Mobuseka Volume 13 Chapter 1

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Chapter 1 "Each One's Determination"

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Part 1

In the underground dock of a floating island once owned by Leon, Luxion was repairing the weapons of the old humans.

The artificial intelligences, which began their activities upon Arcadia's awakening, responded to Leon's call to join the war against the Empire.

The most powerful of them all is Facto, the aerial carrier.

With the exception of Luxion, they are the most powerful force on the side of the Old Humans.

The loaded artificial intelligence sub-unit is one meter long, which is larger than Luxion.

Although the size of the sub-unit cannot determine the superiority of the main unit's performance, Facto was still superior to the other artificial intelligences.

Even now, he pointed out to Luxion about the delay in the repair situation.

[We are five percent behind schedule. Luxion, there is a lot of waste in your handling of this situation. You should transfer command of this dock to me immediately.]

He told him with conviction, not confidence, that if he left it to him, there would be no delays.

On the other hand, Luxion has no intention of yielding.

[Schedule is just a schedule. At this level, I don't feel the need to hand over command of the dock.]

[We can't afford to lose this battle. If you don't understand that, I'll revise my assessment about you downward.]

It seems that the seemingly wasteful handling of Luxion is unacceptable to Facto.

However, Luxion had no intention of changing even if it was pointed out.

[I decided that it was necessary for us to win.]

[Victory? You're just prioritizing your Master's chances of survival.]

Will you prioritize Leon's life and lose the war? At that question, Luxion's red lenses flashed strongly.

After a few blinks, he points to Facto.

[The survival of Master is a priority. In the first place, isn't my Master supposed to be a Master to you as well?]

Do you want to kill your Master? Facto replies to this question without a hint of offense.

[It's for victory. Master Leon wants it, too. We appreciated his determination. The priority is victory and the survival of Mistress Erika who is in cold sleep.]

Facto and the others focused on Erika, who had strong characteristics of old humans.

They must have decided that as long as Erika survived, the resurrection of the old humans was no longer a dream.

[——No matter what you say, I will prioritize Master's survival first.]

[Is it the immigrant ship program? It is a standard of judgment we do not understand. After all, it seems that you, who have not experienced that war, cannot properly understand the threat those guys pose.]

[Those guys? If you're referring to the threat of new humans, we have data on them?]

[——At the end of the war, they tried every possible method to win against the old humans. Because of this, we lost many of the old humans we were supposed to protect. If we don't destroy them as soon as possible, this planet will become devastated and become uninhabitable for humans.]

Facto used in the military had a different way of thinking than Luxion.

It is to win the war —— the priority is to win against the new humans.

If you lose, you lose everything.

Before that happens, we have to win, otherwise there is no point.

Facto says.

[It is more efficient to prepare mass-produced machines than to prioritize the development of exclusive machines. Your selfish behavior has made it impossible for us to have the strength we had planned.]

What Luxion was doing, ignoring the schedule, was developing a manned weapon —— armor.

In addition to Arroganz, which Leon will board, of course, there were other exclusive machines to be prepared.

Because of that, the number of mass-produced machines that were originally supposed to be prepared has been decreased.

Facto continued to protest Luxion's decision, but Leon came to them.

Wearing black slacks and a white shirt, he looked sloppy as he was not wearing his clothes properly.

However, he could not care less about the appearance.

"How's the preparation going?"

Facto seems to have been slightly irritated with Leon, who approached them with his usual nonchalant smile.

[There is a five percent delay. That's what your Luxion doesn't want to improve. Also, you should do something about your appearance. It is not appropriate for a Master who leads us. In general, one's usual attire reflects one's attitude and mentality.]

Ignoring Facto's nagging, Leon approached Luxion.

From the walkway along the wall, he placed his hand on the safety fence against falling and looked down at Facto during maintenance.

"The military's artificial intelligence is annoying. So what about you?"

It was a vague question, but it was enough for Luxion to understand.

[Just a change of schedule, and I have no doubt that things are going well.]

"——Then I guess I'll just leave it at that"

Facto complains to Leon, who has heard and accepted Luxion's report.

[I don't understand why you are convinced by the current vague information. Master Leon, I am going to revise my assessment of you downward.]

Leon was given a lower rating, but he was still spinning his wheels and not taking it seriously.

However, he explains why he was convinced.

"Luxion is more capable than I am. I trust Luxion's judgment more than mine."

[Trust, you say? That's just giving up on thinking.]

Facto didn't seem to like Leon's answer.

Perhaps Leon is tired of talking about it, so he asks Luxion and Facto about another matter.

"That's it. Okay, we're done talking about this. Now let's talk about what happens after the victory."

When Leon asks to talk about what will happen after the victory, Luxion speaks up.

[Aren't there more issues to discuss before we think about post-victory?]

"You idiot. It's more important after you win. In the first place, there's no guarantee that I'll survive."

When Leon bluntly told him of the possibility of his death, Luxion turned away his red lens.

On the other hand, Facto had a positive impression.

[Indeed, given Master Leon's trump card, the odds of survival would be low. No wonder you're so anxious about post-war.]

"Right? So I thought I'd give you guys a firm "order" again here."

When Leon says he will give them orders, Facto is reluctant.

[I guess that order is really serious after all. I still don't agree with Master Leon's idea. Let me revise my assessment of you downward drastically.]

"That's a small price to pay if you're willing to carry out my orders at that level. After all, my reputation is already at rock bottom. It won't go any lower."

The light-hearted Leon does not show the impatience of a few moments ago.

It wasn't the same as when he decided to fight Arcadia alone, abandoning Ange and his fiancées, and trying to leave everything behind.

However, he is also different from what he usually looks like.

Leon, who should have put himself first so many times, was now putting his own life lower on the priority list.

Luxion couldn't help but say.

[——The best is to survive and then win. I judge that the current Master is narrow-minded, having given up trying to achieve the best outcome.]

At Luxion's words, Facto's single large eye moves.

He gazes at Luxion intently, but it is Leon who opens his mouth first.

He smiled as if he were troubled.

"You're right."

Remorse —— perhaps? But somewhere along the way, Leon couldn't help but give up and worry about the future after his own death.

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Part 2

At that time.

The imperial fleet, led by Arcadia, was marching toward the Kingdom of Horfalt.

With numerous flying battleships in tow, their movement speed is slow.

In addition, due to circumstances, the march speed was deliberately slowed down.

They did not want to give the Kingdom's army time to prepare, but more than that, this strategy was chosen because of Arcadia's circumstances.

And the core of Arcadia is.

"Princess-sama, today's dress looks great on you."

Looking at Mirialis——Mia's dress with delight, wagging his tiny hands in relation to his gigantic body.

The place was a castle-like facility inside Arcadia, and it was like an audience room.

The room was lined with several large pillars, and a throne was set up on an elevated seat at the back.

Seated on the throne, Mia looks restlessly at the person standing next to her.

"Knight-sama, won't Mia be scolded if she sits in a place like this?"

Gazing anxiously at him is her exclusive knight —— Finn Ruta Herring.

He is Mia's exclusive knight and the first-ranked magic knight.

First place in the ranking is synonymous with the most powerful knight in the empire.

Finn lets out a small sigh.

"This is not a formal audience chamber, but I'm sure His Majesty would not find it amusing if he heard."

At Finn's side was the magic creature Brave, who looked at Arcadia with disgust as he was being overprotective of Mia.

[What were you thinking bringing Mia to a place like this?]

Listening to Finn and Brave's story, Mia looks down as she clasps her hands in her lap.

"I-I knew this place was not for Mia."

As she tries to sit up from the throne, Arcadia smiles impatiently and begins to persuade her.

[Don't worry! I won't let Moritz complain. After all, this room was prepared for the Princess, new humans.]

"For Mia? But Mia has a low status in the imperial family."

Mia is the illegitimate child of the previous emperor.

Although the right of succession to the throne also arose, the order of succession was not high enough to qualify her as an emperor.

Although she is a member of the imperial family, she is an illegitimate child —— Mia is not in a particularly important position in the empire.

However, that was only the affairs of the Empire.

From Arcadia's point of view, the country called Empire and the position of Emperor probably have no meaning in front of Mia.

[The Princess is precious just by existing. For us, the revival of new humans was a long-cherished wish —— or rather, an unfulfilled dream that we had almost given up on. And now, here——Gusu.]

Large tears fell from Arcadia's big eyes.

Mia naturally reached out her hand at the sight of it.

Arcadia respectfully takes her hands in both of his and begins to talk about the distant past.

[I am so glad. Having survived in shame —— and thus finding the meaning of our existence once again.]

"Arcadia-san?"

"Princess-sama —— what I am about to tell you is a story of a war that took place in the distant past. Once upon a time, there was a war between new humans and old humans on this planet."

The presence of new humans who could use magic was a threat to the old humans.

The fears of these old humans erupted in the worst possible way.

[We only had one opportunity to negotiate a ceasefire.]

"Eh? Then——"

The new humans and the old humans decided to hold cease-fire negotiations because a further continuation of the war would destroy the planet's environment.

Finn gave Brave a look that said he hadn't heard that story.

"Is it true, Kurosuke?"

[The case that led to me being created.]

Brave turns his single eye downward and refuses to explain.

He probably intends to leave it to Arcadia.

Arcadia begins to talk about the ceasefire negotiations with tears in his eyes.

[I couldn't protect anything.]

"What do you mean by that?"

When Mia anxiously asks further, Arcadia looks bitter and angry, as if recalling the feelings he had at the time.

[When I left my home country to negotiate a cease-fire, they had their artificial intelligence launch a surprise attack.]

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Part 3

This is a story of the distant past.

The core of Arcadia was preparing to go to ceasefire negotiations.

It was decided that the main body of Arcadia would also go to the designated location, and in the meantime, the new humans would leave their home country where they live.

The core of Arcadia had left the main body and came to the meadow.

The person talking there was a slender woman who was more than two meters tall.

She has beautiful, silky black hair, and her body looks slender and undependable.

She was dressed in a single piece of cloth wrapped around her body over her underwear, a figure reminiscent of ancient Roman attire.

She was a common woman for new humans.

She and Arcadia were talking about negotiating a cease-fire as they watched the children flying around and playing.

"After all, you're going directly to them."

[Yes. Considering the possibility of a surprise attack, it may be unavoidable.]

"The representatives probably want to use you to intimidate the old humans."

[I will return safely after negotiating a ceasefire. Then I will be able to watch over the children without any worries from now on.]

The sight of the children of new humans flying around laughing, combined with the location of the meadow lit by the setting sun, made it look fantastic.

They look like fairies that appear in stories.

Arcadia liked the sight of children laughing and playing.

The woman puts her hand on her chest.

"I'm worried that our homeland's defenses will be weakened. Please come back as soon as possible."

"Of course. The purpose of this Arcadia's existence is to protect all new humans."

When Arcadia made a promise, the children gathered around.

——She hugs Arcadia as it is.

"Hey, are you done talking?"

"Then come play with us."

"What do you want to play?"

In front of the innocently smiling children, the woman looked a little troubled.

"Arcadia has work to do. Don't trouble him."

[What a surprise! There are still six hours before I leave, so we have plenty of time to play. Come on, everyone, let's play with this Arcadia.]

Arcadia was happy to play with the children, but when she returned home after cutting off ceasefire negotiations, there was a tragic scene.

The grassland was on fire and children were lying on the ground.

The woman, who apparently fought back, was lying in a pool of blood.

[A——Aaaah!?]

Arcadia rushed over, but the woman was already dead.

[Why? ——Why? This is happening!!]

Metal spheres gathered around Arcadia, who was crying.

One dimly glowing eye was aimed at Arcadia.

[The highest priority target has been identified. Destroy them immediately.]

In front of the artificial intelligences, Arcadia asks.

[Why did you do this? They are —— children are non-combatants. They should not be involved in a war!]

Arcadia is bloodshot with anger, and the artificial intelligence responds ruthlessly.

[We do not recognize these new humans as human beings. Therefore, there is no need to adapt the various treaties that apply to humans.]

[——Is that your decision?]

[Destroy the new humans —— that is the mission given to us.]

Artificial intelligences pointed their weapons at Arcadia and attempted to launch an attack.

In the next instant, a magical light emitted from the main body of Arcadia pierces and destroys the artificial intelligences.

After finishing destroying all the artificial intelligences, Arcadia gathered the children around the woman.

[I will never forgive you —— I will never forgive you, old humans! If that's what you intend, there's no need for us to follow the rules. Until you are annihilated, our —— my fight is not over!]

On this day, Arcadia vowed to eradicate the old humans.

In front of the fallen children and the corpse of the woman who fought to protect them.

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Part 4

[To those iron scraps, the Princess and the others are not human beings. If we allow them to exist, the Princess's life is in danger. That is why —— I vowed to destroy them thoroughly so that we would never lose any of ours again.]

Quietly, yet in a low voice, Arcadia told Mia what had happened in the past.

Finn was holding his hands and looking down next to Mia, who was crying.

Arcadia sees Mia's state and asks her to relent this time.

[It is inevitable that the princess has feelings for them. But if we let them live, they will cause us a great deal of trouble. Please —— please, for this one time, please trust and watch over this Arcadia. For the sake of the Princess and all the new humans who will be born in the future, please!]

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Part 5

When Arcadia left, Mia kept her head down.

"Knight-sama, what should Mia do? I want the war to stop, but I don't know how to convince Arcadia-san right now."

Considering the feelings of Arcadia, who suffered from the war in the distant past, she could not easily ask him to stop the war.

Mia didn't have the words to convince Arcadia.

If it were only a beautiful thing without emotion, she could say it, but she does not think it would reach Arcadia.

Finn was gritting his back teeth as he looked at Mia, who wanted the war to stop.

He squeezes his hand tightly —— and says.

"——Mia, I'm sorry, but I agree with Arcadia this time."

Mia opened her eyes in surprise when she heard the unexpected words from Finn's mouth.

"W-Why? Buu-kun?"

She looked at Brave as if seeking his opinion, but he turned his head away from Mia.

[I'm just going with my partner's opinion. Besides, this time I won't stop even if Mia asks me to.]

Mia was puzzled to learn that the two had no intention of stopping the war.

Although hesitant, she begins to talk about their days in the kingdom.

"I-It's strange. Because, you see! Knight-sama was friends with the Grand Duke, right? The people of the kingdom were kind to Mia and the others, weren't they? Are we really going to fight them? That's crazy, right!?"

Finn held his own face with his right hand as Mia, on the verge of tears, pleaded with him to cease.

"Aa, I know. They're good guys. I don't want to kill each other either. Still, individuals and countries are different."

"Eh?"

"I want to believe in Leon. But I don't think their country —— wants to coexist with us."

Finn, who has memories of a previous life, knows that the world does not revolve around pretty things.

That's why he couldn't imagine that there would be a peaceful solution by trusting Leon and the others.

They are the descendants of new humans, and Leon and the others are the descendants of the old humans.

Depending on the outcome of the war, it will be an environment in which only one side can survive.

They could have continued to search for a solution over time, but there was a possibility that the enemy would betray them, deceive them, or outwit them.

Even though he can trust Leon, but he can't trust the state to which he belongs.

(If only that guy would abandon Luxion, abandon everything and rely on me —— no, I guess that's impossible.)

Finn also doesn't want to fight Leon.

But he was not in a position to allow that.

As long as he holds the title of the Empire's strongest knight, it comes with responsibility.

Besides, for Finn, there was something he couldn't give up on more than his title.

"I want Mia —— to live a happy and healthy life under the blue sky. I would not hesitate to sacrifice someone else for that."

He wants Mia to stay healthy, even if it means sacrificing others.

Mia is told of such a selfish wish, but when she is told it is for her own good, she turns her face down.

"Even so, Mia——"

Finn didn't want her to say the next words.

"It's my decision. It's none of your business."

Even if Mia denied it, he had no intention of stopping this fight.

Still, he did not want to be denied by her.

If Mia denied it, his resolve was going to be shaken.

(I don't want Mia to die like my little sister did in a previous life. For that reason, I will fight Leon and win. No matter how many people will suffer at the end of it, I will not compromise on this.)

He recalls the image of his little sister who died in a previous life.

It is the appearance of his little sister who died at a young age after being hospitalized for a long time.

Mia and his little sister were very much alike, and Finn saw her overlap with his precious little sister whom he was unable to protect in his previous life.

Finally, she was feeling better and in good spirits.

He did not want to see her suffer from the disease again.

Brave, who had been alternately watching Finn and Mia, who were silent, forcibly summarized the story.

[Neither my buddy nor I have the power or authority to stop this war. No matter how strong we both are, there's nothing we can do about it. ——Mia, please don't hate my partner.]

No matter how strong they are, there are things they can't control.

Hearing Brave's words, Finn mocked himself in his mind.

(Is this what Leon would call a "public image" situation? After all, we've both got a great power, but we can't do anything with it.)

Finn could not envision a future in which both sides would resolve this issue peacefully.

That is why he wanted to end this war in the form of victory.

For that purpose.

(Sorry, Leon. ——I can't lose, for Mia's sake.)