10

Play: Back to Normal

Downstairs, in the lounge of my office building...

Which was a strange sight to consider. This whole building here was mine.

The privileges of being a ranked officer, huh? Neat.

But anyway.

When I headed downstairs after changing, Rapi, Anis, and Neon were already waiting.

Anis gave me a blank stare. "...You really did it, huh?"

"It's rude calling Marian an it, Anis." I teased.

"!$#@!$! EW! STOP. NO."

Neon blinked. "What?"

Rapi pinched the bridge of her nose. "...Let's get down to business, Commander."

"Right, right." I chuckled and leaned against the wall. "So, technically, we're offduty for today. Although I got promoted, I was also 'suspended' for a day because of what happened to the power station."

"Huh?" Anis blinked, composing herself from earlier. "Wait, seriously? But there was barely any damage!"

I shrugged. "Chief Andersen's call goes. Honestly, it's good too. A rookie commander clearing out two Tyrant-class Raptures with a small squad of standard Nikke... he probably needs some time to deal with the fall out. If we weren't on suspension, we might get involved in politics."

I could already imagine it. Some uppity high rank official showing up hearing the news and trying to pull rank to force me-

Play: Recognition

"Hoh! So you ARE here. Good! That saves me the trouble of finding you!"

A bratty female voice.

I froze and slowly turned my gaze towards the entrance.

Anis, Rapi, and Neon instantly went on edge.

A petite young woman with black hair and lilac highlights strode in, surrounded by a pair of beautiful women- No, Nikke. A pair of Nikke.

One was a shorter Nikke with light pink hair in pigtails, holding a whip.

The other was a mature beauty with black hair and a black lacy outfit.

Rapi glanced at me. "Commander."

I calmly walked in front of Anis, Rapi, and Neon. Then I said, "I wasn't expecting guests today."

The petite young woman scoffed. "You should expect me any day."

"...Right. And you are who exactly?"

The petite young woman froze. Then she glared at me. "...You can't be serious. You don't know who I am? Oi, you." She looked at Neon. "Tell your trashy commander who I am."

My eye twitched.

Neon flinched at being addressed. "A-Ah. That's-"

"I know who she is, Neon. I just wanted confirmation." I kept staring at this bratty young woman.

...Yeah. I knew who she was.

Even though I forgot most of my memories from the game, this bitch stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Syuen, CEO of Missilis Industry. What brings you here today?"

"Tch." Syuen crossed her arms. "If you knew who I was, you should have said so. Stop wasting my time. Anyway..." She paced back and forth, giving me a once over. "Hm. At least you look the part. I hate that attitude of yours though. Yuni. Make them-"

I clamped my hand around Syuen's mouth, my eyes dangerously sharp. "Funny. I could say the same to you."

Syuen's eyes widened in panic before settling on a fierce glare.

"Commander." Rapi's voice echoed from behind me. "...I understand your sentiment, but..."

"...Tch." I shoved Syuen back, staring into her eyes with raw killing intent.

Syuen gasped and glared right back. "Yuni! Do it!"

"Yes." Yuni, the pink haired girl held out her hand, a light starting to flash.

But I had already closed the gap again, standing behind Syuen with my arm around her neck in a chokehold. "Hm... Maybe Marian was right." I chuckled, but my eyes were cold. "No point in killing important people. Leverage is useful too."

Yuni froze.

Syuen glared. "You...! Mihara!" She called out to the other Nikke. "Do it! Switch with him!"

The other Nikke, Mihara. Her eyes widened and she said, "But... he's a human!"

"I said switch!"

"Hoh?" I raised an eyebrow. "...Switch, huh? Sure. Try me."

Mihara hesitated. Then a blue laser flashed from her.

Anis's eyes widened and she drew a pistol. "Commander, you idiot-!"

Syuen looked at Yuni and said, "Shoot her, Yuni. Show this bastard real pain."

Yuni pulled out a gun and aimed at Mihara. "With pleasure~"

A gunshot rang out.

Mihara winced, blood dripping from her abdomen.

At the same time, I felt a sharp pain in my gut.

But my grip didn't loosen.

Syuen noticed and started to panic. "Wh-What?! Yuni! Again-"

Play: EEEEEEEEE-ntertainment

"That's enough, Mon amie."

A male voice cut through the tension.

Anis glanced over first, her eyes widening. "Boss? What are you-"

"Ah, my little star."

Mustang walked into the room, all gold and glam. His skin-tight outfit with flashy gold and leopard print shifted as he walked in, and the discoball at his back let out sparkling lights.

Glancing at Anis, he smiled and said, "It's good to see you again. But one moment. Syuen, mon amie... Did you not receive the memo? The commandant is... shall we say, off-limits."

I let Syuen go and looked at Mustang.

He noticed and winked at me. "Our dashing hero here... even if you wanted him for a secret mission, he's on suspension, you see?"

Syuen coughed and rubbed her neck, quickly moving behind Mihara and Yuni. "Suspension? What the hell are you talking about?!"

I smiled coldly at Syuen. "It seems you ran off here after hearing about my heroics, huh? I don't know what scheme you have... but I've been relieved from my duties for a day due to the damage inflicted in our last mission."

"What?!"

"It is as he says, Mon amie~!" Mustang smiled. "Now... Un question." Mustang adjusted his glasses, his smile dimming a bit as a sharp gaze filled his eyes. "...What is one of the Big Three doing here with our Commandant? And flanked with two Nikke of all things as well? Could it be? A secret mission?"

"...Tch." Syuen spun on her heel, rubbing her neck. "Mihara, Yuni. We're leaving."

"Yes."

"...As you say, Lady Syuen."

With that, the three left.

And almost with perfect comedic timing, Marian walked down from upstairs, freshly changed into a new outfit.

She looked around and then said, "Did... I miss anything?"

I sighed.

===

"How heroic! Our commandant, standing against one of the Big Three for his dear ladies! That's eeeeeeeeentertainment~!"

I chuckled as I handed Mustang a cup of coffee. "I wouldn't say so. I think you're doing a better job of it as head of Tetra Line."

Mustang laughed. "Mon amie, you flatter me so!"

We were in the lounge. After clearing up the mess from Syuen's arrival, I was sitting there with Rapi, Anis, Marian, and Mustang.

Neon had gone on ahead to report to Ingrid as her spy duties entailed...

Though in truth, I think she was doing it to flag that Syuen had showed up out of the blue and because she was worried.

Still...

"Boss." Anis looked at Mustang and said, "Seriously. What are you doing here? Aren't you busy?"

"Ah, my shining star." Mustang looked at her and said, "For true entertainment, my time is aaaaalways free!"

Rapi looked at Mustang and said, "...I see."

"And this one... You are my shining star's dear comrade, yes?" Mustang smiled at Rapi. "I have heard you take care of her quite well!"

"...It's nothing."

I sipped my coffee and analyzed Mustang.

...I didn't remember much about him at all. Honestly, only that he used a lot of English in the Japanese dub and a lot of French in the English dub.

But...

'Strange.'

My impression of him was that he was a flashy showman. But seeing him here in person...

'He's sharp. Analytical. Those shades aren't for show either, but to let him look around without people seeing his gaze.'

Mustang noticed my look and chuckled. "Oho? Mon commandant..." He ran his hand down his muscles and said, "Surrounded by beauties, but interested in little old me? I'm flattered!"

Anis let out a deadpan look. "...Ew."

Marian reflexively grabbed my arm. "Commander. No."

Mustang laughed.

I smiled and said, "Well. I can always appreciate a properly trained body. And wearing a bold outfit like that... You clearly put in the work, Mister Mustang."

That was another point.

While the outfit was bold and revealing on purpose to catch the eye... BECAUSE it was revealing, it showed his strength.

Perfectly chiseled muscles with clear striation... ones that rippled with every movement. But more than that, shredded. Not bulky, but optimized for utility.

Mustang paused and then looked at me, impressed and also alert. "My, my. Commandant... you have quite the discerning eye." He chuckled. "For the sake of entertainment, you must always be at your peak, non?"

Anis frowned, mixed emotions crossing her face as she listened to Mustang's words.

There was CLEARLY a story there.

But I decided not to probe it.

Instead, I said, "So is this a social call, Mister Mustang?"

"Please, Mustang is fine, Commandant!" Mustang laughed and said, "And oui. I came here mostly to check on my shining star and also to show my face to the promising commandant! We may very well be working with each other in the future, you see?"

"Right. Then." I held out my hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mustang."

He smiled and took my hand with a firm grip. "Non, non. The pleasure is mine, Commandant."

I squeezed his hand to match his grip and smiled.

Afterwards, he leaned back to grab his coffee. "So, tell me, Commandant. A hero like yourself... there must be a story there, yes?"

I matched him and picked up my own coffee. "I could say the same about you." I looked at him and said, "You look like you could deploy at any time. Showbiz is dangerous stuff, huh?"

While his outfit was flashy, I was getting severe 'mafia boss' vibes underneath it all. The sort of vibe where it wouldn't surprise me to learn he had like an underground ring of like bunny girl assassins or something like that.

Mustang chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "You flatter me so much, Commandant. There's not much to tell about me you cannot read up in your spare time. But allez, please. Tell me about you. What are your plans as the Ark's latest headliner?"

===

Play: Languor

After a brief chat with Mustang, he left and added me on Blabla.

Which was apparently like WhatsApp or LINE here.

But after that, it was just me and the girls in the lounge.

And by girls, I mean, Anis, Rapi, and Marian.

Neon was still off doing her thing.

"So..." I looked at the three Nikke and said, "What a morning, right?"

Marian frowned, looking at me. "Commander... is it going to be fine?"

"Is what going to be fine?" I sipped on another cup of coffee and said, "Nothing too ridiculous going on that I haven't accounted for. I figured I'd be meeting all the CEOs eventually. This saves time, no?"

Anis looked at me and said, "You know, Commander. It's hard to tell sometimes. Are you naturally like this, or did you get your head bashed too hard in that transport incident? Because honestly, you have like, ZERO fear..."

"Nah. I've always been like this." I sipped on my coffee and said, "Fear is just reservation towards the future born of uncertainty. I operate on certainty, so there's no fear from me."

Anis blinked. "...What?"

Rapi furrowed her brow. "...Do you mean to say that you lack fear itself, Commander?"

"Not at all." I set my empty cup down. "I just mean that I view fear differently. Hm... it's like this. If you're scared of heights, you're really scared of the chance you might fall, right?"

Marian chimed in and said, "That's correct, Commander. Most phobias are like that. It's not so much the fear of a thing, but more a fear of a result- Ah!"

Rapi paused. "I see." She looked at me and said, "You lack fear because you make the situation binary. Either it kills you, in which the fear doesn't matter... or you live, in which it also doesn't matter."

Anis furrowed her brow. "Wait... Seriously?" She looked at me. "Is that how you view the world, Commander?"

"Pretty much. If it doesn't have the chance to kill me, then it doesn't matter. If it DOES have the chance to kill me, I act accordingly."

"But you can't control EVERYTHING!" Anis frowned. "How are you sure it's going to work out?"

"Because it does or it doesn't, Anis. And until it doesn't, that means it still can work out." I smiled. "It's simple, really, right? Instead of looking at how it can go wrong, sprint at how it can go right and outpace failure itself. That's how you ensure success."

Anis was quiet. Then she let out a helpless laugh and said, "...You're weird, Commander. Seriously weird. But I guess that's what I like about you..."

Marian smiled. "My commander is great like that, isn't he?"

Anis looked at Marian and frowned. "...Are you sure you're alright, Mari? You're like... kinda one-dimensional now..."

Marian blinked. "Am I?"

"Yeah." Anis nodded. "You're like a one-trick pony clinging to the commander and fussing over him. Like... you're not really acting on your own or anything...?" Anis looked genuinely concerned.

Marian tilted her head. Then she blushed. "A-Ah. Well... that is..." She averted her gaze. "...I'm... sorting out some feelings. Pardon me if I don't talk much..."

I nodded. "Mari's working through things, Anis. Don't worry. It's not like I'm keeping her around for like sex or anything."

Marian blushed and lightly swatted my arm. "COMMANDER!"

Anis rolled her eyes. "Well... there's the confirmation of ONE thing I didn't need to know today."

Rapi chuckled. "Alright. Then... Commander." She looked at me and said, "What are your plans for the day? As you said, we are on standby for the next 24 hours, correct?"

"That's right." I nodded. "Because of that, I figured I should get started on some countermeasures."

Marian tilted her head. "Countermeasures, Commander?"

"Yeah." I pulled out my data pad. "Countermeasures. Like brushing up on my history of the Ark among other things- What's with that look?"

I noticed Rapi and Anis exchange a glance.

Marian looked concerned too.

"You know," I said. "If you have a question, you can ask. I told you, I won't lie."

Anis hesitated. Then she said, "Okay, Commander. Then... tell us honestly. Are you really human? Like, a normal person?"

Play: Heretic

"Nope. I'm definitely abnormal."

"Right, of course you- Wait, what?" Anis' eyes widened.

"What?" I booted up my data pad and looked like her. "Did you think I was a normal guy? I mean, I have the chip in my neck marking me as an Ark Citizen, but in terms of being the average joe, I'm CLEARLY not."

Rapi looked at me, frowning. "Then, Commander... how are you... this? How do you know what you know?"

"Yeah." Anis nodded. "I checked. They don't teach you all that in the military academy. Hell, they barely teach you enough to not die. Plus..." She shifted her gaze to Marian. "I looked it up too. Silver Gun isn't a small squad. It consists of thousands of Nikke. Most are mass-produced. The only one who sticks out is Mari here... but if Commander was assigned the leader of them all..."

I paused, running through the implications.

Clearly, they'd clocked me as different.

I don't think they could even conceive of the fact that I was isekai'd into this body. Or that I knew about another Earth.

But they definitely might be thinking I was a lab experiment gone rogue or something.

...Honestly, might be lore accurate.

The player character's backstory in Nikke was pretty vague. At least, as far as I could recall.

Which at this point, wasn't much to be honest.

So I decided to be truthful.

"I can't tell you how I know what I know because I'm still in the dark about that too. But I CAN tell you that up here." I tapped on my head. "I have a lot of random information. Things about the Ark, Nikke, certain key figures. Applicable theories and information about skills like programming and engineering. And then combat knowledge." I paused. "Mostly martial arts. Lots of martial arts, actually."

Anis gave me a strange look. "...Still aren't convincing me you're not a sleeper agent..."

I chuckled. "Even if I am one, I'm still me. I said it before, right? You aren't the body, or the mind, but the will that chooses. Even if my memories faded or my body changed, I'd make the same choice. Call it the 'soul' or whatever, but I'm certain that exists. Like, in every lifetime, I'd try to save Marian. I might not succeed in a lot of them since I doubt any other 'me' is as skilled and knowledgeable as me... or as resolved to focus on success over failure. But that much would be constant."

That was true. Objectively so. Considering how 'Nikke' could theoretically have infinite player characters, and how each and every one of them would DEFINITELY be gutpunched by Marian's death, I didn't doubt there was a single one who kept playing who WOULDN'T try to save her if they could.

I just so happened to be the only one here in person and who had enough ridiculously convenient skillsets to accomplish it.

Well, I was also crazy enough to do it with almost certainly unfounded confidence.

But I was always the 'do or die' personality type anyway. That never really came into play in reality, but here? Where you HAD to 'do' or you 'died?'

Light work.

If I lived, I kept living. If I died, wouldn't matter anyway.

Marian stared at me with soft eyes. "Commander..." She walked over and leaned against me. "...You're amazing, you know?"

Anis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Quite gassing up our Commander before his ego gets too big and he explodes."

I chuckled and wrapped an arm around Marian's shoulder. "Appreciate it, Mari. But Anis has a point. Hm... It's probably not a good idea for us to head out right now. How about we stick around and clean up the Outpost for a while?"