"Now then, everyone—we have even less time than before because of the delay we've caused. I want each of you to hurry and brief your fleets and subordinates on the battle plans and the other scenarios we discussed. They must be fully aware of everything they need to know—and only that, along with their specific roles.

Just make sure none of you make mistakes in the rush," Ezra said firmly, addressing the others. He knew there was no real need to say that—they all held the same rank as him, had their own missions, and were just as capable and intelligent as he was. All in all, they each understood the stakes and knew exactly what to do.

But he still said it for formality's sake—and, in a way, because he was still their superior despite the equal rank.

They nodded in affirmation, signalling they understood exactly what needed to be done.

Seeing them all give affirmative nods, Ezra knew his formality was finished. He rose from his chair—the first to do so—and said, "Now then, I'll take my leave as well. I, too, have to brief my fleet and subordinates about the plan and other details. My mission covers a wider area than yours, at least in terms of the territory I need to manage with my fleet."

He shrugged and sighed as he spoke, adding with a hint of mock regret, "That's why I should hurry more than the rest of you. Hah… I should never have made such a sacrifice—now I'm already getting a headache over it."

The others, catching the joking tone, played along while pretending to stay serious. The first to respond was Grand Admiral Ryn herself, who raised the golden mission slip in her hand and held it to her chest.

"Well, you can't go back on your word, Admiral Ezra. It's too late for regrets," she said firmly.

Ezra smirked. "Ah, forget it, Admiral Ryn—joking and acting aren't for you. Your face looks as serious as ever," he teased.

The others nodded in agreement, their lips twitching.

"Say whaaat?" Ryn said, her eyes flashing with mock anger so convincing that, for a moment, the others almost believed she was truly upset. She stomped her foot on the hard metal floor, her face flushing red and turning sullen.

The others exchanged puzzled glances, still unsure what had triggered her sudden outburst.

Then she burst into laughter. "Hah! See? I can act too—I fooled you all!"

What fooled us, exactly? they all thought. Get your thoughts straight, lady— from what angle did that look like acting, huh? We couldn't tell a single difference from your usual self. You're always like that, quick to get angry over nothing…

Hmph. Fooled us? Heh. What acting? That's just your normal self, they all agreed silently—but none of them dared to say it to Admiral Ryn's face.

Admiral Ryn, seeing them all quiet, heads lowered and lips moving, assumed they were a little embarrassed at having been fooled by her. She smirked, puffed out her chest, and straightened her posture, looking every bit the picture of pride as she convinced herself she had successfully proved them wrong.

Admiral Ezra just shook his head and said, in a tone tinged with puzzlement, "Did something happen to you, Admiral Ryn? Did you hit your head or something during training in the Void Tower?"

Ryn's smirk faltered. She blinked in confusion. "No… why? Why are you asking that?"

Ezra shrugged. "Oh, nothing. You're just behaving unlike yourself today, so I thought it might have something to do with your head. Anyway, I'm already late, so you should probably visit the imperial doctor to have yourself checked."

And with that, as if in a hurry to escape, he slipped out of the room and off the ship—heading for the fleet of Admiral Elira Seal.

Ryn grew even more confused as she heard Ezra's words, watching him disappear from sight. "Behaving unlike myself…?" she muttered, repeating his remark as her thoughts churned. "Do something with my mind…? What the hell did he even mean by that?"

She spoke aloud without realizing it, unable to make sense of his comment—yet somehow feeling vaguely insulted by it. Despite trying to reason it out, she couldn't figure out why it bothered her so much.

Turning to the others, she was about to ask, "What did Ezra even mean by that?"—only to see them also teleporting away from their seats, as if in a rush… or outright running from the conversation.

Before she could get another word out, everyone was gone—except for her and Elira. And it wasn't as if Elira didn't want to escape too; it was simply that this was her flagship and her fleet. Even if she wanted to run, where exactly would she go?

Why were they all so quick to escape?

It wasn't entirely because of Ryn's strong personality or her direct way of speaking—though that played a part. The real reason was simple: if she asked, as she surely would, what Ezra meant by that remark, things would turn ugly fast.

Ryn was notoriously slow to pick up on these small jabs, but when she finally did, her temper would explode. And when that happened, she would drag Ezra—and anyone else unfortunate enough to be nearby—into the training chamber and beat them until she calmed down.

After all, in terms of raw strength, Ryn outclassed them all—especially when it came to brute force. None of them wanted to get caught in the crossfire. So, they did the smartest thing they could. They ran.

Meanwhile, Elira was silently sweating. She knew she was the most likely to become collateral damage if she slipped up—or worse, if Ryn caught on to what Ezra really meant.

She cursed him in her mind. Damn it… damn it! Just you wait, Ezra. If I get out of this in one piece, after the war I'll make you regret making me your scapegoat.

Looking around, Ryn noticed Elira was the only one left. The others had likely gone off to brief their subordinates about the plans and details.

Thinking nothing of it, Ryn turned to her. "Elira, do you know what Ezra meant by those words of his? Behaving unlike myself—how? I'm the same as always, right? And what's this about something being wrong with my mind and me needing to visit the imperial doctor? Do you have any idea what he meant?" she asked, her voice full of curiosity.

Elira gulped. Here it is… what should I do? What should I do…

Her mind was processing everything at a speed at least double faster than light itself. Then, like a spark lighting up the darkness, she came up with something—an idea that might not work, but it was the only chance she had to survive.

She spoke carefully. "Sigh… I don't know, Ryn. I have no idea what he meant about you behaving unlike yourself, but I don't see any difference at all—other than you being a bit happier, which is obvious.

"As for that doctor and mind stuff… you should just ask him directly. I think he was just talking rubbish, after all."

Right," Ryn said with lingering confusion. "And yet they say women are hard to understand… when it's clearly them who are impossible to figure out, right? Anyway, I also think he was talking rubbish."

Hearing that last word, Elira almost cried. At first, she thought, I'm saved!—but then she felt conflicted, even a little sad, that Ryn might actually let Ezra off the hook if she decided to drop the matter.

But Ryn's next words brought a small smile back to Elira's face. "Even if it's rubbish, I'll ask him about it after the battle anyway… Yeah, I'll do just that," Ryn muttered to herself before turning her attention back to Elira.

I'll leave now. I have to speak with my subordinates—and I'm holding you up, Elira."

"Don't mention it," Elira said aloud. Inside, though, she was eager for Ryn to get off her ship before any danger could land on her head.

With a final wave, Ryn vanished, returning to her own ship.

Only after Ryn left did Elira finally take several deep breaths, slumping back into her seat. She patted her chest as if trying to calm her racing heart.

"Ah… survived. I survived…" she muttered, sounding like someone who had narrowly escaped a calamity—barely.

It was as if, just moments ago, she had been about to be eaten by a lioness… only for the lioness to stop because she was already too full.

Once she finally calmed herself, a smirk crept across her face, followed by a laugh—a laugh that would have frightened anyone else if they had been there to hear it.

Well… someone was there, watching from the shadows. The hidden observer felt a chill at the sound of her laughter, but Elira remained unaware that her current state was being seen so clearly.

Still laughing, she spoke with a low, almost evil tone. "Well, well, Ezra… you won't be as lucky as I was. Hahahaha…"