NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

"Tomorrow at noon, which is today at noon..."

Ok……

Since you're going to be stationed permanently in the outer region, Labi, you shouldn't call me Commander or Lieutenant anymore. We need to change how we address each other.

"leader."

Phoenix had barely finished speaking when Maruchana, sitting next to Labi and completely oblivious because she hadn't seen the contents of her phone, spoke first:

“Although I have never been to the outer region, I think ‘leader’ might be a better fit for the character of Labi than words like ‘boss’ or ‘big brother’.”

"……leader."

Upon hearing Maruchana's reasonable and well-founded suggestion, Lhapi, who had finally managed to stop his wandering thoughts, tried shouting a couple of times before nodding in agreement with his teacher.

“I agree with using the term ‘leader’ instead of ‘commander’.”

Phoenix: "..."

Boss, elder brother, leader...

The word "leader" is clearly the least likely to sound like someone involved in organized crime; it's the word "leader" that most likely sounds like the head of a secret organization...

"Then let's call him leader."

After considering other more outrageous terms such as "godfather," "master," and "chief," the person also felt that the word "leader" sounded more normal.

"Maruchana".

Having settled on the title, Phoenix then turned his attention to his "little wife" and earnestly instructed her:

"After you finish eating, could you please go to the playground and call Mihara and Marian over? I'll have Labi send you the details of who they are."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Unexpectedly entrusted with a task, Maruchana, feeling a sense of participation, readily agreed, completely unaware that Lhapi's cheeks beside her had blushed again.

……

……

"The outer perimeter?!"

When the lieutenant announced the central government's arrangements, the empty mess hall was instantly filled with Helen's exclamations.

How could a captain who was once a nobleman accept orders to go to the outer edge of the region? He immediately pressed down with his right hand and excitedly thrust his salute into the ground.

Bang!

"If we are going to the ground from the outer perimeter to carry out a mission, then... then wouldn't all our achievements be unrecognized by the Central Committee?!"

Second Lieutenant! We must appeal to the Central Committee! Even redeeming ourselves through meritorious service is better than this endless cycle…

Just as Helen, still looking incredulous, was about to try and persuade the lieutenant again...

On the far left of the line, Yuni's little face was gloomy. She yanked her whip with both hands, causing it to explode in the air, and then scolded in a tone completely out of place for her age:

"Hey! If you dare yell at the Commander again, you little brat, Yuni will beat you up!"

"What do you know, you little girl? Do you even know that the lieutenant is a criminal now...?"

Snapped--! ! !

Helen: "!!!"

A black flash disappeared in an instant. Before the noble captain could finish speaking, Yuni, already furious, lashed Helen's chest and abdomen with a leather whip.

"Apologize to the Commander!"

The girl with pigtails glared menacingly, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent. With a flick of her wrist, the black whip, like a serpent, lashed out at the air once more, creating a piercing sonic boom.

*Smack!*

"Are you deaf?! Yuni told you to apologize to the Commander! Apologize now!"

"Hey! You're really hitting me, Yuni!"

Seeing that the usually adorable and silly little girl was whipping people in public because of the lieutenant, Master, who was nominally Helen's subordinate, couldn't sit still any longer.

Although she often felt annoyed and speechless at Helen's low emotional intelligence, they were friends after all, and how could she sit idly by when her friend was being treated violently?

Similarly, Anke, though she verbally expressed her dislike for Helen, still considered her the captain of the Praise.

pat!

As soon as they stepped out of the group, Master and Anker immediately stood in front of Helen and quickly tried to smooth things over.

Master: "Wait, everyone calm down. Helen is just bad at talking, but she means well! Otherwise, she wouldn't be so considerate of the lieutenant's future."

Anke: "Yeah, Helen is just a fool, she's not a bad person."

"Oh~?"

Looking back at her unmoved man, Mihara, as if on cue, stepped to stand beside Yuni and lazily pointed out the problem.

"But in our view, Captain Helen is clearly only concerned with her so-called naval honors that never existed."

"What did you say?!!"

At that moment, Helen's pride was mercilessly shattered by Mihara's words; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was "completely destroyed."

Then the noblewoman, no longer caring about her image, stood up angrily, squeezed between Anke and Master, and said through gritted teeth:

"Insulting the Ark Navy!"

bass--

The sword flashed, and the tip of the captain's saber pointed directly at Mihara's heart, his expression a mixture of anger and coldness.

"Do you dare to duel me?!"

Upon hearing this, Master, standing behind Helen, nearly fainted on the spot. A duel… This idiot actually challenged a teammate from the same team to a duel…

Is this language that the human brain can organize?!

Even if they win the duel, or even lose, none of the three of them can expect to stay in this squadron forever!

So, Master, his heart pounding, quickly stepped forward to stop her captain, and said with an awkward smile:

"Ha...hahahaha...as everyone has seen, our captain has some mental issues, everyone...everyone, please don't mind him."

But Helen's reason had already been extinguished. She shoved her friend aside, continued pointing her sword at Mihara, and shouted:

"Do you dare to duel me?!"

First, Yuni lashed him in the middle, and then Mihara broke through his defenses with a single blow. The captain, who prided himself on treating his dignity like trash, was completely unaware that she still carried the arrogance of a nobleman in her bones.

Even though she was already begging other nobles for the daily maintenance costs of the Praise ship, the girl didn't realize the key to her success.

The reason the nobles paid attention to her was because her maternal clan was also part of the Ark Nobles, not because of her status as a naval captain... or because of Niki's status.

"You want to duel me?"

Helen's "axis" clearly exceeded Mihara's expectations.

However, she didn't care. Ever since she couldn't break through D's defenses that night, which allowed Marian to launch a surprise attack on the commander ahead of her, she had put a lot of effort into combat skills, including practicing high-difficulty techniques such as disarming opponents with bare hands.

Admittedly, trying to disarm someone bare-handed under equal conditions is pure fantasy, but...

Niki, who had never been to the ground and had never even clashed with Lecher, was someone that Mihara looked down on. It wasn't that she, Mihara, looked down on her, but whether this noble lady could even withstand the pain was a question.

"bring it on."

The woman took a confident step forward, carefully took off the trench coat the commander had given her, and handed it to Yuni while smiling and saying:

"May I ask, what are the rules for duels among you nobles?"

"Just don't kill our captain."

It's said that the wife follows the husband's lead, but unexpectedly, Phoenix, who had been observing for a long time, performed the opposite, giving the order directly the moment Mihara asked the question:

"Let's begin. Everyone else, keep your distance."

"Eh?"

Master and Anker, who were trying to ease the tension, turned to look at the lieutenant with stunned expressions.

How can there be leaders who would even take the lead in dismantling steps?

"Let's go, don't just stand there."

On the other side, upon hearing Phoenix speak, Wolfe and Christine immediately took two steps forward, each grabbing one of the crew members and dragging the two lively crew members from the "duel arena" to the stands.

……

……

The rapier with handguards, an exquisite weapon, served to signify status far more than its actual combat value.

No matter how beautiful the language used to describe her, a rapier is still a sword, and it can still pierce a hole in a body.

To those in the know, trying to fight a rapier wielder bare-handed is less desirable than slitting a dagger down one's own throat, as that would be a faster and easier way to end one's life.

Therefore, when Helen saw Mihara decide to duel her unarmed, her first reaction was not to persuade him to choose a weapon, but to feel genuinely humiliated.