Supreme Paragon Reborn: Humanity's Rise To Galactic Supremacy-Chapter 264: Mr. BunBun

The plushie in question was a small, charming bunny. White as snow, its ears flopped to the side, and a pink ribbon adorned the left side of its neck. In its right hand, it held a tiny carrot.

’I have to admit... It’s adorable...’ Michael thought inwardly, keeping a stoic face.

After a few seconds, he realized that Claire had gone deadly silent.

Turning to the side, he noticed she looked frozen in time, her face flushed a bright red.

"T—This is..." She stuttered her words, clearly embarrassed.

’God, I got so accustomed to it that I forgot it was even here!’ She cursed in her mind.

Sensing that Claire was feeling ashamed, he tried to lighten the mood.

"I think it’s cute."

"Do you really think so?" Claire mumbled quietly.

He nodded.

"And you won’t laugh?" She asked.

Michael nodded once more.

Gradually the color of her face began to return to normal.

Assured that she was fine, Michael continued.

"So why is there a plushie in your mecha?"

"He’s not just a simple plushie, you know. He has a name..." Claire muttered. "He’s Mr. BunBun."

"..."

Now it was Michael’s turn to be silent, quietly trying his best not to laugh.

"It suits you..." He said gently.

She frowned. "No, it doesn’t. Bryce gifted it to me two years ago. I only keep it because it was a gift from my grandfather."

Michael raised an eyebrow. He could understand giving such a toy to a little girl, but to a grown woman?

Noticing the confusion in his gaze, Claire elaborated.

"You see... the day he gave me Mr. BunBun, he had the biggest smile on his face. When I asked why he would give me a bunny of all things, he said it was to remind me of their fast reproductive rate and that he wished to become a great-grandfather one day."

Honestly, taking the old man’s playful personality into account, Michael wasn’t one bit surprised.

"A—Anyway, let’s not linger any longer!" She said tactfully, averting the topic of the conversation.

Following her guidance, Michael settled on the pilot seat.

"Most of the time you will be staring at the main monitor—"

Claire began her explanation, leaning in close as she carefully broke everything down into digestible pieces of information. As she spoke, her white hair brushed against his chest, but he didn’t interrupt; he didn’t want to break her focus.

"This more or less does it." Claire sighed in contentment as they exited her mecha.

While Claire focused on guiding Michael, Amelia stepped into the role of teacher as well. It didn’t take long before the crew had grasped the basics, and they were now ready to launch into outer space at a moment’s notice.

Because Victoria was still busy discussing things with Arthur, the crew decided to wait for her before exploring the rest of the battleship.

Eventually, someone came to see them, but they never could have anticipated who it was.

"Grandpa?!" Claire’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Sunshine!" Bryce cheerfully entered the room as he ruffled his overgrown beard.

"What are you doing here?!" She snapped. "Didn’t you promise to stay at Heavenly Pact’s headquarters?!"

The old man chuckled. "Oh, I did! But eventually, they needed my help here. Not on the battlefield. Of course, these old bones wouldn’t last a moment out there. But as a strategist... well, that’s another matter entirely."

He paused briefly.

"So once I heard you would be coming here, I pulled a few strings, and guess who is going to be your operator when you are in outer space?"

Claire’s face paled slightly as she sat down.

"Unbelievable..."

Bryce laughed.

"Oh... this is the problem with the young generation. Is this really how you greet your grandfather?"

Michael shook his head with a faint smile.

"Long time no see."

Instantly the old man’s gaze focused on him. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Michael! Heavens, since when did you begin to rival my granddaughter? Just as I suspected, my eyes did not deceive me!"

Michael chuckled.

"Some things happen..."

As it turned out, the old man wasn’t one to bother with technology. Being no admirer of social media, he had completely missed both the fallout on Venus and the documentary in which Michael had been involved.

"I see..." Bryce’s eyes dimmed, dejectedly glancing at Ruby.

"I am truly sorry for what has happened. No living being should have to endure what you have been through."

Ruby’s eyes narrowed as she sniffed him. The scent, strikingly similar to Claire’s, made her tail swing to the side.

"Please don’t worry about me! I have no intention of letting my past hinder me!" She declared, leaving the old man speechless.

Soon after, Victoria returned. When asked why her grandfather had summoned her, she explained that he wanted to know what things were like at the Indomitable Alliance.

With the crew assembled, they were ready to explore the battleship... Or at least, that had been the plan, until an alert blared through the entire interior.

"To be called into action on the very first day? Rotten luck!" Enzo grumbled.

Making haste, the crew each boarded a mecha and entered the vast cosmos. As for Cyberfang, though the tiger couldn’t fly, it was equipped with thrusters, allowing it to maneuver easily in zero gravity.

Soon, mechas settled on the battleship as an enormous portal opened on the horizon.

In one of the numerous lined-up mechas was Michael, who currently wasn’t alone...

"Ohhh! This is going to be fun!" Ruby purred, her tail swishing across his face.

Since Ruby was still just at the Expert realm, it was decided she would travel with Michael. As the weakest member of the crew, she was in the greatest danger.

’Claire showed me almost everything,’ Michael thought. ’As a last resort, I’m confident that if I use Bypasser on the mecha, I can overclock it for a short while.’

With Ruby in the cockpit, he knew he had to exercise extra caution. It wasn’t just his life on the line.

Taking a deep breath, he gripped the control panels while Ruby watched him silently, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Let’s begin."