Sherry had come aboard Ethan's ship with her mother when she was very young. She had experienced Ethan's first sailing ship, the Goddess of Dawn, the modern warship Prinz Eugen, and the Artemis, which now roamed space.
Aside from the earliest and most difficult era of the dinghy, Sherry had more or less witnessed the entire journey of Ethan's team.
Compared to the little girl who first came aboard, Sherry was now 1.68 meters tall, with fair, milk-like skin and beautiful short blonde hair. Combined with the presence she had cultivated through years of training and proper combat experience, ordinary people would feel instinctively pressured just by seeing her. Even the timid ones wouldn't dare speak loudly in front of her.
However, when facing her companions on the ship, Sherry still showed traces of childishness. Most of the people on board were her seniors, so she couldn't really act headstrong even if she wanted to.
"Any interesting worlds? Let me go have some fun."
She looked like a child begging an adult for candy or toys, just short of grabbing someone's sleeve and acting cute.
"If you're bored, you can go train with Shirou."
"Emiya Shirou? With him?"
Sherry's impression of Shirou was that he was a very enthusiastic boy who cooked delicious food. He was thoughtful and had remembered everyone's food preferences in no time after coming aboard.
Since Shirou had joined the team, the quality of food on the Artemis had improved significantly. Even Ethan hadn't realized that before Shirou came, people had started eating less and less of the pre-packaged "fast food" out of sheer boredom.
"You're sending him to another world for training?"
"Yes."
Shirou had joined too late. Compared to Sherry, who had grown up on the ship and received full guidance and training since childhood, Shirou, who started halfway, was significantly behind. To catch up with the average level of the crew, he needed special arrangements.
While traveling to other worlds was considered a vacation for people like Sherry and Laura, for Shirou, it was a serious challenge. Only through effort and real combat could he turn potential into strength and bridge the gap.
"The world you've chosen for him isn't going to be too easy for me either, is it? Wouldn't I be bored if it was?"
"No, the world I'm sending him to this time will be quite difficult, even for you."
"Oh?"
As they spoke, Luna contacted Shirou.
Ethan wasn't going to fetch him personally. This was official business, and Shirou had to come to the ship as quickly as possible to receive his mission.
He didn't have to wait long. Maybe Shirou had been free recently. After receiving the message, he quickly arrived with Artoria.
Clearly, the two were used to being together and were sticking close. Ethan wondered if that purple-haired junior had already died from internal bleeding. In any case, he didn't see her this time.
"Another round of training?"
He glanced at Shirou, who had grown taller and more muscular. His appearance was becoming increasingly similar to Amyia.
"Yes. The world you'll be entering this time is fairly dangerous, so Sherry will be going with you."
Sherry rolled her eyes slightly. From the way he said it, it sounded like Ethan was worried Shirou couldn't handle this training alone and had specifically summoned her to help.
Still, considering that this was her benefactor, who had provided food, shelter, and training, she just let it go. Ethan is always right!
"What kind of world is it?"
Having gone through his last training, Shirou already understood what the multiverse was. Each world had its own "story," and not all of them were pleasant.
For someone like Shirou, who was determined to become a hero of justice, the worlds that suited him best were those facing great disasters. That way, he could use his power to help others and feel that his efforts were meaningful.
He could improve his strength, gain knowledge, and help others. It was perfect.
Whenever he recalled his first training, Shirou always felt that joining Ethan's team was the right choice, because he could realize his dream here.
With that in mind, he hoped Ethan would choose a similar world for him again.
How could Ethan not know what Shirou was thinking? He had already figured out what made him tick, so this time he had once again chosen a world in peril, one in need of saving.
"But compared to the world you last went to, which was similar to modern Earth, this one might be slightly in the future. The Earth of this world has even built a massive orbital ring in space and deployed weapons to protect the planet. However, when alien invaders arrived, the defense system failed to perform as expected, and the entire Earth fell into a dire situation."
Ethan thought for a moment but didn't give too much detail.
After all, this was a training mission. Gathering intel was also part of the process. So, after a brief description, Ethan stated his requirements for Shirou.
"My expectations aren't high. You just need to survive in that world for a while… and of course, not just a few months. Be mentally prepared for that."
Seeing Shirou nod, Ethan continued.
"If you think that's too easy, you can also try helping the people there. But let me warn you in advance, what you'll be facing this time isn't some mysterious power, but a group of very aggressive alien invaders."
"Like the Arachnids?"
The Arachnids were the bugs humans fought in the Starship Troopers world. After joining the team, Shirou hadn't just been cooking or training. He had also caught up on a large amount of "basic knowledge," which naturally included information about the Starship Troopers world that served as the team's logistical base.
"Although they're insect-like too, there are a lot of differences. You'll have to find out the details for yourself."
He then gave Sherry a few reminders. Technically, he didn't need to say much. Even if Ethan didn't instruct her, Sherry knew to collect useful technologies, resources, and unique knowledge.
Ethan's only reason for mentioning it was to show that this world held a lot of value, but he was too lazy to go himself and was leaving it to them.
"I understand what I need to do!"
If Ethan hadn't intervened, Sherry would've been locked up and isolated by the authorities after the Resident Evil 2 storyline. Over the next decade or so, she would've undergone countless tests and experiments, all while receiving standard education.
Only when the authorities realized they couldn't extract anything more from Sherry did she regain a bit of freedom. When she chose a career path, she became a secret agent.
In a way, Sherry was born for jobs involving direct confrontation with danger. The Sherry who grew up under Ethan's care was immeasurably stronger than her original self, and there was nothing to worry about.
After giving all the necessary instructions, Ethan told the two to prepare.
There actually wasn't much to get ready. Everything they needed was already stored in their personal space. Still, since they were heading to a world invaded by alien life, everyone, including Artoria, put on protective gear and activated energy shields.
Once everything was ready, Ethan sent the three of them over. As for their landing site or what would happen after arrival, he had no idea.
He simply threw them toward the coordinates of the world like tossing something casually, made sure they landed on Earth, and didn't worry about the rest.
This kind of vague operation was very easy for Ethan. There was no chance of error, so he didn't bother checking anything. After sending them away, he returned to his own business.
Shirou was off for more training. Ryu would be left alone for now, and his performance would determine if he was worth training. After thinking for a moment, Ethan decided it was time to check on Modred's progress.
In cases like these, when someone was sent to a world for training, the flow of time there wouldn't match that of the Goddess of the Moon. Whether it moved faster or slower depended entirely on how Ethan set it.
Most of the time, training worlds had a faster time flow than the Artemis, and sometimes they were synced with Ethan himself.
This time, Ethan had accelerated time for Modred. After all, her task was to unify an entire continent, which couldn't be done in a short time.
Even though Modred's personal strength vastly surpassed most beings in that world, she couldn't conquer such a large territory relying on force alone.
However, when Ethan located her, he saw that she had gone north and was now standing before a human army formation. Holding a massive two-handed sword, she unleashed an enormous wave of magical energy and swung it forward. A torrent of red magic surged out, blasting the non-human creatures in front of her into dust.
"..."
Modred's attack signaled the charge. Even before the torrent of magical power had completely vanished, cannon fire erupted from the human side. At the same time, three dragons launched aerial attacks against the opposing non-human creatures. Then Modred personally led the cavalry in a full charge.
"Yahoo~"
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)