Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The Battleship's Bridge
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What’s the most important space on a battleship?
The engine room that generates power?
The sealed chamber housing the mother computer?
Or maybe the mess hall that feeds the crew?
They’re all crucial.
But the one considered the absolute top priority—the number one secure facility explicitly stated in combat manuals, where the command staff gathers—is the bridge.
The bridge is typically located at the upper forward section of the ship.
It protrudes slightly outward for optimal visual control and is protected by outer armor that allows light transmission.
Why bring this up now?
Because the bridge offers front-row seats to the outside view.
“...Wow.”
The moment I stepped onto the bridge, I was struck by the same awe as yesterday.
I’d thought the view from my quarters was impressive, but this was on another level.
The battleship’s hull stretching out along my line of sight.
The main gun turrets rising at its end.
And the starfield densely packed in the background.
I’d expected it to be cool.
But experiencing the bridge of a Behemoth-class vessel for the first time? The space was as vast as four basketball courts combined, teeming with crew members and endless sights to take in.
“Leonard?”
“...Ah, coming.”
I didn’t have the luxury of soaking it in forever.
Tana’s call snapped me back to reality, and I hurried after her.
She led me to the captain’s private lounge tucked in the corner of the bridge.
“Commander Darmosa. I’ve brought the temporary squad member, Leonard.”
As Tana opened the door and entered, Darmosa—who’d been lounging sideways in his chair with his legs crossed high—quickly straightened up.
“...Officer Tana. Come on in.”
He’d fixed his posture, but his outfit was still a mess.
And whatever he’d been snacking on had left crumbs all over his top and bottoms.
Tana wasn’t one to let that slide.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, approached Darmosa, and brushed off his clothes, straightening them neatly.
“You were resting, I see.”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, I was on break.”
“Commander Darmosa. It’s fine with me, but you can’t let the other squad members see you like this.”
As Tana pressed close to tidy his clothes, Darmosa squeezed his eyes shut.
‘Closing your eyes is gonna do what?’
No amount of eye-closing would block out Tana’s scent.
I’d been around it for days now and still wasn’t used to it.
“...Thanks.”
“No trouble at all. I’m glad I could help, even in this small way.”
Ever since entering the lounge, his face had grown even more frosty.
Darmosa just sighed at her demeanor.
“I need to talk to Leonard alone, so could you give us the room?”
“Yes, sir.”
Tana bowed with utmost politeness, then carefully closed the door as she left.
Darmosa’s gaze lingered on the closing door for a moment.
I approached first and greeted him.
“Long time no see, Squad Leader.”
“...Squad Leader? Call me like you used to.”
“This is an official space, so...”
“I won’t tell Tana.”
“Haha, fair enough. I just never thought you’d end up my superior. Hard to be casual now.”
It felt awkward jumping straight back to informal speech after so long.
But forcing casualness was probably better.
He didn’t care about my attitude at all, and if I kept up the formalities to the end, it’d just stress him out more.
“Settling in okay?”
“No, it’s only the first day, so...”
“Pfft, heard you caused a scene on day one?”
There were so many “incidents” it was hard to respond lightly.
“Well, in our squad, fresh recruits who don’t stir up trouble are the rare ones. No need to sweat it.”
“Haha...”
“But hey, that Lachesis thing—was that premeditated?”
What was this about?
How could I have planned something with the Lachesis family head?
Up until Tana showed up at the academy’s space station where I was waiting, I had no idea I’d be joining the Central Superhuman Unit.
But Darmosa kept praising me, clearly misunderstanding.
“Thanks to you, things are smoothing out. I was getting headaches over the refugee issue, but it looks like it’ll settle quickly.”
“Any word from the other executives?”
“Not yet. But their attitudes have definitely shifted. If the Lachesis head’s word holds, it won’t take long.”
Seems our parting promise wasn’t just empty words.
The situation wasn’t looking half bad.
The Lachesis head had taken the lead, redirecting his family’s transport fleet here mid-journey, and now trade ships idled by the crisis were volunteering en masse for refugee transport.
‘But it’s not enough.’
There were just too many refugees.
Combining populations across all ten planets in the Triple Link region exceeded 500 million.
Right now, these refugees were the biggest headache in forming a defensive line.
Air raids hit constantly.
Each time, aliens rained down across entire planets, forcing us to divert forces to protect civilians—and stalling our progress.
We couldn’t ignore them, though.
Humanity United was founded for “humanity” itself.
Even if a new defensive line solidified successfully, excessive civilian casualties would drown the Union in backlash.
“The refugees are the biggest problem right now, right?”
“Spot on. Feeding and clothing them is just the start—everything’s an issue.”
At least one thing showed signs of resolution.
Refugee transport.
It’d still take ages, but given time, we could relocate them all.
That was just a tiny fraction of the overall mess, though.
“To keep them from becoming beggars, we need jobs—but we’re at our limit there too. Most gigs we provide are mindless repetitive labor, so resentment’s building.”
“They should be grateful for anything, no?”
“Yeah. But human hearts aren’t that simple.”
“That’s ’cause we’re cramming them all in one spot. Can’t we get some cooperation and spread them out?”
“Easier said than done. Nobody’s lining up to take on the ‘burden.’”
500 million was the problem.
No planet with a solid economy could absorb that many seamlessly.
So we had to split them up across the Union—but even that wasn’t smooth sailing.
“No incentives to get voluntary cooperation. Back in the day, we could’ve spun up a massive alien exploration project or something...”
“No bandwidth for that now.”
“Sigh, sometimes I wonder if I should just scrap it all.”
“Uh, um...”
Knowing Darmosa’s true nature, I couldn’t take that as a light joke.
‘Is he really okay?’
I’d come here without a worry, but now something felt crushing down on me.
What if he snapped out of nowhere?
“...Haha, we can’t do that. I’ll help however I can.”
“Good. At least I’ve got you.”
“Ahem.”
“Oh, and I got a message.”
“Hm? What about?”
“That young lady’s coming to see you herself.”
“...You mean the Lachesis head’s daughter?”
“Yeah. Couldn’t drag you away from treatments, so she’s coming instead.”
“This is a warzone. Why would a noble family’s precious heir come to a hellhole like this...?”
“She’ll stick to safe zones anyway.”
“Still...”
“Sia Lachesis is that family’s only daughter. Raised as the next head from the start—a true prodigy. Don’t lump her in with some sheltered noble miss.”
“...”
“And apparently, she’s been active publicly since she was young. Her influence on refugees might even rival her father’s.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. She even offered to be your secretary or whatever. Sounded good to me, so I approved. You need an entourage anyway.”
With Darmosa staring at me like “Aren’t I great?”, words failed me.
‘No, why’d you decide that on your own?’
Superhumans had their own personal entourages.
The makeup was strictly up to the superhuman—no outsiders meddling. That was the unwritten rule.
The only exception was when a self-assembled entourage caused trouble.
And the reason I hadn’t thought about it yet?
‘It’s not time.’
Entourages formed after full academy graduation and official superhuman commissioning.
Until then, you were a “temporary superhuman,” attached to military units rather than superhuman squads—so it hadn’t applied to me.
I’d figured it was a year-out conversation.
“...Wasn’t I just a temporary member?”
“Huh? What’s that got to do with it? You build one if you need it. And you’re Central Superhuman Unit. We don’t have a single superhuman without an entourage.”
“Still, that girl...”
“Oh, you don’t like her? Just think of her as temporary. She’ll head back to her family once treatments wrap.”
“True.”
“And I saw her last time—pretty girl.”
“...I handle my own love life.”
“Who said otherwise?”
He was starting to grate.
From Darmosa’s view, me pairing off with Sia Lachesis would be ideal.
Perfect PR material.
A prodigy daughter from a crisis-struck planet and the superhuman who came to save it—a love story!
It’d be plastered everywhere.
“I’m not keen on my face being sold off already.”
“...Aw, that’s a shame.”
“Tana-senior should know you’re pulling this.”
“What? Why bring up Tana all of a sudden!?”
“Dunno.”
I turned away, feigning ignorance.
How to handle these dense idiots? What a headache.
*
The next three days were brutal.
We hit completed recon on hatcheries to destroy them, suppressed riots in the cities—nonstop missions.
By the time those wrapped, handling personal duties left no time for sleep.
‘Take it easy, my ass. Damn jerk.’
Darmosa’s payback, no doubt.
This treatment for one comment?
Never mix work with personal ties.
‘Definitely need an entourage.’
I felt busier here than at the academy.
There, I’d do scheduled training and have the rest free.
Here? Nothing fixed.
When busy, you moved nonstop for days without rest.
No wonder demand for entourages to handle minutiae spiked.
‘No way he planned this...?’
I didn’t want to think Darmosa’s scheming ran that deep.
I shook my head slightly and looked ahead.
A familiar woman took the seat in front and greeted me.
“Hello.”
Sia Lachesis.
The Lachesis family’s only daughter.
She’d arrived just three days after Darmosa’s heads-up.
Fast, considering she wasn’t fully recovered.
“You look much better than last time. Glad to see it.”
“All thanks to you, Leonard.”
“...”
Nothing more to say.
He’d pushed her as a secretary until I built a proper entourage, but honestly, she seemed too young.
One year younger than me—21.
Even with education, a delicately raised lady doing the grunt work of assisting someone? Hard to buy it.
Sia seemed to read my thoughts.
“Don’t I meet your approval?”
“...Pardon? No, uh...”
“If I make you uncomfortable, tell me right away.”
“It’s not that.”
“...So there is some hesitation. It’s fine. I came prepared. And I’m here by my own will—not just my father’s urging.”
“...You volunteered?”
“Yes. I shook off his objections and left. I have to repay the favor.”
“That’s for the family head to...”
“No. That’s irrelevant to me. You saved my life, so I repay it.”
She was nothing like I’d imagined.
“Hm...”
Only now did I notice her outfit.
A sharply tailored suit, formal to the point of stuffiness.
Minimal makeup, hair neatly braided and swept to one side.
She looked every bit the perfect office woman.