CH 28

Refreshments

“……..having too good of a bed is a problem in itself huh.”

A few hours later.

Kisei woke up on his bed. He turns on his mobile terminal to check the time but it appears that there is still plenty of time before they arrive at Leboir. Then, after disabling the alarm he set which still hasn’t gone off yet, he gets up from the bed.

“I can’t get comfy if it’s too fluffy after all.”

If he has to be honest, he still hasn’t recovered from his fatigue yet. However, being accustomed to cheap and stiff futons, he couldn’t get a good sleep with this ultra-high-class bed. So, he gets up and stretches his arms.

“Phew…….”

After he took off his sleeping jersey and changed into his pilot suit, Kise headed to the door. He tried to operate the switch on the wall to open the door but he stopped himself and frowned. Letting out a small sigh, he pulled out his mobile terminal again.

“Makishima-san……no, I guess I will contact Her Highness this time huh.”

From Kisei’s point of view, it is not good to trouble Schleer who should be busy with her work as the commander of this fleet. However, considering her earlier mood when he interacted with Saki, it would be better if he doesn’t always go to Saki alone.

“Hmm, why do I have to do all this just to leave my room……..”

Since he already has her contact information, Kisei sends a message to Schleer’s mobile terminal.

“Nn? Ah, AWAWAWA! IT’S HERE!”

Around the same time, Schleer, who was sitting in her command seat at the bridge, suddenly jumped up with her mobile terminal in hands and all eyes inside the bridge gathered to her at once.

“What is it!? Is it the enemy, ma’am?”

Solana, who was by her side, went fully alert. However, Schleer answered her question with a cheerful smile.”

“N, No, it’s just a message! My first ever message from a man! YAHOOO!”

“Ha?”

Solana’s expression turned terribly grim.

“Your Highness, we are in the middle of an operation.”

“I, I’m sorry. But right now we still have free time right!”

Currently, the [Radiant] is traveling in FTL Navigation mode. It will take them some time to arrive at their targeted location and there are very few ways to attack a ship mid-FTL flight. Since the strategy meeting and mission brief have already been completed, there’s no problem even if Schleer leaves the bridge for a while.

“……Haa, can’t be helped then. Please come back within an hour, Your Highness.”

“Of course! Well then!”

Seeing Schleer sprinted away from the bridge at full speed, Solana let out another sigh.

“Damn it…..so enviable…….”

After a while, Schleer and Kisei are making their way toward the hangar. Kisei is pushing a trolley carrying a cardboard box with the word coffee written on it.

“U, Uhh…..can I help you with that?”

“Eh, Why!?”

Kisei was surprised at Schleer’s sudden proposal. After all, she’s his employer and although hers is only a small country, she’s still a princess. Why does someone like that offer to push a trolley so readily?

“I mean, as a knight, letting a man carry heavy luggage is a little…….anyway, it damages my dignity as a lady.”

“Well, before being a man, I am a mercenary………do you think there is a mercenary out there that would make his employer carry his luggage?”

“Uh…..well…..I don’t want our relationship to be so dry like an employer and employee though.”

When Schleer turned her eyes away and said that, Kisei had a weirded-out expression on his face. When she realized that she just dug her own grave again, Schleer decided to quickly change the topic.

“By the way, why did you buy that box of coffee?”

The box of coffee was purchased a few minutes ago by Kisei at one of the ship’s vendors. This vendor is run by a trading company that has special authorization by the government, not by the army. Each time they arrive at a port, they would purchase goods and stock them up to later sell them to the crews.

“It’s just refreshment. I think that the maintenance crew should be about done with the Caliburn’s maintenance after all.”

“Ah, so it’s for the maintenance crews…….eh, have you been doing this every time you visit them!?”

“Well, it’s not every time but…..they are working on a strange modified prototype striker like the [Caliburn-Revive] aren’t they. I think that it’s not something that is easy to maintain so–.”

Originally, the [Caliburn-Revive] was a non-combat striker that was forcibly remodeled and deployed in actual battle. From the mechanics’ point of view, it must have been a nightmare to modify it correctly. Moreover, they will have to thoroughly check it so that strange defects do not rear its head during battle. Thinking so, Kisei thought that he should at least bring them some refreshments as compensation for their hard work.

“I can’t fly a striker if I don’t have someone to maintain it for me so I just want to build a good relationship with them. That’s all.”

“I see……so that’s the case.”

Schleer nodded, a little surprised. Naturally, Schleer underestimates the contribution of those who work in the background like the maintenance crews. However, she has never given special care to them either.

“As expected of Kisei-san……..but I guess I shouldn’t say that. After all, if I just noticed this after you brought it up, I’d already failed as their superior.”

Schleer sighs to herself. As a princess, it is important to show her dignity to her soldiers but since the Calencia empire is but a small country, the distance between royalty, aristocrats, and common soldiers is much closer than in the Nored empire. Perhaps, openly showing her appreciation toward her subordinates like Kisei might be a good thing for her to do, Schleer thinks.

“I see…….My apologies, I think I will head back to the shop for a bit. I ought to give them some refreshments myself.”

“No, a princess handing out refreshments to her subordinates directly would be a little too inappropriate though……”

“Is, is that the case?”

Realizing that she’s being quite casual with her subordinates like Saki and Solana despite her standing as a princess, Schleer averts her eyes with cold sweat dripping down her back. Since her royal family is a small one, it’s hard for her to act overbearing like the Noredian aristocrats. In the first place, Schleer prefers the current status quo where her subordinates can be honest with her like this.

“Sometimes, rather than giving them something, it is better to just honestly say thank you…….Ah, giving your subordinates an appropriate amount of bonus is a different matter, okay? No subordinate likes a stingy boss after all.”

“Y, Yes, of course!”

Schleer hurriedly nodded.

“Thank you…….thank you huh. I understand. I will try telling them.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Seeing Kisei answer her with a smile, Schleer’s cheeks turned red as she nodded to him.