Chapter 216: Rapid Transmission Training, Part 2
Erica suddenly came to her senses—why on earth was she jealous of three little girls? She was a married woman, after all.
Recalling the scene when Tolle had previously transferred energy to her, Erica's face turned bright red as she said, "Besides, it's not your turn yet. For the third test, I need Tolle's cooperation to use some physically stronger female officers as samples.
Only then can we gather more data and hopefully simplify the process of energy transmission."
Tolle silently complained in his heart, Simplify it? Yeah, it'd better be simplified—if we have to strengthen all the female soldiers like this, and then do the same with the male soldiers for over an hour each, I'll probably die of exhaustion.
Asagi, Juri, and Mayura all looked toward Erica with disappointment. "Aww~, if we'd known, we wouldn't have turned down the chance earlier. What a shame."
Tolle also sighed inwardly, Yeah, what a real shame.
Seeing the three dejected girls, Erica comforted them, "Don't worry. You'll definitely get your turn. I promise—if you still want to participate, I won't leave any of you out."
"Yay! That's great!" The three girls cheered happily, grabbing Tolle by the arms and bouncing excitedly around him.
After confirming that Tolle's rapid transmission method was indeed effective, Erica immediately reported to Orb's Prime Minister, Uzumi, and obtained his approval.
Uzumi even held a secret video meeting with Tolle, promising to fulfill any of his requests—funding, facilities, and so on—and to discreetly expand the number of participants.
But Tolle didn't really have any particular demands; his only condition was to start with the female soldiers. Once he became skilled enough to simplify the process, then the male soldiers could follow.
Uzumi agreed to Tolle's terms, but in return, he asked Tolle to keep the success of the rapid transmission technique a secret for now from Murrue, Mu, and Natarle.
He specifically mentioned that once the Archangel reached Alaska, he would request that the Earth Alliance discharge all of Orb's volunteer soldiers and ensure their safe repatriation.
Upon returning, Tolle would immediately be promoted to the rank of Ichisa (equivalent to Colonel). Once mass production of such ancient martial warriors became possible, he might even be granted the rank of Shōsa (Brigadier General).
(Orb's rank system was nearly identical to that of Japan's Self-Defense Forces—a bit of personal bias there, but considering Orb has been destroyed twice, let's just let it slide.)
In any case, Tolle agreed to all of Uzumi's conditions without hesitation—after all, it was all to his benefit. Free perks? He'd be a fool not to take them.
That afternoon, Erica arranged for another test subject—a young, beautiful female officer with long, straight black hair and blunt bangs—to enter the same room used for previous experiments.
The moment Tolle saw her, he felt she looked strangely familiar, though he couldn't recall where he'd seen her before. Still, that sense of déjà vu was undeniable.
But realistically, he shouldn't know her. He wasn't the real Tolle, and even if he were, there was no way he'd have met her personally.
The woman entered silently and followed all of Erica's instructions to the letter, performing the same steps Tolle had previously outlined.
Under Erica's supervision, Tolle began the rapid transmission process with her.
The woman's physique, muscle strength, and response were even stronger than Erica's. Her deep, magnetic voice kept echoing by Tolle's ear, lingering long after each breath.
Of course, Tolle couldn't play favorites, so he continued the rapid training for over an hour.
When they finally finished, the female officer—like Erica before her—was thrilled to experience the power of ki firsthand, testing it out with childlike excitement.
Just like Erica, she nearly fainted afterward, but Tolle reacted quickly and caught her before she fell.
Only then did the woman blush deeply, her face turning scarlet as she looked at Tolle and whispered, "Thank you."
Then, without warning, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a passionate French kiss.
They kissed continuously until Erica's deliberate cough interrupted them. "Ahem. I'm still here, you know. If you two want to continue, you can do it later tonight—in Tolle's room."
Flustered, the female officer said nothing, hurriedly got dressed, and rushed out of the room.
Tolle stood there dazed, watching her leave, when Erica turned to him and teased, "So? Did she catch your eye? Are you thinking about pursuing her?"
Tolle nodded, then shook his head. "I mean… yeah, kind of. But I already have Miriallia. Wouldn't having another girlfriend be a bit… wrong?"
Erica hooked her arm through his and pressed her soft curves against him. "Oh, don't worry about that. Plenty of high-ranking officials have secret lovers. As long as you keep it quiet, it's fine."
Tolle silently added to himself, I've got the Nami-brand brainwashing device—so yeah, it's fine. (*￣m￣)
"But I don't even know her name," he said. "How am I supposed to pursue her? And you said she's some high-ranking officer's secret lover—I doubt she'd even want someone like me."
"Oh, you want to know her name? You could've just asked, silly. She's called Rondo Mina Sahaku."
"…What the—what did you just say?"
"Rondo Mina Sahaku," Erica repeated.
Holy crap! Tolle was utterly speechless. No wonder she'd looked so familiar!
So that was the Shadow Goddess of War of Orb!
Though her voice had thrown him off—in the game and anime, her tone had been much deeper and sharper, with a stern, commanding edge. Nothing like the gentle, magnetic one he'd just heard.
Still, it made sense. This was a real world, not a game or animation—differences were natural.
Rondo Mina Sahaku was also a Coordinator—the pilot of the golden Astray Gold Frame Amatsu Mina. She was the last surviving member of the Sahaku family and Orb's rightful heir.
So, technically, she was a princess.
Mina also had a twin brother, Rondo Gina Sahaku—a complete lunatic. Thankfully, he'd died early; otherwise, having such a madman as a brother-in-law would've been a nightmare.
Bah, what am I even thinking? It's not like I'm actually going to be with her.
Then again, the Sahaku family was very different from the Asuha family—the line of Orb's visible heads of state. While the Asuhas stood on the public stage, the Sahakus worked behind the scenes, handling the political undercurrents.
In other words, they controlled the nation's covert power structures—essentially the military's shadow authority.
No wonder Mina had shown up right after Erica—it all made sense. Her intelligence network was top-tier.
If he did end up with Rondo Mina Sahaku, Tolle thought grimly, he'd have to use the enhanced version of the brainwashing device.
Otherwise, if she ever found out about his other women—or that he'd wronged her in any way—she'd definitely slice him to pieces.
Don't be fooled by that shy, gentle act she'd just put on—this woman was absolutely ruthless at heart.