Chương 104: Interlude5-1:Those Given the Burden(Part 1)

"The Self-Defense Forces are an organization whose principle is exclusively defense-oriented defense against foreign threats. In addition, for the purpose of protecting the peace and independence of our country and maintaining the nation's safety, its principle is to defend our country. Hyodo-kun, you understand this, right?"

"Yes, sir!" I had a bad feeling. Just like before, I was called by a superior officer who was different from last time, and was made to hear about the duty of a member of the Self-Defense Forces. That in itself was fine; I had taken an oath when I enlisted, so being told to uphold it at all times was hardly unreasonable. It could be troublesome, but even so, the accumulation of each day brings a person closer to that ideal.

"Very well. You have an acquaintance with First-san and received advice from her, correct?"

"There is no mistake. I received it when I went to investigate inside the Gate with her as part of a security mission before the Akihabara stampede." The dive lasted at most one day. However, in that one day, I flew through the sky, and in Akihabara, I was also able to save my comrades. Just by hearing the story, the other gunners and the adjutant Scripter also faced their own abilities, as if trying to grasp some kind of clue.

After that, each of them chose their own direction and moved forward, and even the gunner who used to make lighthearted remarks can now attack without needing a gun. Does being asked to confirm this mean it is something related to her again? The woman she is when she isn't acting seems to be just as old as the information says. She has a calmness to her that I find appealing.

But when she is acting, she can sometimes be alluring and voluptuous, and at other times seem like an aged boy, making her difficult to judge. Well, whichever version she is, she has no hostility toward us, so I suppose it is fine...

"... Since those called Sweepers appeared, our existence has been endangered. You would understand, wouldn't you? Until now, as military force in a visible form, there were guns, tanks... there were weapons. However, although there are differences in degree, once they mature, those things will lose their usefulness. The organization itself may remain, but the weight placed on individual abilities will increase." Looking at the reports concerning the Gates, I can certainly understand that.

Sweepers and Classes are, for better or worse, extremely powerful. Even I could destroy a tank if I wanted to, and as long as we had enough people, even the inexperienced could fire missiles for free as much as they wanted. Needless to say, that danger is immense. But if there is any saving grace, it is probably that resources come out of the Gates, meaning that invasions aimed at obtaining resources from foreign countries will disappear. Of course, there are territorial issues.

However, even those can have Safe Spaces if we close our eyes to various other things.

"Therefore, we are thinking that, as the keystone of our organization's continuation, we want to manage and operate the mission of countermeasures against special specific harmful beasts as our jurisdiction." Defense of the nation. Until now, we had looked toward threats outside the country, but it seemed that the higher-ups were now placing greater weight on the Gate right in front of us. I understood what they were saying. In Akihabara, many of my fellow servicemen had fought and fallen.

For the Self-Defense Forces, which had been enjoying the peace of the postwar era, that must have been quite a shock. I thought so myself. We do not know when a battle or a war will occur. However, even so, if the opponent is another country, there are signs of it. If humans are the opponent, then as long as you have your own territory, you can secure your rear. However, a thing called a stampede permits neither negotiation nor surrender, and you have to fight it through with nothing but force.

Although it may be inappropriate to say so, it almost feels like a sport whose only rule is to aim for victory. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I understand what you're saying, but why was I called? From what I've heard, this sounds like an issue for the Ministry of Defense rather than something concerning me."

"Indeed, that is correct. And this is your mission. There will be a government-sponsored training session bringing together Self-Defense Force personnel and police officers. I want you to participate, confirm First-san's way of thinking, and encourage her to lean toward our organization. I hear that she still likes women. We also have several honey-trap personnel, so you may manage and employ them to tempt her. Well, she was originally male.

Even if her appearance and sex have changed, she would probably still cheat."

"No... I think that would only provoke her..." Clearly, it was a bad move. She was not stupid. If anything, she was sharp. If we handled things clumsily, it was unlikely that she would get angry and run wild, but it was entirely possible that she would simply become annoyed and turn against us. The superior officer, who presumably knew nothing about the First I had seen in Akihabara, was one thing. If all he had seen were the reports on paper, there were limits to what he could imagine.

However, I had heard that she had made an entire building disappear, annihilated a Unique single-handedly, and defeated even the final one without suffering a scratch.... I wanted to say it plainly. Don't try some stupid underhanded scheme.

"You were unmarried, right? You would understand if you had a family. Men sometimes cut loose. Besides, there is already a woman around her who was dispatched by the police as an SP and is close enough to call her by name. Do you understand? We are starting late..." The superior officer spoke with a knowing look, but this was no joke. Whether she liked women or not, she loved her wife, first and foremost. A honey trap? Looking at the past, I could understand its usefulness, but this was clearly counterproductive.

Since I was going on the mission, I would do what I could, but I needed to warn those called the honey-trap personnel.

"Then, that concludes the explanation of your mission. The personnel under your command have already gathered, so go to the Second Meeting Room for introductions and a light briefing. Since the venue is the Meguro Camp, if you speak to the person in charge there, they can arrange everything from gifts to money and other valuables." I received the detailed documents from the superior officer, saluted, and left, but my steps felt heavy. If all I had to do was meet her and talk, there would be no particular problem.

I could even exchange a few lighthearted remarks with her. But this mission... I couldn't see any way to measure its chances of success. With those heavy steps, I opened the door to the designated meeting room. Inside were four female Self-Defense Force personnel—WACs. They started to stand, so I stopped them with a hand and stood in front of them. My stomach hurt.

I had also been encouraged by Chloe to find myself a girlfriend, but even though that wasn't going well for me, why did I have to warn these women for her sake...?

"Uh, I'm Hyodo, belonging to the Special Forces Group. My rank is concealed due to the nature of my assignment. I'll omit ranks and call you by name, so please respond when called. Natsume, Iguchi, Shimizu, and lastly, Oda." I looked at each of them as I called their names. They belonged to the Ministry of Defense Intelligence Department, probably the Besshan. The names listed on the documents were probably pseudonyms as well.

All four were beautiful, each in a different way—from the type that appealed to men, to the refined and elegant type, with different body types and different bust sizes. Each of the four was beautiful in her own direction. Since they were honey-trap personnel, they had probably been selected to cover different types. But they still lost to Chloe. With her, you instinctively felt that she was beautiful. Her appearance, her voice, even her scent.

"You all understand the mission, correct?"

"Yes. We are to bring the target's ideological tendencies closer to our side, or become a constraint on her ourselves. Everyone here is comfortable with that preference as well." Natsume, the cool type with short hair—the kind who would probably be called "onee-sama" or even "prince" at an all-girls' school—answered. I looked around at the others. They all smiled in agreement, so apparently they were all the same. The pain in my stomach grew worse...

In fact, I was beginning to wonder if that was actually the main objective.

"I'll tell you this beforehand, but I do not recommend using a honey trap on the target. Her state of mind is one consideration, but if you're going to do it, I think it would be better to approach her as a friend."

"You recommend a platonic approach rather than a physical one? We'll approach her from both sides, though."

"From the way she seemed when I met and talked with her, I didn't feel that the target was particularly starved for sexual desire." Why did I have to talk about sexual desire in front of women? And not even about myself, but about Chloe's... I had no idea where she was now, but even knowing how unreasonable it was, I wanted to sigh. Even I wanted a girlfriend.

"Yes. Do you know anything about the target's hobbies and preferences? She was a heavy smoker on stream, but what about anything besides that?" Oda, who was short, had a large bust and a bob cut, raised her hand slightly and asked the question. Hobbies and preferences... How the hell was I supposed to know that? I had only accompanied her on a mission, and after that, all we had done was talk before the sortie in Akihabara.

"Tobacco and alcohol... she probably does both. There's no doubt she's a heavy smoker, but whether she actually smokes or not varies. As for alcohol, she's invited me to drink with her..." Come to think of it, I hadn't seen her since Akihabara, so I still hadn't fulfilled that promise to have a drink with her... As I thought about it, they looked at me accusingly. No, drinking was hardly a crime...

"According to the information, she seems to have eaten and gone shopping with people close to her, including Mochida-san, who is currently her guard, and her wife. Would you say that Hyodo-san is also close to her?" A Japanese-style beauty with straight black hair. She looked refined and elegant, but her tone was slightly sharp. I see... Chloe goes shopping with her wife and eats with her friends... I wanted to escape reality, but there was nowhere to run.