BXBX NOVEL Chapter 114: | 114 | Relationship
"Nothing much, I already asked what I was curious about. I\'m merely here to discuss about your lieutenant\'s transfer to become the secretary of the fleet admiral." Charlotte answered while sitting on the chair in front of the dragoness.
"Mercedes became his secretary?" Laplace was a bit surprise as it was the first she had ever heard of it.
"Yes, there has been reports about the fleet admiral leaving his office in a half-dead state. I wanted to find a secretary to assist him in his duties. There was a lot, but most of them already had their respective jobs and were too busy."
"I heard about your efficiency in handling paperwork, and the lieutenant practically confirmed it. So, I got her transferred to the fleet admiral\'s side." Charlotte was honest all-throughout and spoke with calm.
"Unexpected, but I guess he needs all the help we can give." Laplace wasn\'t bothered by the disappearance of her assistance. Perhaps, with her in his side, she could keep tabs with him without much of a problem.
"That\'s right. I\'m glad we are in the same page. Speaking of the page, have you thought about our next operation?" Charlotte questioned and brought up the topic of their next operation.
"Next operation? It hasn\'t been long since OPL. Has our logistics recovered from the losses we got in that operation?" Laplace raised an eyebrow, a bit confused of their rapid pace.
"Our resources and supplies have grown since Operation Phantom Liberation. With the existence of the hunter, our versatility and long-range capabilities have significantly advanced." Charlotte explained and continued.
"Our reconnaissance crafts have detected an archipelago in the west of our influence. The group of islands are under the control of some colony, and we suspect the beastfolk tribes to be in the same aspect."
"The upcoming operation will be not as big as the former one. The fleet admiral should have been made aware about it through Lieutenant Mercedes." Charlotte concluded her explanation and stood up.
"How\'s the new recruits of the Special Response Unit?" Charlotte asked, curious about the status of the unit under the dragoness\'s authority.
"You mean Espada and his Minokins? They are doing good, although having a hard time adapting to the United Army\'s doctrine. But they are open to learning, so they have good foundation." Laplace responded and opened the files on her desk.
"That\'s a piece of good news. The Special Response Unit has been gaining a lot of reputation, especially since the advent of Operation Phantom Liberation. Many high commanding officers have lots of expectations, Laplace."
Charlotte slowly walked out of Laplace\'s office, leaving the dragoness alone.
Laplace thought about the words of the vice admiral and shook her head. What others thought of her didn\'t matter. In her eyes, only Abraham mattered and it shall stay that way.
\'Though, it looks like I\'ll have to lay low for some time.\' She quietly thought to herself and read through the files of the day.
Meanwhile, in the branch office building, Abraham was working through various documents with Mercedes beside him. His work efficiency had increased the moment she became his secretary. The pressure of the workload had also ease, proving the effectiveness of the lieutenant.
But as he went through the documents, he found something intriguing amongst them. It came from the intelligence bureau of the command center. From the looks of it, they have discovered something significant and desired for an operation.
"An archipelago in the west containing a colony possible controlling various beastfolk tribes. Naturally, we can\'t pretend they don\'t exist and must liberate them. But that would probably set-off a full scale war with the Colonial Dominion of Terra."
Abraham was in a precarious situation as he found himself confused as to what he should do with the file before him. He glanced at the calmly working Mercedes, and decided to ask for her opinion.
"What do you think about an operation against an archipelago colony?" He questioned white wolf beastfolk, who stopped doing her job and gazed at him for a short while.
She then coolly answered. "An operation against the colony would probably spark a war against the Colonial Dominion. But such a war is something we can\'t avoided, especially with our values."
"As the United Navy, we must liberate those oppress by their oppressors. For that is our identity, and we shall do so regardless of consequences." Mercedes sighed and continued.
"The values of the United Navy is too foreign for this world. Perhaps, in the far future, we will have to fight against everything and everyone to preserve ourselves." She had an expression of melancholy, but it soon changed when she glanced at him.
"But with the fleet admiral in our side. I doubt we could lose." She grinned with determination, even though her usual behavior was that of cold aloofness.
"You\'re right about that, Mercedes. I\'m glad that you understand our values so well." Abraham smiled at the beastfolk as it appears that others outside of the United Navy have understood their core values.
This gave him hope that there was a future for them in this world.
\'It looks like this operation cannot be undermined.\' Abraham thought to himself and gave his signature to the operation. The requirement of such an operation was fairly simple.
It merely needed the UNS Trinity of Solace, UNS Light Bringer, and UNS Jaeger of the Blue Seas.
According to the file, these three warships were enough to take care of the colony, and he agreed with its deduction. The UNS Trinity of Solace had unrivalled firepower, the UNS Light Bringer had remarkable defense, and the UNS Jaeger of the Blue Seas had incredible versatility.
When combined, the three would become a formidable force in the Ferus Sea.
With this in mind, Abraham wasn\'t against for their deployment into the eastern archipelago. But naturally, of course... To counter any Magus interference, he would have to send the Special Response Unit in.
\'It hasn\'t been long since we got together and now I\'m already thinking of sending her off.\' Abraham sighed and was disappointed at himself. It seems that they were too reliant to the dragoness in the subject of magicraft.
"Mercedes, is the Special Response Unit ready for any upcoming operation?" He asked the beastfolk beside him who answered aloofly. "Yes, they are ready, fleet admiral."
"Even though the Minokins and Espada are having a hard time adapting to our doctrine. Only through battle could they be forged into finer steel." Mercedes dropped some hard lines, which made Abraham somewhat impressed.
"Well, then. I\'ll be sending the Special Response Unit to assist in the operation regarding the liberation of the archipelago in the east." Abraham uttered to the lieutenant, who only nodded in response.
But out of nowhere, the aloof girl seemed to have opened a subject for the fleet admiral. An interesting subject regarding what had happened recently.
"Sir, have you been with the lieutenant colonel?" She calmly inquired as the thick scent of the dragoness scattered throughout the fleet admiral\'s body was becoming too hard to ignore through time.
Abraham raised an eyebrow as this was the first that the lieutenant had questioned him, and he didn\'t think it would be so personal. Obviously, he couldn\'t answer such a question.
"What made you ask such a question, Lieutenant Mercedes?" He was also curious how the beastfolk manage to bring up a strange, personal, and intriguing subject to him.
"Hmm... The fleet admiral simply reeks of the lieutenant colonel. Throughout your body, there is only her scent. Especially in your crotch, where it seems to be emanating outward." Mercedes honestly answered with surprising purity.
Abraham was surprised by the answer of the lieutenant and it made sense. She was, after all, a wolf beastfolk. Her sense of smell could probably be better than most canines, so her noticing the scent of the dragoness despite him bathing his body in hot water wasn\'t out of bounds.
"Are you performing a mating ritual of some sort? Should I be expecting a child to be born from the dragon\'s womb? Will the United Navy have its heir?" Mercedes threw a lot of questions, but most of it was about them having kids.
"Sadly, while we desire to do so, we don\'t wish our children to live in the current situation of the United Navy where war is in the horizon. A heir will be postpone until later. After all, the two of us still has a lot to do." Abraham explained, understanding that there was no used in hiding it.
"That make sense. The heir must live in an era of peace, instead of an age of war. The fleet admiral and the dragoness probably don\'t have enough time to raise children. And a child without their parent\'s attention grows bitter as they get older."
Like before, Mercedes was spouting some hard sentences to the fleet admiral.
"Thank you for your understanding, Mercedes. I hope that you won\'t say much about my relationship with Laplace. The both of us agreed that it\'s not time yet." Abraham didn\'t want the news about their relationship to scatter throughout the naval organization.
Mercedes looked at Abraham and replied.
"I shall do so, Fleet Admiral."