Miss Serlu stared blankly at him, unable to tell for a moment whether he was joking or teasing her.
Sobek knew perfectly well that a bona fide rear admiral in the Space Fleet and a knight of the Starrealm Knights couldn't possibly resign and go off to manage a food factory. So even though the idea had briefly tempted him, he still answered with complete seriousness:
"In any case, the soldiers have been away from home for over a year. They can't even make a call to their families, so I have to consider their practical needs. These little calculations can't be left entirely to the Grand Marshal's office and the Supreme Commander. Now that I'm a squadron commander, I should start thinking about things like this."
Seeing Miss Serlu looking at him with reverent admiration, he quickly added, "It wasn't my idea, either. It was my mentor's advice. Hahaha, Serlu, sooner or later you'll be a commander too, so you should start learning now."
"I don't want to be a commander at all," she muttered.
"Huh?"
Miss Serlu continued, "...Fine, looking after the soldiers' welfare may be an unwritten rule throughout the military. I can understand that. But we can't forget our actual duties, can we? When we left New Lushun, the Earthlings' Thirteenth Fleet was cruising alongside us. But after that last acceleration, they left us completely behind. We haven't heard from them in forty-eight hours."
After Jaeger Sobek and his friends had completed their initial exploration of the Ring of Miracles, hunted down an ancient mechanical monster, and brought back the spoils, they had naturally received commendation from Admiral Farrell, along with new orders.
Considering the reputation of the "Wolf of Dawn," as well as his sworn rivalry with the "Dragon of Daybreak" on the other side—a