Year 1015. Kanan, Mari and Dia have finally completed their two-year training. Their graduation came at a perfect time - a major operation is underway.

At the western part of Wall Emi lies a walled town called Seiren. Here, a joint operation which required the cooperation of both the Love Live Survey Corps and the Uranohoshi Garrison Corps, is developing in earnest.

The operation is called "The Expeditionary Road".

Kimi Minami, the new commander of the Love Live Corps, has decided to launch another Expedition outside the Walls. Unlike previous operations, however, the goal of this 38th Expedition is not the recapture of Wall Aya. The goal of this Expedition is to establish "stations" at certain points beyond Seiren. The operation follows a concept similar to bridge and road constructions. The military will build outposts at certain points which contain towers fitted with cannons, Alpaca traps, and other constructions. The soldiers who are stationed in these areas will serve as baits to attract more Alpacas.

LL Corps will be in charge of choosing strategic locations to build these "stations", as well as fighting Alpacas that come near the chosen spot. Uranohoshi Corps will be in charge building these stations. The purpose of this operation is to extend the supply lines and base of operations where LL could travel closer to Wall Aya instead of starting an operation at the very gates of a walled city as they usually had done in the past. Rather, the goal would be connecting these "roads" to various Forests of Giant Trees which will provide defensive holdouts for the Military - forests have always been an advantageous battlefield versus Alpacas.

The operation also had a defense mechanism against the likely incursions of the Colossal and Armored Alpacas - should any of these stations be attacked, the entire force would retreat back to Seiren and lure these Alpacas to the city to be destroyed by the Garrison's latest cannon technologies.

There was also hope that if this operation succeeded, humanity may even be able to build humanity's first permanent settlement outside a Wall.

The operation had four advantages: Firstly, the operation received lots of support from the government and trade unions. Secondly, there have been technological advancements in anti-Alpaca weaponry and strategy.

Thirdly, Seiren and the western regions had terrain suitable for this kind of operation. Mountains and cliffs limit the open areas which usually put the Legionnaries at a disadvantage.

Finally, Love Live Corps has had the advantage of manpower. The newest recruits in LL are very outstanding soldiers. So far, LL has had the highest number of members in it's history - about a hundred new recruits have joined the Corps.

Among the hundred new recruits are three girls....

----

DIA'S POV

"We are finally here!!"

"Two years of training has paid off!!"

"Now, now girls. Easy. Don't get too hyped just because we are now official members of the LL Corps...."

Kanan, Mari, and I walked on horseback towards our new camp. It is there where we will be receiving our first missions and our official LL cloaks (the cloaks we wear now are Trainee cloaks). Each step we take to the camp makes me more and more excited. We are now official Alpaca slayers, after all!!

I can't help but think what the Legionnaires are like. What kind of people they must be. The main person I am hoping to meet is Captain Eri Ayase. I have heard how powerful she is and saw how graceful her maneuvers are. I wanna be her student so much!!

"I cannot wait to meet Eri-sama!!", I said with excitement. Apparantly, my words were loud enough for two men nearby to hear. I did not hear their comments about us.

"The three of them think that joining the Corps is fun. Sigh, I am expecting them to die because of their blind optimism."

"Alfred, you were like them before yet you are still alive."

"For now, Jen, for now. I think I am gonna die soon....."

But Kanan seemed a bit bothered by how excited I and Mari are. Kanan asked us about our membership.

"Hey....are you two really ready for this?"

"Kanan!!!", Mari said in a tone where she seemed offended.

"Hey, Kanan. Isn't it too late for you to be asking us that? We are already here! Of course we are ready to become Love Livers!!", I responded.

"I am just concerned for you two....", Kanan said before we stopped getting into that too seriously. We continued our journey till we finally made it to the camp.

We are amazed by the sight of our new camp. First and foremost, our camp is outside Wall Emi. This would have never been the case had the Expeditionary Road operation failed. Just shows that mankind is definitely regaining it's strength!

Next, the sight of the men and women wearing green cloaks bearing the ensignia of the Legion, a Muse symbol over a Pure symbol, made me feel a very patriotic and safe atmosphere.

As we dropped off our horses and asked the soldiers there who we should go to for our first mission, I am delighted with the sight of our proud fighters. The other Legionnaires looked at us with indifference, much to my surprise. I mean, most of them probably recognised me as the First Princess of the kingdom, but they don't seem to see me that way.

"Are you guys the new recruits? You three seem to be the first ones to come here.", said a female officer whom we asked for guidance.

"Absolutely!! We are Kanan Matsuura, Mari Ohara, and Dia Kurosawa respectively."

"Oh! So one of you is a princess?"

"It is I, miss!!"

"Ah I see. Well, just to let you know Your Majesty, nobody here is going to address you as a Princess of the Kingdom. Here in the Love Live Corps, everyone is treated equally. Even Commanders prefer to be informal with their troops. I hope you understand that."

"I absolutely understand! I respect the equality that you heroes have in this Corps."

"Good! Okey, so I will be taking you to your commanding officer. She will be handling you newbies."

"Miss, may I ask who will be in charge of us new recruits?", Mari asked.

"You guys will be assigned to Captain Eri Ayase."

"EHHHHH?!!! W-WAIT!! YOU MEAN THE ERI AYASE?!!"

"Yep."

The moment I heard her name realised we will be meeting her sooner than expected, I panicked.

"Oh my god!! Mari, Kanan, what am I gonna do!! I am not yet ready to meet her face to face!!"

"What are you talking about? Didn't you say a while ago that you are ready....", Mari teasingly reminded.

"Meeting Mankind's strongest is an entirely different thing!!", I replied.

As I continued bickering, I did not notice another soldier as she walked to us before it was too late.

"Oh!!? You guys are the new recruits, right? Pleasure to meet you!!", her voice made my head turn around to look. Behold, my idol is right in front of me!!

"Eri-sama!!!", I stuttered as I quickly stood upright and performed a salute - raising one's fist over one's chest.

(Mari and Kanan both saluted properly and normally without exaggeration compared to I.)

"Hehe....I never thought the princess of the Kurosawa royalty would be so enthusiastic to see a nobody like me.", she said with humility. Standing tall, looking at us with sheer expectation, she truly is a model! She is totally different from the Eri I saw years ago at the awards ceremony.

"No way, Eri-sama!! You are no way a nobody!! I, Princess Dia, consider it the greatest of honors to meet Mankind's Strongest in person!!", I praised her.

"Wow. Sorry....but I think I no longer deserve that title of "Humanity's Strongest" to be honest."

I am briefly paused by her response and what she meant by it.

"Anyway, line up girls. We will be giving you your new outfits."

Cpt. Ayase quickly brought us to a large tent where we will be given what we needed. Along the way, Kanan whispered to me:

"Hey, Dia, act like a soldier, not like a fangirl."

"Sorry, I know. I just could not help it."

Once we arrived at tent, we are given the outfits. Finally, we are now official members of the Corps. The mere fact that I am wearing the LL Corps cloak gave me much to be proud about. I am now officially part of my dream group!

"I expect much from you guys. All that training should have paid off so make the most of it."

"Yes, ma'm!!"

"Good. Now then, spend your time checking out the Corps and the camp. I don't have a mission for you guys yet. Just standby for further orders. I'll see you guys again after I deal with the other recruits. See ya.", she said before she left to take care of other businesses.

In spite of that short first encounter between us, I am overjoyed nonetheless. I managed to see what kind of person she is - a very professional person.

Since there's nothing to do whilst waiting for our first official orders, we sat on a bench and talked with each other. I started a topic first.

"This is so cool, guys!! I am wearing the official LL Corps outfit!!"

"You actually are hyped about your new clothes? It's just the same clothing except with the LL logo as our new patches.", Kanan reminded.

"But to me this is just like wearing a ceremonial dress!!"

"Really?", Kanan replied.

As the three of us talked with one another, we saw a squadron of Legionnaries walking back to camp, passing by us. They numbered about twenty. The soldiers looked really tired.

"Looks like they just arrived from a rough mission......", one Legionnaire described. He is right, the squadron doesn't look any confident as they should be.

We witnessed events as they unfolded.

Cpt. Eri Ayase noticed the returning squadron, particularly one familiar member in that group. She told one of her subordinates to take care of the incoming recruits in her stead before she hurriedly walked to the squadron.

Ayase met with what seems to be the commanding officer of that squadron. The officer is a girl wearing goggles with average height. She had long grey hair. Her hairstyle looked a bit weird. Her face looked really depressed. For some reason she looked just like LL Corps' commander, Kimi Minami. Ms. Ayase asked her for details.

"Kotori, what happened?", said Eri as she interrogated her.

"It was a brutal mission. So many Abnormals gathered at a certain point near the mountains. The narrow pass limited the routes we could take to escape and get back here."

"So that means that the pass is unaccessible?"

"Yeah, but there's something else. Unfortunately....sigh, Maki-chan took care of most of the Abnormals.....thus the pass is clear of Alpacas."

This girl named Kotori gave an odd answer which bothered Ms. Ayase.

"Kotori....why did you say it was an unfortunate event? Killing them is good news for us."

"Yeah....killing them is good news for you guys....but it ain't good news for me?"

"Huh?", Eri gave a confused look. Before long, Kotori approached Eri and held her with both hands.

"ABOUT FIFTEEN CUTE ALPACAS WERE SLAIN, ERI-CHAN!!! THAT IS HORRIBLE!!! WE COULD HAVE CAPTURED THEM!!! WE COULD HAVE STUDIED THEM!! THEY....THEY WERE SUCH BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!!!"

Kotori went berserk and started talking a lot. Eri Ayase and the three of us had stunned faces.

"One alpaca had flamboyant, blonde hair!! Two Alpacas had yellow fur with black spots!!! Another is a tiny 7 meter class with a small mouth!! Cute Alpacas!!! Cute!!! KAWAIII!!!"

All of us were stunned. We all thought what the hell is wrong with her. So did Ms. Ayase.

"Kotori....you have lost it, haven't you? I heard your attitude towards Alpacas changed since some months ago."

"Yep!! I realized that loving Alpacas instead of hating or fearing them is the best medicine!!! Oh!!! How I wish you could see one of the cute Abnormals we just encountered!!!"

All of us freaked out a bit. The grey haired girl was Kotori Minami, daughter of the LL Corps' Commander, Kimi Minami. We did not expect an abnormal reaction from her. Nor did we expect her to be insane.

After somewhat sobbing in front of Eri, Kotori suddenly changed face and looked so happy all of a sudden like nothing happened.

"Oh well! I hope we can find more Abnormals tomorrow. It's not like I hate Maki-chan for killing those Alpacas. I just find it a shame to - aaaaaah!! Here she is!!"

Moments later, another girl walked by. She is definitely part of Kotori's unit, but her aura is totally different. Her appearance caught us by surprise.

There are bits of evaporating blood all over her. It did not look like her blood - the blood all over her is probably from the Alpacas she fought. She had crimson hair, her face showed a very bored and depressed expression. Her eyes.....her eyes looked like she wanted to kill someone.

"Hey, Maki. You alright?"

"Don't talk to me.", she said rudely as she kept walking. She wanted no one to bother her.

The three of us were stunned when we saw her. The girl looked really intimidating. I was absolutely surprised. I can't believe that the Corps has such a person in the Corps. Who is she?

Apparantly, I kept staring at her face, her crimson hair, and her purple eyes. She noticed it.

"Oy. Why the hell are you looking at me like that, rookie?", the girl said as she looked at us. I froze with anxiety as I looked at her cold, soulless, purple eyes. I thought she wanted to kill us. All I could do was gulp and turn my gaze away without a word.

To my relief, she ignored me and walked away like nothing happened. Eri Ayase noticed how terrified we are and rushed to us.

"Pardon Maki Nishikino, girls. She is just tired. Trust me, she is not taking your reactions personally."

"Maki Nishikino?", I said.

"Yeah. She is a new member. Commander Kimi Minami personally recruited her three months ago. She is a nice girl, but she is bitter with people. I do not think you can get along with her as easily as you would with others."

"Oh....she seems so.....tough.", Mari described.

"She is humanity's strongest soldier.", Eri said which made us go:

"EHHHHHHH?!!", all of us are baffled to hear that that girl Maki is beyond what we expected.

"What?! No one ever told us about that!", Kanan replied.

"I am the first person to say that. It is because I get the feeling that she is better than me at killing Alpacas. Her kill ratios are ridiculous, not even our elites could ever pass her mark."

"How good is she?", I asked.

"Well....I remember that in my first month as a Legionnaire, I got 6 kills. During her first month in our corps, she killed 13 Alpacas. And even though I definitely have way more kills than her, she is clearly catching up pretty quickly."

"What!!! No way!!??"

"She is that good, girls.", Eri described. The fact that she, the most elite of the elite, is telling us out loud that Maki is gonna surpass her is ridiculous. From then on, the three of became cautious and curious about Maki Nishikino.

This is how our first day at the Love Live Corps started. We never knew , however, that our first week in the Corps will become even worse.

------

A/N: This volume's main arc has just begun, guys. There will be gore and brutality in the following chapters. I hope you stand by for the ride.

Also, I thank those who voted and continued to read this book!