"Cadman City."
Lieutenant Mia gazed at the city before her, her eyes complicated and full of longing. Even beneath the sunlight, it remained shrouded in shadow.
The Astral calamity had left the city piled up like a jumble of blocks. It had been twisted and reshaped into an indescribable form, its area greatly reduced and its interior riddled with unimaginable spatial folds.
But some things didn't need to be judged by their appearance. Just as no one could mistake their own hometown, she recognized it at once when she stood before the city with her superior. This was her home—the one she had lost, only to see it quietly reappear one day.
She had been born here. Her family had disappeared in the disaster that struck Cadman City, and she'd believed she'd never see them again. But fate was a bitch who loved to watch people cry, and it would indulge itself by shaping one strange story after another.
"Mia!"
Lord Kudel's call quickly jolted Lieutenant Mia from her reverie. Realizing she'd missed an order, she immediately answered her superior with a soldier's crisp formality:
"Yes, sir!"
"The fighting at the Maginot Line isn't over, but we can't leave Cadman City in its current state. So I've decided you'll lead a People's Army unit into the city for the time being. Help Acting Mayor Hillier restore order as quickly as possible, and take control of the other armed forces in the city."
Kudel was in a sorry state. He'd nearly been slapped to death by the silver wolf earlier, and even with his dual status as a vampire and a Grail Knight, he needed time to recover. But the changing situation wouldn't allow him that luxury, so he had to send out the forces he had on hand.
He said