The same man and the squad lead Arthur to a different room.
Unlike the previous room that seems like a classroom, this room appears to be a bedroom. It has a queen-sized bed, a restroom with a shower room, and a desk with pens and small note papers.
"Starting today, you will be doing the next phase of the exam in this room for seven days. The procedure and necessary items of the exam will be delivered to you shortly. Three meals per day will be delivered to your room. Contact with other examinees is forbidden. If you require anything, knock the door three times to call our staff," said the leading man who led Arthur to the classroom for the previous part of the exam. "Congratulations on passing the 1st round."
Arthur takes a moment to digest all the information the man spoke. At least the good news is he passed the written exam.
The man and the escorting squad left Arthur's temporary room.
30 minutes later, the door opens. A figure who wears the same outfit as the man who led Arthur but wearing a bear-head shaped mask led a young girl inside the room.
This young girl has long straight light-blue hair. She wears the same uniform of the royal maids that Arthur saw in Belfast and Sheffield.
The young girl bows before Arthur. Unlike Belfast and Sheffield, her gesture displays an atmosphere of elegance like Hood. If Belfast portrays a sense of loyal servant, than this girl portrays a noble daughter who likes to wear maid's uniform.
"Greetings, my master. My name is Neptune, a light-cruiser Kansen," introduced the young girl as Neptune.
"Nice to meet you too, my name is Arthur Mandelson."
"Mr. Mandelson," called the man with a bear mask. "Here is your required item for the following exam. 15 minutes later, an announcement from the speaker will provide the instruction regarding her and the item."
"Understood," replied Arthur.
The man and the escorting squad left the room.
"Hmm… very interesting," suddenly said Neptune. "Just like Bel said, you don't look at us with disgust or anger."
"Uh… thank you?" Arthur is not sure what he should comment on her dialogue.
"For the following 7 days, I will be your Kansen. No one will question how you interact with me." Neptune moves her head to Arthur's right ear and whispers, "Sandbags, toys, or whatever you desire, I shall behave like one."
Arthur feels a chill to his whole body. Clearly the objects, "sandbags" and "toys," have special meaning. He can vaguely guess what sandbag means, which he would absolutely never do. Toys? What kind of adults still play with toys? The only kind of toys that adults would play is… oh.
Arthur looks at Neptune and she leans slightly sideways, trying to highlight her chests and butts.
"Oh dear Lord…" Arthur puts his hand on his forehead.
Neptune smiles devilishly.
The speaker suddenly plays a short piece of music that sounds like a cellphone's ringtone.
"Welcome to the second phase of the exam. The rule is simple: Live however you want with your Kansen for seven days. Your actions and interactions toward her will not be questioned."
Arthur already heard part of this rule before as the leading man briefly introduced.
"Now, to make this exam meaningful, you should already receive a small box, go ahead and open it."
Arthur follows as the speaker instructed. Inside the small box, there is a silver ring without any jewelry. On its surface, it has been carved with the words: "obedire, absolutum, imperium."
"This ring is the ring of the Navy Executive Order, also known as NEO. With it, you can order any Kansen with any order. They will naturally follow it without any questions or complaints. You can order up to five orders per day. The ring will automatically recharge back to five times after 24 hours."
"To use it, tap the ring three times and point your hand that wears the ring toward the Kansen."
"However, to measure your quality as a commander, the ring in front of you only lasts seven days and will NOT recharge. Should you successfully be nominated as the commander of the Royal Navy, you will be provided with the one that has the full function as mentioned."
The speaker continues, "for seven days, spend your time in this room. You are free to decide your approach to your assigned Kansen. We will not interrupt unless events turn extraordinarily. Good luck."
The speaker becomes silent.
"Obey any order huh?" said Arthur. He then follows the instruction to activate the ring.
Neptune opens her eyes widely. She knew she would be ordered to do something at a certain point, but she did not expect an order immediately from the get-go. Her eyes turn lightless, ready to hear and execute the order.
"Whenever you feel threatened by anyone, including me, you will resist them by any means necessary until you believe you are safe."
"Yes, master. I shall resist any threat against me," complied Neptune. Her eyes turn back to normal.
Is it over? Neptune thinks for a moment. She checks her clothing and her body, nothing noticeable on her clothes and she does not feel any pain or tiredness.
What order did this man in front of her issued?
"Neptune, was it? Are you thirsty?" Arthur uses the tea set and leaves that are included in this room. Quite a high-quality guest room to include a tea set.
"Ahem," Neptune tries to regain her elegance. "You do not need to consider me, master. Do whatever you wish to do."
"I know, I will do just that," said Arthur. He writes on the provided small note paper with the provided pen.
Arthur knocks the door three times. A soldier opens the tiny and narrow window from the other side.
"Can I have these items?" requested Arthur to the soldier at the door.
The soldier takes Arthur's note and makes the request to the control room.
"Command, the examinee number 74 requests a set of pokers, a set of 3 dice, a set of fake coins for board games, and 2 notebooks with pens.
"Hmm… able to arrange but we need a day. Give him the pokers, that should be near our reach."
"Understood, sir"
The soldier turned around and told Arthur the control room's message.
"Thanks." Arthur closes the door.
10 minutes later, the soldier delivers a set of poker to Arthur's room.
Arthur sits at a desk with Neptune. Arthur puts two tea cups of fresh-brewed Earl Gray tea and a set of poker on the desk.
"Oh my, so the rumor about you is true," surprised Neptune.
"Rumor about me?"
"There is a weird gentleman who brews afternoon tea to Kansens, as some royal maids mentioned," answered Neptune.
She takes a sip of the tea. The black tea has a mild flavor, which is perfect for this setup where the place does not offer milk, sugar, or any snacks. Very impressive tea-brewing, she thought.
"Now then, welcome to my afternoon tea party. Let's chat while playing some games until dinner."
"As you wish, master."
Arthur and Neptune started playing poker games.
2 hours have passed.
"Full-house," Neptune wins
"Square," Neptune wins again
"Straight flush," Neptune wins another one.
Unbelievable. How many rounds did Neptune win? Well Arthur has not won a single round during these 2 hours. He tried with everything he got, but with Neptune's sheer luck, his skills seemed like a joke.
Did Neptune cheated? Not likely since Arthur has been shuffling and distributing the cards every round. If anyone wants to cheat, it should be him since he has many more opportunities to do so. Neptune always sat on her chair and received the cards without ever requesting to exchange.
"Haha, wow, this is what winning games feels like," excited Neptune. Since the start of the first round, she gradually forgot to keep her obedient attitude as a royal maid.
"Should we go for another round?" asked Neptune.
"Ahem, as much as I would love to, it's about time for dinner." Arthur tries to keep himself composed.
"Ah, are you running away, master?" said Neptune.
As Arthur is about to make an excuse, someone knocks on the door.
"Examinee 74, your dinner is ready."
The dinner comes with two portions, one for the examinee and one for the accompanying Kansen.
After finishing their dinner, Arthur suggests another activity. He gives a pen and some note papers to Neptune.
"Write anything you want. Diary, a short story, you decide. I will write my stuff as well."
Neptune has many questions she wants to ask, but she follows as he instructed.
30 minutes later, Arthur finished his writing. He gets up and goes to shower, brushes his teeth, and then lies down onto bed.
"Feel free to use the restroom and shower anytime you like," said Arthur before he closed his eyes.
Neptune looks at him with surprised eyes. Will tonight just end like this? Of course, she would never complain about having a peaceful night. As the royal maids said, this man probably has countless experiences to be able to endure women's charm.
Today is just the first day of seven. "Anything" can still happen in the near future.