Chapter 27: When Listening to a Speech, What You Inevitably Want to Point Out Might Be Human Nature
  Returning to the Captain’s room, Jowain wolfed down a hamburger and took a shower, which made him feel somewhat less tired. After that, he lay down on the bed for a nap, and Shougo slept like a log until he woke up next. He had no idea when he had fallen asleep.
  If there had been an enemy attack at this time, even the Captain would have been woken up, but it seemed like there was no need to worry about that.
  
  “……?”
  
  He was awakened by the sound of the bell announcing a visitor to the Captain’s room.
  His head was still fuzzy, but it seemed like he had gotten some rest. Stifling a yawn, Shougo muttered, “Come in.”
  At the same time, he checked the clock. He had slept for about four hours.
  He wanted to say that he hadn’t slept enough, but it couldn’t be helped.
  
  “I have brought your meal.”
  
  Yuri timidly peeked in from the slightly opened door. It seemed she was carrying a tray with a meal on it.
  Huh, did he ask for that?
  
  “I thought someone was on duty.”
  “Was it a bother? I couldn’t just sit still. I used to take care of Franny-sama…… everything in the mansion.”
  
  Even in this day and age, the job of a housekeeper didn’t seem to disappear easily.
  Franny was quite the “Ojō-sama.” A maid who served her would have to be proficient in many areas.
  
  “I asked her to do it. I thought that since I’m taking care of you, I should help out as much as possible.”
  “I see…… I understand. Thank you. Just put the meal down anywhere. Don’t overwork yourself.”
  “Yes, sir.”
  
  Yuri efficiently set the meal down. She was skillful, and the way she arranged the dishes followed elegant manners.
  
  “You can leave now.”
  “Um, if you have any laundry, I can take it.”
  “……? I can do that myself.”
  “Yes…… but……”
  
  Yuri seemed a little restless. He felt like she had been like this ever since they came to this ship.
  
  ‘Ah…… she’s scared.’
  
  As Yuri herself had said earlier, she probably couldn’t just sit still.
  Shougo realized that she was probably trying to find work to distract herself from the fact that she had come to a place where she didn’t belong, that her life had been threatened, and that she was still in danger.
  He could understand how she felt. He himself wasn’t without those thoughts.
  Despite her sharp, nervous eyes and glasses, he couldn’t sense any spirit in her now.
  At least when she got off the shuttle, she still had a bit of a strong-willed air about her.
  But as time passed and she understood the situation, her confidence must have crumbled.
  He thought this was probably her true reaction, just like Franny.
  
  “……Then, I’ll ask you to do it. But if I only make you do my laundry, that would be a problem. Maintaining the ship’s environment is important. Even if we call ourselves pirates, we’re a male-dominated military, well, there are some female officers, but……”
  
  Looking through Jowain’s memories, there were twelve female officers on the Mirandora. Two of them were pilots, and the rest were scattered among navigation assistants, gunners, observers, and so on. One of them was solely responsible for the ship’s environment, like a housekeeper, but it was more of a side job, and her main job was to manage the overall maintenance.
  
  “I want you to teach her your main job. And also…… teach the children, you know? Can you be a tutor or something?”
  “Yes, I was also in charge of Ojō-sama’s education.”
  “Then I’d like to ask you to do that. Even in this situation, they’re children who should be going to school……”
  
  It was Shougo’s naive idea to make them feel like they were living a normal life, even in this abnormal situation. And also, for Yuri’s peace of mind. It would be a problem to make her work too much, but he thought that if he could make her interact with people like this, it would bring her some stability.
  
  “Unfortunately, I think the database is limited because it’s a warship.”
  “No, thank you. I appreciate your concern.”
  
  He felt like the sharp expression that had been like a career woman’s softened for a moment. He didn’t know if it was a smile or just a release of tension; he couldn’t tell the subtle difference. Probably Jowain wouldn’t know either. Neither of them had any experience dating women.
  Jowain seemed to have been to establishments as a high-ranking military officer, though.
  
  “Oh, no, it’s just that, well, things happened, and it’s true that I got you involved. And the situation is what it is. You were targeted, for whatever reason. I can’t just drop you off somewhere…… so I’m trying to make it as stress-free as possible.”
  
  Shougo regretted saying that much.
  He had been trying to distract himself from that awareness until a moment ago, but when he opened his mouth, he was confronted with reality. He hated his inability to speak well. He had made several blunders so far, but he thought this was his biggest mistake.
  His head spun. He seemed to be trying to make amends.
  
  “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant……”
  “Oh, don’t worry about it. I really appreciate your concern.”
  
  Yuri looked a little surprised.
  
  “It’s just that, you know, you’re military personnel, former New Balance, so I thought you’d be a group of scarier people. I’ve heard the rumors.”
  “Not all New Balance officers are evil……”
  
  He forced himself to shut his mouth, which was about to say, “probably.”
  He had to discipline his modern sensibilities in this hopeless direction. Even if things were working out now, there was no guarantee that they would continue to do so in the future.
  He took a deep breath as if to play his role.
  
  “We’ll exchange fire to survive…… but I want to avoid unnecessary battles if possible. I think we have the power to do that. It’s frustrating that it’s just one boy who can handle it…… so I want to ask you to take care of them. It’s mostly military personnel here, and I’m a man who’s never been a father, so I don’t know anything about education.”
  “Understood. I’ll do my best to meet your expectations, and I want to repay your kindness.”
  
  Yuri bowed deeply.
  It was a perfect movement, no matter who saw it.
  After that, she took the clothes that Shougo had carelessly taken off and stuffed into a basket, and carried them away along with the tray.
  
  “Then, I’ll excuse myself.”
  
  She left those words behind.
  
  ***
  
  Exactly 24 hours had passed since they rescued Franny and the others.
  It was eerie that there had been no attacks during that time, but judging from the information gleaned from intercepted network lines, it seemed the military was still in chaos.
  Shougo and the others speculated that they were deliberately strengthening their defenses instead of deploying their forces elsewhere.
  Major Kes, the tactician, said with a straight face,
  
  『There might even be strikes happening in various places.』
  
  A strike in the military.
  If you thought about it calmly, it was quite something, but if you considered that there was that much chaos, it would explain why they had been safe for a whole day.
  Perhaps officers in various locations who were seeking explanations or felt distrustful were rebelling. Right now, that was acting as a deterrent and slowing down their movements. There was no way they wouldn’t take advantage of this.
  
  “We’ll make haste to Belbeck during this lull.”
  
  And so, the Mirandora set course for Belbeck, their temporary destination.
  It was a voyage of several days, even using warp. During that time, the pilots would undergo training. Especially Yuuki, who was a complete a*ateur.
  At the same time, Anish also volunteered to be a pilot. Emotionally, he wanted to object, but it would be troublesome if he forced her down and she arbitrarily took a machine and sortied. After all, that was how things went in the original story.
  The fact that the squadron leader of the destroyer Savona died because of that was quite a problem.
  In that case, it would be safer and, to put it bluntly, easier to control if he gave her permission and deliberately integrated her into the unit.
  
  “There’s a high probability that we’ll be fighting regular soldiers. If you’ve become a member of the security forces, you should be prepared for that, but it’s not something you can handle just like that. I won’t allow reckless charges. Obey orders. If you break them, I’ll correct you. My fists will fly too.”
  
  Those were the words of Lieutenant Mark.
  Yuuki didn’t look too happy about Anish’s appointment as a pilot, but he also seemed resigned.
  He muttered that she was a girl who wouldn’t listen to him.
  Anyway, for now, they had to reorganize the team and prepare themselves mentally. Since they didn’t know what kind of support they would receive, they had to be fully prepared.
  And they entered the second day. The situation was still stable.
  
  “It’s eerie.”
  
  Major Kes muttered as they were on alert.
  While on alert, the Teurugia squad was conducting space training. Yuuki and Anish were keeping up with the Teurugia squad well, but according to Mark’s report, they were still having trouble with detailed combinations.
  Especially Yuuki, who still seemed to be relying on the Trismegistus’ performance.
  While watching such a scene, Shougo asked Kes,
  
  “Is it the enemy’s movement?”
  “Yes. I can still understand why the entire military isn’t moving. But it’s strange that there’s no rebuttal from the Commander and the others regarding this blunder.”
  
  A whole day had passed since the broadcast, so there should have been some kind of reaction.
  However, New Balance’s public relations department was making rebuttals, but the top brass remained silent. Was it because they couldn’t afford to be exposed to public opinion?
  
  “My father is not a coward.”
  
  Franny, who was sitting next to him in a temporary seat, declared resolutely.
  Normally, this would be a violation of military regulations and unthinkable, but since she was no longer a member of the military, and at Franny’s request, Shougo had allowed her to be there.
  Franny said she wanted to study reality. He gave her permission on the condition that she wouldn’t interfere.
  
  “I think he’ll continue his duties as if nothing happened. I don’t think he’s the kind of person who would be worn down by 『this level』 of slander.”
  “……Don’t you think he might have lost his mind after losing his daughter?”
  
  Shougo blurted out the question, even though he thought it was rude.
  Franny answered while looking straight at the Teurugias that were continuing their training.
  
  “If that were the case, I’d be happy. But my father is someone who separates his private life from his work. That’s why he was able to become the Commander of the organization. It’s very sad, but even so, my father showed me affection. I want to believe that wasn’t a lie.”
  
  A father killing his daughter for ambition.
  She probably didn’t want to believe it. Shougo also wanted to believe it wasn’t true, but he couldn’t say for sure.
  After all, the character of Commander Fauden only appeared a few times in the anime. His background wasn’t revealed much, and it was Colonel Anferu who made a prominent appearance as the main villain.
  
  “My existence should be a b*mb for my father and New Balance. Is this the time to spread only survival rumors?”
  “Ah, that’s right. We’ll have you play the miracle heroine?”
  “That’s fine. I think that’s what I should do.”
  
  Shougo was impressed by how strong she was.
  She wasn’t giving up. He thought she was thinking about the best thing she could do for herself now.
  
  “Captain, we’ve caught a super-wide-range broadcast wave.”
  
  Clart operated the console and displayed something on the main monitor.
  A super-wide-range broadcast wave was, in simple terms, an open communication. It was unilaterally broadcast on all frequencies and was often used for emergency broadcasts.
  However, it was too indiscriminate, so both civilians and the military refrained from using it. It could only be used for limited purposes.
  
  “It seems that Ojō-san was right. The Commander’s speech has begun.”
  “……! Stop the Teurugia squad’s training and have them return. And tell them to watch the speech.”
  “Yes, sir!”
  
  While giving orders, Shougo glanced at Franny next to him.
  She was also staring intently at the main monitor.
  The radio waves were adjusted, and a video, though not clear, began to play. They were forcibly picking up intermittent radio waves through several relay facilities, which was why it was like this.
  If they captured the radio waves too accurately, there was a risk of being traced.
  
  『──The reason why rebels and those who call themselves pirates are ravaging space lawlessly and sailing around as if they own the place is partly due to the past Earth government’s spending on the random Frontier Project and its haphazard planetary development.』
  
  The image showed an old man with hollow cheeks. However, his sharp features were still evidence that he was very much active, and the power of his words, the sharpness of his gestures, none of it suggested he was just an old man.
  His opening was a sudden political criticism, and Shougo was disheartened.
  
  ‘Starting with political criticism instead of his daughter’s situation. This guy’s skipping ahead. I don’t understand difficult talk.’
  『I myself, in my younger days, was involved in the Al Minar Resort Project as a lowly engineer. The cost of that project was one-twelfth of the Earth’s national treasury. Everyone, do you think this is not a big deal just by hearing this? No, we invested an amount equivalent to supporting an entire nation. Of course, this is cumulative. We didn’t suddenly come up with that amount of money. But those of us who were entrusted with such a large sum of money and participated in the project worked desperately. As a result, the Al Minar sector succeeded as a resort, and its profits have already exceeded the former national treasury and are being returned. But that’s all. How many colony planets are there that, like this Al Minar, return profits to Earth?』
  
  If you only listened to that part, Fauden’s speech sounded like he was boasting about his achievements.
  
  『I dedicated most of my life to this project and generated profits. But what about many other settlements? They just repeat terraforming without meaning, use unpreparedness as an excuse, and repeatedly request resource aid from Earth. We allowed this out of humanitarian considerations. But looking back over the past few decades, what have they given back to Earth? They demand more. Those who don’t understand this say that Earth only takes and doesn’t give anything. It’s the other way around. It’s the colony planets that are stealing Earth’s financial resources and resources, and behind them are the rebels. It’s a grudge. That’s why I organized New Balance. I want to speak out against the current situation where lawless people pretend to be weak and only take what they can get. They push for excessive development, devour unprofitable things, and abandon them when they get tired of them. It’s Earth that’s cleaning up their mess.』
  
  The speech was clearly shifting the blame.
  
  “……He’s talking nonsense, but for many people, these will be comforting words.”
  
  That they were the victims.
  This change of topic might be skillful.
  Shougo realized that this enemy was not just incompetent.
  
  “This is the enemy.”