第８４３堀：解体報告 (Part1)
Chapter 843: Dismantling Report
Dismantling Report
Side: Dressa
“Here you go, Dressa-chan.”
“It’s delicious when you eat it with soy sauce.”
Aslin and Firia held out plates of beautiful, white-fleshed sashimi.
“Here. It goes perfectly with white rice.”
“And the miso soup is red miso style.”
Labyris and Shera followed up with practiced efficiency, quickly serving rice and soup.
“Yes. It looks very delicious. Or is that what you thought I’d say?!”
“W-wah?!”
“W-what’s wrong?!”
Aslin and Firia were startled by my sudden outburst.
“You two, try to eat with a bit more composure.”
“A moderate amount of conversation is necessary during meal times, but being noisy is not allowed, you know?”
The fact that Labyris and Shera responded with such cool detachment only made me angrier.
Because…
“Who in the world eats the monster that just attacked them as sashimi as if nothing happened?!”
Yes, the sashimi presented before me was the meat of the coelacanth monster that had assaulted our ship moments ago.
I suppose since it was originally a fish, there’s no technical problem with making it into sashimi, but to me, it felt like there were nothing *but* problems.
I doubt there are many police officers who would eat the vital evidence of a crime.
“Well, normally, if a monster you defeat is delicious, you eat it, right?”
“You like dragon meat, don’t you, Dressa?”
“You both know that’s why I’m saying this.”
It seems my retorts don’t reach Labyris and Shera.
And then…
“It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. Well, for now, please eat up so the rice doesn’t go to waste.”
“You’re not going to eat?”
“Do you dislike fish?”
I couldn’t bring myself to reject the innocent goodwill of Aslin and Firia, regardless of what I thought of Labyris and Shera.
“I’ll eat it. Honestly.”
“That’s the spirit. Being honest is best.”
“Indeed. It would be nice if you were that honest in front of Yuki-san, too.”
“I-I’m always honest!”
While saying that, I picked up a piece of sashimi with my chopsticks.
The texture felt normal. It seemed like regular sashimi.
“It looks normal, doesn’t it?”
“It’s not poison, so you don’t need to be on guard. Just eat it.”
“Fine, I get it.”
I dipped the clean, white slice lightly into wasabi soy sauce and put it in my mouth.
“Huh. It’s delicious. Surprisingly.”
“If you’re going to say that, dragons are the same, aren’t they?”
“Even with those scary faces, they’re surprisingly tasty.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
You can’t tell how delicious the meat is just by looking at the face or form, can you?
With that, I began to eat the sashimi served to me.
“So, I understand it’s delicious, but why did we end up eating the monster that is the key evidence for this incident?”
“Because we caught so many.”
“If we left them as they were, they’d just rot. They say freshness is everything for fish, and since we’d already secured the necessary amount for study, we decided to eat the rest.”
“…And Yuki gave that order, didn’t he?”
“Of course. Though, it seems it was Comet who suggested we try eating it.”
…If one of Weed’s proudest researchers said so, then it couldn’t be helped.
I know from personal experience that even if you tell those people “no,” they’ll do it anyway.
When Narjia-san came to install the magic barrier generator on this aircraft carrier, she took the opportunity to upgrade my equipment as well.
Even before that, it already had the performance to blow a Sea-Siphon warship away in a single hit, so I couldn’t help but wonder what more they could possibly upgrade.
Well, as expected, they installed a self-destruct device, so I know for sure Yuki wasn’t involved in that development.
Anyway, setting aside my equipment, let’s get back to the monster.
“Since we’ve reached the point of eating it, I assume the investigation has progressed to some extent, but why hasn’t any information been reported yet?”
“Just summarizing the findings into documents is a day’s work. There is a preliminary report, but would you like to see the data on body length, weight, magic stone size, and so on?”
“No, that’s fine. I wouldn’t understand it even if I looked at those numbers.”
I’m not a researcher, after all.
Even if I were shown detailed information, there’s little I could glean from it.
Summarizing those things and reporting them is the job of Weed’s research team.
“Haha, I think Dressa’s ability to make quick decisions is a good trait. But sometimes, looking through those step-by-step reports can lead to realizing something unexpected.”
“I understand that, but I don’t see the point in me spending time on it. My current position isn’t to get bogged down in a single document, but to oversee the command and management of this aircraft carrier and the entire fleet.”
I certainly understand Shera’s point.
But I’m not all-powerful like Yuki.
I’m at my limit with just this.
Actually, though it’s a bit late to realize it, I’m once again struck by how truly abnormal the workload Yuki used to handle was.
Not only approving documents for the nation, but also reviewing reports from research members, making diplomatic decisions with various countries, and managing the monster army on top of that.
Well, lately he seems to have thrown the monster army management to Steve.
“That’s true. What Dressa says is correct. But you should always keep some leeway. You are the commander of this fleet. Or rather, as a person, you should.”
“I know. But I was appointed as the commander for this ocean survey and coastal defense only a few days ago. To be able to look at raw research data and make judgments already? That would make me a genius.”
“That’s true, too. Yuki would just handle it casually, though.”
“Yuki-san is used to it, after all.”
“I’m truly realizing Yuki’s greatness all over again.”
It’s hard enough just with the aircraft carrier and the fleet, but Yuki was doing even more than this.
“I know it’s not enough to just be impressed by Yuki. But for now, please forgive me for focusing only on the work of the aircraft carrier and fleet commander.”
“True. Even I couldn’t do it.”
“It would be nice if Dressa could become like Yuki-san in the future, though.”
“Fnyu? Is Dressa-chan going to become a big brother?”
“Are you going to become a big brother, Dressa?”
“I’m not going to become anything of the sort. I will stand by Yuki’s side in my own way. That’s all.”
Yes, what I want to do is help Yuki.
To protect Weed, to protect peace.
If I became like Yuki, that would guarantee we’d be separated.
I don’t want that.
“Fufu. That’s right.”
“Indeed. Being too excellent isn’t always good, is it?”
““?””
Labyris and Shera grasped the meaning of my words, but Aslin and Firia just tilted their heads.
If I reacted any further, they’d surely tease me.
I should calmly return to talking about work…
“So, back to the subject, that means we won’t know about the monster for a while, right?”
“…That’s right. We’re still just creating the basic data that will serve as the foundation for any judgment.”
“I think a primary report will come up by tomorrow, but these things change day by day.”
“That goes without saying. Information is always being updated. I’ve learned well enough from past events that things we thought were white can turn out to be black.”
Like Noble of the Ex Kingdom, for instance.