6 - Practice x Make-Up

If asked what the highlight of the Pilot Department is, all the students would answer:

“Practical exercises.”

And now:

It’s said that if 3 women gather, it’s noisy, but if about 30 women gather, it’s like a festival.

“Oh, is that new lipstick? I love the color!”

“This foundation is so good. It doesn’t break down even when I sweat.”

“Aww, I can’t decide what to do with my ba-aangs.”

“Oh, it’s broken. Can someone lend me their flat iron?”

“I’m just wearing mascara today.”

“Gyaaah, I spilled my nail polish!”

In the dressing room of Schola Sanctus’ Pilot Department, the girls were doing their best to look good.

Personal dressing tables are lined up in a row, and they put on cosmetics that they have carefully selected, sometimes complimenting each other, or sometimes arguing that the ones they brought are better choices, or sometimes making concessions.

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Speaking of why they’re doing it, it’s makeup time before practical exercises begin.

As the Federal Space Force says:

“Be a beautiful lady at all times.”

This adage is widely known and is a customary practice before military sorties.

“Everyone is in such high spirits, aren’t they?” Ratio said, combing her hair while staring at the spectacle of her classmates arguing and finishing their make-up.

She said it as if it was someone else’s problem, but she had all sorts of cosmetics lined up in front of her, too.

“That’s because it’s a military tradition, you know… wait minute, your cosmetics are from a brand I’ve never seen before, where’d you get them, Ratio?” Ornit asked, glancing at Ratio beside her while she applied her foundation.

“This was made by the Development Department,” Ratio said.

“Of that company you work for?” Ornit said. “Kaah, so this is what being in the Corporate Group means! We have a good selection at Mixture, so let’s go shop on our next off-day, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Amicitia said as she slammed her concealment container on the dressing table beside Ornit, as if she was a drunkard slamming her mug back on the bar.

As members of the General Group, they sometimes go, “How nice.” when Corporate Group students receive perks and preferential treatment, but it’s only passing thoughts and ultimately they’d like to be away from the internal fighting and mudslinging that’s rife with the Corporate Group.

Besides, they know Ratio is a good girl, so they made a promise to hang out with her without hesitation despite her allegiance, so they all laughed it up.

“But the quality is really good,” Ceru said as she reaches over Ratio’s shoulder and picks up a lotion bottle.

She rested the large bottle on Ratio’s shoulder as she looked intently at the ingredients.

“So heavy,” Ceru said.

“Wha…?” Ornit sputtered. “You should have a better way of saying it, don’t you?”

“Your stiff shoulders look so terrible,” Ceru said.

“It’s okay because I’m getting a massage at a beauty salon,” Ratio said.

“But still heavy.”

And as the two are giggling and joking around, a devil’s hand crept up from behind them.

“Oh my~,” Ceno trilled, “I didn’t expect this from you, Ratio~!”

“Nn!” Ratio gasped. “H-Hey, Ceno, right!? Stop it!”

“Nfufu~,” Ceno giggles.

“That’s cheating, Ceno!” Amicitia said, getting up from her seat. “I want in, too!”

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Ceru silently joins in, as well.

“Sto—ah-hey! Ornit~,” Ratio whimpers.

“You want me at the front then?” Ornit said.

“Trai-tor~!” Ratio squealed.

“Fuhahahahaha! This is what teamwork is all about!” Amicitia cried.

The playfulness of the friends heated up considerably.

[I can smell some bitches trying to seduce my Big Sis,] Wis said.

“Don’t be silly, run the diagnostic program. I want this list finished by today,] said a maintenance team member.

[Yes, maa’aam~,] Wis whined.

Somewhere far away, such a conversation was exchanged, but Ratio had no way of knowing.

“Ah~that was a bad experience,” Ratio moaned.

“Perks, perks~,” Ceno hummed.

The slender Ratio and the four friends had put on their make-up, and now that they were glowing and put-together, moved from the dressing room to the locker room beside it.

This is a simple and calm place that is incomparable to the previous room.

There is a sense of cleanliness, but it can’t be helped because there are only lockers lined up in it.

They go to their assigned lockers, take off their exercise jerseys, and pull out wetsuits made of sheer black fabric from the lockers.

This is one of the officially adopted equipments of the Federation Space Force, an inner suit worn under the pilot suit.

It repels harmful cosmic rays, prevents the wearer’s body temperature from suffering severe fluctuation, and has a certain amount of shock absorption function.

“You have your own, don’t you, Ratio?” Ornit asked.

“Yes, this one,” Ratio said, talking out one that was also black, but glossier than the standard-issue model for students.

“It’s custom-made for me, you know,” Ratio said.

“Well, I already thought it’d be difficult to share suits,” Ornit said.

The size of the inner suit can be adjusted to some extent, but it is mostly tailored to the individual wearing them.

When creating it, the body proportions of the wearer are precisely measured, and it is completed by adding a certain margin of error in both directions.

On top of that, the wrists, neck, ankles, waist, and crotch area are also of a thin but hard protective material, and various devices such as batteries are embedded there.

“But it’s a disposable item, aren’t they?” Ratio asked.

“Yeah, it’s fine because the school provides them, anyway,” Ceru said.

“Well, yeah,” Ratio replied.

Although it is durable, it will wear out once you start using it and engaging in exercises and combat.

The inner suit is the last line of defense to protect the pilot’s life. Once it’s worn out, it’s replaced.

“In we go,” Ratio said.

She had taken off her exercise clothes, stripped naked, and put on her inner suit with familiar motions. Although you enter it from the neck, a powder-like protective agent is applied to the inside, and it smoothly covers the girl’s body.

Put on the legs, waist, torso, and arms in order, and after wearing it tightly all the way to the neck, turn on the protectors on the wrists and ankles and firmly close the split neck brace.

Finally, when the waist protector is turned on, the inner suit shrinks and fits perfectly to her whole body.

“Hmm, mm,” Ratio hums as she moves lightly and fine-tunes the fit.

She touches the wrist protector to make the hologram monitor appear and check if the suit is functioning properly.

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“I heard these things were hard to wear in the early days,” Ratio said.

“Is it a problem with the material? Like they got stuck,” Amicitia asked.

“Yes, yes,” Ratio said.

Each of them quickly changed their clothes, and then put on the pilot suit on top of their inner suits.

Most of the life support equipment and shock absorption mechanisms are concentrated there.

They put on uniforms that look like a jumpsuit, connect and close the fastener on the front, and turn on the power supply on the waist to securely lock the fasteners and ensure airtightness.

After that, they hold the helmets under their arms and head to the door in the back.

There lies the hangar.

At a certain location away from Ratio and company, 6 students were gathered.

“Heh, these are real after all. Good job getting these.”

One of them can’t hide his excitement as he picks up and toys with the heat-ray gun, the standard infantry arms of the military.

“Yeah, if you scare them a little, we’re all set,” Iniuria said, laughing viciously.

Alongside Iniuria, 4 people were wearing pilot suits, and the other 2 were wearing normal uniforms.

Everyone is playing around with real weapons that can easily kill people if handled incorrectly.

“Well then, I leave the control room to you guys,” Iniuria said.

“You got it! Heheh…”

The two in normal uniforms seem to get a confidence boost from the guns, and they don’t seem to have any fear about what they’re about to do.

“Heh, the live machine exercises came at the right time… I’ll kill you in front of everyone, Regina,” Iniuria growled.

She loaded the energy cartridge into her weapon and watched happily as the gun became primed to fire, before Iniuria and her companions began their plan.