Chapter 9

After a grand ceremony of boarding and a naval review around the space station and the orbit of Amato, the battleship *Okahigashi* entered a super-long-distance jump to the region where the SU would invade.

As the crew members carried out their assigned tasks, Akatsuki Sumeragi, who had just been promoted to second lieutenant, was ordered to report to the captain's cabin.

When he approached the captain's cabin, the door was wide open, and inside were the captain, wearing a military cap, and the executive officer.

The captain was a muscular, long-limbed middle-aged man, while the executive officer was a thin, middle-aged man with a nervous look in his eyes.

Akatsuki announced his name according to etiquette and decided to enter the cabin.

"I am Second Lieutenant Akatsuki Sumeragi, reporting for duty!"

The captain spoke to Akatsuki, who stood at attention.

"Welcome, Second Lieutenant Sumeragi—by the way, can I call you Second Lieutenant Akatsuki from now on? To be honest, I can't bear to hear a young whippersnapper like you call yourself 'Sumeragi.'"

Although he was the captain, his words were quite rude.

By telling him not to use his family name, it implied that he was not worthy of it. For a commoner, this would not be a big deal, as they would not have a family name that would make them feel hurt. However, for royalty and nobility, it was different. They took pride in their family names and understood that they were the result of the efforts of their ancestors who had maintained the family lineage.

Therefore, this was a moment where Akatsuki should have been angry at being told he was not fit for royalty. However, Akatsuki smiled without a trace of anger.

"Whatever the captain prefers. I am a new recruit on this battleship. It would be against military regulations for me to grant the captain any favors."

"…That's good. Second Lieutenant Akatsuki, there's something I need to tell you before you start working on this battleship."

The captain gestured, and the executive officer spoke.

"Second Lieutenant Akatsuki, you are the newest recruit on this ship. There are others who joined at the same time as you, but they all have experience on other ships, so you are the only true newcomer. In other words, you are the biggest burden on this ship. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I fully understand my inexperience."

"…Do you really? Let me make it clear: there is no one here for you to act superior to, not even the lowest-ranking enlisted men. And no one will unconditionally respect you. Do you understand that?"

"I understand! I came to this ship with the resolve to earn the trust of my fellow crew members through my own efforts!"

Akatsuki's straightforward declaration made the captain and the executive officer exchange glances. They nodded and then took off their caps, looking up.

"Damn, I thought we were getting a bratty kid who graduated top of his class from the current emperor's son. But this guy is a complete model student. There's no point in giving him a hard time or finding fault with him."

"That's not right, Captain. You shouldn't have expected a problem child. You should be glad that a proper member of the royal family has come."

"But, you know, it's fun to crush a brat with bad attitudes and change their ways. Without that, I feel like I want to complain."

Akatsuki looked troubled at the frank conversation between the two.

"Excuse me, Captain, Executive Officer. Could you explain what's going on?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, sorry. Right, I should explain."

The captain cleared his throat.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am Captain Sasaku Arma, the captain of the battleship *Okahigashi*. And this is Executive Officer Chukui Ringe. You probably won't have many opportunities to meet us, but remember our names."

"Captain Arma is a straightforward person, so don't mind his harsh words. And don't try to imitate him."

"Hey, that's harsh. Anyway, let me explain. This is a kind of initiation for new second lieutenants."

Akatsuki, not understanding the term "initiation," asked for more explanation.

"In recent years, the officer school has been producing a lot of graduates who rely on their family backgrounds. The school has been around for a long time, and over time, the nobles have gradually corrupted the teachers with bribes. This is why a lot of bad apples have been produced. The upper echelons, recognizing this problem, fired the previous principal two years ago and appointed 'Mao.' However, the nobles still interfere, and the teacher turnover is not complete—so the reform of the officer school is still ongoing. This means that the new second lieutenants from royal and noble families this year are likely to be bad apples, so the idea is to break their pride at all duty stations where they are assigned."

"In short, we were planning to test the new second lieutenants by insulting them and their family backgrounds, and if they reacted with arrogance, we would re-educate them."

Akatsuki was speechless at the captain and executive officer's confession, but then he couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Heh—sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at the captain and executive officer."

"Hmm. Then what did you laugh at?"

"When I heard 'arrogance,' I couldn't help but think of a friend. If my friend were in my position, he would have tried to prove his worth by biting back at the captain and executive officer."

"Is there really someone with such integrity? Then maybe I would have preferred him over you. It would be less boring to deal with a model student."

"Captain, that's rude."

"In fact, my friend is a person who doesn't get boring. In the officer school, he went around not tolerating anyone, whether they were nobles or teachers, who acted superior without having the ability."

"That's more like a mad dog—no, that's not right. He only bites at nobles and teachers who are all talk. So, he's a wolf. He must be a reincarnation of a wolf."

"Yes, my friend was indeed a lone wolf. He seemed like a noble wolf, one who would eventually lead a large pack."

Akatsuki spoke with a deep sense of nostalgia, and Captain Arma's lips curled up as if he had a good idea.

"Hey, what's his name? And where is he assigned? He sounds interesting, and I might want to recruit him."

Akatsuki, hopeful that he might end up working with his friend, immediately revealed his friend's name.

"His name is Dawson Iida. He works in the rear operations room, I believe."

"Huh? The rear operations room? What was Dawson's rank at graduation?"

"Second in command, after me."

"Huh? Second in command and assigned to the rear operations room?! Is that 'Mao' doing his job properly?"

"Is it really that kind of department?"

"The rear operations room, huh? It's a place where people who don't want to fight on the front lines just give orders from the rear. It doesn't make sense to send someone who graduated second in command from the officer school to such a place."

Captain Arma was frustrated, and Executive Officer Ringe leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Huh? Oh, I see. That's the kind of rumor the rear operations room foxes would come up with. If that rumor is true, then 'Mao' is doing his job."

Akatsuki was confused by the conversation, and Captain Arma, changing his attitude from before, threw a spear at him.

"I'll try to recruit him, but the chances are low. Don't get your hopes up."

"Why—"

"Listen, Second Lieutenant Akatsuki. You don't have the luxury to worry about your friend. I'll assign a first lieutenant to be your mentor. Ask him about how to get along on this ship. And be treated like a new second lieutenant. Get used to it. Once you're no longer a burden, I might answer your question."

Akatsuki closed his mouth, which he had opened to ask a question, and returned a challenging look to Captain Arma.

"Understood. Don't forget our agreement."

"The words of a burden don't reach the captain's ears. Well, do your best."

Executive Officer Ringe told Akatsuki where to go next, and Akatsuki bowed and left the room, moving quickly.

After watching him go, Executive Officer Ringe sighed and spoke to Captain Arma.

"It's fine to give Second Lieutenant Akatsuki a taste of his friend's information, but be careful not to go too far."

"I know. But first, I need to verify the rumors. I'm quite curious to see if a newly graduated kid is really being sent alone into the SU's territory."

Executive Officer Ringe couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wondering why this captain was so reckless.