Asfer hurried to backtrack:
"What nonsense are you spouting? Vice Admiral Randall was sent here by Headquarters.
He's the Base Chief of this base!
You refuse to acknowledge him? Don't forget, you're just a soldier!"
Then he turned to Aequus and thumped his chest in assurance.
"Rear Admiral Aequus, that's not what I meant.
I obey Headquarters' orders without question!"
But Aequus was not satisfied by this display. Instead, he sighed.
He thought it was perfectly natural for him to remain untroubled, since he knew what Randall was capable of.
These men, however, had a mistaken impression of Randall, and now they were actually arguing over something like this.
It was rather laughable.
The soldier, meanwhile, stared at Asfer in surprise.
"Oh? What exactly didn't you mean?"
Just then, a calm voice suddenly rang out.
Randall had appeared from somewhere, with Christa beside him.
At the sight of Randall, Asfer's eyes visibly widened for an instant.
The other soldiers reacted the same way.
Aequus's expression, however, grew calm.
At that moment, he suddenly began to understand why Randall had not come out earlier.
"Vice Admiral Randall, I didn't mean anything by it."
Facing Randall, Asfer spoke with neither servility nor arrogance.
"Sir, this soldier spoke disrespectfully of you. How would you like him dealt with?"
Aequus reported.
The soldier's heart clenched at his words.
Randall did not even look at the soldier as he said casually:
"Follow military regulations. Insubordination—deal with it however the rules require."
Then he added:
"That isn't important. Where are the men responsible for tonight's watch? Step forward and let me see you."
His voice was calm, yet for some reason, everyone who heard it felt a chill.
When he finished, no one spoke or moved. The soldiers merely exchanged glances.
At the sight, a vein