Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 9

“Why are you following me?”

After lunch, Alois followed Joshua to the door of his cabin. They walked in silence until Joshua pressed the smart fingerprint lock on the door.

Alois pouted, “To feed the cat.” He was still holding a plate with the grilled fish. Joshua hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside to let him in. “Come in.”

As soon as Schrödinger inside the room smelled the fish, it eagerly rushed over and started scratching at Alois’s leg. He had to jump back and put the plate down as far from himself as possible.

“You should get something for it to scratch.” Alois looked around the empty room, realizing it wasn’t much better than his own cabin. Then he suddenly thought, wouldn’t it be better if the two of them shared a room? Would it be too crowded? “You should also make a little bed for it. Where else is it supposed to sleep?”

“It sleeps on my bed.”

“Hmph!” Alois couldn’t suppress his jealousy.

“Hey, why are you getting jealous over a cat?”

Joshua sat down on the bed, and Alois dragged a chair over to sit beside him. He stared into the assassin’s black-gold eyes for a while, and Joshua stared back without any reservations. “Hey,” he said, “are you really planning to support me?”

Joshua reached out and ruffled Alois’s short black hair, smiling mysteriously. “What else can I do? I brought you out of prison to a completely unfamiliar place, and you might be wanted by the entire Empire. If I don’t support you, what will you do?”

His voice was soft, almost like he was talking to himself, and his movements were gentle, like he was petting a cat. Alois closed his eyes, wanting to enjoy Joshua’s touch a little longer, but the assassin suddenly withdrew his hand. “Fortunately, Leo found your information in the database. You did very well in school, and we just happen to need a mechanic on the ship. He wants you to fill the vacancy.”

“So, you had this all planned out!” Alois looked for something to throw. “One plays the good cop, the other plays the bad cop. You two are a perfect pair!”

“Angry?” Joshua tilted his head, watching him with amusement.

“No! I’m not as petty as you!” Alois turned his head, saying he wasn’t angry but felt furious inside. “When did you and Leo get so close? He can’t even be used as emergency rations!”

“While chatting, we realized we had met before. I guess we’re old acquaintances now.” Joshua raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care so much? Do I need to report to you about my friends?”

“Can’t I care about you?”

“Thanks.”

“Ungrateful!” Alois stood up. “I’m leaving!” He pretended to leave, hoping Joshua would stop him, but Joshua just flopped back onto the bed and waved goodbye. “Go on. You should get to the training room and familiarize yourself with the fighter’s controls. How long has it been since you touched a control panel?”

“……” Alois clenched his fists, restraining his urge to hit him. “Don’t you have anything else to say to me?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Well… don’t feel bad if Joanna shoots you down. It’s nothing to be ashamed of…”

“That’s not it!” Alois walked quickly to the bed and climbed on top of Joshua. “Shouldn’t warriors get a morale boost before going into battle?” He leaned down, feeling the warmth of the silver-haired assassin’s breath. Joshua’s lips were thin, with a beautiful curve, smiling, showing no signs of rejecting him.

Joshua squinted, the gold in his eyes almost spilling out. They got closer and closer, their lips almost touching, when Joshua suddenly pushed Alois’s face away forcefully.

“Don’t you value your life?” Joshua frowned. “Leo! Guide this guy!”

Leo’s voice came from the ceiling. “Hmm, do you two have to use me as a scapegoat for your quarrel? The plight of artificial intelligence is so tragic—getting blamed while doing nothing!”

Joshua slammed the wall. “Hurry up!”

“At your service! Mr. Lagrange, please follow the blue markers on the floor to the training room!” The smart AI immediately lit up a giant blue arrow, flashing towards the door, as if urging Alois to leave quickly.

“Well… I guess I’ll really go then.” Alois reluctantly walked out, and Joshua watched him go until the door closed completely, erasing his figure.

Leo’s hologram then appeared in the chair, hands folded inside his sleeves, looking solemn. “What’s with you? It’s just a kiss. Why act like an attempted rape?”

“It was an attempted rape,” Joshua replied, putting his hands behind his head.

Leo sighed. “He’s actually quite sincere with you. Would it kill you to be nicer to him?”

“Leave, Leo.”

The AI gave him a regretful look. “Fine.” The hologram disappeared instantly.

The room fell silent, except for the sound of Schrödinger eating fish. Joshua turned over, facing the wall.

“Haven’t I been nice enough to him?”

He wasn’t asking anyone in particular, and no one answered.

Alois followed the markers to the training room, looking dejected. There was over an hour until his scheduled time with Joanna. The training room was empty except for the freckled young man he had seen in the cafeteria. He was fiddling with something on a monitoring device.

“Hi!” The young man greeted him with a friendly nod. “You’re early?”

“Yeah. I wanted to get familiar with the controls.”

The freckled young man extended his hand, shaking Alois’s. “Ibb Descartes. I’m the mechanic on this ship.”

“Alois Lagrange.”

“You went to military school?” Ibb asked curiously.

“Yes. But I haven’t touched a fighter control panel since I graduated.” Alois looked at the flowing data on the monitoring device. “What are you doing?”

Ibb scratched his head in embarrassment. “The captain wants to fly the latest ‘Bard’ model, so I’m helping Leo adjust the parameters.”

Alois was surprised. “Even Leo needs help?”

Leo suddenly appeared beside them, squatting on the floor, chewing on something with a troubled look. “If artificial intelligence were omnipotent, you humans would have been extinct by now.”

“What are you eating?”

“Data Ibb gave me.”

…Could you be less literal? Alois mentally screamed.

Leo gestured to the rows of simulation pods in the training room. “Go practice. Though I don’t think it’s necessary.” He hadn’t finished speaking when Alois climbed into a pod. “Oh, are you that eager to be beaten by the captain?”

“I’ll show you I can win!”

The pod door closed, and the small chamber plunged into darkness. Alois put on the training helmet and lightly touched the control panel in front of him. A faint light illuminated the buttons and the dark screen.

“What model do you want to fly?” Leo’s voice came through the speaker.

“Empire-made, Godot II.”

“That’s an old model. Are you sure? I also have the Godot II Modified and the Boun Dia model. All Federation models, except the newest Rousseau III, are available too. Don’t you want something else?”

“Old models have their advantages.”

“Alright, suit yourself.”

The control panel lit up, displaying “Godot II, starting up.”

Alois gripped the control stick with trembling hands. He hadn’t touched a fighter in years, but now it felt like he was back in his youth, nervously undertaking his first simulation flight.

He was familiar with the Godot II’s controls, its strengths, and weaknesses, as well as his own body. This was his great advantage. Although Joanna was highly skilled, she was flying an unfamiliar model. This alone would create a gap between them.

Confident, Alois seemed unaware that, like him, Joanna was also unfamiliar with the “Bard”, while she was just as familiar with the Godot II.

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