Tetsutaro was using disinfectant to clean the wound on Akidou's leg.
"That's serious. He's lost quite a lot of blood. If this were a few dozen minutes later, he might already be dead."
Tetsutaro then turned to look at Omelet, who was also unconscious.
"Hey, what happened to this kid?"
Shinji hurriedly tried to unfasten his seatbelt to stand up, but Tetsutaro stopped him.
"Hold on. If you stand up now, you'll fall. This robot is made of metal, so it doesn't fall over."
Shinji sat back down and answered while seated.
"Ah, Omelet fainted from exhaustion."
Tetsutaro turned back, rummaging through the medical kit as he spoke.
"This is dangerous. That old man Odin is really ruthless."
He took out a piece of gauze and began bandaging Akidou while continuing.
"Sending a bunch of inexperienced kids on a dangerous mission… that's terrible."
Lumber and Gumber, who were sitting in the corner listening to him, became furious.
"Hey, who are you calling inexperienced?"
"We're Commander candidates, you know!"
Tetsutaro only glanced at them and laughed.
"Oh really? Then I guess candidates must be more capable than an actual Commander."
He continued wrapping the bandage around Akidou's wound while applying some disinfectant.
"My job is to monitor Heavenfield, so I rarely go anywhere. This is the first time in years that I've stepped outside."
Shinji noticed that Tetsutaro wrapped the bandage around the two fangs of the insect as well.
"Commander Tetsutaro, why didn't you pull the fangs out before bandaging the wound?"
He looked around the machine.
"This machine probably has a lot of advanced equipment. Pulling those fangs out should be simple."
Tetsutaro walked over and knocked Shinji on the head with a painful smack.
"You really lack basic knowledge, kid."
While Shinji was still confused, Tetsutaro stood in front of him and explained.
"If you pull the fangs out, the blood will start gushing until he bleeds out completely."
"When a sharp object pierces the body, you shouldn't pull it out immediately. The object acts like a plug that stops the bleeding. It's better to bring the patient to a medical facility so an experienced doctor can deal with it."
"Got it? Didn't Commander Argos teach you that?"
From farther away, Alba spoke up.
"Since we were assigned to the squad, we've never met him even once."
Shinji rubbed his head and slowly replied.
"The only time I met him was in the Najarin Forest. He saved me and Lio."
Shinji then turned to Lio as if remembering something.
"Oh right, and that time at the medical station too."
Tetsutaro pasted a large board full of writing onto the wall.
"Man, how boring. That guy really is a cold old man. In all the Commander meetings, I've never once seen him attend."
Tetsutaro turned and began walking toward the control room as he continued speaking.
"As far as I know, the only person he's willing to talk to is Supreme Commander Odin. The two of them seem to have known each other for a very long time."
As Tetsutaro was about to enter the control room, Lio suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the herbal pouch Olivia had given him, handing it to Tetsutaro.
"Huh? What is it, kid?"
Tetsutaro turned around and looked at him. Since Lio couldn't speak, he could only gesture, but Tetsutaro couldn't understand what he meant.
"He wants you to look at that pouch, Captain."
Shinji spoke up to help his friend.
Tetsutaro took the herbal pouch.
"Leaves… They look kind of strange."
Suddenly, his expression changed to shock.
"What? These are extremely rare herbs!"
Tetsutaro went into the control room for a moment, then came back out.
"Here it is!"
He pointed to a page in an old book.
"It's recorded in this book. I read about it more than twenty-five years ago!"
He held the pouch, placed the book down, and poured all the herbs into his hand.
"This is amazing. These herbs are incredibly miraculous."
Tetsutaro flipped through several pages of the old book. Inside were drawings of those herbs.
"They have extremely high medical value. You could sell them for quite a lot of money."
Shinji turned to Alba, who looked back at him. Then the two of them asked in unison:
"What's an image?"
Tetsutaro stared at them for a moment before placing the leaves down. Then he walked back into the control room.
"Hey, why do you keep walking back and forth like that?"
Wonton turned around and asked.
"Just looking for something, Wonton. Focus on driving."
Tetsutaro came back out holding a strange device.
"This is a camera!"
In his hand was a steel box with a lens that could extend and retract at the front.
"This was the most advanced invention of humanity before the demons invaded."
He said excitedly, bringing it close to Shinji's face.
"It can freeze time and preserve it forever!"
Shinji stared closely into the lens when suddenly a bright flash burst out.
"Argh! That's bright!"
The flash blinded Shinji for a moment, and he quickly covered his eyes.
"What the hell was that?"
Gumber asked, turning to Lumber.
From the camera, an image of Shinji slowly printed out.
Tetsutaro picked it up and placed it in Shinji's hand.
"Here. Pretty cool, right? That's you."
Shinji looked at the photo of himself in amazement.
"That's incredible… it looks exactly like me."
Shinji rubbed his face while staring at the picture.
Alba also took the photo.
"It really does look exactly like you, Shinji!"
The photograph was black and white, showing Shinji's image printed on it.
Alba showed the photo to Lio, and the two of them laughed with excitement.
But the one who was truly confused was Tetsutaro.
"Hey… how can you see the photo if your eyes are closed?"
He stared at Shinji in confusion. Shinji's eyes had remained shut the entire time.
"And you even said the flash was bright. That's really strange."
Shinji looked up at Tetsutaro and scratched his head.
"I… I don't really know either. Even with my eyes closed, I can still clearly sense everything around me."
Inside the control room, Wonton was reading a book while glancing at the control panel.
"Engine NO.2 is running at 56% output, and track NO.1 is operating at 40% output…"
Wonton closed the book, his eyes showing clear concern.
"That idiot Tetsutaro is trying to use it before it's finished. It'll probably break down somewhere before we even make it back."