After the awkward meal, Blaine returned to his room to rest for the remaining hours before the operation started.
Instead of returning to the cafeteria for dinner, he finished as much of the fridge's contents as he could.
Since he didn't know how long the mission was or even what they were doing, as well as the details the princess would provide him after they met up, Blaine didn't want the food in his fridge to go bad.
Since he was planning to depart the next day anyway, he had already cleaned most of it, but he still had enough food for three meals.
The food he was originally going to eat for lunch before Mavis invited him to the cafeteria, his dinner for today, and tomorrow's breakfast.
Since their squad would be fully stocked up on food anyway, it was better for Blaine to finish everything he had instead of packing it and bringing it with him on the mission.
Using his trusty portable Magitek Stove, something which he was already planning to somehow stuff into his personal backpack, Blaine prepared several mouthwatering dishes.
Soon, the wooden table in his room was covered with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, several elegant grilled chicken sandwiches, and a savoury plate of bacon and eggs.
Basically, a full day's worth of food on a single table.
He ravenously devoured the dishes before him without thinking twice about how outlandish he looked by making and eating them in his bedroom.
His usual poker face cracked as a small smile finally formed on his lips.
Despite the mountain of food before him, Blaine quickly devoured everything before washing the plates in the bathroom sink.
He even brought a sponge and dish soap for good measure.
It was a blessing that he wasn't close enough with the others living in the army compound to invite them over to his room.
If anyone else were to witness his makeshift kitchen, he would be met with more than just a look of confusion.
After finishing the cleanup and packing his personal belongings into a standard military-issue backpack, he sat down on the bedside and patted his bulging stomach with a satisfied look.
He tossed a glance at his large handgun, which he had left on the nightstand earlier.
As much as he wanted to bring it with him, he'd already blown through the final of its six charges to save one of the officers from an abomination this morning, so it was frankly useless.
Blaine usually kept that charge as a last-ditch trump card. Still, considering that he was going to make his way back to the royal capital, he decided to use it.
However, before he could get it refilled, he ended up being sent on another mission.
Although Blaine didn't regret saving the officer's life, he was surely going to feel his gun's absence in one way or another.
Just as he was lost in thought, his phone began to vibrate as the alarm he'd set earlier went off.
It was already 11:50 pm.
Pulling himself up, he slung the backpack over his shoulders before leaving his room.
As he exited the barracks, Blaine walked to the expansive parking lot where he had parked his bike the morning before.
While the area was blanketed in the veil of night, the countless mana-powered lamp posts and the lights from the nearby buildings softly illuminated the surroundings.
It wasn't long before Blaine came across a certain blue-haired girl standing beside a white van.
Princess Cecelia was currently talking to a middle-aged woman that Blaine didn't recognize, while four others, people Blaine did recognize, proceeded to load the back of the van with several backpacks.
The four loading the supplies were all Captains, and also 2-stars, for that matter.
If there were four 2-stars, on top of Blaine himself, the middle-aged woman was undoubtedly remarkable herself.
Perhaps she was from the royal palace?
With an entourage of this level, it was almost guaranteed that the princess's safety would be ensured, even if a Rank 2 Tear suddenly opened up in front of her.
But it was precisely this that caused Blaine to feel uneasy, even though he didn't let it show.
If she needed this much protection… It was undoubtedly because she was going to need it.
Meaning that whatever she was planning on doing was highly dangerous.
Seeing that Mavis, a non-combatant, wasn't here either, that only supported Blaine's theory.
Seeing Blaine approach, some of the Captains nodded in greeting.
Blaine and the princess seemed to be the youngest, with the others all over 26 years old.
But because they were all military personnel, they respected things like power and ability far more than one's age.
Thus, they didn't feel that Blaine, despite being a Rank-1 and nearly half their age, wasn't suited to be a member of their group.
Conversely, only the princess, who was the same age, felt put off by his presence.
Pausing her conversation with the middle-aged woman, she glanced in Blaine's direction with slight displeasure.
The middle-aged woman followed the blue-haired girl's gaze and turned her attention to the auburn-haired youth, studying him with deep black eyes.
After staring at him for a couple moments, the middle-aged woman resumed her conversation with the princess.
Blaine, on the other hand, made his way over to the four captains and began helping them load the van.
After tossing his own backpack and several large metal crates that were supposed to contain food rations, they finally managed to finish loading everything.
After they finished packaging the supplies, Cecelia and the middle-aged woman made their way to the group.
"Are we ready to depart?"
One of the nearby officers, someone Blaine recognized as Captain Lorie Sanders, nodded her head.
"Yes, Your Highness. We're ready to leave at any moment."
It seemed that the others were already aware of her true identity.
"All right, let's get into the car. I'll debrief you all on the mission on the way there."
Without wasting another minute, the seven of them all climbed into the van.
While the van itself wasn't a military vehicle, it was still quite large, able to fit all seven people and have enough trunk space to store their supplies.
In fact, the van was closer to a minibus than a car.
Captain Lorie sat in the driver's seat with another captain sitting next to her, while the princess and the middle-aged woman sat in the two seats in the middle row.
Blaine himself was sitting in one in the far back alongside two other captains, managing to snag one of the seats next to the car's window.
As the white van made its way out of the military compound, Princess Cecelia nodded to the middle-aged woman sitting next to her, and the latter opened her mouth to speak.
"Now then… Let's begin the mission debriefing."