Love Blooms Even in the Midst of War
"Aren't you going to eat, young master?"
"...You eat plenty yourself."
"Tch... I was just thinking of you."
With that, Linda slurped up the noodles in her hand—noodles that gleamed an unnatural green under the sunlight. The bizarre, grotesque appearance of that food, whatever the hell it was made from, sent an involuntary shiver down my spine.
It's about time for some kind of incident to pop off, no matter what...
I'd arrived at this distinctive plaza to kill time, and it'd already been an hour. At first, my eyes had sparkled at the array of shops surrounding the square and all the exotic sights, darting around like a kid in a candy store. But even if I was like some primitive caveman out of place in this hyper-advanced world, I'm not that clueless or slow on the uptake, right?
Once I'd gotten a feel for the kinds of stuff available in this world, boredom set in. That's when Linda started dropping hints about why the hell this bastard wasn't moving from here, and I'd been stuck placating her ever since.
"Linda, what would you do if war broke out?"
In the middle of idly wasting time, I tossed out what must've sounded like an absurd hypothetical to her. Linda furrowed her brow slightly, like why the fuck are you saying that crap, but since she was an enhanced human herself, maybe she'd thought about it at least once. After mumbling for a bit, she slowly continued.
"Well... who knows. It's been ages since the ceasefire, and the last war was before either of us was born, so it doesn't feel real... But, y'know, being enhanced humans and all... Hmm..."
"Right? That statue at the officer academy and everything... Even if everyone calls her old man a hero and an admiral, he's still just a war hero at the end of the day—someone who massacred hundreds, thousands. Kinda gives you a weird vibe."
Her old man being a war hero who'd slaughtered people by the hundreds or thousands didn't faze me much—it was just some other guy's problem. But when I shot her a look with my handsome, perfectly customized face and eyes full of feigned concern, Linda suddenly seemed to realize I was overthinking this crap. She stared blankly at me for a moment, cheeks flushing, then hurriedly opened her mouth.
"A-hem! If war breaks out, I'd follow you without a second thought, young master!"
I could guess what was going through her head, so I chuckled and was about to reply—
KABOOM!!!
A deafening roar slammed into my ears out of nowhere. The commotion erupted near the officer academy, a good distance from the plaza. Heads turned frantically—mine and Linda's included, along with every pedestrian around.
"Uh...?"
"Hey... that doesn't look good, does it...?"
The absurd situation clashed with the growing chaos. I spoke to Linda, who was quietly staring at the massive cracks spiderwebbing across the sky above the academy. She'd been analyzing the data through her enhanced eyes, apparently, because after boring holes into the sky, her face suddenly drained of color. With a trembling voice, she shook her head.
"Y-Young master. We need to take cover first."
"...? Your words don't match your tiny voice there?"
I couldn't quite picture what those cracks in the sky meant, so I teased her lightly. But unlike before, Linda's face was deadly serious as she gripped my wrist hard.
"If shocks like that hit at least two more times, the colony's gonna get a hole punched through it."
"...Uh... so... out into the whoosh?"
"Whoosh!"
"Fuck. Shit."
No matter how uncivilized a modern guy I was, I wasn't brain-dead enough to miss what she meant. Just like air escaping a punctured balloon, we'd all get sucked out into the void. I nodded, picturing the disaster.
They said PV got reduced to ruins and regenerated, so even if a hole rips open, they probably patched it up somehow without total colony destruction... But best to assume most normal folks died in the interim.
I'd always wondered what the hell happened in that mere tutorial declaration of war to turn it into ruins and fuel the protagonist's rage. Realizing it was a classic sci-fi space colony terror attack made everything click instantly.
KABOOM!!!!
The second roar echoed through the stunned crowd, the cracks in the sky widening. As the fissures grew and the optical panels simulating a blue sky began crumbling down, the people around finally grasped the severity. Faces pale, they spun on their heels to flee.
Screaming women, men urging them on faster. Kids wailing in confusion, dragged by their mothers' hands. Despair etched on elders' faces who never thought they'd see this again in their lifetime. Linda grabbed my hand, signaling we should join the exodus.
"Y-Young master! We gotta go now!"
"...Go where?"
"What?! How are you so calm when the colony's about to blow?! The estate's the obvious place!"
"Hmm... well... to cause cracks like that, it has to be an external attack, right?"
To resist her yanking my arm, I channeled a bit of mana subtly into my words. Linda, who'd been grunting like no normal human could pull this off, flinched and froze, staring intently at me as if to hear me out.
"What's the most important facility in this colony, in your opinion?"
"...The officer academy and..."
She glanced at the academy, then up at the cracks overhead, finally getting it. Her head whipped around toward the estate's direction with a sharp crack, eyes meeting mine.
"Th-The admiral's estate..."
"Exactly. The estate's a death trap—don't even think about it. And if we run into anyone, don't say who I am until this blows over."
"But I told the security team to return to the estate and stand by..."
Her pupils quivered mercilessly as she spoke. The situation was dire, and she'd focused solely on getting me back, unintentionally shoving her comrades into the fire. Guilt welled up visibly on her young face—still childish despite her skills. I chuckled and shrugged.
"Eh. It's the admiral's place, after all. Less likely to turn into total chaos like the academy. If they're aiming to capture someone important to him—like me—it's not a straight death sentence... It'll work out somehow."
"..."
"What?"
"...Why are you so unfazed, young master?"
The sky was about to rip open, potentially ending us all, but I didn't see some piddly incident threatening my life. My casual acting oozed nonchalance, making Linda eye me like a freak. I shrugged again.
"Dunno. I'm pretty shocked myself at how chill I am... Hmm... Guess it's 'cause I'm the admiral's one and only bloodline?"
For the admiral, it was battle-hardened nerves and seasoned poise. For me, realm-born confidence. But how would Linda, not even 30, grasp that?
Plus, those weird eyes of hers—she trusts their data way too much...
Unable to fully buy my explanation but seeing no better answer, she nodded slowly.
"So... what do we do?"
"Huh? You're security—you decide. Why ask me?"
"Honestly, my mind's blank. Feels like I'm just a strong monkey who doesn't know shit..."
She looked calm on the surface, like me... but her eyes were spinning. Staring blankly at me with unfocused eyes, I burst out laughing, grabbed her wrist instead, and turned.
"Even if it's as bad as you think, follow-ups will kick in fast. Hunker down in a sturdy spot that can withstand a bit of colony damage, and we're golden. Lucky for us, I've got a place in mind."
Thinking only of that one intact building from the PV was my little secret. But her eyes glazing over as she looked at me? Probably inevitable.