Taro sat deeply in the captain's seat on the battleship Plum and remained still with his eyes closed. The ship was on its way to Zayd to intercept the Mercenaries' large fleet and was expected to meet in days.
"The blockade of the Alpha system has been completed as planned, Mr. Taylor. The surrounding system also stands by with multiple blockades, and it looks good to see that there is no enemy invasion from the Alpha Route."
Xiaomei's inorganic voice echoes the bridge. Taro nodded one instead of responding and took a big, deep breath.
"Now you can turn your full attention to Zayed...... how's each fleet?
Open your eyes and look at Marl. Then she clouded her expression a little.
"Nothing unusual, Taylor. I know you're curious, but you asked me the same thing five minutes ago."
"Oh well... no, that's fine..."
………………
Marr looked at Taro with a worrying look, but eventually turned to the front silently.
"My head hurts. The headache pills... Oh, no, you can't. Might blunt your judgment."
When Taro put his hand back on the railing of the seat, which nearly grabbed the medical bag, he moved his body in a softening position.
"If there's anything you care about, I suggest you talk to Miss Marr before the fight begins, Mr. Taylor."
"No, it's okay......... where are you going?
Taro raised his voice when he noticed Xiaomei walking towards the exit of the bridge. When Xiaomei stopped her legs on the spot, she circled her face just a little so she could look at the side.
"Sometimes it will be easier for you two to talk. Exposing someone to their mind, even if no solution is available, is very important in stabilizing the spirit. Unfortunately, Xiaomei does not have the art of healing people's hearts, so in this case, Ms. Marr decided it was more appropriate. So please excuse me a lot."
Xiaomei said so and lowered her head gently to thank her, disappearing straight across the door.
"Taylor, are you okay?
Marl calls out to Taro, who dropped off Xiao Mei in a flash. Taro said, "Huh?" He turned around with a question mark, and there was a worrying look on Marr's face right around the corner.
"You're okay. You're okay. I've managed to do this before. Something's wrong, Mei and Marr."
Taro shakes his head if he doesn't remember being looked like that. When Marl looked just a little sad, he gently attached his own hand to Taro's hand.
"What's weird is you, Taylor. I'm shaking."
When I glanced down at Marr's point, I saw my own arm trembling amazingly myself.
"............... you're the guy with the samurai tremor. I'm going to make you feel better."
"Yes......... hey, talk to me. You're not even close enough to hide it now."
As Marl lowered his hips to the side of Taro's seating seat, he put his arms together on the railing and peered in to make sure he looked up at Taro. Back to back with that tight tone, he has a soft grin.
"Nothing, I don't care... this time... because I'm selfish..."
A voice that disappears into a toad and butt blush. As Taro silenced for a while, he grabbed his breathless chest hard.
"You said it before the Doctor," selfish. "Doesn't look like you're being selfish to me, though?
Marl tilting his neck just a little. "No," Taro shook his head to the left and right, staring at the bridge wall wondering if it would be easier to see through.
"This time... I'm not using it"
"You didn't use it? About what?
"………………"
"I'm sorry. That doesn't sound good. What?"
"............ it's an override!! If I had used it, it might have been a better situation!! One or two of the evidence, that must be in there!!
Taro screaming as if to spit something depressing out. But he was surprised that he shouted and immediately shook his head with a bewildered look.
"Sorry...... no, really, sorry. Eight wins... Damn, I'm not here."
Taro closed his eyes as he apologized, keeping his eyeballs tight with his fingers. I know I can't afford more than I thought, and I eat my teeth off.
Silent time passes for a while and only a breathing noise and a slight vibration of the engine flows through the room.
"That's true. I didn't use it this time."
It was Marr who broke the silence. She has kept a close eye on Taro's eyes. "This time," Taro opens his mouth as he leans away from his gaze.
"It's a war to be waged within the bounds of imperial law, so I guess there's less human damage than there was when Enzio or something. But that's about percentages, and I don't know what happens in absolute numbers. Maybe a lot of people are gonna die because I didn't use that device, huh?
Taro looks at Marl like he's asking for help. And Marl nodded over and over again, "I know what you're trying to say," he said in a strong tone.
"So what do you say?
Marl clutching Taro's hand hard, trying to stretch it up and stuffing it. Taro trying to pull himself back in surprise, but Marl pulled his arm and interrupted it.
"That's normal, Taylor. That's normal. We all do, and you have to, too. It's obvious that there's no such thing. I don't care about your selfishness!
A sad, then angry look. When Taro says, "But," he says, "But it's not!," said Marr. She shook it small and many times as she held Taro's hand in her hand even harder.
"There are as many people as you want to help people in need. But no one tries to do that until they throw and hit everything. I just have to leave that to the saints. You're a normal person, so don't feel responsible for not being able to do it... Xiaomei, you're asking me anyway! Say something from you, too!
Marl raises his voice toward the entrance. Then the door slid sideways and Xiao Mei appeared, in a position to hide in the shadows.
"Oh, did you find out? It's a boulder, Miss Marr. I'm afraid my routine training with Miss Etta will help me find Xiao Mei, who has even been hailed as a master of hide and seek. Let's just say your intuition is like being a detective."
Something great-breasted Xiaomei advances her steps. "Miss Marr is right," she said as she stopped right beside Taro.
"Mr. Taylor. Few of you will fully understand and act on what you are trying to do. But they are the ones who chose to obey you of their own free will, and they must respect that choice."
Xiaomei opened her mouth again as she lowered her gaze to look down at Taro as opposed to Marl.
"So one question, Mr. Taylor. Do they expect you to use the example device and open every phase? That they themselves are utterly idiots, powerless, and dependent on you and that device for everything?
"It's..."
Taro's words clog Xiao Mei's question. Only some people were extremely knowledgeable about the plumb override device. And of course I never thought of my people as incompetent.
"If so, you may only take responsibility for what you are expected to do. No further is required. And now, some of the things expected of you include your own success and success, Mr. Taylor. You shouldn't sacrifice yourself more than you need to, and that may even be an insult to the people below."
"I don't know... but before..."
"I wonder if so, it's not. Exactly, Mr. Taylor."
It blocks Taro's voice and Xiao Mei says it is pizzy. When she lifted her arm made of machinery, she stuck her index finger out in front of Taro's eyes.
"It worked before, so it's not always the same this time. To put it succinctly, it's not what it used to be, Mr. Taylor. A government called democracy gave people self-responsibility and freedom. That brings us to the end of the stage where you and Miss Marr are pushing things forward arbitrarily, and decisions are brought about by a multitude of generalities. Whatever the size of the percentage, that's true. If so, no matter what decision is made there, the responsibility must be shared."
Even, Xiaomei speaks without precipitation. She was caging her emotions in words, as if to give a speech.
"That is the backbone of democracy and it should be, Xiaomei discusses. It is a duty, and the collapse of democracy means that many human beings renounce sharing responsibility. That is, it is tantamount to someone attempting to take on more responsibility than is necessary. That's how dictators and kings are born."
Xiao Mei affirmed so, lowering his arm and looking straight at Taro.
"If you are to think about responsibility, you must first fulfill that duty as a representative of a democratic human being and as a primary citizen. You have a duty to live up to the responsibilities that have been imposed, and it is not just about winning the battle. A good parent is a scolding of a child, and you can't just spoil it. If you want a better future, so should you."
The usual faceless, but obviously Xiao Mei speaking in a caged voice of emotion. When she finished saying that, she graced herself in front of Taro. Taro, who saw it, was pompous for a while, but eventually had a bitter laugh and a small applause.
"Xiao Mei. Maybe you could be a good politician...... maybe what Xiao Mei said"
When Taro said so and thought about it a lot, he made the two words rebel over and over again in his heart. It gradually stained me and lightened my mind step by step.
"I'm sorry. Maybe he was feeling weak."
Taro apologizes to the two who stand beside him. And Marl shook his head, "Yeah."
"No one would be weak in this situation. We're saving a lot of employees' lives and lives, and if anyone's okay, it's weirder that way. Only the protagonists in the novel can do that. You and I are both sidekicks, so go right and left like sidekicks."
"The sidekick looks like a sidekick... heh, right. Exactly. You look better on us when you grate."
"That's right. If this isn't a good time, and everyone around you is going to blame you, then you just have to try again from the three of us."
Marl giggles. Taro said in return, "From the three of us?," Marr nodded.
"Yes, from the three of us. Until only about two years ago, you were. Even when I was working hard with the three of us, that was tough, but still fun enough. Is Taylor different?
The look on Marl's face, although he asks questions, even though he says he knows the answer. If you look to the side, Xiao Mei is equally good at it. Taro rubbed his eyeballs, trying to let something hot in at once and delude him.
"I've decided it was fun...... right. I like that. Let's do that....................."
When Taro said so and snorted, he showed them both his face, not knowing if he was crying or laughing. And when the three of them held hands from nobody, they did so for a while.
And Taro thanked him that now was just before the battle.
Because if we had interacted like this some time ago, we would definitely have stood in front of the override device.