Kevin dragged me along by the hand, heading for a local diner.
Since the battle, the reconstruction of Planet Shinagawa had been moving forward.
They were restarting the terraforming from scratch and constructing every building imaginable to serve as a forward base.
The original residents were hired directly as laborers.
The gold mines were being developed at full speed as well.
This area, including the surrounding planets, was an impoverished sector.
On top of that, the Zork invasion had created a massive influx of refugees.
They had either become laborers themselves or opened shops catering to those workers.
One of those establishments was Restaurant Manpuku, a place we frequented often.
It was a mysterious structure built from whatever materials happened to be lying around.
It operated out of what you’d call a barrack hut.
"Ma'am! Two Manpuku Sets!"
"Coming right up! What’s the matter, Kevin-chan? Why the long face?"
"Listen to this, Ma'am! Everyone’s being so mean! They're telling me I should do a gravure shoot!"
"Oh my, oh my... how dreadful."
"Right?! It makes me so mad!"
"Oh my, oh my."
The shop's owner was a female-type Zork.
She used to be an old man, but since she’d lived as an onee-sama from the start, she apparently didn't find the change troublesome.
The show pub where she used to work had been physically demolished during the Zork invasion, so she’d opened this diner instead.
Her backstory was way too complicated!
And for the record, her chest was quite large.
"Should I add the usual Ramen for you, Leo-chan?"
"Yes, please! Muscle-up!"
Ramen was justice.
"Muscle-understood!"
The lady had supposedly been a person of pure muscle once, but now she had the look of a widow working a diner in a snowy country.
"Your lunch earlier was cut short, wasn't it? My treat."
It wasn't just cut short; I’d barely touched it.
I felt like the 'waste-not ghost' was going to come after me.
Though, technically, any leftovers were processed into fertilizer, so nothing truly went to waste.
The Manpuku Meal consisted of Mapo Tofu and Yulinchi. I added a bowl of Ramen to that.
At first glance, it looked like a total calorie overload, but if I didn't eat this much, I’d feel like I was dying from muscle pain the next day.
Conversely, thanks to the power of military nanomachines, I could recover from even the most brutal physical abuse as long as I had enough nutrients.
In other words, my physical strength and nerves would actually grow by the following morning.
This only worked because of Master Katori’s skill—tormenting me to the absolute limit without actually snapping my tendons or breaking my bones.
It was far too dangerous; not even professional athletes would try it.
Apparently, the mental strain was enough to break someone.
Then why are you doing it to me?! You moron!!!
I let my anger burn internally as I shoveled the food into my mouth.
Still, this lady's cooking was fantastic.
Everyone in the Space Marines knew how to cook, but reaching a professional, restaurant-level flavor was another story.
That’s why eating out was the best.
Man, this was bliss.
"Mm, delicious."
Kevin looked equally happy.
Honestly, this was the simple level of happiness we Officer Academy students had originally wanted.
Grand Dukes, Counts, Majors... none of that made any sense to me.
"Leo, look... you don't look at me with lewd eyes, do you?"
To be honest, I felt like looking at him with lewd eyes meant I’d lost.
The other Officer Academy guys had already given up, but I intended to fight on, even if I were the last man standing.
No! I will not yield!!!
"That’s why being with Leo is the easiest for me."
"What about One-oh-one and Tatiana?"
"Those girls are like little sisters to me."
Well, I could understand feeling exhausted when hanging around the rest of the Officer Academy bunch.
After all, Kevin was the most incomprehensible of all of them since becoming a girl.
But man, your gestures were completely those of a girl now.
Pigeon-toed when you walk, keeping your legs closed when you sit—all the little details.
I didn't point it out, though.
In the first place, people had supposedly wondered if he was a girl since before the change.
Digging deeper into that would definitely be a defeat.
"’Sup! Ah, I knew the Captain would be here!"
Melissa arrived.
"Oh, Melissa-chan. Your face is as sultry as ever."
That was it.
I hadn't found the right words for Melissa's intense gaze until now.
But the shopkeeper's words hit the nail on the head.
I finally understood why the boys insisted so adamantly that Melissa was ugly.
Yes, the boys had also been confused.
Because Melissa was sultry.
She had absolutely none of the 'cute' components that a female classmate was supposed to have.
Instead, she possessed a strange, mature sexiness.
That’s why their brains glitched, and they desperately tried to deny it.
Those virgins were panicking!
"Ma'am, one Manpuku Meal Ramen set!"
"Coming right up!"
Melissa sat down at our table with her legs spread wide.
See? Her behavior was still totally like a guy's.
That’s exactly why the boys' brains were bugging out.
"So, Kevin, I heard you're making your gravure debut?"
"I’m not! Absolutely not!!!"
"You heard her, Melissa. Give her a break."
"Aw, come on, you should do it!"
"No!!!"
"Now, now, Melissa-chan, don't force her. Here’s your Manpuku Meal Ramen set."
"Thanks!"
We ate in silence for a while.
Eventually, I decided to speak up.
"Hey, Kevin. Wifey is just excited because her friend got a request for something she can't do herself. Just keep your head down until she comes back to reality."
"I guess so..."
"Melissa, hide her in your room."
"Got it. You're treating me to Yakiniku later, though."
"Fine, fine."
By "treating me to Yakiniku," she didn't mean "take me to a restaurant."
She meant "buy some high-quality meat and grill it for me."
And then I’d be shaken down by Wifey and Ren.
Then Tatiana and One-oh-one would show up... and before I knew it, every girl from the Officer Academy would be gathering around.
The guys who tagged along would just end up on meat-grilling duty.
Hyah-hah! Meat tastes best over charcoal!
I finished the meal Kevin treated me to.
When we got back to the base, Wifey was waiting for us.
"Kevin, I am sorry! I was carried away!"
"See? It’s fine."
"Yeah, I’m sorry too. But I really don't want to do gravure."
"Yes, I apologize! I will think more carefully next time!"
With that, Wifey gave Kevin a hug.
At that moment, I saw it.
Wifey was smiling.
It was a look that clearly said, "Just one more push."
Melissa and I decided we hadn't seen a thing.
I think I’ll make Wifey buy the meat.
And I'm definitely buying a barbecue grill.