On their way to the D field, in the cockpit of [Ex-Caliburn], Diaroze asked in worry. Their 2 hours break was better than nothing but 2 hours would be too short to get rid of his fatigue.
“It’s not 100 percent but well, I can fight.”
Kisei answers while stifling a yawn.
“Really? Master’s not that physically fit after all. You can’t push yourself okay.”
“Place a little more trust in me will you.”
Seeing Diaroze genuinely worried about him, a smile unintentionally floated to his face. It’s true that he’s not physically strong but Kisei is still a veteran mercenary. Naturally, he has experienced long battles before.
“I’m telling you, I’m fine. Who do you think I am?”
“[Wicked Star].”
“Exactly.”
Kisei snorted. And this time it was Diaroze’s turn to smile.
“That said, this is still the first phase of the operation. Reserving your stamina is important. With how inferior our fleets are, relying on Master is inevitable after all.”
“Well, with how many ships our enemy has, this probably won’t end any time soon huh.”
“That’s right. We have a two-seater here so it might be better if you switch me in some time. I might not be as good as Master but I do have confidence in my skills you know.”
“That would depend on the situation though.”
Kisei personally doesn’t like the idea of handing over the control to Diaroze. He doesn’t want to show her his pathetic side. Even Kisei has a side of him that wants to look cool in front of the people he likes.
“Still, first phase huh………we are going to lure the enemy to the surface after this right?”
Kisei decided to change the subject so he brought up what he could remember from the briefing. They still have some time before they reach the active combat zone so it’s fine for them to chat for a while.
“Umu, we will fight them in low orbit for a while and descend to the surface letting the enemy think that we’re retreating. After that we…….”
Confused, Kisei looked back at Diaroze. The area they are flying in is free of asteroids or any random debris. There’s no problem even if he takes his eyes off the monitor for a little.
On the other hand, Diaroze has a terribly apologetic look on her face. It seems that wasn’t a joke. Kisei may be able to feel others’ thoughts through the I-con system but he can’t completely understand what they are thinking so he groans with a difficult expression.
“Honestly, it’s not that respectable of a strategy. I know that it will eventually get out but I still don’t want to talk much about it.”
“Even worse than your S*x tape plan?”
Talking about not respectable, Diaroze’s S*x tape plan is one as well. Kisei squints his eyes and stares at her.
“No, it’s a different kind of unrespectable from that.”
Fidgeting, Diaroze nervously answered. Seeing that, Kisei strokes the control stick while thinking to himself for a few seconds. It’s not in the same vein as the S*x tape plan and Diaroze doesn’t want to talk about it……..
After he got to that point, Kisei stopped. It’s probably the kind of strategy that will leave a bad aftertaste. He doesn’t know what she’s trying to do but with how overwhelming the enemy fleet is, a straightforward strategy won’t win them this war. In the end, he couldn’t say anything.
“Sorry, really. I’m scared that Master might come to hate me if you know about it.”
Diaroze gently strokes Kisei’s hair. Truthfully, the plan she devised is pretty severe. However, she doesn’t feel anything even when she’s about to use it on her own mother. She does feel sorry for the soldiers that will be in the crossfire but that’s it.
Thinking how pathetic she is, Diaroze sighed. The Empress might be one cold-hearted monster but she’s still her daughter. Perhaps a monster’s daughter is also a daughter. Such thoughts are weighing on her mind.
“Me aside, I’m more worried about you you know…….”
Even if he doesn’t know what her plan is, he can see that she hates herself for it. Once again, Kisei directed a worried gaze at Diaroze.
However, he doesn’t have the time to comfort her. With an alarm sounding in the cockpit, the search radar detected several strikers approaching their location. When he looked at the monitor, the striker’s names were displayed on it.
“Kisei-san, we’ve come to pick you up.”
It was the [Mistilteinn], [Zarava], and [Colbrand]. The voice from the communication was Schleer. She sounds slightly tired.
“The commander herself came to pick us up huh.”
Before Kisei could reply, Diaroze raised her voice. Her ironic tone was void of the earlier dark atmosphere.
“Escorting a gentleman is a knightly manner after all.”
Diaroze laughs a little at Schleer’s reply before turning to Kisei.
“It seems she’s exhausted from taking command and came here for your healing presence, Master.”