By the next day, I had finally managed to start walking without the help of Muscle Assist.
My feet were still so swollen I couldn't even force them into shoes. Apparently, however, it was better to keep moving even in this state.
Every step sent a sharp jolt through my nerves, but I grit my teeth and endured.
I headed over to visit Claire. She had ended up with several broken ribs and a fractured clavicle. Kevin came along to keep me company.
We were both dressed in sandals and our Officer Academy Tracksuit. Leaning heavily on my crutches, I made my way toward Claire’s room.
"Are you okay? Does it still hurt?" Kevin asked, his voice thick with concern.
"The meds are working, so it’s fine," I replied.
I was acting tough, but the truth was it hurt like hell. Even though the nanomachines had done their work repairing the physical damage, the lingering pain refused to fade. Maybe it was a side effect of using them too much in such a short window of time.
After shuffling along for what felt like forever, we reached Claire’s room. I buzzed the intercom at the entrance, and the door slid open.
"Yo. How are you holding up?"
"Leo? You were more seriously injured than I was! What are you doing walking around?!"
"Nah, the docs said it’s better to stay mobile. Right, Kevin?"
"Yeah," Kevin nodded. "They said we need moderate exercise to keep the blood circulation up."
"Aren't the nanomachines enough?" Claire asked, sounding skeptical.
"Hahaha! I went so overboard with the repairs that my immune system started having a rejection response... They told me no work for at least half a month. I'm also stuck wearing these sensors for a while because they're worried about crush syndrome."
"You overdo everything," Claire sighed. "Though... I suppose I'm one to talk."
"Did something happen?"
"Veronica-chan just told me I should step down as a gunner. She said I'd end up dead if I stayed. She looked like she was about to cry, she was so worried... It was hard to see."
"Ah, right. Yeah... I’ll reflect on that."
I had to admit, things had gotten pretty dicey this time. We were seriously lacking in both firepower and defensive capabilities. If things had gone just a little differently, it wouldn't have just been my legs—my entire body would have been turned into a pancake.
"If I step down as a gunner, I'll probably be moved to bridge duty or the plant..." Claire continued. "My family back home lives on a planet full of horticultural farmers. They specialize in blueberry and fig seedlings. Even the fruit trees in this ship’s plant originally came from my world."
Ever since spaceships had started producing their own vegetables and fruit on board, the demand for horticultural farmers had skyrocketed. It made sense; those plants were part of the life-support infrastructure. You literally couldn't live without them. Through generations of selective breeding, they’d created varieties that were incredibly productive and bore fruit all year round.
"Weren't you basically a princess back there?" I asked.
I seemed to recall her paperwork mentioning she was the daughter of a Count.
"Stop that. It’s not like that at all! I’m actually an adoptee. My parents—the ones who raised me—are wonderful people. But you know how it is; there are always disputes over the right of succession. That’s why I don’t use a family name."
I hadn't realized she had such a heavy backstory.
"It’s not that I’m being discriminated against or anything. I know my parents did it to protect me from getting dragged into dangerous political messes in the future... But sometimes, I just lose track of who I am. I start wondering... Who am I, really?"
So she’d been wrestling with that even before she became a clone...
"...That’s why I joined the Officer Academy. I thought that if I were in the military, I might finally find out who I was. Plus, it pays a salary. I couldn't just keep living off my parents forever."
Kevin spoke up then, adding his own story. "For me, it was the colony. We didn't have any money, and the only school I could actually afford to attend was the Officer Academy."
"And then there's me..." I said, forcing the words out with a look of grim determination. "The spoiled youngest son of a country lord who joined the military just so he could send a little extra money back home..."
Both of them burst out laughing.
"See? We're all in the same boat!"
"You're right. We really are!"
Watching Kevin and Claire chuckle together, I felt a wave of relief. At least Claire seemed to be in good spirits.
When I finally left the room and stepped back into the hallway, Major Piggett was waiting for me.
"Got a moment, Captain?"
"I'm fine, sir. Uh, what about Kevin?"
"He should come, too."
We followed the Major to a nearby meeting room. Inside, my wife and Kyoko Ohno were already waiting.
"Given this lineup... I'm guessing we're talking about the new machine?"
"Indeed," Veronica replied. "First, take a look at this."
She pulled up an image on the monitor. It was the exclusive machine I had absolutely trashed during the last fight. It was missing its entire face.
"The accumulated damage was so severe that we had to completely dismantle it for repairs. These are the images of the components."
The next slide showed the internal parts. The chest assembly had been stripped down, and the components were laid out in a neat row.
"Look closely at this," she prompted.
The image showed a device I didn't recognize. To be honest, I didn't recognize most of the parts. Since the machine was 500 years old, none of its internals were compatible with modern products. That was likely why I’d never seen anything like them.
"What is that?" Kevin asked, leaning in with intense curiosity.
There was something about disassembling old machinery that just spoke to a guy's soul.
"We don't know," Veronica admitted.
"Huh?"
"We have no idea. So, we decided to consult an expert."
"An expert? Who?"
"Called and popped out, it's the Fairy!!!"
As expected, it was the Fairy. Annoying as ever.
"This device is the Jester Overdrive," the Fairy explained.
"I have a terrible feeling about this already!" I groaned.
The name alone sounded like trouble.
"It is a device that extends the Jester's effects to all nearby allies. Simply put, it makes it easier for your comrades to grow stronger."
An Ally Experience Point Increase?!
That's an ability for a completely different genre of game!
I guess the Jester really was meant for strategy RPGs after all. Despite its reputation, it turned out to be nothing more than a tool for muscle-brains.
"...In that case, let's make sure to incorporate it into the new design," Veronica decided.
"I'll send over the detailed data sheets," the Fairy chirped.
"Much appreciated. Now, moving on to these other components..."
Essentially, almost everything inside the Jester-exclusive machine was built on "lost technology." It was the kind of tech that hadn't survived into the modern era—something that happened more often than you’d think. Useful techniques that people just stopped using until eventually, no one knew how to reproduce them anymore.
"So, we'll keep the Jester's ESP-related systems as they are and rebuild everything else from the ground up. Kyoko, I want you to work with the Fairy on the detailed design."
"Understood! Gufufufufu..."
Kyoko looked positively thrilled. This girl... she was definitely the kind of scientist who put the "mad" in "mad scientist."
"By the way, Captain! In private, which do you prefer: 'Husband' or 'Master'?"
"I refuse both! And seriously, stop it with the 'Husband' thing! You're stepping on Ren's toes. And you, Wife! Stop trying to expand the harem!"
"What's the harm?" Veronica asked nonchalantly. "What's one or two more? Besides, while the Ohno family only holds the rank of Baron, they are incredibly influential in this sector. For the sake of our future, we need them as allies."
"I don't want a harem built on political speculation!" I yelled.
"As if a harem not built on political speculation could even exist in this world!"
"Stop hitting me with reality!"
Give me back my youthful dreams!
"Eh? Personally, I think I like the Captain quite a bit," Kyoko said, giggling to herself.