The Villainess Takes the Cockpit

"I'll be back. Reach out if you need anything."

Grain said it, turned, and was gone.

(...Of everyone here so far, he seems the most like a normal person.)

Letaria watched him go and breathed out — quiet, small, relieved.

An unfamiliar ceiling. Strangely good food. Doors that moved on their own.

In the middle of all this strangeness, Grain's straightforward manner had been the only thing that felt like solid ground.

"All right. You'll be staying with me for the time being. I'll look after you."

The white-coated woman — Milea Ichinose — moved ahead with a brisk sort of cheerfulness.

Letaria followed, wary.

The facilities of Syn-Fibra made the corridor from before look almost warm. Everything here was precise, purposeful, and utterly without softness. And yet there was something almost sacred in its orderliness.

"Cooperate with me, and I'll cover your food, shelter, and daily expenses. You won't want for anything while you're here."

Milea stopped and turned to deliver the terms.

"...What does that mean, exactly?"

"I want your data. I promise I won't do anything harmful."

(...Data...)

An unfamiliar word. But Letaria knew what it meant to be of use to someone.

Her mind went back — briefly, sharply — to the days before her exile. Her cold father. Her sister's well-meaning pity. If she had not been sent here, she would have had nowhere to go. Nothing to go back to.

(...Compared to that, this is manageable.)

This woman said she would not be harmed. Letaria would take her at her word, and use this arrangement for her own benefit.

A villainess's pragmatism made the choice easy.

"...Very well. I'll cooperate."

"Good. Efficient. First I'll need a physical examination. Take off your clothes."

A beat of silence.

"—?! What are you saying?!"

"You can keep them on if you prefer, but the accuracy goes down."

Milea said this with total practicality, and for the first time actually looked at Letaria's outfit.

"...That's an unusual choice of clothing. I've seen something like it in old records about ancient Earth."

"Ancient Earth?! I have no idea what that is, and regardless — I will only undress somewhere private!"

Cheeks flushed, Letaria mounted her protest with what dignity she could manage.

Milea said, "All right," with complete indifference, and pointed toward a door at the back.

She appeared to regard disrobing as an entirely administrative matter.

* * *

The examination room was surrounded by machines Letaria had never seen.

She lay down on a hard, flat surface as instructed.

"...What is this?"

"I'm examining the inside of your body. It won't hurt."

Milea's fingers moved across a panel. A film of light passed slowly over Letaria's body.

Letaria stared at the ceiling and held very still, not understanding any of it.

Then the movement stopped.

Milea looked at the waveform displayed on her screen. Her expression shifted — just slightly — into something like interest.

"...Hmm."

"...What is that look for? Is something wrong with me?"

"No. Quite the opposite. You have a very interesting body."

(...An interesting body...?)

"...I am being complimented, I take it?"

"You are. To the fullest possible extent."

Milea smiled — pleased in a way that Letaria found impossible to interpret.

After the examination, as Letaria was gathering herself back together, Milea approached.

"Can I ask you something?"

"...What?"

Milea looked at her with the settled certainty of someone who had already decided.

"How would you feel about working for us?"

"............"

Letaria had no answer ready. She had been exiled into a world of stars, and now that world was offering her a job. The direction her life was moving had left all prediction far behind.