Vol. 4 Ch. 2 Ep. 3: Bait

It's ready! Grilled to perfection!

Then, without further ado...

Thank you for the meal!

Wh-Wh-Whoa! It beats my wildest dreams!

The melt-in-your-mouth texture from all that marbling and that amazing, rich flavor only top-notch beef can bring...

It makes every other piece of beef I've ever eaten seem fake... They just pale in comparison.

Yummy... So yummy... It's so soft it's like it's m-melting in my mouth. Like pudding...

I can't remember the last time we've indulged in something like this... I almost feel guilty.

"There's more than enough meat, so help yourselves."

Sensei... Even if it's to thank us, isn't this a bit much? This must have been really expensive...

Yeah! I'm a little suspicious... The reward seems to outrank the deed here.

Is this beef...a part of one of your evil schemes?!

Y-You tried to lure us in with d-delicious food!

This must be the "honey trap" I've heard of before...

You know what? I don't even care if it's a trap.

You know what? I don't even care if it's a trap.

This is a rare opportunity to stuff ourselves with the highest quality beef imaginable! We wouldn't even be able to experience this at SRT.

Although, I HAVE had the experience of filling my stomach with cheap, canned pork back at SRT. Yum.

Ugh... Can you not ruin the best meal of my life with the thought of canned pork?

We did eat a lot of pork, didn't we? All our field rations had pork in one form or another.

I remember one time our field training went longer than we'd planned and we had to survive on canned pork for over three days...

Ick... That slimy taste of canned pork is definitely something I could've done without remembering... Thanks, Miyako.

I-I never realized... Why is it all pork?

Wh-Why couldn't we have corned beef...? Or some tuna, at least...

It's just cost-efficient. Duh.

Higher-ups only see numbers, you know? They say it in our textbooks: When it comes to supplies, quantity over quality. You can't feed an army if you consider comfort or indulgences.

That's why canned pork has been a go-to combat ration for so long. It's made from preserved meat, making it cost-effective with a lengthy shelf life. Even regular academies caught wind and started using them for school lunches.

At one point, the cafeterias were using so much of it that some Trinity novelist tried to protest by swapping out all mentions of any food in their work with "canned pork" instead and distributing it all over campus.

Wow. Thanks so much. I definitely needed to know that. Not. N-e-r-d.

Shut up, you maniac arsonist!

Speaking of, didn't that Trinity novelist have an episode in their work where a group of knights on a quest for the Holy Grail ended up battling a wild rabbit?

I remember something along those lines, but what about it?

Way back when, I asked the seniors about our name. Sometime around when the RABBIT squad first came to be.

I was wondering why we had been named after a cute, harmless animal. SRT was supposed to be the symbol of discipline and justice, not fuzzy paws and floppy ears.

She didn't answer in the way I expected at all. Instead, she recited a quote from that novel.

"The rabbit is not to be underestimated for its docile and adorable appearance. Proud and territorial, the rabbit becomes a fearsome beast that can fend off even brave knights when provoked."

I think I remember that part. The knights searching for the Holy Grail try to enter a cave guarded by a rabbit, and it rips out their throats.

And that's why we learned in our Tactics & Strategy classes to never underestimate an opponent from how they look.

Well, don't leave us on a cliffhanger. Does the rabbit beat up all the knights and they give up and go home?

Th-That... Um, the knights throw a grenade at the rabbit, and it ends up in little bits...

B-Because no rabbit is strong enough to fight guns...or grenades...or bombs...or bad guys...

We're gonna end up blown up like the rabbit in the story!

Hey! The ending to some stupid book they made us read in school has nothing to do with us.

The only thing you should be concerning yourself with right now is this sumptuous beef.

This is a little out of the blue, Sensei, but it's been on my mind recently. I was wondering if any sensitive documents disappeared during Kaiser's occupation of Schale...

I was worried because of the amount of data on the General Student Council that's stored in the Schale building...

"But we didn't do a thorough search. The facilities were so trashed."

"Now that you're saying it, maybe I should double check..."

I can do it! Gimme a sec...

I can do it! Gimme a sec...

Check? From here? How?

M-Moe... Did you give Kaiser intel for more weapons...?

Hey! That was one time, okay?!

But that's not what I'm doing! I just have to slip into Schale's server and pull the surveillance footage. We can check the entrances to see who was there and what they took.

Kaiser's occupation of the building after Sensei's abduction was pretty short-lived. We just have to narrow down our search to the exits during that time frame and make sure nothing important was taken.

Huh. A surprisingly good idea from Moe.

Are you okay? Did eating such nice food make you go crazy?

Shut up! I'll blow you up!

Ugh. Ignoring the muscle-head, I should be able to get into the cloud server and snag the CCTV footage pretty easily...

Heehee! Yup! There it is. Surveillance footage from the day of the attack.

Ah... This is around when we retook the building.

The guys in the helmets were Kaiser's super elite SOF? SOAP or whatever, right? They had impressive weapons, but they sure didn't know how to use them.

It was only as easy as it was because of Miyu's sniping. Without her, we would've had to take damage in a full-frontal assault.

R-Really...? But I couldn't have done it w-without Saki taking point and relaying their locations... Miyako too...

Heehee. That's what a squad is for. That was a fun operation...

We're starting to sound like old women reminiscing on our glory days. Stop gabbing and help me check this footage to see if any Kaiser soldiers took anything with them!

Well, I guess we wouldn't find anything here... Let me go back a little bit...

Who are those soldiers? Those masks and uniforms don't look like Kaiser.

Right there... It looks like they're bringing something out of the basement. Do you see their hands? They weren't holding that when they went in.

Not really... The video quality sucks, and they're moving fast.

Way too fast, actually. No wasted movements, deft handling of advanced weaponry...

...Saki, you see it too, right?

The video is grainy, but I'd recognize that equipment anywhere...

All right, all right! Doom and Gloom over there, would you like to share with the class?

You're right that those soldiers didn't look like Kaiser... That's SRT equipment they're using.

B-But we have all of SRT's remaining equipment...

The leader's laser pointer... It's a dual compound one with both infrared and visible light capabilities.

It's super pricey and pretty much useless without night vision gear, so they've only ever really been made for SRT students.

And that radio they're using to communicate... I can't be certain, but it looks a lot like SRT's. All of SRT's equipment is especially designed to meet our needs, and they definitely don't look anything like Kaiser's communication technologies.

Are you serious?! But how could they have gotten their hands on them?

Uh, n-no! Not at all! I got a little excited talking about tactics... You know how it is!

I know it's not in your nature, Moe, but you have to be quiet. Sensei can't know until we figure out what's going on here.

You're right, sorry. It's just so unbelievable.

I-I think so too... I don't know how random people would be able to get SRT's equipment like that...

There're only two ways I can think of.

First, they raided an SRT squad or base and looted the equipment.

The only other way would be if an SRT student provided them.

That's what's unbelievable. No SRT student would be stupid enough to hand over equipment to PMC soldiers. We're elite agents, not some brutish, greedy...

People've been bartering for things they want since before we could talk.

And so, easy peezy lemon squeezy, we'll trade off our valuable items for new and wonderful incendiaries...and weapons!

Ah.

Ah.

It seems we may have been the stupid SRT students. We sold off some non-essential equipment to recoup our losses when the camp was flooded.

D-Do you remember those arms dealers? They had big masks on so we couldn't see their faces...

So you're telling me... We, the RABBIT squad, are the ones who supplied Schale's invaders with weapons?

...And here we are, gorging ourselves on high-quality meat, given to us to thank us for fighting off said invaders...

"Is everyone full? Are you sure you don't want more?"

"Stop talking and come eat! There's still so much left!"

We're... Well, uh...

We're... Well, uh...

Oh, geez! I think this is what they call a food baby...

M-M-Me too! Yeah! The f-fullest I've ever been...

Whoa! I suddenly remembered something super urgent I have to take care of today. Right now!

Ugh, no! You have no filter when you talk, Sensei!

Thank you, Sensei.

A-Are we not gonna tell Sensei about selling weapons to the bad guys?

I feel bad... If not for us... Sensei wouldn't have gone through all of that stuff...

I feel guilty as well, Miyu. And we will tell Sensei and apologize later, but first we need to apprehend the culprits.

Miyako's right. If we go to Sensei now, all we're doing is bringing them another problem. They have enough on their plate as it is, dealing with the Restoration Project and everything else.

The last thing Sensei needs is another thing to worry about, especially because of something we did.

Yes. We'll find the culprits, retrieve the stolen goods, and then give Sensei a proper apology.

To start, I'll need your help, Moe. We need to collect information, anything you can on where the weapons went after we sold them.

It might take a bit, but it's doable. If I trace the unique key values embedded in the electronics, I'll hopefully be able to trace their path.

For the rest of you, please begin routine checks of all our gear. Quickly, so we're prepared to leave as soon as Moe has what we need.

I won't let those arms dealers sully SRT's equipment with their injustices any longer.

"I know you said you were full, but I forgot about the extra pork..."

"Miyako...? Saki...?"

"Where did everyone go...?"