NIKKE, when the stars bloom

[I said, did you scan the area around you last night? ]

The unbearable thought forced Phoenix to ask about the artificial intelligence, but Alnick's answer left him powerless to refute.

[Don't try to trick me, I didn't peek yesterday! ]

The AI ​​girl, who had suffered a great loss in this matter, replied disdainfully: [Humph! I am a silicon-based life! How could I be like you carbon-based life forms who forget the pain after the wound has healed! ]

【…】

Unable to get an answer from the artificial idiot, and unable to ask Falin in front of Maruchana and Rabbi whether anyone was peeping outside the classroom last night, Phoenix had no other choice but to laugh awkwardly and say:

"Lavi, I didn't expect you to eat so early."

"..."

On the other side, after hearing the commander's words, Rabi didn't know how to answer and could only squint helplessly, trying to think about how she should answer this question without embarrassing the commander.

Last night, because he learned from Deputy Minister Ampa that he could not contact the commander, Lapi had no choice but to go to someone's underground dormitory and knock on the door to verbally hand over the message.

Who would have thought that she knocked on the dormitory door for a long time but still couldn't get the commander to open it. So, the smart girl thought that the commander might still be in the teaching building...

So, on her way to the teacher's office, the clever girl accidentally heard a faint sound that she shouldn't have heard from the stairs.

The rhythmic sound that spread from the classroom to the corridor and then drifted through the corridor...

then,

As expected, Labi, who had no psychological preparation at all, stood there in a daze, and his brain went into a state of mental failure.

She remembered that the commander had said "I need to go check on Marciana's situation". How could he still...

Can also...

In his memory, the indescribable intimate conversation between Maruchana and the commander pressed the play button in Rabi's mind, and he began to savor and chew it over and over again without being affected by his own will.

How could the usually serious girl bear such adult content that was beyond her tolerance? Her cheeks blushed on the spot, and she quickly took out her mobile phone, opened the private chat window of Deputy Minister Ampa, and handed it to someone.

[Deputy Minister Ampah: I cannot contact Lieutenant Phoenix for the time being.]

[Deputy Minister Ampa: Lapi, inform your captain that our people will take you two to the outer area at noon tomorrow.]

[Deputy Minister Ampa: Oh, by the way, I have one more thing to tell you. Ask him to fully charge my phone next time.]

【Lavi: Understood, sir.】

Phoenix: “…”

Looking at this conversation, combined with the small detail that Lavi inexplicably blushed, a guilty lieutenant successfully connected the two things together.

Firstly, it can be seen from the conversation that Ampa wants Rabi to help deliver the message.

Given Erabi's character of obeying orders, she would have come to me to report the news as soon as she received the task last night.

And now the girl is blushing for no reason...

tsk...

The second lieutenant felt uneasy at the answer, but fortunately he had developed a basic resistance to such embarrassing incidents, and he skillfully changed the subject:

"Tomorrow noon, that is today noon...

Ok……

Since we are going to be stationed in the Outer Edge, Lapi, don't call me commander or second lieutenant in public anymore. We need to change our names."

"leader."

As soon as Phoenix finished speaking, Maruchana, who was sitting next to Rabbi and had not noticed anything because he could not see the content on the phone, spoke first:

"Although I have never been to the Outer Rim, I think 'leader' may be more in line with Rabbi's temperament than words like 'boss' or 'big brother'."

"……leader."

After hearing Maruchana's well-reasoned proposal, Rabbi, who had finally stopped thinking wildly, tried to shout a few words, and finally nodded in agreement with the teacher.

"I agree to use the term 'leader' instead of 'commander'."

Phoenix: “…”

Boss, big brother, leader...

Obviously, only the word "leader" sounds the least like a gang member, and only the word "leader" sounds the most like the head of a secret organization...

"Then call the leader."

After thinking about other more outrageous words such as "godfather", "master", and "boss", someone also felt that the word "leader" sounded more normal.

"Maruchana."

After deciding on the title, Phoenix turned his gaze to his "little wife" and earnestly instructed:

"After dinner, please go to the playground and call Mihala, Marian and the others. I'll have Rabbi send you the specific people."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Unexpectedly entrusted with the task, Maruchana, feeling a sense of participation, agreed with satisfaction, unaware that the cheeks of Lavi beside him were blushing again.

……

……

"Outer Edge?!"

When the lieutenant announced the central government's arrangements, the empty cafeteria was instantly filled with Helen's exclamations.

How could the captain, who was once a noble, receive the order to go to the outer edge area? He immediately pressed his right hand and excitedly stabbed the ceremonial sword to the ground.

Bang!

"If we were to carry out a mission on the ground from the outer edge area, then... wouldn't all our military achievements not be recognized by the central government?!

Lieutenant! We must appeal to the central government! Even if it means redeeming our crimes, it is better than this…"

Just when Helen was trying to persuade the lieutenant with an incredulous look on her face...

On the far left of the team, Yuni's little face was gloomy. She pulled the whip with both hands, causing an explosion in the air, and then scolded in a tone that was completely inappropriate for her age:

"Hey! If you dare to yell at the commander again, you annoying bastard, Yuni will beat you up!"

"What do you know as a little girl? Do you know that the lieutenant is now a criminal..."

Snapped--! ! !

Helen: “!!!”

A flash of black light flashed across the sky in an instant, and before the noble captain could finish his words, the furious Yuni really whipped Helen's chest and abdomen with a whip.

"Apologize to the commander!"

The little girl with twin ponytails glared with murderous eyes. She shook her wrist and the black whip bit the air again like a snake, causing a sharp sonic boom on the spot.

Snapped--!!!!!

"Are you deaf? Yuni asked you to apologize to the commander! Apologize now!"

"Hey! You're really hitting me! Yuni!"

Seeing that the usually silly and cute little girl actually whipped someone in public just because of the second lieutenant's relationship, Master, who was nominally Helen's subordinate, could no longer sit still.

Although she was often secretly annoyed and speechless about Helen's low emotional intelligence, they were friends after all. How could she sit idly by and watch her friend being treated violently?

The same goes for Anke. She may say she hates him, but in her heart she still regards Helen as the captain of the Praise.

pat!

As soon as they stepped out of the team, Master and Anke stood in front of Helen without hesitation and tried to smooth things over.

Master: "Wait, calm down, everyone. Helen is just a bad talker. She actually has good intentions! Otherwise, she wouldn't be so considerate of the lieutenant's future."

Anke: "Well, Helen is just a fool, she's not a bad person."

"Oh~?"

Looking back at the indifferent man in her family, Mihara, who was in tune with her, stepped next to Yuni and lazily pointed out the problem.

"But in our opinion, Captain Helen is only concerned about her so-called naval honor, which never existed."

"What did you say?!!"

At this moment, Helen's self-esteem was ruthlessly shattered by Mihala's words, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was "badly broken".

The noble girl no longer cared about her image. She stood up angrily and stepped out from between Anke and Master, gritting her teeth and saying:

"Insult the Ark Navy!"

bass--

The sword flashed, and the tip of the ceremonial sword in the captain's hand pointed directly at Mihara's heart, his expression showing both anger and coldness.

"Do you dare to duel with me?!"

As soon as these words came out, Master, who was standing behind Helen, almost fainted on the spot. Duel... This idiot actually challenged a teammate in the same team...

Is this a language that the human brain can organize? !

Not to mention winning the duel, even if they lose to others, the three of them will never be able to stay in this squadron again!

So, the frightened Master hurried forward to stop her captain and said with a wry smile:

"Ha...hahahahaha...everyone has seen it. Our captain has some brain problems. Everyone...everyone don't take it seriously."

Unexpectedly, Helen's mind had already burned out. She pushed her friend away, pointed her sword at Mihala, and shouted:

"Do you dare to duel with me?"

First she was whipped by Yuni, and then her defense was broken by Mihara's attack. The captain, who claimed to treat her face as waste paper, did not realize that she still had the arrogance of aristocrats in her bones.

Even though she was already begging other nobles for the daily maintenance costs of the Praise, the girl did not realize the key to successful begging.

The fundamental reason why the nobles paid attention to her was that her mother's family was also Ark nobles, not because of her reputation as a naval captain...Niki's reputation.

"You want to duel me?"

Helen's "axis" obviously exceeded Mihala's expectations.

But she didn't care. Ever since she couldn't break through D's defense that night, which led to Marian's night attack on the commander, she had put a lot of effort into fighting skills, including practicing difficult techniques such as taking a knife with bare hands.

Admittedly, it was sheer wishful thinking to want to snatch the knife with bare hands when the opponent was at the same level, but...

Nikki, who had never been to the ground and had never even fought with Letcher, was not someone Mihala looked down on, but it was a question whether this noble lady could endure the pain.

"bring it on."

The woman took a step forward and carefully took off the windbreaker the commander had given her. She handed it to Yuni and said with a smile:

"Excuse me, are there any rules for your noble duels?"

"Just don't kill our captain."

It is said that the husband sings and the wife follows. Unexpectedly, Phoenix, who had been observing for a long time, performed a case of the wife singing and the husband following. When Mihaela asked the question, he gave a direct order:

"Let's get started, everyone else stay away."

"Eh?"

Master and Anke, who were trying hard to ease the atmosphere, turned to look at the lieutenant with astonishment on their faces.

How come there are still leaders who take the lead in removing stairs???

"Let's go, don't just stand there."

On the other side, hearing Phoenix's words, Wolfe and Christine immediately took two steps forward, reached out and grabbed one person each, and dragged the two crew members who were livening up the atmosphere from the "duel arena" to the audience stands.

……

……

The gauntlet rapier is an exquisite weapon whose purpose of demonstrating status far outweighs its actual combat value.

But no matter how many beautiful words are used to describe her, a sword is still a sword, and it can still poke a hole in the body.

If you want to fight a rapier wielder with your bare hands, in the opinion of those who know the matter, it is better to use a dagger to stab your own neck, because that will lead to death faster and easier.

Therefore, when Helen saw that Mihala decided to duel with her unarmed, her first reaction was not to persuade the other party to choose a weapon, but to feel sincerely humiliated.