Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume4 Chapter 2

The 3D image was not displayed on a screen. Instead, the image appeared directly in empty space. Quenser likely could have excitedly explained exactly how it worked, but Heivia did not know. He had a feeling it was something along the lines of sending out light waves from multiple directions to display the image with the increase and decrease of the light waves' amplitudes.

"Diffracted waves are used to create the separate images. This is the latest model," explained the shop owner who must have been bored.

“I have no clue who you are, but no sane person would give any praise to that Information Alliance Elite!!”

Three men carrying submachine guns with a caliber of over 5mm came to one section of the “cityscape”. They were there to eliminate Heivia and Royce who had fled.

The “cityscape” was primarily a collection of tents and RVs, so it contained little that was sturdy enough to use as a shield in a firefight.

However, there were some exceptions.

For example, the area the trash was collected in.

A number of mining dump trucks made of steel were parked on the outskirts. For a fee, the trash from the area was gathered there. Afterwards, it was taken to a proper incinerator in one of the actual cities.

As the dump trucks were the type usually used for mining, they were as tall as a three story building. The tires were taller than a person and a twisting staircase was needed to reach the driver’s seat. With a number of them lined up, the area was essentially surrounded by steel.

In the midst of it all, repeated short gunshots rang out.

The garbage men ran off, but the three men paid them no heed.

“(Kicker, Nexa. We need to escape afterwards, so we can’t spend more than 5 minutes here. We need to finish this!!)”

“(But that guy has a rifle. His range is too great!)”

“(I’ll fire like crazy to keep him in place. You two circle around behind the dump truck and shoot him!!)”

Suddenly, the sound of the gunshots coming from behind the dump truck changed. The noise was much higher-pitched and more cheap-sounding than before.

(He switched from his rifle to his side arm?)

As soon as they came to that conclusion, the three men moved forward to take the offensive.

“(He’s out of ammo! We can overwhelm him now…)”

A strong, deep gunshot rang out and Nexa’s head was smashed to pieces.

“Wha-…?”

While still in shock, two more bullets blasted into Kicker’s gut and chest, knocking him to the ground.

The gunshots had most certainly not belonged to a handgun.

They had been the louder gunshots of the rifle that had supposedly run out of ammo.

(Shit! Did he purposefully switch over to his handgun despite having rifle ammo left to throw us off our guard!?)

The last remaining man tried to fall back, but it was too late.

With the advantage of numbers lost, the range and power difference between an assault rifle and a submachine gun was just too great.

Heivia Winchell silently drew closer without allowing even the slightest chance of a counterattack.

“You were right,” said Heivia to Royce as he looked through the contents of the handheld device he had found in the armed men’s belongings. “They’ve prepared a chemical combustion warhead. It’s a bomb that mixes together naphtha, various fuels, and some chemicals to create flames that cannot be put out with water and spreads those flames 3 to 5 kilometers in every direction.”

“It’s basically the same thing as a Molotov cocktail. I’ve seen videos of it online.”

“The warhead appears to be handmade, but the cruise missile it’s loaded in and the mobile launcher are both Oceanian. The military regime had tanks and fighters deployed to areas around the country excluding where they had the Generation 0.5, so there was no lack of such items.”

“The Craft Salamander III?”

“Sounds like some bland convenience store cream pasta, doesn’t it? Well, weapon names have to be brought down to a level where even an idiot gets it. The point is to show off your obvious hostility,” said Heivia as a cruel smile came to his lips. “The maximum range should be 1500 km. I believe it has a terrain calculation guidance system.”

The one remaining question was how they planned to destroy an Object with it.

Even a direct hit from a large hydrogen bomb would not destroy an Object’s armor. Also, chemical combustion warheads were anti-personnel weapons. Heivia did not see how one could destroy an Object.

Royce answered that question.

“Most likely, their target is not the Object itself.”

“What?”

“Basically, they just have to make the Object unusable. And they can do that without attacking the thick armor of the Object. They can accomplish their goal by targeting the much more vulnerable human beings.”

“…Are they after the Elite?”

It was not entirely impossible, but Heivia was still skeptical.

Anyone could tell there was a danger of an Elite being targeted when outside of the Object. That was why they always had a special unit of bodyguards with them and were constantly accompanied by an armored vehicle with a perfectly air tight interior in case of firefights, explosives, or chemical and biological weapons.

Even if a cruise missile loaded with a chemical combustion warhead was headed straight for the Elite, she simply had to climb aboard that armored vehicle the instant it was detected. That would negate any damage from heat or smoke.

“No,” replied Royce. “Their target is the maintenance soldiers. It does not matter if they do not have any particularly important duties or information. The chemical combustion warhead can cover several kilometers in every direction with flames. If the maintenance soldiers are gathered in a single place, a large majority can be eliminated. If hundreds of maintenance soldiers are lost all at once, the Object can no longer function. Even if it still has a pilot and a commander, the Object cannot function without those at the bottom who keep it running.”

“So they’re stopping it by destroying the Object’s surroundings rather than the Object itself, hm?”

However, something bothered Heivia about that.

(That isn’t too different from our idea to destroy that computer in the Loyauté district.)

That gave Heivia a bad feeling, but he continued the conversation.

“The crucial Elite and commander are one thing, but the unit can hardly have bodyguards for every single maintenance soldier. They might actually have a chance if they really are trying to crush them all at once.” Heivia thought for a bit and then changed the subject slightly. “Since they prepared the mobile launcher and cruise missile, they are probably planning to detonate it in midair.”

“I would assume so. If it is not detonated in midair, its effects would not spread as far. …But I only know what I was able to find on military websites.”

“The Craft Salamander III,” said Heivia. “From the range of the missile, and the locations of the city and the maintenance base, they will most likely be targeting the maintenance base zone and the cityscape spread out around it. …Hah. It seems they aren’t directly targeting anyone from your Information Alliance.”

“So? What I must do remains the same.”

“Why would you help protect a Legitimacy Kingdom military facility?”

“I have both business and private reasons for that.” Royce wiped sweat from his face. “As a journalist, I cannot simply sit by doing nothing as a threat like this approaches the people of Oceania. If spreading information would increase the danger, temporarily holding it back is good manners, but that does apply here. However, spreading the information now would not give people enough time to evacuate, so I feel I should use the information I have received in a different way in order to avert this catastrophe.”

“And what is your private reason?”

“I told you my daughter has been deployed to Oceania, remember? Preserving the concept of the clean battlefield will help preserve the safety of my daughter. I cannot have that concept lost due to some terrorist attack.”

“I see,” muttered Heivia.

He could trust a real reason like that much more than some sterilized “for the greater good” reason.

“We need to find out where the launcher is located,” said Heivia in a low voice. “If we know that, we can try to attack before the missile is launched or intercept it if it has already launched.”

“Fine, but we have no time,” said Royce to make sure Heivia understood. “From the fragments of information I picked up over the radio, their attack is going to begin soon. It is probably because the majority of the group is preparing the attack that we had so few pursuers.”

After wasting more time than she had expected at the arcade, the princess walked along the tent-filled “cityscape” on the way to the Legitimacy Kingdom party.

The Legitimacy Kingdom bodyguards were still spread out around her and an armored vehicle also accompanied her, but she still decided to travel on foot.

The unorganized layout of the tents and forceful flow of pedestrian traffic prevented the smooth travel of the vehicle. She felt she would make better time on foot.

The princess recalled the exchange she had had back in the arcade.

To the very end, she had never seen her opponent’s face.

(Honestly. I do not know if that was some sightseer from the Information Alliance or what, but the way they control all information about Elites and treat them like idols is like some kind of creepy brainwashing.)

The Legitimacy Kingdom treated their own Elites like patriotic heroes and rallied support from the people by spreading doubtful stories about them being part of legendary bloodlines that stretch hundreds of years into the past. Both were completely ridiculous ways to treat them, but it is hard to notice how odd the environment one has been immersed in all one’s life is. It was similar to not noticing the smell of one’s own house.

As the princess walked among all the tents and RVs, she suddenly stopped.

Her bodyguards all thought “Don’t tell me there’s something else!?”, but the target of their protection had the right to choose what she did.

The princess looked over at a store filled with joke goods.

Due to the season, it contained a lot of Christmas-themed trees, wreaths, and red boots. It also had some Santa Claus costumes for sale.

(…)

When she had gone swimming earlier that day, Quenser had seemed incredibly disappointed for some reason.

She still had no idea what he had been hoping for, but it seemed wearing her work outfit while on leave was not the right thing to do.

She guessed it had something to do with everything having a proper time and place.

“Santa Claus… Santa Claus,” muttered the princess as she headed into the store.

The tanned shop owner seemed especially courteous because she was wearing the special suit of an Elite. That meant she was the representative of a nation which in turn meant she would have a lot of money.

He was not wrong in that line of thinking, but the princess had no interest in money and so she had no idea how much money she had in her bank account.

The princess’s bodyguards starting showing an interest in her actions as they secretly began to wonder, “Oh, is our princess finally awakening to her sex appeal?”

“Could you put together a Santa Claus outfit for me?” she asked.

What she got in return was an overly standard Santa Claus outfit made up of a baggy red shirt, pants of the same color, and a fake white beard.

“Don’t go with that boring thing!!” shouted the bodyguards in their hearts, but that expressionless girl was not going to absorb the ideas of Japanese moe so quickly.

However, the look in the princess’s eyes changed when she glanced over at a 3D monitor that used diffraction sitting in a corner of the tent.

It was playing footage from an Information Alliance idol Elite’s concert from a few days ago.

“Yayyy!! This may be a bit early, but I think I will give you the gift of a night of dreams about a sexy miniskirt Santa!! Oh ho ho!!”

It was unclear how much of the footage was real and how much was VFX, but the image underwent a dazzling change. The blonde ringlet curl, G-cup idol shook her body while wearing a red and white Santa costume that appeared to be a modified Elite special suit.

For a while, the princess’s expression grew even more expressionless than usual, but she finally pointed at the screen and spoke to the shop owner.

“Give me something that outdoes that.”

After being transformed into a miniskirt Santa for the tropical southern hemisphere, the princess headed to the Legitimacy Kingdom party.

(This does not seem like a very practical outfit.)

The princess looked down at her clothes.

(Well, as long as Quenser likes it. But will he really like this???)

The party seemed to have already begun. The Legitimacy Kingdom soldiers had divided up into groups where they chatted as they drank and ate. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the princess and they subsequently did nothing but stare at her. The princess could not tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing that they were acting like they had seen something they could not believe.

(Where is Quenser?)

After glancing around, the princess spotted the person she was looking for at one end of the party.

However…

“It’s not the same!! My actual siblings may try not to hurt my feelings, but they never say anything against how my family treats me!! You’re the only one that does, Quenser!! I was saying that you’re the most like a big brother to me!!”

The princess froze in place when she spotted Froleytia dead drunk and Quenser being held tightly by that large-breasted commander.

Also…

At that time, Lendy Farolito arrived at the party.

The mood of the Legitimacy Kingdom party was naturally ruined at the arrival of an enemy officer accompanied by Information Alliance soldiers. It was a potentially explosive situation, but they were in a cooperative relationship due to the coalition and the party was not located within the Legitimacy Kingdom base.

They had no legitimate reason to turn her away.

Lendy herself had not hesitated to head into the party because she was well aware of that.

An Information Alliance commander had arrived.

How would the Legitimacy Kingdom commander react?

Naturally, everyone’s attention turned to Froleytia.

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“I won’t let you have him!! Quenser is my big brother and I won’t let anyone else have him!!”

“Remember your position here. I’m the small, cute one.”

A large-breasted miniskirt bikini Santa and an expressionless miniskirt Santa were fighting over a single boy. Lendy Farolito froze in place when she saw the Legitimacy Kingdom major who was otherwise occupied.

And then…

“Outta the way!!”

“Oh, man. This catfight will make an excellent gamble!!”

“Yeah, it’s not like any of us would ever have a chance with beauties whose positions and ranks are so much higher than ours.”

A portion of the Legitimacy Kingdom soldiers who saw the fight as a chance to make some money quickly moved to the center of the disturbance and circled them. Lendy’s path to the other commander was lost.

(I took a risk and tried to contact her in a way that would garner as much attention as possible, but they aren’t paying any attention to me!!)

The Information Alliance found value in the authenticity of information and in the methods used to disseminate and acquire such information, so that was a regretful turn of events.

When Lendy realized the person Froleytia had both her arms latched onto was the very same combat engineer boy that had secretly drawn the attention of a certain Information Alliance Elite, Lendy’s emotions quickly reached their limit.

“Y-you womanizer!!”

“Now someone I don’t even know is giving me an incredible title!! If I ever get business cards made, I’m definitely putting that one on there!!”

Froleytia then realized Quenser’s attention had turned toward someone other than herself.

“Who the hell are you? …I won’t let you have Quenser! He’s my big brother!!”

“I do not wish to have him!!” shouted Lendy while just barely managing to remain civil. “One of your men has been taking advantage of our Elite, so I thought I would stop by in the name of scouting him while actually having some fun throwing your human relations out of order. I never thought he was this dangerous, though… I must report this. I need to have a family meeting with that girl tonigh-…cough cough!!”

Lendy started choking a bit from yelling too much and reached over for a drink, but no civilian waiter was walking nearby.

Froleytia grabbed a glass filled with a clear liquid.

“Here, have some water. Honestly, can’t you do anything for yourself?” she grumbled.

“Hm? That glass…”

The combat engineer boy being held by Froleytia seemed to realize something, but Lendy had already gulped down the contents of the glass.

And…

“Cough!? Cough cough!! Th-this isn’t water! It’s vodka!!”

“What!? How dare you refuse to drink the water my big brother prepared!”

“Damn you. You have some nerve to do this to an officer from the Information Alliance where the truth and untruth of information is directly linked to right and wrong…”

The expressionless miniskirt Santa then passed her another drink.

“Calm down. Have another glass to wash the bad taste out of your mouth.”

“Oh, excellent idea. I think I can actually trust yo-…bbhh!! Th-th-this one is shochu!? Hic.”

Her complaint suddenly trailed off.

Just as Quenser started to get a very bad feeling about what was to come…

“And another thing!!” shouted Lendy.

“Wah!?”

“What are you thinking!? You’re tearing down the framework of the Information Alliance and Legitimacy Kingdom for that poor girl!! Do you understand how much of an incredible tragedy this is for her!?”

As Lendy Farolito approached with long strides, Froleytia seemed to sense some kind of danger.

She squeezed herself against Quenser even harder than before.

“I won’t let you have my big brother!!”

“I didn’t say anything to you!! I was clearly speaking to that womanizer!”

“Don’t look at her, Quenser! Look at me!!”

“Out of the way, drunk!! I need to lecture that womanizer!!”

Despite their words being directed at Quenser, the two drunks were looking only at each other.

“…”

All the while, the princess increased her wordless and expressionless intimidating presence.

A veritable storm was brewing.

Quenser could clearly feel it coming, so he tried to come up with a way to have the situation settle down. With how the princess looked subtly displeased while secretly entering dangerous territory, Quenser doubted she fit into any existing category of Japanese moe, but he had to do something about the danger before his eyes instead of focusing on that.

“W-wait, you two. Why don’t you calm dow-…”

“I hope you’re prepared to fight!!”

“If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get!!”

With that exchange that seemed more a form of a greeting than the beginning of a fight, Froleytia Capistrano and Lendy Farolito began glaring at each other at extremely close range.

That was when the soldiers of the Legitimacy Kingdom and Information Alliance witnessed a bizarre phenomenon.

They could not explain it with any standard means.

The boy who had come to the battlefield to study Object design had his head disappear.

Or to be more accurate…

His head was completely buried in the large breasts of the two women grabbing at him.

Given the situation, Heivia and Royce had to act on their own, but they had no real reason to keep the information to themselves.

As they took action, they contacted the police special forces and a Legitimacy Kingdom Object other than the Baby Magnum and its Mobile Maintenance Battalion. They made a request for the Object to prepare its anti-air lasers. If Heivia had gotten Froleytia to do that, it probably would have gone a lot smoother though.

And then…

They heard a major change to the situation come in via a radio transmission.

“Speed Killer is ready. We can use the anti-air lasers at any time. Even if a cruise missile is fired at the city, we can intercept it with 97% accuracy.”

“Wait, wait!!”

“According to the satellite, the mobile launcher is located 20 kilometers northwest of where the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion is stationed. If we know the starting point and ending point, we know its flight path. There is no way it will slip past us.”

“Is this information correct!? Are you sure their cruise missile is targeting that convoy of some VIPs travelling 30 kilometers southeast of here and not the maintenance soldiers scattered throughout the impromptu cityscape!?”

“It seems they are conversing over cell phones that use a civilian satellite as well as via normal radio. However, we have people with special devices to intercept those signals. We got the information from there. There is no mistaking this.”

“And…” Heivia chose his words carefully. “Is there also no mistaking the fact that the Object’s anti-air laser defense is set to shoot down the cruise missile halfway through its flight?”

“Halfway? …That would mean it’s right above the impromptu cityscape!” shouted Royce, but Heivia had already figured out what they were after when he had asked the question.

The commander in charge of the Speed Killer replied, “The convoy being targeted is carrying a lieutenant general and a brigadier general. That chemical combustion warhead must be shot down.”

“…”

“A chemical combustion warhead only has its intended effects when the proper materials are mixed together and mixed with the air upon detonation at the proper altitude. If it is shot down by an anti-air laser, there is almost no chance of a large, several kilometer explosion occurring.”

“But there is still some chance, right?”

“Even so,” immediately replied the commander. “The Elite and commander will have airtight armored vehicles accompanying them that can withstand biological and chemical weapons. As long as the bare minimum is protected, that is all that matters. And of course the Object itself will not be destroyed by anything of that level. Also, I am putting you under a gag order to prevent a panic. Any further communications are-…”

Heivia clicked his tongue and switched off his radio.

Royce then shouted at him with such force that he almost grabbed at the boy.

“What is going on!? Are they planning to let everyone in this city die? And if those airtight armored vehicles can withstand the heat and flames, what does it matter if the cruise missile directly hits that convoy!?”

“Don’t ask me. He was probably forced into this decision by those higher officers. …And I get the feeling this is exactly what the ones using the chemical combustion warhead want.”

“?”

“They used the satellite cell phones to purposefully allow the military to intercept the transmissions. As they expected, the military plans to set up a defensive line to shoot the missile down halfway through its flight. …And that is in the perfect spot to roast all the maintenance soldiers in my unit as you predicted.”

“It can’t be…But that means…”

“If you simply shoot a cruise missile in Oceania, one of the many Objects will shoot it down before it reaches its target. But that just means you have to create a plan based on the assumption it will get shot down.”

“But that horrible commander said the odds are low a large explosion will occur if the cruise missile is shot down with an anti-air laser!”

“If they know it will be shot down, they can change those odds,” Heivia searched through the handheld device belonging to one of the armed men he had shot. “I saw this diagram of the warhead before, but now that I look closer, something is off about it. The different chemicals are packaged separately. If it reached its target like this, nothing would happen.”

“Wait, you mean the chemicals will only be mixed together in midair if it it’s shot down?”

“From this design, I’d say they want it shot down. The chemicals are stored under high pressure which I guess is to ensure they scatter everywhere when the container bursts. If we leave this to the Object’s anti-air lasers, this city will be swallowed up in a sea of flames!!”

They knew where the enemy’s mobile launcher was.

Without getting permission, Heivia borrowed a Legitimacy Kingdom off-road vehicle that was parked on the road with the key in the ignition.

Royce shouted, “What are you going to do!?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We came this far on our own, so we just have to finish it that way!! Royce, if you want to help, fill that drum up with gasoline!!”

Royce followed Heivia’s instructions, but he still had questions.

He climbed into the passenger seat of the off-road vehicle and they drove out of the impromptu city.

“I know we have to stop this, but do you really think we can destroy that mobile launcher!? We had enough trouble with just those 3 pursuers. Their main force is going to be concentrated around that launcher!!”

“Shut up! We don’t have time!!”

A cloud of sand blew into the air as the off-road vehicle drove off into a dry wasteland.

They were still 20 kilometers from the mobile launcher.

The armed group would have its firepower concentrated around that launcher. Also, they had no reason to wait. They would be launching the cruise missile as soon as possible.

“Shit! That light!!” shouted Royce.

A bright flash of light could be seen beyond the horizon and a signal flare-like point of light shot up into the night sky. However, the distances were simply too great. A signal flare would not produce enough light.

“They fired it!! That was the cruise missile loaded with the chemical combustion warhead!!”

“Tch. Can we make it in time!?”

Heivia slammed on the brakes and drove in an S-pattern as the tires slid. In the end, he finally managed to stop the off-road vehicle safely.

He then jumped down onto the sandy ground.

“We weren’t on our way to attack the armed group and destroy the launcher!?”

“I never thought we would make it in time for that!!” shouted back Heivia, bringing a look of shock to Royce’s face.

Royce then thought Heivia must have been running away before the explosion to save himself, but Heivia headed to the back of the off-road vehicle.

“As long as we keep the missile from continuing on its intended course, we can prevent the impromptu cityscape and the maintenance soldiers from being sacrificed! If it flies off in some other direction, their plan involving the anti-air laser will fail!!”

“Are you planning to jam it?”

“The Craft Salamander III’s guidance system uses terrain calculations. It measures the ups and downs of the terrain it passes over to determine what corrections need to be made to its course. As long as it has 3-5 pages of documentation on the terrain between the launch point and the arrival point, it can aim itself quite accurately.”

“Does that documentation come from satellite photos?”

“Normally. Simple aerial photos should work just as well. But in that case, the documentation cannot be updated in real time, so it all has to be researched beforehand and the launch location cannot be changed,” explained Heivia. “Naturally, if aerial photos to determine its course are inputted, no communication is needed after launch. While GPS navigation requires a constant exchange of information with the satellite, this method has no risk of being stopped with jamming.”

“Then what can we do!? How are we supposed to oppose a cruise missile flying at supersonic speeds!? Don’t tell me you plan to aim your rifle into the air and shoot it down!!”

“I’ll be doing something a little flashier than that.”

Heivia used both hands to pick up the drum filled with gasoline that had been loaded in the off-road vehicle.

He opened the large metal container, tipped it over, and spread the gasoline around the wasteland.

“Be mindful of the wind. It can carry vaporized gasoline.”

“What are you doing? The cruise missile is already in the air!! It will pass by overhead before too long!!”

“As I said, the Craft Salamander III’s guidance system uses terrain calculations. It periodically compares the data held in its chips to the actual ups and downs of the terrain below it to correct its course.” After the last of the gasoline had left the drum, Heivia casually threw the empty container to the side. “That just means we have to make sure it can’t compare the two sets of data.”

He then pulled out a cigar lighter from the driver’s seat of the off-road vehicle.

He glanced out at the hot, red ground.

“We just have to do something like this!!”

The instant after Heivia threw the cigar lighter, a giant explosion filled a portion of the wasteland.

In an instant, a massive amount of light and heat was produced along with a shockwave.

Afterwards, black smoke rose up into the night sky. The black smoke filled the entire area the explosion had encompassed.

A white point of light shot by above their heads with tremendous speed.

“What? That isn’t the right direction.”

“The flash of light and the smoke prevented it from checking on the terrain,” said Heivia as he held a hand in front of his face to protect his eyes from the orange light. “If it can’t correct its course, there’s nothing to worry about. Now we just have to wait for the Speed Killer to deal with it. It doesn’t matter if the anti-air laser brings the chemical combustion warhead down over empty desert.” He collapsed into a sitting position and wiped sweat from his brow. “I can get things done too when I don’t have to face one of those monstrous weapons.”

After saving the Oceanian people and the rest of his mobile maintenance battalion, Private First Class Heivia Winchell finally made it to the Christmas party.

“I made it…I finally made it to utopia!! Thank you, me!! The great Heivia is simply too powerful!! Now, time to eat, drink, and enjoy the view of a huge-breasted Santa!! We’re gonna have some fun tonight and maybe have some enjoyable incidents to keep as memories!!”

But…

The large table that should have had plenty of food lined up on it was covered in nothing but large, empty plates. The plates had a bit of red sauce on them, but the waiters were in the process of removing them from the table.

No food or drink could be found.

Heivia refused to accept that truth and shook his head.

“Don’t tell me it’s already ov-…No, no, not yet!! The most important part is still left! Santa’s time to shine is after all the good children have gone to bed!! There has to be one around here somewhere. After overcoming all that danger, there has to be some reward for me!!”

Heivia searched around the party area with his eyes as wide as plates, but he found nothing but waiters cleaning up. Every single one of the soldiers who had surely been celebrating there had left and a huge-breasted Santa was nothing but a dream within a dream. Heivia could not even spot a single waitress.

For an instant, Heivia’s face lost all expression.

But in the next instant, his face twisted as if he was about to cry tears of blood and he shouted, “This is a desert!! This is nothing but a dried-up desert!!”

It was at that moment that Heivia spotted Quenser Barbotage trudging toward him with legs just as unsteady as Heivia’s. Seeing his companion’s face, Heivia brought up his guard.

“Don’t tell me you had to head through a battlefield of your own. No, wait!! I was the hero tonight! I’m the most exhausted! And that’s why the biggest reward should go to me!! I won’t give any of it up even to you!!”

However, Quenser was too far gone to hear him.

Before he made it over to Heivia, Quenser collapsed down onto the hardened sand of the ground. Heivia approached in confusion and Quenser tried to speak with his mouth moving open and closed.

“Ti…”

“What is it, Quenser? ‘Ti’? What do you mean ‘ti’!?”

“…Tits village…”

All strength left Quenser’s body and his face grew even paler. Heivia let out a cry of lamentation.

“What kind of dying message is that!? There’s too much deep meaning there!! What happened? Hey, Quenser! Quenseeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!”