Although I Was Reincarnated As The Villainess Of The Otome Game I Was Playing, I Only Bought It For

 12 - It’s A Surprisingly Effective Tactic

T/N: There was a short intermission chapter before this one. I will not translate it as:

A) It is a crossover piece relating to the author’s main work, “The War Chronicles of Magic-Armor Gouzanba” which won’t make sense unless you’ve read Gouzanba; and,

B) It’s explicitly stated to be outside of the plot. It only establishes that Gouzanba and Lillie are in the same universe.

For the gist of it, one of the “Professor” characters of Gouzanba comes to recruit Roman and Lillie for the war effort. Though initially reluctant as Lillie sees the Professor as nothing but trouble, upon being told that she can fight on the frontlines and meet her heroes, she eagerly agrees to the chance to take her Sacred Machine out for live combat and become like the protagonists of her favorite mecha series.

On a side note, it also establishes that Sacred Machine Pilots have “Knight’s Suits”, effectively jumpsuits and protective gear meant to keep the pilot safe from getting violently tossed around in their cockpits. Lillie claims they’re not terrible, but extremely uncomfortable to wear for long periods or daily.

Well, there was all manner of things that happened, but that’s not the story of this world…

Moving on, after all of that was said and done, it was the day of Ms. Ivy’s duel.

“It’s the day of the decisive battle.”

Yes, Prince Alex, thank you for clarifying that.

On this day, with a match between Ms. Ivy and the Salty Noble Ladies, should Ms. Ivy lose, she will leave the school—

“Well, we’ve got room for error, don’t we?” I said.

I know Ms. Ivy was putting in the effort.

Yes, she’s been able to hit me 100 times and that should be enough.

“Oh, and why do say that?” Alex asked.

“Because the skill level of a Sacred Machine Academy Freshman is low, to begin with,” I said.

Yeah, I learned that first-hand from my classes with Ms. Ivy.

“Well, few people have ever ridden one before enrolling here,” Alex said.

“Ah, is that it?” I said.

I wanted to pilot so badly, I spent as much time training as I was allowed to. In my previous life, this was in the form of a game, but this time I’m training only just before I have to worry about my grades.

Well, that’s all.

“The only reason I’m so strong right now is that I’m already done with preparatory classes and reviews, aren’t I?” I said.

“The problem is when you get to the graduate level,” Alex said.

Oh my, what’s so wrong with having completed most of the work already?

Eh, the duel is about to begin, anyway.

To sum it up, Ms. Ivy was dominating from start to finish.

There were no elements that gave her a weakness, you see?

“Shooting armaments… well, we’ll be spending money, but that’s all there is,” I said.

Sacred Machines have infinite performance depending on the combinations of parts.

However, that robot she’s fighting… its balance is bad.

“The legs are from Achilles Corp., which specializes in mobility, but the torso is so heavy-duty… it seems to be from the Gaia Collective, hence–” Alex said.

“The legs will be both fragile and slow, right?” I finished.

If that’s the case, Ms. Ivy would be able to shatter them without any trouble.

The weakness of a Sacred Machine, or rather, the weakness of everything, is that once you break a leg, they could barely move.

Yes, it’s no exaggeration to say that both humans and animals are helpless if you completely shatter their legs.

“It’s a matter of course that if you use heavy armor, you should reinforce the entire body, and if you want mobility, you should make the entire chassis as light as possible,” I said.

“All that being said, we’re supposed to learn in 2nd year, aren’t we?” Alex said.

“No one does any custom work in their 1st year,” I said.

And since I’m having serious shop-talk with Prince Alex–

“I don’t really get what you two are talking about… but I guess that you’re right,” Prince William said, looking puzzled.

“Well, the Prince’s job as a Commander is to support the Knights from the back, not lead from the front,” I said.

“Bro, I’m the Hero that fights on all fronts, and you’re the Hero who brings out the best in others, we should join forces,” Alex said.

Yep, you’re looking good, Prince Alex.

He’s not my type, however.

Yeah, my type is more masked feelings and a stricter voice…? Well, this is fine.

“It’s about time to settle this, isn’t it?” I said.

At that, Ms. Ivy’s Messiah thrusts out its right arm, a wire shoots out from it.

If that wire tangles with the enemy Sacred Machine–

“Start running around them at high speed!!”

It’s the deciding technique I learned from Lady Lillie!

Fix the opponent in the center and shoot your gun while continuing to entangle them with the wire!

“Wha—What is this–” my opponent said.

And as you approach the enemy that’s completely immobilized…

“Bind Finish…!!”

Yank the wire, pull your opponent straight toward you, and smash them!!

“It’s an amazingly effective tactic, isn’t it? I’m in love with it,” I said.

“Wait, isn’t that Roman the Eccentric’s specialty?” Alex asked.

“It’s a massive improvement from my father’s, it’s a technique even ordinary people can use,” I replied.

Because he was an Eccentric that only fought with his drill and pile bunker, see?

The original tactic was just spiraling towards then around your enemy, striking with the drill and pile bunker.

To do that, you have to be a crazy genius, adjusting your timing for the sudden stops and starts with each impact, and changing your momentum to avoid the counter-attacks from your opponent.

The wire is a restraining tool meant to compensate for that.

“That being said, it’s a downgrade, isn’t it?” Alex said.

“It’s rather easy to use for the general public, but it can be used for higher skill levels–” I said.

According to Father, using a wire makes it difficult to move in the opposite direction, so the opponent you’re restraining could still aim and shoot at you even without their arm’s full range of motion.

… If anyone could do that, however, no one would have any trouble with this, wouldn’t they?

“However, it’s a brilliant victory,” William said.

It would have been nice for Ms. Ivy to hear that compliment, too.

Well, no one would say no from a direct compliment from the person who’s eventually going to rule the country.

“She’s certainly… quite the interesting woman,” William said.

It feels like this is from the Otome Game part, though I’m not familiar with it!!

Yes, I don’t know a thing about them at all!!

“Well, for the time being… I’ve got Karin working as support staff, so let’s go visit Ms. Ivy for a while, shall we?” I asked.

That this student has achieved results is something that makes me happier than if I’d won the match myself.