Chapter 157: Dining Together and a Strange Person (1/2)

“Well then everyone, to victory. Cheers.”

“”Cheers!””

The dinner opened with a toast from the most senior officer present, Colonel Broadwell.

I was a bit expectant when I heard that they would bring out the finest menu the imperial military has to offer for tonight’s dinner, but in the end, it wasn’t anything I haven’t tried before. The course consisted of a pasta dish that resembled Neapolitan spaghetti, a plateful of steak, and a consommé soup in a mug.

I tilted my head and muttered ‘This is their so-called best menu?’ as I used my knife and fork to cut off a piece of the steak and brought it to my mouth.

The meat was a little firm, but the more you chewed, the more gravy and meat juices scattered within your mouth. The garlic fried rice was pretty fragrant, and the baked onion slices which served as the side dish were cooked to perfect– Hm?

“You guys used real meat and vegetables huh……”

Now I understand why Major Serena claimed this was their best menu. You could easily reproduce such a menu using food cartridges and an auto-cooker, but nothing beats the real thing after all.

I looked toward Mimi who was busy eating her own steak and saw the sparkle in her eyes as she ate with gusto.

“Fumu, so the hero who received the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal surprisingly also has an eye for gourmet food hmm? Now, this is certainly unexpected.”

“I’m not really much of a gourmet at all. I just simply had the great fortune of sampling real meat and vegetables several times before. One of my crew members also loves sampling different kinds of food. Or rather, she absolutely adores eating good food.”

“H-Hiro-sama……”

Mimi, who was sitting beside me, called out to me in a fluster. She got easily embarrassed when all of our gazes gathered toward her, but I really like watching Mimi eating food happily. It’s food for the soul.

“Fumu……”

Colonel Broadwell eyed Mimi and I with great interest after seeing our exchange. What is it, man? Just give it to me straight if you have something to say.

“Will we continue with the operation after this break?”

“Of course. Twelve hours will be allotted for making necessary repairs, and another twelve hours will be allotted for rest. We will resume the operation after those 24 hours. Right now, we are having some ships scout the surrounding area.”

“I see. It would be good if they could find some clues.”

I remembered the SOL questline related to crystal lifeforms while having an exchange with Colonel Broadwell. So far, we’ve undergone a raid event, a counterattack event, and an info-gathering event. If this were the game, what follows would be an enemy base assault event. We’re well in the middle of the info gathering event right now. I didn’t have much experience regarding this particular event since I was a mercenary player. On the other hand, explorer players were absolute experts in it. They often journeyed far to find and scout out undiscovered planets and star systems after all.

“How should I put it? You…… do not resemble a mercenary at all. I somehow feel like I’m talking to a fellow soldier or noble whenever I talk to you.”

“I also feel the same as His Excellency, Colonel Broadwell. Your manner and speech are all strangely refined. It doesn’t fit the image of a mercenary at all.”

Lieutenant Robbitson, Major Serena’s adjutant, nodded in agreement as he cut a piece of his steak with a knife. To think they’d call me refined and elegant, of all things. Just how vulgar do typical mercenaries in this dimension behave anyway?

“Well, I wouldn’t really know……”

“Do you ladies feel the same as well?”

“Yes. After all, to ensure comfortable living conditions for his crew, he remodeled the interior of his ship to be on par with a luxury liner, and he’s also really gentlemanly in terms of his treatment toward us.”

Elma nodded at Lieutenant Plant’s question as she elaborated and Mimi expressed her agreement as well.

Eh……? Uh, but I lay my hands on them all the time, so I can’t really see which part of me can be considered ‘gentlemanly’ at all.

Or rather, do these two really think that way about me? Seriously?

“Um, somehow, I feel like you’re all focusing a lot on me…… If possible, can we just leave it at that please?”

“It can’t be helped if you feel that way. Alright. But can I ask about a somewhat personal matter then?”