"So now, this sword belongs to me, right?"
Nero smiled happily and looked at Argenti with anticipation.
Argenti naturally nodded. "Of course. You've already shown me your strength. Since you have a way to deal with it, there's no need for me to continue keeping it."
"Yay!"
Nero let out a cheer and flew around on the sword for two circles.
Then he muttered to himself, "Speaking of which, since it's mine now, I should give it a name… You're pitch-black all over, so from now on you'll be called Black Cleave."
Martin, who had just walked over, "...!?"
'Kid, you're terrible at naming things! Wasn't Fallen Star a perfectly good name?!'
"However, before Martin could voice his inner complaint, he heard Argenti beside him praising sincerely..."
"Black Cleave, what a beautiful name. Black, deep and inclusive, domineering yet dignified. Cleave, concise and directly describing its function. This is a beautiful name!"
Martin, who was just about to complain, "!?"
'You can praise that too, bro?! You're really forcing it, huh?!'
Black Cleave, "Actually… I kind of think… I like the name Fallen Sta..."
[Ding! The Stellaron's power is showing signs of instability!]
[Ding! The Stellaron is attempting to beguile the host!]
[Ding! Stellaron's voice has been blocked. Host may use it with confidence!]
[Ding! Partial power of The Hunt and Elation has been invoked for suppression. Host need not worry.]
Black Cleave, "...Well, how should I put it, Black Cleave is actually a pretty good name. I quite like it."
After settling on a name for the weapon and asking Argenti about his plans for leaving, Nero suddenly heard a string of system notifications and froze for a moment.
He hadn't expected this weapon to be so unruly.
But then again, it was a Stellaron after all…
In short, to teach this thing a lesson, Nero raised his hand and slapped Black Cleave twice, while praising the system in his heart, it really was reliable.
Argenti didn't notice Nero's odd behavior and was still honestly answering the question.
"Since this planet has you to protect it, I no longer have anything to worry about. The most urgent matter now is to send Martin to the Company's branch in a nearby star system as soon as possible."
"Unfortunately, we did not land normally on this planet. While traveling along Jarilo's star rail, the Rare as the Ages was affected by some unknown influence. Although it lasted only an instant, that power was extremely immense."
"And during the crash landing, both the Rare as the Ages' fuel reserves and fuel tanks suffered damage to varying degrees. I must repair it first, then find usable energy before I can pilot the Rare as the Ages and leave this place again."
Listening to Argenti, Nero nodded. "So basically, the first thing is to get your ship flying again. As for repairs, it doesn't really matter whether they're done sooner or later…"
After saying that, Nero turned to Martin. "The Company branch has facilities for repairing ships, right?"
Martin nodded. "They do, but fuel that can still provide stable energy even when the fuel tanks are damaged… that's not easy to find. The chances of finding it on this planet are even lower."
"That's enough. I have a way!" Nero said. "When we get to the Company branch, remember to help promote my stuff properly!"
Martin frowned, then suddenly realized something. "You're not planning to… that thing? Can it really be used?"
"Of course it can. Why wouldn't it?" Nero shot back, then added, "Anyway, just follow my arrangements. Look at Argenti, he owns the ship and he didn't object, did he?"
Martin opened his mouth, then said nothing, because Argenti really hadn't objected.
The corporate wage slave looked up and saw that this Knight of Pure Beauty, whom he couldn't understand at all, seemed at this very moment to be bathed in holy light.
Way too weird.
Nero took out his phone and sent messages to his companions. Then he told Argenti and Martin that they could set off.
Argenti had no objections.
Martin didn't either. Of course, even if he did, it wouldn't matter.
———
The three members of the Trailblazing squad, along with Seele and Serval, set out from the Everwinter Machine House and finally arrived at the Iron Guard Restricted Zone.
Security here was extremely tight. From afar, they could already see roadblocks set up at the entrance and heavily guarded soldiers.
When the group approached, one of the guards sternly shouted, "Ahead is a military restricted area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter!"
After speaking, the guard froze. He blinked his eyes beneath the helmet, scanned the faces of everyone present one by one, and finally stopped on a familiar face.
"Wait, this is… Hey, isn't this Big Sis Serval? Long time no see!"
At once, everyone felt much more at ease.
From the guard's attitude alone, it was clear that what Serval had said about being very familiar with the people on the front lines was true.
She might even belong to the group with some authority… perhaps comparable to Seele's status within Wildfire.
Serval, true to her musician background, was very sensitive to sound. Just from the tone, she recognized the fully armored Iron Guard soldier in front of her and greeted him, "Yo, isn't this Franz! Long time no see. Why are you still guarding the gate?"
Recognizing someone through a mask using only their voice was impressive, but Serval's skill in conversational finesse clearly still needed work.
She should really learn a thing or two from Argenti.
At this moment, Franz was left speechless by Serval's remark. After stammering for a while, he could only awkwardly say, "Th-this… that's not something I can respond to. Big Sis Serval is still as sharp as ever…"
"Um… it's so late, what are you doing here? And who are these people behind you?"
Serval shrugged and said casually, "My little brother said there was a problem with the restricted zone's energy pipelines, pretty serious stuff. He doesn't trust outsourced repair workers, so he had no choice but to ask me to work for free."
"These are my assistants. We're going to inspect all the equipment here."
When dealing with Franz, Serval was far more natural than when facing Gepard.
Having prepared her story was one reason. Gepard's position as Captain of the Guards, and his status as her younger brother, was probably another factor affecting Serval's acting.
At this point, Franz was truly confused and said blankly, "Um… I didn't hear anything about problems with the pipelines…"
Serval shrugged helplessly. "Come on, that's a technical department issue. What would a gate guard know about it? Alright, hurry up and let me in. If the heating goes out in the middle of the night and people freeze to death, are you going to take responsibility?"
Hearing this, Franz was immediately terrified and said hurriedly, "N-no, I can't afford that…"
He was just a small fry, how could he dare to speculate about the intentions of big shots?
Since Serval had put it that way, it was probably true.
All Franz could do, amid anxiety and unease, was mutter to himself, "Since she's Captain Gepard's sister… it should be fine, right?"
After several rounds of internal struggle and thought, Franz finally convinced himself. He took out visitor passes, handed them over, and said,
"Alright, these are temporary visitor passes. Please hold on to them… uh, remember to return them to me when you leave!"
Serval knew well the tactic of giving both a stick and a carrot. Whether it worked or not, she spoke up first, "Thanks, Franz. I'll put in a good word with my brother when I get the chance and have him promote you."
But clearly, that tactic didn't apply within Gepard's unit…
The moment Serval said that, Franz was so scared he almost started trembling. He begged, "No, please! Captain Gepard hates nepotism the most. Not mentioning me at all would be the best favor you could do…"
With Franz dealt with, the group began moving deeper into the restricted zone.