this creepy.

　Well, we don't dive that often, Alice, so we'll have to be patient. When you look at the 1st unit while being escorted around by the people of Chernobog, there is no sign of any battles occurring and they seem to be advancing jitterily after securing Hashigamiho. The main force will be arriving soon, so there's no hurry.

I'm sure you'll be able to find it. It's right next to the command vehicle.

　As per the communication from the Captain, next to the vehicle ahead, a macho power suit is staring at the troops advancing with its arms crossed while being protected by a power suit holding up a large shield. It's a very bad mood in terms of that gesture, if he wasn't wearing the suit he would be frowning and sucking on a cigarette.

"Dad,

"Oh?　'Oh, you're here. Are you with Alice and Con?

Sure. So how's it going?

'I have no idea.......no attack-like attacks. The only thing I got hit with was a torpedo and a peacemaker to the head before I got here. The main force is coming with you guys, so the platoon is just moving forward to do a power reconnaissance first.

　Hmmm, isn't it an attack to have a peacemaker shoved into your muscles up to your brain? I'll talk to my mom later and have her examine my brain. But still, there was no attack after we landed...

Strange, isn't it?　For all intents and purposes.

'That's weird, for all intents and purposes. I'm not sure if they are soldiers, or zombies like you were talking about, or biological weapons like that. It's not like they have no defensive capabilities, so for now, always check the data link.

Yes, sir.

　At the same time as I replied, Alice, who was listening to the conversation, displayed the map and the constantly updated troop deployment status on the monitor.
　The first unit power suits have already been deployed at the entrance to the ravine beyond the ice shelf, and the Ursna Empire's volunteer army is about to begin transitioning from the gate? Shall I head to the ravine too?　The predicted location of the enemy's base is beneath the crevasse at the end of the canyon. We've barely managed to supplement the heat source with a high-sensitivity reconnaissance satellite, but that's not always the entrance, that's the problem.

"Dad, I'm heading up the canyon. We'll check it out and follow the scouts.

Yes, sir. Take care of yourself, okay?

'I don't think it's that much of a problem, since the Captain is here too. Now, Captain, please.

"Yes, sir, commander. The powersuits are headed straight for the canyon!　'The infantry will stay on the spot and guard Ursna and Merkava.

　After giving the order, the Captain signals the Chernobog people with some hand signs to start moving forward in formation with me at the back of the line. As I'm walking to keep up with the team in front of me, Alice begins to light up the map on the edge of the monitor.

'Alice, what are you doing?'

You know, there's something weird about this light thing...

Is that funny?

'Hmmm, I can't really say. The on-board instruments on the suit show nothing unusual, but I think it's more on the margin of error. I don't know what to call it, it's kind of a blur.

　You're feeling weird and bewildered. I don't think it's just my imagination that I've got a bad feeling about this. I'm going to tell the Captain, just in case, but if there's no problem, that's the best thing to do.

Captain, Alice is complaining of a strange feeling. It's not a problem on the data, but I'll send you the location data as well, just to make sure.

''This is - there are too many of them to be a simple discomfort. Pause. Iosef!　Scout out the nearest point F-6 in your unit.

　At the Captain's orders, the three power suits immediately leave the formation and begin to move. Probably the suit with the rather rugged equipment on its back at the front is Yoshif-san. He said that he belongs to the heavy weapons squadron, but I doubt that romantic equipment like the Gatling gun fixed to the arm is really practical.

'Eh, these figures......... No!　Kunju-kun, stop Yoshif-san and the others!

Captain!

I can hear you!　Iosef!　Evacuate from your position!

　Surprised by Alice's sudden shouting, the Captain, who was listening to us when we called out to him, immediately gives instructions to Yoshif-san. But the moment the captain shouts, Yoshif-san's suit fumes and stops acting. What the hell is going on?　I was about to question Alice behind me, wondering, when a deafening alarm went off inside my suit.

'This is Type 0 suit, Alice Alford. All friendlies are urgently notified and a high energy alert has been issued. The enemy is using a 'charged particle cannon'.

'Nonsense!　A beam weapon with the power to destroy a power suit?　We can't compete with our current equipment.

　Alice's words startled the Captain. That's just as well, we Noah thought that the beam weapons on the New World side that we had envisioned were at a level that would barely be able to destroy a target if they attacked a vehicle or ship as a target. Even at that level, Noah has still only completed a prototype model. In fact, even though it was a ramming attack, it shot down a power suit that had been fortified with anti-laser damping paint and a new armored version in a single blow.
　The New World side's technology is no longer on par with Noah's, but several years ahead of him. But now is not the time to be stunned, beam weapons are only supposed to be able to move in a straight line, so as long as you can get out of that line, you'll be fine.

'Alice, calculate where the enemy's lasers can't hit us from the point of light!　If they haven't shot before, that means they probably haven't been able to get an angle of fire. Once you're not in range of a shot, they'll shoot you in turn.

All right!　Give me 10 seconds.

Captain, we've found a safe zone. We need to evacuate and regain our position.

Yes, sir!　Go ahead, I'll pull the idiot who's crawling over there.'

　As I turned around while moving at full speed towards the point Alice had designated, I saw Yoshif-san's power suit slowly coming towards us. Thank goodness it wasn't completely destroyed, and it still seems to be able to act on its own. But I can see that the suit's armor is melting as it snatches the torso part. With that kind of power, a direct hit would be an instant death.....

I'm sorry..........

Yeah?

'I'm sorry, I should have seen the danger earlier. Perhaps the discomfort I felt earlier was due to the compression of electrons. Even if it doesn't appear on the data, when the brain processes it, the slightest disturbance will cause discomfort...

No, it wasn't Alice's fault. She was fine on the data, and it's just fine that she thought it was funny.

But........Mr. Iosif.........

'What's the matter with you, Alice, we're used to this sort of thing every day. But thank you!　If the warning had been a moment later, it would have evaporated with the suit by now.'

Mr. Iosef!　Your armor is melting, but are you okay inside?

"Don't worry, commander, my flank is a bit burnt, but I don't have a problem with the way I'm acting. We'll abandon our suits and continue the fight with only our reinforced exoskeleton.

　Yeah, normally if your sides get burnt a bit, it's a disaster, Yoshif. But as long as I zoom in on the suit's camera and see what's going on, it really doesn't look like a problem. He immediately purges his own power suit as he said, and climbs into the suit next to him to hold himself in place.
　I mean, their country has traditionally preferred to move directly on top of the tank, or tank straddling, since they were still in the Soviet army, but they still do it.
　I heard it was called "tank descent" in the old days, but should we call it "suit descent" when you look at the fact that they went to the trouble of welding a handle to the power suit?

I've been told by Miki at the Hakone base that all the light spots marked by Alice are enemy beam weapons. It seems that all of the light spots marked by Alice are the enemy's beam weapons, the torchicas. The satellite confirms that they are not swivel turrets, but fixed turrets.

So I guess you're safe as long as you're here.

'Oh, and given the fact that we weren't shot at while Iosif was crawling, we don't think we can get much of a firing angle. But they are still an overwhelming threat, in fact, the troops in the frontline canyon and we are completely isolated. For the time being, there is no hope of rescue from the main unit.......If the main force of the enemy springs up at this point, each one will be destroyed for sure.

Did he invite you in?

Looks like it.

　I don't know if this beam is this high-powered, even for an Alice type land battleship, but it's not good. Even if we ask for air support from the dragon tribe, I don't know if it can withstand that thing... Should I be the bait?　But there's no way you can avoid a beam weapon. To begin with, how much range does it have, and we don't know how long it will take to fire again, so we can't act rashly.

"Congratulations, Congratulations!

I can hear you, Dad.

"Well, the Ursna Army, or rather, the Ursna Alchemist and his sorcerer, are on their way to rescue you.

Huh?

　What the hell were you thinking, Macho, stop it!　It wouldn't help if a flesh-and-blood human came in without a power suit or even a reinforced exoskeleton. And it's two people in terms of nuance, right?　Even if that many people showed up now, they'd be vaporized by the beam!

"I know exactly what you're thinking, so just listen to me for a second. You see, this alchemist, when my mother explained to me the principle of the charged particle cannon, I understood it.

I'm sorry, Dad. I don't know what you're talking about.

'Oh, I feel the same way. But my mom talked to the alchemist and decided it was okay.

Yes why did my mom allow it too? Did she say what she was going to do with it?

'[So you're just going to have to stop the dusty blob-like stuff flying at high speed? Now he's floating a lot of water and heading that way. Awesome, that's water as big as the flagship Mermaid.

　It's true that the power of the beam would diminish in the blink of an eye in water, so it can be neutralized, but....... But.....　Hey, wait a minute, Mermaid is about 700 meters long!　It's possible to carry such a large amount of water....

''There's at least one genius in every world that's really bad, I didn't think I'd understand it with such a simple explanation. Also, when the alchemist arrives there, I'm sorry, take the troops in the ravine and retreat here for a while. Since they're in the way, [I'll clear the ravine] yeah.''

Can you do that?

The people of the G-88 world, by the way, the only thing they didn't know when they first met us is how to effectively deal with Noah and I. But now they know how to deal with us and how to attack us effectively. Now they know how to deal with us and how to attack us effectively. I'm really glad I'm an Alliance member.

'What do I do? I think I've woken up a pretty bad group of people.

"Haha, I'm afraid so. Oh, I almost forgot, Her Majesty Victoria and Prince Adrienne have a message for you.

What?

"[Don't lick the magic]

　The communication from Macho is cut off, ignoring me, who is stunned by the message from the two of them. At the same time, Yoshif-san points his finger at me and starts laughing hysterically. When I looked at the tip of his finger, I saw a huge wall made of water coming towards me while receiving the beam attack without a care in the world──.