Chapter 1339: Family Heirloom and All

Not that being discreet was going to be particularly easy for the members of DG.

Aside from Princess Kira, who was somehow becoming even more interesting to her newfound loyalists because of that extremely unconvincing mask of hers, there were also those attracting attention for an entirely different reason.

After all, not only were they trying to leave when they’d already been successfully evacuated, but the mechas they’d taken out had practically everyone nearby gawking!

Lined up along the battleship’s hull as though ready to depart were several mecha suits that simply looked too good to be true.

At first glance, someone might’ve mistaken them for life-sized replicas of conceptual designs. Their frames were so sleek and unusual that they stood out even more beside the other mechas occupying the same space, most of which were clearly variations of the exact same mass-manufactured models.

Not that there was anything wrong with mass-manufactured mechas.

In fact, they were the lifeblood of practically every military force and nation!

But these were students of the Royal Military Academy. Many of them came from influential houses wealthy enough to provide their heirs with custom mechas of their own, and even they were completely floored by the majestic machines standing before them.

"I... I thought the high-resolution cameras during the Expo parade were doing most of the heavy lifting," one cadet muttered in a complete daze, his eyes wide as he stared at the towering metal giants. "But seeing them with my own eyes instead of through those holographic projections... man, those cameras didn’t do them justice at all."

"Yeah..." another cadet agreed, staring upward in breathless awe. "Those monikers they gave them on Star Net actually sound appropriate now."

The Crimson Juggernaut.

The Light Phantom.

The Blue Seraph.

The Eclipse Guard.

And the White and Gold Conqueror.

They were fancy, dramatic names coined by devoted fans, the kind that might’ve made plenty of people chuckle at their sheer childishness before.

But to the undeserving cadets currently being graced by the sight of said mechas?

Those ridiculous names were suddenly making an alarming amount of sense!

Though clearly, to DG, taking out suits of this caliber was somehow an everyday affair.

Just look at them!

"If I had something like this, my family would’ve only allowed me to take it out with an entire team of guards. Even then, I probably wouldn’t be allowed to pilot it beyond our estate grounds."

"Yeah, family heirloom and all..."

They tried estimating how much each one was worth and soon began to suspect that Noah Emory, who wasn’t even there at the moment but owned one of these mechas, had a current net worth comparable to that of actual noble title holders.

Heck, with something like that at his fingertips, he was clearly richer than even these normally proud children of the elite!

And yet, now that he could’ve actually used it to save his own life, it just had to happen during the one time they didn’t have their personal belongings with them!

Gods!

Now if all that wasn’t absurd enough, Kyle Nox’s legendary mecha was sitting right there alongside the others, fully prepared to be piloted by his partner even though Kyle himself was still somewhere deep within the subterranean tunnels of Caldris Minor-7!

To the aspiring mechanics watching everything unfold, the entire situation sounded like some insane fairy tale.

After all, the substitute pilot wasn’t even a pilot with the same spiritual rank!

Under ordinary circumstances, trying to operate such a high-spec mecha would sound like a textbook recipe for suicide.

And yet...

Not a single mechanic could confidently say it wouldn’t work.

Because which guild happened to have two licensed genius mechanics on its roster?

Wasn’t it this exact guild?!

And who was standing there claiming that he was going to operate the high-spec mecha belonging to Kyle Nox?

Wasn’t it one of those very same genius mechanics?!

Right.

It was Oliver Mylor.

And unlike the gawking cadets around him, the blonde looked completely serious as he stood beside the other DG mecha pilots, all of whom were currently locked in a tense standoff with the proctors aboard the battleship.

__

Unfortunately, that was the current state of DG’s vessel-bound cadets.

Until now, their battleship had remained largely free from the meddling of invigilators. Aside from necessary verification and keeping the cadets’ personal belongings safe until the end of the exercise, they weren’t supposed to interfere much at all.

But now, a rather tense exchange was taking place aboard that very ship.

Luca let out a distressed sigh as he stood in front of two well-meaning invigilators, both of whom had their hands raised in a firm, unmistakably non-negotiable manner.

"We’re sorry, but we can’t allow you to return when you’ve already successfully evacuated," the lead invigilator said, his voice echoing through the polished deck. "We’re aware that there are still cadets down there, and the other battleships, along with the incoming reinforcements, will do everything possible to evacuate them safely and as quickly as possible."

His expression remained stern.

"But to do that, we can’t bring even more cadets into the situation. Besides, we can’t possibly leave you behind during a full evacuation, can we? So, as unideal as it is, if you return to the surface, this vessel will be forced to remain here as well."

The B9 proctor was a tall man with a serious demeanor, and lamentably, everything coming out of his mouth made perfect sense.

That was the problem!

The instructors weren’t exactly wrong.

Under normal circumstances, Luca probably would’ve recommended the exact same thing. It was practically the first rule when dealing with burning buildings and similar emergencies. Once someone had safely evacuated, they weren’t supposed to run back inside and potentially become another person who needed rescuing!

But this situation wasn’t quite the same.

Of everyone currently around, Luca knew their group had one of the highest chances of successfully helping their friends and the rescued captives. So even if he understood the reasoning behind the decision, he couldn’t help feeling frustrated that they were being forced to stay put now that they’d already reached safety.

It didn’t matter how intensely Ada snarled at the instructors.

It didn’t matter how despondent and tense his good brother looked, knowing Kyle was still down there.

It didn’t even matter that Theo had needed to see Noah’s mecha for himself and was now clutching its space button like some kind of protective talisman!

The proctors simply refused to budge!