When I woke up that morning, I thought yesterday's insanity had been a fever dream.
Waking up in a battlefield? Cute girls in combat armor? Magic explosions?
Yeah, clearly a hallucination caused by too much caffeine and too little sleep.
That illusion shattered the moment a whistle blew right next to my ear.
"PRIVATE SAKAMAKI! REVEILLE!"
I jumped out of bed—well, bunk, technically—hitting my head on the ceiling of the cramped barracks.
"Ow! What the—"
"Ten seconds to stand at attention!"
That voice. Sharp. Cold. Familiar.
Captain Celia Frostwind, the silver-haired commander who somehow made a military uniform look like a fashion statement.
I blinked blearily, still wearing the same uniform from yesterday, and realized I wasn't in my room back home. I was in a metal bunker with seven bunks, glowing blue lights along the walls, and a holographic map hovering in the corner.
"Wait... so it wasn't a dream."
"Of course it wasn't," Celia said, crossing her arms. "Dreams don't issue you standard-issue plasma rifles."
She dropped a tray of what looked vaguely like breakfast onto my lap—grayish mush with a slice of bread that could double as a weapon.
"Eat up. Training starts in five."
"Five what? Minutes? Hours? Days?"
"Seconds."
"What—?!"
Before I could even lift the spoon, Celia was already marching out the door. A dozen alarms began blaring overhead, and the other girls started moving instantly—like a well-oiled machine of chaos.
---
Rina Blazeheart, the red-haired berserker, burst from her bunk like an explosion personified. "YEAH! Morning drills! Time to break stuff!"
Mira Fontaine, the sniper maid, sat up calmly, brushing imaginary dust off her frilly apron. "Good morning, Private Sakamaki. I do hope you're ready to sweat."
Liri, the fairy, yawned and floated out of her tiny drawer-sized bed. "Ehh… can't we skip morning drills and just sparkle a bit instead?"
Tsubasa, the quiet strategist, was already fully dressed, eyes scanning a tablet with tactical data. "Skipping drills decreases combat performance by 3.8%."
Liri pouted. "You're no fun, Tsu-chan!"
Then Eira Moonveil, the so-called "idol mage," stretched her arms with a yawn. "Morning performance rehearsal in ten, right? I can warm up my vocals during cardio~."
I rubbed my face. "What kind of unit is this?"
---
Five minutes later, I found myself standing on a training field that looked like a mix between a high-tech gym and a magical war zone.
There were energy dummies lined up in rows, drones buzzing overhead, and a scoreboard labeled "Charm Battalion Performance Ranking."
The fairy saluted dramatically. "Operation 'Turn the New Guy into a Real Soldier' begins!"
"Wait, what?! Who authorized—"
"Captain Frostwind," Celia said, appearing behind me with the stealth of a ghost. "I did."
She handed me a wooden practice rifle. "You'll complete the standard rookie assessment. Target accuracy, mobility, spell sync potential, and endurance."
"Endurance? I can barely endure gym class!"
"That's why you're here. Begin!"
---
Phase One: Target Practice.
"Just aim and shoot," Rina said, slapping me on the back so hard I nearly fell forward. "The targets won't bite. Much."
The rifle hummed faintly, glowing blue as I raised it. Holographic dummies appeared in front of me—each shaped like weird insectoid creatures with too many eyes.
"Okay, simple enough…"
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Three shots, three misses.
The fairy clapped politely. "Yay! You didn't hit any allies!"
"That's… not comforting."
Rina cracked her knuckles. "Let me show ya how it's done!"
She lifted her massive hammer, aimed it at the targets, and—somehow—threw it. The hammer exploded on impact, obliterating five targets and the platform behind them.
"...That's cheating," I muttered.
Celia sighed. "Rina, this is a precision test, not demolition."
"Precision is overrated!"
---
Phase Two: Mobility.
The "obstacle course" consisted of floating platforms, laser barriers, and something that looked suspiciously like a minefield.
"Move fast, don't die," Tsubasa said blandly.
"Great advice," I grumbled. "Any chance of a safety harness?"
"No."
Before I could protest, Eira waved her staff, and upbeat music started blaring from nowhere.
"Let's make this fun! Three, two, one—GO!"
I jumped onto the first platform, immediately tripping over my own feet.
The fairy zipped past me, sprinkling sparkles everywhere. "You gotta believe in the power of friendship!"
"Friendship isn't helping me balance!"
Rina sprinted ahead, leaping over laser beams like an action hero, while Mira somehow managed to reload her rifle and sip tea at the same time. Celia watched with a clipboard, scribbling notes.
When I finally stumbled to the end, covered in dirt and humiliation, Celia just said, "Acceptable. Barely."
"Really?"
"No. But we'll work on it."
---
Phase Three: Synchronization.
"Now for the fun part," Mira said sweetly. "Magic resonance testing."
The girls surrounded me in a circle, each holding a different glowing crystal. I stood awkwardly in the middle like a sacrificial offering.
"What does this do exactly?" I asked.
Liri grinned. "It measures how your energy interacts with ours! If your magic vibes are good, we get stronger!"
"Magic… vibes?"
Eira twirled her staff. "Basically, if your heart beats in sync with ours, our powers amplify~!"
"That sounds... weirdly romantic."
"It's science!" Liri chirped.
Celia stepped forward. "Everyone, prepare for resonance."
The crystals began to glow. Blue light flooded the room. I felt a tingling sensation across my chest, like static electricity crawling over my skin.
Then—BOOM!
The lights exploded in a burst of color, and a wave of energy blasted outward. When the smoke cleared, all six girls were glowing faintly, eyes wide.
Celia stared at me. "Ninety-seven percent resonance. That's… impossible."
"Uh… is that good?"
"It's higher than any recorded synchronization rate in this unit's history."
Rina smirked. "So the kid's special after all!"
Liri twirled midair. "He's our lucky charm! The Charm in Charm Battalion~!"
Celia crossed her arms, looking both intrigued and deeply annoyed. "Or a complete anomaly. Either way, we'll exploit it."
"Exploit!?" I yelped. "That sounds—badly phrased!"
Eira giggled. "Don't worry, darling. We'll take good care of you."
---
After the drills, we gathered in the mess hall—basically a big cafeteria filled with soldiers, clattering trays, and the smell of burnt protein.
I collapsed onto a bench. "I'm dying."
"You're just sore," Rina said cheerfully, shoveling food like a beast. "Pain means progress!"
Mira sipped tea. "Or broken bones."
Liri hovered above my head. "You did great! For someone with noodle arms!"
"Gee, thanks."
Across the table, Celia ate silently, scrolling through a tablet.
Finally, she said, "You adapted faster than expected. You might actually survive basic training."
"Wow. High praise."
She looked up, her expression unreadable. "Don't get cocky. We're deploying in three days."
I froze mid-bite. "Deploying? As in—real battle!?"
"Correct."
Rina slammed her fist down. "Finally! Time to smash something!"
Eira smiled serenely. "Ah, the thrill of live performance."
"Wait, wait, hold up!" I stammered. "I've been here less than twenty-four hours! I don't even know how to reload this gun!"
Liri waved a tiny hand. "It's fine! We'll protect you!"
"That's what I'm afraid of!"
Celia stood. "Dismissed. Training resumes at dawn."
As the others filed out, I sat there staring at my untouched gray mush, wondering if I'd ever see instant noodles again.
---
That night, I couldn't sleep. The barracks were quiet except for Liri snoring like a squeaky toy and Rina mumbling "more reps" in her sleep.
I stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened. The battlefield. The girls. The synchronization. The fact that I might be going to war.
Me—Haruto Sakamaki. The guy who once failed P.E. because he tripped during warm-ups.
And yet… something inside me stirred.
That flash of power earlier—it felt real. Like something deep within me had awakened.
Maybe, just maybe, I wasn't as useless as I thought.
"Don't die before the beach episode," I muttered to myself, closing my eyes.
> In three days, the Charm Battalion would march to war.
And I, the luckless rookie surrounded by beautiful chaos, was about to learn that surviving battle might be easier than surviving them.
[To be continued in Chapter 2: Operation Dawnbreaker Begins!]