『Dammit! Don’t run!』

“Nah. I’m obviously gonna keep running.”

I avoided the lasers fired from behind me with rapid acceleration and used the nearby asteroid as a shield to shake off the pursuit of the enemy ship– But that was a feint! I turned the Flight Assist off and turned Krishna around using the attitude control thrusters. I immediately fired Krishna’s four heavy-caliber laser cannons as well as its two shot-cannons right at the nose of the pursuing enemy ship that just emerged from behind the asteroid.

『Wha–!?』

“There. One down. Next.”

Perhaps because it was chasing after me at such a rapid pace, another enemy ship ended up taking a wide turn around the asteroid in an attempt to evade, exposing its defenseless belly. Starships had surprisingly thin armor plating around their lower hulls or ‘bellies’. So, if they took direct hits on the ‘belly’ while their shield was down, they’d usually end up getting shot down. In addition to the ‘belly’, a ship’s stern, where the main thrusters were usually concentrated, was also usually thinly armored.

『Don’t underestimate me! I’m gonna kill ya, bastard!』

“You guys can triple-team me if you want, y’know?”

『I’m more than enough!』

Quite energetic, but there’s not much good that can come from getting too worked up. See. You’re raring for a showdown too much and are coming at me without much thought. When fighting at close range, being faster doesn’t always mean better.

After a brief head-on shootout with the newly appeared enemy ship, I turned the ship around at low speed, then proceeded to fire Krishna’s heavy-caliber laser cannons at the other ship’s now-wide open side. It was slower in turning because of too much momentum. As expected, it was much tougher than a pirate ship due to its military-grade energy shield and armor, but even so, there was no way it could withstand Krishna’s firepower for very long. The unfortunate enemy ship exploded before it could get me within firing range again.

“Next. Are you guys sure you wanna insist on one-on-ones?”

『Naturally! Let’s go, damn you!』

These guys were too hotblooded…… I inwardly sighed as I set out to destroy yet another enemy ship. I’m rather free anyway, so I guess I’ll accompany you guys until you’re satisfied.

“I did it.”

“Is that really something to brag about?”

When I declared my victory with a smug smile on my face in front of the pile of Enel chips on top of a table inside the simulation room, Captain Serena retorted with a smile on her face and veins popping up on her forehead.

“I helped with training and got Enels for my troubles. The Imperial Space Force pilots paid an appropriate price while gaining plenty of combat experience against a famous Platinum ranker. Isn’t this what you call a ‘win-win’ transaction?”

“Please don’t use the reputation of Platinum rankers in order to earn some small change.”

“Oh c’mon. It’s more exciting to make a little bet during stuff like this. That’s what I think anyway.”

I mean, I’d win easily anyway, so yeah. There’s nothing more fun than a bet you know you could win, my dear Captain.

By the way, an Enel chip was basically a prepaid card that allowed you to safely exchange small amounts of Enels with others. It’s used when you don’t want to interact directly with the other party’s portable data terminal, or if the other party didn’t have a data terminal in the first place. It’s like S*ica gift cards.

“I mean, it’s just 10 Enels per challenge y’know? Considering that you can safely gain combat experience against a Platinum ranker through the simulator, it’s a pretty good deal.”

“Even so. If gambling became widespread within the fleet, our internal discipline would be disrupted. From now on, gambling involving our pilots is strictly prohibited. Is that clear?”

“Fine.”

While replying, I stuffed the accumulated Enel chips inside my jacket pocket. The reason why Captain Serena didn’t ask me to return them was probably because it’s a form of punishment against the Imperial Space Force pilots, including those under the Independent Anti-Pirate Fleet.

“You will probably hear some ‘warm words’ from your respective superiors later, so take that into account.”

“””Yes, ma’am!”””

The pilots, who lined up in front of Captain Serena, simultaneously gave her snappy salutes. Looking at her like this, it hit me that Captain Serena was a proper high-ranking professional soldier once more. Or rather, it seemed that the pilots were actually looking at me with gazes filled with respect. What the heck?

“If you’re that energetic, then how about accompanying me instead?”

“Nah. No way.”

Captain Serena placed a hand on top of her sword’s hilt as she flashed me a smile. I refused her instantly. Perhaps due to her enhancements, this woman’s physical strength was truly extraordinary. Even after swinging that heavy-looking sword of hers repeatedly, she didn’t show any signs of slowing down even after multiple spars. Comparatively, I would be pretty tired after just five matches.

“You can accompany them, but you’re avoiding me?”

“Because you’re troublesome, Captain. Going along with you is tiring.”

“Are you picking a fight? You are, aren’t you? You wanna go at 100%, right?”

Please stop smiling while blue veins are popping up on your forehead. Look. All the pilots here are shaking in their boots. And the other soldiers who were joking around nearby have started to flee.

“Okay, okay. I got it. Just a bit, alright? I just have to spar with you, yeah?”

“Fine. I’ll let you off the hook for messing around with the pilots this time.”

“I don’t think this is a good deal though……?”

I decided to get up from my seat and followed after Captain Serena as she turned on her heels and walked away.

“You heard the lady. Let’s do this again next time, guys.”

“””Sir, yes sir!”””

For some reason, all the pilots saluted me reverently. What’s with those eyes? It’s like they were looking at a hero or something. Don’t tell me they were acting like this because of how casually I was interacting with Captain Serena earlier. It’s not like that, okay? I’m not in that kind of relationship with that person, alright?

“So, what’s the current situation? How’s the battle on the front lines progressing?”

Woosh! I took half a step back to avoid Captain Serena’s training sword that came at me while generating incredible wind-whipping noises, then used the long sword held in my right hand to parry the lightning-like follow-up slash in order to break her stance. However, perhaps due to her monstrous core strength, she didn’t budge one bit, changed her grip, and unleashed a powerful thrust. Was she really still human? Was her body reinforced with artificial muscle fibers made of a special alloy or something? Well, she did undergo enhancement procedures using the biotechnological approach, so I may not be too off the mark.

“You, sure are, plenty composed!”

“My intuition’s become sharper recently.”

My current self had enough leeway to look around while dodging the training sword that was coming at me while making frightening noises. We were currently inside the training room of the Restalias. This was where Captain Serena brought me, and the only ones present were me and her. She was the one who sent away the onlookers.

“Kuh…… Damn you!”

Why was I able to overwhelm her like this? That’s because I was able to ‘understand’ Captain Serena’s sword paths. This was also one of the results of my psionic ability training under Kugi, and I’ve lately become able to ‘foresee’ my opponent’s blows.

Kugi was an expert in what the Holy Vuelzarus Empire called the Secondary Psionic Powers, and to put it simply, it consisted of mental-related abilities like telepathy. I’ve been undergoing training under her for a while now, and my proficiency level regarding Secondary Psionic Power techniques – particularly telepathy – has increased to a certain degree.

My sensitivity to negative mental waves – in other words, killing intent and malice – had increased dramatically. An appropriate technological analogy would be an increase in passive sensor strength. It’s similar to what those n*wtypes in the Universal Century could do. Y’know. The one with the ‘ting’ sound effect. Which reminds me, were those Force-manipulating knights from a galaxy far, far away also skilled in this kind of ability? I’m really straying further and further away from being human.

Well, this ability had absolutely no effect on Mei though, so she still beats me up on the regular.

“Are you! Using! Some form! Of cheating!?”

“Even if that’s the case, I don’t feel the need to tell you anything.”

“Hyaaan!?”

Taking advantage of the momentary opening, I slapped Captain Serena’s buttocks with my training sword. How many spars has it been already anyway? I’d really like for this to end.

“Isn’t that unfair? Why do I always get overwhelmed even though you haven’t undergone any body enhancements and didn’t start learning the sword until recently? Isn’t it strange? It’s strange, isn’t it!?”

“I don’t know what to say. I mean, this happened before I knew it, so……”

I flashed a strained smile toward Captain Serena who approached me while breathing heavily. I was well aware of just how absurd I actually was, so it felt awkward for it to be pointed out straight to my face. I also didn’t want to talk about it too much.

“Are you hiding something from me? Is it something you can’t tell me? All your crew members are aware of it though, correct?”

“Uh, well……”

I scratched my cheek while acting evasive. Maybe you’re still high on adrenaline after swinging a training sword repeatedly, but please stop being so pushy, Captain. However, if I went and lost deliberately during our spar, Captain Serena would probably be even more furious. Now then, do I tell her or not……? What should I do?