18 Unknown Origin

"Shape, size—this is a reconnaissance drone. A typical drone, really."

After returning to the cruiser *Lia*, Jin was told this in the locker room.

He was the squad leader of the regular infantry unit that had just deployed.

"Practically speaking, there's no room to cram in any more functions."

"Yes, that's true..."

The other man held a higher rank, so Jin maintained a respectful tone. The man smiled, then draped an arm over Jin's shoulder.

"Hey now, the fleet record holder shouldn't be so stiff. Didn't expect you'd be an Instructor, though!"

"Various things have happened."

"Exactly—so don't be so stiff. Anyway, the real question is who this thing belongs to."

The squad leader's expression turned serious in an instant, lowering his voice.

"Any leads?"

"...No, not particularly."

"Is that so... No, honestly, our squad doesn’t go in for sneaky observation like that. If anyone, I thought it might be you."

Jin agreed with the first part.

A perfectly ordinary squad.

Capable enough, but nothing outstanding.

Surviving the last engagement suggests good fortune, at least.

"Frankly, if you’re after your own data, it’s scattered all over the place..."

"Ah. That’s true. If you dig through military archives, you could pull up your piloting records—plenty of them."

His piloting logs were preserved in considerable quantity, under the pretext of passing the skill on to younger recruits.

There should be no need to examine them from outside again.

"Just to be certain—this isn’t one of our deployed reconnaissance drones, is it?"

"Not something publicly acknowledged, that's for sure. There aren't any optical camouflage-equipped drones in our fleet to begin with."

"True enough."

In fact, such drones hadn't been officially deployed by any fleet.

"But if we have a physical example, then someone's clearly operating them in secret. Smells fishy."

◆ ◆ ◆

Recalling that conversation, Jin returns to the prepared room.

Placing the massive fleet within the asteroid belt carries the risk of collision.

To avoid additional damage—counterproductive in the extreme—the fleet itself remained slightly distant.

Thus, round trips between the fleet and the asteroid belt took time.

One night, two days by fleet time.

Which meant Jin had a minor dilemma regarding the overnight assignment.

Unsurprisingly, it concerned Mio.

He couldn't possibly leave her alone at home.

I’d like to ask Jake, but he’s currently homeless, living in a temporary shelter.

Was beginning to think there was no choice but to hire a babysitter.

It was greatly appreciated that the sergeant volunteered to stand there.

— They didn’t want to let strangers into their home.

Jin had wondered whether the sergeant’s home would accommodate another person, but since the sergeant himself had said it was fine, he decided to accept it as such.

Confirm ship formation time.

7:00 PM.

It should be around the time they both returned home.

Operate the skin sheet on the left hand's knuckle.

Connecting communication from Mio’s mobile terminal via Jin’s mobile terminal, thrown onto the table in the room.

He bought the simplest thing available, and she was overjoyed.

Apparently, now I can talk to my friend.

Upon learning that Mio was the only one without a school uniform, Jin reflected deeply on his own shortcomings.

Called several times.

Jin thinks, a little delay.

Assuming it’s due to distance from the convoy, he waits patiently until the connection is established.

On the virtual screen unfolding before him, the other party’s image appears.

‘Dad!’

‘W- wait, Mio— put some clothes on first—’

‘Sorry. Call me back.’

Jin swiftly ends the transmission, having seen an image with excessive skin exposure.

Indeed, a delay was expected.

Or perhaps not.

They had just emerged from the bath. Both were completely unclothed.

The sergeant barely held onto a towel, concealing only a minimal area.

Jin displays an uncommon reflex even on the battlefield, cutting the call.

Mio seems unfazed, but the sergeant is not.

He assumes she’ll call back after getting dressed—only to be immediately called again.

Jin, who had doubted whether she was truly all right, disconnected the video feed and continued the call with only audio.

‘Dad! Huh? Can’t see you.’

‘I told you not to connect yet. Put on clothes first!’

He felt an odd sense of admiration—how much the sergeant had grown, lying half-naked and sprawled like that.

“Fine. Sergeant. Video is off.”

‘Thank you for your concern…’

‘Come on. Let’s talk while I see your face.’

“Mio. Humans live clothed.”

A subtle instruction to dress first.

‘Hai…’

Rustling of fabric.

‘Done!’

‘Not yet, Lieutenant!’

“Fine. I know. Switch to video from your side.”

He knew full well Mio was acting entirely on her own terms—she didn’t care whether the sergeant was dressed or not.

A moment longer passed. Then, from her end, the video feed switched on.

"Uh, sorry about that, Sergeant."

'No, please don't worry about it...'

The sergeant keeps her face hidden behind the magazine she holds.

Jin guesses she’s trying to avoid showing her unmade-up face—something she likely doesn’t want seen.

She’s been seen enough during training school—there’s no point pretending now...

'Papa, you know, Sharon’s house is huge!'

'Oh yeah? That so?'

Jin feels a quiet admiration—she must be getting quite a bit, then.

'And, wow, her chest was huge too!'

'...Oh yeah? That so.'

He replies in the same tone as before.

He knew, of course. But hearing it so openly still throws him off.

'Ah, Mio. You’re not causing trouble, are you... other than this conversation?'

Jin adds the final remark, watching the sergeant’s ears turn crimson from behind the magazine.

He vows silently to splurge a little more next time he treats her to a meal.

“Mio-chan’s been helping me out. She’s good at cleaning.”

“It was incredibly messy!”

“Wait— even that was cleaned up?!”

“That won’t do. Father’ll be angry.”

Mio has superior basic household skills, but when it comes to tidying, Jin is stricter.

She shook her head— the standard wasn’t met.

“Lieutenant. You’re not seriously scolding Mio-chan for some old habit, are you?”

“No. That one’s just for you. Nobody gets angry seeing a trash heap.”

Still, since he’d invited someone over, it was better than before.

If left as-is, Mio would’ve said not just messy, but impossible to walk through.

“Right. Sergeant. I need you to look something up.”

Sending the drone’s data to the sergeant’s duty terminal.

What is it, Lieutenant? This. Drone data. And it’s from after it was destroyed.

Found during today’s collection mission—an unidentified unit. I need to know its origin.

No, just the wreckage data won’t tell us much... Hmm? But I don’t recognize this location.

A faint scent of curiosity—something unseen stirred in the sergeant’s posture.

I’ll look into it. I’ll send the results to your terminal when I’ve confirmed them.

Appreciate it.

Mmm. Don’t leave Mio out, Dad.

She bounces in place, eyes fixed on him.

Jin offers a quiet apology, glancing at Mio.

Then I’ll start dinner.

She vanishes from the screen with that.

Heard about the school fish tank announcement today.

Yeah. Received it here too.

Will you come?

I will. I’ll be there.

He had intended to go no matter what.

The schedule had already been cleared upon receiving the notification.

A chance to see Mio’s everyday school life.

It could not be missed.

“Carmine’s amazing. She can carry that heavy desk by herself. Mio couldn’t do it.”

“Mio’s just small….”

Slightly shorter than average, but she was growing properly.

“She’ll get bigger soon.”

“Yeah. The teacher said you’ll grow if you eat properly.”

In that sense, the nutrient-controlled cube food was ideal.

Still, if she says she doesn’t want it, there’s nothing to be done.

A sudden shout from behind—“Hot!”—and then Jake’s voice, strangely.

“Jake’s here?”

“No. Jake isn’t here. Sharon’s on the phone.”

Idiot. That’s not it!—a voice snapped, and he vaguely understood.

Sergeant had said something about cooking, and Jin had found it peculiar.

That guy only ever ate out, didn’t he.

Then Jin suddenly noticed his own hunger.

Almost eight o’clock.

He’d miss dinner if he didn’t eat soon.

“I should eat dinner too. Well then, Mio. I’ll be back tomorrow. Good night.”

‘Yes, good night.’

A sergeant’s scream and a faint explosion cut through the communication line just before it severed.