CH 88

Waking up and Peeping Tom

Kisei is sleeping inside the cockpit of [Caliburn-Revive]. He leaned his pilot seat back to the limit and used the flight jacket he always wears as a blanket.

Although the maintenance deck was noisy due to the maintenance works and the chatter of its crew, he’s peacefully sleeping with gentle breath.

“…….”

From the outside of the cockpit hatch, the Chief Mechanic peeked inside. When she saw Kisei’s soundly sleeping face, she let out a small “Ooh….” while pointing a small camera at him.

“Just a little bit……..just a little bit is fine right…….?”

When she pressed the shutter with her trembling finger, a faint clicking echoed inside the cockpit. At the same time, she heard a loud voice coming from behind her.

“OOI, Hokuto!”

“Uwah!”

In surprise, the Chief Mechanic fell back and the back of her head smashed into the basket of the maintenance crane.

“Ouch!”

“Wh, what are you doing?”

At the feet of the [Caliburn-Revive]…….Saki looked up at her with a puzzled expression.

While putting the camera back inside her pocket, the Chief Mechanic stood up and scratched her head.

“Nothing, hahaha.”

“…..well, whatever. Hokuto’s in there right?”

“Umm.”

When she glanced inside the cockpit, Kisei’s eyes were still shut. Even though she just made a fuss, he didn’t wake up. It seems that he’s in a deep sleep. Thinking so, the Chief Mechanic stroked her chest in relief.

“It seems he’s resting.”

“He’s taking a nap? It’s almost time for dinner you know.”

“Maybe he’s just tired?”

“We had nothing to do for a while already though, how could he get tired……..sorry but, can you wake him up for me?”

“Yes, yes.”

The Chief Mechanic got inside the cockpit again while looking at Kisei’s sleeping face.

“I guess this is also an occupational benefit huh.”

After enjoying his sleeping face for a moment so as to not arouse Saki’s suspicion, she shook his shoulders.

“Please wake up, it’s almost time for dinner!”

“…..Nn? Ah, good morning……”

Shortly after he got up, Kisei rubbed his eyes and stretched. He then looked at the Chief Mechanic with a yawn.

Seeing him like that, the Chief Mechanic shyly turned away.

“The light? What time is it?”

“It’s 6:30, local time.”

“Uwah, I slept for 3 hours?”

With a sleepy expression, Kisei sighed. Originally, he only intended to take a nap for an hour.

“Lt. Makishima is here to see you, you know?”

“Eh, really? My bad……”

In a hurry, Kisei jumped out of the cockpit and lowered himself down using the crane. On the other hand, Saki greeted him with a subtle expression.

“If you sleep at a time like this, you won’t be able to get any sleep at night you know.”

“You sound like my sister.”

“Shut up.”

Saying so, Saki patted his head. However, her touch was more like roughly stroking rather than gently patting.

“Still, sorry about this. You waited for me right?”

Of course, Kisei still hasn’t received permission to go about the place alone. Saki is currently acting as his escort. He did tell her that he would be taking a nap beforehand but……

“No, it’s fine. I made that guy watch over you, I just got back from an errand earlier.”

Saying so, Saki glanced at the Chief Mechanic.

“W, Well, you were inside [Caliburn-Revive] the whole time. I wouldn’t let anyone suspicious get close to this place after all.”

The Chief Mechanic proudly replied without outing herself as said ‘suspicious person’.

“Ah, is that so. Thank you very much.”

Kisei bowed and thanked the Chief Mechanic before turning his eyes back to Saki who somehow looked like she was in a good mood. Curious, Kisei asked her about it.

“…..by the way, what was the errand?”

“I was polishing [Dainsleif]. It’s all shiny now you know? I will let you take a look later.”

“Oh, that’s nice. I want to try cleaning mine too……”

Saying so, Kisei looks back at the [Caliburn-Revive]. Naturally, it’s not dirty by any means since it has been thoroughly cleaned by the maintenance crew after each mission. Even so, dirt can still accumulate in small gaps. It’s always nice to see your personal striker nice and clean.

“Give up the idea, if you do it yourself I can totally picture you slid off the armor. I will do it when I have free time.”

“Ah, I will help too. I don’t sortie much these days so I’m mostly free after all.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Saki and the Chief Mechanic met eyes for a moment and smiled at each other. Then their expression suddenly changed and turned toward Kisei.

“Come to think of it, did you hear?”

“About what?”

“Today’s dinner, it’s gonna be beef bowl again.”

“Ehh……”

Kisei frowned at the dinner menu. Due to the lack of supplies, their meals have become extremely monotonous. They should be grateful that they still have something to eat but they still can’t help but grow tired of eating the same old beef bowl over and over again.

“Beef bowl again? We had that for both breakfast and lunch already right.”

“Thinking about it now, all 3 meals yesterday were also beef bowls huh.”

The frown was not just limited to Kisei but the Chief Mechanic as well. The beef bowl which is cheap and filling is the most popular ration for military personnel but it’s too much having to eat the same thing every day.

“Ridiculous right? It’s 6 meals in a row now. That’s why, I came up with an idea.”

“What idea?”

“Simple. All we have to do is get our meal from someone who has something delicious hidden away for herself. In other words, let’s pay a visit to our aristocrat prisoner.”

With an evil expression, Saki declared her plan.