“Still, it’s not heading in a bad direction. Not a dramatically good one either. Just… slightly better, I guess.”
The provisional disciplinary rules within the ship seemed to be working—at least to some extent. The students were trying to behave themselves.
A big reason for that was probably the example set by Cowen, the class clown. He had run himself into near unconsciousness with a punishment marathon. It had demonstrated how serious the consequences really were.
“A spacewalk with just one hour of oxygen and a single tether isn’t exactly a joke… But hey, if someone really does something dangerous, I guess it makes a good example out of them…”
To avoid having to enforce such harsh penalties, something more positive was needed—some kind of change.
The concern had already been raised in the squad leaders’ meeting. The suggestion came from Richard: how about hosting a party, even just temporarily, to help everyone recover some spirit?
Vanessa—the round-faced, red-haired life-support squad leader—had chimed in, saying there weren’t any real issues with food reserves.
After all, spaceships were required to carry essential provisions at all times. Food and water were two of the big ones. There were three years’ worth of food in frozen storage. And water was endlessly recyclable thanks to a cutting-edge filtration and purification system—an invention so revolutionary it was hailed as one of the greatest in human history.
Because of all that, holding a party wouldn’t have any real impact on operations.
But in the end, the proposal was shelved. The prevailing opinion was that it was still too early to say they were truly safe.
Even though, deep down, everyone probably just wanted to breathe for a moment.
“I wonder… is it true that couples really heat up during times like these?”
That slightly trashy thought flickered through her mind.
“Speaking of which, I wonder how those two are doing…”
Lillian hadn’t followed up after leaving Weltall and Stella alone together.
Well, whatever happened, they could do as they pleased. If they took things too far, even as captain, she’d have to crack down on them just like Cowen.
“Ugh… honestly, a bit of enemy activity would be the perfect kind of tension right now. Not that I could ever admit that out loud. Wait, am I really that much of a war junkie?”
Maybe she was feeling stressed in ways she hadn’t even noticed—thinking about things she usually wouldn’t.
After all, she was never meant to be running a proper fleet. Even she could tell her thoughts were becoming uncharacteristic. But necessity had her wracking her brain more than she’d expected.
“I kind of miss those carefree days. Maybe that was an important kind of talent too…”
For now, just like in her youth, when she didn’t feel like doing anything, she collapsed onto the bed.
Back in her previous life, she did this whenever she was demoted—just laid there, wasting time. As she aged, even that became difficult. In the end, she had lived her life in a wheelchair. It all felt like a distant memory now.
Maybe because she now had a young, energetic body again. And yet, she still couldn’t live a life of indulgence. Maybe that was just how deeply her old instincts were rooted.
She was grateful for it, in a way. It kept her from making stupid choices. And most importantly, she remembered that future.
That’s why—
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
It chimed like an antique bell, a strange touch of nostalgic Imperial flair—one of many odd design choices aboard the ship.
She could’ve ignored it, but then she heard Debonair’s voice.
“Hey, um… wanna grab lunch?”
It had been ever since that first battle—Debonair had somehow gotten attached to her.
Another sign of how different this future was turning out to be.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“Ah—wait, if you’re busy, it’s totally fine! Sorry—”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s go. I’m hungry anyway.”
Now that she thought about it… how do you make friends?
She was pretty sure she had friends in her past life. Probably. The girls who always surrounded her weren’t bad people—but they weren’t cut out for the military. They couldn’t keep their heads in an emergency.
She still had some contact with them in this life, but not like before. She had distanced herself. Maybe she’d been a little cold.
“Wait… were you sleeping?”
“No. I just had some things to think through. But I got fed up and gave up. This is a nice distraction—thanks.”
“R-Really? That’s good, then.”
After that, they headed to the mess hall and casually picked out some food, waiting while it cooked.
For some reason, Debonair didn’t sit across from her, but on her right side.
“Ship meals taste pretty good, but the variety’s not great, huh? Kinda feels like one of those regular diners where you eventually end up ordering everything on the menu.”
“…What kind of comparison is that?”
Lillian doesn’t quite grasp Debonair’s analogy, but when it comes to taste, she nods in agreement.
The Imperial Army has its perks—chief among them being the delicious onboard meals. The chefs are professionals, too. They’re so skilled they could run their own restaurants even without serving on a battleship.
“Still… it feels kinda lifeless around here, doesn’t it?”
A bit of chatter while waiting for their food.
But no matter how hard they tried to keep the conversation light, the mood around them remained subdued.
“Can’t be helped. We’re still on high alert. Though we can’t stay like this forever. One big change—good or bad—and things’ll shift.”
“Yeah… Sooner or later, we’ll end up fighting again. No, we definitely will.”
“No doubt about it. That’s an unavoidable fact.”
“Honestly? I hate it. When I enrolled here, I never thought I’d actually have to fight. I figured I’d graduate, get my certification, then find a civilian job or something.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Nobody’s forcing you to stay in the military. Though, well, this is a military academy.”
That said, the Imperial Army had grown complacent.
Pirates ran rampant in the frontier sectors, causing no small amount of damage, but to Earth—the heartland—it was all a distant problem. Plenty shared Debonair’s mindset.
Yet now, the entire crew knew that mindset had to change. Whether they could adapt was another matter.
“I’m… scared. Honestly. Even stepping onto the bridge terrifies me. What if we take a direct hit? My body won’t stop shaking. Even the ship rocking from attacks scares me now. Lillian, aren’t you afraid? You always seem so composed.”
“Hmm… Hard to answer. It’s not like I’m fearless. Truly.”
But the truth was, she had grown accustomed to it.
And knowing fragments of the future gave her some leeway. Granted, that future was starting to shift, so she couldn’t afford to let her guard down—but still, she had it easier than the others.
Though the biggest difference likely came down to combat experience.
“I’m scared, but… if it’s with Lillian, I’d follow—”
“Mind if I join you?”
Debonair’s words were cut short as Frim slid into the conversation.
She carried a plate stacked with five hamburgers.
“Oh, Frim. On break?”
“Mhm. Just wrapped up some work.”
As she spoke, Frim’s gaze flickered toward Debonair.
“Mmm…”
Debonair didn’t exactly glare, but her expression turned slightly troubled.
“My apologies. Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all. C’mon, sit.”
Frim gave a small chuckle, and Debonair, perhaps a tad flustered, pointed to the seat across from her.
With a lingering smile, Frim obliged.
“…Why hamburgers? And five of them?”
Debonair stared at the towering stack.
“I like them.”
“That’s fine, I guess. I don’t mind them either. But can you really eat all that? And they’re all loaded with cheese.”
“I like cheese.”
“Won’t you get heartburn? Or… gain weight—”
“Hehe.”
Frim’s smile seemed to say, I don’t gain weight.
“I heard you’ve been organizing training schedules these past five days.”
The bridge crew—Weltall and the others—functioned as de facto leadership, so such tasks fell to them.
“Must be tough?”
“Well, yes. But a ship runs on its entire crew. We have to make sure everyone’s ready when it counts. What about you? Injuries might be few, but morale’s low, and I’m sure there’s plenty else keeping medical busy?”
“True. Chief Medical Officer Jamison’s been grumbling about needing a psychiatrist.”
“Aren’t there students training in that field?”
“They’ve collapsed.”
“Oh dear.”
A lost cause, then.
If anything, medical was likely the most swamped right now. Under those conditions, Frim had every right to her five hamburgers.
As they talked, Lillian and Debonair’s meals arrived.
“Ah, right. Has Stella caused any more trouble?”
With all three now eating, the conversation resumed.
“Oh, speaking of her—why’s she so weirdly knowledgeable about combat? She’s an odd one. And apparently, she’s beaten the Young Lions a few times. What’s her deal?”
To Debonair, Stella was as much an enigma as Lillian.
“She’s a gamer.”
Frim answered breezily.
“That’s it? Sounds like talent to me.”
“Can’t spoil her. She gets carried away and sticks her nose into everything—”
“Ah! There you are! Excuse me—Ms. Luzor!”
“Like this… Ugh.”
A loud voice echoed through the mess hall.
Frim, who’d already polished off two burgers, winced at the sound.
Oblivious to her dismay, Stella bounded over like an excitable puppy.
“Ugh, Frim…”
And then she spotted the last person she wanted to see.
“What’s with the ‘ugh’? Rude.”
“S-sorry…”
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
