Valkyries have no human rights.
That was simply because they were never considered human to begin with.
A Valkyrie was, at the end of the day, an artificial lifeform wearing a human face.
They breathed the same air, bled the same blood, felt the same emotions.
And yet they were second-class citizens, ranked below humans in every way that mattered.
No different from slaves born to lay down their lives for humanity.
Of course, that didn't mean they were treated like disposable rags.
That might be true for mass-produced assembly-line models, but not for the rest.
From C-rank upward, considerable capital and time went into each one.
They were regarded more or less like valuable military assets.
*If I had to put it in terms of something — think tanks or fighter jets. Rough handling is unavoidable, but damage them for no good reason and you'll face consequences.*
Naturally, none of that was for the Valkyries' sake.
It was the same as getting angry when someone carelessly broke expensive equipment.
Simply holding someone accountable for squandering precious resources.
In practice, they were never treated as individuals with their own personhood.
Anyway — perhaps it was because this atmosphere had become so pervasive.
Reports occasionally surfaced of commanders laying hands on their Valkyries.
Valkyries were attractive, beautiful girls who could not resist a human.
Anyone caught doing it would inevitably be branded the lowest of the low.
But people always believed, with breathtaking arrogance, that they themselves were the exception.
*Not that this one would ever do something like that.*
I stole a glance at the Commander walking beside me.
A fond memory surfaced in my mind — something from some loop long past.
The Commander, holding my dying body, his face twisted in anguish….
*Ssss.* Saliva crept into my mouth like I'd bitten into a sour lemon.
"…Let's go in."
"Ah, yes."
Lost in thought like that, I'd barely noticed.
We had arrived, side by side, at the Commander's quarters.
The sky was dark. The surroundings were quiet.
As if the two of us were the only people left in the world.
I stepped inside with a carefully stiffened expression.
The Commander still hadn't told me why he'd called me here.
My face said: *I'm frightened of what's about to happen to me.*
Every last bit of it, of course, was a performance.
*Summoning a Valkyrie to your room late at night. A perfectly ripe setup for misunderstanding.*
Still, I didn't actually think the Commander would try anything.
Unless someone entirely different suddenly possessed his body overnight.
Given his personality, there was no way he'd throw me down and have his way with me.
Even so — just in case there was even the slimmest possibility.
I might as well think ahead about how to hollow him out from the inside.
*Oh, it's so small…. Is that really as big as it gets, Commander?* Something like that.
Or: *Did you… put it in?* — with a perfectly bewildered expression.
Or: *I never knew you were that kind of person* — with wretched, heartbroken tears.
Hmm, actually, at this point being the one getting pounced on might be more entertaining….
I played up an anxious look and asked him.
"Commander. What was it you wanted to say?"
"For a moment — would you come this way, please."
"Eh? This is the bedroom…."
He led me, and where we ended up was none other than the bedroom.
A space dominated by a bed large enough for several people to sprawl across.
If I breathed in deeply, I could catch the faint, lingering scent of him.
*Oh, really? Is this actually happening? Right now? In here?*
*Then I'm going in too? Time to launch Operation: Destroy the Commander's Self-Esteem?*
*Make him psychosomatically impotent so he can never recover?*
Click.
The Commander came in behind me and shut the bedroom door.
Then he guided me — hovering awkwardly in the middle of the room — to sit on the bed.
He blocked the overhead light with his body and came to a stop in front of me.
His presence alone conveyed the gap in standing between us.
Right as I was mentally composing the perfect line to rip his chest open —
He abruptly handed me a stack of documents.
"…What's this?"
"A record of the civilian disappearances that have been occurring in Lumia recently. Over the past week, a string of disappearances has taken place both inside and outside the city."
"Ah, yes. That does seem to be the case…."
"I believe the culprit is… an Erosion Species."
I let a mildly dumbfounded expression settle onto my face.
I hadn't expected Erosion Species to come up out of nowhere.
Wait, hold on. Wasn't the atmosphere just a moment ago distinctly *heh heh heh*…?
This kind of conversation didn't require a bedroom at all.
Why drag someone all the way here just to disappoint them?
But when I thought about it more carefully, there was a reason.
He'd been burned before by sensitive information leaking out.
If he suspected there might be a listening device somewhere —
And had swept the bedroom thoroughly enough to be certain there wasn't one —
*…Then this would be exactly the kind of place to have this conversation.*
Publicly, he'd look like a deranged commander who'd dragged his Adjutant to his room.
But if that cover could blind the eyes of whoever was watching from the shadows — worth it, apparently.
So he'd never had any intention of touching me in the first place?
*Figures. Of course he wouldn't. That's just who he is.*
Though honestly, him pouncing on me here would have been the stranger outcome.
Ah, somehow I feel deflated….
Well. I might as well play along with the conversation for now.
I furrowed my brows in skeptical disbelief and pushed back.
"An Erosion Species doesn't quite add up. Abducting civilians quietly, without leaving a single trace — that doesn't fit the Erosion Species' methods at all…."
"Yes. It's far too intelligent."
"And yet you still think—"
"But if one truly did possess intelligence — what do you imagine that would look like?"
"…Pardon?"
It seemed he had already pieced together the full truth of the incident.
Well, it wasn't as though the Commander was slow.
By the 4th loop, he'd have enough context to work out the broad strokes.
The problem was that his theory had no evidence to support it.
It was, at its core, speculation grounded in what he'd experienced through Regression.
There was simply no way for physical proof to exist.
It would be so much easier if he just came out and admitted he was a Regressor.
And yet the Commander still didn't reveal his identity to me.
I doubted it was because he didn't trust me.
More likely, he was worried about dragging me into harm's way.
So I turned the words over carefully in my mind, and opened my mouth with deliberate care.
"I… see."
"You believe me?"
"No. Honestly, it's a hard story to swallow. The idea that an intelligent Erosion Species could be behind these disappearances…. There's just not enough to go on."
"That's…."
At my answer, the Commander's expression darkened.
He'd clearly been hoping to secure my cooperation here.
My skepticism had left him with a great deal to untangle.
Part of me wanted to give him one sharp shove right off that mental cliff.
But if he was already working toward some plan, it would be better to make use of it.
In the spirit of a wealthy patron tossing a coin to a destitute beggar —
I decided to give him hope.
"But… somehow, I don't think you're lying, Commander. You frighten me, and yet I find myself wanting to trust you. Heh, maybe I've developed a hole in my heart somewhere."
"…."
"So, Commander. Give me an order."
"…Pardon?"
"I am your Adjutant, after all. No matter how unbelievable the story — if it's a command… I will follow it without fail."
I let the distrust I'd been directing at him quietly fall away.
And onto my face I laid an expression of firm, unwavering loyalty.
*Even if it leads me straight to hell, I will follow you.*
The Commander stared at me in silence for a moment, then gave a slow nod.
His face was different from anything he'd shown me before — genuinely, quietly serious.
"Leila."
"Yes."
"I want to protect everyone in this Lumia. Not only the civilians living in this city, but the Valkyries as well. So please… lend me your strength."
He reached out his hand toward me where I sat.
A thoroughly romantic gesture — *take my hand and stand beside me.*
Refusing it here would have earned me a wonderfully satisfying expression from him.
But for the sake of a greater future, I clasped his hand in return and answered.
"Yes. I, Leila, will be your strength, Commander."
It was the first time in this loop that I had smiled at him.
And perhaps it was the release of something long pent-up —
He said nothing, but the emotion that moved across his face was unmistakable.
After that, he walked me through his plan.
Rather than waiting until the eighth day, when Midir would attack a Valkyrie —
He intended to go on the offensive, tracking down where the next victim would appear.
When they encountered Midir, they would use prepared lighting to eliminate the shadows.
With nowhere to flee, they would eliminate it on the spot.
Then prevent the Erosion Species swarm from converging.
*He's making good use of the information I fed him last time.*
By my calculations, it was a plan with a reasonable chance of success.
What made Midir dangerous was that absurd ability of hers.
Her raw combat power was low enough that I could take her down alone.
Done right, they might finally make it past the one-week mark.
Well…. That was all assuming I played along obediently, of course.
Inside, I smiled the most sinister smile of anyone in the room.
*Hehehe. You trust me? You trust me? Oh, you're going to regret that.*
After roughly thirty minutes of conversation —
I nodded along, signaling my understanding, and turned a warm gaze on him.
A look that carried something different from before — a kind of genuine trust.
"You surprise me."
"In what way?"
"You, Commander. You seem… kinder than I expected."
At my sudden words, the Commander's shoulders locked up.
And then unmistakable joy broke across his face.
I had been keeping him at arm's length this entire time, and now I'd taken a step toward him for the first time.
He couldn't hide the feeling that welled up — not even close.
I gave the pleasant spot one more scratch.
"I'm sorry. I think I had the wrong idea about you. When I think back on it, you've never once shown me anything to be afraid of. I was jumping to conclusions on my own…."
"N-no, it's fine. I understand completely."
"…Thank you."
The Commander seemed to feel a pang of guilt at the sight of my deflated expression.
Well — there was what he'd done to me in the previous loop.
He couldn't genuinely believe the fault was mine.
With that kind of atmosphere, we made our peace and agreed to get along going forward.
As the conversation wound toward its close, I rose from the bed.
I couldn't very well linger in the Commander's room indefinitely.
I offered him a parting word.
"Commander, good night."
"Yes. You as well, Leila."
Of course, if it had ended there, it would have been far too wholesome.
*This is no fun at all. Just walking out like that would be a waste.*
I was heading for the door when I turned back around, as if something had just occurred to me.
The Commander had been following behind me, and the distance between us collapsed in an instant.
Close enough that one step forward would have us touching.
In that moment, I let my shoulders tremble as though a bad memory had surfaced.
"Oh—?!"
*Wobble.*
Feigning a loss of balance, I deliberately tipped sideways.
Close enough that the Commander could reach me if he stretched out his hand.
As expected, he startled and moved to catch me —
Grabbed my arm and pulled me sharply toward him.
At this rate, I'd end up tucked neatly against his chest.
The kind of situation you'd find in a romantic comedy manga.
*Moving carelessly might hurt the Commander.*
I made sure it looked that way as I let myself be pulled in without resistance.
*If I do this here….*
I had no intention of playing the love-comedy heroine.
So I quietly pushed off the floor with the tips of my toes.
Just enough to throw off the Commander's footing as he tried to catch me.
The momentum carried his body sweeping backward in a wide arc.
*Crash!*
In the end, I went down with the Commander onto the floor.
A familiar scent brushed past the tip of my nose.
An unfamiliar warmth pressed against my folded arm.
"Ugh…."
The impact of hitting the floor while holding me must have been considerable.
The Commander lay with his brow furrowed, eyes pressed shut.
He slowly opened them, and his gaze met mine.
"—Eek!"
"Hah—!"
I'd grabbed his arm on the way down and tangled it around my body.
The position we'd ended up in after tumbling together was rather… stimulating.
His hand was somewhere between my waist and my thigh.
Trading each other's warmth with nothing held back.
Close enough that one careless breath might brush against the other's lips.
Looking at each other from a distance fit for lovers —
I bit my lip, let a small disappointment settle into my eyes, and murmured.
"Would you… let go…?"
"Gh—! S-sorry!"
At my words, the color drained from the Commander's face in an instant.
He released me immediately and began to apologize.
He hadn't meant anything by it. It was entirely an accident.
The way he stumbled over his excuses — he looked like a man confessing to a crime.
"I-it's a misunderstanding! I didn't intend to—!"
"…It's fine. It was an accident."
Honestly, I didn't particularly mind.
We'd already knocked lips together twice.
Why make a fuss over a mere embrace?
But it was because my heart had seemed on the verge of opening —
Only to close back up again, head bowing as if the warmth had already faded.
He was making a better face than he had at any point tonight.
Which is to say — he was suffering beautifully.
*Ah…. This is enough for today.*
Tormenting the Commander really is the most fun.
I straightened my rumpled clothes and quietly got to my feet.
Then, without making it obvious, I let my gaze drift briefly beneath the bed.
*Good. It slid in without being seen.*
On the way down, I'd rolled a pen under the bed without him noticing.
The Commander's summons had been too sudden — I'd left my camera behind.
Next time, I'd use the pen as an excuse to come back and hide the camera properly.
"I'll be going now."
"…Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."
*Good. A thoroughly satisfying evening.*
Business concluded, I offered the Commander a casual farewell and stepped out of his quarters.
Perhaps because I'd come away with such a fine harvest — my steps were remarkably light.