"Himeko, what's wrong?"
During the lunch break, Ragna noticed Himeko seemed a little depressed and couldn't help but ask her about it.
"Not much, it's just that, Captain, do you think I should... um... start thinking about marriage?"
Although you expressed it very tactfully, you were probably asking, "Am I getting a little old?"
Ragna's expression became slightly strange when she heard the question.
"Let's be reasonable, I'm two years older than you, aren't I?"
Ragna was speechless.
"Why are you suddenly asking this question?"
As a highly professional Captain, maid, and teacher, Ragna resisted the urge to turn and leave and continued listening.
"I just... suddenly thought of it." She felt completely naked after being seen by Tian Shi, but she couldn't say anything about it; she didn't feel any embarrassment.
Himeko sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"If I said this out loud, my public image would be ruined, right?"
"..."
"I can't understand it"
Ragna's expression was subtle: who would understand what she was saying?
"Well, I don't think that's a valid reason."
"That doesn't count?"
"Of course not "
Ragna nodded.
"Or, to be frank, are you like your predecessors, or are you just excited and looking for a man?"
When talking about her teammates who were overly attached to singleness, Ragna did not hold back much.
"Isn't that a little harsh?"
Himeko wasn't sure whether to refute it.
Although she doesn't deny that she desires men, she feels she is significantly different from her predecessors.
Her predecessors are still like headless flies, whereas she... at least has a target now, right?
"Ahem, Captain, watch your image"
Himeko looked at Tian Shi, who was chatting with Fu Hua, and coughed awkwardly.
However, this action did not go unnoticed by the observant Ragna.
"Hmm, Alliance Leader Sir?"
Ragna looked in the direction of the gaze, then her expression became somewhat strange.
"While it wasn't exactly unexpected, Himeko, you have an unexpectedly strong sense of challenge"
"Your words are too euphemistic"
Himeko was a little annoyed by Ragna's expression of complete disapproval.
"Are the odds of winning really that slim?"
"It's not about whether the odds of winning are slim or not, but rather..."
Ragna struggled to organize her thoughts.
"The hardware gap is quite large?"
"What?" Himeko touched her chest.
"Are you kidding? Hardware? I can take on ten of them!"
Fu Hua, who was chatting with Tian Shi, suddenly felt a sense of malice.
"I'm not talking about this hardware"
Ragna sighed.
"Himeko, you've changed, you didn't do that before"
However, to be fair, Himeko's development is truly enviable...
"Putting everything else aside, your self-care ability has probably regressed to that of a high school student, hasn't it?"
The word "degeneration" is so appropriate that even Himeko was speechless.
"Self-care ability has little to do with this sort of thing, isn't it said that sometimes women who can't do anything are more attractive to men?"
As soon as Himeko finished speaking, she was met with Ragna's loving gaze toward intellectually disabled children.
"Don't listen to your bunch of stupid predecessors"
Ragna curled her lip.
"That's just self-comfort; not even they believe it themselves"
"Okay, you're the Captain, you're right"
Himeko had to admit that she said that as a form of self-comfort.
"And besides, your opponents aren't just Fu Hua... or rather, Major Fu Hua"
Ragna poured a bucket of cold water on Himeko's enthusiasm.
"For example, among the high-ranking members of Anti-Entropy, putting everything else aside, it seems there's something between Lady Reanna and the Alliance Leader, right?"
Himeko remained silent for a moment and then rubbed her forehead.
"Oh my god! I would have completely forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it!"
Ragna's initial comment reminded Himeko of many more things.
Leaving Reanna aside for now, let's talk about the scientists of Anti-Entropy.
He was the one who told her the story of how Anti-Entropy was established!
Besides Reanna, how many other characters appeared in that story? Einstein, Tesla, Planck, Edison, Schrödinger... Especially Einstein!
"The first subject I studied in college, Interstellar Dynamics, was taught by Professor Einstein"
Himeko's tone carried a hint of resentment.
Himeko sighed, rubbing her forehead. Back then, her professor for that subject was Einstein, and her associate professor was Yang.
However, when Tian Shi arrived, Einstein was on a business trip, so Yang substituted for him.
"Interstellar Dynamics... that really is high-tech"
Ragna's focus is a little off.
"What kind of twisted Schicksal is this..."
Himeko sighed.
"The only slightly better thing is that I don't know Professor Einstein very well?"
This way there are no qualms about competing.
"What kind of person was that Professor Einstein?"
"A petite, blue-haired, neurotic, and slovenly girl the size of a loli"
Himeko's tone carried a hint of resentment.
"This character design is quite peculiar"
Ragna nodded.
"Compared to this, Himeko, do you really not have any distinguishing features?"
"Special features? Do I not have any special features? For example, a college student... a Valkyrie..."
Himeko's voice gradually faded. Now that she mentions it, it seems like I really lack some distinctive features?
"For example, a redhead, single Valkyrie? Or a redhead, big-breasted, single Valkyrie?"
Ragna took a sip of water and gave two examples without expression.
"I feel like there's a lot of resentment in your words, Captain..."
Himeko said, holding her chest.
"Please remember that I am a young woman your age, not a middle-aged woman twenty or thirty years older than you"
Ragna took another sip of water.
"Of course I know that"
Himeko muttered.
"But if we talk about distinctive traits, couldn't it be something like 'Doctor at seventeen, Energetic Valkyrie, Super Beauty'?"
"Suit yourself, but I deeply admire you for being able to say something like that without batting an eye"
Ragna's facial skin twitched.
Besides, why should I give you advice on relationship problems? I've never been in a relationship, okay?"
Ragna's tone also had a hint of resentment.
Then, Himeko showed a scared expression.
"What did that expression mean?"
Ragna was very displeased with Himeko's sudden show of fear.
"I find it unbelievable that you, Captain, would say something like that"
Himeko's reply left Ragna speechless.
"What does that mean? They are idiots, they can come and ask me for relationship advice whenever they want, but if I mention relationships, they act like it's the end of the world? Again! Again! I want to emphasize it again! I am a young woman your age, not a middle-aged woman twenty or thirty years older than you!"
Compared to before, Ragna's words were now full of resentment and anger.
"In my team, they are all single women! Back then they were all young and beautiful Valkyries, right? Even now, there is still a group of people under twenty-five, as a result, they started feeling anxious when they were seventeen or eighteen, and they have been anxious ever since."
"Quick, quick, quick! What's the hurry? All your predecessors are full of dirty jokes, but when push comes to shove, they have to gather in groups of three or four to go to a bar, and in the end, they don't even dare to go inside"
Ragna inexplicably entered a frenzy.
This is probably what they mean when they say that an adult's collapse often happens in an instant, right?
Himeko shrugged silently.
But upon closer reflection, what her Captain said made a lot of sense.
After all, she was once a beautiful and young maiden, but after four years on the team, she is starting to look like an old maid.
"Well, haven't we been separated all these last few years?"
Himeko asked tentatively.
Although we meet every year, we are still separated most of the time.
Although she was a little frantic at first, shouldn't she have recovered in recent years?
"Although it doesn't seem like I've recovered yet, but that's different, after all, she really had 'a cow.' Her predecessors, at best, only had 'fantasy time.'"
"We are in the information age, Himeko"
Ragna took two deep breaths and gradually calmed down.
"Your gang of dumb elders call me every two weeks for a relationship consultation... no, perhaps I should say 'fantasy consultation'."
"Now I can more or less understand what fantasy means"
Himeko understood quickly; after all, the fantasies of single women... are nothing special.
To everyone's surprise, Ragna showed a strange smile.
"Yes, the questions they most often ask are when are you going to return and what does the Alliance Leader like"
"?"
Himeko's face showed great confusion.
"Isn't there something wrong with this question?"
Ragna took a deep breath again, calmed down completely, and returned to her usual gentle and thoughtful maid demeanor.
"That's all for now, Himeko, do your best."
"We can't live like this anymore! There are wolves ahead, tigers behind, and a bunch of thieves in the house. Has the older generation never seen a man? Is Tian Shi interested too? Okay, I've seen men and I should still think about them, and it seems my elders really haven't seen many men..."
Himeko sighed, rubbing her forehead.
To be honest, in all the meetings over the years, Himeko had never realized that her incredibly enthusiastic superiors had such intentions.
A thief within the family, fortunately, we were all far enough away.
"This must be what they mean by 'the road ahead is long and arduous'..."
Himeko looked at Fu Hua, who was chatting with Tian Shi with a slight smile on her face.
"Forget it, compared to this person, all my predecessors seem like nobodies."
"Hmm, I think so too. Fortunately, I still have some advantages right now, right?"
"Speaking of that, I truly admire Director Theresa when it comes to age"
Speaking of age, Himeko has to mention Theresa.
"Is the Director already forty-one this year?"
When Himeko first arrived at St. Freya, Theresa was 38 years old.
Now, three years later, she has turned forty.
"If the older generation knew, it might greatly relieve their anxiety"
"It will only increase, right?"
Ragna corrected.
"After all, Director Theresa is 12 years old, so she has a lot of wiggle room"
"I feel like her physical and mental state is fixed at 12 years old"
Himeko complained.
"Hey! Don't talk bad about me during lunchtime!" Before they realized it, Theresa appeared next to them, looking annoyed.
Although Theresa doesn't really care about age... well, that's a lie.
Every time Kiana calls her "Auntie," her blood pressure spikes.
"You two... seriously"
Although she was a little annoyed, Theresa actually didn't lose control.
Over the years, everyone has come to know her.
Aside from Tian Shi's somewhat sensitive identity, they practically hide nothing from Theresa.
So Theresa just pretended to be annoyed before getting to the point.
"Himeko, I have requested an airship for you from headquarters"
"Huh?" Himeko was a little confused.
Himeko was no stranger to airships; after all, she had traveled in them quite a few times when she was still in the Stormtroopers.
"But that thing is made for a full squad of Valkyries, right? What does it have to do with a retired Valkyrie?"
"Um... didn't I retire?"
Himeko expressed her inner question.
"What does your Far East Branch care that you retired from headquarters?"
Theresa looked at Himeko with a perplexed look.
"You are one of the few Valkyries in the Far East Branch, aren't you?"
Himeko was speechless.
Excluding the underdeveloped girls in the academy, she was undoubtedly one of the few Valkyries in the Far East Branch, even though she was already retired.
"Can headquarters approve it?"
"I told my grandpa... His Holiness the Bishop, and His Holiness agreed"
Theresa said with a straight face.
This reason left Himeko and Ragna speechless, and at the same time, it refreshed their impression of Otto's affection for Theresa.
"Here are the detailed data for the airship"
"Let's see... Wow, six 430mm railguns, six 270mm railguns, ten close-in weapon systems, one Nexus-20 power supply port, one 133-meter-long ship-shattering sword, the Solar Fire Greatsword, ten throwing ports... Is this some kind of warship?"
Himeko was astonished by this luxurious setup.
"And there's the Leonov anti-gravity engine and six nuclear reactors as power sources. It looks like this configuration is enough to raid Schicksal headquarters?"
Himeko was an outstanding student, not one of those stupid people who only knew how to fight, so she naturally understood what level of configurations those were.
"By the way, is this launch port only for Valkyries, or can it be used to launch mechas too?"
"Well... I don't know about that."
Ragna and Himeko could only remain speechless.
"But, then again, if we could launch mechas, then..."
"Stop talking nonsense, Schicksal's low-end mecha technology is not enough, we have to have Anti-Entropy's mechas for that "