The faint echo of a sound pulled my consciousness upward, buoying me toward the surface of sleep. Using that sensation as a tether, I forced my eyes open.
"..."
I scanned the room, my mind still thick with the fog of half-slumber. I was in a king-sized bed, flanked by my three lovers: Lemon, Cornelia, and Murrue. Following yesterday's victory party, the four of us had shared the night together as we always did, eventually drifting off into a deep, collective exhaustion.
"Axel-san?"
There it was again—that voice, accompanied by a sharp rapping at the bedroom door. As I sat up, squinting at my surroundings, the knocking returned.
"Axel-san, are you awake?"
"Mmph... keep it down, would you? You're far too loud for this early..."
Beside me, Lemon stirred listlessly. She sat up, raking her fingers through her cascading pink hair. Her voice seemed to act as an alarm for the other two; Cornelia and Murrue began to wake as well, stretching their limbs with a feline grace that put their magnificent, bare forms on full display.
"I'm coming in, alright?"
The voice again. Wait—that voice. Was it Echidna? No, this sounded like...
"Axel-san, breakfast is—"
The door swung open, and Miriallia stepped inside. She froze mid-sentence, the rest of her words dying in her throat as she turned into a statue.
As I watched her face go pale, the memories of last night finally clicked into place. The victory party hadn't wound down until well after midnight. Cagalli had headed back with Athrun acting as her escort to prepare for today's duties, and Mu had returned to the Archangel for the same reason. However, the rest of the group had decided to take advantage of the hospitality and crash at my place.
I glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was already past 9:00 AM.
I see. We hadn't surfaced by breakfast, so she'd come to fetch us. Still, sending Miriallia to wake a grown man was a questionable choice on their part.
And now, she was faced with the sight of me, Lemon, Cornelia, and Murrue, all entangled and utterly nude on a massive bed. Though the blankets spared her the most explicit details, it was clearly a tactical error for her psyche.
"Milly? What's the hold-up?"
Tolle's voice drifted in from the hallway. Right—they wouldn't have sent her alone to wake me.
"Wait! Tolle! Don't you dare come in here!"
In a flash of panic, Miriallia snatched a magazine from the nightstand—one Murrue had brought over from the Archangel—and hurled it toward the doorway. Her aim was true; it caught Tolle squarely in the face just as he tried to peek inside.
"I-I am so sorry! Um, breakfast is ready, so please come down when you're... dressed! I'm so sorry!"
She turned and bolted, her apologies echoing down the hall. We watched her departure with lingering, sleep-deprived confusion.
"...Miriallia?"
Murrue's voice was faint, breathless with shock. I looked over to see her face flushing a deep crimson as the reality of the situation finally pierced her morning groggy state. Having lived and worked alongside that girl on the bridge for nearly half a year, the shame was clearly hitting her at Mach speed.
"O-Okay! Axel, Cornelia... Lemon! Don't you dare go back to sleep! Get dressed, now, or she'll come back for us!"
"Oh, hush..." Lemon grumbled, her usual aversion to mornings kicking in. "It was a late night. A few more minutes wouldn't kill anyone."
Ignoring the protest, Murrue ruthlessly stripped the covers away.
I watched Murrue wrangle Lemon for a moment before sliding out of bed. I gathered my discarded clothes and underwear, deciding it was best if I headed down first while the women took their time with their morning routines. With a man's efficiency, I finished dressing, gave each of the three a light kiss, and stepped out toward the dining hall.
"G-Good morning, Axel-san."
"Morning," I replied, offering a wry smile to Miriallia, who greeted me with a face like a tomato and a voice that was hilariously stilted.
I stepped into the dining room to find a spread she had likely prepared herself. Sai, Tolle, Kira, and Dearka were already seated, waiting for the rest of us. Tolle's face was also suspiciously red—either Miriallia had filled him in on what she'd seen, or that magazine had left a physical mark.
"Sorry we're late. Lemon and the others will be a few more minutes, so feel free to start without them."
"...Hey."
As I took my seat, Dearka leaned in, his eyes gleaming with a mix of mischief and curiosity. I knew exactly where this was going.
"Why is Miriallia acting like a broken robot this morning? She went to wake you up and came back looking like she'd seen a ghost."
"Let's just say she saw something... impactful."
"Impactful?"
"I'll leave that to your imagination."
"Heh... I bet."
I took a sip of the vegetable juice I'd picked up in Orb yesterday, letting the conversation drift. Miriallia kept casting furtive glances my way, but I chose to let it slide for the sake of everyone's blood pressure.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Good morning, everyone."
Ten minutes later, the three women joined us. I wasn't sure how they managed to look so impeccably put-together in such a short window, but they had returned to their usual, dignified selves.
"Oh? Did you prepare all this, Miriallia?" Murrue asked.
"Y-Yes. I felt bad about doing it without asking, but I made use of your kitchen. Um... Good morning, Captain."
"Is that so? Thank you. Though... I'd prefer if you didn't barge into the bedroom quite so unceremoniously next time."
"I-I... I'm terribly sorry!"
Miriallia bowed so deeply her head nearly hit the table. Lemon, looking thoroughly amused, walked over and tilted the girl's chin up, stroking her flushed cheek.
"You know, if you're that interested, you're welcome to join the circle."
"N-No! I mean... that is... I have..."
Miriallia cast a frantic glance toward Tolle. He looked back at her with a puzzled expression, clearly oblivious to the subtext of Lemon's teasing.
"Lemon, leave the poor girl alone."
Cornelia sighed, pulling Lemon away from her prey. Lemon muttered a playful "What a shame" before taking the seat next to me. Cornelia sat on my other side, with Murrue across from us.
"Now then," Murrue began, her tone shifting to the professional weight of a commander. "Let's discuss tomorrow's deployment over breakfast. I assume everyone here is boarding the Archangel?"
We began our strategy meeting over Miriallia's cooking.
"Right," I confirmed. "Everyone here is on the Archangel... correct?"
The table gave a collective nod.
"In that case," Murrue continued, "what forces is Shadow Mirror contributing?"
"My Soulgain, Lemon's Weissavior, and Cornelia's Rapiecage," I listed. "Plus fifty Megillots."
"And Echidna stays in Orb, as discussed in yesterday's briefing?" Cornelia asked, seeking final confirmation.
I nodded. "Exactly. She's there to safeguard Orb, acting as the captain of the Gyanland. With Echidna leading the Sealion and the Megillots, the Alliance would need a miracle to break through. If things get hairy, she has the Megillot reserves at White Star—and, of course, her own Vysaga."
"Shouldn't we bring more Megillots into space, then?" Lemon asked.
"I see your point, but fifty is our limit for transport," I explained. "Between the Shadow Mirror units and the Archangel's own—Freedom, Strike, Buster—we're already at six units. Potentially seven if Athrun brings the Justice. Since Orb isn't deploying their own MS, we're packing the Kusanagi to the gills. It has a ten-unit capacity, so we'll maximize that with Megillots and shove the rest into the Archangel's spare hangars. That gets us to fifty."
Once the Eternal joined us, we'd have more breathing room, but until then... I wondered if I should store the extras in my Spatial Warehouse. But then there was the issue of maintenance; could Murdoch and his crew, who were used to standard MS and MA, handle repairs on Megillots? Probably not. It was better to let them focus on the primary suits. The Megillots in space would have to be treated as expendable.
Actually, I thought, I could keep spare Megillots in my warehouse and cycle them in as units are destroyed.
Furthermore, the timeline had already deviated from the original story. Whether Lacus and her team could successfully hijack the Eternal was no longer a guarantee. I couldn't afford to rely on "what should happen."
"Alright. I'll keep thirty units in my Spatial Warehouse as a reserve."
"Yes, please do," Lemon agreed.
The others at the table, unfamiliar with the concept of a Spatial Warehouse, looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language.
"Remember the psychokinesis I showed you yesterday?" I said. "It's a similar type of ability."
I snapped my fingers. A rift in space opened beside me. I visualized the inventory list and selected a cream puff, which materialized instantly in my hand. As a silent apology for the morning's shock, I set the pastry down in front of Miriallia.
"Wait... is this still warm?" she whispered, touching the pastry.
"It's fresh," I said. I'd bought a batch from a famous bakery back in Orb. Since time stayed frozen within the warehouse, they remained exactly as they were the moment I bought them. "To put it simply, it's a storage space with infinite capacity where time stands still."
"You really are a piece of work, aren't you?" Dearka muttered, sounding genuinely impressed.
I laughed. "If you let every little thing I do get to you, you'll go gray before you're twenty, kid. You don't want that, do you?"
"K-Kid...? Hey, look, I get what you're saying, but..." Dearka started to protest, but he caught Lemon's smirk and realized the futility of arguing. He slumped back with a defeated sigh.
"So, is the deployment plan settled then?" Cornelia asked.
"Seems so. As our combat commander, do you have any notes?"
Cornelia tapped her chin. "I'd like to propose bringing several Mass-Produced W-Series units aboard the Archangel as a reserve force."
"I don't mind, but their machines will have to stay in my warehouse."
"Fine by me," Cornelia said. "I'll leave the unit selection to you."
Units for space use... I ran through the list. Cosmolion, Guarlion, Guarlion Custom, MP Gespenst Mk-II, or the Al-Eins?
The Al-Eins was the mainstay of Shadow Mirror, but showing that hand to the Alliance or ZAFT this early felt wrong. We had enough firepower as it was. Since they were just reserves, the MP Gespenst Mk-II would suffice.
"Understood. I'll pick out something appropriate."
With the breakfast-meeting concluded, the tension finally broke, and everyone moved to enjoy what little remained of our fleeting holiday.
Axel Almar - Status
Level: 37 (PP: 205)
Abilities: Psychokinesis LV.10, Attacker, Gunfight LV.9, Infight LV.9, Spirit Limit Break, Geass (Gray)
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Kills: 294
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it and want to read ahead, feel free to check them out here:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thanks a lot for your support, it really helps me keep going.
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"