Previous Chapter: Chapter 9: The Captured Queen Next Chapter: Chapter 11
Xenia: Well, I’m done with Zamzeed’s emergency maintenance. You’ve got some real geniuses on your staff!
Ryoto: When Masaki was on the surface, they had experience working with Cybuster. Also, there’s a lot of different styles of mechs in the Steel Dragons, so everyone has a lot of experience.
Gold: Yeah, they did a good job with my unit, too.
Torres: Indeed. Compared to the mechanics in the Langran army, the work they do here is much more precise.
Mio: …Hey, I have a question. Why exactly where the Elemental Lords and Elementals created?
Xenia: Masaki, did you not explain it?
Masaki: Now that you mention it, I never did.
Xenia: Then I’ll teach you. The reason the Elemental Lord project was started was because of a prophecy from the Langran royal academy. It said “A giant evil god will destroy Langran. And then all life on La Gias will be destroyed.”
Mio: A giant evil god….
Xenia: Yes. So in order to fight against it, we started the Elemental Lord and Elemental projects. That is why such powerful weapons exist in La Gias.
Mio: Huh… So something flakey like a prophecy is enough to make you create Elementals?
Xenia: Flakey… Oh, Prophecies on the surface don’t come true often, right.
Mio: Huh? What do you mean?
Xenia: Places like Langran that exist outside the bounds of the Lapras Transformation Theory have spirts that can often be contacted and asked for advice.
Tytti: That’s right.
Ryoto: So this Prophecy…
Tytti: Is likely to come true. But since it is still just a possibility, it can be changed by our own hands. That’s why we started the Elemental Lord and Elemental projects.
Mio: But why are all the pilots of Langran’s machines from the surface? The people from down here should be good enough.
Torres: …If only it were that simple.
Xenia: To operate an Elemental, one needs Prana, or spirit. And they need to have intense emotions.
Mio: So like, super hot blooded? I figured Masaki was like that, but…
Masaki: Don’t drag me into this…
Tytti: Mio, you should have a lot of intense feelings in your heart too, right?
Mio: Huh… I wonder.
Ryoto: Just guessing here, but there’s not many people in Langran who have enough power to pilot an Elemental Lord, are there?
Tytti: Exactly. So the pilots of the Elemental Lords are summoned from the surface, like myself and Masaki.
Ryoto: So the remaining Elemental Lords are…
Masaki: Granveil is piloted by a surface person named Huang Yang Long.
Mio: And I’m the pilot chosen by Zamzeed…
Masaki: Mio, I’ll ask you one more time. Are you sure?
Mio: Yup.
Masaki: Xenia, any objections?
Xenia: Nope. If Zamzeed’s chosen her, then nothing I can say will make a difference.
Tytti: I feel the same. Mio, please take good care of Zamzeed.
Mio: Yeah… I’ll do that, Tytti.
Gold: …Lord Masaki, what about Diablo?
Masaki: Hmm…
Presia: Hey, big bro, could I pilot Diablo?
Masaki: Presia, what?!
Presia: There’s no use trying to stop me, Masaki! I can fight, so you’re gonna let me help out! Besides, Uncle Maddock let me pilot Diablo a bunch!
Masaki: But I mean…
Presia: It’s crazy out there right now. If we don’t hurry up and do something about the capital, Langran will…
Masaki: I can’t just... Tytti, say something.
Tytti: Okay. Presia, please pilot Diablo.
Masaki: Wha?!
Presia: Thanks, Tytti! You get it!
Masaki: Hey, Tytti!
Tytti: Masaki, Presia is Zeoroot’s daughter. It’s alright, believe me.
Masaki: …
Tytti: …I understand how you feel, but…
Masaki: (That blood flows in her…) …Fine. But you have to be really careful, Presia.
Presia: I know! Thanks, bro.
Xenia: Well then, we’ll have to adjust Diablo. Come with me, Presia.
Presia: Yessum!
*Walk away*
Ryoto: Masaki, who’s this Zeoroot person?
Masaki: Presia’s real father. He was the fencing and martial arts teacher for the Langran royal family. He taught me how to fight, too.
Torres: He was from the “Sword Lord” race of god-like immortals, and he was well loved by everyone. Truly a remarkable person.
Masaki: That’s right, you were with the old man in the royal academy, weren’t you?
Torres: Yes, now that I remember it.
Ryoto: Where is he now?
Masaki: He fought Shu… and lost his life.
Ryoto: …!
Masaki: It was right before I came to the surface and met you guys.
Ryoto: (And that’s why Masaki and Professor Shirakawa are…)
*Beep*
Tytti: !
Masaki: We’ve found the Shutedonias forces. Let’s go!
Chapter 10: The Road to the Capital
Dick: This is where the battle will be won or lost. If I stop them here, that promotion is no longer a dream.
Ort: It’s all or nothing… But if we can stop them here, then Lord Feil’s battle will be won!
Soldier: General Ort, allied forces!
Ort: Oh, they came!
Tetsuya: All units, deploy!
*poof*
Zares: Gah, it’s them! I’ll make them pay for humiliating General Jesh!
Ort: So that’s the surface’s Hagane… and they have Zamzeed, too.
Tytti: Is that you, General Ort? Leave the rest to us. Please fall back.
Ort: No, we will fight, too.
Masaki: There’s nothing to worry about. We have 3 of the Elemental lords here on our side. But you can go help Lord Feil. Don’t you think that’s better?
Ort: …Understood. Best of luck to you.
Masaki: ...Presia, Mio. You aren’t used to your mechs yet. Stay back, and concentrate on defending the Hagane.
Presia: I got it, Masaki.
Mio: Yup! Let’s go, Zamzeed!
Dick: The Elemental Lord Zamzeed… It’s supposed to be in our possession!
Zares: General Jesh’s mistake has come back to bite us! All units! Even if the enemy’s an Elemental lord, if we strike first we can win! If we defeat them, not only will we win the battle, but we’ll be able to crush all of the Langran army! Go!
Dick: Roger!
Masaki: Just a bit more till we can take the capital back! We won’t let it go your way any longer!
Chapter 10: The Road to the Capital
Victory: Defeat the Gildora.
Defeat: The Hagane is shot down, Mio or Presia are shot down
SR point: Within 3 turns, shoot down 15 or more units besides the Gildora.
*Kill a few dudes*
Zares: Where are our reinforcements? What are the mercenaries from the surface doing?
*oh there they are*
Chiot: …
Carla: Ah, that’s!
Yuuki: The 3rd Kerberion.
Excellen: So I guess we’ve met all 3 of the siblings now.
Zares: Chiot Argent, was it? It’s just you?
Chiot: That’s right. I didn’t want to come, but because Chienne told me to, I had no choice.
Zares: What’s that supposed to mean?
Chiot: It looks like you’re having problems here, old man. Chien said he was likely to cut out soon, and I plan on going with him.
Zares: What…?
Chiot: I just want to do my job and return to the surface. Unlike Chienne, I don’t want to stay down here too long.
Ibis: That guy feels a bit different than the other two…
Excellen: I’m thinking “Cut out soon” has more than one meaning…
Chiot: No matter who I’m fighting, I have no interest in it. It’s annoying, but I guess I should fight you guys.
Carla: So why are you risking your neck out here, then?
Chiot: Because the Shutedonias military is my ticket to the surface.
Rai: …!
Irm: So I was right.
Chiot: So while Chienne and Chien want to gain fame even down here or whatever, I’m only in it for the ride home.
Irm: Even down here? You’re mercenaries on the surface, too?
Chiot: Not really, but I don’t need to tell you. Besides, I don’t really want to get involved.
Excellen: So all you’re looking for is a way home? Wanna come with us?
Chiot: (God, this is annoying. I just gotta end this quick.)
SR Point: Within 3 turns, destroy 15 or more enemies excluding the Gildora and the Kerberion Avenir.
*Beat him up*
Chiot: Well, hanging around here with Zares has no more meaning. I’m heading back.
Excellen: Oh ho, he’s a bit quick to give up, eh?
Masaki: Stay focused! Wipe out their remaining forces!
*Punch dick in the dick*
Dick: Gah, I can’t take anymore!
*Fight Zares*
Zares: Cybuster! If I can just defeat you, Langran will stop fighting!
Masaki: Shut up! Do you really think that kind of Elemental can beat an Elemental Lord?
*Blow up*
Zares: Gah! We can’t stop them! We must retreat!
Eita: All enemy signatures in the area have disappeared. Nothing on radar.
Azuki: Captain, there’s a message from Feil. The Shutedonias forces in the capital have begun to retreat.
Tetsuya: Then it seems the plan was a success…
Masaki: Thanks, everyone. You really helped us out.
Excellen: No problem!
Presia: Masaki, should we go to the capital?
Masaki: Yeah, hopefully with this first step, things will get better….
*Bridge*
Feil: We have removed the entire Shutedonias army from the capital. I cannot thank you enough.
Masaki: It’s only going to get worse from here though, right?
Feil: Yeah. Though I said we’ve taken the capital back from the Shutedonias forces, the battles elsewhere are still ongoing. It appears they're gathering their forces at the Redona Gorge.
Tytti: So they’re not going to back down.
Masaki: What should we be doing, then?
Feil: Before we make any more military moves, I need to take some counsel. Then we can find start investigating the reasons behind the summoning, searching for more people from the surface, and making the preparations to send the people from the surface home.
Masaki: I see…
Feil: Captain Tetsuya, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but until we’re done preparing, I’d prefer it if you stayed at the capital.
Tetsuya: …Understood.
Feil: If you need any supplies or resources, ask me. Whatever we can spare, we’ll offer.
Tetsuya: You don’t have to worry. Getting the capital back in order is what’s most important right now.
Feil: Well then, I have a meeting in the palace, so goodbye.
Tetsuya: It seems like this war is still going to take precedence.
Masaki: Yeah… I think you’ll be called on to help again.
Tetsuya: I thought it might be some time before we were able to return, but there’s a limit to how much we can be involved in La Gias’s matters.
Masaki: I’m sure Lord Feil knows that, too.
Tetsuya: In any case, we have a bit of a break. Masaki, if you want to go to the capital, feel free.
Masaki: Yeah… I guess It’s been awhile since I’ve been home. I should probably go say hi.
*Hagane mess hall*
Masaki: So anyway, I’m headed to my house, so does anyone want to come with me?
Presia: I was planning on making dinner, and if there’s a lot of people, that’s more fun!
Masaki: It’s Presia’s house too, by the way.
Carla: I’ll go! I’ll go!
Ibis: M-me too!
Masaki: What about you, Excellen?
Excellen: Thanks for the offer, but we don’t have permission to leave the ship.
Rai: That’s right, the pilots are ordered to stay on standby with their mechs.
Carla: Aww, shucks.
Aya: The captain gave Masaki permission to leave, so it’d probably be okay for you to go with him, right? You’re not enlisted by the Steel Dragons, but rather a civilian helping out, after all.
Carla: Huh, really?
Aya: Yeah, We’ll keep the ship warm for you. And I’ll talk to Captain Viletta about it, so don’t worry.
Rio: If anything comes up, we’ll contact you, so have our share of fun out there, too.
Carla: Awesome! Yuu, you’re coming too!
Yuuki: No, I’m going to...
Irm: You and Tsugumi should go look around. I want you to check on the mood of the city.
Carla: And also find out where the cute girls are?
Irm: That’s a given. I mean, Tytti and Presia are gonna be there.
Excellen: Well, beyond Irm’s little fantasies, you may pick up some clues about the summoning in the city.
Yuuki: Well, if you put it like that…
Tsugumi: Well then, I’ll come along, too.
Mai: How lucky…
Aya: Mai, you have to stay here with us.
Mai: I know…
Presia: Well… if you want, I can bring something I make at the house back for you….
Mai: Really?
Presia: Yup. I’m really good at Japanese cooking. I’ve heard a lot about it from my brother.
Mai: Then please bring some back for me, okay?
Presia: Leave it to me!
*Palace*
Feil: …Well then, Head Advisor Novus will explain the situation.
Novus: Currently, the Shutedonias forces occupy the south eastern portion of the continent. However, that portion is being fought over by Kirkus’s forces. On the map, the green is our forces, the blue is Kirkus’s, and the red is the Shutedonias forces. Kirkus’s and our forces have cornered the Shutedonias army, but on the other hand… You could say we’re surrounded by Shutedonias and Bagonia’s armies, while Kirkus is trapped next to mainland Shutedonias. While we’ve been winning our battles recently and have some momentum, we can’t ignore the enemy’s strength. In terms of pure numbers, the full Shutedonias army dwarfs ours. A direct battle would be reckless.
Feil: So we’re going to need Kirkus’s help on this one.
Novus: I was also thinking that it was our best option.
Feil: …
Ort: What is it? We’re in the middle of a meeting here….! What?!
Feil: What is it?
Ort: Lord, We’ve received a message from General Kirkus.
Feil: …!
Novus: Why is the General personally-
Feil: Send it here.
Ort: Right away.
Kirkus: …
Feil: …General Kirkus.
Kirkus: It has been awhile, Lord Feil. I knew you’d eventually wish to join forces with me, so I contacted you.
Feil: …
Novus: (How dare he say such things to the lord…)
Feil: Good timing on your part, General Kirkus. If you are serious, we should arrange a formal meeting, rather than just a conversation. Right now, our top priority should be driving the Shutedonias forces out of the country as quickly as possible. I trust you have no objections to that.
Kirkus: …
Feil: Will you agree to a discussion about cooperating?
Kirkus: Well, I’m not so sure about that. Certainly, I also only want what’s best for Langran. We have the same desire to help the country. However, when Langran was really in a state of crisis, where exactly were you, your highness?
Feil: …
Kirkus: When Langran’s central region was being pillaged, when you should have been fighting to prevent any more bloodshed… It’s presumptuous of me to say, but you weren’t there, were you.
Novus: Kirkus! Watch your tongue in the presence of Lord Feil!
Kirkus: Huh? What do you mean?
Novus: You bastard…
Kirkus: I have no connection to anything from the old Langran. There’s no use mincing words at this point. Am I wrong?
Feil: …So you are saying you don’t wish to cooperate?
Kirkus: Oh no, I’m just worried about what will happen to Langran after the Shutedonias forces are driven out.
Feil: Do you plan to claim independence from Langran, Kirkus?
Kirkus: I don’t know why you would think of something as showy as that… All I want is for Langran to return to being a peaceful country. But if it’s ruled by the royal family of the Holy Langran Empire, that would be difficult.
Novus: Kirkus!
Feil: Then who would you recommend?
Kirkus: The rightful heir to the throne of New Langran, Lord Terius.
Feil: !!
Kirkus: Well then, your highness.
Terius: Yeah… You’re looking well, brother.
Feil: Terius?! What is the meaning of this?!
Terius: It’s just as Kirkus explained. I will become the first King of New Langran.
Novus: Madness! Lord Terius is third in the line of succession! Lord Feil and Monica are both ahead of him!
Kirkus: As I mentioned before, having Lord Feil as the leader of a new country would be somewhat unsettling. He might just disappear again… Oh, but I need to “watch my tongue”, don’t I. And further, no one knows where Monica is right now. Considering that, Lord Terius is the rightful ruler.
Novus: How dare you! You would sully the traditions of our throne, Kirkus!
Feil: … That’s enough, Novus.
Novus: My lord?
Feil: Kirkus. If I agree to Terius’s ascension, will you cooperate with us?
Kirkus: Of course.
Feil: Very well. I agree to it.
Novus: M-my lord! That’s…!
Feil: But that is only after the Shutedonias forces have been completely driven out of Langran. Understood, Kirkus?
Kirkus: As expected of the wise Lord Feil. As long as you’ll listen to reason, we’ll be happy to cooperate. As soon as this matter is attended to, we will celebrate Lord Terius’s coronation. We’ll be sure to save you a seat. That is all.
Feil: …
Ort: My lord…
Novus: What are you planning? By using Terius as a puppet, Kirkus will have control over the entire nation!
Feil: I understand that, Novus. But getting the Shutedonias forces out is our absolute number one priority. And besides, it doesn’t matter who the king is. As long as Congress has the power to curb Kirkus’s ambitions, it will be fine.
Ort: But that means you’ll…
Feil: We live in turbulent times. If something doesn’t change, then Langran will…
Ort: …
Novus: Then I only have one last question. If Kirkus uses extraordinary methods to get what he wants, do you have the will to stop him? To have your name shamed by betrayal?
Feil: Of course. What I want is for La Gias to have peace. If Kirkus becomes a tyrant, he won’t be shown any mercy.
Novus: That’s all I needed to hear. Leave the battle plans involving Kirkus to me. I won’t let everything go the way he wants it to.
Feil: Thanks. I’m counting on you.
*MEANWHILE IN THE CITY*
Masaki: It looks like this area didn’t suffer too much damage.
Presia: Thank goodness.
Carla: When you called it a capital, I was expecting a futuristic city or something… But it’s a pretty stylish city.
Tsugumi: I don’t really know how to describe it… I guess I’d say it’s got a good vibe to it.
Tytti: Yeah, it doesn’t have skyscrapers or anything like you’d see in a surface capital city.
Carla: It’d be perfect for a date! Right, Yuu?
Yuu: I don’t really care. Did you forget why we came here?
Carla: Sheesh, you’re a buzzkill.
Mio: …Anyway, where is your house, Masaki?
Masaki: Oh, it’s a short walk from here.
Mio: Reaaaally? Are you sure you’re not lost?
Tsugumi: Presia knows where the house is too, so we should be fine.
Masaki: Hey, even I can find my way home without getting lost.
*House*
Carla: Hmm, so this is Masaki and Presia’s house. It’s nice.
Masaki: It’s been awhile since I’ve been home, so it’s not exactly tidy.
Tsugumi: Well, we’ll help out.
Masaki: It’s fine, just make yourself at home. Presia, could you get the tea?
Presia: I think Yuuki is already doing that.
Masaki: Oh, he brought it with him. I guess that’s the Tea Maniac for you.
Mio: Oh? Yuuki’s into tea?
Masaki: Well, about that… If he takes a sip of tea made with teabags, he gets so mad that you can see an aura of malice engulfing him.
Tytti: That… sounds rough.
Yuu: Masaki, you shouldn’t talk about stuff you don’t understand.
Masaki: But teabags are no good, right?
Yuu: Absolutely. Today I used leaves from Nuwara Eliya’s Lovers Leap tea shop.[1] Of course, in order to make sure it wasn’t too bitter, I was careful about the water’s temperature in addition to the cups'.
Ibis: … Uh, I don’t really get it.
Carla: It’s always like this. Pay him no mind.
Tytti: Well then, I’ll have some. Where is the sugar?
Tsugumi: Here it is.
Tytti: Thank you.
Yuu: >:O!
Carla: What’s the matter, Yuu?
Yuuki: Ty-Tytti… if you put that much sugar into it, you’ll lose the flavor of the tea…
Tytti: Huh? I was only going to put in a little.
Yuuki: You call 8 teaspoons of sugar… a little?
Mio: Wait, does Tytti…
Masaki: …Have a sweet tooth, yeah. An absurdly, impossibly large one.
Previous Chapter: Chapter 9: The Captured Queen Next Chapter: Chapter 11: Kirkus's Ambitions
[1] TEA TYPES I DON’T EVEN KNOW MAN I LOOKED IT UP AND THIS IS WHAT I GOT