episode_0224

“How can you not know? We announced it every two days.”

“I know…”

“You weren’t listening in class, were you?”

At Daphne’s light rebuke, I felt a little embarrassed and scratched my head.

“I heard it, but I forgot!”

The next moment, bewildered stares fell upon me.

I, too, felt mortified inside.

How could none of the many Violets have paid attention to the notice?

My first self felt the seriousness of the situation and hastily summoned the other Violets.

In the plaza within the Violet Network. Seeing the flood of yellow-haired girls who had gathered in a hurry, Violet #1 pointed a finger.

“Alright, from now on, as the original Violet, I’m going to set things straight. Who was in charge of school affairs? Raise your hand!”

Even though it was I, I wondered if this was a bit too far and was about to self-criticize.

As I pondered what words to use to criticize the Violets’ laziness, countless hands rose up from the field of Violets.

More than half of the Violets raised their hands.

“Huh, there were this many?”

The Violets in the plaza responded.

“Are you stupid? The one in charge of school affairs rotated personalities every 30 minutes to an hour, remember?”

“When it was too boring, they rotated every 5 to 10 minutes.”

“Oh, right…”

I felt dizzy from the gazes of so many ‘myselves’ pouring down on me.

As Violet #1 was flustered and didn’t know where to look, I attacked myself.

“Hey! Who are you to scold us? Think about it, you were just about to lecture us!”

“You also shared vision with the resting Violet and played during class!”

“Aack! I’m caught! Don’t shoot!”

Violet #1 was hit and retreated.

As the king without real power retreated, the other Violets let out a short cheer, but soon began to blame and attack each other.

“Did you hear that? From now on, pay close attention during school hours. Heh heh.”

“You’re one to talk! Take my sword!”

“Eek!”

Unable to watch any longer, the moderate Violets calmed the other Violets down.

“Alright, calm down! We’re all accomplices, aren’t we? From now on, we just need to focus.”

“From now on, let’s ask our friends about the academy schedule and mark it on the calendar!”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!”

Once a solution was found, we all dispersed, satisfied as if we had never fought.

“Violet? What are you thinking about?”

The marathon meeting held in the Violet Agora concluded in just one minute.

As the meeting ended, Daphne’s voice pulled me back to reality like an alarm clock.

“Oh, it’s nothing special. I just had a quick meeting. So, Daphne, could you tell me the first-year schedule?”

“Sigh, alright. As if you’re a child…”

With my roommate’s help, I confirmed all the academy’s events and checked the schedule.

“Honestly, Violet, sometimes I wonder why you even came to this academy. Your grades are good, but you don’t seem to study. You seem to train hard, but sometimes you just mess around…”

“Well, playing with friends is fun! The academy food is delicious too. They give you food automatically when you go, don’t they?”

“Seriously, anyone would think you just come to the academy to eat!”

“Heh heh…”

In truth, Daphne’s point was half correct. The academy food here is delicious, after all.

However, our friend found it hard to accept Violet, the cafeteria gourmet.

“Violet, since you’ve gone through all that trouble to transfer, I think it would be good if you took your studies seriously from now on.”

“Alright…”

While being lectured about proper academy life and the mindset of a student, my smartphone vibrated on the desk.

“Here you go, Irene is calling.”

At this unexpected salvation, I was secretly delighted and took the call.

-That thing you left in the dungeon last time. Remember it? We’ve recovered it. Come and check it out.

“Alright!”

A smile bloomed on my face without me realizing it. Perhaps surprised by my reaction, Daphne asked a question.

“Is it good news?”

“Yes, you know the Vittorio Dungeon? They said they recovered what I left there. Let’s go see it together!”

The item recovered from the dungeon was taken out a few hours ago, they said.

I led Daphne and headed into the academy.

“Wait a minute, Violet. Don’t we have to go outside the academy to get to the Vittorio Arcade?”

“Are you going by car or train? That’s too slow. There’s a much faster way!”

Despite my words, Daphne’s face was full of confusion. Her tilting her head was enough to make me laugh.

“What on earth are you thinking…”

Daphne, who had been muttering and following my lead, soon turned her gaze towards the sky.

A large helicopter flew towards us.

The Helios logo was clear even from a distance. Its rotating blades roared, creating a strong gust of wind.

-Thud-thud-thud!

“Ah, so that’s why we came here?”

Daphne, holding onto her hair as it flew in the strong wind, only then seemed to realize that where we were standing was the academy’s helipad.

However, the surprises didn’t stop there. Because the girl who descended from the cockpit was me.

Although she was wearing a disguise mask and a wig, anyone familiar with us would immediately recognize her.

Violet #1912 smiled brightly and waved.

“Hello, everyone!”

“Violet, surely not…”

“I came here for a practice flight! Let’s go together on this. Don’t worry, the flight instructor is also on board!”

I took Daphne’s hand and led her into the helicopter.

The helicopter’s noise drew the attention of students passing by, but I paid no mind.

As soon as the door closed, the helicopter took off powerfully.

“Let’s go!”

The surrounding scenery receded. The landscape of cities, roads, forests, and hills unfolded.

How much time had passed? Ten minutes later, the helicopter landed at its destination. The Helios personnel and Irene, who were waiting, guided us.

“You seem to have gotten quite used to piloting. How does it feel to fly above the city?”

“It was fun!”

Although I had practiced flying near the airfield, this was my first time flying long-distance.

“To think you can pilot alone… that’s amazing.”

“Of course! I did simulations for 24 hours every day and memorized the manual. I crashed hundreds of times, so I’ll never crash in real life.”

“…Let’s take a car back.”

As we chatted, we arrived in front of a garage before we knew it.

Inside, covered by tarpaulins, were two large vehicles hidden.

“How did they get them out? I thought the Federation guys were still inside the dungeon.”

“They finished their investigation, so they withdrew as they had no more business there.”

That’s a relief.

“From what Director Harbor said, the Atlas Clan also went through quite a bit of trouble. They were entrusted with it because you asked them to, but with angry Federation troops suddenly swarming in, they seem to have hidden it well to avoid the hassle of explanations.”

I’ll have to thank the unnamed Director from the Atlas Clan when I meet him later. Thanks to him, our friend wasn’t taken.

As Irene gave the command, the staff members removed the tarpaulins and left.

Covered in dust, and etched with large and small sword marks, two light tanks were revealed.

I cheered at their majestic appearance.

“Ruzilin’s Iron Fist!”

At the historic reunion with our old comrade, the Violets in the network also rejoiced.

“Our friend has returned!”

“It’s a comrade!”

After confirming all the staff had left, Irene spoke.

“Due to the dungeon’s internal environment, there’s no rust or dampness. They say some of the external armor plating has started to deform from ether erosion, but the internal mechanisms and weaponry are perfectly fine. You should be able to use it right away.”

“Hooray!”

I approached the tank and tapped its armor plating with my fist.

Even though it was the smallest class of tank used by the Federation, it felt sturdy.

As we excitedly examined the tank, Daphne’s eyes showed interest.

“So it was true that you captured military equipment. But what did you say just now? I didn’t quite hear it.”

“Oh, its name!”

“Its name?”

“Yes, this is our armored unit’s first tank friend. Of course it needs a name!”

Violet #1891 excitedly began to explain.

“First of all, its name is Ruzilin’s Iron Fist! It’s our friend who was the first to defeat those nasty Vanguard guys.”

It was Ruzilin’s Iron Fist that first defeated the Magnabis Vanguard, which had seemed invincible.

Even now, that glorious moment comes to mind fresh.

This tank proves that Violet’s fighting spirit and physical power are stronger than the elite soldiers personally trained as disciples by the sorcerers.

“When we rammed into it and used it as a shield to fight, it couldn’t move! So I just went *stab* with my sword…!”

While recounting the glorious battle of that day, and talking enthusiastically, I waited with anticipation for my friends’ next reaction.

And then my friends asked an unexpected question.

“What did you say just now…? Friend?”

“Yes, Ruzilin’s Iron Fist is our friend!”

Irene stared at me with a bewildered expression. Daphne also looked confused and asked a question.

“Friend? What do you mean? This is a tank, isn’t it? It’s an object!”

“Why, is there a problem? Ruzilin’s Iron Fist is our best friend!”

Suddenly, Daphne’s eyes narrowed.

“Best friend?”

“Yes, best…”

“…What about me?”

Daphne’s expression began to darken, like the moon beginning to cover the sun on an eclipse day.

My ‘selves’ who felt a sense of crisis quickly added an explanation.

“Oh, when I said ‘best friend,’ I meant it’s the best friend *among tanks*!”

“I see!”

Daphne smiled brightly, as if her face had never clouded over.

I’ll have to choose my words carefully from now on.

Irene, who had glanced at Daphne’s face, quickly got to the main point.

“First, since you asked for it to be retrieved, we contacted them immediately and recovered it. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll be able to drive it right away with a little work.”

“That’s good. Then I’ll have to practice driving it right away.”

If done well, soon the Violet armored unit will be able to be properly deployed in real combat.

“By the way, what are you going to use the tank for?”

At my friend’s question, I brought up the story of those Ilsimdang guys I had seen before. And incidentally, I also mentioned that I was uneasy because the field trip was coming up soon.

“Yes, there’s no harm in being careful. However, don’t drive it outside for practice. Artillery firing is absolutely forbidden. We also need to repaint it to look like it was legally imported. Understood?”

“Alright, I’ll practice carefully!”

We took out the manual that Captain Klein had given us a long time ago. Soon, the tank roused its crouched body and moved forward.

“Forward!”

**

In the short time remaining until the field trip, we took care of minor tasks.

Several exams, club registrations, and even training!

During that time, nothing happened inside or outside the academy.

“They say we’re going to a super easy place!”

“Nothing big will happen, right?”

Of course not. After experiencing an incident like the Vittorio Dungeon terror attack, the academy thoroughly prepared countermeasures. To the point where there was concern that it might be too safe to learn anything.

“Well, there won’t be any problems. Because Sophieel Unnie is here!”

“Ruzilin’s Iron Fist too!”

The first week of February, we headed outside for the field trip.

But, who would be in our group?