Editing Tytania:Volume 1 Chapter 6 (section)

=== I ===
The spaceship ''Honest Old Man'', abbreviated to OO, was continuing its journey from planet Ementhal to planet Bargash. Due to being pursued by Tytania, it unavoidably had to occasionally deviate from the official routes and follow unofficial paths.

These unofficial paths were sometimes controlled by local semi-pirate groups, and in such cases tolls had to be paid to ensure safety. When combined with the tolls levied by Tytania, navigation through the supposedly uninhabited void was an expensive activity.

Vice-chief clerk Fan Hyulick only dedicated four hours a day to work and enjoyed his life on board the rest of the time. Thanks to his efficiency, he could properly handle his job. The 91-year-old chief clerk Rodriguez was noisy whenever he was awake but slept through most of the day, so he didn’t pose much of a problem.

In contrast, the 22-year-old Lieutenant Mahdi was a rebellious being who clutched his displeasure and bad temper in both hands and a bottle of alcohol in his mouth.

Having finished his work, Fan Hyulick went to the lounge and called him:

“Hey, black marketeer, still sulking? Why don’t you just reconcile with your destiny already?”

“Stop calling me a black marketeer,” grumbled Mahdi, his voice accompanied by a heavily alcoholic breath.

''“It would be fun to light it on fire”'' was a dangerous thought that Fan Hyulick was often tempted by.

Apparently, Mahdi had a high tolerance for alcohol that was now a disadvantage: no matter how much he drank, intoxication wouldn’t wash reality away. As he heard Mahdi’s lamentations about the burdens of his unhappy fate, he was more worried about the savings he had left behind in Ementhal.

While Fan Hyulick was relieved to have escaped the clutches of that perverted count, he still felt a thorn in his heart. As he shook it off, he offered a piece of advice:

“Once we’re in Bargash, we should go to the bank and empty our accounts. It is useless to worry about stuff now.”

“My bank account was probably frozen a long time ago. I have honestly worked my whole life and finally managed to save enough for a modest retirement, but alas, it has disappeared in the darkness.”

“I’m amazed you can talk about honesty. Doesn’t it make you feel bad for actual honest workers?”

It was Miranda, the captain’s wife as well as the chief navigator, who offered that merciless critique. Taken aback for a moment, Mahdi gave a retaliation fuelled by alcohol:

“Compared to the likes of Tytania, my methods are most modest. I see no reason to retract what I said.”

“But don’t they say that happiness can’t be bought with money?”

“Having money is my happiness! Don’t mess around with people’s values.”

“Well, I’ll just leave it at that. Arguing in a cramped ship is useless.”

Uncharacteristically for him, Fan Hyulick had stepped in as a mediator, but not out of good will or generosity. It was because he felt uncomfortable about the fact that Lieutenant Mahdi’s set of values resonated to some extent with his own.

“Me too, I lost all my possessions in Ementhal. You’re not the only one who’s unhappy, Mahdi.”

“Hey, don’t be overly familiar with me. When unhappy poor people comfort each other, it only makes them look even poorer.”

His argument was so true that neither Miranda nor Fan Hyulick would argue with it, and they gave up on the idea of consoling the young money grabber and sat at a distance from him.

Miranda disappeared briefly in the kitchen, came back with a huge plate of pancakes, and shouted, “Let’s snack.” Every pancake was the size of a child’s cushion. Answering “just a bit”, Fan Hyulick’s mind raced back to Lira. Her omelettes were a masterpiece.

''“How stupid of me, she’s someone else’s woman. She’s probably having a good time with that wimpy bastard De Boer right now. She’s none of my business.”''

As if she would sense Fan Hyulick’s thoughts, Miranda solemnly served him a pancake with a generous serving of syrup poured over it. That was more than the entire stomach capacity of the young carrot-top.

“If you can’t finish it, just leave it.”

“I’ll do that.”

“But for the youth of the Blaze Flag, it’s barely an ''hors d’oeuvre''.”

“Were you an ally of the Blaze Flag?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whoever opposes Tytania is ultimately my ally. Mahdi might scoff at this, but there is no shame in the weak joining their hands.”

It was a perfectly reasonable reply. While Fan Hyulick was poking at the giant pancake with his fork, Miranda told him about the recent crushing defeat of the “Blaze Flag” fleet at the hands of Zarlisch Tytania.

“From what I heard, only Lee Shanchen’s fleet is undamaged. That guy is quite clever, which is why he managed to avoid disaster.”

“Is he that clever?”

“He has a PhD in philosophy. We call him Doctor Lee.”

From what Miranda told him, Lee Shanchen was a brilliant student who obtained his bachelor’s degree at the age of 20, and his doctorate in philosophy at 24 from the National University of Bargash. He became an assistant professor at his ''alma mater'' but caused some trouble and couldn’t keep his position. While he was travelling on a passenger ship to transfer to a university in Kafir, he was attacked by the “Blaze Flag” fleet and taken prisoner. But the captain happened to be his uncle and, impressed by his nephew’s knowledge and education, offered him a job as a secretary.

It appeared that his uncle had intended to recruit him from the beginning and attacked that ship on purpose. He gradually accustomed himself to his circumstances and, when the captain died, took over his position.

“In that case, wouldn’t the ‘Blaze Flag’ fleet become a much more solid anti-Tytania organisation if they rallied under that Doctor Lee as their commander?”

“That’s the difficult part.”

Miranda put on a serious expression that was somewhat at odds with her cheerful and boisterous face and build.

“The Blaze Flag fleet had a grandiose name, but it is just a motley crew that only groups if they are after a big prey. Truly uniting them is impossible.”

Doctor Lee was intelligent but had a short temper and a bad habit of yelling, “Do what you want, you idiots!” and storming off whenever his strategies and plans weren’t accepted. Truth be told, many painful defeats were suffered from ignoring him, but no one likes to be called an idiot, even if true, so Doctor Lee never managed to become part of the mainstream. He himself was well aware of his shortcomings and would say, “I have talent, but not virtue, and have no intention of being above others.”

In spite of his academic background, Doctor Lee was also skilled in handling weapons. Tytania, ever so greedy for talent, once offered him a high position to recruit him. Doctor Lee declined, which put him in a unique position among ruffians, as it earned him respect while still being shunned.

Captain Casimir’s image appeared on the ship’s communication screen. He and Miranda used sign language and lip-reading. Fan Hyulick had thought that there were limitations to sign language, but it was probably prejudice on his part. The captain and his wife seemed to communicate perfectly well through facial expressions and, above all, some kind of spiritual resonance.

Miranda was 28 years old, the same age as Fan Hyulick. If he were to be honest, he didn’t find her to be a particularly attractive woman, but she seemed trustworthy as a friend. She was also quite capable. She turned towards her host:

“Admiral, something interesting is about to happen.”

Although she called Fan Hyulick “admiral”, it was a title that came from his position as “City Fleet civil commander”, his actual rank being colonel. Of course, rising from sergeant to colonel in a mere three years at the age of 25 was no ordinary feat. In reality, in his home city of Euria, colonels and majors received the same salary as any commissioned officer, which made the transition from colonel to brigadier general extremely easy<ref>This passage is a bit confusing. In Japanese, many military ranks are shared between the army and the navy. For instance, 大佐 can mean both “colonel” in the army or “captain” in the navy. This means that without any context, it is difficult to properly translate ranks. This passage uses the word 軍曹 (“sergeant”) which that doesn't exist in the navy and is exclusive to the army. I assume that the progression in ranks in Fan Hyulick’s city is army-based rather than navy-based and that when his city forms a city fleet, the leaders receive honorary navy rankings such as “admiral” for the purpose of commanding the fleet.</ref>.

The rank had been originally held by a near-elderly major general, but he had been hospitalised due to a hypertension stroke, and Fan Hyulick was named in his place. It was a battle he was destined to lose from the start. He was but a clown dancing on a stage smeared with blood.

“What is interesting?”

“I heard a rumour that Doctor Lee is on a nearby route. He’s bound for Bargash, so it wouldn’t be odd to run into him.”

Eight hours after that communication, Doctor Lee’s fleet, which comprised 13 vessels of varying sizes, or rather a mix of small- and medium-sized ships, met with the ''Honest Old Man''.

On the communication screen, the man who appeared seemed to be around Fan Hyulick’s age. He had long, straight black hair tied with a white string at the nape of his neck. Both his eyes had a tinge of blue in them. He had a handsome face that could have been described as Tytania-class, but there was a sharp feeling of irony devoid of any naivety in his eyes.

“Doctor Lee, looks like you’re in trouble again, aren’t you?”

“Ms Miranda, is that you? It’s just the usual. This is what always happens when these idiots don’t listen to me. The universe is filled with absurdity and stupidity, and I can’t handle it on my own.”

It was quite the arrogant statement, but for some strange reason, when this man told it, it sounded like a cold and unvarnished truth. For no particular reason, Fan Hyulick felt like scratching his ear as he stood behind Miranda’s massive frame.