Man, those Ghouls really went and made Big Brother Leo angry.
He’s the Strongest of the Empire, you know. Sucks for them.
I’d just finished my rear-line mission and returned to the battleship. Big Brother arrived back right as I was wrapping up my own work.
I looked at the girl who’d been foisted on me—the new Private Second Class.
“I’m Tatiana. Who’re you?”
My translator activated automatically. Oh, right. Now that I think about it, they did say she was a Taikyoku Nation Person.
“I am Shiyun. Um... Tatiana-san?”
“My rank is Warrant Officer, but just call me Tatiana.”
That was the situation. I’d been promoted to Warrant Officer.
A Warrant Officer was technically a squad leader rank. I didn't even feel like a proper non-commissioned officer yet, so making me a leader was just idiotic!
As for the officer academy I was supposed to enter, they’d sent me a graduation certificate before I’d even stepped foot in the place. Now, I was being forced through a compressed curriculum.
While I was stumbling over math and writing kanji, the assignments just kept piling up infinitely. Was the person who designed this curriculum an absolute moron?
Still, once the war is over, I want to get into the Faculty of Nursing at the Officer University Division.
I’d been helping out at the clinic during my medic training, and the Master Sergeant Big Sister (Male) there told me, “Nursing is hard work, but you'll never go hungry~♪”
Well, in that case, I had to do it.
Now then, time for work.
Shiyun looked anxious.
“Come on. I’ll show you to our room.”
It was the room displayed on my map... our shared quarters.
I contacted Big Brother Leo.
“Big Brother Leo, according to the map, Shiyun is assigned to the same room as us.”
One-oh-one and I had become officers, but our private rooms were on hold for now. We were living together. It was originally a four-person room meant for civilians, so one more person wouldn't be a problem, but still...
“Sorry. Can you look after her?”
“I mean, I don't mind, but... are you sure? She’s royalty, right?”
“One-oh-one is royalty too, isn't she?”
“One isn't nearly as refined as Big Sister Veronica, you know.”
“Anyway, just keep it appropriately casual, please~”
That idiot Big Brother. He didn't understand what I was getting at.
He was a young master of a Marquis House himself, yet he had zero self-awareness. I swear, the Galactic Empire's peerage system is just way too lax!
“He says you're with us. Let's go.”
I guided her to our room. The interior had already been renovated to our liking. A fluffy carpet was laid out, and I’d even stuck carpets onto the walls. It was a custom from my hometown.
To be honest, I have no idea why we do that. But it’s what we’ve always done back home, so I do it here too.
“Do you want the top bunk? Or the bottom?”
Since it was a four-person room, there were two bunk beds. One-oh-one and I usually slept on the bottom, but I didn't mind moving. I wasn't as picky about that as I was about the wall carpets.
“Either is... um... then, the top, please.”
“Gotcha. We'll go pick up your bedding later...”
Just then, the door clicked open.
“I have returned!”
My partner, One, practically burst inside. The steward old man was right behind her.
“Oh? Lady Tatiana, who might this be?”
“Shiyun, this is the Queen of Zork and our roommate, One-oh-one. And this is her steward. Introduce yourselves.”
“I am Shiyun, the Taikyoku Nation Third Prince. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Third Prince?” The steward tilted his head.
“There’s a long story behind it,” I cut in.
“I see.” He seemed to accept that readily enough.
“I am Warrant Officer One-oh-one! Um... what is your rank?”
“She's a locally enlisted Private Second Class. She's going to be my subordinate. I think she'll be assigned as a medic just like us, so help her out.”
“Understood! It is a pleasure to meet you!”
To be precise, our role was a dual assignment as both medic and catering staff. Big Brother always said, “Learn how to cook. It'll increase your survival rate in life.”
“Once you've put your luggage down, change into your tracksuit. We're heading out.”
“Where to?”
“The dining hall. We're part of the catering staff too.”
“We are going to help out in the dining hall!”
The three of us headed down. The steward was a gentleman enough to wait outside while we changed.
In the dining hall, Big Brother Leo was cooking with a demonic expression. He had a habit of retreating to the kitchen whenever he had too much on his mind.
“B-Big Brother...”
Then Big Sister Nina showed up.
“Leo-kun is concentrating right now.”
“Is it the usual?”
“Yeah, the usual. He said he wanted to recreate the steamed chicken from the Chinese restaurant near the academy today. I told him that was actually Bang Bang Chicken, but he wouldn't listen...”
Even One-oh-one was smart enough not to bother him right now. This was how Big Brother organized his thoughts.
Big Brother was an excellent soldier. But if even he was worrying this much, the situation had to be incredibly complicated.
“Anyway, Tatiana-chan, can you guys start getting the supplies out?”
“Got it.”
I checked the inventory memo. Frozen chicken. Honestly, synthetic plant-based protein meat is so good these days it’s indistinguishable from the real thing. I couldn't even tell which one we were using half the time.
Anything frozen in a ground state was usually synthetic, but whatever. Either was fine.
I pushed a cart to the freezer to find the meat.
“That cardboard box over there is the chicken. Let’s load it up.”
I had Shiyun help, but she was even smaller than us. She was really only capable of minor assistance. Thankfully, One was strong enough to handle the heavy lifting.
“Tatiana! Task complete!”
“Right.”
Once the cart was loaded, I made Shiyun help push. I had to teach her the ropes from the ground up.
Wait, hold on! Does that mean I have to teach her how to iron shirts too?! Ugh, I’m not even that good at it myself! And the bedsheets?! I’m terrible at those.
One was actually great at it. She was good with detailed work. I’d have to swallow my pride and ask the steward to teach us. He was a former soldier, so he knew all the tricks.
Normally I’d go crying to Big Brother, but in his current state... yeah, no. Even Big Sister Claire looked like she was in a foul mood.
Ah, that reminded me. I had to say something to Shiyun.
“Um... sorry about this. Making you work so soon. I heard you went through a lot of tragedy with your family.”
Shiyun made an indescribable expression.
“You're very kind, Tatiana. It’s just as I heard.”
“Heard what?”
“You're the Saint of the Ogre God Nation, aren't you?”
“Give me a break...”
As if I’m the type to be a Saint! I’m clearly just a brat with a bad upbringing!
We went back to the kitchen and helped with the prep. Once that was done, we ate ahead of the others to check the seasoning. As always, Big Brother’s food was delicious.
It wasn't fancy, but it had that perfect dining hall taste—the kind of rich, heavy seasoning you’d find at a downtown dining hall.
Honestly, I bet Big Brother could make a living as a chef if he ever quit the military. Though, unless he divorced Big Sister Veronica, that probably wasn't in the cards.
Shiyun remained quiet. She didn't seem like much of a talker. I, on the other hand, am the type to fill the silence with idle chatter.
“So, what do you think of our Big Brother? Pretty cool, right?” I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
Suddenly, Shiyun’s face turned bright red.
Wait... what?