CH 15

Overwhelming

“That instant power boost is the greatest perk of your striker! Use it!”

“YOU—!”

“That’s your 29th defeat! No matter how fast your striker is, your movements are too straightforward!”

“Damn it! I will get you next time!”

“That’s the spirit. You got guts! But it will only end up as your 30th defeat!”

“Ughh!”

Schleer tiredly sighed at the conversation which she could not be sure whether it’s a serious or a casual one. It’s been more than 30 minutes since this combat training began but Saki still couldn’t score a victory against Kisei yet. Her defeat comes basically once every minute so now she kind of respects her endurance instead.

“Umm, can I have my turn now?”

“Pl, please wait a little longer, Your Highness! One win, if I can score just one win then I will tag out.”

“I can not wait for decades you know.”

Saki’s face cramped at Schleer’s barbed words. As a matter of fact, Saki has already realized the difference in their ability but her high pride is still preventing her from admitting defeat.

“Let’s do this together. I still don’t think that we will stand a chance with both of us though.”

“Two of us against a man!? No way, that’s too cowardly!”

“Cowardly!? In the face of a powerful enemy, it’s natural to join up with your ally and fight together! It’s the basics of warfare!”

“Your Highness is telling me to resort to such a manly tactic!?”

Kisei couldn’t help but smile a little at their bizarre use of the word [manly]. After all, if he gets offended with just this, he wouldn’t be able to work with the Vuldes. Besides, he’s already used to it.

“It certainly sounds pathetic for two strong women to gang up against a man…….but Kisei-san’s ability is the real deal. Do you still think that he is an opponent that you can beat while worrying about his gender?”

“Kuh……I admit that he’s damn strong but…….”

“Sometimes you must swallow your shame and hone yourself. Moreover, if we cannot get stronger then we will never be able to achieve the true essence of a knight…….no, of a woman. Let us think of this as training against a strong opponent and do this together.”

“……..I understand.”

Unexpectedly, Saki was persuaded by Schleer. It appears that she manages to reflect on a lot of things during her repeated defeats.

“Oi, You! I will admit that I am weaker than you for now! I will definitely win someday alright!”

“Of course! You are not someone that would just give up after a few losses right? You can challenge me again anytime you want.”

Kisei replied with a grin on his face. His expression made it look like he’s enjoying this.

“I apologize for her rudeness, Kisei-san.”

Schleer connected a private communication channel and apologized to him on Saki’s behalf. Since Saki can be quite rude when it comes to men, she thinks that Kisei might have been offended by her.

“Rudeness? No, it was nothing at all. She is a good pilot. I actually like people who never give up like her.”

Even after losing to him 30 times in a row, her spirit never broke. To Kisei, her guts were worthy of respect.

“Besides, even if she has a bad mouth, I think that she’s not the malicious type. She picked a fight with me because I’m a man but…….I think that’s because she simply doesn’t want to see someone that she should protect fighting on the battlefield. Anyway, that’s the kind of feeling I got from her.”

“S, she certainly is that type of person…..I’m surprised you understand her so well.”

Schleer herself has a long relationship with Saki since she is the top ace of her fleet. Both of them have fought together on various battlefields. That’s why Schleer understood her but she was surprised that Kisei managed to understand her even though they practically just met each other.

“I’m confident in my intuition after all. Only while I’m inside a striker that is.”

“Is that so……”

Schleer could only nod to Kisei who replied to her with a strong smile.

“Oi, what are you two talking about over there? We are doing a two-on-one right, let’s get started already.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Saki’s impatient words.

“Yeah, yeah……..Come to think of it, Your Highness also pilots a Zenith right.”

Kisei asked as he glanced at Schleer’s striker. It is an indigo heavy-duty striker with a large blaster cannon installed on its shoulder. In its hands is a large heavy-machine gun and there were missile launchers fixed all over its body. This machine probably packed quite a bit of firepower. The information terminal is displaying its name as [Mistilteinn], a name that Kisei does not recognize from the various mass-produced models’ names that he is familiar with.

“Well, I’m a princess after all.”

Schleer proudly replied. Since Saki, a commoner, is piloting a Zenith-type, it wouldn’t do if Princess Schleer herself has to pilot a mass-produced model. There is this norm that a subordinate should not overshadow their superior too.

“Two Zenith-type…….Hmm……well, let’s do this.”

“Okay. I will show you that my striker is not just for show.”

Schleer replied with a daring smile.