Shore Leave (2)
Freesia pulled her collar tighter against the chill that seeped through the terminal even indoors. After docking at the Vinsr Military Station, she had ridden the orbital elevator down to the port. They had warned her that Vinsr was in the depths of winter at this time of year, and the bare roadside trees beyond the window proved it—every leaf stripped away. Only three months had passed since she left the Ariel System wrapped in late spring’s lush green, yet here was the barren desolation of midwinter. The contrast left her strangely unsettled. Back home, it would still be the height of summer right now.
As Freesia drifted through these odd reflections, a woman in a crisp white casual suit approached and offered a polite bow.
Freesia tensed at the stranger’s approach. The young woman glanced around discreetly, then tapped at her terminal. For a brief moment her features blurred, then resolved into a familiar face.
“Miss. It’s me. Have you been keeping well?”
Recognizing Viola—Melanie’s secretary, the one she interacted with most—Freesia broke into a genuine smile.
“How long has it been? Have you been well too, Viola?”
When Freesia pulled her into a light, heartfelt hug, Viola returned a faint smile and reactivated her disguise, hiding her true features once more.
“I’ve been fine. Did you wait long in the cold?”
“I only just arrived. But is it really all right to use that so casually??”
Transformation magic was among the most tightly regulated spells in the Federation precisely because of the social chaos it could cause. To see such a restricted art employed for private convenience… Every time she met her aunt’s secretaries, Freesia wondered whether they were skirting the law.
“The issuance is strict, but usage itself isn’t particularly restricted. The Chairman sometimes uses it when she slips out for a quiet drink.”
Learning that the difficult-to-obtain magic was being spent on solo drinking excursions left Freesia speechless. Yet when she considered it, the reasoning made sense. Without a disguise, her aunt would be hounded endlessly by reporters and paparazzi.
If Melanie ever went out in her true form, the gossip columns the next day would be filled with empty speculation about marital troubles between her and her husband.
“Auntie really does have it hard.”
A life where even a simple private drink required transformation magic that was nearly impossible to obtain—Freesia, who lived a comparatively normal existence despite holding a rank somewhat high for her age, could scarcely imagine it.
At the same time, gratitude toward her aunt, grandfather, and grandmother welled up inside her. It was precisely because they had hidden her so thoroughly and blocked all information that she had been spared a similar fate.
“The Chairman seems to enjoy disguising herself and stepping out now and then. She was quite amused recalling some particularly entertaining sight she once witnessed.”
An entertaining sight? Freesia tried to guess what it might have been but came up empty. She would have to ask her aunt directly later.
Chatting lightly, they made their way to the parking area. Instead of the usual vehicle, Viola guided her toward an unfamiliar white midsize sedan. It was still a WeaverLane product, just not the flagship line.
“The Éclair is simply too conspicuous. When it concerns you, Miss, the Chairman becomes several times more cautious…”
The Éclair was the luxury automotive brand under the WeaverLane Group that Melanie oversaw. While it could not claim to be the absolute pinnacle, its elegant design and excellent comfort had carved out a respectable niche. By comparison, the car before them was a midsize sedan from the mass-market WM—WeaverLane Motors.
Viola watched Freesia’s expression carefully. She knew the young woman was not the type to complain, yet she still worried the choice might disappoint. When Freesia climbed into the passenger seat without the slightest sign of displeasure, Viola let out a quiet breath of relief and slid behind the wheel.
“It’s perfectly fine. Let’s get going. Auntie must be waiting.”
The place Viola drove them to was, unsurprisingly, a hotel operated by the WeaverLane Group. No matter how well Melanie concealed herself with transformation magic, the safest location for a relaxed meeting with Freesia was a property under her direct control.
After parking in an inconspicuous spot, Viola transferred an access card to Freesia’s terminal.
“The Chairman is waiting for you in Room 702.”
Even though the presidential suite on the top floor was freely available, her aunt had chosen an ordinary standard room. It drove home once again just how meticulously Melanie managed security whenever they met.
Freesia crossed the lobby, reached Room 702, and glanced around cautiously. Confirming the corridor was empty, she opened the door with care.
“Freesia?”
The familiar voice. And the familiar face…?
Freesia’s eyes widened. She had assumed her aunt would be disguised with transformation magic, yet here Melanie stood in her true form. Honestly, Freesia could barely remember the last time she had seen her aunt’s real appearance. Six years ago? Seven?
“What’s wrong? Are you surprised to see me like this?”
For a moment Freesia stood frozen. Then she rushed forward and threw herself into her aunt’s arms. That always-reassuring warmth, the comforting scent, the face she had missed so desperately.
“Oh my, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? What if someone sees?”
“No one comes here anyway. Do you realize how long it’s been since I last saw your face, Auntie?”
Circumstances had forced them to live entirely separate lives for seventeen years despite the blood that bound them. For those seventeen years, whenever they met, Melanie had hidden her appearance and controlled all information to prevent anyone from connecting Freesia to the WeaverLane Group.
In all that time, the occasions Freesia had seen her aunt’s true face could be counted on one hand. It was only natural she would miss it.
Melanie’s expression flickered with brief surprise before she gently patted her precious niece’s back. She continued until Freesia had calmed completely.
“Goodness gracious. Our little Riji is thirty-four years old, yet she still behaves exactly like a seven-year-old.”
When Melanie teased her about the earlier outburst, Freesia shot her a bright-red glare. But even that was adorable, so Melanie simply sipped her coffee with an innocent expression.
“Ahem. The earlier incident was partly your fault too, Auntie. It had been nearly six years.”
With no defense available, Melanie subtly turned her gaze aside. Even if it had been for Freesia’s protection, preventing her only niece from seeing her guardian’s face for six whole years was undeniably too harsh.
“So what brings you here this time?”
The chairman of one of the Federation’s largest conglomerates—renowned not merely in a single star system but across the entire nation—would not casually clear her schedule simply because she missed her niece. Melanie was the sort of person who divided her days into minute-by-minute segments.
“I originally came on business. There are technology transfer matters for Éclair, raw material negotiations with the system government, and several other critical investment deals.”
As Melanie listed the tasks one after another, Freesia’s initial curiosity gradually faded into weary resignation. Battalion command duties really weren’t all that impressive after all.
“But several issues resolved faster than expected, leaving me roughly a day free. Normally I would have moved on to other work, but since you happened to be here, I decided to take the day off.”
When Freesia asked why, Melanie dropped a statement that made her heart lurch.
“Are you feeling all right? You haven’t collapsed or anything, have you?”
The question about collapsing nearly made Freesia jump out of her skin, but she barely kept her expression neutral and shook her head.
Her aunt’s love for her niece was already extreme. If she learned Freesia had collapsed even once, there was no telling what might happen.
“I see. Well, your father was a water spirit, after all.”
Her conscience twisted painfully. But admitting she had collapsed despite carrying the blood of a water spirit would cause an absolute catastrophe. She could never, ever mention it.
“Truthfully, I intended to make time to see you during your first leave no matter what. After all, it’s your first year commanding a main battleship. You may be strong, but one never knows what might occur. Fortunately the timing aligned perfectly this time.”
Many first-time captains of main battleships experienced collapse at least once. Their bodies simply could not handle the vastly different scale of mana operation compared to destroyers and would cry out in protest. Of course, after collapsing once or twice and recovering, they gradually adapted.
Freesia herself, when she first boarded a cruiser as a captain, had not collapsed but had suffered a fever and spent two miserable days groaning in bed.
“You know quite a lot about it, Auntie. I’m surprised.”
It was rather remarkable that a civilian like her aunt would be so familiar with such matters.
To Freesia’s puzzled look, Melanie gazed into the distance with a nostalgic expression.
“Your mother went through the same thing. Unlike you, she was a pure-blooded elf. Not long after boarding her first cruiser she collapsed and remained unconscious for nearly three days. Your grandparents and I were beside ourselves with worry. Then, after barely surviving the war, she deployed again and we heard nothing for two whole months. You can imagine how my heart suffered.”
Guilt toward her aunt lasted only a moment. The story of her mother—something she had never heard before—made Freesia’s eyes sparkle with curiosity.
When Freesia was still very young she had known her mother as the impressive captain of a space carrier, but she had heard almost nothing about the years before that. Come to think of it, of course her mother had once been a novice captain too.
Moreover, unlike Freesia who had inherited a strong constitution from her father, her pure-blooded elf mother must have suffered twice as much.
“This is the first time I’ve heard about Mother’s days aboard the cruiser.”
Watching her niece’s eager face, Melanie felt a pang of nostalgia. Aside from the slightly raised outer corners of her eyes and the ears atop her head, the girl looked almost exactly like her sister smiling brightly thirty-two years earlier upon first assuming command of a battalion.
“You’re only thirty-four, yet you’ve become independent, never complain, and have been handling everything so well. Your mother was quite different. When she first became a battalion commander at forty-one, she would video-call me almost daily, on the verge of tears because it was so difficult. In that respect, you take after your father in temperament.”
It was a startling revelation. The mother Freesia remembered had always been kind, cool, and practically an idol to her. To imagine that same woman crying to her younger sister every night about how hard things were… it was honestly difficult to picture.
Melanie continued sharing all sorts of stories about Freesia’s mother. Freesia listened intently, sometimes exclaiming in wonder, sometimes laughing, completely absorbed.
“And what about you? It’s quite an early promotion. Are you finding it difficult?”
The question struck right at the heart of things, and Freesia’s face clouded over.
It’s hard. Honestly, it’s incredibly hard.
Since arriving in the Garion System, yesterday had been the first time she managed to finish her work within regular hours. The number of times she had gone to bed on schedule could be counted on one hand. And more than anything, the constant feeling of her own incompetence weighed on her most heavily.
“It is difficult. There are so many things I don’t know. Because of that I feel like I have no face left to show my subordinates. And yesterday I was even humiliated in front of them.”
Perhaps because she stood before the most trustworthy person in the world, Freesia poured out every complaint, frustration, and stress that had accumulated over the weeks. The asteroid belt search, the still-unfamiliar administrative work, the chief of staff’s interference upon her return, and the disgrace at the shooting range—she told her aunt everything.
Melanie listened, sometimes growing angry on her behalf, sometimes nodding in understanding. At last she tilted her head slightly.
“From what I see, you’re doing quite well.”
“Pardon?”
“Of course the difficult parts can’t be helped, but from what you’ve described, everything else sounds like you’re handling it properly.”
“Um… which parts, exactly?”
“The way you’re making good use of your subordinates.”
Freesia seemed to believe that constantly asking questions of Sergeant Frederick and the various department officers because she knew nothing was a serious flaw. But from Melanie’s perspective, that was precisely what she was doing right.
From the explanation, it appeared the unit had deliberately assigned capable subordinates to the inexperienced new commander so she could observe and learn. In that case, she should make full use of them. With the perfect excuse of youth and inexperience, she should wring every last drop of knowledge from them. If she clung to pride and learned nothing now, she would suffer far more later when she truly had to stand alone.
In that sense, Freesia was learning well. She had begun by living with the manual in hand every day; now she could handle basic tasks without it. She was not lacking in talent—only experience. With time, she would improve.
As for shooting, she must have inherited that from her mother. Her mother had possessed no talent for physical tasks whatsoever. If only she had taken after her father in that regard, she would have been a perfect marksman.
“I was just having a hard time with everything and needed to vent a little. I can’t say these things to anyone inside the unit.”
Watching Freesia grumble while taking a bite of macaron, Melanie smiled softly. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked about an amusing scene she had witnessed several months earlier.
“Oh, that’s right. Speaking of which, how are things going with that young man?”
Freesia’s expression darkened and her ears folded halfway down. She could understand if her extremely busy aunt had forgotten, but it still stung a little. She had cried and thrown a complete fit over that bastard’s infidelity.
“We broke up because he cheated. Have you already forgotten?”
“No, I remember that part.”
Then who on earth was she talking about? No matter how hard Freesia thought, she could not come up with anyone. A young man? After breaking up with that bastard she had not met anyone… right?
The realization hit her like a thunderbolt. At the same moment her face flushed scarlet, Melanie pressed the trigger.
“I mean the young man who was drinking with you at Marleu.”