Above Your Head

Chapter 37: The Great Battle of Seppard (2)

5 million Gallats have been deposited.

I gasped for a moment as I stared at the communicator. Calculating the numbers that popped up, any thoughts about Mana inevitably flew away.

'1 Gallats is 17,000 won... 85 billion won.'

The shock from this amount of money alone turned my eyes upside down.

This is crazy. Even 100 million to 200 million would be enough to be a pretext for murder, so this 85 billion won was beyond imagination. It was to such a degree that I wouldn't have to worry about money for the rest of my life as long as I didn't live too extravagantly.

"Well, that doesn't mean that it's an excessive amount of money for one to go nuts over."

Though it was an enormous amount of money, it could be said to be a meager amount in comparison considering that I saved the Albatross ship from total annihilation. It wouldn't be strange to receive tens of trillions of won since I saved a spaceship that was much larger than a decent-sized city. However, I didn't feel that it was unfair.

'It's probably because of my request.'

To receive proper compensation, I would have to reveal my war contribution accurately and do whatever it takes to receive a commendation. If I relayed the proper information to the Leonhardt Empire, the Empire would surely give me the appropriate reward.

But as someone who wished to one day return to Earth, I didn't want to be renowned widely, so the money that was eventually given to me was out of the funds managed by the Albatross ship itself. Maybe the money even came from Major General Chun Hyun-il's pocket.

Wiiiiingggg!

Just then, the door of the dormitory opened and Bo-ram entered with a large ice coffin on her shoulders. Basically, a petite woman was carrying an ice coffin that was more than two meters long; it looked like an ant was carrying a piece of leaf.

"I see the mighty warrior is here."

"Shut it. It's colder than I thought and I want to throw this away."

She entered the dormitory grumbling under her breath and laid the ice coffin on the bed. I looked at her and asked, "By the way, don't you think it's time to cease your Transformation?"

"My bones haven't completely healed yet so I'm just going to stay as it is. Well, it's not like it takes any power to maintain this form anyway."

"You don't need power to maintain that form?"

The question came to my mind since she didn't transform during the fierce battle.

That strange armor? Shoes? Anyway, if she wore that, she would've definitely become stronger even in the eyes of a non-expert like me. So if it didn't consume any power to maintain it, why didn't she wear it then?

"I know what you're thinking, but there was nothing I could do. Magic Tower Lord-nim specifically told me to transform in front of you only. I wonder what's the reason for that."

I plopped down on the sofa grumpily.

At the same time, the helmet that she was wearing disappeared and her wavy permed hair fell down her shoulders. Her shoulder-length hair from before had already grown much longer - probably because she didn't trim it recently.

Following that, the metal parts covering both her arms and legs also disappeared; the remaining parts also melted away. Even though it only covered up the injuries, it seemed to display effects that were sufficient enough for treatment.

"Oh my, that's an interesting armor. No wait, can that even be called an armor?"

It was called an armour because of its material, but the image itself resembled a superhero outfit more. She actually transformed too.

'It certainly doesn't give off a Magical Girl feel.'

If I had to put my words on it, it felt more like a heroine's suit, which explained why it was weirder.

All the titles that I had seen so far were born out of my stance and perspective. So if it stated that she was a Magical Girl, then she would be one, no?

"..."

"Bo-ram?"

It suddenly quieted down, and before I knew it, Bo-ram was already asleep. She didn't show it, but as expected, she was extremely exhausted.

"Really? Now? At least go to the bed and sleep. Hello?"

I shook Bo-ram lightly, but she showed no signs of getting up. Then should I carry her to her bedroom?

Beep!

But as I approached the door, a soft warning tone sounded. Unlike Dong-min's room, Bo-ram's room was locked. Perhaps because she was a woman, she didn't leave her room unlocked like Dong-min's.

'Though it's pretty much a given that I can open it...'

But I wasn't trying to be a thief so there was no reason to raise any alarm by opening the locked door. I took her to my room and tucked her in.

For a brief moment, I had the thought that I should also tuck Dong-min in too. However, I paused for a while before entering Dong-min's room. But then again, what use would it be to cover him with a blanket when he is inside a coffin made of ice?

"Ahhh, what a headache."

I returned to my room and laid down in bed. My mind was filled with complicated thoughts.

'I participated in the war in the end. No, the situation called for it so I didn't have a choice.'

Still, I didn't feel like this was my war.

I participated in the battle and played an active part. If the Albatross ship was defeated, everyone's life, including mine would've been lost, so it was inevitable that I had to take part.

'What the hell did you foresee, Mother?'

It was my father who sent me here, but the root of it was my mother's prophecy.

The prophecy stated that there would be no way to survive in this world unless I followed the guest who came on the day I was assaulted by the enemy. But the place I arrived at after being guided by such a prophecy was a battlefield.

"What exactly..."

With a sigh, I pulled the gold string around my neck, and the key hanging on it came up through my collar.

Looking like it had been woven together by dozens of metal pieces, the key was a keepsake left behind by my biological father.

'But who is it exactly? Am I supposed to find out with this key as a clue?'

It would be a lie if I said I wasn't curious at all. Because the memory that's been bugging me all this time still existed.

I had been thinking of this as something like a memory of my past life, but maybe it was a part of the power that my biological father has.

More than anything else, there was a single line of command embedded in my memory.

In fact, from the moment I decided to use it in reality, that power became some sort of clue.

I began to think that it might be possible to gauge my identity and the superpower I had all these while.

I was using it, but I didn't know exactly why the Artificial Intelligences couldn't refuse my orders.

Maybe I'll find out my identity while looking into my biological father.

Maintenance Officer Kwan Dae-ha-nim, you have a visitor.

"A visitor in this situation?"

I looked at the screen, wondering about the electronic sound that I just heard. There was a familiar face on the screen.

"You're just a little brat."

Who's a little brat!

It was that girl named Kwon Hye-ran, the one who suspected that I was a spy during our first encounter.

Her face was freckled and her black hair was braided in pigtails. No matter how you looked at it, she portrayed the image of an upper-grade elementary school student. She was especially short, barely reaching my lower torso. But I wasn't tactless, so I knew she wasn't as young as how she appeared to be.

'Now that I think of it, what's the average lifespan of the people from the Great Universe?'

As Earth continued to advance in the field of medical science, the average lifespan of mankind had continued to increase and it was now quite common to live over 100 years old. If even Earthlings managed to reach such a level, then these extraterrestrial beings wouldn't have a short lifespan either since they possess scientific ability capable of travelling in the Universe.

'I don't think they could live over 500 years like Major General Chun Hyun-il, but they probably live at least a few couples of decades.'

While pondering over such random thoughts, I asked, "Why did you come? Did you come to catch a spy?"

Hiiikkk! It was a mistake, a mistake! You're a man so don't be so small-minded!

"Woah, she who first offends will first complain. What are you making a ruckus over?"

That's…!

Looking at Hye-ran at a loss for words and stuttering, I chuckled and stepped out.

Was it because she looked like a child? No matter how old she really was, her actions were no different from that of a child.

Wiiiiingggg-

When I opened the door and stepped out, I saw Hye-ran standing in front of me. I glanced around, but there was no one else.

"Now then, you clearly didn't come here for personal matters, did you?"

"...That's right. I came to introduce to you your exclusive Gigas."

"Huh? My exclusive Gigas?"

I totally did not see this coming.

It was because although I agreed to participate in the war, I was naturally going to participate through Ares' King of All Armaments.

'But.'

For a moment, I was going to say "It's fine. I don't need it", but I stopped myself.

'There's nothing bad about having an exclusive Gigas, is there?'

You never know what was going to happen.

Maybe there would be times where I couldn't go to Ares. Or even if I didn't have any difficulties going to Ares, having an exclusive Gigas was always safer than waiting for the appearance of a pilot-less Gigas in the middle of a battle.

"That's right. I really can't understand why, but it's the Captain's orders so I don't have a choice. I had a really tough time with its maintenance work, and to just hand it over to a guy that's not verified in this manner… Anyways, follow me."

Hye-ran then spun around and began to strode along.

She didn't head towards the residential area, but a nearby elevator where we rode a long way down.

'Ahhh, now that I think of it, this brat belongs to the Tech Division right? I guess she's a pretty high-quality technician, given her academic background and what not.'

Holding such thoughts, I glanced up above her head.

Leonhardt Empire, Second Corps, Command Division

With a wall blocking her, Kwon Hye-ran

'Wall?'

I squinted my eyes at the unexpected title.

What does it mean by 'wall'? Is she also someone that's in training? So when she breaks past the wall, she'll advance up a level?

To confirm my doubts, I asked "Is something not working out lately?"

"We're in the middle of war, do you think things will be working out? This is a crucial period, but shits been going off one after another… Genie!"

Yes, Second Lieutenant Kwon Hye-ran-nim… has been identified. Please don't push yourself too hard.

The door by the side opened as Genie's voice rang out.

It was a workroom full of all kinds of devices and equipment, as well as maintenance machines.

"Huh?"

And in the middle of it was 'that'.

What a rare sight, Hye-ran. You brought someone else into your workshop.

It was basically white in color. Its white exterior made it appear as noble as a Paladin Knight in pure white armor.

The next thing I saw was a red cloak. The red cloak fluttered slightly as if it were alive in a workroom that didn't have a breath of wind.

But above all, something striking caught my eyes, or rather, no, I recognized it.

"No, wait, what's with this skill composition?" I groaned in dismay.

If you looked at each of the Abilities on its own, they were all crazy unique cheat skills. However, the balance was shit if you viewed it comprehensively.

Even though the Ability is decided randomly, how does this kind of nonsensical composition exist?

"What composition?"

"No-, nothing."

I wasn't able to voice out my inner thoughts and gave a vague response which Hye-ran responded with a dejected expression.

"Aghhhh, I can't believe I have to give the Albatross' one and only Human-rank Gigas to this kind of guy."

"One and only Human-rank Gigas? Then, don't tell me this is…."

Actually, I already knew because I saw the title, but I feigned surprise. And Hye-ran's face was gleaming at such a service(?).

"Correct! This is Napoleon, the Human-rank Gigas that has caused destructive damage in countless battlefields!"

Seeing Hye-ran's somewhat prideful response, she must have either manufactured or gone through a lot of trouble in maintaining this Human-rank Gigas called Napoleon.

As it felt like she was going to launch into a series of explanations when I had only just slightly poked into the matter, I immediately called her back into reality with a swift .

"So this is now my exclusive Gigas?"

"Hahaha! Haha, hahh... That's right. Yeah... Napoleon... my Napoleon…."

"If anyone sees this, they'll think I'm taking what's yours."

"Ughhh... Captain-nim, why in the world would you give Napoleon to this bastard…"

Originally, Napoleon was the machine of Colonel Tuck, the Brigade Commander of the Sky-Giant Armoured Brigade, and also one of the Gigas on the Albatross ship.

However, Tuck was defeated and suffered a humiliating decapitation in the previous battle.

He was unable to bring out his full capabilities because his control persona was frozen by Legion.

'Come to think of it, the two bastards that died in my hands were the criminals.'

Anyway, Tuck died just like that so Napoleon did not have an owner for now, and Major General Chun Hyun-il had ordered Hye-ran to hand Napoleon over to me.

Seeing that Napoleon was being handed over to me in such a secluded corner, they must be thinking of restricting information to some extent.

"But then again, for it to be Napoleon."

I laughed in vain at the name that was all too familiar.

In fact, I had been feeling this sense of displacement all this while.

Even though these extraterrestrial beings lived in the Universe, they had 24 hours in a day, 12 months in a year, the numbers they wrote were similar to Arabic numbers, and Rhae Ares was a Gigas named after a God.

Moreover, now, a Gigas named Napoleon.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. Napoleon is a Human-rank Gigas, so of course it's named after a person, right?"

"That's a given. What about it?"

Hye-ran's expression spelt "What kind of question is that?".

I hesitated for a moment and asked, "The Napoleon you knew... What kind of person was he?

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