Chapter 92

Chapter 92. Trust Me, Leave It to Me (2)

When Gryanarr noticed Belial reacting to his words, he put his feet down from the table, unclasped his hands, and wiggled his fingers, signaling her to sit down first.

Seeing Gryanarr like that, Belial let out a deep sigh but returned to her seat and sat down.

As Belial obediently listened, Gryanarr opened his purple-tinged eyes wide, then closed them again, before immediately starting to explain why he had made her sit.

“Think about it. After the Commander returns… isn’t this the first time they’re seriously asking for our opinions?”

“…That’s true, but?”

“But then, leaving after just 20 minutes… no, actually, not even 20 minutes have passed? How do you think Commander Icarus would see us?”

“How do you think they’d see us, Gryanarr?”

And as Belial showed interest in his words, Gryanarr, despite having tucked his pet tentacle into the pocket of his scientist coat, pulled it out again, stroking its squishy head as he continued the conversation.

“It’s simple if you think from the Commander’s perspective.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do you think the Commander gave us 2 hours for no reason?”

“…Indeed, they must have high expectations for us.”

Even if Belial wasn’t at Gryanarr’s mad-scientist level of intelligence, she was still among the most intelligent in Icarus’s fleet. She understood what Gryanarr was implying, and her expression darkened.

“I almost made a huge mistake in front of the Commander.”

“Huh?”

“It’s simple. Imagine bringing a solution to a problem you thought would take at least an hour, but you solved it in less than 20 minutes.”

“Hmm… I don’t get it.”

“From the Commander’s perspective, wouldn’t they think we just ‘half-heartedly’ came up with something?”

“…Ah, I see.”

“That makes sense♡”

And with Belial’s kind explanation, Ignis and Pashtira, who hadn’t grasped the situation, also nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know much, but… honestly, the Commander has been struggling with this issue a lot, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Indeed.”

“But thanks to the four of us putting our heads together, we solved something they’ve been agonizing over for days in less than 20 minutes.”

“…Hmm.”

Pashtra, who had been silent for a moment, shook her head vigorously, her violent chest movements barely contained by her skimpy nun outfit(?), showing a negative reaction.

“Essentially, we’re showing off, ‘We solved what you struggled with in less than 20 minutes!’ How do you think the Commander would feel?”

“You’re right, Pashtra… I was too short-sighted.”

Despite Pashtra naturally putting herself down, Belial had no excuse and just bowed her head in self-reproach.

But at Belial’s words, Pashtra nodded and casually added,

“Of course, considering our Commander’s personality, I don’t think they’d say anything to us about it♡”

“Of course not.”

“That’s right.”

“Our Commander is quite easygoing, after all.”

As Pashtra evaluated Icarus’s leadership(?), the others agreed, concluding that it would be better to wait for about an hour and a half before leaving.

==========

But 10 minutes later, they were already feeling quite bored.

“So, what are we supposed to do now?”

“…Who knows?”

The reason was simple. Accustomed to a grueling schedule, they had no idea how to spend this sudden ‘short’ break.

Of course, our superhumans weren’t complete idiots, so they had some ideas for how to spend their break, but that was usually after finishing their tasks and relaxing in their fully-equipped zones.

Having left their smart-phones and such outside for the meeting, their options for the remaining 1 hour and 20 minutes were severely limited.

Along with Ignis’s question filled with doubt,

“Ignis is right. Are we supposed to discuss additional opinions or… do you have anything else to say?”

Belial, who also seemed to have little to do, raised her hand slightly to speak, but…

Gryanarr, who was racing snails with pet tentacles, shook his head and said,

“Well… haven’t we already talked about everything we can do right now?”

“That’s true.”

It seemed like there was nothing else to say.

Belial, too, just fiddled with the hem of her military coat.

The atmosphere suddenly felt like a group meditation session had started.

Pashtra, wearing something she called a “nun outfit,” tried to lighten the mood by declaring it was time for “Girls’ Talk.”

But the moment Pashtra made the declaration, everyone immediately responded:

“Face.”

“It’s the face.”

“Definitely the face.”

“…Why is everyone answering so quickly? Of course, I agree it’s the face too.”

Naturally, they all ranked Icarus’s “plausibly attractive” appearance as number one.

For a brief moment, an awkward silence filled the meeting room.

But as mentioned, that silence was only for a very short “moment.”

“…Pfft.”

“Even so, that’s a bit too much, don’t you think?”

“Commander’s charm is overflowing. If you only focus on the face, that’s just weird, right?”

“Exactly. It’s not for nothing that Marian is head over heels for the Commander, right?”

Mentioning Icarus’s “plausibility” was meant to be a lighthearted joke to lift the mood.

But coincidentally, everyone ended up giving the same answer, making things awkward again.

However, the stiffness didn’t last long.

Soon, the room was filled with a warm and lively atmosphere as everyone laughed at their poorly timed jokes.

And with the mood now relaxed, the real “Girls’ Talk” session officially began…

“So, what does everyone like about the Commander?”

“Is it the body or the heart? That is the question.”

“Do we have to pick just one?”

At Belial and Ignis’s words, Gryanarr, who had been silently chuckling, raised his hand first and said,

“Honestly, isn’t it the fact that he accepts whatever I do? That sense of包容感 (inclusiveness)?”

“Inclusiveness, you say?”

“Yeah!”

As he said this, Gryanarr stroked his squishy pet tentacle, lifting it like a Laxative King, and flashed his signature mischievous smile.

“Like, he hardly ever stops me from making all sorts of weird stuff, right?”

“…Ah, I see.”

“Compared to those uptight folks from the Xenobia Empire, he’s truly the best.”

“Definitely. The Commander’s包容力 (inclusiveness) is no joke. He even managed to take in the Pirate Empress, didn’t he?”

At Pashtra’s words, who had instilled a deep sense of loyalty and affection for Commander Icarus through Marian’s “early education,” Gryanarr nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, no one mentioned how the Pirate Empress was practically on the verge of becoming a yandere fanatic for Icarus.

“Though, he does have some bad luck.”

“That’s true.”

“Jessica mentioned it in passing, but compared to other commanders, his level of misfortune is seriously off the charts.”

Casually shifting the topic to Icarus’s “luck,” the conversation naturally took a turn.

“But when you think about it, is the Commander really that unlucky?”

“What do you mean, Gryanarr?”

“Think about it. He managed to gather all of us here, despite the countless twists of causality and the hibernation devices. Isn’t that something?”

“…”

“Compared to that, isn’t he actually pretty amazing? Some people don’t even have a single SSS-class.”

“True… hmm.”

And just like that, they smoothly defended Icarus’s “luck” and moved on to the next topic.

In the midst of this impromptu “Girls’ Talk,” they enjoyed an unexpected and well-deserved break.