Harem Army: Impregnation Mission on a Frontline Base Full of Women - Chapter 41 & 42 & 43 & 44

Chapter 41: Laundry Goddess ③: Because I Like It

After being shown her mesmerizing lower body in an inviting pose over and over, without being allowed to touch her or even relieve himself, Nagato had finally been released from that hellish torment.

Or so he thought — until the Goddess began questioning him again.

Come on… give me a break already… please…

With his face twisted in agony, Nagato quietly shook his head at that desperate wish.

“I’m not… doubting you or anything…”

Even as he said this, the swollen, reddish-black, plum-sized head of his cock was still poking out from the waistband of his boxer shorts. Naturally, the Goddess’s gaze fell straight onto it. Noticing this, Nagato quickly turned his hips sideways and covered it with his palm.

“If you’re not doubting me, then why is that thing of yours… exposing your lust toward me so openly…?”

Her extremely direct accusation made Nagato’s cheeks flush bright red.

“No… this is…”

“There’s no point making excuses now…”

She thought she had cut off his escape route and pressed her point. (In reality, Nagato had never intended to run into that hole she was trying to block.)

“This obvious display of your desire is the best evidence. You pretended to accept that I was wearing panties, yet in truth you continued doubting me. You tricked me into taking the laundry out, made me turn my back, and tried to closely observe my defenseless crotch… But your plan failed. Instead of finding any flaw in my claim, you became aroused by my ass and ended up this painfully erect. There’s no way you can claim you don’t doubt me anymore. You can’t talk your way out of this. A schemer caught in his own scheme…”

She was building up a wall of logic like a detective cornering a criminal. Every single point was completely disconnected from what Nagato had actually been thinking.

“Well?” She delivered what she believed was the final blow. “Isn’t it about time you confessed the truth…?”

It’s probably useless no matter what I say… There’s no way I can clear up her misunderstanding…

At that moment, Nagato must have been making a rather pathetic, pitiful face. The change in the Goddess’s tone afterward confirmed it.

“Fine, then…”

She spoke in a much warmer voice.

“Everyone makes mistakes… I’m not trying to drag all your sins out into the daylight… Besides, the crimes you’ve committed aren’t that serious. If you honestly admit them, I’ll forgive you…”

Crimes…? What crimes…? Doubting whether she’s wearing panties… How did that turn into a discussion about sin…?

Nagato gradually began to feel like he had wandered into an absurd world. Or perhaps this kind of logic was common sense in the moon world where she lived.

“Even so…”

Without paying any attention to his distress, she changed the subject.

“You seem a bit strange today. Is there something you feel guilty about toward me…? No… that’s not it…”

Still holding the large pile of black lingerie in both arms, she stared intently at Nagato’s face.

“Anxiety… trauma…? That’s not it either. Could it be that you had a major failure during training today…?”

For Nagato, it was the moment when two mismatched gears suddenly clicked perfectly into place. It felt like emerging from a long tunnel — the clouded expression that had lingered on his face vanished completely.

“Actually… yes, that’s right…”

He spoke half in a daze.

“Today has been nothing but failures since this morning…”

She really might be a genuine Goddess…

As he looked at her face, which had formed a rare, faint smile, Nagato couldn’t help but suspect it. Otherwise, there was no way she could have pinpointed the heaviest burden on his heart so accurately.

“Hmm… failures, you say…”

A cat-like purr sounded from her throat.

“Then by all means… tell me in detail about all those failures…”

Nagato was bewildered by how the conversation was developing. He had never expected her to show any interest in his failure stories.

“Why…? Why do you want to hear something like that…?”

“Why…? Well… because I like it.”

The Goddess said it casually while looking straight into Nagato’s eyes — as lightly as if someone had asked her why she drank coffee instead of tea.

But for the person on the receiving end, it was anything but light. Those words easily smashed through several walls inside Nagato and pierced deep into his softest part.

Like…? Did she just say she likes me…? No way… does she mean… me…?

His heartbeat accelerated like a drum roll. The blood being pumped out rushed upward, making his face swell red like a balloon. It looked like it would burst with a pop if pricked by a needle.

“Don’t misunderstand…”

Her voice remained as cool as ever, but she hugged the mountain of underwear in her arms a little tighter as she continued.

“When I said ‘like,’ I meant failure stories. That doesn’t mean I want to laugh at your failures, though. You know the saying, ‘Failure is the mother of success,’ right? I believe these old proverbs shouldn’t be dismissed lightly. They must contain the accumulated experience and wisdom of people over long periods of time. No matter how many success stories you hear, people rarely turn them into real lessons right away. Success stories are usually full of the speaker’s pride, and listeners often can’t completely eliminate feelings of envy or jealousy. To gain something from success stories requires a certain mental readiness from both sides. But failure stories are different. Failures always contain points for improvement, and more often than not, they include humor. We can gain an enormous amount of nourishment from them. And that is exactly how we — humanity — have progressed this far. Well… this is partly my mother’s influence…”

She passionately spoke about the importance of failure experiences and sharing them. There was no trace of excuse in her words; it seemed to be her true belief.

Even so, she was talking a bit too much today. It wasn’t like her usual self, who could cut things down with a single decisive stroke.

“That’s why…”

She took a breath and said,

“I really want to hear about your failure episodes…”

Nagato, who had briefly lost his composure thinking she had confessed to liking him, had calmed down again by the end of her long speech. Precisely because of that, he hesitated to tell her about his failures.

My failures…

Falling into a daze because he was mesmerized by Commander Asagiri and forgetting to salute…

Being looked at with exasperation by the infantry officers on their first meeting…

Falling for the twins’ trap and nearly suffocating between Lieutenant Kawana’s breasts…

And the wet dream…

There was no way he could tell her any of that.

“I’m sorry,” Nagato said honestly. “I do feel like talking about it, but my failures don’t seem like they would lead to any kind of learning or progress like you described, so…”

“Not at all, I don’t mind,” she replied. “Right after experiencing failure, the person involved usually can’t view it objectively or from multiple angles. If you tell me about it and I analyze it from a third-party perspective, we can dig into the causes of your failure and both gain valuable case-study lessons…”

“N-no, that’s not what I mean…”

Nagato became flustered as she stubbornly continued trying to negotiate.

“My failures really aren’t anything that grand…”

“You’re quite stubborn, aren’t you?”

She let out a small sigh and dumped the huge pile of lingerie onto the table with a thud.

“Even though I’m asking you this much…”

As she spoke, she picked up one pair of panties from the mountain. They were glossy black lace panties, intricately woven from what was likely silk thread.

“Just one to start with is fine…”

She spread the black panties apart with both hands as if they were a tool for extracting confessions, and slowly inched closer to Nagato.

The reason Nagato’s waist was bent at such an unnatural angle wasn’t solely because of her seductive gesture. Her soft, full breasts, visible through the tank top, were swaying bewitchingly.

Chapter 42: Laundry Goddess ④: Panty Ejaculation

“Come on… tell me…”

“N-no… I can’t…”

Whether it was the intensity of her sharp, long eyes or the overwhelming allure of her body, Nagato was overpowered and dropped onto his backside on the floor.

“Are you brave… or just a coward…? Either way…”

The Goddess slowly closed the distance, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

“You’re still so young… Human will and determination are ultimately fragile things. If I want to make you talk… there are plenty of ways to do it…”

As she spoke, she crouched down in front of him. One of her folded knees pressed against her right breast. The outline of its tip was clearly visible, pushing against the thin fabric of her tank top.

Nagato’s crotch was bulging high inside his boxer shorts, as if a third knee were hidden there. She casually reached out, looked him in the eyes, and hooked her fingers into the waistband of his shorts.

Boing…!

Freed from the suffocating fabric, Nagato’s member sprang up wildly between his thighs like a triumphant roar.

The redness on Nagato’s cheeks was no longer from shame. His head was completely flooded with blood from the expectation of what the Goddess was about to do to the urge he had endured for so long.

Hurry… hurry…

His wish carried the thirst of someone who had crossed a desert without water for an entire day. He wanted to release every last drop of the thick, swirling turbidity in his lower abdomen onto the woman before him, who possessed almost otherworldly beauty.

That was his only desire right now. Any method was fine…

Whether she stroked it… or gripped it… Ah… if she licked it, that would be even better…

I’ll cum right away…

He had that premonition. His lower abdomen was boiling that fiercely.

However, the Goddess’s method was unlike anything Nagato had imagined.

“Spread your legs…”

She still refused to look directly at it and gave him the order. Nagato swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth with a loud gulp, trying to silence the sound of his heart that felt like it was about to leap out of his throat.

“You refuse to talk about your failures… but you have no problem exposing this mass of lust, huh?”

As he slowly spread his bent knees apart, Nagato bit his lip at her words.

“Is that your way of saying you would never tell someone like me…?”

Faced with the Goddess’s question, which once again completely missed his intentions, Nagato simply answered by lifting his rock-hard erection toward her.

“Very well…”

He didn’t know how she interpreted his action. She simply spread the black silk panties wide with both hands and slipped them over the swollen, reddish-black head of his cock.

“Uah…!”

The smooth fabric brought more than enough pleasure to his member, which had already been pushed to the brink of explosion. But what made him groan and shake his hips violently was the visual stimulation.

The center of the panties — the exact part that should cover her most secret place when she wore them — was now covering his tip. Through the thin, glossy fabric, the shape of his glans, even the slit and the ridge, were faintly visible.

Right in front of him was the owner of those panties. A woman of breathtaking beauty, with a body full of seductive curves and cool sensuality — someone who could only have descended from the world of the moon.

And it was her own hands that were pressing her own panties against his crotch. The sight created a dizzying, ecstatic illusion in his mind.

An illusion of the Goddess pulling her panties down to the base of her thighs, then sliding his raging erection between her hot, firm thighs and rubbing it against her flesh.

That fantasy became the trigger. Sticky precum began to slowly ooze from his tip. Only then did her eyes finally turn toward it.

“In this regard…”

A small wet stain, like a child’s accident, had formed on the glossy black fabric from the fluid leaking out of Nagato.

“…it seems your mouth is far more stubborn than this.”

Saying that, she began moving the edges of the spread panties alternately, as if giving him a dry rub with a towel.

Nuh… Kyumu… Shuru… Shu… Nuchi… Nucchi… Ju… Shushu… Kuku… Nummu…

“Fwaah…! Uah… Aah…! W-wait… Uwaah…! Hau…! Uuuu… ck… No way… Ah…! I’m already…”

It was a somewhat unsatisfying pleasure, as if his lower abdomen was being gently stroked by soft hair or fingertips. Every time the smooth fabric rubbed his tip, the hunger to reach climax as quickly as possible grew endlessly stronger.

“I’m already… I…”

By saying it out loud, Nagato tried to convey his desire for her to take him all the way. Instead, she stopped moving the panties.

Twitch…! Juju… Doku…!

Left at an incomplete moment, his rigid member trembled and writhed alone beneath the black panties. The fluid seeping from the tip increased, leaving slug-like trails on the inside of the fabric.

“W-why…?”

That was the strongest protest Nagato could manage. He couldn’t bring himself to ask why she wouldn’t take him all the way.

She had no obligation to do so, and he had no right to demand it. He still had just enough reason left to understand that.

A faint smile appeared on the Goddess’s lips.

“Have you felt like talking yet…?”

It was as if she could see through everything he was thinking. Her voice remained utterly cold.

What should I do…?

I want to cum… I want to release everything right here…

But… I can’t talk about it…

While Nagato hesitated, the violent throbbing of his member gradually began to calm.

“I wonder how much you can endure…”

As soon as she spoke, she resumed rubbing the panties against his tip.

Juku… Nichi… Niru… Nuku… Nupa… Kucchi… Nuru… Neppa… Numaa…

A considerable amount of secreted mucus soaked into the panties and was smeared over the swollen head.

“Aaaaah…! Fwaaaa… Ah… No good… I’m already…”

Just before Nagato could beg for release, she stopped her hand again. Only his hips and throbbing member trembled and shook violently.

No way…! If you stop here…

My head… my head is going crazy…

Just a little more… It was only a little more…!

Breathing raggedly, Nagato looked at her pleadingly.

Please… take me all the way…

“No,” the Goddess said coldly. “Hands can only be washed by hands. Do you understand?”

There was no way the current Nagato could understand.

“Those are the words of a poet from a former allied nation. If you want something… you must first offer something yourself…”

As she spoke, she slightly lifted the panties and checked the state of Nagato’s member inside.

“Good grief… Now I have to wash them all over again…”

At those words, Nagato’s tip twitched violently, larger than ever before.

Wash them again…? Don’t tell me… She’s planning to wear these panties again after I’ve completely soiled them…! No… that’s…

“Too perverted…!”

With that groan, Nagato thrust his own hips upward and frantically rubbed his cock against the smooth silk.

Dopu…! Byururu…! Byuku…! Doppu…! Dobububu…!

Everything he had endured and held back for so long was released in one breath.

His wildly thrashing member seemed unable to control where it was shooting. Like a hose flailing under water pressure, it writhed and spasmed, continuously spewing thick white clumps.

It no longer stayed inside her panties. The splashes reached her short pants, her tank top, and even landed on the Goddess’s white chin.

Only after Nagato had completely finished did the slightly dazed Goddess notice the viscous fluid dripping from her chin.

“I must admit… I completely forgot that youth comes hand in hand with recklessness…”

She folded the panties — now thoroughly soaked with Nagato’s thick white load — like a handkerchief. Then she used them to wipe her chin, the swell of her breasts under the tank top, and the stains on her short pants.

“This failure too… let us add it to our case studies…”

To Nagato, her words seemed to contain nothing but satisfaction.

Chapter 43: Intermission (Shinobi Report 2)

“Report… complete.”

While Nagato was reaching climax in the laundry room under the Goddess’s hands, Kuratova was giving Asagiri Reika her report on Nagato’s activities for the day.

Once again, the ceiling lights in the Commander’s office were off and all the curtains were drawn. The only light source was the desk lamp.

“Lieutenant Kawana… huh…”

Asagiri Reika leaned deeply back in her chair, arms crossed. The white lamp light cast strong shadows across the prominent swell of her chest, which strained against her pure white military uniform.

“It looks like she’s going to be the first major wall blocking Nagato from completing his mission.”

“Is that so?”

The black hood tilted slightly. The platinum ponytail sticking out from the back of the hood swayed gently.

“I don’t really get it.”

“You see, Kuratova…” Asagiri Reika spoke in a gentle, instructive tone. “Despite how she looks, she’s an extremely capable officer. Even back at the officer academy, she was the subject of quite a few rumors within the military. It was about five years ago now… during the most intense period of the war. During Operation ‘Ama no Iwato’…”

The moment she spoke that name, the Commander’s throat made a choked sound. Then silence.

For a while, her expression looked as though she had accidentally put something extremely bitter in her mouth and was forcing herself to swallow it because she couldn’t spit it out.

From within the black hood, pale blue eyes framed by platinum lashes quietly watched her. There was nothing else she could do. A dull light of resignation lingered in her eyes.

“Sorry…”

After some time had passed, the Commander apologized to her shinobi. Kuratova silently shook her head.

“Where was I…? Right, Lieutenant Kawana Rin. She…”

There might still have been a faint trace of bitterness left in Asagiri Reika’s throat. She gave a loud cough, as if trying to expel it.

“She was truly outstanding. Some even called her the greatest talent since the founding of the officer academy. At least until Kagutsuchi was officially adopted, I believe that was true. Physical ability, neural transmission speed, learning ability, and mental strength… Among the qualities demanded of soldiers at the time, there was probably no one who surpassed her…”

“But—” The Commander paused and looked at Kuratova.

She wasn’t checking whether her shinobi understood the story. She was checking whether Kuratova was still interested in listening.

It wasn’t out of anxiety or suspicion — it was out of kindness.

Fortunately, the eyes visible through the hood were blinking steadily while watching her. That was proof that Kuratova was still interested.

“However, on the other hand… she lacked the most important quality a soldier needs. No… that’s not the right way to put it. She possessed too much of an ability that should naturally be shed once one becomes an excellent soldier. Do you know what that is, Kuratova?”

The girl whose beauty resembled a raw platinum ore, covered in black attire, shrugged her shoulders with her palms facing up as usual. She didn’t seem interested enough in Kawana Rin or the qualities of a soldier to offer her own answer.

Seeing that, the Commander’s expression softened with a faint smile. Kuratova realized that the bitterness that had been stuck in this woman’s throat had finally disappeared.

“Imagination…”

At that word from the Commander’s lips, the black hood twitched. She thought she was being ordered to “use her imagination.” But that wasn’t it.

“Or rather, insight… and adaptability. These abilities may seem indispensable for an excellent soldier at first glance, but once one crosses a certain watershed, they become uncertain variables. They’re fine while functioning within the framework of an organization, but once they go beyond that framework, they can easily lead to the organization’s collapse…”

Kuratova’s head tilted diagonally. There seemed to be several words or grammatical structures she couldn’t understand.

“In short…”

The Commander mentally adjusted the level of vocabulary and grammar she was using downward.

“She thinks for herself… and that ability is too strong. When judging the rightness or wrongness of something, or its suitability, she cannot entrust that judgment to the organization’s rules and restrictions. She tries to judge it from a broader perspective. As an individual, that might be a wonderful trait. But as a soldier…”

“Unfit,” the black hood said coldly. “If you think too much about unnecessary things… you’ll just die.”

At those words, the Commander chuckled softly. Kuratova thought she had finally returned to her usual self.

“That’s right. Exactly. And in the end, Central Command reached the same conclusion as you. That’s why her classmate, Mifune Tamaki, was promoted to Unit Commander first. She’s the commander of the Mechanized Unit here.”

“Ah…”

The black hood gave an icy acknowledgment. It seemed the young lady of the Mifune zaibatsu was not to her liking.

“And as you know… Lieutenant Kawana has had to settle for being a platoon leader in the infantry unit. Of course, she herself probably doesn’t feel that way. She seems quite devoted to Unit Commander Hihino…”

Kuratova didn’t seem interested in the interpersonal relationships. Her eyelids were visibly lowering.

“In any case… that’s the kind of person she is. Highly capable, and equally proud. She has absolute confidence in her own value judgments. Once a woman like that sets her eyes on someone… changing her evaluation is quite a difficult task.”

“You seem to be enjoying this…” Kuratova’s words carried a sharpness like an icicle.

“Don’t you want to fuck that pervert?”

The Commander, still leaning back in her chair, rotated it about 30 degrees. She shrugged with her palms facing up. Kuratova’s question bounced off her shoulders.

“From what I saw…” the black hood said, sounding slightly worked up, “that woman… didn’t seem all that displeased. With what that guy did to her.”

“Oh…?”

The Commander widened her eyes as if seeing something rare.

“However, according to your report, Nagato made her extremely angry…”

At that remark, Kuratova tilted her head. Even she wasn’t entirely sure why she had thought that, or why she had voiced such a vague impression.

“Intuition, perhaps,” Asagiri Reika murmured. “If so, it shouldn’t be dismissed lightly.”

Saying that, she crossed her legs again. Because of the shadow of the desk, Kuratova couldn’t see, but her tight skirt had ridden up quite high, almost to a daring point near the base of her thighs.

“Alternatively… there is another possible hypothesis…”

The Commander unconsciously tugged the hem of her skirt down a little.

“Kawana Rin is no fool, and she is normally capable of showing natural respect to excellent soldiers. However… the human heart isn’t that simple. She may not be able to honestly accept someone nearly a full generation younger than her, and a newcomer at that. Even if deep down she acknowledges him…”

“Excellent…?” The pale blue eyes blinked repeatedly.

“That guy…?”

She sounded utterly unconvinced.

At least during the two days she had observed him, there had been no moment where she had received such an impression from Nagato. Quite the opposite, in fact.

That was Kuratova’s honest evaluation of Nagato. The Commander chuckled again.

“Perhaps it’s the wisdom of age,” she said. “When you’re young, there are things you can’t see no matter how hard you look. No… maybe it’s more fundamental than that. A fundamental divide between my generation and Kawana Rin’s… and your generation and Nagato’s…”

The Commander paused and looked at her shinobi.

“You see, Kuratova… we are strangely captivated by the way you and Nagato move… by every single action. It’s almost admirable.”

Kuratova didn’t fully understand what this intelligent woman she served was trying to say. Even so, she sensed that something very important was contained within those words.

“It’s not just me,” the Commander continued. “If one observes carefully, anyone can notice the difference. Especially soldiers from the generation slightly above yours. Even when you think you’re just walking normally… to us it looks like…”

She suddenly closed her lips. A faint look of regret — perhaps she had spoken too much — appeared in her eyes for a moment before she quickly hid it.

“I’ve talked too much…”

She stretched both arms high above her head as if loosening stiffness. The movement caused her breasts to rise prominently.

“You should rest for today. Tomorrow will be early again, won’t it?”

“Yes…”

That was all Kuratova could say.

“Oh, right…”

Perhaps realizing how abruptly she had ended the conversation, the Commander added one more thing.

“How is she doing? I hope she’s not pushing herself again…”

“Ah…”

The color in the eyes visible through the black hood brightened slightly.

“Today was apparently her first rest in 26 days. Though… only from the evening.”

The Commander shook her head with an exasperated but fond smile.

“Good night… Kuratova…”

Even after Kuratova disappeared, Asagiri Reika could not immediately stand up from her chair. Memories she didn’t want to recall — yet could never forget — rose like bubbles in the darkness filling the room, then vanished.

Human Augmentation… the extension of humanity…

We’ve finally come this far…

Kuratova… and Nagato…

If you could see them now… what would you say…?

Her hand reached out, and the desk lamp went dark. In the complete darkness where not even moonlight entered, she continued gazing at the bubbles of the past for a long time.

Chapter 44: Sparks Fly: 4-Unit Meeting ① Facilities Unit Commander Kutō Takako

“Then… I will now explain the outline of this joint training…”

The female officers and non-commissioned officers of the infantry unit inside the conference room were all wearing proper uniforms: camouflage combat fatigues and survival boots. Not a single person, including Lieutenant Kawana, was dressed casually today.

After a short greeting from Infantry Unit Commander Hihino Chiharu, Sergeant Narumi stepped in front of the large screen hanging from the ceiling. The screen displayed the schedule for the upcoming four-unit joint training.

10:00 Advance team departs (securing the route to the site)

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14:00 Main force departs

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16:30 Arrival at Mount Kurokami trailhead (Infantry Unit and Facilities Unit Vehicle Section), roll call

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17:00 Preparation for march (Infantry Unit forms 4-man cells, Facilities Unit Vehicle Section moves to Lake Thirteen coast after unloading supplies, other units assemble at Lake Thirteen coast and begin base setup)

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18:00 March begins (Logistics Unit prepares night meal)

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19:00 Night meal (Infantry Unit consumes portable rations as needed)

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23:00 Infantry Unit crosses Mount Kurokami ridge and begins movement toward Lake Thirteen (scheduled contact)

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01:00 Infantry Unit passes through Lake Thirteen and begins movement toward Lake Thirteen coast (scheduled contact)

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04:00 After arriving at Lake Thirteen coast, Infantry Unit deploys to designated positions and begins trace investigation (scheduled contact)

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06:00 Logistics Unit prepares breakfast

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07:00 Breakfast begins after Infantry Unit assembles at base

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08:00 Withdrawal preparation

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09:30 Withdrawal and movement begins

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12:30 Return to Frontline Base TSUGARU

“Like this…”

After reading through the text on the screen, Sergeant Narumi added supplementary explanation.

“The night march schedule itself has not changed significantly from previous exercises… The main difference is the training location… We will be going somewhat farther than usual… Therefore, the travel time will also be longer…”

However, the gazes of the seated officers and NCOs were hardly directed at the boyish young woman. Instead, they were mostly focused on the terminals placed on the long desks in front of them, which displayed the same joint training schedule.

“Excuse me~… Yui-chan…”

A woman in her early thirties with broad shoulders and messy black hair parted on both sides spoke up. It was Facilities Unit Commander Kutō Takako.

As usual, she had the top half of her grey jumpsuit undone and the sleeves tied around her waist. Underneath her white T-shirt, she appeared to be wearing no bra. The round outlines of her full breasts, including their tips, were clearly visible.

“Mount Kurokami is part of the Black Hair Mountain Range, right? This time, almost all personnel from the main infantry unit will be participating, plus troops from three other units on top of that… Transporting that many people, equipment, food, and supplies over this distance… Just the electricity costs alone are going to be enormous. Won’t the big shots at Central Command have their eyes pop out of their heads?”

Although she was smiling brightly with narrowed eyes, her point was extremely practical. The only ones who laughed at her words were the flashy-haired twin girls slouching in the seats beside her — Lieutenant Suzu and Lieutenant Ran.

The long desks were arranged in a U-shape with six seats on each side. The Facilities Unit members were seated on the right side facing the front.

“Um…”

The woman sitting next to them, wearing a white short-sleeved uniform, timidly raised her hand.

“I was… also wondering about that… Though not about the electricity costs… Um… If I’m wrong, I’m sorry, but…”

“Tch…”

The one who clicked her tongue in open irritation was the green-haired girl next to her — Lieutenant Suzu.

“Speak clearly, you damn airhead…”

“I-I’m sorry~…”

Even though it was only formal, being harshly scolded by a superior made the young lieutenant shrink and fall silent.

“Cut it out, Suzu…!” Kutō Takako said sharply.

At the tone of her voice, Suzu’s back arched like an angry cat.

“But… come on, Kutō-chan…”

“Shut it…!”

With an even sharper voice and piercing glare, the girl finally closed her mouth. Her counterpart, the blue-haired Ran, was watching the scene with a smirk from her seat across from the Unit Commander.

“Sorry about that~… Iori-chan…”

Kutō instantly softened the sharpness she had directed at Suzu and smiled apologetically at the dejected Lieutenant Hōgyoku, clasping her hands together.

“I’ll give this one a real thorough scolding later… Could you repeat what you were about to say?”

“Y-yes…”

The lieutenant’s face instantly brightened. She was not one to hold grudges. On the other hand, Suzu sank deep into her chair with a sullen expression.

“Um… If my memory is correct… The Black Hair Mountain Range was the first location in this country to be designated as a World Natural Heritage site, right…? Even members of the Imperial Family visit for research… So I believe that area is basically not supposed to be a target for enemy attacks…”

Unit Commander Kutō smiled warmly at Lieutenant Hōgyoku.

“Thanks a lot~… Iori-chan…”

Seeing the warm smile directed at her again, the lieutenant nodded with a happy grin. She looked like she might start humming at any moment.

“That’s how it is, Yui-chan. For this particular training… could you explain in detail why we’re doing it in such a complicated location…?”

“Uh… well…”

Ever since Kutō Takako had started speaking, Sergeant Narumi had been completely captivated by her magnificent breasts. At the same time, she had been gloomily worrying about her own body complex.

Only now did Narumi realize she had failed to properly fulfill her role as the presenter. This was driven home by Lieutenant Kawana’s irritated glare.

Narumi looked toward Unit Commander Hihino for help. Perhaps for that reason, the Unit Commander, who had kept her lips tightly shut until now, finally spoke.

“The purpose of this joint training is to improve coordination between each unit, gain experience close to real combat in the field, and conduct visual trace investigation of enemy national forces that have intruded into our territory…”

What are you saying now…?

Such expressions appeared on the faces of everyone except the infantry unit members. Hihino Chiharu continued without concern.

“Regarding the implementation of this training… unusually, we received a suggestion from the Intelligence and Information Departments… Specifically concerning the latter purpose — the trace investigation part…”