“Wait.”
The hand stopped.
“Huh?”
Aili, too, continued speaking as if flustered.
To be exact, Aaron and I hadn’t destroyed each other.
I lost my main camera to Icarus’s battle axe.
Meanwhile, Icarus had its armor pierced by Blade, and fuel spilled from the fuel tank.
Originally, losing the main camera means you can’t continue combat, so it is considered a defeat.
But Aili has auxiliary sensors all over her body for the omnidirectional monitor.
In other words, looking at it realistically outside the academy’s existing rules, it was the same as me winning.
Even so, it was a rule that would only apply after I contested it and time passed.
Anyway, it wouldn’t be wrong to consider it a mutual destruction for this exam.
And judging by the sounds coming from far over there, surprisingly, Joshua seemed to have beaten Jude.
If things had gone as originally expected, there should still be one enemy left.
So the match should continue, and Joshua and the remaining opponent should be fighting.
“For real? Really? Is this for real?”
Aili suddenly became talkative, perhaps in disbelief.
Aaron let out a deep sigh over the close-range comms.
“How do you lose to a support type, you dumbass….”
Arang had won against the opponent who infiltrated the rear.
***
When asked how he won, Arang shrugged Arbiter’s shoulders.
“I used five out of six drones. Used two as shields, self-destructed two to obscure vision, and self-destructed one to detonate the enemy’s missile.”
And as for the remaining one, he said he’d sent it flying not toward me, but toward Joshua, who seemed like he was going to lose.
An ordinary support-type pilot would have surrendered immediately upon facing the enemy.
The sight of him operating drones calmly even with the enemy right before his eyes, trying to fight for victory—did he take after his older sister?
“C-carry.”
“Getting back up every time you falter is what being a teammate is about. If everyone on the team does their part, the opponent’s tactics ultimately don’t mean much.”
Easier said than done, but winning a one-on-one engagement in a support type was truly absurd.
Wasn’t his physical aptitude too good to be wasted on a support type?
I moved the stick and pedals in admiration.
Except for the critically damaged Titans, most Titans returned to the hangar on foot.
Seeing Aili, whose head was split in half, walking back perfectly fine, everyone was a bit surprised.
Since another advantage of the omnidirectional monitor had been revealed to the world, it would be beneficial to Ian too.
Chiiiiiik.
With the sound of a hydraulic press, the hatch opened and I stepped outside.
At the same time, hurried footsteps approached me.
“Deep!”
It was Rob.
“Are you okay?! It was a mistake! I didn’t mean to do it, I was just nervous….”
So that’s how he’s playing it.
If he acts like that, there’s nothing I can properly do.
There’s a possibility it really was a mistake, and you can’t exactly demand disciplinary action against Rob based solely on one suspicious moment from this engagement.
I could have actually died if it had hit me, but am I supposed to just let it go?
“I’m fine—”
Grab.
Suddenly, a hand seized my shoulder.
And pushing me back, someone strode toward Rob.
“Uh.”
Joshua raised his hand.
And swung cleanly.
“Wow.”
A clean hit that looked like it came straight out of a fighting manga slammed into Rob’s face.
Rob collapsed on the spot without even making a sound.
He’ll probably have a lot to think about before going to sleep tonight.
“Rob, and….”
Joshua lifted his head.
“Jude.”
Jude flinched and looked at Joshua.
And immediately smiled, spreading his arms.
“Wow, your skills have improved a lot! I was really surprised.”
“I’m reporting you on suspicion of match-fixing.”
That smile froze instantly.
Jude glanced around their surroundings.
“Do you have evidence?”
“I saw it myself. In a back alley of the commercial district outside the academy, making a deal.”
Jude’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
It was Rob who flinched and gave himself away.
Tch, Jude clicked his tongue and opened his mouth.
“We just got close, so I gave him some money. Is that wrong?”
“Transferring money to a member of a confirmed opposing squad before an exam is sufficient grounds to report you for match-fixing, even by that act alone.”
From where I watched behind him, I could see it.
Joshua had something that looked like an earphone in one ear.
It was as if he was saying exactly what someone told him to say.
“So? Is that all?”
Joshua, who had turned his gaze for a moment, nodded as if he’d heard something more.
And he turned on his smartwatch, immediately activating a hologram.
“I can submit as much evidence as you need.”
Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeep.
One video, two videos, the suddenly appearing videos multiplied into dozens.
Jude’s first-semester midterm, final exam, and every spar he had won.
Viewed with the mindset of grading without doubt, they were videos with no major issues.
But what if viewed assuming the opponent had entered with the mindset of losing?
An opponent who wasn’t desperate, didn’t resist to the end, and somehow repeated mistakes that were easy to exploit.
If I could see it with my eyes, there was no way the faculty couldn’t.
“You.”
“As for this side….”
Joshua, who had hesitated for a moment, let out a deep sigh and raised his head.
“There’s a competent operator.”
Ah, it’s obvious.
He’s definitely saying exactly what Soraya told him to say.
***
The situation proceeded in rapid succession.
At first, several professors gathered to compare and analyze Jude’s videos, and arguments went back and forth.
Then a single person settled the situation.
“He threw these matches on purpose.”
It was Professor Zeke.
At those words, Jude’s face went pale, and the professors moved instantly.
“W-wait. Professor!”
“Don’t talk back. Given the circumstances, your operator and engineer likely knew about your match-fixing too. Whether joint responsibility applies will be decided after the investigation.”
According to Soraya, Jude’s operator and engineer were people who had worked with him for a long time.
Chances were, an entire team would be wiped out.
Rob received a lighter punishment than Jude.
For one, being a commoner made it difficult to refuse a noble’s deal, which was a factor taken into consideration.
There were no other mitigating factors.
As a result, he was confined to the dormitory for one semester, given zero points for the second-semester midterms, and on top of that, stripped of his qualification for the second-semester finals.
It probably didn’t end there.
If he had received sponsorship until now, he might have to pay back all the money since he had damaged the honor of the noble house backing him.
Would he even be able to continue his academy life?
Absolutely impossible.
It took exactly one week for all disciplinary measures to be decided.
“Disciplinary action?”
“Yeah.”
Joshua Oto was also disciplined.
“Why?”
“For smoking.”
All academy cadets are adults.
Basically, smoking itself wasn’t a problem, but the location was.
“Ha. I misspoke.”
While under investigation for testifying that he had witnessed the deal himself, he ended up revealing that he had been smoking in a non-smoking area.
In a way, this too was ultimately self-inflicted.
But for some reason, I didn’t feel at ease.
I didn’t have good feelings toward Joshua, but it was true that he had saved my life.
“What was the d-discipline?”
Joshua reached into his chest pocket, then paused and pulled his hand back out.
“I c-can smoke, though.”
This was the back of the hangar.
Smoking was basically prohibited inside the hangar, so smoking behind the hangar was largely left alone.
When I made a questioning expression, Joshua frowned.
“She hates it.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Soraya hates it. She told me to quit.”
If people could quit just because someone told them to, I would have quit in my previous life too.
Joshua squeezed his eyes shut, then took out a cigarette and threw it into a nearby trash can.
“My discipline is a ban from the second-semester ball. They say those who violate the academy’s rules and lose their dignity have no right to attend.”
The ball.
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
In the second semester, there was no joint training similar to what we did in the first semester.
Instead, there was a ball where the cadets who had worked hard all year could enjoy themselves together.
Calling it a ball, it was actually more like a festival that no outsiders attended.
Of course, there were apparently many who didn’t attend.
For one, since it took place before finals, many cadets used that time to study for what they lacked.
Or there would be cases of people skipping because they didn’t like socializing.
I was obviously the latter.
“I-I wasn’t planning on going anyway.”
“Of course. You probably don’t even know how to dance.”
When I nodded, Joshua exhaled as if lamenting.
“I wasn’t planning on going anyway because Soraya hates it.”
“Huh? What does Soraya hating it have to do with anything?”
“You generally go to the ball with a partner.”
“With Soraya, you.”
“We’re nothing.”
Joshua’s face scrunched up.
Then he rummaged in his pocket and soon pulled out a ticket, holding it out.
“Take it.”
Since he offered it, I took it in my hand.
Golden letters were written on the paper.
It was cursive handwriting, so I couldn’t make out what it said at all.
“Um, this is, uh.”
“I can’t go to the ball anyway, so it’s useless to me. Use it, or sell it, whatever.”
Having finished speaking, Joshua turned around and left immediately.
I stared at the ticket with a blank face for a moment, but I still had no idea what it was.
“Hey, Aili?”
“Yeah! Want me to search it?”
“Please.”
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Aili deliberately took on a hologram form and started hopping around on my forearm, searching here and there.
Would I have to keep holding my arm up uncomfortably while she did that?
Though it was nice watching her because she was cute.
“Found it!”
“What was it?”
“W-wow. Th-this is pretty expensive.”
If even Aili was surprised like that, it must be really expensive.
“It’s for having a custom-tailored suit and dress made exclusively for the academy ball.”
“Ah, a suit and dress.”
If you go to the academy, there will come a day when you need a suit. There definitely will.
Even though it’s limited to the ball, I could just ask them to make it as plain as possible.
Wait a minute.
Something’s strange.
“Wait. A suit and dress?”
“Yeah. It’s a ticket that requires a man and woman to come together. It’s apparently this atelier’s basic policy?”
“What’s the atelier’s name?”
“Rose Atelier.”
You could tell what kind of place it was just from the name.
It was probably a place that specialized in couple’s or women’s dresses.
If they mainly took men’s suits in the first place, it wouldn’t be an atelier but a tailor shop.
Times like this, those liberal arts lectures I got from the Chairman came in handy.
“Don’t they take online inquiries?”
“No, you have to visit the store.”
They wanted me to go alone to a place that seemed like it would be full of women and where people wouldn’t stop talking to me if I went in.
Absolutely impossible.
As I frowned slightly, Aili approached me and pressed hard between her eyebrows.
I couldn’t feel anything since she was a hologram, but she made the expression anyway.
“But don’t you have someone you could ask?”
“Huh? Who?”
Who would know about ateliers?
Karina? Or maybe Senior Aila? No, if anyone were to splurge on a dress, it would probably be Lucia.
When I said the three names, Aili made a strange expression.
“What are you talking about? There’s exactly one person you should ask about this kind of stuff.”
Ah.
“No, no no, no. No, that’s too burdensome.”
“I already sent a message to the Chairman!”
Ah.
That crazy gyaru drive.