Off the coast of Tokyo, Hachijojima’s sea. There was a huge shadow of a fish gliding through the depths of the ocean.

It looked like a taiyaki, but don’t be surprised – it’s not a fish. It’s a “high-speed submarine” modeled after a chunky fish.

「I never thought I’d pilot a submarine… And this thing is full of rust and tattered that it looks like it might break at any moment.」

『What is it, jai, Rintaro? Do you have any complaints about my cute experimental submarine “Taiyaki-kun Revised No. 8”, kai? If you don’t like it, why don’t you just get off and swim.』

「Oi Tagaraak! Is this dilapidated ship really okay!? It’s been creaking for a while now!」

『there’s no other way I said. My subordinates are still unable to function properly due to some mysterious hacking, no. It’s the only submarine that can be manually operated and carry a large number of people, njate.』

Even though it was an emergency dispatch where every second counts, Rintaro wondered if there weren’t any better vehicle available.

Judging from its name, “Taiyaki-kun Revised No. 8”, there’s no doubt that it’s an antique built in the 1970s. “Revised” sounds nice, but in essence it’s a piece of junk that’s been repeatedly patched up and repaired.

『It’s true that it’s a little damaged, but despite its appearance it is equipped with a cutting edge superconducting electromagnetic propulsion device, nojazo! However, do not press the switch under any circumstances, as it will definitely self-destruct, no.』

「It even comes with a self-destruct switch. I feel so sorry that I want to take a cooling off period.」

The interior of the submarine, which was making an ominous creaking noise due to the water pressure, was surprisingly spacious. This was because the crew consisted of only ten people, including four members of the Heinous Legion led by Rintaro, and six selected from the Hundred Beasts Legion.

This time, when they attacked the sea mysterious being detention facility known as “Village”, they needed space to carry the rescued mysterious beings on the return journey, so they had no choice but to limit the task force to a small number of people.

Most of those elites were pale-faced. And that’s only natural, after all, a roller coaster without a safety mechanisms in place would be much safer than this.

『Well, the round trip is about 600km at most, jashi, so it should be fine as long as it can last for one day, jaro.』

「I think you are being too optimistic just because you don’t ride, I don’t think it will even last one trip there.」

『There should be no problem for normal navigation. It has been repaired and inspected… 10 years ago』

「That’s safe and secure. No wonder it sank without any operation.」

But in reality, this was the only way they could approach the offshore platform owned by Hero Headquarters without being detected. Right now, the entire crew was praying that they would arrive at their destination safely, rather than worrying about the success of their operation.

Meanwhile, in the area that Taiyaki-kun’s eyes are in, in the special seat by the window with pressure-resistant glass, Colonel Usanyi-chan was letting out an uncharacteristic, melancholic sigh.

「…………Haa……」

「Ah! There was a big fish, ssu!」

「……………………Haa……」

Samecchi was sitting on her lap, her eyes glued to the underwater view that could be seen through the window. But all Colonel Usanyi-chan’s red eyes could see was her own pitiful face reflected in the glass.

The cause of Colonel Usanyi-chan’s melancholy was none other than the “rescue target” this time.

“Kumada Haruka”

Although she apparently called herself that in her human form, she is also a mysterious being. A family member of Kumada Iwao, also known as Bearion, The Hundred Beasts General, and someone special to him.

The Ark Dominion’s main objective in this operation was to rescue Haruka, in other words.

It meant that someone who was destined to be a companion would appear beside The Hundred Beasts General Bearion.

「……………………Haaa……」

Another big sigh escaped, and the round glass turned white and cloudy.

There was no hiding it now, though. Colonel Usanyi-chan’s feelings for her superior, Bearion, had long ago gone beyond the realm of respect.

When they first met, it may have just been her admiration for a “strong mysterious being”. She single-mindedly trained her body and honed her skills in order to become a mysterious being worthy of standing beside him.

When exactly did it turn into such a special emotion? How long had she kept these overflowing feelings bottled up inside the hard box called loyalty?

However, the reason why these hidden feelings were not revealed was solely due to the strong sense of responsibility and iron-clad loyalty that Colonel Usanyi-chan felt as the adjutant of the Hundred Beasts Legion.

However, Haruka’s presence created a crack in the tightly closed box of her heart.

After rescuing the target, would Colonel Usanyi-chan be able to continue supporting Bearion by his side as she has done until now? Although she arrogantly told Samecchi to “be a bad girl” and “be loyal,” Colonel Usanyi-chan’s heart was constantly wavering between her love and loyalty.

「Ah, an octopus! Colonel Usanyi-cjan, it’s an octopus, ssuyo!」

「………… I, am weak……」

「Ssu? Colonel Usanyi-chan is super strong, ssuyo?」

「……It’s nothing. Please forget it, Private Samecchi.」

Colonel Usanyi-chan patted Samecchi’s head, gave a self-deprecating smile, and turned her eyes back to the window.

「Nnnnn…… Mumumu, ssuuu……」

Perhaps she had grown impatient with Colonel Usanyi-chan’s lack of energy. Samecchi got off her lap and ran over to Rintaro, who was gazing at the instruments with a grim expression.

「Aniki, aniki!」

「Hmm? What’s wrong, Samecchi? Get back in your seat, it’s going to start shaking pretty soon.」

「Colonel Usani isn’t in good spirits, ssu. If it’s now, she probably wouldn’t get mad her boobs get touched now, ssuyo!」

「Aniki thinks it’s not good to play around with gasoline just because there’s no fire.」

With a sigh, Rintaro had Samecchi sit in the captain’s seat. Rintaro was in no position to pay attention to Samecchi right now.

Submarine piloting is essentially a collaborative effort involving several people. Rintaro was now working alone with Kirika.

「Senpai, we’re almost at our destination.」

「Alright, let’s prepare to surface. Mayuzumi, fill the main ballast tanks with compressed air. I’ll handle the trim control.」

「Understood. Vent closed, pressure normal. Taiyaki-kun, rising to the surface.」

Bigōn! Bigōn! Bigōn!

A shrill alarm rang out inside the submarine, signalling its surface. Red lights began spinning, and the interior of the vessel was bathed in a deep red light.

「This won’t break, right……? I’m counting on you, Taiyaki-kun……」

Rintaro prayed to God as he flicked the switches on the control panel.

「Senpai, about what happened after this…」

In contrast to Rintaro, whose face was blue with cold sweat, Kirika, who had called out to him, was perfectly calm. Rintaro was impressed by his junior’s boldness, who remained unfazed even when placed on a piece of scrap metal resembling a coffin, and he wanted to emulate it in response.

「Once we surface, we’ll leave two crew members behind and head for the platform’s legs in a small boat. After we infiltrate… we’ll just have to improvise.」

「No, if it’s a boy I think Kiritarou would be good, and if it’s a girl I think Rinka would be good, what do you think, senpai?」

「We’re not talking about plans for the distant future (child’s name) right now. I thought you were quiet, but was that the thing you were thinking about while piloting the submarine? Is there a bug with your sense of distance from the crisis?」

「I thought it would be a good idea to think about fun things to take your mind off things.」

In the meantime, the view outside the pressure-resistant glass tuned bright blue.

Taiyaki-kun surfaced just below the offshore platform “Village”.

---

<218: Don’t Go Into That Village
220: Execute! Village Assault Operation!>