The escort ship belonging to the Odyssey Marine School, Aigis.
As soon as the movements from Wakamo’s side were detected, I was summoned by FOX Squad and transported here via a cargo helicopter.
The first thing we required from the Odyssey side was to establish a detailed infiltration operation, which involved the armament status of the Nereus, currently occupied by Wakamo. Realistically, infiltrating using high-speed boats poses too high of a difficulty, so if there is no well-equipped air defense system, it is easier to infiltrate using helicopters.
Even if they don’t have anti-air missiles, attempting to infiltrate from the air isn’t the safest option, but if we assume that we might lose a helicopter in the process and if we approach it with sturdy preparation, it might actually be better than using high-speed boats for infiltration.
“…Essentially, this information should not be leaked recklessly, but due to our negligence, we will disclose it without reservation. Please do everything possible to ensure that this information does not reach anyone outside this assembly.”
“Captain, our FOX Squad is part of the SRT Special Academy, and we have access to numerous military information. This includes information related to weapons that tiptoe between legal and illegal, such as your academy’s ship-launched missiles, so relaying this information to you doesn’t hold much significance.”
“…Hmm, that is true. However, that does not apply to the T-party host.”
“Heueng. Well, don’t worry too much. Unless Trinity has a reason to oppose Odyssey, they wouldn’t need to keep track of their military information.”
The armament status provided by the captain of this Aigis ship was at a level that should not exist for a cargo ship, but comparatively, it was significantly lower than we expected.
It is estimated that the ship-launched missiles operated by the Nereus have a strike range of up to 150 km. However, they generally consider firing within 100 km, so we need to execute the infiltration operation and suppress Wakamo before the Nereus reaches a distance that could strike the coastline.
According to the captain, there is no established air defense system on the Nereus. Given this, we decided to use SRT’s helicopter for infiltration rather than Odyssey’s high-speed boats.
However, there must surely be those employed by Wakamo who use rocket launchers. Therefore, even if we assume the helicopter might be shot down, we must ensure to successfully land on the cargo ship. Of course, any damages incurred during that process will be borne by Odyssey.
“…T-party host, I take it you’ve never trained with fast ropes?”
“Well, that’s obviously the case. Just looking at her, she seems to have lived a privileged life, right?”
“Well, I can see she’s strong in terms of combat ability, but just based on her status, she doesn’t seem to have the position to receive proper military training.”
One after another, FOX Squad’s Niko, Kurumi, and Autogi asked questions and came to conclusions on their own. It was indeed true, so there wasn’t much to be criticized.
“Ugh. Honestly, I’m wondering if it’s really necessary. But we can’t address the hostess as T-party during the operation, so it might be better to resolve the title part first, right? Like calling her Mika-san like Yukino-chan, or since everyone is about the same age, she could be called Mika-chan.”
“…Eh!? Isn’t that a little too familiar? It’s kind of burdensome.”
“Heueng. Then, using a code name for this operation could be a good idea. How about calling her FOX 5 for a day? I think it wouldn’t be bad, what does the T-party host think?”
Listening to Niko’s suggestion, I glanced subtly at the members of FOX Squad. Everyone had large fox ears standing perkily atop their heads.
“But I don’t have fox ears like you guys!”
“I think that’s something we can help you with.”
“…Eh?”
At the captain’s abrupt declaration, a question mark appeared above my head as well as the heads of FOX Squad members. What on Earth does he mean by ‘helping’ with that? I wondered, but this crazy captain took out a headband with white fox ears from somewhere and presented it to me.
“…Um, don’t joke. That’s not funny. Why on Earth do you even have that?”
“Um, that’s nice!”
Niko yelped joyfully as she snatched the headband from the captain. She then promptly offered it to me with a sly smile that showcased her playful charm.
“Here, take it. I’m counting on you for this operation, FOX 5?”
But why is my opinion not being taken into account? I cast a pleading glance at Yukino, thankfully, she nodded as if she understood.
“I’m counting on you, Mika-san. No… let’s be careful, FOX 5.”
No, didn’t she just ask for permission? I shot a desperate look for help, and now she’s giving me her approval…!
“…Hmph. For a day, I guess. I’m not the type to be a hindrance, so it should be fine.”
“Wait! Then what about the position? The gun I’m using is a submachine gun, so wouldn’t that overlap with Kurumi? And there are no attachments for the gun. Wouldn’t it be better to at least have a suppressor or flash suppressor? If we look, there must be compatible models available.”
“Come on, just hurry up and take it. If you keep this up, my arm might fall off!”
Wow… their conversations are completely on different wavelengths.
With that, I wondered if these guys could actually cooperate. But if it were to come to that, the Student Council President wouldn’t have placed so much trust in them would she? That possibility completely ruled itself out.
“Haha… maybe I shouldn’t have come along. I should have just let you handle this and stood back watching.”
“No way. I’ll put it on you myself.”
“No, wait…! If that’s the case, I’d rather do it myself!”
After snatching the somewhat blunt fox ear headband from Niko, I placed it on my head and squeezed my eyes shut. The charm radiating from Niko’s laughter made it impossible to reject her words.
However, letting her put it on directly was still a bit… annoying. It’s not just that; it’s partially a remnant of my final sliver of dignity.
“Oh, Mika-san. First, the spare tactical headsets…”
Why on Earth am I here with a fox ear headband on when I was looking forward to a decent match? This was a moment of sudden resentment.
*
Following the course transmitted by Odyssey, the SRT helicopter flew over the sea.
“I’ve confirmed the theory, but executing it is ultimately up to you, Mika-san. Just observing our positions will be helpful.”
I’m not sure; if things go south, I’ll just let go and jump from the rope. It doesn’t seem particularly difficult or taxing just by listening, and from experience, I know there’s not much burden in jumping from a reasonable height.
“There hasn’t been any communication about changes in the Nereus’ course, so we should be entering visual range soon… Ah, there it is.”
It was too far to see clearly before, but as we got closer, the shape of the cargo ship, stacked high with containers, became visible.
“It seems they have taken a long time to notice our approach. They should have been detected on radar and prepared well in advance.”
Right? No, wait.
“No, Yukino-chan. Think it over. Do you really think that only the forces employed by the Reikubyō can operate an academy ship like Odyssey? Naturally, there are still Odyssey’s own crew members on the bridge of that ship, and the hired hands can only monitor them from behind. So, let’s assume that an unidentified aircraft is detected on radar. Would the crew really have the obligation to relay that information?”
“Certainly, as Mika-san said, it’s only natural that Odyssey wouldn’t have a reason to cooperate with terrorists in situations beyond their expectations, but the Reikubyō is understood to have a quite meticulous nature. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for them to have ordered the crew to communicate in advance.”
“Well, even if they got such an order, they might deliberately disobey it! At this point, if an aircraft is coming straight toward their own academy ship, it’s 100% going to be a friendly aircraft. So, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be more normal to stay quiet about it rather than relay that fact?”
“But is that really that important right now? Either way, this means they’re not prepared for us, and they’ll figure it out soon because of the helicopter noise. So let’s get started on the drop preparations!”
Kurumi twirled her hair as she interrupted the back-and-forth discussion between Yukino and me. There was nothing wrong with her statement, so all the members of FOX Squad, including me, who was having a fox experience for the day, began the drop preparations.
“Seems like they’re getting wise to the sounds now… But, Mika-san, about what was said on Aigis.”
“Yeah, Niko-chan. What about it?”
“That shutter sound… Just to check…”
“…Yes, Niko-chan. You really shouldn’t be messing with people right before the start of the operation.”
“Fufufu. What can I say? When I’ve got fox ears, I hear everything. Sure, we all pretended not to notice, but thinking that I would actually participate in the operation wearing that…”
Yeah, I took a selfie or two. What about it?
Am I not allowed to be a fan for once?
“Shh. Enough chit-chat. Before we enter, I’ll quickly brief the operation outline. The drop will be executed on top of the stacked containers to minimize the possibility of the helicopter getting shot down. The drop order will follow the original code name numbers, but today, as an exception, I will stay behind to watch over FOX 5.”
Yukino casually tossed me a pair of gloves as she adjusted her headset and drew nearer to repeat the same action.
“When FOX 5 has something to convey, press this. During this operation, in accordance with our previous agreement, FOX 5 will eliminate the enemies on deck. FOX 2 and FOX 4 will team up while FOX 3 and I will infiltrate the hull first. Once you spot the Reikubyō, don’t forget to relay the position information to the squad via radio.”
A line was thrown from the helicopter, lowered over the ship.
“FOX Squad is now commencing the operation.”
…Me, a baby fox. I’m slightly scared, can you lower the altitude just a bit more?
