“Kenya, stay here on standby. If an enemy KOG shows up, engage it in combat.”

“Got it.”

Basically, Isshin and his team would handle seizing the transport ship.

In close-quarters combat, there was no way Isshin’s highly trained group would lose to mere transport ship guards.

But if a KOG appeared, the battle situation would change completely.

That was where Kenya came in. That was what his KOG was for.

…

“So it’s started, huh…”

He could feel his heartbeat close by, making him fully aware that he was right there on the battlefield.

He never imagined he’d be trading his life for others like this.

“Gunfire… People are dying, aren’t they?”

It didn’t feel real yet.

But he could hear the gunfire.

Which meant people were dying.

It could be someone he’d shaken hands with today. It could even be Isshin.

He vaguely understood that fact, and it made his chest tighten.

“Kaguya didn’t have to come along…”

Kaguya wasn’t boarding the ship, but she was participating in the operation.

She was handling ship controls and miscellaneous tasks.

She should be in the cockpit right now.

He just wanted it all to end like this.

That’s what he thought, but it seemed it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Don’t underestimate us! You losers are done for once this guy’s out!”

A single KOG had landed on the transport ship.

That left Kenya with only one thing to do.

“Commencing operation!”

He radioed Isshin to report the start of the plan.

(Am I really about to kill someone now…? For real?)

His resolve hadn’t wavered.

Protect Kaguya. Defeat the enemy.

That resolve was still firm.

He still didn’t regret joining the resistance.

But did he have a reason to kill someone here?

Did he have a reason to kill an Earthguard citizen?

But if he didn’t, Isshin and the others would die. People precious to Kaguya would die.

Even so…

He kept looping through these unanswerable questions.

Kenya, who had been living a normal life in modern Japan just days ago, was now on a battlefield about to kill someone.

He couldn’t wrap his head around the reality of it.

Still, if he didn’t fight now, the people Kaguya wanted to protect would die.

So he’d fight. That was enough for now, he told himself, forcing himself to accept it.

(At least I don’t have to see their face.)

Fighting through a KOG was the one saving grace.

Even without resolve, it felt no different from what he’d been doing all along.

And so Kenya took to the skies and landed on the deck.

“What? No way—you guys have a KOG!?”

Facing Kenya was a proper pilot, a graduate of Pilot Academy.

A regular soldier, a cut above any student.

However.

“What!? This guy’s moves! No way—an ace!?”

The Earthguard Empire’s KOG had closed the distance in an instant and taken a single hit.

“Don’t underestimate me!!”

The enemy drew its standard-issue sword and slashed at him.

But Kenya easily parried with his own drawn blade and deflected it.

“No way… This guy… Could it be!?”

His heart was still shaking, but his KOG’s movements came naturally, his body taking over.

His body counterattacked before he could even think.

“A Holy Knight-level!?”

And with a return stroke, one clean slash.

The cut surface scorched black, and the KOG exploded.

If there had been someone inside—no, there definitely had been.

“…Did I just kill them?”

Kenya stared at the exploded wreckage.

Seeing no trace of a human silhouette, he felt a strange disconnect at his own lack of emotion.

But the bare fact carved deep into his heart.

“Operation complete! We’re withdrawing!”

With the escort KOG defeated, the transport ship surrendered without a fight.

“Well done, Kenya.”

“…Yeah.”

(No energy in his voice. First kill…? No, that’s normal…)

Isshin picked up on Kenya’s subdued tone over the radio.

He knew the kid needed looking after, but there was no time for that now.

“Activate all the KOGs on board! Set course for the destination!”

And so ten KOGs took to the skies.

Kenya followed behind them toward their goal.

They were heading back to base, but not straight—detouring through the mountains to take a little extra time.

“Alright, time for us to head back too.”

“Yeah! Good work, Dad.”

Under Kaguya’s piloting, the rest of Isshin’s unit returned to base as well.

And with that, the operation was over.

◇ At the same time, Earthguard Empire 13th District Military Academy Principal’s Office

“That said, why is Prince Road at a training school in this country?”

“If you’re saying that, it applies to you too. A Holy Knight Captain-level KOG pilot, known as the Military God.”

Two men playing chess across a desk.

The Earthguard Empire had ranks for pilots.

Starting from apprentices—students—and the standard KOG pilots were called knights.

Above them were unit commanders known as Knight Captains.

That was the basics.

But pilots with the power to turn the tide of battle, known as aces, received a special title.

Holy Knight.

Holy knights who protected the empire, spoken of with respect and awe.

Elite talent that might produce one per year across the 13 training schools worldwide.

Above even them were Holy Knight Captains, but they were so rare there were only a handful in history.

Zeke Silfield, called the empire’s spearhead, was one such Holy Knight Captain.

The result of talented Holy Knights surviving the battlefield and growing through it.

That was the empire’s strongest rank: Holy Knight Captain.

“You’re incredibly strong, as always. I can’t keep up at all. And I fancy myself decent as a hobbyist.”

“But it’s just a board game, after all. Far from real combat.”

“You do enjoy it, though, don’t you?”

“Ah, it’s good mental exercise.”

“Haha, to think you have the empire’s best skills. Terrifying.”

The two played chess, but Zeke wasn’t holding back just because Road was royalty.

Second Prince Road Earthguard was simply overwhelmingly superior.

The royal known as a genius of war, the Devil’s Brain.

“I’m jealous of you all who can pilot KOGs. I’m hopeless at it.”

“A capable commander is sometimes worth more than ten thousand soldiers.”

“True. But issuing orders from a safe zone… I feel like I need to get my hands dirty at least. Though I’d die in a second on the front lines.”

“You’re joking…”

“So, what’s your reason for being here?”

“Well… lingering regrets, I suppose. Quite unmanly, I know.”

Seeing Zeke unwilling to say more, Road took the hint and dropped it.

“My goal is to find them. Strong pilots. Raw gems.”

“Strong… pilots? That’s why you’ve been hopping around the world?”

“Exactly. For my purpose. I searched everywhere, thinking maybe here. And I found one.”

“Oh? Care to share…?”

“Heh, can’t do that.”

Zeke was lightly brushed off.

A boy not even half his age, yet it felt like…

“It’s like talking to His Majesty the Emperor. And you’re around my daughter’s age.”

“Zeke, do you know how to make someone grow?”

“? Not age, right?”

“No. The best way to make someone grow is…”

Road moved a chess piece.

“To throw them into hell… Checkmate.”

At that moment, a soldier entered the room.

“Pardon the intrusion! General Zeke… Urgent report…”

The soldier glanced at Road.

“No matter. Speak freely.”

“The transport ship due today had its 10 KOGs hijacked. Likely Japanese—my apologies. Probably 3rd Class Earthguard citizens.”

“What? It should have had an escort KOG on board.”

“The enemy had one KOG as well. The escort was defeated. From the footage, at least Holy Knight-class skill.”

The Military God grimaced at the report.

Terror acts weren’t all that rare.

But using a KOG, let alone surpassing a properly trained imperial pilot? That was a first.

The footage was brief, but it clearly showed first-class piloting technique.

“It’s been a while since a terror attack hit the empire this hard. Time to fulfill my duty as royalty.”

Zeke stood.

“You’ll handle it personally, Prince Road?”

“Yes. Pacifying the special district is my role too. Plus, there’s something that piques my interest.”

“Understood.”

Zeke watched Road stand and leave the room.

“To think he’s the same age as my daughter… If His Majesty passes and Road takes the throne, the empire will be secure.”

Road’s father.

The 99th Emperor of the Earthguard Empire, Orgord Earthguard, lay bedridden with illness.

It had been a year since last year, and the invasion war against the world was on hold as a result.

SUCCESSION struggles were brewing in the Earthguard Empire.

The emperor had been given a prognosis that he wouldn’t last much longer.

The emperor had three children.

First Prince Odin Earthguard.

First Imperial Princess Yumir Earthguard.

And the youngest, Road Earthguard.

Among the three, the one most feared by the world.

His strategic foresight bordering on precognition, called the Devil’s Brain, led to total victory on every battlefield he graced.

The Earthguard Empire that divided the world into three with the Asia Union and European Union.

The one who seized EU territory after territory, claiming half the world for the empire.

“A genius of war… Truly frightening in his youth.”

Second Prince Road Earthguard.