The Witches and the Complex (Part 1)

(Adapted from the chapter Nipa and Hasse (Part 1), from the manga series Witches of Aurora by Kyougoku Shin)

Hands behind her back, Nikka Edvardine Katajanen stood in front of Commander Luukanen's desk.

"You probably know why you're called here today," said the commander. "After deliberating over the recent cases of damage to your Striker Units, we decided we couldn't let you go unpunished this time."

Sure enough, it was for the Strikers.

"Of course, we didn't take into account malfunction problems due to improper maintenance or bad luck, but even then, your Striker Unit destruction rate is clearly abnormal."

"Also, Second Lieutenant Wind's report pointed out how reckless your flight movements were."

Nipa, who had been quietly listening on, suddenly flew into a fit of rage, "That's just Second Lieutenant Wind's point of view! I never pushed myself to do more than I could handle! And in the previous battle —"

Commander Luukanen let out a sigh.

After returning from the commander's office, Nipa stayed in the hangar with Eila. Aside from taking a rest, they stayed there in order to wait for the mechanics to come and fix the Striker Unit.

"So, you got house arrest and had to clean the hangar, huh?" asked Eila, sitting on top of a launch pad in a laid-back manner.

"Good grief. You idiot. You should've just said 'I will reflect on my behavior' and she would get you off the hook, you know?"

"...Shut up." I don't need you to teach me something like that. I don't need you, who will never get punished for destroying a Striker Unit, to teach me something like that. Nipa pouted inside.

However, Nipa's crash rate was indeed unbearably high, especially in Suomus, where the supply of the components was constantly insufficient and heavily relied on imports. Eila took a look at the wreckage of the Striker Unit on a piece of canvas. At least this one still retained its overall shape, much better than the other ones Nipa had used...

Two mechanics came up.

"Oh man, we've got another shortage of parts..."

"The new ones haven't arrived yet..."

"Even if we had them, with our current food supplies we can't do anything. We need to work with what we got. huh."

"Anyway, putting the cladding aside, we're pretty low on parts for the area around the magic engine."

"We hardly have any spares for the actuators too."

"And recently the number of repairs needed increased..."

"If only they could take better care of the equipment."

Both Eila and Nipa heard their conversation. Nipa lowered her head, saying nothing.

"Hey, Nipa." Eila's voice drew Nipa back to reality.

"What's it, Illu?"

"Recently...you've been looking pretty impatient, no? In the last battle, you kept going too far while chasing the neuroi… Thinking about it again, it's really strange."

Nipa, whose back was to Eila, had a firmer grasp on the broom she was holding, "It's not like… I went too far or… It's just that..." I wanted to score a victory and gain credit, just like you…

"Well okay, but..." Eila bent up her knees and put her right arm onto the back of her head, "If you want to be just like me or Hasse, it's better you quit. You can only be yourself, that's it." Eila jumped off the launch pad, landing on the floor. "Oh, found another broom. Let me give you a hand. In return, you'll have to help me when it's my turn to clean the sauna." Eila gave Nipa a naughty grin, the signature of "Lucky Juutilainen," completely unaware that she just cut her friend to the quick with the "If you want to be just like me or Hasse, it's better you quit."

"Hey, stop right here, Illu! What did you mean by—"

Mid-sentence, Nipa was interrupted by a set of chaos.

Hasse, who just returned to base, was surrounded by a giggle of rookie witches. Some of them greeted her affectionately. Others of them asked her how to improve shooting skills. In response, Hasse provided thorough instructions.

"Listen, one of the main reasons people can't shoot well is their bad posture."

"Hold your arms closer to your body… Yes, like that. With this, you won't shake the barrel. Now, gently hold the trigger, got it?"

Hasse put her hand on the rookie witch's shoulder, face approaching her ear from behind, passing on the tips of shooting in a no-nonsense manner. Little did she know the blushing little learner's mind was not on the instruction at all.

"Got the gist of it?"

"Y-yes! Thank you very much!" The rookie witch looked as if she just had a successful love confession rather than a good lesson.

The other rookie witches, as a result, jostled for Hasse's instruction.

"Second Lieutenant! I have problems with my shooting skill too!" "Me, too!"

Eila stood over there, dumbfounded, "Hasse's like really popular..."

"Of course!" Another rookie witch proudly replied, "After all, she's second only to Commander Luukkanen as the main force of the 24th Squadron! She's got such handsome boyish looks and even treats people in the lower ranks with utmost care! Besides, she's a master sharpshooter who can hit anything regardless of distance! It would be strange if she weren't popular! She looks a lot like Nipa, but in everything else they are like the complete opposite of each other!" The rookie was too engrossed in talking to pay attention to her utterances.

Her words made Eila sweat bullets. If only she had activated her Foresight magic, which she was so proud of all the time, then she could have covered that idiot's mouth two seconds ago…! But it was all too late. Eila half turned her head and spotted a depressed Nipa lowering her head in the silence…

Aurora, who was smashed from drinking moments ago, popped out of nowhere, walked up to the young witch and put a hand onto her head, "Did you just make fun of Nipa?" Her dark smile scared the witch out of her wits.

Hasse walked up to Eila and Nipa, who were sweeping the floor.

"Hey, Illu, Nipa, what are you doing here?"

"Well, just cleaning the hangar, you know, it's Nipa's punishment."

"Oh, that's nice. Let me help, too," said Hasse, before she took another broom and started to do the sweep.

Nipa frowned and gritted her teeth. She felt her blood boiling.

"We'll finish it faster if everyone works together. But, be sure to keep it a secret from the commander, okay?" Hasse gavd Nipa a naughty yet reassuring smile. More or less, she did notice something wrong in Nipa's expression, but she didn't know what it exactly was so she couldn't do anything about it.

Finally, Nipa exploded.

"Why? Why? Illu, Hasse, are both of you trying to make fun of me?

Eila and Hasse lifted their heads and looked at Nipa.

"Nipa..." Hasse worriedly called her friend's name, trying to help her regain composure, but of course, it wouldn't work.

"Are you trying to show how you can do anything, how capable you are, how superior you are to me? Do you really think it's funny to look down on others?"

"What are you saying?"

Not answering Hasse's question, Nipa just yelled, "I just… I just… I just want to be as good as you two!"

Nipa's voice startled everyone in the hangar, including the mechanics, the rookie witches previously surrounding Hasse, and Aurora. After finishing speaking, Nipa rushed out of the hangar regardless of the icy cold outside, disappearing into the expanse of white snow.

No one knew what to do. Hasse wanted to follow in pursuit, but Aurora stopped her.

"It would just be worse if you went after her. She needs some time alone to sort out her feelings right now."

Everyone agreed. However, worry never faded away from all the people's faces, especially Eila and Hasse, the two closest friends of Nipa's. Both of them had lost all the mood for cleaning. They just stood still, gazing at where Nipa's running form disappeared, completely forgetting the brooms they were holding in their hands.

Nipa rushed in the snowy white world, allowing the icy cold wind to mercilessly buffet her skin. Although she was wearing a thermal suit, the winter in Suomus was no laughing matter. However, numbed by the temporary warmth from intense exercise and the messy state of her mind, she didn't feel much about the low temperature.

After running for some more distance, she got exhausted and had no choice but to stop, panting heavily.

With her breathing slowing down, her mood recovered a lot. A stream of regret gushed into her heart, replacing the previous outrage. She considered if she had gone too far, failing to control her emotion.

A ring of the sirens came from the base. Neuroi. Despite the distance between the base and her current location, it was still audible. A person couldn't get much away on foot, after all.

Upon the arrival of the Neuroi, Nipa forgot everything. She was a patriot who felt duty-bound to protect Suomus. It was an ever-present sense of calling inhabiting deep in her soul. Therefore, she pushed aside her personal feelings right away when she learned there was a Neuroi invasion. Also, it was another chance for her to shape up and impress her comrades, of course.

"Everyone that's able to sortie, move out! It will be an all-out war!"

Back in the base, Commander Luukkanen was wearing a very serious expression when she reported to her subordinates on the number of enemies: 10 medium-types. 80 small-types. An overwhelming number.

"I'm going, too! Hurry up! Get everything ready!" said Commander Luukkanen as she put on her gloves. She was shocked when she caught sight of Nipa, "What the hell are you doing, Nipa? Get away from that now!"

"There's a large number of Neuroi coming here, right? Decide my punishment after the battle!" Nipa, who had returned to the base, was already well-prepared for takeoff after she took a random Striker Unit.

"I'm not talking about that! The unit you're using is still—" Before Commander Luukkanen could say anything more, Nipa had headed to the runway and got airborne after shouting, "Sergeant Katajanen, take off!"

Commander Luukkanen followed Nipa to the outside and shouted into the sky, "Stop! Nipa!"

There was no response.

Luukkanen gritted her teeth. Wasting no time, she ordered a mechanic to immediately contact Hasse and Aurora, telling Aurora to stay on stand-by around the combat area in the preparation of rescue operations.

'Please don't be reckless, Nipa...!' Luukkanen murmured in her mind when she looked at Nipa's flying form, which was becoming smaller and smaller in the sky. She let out a sigh, creating a piece of white smoke near her mouth.

By the sheer force of number, the Neuroi gave all the witches a hard time.

Amid the black ocean of Neuroi accompanied by red beams, there was a playful, laid-back voice.

"Well, well! Look at how many we have here! Wanna have a contest?" The owner of the voice was none other than the top ace of Suomus, who was always so relaxed.

"Less talking, more shooting!" Laura replied flatly.

Despite their widely differing personalities, these two air aces were each other's irreplaceable comrade. The fact that they were able to chatter even in such a fierce battle might be good proof that they were true aces, but there was sweat on their faces.

Hasse, on the other hand, was in a tough battle too. What had happened between her and Nipa was still haunting her. A witch's mental state affects her magical power. She didn't think she was at her best today. The large number of the enemy crafts forced her to consume more energy than usual. Her aiming system was failing, too. Do you look down on me? Nipa's words rang out in her head again. She shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the battle. At this moment, someone's voice came across the radio. It was their commander, Eini Luukkanen.

"Hasse, can you hear me?"

"Commander Luukkanen, what's it?"

"Nipa's heading over there! Get her back here immediately!"

As soon as Luukkanen finished speaking, a Nipa in Strikers shooting a Neuroi came into everyone's field of vision.

"Nipa?!"

"Oh! That idiot… Isn't she under house arrest?"

"Listen up!" When everyone was muttering in surprise, Luukkanen's voice came across the radio again, "The Striker Unit she's flying with just had its pair replaced. We haven't finished maintenance on it. We also switched the magic engine. It's a miracle she managed to make it fly at all. With its power adjustment failing, she may even have problems opening her shield! Even though she has self-healing magic, it is still too dangerous! Get Nipa back here immediately, before anything happens!"

As expected, Nipa soon found out she couldn't open her shield, much to her shock. The enemy was approaching her, but there was nothing she could do.

At this very moment—

"Nipa—!"

When she heard a familiar voice calling out her name, A familiar figure rushed to her and pushed her aside.

The next second, a deafening boom was heard, followed by the sight of an unconscious witch falling toward the ground.

"Hasse—!"