Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Little Girl's Ribbon
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'Almost left empty-handed.'
The battle I'd just finished was the last one from this raid.
I'd run around a lot today.
No, flown around, maybe.
I'd been zipping from place to place in the assault hypervelocity fighter the military provided, offering support non-stop.
The rewards weren't much compared to the number of fights.
If I hadn't spotted that mammoth at the end, I would've come away with nothing.
The attack had hit a small village of maybe four or five hundred survivors, but the vigilantes had fought hard, limiting casualties to just a few injuries.
Once things were wrapped up, I'd helped with the evacuation too.
They'd said they planned to stay in the village until they could leave, so I'd called in one of the transport ships from the Lachesis family head and loaded everyone up.
'Time to rest now, maybe.'
The raid had dragged on almost the whole day.
Still, few aliens had made it to the surface intact.
This was Lachesis Planet in the Lachesis Star System.
It had the heaviest concentration of forces in the Triple Link region right now, so most aliens got intercepted in space.
Even so, there were so many that survivors had infiltrated sporadically across the planet.
My job had been mopping up those stragglers.
I leaned back in my seat on the transport ship with the civilians.
Since there were no partitions, their eyes were all on me.
But no one approached.
From their auras, I picked up all sorts of things.
Gratitude for saving them, awe at me as a superhuman, wariness, and more.
A jumble of emotions too mixed to pin down.
'Better this way.'
I closed my eyes, thinking I'd catch a quick nap.
But soon enough, a presence right in front of me forced them open again.
"......"
There stood a little girl clutching a rabbit doll tight.
She looked a bit old for playing with dolls.
Around ten, maybe.
"Hee hee."
She stared right at me and giggled.
Cute.
My hand twitched to pat her head.
Then suddenly, she shoved something at me.
"Here!"
A butterfly-shaped ribbon stuck to the doll's head with Velcro.
When I just looked without taking it, her face crumpled.
I reached out helplessly and asked,
"Is this for me?"
Nod nod.
She bowed deeply at the waist.
"Thanks for saving Daddy!"
"......"
"Hee hee!"
I'd never expected a thank-you like that from a kid when even the adults hadn't said it.
I froze, not sure what to say.
She straightened up and grinned at me again.
"...Thanks. I'm glad too."
"Yeah!"
"But isn't this important?"
"Jenny's friend's!"
"Her friend owns this doll?"
I pointed at the rabbit.
"Yeah!"
"Sorry Jenny's friend. I took it. Want a gift from me?"
"Present?"
"Yeah. Here."
I pulled out a handkerchief, tied it into a ribbon like hers, and handed it over.
"Wow!"
"Like it?"
"Yeah! Ravière likes it too!"
She beamed at her doll.
Meanwhile, my brain stalled.
"...Ravière?"
"Yeah. My friend!"
She tried pinning the ribbon to the doll's head.
But no Velcro—it fell right off.
Her face crumpled again as she picked it up, unsure what to do, until R3D3 stepped in and laser-welded it on. Then she lit up with joy.
'Ravière.'
The name rang a bell.
It fit with a rabbit, too.
But that Ravière wasn't a rabbit—it was a person's name.
So I couldn't quite place the girl.
"Jenny."
"Mom, look at this!"
Jenny's parents approached.
The wife of the man I'd treated earlier.
'Ah, so that's why she came to me?'
Maybe her mom had said nice things about me, so the kid felt safe.
Either way, I needed to look into this family more.
"She's a lovely girl."
"Isn't she?"
"Yeah. Makes me wish I had a daughter like that."
I meant it.
She seemed a bit behind mentally for her age, but that just made her more pure and adorable.
Jenny's mom smiled, covering her mouth with her right hand, pleased by the praise.
"Hee hee, we owe our lives to her. And thank you so much for saving us. Thanks to you, her dad..."
"Just doing my job. And for him, it was just an injection of meds. As long as he gets a full checkup, no threat to his life. ...Any plans after this?"
"No......"
"No place to stay?"
"Yes. My husband and I were going to take whatever work the Alliance sets up."
"They provide minimal housing with those jobs."
The Alliance's jobs and housing were bare-bones.
With a kid, it wouldn't be good at all.
"What if I offered you a place to stay?"
"...Pardon? Why so suddenly...?"
"I overheard the villagers talking. Your husband seems reliable. And the kid's so sweet."
"Hee hee."
I ended up patting her head.
"We're planning to bring in a ton of residential colonies to this airspace soon. Temporary spots for refugees until we relocate them all. We can't handle everything ourselves, so we'll delegate some management to civilians. How about you two take that on?"
"...Really?"
"Yes. It won't be hard."
Not a total lie.
We'd planned it but shelved it over costs.
A residential space colony for about a hundred thousand.
Prep was simple: Rent one, divide into 100 sections, ship it in with transports.
Operating costs? Scrounge funds from here and there—no problem.
'It'll be way short for all the refugees.'
This was for show.
One idea to help a bit.
Having even this much space to house people first would make things easier.
"We'd be grateful!"
I glanced again at the girl peeking up at me, glued to her mom.
The more I looked, the more she overlapped with someone from the original story.
*
Central Superhuman Unit.
This group always kept its numbers under a hundred.
Way less than the usual three hundred in other units.
But their power wasn't lacking.
Just a hundred made them the strongest.
Even without Darmosa, rated the top superhuman, each member was elite.
"No new guy's coming today?"
"Some rookie. Heard he's already on real ops. Behind already?"
"No way. Think the captain would recruit a slacker?"
The Central Superhuman Unit had a freewheeling vibe despite the skills.
Probably thanks to Darmosa's hands-off style.
But no one slacked.
Tana's piercing glare helped, but mostly the policy: Fail a mission, you're out.
So members kept their records up to avoid the axe.
They knew this unit was freer than any other, even with the brutal schedule.
"That guy?"
A long-haired man nodded toward the entrance.
The loungers perked up with curiosity.
In their sights: A blond man strolling in, scanning his surroundings.
"Pretty boy. My type."
"Don't. He's that witch's direct junior."
"For real? ...Still, initiation rite. Who's doing it?"
"Always the runt's job."
All eyes turned to one corner.
"Shit......"
A massive guy nursing a drink in the shadows scowled.
But under the silent pressure, he grabbed his bottle and stood.
"Looks scrawny. Go easy."
"Everyone looks scrawny next to Ivan, right?"
The runt—Ivan—was built like a tank.
His biceps matched a grown man's torso; calves even thicker.
Not just bulk—honed muscle, solid and thick all over.
And that wasn't all.
Ivan was the unit's youngest, but number one in raw strength.
The members watched the newbie eagerly.
*
Finally wrapped everything up.
Support and cleanup took nearly a full day.
I'd come straight here without rest because of Tana's message.
'This the place...?'
I scanned around as I headed in.
Strict ID check at the entrance—definitely not for regular troops.
The corridor stretched long.
Savoring my first breather in days, I walked slow.
Then a presence ahead.
I glanced over and blinked.
"Whoa......"
Huge.
A giant of a man strode toward me, filling my view.
Bigger than Giz, the largest I'd seen so far.
Shorter height, but overall volume thirty percent more.
"Newbie?"
His voice snapped me back.
His uniform marked him Central Superhuman Unit.
"Ah, yes. Leonard."
"Wanna drink?"
The guy approaching like he wanted to deck me offered booze instead. I chuckled.
No choice—clear senior, first meeting. No rudeness.
I nodded.
"Sure."
"Here."
He handed over his bottle. I chugged.
No clue how much, but obviously a full shot.
Emptied half the bottle down my throat in one go.
"...Kah!"
"Good drinker. Name's Ivan. Call me whatever."
"Got it, Ivan."
"Follow."
I trailed him deeper.
Soon the hall opened up.
Bar-cafe hybrid, about ten people sprawled casually.
'All superhumans?'
Uniforms said yes.
Most stared openly; others pretended not to while listening.
"Whiskey, vodka. Pick."
"Nothing else?"
"Only know these two."
"Vodka then."
"Vodka it is! I'll set it up."
A heavily made-up woman at the next table jumped in.
She winked when I looked.
She waved; vodkas flew from the shelf, lining up neatly.
'Telekinesis?'
Ivan popped a cap and spoke.
"Two things I'm proud of."
His slow, resonant voice hit home.
"Got one. Booze?"
"Yeah. Booze and strength."
He flexed lightly; massive muscles rippled.
"We're finishing these and arm-wrestling."
"Have to?"
"Skip it, and the seniors'll mark you. Cool with that?"
The made-up woman grinned wide instead.
"Got it. Initiation rite, right?"
"This newbie won't bore us."
Someone else chimed in.
I looked at Ivan.
"Anyway, it's a bet. If I win?"
"Win?"
He scratched his cheek, surprised, then answered.
"I'll be the runt instead."
"Deal. Now?"
I grinned, downing two vodkas at once.
Confident I wouldn't lose either.