The place she reached after running was, in the end, the dormitory.
“Th-this post, and this one, d-delete.”
Soraya’s hand moved over the hologram projected from her smartwatch.
It was a speed unimaginable from her usual self.
Naturally so.
After all, managing the Academy’s community was the one thing she did because she genuinely wanted to.
She was the sort who normally stayed out of sight at the Academy and spent the whole day on the community board.
Perhaps because of that, when a professor suddenly came to her one day and shoved the role of community administrator onto her, she had been a little flustered.
Usually, when you got an armband like this, you didn’t gain power so much as become a target for abuse and spend your days swallowing your anger.
But she couldn’t refuse.
It wasn’t as though she got four million credits a month just for wearing the armband.
Still, once she started doing it, it was surprisingly fun.
For her, whose daily life consisted of nothing but lying in bed, the academic community was a stimulus of sorts.
“H-here too, it’s a t-troll, and over there too, t-trolling. Why is everyone t-trolling when their real names are att-attached?”
She couldn’t understand it.
Did none of them feel any shame?
They could at least change their names, but most of them were active on the community while openly revealing exactly who they were.
Was it that nice to have their names become famous?
With practiced ease, she searched the target’s ID, rapidly analyzed all their information, and if the total showed they were someone causing trouble within the community, she immediately issued a temporary ban.
They had been scolded once, so she could only hope they would never do anything bad again.
Though in reality, no one ever changed.
“Ugh, my h-head hurts.”
She had barely slept for a while, and it felt as though her head would split open.
Soraya groped around on the table.
With a hollow clatter, an empty energy drink can fell over.
“Ah.”
She had meant to buy energy drinks, but in the end, she hadn’t been able to.
She didn’t want to go out again.
Soraya turned off the hologram screen and collapsed onto the bed.
She didn’t want to get up.
How nice would it be if she fell asleep like this, woke up, and had suddenly become a cat?
If she could run straight out of the Academy, she would go straight back home.
“That’s why I envy you.”
Soraya bolted upright.
No matter how much she looked around, there was no one else there.
She had definitely heard a voice.
And it had been Deep’s voice.
Had she imagined it?
Her twitching fingertips opened the hologram once more.
“Deep, Deep from the Pilot Department.”
Having finished the search in an instant, Soraya pulled up dozens of videos of Deep at once and began watching each one simultaneously.
“It l-looks like he’s c-committing suicide.”
Before she had even watched all the videos, the answer came to her.
He was a person who wanted to live, and so he made moves where he could die.
It was strange. Incomprehensible. Far too paradoxical.
“Why, exactly?”
Because there was nowhere to run.
That was why, even knowing that he might die, he worked hard, desperately, with everything he had,
“He keeps going f-forward, only f-forward.”
He simply advanced, as if he would never look back.
“I definitely thought he was s-someone sim-similar to me.”
Fundamentally, people with loser tendencies could never hide that deep, lingering loser smell.
It was a rude thought, but the deep loser smell that Deep gave off was certainly on the same level as hers.
Then how in the world could he do something this conspicuous?
She could picture it in her head.
The sight of him shrinking under people’s gazes on the bus every day, breaking out in a cold sweat.
The sight of him flinching every time eyes fixed on him in the lecture hall.
All of those images were replaced with Soraya herself.
“Why, exactly?”
Because there was nowhere to run.
Because he had no parents.
Because he had no money.
Because he had nowhere to go.
Soraya clenched her fist tightly.
Earlier, that operator named Ran had said there was an exam this time.
That person named Ran was definitely Deep’s operator.
If I ruin this exam like this, then I’ll definitely ruin Deep’s exam along with it.
“I don’t want that.”
I can’t do that.
For my own sake, I can’t push someone who’s already been driven to the edge and make them fall.
Soraya’s hand moved.
“Morgana.”
Beep.
“Please speak.”
“Begin auxiliary calculation and information search. Target: information on every person related to my midterm exam.”
“Beginning linkage for user’s search.”
“Maximize hologram screen usage.”
Several hologram screens appeared at once.
Amid the vast sea of information, Soraya’s gaze stopped in one place.
Rob.
Would it be possible to talk? (12:27 AM)
I’ll continue the detailed conversation privately. (12:27 AM)
A conversation history she could see because she had community administrator privileges.
Like most community users, this person named Rob had not changed his name either.
It wasn’t particularly strange for Academy cadets to talk privately with one another.
Male cadets often started talking about pornography and then switched to private messages, and of course, even female cadets did that plenty of times.
But this time was a little different.
“Morgana. Search conversation records for Jude, first year of the Pilot Department.”
The other party was strange.
“Retrieving.”
She found it.
Jude.
He wasn’t from a particularly powerful noble family. Roughly a slightly wealthy viscount household.
At the Academy, it was more common than one might think for lower-ranking nobles and commoners to become close.
But this case was different.
First, even a glance at Jude’s usual community records made it clear that he was a noble supremacist.
Last time, people insulting Deep and people defending him had gotten into a fight, and she remembered banning Jude because he had insulted Deep far too severely then.
There was no way someone like that could suddenly become friends with a commoner.
Second.
“They became close enough to talk through a secret channel right before fighting each other in the exam?”
There was no decisive evidence at all.
Soraya thought it over for a while, then forwarded the organized materials to Ran.
She excluded the information about Rob.
She couldn’t talk about someone without decisive proof.
Then, after hesitating briefly, she let out a breath.
“Morgana.”
Beep.
“Please speak.”
“Send the organized final version of the materials to the saved name Bad Bastard.”
“Sending. Transmission complete.”
She had to send it to Joshua Otto too.
Not long after she sent the message, a reply came.
Don’t need it. (11:52 PM)
Don’t send me this crap. (11:52 PM)
“Th-this, b-bad, bad bastard.”
Her hand, which had flinched and trembled, left another message.
Additionally, (11:53 PM)
There’s a record of a person named Rob contacting Jude on the opposing team. (11:53 PM)
Please keep it in mind. (11:53 PM)
Not my problem. (11:55 PM)
There was no physical evidence.
This was probably all she could do.
Maybe it was because she had used her head for the first time in a while, or maybe because she hadn’t drunk any energy drinks.
The moment Soraya buried her head in the pillow as though collapsing, she fell asleep.
***
Beeeeeeep.
“Deep Squad, prepare to sortie.”
Having my name attached to the squad name felt so awkward I could die.
“The operation has been transmitted via hologram. Have you confirmed it?”
“Y-yes. I’ll read it over o-one more time.”
After Soraya joined in on the intelligence gathering, the amount of information swelled in an instant.
When I looked it up, Soraya had been in the top ten of the Operator Department when she entered.
Now she was somewhere in the middle to lower half of the top hundred, so I couldn’t even tell how far she had fallen.
No, the greatest responsibility for those grades probably lay with Joshua Otto.
I shook my head.
This wasn’t the time to worry about someone else’s grades.
Three weeks had passed in the blink of an eye.
Using the complex mass of information, we quickly formulated an operation, and in conclusion, a very orthodox plan was established.
To take advantage of the jungle environment that narrowed visibility, Allang’s Arbiter would scout with drones.
After that, Joshua’s Levant, a bombardment-heavy armor type, and Rob’s Honor would narrow the front line.
Finally, Ailey would appear, launch a surprise attack on the enemy, and finish them off.
Even though we would be standing on the same front line, we had four people who could take it, so flanking and surprise attacks were more advantageous.
The enemy would probably expect it too, but it was still a plan they would have no choice but to suffer.
Even if they expected a surprise attack, they wouldn’t know when or where it would come from.
Allang and Joshua Otto were—
“Mark properly.”
“Why should I?”
“We win if I scout properly.”
“Why should I win?”
My head hurt.
Let’s not bother listening to that conversation.
Even if Joshua wasn’t there, even if he didn’t move, Rob alone should be enough to protect Allang and narrow the battlefield.
Clank.
The catapult began to draw back.
As I lowered my stance and prepared to run, Ailey came closer and examined my face from side to side.
“What is it?”
“Something about you seems anxious? Is there anything to be anxious about?”
Anxious?
Me?
I let go of the stick for a moment and touched my face.
My expression had stiffened slightly.
“I think I’m just nervous.”
Our opponent was none other than Aaron, Icarus.
It was also my first time fighting since recovering my physical condition, so I couldn’t help but be nervous.
“Is that so?”
Ailey sat down beside me with a subtle expression, and the hologram shrank and vanished.
“Because you’ll only look at my pretty face!”
“Yes, sure.”
“That answer lacks enthusiasm.”
“Because you’re right.”
If Ailey’s hologram was up, it was emotionally reassuring, but it also blocked part of my vision.
In the end, that meant I couldn’t properly make use of the advantages of an all-direction monitor, so it was better not to have Ailey’s hologram.
Ailey must have thought of that too.
“I can’t tell whether you understand a woman’s heart or not.”
“Huh?”
“Womanizer! It’s nothing! They said ten seconds until launch!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Beginning countdown.”
The sound of the catapult drawing back stopped.
The warning lights shone bright red, and the siren blared noisily.
At the same time the locking mechanism opened, the catapult exit flared bright.
As the numbers before my eyes ticked down, Ran’s voice rang out.
“Operation, begin.”
“Deep, Ailey.”
“Arbiter of Allang.”
“Rob! Honor!”
The catapult launched the Titans simultaneously.
“Dive.”
“Commencing operation.”
“Let’s raise hell!”
Keeeeeeeng!
The thrusters spat fire, and acceleration began to build.
The moment I turned to look beside me, Ailey clicked her tongue.
“He didn’t launch!”
As expected, I thought it was strange that he hadn’t said anything when we sortied.
Allang shouted urgently.
“Joshua, Joshua! Respond!”
“H-he probably won’t listen. L-let’s do it on our own.”
This was a situation we had expected.
We had expected it, but it was still flustering.
My voice trembled, and my stutter worsened.
“The p-plan is, that’s—”
Beep.
“This is Operator Ran. I will take over the operation on behalf of Pilot Deep. If anyone has any objections, please state them now.”
Good timing.
No one responded with any objection.
“Then I will proceed as though there are no objections and disseminate the operation. The plan will be executed as originally established. At present, Joshua’s side is in conversation with his operator. He may join belatedly.”
“Understood.”
Allang answered through gritted teeth, then released his drones with a rattling sound.
Six drones moved at high speed and plunged into the jungle.
“Rob, uh, that is.”
“Just trust me and go!”
At Rob’s boast, I nodded and began circling around to flank according to the original plan.
My head hurt.
I felt an intense anxiety, strong enough to hurt.