She lifted her gaze to et his, and the way she looked at him wasn’t shy or sweet; it was devoted and serious, as if she had already decided on her place and dared anyone to argue with it.
"From this mont forward, my body, my mind, and my ship will be yours to command," she said, and her tone carried a solemn vow that will be carried by her for the rest of her life.
Aurelian finally breathed out slowly as he looked at Astra.
"I understand," he said slowly as he walked to her and lifted her up.
Seeing this, Astra slowly rose with the help of her master as she looked at him as if to morise every part of him.
After a few seconds, Aurelian took a deep breath as he nodded once to Astra and started to leave the room.
Astra, seeing this, followed a step behind him as she looked around, her surroundings slowly shifting as they left the room.
The instructor outside the room stared at her, then at Aurelian, then back at the pod like he still couldn’t understand, as this room had been used multiple tis this morning and none of them had awoken a high rarity ship girl.
He swallowed.
"I’ve been a commander for years," he said quietly, and there was honest envy in his voice even if he tried to hide it. "And this is the first ti I have seen a gold rarity ship girl as soone’s first companion."
Aurelian didn’t say much about this, as he understood what the instruction ant. He just gave a small nod, because anything more would sound like bragging, and he didn’t feel like feeding the crowd outside.
As if on cue, the noise beyond the room got louder, voices stacking up in a ssy wave.
"They’re out, look at them together."
"Let see, just one look."
"Move, you’re blocking the view."
The instructor winced and glanced toward the entrance like he already knew what would happen if they walked out normally.
"Yeah, we’re not going out that way," he muttered.
He turned toward the side of the control panel that connects the construction pod and picked up a small remote from his desk, then pressed a switch.
A panel behind him slid open, revealing a narrow staff passage, plain and unmarked, clearly built for monts exactly like this.
"Special exit," the instructor said, half annoyed and half amused. "The academy doesn’t like riots in the hallway, and this is how they avoid them."
Aurelian understood imdiately.
If he walked out the front door, he would get sward, not just by students but by teachers and recruiters pretending they were only curious. Even if the academy enforced rules, people still tried.
He turned slightly, and Astra followed without needing to be told.
The two of them moved through the passage, the instructor leading them at first, then stopping at the end where a back door opened into a quiet service lane behind the construction building.
The mont they stepped outside, the noise from the main hallway dropped behind them like a door shutting on a storm.
Aurelian glanced down at his device, then typed quickly with one hand, sending short ssages to the triplets.
One ssage each, simple and direct, telling them to stick to the plan and not to panic if their rooms took longer to respond, because high-rarity awakenings could drag right up to the limit and still succeed.
And while he was doing that, multiple admin-level ssages popped up in his ssage bar, but he did not pay attention to them, as he knew they were about his updated personal info and a special video.
A video about the history of the Galactic Human Alliance and how it ca about.
Astra watched him quietly, eyes calm, posture straight, taking in every detail of him without saying a word.
When he finished, he slipped the device away and looked forward.
The next steps were obvious.
An awakened shipgirl needed her ship built as soon as possible, because even if the bond existed, the hull was still her real anchor in the fleet.
The academy’s starport was already busy today, construction docks running nonstop, students rushing to secure slots before everything filled up.
Aurelian glanced at Astra.
"You don’t need to look so serious," he said, keeping his voice normal, as he tried to lighten the mood and get to know her.
Astra’s eyes softened, a hint of mischief slipping through as she looked at him. "If I stop being serious," she said, voice low and smooth, "you’ll think I’m flirting." A brief pause. Then a faint smile. "Actually... maybe I am."
Hearing this, Aurelian paused slightly, with a surprised look as he looked back at Astra’s playful smile.
Aurelian blinked, clearly caught off guard, then let out a short laugh as he t her gaze. "That’s... not what I was expecting," he admitted, a little amused. "But I’m not complaining."
Then he continued walking toward the starport lane that led to the transit pods.
Astra matched his pace imdiately, smooth and quiet, staying just behind him as she belonged there.
As they moved, Aurelian’s mind didn’t drift to the crowd or the rumors or what this would do to his reputation.
He thought about the triplets.
He thought about the rooms he had assigned.
He thought about the fact that if the Destiny System was right, then within the next hour, three more gold lights would explode inside that construction building.
And when that happened, the academy was going to lose its mind.
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