5 in the morning. Inside a device wider than the driver seat of a truck, a young girl strapped with a belt turns on a machine. Above the power button there is a mottled lamp. The abstract meter is surrounded by hard to read Cyrillic letters. И...Н...Т...Е...Р...К...О...С...М...О...С... ИНТЕРКОСМОС (INTERKOSMOS) Approximately half a century ago, the organization 「Schicksal」 helped humanity send several astronauts of many different nationalities to the Moon. This machine is a relic of that glorious era. Warm-up is over. Current simulation magnification, 0.2. Starting operation. The smell of oil, the sound of machinery and the movement of the girl's hips serve as a signal to know the air pressurization system has begun to adjust the gravity. Now her ankles and knees are only supporting 20% of her weight—— This will let the young girl run tens of kilometers continuously without risking damage to her joints. The morning sun rises in the distance. Valkyrie Durandal has begun another day of training. Average heart rate is 125... Good, this is perfect. In that case, 「Bianka」-sama, shall we have breakfast? Today's dessert is a freshly baked Cheese Mille-feuille.

Note：

法式千层酥（mille-feuille）是由三层酥皮夹两层奶油或果酱制成的一类蛋糕，其发明灵感可能源自那不勒斯的披萨。

由于“Napolitain”（“那不勒斯”的形容词形式）与"Napoleon"（“拿破仑”）的拼写近似，在英文中此甜点遂被戏称为"Napoleon"；中文亦随之译作“拿破仑蛋糕”。

p.s. 由于1812年俄法战争的关系，“拿破仑”在俄罗斯是最受欢迎的蛋糕款式之一。

 Hm? Rita? What's up with you today, why such a high calorie—— ——Wait. Did you call me... 「Bianka」? Hehehe. Correct. Today is a special day that should be celebrated with a cake. Today? February 28th... No, it's already 29th? Ah. ..... It's been 4 years already. From the day I met you... and the day I met them. ...Even I have gotten used to the name 「Durandal」. ..... The Overseer will put his plan in motion at the right moment. The day when we can finally fulfill our promise will certainly come. ...Yeah. Keeping that promise is very important for the girl called Bianka. A now yellow colored piece of paper sits quietly in the archives of Schicksal. The following is written on the first page of this confidential document—— Top Secret Mission："LONELY PANTHALASSA" Start Time: February 29th 2012 Location: ██████████ - The Sea of Quanta Target: ██████████ Members: Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina (12), Rita Rossweisse (16) Status: Closed Reviewed by: Otto Apocalypse And now... The story will go back in time 1461 days from February 29th 2016—— To the moment when Bianka Ataegina and Rita Rossweisse arrived at the 「Sea of Quanta」. Gosh, these refugees are nothing but cowards! They're all the same no matter the era they came from! Can you believe they would prefer to live in hunger rather than help us sail to the sea!? How spineless can someone be!? Well, before they drifted here they didn't have any sailing experience... ...It's natural they would be afraid of the mythical sea monster 「Leviathan」. What—— Are you saying it's okay for them to never leave this island? It's okay for them to keep living only picking up shells and catching crabs? There is a saying that goes 「The boat should be near the coast」. ...What? Bianka-sama, the 「average person」 is pessimistic and realistic. Before they even start considering the rewards of their success, they look at the consequences of their failure. If a person like that is put against the sea, a completely unknown world to them—— They won't be able to fight back against their fears. The name 「Leviathan」... Makes them subconsciously believe that sailing to the sea is equal to becoming an enemy of nature itself—— ——In other words, they are committing suicide. Thus, from their perspective, we are naive 「crazy adventurers」. Hm. Sympathizing with the weak? Also—— ——Rita, how many times have I told you today? Stop adding 「-sama」 to my name... It's creepy. I'm a Valkyrie who only met you right before this mission started, and you only became my adjutant due to a certain someone's insistence. ——Please stop talking to me the same way you talk to the Overseer! Understood, Bianka-sama. ..... Excuse me. You two... are you perhaps new here? ...Yes. We've been here for 38 minutes and 25 seconds—— No, 26 seconds now. However, unlike you all, we've come here to 「explore」 rather than to 「escape」. Needless to say, until our mission is completed—— We plan to involve ourselves in all your joys and sorrows. I am Bianka Ataegina, and this my adjutant, Rita Rossweisse—— How can we help you? Hahahaha! Ahahahaha! ...What's so funny? My apologies! We the elderly just like to laugh. Please don't mind it, miss explorer. ..... Anyway—— I heard you two are trying to gather forces to defeat the 「Leviathan」 and open the way to the ocean. Yes, that's correct. Not a single person wanted to fight together with us though! Haha... Understandable. None of them are warriors—— ——They can't be compared with heroes who have seen hell itself. How do you know that... Hahaha, when you get to my age you can just tell by looking at someone's eyes! I'm Miguel. Let me get straight to the point—— Brave warriors... Would you embark on an epic hunt together with this old sailor who can't even move his left hand? What? You mean... In short, I'll provide you with a ship and take care of steering it. ——Though all I have is a reed boat! Hahaha! O sea, my old friend! I thank you for not breaking this tattered ship so that we may sail again today! ...What's up with you? Hahaha... Look, this reed boat hasn't seen any action in 3 years but it's still ready to go! Has the 「Leviathan」 kept people trapped on the island for that long? Hmm, it could be even longer. Seems to have made a nest near the coast and refuses to go away. Though the first year after I came here I was still catching plenty of fish. ...You didn't see any other people out in the sea when you went out fishing? None. Just look at it. There is no other land nearby—— Not even Columbus himself would sail without making the necessary preparations. ...By preparation you mean enough food and water? Yeah, you need those too but—— ——The most important thing is to have a 「strong ship」. Keels! Triangle and square sails! That's what matters the most. Do you think anyone would look for new lands on an unreliable wooden boat? It's impossible, the sea is not so soft. ..... But if you can defeat the 「Leviathan」, then I'm sure everyone will start listening to you and build a ship strong enough to sail across the sea. Are you sure about that? Hahaha, isn't humanity a creature that lives on faith? For example, do you know why a small group of Spanish soldiers was able to win against an immeasurable number of barbarians? It wasn't because they had enormous power on their side—— But because they never let the enemy feel they had a chance of winning. That's how a mere 200 adventurers were able to fight against thousands and conquer Peru. The Battle of Lepanto was won also by a small number and it wasn't thanks to the Galleass—— The enemy was beaten by their momentum. Could it be... You are from the imperial age of Spain? Oh, you could tell? I'm not one to brag—— But before I came here I wasn't just a veteran soldier, but a cultured person who wrote many books too! Heh, that attitude makes me think your books didn't sell well. Hmmm... You got a point. I don't know if I'm famous 400 years in the future. Some of the books I wrote are 《La Galatea》, 《The Travails of Persiles and Sigismunda》—— ——And 《Don Quixote》. You are... Could it be you are... Miguel De Cervantes?

Note：

米格尔·德·塞万提斯·萨维德拉（Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, 1547 ~ 1616）是西班牙文学世界里最伟大的作家，甚至连西班牙语都被称为“塞万提斯的语言”。他的《堂吉诃德》，被认为是文学史上的第一部“现代小说”。

塞万提斯曾作为普通军人参加了1571年10月7日的勒班陀战役。在八年后撰写的一项官方报告中这样写道：“……在这场海战中，塞万提斯发着高烧，状态很差，连长和战友告诉他：你的情况很糟糕，应该好好躺在帆船的房间里。塞万提斯指责道：你们说什么呢，我没有尽到我应尽的义务，与其当怕死鬼，倒宁愿为了上帝和国王而战死……他就这样与战友们一起，像连长所命令的那样，在这场战斗中和土耳其人搏斗着。战斗结束后，胡安将军知晓了他的英勇表现，给了他额外的四个金币……在这场战役中，他的胸部和手部两处受伤，他的左手从此残废了。”

 Well aren't I pretty famous! A master of literature! Hahaha, has a nice ring to it, I love it! And here I thought you were a soldier used to the battlefield... Who could have guessed you could be this smug. Hahahaha! How could I not be happy after hearing that! You should smile too, miss Bianka! It'll make you more motivated once we're out in the sea! Hmph. Your concern is unneeded. There hasn't been a single day I haven't given my everything since I've become a Valkyrie at the age of 10. If you teach me how, I'm confident I can learn how to catch fish or steer a ship perfectly. My my. By the way... ...Cervantes-san, how should we divide our roles once we sail? Haha, don't be so stiff, miss. You can call me 「Miguel」. That's easy. I'll be the captain. I'll steer the ship, and judge when we should advance and retreat. As for you two—— Miss Bianka's specialty was spears, right? The harpoons are all yours. Miss Rita is a very attentive person, so keep an eye on the anchor rope to make sure it doesn't get tangled. Anchor rope? What is it for? That will, of course, be used to bring the ship closer to the beast. Can't kill it if we're too far away, right? Also, we need to pick up his body and bring it back to the island for everyone to see. ...What are we supposed to do if the 「Leviathan」 were to attack us? This reed boat is a little... I'll make use of the currents to not give him the chance to attack us. It's that simple! Oh right, didn't you two show something to the people on the island? A 「gun」 capable of even destroying boulders—— What was it called again... ...The all-purpose firing weapon of the previous civilization, 「2nd Relic」. Not a hard name to remember. Hahahaha! We old people aren't good with long names. But anyway, we have a weapon stronger than the cannons of the Invincible Armada—— ——What we're riding on isn't an unreliable reed boat... but a merciless hunting warship! Remember this—— 「Leviathan」, sea creatures, they're all just mere beasts. The only difference is their size. ——And brave hunters can't possibly be afraid of a prey they're willingly approaching themselves. ——Yeah, you get it! Now! Let's kill him! Look closely, old man. This is how a Valkyrie from 「Schicksal」 fights! (....) (How can he say it's a 「mere beast」 with such confidence?)

They walked around to measure the length of the island and looked at it from the top of many rocky mountains, but now that they are out in the sea, the two Valkyries realize how small the 「harbor」 truly was.

Even though it's only been a few minutes since the reed boat left the port, the island they were moments ago can't be seen anymore. The 「shelter」 that was large enough to house dozens of people could be covered with the palm of a hand.

 The midday sun shines on the surface of the sea. The light reflected is so dazzling it's hard to keep one's eyes open. The old man kept rowing the boat with his long oars, steadily advancing in the undulating waves. Careful. He's coming. ...I don't sense anything near us. Yeah, but it's almost time. ...Time? After the 「Leviathan」 gets a whiff that someone is out in the sea, it takes him approximately 15 minutes to catch up to the ship. I see—— ——So that's why you stopped the ship here! That's right. The reef 5 meters below the ship protects us from any attack from beneath. After all, we're using ourselves as bait—— Being careless can be fatal. And the opportunity to strike will only show itself for an instant—— ——Wait, what's that sound!? The sound of machinery!? Look! There's something black under the water...! Is that... blood? Something is fighting the 「Leviathan」 under the sea! ——It's coming! That's... ...A submarine!?