The Princess and the Pea

By the time they returned to the small training ground, the students who had been buzzing with energy moments ago had calmed down. As soon as their nerves relaxed, exhaustion hit them in waves.

The dormitory situation was tight—just twenty small wooden cabins for the mech cadets. Some of the mech-oriented students volunteered to squeeze extra people into their quarters. Those who didn't offer up their space, or had no room left to fit anyone, made do by collapsing right onto the ground. In a way, this trial had cured many students of their neat-freak tendencies. All except Shen Shouli.

He stared at the floor of Natata's room for about forty seconds. "No. I'm not sleeping here."

Jin sighed helplessly beside him. "Isn't the floor outside even dirtier? You should be grateful you found a place to sleep, not picky. Just wait—I'll tell your grandfather about this, and he'll set you straight." The last part he muttered under his breath.

Shen Shouli shot him a glare and walked out. On the training ground, Xu Lingqu was sitting cross-legged against a tree with her eyes closed, resting. The area bordered a small grove, and Xu Xiqin had copied her posture nearby—though she was slouched so crookedly it was obvious she'd already fallen fast asleep. She didn't even stir when someone approached.

Xu Lingqu, however, opened her eyes the moment anyone came within a few steps.

Her eyelids lifted to reveal Jin and Shen Shouli. She shut her eyes again and said, "Here to rest?"

Jin shook his head, not caring whether she could see him. "I'm here to bask in the radiance of our commander."

The next second, a small pebble shot out from Xu Lingqu's right hand and smacked Jin square in the stomach. He clutched the spot with theatrical exaggeration, as if a bullet had pierced him.

"Commander, your heart is so cold..."

Unfortunately, neither Shen Shouli nor Xu Lingqu was in the mood to play along with his act. Jin straightened up, a bit sheepish, and found an empty spot to sit. He managed to cheer himself up quickly: "The commander definitely pulled her punch this time."

The stone had flown fast, but it didn't hurt much on impact. Compared to their first meeting, Jin could clearly feel that Xu Lingqu's killing intent toward him had faded considerably.

As for Xu Lingqu's handling of the underground labyrinth, Jin wasn't all that surprised anymore. What he looked forward to now was the day he could truly fight alongside her.

Shen Shouli looked at the tree Xu Lingqu was leaning against. "I remember you told me last time that bird droppings often end up on tree trunks."

"That's for trunks higher up. This is the base of the tree. If anything, this is where dogs pee," Xu Lingqu said, opening her eyes to glance at where Shen Shouli was sitting. "And where you're sitting is usually where dogs bury their... business."

Jin burst into thunderous laughter, loud enough to make everyone within five meters turn their heads.

"Oh my—hahaha! I told you, why do you keep trying to outtalk her? You know you can't win, and yet you keep going back for more." Jin laughed so hard tears streamed down his face, one hand patting Shen Shouli's rigid body.

Xu Xiqin, jolted awake by the ruckus, opened her eyes to see what the commotion was. When she realized it was just Jin, she rolled her eyes, turned over, and went back to sleep. She was exhausted.

Shen Shouli sat stiff as a board, his ears bright red. But clearly, he hadn't heeded Jin's advice, because he pressed on, addressing Xu Lingqu: "Don't you find it uncomfortable?"

The bark of the tree she was leaning against was rough, covered in deep, raised ridges.

Shen Shouli was clutching his combat uniform jacket. If Xu Lingqu had opened her eyes at that moment, she would have seen that he was about to offer her his jacket as a cushion.

Unfortunately, she'd closed her eyes right after speaking.

"You think it's uncomfortable? Are you a princess and the pea?" Xu Lingqu assumed Shen Shouli was asking because he wanted to rest against the tree himself but found it too rough—so she couldn't help but tease him.

Jin was genuinely confused. "What princess? Princess of what?"

When did the Empire get a princess and a pea? How come he—the Third Prince—didn't know about that?

Shen Shouli also fell silent, and possibly due to sheer puzzlement, the red in his ears subsided considerably.

Xu Lingqu was at a loss for words.

She'd gotten carried away and quoted an Earth fairy tale to two people from the stars. She opened her eyes and explained: "It's a story. Once upon a time, there was a princess who stayed overnight at someone's house, and she could feel a pea beneath twenty layers of mattresses, keeping her up all night."

The moment Jin heard it, he understood why Xu Lingqu had called Shen Shouli a "pea princess." He laughed even harder, and with a mischievous look, called out to Shen Shouli: "Pea princess?"

By now, Xu Lingqu had rested enough. She opened her eyes, stood up, and checked her smartwatch. It was about time—the mech cadets were starting their assessment. She planned to go watch.

Jin was about to follow when he noticed Shen Shouli frozen in place, seemingly lost in thought. Jin instinctively assumed the nickname "pea princess" had dealt a serious blow to his pride, and decided for once to be a proper friend and comfort him.

But Shen Shouli suddenly spoke: "She made up an entire story just to call me a princess."

Jin: ...???

"Who are you? What have you done with my friend? Get out of his body right now!"

The mech cadet assessment was taking place at the center of the training ground. Several students had gathered, just like Xu Lingqu, to watch the spectacle. Each mech cadet had their own small private booth, where they were individually fabricating components.

Natata felt a knot of anxiety in her chest. Staring at the materials laid out on the table, she said a silent prayer.

Father, please watch over me.

Jin and Shen Shouli had caught up by then, along with Xu Xiqin, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning. They'd managed to wake her up again with all their noise, so she'd figured she might as well come watch too.

"Are you interested in mechs, Commander?" Jin asked, noticing how seriously Xu Lingqu was watching.

"Mm, somewhat," she replied.

Before Liu Ming had appeared, Xu Lingqu's interest in mechs had been lukewarm at best. Having spent so much time slaughtering towering monsters, her instinct upon seeing anything that huge—even if it was made of metal—was to get her hands itchy and feel the urge to kill.

But then a mech claiming to be an SSS-class machine and the relic of a Galaxy Admiral had suddenly popped out of her hand. Xu Lingqu had intended to learn more about it, though she hadn't delved that deep.

First, Liu Ming's identity couldn't be verified in her eyes—she preferred to treat it like a little dog. Second, she'd forged her mental power to B-rank, a level that couldn't pilot a mech. And being a reclusive orphan girl just back from the Zhuyun Frontier, it was only natural she wouldn't be interested in mechs.

What truly stirred something in her were the phantom visions that occasionally surfaced in her mind—seemingly of Liu Ming's true form—and what Instructor Chen had said to her back then.

"The moment you get your hands on a mech, you're going to fall in love with it."