Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Military Superhuman Visitors
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I unconsciously reached out to poke her cheek but flinched and stopped.
“......Umm!”
“Here.”
“Uuum?”
“No, I’m fine.”
I turned down her offer to share.
While feeding her all sorts of things, I’d figured out her tastes.
Rozé would eat anything, but she especially loved simple sugars.
Meaning she preferred chocolate or candy over snacks.
So I’d prepared treats to her liking.
But that one was too sweet even for normal tastes.
If you only judged by flavor, you might not notice, but eating it like Rozé did would leave your mouth sore.
It was food no one with a decent palate could handle.
“No word from Commander Rivel yet?”
Rozé asked after swallowing everything in her mouth.
A burst of sweetness wafted from her breath as she spoke.
“Nah. Seemed urgent at first, but he has no intention of meeting in person.”
“Probably just busy.”
It had been two weeks already, and I hadn’t even had a proper comm with Commander Rivel.
The only contact was a brief greeting when we first arrived in the Oceano system.
Beyond that, we’d only interacted through his crew.
‘He’s definitely friendly, though.’
Was the intel wrong?
Truth be told, as long as we stuck to our territories and did our jobs well, it didn’t matter if we met face-to-face.
Besides, Commander Rivel was in a busy stretch right now.
He’d only been deployed to the Styx frontline for a month and a half.
Oceano was like Antarozea—resident evacuations weren’t even finished.
He’d be swamped for at least a few more months.
“We’re twiddling our thumbs, though?”
“That’s just now. Later, we’ll have it worse.”
One downside: there were a few issues needing coordination with the commander.
Like the superhumans under military command.
Those were too sensitive for a simple comm.
Commanders who valued chain of command could take it the wrong way.
But I planned to lead all superhumans operating across the entire Styx frontline.
To that end, even military superhumans needed to stay in their units, but I had to build influence through minimal exchanges.
And pull in any useful ones.
Not all military superhumans were weak; this was essential.
‘I did put in the request, but who knows if it’ll stick.’
Still, I couldn’t sit idle for two weeks, so I’d sent a simple message.
Nothing big—just a request for military superhumans to visit the Golden Fleet during their free time.
Not demanding direct access, just leaving it to their discretion. Might work.
Depending on the commander’s mood, he could ignore it or issue a bulletin.
–Captain, we have visitors.
“Visitors?”
My expectation that any response would take time went out the window.
–Yes, military superhumans. Seven in total. Your orders?
“Seven? Grant boarding permission.”
–Understood.
“......I sent the message this morning, and they’re already here?”
Seven was probably every military superhuman on Acheron right now.
Commander Rivel’s intentions were suddenly a total mystery.
What if I recruited them and they turned uncooperative?
The superhumans, guided by a soldier, soon arrived at the training hall.
They glanced around the facilities as they entered slowly, then spotted me and Rozé instantly.
“That’s Leonard over there.”
“Real blond hair and golden eyes. He’s handsome.”
“And Rozé’s next to him.”
From their chatter, it was clear they were friendly toward us.
“Welcome.”
“Fleet Captain, thank you for inviting us.”
“I’m the one glad you came. But how’d so many of you come at once...?”
“The commander insisted we visit. So we dropped everything and gathered up.”
“Commander Rivel said so himself?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to hear more.
I introduced them to my crew, then spoke again with who seemed the leader.
“We were shocked to hear the Golden Fleet was coming in person. I wanted to meet you, Leonard.”
“I’m just a rookie who became an official superhuman a year ago.”
“What does experience matter? No superhuman hasn’t heard of you. The buzz over the last half-year has been insane.”
Kals, a telekinetic superhuman, kept talking excitedly without pause.
I knew our story got around among superhumans.
But Kals’s enthusiasm seemed over the top.
“It’s a bit embarrassing.”
“......Haha, I got carried away. Too excited, I guess.”
Kals laughed awkwardly.
“But it’s no lie that we’re all interested in the Golden Fleet. Everyone wants to join the superhuman unit you’re building. Not sure if we measure up, though......”
“Word of the superhuman unit’s already spread?”
“Of course. It’s all over Superhuman Net.”
Superhuman Net, huh.
I hadn’t paid much attention so far, but I should check it out.
“What’s Commander Rivel like?”
“......Hard to say. Not easy to judge.”
“Treatment or attitude toward superhumans isn’t bad?”
“He’s not stingy. Knows when to provide some conveniences.”
How to establish relations with Commander Rivel.
Still unclear.
Kals relayed that we could exchange with them anytime they were off-duty from now on.
Not just Acheron—this applied to the entire Styx frontline.
Military superhumans couldn’t leave posts lightly, so probably only during long leaves.
But now I could freely contact all thirty or so military superhumans. Definitely a friendly move.
“Speaking of, you were training. Mind if we join?”
“Well......”
“Absolutely! Come on in!”
Rozé cut me off and shouted loudly.
“Hang on, Rozé.”
“Why?”
Her eyes sparkled as they met mine.
The intense anticipation made it hard to say no.
In the end, I had to nod affirmatively to the puzzled Kals.
“......Yes, our training officer says it’s fine.”
“I’ll spar with you one by one.”
“Matching with Rozé? It’s an honor.”
The other superhumans looked expectant too.
They even seemed to idolize us a bit.
What made them think our training was special?
I pulled Rozé aside as they warmed up and whispered quietly.
“Go easy. Real easy.”
“Easy?”
“Train like you do with the crew, and they might never come back. Tone it down. Got it?”
“Yeah! No worries.”
She nodded like she understood, then headed to the center of the training hall.
‘Is she really gonna be okay?’
The unease lingered.
“Easy” wasn’t in Rozé’s vocabulary.
I knew best, having sparred with her the most.
Even crew spars, under the guise of training, were near full-contact, keeping everyone on edge.
Injuries happened often as a result.
My healing fluid prevented long-term issues, but by normal standards, it wasn’t training.
“Please treat me well.”
“You too.”
The spars with the visiting military superhumans began soon after.
Whether my words sank in, Rozé was definitely holding back.
“Argh! Urk!! Guh!!!”
But it backfired.
Instead of dropping them instantly, she pummeled them with “moderate” force nonstop.
Kals, turned into a sandbag, screamed wildly as he got battered senseless.
The waiting superhumans’ faces drained of color.
“Wh-whoa, is Golden Fleet superhuman training always like this?”
“......Now I get why Leonard’s unit is so strong.”
“I’m not gonna last......”
I had nothing to say, just laughed.
Then I spotted Kals finally collapsing.
The crew, expecting him to get wrecked, rushed over with healing fluid and comforted him.
“Good work.”
“Lasted a full minute against the vice captain? Impressive.”
“Drink this and snap out of it.”
“......Sniff!”
Tears welled in Kals’s eyes.
Camaraderie was forming in real time.
‘......What the hell.’
I was stunned for a while.
*
“Giz, Runshin. Support duty! Head to Phlegethon.”
“Us again......”
“Ready, Captain.” Giz jumped up and straightened his uniform.
They’d just returned from another system yesterday, so I wanted to give them rest, but back-to-back raids left us short-handed.
“It’s a Grade-4 hatchery. Shefin’s waiting, so link up and handle it. Just bring your bodies.”
“Shouldn’t you move too?”
“The captain’s busy.”
“That wasn’t for you!”
They grumbled but prepped efficiently.
So seasoned it was almost reflexive.
“Giz is right. I’m busy too.”
“All you do is sit and fiddle with papers.”
“Jealous? Help out then.”
“The Ryu heir doesn’t sully his hands with menial tasks!”
Not deploying didn’t mean less work.
If anything, the scope had widened.
“Menial? If I don’t do it, you starve.”
“Hmph. That’s your adjutant’s job. And this body won’t starve anywhere.”
“Even the combat rations? All on my dime. You skipping those too?”
“That’s......!”
Raised pampered, he was picky.
Hated the issued combat jelly especially.
“We’re off, Captain. Don’t worry about the whiner.”
“Who’re you calling a whiner!”
He stormed off after Giz, fuming.
Blatantly dodging the convo.
I waved them off, then boarded the shuttle right beside me.
Destination: the flagship of the allied fleet where Commander Rivel rode.
‘Finally meeting him today.’
The meeting with Commander Rivel was on.
Three days ago, after repelling a raid and catching our breath, the interview request came.
Of course, I accepted gladly.
“Departing.”
The pre-boarded pilot confirmed my seat and cautiously ramped up thrust.
It didn’t take long.
Both his fleet and ours were in the same orbit, so we arrived in a blink.
‘Impressive Drunak-class.’
The flagship’s name: Orlando.
A Drunak-class battleship, one step below Valhalla, Central Superhuman Unit’s flagship, but fully spec’d out, so the difference wasn’t huge.
“This way, please.”
Crew waited on landing and guided me.
They led to the bridge.
As the doors opened and I entered, Commander Rivel shot up from the captain’s chair and strode over, hand extended.
“Superhuman Leonard. Welcome aboard my ship.”
“Thank you for the warm reception.”
“We have much to discuss. This way.”
A large battleship’s bridge had ample space and facilities.
But Lieutenant General Rivel guided me right beside the captain’s chair.
The spot shared the captain’s table—a huge breach of protocol.
‘What’s he thinking?’
The treatment was extraordinary.
For a ship captain, the chair wasn’t easily shared.
Exposed on all sides, yet intensely private.
Yet the commander offered it to me.
“I’ve reviewed your activities. Your feats on the 4th defense line were no fluke. Exceptionally capable.”
“We’re just doing our part.”
The commander adjusted the strategy table with one hand, displaying the map.
He pulled up Golden Fleet’s activity logs beside it.
“No, even compared to other superhuman units, you stand out. The stats show incredibly high prediction accuracy and search success rates for hatcheries pre-activity. Any special techniques?”
Before answering, I peered at the strategy table.
These were prepped materials.