Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 6 - Chapter 5.1

FINAL CHAPTER

  The Villains Strike Back!

1

According to Alice, the counterattack operation will take some planning, so we’re waiting around while she makes preparations.

I don’t know what she’s cooking up, but I trust her brains.

“…which is why we’re gonna head over to Toris for a bit, Vi. I’m sure you’ll be lonely without me, but I’ll let you borrow my video game, so you can just relax and have fun, okay?”

We’re in Viper’s personal room in Hideout City. I finish explaining the situation to her as she lies in bed while I peel an apple.

“I’m thankful for the game, but please take me with you. I feel much better now. I’m sorry for worrying you…”

I push the plate of apple slices to Viper as she tries to sit up.

“Alice mentioned that you would definitely say that, so she said she was gonna mix a special concoction that would knock you out before we leave. Vi, if I happen across you while you’re totally helpless, you know what’s gonna happen, right?”

“I—I understand. I’ll stay and keep watch, so please don’t drug me! …Oh, the shape of these fruit slices is very cute. Are you fond of mokemokes, Mr. Six?”

For my part, I had intended to make them look like rabbits, but now that I look at ’em, they’re totally mokemokes.

As I start to peel a second apple, determined to make the slices look like rabbits this time, there’s a knock on the door.

“Lady Viper, I’ve come to check in on you… Ah, Six, quit killing time in Lady Viper’s bedroom! I’m starting to worry that you’re becoming too much of a bad influence on her!”

“…Heine’s right, Six. The more time Viper spends with you, the more flawed she becomes. Viper is the beacon of hope for all demonkind, so please don’t corrupt her.”

The two former members of the Elite Four are standing outside the door.

“Well, well, you two are awfully mouthy for servants.”

Currently, Heine and Russell are using their abilities to provide electricity to the Destroyer and Hideout City.

Since Russell is no longer needed in Grace due to the flood of water crystals on the market, we hurriedly constructed a reservoir with a hydroelectric power plant near our settlement.

Alice is extremely pleased that we have another green energy source.

“U-um, have I really changed all that much since I’ve started interacting with Mr. Six…?”

“Yes, Vi. You’re not as reserved as you used to be, and you’ve let your guard down in a number of ways, making you more gullible than ever. As adorable as it may seem, you’ve dumbed yourself down.”

…Viper’s eyes well with tears, and she curls up beneath her blanket. Heine and Russell crane their necks and beckon me over with a look.

I play along and approach them, and they speak in a whisper.

“You’re gonna go after the bastards who hurt Lady Viper, right? Take me with you. I’m still a former member of the Elite Four. I can’t let them get away with what they did to her!”

“In the last skirmish, someone choked me out, so I wasn’t able to do anything. This time, I’m going to show you why I was made a member of the Elite Four in the first place.”

Looks like they wanna get revenge for Viper, too.

“I don’t mind taking you with me, but…what are you two doing sneaking over there?”

Grimm and Rose are eavesdropping on my conversation with Heine and Russell from the other side of the door.

I guess they thought they were hidden, and they step out a bit awkwardly…”

“Commander, I heard that the home-wrecker that was so friendly with you had gotten hurt, so I was here to laugh at her! What a lovely sight! Let this be a lesson to her for trying to steal another woman’s man!”

Grimm’s lips curl up into a nasty grin as Heine and Russell grit their teeth and glare at her. Just then, Rose chimes in.

“…Liaaaar! You were the one who proposed checking up on her, Grimm. Besides, you were feeling guilty about missing the last fight because you died in a stupid way and took time to get resurrected… He—Oww! Ow! Ow!”

“Ohhh, you need to watch that mouth of yours! If you can’t keep it shut, I’ll have to shut it for you! But yes, since that home-wrecker is good at her job, I was just worried about what would happen to our work schedules! After all, if she got badly hurt, it’d really slow us down! …What? Quit staring. I’ll leave your get-well-soon gift here, so you better appreciate it!”

Grimm and Viper are both beet-red as Grimm plays the tsundere role to perfection.

When Grimm died most recently, it seemed to be for an especially reckless reason, but we’re finally able to find out what happened.

Apparently, she found out I had met another young woman, and with her home-wrecker alarm blaring, she attempted to put a curse on Adelie.

She collapsed in the middle of her ritual, and the next time she opened her eyes, she had just been revived again.

But according to Grimm, she hadn’t performed a curse strong enough to kill…

It is at this moment…

“Oh, there you are, Russell. I was looking for you. I’m giving you an important job in our fight against Hiiragi. Once you’re done with it, you can go ahead and relax.”

…Alice shows up to join the throng of guests in Viper’s room.

“H-hold on a sec, Alice! I want to go with everyone else! Is it a job only I can do? If anyone else can do it, please ask them!”

Russell is putting up more of a fuss than usual. He must really want to get his revenge with the rest of us.

“Well, I just wanted you to pilot Mr. Mogero, but I guess I could just get Rose to do it…,” murmurs Alice with a tilt of her head.

It is only recently that we figured out how to control the giant mole-shaped robot dubbed Mr. Mogero by Alice.

To be more precise, Russell just flat-out told us how to do it.

It’s not so strange that he knows how to operate it. He once operated a giant robot he found in an ancient ruin, after all. But Alice, who spent countless hours trying to figure out how to activate Mr. Mogero, chewed him out for not speaking up sooner.

“See? It was just as I said. These giant robots won’t function for just anyone. They’re super picky with their pilots. This means Mr. Mogero’s type is a pretty young girl who’s still a little childish. I’m guessing Russell was able to pilot Mr. Mogero because it thought he fit the criteria.”

“This isn’t a manga or video game, of course that’s not why. If he likes pretty young girls, then there’s no way he wouldn’t activate with me at the controls… I bet the same people who created Rose and Russell are the ones who built Mr. Mogero. They probably have a biometric security system triggered by DNA or something to keep anyone but allies from using him.”

We discover that Mr. Mogero will activate if we shove someone related to him into the cockpit.

Well, if the theory that he reacts to pretty girls is wrong…

“I understand why he reacted to Rose and Russell, since both of them are abandoned products of ancient scientists, but why did he react to Vi?”

“This planet’s Demon Lords must have been tasked by the scientists who left the tech behind with managing this planet’s technology, thus granting them the authority to activate the O-Parts. Because of Lady Lilith’s screwup, it’ll forever remain a mystery, but seeing as things never work out conveniently for us, that’s pretty par for the course.”

I have trouble with complicated subjects like this, but even I understand that having an alternative to our ace in the hole, the Destroyer, is huge for us. After all, the enemy has a giant monster on their side. Using a giant weapon against a giant opponent just makes sense.

“I see. So Russell’s special mission is to control Mr. Mogero and defeat that giant kitty, right?”

“No, I took a look at Mr. Mogero’s specs, and he doesn’t seem to be made for combat. Besides, Mr. Mogero doesn’t have a projectile barrier like the giant cat does. If we had them fight, Mr. Mogero would be a sitting duck against enemy projectiles, and the fight would be over pretty quickly.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Hiiragi possesses powerful ranged weapons like rocket launchers.

“We know we can deal with that giant cat by using catnip, so it’s not that big of a threat. And this time, our side’s also got firearms. I doubt they can make any rash moves… So there’s something I want you to do.”

“N-no, I refuse. I don’t know what you want me to do, but I want to fight this time. I want to show them the power of a former Elite Four member…”

Seeing Russell nearly throw a tantrum causes Rose to sigh and shake her head.

“Then I’ll pilot Mr. Mogero. Mr. Russell, even though you’re weak, you’re still a chimera. Please give it your all this time.”

“Don’t call me weak! We’re supposed to be kin! I’m a former Elite Four member, dammit!”