「Day eight of the starship’s journey.」

After a space jump, Zoe Pierce came out of her hibernation pod and went to the corridor to slack off.

Ever since boarding the Starship, Zoe Pierce sometimes felt like she was an athlete from Earth traveling to another country for a sporting event.

She was accompanied by teachers from the Federal Military Academy and a professional medical team, with dedicated staff handling all her food, clothing, and living needs.

All she had to do was show her face, and everyone would greet her with a smile.

And this was just one Starship. Ahead of and behind them were several other Starships, carrying accompanying officials and media.

A massive procession.

Zoe Pierce’s face was stiff from smiling on the first day, and after that, she grew to love the feeling of slacking off by herself.

After exploring for a few days, she finally found a nice hideaway.

Unless someone contacted her on her Intelligent Brain, she could stay here all the way until dinnertime.

However, when Zoe went there today, she found someone was already standing there.

Slightly disappointed, she prepared to leave.

But when she saw who the person was, she stopped and walked over instead. "Miles?"

The man, dressed in casual clothes, had sharp, well-defined features. He stood quietly by the window, a soft ball in his hand. At the sound of her voice, he turned around.

"Zoe."

Zoe Pierce hadn’t seen Miles Sherman for several days. She saw the others often enough, but he, in particular, always seemed to be called away.

She looked at the soft ball in his hand, a little curious. "What’s this?"

Miles Sherman opened his hand, offering her the ball. "Something for stress relief."

It was like a squishy toy. Zoe Pierce took it and gave it a couple of squeezes. It felt great in her hand, and its rebound speed was just right.

"Is it because of the pressure from the friendly tournament?"

After a few more squeezes, Zoe Pierce handed the ball back to Miles Sherman. He was holding it and had mentioned stress relief, so she instinctively assumed it had to do with the friendly tournament.

But then she saw Miles Sherman looking at her with a deep, complex expression in his eyes.

It suddenly dawned on Zoe Pierce. Her expression froze, and her voice dropped. "Is it because of me?"

Miles Sherman put the stress ball away in his Space Button, his fingers gripping the metal handrail. "There are some things I just can’t figure out."

He didn’t say whether it was because of her or not.

Zoe Pierce stood beside him as he continued, "Sometimes, I don’t know if what I’m holding on to is the right thing."

’Hearing that, it doesn’t sound like it’s about me.’

Zoe Pierce felt a wave of relief.

"Just do what you feel you need to do." Zoe Pierce thought she was sounding like an idealist herself. "If you find out it’s wrong, you can just fix it later."

"You can also ask us to help you figure it out," she added, comforting Miles with a smile.

’Maybe the constant stream of issues with the friendly tournament has worn Miles out, and that’s why he can’t tell right from wrong anymore.’

With her hair down and dressed in a simple sweatshirt, she offered her comfort with a gentle smile.

Miles Sherman’s hand tightened on the handrail. "What if you realize others are heading in the wrong direction, and they refuse to turn back even after you’ve warned them?"

Still oblivious, she replied, "Respect the fate of others."

"You can never wake a person who is pretending to be asleep."

She seemed to connect his last two statements. "So you want to head in the wrong direction, too?"

Zoe Pierce tilted her head up, frowning as she wondered who could influence Miles Sherman to such an extent, even managing to lead him astray.

’But then the image of his eyes, as deep and dark as ink just a moment ago, flashed through her mind.’

Her expression shifted, and she suddenly looked at Miles Sherman.

Miles Sherman was still looking at her, as steady and silent as ever.

Her Intelligent Brain BEEPED, breaking her reverie. She tapped it open and saw a message from Erin Xavier, telling her to come to the training room.

She immediately turned to Miles Sherman and asked, "Um... Miles, do you want to come with me to the training room to unwind?"

’He should stop thinking so much.’

Miles Sherman was about to speak.

But then he heard Zoe Pierce add, "Erin Xavier is there too."

He swallowed the words he was about to say. Miles Sherman forced a small smile. "You go ahead. I’ll stay here a bit longer."

Her attempt at comforting him hadn’t worked. Zoe Pierce felt a bit deflated. She always felt there was a hidden meaning to Miles Sherman’s questions, but this one was so abstract it was impossible to figure out what he was really trying to say.

She murmured her assent and took a few steps toward the training room, only to turn back involuntarily.

Miles Sherman was looking at her, a faint smile playing on his lips.

For some reason, Zoe Pierce couldn’t help but feel a little worried about him.

’Maybe it’s because Miles is so reliable that any slight deviation from the norm seems more worrying coming from him than from anyone else.’

She walked back to him.

A flicker of confusion appeared in Miles Sherman’s eyes.

"I’ll stay with you a bit longer," Zoe Pierce said, looking down to send a quick reply to Erin Xavier. Once she confirmed he got the message, she put her Intelligent Brain away. "Is it better if you have some company?"

"I’m fine," Miles Sherman said with a smile. "Go be with Erin. He can be pretty clingy, can’t he?"

Within their squad, probably no one understood Erin Xavier’s personality better than Miles Sherman. Erin was only a few years older than people like Hope Sherman, but he was incredibly clingy.

Since boarding the Starship, they had been forced to keep their distance in public, so in private, Erin Xavier had practically taken over Zoe Pierce’s Intelligent Brain.

He was always online, as if he were constantly waiting for her, practically bombarding her with messages.

’Comparing the two, I should definitely stay here.’

"I’ll go in a little while," Zoe Pierce decided, placing her hand on the railing next to Miles Sherman’s.

Miles Sherman turned his head back to the window. Before them stretched the vast, starry expanse of space.

After seeing it so many times, the view had lost its novelty. Zoe Pierce’s attention drifted from the stars and back to Miles Sherman.

’I still can’t figure out what Miles is thinking.’

’Oh well. I’ll just keep him company like this.’

Zoe Pierce knew she was sometimes like that herself—she didn’t need people to say anything, just having someone quietly by her side was enough.

"Zoe." After a long silence, his rich, magnetic voice sounded beside her.

She glanced at him.

"Does it bother you? Our... situation." Mindful that they were on the Starship, Miles Sherman didn’t speak too bluntly.

But now that the topic was broached, of course Zoe Pierce understood.

Her eyelashes trembled. She pursed her lips, choosing her words carefully. "Sometimes, it feels... so conflicting."

She didn’t want to lie to Miles. Perhaps because she currently had no intimate relationship with him, she was able to discuss this with him as a teammate and a friend.

"I’m selfishly enjoying all this affection, but if I have to choose... I can’t."

Especially after having had three different boyfriends.

It was even harder now than before she had started dating any of them.

Each of them revealed a uniquely charming side of themselves, recklessly pulling her into a torrent of desire.

At first, she thought that after dating Nathan Lockwood, Chase Shaw would mind. But he didn’t. It was as if he was completely oblivious to her secret, troubled thoughts.

And when it came to Erin Xavier, things got even more intense; the thrill of their very first day together nearly drove her mad.

’It just made everything more chaotic.’

And she couldn’t tell Miles Sherman any of this.

She was too ashamed to say it out loud.

"When the time comes... what if I can’t choose?" The smile on her face was tinged with bitterness.

’And that was without even factoring Miles into the equation. She already had no idea how to choose.’