Year 4667 of the Unified Imperial Calendar:
Fourth Month, Day 9. (7: 15 AM)
◇ Astra's POV ◇
"Holy shit..." I muttered unconsciously at the unbelievable sight.
It was already three days ever since I became a war slave, and the suspicions about me being anything sort of a spy or something like that had been cleared.
It seems they had the proper tools for lie detection, and with it, they confirmed that I am a completely non-combatant civilian who didn't even know, that I had pledged myself into being a war slave. Yeah. Fuck cultural differences.
In any case, my name was cleared, I am now granted temporary citizenship, a proper room, and...
...I'm still a war slave. Otherwise all of the above would have gone with the wind.
Then back at the point. During the past three days, I've completely come to term that this world was fantasy. Yes. It was fantasy.
You got mechas, swords, magic, and fantasy creatures and races. And I even saw a Gunda--...I mean... an Ark, myself.
But why am I surprised? It because of the fact that mirrors are damn scarce in this world. And now that I'm finally in front of one, I saw a shocking sight...
"How is it? Astra? The face in the mirror looks annoying, no?" My master, Reyshia Cecil Tindalerose, spoke with mischief. "I personally think so."
"Precisely, madam. Precis—" ...huh? I got too carried away bootlicki—...ahem. Going along with my master that I accidently insulted myself. So I added. "But handsome nevertheless."
I wanna say this now, but I completely don't recognize who the fuck was in the mirror. Sure, I remember having black hair. But was my face this beautiful? No. High cheekbone, long eyelashes, both up and down, and supple lips and a well defined face.
And most of all, when did my eyes turn green?! Was I actually not isekai'd, but transmigrated instead?!
Lady Reyshia, who had a frown at my comment, crossed her both arms. She closed one eye and spoke. "I disagree with the statement. Handsome doesn't fit the description. It's beautiful." She then opened her eye, and looked at me. "I take urges to dress him up with gowns every now and then."
She what?! Oh no...no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't dress up gown, I don't wanna dress up gowns...no.
I feel like Kevin Hart would say something like that in this situation...
Anyway... Lady Reyshia seems to think I've never seen a mirror before. And perhaps that's the norm here.
Well, I might be in deep shit. So let's pretend the dumb guy, shall we?
I cleared my throat. "...I think he'll look better in male garbs, madam."
"Oh is that so?" she asked. Her eyes half narrowed. "But we won't know if we try." She added with a smile.
Ah...here it is again...that smile...
I bowed a full 90-degrees bow. "Oh madam, please forgive my insolence!" I pleaded. "I should have thought better than to deceive your insightful eyes!"
Yup. This was better. Experience told—...no. Slapped me countless times that swallowing my pride at moments like this is the only way to save my hide. Especially during the past three days...
My master smirked at me with obvious sadism. "Very well. As long as you know your place." She then turned her heels and started to leave. "I have business. Do not follow me."
"Yes madam!"
Now then...what to do?
◇ Third Person POV ◇
Reyshia had been quite baffled about her newly accepted war slave. From what it had seemed, he was only begging for his life when he slammed his head onto the ground during his time in the interrogation room.
It was a blunder. A war slave's contract was lifelong, and it cannot be taken back once performed. Proven by the bio-collar that was still on his neck. It was a product of centuries ago, and it literally became a part of who wore it, and would grew alongside them.
Heaving out a deep sigh, Reyshia proceeded into her private quarters...
When she reached her room, she changed from her usual clothes into her Ark Meister uniform. (Though called uniform, it was actually a tight-fitting body suit.) And after changing, she proceeded towards the Ark Unit Armoury.
And when she reached the place...
"And what exactly are you doing here, Astra?"
...a familiar face was observing her personal Ark. Rather, his gaze was closer to ogling.
Astra visibly gulped as he turn to Reyshia. He then cleared his throat. "Inspecting your Ark, madam..."
Madam. For some reason, Astra insisted to call her that way. She could tell it was nothing but an attempt at bootlicking, but it didn't seem like he had ulterior motives. So she at least gave him the liberty to call her so.
However, the way he explained himself...
"And what exactly are you inspecting, hm?" She spoke with visible irritation. "Do you know how Arks work?"
She witnessed cold sweat streaking across his cheek. "No. But I've at least seen a Gundam." He shook his head. "And your Ark's got good curves."
Another unfamiliar term, Reyshia thought. Every now and then, he would mention unfamiliar words and jargons that she hadn't heard of before. Of course, she tried to search for those in the DTN System, but found no result.
What a mysterious individual.
In any case, her pride wouldn't let her blatantly ask. At the very least, she didn't want anyone to think she had inferior knowledge against a commoner.
"Step aside, Astra." She ordered. "I still need to train."
"Of course madam! Your diligence knows no bounds!" he praised without shame. "however..."
Reyshia raised a brow. He was requesting for something. How rare.
"Say it."
He scratched his head. "Can I have the honour of watching you pilot your Ark?" he spoke with visible tension. "I'm quite interested in them."
Reyshia smiled. "Of course." She then proceeded towards her Ark's hatch. "You're a war slave. Soon you'll get to pilot one."
His face beamed. "Whoa! Really?!"
Reyshia ignored his childish smile as she entered her Ark. She sat in the cockpit, and leaned on the couch. She poured mana into the Aether Core in order to boot it.
The moment her mana was detected, the entire Ark and the Aether Pathways lit up in an azure glow as a whirring sound along with a series of notifications appeared.
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She smiled. Valkyria was the name she gave her personal Ark, and it was her symbol.
The Valkyria stood as a mechanical hum was emitted in her movements. Her entire body was adorned with blue lines as Aether pulsed into those Pathways, like blood to a human.
Reyshia's entire body felt light. She loved this feeling. It made her feel free. It was one of the few things she loved in her life as a noblewoman.
She activated the external communicator as she spoke. "Well then, I'm starting."
And so, the Valkyria flew to the skies.
◇ Astra's POV ◇
"Beautiful..." I muttered enthralled as I watched Lady Reyshia's Ark fly into the distant skies.
During my time on Earth, I wasn't exactly a fan of mechas, but I'm now seriously thinking whether I lived a good life.
Seriously, I never noticed their charm since it was just behind a screen, but now that I actually witnessed one, it was breath-taking.
The whirring sounds were so cool, the mechanical noises it made were so cool, their size makes them even cooler, and those curves...89-45-89 bombshell girl? Screw those! How could it compete with a 3m-1.3m-3.1m three sizes of an Ark?! How is the world so blind?!
Ahem!... my point is that, mechas are so fucking awesome! Hurray to mecha! Hurray to SUNRISE who I've never appreciated before other than Gintama!!
And hurray to my future as an Ark Meister.