NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

The girl with dark circles under her eyes remained silent, seemingly oblivious to everything. After a day and night of getting to know each other, she had become numb to the infamous lieutenant on the ground.

Whether the other side destroyed fifty-seven Lechers with ease or openly criticized the leader, none of this mattered to Sheffield now.

After all, the boss didn't say anything, so there was no need for her, a poor night-time worker, to worry about it.

"Lieutenant, your current straight-line distance to the far north is 3216 km, and the estimated actual distance traveled is 3769 km."

To minimize wear and tear on the aircraft, we recommend that you advance towards the far north at a speed of 210 km/h. Without considering the elimination of the Lecher, the estimated time to reach the edge of the far north is eighteen days.

……

Eighteen days, four hundred and thirty-two hours.

This period of time is neither long nor short.

During this period, Lieutenant Phoenix successfully trained the mediocre Diesel, Helen, and two others into soldiers who could barely keep up with the team's pace. At the same time, this also made the ground intelligence special squadron's coordination increasingly smooth and efficient.

Of course, it's one thing to have great teamwork in battle, but it's quite another for Helen to be excluded from the squadron in daily life.

However, unlike the incident at the hotel, the noblewoman, having gained the lieutenant's approval, had already recognized her position within the squadron, and she no longer demanded forgiveness from Mihara and the others.

It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter.

Now, all she cares about is whether the lieutenant is there or not. As for what others think, that's a trivial and troublesome matter that has nothing to do with her.

“This idea doesn’t align with your plans for your future, Helen.”

At night, Phoenix, busy grilling a plump roe deer, glanced at the girl sitting beside him and coaxed her gently:

"At the very least, Master and Anker are your friends, as well as your first mate and sailor."

You can disregard the others, but those two… if you keep arguing with them, your relationship will fade.”

"I didn't have any disagreements with them."

Upon hearing the lieutenant's assessment, the noblewoman, who had her arms wrapped around her knees, shook her head without regard for her image, looking utterly adorable.

“They simply don’t want to talk to me, and they can’t talk to me. Just like you said, they’re afraid that if they publicly forgive me, they’ll be ostracized by the rest of the squadron.”

Helen's words are not without merit, and they are enough to prove that, under the careful tutelage of Lieutenant Phoenix, her political acumen is growing rapidly at a visible pace these days.

Unfortunately, that's not enough.

At least for one person, Helen's current growth is far from meeting his expectations.

Then, the lieutenant said the following:

"Not counting me and Honglian, the squadron has a total of thirteen people."

When twelve people ostracize one person, that's definitely bullying or isolation. But when ten people ostracize three people, Helen, do you think that situation counts as isolation?

If, in addition, Honglian, who is detached from the squadron, becomes your friend, and as the commander, I intend to elevate your status within the squadron, could their actions be considered bullying?

Let's take a simpler example.

"Assuming all the commanders of the Ark unite to cause me trouble, that would be hundreds of people ostracizing me. Do you think their behavior constitutes bullying?"

Helen: "..."

Like sunlight filtering through a crack into the pitch-black iron house, Phoenix's words had barely left his lips when Helen, whose learning ability was already quite strong, instantly understood what the man meant.

She is the captain of the Aegis Force, the captain of the USS Praise, and she has a lieutenant backing her up.

Why should she worry that Master and Anker will be treated unfairly for getting close to her again?

"So this is what it feels like to have an excellent boss... able to provide such clear guidance to subordinates."

The noblewoman murmured, her cheeks flushed red, whether from the fire or something else, and even a single glance was enough to make one's mouth water.

"I, I... I'll go find Master and the others right away, Lieutenant," Helen stammered.

Her heart was inexplicably racing, and her body temperature was rising abnormally. A whole host of strange, incomprehensible thoughts were swirling in her mind.

Was it because I was about to apologize to Master and Anke that I became too nervous?

As Helen was thinking this, she was about to get up when the lieutenant's left hand landed on her shoulder, almost startling her so much that she jumped up.

"No need to rush tonight. Once the roe deer meat is roasted, we can invite Mihara and the others to have dinner together."

The makeshift wooden grill was moved away from the fire. Then, someone took out a dagger from his waist, cut a piece of tender meat from the ribs of the roasting meat, and handed the dagger with the meat stuck in it to the girl.

"Eat with my dagger, understand?"

Chapter 234 The Mad Hatter!

Even if the grilling temperature is perfectly controlled, meat that has only been seasoned with salt can hardly be considered "delicious".

Even so, Helen, who did not need to eat at all, still ate with great relish.

In front of all the Nikis, he picked up the lieutenant's tactical dagger and ate the roast meat. The deliciousness was incomparable to the top-quality roast meat on Ark Royal Road.

"Hehe~ It seems we went too far."

After the meal, Mihara, who had gone outside, casually explained to her sisters:

"Everyone should be able to see that the Commander wanted to cultivate Helen, but we didn't expect the Commander to completely pull Helen to the opposite side of us and even stand up for her."

Really~

And then there's that treacherous snake in the outer perimeter. Now, the Commander has at least three factions under his command… well…”

As Mihara said this, she turned around, gave a meaningful look to Anis, Marian, the two high school girls from the affiliated high school, and Honglian sitting on the rooftop, and sighed with a smile:

"Tell me, how can the commander be so popular with girls?"

……

……

The colors of the far north are always monotonous.

Azure sky, white expanse of land, gray-black mountains, and a dozen newly created footprints.

Today marks the seventeenth day since Phoenix departed from Division K-08, arriving at the far north a day earlier than expected.

To the lieutenant's surprise, the people responsible for welcoming them were not only the Limitless Force stationed in the far north, but also a group that was not unfamiliar, but not exactly well-acquainted.

—Counterattack forces.

Led by Valkyrie, the Niki unit is stationed at the outpost.

How did they get here?

Looking at the several figures in the distance, Phoenix blinked in confusion. Before he could ask Sheffield a question, he heard a noisy commotion coming from afar.

"Oh—! Master! Is that Lieutenant Phoenix?!"

"He is my master's master, and I am my master's disciple. So should I call him Commander? Lieutenant? Grandmaster? Great-Grandmaster?"

"Master? What does 'Master' mean, Nien? Is it...is it Master's husband?"

"...Uh, Signa, Grandmaster is Master's master."

Then, "Grandmaster" can also refer to "Master's Master," or even "Master's Master's Master," or even "Master's Master's Master's Master's Master."

"Hmm???"

Alice, listening to Nien and Signa's conversation, tilted her head in confusion, not quite understanding why her rabbit sister could have so many masters.

On the other side, Walcherle, who had blushed deeply because of the conversation between Niki and the others, urged them on impatiently.

"Everyone, please be quiet."

After saying that, the young and promising commander turned to the captain of the Limitless Force and said, "Let's go and meet up with the ground intelligence special squadron, Rudmila."

“Very well, I look forward to my first meeting with that legendary commander.”

A woman with a straightforward yet elegant and noble personality revealed a genuine smile.

"Alice, next we will welcome a respectable soldier, whom I summoned to help us fight the Queen of Hearts."

So you need to be polite, okay?

"Ok!"

Wearing a pink, tight-fitting latex suit, Alice, whose mind was almost that of a child, nodded excitedly, indicating that she would never do anything to tarnish Her Majesty the Queen's reputation...

……

"The Mad Hatter—!!!"

Phoenix: "..."

Rudmila: "..."

The moment Alice saw the lieutenant's face, her innocent, peach-pink eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.

Compared to the Miss Rabbit and her three companions introduced to her by Her Majesty the Queen, Alice only needed one glance to recognize that the man not far ahead was her Mad Hatter.

That frank and honest Mad Hatter, who sometimes goes mad!

It's her favorite Mad Hatter!!