Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 119 - Pizza Time with the Kaiserin

Kaiserin Grace Arcaliburn. I’ve seen her several times on social media, usually gracing news broadcasts with her regal aura. The most vivid memory I have of her was during the coverage of the Blackout Incident a few months ago. 

She always struck me as elegant—like a fairytale princess carved from silk and moonlight. But standing here now, I realize something unexpected: she’s… surprisingly short. A queen in stature, perhaps, but one who barely reaches Myrrh’s shoulder.

We’re still gathered at the KAWAII Round Table, sharing slices of the legendary Sammelplatz Pizza. Its greasy, heavenly aroma hangs thick in the air, and each bite crackles with cheesy, meaty satisfaction. 

Even the illustrious Kaiserin, with all her nobility, looks utterly delighted to be eating beside Myrrh. At one point, they both take a bite at the exact same time. Realizing this, they glance at each other and burst into light, spontaneous giggles.

“I never thought you liked Sammelplatz Pizza too, Your Excellency!” Myrrh beamed, sauce on the edge of her lip.

“Sammelplatz Pizza is the finest food in the world—no, in all worlds!” the Kaiserin declared, eyes gleaming with joy. “It’s a divine gift from the heavens!”

“You’re damn right about that!” Myrrh laughed, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm. “It’s so good!”

While their laughter filled the room with a kind of warm harmony, my attention drifted to Agent Feena. She sat apart, subtly peeking through the blinds with quiet alertness. It was already a quarter to eight in the evening, and the campus grounds were nearly deserted. Only a handful of silhouettes could be seen—faculty members from both KAWAII and OTAKU, likely burning the midnight oil under the pale halo of streetlamps.

After a cautious peek through the blinds, Agent Feena let them fall back into place with a soft thwip, followed by a sigh that carried both exasperation and weary acceptance. She turned toward the Kaiserin with her arms crossed tightly, the corner of her mouth twitching with restrained frustration.

“Your Excellency,” she began, her voice low but firm, “you do realize how dangerous it is to show up here without your bodyguards, right? And in disguise, no less—posing as a pizza delivery girl. That was reckless, even for you.”

“Oh, come on, Big Sis Feena!” the Kaiserin replied in a carefree sing-song tone, waving a gooey, half-eaten slice of Sammelplatz Pizza as if it were a scepter of defiance. “I’ll be fine! You’re here, aren’t you? You're always more than enough to protect me. Besides, the Neo Terrestrial Reich is gone now, right?”

She took another bite of her pizza with dramatic flair, grease glistening on her fingers like war paint.

“That’s not the point,” Feena muttered, rubbing her forehead as if fending off the early stages of a migraine—or maybe just another day in her chaotic job. Her voice dropped into the kind of sigh people give when they’ve long accepted that logic doesn't work on certain individuals.

Her gaze shifted toward Neil and Fei, both sitting frozen as if the very air had turned solid. Their eyes were locked on the Kaiserin, their expressions suspended somewhere between awe and disbelief.

I’ve seen them starstruck before. Like when they first laid eyes on Dianca Fritz—they had that twinkling admiration, all sparkles and blushes. But this? This was different. This wasn’t dreamy admiration. This was stunned reverence—like standing too close to a living myth and realizing it actually breathes.

Fei sat beside me, shoulders stiff. Her fingers clutched the hem of her skirt so tightly that the fabric trembled in her grasp. A bead of sweat glistened on her temple. The pizza slice on her plate remained untouched, the cheese already beginning to harden from neglect. Neil, on the other hand, looked like he was staring at a deity who had just descended from the stars in grease-stained robes.

I nudged Fei gently with my elbow and whispered, trying to lighten the mood.

“Hey, if you’re not gonna eat that, mind if I take it? I’m still pretty hungry from all the bullying I got from Myrrh and that old hag.”

“S-sure,” Fei murmured, barely audible. Her voice was shaky, like a leaf caught in a breeze. Then she subtly scooted closer to me, her shoulder brushing mine as she leaned in to whisper. “Z-Zaft… I can’t believe it. The Kaiserin is right here… right in front of our eyes.”

On my other side, Neil shifted as well, collapsing what little personal space I had left. He leaned in, whispering so close I could feel his breath tickle my ear.

“Ismail would’ve massacred entire cities just for the chance to meet her,” he muttered. “We were actually planning to kidnap—or even kill—her if you joined the NTR with us. And now... just like that… she’s sitting here, eating pizza. What the hell is this timeline?”

“Oh really?” I said, raising an eyebrow as I reached across him and casually stole his pizza slice. I bit into it with exaggerated satisfaction, just to mess with him. Weirdly, Neil didn’t even flinch. He just stared ahead, eyes still locked on the Kaiserin like he was watching a ghost tell jokes.

“You better not do something stupid,” Agent Feena hissed, her voice sharp enough to slice steel. Her narrowed eyes swept over Neil, then Fei—and finally landed squarely on me.

Okay, sure, Neil and Fei did have ties to the Neo Terrestrial Reich, and yes, their presence in the same room as the Kaiserin was like tossing two former wolves into a royal lamb’s banquet. But why was Feena glaring at me like I was the next national security threat?

Before I could ask, the Kaiserin herself turned her head toward us. Her presence was calm, yet commanding—like a gentle breeze that could become a hurricane at will. Her lips curled into a soft, radiant smile.

“Oh, are you the three state witnesses?” she asked, her tone bright and gracious, yet tinged with a subtle gravity. “Your cooperation with my government is deeply appreciated. To speak out against an organization you once believed in takes extraordinary courage. I commend you.”

She folded her hands neatly over her lap, still smiling. “And as a gesture of gratitude, I am prepared to offer the three of you the Kaiser’s Clemency.”

“T-thank you, Your Excellency,” Neil and Fei said in unison, bowing deeply with a mixture of reverence and visible anxiety.

Then the Kaiserin turned her gaze to me.

Her eyes—bright emeralds that sparkled with mischief—locked onto mine. “Are you their leader?” she asked sweetly, tilting her head with innocent curiosity.

“H-Huh?” I blinked. “What makes you think I’m a terrorist?”

“I mean…” she leaned forward slightly, inspecting me like I was an exhibit in a zoo. “You look like one.”

I felt my eye twitch.

“Are you not? Maybe you're, like, a henchman? Because—no offense—you really have goon energy.”

Her words stabbed deeper than she probably intended, each syllable hitting like a dagger dipped in glitter. And the worst part? She wasn’t even trying to insult me. She was just naturally blessed with the ability to devastate egos with sincerity.

“Won’t somebody please take this child home?” I groaned, throwing my arms up.

“Hey! Be nice!” Myrrh snapped, glaring at me with pink-cheeked fury before kicking my knee under the table.

“Ow!” I yelped, rubbing my leg.

“I—I’m sorry, Your Excellency,” Myrrh added quickly, her tone shifting to flustered apology. “That goon—uh, I mean, that guy—is my classmate and support unit during my internship here in KAWAII. His name is Zaft Callahan.”

“Ohhh!” The Kaiserin clapped her hands together with the excitement of a fangirl discovering a favorite character in real life. “So you’re the one with the mysterious cybernetic powers! I saw your match in the Licensure Examination Tournament!”

She leaned in, her eyes sparkling even brighter. “That was wicked! And completely unfair! I loved it!”

Was that supposed to be a compliment? Because everything that came out of the Kaiserin’s mouth felt like it was dipped in glitter and barbed wire. I forced a smile—tight, artificial, and brittle at the edges.

“If you want,” she continued cheerfully, “you can do an internship as my personal goon! Oh, but Exestia’s quite a ride from Orbital Tech, so maybe that won’t work, huh? Oh well! Maybe I’ll just wait until you graduate—if you can, of course—and offer you a job at the tower!”

“N-No thanks, kid,” I said with a fake laugh, trying to coat my words in playful sarcasm. “You couldn’t afford me.”

Wham! Another swift kick from Myrrh under the table—this time to my other knee.

“Ow!” I winced, half rising from my seat.

“Watch your mouth!” Myrrh hissed, cheeks flushed in a mix of embarrassment and panic.

“Don’t worry!” the Kaiserin chimed, as innocent as ever. “I’m rich! I can buy you with my lunch money!”

She meant it as a joke—probably—but the way she beamed with such self-satisfaction, it was like being taunted by a royal child who’d never heard the word ‘humility’ in her life.

And for some reason… she had no clue I was getting irritated. None. It reminded me of how I used to see Myrrh back in high school—beautiful, brilliant, and utterly, infuriatingly oblivious.

I fell silent, my shoulders sinking slightly. My appetite faded with the warmth of the room. Everyone seemed to be laughing, teasing, or scolding me tonight. I didn’t really know what I did to earn the role of punching bag, but there I was, wearing the invisible crown.

I think I should have joined the Neo Terrestrial Reich instead...