ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (1)

Declaration of War Against Japan

"Doctor, patient number 23 is awake."

A voice called out from the side, calling for someone. When Rambal looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a young woman dressed in pure white. The woman had dark eyes and black hair, a look that was not common in the Eastern World.

"...?"

After seeing off the dragon riders, the explosions that echoed in the sky and the shocking sound that hit the warship Ashur, he had no memory of what happened next. When he calmed down and looked around again, he saw injured Altian soldiers lying on the same kind of beds. When Rambal was stunned for a while, a man wearing a long white coat-like thing appeared.

"...What is this place?"

He asked the white-coated man about his current location. Lieutenant Tomokazu Shibata, a medical officer in the JMSDF, answered Rambal's question while looking at his medical records.

"...We're on the Japanese navy ship Izumo. Let me examine your heartbeat and lung sounds."

Lieutenant Shibata said and put stethoscopes in both ears.

"Japanese... ship? ...Japan!?"

Japan... the name of the country sounded familiar to Rambal. It was the name of the country that had suddenly appeared at the naval battle in the form of a giant bug with a rattling sound. After that, the Empire's fleet, which had ignored the warning of the winged insects and continued its march, was destroyed before it knew what had happened. This means that they are now trapped inside the enemy's ships.

"...W-what about the Empire's fleet!?"

"If it was the Altian Empire's fleet, it was eradicated. Don't you remember? You are, in a manner of speaking, a prisoner of war."

Rambal's face suddenly turned pale as he was told plainly by the enemy doctor that the entire fleet had been wiped out.

"Wiped out... then, what about the dragon riders!?"

He remembered the dragon riders who had been attacked by a mysterious explosion after taking off into the sky. The dragon cavalry was annihilated.

"All 110 of the dragon riders that flew in fell prey to the fighters. They were hit hard by missiles. They wouldn't have survived."

Shibata replied calmly. Rambal's complexion instantly changed as he was told of the cruel end of these heroes flying in the sky.

"Dorsa... how dare you!!"

When he was reminded of the death of his best friend, who was supposed to be his first battle, Rambal, with a rage rising from the depths of his heart, raised his body to jump on Shibata. However, perhaps because he had lost his strength due to his injuries, Shibata lightly pressed him on the forehead and pushed him back onto the bed without effort.

"Ugh!"

"You need to sleep, you're not fully recovered yet."

"Dammit!"

Rambal, who could not even muster enough strength, clenched his fists in frustration and anger. He looked at Shibata with resentment in his eyes. When Shibata saw this, he sighed deeply and opened his mouth to admonish Rambal.

"...You're probably holding a grudge against us right now, but that's called recrimination. What are you doing here with all those swords, cannons, and armed dragons in the first place? Are you here for a sightseeing trip?"

"!? ...What...!?"

Rambal's indignation deepens at Shibata's insulting words about the Imperial military. However, Shibata's words continued without him noticing.