Shion Ignatiff seems to have a sad past.
For Shion Ignatiff, sleep is not a respite but torture. The nightmares she experiences almost every night relentlessly torment and erode her mind. She screams and jolts awake from her bed, the profuse sweat making her feel unbearably uncomfortable.
“How long will it be until I’m freed from the nightmare of that day?”
Even though she asks, no answer comes back. She knows this, yet she can’t help but ask.
“…Papa… I’m sorry. …If only I had…”
Shion Ignatiff tightly clutches the tear-shaped pendant, a memento from her adoptive father, and wipes the tears streaming down her cheeks.
The “Diamond Dust” operation two years ago had been going smoothly until the final stages. Shion Ignatiff had finally been assigned to the Snow Rabbits company, led by her adoptive father, “Emperor” Rabarov. Shion had been orphaned at the age of eight. Both her parents, who were soldiers, had died fighting on the same day, in the same place. Rabarov, a comrade-in-arms of her parents, had taken in the orphaned Shion, who had nowhere else to go. The young Shion had grown up cherishing Rabarov like her own father.
When Shion, at fifteen, declared she wanted to enter military school, Rabarov wasn’t pleased. Shion had excellent grades and was on track to score high enough for admission to officer candidate school. Rabarov advised her to go to officer candidate school if she wanted to become a soldier, but Shion stood by her decision. She couldn’t wait until she was twenty-two; she wanted to graduate from military school at eighteen and fight alongside her adoptive father as soon as possible. When Rabarov hesitated, Shion countered, using his own words: “Papa, you always say there are things in life more important than rank or victory, don’t you?” Faced with his own philosophy, Rabarov had no choice but to reluctantly accept his daughter’s resolve.
Rabarov Ignatiff was a selfless soldier. He was lauded as the Alliance’s greatest sniper, yet his rank was only Captain. His wartime friend, Hinkley, had already been promoted to Brigadier General. It wasn’t that Rabarov was incompetent in other areas; he simply refused promotions himself. Before Shion, he had no family. His unit was his home, and his comrades were his family. As a Captain, he never led a battalion, instead forming “Snow Rabbits” with like-minded subordinates, fighting in various locations as a support unit.
The Diamond Dust operation, where they participated as a sniper team, was progressing successfully, but a problem arose in the final stages. A report came in that a remote village on the mountainside was under attack by bandits. The operation commander dismissed it, considering it merely a small village, but Rabarov decided to go to their aid. The Snow Rabbits company easily repelled the bandits. As they were preparing to return, they were ambushed by the Mechanist Army. Their methods were cowardly; they targeted the villagers with sniper fire, shooting and killing Snow Rabbits members who tried to help. The enemy had taken up positions on the rocky terrain above the village, having the advantage of the terrain. Judging that the Mechanist Army’s target was them, Rabarov ordered a retreat from the village, but the enemy pursuit was relentless. Rabarov decided to cover the rear himself, ordering his company to retreat to the main force at the foot of the mountain.
Shion’s platoon was guarding the rear during the retreat. The platoon leader, concerned for Rabarov’s safety, proposed to his subordinates that they join him in covering the rear. Shion agreed without hesitation. No matter how skilled a sniper Rabarov was, covering the rear alone was extremely dangerous. However, this decision ultimately proved to be a mistake. The Mechanist Army’s sniper unit, “White Raven,” anticipated this and had set a trap. Shion’s platoon, caught in the trap, found themselves in dire straits, with two of their five members, including the platoon leader, killed. Just when it seemed Shion’s platoon had managed to escape the precarious situation with Rabarov’s superior sniper support arriving to help… a single gunshot echoed across the snowy foothills. Her adoptive father, shot in the leg, collapsed to the ground. A squad member who rushed to his side became target practice. Unable to move from the snowy field with his legs injured, Rabarov reluctantly signaled surrender to the enemy, but then… a heartless bullet pierced his arm.
“Are you planning to toy with and kill our captain! We have to save him!”
“Wait, Boris! If you rush out, you’ll be shot like Lena!”
“Even so, can we abandon our captain! Shion, cover me!”
Boris charged into the snowy field, deploying a Psyche-Barrier in front of him. Shion desperately provided cover with her favorite sniper rifle, but Boris couldn’t reach Rabarov, exposed to a hail of bullets. The enemy unit that had taken down Boris proceeded to toy with and kill Rabarov, firing at his right hand, left hand, left leg, and right leg in succession.
“Are the remaining little rabbits going to abandon their captain? What unfeeling soldiers you are.”
A voice mocking Shion echoed across the snowy field. As Shion, determined, was about to rush out, Rabarov mustered his last strength and shouted, “Don’t come, Shion!”
“Papa!”
Rabarov, bleeding from his mouth, smiled. Then, with trembling fingers that couldn’t move properly from his shot arm… he tapped his own forehead twice.
“I can’t! Papa! I… I can’t!”
“You must, Shion! Don’t let these scoundrels take my life! With your hands, my daughter… guh!”
Another heartless bullet pierced Rabarov’s body. Shion could only cover her head behind a rock shield and weep.
“My, my, are you the Emperor’s daughter, little rabbit? What will you do? Your Papa is suffering, you know?”
“Coward! Papa and I will surrender! So…”
“If they capture you alive, you might be returned in a prisoner exchange. You’re an eyesore, Emperor. There can only be one king of snipers, and that’s me.”
The woman who finally appeared from the rocky area had hair and eyes as pure white as an albino might. Shion aimed an upward sniper shot at her, but the woman dodly dodged it by tilting her head slightly. Shion felt like she was going mad with rage, but as a sniper drilled into her by her adoptive father, she had already finished her analysis. She couldn’t take down that albino woman from this position.
“…Shoot. …My soul is always with you. …M-my proud daughter, Shion, I love you.”
“…I love you too! Papa!”
The gunshot that reverberated across the snowy field was the end of “Emperor” Rabarov Ignatiff.
“Ugh, it’s peaceful but boring when Kanata isn’t here,” Danny of “Flame Wall” said, munching on the headquarters’ specialty, the “Half-Killed Set Meal,” in the cafeteria. The Half-Killed Set Meal was a large fried chicken meal using half a chicken.
“Danny-han, isn’t it bad manners to talk with your mouth full of food? Were you not taught that?” Kotori, who was elegantly eating a Saba Misoni Set Meal, gently corrected his table manners.
“I think it’s pointless to point out Danny’s improper manners and behavior,” Shion, “Woman of Absolute Zero,” rapidly devoured a pyramid of fried chicken. Shion was eating the “Kill Everything Set Meal,” which, as the name suggests, was a fried chicken meal made with an entire chicken.
“They say Danny is the son of a prominent family, so I was curious. Well, as they say, upbringing is more important than birth.”
“Leave it, in war, eating fast and… *gu ooooh*!” Before he could finish his vulgar remark, Kotori flicked a toothpick, which lodged itself in Danny’s lip.
“We are eating, Danny-han?”
“What a vulgar man. …I’m still not quite full. I’ll order another Kill Everything Set Meal.”
“…You’re still going to eat?”
Ignoring Kotori’s exasperated face, Shion stood up and headed to the ticket vending machine. Kotori and Danny gazed at the cleanly cleared Kill Everything Set Meal, impressed. They wondered what kind of stomach one would have to be unsatisfied after eating a whole chicken and three bowls of rice.
“I eat a good amount myself, but I can’t beat Shion’s appetite. It makes me feel nauseous just watching, so I’m heading back to the classroom first.”
“Have a good day. I’ll head back after enjoying my after-meal yokan and gyokuro.”
Five minutes later, while Kotori was savoring her yokan, Shion was wolfing down another Kill Everything Set Meal next to her.
“There are many appealing menus here. Want to try this Super Large Parfait next time?”
“What is this parfait that looks like a goldfish bowl!? I’ll pass. I like sweets, but there’s a limit to everything.”
“Is that so? Too bad. I’ll try it alone.”
“She’s going to try it, isn’t she?” Kotori thought, but didn’t say it aloud. Instead, she brought up the topic of the man who wasn’t there.
“Speaking of which, I heard Kanata is returning to the curriculum tomorrow.”
“I hope he doesn’t cause any trouble again.”
“He apparently played a key role in suppressing yesterday’s riot, so maybe Kanata will become a representative figure for our generation?”
“…I won’t acknowledge him. A man like that!”
Shion slammed her fist on the table, and Kotori asked, “What bothers you so much? I actually think we might get along quite well.”
“Kotori, you saw it too! He was about to toy with and kill Olsen!”
Kotori’s reply to the infuriated Shion was calm, even cold. “It’s also true that he did things that would warrant such treatment.”
Shion, expecting agreement, was bewildered and became even more agitated. “I don’t intend to defend Olsen. But that doesn’t mean you can do anything you want to a monster!”
“True. But does Shion have the right to deny Kanata entirely?”
“What do you mean?”
“I met with Commander this morning. I heard from Commander that Kanata asked him to make the owner of the Lavian Rose pay a considerable amount of compensation to the victims’ families.”
“…The owner of Lavian Rose is a wealthy man, so it’s not surprising. There’s no need to be shocked.”
“Is that so? While it might not be a significant amount to a wealthy owner, if he hadn’t intervened, it would have been ignored. One of the victims was the sole breadwinner of his family. He worried about how the remaining family would manage if left to fend for themselves. This is also one side of Kanata.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“For Shion, the incident ended that day, but it wasn’t the same for Kanata. Your way of thinking, denying Kanata entirely by focusing on only one aspect of him, doesn’t fit my standards.”
“I had no idea that Kenrou had arranged for compensation! Besides, Kotori, you also didn’t do anything for the victims, meaning you’re the same as me!”
Shion narrowed her sharp eyes slightly, and Kotori replied calmly. “As you say. I never had the idea to extort compensation for the victims’ families. Therefore, I have no right to speak condescendingly.”
After finishing her gyokuro, Kotori quietly stood up. Turning her back to Shion, she walked away, delivering a sharp remark: “…Speaking of which, Shion, did you visit the victims’ graves and offer a prayer?”
“Ah! …I, I…”
Kotori turned her head slightly and looked at Shion over her shoulder with a cold gaze. “Kanata and Lilith, of course, Commander, Lieutenant Colonel, and the detectives all went to offer flowers. I did so as well, in my own small way. …Well then, have a good day.”
Kotori averted her gaze from Shion and left, as if there was nothing more to discuss. In front of Shion, who was left speechless, the fried chicken of the Kill Everything Set Meal lost its heat and grew cold.
We’ll be parting with the kotatsu soon. I should enjoy it while I can.
