I Reincarnated as the Captain of a Battleship in a Robot Anime, but at This Rate, I’m Going to Be Assassinated – Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Position of Protagonist Cannot Be Dismissed with Words Like “Corrective Force”
  It happened just before Shougo and the Mirandora crew ascended into space.
  When an emergency occurs, the atmosphere naturally spreads to the surroundings. After all, it was an abnormal situation where the military was attacking. An evacuation warning was issued to civilians as well.
  Many civilians had already begun evacuating to the international airport and other shelters, but the planet was originally a rural one, where such damage was not anticipated at all. Or rather, it was a laid-back planet, so the evacuation was slow.
  Furthermore, although Adamant and the other representatives had anticipated such a situation, their lack of experience became apparent when they actually faced it, and they were unable to maintain proper control.
  
  “Anish, you really should stop. That’s reckless no matter how you look at it.”
  “Look, the military is coming. And there’s talk of them attacking us. Besides, I’ve been ordered to standby for sortie, so I have to do my job!”
  
  That’s what led to Yuuki and Anish being granted their freedom.
  After the meeting, they were not simply kicked out. They were inside the international airport under the name of protective observation. However, it was mostly lectures from Adamant and the Security Captain, and other than that, they were only slightly threatened that they would not be allowed to leak information about this incident to the outside world, and that they could be arrested in the worst case.
  The fact that they were mostly left alone after that showed the leniency of Byblos, but few understood that.
  
  “There’s a captured Rabi Reivu. The candidates will board it and stand by. It’s not a Georg, so it’ll be alright.”
  
  At the same time as the alert posture for the enemy attack was issued, Anish, who was a candidate and should have been on standby for sortie until a while ago, was also ordered to deploy. Her expression changed noticeably, and she was full of motivation.
  This was not the front line, it was far from Earth, and there was little political pressure. It was a rural area that was almost neglected. In other words, no one would pay attention to what happened here. That also meant there would be no help.
  There were few active personnel, and because they were so short-handed, even candidates were being mobilized. Until Shougo and the others arrived, there were not enough Teurugias, so they were on standby. But now, three had become available.
  In a way, it could be said to be flexible. That’s why, even though it was a security force, Yuuki, a civilian, could participate as a part-timer in the maintenance of the weapons.
  That wasn’t always a good thing.
  
  “The shelter here is strong, so go evacuate with the aunties quickly. I’m a member of the Security Force, I have a duty to protect this planet.”
  
  The girl named Anish was somewhat reckless.
  She could also be called stubborn. Because of that, Yuuki had been at her mercy since childhood, and that didn’t change even in this emergency.
  He knew that her competitiveness had led her to join the Security Force, but Yuuki felt a sense of discomfort, wondering if she had always been so determined to fight.
  
  “It’s a war, you know? You’re going to k*ll each other, right? The Security Force isn’t the military.”
  
  He felt like she was rushing into things. She had always been an active girl, and that wasn’t strange in itself, but what was about to begin was a war. It was a fight to the death.
  As one of her friends, he didn’t want her to get involved in such things.
  “The more combat power, the better. Besides, the opponent is the infamous New Balance, right? And even though they surrendered, that Jowain was also from New Balance, so who knows how much we can trust them.”
  “That might be true, but……!”
  
  He understood what she was trying to say.
  If Yuuki were to speak only for himself, that Jowain didn’t seem like a bad person. He seemed like a nice, friendly middle-aged man.
  However, considering the fact that he was a soldier of New Balance, which was oppressing various colonial planets, Anish’s caution was justified.
  
  “Anyway, in this situation, we don’t know what’s going to happen. They might even have a Planet Killer. If they fire it, we’re done for.”
  
  Saying that, Anish shook Yuuki off and ran.
  Even in peacetime, he couldn’t enter the Security Force section of the international airport. Even when he worked part-time, he was always under supervision.
  But now, he wasn’t even allowed to do that.
  Yuuki could only stand there.
  
  “What are you talking about? This is a rural planet……”
  
  The Rebel Army had arrived.
  New Balance had also come after them.
  Furthermore, a new type of machine was brought in, a defector appeared, and now there was an enemy attack.
  In just one day, Yuuki’s surroundings had changed drastically.
  
  “But, like Anish said, if they use a bomb like a Planet Killer, we won’t be able to live here anymore…… But I don’t want them to have a war here either. Who knows how many months it’ll take for relief supplies to arrive from Earth.”
  
  Besides, this was his hometown where he had lived for eighteen years. His parents and many friends were here.
  But there was nothing Yuuki could do right now.
  Even though the unreal fact of war was approaching, Yuuki was left behind in the midst of a disjointed atmosphere, and could only feel frustrated.
  
  “–Vivi?”
  
  If Shougo had been there, would he have smiled wryly? Or would he have been dumbfounded?
  For something that guided him to suddenly appear before a nobody of a boy, that was certainly no coincidence. It could only be described with the word “fate.”
  As if replacing Anish, a white puppet machine about twenty centimeters tall fell from above Yuuki’s head.
  
  “Whoa!”
  
  Yuuki was surprised by its sudden appearance, as if it had come through a ventilation shaft.
  It had a monkey-like structure. Long limbs, but its head was covered with a sensor cover that could be called a crystal lens or glass, giving the impression of a monkey in a spacesuit.
  Its movements also looked like that of a monkey.
  
  “Eh, a puppet machine…… Why is it coming from there…… Wait, this is……”
  
  This is what it meant to have prior knowledge.
  Normally, he would only have the impression of it being a mysterious puppet machine, but Yuuki was able to recognize it as “the thing made by the machine called Trismegistus.”
  He hadn’t heard what shape the puppet machine was, but he somehow thought so. Firstly, he had never seen a puppet machine shaped like this on Byblos.
  
  “This is the puppet machine those people were talking about, right?…… Or rather, isn’t it dangerous for it to be moving around on its own?”
  
  Percy or someone had said it was always dangerous, dangerous.
  However, he didn’t know if it was okay to leave it alone. He seemed to recall that it contained data for the new model, and if it was lost, it would be a big problem.
  So Yuuki picked up the puppet machine that was staring at him for some reason and held it in his arms.
  It was surprisingly light for a lump of metal. Was it some kind of lightweight metal?
  
  “But, what should I do with this……”
  
  Moreover, this puppet machine gave off a strange feeling.
  It was staring at him…… No, it was the feeling of being assessed that was unpleasant.
  
  “Hey.”
  
  As he was thinking this, a voice suddenly called out from behind him.
  
  “Yes!?”
  
  He turned around in surprise, and it was Dr. Phoenix who was there.
  He was looking at Yuuki with a dubious expression. And when he saw the puppet machine held in Yuuki’s arms, his face became a little stern.
  Noticing this, Yuuki hurriedly offered the puppet machine.
  
  “E-Excuse me! It might be hard to believe, but this fell from the ceiling……”
  “……Huh? You just happened to be there? Well, fine. More importantly, kid, give me a hand.”
  
  Dr. Phoenix didn’t blame him, and nodded as if he had convinced himself of something, beckoning Yuuki to follow him with his c*in.
  Yuuki could only tilt his head.
  
  “Give you a hand, with what?”
  “Adjusting the Teurugia. You know this planet is in a critical situation, right? We’ll use whatever we can.”
  “Teurugia? The Security Force’s Teurugias have already been maintained and are sortieing……”
  
  Looking out the window, he saw the captured Rabi Reivu that Anish seemed to be piloting starting up and moving to the runway, in addition to the usual Georg.
  There were no more Teurugias left. The moment he thought that, Yuuki realized.
  
  “You mean the new model?”
  “That’s right. Let me tell you, if we don’t use that, this planet will die.”
  “What do you mean!?”
  
  It was too alarming a way to put it.
  However, Dr. Phoenix responded to Yuuki’s question with completely different words.
  
  “Just come with me. If it ends up being a false alarm, then so be it. But adults always act assuming the worst-case scenario. Can we make excuses by saying we didn’t prepare anything because there was a chance we might be saved?”
  “It’s not about excuses, first of all, the pilot……”
  
  Percy or someone had said they didn’t want to pilot it, that it shouldn’t be moved.
  Listening to their stories, Yuuki felt the same way. He could understand that it was a dangerous thing.
  
  “You pilot it.”
  “Huh?”
  “You were chosen by Thoth. I don’t know why, but it registered you as the pilot.”
  
  If Shougo had heard those words, he might have fainted, but there was no way for them to know that.
  Shougo would want to scream that there was no such setting, but that information was being presented right here and now.
  
  “R-Registered, what do you mean!?”
  “Don’t ask me, I don’t know. But, well, one thing I can say is that Thoth…… No, Trismegistus is always thinking of ways to survive. You were chosen as a necessary factor for that. That’s all. Hurry up, if they fire the Planet Killer, we won’t be able to do anything. Except with Trismegistus. Besides, don’t you want to protect your girlfriend? She’ll die if this continues.”
  “Don’t say it like that……! Are you threatening me!?”
  “If I were pointing a gun at you, that would be a threat. But I’m only warning you. So, what will you do? Will you just stand there clinging to the wishful thinking that something might work out? Or……?”
  “I-I……”
  
  As if it were fate.
  Yuuki made his choice.
  
  “I’ll cooperate, just this once. Trismegistus can manipulate gravity and electrons. So, that means it can also take control of the enemy, right?”
  “If you can handle it.”
  “Once this battle is over, I’m out of here.”