Chapter 32 – Mistake Me for a Mere Lady and You Will Get Burned.

The simulator observation room inside the Seldia vigilante corps training facility.

Metal walls, functional and unadorned--but also, on any given afternoon, a gathering place for off-duty corps members.

"...Hmm. This 'nutritionally complete juice'--the color is a little alarming, but the taste is tolerable."

Letaria Adeniam was settled deep into a cushioned chair in the prime viewing spot, a straw in her mouth. The cup beside her held a liquid of such aggressively vivid green that Milea had apparently felt the need to call it "nutritional supplement" rather than let the appearance speak for itself.

Lately, Letaria had settled into life here with surprising ease. Several corps members were scattered around her, drinks in hand, watching the monitors--occasionally calling over to her with something like "Hey, miss--how's it taste?"

"Quite good, actually. I can feel the vitality--or rather, the energy--rising from deep within. Would you all care to try?"

"We'll pass. That's the doctor's special recipe."

The corps members grinned. For them, the haughty but somehow endearingly oblivious girl had become one of the more entertaining fixtures of the room.

On the large main monitor ahead: a Makina-versus-Makina simulation playing out in virtual space.

"Steshia! You're rushing--slow down!"

"Y-yes, Merry-san!"

A two-on-two team exercise was underway.

One side: Merry's Breakerline, a machine built around rear support, paired with Steshia's Flode, fighting as hard as it could to keep up. The other: Retta's Baris, known for solid, economical combat, alongside Aland's Enomeil, a machine with exceptional agility.

Letaria finished her juice and watched the screen with focused attention.

Inside the simulation, Steshia's Flode was laying down a sustained volley of Photon Rifle fire at Retta's Baris. Retta responded with minimal movement--deflecting with the shield at precise angles, slipping the shots that couldn't be blocked.

"Hit--!"

The moment Steshia's desperation crept into her movement, Aland read it instantly.

Enomeil burst out from behind Retta and fired the linear cannon mounted at the shoulder.

"Too slow, Steshia!"

"Ah--?!"

A direct hit avoided--but the blast caught Flode's left arm. The damage indicator switched to red.

"Whoa--!"

"Aland, you merciless--!"

The room erupted. Letaria leaned forward in her chair.

Watching other pilots fight--working within the constraints of their machines, reading each other, building something through coordination. For someone who had always operated on overwhelming instinct and Arden's performance alone, there was something genuinely new in it.

"Merry-san, I'm sorry!"

"Never mind--hold a little longer! I'm going in!"

Breakerline moved--true to its name--to break the line.

Every hatch on the machine opened simultaneously. A swarm of micro-missiles saturated the area around Retta's Baris. Retta sacrificed the shield trying to hold--the wave attack was more than it could absorb.

"This is as far as I go... Aland, it's yours now."

Retta's machine took the kill judgment and disappeared from the monitor.

But Enomeil drove through the smoke--and Steshia's Flode, one arm gone, rushed to meet it.

"You're open!"

"Not if I can help it--!"

Photon Rifle light and cannon fire crossed at point-blank range.

Double knockout. Both machines erupted in sparks at the same moment--and the only machine left on the field was Merry, still composed in the rear, Sniper Rifle leveled.

"...That was extraordinary."

Letaria began to applaud.

The four pilots emerged from the simulators.

"Gotta hand it to the sergeant--still something else. Steshia's got a ways to go though..."

Retta's assessment made Steshia bite her lip.

"I know... I'm going to keep training...!"

"Not bad, though--even you managed to dodge the princess's attention."

Merry's smile turned toward Letaria. Letaria blinked, caught off guard by the sudden address.

"...Me? Avoiding that kind of crude assault is simply what any lady would do."

The room burst out laughing.

In the middle of the noise, Letaria glanced around and remembered something.

"Come to think of it--is Ethan-sama not here today?"

She had not forgotten him. The formidable pilot she hadn't reached a proper conclusion with in the last training session.

"Sergeant Major's on one of his rare days off--headed somewhere on the other side of the sector."

Aland answered. Letaria's shoulders visibly dropped.

"Is that so. I was rather hoping to settle matters with him today while I had the opportunity..."

Laughter from around the room at her expression.

"Tough break, miss. Just ask him when he's around."

"I suppose I may condescend to do that."

For some reason, the response came out haughty.

"Since Ethan isn't here--I'll stand in for him, if you like."

The room went quiet in an instant.

Grain, captain of the vigilante corps, had appeared.

"C-Captain?! You're doing this personally?!"

Retta and the others stared.

"I've been wanting to see it for myself, up close. This seemed like the opportunity."

Grain turned to face Letaria, with the kind of smile that carries a challenge in it.

"What do you say, Letaria Adeniam? Care to test the captain of the vigilante corps?"

Letaria's eyes widened for just a moment--and then the confident smile settled back in. She dipped into a composed bow.

"...Very well. If someone of a commanding officer's standing wishes to face me, I am more than willing. ...Though I would caution you--mistake me for a mere lady, and you will get burned."

"Duly noted."

Letaria and Grain.

The corps' highest-tier combatant--against the Runaway Lady.

Every person in the room held their breath.