16—Our Resolve
Upon the trio's return to the office, their little celebration started anew with a tower of chocolate cakes brought in by Haruna. The rectangular glazed cakes were simple by design, but their maker certainly didn't skimp on the chocolate curls and shavings as their toppings. Their subtle yet enticing chocolatey aroma guaranteed their freshness, reminding Inazuma of her culinary-inclined friend making cupcakes for her uncle's coffee shop.
As everyone started to grab a plate, Inazuma was asked by Haruna to do the honors of tasting the first slice from the round cake sitting on the topmost tier. She questioned the battleship's decision solely for the fact that she was thrust into the spotlight once again. After all, it meant that everyone considered her the most important person in this occasion—the one who contributed the most in their struggles.
Inazuma thought that it was nonsense. A tasteless joke that she was supposed to play along with.
She owed all of her accomplishments to her friends, so for her to assume such a role was just unthinkable!
Unfortunately for her, the collective pressure of said friends made it impossible for her to make any more excuses, much less refuse out of shame. To get so worked up on the technicalities of the cake tasting tradition only made the situation even more embarrassing on her part, and she could already tell from their faces that they definitely wouldn't live that down any time soon.
Wondering if she would be able to numb the intense shame in her chest with a few swigs of alcohol, Inazuma stood on a chair and began cutting out a wedge for herself.
As she lifted the slice over her plate, she discovered that it was a three-layer cake complemented with caramel filling. Everyone looked at her in anticipation as she presented her cake and took a piece of it with her fork.
The moment she brought the cake into her mouth, a burst of confetti and sparkling wine rained down courtesy of Chitose and Uzuki. While some of them appreciated the festive gesture, the rest immediately placed their concern on all of the exposed food around them. An argument broke out amidst the chaos and somehow ended up in yet another eating contest between Kumano and Nagara.
Inazuma couldn't help but smile, relieving her from her troubles. For a moment, it felt like it was just any ordinary day, far from the secrets and conspiracies that they had taken upon themselves.
A breather like this was exactly what she needed right now. She needed all the time she could get to adjust, to adapt. As once this fleeting moment of peace was over, she would have to brave the ever-changing currents of reality once again.
And so, she let herself be carried away by the festive mood until they were just a little under thirty minutes away from their scheduled flight. According to Minako, all of their belongings that were left behind the patrol ship Chariot had already been loaded into the transport plane the night before, so they used the remaining time to settle down and mentally prepare themselves for what was to come later on.
Besides, Haruna could use a helping hand with the post-party clean up. It was the least they could do for all the trouble they had caused her from the start.
But as they were about to wrap up their housekeeping operation, Minako suddenly stood up from her desk with an annoyed look on her face. Apparently, the press had somehow caught wind of their departure schedule as a crowd of protesters started to swarm the main entrance of the airfield. How those people even got there in the first place was a mystery to everyone, but Minako decided that they should get a move on just in case.
Inazuma was about to leave the office when Haruna called her attention from the bathroom.
"I-I'm sorry," Haruna ran towards them, carrying Inazuma's jacket with a hanger. "I was so busy that I forgot to hand this over to you earlier!"
Inazuma gasped, receiving the jacket. "Th-Thank you!" She turned it around and noticed that the tear on the back was already gone. "W-Wait… did you… ?"
"Imagine my surprise when I took it out of the washer," Haruna said, placing a hand over her cheek. "I had Tatsuta to fix it for you since patching it up with mag-ions is just inconvenient."
She bowed twice. "Thank you so much for everything!"
Haruna shook her head in response. "I'm just glad that I was able to help." She glanced at Shiranui waiting just outside the room. "You should really get going. I'm worried about the crowd forming at the airfield."
"You guys aren't kidding," Hatsuyuki uttered, looking down at her phone. "Ah… this reminds me of this big convention I attended back at Cinnamille."
Fumizuki shoved her cheek against Hatsuyuki's as she peered at the screen. "Are they waiting for us? Gosh, we've really become celebrities, aren't we?"
"Um," Fusou said, "this isn't exactly the kind of fame we should be excited about."
Sendai pointed at the doorway. "In that case, let's get moving already. I bet those people are just excited as I am that we'll finally leave this island once and for all."
Exchanging nods with each other, they left the office and made their way into the east wing of the headquarters. From there, they met up with some of Kiso's fleet girl companions to serve as their escorts. And upon exiting the building, they boarded a new set of vehicles before exiting through the northeast gate of the compound.
It was a rather ingenious plan, using the cars that they left in front of the headquarters as a decoy for the press. And to make the diversion even more convincing, Commodore Minako personally entertained them while waiting for Inazuma's group at the central building's lobby. Some of the media men had definitely been keeping in touch with generous insiders though as they were able to figure out their plan not long afterwards.
In any case, the immense relief that Inazuma felt from their hassle-free getaway came to an end once they reached the airfield's outskirts. The protesters noticed their approaching convoy and formed a barrier between them and the entrance to force a standstill. At first, the APC leading the convoy tried sounding its horn repeatedly to scare them out of the way, but it had the opposite effect on the crowd as they began to swarm the convoy. And to make sure that they wouldn't get another inch closer to the gates, some of the protesters lay themselves across the road. The few press members that were present in the area quickly got to work as well, circling around the mob to get a clear view of the turn of events.
Inazuma was well aware that a lot of people weren't satisfied with the court ruling given to her commander's favor, but she didn't know how fierce and visceral the opposition was until that moment.
They cried out their contempt towards them and the things they did wrong to the people of Orion and the world.
They reasoned that the two consecutive Abyssal raids across the island chain wouldn't have happened if they hadn't come to the island in the first place. As a result, lives were lost in the crossfire. And those who survived had to scrape up what was left of their homes and livelihoods.
To them, it was a mistake to let Commander Yuu and his allies roam free after all the suffering they had caused here. To them, it was only a matter of time before he sets off another similar incident elsewhere.
And while Inazuma understood their sentiments for the most part, she couldn't help but feel upset at the undeserved hatred being thrown to their group's direction. She could only hope that the investigations about the Dusk Arbiters and certain high-ranking Naval Domain officials would shed light on the truth sooner than later.
In the midst of the commotion, one of the protesters slammed a picture against the window beside Sendai. "Hey, look over here! Do you remember her face?!"
It was a picture of a short-haired woman wearing combat fatigues. And based on the insignia on her left arm, she was a staff sergeant in the marines.
Sendai stared at the picture for a few seconds before turning away, causing the man to slam the window with his fist. "Playing dumb, are you? You killed my sister in cold blood! I thought you fleet girls are supposed to protect us from the Abyssals!"
The man's words, while muffled, were brimming with malice and resentment. Sendai clenched her fist, casting a downward gaze. "What," she muttered, "am I supposed to feel bad that I didn't hold back at all?"
"Did your group actually think that you did us a favor here? You and your commander just made things worse for everyone!"
"Worse? We didn't even need to save you and your island. Ever thought of blaming the Navy for not trying hard enough?"
The man slammed the window a few more times, his emotions hitting their peak. "You selfish, arrogant bastards! The world doesn't revolve around you! Don't drag innocent people into your mess!"
"I could say the same to the bigwigs in the Navy, really."
As he began to calm down, he lowered the picture and let out a chuckle. "It's disappointing that those corrupt officials they've shown on the news didn't get to finish what they started. Ah, they could've killed you all, and it's a real shame that they only managed to snuff out one of you monsters!"
And that was the final straw as she punched through the window and grabbed the man by the collar. She yanked the astonished man into the car and slammed his head against the backrest in front of her.
The fearful look on the man's face transformed into one of stubborn defiance. He gave Sendai a smile.
"Ah, I almost forgot—that one was your sister, right?" He began to chuckle. "Fate really has its ways to balance things out for everyone, huh?"
"I've had enough of you assholes playing victim!"
As Sendai was about to punch the man, Inazuma grabbed her wrist with both of her hands and pulled it towards her. "S-Sendai, calm down! Please let him go!"
"And what, and let everyone push us around as much as they want? Commander's right, Inazuma—we don't owe these people anything!"
Sensing the hostility from their car, the other protesters fell silent. The media men, on the other hand, scrambled to get a clear shot of the scene from a distance.
"They expect us to die a martyr's death, but the second we step out of line, they're always quick to question our allegiance and purpose to humanity." She grabbed the man's neck. "None of them actually cares about us fleet girls! They only see us as meat shields against the Abyssals!"
"Th-That's not true at all," Inazuma said.
"They didn't advocate for our rights because it was the right thing to do. They did it because they're afraid of what we're capable of. They're afraid that one day, our deep-rooted instinct to protect humanity might disappear and turn against them."
"B-But—!"
"So I think we should draw the line here and now." She glared at the man before tossing him towards the crowd, knocking down a few other protestors. "Maybe they'd actually think twice provoking someone who can rip you apart with their bare hands."
Supported by his companions, the man got up to his feet again. "You can talk big all day, but we're not afraid of you!"
A young woman stepped forward. "Technology is catching up fast," she said. "There will be a time where we won't even need to hide behind the likes of you!"
"Right!" another man said. "You should enjoy what relevance you girls have left in this world!"
And with a resounding cheer, the protestors began their offensive. From hurling stones to striking the vehicles with wooden planks, they made it clear that they wouldn't let the convoy get into the airport unscathed.
Having received a couple of hits from the furious mob, Sendai attempted to slip through the window to retaliate, but Fusou pulled her from behind while Inazuma sat on her thighs and used her shield MAU to protect themselves from the relentless assault. Their escort fleet girls, on the other hand, hopped out of the armored carriers and attempted to take control of the situation, but the protesters were just too caught up in their own vitriol that they started attacking them as well. It was only until the arrival of the marines that the mob was wrestled away from the convoy.
Inazuma felt a huge wave of relief as the convoy started moving again. As she returned to her seat, the second lieutenant among the marines ran alongside their car, knocking on the driver's door. Kiso just shook her head and lowered the window. "What took you so long?" she asked.
The woman lifted her helmet's visor and laughed in response. "Heh," she replied, "it's been a while since I saw you pull a crowd that big."
"I literally did nothing wrong this time."
"I know, I know." She sprinted to the armored carrier in front of them and clung on its back. Her voice was heard from the car's dashboard radio. "I just hope you didn't forget that you're treating us tonight! We're just gonna drop them off after all!"
Their convoy entered the airfield and went straight to a four-engine transport aircraft at the rightmost runway. As they got off, Inazuma took notice of the people standing next to the rear ramp of the aircraft. One of them was a woman wearing a sleek MAU suit flanked by heavily-armed bodyguards. There were two familiar faces among the group as well, waving at their direction.
"Miss Cisa, what are you doing here?" Inazuma asked as the journalist walked towards her.
"We're gonna hitch a ride back to Auspice too," she replied.
"Really?" Hatsuyuki said. "Didn't you come here to finish some kind of… documentary about the Navy?"
"That was the plan, but I barely made any progress since you guys came to this island. It looks like the situation isn't going to settle down any time soon, so I've decided to put this project on my backlog for now and focus on a much much bigger scoop! My backers are already onboard on this too!"
"Backers?" Fusou said.
"Most of my expenses are crowdfunded, so I can't dilly-dally for too long."
"And speaking of dilly-dallying, we should be on our way as well." The woman in the suit turned around, walking towards a private jet on the next runway. "Let's go, Einrost."
"B-But Sis," he called out, "I have to report back to headquarters and—"
"There's no need. Murakumo, your fleet secretary, will be more than enough to receive your awards for your unit. If you want to keep your position as COO for our branch in Caffelatte, perhaps you should start taking your responsibilities seriously."
Einrost let out an exasperated sigh. "Since when didn't I take my job seriously?"
"Arrogant as ever." She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "May I remind you and your friends that your little escapade last month caused our company at least two hundred fifty million dollars worth of contracts for the Navy's restructuring program? And I'm not even factoring our projected losses as we enter the next fiscal year."
As Einrost was about to shoot back a retort, Murakumo yanked his arm. "Stop arguing with her and just go," she said. "You've already done enough, so I'll take things from here in the meantime."
"I concur," Graf Zeppelin said. "It would be for the best of everyone if you obey Miss Eiris for now."
Einrost wore a glum expression for a moment before smiling. "Fine, I get it." He looked at his other fleet girls. "I won't be gone for long though."
"Bring souvenirs when you get back," Prinz Eugen said.
"Ah," Kumano said, "I'd like to have some local treats from the Mintrime region. Preferably their biscuits and sausages."
I-8 ran up to his side, showing her phone. "Can you pick up my online orders on the way back? The shipping fees are expensive, and sea cargo takes ages to get delivered!"
"Tch, you girls," he said. "We're not going on a vacation."
Yurie laughed. "That's what you get from pampering them too much."
"Whatever." He brought out his tablet terminal from under his coat and handed it to Murakumo. "You sure you'll be fine?"
Murakumo squinted. "What's gotten into you now?"
"Nothing. Just disappointed that Sis had to ruin our plans later."
"And that's exactly why you'll forever be a disappointment in her eyes. I mean, you can't really blame her."
He turned around, waving at the pair of bodyguards about to fetch him. "But the difference between you and her is, you don't completely disregard my opinions. You actually have faith in me."
"Th-That's obvious. We can't function as a unit if we don't trust each other."
"Well, not as an authority figure you have to follow blindly." He performed a two-finger salute and started walking. "You believe in the person I am right now, and I'll be always grateful for that."
Left speechless, Murakumo had her eyes fixed on the back of her commander. Steam started to materialize on the top of her head.
"What a rare sight," Kumano said.
As I-8's phone made a shutter sound, Murakumo broke out of her trance and leered at the submarine fleet girl. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Kyaa!" Prinz Eugen put both hands on her cheeks. "You were so cute just now, Murakumo! I guess it's true that being in love makes a person even more beautiful!"
A cold blast of wind erupted from Murakumo as she transformed into her Irregular form and yanked Prinz Eugen by the collar. "A-Are you saying that I don't already look beautiful?"
"You're taking offense to that?" Maya said, making an exasperated face. "And quiet down, will you? The folks here are looking at us."
"Hmph!" Murakumo released the blonde cruiser before crossing her arms. "Then blame Twintails for being so cheeky."
"B-But I never said anything like that at all," Prinz Eugen muttered.
Yayoi placed a hand on her cheek. "We really need to get used to this heightened emotional response of ours soon."
They suddenly heard three consecutive shutter sounds—this time from Akitsushima's camera. "H-Hey!" Murakumo marched towards Akitsushima. "Better delete those or else!"
Cisa placed herself between the two, reaching out to Murakumo's face. "Wow, there's definitely no mistaking it. You're just like an Irregular, but you can hide this form at will."
Taken aback, Murakumo slapped the intruding hands away. "K-Keep those hands to yourself!"
She stepped backwards out of shock, but she regained her composure just as quick and gave her a smile. "I think you're cool though! You remind me of those transforming superheroes that I loved when I was a kid!"
"R-Really?" Murakumo placed both hands over hips and started nodding. "W-Well, I've never thought about it like that. In fact, it's a very accurate comparison since I do get stronger after I transform."
"Right? A single glance of that form is enough to convey a drastic change in power and persona, just like Hyperbunny Moonshot Ranger!"
"Man, I love that show!" Maya said. "One of the best that I've seen in a while."
"I-Isn't that a kid's show?" Chitose asked.
"That's what the producers of the show would lead you to believe," Kumano replied. "It's action-packed and actually quite nuanced with its themes."
"Huh," Fumizuki said, "is that the show with the main character wearing those weird fluffy antennas on her head? I haven't watched it yet."
"You're missing out!" Maya said. "If you want, we can watch it at the lounge some time later."
"I hate to interrupt your discussion about Saturday morning cartoons but," Kiso jutted a thumb at the private jet preparing to takeoff, "we should get a move on. We're already way past our target schedule."
Cisa smiled, gesturing at the ramp. "After you then."
As Kiso began barking her orders to the marines and Navy fleet girls around them, Murakumo noticed Inazuma staring at her. "What's with that face, Inazuma?" she asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," she quickly replied before giving her an awkward smile. S-She totally forgot about her pictures!
Guided by their escorts, they filed into the cargo compartment of the plane and made themselves comfortable in the available seats past two large crates. They soon started to hear the whining of the plane's engines as the rear ramp retracted itself, and Inazuma somehow found the subtle vibrations of the compartment quite soothing.
After a short orientation about safety procedures and emergency protocols from the loadmaster, the plane finally took off towards the sky.
Inazuma felt just like the time they were about to leave Auspice and make their way to Orion. The air around them was charged with excitement as everyone looked forward to the things they want to do upon reaching their destination.
She could overhear the Navy fleet girls and several marines chatting about Auspice's ever-bustling economic district and the souvenirs that they might want to snag later. Meanwhile, Maya and the others were caught in an in-depth discussion about their favorite cartoon shows and movies. They also seemed to be enthusiastic at the idea of having a movie night at least once a month, starting with a marathon of Hyperbunny Moonshot Ranger's first season tonight as requested by Fumizuki.
Considering that they would have plenty of free time due to their circumstances, they could definitely use a distraction or two to keep themselves occupied in the interim.
And speaking of helpful diversions, Inazuma fiddled around with her commander's terminal while listening to the somewhat hypnotic droning of the engine propellers. There had been quite a number of accumulated e-mails from the Auspice branch, usually the bi-weekly administrative announcements and promotions from various services offered within the headquarters. The more important notifications, particularly about their temporary suspension of their unit's account during the investigations in the previous weeks, were already explained to her by Commodore Minako, so there wasn't anything similarly noteworthy to immediately address to her superiors once they got back.
While skimming through these e-mails made her feel like they had already missed a lot of things, she had something else in mind that she wanted to take a good look at—something more mundane to a fleet secretary like her:
Their unit's transaction history.
She began eyeing the transcript like a hawk ever since she found out about the commander's questionable expenses at the factory, but she thought that it would be interesting to look over the whole thing once more to trace back all of the preparations made by the commander before they set off to Orion.
"Mind if I take a seat here?"
Inazuma looked up from the screen, her eyes meeting Cisa's. "Um, sure," she replied as she shifted in her seat. "Do you need something?"
Cisa plopped down on the seat to her right and opened a piece of cinnamon-flavored bread roll. "Nothing much. I'm just impressed how dedicated you are to your job."
"No, I'm not really working right now."
Cisa wagged the bread roll at the terminal. "What are you doing then?"
"U-Um, just checking some records…"
She puckered her lips before taking a bite of the bread roll. "Sounds like something that a fleet secretary would do. You were concentrating pretty hard just a minute ago."
Inazuma smiled as she leaned back in her seat, setting the tablet on her thighs. "I guess I do miss my everyday routine back in our office."
They fell silent for a while, observing the others chatting with each other. Cisa took this moment to fish out another cinnamon bread roll from one of her coat pockets and offered it to her.
"Try it!"
Somehow unable to refuse the beaming journalist, Inazuma reluctantly took the snack and gave it a taste. Her eyes widened, looking down at the cream filling of the bread roll.
"A-Ah… this is good… !"
"I know, right?" She crossed her legs in her seat and finished up her snack in one big gulp. "It's my go-to pick-me-up whenever I'm feeling down."
As she took another bite, she noticed that the journalist was staring at her. "Um, Miss Cisa?"
"Yes?"
"You can just ask if you want to interview me. As long as your questions aren't too sensitive and far-reaching, I'll try my best to answer them."
Cisa's smile went upside-down. "O-Oh no! I didn't approach you to get some firsthand accounts from you or anything. I just want to have a friendly chat with the Liberator's right-hand fleet girl!"
Inazuma blinked a few times. "O-Okay… ?"
"That's one scathing look you're giving me right now." She slumped in her seat sideways. "I get that people find me annoying at times, but it'd be nice if people didn't automatically assume that I have ulterior motives whenever I try to talk to them."
"Is it because you're an archive contributor for the Nexus Archive?"
"Well, it's not like I randomly approach someone just so that I can make their biography on the archive!"
"But I've heard that you're one of the most trusted sources in the field. How can anyone not trust you?"
"That's the issue though." She curled herself up, hugging her knees. "They put so much faith on my work ethic that they'd rather choose to distance themselves from me than to take a risk. 'Better safe than sorry' or 'everyone has secrets' as I would often hear them say."
She popped the last piece of the bread roll into her mouth. "So they trust your reputation as a journalist more than your true identity? It's kind of the same with Commander, I think."
As Inazuma crumpled the bread's wrapper into a ball, Cisa extended her hand. "I don't disagree with that, but there's definitely something more to him that makes those Council admirals quiver in their boots when you put them in the same room together."
Inazuma handed the wrapper to Cisa who then shoved it back into her pocket. "What do you mean by that?"
Cisa stared at her for a moment. "Since you seem to be good at keeping secrets…" She produced a tablet from her backpack and scooted closer to her. "Here, let me show you."
The video was a recording of the Council assembly following the first Abyssal raid in Orion, but the camera was focused on the table of the Navy admirals for some reason.
Inazuma put a hand under her chin. "U-Um, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to look out for in this footage…"
Cisa skipped the video for a few minutes. "Notice how they're addressing the Liberator in this part?"
"I-I'm sorry. I don't really see anything wrong with it."
"I mean, notice that most of them are staring at the right-hand side of the hall."
"The right-hand side of the hall? Ah! You mean that wide projector screen?"
"Exactly! Isn't it weird that they can't even make eye contact to the person they're trying to question? No wonder the Liberator chose to play the silent game throughout the whole thing."
They jumped further into the video, and the same admirals exhibited the same behavior. Even though the commander was already sitting right in front of them, they would rather look at him through the projector screen instead.
It was almost as if they were pretending that the commander wasn't there with them physically.
"Th-That was… really weird. I didn't even notice while we were there."
"Real fishy, huh?" Cisa paused, glancing left and right. "I think I might have an idea why they're acting like that whenever the Liberator is around. This is just a hunch though, so don't get too excited, okay?"
Her hushed tone made Inazuma a bit jittery. She gulped and slowly nodded. "I'm all ears."
"Your commander's psychic."
Cisa said those words so casually that Inazuma was left speechless for a moment. "H-Huh?"
"He can read minds."
"R-Read minds?"
"Uh-huh. I've heard that having eye contact with a telepath is like exposing your very soul to them."
"Is that even possible?"
"Probably. The mechanics of telepathy may be confusing, but we've all seen how powerful the Liberator is with his telekinesis. It's not that big of a stretch that he had that ability all along."
Inazuma shook her head. "Still… I don't think he can do that…"
"Interesting, you didn't even second-guess yourself. Are you really that confident he isn't a mind reader?"
"If he were, he would've finished the things he needed to do a long time ago."
"I see…" Cisa narrowed her eyes, slowly turning her head to the right. "Hey now. What are you doing?"
Inazuma saw Kiso crouching in front of them with her eye squinted. "Never knew you two were this close."
"Not quite, but we're working on it. Isn't that right, Inazuma?"
"U-Um… I guess?" she replied, eyes widening.
"Like, for example." Cisa pointed at her cap. "I didn't know that you're a Vanguards fan."
"Vanguards?"
"It's one of the Navy's baseball teams!"
"A-Ah, sorry. I don't really watch baseba—" As she took off her cap, she saw something attached under it. "W-Wait, what is this?"
Upon closer inspection, it was a card case with a letter attached to it. She unfolded the paper first and began reading its message:
Inazuma,
We've turned your hatchet into something more simple and practical to use. Cutting weapons just don't fit someone like you, I feel.
Anyway, I hope you'll end up liking it.
-Verniy
P.S. Commodore Minako told me that the Liberator is trying to revive Akatsuki, so we also repaired her sword. I might be getting ahead of myself, but I'm confident that she'll be able to pull through.
She's our sister, after all.
Inazuma smiled, rubbing the tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you, Hibiki."
She opened the card case next, revealing two equipment cards with customized illustrations. The first card was obviously hers as it had a fairy modelled after her image, complete with an insignia of the Maritime Peacekeepers and their unit's designation.
Brimming with excitement, Inazuma poured mag-ions into the card to summon the weapon in her free hand.
"A mace, huh?" Kiso said, standing up.
The short yet heavy mace had a discreet design, sporting a dark blue and silver color scheme. The thick angular flanges on its head were made out of the hatchet's abussosium parts while the entirety of the slender shaft was covered in a rubbery texture to provide ample grip for the user.
And according to her fairy crew, the mace had two main configurations that she could use interchangeably. Wielding it the way it was intended would keep the mace in its default form, but simply placing another hand on its shaft would activate its hidden mag-ion diffuser.
Inazuma performed a couple of swinging motions with the mace. "Hawawa… I can't imagine what it'd feel like being hit by this."
"Oh, so you prefer giving your enemies a good 'ol bludgeoning?" Cisa said. "You truly are the Liberator's right-hand fleet girl!"
As she held the mace with both hands, the flanges fanned outwards as a prong jutted out of the head piece. "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?"
"The two of you have this unassuming nature that keeps sending mixed signals to anyone who knows what exactly you guys are capable of. It's like what I told you just now about your commander!"
"B-But you're making it sound like I'm a bloodthirsty person…"
Cisa puffed her chest out. "Those are your words, not mine." Inazuma cast a downward gaze at the mace in her hands, then back to the journalist. "Th-Those mixed signals are coming back again…!"
"What's the other card like by the way?" Kiso asked.
"Ah, this one's for Akatsuki." Inazuma tried to activate the card, but nothing happened. "O-Oh… it must be signature-locked like mine…"
"So Verniy went that far in making those, huh? She's been enjoying this new hobby of hers at least."
"Hobby?"
"She helps out the MAU development team as a QC tester for Class 2 units."
Smiling, she recalled her mace back into its card state. "Looks like I owe her one again…"
"Miss Kiso," Cisa said, standing up, "you seem to be in the know about a lot of things, so—"
Kiso recoiled as her face went sour. "Ugh, we're not doing this again."
"I just want to hear your opinion about the test data leak that the Joint Committee was able to uncover just recently."
"That? I don't know what you're expecting to hear this early, to be honest. It's obvious that some of our officers are on the Dusk Arbiters' payroll, but we're still working out if they're related to the group that the Committee's investigating right now."
"But what would be the point of it though?" She started to pace around. "If they were stealing those data just so that they could skip the trouble of testing their own MAUs, then why did they prematurely incorporate those data into their weapons when the Navy's MAU program hasn't even begun its final testing phase? Wouldn't it make sense to just wait for the program to finish at least?"
"It's almost as if... everyone's in a hurry to rush their respective MAUs programs out of the gate…"
"And what's more, they were already conducting field tests to those weapons." Cisa looked at Inazuma. "You guys witnessed it yourselves, right?"
"U-Um yeah," Inazuma replied, "that's what Commander told us at the time…"
"They probably want to add their own flavor to their MAUs, but I feel like we're missing something more important here…"
"Like I said," Kiso said, "it's still too early to make assumptions."
"Um, I think I've heard something like a data leak on the news the other day," Inazuma said. "What is it about again?"
"See," Cisa said, "the MAUs that were found in the Arbiters' bases were loaded with the same configurations found on the Navy's AI assistant program. This also includes all of the field and simulated data that the Navy has collected since last year."
She tilted her head. "AI assistant program?"
"Oh, you're not familiar with it? Every MAU has a smart program to make sure that it will perform at optimum capacity. It also helps development teams to further the tech as it logs everything that the operator does with the unit."
Inazuma looked at the cards again. "Ah, thank you for the explanation."
Cisa raised an index finger. "But you know, I just remembered something..."
Kiso sighed. "You can't just shut up, can you?"
She lowered her voice just enough to be heard over the humming of the propellers. "About that hidden facility housing abyssal ships. I never got to enter the place, so I'm curious about the progress on that one."
"They're clearly doing something in there, but we aren't sure just yet."
"As I thought… it's something related to those Irregulars, isn't it?" She and Kiso locked eyes. "If it was just a regular research facility for Abyssal ships, there'd be no reason to hide it in the first place. But the million dollar question is, what kind of Irregular research were they doing down there."
Kiso paused, averting her eyes. "It's a very sensitive info that we have to keep under wraps in favor of the urgent issues we need to address."
"B-But they're blaming Commander for the raids!" Inazuma said.
"That… that was the plan all along, Inazuma. To use your Commander as a scapegoat."
"Wh-What?"
"For your Commander to be fully exonerated from this whole incident, we would have to reveal the Irregular experimentations to the public. We can't afford that to happen—at least not at this moment."
Inazuma lowered her head. "I-Is that why he chose not to speak at all during that Council meeting? Was it all scripted from the start then?" She clutched her skirt. "A-And those bodies that they were moving out of the facility that time… some of them must be…"
"Inazuma… as a fleet secretary, you know how important it is to properly relay different levels of information to the right people. Without controlling information, chaos will run rampant across all sectors of society."
Cisa let out a sigh. "Ah, the classic excuse for censorship."
Kiso glared at her. "You made it sound like you were sidetracked earlier, but you've been following the same trail of breadcrumbs all this time, haven't you? Hmph, even if you're a popular archive contributor, you shouldn't get too ahead of yourself."
Wearing a wide grin, Cisa stepped closer to her in response. "Did you come along with us just to tell me off again? Or maybe because you don't want Inazuma and the others to figure out that little dirty secret of yours?"
"I know that I cannot stop you," Kiso looked at Inazuma, "that's why I went ahead and spilled the beans before you could make a mess out of it."
"Oh sure, blame me for shining a light on your ugly nest of lies and corruption." She shrugged. "And you shouldn't act so smug about it in front of her."
"It is what it is. We're doing this for their sake too."
"Psh, and now you're pulling out the 'We know what's best for you' card?"
Inazuma shook her head. "I… I can't blame them. Everything we've learned from this incident is just overwhelming. I don't think we'd able to perform as well as we did if we were carrying that much of a baggage throughout the whole incident."
"But is it a good thing to turn a blind eye from the truth just so you can avoid that burden?"
"O-Of course not. I just think they don't have any bad intentions for doing that."
"So you trust them that much, huh?" Cisa glanced between her and Kiso. "Alright, I respect that. As long as you don't let them abuse your trust and goodwill, I think you'll be fine."
"Oh?" Kiso placed a hand over her hip. "Never knew you could be so caring once in a while."
"Patronizing me like that isn't gonna—" She noticed Inazuma's disappointed expression. "Uh, are you okay?"
"Y-Yes, I just… need some time to sort out my thoughts…"
Cisa didn't look convinced, but she nodded nonetheless. "Don't overdo it, okay?"
Feeling a bit lightheaded, Inazuma went back to her seat without a word.
M-Miss Cisa has a point too…
They could at least trust us a little more…
Their arrival on Auspice was just what Inazuma had expected with the crowd of media men and onlookers waiting for them at the airport terminal. She was a bit nervous that some of the people there might instigate a scene similar to what they had experienced earlier, but they seemed to view them with curiosity and excitement more than anything else. Despite the warmer welcome though, they couldn't afford to linger as they only had an hour left to prepare for the promotion ceremony.
They were able to board their shuttle and set off without any unnecessary setbacks, but the true battle was just about to begin once they reached headquarters.
Inazuma was panicking as she lamented her paltry knowledge with cosmetics for occasions like this. In fact, her only firsthand experience putting them on was the few times she and Akatsuki played around with the latter's makeup collection. It was one thing to put on a sloppy makeup for an ordinary day, but it'd be a completely different case to give a friend a makeover for such an important event.
Her friends encouraged her to just wing it, but she just couldn't take a risk. Not when entire friendships were at stake!
Fusou would be able to give them that needed touchup, but there just wasn't enough time to spruce up everyone with just her doing most of the work. Not all hope was lost though as Lieutenant Harline, Kongou, and Shirayuki were already waiting in the office with all the necessary makeover tools prepared for them, and they couldn't be more grateful for it. From fixing up their hairstyles to putting on their dress uniforms, their makeover crew made sure they would be as presentable as they could be for the ceremony.
Even if they ignored how important of a milestone it was for fleet girls like them to experience, knowing that the entire world would be tuning in to the event made the whole process quite stressful for everyone. Inazuma could feel the pressure building up in the room as they slowly approached the deadline, but she could also sense everyone's determination to see this through till the very end.
And they did just that with room to spare even.
Inazuma stood in front of a full-length mirror, amazed and mystified at her own image. Was it really her standing in the mirror? She was far from the most mature figure among the people she knew, but she found herself feeling more confident than usual with this dignified transformation of hers.
And more than that, being able to wear the secretarial dress uniform was one of her dreams upon joining the Maritime Peacekeepers. She had always found the dark blue cape draped on the uniform's right shoulder grand and stylish while the complementary gold-laced beret strongly communicated her role as fleet secretary at a glance.
This moment would've been complete if Akatsuki was there with them, but Inazuma knew she had to stand tall for everyone who believed in them.
Giving their thanks to the others, she and her friends made their way to the west side of the armory compound. The venue was small and modest, but that was to be expected of an event made for them alone. Besides, they already had the scenic view of the horizon as a wonderful backdrop to make this moment all the better.
As they sat on their assigned seats across the stage, Inazuma found some comfort that the management had closed down the area from everybody else. She knew that they did it for their security measures, but she appreciated the somewhat private setting of the place. She just had to do her best to ignore all those big and expensive-looking cameras lined up behind them throughout the program, and everything would be fine and dandy.
When the High Command officials finally arrived, everyone around them scrambled to their positions. Not long afterwards, promotion ceremony finally commenced.
The ceremony was a quick, straightforward affair: climb up the platform, receive the decorations from Chief Officer Amagi, and smile at the cameras. Each of them received a Cross of Valor and a Star Beacon badge for their troubles in Operation Shallow Shores. He also made sure that Jintsuu's posthumous awards would be known to everyone, pinning the medals on Sendai.
Once the individual awards were out of the way, Inazuma was asked to return to the stage for the unit promotion. As she found herself standing in front of the audience, the Chief Officer suddenly announced that they would be promoting the other two units as well. According to him, it was because of their impeccable teamwork that they were able to accomplish their feats in the last operation, so the High Command decided that it would be beneficial to maintain this synergy by keeping these units on par with each other in terms of rank privileges.
And he was absolutely right.
Inazuma's heart swelled seeing her friends' ecstatic faces as they jumped out of their seats and wallowed in this joyous moment. As Commander Yurie and Murakumo met up with her on the stage, she couldn't longer hold back her tears.
Even if the whole ceremony was just a PR move, she truly felt that they deserved this recognition.
Once the awarding was over, their group was escorted back to headquarters. Kiso and her team offered each unit a bouquet of flowers before making their way back to the airport. Cisa and Akitsushima, on the other hand, bid their farewells for now so that they could start finding a place to stay for the night.
As for the rest of them, they went to the central lounge for the banquet that Einrost had arranged for them. Upon entering the lounge, their colleagues welcomed them with a triumphant ovation. All was well in that joyous moment until Murakumo noticed Bismarck and her companions already chowing down on the buffet next to the stage platform. She didn't take this kindly as she transformed on the spot, causing everything to enter a standstill.
"Y-You fool!" Murakumo stomped towards the table where Bismarck and her companions were sitting. "Why are you already eating?!"
Bismarck winced as Murakumo slammed her hand against the table. "I-I thought we can already start ahead…"
"I specifically told Nachi that only those who are assigned for the night shift are allowed to take some food off the buffets!"
"That's exactly why we're eating now!"
She paused, glancing to the side. "Explain."
Much to Murakumo's annoyance, Bismarck took a moment to drink a glass of water before dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "We've been appointed to escort Chief Amagi and the others back to the mainland about half an hour from now. We don't know the full details, but it has something to do with the ongoing case you guys got involved in."
"W-Well, you could've at least waited for us to arrive!"
"If we did, we wouldn't be able to try the whole menu." She pointed at Shirayuki preparing the nearby buffet. "Speaking of which, you should definitely try her coconut beef curry. I couldn't get enough of it!"
Shirayuki turned around and bowed. "Thank you for the compliment."
"Besides, why are you getting so worked up? Shouldn't you be celebrating since your gamble has finally paid off?"
Murakumo let out a sigh, reverting back to normal state. "True, but what I went through was way more than what I bargained for."
"I can only imagine."
"Well, it's been a while," Prinz Eugen said, "so it's probably just her way of saying that she missed you a lot."
Murakumo glared at her. "C-Could you not—"
Bismarck laughed. "Did I hear that right? As soon as we get back, I'll head straight to you to settle our bet. And while we're at it, I'd like to see the full extent of your new power."
Murakumo looked down and smiled. "Hmph, as if I'd forget that."
"Wait, isn't about time you formally start the banquet for everyone?"
As she pointed that out, some of their friends started to throw teasing complaints at their direction.
"Hurry up with this little skit of yours and start already!" Shimakaze shouted. "I'm starving!"
"I bet they're doing this on purpose," Nagatsuki said.
"How irresponsible," the yukata-clad Asashio said. "To think that they just got promoted moments ago."
Murakumo slapped her forehead. "Okay okay, I get it! Jeez!"
The dinner party went off in high spirits, indulging themselves in the wide array of dishes and drinks available. Since the banquet was open to everyone, the lounge was packed with people from all departments in the headquarters. They offered their congratulatory greetings to them, some even handing over gifts like small decorative figures and equipment cards.
But while they were at it though, they kept asking about the commander's whereabouts, wondering if he would be able to catch up to the party later. While Inazuma was relieved that their relationship between their colleagues remained unchanged, she was also constantly reminded of a very crucial crossroad they had to go through tomorrow. Her friends within the unit seemed bothered with it as well, but they couldn't just put on a gloomy face in front of everybody else and subsequently ruin the party's mood.
It was difficult to enjoy the party with that particular detail at the forefront of her mind, but she somehow managed to get through the nagging sensation until the party finally wrapped up at midnight. She went straight to the office afterwards, claiming that she had to organize some papers for the week's itinerary. But in truth, she just wanted some time alone.
She couldn't help it. After meeting so many people at a short amount of time, she was yearning for a place to breathe. She wanted a place where she would be able to expose herself completely.
Curling up in front of the commander's makeshift table, Inazuma laughed to herself.
I can't believe I'm starting to miss that detention room already…
She spaced out for a few minutes until her eyes settled on his laptop. She stared at it for another minute before she was suddenly struck with intense curiosity. She crawled closer to the cardboard box and examined the fine layer of dust covering the objects on its surface, surmising that the room was left untouched throughout the Committee's investigations so far.
I suppose anyone could've guessed that he wouldn't just leave anything important lying around in the open like this. She glanced back and forth between the door and windows. But still…
Holding her breath, she stood up and closed the door and curtains. When she was done, she plopped in front of the cardboard box and let out a shaky sigh.
H-He did tell me that I'm welcome to use this laptop anytime, so… just a little peek...
Slowly, she lifted the lid of the laptop and pressed the power button. A couple of seconds passed before the system's log-in screen greeted her. Two icons were shown in the middle of the screen—one for the system administrator, the other for guest users.
She clicked the former icon and typed in the password given by the commander during the early days of their unit. As she hit the Enter key, the screen quickly transitioned to a familiar desktop screen.
Nervous as she was, Inazuma searched through its main directory for any clues that could be related to the incident thus far or the commander's past. The system didn't have a lot of user files to begin with, so the process didn't consume too much time of her time. But just as she had half-expected, she didn't find anything new outside of their work-related documents and pictures.
Unsure of what to do next, she just stared at the desktop for another minute before deciding to call it a day. As she was about to shut down the device, her cursor accidentally hovered over the small note widget on the lower left corner of the screen, revealing a text document underneath.
"Dedication, edit"?
She wasn't exactly sure how that particular document didn't show up in her search results, but she was glad that she stumbled upon it as she began reading the contents of the letter:
Inazuma,
If you're reading this right now, our little escort operation must've gone awry in one way or another. Or maybe we actually pulled through that, only to be blindsided by the Navy upon reaching Orion.
Whatever the case may be, I apologize that you have to clean up the mess I made. I can only imagine what's going on in your mind right now, but I'd like you to hear out my reasons as to why I did the things I did back there.
First of all, I took that escort assignment because of an interesting tip I received from a past colleague of mine. Apparently, one of the ships in that supply fleet was carrying live Abyssal ships, and this led me to believe that the Navy has restarted its Irregular modernization program in Fort Orion.
But in truth, that's only half the reason as to why I willingly threw myself into the lion's den. See, this former colleague of mine just happens to be one of the forerunners of Irregular research, and I want to get some answers from the recent abductions by luring her out of whatever hole she's currently hiding in.
And oh, remember those Irregulars we've encountered last time? Those are her lackeys. Or to be more specific, her cousins she experimented on.
Inazuma paused reading, taking her eyes off from the screen for a moment.
Those Irregulars were former humans? Were they related to the Technicals like Mica and her commander? The more she struggled to think of an answer, the less it made sense.
She shook her head and continued on:
Anyway, even though it seemed like it was the perfect opportunity to catch her off guard, there was also the off chance that it could be a trap. To mitigate that risk, I enlisted the help of Minako and Einrost so that you girls would have a backdoor exit if things went south. I suppose you've already figured that out yourself by now.
And as for Akatsuki's role for this plan of mine, I thought of using her as bait for my colleague's Irregulars. This might sound inconsiderate and ridiculous to you, but I'm very confident that she would be able to infiltrate my colleague's safe house with little issues, especially with Murakumo volunteering to accompany her.
I'm well aware that I'm being very selfish here, but I can't help it. I will take any opportunity I can get to finish this personal hell of mine once and for all. I'm already so sick of it. I'm so sick of my sanity being stretched to its limits every waking moment. I'm sick of living a life of constant deception and vigilance.
But above that long list of regrets and disappointments are my conflicting feelings towards you, Inazuma.
Thinking back of the times we spent together, I truly regret I kept distancing myself from you. In truth, I've always enjoyed your company. So, thank you.
Thank you for being a great secretary. Thank you for being such a good friend.
I've always admired you, that's why I hope you never lose sight of the things you believe in the most.
If I happen to be still alive after all this... well, I'll just pray to the Goddess that my heart will be able to endure the fallout…
Inazuma found herself in a trance, staring at the document for a while. As she finally got her bearings back, she placed a hand over her pounding heart and made a contented smile.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from the intercom:
"Inazuma… do you have a minute?"
After closing the document, Inazuma scrambled to get to her feet so that she could unlock the door with her keycard. "Y-Y-Yes, p-please come in!"
Hatsuyuki stepped into the room, looking a bit concerned. "Um," she glanced between Inazuma and the laptop, "are you okay? You sounded like… you were in a panic…"
Zuihou poked her head from the hallway. "I-Inazuma… I'm sorry for barging in so late! Did we interrupt something?"
Inazuma waved her hands frantically. "No… nothing important at all!" Her heart raced as Hatsuyuki's lips formed a mischievous smile. "W-Why are you giving me that look?"
"What were you doing with Commander's laptop anyway?"
"E-Erm… just checking… stuff…"
"It's his work laptop… so you won't find anything interesting in there…"
"I-I know that. Wh-What did you think I was looking for anyway?"
"I'm getting this impression that maybe… you just didn't look hard enough…" Hatsuyuki walked past her and sat in front of the laptop. "Here, let me—"
"Nonono!" Inazuma almost tackled her as she snatched her hand away from the laptop's touchpad. "I already checked!"
"You've been acting really suspicious, you know?" Hatsuyuki started to fight back, pushing her away. "Oh… I see what's happening here. Nice try… you naughty secretary…"
"N-Naughty?! Wh-What are you talking about?"
"Say… how about we check the browser history instead?"
"I-I told you already that—huh? B-But I didn't browse the internet at all!"
Their struggle last for a few more seconds until Hatsuyuki finally relented, making space in front of the laptop. "Really? So what were you doing?"
Inazuma collapsed beside her, catching her breath. "U-Um, I just read a letter addressed to me…"
"Is that all? Then why were you acting so tense just now?"
"I don't think I was supposed to read it." She grimaced, bowing her head. "It's… a rather personal letter…"
"Oh… you should've just said so." Hatsuyuki placed her index finger against her cheek. "I just wanna check if he has more games installed on it. In terms of performance… that laptop's on par with an entry-level gaming system after all…"
Uu… even Hatsuyuki's teasing me now… She took another deep breath to calm herself down. "A-Anyway, what brings you two here?"
Hatsuyuki gestured at Zuihou. "U-Um," Zuihou said, sitting next to Inazuma, "it's about Commodore Minako's offer."
"Ah, so you've already made up your mind?"
She nodded. "I still wanna join you guys."
"A-Are you sure?"
"I've given it a lot of thought over the last few weeks, but my desire to help your unit didn't change a bit."
Inazuma frowned. "But… if you're just doing this because we rescued you before, you don't have to join our unit at all. You can help us in plenty of other ways."
"I can't deny that a part of me still wants to pay you back for saving me, but after everything we've been through, I was even more inspired not to back out!"
"I'm glad to hear that, but—"
Zuihou prostrated in front of her, producing an audible smack as her forehead whacked the floor. "Please! Your unit still needs an aircraft carrier, right?"
"W-Well… having a carrier fleet girl certainly is an indispensable asset…"
"R-Right?!" She lifted her head and grabbed Inazuma's shoulders. "A-And besides, didn't you already give me your blessing anyway? D-Don't tell me that it was all a lie!"
Inazuma prodded her fingers together as she averted her eyes. "Y-Yeah, I just got carried away at that moment."
"Wh-Wh-What? I got my hopes up for nothing?!" Zuihou retracted her hands, lowering her head. "You were very enthusiastic about it too…"
"It's not like I don't want to! Things have changed a lot since, so I just want to make sure that you won't end up regretting this decision later." She smiled. "But... as long as you understand the consequences, then…"
Zuihou gasped, eyes widening. "A-Ah, so you were just testing me all this time?" She embraced Inazuma. "Th-Thank you so much!"
Inazuma returned the gesture. "No, I should be the one thanking you. We really appreciate your support from here on out."
"So does that mean you're really staying, Inazuma?" Hatsuyuki asked.
"Of course," she said as she broke free from the hug. "Abandoning him and Sendai isn't even an option for me at this point!"
Hatsuyuki nodded. "That makes two of us then."
"H-Hatsuyuki… ?"
"I already told you… remember? I already found my place in this unit… so I have no reason to look elsewhere."
As Inazuma was about to express her gratitude once again, Fumizuki's voice blared from the intercom:
"Manager, you there? There's something we need to talk about…"
"Sure, the door's open!"
Fumizuki entered the room, followed by Fusou and Sendai. "Oh! Everyone's here too!"
"Great," Sendai said with a smile. "This saves me the trouble of gathering everyone tomorrow."
"Um, what is it that you want to tell me?" Inazuma asked, standing up to face Fumizuki.
She exchanged nods with Fusou. "We're here to proclaim our eternal allegiance to you, Manager!"
Fusou wore an anxious look. "F-Fumizuki, she might get the wrong idea."
"O-Oh." Fumizuki assumed a more serious expression, taking a deep breath. "So, um, Manager… Fusou and I have decided not to leave you guys behind."
The rest of them didn't utter a single response. "H-Huh? Those reactions…" Fusou gasped as she began to panic. "A-A-Are you going to...?"
Inazuma and Hatsuyuki exchanged relieved looks. "Seems like the stars have aligned tonight," the latter said. "Honestly… I'm starting to feel a bit scared…"
"W-Wait… don't keep us hanging here!" Fumizuki said.
"A-Ah, sorry!" Inazuma replied. "We're all staying too!"
She turned to Fusou, giving her a wink and a thumbs up. "Hear that? I told you there's nothing to worry about!"
Fusou, on the other hand, started to tear up. "I-I got so worried for a moment there!"
"Come on, Inazuma and Hatsuyuki have been together with Commander since the beginning, so there's no way they'll just leave him alone!"
"Th-That's right. We've already formed a strong bond with each other after all." She cast a downward gaze. "I can't just repeat the same excuse I made for the sake of my own safety. If I truly want people to care for me, then I should dispose of this selfish mindset of mine and start taking the initiative."
Fumizuki threw her arms up in the air. "Group hug! Come on!"
"I-Is that really necessary?"
"We're friends, so what's there to be embarrassed about?"
"Y-You're right, but—"
She grabbed Fusou's hand, pulling her close to Inazuma. "No party poopers!"
Save from one person, they huddled together in a circle. "Sendai, what's wrong?" Inazuma asked, turning around.
Sendai hesitated for a moment. "I-It's about what happened earlier. I just want to apologize for snapping at those people. I did my best to ignore them, but I couldn't help myself…"
"We understand. I know that their treatment of us isn't fair, but we can't exactly blame them either." She shook her head. "To avoid situations like that to happen again, we shouldn't let our emotions get the best of us. It's not the ideal solution for us, but we don't have a choice…"
"Yeah, and that's what makes it more frustrating. Honestly, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to last putting up with their crap every day."
"But you don't have to shoulder that pain alone." She reached out for Sendai's hand, guiding her to the others. "You still have us."
"Seeing everybody happy like this… I keep imagining what it would be like if Jintsuu was still with us right now." Sendai began to tremble, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I-I miss her. I miss her so much…!"
Inazuma wrapped her arm around Sendai, squeezing her closer. "I-I'm sure she's happy for us right now."
"U-Um… do we need to do anything else while in a group hug?" Fusou asked.
"Usually," Fumizuki replied, "I hear other units shouting out their flag name before separating."
"Ah, we should definitely do that then."
"But… we haven't named ours," Hatsuyuki said. "And that was Akatsuki's job, so…"
Everyone's gaze went towards Inazuma. "Eh? Why me?" she uttered.
"Because you're the secretary!" they said in perfect unison.
"But I can't…! Akatsuki will probably get mad at me…"
"She won't," Hatsuyuki said. "Besides, it's only temporary…"
"So… you want me to come up with a name now?" She closed her eyes to concentrate. "Hmm… this is so hard…"
"How about you draw inspiration from everything that we've been through so far?" Fusou said.
From our experiences, huh?
"A-Ah! I-In that case, how about… Cardinal Wanderers?"
Fusou cocked her head. "That… actually has a nice ring to it."
"R-Really?"
Hatsuyuki nodded twice. "Already sounds way better than everything Akatsuki suggested so far."
"Cardinal? What's that even mean?" Fumizuki asked.
Inazuma sheepishly looked downwards. "The lipstick I used earlier has that name, so..."
She stared at Inazuma's lips. "Oh, like the color red? But what about the 'wanderer' part?"
"W-Well, I just remembered what my psychology professor told me back then. He said that every person undergoes a constant process of self-discovery, and I wasn't really sure what it meant until recently.
"I've realized that all of us are like wanderers searching for our place in this world. And while we don't exactly know where our decisions will take us, the journey in our pursuit of that goal will help us continue to develop as a person, for better or worse.
"This is especially true to us finding our footing in the wake of the last operation. A lot of things aren't still clear to us, but there's also no reason for us not to keep moving forward."
"H-How poetic!" Zuihou said. "No wonder you're the Liberator's secretary!"
"Th-This is so embarrassing!" Inazuma covered her face with her hands. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore!"
"The name does make me feel like we're bona fide adventurers," Fumizuki said, "so I like it! If there aren't any objections, let's get this over with already!"
Following Fumizuki's lead, they huddled up even close than before.
"Alrighty! On my count—one, two, three…!"
Inazuma drew a sharp breath and yelled out their flag name in perfect sync with her friends:
"Cardinal Wanderers!"
After that brief moment of excitement, they burst into laughter as they finally separated from each other. "Now that I think about it, isn't this more of a cheerleading thing?" Sendai asked.
"E-Eh?" Fumizuki became flustered, placing both fists against hips. "Th-That doesn't matter! The thought is what counts anyway!"
Fusou nodded. "We never do this sort of thing before, so it will only help our unit's morale if we continue to bond more frequently."
"W-We see each other every day," Sendai said, rubbing the back of her head. "Isn't that enough?"
"Umm, we barely see you around at all. Hatsuyuki does her own thing too most of the time, but at least we can still find her when needed."
"And Manager's busy following Commander around in her free time," Fumizuki said, "so we felt we were being left out…"
"But that's normal, right?" Zuihou said. "They're dating, after all."
"N-No, we're not!"
"But that's what Miss Kongou told me earlier…"
Inazuma slowly narrowed her eyes. "I might have to visit Miss Harline's office tomorrow too."
"Oh, almost forgot!" Sendai said, producing a small envelope from her skirt pocket. "That pigtailed lieutenant handed this to me just before we got here. She was supposed to give it to you after the party."
Inazuma received the dark blue envelope and inspected it from both sides. The envelope itself was nothing special, but its Libran Horizon seal was certainly a huge cause for concern. Was it a letter from Commodore Minako?
Only one way to find out.
As she took the folded letter out and started reading its handwritten contents, she was taken by surprise.
Wait… this is…!
Her initial state of shock was almost immediately replaced with an uncontrollable laughter, much to the confusion of her friends.
It was the same letter she had read from the commander's laptop… except the last two lines from the digital copy had been omitted.
I think I'll be able to sleep well tonight…