"It is endorsed by none other than the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. There's a reason why money is good."
"Why?"
"During the war, both the U.S. Army and the Imperial Navy scattered mines at random, right? My job is to clean them up. Money is ridiculously good, right?"
"...?"
"...Do you mean that there is no guarantee of life?"
Noriko's complexion changed quickly. That's why he didn't want to talk about this, Shikishima thought as he braced himself. Noriko's earnest yell shook the barracks.
"What are you talking about? You just barely made it back alive."
"It can't be helped. If things continue like this, all three of us will starve to death. Akiko won't last long if things continue like this."
Noriko looked at Akiko, who was sleeping with a tired face. It's true that she hasn't been able to give her any heavy bathing for the past few days. Noriko was horrified to see the telltale dark circles under her eyes
"I know that, though."
As if this was the case, Shikishima tried to persuade her.
"If you have money, you can buy anything, even powdered milk made in America, if you have money. If that's what you want..."
"It's no good if you die..."
Shikishima was happy to hear those earnest words. As someone who has always wondered how he should die, he was grateful for Noriko's presence in affirming his life. But. But that's why he has to earn money first. in addition...
"It's okay. Just because it's dangerous doesn't mean I'm going to die. It's different from the suicide attack and narrowly escaping from death. Also, I hear there's a specially made ship that won't explode even if it comes in contact with a magnetic type..."
That wasn't a lie. At today's briefing, it was reported that the ship that Shikishima will be deployed to has a structure that is resistant to magnetic mines.
"Is this...specially made?"
Part of the fishing port was used as a base for minesweepers. At the pier, Shikishima was standing in front of the special minesweeper "Shinsei Maru" that he had been deployed to.
The boat, which we had been told was special, was clearly a dilapidated wooden boat that had been converted from a fishing boat. From there, a man appeared who seemed to have always made the sea his home.
"Is that you? What about the next gunman?"
"This is Shikishima."
"On the ship?"
"I was on a fighter plane, so..."
Hearing those words, the man who appeared to be the boat captain was clearly disappointed and asked a scholar-looking man wearing glasses who had joined him from behind.
"What, what is this guy using?"
A boy-like man who came out with the man wearing glasses asked Shikishima, his eyes sparkling.
"Are you a former pilot?
The man who appears to be the boat captain scolds the boy with a disgusted look on his face.
"It's just the end of a military boy's life... it's not going to happen."
The man wearing glasses saw Shikishima's disappointed face and spoke quickly, as if to make an
"Are you disappointed? A ship like this. The U.S. military and the Imperial Navy have scattered approximately 60,000 mines along the coast of Japan. There are various types of mines, but the most troublesome are the U.S. military's magnetic mines. It's a mine. It reacts and explodes when a metal ship passes by."
From that story, Shikishima was convinced that this ship was a wooden ship.
"Oh, that's it."
"You talk fast. Our main responsibility is mooring mines, and this wooden ship is the perfect solution for magnetic countermeasures."
A man wearing glasses asked for a handshake with a friendly expression.
"I am Noda. During the war, I was involved in the development of weapons as a technical officer. This is Captain Akitsu and Mizushima-kun."
"This guy is a kid. He can be a scholar."
"What do you mean by that name, Mr. Cho?"
Noda called Captain Akitsu "Cho-san."
"I'm old enough to be a kid..."
"Don't worry, you're still only half a man, so being a kid is enough for you."
Mizushima sulked and turned away.
"Yes, yes, I'm not going to war anyway."
Shikishima felt a little repulsed by that statement. Sensing the atmosphere, Captain Akitsu began to explain minesweeping.
"This is the special minesweeper 'Shinsei Maru.'" It's paired with the Kaishin Maru next door. A mine is something that rises from the ocean floor like a balloon, and the part that supports it is called a mooring line. Then you cut it with a cutter in the middle of the cables that were passed between each other. Then the mines will float up. The sequence of minesweeping is to eliminate them with machine gun fire."
When he actually went out to sea, he found that it was quite a process that required a lot of patience.
In search of moored mines, whose locations are unknown, the two ships travel back and forth to various locations over and over again with a wire stretched between them. If the wire cutter got caught in a mine's graticule, it would be severed and the mine would rise to the surface.
Kill the rising mines with a machine gun from a considerable distance. It may be easy to put it into words, but hitting the tiny antennae of a mine with a bullet from a safe distance of 300 meters was an extremely difficult task.
Moreover, since the Shinsei Maru is a small ship, it is easily tossed around by the waves, which means it is shaken violently. Akitsu aimed at the floating mine with his machine gun, saying it was just sample, but even after emptying one magazine, there was no sign that the mine would explode.
"What, this is quite difficult."
Even as Shikishima watched, his body memorized the rhythm of the ship's rocking.
"Can I do it?"
"Are you okay?"
Akitsu gave him a 13mm machine gun installed in a machine gun turret on the deck of the ship while taunting me.
"It's shaking, so I have to shoot in anticipation of where the bullet will be when it arrives."
Shikishima fired several shots from his machine gun, synchronizing the movement of the turret with the rhythm of the ship's rocking, which he had been instilling in his body for a while. It appears that some of them were lucky enough to break off the antennae of the mine.A gigantic column of water several times the size he had imagined erupted with a heart-pounding sound.
It seems that it is quite difficult to dispose of mines with a machine gun, so when Shikishima was able to kill them with a single volley of fire, Noda and Mizushima couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"It's the same as downing an enemy plane."
"Was this skill?"
"No, it's just a mock air battle... I've never been in an actual battle."
Mizushima heard his words and came up to his machine gun turret, saying in an accusatory voice, "Eh, eh, eh."
"Aren't you going to war? In that case, are Shikishima and I similar?"
Akitsu poked Mizushima on the head.
"That's completely different. You can't fly a fighter jet, can you?"
"If I could have gone to war, I would have done a great job. Ah, I wish it had lasted a little longer."
Those words set Shikishima on fire. There are people here who wanted to go to war. I couldn't believe that. Shikishima instinctively grabbed Mizushima's chest.
"Do you really think so?"
Seeing Shikishima's power, Mizushima realized that he had touched on something wrong and sincerely apologized.
"Okay. That was bad."
Shikishima left the scene with sad eyes. Akitsu poked Mizushima's head again. "idiot"
Shikishima, who had returned from mine-sweeping duty for the first time in a while, handed over the accumulated laundry to Noriko, ate dinner, and then laid his tired body down on the futon.
Sleep came quickly.
A few hours after falling asleep, Shikishima woke up to a strange commotion outside. Perhaps the house next door is on fire, as the paper shoji door used as a door shines brightly in the red light from outside. Shouts of "Shikishima!" and "Come out!" could be heard from outside.
Shikishima couldn't believe his eyes when he rushed outside wearing a yukata [light cotton kimono worn in the summer or used as a bathrobe] instead of a nightgown. That place was Odo Island. The command post, which had been destroyed and torn apart by GOJIRA, was on fire everywhere. And in front of the entrance, there were a number of maintenance soldiers with pale faces and white maintenance uniforms lined up.
This is a dead person Shikishima instinctively thought so. Saito, who stood at the front of the formation, looked at Shikishima and said.
"Why are you still alive?"
Then, a man in a flight suit pushed through the maintenance soldiers and came forward, pointing at Shikishima and saying, Tsukou Soto's face resembled that of someone who went on a special attack with him.
"That's because he's a coward."
As soon as the man said that, the maintenance soldiers became frightened by something and started running. One of the soldiers who was too late to escape was crushed by a giant foot.
When Shikishima suddenly looked up, he saw GOJIRA standing there. Shikishima let out a groan as he realized that he was still under his futon in the barracks. His heart was beating so violently that it sounded like it was screaming. It's not a dream. They did come. Thinking so, Shikishima looked around. It seemed like the barracks were filled with strong presences of Odo Island's maintenance soldiers and fellow special attack troops.
They haven't returned. And he continues to eagerly wait for Shikishima to return to the dream world where he can easily connect with him. When he thought about it, the sense of reality in this barracks suddenly faded away. Noriko was looking at him worriedly from behind the curtain-like cloth that partitioned the hut.
"Are you okay?"
Noriko poured water into a bowl from a water bottle outside, and Shikishima drank it all in one breath. His heartbeat finally calmed down.
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