Masoukishin II Chapter List | Next Chapter: Merchant of Death

Content Warning!: The following chapter contains material that may be considered offensive to some viewers. Continue at your own discretion.

Hringhorni – Rec Area

Xenia: Yes, yes! Listen up everyone!

Masaki: What up with the outburst?

Lune: Let me guess, you made a huge chunk of money?

Xenia: Very funny, Lune. I’m excited because the team from the Intelligence Bureau just got back with the results from their investigation.

Masaki: Results…wait, didn’t you send them out yesterday? How did you get results in less than a day?

Xenia: O yea of little faith. I may have officially started the investigation yesterday, but I’ve been laying the groundwork for quite some time.

Lune: So that’s what you meant when you were talking about improving our budget.

Masaki: So what did you find?

Xenia: The hideout of the terrorist group The Expanding Cell.

Masaki: Right…who are they again?

Xenia: Ongaredd’s group!

Masaki: Oh yeah, that self-righteous sleazeball!

Lune: So where are they holed up?

Xenia: I’m getting to that. They’ve got a base at the foot of Mount Ginas, in the Province of Saizet.

Masaki: I know that place…it’s a mountain in the north. You’re sure that’s where their hideout is?

Xenia: I ought to be, considering how hard it was to pin down.

Masaki: I can imagine. Nice job.

Xenia: Heh. Keep the praise coming.

Lune: That’s our Xenia. Amazing, as always. Only she could have pulled this off.

Masaki: No doubt. When it comes to computers and mecha, there’s no one better than Xenia.

Masaki: Uh, barring Wendy, that is.

Lune: It more than justifies all her budget-hogging.

Xenia: …I get the feeling that those compliments were backhanded…

Xenia: Well, whatever. So, I’m proposing a plan to siege and destroy their hideout.

Lune: That’s all fine and good, but…are we getting paid for it?

Xenia: Inasmuch as the Langran government has offered a reward for the capture of Ongaredd, but this isn’t going to be a profitable mission.

Masaki: Forget about the money. The important thing is crushing those terrorists!

Precia: As unmerciful towards terrorist as ever, bro.

Lune: I know how you feel, but a bounty is important.

Xenia: She’s right. It’s hard to maintain or upgrade our resources without some cash to fall back on.

Masaki: Yeah, yeah, I know. Fine, I’ll do this alone!

Lune: Slow down, we never said that we wouldn’t do this job.

Xenia: We should limit the amount of members to sortie. It’s more efficient and we’re less likely to be spotted by the enemy.

Masaki: Fine by me. How many are we talking?

Xenia: Given the size of the hideout, I think we can get by with just seven members.

Masaki: And I take it we’re leaving the Hringhorni behind?

Xenia: Right. It costs enough just to move this thing around.

Lune: A flying money-muncher.

Masaki: Alright, let’s pick our team and raid that hideout!

Lune: Shouldn’t we run this past the Representative?

Masaki: Oh, I forgot about him. Though I doubt that he’ll disagree with us.

Wagner: Hmm, that may be true, but I’m saddened that you forgot about me.

Masaki: Whoa!? Have you been here the whole time!?

Wagner: Yes, I couldn’t help but listen in.

Masaki: Eavesdropping…never would have thought you’d stoop there.

Wagner: Anyway, I in no position to stop you. If the Antiras Squad isn’t officially acting as an organization, then I don’t need to be involved.

Masaki: So we essentially have your permission?

Wagner: I won’t object, but I also won’t officially give my permission. You are free to act on your own will.

Xenia: He’s saying that if he gives ‘official’ permission, he’ll have to take responsibility if something goes awry.

Wagner: To be fair, you can’t expect me to be accountable for every action you take.

Masaki: So what you’re saying is, you ‘unofficially’ grant us permission?

Wagner: Hm, I suppose that’s what it boils down to.

Masaki: In that case, I’ll be gone for a bit. Contact me if anything happens.

Wagner: Certainly, take care of yourself.

Hringhorni – Hangar

Mio: So, is everyone present and accounted for?

Masaki: Well…

Lune: You wouldn’t think of leaving me behind, right?

Simone: Zyne’s design makes it naturally stealthy.

Xenia: You’d find yourselves hard pressed without me there.

Precia: I just want to make sure my bro is OK…

Mio: My my, an all-girl team. You must be happy, eh, Masaki?

Masaki: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Gennady: …I’m here too.

Lune: Hyaa!? Don’t scare me like that!

Lune: …This feels strangely familiar.

Mio: Genny does have his own built-in stealth mode.

Masaki: That’s all seven present and accounted for. Does everyone have their Invisibility Enchantments prepped?

Lune: We’re all set.

Masaki: Alright, let’s move out.

World Map – En Route to Mount Guinas

Mio: This reminds me of the time Masaki, Ellis and I snuck into Shutedonias to rescue old man Rodney.

Lune: Huh? Didn’t I tag along on that mission?

Mio: Eh? Are you sure?

Lune: You remember, right Masaki?

Masaki: What? Uh…my memory’s a little fuzzy on that one.

Masaki: I think I remember Mio being there, but I also remember you being there, Lune. Well, either way works, right?

Lune: Casual as ever about these things.

Mio: It’s like Schrodinger’s Cat¹. The two of us were present, yet also absent.

Lune: So you’re saying that the event was indeterminate until it is observed…somehow?

Mio: Exactly. It allows for either situation to be true, so it’s just convenient.

Masaki: Time to cut the chatter. We need to keep radio silence until we reach our destination. Got it?

Mio: Roger.

Arrival at Mount Guinas

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Chapter 17: Terrorist Suppression

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Mount Guinas

*Masaki and co. arrive at the base of the mountain*

Masaki: Xenia, are you sure this is the place?

Xenia: Doubly sure. Even my douser is reacting.

Drep: Comrade Ongaredd! Masoukishin inbound!

Ongaredd: So I see…they found us out…

Drep: Your orders, Comrade!

Ongaredd: We’ve no time to formulate a proper strategy. We’ll just have to intercept them.

Drep: Roger!

*Enemies sortie*

Mio: Yow! It’s an enemy ambush!

Xenia: Told you they were here.

Ongaredd: Is this all we can muster?

Drep: Yes, as many of our units are under maintenance.

Ongaredd: …Aren’t you overlooking something?

Drep: By something…you mean that?

Ongaredd: What else would I mean?

Drep: But…while it is operational, it’s not fully optimizeyet.

Ongaredd: Now that they’ve found us, we have no more use for this place. Fortunately, a new location has already been decided on.

Drep: I see…roger that. Activate the electromagnetic turrets!

*Hidden turrets emerge from the ground*

Masaki: Whoa, what’s that?

Xenia: Electromagnetic turrets…and they seem to have a lot of firepower.

Simone: We’ll be in trouble if those things land consecutive shots on us.

Lune: Guess we’ll have to take them out quickly.

Ongaredd: Attention, all comrades still in the base! Evacuate immediately! We’ll buy as much time as we can!

*Conditions shown, Battle Starts*

Turn 3 Player Phase

*Two Jiwen appear*

Wulf: We meet again, Antiras Squad.

Masaki: Wulf!?

Katekis: Excuse me, I’m here too, in case you didn’t notice.

Mio: …Katekis!!

Masaki: The Volkruss Cult always manages to pop up at the WORST time!

Xenia VS Ongaredd

Xenia: Where did you get those Svend-types!?

Ongaredd: We have many comrades who agree with our ideals.

Xenia: It’s the Kingdom of Erial, isn’t it!?

Ongaredd: Well, what do you think?

Masaki VS Ongaredd

Ongaredd: You again…accursed Masoukishin.

Masaki: That’s OUR line, terrorist!

Ongaredd: Not a terrorist. A revolutionary.

Masaki: If you’re gonna involve innocents in your ‘revolution’, then you’re a terrorist, plain and simple!

Gennady VS Drep

Gennady: Hm…

Drep: Hmph…

Gennady: …..

Drep: …..

Mio: Geez, you guys! Overplaying your archetype a bit, aren’t you?

Mio VS Katekis

Mio: …..

Katekis: Hm? What’s this? I though you’d go on a screaming rant about avenging that bald guy.

Mio: Hmph…a fake like you isn’t worth that kind of effort.

Mio: Tian’s legacy is to prevent the revival of Rasphitot, and by extension, to protect the peace in La Gias!

Katekis: Fake…why you!!

Shoot down Ongaredd

Ongaredd: Tch…so we lost again?

Ongaredd: Regardless, our operations in this area are concluded. Time to move to our new location, as planned.

Shoot down Drep

Drep: Mngh…they got me. Withdrawing.

Defeat all enemies

Masaki: That’s all of them.

Lune: Looks like it.

Gennady: Hmm, it looks as though all the remaining terrorists have cleared out.

Xenia: All right, people, let’s head in.

Mio: Huh? Wait a sec! Isn’t that kinda dangerous?

Xenia: Dangerous how?

Mio: Hideouts like this are almost always rigged to blow themselves up, you know.

Xenia: It’s fine. Energy readings have disappeared almost completely.

Xenia: The electromagnetic turrets must have used the last of their power supply.

Mio: Well, if you say so.

Xenia: Anyhow, let’s head in.

Masaki: It’s probably best if only a few of us go. Xenia’s one, I’m two, and…

Mio: Ooh, I’m going too!

Simone: May I go as well?

Masaki: OK. Mio and Simone are the last members. Everyone else, wait outside.

Lune: Got it. Be careful.

Cavern

Masaki: Was this…a mining site?

Xenia: Yes it was. It’s pretty old, though. Mt. Guinas was once famous for its silver mines, but that was about 1,500 years ago.

Mio: 1,500 years…that’s practically ancient!

Xenia: Not really. Remember, the history of Langran stretches back some 50,000 years.

Mio: Well, when you put it like that…

Masaki: Is the Volkruss Cult that old too?

Xenia: Depends. The oldest records of a Cult of Volkruss go all the way back to prehistoric civilization.

Xenia: Their more recent activities can be traced back to 5,000 years ago.

Mio: 5,000 years being considered recent. I just can’t wrap my head around that scale.

Masaki: Hey, I think I see light up ahead.

Xenia: Yeah, that’s the entrance to the base proper. Let’s get a move on.

Further in

Mio: Blech, disgusting! The place is littered with trash.

Simone: Looks as though they were a bunch of slobs.

Mio: They must be an all-men cell, since they couldn’t be bothered to clean up after themselves.

Xenia: Good, the computer’s still active. And the data…

Xenia: Shoot, it was auto-erased.

Masaki: So it’s useless?

Xenia: Heheheh, don’t be silly. Who the heck do you think I am? Salvaging the data will be a piece of cake.

Mio: Piece of cake…that’s a phrase I haven’t heard in awhile.

Xenia: Aaaaand, done. We can leave now.

Masaki: You got it?

Xenia: Naturally. Unless the storage device has been physically destroyed, there’s no data that I can’t recover.

Xenia: All that’s left is to analyze it with Dukakis back on the Hringhorni.

Masaki: Okay, let’s head back.

Masaki: Huh? Something the matter, Simone?

Simone: Hm? No, I was just hoping to find some treasure.

Masaki: They’re not bandits. They’re terror–

Simone: Oh! What’s this? A treasure chest?

Mio: Wow! It really is a genuine treasure chest!

Masaki: …What is this, an RPG?

Mio: Maybe its a Mimic.

Xenia: Let me look.

Xenia: Oh, I see. It’s a common safe designed to look like an antique.

Simone: Wait, really?

Xenia: The lock is up-to-date, but its easy to bypass these things. Give me a second…

*Keypad typing and confirmation chime*

Xenia: Yep, it’s open.

Mio: Xenia would make a killing as a thief.

Masaki: And you’d want to mooch off of her.

Simone: Is it safe to open it?

Xenia: I didn’t find any traps, so it’s fine.

Simone: Well, here goes…

Simone: What are these?

Xenia: Whoa, they’re Orichalconium ingots. Quite a few of them.

Simone: It really was a treasure chest.

Masaki: Orichalconium is extremely valuable, right?

Xenia: You bet. Just one of these ingots is worth 100 million…

Xenia: Oh? There’s something below them.

Simone: The ingots were covering a false bottom? And are those books?

Terrorists’ Treasures

Mio: Ack! These are…Adult Mags!!

Simone: …They certainly picked a…grandiose way to hide them.

Masaki: …Don’t put too much thought into it. It’s a guy thing.

Simone: Hmm, does that mean you also hide dirty magazines like this, Masaki?

Masaki: Oh, dry up!

*click*

Simone: What was that? Did you hear something just now?

Masaki: Y-Yeah. I thought I’d imagined it.

Mio: It sounded like a click.

Xenia: Shh, quiet!

*Alarm*

Masaki: Huh? What…

*The cavern starts shaking*

Xenia: …!? Oh shoot! That sound was…the trigger for a self-destruct mechanism!?

Masaki: Self-destruct…as in the entire hideout!?

Xenia: Get to the exit!!

Mio: Good gravy! Using lewd magazines might be the pinnacle of way to hide a self-destruct switch!

Masaki: Quit admiring the weird way this place is set up! Just run!

In the vicinity of Mt. Ginas

Masaki: Phew…got out just in time.

Mio: Blown to pieces, along with those Sukebe magazines.

Simone: They might be terrorists, but in the end they’re still immature boys.

Xenia: Ugh, men. I bet they valued those rags more than the data.

Simone: Undoubtedly. Look at the lengths they went to conceal those things. They didn’t want anyone to find them.

Mio: Forget terrorists, those guys are t-ero-rists.

Gojou: …Master, that pun fell flat on its face.

Mio: No worries. It’s all part of the art of comedy.

Masaki: …Bringing you guys along was a mistake.

Masaki: For the first time in my life, I can feel pity for a bunch of terrorists!

Terrorist Suppression End

Masoukishin II Chapter List | Next Chapter: Merchant of Death

¹Okay, so translating abstract theory is annoying enough, but this isn’t even that. Schrodinger’s Cat is a philosophical thought experiment, arguing a certain point in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics.

Put in term that I can understand, an argument of whether or not an event is determined until someone has witnessed the outcome, sort of like the If-a-tree-fell-in-a-forest question. So trying to apply that to a past event that already has an established conclusion just does not work, not even in the original Japanese. So I opted for a looser, more humorous approach.