Chapter 78 – I Must Respectfully Decline.

In the vigilante corps' spacious cafeteria, Letaria moved her spoon with unhurried elegance through her lunch.

"This 'Space Watermelon Gelée' is quite splendid. The balance between sweetness and refreshing coolness is exquisite -- the chef has done exceptional work."

She nodded with genuine satisfaction.

Naturally, she had no way of knowing that the item in question was a mass-produced consumer dessert, stamped out entirely by automated machinery in a closely regulated food processing facility, sealed in plastic packaging and delivered by the case.

"Letaria-san~!"

Cheerful footsteps, and two familiar faces approaching.

"My -- Steshia-san and Herta-san."

Steshia, bright-eyed with short blonde hair, waved with her usual energy. Behind her came Herta, her long light-brown hair swaying as she walked.

"Hey, Letaria-san -- good work out there."

Herta greeted her with breezy familiarity.

Had this been the Adeniam ducal daughter of her original world, a commoner addressing her this casually would have drawn barely-concealed displeasure. But after everything she had been through, having found her place here -- their warmth was something she welcomed, not something that caught her off guard.

The two of them set their trays down and took the seats across from her at the table.

"Man, the other day during the test was really something, wasn't it!"

The moment she was seated, Steshia launched cheerfully into the subject of the impromptu battle.

At which point, Milea's voice surfaced in Letaria's memory -- the look on her face in the examination room.

"This whole situation is classified at the highest level, understand? Even within the corps -- don't breathe a word to anyone unnecessarily. Are we clear?"

The reminder had been issued with considerable firmness. Letaria set her spoon down and lowered her voice with a meaningful look at Steshia.

"...Steshia-san. Do you recall Milea mentioning a certain matter being... classified?"

"Oh -- right! Forget I said that! Herta, forget it immediately!"

Steshia clapped both hands over her mouth -- and then, the next second, extended her fingers at Herta and made an elaborate bzzt-bzzt-bzzt gesture, as though firing a memory-erasing beam.

"Honestly, you always let things slip like that -- I really don't need to get dragged into a summons from Dr. Ichinose over this, thank you."

Herta sighed, eyebrows raised in exasperation -- and then dramatically played along, going "Uwah, my memories, they're~" with an extravagant overreaction as if the beam had worked.

Watching their completely unguarded, perfectly synchronized back-and-forth, Letaria found herself thinking, quite without meaning to: (That does look rather enviable...) But she immediately reconsidered -- if she were to carry on with that kind of unchecked freedom herself, Milea would descend on her with a lecture of truly fearsome intensity -- and quietly pushed the thought aside.

At that moment, a bright electronic tone rang from the large holographic screen mounted on the cafeteria wall, announcing breaking news.

"-- And in other news. An appearance of the space-native organism 'Electra Duro' was confirmed several days ago in the outer perimeter sector of the Seldia Autonomous Zone. Though a temporary communications disruption was caused by the organism's intense electromagnetic emissions, it was reportedly dispatched promptly by vigilante corps units on patrol in the area, before any approach to the zone itself could occur."

The familiar anchor read the statement. The feed then cut to a piece of coarse footage, clearly taken on a personal terminal by a civilian.

"However, a range of speculation has emerged online from civilian observers. Please direct your attention to this eyewitness footage. The silhouettes of the two returning units are clearly distinct from the standard vigilante corps model, the Rude -- and one of them has generated considerable discussion as possibly being 'Arden,' the beloved machine of the so-called 'Runaway Lady' herself, who once repelled both raiders and the massive weapons platform."

"Oh my... we were rather thoroughly observed."

Letaria murmured it, conveying a spoonful of gelée to her lips while watching the screen.

The feed switched once more. This time it showed the official Bureau press room -- and seated at the table was Grain, freshly discharged from hospital after his medical checks, in formal corps dress uniform. Bathed in a continuous barrage of camera flashes, he spoke into the microphone with a composure that was nothing short of impressive.

"...Yes, regarding the online speculation -- it is half correct and half mistaken. It is true that one of the units involved in the incident was Letaria Adeniam's 'Arden.' During the recent repairs following its combat damage, a shortage of existing compatible parts arose, and we made an emergency request to Syn-Fibra to supply substitute components, which were also to serve as operational test frames. The flight in question was that calibration run. As for the identity of the second machine -- this was a standard vigilante corps Rude equipped with custom components. The reason the silhouette appeared unusual, as discussed online, is most likely attributable to this. The great majority of our corps' Rudes are, in fact, customized in some form. In order to best protect the safety of our citizens, each pilot's machine is configured for the operational conditions that suit them best -- we hope you will view this as evidence of our members' dedication and creativity, and continue to extend us your warm support."

At that point a reporter called out from the press seats -- "Captain Grain, regarding your own condition -- we understand you've just been discharged after your medical checks--" -- and the questions continued.

There he sat, in the full glare of the camera flashes, delivering a perfectly constructed cover story with the calm confidence of a man who had seen everything. The Letariem pre-prototype, the next-generation Rasta prototype -- both buried seamlessly under official plausibility.

Letaria exhaled in genuine admiration as she watched.

"Being a captain means having to stand before a crowd like that and produce convincing explanations on the spot, doesn't it. Truly remarkable."

"Right~? It does look exhausting."

Completely as if this had nothing to do with her, Steshia nodded absently between mouthfuls of the cafeteria set meal. Which prompted Herta to deliver a sharp, flat look across the table.

"Hold on -- why are you talking like it doesn't concern you? Steshia, weren't you just recently going around telling everyone you were going to be the next vice-captain? When the captain's that busy, it's the vice-captain who has to go stand in front of those cameras instead. Could you do that? Could you stand there and spin something that plausible?"

"Ah..."

Herta's precise strike landed with impact. Steshia's spoon stopped moving. She appeared to have frozen entirely at the mental image. Her eyes drifted from Letaria's face to Herta's and back.

"W-Well... if it came to that, I figured I could get Herta and Letaria-san to hold up cue cards from behind me...!"

"I must respectfully decline." / "Absolutely not."

Letaria and Herta answered in flawless unison.

"Whaaat! You're both so heartless!"

Steshia wailed and collapsed dramatically onto the table. Watching her, Letaria allowed herself a look of mild exasperation -- and underneath it, the faintest, undeniable trace of amusement -- as she lifted the last spoonful of her watermelon gelée to her lips with unhurried grace.