"Big sis…." Ellia heard a mumble, instantly waking her up. She then turned her head and noticed Aerie poking at her cheeks with closed eyes.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ellia asked.
Hearing the familiar voice, Aerie shot her eyes open and crawled backward.
"S-second Lieutenant! Good morning!" Aerie shouted frantically. "I made breakfast for everybody…."
She then pointed at the group of people gathered at the table eating.
"Uh-huh..." Ellia murmured with a nod as she got up from the mattress. The moment she did, the room became quiet as everyone stared at Ellia.
"H-huh... why is everyone staring at me?" Ellia took a little while to notice the stares, but she finally asked with an awkward look.
"Second Lieutenant... I didn't think you were that type of person..." Issac mumbled as he adjusted his glasses.
"Ha! So it looks like she isn't just some haughty noble lady!" Owen wheezed in amusement as he smacked his thigh.
"WAWAWA!" Aerie yelled as twirls of light seemed to be forming inside her eyes.
Both Levi and Mike did say anything and went back to eating.
"W-What are you guys looking at?" Ellia asked with a stutter as she looked down. The moment she did, her face became deadly serious with a slight blush on her cheeks. "The fuck is this shit?!"
Contrary to the Imperial uniform, Ellia thought she was wearing a different attire now covered her body.
It was a black nightgown that was just slightly transparent enough to show what was underneath. So it was safe to say the design was more on the lewd side.
'N-No...! My reputation! My image! Now my own team members are going to look at me like some pervert!' Ellia scram inside her head. 'Ruth, who did this to me! Tell me!'
Despite her desperate cries, Ruth stayed unresponsive until she decided to finally speak up. "I-it was me..."
Ellia collapsed to the ground after hearing her words. She had intended to make the person who had dressed her like this too confess in order to protect her reputation, but if it was Ruth, there was no way.
'Why did you do it...' Ellia murmured.
"That was the only new pair of clothing you had!" Ruth shouted in innocence.
'Well, couldn't you keep the one I had just now?!'
"You know I had to go through a lot of trouble after you fell unconscious in the cooling pool! Do you know how radioactive that water is?! I obviously couldn't keep your uniform."
Ellia sighed as she took out the winter assault uniform from her briefcase and walked into the bathroom.
'By the way, I'm surprised you could take control of my body.' Ellia said as she changed clothes.
"I was surprised as well..." Ruth murmured as she recalled what had happened the night before. "However, I must admit what happened last night was entirely my fault. This wouldn't have happened if I had just double-checked my calculations..."
'No, it wasn't your fault. I was the one who also agreed to do this, so-"
"Ian... I'm going to request time off." Ruth suddenly spoke, causing Ellia to pause at her random request.
'What do you mean by that?' Ellia asked.
"I'm going offline for a bit, so I won't be around for a while." Ruth elaborated. "Don't worry. I won't be gone forever."
'But why...?' Ellia asked in puzzlement.
"I realized I wasn't that all-knowing after putting you in grave danger. So I'm leaving to better myself."
'Haaaaa... it wasn't your fault, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead.'
"Thank you..."
Ellia then emerged from the bathroom, wearing her winter assault uniform.
"What happened to-" Owen spoke but got immediately cut off by Ellia
"Shut up," Ellia said as she glared at Owen. "I'm going to report to training."
"Ah... Second lieutenant training doesn't start until another 45 minutes." Aerie spoke up.
Ellia locked her gaze on her private. She wanted to leave right away in order to make a good impression on the instructors. "I want to be a bit early..." Ellia spoke as she left the room.
'Ah... the reason I cooked was for her...' Aerie mumbled with a pout.
Afterward...
While walking towards Everwhite's training grounds, Ellia looked at her current uniform with appreciation. Unlike the formal wear, the winter assault uniform didn't show any unnecessary skin. 'I'll be wearing this from now on...'
Soon after, Ellia arrived at the training grounds. She then looked far into the distance with amazement. It was a giant pine forest, with each tree standing at least 70 feet tall and surfing in the light breeze while letting off snow and pollen.
In front of the pine forest was a group of people whom Ellia suspected were the instructors.
Walking toward the group of people, it seemed that Ellis's initial thought had been right.
"Huh… someone's already here?" One of the instructors asked as he looked over at Ellia with amazement.
"This is second lieutenant Arison reporting for training!" Ellia loudly declared as she straightened her posture.
"You do know that training doesn't start until 40 minutes."
"Yes, I am aware. I'm here to make a good impression on my instructor." Ellia boldly spoke, causing different reactions from the instructors.
Some laughed, while some were displeased with having the audacity to say such things.
"Hey, hey! Who do you think you are?" An Instructor yelled as he shouldered his way through the crowd. "Know that leaving a good impression on us means nothing! And even so when the student can't meet basic requirements."
Ellia stared at the instructor in front of her with a face of confusion. "I don't quite understand…."
"I'm saying you're weak!" The instructor sighed as he provokingly tapped on Ellia's arms. "Look at these flimsy arms!"
Ellia's face suddenly contorted but quickly hid it with a smile. "Instructor… you do know that physical strength isn't all there to it."
"Haaa… that's enough, instructor Jake." A tall, robust man spoke up as he shouldered his way out of the crowd. This man was James, known for his sharp, unrelenting eyes, which stared at Jack, causing him to sigh.
"Haa… I was only testing her." Jack waved his hand as he turned around to walk away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Ellia suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to look at her with surprise.
"Haaa…? What was that?" Jack rubbed his head as he turned around.
Ellia raised her chin as she moved her eyes down at Jack as if looking at an insignificant being. If someone doubted her strength, then it was obligatory to show them how wrong they were.
"Second lieutenant! Instructor Jack!" James yelled.
"Oh, what does that mean?" Jake asked as he stuffed his hands in his pocket and faced Ellia. Both didn't mind any attention to James at all.
"I'm asking for a sparring session, In-struc-tor," Ellia asked with a smile.