Chapter 548: Chapter SS [Everyone’s Breakfast]

TN: This is the last of the untranslated short stories. This one was posted by the author in his activity report on Syousetsu. If you know of another short story that needs translation, you can contact me on our discord or in the comments. If it’s as long as this one or longer, I’ll probably translate it once there’s a lack of raws.

One morning—although, strictly speaking, there’s no morning or night in space or hyperspace—it all began.

「Hey, Mimi, you always eat that for breakfast, don’t you?」

「Hm?」

Mimi tilted her head slightly, still holding a spoon in her mouth. In front of her was the same oatmeal-like meal she always had for breakfast. It was a semi-liquid yellowish porridge that could, depending on how you looked at it, be mistaken for pale scrambled eggs.

「I’ve been eating this for breakfast ever since I was young… It’s sort of a habit now.」

Mimi gave a small, wistful smile as she said this. She is probably thinking about her late parents. The porridge-like food she was eating was surprisingly sweet, the kind of dish that could easily pass for a dessert.

「Well, I’ve heard that eating sweet things in the morning helps the brain absorb sugar and wakes you up faster.」

「Is that so? Hiro-sama, your breakfasts are pretty varied, aren’t they?」

「Yeah, that’s true.」

My breakfast changes a lot depending on the day. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a burger or a hot dog first thing in the morning, and other times I’ll go for rice with grilled fish and miso soup. Of course, none of it is the real deal. I have to hand it to the Tetsujin V, though; its ability to produce something so close to the real thing from food cartridges is nothing short of impressive.

「Elma-san… You always eat the same thing in the morning too, don’t you?」

「That’s right.」

Elma nodded as she continued to devour a steak-like dish with mashed-potato-like sides. Her breakfasts were always hearty, with only slight variations—some days it was beef-like, other days chicken-like, or pork-like. Similarly, the mashed potatoes occasionally turned into something resembling potato salad or even fries.

As for vegetables, she got those through a green juice-like drink. Mimi’s oatmeal-like meal seemed to have all the necessary nutrients already incorporated, but Elma and I, had to rely on drinks to make up for the nutrients we might lack. Thinking about it, the oatmeal-like food Mimi eat every morning could be considered a kind of complete nutrition meal.

「Elma-san, I think you should pay a little more attention to your diet.」

「I drink my nutrient shake, you know.」

「Aren’t you overdoing it on protein? Or wait, is it all turning into muscle?」

「Do I look overly muscular to you?」

「That’s the weird thing. How are you so strong yet still so slim?」

Maybe her muscle or bone density is just different. Elma is ridiculously strong for someone with such a slender build.

「I’d love to have a figure as sleek as Elma-san’s…」

「You’re eating properly and exercising, so you’ll get there eventually.」

「I think Mimi is perfect just the way she is…」

「No, I mean, just a little more… like around my stomach, arms, and thighs…」

Mimi muttered this while poking at her arms and belly with a serious expression. Compared to Elma, she is a bit softer and more rounded—but that’s what’s so great about her. I’d definitely prefer for her to stay that way. I’ll have to tweak the training AI settings later to make sure nothing changes too drastically.

「By the way, what’s the plan for our next departure?」

「We’ll take another day or two to rest at this colony. It’s not like we’re in a rush. If a good job or some lucrative bounty info comes up, we could stick around a bit longer.」

「No need to overwork ourselves, after all.」

「Ah, the freedom…」

「That’s life as a mercenary for you.」

「Can’t argue with that. By now, Mimi, you must be getting used to it, right?」

「Now that you mention it, maybe I am.」

Mimi chuckled softly, and Elma and I couldn’t help but smile along with her.

There might come a day when this carefree lifestyle of ours comes to an end. But until then, I’ll keep living this comfortable, free-spirited life—to the fullest.