04 Again Hospitalized

Awake.

First, doubt this fact.

Why am I alive now?

Jin slowly opens his eyes, staring at the ceiling.

Unless this is the afterlife, it must be a hospital.

Thus, he concludes the friendly forces must have arrived in time.

No other explanation exists.

Like a miracle sale.

He lifts his body.

Judging from the dullness, he has likely slept for three or four days.

Reaching blindly, he locates the nurse call button and presses it.

Having completed that task, Jin collapses back onto the bed.

Rehabilitation will be difficult, even counting the time spent drifting in space.

Perhaps returning through regeneration therapy would be faster, even.

No, no—such casual use of swapping bodies as if it were effortless, this human-like reaction within him recoils with distaste.

"Lieutenant! You're awake?"

Footsteps skittering over the floor.

A noisy one, he thinks, lifting his gaze to the source of the voice.

"Ah, Sergeant. Still alive, I see."

He had doubted reality for a mere one percent while seeing a familiar face—relief floods in, confirming this world remains.

"You were critically weakened! I couldn't believe it—you didn't wake for a whole week!"

"A week, huh."

A faint click of tongue. His estimate had been slightly off.

"...So, what are you doing here, Sergeant?"

"Reaction time is slow."

He glances—no uniform. Instead, civilian clothes, a sight he hasn't seen in far too long.

That means this isn't just a casual visit after work. He's been taking care of things properly.

"There's nothing we can do, is there? You don't have anyone else, Lieutenant, besides Mio."

"Is Mio alright?"

"We're taking care of her. She said, 'Again, the hospital? Dad likes hospitals, huh?'"

Something about it feels lonely.

Not that I wanted her to cry, but this ease—this dismissal—feels just as heavy.

For now.

I have something to say to the Sergeant.

"You're not even close."

As a father, this imitation earns zero points.

Not a single trace of Mio's charm comes through.

"You're annoying. Or is Mio too indifferent? Could it be you're actually disliked? Dad?"

The way he said it—like it stung—wasn't just sarcasm.

He emphasized "Dad" with a sharp edge.

"Idiot. She trusts me."

"Coming back from the hospital, every time?"

"Yeah, that's right."

As they engaged in such foolish chatter, a nurse rushed in and the corporal was escorted out.

After undergoing various examinations and procedures.

From the attending physician,

Unbelievably fit for someone who hasn't moved their body in nearly two weeks.

Received official endorsement.

Still, the body is quite stiff. It seems physical rehabilitation using medical nanomachines will be necessary for about a week.

After the examination, they return to sleep.

The body still longed for rest.

The next morning, Sergeant and Mio, brought along with him, arrive at the infirmary.

"Ah, Dad—today you're awake!"

Don't say it like you're always sleeping.

I've been sleeping all week.

Indeed.

"Look, look! I got a perfect score on the test!"

"Whoa, impressive. Dad's never scored a perfect hundred on a test before."

A daughter unconcerned, a father untroubled.

The conversation shifted back to their usual school life.

"I'll go change the water in the vase."

"Ah, thanks, Sergeant."

The Sergeant took the vase and left the ward.

Incidentally, who had brought those flowers?

Mio watched the exchange intently.

"What's wrong, Mio?"

"Well... I was wondering why Dad calls Sharon 'Gunsō'."

"Ah, just a nickname... and Sharon does the same."

"Really?"

Mio's eyes widened in surprise.

"It's a shortened form of first and last name."

"Huh. But why does Dad call her 'Gunsō'?"

"Because she's a Sergeant, that's why."

"And why does Sharon call Dad 'Chūi'?"

"Because I'm a Lieutenant. It's just my rank at work."

"Uh-huh?"

Mio crossed her arms, her tone suggesting she was far from convinced.

She pouts her lips and tilts her head.

I don't really understand.

Jin thinks the same.

Attempting to explain the circumstances would result in a somewhat convoluted account.

A story that ended long ago.

It's a special way of addressing her because she's a friend from back then.

"Sharon, you're daddy's special one!"

"Mio, stop speaking like that."

Misunderstandings will arise.

Then, Dad—got the notice about the class visit. You okay?

The message received was for the day after tomorrow. Jin wiped cold sweat from his brow, thinking that if the drift had lasted a little longer, it would have been dangerous.

The day after tomorrow… ah, it’s fine. I’ll make it there even if I have to crawl.

She should be able to move around by the day after tomorrow if she sticks to the rehabilitation regimen properly.

You seem to be having fun? But it's a hospital, so please don't make too much noise. Mio-chan.

Yes? Hey, hey, Sharon—what’s your real name, anyway?

Huh? You didn’t know? It’s Shirley.

Last name…?

From the two of them, Jin picks up the two electronic papers placed at the foot of the bed.

One is a message from the trainees.

Wishes for a full recovery. Praise for skill. And one, more indirect, stating plainly that she isn’t human.

Is this what a get-well card is supposed to look like? He thinks, turning to the other.

That one, too, is a message. From the crew of the cruiser *Lia* and the escort squadron.

This one is direct—words of gratitude.

Apparently, the *Lia* managed to escape safely after all. Relief settles in.

He’s not particularly concerned about the Queen they encountered.

It was a surprise attack. He suffered, yes—but nothing beyond what an escort fleet should handle with certainty.

The only concern is the extent of the damage.

"Then I'm off to school, Mio!"

With that, Mio exited the medical ward.

So she intended to go straight there, then.

The reason for her carrying the bag became clear. The question resolved itself.

"Then, Sergeant. I have a question."

"...How the Lieutenant survived."

"Good, you cut straight to it. I thought you were dead."

It was difficult to ask directly in front of Mio.

"Overlight."

The Sergeant spoke the conclusion immediately.

"The Lieutenant's Raven alone was overlighted near the convoy. But as expected, assault frames do not carry overlight mechanisms."

Perhaps some convoy is testing prototypes somewhere. But that is irrelevant for now.

"Rather, I'd like to ask you, Lieutenant. How exactly did you reach the convoy?"

“What’s inside the black box?”

Seeing it would make the condition of the frame immediately clear.

The sergeant shakes his head.

“…I haven’t seen it. It was recovered before I could.”

“Recovered? By whom?”

“Second Fleet deployment unit. I don’t know what kind of arrangement was made above….”

“…What’s going on?”

“What’s going on, I don’t know.”

Something is clearly wrong.

Why the Second Fleet is appearing here.

No—considering that, the previous mysterious cocoon-like object.

The response then was equally odd.

“Wait, sergeant. Help me.”

“Huh? What for?”

Without words, he takes the sergeant’s left hand.

On its surface—tracing fingers across the skin sheet—he inputs characters.

The sergeant tenses, as if tickled.

But upon seeing the text, his expression hardens.

“Search for home. Look for listening devices.”

They searched separately, but found nothing resembling it.

Perhaps I was overthinking it.

Jin spoke while considering this.

"I was engaged with the Black Knight just before I lost consciousness."

"You mean that one?"

"Yeah. The one who tried to take Mio."

Recalling it, the movement this time seemed markedly less precise than the previous specimen.

No, it was still astonishingly effective—yet there was a reluctance to it, as if forced.

In short, it lacked motivation.

"Truthfully, my condition was terrible. I couldn't even evade or shoot it down. I passed out."

"Even imagining a Lieutenant passing out is hard. You're the epitome of health. Never even caught a cold in training school, right?"

"Set that aside. Regardless, I passed out in that state. I thought I was dead for sure."

For some reason, I had been cast out into the Third Fleet.

Only two possibilities could explain this.

"If the Third Fleet's unit didn't rescue me, then it must have been the Second Fleet."

"But then why conceal it? Frankly speaking, if I'd been saved by someone, I'd have gone to great lengths to repay the favor."

There's no reason not to.

The other possibility.

"…The Black Knight rescued me—by way of ASID. The Second Fleet wants to conceal that. That's possible."