Chapter 2: Arthur Mandelson
As the young man wakes up from his sleep, he cannot recognize what he sees in his sight. He looks around, seeing a vital monitoring machine. It seems he is in a medical room.
"Oh thank god you have finally woken up," said a young woman who dresses like a maid.
The young man looks at the maid who seems to be taking care of him. Her long silver hair pairs well with her face, height, and maid dress. She looks gorgeous, so much that he would believe she is a noble's daughter if not for her maid clothing.
"Where am I? How long have I been asleep?" asked the young man.
"You are currently in the medical room of Commander Joseph's ship. We just found you yesterday so we do not know how long you have been sleeping." said the maid.
The maid put the tray that has a boiled egg and a bagel with butter in front of him. As much as the young man wants to know more, it seems that he should refill his stamina first.
"My apologies for the rash attitude. My name is Arthur, Arthur Mendelson," said the young man.
"My name is Hermione. A Dido-class light cruiser" said the maid.
A light cruiser? Isn't that a ship's description? Arthur finds her introduction sounds unusual, but it does not seem like she is making things up. Looks like he needs to research common terms around here.
Arthur looked around the medical room. Besides the maid in front of him, there is a yellow round creature that seems like a fat penguin that is looking at a monitor's vital reading.
"First time seeing a Manjuu?" Hermione asked.
This creature is called Manjuu it seems. Arthur takes a mental note. He never knew such a creature existed in this world. Is the world not the one he knew?
"No, of course, I heard of them. I just didn't know they could do medical tasks." If this creature is common in this world, then not knowing them would make him suspicious so he throws a little lie.
"Manjuus never fail to surprise us with what they can do. They repair our riggings, carry ammunition, and drive vehicles."
It seems Arthur's lie earned a lot of information. Not only are Manjuu seemingly common in this world, but they are proficient at high-level tasks like engineering and nursing. There are Manjuus who seem like a worker class by carrying supplies and driving vehicles.
"What is this 'rigging' you mentioned?"
"Oh, it's like this," Hermione recalled her deployed ship. The ship shines brightly and turns into small cubes. These cubes then gather at her back and form several barrels of cannons.
Arthur cannot believe what he just saw. It seems that the "ship" is part of the woman in front of her. Those cannons seem heavy enough to crush her but she stands straight like wearing a backpack.
Suddenly a man wearing what looks like an admiral's uniform opened the door and walked into the room with an angry look on his face.
Hermione tries to get in between the man and Arthur, but the aggressive man pushes her out of his way. He then walked over to Arthur, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him onto his feet.
"Are you an Ironblood agent, trying to spy on us?" he shouted, "Nice try, but a futile effort."
Arthur tries his best to stay calm, but it is kind of difficult when you get a rather angry man shouting into your face. He has no idea what Iron Blood means, but based on his reaction, it seems like an enemy organization of some kind.
He will have a lot of things he needs to study about this world.
"Commander," Hermione calls with a strong voice, trying to get his attention. Both Arthur and the man look at her "We cannot assume he is a spy with only speculation."
"Then why is he on the island all by himself after a Siren attack?" the man asked aggressively.
"He does not know, he has lost his memories," Hermione said, holding back her anger. She does not want to be the same short-tempered kind as this man.
"Unbelievable, you agree with what he said?" the man said, sounding annoyed, "It's obviously a lie. Don't tell me you're buying it."
Hermione suggests, "If he wants to infiltrate our facility, go through other "cleaner" way like a job application or officer recruitment. We found some Ironblood spies analyzing their backgrounds in the past. Even if they choose a new approach, dropping someone on an island and hoping that we pick him up takes too much time to be noticed. They should know more professional ways to get a spy into our ranks without relying on a complicated and ineffective plan."
Arthur smiled inwardly. She thinks smarter than he anticipated. He has been thinking about what else to tell besides his loss of his memory. She did his job for him which makes his life much easier and more believable.
The man let go of Arthur. "Fine, I'll play along with his stupid lie. If I see you make any funny move, an interrogation awaits you." He then looks at Hermione, "And you, Hermione, looking forward to your performance with NEO." He stared at Hermione with disgust, before he walked towards the door and left the room.