Chapter 69

Deep night.

Aaaaaiiiing-

The shrill sound of a siren echoes throughout the forward base.

Searchlights and lighting fixtures installed everywhere turn on simultaneously, instantly transforming the forward base into a city of lights.

“Hurry, hurry!”

“Enemy incursion-!!”

Soldiers rush to countless turrets and pillboxes, and the gun emplacements rotate toward one direction.

[Emergency launch! Emergency launch!]

The engines of fighter jets on the runway spew fire.

Gurrrr-

Boooom-

From the arsenal hidden between the ravines, tanks and armored vehicles move out, and above them, the helicopter squad quickly passes by.

Clang, clang-

Bipedal walking weapon units advance, shaking the ground as they follow the soldiers’ guiding lights.

There are sleek robots shaped like humans, and others that resemble artillery with legs.

Ziiing-

Squadrons of armored suits that resemble inflated spacesuits race across the wilderness.

In the trench network that resembles a labyrinth, countless soldiers rapidly fill the empty spaces, armed with personal firearms.

The ground force soldiers move with perfect coordination.

At the same moment, Freya, who had woken up and hastily thrown on some clothes, bursts into the command center.

The soldiers guarding the door salute her, but she has no time to acknowledge it.

Somehow making her way inside, she sees her adjutant and a young male vice-commander speaking.

“General, you’re here-”

“Skip the pleasantries; what’s the situation? Short and to the point.”

Freya cuts the vice-commander off and says this.

The vice-commander, used to her style, immediately relays the information.

“Alien vessels are approaching the forward base. Judging by their size detected on radar, they appear to be destroyer-class, but the intel is solid.”

“Destroyer-class….”

Freya takes a moment to organize her thoughts.

But as befits a seasoned commander, her deliberation is brief.

“Understood. What’s the troop deployment status?”

“We’re responding urgently; all troop placements should be complete in three minutes.”

“Good. Evacuate the non-combat personnel to the bunkers, just in case.”

“Understood.”

The vice-commander nods slightly in acknowledgment of her words, after which the young female adjutant approaches Freya.

“General, what are your orders?”

“…A destroyer-class vessel won’t breach our base’s barrier in one go. We need to delay and discern their intent-”

Freya issues decisive instructions.

At that moment, a communications soldier stationed on one side of the command center goes “hmm?” and raises their hand.

An officer approaches them.

The communications soldier removes the headset they were wearing and hands it over to the officer, who puts it on.

The officer’s eyes widen instantly, then they hastily remove the headset and rush to Freya.

“General!”

“What’s the matter?”

“You need to hear this directly.”

“Hmm?”

Though it seemed odd to make such a fuss over a communication, Freya knew her subordinates wouldn’t behave this way without reason, so she moves toward the raised hand of the communications soldier.

“It’s here, General.”

“Hmm.”

Freya takes the proffered headset and places it on her ears.

A familiar voice greets her from the other side.

[Ah, can you hear me, Freya?]

“Uh, President?”

[That’s right, Freya. It’s me.]

“President, why are you suddenly….”

At that moment, a red glow appears in the communication device.

“Video transmission request. Shall I display it on the screen?”

“Display it.”

Since there was no reason to think the president would do anything unusual, Freya gave the order.

But what appeared on the large screen in the command center left everyone, including Freya, stunned.

[Hmm, I’m not sure if you can see me well.]

Saying this, Ryuje, seated on a high chair in some unknown facility, comes into view.

By her side was Nisia, carrying Edu, and in front of her were several aliens kneeling.

They were not wearing ordinary clothes but rather clean uniforms that clearly showed their high rank.

[It’ll be fine, President. If I weren’t straightened up, well…]

Edu, whose tone drastically changed, looks at the aliens.

The aliens flinch simultaneously and break into cold sweat.

Witnessing this, Freya finally understands the situation.

Probably, the destroyer they see is where they are, and somehow, they’ve commandeered the enemy vessel.

“Eh?”

“Could it be…?”

Bewildered voices erupt throughout the command center.

“Hahahaha-”

Only Freya laughs heartily and looks at the screen as if amused.

“Commander?”

“Really, you’ve done something unimaginable again. Stand down the alert and bring all troops back.”

“Is that safe?”

“You don’t see it? Work with the president and the kids to provide optimal support. I’m going back to sleep.”

“Understood.”

…

“Ugh-”

A short groan from Ryuje is heard.

Inside the central commander’s office within the Obelisk.

There, I and Ryuje were receiving our punishment—being hugged tightly by Freya.

“Muahaha.”

Freya’s smiling face beamed brightly.

Through her shoulder, the alien destroyer vessel captured by us—Entego-class Assault Destroyer—comes into view.

The soldiers and researchers below the vessel are bustling about.

Among them is the research armored carrier that I brought back.

“Isn’t this enough? Can you let go of me—”

Ryuje tries to wriggle out of Freya’s embrace while appearing embarrassed.

However, Freya stops her with a stern voice.

“No, military law can be harsh. Accept the punishment quietly.”

“Pfft, will you accept a summary trial!”

Incidentally, this punishment was issued moments ago by Freya using her authority as Chief Commander.

“Offense for causing a panic among many soldiers at the forward base, I hereby punish you as Chief Commander. Your punishment will be one-hour long hugging penalty.”

…Though, it feels more like she just created an excuse to hold onto us without much other reason.

“Summary trials are still trials.”

“Abuse of power!”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Nngh…”

After all resistance was refuted, Ryuze finally meekly accepts her punishment embraced by Freya.

Time flows peacefully.

Once a full hour has passed, Freya finally releases us.

“Ah, refreshing.”

Freya’s firm yet supple skin was something remarkable.

“Our side is completely drained, though…”

On the other hand, Ryuze feels wobbly, like she might transform into slime if touched.

“Oh, aren’t you being slightly overdramatic?”

“Shut up. So, why have only the two of us been summoned here?”

“Well, since you two were the ringleaders.”

Sharp judgment.

Freya’s suddenly serious face illuminated the aspect of being the Supreme Commander responsible for humanity’s fate rather than a child-loving individual.

“So, why did you pull such a stunt?”

“…”

Ryuje looks at me upon Freya’s words.

I nod slightly to indicate everything is fine.

“Resource reinforcement.”

“Resource reinforcement?”

“Yes, we must fight the enemy, don’t we?”

“…”

Though speechless, Freya’s gaze intensely penetrates both me and Ryuze.

Time passes slowly.

Silently exchanging messages through gaze in that silence.

And then, Freya lets out a big sigh.

“Seriously, President, you always exceed my imagination. This is making only me weird.”

Freya complains as if throwing a tantrum.

Upon hearing her voice, Ryuze smiles faintly and stealthily points a finger at me.

Freya’s gaze naturally turns toward me.

“This wasn’t my idea; the entire plan came from Edu.”

“Huh? From Edu…?”

Freya is surprised.

Ryuje’s gaze then turns toward me.

“Edu, is it alright if I tell Freya about you?”

“Hmm-”

A polite question.

But I already had the answer in mind.

“Yes, it’s fine. Since President trusts you, I trust you. And I already know Freya is a good person.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing my answer, Ryuze slightly nods and shifts her gaze to Freya.

“Freya, there’s no chance any information from this room will leak, right?”

“That’s something you don’t need to worry about. But, why are you being so cautious about this conversation?”

“I’m about to tell you what I must.”

As Ryuju begins revealing my secrets to Freya,

Freya displays a gamut of expressions—surprise, sadness—and listens intently until the end.

When the story finally concludes,

“Edoooo—”

Freya rises from her seat and rushes toward me.

“Uh…”

I feel warm and springy on my face.

Opening my eyes a bit, I see my face buried in Freya’s chest, and Freya firmly embracing me.

Pet-pet.

Freya’s warm hand that gently pats my head.

“You look so small and cute, but your courage surpasses both me and Teacher. You’re truly amazing.”

“No, not that much—”

As I tried to modestly dismiss the sudden praise, Freya turns toward Ryuze quicker than me.

“Right, President?”

“That’s correct.”

Ryuze immediately responds.

And as if understanding something, Ryuze also places her hand on my head and strokes it.

Pet-pet.

Pet-pet.

“Eh…?”

A slightly embarrassing feeling momentarily passes, but a wave of happiness overtakes it.

Embarrassing, but not unpleasant.

I let my body and mind relax under the dual caress.

“Hummm—”

“Good. Since the kid works so hard, the adults can’t just stay idle.”

Freya continues to pet my head while saying this.

“Hmm? What’s your plan?”

“I’ll tell you next week. You’ll be coming to the forward base every weekend, anyway, right?”

“That’s true.”

Ryuze nods in response to Freya’s words.

“Yes, then you’ll directly observe then.”

“Hmm?”

A back-and-forth conversation between the two.

But I, softened by the pet-pet, couldn’t quite catch what they were saying.