Evolve (13)
The Power Loader modification work was progressing smoothly. After we finished the easiest task—aligning the frame—the difficulty spiked for the next steps, so progress slowed, but there were no interruptions.
We detached Blue Eye's exoskeleton, which had been temporarily mounted on the multi-legged tank. We planned to reinforce the Power Loader's armor with that exoskeleton.
Because it was so hard to process, the exoskeleton was almost preserved in its original form. To ensure efficient defense, reshaping it was essential—a real headache. There was a limit to constructing a frame based strictly on the existing skeletal shape, after all.
But that was only for a moment; unintentionally, I found a solution. While trying different methods, I realized that my supernatural power, psychokinesis, worked on it. If Kyle had seen that, he would have had his eyes sparkling.
Though I didn't have enough output to completely reshape it at will, I was able to smooth out unnecessarily thick or misaligned sections. Thanks to that, we could implement a composite armor structure.
It was just around then that today's work wrapped up. Nadia, who had been carefully inspecting the armor's strength, bounced with satisfaction.
"Wow! That's it for today's work!"
"Good job."
I happily joined in Nadia's declaration of clocking out. My hands, along with my face and other places, were smudged with soot.
There shouldn't have been anywhere for soot to get on me, but somewhere along the line, that's how I ended up. Nadia was in even worse shape than I was. I'd glanced at her absentmindedly and been startled—there was a panda, not a fox.
"You did well too, Hyun-woo! Since we'll have to keep making adjustments going forward, let's just stop for today and call it."
"I just have to come like today tomorrow too, right?"
"I doubt the cannon will be ready by tomorrow... Hmm... well, yeah! Do come anyway. There's plenty of work to do."
Nadia gestured to Roxy with her eyes. Ever since he'd asked to be used as a 'joker,' he hadn't come down from the armed shuttle even once. Knowing his usual demeanor, it was a display of surprising focus.
What we did—the Power Loader modification—wasn't an easy job, but the shuttle modification Roxy was working on was even tougher. That was why his overall progress was still low.
A rail cannon was the kind of weapon that a medium cruiser might have only one of—so for a small armed shuttle to manage it, a lot of issues had to be resolved. None of those problems was minor, which was why it was taking so much time.
Nadia and I exchanged glances. Unlike us, who'd found a rough way forward, Roxy didn't seem to have the same clarity.
It didn't feel right to just leave him like that. So when I'd made up my mind to help, Roxy, half-buried in clanging noise, suddenly lifted his head.
He stood up and stretched extravagantly, then leaped down without even using the lift.
"Why aren't you guys leaving yet, friends?"
"We were hesitating for a bit, thinking we'd help."
"Puhaha, I appreciate the thought."
"Will you be alright? Honestly, the workload is tough for one person to handle."
"I'm fine. I have to do this myself. She's my lover—I don't want anyone else putting their hands on her."
'Is he being serious?'
That thought came to me instinctively. Looking at Roxy with equal parts shock and dismay, I realized he meant it. He stroked the shuttle with a cherishing—no, a sticky—touch. If Licorice saw that, her face would've exploded red.
It's important to care for your shuttle, sure—but wasn't that taking it too far? Nadia and I exchanged another glance. We were on the same page: let's not dig deeper into this.
Nadia naturally changed the subject as if nothing had happened.
"So, Roxy, are you done for today too? If you're leaving, let's go together."
"Go on ahead. I'm going to take a bit longer."
Roxy waved us off, telling us not to worry about him and get some rest. We had no reason to refuse. Seeing him set up a mat made it clear that his 'a bit longer' and ours were on very different scales.
"Alright. See you tomorrow. Carry, let's go."
「⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝」
Carry, who had worked hard all day, cheered and zipped off. As always, Carry was diligent. From time to time, it answered Kyle's summons and went back and forth to the processing room, and acted as a transport robot for the first time in a while. So it, too, was covered in soot.
"I'll have to wipe Carry down first when we get back to the room."
"I'll help."
"Aww, you don't have to. Hyun-woo, you should head right to your room."
Nadia shook both her head and tail. She continued speaking.
"You look really tired."
"Me?"
"Mhm. There are dark circles under your eyes. Maybe it's from using your supernatural power too much? Didn't you say that energy takes a big toll mentally?"
Nadia suddenly stopped walking and rose up on tiptoe. She reached out and gently touched my face—specifically, around my eyes.
"You really are tired, Hyun-woo. I can clean up Carry on my own, so you go first. It's late. Go on."
Nadia kept pushing me away. To be honest, I felt mentally drained after assisting with the work all day.
Like Nadia said, I'd used up almost all my psychic energy. The exhaustion left me sluggish and listless. But it wasn't like I'd leave everything to Nadia and just go off.
I took Nadia's hand in mine.
"Alright, let's just wipe down Carry quick, shower with some warm water, and go right to bed."
"Uh—?"
This time, Nadia was the one being dragged along. On impulse, I lifted her up. The process of bracing beneath her thighs and lifting her happened in the blink of an eye.
"... Huh?"
Nadia stared up at me in a daze. Just for a moment, though—once she understood the situation, she struggled a little.
"P-put me down!"
"Don't want to?"
"It's not that I hate it...! But it's exhausting for you!"
I hid my fatigue, pretending not to be tired. Nadia saw right through me, though—and, truthfully, so did I.
"Yeah, it is tiring. For you too."
"If you'd asked Carry to give me a ride..."
"Carry needs a break too. Plus, I want to do it myself."
"..."
When I told her to just rest at least until I got to the shower room, Nadia slowly nodded. Her face visibly brightened, and she snuggled into my chest with a content squirm, letting out a happy, "Hehe."
"Everything's fine, but could you stop wagging your tail? If you keep it up, my thighs will bruise."
"I—I can't really control that..."
Nadia buried her now-flushed face in her tail, grabbing it with both hands, unable to make it stop wagging. The fluffy tail curled around her waist and rose to her chest, where she hid her face in it. I couldn't help but chuckle.
Soon enough, we reached the showers. Maybe because it was so late at night, there wasn't a single other person there. Only a lingering chill of used steam showed anyone had come before.
We used a sink in the shower room to scrub down Carry. As long as its thruster was deactivated, the module was waterproof, so there was no risk of breaking it. After about ten minutes of effort, Carry was back to its original appearance.
"There we go. All clean. Feeling good, Carry?"
「♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡」
Carry, seeming overjoyed at being free of soot, wiggled its support arms. Judging from how it admired its reflection in the mirror, it was pleased.
"Carry, while you're drying off, could you swing by our room and grab a spare set of clothes? There should be some there."
"Mine, too!"
「ദ്ദി(˵•̀ ᴗ- ˵) ✧」
Proud, Carry darted off, saying to leave this mission to it. By the time we were done showering, Carry would have delivered our clothes, so all we had to do now was wash up.
No matter how close Nadia and I were, we weren't at the point of showering together, so we split up.
"Hyun-woo, I'll take a while so don't wait—just go ahead, okay?"
"Alright."
She must have planned to soak in the bath for a bit. For a second, I considered doing the same, but quickly shook my head. It was late anyway, and I really wanted to sleep early tonight.
I stood by the lockers, stripped off my dirty clothes, and put them away. The seedling emerged from its sample container and shook the soil from itself.
Cold dampness hit my skin. That coolness soon gave way to warmth as hot water streamed over my body, relaxing knotted muscles and making my mind feel hazy with comfort.
The seedling climbed onto the toiletries tray and let the shower's steam wash its leaves.
'Having fun, huh.'
That feeling of contentment came through. As a playful gesture, I let a droplet of water fall on it with my finger. The light weight made it sink, and, as if hit by a water bomb, it shook out its leaves irritably and banged on the floor.
It flew at me in mock revenge, only to be blocked by the waterfall of the shower, which was far beyond the droplet's weight. I couldn't help but giggle at its predicament.
Soon, having washed clean, I donned the clothes Carry brought ahead of time. I hung a towel around my neck.
Normally, I would have left the dirty clothes in the laundry basket, but the seedling kept shooting water at me for revenge, so I had no choice but to scoop them up.
"That's enough. I said I'm sorry."
While calming the grumpy seedling, I looked around. Nadia was likely still showering—the door was firmly closed. Since she'd said she'd take a while, I decided to send a message via my bracelet.
- See you tomorrow.
- Yeah! See you tomorrow!
Just picturing Nadia bouncing and waving made me smile on my way back to the room.
As I was about to open my door, absent-mindedly, I sensed someone inside and paused in surprise.
'Oh, right. We said we'd stay in my room again tonight.'
Realizing who the presence was brought back Nadia's earlier question—whether it was okay to leave the two of them alone. I'd been so focused on the Power Loader work that I'd forgotten.
'... Surely she hasn't destroyed my room.'
I doubted that would've happened, but in hindsight, I wished I'd checked in at least once. I feared my room might look like a collapsed town. Bracing myself, I opened the door.
"You're back? Kinda late."
Licorice was surrounded by hologram screens. She seemed to be hacking a military base and replied evenly before spotting me—and then shrieking.
"Kyaa?!"
"... Why are you surprised?"
I should be the one shocked, not Licorice. At least my worst fears didn't come true—the room wasn't that different.
I'd been prepared for a complete disaster, but all that changed was an extra bed and something that looked data-related. Those had originally belonged to Licorice.
"You, you!"
"What?"
"Why do you look like that?!"
"...?"
It took me a second to grasp what she meant. Usually, 'why do you look like that' implied I was dirty. But that couldn't be—it was right after I showered, and there was nothing on me.
When I sent her a questioning look, Licorice peeked at me through her fingers and shouted,
"Why is your hair wet like that?!"
"Oh, that—it's because it kept getting blasted with water—"
"Even so, I—I can't! I won't fall for that!"
"..."
I had no idea what she wouldn't fall for. She seemed so tense, I didn't want to ask if her face was blazing red. Seeing her look about to burst if poked, I just shook my head.
I sat on the new bed and towel-dried my hair. Licorice, seeing me trying to change the subject, quickly followed suit—still covering her face with her hands, though.
"You really plan to sleep here, huh."
"That's why I got the bed. Don't say I can't all of a sudden. I warned you."
Once she dried off, Licorice shot me an anxious look but visibly relaxed.
"It's not that. I just asked in case you changed your mind."
Since nightmares were the issue, if that was solved, she wouldn't need to sleep in my room. But to confirm whether it was a one-time thing or not, Licorice would have to sleep in her own room—which felt cruel, given how much she hated nightmares.
"What about Celestia?"
"... Why are you asking me? I don't know what she's up to or where she is."
Her voice suddenly went icy. I'd simply asked because she hadn't shown up all day, and I thought Licorice, having spent more time with her, might know. There were other valid reasons, but pushing further didn't feel right.
"Have you been in here all day?"
"Trying to change the subject..."
Licorice rolled her eyes as she answered,
"I just moved my gear over here and stayed. Spent all day uploading data I'd hacked from the military base into the Albatross database."
"I kind of figured. Thanks to you, albatross's processing equipment has been running non-stop. They're even making new weapons."
"Then why ask?"
"It was awkward. The situation's a little different from yesterday, even if it's awkward for both of us."
"..."
Licorice bit her lip, but then seemed to understand instantly what I meant.
"Well, there'll be difficult times, maybe some clashes. Living together is like that—you put up with some discomfort for each other."
"So, you're saying we need rules."
"Exactly. For however long this lasts, we're roommates."
"Alright. What do you want?"
"I want to sleep for now."
"... Huh? W-wait, I'm not ready—"
Licorice, unable to hide her fluster, jumped from her chair. While she panicked, I headed for my bed. After not using it last night, it faintly smelled of Licorice, making me hesitate for a moment, but I couldn't take over the bed Licorice had brought, so I just closed my eyes and lay down.
I pretended nothing was wrong, but I was embarrassed too. What with Licorice sleeping in the next bed, I was tense at first. But once the familiar feeling of the mattress supported my back, my stiff body loosened. There's no place like your own bed.
"... That's what you meant by 'sleep'?"
"I'm just tired from using my supernatural power so much during the modification work."
"No... Hey, are you really just going to sleep? Just like that?"
"Yes. I have some things to say, but let's talk in the morning. Licorice, you should get to bed soon, too. If you keep staying up until dawn, you'll never grow."
"..."
Licorice's fists trembled. I made a point not to pay attention and closed my eyes. It was my way of being considerate. Unlike me, who had changed into light sleepwear, Licorice was still in her regular clothes.
She surely wasn't going to sleep like that, so I wanted her to change comfortably. Plus, I really was tired.
As my consciousness faded, I heard the rustling of someone undressing—and then succumbed to deep sleep.
***
While everyone but the labor slaves and those with ulterior motives slept, a fox beastkin walked the corridors humming, her tail swaying.
Having just bathed, her pale skin stood out even in the darkness. Her fluffy tail seemed to claim both sides of the corridor. Carry, the transport robot, followed behind.
'I need to get to bed soon!'
Nadia, still basking in post-bath bliss, longed to throw herself into her bed. She knew just how good the soft, padded mattress felt.
When she arrived at her room and opened the door, Nadia was shocked to sense an uninvited guest.
"Yikes...!"
"It's me. Don't be startled."
Celestia's eyes glimmered in the darkness.
"What the! How long have you been here? How did you get in?!"
"You gave me the key last time, remember? I haven't been here long. I stopped by because I had something to talk to you about."
"Ah, I see."
Celestia replied so naturally that Nadia just accepted it. Still startled, Nadia calmed her pounding heart and went inside. Her chest ached from the shock.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"It's about Hyun-woo. I thought you might not know."
"Hyun-woo?"
Nadia tilted her head. She started brushing the middle of her tail. It was hard to get to the base by herself, so she'd decided to have Hyun-woo take care of that tomorrow.
"You know Licorice is with Hyun-woo, right?"
"Yes, I know they're together."
Nadia already knew. She'd figured it out by scent. The pheromone she'd left on him had been covered by another scent.
Still, Nadia had chosen to wait—because Hyun-woo had said he'd tell her everything when the time was right.
Hearing Nadia's answer, Celestia's expression turned curious. She'd caught the difference between the present and past tense.
Nadia, too, sensed there was more, but didn't bother to press. She thought it was more mature to wait...
"You know that they're sharing a bed because of the nightmares, right?"
... Mature...
"They're probably together even now. Did you know that as well?"
That, she really hadn't known.
"... Tell me more."
Nadia couldn't help herself. She put down her brush, unknowingly leaning forward.