After the first meeting with the Commander.
The tactical link of the ‘Arklight’ Squad.
[Pomen: Areuba, has your core temperature gotten a bit better? (giggling cat emoticon)]
[Areuba: The system was only temporarily overloaded. It is currently functioning normally.]
[Pomen: But from what I saw earlier, steam was practically billowing out of your head?]
[Areuba: …….]
[Pomen: I bet we could use you instead of our Ark humidifier?]
[Areuba: Sigh… it’s all because of you. It’s because your illogical and impulsive actions caused the calculation load to explode.]
[Pomen: Aw, from where I’m standing, it seems like it’s because of our new Commander? You know, they’re super intense, right?]
[Areuba: …?]
[Pomen: Didn’t you see earlier? I buried their face in my chest, and they didn’t refuse.]
[Areuba: That statement could constitute sexual harassment, Pomen. The punishment for Echo sexual harassment is no joke.]
[Pomen: But I don’t think the Commander would report me? Anyway. How do they look in our Captain’s eyes?]
[Areuba: …Based on the analysis result, multiple anomalies are observed. First….]
[Pomen: First?]
[Areuba: There is no information on them in the Ark.]
[Pomen: Huh? That can’t be right. That person is a Commander who sortied for ‘Operation Blast’. You’re saying Central AI couldn’t identify such a human Commander? They’re a mass-produced model, but still a human who commanded an Echo Squad?]
[Areuba: Unknown.]
[Pomen: They’re definitely human, right? For example, they haven’t been infected by a Crawler Queen or anything….]
[Areuba: That possibility is low. But continuous surveillance and data collection will be necessary.]
[Pomen: Date? You mean data. Anyway, I like that Commander?]
[Areuba: Why?]
[Pomen: Because they didn’t avoid me even when I touched and played around with them. Other human Commanders either look at us like bugs or are just scared. Did you see how they actually enjoyed it?]
[Areuba: 92% of surviving humans showed rejection reactions to physical contact with combat Echoes. The Commander may be an exception case belonging to that 8%.]
[Pomen: Their hand was warm too. A living person’s hand. Completely different from my hard hand. Well… that mechanical arm was a bit cold, though.]
[Areuba: The probability that a typical human will manifest post-amputation and prosthetic-attachment surgery stress disorder is 95.3%. I will need to care for that part.]
[Pomen: I’ll do it.]
[Areuba: You?]
[Pomen: Yeah. I’ll get close and gradually seduce them like this.]
[Areuba: The Commander might dislike it.]
[Pomen: But they’re a man, right? Besides, he looked like he’d be good at night work? Did you see that sperm missile earlier?]
[Areuba: W-what?]
[Pomen: His dick, his dick. Couldn’t you see the gunpowder contained in there exploding inside me someday? Heehee—!]
[Areuba: ……Pomen. I hope I don’t have to report you to Central AI for sexual harassment of human males.]
[Pomen: (teasing emoticon)]
[Pomen: Okay, okay. But aren’t you curious too, Captain? Just looking at him, isn’t he your type?]
[Areuba: That is an illogical conjecture.]
[Pomen: Ugh, whatever. So what are we going to do now? The disposal protocol has definitely been stopped, right?]
[Areuba: I received permission from Central AI just now.]
[Pomen: We barely managed to extend our lives. Then can we interfere with the monsters more proactively?]
[Areuba: Obeying the Commander’s orders is our protocol. However, the new Commander’s command ability has not been verified.]
[Pomen: But don’t you think they’ll do well? They’re the only Commander who survived the engagement with that Crawler Queen.]
[Areuba: …….]
[Pomen: For now, I want to believe. They look better than those damned bastards I experienced at Ark 69.]
[Areuba: The Commander was also one of the past Commanders of Ark 69.]
[Pomen: You said there’s no information? Then it’s not them.]
[Areuba: …Yes. Anyway, don’t be late to greet the Commander tomorrow morning.]
[Pomen: Okay, then rest well, our stiff Captain. But don’t rest too much like the other friends.]
[Areuba: Don’t worry, Pomen. Everything will be fine.]
[Pomen: Yeah.]
* * *
"……."
Instead of morning sunlight, cold artificial light dug into my eyelids.
The ceiling of an unfamiliar Ark.
"It’ll take some time to get used to."
I raised my creaking body.
Last night’s commotion wasn’t a dream.
Below my left shoulder, a matte black metallic prosthetic arm was still attached, unfamiliar as ever.
"The 2.5th anniversary side story featured the Crawler Queen and took place 28 years later. So…."
Roughly calculated, this meant the current time period was about 22 years before Chapter 1 of the main story began.
"If that’s the case, the user character with the setting of ‘humanity’s final Commander’ wouldn’t even have been born yet…."
[We were created the latest, but we will be the first to destroy the enemies threatening humanity.]
The Echo Squad accompanying the protagonist from the main story.
The latest-model Echo Squad ‘Dawn Frame’, which was said to have begun production after the war with the monsters, would only be entering development at this point in time.
"…So this is right during the March of Hardships?"
The worst period when 86% of humanity had died.
That time was precisely now.
Was I really fucked?
I had taken over as the Ark’s Commander for the time being when I heard that all Echoes were going to be scrapped, but I was at a loss as to what to do.
Then my eyes caught the ‘Cash Compass’ I had discovered in the corner of the sickroom yesterday.
It was an old, worn compass with scratches here and there that anyone could tell was ordinary.
Click.
When I opened the lid, a translucent hologram interface floated up.
[Held Cash: 99000C]
[Acquisition Details: Operation Blast – Crawler Queen Engagement (Command Participation Reward)]
"……What the hell is this."
Is this the price of the life obtained from that terrible battle?
Scrolling through the interface, a familiar cash shop list caught my eye.
Titanium alloy, emergency power pack, high-concentration nutrient fluid, core fluid, hyper-ceramic panel, arc reactor, and so on.
They were resources that could be used in ‘Echoes of Humanity – Echo’.
"But there’s no gacha?"
Isn’t that what you need to increase Echoes and form squads?
This way, I would need to acquire design drawings and the resources required for Echo production in large quantities.
Anyway, considering the efficiency of cash, it should be of great help to the Ark’s supplies.
If I just bought one 99,000 won survival resource package, the supplies inside would weigh several tons.
"But is this the right amount for a command participation reward?"
Every single power of the Ark was annihilated.
It had been such a desperate battle that even I barely survived by giving up an arm.
And yet only a measly 99,000 won?
Even a day laborer’s wage would be way more than this.
Anyway, I decided to test it by first purchasing an emergency power pack, which was most necessary for Ark operation.
[Would you like to purchase an Emergency Power Pack (Small)? 100C will be consumed.]
This could maintain the Ark for about a day if electricity was used to a minimum. That’s how it was in the game.
Just as I was about to touch it as a test….
"Commander—! Good morning!"
With a bang!, the door burst open roughly, and a head of coral-colored short hair popped in.
It was Pomen.
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I instinctively tried to hide the Cash Compass, but it was already too late.
"What are you looking at so intently from the morning?"
The moment Pomen’s playful hand planted itself on my shoulder, my arm slipped and naturally ended up pressing the purchase button.
[Purchase Confirmed!]
That was when it happened.
"Huh…?"
A faint light gathered in the air, and space began to distort.
"Commander—!!! Get behind me!"
Pomen’s smirking face hardened stiffly as she blocked the path between the distorted space and me, deploying her armaments.
And the next moment.
Thud!
With a heavy noise, a cardboard box fell with a thud.
Inside was an emergency power pack used for Ark and Echo activities.
"…Wow."
Pomen, having checked the box, turned to me.
Her eyes began to sparkle like a child who had seen a miraculous magic trick for the first time in her life. I was amazed too.
‘Is this the protagonist’s otherworld privilege?’
I didn’t know this would actually work.
Guess it’s a good thing I have something like insurance?
"Jackpot—! Commander! How did you do that just now? Was it this compass? Can I touch it?"
Pomen rushed at me and fiddled with the Cash Compass curiously.
But even though she opened and closed the lid, she didn’t seem to see the hologram rising from the Cash Compass.
Ah, wait.
Isn’t that… a bit risky?
While saying this, she crossed her arms at just the right height for her chest to brush against me—subtly, no, quite openly.
Had she always been this type of Echo?
[Shoulder? Waist? Chest…? Where do you want to touch from today?]
[If you touch me like that again, I… might get the wrong idea?]
[Mmm. At this rate, my body will start remembering Commander’s hand.]
[What if you handle me like this and I break? Will Commander take responsibility?]
‘Ah, she was always this type of Echo.’
She was an Echo I had used as a mainstay.
I couldn’t remember all her lines, but I remembered them to some extent.
An Echo who had been called by various vulgar nicknames due to her lewd jokes, blatant flirting toward the Commander, and large breasts: ‘rutting tube’, ‘cock socket’, and so on.
‘Ssss, should I touch them once?’
Thinking about the setting of Echoes who absolutely obey humans, I felt like she wouldn’t refuse if I touched her.
Since ‘Echoes of Humanity – Echo’ wasn’t an R-18 game, I was conflicted.
Still, working up a bit of courage befitting a man, just as I was about to touch Pomen’s breast.
"Pomen. Don’t move from that spot."
A voice cold as an iceblock came from behind.
It was Areuba, holding a large shotgun. Her muzzle was pointed at the cardboard box containing the emergency power pack.
"Commander. May I request an investigation into the compass regarding the phenomenon just now?"
"Why are you being like this, Areuba? Aren’t you being too stiff?"
"Our goal is the safety of the Commander and the Ark."
True… the cash effect of the Cash Compass was a bit of a cheat.
Fortunately, the Echo story writers had even crafted lore for the Cash Compass, claiming they would make a story about it too.
"It is something I obtained during the battle with the Crawler Queen. Why don’t you check it yourself?"
"…Thank you."
When I handed over the compass, a blue scan light shot out from Areuba’s pupils and swept over the Cash Compass and the emergency power pack.
"Analysis impossible. Material unknown. Operating principle unidentified."
"Emergency power pack. 99.9% purity. Matches Ark refining facility products. However… no production record."
Confusion settled on Areuba’s face after she finished scanning.
"It is incomprehensible."
She looked like she might malfunction from the dignity of the cash item that defied physical laws, which didn’t exist in her database.
"Don’t tell me it’s not in the Ark’s database either?"
"It was not there. However, something of a similar kind…."
"There are artifacts."
"?!"
Pure curiosity and sharp pupils turned toward me. Between those two eyes, I opened my mouth, feigning calm.
"I believe it is an artifact obtained during the battle with the Crawler Queen. I had originally intended to carry it for use as a compass to secure a retreat route. But as you can see, it seems to be a matter generator that responds to my genes."
"Artifact…."
"It can’t be!"
In this insane world where zombies, deformed monsters, and machine races threaten humanity.
It wouldn’t be strange if there were a few artifacts that surpassed humanity’s common sense in this setting.
And I used the Cash Compass several times in front of Areuba and Pomen.
But they couldn’t see the Cash Compass’s hologram, and I had to purchase titanium alloy and emergency power packs several times to make them understand and accept the Cash Compass.