This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

I could almost hear a pin drop at how silent the bridge had become. The beeps and boops of the machinery and tools around us filled the air as we all seemed to wait for someone... anyone... to speak and break this spell that descended upon us...

"Huh? You hiding things from us, stranger?"

Surprisingly, it was Shen that broke the silence as she walked up to me and glared at me like the child that she was. In fact, she actually looked kind of cute as she gave me the best stink eye I've ever seen a kid give me. And that included kids that tried their best to scare me off back when I needed to draw blood from them.

"Well, aren't everyone entitled to their own secrets?" I coolly replied, doing my best to hide the anxiety I was feeling with a forced smile. "You've all got secrets, and I've got mine. Isn't that just fair?"

"It wouldn't be fair if your so-called secrets would get us all killed. Or worse, get Princess Shizu here killed," Shade logically pointed out, actually dropping her suave tone for a serious one as he stood up straight. "This is a matter of Imperial security, Moriya, and I'm sure Lady Guidance would also agree on this."

"Y-Yes..."

My eyes widened. Turning to the dev, she was practically blushing again, that coy maiden-like look on her face indicating that she was sufficiently charmed by this man. Kind of stupid, really. "Guidance?"

"Yes?"

"Stop drooling," I blankly pointed out. I then gave Shizu a look of confirmation, one that she hesitantly nodded in approval before I finally faced the man instigating this conversation. "Well then, I guess we're all in agreement to share some information with the rest of you guys."

"What kind of information?" Shen suddenly chimed in, a child-like wonder twinkling in her eyes. "Imperial secrets? Some kind of super cool secret mission?"

"That's... actually not that far off, depending on who asked," I chuckled as I shook my head. "So yeah, Shade. We'll tell you everything there is to know about us. Not like we can keep it a secret for too long anyways."

As if I had just disarmed him, Shade visibly loosened up, his rose dimming back down from its previously glowing state. Wait... Was that glowing earlier?

"Glad to see that we can trust one another then, Moriya," the man smiled, his usual suave tone coming back to the fore as he offered his hand. "Depending on what I hear, we'll see if we can have an actual friendship. But seeing as my Princess already seems to trust you, then surely it wouldn't be too bad."

"Then why even needle us?" I smiled back as I grabbed his hand, our respective grips tightening as we shook hands. "If you only needed Shizu's approval of us, why threaten us with an ultimatum?"

"I was simply doing my job," Shade smirked. "Besides, it worked, didn't it? No harm was done, and we all get to trust one another a little bit better."

I couldn't help but hide my disdain for the man as we broke off the handshake. Before, he only gave me the creeps because of his obvious womanizer ways, but now he actually felt a little bit slimy. He really just told me that he played us without so much as an apology for it.

I dunno... It just screamed psychopathic behavior, one that we really had to look out for in case he suddenly turned coat or something.

"I'll settle with an explanation as soon as we set sail," Shade added, more like demanded beneath that smile of his.

"Sure," I nodded. Not like I had a choice in the matter right now.

"Anyways, let's set sail," Shizu clapped back, her radiant smile lifting up the spirits around us. "Shen just started the engine earlier, so everything's working, right?"

"Yep!" Shen gleefully replied with a thumbs up. "One hit from [Fixit] and it just worked!"

I blinked. I just knew that there was more to it than just whacking the damn thing with a wrench and calling it a day. I guess Guidance's guess that Shen had a [Manifest] was true then...

"Right?! You did great!" Shizu happily complimented the girl with a smile. "Your [Manifest] is so cool!"

"W-Well! I'm just that awesome!"

Somehow, I felt like a proud brother as the two youngest people in the room shared a laugh of enjoyment. Looking to my side, it seemed that Guidance had finally recovered from her previously charmed disposition as she smiled at the sight in front of us.

"I'm assuming you all were in the engine room prior to this?" I asked.

"The [Rig] still wasn't working when we spawned back here in the bridge," Guidance explained. "And seeing as you were still stuck in a cutscene, I just dragged everyone down there to see if there was something we can do."

"And I'm assuming that Shen actually has a [Manifest] that did the job?"

"Funnily enough, her [Manifest] seems to work in a way that it can, well, fix things that she hit with it," Guidance lightly chuckled. "Not gonna lie, I had my doubts, but seeing the engine somehow sputter to life after one whack was kind of funny."

"Glad that I made the right choice then," I chuckled.

Letting out a relieved sigh, I just let our party members get settled in their respective spots on the bridge as I settled with just leaning over the nearest wall myself. Shizu and Shen were having fun playing, while Maruki stood guard as our eternal, well, guard.

"O-Okay! As much as I'd like to play with you more, Shen, we still have a [Rig] to launch," Shizu giggled as she finally stopped running around.

"Aww... But we can still play later, right?!"

"Of course," the princess beamed. "But right now, we should start sailing."

I almost let out a grin as an air of finality settled around the entire bridge. Maruki looked determined, as did Shizu and Shade as they looked on beyond the horizon. Meanwhile, Guidance and I could only share a look before we also stared out into the sea beyond. We were actually going on an adventure, and it was honestly getting me excited to see just what exactly was out there.

"As the captain of this ship, I get the right to yell out the orders, right?" Shizu laughed at her own question, her own excitement bleeding through. "Ooh... I've always wanted to say this... Launch!"

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AN: Oh boy... Hope I can keep this up