Everyone’s shock
"Ah, this? Eh?! I forgot to return this," Sheha just realized it.
"Is that an ID card?" Asked Felomina.
"Yes, Commander Felomina, as you can see. This is Cross' ID. I forgot to return it to him a while ago, haha," Sheha laughed dryly.
"Cross?" Felomina asked. She could not recognize it.
"Uh, he's the new member I told you about a while ago. He'll be joining our department from now on…" Sheha said in an excited tone.
Felomina knitted her brows, slightly confused by what Sheha said.
'So, Sheha didn't mean about Noir when she said that?' Felomina asked in her mind.
"By the way, this is his recommendation letter…" Sheha took the letter and handed it to Felomina.
Felomina unhurriedly took it. Upon reading the address, Commander Felomina widened her eyes.
"It was addressed from the Headmaster's office…?" she asked with an indication of surprise.
"That's right. I was also surprised when I read it," Sheha said. "It looks like the headmaster was the one who recommended him."
While the two of them started talking about it, Noir, who got a glimpse of the picture on the ID card, looked surprised at what she saw. That picture on the ID card— she could not be wrong. That was the interesting student in the cafeteria yesterday! Noir thought.
"Wait!"
She suddenly stood up and shouted.
"Wha, what?!"
Sheha was startled and Felomina was startled as well but she didn't react as Sheha did. The two of them looked at Noir in puzzlement.
After a second of silence, Sheha forced a laugh.
"Ahaha… don't worry Miss Noir. We understand that you don't want to join our department. Don't worry about it. I will make sure to appeal to the Mech Soldier Department to give you a second chance. R-right, Commander Felomina…?"
No matter what happened, Sheha could not accept such a problem child in their department. No matter how short-handed they were, that is.
Felomina just remained nonchalant.
But unbeknownst to Sheha, "No, I mean… I…" Noir suddenly said.
"Hm?"
Sheha listened to her words with a questioning look while Felomina remained silent and looked at Noir while wearing a poker face.
"I… I mean… I will be joining this department from now on!" And so she said that. The way she said that was as if it was the final decision that could not be changed.
Hearing what she said, the room descended into a sudden state of silence. The room became silent as though no one was inside.
"…"
Noir's words didn't register immediately in their minds. The two were stunned by her declaration.
A second later, "EHH!" Sheha's outcry reverberated in the room, going outside through the window.
Without waiting for them to reply, Noir left the room after saying: "I think it's about time that the mock battle will start. I'll be back later, see ya!" Her figure disappeared in the door.
Sheha was left gawking on the sofa and Felomina just sighed silently. She looked at the sky through the window and whispered: "Now, what kind of year will this department have…"
<><><>
Back to the Mech Engineering Department where Cross was.
They were running out of time and that was the issue here! Miss Programmer threw a glare at Cross.
But Cross was just nonchalant and ignored her. Explaining would only cost more time, so without saying anything, an object suddenly materialized on his palm.
Commander Beth and Miss Programmer knitted their brows upon seeing it. They didn't notice him taking it out from somewhere. Also, where did he take it from? The object just appeared on his palm from out of nowhere.
Before someone could question him about it, Cross opened his mouth and voluntarily said: "Don't worry, my setup is ready to use. There's no need to prepare."
Eh?
The two looked puzzled.
Without minding their reaction, Cross connected the rectangular flat object using a cord. Then, upon waking up the holographic monitor, a familiar voice resounded.
Cross showed a faint smile upon hearing it.
"Adam, let's do it," he said.
Like Cross said, the AI in the monitor was no other than Adam, his most trusted AI companion.
Commander Beth and Miss Programmer were both dumbfounded.
"T-That's his setup?" Miss Programmer could not help but ask.
Without minding the dumbfounded people around him, Cross fingers started playing on the digital keyboard, already detaching himself from the other people around him.
Toot… toot…
"I see. Please trace them and send them to the priority box. I'll see what I can do." He could eventually guess what the issues were.
The next event was just Cross and Adam fully utilizing the device as if it was theirs. They weren't only reprogramming the Mainframe, but also tracing the possible complications that might lead to problems later on.
"As expected, the advanced stunts, ha," Cross muttered after a brief squint when he saw the issues that Adam mentioned. Some of those stunts, although very promising, were risky and difficult to initiate.
"Wait, what are you planning?! Are you changing the stunts?" Miss Programmer, who appeared to have recovered from getting stunned and appeared to have noticed his plan, asked in haste.
But instead of the young man, it was the AI's voice that resounded.
Miss programmer frowned. She was surprised at the AI's ability to respond. Honestly, a responsive AI was not rare in this age, but seeing that it was a multifunction AI and still able to communicate like it has a thought of its own was truly surprising. Also, how was this man able to build such a setup with an AI program? That was the most surprising.
Incredible!
Anyway, that was not the issue here.
"Altered…? But that's what Commander Guren of the Mech Soldier Department had requested of us, so you can't alter anything that is not part of their request," Miss Programmer said, looking somewhat bewildered at what she heard.
"That's right, kiddo…" Commander Beth, who also finally woke up from a sudden shock, said in agreement with Miss Programmer.
Cross didn't even avert his eyes away from the holographic monitor when he opened his mouth.
He said calmly: "These advance actions will not only cause a great amount of burden to the pilot, but it may also cause an irreversible malfunction to the system. If not handled carefully, not only the mech itself will lose its functionability, but it is also dangerous to the pilot himself. Don't worry. As Adam stated, I didn't take down any of those actions. I just altered it a little. That's the least I could do given the little time I have. Now, it's all up to the pilot's ability."
"Wha—?" Commander Beth could not finish her words because Cross suddenly said: "Alright, all is done. Goodjob, Adam."
Tonk! (Screen off)
After a short sigh, Cross turned around and gawked at what he saw. Two dumbfounded faces were staring at him in disbelief.
"D-Done?" It was the commander who uttered that.
"Mhm, all is done," Cross replied casually.
"What? Really?" Commander Beth asked in disbelief.
When she checked the time, '7 minutes only?!' She could not believe it.