Hey...
Heivia...
Wasn't it just the other day
that we were working hard in the snowfields of Alaska?
The seasons are flipped in the Southern Hemisphere. Moron.
Though, I'll say,
Mini Skirt Santa might be a better fit for the Southern Hemisphere.
And where would you find something like that?
Look at that.
Men usually slinging live rounds at each other,
waging a great war with cards and coins.
Talk about laid back.
Of course they are.
The enemy may be an Object, but it's a 0.5th gen.
In terms of weapons, it's like a slightly more robust musket.
And we're going to flush it out with over twenty Objects,
which include not only first gens, but second gens, too.
We're a multinational force composed of the Four Great Powers.
Why did the Oceanian Military State decide to fight?
Pride, maybe?
It's a country. Would it be motivated by something like that?
It's not like it's a human being.
A country is a collection of those human beings.
That's true, but...
What have you been doing over there?
Mini Skirt Santa.
What? No way!
You lucky bastards have survived the lottery from Hell!
Ooh!
Today, I will be the one to escort you to Heaven!
She's apparently an Intelligence Union pop star.
Not only that, but she's here now.
To entertain the troops?
Actually, she's supposedly an Elite.
For an Intelligence Union Object.
What? This is an Elite?
Huh? What?
Whoa!
They say those are G cups.
Those sly Intelligence Union bastards!
Never would've thought they'd train 'em up in this direction!
The Princess is... Well, I'm sure she's working hard, too, but...
In this battle, it's a total defeat for our armed forces.
Personally, I prefer a size that fits nicely in my hands, though.
Hey brother ready for this fight?
It's go for broke, live or die
ichi kabachu gonna live or die.
To those days of being scared and just coping, bye bye bye
obi e tearu sukosu take no kimini bye, bye, bye.
Don't stop! Plowing through bullets falling thick and fast
Don't Stop! kimi shiki e ru tangan kake wake
Get up! Brilliantly nail that 2-step
Get Up! asaya kare kimero 2-step
Shut Up! Stow that whining and try, try, try
Shut Up! maki moto nan kumimeru shimai konna try, try, try.
Right now, tens of thousands of times if need be
mana retse na makai demo
Look away and make a break for it
mewo somu kemi kena shite ne
You alone, I'll never abandon
yusu temo shinai kimi temi wai
Let's go, One more chance! Let's change this darn scene
Let's go, One more Chance! kae tearo kono scene
Right now, tens of thousands of times if need be
mana retse na makai demo
It's just about showing that I can overcome
nori koete miseru dake
Overcoming even those tears and that pain
shono nami namo sono mitsa mimo koeteru
Going on to that next, as yet unseen stage
daro mino tsuki no sutejie
That's right, as many times as it takes, one more try!!
sousa naben date one more try!
That's right, we can make it happen, one more try!
sou saka te genzo one more try!
Let's go, One more chance! Show them that spirit
Let's go, One more Chance! mushi tereo sono spirit
Right now, even if everyone and anyone and everything and anything...
i mata remo karemo waremo koremo
I can just crawl my way there
haitsu kubate i kari
We believe, right?!
shin ji ten da ro?!
That pain will someday become strength that's there for someone
moi tami wai tsuka tawa e kai yasu yosari
We're not gonna walk away!
Wouldn't more forests have been a good thing?
The War of the Ant and the Grasshopper
The Invasion of the Oceanian Military State I
True.
The desert region of Oceania would have become green
to allow for the establishment of large-scale farms...
The money made from that
would have expanded the cities and the transportation network,
opening up underground resources to mining,
and contributing greatly to further developing the country.
But in actuality, that's not how it went.
The local tribes opposed it.
They didn't want to be blanketed by genetically modified vegetation.
That's why the Oceanian Military State is persecuting them?
That's why we're here.
To help the local tribes.
That's the pretext under which the multinational force came together.
But you know, our commander this time isn't military, right?
Nope.
It's the almost highest ranking man in our Legitimate Kingdom,
Councilor Fride.
What is this, parent observation day?
A bigwig suit out here on the battlefront?
Don't worry.
There's no way the councilor is coming to be on-site anyway.
From the Princess?
Yeah.
Says she's bored of constantly being on standby.
What's the big idea?
If it's a response, you could do it in person.
We're in the same base zone here.
Come on!
It's not like she's the cute girl in the class next door.
She's an Elite. I can't simply...
Hey, sir?
What's that?
Huh?
Uh, that's...
It's this, right?!
The friendly rock beast?
Th-That's right.
When it rains, he acts as a shelter for the squirrels and kangaroos.
You sure about this? Lying to an innocent little girl?
Then, you can tell her, Heivia.
That it's a weapon that's here to crush the Oceanian Military State.
Hey, you idiots!
Quit engaging in idle chitchat by the barricade!
Pull yourselves together!
What a waste.
Can't be helped.
She might be beautiful, but she's the stern boss type.
In the face of an aura like hers,
even an MMA fighter would be scared out of his wits.
If you wish to know kindness from me,
I'll show it to you with the heel of my boot!
At any rate, quit looking like doofuses near the barricade.
Do you get that this is a battlefront?
We'll be fine.
This base zone has two whole Objects, right?
There's no sniper rash enough to...
That's not it.
It's camera lenses that have you in their sights.
What?
Photographers have flocked here,
claiming they'll expose the Military State's despotic ways.
Well, they're all sheltered, rich Safe Nation boys who've never known war
or self-styled cultured intellectuals.
Oh, those flesh-and-blood mercenaries
who made a career switch after Objects put them out of business?
Can't you shoo away those people?
Using military statutes or something...
See, what the higher-ups want
is the flashy image of a grand parade of righteous heroes.
If I banned photographs, I would get royally chewed out
by the candidates hell-bent on their election campaigns.
Election?
Back home, the Council elections are coming up soon.
Oh, so that's why our commander this time is Councilor Fride.
There you have it.
He's on edge
about making sure nothing hurts his image in some weird way.
There might even be
an operation to rescue a peace-addled anti-war group.
You never know, it could really happen.
Babysitting all the way out here on a battlefront?
And doing it for an adult who has the mind of a child? It's the pits!
Let me guess, Legitimate Kingdom.
Here to interview the heroes who took down Objects all by themselves?
Yeah, I guess they're famous even over in your Intelligence Union.
Well, yeah, in their own way. You interviewing them in person?
Actually, they've been tough to get a hold of.
Same here. Though, for me, it's...
...a pop star.
I came all the way to the battlefront to do a face-to-face interview.
You've got nothing to complain about.
If you have to do a face-to-face, better that it's with a girl.
Enemies acting all buddy-buddy...
Yes, that's right. It's looking good.
I'll send you the next piece of music.
She always delivers. Such precision.
Yeah.
A performance without artistry is so boring, you know?
Doesn't it feel nice to be enveloped in sound?
How the dome vibrates at every point and melds with my sound?
If I were satisfied with this, it'd be an insult to orchestras.
Hey, it says, "Do not enter."
"Do not enter"? Just crawl forward on all fours and it'll be no problem.
Hey! We can't do this...
We can't do the test like this.
We'll take a break.
What are you doing here?
Ooh! So that's what they call a tuning suit.
It's my first time seeing one.
It's new.
It can make physical adjustments to the body at the same time.
The skin showing through would definitely be good for that.
Lemme see, lemme see. I want to see the Princess's fashion show, too...
My eyes!
--You came at the perfect time. --I can't see! I can't see anything!
You're going to help me out.
Why just me?!
Hey! Qwenser!
I see, so the data gets collated here temporarily.
Is that new, too?
It's what they call a "flute", right?
I saw them back when I was in the Safe Nation.
Want to take a look?
Sure.
If I remember right, you hold it sideways, right?
Huh? I can't get it to produce a proper tune.
What's up with this thing?
And which keys do I have to press to get a C anyway?
It's no use. I can't get it to work right.
Princess, is this...
A-Are you okay?
Don't tell me...
You want to go and you've been holding it in?
Don't wait on my account, go--
Sheesh. You're one dense guy. What is she, you're childhood friend?
What was that?
Nothing. Just saying this'll be an easy win.
We've got over twenty Objects.
All they have is one single 0.5th gen.
It'll be everyone trying to grab one babe's bikini.
Actually, it's apparently not going to be that simple.
Huh?
The enemy is apparently keeping the 0.5th gen hidden
by camouflaging it as one of the water storage plants,
which were set up everywhere for forest conservation.
It wouldn't stand a chance if it's spotted, after all.
What a troublesome girl treasured in her padded box.
What if we opened the box and there really was a girl in there?
It may be a 0.5th gen, but it's still an Object.
If we don't respect that fact, we'll get a swift kick to the nuts.
And besides, the pilot of the 0.5th gen
is apparently none other than the Oceanian dictator himself.
No wonder they've taken such pains to play hide-and-seek.
It seems even our satellites haven't narrowed down their location.
It may be a little tedious,
but if we don't take out each plant, one by one...
Sheesh. What is this? One big shooting gallery game?
If I could at least just see those G cups...
My, my, my!
If it isn't the Legitimate Kingdom's pet dogs.
I will be looking forward to working with you on this operation.
An Intelligence Union Object...
Which means...
The G cup Mini Skirt Santa?!
So, this is the Intelligence Union's...
Though, with two whole Objects committed to this operation,
I cannot imagine there will be much for flesh-and-blood soldiers to do.
I'd love for that to be true.
This is awesome! I have a chance to talk to an Intelligence Union Elite!
Hey, I've been wanting to ask about this, but...
They say the Intelligence Union's military
is developing a humanoid Object. Is that true?
That is an ugly lie, of course.
its center of gravity would be too high and it would fall over easily.
That's no fun.
Then, how about this one?
They say your Objects have power plugs on them. Is that a lie, too?
That one is true.
With the power reactors on Objects,
rather than switching them on and off,
it is more efficient to keep them operating around the clock.
Which is why, when we are on standby,
we redirect the surplus power to the base.
That's not bidirectional, right?
Object power reactors are fundamentally maintained
at a high temperature and high voltage, so...
Hey, Qwenser!.
What?! It's not every day that I get a chance like this, so don't bother me!
Our Princess has been growing grumpy over there for some reason.
Huh?
You're not homesick now that you're here, are you?
Not really.
It's nothing.
S-Saved...
It is casual acts of kindness that win the trust of soldiers.
Though, I am sure an unsophisticated Legitimate Kingdom Elite
would not understand that.
Stop that! If we fall, we're dead! Dead!
Hurry up and apologize already, Qwenser!
For what?!
You're one dense guy!
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you.
The King's Council has newly entrusted me
with the security oversight of Oceania. The name is Fride.
I am not a soldier, but as you know,
I have long been involved in the industry of war,
such as the development of Elites.
With the need for the application of Objects and advanced diplomacy,
I believe I am well-suited for the matter at hand.
Who is the commanding officer on site?
Major Frolaytia Capistrano, sir.
Then here is your first order.
Major Capistrano, you are to attack at once.
This is for the 6th Security Oversight Army.
I am Major Frolaytia Capistrano,
Security Oversight Front-Line Commander
with the Legitimate Kingdom military.
We will commence with the security oversight as of now.
Focus your firepower
where the enemy Object is estimated to be hiding.
Aren't you glad to be on this side of things this time?
We were on that side of things until just recently, after all.
Hey there. I'm done.
Looks like this spot was a bust.
Now, then, guess we'll move on to the next possible spot.
Oh, but this is where you two come in.
What?
Please confirm on foot that there are no communities along the way
before we head on over to the next point.
Gack!
Why should we have to do that when we're not even being paid overtime?!
We've got Objects! That should be enough!
Could it be that they can't mobilize?
Huh?
Are you physically fatigued due to the inertial g-forces?
It seems you have at least some understanding.
What?
They conduct those high mobility maneuvers with all that mass.
Even wearing pressure-resistant suits, they've got their limits.
After all, Elite suits are made to squeeze the legs.
I see, to prevent loss of circulation to the brain,
I've heard that they have a feature that restricts blood flow to the legs.
Right after combat, heat builds up in our bodies,
so we take our suits off and use a coolant spray.
Take off?! Then, our Princess does that, too?!
You don't have to think about things that don't concern you.
Even for a straight man response, that's too intense!
I must take off my leotard-style suit with the high-cut legs
and cool off this voluptuous G cup body of mine!
For real?!
All those alluring words packed into just one line!
What are you, an idiot?!
Quit being all starry-eyed and falling for the bogus intel!
Besides, if her suit really has high-cut legs,
there's no way she could have anti-g functionality on her legs!
Oh, it seems the cat is out of the bag.
But the slit is quite risqué, exceeding that of school swimsuits.
Hey, come on, man! Havia! Seriously?!
I'm telling you, Qwenser!
The way you're all up in that Intelligence Union Elite's business...
You've totally sent our Princess on an emotional rollercoaster ride!
Excuse you! You just bumped into me!
Must be a sensor malfunction.
I see.
It seems my control system has malfunctioned!
You're our enemy, so quit acting all friendly.
We are supposed to be allies right now.
Once this battle is over, we'll be back to being enemies again.
When that time comes, I shall beat you to a fine pulp,
Miss Unsophisticated Legitimate Kingdom First Gen.
Both of you, stop!
If it's a cat fight, do it in swimsuits!
The enemy is the Oceanian Military State, remember?!
Don't get confused!
Now that you mention it, you are right.
In that case, as I explained earlier,
this is where you two come in.
Us?
But man, this is one hell of a forest.
These were genetically modified to turn cities green, was it?
I can't believe this used to be a desert.
But they're going to raze this forest to the ground anyway, right?
So, why should we have to scout?
It can't be helped, right?
They say there may be communities in this forest.
True, we can't exactly burn them, forest and all, but...
Get down!
What is it?
We've got a winner here, or maybe we're the losers...
There's a community here.
Oh, dear...
And the Oceanian military is here, too.
But it doesn't look like they're about to start fighting right away.
They're probably settling up next month's rent or something.
What should we do?
We're not the cavalry, man.
Like the two of us can fight against ten times as many soldiers.
Well, it looks like they'll be safe
once they settle up their usual rent anyway, so...
Exactly.
Hey, did you take them out?
Does this piece-of-crap rifle look like it's got the functionality
to be so silent that you wouldn't notice hunkered down right next to me?
Then...
Sniper devices interfering?
Moron. There's no way official military equipment
would hit their targets in such an obvious way!
Who is this idiot?
Acting like some volunteer army wielding crude weapons...
Whoa, this is bad news.
What did you just hear?
Explaining it would take too long,
so I'll give you what the village's home guard said as a bad skit.
"You bastard! You tricked us!"
"This is a misunderstanding. We would never."
"Shut up! We'll kill everyone and burn you, village and all!"
Whoa! That's way bad news!
Then, what're we going to do?
That's...
We've got no choice but to do this!
I do this all the time, putting myself at last.
itsudatte sou da jibun no koto atoma washi de
Thinking that as long as everyone else is happy everything's okay.
minna ga waratte yorokobu nara sore de jinda te
This isn’t anyone’s fault—things are just happening as they should
dareno sei demo nakute korega atari mai date
That's what i would i always tell myself
sou ikika sete i tanda
I'm not wrong to think this way, I'm not. That's what i always thought.
machi ga tenai machi ga tenai to omotteta noni
doushite konna kizudarake nandarou
But then why have I ended up so bruised and battered?
kimi dake wa nogasazu ni kidzuitetanda ne
You were the only one who noticed, not letting a single detail slip by
oshikoroshitekita kono chiisa na koe o
This tiny voice I’d been keeping subdued all this time
itsu kara darou soba ni itai to omottanda
When was it that I starting feeling I wanted to be by your side?
motsureta kokoro yasashiku hodoku you ni
It feels like my tangled heart is being gently unraveled
sashidasareta sono te no nukumori ni
When I brushed the warmth of that hand you extended to me
fureta toki ni kidzuitanda
It all became clear:
mou hitori janainda te
I’m not alone anymore.
The War of the Ant and the Grasshopper
The Invasion of the Oceanian Military State II